Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf. I own the character Rose Delgado.

Chapter 1: Secrets

"Are you sure we're going the right way?"

Scott McCall followed the scent. It still had that unfamiliar hint that continued to bother him. He didn't know what could have caused the change.

"Yes, Stiles," Scott said patiently. "It's kinda different, but it's definitely her. I think she's by the lake."

"Different how?" Stiles asked as he followed his best friend through the trees. He was slightly out of breath from their long walk and made a mental note to do some overtime on the lacrosse field.

"I don't know, just different," Scott said noncommittedly, not knowing how to explain. He had never experienced a change in scents before and wondered if it was him who was actually changing. If that was the case, why did everyone else's scent stay the same? He would have to ask Deaton about it later.

They reached the edge of the lake where a young woman dressed in dark jeans rolled to her mid calf and a thin black sweater sat on a large rock. Her back was to them. She was barefoot with her feet submerged in the shallow water up to her ankles. Leaning nearby against another rock formation, a bow and a quiver of arrows waited to be used. Her long, curly hair laid down her back. Small droplets fell from the ends of her locks and Scott assumed she had gone for a swim.

She hadn't noticed them yet. She was too focused on the lake ahead. Scott looked around and saw several arrows sticking out of the surrounding trees. These arrows formed a vertical line on each tree.

"Finally!" Stiles exclaimed.

Rose, Scott's half-sister, jumped at the sound of his voice and turned to see the two boys approaching.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry, we didn't mean to startle you," Scott apologized.

"Shouldn't you both be at school?" Rose asked. She stood up from her seat and tossed her hair over her shoulder to wring the water out. She then walked onto shore to her shoes.

"It's past 4 o'clock," Scott said.

"Already?" Rose turned her back to him and pulled her socks and shoes on. "I really should've brought a towel."

"I've been calling you," Scott said. "We haven't really had a chance to talk."

"Yeah, you just disappeared after the whole Derek thing," Stiles added, trying not to sound accusatory.

Rose kept her back facing them. "Sorry, things have been crazy busy at work. Plus, I've been settling in and just getting used to living here again. It's a lot different than Seattle." She took her quiver and walked to the nearest tree that was punctured with arrows. She pulled each one out one by one.

"I've never really seen you in action," Scott said, referring to her archery skills.

"You should've seen me a few years ago," she said, walking to another tree to retrieve more arrows. "I was good, really good. And now I have to get back to that level."

"Why?" Stiles asked.

"I'm in Beacon Hills," Rose said, matter-of-factly. "There's always something wanting to kill you."

"No denying that," Stiles agreed. He exchanged a glance with Scott.

"If this is about Kate-" Scott began.

"It's more than that," Rose interrupted, looking him in the eye for the first time. "Ever since I came back, I feel so...unprepared. Exposed even. It's making me nervous. I have to get better."

Scott stared at the bow on the ground. "You remind me of Allison. She was always trying to improve herself."

Scott waited for the twinge of pain that he always felt whenever he thought about Allison. To his surprise, it didn't come. He didn't know if this was a good or bad thing. Stiles looked down at his feet at the mention of Allison's name.

"It's probably best that I wasn't here when you two dated," Rose said jokingly. "I would have done everything I could to keep you apart. No way my family was getting involved with an Argent."

Scott smiled. "You would have liked her. Everyone did."

Rose eyed Stiles with interest. "Ever thought about giving it a shot, Stiles? No pun intended. I could teach you if you want. You need to be able to defend yourself somehow."

Stiles scoffed. "Me, with a bow and arrow? My weapon of choice is more like guns." He nodded his head in a way he thought would make him look cool.

"Your dad lets you shoot guns?" Rose asked incredulously.

"Well, no. So I resort to a baseball bat and my quick thinking to survive."

Scott decided to cut to the chase. There was a specific reason why he came to see her in the first place and anticipation welled up inside him. "We need to talk about something. I've been thinking about what happened with Derek," Scott said. "You gave him something, didn't you?" It was more of a statement rather than a question.

"That's why you got sick," Stiles said. Stiles had come up with a hundred different theories on what had happened to Derek and the role Rose had played.

"Hey, let's just forget about what happened at the Nemeton," Rose said. "Just accept it and stop trying to understand it. Please? I don't want to talk about what happened and I hope you two can respect that."

Scott and Stiles frowned. "Yeah, but," Scott said. "You changed Derek and I know it has something to do with why you were on the dead pool. Why won't you tell me?"

"And you weren't just on the dead pool," Stiles reminded. "You were wanted alive. The only one wanted alive. We know something's up so you might as well tell us before we figure it out ourselves. Mind you, we'll spend countless hours trying to find the truth while we should be studying to get good grades for our future."

Rose looked at them sadly. She had gathered all her bows and was placing them neatly in her quiver. "I remember when you were just little boys. All you guys wanted to do was play video games and watch scary movies. This wasn't supposed to happen. You weren't supposed to be involved in Derek's world. You should be enjoying high school, not fighting for your lives."

"Rose-" Scott knew she was avoiding the subject. It had been a few weeks since he had seen his cousin, wanting to be respectful and giving her space after what had happened at the Nemeton. They had texted back and forth to check on each other, but enough time had passed and now he wanted to know what was going on. It was frustrating being kept in the dark.

"I need to go home." She gathered her things, ending the conversation.

Scott smelled a new scent approaching him from behind. He turned around and saw Derek walking towards them. He sensed anxiety increasing in Rose and saw her looking at him with a mixture of anger and relief.

Derek stopped about fifteen feet in front of Rose. Scott thought they looked like a couple who had just gotten into a fight and were about to argue again. Rose's lips were pursed and her heart rate had increased. Scott wondered what had happened between them. Whatever it was, he figured it wasn't good.

"I need to talk to you," Derek said with his usual serious tone.

"I'm on my way home," Rose said, her voice flat and nonchalant. "Stop blowing up my phone and knocking on my door."

"What the hell is up with you two?" Stiles asked, sensing the tension between them.

"Absolutely nothing," Rose said snidely. "It's getting late."

Scott's curiosity grew as he watched the two of them eye each other – Rose with anger and Derek with annoyance. He wondered if they had behaved like this as teenagers.

"I'll go with you," Derek said to Rose. Scott registered that they lived in the same building.

"That's quite alright, Derek," Rose said smugly. "Because I don't think there's much to talk about at the moment."

With that, she turned on her heels and started to leave. "I'll see you two later," she called behind her shoulder to the two teenage boys. "And study hard."

"Wait," Scott called after her. "My dad...our dad is home. He wants to see you."

That got Rose's attention. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him.

"He had to go to San Francisco for a while to file a report after he saved Stiles. He wants to see you." He continued when Rose didn't say anything. "Look, I get it. I didn't want to talk to him either at first. But he's trying."

"I can't do this right now," Rose said simply. She turned back around and continued her way out of the woods.

Scott watched as she left with dismay. He almost thought he had sensed a rush of joy from her when he had said their dad wanted to see her. He knew the shock of finding out who her real father was must've completely changed her life as much as his, but he had hoped that she would be more open to talking to Agent McCall. This was going to be more difficult than he thought.

"Well that went well," Stiles said. "She's still keeping her mouth shut even after all this time."

"Maybe Kira was right," Scott said. "Maybe it's best we don't pursue this whole Rose dead pool thing."

"No, not you too," Stiles moaned.

"She clearly doesn't want to talk about it and I don't want to strain my relationship with her right now. What do you think, Derek?"

When no response came, the two teenagers realized Derek had left without a word.

"Look," Stiles said, shrugging Derek's departure off, "I get that she's your long-lost half-sister and all, but she's also a supernatural that we know nothing about. She brought Derek back from the dead! We've given her space and now I plan on finding out exactly what's going on."

"I know, I wanna find out too," Scott said. "Let's just cool it for the time being. Something obviously happened between Derek and Rose and now doesn't seem like the right time to coax the truth out. We have to catch her at the right time."

"And when is that, Scott? She seems pretty determined to not explain."

"She'll tell us eventually," Scott assured. "She can't keep this a secret forever."