Just to be the biggest tease on the planet I'll let you guys in on a little secret... ready? I'm almost done with the story. And no it's not four chapters long, it's pushing 24 right now, maybe longer. I'm releasing it a little at a time so I can get your feedback and tweak and edit what needs tweaking and editing. For those of you who are general Kelley Armstrong fans and not just fans of the Darkest Powers series, I think you'll like some characters who make an appearance later on! Okay, no more hints! Enjoy!

Chapter 3

When Derek finally caught his breath he took the water bottle and rinsed his mouth out, spitting the water away from us.

"You were close that time, really close, and it didn't seem to take as long." I scooted back to give him room but he didn't get up, I don't think he could have if he tried.

He said something but his throat didn't seem like it was ready for human speech. He cleared it and tried again. "Sorry."

"For what?"

"For… for this."

"For going through some serious shit that you can't help? Yeah you'd better apologize." I said the last with dripping sarcasm.

He ignored me but grabbed my hand, pulling me closer towards him. I felt my breath hitch and had to compose myself when I realized when he was looking at my bracelet. He turned my wrist this way and that, looking over the whole thing carefully. I knew his night vision was as good as my day vision but it still amazed me that he could see anything.

"Clever Chloe, channeling and focus runes. Pretty old but should be effective. Do they work?"

I accepted that he could read ancient necromantic runes, it figured, Derek was way way WAY too smart for his own good. I bet while he was in the library for that first month he had read Necromancia, the electronic version. Probably in one sitting… while solving world hunger and curing cancer. "I haven't really tested them. They seem to, I feel calmer."

"Good." He pushed himself onto his back and rested there. "I just need a few minutes, then we can go back inside."

I pulled the blanket out from under me and tossed it on him. When he looked back at me I shrugged, knowing he would see the gesture. "It's thirty degrees out."

"You know… you really are too nice Chloe." He said it with typical Dereky blandness and I bristled.

"Most people think that that's a good thing."

"Well I'm not most people."

"Then I'll just have to be nice for both of us." I pulled my wrist out of his grasp and crossed my arms defiantly. The defiance factor was considerably lessened by the fact that as soon as I lost contact with his radiating body heat I started shivering.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair tiredly. "Come sit over here, I still feel like I have a fever."

I pretended to ignore him for a whole minute, maybe two, before caving and scooching over. I ended up with my back pressed against his side, trying to make it as not intimate as possible. He WAS warm though, like my own werewolfy campfire.

"Too bad I don't have marshmallows." I grumbled.

"If you say 'because you're so toasty' I'm never taking you seriously again."

That made me giggle and lay back across his stomach, soaking in the heat. I started up guiltily as he shifted under me and glanced at him, remembering that he just had gone two rounds with the wolf trapped in his skin. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause you more discomfort."

My campfire rumbled and it took me a second to realize that he was laughing. "Chloe you are far too light to squash me. I'm not uncomfortable."

I hesitantly lay back across him, looking up at the stars.

After a while Derek broke the silence. "Does it really not bother you? To see that?"

"Of course it bothers me." I answered and put my hand on his when I felt him tense. "Didn't it freak you out when you found me with zombies crawling all over me?"

He relaxed slightly. "I wasn't really thinking about the zombies at the time."

"Yeah right." I snorted, then reflected on what was most interesting to me about that particular situation. "How DID you find me that day?"

"Lyle house isn't very big. When I couldn't find you anywhere I got worried and just followed your scent."

"And you totally took it in stride that I had zombies crawling all over me?" I asked incredulously.

"Well no. But my first priority was calming you down, I thought your heart was going to burst. I could hear it from the entrance to the basement." He opened his hand under mine so my hand rested in his palm.

"Huh. Well I'm glad you found me, you weren't the only one who thought I was going to have a heart attack." I tried to make a joke out of it but there was a shiver in my voice as I remembered that day. "Compared to dragging someone's soul back into their decomposing body… no, your shifting doesn't bother me. Between the two of us I think it's pretty obvious who's the bigger monster."

Derek laughed outright at that. "Let me think. The overgrown hulking teenager or the tiny cute blond? Tough call."

"It's red now." I corrected with a smile before his comment sunk in. Cute? Did he really just saw I was cute?

His fingers lifted some of my hair, fingertips just brushing the curve of my ear. "Oh yeah. The red definitely makes you monster material."

"B-b-better b-believe it." The combination of his fingers in my hair and calling me cute kicked my stutter into high gear.

He quickly dropped his hand and muttered, "Sorry."

I took several calming breaths, trying to get my heart to stop pounding. "I didn't mind. That was kind of the problem."

For a super genius it took him an astoundingly long time to figure out what I meant. Without saying anything he raised his hand to my hair and tugged gently on a strand. "I made you stutter?"

I blushed so hard I was sure my cheeks actually glowed and turned away from him. Unfortunately this meant I was facing his neither regions, which was even worse. "I'm n-not like T-Tori." I had to take a few more breaths. "It wasn't like guys were climbing over themselves to talk to me at my old school."

I thought I heard Derek say "idiots" under his breath but I wasn't sure as at that moment I heard footsteps in the leaves.

I bolted upright, knowing that lying on top of a mostly naked man was hard to explain, blanket or no blanket. I wasn't sure but it felt like Derek squeezed my hand briefly before letting go, but as he grabbed his pants and sweatshirt I decided I must have imagined it.

"Hey? Are you guys still out here?" Simon hissed, walking blindly right past the clearing, obviously he'd had a hard time finding us. I wondered how he found us earlier and decided he must have super sneakily followed us. Or just not sneakily followed us when Derek, being distracted by his change, was lacking in the bionic senses department.

"Yeah. Over here." Derek answered after he pulled on his pants.

I was folding the blanket when Simon stumbled up to us. "There you are, jeez woods are hard to navigate at night, don't know how you do it bro."

"I can see in the dark." Derek dead-panned.

"Figure of speech big guy, Chloe? You ok? He didn't eat you or anything?" Simon's face was shadowed and while his tone was light I couldn't read his expression.

"Well yeah, but a handy woodsman came by and chopped open his stomach with an axe."

"I take it you left your grandmother behind then?"

I laughed and tucked the blanket back in my bag, letting Derek keep the water bottle and holding the wet bandanna separate. We started back to the house, Simon joking around and Derek brooding. I returned Simon's banter as best I could but I was tired.

When we got there a light was on in the kitchen. I shifted uncomfortably as I saw Andrew leaning against the table, watching the back door. Derek brushed the top of my head with his hand in a reassuring gesture, one that anyone would use on their little sister.

"Hey Andrew." Simon greeted cheerfully as we walked in.

"Hello Simon, Derek, Chloe. Out for a midnight stroll?" He said it casually but I still felt like I had been caught doing something I shouldn't have.

"Derek's the whiz kid when it comes to astrology, it was such a nice night we thought a little star-gazing would be fun." Simon grinned and slapped Andrew on the back as he went to the fruit bowl and picked out an apple.

I glanced back and found Derek hanging back in the doorway, his face in shadow. I breathed a small sigh of relief, his skin would be a dead give-away that he'd been shifting. I made a small "stay put" gesture behind my back, hoping he would notice.

Andrew looked relieved and seemed to accept this explanation, turning to head to the hallway. I couldn't help but wonder what he'd thought we were doing. "You guys should run that stuff by me first ok? Remember that a lot of powerful people are looking for all of us."

"Yes sir mon cap-i-tan!" Simon saluted and Andrew finally cracked a smile and rolled his eyes. "Get to bed you three, before you all give me a headache."

"What's a midnight stroll without a midnight snack?" Simon asked with a wink. "I'll make sure everyone is tucked in right after that though."

"You do that." Andrew waved, said goodnight and walked down the hall.

I waited until I heard his door close before moving out the path of the doorway to let Derek in the kitchen. He looked at me questioningly but Simon's exclamation of surprise drew his attention. Simon had finally noticed the effect that shifting had on Derek and stared at him open-mouthed.

"Simon close your mouth when you chew your food." I told him while Derek flushed under this new scrutiny.

"Man I want an order of whatever you're taking!" Simon choked out when he finally managed to swallow.

Derek's body was already starting to fight his humanity again, his fur-soft hair had started getting back to its usual lank state but wasn't quite there yet. While Derek asked Simon what the hell he was talking about I got a good look at him for the first time post-shift in good lighting. I could see the boy from the picture in Andrew's house, but barely. He had grown into the jaw that hadn't fit him when he was younger. He had a strong face but his features fit his personality, dark edges and a stubborn mouth that was already dragging into his comfortable scowl. His eyes were what really set him apart, and his jet black hair made those seem even more intensely colored.

"Hey don't get pissed at me." Simon tossed the toaster at Derek who caught it easily in one hand. "Look for yourself."

I decided that Derek was going to need a little time alone to process after he saw his reflection, especially if he came to the same conclusions that I did—and I knew he would. "Night guys, I'm heading up." I turned towards the hallway as I heard a thump, telling me Derek had sat down hard on the bench at the breakfast table.

I stole a glance over my shoulder and I saw Derek watching me leave, instead of looking at his reflection like I had expected. I nearly tripped on the hall carpet and went up the stairs quickly, but not before hearing Simon say quietly, "-she's never cared about how you look bro."