Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf, just Karaline and the plot.
Hi Guys! I haven't got the entire plot 100% worked out right now, but I do have an idea of where I want this story to go… So while I'm working on it, I'd like to know what are some things that you guys would like to see happen in the story? Let me know! (: I had fun writing this chapter. Enjoy, my loves!
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Derek's Point of View:
I had gotten a decent couple hours of sleep before I woke up to clattering in the kitchen.
"God damn it," I grumbled. I pushed up off of the couch and quickly made my way to the kitchen to find no one other than Karaline. "What the hell are you doing?"
Karaline's head snapped up from the drawer that she was rummaging through as she stared up at me with wide eyes like a deer caught in the headlights. "Um. I'm cooking. Is that okay?" she asked hesitantly. I eyed her for a moment.
"No," I declared. Karaline's eyebrows rose.
"Too bad," she shrugged. I clenched my jaw as I watched her move through the cupboards as if she had lived here for years. "I was hungry so I cooked some pasta that I found." She glided towards the cabinet across the room and held up a plate towards my direction. "Are you hungry?" she asked. I didn't reply. But now that she brought it up, I realized that I hadn't eaten in over 24 hours as my mouth watered at the aroma of pasta wafting through the kitchen.
Karaline answered her own question. "Yes, you are," she said as she filled two plates full of fettuccini alfredo before moving to the small dinner table to set them down. Karaline sat down and picked up her fork before she turned to me across the room, still standing and staring at her in disapproval. I wasn't used to people being in my house, let alone staying and cooking in it. Even when Laura was alive, she had her own place and preferred that I visit her since the house creeped her out.
"Do werewolves not eat?" she asked amused. Karaline tilted her head. "Come on, Derek. Just sit down. I can't finish this all on my own," she added in her little voice. She smiled at me with her innocent eyes just as my stomach growled on cue as if it wanted me to give in. God damn it. I sighed in defeat as I sat down in the chair across from the girl – faintly I heard Karaline chuckle as I picked up my fork to begin eating in silence. After a few bites I had to admit, the pasta was delicious.
"You know, your interior designing in here is pretty interesting," she said suddenly, as she scanned the kitchen. I looked up at her from my plate then around at the room. Though I didn't appreciate her expressing her opinion, it was true - the room was a bit unusual. The paint peeling off every cupboard and drawer along with the dark walls of the old room contrasted oddly with the brand new, stainless steel kitchen appliances. Though I loved my house just the way it was with its broken stove and faulty refrigerator, I got tired of eating fast food every night, so I had no choice but to fix up the kitchen.
"I like it," I shrugged. I could feel the girl's eyes on me as I continued to eat.
"Do all werewolves live in houses like this?" she asked curiously.
"Like what?" I responded sharply.
"You know," she eyed the room awkwardly. "Dark, gloom–"
"Is there something wrong with my house?" I questioned defensively as I looked up from my plate. Karaline's eyed widened for a moment at my sudden change of tone.
"Well, no but," she hesitated. "It just kind of creeps me out," Karaline winced. I rolled my eyes as I took another bite of my pasta. But for a second my heart throbbed – her remark reminded me of Laura. The last time I actually had a meal with someone like this was when my sister had been alive.
Karaline continued. "How old are you?" she asked. However, I had already had enough of her questions. I set my fork down, sat straight in my chair, and scowled at the girl sitting across from me.
"Okay since this has become 21 questions, let me take my turn," I replied harshly. Karaline raised her eyebrows, caught off guard by my tone. "How do you know about werewolves?"
The girl looked down at her plate and fiddled with the fork nervously. No answer. "You're going to have to tell me sometime. I need to know," I stated. Karaline continued to avoid my gaze as she pushed around some pasta across her plate. Still no answer.
"Well?" I pushed, starting to become more frustrated. Finally, she looked up at me with hesitant eyes and took a deep breath. I waited.
"I've seen the wolf before," her little voice said. "When my parents first moved to Beacon Hills a year ago, I thought I'd go explore the town. I ended up walking through the woods and that's when I saw it. I noticed its eyes first and I froze, scared to death – it wasn't like any other wolf I had ever seen. It was about thirty feet away, just staring me down. I started counting down the seconds until I would die… But then it just turned around and ran off. It just left!" Karaline shook her head in disbelief.
"After that, I thought about it for a long time and I figured that maybe its looks were deceiving – I thought that it wasn't really harmful since it didn't attack me or anything," she paused. "But then my mom started telling me about the killing spree by the supposed mountain lion and I immediately thought of the wolf. That's when I started researching. I spent months looking up every kind of wolf in books, the internet, movies, but I found nothing. But eventually one book led me to urban legends about wolves, which ofcourse led me to the topic of werewolves."
"At first, I thought it was all BS. But then I came across a drawing of a werewolf in a book and I knew - those glowing eyes are unmistakable." Karaline fell quiet, trying to read my face.
"What were you doing in the woods yesterday?" I asked. Suddenly her brown eyes drifted down and her cheeks turned red.
"I don't know what I was thinking," she said quietly as she shook her head. "I'm supposed to be in town to check on my parents house while they're away and my curiosity took over last night. I wanted to get another glimpse of the wolf, so I took my camera and headed out. I was so stupid. Now I'm facing actually turning into –" her voice cracked as she began to cry softly. Shit, I thought. Why? Why did she have to start crying?
"You still have a chance," I said attempting to comfort her. Out of all people, I was definitely last on the list of people who you would want to try and make you feel better. Karaline wiped her tears and looked up at me.
"It was just so stupid of me to think that I could protect myself from that monster. I'll never be able to see my parents, my sister, my niece… I'm such an idiot" Karaline blinked back her tears.
"Don't think about that. Don't jump to conclusions. Let's just wait," I said.
Karaline's Point of View:
I looked up at the man in front of me as he stared at me with his beautiful green-gray eyes. For once, he wasn't scowling at me – instead he looked concerned. It was the first time that I had actually been able to look at him – no arguments, no anger to stop me from studying his gorgeous face. Suddenly I felt self conscious as I dropped my gaze to the table. I cleared my throat.
"I'm sorry that I'm putting you through all of this. I know that I can be a difficult," I said. "And thank you for letting me take your room." I wasn't sure, but I think I faintly heard Derek chuckle.
"I've been through worse," he said with a hint of a smile on his face. Maybe this guy was capable of being happy. We both fell silent for a few moments.
"I'm gonna go upstairs," I said as I started to get up out of my seat. "My head is killing me and I'm pretty tired."
"Wait," Derek swiftly stood up and made his way to one of the cupboards to grab something. "Take two," he said, handing me a bottle of aspirin.
"Thanks," I smiled up at him before turning to walk out of the kitchen.
"Goodnight, Karaline," he nodded. It was the first time that he had actually said my name and strangely… it sounded nice.
I twisted slightly to peek at him over my shoulder. "Goodnight, Derek."
