as a born werewolf, derek grew up using his senses normally, he never thought twice about sniffing out his favorite person, or using his enhanced hearing ability to eavesdrop on his mother or his sister. never on peter, though. but when he attended school, he realized that his werewolf side struggled harder than it ever did before. the school bell made his head swam, the scents of all the students, ever-moving & ever-changing - perfume & other scents all mixed together.. his senses were a curse, more than a blessing.
with time, though & hard training, derek managed to control his senses. in school he could choose what to hear, what to smell - although even with a lid on it, he could still smell more strongly than any average human, but it made the world less ..scary.
he always wondered why it was so difficult for him, when the others - especially laura, had mastered their senses, as well as control during the full moon before they hit puberty, but talia would always say that every wolf is different & that they all had their own talents, their very own time to shine. she was convinced that derek, too, would find his own path soon & it would be a great one.