Chapter 1:

The bare feet crunched through the undergrowth of the forest floor as the figure fled in through the sanctuary of the trees.

Derek stretched out on the couch, very pleased that he had finally listened to his pack. He needed a comfortable place to rest whether that would be to heal major injuries or simply relax after a full day of training and this was perfect. Cool leather against his feverish skin was a blessed relief after a sun-soaked day working on the outside of his family house. Another pack suggestion that had finally sunk through the fog of twisted memories and anxiety-provoking guilt.

The pack had begun to align themselves as family within him. It was true that he had always felt a kinship with Scott and, through the bite, he had 'children' of his own however it was only since the Alpha Pack complete annihilation that Derek had begun the terrifying task of breaking down his barriers.

"Damn," he muttered, as the invisible strings connecting each member tightened between him and his pack on their return home. Derek knew that his Alpha fuelled command for them to run the 10 miles around the property, forty times, was unfair yet he could not stand them 'helping'. Their touching, tearing and ripping at his home felt like each claw track was penetrating his own flesh until he simply could not allow it any more. He just needed the time to heal his home, heal himself, by himself, and rest the ghosts that lingered on in the smoke and ash tainted structure.

Strong gasping breaths dragged in and out of her parted, dry and split lips; she couldn't judge how long she had been running, the distance she had travelled, never stopping in fear of 'them'. She could still feel them on her trail, every time she felt her body lagging, she held onto that knowledge to keep her feet moving one in front of the other.

They ran in, only stopping once they had reached the lazy, extended form of Derek, and dropped to their knees with their eyes slowly clearing from the haze of command.

"Dick move, Derek. You could have just said you wanted to us to leave," panted out Issac, pulling the breath into his lungs.

Derek's eyebrows and lips mimicked each other, both curving up forming both a bemused and amused expression. He even toyed with barking out a new command to further entertain himself, and perhaps old Derek would have, but he needed his pack around him, close now. He stood, clearing his throat as he moved, "I'm sorry, you have to understand that this has been a very... it's been difficult."

He stood strong, trying not to betray the pain burning deep in his chest as if the flames had reignited around his very wolf. The pack knew, they shared a look between each other before looking back to their Alpha, a brightness returning to each of their eyes as they began to flex further into a crouch before each sprung at him tackling him down into a playful, pack pile of fur, claws, teeth and, from the middle, a warm laugh filled with the joy of family.

She denied the thought that speed through her mind, she had been denying it from her capture to her escape and now, running within these woods, she denied it again. She thought she saw a snatch of something unnatural, a glow from a man-made structure flicked in her view over her horizon. The thought of freedom was enough to eject the word death from her mind alltogether.

It ended quickly, too quickly for Derek but the threat he felt, smelt, rippled through his body like a crashing wave was too much and his only thought was to react by throwing his pack members of his body. Each landed with a thud and a growl but not at their Alpha. They too felt the threat magnified due to their proximity to each other, heightening their already heightened senses.

A new word began to form in her mind, a word that was almost more terrifying than death. She pushed her limbs to work harder, faster, the word pounding in her head in time with her pace.

"To the east," growled Scott through extended fangs. "One scent, easy to round up but.."

"Too close to home and certainly our kin," interjected Boyd, his own features contoured by the wolf inside.

Derek's frame grew more imposing as he allowed his wolf to surge through him, his red eyes glowed with fire as he called out orders before the pack exited the house into the surrounding forest. As ordered by their Alpha and using each members specific talent, the pack moved. Issac swiftly circled around the property's boundary to close in on the figure from behind, Derek paced for a frontal assault, with Scott approaching from the right and Boyd left.

Hope, hope, hope, hope, hope, hope. The word strengthened with each beat of her feet drumming the earth as she began to identify the structure, it was someone's home. Home was safety. Home was warm. Home was... the scent she snatched from the air was none of these things. The scent was surrounding her, binding her, terrifying her and replacing the word once more with 'death'.

Once their positions were appropriately placed, they moved as one. Their pack tightening as if a net had been cast upon the running, stumbling figure until they surrounded her.

She stopped, her glowing blue eyes, bright, focussed at all yet none of them. Each of the pack could smell the blood before they saw it yet, as the clouds cleared to allow the beams of the moon through, they saw the marks which covered her.

No part of her form had been spared what appeared to be a vicious attack, her face displayed three angry, deep and bleeding slices through the soft flesh of her cheek. The chunk torn from her right shoulder had begun to heal yet it continued to ooze from the damage, her right arm was obviously broken as it lolled at an odd angle even as she had it pulled tight into her side. Her dress hardly existed with the slashes through it however what was left was covered in dirt, grime, excrement and blood. Her feet were covered in the same and also included twigs, thorns and other forest detritus.

The pack remained alert but did not approach further after Derek had raised his hand to still them. Uncertain of the reaction of this girl, he took the duty of approaching and assessing threat. Her eyes did not leave his as he moved forward, pulling her left arm forward she moved into a crouch whilst unleashing a snarl from her lips and the claws from her fingertips. The pack murmured with concern but again Derek raised his hand to still them as he himself stopped his movement forward.

"Fuck," he whispered, "she's no threat to us but she thinks we are to her. Everyone back off... slowly! If she believes she needs to, she will attack to defend herself so everyone just back the fuck off."

Slowly, still with whines caught in their throats, the pack members moved slowly out of attack stance to defence before pacing backwards, keeping their attention on the two figures in the centre. Derek breathed softly as he pushed his wolf back, returning to his human features, with the hope of removing the fear and threat the pack may cause her. He knew that one more attack, even if no harm befell her, would most likely kill her; she was presenting as a frightened, wounded animal which was exactly what she was at this moment.

He showed her his palms, the fingers claw free, before he softly moved one foot forward purposefully but without malice, constantly watching for a reaction. When none came he continued with his other foot, repeating the same movement but this time added mutterings with words of comfort such as family, help, care, pack and any other words that he had, in secret, used as a mantra if the world became just a little too much.

He managed to get three steps away from her, feeling hopeful that she would relax and her wolf would understand that no threat was present enough to return some of her humanity. Almost as if her wolf had heard and understood this, it was too late for her human side. As her eyes dulled, her body seemed to tremor, then spasm and, before Derek could react, she hit the cold ground of the forest floor.