Sorry for the long wait. Here's chapter four. Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter IV

She's leaning against the gate, head bent back to stare up at the stars, when Scott and Stiles pull up in Stiles' Jeep. Caroline ignores the small stab of hurt she feels as she hears Stiles' snippy little, "Oh great, what's she doing here?" The two boys climb out of the Jeep, Stiles frowning as they make their way over to her. Caroline pulls her gaze from the stars and does her best to shoot a small cautious smile Scott's way.

"Hi," she breathes uncertainly. "I wanted to help. Is that okay?" Scott returns her smile, surprisingly, and nods.

"Yeah," he tells her. "Thanks, Caroline." Derek's right, Caroline realizes, Scott does trust her, blindly it seems. Even after she'd scared the crap out of his best friend. She wonders for a moment if he trusts everyone as easily as he seems to trust her, and tries to ignore the two boys as they begin to argue about who will be staying behind to keep watch. Stiles protests passionately, arguing that if they're Batman and Robin, he doesn't want to be Robin. Caroline rolls her eyes at them and volunteers to keep watch, stepping away from the fence to casually lean against the side of Stiles' Jeep.

"Alright, see, fangs will keep watch," Stiles says, waving a hand in her direction. "Let's go." Caroline frowns at his back but quickly tries to hide it with a smile when she realizes Scott is looking over at her. He bites into his bottom lip for a second then returns his gaze to Stiles.

"Just stay here," he orders firmly before he turns and hops over the fence, leaving his best friend behind.

"Oh my God," Stiles all but groans then, annoyed but accepting. He turns and makes his way back over to the Jeep. Caroline doesn't move. She doesn't want to startle him. He takes one glance at her and scowls.

"Get in," he mumbles as he yanks open the driver's door and climbs inside. Caroline stands where she is for a moment more and watches as Scott makes his way towards the bus from the incident before she turns and climbs into the passenger seat of Stiles' Jeep. Stiles' heartbeat skyrockets the moment she does so and Caroline winces, looking over at the boy from beneath her fringe. He flinches when she glances over and for some reason the movement irritates her.

"Relax," she comments sharply. "Your heart's beating so loud my ears might bleed." This apparently is the wrong thing to say because he turns in his seat toward her and scowls angrily.

"Oh, I'm sorry to be such an inconvenience to you," he hisses, sarcasm dripping from every word. "It's just that the image of your murderous green eyes is still fresh in my mind." Caroline mirrors him, turning suddenly in her seat to face him with a look she's sure reads desperate.

"Honestly, Stiles," she huffs. "I apologised about the knife. I hadn't realized it would upset you. Do you see it anywhere now? No. Do you know why? I got rid of it, for you. What else do I have to do to earn your trust?"

"You can't earn my trust," he snaps grumpily, looking away and crossing his arms over his chest. Caroline recoils as if she's been slapped and wills her heart to stop beating so irregularly.

"Fine," she acquiesces. "Then at least to treat me like a normal person. Like I'm not a monster." Stiles turns back to her, an eyebrow arching incredulously in a clear, 'You can't be serious' look.

"You're not a freakin' normal person!" he cries. "You're a vampire! That's the problem!" Caroline glowers at him, in an attempt to hide the actual wounded way she feels.

"I'm not a vampire!" she exclaims. "God, and you know what else? Scott's not normal either. I understand he's your best mate but it isn't fair of you to treat me like I'm a villain just because I'm not human. Scott isn't either." The tone of her voice drops to a near mumble by the time she's finished her little rant and she looks away, once more feeling her eyes water because of the deep ache of rejection she feels. She wants to at least be acknowledged as a person. Stiles is silent until she sniffles and reaches up to wipe at her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Stiles squeaks out.

"Nothing," Caroline mutters childishly, sniffling once again.

"Oh my God, you're not crying, are you?" Stiles begins to ramble, voice panicked and uncomfortable. "Oh God, you are. Aw man, why do I always make everybody cry?" Caroline looks up at him as she continues to rub her eyes dry; aggravated with herself because it's the second time today she's cried over the human boy beside her. Something is definitely wrong with her. She's never been much of a crier before.

"Well, I'm sorry," she huffs. "But I've been nothing if not nice to you and yet you continuously treat me as if I'm a monster. I may not be completely human but I do still have feelings, you know." Stiles gapes at her for what seems like an eternity before he frowns, sighs deeply, and drops his gaze to his lap.

"I'm sorry," he says so softly that Caroline's afraid it's only her imagination.

"Are you?" she inquires faintly. He only nods, refusing to look up at her. Caroline fights off a grin.

"I forgive you," she reveals. "And I'm sorry too, for the… murderous eyes thing. And the knife, definitely the knife." He does look up then but only nods once more. Then they settle into an awkward silence. Caroline hopes their mutual apology will change the way the boy sees her. But she has no time to think more on it because she catches sight of a beam of light, obviously from a torch, and she gasps, sitting up quickly.

"Stiles!" she cries, reaching over to tap at his shoulder. It sets him off and he springs into action, hitting the horn repeatedly to signal Scott. A moment later, Caroline can see Scott leaping out of the bus and taking off at a run towards the fence.

"Get in the backseat," Stiles cries. "Go!" Caroline sees Scott literally flip over the gate before she's quickly scrambling over the console of the Jeep and into the back seat, leaving the passenger seat open as Scott jumps into the car.

"Go, go!" Scott shouts, eyes wide, and Stiles immediately complies, backing out of there as fast as possible.

"Did it work?" Stiles cries as they peel away from the school. "Did you remember?" Caroline's eyes are wide, her hands gripping tightly at the seat beneath her as Scott continuously glances back to check if they're being followed. Stiles drives like a maniac, Caroline decides.

"Yeah, I was there last night," Scott says. "But the blood, none of it was mine."

"So, you did attack him?" Stiles questions.

"No, I saw glowing eyes on the bus but they weren't mine," Scott explains. "It was Derek." Caroline freezes, eyes narrowing at the back of Scott's head. He has to be wrong, she thinks, or confused. Derek wouldn't hurt someone. Caroline frowns, suddenly realizing that aside from what Jon had told her and from what she's seen of Derek so far, she doesn't really know him. Maybe he is capable of murder. Because of the way he'd told Scott that teaching him to be a werewolf wouldn't come free, Caroline had quickly come to realize that her cousin is hiding something. But she's not sure she thinks it's murder.

"What about the driver?" Stiles asks.

"I think I was actually trying to protect him," Scott elaborates. Caroline has to refrain from scoffing. A newborn werewolf actively helping the meal escape is an absurd idea.

"Wait, why would Derek help you remember that he attacked the driver?" Stiles asks. Caroline grins at the back of his head. Wonderful question, she thinks, Stiles is smart. She likes that.

"Ah, that's what I don't get," Scott groans.

"It's gotta be a pack thing," Stiles tells him. Caroline's grin fades.

"What do you mean?" Scott asks him.

"Like an initiation," Stiles explains. "You kill together."

"That's ridiculous," Caroline pipes up from the back seat.

"Because ripping someone's throat out is a real bonding experience," Scott deadpans. Caroline tries not to think about all the hunting trips she'd gone on with her father after she'd been bitten. She'd enjoyed ripping throats out of vampires after they were incapacitated, enjoyed giving them a dose of their own medicine, enjoyed looking down at them and watching them drown in their own blood as Jon watched on, waiting for her to cut the heads off.

"Yeah, but you didn't do it," Stiles says, cutting off Caroline's grim thoughts. "Which means you're not a killer… and it also means—" Scott cuts him off then, grinning like a maniac all of a sudden.

"That I can go out with Allison," he breathes. Caroline's not sure if that's the best idea but she's not going to voice it because she's sure Scott will do that kicked puppy thing and she doesn't want to see that.

"I was gonna say it means you won't kill me," Stiles sighs.

"Oh yeah, that too," Scott offers. It's the first time Caroline laughs since coming to Beacon Hills.

The night of Scott's date, the Sheriff is working a late night and Caroline thinks it's been at least a few hours since Stiles nagged at her about anything so she decides to attempt to rope him into spending some time with her. She tiptoes her way down the hall towards his bedroom and raps softly at the door. She waits patiently for the sounds of the videogame he must be playing to pause before he calls out a quick, "Yeah, come in."

Caroline pushes his bedroom door open a crack and pokes her head in, smiling softly and hopefully. Stiles is sat cross-legged on his bed with a videogame controller in his hand while the TV across from his bed displays the pause menu of a game called Call of Duty. The tips of Caroline's toes push the bedroom door open a bit more and she takes a small step into the room.

"Hey," she begins hesitantly, a bit nervous now that Stiles is shooting a confused look over at her, no doubt wondering what the hell she wants. "Um, I was thinking… since Scott abandoned us for his date with that Allison girl, maybe you'd want to do something? Like hangout or summat." Stiles' confused expression persists and the small hopeful lift to Caroline's lips wanes. She clears her throat quietly and looks away.

"I— never mind," she stammers out, fingers already closing around the door knob to pull the door shut as she takes a step back. "Sorry to bother you." A strangled sound rips it's way out of Stiles' mouth and Caroline's gaze snaps back to him, concerned. He's unfolded his legs from beneath him and dropped the controller onto his comforter, one hand reaching out towards her. Caroline tries her hardest not to grin at the sight.

"No, yeah, let's—" Stiles pauses, sits back and shrugs his shoulders in an obviously forced nonchalant gesture. "Sounds good. Let's do that. What did you have in mind?" Caroline's glad Scott isn't there in that moment because she knows he would've caught the way her heart seems to skip a beat at the chance to bond with Stiles. She attempts to play off how nervous she actually feels and copies Stiles, shrugging her shoulders while she moves forward to take a seat on his desk chair.

"We could go to the movies," Stiles offers after a moment, one of his hands reaching up to scratch at the back of his neck. She's seen him do that a lot. It seems to be another one of his fidgety habits.

"I think we should stay in," she suggests. "Sheriff did ask us not to leave the house tonight and all. We could watch a movie downstairs? Stuff our faces? I swear I saw a pint of Ben & Jerry's in the freezer and some pop in the fridge." Stiles chuckles softly as he scoops up his videogame controller and uses it to shut down the console before slipping off the bed so he can do the same for the TV.

"Sounds like a good time," he hums, before he adds on an amused, "Can't believe she actually calls it pop," under his breath. Caroline's so excited about their upcoming movie night that she doesn't even bother to defend her use of the word pop and just grins at the boy as he moves towards his bedroom door, Caroline following close behind him.

A few hours later, Caroline's awoken by a faint clicking noise. She sniffs subtly at the air then relaxes when she catches the Sheriff's scent, cracking one eye open slowly. She and Stiles are still on the sofa, Stiles is lying spread over the cushions with his socked feet in Caroline's lap, snoring softly. Caroline's in the same seated position she'd been in earlier, her head cushioned by the back of the sofa and Stiles' mobile phone in her lap, just between Stiles' feet.

The TV is still on and if Caroline isn't mistaken, the horror movie House of Wax is playing. The coffee table in front of the TV is stacked high with empty bags of crisps, candy wrappers, and empty cans of pop, along with the empty pint tub of ice cream, one spoon resting gently atop the lid. Caroline's gaze moves over to Stiles and she can't help the sleepy grin that pulls at her lips. The spoon he'd been using to dig out his half of the pint is hanging out of his parted lips.

She'd slipped it back into his mouth after he'd fallen asleep and snapped a picture with his mobile phone. She lets her one eye drift shut and dozes off until she hears a soft chuckle. With a small yawn, she raises her arms and stretches before letting both her eyes crack open. The living room lights have been shut off and the volume of the TV's been lowered and the Sheriff is standing under the arch of the room's entryway.

"You kids have fun?" he calls quietly. Caroline reaches up with one hand and rubs at her left eye with the back of her hand, nodding, while the other hand wraps around Stiles' ankle and shakes as she mumbles his name. Stiles jumps awake like he's been electrocuted, eyes wide as he sputters and flails, spitting the spoon out of his mouth in the process.

"Huh, wha—" he mumbles, adorably confused. "Dad?" He's squinting up at both Caroline and the Sheriff through the darkness. Caroline ignores the warm, twisty feeling blossoming in her chest at the sight of the sleepy human and smiles down at him, releasing the hold she has on his ankle.

"Seems we fell asleep," she tells him, gently pushing both his feet and his mobile phone off of her lap so she can stand and stretch a bit more.

"You should both get to bed," the Sheriff suggests. "You have school tomorrow. I'm needed at the hospital. Not sure what time I'll get in so goodnight, you two." Caroline watches as Stiles rubs the sleep out of his eyes, nodding, as his lips part to let out a silent yawn. He stands and makes his way over to the Sheriff and pulls him in for a hug.

"Careful out there, dad," Caroline hears Stiles mutter into his father's shoulder. The Sheriff claps him softly on the back and promises he'll be careful before he smiles softly at Caroline over his son's shoulder. Caroline returns the smile and adds a slight wave as the Sheriff pulls away from his son then turns, slips on his uniform shoes, and leaves again for the night.

It's late and the Sheriff did ask them to go to bed so she and Stiles decide to do as they're told. They silently clean up the living room before wandering upstairs to get ready for bed. Stiles bypasses the bathroom and goes straight to his bedroom, softly shutting the door behind him. Caroline does the opposite, she steps into the bathroom to brush her teeth, but listens closely as Stiles quietly moves around his bedroom. She can hear what sounds like the human boy getting dressed and quickly realizes sleep isn't on his agenda for the night.

He seems to be planning on going somewhere in the middle of the night so Caroline finishes up her brushing as fast as possible and darts into her bedroom to quickly change. She's lacing up her boots when she hears Stiles slide his bedroom window open and slip out onto the roof. She waits until he's climbed down the side of the house and into his Jeep before slipping out of her own window. She remains hidden while easily following the Jeep from a safe distance. It's a cold night but the wind feels pleasant against Caroline's skin.

She finds she's missed this feeling, the wind biting at her skin, the soft patter of her boot clad feet hitting the ground below, as she gives chase. She misses hunting with Jon. She misses Jon. She's so caught up reminiscing that she barely realizes Stiles has pulled up along the curb of a green-panelled house with half a wrap-around porch. With a quick shake of her head to dispel any lingering memories, Caroline stalks closer. The house and its surrounding area stinks of werewolf and Caroline can recognize the scent easily. This is Scott's house.

She jumps silently into a neighbouring tree and watches, rolling her eyes, as Stiles shimmies and curses his way up the side of the house before climbing inside through a second story window. Caroline's quickly come to realize that breaking into each other's houses is commonplace for both Scott and Stiles. It's amusing to watch and heart-warming to know the two boys have such a long history, such a deep bond. It's something Caroline can only dream of and wish for.

Thefaint high-pitched screaming that suddenly radiates from the house nearly has Caroline toppling off of the tree branch she stands crouched upon, her heart setting off at a thundering pace inside her chest and her body tensing as a whole when she catches her balance. The yelling seems to be coming from both Stiles and a woman. Caroline fights every instinct in her body and mind both and forces herself to remain in her tree and simply listen as a light flickers on inside the house and the woman recognizes Stiles.

The lingering scent of Scott deepens then, like the werewolf himself is nearing, and Caroline goes absolutely still. She's not sure how well he's progressing in picking up his new abilities but she doesn't want him to catch her staking out his house and spying on his best friend and mother. Caroline figures it'd be a little hard to explain why. She watches as Scott approaches the house atop his bicycle, rolling to a stop and climbing off before leaning the bike up against the side of his house. He eyes Stiles' Jeep parked along the curb as he makes his way up to the front door and slips inside.

Caroline listens closely as he makes his way up to the second floor. The woman, who is no doubt Scott's mother, sighs harshly, obviously frustrated, as Scott enters the room. Through the open bedroom window, Caroline can see one of the werewolf's eyebrows rise as he takes in the sight before him: his mother wielding a baseball bat standing beside his flustered best friend. It's quite a comical sight to Caroline.

"Can you please tell your friend to use the front door?" Scott's mother asks wearily, glancing between both boys in annoyance. Scott's lowered eyebrow rises to meet the other as he looks to his mother, confused.

"But we lock the front door," he reveals. "He wouldn't be able to get in."

"Yeah, exactly…" his mother snaps, clearly exasperated. "And, by the way, do either of you care that there's a police enforced curfew?"

"No…" Scott and Stiles simultaneously echo.

"No, all right then, well, you know what?" the frustrated mother sighs. "That's about enough parenting for me for one night so goodnight."

"Night," Scott calls after her.

Caroline remains where she is as the woman exits the room, abandoning the boys to their shenanigans. She's surprised to see Stiles turn on Scott the moment the door is shut to reveal that the bus driver that was attacked is now dead. How he's come upon the information, Caroline isn't sure but she suddenly realizes that must be why the Sheriff had been needed at the hospital so late at night.

Scott freaks out and Caroline watches closely as he orders Stiles to go home because he has to go speak to Derek right away. Caroline's eyes widen, remembering how adamant Scott had been about his thinking that Derek had been the one to attack the bus driver. Obviously, he thinks Derek's killed the bus driver to silence him.

With a slight grunt, Caroline drops gracefully from the tree, taking off at a sprint towards the preserve as soon as her boots hit the ground. If Scott intends on confronting Derek then she wants to be there in case he pisses off the older werewolf. She tears through the woods at top speed, knowing she has to get to the Hale house before Scott, and the beta is not far behind her. As soon as she bursts in through the front door, she knows Derek had scented her coming because he's waiting at the top of the charred staircase.

"Scott's coming," she calls up to him. "The bus driver is dead and Scott thinks you're responsible. He's on his way here now." Derek arches a brow down at her, a frown twisting his features, but he nods.

"Fine, I can handle him," the werewolf sighs. "Go home." Caroline's eyes narrow up at the man. She doesn't agree with Scott, doesn't think Derek had anything to do with the bus driver's death, and definitely doesn't think Derek is a killer, but she does think that Derek is hiding something. She wants to know what it is so she's not planning on heeding his words.

"Go home, Caroline," Derek orders again, his voice louder and firmer, but it's too late. Scott bursts into the house much like Caroline had; only he's a whirlwind of anger and desperation. Caroline knows better than to remain in the way of that so she casually leaps up onto the stairway banister, a sense of déjà vu overwhelming her for a moment, even as Scott's eyes take her in. His expression reads confusion at first but it quickly changes to a look of slight betrayal. Derek's scent is potent though so he turns away from her and sets his sight at the top of the staircase.

"Derek!" he calls, voice full of rage. Caroline glances over her shoulder and is surprised to see that her guardian is no longer standing at the top of the staircase.

"I know you're here!" Scott yells, sneering. "I know what you did!" Caroline crouches down on the banister, hands reaching down to grip at the charred wood, as she watches Scott look around, desperately trying to pinpoint Derek's location.

"I didn't do anything," Derek's voice calls out quietly, a whisper that echoes throughout the old house. Scott lurches forward and Caroline startles at his sudden movement, springing up from her crouched position and vaulting up to the second floor to resume her careful watch whilst balancing atop the less scorched banister of the upstairs hallway.

"You killed him!" Scott cries out, gripping the staircase railings tightly under his trembling hands. Caroline's surprised by the amount of anger the bus driver's death has pulled out of the young werewolf. She hadn't realized it before but Scott is truly a good person, he cares a lot more than she ever could.

"He died," Derek's voice insists from the darkness. Scott begins to inch his way up the stairs slowly, as if he's afraid Derek will jump out at him from the shadows at any moment. Caroline's beginning to suspect that's exactly what Derek's planning on doing.

"Your sister died?" Scott asks as he continues his way up step by careful step.

"My sister was missing," Derek reveals. "I came here looking for her." Caroline realizes they're talking about Laura Hale. Jon had never spoken of her much.

"You found her," Scott says.

"I found her in pieces," Derek's voice shouts, the words echoing once more. "Being used as bait to catch me!" Scott reaches the top of the stairs and glances around, eyeing the shadows closely.

"I think you killed them both," he calls. "I'm gonna tell everyone, starting with the sheriff." Caroline frowns as the young werewolf warily steps forward into the upstairs hallway. She both senses and scents Derek coming but Scott doesn't appear to and before Caroline can warn him, Derek has leapt out from the shadows, grabbed Scott from behind, and thrown him down the stairs.

Caroline's eyes widen when she catches the furious expression Derek is wearing. She glances down at Scott, sprawled out on the dirty singed floor at the bottom of the stairs. Scott grunts softly before his head snaps up, his gaze locked onto Derek, his facial features morphed into that of his werewolf form. Caroline frowns once again as he growls up at the older infuriated werewolf. They're going to fight each other, she realizes.

Before she can try to say anything, to stop this useless warring, Derek jumps down to the first floor and lands a couple feet away from Scott, who scrambles to his feet and shoves Derek as hard as he can through a wall. Caroline bites her tongue, rolling her eyes when she hears Derek let out a roar, knowing that means the older werewolf has shifted into his lycanthropic form as well. It's too late to try to stop them now so instead Caroline simply watches as Scott follows after Derek through the hole he'd put in the wall.

"Werewolves," Caroline mutters, shaking her head, before leaping down to the first floor to keep an eye on the battling lycans. She leans against the living room entryway and watches them as they attempt to beat the crap out of each other for a few minutes. Then, Derek swipes his claws across Scott's chest and it's enough to make Scott shift back into his human form, groaning as he holds a hand to his wound. Derek follows his lead, shifting back as he looms over Scott, glaring down at the beta.

"I didn't kill him, neither of us did," Derek discloses. "It's not your fault and it's not mine." Scott struggles to his feet angrily, glaring right back up at Derek.

"This? This is all your fault!" Scott accuses. "You ruined my life!" Caroline shrugs a shoulder. Admittedly, Scott has a point there. Derek's quite possibly the worst sire she's ever encountered. She sincerely hopes Scott is the first and last beta Derek ever sires.

"No, I didn't," Derek defends firmly.

"You're the one who bit me," Scott practically spits, throwing his hands into the air in a very Stiles-like manner.

"No, I'm not," Derek bites out. Caroline freezes, wide eyes settled on the back of her guardian's head as Scott shoots him a half confused and half furious look.

"What?" he yells.

"I'm not the one that bit you," Derek explains. Caroline stares dumbly between both werewolves, feeling almost as puzzled as Scott is for a moment. Logically, she knows that Derek is claiming he's not Scott's sire. But then that begs the question; who is?

Scott glances down at the scratch marks on his chest and reaches down to touch the blood seeping from the wound. His breathing deepens, leaves him panting, and his eyes widen as he stumbles back into an old couch and promptly sits down, no doubt coming to the same conclusion Caroline's come to. Scott looks up to Derek, his eyes wide and clearly full of terror.

"There's another," he realizes. Caroline gapes at Derek's back, suddenly furious, because that's it, that's what Derek has been hiding this whole time; another werewolf in Beacon Hills.

"It's called an alpha," Derek sighs. "It's the most dangerous of our kind. You and I, we're betas. This thing is more powerful, more animal than either of us. My sister came here looking for him and now I'm trying to find him but I don't think I can do it without you." Caroline pushes away from the wall, stumbling forward towards her guardian and cousin, eyes wide and heart pounding away inside her chest.

"Please tell me you're joking," she begs, angry and terrified and incredulous all at once. "An alpha? I've been running around this godforsaken town while an alpha's lurking about? It could've attacked me! It could attack anyone! You, me, Scott, anyone connected to any of us!" Derek's arms cross over his torso in his famous closed-off Derek pose, glancing between Caroline and Scott.

"Why me?" Scott asks, worn out. "Why do you need my help? Caroline's stronger." Vaguely, Caroline hears his words but all at once she's realized something else. There's an alpha werewolf loose in Beacon Hills, one that's killed an innocent man already, while Stiles, skinny, defenceless, human Stiles is walking around stinking of both beta werewolf and dhampir.

"Because he's the one that bit you, you're part of his pack," Derek clarifies. "It's you, Scott. You're the one he wants." Neither werewolf notices that Caroline's turned and sped out of the house as fast as possible, determined to get back to Stiles and make sure he's alright.

That's all folks! Hope to be back soon with another chapter for you.