Hello everyone, did you miss me? ;-)

First off, I'd just like to apologize profusely for my extended absence. I won't bore you all with the details but I've had a rough couple of months since we last spoke and unfortunately the little muse who had kept this story going seemed to have deserted me during this time…until I found this draft for Chapter 8, which I have now edited and finally completed.

Second, thank you so much to the followers, reviewers, favorites etc. in my absence; you are what has fueled my passion for writing again and I can't thank you all enough.

But enough dick-suckery for now though, I've kept you in suspense long enough. Without further ado, here is Chapter 8 of The New Town Alpha.

XoxoxoxoxoX

"Scarlett Evangeline Keats! I swear to whatever gods exist that if you do not open this door right now, I'm going to kick it down!" Nick bellowed. He didn't sound angry anymore, although god knows he was livid when he started half an hour ago; now, he just sounded tired and exasperated.

"Nick, just leave it okay? I'm not coming out yet. I know I'm being selfish, I know I'm being irrational but you kicking down my bedroom door isn't going to change that. Just, please. Leave me be."

"But we need you Scarlett! The pack needs you, the girls need you…he needs you!"

Silent tears squeezed through my clamped eyelids and I buried the pained howl bubbling in my chest. I pulled my knees closer up to my chest and buried my head between them, trying to ignore the stabbing pain under my ribs. "Don't do this to me Nick. Just leave me be. Please."

I heard his sad sigh and imagined him leaning his forehead against the door wearily, so though to touch me and connect through the wood. "Fine. But this isn't over, not by a long shot." And with that he departed, his footsteps creaking on the stairs.

Once I was sure he was gone I straightened out my legs and lay down on my side, facing my open window. I knew it was dangerous, almost temptingly inviting to do so but I couldn't help it. Smelling the fresh pine, the damp earth…it was the only thing keeping me on the brink of sanity and the only way I was able to force myself out of bed for the last two weeks. Then again, it served as a form of self inflicted torture. Just a reminder of what I had been given but was too terrified and stubborn to embrace. The sun was setting once again on another wasted day spent pent up like a spoiled brat in my room. I could hear Nick talking on the phone with someone, presumably Erica who was the only member of the pack to still attempted to call every day. I felt drained and weak from crying and hadn't eaten a thing since yesterday afternoon. As my eyes fluttered, my fingers unconsciously reached for my shoulder to trace the puckered bite mark just near my neck. One more tear ran mournfully, quietly onto the bedspread before my eyes shut for good.

XoxoxoxoxoX

The dream was always the same. Except this time it wasn't a dream. It was a memory, playing over and over again in my unconscious mind. I loathed its very existence but in a bittersweet torture I yearned to watch it. It was something akin to having an outer body experience, I suppose. I could see everything as though it were playing on a big screen just for me, all by myself in the theatre of my mind.

As Derek's lips touched mine the night of the dance, it was like a fire had seeped into my veins and had taken over so quickly and ferociously that it could not be extinguished. It had started slowly, innocently enough but mere minutes later it was deep, hungry and passionate…a little too inappropriate to be taking place on a dance floor in the midst of the pack and the rest of the human teenagers. Derek pulled away reluctantly and I whined at the loss of contact. His eyes and mine were flashing red as he smirked down at me but it still held some sort of tender reverence to it. I knew at that moment the only keeping me from crumbling to the floor was his arm around my waist.

"We're leaving." He'd announced, not so much to me but to the pack who were watching with shit eating grins on their faces. It wasn't even a question; it was a command. The very thought now still had me shivering in delight. His arm was still tight and protective around my waist as he went to collect our coats and then headed quickly for the door.

We reached his hulking black Camero and before I could even open to the door to slid into the passenger seat, Derek had me pinned up against the door, his whole body flush with mine as he attacked my lips and my neck with frantic nips, kisses and licks. I was going to come undone (in a high school parking lot of all places!) if he didn't stop so I pushed him away but only so an inch separated us. I couldn't stand the thought of him being too far away at this moment.

"If you don't stop now, I'm afraid we're going to scar a lot of young, impressionable children." I panted, smirking as his eyes flashed again.

"What are we waiting for then?" he replied huskily, planting another sound kiss on my lips before practically leaping over the car and throwing open the door. I threw myself in the passenger seat, laughing and only just managed to close the door before he peeled out of the parking lot in a squeal of tires and acrid smoke. I had no idea where he was taking us but I didn't question it. In that brilliant moment of insanity I would have followed this man to the ends of the earth and back. It was silent between us; no words were really needed. I didn't care if Derek knew, if he had known all along or had just figured it out; all I knew was that I wanted him, I wanted to be mated to him and I wasn't about to let the stupid, irrational fears pinching at the back of my head take that away from me.

Ten minutes later we were pulling up in front of the subway station. I didn't wait for him to be a gentleman and open the door for me. By the time I had slammed the door shut he was on me again, hands everywhere but nowhere fast enough. I snaked my arms around his neck, one hand going to pull viciously at his dark hair so I could expose his neck to my hungry, wanton lips. I had barely registered him moving before we were at the bottom of the stairs and heading towards one of the makeshift beds in the train cars. The wind was knocked out of me for a brief second as my back met the surprisingly soft mattress, only to have Derek's heat and presence overwhelm and suffocate me seconds later. Our lips never left each other's skin, not even to tear the clothes from our bodies; the dress was ripped beyond comprehension, just scraps of tattered red silk.

Sweat had started to accumulate on our bodies as Derek pulled me up and flipped us so he was in a sitting position and I was seated in his lap. The fire between us seemed to have stoked and simmered some in the frantic rush from the dance to the station. Now was not about the attack or anything violently physical. Now was a time for exploration, searching the other's body and finding out what made them tick, the areas we'd always sought out in some small way or another. I ran my hands slowly over all over him, trying to savor his scent, the feel of the hard planes of his stomach underneath my hands, the muscles bunching up underneath his shoulders, the tattoo that rested on his back. His hands, so large and warm and perfect, drifted lazily and contentedly over my back, across my chest, through my hair and gently over my face as if committing it all to memory. We leant in and brushed our noses together, a sensation that was foreign and familiar at the same time.

"How long have you known?" he had asked suddenly. My eyes flew open, at a loss of how to respond. I wanted to lie, wanted to tell him it had come out of nowhere but it seemed that he'd been in the same state of denial that I had. No more lies. Not anymore.

"Since we first met, right here."

"Almost two months ago?" I nodded, albeit a little sheepishly. Derek smirked again and a little thrill of delight ran up my spine. "Then I guess we have a lot of time to make up for."

I turned my head slightly and began to nip at the column of his throat. "I suppose we do."

Derek growled, head tossed back. I felt one of his arms come under me, lifting me up and positioning me so I was directly above him. Slowly, almost torturously so, he lowered me so I became impaled, inch by inch, on him. I cried out, my voice echoing back to me in the empty station. I was a little unprepared for the girth and size but distracted myself by feasting on his lips again. Even now, replaying in my head I cannot describe the feel. Perfection? No, it didn't even come close to describing it. I felt full, safe, loved and needed; it was like every unconscious wish you never knew you had coming true all at once.

Slowly, Derek began to move his hips upward as I tried desperately to steady my breathing, clutching to his back. The rhythm was steady, deliberate but it sent shockwaves throughout my body. For a few brief moments, all I could do was hold on and whimper as he pulled out and then slowly slid back in, so I could feel every miniscule part of him. Soon I started to grind down as Derek thrust up, which he seemed to like if his growls and groans were anything to go by. We whispered urgently into the others ear; of what, I couldn't say or of its significance. I was too lost in Derek, in the building tension and heat between us and all the beautiful possibilities it held.

The pace became faster and harder, more guttural and primal. One particularly hard thrust had me clawing down his back, leaving small trails of blood in my wake. This had awakened the wolves in both of us, as Derek suddenly growled and flipped our positions, pinning me to the mattress while licking, nipping and sucking every small inch of skin he could get to. I mewled my approval and arched against his body, surprised at how quickly my wolf was willing to submit. Our growls and moans reverberated off the metals walls sounded twice as loud, the sound of slapping sweat soaked skin only added to the symphony of erotic sounds surrounding us in a heated cocoon.

Our movements became sloppy and frantic. I could hardly breathe for the heat of his body pressing down on mine, suffocating me but pulling me in deeper until I was on fire with the intensity of it all. I wound my legs around his hips to pull him in deeper…no matter how deep, how hard, it didn't feel like enough. Derek's growls shook me as his hands tangled hard and sharp in my hair, snapping my neck back almost uncomfortably so I could him in the eye. His eyes had changed and his canines descended.

"Tell me," he demanded. "You. Are. Mine." Each word was punctuated by a particularly hard thrust that had me crying out.

"I'm yours," I replied breathlessly. "Only yours."

"Fuck, Scarlett! Say it again, louder."

"You, Derek…oh fuck; yes…I belong to you Derek, no one else."

"Yes! Mine, forever." He snarled before his mouth descended swiftly on the junction between my neck and shoulder, biting down into my flesh. I felt the warmth of the blood flowing down my body as he latched on and the deepest, most guttural howl I've ever released came roaring from my mouth. It was pleasure and pain all at once and I didn't know what to do with myself. It was all too much; surely I would die from the heat, the pleasure, the pain? Instead of death, instinct took over and craned my neck to bite down onto Derek's shoulder, giving it the same treatment he had given mine. His head jerked back as he let out a loud and vicious howl, shaking the train car, the walls of the station.

My orgasm had hit without warning, so fast and brutal and bright that all I could do was arch up, body convulsing and howl, howl like my life depended on it. Derek's roar accompanied mine and I felt his heat and seed seep into me, heavy and thick but so damn erotic I almost demanded more.

It took almost fifteen minutes before I could hear our hearts beating normally and our breathing slowed. I could feel the skin on my shoulder slowly knitting itself together again, although it felt tight like a scar would remain. I hadn't known it would stay there so evidently and starkly, but it had. Nothing was said between us, although there was much to discuss. Nothing was done slowly, although we should have taken the utmost care. Instead, we simply lay there, Derek still on top of me whilst we smiled at one another, gently caressing and soothing hands along heated skin. Lips brushed softly and tentative as we let our bodies relax into the mattress and entwine our limbs, almost fused together. I rested my head over Derek's heart and it felt like home. My eyes felt heavy but I fought to keep them open. Derek seemed to notice this and chuckled, brushing strands of hair from my face and placing a chaste kiss on my forehead.

"Get some sleep; you don't have to stay awake. We can talk more in the morning. Besides, you'll need your strength."

I had looked up at him, eyebrow raised. "Oh really? Well, maybe I have enough strength already."

In the blink of an eye I found myself hoisted over Derek, arms hard and tight, keeping me close. "Don't make promises you can't keep Scarlett."

I smirked and leant forward to capture his bottom lip between my teeth. "I always keep my promises Derek."

With a fierce, possessive growl Derek had entered me again and I felt like I was right where I belonged. "Mine." I had whimpered into his mouth. His; utterly and completely.

"Mine." He echoed

XoxoxoxoxoX

I shot up in bed with a pained whimper, the constricted feeling in my chest overbearing and insistent. I tried to stop the tears but they fell quietly down my face. For two straight weeks, this had been my punishment for being a coward; for running away.

I had lost count of the times Derek and I had coupled that night but I woke up in the early hours of Sunday morning, feel warm, more than a little sore but wholly satisfied. Derek lay behind me, a protective arm draped firm across my ribs, his breath tickling the hairs at the back of my neck. For a brief and fleeting moment, I was content and happy. I had found my mate, my one and only partner through my life and I could not have been happier. But then the reality of it began to sink in; I had mated with Derek. There was still an Alpha Pack waiting in the shadows to attack at any given moment. There was a very real chance that I could lose him before I truly had a chance to have him. We hadn't used protection and there was a chance I could bring a pup into this world…alone. I had begun to panic and as quickly and quietly as I could, I borrowed a pair of shorts and a shirt and without a backwards glance, fled the subway station like the coward I am. Since that day, I had barely left the house, let alone my bedroom and had cut off communication with everyone in the pack.

Was I being selfish? Absolutely. Was I sabotaging my life this way? More than likely. But would it prevent me from living through the pain of seeing my mate maimed and killed by other wolves? Definitely.

I heard Nick snuffling and snoring away in the next room and glanced at my bedside clock. It was now 1 am but I couldn't go back to sleep again. My eyes drifted to the open window, the darkness of the encroaching forest seeming so inviting and safe; just the place to lose myself in for a night. God knows I needed it and maybe, just maybe, I could start working past this rut I had dug myself into over the last fortnight. I found a pair of old sneakers and slipped them on. I had fallen asleep in my tank top and jeans but didn't bother to change those. With a quick backwards glance towards Nick's wall, ensuring he was still out like a light, I did a little vault from the window sill and landed neatly near the back door without so much as a sound. I jogged slowly towards the edge of the trees and stopped. Was this really a good idea after all? I was weak in this state, having barely eaten or slept in days. Being separated from Derek, no matter how voluntary, didn't help matters. There was a very real possibility that I could run into him in the woods at night, a confrontation I was nowhere near ready for. And what if, by some stroke of bad luck, I came across members of the Alpha Pack? They'd be picking pieces of me out of the trees for weeks! With all these thoughts floating through my mind, my feet began to move on their own accord and I soon found myself running fast and hard between the trees.

I took deep, gulping breaths of the fresh night air, once again back in my element. My muscles felt stiff and even protested at the vigorous pace of my feet but I needed it. I needed to feel alive, feel like the she-wolf I was before I well and truly lost my mind cooped up in my room. My previous concerns disappeared to some safe corner of my mind. They didn't matter right now. The only things that did were the silence of the forest, the fresh clean scent of the trees and the coolness of the wind making them dance in the starlight.

After some time spent running in circles through the area, I slowed to a steady jog and decided to pause for a time in a clearing, just to catch my breath before leaving on my way. It was only when I looked up to brush stray strands of hair from my face did I notice exactly which clearing it happened to be.

"Oh, you have got to be shitting me!" I growled lowly.

There before me stood the charred remains of the Hale House.

The whole clearing smelt of the pack; they'd been here as recently as the day before last. My heart clenched tight at the familiar smells. They had been sparring again, that much was obvious by the disturbed earth on the ground from the running feat. Two more trees lay splintered and shattered on the opposite side. I could smell them all and it made my heart ache. Worst of all, the clearing smelt entirely too much like Derek.

He was everywhere, ingrained in the wood and the dirt and in the very air I was desperately trying to suck into my lungs. My eyes darted around in a panic, as if he would emerge from the trees at any moment and take me by surprise. No; I couldn't see Derek again, not like this and I certainly didn't deserve to after what I had done. As far as mates went, I was probably the worst in history. I wanted to turn around and sprint deep into the trees again; hoping to escape his scent, the invisible presence that exuded over the area but my feet wouldn't let me. I was frozen on the spot, starring wearily at the house, so creepy and silent in the dark night.

You should go inside and check it out. You know, just to make sure he's not there.

Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you? No. I'm not going anywhere near it, we're leaving.

We'll see about that.

For the second time tonight my feet moved of their own accord towards the dilapidated porch of the house, cursing my feet as they noisily crunched through the fallen leaves on the ground. I stood staring at the partially open door, leading into an inky foreboding darkness. His scent was stronger here, like he'd stayed here in the last few days but was weak enough to tell me he wasn't here right now.

I moved forward gingerly and pushed on the door. It opened with a soft creak and the interior was lit slightly by the dim light of the stars. Inside looked just as terrifying and creepy as the outside. Old furniture and belongings remained scattered, charred and burnt beyond recognition in some cases. The thinning, faint scent of burnt flesh and death seemed to be bled into the surroundings. The staircase in front of me looked about ready to give out after the fire and being exposed to the elements for so long. Windows were shattered and hollow, allowing the evening breeze to seep through like poison and chilling everything it touched. I let out an involuntary shutter and pressed forward. My ears were sensitive to any movement but so far the only thing I had picked up on was the frantic scurrying of a mouse somewhere near what used to be the kitchen and the beating of my own heart.

I knew how dangerous this was, I was trespassing on another Alpha's territory, one whom I was mated to and had left without a word to the morning after. How would he react if he saw me standing here, alone and in his family's home? He'd probably be furious, angry, miserable…and more than a little amorous. In the early stages of a mating bond, that was apparently a given. At the very thought of Derek's hands on my skin again I shivered, although this time it certainly wasn't from the cold. Shaking away my body's treacherous reaction I shuffled through the house, room by room.

The devastation was obvious. To think that ten years ago, the whole Hale family had lived here. Cousins, uncles, aunts, husbands, wives…Derek had lost everything that day. So had Peter, burned and comatose for years before healing, and killing Derek's only other living relative in the process. Loss was something I could relate to well, but seeing the destruction of a once proud house and family, it was almost too much to bear. Eventually I found myself in one of the old upstairs bedrooms in the half of the house where the roof hadn't collapsed yet. In one room, a beat up old mattress lay next to a window, ratty sheets and pillow still resting messily on top of it. This must have been where Derek stayed for a time before taking up residence in the station. The scent emanating from these items was overpowering to say the least so I did not linger for long, the tight constricting feeling was returning fast. Just walking around the old house had left me a little emotionally exhausted and in my present state, the physical weakness would not be far behind. I still had to make it back to the house. I estimated the time was probably close to 2am now and if Nick woke soon and found me gone, he'd be in a panic. It was time to go back to the safety of my room and bed.

I walked down the silent corridor and went to walk down the stairs to the front door. It was there, standing at the foot of the stairs in perfect darkness, red eyes shining vividly, that I saw Derek. I froze in fear and anticipation, both of us staring the other down, daring them to make the first move. How had I not noticed his heartbeat? How had I not noticed his scent getting stronger? Godammit, he's probably been following me all night and I've been too stupid to realize! I saw his hand twitch as he prepared to dart up the stairs towards me but I didn't wait around. I took off back towards the rooms, darting into the first one where the window was missing. Giving little pause I jumped out and landed awkwardly on my ankle two floors below. I gave a sharp cry in pain before staggering to my feet and limping as quickly as I could for the trees. I could already feel the bruised ligament healing but my speed was considerably reduced. I had made it all of ten feet into the cover of the foliage before a loud roar ripped through the night. I visibly flinched away from the noise; it was deep, angry and desperate, a male alpha calling for his mate. Before I could stop myself, I let rip a howl so loud the leaves shook themselves from the trees.

You are not making this easier for him, dammit! Let's just get out of here!

I'm not making it easier for him…I'm making it easier for us. No more running Scarlett. No more!

Despite the instinct to stay put and wait for him to catch me, I tore away from the scene; my ankle now completely healed, I took off as fast as I could. Sweat had begun to collect on my skin, breath coming in pants. I didn't even pause long enough to find where Derek was. He could be behind me, cutting me off from the sides or had even run ahead and was waiting for me in front. I had no idea. All I knew was that I needed to get out of there fast. After what seemed like miles, I had slowed down and partially collapsed against the trunk of a huge redwood tree before sinking to the ground. I could not hear or smell Derek in the vicinity, and that calmed me somewhat. I drew my knees up to my chest and rested my head against my knees. I had done it again; run from my mate and for what? Because I was scared that history would repeat itself, and at the end of the day I would be left with nothing again. There is only so much loss you can endure before it snaps you and breaks you. I was already close to breaking point and had been for fifteen years. Losing Derek now would push me over the edge.

Suddenly there was a snapping of twigs and rustling of leaves behind me and I shot up from my seated position, turning to face Derek or whoever had come across me this time. I got a quick glimpse of golden eyes before two large and familiar arms wrapped tight around my body, pinning me to a solid chest.

"Thanks Boyd, I can take it from here." Derek's voice sounded next to my ear.

"No problem Derek. See you later Scarlett." I heard Boyd's voice casually reply before the gold eyes disappeared and his quick footfalls began to fade away. All was still for a moment before I began to struggle in Derek's arms as hard and viciously as I could. I snarled and growled and writhed like the wild animal I was inside and at one point even attempted snapping at his neck. But Derek remained immobile and calm, barely moving an inch during the struggle.

"Let me go, God damn you!" I growled, thrashing violently to free my arms. "Just leave me alone!"

"I don't think that's going to happen, Scarlett. You and I have much to discuss." Derek's reply was firm and terse. Oh yeah, he was mad.

"Just let me go! Please, its better off this way just let me go, please!" The growls were subsiding, turning into desperate whimpers and pathetic pleas. After all the exertion I had put my body through tonight, I felt like I was barely able to stand.

I was spun around in his arms and held firm again to his chest. One large hand went to tangle in my hair roughly, jerking my head back so I had nowhere else to look but his eyes. They weren't red anymore but they were just as bright and vivid, twinkling in the tears collecting in my eyes. I braced my hands against his chest in another feeble attempt to free myself. He was scowling down at me but it looked half-hearted. There were circles under his eyes, the five o'clock shadow seemed a little thicker than before and his hair was mused and wild, like a brush hadn't been run through it in days. His wife beater tank was dirty, his jeans ripped. Despite looking ragged and exhausted, he was still the most handsome man I had ever laid eyes on. I was trying my hardest to ignore the relief and warmth that seeped into my bones with his body heat because I was trying to escape, but those feelings weren't making it easy to leave. I sniffled miserably once again and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Please, Derek. Just let me go. I'm not worth this. Let me leave, pretend none of this ever happened. Just, please…I can't do this."

"You're going to have to do better than that, Scarlett." He growled, arms tightening. "Because after what you've put the pack through…what you've put me through, you owe me a fucking good explanation. I am certainly not letting you go."

"Look, it's just easier this way okay? I can't do this! It'll be easier on both of us if you let me go now." I begged again, hands balling into fists over the fabric of his shirt.

"How will it be easier, Scarlett?" He demanded angrily. "Huh? Will it be easier losing your strength and sanity because we're apart? Will it be easier breaking away from the pack, your pack? Or maybe it'll be easier when you die because you decided to run away from this."

"Stop it!" I cried weakly. "Please, Derek. I know what this is! I know we're mated, I know what that means but for fucks sake, I can't lose another person in my life! I've lost everything, I can't lose you too!"

Holy. Shit. I had just said it out loud. I had just admitted the one thing keeping me from Derek, keeping me from embracing my mate. Now the words hung heavy in the air between us and I knew that just bullshitting my way out of this was not an option. Derek would want the truth, it was too bold a statement to make and wave away vaguely.

"What do you mean?" he asked quietly, an edge to his voice. "You have Nicholas, how have you lost everyone?"

I sighed; frustrated that he was being so dense. It didn't take a genius to look at Nicholas and I and realize that we were not blood relations. Hell, we weren't even distantly related. But clearly Derek was asking for a detailed account. I managed enough strength to push away from him and his arms dropped to his sides. There was only a foot of space between our bodies but for now, that was enough.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Nick and I aren't blood related. I mean, hello? I'm pale, short and blond and he's clearly Latino. His last name is Garcia and mine is Keats. Thought that would have been a dead give-away."

Derek's eyes narrowed and he barred a few teeth. "Don't be a smartass about it! Just get on with it. You owe me this."

I glared right back at him and desperately tried to ignore the pangs in my chest. This story was one that I wish I had buried but had haunted me like a ghost for fifteen years. How could it not? And now, under possibly the worst circumstances, I had to repeat it to an impatient Alpha who looked ready to rip my throat out…and then fuck me into the ground.

"You really wanna know Derek? Well, fine. Here's a bed time story for you! You wanna know why Deaton asked Nick and I to come to Beacon Hills in the first place? You wanna know how I knew Deaton to begin with? It all comes back to an Alpha pack."

Derek seemed confused. "You mean 'the' Alpha pack?"

"No! I mean 'an' Alpha pack! There's been more than one of this kind throughout the years and god knows the one that is currently hiding out here isn't going to be the last. Nick and I are more intimately acquainted with these sick bastards than you know."

"Is there a point to this?"

"Chill the fuck out, Derek; this isn't easy for me to explain." I growled angrily while taking another step back. Getting angry now would not help the situation at hand so I stared intently at the ground while breathing deeply through my nose. Here it comes. "When I say I lost everyone, I mean I lost my family, the Keats family. There were seven of us, all living in together. My father, mother, two older brothers, Matthew and Logan and one younger, James, Grandma Sophia and me." I paused to smile, bittersweet, as their faces flashed before my eyes. I was ashamed to admit that I had barely pictured them in years. "We used to live in Minnesota, just outside of St. Paul. What can I say? It was pretty fucking idyllic. There weren't many like us around but everyone that was like us knew my dad and knew my family. I was ten; almost eleven at the time, when word started to get around that there was a pack in the area, a pack comprised of all alphas. They'd kept a low profile but there were rumbles that they were looking to recruit from the families in the area; they wanted children to mold in their own image for their pack. And as you know, they only way to create an alpha in a family pack is for the current alpha to be killed, to force a turn. I only remember these conversations because my mother was terrified that they'd come after my brothers and I but dad didn't think we were in danger. Thought his reputation in the area would be enough to keep us safe."

I took a seat on the fallen log, feeling my legs beginning to shake and quiver. My nerves were frayed and although he stood impassively in front of me, Derek could have disappeared and I wouldn't have even noticed. The memory was playing like a home movie before my eyes as I tried to keep my wits about me. I was lost in another place and another time.

"I remember the day like it was yesterday. It was just coming into winter and it was starting to snow. I'd stayed over at a friend's house after school but I'd decided to walk home rather than bother my mom and dad. I knew they'd be mad; the 'bad' pack was out there after all, but I still walked because it was only two blocks away. When I reached the driveway, I could smell it already. Blood. Like the house had been painted with it on the inside. It made me gag, it made me nauseous. I could only hear Logan's heartbeat and I could barely smell the rest of my family over the blood. I panicked; I ran in the house, screaming for everyone and anyone. I slipped…" my voice caught, choked with emotion I had thought I'd buried long ago. Deaton had been there to take care of the mess, Nick only received the synopsis…no one had ever heard the whole story, until now. Derek was still standing in front of me, face unreadable. "…I…I slipped on a pool of blood just inside the door. It was everywhere; the ceiling, the furniture, all over the pictures on the wall…everywhere. I got up and ran to the living room but it just got worse. They were all there, just thrown on top of one another like they were nothing! Mom, Dad, Grandma, Matthew, James… James hadn't even turned five yet. I kept screaming, screaming for Logan because I could hear his heartbeat. I ran to the kitchen and there he was…but so were they."

"The Alphas?" Derek prompted when silence lay between us for a few moments. I nodded numbly glancing at the ground.

"Four of them, all older men. One had Logan by the throat and the others just stood and laughed. They seemed to think it was hilarious when I came careening in, covered in my family's blood. Logan started yelling at me, telling me to run for it, to save myself but I didn't. I looked at the man who had my brother and begged;" I felt an anger I had not experienced for fifteen years bubble to the surface. "I begged him to spare my brother, to let us live and we'd do whatever they wanted us to do. Just please, don't take my brother away from me. But he just laughed like the others. He started taunting me with what he'd done with the rest of the family, told me it was my fault that they were dead, if I'd have been home on time then they would have been spared…I was the one that they had been after all along. I was going to become an Alpha, not one of my brothers like we'd all thought, and join them, but first they had to eliminate all obstacles…" With a final stabbing blow, as if I was the scared, tiny child in the blood soaked kitchen again, I dropped to my knees and howled. "THAT WAS WHEN THEY SLIT MY BROTHER'S THROAT IN FRONT OF ME! They laughed as if it was the funniest fucking thing they've ever seen; to see a ten year old child crawling over to her brother's corpse and screaming, begging for him to come back to, not to leave her alone."

I felt the maniacal, bitter smile that had graced my face that day returned; I felt out of control, out of my own body. "But their planned backfired. Sure, I became an Alpha…I was the last of my family left alive…but they didn't expect their new pack member to fight back. That's the thing about Alphas, you know? An alpha doesn't submit; you mess with family or territory and there's no telling how they'll react! I wish I could say I remember ripping them apart and ending them like they'd ended my family but after I felt my eyes shift for the first time, everything sort of went…dark…there were flashes of claws, blood, more screaming but for the longest time, I didn't believe it was me."

It's almost over now…almost over… The fury, the bitterness and the anguish drained away, leaving only exhaustion in its wake. "I came to five days later. Deaton and his associates had cleaned up the mess, made it look like a burglary gone horribly wrong. They falsified wills and estate papers so that it appeared in the case of my family's death I was to live with distant relatives in Florida. A week later, when all my injuries that I couldn't even remember sustaining had healed, I was shipped off and Nicholas' family took me in. No matter what anyone did, I wouldn't talk to any of them. I shut out the world, I felt numb to everything. Deaton tried a couple of times to get me to tell him the full story but I refused. My family was dead because of me, what else was there to tell?"

"It wasn't your fault." I was startled and stared up a Derek, who I barely remembered standing there. He was shaking, his face hard and cold but it wasn't directed at me. He knelt down gently in front of me but kept a small distance. His hands reached to touch my face, soothing away the wolfish mask that had descended over it. I grasped his wrists, whether to still his hands or push them away, I don't know. I barely had the strength to do either anymore. "Your family was attacked, you were a child! You're lucky to be alive, to have survived at all." A shudder wracked through him, like the thought of my death all those years ago chilled him to the bone. I shook my head vehemently, trying to ignore the comforting words.

"You don't understand!" I exclaimed softly. "They didn't just target my family; they targeted Nick's too. A year later, another Alpha attacked us; his brother was the one that had killed mine, he was out for revenge! Nick and I barely got away with our lives but his parents weren't so lucky. Someone else had to die because someone wanted to get at me!" Finally, the tears began burn down my cheeks and I dropped my head, still in the security of Derek's hands. "That's why I ran away Derek, why I'm still trying to run! I can't have history repeating itself again; I don't want to live through seeing the pack injured and killed; I don't want to see Peter and Nick die in a bloodbath…I don't want to live for the rest of my life knowing that my mate was murdered because of me…"

I barely registered Derek crushing me against his chest. I didn't bother to stop myself clinging to him like my only lifeline or to stop the tears and the sobs…I just let it happen. Fifteen years worth of torment, fear, anger and guilt had built up over the last two weeks and was finally being aired. Did this take away my fear or the anger? No, but the past was slowly disappearing leaving only the present in its wake. In the present, the emotions were easier to deal with, not having to reach back over decades to achieve any kind of closure. Derek had lost so many of his family too and in this moment, as he whispered into my ear words of comfort and promises of safety, I realized he was one of the few that would ever understand, that could relate and sympathize. He had been betrayed, he had trouble trusting in others just as I had; and I had foolishly spent the last fortnight running away from the only man on this earth that had experienced just as much anguish as I had…and he wasn't running away.

I couldn't tell you how long we knelt there in the dark clutching to one another; it could have been minutes, hours, days, I didn't really care. Eventually the sobs and moans dissolved into hiccoughs and shuddery breaths. I tried to press impossibly closer to Derek, nuzzling my nose against the crook of his neck where I inhaled deeply. Gradually, the warmth returned to my body and the pain behind my ribs waned.

Derek made to move away and I whimpered in protest. No, please don't leave! Derek chuckled and I felt my heart stop when I realized it was the first time I had see him properly smile…wow!

"I'm not going anywhere. Come here," Derek had shifted to lean against the log, beckoning for me to sit between his spread legs. Without a second thought, I went to him, reclining with my back to his chest. Immediately his arms were around me, mine resting over his. His chin found the juncture of my neck and shoulder so our faces were side by side. Nothing was said, it didn't have to be. So much at transpired so quickly that right now, sitting wrapped up in one another on the floor of the dark forest, it was more for comfort than for closure. We'd spent too long apart and slowly, gradually, we would reconnect.

After a time, when the first rays of light from the rising sun began to seep through the thick canopy, Derek turned his face to gently place kisses along my neck, lingering a little longer at the corner of my lips.

"I can't promise a lot of things," he began softly next to my ear. "I don't know what's waiting around the corner for us; I don't know where the Alpha pack is, and I don't know what their plans are. I don't know how well the betas will be able to handle this or what this will do to the pack. The only thing I know is that I need you here, next to me. We're stronger, better, together and together we can end it, once and for all. And…"

"And what?" I prompted, turning to look him in the eyes. The green-grey orbs flashed blood red for the briefest of seconds before returning to normal. There was a deeply possessive quality to that gaze that left me shivering.

"And…the only thing I can promise you is that you are mine, and I will do everything, anything, in my power to keep you safe. You won't ever have to be afraid; you don't have to run anymore. With my life, I'll protect you."

The tears came fast and unbidden before I could possibly stop them. I spun in his hold to face Derek fully and as the sun rose over Beacon Hills, I kissed him with all the passion and warmth I could muster, hoping the words I could barely say would be translated through touch.

No more running…This time, I'm standing…and this time, I'm fighting…

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

So there it is! Chapter 8 finally up and DONE! Hope I haven't grown rusty in my absence but that's not for me to decide; that's where you lovely people come in ;-) please leave reviews in the little box below and let me know what you think. I promise this time there won't be such a gap between updates!

Thanks again and lots of love – Lithium xo