He pulled the trigger.

He pulled the trigger.

Saying this at any other time may sound cliche, but holy hell, time really did stop for him.

Whether it be from anger, fear, adrenaline or instinct, Derek managed to run forward, grab the man who held Florence's shoulder, spin him and push him forward, toward the front of the alley before the bullet hit anyone. Well... Anyone, save him.

Kory, who had been watching in fear, allowed her wolf to take her body over for just a moment. That's all she needed to grab Florence from the one who held her by slashing him across the cheek with four extended claws. His skin split open, exposing the inner flesh. Just seconds after, blood began to seep out of his cheek. Letting out a growl of frustration, he clenched the pocket knife he was holding, then lunged at Kory.

Meanwhile, Derek was in the middle of the three men, trying to keep them all away from Florence. It was actually pretty easy, considering they were focused on getting him out of the way so they could get to her. He began with disarming the man with the gun by grabbing his wrist and brutally twisting it. He then kicked the gun to the side.

After that... Everything was a blur. Blood flew and splattered everywhere... Loud roars erupted from both Alpha and beta as they were wounded and angry, animals trying so desperately to break free from their cages. Kory, however, really was able to control herself. Although she was bitten, she had always had the ability to keep her emotions at a level she wanted them. Derek, on the other hand... He couldn't.

After so many years of keeping every negative emotion inside, after holding it all down so tightly, he was finally able to let loose, to allow himself to roar out in anger, tear something apart, feel his muscles stretch and contract with each movement. He wouldn't be able to even begin to describe how good it felt to taste blood that wasn't his own, to hear a man scream out in agony.

Maybe that was a bad thing, to want to cause someone else pain. But imagine having chest and back pains every night because there was just too much building up. Derek would have to work his anger out, literally, till his muscles were burning and numb and he would collapse. But it was never enough...

The bloodlust was just too much.

Florence's heart nearly stopped in her chest. What she just saw in the theater... It was happening. Blood was everywhere, on the walls, the floor. On her. She had heard the phrase, 'It reeks of death,' multiple times in some book she read, but she had never thought of it as literal. But now... It really did smell as if death was surrounding her. The coppery acrid stench of blood burned her nose and twisted her gut, making her gag. She somehow managed to keep herself from vomiting when her stomach lurched, although the feeling of keeping it down was extremely unpleasent.

Kory's opponent had run away moments after he realized he was losing the fight. Although he had a broken leg, bleeding cheek and messy hair, he would live. As pissed off as she was, Kory couldn't bring herself to cause him any real damage. She didn't want to hurt anyone... She couldn't become the very thing she swore she wouldn't be: a monster.

She watched the man run before her gaze shifted down to Florence, who was watching Derek in pure terror, her eyes wide and her body shaking. She couldn't move. Couldn't run. All she could do was watch...

Kory looked up at Derek, who had killed two of the men he was fighting at that point. Now, he was throwing the last into the wall. His back hit the hard brick wall and his spine cracked as he let out a short yell of pain.

Short stutters escaped Florence as she tried to speak, to say something, maybe to scream. She wanted to so badly... Anything to get Derek to stop.

With long, sharp claws, Derek thrust his hand into the man's gut and shoved it up through his chest. His forearm was about midway through his body when he was able to grab his heart and squeeze it, feeling it trying to pump.

The man let out horrible cries of agony and tears accumulated at the corners of his eyes.

Florence couldn't even move at this point, same as Kory. They both could only watch as Derek's hand plowed through the other man's torso, making him scream in pain. It was horrifying, hearing someone screaming like that, even if they were terrible human beings. But still... He was human.

"D-Der-" she choked out. She had to stop him someway, somehow. But how do you stop something that dangerous without getting hurt yourself? And how the hell do you even move when fear has you immobilized? Oh. That's right. You fucking don't.

As he let out grunts of pain, Derek pulled his arm out of his torso, bringing his heart out with it. He then slashed into his chest, tearing the flesh apart with every movement before ripping down to his abdomen and pulled his intestines out, growling ferally the entire time.

"Derek," Kory mumbled, her body in a cold sweat, "you have to stop..."

He didn't. He couldn't. He slashed at the now dead man's torso, brutally mutilating it. Blood continued to fly everywhere, covering his hands, arms, shirt and mouth. Mostly his mouth... He enjoyed ripping their throats out with his teeth. Tasting their blood, feeling it gush into his mouth was exhilerating, it made him feel powerful, monstrous. Everything he was and was driven to be.

Kory raised her voice, trying so hard to hold more confidence. Huh. She only sounded desperate. "Derek, you need to stop!"

The Alpha only continued gutting the human, enjoying it all too much.

"Derek!"

She didn't know how she did it, but Kory summoned enough strength and courage to push Derek as hard as she could, making him fall backward. With an angered growl, he quickly pushed himself back up, glaring darkly at the girl before him. You know that feeling you get deep in your mind... The one that tells you to run, to scream, to call for help? That's what Florence was getting. Only she couldn't do any of it. She couldn't do anything.

"Oh, god..." Florence whispered. He was going to kill her... Derek was going to kill her best friend. Tears fell from her cheeks, her throat feeling as if it were constricting.

Kory growled deeply, her eyes glowing yellow. She stood in front of Florence protectively, soon realizing that the girl behind her would more than likely hear her growling. Well... She had to find out sometime.

The blond knew it was a very bad idea to challenge Derek at this point; he could kill her so easily. But what else was she supposed to do? Allow him to dismember her then move on to Florence? Hell no.

"Kory, do-n't," Florence stuttered, her voice barely even a whisper. "Ple-ease don't."

Kory only ignored her.

Derek stepped forward, invading her personal space as his chest rumbled with a low growl. His burning red eyes bore into hers, just waiting for her to either move or submit.

She wanted to submit. Every molecule that made up her body, every instinct demanded her to. But she just... She couldn't... Kory growled loudly, getting closer. Really, she expected him to end her right there.

Derek grabbed her by the throat and slammed her back into the wall, the same way he did with the last man he killed. Blood smeared on her skin as he held her with the hand he shoved into said man's gut. Kory let out a grunt of pain and gripped his wrists, gasping. The impact of hitting the wall forced all air out of her lungs, leaving her breathless.

Florence managed to push herself up, although she was shaking violently. "Der-ek, p-please.. Stop..." Fresh tears poured down her cheeks. She couldn't lose Kory. Not her. Oh, please, God... Not her.

Derek ignored her, only stared at the blond's throat. He raised a clawed hand up, ready to slash at her throat.

"Derek!" Florence cried out, Kory closing her eyes tightly. She wasn't ready to die... But struggling just never works. So what was even the point? "Derek, please, stop!"

He clenched his jaw, stuggeling to get his shit together. His human part was breaking through, getting back. But having this woman, this person who could literally ruin everything under him felt so fucking great. Just one slice to the throat, and it would be fine... Right?

No.

He knew that Florence would never forgive him for killing her best friend. But really, at the moment, he could barely care. He wanted her gone. Even if he had to kill her... She needed to leave.

The fact that she wasn't even struggling, only accepting her fate just made everything better.

"Please, don't do this...!" Florence begged, daring to get closer to him. "You're both hurt. You need to relax, give yourself time to calm down."

"Shut the hell up, Florence," he growled, glaring at her with burning red eyes.

She swallowed, feeling her gut twist even more with sickness. "I can't. I don't know why you want to kill her..." streaks of tears wetted her cheeks, her eyes and nose red. "But she's my best friend. Please... Let her live."

Derek's scowl darkned as he stared at her. The inner turmoil he was experiencing was almost aggressive. He couldn't decide... Let her live and make his mate happy, or kill the threat...

"Please..."

When you can't decide on something, there's always that one thing that you do. You just.. Let someone think for you. It's kind of comforting to know you can fall back on someone when you're so unsure.

Glaring into her eyes, he removed his hand from Kory's throat, allowing the girl to breathe easier.

The blond quickly moved away from him, getting back to Florence, who pulled her close in a tight hug.

She broke down in sobs.

Kory immediately brought her hands up to her back and rubbed it soothingly. "Shh... Florence, it's ok. It's over now. It's alright."

"No! It's not alright!" she cried into her friend's shoulder. "My boyfriend just slaughtered people, he- he's a monster!"

Fuck... That hit him hard. Derek clenched his jaw and took a step back, lowering his head. He was still so pissed off... But hearing those words from Florence really made him stop enough to have a clear mind. But... His back hurt. Badly... More like his lung hurt. But then it was probably just anger, stress and anxiety.

"He's not a monster..." Kory whispered softly, trying so hard not to cry.

"He is, Kory! He just ripped that man's heart out!"

Her sobs with the things she was saying made him wish he was deaf. Hearing it made him feel icy daggers stab his chest. Or... Back pains? Chest pains? Why was it getting hard to breathe...?

"To protect you."

"Then why was he going to kill you?!"

"Because..." Kory sighed lightly, not knowing what to say. If she told the truth, there would be so much explaining to do...

"Because," Derek cut in, "she invaded my kill."

Florence instinctively tensed when she heard his voice, yet she still peeked up at him over her friend's shoulder, her eyes red from crying. "That's no excuse," she whispered, knowing he could hear her.

"I don't run off of justice, Florence... Not when I'm like that. So forgive me for losing it for once," he said dryly.

Kory sighed, knowing he was right. But still... How the hell would she explain any of this without having to tell Florence everything? Or almost everything?

Florence remained silent for a long while. All she could do for that time was bury her face in Kory's shoulder, looking for a sense of comfort. She couldn't look at him like that... Not when his clothes, mouth and hands were covered in blood. She couldn't bear to see another person's life in his hands, to see his mouth dripping with it.

The small human couldn't help but realize blood was coming out of his mouth and was dripping down his neck... He had been ripping the men's throats out with his tee- fangs...

Why is he breathing heavily...?

"Florence, listen to me," Derek began as he walked closer to her, every step sending horrible pains up his back. He pushed the pain off.

"Don't," she said quietly, her voice afraid as she stepped back, Kory looking up at him while raising her arm, trying to keep him back.

He let out a low growl, glaring at Kory. He gave that, "Back down," look he had given her just moments before, although he held less hostility in his eyes. He made sure to cut back on that when he realized just how terrified Florence truly was. She was just... Holding it back, keeping as much as she could together.

Kory whimpered lightly in response, lowering her arm and taking a step back... Leaving Florence to him.

The brunette kept her gaze down, her eyes closed as tears poured down her shaded red cheeks.

"Florence... Look at me."

She only shook her head and wiped her cheeks with her sleeve.

His first response was to growl, order her to. But he quickly changed his mind... Scaring her any further would only make things worse. With a light sigh, he added, "Please, Rabbit, look at me."

"I can't, Derek..." she whispered, her voice broken.

"Why not?"

It took her a moment to respond, as if she were trying to collect herself. All the while, he was trying to figure out how to keep his voice sounding normal while trying to breathe. "Because you're covered in it. I- I don't even want to come close to you. You killed them, Derek..."

"They were going to kill you. What else was I supposed to do?"

"I don't know... Beat them up, knock them out. Not kill them."

Derek took in a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair, which only served to make his back feel worse. Seriously, what the hell was happening? "It isn't that easy for me, Florence."

"Whatever... I'm going home," Florence said as she turned away from him, heading toward the street.

"No way. You're not staying home tonight," he argued, stepping forward and grabbing her arm.

Florence flinched and tensed up, ducking her head as if to protect it. She didn't even turn around... She was too afraid.

Derek stepped in front of her and grabbed her chin, making her look up at him. "Don't... I won't hurt you. I promise."

She could only stare up at him, more tears rolling down her cheeks. "You're a monster, Derek. Your natural instinct is to kill... I can't change that."

What ever happened to having a thing for werewolves? Is the truth really just the wolf she had been lying with was only waiting for her to fall asleep so he could eat her? Did he ever have thoughts or urges of killing her?

Kory could only stare at the ground as she listened. Surely she only meant Derek... Not werewolves in general...

"Have I ever hurt you out of anger? Have I ever hit you or tried to kill you?"

"No..." But still... He could just be waiting for her to lower her guard.

"No. I never will. I know I killed some people tonight, but, Florence, they were after you. If I didn't, they would have found you later and attacked then."

His words were so honest, so true. She couldn't deny the latter. Florence knew if the threat wasn't eliminated, it would have served as a problem later, but... Why?

"Why, Derek?" Florence asked, her voice small and afraid.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you suddenly rage out? You've always been so... Relaxed. I know you're a wolf so maybe it's natural for you to be angry, but you never seemed that way. It's like... You're a really good actor or something..."

His response was immediate, leaving her no time to even think about what she said. "What else should I have done? You were about to be shot. I acted."

"That doesn't answer my question..."

"I think what he meant," Kory, who had been standing a couple of feet away from Florence to her right, spoke up, "was he was angry that someone would hurt you badly enough to kill you. He just loves you that much."

Wait, what? Since when did she help him?

Derek stared down at his gilfriend, really hoping she would believe her. "She's right..."

Florence looked back up at him, only to take him by serious surprise.

How could there be any light in her eyes, anything to bring him hope.

"Because I love you too." Tears poured down her cheeks. "I- I hate knowing someone died this way, but... Everyone has to go sometime in some way... They're gone now, so why worry so much? You.. you did this to protect me. I understand."

Kory stared at her friend in disbelief. What the hell happened to her? What made her realize this? Normal Florence would have just.. crawled into the fetal position in the corner and bawled. But now she's thinking rationally, standing up to a monster and not running away.

"How...?" Derek asked, his thoughts almost identical to the other wolf's.

"You told me so. I trust you."

Well, shit.

She's got to learn a thing or two about trusting people, now doesn't she?