I bet on losing dogs
I know they're losing
and I pay for my place by the ring

[shape shifted: season 2, episode 2]
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        "What's going on?" Tara said immediately rushing up to Scott and Stiles, Kenna close on her heels. "Why is your dad talking to Isaac?"

Stiles looked back at her with a raised brow. "Why, you know him or something?" he asked.

"No, no," Tara said quickly, shaking her head as she looked over at Isaac, who was standing at the corner of the field, talking to Stilinski and the other deputies. "Not that well."

"Shhhhh," Scott sounded, shaking his head slightly as he also stared at the group on the opposite end of the field. "I'm trying to listen."

"Yeah, shut up, Stiles," Kenna said quickly.

Stiles opened and closed his mouth rapidly. "I wasn't even saying anythin-" he started but Tara placed a finger to his lips.

"Shut up!" she said harshly, removing her finger as quickly as she placed it there. "I wanna hear this," she insisted.

"Okay, well I know for a fact, that you can hear perfectly fine, wolfie," Stiles hissed.

Tara frowned, glaring at the triumphant look on his face. "Shut. up," she repeated slowly, trying to focus on what the officers were saying, but her mind was too clouded with other thoughts to concentrate on the conversation before her.

Scott looked back at the three of them as one of the officers began to pull Isaac off of the field. "His father's dead," he explained. "They think it was murder."

Stiles raised his eyebrow, "Are they saying he's a suspect?" he asked as Tara's eyes continued to follow the blonde boy off of the school grounds.

Tara shook her head, "He's 16," she stated. "If they think he's a suspect that's fucking ridiculous," she said under her breath.

"Well, if they do that means they can lock him in a holding cell for 24 hours," Stiles informed them.

Kenna scoffed, "And they think that's humane?" she said sarcastically.

Scott ignored her comment, turning to the right to look at Stiles. "Like overnight?" he questioned.

"During the full moon," Stiles continued.

Scott blinked, a nervous look spreading across his face. "How good are these holding cells at holding people?" he asked.

"People good," Stiles answered. "Werewolves? Probably not that good."

Tara sighed, "Well, that's not great," she said slowly.

"Yeah," Scott agreed. "You guys know when I said that I don't have the urge to maim and kill?" he asked them.

The three exchanged nervous glances. "Yes?" they said at the same time.

"He does," Scott pointed out.

Tara watched as Kenna's face fell, "So we have to deal with two murderous wolves tonight, shit."

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Tara frowned as she stared at the test tube in front of her. She was stuck with Stiles as her lab partner, once again, and all he did was continue to bug Scott, who was sitting at the desk in front of them while Kenna sat in the seat next to him. Stiles looked over at Tara, a small glint in his eye. "You seemed oddly worried this morning," he said casually.

"I wasn't," Tara said simply, flipping through the pages of the instructions but not really reading them. "It just seems that way because of the full moon. O-obviously."

Scott turned around to look at her. "You know it doesn't work that way, right?" he told her.

Tara furrowed her brows, "What are you the expert on it?" she asked sarcastically. "Besides, you guys have bigger problems to worry about like trying to stop Lahey from wolfing out and murdering people tonight," she said in a low voice.

Stiles glared at her, "What, you're not gonna help us?" he asked.

Tara clicked her tongue, setting her papers down on the table with a small slam. "First of all, apparently I'm going to be chained up tonight so I don't kill people. Secondly, in what world would I be willing to help you guys? And if I was even sane enough to tag along with you guys tonight. I would do it to help Lahey, not you."

Stiles rolled his eyes, "Kenna what about you?" he asked her.

The girl turned around, her braids swinging as she faced Stiles. "Yeah, no, I'd rather not do that," she responded plainly. "I don't even know this Isaac guy, I'll help Tara tonight, and you guys can deal with the other wolf," she decided. "If she doesn't tear me limb from limb," she added carefully.

"Kenna, I wouldn't do that," Tara asserted.

"Maybe you wouldn't but we don't know about wolf-you," Kenna said quietly. "Same with Isaac, I guess."

Scott tilted his head. "Why would Derek choose to turn Isaac anyways?" he asked the group at large.

"Peter," Stiles started. "Derek's dead uncle," he added for Tara and Kenna.

"Yeah, I got that part yesterday, thank you," Tara responded in an annoyed voce.

"Well, he told me that if the bite doesn't kill you it'll turn you," Stiles explained. "And maybe teenagers have a better chance of surviving."

Tara saw Scott's eyebrows knit together. "Doesn't being a teenager mean your dad can't hold him?" he asked.

Stiles shook his head before responding. "Well, not unless they have solid evidence. Or a witness," he said looking around the room, his eyes landing on Danny, and the empty chair next to him. "Wait. Danny. Where's Jackson?" he asked.

"In the principal's office, talking to your dad," Danny replied as if the answer was obvious.

"What? Why?" Stiles asked quickly.

Danny shrugged, "Maybe because he lives across the street from Isaac," he replied calmly.

Tara eyed Scott carefully, 'Witness,' she mouthed to him.

"We gotta get to the principal's office," Stiles hissed loud enough for the three teens to hear him.

Kenna pursed her lips, "Well, whatever you two idiots do, leave me and Tara out of it," she said quickly. "I'm actually trying to pass this class," she expressed.

Scott and Stiles' eyes landed on Tara, waiting for her approval. The girl sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Do what you need to do," she said slowly.

Kenna rolled her eyes as she faced the front once more, scoffing under her breath. "Oh my god," she said in a low voice.

Tara watched out of the corner of her eye as Stiles grabbed a piece of paper off the top of their lab report. He crumbled it up in his fist as Harris began to speak. "Everyone please turn to page 73," he announced. Tara's eyes widened as Stiles threw the crumbled-up paper right at the back of Harris' head. She opened and closed her mouth quickly as Harris turned around to glance at his students. "Who in the hell did that?" he asked. Scott and Stiles pointed to Tara almost instantly. Tara in response pointed to both of them.

⊱ ───ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ─── ⊰

And that's how Tara ended up outside of the principal's office, wedged between Scott and Stiles on a tiny wooden bench. She sat with her hands in her lap, trying to focus on listening to the conversation between Stiles' Dad and Jackson that was happening on the other side of the door. But, it was getting increasingly difficult to concentrate with Stiles' voice next to her. "You said you barely know Isaac," Stiles pointed out, continuing his integration that he was bothering her with for the past three minutes. "Is that really true?"

"Stilinski, shut up, I'm trying to listen," Tara grumbled, pointing at the wooden door to the right of her.

"Right, right," Stiles said quickly. "But I kind of feel like you were lying to me," he pointed out. "And, Peters, relationships are built on trust. So if we're gonna be helping you out here, which, we are. You kinda need to tell the truth."

Tara narrowed her eyes, still trying to drown out Stiles' voice as she responded. "What the hell are you talking about?" she asked, still refusing to look at him. "It doesn't really matter if I was lying because we're not friends. We are barely even acquaintances and I can't really stand you," she stated. "So you shouldn't care if I lie to you or not."

Stiles clapped his hands together, "AH-HA!" he said loudly. "So you were lying."

"No, I wasn't," Tara said firmly. "I barely know the guy, end of story."

"Are you sure? Because I saw you two talking in the locker room earlier and it seemed pretty friendly to me," Stiles said in an accusatory manner.

Tara glared at him, "God, Stiles, just because I'm a bitch to you doesn't mean I'm a bitch to everyone else, okay? Shocker, I know, but I'm actually a nice person when I want to be. Now shut up so I can listen to your dad chew out Jackson."

"Okay, jeez," Stiles said, holding his hands up defensively. "I was just asking."

Tara pursed her lips, looking away from the boy. "Well, stop asking," she said assertively, crossing one of her legs over the other. "In fact, don't talk to me unless it's important," she stated, folding her arms in her lap aggressively.

"Great, I won't," Stiles replied as the door to the principal's office swung open. Jackson quickly walked by, not acknowledging the three of them, Stiles' dad closing the door behind him. Stiles quickly picked up a magazine and shoved it in front of his face, pretending to read it. The sheriff sighed as his eyes fell on his son's feeble attempt to hide himself. "Hi, Scott," he said, looking over at the other boy next to Tara. He looked over at the girl, trying to figure out who she was.

"Oh, uh, Tara- Peters," Tara said quietly.

The sheriff nodded, "Hi, Tara," he said in a similar manner to how he addressed Scott. He gave his son one more look, which to Tara looked like he was fairly disappointed in him before he walked off. Stiles slowly lowered the magazine once his father had turned to the corner.

Tara was about to say something along the lines of, 'Nice going, dumbass,' when another voice called her attention back to the office door. "Boys- and girl," the man said. Tara had never seen him before in her life but she could hear Scott shift uncomfortably in the seat next to her. He was fairly old, probably around 60 or 70, Tara couldn't be too sure. He was balding and didn't look academic enough to be running the school. She didn't know if he was new or not as she had never been to the principal's office before. He smiled at the three teens, "Come on in," he said, gesturing back to his office.

Tara bit her lip slowly as she stood up from her seat, letting Scott and Stiles go first before she followed them into the room. She had to retake the middle seat, making her purse her lips as she sank into the large chair. The principal, whatever his name was, seemed prepared for this meeting. Tara spotted three files with their names on them. She tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach as he picked one of them up, beginning to flip through the mysterious papers.

"Scott McCall," he started. "Academically not the most accomplished." The man paused, "But I see you have become quite the star athlete." He placed Scott's folder down and picked up another one. "Mr. Stilinski," he said, shifting his gaze to Stiles. "Oh! Perfect grades but little to no extracurriculars." The principal tilted his head. "Maybe you should try lacrosse," he suggested.

Stiles's posture shifted, straightening up in his chair as he started to speak. "Oh, actually I'm already-" but the man interrupted him.

"Miss Peters," he said, picking up the girl's file. Tara gulped as he made eyecontact with her. He glanced down at the file. "Good grades, and a spot on the varsity soccer team. Well done. You're like a mix of both of them," he said pointing to Scott and Stiles.

Tara felt her eyebrows knit together. "Uh, thank you?" she said slowly, trying to make sense of what he just said.

"Hold on," the principal said, turning back to Scott. "McCall," he stated. "You're the Scott that was dating my granddaughter."

'Allison? Allison Argent,' Tara thought to herself. 'Great, the new principal's Allison's grandpa.'

Scott began to stutter. "We were dating, but not anymore," he started, his voice shaking slightly. "Not dating, not seeing any of each other, or doing anything with each other- at all," he finished awkwardly.

Principal Argent laughed, "Relax, Scott, you look like you're about to crack a cyanide pill with your teeth," he pointed out.

Scott gulped, "Just a hard breakup," he said, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

"Oh that's too bad," Principal Argent said, a weird tone in his voice. "You seem like a pretty nice kid to me." He looked at all of them once more. "Now listen, guys. Yes, I am the principal, but I really don't want you to think of me as the enemy," he said plainly.

"Heh, is that so?" Stiles asked sarcastically, resisting the urge to laugh.

"However," Principal Argent said, ignoring Stiles' remark. "This being my first day, I do need to support my teachers. So unfortunately someone is going to have to take the fall and stay behind for detention." He looked directly at Stiles, who was currently looking down at his feet and not at the principal.

Tara and Scott slowly turned to look at Stiles, who had finally noticed the three pairs of eyes on him. He was mildly annoyed, and frowned at Scott and Tara, sending them a dirty look as Principal Argent began to speak once more. "Great, Mr. Stilinski, will you stay behind for one minute? Miss Peters, Mr. McCall you are free to go."

Tara mumbled a quick thank you before rushing out of the office, Scott following her closely. As soon as the pair exited the office, Scott took off in a sprint down the hallway. "Come on!" he called to Tara who, against her better judgment, began to run after him. She followed him out into the entrance to the school, where the two teen werewolves skidded to a halt, watching as Isaac stared at them, riding in the back of the patrol car. Tara let out a shaky breath, briefly making eye contact with the boy in the car. He looked scared, scratch that, he looked terrified. Tara turned to Scott as the patrol car turned the corner, driving out of view. "They're not- they didn't. Did they?" she asked quickly. "Arrest him?"

Scott frowned, "That's what it looks like," he replied.

"Fuck," Tara mumbled under her breath. She opened her mouth to say something else but her attention turned back to the parking lot as a nice car screeched, stopping in front of Scott and Tara. Tara narrowed her eyes as the person in the car rolled down their window.

"Get in," Derek Hale said sharply, looking from Scott to Tara.

Scott scoffed, shaking his head as he took a few steps toward the car. "Are you serious?" he bellowed. "You did that! That's your fault!" he yelled, pointing to the place where the cop car disappeared.

"I know that," Derek said, maintaining his calm disposition. "Now get in the car and help me."

'What the hell is wrong with this guy?' Tara thought to herself.

"No, I've got a better idea," Scott said. "I'm gonna call a lawyer. Because a lawyer might have a chance of getting him out before the full moon goes up," he decided strolling up to Derek's window. Tara rolled her eyes as she followed behind Scott, deciding she would rather stay for the rest of this conversation than go back inside.

Derek shook his head, "Not when they do a real search of the house," he told Scott.

Tara watched Scott furrow his brows, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Whatever Jackson said to the cops, what's in the house is worse," Derek informed them. "A lot worse. Now, get in," he repeated, looking from Scott to Tara as he opened his passenger's side door. "Both of you."

Tara scrunched her face up. "No, I'm not getting in your fucking car," she protested.

"Do you wanna live through the night?" Derek asked her as if that was a simple question. "Cause you and Isaac are as good as gone if you don't try to trust me." Tara shifted uncomfortably, looking over at Scott, who gave her a small nod. "Great," Derek said, reading the signs between them. "Get in the car."

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Tara wasn't sure if she enjoyed sitting in the back of Derek Hale's car, a man she had only had negative experiences with up until this point. But she quietly sat in the back, which was a new experience for her as she wouldn't usually climb into the back of a stranger's car, but here she was, doing exactly that. Tara glanced out the back window as the car came to a halt. The three stopped in front of a house at the end of town, not as far out of the town limits as Tara's was, but still fairly close to the border. The sun had set by now, which did not ease Tara's nerves, at least the moon wasn't out. But she could still feel the weight of it, pulling her down, weighing on her every move as she stepped out of the car. There was a loose strip of caution tape in the front yard that looked like it had been applied haphazardly to keep intruders out. But that didn't stop Scott, Derek, and Tara from waltzing right into the house, flashlights in hand.

"If Isaac didn't kill his father then who did?" Scott asked as he carefully took a few steps through the deserted house.

Derek shrugged as he walked behind Scott. "I don't know yet," he responded.

"Then how do you know he's telling the truth?" he asked.

Tara scoffed, "What planet do you live on if you think that Lahey killed his dad?" she questioned.

"Well, I um-" Scott started, looking back at Tara over his shoulder. "I actually don't know."

"That's what I thought," Tara replied.

Derek sighed, "I know because I trust my senses," he told Scott, who had turned back to the front. "And it's a combination of them. Not just your sense of smell."

Scott's eyes widened, "You saw the lacrosse thing today," he assumed.

Derek gave a small nod, "Yeah," he answered.

"Did it look that bad?" Scott asked a hint of distress in his voice.

Tara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "You were sniffing people. Sniffing them," she said flatly. "Yes, it looked that bad."

Derek patted Scott on the back. "Yeah, what she said," he added. "Go on," he said, pushing Scott forward into the house. Tara felt her hand begin to shake as she stood in the middle of the hallway. Derek raised his eyebrow, turning on his heel to face the girl."You're feeling it, aren't you?" he asked her, looking down at her hand.

Tara gulped, shaking her head quickly. "Shut up," she grumbled, although her words came out as more of a growl than anything else.

"You can feel the full moon," Derek said slowly. "Interesting. You can't control it, can you?" he asked, allowing Scott to continue through the house without them.

Tara's eyes flashed dangerously. "Why are you acting like you know me?" she asked him. "And how did you know about this before this whole thing before I did? It doesn't make any sense."

"Huh," Derek sounded. "You mean the werewolf thing?" he asked Tara, taking a step towards her.

Tara's nostrils flared, "What else would I be talking about?" she retorted.

Derek shrugged, "Well, like I told Scott, I used my senses."

Tara's brows furrowed. "Bullshit," she stated. "I don't even need to be a werewolf to tell that what you just said was bullshit," she pointed out, feeling her hand shake more intensely. She closed her fist, absorbing the small shakes so it wasn't as noticeable. But apparently, this Derek character knew everything about her.

"Do you trust me?" Derek asked Tara.

The girl scoffed, "No, I don't know you," she stated. "I barely trust Scott what makes you think I'd trust you?" she continued.

Derek tilted his head at her. "You know you grew up next to my house," he pointed out.

Tara rolled her eyes. "Cool, bro, what the fuck am I supposed to do with that information?" she snapped. "I know where I lived and where I grew up. My mom spent countless nights telling me to stay after from the dreaded Hale House. So yes, I know that I grew up by your house, and I don't see the relevance of that information right now." Her fists continued to shake as she looked away from Derek.

Tara swore she heard Derek let out a small laugh, "Your mother told you to stay away from the house?" he asked. "Elle Peters said that?"

Tara's head whipped back toward him, trying to keep her face calm, although she probably knew that Derek could feel the panic set in. "Um, yeah," she responded slowly. "Yeah, she did," she said more confidently. "And probably for a good reason because I haven't heard the best things about your family. So yeah," she finished, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Right," Derek said, almost amused by her reaction. "You ever ask her why?" he asked.

Tara scoffed once more, "You seriously think my mom would provide reasons behind her actions? Apparently, you know her so well, that you should know that's not something she would do," she replied sarcastically.

Derek looked her up and down before replying. "I figured that much," he said slowly. "She likes to keep her secrets close to her, I guess you're a big one," he finished.

Tara blinked a confused look flashing across her face. "A secret? Me? I'm a secret?" she spluttered. "Wha- what the fuck are you talking about? And why does everyone seem to know what's going on besides me!" she exclaimed.

"Let's keep going shall we?" Derek said, conveniently changing the subject as he lightly pushed the girl forward.

"Wha- uh- no!" Tara argued, trying to turn around to keep talking, but she felt her body get pushed forward by the stronger man. "You can't just push me forward when you don't want to answer my questions dickhead!"

Derek frowned, "And you can't try to get me to tell you secrets that aren't mine. Now go," he said, pointing towards the cellar door, where Scott was waiting for them.

Tara opened and closed her mouth quickly. "I just- I- wha- but, I-" she started to argue, but she knew that it wasn't worth it as Derek continued to stare at her, giving her no indication that he was going to tell her anything. She huffed, "Fine," she said sharply. "Fine, fine, fine, fine. I'll just stay fucking dumb then!" she said salty, glaring at Derek before she stepped behind Scott. "You gonna go into the basement or what?" she asked.

Scott looked back at her, an uneasy look on his face. "You don't smell that?" he asked her, pointing to the space beyond the stairwell.

Tara pursed her lips. "Smell what?" she asked, looking down into the darkness below. Sure, she's had a strange feeling about the whole thing, but she just chalked that up to the full moon and her resentment toward Derek, not the feeling of the house itself.

"She's not as seasoned as you are when it comes to this stuff," Derek told Scott, answering the question for Tara.

"Thanks," Tara said sarcastically, scowling as she looked back at Derek. "You're so kind."

Derek ignored her remark and continued. "You wanna learn?" he asked, talking more to Scott than to Tara. "Let's start now."

Scott pointed his flashlight down the stairwell to the basement. "What's down there?" he asked carefully.

"Motive," Derek said simply. Scott took a deep breath before taking a few steps down the staircase. "You going too," he told Tara, nodding for her to follow Scott.

"You're telling me what to do now?" Tara asked sassily.

"Suggesting it," Derek corrected her. "Like I said earlier if you want to survive this full moon, which isn't looking great for you right now," he said, directing her attention back toward her shaking hand. Tara gave him a dirty look as she shoved her hand behind her back, letting her fist repeatedly hit her lower back. "You should try to trust me."

Tara huffed as she began to follow Scott, walking quickly to catch up with the boy. "I don't like that guy," she whispered, shifting to walk next to him.

"Yeah, a lot of people don't," Scott responded quietly, as began to pass the flashlight over every item in the basement. Nothing really stood out to Tara, although she didn't know what she was looking for. Scott didn't either, "And what are we looking for?" he asked, flashing his light around the corner.

"Follow your senses," Derek replied mysteriously from the landing.

Tara wasn't sure what that meant, but honestly, she couldn't focus on anything besides the incessant movement of her right hand. So, she let Scott lead the way, following him as he wandered through the basement. She glanced around, taking in the small details that she was able to process in her short time in the room. There was a pile of dust on almost every box or 'tame' thing in the area. Tara just assumed that it just wasn't used as much. But obviously, there was something that Derek wanted the two of them to see in that basement, something that would explain why the cops thought Isaac killed his father. Or Derek was just being a dick, and Tara secretly hoped that would be the case.

Scott stopped quickly, causing Tara to look over at him. "What?" she asked, feeling her heartbeat swell. Scott simply pointed at the freezer box, one of only things in the basement that wasn't covered in a thick layer of dust. The lock on the box was covered in rust, loosely hanging from the hinge. Tara jumped as Derek appeared next to them, shining another light on the box.

"What happened down here?" Scott asked carefully.

"The kind of thing that leaves an impression," Derek asked simply. "Open it."

Scott reached toward the latch, carefully removing the basically useless lock and slowly opening the freezer box. Tara felt a lump in her throat form as Scott lifted the lid off of the box. She hand immediately stopped shaking as she studied the inside of the freezer. The entire thing was covered in scratch marks, Tara wasn't entirely sure how deep they were, but they stood out against the plain white background. Scott ran his fingers across the scratch marks, a frown spreading across his face as he continued to look over the box.

"Oh my god," Tara whimpered as she took a few steps back. "Isaac's dad was-" she started, glancing up at Derek. She blinked. "He was-" her voice trailed off as Derek nodded. She blinked a few more times. "Fuck," she said in a low voice.

"This is why he said yes to you," Scott said tearing his eyes away from the box to look at Derek.

Derek gave him a curt nod. "Everyone wants power," he said simply.

"If we help you," Scott said slowly. "Then you have to stop. You can't just go around turning people into werewolves!" he insisted.

"I can if they're willing," Derek retorted.

Tara opened her mouth to say something but words couldn't find her. She turned away from Derek and toward one small window in the cellar.

"Did you tell Isaac about the Argents?" Scott asked, although his voice sounded more like a buzzing fly to Tara rather than an actual human voice. "About being hunted?"

"Yes," Derek responded. "And he still asked."

"Then he's an idiot," Scott decided.

Tara started to open her mouth again, but words failed to find her once more, her eyes transfixed on the small sliver of light shining through the window. She exhaled, tilting her head at the window, not entirely sure what she was feeling at this point.

"And you're the idiot dating Argent's daughter!" Derek shot back. "Yeah, I know your little secret. And if I know, how long do you think it's gonna take for them to find out? You saw what happens to an omega. With me, you learn how to use all of your senses. With me, you learn control. Even on a full moon. You too, Tara! Tara? Tara!" Derek bellowed.

Tara's head snapped towards Derek, barely registering the fact that he had said her name. If that, she could barely hear anything over the sound of her own breathing. A look of panic flashed across Derek's face. "She's shifting," Derek mumbled quickly. "I have to get her out of here, now!" Tara looked down at her hand, not registering the fact that her nails had now fully turned into claws.

"Her and Isaac!" Scott insisted. "They're both innocent in this."

"Believe me, I know," Derek replied, before grabbing Tara and dragging her out of the basement.

hey, tell me what you want me to say, you know I'm stupid for you <3

grace talks ig: sorry for cutting the shifting scene short but tbh I really hate writing full moon wolf scenes and they never turn out well so I'm sparing you guys from reading something absolutely terrible. Maybe I'll include a little bit in the next chapter, you guys will just have to wait and see ;)))) Other than the ending of the chapter I really enjoying writing this. I think the dynamic between Tara and Derek is really interesting and I promise it'll make more sense once we met Tara's mother and once we get to 3a (it's a secret for now I'm so so sorry but I like the suspense). And the dynamic between Tara, Kenna, Scott, and Stiles is golden as always, they're the core four for a reason ahahha. Okay I'm gonna go now bc it's very fucking late for me and I need to go to bed. Vote and comment if you want and I'll see you soon. BYEEEEEE