This story is in correlation with my other two Teen Wolf stories, Scars and Awake and Alive! The three intertwine with each other quite often but in different points of view, so I would recommend reading those as well so everything makes sense. I hope you enjoy!

TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of terrorist attack and suicide

The school door's slammed open as Derek marched into the building. The urge for him to shift was so strong but he tried to fight it back as much as he could. Especially with all of his peers already giving him weird looks, wondering what his problem was. He could care less about them though. All he wanted was the find the son of a bitch who ruined his best friend.

And there he was, standing at his locker with all his baseball buddies, laughing away like a bunch of clowns. Chase Matthews… just the name alone screams 'douchebag'. People viewed him to be the popular guy at Beacon Hills High, but Derek saw him as a pretentious prick who was taking advantage of the girl who was still mad at him for the mirror incident. He was gonna get him though. He was gonna show Chase that Anabelle was not his to mess with.

"Chase!"

Said boy stopped laughing but kept the smug smile on his face when he saw the werewolf storming over to him. "Oh, hey, Hale. Lose your way to the losers' corner again?"

"What the hell did you to her?" Derek snarled as he stood in front of the taller boy.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Chase said, shaking his head. He turned back to his locker to fix his hair.

"Bullshit." Derek slammed the locker door shut.

The junior was starting to lose his patience. "Look, buddy. I don't know what your problem is but you need to just run along."

"I know you took Anabelle's virginity last night. She had a purity ring on so you know she was saving herself. What did say to her to manipulate her into having sex with you?"

"I didn't have to say anything. She was the one wanting it. She came onto me."

The smile on Chase's face became sinister and Derek wanted nothing more than to smack it off. And he could tell he was lying based off his heartbeat.

"Do you even love her?" Derek asked him.

"Love?" Chase scoffed. "Whoever said anything about love? Anabelle should be lucky that she has me. Have you seen all of the girls that want me at this school? But no, I chose your precious Anabelle."

"Like that's stopped you from hooking up with them. Am I right?"

Now the smile was slowly slipping and the junior's jaw was clenched. He kept a tight grip on his backpack as he stepped closer to Derek, staring him down. But Derek didn't falter, he had stood his ground.

"What are you gonna do Hale? Tell her? Hm? I've got her pretty little body wrapped around my finger just like all the other girls. Why would she believe you over the boy she's in love with?"

Derek's fists tightened. "I'm warning you, Chase. You better stay away from Anabelle or else. She is way too good for you and deserves better than some scum piece of shit like you."

While Chase's friends 'oooh'd' and laughed at the threat, he chuckled darkly.

"I see what's going on here. Someone one seems to be jealous that Anabelle's attention isn't on you anymore. Well, I hate to break it to you kid- she's not yours. And she never will be."

"Anabelle's been my best friend way longer than she's been with you," Derek seethed. He could feel his claws digging into his palms and his eyes were stinging at the need to turn blue. "She would never choose you over me."

"But she already has, Hale. And it's such a shame too that you won't be the one who's in bed with her. You won't ever get to feel that tight body underneath yours. And you'll never get to experience what she sounds like when she's screaming your name."

Before Derek could even think about it, he punched Chase square in the nose, instantly breaking it. The junior reached up and touched it. When he looked down at his hand there was blood on his fingertips. He dropped his backpack onto the floor and began to attack him.

At this point, students had surrounded the two boys, always hyped up for a good fight. They were shoving each other against the lockers, punching at each other, and trying to prove their dominance over the other.

Walking down from the other side of the hallway, Anabelle was laughing and talking among with her theatre friends. One of her friends spotted the commotion going on and patted the she-wolf's shoulder.

"Hey, Anabelle, isn't that Derek and Chase?"

She looked over where her friend was pointing and sure enough, her boyfriend and her… best friend, although she wasn't sure she could call him that anymore, were going at each other like a couple of wild animals.

"Oh, no." Anabelle handed her friend her book bag and ran over to the fighting boys. "You guys, stop! Derek, let go of him!"

Anabelle went to grab at Derek's shoulder to pull him away from Chase. But because Derek was so focused on pummeling the junior's face, he didn't even notice the girl standing behind him. He ended up elbowing Anabelle hard in the eye. She cried out in pain and covered her face, making the two boys stop and turn to her in panic.

"I am so sorry, Anabelle!" Derek tried to apologize but she swatted his hand away, "Are you okay?"

"Now look what you did, Hale!" Chase jested, pushing Derek's back. Then the wolf went back to fighting with him.

Finally the school's principal ran over to the scene and pulled the boys off each other. "Hey! Both of you, knock it off! What the hell is going on?"

"He punched me first!" Chase pointed at Derek as his other hand covered his bloody nose.

"He was making inappropriate comments about my best friend!"

"It's not inappropriate if it's all true." Derek went to strike again but the principal held him back.

"That's enough! Now both of you, come with me. We'll get you to the nurse's office to take care of your eye, Miss Fierro. As for the rest of you, get to class. Now!"

The students dispersed from the hallway as the principal lead the three teens towards his office. Derek walked behind Chase and Anabelle, who had their arms wrapped around each other. Chase looked back at the wolf and shot him one last dirty look, implying that he still won the girl.

He was lucky that Derek didn't punch his stupid face again right then and there.

Derek was waiting on a chair in the school office, elbows on his knees and looking down at his hands. He had just gotten suspended for a week while star pupil Chase only got a detention. Fucking unbelievable… And as if things weren't bad enough, Anabelle was probably furious for hurting her again. This was not Derek's week at all. What else could possible for wrong?

The school was letting Anabelle go home for the rest of the day to heal her eye. Little did they know that the black eye was already most likely gone due to her powers. So now Derek was just waiting for her to finish up with the nurse so they could drive home together, even though he was sure Anabelle would rather walk than be alone in the car with him.

After only fifteen minutes of waiting, Anabelle walked out of the nurse's office with an ice pack pressed on her eye. Derek almost wanted to laugh because he knew it was just for show. But after seeing the anger on the girl's face now was definitely not a good time to make jokes. When she spotted him sitting, Anabelle just glared at him and walked out of the office. He quickly grabbed his stuff and followed her out.

Much to his relief, Anabelle was at the car waiting for him. They got in, but it was so uncomfortable and she regretted not walking home.

"Anabelle-"

"Just drive. Please."

Derek sighed but turned on the ignition and drove out of the parking lot. The silence was killing him. "How's your eye?"

"It's fine," Anabelle answered curtly, staring out her window, "It healed right before I got to the nurse."

It was quiet for a few more minutes before Derek spoke up again. "Anabelle, I am so sorry that I hit you. You know I didn't mean to do that."

"I don't even care about my eye, Derek." The she-wolf finally looked at him. "What the hell were you thinking? Fighting my boyfriend in the hallway? Not only could you have risked yourself shifting, you also completely humiliated me."

"He deserved every single hit. You didn't hear the things he was saying about you. He was degrading you and acting like you were some object."

"You don't like when I talk to you about your relationship so what makes you think you have the right to interfere with mine?"

"His intentions with you aren't any good."

"Oh, and Kate's are?"

So it was obvious that Anabelle was still mad at him for the previous day. Derek couldn't blame her. He deserved it. He took a deep breath.

"This isn't about her right now. I'm just trying to protect you, Belle."

"Well, I don't need you to protect me. I can take care of myself." Anabelle stared out the window again until a strong scent traveled up her nose. She sniffed the air. "Do you smell smoke?"

"A little," Derek said, not giving it a second thought, "It just smells like someone's chimney."

Anabelle continued to dissect what she was smelling. Suddenly she started to get a very bad feeling when she got a hint of mountain ash.

"Drive faster."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Just do it!" Anabelle yelled.

Derek wasn't sure what was happening but when he saw the fear in the girl's eyes, he pressed his foot hard on the gas pedal and raced to their home.

Or what was left of their home.

Horror was evident on the teens' faces as they approached the scene. Flames were engulfing the house, seeming to be growing by each passing second. Smoke filled the air and their lungs as they stepped out of the car. Ash fluttered onto their skin like black snowflakes. Derek and Anabelle's eyes were burning from the heat, but they just kept getting wider as they watched their home blow up in flames.

Anabelle was frozen in place as another car pulled up beside Derek's. His older sister Laura and Anabelle's older brother Caleb and Parker stepped out of the car, equally in disbelief of what they were seeing.

"What happened?!" Laura yelled.

"I don't know!" Derek told her, "We just got here! Where's Mom?"

"I don't know!" "

"Everyone was still here when we left!" Caleb said, "We were only gone for an hour!"

All of the air out of Derek's body felt like it was escaping. Everyone's cars were still here. That could only mean that they were all still in there. All of his cousins, Peter, Cora… his mother.

Everything was becoming too much. Derek thought he was going to drop onto the ground. But he was snapped back into reality as he heard his best friend's gut-wrenching scream.

"MOM!"

Before she could think, her feet acted as if they had a mind of their own. Tears streamed her face as she sprinted towards the burning house. Derek could see his best friend getting weaker the closer she got and he got the same whiff of mountain ash Anabelle smelled earlier. He darted after her.

"Anabelle, stop!" he yelled, "There's mountain ash! Stop!"

But it was as if Derek's yelling fell on deaf ears. Anabelle was only focused on saving her mother. The teen wolf finally reached her and caught her by the waist, pulling her away from the barrier.

"Let me go!" Anabelle cried in agony, struggling to break free from Derek's grasp, "I have to get my mom!"

"You can't!" Derek told her, "There's mountain ash everywhere! They're trapped inside!"

"NO!"

Finally having stopped fighting back, Anabelle collapsed in Derek's arms and screamed as they both fell onto the dirt and ash. All Derek could do was stare at what was once their home as silent tears fell from his eyes.

But not once did he ever let Anabelle go.

It felt like ages since the firemen, police, and paramedics finally got to the house. Who was left of the Hales and Fierros stood their in mourning as they watched them put out the flames. When that was over, they started doing some inspecting. Not once did they go inside and then exit without holding a body bag as if it was some sick parting gift. Derek was watching them as Laura, Caleb, and Parker talked to the police. He knew he shouldn't be watching but he just couldn't take his eyes off of them.

The only person found alive and was rolled out on a gurney was his uncle Peter. Judging by the looks of him, however, he was just as good as dead. He was unconscious and nauseating burns masked the entire right side of his face. It was something you would expect to see in a horror film, not from a relative.

Cold sweat broke out on Derek's face and his stomach was doing flips. He couldn't take it anymore. Bending over a bush, he vomited everything he had eaten that day and possibly the day before. It just kept coming out until there was nothing left. His throat aches and the taste in his mouth was rancid.

He became lightheaded once he straightened back up. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Derek looked around the area. Something was missing. He realized that Anabelle had disappeared. Where could she have gone?

Unless you were a cop, no one was allowed to step into the scene of the crime. They didn't want anyone contaminating any potential evidence. Although it was going to be hard to detect anything when all of their furniture, clothes, pictures, and other precious heirlooms were burnt to a crisp. Even if something appeared to remain intact it would dissolve in your hands if you tried to pick it up. Anabelle learned that right away.

She pushed back the sob that was threatening to come out as she took in the now black empty shell of what she used to call home. This place that used to be so full of love, laughter, tears… gone. Wiped away way too fast. Along with most of her family. She couldn't even wrap her head around the fact that she was never going to feel their warm embraces ever again.

So many questions came into mind. How did this happen? Where do we go from here? How do we move on from this? Can we move on from this? All of the answers were up in the dark and polluted air.

Out of the corner of Anabelle's eye was something shiny. She walked over to it and picked up some sort of necklace. She dusted off the soot off of the charm so she could get a better look. It was some sort of symbol. There were so many details on it. But when Anabelle recognized the creature front and center, her eyes glowed yellow and she was breathing so hard you would've thought she had just been running. She knew exactly who this belonged to.

Argent.

"You know we're not supposed to be in here," she heard Derek's voice say to her faintly, "We have to go back outside."

"They were here."

She spoke so soft that you had to be a werewolf to hear her. "What? What are you talking about?" Anabelle turned around slowly and held up the necklace. "Anabelle, what is that-"

Derek then recognized the pendent. Fuck.

"Does this look familiar to you, Derek?"

Indeed it did. He remembered the necklace being the only thing Kate would wear whenever they were in bed together. It was her prized possession. She never went without it. Until now.

He fucked up. Bad.

"Anabelle, I had no idea that this was-"

Just like he had done with Chase earlier that morning, Anabelle had punched Derek right in the nose. He didn't even have time to register what had just happened when she pushed him he fell off the porch and on his back. As soon as he got back up the she-wolf started yelling and hitting at him. Caleb and Parker pulled their little sister away as Laura went to make sure Derek was alright.

"Hey, hey! What's going on?" Caleb asked.

But Anabelle ignored him as Derek had her undivided attention. "You did this! I told you it was going to end badly and now look what happened!"

"How was I supposed to know that this is what she had in mind?" Derek exclaimed, "I didn't think she was going to kill our families!"

"What else did you expect? That you two were going to live happily ever after? Get real, Derek!"

"You know I never would've let this happen if I knew what she was planning. Belle, you have to believe me."

"But you did let it happen! You told her everything she wanted to know about us and now I have no mother!"

Her cries seemed to echo throughout the woods. None of their older siblings had no clue what they knew, but their hearts broke at the two teens that had been inseparable since birth. These kids had always been each other's anchors through thick and thin. They were the dynamic duo, nothing could break them apart.

Now they were looking at each other like they were strangers.

Derek cried as he reached for her. "I'm sorry, Anabelle… please…"

But said girl stepped back as if Derek's hand was a foreign object. She tossed the necklace at his feet.

"No… You're dead to me, Derek Hale. I never want to see you again."

The words were like a bullet that went straight through his heart. His inner wolf whined and cried when Anabelle walked into the woods, her brothers following behind her to try to calm her down. Not being able to run after was too painful. Falling onto his knees, he sobbed and let Laura hold him. His sister was now all he had in this world. Burying his head into her shoulder, Derek mourned the loss of his home, his family, and his person.

The weekend had passed by a little too slow. During those two days, Derek had been training his betas nonstop and testing out suspects on who he predicted could be the kanima. They had already tested Jackson, who surprisingly passed. Now they moved on to the next person who Derek knew hadn't received any of the normal symptoms of the bite- Lydia Martin.

He had sent Isaac, Erica, and Delilah to school so they could take the kanima's venom and use it on Lydia so they could use it on her during their lab in chemistry. Since that class wasn't until later on in the day, Derek decided to take Boyd with him to go visit Harvey at his music store. It wasn't open yet so the musician allowed Boyd to check out all of the different instruments even though the beta was practically tone deaf he quickly found out.

While they were busy with that, Derek was leaning on the check out counter. He was staring at his phone to make it seem like he was waiting for a text from his betas to let him know they were in class. But in reality, he was waiting to see if Anabelle would finally call.

The two hadn't spoken to each other since what happened at the pool. He figured that she was still pretty pissed at him about… well, everything. At this point it was getting pretty damn annoying that Anabelle still didn't trust him. Derek knew he wasn't perfect. But he really was trying the best he can to be the alpha that his mother once was. Why couldn't Anabelle see that?

"Have you tried actually calling her?" Harvey asked him, "The phone works both ways."

"She wouldn't pick up. I'm sure she's just trying to prove a point. You know how stubborn she is."

"Yes, and whoever said opposites attract is a flat out liar."

Derek gave him a weird look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come on, Derek. Anabelle's not entirely in the wrong here. Is she being a little hardheaded? Sure. But turning the Island of Misfit Toys into werewolves wasn't exactly your brightest idea." Boyd glared at Harvey, who just waved his hand. "No offense!" The beta rolled his eyes and kept digging through a box of records.

"It would be one thing if I did it against their will," Derek countered, "They wanted it. Anabelle needs to get over it. She just needs to trust me so we can stop the kanima together."

"They are just kids though. If they so much get a scratch let alone die, she'll only blame herself. It'll be like Italy all over again."

Italy? This made Derek's ears perk up. When he turned to look at Harvey, his eyes were so wide the alpha thought they were actually going to pop out. Anabelle was keeping secrets. And now Derek needed to know what.

"You know something, don't you?"

"No," Harvey said a little too abruptly, "I don't know anything. Actually, I think I need to count the money in the register."

He pressed a button on the register to make the drawer open but Derek slammed it shut. "What aren't you telling me?"

"You know, you two really need to stop putting me in the middle of your shit."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

"No, but what she does know could kill me."

"If you don't tell me what happened then I'll kill you first." Derek flicked his claws out for emphasis. He wouldn't actually kill the man but Derek did get amusement from making him squirm. "Harvey-"

"Alright, fine!"

Harvey rubbed the back of his neck, already regretting letting something slip. Anabelle really should be the one telling Derek this. But it doesn't seem like the two wouldn't be talking any time soon so of course he had to do the dirty work. He hated being the middle man.

"Did Anabelle tell you why she left Italy?" Harvey asked.

Derek shook his head. "All she said something did happen to force her to leave but she never wanted to talk about it."

After taking a deep breath, Harvey began the shorter version of the story. "Anabelle was at a cafe when a terrorist attack occurred. Obviously she made it out alive, but many people didn't. One of those people ended up being a young girl who lived in the apartment underneath Anabelle's. During the time she was living there, the mother of the girl found out she was a werewolf. So when the woman's daughter died, she asked Anabelle to take her life since she was scared to commit suicide. But she had just wanted to be with her daughter."

"So Anabelle killed her so the woman could join her daughter in the afterlife…"

Harvey nodded. "She couldn't bear to be in the city after that. So she moved back to San Diego with her brothers. And then she came back here when Laura died."

Everything was making so much sense, from Anabelle saying she didn't want to be responsible for any more deaths right down to those beautiful but sad blue eyes.

It was clear she had never forgiven herself and carried so much guilt from it. Derek understood that more than anything. After killing Paige, it took years for him to come to terms that he did what needed to be done. Sometimes it was hard to convince himself that her death wasn't his fault still. But it does get easier.

While Derek may not be a religious man, but he prayed for Anabelle's sake that it will get easier for her as well. All this time he thought he needed her help, but maybe it was Anabelle who needed the help more…

After discussing with his what to do about Lydia after she failed Derek's venom test in chemistry, Scott marched his way down the hall so he could get to the lacrosse field. He dialed up a contact on his phone and hit the call button. It rung three times and when he was just about to stress about her not picking up, the melodic voice spoke.

"Scott?" Anabelle answered, "Is everything okay?"

"Far from it. Did you know about Derek's plan for kanima?"

"Let's just say that Derek and I have kept our interactions very minimal lately."

"Well let me give you the cliff notes version- Isaac and Erica poisoned Lydia with venom during chemistry and nothing happened. So Derek's gonna try to kill her as soon as he can." Scott could her the she-wolf curse to herself from the other end of the call. "I need you to help me talk Derek into letting us prove that Lydia's not the kanima."

Sighing, Anabelle said, "Look, Scott, I really do like you kids. Some of them are a little questionable, but I think it's best if I no longer get involved with this anymore."

Scott should have figured she was going to be hard to get to. After all, she was best friends with the king of hard-asses for almost all her life. But Scott needed her on board.

"Look, I know you and Derek have your problems. But this is about saving a life. You're the only one I know that can get through to him. Please, Anabelle. We need you."

She didn't answer right away. At first Scott thought he lost her. "You kids are gonna be the death of me."

"So are you in?" the teen wolf asked hopefully.

"… When do you need me?"

"How soon can you be at the school?"

"Five minutes."

"Great. And Anabelle? Thank you."

After hanging up, Scott soon found himself on the lacrosse field. There was no sign of Derek, but Boyd stood on the other side of the field, waiting for him.

"I want to talk to Derek," Scott said as he walked towards Boyd.

"Talk to me," Boyd told him.

"I don't want to fight."

"Good." Boyd smirked with cockiness. "'Cause I'm twice the size of you."

Scott ran his eyes up and down at the beta who towered a good foot over him. "True… really, really true. But wanna know what I think? I'm twice as fast." Boyd charged at him but Scott was right- he was faster, and he knocked Boyd down with ease.

"She failed the test," Derek said as he seemed to appear out of the blue.

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

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

"I'm not going to let you kill her."

"Neither am I."

All three of them turned and saw Anabelle strutting across the field. When she stood next to Scott and crossed her arms, Derek blood started to boil. He tried not to be disappointed but he wasn't able to hide it well this time.

"So you're on their side now?" Derek asked her.

"I'm on the side that's against teenagers dying," Anabelle told him, "If that means going against you, then so be it. So don't think I'm not gonna stop you from killing Lydia either."

"Who said I was gonna do it?"

Scott and Anabelle looked at each other, knowing damn well who he meant- Isaac and Erica.

Using this to his advantage, Boyd tackled Scott to the ground harshly. Anabelle grabbed the back of Boyd's jacket and pull him off. Just like the other day at the subway station, Anabelle flipped him over her shoulder and he landed on his back.

"I don't know why you think you have to protect everyone now, Scott," Derek said to him, "but even so, Lydia has killed people and she's gonna do it again. And next time, it's gonna be one of us."

"What if your wrong?" Scott asked, propping himself on his elbows.

"She was bitten by an alpha. It's her."

"Derek, you and I have seen many people bitten by alphas," Anabelle said, "Not one of them have turned into anything like that."

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

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

"What reason?"

"Sometimes the shape you take reflects the person that you are."

Decided to be a gentleman for once in his life, Derek extended his arm out to Scott and helped him up. Anabelle decided to follow that route and help Boyd up. She smiled at the teenager apologetically, knowing that she had been too hard on him. Thankfully he nodded in forgiveness.

"Even Natalie calls her cold-blooded," Derek told Scott. That was a pretty good point.

"Well what if she's immune? What if she's got something inside her that makes her immune to the bite, which is why she didn't get paralyzed."

"What about Jackson?" Derek went quiet, and Scott was putting all of the pieces together. "That's why you tested him, isn't it? Because you gave him what he wanted, didn't you?"

"Scott-"

"Peter said the bite either kills you or turns you. You were probably hoping that he would die."

Now this part was unknown to Anabelle. She knew Derek had turned the rich boy, but apparently she didn't know the intentions behind it. She turned to Derek. "Is that true?" Once again, silence. She laughed humorlessly. "You just keep redeeming yourself, don't you?"

"But nothing happened, right?" Scott asked Derek, "And you have no idea why, do you?"

Derek was fuming but he couldn't lie. "No."

"Well, I have a theory. Lydia's immune and somehow she passed it on to Jackson. You know I'm right."

"No!"

"You cannot do this!" Scott shouted desperately.

"Look, I can't let her live!" Derek told him, "You should've known that!"

There was no winning with him. Why even try fighting with him anymore? Scott stood back. "I was hoping we could convince you… but then, I wasn't counting on it." He looked to Anabelle. "I'm sorry for wasting your time." Then he walked away.

The she-wolf watched after him, trying to make sense of it all. But she couldn't. Nothing was adding up. There was just way too many plot holes that she couldn't get past.

She didn't even notice Derek standing right behind her. "Don't tell me you don't agree that Lydia is the kanima."

"I… I don't know." Anabelle answered honestly.

Derek furrowed his eyebrows. "You don't know?"

Finally looking at him, Anabelle told him, "I don't think you should rule out Jackson just yet."

"But-"

"The bite either turns you or kills you. Jackson didn't die. So if you don't think Lydia's immune… don't assume Jackson is either."

"It's impossible, Anabelle."

Said girl shook her head. "Look at who we are, Derek. Anything is possible."

The rest of the day seemed to be a blur. Whenever she tried to get out of the situation, these teenagers always had to pull Anabelle back in. Why did she have to be the kind of person who just couldn't say no? She was starting to regret ever coming back to Beacon Hills as she drove down the streets like she was in the Fast and Furious franchise.

All of Scott's friends were at his house, guarding Lydia as Derek's pack was getting ready to kill her. From what Scott had told Anabelle, the pack was already at the house and he needed to get there immediately. So the she-wolf picked him up from the school and she raced towards his house.

"I know I said we needed to get there fast," Scott said as he gripped onto the handle above him, "but could you get us there without killing us?"

"Do you wanna get there fast or do you wanna get there safely?" Anabelle asked.

"Is there any way you could do both?"

This made Anabelle chuckle. "Oh, kid. One day you'll learn that there's no way."

She just pressed her foot on the gas pedal even harder and sped to the house. When she reached the neighborhood, she parked across the street with her tires screeching. Both of the wolves got out of the car and they could hear wood breaking and glass shattering inside the house. Derek and Boyd were standing on the lawn, that self-righteous smirk plastered on his face like he was proud of the mayhem his pack was causing. Pathetic.

"Go handle Isaac, Erica, and Delilah," Anabelle told Scott, "I'll deal with Derek." Scott looked at her hesitantly. "Go!"

As he ran to his house, Anabelle stormed over to the alpha. She had enough of his arrogance and it was time that he was finally put in his place. Just because his eyes were now red, that didn't mean could do no wrong and had all of the answers. Derek could never be the alpha that both of their mothers were.

Anabelle walked up behind him, grabbed him by the back of his hair, and pulled his head back so she could growl in his ear.

"Getting all of your betas to do your dirty work for you?"

"Stay out of this, Anabelle," he seethed, "This is no longer your concern."

"Oh, now you don't want me involved?" the omega said sarcastically, "Well, too late Derek. If you guys keep dragging me into this shit, I might as well fight for the right thing."

Derek elbowed her in the chest, making her let go of his hair. When she regained her composure, Anabelle tried to swing at him but he was quick to catch her fist and twist her arm behind her back. He then wrapped his wrist around her throat, cutting off her air supply.

"Why can't you just understand that I'm doing this to prevent more people from dying?" he asked her.

"The only thing that's going to kill these kids is you!" Anabelle roared, flashing her blue eyes.

In that moment, Derek remembered the story Harvey had told him earlier that day. Behind the anger he could also detect fear in those blue eyes. Not only fear of the uncertainty of who the kanima was, but also the fear of Anabelle's history repeating itself. What happened in Italy had traumatized the omega deeply. And from her being so close to him, her back pressing up against him, he could feel that energy greatly. He wanted to protect her from that anguish and make sure she never had to feel that way again.

The alpha was broken out of his thoughts when the front door swung open. One by one, Isaac, Erica, and Delilah were thrown out of the house and at Derek's feet on the lawn. The three were out- Isaac was unconscious, Erica paralyzed by kanima venom, and Delilah in electrical shock. The other werewolves looked up to see Scott, Stiles, Natalie, and Allison standing on the porch, all four with fighting looks on their faces. It was clear they were not going to back down from Derek and his pack any time soon.

He chuckled as he let go of Anabelle. "I think I'm finally getting why you keep refusing me, Scott. You're not an omega, you're already an Alpha of your own pack." He smiled darkly. "But you know you can't beat me."

"I can hold you off until the cops get here," Scott told him.

Out in the distance, they all heard the wailing of police sirens wailing, making Derek's smile fall. They then heard claws tapping along the roof, making the four teens run off the porch and onto the lawn. Up on the roof was the kanima. It looked down at everyone and let out a screeching roar. Then it ran off and seemed to disappear into thin air.

"Get them out of here," Derek ordered Boyd, gesturing to the three betas laying on the floor.

Catching everyone off guard, Lydia walked out of house, looking distressed and pissed. "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

The oldest two werewolves looked at each other in disbelief, unsure of how to process the new information. Lydia was not the kanima.

Minus Scott, Stiles, Natalie, Allison, and Lydia, everyone else left before the police could arrive. Derek and Boyd took Erica while Anabelle grabbed Isaac and Delilah.

She took the two back to her apartment. Luckily all of her neighbors were asleep at this time so she was able to carry the young couple up the stairs without having to face any suspecting bystanders. She laid them on her bed and they subconsciously held onto each other as they slept. A small smile crept up and Anabelle grabbed some clothes to change into before turning off the bedroom lights and closing the door. She then made herself a quick bowl of ramen (one of the many disadvantages of being a jobless young woman in California) and then laid on the couch after she ate.

About three hours had passed by and Anabelle was still awake. Insomnia was a bitch that night. When she had came back to Beacon Hills about a month ago when she learned about Laura's death, the she-wolf was not planning on staying for as long as she had. The only reason why she even got an apartment was so she could blend in more and not look like a nomad like Derek did. But Anabelle got way too caught up in this mess and she didn't know how to get out of it. Not even just Derek's pack, but also the other kids like Scott and his friends were starting to grow on her. However, the last thing she wanted was to get too attached to them. It was just going to make things that much more difficult when she sees them get hurt. Or worse, die.

Maybe it was time for her to finally leave Beacon Hills in the past for good. Maybe Anabelle needed to go back to San Diego with her brothers and their families.

There was then a knock on her door, making Anabelle slightly jump. She got up from her couch and looked through the peephole. With furrowed eyebrows, she opened the door to find the alpha standing in the hallway, hands in his pockets.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, too tired to be snappy with him.

Derek took in the omega's white long sleeve top and black yoga pants. "Did I wake you up?"

"No," Anabelle said, rubbing her eyes, "I couldn't sleep. You know how we are. Creatures of the night."

Not being able to hold back the light chuckle, Derek nodded his head. "Do you wanna go for a walk?"

"Right now?" Anabelle looked at her clock. It already one in the morning. When the hell did that happen?

"Why not? You can't sleep. I can't sleep. We might as well do something about it."

Anabelle pondered on it for a few seconds. It didn't look like Derek didn't have anything sneaky planned. In fact, he looked just as tired as she felt. Everything must be taking a toll on him, too. Plus it was one of the rare times they weren't being chased by hunters and kanimas. Might as well take advantage of it.

"Give me a minute."

Derek waited as Anabelle put some shoes on and then she followed him down the stairs and to his Camaro. He drove them to the border of the woods in silence and for the first time it actually wasn't uncomfortable. When he parked the car, Anabelle let out a laugh.

"Is it finally happening?" she joked, "Did you take me out to the woods so you could kill me?"

"If I wanted to kill you I would've done it in a way that wasn't so cliche," Derek said. He rolled his eyes but Anabelle knew he was being sarcastic.

They both got out of the car and walked along the woods. Anabelle let Derek lead her along the trail since it seemed like he had a specific place in mind of where to go. The air was crisp and cool. A slight breeze hit Anabelle, making her rub her arms up and down. She was dumb for not even thinking about bringing a jacket.

Like he had read her mind (which Anabelle forgot for a moment that he could do that now apparently), Derek took off his leather jacket and handed it to her. She smiled in appreciation as she took it and pulled it over her shoulders. It was hard not to completely envelope herself in the warmth and scent of pine needles, reminding her of their childhood.

Finally Derek stopped when they reached a riverbed, which just so happened to be the exact same one they used to go to when they were kids all the time. Derek watched as Anabelle took in the beautiful picture around her, completely in awe. Bringing her was definitely the best idea he had for her. It seemed to be the first that he had done right in her eyes ever since they crossed paths again.

"Wow," she said breathily, "I can believe I almost forgot about this. It seems so much smaller than it did back then."

"That's what happens when you grow up, right?" Derek told her.

"Ain't that the truth."

Her eyes fell on the old tree next to her. Their initials were still etched onto the trunk and her heart swelled at the sight. Now underneath their initials were two new ones- IL and DL. Anabelle recognized those initials right away and it made her so happy that two kids were now experiencing the peaceful environment this riverbed had to offer like they used to.

The she-wolf saw Derek sitting on a log with an open spot next to him. Taking that as an invitation to join him, Anabelle sat next to him. They both gazed at the silent river, the moon and stars reflecting off the water perfectly.

"It's hard to believe how much time as flown by, isn't it?" Derek said, "It really does feel like it was just yesterday you and I were chasing frogs over here or trying to race each other to the other side."

"And I always won," Anabelle reminded him with a cheeky smirk.

"You know I actually let you win," Derek scoffed, "I was being chivalrous."

"I'm sure you were. I remember the last time we were here was when you planned that picnic for me for my fifteenth birthday. Everything just kinda went downhill from there, didn't it?"

"Sounds about right. Things used to be much simpler back then."

"No kidding." Anabelle raised an eyebrow. "Is this your way of charming me to get on my good side? Taking me down memory lane?"

Derek let out a sigh. "Actually, I did want to talk to you about something." The she-wolf waited for him to continue. "Harvey told me about what happened in Italy."

The smile her face fell when he brought up her unspeakable past. Derek could sense the anxiety of him knowing and the frustration of her friend telling him her secret. She was about to go off but he stopped her.

"Before you get mad at him, I made him tell me. So don't go ripping off his head just yet." He resting his elbows on his knees. "But why didn't you tell me?"

Anabelle scoffed. "It's not exact a crowning achievement of mine. I can't be proud of killing a human being that didn't deserve to die. But she just would not stop begging and crying… all she kept saying was 'I just want to be with my Rosalie'. I had to make it stop." She nodded towards her shoulder. "That's what the rose tattoos represent. I used to babysit Rosalie sometimes and of course I grew attached to her." She took a deep breath and Derek could tell she was getting choked up talking about it. But she would not allow herself to cry. "When she died, I didn't think things could get any worse. Killing her mother was the tipping point."

"You thought you were doing the right thing," Derek assured her, "She was a mother grieving over her daughter. You just wanted to give her what she wanted and reunite them."

Letting out a humorless laugh, Anabelle shook her head. "I actually tried to hang myself right after that."

The inner wolf in Derek cried at this confession. "Anabelle…"

"Obviously it didn't work. The rope ended up breaking after I kicked the chair out from underneath me. But after that, I couldn't bear to stay there any longer… I've never been able to look at myself the same since. All of those stories about our kind being monsters… that was the first time I actually believed it was true. That all we were meant to do was kill."

"I understand why you didn't me to turn teenagers now."

"They just have a whole future ahead of them… if I take that away from them-"

"You won't." Derek turned his body so Anabelle knew she had his full attention. "Not if you can help me." He placed his hand on hers, making her look up at him. "I just want to let you know I'm sorry… not just for Italy. For everything. I know I haven't exactly been the easiest person to deal with. And I know I don't necessarily deserve your forgiveness. But the betas really do love you. They need you to help guide them. Show them what it means to be strong. If not for me, do it for them."

The she-wolf was too conflicted. This was the most genuine she had seen Derek since she came back to this town. But she still didn't know if it was the best idea to stay.

"Derek, I don't like fighting with you. But I try to help make you a good leader but sometimes it's like I can't get through to you. I can't work with you if you don't take what I have to say into consideration."

"I know…" Derek admitted, "I'll work on it. And feel free to beat me up if I get on your nerves too much." This actually made Anabelle laugh, which relieved him. "I'm doing the best I can, Anabelle."

"I know you are," said girl assured him.

He sighed as he looked out into the water. "Our mothers made it look so easy."

"They really did, didn't they?"

The two childhood friends looked at each other, and for the first time, it seemed that they finally had a mutual understanding. Neither of them could do this alone and they knew they needed to come together if they wanted everybody to survive. It was time they put their differences aside and forgive one another for their behaviors. For once they both believed that their alliance could actually work. As long as they trusted each other.

After a few longer moments than necessary of staring into Anabelle's light brown eyes, Derek cleared his throat and went to stand up. "I think it's time I get you home."

But Anabelle grabbed his hand. "Can we actually stay just a little bit longer? I don't know when I'll be able to come back here again. I just want to take this in as much as I can."

Her eyes were almost pleading, and Derek just couldn't say no. So he sat down next to her once again and stared out into the river as she closed her eyes, letting the natural sounds of the woods bring her comfort.

Not much else was said between to two. But they didn't really need to say much else. As long as they were in each other's presence, that was all they needed.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! If you can, please leave a review, favorite, and follow! I would truly appreciate it. Thank you and I'll be sure to update soon!