Derek sat in the corner of the library, avoiding the curious gaze of the old librarian as she dusted the shelves. He rolled his eyes at her attempt at being discreet before pushing up his glasses and brought his book closer to him while running his fingers through his daughter’s hair. He really didn’t understand why Stiles had to call him about something mythical while Derek was on vacation with Morana. Derek knew Stiles had plenty of access to the same information on his computer.
Hearing his phone go off, Derek huffed and quickly answered it, ignoring the glare from the librarian and putting a placating hand on Morana’s shoulder as she shifted in her sleep.
“Derek, what the hell? You didn’t call me back! Did you find anything?”
Derek gritted his teeth. As much as he loved Stiles, he also would love to throw him up against a wall sometimes...more like all the time...for various reasons, but. “Stiles, you called me less than an hour ago.”
“What?” Stiles squawked. “No! Dude, I totally called you over an hour ago! I need this information now, Derek!”
“I don’t have--” he began, his voice a tad too loud. He sunk down as the librarian hushed him and he sighed. “Stiles, I have Morana with me. I can’t just drop everything I’m doing to help you. I have to take care of her too...”
“I know that!” Stiles defended, sounding irritated. “That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you to come back to Beacon Hills even though there’s a scary-ass chimera on the loose that’s setting everything on fire, including my fucking jeep, by the way. You know how much that jeep means to me! And Scott! Don’t even get me started on Scott, Derek! He’s been all maybe there’s a reason this thing is setting things on fire. And you know, yeah, because we should totally go ask it! Just walk right up and--”
Derek sunk further down in his seat, letting the book fall onto the small love seat beside him. He glanced down at Morana’s peaceful face with a frown. He had been hoping to keep her away from all the craziness for at least a week, but they couldn’t even be gone for two days without all hell breaking loose. Feeling the guilt already starting to nag at him, Derek let out a breath through his nostrils.
“Stiles!” he interrupted, making Stiles stop instantly. He shook his head in aggravation. “I’ll pack my things and be home tomorrow morning.”
“But--” Stiles paused. “You’re on vacation?”
Derek rolled his eyes, setting the book down on the coffee table a few feet in front of him. He carefully got to his feet and lifted Morana into his arms, cradling her close while he spoke quietly into the phone. “I was. I’m coming home now.”
“It’s not up for discussion, Stiles,” Derek stated firmly. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
He hung up the phone before Stiles could say anything more and waited for the slew of texts he got mere seconds later, most of which were chastising him for not putting his daughter first, but the last few praising him for being a good alpha and for -- and these are clearly Stiles’s words, not Derek’s -- being Stiles’s wolf in shining leather.
Derek huffed out a half-hearted laugh and continued to avoid the librarian as he carried Morana out to the car. He already had all of their things packed in the backseat. Truthfully, Derek never unpacked or thought to leave his things at the hotel. He knew it was only a matter of time before he returned to Beacon Hills. Let’s face it, he could never stay away for long.
