Derek POV

"I'm not here to cause any trouble," I said. "I'm just trying to find my girlfriend."

There was a flicker of something in his eyes as his intense stare continued.

"You shouldn't have come here looking for her," Nate said. "You should've known that was a dangerous move. If I wasn't under control, I'd be beating you to death right now."

I leaned back in my chair, "Isn't it convenient that you're always under control when we show up?"

"Are you accusing me of something?" He growled.

I nodded, "Yes I am. You lose control and come after us when we don't want you around. But when we come to you for something, you're surprisingly okay."

"I'm heavily medicated by a spell right now that keeps me in my right mindset," Nate explained. "Would you like me to remove it?"

I knew I shouldn't. I should just leave it be, things were going ok. But I couldn't help but push him. "Yes."

"Oh really?" Nate was genuinely surprised.

I nodded, "Prove that your timing is coincidence."

"Demetria!" Nate shouted towards the stairs.

Two minutes later a woman came down the stairs, "You know you have a cell phone, right?"

Nate dismissed her comment, "Would you please remove my bondage spell?"

She looked at me, then back at him, "You can't be serious."

"I am," he growled at her.

Whatever Demetria was, she wasn't werewolf. She smelled of magic. She glared at Nate and then whispered a few words.

"You're funeral," she said as she walked back up the stairs. I wasn't sure which one of us she was saying that to.

Before I knew what happened, I was being pinned against the wall.

"You wanted to see, well here you go," he growled. Pressing on my windpipe. "I'm sick of you trying to work your way back into my life. I got rid of you. Don't you understand that? I don't want you around. You're a worthless mutated mutt."

I growled back at him and pushed him off of me. I guess he hadn't been lying that we had just lucked out on our timing.

"You know why I went after your precious mate right?" He asked. "Because I want to make you suffer for all the suffering I went through."

"I haven't done anything to you," I argued.

"You were a menace from the moment your mother wanted you," he spat. "I'm glad she didn't live to see what you'd become. Prancing around with nonwerewolves."

"Uh, Demetria," I pointed out.

The back of Nate's hand connected with my cheek.

"Every pack needs some magic to keep us on top."

I took a step back from him. This was not a good idea. I should not have told him to do this.

"Don't back away from me," Nate ordered, and my feet froze.

I swore under my breath, I'd forgotten he could command his bloodline. I really did screw up here. An evil looking smile crossed his face.

"Someone forgot that I could control," he said. "Do you remember the first time your body tried to shift? How scary it was? How painful it was? How you probably didn't make it through? How it never seemed to end?"

I growled, "Don't you dare."

"Repeat," he said.

Chloe's POV

I woke up against the medical table, hands and feet strapped down.

"You know, this is really getting old," I said, thinking no one else was in the room.

I was wrong though, Aunt Lauren stepped around from the head of the room. The one place I couldn't see.

"Yes," she nodded. "It really is. I've ordered that we expedite your process so this ends."

I struggled against the restraints.

"Screw you," I spat.

Aunt Lauren stepped closer to me, "Now Chloe. I have a proposition. I was listening to you in that common room. I am willing to give you an outlet for your powers if, in exchange, you stop trying to fight the doctors and scientists."

I stopped struggling. I'll admit that was unexpected. They would risk me using my powers so they would get cooperation to get rid of them. There had to be a catch.

Aunt Lauren saw the wheels turning, "Yes, there is a catch. We can monitor your powers you use to see how much 'juice' you still have."

"I'll think about it," I said.

Aunt Lauren nodded and started towards the door, "Yell when you've decided."

I had meant give me a few days but I guess they didn't want to give me the luxury of that much time. Was cooperation worth not blowing a magical gasket? I was starting to think it was.

I yelled for Aunt Lauren and she came back with two necromancers.

"I'll give it a try," I told her. "No commitment or promise."

Aunt Lauren didn't like that but shrugged, "A trial run is better than a no. I guess I'll take it."

The two necromancers unhooked me from the restraints and had me follow them across the building to a courtyard. I'm sure it wasn't as far across the complex as it seemed, that they were just trying to trip me up taking extra hallways so I couldn't memorize where I was. And it worked.

They unbolted the doorway and one entered, one waited to follow me in after.

"This courtyard is restriction free. But we can see and hear whatever you do."

She was basically telling me no funny business.

I took a deep breath, I knew I was going to get slammed with my pent up powers, but as I stepped in I was hit in a very different way.

I expected the ground to shake, bodies to rise, ghosts to appear. But none of that happened. I stepped in and my body felt like it was walking into a fire. I cried out and fell to my knees. To my, and the necromancer's, surprise, my werewolf side decided it wanted to come out first. I crumpled to the ground as my body started changing into the form of a wolf. More painfully than it ever had been.