Don't Take Yourself So Seriously

What everyone knows:
Scott: I'd been with Derek. I'm a hunter and wolf.
Stiles: Hunter. Wolf.
Jackson: He can stick his dirty little nose in our business.
Allison: The hunting.
Derek: What a horrible human being I am.

Kinsey sorted through some thoughts as she walked through the woods. Kate had sent her the strangest text. How could she possibly be keeping Derek on his own property? Did they even have a cellar?

They did. A little ways off from the house was the door. Kinsey walked down a long, cold corridor. A strange noise echoed off the walls.

“Remember all the fun we had together?” Kate was saying.

Kinsey walked faster. “Like the time you burned my family alive?” That was Derek. No doubt. Kinsey stood in front of the door, hand on the frame.

Kate laughed. “No, I was thinking more about the hot, crazy sex we had.” Kinsey's eyelids shot so far they nearly broke off. “But the fire thing, yeah, that was fun, too.” Her smile would be scaring children at this point. “Remember how this felt?”

That wasn't a good phrase. Kinsey slid open the door angrily, her claws pounding out. She pushed so hard that for a moment she feared she broke it.

Kate, the motherfucking Queen of evil, had her dirty tongue on Derek. Kinsey wanted to throw up. Derek's fangs were out and he lurched forward, howling at Kate. She leaned back up, motioning for Kinsey to come forward. “I invited a friend to do some work for me. Be careful with her, it's her first time.”

As he noticed Kinsey, his eyes narrowed. Derek, for a second, couldn't help but think it probably wasn't Kinsey's first time torturing. She put on an innocent, caring act to deceive people.

Kate left. Kinsey was silent, staring up at Derek, chained up from all four limbs. There was no hiding her astonishment at what she just learned. Kate Argent tricked Derek in a relationship to kill his family. New level of psychotic.

“Kate 2.0,” Derek grumbled, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. Beads of sweat fell down his exposed chest. He had cords taped up to him for electric access. Hunters always had their own form of torture, their specialty. Kate had a kink for shocking and fire.

Kinsey went into the room. She walked closer to the table, picking up a little card. It was Derek's license from New York. He wasn't smiling in the picture at all. It was the normal grumpy Derek Hale.

She took a few steps closer to Derek, mouth opening at her first attempt to explain things. Kinsey let her hand trail forward.

“Don't touch me!” Derek yelped, opening his eyes. Kinsey jumped back, cradling her hand in her arm.

It was a lost cause to grovel. Kinsey knew it was, but she had to try something, anything to get it through to Derek that she wasn't Kate 2.0. She had to let him know she wasn't using him to hunt.

But Derek was smart enough to realize that. She was a wolf herself, so they'd find out. However, Kinsey was a liar just like Kate. Just like the other hunters. Kinsey was a traitor to her own species.

You told yourself she was trouble. Why didn't you listen? Why can't you ever do the right thing? Why can't you ever catch a fucking break?

“If I let you go, they'll have my head on a stick.”

“I don't want your help.”

Kinsey looked even younger than she was, walking in front of Derek with her lip out and trembling. “I don't know what I could possibly do to make this up to you. I'm so sorry, Derek. I didn't mean to hurt you. I really care about you.”

Derek faked a laugh. “Yeah, sure you do. I love being beaten, too. All you hunters ever do is lie to people.”

“No, please, it's not like that!” Kinsey said, moving closer to Derek. He beared his fangs, so against her own body, Kinsey took a step back. Her body ached to touch him, hug him and apologize some more. “I couldn't tell anyone I was a hunter. I'd be betraying both sides! And one side is my family. Derek, you know I think family is important. I like you, and I love my family.”

“Stop it,” Derek said, barely opening his mouth. He was still in a tremendous amount of pain, and having that kid beg for forgiveness was pathetic. Kinsey didn't know what he meant. “I don't care for you. At all. I'd rather you beat me right now.”

Kinsey knew it was true. Derek didn't want any part of her. He didn't tolerate deception very well when it came from hunters. Or anyone, really. Derek was a big ball of trust issues wrapped up in pain and angst.

“You and Kate. . . . I know this seems like the same situation, but it's not! I'm not using you.”

Derek knew that. But the feeling in his gut matched what he felt towards Kate. “I said torture me!” Kinsey didn't move, just stared up with a dumbstruck look. Derek shook his head, imagining every way to kick this child out of the room, have some adult do the punishing.

Peter was right, Derek thought. It was only hormones that made me want you. Nothing else. Derek looked back up at the ceiling.

No. It wasn't OK. She lied, yeah. But Derek had that far off look in his eyes again. He was changing everything he thought about her in mere seconds. He was changing every good memory into deception.

“I'm done with this.” Kinsey raised to her feet. “You don't want me. Fine. I don't want you.” She turned around and stormed out, not looking back. You're broken anyway, she stopped herself from saying.

Kinsey couldn't tell anyone. Dad: he'd kill Derek himself and scold her for hunting without him. Scott would want to set him free right away, but he couldn't. There would always be a hunter there to catch Scott. Kate would find him in minutes. Stiles would rather see Derek dead out of pure fear. Allison would know Kinsey's backstabbing everyone.

Life sucked.

The wet moss made Kinsey lose her balance, falling on her ass into the stone entrance. She lied there for a second limp, momentarily wondering if it'd be better to just lie down and dig a hole for herself into China. The mountains could work for her. She'd buy a goat and live off cheese. That's how it worked, right?

Kinsey realized she had no idea how goats worked or if they had goats in China. She picked herself off the ground and wiped her knees.

A voice echoed out from inside, realizing she was still there. “You're like the smoke before a fire. A big, fat warning of what's coming.”