For the most part, the next few days passed without incident. Tyler had allowed her aunt to help her put all the new clothes away, and even let her drag her back to the stores to get more of what Aunt Ellen referred to as 'appropriate social attire.'

"Oh, that looks darling!" Ellen shouted as her niece stepped into the kitchen before school. Tyler had pulled on the oversized cable knit sweater and brown corduroys that her aunt had almost sprinted out of the store with in her excitement to show her niece. Tyler smiled and tucked a lock of brown hair that had fallen from her bun behind her ear.

Ellen had also picked up several books for Tyler to read within the next two weeks. Her aunt had told her to take notes on all of them, and Tyler had groaned at that. She didn't exactly need more work. But she took the books and kept them on her desk, reading them when she got the chance.

That was what she was doing now, sitting in the cafeteria. She'd finished her lunch, and hadn't wanted to relocate. By the time she'd have found a quiet spot to read, it would be time to go to her next class. Tyler was halfway finished with the second book, but she couldn't concentrate. Not with the whispers she was hearing through the buzz of the cafeteria when she'd slipped off her headphones. The voices cut through the noise as if those they belonged to were sitting right next to her in a quiet room.

"Should we talk to her about it?" That was Isaac.

"Not yet. We still don't really know anything about her. We don't even know if she really doesn't remember what happened. And it's not like she didn't want to attack us; you could see it in her eyes. She just knew she was outnumbered. I bet if it was just one of us there, she would've ripped us apart."

"Scott, are you serious?" That was Stiles. "Just give her the benefit of the doubt. It's not like when Peter bit you, you remembered what you did at first. You woke up in the middle of the woods in your underwear. Just go and talk to her."

Tyler nearly laughed out loud, but quickly transitioned into a yawn. She couldn't help but feel a little anxious; she figured they were talking about her, but she couldn't be entirely certain. Not that they were likely talking about anyone else. It was true that she didn't remember anything about the night before, but that was normal to her by now. Every month on the night of the full moon, she would have no memory; she didn't even remember going to bed. From what she was hearing, it seemed like at least one of them had similar problems. Maybe she would work up the courage to ask one of them about it. Tyler smiled to herself and turned the page, scanning the chart that was set into the text.

"Stiles, what are you doing?" She heard Scott mutter. Before she had time to process, the chair opposite her jerked as it was scraped across the floor, and Stiles sank into the seat. The girl, surprised, snapped the book closed and stuffed it under the table. She didn't want anyone to see what she was reading, least of all one of the boys who seemed so suspicious of her.

"Can I help you?" she said, raising an eyebrow. As much as she wanted to make friends here, right now she wanted some peace and quiet to read her books. She wanted to be left alone. But Stiles smiled at her, locking eyes. He didn't seem like he'd be leaving any time soon.

"Oh, well, you know, just wanted to see how the new girl was settling in." Tyler sat in stunned silence. That wasn't the type of question she was expecting. "A lot of people don't really adjust that quickly to moving to a new town." Stiles leaned closer and Tyler felt her muscles tense. He smelled like crappy cafeteria food and human, not the same strange scent as his friends. She felt her ears twitch back, but the boy didn't seem to notice. "Have you had any trouble sleeping?"

She felt a prick of irritation. "You came to ask me about my sleeping habits?"

Stiles shrugged, "Hey, it's like I said. Some people have a hard time adjusting to a new town, a new school, things like that. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Tyler felt herself relax a bit. She knew that wasn't why he'd come over, but after everything she'd been through it was nice that someone at least pretended to care.

"I sleep just fine. And the people here ignore me for the most part, which is refreshing. In Cape Hatteras, I felt like a bug under a magnifying glass with everyone always staring at me."

"Why would they do that?" Tyler could hear genuine curiosity in his voice, and she felt herself tense again. This wasn't something she wanted to talk about with anyone. Ever.

"None of your god damn business." Tyler snapped, and Stiles seemed a bit shocked by her sudden change in demeanor. Before she could apologize or he could respond, Tyler smelled Scott approaching. She looked up at him and scowled. He pulled out the seat beside Stiles and stared at Tyler, suspicion in his eyes. Isaac followed quickly after, sinking into the seat beside her. Her heart started to pound as they surrounded her, and her whole body went tense.

"Call your guard dogs off me, dude," Tyler hissed.

That was the wrong thing to say. Scott locked eyes with her. Clearly, something about her comment had unnerved him. "So you do remember."

"Remember what?" she retorted. "There's nothing to remember."

"We saw you the other night. In the woods."

Tyler felt her heart stop. They'd seen her. She felt her anger and fear bubbling up and dug her fingers into the table. Her eyes flashed green and she felt her claws extend, leaving crescent moon-shaped divots in the table.

"You listen to me, and you listen good, boys." She said, venom dripping from her voice. They seemed shocked by just how quickly she became aggressive. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but I want you to leave me alone. From now on, don't talk to me, don't think about me, don't even look at me unless you want me to rip out your throat. Stay the hell away" With that, Tyler shot up from her seat, stuffed her book in her bag, and stomped out of the cafeteria as fast as she could.

Once she'd entered the hallway, her anger gave way to the fear and panic. Tyler ran to the nearest empty classroom and disappeared inside, leaning against the wall and panting. Her whole body was shaking, and her face and hands went numb.

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit!" she nearly screamed into the dark room. Her chest constricted and she sank to the floor, her head in her hands. They knew. They knew her secret, and she didn't know how they were going to use it against her. Tyler felt her throat tighten and she started to hyperventilate, letting panicked sobs rack her body.

Nothing was going to change.

The boys watched Tyler storm out of the cafeteria and sat in stunned silence. Isaac stared at the door for a moment before looking at his friends.

"I don't think that's how you wanted that to go."

Stiles turned and looked at Scott. "Dude, why'd you do that?"

"I didn't think she'd freak out like that!" he whispered angrily. "But look," he ran a finger over the holes Tyler had left in the table. "Now we know it was definitely her."

"Yeah, but I don't think she remembers what happened. She doesn't have control of the change yet. So she's like, a baby were-cat."

"Scott," Isaac said, tapping his long fingers on the table, "you certainly have a knack for pissing off the ladies."

Scott sighed loudly, running a hand through his hair. "If she doesn't remember, then we could try to help her. We could help her learn to control herself during the full moon."

"Is it the same for Were-cats though?" Stiles asked, looking from Scott to Isaac. "I mean, obviously she changes on the night of the full moon, but we don't know the first thing about cat people. Malia's different. At least Coyotes are pretty closely related to wolves. There's limited enough knowledge on Lycanthropy, but I haven't seen anything on cat people!"

"We're going to have to find out." Scott muttered.

Tyler was running.

Trees and shadows and patches of light all blurred together as she rocketed through the trees. She felt her muscles expand and contract, felt her heart furiously pumping blood through her sleek, feline body, felt her tail twitching behind her.

Were she not so anxious and angry, Tyler would have enjoyed these feelings. But right now, she just needed to run until her legs gave out beneath her. Needed to get away.

She'd skipped the last few classes of the day and ran home. For a while she lay curled up on her bed, shaking and crying. When her anxiety attack passed, she tried to go for a run, but her nervous energy kept triggering her shift. She felt her teeth become fangs and her ears elongate, and the sounds and smells of the forest became sharper. Eventually, she let the change come, and she ran through the woods until well after dark.

These boys had figured out her secret fairly quickly, and if they dug even just a little bit, they would figure out what had driven her from her home. Well, they'd know part of the story. Tyler tried not to let these thoughts get to her. Right now, she needed to calm down, to get some piece of mind, and she knew exactly where she had to go. Tyler felt her claws extend and rip into the ground as she quickly changed direction, shooting through the trees.

When she reached her destination, she stopped and took a deep breath. Tyler closed her eyes and felt her fur and tail receding into her body. She clenched her sharp teeth as she felt her bones pop and shift. Her glowing green eyes scanned the forest as she stood erect. Several small animals that had caught the scent of a predator scurried through the brush, but nothing that she considered a threat seemed to be anywhere nearby. Tyler smiled to herself as her teeth shrank back to a human size, and her eyes faded to a golden brown.

Before her was the lake she'd discovered while exploring the woods that surrounded her aunt's house. It was totally secluded—there were no buildings within a mile, no people to disturb her. This was perfect.

Tyler glanced down at her naked body and frowned. Whenever she completely shifted, she tore her clothes to shreds. Eventually, she would need to find a way around that so she wouldn't ned to keep repurchasing the same running shorts, but today she was too stressed. Her mind had been racing from the second she sprinted out of the school.

Now she needed to relax, and the water before her looked inviting. With a smile, the girl ran up to her bare knees into the lake before diving below the surface. Moonlight filtered through the water and left bright patches in the sandy lake bottom. Tyler grinned and bubbles floated to the surface; the water was so much more clear than back at home. It was beautiful.

Tyler's head broke the surface and she took a deep, calming breath. This was exactly what she needed; time to herself. Time alone. Her arms stretched before her and the girl once again dove below the surface, her long brown hair floating around her.

Nearly an hour later, the girl walked up the sandy lakeside, shaking drops of water from her hair. She giggled to herself as she turned back to the water, admiring the scenery. Tyler inhaled, taking in the scent of the forest.

The girl froze as the scent of a predator filled her nose as well. Her heart raced and she cursed herself for not being more observant. Tyler spun around, searching the trees. It was too late to run now; she could hear whatever it was hunting her as it crashed brazenly through the trees.

Tyler felt her teeth and whiskers grow and her ears shift and point like a cat's. Her eyes glowed green in the darkness, facing the direction she knew the threat would come storming through. Drops of water ran down her body, but she didn't seem to notice. Instincts took over, and she wouldn't go down without a fight.

A few breaths later, Scott McCall shot through the trees and into the clearing.