┌─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───┐
prologue!
└─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───┘

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

THE STORY STARTS with Vera dying.

She's trembling, scarcely aware of anything except the fiery pain emitting from her abdomen that spreads searing agony to the rest of her body. Blood is everywhere. It's on her hands from when she had instinctively put pressure on her wounds, soaking her shirt and causing it to stick to her skin, and pooling around her in a dark crimson puddle.

The lights above her flicker in and out of focus. They grow soft and then switch to a blinding, searing substance that makes her brain whirl in confusion. She doesn't remember when she'd collapsed, but now her head is resting against something cold and hard and it hurts, too. Her eyes blink blearily up at the ceiling as she tries to make sense of what's happening to her. It's like she no longer has control over her body. A silent scream keeps her mouth open, breaths shallow because each rattling inhale sends a fresh wave of anguish flooding through her body until she feels like she's drowning in it.

Vera knows that, if she's this far past crying or making any noise, two things are possible. The more optimistic one is that she's in shock.

The worse option — and one she fears is true — is that she's dying.

"Vera!" Derek's voice cries, sounding far away and distorted like he's shouting from underwater. Her ears don't seem to be working right. Where noises should be sharp and clear in the cavernous space they're in, she finds them nearly incomprehensible as they reverberate through her skull like shockwaves.

She winces as she's picked up off of the ground and cradled in someone's burly arms. The world swirls together and churns her gut, making her throbbing head bob forward as if trying to rid itself of the building nausea in her system. Another slow blink and she's staring up at Derek's slightly fuzzy face. Though she tries, she can't get him to stay in focus. His pale green eyes gaze down at her with concern and fear. The dark goatee lining his jaw is a mere shadow against his face, the details of his angular face unclear.

"Stay with me," he begs, shaking her slightly when her eyelids droop for a little too long. She can't help it; the urge to fall asleep is dragging her under its clutches. It's an irresistible pull that demands attention.

"Derek," Scott chokes out from somewhere behind him. Vera can't see the boy, but she's conscious enough to register the tightness in his tone like he's on the verge of either crying or going into a full-blown panic.

The Alpha ignores the Beta. One of his large, warm hands slips into her bloody palm and grips onto it tight enough to make her heave a strangled gasp at his werewolf strength. A few seconds tick by. Derek grunts as her agony transfers to him, granting her a few tranquil, blissful seconds where she can linger in the peaceful in-between state of being awake and asleep. It's almost nice. She could just close her eyes and drift off to a comforting slumber...

"Hey." Someone slaps her cheeks lightly, their touch dry and warm compared to her sweat-soaked face and causing her to blink her eyes open with a grunt of discontent. Allison? "Keep your eyes open, okay?"

"We have to get her to the hospital," Lydia advises in a wavering tone. All of her joy from seeing Jackson alive has vanished, replaced by terror at the fact she might watch her classmate die.

It's Peter who's brave enough to say, "I don't think she'd make it that far."

"Not helping, Peter," Derek mumbles in a strained tone as he continues to take her pain, followed by his gasp as he releases his grip on her hand.

The pain barrels into Vera like a freight train. She feels the effects of the claws that had dug deep into her abdomen and slashed, tearing her skin and internal organs to the point where she wonders if she'll ever heal. And if these are her final moments...

Vera sucks in a sharp breath through her mouth and grabs Derek's hand with newfound strength. He tilts his chin to look at her, cradling her tightly in his arms like she's the baby sister he's always seen her as. She hasn't seen him cry since he'd found her again after Laura had been killed. Now there's silver lining his eyes, and she just knows. She knows she isn't going to make it.

They've won. Gerard's body has rejected the bite, Jackson is no longer the kanima that had done this to her, and everyone else is fairly safe.

Her lips form words, but it takes a few seconds for her to actually make sounds. "Let me go."

"No," Derek protests vehemently, shaking his head. His eyebrows pinch together like he can't fathom the idea— like the possibility of her not making it out of this is something his brain cannot compute. "Don't talk like that."

"Derek." Vera's vision blurs until she can scarcely make out the outline of him. She forces her voice to harden. "Let me go."

She can hear the sound of Allison trying to stifle her sobs with her hand. It brings an ache to Vera's chest, burying like a rock under her heart, knowing that this is causing her friends nearly as much pain as she's in. But at least they've managed to achieve their goal. At least they've won and she has nothing to worry about, now. They're all safe. It's all she could ask for.

Vera turns her head slightly to the side when another shape crouches on her opposite side. A different hand lays on her arm, using a gentle touch that can only be delivered by Scott. She's grateful when he takes some of her pain so Derek isn't tempted to waste himself away by absorbing too much himself. Scott shudders when it transfers. There's a buzzing in her ears, now, and she can barely hear anything else.

That is, until Derek orders, "Scott, Allison, get back."

They must have obeyed, because the burning sensation in her abdomen returns. She can make out nothing but blurry shapes above her. And then, two glowing, ruby-red circles.

Derek exhales twice. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you go."

A roar. A shift of her body's position. And then she feels teeth sink into her upper arm.

Vera's eyes shoot wide open, body arching off of Derek's lap and pushing her into an involuntary sitting position as he digs his canines into her flesh. Instead of just feeling pain in her stomach, it comes from everywhere, giving her to the strength she needs to let out an ear-piercing scream. Her vision sharpens just long enough for her to see Isaac picking himself off of the floor from where Allison had stabbed him. His eyes are as wide as saucers, flickering from her wound to her face to the Alpha in the process of turning her.

She doesn't remember anything that happens after that, because she passes out in a heap with her arm still trapped between Derek's teeth.

__________

a/n:

so.... that happened.

i really wanted to give you guys an inside look as to how vera was bitten as well as derek's reaction, because it's super important to the story (which we will visit later!). he and vera are so cute and i love their brother-sister dynamic so much

be sure to check out this fanfic pinterest board if you want to learn more about the characters and their dynamics! (and also see pictures of vera's cat, the real g of this story)

—kristyn

signoff gif made by remuslupout

( word count: 1.2k )