"His eyes said it all..."

                                    

                                          
The pack wasn't far. It wasn't even out of town, but it was hidden away, so no one could find it unless they knew where to look.
She descended the stairs behind Derek, looking around the gray, cluttered hiding hole. Random debris, seats, and broken-down busses accompanied the place. Massive pillars cut through the structure, and she had a feeling most of the junk here was simply to add to the disguise of abandonment.
Scott and Stiles quickly followed behind her.
Three people stepped out of the bus, eyes landing on her and not straying. Two were men, one pale and thin and the other tall and broad with dark skin. The other was a woman with curled blonde hair to her shoulders, red lips, and an angry expression.
"Who's she?" the woman demanded.
Hope stopped when Derek stopped and glanced over at him, then back at her. Instinct told her this woman had sights for the alpha...and the feelings weren't mutual. Hope wasn't the jealous type, and she wouldn't become one, but she also didn't like the amount of slick disrespect in her voice.
The two men were smirking, clearly laughing over some inside joke, which earned a glare from the girl.
"This is Hope," Derek spoke, "And she's welcome to be here." He wasn't her alpha, but even she could feel the authority in his voice. She knew the others could too.
"Hope, this is Erica, Isaac, and Boyd," he introduced them quickly.
"Oh," Erica began with a sly smirk, tilting her head to the side, "She's here. Won't that be fun? Is she here to train, or will that be a little too much for her?"
Hope almost laughed. She had to bite down on her lip to keep it from surfacing.
"Is something funny?" Erica asked, taking a step forward.
Taking a breath to center herself, she shook her head. "Yeah, I don't do the whole...teen...wolf...drama thing. I'm perfectly fine with not being liked. I get it. 
I'm a stranger, and I don't expect you to trust me at first, but I hope in time you will."
Derek gave off the tiniest hint of a smile before nodding to Isaac, "Let's go. You're up."
While they got ready to square off, Hope found a seat among the tattered furniture with Stiles and watched. She didn't look over to meet the eyes that seemed to judge her every move. Instead, she ignored Erica completely and watched Derek.
He moved with such grace, countering every attack from Isaac. His movements were fluid and connected; Elijah would have called it great form. Not perfect, of course. Nothing was genuinely perfect, especially to her uncle.
Hope couldn't help herself. She found herself memorizing his pattern of attack and defense. Which direction he moved from specific attacks, how his feet were planted and changed when he was going to use a different method. Whether Isaac jumped from a crate or the bus, he deflected each. It was impressive how quickly he changed his style, leaving many of his moves up to chance. Which, in itself, was a pattern.
After Derek had Isaac on his back, it was time for Boyd's training, which went as well as Isaacs. Only, Boyd used less agility and more strength to his advantage. 
Before she knew it, it was Erica's turn, and Hope was not fond of the look she gave her while stepping in front of Derek.
It didn't take a genius to understand Erica wanted him, but did she want him as Derek or as the alpha? Hope could practically smell the hormones in the air, most of which were coming from Erica. Taking an alpha was undoubtedly a power move.