It's a Werewolf Thing

Feeling Derek's eyes on her, Kacey glanced over at him and quickly returned her attention back to the pack in front of her. Jumping slightly as Derek placed his hand on her arm, she looked at him again and shrank back under his intense stare.

"I know better than anyone how you're feeling right now, Kace, but this is not the way to deal with it..."

"They deserve to pay for what they did."

"I'm not saying that they don't, but I know you Kacey and this right now... this isn't the girl that I know. I swear that they will pay one way or another, but killing them will not bring your mum back and it won't get you the answers that you need."

"Listen to him, Kace... you're not a monster," Scott added.

Looking back at the other pack, Kacey allowed her gaze to linger for a few minutes, before releasing the alpha and swiping at the tears that rolled down her cheeks. Pulling her into his arms, Derek glared at the other alpha who had remained frozen to the spot and was staring as Kacey broke down.

"I suggest that you leave Beacon Hills right now because I will not stop her next time," Derek growled, watching as one of the beta's nodded and stepped forward.

"We understand," the beta replied, grabbing his alpha's arm and pulling him away into the woods.

Leading Kacey back to his car with Scott and Stiles following close behind, Derek climbed into the driver's seat and drove them all back to the Hale house. Heading straight upstairs to Derek's room, Kacey sat down on the bed in silence and stared into space. She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there, before Derek entered the room with a plate of pizza and handed it to her.

"Starving yourself isn't going to help," Derek stated as she put the plate on the bedside cabinet.

"What do you care?" Kacey snapped, taking Derek by surprise, "I'm just a stupid human, remember?"

"You know that I didn't mean that," Derek replied as he sat down beside her, "I was just angry and worried, that's all."

"I'm sorry," Kacey whispered, looking at Derek with fresh tears in her eyes, "I didn't mean to snap at you... what am I going to do, Der?"

"We are going to find out what's really going on," Derek told her, running his thumb across her cheek, "Then we will deal with it as a pack."

Nodding, Kacey took a shaky deep breath as Derek leaned in and gently kissed her. Everything seemed to melt away at that moment, leaving nothing but the feel of Derek's lips on hers and the way her stomach flipped with happiness. Her heart was pounding as he pushed her back on the bed, breaking the kiss and laying down beside her. It was Kacey who implemented the next kiss, ghosting her lips over his and smiling as he pulled her closer.

The next couple of hours were spent lying on the bed, stealing kisses and talking about everything that had happened. This was the softer side of Derek that Kacey loved, but was reserved solely for her and the pack alone. A knock on the door was what pulled Kacey from her daydream, causing Derek to stop tracing patterns on her arm and call out for whoever it was to enter.

"Sorry to interrupt guys, but Boyd and Jackson found something whilst patrolling the woods," Scott informed them as he poked his head around the door.

"I'll be down in a minute," Derek told him, watching as Scott nodded and left, "Werewolf business beckons us, my love."

"You're such an idiot... let's go," Kacey added, pulling Derek with her as she got off the bed and headed downstairs.

"What have we got?" Derek asked as they joined the pack.

"We picked up what we thought was Kacey's scent in the woods and followed it, until whoever it was started shooting at us," Jackson explained.

"My dad."

"So, he's hunting on our territory now, which means that he probably knows about our pack and our routines," Erica added.

"He already knew about the pack, he warned me about you... something's changed to make him hunt so close by," Kacey said as the answer dawned on her, "I know the truth, that's why he's surfaced and I bet he's hunting the other pack."

"Well, we need to come up with a plan before he comes after us," Scott suggested, earning nods of agreed from everyone except Kacey.

"I am the plan," Kacey mumbled, causing everyone to fall silent and turn their attention to her.

"What do you mean?" Derek inquired.

"My dad hasn't bothered to try and hunt the pack down until now, "Kacey explained, "That's on me and everyone is waiting for this big showdown, but there doesn't have to be one."

"He's not just going to let us live, Kace," Jackson stated, "He's a hunter."

"Then I guess that kind of makes me one too and I'm not going to let anyone get hurt, especially not because of me. I'm going to go talk to him..." Kacey announced, moving towards the door and pausing when Derek put his arm in front of her to stop her.

"You don't have to go anywhere," Derek told her as the pack growled, "He's already here."

Taking a deep breath, Kacey opened the door and stepped outside to find her dad waiting.

"Kacey," he greeted with a smirk, "Why don't you bring your friends out here to join us as well?"

"This doesn't involve them, this is between me and you," Kacey practically growled as she stared at the man across from her, "Why did you do it?"

"To prove a point," he replied with a shrug, "They are monsters, Kacey and it's about time that you realize that. You're a hunter by blood, next in line to become the daughter that any man would be proud of..."

"The only monster around here is you, you killed my mom to prove a point and you obviously feel no guilt over it..." Kacey shouted, "They may be dangerous, but they would never do something like that."

"You'd trust a pack of wild dogs over your own father?"

"No, I trust my family... the ones that have been there for me when you weren't," Kacey said, "Being a hunter isn't just about killing, it's about protecting others from real threats and that's what the Hale pack do every time a supernatural threat steps foot in Beacon Hills."

"How can you say that?"

"I can say that because I've stood and fought with them," Kacey told her dad, feeling pride swell within her, "They're strong and have done far more for Beacon Hills than people can imagine... I won't let you or anyone hurt them."

As she said that, she felt a hand on her lower back and glanced up to see Derek smiling at her. Scoffing, her dad glared at Derek who simply stared back and stayed at her side.

"I raised you, Kacey and you will do as I say," her dad yelled causing her to flinch.

"You raised me to never turn my back on family, to stand up for what I believe in and here I am doing exactly that."

"You will regret this decision... mark my words," her dad spat, turning on his heels and leaving.

Letting her shoulders sag a little, Kacey stared at where her dad had been standing moments before and allowed her mind to run wild. She knew that it was far from over and with the full moon rapidly approaching, only time would tell of the events yet to come.