A/N: Another huge thank you to Noturbaby. Seriously, I have no idea where I would be without her beta skills. She deserves a parade. Anyhoo, another chapter posted and thank you again to those of you favouriting/following and generally just reading this. Believe me, I never would have guessed that I would ever be posting the 10th chapter.

You'll probably guess from this chapter that I'm not a Stydia fan. In any way shape or form. I just hope S3 nips that right in the bud and while I'm on that, I kinda hate that the US gets to see S3 before us Brits. It's not fair.

Love to you all and enjoy!

Chapter 10: J is for Jealousy

Faith sat in the passenger seat of Stiles' jeep watching her cousin warily. She had asked him once if he was alright after what had transpired on the field and after the look of utter defeat she had received as an answer, had not broached the conversation again. He told her he'd meet her back at the jeep before leaving her standing on the field as he made his way to the locker room.

She had only just turned the corner when she was stopped by an overly confident voice. "You look lost."

Faith turned around coming face to face with a sweat soaked and grinning Abercrombie and Fitch lookalike, or as she knew him to be, the infamous Jackson Whittemore. It occurred to her that he had no idea who she was. She remained silent and sized him up, all the while keeping her gaze hidden behind her aviators. His entire demeanour oozed confidence; with his supposed panty-dropping smile and bright eyes… she had to give it to the kid, it was an impressive mask.

"And you are out of your depth." She turned and walked away, grinning at the memory of Jackson's stunned expression.

She made her way back to the jeep; all the while listening to the rest of the students talking about the incident and their different theories on what had happened. True to form, nobody said that it was due to it being the full moon that night, instead referring to the possibility that Scott may be taking steroids or just having a bad day. Faith lived in hope that someone would just hit the nail on the head with their first guess.

Once in the parking lot, Faith had watched as Scott made a quick exit from the school, grabbing his bike and cycling off in the direction of home. She didn't call out to him or make it known in any way that she was there but had made sure he had left without incident.

When Stiles had finally emerged from the locker room, his face portraying a look she immediately recognised as anger, she had remained silent and had gotten in the jeep.

Now she couldn't take her eyes from him as he drove in silence, anger radiating from him in waves. Faith didn't like seeing him angry as the emotion just didn't suit him. Stiles always had a smile and some sarcastic retort ready. He had a big heart and cared deeply about those closest to him; he wasn't made for hurt, anger and pain. In that moment, Faith wanted to just grab him in hug and protect him from everything.

"Look kiddo, what happened?" Faith asked, breaking the silence.

"Nothing," Stiles answered quickly.

Faith glared at him a moment before letting out a deep sigh, turning to stare out of the window. When they finally got home, Stiles tore out of the jeep and into the house so fast that Faith hadn't even opened the door yet.

She made her way into the house, hanging up her jacket before making her way into the kitchen and taking up position on the countertop. She grabbed a bag of chips from behind her and sat staring out of the kitchen window, slowing making her way through the bag and contemplating how she was going to deal with Stiles, Scott and the full moon. She was making a point to not think of the annoying werewolf who she now considered AWOL. During all this she hadn't heard her uncle make his way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Penny for them?" he asked, making his way over to her, taking the bag out of her hands and grabbing some for himself.

Faith sighed, wiping her greasy fingers on her jeans. "How many pennies have you got?" she replied with a wry smile.

"As many as you need," her uncle offered. He placed the bag of chips out of her reach before leaning back against the refrigerator, patiently waiting for her to start talking.

"It's nothing," she said finally with a shrug.

"Nothing as in the same nothing as Stiles?" he probed. Seeing the raised eyebrow from Faith he added, "I notice when Stiles comes home and goes straight to his room without saying a word. He hasn't even asked what I ate for lunch and then glare at me as I attempt to convince him that I didn't have any doughnuts."

Faith nodded in acknowledgment; a silent Stiles wasn't a good thing. "If I had any idea as to what Stiles' nothing was then I'd help you out there but I don't."

"He'll talk when he's ready. Now, let's hear your nothing."

Faith thought over her words carefully, taking time to glance out the window to the world outside. She knew she couldn't talk to him about what was really happening. Stiles had mentioned that he didn't want his dad knowing anything that was going on and she had agreed, albeit reluctantly. She knew keeping a secret this big never helped. She knew Stiles hoped not knowing would keep his father safe. What he hadn't figured out was that his own involvement meant his dad was already involved. Faith was keeping quiet for now but she knew it was all going to come out eventually. Today wasn't that day.

"Are you happy here?"

Faith blinked and turned back to her uncle in shock. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she had forgotten to answer him. Was she happy in Beacon Hills? If she were being honest, she hadn't thought about it, even after Stiles drunken confessional. Where it was true that she felt at home here, she just didn't know whether it was because of the situation with Scott, Derek, the Alpha and the Argents or because of Stiles and her uncle.

"What?" She finally choked out.

"I mean, I'd understand if you wanted to go back to Cleveland. We'd miss you of course, but I don't want you to think you have to stay if you don't want to," her uncle admitted.

"No, I want to." Wait, she wanted to stay? "I like being here," she smiled. She really did.

Faith watched as her uncle's body visibly relaxed with a breath. She couldn't believe he was worried about her answer.

"Good because if you haven't notice, we like you being here too. I know that I'm not always around…"

Faith shook her head. "It's understandable," she interjected.

"But after everything that's happened, you've made quite an impact on our lives. A good one, don't get me wrong, but when you first got here, I'll be honest, I was worried especially as it had been so long since we'd seen you and with everything that had happened…,"he trailed off as Faith nodded again. It wasn't lost on her that her Aunt hadn't really been mentioned since she showed up. She didn't think her Aunt had been talked about since she passed, which she understood and she respected Stiles and her uncle enough not to bring her up either. "I'm happy that you are here and get on so well with Stiles. You two have gotten close in such a short space of time and I'm glad Stiles, well, Stiles and I both have you around. I have to thank your friend for getting in touch. "

"I haven't really done anything," Faith protested, jumping down from the countertop quietly. She made to leave the kitchen and the conversation that was making her feel uncomfortable. In that moment she hated lying to her uncle about everything and had the horrible feeling that he would quickly change his mind once he learned everything.

"Faith."

She stopped as she felt a hand come down lightly on her arm, pulling her back. She looked from the hand down to the floor before being pulled into a hug.

"You've done more than you know," her uncle whispered. Faith pulled back slowly, unable to look anywhere except the floor. "And if you want to stay, well, you know that we wouldn't have any objections." He rubbed her arms slightly before letting her go.

"Thanks and I'll think about it," Faith said with a small smile, looking up and taking a step back.

"That's settled then," he said with a slight nod. "So, that nothing we weren't talking about?"

"Still aren't talking about," Faith corrected him. She was thankful for the change in subject.

Her uncle gave her a familiar grin. "As long as I don't need to kick any guy's ass then I'll leave it. I don't, right?"

Faith laughed, shaking her head. "No, no ass kicking," she said, and then quickly added, "and no guys. I mean, there is no guy."

Her uncle raised his eyebrow at her admission. "Right, of course. It's not that you can't handle yourself but I thought I'd ask anyway. Well, I do need to head out again. I was only stopping for a shower and something to eat," her uncle said, stepping around Faith. "You have plans?"

She shook her head as she followed him out the kitchen to the front door. "No. I'll probably just have a quiet night," she lied. "I may try and get Stiles to talk. I'm thinking curly fries."

As her uncle left the house he turned and gave her a wide smile. "It might but may I suggest the approach you used from the other day."

Faith returned the smile and watched from the front porch as her uncle left for work, giving him a small wave goodbye. She headed back in the house, closing the door behind her to find Stiles coming down the stairs.

"You going to talk yet or do I have to sit on you again?" Her question holding the promise that she would do just that if she didn't get the answer she wanted.

Stiles shook his head. "I'll talk."

Faith gestured to the dining room with a nod of her head; she followed behind him as he made his way through.

As she seated herself in front of her cousin, she could see that he was still angry but not vibrating with it as he had been earlier. They sat in silence for a while with Faith watching Stiles movements closely; his leg twitching nervously as he ran his fingers through his short hair. She didn't want to push him but time wasn't really on their side and he really needed to start spilling before the sun went down.

"What's going on kiddo?"

Stiles took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Scott."

Faith had figured on the answer being Scott but there was something else that Stiles wasn't saying. Casting her mind back to the time on the field, she had watched Stiles' entire demeanour change after he had heard Jackson and…

"Lydia," Faith stated. Stiles jerked his head up so fast that Faith thought she heard something crack. "Something happened with Lydia too, right?"

Stiles merely nodded before casting his eyes down to the table top and his clasped hands.

"You gotta help me here. I can't help you if you don't tell me," Faith pushed at him.

"Scott and Lydia kissed," Stiles professed quietly, his head still bowed.

Faith hissed in a breath as Stiles continued to be enamoured by the table. Of all the things Stiles could have come out with, that hadn't even been on the list. Scott knew, hell, everyone knew how Stiles felt about Lydia and then he goes and kisses her? That didn't sound right, or even like Scott. In fact, it really didn't sound like Scott at all. Since Faith had known the kid, he had done nothing but talk about how amazing Allison Argent was, even after finding out about her family. That meant Scott was already lost to the moon, which begged the question, what tipped him over?

"How was Scott today after his panic attack?" Faith queried, her gaze locked on Stiles.

Stiles looked up at Faith in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Did he start acting differently than normal? Did he have a run in with anyone, or did something happen on the field?"

Stiles shook his head. "He disappeared for a while during lunch but that might have something to do with Jackson getting friendly with Allison. I don't think he could stand to sit back and just watch, so he left," he explained.

"And there's your trigger," Faith confirmed. "Scott hasn't been himself since lunch. I told you that he's under the moon's influence but his jealousy over Jackson and Allison just pushed him over, which explains what happened at practice. It would be a good idea to get over there and soon… or I could do it for you?" She suggested.

"It's easier to explain me being there than you. As much as I'd love to see Scott explain to his mom why you are in his room all dressed in leather, however innocent it may be, it should be me," Stiles said.

"Do you think that's a good idea considering what's happened?" Faith asked as she crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair.

"You said it yourself, it wasn't Scott," Stiles argued.

"Doesn't make it hurt any less kiddo. Scott may have not been aware of what he was doing but Lydia sure as shit did," Faith countered. She watched as Stiles slumped down into his chair in defeat.

"I know," he sighed.

"Want my opinion?"

"You going to tell me there's plenty of more fish in the sea?" he asked. That slight show of sarcasm had Faith grin slightly.

"As clichéd as that sounds, no. What I'm saying is, and I can't believe that I am, but people change, feelings change and even though you love her now, it may not last forever. Just don't be afraid to let that happen," Faith said with as much sincerity as she could; she wasn't exactly the foremost expert on love. She didn't want to add that she had figured that Lydia probably kissed Scott as payback for Jackson getting close with Allison and most likely didn't even take Stiles' feelings into consideration, or maybe at all. A jealous Lydia was a woman scorned who didn't care who she hurt as long as she hit her target and that didn't put her on Faith's good side.

Faith didn't mention that she thought Stiles was too good for Lydia and her actions today had proved that but she knew she had to wait for Stiles to figure that out for himself. He deserved someone who appreciated and loved him for the hyperactive, intelligent, loyal and brave kid that he was.

"Have you ever been in love?"

Stiles' question had Faith choking back a laugh. "Me? Hell no. I've seen how damaging it can be. I don't think I could ever trust anyone that implicitly and he would have to accept the whole slayer deal and a guy tends to be put off by a girl who fights the forces of evil for a living."

"Would you like to?"

Faith thought a moment, making sure no thoughts went to a certain AWOL grumpy wolf. It wasn't something she was opposed to but she had a lot of baggage and her past certainly would scare anyone off. "If it happens it happens, but I won't be searching for it, that's for sure. It seems that history has showed that love and slaying don't mix and if it did happen then it certainly won't be with a vamp," she answered honestly.

She made a point not to mention that her longest relationship, if you could call it that, had lasted three months and there had been no love involved. Robin had been a great guy and they had had fun but she had learned quickly that a relationship started during an apocalypse was never built on solid foundations and once you took away the adrenalin fuelled, end of the world sex then there really wasn't anything left. They had parted as friends and the last she heard he was travelling through Japan.

Stiles stared at Faith in shock. "Has that actually happened?"

"B… Buffy did and still is… will always be I suppose," she shrugged. "It's complicated for them."

"She's a vampire slayer and he's a vampire. It could never have worked," Stiles pointed out. "Just look at Allison and Scott."

"Depends on how you look at it, but they tried to make it work when they could," Faith disputed. "You'd probably consider them soul mates. Circumstances and curses mean they can never be together."

"Ever?" Stiles asked his eyes wide in hope.

Faith slowly shook her head. "Ever."

"That's just depressing," Stiles said softly.

"It is," Faith agreed. "Well, now that I've made you even more depressed with the Buffy and Angel saga, how about we go and deal with Scott?"

Stiles nodded, standing up and heading out the door, leaving Faith still seated at the table lost in her own thoughts. When he came back down moments later, he found Faith waiting by the bottom of the stairs, leather jacket on and holding the keys to his jeep. It wasn't discussed whether or not Faith would be going with him tonight, she just was. As thankful as Stiles was for his cousin being a slayer, he really hoped she didn't need to have to use her skills tonight.

Faith sat on the hood of Stiles' jeep and pretended that she couldn't hear every single spiteful word that came out of Scott's mouth. She didn't have werewolf hearing, despite what Stiles thought, but her senses were more heightened than normal and right now she hated them. She had heard Stiles confront Scott about what had happened and they were now being treated to Scott's detailed description of his kiss with Lydia. She'd have stuck her fingers in her ears if it would have helped.

She was seconds away from charging upstairs to knock Scott out just so he would shut up but she had promised Stiles she wouldn't get involved until asked but counting to ten had stopped being helpful after she had got to a thousand and Scott was still talking. Nobody had to hear that, especially Stiles. Sadly, the person who knows you best is always the one who knows how to cut you the deepest and Scott would know exactly which buttons to push when it came to his best friend.

It gave her pause for thought that even though Stiles knew Scott was being a dick and hurting him on purpose, he wasn't doing it back. He could easily counter about Allison getting cosy with Jackson, but he was staying quiet and Faith hoped Scott realised how good of a friend Stiles really was.

Faith looked up when she heard Scott calling for Stiles, all malice gone from his voice, pleading with him that it was the full moon and to let him go, struggling against the restraints that Stiles must have used. She continued to listen as Scott's begging became more demanding, followed by growls and death threats the longer that Stiles ignored him.

The growls didn't die down the longer Scott pulled at his restraints; they grew with frustration and finally Faith heard the familiar snap of handcuffs breaking. The sound had her body tense and senses of full alert waiting to see what would happen next. Her eyes looked to up to Scott's open bedroom window just as Scott was jumping through it, over her head and landing on the other side of the jeep. She went to call out to him but he was already gone into the trees and the night beyond.

Faith looked back up to the window to see Stiles looking back down at her.

"Where do you think he's going?" he asked worriedly.

"I don't know, but we need to find him," Faith answered him. She let her gaze flit back to where Scott disappeared. "Before someone else does."

As far as nights went, Faith was happily waiting for this one to be over. After losing Scott and searching everywhere they could think he would go, even chancing a quick check of the Argent residence, they had come across a crime scene on the side of the road close to the Preserve. Normally, Faith would have continued driving on and doubled back later without the car to case the scene but Stiles had been driving and so they had stopped.

Upon getting out of the car, Faith was left to follow after a panicked looking Stiles. After witnessing two body bags being lifted into the back of an ambulance he began searching for his dad amongst the officers on the scene. Faith had been slightly panicked herself but had kept her cool until her uncle appeared from behind Stiles, who instantly grabbed his dad in a hug, after which Faith did the same. She'd cottoned on quickly that Stilinski men were huggers and it was something she found she had no trouble getting used to.

Her uncle had wondered why they were out but Faith had explained that they were out grabbing some food when they came upon the scene. The excuse had placated her uncle but he still reprimanded Stiles for interrupting another crime scene, which Faith wasn't surprised in the slightest.

It had turned out that Stiles recognised the bodies that had been found, although his dad was never made aware. He had went onto explain to Faith that they were two guys who had happened upon them while they had been drinking and were the reason that the night had ended so abruptly, after they had taken the bottle of Jack Daniels and had attempted to intimidate them both. Stiles was adamant that even in his inebriated stated that both men were alive when Scott dragged him away, afraid of Scott but alive.

Something Faith didn't make Stiles aware of as they waited to near the crime scene, was the presence of a familiar car parked behind them. She made sure to keep them in her sights at all times, making sure they had no idea she knew of their presence. She wasn't stupid and she knew why they were there. Full moon and bodies show up? Yeah, hunters were going to be all over that. As long as they didn't find Scott, then they could stay there all night for all she cared. Instinct told her that Argent eyes were watching tonight's proceedings very closely, probably making sure it wasn't another Alpha attack.

The car was still there as Faith left Stiles at the crime scene with his dad and had made her way back to Scott's house, hoping that he had somehow made his way back home. Stiles had wanted to be there but she could see that he was still slightly panicked over his dad and instead promised that she would keep him posted if anything came up.

Upon arrival at Scott's house she noticed a familiar black Camaro parked outside hidden by the shadows of the house; to any passers-by, they would see darkness and nothing more.

'Wait for one werewolf and two come along at once.'

With determination and stealth, Faith let herself into the house and upstairs to Scott's room. She didn't know where it was exactly so she followed the sound of two voices. She paused at the door to Scott's room, giving a small smile as she heard Derek's familiar growl before frowning as she listened further to the conversation. Derek was offering Scott a chance of a cure? As far Faith was aware, there was no cure; once you're bitten that's it. She had a horrible feeling Derek was lying to Scott, giving him false hope and her suspicions were confirmed when she heard Derek's offer.

"If you help me find him, I'll help you kill him."

Derek was going to use Scott to find the Alpha as he was the only connection they had to him. Faith could understand why he was doing this, it didn't mean she agreed. Not waiting for Scott to start talking she interrupted, "Is that open to everyone, or just Scott?"

Derek and Scott both turned to face her. Scott stared in open mouthed shock and fear, while Derek had that questioning look; his now default expression whenever in the company of Faith.

"Faith," Scott whispered.

"It's nice to see you made it safely home. I hope without incident?" she asked, waiting for either one of the werewolves to answer. "Well?"

Scott had the decency to look ashamed. He went to explain as Faith held up her hand to silence him. "Save it." She looked at Derek. "Don't disappear. I'll speak to you outside." They had more than a few things to discuss.

Derek nodded and made his way out the door and past Faith, knowing when he was being dismissed. Faith and Scott watched him go in silence. As they heard the front door close, Faith turned her attention back towards Scott.

"Are you ok?"

Scott looked up at Faith's question in astonishment. "Y…yeah," he stuttered.

Faith nodded at him. "Good. So, do you want me to tell you how much you fucked up or do you already know?"

Scott shook his head solemnly. "I know."

Faith watched Scott wearily. She grabbed the chair from his desk and dragged it to the middle of the room, right in front of Scott, who was still seated on the edge of bed and sat down. "Want to talk about it?"

"And tell you what? That I nearly killed Jackson and Allison and if Derek hadn't gotten there in time, then I would have? How about that I kissed the girl my best friend is absolutely nuts about? Or that I hurt Danny? And everybody loves Danny!" Scott shouted at her.

"Stiles doesn't hate you. He's pissed as hell but he doesn't hate you. I don't think Stiles really knows how to hate anyone," Faith pointed out.

"Except Jackson," Scott added.

Faith smiled. "Yes, except Jackson and you can apologise to Danny when you see him. You also kinda owe Derek for stopping you killing your ex."

"She's not my ex! We're just not together right now," Scott all but pouted.

"Even so, your jealousy of her friendship with Jackson isn't doing you any favours. You need to learn to control yourself or you are going to have a repeat of what happened tonight," Faith reasoned.

"Don't do me any favours. I can handle this myself," Scott said, crossing his arms in defiance.

"Yeah and you did such a good job. I mean, if threatening to kill your best friend is you 'handling' yourself then carry on," Faith said, leaning back in the chair. "Let's get one thing straight, if you don't deal with this then I will. You need help Scott and I'm afraid the only one who can is downstairs."

"Derek?" He asked incredulously.

"Do you know any other werewolves, other than the Alpha that's going around killing people?" Faith responded. She opened her arms wide to emphasise her point. Receiving nothing but silence from Scott, she continued, "I think we should take him up on his offer."

"I don't think I can kill someone, even if it would make me normal again," Scott confessed.

"You hang around with Stiles, you aren't normal but if what Derek says is right and killing the Alpha will make you human again then you may have to… and I'll help you."

"I don't think I can trust Derek but I trust you. Do you think it will work?"

Faith looked at Scott feeling uneasy. She hated that she was trying to coerce him to work with Derek in finding the Alpha knowing full well there was no cure and Derek was lying to him. Just in case there was even a slight truth to Derek's words, she would get in contact with Dawn to double check, but with the way Scott was looking at her with those puppy dog eyes in hope, she couldn't really tell him the truth.

"No harm in trying," she said. Seeing Scott smile at her, her uneasiness grew. She knew she wasn't lying outright but she knew the kid needed something to hold onto, some hope. "Ok, now get some sleep and come over tomorrow. You have some serious grovelling to do."

"I know. Thanks Faith for, well, everything," Scott grinned. "When I saw you standing there I thought you were coming to… you know."

"It'll never get to that." Faith stood up, spun on her heel and went to leave the room but stopped in the doorway, turning to face Scott. "You came this close though," she said, pinching her forefinger and thumb together until they were millimetres apart. Before she left the room her attention was drawn to the radiator beside Scott's bed. It wasn't the bloodied handcuffs but rather the dog bowl with Scott's name scrawled on it in black marker.

"Was that Stiles?" She asked Scott who followed her gaze to the dog bowl. He looked at her sheepishly and nodded.

She left Scott with smile, a quick wink and a feeling of pride towards her cousin for his actions in dealing with Scott tonight; the dog bowl was a stroke of genius.

Faith closed Scott's front door quietly, making sure it locked behind her. She took a deep breath, letting the cool night air fill her lungs before exhaling shakily. Feelings of guilt were starting to seep in and she didn't like it; lying to Scott meant she would also have to lie to Stiles and that didn't sit well with her. Resting her forehead on the door, she took another deep breath. She knew what she was doing was wrong but she also knew that if Scott and Derek didn't work together then the Alpha was never going to stop. She just hoped that they didn't hate her after all this.

She turned to find an empty porch and no Derek waiting for her as she asked. With a shake of her head at how unsurprised she actually was that he hadn't stayed, she made her way down the porch stairs. When her foot hit the ground on the last step, a figure appeared from the shadows of the house.

"And here's me thinking you went all Houdini on me again," Faith said, turning to face Derek. "Should I be grateful that you actually listened to me?"

Derek stayed silent, his hands in the pocket of his leather jacket.

Faith let out a frustrated sigh as she walked past him towards the woods behind Scott's house. She called out behind her, "I suggest you follow or do you want to stay out in the open? I figured with you being a wanted fugitive and all."

She heard the soft footsteps follow behind her as she continued to walk deeper into the woods. With each step she allowed her frustration at Derek to grow. When the trees opened up to a clearing she stopped, keeping her back to Derek, waiting for him to catch up. When she felt him stop mere steps behind her she turned towards him and with lightning speed, moved forward and grabbed him by the lapels of his leather jacket, pushing him back towards the tree behind him. The tree itself shuddered and moved; groaning from the force of Derek's back hitting it and the power from Faith's push.

"Where the fuck have you been?" Faith shouted at him. "If you haven't noticed it's the full moon and there's an over emotional teenage werewolf that really needed your help." She pulled him forward to then quickly hit him harder into the tree. "And don't give me the bullshit about the police looking for you. None of this had to happen if you had just stuck around."

Derek's eyed blazed blue as he pushed back against her with his own strength with a snarl. Faith pushed back harder, hearing and feeling the tree start to lean back.

"What the hell are you?" He shouted back at her.

Faith glanced down to watch Derek's claw started to protrude. "I don't think so Hale," she growled before she pulled him forward and then pushed him back harder than she ever had before, hearing the distinctive sound of ribs cracking. "I asked first."

Derek let out a deep breath. "As you said, I'm a wanted fugitive. Not good to be out in the open."

"Bullshit," Faith spat.

"Why are you so concerned?" Derek demanded. He was pissed off at Faith but couldn't find it in him to turn the tables on her and fight back. Her anger was palpable and he could practically taste it but it was the feeling of relief from her that was confusing him.

"You walked out of my uncle's kitchen mere hours after being skewered by the Alpha! Pardon me for showing concern at the fact I haven't seen you since," She retorted.

"Looks like it too, as you try to put me through the tree," he snarled.

"The night's still young for that to happen and I'm not in the best mood. Don't. Push. Me," she said through gritted teeth.

She watched as Derek's breathing calmed and his claws retracted. With a final shove, Faith let go of him, stepping back as Derek pushed himself off the tree. While taking the time to brush himself down his eye caught the damage Faith had inflicted with his body; the tree was sitting at an awkward angle with a few of its roots showing at the bottom, the trunk was dented with bald patches where the bark had fallen off, presumably from where Faith had rammed his back into it, and there was a considerable amount of leaves on the ground around them than there had been before.

"How the hell…?" he asked again, pulling his eyes away from the tree to Faith. He gave a slight wince as he felt his ribs begin to heal.

Faith shrugged. "I was frustrated," she offered as way of an answer.

"Frustrated?" He asked incredulously.

Faith crossed her arms defensively. "Yeah, want to see what I do when I'm angry?" she said, voice holding a hint of warning.

"Want to see what I do?" Derek threw back with menacing grin.

"Please," Faith scoffed, "like you're the scariest thing that's ever gotten angry at me. You don't even make the top ten."

Derek stared at her in disbelief. He gave a small shake of his head. "You asked me here, remember?"

"I didn't want to fight with you," Faith shouted in exasperation, her arms raised. She calmed before continuing, "As I said, we'll help you with the Alpha."

"I asked Scott, not you."

Faith's eyes narrowed, crossing her arms. "Well, you are getting two for the price of one. Deal with it. Scott trusts me, not you and he won't help you without me," she said with a snide grin. "And I know you're lying to him about the cure."

"Then why didn't you tell him?" Derek asked curiously, his eyes trained on her.

"Did you think I liked lying to him? I know that giving him false hope is cruel but I also know that without him there's no chance in taking the Alpha down. He's going to hate me and so will Stiles after all this, but I'd rather ask for forgiveness for my lies than for their deaths. I'll protect them both as much I need to and if that means lying, so be it."

Derek stood silent as he mulled over Faith's words. "Then I have no choice, do I? I don't get Scott without you," he sighed.

"No, you don't and let's get one thing straight before we start deciding on the secret handshake. If you lie to me at any point and I find out, and believe me I would, you'd think being hunted by the Argents was a vacation compared to what I'll put you through. Smell the lie in that," Faith threatened. She grinned as she watched Derek's eyes widen slightly before quickly returning to his usual cooled expression. It was nice to know she could surprise the werewolf. "See, it's not so bad just giving in, is it?"

Derek shook his head. "I wasn't giving in."

"Let's agree to disagree on that, shall we?" Faith said. She smiled when Derek gave a non-committal shrug of his shoulders.

"You are frustrating," he stated, exasperated.

"I'm frustrating?" she said with shock, her hand on her heart. "Look at what being frustrated with you does." Faith motioned to the tree. "And I'm related to Stiles. He doesn't come with an off button, you know."

"How did you?" Derek asked, his gaze falling to the crooked tree. "You're different and fully healed from your injuries too it seems."

Faith shrugged indifferently under his intense gaze. "Put it down to good genes and I just eat my greens like every other good girl."

Derek cocked eyebrow at her. It was more than obvious he didn't believe her. "You don't seem the good girl type."

"Appearances can be deceiving. You of all people should know that," Faith responded with a pointed finger.

"Point still stands."

"Touché Hale," Faith said letting her shock show. "You made a joke! Did it hurt?" She started to laugh. "Stiles will never believe me."

Derek shook his head, giving her a slight grin, watching her with hooded eyes. "The family resemblance is starting to show."

"Except, unlike Stiles I will hit back and harder," Faith replied with a grin of her own. They stood in the quiet of the woods a moment, letting the calm fall upon them. "I should be getting back. Stiles will be worried," she started to explain, "and you have to… where are you staying? I know you aren't at your house as it's crawling with hunters."

"Around," Derek shrugged. Faith could see that his walls, that had come down a little as they talked, were now up and fortified.

Faith held up her hands in defence. "I was only asking. It's that concern thing again. It has me caring."

"And I still don't know why."

"Does it bother you that much?"

"No."

"And here's me thinking you weren't going to lie to me."

"What bothers me is that I have no idea who or what you are. I don't trust you."

"I won't take it personally, even if I did save your life but you're a smart boy Hale, I'm sure you'll figure it out." Faith advised, taking a slight step forward towards him. "I'm surprised you can't tell through my scent."

Faith looked up to see Derek looking down at her in what she could only describe as alarm. She didn't know what she said that could have put that expression on his face; she was only teasing about her scent. She knew he wouldn't be able to tell she was a slayer that way, more that she wasn't entirely human.

"Your scent was… fine," Derek gulped, his gaze never leaving Faith.

"I don't think I want you to find out, to be honest. It's too much fun holding this over you and I'll admit I do like being on top," Faith teased. "And I do could this all night but I'll let you get back to… 'being around'." She gave Derek a quick salute before turning away and heading back to Scott's house and Stiles' jeep.

Derek stood in the silence of the clearing and listened as Faith made her way back home; her footsteps light and fast. He could hear her call Stiles; eavesdropping as she told him that Scott was alright and she was on her way home. She made mention that it had been Derek that had found Scott but told him nothing of their conversation in the woods and he didn't think she would but he still found it disconcerting when her heart beat stuttered with her lies. It had occurred to him then that he hadn't heard her lie since he had met her. Sure, he knew she wasn't telling him everything about herself and he never expected her to either; she hadn't ever outright lied about anything she divulged, just providing half-truths.

He didn't know what it was that irked him about Faith, the fact that he had no idea what she was and that she knew it annoyed him or that he was starting to care? Either way it wasn't good and the quicker they could find the Alpha the better.

One thing was for sure, he sure as hell wasn't going to lie to her. Even if he hadn't been listening to her heart, the tone and sheer power that had radiated from her when she threatened him had him thinking twice. He'd only ever heard or felt that kind of power from an Alpha but he knew without a doubt she wasn't a wolf. She was different, but from what he could tell, she was human. Whatever Faith was, she had is full attention.