Disclaimer: Teen Wolf characters are not mine.

A/N: This is the end. Sorry.

One Month Later

The leaves had fallen off the trees. That was supposed to mean something, I could feel it. But the thoughts were hidden in the recesses of my mind, and I wasn't too concerned. Not about that, anyways. Prey was a little scarcer, though. Everything was going to ground, preparing for the long stretch of cold ahead.

Cold. Cold was coming. I didn't like cold. I couldn't remember why, but again, I didn't really mind.

Following a well-worn path, I caught the scent of deer. But deer were too big for me to take on without risk of serious injury, so I discarded the notion and focused on something more attainable. Like a rabbit. I could smell a rabbit's trail, and it was fresh.

I loped down the path, keeping low to the ground. The rabbit was close, I could smell it. I slowed to a silent walk, considering the shifting breeze. If I approached from downwind, it wouldn't catch my scent or hear me coming.

The air shifted again, washing over me. But instead of bringing me the scent of a rabbit, it brought me something new. Or old. It was a new old scent. I'd smelled it before, but not for a long time.

The scent stirred something in my mind, and I shied away from it. I didn't want to remember, didn't want to become something more. No, I just wanted my rabbit.

I shook off my curiosity and stuck my nose to the ground. The rabbit. Where was it?

Another scent. This one causing even stronger stirrings in the back of my mind. It was irresistible, and I needed to go investigate.

I ran, following the scent through the trees to a clearing. Then I flopped down in the leaves, just inside the treeline. Something felt not quite right, but I didn't know what. So I lay there, panting and waiting.

There was nothing in the clearing that I could see. Well, almost nothing. Sitting on a crinkly, shiny material was the source of the second smell. It was a noxious smell, but for some reason, it made me want to eat whatever was sitting on the plastic.

Plastic. Where had that come from?

I waited for a long time. A fly buzzed around my head, and I flicked an ear, not the least bit interested. Finally, when I could no longer resist, I crept out of the trees towards the source of the smell.

I approached it carefully, noting the odd texture. My mouth watered, drool forming, and I didn't even know why. Nudging the item with my nose, I deemed it safe and snatched it up in my jaws, retreating to my spot inside the treeline before chowing down.

It was soft, and it squashed against my teeth all funny, but something about it made me very happy. I panted, completely content, until the breeze shifted and brought me another scent. Him. It smelled like Him.

I was on my feet and running before I even let my brain work through what that meant. By the time I got back to my cave, the new scent was forgotten, and I flopped down to sleep.

The next morning, though, the food scent was back. I followed it back to the clearing, and there it was. The food in the same spot. I waited again, not knowing why. And when I couldn't take it anymore, I ran out and grabbed the food. Then I fled all the way back to my cave.

When I finished eating, I went back to the clearing. The food was back, along with the scent of Him. I didn't mind His scent or presence so much, so long as it meant the food kept coming. So I waited. Sure enough, He walked out and placed the food on the ground.

I waited for Him to leave, but He didn't. Instead, He walked all the way back to the trees and leaned against one, arms crossed over His chest. Still I waited, hoping He would go away. He didn't. I waited a long, long time, but He waited, too. Never moving, never making obnoxious noise. He just stood there, watching me.

Finally, I slunk out to the food, keeping a wary eye on Him. If He so much as moved a muscle, I was gone. But He didn't. I snatched up my prize, and I ran full out until I was certain He wasn't following. Then I turned around and went back to find Him. He hadn't moved since I'd left, so I dropped down and began to eat, keeping a distrustful eye on Him.

When I finished, I lay there expectantly, waiting for Him to put out another treat. He didn't. I got up with a huff and went to the spot where the food usually was. Then I swiped the ground with a paw, letting Him know I was waiting.

He eased upright from the tree in slow movements. I was immediately on guard, hackles raised and showing my teeth. But instead of moving towards me, He pulled something out from behind him and set it on the ground. It wasn't food, which I wasn't happy about. I growled, low in my throat.

"AJ," He said, voice low and steady. My ears flicked forward towards Him. That voice. It made me feel safe. Yet at the same time, my first instinct was to run. He nudged the object with His foot. "When you're ready." Then He turned His back and walked away.

I turned the other way and ran, listening to my instincts. When I got to my cave, I dropped to the ground, panting and shaking.

When you're ready. Words. It had been so long since I'd heard words.

AJ, He'd said. That was familiar. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I recognized that. AJ, that was me. I was AJ.

My mind buzzed restlessly, and a low whine echoed through my cave. I put my paws over my head, willing the thoughts and memories to go dormant again. But they didn't.

Remnants of Him were there in my mind. His hand was on mine, taking my pain. His face central in my vision, strong and stoic. His voice in my ears, telling me to eat or sometimes to go to sleep. With Him came another. A girl. I couldn't remember much, but it was there churning in the back of my mind. Light hair, flashing gold in the sunlight. And flowers, she'd smelled like flowers. I couldn't see her face, but heat built up in my stomach. A good heat.

I remembered lips, on mine. They were soft and warm, and they tasted like strawberries.

I jolted to my feet, losing the memory. Good. I didn't want those memories. I didn't want to think like that. Didn't want to think at all. I just wanted to live my simple life out here in the woods.

I was out and running before the memories could overwhelm me again. Despite my best intentions, though, I ended up back at the clearing.

He was gone. The object He'd left was not.

I trotted over cautiously, sniffing it and then nudging it with my nose to gauge if it was safe or not. It appeared to be made of cloth, and nothing happened when I touched it, so I scraped at it with my paw and knocked it over. Inside was another treat, but this time, it was trapped inside the crinkly plastic. I pawed at it for a second, before giving up. I couldn't get the food out.

Turning my attention back to the cloth object, I stuck my nose inside it. Instantly, I hit something soft. Something that smelled like Him. Gripping it in my teeth, I pulled it out of the pouch. It was more cloth. I tossed it away in disgust and rooted around in the pouch. More cloth. I pulled it out and tossed it away, before trotting over to it and sniffing.

This cloth was different. It didn't smell like Him. It smelled like...me.

I went back to the food, perplexed and irritated. I nudged it with my nose and tried to lick it. But the outside didn't taste good. Then I picked it up in my teeth, trying to get at the inside. I punctured the thin plastic with my teeth, but I couldn't get to the treat without also getting shreds of plastic in my mouth. Finally I dropped the food and lay down, thoroughly confused with the day's happenings.

An owl hooted, and eventually I stood, ready to leave. For some reason beyond me, I picked up the cloth that smelled like Him and carried it back to my cave. Then I curled up on top of it and fell asleep.

That night I dreamt. I dreamt of Him, and I dreamt of Her.

And when I woke up, I was Me.

I blinked, taking in the flood of color. Ah, colored vision. I'd missed that. I crawled forward on all fours, only to realize it didn't work like that anymore. Putting out a hand on the cave wall, I wobbled myself upright. Then I shivered, realizing how cold my cave was without fur.

Leaning down, I almost fell over. Right, I had a different center of gravity now. I recovered, scooping up Derek's sweatshirt and slipping into it. Then I stumbled out of the cave, shielding my eyes against the cold sunlight.

Winter. Winter was almost here. The dew on the grass was slightly frozen, which made for cold feet. I didn't like the cold, and I especially didn't like being cold and wet.

Scowling, I made my way back to the clearing. It took a lot longer than before, but I made it. There, strewn about, were clothes. My clothes. I picked them up, wincing at the dampness, but eager to put them on nonetheless. Wet or not, they would help against the breeze that was whistling through the clearing.

There were some shoes in the backpack that was still lying where I'd left it. I pulled them out, finding a pair of socks stuffed inside. My feet were bleeding in some places, chafed and raw and cut from my walk. I ignored them, pulling on the socks and shoes.

Then I walked over to the Twinkie on the ground and scooped it up, ripping the wrapper fully off and eating it. A slow grin stretched across my face, and I licked my fingers free of stickiness. Then I started walking.

It was dark by the time I reached the edge of the forest. I found the road easily enough, though, and started walking along it. My feet hurt slightly, but I kept going.

The stars came out as I walked, and I gazed up at them, awed. Beautiful. They hadn't meant anything to me as a coyote, but as a human, I loved them.

Before I knew it, city lights came into view. I kept walking.

I walked all the way to the familiar metal staircase. I went up them, step by step, in slow rhythm. Then I stood in front of the metal door. Putting my hand on the handle, I stopped to listen.

Derek was inside. I could hear his steady heartbeat, just like he could probably hear mine. He was waiting, though. He was waiting to make sure this was what I wanted.

I took a deep breath and eased the door open. It was harder than I remember.

Derek was sitting on the couch. He looked up, setting his book aside as his green eyes studied me. He stood, and I tensed. But he just put the book on the table and inclined his head to the couch before heading to the kitchen.

I waited until he was completely gone before taking a cautious step inside. Then I took another. Then another. Soon enough I was at the couch, and I sank down on it, happy to be off my feet.

Derek reappeared, a plate in his hand. He moved closer in slow, steady steps before offering me the plate. I took it, excited to see half a sandwich on it. As I lit into the food, Derek eyed the open door. Then he looked at me. I stopped chewing and looked back at him, body tensing. But he didn't go close it, didn't cut off my only exit. After a long moment, I started chewing again, relaxing slightly.

Derek padded off again, this time coming back with his black bag. Tools, I remembered. He usually put tools in that bag. "Come on," he said quietly. I jumped a little, startled to hear his voice. Then I set the empty plate aside and followed him into what had previously been my room.

There was a brand new mattress propped against the farthest wall. And on the wall that usually held my bed, was a giant box, long and tall and thin. Derek opened it up, revealing long, funny shaped wooden pieces. He pulled piece after piece out, handing them to me to set along the long wall next to the mattress. Then he pulled out a set a of paper instructions, tossing them aside with a snort.

I picked them up, spreading out the folded paper as I tried to make sense of the jumble around me. When I did, my jaw tightened and my stomach lurched. A bed. Derek was building a bed. For me.

"Okay," he said, after clearing the cardboard out of the room and roughly positioning the big wooden pieces into some semblance of a frame. "Hand me the socket wrench with a three-quarter-inch head." I stared at him mutely, unable to even fathom my task. Despite having heard of a socket wrench before, I had no idea what one looked like, much less how to find its head.

Derek had his hand held out and when I didn't move, he glanced over at me. Then he moved to the tool bag and pulled out a hard plastic case, flipping it open. "This is a socket wrench," he said, pointing it out. "And these are the different sized heads, which fit different sized bolts. See how they're labeled? Each size will fit a bolt of the same size." He plucked the wrench up out of the case and turned back to the wooden bedframe where he picked up a long metal bolt.

I wanted to remind him that he'd forgotten to grab the three-quarter-inch head, but then my feet were already moving and I was squatting in front of the case. There was a big white number in front of each slot holding the heads. It took me a long time to remember what three-quarters looked like as a number, but Derek waited patiently, and I got it eventually. Then I picked it up out of the slot and inched closer to Derek. As I approached, he held out his hand. I gave him the head, and he clicked it onto the wrench.

Then, casually, Derek taught me how to build a bed. Sometimes he had me hold certain pieces while he bolted them together, but more often than not, I just sat against the wall and watched as he demonstrated how to use different tools and how all the pieces went together. He talked, and I...well, I kind of listened. To his voice, more than his words, really. I just liked hearing him talk.

When it was done, he hefted the mattress up and dropped it onto the frame. Then he went to the closet and pulled out sheets and blankets, showing me how to put them on the bed. I watched with heavy eyes, more than ready to just crawl onto it and fall asleep. I was so out of it that it took me a minute to realize that Derek was done making the bed and was now standing in front of me. And that he'd just said something that I'd missed.

I blinked up at him, and he sighed, offering a hand. I stared at it, blinking again. Then I reached up and took it. He eased me upright, which was good, because my knees were stiff for some reason. Then I wobbled over to the bed and sat down, tipping backwards and sideways with a happy sigh.

Derek watched me, face unreadable, but it didn't bug me. Then he crouched in front of me, moving his attention to my feet. Hands tugged at my shoes, pulling them off. I hissed in pain, hand suddenly balled up to strike out. Derek's eyebrows raised and green eyes flicked up to mine, warning me against that notion. Then his mouth twitched into a frown, and he peeled the socks off my feet.

They were kind of bloody, a lot bloody actually, and I felt bad for staining them. But at the same time I was too tired to care. Derek stood up and left the room. I relaxed with another happy sigh, hugging myself inside his giant sweatshirt. Oh yeah, this bed was so much better than sleeping in the cave.

When Derek padded back into the room, I barely noticed. I did notice, however, when he gripped my ankle and started pulling splinters and other debris out of my foot. I tried to pull my foot free, but he held it easily, murmuring quietly to me as he worked. I didn't really notice what he said, but just listening to his voice was enough, and after a while I gave up fighting. By the time he finished one foot and went on to the next, I was beginning to regret changing back to a human.

But before I knew it, he was done. With a gentle swipe of a cloth, he released my feet, and I pulled them up onto the bed. Then I scowled at him, just to let him know what I thought about his treatment, and dropped my head onto my pillow. Derek snorted, collecting his tools and things. Then he walked to the doorway, hesitating there for a while.

I pried one eye open and lifted my head. "Th—" The word burned in my throat, which was so dry and unaccustomed to speaking. I tried again, needing desperately to say it. "Thanks," I managed to grate out.

I thought maybe I'd get an exasperated, "Go to sleep, AJ," in return. But I didn't. Instead, Derek shifted slightly on his feet. "You're welcome," he said quietly, and then he walked out. My eye snapped shut again, and my head flopped against the pillow. And with that, I fell asleep.

The End

A/N: If you guys are interested in some AJ and Derek or AJ and Lydia one-shots, let me know. :)