"She's bright, isn't she—your sunshine?"

Derek startles awake with a gasp, Magritte's voice still ringing in his head. He's lying on his back, it's dark around him, and his first instinct is to take a deep breath, see what he can find out with his nose. Smell has always been his strongest sense. He smells damp and dirt and it doesn't take long to determine that he's in a cellar of some sort. Another inhale tells him that he's alone and has been for a while. Leslie's hazelnut and cherry blossom scent is faint and the strongest of it is what's left on his hand. He pushes himself into a sitting position and flexes the hand he'd used to grab for her. He can still feel the indent of her burning fingers like it was only a second ago.

As he shifts into a standing position, one arm stretched above him so he doesn't smack his head on any wayward wooden beams, Derek blinks his wolf-eyes open to see through the darkness. There are mounds of dirt in some corners of the cellar and nothing else of particular interest. He looks up and wonders if there's a functioning house above him, but he can't hear anything, not even the usual noises of an old creaky house. Slowly, he starts shuffling his way through construction debris, stepping over a shovel and a discarded bucket on his way to the stairs. When he gets to the bottom of the stairs and looks up, he sees right through to the night sky, the moon swollen and huge.

It's an unnatural full moon invoked by magic and he knows this because he doesn't feel its pull on his wolf. Derek's brow knits with worry as the thoughts in his head begin to circulate faster and faster. Any magical thing that can force a full moon can't mean anything good and just as he's trying to figure out his next move a loud roar vibrates through the forest above. It's strong and livid and full of power and Derek knows immediately that it's Scott.

He takes the stairs three at a time, lets his wolf take the lead as it hastens to answer Scott's call. Derek hopes that Scott's roaring because he's facing another alpha and that the other alpha is the one that kidnapped Leslie. He races through the trees, nimbly leaping over roots and brambles, legs pumping strongly as another roar echoes through the forest. The leaves shiver around him and dirt and pebbles scatter against the ground as Scott makes his presence known.

-x-

The time is past 2AM when the lights and sounds of the carnival are finally far behind them instead of around them. They stroll hand in hand through haphazardly parked cars, shoes crunching dirt and sand at their feet. The breeze is cool against her skin as Leslie feels her lips curl into a small thoughtful smile. She turns back to him in the darkness and is warmed by the calm look on his face.

"'M glad you came," she murmurs softly, knowing that she doesn't need to raise her voice with his wolf-ears.

Derek's eyes survey her thoughtfully.

"Are you?" she continues, trying not to push him but unable to resist the urge to find out Derek's answer.

They're standing in the middle of the car park now, the moon casting shadows around them and illuminating them both.

"Am I what?" he asks, looking lost and just a little bit confused.

"Glad you came. Are you glad you came?" Suddenly she feels uncertain. What if he isn't glad? What if he just did it to appease her. She knows how much he hates crowds; how much it rattles his wolf-senses. But he'd danced anyway, enjoyed the music. Seemed like he'd had a good time.

Derek takes a step closer towards her and takes her face in his hands. His palms are warm and dry. They soothe her uncertainty immediately.

"Yes, I'm glad I came," he murmurs before leaning his head down and planting a soft kiss on her lips. He pulls back just enough for their breaths to mingle and whispers again. "I'm glad I came with you, Les'."

Leslie smiles against his lips, feels her heart swell with feeling and her breath tremble against his mouth. She cups a hand against his cheek and wonders how such a beautiful and perfect man could be standing here with her right now without looking for a way to escape.

-x-

He's still deep in the woods when the scents hit him like a brick wall. Scott, Stiles, Lydia, Allison, Isaac, werewolves (a lot), Leslie and…fire. Derek bursts through the trees and comes face to face with the alpha that was in his apartment standing atop the Nemeton's stump. Leslie is still on her knees in front of him, still covered in fire, but unlike earlier, the colour in her skin has faded and there's a blue tinge to her lips. When he tries to get a read on her chemo signals all he can scent is misery and pain. There's an underlying bitterness coating her insides and it shows in the dark shadows under her eyes and the frailty in her limbs.

Her eyes are mere slits against her grey face and she doesn't react even when Derek gets almost close enough to touch.

The alpha—Gannon—shakes his head once in warning as Derek glares at him.

"Be careful, Derek. It's hard for Death to shy away from this one."

Magritte's voice comes at him seemingly from thin air but when he glances around them it looks like no one else has heard.

A loud scream tears through the forest and Derek can just make out the direction of where Lydia is hidden. People are going to die tonight and his heart sinks when he realises that he won't be able to save them all.

There's movement to his right among the trees and a second later he sees Scott emerge from the shadows. The true alpha sends him a nod of acknowledgement as he circles the Nemeton cautiously, one eye on the alpha standing on top of it. Derek can smell Stiles in the trees and he's surprised by how much the kid's scent has changed in the time he's been gone. There's a new undercurrent of strength in Stiles' scent and it leaves Derek wondering exactly how much things have changed in Beacon Hills.

There's another rustle in the branches above him and he sees a pair of golden eyes focussed on him. He can just make out the lithe Asian girl balanced on a branch above their heads. She's holding a sword with one hand and gives him a nod of reassurance as soon as she notices his gaze. He can tell by her scent that she isn't a werewolf but she smells strongly of Scott and its enough to put Derek at ease.

"You've called the cavalry, I see," Gannon muses, directing his words to Scott even as he watches Derek with hawk eyes, prowling the large circumference of the Nemeton's stump. Derek doesn't like Leslie's lack of response; doesn't like the way her breaths grate on every inhale. He knows next to nothing about what an activated Cylph can do to a human host and every move Gannon makes sends a slice of pain up his own spine.

"McCleod, it's not too late to discuss this, okay? We can find another way," Scott tries to reason.

The alpha huffs at them. "All this would be unnecessary if her brother had just done what he was expected to do. It was a mistake to pass it on to this human," he spits the last word out like it offends him and it makes Derek growl deep in his throat. The alpha digs the claws deeper into Leslie's neck and Derek hears her breath hitch desperately.

"Stop!" Derek barks, panicked.

"You can't just take it from her, McLeod, you'll kill her!" Scott protests at the same time, taking a step forward before stopping himself.

"Her body isn't strong enough, anyway. Owen Carroway never should have passed it on, it was his mistake and all it did was prolong the inevitable. The Cylph was always meant to come to me," McLeod says before grabbing Leslie's shoulder and pulling her back against his claws. Her body flares up immediately, the fire engulfing the whole circumference of the Nemeton. Derek resists the urge to cover his eyes as Leslie's own eyes snap open with shock and she lets out a tortured, shattering scream.

He and Scott lunge for McLeod and Leslie at the same time just as everyone around them starts moving all at once. Something tackles him as it leaps from the other side of the Nemeton and Derek lets out an angry snarl, pushing at large, football-player-shoulders. The girl with the sword drops out of the trees and intercepts a female beta running towards McLeod, who Derek assumes is her alpha.

Derek hears the whistle of an arrow as it zips past his ear and buries itself into the throat of another beta lunging for him. He sees Isaac on the other side of the stump trying to keep two betas from making a beeline for Scott. Isaac loses his grip on one of them and Scott is forced to swing his claws wide, catching the male beta in the chest and slowing him down but not enough, as the beta's own claws aim for Scott's face. Before Derek can yell a warning, a flash of blue light shoots out of the tree line and slices the beta's hand clean off. There's a wild whoop from the shadows and Derek can't even bring himself to be surprised that Stiles has found a way to wield magic.

His feet finally find some purchase against the football player still trying to tackle him into a tree and Derek digs his heels in as he calls forth his claws and fangs. He gets a grip on the football player's shoulders, shoves him back hard and fast as he drops into a crouch and roars.

Scott responds immediately with his own alpha-roar, backing Derek up completely. Derek staggers back again as the football player bulldozes into him, and he swallows a frustrated curse because this beta is twice his size and Derek can't get around him fast enough. He strains against the beta, distracted and unfocussed because all he can hear is the hitch in Leslie's breaths, all he can feel is the pain emanating from her. He thinks he's completely lost the fight when Leslie releases a small cry of terror and Derek loses his grip on the beta he's fighting. But then there's a whizzing noise from behind him and then the beta jerks in his grip.

Derek blinks at the arrow sticking out of the werewolf's shoulder before swiftly shoving the beta to the ground. Two more arrows bury themselves into the beta as Derek charges towards Gannon. He dives atop the Nemeton uncaring of the fire, just as Scott reaches for Leslie and they both grab for their respective targets and yank them apart, falling in two separate directions.

Derek hears Scott cry out as Leslie's flames touch his skin, but he can't focus on that right now as he concentrates on subduing Gannon McLeod. His eyes are glowing orange and bright and Derek thinks that maybe he's too late and the alpha has absorbed all of the Cylph into himself. They grapple over leverage against the forest floor, Derek using all his werewolf strength to keep Gannon from gaining his feet. The alpha's eyes flare a brighter orange before flipping to alpha-red as he snaps his jaws at Derek's arm. Derek lets out an enraged snarl feeling all the anger he'd been holding at bay break free as he snaps his jaws right back at Gannon and clamps both sets of claws around the alpha's neck. He's thinking about Gannon's claws in Leslie's neck, is thinking about the tone of his voice when he'd called Leslie human. He's thinking about how much he wants this alpha gone when he squeezes his hands as hard as he can and feels the squish of flesh between his claws and the warmth of blood run over his skin. Derek releases a loud, furious roar, jaw stretching to accommodate a few extra fangs, and rips the alpha's head clean off his shoulders.

His vision bleeds red as he crouches over his kill. He's aware of the low, animal noise coming from his throat and all he can do is relish in the feeling of his canines elongating as his beta shift turns alpha. He feels the power flood his veins as the thrum of the Cylph moves through him. There's some form of glowing ember trickling out of the open neck of his kill, but Derek can't think beyond his wolf. The trees around them glow like they're burning, but it's just the magic fire. Fire glowing everywhere, floating over them and around them.

"Derek!" Scott's voice is distant as it calls from behind him. "Jesus, Derek, snap out of it! DEREK, SHE'S DYING!"

The words snap his wolf back into submission as Derek whirls towards the voice, eyes flashing blood red even as he struggles to reign in his fangs and claws.

Leslie.