#sbcabin

The rain pelted Derek, soaking his hair as he made his way through the woods. He'd caught Stiles' scent but then it started to rain which always messed up his tracking.

The alpha dialed Stiles' number for the fifth time. A buzzing caught Derek's attention then.

Derek followed the sound carefully.

Dread washed over Derek as he reached the noise only to find Stiles' phone near a tree that smelled heavily of Stiles and copper. Derek's wolf bristled beneath the surface once he spotted the blood on the tree.

With his jaw clenched and his senses on high alert he surveyed the area.

"Stiles?" Derek yelled. He was aware that whatever had hurt Derek very may still be out there but if it was still after the human then Derek could lure it away.

Derek continued to call for Stiles as he attempted to follow the human's scent. Stiles had been careful not to leave an obvious blood trail, but thankfully Derek had a lock on the scent and was worried enough to be able to follow it.

After a little while Derek reached a small abandoned cabin. Derek heard a heartbeat inside and the smell of Stiles was stronger.

"Stiles," Derek rushed to the door only to find it locked.

"Derek?" Stiles' voice was filled with disbelief and relief.

The door opened then and Derek's nose was assaulted by the smell of worry and blood.

"Are you okay, what happened?" Derek asked reaching for Stiles.

The human was holding his side, his shirt was soaked in blood.

"Is it still out there?" Stiles asked worriedly, closing and locking the door back.

"I didn't see anything. What happened?" Derek demanded again, moving Stiles' hand so he could get a better look at his wound.

"The Nymph. I was right, it was staying at the river bend of Caldron's Hallow," Stiles gestured wildly with a bloody hand.

"Why did you go after it alone?" Derek growled.

"You guys didn't believe me," Stiles scoffed at the alpha who was lifting his shirt to see the gash better.

"I surveyed the area," Derek growled again. He had argued with Stiles about this earlier.

"He was masking his scent. I found Meadow Sweet in a bunch of the trees," Stiles explained, no less animated despite the bleeding.

"Meadow Sweet?" Derek frowned. He'd not noticed it before.

"It's undetectable to werewolves. He's smart," Stiles continued.

"It's still out there?" Derek glanced out the window at the rain that was beating down heavily on the little cabin. He needed to text Scott.

"Yeah, I managed to lose him, and I found this place. There's a bunch of weird carvings on the walls and doors. I remember a few of them from one of Deaton's books. Their protection from unwanted guests. You can't come in unless you're human or invited by a human," Stiles explained pointing to a few of the odd carvings engraved into the old wood.

"What happened?" Derek asked again as he pulled some of the pain from Stiles' side as he wiped at the raw cut

"He surprised me. He threw me into a tree. A low hanging limb caught me," Stiles answered in a tone that said he was embarrassed to be admitting it.

"Why would you come out here alone and unprepared?" Derek demanded. He was trying not to fight with Stiles, as he so often did, but he was not happy.

"I thought that if I came out here alone it would sense I was only human and show itself, I was right. Also I didn't come unprepared. I had that," Stiles pointed to a spray bottle on an old rotten table.

"A spray bottle?" Derek raised a brow at the human. Stiles was supposed to be the smart one.

"It's got penny's inside. Copper burns them. So I poured a few penny's into a spray bottle of water," Stiles shrugged.

"Penny's aren't even made of copper anymore, they're copper plated," Derek huffed out, trying to remain calm.

"I made sure to use penny's that were made before nineteen-eighty-two," Stiles rolled his eyes.

"What?"

"Pennies made before nineteen-eighty-two were still ninety-five percent copper. They didn't start using copper plated zinc until eighty-three," Stiles explained simply, "That's how I lost him. I sprayed him in the eyes with my spray bottle and ran."

Derek raised his brows at the human. He was honestly impressed.

"Next time take a werewolf with you, please," Derek asked.

"Next time, believe me when I tell you I know where the nymph is," Stiles retorted with a pout.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you. Next time we'll go together," Derek spoke quietly, avoiding Stiles' eyes.

"Really?" Stiles asked with an eager tone.

"Stiles, this could have been a lot worse. There could have been more than one. You could have been killed," Derek's eyes met Stiles' then.

Stiles' expression was serious when he responded, "You were worried." It wasn't posed as a question.

"Of course I was worried, you're part of my pack. An important part. I...I can't lose you," Derek's eyes fell back to Stiles' gash.

"I'm sorry," Stiles apologized then, "I didn't mean to worry you, I just didn't want anyone else to get hurt. The nymph has already hospitalized three people, one of them being a deputy," Stiles' tone was low as he spoke.

"Just promise me, we go together next time," Derek's eyes met Stiles once again.

Stiles only nodded.

The two didn't break eye contact for a long moment, neither knowing what to say next.

Finally, the sound of a knock on the cabin door caused Derek to look away, "That'll be Scott."

Stiles looked down to see Derek's hand still touching Stiles' skin.

Stiles was used to having his pain pulled, but it was usually Scott who did it, something about Derek doing it left Stiles skin tingling under the alpha's touch. It was strange and relaxing at the same time.

"You'll have to let him in," Derek said before taking his hand away from Stiles' side.

Derek watched as Stiles made his way to the door. He'd been stupid to come out here alone, but he'd been right about the nymph.

"Stiles, are you okay? You're hurt," Scott reached for Stiles' side.

"It's okay, Derek already helped," Stiles gave a small smile to the alpha.

Something in Derek's chest fluttered at the look on Stiles' face. Content? Happiness? It was rare for Stiles and Derek to agree so perhaps it was satisfaction. Whatever it was Derek liked being the cause of it.