Chapter 2:

The pacing was driving Derek insane, he had already sent Boyd on the mission of finding Cora, Allison and Lydia at the cinema off ninth and Issac to the vets with the vain hope that Deacon might still be there because of his work or that he had experienced some world shift that expressed the need for his skills.

Now it was Scott, pacing, pacing left, pacing right. He understood that this must have been difficult for any of the pack seeing the weak broken figure twitching on the ground. It has sent Derek back to his mantra before he could bear to touch her, scoop her up and carry her back to his home. The girl did not stop twitching, cries of agony and fear ripped through her. It was if she was experiencing a nightmare yet this was in fact her reality and Derek could definitely relate to that. Whatever the trauma she had gone through was one that would scar her mentally, if not physically, for life... if she survives.

"...consider the safety of the pack! What the hell did that to her?" Scott's words were slowly leaching back into Derek's ears. "Hunters, Alphas, Mythical Beasts that always seem to rival us?"

"I don't know," spat Derek.

He had hoped to examine her wounds on their return home however she had come round just as he was lowering her onto his sisters' (new) bed, locking eyes with him before her howl emotionally tore the each members in two. He had felt so sick, he almost dropped her. Her wretched howl was awful but it was the waves thrumming off her body that almost made him drop her. The tightness around his throat was unbearable but he managed to lie her down snatching is arms back quickly and retreating.

He had been glad when she fell unconscious again but more for her sake than his own. He had finally realised what had happened to her. Not the who, but the what and the why had now become clear as crystal. This did nothing but cause the next roll of nausea to force him to rush from the room and promptly vomit into a paint bucket he thankfully had left in the hallway earlier.

Boyd rushed in with Cora on his flank to the left, just a few moments later Lydia and Allison entered, the latter curling into Scott immediately.

"I can smell her from a mile away, Derek." Cora informed him. "You should take first patrol of the grounds then join me upstairs with her. Scott, you take second followed then by Boyd and once Issac is back he can take first light." Derek, usually prepared for Cora's 'orders' and to discount them as if they had never been spoken aloud, simply nodded his agreement and slipped out of the front door.

Cora took point towards her own bedroom, she was led by familiarity however, if she had not known her way, the disturbing whines would have easily led her. She too had an instinct as to what had happened to this unknown girl, even just from what Boyd had chance to tell her. The signs were clear.

She gulped a deep breath of air before slowly opening the door to bedroom and announced her presence, including her name and her gender, before entering and closing the door behind her.

The figure of the girl was horrible to see, she seemed to writhe and judder with the fever of healing and the torture of nightmares. As slid over the covers of the bed, Cora could see the unmistakable marks of non-consensual sex, the girl had been raped and, by the old – half healed – new marks, it was obvious this had happened on frequent occasions possibly over the last few days, weeks or even months.

"I'm so sorry," Cora whispered to the contorting figure. "I'm so very sorry. I don't even know you but I know all too well the pain of this. I'm here, please come back to us, we can help. I can help you!"

Cora's voice had weakened as she spoke, not through the memories scratching at her psyche to be let free, but because of the distress it had caused her brother after he had discovered her own battered body. She used his words, 'come back, come back to me', as that was her anchor to fight the surge of darkness that was consuming her. It appeared that some pure families had instilled a motto within their sons and this was that pure breed females had a price to pay. Children. Whether they wanted them or not.

The click of the door opening reminded her that she was supposed to be on alert but the scent was known and the touch on her shoulder was her peace. Derek sighed, "I'm sorry if this hurts you Cora. I just, I needed someone who understood, someone who … wasn't a threat to her."

"Someone female, you mean," clarified Cora, she smiled warmly at her brother, taking his hand and resting it against her cheek. "You were, are and will continue to be my peace, Derek. I'll do what I can for her but it's you that will see her through."

She moved his hand from her cheek as the girl began to buck against a new wave of nightmares; the grip of the assault she manifested in her dreams was obvious to the siblings protecting her. She growled, groaned and whimpered whilst the evil event locked itself in her head. Cora pulled his hand from her own face, squeezing his hand for a brief moment before releasing it and turned to watch the figure seizing from the horror.

Derek's fingers twitched towards the sleeping figure, slowly and steadily inching their way through air to come to rest upon the girls furrowed brow, Derek breathed softly focussing all his calming energy into and draw the pain out of her mind. Within seconds however she had begun to calm into a disturbed yet restful sleep. Derek continued by pressing his whole palm on her forehead to ease as much of the pain he could reach, as the crawling black essence began to creep through his veins up his shoulders. He would have stayed like that, pulling out her pain and exhausting himself in the process, if Cora hadn't have slowly eased his hand from the girls' head and helped him to the door; after pecking him on the cheek, she closed the door with a firm click.