Darkest Powers fanfiction
EVERYONE'S SECRET
Derek Souza/OC: Mary Ralluber

Author's Note: Hey peeps. Here's the ninth chapter of Derek and Mary. C: Enjooy.

Chapter O9.

Mary's words stuck in Derek's head for as long as he could remember. After her story, his hatred for the werewolf half of him only grew, and, despite all the times Mary had told him to accept what he was, he never could. Funnily enough, Derek knew already that Mary couldn't ever accept what she was either.

A couple weeks passed and spring finally turned into summer. He began noticing a slight difference in Mary's behavior. He saw that her face, her body, her everything seemed contained in a forceful manner. He wondered if she'd ever Changed while here at Lyle House, and, if so, when? He noticed immediately when she was absent from her room, or if she was struggling with pain. Despite Mary's instructions to let her be during her times of the month, Derek slipped into her room and sat with her. Sometimes he'd hum a tune he'd heard from his past, a tune he'd either heard from his father or from one of the nurses who cared for him and the other three werewolf pups from the nursery in the Edison Group's labs. The tune immediately calmed her writhing and moaning, and she'd settle down, the grip she'd hold on his hand loosening, but not completely.

As Derek watched Mary in her pained state, he often times wondered, is this what it looks like during the first Change? Mary had said it was painful the very first time, and that only made Derek all the more anxious and scared for it. He wanted it to come, just so he could get it over with, but he dreaded its untimely arrival, constantly thinking on the pain and what he'd become.

Derek tried only contemplating this when Mary wasn't fully aware of his emotions during her pained state, or when she wasn't around, as he didn't exactly want to talk about this fear. He didn't want to have to hear that he had to get over this fear of his and just accept it. He didn't want to hear words from Mary that even she wouldn't listen to.

However, ever since Mary had told her story, he never stopped thinking about the lycanthropy and the Change. He tried not to think about it, failing at every attempt. He wondered what it looked like, and then recalled Mary telling him about the shedding of clothes and returning naked when they transformed back to human state. How painful was it during the first Change? Were there symptoms, or did it come at random without warning? He knew with all of the questions building up in his mind that he'd have to ask Mary sooner or later.

Even though Derek had become more comfortable with asking Mary questions, there was one that he was hesitant to ask. He longed to see how the Change was performed, just so he'd have a heads up on what to expect. The part that kept him from asking was that she'd have to undress, maybe not in front of him, but she'd be naked before his eyes so he could watch the process and study it. Mary wouldn't want to be undressed in front of him, and he didn't want her to be either. Things could easily become awkward between them, should he ask this, so whenever the opportunity to ask came up, he always bit his tongue and kept from asking.

He noticed that Mary had become annoyed with his secret question. He'd come up to her on numerous occasions when no one was around and begin slowly his inquiry, but he'd always cut himself off, bow his head and shake it back and forth, and then finally mutter, "Never mind," and walk away. Now, whenever he began to say something, she snap, "Going to finish this time, Derek? Or are you going to keep another thing from me?" Derek hated the tone of her voice, especially when used towards him, so, just to anger her, he'd shut his mouth and glare.

This had been going on for about a week already and Derek was sick of it. He'd finally decided that he couldn't risk losing Mary's friendship, since he needed her advice and experience to prepare him for his own Change. She'd been the only other werewolf he could talk to about things like this. If they were on unsteady ground, Derek would be in trouble. After all, he needed her more than she needed him.

Her scent led him to the upstairs bathroom, the smell of minty toothpaste filling his nostrils. He appeared at the bathroom door, watching Mary brush her teeth in a pair of short navy blue shorts and a white wife-beater that displayed some cleavage for Derek to see. Spending more time with Mary grew his fondness for her, but he wasn't about to turn into Brady and stare at her large breasts for hours on end.

Mary turned her head, her mouth foamy from the paste as she worked her green plastic toothbrush over her teeth. She arched an eyebrow at Derek's presence. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his green pajama pants and pressed a shoulder against the doorframe. Mary spat her toothpaste into the sink.

"What's up?" she asked casually, not looking at him as she cleaned the sink out. She cupped her hands underneath the faucet and poured the water into her mouth to gargle.

Derek was silent as his eyes met with the ground. He became hesitant again, thinking if he should really ask of her this request. He thought of the consequences. She'd most likely say no, just because she didn't want him to see her naked. However, her saying no went two ways: either she'd brush it off and figure it his mere curiosity to see the Change and not her body, or she'd get offended and it would become awkward between the two of them again.

Then, of course, the was the miraculous yes answer, which would solve all of his problems—well, almost. But he tried not to get his hopes up that high.

"Are you going to say anything, or are you just going to stand there watching the floor. It'll look the same in a year, you know," Mary teased. Derek's dark eyes finally lifted and met with her suspecting ones. She folded her arms over her chest, making the crease between her breasts grow longer, Derek noticed as his eyes involuntarily fell to them. He shook his head and returned to her dark brown eyes. Her black hair framed her face, her bangs slanting over her forehead, and wisps of short hair sticking up at her hairline. Her plump lips were pressed together in anticipation, her cheeks rosy from her natural complexion, her skin clear of any acne, as she continued to use her miracle cream. Derek couldn't help but think of her as such a beautiful girl, and he wondered what it would be like to see her naked.

"Derek," snapped Mary. His mind left his daydreams and he blinked to refocus on reality. Her eyebrows were narrowed with annoyance. "You're acting really weird, of course, when is that not natural? But seriously, can I get out of the bathroom? You're in the way." She motioned for him to move and he slowly comprehended and obeyed.

"Sorry," he mumbled lowly. As Mary made her way out of the bathroom, her arm brushed his lower chest accidentally, yet his heart began to pound. He growled at the unwanted sensation of his heart racing, and Mary looked back at him with a look.

"You better not be growling at me," she snapped with a glare. Derek returned it, rolled his eyes, and slammed the bathroom door shut behind him. Outside, he heard her sigh heavily and listened as her footsteps softened when she got to her room.

Derek resisted the urge to throw his fist into the wooden door with anger. That hadn't exactly gone as planned. Now things were worse, he feared. Something had to happen soon, to mend whatever was happening between them. Was it Derek causing this change in their relationship, or Mary? Even he didn't know and it upset him. Derek was beginning to really like her. She helped him with his Changing questions.

Maybe he was taking this all out of perspective. Perhaps nothing really was changing between the two of them. Maybe it was just a phase that they both would get over. He tried to remain positive. Just as he thought before, Derek really needed Mary.

Derek immediately sat up in bed, breathing heavily. Something was wrong … again. He looked over at Simon's bed. At least he was sleeping peacefully. He then started to search for Mary's scent. His eyebrows narrowed. She wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere in the house. Derek's heart began to beat fast as all irrational thoughts came to mind. He couldn't even focus on staying calm. With sweat gleaming on his naked chest, Derek darted out of his bedroom, slinking around in the hall down the stairs. He needed to be outside, in case Mary's scent was stronger there.

Sure enough, when he reached the bottom stair, he knew Mary had been here. His heart raced even faster and he wasn't sure he should be excited or terrified that he'd found her scent. Nothing smelled off about it, which was a good thing, but what if she was gone?

If Mary ever left Lyle House without Derek, he didn't have to think twice about his heart breaking. And it was then that he knew he genuinely cared for her.

Running on soft feet towards the backdoor where the alarm system was installed in naught but his boxers, he punched in the code, and then cringed when the acceptance beep sounded. He listened carefully for either of the nurses or the boys, but no one stirred. He breathed a sigh of relief, and then pushed open the door.

The cool summer night air hit him and blew through his hair, which was still wet from his nightly shower, and also from the sweat that gathered at his hairline. The air made the sweat on his body cool and made him sticky, but he didn't care. He raised his nose in the air and sniffed for that strange familiar scent that belonged to the she-wolf. Derek's heart began to slam against his chest with such force it made his body hurt when he couldn't find her scent. He stumbled towards the side of the house where the garden shed was kept and leaned against it, fighting the urge to cry. Why was she gone? Why was she gone? Pain eroded from his chest and filled his entire body. He bared his teeth and began to growl, but fought to keep it low so as not to wake the house. After several long minutes of waiting for even a faint smell, Derek's eyes shut and he fell into slumber.

However, he was soon awakened by what he searched for.

He was suddenly hit with the stench of a wolf and his eyes flew open. Straight ahead stood a large black wolf, eyes bright and green and leering at him. The body of it was not so rugged, but it was strong and was shaped femininely. Derek cocked his head to the side, eyebrows knitted together in puzzlement.

"Mary?" he whispered, but the wolf heard him anyway. It trotted towards him, and Derek didn't move an inch. His nose never deceived him. This animal was the girl he was attracted to.

The wolf made it to him, and he realized that it was smaller than he initially thought. The wolf was still big, especially for a wolf, but when he imagined a werewolf in form, he figured them to be much bigger, perhaps almost the size of a lion. Mary's wolf size was probably that way because of her human size. Did they go hand-in-hand?

"What are you doing?" he asked her gently. Mary looked into Derek's eyes before rubbing her furry face against his cheek, pawing gently at his legs. He slowly reached a hand towards her ear and ran his fingers through her fur. It was so incredibly soft, like a brand new blanket. He heard her whine softly and then looked back in her eyes, taking the sides of her face in both of his hands.

"So this is what you look like," he said. "This is your freedom form." And then, it suddenly hit him. Mary had come out here for a run. He knew how she loved running, and he'd noticed how strained she'd become especially when the summer hit. Relief flooded his body and he chuckled, shaking his head. Mary's lips pulled up at the corners and a long tongue lolled out.

"You came out here to run."

A soft whimper escaped Mary's muzzle and her panting grew heavy. Suddenly, Derek noticed something changing about her. Her body was transforming.

"Where are your clothes, Mary? I'll get them for you," Derek said quickly as he began to stand. Mary shook her head and growled at him, pouncing on his chest to make him stay. His eyebrows narrowed with confusion as he watched her face stretch. The first thing to shrink was the muzzle, and the black hairs on her body began to shorten. Her paws began fingers and toes on hands and feet. When Mary's mouth semi-returned to normal, she whispered, "Watch," and Derek stayed put.

He couldn't understand how she'd figured out that he'd wanted to see the process of the Change. Maybe it was just a coincidence, that since he was already here and she was already like this, he might as well watch and learn. After all, Derek knew anything Mary did for Derek was just to prepare him for the Change.

Mary's wolf body slowly began to shift back to her human one. Her beautiful face returned, and the only hair on her body was left on her head, which trailed down over her shoulders. Once Mary was back to normal, he was afraid for his eyes to leave his face.

"That's the Change, Derek," she said softly, cupping her hands around either side of his jaw. He gulped and struggled to keep a steady breath.

"Let me get your clothes," he offered again, but Mary placed a finger over his lips and shook her head. She moved her hair back and exposed her entire nude body to him. Derek's face was beet red and he became embarrassed and ecstatic.

"Mary …"

"Shush, Derek," she said. "How many times do I have to tell you to just be quiet?"

And then, without warning, she crashed her lips into his, wrapping her arms around his sturdy neck. Derek's eyes were wide with shock and for a brief moment, he didn't kiss her back, as he didn't know how to react. Finally, his eyelids lowered and his hands fell to her bare waist. Her skin was so soft, he'd never realized. His fingers lightly grazed her backside, but then quickly retracted. A soft chuckle escaped Mary's lips and she parted from him, the bridge of her nose touching the tip of his.

"I told myself I wasn't going to fall in love with another werewolf, that it would only cause so much more chaos in my life. But"—she sucked on his lower lip gently—"I realized that my life would be so much chaos without you in it. Derek …" It was then Derek's turn to place his finger against her lips.

"How many times do I have to tell you to be quiet?" he whispered with a grin, and he grabbed the back of her head and pressed his lips into hers. Mary's arms unlocked themselves from around his neck and her hands began to roam the strong and chiseled planes of his chest while Derek's hands roamed her body themselves.

They spent the entire night out there, wrapped in each other's arms, expressing the love they'd bottled up for so long .