Innocence & Instinct

Part 4 revelation

I was sitting in my room reading and listening to the radio,

When Scott came in. He said, "We need to talk."

I looked up, and he asked, "How do you know about hunters?"

"Scott, please. I don't want to talk about this."

Scott's POV

I heard Anna's heartbeat accelerate.

I looked at her and said, "Anna, I'm sorry. But I need to know."

I watched her take a deep breath and let it out shakily, and she said, "Okay."

I watched as she closed her eyes and began, "I know about them because they killed my boyfriend." When she opened her eyes the shattered look on her face broke my heart. I reached out my hand and held hers.

I asked her, "Was he a werewolf?" She shook her head and said, "He was attacked while protecting me one night, when we were out in this wooded area, laying on a blanket under the stars fooling around.

It was my fault. He covered me with his body when the wolf went to attack me."

 "Anna, it wasn't your fault. He loved you."

"His name was Josh. And, he had the prettiest blue eyes. They sparkled when he smiled. And his laugh always made my heart melt."

As we talked, she started smiling, and a dreamy, faraway look came over her.

After a while, she tensed up and said, "That night, we had gone to the movies, and we stopped by our spot and were fooling around when we heard a noise. And when we looked up, there was this huge wolf. It leaped at us, and he put his body over mine.

It bit him and then out of nowhere, a woman and two men showed up, and it ran off. They took off after it and we got the hell out of there. And went to the ER and they cleaned it and wrapped it up. We filed a report, and we thought it was over. But we were wrong. We were wrong in a big way. The bite was gone the next day. And Josh said he started feeling different. And a few days later, a guy showed up while we were hanging out and told us that he was a werewolf and that Josh was becoming one. We laughed it off at first. I mean, it's crazy, right? Werewolves are not real. But then his eyes changed and we knew it was true." I watched as she told her story, tears rolling down her cheeks. As soon as one fell, it was quickly replaced by another.

Anna seemed to pale even more, and in a trembling voice, she said,

"Do you remember when I was kidnapped?"

"Yeah, me and mom were scared. So, this is when it happened?"

"Yeah. The same people showed back up about 10 days after the attack. We were at his home. His parents were out and we were just watching a movie when they busted in the door and grabed us. I don't know what happened next. But the next thing, I knew I'm somewhere else and my head hurt. And Josh is tied up and that woman is asking who the Alpha is. And he told her he didn't know. She stabbed him and I started screaming and started crying and begging for her to stop. And she walked over to me, laughing and said, "I'm just getting started." And she started kicking me, hard. I could hear Josh yelling for her to stop and everything went dark. And I woke up and found out that I was alone and when I tried to set up I realized had been stabbed and I had a flashback of that woman laughing as she dug around in me with her fingers  . Josh was dead, and still hanging on the wall. I climbed the stairs and walked for a long time until I saw a house. And I walked to the door and knocked and an old couple answered the door. They took one look at me and my busted, swollen lip, the cuts and other bruises and me holding my stomach and the blood, my red eyes from crying and let me in and called an ambulance and the cops."

I swallowed thickly, "How did you explain everything?"

Hesitantly, she said, "I didn't. Not really. I couldn't tell them about werewolves. They would think that I was crazy. So, I lied. I told them a woman and two men busted into the house and kidnapped us. And they killed Josh. When they asked if I knew what they wanted, I said no. That I was out most of the time. And my injuries and the damage done to the house backed up my story. I gave them a description of our attackers and went home. That was a year and a half ago. It's funny how 12 hours can change your life forever."

I got up to leave after Anna finished her story. But she stopped me and asked, "Please, don't tell anyone?" I smiled weakly and said, "I won't." And turned to leave.

Anna's POV

Not long after he left, I felt like I  had to get out of the house. It's was too confining. I needed air. Without knowing where I'm going, I get into my car and drive. I found myself at the old Hale house and I headed out to the little stream that's not far from the house. I'd found it when I was looking for Lydia.  I knew I was trespassing but , I didn't care. As soon as I got there, I could feel the tension seep out of me and the quiet beauty calms my overwrought nerves.

Derek's POV

I heard her pull up and as soon as she got out of her car. I could tell she was a wreck and her heart was beating way too fast. Her breath was coming in short gasps and she was fighting for control.

I watched as she headed to the woods, almost running, seeking solitude, peace and quiet.

Maybe I understood her because, like me, she was broken.

I followed her to make sure she was okay. At least, that was what I told myself. I wanted to be near her to understand her.

The instant she reached the little stream, she sank to the ground and let out a sob, then she seemed to calm down and find - well not really peace - but control.

After a while, I walked out of the trees. I knew the second she felt my presence she became alarmed and her heart rate increased.

I said, "Hey, sorry if I scared you." I could tell she was hypersensitive. That her nerves were pulled to the limit. She had more control than before, but she was still in turmoil.

I sat down, becoming less threating. And she seemed to breathe easier. We sat in silence for several minutes, letting her set the pace. She looked at me and said, "I'm sorry. I know that I'm trespassing, but," She left the words hanging in the air. I smiled at her and said, "It's okay. Are you alright?"

She said, "No. But I will be. I just need - actually - I'm not sure what I need." She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. As if she could keep from falling apart, if she held on tight enough.

w set like this for hours in the silence listing to the night sounds around us.