Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. Lyrics belong to Lana Del Rey.

A/N: Once again, mind the mature warning.

This inadvertently became both a bonus chapter about Paige going into heat and bonding with Peter. Oops.

As this is the last time I'll be posting something for at least a month, I figured it was also my last chance to say thank you for being amazing.

I love you all!

Big Empty House

By: Ginny

He likes my jeans tight

He likes me mean, right (right)

He likes my long hair

Corset, heels high.

They had taken up residence in Isaac's house until such time as they could figure things out more clearly. Reluctantly, Isaac had also allowed Peter to live in his house. Paige still held a great many reservations about this situation, but there was so little she could do about it that she just pouted when Derek wasn't looking.

Isaac had mentioned that they were almost out of milk and so Paige had mentally decided to go to the grocery store the night before. So, when dawn came, she stretched and yawned and remembered her mental decision.

Crawling out of bed, she stumbled down the hall and slid into the shower.

Something was wrong.

Her skin was itching in a way it never had before. It was like a rash was spreading up and down her body. But when she stripped down, her skin wasn't blotchy or filled with hives. Running her blunted nails down her arm, she shivered. Why was she so sensitive?

A knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts. "Paige?" someone asked from the other side. "You in there?"

"Isaac," Paige sighed. "You're a werewolf. You know I'm the one in here."

"Just thought I'd be polite enough to ask!" There was a pause. "Derek wants to go with you to the store."

Briefly a shock went up her spine at his name. She flushed and glanced at herself in the mirror. Really? What was going on? Yes, Derek had a habit of effecting her in many different ways – but usually he was in the same room as her. Or at least over the phone. It was never just the mention of his name.

"Alright," Paige sighed. "I'll be done in like, twenty minutes. Could you relay the message?"

"Yeah, sure," Isaac assured her, but as he retreated, Paige heard his mumble about not being a messenger.

Quickly, she threw herself under the cold water and tried to calm down. She suddenly couldn't stop thinking about Derek. They were going to the store. They were going to be alone in his Camaro together and that was going to be… amazing. So full of potential.

Warmth between her legs spread upwards and she gasped.

What the hell was wrong with her?

She cranked the water even colder and pressed her forehead into the icy tiles. This was epically fucked up. What the bloody hell was wrong with her?

Fine. Maybe this would solve the problem, she decided as she slid her hand downwards. This wasn't something she had experimented too much with prior to meeting and later becoming involved with Derek and afterwards, she had always had him there to take care of this. Really, she had rarely wanted for anything in this regard. So – this was new territory, but maybe it would help.

Her index and middle finger slid completely across herself, the tips dipping a bit into herself as she dragged them back the other way. She surprised herself as she shuddered. Biting her lip, she tried to steady herself against the shower wall as she pressed upwards into herself, once twice. Then, she turned her focus back onto her clit. With her thumb, she rubbed the little nub back and forth, gasping. Her knees started wobbling and within only a minute, she was released.

Another knock on the door startled her.

"Paige?"

It was Derek.

She instantly shut the shower off and on weak legs stumbled from the stall. "Yeah?" she answered, wincing as she realized that her voice wavered.

"Everything okay?"

Paige wrapped a towel around herself and gently leaned her head against the door. She could hear his heartbeat through the wood and the pulsing of her womanhood shifted to match his beating heart.

"Yes," she sighed. He was so close.

"Paige?" She heard him give a very distinctive sniff. And then suddenly the doorknob was jiggling.

"It's okay," she murmured.

"Open this door," Derek commanded.

Her hand shook, but she reached out anyways and opened the door. Derek came stumbling in and instantly looked her up and down. "You're flushed," was the first thing he said. Taking another step closer, he gave another sniff right at the juncture of her neck.

Paige couldn't help herself. He was just so close. And she could smell him and she could smell herself on him and combined with the heavy scent of her own arousal in the atmosphere of this small bathroom, it was just too much. Her lips latched onto him neck and as her hands came up to grab his face, her towel dropped.

Probably on instinct, Derek allowed her to attack his neck and even wrapped his leather-clad arms around her. One hand tangled itself into her still dripping hair. Paige spaced her legs open a bit and snatched one of his hands from her back, bringing it down, down, down. It wasn't until his calloused palm covered her still wet core that he seemed to snap out of it.

Well, that and Peter suddenly appearing in the doorway.

"Someone smells like sex," he commented.

Derek growled, and whipped around. Paige didn't even mind that Peter was standing there. Derek had stopped touching her. Where had he gone? She wanted him back, she wanted another release. She wanted him. Roughly, she pressed her body harder against his, whining in the back of her throat.

When Peter's eyes trailed down Paige's body, Derek seemed to remember that she was naked because he quite literally picked her up and set her behind him, using his body to shield her. Paige was not discouraged. Her hands slid around and hooked into his belt, trying to get it off.

But Derek clamped his own hands over hers. Her whining returned.

Peter gave a deep sniff and then damn near giggled. Paige glared at him over Derek's shoulder. She hated that giggle. And she wanted him to leave so that they could get back to what they were doing.

"She's in heat," Peter commented lightly. And then he walked away.

Paige slicked her tongue over the back of his neck and he jumped away from her like she was on fire.

"Who's in heat?" Isaac asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

Forcing out a groan, Derek slammed the bathroom door shut so hard that the whole house shook. Paige smirked – loving his reaction because she always loved when he showed his strength. He was just so strong. His arms were so strong, so, so absolutely strong. And sculpted.

Paige reached out and ran her fingers up the curve of his bicep.

"Stop," he snapped, snatching her hand. But she didn't miss the way he bit his lip and looked away from her. "This isn't you right now."

"It is me," she argued, taking a step closer to him. "Of course it's me. How can it not be me?" Her voice had lowered in timber and she felt so desirable. She had never had bad body issues – it was usually her personality she wished to change. But now, she felt particularly attractive. Irresistible.

"You aren't in the correct mind-set," he tried to explain. "You're in heat."

"Heat?" she murmured, reaching out for him again.

He evaded her and retreated to the other side of the room. "Yes, heat," he explained. "I thought I smelled it when you left the bedroom this morning – but I couldn't tell. I… well, I sensed you… what you were doing in here and – stop," he snapped. Paige had tried to come closer to him again. But she stopped and pouted.

"Why?" she asked. "We do this all the time, why does right now make any difference? I mean – you want it, see?" She gestured down to the tent in his pants. "Why can't we fuck?"

"Because you're in heat!" he said a bit too forcefully.

"I don't know what that means!" she snapped right back. Where was this anger coming from?

"It means…" Derek ran his hand through his hair and finally glanced at her. "It means I'm more likely to lose control. How you smell right now… I – it's taking all of my self-control not to shift right now."

"Why is that a problem?" Paige wanted to know. "We both partially shift all the time."

"I mean…"

Her eyes widened. "You don't mean shift into your alpha form, do you?"

"No!" Derek squeezed his eyes shut. "It…" His eyes opened again and the next thing she knew he was fleeing from the room. "Put some clothes on," he commanded.

Shakily, Paige put back on her pajamas and sat on the toilet seat. Everything about her hurt – her heart in particular. Maybe it was on account of this whole "heat" thing, but Derek's rejection made her irrationally upset. Combined with the lingering scent of her arousal and her need for Derek to be inside her, it was almost too much to bear.

"I've been sent to educate you," Peter said, opening the door and peeking around the doorframe.

Paige ignored him.

"Or you could just ignore me and sit here in the stink of your own masturbation," he tried.

This time she glared up at him and snapped, "I refuse to have a werewolf sex-talk with you."

"Well, your mate it a coward – so, problems. You have them. I can help."

For a moment she just looked up at him and finally sighed. "How do I stop this? Better yet – what is this?"

"Heat," Peter began. Then he stopped. "I can't do this here. It stinks and I feel naughty." Roughly, he grabbed her arm and guided her down the hall into his own bedroom. His skin didn't tingle against hers the way Derek's did. He sat her down on the edge of his bed and began to pace. "Heat," he tried again, "is a method of encouraging werewolf mating. A female wolf begins to go into heat after they've been mated – and will continue to go into heat every spring for a length of a week until she reaches menopause. Essentially, you are – as you can tell – extremely horny."

"And that's a problem because…?"

Peter made a face to explain that he didn't want to have to think about why that wasn't a problem for the woman mated to his nephew. "It's not just the she-wolf who is affected by the heat. Your mate will pick up on the fact that your body wants to… fornicate."

"Still waiting for the problem…"

"Your body wants sex. His body wants you to bear his children."

Paige frowned at the wall opposite her. "That's why he was flipping out… He didn't mean he was scared of shifting – he was scared of getting so wrapped up that he wouldn't wear a condom."

"Or in the frenzy, take it off," Peter added. "Or become so enthused that it rips. All of that is very typical during heat."

"He doesn't want kids," she remembered, somberly.

"So…" Peter began. "Giving into the heat would not be ideal. At all."

"Let me go talk to him," she decided, standing and strutting out of the room.

"Bad idea!" Peter called after her as he struggled to follow her.

But she was already downstairs and Derek was pacing in the living room. He looked up at her and scowled, retreating behind Isaac. "I'm going out," he told her.

And then he disappeared out the front door.

"When do you think he's coming back?" Paige asked the general room. But she knew the answer… Derek would stay away from her the entire week if it meant that he didn't lose control and do something relatively permanent – like get her pregnant. Paige frowned at the door he had left through.

"Come on," Peter nudged her on the shoulder and headed for the kitchen. Reluctantly, Paige followed. Peter instantly began to rustle through the cabinets noisily.

He retrieved a pot and filled it with a hardy serving of milk. Yanking the gas flame up high, he returned to his quest. "Sit down," he commanded. Paige scowled at his back, but sat herself in the nearest chair anyway. Peter worked diligently, mixing in some honey, some brown sugar and some spices Paige didn't recognize. Then, he poured the concoction into a coffee mug and set it in front of her at the table.

"Drink," he told her.

Paige glanced from the mug to the undead werewolf. "I'm convinced it's poisoned," she decided.

Peter quickly picked it up and took a sip, rolling his eyes.

"Now, it's definitely poisoned," Paige only half-joked.

"It's a family recipe," Peter explained, nudging the cup closer to her. Paige still only stared at him, wishing that Derek was here so that at least if she did end up poisoned, he could avenge her quickly. Finally Peter seemed to soften and took a seat opposite her, but stopped looking at her. "Whenever my wife went into heat, I made her this drink. She always thought that it took the edge off – calmed her down."

She took another glance at the cup and finally sighed. It tasted too sweet, but oddly satisfying, she decided as she took a hardy sip.

"Thanks," she muttered, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

If Peter gave any reaction, she didn't get a chance to see it because he left the room and left Paige alone with her drink and her horniness.

It got worse the next day.

Derek was still nowhere to be seen and between masturbating, trying to maintain some kind of self-control, and sipping feverishly at Peter's De-Horny Beverage, Paige worried that the alphas had caught him as he wandered alone.

"I'm going to go look for him," Paige decided at dinner.

"Bad idea," Peter muttered into his mac and cheese.

"What do you mean?" Paige's voice got shrill. "He's my mate. He hasn't been home for a whole day – I want to go look for him."

"And when the alphas catch a scent of horny she-wolf?" Peter asked. "You're radiating hormones and every wolf in a mile can pick up on it. A foreign wolf might take it as a challenge. If this territory's alpha isn't willing to give into the heat of his mate, than by all means it's the other wolf's natural right to spread his genes."

Paige flinched. "So those are my options? Stay here waiting or get raped?"

"Well, they might also just kill you before you have the chance to reproduce and increase the power system of this pack," Peter suggested.

He was terribly unprepared as Paige began to sob. Her crying was loud and obnoxious and sloppy and Paige was pretty convinced it was because she was shoved full of hormones. It was bound to make her pathetic.

"I'll go look for him!" Isaac volunteered. And then he was out the door.

Peter scoffed and returned to his mac and cheese.

"Why has he been acting so weird?" Paige asked, wiping her tears. "He refuses to get within twenty feet of me or look me in the face. Or even face me to begin with!"

"He's being affected," Peter explained. "And probably trying to hide his erection."

"What?"

"What part of "You're radiating hormones" do you not get?" Peter put his fork down.
"Derek is the most affected because your chemistry has molded with his – that's a result of being mates. That doesn't mean only he can sense it. Isaac is a teenager," Peter explained, crossing his arms. "His body – his penis, in particular – has a mind of it's own. He can't control his response to being in the presence of a female in heat."

Paige tried to keep her blush from creeping up her neck, into her face. She loved Isaac like a brother – she didn't want to think about him getting a boner on account of her. And then an idea sprang to mind. "Is that why you're being so nice to me?" Paige asked. "Because you're being affected?"

Peter had the audacity to laugh. "Don't get conceited," he chuckled. Paige flushed an embarrassed eggplant. Once the man caught his breath, he explained, "At some level, yes – I'm being affected. But not like that. You're mated to my nephew. In werewolf culture, but more specifically werewolf biology, that puts you into the category of "niece". My primal instincts are reacting to your heat by wanting, not to fuck you, but to take care of you and preserve the health of the she-wolf who is capable of bringing little pups into the pack. Isaac wants to fuck you because he's not related to you."

Slowly, Paige nodded. "So… that's why you're being nice to me. I knew there was an unconventional reason."

"Ha. Ha," Peter said. But he still smiled and returned to his meal.

"Found him!" Isaac announced, bouncing into the living room. "He's fine! Just hanging out back at the subway station – staying far, far from Paige!"

Said she-wolf came bounding down the stairs and landed soundly in front of the beta. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Talked to him, myself," Isaac explained.

And he had. Paige slid closer to the boy, sniffing deeply. Oh, God. Derek's scent clung to his body as though it knew the effect it would have on Paige if it made the trip all the way over here. She didn't even know what she was doing as she shuffled closer and pressed her nose to the juncture of Isaac's neck. If she closed her eyes, she could see Derek. Her tongue flicked out and slid along the salty skin so that she could taste him. Isaac shuddered and suddenly his hands were on her back, pulling her closer.

"No!" came Peter's voice. Paige was yanked away roughly by the back of her shirt and she snarled at Peter. But he continued to hold her tight, dragging her up the stairs and shoving her back into her room.

Paige buried her face into Derek's pillow and slid her sore fingers into herself.

She got off so quickly – had been wet the moment she smelled Derek's lingering scent. But… it wasn't enough. Even as her hips jutted up once, twice, and a moan ripped it's way out of her throat as stars danced across her vision – it wasn't enough. She didn't feel at all satisfied. It didn't matter that she had climaxed with Derek's scent in her nose and his face swimming in her vision. She wanted him. She wanted his fingers, his lips, his cock.

A strangled howl ripped from her throat.

It was like she was mourning.

And then, she just lay there crying.

"This is your problem!"

Paige shifted in bed, wondering who was talking so loudly this morning. Her nightgown was bunched up around her hips. Three days had passed since she found out she was in heat. Derek still had not returned and Paige remained in bed, feverish and upset. Peter came by three, four times a day to bring her food she didn't eat. "Derek," she would mutter before realizing it was just his uncle instead.

"What do you expect me to do?"

That was Derek's voice.

Instantly she shot up and sprinted from the room. Peter was pacing in his own bedroom, the receiver pressed up close against his face. When Paige stumbled into the room, dizzy just from hearing Derek's distorted voice over the phone, Peter scowled at her and gestured for her to leave.

She just shook her head and clutched the doorframe harder.

"Paige," Peter finally decided he needed to verbally command her. "Go back to your room."

"That's Derek," she pointed to the phone. "I want to talk to him. Give me the phone." She reached out and Peter just frowned.

"Listen to Peter. Go back to your room, Paige," came Derek's voice from the phone. Paige's legs nearly gave out as he said her name.

"Please…" she whispered. Her voice had a high-pitched whine to it. "Derek, please. I need you. I need you so badly. I'm dying without you. Please, I just want to see you."

There was silence on the other end and Peter glanced at the floor. Maybe he sensed that when her heat was over, she'd be embarrassed to be seen like this. A big part of her knew that she wasn't herself. Sometimes she kind of felt this way – like without Derek she just wasn't complete. But it wasn't something she would ever say out loud.

She tried one last time. "Please…"

The line clicked off and Paige's knees finally gave out. Her head banged against the doorframe and it felt so good, she did it again. The loud crack of her skull meeting the wood – and succeeding in denting the wood – was loud enough to draw Peter's attention.

"Don't do that," he admonished, returning the phone to its cradle.

So instead Paige let the tears fall freely.

"Paige," Peter muttered, almost sympathetically. He crossed the room and gently brushed her tears away.

"I just want him so badly," she explained, hollowly. "I love him so much. I need him."

"I know," Peter told her. "I know." And then he put her arms around her and gingerly lifted her and returned her back to her room.

He turned off the light when he left.

She buried her face into Derek's pillow – which had long since stopped smelling like her mate and now just smelled like despair. When the door clicked open, Paige coiled – ready to toss the lamp at Peter or Isaac or whoever thought it was smart to invade her pitiful state. But the scent gave him away.

Strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. Paige blended into her mate, reaching an arm up and back to grab at the nape of his neck. Derek's nose was cold as it dragged across her throat. His warm, wet tongue slicked a path up her pulse point. Paige let out a sigh, which turned into a whine, which turned into a howl.

"I need you," she stuttered. "I needed you – I've needed you this entire week. I've cried myself to sleep because you weren't here." She turned around in his arms and dug her nails into his pectorals. "Please," she begged.

Derek searched her face and then breathed a deep sigh. His paws pressed into the sides of her face as he dipped his head and kissed her. Instantly, she opened her mouth to allow him entrance and moaned loudly. This was exactly what she needed. In this moment she was perfect. This was perfect. He was perfect.

Her hands slid straight down his chest, popping open his belt and yanking down his jeans. He wasn't completely ready for her, but Paige wanted it now.

She had been waiting for far too long.

Jumping away from him, she settled herself on her knees in between his legs. Her tongue slicked up his shaft and he shuddered, grabbing her hair. His cock gave a distinctive twitch and so Paige grabbed the base of it, taking it completely into her mouth and giving a harsh suck. He groaned and she slid her mouth down again, her nose tickling in his pubic hairs. Derek grew hard very quickly in her throat, his hand unintentionally tugging at her hair in urgency.

Any other time, Paige would feel pride for exciting him so quickly and efficiently. Any other time, she would have tried to draw this out and make their lovemaking as sensual as possible. Any other time, she would not be in heat. This was not the time for love and tantalizing pace.

"Condom," Derek grunted as she pulled away with a pop.

"Where?" she asked, breathless.

"Pocket," he reached into his jeans pocket as her hand came down to rub against herself. Soon. So, soon she would have exactly what she needed.

The room was heavy with their mutual need and arousal. The scent clung to every pore. Paige hoped that they couldn't smell it downstairs. Paige decided she didn't care. His cock was gleaming with her saliva and it was everything she had dreamed about. She was fully prepared to scream as he slammed into her again and again.

Too slowly, he ripped open the condom and rolled it on.

Under her nightgown, she had stopped wearing panties a few days ago. It made her feel too overheated and it made her perpetual self-indulging overcomplicated. All she had to do was yank her nightgown up and straddle her mate. She reached down and grabbed his dick in her shaking and excited hand, guiding him to her dripping opening. Once he was lined up, she gave a breathless moan. Without warning, she slammed her hips down and took him into her.

Finally.

Oh, God. Everything about her felt complete in this moment. This was the one thing she had been craving since she woke up that morning so long ago.

A pleased howl echoed from her mouth as she dipped her head back. Derek took the opportunity to dig his fangs into her collarbone and her howl turned to a needy whine. His claws dug into her hips as he guided her up and down, slamming into her forcefully.

His eyes flashed red and he blinked them back to blue.

Suddenly, Derek's grip on her tightened and he picked them both up – only to twist and slam her down on the bed, pressing his entire weight into her. He began to hit a completely different part of her insides. Her hips rolled up so he could go deeper, moaning into his neck. His fingers tightly pinched her left nipple and she gave a short scream. Then he rolled the abused stub between his fingertips, soothing it. His fangs dragged against her neck.

"I need you," she told him, panting around her whines. "I always need you. Please don't ever leave me alone, again," she begged.

"I won't," he grunted. "I promise you, I won't."

Stars exploded in her vision and she lulled her head back, shutting her eyes against the sensation of release. She had never had an orgasm that intense. Derek gave a strangled sound and dropped onto her, sliding a hand into her hair. Together, their pulses synced up and lowered together.

Paige murmured words of affection into his neck. Words like, "love", "need", "perfect", "forever".

Derek shifted his nose against her neck, humming encouragement.

Finally she felt like she had the energy to move and squirmed just enough that Derek fell out of her, but his body continued to press sweetly against hers. She ran her fingers gently up and down him back – from the curve of his ass, to the strong muscle of his shoulder.

"I feel…" Paige sighed, unable to correctly form exactly how she was feeling.

"Better?" Derek guessed.

"So much better," she decided. "This whole week was just… terrible."

He was silent for a moment before muttering, "I'm sorry."

"You better be," Paige snapped, pinching his butt.

Derek jolted up and rolled away from her, chuckling in the back of his throat. Everything was perfect. Whenever she could say something that made laugh, it was always absolutely perfect. He rolled completely over and moved to take the condom off. Paige knew something was wrong when he paused, eyes wide as he stared down at himself.

"What?" she asked, sitting up.

"It broke," he growled, yanking it off completely and damn near tossing it across the room.

"What do you mean?"

"There was a huge tear in it, Paige!" His voice sprang up an octave. "What do you think it means?" He pushed himself off the bed and tugged on his jeans, forgetting his underwear for the time being. "I knew this was a bad idea – I was trying to prevent this by staying away from you." His shirt was replaced back onto his body.

"Right," Paige shot up. "And we both saw how that worked out! I was miserable! I was the most miserable I have ever been!"

"So what?" Derek snapped.

"Excuse me?" The anger began to coil in her gut.

"So what – you were miserable? It would have only lasted a day or so more and then it would have passed," he explained. He swiped a hand through his jet-black hair. "God, Paige! If you get pregnant – with these alphas! What do you think will happen?"

She gaped at him and apparently he decided it wasn't a rhetorical question because he continued. "If you get pregnant, those alphas will target you first. You're already a weakness as my mate and if you're also compromised with pregnancy that just makes it even worse! God, I'd probably have to send you back to your parents in Chicago!"

Paige winced, knowing that that would be terrible – her parents had tracked her down before leaving for the Midwest. They had given Derek quite the scolding and her father had been two steps away from having him arrested. But that was before realizing he wasn't breaking the law. Paige was an adult. She could leave home and live with her much older boyfriend if she so chose. Returning to that shit-show would be worse than death. At least she'd have Wyatt to back her up though – she missed that boy.

"Or, at the very least I'd have to send you to those families in New York. You'd be living amongst strangers." He came to grip the bedframe, his knuckles white. "Is that something you want, Paige? You could barely survive a week without me and you'd be willing to put yourself in a situation where we'd have to separate for a long time? But I guess that might be a price you're willing to pay if it means you can trap me into fatherhood."

The slap echoed around the bedroom in an angry pattern.

"Fuck you," she growled.

It vaguely occurred to her that she was a werewolf and she could do a lot more than just slap this man. But in that moment, hitting him with the palm of her hand seemed like the best possible thing in the world.

Derek stared at her wide-eyed. And then he whipped around and stalked out of the room. Paige listened as he ignored Isaac's questioning voice and Peter's harsh demand to know what was going on and exited the house.

"What happened?" Peter asked from the doorway a few moments later. Paige hadn't even heard him come up – she just kept hoping she could melt back into the bed she was sitting on.

"He's an asshole," Paige explained softly.

"Well, that adjective can be applied to most males, so you're going to have to be more specific," Peter joked.

Paige let out a strangled giggle. "How did you become the only person I can rely on?" she wanted to know.

"Hey," Isaac spoke up from the other side of the doorway. "I'm here, too."

"Yes," she admitted. "Yes you are."

"Rest," Peter suggested. "I'll try to wrestle him back here."

"Don't bother," Paige said. "I think that that managed to knock my heat out of my system."

"It better have," Isaac muttered at the same time that Peter joked, "All that noise you two were making, I'm not surprised."

The next noise Paige made was a soft sigh. She didn't have the energy to be embarrassed. Leaning back, it only took a few seconds for her eyes to close.

Derek didn't show up for another week.

At breakfast, Paige was serving waffles because apparently she was the housewife always, for everyone, ever. As she leaned over to place a particularly fluffy waffle onto Peter's plate, the beta took a deep sniff of her hair.

"Congratulations," he said.

Everything about her body tensed. Congratulations? Because she was pregnant? Oh Lord. Peter had told her the day after that whole debacle that they'd be able to smell the shift in her hormones within the next week. They'd be able to tell her if she was pregnant.

"Oh, calm down," he scolded. "I was congratulating you on not being pregnant."

"I'm not?"

"There is no little werewolf in your little belly," Peter joked.

Paige let out a sigh of relief. It was strange – she had always wanted to be a mother. But for some reason, it frightened her. She knew she wanted children but not now – not with the alphas around the corner. Also, she was still holding onto the idea that she could convince Derek that reproduction was for the best because she refused to force fatherhood on him. This whole week had been torturous – hoping she had escaped pregnancy and fearing that she hadn't.

They finished breakfast and settled into the living room just in time for the front door to bang open. He was dirty and grimy and Paige could smell the forest on him as she stared at him from across the living room.

Isaac and Peter glanced between each other and then Peter suggested, "Let's give the lovebirds some privacy." They disappeared.

"You slept in the forest." That was not a question.

He answered anyway. "I slept in the forest."

"Was it uncomfortable?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"Listen," Derek tried to begin but Paige cut him off before he could continue.

"I lost control," she admitted harshly. "I get it!" The tears fell down her face in waves, all the bottled up emotion coming to the surface. "But I couldn't help it – okay? Those past four days all I wanted was you and without you I could barely breathe! I couldn't think. And I get it, okay? I get that you tried to stay away because you were worried about this happening and I should have also been worried about this happening – but that was the farthest thing from my mind. And believe me, you bastard – if I could barely think about the risks involved in being within your presence, what makes you think I could possibly mastermind a plot to trap you into being a parent?" Her fist pounded on his chest and she didn't even remember crossing the room. "Fuck you! Okay – just fuck you! Is that honestly what you think of me? Do you honestly think I would do something like that?

"Besides loving you – because I fucking do and you fucking know I do based on the fact that I have essentially given up my family for you and my childhood dream of one day being a mother – what makes you think I don't also respect you? As in – respect your decision to forgo parenthood? 'Cause guess what – I do love you and I do respect you and I would never fucking do that to you and don't you ever accuse me of something like that again!

"You're just pissed that you came back here – that you gave into me and so guess what? This is both of our faults. We both made mistakes – me begging you to come back and you coming back."

He pulled away from her and stomped to the doorway. He was silent for a really long time, staring down at his white knuckles as his fingers dug into the molding. Finally he stopped shaking and simply whispered, "I had never heard you sound more desperate – pained. I didn't intend to come back here and… and have sex with you. I just wanted to be in your presence so that I could take your pain away."

She heard what he wasn't saying. That he wanted to help her in any way he could and that her happiness meant more to him than his. He must have known the risk of coming home back – had known that he might be affected to the point where he lost control. And in losing that control, might have impregnated her and sealed his fate. But in that moment, hearing her over the phone, it hadn't meant anything to him – not in comparison securing her happiness and taking away her pain.

Paige sighed and rubbed her forehead. Slowly, she walked on sore legs and placed her arms around his middle. He tensed under her touch.

"And that's why I love you," she told him.

Gingerly, his hands came up to cover hers as they pressed into his stomach.

"I don't think you would ever try to trap me," he said. "I know you want children and I know how much it hurts you that I don't want them but I don't think you'd ever do anything to hurt me. Or to put me in a position that could hurt me."

"That sounds almost like you trust me," Paige commented nonchalantly and only half-joking.

But Derek didn't take the bait and instead pried her hands off of him gently. In the absence of the embrace, he dragged his lips over hers and pressed his hand into her lower back to pull her closer. Paige sighed into his mouth.

Her heat had been sated. But here, right now, made her feel the most satisfied.

Maybe she should go into heat more often.

"Oh my God," she yanked her head back, her eyes wide and scared. "This is going to happen every spring!"

Derek leaned his forehead against hers to pacify her. "We'll get through it. Learn to deal with it. For now, let's just… relax."

Paige nodded – or at least tried to. Her forehead was still pressed to his and so she just kissed him again in some form of comfort. Mostly for herself.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, realizing suddenly the true horror of getting pregnant now. The alphas would not hesitate to kill her and her child by extension. Derek just kissed her one last time.

"Let's get some breakfast," he suggested. Paige didn't have the heart to tell him that they had all already eaten. "We'll roll with the punches," he told her. "We always do."

She gave one last nod, and took his hand and they left the living room together.

Baby, I'm a forlorn on fire,

I'm what you desire,

Like a siren in the night (Going nino-nino)

Baby you's a man on a wire,

Risking all that you've got,

For the love of your life (You're my hero, hero)