For You

Erica pressed an ear against the vault door.

"Did you hear that?"

"It sounded like fighting." Tyler stood. "Not the Alphas this time either."

"It sounded - like Derek. Derek!" The werewolf slammed a fist against the metal. "Derek, in here!"

A hand came over her mouth and Erica struggled against it.

"Shh. Don't you get it? What if we're not the only ones in here, remember? If your friend is here, or any other werewolf, and they're feeling the full moon for the first time in three months? They'll try to tear us, and anyone else, apart."

"That could be me. What if the Alphas are opening the doors and sicking us on the rest of the pack? Or - or - we don't know if what we've been doing is even going to work."

A scream interrupted them, followed by a crash on the other side of the far wall.

"Caroline?" Tyler hurried to the wall, knowing that voice and scent anywhere. "Caroline!" He punched the wall. "I'm breaking it down."

"What?" Erica pulled his arm back. "You can't."

"It's Caroline. Didn't you hear her? She could be hurt."

"She's the one you left, isn't she?" Erica stilled. "The girl you said you hurt?"

Tyler glanced away from the werewolf, avoiding the way her eyes burned him.

"It doesn't matter. Any time you've tried to bust out, they just fill the room with wolfsbane, or that one super memorable time when they shot you."

"I think they're a little busy with whatever the hell is going on." Tyler lifted an arm.

"Tyler, wait!" Erica reached out and then stopped herself, shaking. "If you break open that wall, you'll be letting the moonlight in. I - I'll lose control."

"No, you won't." Tyler turned to her, grabbing her shoulders. "You've spent months now breaking your bones, controlling the healing, the shift."

"I could barely shift." Erica shook her head. "The room was blocking the real power of the moon."

"I told you, Erica." Tyler dropped his hands from her arms to her shaking fists, taking them in his. "The power isn't in the moon. It's in you. Sure, becoming a werewolf gave you claws and fangs, but it's all still just another part of who you are now. You have the power. You have the control. Now, use it."

Without warning, the hybrid turned from her and punched the wall. And then again. He could feel the vervain and wolfsbane burning him up, stealing his strength. Feel the sandpaper in his veins as he ached for blood. He wound his arm back again, but faltered. Catching his breath, he felt a hand on his readied fists. Turning, he watched as Erica closed her eyes, opening them to reveal golden orbs. Her knuckles crashed against the dent Tyler had made and the metal surrendered, a hole collapsing open, and the top half of Caroline's body visible among the debris. The werewolf and hybrid worked together to drag the limp girl through the opening and into the vault. Tyler knelt down, tucking Caroline's hair behind her ear as he took in the smear of red painting her skull, neck and shirt.

A pair of screams drew their attention to the hole.

"That - that's Isaac and Jackson. I have to -" Erica made to stand and then abruptly crumpled to her knees.

"Erica?"

"Stay back!"

Erica's claws scratched against the concrete floor, her breath beating against her chest as sweat pooled along the back of her neck. A growl grew in the back of her throat and she choked on it. Her head pulled itself up, gold eyes glaring at the prone girl and she watched as Tyler moved between the werewolf and vampire.

"Erica, look at me. At me. Werewolves, at least my kind, we're sort of hardwired to hate vampires. It's our instinct to go after them when we shift. You can fight that, too. Just like you're fighting the full moon. Caroline is a friend."

More than a friend, her mind supplied. Because it wasn't some ancient rivalry brought on by a curse causing her to stare down the vampire like a meal. Her kind was born out of battle with the Argents, not bloodsuckers. It didn't matter what kind of creature Caroline was. What mattered was the way helooked at her. The way he smelled around her. The way he said her name like some sort of prayer.

"Get out of the way, Tyler." Erica snarled.

"No," Tyler planted himself between the two. "Not a chance."

"I can't - it's too strong. It's too much."

"No, it's not."

"I don't want to hurt you." Erica turned her head away.

"Then don't." Tyler stepped toward her.

Erica whirled on him then, fingers curling into his collar and sending him soaring into the wall. The werewolf had hardly moved on the vampire when the hybrid was already back in front of her.

"Erica, stop!" He held his hands up.

"You're going to get yourself killed!" Erica snapped her teeth. "For her."

"Yes, for her," Tyler shook his head. "Because I love her. But more importantly, for you, Erica. For you." He moved toward her again, and this time, she didn't attack. "I won't let you be a killer. I won't let you lose control. Fight it. Control it. Don't let it control you."

The second seemed to pass like hours, but slowly, Erica began to breathe, began to stop snarling and shifting, until only her eyes remained golden. She stared down at the blonde vampire with those hungry eyes.

"Well," she looked back up at Tyler, "what are we waiting for? Let's get out of here so you can apologize to your girlfriend for being such as ass."