HARSHER THAN THE BARK

A/N: Ah! Okay so, we've made it to season two, yay! Thank you guys for sticking around and I hope you enjoy this.

As always, I love when you leave a review telling me what you think so don't forget to do that! And also, about Scarlett becoming something other than a human...I'm not giving anything away so you'll have to just wait to find out...:)

Scarlett's head turned at the sound of the door opening. Both she and Lydia looked to see Lydia's father walking in with a slightly apologetic look on his face.

"Sorry, I'm not interrupting am I?" He asked quietly. Scarlett gave a small smile and shook her head.

"N-"

"Yes, actually. Could you wait outside for a minute while I say goodbye to Scar?" Lydia cut off what Scarlett was going to say, sounding rather rude. It wasn't something unordinary. Lydia was usually rude to her parents and both of them were so nice they really weren't offended by it.

"Of course, take your time." Her dad said, walking back out. Scarlett sighed and turned back to Lydia.

"You…are outrageous." She said.

"I'm in hospital. Being outrageous is allowed." Lydia smirked.

Scarlett checked the time on her phone and sighed again. "I'm gonna have to get going Lyds, is that okay?"

"Of course it is. You've literally been in here since you found out. I'm surprised you haven't died of boredom. God knows I'm about to." Lydia said, rolling her eyes and leaning back against the pillows of the hospital bed. That was very true. Scarlett had refused to leave Lydia's side since she came rushing in to see why her friend was in the hospital in the first place. She had been sitting by her the whole time and when Lydia was sleeping, she went out to talk to Stiles who also refused to leave.

"Well that's because when you best friend is in hospital, you don't leave them. Plus, I brought you pretty flowers…" Scarlett laughed and eyed the daisy's sitting by the bed.

"I do love the flowers." Lydia smiled. "But yeah, you need to go. Like now. And then when you get back you can tell me all about your date with this mystery boyfriend, which, by the way, better not be a mystery for much longer."

Scarlett blushed and looked down at her phone again. "He is not my boyfriend. And I only told you that there was a guy because you needed some sort of gossip. Don't make me regret telling you."

Lydia rolled her eyes and gave Scarlett a look. "I am your best friend. You're supposed to tell me this stuff!"

The door opened again and Lydia's dad popped his head in again.

"Sorry. I'm just leaving." Scarlett apologised, gathering her bag and standing up from the chair she had been sitting in for the past couple of days. Her muscles were stiff as bricks and she needed to stretch but she wouldn't dare do that in the company she was in. She leaned down and hugged Lydia, kissing her cheek. "I'll think about it. Love you."

A cheeky smile spread across Lydia's face. "You better. Love you too Scar." She sang as Scarlett shook her head, walking to the door.

"See you later Mr Martin." Scarlett nodded to him on her way past.

"Goodbye Scarlett." He smiled, closing the door for her on the way out.

Scarlett let out a small laugh at the sight of Stiles sleeping strangely on the chairs outside of the room. Someone tapped her shoulder and she turned to see Melissa giving Stiles the same look before turning to her.

"Hey sweetheart, you heading home?" She asked with a smile.

Scarlett nodded. "Yeah, I'm actually really tired. Early night for me I guess." She shrugged. Of course, it was a lie. She always seemed to be lying and it tore her up inside. Especially when she had to lie to her mother. It was a pretty horrible feeling and she felt monstrous doing it but, if she wanted to see Derek then it was the only way.

"Good." Melissa said with a nod. "You need sleep. And food. Make sure you eat something. I love you." She kissed Scarlett's forehead and then walked around her.

"I will. Love you too mom." Scarlett said with a smile as Melissa walked into Lydia's room.

Sparing one last glance at Stiles who was still sleeping and murmuring strange noises, Scarlett walked briskly out of the hospital. There was a cold bite to the air which made Scarlett pull her jacket tighter around herself while she fought back a shiver. Upon hearing the purr of a car engine, she looked up and supressed the massive smile that wanted to grace her lips when she saw the all too familiar sleek black Camaro pull up in front of her. She quickly made her way to the other side of the car, opened the door and slid into the passenger's seat.

"Hey…" She said quietly, leaning over to Derek's seat and kissing him soundly. The feel of his lips on hers gave her intense butterflies but she quickly reminded herself that he would be able to tell if she was nervous. She didn't want that. Besides, there was really no reason for her to be. She had kissed him many, many times before and it wasn't as if it was her first time being alone with him it just felt like something was different. The atmosphere between the two of them had changed. And not in a bad way. In fact, quite the opposite. It was as if they had an even stronger bond. They actually seemed…couple-like.

"You smell like a hospital." He stated simply when she had sat back and he had pulled out of the parking lot.

She rolled her eyes. "That's what happens when you sit in a hospital for days. Does it bother you?"

Derek glanced at her sidelong, shaking his head slightly. "Not really."

"Would you like me to shower?"

"Yeah. That'd be good." He said truthfully. She sighed and laughed slightly, making him grin.

"There. Do I smell better now?" Scarlett asked, walking out of the bathroom and towel-drying her hair.

"Much." Derek replied, not looking up from the random book he had picked off of her shelf. Scarlett rolled her eyes and walked over to him, taking the book and slamming it shut before placing it back on the shelf.

"Come on." She said, looking around the room for her bag. Derek walked to the wall and leaned against it.

"Where are we going?"

"I don't know," She shrugged. "Somewhere. Anywhere…like, a walk. We should go for a walk in the woods."

His face turned grim when he spoke. "The woods aren't safe."

Scarlett looked at him incredulously. "The hell do you mean 'the woods aren't safe?' How can anything be 'not safe' when I'm with you?"

The way she said that made him feel a few different things. She had looked so innocent when she said it. Like she truly believed that she was as safe as she could be when she was with him. Like, nothing else affected her and he was all she needed. That made both his heart and ego swell but it also planted a bit of doubt in his mind. It was true; she was completely safe when she was with him. After all, he was the Alpha and he would never let anything bad happen to her. Not while he was alive. But then there was the doubt. The doubt that maybe he wouldn't live up to be everything she thought he was. That he would end up failing her in some way. That thought scared him in unimaginable ways. Failing Scarlett meant failing everything, failing in life. And he refused to fail. He pushed the doubtful thoughts away and filled his mind with positive ones, goals that he would reach. He wouldn't fail her. Oh no. He would do the opposite. He would make her proud. He would be the Alpha. A better one than Peter was…than anyone was really. Once he had his pack then he would be the fearless leader. And not only that but he would also become the person that Scarlett viewed him as. The person that she trusted and cared about. A better version of himself, and he would do it all for her.

"Okay, but it can't be for long." He finally said.

"Why not?"

"Because I said so."

Scarlett scoffed. "Because you said so? Who are you? My mother?"

"No. But you're going to listen to me anyway." He said sternly.

"Just tell me." Scarlett sighed, getting off the bed.

"I have something I need to do and you're not gonna be there when I do it."

"What are you gonna do?" She pestered, walking closer to him.

"Scarlett." He warned.

"Tell me Derek."

He clenched his jaw and gave her a cold look. Was she incapable of listening? Or at least doing what would keep her safe? "I need a pack." He said tightly.

A look of confusion crossed Scarlett's face. "A pac-" Her eyes widened and she looked up at him. "You're gonna bite someone." It wasn't a question. It was a statement because she already knew the answer. "Who is it?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Like hell it doesn't!" She countered. "This is an innocent person. You can't just make them into a werewolf!"

"It's not like that." He said, staring her down. She was seeing him as some sort of bad guy and that wasn't a good thing. She needed to know that he wasn't. "I'm going to ask him first. I wouldn't give anyone the bite against their will."

Scarlett relaxed a little inside but she kept a cold and concerned look on her face. "Take me with you." She said simply.

He looked at her incredulously. "No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Scarlett."

"Derek."

He grabbed her wrists and turned them around in a flash so that she was pinned against the wall. "No." He growled lowly.

"Yes." She whispered fiercely. He couldn't take it anymore. It was wrong but she was so fucking beautiful when she was angry and he wanted her. He drove his hands into her hair, pulling slightly and making her gasp. He took that as his opportunity and he smashed his lips against hers, not even waiting for her permission before entering his tongue into her mouth.

The feeling of his hands in her hair, his mouth against hers and his body pinning her to the wall was too much for Scarlett and she couldn't help but melt into him completely. All of her angriness faded away quickly and she was left with nothing but the intense feeling of Derek touching her and kissing her. She felt his hands roam down to her ass, where they remained until he squeezed roughly, which spurred her on further. Quickly taking control of the situation she pushed him so that they were walking backwards, still ravenously kissing each other, until the backs of Derek's legs hit the bed and she shoved him down on it. His eyes were hungry as he watched her climb on top of him, biting her lip. She smirked and rubbed him through his jeans which seemed to become increasingly tighter.

He made to take her shirt off of her but she quickly slapped his hands away, shaking her head. Instead, she got him out of his shirt and started licking all over his abs and his chest, eventually making her way up his neck and then his mouth where she let her tongue trace his lips before actually kissing him. She moved away from his mouth and nuzzled her face in his neck whilst grinding her hips, making a purring sound that drove him crazy. He could have easily gotten his hands out of her grip but he didn't. He decided he would let her have her moment of thinking she was in control to make up for what an asshole he'd just been.

Her lips moved to his ear and she whispered to him. "Let's go." Scarlett smirked and got off of him, fixing herself and laughing at the face he was making. "What? You didn't honestly think that I was going to let you screw me when you just point blank refused to let me tag along, did you?"

He looked at her, incredulous. "You're seriously just going to leave me like this?" He asked, gesturing to the bulge in his jeans.

Scarlett shrugged and gave him an innocent look. "Will you take me when you go to give this guy the bite?"

"I'm not giving him the bite, I-"

"Yeah, okay, when you go to talk to this guy then."

Derek groaned and stood up. He really didn't want to take her but in all honesty, he was the most dangerous thing out there and he wasn't about to her hurt her so…what would be the harm? Plus, his raging hard-on was almost painful and maybe if he gave her what she wanted…"Fine. Okay, you can come. But you have to actually listen to me."

Scarlett flashed him a beautiful smile. "Great. Well, I'll be in the car." She held up his keys and winked before walking out of the room leaving Derek wide-eyed and half naked.

Scarlett smirked when Derek got into the car, she held out the keys for him and he glared. "What's wrong?" She asked, feigning innocence.

"I hope you know that I'm gonna get you back for that. But it's going to be ten times worse." He smirked, already planning his revenge in his head while speeding away from the house. Those words worried Scarlett deeply but she wouldn't apologise for what she did. It was all in the art of being a tease.

Scarlett narrowed her eyes in confusion when Derek parked the car near the cemetery.

"Why are we here?" She questioned, unbuckling her seatbelt.

"This is where he is." Came Derek's reply. He looked as if he was concentrating on something, probably the sound of the guy.

"Is he dead?" Scarlett asked without even thinking. Derek looked at her as if she was an idiot and she frowned. "What?"

"No, he isn't dead." Derek sighed. "He just digs the graves." Scarlett nodded instead of vocally replying. "Okay. I'm going to go and get this over with and you are going to stay put, good?"

"Not good." Scarlett protested. "No, I wanna watch. I can't watch from here. I won't be any help if something goes wrong if I'm sitting in the car."

"Nothing is going to go wrong Scarlett."

"And what if it does Derek? What if you end up getting hurt? I know that's highly unlikely but I still worry and-"

He cut her off by giving her a soft kiss and looking into her eyes. She always felt so entranced by his eyes. She could get lost in them forever. The sea-green colour of them was very calming and when they were focused on her she felt like she was standing direct under the sun and was slowly melting from the sheer heat of it.

"Nothing bad is going to happen. I promise." He said to her quietly. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before nodding.

"Okay, but I'm going to stand by the gate so I can at least see." She said, getting out of the car quietly. He just couldn't win with her, but he would take it anyway. As long as she was far enough away that she wouldn't be seen.

The two of them walked to the gate and looked at the grave backhoe that was in use. Scarlett could faintly make out the person operating it and her face scrunched up in confusion. "Isaac Lahey? You're turning Isaac Lahey?"

Derek's head snapped to her. "You know him?"

"Yeah…I mean, he's in a few of my classes. I've spoken to him once or twice but he kinda keeps to himself. Honestly, I feel bad for the guy." She said, still looking at Isaac.

"Well, hopefully turning will help him...if he wants it." Derek said quietly before jumping the gate. He stood on the other side for a moment, both of them watching as some sort of animal knocked over the backhoe, making Isaac fall into the grave, before digging through another grave viciously. Derek narrowed his eyes before running over as well, making sure to stay in the shadows before he roared at the animal making it whimper and run away.

Scarlett watched in fascination as Derek lifted the backhoe out of the way of the grave. Damn, he was stronger than she thought. He walked around to the other side of the grave Isaac was still in and stood, looking down into it. He said something but because she was too far away to hear it. Although, she did see him pulling Isaac out of the grave. She was intent on watching what happened next but her phone started ringing. She cursed and walked further away, taking it out.

"Allison?" She asked.

"Scarlett! Where are you?" She sounded panicked.

"I'm uh…at home. Why? What is it? What's wrong?"

"Lydia…she's missing. We're out looking for her. We thought you might want to know."

"What the hell?! Of course I want to know! When did this happen?" Scarlett asked frantically.

"Calm down Scar. It literally just happened but Scott is tracking her scent right now."

Scarlett let out a breath and tried to relax but she was still feeling sick at the thought of Lydia missing…out in the cold, all alone. "O-okay. Just, tell me if you find her or find...anything."

"We will. Scott says that you should stay at home though." Allison said, remaining as calm as possible as to not worry Scarlett any further.

"Of course he does." Scarlett mumbled. "Alright well, I'll see you tomorrow then. And Allison…tell Scott that he better find her."

"I will." Allison said before Scarlett hung up. She ran a shaky hand through her hair, turning around and jumping when Derek appeared before her.

"Lydia's missing?" He asked.

"Yeah." She breathed out, wrapping her arms around herself trying to keep warm. Her eyes were filled to the brim with sadness and worry. She hadn't expected this to happen. Yeah, she knew there was some weird shit going on with Lydia but her going missing? From the hospital? How does that happen?

"She'll be fine." Derek said comfortingly, touching Scarlett's face softly.

"It is freezing out here Derek. And it's only going to get colder and the last time I checked, hospital gowns weren't very warm." Her voice was small and he hated to see her like that. He could see that she was beating herself up for it…for leaving Lydia.

"I'll help find her." He said, pulling her in for a hug which she gladly returned. He had natural warmth and Scarlett clung tightly to him trying to fight off the cold, burying her face in his chest and nodding slightly. She loved the feeling of being wrapped up in his embrace. It was where she felt the safest and relaxed despite everything she should be worrying about. It felt as if it was where she belonged…as cliché as that was. They stood there for a good few minutes before Derek suggested that he should take her home.

"What's he saying?" Scarlett asked Derek as she looked up at him. The two of them were currently standing in the woods next to the cemetery where the police were investigating the crime scene and the Sheriff was questioning Isaac and his father. Apparently, when that animal had been digging through the grave last night, it stole something.

"Nothing good." Derek said, not taking his eyes off of the scene.

"He looks like the kind of guy that's a dick." Scarlett stated, referring to Isaac's father.

"He is." Scarlett shifted her bag on her shoulder and checked her phone for the time. She had twenty minutes until school started. "Go." Derek said simply. She gave him a confused look. "Go and get him out of there. Offer him a ride to school."

"What? Why?" Scarlett complained.

"Just do it Scar. Please." Derek said giving her a look that made him kind of adorable.

Scarlett groaned. "Fine. I'll do it." She said, reaching up and giving him a slow, passionate kiss that definitely would have led to more if they had the time.

"Thank you." He pecked her again and grinned.

"Mhm. You're lucky I like you Hale." She said before hurrying off to Isaac.

She watched as Isaac glanced towards her, well behind her actually, making Sheriff Stilinski look as well.

"Scarlett…" He said, the surprise disappearing from his face as fast as it had appeared. It was starting to become a regular pattern for her turning up at crime scenes…Stiles and Scott as well. The Sheriff was more surprised that the two boys weren't there with her.

"Hey Sheriff!" She said cheerfully. "Isaac. Mr Lahey." She nodded to the other males.

"What are you doing here?" The Sheriff asked with a sigh.

"I like to take walks through the cemetery every morning." She said, sounding rather morbid.

"Uh huh…shouldn't you be at school?"

"Well that's where I'm heading right now…Isaac, do you need a ride?" Scarlett asked sweetly although her eyes were demanding that he say yes.

He nodded shyly. "Uh, sure. Thanks." He said quietly. She had to admit he was very cute. Not just in his physical looks but in the way he acted as well.

"See you later Sheriff." Scarlett smiled, walking past them all and gesturing for Isaac to follow. She frowned when she heard Isaac's father whisper something to him.

"You have no chance with a girl like that." First of all, she thought that was disgusting. Second, he needed to work on his whispering skills and third, the guy really was a fucking dick.

"Come on Isaac." She smiled, making a show of taking his arm and leading him away.

When they were in the safety of Scarlett's car, Isaac decided it was a good time to speak up. "Why…why are you doing this?"

Scarlett glanced at him before reversing away from the cemetery and driving off towards the school. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to keep quiet about knowing Derek or what so she just left it and made up an excuse.

She shrugged, playing dumb. "What? I can't give a friend a ride to school?"

"No, no. I'm uh, grateful and everything but you've, I mean…we aren't exactly friends." He said, twiddling his thumbs.

"Who ever said that?"

"No one, we just don't talk or anything so I thought…"

"Well, Isaac. You thought wrong." She told him, keeping her tone light. She was actually starting to like his shyness and she wouldn't mind being friends with him. God knows he needed a few. She wasn't taking pity on him or anything it's just that he seemed to be a kind of…lost soul and she was more than happy to help him out.

"When you came out of the woods I saw…you were with someone."

"No I wasn't." She laughed, brushing it off and moving on to something else. "Anyway, from now on you can consider me a friend. Someone to talk to and stuff, you know?" Scarlett surprised herself with what she said. Of course she wanted to be friends with him but the way she said it seemed rather forward. But, it was out there now. She wanted to be there and help him as much as possible while he was going through the change and everything…if he said yes, of course. In a way she thought it was kind of her responsibility. Obviously, she knew that Derek would teach him everything but Scarlett had a feeling he wasn't going to be very nice about it and that's where she would come in. She would be there for moral support and everything else that Derek wouldn't be. He had told her that he planned to turn more people so she was just preparing herself for what was to come. And befriending Isaac seemed like a good start.

"Thanks Scarlett." Isaac gave her a small but sweet smile that made her actually notice the bruise on his eye. She stopped looking quickly, not wanting to question it either. If he wanted to talk about it then he would and maybe she would bring it up at some point but she wasn't about to do it right then and there.

"No problem." She shrugged, getting out of the car when she had pulled into a space in the school parking lot. "I'll see you later." He nodded to her and walked off in the opposite direction.

Scarlett's eyes narrowed as Stiles explained to her what he and Scott had been talking about since Lydia went missing. "So, you guys think she's turning?"

"Well it's kinda the only logical explanation, right?" Stiles said, walking beside her.

"I guess so…but I thought you said the bite never healed. Doesn't that mean she wasn't changed?"

"I don't know. Maybe it healed after we checked it or something." Stiles shrugged. "All I know is that she's alone in the woods…naked…and, stealing dead people's livers."

Scarlett blew out a breath. It was a lot to take in. She thought for sure that Lydia wasn't going to change into a werewolf. It was really hard to picture her running around stealing livers. Although, if that's what she stole from the grave…that means that Lydia was the 'animal' Scarlett had seen last night with Derek. Surely that wasn't her. It seemed so…inhuman. And if it was Lydia then Scarlett definitely would've been able to tell. So, none of it really added up in any way and Scarlett had no idea what to believe.

"Was it definitely a liver?" Scarlett asked uneasily.

Stiles sighed and nodded. "Definitely."

"But…Lydia Martin? Eating a liver? It's pretty unrealistic. I mean, we're talking about the girl who throws a complete outfit away after she wears it once and now, she has supposedly dug through a grave and taken a dead person's liver?"

"Yeah, well…I think becoming a werewolf kinda changes your views and eating habits."

"Scott never ate a liver though." Scarlett said sceptically.

"Maybe it's different for girls. I don't know." Stiles told her shaking his head. "Hey, have you heard anything from Derek?"

Scarlett's eyes widened a fraction and she turned to look at him. "What? No. Why? I mean, why would he talk to me?"

Stiles gave her a strange look. "Uh…well, he said he trusts you so I just thought that…you know what never mind."

"He does trust me." Scarlett said quickly. "He just hasn't you know, contacted me or anything." She shrugged.

"Okay, well, I have detention so I'll catch you later." Stiles said, touching her shoulder on his way past.

"Uh, okay, yeah, bye." She replied nonchalantly. Her focus was on the two girls up ahead that were giggling and talking about Allison who was right across the hall, obviously listening to them as well.

"Yeah, the psycho-bitch that killed all those people? That was her aunt." One of them said.

"No way, I sit next to her in English."

"Get a new seat." The first girl laughed again and they both looked at Allison who slammed her locker and walked away quickly. Scarlett kept glaring at the two girls and she scoffed, shaking her head and walking up to them.

They both looked at her and she could see the panic in their eyes. It wasn't that Scarlett was a scary person but when she was angry…you could tell.

"Hey, you two!" She snapped at them, gaining their full attention. "How about you take your snide little remarks and shove them up your asses." Scarlett said venomously making them both jump slightly. "If I ever hear you talking about Allison like that again, I'll make sure you regret it. Now scram."

The girls hurried off, looking like scorned children which is what they pretty much were. Scarlett held her chin up a little bit higher, glancing around again. It wasn't often that she threatened people because she was a genuinely nice person but sometimes, being well known and popular had its perks. Everyone knew that in high school, one person could ruin you. Especially if that person was well-liked. And not that Scarlett would ever ruin someone but she didn't mind putting people like that in their place.

"Wow. You're a pretty good friend." Scarlett looked at the guy who had spoken to her, not really recognising him. She smiled nonetheless, eyeing the expensive looking camera in his hands.

"Thank you. I pride myself on it." She said confidently before turning and strutting away in the other direction leaving the guy to smile and shake his head.

It seemed like Scarlett was never out of the fucking cemetery. There she was, crouched behind a massive headstone with Scott and Stiles as the three of them watched Allison and her parents attend Kate's funeral. Much like everyone else, the very thought of Kate Argent made her blood boil. Sure it sounded rude because she was dead but honestly, Peter killing her was karma for her killing most of the Hale family which is why Scarlett couldn't care less about being at her funeral. The only reason she was there was to support Allison and even though she wasn't right beside her, Allison knew that the three of them were there and that was good enough.

Scarlett peered over Scott's shoulder and around the stone to see an old man with white hair and two other bodyguard-type guys. The man had stopped walking and yanked the camera away from the guy that had spoken to her in school earlier. He took the memory card out of the camera and broke it, throwing the pieces on the ground. Scarlett cringed. She felt bad for the boy; those things were apparently really expensive much like the camera itself. When the guy from school had walked away, the old man walked towards the Argents. He greeted Chris first, then Victoria and then Allison.

"It's her grandfather." Scott told her and Stiles, answering the question that none of them had asked. It made sense though. He just looked like an Argent…like a hunter.

"Maybe he's from the non-hunting side of the family. You know, there could be non-hunting Argents…" Stiles said, his voice filled with doubt.

"I know who they are. And why they're here…they're reinforcements." Scott said grimly, making Scarlett shiver involuntarily. More hunters really wasn't a good thing at all. Especially when Derek was running around creating a new pack out of teenagers. God, this was all going to end badly. Scarlett could already sense it.

She jumped when both Stiles and Scott were yanked up from the ground by Sheriff Stilinksi. Scarlett quickly stood up as well and cursed under her breath.

"You three…unbelievable." The Sheriff said angrily, looking pissed as hell at finding the three of them where they weren't supposed to be yet again. "Let's go." He said, dragging Scott and Stiles away to the cruiser with Scarlett following behind sullenly.

They all piled into the car and sat quietly in the back, exchanging glances with one another. When the Sheriff got a call from dispatch, they all tuned into what was going on.

"Somebody got into the back of the ambulance…there's so much blood. I've never seen anything like it before." The cop on the radio said worriedly. The three teens looked at each other, secretly agreeing to get to the ambulance first.

"Alright, just hang on until I get there. As for the three of you-" The Sheriff began to say but when he turned around the three of them were already running through the woods.

"Do you think it was Lydia?" Scarlett asked as they came to a stop behind some trees where they had a visual of the ambulance.

"Who else could it have been?" Stiles replied, moving up further to get a closer look. The twins followed and they stood, watching the scene. The ambulance doors were ripped off and there was a dead man inside. His blood splattered absolutely everywhere. It was revolting to say the least. More and more cop cars started arriving and the three of them had to duck down to not be seen.

Scott sniffed the air, trying to catch Lydia's scent.

"Can you get it?" Scarlett asked.

"Do you need to be closer?" Stiles added on.

Scott shook his head and looked at the two of them. "No, I got it." He was about to start running off again but Stiles stopped him and gave him a defeated look.

"Just…find her Scott. Please, find her." His voice was sad and Scarlett felt for him. She was pretty damn upset that Lydia was missing but she was able to believe that Scott would find her or she would turn up but Stiles, he was completely wrecked over it and he didn't seem to have as much faith as her.

"I'll find her." Scott promised, taking off into woods.

"Hey, if Scott doesn't find her then she'll show up eventually. Please believe that." Scarlett said, her eyes pleading.

"I do believe that…it's just, I need to know she's safe." Stiles told her.

"Well you're not alone there. Stiles, the whole freaking town is looking for her."

Stiles nodded, seeming to accept the information before starting to walk over to the crime scene with Scarlett following close behind.

After a few minutes of standing around, the Sheriff showed up and Stiles went to talk to him while Scarlett hung back. She looked at the ground, kicking it with the toe of her shoe. She wanted to be doing something proactive, like helping to actually find Lydia or something rather than standing around like a spare part. Something caught her eye when she glanced up and she had to do a double-take when she saw Lydia emerging from the trees. Scarlett's eyes widened and she felt relief flood through her. Lydia looked wrecked. Her frizzy strawberry-blonde hair stood out against her pale white skin and it had bits of tree stuck in it, she was shaking and of course, she was naked.

"Lydia?" She heard Stiles ask.

"Well?" She asked shakily. "Is someone gonna get me a coat?" She opened her arms up so that she was completely bare in front of everyone and it just seemed like such a Lydia thing to do that Scarlett couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.

"Lydia!" Scarlett shouted, running towards her and pulling her cold, shaking form in for a tight hug. It didn't even matter that she was naked. Lydia wrapped her arms around Scarlett, clinging to her and revelling in her warmth. "Oh my God, are you okay? What the hell happened?"

"Here you go." The Sheriff said, handing his jacket to Lydia. Scarlett helped her put it on and before Lydia could answer any of Scarlett's questions she was taken away by the deputies so that she could be taken to the hospital again.

"Can I go with her?" Scarlett asked the Sheriff.

He gave her a doubtful look. "I think it would be better if you and Stiles just headed on home."

"But-"

"Scarlett." He said, giving her a slightly pleading look. She only refrained from being argumentative because she felt bad. He always had to yank them away from getting into trouble and she was scared that one day the stress was all just going to get to him.

"Fine, I'll go." She said glumly, walking over to Stiles who was just getting back up off the ground from having falling over at the sight of Lydia's nakedness. Scarlett rolled her eyes and helped him up. "We've been told to hit the road."

When Scarlett walked out of the bathroom while brushing her teeth she was surprised to see Derek standing at the far end of her room, examining all the pictures she had taken back in her photographer days.

He turned and smirked at her. She looked cute with that puzzled expression on her face. He'd never really seen her looking so…natural. She had her hair tied up in a messy bun, which he didn't mind but he preferred when her hair was down and messy, she was dressed in her pyjamas, wearing no makeup and to top it all off she had her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth.

"God, you have the worst timing." Her words were muffled by the toothpaste in her mouth but he could still make out what she was saying.

"I disagree." She glared at him and walked back into the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth and everything.

Derek stood up from the bed when she walked back out a few minutes later fixing her shirt. His heart swelled when she smiled up at him. She was so beautiful and she was all his.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tippy toes to kiss him before pulling back. "I assume you're here to talk about Lydia?" She asked.

The truth was he was there to see her but talking about Lydia was a good cover. "Yeah." Scarlett sighed and Derek walked backwards until he was sitting on the bed with her straddling him, arms still locked around his neck. He held her waist and used his thumbs to rub her sides in a comforting way by pure instinct. She was stressed and he could sense it.

"So, we found her. Or…she found us. Whatever." Scarlett began, relaxing into Derek's touch. "She's back. And I'm pretty sure she isn't a werewolf. I mean, there just wasn't anything different about her. She just seemed pretty freaked about the whole thing." He nodded. "Why do I get the feeling you knew that she hadn't turned?"

"Because it wouldn't make sense if she was. The bite never healed. Plus, Scott and I found an omega who admitted he got the guy in the back of the ambulance and was the one who stole the liver." Derek told her truthfully.

"Wait, an omega? As in like…a wolf without a pack?" She asked. Derek nodded again. "So, what did you guys do with him?"

He hesitated for a moment, not really wanting to tell her about what he saw. He knew that keeping things from her would be a bad move though so he told her anyway. "Hunters. The Argents, to be exact. They got a hold of him and cut him in half."

Scarlett's eyes widened and she gagged slightly as she imagined someone being cut in half. Well, actually, an image of Laura Hale's dead body popped into her head. She shivered at the memory. "Why?"

"It's what they do Scarlett. They said tonight they would kill any werewolf that they came across. No matter who it was. That means that Scott is in danger and sneaking around with Allison isn't helping him at all."

"But, I thought they had a code." Scarlett said, confused by what she was hearing.

"The code's finished. They aren't sticking by it anymore. They're declaring war."

"Well then is it smart to be starting a pack? I mean, Isaac…he's my age and I'm guessing that if he says yes then you're planning to turn more teenagers and…are you sure that's a good idea?" She asked again.

"I need a pack." He said simply. "If I have a pack then I'm stronger. I need more than just Isaac."

"Wait," Scarlett gave him a look. "Did you bite Isaac already?"

Derek narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah. He asked for it." He said it as if it was obvious.

"When the hell was this?"

"It doesn't matter. But I'm going to need your help."

"With what…?" She asked wearily.

"I need you to become friends with him and keep an eye on him. If he shifts, don't get involved. I don't want you getting hurt." He said the last part sincerely and Scarlett felt herself nodding.

"Okay. I mean, I already kind of told him we were friends this morning but if you want it to go further than that it's completely fine with me. He is pretty cute." Scarlett smirked, messing with him just to get a kick out of his reaction.

His eyes snapped to hers and they became deadly. She felt his grip on her waist tighten before he flipped them around so her back was on the bed and he was on top of her. Derek felt his possessiveness kick in and he leaned down to her ear. He could hear her heartbeat speeding up in excitement. He had come to notice that she actually liked this side of him which he didn't mind at all.

"You're already taken." He growled in her ear causing her to whimper slightly. He began ravenously sucking and biting her neck, making marks everywhere. Marks that would remind her she was his.