Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Lyrics belong to Florence and the Machine.

A/N: Aren't you all so excited for tomorrow night? I am! I am so excited! Also, I am halfway done with camp, which is great because then I can go home and read Teen Wolf: On Fire and do all kinds of crazy things. And I won't have to spend literally 24/7 with high schoolers…

Got a review (once again, my favorite kind) and thought I should clarify some things again.

The review said, "I mean he reveals too much about himself. Even with his current pack he isn't like thy on the show. Did you notice on thi weeks episode when he told Boyd to run, he seemed surprised Detek cared? I think a lot of fan fics over do Derek's feelings too early on in their fics . He is guarded and for good reason. That doesn't change in a short space of time no matter who you meet you know?"

And I completely agree. But… this is going to sound cliché, but I think Paige is different.

I feel like the series doesn't allow a lot of opportunity to show Derek's interaction with people he feels he can trust or at least rely on. Truthfully, the guy has a lot of trust issues to begin with and then Scott and Stiles spend most of both the first and second season working against Derek. I'm not surprised he doesn't put a lot of trust in the boys.

Paige represents something totally different – she is also a wolf (like him) and is older (so a bit more relatable) and she puts her faith in him and helps him. In a different situation I feel like he isn't the brooding/snarling/non-talking wolf. He's definitely reserved and quiet but given that he's lost everyone he's ever cared about – given that right now he's alone in the world, I feel like he's searching for at least one person to rely on. In the canon, Scott is that person and unfortunately he usually manages to let Derek down.

Paige is different because she also, at some level, is alone in the world currently. They're two lost souls. Also, she's safe. At the beginning of the story she's so shy and pathetic that Derek knows he can intimidate her. After she's bitten, she's still safe because she's like him – she's part of his world. A read a spoiler for the new book and it mentioned Derek not trusting human women. Paige is a wolf now – and more pack-sister, less mate at this point. He's more likely to trust her and right now he needs an ally against the alpha and the Argents.

So… that's my take on it.

If anyone else feels like he's revealing too much, shoot me a note. I'd very much like to get this right. Thank you!

Also, Paige is about to get a bit more kick-ass. Let the transformations begin.

Enjoy!


Big Empty Houses

By: Ginny


Here I am, a rabbit hearted girl

Frozen in the headlights

It seems I've made the final sacrifice


Previously:

Paige sat on the floor this time. Danny had left, and Stiles was just grabbing a bite to eat before they went to the hospital to investigate.

"The alpha can't be Scott's mom," Paige threw out. "It's a guy."

"But she could be helping him – protecting him," Derek shrugged on his jacket. "That might explain why Scott was bitten." The beta crossed the room to glance out the window.


They had just pulled into the hospital parking lot when Stiles' phone buzzed. It took him a moment to distinguish the feeling, but both wolves were quick to hear it. Apparently this was a perk of being a werewolf. Good, Paige had a nasty habit of losing things.

"Your phone is going off," Paige muttered from the backseat.

Stiles took a brief glance at the caller I.D. and immediately said, "Hello."

Paige could hear Scott over the other end. "Did you get the picture?"

"Yeah, I did and it looks just like the drawing."

Derek yanked Stiles phone – and his wrist – up to his mouth. Because apparently the beta didn't have to follow normal social protocols. "Hey," he began. "Is there something on the back of it? There's gotta be something. An inscription, an opening, something."

"No, no," Scott's voice said. "The thing's flat. And, no, it doesn't open. There's nothing in it, on it, around it, nothing. And where are you? You're supposed to be here." Paige realized he was no longer talking to Derek. "You're first line."

A voice in the background said, "Where the hell is Bilinski?"

"Bilinski?" Paige wondered aloud. Part of her felt a little sympathy for the boy. She knew how much lacrosse meant to her brother and she also knew that Stiles had never been first line and this was his only chance.

"Don't ask," Stiles shot back.

Scott spoke into the phone, "Man, you're not going to play if you're not here to start."

"I know!" the boy sounded so frustrated. "Look, if you see my dad, can you tell him… Tell him I'll be there, I'll just be a little late, okay? All right, thanks."

The moment he snapped his phone off, Derek spoke up. "You're never going to make it," he alleged.

"I know…"

"And you didn't tell him about his mom, either."

"Not till we find out the truth," Stiles decided.

"I'm sorry," Paige said.

Stiles turned around in his seat and gave her a smile. "Don't be. I'm just trying to be a good friend."

She returned his smile. "Scott's lucky to have you," she informed the boy.

"Well duh!" he joked.

"Hey Stiles," Derek spoke up. "One more thing."

Suddenly the wolf's hand shot out and grabbed the jokester by the back of his head – only to slam his face into the steering wheel. The entire car shook and for a moment Paige was worried that Derek had broken Stiles' face.

"Oh, God!" he shouted.

"Derek!" Paige yelled in unison. What the hell did the dude think he was doing?

"You know what that was for," the wolf accused. "Go." He pointed to the building. When Stiles hesitated, he repeated, "Go!"

Being that Paige wasn't a fugitive, she popped open the backseat door and slid out to follow Stiles. The original plan was that they would go in there and look around. If they were caught snooping, they would just say that they were looking for Scott's mom. Her feet had barely hit the floor when Derek's voice reached her.

"Be careful," he warned.

She poked her head in through the window. "Don't worry – I'm a natural, remember?" she teased.

All he did was hold her gaze, so she frowned and then jogged to catch up to Stiles. They had barely made it up to the door when Stiles' phone began to vibrate again. "Scott?" Paige asked as he glanced at the caller I.D. on the screen.

"No…" Stiles trailed off and gazed back at his car. "It's Derek… Like a legit contact see?" He held the phone up and clearly Derek's name was printed on the screen. "How did he get in my phone…?" Then he clicked the 'talk' button. "Hello?"

"If I can't be there in person, I want to at least know what's going on," came Derek's voice.

"Control freak," Paige muttered under her breath. Stiles couldn't hear it but she knew Derek could.

"Shut up, Paige," came his response.

She allowed herself a smile as they entered the hospital. That smile quickly turned into a frown as they had rounded the entire building without a sign of anyone… but specifically Mrs. McCall. At the very least, they had expected her to be working. And if she wasn't here, something was seriously wrong.

"I thought you said she was working tonight," Paige finally spoke up.

"Look, ask for Jennifer," came Derek's disembodied voice from over the phone. "She's been looking after my uncle."

Well, that was the first Paige had heard of an uncle… except, it wasn't. Hadn't Scott mentioned that Derek had an uncle in a long-term care facility, badly burned? A flicker of a thought broke free… a werewolf in the same building where the text message from the alpha had been sent. That was too much of a coincidence.

Paige trailed behind Stiles as he turned a corner and found the room labeled "Peter Hale".

"Well," Stiles begn. "He's not here either."

"What?"

"He's not here, Derek. He's gone."

Slowly, she backed out of the room. Her heart was racing. Something was so terribly wrong. Something was inescapably wrong. Something was clenching at her heart and making the claws in her fingers grow sharply.

And then, there it was.

A man, half hidden in the darkness, half burned beyond repair. How could she have missed this? He would have been handsome, save the burns. When their eyes met, he smiled. It was disarming, almost kind, but made her shiver. Fear shot through her – up and down her spine. This was the creature who had bit her. This was the creature with the red glowing eyes who haunted her dreams and had made her into a werewolf. This was the demon in human form and Paige knew he was the alpha.

"Get out of there right now. It's him! He's the alpha! Get out!"

Vaguely, Paige heard what Derek was saying. It was a kick in the stomach, combined with the sight of the man…

"Peter Hale," the name escaped her mouth.

"You must be Paige," he said, his voice smooth as silk. "Oh, and you must be Stiles."

In the back of her mind, Paige could recognize the fact that Stiles' heart was picking up speed. She knew the feeling. Her palms were sweating and she couldn't breathe. Stiles backed into the hallway and dropped the phone – their one connection to Derek. But surely, he knew now that the alpha was his uncle and he was come find them – right?

Stiles backed up a few more steps, grabbed Paige's hand and twisted right around with every intention of escaping in the opposite direction of Peter – only to find a lady in a white uniform, a nurse, blocking their exit.

"What are you doing here?" the nurse asked, stepping forward. "Visiting hours are over."

Well, that didn't sound even vaguely psychotic, given the situation and how she was slowly approaching them. Stiles gripped her hand, but she didn't reciprocate. She was too paralyzed.

Stiles stuttered, glancing between Peter and the nurse. Then he just broke down into muttering, "I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die."

Paige couldn't agree more as a whimper escaped her throat. But, she wasn't looking at the nurse. She only had eyes for the alpha. And he was only looking at her. He was looking at her like he could see every thought she was having, each pulse of fear pumping inside her brain. And maybe he could. Maybe that was all part of being an alpha and being a beta and it was just scary, scary, scary.

And then Peter glanced over her shoulder and commented, "That's not nice. She's my nurse."

It took a terrible amount of energy to pull her eyes away, but when she did she was overwhelmed with happiness at what she saw. Derek had appeared and knocked the nurse to the floor. She was generally always happy to see him – but this moment truly took the cake.

"She's a psychotic bitch helping you kill people," Derek snapped back. Then he glanced at Stiles, "Get out of the way."

The boy cursed and Paige had a moment of clarity and the instinct towards flight took over. She yanked him into the doorway and down behind the counter. Slowly, she lifted her body so that she was able to see over it. There was a pane of glass and for some strange reason she felt safer behind it… Even as her blood thrummed in her veins. Being this close to the alpha was doing things to her body – wolfy things.

"You think I killed Laura on purpose?" Peter asked, coming closer. "One of my own family?"

Derek's only response was to growl so loud that he shook the hallway. Paige flinched down as she followed Stiles behind the counter. He launched himself at his uncle, only to be deflected and thrown into a wall. His body left a dent as he slid down to the floor. Paige gripped the counter, safe (maybe) behind the glass for now, but still so worried. He had said once that he could take the alpha, that that wouldn't be a problem. Why did it suddenly seem like he was underestimating the monster?

When Peter reached down and grabbed Derek by the throat to drag him down the hallway, Paige let out a whimper of sympathy. Peter's eyes met hers through the glass and she gave a giant flinch – especially when he smiled again.

Then he turned his focus back to his nephew. "My mind, my personality were literally burned out of me," he explained. "I was being driven by pure instinct." Abruptly he released Derek and bent over the unconscious nurse, searching her pockets for something.

"You want forgiveness?" the beta asked, swinging wildly. Paige hadn't even seen him get up.

Peter deflected him so easily. Each punch, each kick and then Peter flat out head-butted him. "I want understanding," he said simply. And then he kicked Derek in the chest hard enough to send him flying down the hall.

Derek was losing, she realized for sure now. He was losing bad. He had said that he was able to take the alpha. Either he had lied or he had overestimated his own powers. If Derek lost… would she be next? But – what did she matter? If Derek lost, he would be killed. Peter would kill him. She had to do something. Call Scott, maybe. Until she realized that he was half a town away and probably not anywhere near his phone. Who else could help? Not the police and Stiles was a human. Paige was the only other werewolf here. After Derek, she had the best chance against Peter. And he had changed her… why kill her?

If she could get him to stop, she could help Derek.

"Do you have any idea what it was like for me during those years?" Peter asked. Derek spit up blood; she could smell it even behind the glass. "Slowly healing, cell by cell. Even more slowly coming back to consciousness. Yes, becoming an alpha, taking that from Laura pushed me over a plateau in the healing process. I can't help that."

The beta jumped up and swung a punch. Paige was already around the counter and hovering in the doorway as Peter grabbed Derek's hand and broke it, his bones snapping in quick succession. He sunk to the floor.

"Stop!" she shouted.

Peter released Derek, only to kick him in the stomach so hard his body let out another few snaps and crackles.

"Stop?" he asked, finally turning to Paige. He looked her up and down and she tried to blend into the wall. Why had she thought this was a good decision? "Hm… I was expecting a lot more from you…" he murmured mostly to himself. "Scott was a whim and he has been rather… willful. I took one look at you – screaming like a banshee and rooted to the ground in fear and I thought, "This girl will do whatever I say". But you're just a scared little thing, aren't you?" he asked, taking a step forward. "Your heart is beating so hard and you're shaking…It's actually pretty pathetic." His gaze followed her up and down again and he announced, "Maybe I was wrong about you. I should fix my mistake. I think I'll just kill you. That should solve the problem."

She yelped. That was the only way to describe the sound that came out of her mouth. Oh God. Oh my God.

"No," came Derek's voice somewhere in the background. But he was still struggling to get to his feet. She was alone in this.

The alpha pulled his arm back and Paige followed the movement with her eyes. Rationally, she thought, You have less than three seconds.

He's going to kill me. He's going to cut my throat with his razor sharp claws and I'm going to die. What do I do?

One.

Fight back. That's what you do. You have claws, too. You have fangs, too. You're faster than you were before. You're stronger than you were before. You are no longer Paige Flanagan. You are a werewolf – a she-wolf - and you better start acting like it. Fight.

But how?

Two.

He's disappointed in you, he said. He wanted you to be a fighter. This blow isn't going to be his strongest – he wants you to fight. It's a test. Duck and slash back. He's aiming for your throat. Duck it and attack back and maybe he won't kill you. Do it. Focus.

Three.

Her ears found what she was looking for – the erratic thumping of Derek's heart from down the hallway. Her focus. Her anchor. Her body moved. The claws were out and her torso folded and she could see everything. Every pore in Peter's face as she watched his arm coming closer and closer and then right over her head. Her own arm stretched out with a well-placed slash and for a moment she burst with a bit of pride.

Who was this girl finally fighting back?

Was it actually Paige Flanagan?

No – it was a she-wolf who wasn't scared of any alpha.

Of course, Peter almost instantly changed course the second he missed, grasping her wrist and then – snapping it.

"Ah!" Paige let out, coming back down to earth, back into to her very human, very breakable body.

And then she was sailing – sailing right down the hallway to land in a heap. Derek's heartbeat was louder here and she realized vaguely that she had landed right beside him. He glanced at her with weary eyes – but there was a level of relief.

A hand landed on her shoulder and she jumped thinking it was Peter coming back for her. But when she glanced over, she saw the fingers of the hand were twisted and bent and blue-black.

"Get Stiles and get out of here," Derek ordered, using his broken hand to push her a bit.

"No," she protested, coughing a bit. "He'll kill you."

"He'll kill you, too," was his simple answer.

"Aww," Peter cooed, suddenly directly over them. "How sweet…"

And suddenly Derek's mild push turned in a full-out shove – one that was hard enough to send her rolling a bit down the hallway. By the time she glanced back, Peter had already lifted his nephew and tossed him through the glass window Paige had just been hiding behind.

Paige shut her eyes tightly, gingerly cradling her wrist. He was right. If she stayed and continued to fight, he'd kill them both. And there was still Stiles to think about.

"Please be okay," she whispered, hoping beyond hope that Derek could hear her despite the situation.

And then, she pulled herself to her feet and shuffled around the corner to find Stiles. The boy was crouched, trying to make himself as small as possible. Without a word, she grabbed his hand with her uninjured appendage and pulled him towards the front door. The night air was kind to Paige, giving her a burst of energy she didn't know she had left. They nearly threw themselves into Stile's jeep and fled the hospital.

A few snaps later and her wrist was back in working order. Her brain, not so much.

"Oh my God, oh my God," Stiles kept muttering.

"Stiles," she whispered. "Please stop it."

"Do you think Peter will kill Derek?"

"I don't know… Oh God, I hope not."

"Derek's gonna try to get vengeance for his sister."

"I know."

"He won't stop fighting until one of them is dead."

"I know. Now please stop."

"And if what I saw was any indication, Derek can't win."

"Stop…"

"Peter is going to kill Derek."

"Shut up!" Paige snapped. Only then did Stiles look over to find her face smeared with tears.

The rest of the ride was silent.

But when they pulled into her driveway, Wyatt was sitting on the porch steps. Her brother glanced between Stiles and Paige as she hopped from the passenger seat.

"I've been calling you," Wyatt explained. And then Paige came close enough that he was able to see her tear-stained face. Almost immediately, he rounded on Stiles, stomping up to the jeep and nearly ripping the boy from his seat. "What the fuck did you do to my sister?" he demanded.

"Nothing, man!" he protested, throwing his hands up.

"I don't believe you!" Wyatt shouted. "First, you don't show up for the game, now I find you with my sister – who has apparently been crying. So what the fuck did you do to her?"

"Nothing," Paige put in this time, grabbing her brother's shoulder. Her scrambled brain searched for some excuse – any excuse. "He was picking me up, he was helping me. Please, Wyatt, let him go."

For a moment, he did nothing. And then slowly his grip released. "Where was he picking you up from?" he asked.

Her brain couldn't process anything. Wearily, she looked to Stiles. He was clever; he would figure something out. Stiles apparently didn't like being put on the spot – frantically looking between brother and sister. Finally he stuttered, "Paige had been up… seeing my cousin – Miguel. He lives like two towns over, really nice guy. Super nice guy. But they, uh, well, got… in a fight and she asked me to come get her. That happened. That is what happened. And here we are! I have to go now, though, so I will see you… tomorrow. Probably. Yup."

And then the sheriff's kid was peeling away in his jeep.

"You're dating someone?" Wyatt asked.

"I was," Paige sniffled. "You heard Stiles."

Wyatt's face softened and he held his arms out. Paige threw herself into her brother's embrace and buried her head in his chest. And then she commenced sobbing. The alpha could be here at any time, she knew. Peter would finish Derek off and come for her. And sitting here with her brother wasn't going to help that – if anything her being here was the worst thing she could do. If she were smart, she would leave town so that he couldn't drag her family into this.

Gently, she pulled away. "I really just want to go to sleep," she told him.

With total understanding, he let her go. He had had his fair share of girlfriends before and had had his heart broken as well.

Paige didn't bother to shower. Didn't bother to change her clothes. Didn't do anything besides climb up to the roof and sit and focus. She couldn't hear Derek's heartbeat anymore, but she could hear her own and that was close enough. She sharpened her senses and waited for something.

For the alpha to come and kill her.

For Derek to come stumbling down the road.

For the moon to fall from the skies and squish her on the tiles.

The next morning, she woke up in her bed.

Without opening her eyes, she pondered how that must have happened.

For the life of her, she couldn't remember falling asleep. But… she must have. And then someone had found her on the roof and tucked her into bed. The only people that were capable of finding her on the roof and transferring her to her bed… well, it was a small handful.

Scott, who had no reason to come visit her… besides to make sure the alpha hadn't killed her.

Peter, who she didn't take as someone who would tuck a teenage girl into bed.

Derek, who was most likely dead. But… part of her, a big part of her hoped he had been the one to find her.

After running through every available option, she sharpened her senses… and sat up with a jerk – there were two fresh scents in her room, slowly fading. One was Derek – she was very familiar with it. The other was Peter – it made her shiver. They had both been there last night. Sometime. But, when? And had Derek been there willingly?

Paige dragged herself out of her bed and glanced around. Her room was just as it had always been. The only difference was that the pile of blankets on the floor was empty and cold.

And just like that, she was back in a big, empty house. Alone.


Preview:

"I don't think you realize something…" Peter smiled and took a step closer to her. She took a step back and vaguely remembered when she first met Derek and he had approached her like a predator. This was a million times worse. "I'm not asking. I don't ask. I didn't ask Scott if he wanted to be changed. I didn't ask you. And I don't have to ask him." He pointed with his eyes and Paige followed his gaze.

In the doorway, a couple of lacrosse players were chitchatting and joking around. In the throng of testosterone stood her baby brother.


I must become a lion hearted girl

Ready for a fight

Before I make the final sacrifice