HARSHER THAN THE BARK
A/N: Because it's Friday, and I managed to get through the first week back at school, I'm in a good mood so...here is a chapter for all of you lovely people!
"Hey, did you remember to get my tea?" Scarlett asked Scott as the two of them walked into the parking lot of the grocery store. Their mom had the late shift again so they had to do a late night run of shopping.
"Your what?" Scott asked, confused by the question.
"The tea bags Scott. You know, the ones I told you not to forget like five times?" Scott gave his sister a sheepish look and she inhaled deeply. "Fine. I'll get them tomorrow or whenever." Scarlett liked her tea. It always helped her relax.
"Dammit." Scott mumbled, looking around the level for the car and not being able to see it.
"It's the wrong level isn't it?"
"Yup." The twins sighed simultaneously and turned around, walking through the door again and walking up the stairs to the next parking lot level.
"Where the hell is it?" Scott groaned, taking out the car keys and clicking them as they both listened for any noise from their car. Scarlett knew she should've been paying attention when they walked in but she was too busy texting Lydia so she had no clue where the car was either.
Scott put down the bags he was holding and then he accidently knocked one over and a bottle of milk rolled out of it and under a car.
"Good one." Scarlett said under her breath, knowing Scott would still hear it. He glared at her before going to retrieve the bottle. Scarlett watched him with an amused look but that look quickly turned to worry when the bottle came rolling back towards them.
Her eyes widened when she heard growling and she shared a look with Scott before he backed up towards her, grabbed her arm making her drop the bags and telling her to run.
"Faster." He hissed. She pushed her legs to go as fast as they possibly could, but she had to keep putting extra effort in considering Scott was holding onto her arm while they ran and he was on the verge of supernatural speed.
She spared a glance behind her and all she could see was a dark figure chasing after them on all fours…meaning it was probably the Alpha. Scott looked back as well and then doubled his speed so that he was almost dragging his sister behind him.
"I-I can't keep running." Scarlett panted. She had good stamina but this was insane and she didn't have werewolf abilities. A look of frustration crossed Scott's face before he ducked behind a car and pulled her along with him.
She caught her breath as she leaned back against the car trying to remain as silent as possible. She looked at Scott and he seemed to have an idea before mouthing 'follow me' to her. He got up and looked around before jumping on one of the cars, making the alarm go off. She wasn't sure what he was doing exactly but she guessed it was so the sound would confuse the Alpha. She followed after her brother, just as he had told her to and she tried not to fall off of the cars.
They jumped off of the line of cars and circled back around, ducking behind another car. Scarlett clutched her chest, still panting but trying to keep the sound quiet. She knew that it would be hard for the Alpha to hear their heartbeats considering the noise the car alarms were making but she didn't want to risk it.
Scarlett's eyes widened at her brother when she heard his phone going off.
"Turn it off!" She hissed at him. They were both going to die. It was inevitable. Scott scrambled to get his phone out of his pocket and turned it off as Scarlett kept looking around frantically. She heard a noise above them and then Scott was yanked up, making her scream.
She jumped up and backed away from the car and glared at Derek, who had slammed Scott against the hood.
"You're dead." Derek said to Scott. What the hell was that? Some kind of training exercise?
"What the hell you idiot?!" She shouted at him. He looked at her and sighed, jumping off the car and walking away. Scarlett ground her teeth together and ran after him with Scott. "Hey, next time you wanna do some wolfy training whatever, make sure I'm not involved. I don't need to keep having these miniature heart attacks when you freaking appear out of nowhere!"
"How am I supposed to avoid that? You're always with Scott and I'm teaching him, like I said I would, of course I never said when I'd be teaching him." Derek said calmly, without looking at either McCall.
"You scared the crap out of us!" It was Scott's turn to shout at Derek.
"Not yet."
"O-okay but I was fast right?"
"Correction Scotty, we were fast. Weren't we?" Scarlett asked with a confused look.
"Not fast enough."
"B-but the car alarm thing, that was smart…right?"
"'Till your phone rang." Scarlett glared at her brother when Derek said that. If that had been the real deal then they both could've been dead. Because of Scott's phone.
"But that was- I mean, would you just stop?!" Scott yelled causing Derek and Scarlett to stop and look at him. "What happened the other night…Stiles' dad getting hurt? That was my fault! I should've been there to do something. I need you to teach me how to control this."
"Look, I am what I am because of birth. You were bitten. Teaching someone who was bitten takes time…I don't even know if I can teach you."
"What do I have to do?" Scott begged.
"You have to get rid of distractions." Derek glanced at Scarlett when he said that and she looked down at her feet. She could only take that look as one thing: she was a distraction to Derek, a burden on him. There was something about that that made her feel really shitty. She didn't want to be a distraction…distractions got you killed. She didn't want Derek to get killed because of her.
Derek snatched Scott's phone out of his hand and shoved it in his face. "You see this? This is why I caught you." The screen said that he had a missed call from Allison. Of course that's what it was. "You want me to teach you? Get rid of her."
Scarlett didn't know what to do in this situation because she felt that Derek wasn't just talking about Scott getting rid of Allison…she felt like he was talking about himself getting rid of her as well. It's not as if they were dating or anything, they were just friends. Was that really so bad? Did he really feel like he couldn't be around her anymore? Oh God, was she driving him away? It wouldn't be completely unreasonable, what with all the emotional crap that she dumped on him.
"Just because of her family?" Scott's voice pulled Scarlett out of her thoughts. Derek made a gesture towards Scott's phone before he launched it against a wall making Scarlett cover her mouth when she gasped. Scott's jaw dropped and he looked at Derek as though he was crazy, which might've been true at that point.
"You getting angry? That's your first lesson. You wanna learn how to control this, how to shift? You do it through anger. By tapping into a primal, animal rage. You can't do that with her around!"
"I can get angry." Scott's voice was low and Scarlett took a slight, unnoticeable step backwards.
"Not angry enough!" Derek shouted back at him. "This is the only way that I can teach you. Now, can you stay away from her? At least until after the full moon?"
"If that's what it takes…"
"Do you want to live?!" Scarlett shrank back at the harshness in Derek's voice. She knew that it wasn't directed at her and he was only trying to help Scott but…it was kinda scary and at the same time, she found it incredibly sexy. "Do you wanna protect your friends? Your sister? Yes or no?"
Scott glanced at Scarlett sidelong before answering. "Yes." Of course he wanted to protect her. Protect everyone. Protect Allison…because she meant everything to him. "If you can teach me…I can stay away from her."
It was all about Allison. It's always all about Allison. Scarlett clenched her fist; she didn't want to be around the two of them when they were having that conversation so she needed an excuse to get out of there.
"I want my tea." She said, walking away from the two of them who gave her strange looks. "I'll walk home!" She called over her shoulder. Who was Scott kidding? He couldn't stay away from Allison. He didn't have it in him. And as for Derek and Scarlett…well, she wasn't sure if she could stay away from him either. Shit. She was almost as bad as Scott. It's not as if she needed Derek to breathe, like Scott needed Allison, but she very much enjoyed his company and she didn't want to have to give that up.
Scarlett walked out of her room in her pyjamas and furry slippers. She yawned and lazily trudged down the hall. She had been getting into bed and then felt the urge to drink some tea to calm herself before she tried to go to sleep.
As she walked she heard Scott's door open and Derek appeared out of it. She stopped and looked at him with one eye open and her mouth turned up in a confused manner. He stopped and gave her a confusing look as well.
She sighed and waved her hand. "I-I'm just gonna stop asking. I fear the answers will get creepier."
Derek looked at her and laughed as she made her way down the stairs. He followed her and as he did he took in her attire which was a loose oversized shirt that had been cut so that it showed off her toned stomach and her bellybutton ring which he hadn't known she had. She was also wearing a pair of black shorts and furry black slippers. Even what she wore seemed to amuse him in some way.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" He asked, feeling compelled to follow her into the kitchen.
"Shouldn't you?" She asked, flipping the light switch. He stood at the entrance and watched her go about making tea. The feeling of him watching her was giving her chills, like always.
"No. And I had to talk to Scott." He answered shortly.
"Yeah, I got that much. Unless the reason you were in his room and always seem to be in his room coming out looking suspicious is because the two of you are gay lovers." Derek said nothing, he just glared at her. She looked back at him and smirked. "And if you are then I have no problem with that. In fact, I've been encouraging Scott to come out for the past few years and I thought about giving up when Allison came along but hey, here you are…"
"You're not funny." Derek said with a straight face although on the inside he was laughing slightly.
"On the contrary Hale, I think I'm hilarious." She replied, being a smartass.
Derek sighed and grinned. "Goodnight Scarlett."
"Wh-" She turned around with her tea in-hand only to find that he was already gone.
"What if I told you that I was trying to figure this whole thing out and I-I went to Derek for help."
"Help and advice. Advice that you should be listening to. How's that coming along Scotty?" Scarlett asked patronizingly as she strode into class in the middle of Scott talking to a pissed off-looking Stiles.
"Really well actually." Scott said, glaring at her as she walked passed him to her seat.
"Hm…do continue." She said, sitting down and tuning into their conversation.
"If I was talking to you I'd say that you're an idiot for trusting him….but obviously, I'm not talking to you." Stiles said, keeping his eyes locked straight ahead of him instead of turning to look at Scott.
The bell rang and they were told to start reading. The three of them were silent for a few minutes before Stiles cracked and turned to Scott.
"Alright, what'd he say?" Scott smiled and Scarlett rolled her eyes.
"Some might say you broke too easily Stiles…I'm one of those people." Scarlett whispered to him.
"I can't handle not knowing." He told her honestly before telling Scott to start talking. Scarlett tuned out of the conversation and decided to actually do the reading instead.
Allison had her nose buried in a book as she talked to Lydia and Scarlett about what she'd found out.
"The what now?" Lydia questioned, holding her fork in the air.
"The Beast of Gevaudan." Allison explained again.
"And that is…what, exactly?" Scarlett asked, putting a grape into her mouth.
"Listen," Allison said to both of them, opening to another page of the book that explained about the beast. "A quadruped wolf-like monster…prowling the Auvergne and south Dordogne areas of France in the year seventeen sixty-four to seventeen sixty-seven. La Bête killed over a hundred people, becoming so infamous that the King, Louie the Fifteenth, sent one of his best hunters to try and kill it."
"Boring." Lydia said.
"Lydia!" Scarlett hissed, giving her a look.
"What? It is."
"Carry on Allison, I'm actually finding this interesting." Scarlett said, giving Lydia another pointed look as she said it. Allison smiled and continued reading.
"Even the church declared the monster a messenger of Satan," Scarlett gathered that the monster was most likely a werewolf and she pondered over whether she thought they were messengers of Satan. Scott definitely wasn't and Derek well…not him either. He was at least trying to help Scott. Sure, he scared the hell out of him when he wanted to but Scarlett had seen glimpses of another side of Derek, a softer side and she was determined to make it show through more. But, then there was the Alpha…messenger of Satan? She was going to go with yes.
"Hm…" Lydia pretended to be thinking it over before concluding that it was still boring.
"Crypto-zoologists believed it could have been a subspecies of hoofed predator, possibly a mesonychid-"
"Slipping into a coma…"
"Stop being so rude Lyds." Scarlett scolded her.
Allison ignored Lydia and kept reading. "While others believed it was a powerful sorcerer who could shape-shift into a man-eating monster."
"And how does this have anything to do with your family?" Lydia asked in a bored tone. Scarlett's eyes widened a fraction. Why was Allison doing family research all of a sudden? She had a bad feeling about it…like, the feeling someone had maybe told Allison to start all of this. Maybe that hunter that attacked Derek. Scarlett still wasn't sure of her name but she was certain she was a part of Allison's family. Maybe she was trying to get Allison to find out about them being werewolf hunters and that, well that was just bad news. Especially for Scott.
"This does. It is believed that La Bête was trapped and killed by a renowned hunter that claimed his wife and four children were the first to fall prey to the creature…" Both Lydia and Scarlett gave Allison expectant looks. "His name was Argent." Crap.
"So your ancestors killed a big wolf, so what?"
"Not just a big wolf," Allison flipped to another page in the book, flipping it around for Scarlett and Lydia to see. "Take a look at this. What does it look like to you?"
Both girls became silent as they took in the picture of a big, black wolf-like beast with glowing red eyes. They both recognised it. Lydia from when something akin to it jumped on her car and Scarlett from when the Alpha had been in the video store.
"Guys…Guys?" Allison's voice made the two girls snap out of their trance-like state. Although Scarlett was still freaking out inside she tried to keep a calm face.
"It looks…like a big wolf." Lydia said in a snarky tone.
"What about you Scar?" Scarlett looked into Allison's eyes.
"What?"
"I mean, you have this look like you…recognise it almost." Allison said warily.
"No. No, I don't recognise it…I just, I probably saw something like it in one of Stiles' books. You know, he's actually really into all that mythology stuff." Scarlett had panicked so her lie was pretty shit but Allison seemed to buy it, relieving Scarlett.
"See you in History." Lydia winked at them both before gathering her stuff and strutting out.
"What she said." Scarlett said, offering Allison a smile before gathering her things as well and walking out of the cafeteria to go do some studying.
Scarlett narrowed her eyes at Scott and Allison as they talked. It was so painfully obvious that Scott was trying and failing to avoid her. Even though their voices were just above a whisper, she could hear Allison telling him to go to her place to study that night.
She shared a look with Stiles who was sitting next to her. Both of their faces held doubt in them. How the hell was Scott going to get out of that one? He had to meet Derek tonight so he couldn't go to Allison's but on the other hand, what excuse was he supposed to use to explain why he couldn't study with her?
That was one of the rare moments those days that Scarlett actually felt bad for Scott. She knew that he was trying to stay away from Allison so he could learn how to control the shift and everything and she understood how hard that was for him so she was proud of him for at least trying.
"Alright, settle down." Coach said, even though it was only Scott and Allison talking. "Let's start with a brief summary of last night's reading."
A few people's hands went up but Scarlett kept hers down. She had done the reading but she wasn't too keen on doing a summary on it out loud. She was much better at writing it down.
"Put your hand down Greenberg, everybody knows you did the reading. How about uh…McCall." Scarlett's eyes snapped up and she shared a confused look with Scott.
"Which McCall Coach?" Scarlett asked.
"Oh sorry, let me clarify, Male McCall." Scarlett sighed in relief and she hoped for Scott's sake he did the reading. "The reading, Male McCall."
"L-last night's reading?" Scott stammered.
"No, how about the reading of the Gettysburg Address?" There was laughter from a few of the students in the class and Scarlett herself hid her mouth behind her hand.
"The what?" Scott asked.
"That was sarcasm. You familiar with the term sarcasm, McCall?"
"Uh, very." Scott said, glancing back at Stiles and Scarlett who both held their hands up in mock-defence.
"Did you do the reading or not?" Coach asked.
"Uh…I think I forgot." Scarlett mentally slow clapped at her brother's stupidity.
"Nice work McCall. It's not like you're averaging a 'D' in this class. C'mon buddy, you know I can't keep you on the team if you have a 'D'. How about you summarise the previous night's reading?" Scott shook his head and Scarlett could hear a faint beeping noise. She turned to Stiles and he held up a phone with the numbers on it going higher. "No? How about you summarise anything you've ever read? In your entire life!"
The beeping seemed to be getting faster the more frustrated Scott got.
"U-uh…"
"A blog? Uh, how about the back of a cereal box? No? How about the adults only warning from your favourite website you visit every night? Anything?" Scarlett watched as Scott sank further into his chair, breathing heavily, trying to control his heart rate. She had to admit that even though Coach was a crazy bastard, it was a little unfair of him to do that to Scott. "Thank you, McCall, thank you." Coach started hitting the desk and his voice was raised as he shouted at Scott. "Thank you for extinguishing any last…flicker of hope I had for your generation! You just blew it for everybody! Thanks. Next practice you can start with suicide runs. Unless that's too much reading."
Scarlett was convinced that Scott was going to shift but he didn't. She looked at Stiles as the beeping started to slow down and they shared an impressed look for Scott. He had controlled it. The two of them looked over at Scott and noticed him holding Allison's hand behind him. As much as her brother frustrated her with all of his Allison-loving...she had to admit that that was sweet.
"It's her. It's Allison." Stiles concluded as the three of them walked out of class.
"What are you talking about?" Scott asked.
"Remember what you told me about the night of the full moon? You were thinking about her, right? About…protecting her."
"Okay…?"
"Remember the night of the first lacrosse game? You said you could hear her voice out on the field."
"Yeah, I did."
"So that's what brought you back so you could score. And then after the game in the locker room, you didn't kill her! At least not like how you were trying to kill me…She brings you back." Stiles explained.
"N-no, no, no. It's not always true because literally every time I'm kissing her or touching her…"
"No, that's not the same."
"And, nor do we want to hear about what you and Allison get up to in the dark." Scarlett added in for good measure.
"That too." Stiles agreed. "When you're doing that, you're just another hormonal teenager thinking about sex, you know?" By the smile on Scott's face, Scarlett could tell he was thinking about sex and apparently so could Stiles. "You're thinking about sex right now, aren't you?"
"Yeah." Scott said with another smile. Scarlett made very apparent gagging noises.
"Look, back in the classroom, when she was holding your hand, that was different, okay? I don't think she makes you weak…I-I think she actually gives you control, she's more like an anchor."
"You mean because I love her." Scott said simply before realising what he's actually said. "Did I just say that?"
"Yes, you just said that."
"Aww, puppy love keeps Scotty human." Scarlett cooed. She expected a glare from Scott but it never came. Instead he looked happier.
"I love her."
"That's great. Now moving on-"
"N-o, no, no. Really, I-I think I'm totally in love with her."
"And that's…beautiful. Now, before you go off and write a sonnet, can we figure this out, please? Because you obviously can't be around her all the time."
Scarlett elbowed Stiles, earning a small glare from him. "Let him have his moment."
"No, he's right. What do I do?" Scott asked, snapping out of his dreamy state.
Stiles sighed. "I don't know…yet." He looked around for a second before getting a look on his face that the twins knew all too well.
"Oh no, you're getting an idea aren't you?"
"Yeah." Stiles said with a small smirk.
"Is this idea gonna get me in trouble?"
"Maybe."
"Is this idea gonna cause me physical pain?"
"Yeah, definitely." Stiles said with a nod. "Come on."
"Yeah…I'm gonna sit this one out." Scarlett said.
"You sure? It could be fun to watch…" Stiles tried to persuade her.
"Nah, I'm good. I have to be at work soon anyway." She gave them a thumbs up and the two boys walked away, leaving Scarlett alone with her confused thoughts.
Scarlett rummaged through her bag for her key-ring that held her car keys and her house keys but it was nowhere to be found. Shit. She must've left them in the house because Scott was driving that morning. She groaned. She was going to have to walk to the animal clinic and get Scott's keys.
"Everything okay Scar?" Mary asked, putting on her jacket. Scarlett looked up and gave her a weak smile.
"Yeah, no, it's fine. I'm just an idiot and I forgot my keys." She explained with a slight laugh.
"Your car keys?"
"No, house keys."
"Oh, if it was your car keys then I would've happily given you a ride home sugar but I'm no locksmith. Sorry. Unless you need a ride somewhere else? You want me to take you to the hospital to get your mom's keys?" Mary asked sincerely.
"Actually I was just going to walk to the animal clinic and get Scott's." Scarlett shrugged.
Mary put her hands on her hips and gave Scarlett a stern look. "At this time of night? I certainly do not think so, missy. C'mon, I'll take you over there."
"Mary, it's fine, you don't have to. I'm perfectly capable of walking."
"Uh-uh. No way am I gonna let you walk outta here alone. I really don't wanna hear about you turning up dead when I could've easily done something to prevent it." Mary said, leading the way to her car.
"Thanks Mary. But, I'm sure I wouldn't have been killed." Scarlett said, getting into the car.
"You can't ever be too careful sweet pea."
They talked mindlessly and laughed about stupid things for the short ride to the clinic. When they got there, Scarlett thanked Mary and walked in as Mary drove away.
The smell of animals hit Scarlett like a ton of bricks when she made her way further into the clinic. It took a minute to adjust to the smell because she wasn't used to it but after that she was fine.
"Scott?" She called out. She thought she heard a noise coming from the back room but she ignored it. "Scott! You in here?" She cautiously made her way towards the front desk, opening the small gate to get through. "Dr Deaton?"
No one was answering back and she became worried because they should both be here. She heard what sounded like a groan of pain and she rushed into the room, eyes widening at the sight.
"What the hell is going on?" She asked. Scott looked up from cleaning Dr Deaton's wounds that covered his face and Derek stopped his pacing to look at her.
"Scar? The hell are you doing here?" Scott queried.
"Uh…I need your keys." She said finally, still confused by what was going on.
"Well, where's yours?"
"I left them at home. Where else would they be? Just, can I have the keys please?" She held her hand out, expecting him to hand the keys over.
Scott shook his head but fished the keys out of his pocket. He unhooked the house ones and gave them to her.
"Thank you. Now, can you explain what's going on?"
"Derek beat up Deaton." Scott said simply. Scarlett sighed and glanced at Derek who was already looking at her.
"I should've guessed as much..."
"Do you even have a plan?" Derek had a sudden outburst, walking up to Scott.
"Just…give me an hour." Scott said, confusing Scarlett further. Was she missing something…again?
"Then what?"
"Meet me at the school. In the parking lot."
"Wait, I thought you were supposed to be meeting Allison in an hour?" Scarlett asked. She was going to be pissed if he was standing her up because Allison didn't deserve that and he said he would go.
"What?" Derek growled. Scott glared at his sister and she shrugged.
"You said you would go. You can't just stand her up. That's called a dick move, Scott. Call her. Call her right now and tell her you can't go."
"Why?"
"Why? Why? Because being stood up sucks. Trust me, I know. So, if you don't want her to think you're a complete douchebag…call her."
"I don't have a phone, remember?" Scott asked, glaring at Derek.
"Well then I'll call her." Scarlett said, taking her phone out of her bag. Before she could unlock it Scott grabbed it out of her hand. "Hey!"
"You can't call her! I-I'll figure something out. But you aren't going to be the one to tell her." Scott said sternly.
"Whatever. I'm going home." She snatched her phone back and threw it in her bag before heading out of the room.
Derek walked out after her because he had an hour to kill. She heard him following and when she was outside she turned to face him.
"Why'd you beat up Deaton? What'd he ever do wrong?" She asked, cocking her head to the side. He watched her intensely for a minute before answering her question.
"I have reason to believe he's the Alpha." Derek told her vaguely, heading towards his car.
Scarlett let out a small laugh. "Dr Deaton? The Alpha? That's…that's pretty hard to believe. I mean, the guy's a veterinarian."
"So?"
"So, he's like one of the nicest people in Beacon Hills. There is no way he's the one committing all these murders." She shrugged and started to walk the opposite way.
"Where are you going?" She heard Derek call out behind her. She stopped and gave him an amused look.
"Home."
"And your walking? By yourself?" He asked, giving her an incredulous look. Why was it so bad if she wanted to walk anywhere? She knew how to take care of herself, besides the walk wasn't that long anyway.
"Do you have a problem with that Hale?"
Despite how angry he was he couldn't help but laugh slightly at her. "Yeah, I do. Now get in."
Scarlett sighed and walked back to Derek's car, getting in as he did. He pulled out of the parking lot and he decided to ask her what the whole Allison thing was about.
"What Allison thing?" She asked.
"You get pissed whenever Scott hangs out with Allison and now you're getting pissed because he's not going to hang out with Allison."
"Oh. It's just, well…Scott kinda confessed his love for her today to me and Stiles and that's a really big deal because Scott's never been in love and-"
"Have you?" He interrupted. He wanted to take the words back as soon as he said them. That was only supposed to be a question in his head, not aloud.
"What?" She asked, looking at him strangely.
Oh well, no point in lying. "Been in love."
Scarlett bit her lip and pondered the question for a second because one, she was confused as to why he was asking and two, because she didn't really know the answer.
"I used to think so. I was convinced that I was in love with Jackson but…" She noticed Derek's grip tighten on the steering wheel and she narrowed her eyes before talking again. "But, as it turns out, I wasn't. I wanted to be, I guess. Everyone always said we were the perfect couple and I very stupidly believed them. After a while, I found out he was a dick and I broke up with him and…why am I telling you all of this?"
"Jackson? Really?" Derek asked. He could never picture them together. That guy was scum of the earth and not that Derek thought any better of himself but he definitely thought better of Scarlett. And she was way too good for either of them.
"I didn't know any better!" She said with a laugh. And apparently I still didn't know any better considering I'm totally crushing on you. Her eyes widened slightly as she admitted it to herself. She was totally crushing on Derek Hale. That was bad. Very bad. And at the same time, she didn't care. He was dangerous and exciting and everything she wanted. But…he was a werewolf. Who, didn't want distractions…Well shit.
"Scarlett?" Her eyes snapped to him.
"Yeah?"
"We're here." He said, giving her another amused look.
"Well that was quick." She said quietly, unbuckling her seatbelt.
"I drive fast."
"I've noticed." She laughed, opening the door while Derek stayed put. She knew she was taking a risk but she did it anyway, she turned and he raised a brow at her.
"You know, you could always just stick around if you only have an hour…and then when you go to the school you can take me with you."
"You're not coming to the school." He said sternly. No freaking way was he going to put her in danger.
"Yes, I am." She countered. "If something's happening then yeah, I'm gonna be there. If I'm not then who's going to stop you from freaking killing my brother when he gets annoying?"
"I'm not gonna kill Scott so you have no reason to go."
"I'm going."
"No. You're not."
"Look, we could sit here and argue or you could come keep me company while I wait for an hour to go meet Scott. Because I am going, whether you take me or I walk. Your choice." She said with a bittersweet smile.
Derek grit his teeth and looked out the window before unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car. Scarlett smiled victoriously when he wasn't looking.
She walked up to the front door and Derek followed with his jaw clenched. Why? Why had he let her do this? He guaranteed that something bad was going to end up happening at the school and he was taking her along which was really fucking stupid of him to do.
"Oh don't be such a sour-wolf Derek." She said as she looked at him. He glared at her and they both walked inside and up to Scarlett's room. She didn't realise until they were actually in her room how nervous she was. It's not like they hadn't been alone before, why the hell was she getting like that?
Derek watched as she threw her bag on the floor of her insanely tidy bedroom. He'd never been in there before and he didn't know what to expect. It was just a normal room but it was so…her. She'd decorated it to reflect herself. And, it also smelled like her, which was good because she smelled nice. Some kind of mix between vanilla and cocoa butter.
"So, I'm gonna get changed quickly and you, well you can just sit or whatever." She went about gathering a new outfit and then she turned back to Derek who was still standing by the door. "Yeah, uh Derek…you're making me nervous please just sit the hell down."
He rolled his eyes and walked over to her bed, taking a seat. "Better?"
"Much." She wasn't sure why but she always got nervous when people hovered or paced around her. She was strange like that. She walked into the bathroom and closed the door.
Derek scanned the room again, taking everything in. Her black and red bedspread, the walls that were covered in pictures of different cities and places, the canvas of Marilyn Monroe that hung above her bed, her bookshelf which was lined with books, the mirror on her vanity that was outlined with pictures of her with family and friends when she was younger and ones that looked recent…there was even a picture of her and Jackson together which made Derek's blood boil. He moved his gaze from that picture to the one framed picture of Scarlett, Scott and Melissa. They were all hugging each other and smiling, looking like a family. Derek smiled sadly. He used to have pictures like that. Of course, they were all gone now. He didn't have a family anymore. He cleared his head of those depressing thoughts and noticed a section of her wall that was covered in pictures that weren't of people but rather nature and other things, like…she had been the one who took them. He got up and went closer to them, admiring how good they were.
"Those are from when I was really into photography." He turned at the sound of her voice and saw her changed and smiling.
"You took all of these?"
"Yeah. For some reason I thought I was a brilliant photographer." She said with a laugh, taking a seat on her desk chair.
"No…they're really good." He complimented, looking back at her. She blushed and he grinned. He couldn't get over how she was even more beautiful when she blushed.
"Well thanks Hale." She winked at him and he went to sit on her bed again. "Alright so you know another hobby of mine, well ex-hobby, but still, let's hear one of yours."
Derek gave her a blank look.
"Seriously? Nothing at all? Ever?"
"Does basketball count?" He asked.
"Of course it does. When did you do that?"
"When I was still in high school." A look of sadness crossed his face and Scarlett instantly felt bad. "Before the fire."
"Okay...um, where were you before you came back to Beacon?" She had always been curious about that but she never had time to ask.
"New York." He said simply.
"Oh you are so taking me there when all of this Alpha crap blows over." She said, getting excited. New York was at the top of her list of places she wanted to go to. In fact, she wanted to live there when she moved away from Beacon Hills.
"I don't know if this is ever just gonna…blow over." Derek told her truthfully. He would happily take her to New York but that was if they both made it out alive.
"Oh Hale, ever the optimist." She said sarcastically. There was no way in hell she wasn't getting out of this town and seeing the world. No freaking werewolf shit was going to get in the way of that. She refused to let that happen.
"I'm just being realistic." He countered.
"That might be realistic for you…but it isn't for me." She shrugged, casting her gaze downwards, not wanting to meet his eyes.
She didn't know how wrong she was. She was a part of this…as much as Scott was a part of it and as much as Derek hated that fact, it was the truth. He looked at her as she looked down and he just thought about how beautiful she was. How much he felt the need to protect and watch over her. How much he never wanted to see her get hurt.
"Oh my God." She gasped, looking at him again.
"What is it?" He asked, snapping out of his thoughts and becoming more alert.
"I'm being completely rude. Did you want anything? Like a drink?"
"No, I'm good. Thanks." On the inside, that wasn't true. He did want something. And that something was not a drink. That something was her. He wanted Scarlett. And he couldn't have her. He would just end up messing up her life even more and he was too dangerous for her.
"Hey did you know that Allison has been looking into her family history?" Scarlett asked out of the blue. Derek's eyes snapped up to hers.
"No. Why?"
"I don't know…she said it was for a project or something but I have a feeling someone steered her in that direction."
"What makes you think that?"
"Because today at lunch she was telling Lydia and I all about the man-eating monster that terrorized a place in France and how her ancestor killed it. And also, she showed us a picture in a book and I swear I thought I was looking at the Alpha." Scarlett told him solemnly.
"It was probably Kate." Derek said, not looking at her.
"Who now?"
"Kate Argent. That hunter from the other day."
"That was my guess! So her name's Kate…I'm pretty sure she's Allison's aunt."
"Yeah…she is. What time is it?" Derek asked. Scarlett turned around and grabbed her phone off of the desk.
"Probably time for us to go." She said, getting up and heading to her closet to get a jacket.
Derek pulled into the school parking lot, glancing at Stiles and Scott who were already there. He cut the engine of the car and looked at Scarlett.
"You sure you wanna be here?" He asked, still not keen on letting her stick around.
"Come on, what's the worst that could happen while I've got you around?" She shrugged, giving him a dazzling smile before hopping out of the car. Derek smirked and then the smirk fell when he realised that she was putting her faith in him. She was trusting that he would protect her. He sat there for another minute before deciding that he would do exactly that. He would protect her, no matter what.
"What are you doing here?" Scott asked his sister when she got out of the car.
"If Stiles is here then why can't I be?" She asked.
"Because…"Scott struggled for an answer so he just gave up and Scarlett smirked. "Where's my boss?" He asked Derek.
"In the back." He pulled his seat forward and the boys looked in at a tied up and unconscious Dr Deaton squashed in the back seat. Against Scarlett's protest Derek had insisted that they go and retrieve an unconscious Deaton from the animal clinic.
"He looks comfortable." Stiles said sarcastically before following Scott.
"Wh-Hey!" Derek called out after them causing the boys to stop. "What're you doing?"
"You said I was linked with the Alpha…I'm gonna see if you're right." Scott said, walking up to the school with Stiles in tow.
"What are you talking about? What is he talking about?" Scarlett asked Derek.
"I have no idea." Derek shrugged, leaning against the car.
"So, the other day, before Kate barged in all crazy you were gonna tell me about the tattoo. Feel free to carry on with that." Scarlett said, with a small smile. Derek sighed but then smiled.
"The triskelion or the three connected spirals," He gave her a look and she rolled her eyes murmuring a small 'shut up.' "It represents different things to different people. Like; mother, father and child or past, present and future."
"Okay…so what does it represent for you?"
"Alpha, Beta and Omega. It's a reminder that while we can rise we can also fall. Like an omega becoming an alpha or an alpha falling to an omega status." He explained.
"That was…deep. And now I may need to rethink my tattoo ideas because none of them are that meaningful." Scarlett said. Derek just laughed at her again, shaking his head. He stopped abruptly when they both heard a screeching sound over the speakers.
"You've gotta be kidding me." Derek said flatly, closing his eyes and then opening them looking completely unamused.
"I-is that Scott?" Scarlett asked, scrunching her face up at the noise. Derek nodded solemnly. Oh, was there any hope for her brother?
Derek and Scarlett both started looking around with worried faces as the next sound to come through the speakers was a very deep and loud growl. Actually, Scarlett thought it was a howl.
"I'm gonna kill both of you!" Derek shouted, pointing a finger at Scott and Stiles when they came back out of the school. "The hell was that? What, are you trying to attract the entire state to the school?"
"Sorry, I didn't know it would be that loud." Scott said with a smile.
"Yeah, it was loud…and it was awesome." Stiles said, his voice going up an octave. Scarlett rolled her eyes. Of course he would think it was awesome.
"Shut up." Derek said.
"Don't be such a sour-wolf."
"What'd you do with him?" Scott asked, looking around Derek and Scarlett to the car.
"What?" Derek asked. He turned around and so did Scarlett and they both found the door open, the seat pushed forward and Dr Deaton gone.
"I take it back. Maybe he is the Alpha after all." Scarlett said in a quiet voice.
"I didn't do anything." Derek said, looking confused right before something stabbed him in the back, lifting him off the ground causing blood to pour out his mouth and a blood curdling scream to erupt from Scarlett. The Alpha growled and threw Derek against a brick wall.
Stiles grabbed Scarlett's arm and yanked her with him as he and Scott bolted towards the school. She couldn't think about anything else other than what had just happened to Derek.
"Derek." She gasped, yanking her arm out of Stiles' grip and running in the direction of Derek instead. The boys called after her but she didn't listen because she blocked them out. All that was going through her mind was getting to Derek. She thought that he might be dead but she wouldn't believe it.
She ran and fell to her knees over Derek's body. He wasn't moving and there was still blood coming out of his mouth along with his eyes still being open.
"Oh God. Oh God. Oh God." She sobbed, not knowing what to do. "Shit. Shit. Shit." She looked back to where the Alpha had been but it wasn't there anymore and she couldn't see Scott and Stiles so they must've made it inside.
"You are not dead." She said sternly, flipping Derek over so he was on his back. He wasn't breathing, which wasn't a good sign. "You should be healing Derek." She murmured to him, although it was more like to herself. "Wake up. Just wake up you idiot." The hot tears kept rolling down her cheeks and she felt like she was the one who couldn't breathe anymore. She couldn't lose him. That just couldn't happen. It wasn't supposed to happen. She needed him. He couldn't just leave her like that. He had to heal.
She took his hand, which was freezing cold and held it. She brought it to her lips and she kissed it repeatedly. It wasn't going to do anything but it was all she could do.
After sitting there for a few more minutes, sobbing quietly she heard a noise. Looking around she couldn't see anything and then she heard another noise, like a choking sound and it was coming from Derek.
"Derek?" She whispered. She moved over him so that she was holding the side of his face and using her thumb to stroke it. His eyes widened and he started coughing up more blood, making her move back slightly and smile brighter than she ever had. "Oh my God. You're alive."
He tried to sit up but he couldn't so she helped him. She put both hands on the sides of his face and looked at him wide eyed.
"You're alive." She repeated. He nodded and she wiped some of the blood away from his mouth before smashing her lips against his. The taste of blood was horrible but the feel of his lips against hers was amazing because, well, he wasn't dead.
"W-where is-is h-he?" He spluttered out. She shook her head in reply.
"Let's just get the hell out of here before he comes back." She said, helping him to his feet and letting him lean all of his weight on her. She whipped her head around checking for any sign of the Alpha before she moved as fast as she could, while practically carrying Derek, to his car. She got him into the passenger's side and then she ran around and got into the driver's seat.
"Keys, keys, keys. Derek, where's the keys?" He slowly moved and got them out of his pocket, handing them to her. She started the car and when the headlights came on she saw the Alpha coming towards them. "Oh shit!" She shouted, putting the car in reverse and driving backwards as fast as possible before turning it around and more or less flying out of the parking lot and far away from the school.
"Wh-what about Sc-Scott?" Derek questioned, still having trouble breathing properly.
"They got into the school…they're smart, they'll figure something out. My main priority right now, is fixing you and making sure you don't die."
"Why do you have all this stuff anyway?" Derek asked as Scarlett finished cleaning all of his wounds. They were in her room, surrounded by a bunch of medical supplies.
"My mom's a nurse…why do you think I have all of this?" She seemed to be amused by his question.
"You'd be good at that. I feel a lot fucking better than I did twenty minutes ago." Derek said with a smirk.
"I'd be good as a nurse?" She asked and he nodded. "Hm…this is already healing." Her hands grazed across his bare back, looking at the now tiny wounds that the Alpha's claws had made.
Her feather-light touch made him tense slightly but then he relaxed into it…enjoying it, even.
She had to admit, she enjoyed fixing him up and she also enjoyed the feeling of his skin underneath her fingertips. It was so warm and no longer cold like it had been before they got there. She felt him relax into her touch as she traced his tattoo again. God, he was beautiful. She wondered if he ever thought that about her…was he physically attracted to her as much as she was to him? There was a few times where she thought she saw a hint of desire in his eyes when he looked at her but she would often just brush it off because she was probably imagining it. Maybe she could test the theory…
Making a bold move, she moved around Derek so that she could straddle his lap, surprising him. His hands immediately moved to her hips, pulling her a little bit closer. She smirked and pressed her lips to his. His grip on her tightened and she moaned softly. He took that opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth, eliciting another small moan from Scarlett. Her tongue put up a fight for dominance but he eventually won and he let his tongue explore her mouth while her hands moved from his shoulders into his hair, tugging it ever so slightly. It was then his turn to moan and the sound turned her on further. Okay, so maybe he was physically attracted to her.
They sat like that, making out for a few more minutes before Scarlett pulled away. Both of them were breathing heavily and their breaths were mingling with each other.
"You should…probably get some sleep." She breathed. That seemed to snap Derek out of his trance of being caught up in her and he became alert again. He cleared his throat and nodded.
"Yeah. I should." She moved off of him and he was glad that that hadn't gone any further.
"I don't feel comfortable with you driving yourself home so I'll drive." Scarlett said, waiting until Derek put his shirt back on before walking out of the room.
"I'll be fine. Besides, how are you supposed to get home?" He questioned following her down the stairs.
"I'll walk." She shrugged. He went to protest but she held up his keys. "Oh, I'm sorry who has the keys?"
Scarlett brought the Camaro to a halt in front of the Hale House and cut the engine before getting out of the car. Derek gave her a questioning look and he got out as well.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Scarlett looked at him, confused by his sudden outburst. "Get back in the car."
"What? Why?"
"Because you're driving back to your house." He said sternly.
Scarlett rolled her eyes. "I already told you that I'm fine walking home."
"You won't be fine when you've become the Alpha's chew toy."
"I'm pretty sure he's a little too preoccupied terrorising Scott and Stiles to worry about coming after me. Did you forget that or did you just hit your head so hard you got amnesia?" Scarlett asked sassily, putting her hands on her hips.
Derek grit his teeth and walked towards her, speaking in a low voice that held authority. "Get in the car Scarlett and drive home." She shrunk back a little but her face remained calm, hiding the hissy fit she was throwing internally. Derek gave her an expectant look, motioning for her to get in the car and when she didn't he clenched his jaw tightly. She was pissing him off. He was trying to keep her safe the best he could and she was being a brat.
Scarlett stepped back slightly and folded her arms across her chest. "Why do you even care?"
Well that was the million dollar question. Why did he care? She was just a girl. A girl he hardly knew. And despite them hardly knowing each other, she knew how to push his buttons already. She was someone that would piss him off easily. And at the same time, she could make him happy just by talking. And him being happy…was very rare. He was intrigued by her and all of her quirks, how she cared so much…about him, about everything really. She was stubborn, feisty, and hell, sometimes she was even funny. Her smile was one of the most glorious things that he'd ever seen and there was a light that shined from within her. She was pure and sweet, the complete opposite of Derek. Don't people always say opposites attract? Well, that was definitely true. He was attracted to her, more than he'd care to admit and he had this insane need to protect her and be possessive over her and he needed to have her. He was certain of that and one other thing, Scarlett would be the death of him.
All of a sudden he felt spontaneous and he grabbed the sides of her face in his hands and connected their lips. It took Scarlett completely by surprise, not only because she wasn't expecting it but also because of the sheer passion Derek was putting into the kiss. She wasn't sure how to react so she stood there with her hands by her side for a moment before actually returning the kiss. She put an equal amount of passion into it and she grabbed his leather jacket, bringing him closer to her. His hands wove themselves into her wavy locks, holding on tightly.
The kiss was different from the others, similar to the one they shared back at Scarlett's house but also different to that as well. This one was needier and rougher and Scarlett loved it. She might even go as far as saying that she felt sparks.
Derek's hands untangled from her hair and were soon on her waist, pushing her against the car while her hands kept clawing at his jacket. The height difference was pissing him off slightly so he sorted that out by grabbing the backs of her thighs and lifting her up, earning a gasp from her, and pinning her hips to the car with his as she locked her legs around him.
The two of them could only think about each other, craving more skin to skin contact. Derek's mouth moved down to her neck; kissing, sucking, biting. Scarlett threw her head back at the sensation. She let out a small whimper when he nipped at the skin of her collarbone and the crook of her neck. The noise spurred him on further and he did that repeatedly, leaving marks on her until she pulled his face up to hers again and she kissed him.
"Why are we still standing out here?" Scarlett breathed out, in the process of trying to get Derek's jacket off.
He looked at her with lust-filled eyes. "I have no idea."
Somehow, they managed to make it into the house with Derek still carrying Scarlett while they kissed and pulled at each other's clothes. The first thing to go was Derek's leather jacket, it was tossed carelessly onto the floor, followed by Scarlett's jacket. They made it up the stairs and into the room that Derek slept in, kicking their shoes off in the process. There wasn't very much in the room, just a mattress and a sheet but at that point it was more than enough for them.
Without any hesitation, Derek threw Scarlett down onto the mattress and he hovered over her, continuing his assault on her neck, loving the moans he was eliciting from her. Scarlett started pulling at his shirt and when she couldn't get it off, he sat back and pulled it off for her. She took a minute to appreciate his gorgeous chiselled body and decided that he could pass for a Grecian God. He watched her bite her lip while looking at him and he smirked, leaning back over her, kissing her swollen lips and running his hands all over her. Needing to feel more of her soft skin he quite literally ripped her shirt off and threw it somewhere. Scarlett really liked that shirt and she would've complained but all she could do was moan at the feeling of Derek's hands trailing down her sides and across her toned stomach. His hands left a burning trail everywhere he touched her and when he got to the button on her jeans he wasted no time in undoing it and pulling them down her legs. He immediately started caressing her legs and then moving to her inner thighs where his touch became gentler. He made a trail of wet kisses up her stomach and to the tops of her breasts, where he left marks as well. He made to take off her bra but she stopped him.
"Not until you get rid of your jeans." She more or less panted. He rolled his eyes but undid his jeans and started taking them off. Scarlett helped by pushing them completely off with her feet and as soon as they were in the pile of discarded clothing, he went back to her chest and unhooked her bra, taking it off and throwing it away. It was his turn to admire her. Her breasts were perfect and he stared like a teenage boy, making her blush. He smirked again and began ravishing them making her moan and arch her back up, pushing her chest further out.
While he was doing that, she managed to get his boxers off of him and holy hell he was bigger than she expected…in all honesty though it only served to turn her on even more if that were possible.
Derek's mouth began to move down her body again and when he got to the waistband of her lacy black underwear he stopped and grinned up at her. "I like these." He purred. She whimpered internally at him talking like that, it was probably sexier than what he sounded like making threats and that was hard to beat.
"Be careful with them then." He smirked and took them between his teeth, pulling them down slowly. Scarlett's breathing got even heavier because when her underwear was gone, they were both completely naked. She looked him in the eyes and all she could see was the utter desire within them that mirrored her own. The need for each other was becoming unbearable and she was more than ready.
Derek leaned down again and roughly captured her lips with his, biting her bottom lip and dragging his teeth down it. He wanted her, so badly. She looked so perfect, completely bare beneath him; panting, sweating and waiting. He could tell she was ready. Not only could he smell her arousal but he could also sense the overwhelming sexual desire radiating off of her gorgeous body.
He kissed her again and without warning thrust into her making her cry out. The cry quickly faded into a moan of pure pleasure as she adjusted to him and he started rocking his hips into hers. He pinned her arms above her head as his thrusts got faster and she just managed to keep up. They were both moaning messes and she needed to hold onto something so she got her hands out of his grip and clutched his shoulders instead, digging her nails into his skin making him arch his back as she dragged them down, drawing blood. He leaned down to kiss her before moving to her neck again. She had to bite his shoulder to prevent herself from screaming.
When he noticed what she was doing, he stopped kissing her neck and looked into her eyes instead, increasing the pace of his thrusts even more. "Scream." He whispered. And she did. And the sound was beautiful to him because it was a scream of ecstasy, not pain, and she was screaming for him. Their breaths were becoming more ragged and his thrust became sloppier. He could tell she was close and he was too. Scarlett grabbed his shoulders even tighter, holding on for dear life as she was almost at her climax. She gripped as tight as she could and then he thrust into her particularly hard and she completely lost it. She came with a scream of his name and that was all he needed to send him over the edge.
He rolled off of her and they lay side by side, trying to catch their breaths, reeling from they're intense orgasms.