Chapter 2:

We walked to the car, and Lydia came up to us. "Oh, Peaches! I'm taking the kids for the next couple of days, till you get settled." She said. I sighed. "Lydia, that's not necessary." I said. Lydia smiled and me and then at Derek. "I'm not going to let you spend your wedding night with kids, that would be awkward." She said. I gaped. "Lydia..that's not.." I began but was cut off by Derek. "That's really nice of you." He said. "We'll get the house ready and then call before we pick up the kids, but hey, it might take a while." He said and put his arm around my shoulder. I stiffened. Lydia smiled and took the kids to her car, but not before she pulled me aside to talk to me in private. "Here." She said handing me a small brown paper bag. "What is it?" I asked. Lydia smiled. "It's supplies, but don't open it till you're in your bathroom, alone." She said. I nodded and then headed back to the car, as Lydia walked to her car. I turned to Derek and punched him in the shoulder. He was taken back and had a look of surprise on his face. "What was that for?" he asked. "What was that?!" I asked. Derek smiled. "Oh that, well, we have to make it look believable or they will know that our marriage is a sham." He said. I stopped. He had a point there. "Ok, but next time, give me a heads up." I said. Derek smiled. "Now, why would I do that? Your reaction adds to the effect." He said. I rolled my eyes and got into the car.

We drove to Derek's house and it felt like forever. The ride was quiet. When we finally got there, I took in my surroundings. The house looked like it was half there, and it looked abandoned. "Don't let the outside fool you." said Derek. I nodded and we headed up to the front porch. "Welcome home." said Derek. I nodded and watched as Derek opened the door. I started to walk in, but was swept off my feet in one quick motion. When I got my bearings straight, I realized I was in Derek's arms, bridal style. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I yelled. "Can't let my bride walk herself over the threshold for the first time." said Derek. I stopped. "Why are you doing this?" I asked. Derek shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea at the time." He said. I rolled my eyes and Derek carried me inside. He then placed me down and I then took in the inside of the house. The house did look run down, but I was sure that I could fix it. "Well, this is home." He said. I nodded and I could feel my heart in my head. "Have a look around. Let me show you our room." He said. I gulped and followed Derek. We headed up the stairs and finally we found ourselves at a door. "This is it." He said as he opened the door. The bedroom was beautiful and had a bathroom attached. I stepped in and Derek walked in beside me. I looked around and my gaze fell on the bed. My heart started to race. I still held the carry bag I had. "I need to go to the bathroom." I lied. I nearly ran to the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I took a couple of breaths and placed my bag on the sink. Inside, there was the brown bag Lydia gave me. I opened it and saw a small vial with a note. "Drink this, I'll explain later." Was all it said. I rolled my eyes. "Didn't Lydia know me better. I turned the note over and there was more writing. "I know you, just drink it, and I promise you, he will not be able to resist you. I'm sure everything will be explained later." said the note. "I've gotten this far." I said and gulped the vial down. What was I thinking? I knew now that I was crazy. Derek was extremely hot, and I felt drawn to him a little bit, but I wasn't just going to sleep with him, even if he was my husband. I looked in the mirror and smiled. I then proceeded to walk out of the bathroom.

I looked around and didn't see Derek. I looked around a little more, and saw Derek lying on the bed. I coughed. "Mind if I lie down too?" I asked. "I'm kinda tired." I said. Derek spoke. "Sure you-." He stopped talking and opened his eyes. He then sniffed the air. I swear, what was with this guy and sniffing. He then got up and stared at me. His eyes growing darker by the minuet. "What happened?" he asked. I looked around confused. "What do you mean?" I asked. Derek sighed. "Nothing, just don't worry about it." He said. I nodded and lied down next to Derek. "I'm exhausted." I said. Derek sighed. "Me too." He replied. I could feel Derek stiffen. "Are you ok?" I asked. Derek nodded. "Yea, I'm fine, now rest." He said. I closed my eyes, and I could feel Derek's breathing getting heavier and heavier. "Derek, what's wrong?" I asked. I leaned over to look at him. Derek sighed, opened his eyes and turned to look at me. "It's nothing." He said. I furrowed my brows and spoke. "You know, if we're going to make this work, then we need to talk and work together." I said. Derek rolled his eyes. "Fine, then, you want to know what's going on?" he asked. I nodded. "Yes!" I said. "Did you get anything to drink today that you didn't know what it was?" He asked. I gulped. "You did didn't you." He said. I nodded. "My cousin, Lydia." I replied. Derek growled. "Did you just growl?" I asked. Derek sighed. "No, what am I part animal?" he asked. I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. I mean my brother's a werewolf, why couldn't you be." I said. I stopped. "I had just let that slip out." I clamped my hands over my mouth. What was happening? I had promised my brother I wouldn't tell anyone that.

FLASHBACK:

I was fifteen and my brother was eleven. My brother had just gotten back from the hospital. He was attached by an animal. His wounds were healing very nicely and him and I had been hanging out a lot. "Peaches? Can I tell you something without you freaking out?" asked Brian. I nodded. "Of course you can." I replied. "I think I'm a werewolf." He said. I laughed. "How so?" I asked to humor him. "This." He said. Within minutes, my brother was not my brother, but some creature with fangs and fur and claws. My eyes went wide. "Brian?" I asked. The creature nodded and suddenly Brian was standing in front of me.

End of FLASHBACK:

Over the years, I had been helping my brother on the full moons. Life was different, but we kept on going. Then, everything with my parent's death happened and the world went upside-down. Derek stopped and studied me. He then proceeded to walk into the bathroom.

I heard clanging and then he came out holding the vile. "What is this?" he asked. I shrugged. "Lydia gave it to me with that note." I replied. Derek read the note and then looked up at the ceiling. He then looked at me. "Peaches, don't freak out." "What?" I asked. Derek sighed.

"Lydia gave you a potion, to make you irrisitable to me." He said. "I didn't realize that." I said. Derek growled. Since you believe in werewolves, I guess now is a good time as any to tell you that I'm also a werewolf." He said. I stopped. So that's why the potion would work, and the sniffing, and the growling.

Why didn't I think of that. Brian would have had to know. Why didn't he tell me? "Ok." I said. Derek's eyebrows went up. "Ok, that's it." He said. I nodded. "Yup. I can handle this." I said. Derek nodded. "Wow, You got hard skin. I didn't take you for the kind of girl who would handle this well." He said. I nodded.

Derek and I then proceeded to talk. Derek told me about his pack and who they were. He told me stories of things that had happened, and then he proceeded to tell me that werewolves mated for life, basically sealing my fate. "Great. We're stuck together." I said. Derek nodded. "I'm sorry." I said. Derek sighed.

"You didn't know. If you had known, I'm sure you would have done everything to stop it." He said. I nodded. "Well, I guess we could just make the best of it." I said. Derek looked at me with a quirked eyebrow. "Are you always this possive?" he asked. I nodded. Suddenly, I felt very hot.

Like physically hot. "Derek?" I asked. Derek's face straightened. "Shit!" he said.

"What's going on?" I asked. Derek sighed. "Ok, don't freak out, but when a werewolf does a human wedding ceremony, then they have to complete the werewolf ceremony in less than twenty-four hours, or they both die, but

I did a ritual to stop that, but whatever Lydia gave you erased that." He said. "What does that mean in English?" I asked, now panting and lying on the bed. Derek groaned.

"It means I have to bit you and mark you." He said. I gasped. "Seriously, it can't ever be simple?" I asked. "Nope." Was all Derek said. "Ok, how do we do that?" I asked. Derek stopped.

"What?" I asked. "Well, we….um…we have to consummate the wedding and I have to bit you to mark you as mine, so no werewolf gets you." He said. I stopped. I was a virgin.

I didn't want to lose my virginity like this. I wanted it to be special and with my right guy, but I guess that was not going to happen now. I was Derek's wife and he was my husband. We were mates, and that was a bonding for life. As if reading my mind Derek spoke.

"I can do a ritual to prolong the bonding by a week." He said, and with that he ran out of the room. Within minuets the heat left my body and Derek walked into the room. "Feel better?" he asked. I nodded and Derek spoke.

"Let's get the house ready and get the kids." He said. I nodded and we spent the rest of the day unpacking. The house was livable, the truck was returned, and Derek and I sat on the couch, watching T.V. "I'm going to bed." I said.

Derek nodded and spoke. "Ok, don't get freaked out if you hear the rest of the pack." He said. "They crash here all the time." He said. I nodded and then spoke. "Will you accept Brian?" I asked. Derek smiled and spoke. "Of course." He said.

I gave out a sigh of relief, and walked up the stairs to bed. Derek didn't join me that night. I didn't think he would, but we shared a room, so I didn't really know what to expect.