Nothing Personal

Keeping her promise, Madison immediately took over, halting her French for the night so she could survey the Argent's at a safe distance. Under the cover of the night and behind tinted windows, she relaxed into the cool leather as her eyes trained onto the front door. She spotted Allison sneaking out, carefully locking the door behind her before ushering to her parked car, anxiously igniting the engine and reversing out of the driveway and onto the void roads.

Madison had an internal struggle to either follow Allison's bright tail lights or take advantage of her absence. Deciding that Allison would most likely be under Scott's protection, Madison let her be for the time being. No doubt another opportunity would present itself soon. She didn't feel regretful about the decision and stayed in her seat, noticing Allison's window.

Hmm, she thought, amused and also intrigued. She had spied it a little while ago when it lit up, Allison's slender figure obvious as the she paced nervously in her room. A peak won't take that long, Madison considered before unhooking her seat belt, freeing herself from its restraint. Her fingers curved around the door handle for a moment as she contemplating the risks. No, she thought confidently, I won't get caught. She pried the door open before slipping out, closing the door quietly behind her, barely making a noise. The interior light flipped off as soon as it had come on.

She eased around the border of the perimeter, eyeing the window before climbing onto the neighbor's roof, gaining some height before leaping the wide gap from their roof onto the Argent's. She made the leap with ease as her cleats connected with the slick shingles, gaining traction that secured her from falling. Leaning forward, she balanced herself closer to the window.

Unknown to Madison, a watchful set of eyes spied her from her car. She didn't spot the intruder because of their black attire but they could easily see her, as her bright blond hair contrasted greatly against her black St. Catherine's Track jacket and pants.

Madison had secured it in a long pony tail but it laid over her hoodie, sprawling itself over her back. Focused, she edged closer to the window, leaning sharply closer to the glass to make sure no one was inside. It was dark but she could see with her intensified sight that there was no movement inside. She crouched down as her fingers wrapped around the rim of the window, getting a good grasp of the wood before pulling it up. She grinned victoriously as she discovered it opened with eased, careless left unlocked. She stepped inside, her feet sinking into the clean carpet, before her full body was in the room. She pulled the hoodie over her head just in case before she turned around to investigate Allison's desk.

She scowled as she saw it was littered with book off of werewolves and "fiction." She was disgusted that some people actually believed in some of the nonsense 'historians' printed in these lunatic publishing's. As if she would really succumb to a silver bullet. No, silver didn't make much of difference. Wolf's bane though… She cringed at the thought. Wolfs bane was smeared on the arrows lodged in her parent's head. They would have never recovered even if they had survived the initial head trauma. They were goners the moment Chris and Kate pulled the trigger on their crossbows. The very memory had Madison's stomach churning painfully.

Speaking of Wolf's bane, Madison noticed a vile of the plants extract next to her computer. Disgusted by the awful substance, Madison swept the small glass container into her hand and slid it onto her jacket's pocket.

She swept through the drawers and ransacked Allison's closet, noting a bow case lying empty on the floor. She left that one alone and closed the door like it had been, making sure no one would notice someone had been in her room. As much as she enjoyed seeing the Argent's panic, she knew if they knew she was this close, they would move their daughter to unreachable places and she didn't want to go through the hassle of trying to find her all over again.

But…She sighed, dismayed. She didn't just come here to tamper with Allison's room. She wanted to investigate, with the answers so close! But…She was limited to Allison's room. Allison couldn't provide her the answers she needed. For all she knew, Allison was totally unaware her father and aunt torched her house after murdering her parents. She was sure of that. Why on earth would Chris disclose to his daughter? It would incriminate him. Madison and Chris understood the concept of "the-less-you-know, the-better-for-both-of-us" very well. It saved their asses on many occasions. (How else would have Madison gotten this far without it?)

Using her natural wit, she grinned. Allison snuck out, that was obvious. She didn't want her parents to know she was out. Of course, if they did, the first thing they'd do is look for her? She grinned mischievously. Taking out her phone, she lifted it to her face, covering most of the screen with her hand to cut off most of the light. Selecting an app, she signed onto her fake account automatically, using her secondary number, an unfamiliar one. She then selected the Argent household number –one she retrieved online –and prepared it on her dialer before slipping back outside, making sure the window was closed but loose, hinting that it was Allison who used the window to sneak out.

Behind a corner, she ignored Scott's overwhelming scent –as she supposed this spot was his favorite hiding spot –and initiated a call with a light tap on the green icon on the bottom of her phone's wide screen. Inside she heard the phone ring loudly, three times exactly but she heard the line get picked up from her own speaker next to her ears.

"Hello?" Victoria's voice answered irritably. Of course it was eleven o'clock at night. She'd definitely be tired.

"Hi," Madison mocked a meek voice. "Is this the Argent's?"

"Yes," Victoria replied hesitantly.

"Oh good… Anyways I'm really sorry for calling this late. I have been calling Allison all night and she hasn't answered. I need the answers for the last sheet on the packet for Mr. Finstock's class. I'm at a total loss. Again I'm really sorry for calling so late but I'm desperate."

"Who is this?" Victoria demanded, confused and irate.

"Oh, this is Jennifer. I'm a friend of Allison's."

"Well, it's late, she's probably asleep."

"That's the thing," Madison made up another lie, "I've been calling since six. Either she's an early sleep or her phone's dead. Can you just remind her to share it with me? I don't see her until that class before school starts and by then it'll be too late. I really appreciate it."

Outside, Madison heard Victoria's heavy footsteps climb up the stairs and pry open Allison's door. She waited anxiously as she heard Victoria ravage Allison's room, looking high and low for her daughter. She heard Victoria's breath hitch before she returned her attention back to 'Jennifer.'

"Well, she's asleep right but I'll be sure to remind her tomorrow," Victoria's cool tone was strained as panic and anger surged through her hot-blooded veins. Madison knew was lying, obviously, but played along.

"Thanks so much, I really appreciate it." She faked gratitude.

"No, no, it's totally all right. Who was this again?"

"Jennifer. Jennifer Hooley."

"All right," Victoria replied. "Is this your number?"

"Yes, this is my cell phone."

Madison planned to delete the number as soon as she got home so it would be untraceable anyways. The sole purpose of the anonymous number was for that call alone.

Victoria pried open the window, examining the loose hinges and screeched as she realized her daughter in fact had snuck out or even taken perhaps.

"Good night Jennifer," Victoria seethed but her voice portrayed a calmer woman. Her acting skills were supreme indeed, Madison granted. Instead of replying, Madison cancelled the call, locked the phone until the screen blackened out, and slid the phone into her pocket before Victoria could notice the light radiating from the screen. She heard Victoria cry out for her husband after suddenly leaving the window, announcing Allison was gone. Chaos ensued as the pair scrambled around the house, retrieving their phones to place numerous calls to their daughter as Chris prepared his rental car, opening the garage and grabbing a gun from the collection posted on his left wall just in case Allison didn't leave willingly.

Victoria reached Allison after the third attempt, and after a long vulgar rant, demanded she come home this instant. Chris intervened as said he'd collect Allison himself. Anger laced his tone and Madison cringed for Allison, just imagining the wrath she'd probably face from her father.

Madison watched as the couple left the house together in the front seats of their truck, closing the garage after turning off all the lights inside. Madison grinned happily. Finally, she had a break. Unfortunately, Victoria had locked the window after she had slammed it angrily after discovering Allison's disappearance. A locked window would stop her for sure, though. Relying on her wit again, she leapt onto the ground and staked the perimeter, looking for a weak spot. Maybe it was pure luck or because she made them leave so hastily but Chris had left the side door of the garage unlocked and she slipped in with ease. Just in case the paranoid hunter kept cameras –which she prayed he didn't, as it would hinder her plans if he realized someone had in fact broke it, unless she could pin it on Tabitha… Not now, she reminded herself, proceeding into the house. She passed the gun case, suppressing a cringe and then feeling the outline of her 22 mm in her back pocket for reassurance, and scurried to the door leading into the house.

She didn't waste any time searching for the office, peering in through a pair of French doors, trying to see past the outline of the curtain, and felt a surge of happiness when she identified the outline of a book case, desk and chair. Unfortunately, that door was locked, too, and probably for good reason. Chris didn't want his daughter peeking into the family finances or gruesome details. Madison wasn't discouraged. A locked door didn't stop her. It was one of the first –and easiest –obstacles she overcame in her quest for revenge. Pulling out a beret from her hair, leaving a flimsy one left to secure her banes. Delicately sliding the beret in, she spent a moment slowly turning the beret around from inside the lock, manipulating it, until she heard it click from inside. Pushing down on the gold handles, the door slid open silently, floating above the rich mahogany floor.

Her footsteps echoed around the wide space as she rounded the desk. She kneeled down so she wouldn't be spotted behind the desk. She tried pulling out a desk but as expected, Chris had locked it so no nosy eyes would creep at his business, eyes like Madison's or Allison's. She pulled out her beret again and teased the lock, easily clicking it open. She would've pulled it out by force but she reminded herself to be careful so Chris wouldn't suspect anything.

He was already convinced Tabitha was the Alpha –and after hearing Tabitha's account on the situation –was aware of Tabitha's threats. She didn't want to jeopardize Tabitha's unstable truce with Chris. She knew if Chris knew someone had invaded his house he would most likely suspect Tabitha and Madison didn't want to endanger her Beta. Sure, Tabitha could handle Chris but she had a lot on her plate already. Madison vowed to her promise to take over. She wouldn't stress Tabitha anymore. As an Alpha she had a responsibility to protect her pack. Now Tabitha had proven her value and did her part faithfully, it was time Madison picked up her slack and started to take the lead.

The drawer gave her some difficulty as she tried to pry it open but Chris seemed to anticipate that vile hands like her own would try to get at the valuable and incriminating information stored within the metal container and added an element of extra strength to discourage them. Frustrated, she growled and her extra strength seemed to break the hold, as the metal flew open. Surprised, she searched for any hand marks or claw marks that could alert Chris but found none, just a dent that even a crowbar could make. She sighed, relieved.

The door slam alarmed her and she froze in her stance, eyeing the glass thoroughly while trying to capture a scent. It wasn't Chris or Victoria. They gave her 20 to 30 minutes to work with and seeing as they had just left five minutes ago, she doubted them. The scent confirmed her assumptions and she had trouble placing the scent until a distance memory caught her off guard.

"So," Madison mused, eyeing the burnt wood. The strong smell of charred wood and ash stung her nose as she walked around the creaking building. "This is your house…" She started, eyeing Peter who gazed across the burnt remains.

The sight almost brought tears to her eyes when she first spotted the decaying building, reminded of her own home, but fought off the moisture as she bravely strolled inside only minutes before.

"Used to be," Peter harshly corrected. He eyed Madison suspiciously. "Thank you for coming out," he said to her, taking a step closer to the then-brunette. At that time, she still possessed her original, brilliant mahogany color but kept her long hair tied in an elegant French braid to avoid getting her luscious locks caught in the branches through the woods on her way back. "I wanted to talk to you personally…"

"Yes, I can see that," Madison rudely interrupted. Something was out of place, something was off. She didn't feel… safe. Maybe it was because she was in the presence of another Alpha which in most cases, often followed with a fatal battle, almost-always ending in the death of one Alpha, just so the other could take over. She was highly on guard and skeptical of Peter who walked serenely around the torched remains of the Victorian. She kept herself at a safe distance with claws retracted, ready to react if he pulled a stunt.

Peter had just earned freedom only weeks ago, gaining his full strength after killing the two goons who had aided Kate in killing his family. It was honestly a spur-of-the-moment action, an opportunistic killing. He wasn't in full control and couldn't resist his urge to maim and kill the bastards who remorselessly murdered his loved ones. If he had been in control, he would've waited later to bring out Madison to show her personally how to eliminate their persons of interest….

He was misinformed though. Madison had a little black book of her own she hid very well. A book she didn't intend to share with any other living soul. She could care less if Peter thought she was an amateur killer but he valued her intellect and it was her insight that really got her this far, he knew that.

From his stance, Peter admired how she trusted her instincts. As much as he was offended by her lack of trust in him, he knew that it was this paranoia that would save her life.

He held his hands up in surrender. "I have no intention of killing you Madison. I need you alive, not dead, my dear."

Madison didn't ease up and kept her distance.

"We don't get out very often. We're always preoccupied, don't you think?" He mused.

"I suppose so," she agreed hesitantly.

Madison was focused on the scent left behind by another werewolf. It was intoxicating, with a rich mix of sweet nectar and even… she couldn't place it, it was barely there but the hint was mouthwatering, reminding her of a cooking ingredient, Vanilla extract perhaps?

"That's Derek," Peter told her, noticing her flaring nostrils and dark, feral eyes, a sigh that she was deeply in tuned towards her second nature. "He has a very mystique scent, doesn't he?"

Tis he did, she silently agreed with a nod. It was much different from Peter's stench. He smelled too clean, too sanitized. She blamed the hospital. She could small a hint of Clorox off of his tattered coat.

"Why don't you involve him?" Madison wondered out loud. "Why don't you let him know you're the Alpha? Why not let him in? I'm sure he's just as furious at the Argents as you are."

Peter didn't reply immediately as he thought of an excuse. He tried to figure out a way to explain why he couldn't let Derek know he was the culprit behind the murders, being Laura's murder. That was the true reason he didn't tell Derek because his nephew would figure out that it wasn't an accident but purposeful, to allow Peter the position of Alpha. Derek would never forgive him and even turn on him. In the end, he knew he'd have to kill Derek, too.

"I don't want my family involved," he excused. "It's too personal. It's something I have to do myself. I can't let him get in danger's way."

"I understand," Madison believed him at the time even though she found the predicament confusing. If she had a pack, she would use them, as it would be beneficial to be in numbers as well as for her physical strength. It would multiply with every individual she turned and controlled. Unfortunately, at that time, she had no pack to command though she contemplated it. She had just spied a promising young athlete by the name of Tabitha last week but doubted that she could turn someone without killing them.

"Have you reconsidered about joining my pack?"

Madison rolled her eyes and suppressed a snarl. She wasn't going to be Peter's pawn. No, she knew better than that. She could carry out her plan by herself. She just thought Peter would want the chance to join her, to extract his own revenge. Somehow the narcissist decided he wanted to take over but she's been running circles around the idea until it came to the point she would have to depart with him or kill him. Thankfully it hadn't come to that point yet.

"No, Peter," Madison calmly replied. "I don't want to be tied to anyone, especially after you bit Scott. I don't want to be dragged down by one infant's of your mistake."

Peter cringed at her insult but reminded himself to keep his cool. "You'd be more powerful tied to me," Peter tried to persuade but Madison distanced herself from him.

"Just let it go, Peter," Madison ordered as she adjusted her jacket, flipping her hoodie over her head. "Now what did you want to talk about?"

"The Argents," Peter began, "have you confronted them yet?"

"No," Madison forced out. She felt anxious and bitter as range burned through her veins.

"It won't be too long. Just… wait, okay? I know you're sick of hearing that word but believe me. The result will be so much sweeter. I have Kate in the palm of my hands. She's after Derek right now, trying to figure out who's the true Alpha, but she won't learn fast enough."

"Peter," Madison mumbled, "when you do get her, think of me, please? When you dig your claws into her skin, make sure you keep them a moment longer, and make her suffer. Mention my name, my dad's and my mom's, remind her of the other family she destroyed. I want her to acknowledge that, too, and know she was served the death penalty for her crimes."

"Why won't you say it yourself? Aren't you going to watch?"

"From a distance," Madison curtly said. "I can't let Chris know I am here. If he's aware another werewolf is in town, he'll anticipate me and you said it yourself, there's no better advantage than the element of surprise."

"Very true," Peter agreed. The element of surprise also aided him. The sudden deaths in this town were alarming and he enjoyed watching the hunters scramble, trying to arm themselves while blindly interrogating very living soul, unable to pinpoint the true identity of the Alpha. Kate suspected Derek but no one else knew why, well, not anyone living that is, he thought with a grin. She was the only one left. "What are you going to do?" Peter asked Madison. "You are alright with me killing Kate for you but I don't know who you are going to go after and how."

Madison was hesitant to tell him her plans but decided that he would never feed her to the hunters. He may have been sly but when it came to avenging his family, it was serious, and he wouldn't risk that, not even for her. That's how she knew she could trust him.

"After you kill Kate, the whole family will be devastated. In the midst of their grief, I'm going to give them another tragedy, by killing Allison."

"Allison?" Peter exclaimed, appalled. Even he knew Allison was innocent.

"An eye for an eye," Madison explained. "I want them to suffer the loss of a child, the most excruciating pain a person can be subjected to, just like I was, except, the roles were reversed I guess. I am an orphan, with no mother to tuck me in at night and even though Frank is amazing, he'll never be like my dad. Dad has a place in my heart no one else can fill." Slowly the place sunk into a pot hole that consumed her heart. Her face fell and Peter immediately pitied the poor child. Her cool grey eyes were harsh under the dark cover of the shadows as they slowly glowed from a dim to vibrant red within an instant. "They took away the people who cared for me, devoted themselves for me, and sacrificed their lives for me. The least I can do is repay them. You see, if I kill Chris and Victoria alone, then Allison would be an orphan and feel the same internal torment I felt. That'd be cruel and senseless, seeing as she hasn't really done anything to me. She's just the offspring of my enemies. So, see from my perspective, I'm merciful for sparing her from that anguish by killing her instantly. Now, with her dead, Chris and Victoria will fall to their knees, begging for death as their only daughter paid for their mistakes in their most difficult time. The grief and guilt will eat them alive until they are nothing but a hollow shell."

Peter felt unnerved by the sadistic smile etched across her face. The difference between Peter and Madison was their methods of torture. Peter was solely for physical torture, making his victims bleed to death… Madison was smarter, he admitted, and enjoyed the fruits of psychological torture, making her victims panic and run in frenzy until they were cornered. She knew what made them tick, what would hurt them the most, what would drive them to suicide… Peter acknowledged her mind as the most dangerous weapon. He was honored to even have a peak at it.

"Then what do you plan to do afterwards?" Peter asked. He was curious on how she would kill him. He didn't think a dainty girl like she would follow a more brutal approach like he would've. He felt bitter about it. At least what she could do is dismember them first.

"That… you will see for yourself," she slyly remarked. Truthfully she hadn't decided on a certain method yet. All she knew is that she would deliver death to them by hand, without any technology of some sort, whether it'd be strangulation, slitting their throats with her claws, or perhaps plunging her hand into their chest cavity and pull out their hearts but the shook off the image. It wasn't that blood disturbed her but she hated leaving a mess.

Shaking the memory out of her head, she immediately distinguished the new scent. She held a defensive stance behind the desk, growling lowly at the intruder. The intruder came closer as his masculine frame entered the main hallway, his dark hair highlighted under the dim light of a lamp posted on the foyer table. She saw a grin grace his lips as she came closer to the door, peering through the glass and curtains before pushing one door lightly, leaving a space open for him to slip his body into.

"Derek," Madison snarled, connecting the dots.

"You know my name but I don't know yours," he smoothly retorted. "I knew something was up. I mean, when I confronted your Beta yesterday, I highly doubted she could be an Alpha. Sure, she left a few bruises and displaced my shoulder, but I healed just fine," he demonstrated by moving his once restricted hand. "I sent my pack to investigate while I did an investigation of my own. Tabitha had no idea who the hunters are, as she had never met them her whole entire life, living two cities away and yet she knew exactly where they were. I could be paranoid but I don't believe in coincidences. Someone guided Tabitha to where they are, someone who was already watching them, and now here you are, actually breaking into their house and searching for God-knows-what. Only one person I know tried to get that close to their enemies and that was my uncle, an Alpha." He smiled at the furious blonde. "What would drive you to do the same?"

Madison didn't answer and continued to glare at the other Alpha. Never in her life she expect to be in the same room with another Alpha other than Peter but she held her cool as she devised a plan to exit the scene and perhaps even frame Derek for her own doing but would rather not alert Chris someone –anyone –was onto to him.

"How old are you? 16? 18?"

"Seventeen," Madison hissed, standing up.

"So young…" Derek mused, looking her over. She was attractive, sleek, and almost delicate looking but her face told otherwise. Her light transparent eyes were cold and calculating but within a moment of his taking another step forward, ignited into a heated red that rivaled his own orbs. "How the hell did you become an Alpha?"

"None of your business," she tried to escape but he blocked her path.

"You have something against the Argents. You don't want them to know you're looking around. That's why you had them chase after Allison to spare you time to break in. That's why you sent your pack to surround them in the woods. You want to scare them but at the same time, you don't want them to know you exist." Derek summarized, staring intently into her eyes.

She growled as she extended her claws. In respect, Derek stepped back. He wanted to make a good impression.

"I want to help you," he offered. "I don't want the Argent's here either."

"I'm not sure you and I have the same intentions," she hissed. She was sure he wanted them gone but not the same type of gone she meant. "And I don't work well with others," she repeated the same thing she told his uncle.

"Please," Derek pleaded. "Our truce is unstable and I'm not sure how long it will last until they turn on me. The hunters can't be trusted. Please," he extended his arm but retracted it back just as quickly as she prepared her arm to swing, ready to tear his flesh with her sharp claws. "Together, we can annihilate them."

"Would you really turn on your pack member? He's in love with their daughter," the daughter she planned to kill but she didn't have ties to Scott. The friendship she presented wasn't genuine, not when she only had one use for him therefore she didn't have to admit to hypocrisy. "I thought you were supposed to protect your pack." And that's what she had been doing. She would not let her newbies engage in any dangerous confrontations.

"I am" Derek defended himself. "Scott doesn't understand the danger he presents to my pack, how vulnerable we are when he has such a close connection to the Argent family. He doesn't understand her loyalties lie with her family, not him, and can turn –and will –turn on him anytime now. I'm protecting his best interest."

She understood he was protecting his pack as a whole but not satisfying individual needs. Not that Scott and Allison's needed to be fueled. They present a risk for the pack, if Chris would use Allison to get to the pack, abuse her trust to kill them. Madison inhaled deeply. Now she understood his dilemma but stuck to her resolve. She would not couple with anyone. She only trusted herself and Tabitha. No other outside parties would share her responsibilities. She didn't want them fucking it up.

"Then do it yourself. I will do what I do and you do what you do, it's going to end up with the same result anyways." She excused, leaning down as she searched through the cabinet. Even though her eyesight was extraordinary, she still had difficulty reading the names written on the tags. Generously, Derek handed her a flashlight.

"Fine, can I at least be a consultant?"

Insulted, she turned to him. "I know what I am doing. I have planned this out for years. I don't need anyone to tell me how to do this."

Derek exasperated and flew his hands up in the air, almost in defeat but Derek Hale is not easily deterred. "Let's compromise, then. I need to know what you're doing."

"Why?" She challenged but did not stare at him as she searched through Chris's inventory and taxes. She began to doubt if she had the right drawer. Irritated, so closed that one and switched to the parallel drawer, scrambling with her beret only to find her attempt futile and decided to just pull it out, extracting some of her inhuman strength. The slam startled Derek who jumped a little in his skin.

Derek fumbled for an excuse as he stared at the determined she-wolf. "Can you at least tell me your name? Something I can call you by?"

"You don't need to know," she accused, searching through Chris's archives. The dim light from the flashlight shined onto a familiar name and she paused, wondering if this was really it, if this file provided the answers she yearned for. She pulled it out and left a huge gap in between files to know where it originally was so Chris wouldn't suspect it was here.

Derek leaned over to look at the file, noting the title scribbled in the tag in thin, capital letters: DUBOLAZOV. "Doo-Bo-L-Ah-Z-Ah-V," Derek tried to pronounce but was given a stern look from Madison.

"DOO-BO-LA-Z-OH-V," Madison annunciated for him, thickening her tongue to make a thick accent, mocking a Russian perfectly. "Not AH-V, as in AVA, but OH-V, like… hmm," she racked her mind for a fitting word, wasting a moment, "it'll come to me later." Derek attempted to repeat what she said but his tongue fumbled as he ended up butchering the surname again, much to her irritation.

"DOO," she waited for him to repeat it. It took him a moment to understand her furious hands snapping in his face but he finally understood what she wanted.

"DOO" he repeated.

"BO"

"BO"

"DOO-BO"

"DOO-BO"

"LA"

"LA"

"DOO-BO-LA"

"DOO-BO-LA"

"ZOH"

"ZOH"

"DOO-BOH-LA-ZOH"

"DOO-BOH-LA-ZOH"

"DOO-BOH-LA-ZOH -V"

"DOO-BOH-LA-ZOH-V"

Madison wittingly clapped sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "There, you finally got the right pronunciation of Dubolazov!"

"And how could you be so sure?" Derek challenged with a grin. A panty-dropper for most girls, she bet, but she wasn't easily distracted to fall for him pathetic trap.

"Because I'm Russian from my father's side," Madison explained rudely, hiding the fact that Dubolazov used to be her name, too, until her Uncles legally changed it to Lundgren when Trevor formally adopted her as his own. Derek hummed. He was satisfied with the slow information she was slipping out.

"And from your mother's side," he curiously asked.

"Sioux," Madison replied again, not even bothering hiding her heritage, as she was proud of it.

"Like the Native American tribe?"

"Yes," she hissed, obviously annoyed. Derek on the other hand hummed in content as he was impressed with the odd combination, the cold, calculating Russian mixed with the hot-blooded and determined Sioux. It sounded like a dangerous mix and yet she made it look stunning. He could definitely he got her looks from mainly her Russian side, blond hair, icy blue eyes, but her skin was darker than her Russian counterparts, more peach than pale, so he assumed she inherited that from her mother.

"Anyways… what is so important about this Dubolazov?" He questioned.

"They were one of the many families victimized by the Argents," she replied mysteriously, reading the contents of the slim folder. She noted the newspaper clippings, skimming the title and paragraph openings. The noticed most of them were after the fire, recapping the investigation over a three week period until they suddenly stopped. She assumed Chris stopped following the newspaper after the Newspaper ruled it an accident. Clipped to the Newspaper were additional photos of the crime scene of the burnt remains of the house (though she doubted they were from the police).

Madison was bitter about it. At first, when she started her plot for revenge –around seven years old –she wondered how the hell the Newspaper and police department could call her parent's murder an accident. How is an arrow lodge in your skill even possibly an accident? Then, as she read the stories, there were inconsistencies. No mention of the head wounds, no mention of excessive gasoline or blood splatter. No, there was absolutely nothing. It upset her deeply knowing she couldn't bring it to her Uncle. No way would the police listen to her, not at that age. She had to wait –her worst pastime.

When she finally confronted the police two years before this moment, when she the age of fifteen, she requested politely the details of her parent's demise and heard the same thing the Newspaper reported. That's when she knew something was up and demanded what. She later learned that he, too, was a hunter, much to her surprise. Hmm, she reminisced, it explained why he could cover it up so nicely. Good thing she learned that soon or else she would've faced the same fate as her beloved parents.

Thinking of which, tucked away all the way in the back of the folder, was his obituary, a modest photo of the man with a lengthy except underneath on how he was an honorable man, even after retiring (a year after the fire), serving his community proudly, and protected and loved his family just as dutifully. She hid a snarl. He was a corrupted bastard but she took care of that. He was the first name to inscribe in her little black book.

Derek watched her expressions carefully as she examined each piece, each document, each photograph of that folder, and realized that this was personal as her emotions weren't shielded. Anger, grief, sadness, anguish… He bet she didn't know she portrayed this.

"These Dubolazov's… Did you know them?"

Madison nodded solemnly, unable to hide the truth or her emotions. "They were very close to me." She expressed, locking her jaw.

"And that cop, this Sheriff…" He read over the small print quickly, "Sheriff Klein, did you know him, too?" Derek asked, noticing her angry expression when her eyes skimmed over his black-and-white photo.

Madison nodded. "He was the one that covered their murder. He worked with the Argents. They swore him to secrecy. He's the reason my parents didn't get justice." She didn't realize she let that slip until she acknowledged Derek's stunned expression. She gaped, struggling with words but realized she wouldn't be able to cover her mistakes. She sighed in defeat. "Don't expect to get any more from me, got it?" She snarled, angry with herself for being so stupid and reckless.

"So he covered up your parents' murder or did he cover up something else, something unrelated about your parents?"

Madison refused the answer and looked at the other documents within the manila folder.

Derek nodded understandingly, taking her hint, and tried to divert the focus from the new hint at her identity and returned to the cop. He had a suspicion she didn't let Sheriff Klein get away with that but had to ask anyways. "Was he found out?"

"By me, yes, and I let him take that secret to the grave," she smirked grimly. Derek nonchalantly nodded along as he glanced at the documents pinched in between her fingers.

"Was there anyone else involved?"

"Why do you think I'm reading this God-damned folder?" She suggested sarcastically, flicking her wrist in his direction. Undeterred, he leaned forward, taking in her sweet scent of exotic fruit like kiwi and mangos while overlooking the document.

She searched through the contents some more until her worn piece of college-ruled paper slipped out from the back, slipping in between Derek and her. Before she had a chance to take it, he grabbed it off the floor and began to read it out loud, understanding Chris's slanted cursive easily.

"I feel like there is something missing," Derek read the first line, glancing at Madison who stared at him intently, hanging onto every word. "After we burned down Sloane's house, we had to rely on newspaper articles for any loose links, because the local Sheriff –Martin Klein –wasn't providing much information. Even though he has his own family protect, we needed more assurance that he would keep the truth quiet, offering him $50,000 to pay for his wife's cancer treatment. As of now, we only know of the two bodies killed inside the house with no living survivors."

"That doesn't make sense!" Madison cried out, startling Derek.

"What doesn't?"

"Give me that!" She demanded, grabbing the paper from his hand. She reread the section repeatedly, trying to comprehend what was being said. The Sheriff didn't tell them she existed? Even when he was the one that questioned her 48 hours after the fire? He knew she was alive! He probably suspected she saw something, too. Why wouldn't he tell Chris that? "Why didn't he tell Chris the truth?" She thought out loud but her voice was barely above a whisper.

"What do you mean?" Derek asked.

"Why did he hide me?"

"You…" Derek repeated, confused. He was trying to piece together what little he had learned to come up with a reasonable scenario. All he knew was that the Sheriff covered up –most likely her parent's –murder of some sort, had connection with the Argents, most like the reason why he covered up the murder, and knew about her –whatever her name was… that's when his thought faded off, unable to tie anything else.

"Why didn't he let them know I existed?" She exclaimed, running a hand through her hair.

"We better get going," Derek interrupted, hearing the distant sound of tires. Exhausted, Madison agreed but was torn momentarily between putting the file back and having to return again or keep it for herself. The heaviness weighed down her hand as it did her head. With a firm line, she decided to risk it and shoved the folder under her arm as she reached down the close the space where it had originally been.

She closed the drawers, unable to lock them, and followed Derek out of the room, closing the door behind her. She knew Chris would find out soon enough. She just didn't think he had enough brains to figure out what until it was too late. He would spend days trying to find which folder was taken and probably doubt one was, assuming it was someone trying to mess with him psychologically. She smirked, so many scenarios, so little time.

The pair exited the house silently, avoiding the automatic lights as a pair of blinding headlights lit up the street. They were able to hide behind the shadow of the woods as the Tahoe pulled up into the garage, rolling into the garage before closing the garage behind it. Madison heard a ruckus inside, shouting and yelling, and cringed for Allison's sake. With a curt nod, she and Derek made the quick dash across the road to her car, hiding behind it as they recuperated.

"I want to help," Derek offered again, staring at her. She glared back.

"I don't need your help," she rejected.

"Maybe, maybe not, but I want to get vengeance, too," he sounded too much like his Uncle. Peter did get his revenge though, on Kate, but who was Derek after? Chris? Chris didn't do anything to him… yet… but she wanted Chris all for herself, after Allison that is. "Just, let me help, okay? I don't want you to get hurt."

"You barely know me!"

"No, I don't, but I want to. Just consider it, okay? Oh, and give me your phone," Derek requested.

"No!" Madison exclaimed, worried about her true identity to be revealed.

"I want to give you my number in case you need me," Derek explained.

"I won't," she argued. "I can settle this for myself. My pack and I can do it just fine."

"I don't doubt that. In fact, I'm very impressed with your Beta. She can definitely hold her own. Where did you find her?"

"None of your business," she snarled before sneaking into her car, starting the ignition. Derek pried open the passenger seat and slid in.

"Can you at least give me something to call you? It doesn't even have to be real," Derek suggested.

"The less you know, the better," she ordered before kicking him out. Derek sighed as she drove off. He wanted to know more about her, more about her Beta, and what she was going to do. He only knew what she had accidently slipped out, a last name of Dubolazov, another house fire, a dead Sheriff who presumably had answers to her past, all connected to the Argents. Realizing his only solid source was the Sheriff, he wondered if there was a widow. That was probably his first clue. Maybe his widow or someone in his immediate family knew something about him or if he shared something with them.

Unfortunately, he didn't know much about investigating. That was Stiles' talent. Resolved, he decided he would go pay the human a visit tomorrow to see what he could access.