Author's Note: Thank you so much to Iris RainbowWolf, Poppies and Cornflowers, and Rose Spooks for reviewing! I really appreciate it! I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

Chapter 19

Amy hated going to school, because it meant that the only two members of the pack who did not come with them were Derek and Lyssa. She did not suspect that anything was going on between the two. She did not even suspect that Lyssa was attracted to Derek, as she had given her absolutely no indication that she was. This, in itself, she found strange, since Derek Hale was certainly one of the most attractive men she had ever laid eyes on. As such, it made sense that women were prone to flirting with him, even when she was present. Lyssa made no such advances. At. All. And certainly, she trusted Derek to be faithful.

But the more time the pair of them spent together alone, she worried, the more likely this was to change. The more likely Derek was to come to trust her, the more likely he was to defend her, even against the other members of his pack. Their pack.

Amy was simply anticipating turmoil that might arise, but had not yet arisen. She had no proof that anything inappropriate was going on, or that Lyssa was truly untrustworthy.

When she got home, she and Isaac informed Derek of what they had learned about the Kanima. Lyssa was already there when they arrived.

"So, someone's controlling it," Derek reasoned.

"Seems like it," Isaac replied gravely.

"Who, though?" Amy questioned.

"Well, clearly that's what we need to find out," said Lyssa, re-crossing her legs prissily on the sofa.

"I still say it's the Argents," Amy huffed.

"Lyssa was right before – they do have a code," Derek contradicted. "I can't imagine they would try to fight fire with fire like this, especially when we're the ones on the defense."

"Gerard is a sick, twisted man," Amy snarled, balling her fists by her side. Even the mere thought of him made her seethe. "I wouldn't put anything past him."

"You're right," Derek allowed gravely, wholly sharing her sentiments. "But Gerard still has to report to the rest of the family."

The room became hushed as everyone was absorbed in their own separate musings.

"What's going to happen with Mrs. Argent?" Isaac asked eventually.

Derek's intense gaze bore into his. "I don't know," he replied, "but their code dictates that she must die."

Amy's eyes widened considerably. "But Allison…"

"I don't know if they will… you know," Derek interrupted, "but that's what the code says they have to do – what she has to do. Technically she's supposed to do it herself."

"You bit her?" Lyssa asked in appalled disbelief, clearly out of the loop on this matter.

"Yeah," Derek said, brooding. He put his hands together in a prayer-like motion and stared off into the distance, as he sometimes did when he regretted his actions.

"You did what you had to," Amy admitted coldly. She couldn't care less what happened to any of the Argents besides Allison – in fact, she wanted them dead. But she tried to force herself to be compassionate for her friend's sake. She knew what it meant to lose a parent, and she wouldn't wish such pain on even her worst enemy.

Around dinnertime, Lyssa left the apartment.

"Derek, can I talk to you in private for a sec?" Amy asked, heading into their bedroom.

Wordlessly, Derek followed.

After he had closed the door behind them (and even though they were fairly certain Isaac could still hear them), Amy said, "We all spoke at lunch today… And we think Lyssa is up to something."

His expression was unreadable until he sighed exasperatedly, "Amy, we have gone over this a million times! I'm not having this conversation again."

"But it's not just me who's suspicious now!" she protested hotly.

"Where is this coming from, then?"

"We don't get why she would have made up the hunter story."

"So now you're assuming she made it up?"

"Oh, come on! You're a lot of things, Derek Hale, but you're not naïve. You know that whole thing was a crock of shit. Why would she lie? And right after she shows up this new Kanima thing appears?"

"I don't think she was lying – she already explained herself – "

"Why are you defending her?!" she shouted, cutting him off.

"I'm not! I'm trying to be logical! I've spent more time with her than you have, Amy. I'm not saying we should trust her fully, but so far it's been weeks and she's given us no reason to doubt her. She did save your life, remember?"

Amy ran her blunt nails though her hair in frustration. "I don't get it," she said, monotone. "I don't get why you can't see it. You of all people."

"I think I should trust my instincts on this one, and I'm not getting a bad feeling about her…"

"Because you're usually such a good judge of character," she spat spitefully, before she could stop herself. Both knew she was referencing Kate.

Derek flinched slightly, wounded by the unexpected cruelty of her words. Amy realized her mistake immediately.

"I'm sorry," she recanted, starting towards him.

He backed out of her reach.

"No, you're right," he said with a stony glare. "I have a girlfriend who goes behind my back and turns the rest of the pack against one of the other members. Clearly I'm a great judge of character." His tone could have cut steel.

Amy's features contorted into a look of deep remorse. "You know that's not what I'm doing."

"Then what are you doing?"

"I'm just trying to do what's best for this pack, like you are."

"So you think you know better than I do," he snapped.

"No, that's not what I mean!" Her argument tapered out, and she could only turn away from him in anger and disappointment. She was not going to gain any headway in this argument, not until Lyssa did something concrete.

"We've talked about this enough," he said, voice unusually gravelly. "We've fought about this enough."

She agreed. But now there was another issue tugging at her chest. "After all we've been through, you still don't trust me," she replied softly.

He furrowed his dark brow. "That's not what this is about."

She turned towards him again, expression earnest. "But it is."

Derek opened his mouth to speak, but faltered; Amy took the opportunity to leave before any excuses could slip off his tongue.

XXXXX

Amy went straight to Stiles' house after her argument with Derek. If ever there were someone who understood her, it was Stiles. She often thought she got along better with him than she did with Derek. Sure, she was close friends with the rest of the pack, too, but she felt a more comfortable rapport with Stiles, especially after what had come to pass between her family and Allison's. And even before, she had always felt that her temperament had been more similar to Stiles'.

She knocked on the front door, only to be greeted by Sheriff Stilinski.

His lined face twisted into a crooked smile. "Hello, Amy. It's been a while since you last dropped by."

With only a moment's hesitation, she replied, "Hi, Sheriff. Is Stiles here?"

"He is," he allowed. He turned and called his son's name into the house. Soon, Stiles treaded into view.

"Amy?" He seemed just as surprised to see her as his father did. Once he reached the door and Amy had stepped inside, Sheriff Stilinski left them to converse on their own.

"What's up?" Stiles asked as they climbed the stairs to the privacy of his bedroom.

"I need to talk to you about something," she said cryptically. "A theory."

Once they were behind closed doors, Stiles plopped on the edge of his bed and asked, "What is it?"

"I think Lyssa might be the Kanima," she stated rather bluntly.

His eyebrows arched in solemn reflection. "What makes you think that?"

"Don't you think it's strange that this thing appears not too long after she appears out of nowhere?"

"Well, yeah, but there's been a lot of strange shit going on besides just that. Plus, we've seen her change – we know she's a werewolf."

"And so we also know she's been bitten," she countered. "What if she's both?"

"Is that even possible?"

Amy shrugged. "At this point, I think it's safe to assume anything's possible. We don't know where she was the night Scott's mom was attacked."

"Yeah, but someone is controlling the Kanima, right? We don't need to find out who the Kanima is so much as we need to find out who's controlling it. Lyssa's not really involved with anyone in Beacon Hills besides us, and god knows I don't think any of us are controlling her."

He had a point. "True," she conceded, "but I just can't shake the feeling that she's involved somehow. Maybe she's not the Kanima, then, but she's controlling it. She was quiet during that whole conversation, remember? So focused on the computer, not making eye contact…"

"Maybe," Stiles permitted.

Amy crossed her arms and shifted her weight from one leg to the other, refusing to sit down. "I'm not gonna feel safe around her until we get her and the Kanima in the same room and see them interact," she announced.

Stiles looked at his hands for a moment before replying, "That's not a bad idea. So, how are we gonna lure the thing?"

"Well, we know it's after Scott…"

"Use Scott as bait?"

"I know how it sounds, but we're not exactly swimming in options…"

"When? How?"

"The page Allison found said they derive their power from the moon, right? So why not the next full moon?"

"For all we know, it might be coming after him anyway," he pointed out grimly.

"Exactly. That's why we need to be prepared. We have to anticipate when it might strike. The full moon seems like a safe bet."

Stiles reclined back on his bed, clearly stressed out. As he stared at the ceiling, he asked, "What's with this vendetta against Lyssa? I get that the girl's suspicious, but you're taking this to a whole 'nother level. This is like round two of the Spanish Inquisition."

"We've gone over this."

"Derek's not gonna cheat on you," said Stiles with a strange confidence.

She made a face of puzzlement at his declaration, but instead of addressing it said, "It's not so much that. I just have this feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something about her puts me off – it's almost familiar, like when you hate someone as a kid but you both grow up and even though you don't recognize them at first you still have this bad feeling about them. It's really hard to explain."

"I've never experienced that," he snorted. "That's weirdly specific."

"I don't know," she said more softly. "It's almost like Derek feels the opposite way. One of us has to be wrong."

Stiles sat up abruptly and looked her square in the eye. "Very wrong," he corrected.

"I hope it's me," she told him, "I hope she really is on our side, I hope that I eat my words. I do, I hope I'm wrong. But I don't think I am."

XXXXX

Amy returned home very late that same night. When she crept into the apartment, her two roommates were already asleep. Relieved that she did not have to speak with Derek, she slipped into bed beside him and took great care not to brush against him in any capacity.

That night, as she slept, she had that same nightmare about being chased by an Alpha.

When she woke, thankfully, she was still in bed, not in the woods.

Author's Note: Let me know what you think! Who do you think the Kanima is? Who do you think's controlling it? Please review! Oh, and also let me know what you thought of last night's season premiere!