Chapter 15

Scarlet did what anyone would have done, well what Stiles would have done anyway. She did research, lots of research, and when that didn't work she wallowed. Her dad took Stiles along with him to work one night and Scarlet decided to drag herself out of bed and go rent some movies. She didn't bother changing out of her sweatpants, simply pulled on her fuzzy boots and a sweatshirt before trudging out the door.

She parked the jeep next to what she assumed was Lydia's car. She glanced through the windshield to see that Lydia was indeed there. She waved a hand at her before heading inside.

"Can someone help me find The Notebook," Jackson called out. "Is anybody working here?"

"The notebook, what a manly movie," Scarlet said jokingly as she came toward him. The phone continued to ring at the desk which gave her cause for concern. "I think the notebook is over here."

Scarlet took a couple of steps down the aisle before she froze, noticing a pair of feet on the ground. "Jackson," she said as she pointed toward it. Jackson moved around her and slowly crept forward to get a better look. Scarlet trailed behind him nervously.

They came around the corner and Scarlet let out a scream, the store employee was on the ground, his throat ripped, blood rushing down his front. She and Jackson scrambled back, slamming into the ladder, knocking it down and causing all the lights in the building to flicker madly.

Jackson turned away from her and let out a strangled noise. Scarlet turned toward him, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her down to the floor next to him. "What is it," Scarlet whispered as he leaned around the end of the display case. He immediately pulled back and pressed his finger to his lips. The case began to shake slightly and some dvds fell on them.

Scarlet grabbed Jackson's hand and bit down on her lip to keep from making any noise. Jackson leaned around the corner again, but a series of crashes sounded through the room. He yanked Scarlet forward, but it was too late, they were both pinned beneath the case.

Loud, snorting breaths sounded from just behind them. Scarlet supressed a scream as the creature touched the back of Jackson's neck. It turned its attention to her, its nose skimming against her back between her shoulder blades. It's claws tugged down the neck of her sweatshirt, revealing the mark she shared with Derek. Without warning, its claws dug into her skin, dragging across the mark, tearing the soft skin and disfiguring the mark.

Scarlet cried out in pain, but as suddenly as it had started, it ended and the creature was gone, leaping through the window of the building and running away.

"Are you ok," Jackson asked after a moment. "Did it hurt you?"

"I'm fine," Scarlet said as she tried to wiggle loose from the case. She couldn't tell him what the creature had done to her, she was pretty sure that it was the alpha and it knew who she was too. "We have to get out of here and call the police."

"JACKSON, SCARLET," Lydia screamed as she burst into the room. She had her phone in hand and was talking rapidly in to it. "Oh my god, they are alive, it didn't kill them. Are you two ok?"

"We're fine, couple of bruises but fine," Scarlet said as she continued to struggle to free herself. With Lydia's help she and Jackson managed to get out from beneath the case. They made it outside just as the police and an ambulance showed up. The three of them were immediately ushered over to the ambulance.

"Why can't I just go home," Jackson suddenly demanded.

"I hear ya, but the emt says you hit your head pretty hard," Scarlet's dad explained. Scarlet had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't even realized her dad was there.

"Dad," she cried as she climbed out of the back of the ambulance.

"Scar, what are you doing here," he demanded as she threw herself into his arms.

"I came to get a movie, it was awful," she explained as he hugged her. Jackson began to argue with her father again as Stiles approached them. Scarlet immediately pulled him into a hug. She looked up at the roof of the building just in time to see Scott and Derek disappear from view. She hadn't spoken to Derek since he'd told her that the bond between them couldn't be broken. She stared at the spot they had been standing in for a moment before pulling away from Stiles.

"Can we please go home? We didn't see anything," she pleaded as she glanced at Jackson.

Her dad simply nodded as he turned his attention to the dead body of the store employee. Scarlet dug her keys out of her pocket and headed over to the jeep. She headed straight home and climbed in the shower. She flinched when the warm water ran over her back, the marks from the creature stinging wildly. She waited until the water ran clear before climbing out.

Scarlet had not told the EMT about the injury, telling them meant explaining the mark and she had no excuse for that. Scarlet tugged on her pajamas and shuffled out of the bathroom. She paused when she noticed her window was standing open. She took a small step forward, but froze in her tracks. Her room didn't feel safe anymore, she didn't feel safe anymore. Scarlet took another small step forward, gasping when the shadows next to the window seemed to shift.

"It's ok, it's me," Derek said as he stepped out of the shadows. Scarlet heaved a sigh and rushed toward him, burying her face in his chest. "You're shaking, tell me what happened, please?"

"I can't," she whispered. She knew if she told him that he would go after the creature, and that the creature could kill him. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Scarlet, please. I need to know what you saw. Was it the alpha?"

Scarlet pulled away from him and sat on her bed. She buried her face in her hands before answering him. "Yeah, it was the alpha. He knew Derek, or she, I don't know, but whoever it is, they knew."

"Knew what," Derek asked as he sat down next to her. He brushed her hair of out of the way so he could see her face.

"Knew about my mark," Scarlet whispered. "And the marks on the back of Jackson's neck from where your claws dug into him."

"What did it do?"

"It touched the back of Jackson's neck, it like dug its claws into the marks," she explained. She ran a hand through her damp hair, her fingers getting caught in the tangled curls. Derek reached up and carefully pulled her fingers loose for her. He kept staring at her though, as though he knew she wasn't telling him the whole truth.

"What did it do to you," Derek asked. Scarlet made to move away from him but Derek grabbed her shoulder to keep her there. Scarlet cried out in pain as his fingers pressed into the marks left by the alpha and she flinched away from him. Derek's face furled in confusion as he stared at her.

Scarlet shrugged his hand off her shoulder and stood up. She turned away from him, wrapping her arms around herself as she moved. She could feel her t-shirt sticking to the marks.

"Is that blood," Derek asked as he rose from the bed. Scarlet whirled around and shook her head repeatedly. She backed away from him, until she ran into the wall. "Scarlet, what did it do?"

"No," Scarlet cried. "Don't Derek, please, we have to end this ok? This isn't working, neither of us is happy, and... it's only going to end badly. So we're done, and you need to leave. Now."

"Tell me what the alpha did to you," Derek demanded. He didn't understand what was going on with her. He knew that things had been hard lately, but your mate wasn't supposed to want out this desperately. Something was terribly wrong for her to be acting like this. Her heart was racing and Derek could see her shaking, he knew she was lying.

"Nothing, he didn't do anything."

"You said he saw your mark, how did it see your mark," Derek asked. Scarlet made to move around him, but Derek moved in front of her. He gently put his hands on her waist, worried about scaring her further. "Scarlet, please, tell me what happened."

"I can't," Scarlet wailed. She uncrossed her arms and attempted to push Derek away but he wouldn't budge. "If I show you, you'll go after him, and he will kill you! I can't, I won't."

"Show me what," Derek asked as her hands fisted in his shirt. "Scarlet, show me what? I swear, I won't go after it, just show me what it did to you!"

Tears spilled down her cheeks as she met his gaze. Small sobs escaped her mouth as she collapsed into his chest. "It's trying to take me away from you, it doesn't want me with you, it knew Derek," Scarlet sobbed into his chest. "I'm so scared."

Derek wrapped his arms tightly around, holding her close. He could tell now that the alpha had hurt her, he could smell the blood. As he looked down, he saw the blood slowly seeping through the back of her shirt. He tightened his arm around her waist, trapping her against him as his other hand tugged down the back of her shirt. He drew in a sharp breath when he saw what had happened to her mark. It was basically shredded by claw marks, the marks weren't deep but they were still bleeding.

"Don't leave, please don't leave," Scarlet pleaded through her tears. "I can't lose you too. People always leave me."

The weight of her statement hit him hard. She had lost her mother, and he had lost most of his family. "I won't, I won't do anything Scarlet, I promise," Derek whispered as he held her.

Derek scooped her up and carried her over to the bed, sitting down on it with her in his lap. He held her until the sobs subsided. She was still shaking though and her shirt was stained with blood.

"Will you let me see it now? Why didn't you show the paramedics," Derek asked softly.

"I would have to explain the mark, I didn't know what to say and I was afraid I would tell them what it really was and that it would ruin everything," Scarlet explained. Derek carried her into the bathroom and set her on the edge of the tub. She turned her back to him and tugged the shirt off. She crossed her arms over her chest as a blush raced up her face.

Derek pressed a kiss to the back of her shoulder as he pushed her hair out of the way. "Do you have a rubber band or something," he asked. She gave him a strange look before pointing to the shelves over the toilet. He found something to pull her hair up with. He struggled with it for a moment, not knowing what to do with all of it.

"Give it to me," Scarlet said holding a hand over her shoulder. She quickly uncrossed her arms and yanked all of her hair up on top of her head. She turned her head just slightly, and Derek was taken by how beautiful she was. She dropped her arms down and crossed them back over her chest.

"Ok, uh, what do we need to take care of this? Bandages, some...," Derek trailed off as he looked through the cabinet under the sink.

"That brown bottle is peroxide, there's a box that should have some gauze bandages, just pour the peroxide over it, when it stops fizzing you can put a bandage on it," Scarlet explained.

"Isn't that going to hurt?"

"Yeah, it is," Scarlet said as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Ok," Derek said hesitantly. He unscrewed the cap and stared at the marks for a moment before pouring the peroxide over it. Scarlet hissed in pain her back arching slightly as she did so. Derek blew on it, causing goosebumps to race down her back. He couldn't help but smirk slightly at her reaction. He kept up the process until it stopped fizzing then put the bandage on for her. Scarlet started to put on her bloody t-shirt, but Derek pulled it out of her hands and tossed it in her hamper.

"Here," he said as he pulled his shirt off and handed it to her. "Wear mine."

Scarlet slowly pulled his shirt on before turning to look at him. She smiled slightly as she took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. She followed him back into the bedroom. Derek started to say something, but froze, listening intently.

"Your dad and Stiles are home," he informed her.

"In the closet or under the bed," Scarlet asked with a small grin. She never thought she would have to hide a guy in her room, but Derek was the type of guy that had to be hidden. The front door slammed open and Derek immediately climbed into her closet. Scarlet made sure that door was securely closed before pulling down the blankets on her bed and getting under them. She left the lamp on her nightstand on, but rolled onto her side and pretended to be asleep.

Her bedroom door creaked open and someone stepped inside. The bed shifted as someone sat on it. "Scarlet," her dad said softly as he put a hand on her shoulder. She fluttered her eyes open and smiled at him. "You need anything kid? How are you doing?"

"I'm ok, just tired. Do you know what happened," she asked.

"It was another animal attack, we're not sure though. Are you sure you are ok? You don't have to go to school tomorrow, just stay home and... deal, is that what you guys do," her dad asked.

"We try to deal," Scarlet said with a grin. "I'll see how I feel in the morning."

"All right, I'll let you get some sleep. I'm glad you are ok, I love you Scar."

"Love you too dad," Scarlet said before kissing him on the cheek. He left the room only to be replaced by Stiles moments later.

"Was it the alpha," Stiles demanded.

"Stiles, please I just want to go to sleep. We can talk about it tomorrow, I promise."

"This is ridiculous, Scott isn't answering his phone, Derek has disappeared, you won't tell me what happened," Stiles muttered.

"Derek is in my closet," Scarlet confided. Derek pushed the door open and stepped out giving her an annoyed look. "Sorry, but now he will go away, because you don't like each other."

"Yep," Stiles said as he headed toward the door. "See you in the morning, keep it down in here please. I don't need to hear my twin and her werewolf boyfriend getting it on, I will be scarred permanently."

"Really Stiles? We aren't having sex," Scarlet snapped. "We talked about that!"

"I don't need to know about it Scar! That was the most awkward conversation ever! You keep that information to yourself ok?" Stiles shut the door as he left, leaving Scarlet and Derek in an uncomfortable silence.

"So, you told your twin that we weren't having sex," Derek asked as he stared at the now closed door.

"He asked me if you were as bossy in bed as you are in every day life, I told him I didn't know, you had declared a war on sex," Scarlet explained as Derek sat down on the bed.

"A war on sex? Us waiting is a war on sex," Derek asked.

"It is when you were the only one who got a say in the decision."

"And what is your say?"

"Really? My shirtless boyfriend with amazing abs wants to know what I think about us having sex? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know what my say is," Scarlet shot back.