7: "I can feel you."

Malia hugged me close and added softly, "You feel so good."

She looked up at me and smiled. Her face glowed in the sunlight and she felt warm and full of energy. It was like touching the Malia I used to know.

Her smile faded as if she knew what I was thinking. The sunlight disappeared behind some clouds and Malia's features turned predatory like they were when I last saw her in werewolf form.

"You don't love me, anymore?" she whimpered, her irises flashing red with rising anger.

I shook my head and told her, "Of course I love you, Malia. You're one of my most cherished friends."

"Do you like having sex with me, Stiles?" she asked.

I felt like she was reading my mind again, in search of doubt. I cleared my thoughts and answered truthfully, "Yes, I do like having sex with you, but last time, you almost killed me."

"I didn't mean to, Stiles! I didn't mean to!" she argued.

"Yes, I understand that, Malia, but I'm afraid of what you might do if we meet again. I think Derek is too, which is why he's keeping you away from me," I told her.

She looked away and said somberly, "If you let me see you, I promise I won't hurt you, again. I know better, now. All I want is to see you again, Stiles. Please let me come and see you!"

"If you come to see me, you'll have to look and act like you were before you died, because the other guys will think something's wrong if they see how you look now," I explained.

She nodded quickly and answered, "I promise. I'll do anything to see you."

"Come tomorrow, in the middle of the day," I told her.

"What about Derek? Should I tell him I'm coming?" she asked.

I shook my head and told her, "He won't let you see me. This will be our secret."

Malia's lips formed into a wicked smile. She seemed almost sadistically happy that Derek wouldn't know about her visit. A voice in the back of my head kept telling me that this was the worst idea I had ever come up with, and so far, I had ignored it.

But the look in Malia's eyes was so strange, I was beginning to believe the voice was right.

I opened my eyes to darkness. It was the early morning hours and I had forgotten to turn on the space heater before I went to bed.

"Shit," I whispered, starting to sit up.

"I'll get it," Derek said as he walked into the tent.

He was naked, again. I sat back and watched him turn on the heater as I asked, "How come you're out in the nude? Not that I'm complaining."

Derek told me over his shoulder, "When I turn into wolf form, my clothes usually end up shredded and covered in blood, so I just go without them."

"Do people see you naked when you change back into human form and walk back into town?" I asked curiously.

Derek climbed into bed with me and answered with a slight shrug, "If they do, they don't say anything."

I was on my back and he was on his side facing me. He ran his fingertips through my short hair with one hand while using his other hand to drift under my t-shirt and tease my nipples. I let out a silly giggle and said, "Enough with the nips! It tickles!"

He smiled just enough to show the tips of his long canines and I asked more seriously, "Could you bite me with those things? Like, without killing me?"

"Yes," he replied, his answer aggravatingly simple.

"Well, okay, then will you bite me? Just a little nip?" I asked.

Derek started to lean in and I tried to stay calm, but my body instinctively tensed up. Derek pressed his lips to mine, and I settled for kissing instead of biting.

He suddenly pulled away and moved to my neck. He sank his long canines in just enough to pinch a little bit.

My body and mind were not on the same page. Physically, I wanted to cry out and go into survival mode, using an adrenaline rush to fight off Derek. Mentally, I wanted to groan with pleasure and relax while Derek teased me. Both sides were fighting for power, and Derek seemed to know that. He massaged the top of my skull with his fingertips while simultaneously rubbing my abdominal muscles with his other hand. Both actions combined were strangely soothing, and I was able to let go and enjoy him.

He suckled the bite and licked the surrounding area clean. After almost a minute, I started to feel dizzy, so I whispered to Derek, "Stop now, please."

He immediately let go he bit into his own finger and rubbed his blood on the bite to heal it as fast as possible. I told him when he finished, "Thank you for healing it. I didn't want to have to explain that to anyone."

He pressed his forehead against mine and told me, "You taste so good to me; it's hard to stop."

"Am I like your perfect mate?" I asked.

"Yes," Derek answered.

"You said you would be obsessed with me forever, no matter what," I tried to remember.

"Yes," Derek confirmed.

"What about Kate? Won't she be furious to know that I'm back with you?" I asked.

Derek sighed with frustration like he had been talking to Kate, recently. He explained, "She doesn't know that your memory is back, and she won't find out. Even if she does, she will never touch you, again. I've made sure of that."

"What about Lydia?" I asked.

"She knows. I told her because you passed out while I was returning your memories and I was worried for you. She came back with me to make sure you were alright," Dreek answered.

"Would you tell me something?" I asked.

"What?" Derek became curious.

I smiled wryly at him and asked, "Have you ever hunted people in wolf form?"

Derek frowned and answered, "I wouldn't say I hunt people. Not unless they're hunting me, first."

"Have you ever wanted anyone else as much as you want me?" I asked, lifting a brow.

He locked eyes with me and said deliberately, "No one else compares."

:-:

Derek stayed with me until morning. He told me as I grabbed some clothes to take a shower, "I have some things to do, today. I'll come back in the afternoon when Mason's around."

"You don't like him much, do you?" I mentioned.

Derek scoffed and replied, "What? Did he say I don't like him? I don't fucking care."

"Uh-huh," I rolled my eyes at his word usage.

Derek glared at me and retorted, "I'm glad you have a friend...with benefits. He treats you well and that's what matters."

"We haven't done anything yet, you know. Hell, I'm not even sure if we'll have any benefits or if we'll even be friends after the way you stare at him," I stated, turning away from him.

The moment I turned back, Derek was right behind me. He grabbed me by my hips and picked me up so I had to straddle him to keep from falling backward. He held me up like I weighed less than nothing to him as he said, "You can play with him all you want, just not when it's my turn."

"I'll keep that in mind, Mr. Broody Mc-Brood-face," I joked.

"Damn right," Derek stated gruffly.

His need to be defensive was so hot, I planted a strong kiss on his lips. I knew he wanted more from the look in his eyes when he pulled away, but he started to put me down as he said, "I've really gotta go."

"But you are coming back, right?" I asked, just to be sure.

"This afternoon, like I said," he answered.

I remembered my dream about Malia and asked, "You won't be coming back earlier than that, will you?"

"Probably not. Why?" Derek returned.

I shrugged and said, "No reason. I just don't wanna be doing something stupid like reading a magazine on the shitter when you show up out of thin air to dry hump me."

Derek smiled wryly and closed his eyes like he was imagining something erotic from that statement. I groaned with disgust and said, "You're sick."

"You should hear what I want to do with the magazine you're holding," Derek teased me.

:-:

A few uneventful hours passed after Derek left. Ethan and Aiden were hogging the TV while Riley went to his girlfriend's house and Nick and Husky took to picking on Justin. I became the buffer for Justin and managed to get everyone out to the living room to watch reruns of cartoon shows.

It was amazing to me how well children's shows could silence even the toughest of teenage boys.

There was no sign of Malia. I had imagined communicating with her before I fell asleep and had the dream about her. She seemed as real as Derek was when he entered my dreams, but I had no idea if Malia actually had plans to show up or not. For all I knew, Derek may have been taking off to meet up with her and she wasn't able to come.

A sudden knock at the door startled us all. Justin jumped to his feet and rushed to open it. I ran after him, but he was faster, and Justin pulled the door open with all his might, beaming at the person on the other side.

He blinked and his expression turned to one of confusion as he realized who it was. I came up behind Justin and caught sight of Lydia, and my heart skipped a beat.

"Lyd...I didn't know you were coming over," I mumbled.

She looked from me to Justin and back again, trying to analyze our fallen expressions. Lydia became nervous as she asked, "Could I come in?"

"Uh...yeah, yeah, sure," I said, moving aside.

She came in and went straight to the living room. I had no idea why she was there until I saw her sit down on the sofa...next to Nick.

"Hey, there, Lydia," Nick put his arm around her.

"Hi, Nicky," she smiled.

Uh...W.T.F. Question mark. Exclamation point. Question mark.

I started to go back to the living room to ask questions, but Justin tugged on my elbow and whispered, "He asked her out at school a few days, ago."

"How come I didn't know about it?" I whispered back.

Justin shrugged and replied, "I thought the whole school knew."

Obviously, I was the last dude anyone wanted to spread a rumor to. I clenched my teeth when I thought about how Derek had also neglected to inform me.

"What the hell," I grumbled, turning back to close the door.

"Hello," came an airy voice just as I was about to shut them out.

I opened the door all the way, and there stood Malia. She had done her best to appear like her former self, but her hotness level was way beyond what it used to be, and there was no hiding that fact. She bit her lower lip and looked at me for reassurance that her appearance was right, and I nodded, moving aside to let her in.

My stomach lurched when I realized that Lydia was in the living room.

I was so startled by the image in my mind of a werewolf showdown that I accidentally slammed the door. All the guys and Lydia turned around, but they weren't looking at me.

Lydia was the only one who looked upset. The jaws of the guys made loud thuds as they hit the floor. Ethan made a weird face. Nick practically shoved Lydia aside as he stood up straight on the couch and announced, "Everyone, it's Malia!"

He put his arms out like he expected a hug from her. She just laughed at him and turned her attention to Justin.

"Hello, Prince Justin. How are you, my friend?" she asked kindly.

"Hi," Justin mumbled, stepping back to be closer to me.

Malia glanced at me like I should know what was wrong with Justin. I had remembered Derek saying something about Malia scaring Justin at night. It appeared that Justin wasn't consciously aware that Malia was his midnight tormentor, but unconsciously, he felt the need to distance himself from her. It also appeared from Malia's reaction that she may not have been intentionally trying to scare him.

"Let's all go for a walk!" I blurted to break the tension in the room.

With a broad smile, Malia answered, "Yeah, let's go!"

The guys followed after her like moths to a flame. I urged Justin out the door with them while Lydia stayed behind to ask me, "What is she doing here? I thought Derek said she was dangerous for you."

"Nick thinks that Malia disappeared because of me. I needed to show him she was fine so that he wouldn't do any digging and stir up trouble," I explained.

"Did you talk to Derek about this?" Lydia asked.

I shook my head and she sighed, telling me, "He's going to be so mad when he finds out."

"I told Malia to come by just for a while. Mason is coming this afternoon and so is Derek. I plan on telling her to leave before then," I said.

"What makes you think she'll actually leave?" Lydia pointed out.

We started out the door as I told her over my shoulder, "She will because she knows Derek won't let her see me again if she doesn't."

Once we were outside, I turned to Lydia and asked, "Why didn't you tell me you've got a thing with Nick?"

She shook her head like I didn't know the whole story, then Lydia opened her mouth to explain, but Malia rushed to my side and linked my arm with hers, saying, "We should get going!"

Malia didn't look at Lydia, but the hostility could still be felt. Lydia stepped aside and went to join Nick, while Justin stayed near Lydia because she had become the only person in the group he felt safe with.

We walked all the way to the park on the outskirts of town. Ethan and Aiden tried to swim in the park's lake, while Nick tried to poke fish with a stick and Husky tried to convince Justin he saw a giant turtle in the water.

Lydia kept to herself, but I could tell she was still upset. Malia stayed glued to my side, her grip on my arm almost crushingly strong. I finally tried to pull away and told her, "You're giving me a dead arm."

"Sorry," she said, immediately letting go.

There was an awkward silence between us as Malia tried to focus on Justin. She seemed to be keeping an eye on him to make sure Husky didn't shove Justin into the water. I asked to break the silence, "Do you still care about Justin?"

"Very much, yes," she answered.

"You've been coming into his room at night and scaring him," I confronted her.

She made a soft sigh and answered, "I don't mean to frighten him. He was fine until Derek erased his memories of me so he could be as oblivious as you were and he wouldn't tip you off about us. I started coming in just to sing him to sleep, and he kept waking up, terrified."

I tried to remember what Derek had told me as I explained, "Humans may not know you're a werewolf, but their instincts can pick up on the fact that something isn't right. Subconsciously, they go into survival mode. He knows you're different, but he doesn't understand why."

Malia frowned and replied, "I didn't know that."

"Derek doesn't tell me everything, but he gives me some useful information," I said.

Malia suddenly turned to me and yelled angrily, "Why do you have to talk about him when you're with me?"

She was loud enough to turn heads. One of them was Lydia. The other one was Nick.

Nick narrowed his eyes at me, suspiciously. Lydia started walking over to us. Malia looked in Lydia's direction and clenched her fists. I knew Malia would start a fight with Lydia, so I leaned into Malia and warned her, "Don't you do a damn thing to her, or I'll never invite you over to see me, again."

Malia's intensity faded so fast, it was like it never happened. Lydia stopped mid-way to us and glanced at me. I nodded reassuringly at her and she turned to walk back to Nick. He watched me until Lydia grabbed his attention, but I knew the damage had been done.

I turned to Malia and explained, "I brought you here because Nick thought I had done something bad to you and he was going to make a lot of trouble for all of us. The plan would've been fool-proof if you hadn't overreacted just now."

Malia stared at me like she barely registered what I said. She responded after a long silence, "I'm sorry. I didn't know he was bothering you."

I rubbed my eyes with frustration and replied, "It's no big deal. I just want you to realize that you can't act like a werewolf in front of people who don't understand. They all react differently; most of them not very calmly."

"I'm sorry, Stiles. I didn't mean to get you into trouble," Malia said somberly.

"It's alright," I replied quietly.

Despite my efforts to fight it, Malia was getting under my skin. Random thought, feelings and urges were slipping into my mind and slithering their way through my veins, latching on to my body and threatening to take control when I least expected it. Malia's desire for me was growing stronger, and I doubted she was trying to fight it much on her side.

It was a matter of if my willpower outmatched her desire, and at this point, my willpower was wearing thin.

"I need to use the bathroom," I got up and walked off before Malia could stop me.

Lydia glanced at me and I pointed at the bathrooms. She nodded and went back to talking to Nick. I went around to the men's side and tried to take short breaths to avoid inhaling too much of the stench as I went to the urinal and started my business.

The bathroom was thankfully empty. It made me anxious when I had to pee with other dudes around. It was probably because in my days on the streets.

I finished and went to wash my hands. I glanced in the mirror and saw someone behind me. My hands were dripping wet as I whirled around to face them and realized it was Malia.

"Shit, Mal-" I started to argue with her.

She was on her knees and swallowing my cock before I had time to finish my sentence. I leaned against the sink and grabbed her head with my hands, entangling her hair in my wet palms.

Her mouth had a strong grip on me. Because she was a werwolf now, I could feel her long canines teasing the flesh of my shaft and the base of my cock. I knew that, if I tried to push her away, she could easily bite me off without flinching.

Even if I had a chance of stopping her, at this point, she was making me not want to push her away.

Malia seemed to be playing on the fact that we had a very restricted time limit. She sucked hard and she moved fast. It felt so good, I let my head fall back as I groaned with a mix of pleasure and pain.

It took very little time for me to cum. Malia moaned as she stood up, grabbed onto my hips and asked sweetly, "Could I leave my mark on you?"

"No, no, no, only Derek gets to do that," I told her, feeling relaxed but exhausted.

Malia gripped me harder, arguing, "I'll only make a little mark! One bite!"

"No, Malia, not now!" I countered.

She shot up to her feet and her fury came out again as she yelled, "Why not? Why can't I have a little bit! It won't hurt!"

Malia's grip was so strong, I thought she was going to shatter my pelvic bone. I screamed back at her, "Stop this right now! I said no and I mean no! Let go!"

She did let go, but she was still angry as hell. She countered acidly, "All you think about is Derek! All you want is Derek! You even care about Lydia more than me! I should kill them all!"

"DON'T YOU EVER FUCKING SAY THAT TO ME! EVER!" I yelled so loudly, my voice box hurt from the strain.

Malia took a surprised step back and lowered her gaze like she was ashamed. She whispered quietly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

I stared at her and said honestly, "You're possessiveness is hurting me, Malia."

"I know. I'm sorry, I can't help it, I can't help it," she replied weakly.

"Yes, you can. You're a werewolf now, and if you want me so badly, then you can find the emotion to counter that desire with something positive so you don't have to be possessive," I reassured her.

She shook her head and said, "No, you don't understand. You're all I think about, now. Being away from you feels like someone ripped something out of me and I'd do anything to get it back."

I told her strongly, "But that's not how I feel about you, Malia. I don't mind our time together, but when it all comes down to it, I'm bonded to Derek, and that's the way I want it to be."

"I hate him! I hate him!" Malia screamed.

"Stop it, Malia! You don't talk about him like that!" I argued.

She clung to me and told me, "He's so mean to me when you're not around! He makes me go to places far away from here to do things for him and I hate it! I just want to be near you but he doesn't trust me and he hates me and he won't listen to me! I don't know what's happening to me and he won't help me!"

Malia began sobbing uncontrollably. Her face turned wet and her eyes were wild with a mix of emotions that were threatening to overwhelm her.

"Stiles?" I heard Lydia ask from outside.

I looked at Malia. Her eyes told me exactly what she was going to do before she did it.

"MALIA, NO!" I yelled.

It was already too late. She was outside before I could blink. I rushed out after her, even though I knew I wouldn't get to her in time.

Malia was on Lydia's heels before Lydia even knew what was going on. I opened my mouth to cry out, thinking that this was the end of her, but astonishingly, Malia turned heel at the last second and went right past Lydia.

Nick was standing on a rock at the edge of the lake. Malia ran right past him, missing him by mere inches, then she disappeared into the trees on the other side of the park.

"Oh my God!" Lydia screamed.

I stared at Nick. He was staring back at me with a half-smile on his face. Then, his eyes went blank, and his body split in half from the waist, crumpling to the ground in two pieces.

Husky threw up. Ethan and Aidan started shouting profanities. Justin dropped to his knees and hid his face in horror. Lydia and I just stood there, staring at the two halves of Nick's body like it was a prop and the real Nick was going to jump out and yell, "Ha, bitches! I got all of you!"

But he wasn't going to jump out from anywhere. He was dead, and it was all my fault.