When Jackson got into the basement, he was pleased and confused to see his secret lover, Derek. Derek, however, looked somewhat less pleased. Looking around, Jackson took stock of his surroundings. He was in the abandoned subway station that Derek inhabited, and his arms were being held by two of his lover's Betas, one of which had dragged him from the school. Jackson now understood the dark look on the Alpha's face; he was hiding his feelings for Jackson for the benefit of his lackeys. Long ago, the pair decided to keep their relationship a secret. Jackson was surprised to find that he was planning on keeping his secret from his pack as well. In public, they were little more than strangers. Behind closed doors, however, the couple shared a passionate affair.
Jackson struggled weakly against the two strong wolves, putting on a show. Derek didn't dare look at his lover, fearing that his face would betray his emotions. "What happened to you on the night of the full moon?" Derek asked, keeping his eyes coolly on the floor.
"What? Nothing. Nothing happened!" Jackson spat back. In truth, he was angry about the fact that he hadn't turned. He wanted desperately to be a part of Derek's pack. Derek wanted it too, though he was hesitant to bite his lover. He feared that the boy would die instead of turning. At the time, they weren't lovers. Afterward, their relationship began. They ended up spending time together, trying to figure out why Jackson survived without turning. In that time, their love for each other bloomed.
Derek raised his eyes to Jackson's, looking up from his seated position on the floor. Jackson was taken aback by the look in the man's eyes. He wore a dark expression, but Jackson could tell that Derek was in pain. This made the boy nervous. "You're lying," Derek said, returning his eyes to their resting position on the floor.
The conversation continued, and the pair carried on with their charade. They put on a convincing show for Isaac and Erica, though Jackson was careful not to lie. He knew that they would be able to sense it. He realized that Derek had probably said that he was lying earlier to make up for the fact that his senses were giving off lying signals. He almost felt like laughing at his lover's quick thinking.
Suddenly, Jackson realized that he was in more than just a game. Isaac forced his mouth open while Erica continued to restrain his arms. Derek approached him with a broken piece of glass. Jackson could see the pain in his lover's eyes. He knew that Derek wouldn't ever want to hurt him unless it was completely necessary. He saw the reflection of his own face, contorted with confusion and fear. Derek's complacent mask broke for a second, showing the pain he felt at possibly hurting his lover. Jackson knew that there was a possibility that he was the kanima, so Derek had to test him.
Submitting to his fate, Derek watched the gleaming drop of venom slip from the point of the shard of glass, slipping into his mouth. Immediately, he could sense the poison taking effect. His tongue went numb at the point of impact, spreading to the rest of his mouth. The paralysis moved through his entire head before slipping over the rest of his body. In a matter of seconds, he fell, the two Betas allowing him to slip to the floor. Panic seized the boy's brain as his immobile body lay helplessly on the floor.
He watched through hazy vision as Derek's dark face reflection his distress. The man wanted badly to go and help his lover, but he knew that any sign of compassion may betray his feelings to his pack. This would compromise his authority, and possibly put Jackson at risk with the hunters. However, he was relieved to find out that Jackson wasn't the kanima. Going over to his vulnerable lover, Derek bent down to his beautiful face. The look of terror made his heart break, but he forced out a few lines about Jackson being a snake before he was unable to stand the sight any longer. He retired to his subway car, waiting until his Betas were gone to break down.
Derek clenched his jaw as he bided his rage. Scott was yelling at him, trying to convince the man to leave Lydia alone. However, the boy had realized that Derek knew less than he'd let on. "What about Jackson?" Scott said. Derek's face fell at the mention of his lover's name. Memories of the boy lying on the floor, paralyzed and helpless flooded his head. He felt guilty, and he also felt fear. He still didn't know why Jackson hadn't turned, and he was afraid that it might mean something bad. "That's why you tested him, isn't it? Because you gave him what he wanted, didn't you?"
"Scott-" Derek said, fed up. He was losing his patience with the boy, who was giving voice to his deepest, darkest concerns.
"Peter said the bite either kills you or turns you!" Scott continued. "You were probably hoping that he would die."
Derek retreated into himself. Hearing someone else say his deepest, darkest secret out loud scared him. Every day, he regretted the fact that the only reason he bit Jackson was to get rid of the cocky boy. Since then, he'd fallen in love and couldn't imagine a life without him. It made him sick to think that he wanted his lover dead, and the memory haunted him.
"But nothing happened, did it?" Scott said, making Derek feel a bit better. Maybe the ends justify the means? "You have no idea why, do you?"
Derek was quiet for a second, composing himself. "No," he growled through gritted teeth. Memories of the nights the two had spent together flooded his mind. They searched for a reason why Jackson neither turned nor died together. In these late nights spent studying, he'd fallen in love.
Scott prattled on about some theory that he had that Lydia and Jackson were immune. Derek had long ago decided that there was no alternative to killing the kanima. He thought of Jackson lying on the floor of the subway station, helpless and scared. He imagined that abomination standing over him, ready to kill the boy that he loved. "Look, I can't let her live!" Derek burst, staring intently at Scott, though his mind was on protecting Jackson.
Jackson's stomach sank. He could feel some sort of transformation coming on, like he had before. His senses heightened as his body began to react to the moonlight coming through the window. He smelled Lydia on his skin, and her and Stiles and Allison outside. He smelled Erica and Isaac, too. Further away, he could smell Derek. He realized that Derek was outside of the house, waiting for Lydia.
He doubled over in pain as the transformation spread across his body. His skin hardened in blotches, turning green and scaly. His vision got sharper, as did his claws and teeth. Suddenly, he thought of Derek standing alone outside, smelling him and Lydia inside the house. Surely the Alpha knew what was going on inside the house. He felt like crying as pain rippled through his spine, a tail beginning to extend from his body. Why had he given in? Why did Lydia still have the same hold over him? Was it just their history? In truth, he felt sorry for the lonely girl. He didn't want to break her heart, but he had to. Why had he kissed her? He regretted the decision as he fell to the floor, his smooth, scaled head in his hands.
Derek stared up at the monster as sirens blared from far away. That monster had kissed Jackson. He could even smell the boy on it. Anger flared within him as his flashed red. He would relish killing the abomination. The hideous beast screeched, and Derek's face hardened. Looking at the rows of sharp teeth and venomous saliva, he wondered urgently if Jackson was okay. He wondered if kissing that atrocity had paralyzed him.
The creature scurried off, leaving the group on the front lawn, staring at an empty night sky. Looking at the empty space where the creature was, Derek thought of Lydia, who had been so close to Jackson for so long. He thought of all of the opportunities that she'd had to kill him. He thought of how close his perfect boy had come to death.
Banishing these thoughts, Derek looked down at his two paralyzed Betas. "Get them out of here," he said to Boyd, dealing with the matters at hand. He was trying to devise a way to sneak into the house and check on Jackson after he'd been in that monster's grasp. Suddenly, Lydia walked through the front door. Derek's stomach sank and his eyes filled with tears. He tried to catch his breath, feeling as if someone had punched him in the gut. If Lydia was here, then there was only one person that the kanima could be. His face hardened and he felt like vomiting. He whispered in sync with Scott. "It's Jackson."