Samantha's heart beat wildly in her chest as she now had both hands on the back of Derek's head and neck, feeling like she couldn't get close enough to him.
He still had one hand on her bare back, and the other was now tangled in her hair.
Both of them entirely absorbed in the other, and oblivious to the world around them, or they were until they both heard a gasp.
Quickly pulling back and breaking the kiss, Samantha looked past Derek to where her mom and brother were standing in her doorway.
"Gross." Jacob breathed out as he shook his head and walked away, trying to get the image of his sister making out with a guy, out of his head.
"Uh..." Sam stuttered out as she looked between Derek and her mom.
"Your brother said you were sick..." Amanda said, not able to hide the look of shock on her face.
"I was... but I'm all better." She said, with a nervous laugh.
"Yeah, I can see that." She responded as she shook her head back and forth.
She frowned, it wasn't like her and Samantha had an open relationship and talked about her love life. But she felt like that was only because Sam didn't have a love life.
She went to school, then work and came home.
Like she always had, she'd never had to worry about Sam before.
"Derek just came to check on me..." She continued to nervously ramble.
"I didn't know you had a boyfriend." Amanda said, causing her daughters entire face to turn bright red.
"Mom!" she yelled as she scooted back more and hung her head.
In the intensity of the moment she'd had with Derek, and now scooting backwards on the bed her blanket had slid down enough to reveal Samantha's pink bra.
"Oh my god... and you're in your bra..." Amanda exclaimed as she diverted her eyes and looked side-to-side, not sure what to do.
Sam gasped and quickly motioned for her mom to get out of her room.
The next few moments flew by in a blur as she jumped off her bed, pulled some clothes on and practically pulled Derek down the stairs and out the front door, mumbling that she'd see him the next day.
~()~
Later that night, Sam was sitting at the table talking to her mom and brother as they ate a pizza they'd ordered.
"So..." Amanda said, as she looked at her teenage daughter.
"So..." Sam responded, not making eye contact.
Jacob looked between his sister and mom, his mouth slightly open as he was dying to ask a question.
After a few moments passed, he scooted up to the edge of his seat and excitedly asked, "Did he really kill those people?"
Sam's eyes widened and her mom asked, "What are you talking about?"
"Derek Hale... the guy in Sam's room." He finished his sentence with a disgusted look on his face.
When they both shot him an even more confused look he shrugged and said, "They had wanted posters of him everywhere, even at my school."
"Samantha?" Amanda asked as she looked at her in shock.
"He didn't kill anyone." She assured her family.
Jacob shrugged as he grabbed another slice of pizza, "He's scary, he looks like he could be a killer."
"He isn't!" Sam argued, shooting her brother a warning look.
After instructing her son to take his plate and finish dinner in the living room, Amanda stared at her daughter for a few moments before she said.
"Is something going on, Sam?"
"What do you mean?" Sam asked. She knew how bad it looked with her family walking in on her and Derek kissing, and even worse when her mom had seen she was only in her bra and underwear.
But what could she say? It's not like she could explain that Derek had saved her life.
"I'm happy you've got friends now, Sam. I really am, but I'm worried about the type of friends you've got."
"There is nothing wrong with my friends." She defended, growing a little angry that her mom was judging them.
"I don't... I don't normally approach you about things. You've been taking care of yourself since you were a child and I trust you. But I have been noticing things... like you're friend Isaac. That same day he was here for breakfast he'd gotten arrested for his father's murder." She explained, not wanting to start a fight.
"He didn't kill his dad, it's a misunderstanding."
"He's still on the run from the police isn't he?" She pushed, knowing her daughter was holding something back from her.
Sam angrily shook her head back and forth, trying hard not to snap at her.
"I just... i want you to be really careful. I think this is a really dangerous slope you're on." She warned.
"Dangerous slope?" Sam shot her a questioning look.
Pushing her plate away, Amanda admitted, "When I met your father, he had a criminal background... an arrest record. But in the beginning he was nothing but flowers and charm. I thought I knew him, but I was wrong."
Her stomach turned and she pushed her own plate with a half-eaten slice of pizza away from her, unable to stomach any more food.
The one thing they never talked about in her house was her father.
In fact, they all collectively tried their best to forget he'd even existed.
The anger faded and Sam nodded, now understanding why her mom was so upset about everything.
"I get it, I know why you're worried. But you don't need to be... I can take care of myself and my friends are great." She tried to assure her.
"And Derek?" Amanda asked.
"He's, uh... he's really great too." She said, her lips curving up into a smile as she thought about him.
"Just be careful. You never truly know someone else." Amanda left her daughter with one last cautionary warning as she headed up to shower before going in her room for the night.
~(The next morning)~
"Sam, can I use your computer? The printer downstairs is out of ink and I have to print my science report." Jacob said as opened the door and walked into his sisters room.
"You didn't knock." Sam complained as she looked at him from their reflection in her mirror as she paused putting her eyeliner on to shoot him a disappointed look.
His eyes met hers in the reflection, widening slightly, before he looked around the room to make sure she was alone.
"But yes, you can use my computer." She nodded before applying the rest of her eyeliner.
When she looked over, there were pictures of all different kinds of snakes pulled up on her computer.
"Ew... what are you looking at?" She questioned.
"The pictures for my report, I did it over venomous snakes." He explained as he started to print off the documents.
"That is disgusting Jake." Sam complained with a wrinkled nose.
"No. Snakes are so cool, especially the venomouss ones. Did you know that a snake can't be poisoned by it's own venom?" He asked as he shoved the freshly printed pages into a folder in his book bag.
She stared at him, "What did you just say?"
"Uh... a snake isn't affected by its own venom..." He repeated, not sure what had gotten her attention.
"Jake... you are a genius!" She exclaimed as she picked up her bag and nodded for him to follow her to the bus stop.
Since her car was still at school from the lacrosse game, she was going to have to take the bus.
~(After school)~
"You're late." Derek said as Sam stepped off the last stair and onto the cement ground in his hideout.
She watched as he effortlessly tossed Isaac onto the ground when his beta made a run for him.
"I know, sorry. I had to stop and get a new phone." She explained. Her other one had fell into the bathtub when she'd blacked out.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, glad to see she looked much better than the day before.
"I'm okay, much better. Thanks to you..." She said, her cheeks darkening as she remembered their kiss.
Out of the corner of her eyes she caught Erica shooting her a curious expression, wondering what had happened.
Before the moment could get anymore awkward she said, "I think I know a way that we can figure out who the kanima is."
"How?" Derek asked at the same time Isaac said, "That's great."
"My brother is doing this science project on venomous snakes... he said that a snake isn't affected by it's own venom!" She excitedly exclaimed.
"I don't understand..." Erica admitted.
"I get it. We can test people with the kanima's venom. If they're paralyzed from it then they're not the kanima." Boyd chimed in nodding.
"This might really work." Derek agreed, giving Sam a small smile before his face went back to his normal serious expression.
"How are we going to get the venom from this thing without getting killed?" Isaac asked.
"The night after it attacked us at the school, I went back and got this." Derek said as he held up a small clear bottle with a thick, clear substance inside.
"Is that..." Isaac's voice trailed off.
Derek nodded, "Now we just need to figure out who we're going to test."
After a few moments of silence he said, "Jackson."
He'd bitten Jackson, and it had appeared like not much had happened to him.
Other than when Derek and Sam discovered that his body was fighting the effects of the bite.
"Okay, so we grab Jackson while he's human. But if we test him and he is the kanima, then what do we do?" Boyd questioned.
When no one said it out loud, Isaac knew that meant they'd have to kill him.
"It's not like anyone is going to miss him." Isaac pointed out.
He tilted his head sideways to try and read the expression on Sam's face.
"We'll do what we have to." Sam nodded.
"Perfect, I'll go drag his ass here." Erica announced as she started to walk away from the group but Derek stopped her.
"Sam can do it."
She looked at him wide eyed; he normally sent Erica or Boyd off to do what needed to be done.
It wasn't that he trusted them more, it was a matter of thinking they'd be more suited and capable of not letting emotions get in the way.
"I, uh..." Sam stuttered out.
Sure, she didn't particularly like Jackson Whittemore, but she also didn't want to be the one responsible for dragging him to his possible death.
"If you can handle it." Derek spoke seeing her hesitation.
Her eyes met his and she realized this was not only a test to see if she'd meant what she said, but it was also Derek trying to give her a chance.
To show her that he trusted her, which for him wasn't something he gave way easily.
"Okay." She said, eyeing her pack one last time before leaving.
~()~
Sam walked into the boys locker room in search of Jackson she saw him lying on a weight lifting bench struggling as he tried to lift the bar.
She walked closer and stared down at him, his eyes were pinned shut as he fought to get the bar off of his chest before it crushed him.
Reaching a hand out, she lifted the bar and sat it down in its brackets.
Breathing a sigh of relief he said, "Thanks." Thinking it was Danny coming from the shower to check on him.
"Don't mention it." Sam simply responded, and almost laughed when his eyes opened with a shocked expression.
"What are you..." He started to ask what she was doing there, but she pulled him up from the bench and slammed him against the lockers.
"You're going to come with me." She explained as she grabbed his sleeve and started to pull him from the room.
"What's going on?" He asked, nervously. She'd effortlessly lifted a weight that was about to kill him, he knew he'd have to go along with whatever she said.
"Derek wants to see you." She responded as she pushed him into the passenger seat of her car.
"What? Why?" He asked, growing more uncomfortable by the second.
"Jackson..."
"What?" He gulped.
"Shut up."
He swallowed hard and looked out of the window as she drove them to Derek's hideout.
Once there, she had to pretty much drag him down the stairs too.
Jackson looked around the abandoned underground subway stop, before his gaze stopped on Derek who was holding a piece of broken mirror in his hands.
Isaac walked over and helped Sam hold Jackson still.
"What happened to you on the night of the full moon?" Derek asked, looking up to them.
"What..." Jackson breathed out. Then he realized what he'd said and snapped, "Nothing. Nothing happened."
"You're lying." Derek stated.
Seeing Derek pulling on a pair of leather gloves he nervously tried to break away from the beta wolves hold on him, but it was useless.
"Wait, wait. I can prove it. I taped myself." He admitted.
With the broken glass shard and gloves, Jackson could only guess Derek was going to kill him.
Isaac laughed, "You taped yourself."
"Yes, it was the full moon. And maybe while you were curled up in the corner having an existential crisis about turning into a monster; I was preparing for this so-called gift your big, bad alpha promised me. But what did I get? Nothing!" Jackson angrily yelled.
Seeing their disbelieving expressions he sighed, "You want proof? Let me get the video."
Pretending to give the idea some thought, Derek paused before saying "No. no, I have a better idea."
The ceiling lights gleamed on the reflective surface of the mirror, as Derek tilted it towards Jackson.
Isaac and Sam forced Jackson down to the floor until he was on his knees.
As Isaac pulled down on his chin, forcing him to keep his mouth open Derek slowly approached them as he taunted, "You know Jackson, you've always been kind of a snake. And everyone knows, a snake can't be poisoned by its own venom."
Once a small drop of the kanima venom fell into Jackson's mouth, he started making choking noises. Letting go of him, Sam and Isaac walked over to stand by Derek as they watched Jackson fall to the floor and stare up at them with terror in his eyes.
Seeing the reaction he was having, Derek sighed as he walked back over to him and knelt down. "You're still a snake, Jackson. Just not the one we're looking for."
Sam stood back and watched as Isaac told Jackson he had to recount his statement to the police, say that he lied and hadn't seen Isaac and his dad arguing before the murder.
Getting the charges dropped were the only way Isaac would stop being a fugitive and be able to return to his normal life.
~(The next morning)~
After seeing her mom off to work and practically chasing her little brother out the door so he wouldn't miss his bus, Samantha headed up to her room to grab the last of her things before school.
"H-hey." She stuttered out, caught off guard when she saw Derek in her room.
She glanced to the floor for a moment thinking how out of place he looked with her purple walls and pink champagne colored bed set.
"I'm glad I caught you before you left for school. There's something I need you to do." He explained as watched her closely.
"Oh..." She breathed out, glancing down to the floor.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing... I just thought maybe you were here to talk about something else." She admitted, not taking her eyes off the carpet.
A smile toyed at the corner of his lips, he knew what she meant.
But at the moment, there was a more pressing issue, he needed someone to test Lydia Martin with the kanima venom.
When he continued, she thought maybe he didn't hear her or was even possibly choosing to ignore her.
"Right now, there are only two people I can think of who might be the kanima, and since Jackson passed our test. That leaves Lydia." He explained.
It felt like all the air had been knocked out of her lungs as she stared back at him shocked.
"Lydia? Lydia Martin? Are you joking?" She managed to speak after a few moments of practically tripping over her own tongue.
"She is the only other one who's been bitten and didn't turn." He reminded her.
"Yeah, but don't you think if she was going to shape-shift into anything it would be like... a butterfly or something?" Sam called out frantically, "I cannot imagine her turning into the kanima."
Derek gave her an unamused look.
Sam thought back to the things Lydia had been telling her.
Vivid nightmares, not aware of what she was doing in her sleep.
Maybe the kanima really could be Lydia.
"What am I supposed to do? Grab her, terrify her and drag her to the subway car? She doesn't know about any of this stuff." Sam reasoned, hoping he'd change his mind.
"Which is why you need to find a way to slip her some of this." He said as he held up a small glass bottle with a dropper top, containing a small amount of the kanima venom.
"What am I supposed to do when she starts having a reaction to it?" She asked, throwing her hands out to the side in frustration.
"You mean if she has a reaction." He clarified.
"No, I mean when. It's not her." Sam tried to defend, but she wasn't sure herself.
She really didn't want it to be Lydia.
Picking her purse up off her desk, Derek dropped the glass bottle in and handed it to her.
Slowly she pulled the strap on her shoulder and nodded.
"I work tonight and I can't miss my shift again. So... if it is her, I can't help with anything else." She swallowed hard as she spoke.
"All I need you to do is test her. I'll take care of the rest."
Sam started to turn and leave but Derek stopped her, "Sam, I know you consider her a friend. The only reason I'm asking you to test her, is because you're the closest one to her and it will be easier."
After another small pause she asked, "Is this the only thing you wanted to ask me about?"
When he didn't say anything she checked the time on her new phone and said, "I'd better get going."
"You need to understand the dangers, Sam." He called after her.
"Huh?" She turned back to face him with a confused expression.
"If we go there, it could make things even more dangerous on you. The Argents' want revenge for Kate's death and they want to take it out on me." He reminded her.
Her eye-shadow shimmered under the ceiling light in her room as she took a few steps closer to him, "They've already declared war on all of us."
Shaking his head back and forth, he stressed, "Some of them will stop at nothing to get to me. No matter who they have to torture or kill along the way. They're ruthless."
"I understand." She said.
Her voice sounded sure but she wasn't looking him in the eyes.
Walking back up to her, he gently took hold of her chin and tilted her head up so she'd look at him.
"People around me always seem to get hurt."
"I don't care."
Letting out a small sigh and letting her process everything he was saying he continued, "People who are close to me die, Sam."
His mind flashed back to all of the loss he'd suffered in his life.
Most of it, in one way or another he could take the blame for.
He cared about Sam, and he wanted her as more than just a pack member. But he didn't want her to end up hurt, or worse.
The corners of her mouth angled down as she saw the look of sadness in his eyes. She didn't know much about his past, but she knew he'd lost almost his entire family in a house fire set by hunters.
As much as his expression pained her, her heart was also beating wildly in her chest.
He was putting the ball in her court, leaving the decision up to her.
Whether or not they entered into a relationship was entirely her choice.
All she had to do was decide; was being with him important enough to her that she'd risk her life for it?
Maybe the decision should have been harder than it was, but it seemed easy enough at the time as she looked at him.
"I'm not scared." She answered simply.
When he opened his mouth to say something, she cut him off.
"I want this..." She explained, motioning between the two of them.
She stepped closer, her hand found his at their sides, fingers intertwining.
"I want you." She whispered.
Leaning in farther she tried to kiss him, but he pulled back some as he quietly said, "I was only trying to protect you."
Their eyes met and for a few brief moments it felt like her heart had stopped beating.
But once their lips met, it was like an explosion inside of her chest.
It was crazy how just a single touch; his lips brushing against hers could make her entire body feel like it was buzzing.
She was happy.
Happy that not only were their feelings were out in the open, but possibly even more so at how she'd stood up and went for what she wanted.
There was no shying back this time and waiting on him to make the first move.
It might not have happened as quickly as he'd promised when he gave her the bite.
But it was happening, she was changing. Growing the confidence and self-assurance that she'd always envied in other people.
~()~
A/N- Thank you all for reading! I really hope you all enjoyed the chapter. ^_^