When I awoke the room was a blur, so hazy and swirly that I couldn't even decide which direction was up or down. My head was throbbing and I could feel parts of my body twitch. There was also a little cramp from having been left in an uncomfortable position. But there was also a hand on my shoulder. And someone was saying my name. It was muffled, as if I were underwater, but as the speaker's voice rose so too did it clear.

Eventually I was able to work out who it was that was speaking. It was Derek. My Alpha. He was calling out to me. I knew I had to respond but when I tried to speak a groan was all that came out. I felt my body lurch, and for a second I thought I was going to be sick, until I realised I was being rolled onto my back and my stomach seemed to relax. However, while my stomach calmed, a sharp pain twisted its way behind my eyes. My hand moved without command and rested against my head, as if it's touch alone would sooth my aching head.

No such luck unfortunately.

However, as the seconds ticked by – thankfully in silence – my vision began to clear. The vortex in my eyes un-swirling back into a picture my brain could understand. One were I saw Derek kneeling at my side, concern wrapped up in those green eyes of his. On my other side was Erica, a tidal wave on concern in her eyes compared to Derek's. She was trembling, waiting for me to come back to her, to say something, anything.

I wet my lips, preparing to speak while Derek asked questions of me. Question that I couldn't understand and therefore couldn't answer. All right maybe I could have focused a little more on what he was saying, but I would run with the excuse and make sure Erica was okay before I gave him my full attention. "Erica?" I managed to get out. It was hoarse and a mere whisper, but she obviously heard it from her gasp of relief.

"Dylan!" she cried back, leaning down as if to hug me until Derek's hand shot out to keep her back.

"Give her a minute, Erica," he instructed. I would have argued, but my brain was still a rocky ocean of thoughts, struggling to grab onto something as I drowned in them. I could see the urge in my sister's eyes, the need to hold me and comfort not only me, but herself. It pained me to not be able to give her that comfort but until I could speak, my Alpha apparently spoke for me.

"Is she okay?" Erica asked, eyes remaining on me despite the fact she was talking to our Alpha.

"Just a concussion, like you. In a few minutes she'll be fine," he said in surprising reassurance.

Getting some feeling back, I went to try and sit up and almost whacked the back of my head off the floor when I lost my strength. Thankfully Derek caught me and sat me up before any more damage could be done. "Hey, take it slow. You're still healing." As he spoke I wet my lips once more, coughing a little before trying to talk again, now that I was conscious. My mind clearly healing ahead of my body – no matter how annoying it was.

"What happened?" I managed to say in the same hoarse voice as before, although my voice was a little more audible now. I was going to need a drink before I started up my next conversation.

"It was the creature that killed Isaac's dad," Derek answered, eyes serious as he spoke. "It knocked you and Erica out…and managed to paralysis me."

I frowned, getting out something that resembled a, "What?" before a coughing fit hit me.

"She needs water," Erica declared, looking to Derek.

"Go and get some," he instructed, or rather gave permission. She was up like a gun had gone off and running from the room. She quickly returned after less than a minute. During which I'd tried and failed to get Derek to continue with my near impossible to understand voice. The water helped, and it was only then I realised how dry my mouth was.

"Thanks," I said to Erica, her smile doing more for me that whatever healing process was going on inside my body.

Now sounding more like myself again, I pushed Derek off, sitting up on my own, and turned to face him. "So what the heck was that thing?"

"I didn't know what it was before, but I do now," Derek explained solemnly. "It's called a Kanima."

"Well, that doesn't sound friendly," Erica murmured. She was putting on a tough act, but I heard the quiver in her voice. The fear seeping through.

"It's not," Derek confirmed, although it seemed more like an automatic response after what he'd apparently just gone through, voicing his inner thoughts without realising. Then he went silent, lost in thought. I shared a worried look with Erica, before we both looked back to our Alpha. This thing was undeniably strong, if it was able to nearly kill him. I could understand how it took out me and Erica, we were inexperienced and still new to all this. But for it to almost kill Derek – all of them in fact – that was seriously scary. After all Derek was meant to be the strongest, an Alpha, made stronger by his Pack, the Pack we were a part off. But even with a Pack of five, the Alpha had almost been killed by this thing – this Kanima. Which left me with one question.

"How are we still alive?" I asked, voice almost trembling at the thought of how close we'd all come to death.

Derek turned to look at me once more, a sigh exiting through his nose, while his mouth remained shut. "It was Scott. Scott saved us," he said, a mixture of emotions and feelings in his voice. It was too much for me to dig through in my current state, so I just took the statement for what it was.

Scott had saved us.

But he wasn't one of us, one of our Pack, and had pushed us all away more than once. So why save us? The obvious answer popped into my head, which then brought on another question. "Where's Stiles?" I looked to Erica for that one, trusting she'd be keeping a closer eye on Stiles than Derek would be.

"He's outside with Scott," Erica answered quietly. The experience had shaken her up too. I needed to get her home, to a place of safety so we could both regroup and breath. Sat here, in the place where we were attacked wasn't doing either of us any good. Plus the swimming pool was actually surprisingly creepier now than it had been when we first walked in with Stiles.

"I need to speak with them both," Derek said, before looking to me. "Can you stand on your own?" I nodded, but allowed Erica to help me up regardless. I couldn't continue to lean on her however. That would show weakness, and after what just happened, I knew Derek wouldn't want to show weakness – and I didn't want to either. Especially not in front of Scott and Stiles.

Erica seemed to have the same idea, her confident grin returning as Derek lead us out. I still had linger questions about the attack, but I kept quiet for now, following my Alpha. I knew he'd explain everything he thought necessary to us all later, as a Pack. That was when I could ask my questions, after he'd ran through the event with all of us.

For now, he led us out to the parking lot and towards what I presumed to be Scott's car, which he and Stiles were leaning over with a laptop between them. The glow from the screen lighting up their faces as they read and discussed. I didn't bother to focus my hearing on the pair, so the first thing I heard, once we were close enough to hear, was said by Stiles. "Is that even a language?"

"How are we supposed to figure out what this is?" Scott replied, both clueless. Luckily for them both, our Alpha was here and willing to share information apparently.

"It's called the Kanima," Derek declared, once again flanked by me and Erica. We came to a stop before the pair of idiots, as they both looked up, confused before one of them – Stiles – started to glare pathetically at us all.

"You knew the whole time," Stiles said with an irritated sigh.

"No," Derek clarified calmly. "Only when it was confused by its own reflection."

"It doesn't know what it it," Scott said in realisation.

"Or who," Derek added.

Shaking his head, Stiles let out another sigh before asking, "What else do you know?"

"Just stories, rumours," Derek said dismissively, which admittedly had me a little worried. I was smart enough to know that information was another source of power, just like Derek's Alpha bite was. The more we knew about this Kanima, the better chance we'd have at stopping it. But from the sound of it, our Pack's supernatural expert – our Alpha – didn't actually know a lot of facts about this monster. And after becoming a Werewolf, I can tell you, stories and facts are two very different things.

"But it's like us?" Scott pressed, trying to get what he could out of Derek.

Our Alpha obliged with an explanation, though it wasn't a comforting one. "A shapeshifter, yes, but it's…it's not right. It's like a…" He trailed off, unable to find the appropriate word for such a creature. But the reliable chatter box Stiles wasn't short. Turning himself into a word of the day calendar as he offered up a word to fill in the silence.

"An abomination."

At that our Alpha nodded in agreement, and I felt a shiver run down my back at the thought. It was a strong word to use, abomination, but it felt right to describe the Kanima. At least when compared to Werewolves. We might not be perfect, but I knew as a species we weren't monsters, not unless we chose to be. But this thing…I'd call it a monster, if abomination didn't seem to fit so much better. And to make the whole thing worse, it seemed to be stronger and more deadly than even we were.

Our Alpha then nodded, turning to leave. Me and Erica went to follow until Scott called to him and we all turned back. "We need to work together on this," Scott insisted, which for a brief moment made me think he was agreeing to join the Pack. I began to smile at the thought, of him finally conceding. But then he continued and my smile dropped. "Maybe even tell the Argents."

I didn't have to voice my thoughts on that idea, as Derek spoke up for all of us. "You trust them?"

"Nobody trusts anyone!" Scott replied with a raised voice, but still in control. "That's the problem. While we're here, arguing about who's on what side, there's something scarier, stronger and faster than any of us, and it's killing people. And we still don't know anything about it!"

Derek met Scott's panicked stare with his own calm and level one. "I know one thing, when I find it. I'm gonna kill it," Derek declared, turning as he finished and leading me and Erica away from the Omega and his friend.

Derek's car was parked on the other side of the lot, meaning we were able to put plenty distance between us and Scott. Something I was grateful for considering what happened next.

Like the good Betas we were, me and Erica escorted out Alpha back to his car, before planning to return to our own. But once we reached his car, rather than getting in, Derek turned to face us both and we stopped. "Where was Boyd?"

"Excuse me?" Erica asked, despite the fact he was looking directly at me.

"When I texted you earlier. I thought you'd bring Boyd with you. Why didn't you? You said he'd be with you tonight," Derek pointed out, reminding me of something I'd forgotten about in all the chaos. Boyd. The Werewolf who I'd let play lacrosse despite the fact he was only a few days turned. And I knew full well it had been a mistake to let him do that. Now came the aforementioned killing of me, at Derek's hands.

"He was with us tonight," I answered, already lowering my head but maintaining eye contact. Trying my best to take my punishment like a grown-up, or at the very least the admission of my guilt.

"So why didn't you bring him with you?" Derek repeated calmly, those waiting green eyes refusing to blink as they stared back at me. I braved a glance over to Erica, seeing that she too had tensed. Shoulders raised, head pushing down as she tried to send supportive thoughts through her brown eyes. It was appreciated.

I closed my eyes, taking in a brave breath before then turning back to my Alpha and meeting his gaze. "He didn't come with me…because he was playing lacrosse with the school team." Derek's glare instantly intensified, so much so that I was wincing before he even opened his mouth to speak.

"You let him play!" Derek growled.

"In her defence–" Erica tried to say, but Derek silenced her instantly.

"Be quiet," he snapped, and she was, as his gaze moved back onto me. But I was no longer brave enough to meet his furious eyes. "What were you thinking?! He's not got control over his shifts yet, over his eyes even, and you thought letting him play lacrosse was a good idea!"

"No," I protested feebly. I could have gone on, but that would involve throwing Boyd under the bus and that wasn't something a Pack brother, or sister, did. The truth is I could have stopped him, but didn't, for several reasons, none of which would excuse me without getting Boyd in more trouble than he probably was already in.

When I failed to say anything else, Derek filled the silence with his very loud, deep, angry, breaths. "Do you have any idea what could have happened tonight?" I did, but knew saying so would only land me in more trouble, so I wisely kept my mouth shut. "He could have shifted, he could have exposed us!"

"I know." The whispered apology came out before I could stop it.

"And yet you let him play!" Derek snapped, growling as his eyes flashed a blazing red. I'd failed him, I'd let him down, and in that moment I wasn't sure which was worse. How badly and ashamed I felt, or how angry and disappointed I'd made him, my Alpha.

Thankfully, he took a calming breath, one that allowed his eyes to return to normal as he inhaled and exhaled, over and over. Until finally he spoke again, the disappointment clear in his voice, if it hadn't been before. "Go home. I don't want to look at you right now."

That stung, worse than anything else that had ever been said to me by a single person. The blatant order from the man who'd helped me become who I was now, the man was the most important thing to me other than Erica. My Alpha. And now he didn't even want me. I'd failed him that badly. And after just a few nights ago, when he told me what his hopes were for me. For me to become his righthand. His Second.

"D–D–Derek–" I tried to speak, tried to apologise, to gain back some of the ground I'd lost, but he wasn't having it. Not tonight.

"I said LEAVE!" he roared, eyes once again flashing red as I jumped back, seeing the side of my Alpha that terrified me right to my core. The monster he could become on command.

I couldn't argue with him now, now that he'd made the same order twice, now that he'd scared me to an inch from a heart attack. I stepped back, several steps, his gaze still on me. His disappointed and ashamed gaze. My heart was racing, beating so fast I was certain it would explode if I stayed and let those green eyes fill me up with anymore self-hatred. I wanted to cry, but I didn't want him to see, and that conflict finally managed to make me move. I turned away, and no matter how much I wanted to sprint, to run from the scene, I calmly walked back to my car.

Erica followed, head lowered and just as quiet as I was until we were in the car. And right then it hit me, the real power Derek had over us, as our Alpha. He might have turned us into Werewolves, given us powers beyond belief and brought us into a different world. But his true power was in his words, making us believe we could be something different, something better than what we had been pre-bite. It was because of him that me and Erica were who we were now. And just as quickly as he made us, he could turn us back, evidenced by my sudden break down and stutter, while Erica sat quietly in the seat next to me. Holding me in the most comforting way possibly. I'd sworn we'd never go back, and I'd broke that promise. I'd not only failed my Alpha tonight, I'd failed Erica. And that was why that night was, without a doubt, the worst night of my life.

And it had started out so well…