Chapter 250: Talia's Fury
New
8 hours ago
The sun streamed through the windows of Serendell's palace, casting warm golden light across the dining room. Everyone had gathered for breakfast—with the exception of Cora, who had spent the night at the loft in Beacon Hills, catching up with her mother.
The atmosphere was lively, filled with the clinking of silverware, the murmur of conversations, and the occasional burst of laughter. Cogman moved between the tables, refilling coffee cups and plates with precision.
Chris set his coffee cup down, looking across the table at Jacob with a mix of disbelief and curiosity. "Did you really bring Talia Hale back from the dead?"
Jacob took a bite of his toast before answering. "Not exactly. I can't resurrect the dead, and neither can Nex. The truth is, Talia was never technically dead. She managed to store her soul inside her claws. All I did was use a scroll to transfer her soul from the claws into the body of an Amarok. Once her soul fully merged with the new body, she managed to shift back into her human form."
Victoria leaned back in her chair, her brow furrowing as she processed the information. "I've studied werewolves and the supernatural my whole life, and I never knew an Alpha possessed the ability to store their soul inside their own claws."
Jacob shrugged. "Neither did I. But I'm glad it's possible. Getting her mother back made Cora incredibly happy."
A sharp, dark smirk spread across his face as he continued. "Oh, and by the way, Peter might be getting beaten within an inch of his life very soon—if he isn't killed. Talia was absolutely furious when she found out Peter murdered her eldest daughter, Laura. Even though she tried to mask her rage for her kids' sake, I could feel it radiating off her."
Stiles burst out laughing, shaking his head. "Man, that bastard truly never gets a break. He got beaten to near-death three separate times last year—by you, Lydia, and Allison. The guy is a walking punching bag."
"He deserves every single beating he gets," Scott added, his voice flat.
Lydia gracefully wiped her mouth with a napkin, steering the conversation to a lighter topic. "By the way, Jay—school starts next Monday. The girls and I are heading out to do some back-to-school shopping today. Do you want to come with us?"
"You girls go ahead and enjoy yourselves," Jacob said with a chuckle. "I'll go shopping with Scott and Stiles."
Sitting across the table, Daenerys perked up, a spark of genuine excitement in her eyes. "I want to go to school. From what I've seen in the movies—and from everything Lydia and Allison have told me—school seems fun. I want to experience it for myself."
Sansa and Arya immediately nodded in agreement. "We want to go too," Sansa said.
Missandei looked up tentatively, a hopeful expression on her face. "Would it be permissible for me to attend as well?"
Jacob smiled warmly at her. "Of course you can."
Malia groaned. "Ugh, I hate school."
Jacob ignored Malia and looked at Cogman. "Cogman, handle the paperwork necessary to enroll Dany, Sansa, Arya, and Missandei as new students at Beacon Hills High. Principal Thomas will help you smooth things over. Also, donate one million dollars to the school's general fund, and another five hundred thousand directly to the lacrosse team. And make sure both Coach Finstock and Principal Thomas know I was the donor."
Cogman bowed elegantly. "Consider it done, sir."
Jacob turned his attention back to Daenerys, a playful glint in his eye. "I'm not worried about Sansa or Missandei. They'll adapt to a modern school environment easily and get along with the other students perfectly. But you, Dany..."
Daenerys snorted, crossing her arms. "What about me?"
Jacob chuckled. "I'm worried that you're going to march down the hallways ordering the students and the teachers to bend the knee."
Daenerys rolled her eyes dramatically, though a small smile played on her lips. "I would do no such thing."
"And what if a student or a teacher happens to be rude to you?" Jacob pressed, highly amused.
"I will deal with it appropriately," Daenerys said. "I know how to conduct myself in your world."
"Well, just make sure you don't burn anyone alive," Jacob joked, before shifting his gaze to Arya. "You too, Arya. Absolutely no beating or killing the popular girls—or the stupid boys who try to flirt with you."
Arya scoffed, tossing a piece of fruit into the air and catching it. "I was raised as a noble lady of Winterfell. If someone is rude to me, I am perfectly capable of making them cry using nothing but my words."
Jacob laughed, looking over at Sansa. "Keep an eye on your sister, love."
Sansa smiled. "I will."
Jacob then turned toward Melissa. "What about Shireen?"
Melissa smiled warmly, reaching over to pat Shireen's head. "Don't worry, honey. Cogman already made proper identification for her as my legally adopted daughter. He's already got her registered in a wonderful private middle school, surrounded by children her own age."
Once breakfast was finished, everyone scattered to go about their respective days. Jacob headed out to the training grounds for a few hours of intense training with his wives.
---
Beacon Hills, 8:00 AM.
At the loft, Cora was sitting at the table, quietly finishing breakfast with her mother and brother. Yesterday, Derek and Cora had filled Talia in on everything that had happened over the last seven years—from the ashes of the fire to the chaos of the present day. Cora had even explained the complex situation involving Kate Argent and the reason preventing them from executing the hunter.
To both Cora and Derek's surprise, Talia didn't seem to harbor a burning desire for vengeance.
This morning, a serene, peaceful smile rested on Talia's face as she ate with her children. She set her fork down, looking over at her son with a warm, maternal glint in her eyes.
"So, Derek," Talia began smoothly. "Do you have a girlfriend?"
Derek's eyes widened slightly, a rare, sheepish smile breaking across his usually stoic face. "I haven't found her yet."
Talia sighed softly, though her smile remained. "Well, you need to hurry up. I want grandbabies."
Derek immediately gestured toward his sister. "Cora is already married. She can give you a few grandchildren to fawn over."
Talia shook her head. "No. While her children will no doubt be my grandchildren, and I will love them with all my heart, they will not be Hales. The bloodline needs to continue through you, Derek."
"Well, now that you're finally back, I can relax a bit and actually start looking for a girlfriend," Derek replied. "But not just yet. I want to spend a year or two just being here with you first."
Talia's expression turned deeply tender. "I'm not going anywhere, Derek."
They continued to talk quietly, the atmosphere light and domestic, until the heavy metal door of the loft suddenly whined and slid open.
Peter stepped over the threshold, his signature arrogant smirk plastered across his face. He was about to utter a sarcastic remark, but the words died instantly in his throat. His foot froze mid-stride. He just stood there, completely paralyzed, staring in shock at the woman he believed had been dead for seven years.
"H-how... are you alive?" Peter stammered, his voice cracking. "This can't be real."
Talia's expression shifted instantly. The warm mother vanished. Her eyes glowed red as a low, feral growl rattled the glass windowpanes of the loft.
"Why did you kill Laura, Peter?" Talia growled, her voice vibrating with a deep, resonant menace that echoed off the concrete walls.
Peter stumbled back half a step. "Talia... I... you don't understand. I was confused. The fire... it broke me. My mind was completely fractured. I didn't know what I was doing. I wasn't in control!"
"Do not dare lie to me!" Talia snapped, standing up from the table. "I know you, Peter. I raised you after our parents died. And in all those years, you never once acted like a wolf. You were always sneaking around in the dark. Always watching from the shadows, creeping around like a scavenger. You were always more like a hyena than a wolf, Peter—constantly waiting for the perfect opportunity to create chaos."
Peter's jaw tightened, his fear warring with his deep-seated bitterness.
"I know it was you," Talia continued, taking a slow, deliberate step toward him. "You were the one who broke Derek's heart. You manipulated Ennis into giving the bite to Paige. You orchestrated the entire tragedy, knowing it would lead to Derek being forced to kill her just to put an end to her agony. All so you could watch the fallout."
"Talia, please—" Peter tried to interject, his voice cracking.
"And don't give me the excuse of a broken mind," Talia snarled, her red eyes burning brighter. "A Beta could never kill an Alpha in a fair, one-on-one fight—especially not a broken, weakened Beta like you claim to have been. You betrayed Laura, Peter. You ambushed her because she trusted you. She came back because you drew her here, and you tore her apart."
Peter snapped. The years of hidden resentment, jealousy, and anger boiled over, and he began to yell, his voice echoing fiercely through the loft.
"And whose fault was that?!" Peter shouted, his face twisting with rage. "You were weak, Talia! Your peaceful, diplomatic, trusting mindset is the exact reason our family was almost wiped off the face of the earth! You treated the Argents and the other hunters like neighbors instead of the monsters they are! Your choices turned the Hale pack into a herd of sheep! You left us vulnerable, weak, and entirely blind to the threat—and it got our family burned alive and left me rotting in a comatose hell, trapped in my own body, living that fire nightmare every day!"
"You think I was weak?" Talia said, her voice dropping into a terrifyingly calm whisper. "You think slaughtering your own blood makes you strong?"
"I always did what I had to do to survive! I took the spark from Laura because it was my birthright! I took it to rebuild what you let burn!" Peter screamed.
Talia had heard enough. "Enough. You turned out like this because of me—because I didn't raise you right, because we lost our parents and I didn't want to be hard on you or discipline you. But I was wrong, and I will correct that today, even though it is too late."
In a fraction of a second, she closed the distance between them. Before Peter could even raise his arms to defend himself, Talia's hand shot out, wrapping around his throat like a vice and slamming him violently into the concrete floor. The impact cracked the foundation beneath them.
"Since you survived that fire, you should have been taking care of my children!" Talia roared, her voice shifting into a terrifying, guttural growl as she drove her fist straight into his jaw. "You were the adult left behind! It was your duty to protect your nephew and your nieces!"
Peter gasped, the force of the blow broke his cheekbone instantly. He tried to slash at her with his claws, but Talia completely ignored the strike, her new body making his Beta claws feel like blunt plastic against her skin.
She lifted him up by his throat only to slam him into the steel pillars of the loft. "Instead, you hunted Laura down like an animal! You murdered your own family just to steal a spark of power you were never worthy to carry!"
Talia unleashed a brutal sequence of strikes, systematically breaking his ribs, shattering his shoulders, and fracturing his limbs.
Peter couldn't fight back or defend himself. He could only scream in pain as he was thrown across the floor like a ragdoll.
Derek and Cora stood by the table, watching in silence. They had no intention of helping Peter. They had never seen their mother like this—never seen her so angry, so violent.
With one final, crushing kick to his chest, Talia sent Peter crashing into the far corner of the room. He slumped against the wall, entirely battered, bloody, and beaten within an inch of his life. His breathing was a shallow, agonizing wheeze, his face completely unrecognizable as his accelerated healing struggled to cope with the sheer volume of trauma.
Talia stood over him, her chest rising and falling slightly, her long brunette hair falling around her face as her blazing red eyes looked down at her broken brother.
"I will spare your life this time because I'm not like you. But if you ever try to harm my children again," Talia growled, "I won't just simply kill you, Peter. I'll torture you until you beg for a merciful death."
She turned her back on him, the red fading from her eyes as she walked back toward Derek and Cora. She sat down and sighed. "Cora, give me one of the potions Jacob gave me yesterday—to calm my mind."
Cora took a small vial filled with golden liquid from her ring and handed it to her mother. Talia drank it down, and within seconds, the rage drained from her face, and her breathing slowed to a steady rhythm.
Derek glanced at Peter, who had blood dripping from his mouth. His wounds were healing—but too slowly. "Peter might die if we leave him like that."
Talia said, "Leave him to his fate. If he dies, he dies. No one would shed a tear over him. No one will mourn him."
Just then, Jacob entered the loft. He immediately looked at Peter in the corner—hanging onto life by a thread—and smirked. "I thought Peter might get a beating, but I didn't think it would be this fast."
Cora ran to him and crashed into his arms, giving him a passionate kiss.
After they broke the kiss, Jacob smiled. "Good morning, beautiful." He looked at Talia and Derek. "Good morning."
Talia smiled. "Good morning, Jacob." She stood up. "Let's get out of here. I want to walk around town."
The four of them left the loft, leaving Peter there—bleeding and broken, gasping for breath.
Chapter 251: A Walk with Talia
New
8 hours ago
Jacob, Cora, Derek, and Talia walked through the streets of Beacon Hills. The morning sun was warm, and the town was alive with the bustle of daily life—people heading to work, shopkeepers opening their stores.
Talia's eyes swept over the familiar streets with a mixture of nostalgia and wonder. "Seven years, and this town has changed so much," she murmured.
They walked for another hour, Talia pointing out landmarks and sharing memories—what Beacon Hills used to look like, the creatures she had dealt with, the threats she had quietly driven out to keep the town safe.
"What are you going to do about Deucalion?" Jacob asked casually, hands in his pockets. "He used to be your friend, right?"
Talia sighed, a heavy look of regret crossing her features. "He used to be a good man—a visionary, honestly. But he was betrayed by Gerard Argent, lost his sight, and to make matters worse, one of his own Betas tried to kill him to steal his Alpha spark. That betrayal drove Deucalion completely over the edge. I will try to talk some sense into him. And if he doesn't want to listen..." She paused. "We will deal with him accordingly."
Jacob nodded thoughtfully, then asked, "By the way, were you always this powerful back then, or is it because your body is that of an Amarok now?"
"I wasn't quite as powerful as I am today, but I was close enough," Talia said.
Jacob said, "Is that why all the werewolves in Beacon Hills and the neighboring towns used to respect you so much? Or was it simply because you could fully shift into a wolf?"
Talia offered a knowing look. "People will always say I was respected because I could turn into a wolf. But few people truly understand what shifting into a wolf actually means."
Derek frowned, looking intently at his mother. "What does it mean?"
"Shifting into a full wolf means I am completely connected to my wolf side," Talia explained. "Unlike standard werewolves who can only use their claws and fangs, grow a little facial fur, or perhaps push themselves further into a monstrous form, I can draw out the absolute maximum potential of my werewolf heritage."
She paused, letting her words sink in.
"The real reason people feared and respected me wasn't because I could turn into a regular wolf—that form itself isn't actually that strong. It was because I could shift into a true monster: a humanoid wolf standing more than three meters tall. That was my ultimate form."
"Just my aura in that state could violently affect my surroundings, and hunters' bullets and arrows couldn't even scratch my skin," Talia continued. "But only a very small number of individuals ever lived after seeing me take that shape. Because if I pushed myself to that limit, it meant I was out for blood. The only people who survived seeing that form are Deucalion, Ennis, Kali, Satomi, and a few other Alphas from the neighboring territories. I gathered them all together once and showed them exactly what I was capable of to terrify them. Because as you know, Beacon Hills sits on a Nemeton. Everyone wanted to take this town for themselves, and I had to make sure they knew the cost."
Derek blinked, stunned. "Did Laura know about that form of yours?"
"No," Talia said softly. "No one in the pack knew except for your father and Alan."
Cora blinked. "Who is Alan?"
Talia smiled warmly. "The Emissary of our pack."
"Oh," Cora realized. "You mean Deaton."
Talia nodded. "We should go visit him now. I am looking forward to seeing the expression on his face when he sees me."
Jacob said, "You aren't quite as pacifistic as your friend Satomi, are you?"
Talia's voice was thoughtful. "No. I live by what my parents taught me: We are predators, not killers. But when peace fails, I will let the beast out of its cage. I just have to make sure I am the master locking the door when the battle is over, not the prisoner left inside. Satomi, on the other hand, refuses to fight unless absolutely backed into a corner. She has her reasons—she is terrified of losing control."
"If you don't mind me asking," Jacob said, veering into family history. "Who was Cora's father, and how did he die? I asked Cora, but she said she didn't really know him."
Talia smiled a wistful, distant smile. "My late husband was a werewolf named Luke. He was part of my parents' pack; they adopted him and raised him, so I grew up alongside him. He died fighting a manticore when Cora was only three years old. Although he won the battle, he was mortally poisoned by the manticore, and our remedies couldn't save him."
"Sorry to hear that," Jacob said sincerely.
Talia shook her head slightly, dismissing the sorrow. "It's alright. He was a complete fighting maniac, and he died doing exactly what he loved."
Jacob grinned widely at that. "Well, I've got a few of those fighting maniacs at home, myself included. I love a good fight."
Talia looked at him. "Are you going to tell me what you are?"
Jacob looked around. They had reached an empty park near the animal clinic, with no one else around. He said, "I'm a dragon."
Both Derek and Talia froze dead in their tracks. Talia stared at him. "Say that again."
Jacob's eyes flared red, pupils narrowing into vertical slits. He released a fraction of his dragon aura.
"I'm a dragon," Jacob repeated.
Both Derek and Talia took a synchronized step backward in sheer, instinctual terror, staring at the teenage boy who suddenly felt like an ancient monster masquerading in human skin.
Jacob immediately reined his aura back in, the crimson fading from his eyes as an amused smile returned to his face. He looked at Derek. "It never once crossed your mind that I was a dragon, right?"
Talia and Derek slowly came back to their senses, their hearts hammering against their ribs. Derek swallowed hard. "No... but now that I actually think about it—the fire control, the lightning manipulation, your absurd physical strength... it makes sense that you're a weredragon."
Jacob shook his head, chuckling. "No, no. I'm not a weredragon. I'm a true dragon. The giant, fire-breathing, scaly, flying monster. The real thing."
Cora smirked proudly, crossing her arms. "I've seen him in his true dragon form. It is massive and magnificent. And he isn't the only one..." She paused, glancing over at her husband. "Can I tell them?"
Jacob shrugged carelessly. "Sure. I'll take them to Serendell after we finish visiting Deaton anyway."
"Really? Can they actually live in Serendell?" Cora asked, her eyes lighting up. Jacob gave a firm nod, prompting Cora to hop over and plant a grateful kiss on his lips. "Thanks, Jay!"
She turned back to her mother and brother, her excitement bubbling over. "Jay isn't the only dragon in our family now. There are two others, and he owns several wyverns, one of which is gigantic. And wyverns are dragon-like creatures, but they don't have four limbs and two wings like Jay does. They only have two hind legs, and their wings are fused to their front arms like bats."
Jacob then took a few minutes to explain his true origins to them—how he came from the Marvel universe, his parents' true natures, and that he could travel to other worlds. He warned them not to share what he was with anyone else to avoid unnecessary, annoying complications. They kept talking until the familiar silhouette of Deaton's animal clinic loomed ahead.
When they pushed open the front door and entered the lobby, they found Noah, Stiles, and Scott huddled around the counter, deep in conversation with Deaton.
Noah turned around at the sound of the door opening. "Oh, Jacob! Excellent timing. We were just about to call you."
"What happened this time?" Jacob asked, stepping inside.
Before Noah could utter a word, Deaton's eyes locked onto the woman standing directly behind Jacob. The glass jar the druid was holding slipped right through his fingers, shattering into pieces against the floor. His face was full of shock, his eyes wide in disbelief.
"T-Talia..." Deaton stammered, his voice cracking. "It... it can't be..."
Talia smiled warmly. "Hello, Alan. You haven't aged a single day since I last saw you."
Deaton took a frantic step forward to hug her, but suddenly hesitated.
The hesitation made Talia chuckle warmly. She stepped in, wrapping her arms around him and initiating the embrace herself.
Jacob leaned down, whispering quietly into Cora's ear. "It seems Deaton had a massive crush on your mom back in the day."
Cora nudged him with her elbow, whispering back. "I don't blame him. She is beautiful."
Jacob nodded sagely. "Indeed. Too bad she's your mother."
Cora turned her head, glaring daggers at him. "Hey! Don't you dare have any ideas about her, you pervert."
Jacob raised his hands defensively, a smirk playing on his lips. "Hey, I won't. I promise."
Talia and Deaton finally broke their embrace, though Deaton still looked entirely bewildered. "How... how are you standing here? How are you alive?"
"I never truly died, Alan," Talia explained gently. "I managed to store my soul inside my claws right before the end, and Jacob helped me transfer it into a new body." She paused, taking a deep breath as she looked around the clinic, her tone instantly sharpening. "We can chat about that later, but first—what is going on here? Why do I smell so much fresh blood?"
Deaton's expression turned profoundly grim. "The dogs and cats in the back recovery room... they all violently killed themselves inside their cages this morning."
Jacob looked at the Sheriff. "Is that why you're here, Noah?"
Noah sighed heavily, running a hand over his face. "I came to ask Alan for help because my deputies received four separate reports this morning from local farmers claiming their livestock are actively committing suicide. But we just arrived to find out that the animals here suffered the exact same fate."
"Well, it's either the cannibalistic demon currently lurking in town causing this, or maybe we're dealing with a Darach," Jacob stated calmly.
Deaton frowned. "A Darach?"
Jacob nodded. "I don't know for certain yet, but maybe your sister does."
Deaton's frown deepened. "My sister?"
"Marin is the emissary of Deucalion's Alpha Pack," Jacob revealed. "She was there the night I met Deucalion and his pack at the hospital. I overheard Deucalion telling them to forget about Scott for now, and to focus entirely on Derek and a woman named Julia—the former Emissary of Kali's old pack. You know exactly how Deucalion's members join his ranks, right?"
Deaton nodded slowly, his eyes darkening. "Yes. By slaughtering their own packs."
"Exactly," Jacob said. "So I was thinking... what if that druid, Julia, somehow survived Kali's slaughter, and became a darach to gather power and take her revenge on Deucalion and his pack?"
Scott raised his hand, looking completely lost. "Uh, what exactly is a Darach?"
Stiles said, "An evil druid, Scott! Think human sacrifices, dark magic, pure evil!"
Talia's expression turned serious. "If Julia is really a Darach, then we have to hunt her down and get rid of her as soon as possible."
"Why?" Noah asked.
Jacob looked at him. "Human sacrifices, Noah. Didn't you hear a single word Stiles just said? She's going to start killing innocent people to fuel her magic."
"Right," Noah groaned, pulling out his notepad. He let out a ragged sigh. "Does anyone happen to know this Julia's full name? I'll search for her."
Talia shook her head. "I don't know it."
Noah shifted his gaze to Deaton, but Deaton simply shook his head. "Me neither."
Stiles snapped his fingers, looking at Jacob. "Wait, Jacob, can't you just use that magical compass of yours to find her?"
"It probably won't work, but let's see," Jacob said. He took Jack Sparrow's compass from his pocket dimension and tried to find Julia. It didn't work. He thought of her other name—Jennifer Blake—but the compass still didn't work.
Jacob let out a soft sigh, putting the compass back into his pocket dimension. "Just as I thought. It didn't work. The compass can't find creatures or objects if they are concealed by a barrier—like a Mountain Ash barrier."
"I see," Stiles muttered, throwing his hands up. "Well, since there's nothing we can do to hunt down an evil druid right now, how about we go shop for school supplies?"
Jacob chuckled, turning his attention to Talia. "You stay here and catch up with Deaton first. I'll come back to pick you up and take you over to Serendell later this afternoon."
Talia nodded. "Alright."
Jacob then turned to Cora, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "The girls are going shopping this afternoon. You should join them. Cogman will give you a bank card with five million on it. You can use it however you want, and if you ever need more, just let me know. As for enrolling you in the high school, Cogman will handle all the paperwork for that too."
Cora's eyes widened. "Five million? Jay, that's too much money."
Jacob winked at her, a playful smirk on his lips. "I'm super rich, love. Use the money however you want. I'm not telling you to intentionally waste it, but if you see something you like, don't hesitate to buy it."
A bright smile broke across Cora's face. "Thanks. I promise I won't waste it."
"Alright," Jacob said, clapping his hands together. "I'm going to head out and do some shopping with Stiles and my son."
Cora giggled. "Go ahead, have fun. I'll stay here with Mom."
Scott glared at Jacob. "Don't call me your son!" Then, a mischievous smirk crept onto his face as he glanced toward Talia. "But... I will call you 'father' if you make Derek your son. His mother is beautiful too."
Jacob let out a dramatic, wistful sigh. "I want to, believe me. But I can't."
Derek instantly panicked. But instead of daring to threaten Jacob, he immediately turned a stern gaze onto his younger sister. "Cora, your husband's stepson is a terrible influence. You need to tell Jacob to keep that kid far away from him."
Cora narrowed her eyes dangerously, looking from Jacob over to a suddenly sweating Scott. "I think I'll just have Cogman deal with you later, Scott."
Scott panicked. "Wait, no! Don't do that! I was just joking, I swear! I know Jacob would never actually go after the mother of one of his wives. Please don't tell Cogman! That guy is a psychopath!"
Cora crossed her arms, her tone dropping into a strict warning. "Then never give Jay any bad ideas ever again."
"I won't! I promise!" Scott blurted out, holding his hands up in surrender.
Stiles cracked up, leaning against the counter as he chuckled. "Man, I really wanted to see Rocket Man go through the exact same existential crisis as Scott. But Derek is apparently smarter than Scott; he didn't even bother telling Jacob to stay away from his mom, he just went straight to his sister instead."
Cora raised an eyebrow, looking at her brother. "Rocket Man?"
Stiles's smile turned completely mischievous. "Oh, you see, your brother was hurt badly one day and was right on the verge of dying. And in order to heal him, Jacob had to give him—"
Before Stiles could utter another word, Derek moved like a lightning bolt. He clamped his hand over Stiles's mouth, cutting off his speech into a muffled grunt, and began dragging him backward out the front door. He glanced back at Cora. "It's nothing! Just something stupid you don't need to worry about at all!"
Scott followed them outside.
Jacob chuckled, turning back to Cora. "Alright, I'll come get you and Talia later." He leaned in, kissing her goodbye, before stepping out of the clinic.
Outside, he found Derek pressing Stiles up against the side of the jeep, glaring daggers into his eyes. "If you ever dare tell my mother or my sister about that incident, I will literally end you, Stiles."
Stiles smiled, entirely unfazed. "Please, I'm not scared of you, Rocket Man."
Jacob smirked, leaning against the hood of the car. "Actually, Stiles, you really should be. Derek is my brother-in-law now. Do you honestly think I'm going to let him stay weak?"
Stiles froze, his sarcastic confidence instantly evaporating. "Shit. I completely forgot about that." He immediately forced a bright, compliant smile toward Derek. "Don't worry, buddy! I was just messing around. I am never, ever telling them. My lips are sealed."
Derek slowly let go, relaxing his posture, but Jacob just shook his head in amusement. "I wouldn't trust Stiles if I were you, Derek. He doesn't know how to shut his mouth. He will definitely tell Cora why he call you Rocket Man. If he doesn't say it today, he'll let it slip another day."
Derek's eyes narrowed slightly. "If he does, then he'll just have to face the consequences."
Jacob smiled. "He doesn't care about consequences. He gets beaten up almost every single day by one of us, and he still hasn't learned to keep his mouth shut."
With a laugh, Jacob opened the door of the jeep and slid into the back seat. "Let's go."
Scott hopped into the passenger seat while Stiles climbed behind the wheel. Suddenly, Derek slid right into the back seat, sitting directly next to Jacob.
Stiles adjusted his rearview mirror, staring back at Derek in total confusion. "Uh... what exactly do you think you're doing?"
Derek crossed his arms, staring straight ahead. "I have nothing to do today. So, I'm going with you guys."
Stiles shrugged, cranking the engine to life. "Suit yourself." He shifted the jeep into drive and pulled away from the curb, heading down the street toward the shopping district.