It's a Werewolf Thing

Kacey didn't sleep that night, afraid that if she closed her eyes everything would disappear and she wouldn't wake again. Watching Derek sleep restlessly beside her, she fought to control her emotions and keep her heartbeat stable.

By the time the sun had begun to rise, Kacey was already researching and overdosing on coffee to keep herself awake. It wasn't long before Isaac joined, grabbing his own cup of coffee and sitting beside her.

"What are you researching?" He asked.

"Just trying to find out how I'm still here, since I should be dead and not sitting around drinking coffee."

"I don't want to know why... I'm just happy that you're back."

"Yeah well, I need to make sure that this is permanent and that I'm not going to suddenly drop dead," Kacey stated in a harsh tone, feeling guilty as Isaac stood up without a word, "Isaac... I'm sorry."

"I understand why you need to know," Isaac mumbled, leaving the kitchen and heading upstairs.

Running her fingers through her hair, Kacey slammed the laptop shut and grabbed her jacket off the back of the sofa.

"Kacey," Derek called as she approached the door.

"Just don't Derek... I need some time," Kacey told him glancing back and seeing the hurt wash over his features.

Feeling guilt rush through her for the second time in the space of five minutes, she exited the house and made her way through the woods. The last thing she needed was people asking her questions that she couldn't answer... she needed to clear her head and took time as she walked to appreciate the picturesque scenery that surrounded her.

When she was younger her mum would often take her hiking, where they'd make up stories about brave explorers and take pictures as if creating their own book. Her mum would tell her about the guardians of the forest, ancient trees that held sleeping souls at their core and Kacey would pretend that the huge roots that twisted from the ground were wild sea creatures.

The creaking trees and rustling foliage would provide a haunting soundtrack, which made each story spellbinding for a child so young. Of course, those magical times faded as Kacey grew older and became some of the fondest memories she had. She had walked for nearly forty-five minutes, when she finally reached the jagged rock that looked out over the town and clambered up onto it.

Lying on her back, she stared at the sky and started to see what shapes the clouds created just like she had as a child. She had been lying there for two hours, when the first drop of rain hit, but instead of taking cover, she stayed exactly where she was and closed her eyes.

Kacey listened to the melodic drops that hit the forming puddles around her, each drop from a different distance away and creating different sounds. The water soaked into her clothes, but she didn't care because she could feel it against her skin and that had to mean that she was truly alive. An hour later the rain had died down to a light drizzle and Kacey sat staring out over the town, looking back as she heard movement behind her.

"The idea was that you didn't follow me."

"You're going to get ill sitting out here," Derek said, approaching and stopping a good distance away from her, "I was worried."

"At least if I get sick I'll know that all of this is real... the dead can't get ill," Kacey replied, jumping down from her position on the rock and watching him.

"I'm sorry," Derek told her, falling silent and hanging his head in what Kacey assumed was shame.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I'm the one that bit you, Kacey, which means that it was probably me that... I killed you," Derek mumbled.

"Der, this wasn't your fault," Kacey argued, walking over to stand in front of him, "You didn't know that the bite would stop my heart and I know that you wouldn't have bitten me, unless you really had to."

The vast mixture of emotions in Derek's eyes when he finally looked up shocked Kacey, but what made it worse was that shame and disgust overshadowed the rest.

"I Shouldn't have bitten you in the first place," Derek snapped, "It was stupid and I know better than that... after the last time, I should have known better."

"Why did you then?" Kacey asked as he pulled away from her touch.

"The truth is that I don't know," Derek admitted, "Deaton told me that your magic was killing you and you told me to do it, so my wolf took that as an invitation."

"So, if Deaton hadn't told you what was happening and I didn't tell you to do it, you wouldn't have done it?"

"No, because nobody should have to live in my world if it wasn't meant for them," Derek shouted, his eyes flashing red as anger surged through him.

"Like death is the better option here, Derek."

"Anything is better than being forced to live in this nightmare, I allowed you to get too close and I got you dragged into my problems."

"I wish that you would stop with the delusional idea that everything is your damn fault, it was Peter who dragged me into this after he bit my best friend and my dad pulled me in even deeper when he had my mom killed," Kacey stated angrily, moving to stand in front of him again, "You may be the alpha, but you and the pack are the only people that I have willingly stepped into this fight for."

"Why would you willingly put your life in danger?" Derek added as he held Kacey's gaze.

"You taught us that pack means family and family means everything to me... I'm not here by force Derek, I'm here because it's where I belong."

"I don't want to see you get hurt..." Derek mumbled as his gaze slipped away from hers.

"I'm in danger of getting hurt every day even without the supernatural, but I know that I'm safe with you and the pack," Kacey told him matter of factly, "Right now, I need to speak to Deaton about my situation and we still have the hunters to deal with, but I promise that we will talk about everything properly once that's all done."

Walking back to the Hale house, Kacey grabbed a much-needed shower and got changed before heading over to see Deaton with Derek. Finding the waiting room empty, they walked straight through into his office and found Deaton at his desk surrounded by piles of books.

"Hey doc, I don't suppose you're trying to find out what the hell is going on with me, are you?" Kacey asked, causing Deaton to run a hand over his face and look up.

"I'm attempting too, but people coming back to life after two days is not my field of expertise..."

"Have you looked under living dead?" Kacey suggested causing Derek to tense slightly beside her.

"I have actually, but I ruled it out because you're around the pack and they would be able to tell by your scent," Deaton explained.

"Derek, how do I smell?" Kacey inquired with a frown.

"To me you smell of the woods and earth, but that would be different to what Isaac or any of the others smell because you're my mate," Derek answered, "The scents that I pick up are familiar and comforting to me, which is why you are able to keep me grounded."

"Is there anything new about Kacey's scent?"

"It's a little stronger than it was and I can smell the power running through her now, but there's nothing bad."

Frowning, Deaton again ran a hand over his face and returned his attention to a book that he already had open on the table. In Kacey's experience, if the one person that seems to know everything doesn't have the answer to your problem then something is seriously wrong and you should probably start to worry.

Glancing over at Derek, she could tell from his expression that he had come to the same conclusion and took a deep breath to calm herself down. Muttering a quick 'if you find anything let me know' over her shoulder, Kacey led the way out to the car and leaned her head against the cool glass as Derek silently pulled away.