Authors Note:

I have changed the name and description and also the cover picture of the story. I know I'm getting approx. 200 hits a chapter, but I'm looking to gain a bigger audience. So I just revamped the story a little bit. Don't be too confused :P I should have warned you in advance, but oh well. I still wanna know what you think about keeping Erica alive in season 3? Please leave a comment about it, it'd be incredibly helpful.

Chapter Thirteen: I Need Your Help.

Bang, went Isaac on the floor as Derek threw him down.

"Again." Sam shouted from the other end of the room. Erica and Boyd stood up there with him. Isaac groaned and got up to his feet, "My sister can do better than that."

"Hey!" Avery shouted, as she watched Isaac to try and knock down Derek for the hundredth time today.

"I mean a human could do better than that." Sam corrected himself, "Isaac, you need to move faster."

"I'm trying." Isaac moaned, going to line up again. Now it was Erica's turn. She bounded off the walls, with agility far beyond Isaac. Although as she reached Derek, he caught her easily, pounding her into the ground. She grunted as the air left her lungs.

"You two really think that it's a fair fight?" Avery got to her feet walking over to the downed Erica.

"What would you suggest?" Derek sounded slightly annoyed that the most powerless person in the room was trying to give him advice on how to train his pack.

"For one, you have at least thirty seconds to attack them. You watch them come towards you and on top of that you're an Alpha. That's not my definition of a fair fight."

"You think that the Argents will fight fair?" Derek raised his voice.

"The Argents?" Avery replied warily, she was taken aback, "That's the hunters after you?"

"Yeah, what about them?" Boyd called.

"Our families were well acquainted." Avery crossed her arms and looked over at Sam, "I told you there was more to the story than what he told us."

"Hunters are hunters. They're all dangerous in their own respect." Sam tried to deter her nerves, "Argent or not."

"Fine. It just means we need to get these lot up to scratch really soon." Avery then turned back to Derek spitefully and helped Erica to her feet, "They need a more one on one approach. I'll take Erica, Sam you take Isaac and Derek you can take Boyd."

"I'm pretty sure I'm the Alpha here." Derek held his arm out to stop her walking off with Erica, "I make the calls."

"If you're the Alpha, prove it." Avery turned back to him and bit her lip tauntingly, "Give me three hours with Erica and I promise she'll be able to take down even you. Deal?"

Derek paused and eyed off his competition, Erica smiled. Everyone was staring at Derek, waiting for him to make a decision. Sam's little sister wouldn't upstage him, so he held out his hand for her to shake.

"Deal." He said matching her smirk. They both turned away and went to collect their students.

xxxx

"You really think you can teach me?" Erica was concerned as Avery reached into her bag.

"Of course. I've taken down Alpha's before, it's easy if you know what you're doing." She pulled out her crossbow, "Wolves like Derek rely solely on strength. They get pig-headed and overconfident very quickly. The key to winning a fight is thinking smart and on your feet. If you can match his brute strength with cunning strategy, you'll always win.

"So what's the plan then?" Erica was pumped, and began eagerly jumping on the spot, "How are we going to do this."

"Anticipate." Avery said raising the crossbow and firing. Erica wasn't prepared and instead the arrow sliced her cheek. She grabbed it in pain, "Derek will be fast, like the arrow. Just like when you're fighting off hunters, you want to know their strengths and weakness. But you also want to know how to deal with the situation so it doesn't rise again. Each time you fight, your opponent has more time to study your movements. They can study your favoured moves and learn to block them.

"Like with hunters, killing them is stupid. A beta wolf on their own has no chance of killing multiple hunters. They could probably take down one or two but then you've given the rest of them permission to hunt you. Hunters have a code. We don't kill wolves that don't kill innocents or our own. You want to injure or scare someone off from coming after you."

"What does this have to do with fighting Derek?" Erica asked.

"Everything." Avery smiled raising the crossbow again. This time Erica caught the arrow before it reached her face, "You just learnt from my past actions, did you not?"

"Yeah." Erica nodded.

"And you've fought with Derek before?"

"Yeah."

"He knows the way you usually attack. Now the element of surprise is you new strength." Avery stated shooting the crossbow once more. Erica caught it and laughed.

"That's not surprising!" she rolled her eyes, Avery's coaching was getting repetitive. Without warning Sam, in Kanima form, jumped out behind Erica and tackled her to the ground. She was pinned. Avery walked over and bent down beside her protégé.

"It's your job to come up with something that'll surprise Derek enough to beat him."

xxxx

Avery and Erica stood up one end of the subway while Derek and Boyd stood at the other. Derek shooed Boyd off to go stand by Sam and Isaac, who were watching in the middle.

"She doesn't look anymore impressive." Derek heckled Avery, as he cracked his knuckles and loosened his neck.

"Well it shows the lack of insight you have then." Avery squinted. She turned back to Erica and patted her shoulder.

"You'll do great." She said encouragingly. Then she left Erica's side and waltzed down to Derek, "Try not to let her kill you." She patted his chest and then moved aside. Derek grunted and then re-focused.

Erica let out a low growl in challenge, before shaking tension from her shoulders. Derek matched her growl and shifted into his Alpha form. Erica look up at her Alpha, with a poker face. She folded her arms and rested her weight onto one foot watching him as her claws and fangs slowly grew out. Derek rushed forward and she moved to meet him. She knew exactly what she was going to do to surprise him.

He swung first, narrowly missing her. She dodged a second punched and backed away. Derek almost chuckled as Erica's face grew pale at his near miss. They began to circle as the other three boys watched on nervously. Avery stood next to them smugly, hoping that she was helping put Derek off. Every now and then she could see his eyes flick to her's. Then when he looked away for once second, Erica pounced. She slashed at his arm, but he barely flinched. She moved away as he growled back at her, unfairly using his Alpha control over her. But Erica was determined.

It was her turn to end this fight once and for all. She lunged forward again, jumping into the air. Derek was expecting her to slash at him, but when her arms and legs wrapped around his neck and her lips collided into his, he was stunned. He let Erica linger there for second, and he would have pulled her off, until her feet detached from his waist and got underneath his footing. He hit the ground and she sat perched on top of him. He was beat.

"—And I think that means that Erica wins." Avery stepped forward to gloat. Erica chuckled and stood up, holding out her hand for Derek. He was fuming from his ears. He hit her hand away and stood up on his own.

"Great." He scowled at Avery, "So now if she wants to beat a hunter, all she has to go is make-out with them. Great training."

"No." Avery scoffed, "She just has to take them by surprise and use it to her advantage instantly. No gloating, no long speeches. Just simple trickery. Besides you didn't look like you were complaining too much when she was attached to your mouth."

"Do you think this is a game?" Derek raised his voice and towered over Avery. She glared back at him willing to stand her ground.

"Yeah. Sure." Avery said in an overly sarcastic tone, "The lives of my brother and I and now your pack aren't important whatsoever. I just want everyone dead. Someone give him an award, Derek Hale's worked out my master plan!"

"You're insufferable." Derek shouted as Sam raced forward and pushed the two apart. He glowered at Avery for one second before storming off. Everyone was silent, before Sam turned on his sister.

"So much for your promise to be civil." He shook his head and followed after Derek, hoping to apologise on her behalf. Avery sighed and shook her head in agitation.

"I still won right?" Erica asked. Isaac and Boyd flashed her a toothy smile. She had won, Derek was just being a bad sport about it.