REVERSE

by serennog

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Summary: AU. Hunter!Derek, Werewolf!Argents. Derek strikes a deal with a passing omega: intel on Beacon Hills' newest wolf pack in exchange for her freedom. Little does he know he's encountered this particular pack before…

Disclaimer: Just borrowing the characters and some of the storylines for my own amusement. I promise to put everything back the way I found it once I'm done.

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Chapter One: Omega

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"So how do you know it'll come this way?"

Derek gritted his teeth at Scott's whispered question. Yes, it was low, but werewolves had excellent hearing. Plus it was a stupid question.

"Because the others are herding it here." And they were taking their sweet time about it. Derek sent out a mental message to his fellow hunters, ordering them to hurry the hell up. He wanted the omega caught sooner rather than later. Before it got the chance to kill.

There was a moment's silence before Scott spoke again.

"What if the trap doesn't work?"

Derek bit back a growl of frustration. "It'll work." He wasn't some clueless rookie, after all. His parents had been hunters, and his maternal grandparents before them. If anyone knew how to set up a successful trap, it was him. He'd had years of practice. Been taught by the best.

"But what if-"

"Look." Derek turned to the teenager with a warning glare. "Do you want the were that nearly killed you caught, or not?"

Scott blinked, bewildered. "Well, yeah-"

"Then shut up." He gave Scott his back again, peering around the tree they were using for cover, downwind. "Before it hears you."

It was another few minutes before Derek heard it. The distinctive sound of a larger animal running on four legs. He saw a flash of something black in the dark, then the steel-reinforced net was up, the were thrashing and growling like crazy inside it.

Derek spared Scott a 'told you so' look before stepping out into the clearing.

"You're not getting out till I let you out," he said coolly.

The were stopped struggling, its claws retracting as it curled its fingers around the network of ropes. When it shook back its hair, her features were normal. Human. Because it was definitely a 'her'. A woman around his own age with pale skin, dark hair, and wide, terrified eyes that the beam of his torch picked out as blue-green, like the waters of the old quarry on the other side of town.

"Please. I mean you no harm," she said, and Derek was surprised by her accent. British. "I was just passing through."

"That's one I've never heard before," replied Derek cynically. He looked over at the crunch of dead leaves, finding Scott walking distractedly towards him, mouth hanging open like a guppy as he took in the sight of the trapped were.

"That's not the one," he said at last. "That's not the one that tried to kill me. It was a guy."

"Doesn't matter," said Derek. "She's one of them."

As though on cue, a howl rent the night air. Derek watched as the woman grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut and biting down on her full bottom lip, obviously fighting the instinct to respond.

"Go on," he goaded. "Answer the call."

Her eyes flew open, flashed amber. She glared at him. "I'm not protecting him, if that's what you're thinking. Trust me." She looked suddenly nervous, gaze darting in the direction the howl had come. "I don't want to run with that one. He sounds… hostile."

"Like all of you."

She gave him a look that could have frozen boiling water. "Common misconception, hunter. We're not all mindless killers." She cocked her head, then sniffed in distaste. "One of your friends is coming."

Isaac ran into the clearing soon afterwards, breathless.

"Got it?"

Derek jerked his head towards the trap by way of response. Casually, he removed a gun from the holster under his jacket.

"Derek. Don't," said Scott, watching wide-eyed. "She didn't do anything."

"Problem is what she might do," answered Derek tightly. "Can't let that happen."

Scott latched onto his arm as he raised the gun. "No!"

"Isaac."

The blonde boy stepped forward at Derek's command, pulling him away, holding him back as Derek raised the gun again. He looked at her down the barrel, a little startled by the resignation and sadness written all over her face. Weres were normally defiant when faced with their mortality. Angry. Or even smug.

He shook away his unease and lined the gun up with her heart, watching as her eyelids slid shut in preparation for the inevitable. Abruptly, Derek shifted his aim lower and fired.

She blinked down at her thigh for a moment before removing the tranquiliser dart. Her gaze locked with his and she snarled.

"You son of a…"

She was out before she could finish.

"You weren't going to kill her?" asked Scott after a spell of stunned silence.

Derek turned to the teenager who'd stopped struggling in Isaac's grip. "Can't remember saying I would." He put his tranquiliser gun away like it was no big deal. "Besides, I need to ask her some questions."

Erica and Boyd joined them a second later, both winded.

"Tried following the howl," said the former. "Found nothing. This alpha covers his tracks real good."

Derek thought it was more likely a case of incompetence on Erica's part, but said nothing. He drew a switchblade from his pocket and went to cut down the net. The were hit the ground with a heavy thud that might have made him wince if she wasn't a monster.

"Boyd. Carry her."

The black boy moved towards the heap without a word.

"Won't she wake up?" asked Scott.

"That tranq could take out a bear for a few hours," said Derek as he gathered up the net after Boyd had eased the were out of it, carelessly slinging her limp body over his shoulder.

Scott dug his hands in his jeans' pockets, looking suddenly at a loss. "So… what now?"

Derek smiled faintly but there was no humour in it. "Now you leave."

"But-"

"No reason for you to come with," said Derek sharply. "Isaac. Go with him. Make sure he gets home and stays there."

Isaac started leading the other boy away with a hand on his coat-sleeve. Scott turned back.

"Tomorrow night. You'll be hunting again?"

Derek narrowed his eyes. "Maybe."

"I want you to teach me," said Scott with conviction. "I want to know how to track and trap and…" He hesitated. "Everything else."

Derek paused before nodding. He could use another hunter on the team, and, well, he liked a challenge, which he knew the compassionate teen would be. "Tomorrow at sunset. We set out from my place."

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TBC