Training

The next day was Saturday, and I promised Derek that he could come over for dinner so we could talk. I wanted to know if he had found anything about the prophecies, plus, I knew he wasn't eating or sleeping enough.

I left a note for the Stilinski's kitchen table before heading home. I needed a shower and to clean up, and thankfully I had the time. Time felt like a luxury these days, with everything I had on my plate. The shower was long and hot, as I scrubbed the dirt, grime, and stress off my body, before slipping out and wrapping myself in the fluffy towels.

I let my hair air dry as I slipped on a pair of leggings and one of Jackson's Lacrosse hoodies, sitting in front of my mirror to make sure all the old makeup was off. I carefully reapplied some new mascara and ran my fingers through my hair before heading downstairs, preheating the oven.

I was in the mood for biscuits and gravy, even though it was not breakfast time, so I got started on that as I hummed along to the music. It was bright out, bathing the kitchen in a warm glow as I worked, relaxing into the normalcy of it. It was comforting, and I needed that. I heard the door open as I was pulling the biscuits out of the oven.

"Kitchen," I called out, and soon enough Derek was sitting at the island across from me, looking ragged. "Well, don't you just look delightful." I remarked, plating some of the biscuits and gravy as well as bacon before sliding it over to him.

"Kate came and paid me a visit. Not super fun. She has a little electric thing that hurts." I pursed my lips, shaking my head.

"I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her yet," I hummed, taking a bite of the food. "What did she want?" "To interrogate me about who the Alpha was. Like Jesus, don't you think if I knew I would kill them myself.' Derek grumbled, causing me to giggle.

"Trust me, I know you would." I teased, before looking down and trying to collect myself. "Do you have any ideas though?" I asked.

"No. And I hate not knowing."

I sighed and nodded, watching him carefully. He stopped eating to look up at me, raising a brow.

"No, Cass, I don't know anything about Peter, or the prophecy, or what happened to your parents. I'm sorry. Everything must have burned or been hidden by Peter." He said, and I couldn't hide that my face fell slightly.

"It's okay. It seems like we have bigger things to worry about," I said, trying to force a smile.

"Speaking of bigger things to worry about, I want to test Scott tonight. Will you come and supervise?" Derek asked.

I hummed in response as I turned to clean up the kitchen. "When?"

"Soon. He's at the grocery store shopping for his mom."

"Stalker much?"

"Shut up Cass."

-----☾-----

A little bit later we were standing in the parking garage, hidden by the shadows as we waited for Scott.

"I just want to say, for the record, this is not the way I would be teaching or testing Scott," I mused, causing Derek to give me a glare.

"He needs to learn that this is life and death and he doesn't need distractions."

"You mean distractions like Allison."

"She's an Argent."

"She's a teenager. And I don't think she knows."

Derek went silent as my ears picked up the sound of footsteps. In the dim light I could see Scott balancing a paper bag in one hand as he tried to figure out where his car was. As he tried to click the key the milk spilled, and I watched Derek send it back under the car with three slashes before letting out a growl. It was almost comical, watching Scott take off into the parking garage, derek trailing behind him,

I carefully went to go pick up the groceries before following, listening to their rapid breathing and pounding hearts. When Scott jumped on the cars to set off the alarms I was impressed, but my pride faded as his phone started to ring.

I was basically beside Derek as he slammed Scott onto the car.

"And... you're dead." Derek stated as Scott shoved him off with a growl.

"What the hell was that?" he asked.

"I said I was gonna teach you. I didn't say when."

"You scared the crap out!" I let out a laugh, causing Scott to round on me. "And you just let him do this Cassie?" he asked, anger rising in his voice. "Okay, but I was fast, right?" he pleaded.

"Not fast enough."

"But the car alarm thing, that was smart, right?"

"Till your phone rang." I cut in.

"Yeah, but that was, I mean... Would you just stop, please! I need you to help me control this! Cassie got hit by a car the other night because I didn't do anything!" Scott yelled, stooping in place.

Derek gave me a look that screamed 'how dare you not tell me you got hit by a car' but immediately turned on Scott. "Look, I am what I am because of birth. You were bitten. Teaching someone who was bitten takes time. I don't even know if I can teach you."

"Well what do I have to do?"

"You have to get rid of distractions." He grabbed Scott's phone. "You see this? This is why I caught you. You want me to teach you? Get rid of her."

"Derek-" I tried to interject, but he gave me a glare that made me shrink back.

"What, just because of her family?"

Derek raised a brow before turning to smash the phone against the wall.

"DEREK!" I yelled.

"You getting angry? That's your first lesson. You want to learn how to control this, how to shift, you do it through anger. By tapping into a primal animal rage and you can't do that with her around."

"I can get angry." Scott interrupted.

"NOT ANGRY ENOUGH! This is the only way that I can teach you. Now can you stay away from her? At Least until after the full moon?"

"I mean I guess if I have to-"

"Do you want to live? Do you want to protect your friends? Yes or no?"

"Yes. If you can teach me, I can stay away from her!"

"Okay, then do it." Derek spat, spinning on his heel. I carefully handed Scott the bags before following behind Derek.

I wasn't mad about him not stopping me from getting hit by the car, but I was a bit irritated by the fact that he was pushing Stiles and I aside from Allison. I loved her, but we did have bigger problems.

Derek drove me home and dropped me off, the car silent for the most part.

"You got hit by a car?" He finally asked.

"It was just a little tap. I pushed the sheriff out of the way of a car backing out of the parking lot. Really, it didn't even hurt." I explained

"You're really gonna get yourself hurt one day. No self preservation."

"But you love me anyways."

"Debatable."

-----☾-----

The next day at school, I could tell Stiles was pissed at Scott before he even walked in the door. He was fiddling with his stuff, and made me sit beside him, even though I usually sit behind the pair. I felt uncomfortable in the situation, knowing I was going to be thrown in the middle regardless.

When he finally walked in Stiles gave him a glare and Scott shuffled awkwardly through the desks, going to sit beside Stiles and I.

"Still not talking to me?" He asked, and Stiles huffed, crossing his arms. He gave me a desperate look and I shrugged, mouthing 'don't involve me' before turning back to my notes. "I mean, Cassie is fine, she's just a little bruised and she seems fine. And she knows I'm sorry!"

Stiles looked at me and I gave him a similar shrug and look, still not wanting to be involved. "Okay, Stiles, what if I told you I'm trying to figure this whole thing out, and that I went to Derek for help."

I rolled my eyes, knowing Stiles' deep and deeply stupid hatred for Derek.

"If I was talking to you, I'd say that you're an idiot for trusting him. But obviously I'm not talking to you."

The bell rang and the class went silent, and I watched with a concealed grin and Stiles battled with whether or not talking to Scott was worth it. Apparently, in his brain, it was.

"What did he say?" Stiles asked, spinning in his seat. Scott grinned slightly before answering, obviously proud of himself for breaking the silence.

"He wants me to tap into my animal side and get angry." Scott whispered, and I carefully tapped the desk to get their attention.

"Shut up, talk after class." I whispered, turning to face forward. Class flew by and soon enough we were walking past the lockers towards our next class.

"That seems like a bad idea.." Stiles mused. "Usually when you tap into your angry side you try to kill someone. And that someone is usually Cassie or me."

I hummed in agreement, checking my phone as we walked. "Derek said he wasn't sure if he could teach Scott, bitten, not born. He needs to learn to control and harness the anger. Well, that's my guess at least." I said, looking over at the two boys.

"Okay, well, when are you seeing him again?" Stiles asked.

"He's picking me up at the Animal Clinic, after work." Scott explained.

"After work, alright well, that gives me until the end of the school day then."

"To do what?"

"To teach you myself."

-----☾-----

Apparently Stiles was being serious. He dragged me into the Coach's office during lunch, pulling me away from my conversation with Allison and Lydia about "The Beast of Gevaudan". The picture she showed me was not comforting, and if I had to guess, her lovely bitch of an aunt was trying to indoctrinate her into their cult of hunters.

He stole Coach's phone and a heart monitor, before dragging me back to pull Scott out to the lacrosse field. I was finally starting to put the pieces together about what Stiles' plan was, but I was excited, knowing Scott deserved some payback for getting me hit by a car.

"Does this mean you dont hate me now?" Scott asked while we walked.

"No, but your crap has infiltrated my life so now I have to do something about it." Stiles grumbled. "Plus, I'm definitely a better Yoda than Derek."

"Okay yeah, you'll be my Yoda."

"Your Yoda I will be."

"Will you two please shut up? Please." I said, pushing Scott into a kneeling position on the field. "Put this on." I said, handing him the heart monitor and digging through the bag for the rest of the things we needed.

"Isn't this one of the heart rate monitors for the track team?" Scott asked as he put it on.

Stiles and I nodded, both of us multitasking.

"We borrowed it." Stiles explained.

"Stole it?"

"Temporarily misappropriated. COach uses it to monitor his heart rate with his phone while he jogs, and you're going to wear it for the rest of the day."

"But that's the coach's phone."

"Yeah, that we stole." I cut in, bending down to duct tape his wrists as he looked at me in confusion.

"Why? What is the plan here?"

"Well, your heart rate goes up when you go wolf, right?" Stiles started to explain.

"Yeah?"

"So maybe learning to control the wolf is tied to learning to control your heart rate. So we're gonna get you angry. Like, really angry." I finished, standing up as Stiles and I backed away with the lacrosse balls and sticks.

"Just remember, don't get angry!" Stiles called as he gave me a grin, handing me one of the sticks.

"I'm starting to think this was a bad idea." Scott called, but he was cut off by Stiles nailing him in the gut with a ball. I couldn't conceal the laugh, sucking in a breath as Stiles and I shared a grin.

"Not funny you guys!" Scott wheezed, trying to straighten up again. I kept my eyes on the heart monitor in the bag, lips pursed as I slid a ball into the net and aimed. It hit Scott square in the chest, perfect aim. I guess Guardian powers made me really good at Lacrosse. Maybe Finstock would finally let me join the team.

"Okay Cassie that one kind of hurt." He whined, Stiles lining up to throw again as he talked.

"Quiet. Remember, you're supposed to be thinking about your heart rate, all right? About Staying calm." Stiles said, before launching another ball at Scott.

"Stay calm, staying calm. Staying totally calm." Scott repeated before Stiles' next shot hit him in the face.

Stiles seemed to be needing this anger release more than me so I stayed quiet, smile on my lips fading as I saw Jackson pausing by the bleachers to watch Scott get pelted. My main concern was if Scott did wolf out, I knew Jackson would want to become one too, and I simply could not handle that.

"OH! SON OF A BITCH" Scott yelled, dropping to the ground.

"You know what Cassie, I think my aim is actually improving." Stiles mused.

"Hm, I wonder WHY," Scott spat, and my eyes drifted to the heat monitor again. It was rising steadily, and I pursed my lips slightly.

"Ah, buh buh, don't get angry!" Stiles called, and I felt the air shift as Scott froze and a groan escaped his lips.

The heart monitor started beeping rapidly, and I raced over as Scott tore through the duct tape bonds. I positioned myself between Scott and Jackson, trying to will all the persuasion into my voice I could.

"Scott, I need you to calm down." I said, locking my eyes with him. He took a shuddering breath and the beeping slowly decreased, allowing Stiles to come towards us.

"You started to change." He said, kneeling down beside us

"The angrier I got, the stronger I felt."

"So Derek is right then. It is anger." I said, helping Scott to his feet.

"I can't be around Allison." Scott said.

"Because you're scared you're going to hurt her?"

"No, because she makes me weak."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "My free period is up. And unlike you too, I have things to do. Hopefully you can figure out that ditching Allison is not going to help. Okay."

I stalked off, leaving the boys with the gear as I needed into the building, incredibly irritated at Scott again.

Part of me wanted to find Jackson, or Lydia, or literally anyone who wasn't a goddam supernatural. I was exhausted, and burnt out, and frankly just in a bad mood. As much as I didn't want to go home and skip more school, I didn't want to do economics with Finstock, or sit with Scott and Stiles.

Maybe a nap would be a good thing. I wrote myself out of the office and headed home in my car, not bothering to text anyone I was going home. If I was being honest, I wanted Isaac. I wanted to hang out with someone normal and be a normal girl with crushes on normal boys with pretty blue eyes.

I hadn't even realized I was crying until I had pulled over onto the side of the road, tears streaming down my cheeks. For someone who wanted everyone to think she was fine, I needed someone. I didn't want to bother Stiles, because as much as I loved him, he was Scott's best friend first. It sounded silly, but for once I wanted someone else to care more about me.

I slammed my fist into the horn, letting out a strangled scream. The car blared and I slumped back in the seat, shaking my head. What was I doing? Having a breakdown like a scared little girl who just wanted to be loved?

Useless.

I flipped the car mirror down and fixed my makeup, pulling myself together as I restarted the car. I exhaled slowly, shaking my head and making my way back home. I hadn't heard anything from Stiles and Scott, but honestly I wasn't that surprised.

I pulled into my driveway, parking the car as I slid out and into the house, dropping my stuff by the kitchen table. I didn't bother to change, just slumping down and curling up on the couch, my eyes shutting immediately.

Unfortunately, I was woken up by the blaring sound of my phone ringing, gently tapping the answer button and holding it up to my ear.

"What?" I mumbled, irritated by being woken up.

"Cassie, I'm coming to pick you up with Scott, he has a plan to draw out the Alpha." Stiles said, and I groaned.

"Do I have to?" I asked, slowly sitting up.

"Derek beat the shit outta Scott's boss because he thought he was the Alpha. Just, I'm two minutes away, okay?"

"Fine, but you owe me." I said, sliding off the couch and heading to meet him out front. The jeep slowed to a stop and I climbed into the back, exhaling slowly. "Well, what is this fantastic plan?" "I'm going to use the intercom at the school to howl. Because, you know, wolves howl to signal their location to the rest of the pack." Scott explained, looking very proud of himself.

"And if the Alpha shows up?" I asked, rubbing my eyes tiredly.

"Then it will prove it wasnt Deaton."

I wanted to elaborate on why this was such a terrible idea, why we were bringing a psycho monster who wanted to kill us, but at this point, I didn't have the energy to argue. We slowed to a stop outside the School, and Derek met us outside, leaning against the Camaerro. Derek nodded at me and I nodded back.

"Where's my boss?" Scott asked.

"He's in the back," Derek drawled, obviously bored and irritated. I know the feeling.

"Oh, he looked comfortable."

Stiles and Scott went to walk inside, and I stayed behind. I didn't really want to end up trapped in that school. "Wait, what are you doing?" Derek asked, looking between the boys and me.

"You said I was linked to the Alpha. I'm gonna see if you're right."

Derek gave me a look like 'why did you let them do this?'

I shrugged, letting out a sigh. But before I could answer, I was cute off my a shrill and quite embarrassing howl echoing through the speakers. I stifled a laugh and Derek looked incredibly disappointed.

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Don't look at me. You're the teacher." I joked, leaning beside him against the car.

I flinched as a true howl echoed through the air, shivers rasing on my spine.

"That was better." I said, shaking slightly. Derek exhaled slowly, shaking his head.

The boys walked out, looking triumphant. That triumphant look faded at the anger on Derekes face.

"I'm gonna kill both of you! What the hell was that? What are you trying to do, attract the entire state to the school?"

"Sorry, I didn't know it would be that loud."

"Yeah, it was loud and it was AWESOME!" Stiles interjected.

"Shut up" Derek and I chorused in unison.

"Don't be such a sour wolf." Stiles grumbled, but then every nerve on my body felt like it was on fire, and a low growling rumbled through the air.

"What did you do with him?" Scott asked, and Dereked looked at him confused. "My boss, what did you do with him?"

"We didn't touch him!" Derek said, his voice rising.

Suddenly the sound of nails digging into skin filled the air and Derek was lifted off the ground, blood spurting from his chest and from his mouth. I felt a scream get ripped from my lips as I moved to run to him, towards the Alpha, but I was dragged away by Stiles and Scott into the school, kicking and screaming.

"LET ME HELP HIM! LET ME GO!" I screamed, and Stiles' hand covered my mouth and Scott held the door.

"He's gone Cassie, leave him!"