Here it is; the moment you've all been waiting for!!! The new chapter!! -woooooooo!!-

I'm back! I had a real good time on my vacation and I got to see some family that I hadn't seen in a good three years. One of them even has a kid (who is the most adorable thing ever, by the way)!

Anyway, thanks for the reviews and sorry for the wait!

Disclaimer: Travis the lawyer: Why do you insist I keep doing this?

Kayka-chan: Because it saves me the pain of having to come up with funny and witty disclaimers when you can just tell them that I don't own it. Besides, people like you.

Travis the lawyer: Right...

Kayka-chan: Well; get on with it!

Travis the lawyer: -sigh- She doesn't own Darkest Powers... yadda yadda...


Foolish

Chapter Seven

----XX----

Oh the pain...the longing
to be touched by you...Kissed by you

----XX----

Derek tilted his head to the side and listened intently. The sound of rain and wind was lesser than it was before. He wanted to get up and check outside, but that would mean waking the sleeper on him. He looked down at Chloe. She was pretty much in the same exact position that she had been when she fell asleep; the only difference was the wet spot of drool on his shirt where her mouth rested.

The air around him smelt damp and musty, it mingled with his own scent and Chloe's. He kept testing it every so often to see if Simon and/or Andrew were looking for them. So far, no one was. It wasn't like he was angry that they weren't trying but he was a bit concerned why no one was looking, that it proved the storm wasn't through with its tantrum.

He froze as Chloe closed her mouth and shifted around, mumbling nonsense quietly. She tucked herself closer to him and went back to sleep. Derek half smiled to himself as he looked forward. She really was too trusting of a person. Naïve even. He feared that one day it would be her end, but until then, he was happy she was like that. You do get awfully tired of people subconsciously avoiding you with every fiber of their being after sixteen years.

He cast a sidelong glance at Chloe again. She was a bit refreshing, not trying to avoid him. She did when they first met but she ignored her instincts and got close to him anyway, to what she may consider to be friends. He chuckled mirthlessly.

If only she knew what the wolf thought of her. Then she would avoid him with more than just every fiber of her being. He didn't plan on it, really. He actually prayed to god that she never found out. The wolf grumbled at this thought, ruining the quiet he had kept for a good half of an hour. Derek scowled, mentally telling the wolf to get lost. The wolf sniffed haughtily and gave a quick suggestion that she looked cold before curling himself up and going to sleep.

Derek sighed in relief and noticed that Chloe did indeed look somewhat chilled. He pulled her closer and hoped that he stayed warm. He wasn't exactly a radiator and his body heat could only last so long before he too was cold.

His eyelids drooped teasingly, tempting him with the sleep that he needed. Derek shook his head fiercely and sat up straighter. Exhaustion slipped its way back into his body, saturating every bone and muscle in his body and making him feel like he weighed a ton and a half. He felt himself sagging down again as he fought to keep himself awake, desperately telling himself he needed to stay alert. Despite his fight, he grew limp and his eyes closed as his head came to rest on top of Chloe's and he rested.

----XX----

Derek was snapped awake from his dreamless sleep by a loud thud. His eyes shot open and he looked around sleepily, confused. The thud sounded again and the wolf let out a warning growl that woke Derek up faster than anything else ever could have. He shot up onto his feet, facing the entrance of the shed, and Chloe yelped in surprise as she slipped over and fell onto her side on the cold floor. She looked around hazily.

"Wazzup?" she mumbled groggily and sat up, looking up at him. Derek glanced back at her and motioned for silence. She fell quiet. He listened intently, sampling the air. The wolf was posed at the ready, the aggression sending every hair on his body standing straight up. He gingerly scented the air. He didn't recognize the scent. The wolf rumbled out a growl that resonated right on through to Derek who let it escape his clenched teeth.

He heard Chloe gasp quietly and the sound of her shoes scraping the sound of the floor as she stood up. Derek looked behind him and saw that she was inching up closer to him. She stood next to him and looked at the door too.

"Who's there?" Chloe whispered to him. When he made no move to answer she said quickly in a rising volume; "Is it the Edison Group? Have they found us?" She began to look around for an escape but Derek reached over and grabbed onto her.

"Stay here." He grunted to her. She looked indignant but nodded and stood still as Derek inched himself forwards, testing the air every time he moved, tensed for the unexpected. He took another whiff of the air and noticed that he had been wrong; he did recognize the scent. He stood straight up again and walked forward, flinging open the doors and looking around. "Simon?" Derek called hesitantly.

There was the sound of a grunt and someone slipping on the mud, then Simon came around the opposite side of the shed. He grinned at Derek and slapped him on the back.

"Hey, bro! Where've you been?" Simon looked behind Derek. "Is Chloe with you? We can't find her either." Derek looked down at Simon, slightly confused.

"She's in the shed." He said, turning half way so that Simon could get past him and to Chloe. Simon grinned and rushed in, meeting Chloe where she was, not where he told her to stay but behind him. He had to admit that he was a bit irritated at that but he couldn't work up the anger. He was too busy trying to figure out why he didn't recognize Simon's scent at first.

"How long have you been out here?" Simon asked. Derek ignored the question and let Chloe answer it as he squished his way through the mud around to where Simon was standing. Nothing looked out of the ordinary and it didn't smell weird either.

Why couldn't I recognize him?

Derek looked up at the sky. There were still clouds here and there from which rain drizzled down. The sun was low in the sky as it set and the moon could be seen if you looked hard enough. There was nothing that would have masked the scent and confused Derek's nose like that.

"Derek!"

He turned and saw Chloe waving her hand for him to come while Simon stood next to her with his hands cupped around his mouth. Derek cast one last look back at the place where Simon was standing then walked toward them. When he was parallel with them they all began to walk towards the house. Simon and Chloe were chatting while Derek looked around at the forest. Did he see someone, or was it his imagination? He sampled the air and could smell nothing out of the ordinary.

Derek yanked open the heavy doors and as soon as they were inside Andrew came running down the stairs. Simon called that he them and that they were in the shed. Derek looked over at Andrew who was advancing on him, the scent of anger wafting off of him with every step he took. The wolf growled softly in warning before Andrew's hand made contact with Derek's cheek so hard that his head whipped to the side.

There was the answering surge of adrenaline and anger at the blow but Derek held himself back and didn't move from his position. The room had gone deathly silent and he could hear Andrew's heavy breathing, his anger suffocating Derek's nose.

"How stupid and selfish can you be?" He yelled at Derek who slowly turned his head to look down at the man. "Huh? We're supposed to be hiding! We're supposed to be on the run from some very dangerous people! You do not run outside without saying why or where you are going! You do not just leave and not come back for hours! You do not drag Chloe into this! Do you understand me?"

Derek didn't do anything; he just looked at his feet, ashamed. He could see Simon starting to bristle indignantly out of the corner of his eye and made a small signal with his hand that said for him to stay out of it. Andrew was right. He should have thought about what they were in the middle of before he had just run off like that. And, what's worse, he drug Chloe into it. Andrew was completely right. So he stood there and let Andrew yell at him.

When it was done the silence rang around the room. Andrew sighed disgustedly and paced in front of Derek. Then he stopped and looked up at him brutally. "You're not to go anywhere until I say you can. Do I make myself clear?" He asked, quieter now, more in control but still livid. Derek didn't nod his head. He stiffened. Not going outside? How was he going to do that?

"So what are you grounding him?" Simon asked irritably from the side. Andrew directed his rage at Simon now.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. He's not to leave this house until I give the okay or if there's an emergency." He snapped back at Simon. Derek was still in a sort of shock and just stood there, looking down at his feet in surprise. He couldn't not go outside; it was hardwired into his genetically adapted DNA to be outside. He needed it. He needed it like a fish needed water or a mammal needed air.

All was quiet then Andrew seemed to sag a bit as he turned and walked toward the kitchen. "Go." He said quietly before he disappeared around the corner. Derek felt his feet start to move and didn't stop them as they walked up the stairs and took him to his room. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of his window, looking out at the forest. The wolf was fuming at the treatment he had to endure and was pacing, twitching.

Derek backed up carefully and sat on his bed, the springs creaking with his weight. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees, leaning down. His hair slid down and around his face. His cheek throbbed dully. He knew that Andrew was right and that he should be more careful, especially since the situation they were in warranted it, but it still wasn't very fun to get yelled at.

He never really had been yelled at before. When he was little, he was always careful to be the good son so that Dad didn't send him back to the lab because he didn't want to deal with him anymore. Once he got older, he knew that Dad would never do that, but he still really didn't want to cause trouble for him so he stayed out of it. Dad only yelled at him once and it was when Derek had run off to play in the park after dark and Dad and Simon were looking everywhere for him.

No one had ever once struck him like that either. Not in punishment. No one at the lab would dare to have raised a hand against him because they were all mostly afraid of him, and Dad was too nice of a person. Getting in fights was different. Liam had hit him plenty of times. Andrew must have been really worried if he had hit him.

And it was totally justified, too. Derek reasoned that he deserved every word that had been hollered at him.

So why did it bother him so much?

Perhaps because he was always used to Andrew being the "cool one", the one who was like the cool uncle and would always let you do whatever you wanted with no complaints. The sudden change of demeanor probably upset him more than it should. And that was all.

But there was a part of him that kept insisting it was because he was a wolf now. Wild and not worth Andrew's care and trust any more.

Dangerous.

He jerked up violently as the disembodied voice from his past worked its way back into his head. He swallowed and closed his eyes, fighting off the bad memories that caused him more pain than the growing bruise on his cheek. He leaned down again and placed his head in his hands. He felt a headache growing. There was a quiet knock on his door and he sat up, turning around to look at the door. He figured it was probably just Simon coming to check on him.

He really didn't feel like talking to Simon at the moment so he just ignored it. Derek stood up and walked towards the window, looking out it through all the water drops that still clung stubbornly to the window. The sun had really set now, and the moon was working its way up the sky. He watched it as the wolf howled at it in his mind. He realized that it looked somewhat lonely.

The door creaked open behind him and he turned. Chloe stood in the door way, half in and half out, hand on the door knob, looking at him.

"S-sorry. I just wanted to see if you were…" She said quietly, her words drifting off and she just stopped and looked at him. He knew she couldn't see much of him aside from what the moon illuminated. He imagined he probably looked somewhat intimidating. He made no move to invite her in, as that was not a good plan to have her alone in his room while he was so unpredictable, but he didn't tell her to leave him alone either.

She came in the rest of the way anyway and Derek shifted uncomfortably. The door clicked shut and the wolf abruptly stopped his howling and turned his attention onto their guest, his ears perked forward curiously. Her scent was suddenly all over his room, in his nose and around his body. The wolf drank it in hungrily as Derek actually considered holding his breath.

"How…How's your cheek?" Chloe whispered, walking around the bed and coming closer to him. He backed away from her and out of the moon's light as she stepped into it. He saw her hurt at his movement and then her irritation at his ignorance. She was beautiful in the moonlight. He was reminded of his dream and he felt his blood stir at the memory.

"Fine." He grunted, desperately telling her to leave. The wolf crouched forward like he was preparing to pounce and Derek mentally cursed him and told him to knock it off. Chloe reached her hand forward, groping blindly for him. He pressed himself into the corner. The wolf was excited.

"Derek let me see you." She demanded, not so quiet anymore as she inched forward carefully.

"No."

She stopped at his quick reply and then she huffed angrily and walked forward quickly towards the sound of his voice. He dodged out of the way of her hand.

"Derek! Hold still and let me see it." She hissed crossly as she followed him.

Don't let her touch you! Do not let her touch you! He thought to himself wildly, not sure what would happen if she did.

Then she had a hold of his wrist. Strong yet brittle her fingers barely made it half way around his wrist and he easily broke her hold and grabbed onto her wrist, pushing her against the wall as carefully as he could while still trying to get his point across.

She winced and then looked up at him angrily. The wolf purred at the vulnerable state Derek had her in and silently tempted him to do something to her. Derek shook his head and looked down at her.

"Don't." He said to her, firm but begging. They stared at each other. Her defiance getting the wolf more and more riled up. Then her brow slowly loosened and she just looked up at him, the same thing happening as in the shed. She was giving off that scent again, the intoxicating one that made him question why he wasn't doing what the wolf wanted him to do. Make him filled with some kind of longing and wonder. The wolf was hissing at him to do it and Chloe's scent was filling his nose.

"Derek…" Chloe whispered to him, begging for something she probably didn't even know. That was it. All that it took to break the precarious hold he had on his self restraint before the wolf howled with delight and Derek bent down swiftly, pressing his lips on hers firmly.

She didn't move at first, confused no doubt, but then she moved her lips with his, struggling anxiously against his grip on her wrist while her other hand reached up and grasped onto the collar of his shirt and pull him closer to her.

Derek was drowning in her smell, her feel. She was so soft and yielding. So unlike anything he had ever dreamed of or wanted. She was wonderful yet dangerous at the same time. Her body radiated with heat that called to him. He wanted her and that wasn't safe. He knew he had to stop but all he could do was slant his mouth in a different direction to gain better access to her lips.

His hand around her wrist tightened and he heard her gasp at the pain, but he took this as a chance to get his tongue in her mouth and he did. She didn't seem to know what to do but she didn't push him away. In fact, she loved it, according to the growing scent of arousal coming off of her in waves and pushing him on. He moved his lips from hers and onto her neck, licking her there.

When she let out a quiet moan his eyes shot open and he dropped her wrist, backing away from her so fast that when the backs of his knees hit the bed he fell on it. He moved quickly despite the slight mishap and rolled over till he was crouched on the other side of the bed, looking at her.

She was still propped against the wall, looking at him through hooded and hazy eyes; her cheeks tainted a delicious red color while her breath puffed out quickly from between her moist and swollen lips. They looked at each other, both of their gazes half hungry, and half frightened.

She straightened and looked at him curiously, still somewhat winded.

"Derek?" she whispered again and he clenched his eyes shut at the rush of blood that accompanied her quiet plea. He opened his eyes again and saw that she was edging her way back towards him, her eyes hungry for more of what had just transpired between them. So was the wolf. That was the problem. He didn't want to taint her. He wouldn't let it happen.

"You need to leave." He growled at her. She stood there for a bit and he almost thought that she wouldn't listen to him.

Then she ran out his door, her hair flying out behind her as she opened and shut the door quickly, leaving him sitting there in the darkness, alone with himself and his thoughts.


Was it totally worth the wait?

This chapter was dedicated to HanaJimaa who wished for more action. IT HAS BEEN DONE, MY FRIEND!!

Review please!