It's a Werewolf Thing

Kacey hesitated at the door, staring at her mom, who was hooked up to several machines and fought the urge to run. Obviously sensing her discomfort, Derek placed his hand on her lower back and stepped closer to her.

Taking comfort from Derek's close proximity, she took a deep breath and slowly approached her mom's bed. She looked peaceful and if it wasn't for the beeping of the machinery around the room, Kacey would have believed that she was simply sleeping.

"She looks peaceful," Kacey mumbled, voicing her earlier thoughts and glancing back to find Derek still stood in the doorway.

"I'm sure she is," Derek replied, "The coma will allow her body to heal without causing her pain."

"This wasn't your fault, I could easily blame you and the rest of the pack because you're wolves... but I don't. I don't think that this was about you being wolves, or at least not completely, it seems pretty clear that this is about me."

"If the other alpha didn't smell me on you, then none of this would've happened and he would have left you alone," Derek argued.

"That's not true, Der and you know it," Kacey told him, looking over and seeing the guilt in his eyes, "If it wasn't you, they smelt on me, then it would have been Scott or one of the others and I'd still have ended up in the same situation that I am in now. Being alpha doesn't automatically make everything your fault."

Watching Derek closely, Kacey saw something she couldn't quite place flash in his eyes and turned back to her mom as she heard him move to stand beside her.

"You know that I don't do the whole emotions stuff very well, but I do care and I'm going to be here for you no matter what."

"I know," Kacey replied and she did know that, but lately she had begun to see a different side to him.

It came in brief flashes and he covered it well, but it was there all the same. Deep down beneath the pain and anger was something else waiting to surface, something that Kacey would wait a lifetime to see. Derek had already admitted that Kacey kept him human and she had always known that he cared, but it took a lot for him to say it out loud.

After a few minutes of complete silence, they left and returned to the waiting room to find Scott anxiously pacing. He looked up at her with concern as they entered the room, relaxing a little when Kacey gave him a small smile and hugged him. Waking Stiles up, they headed back to Scott's where Kacey dropped on his bed and closed her eyes.

She wasn't sure when she had fallen asleep, but when she woke up Scott was sitting at his computer and talking to Stiles over video chat. Lying still in silence, she listened as her best friends chatted and smiled when they both laughed at something Stiles had said. Realizing that it was nearly time for school, she climbed out of bed and grabbed some clean clothes. Kissing Scott's cheek, Kacey waved at Stiles and chuckled as he playfully glared at her.

"Hey, where's my kiss?" Stiles complained.

"You'll get it when you pick us up," Kacey replied as she headed to the bathroom.

Staring in the mirror, Kacey's mind wandered to her mom lying in hospital and felt the lump form in her throat. She was snapped back to reality by Scott knocking on the door and with a deep breath, she left the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, they were all in Stiles' jeep heading to school and Kacey felt numb. She didn't know how she was feeling about the day ahead or how she was going to survive it, but she'd get through it the best she could. Pulling up outside the school, they all climbed out and Kacey planted a kiss on Stiles' cheek as they made their way inside.

"Derek told me to tell everyone that there is a pack meeting tonight," Isaac announced as he hugged Kacey.

"There's always a pack meeting tonight..." Kacey stated with a frown.

"Derek probably just wants to make sure that we all show up," Boyd added with a shrug, "Things are pretty tense at the moment."

Kacey opened her locker as they passed by and froze when she spotted the folded piece of paper, sitting on top of her books. Taking it out, she reluctantly opened it and read what was written inside.

'Your mom begged for her life as we tore her apart... this is just the beginning my mate, be seeing you soon.'

"Earth to Kacey?" Isaac called as Kacey slowly closed her locker without a word.

What did the alpha mean by mate? She had heard that word mentioned in the research she had done, but she couldn't remember what it had said and she decided that she should talk to Derek. Ignoring the concerned looks from her friends, she pulled out her phone and sent him a text asking him to pick her up.

Hugging the pack, she rushed back through the double doors and waited for Derek to arrive. Hesitating as he pulled up in front of her, she climbed in the car and he drove them to the Hale house in silence. When they arrived, they went inside and Derek handed her a soda as he joined her on the floor.

"You should do this place up you know," Kacey suggested as she tried to figure out how to bring up the note.

"This place was condemned after the fire and no one is supposed to be here, but I'm thinking of maybe rebuilding. How come you wanted me to pick you up?"

"I found this in my locker and I guess I freaked out," Kacey explained, handing the note to Derek, who read it and growled, "What does he mean by mate?"

"Every werewolf has a mate, someone they are supposed to be with and builds a pack with. Normally it's another werewolf, but occasionally a werewolf will come across a human that sparks its wolf's want for companionship," Derek replied.

"What if the human doesn't feel the same way?"

"Then the bond won't hold," Derek told her, "The bond can't force you to feel the same way if you don't, but it can pull forward suppressed emotions and feelings you may feel for someone else."

Kacey watched as Derek went to continue, but then changed his mind and averted his gaze to the floor.

"What is it?" Kacey asked, knowing that there was more that he wanted to say.

"It's not important right now, it can wait, but you need to be careful," Derek stated, "I don't want you going anywhere alone and I know that you can look after yourself, but it will make me feel better if you had someone with you in case. I'm going to tell Stiles, Lydia, and Allison the same thing."

Kacey nodded, not wanting to be alone after what happened to her mom and wanting to stick close to Derek. She looked over at the werewolf sitting beside her and couldn't help wondering what was going on in his head, but refrained from asking.

The silence that settled between them was comfortable and strangely welcomed, since Kacey wasn't sure what to say. Everything she thought of seemed to be prying into what he wasn't saying, so she just enjoyed the peace instead and continued to watch him.