why does it matter if derek likes the color?

[ 1.10 — 1.12 ]

A lot had happened in two days, though Willow had been fairly uninvolved.

Peter Hale, in an attempt to scare Scott, took Melissa McCall on a date. Chris Argent had tracked down Jackson and threatened him, thinking he was the second beta — thankfully, Scott and Stiles had shown up and helped him. As if the hunters wanting to hurt Jackson wasn't bad enough, Derek tried to kill him. He would have succeeded if Scott hadn't shown up at the burned-down Hale house and saved Jackson. Moments later, hunters ambushed the house, greatly wounding Scott. He was saved by Dr. Deaton, who revealed that he did actually know about werewolves.

As for Derek, well, no one could reach him. Scott figured he was either dead or captured by the hunters — the latter of which was true. Allison had watched Kate torture the werewolf in the bunker under the Hale house that he was chained up in. Now, Allison had to hide the fact that she knew about the supernatural world from her parents and friends.

And on top of all of that, the Winter Formal had arrived. Allison, Lydia, and Willow had waited until quite literally the last day to buy their dresses.

"I'm sorry, what? You're telling me that you don't have a date?"

It was Kate who asked the question. Willow was waiting in the kitchen of the Argent house for Allison. They'd then go pick up Lydia before heading to the mall to go dress shopping. Kate was attempting to start girl-talk with Willow only to learn that the younger girl would be going to the formal that night without a date.

"I mean, I was asked," Willow told her, sipping on the glass of pink lemonade that Victoria had fixed her. "Many times, actually. I don't know — I've just never been interested in any of the guys at school."

"Sounds like you need an older man," Kate said, smirking. "Personally, I always liked them younger."

"Yeah, Allison told me all about your evil plan to become a substitute teacher," she said, giggling at what she thought was a lighthearted joke. "Jackson won't know what hit him."

"You ready?" Allison asked, rushing down the stairs while pulling her car keys out of her purse.

"Yup," Willow said, getting up and smiling at Kate. She was practically a master at faking charming smiles around the Argents, who terrified her. "Bye, Kate."

"Have fun at the dance if I don't see you," Kate called.

Shortly after the two girls left, Chris arrived. He watched Kate carefully, who had been running off and not answering calls the last few days. And once again, it looked like she was about to take off.

If only he knew about the chained-up werewolf she was itching to torture.

"Girls at the mall?" Chris asked her while moving around the kitchen to tidy it up.

"Yup. Just left," she said, putting a few dishes in the sink for Chris to clean. "I'm headed out."

"Out where?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just meeting up with a friend," she said, smirking.

Chris knew asking her what friend would be pointless. So instead, he nodded to a stack of papers and supplies on the island counter. "Take those and put them on the table by the door. Willow left her homework and can get it next time she's over."

"Got it," she said, grabbing several worksheets and pieces of notebook paper. Kate smiled as she read Willow's name. "I don't think I've actually ever met someone who writes their own name with hearts."

"I just can't believe her teachers accept work written in glitter ink," Chris said, chuckling.

Kate paused on her way to the door and looked down at the papers, studying them more closely. Chris was right. The neat words were written with green, glittery ink. Then Kate remembered the item she had almost forgotten about that she found in the Hale house.

A pink glitter gel pen.

☽︎

Though the shopping trip wasn't even halfway over, both Lydia and Willow could tell that Allison didn't really want to be there. Of course, they didn't know she was trying to wrap her mind around the existence of werewolves.

"Nothing's wrong," Allison said when Lydia questioned her mood. "I just, I have a lot on my mind."

"You could smile, at least. Ever heard of the saying, 'Never frown. Someone could be falling in love with your smile?' Smile, Allison. I'm buying you a dress," Lydia told her.

"Have to admit as far as apologies go, that's more than I expected," she muttered.

Yes, Allison had learned about Lydia and Scott making out in Coach's office. Thankfully, no one knew about Scott forcing a kiss on Willow that day of the full moon. If word got around, there wasn't a doubt in Scott's mind that half the lacrosse team would line up to break his legs — Derek had already snapped his arm for it.

"Excellent," she said, glad that Allison was on the way to forgiving her.

"But not as much as I'm going to ask," Allison said, a mischievous look in her eyes.

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" she asked as they stepped off the escalator.

"It means you're going to cancel on whatever dumb, roided-up jock you said yes to and you're going to go with somebody else," she told her.

"Who?" Lydia asked.

Lydia and Willow followed Allison's gaze as she looked at a boy standing by the perfume counter. They watched as Stiles accidentally sprayed perfume in his own face, sneezing loudly.

"Him," Allison said. Lydia looked as if she'd rather the ground swallow her whole. And that was just the look Allison desired. "Don't frown, Lydia. Someone could be falling in love with your smile."

Stiles had been, understandably, over the moon when Lydia told him he would be taking her to the formal. But now he was enlisted in holding all her 'maybe' options. Allison and Willow left them alone, letting Lydia drag the poor boy all over the Macy's.

"What do you think of this?" Allison asked, holding up a red and white dress.

Willow tilted her head as she studied it. "I'd go lighter. Maybe that silver one," she said, pointing to another dress nearby.

"Oh, it's perfect," Allison gushed, grabbing the hanger with her size. "I'm gonna go try it on."

"I'll be there in a minute," she told her, continuing to look at two different dresses. As Allison left, Willow walked over to a mirror and held up one.

"That's not your color."

Willow spun on her heel to see Peter standing behind her. His eyes were fixed on the deep purple dress that she had been holding up.

"So, the big bad Alpha is an expert on ladies' fashion as well?" she asked, studying him. Surely, he wasn't there to give fashion advice. Scott was likely near, and Peter was trying to agitate him.

"It just doesn't match your skin tone well," he informed her, taking the dress and putting it back on the rack. "As you know, I have a unique perspective on the subject."

"So, what color should a pale blonde girl wear to not look washed out?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Fair," he corrected, his eyes scanning the racks. "Not pale. Your skin is practically perfect."

"This would be ten times creepier if I hadn't met you before," Willow informed him. "Though, I'm sure creepy is the vibe you're going for anyway."

Peter simply smiled at her before plucking a dress off the rack, surprisingly in the right size. "Try this. Not many people can pull off a minidress in this shade of green — Derek's favorite color, by the way — but it works with your hair color and height."

"W - why does it matter if Derek likes the color?" Willow shyly asked. Peter simply smirked at her and handed her the garment.

Willow held out the green dress to look at it. It was short — it would be too short if she was a few inches taller — and made of soft silk in a sage green color. Even without trying it on, she knew it'd wrap around her in a flattering way.

The Alpha did have good taste.

"You know, if you ever get bored with mindless slaughter, you could be a personal shopper," Willow told him, earning a small smile from him.

"It's not mindless, dear Willow," he said. "And it won't be long until my vendetta has been settled."

"You're gonna hurt more people, aren't you?" she asked, frowning at the ground. "Allison? The rest of her family?"

Peter sighed, pretending like his actions weighed on his conscience. "It has to be done. You understand that, don't you?"

"I don't. I don't ever really approve of or understand why people turn to violence," she said, fiddling with her fingers nervously. "But I know asking you not to isn't going to stop you."

"Well, I hope no one ever wrongs you so horribly that you do understand why we choose violence."

"Can you try to not maim or kill anyone in front of me?" she asked, grimacing. "I cry and traumatize very easily."

"I've noticed," Peter said, chuckling. Then he nodded to the dressing room, where Allison was coming out of. "You'd better get back to your friends. I'm sure Scott doesn't want you or Allison wandering around alone."

"Bye, Peter," she told him. Before walking to Allison, she looked back at the Alpha. He scared her, yes, but as always, she tried to see some good in him. "If - if you find Derek, please let me know. I've been worried about him."

Willow did her best to forget about all the supernatural problems in her life as she reunited with Allison. Her friend immediately looked at the dress in her hands and grinned.

"Oh, this green is so your color," Allison told her, feeling the material.

"You looked good in green too — that hunter green coat of yours is super cute," Willow complimented. "So, you going with the silver one?"

"Totally. It looks amazing," she said excitedly. "What about you?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm getting this one, but let me try it on first," she said, slipping behind the curtain of the changing room.

"Are you still sure about getting ready at your house alone? You don't want to get ready at Lydia's with me?"

"I love Lydia, I do. She's my best friend," Willow told her, grinning. "But when it comes to parties and dances, she's a controlling nightmare. I'd much rather meet you guys there."

"And still no last-minute date?" Allison pried.

"Nope. Though I'm sure I'll get asked to dance by Isaac or Matt. And of course, I'll steal Jackson and Scott away from you."

"Scott's not allowed to come, though."

"Oh, trust me. He won't let anything keep him from slow dancing with you," she said, chuckling. After pulling off the dress and putting it back on the hanger, she walked out of the dressing room. "Now, let's go find Lydia and save Stiles from her."

After purchasing their dresses — and coordinating jewelry and shoes — they went their separate ways. Willow's father was working late, taking a shift at the emergency room since the on-call doctor for the night was sick. She had the house to herself as she got ready, softly dancing around to her music as she did so.

Lydia had picked out dainty gold jewelry to match Willow's dress, and heels that added almost three inches to her height. The girl was just about to start straightening her hair when the doorbell rang. It took a second to get down the stairs in her heels, but Willow made it eventually.

When she opened the door, she gave the person on the other side a confused smile. "Oh, hello, Kate. What are you doing all the way on this side of town?"

"Mind if I come in?" Kate asked, and Willow stepped to the side, letting her into the house. The older woman studied her appearance, a smile on her lips. For some reason, the smile made Willow feel uneasy. "You clean up very nice."

"Thanks," she said, grinning as she smoothed down the dress.

"Anyway, I found something I think might belong to you and wanted to return it," she said. Kate then pulled a pink pen out of her pocket, and her smirk grew at Willow's reaction.

"Oh, my pen! The pink one has been missing from my rainbow set for weeks," Willow told her, grinning. "Did you find it cleaning the house or something?"

"Or something."

Willow reached to take the pen, but Kate yanked it away, keeping it out of reach. A confused frown made its way onto Willow's face. "Kate?"

"Why don't you tell me something, Wills," Kate said, using the nickname that her friends always did. Except she didn't sound very friendly. "What was your cute little pen doing at the remains of the Hale house?"

Willow felt the color drain from her face, though it wasn't noticeable because of the makeup and blush dusted on her cheeks and nose. She took a small step back as she began to shake.

"I - I don't know what you're talking about," Willow said, stepping back once more as Kate slowly advanced toward her. "I don't—"

"You've just got everyone fooled, don't you?" Kate asked, shaking her head. "Underneath that sickly sweet personality is a bloodthirsty killing machine."

"What?" she asked, shaking her head. Kate must have thought she was the beta, not Jackson. "I'm not—"

Willow didn't even have time to think about running before Kate was attacking her. Something heavy hit Willow over the head, knocking her out completely.

☽︎

If Derek thought that being chained up in the basement of his burned-down childhood home and tortured was bad, it got so much worse when Kate returned.

"Got a gift for you, Derek," Kate said, wandering in with a twisted smile on her lips. She looked over her shoulder, back at the door. "Bring her in."

He smelled her before he saw her — smelled wildflowers and strawberry lip gloss. Derek harshly pulled against his chains as the male hunter carelessly dragged an unconscious Willow into the bunker.

"What are you doing? She's human!" Derek roared. "Let her go!"

"Oh, I know," Kate said. She nodded to the bars, signaling for her partner to chain Willow up. "Thought she was the beta, but then she didn't heal after knocking her out." Kate tugged on Willow's busted lip, causing fresh blood to flow from it. "But I can't let her go. I'm willing to bet she knows plenty, and a delicate little thing like Willow will sing like a canary if we apply a little pressure."

"Don't touch her," Derek seethed.

"Oh, we won't. At least not until she wakes up," Kate said, a cruel laugh leaving her lips.

Kate and the other hunter left, clearly not planning to be gone long.

Derek turned his head to helplessly look at Willow. Her wrists were bound above her head as she limply hung from the wall. She was all dolled up in a pretty dress for the Winter Formal. The makeup was ruined by the bruise forming on her cheek and the busted bottom lip.

"Willow," Derek called, trying to make sure she was okay. Kate packed a hard punch, and if she was hitting her with the same force she'd hit a werewolf with, then Willow could have been seriously hurt. "Willow, can you hear me?"

The only response he got was a low groan and her head swaying. Derek didn't take his eyes off of Willow as she slowly woke up.

Willow's arms felt extremely uncomfortable as she came around. She tried to stretch them only to discover that she couldn't move them at all. Her head was pounding as she peeled her eyes open.

A whimper escaped as she took in her surroundings. It was a dimly lit room with rather scary-looking weapons lying around. Willow craned her head to look up, seeing her wrists handcuffed above her head, holding her against a wall as her bare feet barely touched the ground.

"Willow?"

Quickly, her head snapped around and she saw Derek chained up in a similar position. He looked exhausted and covered in blood and dirt. His shirt had been taken and some kind of wires were connected to his abdomen.

"D - Derek?" she asked weakly. "Where - what is this place? Are you okay?"

"We're under my house. She's been keeping me here," he told her. "Why did Kate take you?"

"She found something of mine from that day you brought me to your house," Willow mumbled, sighing. "I guess she put the pieces together and convinced herself I was the second beta."

"She knows you're human now. You didn't heal," he told her.

"T - then why isn't she letting me go?"

The door to the bunker slammed open, making Willow jump in surprise. Kate smirked at her, glad to see her awake. "Now why would I let you go when we haven't had any fun yet?"

"I - I don't know anything," Willow told her.

Kate tutted and shook her head. "See, I just don't believe you, Willow. Now, why don't you tell me just how much you know? What are the odds that the sweet little human knows who the big bad Alpha is?"

"Don't say anything, Willow," Derek ordered, glaring at Kate.

Kate grinned at him. "Ah, so she does know something." She wandered over to Willow and brushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, ignoring how the younger girl was shaking. "I don't want to hurt you, Willow. You're Allison's closest friend. But I will hurt you if I need to. And I can keep you here for a long time — not like you have a date waiting for you at the dance."

"So," Kate said, swiping her thumb across Willow's bloody lip, making her wince. "What do you know about the Alpha?"

"I don't know who it is," she lied. If she told her about Peter, then Kate would have no use for Derek. She'd kill him. Maybe she'd kill Willow.

"You're lying," Kate stated, stepping back. "But don't worry. I'll get it out of you or Derek eventually."

Willow couldn't take her eyes off of Kate as she began walking around the room. She stopped at a table with things she had confiscated from Derek.

"Come on, Derek," Kate complained as she went through his wallet. "He killed your sister. He attacked Willow. Now, either you're not telling me because, well, you want to kill him yourself, or for some reason, you're protecting him."

Kate pulled out Derek's driver's license and studied the picture before wandering over to the chained-up werewolf. He looked so exhausted — clearly, they had been torturing him for a long time before Willow's arrival. Kate grabbed his chin forcefully and made him look at her.

"Look at that sour face. I bet you always used to get people coming up to you saying, "Smile, Derek." "Why don't you smile more?" Don't you just wanna kick those people in the face?"

"I can think of one," Derek muttered, glaring at her.

"Promise?" Kate asked, smirking. "Cause if I thought you'd be that much fun, I'd let you go," she said. Then she went back to rifling through his things. "All right, let's see. Nothing, nothing, nothing. God, I hate this detective crap."

"Are you gonna torture me or are you just gonna talk me to death, huh?" Derek asked, wishing she'd just get it over with.

"Oh, sweetie, I don't - I don't wanna torture you. I just wanna catch up. Remember all the fun we had together?" she asked, walking back up to him.

"Like the time you burned my family alive?" Derek spat.

"No, I was thinking more about the hot, crazy sex we had. But the fire thing. Yeah, that was fun too," Kate said. Willow's eyes went wide at the new information. None of them had known that Derek was involved with Kate, who was probably eight years older than him. And he was only fifteen when his family was killed by her.

Kate saw the look on her face and smirked. "Told you I liked them younger than me." Derek lunged forward but was restrained by the chains, which made Kate grin evilly. "I love how much you hate me. Remember how this felt?"

Willow had to turn her head as Kate bent down and licked from his belly button up to his chest. Derek roared angrily, his fangs bared as he desperately tried to attack her. It was useless, the restraints too strong.

"Sweetheart, I really don't want to torture you," Kate cooed. "But he does."

The metal door slid open and the hunter that carried Willow in was behind it. He grinned at Derek while cracking his knuckles. Kate passed, ready to leave, but she did pause and study Willow over her shoulder.

"Feel free to rough the little one up. She can't heal, so leave her something to remember me by."

As Kate left, the hunter set his sights on Willow. She dug her back into the bars of the wall, knowing that escaping was impossible. He approached with a twisted smirk, brushing his knuckles along her thigh where her dress stopped.

"Please don't," Willow whispered helplessly. "I don't — Ah!"

She cut herself off with a scream as he grabbed a fistful of her hair and knocked her head back into the bars. Derek growled and yanked on his chains, his eyes glowing a furious blue.

"Oh, I think that makes him angry," the hunter said, smirking at Derek. He ran his hands along Willow's collarbone, earning a helpless whimper.

"Touch her again, and I'll rip your throat out — with my teeth," Derek threatened. It was much more terrifying than the time he had threatened Stiles, and this time, Willow could tell he'd go through with it.

The hunter pulled his fist back and hit Willow in the face roughly, making her cry out. As Derek roared once more, he used all his might and managed to break the restraint around his right wrist, trying to reach the hunter with his claws.

"Son of a bitch," the hunter cursed. He rushed to the box that was connected to the wires on Derek's body, leaving Willow alone. While turning the dial on the machine, he spat his words at Derek. "Big threats for someone about to be fried."

Willow watched as Derek's body spasmed, the electricity running through his body. The hunter then grabbed a thicker piece of chain and locked Derek's wrist back up now that he was too weak to fight back. Once he was fully restrained again, the hunter then turned the dial up, sending a higher voltage through the werewolf.

"Stop!" Willow screamed, tears streaming down her face. "Stop. You're - you're hurting him."

"That's the point, Princess. And I'm just getting started."

☽︎

Derek was exhausted by the time the hunter finally left. His wounds healed, though slowly because of the electricity coursing through him. The hunter had left it on a low setting so that he was constantly being shocked.

When Kate did finally return, she was annoyed that neither Derek nor Willow had given up the name of the Alpha.

"Unfortunately, Derek, if you're not gonna talk, I'm just gonna have to kill you. So, say 'hi' to your sister for me," Kate said, her hand ready to turn the dial up all the way, high enough to kill him. But then Kate froze and looked at Derek. "You did tell her about me, didn't you? The truth about the fire? Or did you? Did you tell anybody?"

Kate laughed, realizing that no one — other than Willow because she was in the room — knew that Kate set the Hale fire. "Oh, sweetie, that's just a lot of guilt to keep buried. It's not all your fault. You got tricked by a pretty face. It happens! Handsome young werewolf mistakenly falls in love with a super-hot girl who comes from a family that kills the werewolves."

Willow's heart broke for Derek, who she'd never seen look so sad, so beaten down. He really was just ready for her to kill him and get it over with.

"Is that ironic?" Kate went on. "Is it ironic that you're inadvertently helping me track down the rest of the pack again? Or just a little bit of history repeating."

Kate's mocking expression turned to a serious one as she thought. "History repeating," she mumbled, pacing the room.

Willow weakly tugged on her chains, knowing exactly what Kate was figuring out.

"It's not Jackson, is it? Oh, no, no, no, he's got a little scratch on the back of his neck, but he's not in love with Allison," Kate realized. "Not like Scott."

"No," Willow said weakly. "No, not Scott. No, don't hurt him. No!"

But Kate didn't pay her any mind, not with this new information. She left Derek and Willow behind, both worrying about Scott's safety. They had no way to warn him about the danger coming his way.

☽︎

It had been hours of nothing but silence since Kate left. The sun had set, and no doubt the dance was finished. Willow could only hope that Kate not returning was a good sign — a sign that she hadn't caught Scott yet.

"Sorry you missed your dance."

Willow was almost surprised when she heard Derek speak. His head was still hanging low, exhausted from the beating he had received.

"It's not your fault," she told him, even though in a way, it was. "Kind of bummed no one got to see how nice I looked though."

Derek turned his head to watch her. "You do look beautiful."

She smiled and looked at the dingy ground. "Well, I did before getting beaten up — I paid a lot to look this good in this outfit."

"No," he said softly. "You always look beautiful. It's not the dress or the jewelry. It's just you."

If Stiles were present, he'd certainly make a comment about how it wasn't the appropriate time for flirting. And Derek certainly shouldn't have been pleased when he heard her heart skip a beat.

"I'm gonna get you out of here, Willow," Derek promised. "If it's the last thing that I do."

"It's not gonna be the last thing you do," she told him, shaking her head. "You have so many important and great things waiting for you."

"Like what?" he asked, scoffing. His family was dead. His uncle was a psychopath. There was nothing waiting for him.

"Like getting Scribbles to like you."

Derek let out a breathy chuckle and leaned his head back against the bars as he smiled tiredly at her. "Locked up in a basement and tortured, and you are still thinking about your demon cat."

Willow giggled and turned to look at him, meeting those green eyes that she thought were so beautiful. "So, you can talk about how pretty you think I am, but I can't talk about Scribbles?"

"I didn't use the word pretty."

"They're basically the same."

"No." Willow felt like she was burning under his gaze. "I didn't know there was a difference between them before I met you though."

It took Willow a moment to collect herself, turning her head in hopes he wouldn't see the blush on her cheeks — he did. "You can be very sweet when you want to be, Derek Hale."

"Only to you," he muttered. "Don't go telling your buddies though. I've got a reputation to uphold."

"I wouldn't dream of it. I'd be too scared that you'd stop if I did," she admitted quietly.

Willow didn't want Derek to stop offering her rides and calling her beautiful and making her heart speed up and staring at her when he thought she didn't notice — she'd wear her cheerleading uniform every damn day if it meant he'd keep looking at her. He was the only guy she ever wanted to look at her anymore, it seemed.

And that's what he was doing. Looking at her like she was the only person that mattered to him. Maybe she was.

"Willow," he began softly.

But he never got to finish his thought. A low howl reached their ears, coming from the other side of the preserve. Derek tensed up and looked at the door, his eyes wide.

"Scott," he breathed out. Then he glanced at Willow. "This is gonna be loud."

There wasn't much she could do with the warning given her chained-up position, but she did press the sides of her arms to her ears to try and cover them. Derek let out a deafening roar, his eyes glowing blue as he signaled to Scott where they were.

"How long?" Willow asked, knowing that the hunter guarding them would be back soon. Especially if he heard that roar.

"Not long. Scott's been getting faster," he told him. "Peter will have heard it too."

And Derek was right. Only five minutes passed before Scott was rushing into the bunker. He looked around with wide eyes, spotting the additional person chained to the bars.

"W - Willow? Everyone's been looking all over for you!" Scott said, rushing up to her.

"Long story," she told him. He reached for the chains around her wrist, but she shook her head. "Get Derek down. You'll need him first if the hunter gets back. Or Kate."

Scott reluctantly listened, stepping away from her and toward Derek. He looked around for a key to the handcuffs for a moment before finding it and freeing Derek's right wrist first.

"Stop," Derek said suddenly before Scott could free the other. "He's coming back. Hide."

Derek and Willow were both looking at the ground as the hunter returned. She had to hold her breath, spotting the wooden bat in his hands.

"Ready to have some more fun? To be honest, my knuckles are kind of hurting. So, I brought some help," the hunter said, grinning at them both. Willow squirmed as he ran the bat up her thigh. "But I need to warn ya. I used to play in college."

Before the hunter could strike Willow with the bat, Derek's free hand shot out and grabbed it, shocking the hunter.

"I brought a little help too," Derek said, glancing behind the hunter's shoulder. He turned to see Scott standing behind him and as soon as he turned back around, Derek punched him hard enough to knock him out.

"Scott, help me with this," Derek said, trying to pull off the other chain.

"No," Scott said, not moving an inch toward him.

"What?"

"Scott?" Willow asked, frowning. What was he doing?

"Not until you tell me how to stop Peter," Scott insisted.

"You really wanna talk about this right now?" Derek asked, shaking his head. "Willow is chained to the goddamn wall, and you wanna talk about Peter?"

"He's going after Allison and her family. He's going to kill them," he said, which they already knew.

Derek scoffed. "So what?"

"So, tell me how to stop him."

"You can't!" Derek snapped, yanking on the restraint. "All right? Now, I don't know when Kate's coming back, so just get me out of this right now! Get me out right now!"

Scott still wouldn't budge, which only made Derek angrier. "Promise you'll help me."

"You want me to risk my life for your girlfriend? For your stupid little teenage crush that means absolutely nothing? You're not in love, Scott. You're sixteen years old. You're a child!" Derek yelled so loud that Willow flinched.

"Maybe you're right. But I know something you don't. Peter said he didn't know what he was doing when he killed your sister, right? He lied," Scott said, moving on from Allison. "Remember this?"

Scott pulled out the report about the deer with the spiral cut in its side. The one that made Derek go after Deaton originally.

"Where did you get that?" Derek asked, eyeing the paper.

"My boss told me three months ago someone came into the clinic asking for a copy of this picture. Do you wanna know who it was?" Scott asked. "Peter's nurse. They brought your sister here so that Peter could kill her and become the Alpha, and that's why you're going to help me."

So many emotions washed over Derek as he processed the new information. Processed the truth.

"Just say you'll help me," Scott told him, "and I'll help you unlock your other—"

A loud, breaking of metal sound ripped through the room for the second time that night. Scott and Willow both looked at Derek to see he had freed his hand, snapping the other cuff like a twig.

"I'll help you," Derek said simply.

Then he was in front of Willow, acting quickly as he unchained her. Derek was as gentle as he could be, not wanting the metal to cut her. As soon as her arms were released and her feet completely touched the ground, Willow practically collapsed in Derek's arms, exhausted from the uncomfortable position of holding herself up.

"I've got you," he whispered, running a hand through her tangled hair. She leaned her head on his chest. "I've got you."

Walking through the freezing cold forest in a short dress and barefoot wasn't fun. Not at all.

After exiting the bunker, they walked around to the front of the Hale house. Derek kept a tight grip on Willow's hand, both trying to catch their breath, still exhausted from being chained up and tortured.

"Hey. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on," Derek said, stopping Scott who was moving much faster. "Something doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked.

Derek shook his head and looked around before taking his jacket off and placing it on Willow's shoulders to keep her warm. "I don't know. It's - it's kind of like it's—"

"No, don't say 'too easy.' People say 'too easy' and bad things happen!" Scott snapped. "What, do you think finding you was easy? Getting away from Allison's dad? None of this has been easy."

"Fine. You're right," Derek said, sighing.

"Thank you," Scott said, turning back to the house. "Willow, we need to get you home first—"

Suddenly an arrow soared through the air, landing in Derek's shoulder. He dropped to the ground in pain, and Willow followed, trying to keep him upright. Scott whipped around to see Allison with her bow pointed at them, Kate standing just behind her.

Another arrow followed, that one landing in Derek's leg. Willow's hands helplessly hovered over the arrows sticking out of him, knowing she wasn't strong enough to pull them out.

"Scott, your eyes!" Derek shouted, overhearing Kate instructing Allison to use a flashbulb arrowhead.

The next arrow was shot into a tree, emitting bright sparks that burned supernatural eyes. Scott doubled over and groaned, not having covered his in time. Derek took a deep breath and yanked both arrows out of his body, groaning from the pain. Then he grabbed Willow's hand and dragged her along as they ran.

"Get up!" he shouted, helping lead Scott, who was partially blind. "Let's go!"

They ran toward the house but didn't get very far. Derek's legs gave out from under him, not fully healed yet. And Scott couldn't get very far without his sight.

"Willow, run!" Derek shouted. But she didn't. Not with Derek and Scott down, and Allison stomping toward them with a weapon in hand.

"I'm not leaving either of you," Willow said, staying by Derek's side.

"Allison, I can explain," Scott began to say.

"Stop lying," she snapped, walking right up to him on the ground. "For once, stop lying."

"I was gonna tell you the truth at the formal. I was gonna tell you everything. Because everything that I said, everything that I did—"

"Was to protect me?" she asked, scoffing.

"Yes."

"I don't believe you," she muttered.

"Thank God," Kate said, sauntering over to them. "Now, shoot him before I have to shoot myself."

Allison's confident demeanor dropped as she looked at Kate, confused. "You - you said we were just gonna catch them?"

"We did that. Now we're gonna kill them." Without even looking at him, Kate pointed her gun at Derek and shot him in the chest, making Willow scream.

"See? Not that hard," Kate said, shrugging. Then she studied the expression on Allison's face. "Oh, no. I know that look. That's the "you're gonna have to do it yourself" look."

Kate turned to Scott, quickly knocking Allison to the ground when she tried to stop her.

"Kate, Kate, what are you doing?" Allison asked, as her aunt pointed her gun right at Scott.

"I love those brown eyes," Kate said, pouting.

"Kate!"

They all turned to see Chris Argent, who arrived just in time to keep Scott from getting his brains blown out.

"I know what you did. Put the gun down," he ordered.

"I did what I was told to do," she said, not lowering the weapon.

"No one asked you to murder innocent people. There were children in that house, ones who were human," Chris said, nodding to the burnt remains before then. "Look what you're doing now. You kidnapped Willow, a human. You're holding a gun at a sixteen-year-old boy with no proof he spilled human blood. We go by the code — Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent."

Willow silently mouthed the French words to herself as Allison spoke them aloud. "We hunt those who hunt us."

"Put the gun down," Chris again ordered. Then he shot his own gun, narrowly missing Kate's head by an inch. "Before I put you down."

There wasn't a doubt in any of their minds that Chris would kill his sister if she made one wrong move. Everyone was silent as the two siblings stood against each other, it only broken by the squeal of the front door creaking open.

"Allison, get back," Chris ordered, now pointing his gun at the door, Kate following.

"What is it?" Allison asked, backing up.

"Peter," Willow breathed out, grabbing Derek's still hand. Now would be a great time for him to wake up.

"It's the Alpha," Scott said.

He shot out of the house like a lightning bolt. Willow stayed on the ground, knowing she'd be useless. One by one, Peter picked them all off, knocking Chris down, then Allison, then Scott. Only Kate was left standing.

"Come on! Come on!" Kate shouted, spinning in circles with her gun raised, searching for him.

Peter came up behind her and snatched her arm, making sure none of the shots she fired hit anything. Then he threw her effortlessly onto the porch of the house. Peter stalked closer to her before dragging her into the house.

"No!" Allison shouted. As the only fighter still capable of standing, she rushed into her house after Peter and Kate.

Against her better judgment, Willow followed. "Allison, don't!" she yelled, trying to grab her arm and stop her. But it was useless.

Peter was waiting, his claws poking at Kate's throat, ready to rip it out. Allison rushed forward, but Willow grabbed her hand, not wanting Peter to kill her too.

"She is beautiful, Kate. She looks like you. Probably not as damaged. So, I'm going to give you a chance to save her. Apologize," Peter told her. "Say that you're sorry for decimating my family, for leaving me burned and broken for six years. Say it, and I'll let her live."

Willow was so used to seeing no emotion in Peter's eyes, but now all there was was pain. The pain of watching his whole family die and being the one to survive. There were tears welling in his eyes, but he wouldn't give Kate the satisfaction of letting them fall.

"I'm sorry," Kate said, her voice hardly above a whisper as she looked at Allison. She wasn't apologizing to Peter — she was apologizing to Allison.

Then Peter's claws ripped through her throat, Kate's body dropping to the ground. Willow flinched as Allison cried out.

"I don't know about you, Allison, but that apology didn't sound very sincere," Peter said, tilting his head as he studied her. "Sweet Willow, won't you go outside for this? I wouldn't want to get Allison's blood on such a nice dress."

As Peter advanced slowly on Allison, she and Willow began to back up. Willow knew she'd be useless if she tried to protect Allison. She wasn't a werewolf. She wasn't a hunter. She couldn't fight.

Before the Alpha could get to them, someone growled lowly. Allison turned to see Scott on their left, and Willow found Derek on their right, both fully shifted.

"Run!" Scott ordered.

The girls didn't have to be told twice. Allison took Willow's hand and they both ran outside. From inside the house, they heard lots of crashes and grunts of pain.

"Dad," Allison called, crouching down next to him. He was still knocked out from Peter attacking him. They would need his help if Scott and Derek couldn't keep Peter at bay. "Dad!"

After a few minutes of anxiously listening to the fight, Scott was thrown through the window, and Derek soon followed, both crashing to the ground.

Peter, now shifted into his full scary wolf form, grabbed Scott and lifted him in the air. But Scott provided a swift kick that knocked Peter back toward the house, dropping Scott.

Before Peter could attack again, headlights flashed followed by a horn honking. They all looked to see Stiles and Jackson standing next to the Porsche. Stiles bravely threw a beaker full of chemicals at Peter — a Molotov cocktail.

But he caught it as easily as a kid could catch a ball.

Scott glanced at the ground and saw Allison's bow covered in leaves. He snatched it while calling her name. "Allison!" He threw it to her, and she caught it, knowing just what to do. She quickly notched an arrow, not aiming for Peter, but for the beaker.

As soon as the glass broke and air met the mixture, Peter's arm went up in flames. Then Jackson threw a second Molotov cocktail, hitting Peter's abdomen, setting his whole body ablaze. Willow had to look away from the horrible scene, covering her ears as he burned alive. Again.

In a fit of rage, Peter lunged at Allison, but Scott knocked him out of the way. That was all the fight that the Alpha had left as he staggered a few feet before collapsing.

Willow covered her mouth as he slowly transformed into his human self. He hardly looked recognizable with his entire body burned and bleeding.

"Willow!" Stiles exclaimed, seeing her on the ground. They paid Scott and Allison no mind as Willow ran over. Both Jackson and Stiles hugged her tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Kidnapped," she mumbled, her head shoved in Jackson's chest. "Not fun. Don't recommend it."

"Noted," Stiles said, chuckling.

"I can't believe you guys got Lydia to make more Molotov cocktails," Willow said, shaking her head with a smile as she wiped tears from her cheeks. But the smile slipped away when she saw the sad looks on their faces. "What?"

"Lydia's in the hospital," Jackson told her slowly.

"Peter bit her," Stiles explained. "He lured her to the football field and attacked her."

"B - but she's gonna be alright, right?" Willow asked, looking between them frantically.

"It took about a day for Scott's bite to heal," he told her. "The doctors are still waiting for her to wake up."

"I - I'll go see her in the morning," Willow decided. "I just want to go home and get warm and take like four Tylenol."

"Where are your shoes?" Jackson asked, looking down at her dirt-covered feet.

Stiles scoffed and flicked the back of his head. "She just said she was kidnapped. I doubt Peter thought to grab shoes."

"Not by Peter. By Kate," she specified. "She kept me locked up with Derek — wait! Derek?"

Willow turned to the spot where Derek had been thrown from the house only to see he wasn't there. He was stalking toward Peter's body with a determined look in his eyes. A murderous look in his eyes. Willow pulled herself out of Jackson's hold and hesitantly neared him.

"Derek?" she called. "What are you doing?"

"Wait! You said the cure comes from the one who bit you," Scott said, running over to him.

Chris, who had finally come around, walked to both Allison and Willow, pulling them back. He was quite sure of what Derek was about to do and wouldn't risk him hurting the human girls after.

"Derek, if you do this, I'm dead. Her father, her family — what am I supposed to do?" Scott asked helplessly.

"You've - already - decided," Peter said, it almost impossible to get words out. For a moment, Willow wondered if maybe killing him was the right thing. At least he wouldn't be in pain. Despite all he'd done, she didn't want to see him in pain. "I can smell it on you."

"Wait! No, no! Don't!" Scott yelled as Derek raised a clawed hand.

But his protesting was futile. In one swift motion, Derek clawed Peter's throat out, killing him instantly. They all held their breath as Derek turned to face them.

His eyes glowed a bright red.

"I'm the Alpha now."

☽︎

The car ride to the Worthington Estate was filled with awkward and uncomfortable silence. Both Allison and Willow had been exiled to the back seat as Chris drove — he wouldn't let anyone else take Willow home. Not Stiles. Not Jackson. And certainly not Derek.

Shaking from the cold and still wrapped in Derek's jacket, Willow had to stand there and explain to Chris how she was involved in all the supernatural mess. He wasn't pleased about it one bit. He didn't like that she knew who the Alpha was. He didn't like that Willow had ever been alone in a room with Derek Hale. And he really didn't like when Willow made it clear she wouldn't be abandoning Scott or any other future werewolves — such as Lydia — just to keep herself out of danger.

The lights in the house were off when the Range Rover pulled up — Warren was still at the hospital and had no clue his daughter had gone missing. Willow quickly unbuckled her seat belt and glanced at Allison, silently mouthing 'good luck,' knowing she'd be in for a long night with her parents.

"Thank you for the ride, Mr. Argent," Willow murmured. She placed her hand on the door, but before she could open it, Chris locked it. Just like that day he had dropped them off after being trapped in the school.

"Get some rest. I'm picking you up at three tomorrow afternoon," Chris said, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.

"What for?" she asked, confused. They hadn't exactly made dinner plans while standing over Peter's charred remains.

"Training."

"Training?" It was Allison that asked. "Hunter training? Willow isn't really the type—"

"I'll make her into the type," he said, clenching his jaw. "You've got stamina and speed from your athletics. We'll build up your muscles before moving on to combat and weapons."

Willow started shaking her head halfway through. "Mr. Argent, I really don't like violence or fighting or weapons or—"

"I don't care that you're a pacifist or the size of a middle school boy yet to hit puberty," Chris said, turning in his seat to look back at her. For a moment, Willow thought it felt like the few times she had been disciplined by her father. "If you're going to surround yourself with werewolves, then you are going to know how to defend yourself. Do I make myself clear?"

Willow nodded her head in understanding while looking down at her lap. Knowing how to defend herself and hurting someone wasn't the same, even if she didn't want to do either. "Yes."

"What time am I picking you up?" Chris asked, giving her a pointed look.

"At three."

Willow scurried into the house, Chris not driving away until she was safely inside. While getting a shower and sleeping for a whole day sounded ideal, she first stopped at the kitchen to scarf down a peanut butter sandwich and a bag of chips — Kate didn't exactly hand-feed them while being chained up.

As she climbed the stairs and reached her room, she saw Scribbles sitting outside the closed door. The cat wasn't quite hissing, but clearly, he didn't like what was behind it. That told Willow exactly who was waiting for her.

"Hey, Scrib," Willow said, stopping for a moment to scratch behind his ear. Then she nodded toward the stairs. "I put some food in your bowl."

As the cat bounded down the hall and to the first floor, Willow stood up straight and entered her room.

He was there, green eyes fixed on the door she stepped through. Derek hadn't even changed out of his bloody clothes. It made Willow wonder if he had been there the whole time, just standing by her bed and waiting for her to get home.

Willow couldn't think of anything to say but, "Hi," as she leaned against her closed door.

"Hi," he repeated.

She looked him up and down, noting that he didn't look deranged or emotionless like Peter. "Do you, um, do you turn into a big scary thing like he did now?"

"No," Derek said, shaking his head. "That happened to Peter because he let the power consume him. That happened because he took lives needlessly. His shape morphed to fit the monster he was."

"Can—" She paused, thinking over her request. "Can I see what you look like? I've never actually gotten a good look."

"It's not pretty," he told her, shaking her head. "It's not something someone like you should see."

Slowly, she walked toward him until they were right in front of each other. "Please?"

It wouldn't be long before Derek realized he'd do anything for Willow if she was looking up at him with the softest of expressions, asking please.

Derek turned his head away as he shifted, keeping his eyes closed, but gentle hands turned him back to face her. Like a child discovering something new, she used her thumb to part his lips, staring at his fangs with wide eyes. Careful to not cut herself, she poked one of the sharp points.

"Open your eyes," she told him. And when he did, she saw bright red which glowed in the dim lighting. "You're not as scary as you think."

His face morphed back to his human form and the corners of his mouth turned up. "I am scary."

"Sure, okay," Willow said, giggling. Just like that day they spent together after the movie store attack.

Though Derek hadn't placed his hand on her waist, pulling her close until their chests were touching that day. "Say I'm scary," Derek told her.

"I'm a terrible liar," she breathed out, her cheeks heating up from how close they were.

"I know," he said, his eyes swimming with emotion as he studied her face carefully. "So, I'm gonna ask a few questions," he whispered, leaning closer. "Do I still make you nervous?"

"A really good kind of nervous," she answered quietly. Willow bit her lip, drawing Derek's gaze to them.

"You make me nervous too," he admitted, and Willow's heart sped up the slightest bit. "One more. Can I kiss you?"

Willow felt like her heart could've stopped. "Can I ask you a question first?" Derek tilted his head and nodded. "How do I know you're not just a stupid little teenage crush? Just like Scott and Allison? How do I know it won't pass?"

If Willow thought throwing his words from the bunker back at him would make him rethink his feelings, she was wrong. Derek cupped her face gently, the pad of his thumb rubbing her cheekbone comfortingly as the other hand still held her waist.

"This isn't going to pass. Not for me. Not ever," he promised, leaning down and pressing his forehead to hers.

"One more," Willow said, his eyes glued to hers. She glanced at his lips, her own parting. "Kiss me?"

Derek's hand traveled from her cheek to the back of her neck, guiding her lips to his as he leaned down to kiss her. It was soft at first, gentle in the same way that Willow was. But as she slid her hands up his chest and wrapped her arms around his neck, it grew stronger like Derek.

His hands dug into her waist, wishing to pull her closer even though they were as close as could be. Her knees felt weak, convincing her that Derek was the only thing holding her up. Willow was fine with that if it meant he'd keep kissing her forever.

And even when he had to stop kissing her so that she could breathe — it took her a minute to remember how — he placed gentle kisses to her jaw and neck that made her toes curl.

"That," Derek said, his voice barely above a whisper as he brushed his nose along her jaw, "should've been your first kiss."