I am back! And I want to apologize it's been so long! I just get side-tracked easily.

Okay, so I want to send out a shout-out to Poisoned Scarlett for telling me that Chloe does indeed have blue eyes! So, thanks, Poisoned Scarlett!

Apology: Sorry if Derek's OOC. I'm gonna do this at the beginning of every chapter, just to let you know.

Disclaimer:

Poisoned Scarlett: Why do you always injure yourself?

Me: (puts ice on ankle) I don't know. I guess it's because I'm a klutz. It's natural!

Poisoned Scarlett: Like it's "natural" that you're only almost twelve-and-a-half, so you can't own Darkest Powers?

Me: How dare you! I was twelve-and-a-half in May! Don't judge me!

Poisoned Scarlett: Yeah, but you shouldn't have a FanFiction if you're not thirteen!

Me: I have the mind of a thirteen-year-old!

Poisoned Scarlett: Why are we even talking about this?

Me: I don't know. I told you I get side-tracked easily! See? (Points to top of page)

Poisoned Scarlett: I worry about you.

Me: I worry about me, too.

Okay, so here's the last chapter! (Sob)

Part Three: Monster

Dammit! Why won't I Change back quicker? I thought bitterly to myself as my muscles convulsed. Why does this always happen at the worst possible times? Goddamn wolf!

Shut up and focus on the Change back! Need I remind you that our Chloe's in trouble? You need to stop blaming me for everything that goes on in your life and protect what's yours now! She's in trouble! That bastard could kill her if he wanted to!

As much as I hated to admit it, the Wolf was right. Annoying, but right. I clenched my teeth and tried to force my muscles to shift faster. The pain was worse than when I had Changed earlier tonight, but it was nothing compared to the idea of losing Chloe. Or Simon. Or Dad. Or-

Knock it off! Do I have to help you through everything? Picture you as a human, and just focus on that!

I tried to imagine myself as a human, but it was kind of hard to, especially when I heard Liam laugh and call out, "This is coward's ploy, pup, sending the girl out to distract me. About what I'd expect, though, considering how fast you ran away last time."

Faster! Change, you stupid oaf! I mentally growled at myself.

Don't be so mean to yourself, he snapped at me, though his voice was hiding panic and fear.

I imagined myself as a human, and then heard Liam talking to Chloe.

Please, please Change faster! I have to protect her! She could die if I don't save her!

My muscles seemed to agree, because they started to move quicker. I strangled cries as I focused on the mental image of my human form.

It hurt like a son of a bitch to force the Change, but I had to keep my pack safe.

A wave of pain passed through me with a powerful spasm, and I couldn't keep the fresh yelp that came with it in my throat. My shoulders burned, the muscles rearranging, bones cracking into place. I could feel my heartbeat in my head, the horrible, pounding feeling that made me feel sick. I felt my gorge rise and retched on the ground. The pain started to increase, making every nerve in my body shriek in agony. My body was slowly starting to feel just a bit more human.

The fur retracted more, and my arms trembled from the effort to stay up on all fours. I felt my muzzle shorten, and my ears lower. I spasmed once more, then I was finally human again.

I didn't think. I just ran. Hard and fast, even though Chloe wasn't really that far away. A quarter-mile, tops.

Soon enough, I saw the bastard and Chloe. Liam had a hold on Chloe, but I didn't want to hurt her by crushing her in my attempt to get to Liam. So I watched, waiting for the right time.

Liam grabbed her leg. She heaved herself forward with strength I didn't know she had, and left Liam with her sneaker. She was about three feet away from him.

I pounced.

Liam looked surprised for a second, then bucked and threw me off his back. I grabbed him again, and we went back down. I wrestled with him, trying to get him off of me. He had his hands in my hair, trying to yank my head back. My hands were around his neck. I just wanted to get him off of me, and keep Chloe safe. Liam caught my wound from earlier and yanked down. I tried not to scream. Then I smelled blood. Human blood. Chloe's blood.

That seemed to give me more adrenaline. I had to get this guy off of me and protect Chloe.

I yanked his head back, hoping he would fall off of me. But he didn't. There was a horrible cracking sound. I felt his body tense up, then it all... left. The light from his eyes died. He just stared at me, his eyes wide, staring at nothing.

Oh my god! I killed him! I'm a murderer!

"I- I didn't..." I began, but never finished. This was just too horrible.

I scrambled up like the scared puppy I felt like. Liam rolled tumbled over, his head twisted at an odd angle. Bruises were on his neck.

I tried again. "I didn't- I just- I was trying to stop him." I didn't know what was worse: killing someone or killing someone in front of Chloe.

"You didn't mean it." Her words were soft, comforting. "But he did."

I looked at her. It didn't matter if I didn't mean to; I killed him. As in, took away his life.

You were protecting her. If you had to choose between him or her-

It doesn't matter, I thought, cutting myself off. I killed him. I'm a murderer! A monster! How can she even look at me?

"He could have killed you. Killed both of us, if it came down to it. You might not have meant to do it, but..." she trailed off, I guess realizing that no words could comfort me.

"It wasn't a fight to the death for you. But it was for him."

It didn't matter. I killed him. I didn't just break his back, or bruise his arm. I killed him!

But I could tell she was worried about me, so I nodded, rubbing the back of my neck.

I don't get it, though. How could she possibly be worried about me? She just saw me kill a man!

Derek, the Wolf said softly, Chloe doesn't think of you as a murdering monster who deserves to die. She genuinely cares about you. I can see it in her eyes. She knows that there was no other way.

Did she...?

I winced. I was injured, Ramon could still be out here, and I smelled Chloe's blood. It wasn't the time to contemplate whether or not she likes me.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, trying not to think about how I had just killed someone. "Just a few cuts and bruises. I heal fast. Might need a stitch or two here-"

I looked down at the gash on my side, and realized something emotionally scarring.

I was naked.

I crouched down instinctively to cover myself. This was not how I had wanted her to see me naked for the first time! I had kind of hoped the situation would've been a bit more romantic...

I'll admit it- I was kind of self-conscious about my... area. I was, like the rest of me, really big. I know most girls like them big, but... I was huge.

And I am thinking about this right now because...?

I was pretty sure my face was a very attractive shade of red. Chloe peeled off her jacket and handed it to me. I wrapped it around my waist with a muttered, "Thanks." Then I said, "We should get going."

For some reason, though, I felt like my feet were glued to the ground. I crouched over Liam's dead body, making sure my hair was covering my face. I didn't want her to see how helpless I felt.

We lapsed into a sorrowful silence. I stayed crouched over him, feeling that, even though he was a son of a bitch, he deserved a moment of silence. It was the least I could do for killing him.

I know this is killing you, but you need to realize that you had no other choice. I know you're not exactly proud of what you did, but it was for the best. She's alive. That's a plus, right?

Yeah, but how long will that last? How do I know that she won't die?

Because I won't let her. You won't let her. She's too important to us.

I agreed with the Wolf without much protest, considering how bad I felt. I just killed someone. And no words of comfort or reassurances from Chloe of the Wolf could justify that. I shivered.

Chloe thought it was from the cold and offered to get my clothes for me.

"Ramon," I said, taking her arm. I felt the urge to just pull her into my arms and make sure that she was still there, beside me, and not off getting brutally killed. I wanted to hold her and tell her everything would be all right, and I, crazy as it is, wanted her to do the same. I wanted to feel her lips, I wanted to hear those words I had been longing to hear from her since my second Changing attempt at the bus stop.

But I didn't have time to think about that. I couldn't think about it, because it didn't matter. Not right now, anyway. What did matter was getting back to the safe house and making sure she was okay.

"Right." She blinked and looked at me. After about ten seconds, she said, "We have to move him. At least into the brush for now, to cover the body. Then we'll have to come back tomorrow and bury him."

Then she stood and gave his arm a cautious tug.

"I've got it," I said, rising. "I'll carry him. We can't leave drag marks or anything, and we'll need to bury him right away, so no dogs find him." Simple logic from living on the run.

Chloe jumped about three feet in the air all of a sudden.

"Chloe?"

She turned away.

What did I do this time? I didn't glare at her or yell at her or even ignore her!

"Chloe?" I repeated, reaching out to take her arm, but then thought better of it. If she was scared, then touching her wasn't going to help at all. She might have a heart attack.

"It's L-Liam. His ghost."

Oh. Makes sense now.

"You're dead," she stated gently. Then she stood, listening.

Why can't I see ghosts? Then all these conversations might make a little more sense!

Chloe cleared her throat. "As long as you're here, I have some questions."

You've got to be kidding me.

"No," she said, moving towards his dead body and reaching into his pocket.

"Chloe?" I said for the third time in the last ten minutes. I moved closer with a frown. What's she up to?

She took out his phone. "Someone called him. Someone who seems to have set the whole thing up, someone who knows me, knew my name." She looked over to where I guess Liam was standing. "Who is it?"

She stood there, listening. I tried not to attempt to listen to what he was saying, but I couldn't help it. I needed to know all the facts.

Chloe suddenly ran to a spot and stood there. I guessed it was to block his path, or something. Not that it would really work; ghosts could travel through objects and people.

"You're about to go to the afterlife. This is your chance to do something good."

Good old Chloe, always trying to see the best in people. The sad thing was, with Liam, there wasn't a "Best" part.

Chloe stiffened, and I fought the urge to grab her and haul her back to the house. I just moved closer, took her arm gently, and whispered; "Don't let him harass you."

Chloe listened to what the ghost had to say, and I guess she didn't like it, because she stiffened again.

My grip tightened on her arm, ready to pull her away. She tried to get free, and I leaned down and whispered- as if he wouldn't be able to listen in- "Let him go. It's not worth it."

She straightened herself and said, "What did you think of my zombies?"

She raised...? I looked around and saw some decaying little woodland creatures.

"Do you know how I did it?" Pause. "You should. Necromancers raise the dead by sending a spirit- a ghost, like you- back into a corpse, where it's under my control, as you saw. It works the same for animals and people. So either you answer my questions, or I'm shoving you back in there." Chloe pointed to his dead body.

Wow. I didn't know she could threaten someone like that.

"Do you think I'm kidding?" She then closed her eyes and put her "I'm concentrating" face on. Extremely cute, by the way.

Yes, because it's always cute to see a necromancer girl force a ghost back into their corpse.

"Did you think I was bluffing?" She concentrated again, harder, by the looks of it. Then, a satisfied smirk.

"Who hired you?"

Silence. Then she looked over to me. "He says to figure it out because I have the phone."

Good idea. I didn't exactly feel comfortable with Chloe conversing with this ghost- a ghost of the man I just killed. It felt wrong, believe it or not.

"Was it the Edison Group." Pause. "Was it a man named Marcel Davidoff?" Pause again. "Diane Enright?"

"He's right," I whispered softly. "You've got the phone. Ask something else."

"When you found us the first time, in the playground, you said you'd pulled off the road and picked up Derek's scent," she said. I mentally groaned. When I said "another question", I didn't mean this one! "That was a lie, wasn't it?"

From the look on her face, I could tell it was.

"Someone hired you to get rid of Derek."

Yeah, I figured that one.

"Why?" Pause. "Why do they want him gone?"

"Because I'm a werewolf," I answered for him. "Like Andrew said, no one wants us around."

There was a silence, and Chloe was staring at the space in front of me. It was safe to assume that Liam was talking to me. I stared straight ahead, waiting for her to relay the message.

Then she said, "Nope."

I sent her a worried glance, and she jumped. She looked around almost frantically.

"Chloe?"

"He's gone."

"Left?"

"No, he just-" She looked around again. "He was talking and then vanished, like someone yanked him over to the other side."

"What did he say?" I asked, wanting to know what Liam was talking to me about.

Wait... What's that smell?

"Nothing we didn't already-"

I wheeled around, cutting her off, to see Ramon. I stepped in front of Chloe.

The werewolf raised his hand, palm out, to show me that he wasn't armed. The Wolf was still bristling, not wanting any other male near her.

Ramon walked towards us, and with every step, he winced. I didn't blame him- he looked pretty roughed up.

"I'm not here to fight you, kid," he said, his voice strong but wavering every now and then. "If you insist, I'll give it my best, but I'd really rather call it a draw."

When he saw his companion's body, he stopped and shook his head.

"It was an accident," Chloe said.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure he had it coming," Ramon said with a sigh so soft only I could hear, and shook his head. There was genuine grief in his eyes.

After a second, he looked up at me. "So now what?"

"We call it a draw, like you said. But if you ever come after either of us again..." I didn't have to finish my threat. I knew he understood.

Ramon ended up laughing and reassuring me that it was all Liam's idea, and that he wasn't in any shape whatsoever to hunt me.

Chloe and I (mostly Chloe) tried to get answers out of him, but he apparently didn't know anything. All he told me was to take my girlfriend and get the hell out of here. Not a bad idea, but I'd have the rest of my pack to worry about, too.

It ended when Ramon left, taking Liam with him to turn him into the Pack.

"Good luck, pup. It's a bad world out there, especially with a girl to look out for," he muttered as he walked away.

Chloe and I returned to where I'd left my clothes before I'd Changed. As I dressed, I heard Chloe checking Liam's cell phone. When I was done, I looked over her shoulder, not missing the chance to inhale a bit of her scent.

Vanilla, strawberries, and a touch of lavender with honey... Yum.

Hey, I'm still part teenage boy- what do you expect?

"He used his initials for the name. RRB. But it's a 212 area code. That's New York City, so it could still be the Edison Group, using a local contact for the job."

"Yeah," I said, doubt leaking into my voice.

"You don't sound so sure."

I looked in the direction of the house, hoping she'd get what I was trying to say without me having to say it.

"You think it's one of them? But we met Liam on the way to Andrew's place."

"They could have known I was on my way, sent Liam to stake out the bus route."

"How? At this time, Andrew was being held by the Edison Group. He didn't know we were coming, meaning no one in his group did, either."

"They could have been watching his house, seen Simon and Tori, figured we were on our way, made a few calls to the bus companies, found out two kids got off in Albany the night before. It's a stretch, but..." I shrugged, not knowing what else to say.

"It's a possibility." Chloe pause as she checked the phone. "Did you catch Russel's last name? Ramon said the contact was a healer. Russel's a shaman. Unless Ramon meant sorcerer."

I shook my head. "Sorcerers aren't healers. Witches are, kind of, but if it's a guy, it's a shaman."

"We need proof. And I know how to get it." Chloe raised the phone with a triumphant gleam in her eye.

I shook my head again. "Too risky. I'm no good at imitating voices."

"You won't have to. Liam said if the guy wanted anything else, he should text him. So, presumably Liam might also text him."

"Good idea," I said, reaching for the phone. "I'll tell him-"

Chloe pulled the phone out of my reach and gave me a look saying, "I want to do this and prove I'm not useless". I nodded.

"Go ahead."

Chloe smiled and started to type. I soon got the urge to take the phone from her and do it myself, but I managed to just look over her shoulder every few seconds. After she was done, she let me read it.

Got Derek and the girl cornered. Might be able to get them alive, but might lose them again. What do u want me 2 do?

And, in response, Just get rid of them.

Chloe typed again.

If you want me 2 dispose of the bodies, I want an extra 10 percent in pay.

Fine.

I stared at the screen, feeling my heart start to pound.

"You okay?" Chloe asked. I nodded absently, and kept my eyes on the screen.

"Derek?"

The phone vibrated again.

If you want the extra 10 percent, BOTH bodies have to be disposed of. If you take the werewolf alive, Saunders has to disappear.

I'm pretty sure I just puked in my mouth.

"Because if I go back, I can tell Andrew what happened," she said. "It's better if we both vanish, so it looks like we ran off together."

They just... They just... They just said she was... Disposable... Unimportant... How could they...

They just agreed to her death! Those idiots! Screw them! When I get my-

I'm gonna be sick...

You just need to take her and run. Get the hell away from here. I don't care what anyone else has to say, she's our-

No, I'm a danger to her.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. "They were going to kill you because you came out here with me. To help me. I asked you to come." I'm such a monster.

"And how is that your fault?" Chloe snapped. I blinked hard, hiding the hurt, and the rest of the shock from tonight falling away.

"They targeted you because you're a werewolf. That's it. It's nothing you did, nothing you can change. It's their problem." Her voice was softer now, but it didn't help the guilt that was consuming me. It was my fault she could've gotten killed. My. Fault.

"But if I know it's a problem, I shouldn't endanger anyone else."

It was true.

"So you should have come out here alone? That's-"

"Not just that," I said, cutting her off. "I put you and Simon in danger just by..." By being here. I'm a huge threat to you guys. My subconscious was right; I should've scared her off when I had the chance.

"By being here? And what's the alternative? Take off? Give up on finding your dad? Leave Simon behind?"

"No, I wouldn't leave... but I feel like..." I trailed off, not really knowing how to put it.

"Feel like what?"

I shook my head, looking away. I didn't want to talk about this right now.

She stepped around in front of me. "Feel like what,Derek? Like you should leave? Like we'd be better off without you?"

Wow. She was pretty close. I rolled my shoulders in a half shrug, then looked away. I didn't want to see her blue orbs right now.

The thought of it all... Me leaving, running away... It sounded way too close to self-pity. I didn't like it.

"No one is better off if you leave."

"Yeah," I mumbled. It didn't matter either way. I'd killed someone. The next person could be Simon or Chloe...

You won't let that happen.

"Simon needs you."

I nodded and so desperately wanted her to say that she needed me as well. I didn't care if it was as her lover or as her worst enemy. I wanted to know that I was some value to her. I looked into the forest to hide my facial expression.

No, you've just killed a man. You're a danger to everyone. You should get out of here. You could hurt her. You could hurt someone else. You don't deserve anything from her because you are a monster.

Even my inner voice made it sound like I was pitying myself.

But you don't deserve an angel like Chloe. I don't care if she does have a thing for you. She's better off with someone who can keep her safe.

I turned to tell her that (minus the I-don't-deserve-her thing), but realized she was giving me a look. I couldn't place it exactly, but it made my heart pound faster and harder.

I don't deserve her. But maybe, just maybe, I can change that.

I watched her in awe (kinda) as she turned away, her cheeks aflame. She opened her mouth to say something, but I beat her to it.

"I'm not going anywhere, Chloe." I was surprised at how sure those words sounded. I had a pretty good idea that she cared about me, and I wanted to find out for sure.

I'm not going anywhere.

And I meant it.

Can you say cheesy? I can! I don't really know what to say, other than I might start a story after TR, but I need ideas. So... I'm open to suggestions.

Pandas R Awesome

-WiccaChick98