After she was released from the hospital, Ansley was kept on strict lockdown by her mother who took the next couple days off, even though she kept insisting that she was fine. On the third day, her mom had to return back to work, giving Ansley the chance to do what she had been wanting to do since Scott told her that Derek was back in town. Once her mom left for work, and Scott left for school, She grabbed her keys and went out to her car, driving the all too familiar route to the Hale House. She wasn't sure that he would even be at the house since it was partially burnt and held the memories of losing all of his family.
As she pulled up to the large house, she smiled at the sight of a black Camaro parked in front of the house. She parked beside it and got out of the car, quietly shutting the door behind her. She had started to notice her senses becoming stronger, being able to smell the squirrel that she could hear running through the woods, but there was no noise coming from the house. She walked up to the porch, looking through the broken windows for any signs that Derek might be inside. She had her hand on the door knob to open it when she heard the quick, but quiet footsteps come up behind her. She turned around to see her childhood best friend staring at her in shock.
Ansley didn't say anything as she ran to him, tears falling to her cheeks at everything that was happening. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. He didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around her, hugging her back. They stood like that for many moments before she heard Derek take a deep breath. "What are you doing here? I thought you were out of state for college?" Derek pulled back to look at her, his eyes holding the pain that she could only guess that he was feeling.
"I moved back about a week ago," she told him, looking down.
"Please tell me what I smell is just from your brother," his voice was just a whisper as he gently lifted her chin to meet her eye.
Ansley shook her head. "I was in the woods with him the same night. I fell down a hill and it bit me when I hit a tree." Derek wrapped his arms around her again. "Do you know who it is?"
"No," Derek told her. "Whoever it was lured Laura in to take the power from her. You fight his call. You do not have to kill with him, you have a choice."
"What?" She muttered as she looked up at him again. "What are you talking about?"
"Scott didn't tell you?" Derek asked her.
"No, he hasn't really told me much of anything."
"You haven't felt a draw towards someone? Maybe even wake up in the woods?" Derek watched her, taking her confusion as a sort of relief.
Ansley shook her head again. "No, I haven't. Should I be?"
Derek watched her for another moment. "Sometimes an alpha will make its betas kill before it will allow them to become part of its pack. You either kill, or it will kill you. Scott has been fighting it."
"I haven't felt anything," she told him. What looked like fear crossed his face as his hand started to feel down your arm. "I'm not dying. The bite has already healed and I feel fine."
"Good," Derek said as he released a breath that neither of them realized he was holding. "What are you doing tonight?"
"Tonight?" Ansley asked him, confused.
"Tonight is the full moon," Derek told her. "I will help you if you would like. Your brother doesn't seem too keen on the idea though."
Ansley nodded. It was just like her brother to not understand the full picture or listen to the people who know what is going on. "Please, I'd rather not join a pack when I don't know who the alpha is."
Derek gave her a small nod. "Can you do me a favor? Try to stop Scott from going to that party tonight."
"I'll try," she told him. "How can I get a hold of you?" She felt his hand slip into her jacket pocket and pull out her phone.
"I do have a cell phone," he said with a smirk. He opened her phone, inputting his contact in it. "If you need me, for absolutely any reason, call me." His smirk disappeared, replaced with a serious but sincere expression.
"I will," she said, giving him another hug. "I should get back before Scott gets out of school."
"Be careful," he said before allowing her to get into her car and leaving.
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Ansley had gotten home only a couple minutes before Scott was dropped off by Stiles. She had just placed her purse in her room when she heard the door of the jeep slam shut and she went downstairs to meet him at the door. "How was school?" She asked him as he walked through the door.
"It was fine," he told her as he started to make his way up the stairs.
"Hey, I need to talk to you," she said, putting her arm out in front of him. "You can't be going to that party tonight."
"And why can't I? You're not my mom," Scott snapped at her.
"Because the full moon is tonight, Scott. I don't think you want to go around killing people do you?" She snapped right back at him. "I know the alpha is trying to get you to kill. If you don't control yourself tonight, you will kill."
"Why do you smell like Derek?" he asked her, changing the subject. "Did he get to you already?"
"You're not my dad," Ansley retorts, rolling her eyes. "And maybe he has gotten to me, maybe I know from experience. I'm not going to force you to do anything, but you really need to understand that Derek isn't the bad guy here." She turned, heading up the stairs to her room and slamming the door for emphasis.
"He's just as stubborn as you were," a voice from behind her caused her to jomp.
"Derek," she shrieked. "Don't sneak up on me like that."
"You should have already known I was in here," he told her with a frown.
"I have a lot on my mind right now." She sat down on her bed, looking up at the man who she hadn't seen in years. She couldn't deny that age did him well.
"Push that all back right now, focus on getting through tonight," he tells her. They heard the slam of the front door, causing Ansley to let out a loud sigh. "I will take care of him. You accepting my help will allow me to do that."
She looked up at Derek, the creases in her face showing the stress she had gone through since he had last seen her. She was about to say something when there was a loud knock at the door. She looked at Derek confused before standing and opening her bedroom door. There stood Stiles, looking as if he had just run from his house. "We need to stop Scott." A confused look crossed his face when he saw Derek standing in her room. "What is he doing here?"
"He's here to keep me from killing people. You remember I got bit the same night as Scott right?" She asks him as she crosses her arms.
"Right, but how do you know him? You know he could be the alpha right?" a small growl of frustration came from Derek.
"I know him better than you may think, and I know that I can trust him. You go stop Scott. I'm going to go and try not to kill anyone," Ansley looked towards the window, the sun beginning to set. "Go, now." Stiles nodded before he took off back out of the house, going wherever to try to stop her brother.
Ansley turned to Derek. "How should I do this?" She asked him quietly.
Derek watched her for a moment, impressed by the fact that she hasn't shown any difficulty from the full moon yet. Although he did always remember her to always be the calm, level headed of their small friend group. "The root cellar at the house. I can lock you in one of the rooms down there. That's where mom would take us when we couldn't control it." He lifted his hand to her cheek, caressing it softly. "I'm sorry that this happened to you."
Ansley shook her head, "You had no control over this, there is no reason for you to be sorry." She didn't move away from his touch, instead, she leaned into it. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Derek wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close, placing a kiss to her forehead.
"We should get going. If you start to feel the moon's effects, tell me," he said before he led her out of the house.
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Derek drove her back to his old family house. As they grew closer, Ansley started to feel the moon's effect trying to take hold of her. "Derek," she muttered as what seemed like a wave of anger washed over her.
He looked over at her, seeing gold trying to take over her eyes. "Hold on, Ann," he told her as he put his car in park. She sat still, not trusting herself to get out of the car on her own, not wanting to lose what little control she still had. Derek quickly went around and opened her door, taking her hands into his. "Look at me. Keep holding my hand. Keep remembering the feeling of my hand in yours," he instructed her. She did as he told, holding his hand tightly in hers as she allowed him to guide her out of the car. Derek kept hold of her as he led her to the back of the house, down to the old root cellar. He could feel how tense she was, how hard she was now fighting to stay in control. Once they were down into the basement, he took her into one of the rooms that still had a strong locking door. Laying on the ground near the back of the room was a set of chains with cuffs at the ends.
"I want to use them too," Ansley finally spoke.
She gritted her teeth as she walked over to them with Derek. The longer she held off the change, the worse it felt. Derek picked up one of the shackles and looked at her again, wanting her to be sure. After she gave him a nod, he locked the cuff around her wrist. He noticed the blood that was dripping from her clenched fist, quickly grabbing the other shackle and locking it on her other wrist.
"Don't fight it," he told her as he took a step back. He watched as she let go of her control, allowing transformation to take over. Her brown eyes were overtaken with a strange mix of yellow on the inside and blue on the outside. She lurched forwards, her normally perfectly manicured nails were replaced with claws that came very close to Derek's face. He took another step back, not wanting to leave her on her own. "I will be back as soon as I can. If you need me, call." He watched her for a couple moments longer before leaving the room, locking the door behind him.
Ansley let out a growl as the final bit of her control slipped away when Derek was out of her sight. She pulled against the chains, causing the cuffs to dig into her wrists. She didn't stop trying to escape as the moon rose outside.