For There Was One

The Tell (or Reasons not to like P/T Interviews)

"Why the hell can't I just go home? I'm fine." That was definitely the voice of Jackson Whittemore. Derek had arrived at Rose's house a few minutes ago saying there had been another killing and had dragged her, without much difficulty, with him to the scene of the murder.

"I hear ya, but the EMT says you hit your head pretty hard. They just wanna make sure you don't have a concussion." That was the Sheriff, using what Rose thought of as his' be patient with the victim' voice.

"What part of "I'm fine" are you having a problem grasping? Okay, I wanna go home," Jackson continued to rant, even as Lydia stayed curled up in a shock blanket, not reacting to very much around her.

"And I understand that -"

"No, you don't understand, which kind of blows my mind, since it should be a pretty basic concept to grasp for a minimum - wage rent - a - cop like you! Okay, now, I wanna go home!" Stiles had obviously had enough of Jackson shouting at his father because he got out the car and exclaimed loudly,

"Oh, whoa, is that a dead body?!" The Sheriff shout him an unimpressed look but quickly moved everyone back so that the stretcher could come through. From the roof of Video 2*C the two werewolves watched as the limp body of an employee was wheeled out of the store.

"I don't understand," Rose said quietly, not wishing to be heard and caught in an awkward position near a crime scene. "These aren't just random attacks, or Jackson and Lydia would be dead as well. But why? Werewolves don't just go on random killing sprees, do we?" She looked up at Derek, who was standing above her.

"No," he said, remembering what his mother had told him when he was younger. "We're predators; we don't have to be killers."

"Then why is the Alpha killing?" Rose asked uncertainly.

"That's what we're gonna find out," Derek told her, moving away from the edge of the roof. He had seen all he needed to, there was no point in them getting caught lurking about.

~{•.•}~

"So much for focusing on finishing high school" Rose muttered to herself, staring out the window as Derek drove her back home. She could see his reflection raise an eyebrow, but she ignored him, instead asking,

"Is there any way you can find the Alpha? If not by sight, by scent or something?"

"His human scent could be entirely different," Derek said, sounding frustrated by that information even as he said it. "It has to be you. You have a connection with him, a link. We may be able to use that so you can find him." Rose turned to look at the other werewolf,

"Might be able? There seem to be a lot of unknowns about this," she commented.

"Usually the link is between betas to their alpha, I don't know if it will work without you accepting him as your Alpha."

"What would happen if I did that?" Rose asked, slightly wary of the answer.

"You might have no choice but to follow his orders, even if it meant killing."

"I thought you might say that," Rose grumbled. "But once I've found him, you can stop him?" she asked. Derek shook his head,

"Not alone," he told her, "we're stronger in numbers. A pack makes the individual more powerful." Rose blanched, feeling slightly disgusted.

"Which is why he bit me, why the Alpha wanted me to... the... on the bus..." she stammered out.

"Yeah," Derek said quietly, understanding what she was trying to ask and feeling slightly for the other werewolf that had been thrust into the situation she had not asked for.