She couldn't stop smiling. Everyone was going to know she was hiding something simply because she couldn't contain her happiness. Lacing her fingers together over her stomach, she pressed in on her diaphragm and bit her bottom lip to push down her excitement as she looked up at the clock. Thirty minutes until school was over and she could be with him again.

Derek had asked her to be his mate. She was on cloud nine. Despite Peter's plan, she couldn't hold in how overjoyed she was that Derek loved her enough to make her his mate. She'd fallen right into the trap Peter had laid for her, fallen into his plan so perfectly, and it had all been her choice. Despite that fact, she was a girl in love, and what could be expected of her? For the guy she was in love with to love her back... that was more than most girls could ask for.

"Lydia Martin!" the speakers overhead shrieked in a crackling voice. "Report to the principal's office. Lydia Martin."

Sighing, she gathered her books from the floor beside her desk and dismissed herself from the classroom. As she headed for the office, a vague feeling of dread clouded over her good mood. Gerard... she'd forgotten about him. Surely he wasn't thrilled that she'd broken the kanima curse. He hadn't confronted her since she'd last seen him fleeing from Derek the night of the Prom, but she didn't doubt this visit to the principal's office would be anything but normal.

"Ah, Lydia," chimed the secretary as she entered. Lydia offered her a smile and took a seat where the woman directed, waiting for Gerard to admit her to his room. When his door swung inward, his conniving face smiled at her and beckoned her to come in. Rising, she raised her chin and marched inside, feeling as if the door to a cage was clanged closed behind her as the door shut.

"Take a seat," he spoke, his voice like honey laced with cyanide.

"I'd rather stand," she replied simply, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Very well," he assented, sliding into his office chair and leaning back, steepling his fingers over his stomach and smiling benignly at her. "I'm sure you've got some idea as to why I've requested your presence."

"You want to know Peter's plan," she answered wisely, shaking her head, "I already told you, I don't know."

"And I know you're lying, so now we've got an understanding," he replied succinctly, his eyes flashing with irritation. "Now that we've moved past that, let's get to the point." Leaning over onto his desk, he fixed his penetrating gaze on her, but she refused to budge. She stared him down as he continued.

"I have a feeling he's using you to get something that he wants from Derek."

The old man's intuition astounded her, but she refused to show it on her face. She was Derek's mate now. It was her job to protect him just as he would protect her. She'd already set her mind to resist Peter with all of her will if he tried to make her follow through with his demands. He wouldn't be happy, but she didn't care. She would die before she would watch the love of her life murdered.

When she didn't respond, Gerard nodded to himself and sat back, lacing his fingers together and resting his hands in his lap. "I will take your silence as a clue that I'm close to the truth. So what exactly is it that he wants?"

"I'm pretty sure you both want the same thing," she replied finally, her voice edgy and tight. "You're both murderers. You have a lot in common actually." Her feisty side had shown itself, and she pursed her lips angrily to refrain from snapping at him again.

Gerard smiled, knowing he'd managed to get under her skin. "Yes, Peter Hale and I have a lot in common."

She caught the briefest glimpse of the round, silver case he carried with him at all times seconds before it unhinged and he shook it at her, a cloud of powder engulfed her. Coughing at the nauseating smell, she covered her mouth, but it was too late. She got a flashback of Derek's face when she blew the wolfsbane dust in his face, and her eyes widened as she fell to the floor. But she wasn't a werewolf... she was immune. This couldn't be the same thing, plus the powder was white and not purple.

Writhing on the floor, her eyes wide and her tongue swollen so she couldn't speak, she looked up to see Gerard leaning over her as her vision began to go blurry around the edges. "We'll just have to see how useful you are."

Her vision blurred completely and went black.

Groaning to herself, Lydia's head rolled back and forth slowly as she began to wake up. Darkness surrounded her, and for a moment she thought she may be blind. However, upon opening her eyes, she realized it was night time. Her head ached and her back was cold and stiff as she looked around her slowly to gather some idea of where she was.

A constant white noise filled her ears, and she frowned, turning her head to the right to see she was laying about twenty feet from the river that ran around the outside of Beacon Hills. She was stiff from laying on the rocky shore, and the night was cool, chilling her as she realized she appeared to be alone. Knowing better than to think Gerard would simply drug her and dump her beside the river, she suspected he and his hunters were somewhere nearby, but she could hear nothing other than the rushing water.

Sitting up slowly, she held her head in her hands and sighed as a dizzy spell swirled around her. When it passed, she looked up once more and her heart leapt in her chest to see red eyes watching her from the trees. Panic hit her like a wave, and she moved to stand, to run, to do anything at all, and then Derek materialized out of the forest. She was relieved to see him, but knowing Gerard had wanted him to come save her, blood rushed to her head in fear for him.

"Derek..." she spoke, her throat thick from the drugging. He moved swiftly to her side, his arm circling her shoulders and giving her support. The feel of him was invigorating, but he wasn't safe.

"Lydia, what happened? I went by the school when you weren't home, and the secretary told me you'd gone home ill with Gerard." He frowned at the name, knowing better than to believe Gerard would be kind enough to give Derek Hale's mate a ride home from school. "I followed your scent and it led me here."

She was desperately trying to piece the clues together - How had Gerard gotten her here without his scent being in the air? Was Derek that worried about her that he had simply overlooked the hunter's scent? What was the drug the old man had blown in her face? - but her mind felt fuzzy and heavy from the drugs.

"Derek... you have to get out of here..." she managed, weakly looking up at him as he frowned in confusion.

"I'm not leaving you, what are you talking about?" He shifted his weight, moving so he could better see her face, and she noticed the moon glint off of his wolf eyes. Lifting her hand, she touched his cheek and tried to make him listen to her.

"You're in danger... Gerard drugged me... It's a trap," she revealed, wishing her muscles didn't feel like lead so she could get up and force him to leave.

"He drugged you? Why... what's going on?" He glanced around, rising swiftly to his feet as he did so. Her hand went to his ankle for support and comfort as he swiveled around, sniffing the air and glaring into the trees.

She heard only a brief, high-pitched twang before an arrow pierced Derek's shoulder and he cried out, stumbling back a few steps. "No!" she exclaimed, reaching for him but finding her legs unable to move. "Derek!"

He easily tore the arrow out of his shoulder, grinding his teeth together as Gerard and a group of three hunters appeared out of the dark woods. The old hunter smiled that poisonous smile as Derek growled at him.

"Just as I suspected, the alpha arrives to protect what he believes is his." Lydia's heart skipped a beat. How could Gerard know so much? Had he honestly guessed they were more serious than anyone knew? She doubted the man could have that much intuition. When neither of them responded, Gerard laughed, a wicked, low sound that hurt her ears.

"Come now, Derek. You didn't honestly believe you were hiding anything, did you?" he asked, his voice chilling her as he took a step closer. Derek refused to move from her side, protectively hovering over her with his fists clenched. She wished she could tell him to attack, take advantage of Gerard's monologuing to kill the evil man once and for all, but her tongue was still too thick and she knew Derek would stubbornly refuse to leave her anyway.

"The way you protected her at the Prom... the way you saved her from Jackson in the locker room..." he continued, sparking Lydia's attention. "Don't you think I can recognize a mated werewolf when I see one?"

Her heart fell even as he heard Derek's low, threatening growl. Gerard was smarter than she'd given him credit for. She suddenly felt severely outnumbered, by this sly old hunter and by Peter who was also getting exactly what he wanted, however indirectly. She may not be the one to kill Derek, but someone else would, and it was still her fault. She made him weak because she was weak and he had promised to protect her.

"Derek... go... please," she begged, managing the words over the cotton in her mouth.

"I'm not going to leave you," he murmured to her under his breath. She appreciated his loyalty, but it would kill her to watch him die.

"I would rather live without you... than watch that snake kill you..." she hissed, glaring at Gerard. Derek's clawed hand touched her shoulder, squeezing gently to tell her he appreciated the words.

"Isn't that sweet?" Gerard piped in, pulling off one of his gloves one finger at the time. "She believes she's in love with you, Derek. How'd you manage that?" He withdrew the small silver case from his pocket, and Lydia's eyes widened before narrowing in anger.

"I see you recognize this, sweetheart. Did you enjoy the first dose? It's a magical remedy, you see, something an old warlock friend of mine gave me for circumstances like this. The first bout is relatively easy: blurred vision, dizziness, lethargy, and rare cases of blackouts." He glanced nonchalantly over at her and shrugged slightly. "Well, not that rare, I suppose. Anyway, it's the second dose that really does the trick. Unfortunately, I've never seen a victim of the second round survive. Shall we see how immune you are to this?"

He laughed, the three hunters with him smiling darkly, and Derek roared furiously at him. Fixing him with a scornful look, Gerard shook a cautioning finger at him. "Come now, Derek. You wouldn't want silver poisoning directly in your heart this time, would you?"

The words curdled Lydia's blood and she fought to stand, to find something to throw at him, but she still couldn't move. A mild feeling had reached the toes on her left foot, but she couldn't stand and was helpless as the old man laughed evilly once more.

"Gerard, I know we agreed to make this as drawn-out as possible, but don't you think you've gone a bit overboard?" came a familiar voice, drawing everyone's attention toward the trees to the side of the group.

Peter appeared from the darkness, clad in his familiar black trenchcoat, his brown hair combed back from his face and his gait smooth and predatory as he glided toward the party. Lydia's eyes widened in shock, and she felt Derek tense at her side. They were severely outnumbered.

"Hello again, Lydia," Peter purred, smiling at her. "It appears I was right after all?"

Her jaw clenched and she felt Derek step back in confusion. "What is he talking about, Lydia?" he asked.

Looking up at him, she saw the fluster in his eyes, and her heart fell.

"You haven't told him?" Peter asked incredulously, feigning a girlish gasp. "I thought you two were a team, but you didn't tell him about our little deal?"

"We never had a deal," she snapped, heat rising in her face.

"What deal? What is going on?" Derek asked impatiently, looking from Gerard to Peter then down to her.

"Oh, but we did," the elder werewolf continued ardently, pacing back and forth while the hunters kept their arrows trained on the alpha guarding his human mate. "Let me refresh your memory. You were to make Derek fall in love with you, become his mate, and then kill him. Since you're immune to a werewolf's bite, it would be rather impossible for him to fight back, and boom, bye bye Derek." Peter smiled maliciously as Derek's jaw dropped open and he backed away from her.

Her hand reached out for him, but he was shaking his head, staring at her with betrayal in his blue eyes. "Derek, don't listen to him! I never... I didn't..."

"You never loved me," he whispered, backing toward the river. "It was all a lie so you could manipulate me... to make me turn you into my mate... so you could kill me."

"No! My love for you has never been a lie. I couldn't lie to you, and you know that," she pleaded, trying to shift her body to go to him, but her strength was still too far gone. "I've never been able to lie to you. I only tried once, and I failed miserably. Please! You know this. You know me."

"I have no idea who you are..." he whispered, the pain and betrayal in his voice tearing her heart into pieces. Tears sprang to her eyes, pouring down her cheeks as she reached for him and he backed away again even though she had no way of actually touching him across the distance he'd put between them.

"I was stupid enough to believe you," he added, shaking his head. The eminent danger of the lurking hunters and Peter had left his mind now, his heart broken and his soul torn with betrayal.

"Derek, please..." she sobbed, trying to pull herself to him across the rocks. "Please... I love you! More than anything... more than life itself."

"Well, that's fortunate," Gerard spoke, flicking his wrist. Instantly, all three hunters let loose their arrows, all three striking Lydia and throwing her back onto the ground with cry. She screamed from the pain which turned her vision red. Despite her atrophied strength, she writhed on the ground, realizing the arrowheads had been laced with the deadly magical powder Gerard had threatened her with.

On the edges of her consciousness, she heard a furious roar and yells from the men, but she could see nothing through the red haze as the drug entered her bloodstream. An arrow protruded from each of her shoulders and one lodged in her hip, her body screamed in pain. Tears ran from her eyes and into her ears, staining her face with the grief of betraying Derek however unintentionally.

Through the haze of the pain and drugs, Peter's face appeared in her vision, hovering over her with a small smile on his face. "Well done, Lydia," he commended her as she felt like she was choking on the pain. "You see, the plan was never to have you directly kill Derek. It was more something like him falling in love with you, and you falling in love with him, and him finding out he'd been betrayed by the one girl he's ever loved. Betrayal is so much more deadly than actual murder. Now he's weak and broken, and he'll be so easy to pick off... after I torture him of course."

He smiled triumphantly and she wished she could punch him, but instead she cringed and cried from the shooting pains throughout her petite frame. Peter's plan had never been for her to kill Derek. It had been for her to weaken him by falling in love with her and having his heart broken. She was merely a pawn, an instrument to bring down the stronger target.

As she sobbed, her throat swelling and closing until she could barely breath, she said one word with her last breath, "Derek..."