Chapter 17

~Derek POV~

The drive home wasn't awkward at all, which was saying something. I had kind of expected it, especially with how uncomfortable Aaden always seemed. But, this was all new to her, so why wouldn't it have been uncomfortable? If I couldn't express myself through my wolf, I'd go damn near insane. And here she was, this fragile looking woman, battling literally the weight of the world, and she couldn't express it properly. She was far from fragile though, as she had seriously endangered herself by challenging Jessica, burying that mace in Victor's head, and training her ass off with me. I had to admit, when I was first fighting the urge to want her, I had punished her for it. Sometimes I still wanted to, but that was just me. Being an asshole was second nature to me, but Aaden was going to change that, and I wasn't so sure that I liked that. I realized later that, yes, she was going to bring out some better in me, but I could still be that tough Alpha. Alphas didn't get 'whipped' as they call it.

The urge to bite her was looming over my head. I craved it. Thinking about it now made my vision go red and I quickly shook my head, trying to disperse my wolf vision. She brought to life a part of me I never knew was there. Even when I had thought I was in love with that wicked bitch Kate, it was nothing like this. I pushed away the thoughts ramming into me from that shitty chapter of my life.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Aaden reaching over. I snapped to when her soft skin pressed against mine. She had her hand over mine on the steering wheel, which I had a death grip on. "Are you all right?" "Peachy." I said. "You don't feel peachy." Her worry hit me like a Mack truck. She said she sensed when I felt something strongly, which was amazing since she was human, but I knew it couldn't be as strong as it was for me with her. "Don't worry," I said, softer this time. She got really worked up when I was upset, so I was going to assure her, as well as push myself into this relationship more. I let go of the wheel, but kept her hand in mine, settling them on the armrest in the middle seat. She lightly gasped, and warm electricity poured through me. When she had stated to Farren that she felt an electric jolt when I touched her, I knew then for sure what she was to me. My Luna. I had gotten angry when I realized what it meant. No longer could I stay away from her. Being away from her would only wreck us both. It had hit me in about thirty different bad ways when she had outright guessed as to why I was ignoring her and even avoiding her. I had wanted to rip Farren a new asshole for telling her, what I had thought was prematurely, but in the end, she would have found out anyway, and our discussion would have been more heated. But now, instead of the weakness I had been expecting, she brought to life a new and stronger power within me. Her Luna completed my Alpha, and together, we'd be the strongest.

I laced my fingers through hers, and I hated to say that I liked the rush of power and protectiveness that washed through me, but I did. I didn't want to make the turn in back to the mansion, because I couldn't have her to myself after this moment for a while. Sure, this was the first date, but this was no human outing. Humans fell in love, and that took time, but the attraction between wolf mates was instant. Love came almost immediately. Obviously, our story was different, and in a way, fucked up. A Luna had never before been human, or at least not that I'd ever heard of, and her human side still battled her wolf. The wolf in me growled hungrily as my eyes trailed up her bare, crossed legs to the little dress covering her upper thighs. Perfect. She was perfect. And she was mine.

Remembering Victor challenging me over her pissed me off immediately. I quickly quashed it, as not to alert her, but my Alpha roared with the claim. Of course, it was stupid to be angry over it, for she had nipped THAT problem in the bud. Had he killed me, had he overpowered me enough to take my Alpha, he would have inherited her. The thought of him running his filthy hands over her made me want to kill something. It was for the best that both he and Marcus were dead.

Reluctantly, I made the turn into the driveway to the house. I still had her warm little hand in mine, and she didn't seem to mind either. I caught a fly-by whiff of acrid tension. I flinched at it; it was very strong. "What the hell?" I asked aloud. "What?" came her voice beside me. "I smell something off. I don't know what it is." She rose an eyebrow, but quieted. As I pulled up and parked the car, I heard a crash from inside the house. "GET HER!" "SHE'S GOING TO-" Another crash.

"What the fuck was that?" Aaden asked. "I don't know, but I'm about to find out." My eyes went red, and I felt my fangs extending from my lips. My claws grew, sharp and yellow. Aaden was quiet, but she wasn't afraid, and she slowly followed behind me as I marched in. A loud scream from the den alerted me as to where the problem was. Farren's voice appeared through the chatter. "Everyone back the hell up! Angelica, calm d- MOTHER. FUCK!"

Farren's distress leaked into the hallway, and her cut off words spoke of struggle. I made my way to the den, where I saw Farren, lying on the ground, pressing her hand to an open, bleeding wound on her neck and Angelica, the psycho bitch we'd all NOT been looking forward to bringing here, sitting in the corner with blood on her clothes and face. She was giggling, like she'd done something funny. I was about to show her something funny. "Derek, don't!" Farren yelled, "I'm okay." She tossed a look over to Angelica. "Crazy, cannibalistic, bloodsucking bitch." She murmured. "Aaden, stay back!" I felt panic rise up as she appeared in the doorway nearest to Angelica. If she attacked Farren, there was nothing stopping her from harming Aaden, and then I really would kill her. "What's going on?" She asked, her eyes widening as she took in Farren's injury. "Why are you bleeding? You're a vampire!" Her curiosity and alarm skyrocketed, but I wanted her out of harm's way. Without thinking, I waltzed over and pulled her to my side, leading her away from Angelica. "We'll talk about it later, right now, I need you and Spencer to go either upstairs to your rooms or to the balcony, just until we've got Angelica tied down." "But-" "But nothing. Get your ass up there now."

She did as I said thankfully, and I turned back to the den, my fangs having grown out once more. "Okay Angelica, are we doing this the hard way? Or the easy way?"

The stronger side of me hoped that she'd choose hard.

**Soooooo? What did you all think? I really hope you liked the introduction of Derek's POV, because it will certainly play parts throughout this story. I hope you all have a wonderful day/night!**