It's a Werewolf Thing

Kacey spent the next couple of hours sitting out on the porch, trying her best to focus on Moby Dick and failing miserably. The others soon arrived and headed inside where Derek was waiting, but Kacey didn't follow. Another hour had passed, when the wood behind her creaked and Stiles took a seat next to her. He was quiet for a while and Kacey kept her head buried in her book, but finally, he spoke.

"Any news on your mom yet?"

"I haven't been able to ring the hospital today, I just... I can't," Kacey finished lamely as she put the book down beside her.

"When my mom was first taken to the hospital I refused to call or visit, no matter how much my dad tried to persuade me. As time passed and the severity of her condition became clearer, I realized that I wasted so much precious time that I could have spent at her side, " Stiles admitted, pausing momentarily and turning to face her, "I regret every minute that I didn't spend with her before she passed away... don't let your fear of losing her keep you away, because you'll regret it and trust me, sometimes that hurts me more than actually losing her."

"I'm scared, Stiles... what if I phone and they tell me that she's gone?" Kacey mumbled, fighting back the tears threatening to fall, "I just really wish that my dad was here."

"We'll find your dad, are you coming in?" Stiles asked, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Not just yet," Kacey replied with a small smile as Stiles went back inside.

Deciding to head over to the hospital, she climbed into her car without a word to anyone and pulled away. She knew that she shouldn't have gone by herself, but she needed some time alone with her mom and besides the pack had bigger things to worry about.

When she arrived, Kacey took a few deep breaths as her stomach twisted violently in fear and mentally shook herself. Walking along the corridor towards her mom's room, Kacey returned the smile that Melissa sent her way as she passed the nurses station and froze outside her mom's door.

Sitting next to her bed and clutching her bandaged hand in his was Kacey's dad, but there was something wrong... something different about him. It wasn't a physical difference, physically he looked exactly like him, but the vibes she was getting from him were wrong and it sent a shiver up her spine. Backing away as quietly as she could, she pulled out her phone from her pocket and sent a text to Scott.

'Can you and Der come meet me at the hospital, please? My dad is here and something's not right with him.'

'We're on our way! Derek said not to go outside and to stay near the nurse's station until we get there,' Scott messaged back a minute later.

'I will... just please hurry.'

Approaching the nurse's station, Kacey found that it was deserted and that she was alone. Sighing, she suddenly tensed as someone moved up close behind her and turned around slowly to find her dad standing there staring.

"Dad," Kacey said, hugging him and feeling him stiffen under her touch, "I thought something had happened to you as well, where have you been?"

"As you can obviously see I am fine, but you'll be staying with Melissa until further notice... I have some important things that I need to attend to."

"What things? Will you still be able to visit mom?" Kacey inquired, not wanting to let on that she suspected anything.

"Do not question me," her dad replied, his voice low and threatening, "I want you to stay away from the hospital from now on and that's an order, I expect you to obey it."

"Excuse me... can you repeat the last bit?" Kacey added as anger boiled in the pit of her stomach, "It sounded like you just forbade me from seeing my own mom."

"Just do as I say," her dad snapped, causing Kacey to flinch and shifting his gaze to something behind her.

Turning her head, she instantly felt relief as she spotted Scott and Derek walking towards them.

"Mr. Shaw, it's great to see that you're okay," Scott stated politely, "We've all been worried about you."

"It's good to see you again, Scott," her dad replied, although his eyes were fixed on Derek, "Remember what I told you, Kacey."

Nodding, Kacey watched as he walked away and frowned as she noticed a tattoo on the side of his neck. Feeling a hand on her lower back, Kacey jumped and pulled away. Turning as Derek quickly withdrew his hand, Kacey gave him an apologetic look and headed back to her car.

Starting the engine, she waited as Scott climbed in the passenger seat and then followed Derek back to the house. Walking in, Kacey retrieved her laptop from her bag and typed in the word that she had seen on her dad's neck. Seeing the results, Kacey's eyes widened and she felt suddenly sick.

"Kacey?" Derek asked as the whole pack turned to look at her, "What's wrong?"

"When my dad left the hospital, I noticed a word tattooed on the side of his neck and I just found out what it means."

"What word?" Isaac questioned, "What does it mean?"

"The word was Venator... it's Latin for hunter," Kacey mumbled, eyes fixed on the screen as she opened a new tab and typed the word into Google.

"Your dad's a hunter?" Jackson added.

"Apparently so... this says that the word Venator is rarely used as a rule," Kacey told them, scanning the page in front of her for information, "Venator is only used for a specific type of hunter, but by the sounds of it these guys are legendary among the hunting community."

"What else does it say?" Derek asked.

"These specific hunters are relentless in their hunt, known for being unforgiving and bloodthirsty. It's a title passed down through the males in a bloodline and numerous tests are undertaken by each potential Venator before they can be branded with the Venator name."

Kacey slowly looked up to find everyone staring at her, all looking as shocked as she was and her entire world seemed to come crashing down around her. The pack immediately began discussing plans, in case her dad decided to target them... but Kacey just sat in silence and re-read everything that was on the screen in front of her. After twenty minutes, Kacey's head began to pound and she decided to go for a walk.

"I need some air," Kacey announced as she walked out the door, knowing that Derek would follow and she was right.

"What happened at the hospital?"

"My dad told me... no, he ordered me to stay away from the hospital. Der, I didn't mean to pull away from you earlier the way I did, it wasn't... I'm sorry."

"I understand."

"What are we going to do?" Kacey inquired, "With the crazy, obsessed alpha and now finding out that my dad's a hunter... things are not looking good."

"We'll do what we always do," Derek said as Kacey came to a stop, leaning back against a tree and closing her eyes.

"I can't believe that my dad is a hunter," Kacey added, shaking her head, "He did a great job at protecting my mom didn't he, plus the fact that he's been lying to me and probably my mom too for however long."

"He was probably trying to protect you," Derek added, "I'm not defending him, but I do understand wanting to protect you..."

"No matter what happens, I won't let him hurt you or the pack," Kacey stated, feeling her blood begin to boil with anger, "I won't lose anyone else that I care about."

"You're not going to lose anyone, but you have to promise me that you're going to fight... that giving up isn't going to be an option if things get too bad," Derek replied as he pulled her into his arms.

"I promise," Kacey whispered, knowing that he could hear her and melting a little into his warmth.

She had always felt safe in his arms, like nothing bad could happen while he was there beside her and just his presence put her at ease. Kacey looked up expecting to see Derek's usual brick wall expression, but for the first time since they had met that wasn't the case and it was as though the wall had been replaced with a window.

There was so much pain and guilt in his eyes as though he took responsibility for everything that had happened, but Kacey didn't understand why. He didn't start the fire that killed his family, nor had he forced his uncle to go on a killing spree and he sure as hell wasn't responsible for their current situation.

The silence between them was comfortable and Derek seemed at peace with her in his arms, or as much at peace as he could be. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, before Derek was closing the distance and kissing her.

The kiss was nothing like Kacey had imagined it would be, it was gentle, yet filled with emotion and in that short space of time, something within Kacey seemed to snap into place. She didn't know what it was exactly, but for now all that mattered was Derek's arms pulling her close and his lips on hers... the rest could wait. Derek smiled as he broke away, kissing her once more quickly on the lips and leaning back to look down at her.

"We better head back before the others come looking for us," Derek suggested, causing Kacey to chuckle and nod in agreement.

Heading back to the house, they found everyone still working on the plans and Kacey went straight back to researching. She wanted to find out everything she could on Venator's and their history, so that they were prepared for anything that came... little did she know that the next few days would hold more than a few surprises.