Just Give Me a Reason (Sterek/Stiam) *book three*

Prologue

**A/N: Continues right after the epilogue of The Hunter's Lover.**

"Grenade!" I screamed. Everyone scattered away, the sound of glass being shattered as the windows were broken. Strong arms clasped around my waist and dragged me away just as the explosion went off.

The blast sent us hurling forward and we fell face first, the ground rubbing against our faces. I looked over to see who my unexpected savoir was. I smiled once I saw that it was Derek.

"Ohhh, my big bad wolf saves the day. Maybe you aren't so bad." I whispered. He pulled me up without saying a word, his green eyes wide as he inspected me. "I'm fine Derek, seriously stop freaking out." I said. He nodded slowly, his large hands reaching up and holding my face in them.

That's when it happened. Derek's eyes grew big and he threw me down on the ground, stumbling back with impact. I watched as his shirt started to darken near his shoulder, realizing that he just pushed me out the way of a bullet. His eyes glowed blue and his fangs were bared as he stood in attack mode.

"Stiles run!" He growled at me.

"I will not run!" I yelled back, just as a bullet whizzed past my face, scraping my cheek. It came from the trees, a sniper was hiding somewhere in them.

"They want you dead Stiles. You and Scott. You must go now!" Derek commanded of me. I looked at the large wolf, not wanting to leave his side at all. I felt arms on my shoulder and turned ready to attack.

Liam looked back at me, panic etched on his face. "We need to go, Derek come on!" He cried.

Derek shook his head and nodded towards the trees. "I'm going to distract him Liam, you two just run before that Reaper guy figures out we weren't in that explosion."

"I saw him go after Scott and Kira." Liam admitted. I heard Derek curse under his breath and he glared at Liam.

"You two better take care of each other!" He said. That was his last message to us before he ran off into the woods, towards the guy with the sniper. It was smart because sniper's won't really help you out if the target is really close but still, if the guy had a quick trigger finger that small advantage could cause Derek's death.

"We have to help him!" I said.

"And risk Derek being angry at me? No, I'd rather not." Liam said. He grabbed my hand and started to run, the destroyed cabin on our left side and the woods on our right, slowly fading in the distance as we ran into another part of the woods. I was being stubborn, still trying to break away and run back to Derek, but Liam was being persistant with getting me away from the trouble.

"I can't smell anything." Liam said in a hushed tone. He was trying to be quiet so we could both avoid detection as we snuck through the condensed trees. It was the ideal place for hiding yet I didn't want to hide. Hiding was the old me, and even then I didn't stay hidden for long.

"We're all separated." I whispered. "Scott's with Kira, which is actually a good team. I'm sure Lexi's psychotic ass will be able to take care of herself. And Derek..." I whispered.

"We both know Derek can handle himself. He's a big guy." Liam said as we came to a stop near an oddly large tree.

"Umm, not really sure we can say that. I mean no matter how big Derek is he has this odd habit of always being on the verge of Death. It's so weird like how does trouble always find him? Not to mention, he has the WORST luck with ladies. So I'm going to cross my fingers and hope that the sniper isn't a lady because she might win that." I muttered.

"Wow, you have place no hope with him huh?"

I shook my head, smiling despite myself. "Nope, not when there's a chick involved. Derek's bound to come back with some fatal wound and be on death's door if so. I think he gets his rocks off by making us worry, or he's just an incredibly lousy fighter."

Liam smiled as well, laughing quietly. "Even in the face of danger you're still sarcastic and witty huh?"

"I would not be me if I didn't make a smart comment ever now and then." I admitted.

We sat there together, side by side, looking in every direction we could. Our ears were alert to everything, though our noses couldn't pick up any human scents for some reason. They must've had some scent blockers or something, which wouldn't surprise me with a name like The Reaper. Hell, I'm pretty sure his fellow hunters were also top-notch, which only increased my uneasiness with leaving Derek.

"You're freaking out." Liam whispered. "I can smell it on you."

"Well I'd rather be with him than be with you." I said quickly. I regretted it as soon as I said it, smelling the hurt in the air. I looked over to see him looking down at the ground, his fingers drawing small circles in the damp soil. "Look, I'm sorry." I told him.

"No, It's cool. I understand, the while mate thing. You chose him, so I need to accept it." He whispered. He dusted off his hands on his pants, whispereing a soft, "Come on."

I got up and walked behind him, my gut churning as I got further and further away, my head hurting because I knew Liam was hurt and we were going to be drifting for who knows how long. I just couldn't stand the fact that he was mad at me, yet I didn't know how to apologize. I also didn't know that even though we were being careful not to make any noises we were still being tracked.

**A/N: So yeah, this is the start to my third Sterek story! BTW just to tell you all I copyrights to all my stories so no stealing please, it's just wrong! Though I do not own the characters or the Teen Wolf franchise. Hmmm, what can I say, I'm a sucker for making crazy stories and cliff hangers. I hope you all like this! Ten votes guarantees another chapter! Coming in April!!**