He really should be better at handling this by now. And with some people, maybe he would be. People disappear all the time, but this is different. Saffron was pack, and as such she owned a little piece of Derek's heart. It feels like she took it with her when she left, like she ripped it right out of his chest.

Maybe he should be handling it better. He should go look for Church and the kids, but he gets the feeling that they're gone too. Selfish and pathetic as it may be, Derek needs this moment to process everything, and to grieve.

He howls until his lungs ache, and he's curled in on himself in the grass, hidden under the shade of a tree, when he hears Barry. For a moment, Derek feels a sharp stab of fear. If each of his pack has a tiny piece of Derek's heart, Barry holds the rest. If he ever disappears, would his heart even keep beating?

Derek lifts his head and howls again, more of a whimper this time, to alert Barry of his presence. He had thought he wanted to be alone to grieve, but now he realizes that doesn't extend to Barry. He isn't sure there would ever be a day when he would choose his own company over Barry's.

Once Barry steps into the clearing, Derek whines and drops his head into the dying grass, ears drooping miserably.