Sorry for not updating... I had a lot of homework to combat, so my apologies folks! Four days till they rescue Kit!

*Disclaimer* I do not own Darkest Powers. Man that line is starting to get old...

~ Chapter 32: The Renegade ~

DPOV

I sat on my couch staring out the small window in front of me. The sun was rising and the forest that was down cast below it looked so beautiful and tranquil that I didn't even dare move in fear I might disturb it. My mind was reeling on about what happened yesterday, about Chloe's words, about Chloe's confession. I tugged at my shirt to try to control my racing heart, I was so happy that I had to hold back laughter trying to burst from my throat as I recollect it.

Then the sun rose above the tree line, birds began to sing and the morning creatures began to come alive from their nightly slumber. I sat up and stretched my shoulders as I witnessed this marvel, my nose going wild as I smelt the pollen rising from the opening flowers of the early spring. I got to my feet and... and what?

I forgot that I was stuck in here; I felt my limbs weaken beneath me and I collapsed back onto the couch with a grumble. I could not believe my luck, I got a girl to confess to me and now I can't even see her! I laid back down my head and closed my eyes. I will sleep this day away, make it over before it even began, and try to diminish the pain.

But I slept for a total of three seconds before Andrew came to the door.

KNOCK- KNOCK

"Derek, it's me Andrew." I growled into the cushion. Of course I knew it was you, I could smell your scent before you even came to the door!

"What is it?" I asked, raising my head slightly.

"I don't think it is right to leave you out of this conversation Derek. We are having a meeting downstairs to address how to obtain your father," He went quiet for a minute and I raised my head a little more. " we need you down there to be a part of this too." I heard the sound of steel clicking and tumbling then turned to see Andrew at the open door, a key in his hand. "You are no longer under room arrest; I hope I can trust you to behave?" I nodded and quickly got to my feet. This meeting must be important if he was letting me take part in it.

CPOV

Derek followed Andrew into the kitchen; the table we were all sitting at had extra chairs and one single-seat sofa from the living room to accommodate the ten of us. The werewolves of the house came to this meeting and I knew why. They devised a plan of action that included the pack in our rescue attempt while they were gone the day before (I thought they were sleeping in, guess I was wrong); the Alpha recruited many able men and women from around town to help us, and started rallying other branches of the pack outside of Geburt as resistance fighters. This was not going to become a simple recon mission; this was going to become a complete political reprehendum of the supernatural races. When Derek was told this he seemed completely wordless, but then his eyes glanced to me and back and he seemed more reassured.

"Yes," he said, nodding. "This will work." I felt my mood lighten at this; Derek never said he was sure of something unless he knew that it would pull through. We were on the right track, we definitely were going to get Kit and Rea back and disband the Edison group. Then, as soon as this world is rid of the Edison Group...

I grasped my fist tightly and felt a smile creep to the edges of my mouth.

...I might be able to see my dad again.

~x~

After the meeting everyone got breakfast. We ran out of a week's worth of food in the run two days and Andrew and Liam's pockets were starting to get light. They were mumbling to each other about how we kids were going to have to pay our share soon but I just ignored them. If things turned out as planned I wouldn't be living here anymore, I would go straight back to dad and everything would return to nor_. I dropped my spoon into my bowl of cereal and looked down at it longingly.

No, no matter what I do everything will be different. If dad doesn't believe me about my powers he will probably send me to a real mental hospital and if he does accept me... still my life at school would never be the same. Everyone saw me leave on that stretcher; I was the crazy girl, the schizophrenic. My life will never be normal, even if I do go back home.

Who would have thought that as I sat there dazed off that Derek was eyeing me from across the room.

~x~

Soon people began to leave the kitchen. First went Tori, then Liam and Andrew, Simon talked with me for a bit then went off to work on the comic, after that the Frat pack left (Aidan leaving last with his eyes shifting from me to Derek trying to figure out what was going on) then it was only the two us. The room was quiet, Derek at one end of the table, me at the other. We never looked up from the placemats until finally he cleared his throat and glanced up my way. I raised my head, face flashing a nervous smile to try to show him that I was okay.

"You seem troubled." He asked rather carefully, like he was trying to say only the right words.

"I'm fine," I bit my tongue, pondering whether to tell him or not about my father. "I was just- thinking you know... about everything?" He nodded, and I heard the rat-a-tat-tat of his fingers tapping his thigh.

"Chloe, you know if you ever need someone to talk to..." He trailed off but eventually came back stronger."...remember that I'm here for you." I felt my heart skip a beat.

"I know that you care Derek."

"It's just that keeping everything held up inside won't do you any good."

"I know."

"And making yourself depressed won't help either."

"I know."

"And, I know that you knowing about how I..." he reddened."...you know? That can't be helping at all with your stress load." I sat straight and went into my thoughts. Did he think that me knowing that he likes me is making me stressed?

"Derek I don't_" I blinked and looked around, his seat was empty. Then like a pulse of energy a hand wrapped around my shoulders and he placed his head atop of mine.

"I will always be here to protect you Chloe." Like a shiver my skin prickled down the arm he was holding as he rubbed it with his thumb carefully.

"I know Derek." Why was I being such a broken record? Say something different Chloe before he starts thinking there is something wrong with you!

I felt the warm huff of his careful breaths on my scalp, his grip loosened and then he pulled away. I felt his eyes on me, those intense green irises caressing my thoughts trying to reassure my unsettled nerves. He took his hand into mine and a smile formed on his face.

"We will get though this," his grip tightened and I looked up as he brought his face closer. I expected him to kiss me, my eyes closed and I was ready. Then I felt a pressure on my forehead and realised he pressed his to mine. "we will get through this together."

"I love you Chloe." He said quiet enough that only I could hear, I smiled and tightened my grip on his hand.

"I do too." Derek fell away laughing, it took me a second but I got what was so funny.

"It came out wrong, you know what I meant!" I could feel my face heating; he nodded in agreement and shuffled away.

"I'm glad I made you feel better." He said motioning his expression with his hand, he turned back to me and I felt the warmth that radiated from his smile.

"Yeah, thanks Derek." I laughed happily, he flashed me one last grin and then he was gone.

~x~

Later on I roamed back to the kitchen and found myself in the exact same chair. I laid my head down and recollected Derek's warm presence, wishing he was there. But then suddenly I heard a shifting of feet from upstairs and the frat pack and Liam were at the door before the person had a chance to knock.

Sophie was the first through the door, a basket of sweets in her hand and a long scarf over her shoulders she filled the room with a delicate appearance as she made her way down the hall toward me. She smiled brightly and carefully placed her basket on top of the table, blessing me with a kind smile as she pulled off her gloves.

"It's good to see you again." She beamed kindly, brushing back a lock of hair. I greeted her with a grin and stood up to help her with her load.

Apparently her father and a few important men in the town have come to see Liam and Andrew to discuss strategy, and she decided to tag along. I glanced at her hands, so delicate and slender, I felt like if I touched her she may break, like butterfly wings. She was so quaint and beautiful.

Tori and I hung with her in the living room, we watched what little was on the only three channels and after a while of absent gossip Tori left to go use the bathroom. Sophie slumped when she left, but just a fraction of a millimetre, only someone who was looking for it could possibly notice.

"So," she said, placing her hands gently on her lap. "I see that you are very close to my brother."I froze and bit the inside of my cheek.

"W-What makes you say that?" I blurted. She giggled to herself and looked to her hands.

"I know it is rude to say but the scent of Derek is all over you." She crossed her legs and smiled with her head tilted at an elegant angle. "He may not have meant to but I think he marked you as his territory, the scent is quite strong." I completely forgot about her being a werewolf, her appearance made it seem so impossible in my eyes.

"Nah," I laughed nervously, I couldn't digest her words. "Derek just went through his three days; he has just not calmed down his pheromones yet." She shook her head.

"I'm sorry Chloe, but the scent of three days is a warning smell but on you," she raised her hands and formed a heart with her thumbs and pointer fingers. "Is only the scent a werewolf releases when they are in love." She lowered her hands and bit her lip. "But this is the funny thing; werewolves don't release that pheromone until they are usually later in manhood. So the question I want to ask is how did you tug his heart strings so much that his senses were forced into early maturity?" I blushed and looked away.

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about." I don't know why I was lying to her; I guess I just couldn't bear to tell her the truth.

"I-I'm not trying to come off in a weird way, honestly I'm not!" she twirled a lock of hair on her finger as she tried to find her words. "I just don't think you know what is happening with Derek, he is different than a human supernatural, he is not a necromancer but a werewolf Chloe." She did not try to say this in a mean way, her words were gentle and sincere and she was not trying to speak badly of Derek. I could tell.

"I have heard a lot of people say how he is different, how we all must be careful of werewolves. But I don't understand, I honestly don't see a reason to be scared." She smiled and reached out, her hand wrapped around mine in a loose embrace as she whispered to me.

"I wish there was more like you out there Chloe, then we would not have to bear this awful stereotype about our race." She leaned in and placed her mouth to my ear and I listened as warm breaths tickled my earlobe. "But you must understand Chloe; the reason why we worry is because as soon as a werewolf completes his selection process, he will never love another again." I pulled away.

"How do you know all this stuff, about Derek having the selection gene, and about me being a necromancer?" I looked at her straight in the eye and I watched as hers glazed over and she fell back into her seat.

"I know it is an awful thing to do, but I spied on Father's meeting with Liam and the boys. I couldn't help it, I just found out I had a brother, I had to learn more about him even if I had to risk getting caught." I smiled to her.

"I don't blame you, Derek is a closed book. You have to fight to get anything out of him!" I laughed and she copied me, then after a moment she rubbed her knuckles and nodded with a reassuring grin.

"Thank you Chloe." Then after that fuzzy moment subsided I saw her straighten.

"But what do you mean by after he completes the selection process?"

"He is far from finishing it; the usual ritual can last from months to even years, it won't end until_." She cut herself off and mouthed "I will tell you later, she's coming back."

Then Tori stepped into the room and the discussion ended.

~x~

The grownups talked late into the day, I even glanced out the window at some point and saw the sun setting. This strategy meeting has been taking place for hours!

Soon it was dark and the teens in the house gathered on the first floor in the living room with nothing better to do. It was too early to sleep (nor would anyone be able to when so much was happening and guests were over) and it was too late to go down to the store. We pretty much just sat there and talked, the TV blazing even though no one was watching it, and the coffee table full of junk food and empty Styrofoam cups and the couches were full to the brim with teens.

Quietly Derek snuck out of the room, Sophie noticed this and pulled me up from the arm of the couch and shoved me out after him. I was smacked face first into his back, the door shut behind us and it was dark, he turned and glanced at me.

"Sorry," I mumbled, rubbing my nose from the impact. He didn't say anything; he just turned and shrugged his shoulders. He made his way to the stairs and that was when I broke free of my daze.

"Hey, where are you going?" he stopped on the stairs and looked to me, his head motioning for me to follow. I did.

He came up to a room and gently eased open the door, a name was spelt out across it in big capital letters. I squinted and tried to make it out as best I could in the thick darkness. A-I-D-A-I-N wait... why was he going in there?

"Derek what are you_?" he motioned for me to be quiet.

"Just come on, they won't hear us when we close the door, but until then we have to zip it. I don't want them to find out what we are doing." I flushed and shrunk back from the door into the hallway. He looked back to me and arched an eyebrow, then he flinched and shook his hands out in front of him. "NO NO NO, it's not what you think! I would not_. I would never_. We aren't_!" then his focus shot to the main level and he let out a curse. "Damn it, I think they heard us." He pulled me into the room and shut the door silently and kept beside it, listening for something.

Finally he loosened and looked back to me. I could barely make out his expression but from what I assumed it was of relief.

"They didn't come out; they must have guessed it was just noise from the living room."

"Derek, what is going on?" I was getting annoyed, if he was not going to tell me what was happening right now I was going to leave.

"I went into this room you see," he motioned at the interior. "And by chance stumbled upon a covered up air vent in the corner, it is directly above the kitchen and you can hear everything perfectly." He stubbed his foot on a small indent in the carpet and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"So you came up here to spy?"

"The walls are too thick to make out things from a distance, and I learned my lesson about sneaking closer to eavesdrop like last time." I recollected the thought, Simon and Andrew finding me and Derek out in the hallway, it was a big misunderstanding but still very embarrassing and something I do not want to repeat. "I just don't like being left out of things." He grumbled to himself.

"I understand the feeling. So," I rolled back and forth on my heels. "Did you bring me up here so that you could explain where you were going without being heard because if you want me out of the way I'll just_."

"Stay please," he cleared his throat and dropped it another octave. "I mean, if you want to, y-you don't have to but if you w-want to you can it's not like I'm trying to force you b-but if you want to stay than I wouldn't..."

"I'll stay." He clamped his mouth shut and nodded in agreement. I sat down beside the vent and he followed suit. He listened and I watched the carpet trying my best to make out whatever he was supposedly hearing. "What are they saying?" I ask after about five minutes of silence. He sat up and stretched his stiff shoulders from stooping to hear the voices.

"Nothing we don't already know." He glanced my way, it was dark and I could barely make out his expression, but still I could feel the awkwardness in his features. "Want to head back down to the living room?" he asked, I turned away, looking into the darkness of the closet at my side.

"To be quite honest, not really." I pulled my knees to my chin, still glaring into the darkness. "It's so annoying and noisy down there. So loud that it makes too it hard to_."

"_Even think?" he completed for me.

"Exactly," I sat back farther and bumped against a pointy square object jutting out from under the bed behind me. I pulled it out and squinted to make out what it was.

"A PS2?" Derek asked, I nodded and laid it back down on the carpet. I then started patting the floor nearby. "What are you...?"

"I'm looking for the controllers."

"You want to...?"

"Come on it would be fun!" He leaned over top of me, I held my breath and then he pulled back and dangled two cords in front of me.

"They were right behind you; it's too bad you can't see that well in the dark." I huffed and began plugging the game station into the TV.

"You must of won at a lot of 'hide and go seek in the dark' games?" he laughed and set up the connection wires in the back.

"Let's just say that after a while I was not allowed to be 'it' anymore." He turned on the TV and blinked as he adjusted his eyes to the sudden brightness.

"Huh," mumbled, he looked over to me.

"What?" I pointed to the screen and he noticed too that a disc was loading.

"There is a game already in it."

"I wonder what it is?" we sat back and waited, our game controllers in hand and sitting two feet from each other. Then the screen burst to life with a dramatic opening with Sumo wrestlers and black belt Kung Fu fighters.

"A 2-D faceoff game." I shook my head and giggled.

"I don't even think they make these anymore."

"Probably not." We played about three rounds when we started to get tired, the graphics were bad and the loading time per each round was longer than the actual game time itself. That was when my eyelids started to get heavy.

DPOV

And that was when my eyelids began to bob with heaviness.

CPOV

I felt my body sway to the left.

DPOV

My head fell to the right. I caught the over exhilarating scent of that nameless something, and I felt my hands lie palm up on the floor.

CPOV

Something warm lay up against me and as my hands lowered one became cupped by a gentle embrace.

Aidan's POV

I came up to my room when I started hearing music. I pulled open the door and there stood a flashing TV and two forms up against my bed in front of it.

"Oh them two," Sophie cooed as she looked from behind me. "Look how cute they are." I rolled my eyes before I stared at them, their heads leaning on the others supporting themselves as the slept laying up. Chloe's hand was interwoven with his, and in the other grasped a video controller.

"I'm all fine with them being together, but do they have to be all "adorable" and stuff in my room?" Sophie tsk- tsked me and shuffled in front of the door.

"Are you really fine with it?" she asked, her finger twirling around in her hair. Her nostrils flared and I flinched. "...Because the scents your giving off don't perceive it that way." I looked to Chloe and turned my face away. What was I doing?

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-Sapphiregorgeus :3