So, um... yeah, I have absolutely no idea where half of this came from. The other half came from a mixture of trying to figure out exactly how werewolf society works (given that pretty much all we know about it is that they are ferociously loyal), how Tyler will fit in, and the scene in Bad Moon Rising where Tyler tells Mason to stop attacking Stefan and Caroline.

I own nothing but a really really old Mac. Go ask L.J. Smith, Kevin Williamson, and Julie Plec if you want the rights to The Vampire Diaries.

Spoilers: End of Crying Wolf.

"You think you're in full control? You're wrong. Your wolf's woken up, and he's going to be affecting your judgement on everything now. You already know about the aggression when you feel threatened- that's your wolf in action. Sorry Tyler, but your temper's about to get even worse, and you need to learn how to control it."

"And how do I do that?" he asked

"With these."

Tyler looked at the books that Jules had tossed him and raised an eyebrow. "Meditation, yoga, Tai Chi... You're kidding, right?"

Jules didn't look like she was. "Read them. Learn them. We'll see which works best for you after you do that."

Tyler really didn't like the smile she gave him with that sentence. Somehow he had the feeling that finding out would involve a lot of her deliberately making him mad, and his ass hitting the floor when he'd had enough.

He'd been right.

"Again," Jules ordered after dumping him to the ground once again.

Tyler spit some blood out- his lip had split again, and healed nearly instantly- and stood up. "This isn't working," he growled.

"Again," she repeated calmly. "You're not seeing what you need to see. You're still looking at each fight like a human. That's why I keep winning."

"Show me," he ordered as he dropped into the half-crouch that had somehow become his preferred fighting stance. Jules gave him a toothy grin and mirrored him.

Tyler hadn't noticed how Jules followed his orders, not yet. He still didn't fully understand how this society that he'd been introduced to so suddenly worked.

"I've never met someone this strong who's this new, Stevie," Tyler heard Jules say one night when he was coming back to the thirtieth motel room they'd shared since they'd left Mystic Falls from one of his long walks. Jules was used to him taking off late at night and not coming back until nearly dawn. He stopped where he stood, thoughts of Caroline immediately chased away by his curiosity about what Jules was talking about.

Very faintly, he heard the man on the other end of the line ask, "Have you told him?"

"No," Jules said immediately. "He's not even eighteen. How am I supposed to tell him he's a natural alpha, and a stronger one than I am at that?"

A twig cracked under Tyler's boot as he shifted slightly, and Jules quickly hung up. "I thought we agreed, no more secrets," he said, his voice almost calm as he tried to hold onto his temper. His wolf was having none of that, and judging by the slight fear on Jules' face, it was making his eyes flare the amber color that they turned on the full moon. He closed them to concentrate on beating his wolf back and silencing its calls for Jules' blood.

"I'm sorry," Jules whimpered, eyes immediately going to the floor as she slid out of her chair to kneel in front of him. His wolf calmed down slightly at her submission, but Tyler's own anger mounted.

"Explain," he nearly growled after a moment, fists clenched by his sides as he fought to keep himself under control.

She flinched at his order as if he'd actually hit her. "I'm sorry," she whimpered again before the words began to spill out of her.

Jules didn't move from her submissive position on the floor, eyes on the carpet in front of her knees, until Tyler told her she could.

He was alpha.

He didn't submit unless he was made to, and that was a hard enough battle that he accepted that outcome on the rare occasion it happened.

By the time he went back to Mystic Falls, it had only happened twice in nearly fifty battles for dominance.

Tyler stood on her doorstep, remembering the last time he was here. Last time, he had no idea what he'd been getting himself into. Last time, he thought he'd have to go it alone.

This time, everything was different.

He knocked on the door once, twice. It barely creaked when it opened, even to his sensitive ears.

"Tyler," she breathed, one hand reaching out to touch his arm like she wasn't sure if he was really there or not.

He smiled, ignoring how his wolf let out a contented whine at the sound of her voice. "Hi, Care."

Her beaming smile and hug made everything that had happened in the last few months more than worth it.