Skin Deep

A Teen Wolf fan fiction

Her wolf pulled underneath her flesh, the skin feeling as if it would rip literally apart. She was hungry- her beloved la loba- and she would not be denied. It was time to feed.

Enjoy.

Derek drove up to the gas pump, stepping out of his Camaro and pulling out his credit card. He started to fill up the tank, leaning against the side of the black car with his hands shoved in his pockets.

Things had been relatively quiet since he had become the Alpha, the packless leader waiting on Scott to come around. The former Beta had decided that the Argent girl- no matter how dangerous she was- was where all of his energy would be put. He chuckled humorlessly as he thought of the lovesick teenager, knowing that women were some of the most dangerous things known to man.

After all, the only person he had ever feared- one who had nearly taken his life- was a woman.

The storm that had been building all day finally broke, the resulting downpour almost deafening. Derek glared up at the clouds, thinking of the tint he had just had replaced on the windows and rolling his eyes.

In the shadows, something lurked, green-blue eyes flashing up at the catch of an all-too familiar scent.

"Shit…"

Derek's claws lengthened, his hand curling into his fists as his eyes swept the area surrounding the nearly empty gas station. His ears flicked of their own accord as he heard the sound of a racing heartbeat and the snapping of twigs muffled by the insistent pounding of the storm overhead, snarling lowly. Again, his eyes flickered from tree to tree as he inhaled deeply, that purely female scent so distinctive… so alluring. Derek knew that she was much too close for comfort and growled, but she did not emerge from the trees.

His eyes glowed red and Derek took a step towards the trees, "Maia!"

The crouching woman wondered, half-amused, as to why he simply didn't come after her. She knew if he wanted to, that Derek could rip her throat out- freeing himself of her presence once and for all. But surely, he wouldn't, knowing that she wouldn't have come after him if it weren't for a good reason. His own curiosity was keeping him from killing her- and because they both knew that he would never be free of the memories… of the past.

"Mai," Derek roared, listening for the slightest of movements as his hackles rose.

As an Alpha, he was more than confident that he was stronger and faster than she would ever be, issuing the challenge with a rolling growl. Derek knew that she couldn't resist, being who she was and undoubtedly wanting to fight.

And he was not disappointed, Maia stepping out of the trees and walking towards the brightly lit area where Derek was standing.

Her face was distorted, but Derek recognized the woman at once- it was her wolf clawing towards the surface that had changed her so. He let out a sigh, seeing all too clear that she had not handled shape shifting well and that her control was tenuous at best. She was barefoot, her feet caked in mud and her hair full of leaves. The female had been hunting Derek for months and finally she had found him, smiling coldly. "Do you know how long I have been… searching for you Derek? Tracking down leads and running after you?" Maia took another step towards him and he fought the urge to retreat, unable to take his eyes off of her body as it moved in the slow, undulating rhythm that he remember perfectly. The primal instinct within him was raging, but Derek struggled to control it, forcing himself to focus.

He could not afford losing his head at a time like this.

"Hello Maia," Derek said simply, seeing her hazel eyes glow and fill her face.

She didn't respond immediately, her eyes searching his. Derek knew that she found no tangible weakness there- whatever he had felt for her died a long time ago- and then her full lips parted as she looked at him almost longingly, "Why?" Maia's voice as quiet but demanding, her bottom lip quivering in her rage.

"I had to come back."

"Why," she shouted suddenly, her anger flaring. "Give me a good reason- one- why I shouldn't kill you!"

The tension wavered between them and Derek turned, opening himself up to attack but knowing that she wouldn't go for his back, the Alpha pulling the gas hose from his car. He was quiet for a long moment before looking back at the store, sighing, "I don't want to do this here Mai… in fact, I don't want to do this at all. And I know that you really don't want to fight me, not when you love me."

Maia scoffed out a laugh, Derek's eyes flashing down to where her nails lengthened and turned into talons, painted blood red.

"I did love you," Maia said, the man before her stepping back as her eyes turned red. "Once."

She knew that it was dangerous fighting Derek- a fully grown, Alpha male who was the very one who had inflicted the curse upon her and nearly killed her in the process, but pounced anyway, baring her teeth at him. Derek immediately went into survival mode, realizing belatedly that his absence in her life had forced her into become an Alpha; still, he was thankful that she was without a pack because that in itself made him stronger than her.

Derek grabbed her around the neck, attempting to wrestle her to the ground before she threw an elbow back, catching him in the ribs. The force was so massive that he felt every bone on the left side of his ribcage snap, the pain from the almost instantaneous healing bringing him to his knees. Maia snarled as memories pulled in the back of her mind of a time when she had been in that very same position, defenseless and vulnerable, on her knees before him. She brought her knee up underneath his chin, the resounding crack satisfying. Derek reached up and shoved the broken bones together in the approximation of normalcy to allow them to heal- if it didn't set right, he'd just break them again later- and grabbed Maia around the hips, moving to bring her down before stilling in his movements.

They had been like this before, Derek kneeling with his hands on her rounded hips as her belly swelled in front of him, a smile on both of their faces.

He panted as he raised a trembling hand to her stomach, remembering when his child had grown within her, remembering his cub's faint heartbeat. Maia dropped her fist and Derek pressed his fingers to the taut muscles underneath her silken shirt, knowing that his mind had returned to a time in which things were much more simple.

They had been happy. Once.

"You asked me why," Derek spoke harshly, standing with some difficulty. "And it was him."

Maia felt sick and clutched her stomach, feeling all of the fight go out of her. They stood silent for a long time before Derek reached out to touch her arm, pushing her lightly towards the car.

"Come on, before someone sees us," he said, seeing her hesitate.

"I don't trust you."

He sighed and scratched his stubble, clutching his car keys until he thought they would break in his grasp, "You don't have to trust me Mai- hell, I don't trust you- but you're exhausted and you're soaked and by the way, I'm really not supposed to be out in the community for long periods of time. So let's go. Get in the damn car."

Maia glared at him, scraping the mud off of her feet and sliding into the passenger seat with her muscular arms folded across her buxom chest. Derek threw the car into drive and sped off into the darkness, his eyes drifting more than once to the woman that would probably bring more trouble than what Derek was willing to tackle.

She half-smiled and stared out of the window at the trees blurring by, knowing that things had changed- and that Derek would pay for what he did.