Sitting on the couch with one leg beneath the other one and an arm against the top of the couch, Vanessa listened with a smile as Raven rambled before she could speak properly.

"I just... When you told me you were coming back here, you didn't look happy. You looked angry and sad and almost afraid, so I got worried and you know how paranoid I am. At one point, I feared someone was holding you against your will or threatening you! Silly, I know." Raven ranted, to whicy Vanessa only laughed at. "I'm serious, McCall! Are you alright?"

"Rae, I'm fine. I promise." She smiled and watched her relax slowly. "I just don't like this town, that's all. You don't have to go all detective on me."

"Okay, if you say so. Then I guess I can go back home." Raven murmured and got up from the couch but Vanessa sighed and gently grabbed her hand.

"You don't... Have to go back home. I mean, I'm not planning on staying here for too long anyway and I'd be nice to have you here. With me." She proclaimed. Raven tried to suppress it but a wide grin spread across her face, which heavied Vanessa's heart a little. She adored Raven a lot but due to her past, she never really opened up to her or acted like a proper girlfriend.

"You sure? I don't want to intrude–"

"You're not." Both Vanessa and Scott said together. "I'd love to meet Vanessa's friends." Scott added. Raven shifted her weight from one foot to another and glanced at Vanessa.

"Girlfriend." Vanessa corrected.

"You have a girlfriend and you didn't tell me? What happened to being all honest, hm?" Scott folded his arms together and raised his eyebrows at her. Raven realized that he wasn't shocked by the fact that she was her girlfriend, just by the fact that she never told him.

"Wait, you're not..." Raven began but couldn't find the right words.

"I don't care." Scott shrugged, getting her point.

"Wow, I'd be an amazing mom. Look what a great job I did with you." Vanessa chuckled and pursed her lips.

"How long have you two been together?" He asked curiously and sat down on the couch too.

"Well, we've known each other for a little bit over a year... It should be about five months since we decided to be more than just friends with benefits." Vanessa said, frowning and scrunching her nose like she did whenever she was thinking.

"Can't believe it's been over a year." Raven smiled and shook her head weakly.

"So are you staying here?" Scott asked and she vigorously shook her head.

"No, I don't wanna intrude like that. I'll just rent a motel room." Raven answered and smiled gratefully at him.

"Well, then I'm staying with you. And we might as well rent that room now to get it over with." Vanessa said and got up from her seat. "I'll see you later, cabrón. Stay safe." She added and used to fingers to point at her eyes and then him, subtly telling him that she's keeping an eye on him.

"Don't call him a goat. Or a jackass." Raven placed a hand against her chest and frowned at Vanessa, who broke out in a giggle.

"You're spanish?" Scott chuckled and leaned back in the couch.

"Mexican." She winked before leaving with her girlfriend.

Vanessa and Raven decided to walk to the local motel because of two reasons. One: Beacon Hills was literally one of the smallest towns they could imagine and two: they needed to catch up a little. Even if Vanessa only had been back home for a day, she and Raven hadn't seen each other for weeks before that.

"... So I finally caught that thief!" Raven expressed with such relief and happiness, hands clenching in the air in front of her. "He was such a pain in the ass."

"Yeah, I know. Your work room was littered with clues from his case." Vanessa laughed and then pursed her lips. "But congrats, even though I always knew you'd catch him eventually."

Raven smiled softly at her as they reached the motel, her eyes slowly turning from Vanessa to the receptionist. After a minute or so, the receptionist handed them each a key and they searched for their room. Inside it, Raven placed her bag on the floor and let her jacket slid down her arms and on top of the bed.

"Scott seems really nice." Raven smiled and sat down on the middle of the bed.

"He is. And I think he likes you already." Vanessa licked her lips and carefully straddled her, arms wrapped around her girlfriend's neck.

"Must be kinda overwhelming to have you back and then I come out of nowhere..." Raven sighed and placed her hands gently on Vanessa's hips, which sent shivers down her legs.

"Hey, I'm glad you're here." Vanessa lifted Raven's chin up, using her bent index finger. "I really am. But... There's a lot of things you don't know about me and this town. I could tell you but you probably wouldn't believe me and you'd be better off not knowing. So just always stay by my side, okay?"

Vanessa put her bottom lip between her teeth and examined her face. Raven's expression journey wasn't too long but it was important. At first her eyebrows were frowned and her lips tight, but then she slowly evolved into having a soft look and a side smile.

"There's nowhere I'd rather be, McCall." Raven said quietly, her deep and genuine voice making Vanessa inhale deeply and crack a wide smile. "And whenever you're ready to tell me..."

"I just need to be really sure about us, you know? For your sake." She stated, a concerned and thoughtful look on her face. "Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, but honey, I'm a cop. There's literally nothing I haven't seen." Raven chuckled and pursed her lips. While that was partly true, Vanessa cocked her head sideways and made a face.

"Trust me, there are still some things you have yet to see but that can wait til another day. Right now..." Vanessa whispered by the end before she moved some of Raven's hair from one shoulder to another and then kissed her neck.

"Mhm, I hate it when you do that..." Raven murmured and tugged Vanessa's shirt up by caressing her waist with her thumbs. "I know it's only been some days but..."

"A girl's gotta eat." Vanessa smirked and then pressed her lips against Raven's.

"Don't." Raven scrunched her face and shook her head before laughing.

Both giggling, Vanessa slowly pulled Raven's shirt off and moments later, the two caught up with what they had missed those past days. They lost track of time after about forty minutes later, so when Raven picked up her phone as the two were after-cuddling under the sheets she smirked and played with Vanessa's hair.

"I don't wanna leave this bed." Vanessa sighed and traced circles against Raven's upper chest.

"I'd agree but I really need a shower..." Raven smiled sheepishly, making her girlfriend roll her eyes and prop herself up with her elbows against the bed supporting her.

"Fine. Burst our little bubble, you heartless human being." Vanessa exaggarated as she sat up completely and threw her arms in the air. Grinning widely, Raven kissed Vanessa's cheek before she jumped off the bed and toward the bathroom.

Vanessa looked down at her spread out clothes and pouted with her lips in thought. Instead of taking her own clothes, she borrowed something comfier from Raven considering their fashion styles were so different. To her surprise, someone lightly knocked on the door. She hesitated but ended up opening the door anyway, only to reveal Derek standing in front of her with his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Hey." He said. She gave him a funny look since he didn't add anything to it.

"How did you know where I was?" She asked and frowned suspiciously at him.

"I asked Scott and he said you were at the motel. Anyway, I know we talked earlier but there's something I forgot to say." He shrugged.

"Okay, you need to stop stealing my clothes and buy yourself something comfy too." Raven chuckled as she approached Vanessa in merely a towel, folding her arms together. Then she noticed the man by the door and walked to the side so half her body was behind Vanessa's. Vanessa mentally facepalmed and sighed with her eyes closed.

"Never mind." Derek muttered, turned around and walked away.

"One sec." Vanessa held a finger up at Raven before she hurried after her old friend. "Stop walking!"

Even now, Derek still listened to Vanessa. He cursed under his breath when it was impossible for him not to stop walking. Her voice still held somethinf over him and he hated that. Slowly turning around, he stared at her with a blank expression that she was sure held so many emotions underneath.

"What?"

"Don't look at me like that, Hale. It's been four years." She lightly shook her head and dropped her hands beside her body to make her point stronger.

"Exactly. It's been four years, Nessa! Four years of absolutely nothing from you and then you come back and you're in a relationship?! How fair is that?"

"It doesn't matter if it's fair or not. I am allowed to move on and be happy." She said through gritted teeth.

"Move on from me?" Derek stated, a hint of hurt in his voice.

"There was no us to move on from." She sighed and looked at him softly. "Yes, it might not have fair of me to never contact you and not say goodbye but we were never... I don't know what we were. And you wanna talk fair? How about the fact that you kissed me, then became Paige's boyfriend, may her soul rest in peace, and then lastly you dated Kate despite me warning you about her. None of that was fair of you, so don't give me shit just because I did one thing wrong."

While he took in her words, she looked to the side and closed her eyes. Thinking about both Paige and Kate weighted them both down considering both girls had made such a huge impact on their lives, his especially.

"I think I have a good lead on the alpha. I'm going on tomorrow night to track him. Are you coming with me?" Derek finally asked and she slowly but steadily nodded. "Good. See you tomorrow." He murmured and left.

Vanessa herself hurried back to the motel room and set her eyes on Raven, who was doing something on her phone. She looked up when the door opened though and sent Vanessa a soft smile, the one that always managed to calm her nerves. Raven sinply had the power to make a day better regardless.

"You okay?" She asked as she put her phone away.

"Yeah."

"Please don't lie to me." She sighed and tilted her head sideways. Vanessa frowned in question and stared at her. "You moved your foot. You always do that when you lie."

"Gods." Vanessa murmured as she remember when Derek had noticed the same thing years ago. Then she cursed at her feet for moving against her will. "Look, it's... You know what, come with me."

Raven didn't ask twice when Vanessa suggsted they go somewhere else, which ended up being a quiet corner in the local park. After a moment of silence, Vanessa inhaled deeply and turned her gaze to Raven.

"What's bothering you?" Raven asked softly and pursed her lips concerned.

"We're pretty serious at this point, right?" Vanessa asked and pulled her fingers through her hair.

"I think we are. Don't you?"

"I do. Which is why you need to know that there are things about me you don't know. And I don't mean stuff like my favorite color. I just don't know if I should tell you or not and how to tell you if I did. I mean, you wouldn't believe me. I wouldn't believe me. And the thing about this secret is that it isn't just about me."

"You don't have to tell me. I'm not asking you to." Raven smiled and seized her hand carefully, intertwining their fingers.

"But I want to. Because if I don't, you're in danger. That's the last thing I want."

"Okay, now you're scaring me." Raven said when she noticed the deeply troubled expression on Vanessa's face.

"I'm–" Vanessa began but quickly cut herself off when a figure walked some distance away from them. Her chest tightened when Chris Argent walked beside another man and glanced her way. Her grip of Raven's hand unintentionally tightened, too much for a regular human.

"Ow, ow, McCall, you're hurting me." Raven gasped and tried to wiggle her hand free. Vanessa hastily drew her hand away and turned her eyes back to her girlfriend.

"Oh gods, I'm so sorry." Vanessa apologized and stood up. "We need to go."

"Damn, where did that strength come from?" Raven whispered in amazement and rubbed her hurt hand.

"Come on." Vanessa loosely wrapped her arm around Raven's waist and dragged her away from the park. Chris seemed to freeze for a mere second before shaking his head and continuing to walk.

"Seriously, what's going on?" Raven sighed and pouted a little at her girlfriend. Once they were far enough from the park, Vanessa let go of her and pulled her fingers through her hair.

"There's just so much to tell. I don't wanna overwhelm you."

"Then start with the core to it all." Raven shrugged and folded her arms together. Vanessa stayed silent, mentally contemplating whether or not she should tell her and how she would. It's easy to say but hard to make one believe.

"Remember when we met?" Vanessa asked as a weak smile grew on her face. "The day I stupidly walked over a street without looking and you stupidly ran me over? I should've gotten hurt. Badly. But I didn't. I didn't even get a bruise. You, for some reason, didn't seem to find that strange. Instead you asked me to hang out. The point is, I wasn't hurt. I should've been."

"What are you saying, that you're some enhanced super-human?" Raven suggested while trying to wrap her mind around that idea.

"Not exactly. Switch the human part with supernatural instead." Vanessa cocked her head sideways and bit on her bottom lip. Raven blinked at her and dropped her hands beside her body quietly. "A werewolf, to be exact."

"That's hilarious."

"I'm serious."

"No way."

"Yes way."

"Show me." A piece of excitement sparked alive on Raven's face, which made the lump in Vanessa's throat and weight on her shoulders slowly dissolve. Vanessa then knew that she wanted Raven to know because she really, really liked her and she wanted to stay with her. Clenching her hands, her eyes heated up as they turned vibrant red and then she unclenched her hands, revealing her claws. "Holy shit. This is awesome!"

"Say what now?" Vanessa raised one eyebrow and transformed back to normal.

"You're actually a werewolf! I can't believe I'm saying these words. My girlfriend's a werewolf." She gushed, gaping in shock and amazement.

"You genuinely think it's cool?"

"Uh, duh? Everyone dreams of being a supernatural creature! This is–" Raven cut herself off once Vanessa's expression changed. She realized maybe it wasn't Vanessa's dream and of course she wouldn't ramble like that if it pained her. "Sorry."

"No, don't apologize. I get it. I used to think the idea was awesome too when I was young. But being a supernatural creature for real... It has its cons as well. Which is why I wanted to tell you — you're not safe here."

"I'm with you, aren't I? Besides... I'm a cop. I know basic self-defense. With my knowledge and your powers, no one's got a chance against us." Raven smirked before stepping closer and softly kissing Vanessa.

"Just promise me you'll be careful, Rae, and to stay away from the people I'm gonna warn you about." Vanessa mumbled and tucked some of Raven's hair behind her ear.

"I promise." Raven whispered and held up her pinky finger. Vanessa rolled her eyes with a grin on her face before pinky swearing it with Raven.