Chapter Ten:

"Why were you with her anyway?", I heard Scott grill Stiles in an accusing tone, like he did something wrong being with me.

"We were walking back from the diner together", Stiles answered, causing his friend to lift a brow at him, "It wasn't like that", he groaned, rubbing his head in frustration, "We were just studying", he explained.

Scott and Stiles continued to bicker on about me as I stood from afar watching them with amusement, and just a hint of annoyance. Clearly the teenage alpha didn't trust me at all, which meant he didn't even want me near any of his friends.

I groaned to myself, holding my head in my hands, "Why do I feel like the mistress that just got in-between a married couple?", I grumbled into my palms.

"Because you are...", a voice hummed and I looked up to see Derek standing beside me. He had a serious expression on his face as he answered my rhetorical question, watching the two friends bicker as well.

"Good to know", I scoffed, turning to face the older wolf.

Silence fell between us as we both stood beside each other and watched Scott and Stiles at a distance. Stiles was flailing his hands all over the place as he talked, and Scott was clenching his jaw and listening.

"He really hates me, doesn't he?", I uttered to myself, not intending it to be a question but Derek responded to it anyway.

He breathed out a small laugh, which surprised me since I've never seen him not be grouchy.

"I've never seen Scott McCall dislike someone so quickly", he smirked with his arms folded as he stared straight ahead at Scott.

I had to pause in shock as I stared at the wolf because he was actually smiling. And it looked good on him, he should smile more often.

When I finally got over the fact that Derek Hale was grinning, I turned back ahead and muttered sarcastically, "That's reassuring..."

"Scott is usually so trusting and accepting, it almost doesn't make sense", he spoke thoughtfully, his eyes never leaving the young alpha.

"That's still not reassuring...", I scoffed, looking up at him and he finally turned to me, his face growing serious.

"The reason Scott's acting this way towards you is because the wolf in him can sense that you're dangerous, can smell the death that lingers on your skin", Derek explained.

"But we're on the same side", I tried.

Derek nods in understanding then turned back to Scott as he explained, "But he's the Alpha. His automatic instinct is to protect his pack, and he still sees you as a threat. He's going to continue to listen to his wolf, and be cautious of you until he feels you can be trusted."

I nodded, beginning to understand.

Derek then dropped his gaze and looked down at me, "He'll come around eventually. It's not hard to get onto Scott McCall's good side."

Crossing my arms against my chest, I let out a tired breath. It'll just be so much easier dealing with the Monroe pack if we all played nice with each other.

Silence fell upon us again as we continued to stare blankly at the two boys, not really focusing on them as they smiled and laughed about something. Then I remembered something, "By the way... uhh, thanks for helping out before... with Scott", I said, referring to when he defended my actions in front of the alpha and helped ease down the situation.

Derek looked down at me and nodded, as a way to say 'you're welcome' before turning back to the boys. "These werewolves are more dangerous than we thought", he said tensely, and noticed his eyes lingering on the darkening bruises and small cuts on Stiles neck.

They really were a pack, weren't they? They all clearly cared for one another human or not, even though they had different ways of showing it. It was nice to see because it was like they were family, even though they weren't blood. And it made me instantly yearn for my own family.

Forcing myself to not go down that dark path, I turned away from Derek and nodded, "Agreed..."

Silence fell between us once again, but it wasn't uncomfortable this time which made me realise that this was the first time actually conversing with the wolf, and not arguing with him.

"Dude, did we just have a moment? Are you like... no longer in the Winchester Hate Club?", I teased, a grin emerging on my face. For some reason, it felt oddly satisfying to annoy and get under Derek Hale's skin. He was too tense and serious all the time.

The older wolf just turned to me, and gave me a blank look of distaste, "Don't call me dude", he replied simply, before he unfolded his arms and strolled over to the two teenage boys who were now bickering again about who knows what.

Chuckling to myself, I marked this off as progress in our ally-ship. It was the best way to describe our relationship. This obviously wasn't a friend-ship, we were just allies working on the same side.

Dropping my folded arms, I walked towards them and entered their little circle, wanting to know if we were done for the night so I could go home and sleep. The adrenaline and hype of the night had completely worn off and what was left was exhaustion and aching muscles.

"So what now?", Stiles asked looking over at Derek and Scott as he rubbed at his eyes. He looked like he was exhausted too.

"Well, the Alpha is going to be out for blood. You guys just killed one of his Betas, and severely injured another. That is if he's not dead already from wolfsbane poisoning", Derek said, looking between Stiles and I.

"It was her, not me!", Stiles argued in defense, not wanting to be singled out by the Alpha.

"He's not going to care", Derek shot back angrily, wanting Stiles to take the situation seriously.

Stiles just groaned tiredly and dropped his face in his hands in frustration and anxiety. He rubbed at his face a bit before he sighed and finally looked back up at his friends. "I'm going to repeat my first question - so what now?"

Scott was deep in thought as he stared at his friend, his eyebrows creased in worry. "The Alpha is going to be royally pissed", he began, his eyes still on Stiles. "I'd be pissed too if someone killed a member of my pack", he then turned and eyed me this time. He was referring to what happened, but it was like he was threatening me at the same time as well. Threatening me from ever harming anyone in his pack. He then turned back to Derek and Stiles, "So I don't think Stiles or Stormy should be left alone right now", he concluded.

"Ugh, seriously?", Stiles groaned.

I scoffed, "That's not necessary. I can protect myself."

Scott rolled his eyes, like he's heard that line so much before. "No one is saying that you can't but..."

"I really don't need to be babysat", I cut him off in refusal. The last thing I needed was to be around more werewolves, especially since I didn't trust them yet. It takes me a while to build up trust towards anyone. I've been betrayed and hurt so many times throughout my hunting career, that trust was something that didn't come so easily.

Derek turned to me impatiently, like he wasn't in the mood for a debate. "Look, we don't know how Osiris thinks, and we're not taking the chance to find out", he snapped, glaring at me as a way to threaten me from arguing back. "You're no good to us dead. And the only reason you're still allowed in Beacon Hills is because Deaton said you could help us take this pack down", he pointed a finger at me. "Which means you play by our rules, and the rule right now is that no one is going to left alone tonight."

I couldn't really argue with that so I chose to just glare at the older wolf, and he responded by returning an even more vicious glare.

Stiles couldn't take the silence that was forming and turned to Scott, "My dad's going to be at the station all night. I could stay at yours, but I don't think your mum would agree to let some random girl she's never met before join our usual sleepovers...", he paused as a thought struck him, "Not that she'd let any girl join our sleepovers...", he trialed off, scratching at his chin in thought.

"Well, I guess it's decided then. I'll just go...", I muttered quickly and tried to make a dash towards the exit but someone quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the circle.

Groaning, I was too tired to fight and let myself be pulled back and was surprised to see that Scott was the one who grabbed me, gently might I add. He didn't let go of my arm just in case I decided to make a run for it again, and turned to Derek questioningly. Something was unspoken between them and Derek nodded like he was answering him, and then Scott turned back to Stiles and I.

"We'll all stay at Derek's tonight. It's our best option", Scott decided, eyeing me before finally letting go of my arm.

"I'm still not okay with this...", I mumbled under my breath as I crossed my arms across my chest.

"Well, I'm not either. But you have to start trusting us, just like we have to start trusting you", Scott said seriously, almost like he was extending an olive branch.

I looked up and stared at him for a bit and then nodded, realising that he was genuinely trying.

"And no better way to do that then a sleepover! We should exercise some trust falls", Stiles announced loudly throwing his hands up in the air like it was a celebration. He was being completely sarcastic of course.

"Sounds awesome...", I groaned before following the bunch out the door.

Derek and Scott were really taking this supposed threat to our lives very seriously. Scott followed Stiles home so he could get a few things, and Derek followed me which I wasn't very happy about because now it meant that he knew where I was staying. But then again, if I do survive the night at his place and they don't kill me in my sleep, then I should stop worrying about them turning on me later on.

Derek's Camaro stopped behind the Bronco as I parked it in front of the abandoned office building that I was crashing in. He waited in the car and yelled out 'five minutes' from his window as he examined the building suspiciously as it wasn't exactly where he expected me to be living. In five minutes, I shoved a clean shirt and hoodie in a small navy bag to change into for school tomorrow and also threw in my laptop and hunters journal. I was about to leave when I remembered to grab something comfortable to sleep in since I didn't want to be in my jeans all night, so I grabbed some leggings and any spare shirt I could find since I didn't have much clean ones left. I really needed to do some laundry. Throwing the small over-stuffed bag over my shoulder, I grabbed my school bag as well since I had school tomorrow and left.

When I crossed the road towards my car, I could see Derek still eyeing out the abandoned office building and he frowned at me as I got into my car. I followed his Camaro to his place and was surprised at how close it was to mine, they were both on the same side of downtown Beacon Hills. I didn't know what I expected, maybe an old house in the woods or something wolfy, but he parked at an abandoned looking apartment building that was at least fifteen storeys high.

"This is your place?", I asked as I pulled out my small navy bag from the passenger seat and left my school bag in the car since I wouldn't need it for the night.

Derek nodded in reply as he closed the door to his Camaro and locked it with a press of a button and a beep.

Locking my car as well, I turned and faced the building skeptically. It looked so beaten up and dark, like there couldn't be any life occupying it. "Are you squatting or something?", I asked still looking up at the tall building and placed my hands on my hips before I faced the older wolf.

Derek turned to me with an offended expression on his face, "No!", he spat annoyed, "I own the building", he grumbled, then narrowed his eyes at me, "But you're clearly squatting", he said sure of himself as he folded his arms across his chest, lifting a brow at me accusingly.

I chose not to respond as I turned away from him and readjusted the strap of my bag against my shoulder.

"You're not even going to deny it?", he scoffed.

I shook my head, "And I'm sure not gonna admit it either", I gave him a sarcastic grin.

He just shook his head, like he was a disappointed police officer or something, like he's never broken the law before.

"Hey, don't judge me, okay", I pointed a finger at him, "Hunting doesn't exactly come with a weekly income."

"Well, don't hunt then", he shrugged like it was such an easy option.

Frowning, I looked at him like he was stupid, "Telling me not to hunt, is like me telling you not to be a werewolf."

"It's not the same!", he argued loudly in disagreement.

"I was born into hunting, just like you were born into being a werewolf", I explained and he opened his mouth to respond but I quickly cut him off, lifting my hand to silence him. "And once you're in the game, that's it! There's no going back. Do you think I could actually live a normal life, if I tried? Hell, my brother is trying right now and even though I really want it to work out for him, it's just a matter of time before it blows up in his face. Demons from our past will always come back to haunt us... and yes, l mean demons literally, not figuratively."

Derek didn't actually know how to respond to that as he just stared at me blankly, like he was seeing me in a new light. You could tell his thought process was completely elsewhere, analysing my every word. There was a short pause between us before he just let out a heavy breath and turned towards the building. "We better get inside", he said before leading the way towards the entry and I reluctantly followed closely behind.

It was a silent trip in the creaky old elevator as we traveled all the way up to the top floor. I followed him out as he pulled the elevator doors opened and walked down towards a wide metal hunk of a door with a large chunky handle on the side of it. He pulled the handle, sliding the door open and didn't bother to see if I was following as he crossed over the threshold and entered the loft. My eyes widened in surprise as I took in what was on the other side of the door. I was expecting a dark, dirty and decaying apartment without proper furniture that screamed evil werewolf lair, but it wasn't. It was a wide spacious loft, with exposed brick walls and had a large arched window right opposite the door which had the view of a glistening moon. The room wasn't exactly cozy since it barred any carpeting or homey furniture but it had the essentials. A couch, tables, chairs and a queen sized bed at the far end near the window with some beams to kind of square it off. There was also a long spiral staircase on the right that leads upstairs, and a door at the far end which led out to the balcony. It was pretty awesome looking.

"Sweet! You guys have your own wolf-cave", I grinned as I followed Derek down a couple of stairs into the living area where a boy my age with curly blond hair was sitting on the couch. He was leaning over the coffee table, writing into a book with a textbook open in front of him. It looked like he was doing homework.

The boy gave me an odd look before he turned to Derek with an inquisitive expression before turning back to me. "That's what Stiles likes to call it... but Derek growls at him every time he does", he smirked in remembrance before he put down his pen onto the dark wooded coffee table and walked up to Derek and I. He crossed his arms and lifted a brow at Derek, waiting for him to do the introducing on the new stranger he's never met.

Derek just gestured to me and told the boy bluntly, "This is Stormy...", then gestured to the boy, as he looked at me, "And this is Isaac, he's my beta", he explained.

I just gave the blonde boy a nod and groaned softly to myself, "Great, another teenage werewolf", I mumbled. It was like everyone I've met in this town is a supernatural being.

"Stormy...", Isaac choked, "... as in Stormy Winchester? The hunter girl you've been bitchin' about ever since she came to town", he asked, completely shocked.

Derek just death glared the boy in response, ignoring his question and my lips instantly rose into a satisfied smile.

"Scott and Stiles are on the way. They're staying the night", Derek explained vaguely, not giving anymore details then that.

"Why?", Isaac asked, looking me up and down, not sure he felt okay with having a sleepover with a hunter.

"I'll explain later", Derek replied shortly, not in the mood to get into detail. "Can you just get the extra blankets and pillows from the storage cabinet?", he asked, even though it was really a demand.

Isaac stuttered slightly, still standing in his spot as he debated with himself if he should keep grilling Derek for answers. But he chose it was better to just drop it, knowing when the older wolf wasn't in the mood to talk. "Fine...", he groaned, and reluctantly walked off to get what he asked for.

Derek turned to face me and pointed towards a small hallway to the right, "The bathroom is down the hall to the left, you can get washed up", he looked down at the sprinkle of blood on my shirt and wrinkled his nose, like he could smell the stench of the death of his own kind.

Nodding, I tightened my hold on my bag and made my way to the bathroom. It was a decent sized bathroom. The floor was slabbed with dark but smooth concrete and there was a shower in the corner which was framed with thick pillars of concrete, no glass or anything, just concrete to stop the splatter of water from the showerhead. There was a simple white porcelain toilet and sink, and a long metal handle with a thick charcoal towel hanging from it.

Locking the door, the first thing I did was remove my blood stained jacket and shirt so I didn't have to inhale the metallic scent of blood any longer. Facing the mirror, I examined the fading bruises on my forehead for a second before I turned on the faucet and began trying to rinse away the dried sweat and grime from my skin. I started with washing my hands, arms and then face before running my wet fingers through my short chocolate hair and brushed out the knots. Stripping off my jeans and sneakers next, I pulled on dark grey woven leggings and took out the shirt that I quickly grabbed, which seemed to be one of my brothers old over-sized shirts that I had stolen. Pulling it over my head, I looked in the mirror and froze as I saw it was Sam's old maroon shirt with 'Stanford University' printed on the chest in white. After a whole minute of staring into the mirror at the shirt in silence, I cringed and shook my head trying to force myself to calm down. I didn't need to have a freak right here in a werewolf's bathroom. With shaky hands I brushed my hair away from my face and pulled it into a sloppy pony tail. Giving the shirt one more glance, I shook my head and shoved my dirty clothes into the bag and rushed out the bathroom before I thought about it for too long.

"Hey, woah. What's the rush?", Derek stammered with his hands on my shoulders, stopping me from hitting into him.

"S-Sorry...", I avoided eye contact as he dropped his grasp on me. I moved past him into the living area and dropped my bag onto one of the sleeping bags.

He just finished setting up two sleeping bags for us on the floor beside the couch. They had thick blankets underneath them for cushioning from the hard concrete floor, and a pillow each. The coffee table and chairs were moved to the side to make room, and there was also a throw and pillow on the couch for a third person.

Derek eyed me suspiciously, like he was hearing my heart pound desperately against my chest. But thankfully, he noticed that I was trying to ignore his curious stare and chose to drop it. "Not going to nick the couch before the boys get here?", he asked, eyeing the empty couch which was mine for the taking.

I shrugged, not really having thought about it. I always automatically took the least comfortable sleeping space since I was the youngest out of my siblings. The older you were, the better your sleeping arrangement in a shitty motel room. The hierarchy was obviously bed first, then couch, then floor. That was unless you were to bet on who gets the better place to sleep.

"I'm used to sleeping on the floor...", I replied nonchalantly before sitting down on the sleeping bag and folding my legs Indian style.

Derek accepted my answer and then looked down at the watch on his wrist and grumbled, "Where are they? They should already be here by now!", he stomped towards Isaac who was now sitting on at stool at a long wooden table which sat horizontally underneath the huge arched window, continuing his homework. "Try them again", Derek told him.

"They're still not answering", Isaac replied, tapping at his phone screen which was already calling them from before.

"I'm gonna kill 'em", Derek growled, leaning his palms against the large table.

"Just relax, Derek. They'll be here", Isaac tried to calm him down as he kept tapping away at his phone. He then paused as he leaned forward to whisper something into the older wolfs ear, which I managed to catch, "Why does she smell like that?", he leaned back and made eye contact with Derek, "Like... death?"

Grimacing to myself slightly, I dropped my head and played with the hem of Sam's Stanford shirt, feeling very uncomfortable all of a sudden. I didn't focus on Derek's reply to Isaac as I struggled to pull my head away from dark thoughts, not wanting to lead to a black hole of bad memories. I quickly grabbed my hunter journal from my bag and shuffled through it, trying to distract myself.

Ten minutes of silence passed and it seemed as if Isaac finished his homework and disappeared into another room. Derek was stomping across the loft, doing aimless things, picking up something from here, moving it to over there, waiting impatiently for the boys to arrive. He was getting more agitated by the second and then his phone beeped. He marched towards the coffee table which was now not far from beside me, and grabbed his phone. He tapped away at the screen and groaned as he read a message from Scott.

"They're on their way...", he breathed out and shook his head still annoyed. He threw his phone back on the table and sat back on one of the chairs, leaning his elbows on his thighs.

Looking up at Derek whose focus was somewhere else, I asked whats been on my mind for the last ten minutes. "Do I really smell that off?", I questioned softly, making the wolf raise his head.

He looked at me for a long second before he replied with a simple nod, and inhaled a little in my direction. "If I get close and really inhale your scent, behind the smell of gunpowder and cinnamon... lingers an off-putting odour of decay and... mossy dirt", he answered, a slight frown on his face.

Sitting in silence for a moment, I took in his words. I knew that the reason my whole family smelt like death was because we've experienced it before, some of us more than once.

"It's because you've died before, isn't it?", Derek asked, zapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him and lifted my brow, questioning him how he knew that and he answered my unvocalised question. "Werewolves have a lot to say about the Winchesters", he explained, and from the way he said it, it was clear that they were all negative things. Which was a given since I was a hunter and they were the hunted.

But for some reason it spiked a slight flare in my bones because it caused me to remember what he said to me the first time we ran into each other in the reserve, at the scene where the third person was murdered.

...

"Well, it's not surprising that you don't believe me. I hear Winchesters have a one track mind when it comes to our kind", Derek said through a sadistic smile, taking a step towards me, the barrel of my gun almost touching his chest. But I didn't move from my spot, not wanting him to think I felt threatened. "I've also heard that one of your brothers saved the world by killing himself. He wasn't wrong there", he smirked.

...

"Is that including what you said to me once... that the death of my brother was practically a favour to the world?", I bit back, my fingers clenching around my journal that I was holding open in my lap.

Derek's face instantly dropped, "I didn't..."

"Don't bother", I quickly cut him off and turned away from him. Dropping my head, I grasped the front of my shirt. It really wasn't helping that I was wearing my dead brothers shirt.

Writer's Note:

Dudes, I'm sorry for not updating regularly. I've been busy with work and life, so don't hate me just yet.
Please let me know what you guys think so far, keeps me motivated!

Rose x.