Stiles was sitting nervously on the sofa, watching Scott pace when the front door burst open and Derek stormed in, expression livid. He immediately headed for Stiles, clearly planning to tear him apart, but Scott intercepted quickly and blocked Derek's path.

"What did you do?!" roared the irate werewolf.

"I didn't mean too! I didn't know she was listening! I'm sorry!"

"Sorry?! You're sorry?! Oh great, Rowan is put there somewhere with the alpha and her psycho wolf brother hunting her but that doesn't matter because you're sorry!" Derek pushed past Scott and grabbed Stiles by the lapels. "When we find her, you better hope there's not a scratch on her, because if there is, I will tear you limb from limb with my teeth!" Stiles nodded, his fear showing on his face. Derek dropped him abruptly.

"Derek." Scott began.

"Shut up," he ordered.

"Hang on," said Stiles, hands frantically checking his pockets.

"That goes double for you," Derek growled.

"No, Derek, listen. This is important."

"What is it?" The werewolf asked impatiently.

"My phone's missing." He got a growl in response. "No, I mean Rowan's got my phone! I remember asking her to look after it!" The second he'd finished speaking, Derek pulled his phone from his pocket and dialled Stiles' number. After a few rings it picked up, which surprised him.

"Hello Derek," said a voice he recognized. Derek growled.

"Peter…" he snarled. "Let me talk to Rowan!"

"No, Rowan can't come to the phone right now."

"WHY NIOT?" Derek roared, making Stiles jump and Scott cover his sensitive ears.

"Because she doesn't want to talk to you."

"Or because you're making her? Just put her on the damn phone!"

"Fine but she'll just say the same thing I did." He heard a scuffle on the other end as the phone was handed over.

"Rowan! Rowan! Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Derek I'm fine," came Rowan's quiet voice. He almost sighed in relief, so caught up in the sound of her voice to listen to her tone or even the words she spoke. "Don't call again. I'm staying with Peter. He… he cares about me!" He realised that she sounded different. Her voice was cold and purposefully blank, not quiet hiding the tremor of fear that ran through it. He couldn't believe it was her speaking.

"What the fuck? No he doesn't!" He shouted. He couldn't understand why she was being like this. Couldn't she see he was just trying to protect her, to help her?

"Well he cares more than you do! You told me that I was useless, worthless, just a magnet for danger!" Had he really said that to her? Those horrible poisoned words? "Go away Derek!"

"I only said those things because I was upset! I didn't mean them!" He tried to explain but it was too late. The line was dead. Derek snarled, angry at himself, at her, at everything.

"Looks like I'm not the only one at fault," muttered Stiles. Derek growled at him and pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to calm down.

"Scott, with me. We're going to find her."

"No." Derek froze.

"What?"

"No, I won't help you. Not until you're doing it for the right reasons."

"I want to find her! Isn't that reason enough?"

"No. You're both doing this out of jealousy because you both want her. She's a girl! A human being with feelings! You've been fighting over her like two kids who want the same toy!"

"Scott, there isn't time for this!" Scott folded his arms and glared stubbornly.

"You want the truth? I like Rowan a lot and it kills me knowing I've hurt her. I want her back, yes, but I want her to be safe and happy more."

"Then I'll help," said Scott, heading to the door with Derek. Stiles went after them. Scott gave his friend an I-don't-think-this-is-a-good-idea look, which went ignored. Derek was far more vocal with his protests.

"You're not going with us!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's your fault she's out there in the first place!"

"And it's your fault she won't come back," he retorted. Derek scowled. "Look, I want to help. I don't care how. I'll be bloody bait if I have to, but I care about her too and I want to help."

"Fine. Me and Scott will go on foot so we can trace her scent. You follow behind in the car." The two wolves then left and sprinted off into the woods. Stiles set off in the car, following them as best he could. His every thought was about Rowan. Where was she? What did she think of him now? Was she hurt? He was pretty sure she'd be kept alive but the image of her lying in the woods, body torn in half, became rooted in his mind. He gripped the steering wheel tighter. No, she wasn't dead. She couldn't be. He had to tell her he hadn't meant it the way she heard it. He had to say sorry.
He drove through the forest until he saw Scott standing at the roadside. He was holding a bundle of blood-stained clothing in his arms. Stiles pulled over.

"Please tell me that's not hers."

"It's hers," said Scott grimly. "The sneaky bastard planted it so we wouldn't find her real scent."

"Using our own tricks against us. Clever," murmured Stiles. Scott gave him an aggravated look.

"When you're finished praising him, maybe you can help us think of a plan."

"Can I use your phone?" Stiles asked.

"What? No!"

"Oh come on Scott. Now is hardly the time to text Alison." Scott sheepishly handed the phone over. Stiles rolled his window up, rang someone and began talking in heated whispers. Derek returned and pulled Scott away.

"There's no clear trace to follow. By the time we find the trail, it'll be too faint to follow." Before Scott could reply, Stiles stuck his head out of the window and whistled to get their attention.

"Luckily I don't rely on smell like a bloodhound." He held out Scott's phone. The screen had the image of a map on it with a red dot marking a location. "You can thank me later." Derek took the phone.

"That's not far." He climbed into the car and pulled Scott after him. Stiles needed no prompting to start the car and drive, following the directions Derek shouted at him.

Rowan looked up from her food when Peter growled. His expression had darkened, a more feral animal look in his eyes than normal. She felt fear starting to build in her stomach.

"Peter…?" she asked hesitantly. He looked at her and for a moment there was nothing but pure predatorial hunger on his face. He stalked towards her. She rose from the table and forced herself to stand, to face him, knowing that backing away would only make him madder. He reached her, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against him. She flinched slightly as he pressed his mouth to the crook of her neck. He bit down gently, enough to hurt but not enough to change her or draw more than a trickle of blood. She winced and closed her eyes tight, waiting for him to finish. Eventually he pulled away. He licked his lips clean before speaking.

"Go upstairs. Stay there and don't make a sound," he ordered. She nodded and hurried out of the room. Peter watched her go, then went to the window and looked out. A car pulled up outside. He growled softly but forced himself to remain calm. A human and a couple of second-rate betas wouldn't be able to stop him.

Derek left the car and stormed up to the house. He tore the door off its hinges. Peter rolled his eyes at his nephew's theatrics, leaning against the wall until Derek saw him.

"You!"

"It wouldn't kill you to knock, you know." Derek ignored the comment and growled, eyes turning blue.

"Where is she?" he roared.

"Rowan? She's upstairs. I wore her out." He went to the bottom of the stairs and called up to her. "Rowan, sweetheart, can you come downstairs please?" Rowan stepped out onto the landing. Derek inhaled sharply. Could he really have forgotten how beautiful she was? His memories didn't seem to compare to the sight of her. She was wearing a green silk dress with a band of green velvet around her waist. The dress ended mid-thigh and through the revealing fabric, Derek could see every detail of her body. The wolf part of him purred in delight, seeing her like that, his desire rising to an almost uncontrollable level.
Peter pulled her over to him and wrapped a possessive arm around her waist. His other hand played with her hair, exposing the lurid mark on her throat. Derek growled. Peter smirked, clearly pleased by his tormenting. He moved the hand on Rowan's waist upwards to cup her breast, gently fondling it through the dress. Rowan whimpered.

That was when Derek snapped. There was only so much a man could take and Derek wasn't exactly even-tempered by nature.
He lunged at Peter who instantly pushed Rowan out of the way. He dodged Derek's attack, grabbed the beta by the throat and threw him to the floor. Rowan let out a small cry as Peter placed his foot on Derek's neck, cutting off the oxygen. Suddenly, Peter was tackled from behind by a Scott shaped blur. He hit the wall and was held there. Stiles stepped through the broken door, holding a pistol in his shaking hands. Rowan was startled to see Taylor following him, eyes yellow and fixed on her. She backed away a few steps. Before he could move towards her though, Peter shook Scott off him with a snarl. The werewolves circled each other, Scott retreating away to let the older wolves grapple. He met Rowan's gaze and mouthed the word 'go' to her. She nodded and silently retreated up the stairs. No one noticed as she disappeared off to find a hiding place. Scott then grabbed the gun off Stiles and aimed at the writhing males. His wolf vision allowed him to get a better aim. He fired, hitting Peter in the side. Peter growled, distracted more than hurt. Taylor slashed his claws across Peter's throat. Blood gushed from the wound. Peter pushed Taylor off him. He had a split second to choose between continuing the fight or escaping. He was stronger but against the three wolves and the gun, there was a risk. So he knocked the others to the floor and ran for it, disappearing out of the doorway. There was a moment of silence as Taylor picked himself up and everyone regained their senses.

"Well, there you go. He wasn't so tough," laughed Taylor. "Now, I helped you. Hand her over." Derek glanced around.

"Erm… I would if I knew where she was." Everyone looked around.

"Where is she?" roared Taylor.

"I saw her run out of the door," lied Scott.

"Why didn't you stop her?" demanded Derek.

"No time," interjected Stiles. "Find her! Quickly!" Taylor and Derek darted out of the door. Stiles looked at Scott. "You're a terrible liar." Scott shrugged.

"They believed it." He turned and went upstairs, calling Rowan's name quietly. There was no response but he heard the faintest sound of a heartbeat nearby. He followed the sound to an empty bedroom, crouched down and looked under the bed. Rowan looked back at him.

"Hi…" she whispered.

"Hey. Come on, let's get you out of here." He held out his hand, she took it and wriggled out of the gap. He smiled slightly, pleased to see her again and apparently no worse for wear after her misadventure.

"Thanks for coming after me Scott. I didn't mean to run off like that I just… reacted badly."

"I completely understand. Let's just get you out of here before the others get back." He led her out of the room, downstairs to the car. Stiles opened his mouth to speak but Rowan just shook her head. She wasn't ready for apologies and reconciliation yet. That could wait until later.

They drove to the outskirts of the wood and idled there, waiting for Derek. Rowan was curled up in the backseat, silent, at the mercy of her racing thoughts. Stiles and Scott exchanged worried glances, both privately wondering what exactly Peter had done to her.
Derek arrived after a while and sat in the back with Rowan. She wriggled close to him, her hand grasping the front of his shirt. She buried her face in the fabric. Derek gently stroked her hair, soothing her. Stiles tried to ignore it, ignore the building jealousy. This wasn't about him. If Rowan was happy, that was all that mattered.