Hello, guys! This is my very first attempt at fanfiction ever... I hope you like it! I would really, REALLY appreciate reviews and criticism! I'm trying to practice for when I decide to try and write my own book (still trying to come up with ideas). This story will mainly be focused on Chloe&Derek because I LOVE them together, and just finished reading the Darkness Rising books.

This chapter is really short because I'm not 100% sure where I'm going with this, but... Enjoy! (:

The moon hung low in the sky, casting dim shimmers through the trees – tall redwoods, leaving few gaps between the leaves for moonlight. The night was cool, but only uncomfortably so when you were sitting doing nothing. Which is exactly what Chloe was doing.

She was sitting in a nook of a particularly misshapen tree trunk on a bed of dead, dried leaves waiting for Derek to finish scoping out the area, securing their safety. She was beginning to shiver, feeling the cold creep through her fingertips as she picked at the ground. She was anxious. She could feel the corpses of animals everywhere around her. All she could think about was if, like the bats, or those– No. Stop thinking about that. Derek will be back soon, and then you can relax. Stop being such a baby. She sighed, and glanced nervously deeper into the forest.

They had only barely escaped a run-in with the Edison group a few hours ago. Forced to split up, Simon and Tori, and Derek and Chloe, they had quickly agreed upon a rendezvous point before fleeing to safety. Chloe couldn't help worrying that somehow the Edison group had caught up to the others.

Aside from that, she had resurrected a red squirrel to cause as a distraction in order for them to get to safety, much to Derek's grief. In doing so, she accidentally resurrected the entire family of squirrels, which in turn caused her strife – and it was just summing up to a really bad night.

Suddenly she heard a twig snap somewhere in the brush to her right. Her head snapped in that direction, fully alert. It was times like this where Chloe envied Derek for his enhanced werewolf senses. Her breath caught, and she unconsciously held it in until it stung and realized that she hadn't exhaled. Did I – Did I raise something in my panic? Just by thinking? Have my powers really grown that strong? No, I couldn't have. I couldn't ha-

The brush rustled, and out stepped two giant black paws. Normally this would petrify any other person, but to Chloe it came with the sweetest and strongest wave of relief. "Derek," she breathed. His eyes glowed with worry at the anxiety clearly released with the mention of his name.

"I'm okay. Just…" She looked around as she rose slowly to her feet. She shrugged. "Did you find anyone?"

He nuzzled her hand before giving her a curt shake of the head. No.

He looked into her eyes again, the worry still blatantly staring her in the face. She ran her hands through his thick fur, wrapping her arms around his neck and shivered into the warmth of his body. She stayed like that for a long time, until Derek uttered a small whimper. What's wrong?

"Nothing, really." She paused. "Well, except for our current situation. I keep thinking about whether or not Simon got away with Tori; if they're safe." Derek broke away from the embrace and looked at her suspiciously. What else? She looked at him blankly before sighing. "And… it's the forest; there are so many… animals…" She let her voice trail off, figuring he could fill in the blanks. He did.

He let out a rough huff of air and nuzzled her back into the nook of the tree. Just relax. You'll be okay. And I'm here if you do anything stupid. He looked up at her, with strong faith and just a slight twinge of amusement. He then lay down behind her, curled up against the concave curve of the trunk. He grabbed the back of her sweatshirt between his jaws and tugged her towards him. They lay together in a lulling silence until Chloe fell fast asleep, comforted by the steady drum of Derek's heart, and the heat radiating off of his body.