Disclaimer: MTV etc owns Teen Wolf. I do not own it, nor do I make any profit off of this story. Please just read and review and enjoy!

Author's note: In this Alternate Universe, at the end of season 2/beginning of season 3 Erica is saved by Lydia's beginning Banshee powers and the other's werewolf abilities, though they sadly were not in time to save Boyd (you gotta have some death in the Teen Wolf world, after all). Also, once Jackson became a full werewolf he didn't leave, but he and Lydia could never really recover their relationship after his time as the Kanima.

"Angry Ex-girlfriends and Stupid Schemes"

Lydia was really annoyed. Like, seriously pissed off. She didn't ask for much from the werewolves of their town, but when she did, she expected those requests to be followed through. So why, on Christmas Eve, was her one request nowhere to be found? This was the one furious thought that had Lydia driving over to Derek's place when she should be preparing for her night off.

"Derek! Scott! One of you get your ass out here, right now!"

Derek strolled out, looking somewhere between annoyed and amused by Lydia, "Lydia. Always a pleasure to see you. I especially enjoy that you are getting good use out of the "in case of emergencies" key to my loft that you badgered me into giving you. Scott just left a little while ago to do some more training with some of the others of the pack. What can I help you with?"

Lydia rolled her eyes, "You can help me, Derek, by explaining to me why I am going to be spending Christmas Eve and Day alone again this year?"

Derek sighed, rubbed his temples, and spoke slowly, as if to a child, "Lydia, you know I wouldn't have done this if I could've helped it, but with the threat that Gerard poses—"

Lydia cut him off, "Gerard always poses a threat! He has since he came into our lives three years ago! I get that he freakishly popped up again out of nowhere and we're all on edge, but how does that translate into not even being able to take off one night to relax?"

"Lydia, you know the rules. Scott is an Alpha now, we follow him, and when he makes a judgment call that we need to train some more, especially with the newbies, we all have to listen, even the werewolves I turned. So why don't you go yell at him about it for awhile?"

Lydia huffed, and spun on her heel, "Ugh! You know damn well I would, Derek, except I thought he would still be here getting ready to leave with you. Fine, I'll head to Deaton's, since I assume that's where they're preparing to leave from, and I'll deal with you later. But you are so not off the hook for this, Derek. Just because you're not Alpha anymore doesn't mean I don't know that Scott still consults you on pretty much all of his decisions. You'll rue the day you fucked with my Christmas plans."

Derek raised his eyebrows but before he could even question Lydia, she went on, "Oh like I couldn't find some way to send Jackson off on some long-term trip, very far away from you and that shower you two were obviously sharing before you came out here. You two are not subtle in the least with the sex eyes you give each other at pack meetings, everyone can smell you on each other, and Jackson and I dated for years. You think I don't know what his boxers look like, or that he has a propensity for tossing them over the backs of chairs? Thankfully, he and his horrid cleanliness issues are your problem now, but make no mistake – and I know you can hear this too Jackson – screw with my relationship again and I will not hesitate to screw with yours."

With that, Lydia Martin, and her wrath, whipped out the door. Derek breathed a sigh of relief, at least for now, and turned to head back into the shower with Jackson that Lydia had definitely interrupted. Whew, that relationship sure hasn't improved her vocabulary or temperament any. Not that I'm really one to talk. Poor Scott, he never does see these things coming until it's too late. Oh well, it's his turn to take the brunt of the wrath of Lydia Martin. I've got my hot, wet boyfriend to get back to.

That was the last clear thought Derek had for awhile, as Jackson grabbed his arm and yanked him into the shower, clothes and all, grumbling about angry ex-girlfriends and stupid schemes.

Anyone who heard the door to the vet's office slam open would have thought that a werewolf or someone with equal supernatural strength had thrown it against the wall in his or her fury. Though Lydia was indeed a Banshee, there did not appear to be any additional strength in that department, from what they had tested. However, in her rage, the young woman didn't seem to care about that fact, and Deaton would definitely need to think about replacing his door soon.

Allison was the first one up from her place behind the counter where she, Scott, Stiles, and Isaac appeared to be talking about something in great detail.

"Lydia…We know you're mad, but before you freak out—"

"What, you want me to wait until I scream for the soul of everyone I love? Because this is a completely idiotic plan, and you would know that, if you had even bothered to consult me on it before going ahead with it without thinking it through at all!"

Scott spoke up, "But it was your plan, Lydia."

Stiles made cutting gestures across his throat and Isaac apparently thought it was best if he found the ceiling really interesting.

Lydia looked like she was about to blow a gasket. "My plan involved forethought. My plan involved timing. My plan involved weeks and weeks of meticulous surveying! In what possible way does this even remotely resemble my plan?!"

Scott looked really terrified, and glanced at first to Allison for support, whose expression basically said, "You got into this mess, you're an Alpha, defend yourself and get out of it on your own, hon." He then looked to his friends for guidance, but their faces basically said, "Not on your life are we getting into the middle of this!" Finally, Scott squared his shoulders and turned back to face Lydia.

"Your plan involved going somewhere remote to stake out and do some overnight reconnaissance on Gerard to get a handle on his overall plan, so we could be ahead of him for once. That is what we are doing." He almost managed to cover up the gulp at the end of his sentence.

After a long pause, and a lot of silence, Lydia finally spoke up again. "Call it off."

Stiles finally jumped in at this point, "Lydia, darling," she glared, "uh, we can't."

Lydia glowered harder than ever, "Why the hell not?"

"Because…the plan has already been set in motion." Stiles cringed, waiting for the blow, whether verbal or physical (he was never sure when one or the other would occur, so he was always prepared). Lydia had been getting more violent in the last few months – which he totally blamed on her relationship, not that he would ever say that out loud, for fear of reprisal from her, her significant other, or his for that matter. Damn, these werewolves sure do bring out all of our darker and more violent sides don't they? Of course, the sex sure does make up for the quick tempers everyone – even we human mates – seem to be prone to on occasion, doesn't it, Stiles my man?

"What do you mean 'already been set in motion?'" Lydia sounded like she might very well personally cause the damage that would set her Banshee scream off in the next few minutes if they were not very careful with their words.

Scott finally stepped in once more, since really this was his job, as the Alpha of the pack and the one who made this decision officially, "I sent two people on ahead to get the cabin we will be using set up, and to make sure the area is safe and secure. There's no reception up there, so we won't be able to abort until we meet up with them."

Lydia hung her head in defeat. It was just too much to hope for that she could get a nice, quiet, supernatural-free Christmas. She knew the answer before she even asked the question, "Let me guess: Cora and Erica?"

Scott simply nodded.

Lydia shook her head, spun around, and shouted over her shoulder, "Lets go, Stiles!"

Stiles leaped to follow her but shouted out after her, "What? Where are we going?"

"You are driving me up to that cabin, because you know how to get there and I am not risking my nice car."

"Lydia, you can't just go to some random, creepy, dangerous cabin on a whim!"

"Like hell I can't! My girlfriend decided to do just that instead of spending the holiday with me, which makes her both insane, and in really deep shit. So hurry up! The sooner we get there, the sooner I can start yelling at her."

Stiles raced out the door before Lydia decided it would be a good idea to try to drive his car.

Lydia smacked Stiles' hand as he fiddled with the dial of the radio again, "Stiles! Stop that this instant or so help me God I will make you pull over and I will drive us the rest of the way."

"But then I would have both hands free and I would have all my attention free to switch stations constantly. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Lydia simply rolled her eyes and huffed as she sat back in jeep's seat, trying to get comfortable once more. She sighed, "How far away is this cabin again? It feels like we've been driving for quite awhile."

Stiles glanced at Lydia out of the corner of his eye and laughed, "Lydia, we've only been on the road for like half an hour. The cabin is about an hour away, so not much longer now, but I thought you always prided yourself on your patience and poise. It was second to that whole 'pretending to be a dumb blonde'-thing you had going on for so many years."

Lydia glared and ground out between her teeth, "First of all, I have red hair, so it was never a 'blonde'-thing, thank you very much. Second, not all blondes are dumb, as we both know, and I'd be careful who you say that around if you know what I mean, and third…"

Lydia's voice had trailed off and as Stiles glanced over at her once more he could see that she had a slightly troubled look on her face.

"What? Why'd you stop? What's third?"

"Stiles, have you noticed that you're quicker to anger than you used to be?" Lydia asked him in a quiet, thoughtful voice. They had clearly moved past joking territory and into one of the few times when he and his former high school crush spoke about serious matters.

Stiles nodded his head, for once not dodging the direct question, "Actually, I was just thinking about this when you stormed in earlier. Seems like all of us who are connected to werewolves in some form or another are a little quicker to the draw than we used to be. I mean, you were always one for the verbal swipe, but I've seen you grab a few pack members by the shirts or cuff someone in the arm, which is way more physical than you used to be. I'd say for me it's more that I get more defend-y than I used to be. Where I used to defend only with jokes and smiles, now I think a little more about what a situation might need, maybe talk a little less, and when I do get angry, it comes out in much stronger bursts."

Lydia sat silently for a few minutes, seeming to take in Stiles' words. Finally, she spoke, "At first, I thought it had something to do with my Banshee heritage, but all the research I did kept coming up empty on that front. However, the more I looked into it, the clearer it's become: those who mate with werewolves usually end up…blending their personalities. At least, somewhat."

Stiles scrunched his eyebrows together in concentration, "Blending? Like, taking over?"

Lydia shook her head, "No, not taking over. More like…intense learning from one another, but on a more subconscious level. Let's take the longest example we know of this kind of relationship: Scott and Allison. Allison is more 'fight it out', Scott is more 'talk it out', but if you notice the last few months or so they have started to look to each other before any pack related decisions are made. Remember in the last meeting, Scott actually wanted to go in a bit guns, or arrows, blazing, and Allison was the one to talk him down. From what I've read, and from what I feel, the bond is designed for both werewolf-werewolf and werewolf-human – or in my case werewolf-Banshee – to build stronger, more long-lasting packs."

"How so? What if one person who is prone to making not well thought out decisions gets together with another? Couldn't that cause chaos? Especially in a superpowered group like a werewolf pack?"

Lydia furrowed her own brow in thought, then went on, "No, think about it: even the pairing of Derek and Jackson has actually worked for the better. Derek kept making poor decisions because he was alone and frustrated, and the same goes for Jackson. I mean, that's even why he became the Kanima. However, once they found one another, Jackson's confidence came to the forefront, and Derek became much more comfortable with simply being a part of pack, and not having to control it all. They became the very family they were looking for, and pack unity followed almost unintentionally. The idea behind the bond is instinctual, like the very wolves that werewolves stem from. Mate for life, build the bonds and the pack only grows, with emotions sharing, blending, and strengthening everyone."

Stiles' jaw was open in shock. He couldn't speak for a few minutes, but when he finally found the words, they came out in a choked gasp, "H-How long have you been thinking about this? How long have you been looking into this, Lydia?"

Lydia smiled slowly, "Oh, Stiles, you think I didn't notice my own emotions changing? Please. I lost the luxury of being naïve about my own body the day I was attacked on a football field and came out immune. I never want to find myself unintentionally waking the dead again due to ignorance, even if Peter did play me to get that result. So, when I started to feel out of control, I researched Banshees, which as I said got me nowhere fast. Seeing as my relationship was the next big change in my life, I decided that was the only other route to follow, and voila."

"Does your other half know about this? Because I sure as hell want to tell mine."

Lydia sighed, "I'll be telling her as soon as we get a quiet moment at the cabin. You can tell whoever you want, but I was going to present my complete findings at the next pack meeting. I have a whole presentation planned."

Stiles laughed out loud, breaking some of the tension in the car, "Let it never be said that Lydia Martin is unprepared. Why aren't you more freaked out about this?"

Lydia looked out the front windshield as Stiles pulled into the long driveway leading up to a darkened cabin. There was a softer smile on her face now as she said, "Because it's her. Why would I need to freak out?"

"Yeah, I guess all these things happen for a reason, huh?" As Stiles parked the car and Lydia moved to get out, Stiles lightly grasped her arm, "Hey, Lydia?"

She looked back at him, his high school dream, and he realized that that's all it truly was anymore: a dream. Reality was so much better. They were both so much happier now. "I'm happy for you. Really. Both of you. You deserve to be happy."

Now the smile on Lydia's face was truly special, because in all his dreams and fantasies about her, this was the true Lydia Martin. The girl who saw him for who he really was, and loved him all the more, a best friend who'd been through hell with him and was thankfully still here to talk about it, "Thank you, Stiles. You deserve that too, and I couldn't be happier for you." She shook her head and stiffened her shoulders, "Now, let's go inside and kick our girlfriends' asses."

No, there truly is no one like Lydia Martin. Especially when she's on a mission.

Erica cringed when she heard the car door slam and Lydia shout, "Erica Reyes, get your hot ass out here right now, or so help me you are going to be sleeping on the couch for a month!"

"Damn, she knows she could blow out our werewolf hearing like that, right?" Cora asked, though laughter laced her voice.

Erica shook her head, trying to get rid of the ringing noise, "No, if she really wanted to hurt our ears, she'd break out the Banshee scream."

Cora raised her eyebrows in, either impressed or shocked, "She can do that on command? I thought someone had to die for that to work?"

Erica headed to the door before her girlfriend got any more pissed at her for delaying the inevitable, "Usually, and it does still happen that way, but she's been working to think about those emotions and how she feels when it happens, and screaming at will. It takes a lot out of her, but you never know when we might need it, so it's a good last resort, especially if I'm not nearby for some reason. Every werewolf within about 5-10 miles can hear it when she screams as it is, so it works as a good distress call in emergencies."

"5-10 miles? Jesus, now I'm really glad she didn't use that right now."

Cora said that just as the door opened, and Lydia responded, "Yes, well, I'm working on my strength and range as well, so it is almost 10-15 miles now. You're definitely lucky I'm not in the mood to ruin my vocal cords tonight."

Erica stepped onto the porch and looked down at Lydia, who did not look at all pleased. Stiles was behind her and he waved, "Hey Erica, how's it going? Having fun out here in the dark with my girl? What, werewolves have such great eyesight you guys decided to forego lighting altogether?"

Cora shook her head at her boyfriend's antics, "Stiles, it's called a stakeout for a reason. Though with the way Lydia was hollering I'm sure the entire mountain knows we're here now."

Erica shrugged her shoulders and smiled, "Hey babe, have a nice drive up?"

Lydia looked about ready to blow a gasket. She tightened her fists at her sides and took a couple of deep breaths. Everyone could tell that they did little to help her calm down, "Do not 'Hey babe' me, Erica. Do you have any idea how dangerous and stupidly idiotic this plan is? Now, I want you to get back into whatever transportation you took to get up here with Cora, and follow us back down this mountain right now, before I really do decide to use my Banshee scream."

"Ooh, still using my name, huh? I always know you're really pissed at me when you don't call me Rey. But, at the risk of inciting more of your wrath, I really can't do that, babe."

Now Lydia really did look like she was about to scream, supernatural or otherwise was yet to be seen, "Why the fuck not!"

Erica smiled at the evidence that once again her bad mouth was rubbing off on her girlfriend of six months, "Well, because Stiles has to drive Cora back down in his Jeep so they can celebrate Christmas Eve together, and you and I can have this awesome, empty, remote cabin all to ourselves for the week."

With those words, Cora flicked the switch on the porch and the entire cabin lit up in Christmas lights. They had spent the entire day covering the roof and porch in the rainbow lights, and Erica had to admit, it looked pretty awesome.

Lydia looked like she was going to faint. Straight up. In fact, Erica jumped off the porch and rushed over to her at werewolf-speed and wrapped her arms around her, bracing her just in case.

"Babe, you okay? You're not going to pass out on me, are you? Is it too much? I can take the lights down if you think it's too tacky—"

Lydia cut off her nervous rambling (which she hadn't done since before she turned, but come on, this was Lydia Martin she was trying to impress) with a passionate kiss. The kiss went on for so long, in fact, that Stiles had to cough a couple of times to try to get their attention. When that didn't work, he had Cora physically pull them apart. Erica was pretty sure that both she and Lydia growled at being interrupted.

Stiles just shook his head, "Sorry about that guys, especially with what we talked about earlier Lydia, but Cora and I really should be going. Erica's plan never included us staying for longer than it took to let you know what was going on and for me to pick Cora up."

Lydia shook off the heady dizziness that always seemed to accompany kissing, holding, or really just being anywhere near Erica. She looked first at the blonde, and then at her two other friends, and actually gaped at them all, "Wait, so this was a set up from the beginning? And you were all in on it?"

Stiles nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yeah. When Erica heard that you wanted at least two days of supernatural-disaster-free time around Christmas, just the two of you, she decided that she wanted to go the extra mile and plan a surprise for you. She got us all in on it, because if we weren't…"

Cora laughed, "Something would have gone wrong."

Stiles agreed, "Exactly."

Erica continued the story, wrapping her arms tighter around Lydia, "You once told me that you had to plan all of your dates with Jackson, and sure you meant it as a joke wondering who planned any of the dates for him and Derek, but I realized that with all this crazy that we've dealt with since you first helped rescue me from the Alpha pack, since we first got together, since Gerard is back and Peter is off doing whatever evil thing it is that he does, we haven't really had a second to breathe. So, I went to Scott and Allison and asked for a week off, Christmas Eve to New Years."

Lydia gaped at her, "They just gave us the time?"

"First off, we are under express orders that if anything supernaturally evil does occur, we are to get off our asses – and this mountain – and help them out. Hence those handy-dandy SAT phones that Argent gave us all, which seem to ignore all rules of reception. Second, we've all be through the wringer, babe. Everyone else is planning on trying for the same down time as well. When New Years rolls around, we'll all meet up at the cabin and celebrate together, as a pack."

"But how did you get everyone to agree? They had to know that I would be pissed at anyone involved in this."

"Oh, that part was easy. See, if I planned something simple like 'hey, lets you and me go to a cabin for a week' you know something would come up to fuck it all up. We all agreed that the better plan was I let you plan your two days, and then we have Derek and Scott pretend to do what they do best: screw the pooch. Then, you're not surprised, you go to Derek's, then fly off the handle with Scott, and make Stiles drive you up here, because god knows you would never drive your car into unknown, dirty territory. That way, Cora helps me decorate, and she has a ride back with Stiles."

Lydia is silent for a long time. When she finally speaks, she's looking deep into Erica's eyes, but talking to Stiles, "Stiles, you remember what we talked about before?"

He quirks his eyebrow and glances at Cora, who looks a little confused, "Yeah?"

"Well, I'm about to embrace my inner werewolf and show my mate how impressed I am with manipulation and scheming by dragging her into that cabin, ripping off all her clothes, and fucking her into the floor. You and Cora might want to get in your jeep right now and drive away as fast as possible, or she is definitely going to hear things packmates shouldn't hear, if they can help it."

Erica's eyebrows were in her hairline by the end of Lydia's speech, at both what she was saying and how low her voice became, and she could see (and smell) that Lydia was holding onto control by a very thin thread. "Cora, I'd say you really are going to want to leave. Now."

Cora didn't need to be told twice, and at Stile's furious nodding (though a small, very male part of his brain was calling him an idiot and telling him to stay and watch the action) she grabbed his hand and they booked it to his jeep.

One part of Erica's brain was listening to Stiles in the car, explaining to Cora that as soon as they were farther down the mountain he would let Cora know why Lydia seemed so unhinged and out of control, but most of her was focused on the look of desire that was burning in her lover's eyes.

"Babe, not that I don't appreciate this side of you, but when did you stop caring if we had an audience? Or who you told about our sex life?"

Lydia stalked, yes stalked, forward towards Erica, and she found herself backing up, towards the cabin stairs, "Do you remember that research I was doing on werewolf pairs?" Lydia was speaking to her, but Erica could also tell that she was mostly focused on getting Erica exactly where she wanted her.

Erica nodded, getting hotter by the second, "Yeah, you wanted to figure out if we could be 'rubbing off' on each other, or something?"

Lydia nodded distractedly, "The answer is yes, we are. Stiles and I talked about it on the way up here. I'm going to present it to the pack at the next meeting. But I only mention it now, because I finally figured it out."

Erica gulped, Lydia had managed to push her up the stairs and into the door of the cabin, "Figured what out?"

"We're sharing emotions, blending, because we're not just girlfriends. It happened with Scott and Allison, and it happens with most werewolf pairings if they are together long enough. Do you want to know what we are, Rey?" Lydia was licking her lips and her breath brushed across the blonde's lips, making Erica moan and try to lean in for a kiss.

Lydia pulled back, and Erica growled, but could see that she wasn't going to get anything from Lydia until she answered the question. Besides, she really was dying to know what was driving her girlfriend into such a passionate, werewolf-esque state, "What are we, babe?" she whispered, lacing her fingers into the red curls that fell in waves down Lydia's back. God, I love her hair.

Lydia pulled back and the most beautiful smile Erica had ever seen appeared on her face. She cupped Erica's cheek and whispered back, "I said it earlier, and that's when it really clicked for me. We're mates. You're mine. I'm yours. We're each others. Blended. See?" At this, she threaded the fingers of their other hands together and pushed them against the door, uniting them not just emotionally, but physically as well.

Erica gasped a little. She looked deep into the eyes of the girl she loved and pulled her in for a deep, bruising kiss. She wanted to say all those words back to Lydia, and more, because she could feel them, all of them, deep inside. It had only been six months and yet somehow she felt like this one woman knew her better than anyone else. She pulled back and tried to speak, but Lydia put her fingers to her lips. She smiled.

"I know, Rey. I can feel it."

Erica sighed, grabbed Lydia's hand, and opened the door to the cabin. Sometimes there were moments for words, and sometimes it was easier to just show each other. Lydia had words, Erica had this. With that, she flicked on a switch inside and the cabin lit up with white Christmas lights all around. She had put a tree in the corner, and it had rainbow lights that added a dash of color, but everything else was white. Lydia looked like she was going to cry, and Erica squeezed her hand gently, telling her in a subtle way that she'd be right back. Lydia nodded and kept looking around.

Erica grabbed the lighter and started to light all the candles littered around the room. As she did, she answered Lydia's unasked question, "The cabin was actually in my family for years, but we stopped coming up here when the seizures got too bad for me to do much outside. When I got the bite, I came up here and started fixing it up again, and on my birthday I asked my parents if I could have the deed put completely in my name. They don't use it anymore, and were glad I showed some interest in something pre-seizures as well as, well…something that seemed like I was still their daughter, somewhere inside I guess. Anyway, I thought it would be the perfect gift for us, and it is a great place for pack meetings when we can all travel, since it is far enough out of town that no one would think to look for us here." She paused. "Do you like it?"

Lydia stood amid the lights and the candles, her hair and eyes shining, and she smiled with the sweet joy that she only ever really showed with Erica, just as Erica only ever showed this side of herself – this softer side – with her, "I love it. Thank you for sharing this with me. It's an amazing gift."

Erica reached out for Lydia, and as the passion rose once again between them she finally found the words that she often struggled to say, "I love you, Lydia. My mate."

Lydia smiled again and pulled Erica towards the couch (they could head towards the bedroom upstairs later). Here they were, two women who should be so gun-shy about love due to a life-time of rejection and bad associations related to that word, and yet they had somehow found one another during one supernatural war after another. Fate must have a twisted sense of humor.

"And I love you. But: enough serious talk for tonight. I think I mentioned something outside about tearing your clothes off and having my way with you?"

Erica threw back her head and laughed as Lydia pushed her down into a sitting position on the couch, "Actually, I'm pretty sure you said you wanted to 'fuck me into floor.'"

Lydia huffed, and straddled Erica's lap, "Well, we'll just have to start with the couch and work our way around to the floor. A lady likes a little bit of cushion sometimes."

Erica joked back, "Lady? Do you see any ladies here?"

Lydia tugged on her hair and pulled Erica in for a fierce kiss, biting her lip almost hard enough to bleed (benefits of being immune: no worry in this relationship about accidental turning during rough sex), "I'll show you how much of a lady I'm really not, Rey. Just try to hold on to something."

Grabbing her ass, Erica smirked evilly, "Oh, I'll hold onto something all right."

Lydia grabbed Erica's hands and slid them up to her hips, "As much as I love your hands there, Rey, if you keep digging your nails into my ass, this won't last nearly as long as I would like it to."

Erica cocked her eyebrow at her mate, "What, am I just too much for you too handle tonight, babe?"

"Let's just say that this bond we have had seriously lessened my inhibitions, and you know that my ass is one of my triggers."

Erica's smirk only widened, "So…what you're saying is that I could do this…" with that she whisked her hands back down to Lydia's ass and dug her fingers in deep, not using her nails. Yet. "and all those nerves of yours that normally amp up would only jump up even more?"

Lydia moaned – loudly – and gasped out, "Yes, by about ten times, at least."

"Well, I think we need to research this, babe. I mean, I know how you feel about making sure you've studied a situation from every angle to truly understand it. So, I think we need to up the odds a little to see just how sensitive your body has gotten. What do you think?"

Before Lydia could even begin to clear her mind enough to form a protest (Erica's fingers were still kneading her ass throughout this entire conversation, after all), Erica slid her hands up under the short deep green dress that Lydia had worn this evening. The deep chuckle she released let Lydia know that Erica was pleased to discover that she was wearing a thong, and Lydia really couldn't disagree when she felt Erica's fingers and nails dig into her ass once more.

"Lydia? You didn't answer me, baby girl."

Lydia hissed and glared down into Erica's eyes, which were glowing werewolf yellow. Lydia was pretty sure that hers would be doing the same if they had the power to, and she was sure her girlfriend could see the fire burning within them.

"Erica. Honey. I think that we both know this 'research' is really just your own version of teasing me."

Erica couldn't help it, she just had to lean up and nibble on the lower lip that Lydia's pout was producing, "Mmm, but it's not teasing if I promise to follow through, is it?"

Before the red head could answer, Erica dug her nails in hard enough to draw a little blood, and thrust Lydia's hips down into her own pelvis. Lydia moaned and threw her head back, and that gave Erica the opening she was looking for. She latched onto her mate's neck with her lips and bit down lightly, just the way she knew Lydia loved. With a few additional well timed thrusts of her hips up into Lydia, with her nails digging in just right into her ass, and Lydia had to almost bite through her own lip to control the level of her moans as she came, much quicker than she expected.

"No babe, don't do that, I want to hear you." Erica whispered, tilting her head down with one of her hands and looking deep into her eyes.

"Mmm…God…Rey…so good…I just…didn't want to…accidentally burst your eardrums there." Lydia gasped out, resting her forehead against Erica's, catching her breath.

Erica simply kissed Lydia and laughed softly, "Babe, I don't think in the state that you're in mid-ecstasy that you could even build up the kinda power you'd need for a Banshee scream. And trust me, any other scream or noise you want to throw out I will gladly sacrifice my ears for."

Lydia nodded her head and leaned forward, running her tongue along Erica's ear, then biting down sharply, making Erica moan and thrust her hips up involuntarily.

"I think you tested out my increased sensitivity quite thoroughly, Rey. Note to both of us: I may be immune to a werewolf bite, but apparently when I am bonded to one I get hyper-sexual."

"Or at least when you're bonded to this werewolf, in all her hyper-sexualize glory."

Lydia got a contemplative look on her face, and she slowly started to slide off of Erica's lap. Erica tried to hold her, but the look she got in return told her there would be hell to pay if she didn't release her hold, so she gave in. There were some battles you just had to lose to Lydia, or there would be no peace in their relationship. Erica was fine with that: it was a price she had to pay for such a hot, smart mate.

"I agree. I obviously am so sensitive and sexually charged – at least in part – because of you, so I think that it's only fair if we test this 'research' on you as well, wouldn't you say?" Lydia said all of this while getting on her knees between Erica's legs.

Erica would normally have some sort of quick come-back for Lydia, but the sight of her girlfriend on her knees (and Lydia Martin only went into a position of submission for people she truly trusted) and slowly sliding the black leather skirt she wore up her thighs? Pretty much left Erica Reyes speechless and breathless.

"I do love that you decided to wear this highly impractical for kicking-ass, but oh-so-hot leather skirt tonight, baby. I know you chose it because I can't take my eyes off your ass in it, so thank you for that Christmas present as well." Lydia was nothing if not an amazing multi-tasker. She's managed to get the skirt all the way up around Erica's hips and her thong all the way down her legs without the blonde even realizing it. Sometimes I swear she must have werewolf speed in her somewhere.

"Now, I want you to sit back and enjoy this, Rey, because this was the best Christmas present – best present in general – that anyone had ever given me, and I know that this is just one of many ways that I want to show you my appreciation."

Lydia didn't even give Erica time to respond, she simply spread Erica's thighs, leaned in, and ran her tongue along her clit. Erica arched her back, and as she did Lydia thrust two fingers deep inside her, which made Erica cry out in pleasure.

"Fuck, Lydia!"

Lydia chuckled around her clit, sending vibrations straight through her core, and twisted her fingers upwards, running them along her g-spot and causing Erica to moan even louder, and grip the couch cushions, claws coming out and tearing into them a little. She feared if she gripped the back of Lydia's head, there would be much more than a little blood play involved, and that was so not what she was looking for right now.

Lydia loved making Erica come unhinged, and watching her rip into furniture really was only the beginning of the experience. As she flicked her tongue back and forth over her mate's clit, she waited for the sign from her lover that she needed more.

The noises Erica were making started to get really desperate, "Babe…Lyd…please…I need…" finally, she lifted one of her hands and carefully laced it through Lydia's hair, long werewolf claws very lightly and carefully scraping along her scalp in a pleading gesture.

Lydia lifted her head and smiled a Cheshire-cat smile of victory, "That's what I was looking for, Rey." She then thrust one more finger inside the blonde and curled them up sharply. Erica slid her hand down and wrapped it around Lydia's neck, pulling her mate up for a kiss.

As Lydia continued to thrust, her palm grazed over Erica's clit and Erica pulled back from their kiss to arch her back and moan, "Fuck…me…Lydia!"

Lydia slid her hand out and wrapped her arms around her trembling mate, as Erica slowly came back to earth. She peppered soft kisses along Lydia's neck, and paused to drop a longer kiss along the spot on where her shoulder and her neck met. They both know that is where Peter tried to tear out her throat, and if not for her Banshee nature she would either have a vicious scar there or most likely be dead.

Erica clung even tighter to Lydia, and the other girl held her close. Once Erica fully recovered, she lifted Lydia just enough to slide her skirt down, then in one smooth motion she stood, carrying the red head in her arms.

"Where are you taking me, woman?" Lydia was smiling despite the bite in her words.

Erica shrugged and headed towards the stairs, "I've had enough of the couch for now, babe. I heard something about a lady requiring a bed?"

Lydia's laughter continued all the way up the stairs and into the bedroom, which did indeed have a king sized bed built for a lady…or ladies.

Additional author's note: If only this could have actually happened in the show! Please read and review, let me know what you think.