I do not own the Darkest Power series.

She fought to keep her breathing even and quiet, but was failing miserably as a cloud of fear settled over her, smothering her in hopelessness as they drew closer to her current hiding spot. She shivered, both from cold and fright, and rubbed her arms, shutting her eyes tight and feeling the tears leak out and roll down her cheeks. She had been stupid, why hadn't she listened to him? Hadn't he always been trying his best to keep her safe? So why was it she still never payed any attention to what he said? And this was what happened when she didn't heed his warning. She attempted to picture herself in some cheesy old horror movie, and already felt her nerves slowly beginning to fade, despite the situation she now found herself in.

She, the heroine of our story, had been making completely idiotic decisions up until this point, and had still managed to survive, much to the shock of the audience. However, it appeared her time had finally come. The audience would no doubt be pleased that the girl who had created the entire problem for herself would finally get was she deserved. The antagonists would find her, tear her apart, smile as she screamed and begged for mercy...

Chloe shook her head, determined to shake the thoughts out. Her imagination was far too vivid for her own good. She could hear them, whispering to each other about the things they would do when they found her, and Chloe pulled herself into a tighter ball, hoping to simply vanish so they could never find her. Absently, she allowed her mind to wander, back to how she ended up here...

Chloe huffed, glaring at Derek out of the corner of her eye. They had, once again, been separated from Simon and Tori, along with Andrew due to an ambush in an alley. The Edison group seemed to be growing more frantic in their search for the escapees and their encounters had been growing more and more frequent, and not without injuries. Chloe's own bullet graze twinged a bit at the memory, but it was nothing compared to the bullet that was currently buried in Tori's leg. However, this attack had been much more stealthy, and had caught the little group by surprise. In the panic, Chloe somehow ended up in a totally separate part of town, a moody werewolf at her side. And once again, their confusion and fear for the others had somehow morphed into an argument.

"Well, I'm sorry, I really thought it would be a safe place to sleep!" She snapped, crossing her arms and trying to make it seem like his words didn't hurt, but she felt pain with every angry syllable that came from his mouth. Why didn't he ever notice when she did something right? She rolled her eyes. Oh, yeah Chloe, that's because you never do anything right. "Besides, you yourself said that there weren't any threatening scents in the area."

He remained silent, but from his narrowed green eyes he was very displeased, and Chloe realized that he knew this was not the time to be bickering with each other, not while the others could be in danger. She knew how worried he had to be over Simon, but no matter how hard she tried the unjustice of some of his accusations still stung her. She took a deep calming breath and glanced up at him, successfully managing to calm down enough to be perfectly civil.

"What should we do?" She questioned, her tone lower now and more vulnerable. "They aren't just carrying tranq guns anymore."

"I should probably try and find the others." He muttered, glancing down at me momentarily before gazing at the street again, and for a split second she could have sworn his gaze had been tender, but she figured it had to be a hallucination brought on from lack of sleep and adrenaline. "You should stay here."

Chloe felt the anger flare once more. The words Tori had once said rang through her ears, and again Chloe felt the conflict of not wanting to dissapoint Derek and doing what she felt was right clashed inside her. "Why should I stay here? I can help too!"

"Because it's just easier if your out of danger, alright?" He stated calmly, obviously growing used to her protests after spending those days on their own together. He ran his hand through his hair, obviously trying to find words to express himself and failing. "I'm not trying to..." He stopped before a frustrated growl escaped him as he glared down at her. "Just forget it. You stay put, right here. I mean it Chloe."

With a final glare, Derek stalked into the inky black abyss, leaving Chloe alone in the night.

And, of course, she had assumed that, for once, Derek didn't know what was best and she had begun searching for the others. She stumbled through the dark, peeking around corners before she stepped around them and hoped that anyone that was out would not be able to hear her heartbeat as clearly as she could.

She tripped on a step she wasn't aware was there and stumbled onto the cold, wet concrete and winced as she felt stones embed themselves in her palms and knees through her jeans. Grumbling to herself and pushing up, she brushed her palms of and began to examine her knees, and growled to herself when she saw a hot stream of crimson already beginning to shine in the dim light of the moon. Gritting her teeth, she pulled a particularly large sharp stone out of her flesh and threw it onto the street and attempted to stand, testing the pain. Satisfied that it was mild despite the blood, she walked with a mild limp around another corner into a dark alley.

She was almost through when a shadow at the end of the proverbial tunnel entered her sights, and she immediatly felt her breath leave her. She went still like a deer in the headlights when she noticed the shape, hoping that it had not yet spotted her. It was definitely a tall male, but not tall enough to be Derek, but too large to be Simon, and it held no weapon. It to only be observing her, not making a threatening move. Coming to the conclusion that this person was not a member of the Edison group, she began walking cautiously towards the exit and as she went to move around the person it moved to step in front of her, fumbling a bit clumsily as it did so, causing Chloe to stumble back in surprise.

"What 'ave we go' 'ere?" Question a deep voice in a drunken slur, and immediately Chloe's sense of smell was invaded by the unmistakable scent of alcohol. This guy was no doubt drunk out of his rightful mind. Taking a few more steps back, Chloe turned only to find two more men behind her, stalking toward her like predators.

"L-l-l-look, I j-just want to g-g-go without any t-t-t-trouble." Stammered Chloe, cursing her nervous habit of stuttering. She attempted to make her speech patterns clearer. "So I'll f-forget all about t-t-this if you just let me g-go, okay?"

The guy she ran into chuckled darkly. "Sorry, but you ain't goin' nowhere missy."

"We got ourselves a cute one tonight, don't we boys?" Stated one of the guys behind her, and Chloe noticed that his voice was perfectly clear. That one wasn't drunk.

His question was met by guffaws from the other two, and Chloe quickly bolted for the weak point in their defence, hoping to have the element of surprisebut surpressed a screech of shock when she was grabbed by her hair.

"Black isn't your natural colour, is it sweetie?" Stated the sober one, jerking her back forcefully so she fell back into his chest. She squirmed violently as her took a long sniff of her hair, which only increased the intensity of her fighting. "But that's alright. After all, your hair isn't what I care about."

Chloe cried out as she felt his hand snaking down her back towards a place that was forbidden and in her panic, she lashed out, kicking back and catching the man in his knee, extending it backwards at a slightly unnatural angle. The man gasped in shock and released his grip on her a little, allowing Chloe to wrench from his grip and bolt past one of the drunk who still hadn't even had time to process what had happened and reach the end of the alley before she was caught again, this time the man wrenching her back by her arm hard enough to knock her off her feet and smack into the pavement. Her head cracked against the sidewalk, causing stars to burst into her vision around the same time as the mans face. His drunken companions were stumbling up the alley, not quite catching up yet. Chloe knew she was doomed if she didn't find a way out soon.

No longer was the mans face light and teasing, but excited and feral.

"Hehe, I knew I picked a good one." He gave a wheezy giggle as Chloe heard a zipper being undone, "I like the ones with fight in them. I thought that maybe because of your size that you would just lay down and take it. But you didn't. You're quite the little wildcat, aren't you girl?" He paused, thinking. "Do me a favor and scream, little girl. Scream and beg for mercy, just like every other bitch I've done. Cry, and maybe I'll spare your life."

In her panic and wild fear, Chloe brought her knee upward and felt it meet with the mans groin. His eyes widened as he fell, and once again Chloe managed to escape his grip. She felt him grasp her ankle, an attempt to drag her back, but she kicked out and felt his hand leave her.

Eyes wide and breath coming in short gasps, Chloe ran as hard and fast as she could, hoping in vain that she would see someone, anyone, who would help her. But all she was met was silence and black.

She had come across a small park, and she planned to lose her pursuers in it, but it wasn't long when she heard heavy footfalls following her and Chloe flung herself into a group of bushes, not caring when she felt thorns tear at her skin. Anything to avoid the fate she would meet if she was found.

"Dammit, where the hell did that bitch go?" Snarled the man that had pinned her, spinning wildly in an attempt to track her down, "I saw her come in here, I know it."

"I dunno, but I bet you anythin' tha' she's still 'ere." Came a drunks voice, coming from a different spot in the park, "Let's just fan ou', an' we'll find her."

The sober man, whom Chloe had made the assumption by now was the leader, nodded and immediately began to wander seemingly aimlessly, taking long and purpose full steps through the overgrown grass, wading like a heron in a wetland. He was listening hard, Chloe could tell, his forehead bunched together in furious concentration.

"Oi, missy." Came his voice after a few minutes of fruitless search. "You know you aren't getting out of this unless you do it our way. So why don't you be a good little girl and come out right now, and I promise I won't hurt you. We just want to clear up this little... Misunderstanding."

Chloe pulled herself in more to her temporary sanctuary, shutting her eyes tight and feeling the fear that had become so familiar to her cloak over her, smothering her in despair. No doubt they would find her, and the only way she would ever see anyone again was if her soul was brought back to her empty body by a necromancer such as herself. How, she wondered, would her body look when she died? Where would she go? What would it be like to be brought back to her empty shell, clawing after a frightened teenage girl who merely apologised for causing her such misery...?

She tried to push those thoughts from her beyond frantic mind, turning her thoughts to something else, anything else. Simon, Tori and Derek. She wondered if Derek had found them yet. Were they all alright? Hopefully they had at least done something about Tori's wound, she could still hear the high pitched wail when that gunshot had rang through the air. Derek was no doubt alright. He was strong, he would survive. The Edison group would never find him. Even if she died, right here and now, she would try to protect him in ways she could not have in life. After all, Liz could still use her powers after death, perhaps she could as well? She smiled lightly, her eyes closing tiredly, suddenly feeling peace descend over her. Yes, she could definitely protect Derek and the others, she could finally be useful...

"Hullo dear." Came a voice from above, and Chloe didn't have time to turn before her hair was grabbed for the second time that night, and she was dragged from the bush, the peaceful feeling promptly leaving her. She filled her lungs with the night air, preparing a scream, when she felt cold steel against her throat, and her eyes opened wide, feeling it press threateningly and bite shallowly into her flesh as she swallowed.

A girl, drug through the woods and having her throat slit, spilling everything inside, a furious man marching away from his kill...

But this time, there was no sleeping Derek to run to. No protection from this...

Chloe felt a whimper escape her throat, and the man above her laughed. The leader crouched down to her level as one of the others held her firm, the other holding the blade firmly to her neck, and she could feel a small trickle of blood run down her throat. She shivered slightly as the man leaned toward her, deciding what to do with her. He settled for placing his hand on her cheek and Chloe resisted the urge to flinch, knowing it would only harm herself in the end. The man grinned, his eyes glittering darkly and dancing with joy.

"Before we start," He said, his tone low and threatening, "I only want you to do one little thing for me." His grin widened as Chloe blinked back tears she refused to let fall, but she knew he could see, "Cry out. Scream for me. No one can hear you here. You picked a convenient location. Far away from anyone. We can be as loud as you want."

He licked his lips and pitched forward violently, stopping just before his face touched hers. Chloe held her breath, hoping someone would wake her from this nightmare. It could not be real...

"Scream."

Chloe swallowed and suppressed a shudder as she gather every ounce of courage she had left. She would not die like that.

"N-n-n-no." She stammered, trying her hardest to keep the habit down, but failed, only keeping her tones low.

The guy grinned evilly. "Say that again?"

"No."

"Let her go." He snapped at the two men holding her, and they dropped her obediently. For one crazy moment, she was filled with hope that they would let her go, but at the terrible sound of that zipper again, Chloe found herself being pinned into the grass, her shoulder being driven painfully into the ground, and she let out a gasp of pain. She could practically feel his excitement pulsing through the air as the other two men retreated a few steps back, watching with interest at what would happen. Chloe felt like she was going to be sick. This deifnitely had to be a nightmare...

"Don't worry." He said, right beside her ear, "I'll kill you right after this, so you won't suffer. I never let those guys play with my sloppy leftovers. You'll definitely die, right after you wail for mercy." He giggled, and she could feel him fumbling with the hem of her shirt as she began to fight back, and this only increased his enthusiasm. "You stubborn little bitch."

"No, let me go!" She snarled wildly as she attempted to claw, bite, do anything to escape. "I don't want this!" She felt him reaching under her shirt and felt tears finally fall. Despite her efforts, Chloe could feel herself reaching the very brink of desperation as her escape attempts finally failed. She began to say the first thing that entered her mind. Although she refused to scream, refused to beg, she plead to God that he would hear this.

"Derek! Help me! Please!" Her throat tightened. "Derek!"

"Haha, so you have someone already?" The man smirked, a new excitement entering his eyes. "Perhaps he will try to avenge you." A shudder of pleasure ran through him and he looked Chloe straight in the eyes. "And I'll tell him how I killed you. Nice and sl-"

Much like once before, Chloe felt the enormous weight leave her, and saw a dark shape fly through the air and land a fair distance away from her on the other side of the playground. She shot up like a bullet, pulling down her shirt as the two intoxicated thug accomplices stumbled around in confusion at the sight of their airborne leader. It wasn't long before both of them were tossed into separate trees, knocking them immediately unconscious.

Derek stood, trembling in pure rage, trying to regain control once more. Never before had Chloe been so overjoyed at his presence, and she didn't give a second thought before bolting to his side, attempting to wipe away the tears she shed earlier and hoping that he hadn't seen them. But as she neared him, she noticed the trembling was no longer coming from anger. Chloe watched, in terror, as the early signs of his Change began to show.

She grabbed his hand, not sure of what to say or do. "D-Derek, it's alright!" She said, but she noticed his furious gaze never left the bushes where he had thrown the one that had been on top of her, "I'm fine, see? Fine! Calm down!"

"I'm in control, Chloe." Snapped Derek, not looking at her and speaking in a tone that she had never heard from him before, "I'm not going to Change. At least, not tonight."

"What?" She asked, confused. "B-but, then why...?"

"Because every single instinct I have is telling me to go in there and tear that bastard to pieces." He rasped, his voice growing inhuman, "It isn't because it's time. It's because right now, I want nothing more then to kill that thing!"

"No, Derek, you don't want that." Murmured Chloe shakily, "You don't."

Derek looked down at her for the first time since he got there, and she nearly flinched at the raw animistic fury in his gaze. "No, Chloe, I really do."

"But you can't." She whispered, tugging on his hand and attempting to lead him away from that park. Right now, she wanted to be anywhere but there. She knew that if they lingered here any longer, Derek would do something that would torture him for the rest of his life, and she never wanted to see him in the pain this would cause him. "You aren't a monster, Derek. Remember? You don't want to kill people."

"It isn't a person!" Derek argued, but she could see him gradually returning to normal, his shuddering slowing to a halt as he gazed at her, "What that thing was going to do... If I had been minutes later..."

"But you weren't." She argued, "You came and saved me, like you always do. So let's just... Find the others, alright?"

Derek stood stock still for a moment, emotions clashing in his usually unreadable emerald eyes, before he reached a conclusion and followed her gentle pressure.

She led him through the streets that she had been previously fleeing through, keeping her eyes on the road and not looking back at her looming passenger, afraid of what she might see or hear. The anger, the disappointment, the scorn... She had seen them all in him before, and she just didn't think she could handle it right now. All she wanted was the euphoric feeling that had descended on her since Derek had come for her. But her mental voice seemed bent on reminding her on what Derek must have been thinking at that moment as well.

Stupid, I told you to stay there! You never listen, I don't want to have to save your butt everywhere I go! Yes, she could definitely see it being something along those lines. After all, he had said something like that in the past when the scarred girl had been ready to carve her cheek. But like a child, she refused to hear those words right now. The thought of it made her legs quiver.

They continued marching for a few more minutes before Chloe cleared her throat, more conscious now of the fact that she was holding Derek's hand and how large it seemed compared to her own, but attempted to ignore the feeling as she gathered the courage to speak.

"I'm sorry, Derek." She murmered, voice shaking slightly, "I know I should have stayed there, but I was worried and something Tori told me a while ago... I just want to be a help..." Words failed her, and she was met with silence. She steeled herself and spoke once more. "So if you're angry at me, I understand, but..."

Her words were cut off when she felt arms encircle her from behind, and Chloe stiffened in shock at the gesture. She could hear Derek's heartbeat, right behind her, and noticed it was still beating at a rapid rate. However, what she didn't expect was how he was shaking, just slightly, and his uneven breathing. He seemed so... Defeated.

"Der-" Chloe began, but she was cut off by his rough voice.

"Of course I'm angry, Chloe." He snarled, "I'm more furious then I have ever been. But not at you. At those creatures who take the forms of humans back there." He paused, and Chloe felt a shudder run through her body like electricity. He didn't hate her? "I just wish you would learn to listen. You would have been safe where I left you... And when I came back and you were gone, I figured you had gotten yourself into some sort of trouble again, and then I smelt blood on the ground and those things, and I panicked." He seemed to be find it more difficult to speak now, but Chloe remained quiet, wanting to hear what he had to say. "I've never been more afraid in my life Chloe. The thought of what they could be doing to you... It terrified me! Why can't you just listen to me?" His voice was choked now with emotion she had never heard from him before, "I just want to keep you safe, and you're always making me worry."

"I'm sorry." She muttered, in shock over his confession, but her words had the opposite effect of what she was trying for. He back away from her momentarily before whirling her around to face him, and found his face a perfect picture of seriousness, but his eyes showed a vulnerability she never expected from him.

"I don't want you to apologise Chloe." He paused, finding some way to express himself. "If something like that happened to you, I would never forgive myself! I just want you to listen to me. I want you to know when I am serious, when you are in potential danger and just let me... Protect you, alright?"

Chloe sucked in a breath, and replied gently. "But I can't just sit around and wait for everyone to save me Derek." She mumbled, turning her gaze to the road, "I want to help you all too. I can't just be the damsel in distress. I can't just sit and worry while the rest of you risk your lives. I want to help." She lifted her gaze a little, getting a small glance of his face, "Because I want to protect you too."

Her words obviously filled him with frustration and he let her go, turning away from her and letting out a snarl. He seemed to think something over before turning back to face her.

"Alright, I won't just make you sit around and wait for me, okay?" His hand ran through his hair again, and he looked her directly in the eye, "But when I tell you something, no matter what it is, I want you to listen to me, okay? I want you to trust me."

Chloe felt a small smile come to her face. "Of course I trust you, Derek."

His gaze hardened. "But I want you to promise. Give me your word."

Chloe nodded. "I promise, Derek."

Satisfied, he unthinkingly grabbed her hand and began leading her down the street, no longer looking at her but the road ahead. "I left Tori and Simon in an alley this way. We'll see them in a few minutes." He smirked slightly and looked over his shoulder at her. "See, you're not the only one I leave places in order to protect you." He mock rolled his eyes. "What would you guys do without me? It's a good thing I didn't stay at Lyle House."

Chloe grinned and mock slapped his arm, gazing ahead as well as the sun began to rise over the horizon, washing her in a warm light. She knew, no matter what, that Derek would protect her, and she would do her best to protect him as well. After all, if they didn't protect each other, who would?

Well, my first Derek/Chloe fic, how'd it go guys? Hopefully well, although the ending seems... Incomplete to me, and I can't think of anything else to add. In these fics, I can tell you, as of right now I never plan on having a love confession in one of my Darkest Powers fics, because I think that it is so much more meaningful when those emotions are shown then said, and that is something I love about the relationship between these two. Something else I noticed, I'm beginning to think since The Awakening that Derek is slowly becoming more concerned over Chloe's safety then anyone elses. I don't mean that he doesn't care about Simon, because we all know he does, but Chloe and Derek seem to have such a close relationship, it makes you wonder.

Anyways, just give me a critique on what you guys think.