Chloe

January 14

11:44PM

"Chloe, Baby, wake up." Derek's voice cut through the thin veil of sleep that surrounded my mind. I glanced at the clock. 11:44, I had only been asleep a half-hour or so, but he looked horrible, sweat drenched and shaking.

I immediately yanked the covers aside and stood up, already dressed in jeans and a sweater. Derek paced by the door until I shoved my feet into my Ugg boots. Then he pulled me into his arms and jumped from my second story window so we wouldn't wake anyone up. I buried my face in his bare, fevered chest as we fell.

Without pausing he broke into a rhythmic sprint; we must have crossed miles, but his heart, so close to my ear, kept a steady beat even as his muscles rippled and twisted in his contorting frame.

I didn't lift my head until he began to slow and we reached the clearing he had prepared when we first arrived at the house. It was fitted with a sleeping bag, blankets and enough food to feed an army- or one very hungry werewolf.

Ignoring his writhing muscles, Derek carefully placed me on the sleeping bag and wrapped me in a blanket before ridding himself of his pants.

Lauren would kill us if she knew I saw him naked, I thought arbitrarily as I laid my palm against his sweat soaked, jumping flesh. In reality seeing Derek in the nude directly before and after his change was breathtaking and made me blush, but really had nothing to do at all with sex.

Somehow though, I didn't think Lauren (or Tori, for that matter) would see the difference.

Derek changed relatively quickly now, his body used to the transformation, he no longer needed me there to keep him sane, but more, I believed, because of how intimate it was and how much of a ritual it had become for us.

As often as I'd seen it, his transformation still made my pulse race and bile rise, not because it disgusted me, but because it caused him pain and that was never easy for me to watch.

Mere minutes after his body began jerking and convulsing uncontrollably, he lay still and trembling beneath my hand in his wolf form.

He shakily stretched his head around and licked my hand once. I grinned, recognizing his first sign that he wanted to play.

I tried to spring up suddenly and surprise him but, as per usual, I fell flat on my ass. I lay in the snow for a moment, my eyes tight shut and my cheeks feeling red enough to melt the surrounding snow into a puddle.

I heard Derek huff and felt his hot breath on my face and rolled over to hide my humiliation. He chuffed and his cold, wet nose found the back of my neck, underneath my jacket and covered by my hair.

"Derek!" I shrieked, trying to get to my feet with some semblance of grace.

He skittered backwards, tail wiggling above his head. "Time to play, huh?" I asked, crouching down, eyeing him warily as he crept back, his weight on his toes.

I lunged for him, but landed on my face, fingers inches away from his paw. "Cheater," I complained, rolling onto my back and forcing myself to relax, fingers tingling as he inched forward, taking the bait.

He jumped back an instant before I reached for him, causing my fingers to just barely graze his fur. I crowed with triumph, before turning and sprinting deeper into the woods, fleeing the wolf behind me, who didn't like being tricked as much as he did chasing me.

We played until shivers began to race down Derek's spine again. I returned to petting him as he whined and clawed the ground as the agonizing change began again. This time it didn't seem to take so long as it used to and I was grateful. I hated to see Derek in pain and I knew he was going to have to change at least once a month and that he needed his wolf form to feel whole.

I was also selfish enough to be glad that he could change quickly if the Edison Group ever found us again.

I averted my eyes as the change rendered him back to a naked human. I blinked tiredly as he came back over to me, sweaty and shirtless. "Sleep, Chloe," he rumbled as he lifted me up in his arms.

I drifted on the run home, soothed by the beat of Derek's heart and the rhythmic pounding of his feet on the moss. I drowsily noticed him opening the door of my room and him gently wrapping me in my blankets. I definitely noticed him pressing his lips to my forehead.

"Goodnight, Chloe." He said softly, creeping toward the door.

"Night, Derek." I yawned, enjoying the rare smile that traced its way across his face.