I'm not Kelley Armstrong.

It feels like it's been forever since I updated this story! It really hasn't been that long though.

I'd like to thank everybody who's been reviewing :) I appreciate all of you.


I woke up to my alarm sounding next to my bed, and an even louder knocking at my window. My alarm had successfully gone off, but I didn't even wake. Glancing at the neon green numbers, they revealed to me that it was eight minutes past eleven.

'How the hell did I sleep straight through that?' I thought to myself.

Looking at the window, there was a very displeased looking Derek staring at me with impatient, piercing green eyes. I swore to myself and tried to jump out of bed, only to tumble down to the floor when I got my leg tangled in the sheets. Again I looked up, this time to be met with green eyes that danced with amusement. He mouthed a 'you okay?' to me and I nodded. Feeling stupid, I pulled myself off the floor, averted my gaze to my feet and pulled on a pair of white sneakers, then bounced to the door to meet Derek.

I had opened it just a crack when Derek said, "Get a jacket. It's cold." So I was forced back into my room to search for something warm to wear. I eventually emerged with a dark green zip up sweater with a hood.

"Better?" I asked, seeking Derek's approval sarcastically. Despite my obvious sarcasm he nodded and began to make his way down the balcony stairs. I slowly closed the door so it wouldn't creak and followed him.

"Where are we going?" I whispered, knowing he could hear me with his super wolfie hearing. No response, just a grunt and from what I could see, he jerked his thumb towards the forest. "I don't know if you remember but the last time we were out here at night I almost broke your nose. Maybe this isn't a good idea." I pointed out. By then, we had reached the edge of the forest and were in the shadows.

He suddenly spun to face me, green eyes glowing vividly in the dark. "You'll be fine." And with that, he turned back to the trees and motioned me to follow him. With the first step I took after him my feet tangled on a tree root and the ground came rushing up to meet me. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my arms out to soften the impact but it never came. Hands clamped down on my shoulders with a grip firm enough to keep me upright. I winced at the vice grip he had on my arm. Lifting my free hand, I began to pry his fingers from my right shoulder, but he got the hint and drew back his hand as if my skin was red-hot through my sweater. I mumbled a thank you to Derek and composed myself before setting out again, the next time Derek kept a hand on my arm to keep me from falling over. His touch was feather light unlike the hold he had on my shoulders. It was probably going to bruise, but I knew Derek's intentions were good.

He led me to the set-up near the stream, keeping that gentle grip on my arm that I liked and steadied me every time my feet would tangle on something. His hand was unusually warm; I could feel the heat through my jacket.

"You're really hot." I told him.

"Well thanks…" He said.

"N-no! I-I mean y-you must have a fever! Y-your hand is warm. That's all." I rambled on, looking at my shoes. Why did I have to be so awkward?

"So you don't think I'm hot?" He asked with a smirk plastered on his face.

Oh, just a bit. "I'm not answering that." I told him, defying my thoughts and pushing them to the back of my mind.

"Why not?"

"Because you're getting really off topic." I glared. "Do you have a fever or not?"

"It's no big deal. Fresh air will do me good any way." He sat down on one of the logs that rested against the tree. "Now what did you want to talk about?"

I paused. How exactly was I going to go about confronting him about being a werewolf? It's not exactly every day conversation.

"U-uh, w-well how a-are y-you?" I asked.

Derek folded his arms and scowled at me. "You're bringing me out here to ask me how I am? Come on, Chloe. Now what did you want to talk about?" He asked.

"Hey, it's a conversation starter." I glared, gaining myself more time to work my way around confrontation. "Well, I talked to John earlier today." I said, not knowing what I was going to say after that.

"And?"

I shrugged. "He told me that he'd come across a few necromancers before, and my glow was the brightest that he'd seen."

Derek grunted. "I suppose that your powers would be strong anyway. The people who made us wanted stronger super naturals so they tweaked our genes to be abnormally powerful."

"Why did they do that?"

"They wanted power. They still want it. At first they wanted us super naturals to overpower those who weren't genetically modified to be like us."

"They wanted the world to be full of super naturals?"

"They still do, but they're not going to do anything about it." He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.

I nodded to show that I understood. "So all of us are genetically modified?"

He shook his head. "No. Tori and Simon are Kit's own flesh and blood, and Tori's mother was a witch so naturally they inherited the genes for spell casters."

"What about you?" I asked.

Derek looked down at his shoes. "I'm not really sure." He said as he kicked a small rock into the stream. "I don't know if my biological father was like me."

Well here goes nothing… "A werewolf." I stated, using the same method I would with a band aid – rip it off, get it over and done with.

Derek's head snapped up and his eyes met mine. "Yeah." He nodded and stared down at his hands that were clasped together. "Monster." He mumbled.

"You're not a monster, Derek." I told him.

He looked up at me again, this time his eyebrows were set in a frown. "At one point in my life, my body is going to rearrange itself so I take the form of a wolf. I'm going to grow fur and a tail. How does that not make me a monster?" His voice cracked towards the end of his sentence.

I put my hand on his arm. "It doesn't change who you are."

A snort. "Who I am? Yeah, it does. Take a look at your arm. I'm sure that wouldn't have happened if I wasn't like this."

"Wh-what?" Confused as to where he was going with the conversation.

"Unzip your jacket." He demanded.

"Excuse me?"

He bought his palm to his forehead. I didn't want to frustrate Derek, plus I trusted him so I did what he said and he helped me shake the jacket off my right arm. He gently pushed up the sleeve on my shirt to reveal a big purple patch of skin that couldn't be mistaken for anything else than a bruise. All I could do was stare at it. I didn't even know if it was possible for a bruise to form that fast.

Derek groaned and placed his head in his hands. "Told you." He said.

"You didn't mean to do it, Derek."

"But it happened anyway. I have no control."

"It's just something you need to practice." I laid my hand on his arm. "I'm not going to hold a grudge against you."

He lifted his head up from his hands and shot his eyes straight to my arm. I went to cover it up before he could beat himself up over it but he stopped my hand. All he could do was look at the purple, finger-shaped bruises. Eventually he tore his eyes away and looked at his hands as if he was amazed that they had the power to leave such a mark.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't fall." His voice wavered.

"Derek, it's fine. Your intentions were good."

"I hurt you."

"You didn't mean to."

No reply. He just sat there, not saying a word, not moving. He looked so vulnerable and defeated because of just one slip up.

"I hurt you." He repeated in a whisper.

"I'm not mad at you." I reassured him.

"You should be. But I guess I'm mad at myself enough for the both of us." He grunted.

"Don't be. It was a mistake."

"One that shouldn't have happened. I should know better." He shook his head violently as he talked.

"Stop moving your head like that. You'll injure your neck." I told him sternly.

He scoffed.

"So… do you have super strength?" I asked, trying to distract him from hating himself.

"Take another look at your arm and tell me what you think." He said bitterly.

"I'm just making conversation." I snapped at him and he dropped his head into his hands. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap." My voice softened at the sight of Derek looking so guilty. There was no way I could be mad at him. Bruises fade and I wished he wouldn't beat himself up over it so much.

He sighed. "Yeah, I have super strength." He lifted his head out of his hands.

"Have you ever bench pressed a truck?" I asked jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.

"Once or twice." He replied, pulling his lips up in a half smile. I didn't realise at the time that my heart did a flip.

"How do you change into a wolf?" I asked out of curiosity.

He shrugged. "I don't know yet. I guess at one point it will just happen but I don't think it will happen any time soon."

"Why not?" I asked.

"Most werewolves have their first change around twenty years old. Don't ask me why – I don't even know. I guess it was just the way we were designed."

I nodded at him to continue, but he didn't. Instead, he sighed. "Well it's getting late. I should walk you back."

"You mean get rid of me?" I asked playfully.

"I guess you could say that." He said, equally as playful.

I jokingly slapped his arm and smiled. "I don't really want to go back yet. It's nice out here." I scrunched up my nose and squinted into the darkness.

"You're a bad liar. You're probably freezing and you can barely see a thing. If it weren't for the moon you probably wouldn't even know where you are."

I shrugged. He was right, I was freezing my butt off and I could barely see a thing but somehow being in the company of Derek made me feel safe. "Okay, you have a point but it's not like I mind being out here." I leaned back against the tree behind me. We lapsed into silence and I closed my eyes. What felt like seconds turned into minutes and I could feel myself dozing off.

"Chloe, you fell asleep." A deep voice rumbled in my ear.

"Huh, what?" I asked, confused.

"You have to wake up." He told me. "But don't panic." His hand came to rest on my un-bruised shoulder and he shook me slightly.

Panic? Why would I panic? I took his hand in mine and removed it from my shoulder. He squeezed mine before letting it drop but his voice continued in my ear, telling me to get up.

I finally opened my eyes to reveal a small, white rabbit. Did Derek think I was afraid of rabbits or something? I rubbed at my eyes to improve my blurred vision. I bought my hands down from my face and let out a shriek that was cut short by Derek's hand. "I told you not to panic!" He hissed in my ear.

He didn't tell me why I shouldn't panic. What I thought was a cute, fluffy rabbit was still a rabbit, but bits of its fur and flesh were missing. Its bones were visible and one eye had completely rotted away. The left ear looked like it had been gnawed at by rats. All it really looked like was a sack of bones and white fur. I let out a cry as I took in its morbid appearance.

"You need to send it back." He moved right beside me and rubbed his hands up and down my arms.

"S-s-send i-it b-b-back? H-how? What i-is that?" I stammered.

"It's a dead rabbit." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I spun to face him with a terrified look on my face. "Sorry." He apologised and ran a hand through his hair. "You raised it. It's trying to come to you."

"H-how d-d-do I u-un-raise it?" I asked. Derek was silent, which wasn't a good sign. "Y-y-you d-don't know w-what I n-need to d-do, do y-y-you?" I cried out as I felt the rabbit at my feet.

"Look, you just need to be calm. Deep breaths. Just remember, you have control over anything you raise."

"S-so I c-can tell i-it to b-back up?" I asked, looking up at Derek and hoping for an answer. He nodded at me so I directed my attention to the half-decomposed rabbit. "S-stop." My stutter was there, but my voice was clear. "Move back." This time my voice was confident. I turned to Derek and whispered, "What now?"

"You send it back." He said as he rubbed my arms with his warm hands. The heat from his hands went straight through the sleeves of my jacket and calmed me. I was about to ask how, but he read my mind. "You have to imagine sending it back into its afterlife. The other side."

I nodded and exhaled loudly. "I can do this." I whispered to myself. Having the rabbit under my control made me feel a bit more at ease and after asking it to move back, I had more control over my emotions. Derek told me to imagine sending it back somewhere, but I didn't know how to. If it was a zombie-rabbit, would that mean that its soul would have been shoved back into its body? Did I have to imagine tugging its soul out of its corpse? There was no harm in trying so that was exactly what I did. I could feel the energy of the rabbit's spirit as I mentally tugged its soul away. I felt as if I was doing it properly so I amped up my power and with one last tug, the energy that I felt dropped.

I didn't dare open my eyes until Derek nudged me. "Chloe? It's done. You can open your eyes." He told me. When I didn't comply he put his hand on mine. "Are you okay?"

"It's gone?" I whispered.

"The body is still there but it's not moving." He reassured me.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. "Can you get rid of it?" I asked.

I heard Derek get up from beside me and the rustle of bushes. After a minute I heard him come back. "It's gone." His voice rumbled.

I finally opened my eyes to see him looking down at me, concerned. "Are you okay?" He asked me again.

"All fine and dandy." I said sarcastically. Hot tears welled up in my eyes and my voice cracked. I choked out a sob and Derek moved closer to me. He resumed the position of rubbing my arms with his hands to calm me down. I let the tears fall freely from my eyes.

"I'm sorry. I can't believe I have the power to do that." I said weakly. "I'm a monster."

Derek's hands paused. "You think you're the monster?" He scoffed and pointed to himself. "This is a monster."

"You don't shove spirits back into their rotting corpses." I whimpered.

"You didn't mean to do it, Chloe. You were sleeping. Do you remember what you were dreaming about?" He asked.

I shook my head. "No. I don't even know how I did that." He threw an arm around my shoulder to comfort me but I could tell that he felt awkward. "You don't have to comfort me if you don't want to. I'll be okay." I reassured him.

"What makes you think I don't want to?" He asked.

I scoffed at him. "I can feel the awkwardness radiating off you."

Derek pulled his arm away. "Sorry. I'm just not used to human interaction." He frowned. "Sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

I shook my head. "No, I'm glad you're here. I don't know what I would've done if you weren't." I sighed.

"Are you okay now?"

"I'll be fine." I said and took a deep breath. "As long as I don't partially fall asleep out here again." I let out a shaky laugh but Derek still looked at me with worry in his eyes. When I saw his face, I sighed again. "I guess I'm still a bit shaken up." He nodded when I admitted it.

"It's understandable. You'll get used to your powers with some time and training."

"And who do you suppose I train with? Didn't you tell me that you're more likely to come across an albino than a necromancer?" I partially snapped. Derek's pressed his mouth into a firm line. "I'm sorry." I put my head into my hands. "I didn't mean to snap."

"It's fine." He told me. "I guess I know a bit about necromancy. It won't be the same as training with a real necromancer but I guess I could help. That's if you want me to, of course."

I nodded. "That would be nice." I half smiled at him and he nodded back. Did the boy ever smile?

Derek ended up walking me back to the outside staircase after convincing me to go to sleep. I protested, telling him that I'd probably raise something but he assured me that I'd be fine. Despite that, he gave me his mobile number so that I could call him if anything happened. He told me that he'd be there no matter what and I was thankful for him being just a two minute walk away.

We stopped at the bottom of the staircase and lapsed into silence.

"So…" He started awkwardly. "You don't think of me any differently, do you?" He asked, hopeful.

"Not at all. You're still you." I shook my head and smiled at him.

He sighed at my answer and nodded. "But your arm-"

I cut him off by holding up a hand. "We're not going to talk about that okay? I'm not mad at you. Bruises fade." I told him sternly. "If it makes it fair, I'm pretty sure I hit you in the face last week when we were out here. We're pretty even at this point."

"If you're sure…" He said hesitantly.

"Just stop worrying, Souza. I'll be okay." I sent him a smile.

He closed his eyes and repeated my words. "You'll be okay."

"Good dog." I said and he glared at me. "Too soon?"

"I'll get used to it." He joked.

"Damn right you will." I laughed. "Uh… thank you for helping me before. You know, with the rabbit." I cringed.

"It's okay. You have my number in case it happens again." I nodded and we lapsed into silence again. "You should get inside. You're probably freezing."

I agreed, said goodnight to Derek and turned to head up the stairs into my room. Not being able to sleep was pretty much a guarantee after my encounter with the zombie rabbit, so what else was there to do? I turned to what I always did when I felt stressed out or couldn't sleep. I pulled out my sketchbook and turned to a blank page. After choosing a pencil, I tapped it rhythmically against the paper until an idea popped up in my head. Eventually I got sucked into my own world as I dragged the pencil across the page.

After what seemed like hours, perfecting the details, I found myself looking into the eyes of a dark haired wolf.


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