Derek's not in this episode much, so I used this chapter more as a filler but for us to finally see his feeling's for Anabelle starting to grow. I honestly don't care if he seems OOC- he seems to let his guard down pretty quickly for his love interests in the show so I think it works. Plus their childhood best friends- how could he not have a soft spot for her??

This story is in correlation with my other two Teen Wolf stories, Scars and No One Else! 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!

Their peaceful night by the river did not last as long as they had hoped. At one point, they heard the loud screech of the kanima off in the distance. It seemed to be their first mission together as a renewed alliance and the two wasted no time in chasing the beast.

Now they were racing through alleyways, trying to keep up with the kanima. It was currently out of sight, but they knew it was not too far ahead from them. This thing was definitely much faster but they just had to keeping pushing through. They reached a ten foot wire fence and they climbed and jumped over it with ease. When they landed, they crouched down. Both of their faces were in their werewolf form as they lifted their heads up. They could see the kanima's tail disappear behind electrical boxes. Growling, they took off.

"Anabelle!" Derek called out as the kanima was finally in their sight.

"I'm on it!"

The she-wolf was twice as fast as Derek so she pumped up the momentum in her legs. She was finally close enough to tackle down the kanima. They rolled over and were able to get up quickly. Anabelle swiped her claws at the beast but missed. It swung its tail and hit her right in the face, making her fly back at a wall. Derek ran over to her, losing the kanima. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up.

"Come on!"

They continued to run, but they couldn't tell which way it went. Since it seemed like there was no scent to go off of, they tried to listen as closely as possible for any hissing. They finally stopped running once they reached underneath an old bridge. Anabelle cursed as they looked around. "Where the fuck did it go?"

As if it was waiting for her to ask that question, the kanima jumped down from behind them. The two werewolves turned around and roared at the beast and it hissed back. Derek ran towards it but it just jumped over him. It swiped at the alpha, missing every time. He was able to duck and he back flipped off of its chest, pushing it back against a pillar. He went to punch it but the kanima moved away just in time and Derek ended up hitting the pillar, breaking the cement. The kanima pushed Derek and he fell backwards. Right next to him was a ripped-off car door. So he picked it up to use as a shield when it went to strike at him again.

When she saw that the kanima had Derek pinned between the door and a pillar, Anabelle jumped on its back and tried to scratch at its eyes as it spun around in circles. It shook her off and she landed in a crouch. As soon as she got back up and went to leap at it the kanima crawled up the pillar and underneath the bridge. It tore up the electrical wiring. Sparks flew everywhere and the werewolves had to shield their eyes so they wouldn't be blinded. Using this moment of vulnerability, the kanima grabbed them both and threw the on the other side of underneath the bridge.

Headlights shined bright and tires screeched, making the kanima halt from attacking the two and turn around. Chris Argent stepped out of his car and starting shooting at it. The two couldn't be seen by any Argents, so Anabelle helped Derek up and were about to start running when Gerard suddenly came into view.

What happened next was beyond bizarre, even for the born werewolves. The kanima crept towards Gerard, but not making any moves to kill it. And Gerard wasn't shooting at it or even running from it. Instead, it was looking down at the beast as if it were a child. Was he not afraid of it? Neither Derek nor Anabelle understood. But not wanting to risk getting caught by anything of them, Derek pulled on his new partner's arm and they ran.

Soon they were finally out of earshot and Anabelle kicked over a trashcan. "Fuck! Those Argents ruin everything!"

"It can't be too far off now," Derek tried to remain optimistic but even he wasn't convinced, "It shouldn't take us too long to catch it."

"How? We have no scent to go off of and at this rate they're going to get to it before we do!"

"We're faster and stronger than they are. We have the upper hand. Now are you going to keep complaining or are you going to help me search?"

Anabelle sighed in annoyance but started walking. "So much for the Dynamic Duo…"

It felt like they had been roaming around Beacon Hills for hours now. They weren't even running anymore. Both of them were just so tired and frustrated that the only thing they had energy to do was walk. At least they weren't trying to kill each other anymore. So far that had last about five hours, which was a new record for them.

Right when they were about to call it quits for the night, Derek grabbed Anabelle's wrist and brought her to a stop. His ears perked up as he heard a faint roar. "You hear that?" Anabelle nodded her head. Once he detected which direction it was coming from, Derek pulled her with him. "This way."

They ran until the sounds of rhythmic thumping became louder. Across the street from them was a building that had a bright fluorescent sign above the door and a bouncer whose muscles even rivaled Derek's was letting guests, mostly young men, inside. Anabelle let out a laugh.

"A gay club?"

"It's already inside the building," Derek said, "I can hear it."

"But why would it come here?" Anabelle asked.

"I don't know. But the important thing is to go inside and get it before anyone sees it. Or worse." Derek started to walk towards the building until his sensed Anabelle still standing there. "You coming?"

"Um, I don't know if you've noticed," she said as she gestured to herself, "but I don't think I'm going to fit in."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "Why? Because you're a woman?"

"That and I don't think I'm necessarily dressed for the occasion." Anabelle pulled at her yoga pants, which Derek noticed to be very form fitting earlier on.

But he shrugged it off. "I don't think the guys in there would even care. Besides, your clothes are the least of our problems."

"Fine," Anabelle sighed as she caught up to Derek, "but if someone in there goes fashion police on me, it's on you."

She walked past the alpha as he rolled his eyes. Maybe he should've thought twice about joining forces with her.

Not bothering to dwell on it, the werewolves went around to the back of the club to find a door with the handle ripped off. Well that was a little too easy. At least that's what they thought until they saw the all too familiar blue jeep, meaning Scott and his friends must be here. Why didn't that surprise Derek? Anyway, he yanked open the door and he and Anabelle stepped inside.

It was quite evident that both of them were uncomfortable in this setting- Derek because a bunch of men kept glancing over at him like he was a piece of meat and Anabelle wasn't much of a party girl. Growing up she wasn't really one of the cool kids- she was actually a little nerdy since since she was in theater. So she was never invited out to parties much. This was the closest she has gotten to anything like that, so it was very weird. Even though they were here strictly to catch the kanima, just being there was such a foreign environment for both of them.

However, Anabelle couldn't help but laugh at the group of young men talking amongst themselves while making 'fuck-me' eyes at Derek. She nudged him with her elbow.

"Looks like you've got yourself a fan club over there."

Derek looked over where Anabelle nodded towards. The men smiled at the alpha and raised their beers up. It obviously made him feel uneasy but he just played it cool.

"Great."

"What?" Anabelle chuckled, "Not feeling up for getting their numbers?"

"Not my type," he joked, even though his stoic demeanor never makes him sound funny. But he wasn't expecting Anabelle to laugh again. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just… do you even have a type?"

"It's not something I've ever really thought about before," Derek shrugged.

"Hm. Okay."

Even though they should have been focusing more on finding the kanima, Derek was now intrigued by the topic and he was starting to have some questions for the she-wolf. "What about you?"

"Do I have a type?" Derek nodded and Anabelle sighed. "Well… I guess I've never thought about it either. Chase was the only guy I've ever dated."

"Really? You've never been with anyone else?"

"No. I mean… guys have tried to hook up with me but not actually date me. I guess they only saw me as good for that one thing, not for a real relationship. Or even marriage."

"Well whoever said that about you is wrong."

It wasn't until he noticed the funny look Anabelle gave him when Derek realized how had come out his mouth. But when he thought about it, he decided that he had actually meant it. Not that he had ever thought about marriage with his childhood friend… much.

Okay, maybe once or twice, but it wasn't until only recently. And even then it was a thought that he didn't even understand why he had it. It was along with many of other things that involved his unexplainable feelings for Anabelle that he didn't understand.

And the fact that Derek couldn't get a good read on her face right now was incredibly frustrated and he just doesn't get why.

When he heard the familiar hiss coming from the ceiling he finally remembered why they were there. He looked up and saw the kanima crawling upside down. It cut through some cords, igniting the smoke machine.

"See if you can try to get up there," Derek told Anabelle, not looking away from the kanima, "I'll stay down here just in case it comes down."

Nodding her head, Anabelle pushed her way through the sweaty crowd over to the DJ's station. Nobody seemed to be looking that way, so she climbed up on the railings next to the table and kept herself steady on the beam above the club. The kanima looked her way and let out a screech.

"You're an ugly motherfucker, aren't you?" Anabelle taunted. Her claws extracted. "Let's give you a bit of an upgrade."

She went to scratch at him but she had lost her balance and had to use both hands to grip onto the beam. Using her fumble to its advantage, the kanima cut the back of her neck. Anabelle cried out and her hand went to feel the cut. The first thing to give out was her legs. Her feet slipped and then her hands lost their grip.

Derek saw the she-wolf rapidly become paralyzed. As he saw her fall, he tried to run over to catch her but he kept getting bumped into by people dancing. Her body disappeared into the crowd and Derek growled when he saw the kanima jump down from the ceiling. Everything then became like tunnel vision as he stalked toward the beast. All Derek wanted to do was kill.

"No, don't!"

However Derek paid no attention to Scott. He raised his claws and slashed the kanima's throat, black blood pouring out.

Fuck, it felt so damn good!

The club patrons started screaming and running out of the club, leaving the paralyzed victims. Derek pushed through the terrified mob to get to Anabelle who was lying behind the DJ's station. Thank god she was breathing because her eyes were closed and if he didn't hear her heartbeat Derek would've been freaking out. He scooped her up and ran out the back door before he had another run-in with the police.

He kept running until he was out on the road by the woods. His car wasn't too far off now. Anabelle was going to be okay, he knew that. Derek just wanted her to be more comfortable for when she woke up. But she was already starting to groan in his arms and her eyes fluttered open.

"You feeling alright?" Derek asked. Anabelle deadpanned as her eyes looked up at him. "Yeah, probably not the right question to ask."

"Please tell me you at least got it," the she-wolf said.

"If it's not dead by now then it won't be much longer until it is," Derek told her, "Judging by all the blood coming out from its neck, at least."

"Great." Anabelle let out a tiny laugh. "Never thought I'd see the day Derek Hale would sweep me off my feet."

Said alpha rolled his eyes for about the umpteenth time that night. "Nice to know your mouth still works."

"In more ways than one," Anabelle joked, winking up at Derek.

He almost dropped the woman in his arms at that very unexpected comment. It must've shown on his face how much that threw him off because Anabelle started laughing. It was the most real laugh he had heard from her in years. Derek decided that he wanted to hear more of it especially when he saw the ways her eyes squinted and she threw her head back when she laughed. It reminded him of when they were kids. He missed it a lot more than he realized he did.

"Sorry," she said as her laughter died down, "Force of habit. You know how performing arts kids could be."

"And it looks like they've corrupted the innocent Anabelle Fierro," Derek teased back.

"I think we both know I've lost that innocence a long time ago," she said sadly.

"It's just nice to see you smile again after all these years."

That earned him a soft but kind smile from Anabelle. "I guess I'll have to make up for lost time then."

They finally reached Derek's Camaro and he gently laid Anabelle in the backseat. By the time he got gotten to her apartment, the she-wolf was already asleep. Derek was careful to get her out of the car and up the stairs. Luckily the door was unlocked since he didn't want to risk dropping her to get his key out. Once they were in, Derek set the sleeping woman on the couch.

He was about to leave right away so she could rest until he heard her mumble.

"You don't have to go," Anabelle said, eyes still shut, "You can stay the night if you want. Get some sleep."

For a moment, Derek wondered if the venom must've seeped into her brain with the way she was suddenly nice to him. Maybe she was finally letting her guard down. But it was mostly because she was sleep deprived, Derek thought. So should he take her up on the offer? He didn't want to overstep any boundaries with Anabelle… again.

On the other hand, Derek really wanted to get some shut-eye for once. Also it wasn't like the subway station was the most comfortable resting spot either. It couldn't hurt to stay. So he shed his jacket and hung it over the back of one of the barstools. Since Anabelle's legs were a little bent, it left Derek some room to sit on the couch.

The volume was low on the TV when he turned it on since he still wasn't ready to sleep just yet. He didn't want to wake Anabelle so he just left the volume as it is. Not like he was interested in what was on anyway- just some dumb sitcom about nerdy grown men with a dumb blonde thrown in.

Instead he was more interested in the paralyzed woman sleeping next to him. He took in the way her soft and plush lips parted and the steady rhythm her chest rose up and down. Right now Anabelle seemed perfectly fine, but Derek did wonder if she ever had trouble sleeping since she had received her blue eyes. Did she ever get nightmares about that day, including the fire? Derek sometimes did still. Even in his sleep the guilt would eat him up and he would be trapped by his own demons.

It's been a long process to forgive himself and remind himself that it wasn't his fault, even though he knew that Anabelle had blamed him for the fire. While she was trying to make peace with him, Derek could tell that there was an underlying tone of hesitance. It was out of fear, Derek knew that. But he wanted badly to let Anabelle know that she was safe with him this time around. Not only did he need her help, she needed his too. To heal… to trust… to be open to letting him back into her heart.

Before he knew it, Derek could feel his eyes become heavier. It wasn't long before he let them shut and fall deep into slumber.

Isaac yawned when he walked into the living room early the next morning. He and Delilah didn't get much sleep the night before and he was aching to crawl back into bed and not go to school. But he knew he couldn't afford to miss anymore days after laying low from the law for a bit so he was just going to have to make do. After rubbing his eyes, he stopped as he took in the sight of his alpha and the she-wolf sleeping on the couch.

It wasn't the fact that the two were still asleep that threw him off. It was actually the way they were sleeping. Derek and Anabelle were laying on the couch, curled up together. He had an arm wrapped around her middle and held her close against his chest. One of her hands was resting on top of the hand that was on her stomach while the other was under her head. His chin rested on her shoulder like this was something that they had done every night. But the last thing Isaac remembered was that Anabelle hated Derek's guts. Or at least he thought she did.

"You ready to get going, baby?" Delilah asked as she walked into the room, adjusting her plaid skirt.

Her boyfriend hushed her. "Look."

And when she saw what he was pointing at, Delilah's heart melted. "Aww, that's so cute!"

"Maybe we should wake them up," Isaac suggested. His girlfriend smacked his shoulder lightly. "Ow!"

"No, don't wake them up! They both look so comfortable. Let them sleep."

The blond sighed. "Fine. But we should get going if we're picking Erica up. We don't wanna be late."

Holding up a finger, Delilah grabbed the blanket that had fallen on the floor and draped it over Derek and Anabelle. The girl was pleased with herself and almost skipped out of the apartment, her less enthusiastic boyfriend following behind her.

At the music store, Harvey had been struggling for the past half hour to tune the brand new grand piano that had just shipped in. He was trying everything possible to get it right, but every time he thought he had it, each key sounded completely off. It was irritating the hell out of him and he would have slammed his fist down on it if the bell hadn't rang.

In walked Anabelle, who had her arms crossed as her boots clanked across the floor. Harvey swallowed down the nervous lump in his throat as the she-wolf stood in front of him. Oh, crap. She knew he told.

"Wait, Anabelle, before you maim me," Harvey said as he backed away, "just know that Derek threatened it out of me- I didn't wanna tell him!"

The bell rang once more and the musician let out a huge sigh of relief when Derek entered and stood next to Anabelle.

"Oh, thank god. So does this mean you're not mad at me?"

Anabelle shrugged. "I guess I forgive you. But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna get you back."

Here come the nerves again. "Get me back how?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you."

The scared look on Harvey's face made Derek let out a small chuckle. They watched as Anabelle checked out the piano. She was completely infatuated by instrument. She noticed that it was out of tune when she plucked a couple of the notes so she decided to take it into her own hands and fix it.

"I'm guessing you two made up then," Harvey said to Derek as they wandered around the drum room.

"We just decided it would be easier to catch the kanima together rather than separately," Derek answered, "She's still warming up to the idea but she hasn't yelled at me in almost 24 hours so… baby steps."

"Did you find out who it was?"

"It wasn't who I originally thought. So now the plan's been set back and now we have to worry about the Argents getting to it first."

"Any new leads?"

Derek leaned against the wall, letting out a defeated sigh. "No. And no one knows where to go from here."

"Maybe it's time you guys join forces," Harvey suggested, "And I don't mean just mean you and Anabelle."

Meaning Scott and his pack as well. Derek knew that. And maybe Harvey was right. But like everything else in this case, it was going to be a very difficult task to get on Scott's good side.

A beautiful melody filled the air, cutting off the mens' conversation. They looked out the window of the room and saw Anabelle sitting at the piano. It sounded like she had finally got the instrument tuned. Like she always did whenever she was around music, she let herself connect with the piano as if it was a part of her and she continued to play.

Under your spell again

I can't say no to you

Crave my heart and it's bleeding in your hand

I can't say no to you

Shouldn't let you torture me so sweetly

Now I can't let go of this dream

I can't breathe but I feel

Good enough

I feel good enough

For you

The two men were now standing at the doorway as the watched the impromptu performance Anabelle was putting on. Wow, Derek couldn't even remember the last time he had heard Anabelle play the piano. It had to have been the last Christmas they had with their families before the fire. Never would Derek have thought he would get to hear her play again. That combined with her matured and rich voice was unlike anything he had ever heard.

But it was the way Anabelle sank deeper into the music with each note that captivated the alpha. He remembered watching her in school plays and piano recitals when they were younger and how she seemed like she was in her safe place. She was gentle with each key she pressed and it made Derek wonder what it would be like to be the one under that touch.

Drink up sweet decadence

I can't say no to you

And I've completely lost myself and I don't mind

I can't say no to you

Shouldn't let you conquer me completely

Now I can't let go of this dream

Can't believe that I feel

Good enough

I feel good enough

It's been such a long time coming

But I feel good

And I'm still waiting for the rain to fall

Pour real life down on me

'Cause I can't hold on

To anything this good enough

Am I good enough

For you to love me too?

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Harvey asked as he watched his friend play.

"Yeah, she is."

Harvey looked over at Derek, who had not dared to take his eyes off of Anabelle. It didn't even seem like Derek had noticed his own slip-up. His usual stoic demeanor was still there, but it slowly softened the longer he gazed at the caramel-haired woman at the piano. While the musician couldn't read what Derek was thinking in that moment, but it was like he was watching a complete shift in a man he once thought had turned heartless and broken.

So take care what you ask of me

'Cause I can't say no

Silence filled the room as Anabelle stroked the last key of her song. Patting the lid of the piano, she looked up at the two men standing in front of the drum room.

"I think I got her all fixed up."

"Thanks," Harvey said as he walked over to the piano, "Maybe I should hire you on as a professional tuner."

"Hell, as a single woman skating by on rent, I'll take anything." Anabelle raised an eyebrow when Derek continued to stare at her. "You okay? Or did you forget how to blink?"

Derek cleared his throat. "No, uh, it's just… I haven't heard you play in years. You still sound pretty good."

"Thank you," Anabelle smiled softly, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I could definitely use a drink after all this kanima-chasing. You in?"

"Sounds good to me." Harvey turned to the alpha. "How about you Derek? You could use a break."

"Sure," Derek said like he wasn't, "I could go for a drink."

Anything to help clear his head from whatever the fuck was clouding it right then.

"I'll drive," Harvey offered.

The she-wolf sucked in a breath. "Yeah, about that- you might want to let Derek drive."

Harvey already knew what this was leading to. "You slashed my tires, didn't you?"

"Yep," Anabelle said as she strutted out of the store.

"Great."

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!