Apologies because this is really short and just in case there's any OOC on the characters.

Let me know what you think.

Chapter Two: Visceral

Derek pulled the T-shirt over his head and listened intently to downstairs.

"So, how old are you?" He heard Isaac ask.

Derek could hear the little huff of breath from Isaac a while later when Ruby didn't answer.

He threw on his jacket and leapt down the steps, landing quieter than a mouse at the bottom. He walked in to see Isaac lounging in a burnt chair and Ruby huddled up on the couch that had no legs left to lift it. Derek leaned against the threshold and looked over at Ruby, who was playing with a loose thread on her dress. She looked up at him with her wide, innocent eyes. He sighed and looked over at Isaac, who had his head tilted back with his arm hanging over his eyes. Isaac peeked out from underneath his sleeve and asked, "How did you find her again?"

"I don't know," Derek told him. He gave a pointed look over to Ruby, "How did I find you?"

She shrugged her shoulder at his attempt to get her to talk. Derek sighed again. She hadn't said a word since she'd seen Isaac.

Derek sat on the couch closer to her. "You don't have to be scared of Isaac."

Ruby scooted closer to the edge and buried her head in her arms. Derek looked over to Isaac, who shrugged his shoulders.

"Are you hungry?" Derek asked her. Ruby looked up and nodded. "What do you want? We have some bars."

Ruby gave him a confused look and he said, "Granola bars. Blueberry."

She sat up a little straighter and nodded again.

Derek looked to Isaac and Isaac got up to get the granola bars.

When he was gone, Derek asked, "How old are you, Ruby?"

Ruby sat closer to him and answered quietly, "Six."

"Do you have any parents? Someone you belong to?"

Ruby waited a few seconds to think before shaking her head. "No. Do you belong to anyone?"

Derek looked down and said, "Not anymore."

Ruby sat a little closer to him and asked, "Do you have my coat?"

"Yes, I do. But I'll wash it first, alright?" He told her.

Ruby nodded and Isaac decided to come in and hand her a granola bar. She sunk into Derek's side and he took the granola bar for her. He unwrapped it halfway and held it to her. She looked at it catiously before taking a big bite out of it.

Derek started to get up and Ruby grabbed his shirt. He took her hand away gently and said, "I'll just talk to Isaac and be right back, okay?"

Ruby sat down again and ate her granola bar. It tasted good and was almost the first thing she'd eaten in quite a long time.

About a day to Ruby was considered very threatening to her health. Her mommy told her she should eat so she could be big and strong.

Ruby sniffled at the thought of her mommy.

She tried to listen in on what the wolves were discussing, but they were talking too quietly.

When they came back in, Ruby took another bite of her granola bar as to not look suspicious.

Derek sat by her again and she snuggled in closer. His scent was nice and welcoming. It wasn't like Isaac's was bad but it wasn't as welcoming to her.

Derek looked down at Ruby. She was tucked into his side again and he thought about pushing her back a bit, but it felt nice to be wanted again. So he let her stay by him.

Her little body was warm, but Derek could feel her shivering slightly underneath him.

"Cold?" Derek asked. Ruby nodded and held out the wrapper. Derek threw it in the little bin by the door like a basketball and shrugged out of his jacket, wrapping it around her like a blanket.

Ruby put her tiny arms through the sleeves and balled up the other half of the sleeve in her palms, zipping it up and burying her face in his soft, cotton shirt. Derek hesitantly wrapped his arm around her.

She'd been in his sight only a few hours and he felt protective of her. He decided it was because of his alpha-instincts.

A few minutes later, he heard her little puffs of breath and her steady heartbeat.

"What do we do with her?" Isaac asked. "Erica and Boyd are gonna freak when they see a six-year-old in here."

Derek looked over at Isaac. They both spoke in hushed tones as they discussed it.

"I guess we keep her here until we find out who she belongs to." Derek said.

Isaac nodded, "We could ask Stiles to do a search for missing kids. His dad's gotta have it somewhere."

Derek noticed how Isaac's tone barely went down an octave as he said the word "Dad". He felt a pang of sympathy for the boy, but quickly shoved it away.

They had other things to worry about.

"Ask him tomorrow at school," Derek told him. "I'll ask her last name when she wakes up."

Isaac nodded, "Where did I put those bars?" He stood up and began to sniff them out again.

Derek looked down at Ruby again.

He'd have to trust his gut on this one.