Jackson kept the smug look on his face, trying to convince himself of the victory. But inside, he felt hollow. He shrugged Sheriff Stilinski's jacket more closely around his torso, attempting to hide his feelings. When he woke up in that van, he'd felt helpless. Jackson Whittemore hated nothing more than feeling weak. Recently, he'd come to lean on Derek more. When he was feeling weak, he could turn to the man. If there was anything that he couldn't do, he knew that Derek would be able to do it for him. He liked having that help. But inside the van, he was alone.
Chained to the floor, he had nothing but time to reflect on the situation. Stilinski was trying to convince him that he was some sort of monster that was killing people. He figured that they were just looking for an excuse to screw with him, or maybe cover up some murders that Scott or the hunters had done. He had no memory of killing anyone, nor could he remember how he'd ended up in a convict transport van with Stiles. Feeling miserable and alone, he heard Stiles talking to Scott and Allison. He suggested killing Jackson. The idea jarred him; suddenly, Jackson realized that he was completely and totally defenseless if that crazed werewolf decided to come in and kill him. He could hardly move, much less fight off a werewolf. A longing for Derek came over him. Wishing desperately that the man would swoop in and save him, making up for his inabilities, Jackson realized that he was using the man as a crutch. Now, he was totally alone. He heard Scott echo this exact thought outside of the van.
"It's his own fault," Stiles said flatly. Those words made Jackson's chest tighten, and tears jump into his eyes. He didn't have his real parents, who hadn't loved him enough to keep him, nor did he have any friends, except for Danny, who was in the hospital, and he didn't even have Derek now. Where the hell is Derek? He struggled to hold back the tears, only one droplet escaping his efforts. He really was alone. And he needed to remember that he could only ever rely on himself.
Shaking the memory away, he looked up at his adoptive father, who was in a room with Stiles, Scott, and the Sheriff, explaining the terms of their restraining order. Mr. Whittemore had insisted on the restraining order, and his son was happy to see some justice come from his day of indignation. However, Jackson didn't really want to sue them or press charges. Especially after what Scott said about helping him. Maybe Scott really did believe that Jackson was turning into some kind of monster. Maybe they'd tricked him, too. Scott is a lot dumber than me, Jackson thought. He'd probably fall for it.
Derek Hale casually deflected his Betas' questions. He knew that they'd all be eager to kill the kanima, which is why he decided to distract them. "I need one of you to get on their good side," Derek said as he walked up to an old box, referring to Stiles and Scott. He figured that it would take them a while to break the ice, giving Derek time to come up with a solution for his kanima problem. He also told them that he was still unsure of who the kanima was, just to be safe. He didn't want Isaac or Erica doing something irrational and hurting Jackson. The thought made Derek grimace slightly as he knelt in front of the box.
"Hmm, Scott or Stiles?" Erica said, following him.
Derek paused for a moment, considering which would take longer to befriend. "Either," he said, deciding that if they got to be friends with one of the boys, the other would follow shortly.
"You know the full moon's coming, Derek," Isaac said in a superior tone.
"I'm aware of that," Derek said, standing and staring down his Beta. The boy averted his gaze submissively, remembering his place.
Flipping open the old trunk, Derek pulled out some rusty restraining equipment to use on his Betas during the full moon. Isaac began railing the Alpha with questions about the full moon. Derek deflected them once more. He said that he hadn't had time to teach them how to control their transformation. What he didn't mention was that this time was spent trying to figure out how to control his boyfriend's transformation. He hoped that, with the other wolves restrained on the full moon, and Scott unwilling to kill Jackson, he could wrangle the kanima in. Maybe he could even capture it for a short time. However, he still had no idea how to cure Jackson.
"So how about we forget the kanima," Isaac said, once again defiant as Derek stalked angrily away.
"We can't!" Derek said, though his mind was screaming I can't! He realized that he had no explicable reason for his interest in Jackson. He suddenly worried that the Betas were catching on to his feelings. He quickly added "There was something about the way Gerard looked at it. He wasn't afraid. At all." He decided to tell the truth, knowing that his wolves would be able to smell it if he was lying. He did have his suspicions about Gerard, but he couldn't figure out any way to get close to the seasoned hunter safely. "Now, I don't know what he knows, or what he's planning, but I'm sure about one thing: we have to find it first," Derek added passionately. He could sense that he'd swayed his Betas. However, they didn't know why he needed to find Jackson first. An image flashed briefly through his mind: Jackson at the mercy of the old hunter, hung upside down as the sword-wielding Argent smiled grimly. Suddenly, Derek felt more determined than ever to save the kanima.
Jackson Whittemore was momentarily confused. A beautiful face was staring at him. Big brown eyes, stared into his, but they were marred with fear. "Allison?" he said, confused. He realized that he was lying on top of her, staring down at her face. Rolling off, he kept his eyes on her face. He felt cold, his wet hair still dripping. He realized that he was naked, his wet body totally exposed to the cold air. "What are you doing here?" he snapped as she crawled against a wall.
He looked up as Scott McCall burst into the room. Anger flashed through him as his embarrassment turned to rage. Why had everybody decided to intrude on his private shower? It was bad enough that he was waking up in strange places, and that his schoolmates had kidnapped him, and that he had strange visions that were getting harder and harder to separate from reality. Now he couldn't even shower in peace? Now his body had to be on display for Allison and Scott while they played detective with these murders? Now he couldn't even see Derek anymore, since the man had stopped crawling into his window at night? Suddenly, the weight of everything that he was bearing snapped his last straw of patience. He pulled on a pair of shorts; the first thing that he could grab. Allison was yelling at Scott, who ran in and threw Jackson against a row of lockers. He looked up at the boy, anger seething from his skin. "I have a restraining order!" he said, grabbing at the first thought that popped into his mind.
"Trust me, I'm restraining myself," Scott said, sneering down at the boy. Jackson's rage exploded within him: Scott was going down.
Derek Hale paced nervously outside of the school grounds. He knew that if he approached closer to the school, he would be caught on Gerard Argent's cameras. However, he couldn't help but stay close to the school. Since he'd heard about the Argents' takeover of Beacon Hills High from his Betas, he'd been constantly nervous that one of his Betas would reveal themselves. Now, he was more concerned that Jackson would change. So far, Derek was fairly certain that he wasn't in control of his transformations, nor of his actions while he was in kanima form. This made the possibility of Jackson turning on camera even more real, which made Derek nervous. He knew the Argents would be ruthless in hunting him down and killing him. He wouldn't lose another loved one to them.
Looking at the school, Derek banished these thoughts. He became increasingly worried as time passed. He'd hope to drive home with Jackson so that they could have a chance to talk. But Jackson hadn't ever left the school. Derek could still smell him. Also, his car was still in the parking lot. Circling the school nervously, Derek began considering trying to outrun the cameras. He stood at the spot where he could smell Jackson the strongest. He smelled some other familiar scents, but the only ones that he could discern for certain were Scott and Erica. It was much easier for him to tell his Betas' scents from the others', as well as his mates'. He tried to look through the windows. They were high on the wall, and Derek could make out the tops of bookshelves. For some reason, they were all gathered in the library.
Trying desperately to make out any voices, Derek tried to overhear some bit of conversation that would help him. Only the occasional crash or mumble was audible, however. Suddenly, Jackson's scent disappeared. Alarmed, Derek began to make quick calculations in his head. Was there any way that he could make a mad dash for the school, avoiding the cameras in time to check if his mate was okay? Could he disguise himself somehow?
Straining to hear something useful, Derek closed his eyes, focusing on his sense. He could hear screaming, and some loud crashing, as if some kind of a fight was going on. Everything was silent for a second, then his sensitive ears began ringing as a loud crash of glass broke through his senses. He looked up in time to see the kanima burst through a window and run away.
Panicking, he tried to decide what to do. With the window broken, he could hear into the library more clearly. He heard his name.
"No, Derek," a voice said shakily. He could barely recognize it as Erica. He then heard Scott mumble something about a hospital, to which Erica more loudly insisted "It's Derek, D-Derek."
Sighing to himself, he realized that the kanima had probably paralyzed her. She was insisting to be brought to Derek instead of a hospital, possibly as part of his demand that his pack get on good terms with Scott and Stiles. For a moment, he considered letting them go to the empty subway station, but he decided that it was too late for him to catch Jackson now. Furthermore, he probably couldn't do it alone. Turning on his heels, he headed for the subway station, tearing himself away from the idea of helping Jackson.
"You know who it is," Scott said, more of a statement than a question.
Derek paused for a moment, his chest aching and a lump forming in his throat. He hadn't quite admitted it to anyone else yet, and he was afraid to admit it to himself. He didn't want Jackson to be a monster. He didn't want the perfect, troubled boy to be a bloodthirsty kanima. Looking away from Scott, he tried to mask his emotions. Is nothing ever simple? Derek thought to himself. No, not for a monster like you.
"Jackson," Derek replied curtly, sitting on a box and returning his gaze to Scott.
"You just wanted Erica to confirm it, didn't you?" Scott said. It took Derek half a moment to realize that Scott hadn't seen him in the parking lot that night. He didn't know that Derek had been a few feet away, preparing to commit suicide, convinced that he'd killed his mate. Pursing his lips together, he looked away from Scott, almost fearing that the boy could hear his thoughts. He simply nodded, afraid any words would reveal his insecurities. "I'm gonna help you stop him," Scott said. "As part of your pack."
Derek turned to face the boy. Now Scott was looking away. He no longer had to mask his emotions, his surprise genuine. He began to open his mouth to say something, but Scott interrupted him. "If you want me in, fine, but on one condition. We're gonna catch him, not kill him. Derek was glad that Scott was avoiding his stare, so that he didn't see the relief spread over Derek's face. He was glad to have someone on his side that shared the same goal as him. Suddenly, he found himself with hope. Maybe the two of them could catch Jackson and cure him. At least, now he'd have a reason to keep Boyd, Isaac, and Erica from killing him.
"And?" he asked, noticing the look on Scott's face. He knew there was more coming. The boy looked at the Alpha, and Derek raised his eyebrows expectantly.
"We do it my way," Scott said. In that moment, Derek was glad to have absolved himself of responsibility. Scott seemed to have been able to garner more information about the kanima that he had, and he'd had more ability to interact with Jackson. Maybe, with his experience and Scott's ability to move under the Argents' radar, they could help Jackson. For the first time since the night he'd found out Jackson was the kanima, Derek felt hope.