I am soooooo sorry it has taken me so long to update! I was busy all weekend and schoolwork has gotten in the way. That and my RPs have been needing some attention.. Anyway, here, have a chapter.

Derek didn't even bother going to bed that night, he knew he wouldn't be able to so much as close his eyes without his other senses becoming too powerful for him. It was like... Like seeing kept his senses in balance, even though they balanced themselves out even if his eyes weren't open. But why?

The wolf stripped from his clothes and stepped under the steaming hot water. It stung his skin at first since it was so cold in the loft- so cold his fingers were almost numb- but he quickly grew accustomed to the temperature.

He wanted sleep. He wanted it badly.

But every time he tried to so much as rest his eyes- something he found himself doing often from constantly feeling exhausted- he saw memories, some old, some as fresh as from the previous night. They all poured into his mind, and all of them seemed to bring immense guilt and anger... He hated it. He hated the fact that this was him. This was all he could do with himself.

If he wasn't with Florence, that is.

But he knew he didn't deserve her. He was lucky to even talk to her. Florence was undoubtably beautiful, but that's not what made him feel as if he was doing the wrong thing when he was with her. He knew that eventually, she would find everything out. She would know that he killed his own family, she would know that he killed his unlce out of anger and the need to quench his thirst for revenge. She would know what he's capable of. She would know that he is a killer. She would know that he cheated on her best friend. How would it look when she found out that he and Kory know each other? How would she be able to deal with all of the lying?

Florence was a girl with high morals. She never smoke, never drank. Hell, she'd only just had sex for the first time, so of course she was honest. The biggest lie she ever told was, "I'm fine."

So now, two years later, he had lie after lie stacking up. It seemed like he was just writing them all down on small clippings of paper, then throwing them into the trashcan. But one day, they were going to overflow... She would notice the loose papers on the floor, and she would pick them up and read them. Probably when she's all alone, maybe with Kory. Kory. Kory.

He couldn't help but feel rising anger at the thought of her. Yeah, he felt terrible about what he did to her, but he got the feeling that she would be the reason that Florence figured everything out. He didn't know what that woman's intentions were. He didn't know if she hated him, if she planned on telling her best friend everything that she knew, or if she somehow still loved him and was willing to lie with him. But really? This girl loved Florence. He could see it in the way they hugged each other, like they were just so close. What did Florence say? "Three years?" So they hadn't seen each other in three years and they were still that close... There was no way in Hell Kory would lie for the man who basically ripped her heart to shreds.

Derek lathered his hair with shampoo, the classic masculine scent filling his nostrils as a very miniscule amount of tension in his head released. He'd always found a very hot shower as a way to get rid of some stress. It was as if he was able to wash away his troubles, even if it was by very, very little. But sometimes, even the smallest amount of release was good for him.

His mind kept on wandering back to the night before last. He remembered all of it. He remembered what it felt like to run his hands over her sweat-slicked body... What it felt like to have her walls tighten around him. He wanted more of it. He wanted to smell her fluids and her sweat again, he wanted to hold her down an-

Stop! It's bad enought that you stole her fucking virginity while she was drunk! Now you want it again?! Derek growled at himself in disgust. She wasn't a toy. She wasn't something to be thought of that way... Even though he had been thinking about that for months, the only things holding him back being the self-control he had learned with age, as well as her pure innocense. But now, that innocense was gone, taken by him, and the longer he held himself back, the longer it was to control the hungry desires.

He never told her about the girl he spent the night with about three months after they met. What was her name? Beth? Something like that... Wow. You can't even remember her name.

"You sure are a fine individual, Derek," he grunted as he rinsed the shampoo from his hair. The frothy suds streamed down his body and poured into the drain... If only he could simply wash his worries and problems off of his body. But, of course, the universe seemed to have something against him. Meeting Leonardo da Vinci himself, alive and well was more realistic than what he was wishing for.

The wolf lifted his chin, allowing the water to pour down his neck to rinse off the rest of the soap suds. It felt so good to have the hot liquid on his neck... If only he could have Florence's soft, warm tongue licking his skin... He mentally punched himself in the face.

Even after all of this worrying about her, after all the guilt and anger directed toward himself for allowing her to fall in love with someone that she didn't even know, he was still fantasizing about her.

He could hear Laura's voice in the back of his head. He could hear his older sister scolding him for being so careless with a girl. Why? Because he'd been given lectures by her countless times. She was constantly telling him to not treat girls as toys. To not use them as a way to get something that he wanted, then to just tell them straight up that he didn't care about them. Which led him back to the girl... Beth... That he got into bed with several months prior.

He remembered telling her that it was just a one-time-thing. That he didn't have any feelings for her at all. He remembered seeing that hurt look on her face, even though he hadn't even spent much time at all building up a relationship with her. It was a week or two, tops. But still... She thought that maybe this guy cared for her... Nah. He just wanted to get into her pants. It was obvious, what with the way he didn't even sugar coat his way of saying, "You mean absolutely nothing to me and I want you out of my loft within the next ten minutes."

Heartless bastard...

Needless to say, that was the last time he did something like that. That night, he dreamt of Laura screaming at him, telling him that he was becoming a horrible man. Becoming? But wasn't the deal sealed? He knew that he was nothing even close to good. He couldn't find any part of him that was moral. That is... Till he really got to know Florence.

It didn't take much time at all. Maybe four, five months to understand how she thinks, how she feels. It changed him.

Derek didn't get it at all. One day, he was nothing more than lustful man who used women and could only think, only feel pure rage and hatred. But on just another day, when he sat on the spiral staircase of his loft after dropping Florence off from the coffeeshop that had become their number one place to meet, he pondered what she was to him for what seemed like an eternity. He found foreign thoughts in his head, things like, I love her... She's the sweetest girl I've ever met... I want to protect her... But when the hell did he start caring? When did he ever consider another person's feelings? Oh, that's right. When he met his mate.

My mate... She's my fucking mate, he turned off the water and shook out his hair with his fingers, and she doesn't even know it. Oh well. She doesn't need to know that. He had walked across the washroom to the counter where he picked up a towel and wrapped it around his hips. He was about to walk out of the room to get some clothes, but he stopped himself. Again. I'm deciding she doesn't need to know something... Derek exhaled in anger and shook his head, finally walking out of the washroom, having to focus on not slipping on the cold tile.

When he stepped into the hallway, it was as if he had stepped out of a warm house on a chilly day. The air around him was cold on his steaming skin, but it felt good to him. He took in a deep breath, feeling the cold air in his mouth and trachea.

Derek made his way out of the hallway and across the main section of the loft to the clothing cabinets. He pulled out some black boxer briefs, along with very dark jeans, and threw the towel onto the table, next to Florence's torn clothes and bra... He really had no idea what to do with them.

He could almost hear Florence telling him to bring some more color into his wardrobe. He allowed a ghost of a smile to play at his lips.

The wolf pulled on the boxers and was just about to put on his pants, but he stopped dead when he heard the heavy metal door being pulled open. Derek's head snapped up, only to see... Kory.

He instantly scowled. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You don't have to be so hostile..." She said as she stepped inside and pulled the door to the side to close it.

Derek rolled his eyes. "That doesn't answer my question."

"Huh. That's funny because that's what I came here for. Answers. Now," she looked him up and down, trying not to stare too much, as she walked across the loft in his direction. She stopped when she was about ten feet away from him, "you're going to put on your pants and explain."

His jaw visibly clenched and his grip on the jeans tightened, but he obeyed after a brief moment of glaring her down. "You're still as bold as you've always been," he said as he dressed his lower half.

"And you're still a dick as you've always been." Kory crossed her arms.

"Look, I'm not in the mood to deal with yo-"

"I don't give a damn! What are you doing, Derek?"

"What are you talking about?" He wasn't feigning innocense. He just really didn't know what she was speaking of.

"Florence is so madly in love with you, yet all you haven't told her a damn bit of the truth. She knows absolutely nothing about you besides your name and where you live!" she exclaimed. Kory had to admit that she loved Derek, really, even after everything, but she couldn't allow him to do the same thing to her best friend. Just the thought pissed her off... "She deserves more than this."

"You think I don't know that?!" he growled, curling his fingers.

"Obviously you don't! If you did, you would have to-"

"Told her what? That I cheated on girls, used women, uh killed my family and my first love?! What the hell will that do?!"

"It'll show her that you trust her. It'll be you being honest! But then you always were a liar, weren't you, Derek?!" Tears began accumulating in the blond's eyes. "You lied to me! You lied when you said you cared about me!"

"Kory, I already told you that I don't care about any of that." Hm. Another huge lie rolling off of his tongue.

"I know! All you care about is your damned self! You're selfish and destructive! Now all you're doing is damaging Flo-" she didn't have the strength to finish her scentance. Derek had grabbed her by her neck and slammed her into the wall next to the spiral staircase, completely knocking the wind out of her small body.

"Listen to me. You don't know a thing about my relationship with Florence," he tightened his grip on her neck a little and leaned his face down close to hers, so close that she could feel his breath on her cheeks as she tried to regain hers. "You don't know how I feel about her. You don't know that I practically saved her from Kyle."

"Yeah," she grunted, "I do."

Derek's eyes darkened even more than they already were. "What do you know about him?"

"He hit her. You got her to leave him," she was able to breathe, but not as much as she liked to. "Woop-dee-doo. That's all you've done for her."

"He raped her. He fucking raped her!," her eyes widened at his statement. "I made sure she never saw him again! I protected her!"

A thought bubbled into Kory's mind. With the few seconds it took her to consider what she was thinking, she debated whether she should say it or not. She knew it was a stupid thing to say when she was in her position, but she couldn't hold herself back. "It's not like what you did was any different."

His anger in his eyes only multiplied. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

He knew what she meant. He knew it was true. He just didn't want to face it.

"I could smell the alcohol on her. Florence is so light, she'd get drunk so easily." Stop talking, Kory. He's gonna kill you! "You had sex with her while she was drunk." Stop... "You stole her viginity while she was dru-"

She was cut off by the larger wolf tightening his grip on her neck immensely, his claws digging into her flesh. Kory clamped her eyes shut at the pain. "D- Der- I c-can't... B-" she couldn't even form the words. She felt as if her trachea was being crushed.

"I know what I did. You don't need to fucking remind me. You are not Laura. You are not my family. You are not my friend. You are absolutely nothing to me. So don't even bother trying to make me feel even worse about something when I won't even think taking your words into consideration." Ha. What a lie. Although it didn't occur to him, he would only hear this woman's voice screaming at him for the next several months.

Thick swells of tears were on the rims of Kory's eyes, and she was squirming in his grip, desperately trying to break free. He kept her right where she was, however, since he was so much stronger than she was.

A long moment passed. Her eyes felt heavier and her lips tingled, everything seemed slower. She really thought she was going to die... With a fierce growl, he released her neck and allowed her to fall to the floor. He would have taken a small step back to put some much-needed distance between himself and this woman that he had suddenly grown to hate- or maybe it was just the memories and guilt that came with her that he hated. Either way, he didn't to be anywhere near her- but he didn't. The wolf inside him ordered him not to back down, to prove that he was not going to cower beneath her words. No. He was going to stand high above her, show her that he was not going to be challenged in his own loft by an omega.

Kory coughed several times before she was able to breathe. Her throat ached immensely, but she slowly looked up at him. When she met his eyes, they were glowing a brutal red.

Her eyes widened.

He's an Alpha.

An Alpha that was breathing heavily in anger, his fists clenched despite the claws that deeply penetrated his skin. Blood gushed out of his palms and fell to the floor.

What is he... Pain keeps you human... What is he doing?

"Derek... Please, listen to me," she pleaded, her voice course and ragged.

He's keeping himself in control.

"I'm not listening to you. I don't know what it is you want, Kory, but you're not sticking around long enough for me to find out."

She fought to catch her breath. Within a moment, she was able to speak properly, although her voice was still course. However, it evened out as she spoke. "I just want to know why."

"Why what?"

"Why won't you tell her anything? She's a strong girl, she can handle it."

"Ha!" Derek's claws had retracted and his eyes faded, but the powerful scent of his body... It was still clouding her. It kept her under him. "You seriously think she can handle this?"

Kory had been afraid of Alphas before. She was afraid of the one that bit her when she was about twelve, thirteen years old. Alex. She hated that name. He tried to force her into his pack, but he was stopped and she was saved by Richard and Talia Hale, Derek's father and mother. At first, Derek was grateful his parents had managed to save this girl. She would make a great wolf- or so he thought. It wasn't long till he realized this girl had a major crush on him... He ignored it. But when Paige died and he needed to feel love again, he came to her.

Then Kate Argent showed up.

Everything went to Hell.

But she had never been so afraid of an Alpha like she was afraid of Derek. That power that was always carried in his scent seemed to be bursting now that he was standing over her in pure anger. It terrified her.

"Well?" Derek asked with a tilt of his head.

"Wh-what?"

"I asked if you really thought Florence could handle the truth," he stated, clear irritation in his voice.

She nodded slowly. "Yes."

"You're wrong, then. She's too fragile. Too delicate."

"You don't know that," Kory said as she stood from her knees to her feet. Her hands and legs were shaking, but she managed to keep her balance. She wanted to be higher, to show Derek that she wasn't afraid of him- even though she was much shorter than he was. And she was terrified of him.

"I know her better than you do," he stated, squaring his broad shoulders ever so slightly.

"That's not true. I'm her best friend!"

"And I'm her significant other. I've been here for two years. You've been gone for three."

"So?! That doesn't mean anything!"

"People change." He was no longer breathing heavily, but he was still angry... He only shoved his anger back into the jar he kept in his chest and put a lid on it. It was something that took a lot of practice, but he managed.

Kory looked him up and down, taking a moment to respond. "Yeah... They do."

He scoffed and took a few steps back then turned to walk to the center of the room, only to turn to her again. "It's natural."

"This is not natural, Derek... What you're doing to her is wrong."

"I'm protecting her from something I know she can't take. How is that wrong?!"

"She trusts you! She trusts you more than anyone in this world, despite the fact that she knows next to nothing about you! She doesn't know what she's gotten into. She doesn't know who she's with. She doesn't know anything!"

"She knows what I am," he groweld, "so you can't say she doesn't know anything."

"What?!" Kory's eyes widened at what he said.

"She knows I'm a werewolf."

"You told her that but you didn't bother to tell her about your family?!" she questioned incredulously.

"Why the fuck does she need to know about my family?! Huh?! What good will that do?!" The jar was really getting hard to keep closed.

"It's not that it'll do any good. It's just that if she's going to be with you, she needs to know who you are! That includes your past."

"I thought a person's past doesn't define who they are," he retorted coldly. He knew that it wasn't true. He just needed something, anything to counter her.

"That's what people who are trying to outrun their pasts tell themselves," she crossed her arms, once again trying to show him that she wasn't afraid to argue. She took a few steps forward. "You're one of those people, aren't you, Derek?"

"I am not running from my past."

"Yes, you are. And you're failing miserably."

Another step closer. Eight feet away. Gentle approach... Maybe she could get through to him that way. Help him... Help herself.

"Shut the hell up."

Six feet.

"How long have you been trying to escape?"

Four feet.

"I said to shut up," his voice was dark and heavy.

"How long has it been? About eight years now?"

Three feet away. She could hear his heart pounding in his chest, and he could hear hers.

"God damn it, Kory! Shut your mouth!" he ordered.

It took all of her self-control not to react to the anger or hostility that had rushed through his voice. "No. You are running, Derek, and I hate seeing you do it."

"Why the fuck do you care?!" he seethed.

"Because..." Gentle approach. "I just do."

Two feet. She could almost feel the anger, as well as confusion, radiating from him.

"You're lying! You don't care!"

"I do care."

One foot away. He didn't back down... He held his ground.

"No. I don't know what you want with me, but whatever it is, you're not getting it. Now leave!"

"I'm not going to say I don't want anything, because that wouldn't exactly be true. But, Derek, it's not for me."

He scowled more than he already was. "You expect me to believe that someone is coming to me, telling me that they want to help someone else without even benefiting themselves? Sorry, but I don't buy it."

"I'm a woman wanting to help her best friend. There's nothing unbelievable about that." Kory's vocie was quiet and soft, the exact opposite of how it was when she first showed up. But, she soon realized that if she wanted to be able to talk to Derek without being thrown into a wall again, she would have to stay calm.

"Yeah, and I'm the guy who betrayed you. You're a wolf. You can't tell me you don't want revenge."

"But the truth is, I really don't want it. I'm not like-"

"Me?"

"Well, yes. I don't want revenge..." Her voice dropped and she looked to the floor. "Especially revenge on someone that I care about."

"Stop saying that."

"Really, Derek..." She looked up at him and met his eyes. "Why is it so hard to believe that I care about you?"

"Because I hurt you. That's how things work. People get hurt, and they want revenge or blood for it. At the very least, they forget about loving that person."

Kory didn't even have to listen to his heartbeat to know that he was thoroughly convinced of what he was speaking of. "You really believe that."

"Damn right I do. It's all I've ever seen. That, 'I'll love you no matter what,' bullshit- it's all fake."

"If Florence were to do something, something that hurt you immensely, would you hate her?"

"Yes." No.

"I know that's a lie, Derek. You love her. I can see that."

He exhaled in pure irritation through his nostrils. "Then why did you even ask?"

"I wanted to prove a point. Love is unconditional. It doesn't just leave because someone hurt you."

Derek stared down at her, wishing he could understand her mindset. How the hell could she be so caring for him, even after being destroyed by him? He saw the tears pouring down her eyes and the way she shook. He heard her heart shattering in her voice. "How are you able to say this to me?"

"Because I forgive you..." she gently cupped his cheek with her hand, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled it down.

"Do not touch me."

It burned in her eyes. Pain.

"Alright. I'm sorry."

He let go of her wrist and walked toward the stairs. "And leave me alone."

"Derek, wait."

He ignored her.

"Derek, please, wait!"

With a growl, he turned to look at her as he placed a foot on the bottom step of the staircase. "What do you not understand about, 'leave me alone?'"

"I just wanted to tell you... Be honest with Florence. You can't keep her in the dark forever. Tell her everything. It's better if it comes from you... But if you don't, I-"

Within miliseconds, Derek was right in front of her, glaring down at her. "If you say anything to her, I swear to God I will rip your heart out of your chest."

Fear rattled through her entire body and she swallowed, her voice shaky. "B- but... She needs to know things. She deserves to."

"You may think this will help her, but it won't. It will destroy her. She can't even watch a documentary on the Holocaust without bawling. How do you think she'll react when she finds out someone she is so close to has such a fucked up past and life?"

Kory could only stare up at him, tears threatening to break from her shining blue eyes.

"You can't even answer that. You know it'll break her."

"Sh- she'll be fine..."

"Like hell she will. Now I'm going to tell you one..." he gently stroked her neck with the backs of his fingers, brushing over the bruises that had already begun to form from his grip. His touch was soft, but his tone was darker than she had ever heard from him, "More..." he looked at her neck then into her eyes, "Time. If you tell Florence anything," a claw extended and lightly scraped down her skin, "I will not even hesitate to kill you."

Her skin tingled from the sensation, but she refrained from pulling away from him. She knew doing even that was a suicidal move.

"Got it?"

The smaller wolf swallowed and nodded ever-so-slightly. She kept her eyes locked on his, even though it made her heart pound in her chest. The intensity that was held in his bright green, gold-flecked eyes bore into her, staring her down completely. It felt as if he was staring right into her soul, flooding her with the cold venom of fear as if he were a snake biting her.

"Yeah," her voice was nothing more than a squeak. "I get it."

How pathetic.

Derek glared at her for a while longer before he finally muttered, "Now get out."

That was all it took for her to run out the door.

Wouldn't be the first time she's done that.

Well this hurt me ;-;