A/N: Merry Christmas. Here's a chapter as a present. Uhm, university sucks. That's all.

Thanks for the continued support, you're all troopers, non-reviewers and reviewers alike.

(Side note: as I was editing, it seems the website is just converting half of my doc to Italics for no reason, so I had to try to manually go through and fix it, but I'm almost sure I either missed some extras or took out some of the original italics so apologies if it gets wonky at some point. It's the fourth time I've tried to edit it back to format and I'm currently giving up cause nothing is working and my head is starting to hurt from going back and forth)

Disclaimer: I do not own Darkest Powers

Into The Woods

"What do you mean you figured out what happened to Rae?" Tori asked incredulously. "How can you figure it out when we already know what happened to her?"

"Because we didn't know. We thought we did, and for good reason, b-but we were wrong. Her disappearance isn't connected to the others."

Tori stared at Chloe so intently that she started to shift uncomfortably. Apparently the soul piercing looks were a family trait. The only thing that kept her in place was Derek's hand still resting on the back of her neck. All she could do was let her words sink in and wait for someone to say something. Finally, Derek did speak, but it wasn't to her. It was to Simon. "Spell the door. This conversation needs to be private."

Simon nodded, letting go of Liz's hand and sliding off the bed to move to the door. The room was silent apart from the sound of his near-silent murmuring. It took her a moment to realize that he wasn't actually speaking English. Or any other dialect that she happened to be familiar with. And she was familiar with a lot of different languages. She absently wondered what language it was as the he moved back into the room, seating himself beside Liz again instead of lying down.

"Now would you like to explain your epiphany?" Tori asked. Her tone wasn't biting or overtly sarcastic, but both brothers still turned to give her a look. She merely waved them off, eyes focused on Chloe. "Unclench, brothers. I'm not being mean. There just isn't a better way to phrase it."

That didn't seem to appease either of them though. They both opened their mouths, probably to tell her off, when Chloe jumped in before either of them could speak. "It's okay. Really. It actually helps."

"What? How does her being a bitch help?" Simon asked, eyebrows pulled together in confusion.

"Because it's normal," Chloe replied without hesitation. "People usually treat me like glass afterwards and it makes me feel… worse. Because they look at me differently. So her being like this is… well, it helps."

She shrugged like it made her point more valid, looking down at her hands instead of the others. Her hands were curled into fists on her thighs because, while her voice had steadied and her stutter diminished, she could still feel the tremor in her muscles. She didn't want them to know just how affected she was.

"See? I'm helping. So chill with the death glares."

Her smugness was actually palpable and made Chloe almost regret what she said. Almost. The glaring comment was aimed at Derek—whose look had been infinitely darker than Simon's to begin with—and merely scowled harder at her in response. Chloe could actually hear his teeth grinding together. He opened his mouth to say something, but this time Liz jumped in before he could say anything.

"Can we not fight you guys?" Liz pleaded, big eyes going from Tori to Chloe as if to implore her to speak. "Let's just listen to what Chloe has to say, okay?"

Tori and Derek stared at each other for another moment before Tori finally sighed, rolling her eyes and, after muttering something that was almost definitely not nice, turned her attention to Chloe. Derek turned as well, leaning back in his own chair and removing his hand from it's place on her neck. Immediately, she missed the warmth of it and an involuntary shiver ran through her as the cool air rushed in despite the fact that she could still feel the heat of his palm against her nape.

"Okay, so we were working off the assumption that because of how similar it was to the other abductions that Rae was taken by the same people who are hunting us and that the inconsistencies were just them getting sloppy; rushing their plans because they felt us breathing down their necks. But we had it backwards. It wasn't sloppy because we were onto them, it was sloppy because it wasn't them." Chloe paused, taking a breath before she continued. "Look, I know this is out of left field and all, but it makes more sense than grouping her in with the others. It's been bothering me since we found out she was missing because she just doesn't fit their type."

"But she has a file! She was part of the experiment," Simon argued but Derek cut him off.

"She wasn't labelled dangerous like the others."

"So? We don't know if all of them were labelled like that," Simon argued stubbornly. "It just proves that they decided to go after all of us after all to clean up their mess."

"Then why are we still here, genius?" Tori shot back, eyebrows raised. "We found our files and while you're not on the shit list, the rest of us are. Why wouldn't they get the real problems out of the way before going after the others?"

"More convenient?" Simon tried.

"But then why would they pick her over me?" Chloe asked quietly and Simon opened his mouth only to close it again. "I'm the new kid and I've got a history. It would be much less suspicious if I disappeared. Someone spreads a rumor about me transferring out or running away and that problem is as good as gone. I'm the easiest target."

"She's not wrong," Tori said after a moment. "She really is an easier target. I mean, Rae was a piece of shit, but she did know how to put up a fight. And with her powers, she would probably be able to do a hell of a lot more damage than our very own damsel-in-distress over here. No offense."

"None taken." Okay, maybe a little bit taken. Chloe tried to conceal a huff. She wasn't defenseless. "But like I said, it doesn't make sense for the same people who have been hunting us to be going after Rae."

"So you think there's another player at work then?" Derek asked. Chloe nodded and he rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I don't think it's the teachers. From what you said, they were as surprised by Rae's disappearance as we were."

"Teachers?" Liz echoed, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Chloe overheard Mr. Karavan and Ms. Basher talking about Rachelle and the other disappearances," Derek answered. "And they know that we took the files."

"What?" Simon yelped. "Why are you only just telling us about this now?"

"Because we only found out last night and, while I don't think that they're working for the school, we have no reason to trust them. I wanted to keep an eye on them to see what else they knew."

"But why didn't you tell us? Since when are we keeping secrets?" Simon asked, voice as hard as his expression as he focused his gaze on his brother. "And how do you know that they aren't working for the school? They're fucking teachers."

Derek met his brother's hard look with one of his own. "It wasn't a secret. And I didn't tell you because there isn't anything to tell yet. The only thing we know for sure is that they aren't the ones who kidnapped Rachelle and they suspect us of stealing those files. That's how I know they aren't working for the school because they didn't tell Davidoff that we were the ones who stole their files."

"But how do you know that?" Tori asked, irritation flowing off of her.

"Because if they told them, we wouldn't all still be here."

His words hung in the air for a moment, pressing and foreboding. Tori pursed her lips, still irritated but whatever she had been about to say held back for a moment. Liz's face twisted and she shifted closer to Simon, fingers linking with his once more. He had his lips pressed together in a thin line as he stared at his brother. Derek stared back at him, face deceptively blank. His hand had moved to the opposite forearm, fingers digging into skin as he scratched.

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Simon finally asked, rubbing his free hand over his face. "We know of two, apparently unconnected, groups of supernaturals—the school and the teachers—but neither of them have anything to do with Rae's disappearance?"

"Basically."

"So who the fuck took Rae?"

Chloe's face was grim by this point. She had been waiting for them to ask the question that she had been dreading, purposefully omitting who it was until then because she just couldn't bring herself to say the words aloud yet. Though it wasn't a surprise to her anymore, the thought of going over everything did nothing to stave off the panic that was still coursing through her blood. She could actually feel the moment that her heart rate picked up as she readied herself to speak.

Apparently, Derek could also hear her rapid heartbeat. His gaze snapped back to her, brows furrowing as it raked over her as if looking for the problem. Whatever he saw made his expression change, his eyes still sharp but soft when they met her own. For some reason, it made a lump form in her throat that she had trouble swallowing around. His voice was soft as he called her name, as if he was trying not to startle her. Like she was a cornered animal and he was trying not to make any sudden moves. Her eyes flickered to his cheek and she winced. She was a startled animal. He called her name again and she dragged her eyes away from the place where her nails had dug into his skin to briefly meet his eyes before she looked away.

"It was Liam," she forced out, eyes on the wall. All other sounds died out immediately and she knew that all eyes were on her even though she couldn't see them. "He told me."

"He told you? As in, he admitted to doing it?" Liz gasped.

"No, no, of course not. Not in so many words at least. It was a crowded hallway and even he's not that stupid. Actually, he basically did everything but outright say the words. So he might not have said it, but he said enough. It was what he was hinting at when you guys showed up. And I should have picked up on it sooner, but I wasn't paying enough attention to what he was saying. I was more focused on getting away from him than actually listening to him. At least, until he made that threat and—"

"Threat?" Derek cut in. Even though his voice was quiet, it was still effective in stopping her babbling. "He threatened you?"

Something about his tone of his voice made her drag her eyes away from where she had resolutely been staring at the wall to look at him. His expression was the complete opposite from before. Where his eyes had been open and soft, they were now flinty green stones with rage pooling like lava behind them. A shiver ran down her spine as his quiet—but building—ire hit her in waves as he continued to stare at her. But it wasn't only his expression that had changed. He was now sitting rigid, back straight and fists clenched so hard that his knuckles were white. She was sure if anything had been in them, it would have been destroyed.

"He threatened them," she replied honestly, nodding in the direction of the others. "He said, 'you'd think after the last time you'd know how dangerous it was for your little friends to get in my way'. And I didn't understand because the only person who had actually gotten in his way was… Well, I didn't put the pieces together about Rae until we got back."

She had given Derek a purposeful look when she paused, knowing that he would know what she meant and what she had been thinking when Liam had said that. Chloe could still feel the rage inside him building, spilling out of him steadily before he finally growled, "I don't know how you could be so stupid."

It took a moment before she processed his words and then she froze. "Excuse me?"

"How could you be so stupid?" Derek repeated, practically spitting the words at her. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from him?"

"I didn't—"

"Didn't I tell you to stay away from him?! Do you have a death wish? No matter how many times I tell you to stay away from him, you keep going back. I tell you he's dangerous, we all tell you he's dangerous, and you end up in a fucking field alone with him last night and you got hurt. I told you at lunch that you need to be more careful, thinking you'd have learnt your lesson, and then you let yourself be caught alone with him again? Especially after what he said to you last night? Are you fucking suicidal?"

By this point, his voice had risen to a yell. The others were sitting in shock, eyes wide as they watched the yelling werewolf. Chloe really didn't blame them. If Derek noticed their reactions, he didn't let on. He merely stared at her, gaze so angry that she half expected to see steam coming out of his ears. But there was no steam. Just a panting, slightly red-faced Derek.

"Are you finished?" Chloe asked quietly. Her voice was deceptively calm. Derek's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth, as if to continue on his rant but she was having none of it. "I'm not suicidal and I definitely don't have a death wish."

"Could've fooled me," Derek snapped.

Chloe ignored him. "And despite what you think, I didn't let myself get caught with Liam downstairs. I didn't find him, he cornered me. And he wasn't alone this time. I couldn't get away and trust me, I tried."

Derek's jaw was twitching. "Words mean shit all when you keep gallivanting—"

"Okay, stop," she snapped. Her volume never rose but she could feel blood beginning to fill her face and her anger bubbled under her skin so hot that it made her blood boil. She was going to set him straight. "You don't get to speak to me like that. You aren't here to chew me out on the things that you deem I've did wrong, especially if you're jumping to conclusions—which you definitely are right now. So you better check your fucking attitude before I check it for you."

Derek's glare was sharp but Chloe met him head on, her expression completely blank apart from the slight narrowing of her eyes, even as a fire burned in her. She knew that her face was red from supressed rage, but at least she had control over it. An iron grip that wasn't faltering—at least, not yet. She wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to hold on though, with him coming at her like that.

"Can you guys just fuck and get it over with?" Tori asked abruptly, breaking the silence that had descended. Both heads snapped towards her with a biting glare and a deadly scowl at her insinuation. "What? Is that a no? I mean, we can leave the room if you need some time to work out your frustrations. But if not, how about one of you explain this whole Liam situation?"

"Tori—" Derek growled but Liz cut him off.

"No, she's right. You guys need to explain this. Now." All heads turned to Liz, shocked by the hardness of her tone. "Apparently, this situation with Liam has been going on for a while and we're only just hearing about it because neither of you thought it would be prudent to tell us beforehand. Now we're getting threatened, another girl has disappeared and apparently, Chloe's been hurt. So you're going to stop yelling at each other long enough to tell us everything that happened with Liam. Capiche?"

Dumbfounded, Chloe nodded. She didn't need to look at Derek to know that he would agree too. The way that Liz said it brooked no argument.

"You can start with how you're hurt and what the hell happened last night." Liz nodded to Chloe, eyes filled with concern. "Start from after we all left the room."

Chloe shifted, uncomfortable with all the gazes in the room on her again. She had to take a deep breath before recounting what had happened the previous night. She skipped over certain details; what her nightmare had been about and what she had divulged to Derek when they were out there. When she was explaining how Liam had grabbed her, she pulled up the arm of her sweater to reveal the bruises that he had left behind. Upon examination, she noted that there were more marks than before, a few extra red marks where his fingers hadn't overlapped pre-existing bruises. Liz had gasped, hand covering her mouth in shock. Simon had looked horrified. Tori had looked pissed, blue sparks flying off her fingers. Derek had just looked murderous.

"So that was last night," she concluded. "Uh, and lunch was just us being… cautious. Didn't want to be around him longer than absolutely necessary. He's made threats before then, but I—"

"What?" Derek asked.

"—didn't pay them much mind." Chloe glanced at Derek. He had been staring hard at forearm from the moment that she had rolled up her sleeve, jaw clenched tight and that unreadable expression he had sported in her room earlier. Now he was staring at her face, that fire back in his eyes and she knew he was gearing up for another fight. She sighed. "What now?"

"He's threatened you before?" he asked lowly, and a shiver went down her spine. It was literally chilling, how cold his voice had gotten and the barely controlled rage that was like steel underneath it. She nodded and his nostrils flared. "And you didn't think that was important before now?"

"Well, it wasn't like I knew all of this then, now did I?" Chloe shot back, trying to hold her ground against that stare. "It's not like I'm going to bring up every guy that can't take a hint. I just thought he was an average douche guy that didn't like when they were turned down."

"He is," Tori said adamantly, shaking her head. "He just happens to also be a kidnapping, possibly murderous, psycho-stalker werewolf."

Chloe winced. "Yeah. And anyway, it happened before we all started this so why would I tell you?"

"I don't know. Maybe I just assumed that you had one iota of self preservation in your system. Apparently I was wrong."

Derek's words hung in the air for a moment, long enough for them to sink in and Chloe gritted her teeth against the biting retort that was straining to get out of her throat. Simon seemed to realized this too, jumping in. "Woah, ease off a bit, D. She wasn't in the wrong here."

"Oh really? What if it had been Liz? Or Tori? Would you still be telling me to ease off if they hadn't told you?" Derek asked, and Simon pressed his lips together. "She's practically surrounding herself with dangerous shit constantly and—"

"It's not like I'm looking for danger," Chloe tried to interrupt but he barrelled on.

"You don't have to! You're a fucking danger magnet!" he roared, flying out of his chair. This time the wave that hit her wasn't only anger, but pain as well. The movement cost him a lot more than he was showing. But Chloe didn't have it in herself to feel bad for him as he continued. "It's not enough that you're a target of a rogue group that is killing off our kind in this very school. You have to go prance around and provoke that psychopathic shit like a fucking idiot."

She was actually rendered speechless in that moment. Absolutely and irrevocably speechless. Had he really… Even Chloe's brain wasn't able to form anything because she was just shocked. And angry. The longer she stared at him, the more the shock melted away and left only a burning fire of fury behind. The need to yell, to just get up and scream back at him, hell, to just throw a tantrum, was so intense that it was actually painful. Her throat was literally burning with the effort that it took in this moment to keep completely quiet instead of giving into the need to just let it out. She was just so mad and with his anger licking at her in skin in waves like it was, piling on top of her own, she was practically vibrating with barely suppressed wrath.

She didn't let it out though.

Instead of doing everything she wanted so badly to do, she merely slid to the end of the bed and stood up to face him. Though he still towered over her, she didn't back down in the slightest as she met his heated gaze head on with a glare of her own. Everything in her wanted to rip him a new one in the worst way possible, all of her thoughts jumbled together in a swirl of viciousness, but she held it in and kept herself tightly controlled as she spoke.

"I didn't go prancing into anyone's path. And I sure as shit wasn't trying to provoke anyone. Not him, not you, not anyone, you understand? I mean, do you even hear yourself, Derek? I didn't want any of this; I didn't ask for any of this. I was thrust into this shit and you have the audacity to get in my face and say I was looking for it? I-I-I—Y-you—" She had to cut off for a moment and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Her control was slipping and she knew that with her powers, she couldn't afford for her anger to get the best of her. There was a faint tingling in her leg where her pendent seemed to gain weight in her pocket that she had been ignoring, and she continued to ignore it as she turned her back on Derek to address the others, though she didn't open her eyes as she spoke. "I hate to drop bombs like this on you guys and just leave, but I really can't stay in the same room with him right now. There is a good, and growing, possibility that I'm going to attack him if I have to stay and listen to the bullshit that he—"

"You can't be—" Derek tried to interrupt and Chloe's eyes snapped open as she whirled around to face him again.

"Serious? I'm very fucking serious and I wasn't even speaking to you," Chloe hissed through her teeth. "So shut your fucking mouth and fuck off. I told you that you don't get to speak to me like this so I have no plans on sitting around and being your goddamn punching bag."

The silence in the room was deafening as she slid around his looming form and collected the remainder of her things that she had left at lunch from his desk, not wanting to leave anything in the room. He had pushed her further than ever before and she was only holding on by a thread. Scooping the last paper into her arms, she turned around and walking to the door.

"Chloe," Liz called.

Her hand on the door, she tensed and waited. But nothing came. So Chloe didn't turn around, merely opening the door and, with a murmured farewell, closing it firmly behind her.

She didn't relax when she got to her room. Not when the door opened or when she shut it behind her. Not when she placed the notes on her desk. Not even when she made a beeline for the washroom. It wasn't until she was standing in the shower, scalding water beating down on her head that she started to relax. She didn't feel better, far from it. She was still pissed. And she still had a bitter taste on the back of her tongue that she was sure that no matter how much she brushed her teeth, she wouldn't be able to get rid of it. She was, however, able to get rid of the gritty, disgusting feeling that had clung to her skin like a film since she'd run into Liam. And when she walked out of the washroom in a towel, she was almost relaxed.

That almost was the only reason that she didn't shriek like a banshee again when she found Mila standing at her bedside.

"What. The. Fuck," Chloe breathed out when she managed to slow it down enough to speak. "We literally just talked about this!"

"Didn't this used to be red?" Mila asked, ignoring her question and pointed at the pile of clothes that she had left on her bed.

Sighing, Chloe moved forward to see what she was looking at and stopped short when she realized that it was the pendant of her broken necklace. It must have fallen out of her jeans pocket when she'd careless flung the clothes onto her bed in the hurry to get into the shower. She hadn't really stopped to look at it for a while, but she had noticed that the ruby had looked different, though she hadn't really been able to put her finger on it. But now the stone staring up at her was blue, not red.

"What the actual…" her voice trailed off as she picked up the pendant, turning it over in her hands. "It was red."

"Well, it isn't anymore."

"I can see that."

"And you didn't change it?" A shake of her head. "Is it a mood thing? Or is there—"

"If I knew the answer to any of these questions, would I be standing here, gaping like an idiot with you?"

"Jesus, what crawled up your butt?" Chloe felt her jaw twitch but she refused to turn and look at the ghost. Instead, she continued to inspect the pendant. It was definitely hers. She could still see the faded engraving on the back and she ran her fingers over it reverently. "You're in a mood. What did Derek do?"

That got Chloe's head to turn. "Why would you assume Derek did something?"

"Because you usually bitchier when he's being a dick to you."

Chloe narrowed her eyes. She was being baited. Mila merely stared back at her, eyes twinkling. Jaw clenching, she turned away with the pendant still clutched in her hand. It was then that she became aching aware that she was standing there only in a towel. The blush was inevitable after that. Quickly, she moved to the dresser and grabbed a change of clothes before slipping into the washroom to make a quick change away from the brown-haired girl. When Chloe opened the door, she was fully clothed this time with her arms settling crossed over her chest.

"So you aren't going to tell me what he did?" Mila asked conversationally and got a glare in response. "I was just asking, jeez."

"Why are you here?" Chloe countered, plopping herself gracelessly onto the bed. "I thought you were spying on people."

"I was. But I got bored. So I decided to check in." There was pause as the two of them looked at each other. Chloe arched an eyebrow and Mila sighed. "Okay, I was worried. You weren't looking so hot earlier."

"I'm fine."

"You weren't before."

"But I am now."

"No, you're better now. You aren't fine." Mila's eyes unfocused for a moment before coming back into focus. "Even your glow is duller than usual."

Chloe rolled her eyes, absently running her fingers over her pendant still clutched in her hand. "I don't even understand what my glow really is, so I'm not basing my health off of it. Now tell me what you've learnt."

It wasn't much. There's only so much one ghost can do when she has to spy on two different people, especially since she wasn't even a full day in yet. Most of the things that Mila had seen were menial tasks like grading papers or preparing for lesson plans. Nothing that stood out as suspicious behavior other than a heating phone call Karavan had that she partially overheard. Something about a package needing to be picked up sooner. They seemed normal and if Chloe hadn't heard the conversation that they had last night herself, she wouldn't believe that the two of them might be involved in this Supernatural mess. But she had and while she didn't think they were against them, she needed proof before they decided anything. And to get that proof, they would have to watch and wait.

Mila hovered for a bit longer before she left. She meant well, Chloe knew. The ghost was just worried that her memories were more than she could bare. But there wasn't anything that she could do to help and the blonde just wanted some time to herself. So she didn't feel bad at all when she sent Mila away. She merely picked up Necromanica, turned on her laptop and, with one last glance at her necklace, got down to work.

She wasn't sure how long it was before a soft knock made her look up. She stared at the door for a moment, certain that she was just hearing things. Who the hell would be knocking at… what time is it? A glance out her window proved to be fruitless. It had already been dark when she had woken from her nap in the early evening, which wasn't surprising given the fact that it was late fall. The subtle deepening of the colours that signaled time always went unnoticed by her. Another knock came, this time louder. She merely stared at the door this time, waiting. She didn't know what for but she was waiting. And then it hit her. A jolt of pain that had the air rushing out of her chest.

Derek.

She stared at the door for a long moment—long enough that she half expected him to leave—before she got up and unlocked the door, pulling it open to reveal a very sorry looking werewolf. He somehow managed to look worse off than he had before dinner, if it was possible. His hair was once again matted in sweat and his complexion had paled so much that she was worried that he would faint at her doorstep. As it was, he using the doorjamb to support his weight and he still looked seconds from falling over. When feverish green met blue, she knew. He was Changing. Now.

"Chloe, I—" he started but she had already turned around to disappear into the room. His fear licked her in the back as she pocketed her pendant and, after half a second of hesitation, pulled on his sweater over her top before moving back to the door. He watched her slip on her shoes and close the door behind her. "Thank—"

"Don't."

They made it out of the school and to the clearing in record time. Because while Derek could barely keep himself upright, he knew the best way out without being seen. They didn't come across another person the entire way, which was for the best. Derek looked like he was going to start Changing any second. She could see the muscles moving and slithering under his shirt and saw just that as he stripped off his shirt when they reached the clearing. She turned away, cheeks scarlet as she averted her gaze.

Another harsh stab of pain made her turn around sharply, just in time to see Derek, now standing in only a pair of shorts, sway forward dangerously as his clothes fluttered to the ground around him. Rushing over, she tried to catch him. Not that it did much good, he had at least a hundred pounds on her. She did manage to help slow his descent enough that he was able to catch himself on his knees, though it was still with enough force that he grunted and she hissed as her own hit the ground just as hard.

"Sorry," he mumbled, but his voice sounded different. Like his vocal chords had already started changing. "I'm sorry."

"It's just a scraped knee, it's fine." It was the first words that she had said since she had left her room. Derek shook his head, hair hanging in his face as he blinked rapidly at her. "Come on, you need—"

"I don't just—I mean earlier with—" he cut off with a groan and Chloe eased out from under his arm just as he turned and retched up anything that he had left in his stomach. Not that there could be much. He hadn't eaten dinner and hadn't eaten even half of what he normally did at lunch. But there was still enough in there that he painted the grass with his vomit. He braced himself with his hands catching his breath before he tried again. "Earlier. In the room. I just—I get so…about you, it's—"

"We can talk later. Just…" Chloe struggled to find the right words. "Make it through this first."

"Yeah. Later. Good," he breathed, sounding relieved.

There weren't much words said after that. Derek kept throwing up until his stomach was empty, dry heaves still racking him even after there was nothing left. She watched, helpless, as his back shot into the air at that inhumanely high angle once again, tearing a whimper from his throat as it did. All the while his muscles still rippled, black fur started to shoot out through pores that opened up so wide it looked like his skin had completely split open. All other thoughts flew out of her head as she moved to him, smoothing her hands over his back and whispering encouragement, the ire of before forgotten in the face of the pain that he was enduring.

The Change went by faster this time. The didn't mean that it was any less painful. She felt every wave—every agonizing piece of it—hit her with enough force that she was barely holding back whimpers of her own. And she knew that she was only getting a fraction of the pain that he was feeling. It still seemed like it was no time at all before Derek was standing in front of her as a black wolf with startling green eyes instead of the boy that she had developed feelings for. Chloe leaned back, easing her hands out of his fur as he lowered himself to the ground. Well, less lowered than fall to the ground from exhaustion.

She sat back on her haunches, watching him carefully. He didn't notice; his breathing had evened out and his eyes were closed, seemingly having fallen asleep after the entire ordeal. Not that she blamed him; it had taken a lot of him. She didn't even consider leaving this time, knowing without a doubt that either he would wake up and stop her like he did last time, or he wouldn't wake up and she'd actually leave him. Plus, despite how pissed off she might be at him—though her anger was definitely waning—she couldn't bare the thought of him having to change back without someone here with him. It made something in her just hurt. So she sat and waited.

The sound of a twig snapping in the distance made her jump, head spinning around to look into the edges of the clearing. There was an eerie quality to the area tonight that hadn't been there when she had first stumbled onto Derek. Then, it had been beautiful, lit by the soft light of the moon that streamed in through the leaves of the overhanging trees. It had been almost otherworldly, in all actuality. Now, though, with the moon hidden behind clouds and only peeking out occasionally, it held a darker quality. Still otherworldly, but with the way they were surrounded by shadows now, it felt sinister.

"You're being paranoid, Chloe," she muttered to herself. Shaking her head, she tried to wave off those types of thoughts. Almost succeeding until the snap of another twig made her head turn again. And it was definitely closer this time. "Fuck."

She glanced back at Derek, and realized that he still hadn't moved. She would be worried that he wasn't breathing, less it be for the way that his shoulders rose and fell. But he was definitely out cold and she was loath to wake him just because she was overly suspicious about a broken twig. So she steeled her nerves and got up, careful not to rouse him.

You could just use your powers to scope the area, a small voice pointed out in her head. Immediately, she shot it down. It was one thing to absently feel the forces around her, it was another to differentiate them, to pick them apart to figure out what each was. Chloe was terrified what would happen when she actually tried to focus on one of them. The thought of accidentally raising something or someone brought a shiver down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold that cut through her sweater.

Chloe reached the end of the clearing and paused, looking back at Derek. He hadn't moved. She took a step out and held her breath.

Nothing.

Another step.

Nothing.

She took another few steps to be sure, even though with every step away from the clearing, the tenser she got.

A sudden movement to the left had her inhaling sharply and Chloe nearly jumped out of her skin when a bunny took off running to her left, making her whirl in that direction. A hand clutched at her heart as she leaned against the closest tree to catch her breath. See? Paranoid. She had hoped that finding out that she was just overthinking would help release the tension that had formed in her shoulders from the moment the first twig snapped. It didn't.

She turned to go back and nearly had another heart attack when she saw the black wolf that was standing a few steps off to her right.

"Jesus motherfucking Christ, don't do that!" she hissed as she pressed a hand to her chest again. At this rate, her heart was going to stop beating completely before the night was through. "Make noise or something, for fuck's sake. Before you—"

Her voice cut off as the wolf took a step closer and growled at her. Something about it sounded off. She knew that if he woke up before she got back, he would be pissed and growling always came with a pissed Derek, but this was different. His growls never scared her. They might startle her with their suddenness, but never scared her, not really. This growl had made the hair on her arms and neck raise in alarm. As if to confirm her initial reaction, the moon chose that moment to push from behind the clouds. The canopy of leaves wasn't as dense as in the clearing, so when the light shone through, she could see clear as day that that wasn't Derek. It was definitely a big black wolf; bigger than any ones she had ever seen in a zoo before coming here. But the eyes staring back at her weren't green; they were pitch black, swallowing the light around it completely.

Definitely not Derek.

The wolf took another step forward and she immediately stepped backwards, mind panicked and blanking on what it should. The wolf growled again, so loud this time that it vibrated the earth around her and goosebumps broke out on her skin from fear. Her mouth open, intent to scream for help, or at the very least alert Derek to the danger. But she never got the chance to even get the words out of her mouth before something heavy hit her in the back of the head with startling force. The ground came rushing at her at a startling pace and then the world went dark.

R and R if it pleases you. Have a Merry Christmas. Don't mind the cliff hanger. Toodles.