Chapter 11! I'm posting this up even though I only have nine reviews on the last chapter. It's the only time I'll make an exception because I really wanted to put this one up. This one is getting back on topic regarding the story. I know I went a little off before, but I'm getting back on track and I feel my writer's block lifting. It's a good thing... Anyways, this chapter is going to be more informative. I read a review saying that I should do that more so I will start explaining more things. I just like the family side of the story. Derek's family to be more specific because they're so much fun. Anyway, I'll give you a break from my random blabber. Please read and enjoy. Remember, ten reviews are required if you want the next chapter to come out.

Disclaimer: I do not own Darkest Powers.

Chapter 11

Derek and I walk into the mansion and I'm in total awe. Derek takes one look at my face and chuckles. "Come on, Chloe. It's not that impressive. I guess it would be if it was just me and my family, but the entire pack lives here. It can get pretty hectic."

"But it's still bigger than anywhere I've ever lived," I stare wide eyed at a really expensive looking crystal chandelier.

Derek pulls on my arm to lead me toward a set of double doors. He pushes them open and I'm hit by a wave of sound. Derek visibly flinches as well. "I told you."

Inside there is a huge room filled with werewolves of many ages. They notice is and many of them turn to stare as we walk through. I feel really awkward being the only one not a werewolf here. Derek glares at them until they turn away.

We keep on walking until we reach another door. Derek opens it and lets me through first. There's an office inside and in this office is Derek's mother and father. They look like they're in the middle of a serious talk. At first I feel we should leave, but then Jeremy sees us and motions us in. "There you two are. Jaime told me about your run in with the bounty hunters. I hope you're not hurt, Chloe."

I shake my head. "I'm fine. Derek made sure of that."

I glare at Derek while he returns it. Then Jeremy chuckles. "Alright. Why don't you two sit down? There's something I need to tell you anyway. Chloe, this pertains mostly to you."

Derek tightens his grip on my hand. "What is it?"

"Sit down and I'll tell you," Jeremy motions at two chairs in front of his desk.

Before I get the chance to sit in one of the chairs Derek sits and pulls me onto his lap. Jeremy chuckles and Jaime 'Awws'. Derek wraps his arms around me then looks at Jeremy expectantly. "What is it?"

Jeremy sits forward with his hands interlaced on the desk. "I only just found out about this. Chloe, your mother discovered something in her books not too long ago. She just called me and told me about it. In one of her older necromancer books there are stories of an angel of death choosing a very powerful necromancer to bless with a special power. The angel only appears every five hundred years.

"It's been told in a prophecy that when this happens an apocalypse is coming. One so great it could wipe out the entire human population. When I say human I mean those who aren't supernaturals. The world is supposed to be plunged into darkness and demons will roam the Earth."

"But what do I have to do with this?" I ask.

Jeremy sighs then turns to Jaime. She steps forward with a concerned expression on her face. "Sweetheart, during the ceremony a few days ago you've been experiencing strange things, haven't you?"

"Yes," I nod.

Jaime nods then sits on the edge of the desk. "Well, from what I've heard, you're able to see souls. Now, souls and spirits are two different things. Someone's spirit is something that can be seen by anyone, even if they are not a necromancer. A haunting is a good example of that. But a soul is different. Hundreds of years can go by before someone comes along that has the ability to see souls and they're not even born with the power. They have to be given it by the angel of death."

I swallow hard. "So that thing that attacked me was the angel of death?"

"Yes, and apparently it has chosen you for the prophecy," Jaime stands and goes to a bookcase and pulls out a thick book. "I read up on what your mother found out. It seems that you are the key to survival. Your power is what is going to save us. I'm sorry to say that humans don't have spirits that are as strong as a supernatural's so they probably will die out. The world will be left to the supernaturals. Of course, we supernaturals are not completely safe."

"Then what's the point of this power?" I mumble.

Jeremy stands and grabs the book from Jaime. "When the academy was attacked there was a thick fog that would kill anyone that it would touch. That's what we though, anyway. In actuality, it stole the souls of those it touched. It left behind their spirits. That is why the necromancers have still been able to see those who were supposedly dead."

Jaime sits in the empty chair next to us. "Chloe, the soul is a powerful thing. Being able to see them is only part of what you can do. If I'm correct, and what the books are telling me is true, then, unlike any other necromancer before, you would be able to truly bring back the dead.

"I-I c-c-can b-bring back the d-d-dead?" I gasp.

"Even if they have been dead for years," Jaime grasps my hand and makes me look her square in the eye. "You can bring back the innocent students that were taken from us so suddenly."

I shake my head. "But what about their bodies? If they've been dead for years, wouldn't their bodies be decayed? That would be even worse. Living in a body so mangled and incomplete."

Jaime just smiles. "That is the power of a soul."

There's a silence heavier than any weight someone could throw on me. I knew this power was something special, but I didn't think it would extend this far. If what I'm being told is the truth then I would be able to bring Liz back. And if I did that I'm sure Tori would be really happy. So would Simon and Rae.

Derek place his hand over mine. "Try not to force yourself to take it all in too fast. Let it sink in on its own."

I nod and lean my head back against Derek's shoulder. "I'm already seeing souls. Now I find out that I'm able to bring back the dead even if they've been gone for years. That's a power no mortal should have. It's just too much pressure."

Jaime crosses her legs and chuckles. "Yes, that's true. That's why you'll only ever use your powers if, and only if, it's absolutely necessary. You were already a powerful necromancer before. I think this puts you on a whole other level."

"I don't even know how to start figuring this out," I squeeze my eyes shut in desperation.

I feel a cool hand on my shoulder. I open my eyes to see Jaime's face bright with a smile. "Don't worry. I already asked your mother if I could train you. Since she's already extremely busy dealing with the situation at the academy and also teaching the necromancers. She's not going to have enough time to give you the one-on-one time you need."

"Oh… o-okay," I nod slowly.

Jaime pats my shoulder then stands. "Good. Now, on to the matter of the bounty hunters."

Jeremy sits back down and places the book in his hands on the desk. "Derek, did they see Chloe?"

"Most likely," Derek nods.

"I was really hoping that wouldn't be the case," Jeremy sighs then leans back in his seat. "Well, I've been hearing rumors that they've recently been having relations with an organization that does experiments on supernaturals. I think they call themselves the Edison Group. They don't show any mercy or sympathy to any supernatural, especially to werewolves. I think they're trying to plan something big considering they've never tried to take one of our own so close to our base."

"Not to mention the son of the alpha," Jaime puts in.

Jeremy grunts in response. "It can't just be a coincidence that this is all happening so close to when the angel of death attacked Chloe, then the fog stole the souls of those students. Something is definitely up and I'm not liking this one bit. Though, I think Chloe is in more danger now that she has been seen with my son by the bounty hunters. You know what that means, right Derek?"

Derek tightens his grip on me. "Yeah. What are we going to do about it, Dad?"

Jeremy looks at me with a calculating eye. "Since Jaime needs to train her anyway, I'll ask her mother if she can move here. I'll ask around if one of the females doesn't mind Chloe staying with them, but for now she can stay in one of the spare rooms."

Jaime beams. "Yay! I won't be the only necromancer among a bunch of werewolves anymore. I'm sure it's going to be a lot of fun. Don't you think so too, Chloe?"

I jump when I hear my name. "Oh, uh… yes?"

Jaime giggles. "Oh! You're just so cute. Don't worry, sweetie. It's going to be great."

Jeremy throws me a sympathetic look. "Derek, why don't you take Chloe and introduce her to the rest of the pack. There's something I want to talk to your mother about."

Derek grunts and stands while setting me on my feet. "If you want your alone time with Mom all you had to do was say so, Dad."

Jeremy chuckles. "Alright. Get the hell out so I can have some alone time with my woman."

Even I giggle at the banter between father and son. It seems like they have a really light relationship. I wonder if all werewolves are like this. It seems like they all really like to just have fun and do whatever they want. That's what I get from Derek's brothers at least. I don't know when the last time was that Derek let loose. Then again, I haven't known him all that long.

Derek look down at me once we're out of Jeremy's office. "Listen, Chloe, I promise I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I'll protect you as best I can from those bounty hunters since I can't protect you from what's happening with you and your powers."

I smile and move onto my toes to give Derek a light kiss. "Thanks, Derek, but don't be too hard on yourself. I don't want you to get hurt either. Okay?"

Derek nods then smiles. He leans down for another kiss, but before our lips can touch he's tackled to the ground by his brothers. Then I feel some gentle hands on me. I look up to see three beautiful women. One of them is Clay's mate, Elena. "Please come with us, Chloe."

"W-w-why?" I bite my lip when I hear my stutter.

Elena just smiles. "Please. We just want to talk to you. I don't know how long they'll be able to keep Derek away from you and I really want to get to know my future sister-in-law."

My cheeks turn red. "Um, o-okay."

Elena chuckles then takes my hand. "Don't worry. I just want to talk. I seems that my mate has taken a liking to you. It's not something that happens very often."

"What?" I tilt my head.

"Clay doesn't usually take a liking to strangers so easily," Elena continues to smile as she leads me away from the wrestling brothers. "That and I want to get to know to girl that finally managed to break Derek's tough guy act."

Elena, and the two other werewolf females lead me into another room with more women. Elena makes me sit on the floor where there are a bunch of pillows. Elena does so too, but it look awkward because of her large belly.

When we're all settled in everyone is staring at me. I feel uncomfortable and I feel a blush spreading across my face. Elena reaches over and places a hand on my shoulder. "So, how did you and Derek meet?"

I'm a little surprised by the question, but I answers anyway. "It was the night before I arrived at the academy. Um, I was taking a walk in a nearby forest. I saw Derek lying on the ground with some wounds on his chest. I tried to help him, but he was being stubborn and a jerk. So I finally managed to make him let me help him. Afterwards, he just walked off without saying thank you."

Elena smirks. "Sounds like Derek. Still, how did you manage to deal with his temper. He has a pretty bad one."

I twiddle my fingers. "I've been told I have a pretty bad temper too. Mostly by my mom. I guess we just canceled each other out."

Elena nods slowly then gets a wicked look in her eyes. "So… how far have you two gotten. Has he gotten you in bed yet?"

I squeak in surprise. "No! Of course not. I only just found out I'm his mate."

"Werewolves tend to move quickly so I'm warning you now," Elena pats her swollen belly before smiling again. "Clay and I were together only three months before I found out I was pregnant. It took him two months before that to finally get me to agree to be his mate."

I look at Elena's stomach. "Wow… that is pretty fast. Do you know if it's a girl or a boy?"

Elena shakes her head. "No. Werewolves don't trust human doctors with this sort of thing so we turn to our healer which is a shaman. We do whatever we can from there."

"I see…" suddenly I get a weird tingly feeling through my body.

Then my vision slowly turns dark. I squeeze my eyes shut and rub them. Then I start to see souls again. I gasp and keep rubbing my eyes. The souls becoming easier to see. Then is see one in front of me that's really curious looking. I gasp when I see three of them.

My vision becomes normal again. I flinch when the light hits my eyes all of a sudden. Elena is looking at me worriedly. "What's the matter, Chloe? Are you okay? Your eyes suddenly went dark?"

I blink a few times then look at Elena. "Oh, I think that was… did you know you're having twins?"

Elena gasps and places her hands on her stomach. "What!"

I bite my lip and try to make myself look smaller. "I'm sorry. It's just that I'm coming into some new powers and I don't really know how to use them yet. I promise they're not putting your babies in any danger. I just saw that there were two souls so close to yours and I just assumed…"

Tears appear in Elena's eyes. "Oh my god… I'm having twins. I can't wait to tell Clay. He's going to be so happy. Do you know if they're girls or boys?"

I shake my head. "I don't know. I wasn't able to check. I don't even know how to."

Elena nods then takes my hand. "Thank you. This is such a pleasant surprise. I really do like you. I think you'll be a great mate to Derek. If you even need any help with anything don't hesitate to ask. Although Clay is going to insist he do it for me."

I smile shyly. "Okay… um, do you know how far along you are?"

"About eight months," Elena beams happily while patting her belly.

"Wow, so it won't be much longer then," I smile slightly at the thought of seeing baby werewolves.

Elena leans forward to look closer at my face. "Do you plan on having pups any time soon?"

Pups? Oh, right. That's what werewolves call babies. It's a little strange, but I have to admit that it's actually really cute. But back to the question. "Um, I guess so. I don't think having any so soon would be a good idea for me. Not with everything that's been happening lately. It wouldn't be safe for anyone."

"I suppose you're right," Elena sighs.

The door opens and closes as Jaime enters the room. She sees me and smiles. "Are we all getting along here?"

Elena nods. "Yes. I'm just asking Chloe some questions and trying to get to know her better. We were just talking about pups and if she planned on having any soon. Her answer was obviously no."

Jaime pouts. "Aww, but I want more pups running around. They're so cute. Especially because they like sleeping in little puppy piles. You should have seen my boys when they were little. They loved to sleep in a little pile in a corner of Jeremy's office. They were so cute. I think I have a picture of it somewhere."

"You have pictures of everything, Jaime," Elena jokes.

Jaime just grins and reaches into her purse. "As a matter of fact. I have them right here. Including the new pictures I took of Derek and Chloe."

My cheeks burn red as pictures are passed between the women in the room. I see a picture of Derek and his brothers. It must be recent. Then I see another one of a younger Derek. He's wrapped in a towel and lying on the ground with a pout on his face.

I giggle and call Jaime's attention. "Jaime, when was this picture taken?"

Jaime looks and grins. "This was when Derek was five. Jeremy and I took the boys swimming. Derek didn't want to though. He just wanted to sit under a tree and read. Such is the mind of a little genius. Anyway, his brothers snuck up on him and threw him into the water. They kept tackling him so he couldn't get out. When he did finally manage to he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself. He sat on the ground pouting and until he dried off."

I smile at the picture. "He's still a stick in the mud, isn't he?"

"Yes, but now he's your stick in the mud," Jaime hands me some more pictures.

As I look through more pictures I come across one that just melts my heart. Jaime and Elena notice me staring at the picture and lean over to get a look. I can see their eyes go soft as well. Who wouldn't go soft over this picture? It's Derek and his brothers lying in a puppy pile in a corner with a blanket thrown over them. They're all so tiny and adorable looking. I'm a little biased though because I think Derek looks the most adorable.

Jaime gives me a sneaky look. "If you want, you can take it and blackmail Derek with it."

I chuckle nervously. "Well, I want it, but only because I think it's so cute. It's so funny because now they're so huge and nothing but muscle. Here they're tiny and still have baby fat."

Elena gets an evil twinkle in her eyes. "Then you better give me a copy to blackmail Clay because I have no problem with it."

This is really nice. I've never really had people to interact with like this. It was usually just me and my parents when I was very young. Then it was just me, Dad and a nanny. Then it was my parents again after Mom came back, but our relationship was really rocky.

Now I have this. I was already glad I met Derek before. After meeting his family I feel that feeling multiply ten times. Sure I had friends in school, but nothing like this. I'm able to be whatever I am with these people and they won't judge me. I think I'm really going to enjoy living here.