Chapter Fifteen

It had been a week since Lydia had been found at the school. I had told her about everything supernatural the day after, before her mom and dad had picked her up. As nervous and terrified as I'd been to tell her, she took it really well. I think Peter attacking her made her more open to the idea of werewolves, and I hate to say that I'm a little grateful for that. Although, Lydia's reaffirmations of friendship were sincere, and I believed that without coming face to face with beastly Peter, her companionship would have remained true regardless. Since then, she had been having nightmares, sometimes sleepwalking to the woods and waking up covered in dirt and leaves with no recollection of how she got there. With her permission, I'd told Derek about it, but he was at a loss as to what it could be. But that didn't mean we weren't searching.

Scott and I were new to this world, but that didn't mean we were ignorant. We knew there were other beings, other entities, out there and we were going to find out what Peter's bite was turning her into. Although, we weren't sure exactly what his bite had done to her, I was confident in my theory that he had activated something that was already in her blood. But of course, we needed to find out what that was. So that had left me researching in the spare time I had between working and volunteering, which was a lot seeing as we were still in winter break. But the excessive free time would be coming to an end tomorrow, as it marked the beginning of the second semester. I had the night off from the hospital—I usually tried to book off the night before starting school to give me time to prepare—and I'd bribed Derek with pizza to get him to help me research. Stiles, Scott, Allison and Lydia were hanging out at mine and Scott's house, seeing as he couldn't be seen out in public with Allison's dad being trigger happy. They were all watching movies together and I'd been invited, but I declined. I was an ambitious and determined person, and when I set my mind to something, I couldn't give up until I'd achieved it. Right now, it was figuring out Lydia's situation. She had mentioned that she was having hallucinations, ones that felt so real that she identified them as a waking dream. I'd read something about it somewhere, but I'd read so much over the past few days that I was having trouble remembering exactly where. I sighed, rubbing my temples to ease the gentle throbbing that was starting to form. Could werewolves get headaches?

'Here.' Derek's soft voice cut through my inner turmoil and my hands fell to my lap as I looked up to meet his gaze. I could see the concern shining in his blue eyes and I offered him a tired but grateful smile as I took the cup of coffee from his hands.

'Thank you. You're a star.' I breathed in the comforting aroma of the beverage, lifting my legs for Derek to join me on the sofa before placing them down on his lap.

'Have you found anything?' He asked, on of his hands rested on my calf while the other held up the book he was reading.

'Lydia mentioning waking dreams has rang a dim bell in my mind but I can't remember where I've read it.' I sighed, throwing the book on my lap on the growing read pile.

I took another sip of coffee and frowned at Derek when he closed his book and took away the new one I'd grabbed.

'We're taking a break.' He said, his tone booked no room for argument but that didn't stop me from trying.

'Derek—' I was silenced by Derek twisting my body so that I now fit against his side, his arm wrapped around my shoulders to keep me in place.

'You need to take care of yourself; you've been searching tirelessly for a week. You go back to school tomorrow and you need to relax and get a good nights rest.' He said softly, his arm gently rubbing my arm, 'we will find whatever Peter had planned for Lydia, we will find out what he did to her, and we don't need you to work yourself to the bone to figure it out.'

'I know that, I do.' I assured him, resting my head on his shoulder and subtly inhaling his comforting scent, 'it's just hard to turn my brain off sometimes. Especially when I know that Peter did this for a reason—.'

That was it! I shot forward from the sofa frantically knocking over the pile of books I had yet to search again, looking for a specific one with a royal blue cover. The silver scripture stood out against the background: Myths and Monsters.

'Stacey?'

'I read something about omens of death in here.' I murmured as an explanation.

'Omens of death?' Derek sounded confused but I didn't answer until I'd flipped to the correct page.

'Listen: Banshees are best known for their premonitions. They always appear shortly before the death of someone in their designated family. In a few stories, they have spoken out to tell exactly who would die and how. In most cases, they simply wail—but the Banshee's wail, in and of itself, is a powerful message. It can be heard for miles and always chills the hearts of the people who hear it. Some stories have described glass windows shattering when hit by the high, plaintive notes of the Banshee's song.' I recited from the old and worn paper, I looked up to Derek who just looked more confused than before, 'I don't know how he knew, but he must have known the connection between the Martin family and Banshees.'

'So that means he didn't bite her to turn her. He bit her to bring out her abilities.' Derek started to sound more convinced but asked, 'but why?'

'Because Banshees have a connection with death. Like the book says they usually wail when someone in their family is about to die, well what if Peter knew he was going to die?'

'And he bit Lydia so that he would have a connection to her even in death.' Derek filled in, sounding concerned.

'Maybe he knows a way to come back and he's going to lose Lydia to do it.' I said, horrified.

'I don't think she'd do it willingly, but without an explanation about what's happening her, she would do anything to stop seeing a dead guy.' Derek ran his hands through his hair.

'She'd do anything to stop feeling crazy.' I agreed, 'we need to look up rituals. Specifically those used to bring back the dead. Maybe if we know what's needed we can make sure it doesn't happen.'

'We'll do that tomorrow. For now, go home, and get a good nights sleep for school tomorrow.' Derek's eyes and tone booked no room for argument, when he saw my concern, his eyes softened and he pulled me into a hug.

It was impossible not to relax when surrounded by his scent and his warmth. I had to hold myself back from nuzzling into his chest, or from falling asleep right there, in his arms, on the couch in the abandoned train station.

'I'll put together everything I can find on Banshees and email it to you tomorrow. I'm sure Lydia will be relieved that you have an explanation for her.' Derek's voice had a lilt to it that just relaxed me down to my bones. I don't know how he did it, but I could listen to him talk for hours.

'Fine,' I sighed, reluctantly pulling away from his embrace, suddenly feeling exhausted, 'thank you Derek, for everything.'

'It's no problem,' he offered me a small but sincere smile that made my heart skip a beat in my chest, and I casually stood from the sofa, hoping he didn't hear it.

I gathered my things, taking the books I'd bought and leaving the ones Derek had accumulated himself, well aside from the one specifically about Banshees. With a final hug and a promise to have an early night, I was in my car and driving home.

When I reached the McCall house, I was amused to see all four teenagers passed out on the couch. Allison was sitting in between Scott's legs, her back against his front. He had his arms wrapped protectively around her waist, and her face was nuzzled into the side of his neck. Lydia's head was on Stiles' lap and the hyperactive boy's hand was resting on the top of her head, as if he had fallen asleep while running his fingers through her hair. It was too cute not to document and I couldn't resist snapping a picture of them all before I gently woke them up. Lydia was staying the night, but Allison would need to get home before her father sent out a search party to find out whom his daughter was hanging out with. Once they were gone, I waved Lydia up to my room to get ready for bed while I cleaned up the wrappers and empty bottles of soda that were lying around. When that was done, I made a chicken salad sandwich for mom's lunch tomorrow and whipped up a few pancakes and stored them under some foil for her to warm up for her breakfast. I yawned when I finally made my way upstairs and headed into my bathroom to brush my teeth when Lydia exited to change into pajamas.

'So how was your night?' Lydia asked with a knowing tone when I came back into the bedroom.

'Actually, we think we found something.' I admitted, climbing into my side of the bed and pulling the book we'd found onto my lap. I looked up when Lydia didn't say anything and when I saw the fear in her eyes I squeezed her hand in reassurance.

I told her everything that Derek and I had put together, and explained that Derek was looking into more information on Banshees before showing her the one small passage we had. I figured explaining why we were sure about what we had found before telling her what we thought she was, was a better idea than handing her the book and telling her she was a Banshee. Her eyes took in the information eagerly, and if I wasn't mistaken I saw a flicker of relief in her expression to finally have an explanation for what was happening to her. Although, her dread and concern over what Peter was most likely planning to do was also identifiable on her face. But the dominant emotion? — Determination to not let a dead man ruin her life.

'I don't want to be some pawn used to bring a psychotic nut-job from the dead.' She said, her voice bitter.

'I know, that's why Derek and I are going to start looking into rituals used to bring people back from the dead. If we can figure out how it's done, maybe we can stop it. Or at least stop him from communicating with you and potentially manipulating you to do his dirty work.' I kept my tone soft and reassuring, which seemed to calm her nerves as a small smile appeared on her lips before she hugged me in thanks.

I wasn't going to let anything happen to her, and I definitely wasn't going to help a psychotic maniac be bought back from the dead.

/

My eyes snapped open at three in the morning. That's right. Three o'clock in the freaking morning. Usually I would have tossed and turned until I could fall back asleep, but seeing as Lydia was fast asleep next to me and I didn't want to ruin her sleep I decided to get up. I carefully took my running clothes out of my dresser and grabbed my headphones along with my phone. I figured I could research for a few hours before going running and hopefully work off some of the anxious energy flowing through my veins.

After making myself a steaming cup of coffee I curled up on the armchair in the front room with my laptop, not even bothering to turn on any lights seeing as the screen and my supernatural eyesight allowed me to see easy enough. Taking a gulp of coffee and wincing when it burned my mouth, I opened up Google and typed into the search engine:

Returning from the dead + Banshees

An hour later and I was no closer to finding anything real. I just kept getting summaries from Banshee, which incidentally was a T.V. show. I slammed my laptop screen shut with a sigh and decided to start my run, even if it was 4:13am. Pulling up my running playlist, I felt a small amount of tension fall from my shoulders as Harry Styles' soothing voice filled my ears.

There was no exercise that could compare to running for me. There was just something beautifully simple in the act of trainers hitting concrete, the steady thump that echoed even above the music in my ears. It was calming; I didn't have to worry about anything, as my troubles were miles behind me. Well, usually that was the case, but this was Beacon Hills. I found myself slowing to a stop, only partially out of breath as I reached the cemetery. I usually sprinted past because there was just something about graveyards that creeped me out on a whole other level, but this time I was attracted by the flashing blue and red lights and the ball of dread in my stomach. I pulled out my headphones and stuffed them into my pocket as I inched closer, close enough to hear, but not close enough to be seen.

'How'd you get that black eye, Isaac?'

'School.' He replied, looking uncomfortable.

'A school fight?' The Sherriff pressed.

'No, ugh, lacrosse.' Isaac said, not maintaining eye contact for more than a second.

My eyes narrowed when I heard his heart skip a beat as he answered. He was lying. I edged further around so I could hide behind the tree but still be close enough to hear and observe without being noticed. Due to my change in position I had tuned out of the conversation for a minute, if that, and when I went to tune back in I noticed that Isaac was looking in my direction. I quickly moved back behind my tree, listening to the Sherriff ask him what he was looking at, and the boy replying that he hadn't seen anything. The interaction ended shortly after, with my finding out there had been a grave robbery, where in which a dead woman's liver had been stolen.

I was waiting for an opportunity to sneak out when I a familiar scent caught my nose. Derek. An involuntary smile curled the corners of my lips as I followed the trail, and found him leaning against his Camaro that he'd parked on a random trail in the woods.

'Good morning.' He greeted, opening his arms for a hug that I gladly gave him.

'Good morning.' I mumbled against his chest, unable to resist nuzzling into his warmth, and only realized what I'd done when he chuckled and held me a little tighter.

'You're warm.' I said by way of explanation. I couldn't tell you how, because in that moment my eyes were closed and I was feeling relaxed for the first time in forever, but I just knew he had that adorable soft smile on his face.

'What are you doing here?' I wondered, fighting the exhaustion that was suddenly clawing at my brain.

'I was tracking the scent of an omega I caught earlier. Trailed him all the way to the cemetery, watched him dig up a woman's grave and steal an organ, and then stopped him from attacking… Isaac?' he said the name as a question and I nodded in answer.

'What do you think he's here for? You?' I sighed as Derek pulled me tighter against him so that every inch of my body was pressed against his, his warmth curling around me like a blanket.

'Probably. When there's a new Alpha news travels fast, and Omega's often seek them out. It's rare that they survive without a pack, especially with hunting families or rival packs out there.' He told me gently, one of his hands moving tenderly up and down my spine.

'That's scary. I guess it's easy to remain ignorant towards the existence of other packs when you live in Beacon Hills.' I mused, grateful his touch chased away the slither of fear before it shot down my spine.

'It really is. Before I moved away to New York, I never really thought about other packs. I knew they exited, with my mother being the Alpha of ours, but still it's all the more overwhelming when you don't have your own pack anymore.' His voice took on a sad and melancholic tone that always made my heart squeeze for him.

'I'm sorry, Der.' I looked up to meet his eyes, my chin resting on his chest, 'I wish there was something I could do, but I hope it helps knowing that you have me now. You're one of the most important people in my life, Derek Hale, and I will always be there for you, no matter what.'

I saw a range of emotions play out on his expression, melancholy, gratitude and happiness before he gave me the softest look I'd ever seen anyone employ.

'You know…' a small smile formed on his lips as he shook his head in disbelief, 'I can't imagine my life without you in it anymore, Stacey. Which baffles me when I think about it, because you've been in my life for four months, and in that time the feeling of loneliness and helplessness is a distant memory. While before, it was all I knew for so long.' He took a breath and placed his hands on either side of my face. I felt my heart skip a beat when he placed a gentle, lingering kiss to my forehead, 'you are the most important person in my life, Stacey McCall.'

I could feel my heart racing in my chest, and my eyes overflowing with happiness at his words.

'I love you, Derek.' I smiled, hearing his heart rate pick up even further.

'I love you too, Stacey.' He kissed my forehead again.

There it was. We'd acknowledged how we felt, but I knew that nothing was going to change, because loving someone was completely different to being in love with them. And while he very well may be as in love with me as I was with him, it was clear that neither of us were ready to admit more than a platonic declaration of love. Which was okay, for now. Or at least, that's what I told myself.

I jumped when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, pulling it out; I realized how late it had gotten. It was 6:30am, which meant I'd been out for over two hours. I answered Lydia's call but didn't move myself from Derek's embrace, I was content in the little bubble we'd created and I was reluctant to move from it.

'Hello?'

'Hello? Hello? I don't know how you can be so casual right now. You've reduced me to the worried mother role and I don't like it. Where are you?' She demanded, her words and sassy tone making me smother a laugh.

'I'm on my way back, I just went out for a run.' I told her honestly, giving Derek a grateful grin when he held open the passenger door of his Camaro as a silent invitation for a ride. I climbed in and clicked on my seatbelt as I listened to Lydia ramble about how she'd found me the perfect first day outfit for five minutes, until she had to leave to shower. I sighed in relief and tossed my phone into Derek's cup holder.

'Did you get any sleep last night?' Derek's soft voice asked, his eyes switching between eyeing me in concern and the road.

'About… two hours?' I yawned, the talk of sleep reminding me how exhausted I was, 'I dunno… I cleaned up after Allison went home and Scott and Lydia went to bed. Then I made Mom's lunch and breakfast, and then went to bed. But I was wide awake at three, I just haven't been sleeping well lately.'

'Is there a particular reason?' he asked, taking my hand in his by way of comfort.

'I just…' I trailed off with a sigh, not wanting to add another burden to his plate. I took a breath and forced a smile onto my face as I continued, not daring to meet his eyes, 'I'm fine; I guess I just couldn't sleep. No big deal.'

'You're lying, Stacey.' It was a firm tone that I wasn't used to hearing directed at me, and it made my defenses crumble.

'I'm just feeling overwhelmed. I feel responsible for a lot of things right now… for Lydia, for Scott, for Stiles, for… you. And usually that's fine, because usually I don't feel like a complete failure. But lately that's all I feel like. A dead guy is using Lydia, and I don't know how to stop it, Scott is dating a hunter's daughter and there's nothing I can do to make sure he stays safe. Stiles is feeling just as overwhelmed as me, and I don't know how to help him because I can't help myself. And you're adjusting to being an Alpha and I feel completely hopeless because I'm not even sure I know how to be a werewolf, let alone what it's like to be—' my ramblings were cut off by Derek pulling me into a hug.

'Breathe.' His soft murmur helped me realize that I was breathing sporadically and that tears were streaming down my cheeks fast enough to form a damp circle against Derek's grey t-shirt.

'I'm sorry, Derek. I'm useless, completely and utterly—'

'Don't say that. Don't think that, okay? Stacey, you are amazing.' His voice was fierce and he hugged me tighter when he heard the small sound of disbelief that left my throat, 'you are the smartest, most compassionate, empathetic, fiercely protective person I've ever met, and it breaks my heart that you ever doubt yourself. You're an incredible friend, Stacey, an incredible daughter and an incredible person.'

'Really?' I murmured, silently hating that my voice broke, but I didn't care. There was just something about Derek that made my defenses obsolete, that made the idea of being vulnerable not so bad. So much so, that he was the first person who had ever heard the thoughts that constantly bounced around in my head.

He pulled back to look into my eyes, but kept his gentle yet firm grip on my shoulders.

'Really,' he confirmed, his eyes glowing with sincerity and a fierce emotion that I couldn't identify.

'Thank you.' I whispered, wiping the wet trails from my cheeks and offering him a watery smile.

'You don't have to thank me, Stace. I'm always here for you, you're allowed to need help too, you know?' He assured me, taking my hands in his and squeezing.

I nodded, not surprised that he'd called me out on my shit. I was more than happy to be there for everyone when they needed me, but it was hard for me to ask for help, for comfort and reassurance when I needed it.

'I should get inside.' I murmured, realising that we were parked in front of my house, and probably had been for a while, 'thanks for everything, see you later?'

'Probably. We have a new research topic to start on.' He offered me a smile that made it impossible not to return. After another hug, I stepped out of the car, sending him a small wave is I bounded up the steps and into the house.

'Out for a run, huh?' Lydia's knowing voice coming from the living room made me jump about a mile.

'Jesus, Lyd! You scared me!' I whisper-yelled, not sure who was up yet.

She completely ignored my fear, speaking as if she hadn't just scared the life out of me, 'Scott's getting dressed, I made some French toast, yours is in the oven, still warm.' She smiled warmly, linking her arm through mine and laying my meal out for me.

'You didn't have to do that Lydia, but thank you.' I offered her a grateful and touched smile that she waved off as she poured herself another cup of coffee.

'So, where were you really?' she arched her brow.

'I couldn't sleep so I went for a run, ended up at the cemetery and being nosy because of the huge amount of police cars. Apparently someone robbed a dead woman of her liver last night.' I told her, happy when Scott joined us so I wouldn't have to repeat the information, 'I ran into Derek after, he had been tracking an Omega to make sure he didn't cause trouble, and said Omega is responsible for the grave robbing. Derek also stopped him from hurting Isaac when he was working there last night.'

'There's an Omega in Beacon Hills?' Scott asked, sipping his own coffee with a concerned frown on his face.

'Yup. Derek thinks he's looking for him, seeing as most Omega's don't last very long without their own pack, but with the Argent's in town I'm not sure he made the smartest decision to come here looking for an Alpha.' I said, taking my now empty plate to the sink and smiling when I noticed Lydia had already done all of the other breakfast dishes.

'So what do we do?' Scott asked, placing his dirty mug into the sink.

'What can we do? It's got nothing to do with us, I say we keep our eyes and ears open, be on alert but otherwise, go to school.' Lydia suggested looking at her watch, 'which we will be late for if you don't get your ass upstairs, showered and dressed in the next half hour.'

'I agree. There's no use in us worrying about it until it becomes a problem. Besides, he came looking for an Alpha, right? So if anyone has to worry it'll be Derek, and by the sounds of it, he's already on it.' I said, making my way to the stairs, as Lydia was basically shooing me up there.

'Okay,' Scott nodded, seemingly relieved to not have another thing to worry about. I was with him there.

'Now that's settled, go and get ready!' Lydia insisted, earning a chuckle from me and Scott.

A beeping alerted my twin to his ride being here, and he left with a wave while I jogged upstairs to get ready.

/

'Why is everyone staring at us?' I frowned, turning the key in the ignition so the engine's soft purr stopped. I'd managed to snag an open spot near the entrance, which for me was a good omen.

Lydia snorted, 'it probably has something to do with the hot ride you've got. That or you're startlingly beautiful passenger.'

I blinked, the thought that I hadn't yet driven my new car to school having not occurred to me until that moment. I shook away my surprise and gave Lydia a wink, 'I'd say it's definitely the latter.'

We shared a chuckle as we simultaneously climbed out of the car, linking arms as we walked into the school, eyes following our every move. I heard some whistling and rolled my eyes, wondering why men thought that catcalling and objectifying women was a way to inspire a positive reaction. Honestly, what did they think would happen? That a whistle and an abrasive comment would earn them some action? Ridiculous. But hey, that was just me.

'Where's Allison?' Lydia wondered aloud, green eyes scanning the faces we were passing in an attempt to locate her.

I snorted, 'probably hiding in a dark corner with Scott. They still can't be seen together.' I reminded her, sharing a sad smile at my twin's situation.

'Right well, in that case we'll just have to get our first day picture with her later, but for now I want one of us to post onto my Instagram and Facebook.' She said seriously, seeing and zeroing in on Stiles, who was standing by his locker sorting out his books.

'Really? Can't take a picture of you? I'm the least photogenic person in the world.' I groaned, gaining the honey eyed boy's attention.

'What's up Stace?' His eyes flickered from me to Lydia, which led to him promptly becoming speechless, 'Lydia—You look—that dress compliments your—' he took a breath, running his hand over his buzz cut, 'you look beautiful.'

I smiled as I observed the obvious connection between the duo. Lydia offered him a bright smile, her green eyes sparkling with happiness at the compliment, and if I wasn't mistaken her cheeks were painted with a soft flush. I cleared my throat when the two just continued to stare at one another and raised my eyebrow at Lydia to remind her why she'd dragged me over here in the first place.

'Right, Stiles, would you mind taking a picture of Stacey and I?' Lydia asked, sliding her phone out of her brown leather shoulder bag and handing it to him.

'Yeah, sure.' He cleared his throat, moving back a little as Lydia and I leaned against the lockers.

The strawberry blonde's hand wound around my shoulders, while mine settled around her waist. Both of us looked over to Stiles and smiled at the camera. It took about five minutes in all, as Lydia wanted multiple shots of different poses, and I was pretty sure Stiles had captured a few candid ones of us in between different positions, laughing as we knocked into one another. The truth was I didn't mind the spontaneous photo shoot as I once would have. Mainly because it was nice to do something that normal teenage girls often did, and also because the outfit Lydia had picked out for me actually made me feel all kinds of confident. I had been worried that she'd pick an outfit that I wouldn't be comfortable wearing, but she'd captured my style perfectly. I was wearing a deep purple body con dress paired with my leather jacket and black combat boots. My usual backpack hung over my shoulder and I was wearing a few thin banded golden rings, one that formed the shape of a star on my right index finger and another that formed a heart on the middle finger of my other hand. A long golden chain that had small diamantes imbedded into the chain hung around my neck. My long dark hair was down, the natural waves falling to the small of my back and just above my belly button. Lydia had even applied a small amount of make up to my face: blush, mascara, bronzer and a little lip gloss, that really made a huge difference to what I usually wore. I felt great and confident.

'All done.' Stiles smiled, handing the Banshee her phone back, their hands lingering a little too long to be considered platonic.

'So where's the lesser twin?' I asked, shifting through my bag in search of my phone, I'd just pulled it out when Stiles answered.

'With Allison in Coach's office. She had something to tell him.' He shrugged.

I nodded, not all that surprised and smiled when I saw the text I had waiting for me.

Derek: Not going to be able to research tonight. Gonna try and track down this Omega before he causes anymore trouble, or attacks anyone alive.

Me: No worries, I'm sure I have some studying I can do. Call me if you need back up, okay?

Derek: I promise.

'Who was that?' Stiles asked, his knowing voice indicating he already knew the answer.

'Derek, he's cancelled research for tonight to try and track down the rouge omega.' I said, walking with my arm linked through both Stiles and Lydia's.

'Is there anything I can do?' Lydia offered.

'No sweetie.' I smiled, appreciative of her offer, 'Derek seems to think he can handle it, and if not he's promised to call for help. Speaking of, if you have anything freaky happen tonight, call me okay?'

Lydia smiled and promised, 'I will.'

'Good,' Stiles nodded, running his free hand over his buzz cut in a clearly nervous gesture, 'and if you can't reach Stacey, or have something you need help with that isn't an emergency, you can call me too.'

I smiled at Stiles' nervous rambling, and smiled wider when I noticed the adoration and light flush on Lydia's expression. Those two were almost as love-sick as Scallison, if not worse because longing looks and words were the only methods they had to portray their infatuation with each other, so each glance was zinging with so much emotion that it couldn't be ignored. I hoped one day soon they'd put one another out of their misery and just give in.

'We need to get to History. See you in Econ?' I said to Stiles, giving him a knowing smile when he eventually broke out of staring at the strawberry blonde on my arm.

'Uh, yeah. See you then.' He darted off into the direction of his class with Scott, aiming a wave over his shoulder.

I shook my head fondly and squeezed Lydia's arm to gain her attention when I realized she was staring off in the direction my hyperactive friend had left in.

'Why don't you two just admit your feelings for one another?' I wondered as we took two desks on the back row. I shrugged my jacket off and laid it over the back of my seat before I sat, and pulled my books out as my friend replied.

'I could ask you the same thing.' She raised her brow at me as she gathered a notebook and pen out of her bag.

'That's complicated Lyd.' I sighed, torn between wanting to talk to the strawberry blonde and the desire to keep it to myself.

Having someone to talk to might be nice, especially seeing as I usually kept things bottled up… on the other hand, because I was so used to keeping things inside, it usually meant I was overcome with a lot of emotion when I finally let it all out—just like I had in the car this morning. But I would be fine, surely? I mean, I hadn't freaked out to the point of transforming in months. What was the worst that could happen? Plus I wanted to talk to my best girl friend about what had happened this morning. Whether it was the desire to feel like a normal teenager, or because I wanted to reassure myself over the events of this morning by successfully assuring the Banshee that I was fine and that my feelings were fine and totally platonic, either way I found myself making the decision to spill.

I waited as Mr Krane started the documentary on WW2 and when was busy with grading papers for another class, I told her what had happened this morning. I also explained that the "I love you's" had been intended platonically on both ends, because that's all it was. Platonic. Friendship. That. Was. All.

I was hoping she didn't call me on my rambling—my obvious tell that I was lying my ass off—because if she did, then she'd want to know why I wasn't being honest and then she'd want to know why I wasn't willing to admit just how much I loved the new Alpha… And that was a question I had absolutely no answer to. Nothing, nada, zilch. No good or logical reason, just one strong emotion: fear. Fear that we wouldn't work and I'd lose one of the most important people in my life if the relationship fell apart. And I couldn't imagine that—at this point, picturing myself without Derek would be like losing a limb, it would be like losing a significant part of me. I don't know when the Alpha had become such an integral part of my life, but I was certain that I was not willing to find out if I would survive without him. I couldn't even entertain the hypothetical scenario where in which Derek wasn't there: just the notion made my palms sweat, my heart race and my breath catch in my throat. I had to force myself to take deep breaths because, having a panic attack in the back of a history lesson on WW2, over something that hadn't actually happened was not something I was willing to entertain.

'I understand.' Lydia's soft voice snapped me out of my impending panic and the soft smile helped soothe me just a little.

But I needed more, I knew I did and for the first time since that full moon the importance of Derek in my life hit me like a tidal wave. I didn't just love him. He was my anchor. And I needed to hear his voice right now. My breathing was becoming more labored and I could feel my claws extending from my fingertips from where my hands rested against my thighs.

'Need a minute.' I mumbled, careful to speak lowly, because any louder I was almost certain it would come out as a growl.

I darted from the classroom, my backpack slung over my shoulder, my jacket over my arm and my books held tightly in my clenched fists. I think Mr Krane yelled after me, but I couldn't register his voice—all I could hear was my own heartbeat pounding in my ears and I started to panic more, knowing a raising heart rate meant an impending transformation. The soft touch of hand to my forearm led me to the coach's office. I heard myself whimper at the cold feeling against my skin, but it wasn't surprising—I felt like I was on fire and I was sure anything would feel like ice in that moment.

'Stacey.' It was Lydia; I recognized her voice and that made me jolt away from her, fear suddenly crowding my brain.

I didn't want to hurt her, I couldn't, I would never forgive myself. I felt the vibrations of the wall travel through my back as I hit it—I imagined it created a thud but I couldn't hear it. I couldn't hear it. Please, don't want to hurt Lydia, need to calm down, can't breathe.

I could hear her voice again, but it sounded far away, as if I was hearing it under water, I tried to follow the direction with my eyes, but my vision was flashing in between red and normal; the constant change made me feel nauseous. I put my head in between my knees, willing the panic to pass, begging my heart rate to return to normal, hoping that I wouldn't throw up because I hated throwing up and—.

My head snapped up as a new scent entered the room and I felt my heart leap from my throat, the smell of citrus, graphite and Adderall meant it was Stiles.

'No, no, go away, please go away, I don't wanna hurt you, please.' I sobbed, trying to push myself further away, but the wall didn't allow it.

'Stacey, listen to my voice, and focus on my heartbeat.' Stiles' voice was calm but the slight tremor told me he was afraid, and I didn't want to think how I would react if I focused on what was likely to be an erratic heartbeat.

'No, I need Derek.' I managed to stop gritting my teeth long enough to say.

'Come on, Stiles.' Lydia's voice sounded firm and a moment later I heard the door close with a slam. I felt a small pinprick of relief but it didn't change what was happening.

I was such a failure. Scott had control of this, why didn't I? He didn't work himself up into panic attacks and have to lock himself in the coach's office while he fought off a transformation with everything he had. He didn't have to call for Allison to settle him mere hours after seeing her. I was terrible at this. Awful.

I was so lost in my inner ramblings, that I didn't hear the door open and close as the blue-eyed wolf joined me in the room. I didn't see his brow crinkled in concern, or the empathy that shone in his eyes as he heard the words I thought I was only saying in my head. I only knew he was there when I was suddenly cocooned in the warmth of his arms; my body reacted instinctually and melted into him. My nose found the crook of his neck and inhaled his scent deeply, immediately comforted by the familiar scent that exuded warmth and safe. My breathing evened out instantly, which was ironic seeing as I'd spent god knows how long trying to settle my breathing and all it took was a whiff of Derek and my heartbeat was steady again.

'You're fine, Stacey, everything's okay.' Derek murmured so quietly I was sure I wouldn't have been able to hear him had I not been so close.

'I'm sorry. You probably had important things to do and I had to drag you down here because I had a panic attack.' My voice was soft and raw from the sobbing.

'Hey, if you need me, there's nothing more important for me to be doing.' He assured me, and the steady thrum of his heartbeat assured me of his sincerity—though I could hear his honesty in his voice anyway.

'Thank you.' I sighed, grateful for finally feeling relaxed for the first time in what felt like forever.

'Do you want to talk about it? About what caused your panic attack?' he asked, his voice soft as his hand rubbed soothing circles into my lower back.

'I was talking to Lydia about you and telling her how important you are to me, and I just thought about how I didn't know what I would do without you in my life.' I admitted, grateful for the ability to hide my expression in his neck so that he wouldn't have to see my embarrassment, 'and I freaked out.' It wasn't the complete truth, but it wasn't a lie either, I was simply omitting certain details of the conversation.

'That's completely understandable, Stacey.' He assured me, I assumed he could sense my humiliation, 'I used to have panic attacks constantly after the fire, some because I couldn't comprehend that I was never going to see my family again… and some because I was terrified of losing the only living relative I had left.' My arms tightened around his waist as he spoke in an attempt to offer him some comfort; he kissed my hair to show his gratitude before he continued speaking, 'so I'm going to tell you what Laura used to tell me: "I can't promise you that I will always be by your side, or a phone call away. But I can and will promise you that I will always do everything in my power to be there for you when you need me, or even when you don't. And if something does happen to me, I will still be there with you, even if you can't see or feel me."'

'Ditto,' I said, my voice laced with tears as I lifted my head to look at him, 'you know that don't you?'

His eyes softened as he gently wiped away the tears from my cheeks, 'I do, Stacey, I've known that for a while now.'

'Good,' I mumbled placing a kiss to his cheek, smiling a little at the sound of his heart skipping a beat as I stood up and offered him a hand too.

'You alright?' he said carefully, his eyes evaluating my expression in concern.

'I'm a lot better.' I assured him, winding my arms around his waist in a hug and sighing contentedly when he embraced me in return, 'and I would much rather stay here, but classes await.'

'You can always skip today, you know.' He suggested, his voice playful and I kind of loved it because it was a rarity to hear the Alpha being teasing, 'we both know you're ahead in your classes and already studied the material they're gonna teach today weeks ago.'

'Why, Derek Hale, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were trying to be a bad influence on me.' I teased, my eyes glittering with amusement as I stepped back enough to meet his gaze, but not enough to break his hold.

'I thought you would have figured that out weeks ago, Stacey McCall, I'm always the bad influence.' He grinned and I felt my heart skip a beat in my chest at the sight as I laughed with him.

'How could I forget?' I questioned, sarcasm leaking into my voice as I led Derek out of coach's office—he would be here soon to grab his things for econ second period.

Derek shook his head, amusement still visible in his eyes, but only to those who knew him well enough. To the other teenagers shooting him confused and curious looks as they noticed our joined hands, he looked his usual brooding self.

Have you managed to catch up with that omega?'' I wondered as I used my free hand to unlock my locker

'No, but I did notice when I got here that his scent led up to the entrance of the school.' He leaned against the locker beside mine, which happened to be Stiles'; I felt a twinge of amusement at the honey-eyed boy's reaction if he were to see the Alpha there.

'Do you think it's a teenager?' I wondered, switching out my history book for economics.

'No, the scent hasn't entered the building; it's more likely that he was looking for food. Most omega's are homeless and aren't able to afford food or somewhere to live.' Derek explained, ignoring the students that exited first period completely.

'That's sad.' I frowned, closing the door and leaning against it, 'what are you going to do when you find him?'

'I don't know. More often than not there's a reason that an omega is solitary; sometimes it can be because hunters eradicated the rest of their pack, but it's rare for that to happen. I guess it depends on how and why he came to be alone.' He said, and I knew he was struggling because he knew what it felt like to have most of your pack taken away from you at a moments notice. My thumb moved back and forth against his as he spoke in an attempt to offer him some comfort.

'You're a great guy, Derek, just be careful with this.' I murmured, 'you don't know anything about this guy, aside from the fact that he likes to eat human organs. That seems like a bit of a red flag to me, but I'm more new to this scene than you are.'

'No, you're right. That is a red flag, only werewolves who have given into their animalistic side partake in eating habits like that.' He said, his hand squeezing mine as he mused aloud, 'if he's robbing graves to eat human flesh that means his wolf is overtaking his human.'

'That doesn't sound like a good thing.' I commented, Derek following beside me as I started walking towards econ.

'It's not.' He shook his head, seeming to be disappointed, 'I should have noticed that sooner.'

'Don't do that to yourself, Der. The fact that your empathy allowed you to sympathize with what he must be feeling to have lost his pack, rather than focusing on the facts and logic just shows that your human.' I grinned and lightly shoved his shoulder when he cocked his brow in amusement, 'you know what I mean, smartass.'

'I do,' his eyes allowed me to observe the softness and amusement that his expression wasn't willing to portray in public.

'Thanks again for coming to help me, Der.' I smiled softly and kissed his cheek before releasing his hand with a squeeze, 'call me later and keep me updated on this omega situation, okay? Don't do anything impulsive.'

'You don't need to thank me, and sure thing—I'll see you later.' He left me with a wave and I ignored how empty my hand seemed to feel now it was no longer entwined with his, and instead busied myself with taking my seat.

I'd managed to beat Stiles, Scott, Lydia and Allison there so I pulled out my equipment and occupied myself by writing the date on the top right corner. When my pack arrived it was together, and they all brightened upon seeing me, I stood up when I saw Lydia and Stiles rushing forward to get to me first and I giggled softly as they both hugged me at the same time.

'I'm okay. I'm sorry I freaked out, that panic attack came out of nowhere.' I said, allowing them to see the truth in my expression as they pulled away.

'Don't apologise for panic attacks,' Stiles told me firmly, repeating the same words I'd said to him many times before, 'those are the rules.'

'You're right' I squeezed him again and clarified, 'I wasn't apologizing for the attack, I was apologizing for scaring you guys.'

'We were scared, yes, but not of you, we were scared because our friend was having a panic attack and we couldn't bring you out of it.' Stiles assured me, and I felt myself sag with relief at the sincere reassurance that he hadn't been afraid of me.

'Speaking of, why was it Derek you needed?' Stiles asked about half an hour later, after I'd been passed over to my twin for another hug and some sweet words from Allison.

'Well, I've come to the realization that Derek is my anchor,' I told him bluntly, still new to the information myself. But I wasn't surprised, not really. Scott had someone he loved and cherished as his anchor, and it made sense that the wolf I'd come to care for and love—in a different way my twin loved his girlfriend—was my tether to humanity.

Stiles looked like he was dying to say something that would probably result in him receiving a not too gentle kick to the shin, but an elbow from Lydia successfully snapped his jaw shut as he refrained from commenting.

'That's not too surprising after how much you've both come to trust and rely on each other.' Scott said, his voice as casual as ever, as if he were mentioning the weather.

I smiled at my twin's relaxed attitude and continued writing down the homework assignment—a part of me had been concerned that the admission would be blown out of proportion and I felt myself slacken as it became clear that wasn't going to happen. After all, it didn't mean anything… did it?

/

'Erica!' I shouted, waving as the curly haired blonde entered the cafeteria. She probably wouldn't linger here to eat her lunch, but I just wanted to talk with her for a few minutes seeing as we hadn't had any classes together yet.

'Hey, Stacey.' She mumbled shyly as she settled into the seat across from me.

I had been holding the table on my own and waiting, hoping for a familiar face to appear to avoid dying of boredom. I didn't have my lunch period with the rest of the gang this semester.

'You look gorgeous.' I told her, admiring the black jeans and white blouse she was wearing, 'that's one of my favourite outfits you bought, it flatters your figure beautifully.'

'Thank you,' she blushed, her curls falling forward and hiding her expression.

'Did you have a nice Christmas?' I asked, deciding to steer the conversation away from the topic of her outfit at the sight of her discomfort.

'Yeah, it was really nice. My mom and dad had to work, but I liked having the time to just relax, you know?' she replied, tucking her hair back behind her ears.

'I do.' I grinned, but I felt my expression soften in sympathy, 'I'm sorry about your parents though, I know it sucks when you can't spend the day with them.'

'It's cool. We actually celebrated it officially a few days later, we usually have to because their shifts are crazy and unpredictable, so it's basically a Christmas tradition for us.' She smiled, her finger tracing shapes onto the table as she spoke. I'd noticed she didn't like to maintain eye contact if she was talking to you for extended periods of time. I never commented on it; if it made her feel more comfortable then who was I to question it?

'That sounds wonderful.' And it did—wasn't that what the holidays were all about? Spending it with those who you cared for?

I offered her some of my fries and half of my burger as our conversation continued. I told her about my Christmas, bashfully explained that the new car she'd seen me arrive in had been a gift from Derek, skillfully avoided going into detail about my relationship with him beyond calling him my best friend (which wasn't a lie anyway), and we laughed over a few stories I shared about some particularly eccentric patients from the clinic and the hospital. Before I knew it, the hour had passed by and we were going our separate ways for our next class.

I was humming as I made my way to the library for my free period—I was pretty certain everyone else had Chemistry, but after picking up extra credit and completing extra curriculum assignments over Christmas break, I had been able to complete that particular subject early. Which freed up more periods for studying, and I needed it for the AP biology class the principal had allowed me to pick up this semester. The plan was to complete this by the end of the final semester in May, if not earlier, and if I had any hope of that I needed to put my extra free periods to good use—off to the library I went.

/

'So I hear you're going on a double date tonight?' I playfully nudged Lydia, chuckling when her cheeks flushed a little.

'Stiles and I are third and fourth wheeling with Allison and Scott. It's more friends hanging out really, you should come.' Lydia said, looking over to me hopefully.

'Ice and I do not mix and I cannot see that being any different, werewolf reflexes or no.' I shook my head, remembering the time I'd almost broken my nose by face planting the ice when I was nine—not a fun experience, 'but you guys have fun, and please be careful.'

'We will.' Lydia smiled, hoisting her bag over her shoulder as she prepared to step out of the car—I was dropping her off on my way home from school, 'see you tomorrow?'

'Yup, bright and early honey.' I winked and laughing when she retuned the gesture.

I knew what I'd end up doing tonight—studying. Seeing as it was Monday and Deaton had already shut the clinic, that meant no work, which I appreciated because Monday nights were my most productive for schoolwork. I'd done a huge chunk in the library earlier though—I'd already read ahead in my new class and the others I'd finished reading ahead in over winter break. So really I didn't have much to do but I figured reading further ahead in my AP class couldn't hurt.

Sorry if this seems like an abrupt end but I've spilt this season into three parts, not including chapter 14 and this seemed like a good place to finish this part. I'm gonna pre-warn you now the whole second season is gonna be a short one, as I'm not really fond of this story and I don't want to spend too much time on it—I'm eager to get to season 3. I apologise if that makes you irritated, but I've been putting off updating this series because I really didn't want to write season two. So I've shortened it and changed the story quite a bit; things get wrapped up quicker than usual, the circumstances to some wolves being created is very different, but I'm actually quite happy with how it turned out. Either way, buckle up because the three parts altogether is over 25,000 words.

See you soon,

VampireGirl1797

Xoxo.