After wrapping her midsection in gauze and medical tape, I sat down on the edge of the toilet seat and looked at her, eye-to-eye. "What happened to you?" I asked. She sighed. "It's hard to… remember everything." Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment as she struggled with the memories. "My alpha-Damien- he was killed by hunters. They found us one town over. They'd been tracking us. I was the only one that survived." She looked lost in the memory of something horrific. Her eyes welled with tears for a moment, one of them spilling over onto her cheek. I quickly handed her a piece of toilet paper, and waited for her to continue as she wiped the tears away. She took a deep breath, and continued. "When I got here this morning, it was still dark. They ambushed me, and spent the day torturing me." I flinched at the word "tortured". It made me think about my family. "When they left me alone, I managed to get away. I spent a few hours in the woods, running from them. Then I found your scent. I made sure I lost them first before coming here." She said. Well, she was smart for losing them. "I didn't want them to follow me here. Especially if they ended up finding you guys." She explained. I nodded. "Thank you for taking care of me." She said quietly. I nodded. "Stay here- I'm sure I have some clothes that will fit you." I said. She nodded, as I got up and walked through the bedroom and into the main room. Derek stood leaning against the subway car, his arms crossed over his chest. "I need to get her some clothes." I said, implying that he needed to come with me. He nodded. "Erica." I said, looking over at her where she sat on the stairs. "Go talk to her. See what she can tell you." I said. She nodded, getting up and making her way through Derek's room as we headed up the steps.
As we reached my car, I thought for a moment. "Looks like Beacon Hills is a magnet for the supernatural." I muttered, putting the keys in the ignition. He sat in the passenger's seat, his muscles stiff and rigid. I could see the wolf lurking under his human exterior- internally pacing as he thought the situation over. I pulled my door shut and sped off, quickly making it to my house. I walked up the steps and unlocked the door, Derek matching me stride for stride. I walked up the stairs to my room and grabbed my Adidas bag, pulling out a few pairs of jeans and a few tank tops. "What are we gonna do?" I asked, closing my drawer and pulling the strings to close my bag. I bit my lip, watching as he thought it over. "She came looking for a pack, Derek." I said. He looked at me for a minute. "She could be a liability…" He began. I felt something inside me brake a little. "Derek, we can't leave her on her own. She'll die. You know it. I know it. Hell, she knows it. That's why she was looking for a pack." He seemed closed off to the idea of letting her in the pack. But even suggesting we send her off on her own was insane. "Derek- that was me once!" I said, feeling the tears well in my eyes. "I was alone, just like her. I had Louise though- who does she have?! She doesn't have anyone. And that guaranteed that she will die. I know where she is right now- we can't let her die." It seemed insane for me to defend a girl I barely knew. But in a way she reminded me of myself. I knew what she was feeling. I knew what kind of things she had seen- things she had heard. I wouldn't let her go through this alone. I refused to do so.
His jaw clenched, and for a moment I thought he would say that she was on her own. But he let out a breath and nodded. "Okay. You're right. The Argents won't hesitate to kill her if she's on her own." He said. I took a deep breath, only then realizing that I'd been crying. I was shaking now, as I lifted a hand and wiped away the tears. I nodded silently, some-what ashamed that I'd cried in front of him. I tended to keep things like that to myself. Sighing, I turned around for a moment and grabbed a pair of extra shoes I had, thinking about how she was bare foot when we found her. Putting them in the bag, I felt his hand on my shoulder, and I turned to look up at him, letting the bag fall to the floor. His hand moved up to cup the side of my face, and I leaned into his touch. It was comforting. I closed my eyes, as his lips connected with mine for the briefest moment. It was warm, and slow, and left a lingering fire in my skin. But it felt like home for once, a rarity I barely ever got the pleasure of enduring. After, he pulled me against him, his arms around my waist. The embrace last for only a single moment- but it was the moment of complete irrevocability: I knew we were mates. And I was sure he did too.
On the way back to the "not so abandoned" basement, I thought about Amy. I wondered how she'd ended up like this. Was it birth? Was she bitten? As the questions flooded my mind, we pulled into the alley, quickly heading inside. Erica, Boyd, and Isaac sat on the opposite stairwell as we entered the room. "She'd not very talkative." Erica said, looking up at me from where she sat talking to Isaac. I went into Derek's room while he waited in the main room by the subway car. As I walked into the bathroom, I saw that she had barely moved an inch. "Erica's nice." She murmured, as I handed her the bag. I nodded, watching as she opened it and peered inside. "Thank you." She said. I nodded. "I'll give you your privacy." I said, walking into the main room with the rest of the pack. A few minutes later, she came out wearing the jeans and a black tank top I had packed. I glanced over at Erica Isaac and Boyd as their conversation ceased. "Thanks." She said, looking up at me. I nodded. "You said you came here looking for a pack." Boyd said, getting up and moving toward her. She nodded, glancing down at the floor. He walked up to her and held out his hand. She shook it, a slight smile quirking her lips upward. "Boyd." He said. "Amy." She said. He backed up slightly as Isaac and Erica came forward. Erica leaned against the subway car and watched as Isaac introduced himself. "Isaac." He said, shaking her hand. She nodded silently. "I'm Selene by the way." I said. She looked over at me and gave a shy smile and a nod. "You can say with us." Derek said. She looked up at him then, relief flooding her features. "Thank you. Thank you so much- I mean, I would have died if you hadn't found me." She said, glancing back and forth between the two of us. "Well- technically you found us." I said light heartedly. She smiled an honest smile at that, glancing back over at Boyd for a moment before her eyes found the floor again. Oh. So that's what was going on here. Trying to hide my grin, I lead Derek into his room, shutting the door behind me so that we could talk.