A/N: I don't own anyone but my OC's….though I wished I owned the rest….*sighs*

Again thank you everyone for all of the alerts, reviews and favorite adds! The muse thrives on the love!


"You'll live," Brooklyn duly noted Scott's arm.

"I was shot by an arrow and all you have to say is I'll live? What kind of messed up talk is that!"

"The truth for one," Derek hovered over the smaller male.

"My money is on Argent and his merry band of doucewads," Brooklyn stood cleaning off her jacket, the drying streaks of clay and mud was smeared across her beloved coat. The hunter wrung out the cloth then continued without missing a beat.

"How can you be so sure it's this guy you're talking about?" Scott tossed the paper towel away and stood face to face with Brooklyn. She stopped cleaning her jacket and turned to respond to Scott's accusations.

"You don't get it do you? What part of the picture are you not seeing? Do I need to draw it out for you? Or perhaps spell it out in big letters? Let me tell you something Scott: There is the hunter and there is the hunted in this world. You may refuse to see it for what it really is but it's the cold hard truth. You are the hunted now. If you want to survive you need to listen to us. Now sit," she pushed Scott back down on the bed and waited for him to make a move.

"The hunters will kill you," Derek spoke in his normal dark chilling tone. "They don't care who you are or if you have a family or friends. All they see is what you are."

"So here's the deal," Brooklyn jumped in, "You don't play next Saturday and everyone lives to fight another day."

"No," Scott shook his head. "I'm on first string and I'm not screwing this up."

"What part of this isn't a bargaining agreement do you not understand? You're not the only one who is at risk here okay? I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: Many of the hunters hate me. You wanna know why?"

"Why?" Scott huffed.

"Because of this," she gestured between Scott and Derek, "Because I'm willing to help you two. I could easily kill you two but I don't. I want to help why can't you see that?"

"Because you're crazy that's why," Scott felt his anger slowly rising followed by another transformation. Both Derek and Brooklyn caught the trembling of Scott's arms while his nails protruded painfully from his fingers. Derek reacted and pinned Scott between the wall and his body, keeping him there with little effort.

"Calm down," Derek growled. He waited until Scott began to relax beneath his iron grip. The nails retreated and fangs vanished leaving nothing behind.

"Listen to him Scott," Brooklyn gently advised. "Are you going to ignore what your very eyes showed you tonight? Did that arrow not rip through enough skin and flesh to get the point across?"

Derek released his hold on Scott, allowing the teen to breathe. They were right about one thing: He had to keep this hidden from everyone, above all Allison. But the game was so important to him, a chance to shine and show his classmates he was worth something.

"Look can I just go home now?" Scott watched the soulful glances exchanged between Derek and Brooklyn.

"Go," Brooklyn waved her hand dismissively. Scott hastily gathered his jacket and retreated to the safety of outdoors.

"That went well," she noted with light sarcasm then changed her tone. "Will Scott come to terms with all this? I have never seen someone in so much denial."

"If Scott expects to survive through this he's going to have to come to terms with it," Derek watched and listened as Scott's panicked stride faded off into the distance.

"I worry he's gonna change and Argent will see him."

"What did the Argents do to you?" Derek abruptly switched subjects. Brooklyn bristled but said nothing. Vivid memories threatened to resurface at Derek's questioning. Images that always lingered in the very back of her mind serving as a cruel reminder of times past.

"Why do you want to know?" Her eyes averted away from Derek and towards the worn red carpet.

"Because the moment you laid eyes on Argent I saw it…."

"Saw what Derek? Please enlighten me."

"That," he answered. "The anger and hatred."

"I don't wanna talk about it alright?"

"Why not?" Derek reached out and grabbed her arm spinning the hunter around. Her stormy eyes swirled indignantly as werewolf and hunter stared at one another. Tensions mounted as Brooklyn's muscles stiffened then locked where she stood. Derek refused to back down.

"We share a common enemy or rather two common enemies."

"You're stating the obvious," Brooklyn jerked her arm only to have him curl his fingers tighter into her wrist. His nails were biting into her skin, treading along the thin line of skin.

"If we're going to take the Alpha down and live through it, you need me."

"I need you? If I remember you weren't exactly protesting teaming up with me in the first place!"

"You know more about the Argents….I need you…." He finally admitted. Brooklyn's struggling abated as her eyes softened around the edges. Finally, Derek Hale recognized the fact he needed someone, even if it was to catch and kill the Alpha. Brooklyn nodded as Derek released her wrist. Five angry welts lit up her wrist but were quickly fading away. She massaged the tender spot for several seconds before going to retrieve her journal. The hunter was oblivious to the fact Derek had taken a peek into her world; of her fears, pain, joys, sorrows, and trials.

"Okay," she flipped open to the part about the Argents. Brooklyn had dedicated an entire section to her hated enemies. "So you wanna know why the Argents carry a target on their back? Fine, I'll tell you. The Argents betrayed my family back in Europe in the 17th century. During a witch hunt, one of the Argents paid off a judge and sheriff to condemn my ancestors to death. False charges of sorcery, debauchery, incest, and witch craft were trumped up and the members that were found were burned alive in the village square."

Brooklyn paused and took a deep breath. Derek watched as she gathered her composure. For someone so small, Brooklyn seemed to possess a great strength which kept her going.

"Anyways, the survivors fled to the colonies on the East Coast and changed the name to Ravenwood. But the Argents were never too far behind. They vowed to wipe us off the map."

"Why?"

"I haven't figured that part out yet," Brooklyn hung her head, "Which is why I need to get inside that house; but I can't do it alone. You said I needed you and this is a time I need you. If they have it I have to get it back!"

Derek suspected she was referring to the ring described in the journal. If they could get inside the Argent house, maybe there was something linking them to the fire and more importantly Laura's death!


Brooklyn motioned for Derek to follow her towards the spacious house. Argent wasn't sparing any expense, probably from what they stole from her family no doubt. Derek was her ears as Brooklyn slipped on the leather gloves and cracked her knuckles in preparation.

"You sure you can do this?" Brooklyn straightened and whipped around giving Derek an annoyed look.

"Cheap ass system," she returned to the keypad. Brooklyn slipped the card between the casing while waiting for the display to ask for the password. The thin device bypassed the password and successfully disarmed the system.

"We're in," she retrieved the pick lock kit from her jacket and popped the deadbolt and doorknob. Derek watched as Brooklyn opened the door and with a sweet smile waved him in. She quickly closed the door and scanned the entry way.

"Let's check the garage," she sprinted through the kitchen and through the lone door. Neither one were expecting what greeted them once the light came on. An entire wall was lined with guns, semi-automatic weapons, bullets, crossbows, compound bows, and arrows. A panel read Argent Arms.

"So that's his game," Brooklyn pointed towards the name. Derek couldn't pick up anything unusual coming from the area.

"It's not here."

"What's not here?"

"Your crossbow," he remembered she had lost it.

"Not surprised," her lips pursed together at the thought of her beloved weapon in Argent's filthy hands. "Probably has it stashed somewhere else. Let's hit the bedrooms."


"It's that one," he pointed at the door on the far end of the hall.

"Robin Leach eat your heart out," the hunter snorted at sight of the posh surroundings. A four corner post bed dominated the room as an ornate dresser accented the bed perfectly. Brooklyn went straight for the closet as Derek took to the drawers. He found some satisfaction invading his enemy's space, tainting it with his touch. It wasn't much but it was something; something for the pain they had caused him for over 10 years.

"Hey," Brooklyn waved for Derek to join her. "Look at what I found."

She held up several wooden boxes, each with the same design of the wolfsbane plant on the top. "Well this isn't looking good for you," Brooklyn shrugged. Derek looked around seeing the clothing hanging neatly on hangers, shoes stowed perfectly in their storage slots, and a large safe to Brooklyn's right.

"Can you open it?"

"Cracked a lot harder," she went to work. Brooklyn laughed victoriously as the lock clicked and yielded the secrets concealed within. Her hand slid in and pulled out with a handful of documents. Hunter and werewolf sifted through the stack only to be met with failure.

"Insurance policies, title to house, titles to cars, business licenses….Nothing but crap here. Damn it!"

Both were disappointed in turning up nothing for their efforts. Derek perked his ears up as the sound of a vehicle pulled into the driveway followed by the unmistakable rumble of the garage door opening then closing.

"Someone's coming," Brooklyn hurried and replaced everything as she found it and locked the safe. They padded quickly down the hall but a voice made them stop. Allison had gotten home from school. But she wasn't alone; Argent was home as well. Brooklyn and Derek froze behind a wall on the landing, listening as Allison and Argent discussed the day's events at school. There was no way they could sneak out without being spotted or heard.

"Crap," Brooklyn knew they were trapped.

Next up...Close quarters... :) Hopefully I am not going to slow in the progression between these two but if I was to speed it up too fast it wouldn't seem so realistic...Gotta warm up and slowly trust one another :)