Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Lyrics belong to Florence and the Machine.

A/N: This is a chapter. I wrote it. It's here. I'm currently writing the last chapter in this story. It's so cool.

College is terrible. Don't go. Don't ever go.

As always, I appreciate all the feedback! You're super awesome and I love you all.

Oh Lord, everyone was so mad at Derek! So mad! And after reading each review, I wanted to go, "Like, it's okay! I can explain, I promise!" And then I realized that his actions won't be explained until the chapter after this. So. Wait, please. And enjoy!

Always, always, always, enjoy!

Big Empty Houses

By: Ginny

She told me not to step on the cracks

I told her not to fuss and relax

Well, her pretty little face stopped me in my tracks

But now she sleeps with one eye open

That's the price she paid

Previously:

But he didn't say anything. He just… kept looking at that wall.

Paige shut her eyes tightly to prevent tears from falling. And then, she straightened her spine and strutted right past Derek. Fine. Kick her out. She could survive just fine on her own. Besides, she had always known she was going to go back to Chicago. It was better this way – no need to say any goodbyes when she left.

Seven more months.

Her home was quiet when she arrived. It was early enough in the morning that her parents were already at work and her brother was probably still asleep. Good. She didn't want to talk to anyone.

Sniffling, she slid up to her room and crawled into her bed. She would stay here. She would curl into a ball and stay here and no one would ever bother her again.

For the life of her, she couldn't figure out why he would jump to that extreme. He knew… he had to know the pack was her life. He had lived in her house with her and had seen the emptiness. He knew exactly how much this would hurt her. But he did it anyway.

Why?

Because she had insulted him by saying it meant nothing? Because she had disobeyed a direct order? It had all worked out in the end so he couldn't be too angry at her… right? Maybe this was a test, she realized. Maybe this was her punishment and she was supposed to cry and mope and then he'd show up later and ask if she had learned her lesson. And she would jump into his arms and tell him how terrible she was feeling and that yes, she had learned her lesson and she'd be a good little beta from now on. Yes… that made more sense.

When Wyatt came knocking on her door, she told him, "I'm sick. I'm staying home. Go away." Paige didn't even bother to open her door and face him.

"In case you haven't noticed," Wyatt's voice came from the other side of the closed door. "I'm kind of a cripple right now. I can't drive myself."

With a groan, she rolled over and threw open the door. "Fine…" she mumbled and pushed passed him. She skipped down the stairs and grabbed her keys from the hook in the kitchen.

Wyatt was a bit slower since he had to use the wheelchair lift on the stairs. They had installed it once they realized that it was more cost effective instead of one parent taking off work. But when the mechanical noises stopped, he rolled right up to her and asked, "Weren't you wearing those clothes last night?"

"I had a rough night last night," she snapped. "Leave it alone."

Once he was neatly bent into the car, he reminded her, "I can still kill Isaac. That's still on the table."

"You'd die trying, babe," Paige told him.

They continued the drive in silence, which was both a good thing and a bad thing. Paige didn't want to talk to anyone but without the conversation she was trapped in her own thoughts. She just kept replaying Derek's profile, so stubborn and so unyielding and so cold. It cut through her. But… she would be forgiven soon, she knew. It was a test. He'd let her come back.

She helped her brother out of the car and he made her bend over and give him a hug. "Cheer up," he said. Briefly, she thought the tears would spill then. But she gulped and forced them back.

For a moment she watched her brother wheel himself away, and then a scent hit her nose. God, it wasn't the most familiar scent she had ever encountered, but it was still a scent that brought back memories. Good memories. Across the parking lot, Isaac and Erica were walking side by side as Boyd trailed after the two as usual. Paige knew they could sense her. But not once did they look her way as the group marched into the school.

And that killed her.

It suddenly didn't matter that this was a test – because finally she realized that this might not actually be her test. And even if she was right – just that image of them walking passed her without ever acknowledging her was heartbreaking.

She began to cry.

Sobbing, she fumbled with her door handle and yanked it open. She cried in her car until the first bell rang. And then, she drove herself home and went back to bed because maybe this was all just a bad dream and she would still be part of the pack when she woke back up.

It didn't work.

But she hadn't really expected it to.

Her parent's were none too thrilled with the fact that she had ditched school – even after she had explained that she was very, very sick. They were also pissed that she had broken her cell phone. So, she was none too surprised when they insisted she go to school the next day. No excuses. No nothing.

And to nothing, she returned.

At least today she had a new IPhone. Small blessings, and such.

If seeing them in the parking lot had been painful – seeing them randomly in the hallway and in class was even worse. The smell was unbearable, especially in the earlier morning when Derek's scent was still fresh on their skin. Even a morning shower couldn't cover up the scent Paige was most intimately acquainted with.

"You can't do this!" Scott was suddenly next to her, shouting and frantic.

"Do what?" Paige asked, very confused. She really didn't want to be talking to any supernatural person right now.

Scott gave a frustrated groan. "Whatever you guys are going to do Lydia – you can't. Derek needs to let me handle this."

Oh. It was pack stuff. They were on the move, apparently. And Paige was no longer part of the pack. Did that make her an omega now? Or just a scared little wolf pup? Tears came to her eyes, unbidden once again and she forced herself to say, "I'm not with the pack anymore." The reality came crushing down on her as she realized this was the first time she had said that aloud.

"What?"

"I was… kicked out," she explained. "Whatever they're doing – whatever's going on, I have no part of it. I don't know what they have planned. I'm sorry." And then she shrugged and closed her locker and walked away.

In her next class, she contemplated what was going on. They must know what that creature was. They must know who it was. It must be Lydia. How interesting. She wondered when they had figured that out. Then, she pondered what they were going to do to the girl – surely they'd have to kill her. That was sad. But Paige didn't have it in her heart to feel sad for the girl – especially not when she caught a scent and realized it wasn't just secondhand from one of the beta's skin. Derek was at the school somewhere. She excused herself and went to the bathroom to cry in peace.

But the next thing she knew, it was the passing period and Scott was at her side. "They think Lydia is the kanima," he said. Oh, the kanima must be the name of the creature.

"Why?" Paige asked, not really caring about the answer.

"They tested her – gave her some of the kanima's toxin. She didn't react but that means nothing!" Scott groaned again. "You have to help me, please."

Paige frowned as things started coming together. "Did they test Jackson? Both he and Lydia were bit by alphas."

"Apparently Jackson passed the test," Scott said. Paige shrugged, about to tell him that that probably meant Lydia was the kanima. Problem solved. "They will kill Lydia! Derek's already here."

"Derek wouldn't kill her without definite proof," she argued.

"He thinks he has definite proof." Scott glanced around nervously. "I need to talk to Stiles and Allison – but please, Paige, I need your help. You can't want Lydia to die."

"I don't," Paige frowned. "If Derek's here, go talk to him. He's reasonable." And then she turned around to walk away but Scott grabbed her arm.

"We both know he is not reasonable," he shot back.

Well, he had kicked her out of the pack.

"Fine, he's pretty unreasonable sometimes but…" But what? But if Derek had decided Lydia had to die, he would make it happen? There was nothing Scott could do to stop it… alone. "When you go talk to Derek, come get me. I don't know if he'll listen to me – or even look at me – but at least it'll be a show of force."

The boy nearly sagged against the locker in relief. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" And then he was off.

Come lunchtime, Paige had prepared herself for battle. Combat boots replaced her high-heeled boots and her hair had been swiftly braided out of her face. If the pack put up a fight – and Paige hoped beyond hope that she wouldn't have to fight the pack – she was ready. And she knew she could take them. Erica had complained of her uselessness, but Paige knew she could take any of them except Derek, Scott and maybe Boyd – and that was mostly due to his muscle strength. She was faster and more coordinated.

She wasn't surprised to find that none of the pack was present at the usual lunch table. Something was amiss. And when her phone buzzed right before the last period of the day, she knew what it was. Meet me at the back doors – Scott.

Her parent's would read her the riot act later, for skipping class. But right now, she had bigger problems.

"Thank you," he said again as the two wolves pushed open the doors and hopped down the stairs.

"I'm not doing this for you," she told him.

And it was true. All day, she had been considering what was going on – deciding for herself where she stood. And her decision was undoubtedly that she didn't want any innocent person dying. It was the district attorney's daughter in her. She wanted due process for the accused. And also – she knew if Derek killed Lydia and she wasn't truly the kanima, he would never forgive himself. I'm a predator, not a killer, he had said once. And she wasn't about to let him become a killer. Especially a killer of innocents.

Out in the middle of the lacrosse field was Boyd.

"We need to talk to Derek," Scott told him as they approached the big guy.

"Talk to me," Boyd suggested.

Paige rolled her eyes but let Scott do the talking. "We don't want a fight."

"Good," he shot back. "'Cause I'm twice the size of you."

"True," Scott sized the other boy up. "Really, really true." Boyd just kind of stood there with a cocky smile on his face. "But you know what I think? I'm twice as fast." And before Paige could say or do anything, Scott lunged and got Boyd in the abdomen, tackling him to the ground.

"No!" Paige yelled, grabbing Scott by a fistful of his shirt and yanking him off the other boy. Jesus, she might not be part of the pack but she still cared about these people.

She was so concerned with breaking up the impending fight that she didn't notice Derek arrive until he said, "She failed the test." Instantly, her heart jumped into her throat and she released Scott. She didn't want to look this man in the eyes, but she knew she had to. This was a show of strength, she had told Scott. It was time to seem strong.

"Yeah, which doesn't prove anything," Scott answered. "Lydia's different."

"I know," Derek snarked. "At night she turns into a homicidal walking snake."

"I'm not going to let you kill her," the beta vowed.

Derek's eyebrows shot up. Paige knew that face. And suddenly she wondered where Erica and Isaac were. The alpha glanced at Boyd who just smiled and then Derek joked, "Who said I was going to do it?"

Scott turned to glance at the school as though that was going to tell him for sure who was going after Lydia. Paige just muttered, "Erica and Isaac…" How could Derek do that to them?

When the boy tried to take off towards the school, realizing the danger his friend was in, Boyd clotheslined him. Paige took a step forward, placing herself in between the two boys in case this conflict escalated.

"I don't know why you think you have to protect everyone now, Scott," said Derek. He was not three feet from her, but he was completely focused on Scott. "But even so, Lydia has killed people. And she's going to do it again – and next time it's going to be one of us."

Paige tried to ignore the fact that he was ignoring her.

"What if you're wrong?" Scott asked from his place on the ground.

"She was bit by an alpha," Derek threw back. "It's her."

"You saw that thing up close, you know it's not like us."

"But it is," he argued. "We're all shapeshifters. You don't know what you're dealing with. It happens rarely and it happens for a reason."

"What reason?" Scott pushed himself into a semi-sitting position.

Derek hesitated and finally said, "Sometimes the shape you take is a reflection of who you are." And then he did something that surprised Paige. Derek reached down and offered Scott a hand up. After a brief moment of wondering if it was a trick, Scott accepted. "Even Stiles calls her coldblooded," he concluded.

"What if she's immune?" Scott finally asked. "What if she has something inside of her that makes her immune to the bite? Which is why she didn't get paralyzed?"

"No one's immune!" Derek protested. "I've never seen it or heard of it. It – It's never happened."

"What about Jackson?" Scott played his trump card.

When Derek didn't say anything for a bit, Paige took a risk. For the first time since Derek had arrived, she spoke up. "Both Lydia and Jackson were bitten by alphas," she began. The present alpha was finally forced to look her in the eye as she continued. Her breath caught in her throat for half a second, unprepared for those startling blue eyes. Determined, she pushed on with her explanation. "Neither of them have changed into werewolves which leaves two scenarios: either both are kanimas, or one is a kanima and the other somehow survived the bite without being changed – essentially, they're immune. If you hadn't bitten Jackson, then it would be obvious who the kanima was and it could be disposed of before it kills again. But there are too many extenuating factors right now."

All Derek did was clench his jaw.

"Peter said the bite either turns you or kills you," Scott began. "I bet you were hoping he would die."

Paige frowned down at the grass.

After a breath, Scott continued, "I have a theory. Lydia's immune and she somehow passed it on to Jackson. I know I'm right!"

"No!" Derek raised his voice.

"You can not do this!" Scott shouted.

"I can't let her live! You should have known that." Briefly, his eyes shifted to glance at Paige. But, she just looked away.

And there it was. Derek was going to kill this girl – or send Paige's two good friends to do it for him.

"I was hoping I could convince you," Scott said. "But then again, I wasn't counting on it."

Derek's eyebrows furrowed and he glanced between Scott and Paige. Then, the original beta turned and stalked off the field. Paige knew she should probably follow him – especially when the alpha signaled Boyd to follow him and they began to leave in the opposite direction. But, she stayed. She was caught somewhere in the middle – a limbo of the hellish kind. Neither with Scott, or with Derek. Just… an omega with no one to watch her back. So, she watched Derek's retreating back. And then she spoke up.

"Don't do this," she tried to plead.

Slowly, he came to halt but he didn't turn around. He was a good thirty some feet away and she wasn't talking very loudly, but she knew he heard her.

"She's sixteen. She doesn't know what she's doing – and that's if she is the kanima. Please, don't do this. Don't kill this girl. Don't make Erica and Isaac kill her – don't put that on them. They're so young. They shouldn't have that kind of blood on their hands just yet. And please," she voice cracked and she knew she had started crying. The tears didn't register in her mind though. "Please don't put me in a position where I might hurt them."

His shoulders tightened and his snarled response greeted her ears. "You're putting yourself in that position," he told her. And then he kept walking.

Only then did Paige accept that this man had wholeheartedly abandoned her. She was an omega. But, she would learn to survive alone.

We're at Scott's house, was all the text said. She assumed it was from Stiles, though. Sniffing a bit, she knew Isaac and Erica were still in the building. Good. And then, off she went – mostly going by scent. She had never been to Scott's house, but besides Allison's house, she figured the more saturated with his scent the place was, the more likely it was to be his house.

She rang the doorbell and heard everyone inside jump a bit.

"Is it them?" she heard someone ask.

And then Stiles' face appeared in the window and he nearly dissolved with relief. "It's our back up," he explained. After a series of rattles, and whatnot, the door was opened. "I love that you're here."

"What is she doing here?" A girl with strawberry blonde hair stood in the middle of the room, observing her coolly. Lydia, Paige guessed. This was the girl Stiles loved. That boy had bad taste in just about everything, didn't he? Sure, she was gorgeous, but she seemed a bit ditzy and a bit shallow.

"She took the class last year – she's here to help," another girl jumped in. Paige recognized her as the girl who had put two arrows into Derek a few months ago. Hmph.

"Lydia, follow me," Jackson spoke up. Oh, he was here too. Literally, go ahead and put the four people Paige probably couldn't stand in a house together and tell her to protect it. Yeah, that'll really inspire her to do the best possible job. "I need to talk to you for a minute."

And then off they went. Oh – yeah, they had once been boyfriend and girlfriend, hadn't they?

"So, you're here to help us?" Allison asked, crossing her arms over her chest protectively.

"I'm here to make sure no one dies," Paige responded. Slowly, she sized the other girl up. Yes, she remembered this girl. And suddenly, Paige wanted to inflict as much pain on this girl as she had inflicted on Derek. She was channeling her inner wolf when she gave a humorless smile and asked, "You were the one who shot my alpha with a bow and arrow, right?"

The other girl took a step back and said, "Yes. But he was…"

"Escaping from the torture chamber your aunt had been keeping him in…?" Paige took a step forward. Oh yes, yes, yes, she was kind of enjoying this. Allison had nothing to say to that and Paige grinned with pleasure. "You're lucky you're dating Scott," she continued. "It grants you certain privileges. For example, should your family attack us and we win – you'll be spared because Derek won't want to anger Scott. I, personally, don't mind angering Scott. So keep your little bow and arrow to yourself and let me deal with my own kind."

Allison still didn't say anything, but she managed to hold her gaze. Paige felt a little impressed – even Scott sometimes flinched when Paige sparked up her eyes with the yellow glow like she was doing now.

"Paige…" Stiles warned in a tone that was probably supposed to sound threatening.

She was beginning to think that he did honestly enjoy being on her shit list. "Stiles, you kept back information that could have let us find Derek a day and half before we actually did. You then left him paralyzed in a pool. Your track record with me isn't very good. Think before you threaten me or I'll throw you through a window."

Then, she turned and headed for the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Allison asked.

"To grab some food – I'm starving."

"We need to keep a look-out. They could be here any minute," the fledgling hunter argued.

"Trust me," Paige smirked at her over her shoulder. "I'll be the first to know when they're here."

And so she was. She was barely stuffing the sandwich she had made into her mouth when… thump. Thump. Thump.

That heartbeat was the soundtrack of her every waking thought.

Giving the sandwich a very thorough bite, she stomped back to the main room. "They're here," she said, gulping the last bit down her throat. She slid right up to the window and pulled the little bit of curtain aside. Allison glanced out over her shoulder and then immediately asked Stiles for his phone. Paige was too busy watching the four of them out there, across the street. She really hoped she could avoid a fight.

The sun had only just set when Allison crossed the room and whipped out her crossbow.

"I told you to keep your toys to yourself," Paige protested.

"I don't trust you," Allison shot back and fitted a bolt into the weapon.

Paige glared, but there was little else she could go besides rip the bow from her hands and smash it into little pieces. Part of her knew that her pack mates could avoid the arrows easily enough.

But when Scott didn't appear in the next following two minutes, Allison then pulled out her phone.

"What are doing?" Stiles asked.

"I think…" she hesitated. "I think I have to call my dad."

"No." Paige stomped her foot a bit. That would not even begin to work. If the hunters found their way here, they would – at the very least – see Erica and Boyd. And then they would know about the entire pack. That is, if they didn't cut them in half first. Paige may not be part of the pack anymore, but these were still people she cared about. "No hunters," she continued.

"What are we supposed to do?" Allison asked, suddenly frantic. "They're not here to scare us – they're here to kill Lydia."

Without hesitation, Paige ripped the phone from the girl's paws and crushed it into little plastic pieces. Allison just gaped at her. But honestly, that phone was more dangerous in her hands than that crossbow.

Paige could tell Stiles was getting a bit agitated. He kept hopping from one foot to the other and finally he said, "I have an idea. Shoot one of them."

"There will be no shooting of anyone," Paige cut in. "Are you completely –" And there it was. A scent from outside had shifted. Isaac was in the house.

Time for the show to begin.

Preview:

"I'm not mad at you," he said simply. Paige felt her heart skip a beat. He wasn't mad? "I'm furious." Oh. Well. "I am beyond furious. You… are you an idiot? Do you realize you could have died? And for what?"

She knew he meant that rhetorically, but she still said, "For the pack – for you."

I slipped my hand under her skirt

I said don't worry, it's not gonna hurt

Oh, my reputation's kinda clouded with dirt

That's why you sleep with one eye open

That's the price you paid