I lay in bed at odds with myself having made it safely past whoever was in the bathroom. I felt like I was betraying all of my friends and I felt that I was betraying myself. All I wanted was to protect Derek from what was happening to me. I wanted him to never get hurt by me again. Derek's dad, my Alpha, had given me a way out. He had threatened to kill me. It would have solved everything right then and there. I would no longer a threat to Derek or anyone else. And Alpha would have been shipped off in the morning never telling Derek who he actually was. If I could have just manned up in the basement this would all be over. I lingered over that for a moment. Why did he want Derek and I dead? I was too distracted by everything to ask. Not that I would have likely gotten a true answer anyways.

"…earth to Chloe…" I heard the whisper and I jolted out of my stance. It was Derek looming in the doorway, coming in to check on me.

"What do you want? Chain me to the bed because locking the door isn't enough?" I snap.

"Chloe I-"

"-think I'm a flight risk I know," I interrupt.

"No that's not what I was going to say," he sighed.

"Then what? That I need to behave myself like a good little puppy."

I could tell that one stung him a little, "Chloe…" he stepped in and shut the door, the dim light from the window catching the feverish glow in his eyes, "…I want to talk to you about what you said earlier."

I said nothing waiting for him to continue on what he specifically meant. I was not about to suggest a subject and slip up.

"Why won't you tell me why you did all this? You took off and ran away. To the Pack. Almost getting killed. And you don't even seem to care."

"Maybe I was trying to get killed," I mumbled as quietly as I could. Derek still heard it and before I could blink was up in my face. Anger seething from him.

"I better have heard that wrong," He roared, not worrying about his volume for a split second.

I looked down avoiding his gaze. He grabbed my chin and forced me to meet his eyes, so I shut mine. He didn't budge though, holding me in place. I knew I had to decide fast. Do I tell him or not? How much do I tell him? I was for sure not going to tell him about Alpha in the basement.

"Chloe," a growl vibrated from deep in his chest.

Keeping my eyes closed I responded, "You didn't hear me wrong." I took a breath, "It needs to be done for everyone's safety. I can't let any more incidents happen like in the woods." I couldn't hold back what had been going on anymore. Derek needed to know the reasoning for his health's sake. He didn't need to agree he just needed to know.

"That's the stupidest thing you've ever said. You had one incident of being scared in the woods and you suddenly decide to be suicidal."

His grip on my chin didn't waiver as he sat down on the bed next to me.

"I told you me being a werewolf isn't safe," I backed away out of his touch.

Derek sat there unmoving.

"Chloe..I…I.."

"Was wrong and need to keep your distance," I added the last part as he reached for my hand. I backed away and drew my knees up to my chest hugging them.

He rubbed his face with his hands and then looked at me shaking his head.

"This isn't real. That can't be it."

"I don't really have the time for denial Derek. I need the Pack to take me out before I hurt someone. Hurt you."

"I am not taking you to the Pack," he growled.

Derek slid across the bed so he was beside me and hesitantly wrapped his arm around me. I felt a violent grow erupt from my chest and I shot to the other side of the sudden movement took my breath away and my lungs burned as I tumbled off the bed and caught my breath. Derek leaned over me filled with concern and worry.

Once I was breathing okay Derek pulled me up into a hug. Holding me tight before putting me back on the bed. He looked into my eyes for a moment, his dark hair hanging down mostly covering his from my view.

"I''m sorry if that scared you, it's like the infection is still taking hold," I said. "I get these bursts of pain. You really need to just stay away from me Derek."

Derek shook his head, his iconic 'your being stupid' face returning, "I'm not going anywhere Chloe. We are telling Dad about this and he's going to help you fix it."

I growled at him challenging him to tell Kit. "You tell Kit and I'm denying the whole thing. This stays between you and me."

Derek blatantly did not like keeping this between us, it was very serious. But before he could answer his change was finally setting in due to the scare from my breathing issues. He groaned as his arm spasmed beside me, he wasn't able to delay it any longer. He was going to deal with his change right now.

Derek's change came easy now that he had gone through it so many times, but I had seen a glimpse of some fear in his eyes as if he expected me to flee in his moments of distraction. I didn't. I couldn't leave him like this even though I knew he could get through it. I waited for him to finish changing and then sat next to him wondering if I should tell him about Alpha. He made a sound at me like he wanted to know what I was thinking. I shrugged in response. Deciding not to tell him for the time being at least. I couldn't put Derek through what I went through downstairs.

Morning came soon and Derek luckily changed back before anyone came to wake us up. Kit was the knock at the door saying, "Chloe I need to talk to you privately." As he walked in and saw that Derek was there.

Derek growled, "Anything you need to say to her you can say to me Dad."

I had never heard Derek growl at his dad as far as I could remember in my sleep deprived state of mind.

"Its fine Derek, its not like your dad is going to hurt me," I tried to make a light joke. But Derek did not budge, so I waved Kit into the room to just say whatever he needed to.

"I wanted to talk to you about the guy in the basement." He said as if he were preparing me for some news that I would not expect, "I and some friends of mine went down there to move him out today like we had planned. He was gone." Kit paused and waited for a reaction. I summoned some acting skills and gasped in surprise. Derek tensed and put a protective arm around me immediately, flinching slightly at the movement. Derek didn't pull back through. Kit continued, not noticing the flinch, "Looking back now I guess you boys were right that we should have had someone watching him all night. I thought that my spells would have been enough. My spells must not have all their power back yet from healing Chloe."

At this it suddenly dawned on me of something Liam and his friend had said. Derek looking like a Cain because they were stupid and etc. But Alpha was in no ways stupid. He proved that last night and again this morning. Giving me a glimpse of hope that this man probably was not Derek's father and was just that good at manipulation to get me to think that he had control over me. Derek had never said anything about wolves having control over other wolves so why had I believed this stranger. I jerked myself back to reality realizing I had been quiet for some time. I hoped it had somehow come across as being stunned by the news.

"Derek," Kit shot him a look, "Let me and the other members take care of his matter. You kids need to stay laying low for the time being. The Edison Group is still after you guys. The last thing we need is you kids accidentally giving away this safe house while…" Kit stopped himself from finishing the sentence, but I knew what he was going to say- while we figure out what to do with Chloe.

Before Derek could respond Simon entered the room with breakfast. I felt my body temperature drop a few degrees and hoped Derek did not notice yet. How long did werewolfism take to set in? I smiled at Simon as he sat down on the bed with us and handed Derek an apple and me an orange. I nodded grateful and started peeling it as Derek bit into the apple. I could faintly still see the lack of trust in his eyes but at least he was trying to be nice and repair our friendship now.

"How'd you sleep last night Chloe?" He asked, "You look like hell."

"I had a little bit of a rough time staying asleep, new environment and all but I'm good Uncle Simon." I have a small smile at the reference to when he and I were sitting at the stairs in the motel. It felt so long ago now.

Simon smiled at that and chuckled a little, "Don't you get me started on that again because I like the sound of Uncle Simon."

I laughed a little too, glad to have this little conversation with him without any tension. We looked at the other two who just looked confused on what we were talking about.

"You had to be there," I said to them, cliché but true. Simon smiled again.

I turned my attention back to Kit and asked, "So since he is gone does that mean we need to move again so he can't come back after us."

Kit shrugged, "We are still working out the details but probably eventually yes. Unless he reappears again soon and we get things sorted out."

"Then what's on the agenda for us kids today while you adult's manhunt in the woods?"

"Other than not leaving the house, its up to you guys how you spend your day today. Be kids for a day have some fun." His eyes flicked between me and Derek, "But not too much fun."

Derek rolled his eyes, knowing what his dad meant and being annoyed by the comment. My cheeks burned and I just nodded quickly in agreement. Good little Chloe, up to nothing today.

Kit left to join the other adults and Tori took his place in my room. As she entered I commented, meaning to sound rude but not as rude as it was when I spoke.

"Can we hang in a different room in the house please. I'm done being stationed in this prison cell."

They kind of gave me looks of surprise for saying that but shrugged and nodded and one by one they filed out of the room and left me to change out of my pajamas. Once I changed I joined them in the dining room for some more breakfast and we chatted like normal kids. Simon talked about our adventure comic and how it was coming along. Tori talked about her magazines that she got her hands on and the latest fashions that they talked about. Derek sat silent for the most of it, eyes kept on me worriedly. I mostly sat back and listened to the others, offering words of advice and personal opinion and comments to help conversations continue along. It felt nice for that short while being normal kids again but knowing our record it would not last for long.

Eventually Tori pipped up that I needed some girl time and pulled me away from the boys before there could be protest. We went up to the room that she was staying in.

"So?" she said curiously as soon as the door was shut and we sat on her bed.

"So what?" I asked back, not knowing where she was going with it.

"So what's going on between you and Derek? I saw how worried he was, he's become like uber protective over you now." A pause. "Oh! My! God! You actually are pregnant now aren't you?!"

I shook my head, "NO Derek and I haven't done anything like that."

Tori rolled her eyes not believing, "One of these days I'm going to get you to tell me what sex with a werewolf is like. Even if its Derek." She made a disgusted face.

I didn't respond because I didn't know what to say. Tori started a new topic.

"Alright my next question."

"I didn't realize this was Interrogate Chloe Time."

"It's not I just really want to know what the hell was going on with that Pack thing. Like what the hell Chloe?! You take off from the motel and go to New York to the Pack and nearly get killed! And no one seems to be acting like this is a big deal anymore and it is!"

I sighed, not knowing how much I wanted her knowing so I spun the truth just slightly, "I ran away to the Pack because I thought they would kill me because I didn't have the guts to off myself because I don't want to be a necromancer werewolf. Do you even remotely realize what that is like? I have a hard-enough time with the ghosts alone, I can't deal with being a werewolf too." Just as I finished I hoped with all my heart that Derek was out of earshot.

Tori didn't give a visible reaction, she just said blankly, "You intentionally wanted to die."

I nodded slowly. Adding, "Don't repeat this to anyone."

"Of course," she nodded, "I wasn't planning on it. I mean even though this is gold mind gossip."

Good old Tori, worrying about her popularity status even though the only people here were me and her family.

"Why? I mean if its okay for me to ask. I just don't get what would make you want to kill yourself even if having all this stuff was going to get hard. The Edison Group is coming after you either way. You're just going to learn to have to deal with it."

"I don't know why," I shrugged lying without a stutter for once, "I just felt like I couldn't handle it and I would become a burden on everyone which I don't want to be."

"Chloe even with all this craziness you are no burden. You are what is driving this whole group." I was surprised that Tori was being inspirational, "Simon was a success, so they don't care about him really and Derek would give himself up to be put down in a heartbeat if it weren't for you. He would have sacrificed himself on Simon's behalf long ago if you weren't a reason to live. And me, well I'm along for the ride cause my mom has gone psycho and you are holding my only blood family together."

I sat quietly for a long moment, mulling over what Tori had said. Was I really the glue of this group? What would have happened if they hadn't gotten to the Pack in time. Would Derek have given up on life? I thought about when we ran away from the group home and Derek considered giving himself up at the warehouse. Would Tori and Kit be caught by the Edison group? Would Simon have ever gotten his family back together? Would Aunt Lauren still be with them helping them hide? A sad pain in my gut as I thought of Aunt Lauren. Missing her. I stopped for a moment and thought of something that I should have wondered a long time ago but somehow, I never had. How had they found me with the Pack?

"Tori?" I asked, "How did you guys find me? How did you get there in time? How did you know where the Pack hideout was?"

"I'm surprised you haven't asked that sooner." She said honestly, "Well-"

Tori's story

Derek's POV-

Chloe was gone. She took off on a bus to god knows where. Simon had a bus schedule and he and Kit tried to figure out where the bus she had got on was headed. I would have helped but I was too worried to concentrate very well on the detailed schedule paper. I slammed my fists down on the table and announced that she was going to the Pack. Dad did not seem to believe me at first. He said that she wouldn't do something that stupid.

"Think about it," I said, "She isn't accustomed to what it takes to be a werewolf. She thinks that she is a danger to us, so she's run off to get herself taken care of." I choked a little on the last few words.

Kit who had been silent for a few minutes finally spoke up, "You're probably overthinking this Derek."

"You weren't there in the forest. Something isn't right. We need to get to New York and stop her before it's too late."

Kit nodded, "It's the best lead we have even if its not concrete. Simon do any of those bus routes look like they head in the direction of New York?"

Simon looked it over for a minute, "Seems like a handful go to New York or nearby. I think she wouldn't head directly there in case we figured it out though. She'd take an indirect route to try to throw us off in case we had a way of tracking her. With spells or something maybe. Like this route." He traced one with his finger that went in the direction of New York but didn't quite make it. "She'd walk this last bit but knowing Chloe if she's determined to do something she will."

Kit swore softly under his breath. "Alright grab the girls and Derek gather some food for the road. We are taking the quickest route there. Give us time to beat her there and not wasting too much time if she isn't. We will check her dad's house next probably if she isn't there."

A short while later we were on a bus to New York. Tori excited to be out of the motel and Aunt Lauren visibly fuming with rage. We stretched the truth with her and told her Chloe had run to New York because she didn't want to get rid of the baby. Right now was not the best time to tell her the truth that her niece was going to get killed. We needed her as clear headed as possible to help us with whatever lay ahead; and Lauren was furious enough with the lie we had given her.

Simon's POV

Once we arrived in New York we realized we weren't sure exactly where to go. We sat in the corner booth of an empty truck stop café and threw out ideas. Where would the Pack be? None of Dad's contacts really knew. I hadn't agreed with telling Tori and Lauren that Chloe went to the Pack to give up the baby but that was Derek's call so I had stayed quiet about my opinion. Still angry though that I had been lied to as well. But right now worry for Chloe's safety was stronger than my anger that them.

We discussed ideas until Derek shushed us all suddenly. He was listening to some truckers at another table. To our luck and surprise we hit god's jackpot. The truckers were talking about seeing a girl walking down the road some town over and how she seemed to get nervous anytime something drove past her. They wondered why she wasn't hitchhiking for a ride like others they had seen all the time. My hand squeezed around my glass of water. How god damn lucky were we that this happened?! It was a miracle. We listened, or more like Derek did, until the truckers mentioned the name of the town and then we sped out the door. Leaving the money on our table for our drinks. We raced to the town as fast as we could and from there we let Derek work his magic. He smelled the scents around the town. He thought that it was definitely the place for the Pack because it reeked of werewolf scents. We walked by an alley when Derek suddenly froze and whipped his head towards it. Eyes closed and nostrils flaring.

"What is it ?" I asked.

"I caught a whiff of her scent for a second I think. She's been nearby or is nearby." Derek walked down the alley cautiously, his head tilted up smelling the air. Derek had a flash of panic on his face when he figured out where it was coming from, and then a much more intense panic when he realized the scent he was getting was the scent of her blood. We were too late.

Present- Chloe POV

I sat there quietly until Tori finished her story. Amazed that they had caught such a lucky break. If only I had gone off the roads and walked through the woods or farm fields or something they never would have found me. Tori watched me after she finished.

"You alright Chloe? It's not that amazing a story its just dumb luck. They could have been talking about any girl at the truck stop. Just luck that it was you."

"Good luck, dumb luck, whatever luck, I can't believe that that's the story. I could have gotten there if I had even simply thrown up a hitchhiking thumb."

Tori recognized the sadness in my voice for not getting away with it and tried to spin a joke. "Well no take backsies now. Can't change the past, only the future. So that means new clothes and a new place to live. Maybe at the next house you and Derek can have your own room together. Start playing house."

I forced a laugh when she laughed.

The boys came in and interrupted us, wanting to watch a movie with us. Normal kid stuff today.