I was running through the woods, chasing a rabbit. I was in wolf form, but I didn't think anything of it. It was… right. The rabbit was bounding through the trees and bushes, and the scent of it filled my nostrils, making my stomach growl. I had been chasing it for a while now. Wearing it out. Toying with it. The anticipation was the best part of the chase, as any hunter knows. I could practically taste it already, and the smell of its fear was intoxicating in its richness. I was done toying with it now, and prepared for that final lunge. I leaped. I caught the rabbit in my jaws and gave it a good shake, breaking its neck. I chomped down, warm blood filling my mouth. Then something shook me, and called my name.

"Derek! Wake up! You're freezing!" Chloe's face filled my view, eyes wide with concern. I groggily sat up, and shook off the remnants of my dream. I could still smell the rabbit, which wasn't surprising. We were still in the clearing in the forest. I bolted upright, recalling the events of the night before.

I hadn't Changed. Again. It seemed now more than ever, it was just not going to happen. I thought for sure it would, that the night before I would fully Change, but obviously I hadn't.

"Are you ok?" Chloe asked me, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Yeah." No. I'm not ok. I'm a genetically modified werewolf who can't Change. I fell asleep in the woods with my girlfriend, who happens to have a zombie werewolf stalker, and oh, yeah, the leader of the Pack was our personal escort.

"Are you sure? Because you seem really out of it…" She wasn't buying it. Go figure. She never bought any of the bullshit I tried to sell her, which was a very refreshing change from everyone else I had ever come into contact with.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just… tired, I guess. What about you? Are you ok?" Like she would tell me if she wasn't. I swear, that girl was even more stubborn than I was. And that's saying something.

"I'm fine." She replied, standing up and shaking off her clothes. "I'm feeling a little grungy, but it's nothing a shower won't fix." She smiled at me, then glanced around the clearing. She apparently found what she was looking for because a second later she took off around a large boulder. She reappeared with my clothes. She handed them to me, and turned her back so I could get dressed.

I donned my clothes quickly, because my stomach was reminding me that it hadn't forgotten my dream, and I had better put something in it soon OR ELSE. I glanced around, trying to get my bearings, when I heard footsteps approaching. I sniffed the air, but the person was downwind.

"Derek? Chloe? It's me, Jeremy. I heard you two talking, and just wanted to let you know that we have breakfast at the house."

Chloe started walking towards him, still holding my hand. I briefly hesitated, not wanting to follow this man blindly like I had last night. But my stomach disagreed, and decided for me. My legs started moving on their own accord, towards Jeremy's voice. Before too long, we were out of the woods, and Jeremy was already walking back to the house, apparently deciding that he wasn't going to stand around all day trying to lure us from the woods.

I trusted him. I didn't really understand why, because I am a very suspicious person by nature. My father had always taught me to trust my instincts, and all my instincts were telling me that I was in no danger from him, and that he was… important. To me. To my complete surprise, I wanted to be here.

Chloe stopped short and gasped. She was looking at the house, which I hadn't been in any condition last night to notice. It was large, and made of gray stone. I don't know much about architecture, but I didn't think I would be wrong if I called it a mansion. A small mansion.

A back door was propped open, so we went through that into a large, spacious sunroom. There was a table set up with a breakfast spread. I could hear a child somewhere in the house talking, but other than that it was silent.

Jeremy appeared from the interior doorway.

"Help yourself to any food. We'll leave you alone to eat. After breakfast, I'll show you to your rooms, and you can wash up. We can talk later, after you have gotten a chance to look around the place and get your bearings."

I snorted, recalling my first day at Lyle House, where I had been given pretty much the same speech by Mrs. Talbot.

Jeremy grabbed a plate and started piling on food. Then he turned to me, and pinned me with his full gaze.

"Derek, you and Chloe are welcome to stay as long as you like. You are free to come and go as you please. You aren't our prisoners. You're our guests, and I want you to feel comfortable here. All I ask is that you don't disclose this location to anyone else right now. This is the home to my Pack, our safe haven. We have worked very hard making sure that it stays safe. Are we understood?"

Chloe and I nodded.

My stomach growled, letting me know that my trust issues weren't important right now. Food was. Jeremy took a bite of everything on his plate, probably to show me that it was safe. So, I took some of everything, and there was a lot to choose from. Bacon, eggs, cinnamon rolls, and fruit, not to mention two full pitchers of juice. Chloe follow suit, then we took our plates and drinks outside to the back porch and sat at a picnic table.

We didn't talk, just concentrated on our. When finished my first plate, I went back in and got more.

"You want anything while I'm up?" I called out to her.

"No, thanks." She replied. She appeared in the doorway with her empty plate and glass. She placed them in the sink and rinsed them off, then told me she was going to find her room so she could shower. A few minutes after she left, I finished up my breakfast, and cleaned up my plate. I followed the hallway that led out of the kitchen, and passed what looked like a living room. Jeremy was sitting on a couch there, crumb-filled plates and half-empty glasses scattered across the coffee table in front of him. He wasn't alone. Sitting next to him was the red-haired woman that I vaguely recalled from last night. Jeremy looked up, and gestured me in the room.

"Hello, Derek. This is Jaime. She's the necromancer I was telling you about." Jaime and I exchanged greetings, but before we could get past the "Nice to meet you," part, Jeremy stood up and gestured for me to follow him. He told Jaime he was showing me my room.

While we were walking, I tried to think of something to say to break the silence. Luckily, he did it for me. He told me how the shower worked, and offered to drive Chloe and me into town later that day, after we got settled. I thanked him, and gave a noncommittal response.

My bedroom pretty much looked like every other guest room I've been in. Double bed, matching dresser, a closet, night table, and lamp. The blanket and curtains were white, and there were white towels folded neatly on the dresser. My bag was sitting on the end of the bed, and there was an adjoining bathroom with a shower in it.

I thanked Jeremy, and he left, shutting the door. I opened my bag, making sure that all my stuff was still in there, and brought it with me into the bathroom.

After I was showered and dressed, I left the room to find Chloe. I listened in the hallway, and heard her laugh tinkling from downstairs.

I found her in the living room, talking to Jaime, and someone else I couldn't see. She was smiling, so I was guessing that it was Liz. Whoever it was must have told her I was there, because she turned around.

My heart stopped. I wondered when her smiles would stop having that effect on me, and then hoped they never would. She stood up to greet me, but I waved her back down and sat next to her on the couch. She immediately leaned into me, and grabbed my hand. I looked down to hide my own smile, and when I looked up, Jaime was grinning at me from ear to ear.

Before I could wonder why she was looking at me like some proud, matchmaking-aunt, Chloe turned to me and explained that Jaime was going to give her some real necro lessons. We talked about that for a few minutes, and then Jeremy came in the room with Clay. They sat down and Jeremy asked if I had any questions I would like to know.

"Only about a thousand," I said, and everyone laughed. Jaime asked Chloe if she would like to take a walk with her, and Chloe agreed, leaving me alone with Jeremy and Clay. I didn't feel uncomfortable, however. In a way, this was what I had always wanted; a chance to get some answers about my condition from adult werewolves. My father had done the best that he could, but he wasn't a werewolf. He was a sorcerer, and any information he had for me was always second-hand at best. But Jeremy and Clay could. And they were willing to help me too.

For the next few minutes, I explained about the Edison Group, and what they had done to us. They exchanged glances when I mentioned the genetic modifications, and other than Clay asking, "What do you mean by uncontrollable powers?" they didn't say a word throughout the whole thing. When I was finished, Clay looked at me and snorted.

"What?" I asked him. It figured. They didn't believe me.

"Well, it seems to me that you have everything under control. I don't know about Chloe or Tori, but someone taught you and Simon right, because you control yourself a hell of a lot better than a lot of werewolves your age do."

"I threw a guy, and now he's never going to walk again," I muttered.

"You talking about that kid near Albany?" Clay asked. I nodded.

I wasn't surprised they knew about that.

"We read papers looking for incidents that may indicate a mutt-" Jeremy began, than looked at me with a note of apology before continuing, "has been drawing too much attention to himself."

Before I could respond, Clay asked me why I did it. I gave them the story. They exchanged glances again. Then Clay turned his full gaze on me, and I cringed back into my seat.

"So, you're telling me, that this guy pulled a knife on your brother, and yet you feel bad for him?" I couldn't speak, so I just nodded again. Clay's eyes blazed into mine.

"Of all the-" He began angrily. He took a deep breath, like he was restraining himself, "Derek, let me ask you something." Clay demanded.

"Ok," I responded, hesitantly.

"Did you think your brother's life was in danger?"

"Yeah, but-" I started protesting, but he held up his hand.

"Do you still think your brother was in danger?"

"Yes," I replied without hesitation.

"You did the right thing. There wasn't time to find a better way, and besides, you taught that guy a lesson he will never forget. Anyone who pulls a knife on a kid in a schoolyard deserves what he gets, Derek. Don't forget that. And if you still feel bad, just remember this: When I was your age, I did a lot worse to protect my Pack. And then I took pictures. You do what you have to do to keep your family safe. Just try not to do it in public next time. But, really, kid. You're doing much better than most mutts."

"Clay is right. I'm not saying that you should go around paralyzing everyone who threatens people you care about, but you really do have more control than you think you do. There wasn't much else you could do in a situation like that, and you shouldn't beat yourself up about it anymore. These things will happen, Derek. The sooner you understand that, the better. It is in our nature to protect what's ours, usually at any cost." As he said that, his gaze drifted out the window, where I could see Chloe standing with Jaime.

Jaime's back was to us, but I could see almost all of Chloe's face. Sometime after arriving at Andrew's the black dye had washed out. Instead of dying it red, like I had suggested, she had opted to dye it an even lighter color than it had been when I had met her. It sparkled in the sunlight, and she was laughing at something Jaime was saying to her. I felt my chest tighten, and I knew that Jeremy was right. If Chloe hadn't stopped me with that girl from the alley, I probably would have killed her. And maybe part of me would have felt bad about it, but the more I considered it, the more I realized I had no other choice. If there was a threat to Chloe, that threat would be eliminated. Period. I would make an honest effort to not go around hurting people, but if it happened, I couldn't really lose any sleep over it. Not anymore. It was time to grow up, and accept that being a werewolf made things different. She was mine, and no one was going to take her away from me.

"-more discreet in the future. We can't risk exposure." Jeremy was saying to me. Reluctantly, I turned away from the window. We continued our discussion, and made plans to have my first lessons with Jeremy later on that night. Clay offered to teach me how to fight other werewolves, and I agreed. We then moved the topic on to lighter things, such as Clay and Elena's children. Apparently, Logan was solemn and quiet, while Kate was more outgoing. At moment, there was an ear-piercing shriek of laughter followed by running footsteps. A door slammed somewhere, and then a cry of, "KATE!" filled the house. Clay smiled.

"Consider yourself warned," he said, still grinning.

After a few minutes of talking about the kids, Jeremy asked me about my father. I spent the rest of the conversation explaining everything: how my dad had "adopted" me from the Edison Group when I was younger, how we were always on the run, how he disappeared. We still had no clue where to find him, but I wasn't giving up. They told me they knew an investigative team for supernaturals, and would ask them to look in on it. I knew how much PI's cost, so my cheeks flushed, and I automatically protested, not wanting to take any more advantage of their generosity. Clay laughed that off, and explained that Elena's best friend ran it, so it wouldn't cost them anything. They would want to do it. They lived for helping supernaturals.

"Besides, they would probably be put on the case anyways. We are reporting the Edison Group to the council, and I'm sure that the whole matter will be cleared up in no time."

"What council?" I started asking, but the front door opened, and Jaime and Chloe walked in.

"You guys are still in here? How about you take a break, and I'll find you something to eat?" Jeremy agreed, but Clay declined.

Jeremy and Jaime went ahead, but Chloe grabbed my arm, and held me back. She was grinning up at me, and this time, it wasn't just my chest that responded.

She pulled me down for a kiss, and I was more than happy to oblige her. I still couldn't believe that a girl like her would let someone like me touch her, let alone kiss her. But I wasn't arguing. I wasn't going to fight my feeling for her anymore. I couldn't. Every single cell in my body was screaming to me constantly that she was it. The One. And even though I knew that she probably would get sick of me eventually, sooner rather than later, I didn't care. As long as she wanted me, I was there.

"Hi," she whispered against my lips, smiling. I returned the smile, and kissed her again, only this time, I was more aggressive, but not forceful. She pressed her body closer to mine, and I was sure she had to be feeling my erection, but I didn't care. I wanted her to know how she made me feel. She ran one of her hands down from my neck to my chest, running her fingers over it. The hand I had on her waist started creeping slowly up, and when our skin made contact, she gasped. I stopped kissing her lips, and hungrily kissed down to her throat. My hand was getting closer to its goal, when I suddenly realized I was on top of her. Somehow, we had ended up on the couch, and I had no memory of getting there.

There was a giggle from the doorway. I looked up, over Chloe's head to see two blond children peering at me from the doorway. I jumped up so quickly that I ended up sprawled on the floor, to the delight of the giggler, a little girl. I had to presume this was the Kate I had been warned about. Her brother just stared at me with solemn eyes. I pulled Chloe up, mumbled some type of greeting to the kids, and then sidled past them, down to the kitchen.

Before I could walk through the door however, a small shape streaked passed me. As I went in the kitchen, I could see Kate sitting in Jeremy's lap, whispering something in his ear. His eyes met mine, and the corners of his mouth twitched up; expression I was coming to recognize as his smile.

Swallowing a chuckle, Jaime told us to take our snacks outside, so we could enjoy the beautiful day. We made plans to go into town for lunch in a couple hours, and after a hasty goodbye, we walked outside.