"So this is where you're staying," Maia asked quietly as Derek opened the front door, for her, taking off her heavy leather jacket and hanging it on a coat rack. "Nice."

"Yeah, I killed the lady living here," he replied, smirking at her martyred expression as he dropped his keys into the bowl on the chest in the hallway. Maia walked through the house, finding her way into the kitchen and opening the fridge, "Old lady skipped town? Extended vacation?"

Derek nodded and watched her pull out a pound of raw steaks he had planned on making for dinner, Maia grinning as she picked up a cut of the meat. "You're still doing the dumb shit we did as kids, I see…" She bit into the steak before looking to her former mate, seeing the look in his eyes. Maia was disgusted that even he could still fancy himself normal when she knew that the monsters they both were hungered for blood and flesh. "Jeez, you still have that stupid aversion to eating raw, don't you? Get over it Derek- once you give in fully to your wolf-"

"Is that what happened to you? You gave in, lost your humanity?"

She chuckled and leaned against the counter, crossing her ankles as hazel eyes met blue-green.

Maia folded her arms over her chest again, looking at the necklace around Derek's neck and seeing the charm dangling there, "No, you're what happened to me, honey. I gave into you and when… goddamn it Derek! You took my humanity, my will to live, my baby. You took everything from me!"

"You can't keep blaming me for what happened to him Mai," he replied harshly, knowing fully that it was his fault. "I already have my burdens to bear and I don't need this from you. I don't."

"And I don't need you fucking with my choice to live as I please. And for the first time in months, I would like to take a shower in an actual human fashion, if you wouldn't mind."

Derek sighed and pointed up the stairs, "First door on the left. I'll get you some clothes."

Maia climbed the stairs, stripping off her clothes as she went, Derek following behind her. She was just as he remembered, the black tattoos that adorned her brown skin still looking fresh even as deeply etched as they were into her flesh. Her hair, dark and full, hung well past her shoulders, partially covering the five jagged scars running down the back of her left side. Maia rounded the corner into the bathroom and immediately went to the shower, turning on the hot water until it steamed up the entire room. She pulled back the curtain, stepping inside as Derek passed by the door into his own room. Alone, if only for a moment, Maia let out an almost silent sob, the scalding spray pounding her hardened flesh in a way that put her in a state of near relaxation.

In his room Derek sat on his bed, staring at the small wooden box that held everything dear to him. Quietly he opened the box, pulling out a picture of the entire Hale family- it was the only one that had ever been taken of all of them and the last picture before they had all died in the fire. He wasn't even upset at the sight of Peter, his uncle and the man he had killed in order to become the Alpha. Setting the photo aside, he picked up a small band of silver, reminiscing about the day in which his mate had placed it upon his finger: he had been her husband. And sure he was a werewolf, of course, but in that moment it hadn't mattered to either of them, not when they had been content to just be together. And then he lifted up the small ultrasound photo of the baby that never was, swallowing painfully. "Derek and Maia Hale. Gender of child: boy," he murmured, putting all of the memories back in the box and sliding it underneath the mattress. Derek stood and pulled open a drawer, grabbing the only thing he had taken with him when he had first left Maia- a thin purple nightgown trimmed in black lace.

With a towel he went into the bathroom, sitting on the sink as he watched her bathe. Derek couldn't help how his eyes drifted towards her stomach, seeing how flat it was- he didn't want to look at her, didn't want this new Maia to distort the image he had held on to for so long of her pregnant with his baby.

"You look… skinny," he spoke finally, Maia cracking a wry smile.

"I've been hunting nonstop for almost a year and a half. You're a very difficult man to keep tabs on, but in the end, you came home. You always do," she replied, Derek looking at his hands folded before him. He cleared his throat, trying to explain, "Laura called me about a month and a half ago, said that she had found another Alpha. We were trying to build our pack to kill the League… but it turned out that my uncle Peter was the one killing people in Beacon Hills, and he killed her too. I came back to help her, and ended up trying to avenge her death."

He paused, sighing quietly before he spoke. "The Argents are back Maia."

Her hands dropped and her beautiful features were overcome by an unfathomable expression, Derek's eyes locked on her face.

"And Kate?"

Derek inhaled before nodding, exhaling just as heavily, "You made it back just in time for the funeral. Peter killed her Mai… she was the one who set the fire and I assure you, she paid for what she did to us."

"Still, I would have liked to be the one to do it," Maia replied quietly, wringing out her hair.

She reached out for the towel and stepped out of the shower, happy to know that in the time they had been apart that a very old vendetta full of heartbreak and pain had been settled. Maia slipped into her old nightgown and piled her hair on top of her head, standing between Derek's legs. They both looked at each other evenly, the Alpha male feeling her talon-like nails running up his thigh lightly. "You know, you smell exactly like sex… your pheromones are raging just as you look at me," Maia said, her nostrils flaring as she sniffed him. Derek turned his head as she pressed her nose against his throat, her voice low in his ear, "But you won't touch me, I know that much. Why are you fighting it Derek? You feel, as well as I do, that our wolves know their mate is right in front of them and yours is just ripping at your insides, trying to find release-"

"Stop," Derek said quietly, her tongue wet and hot as it traced his jaw.

"Fine, if that's really what you want."

Maia pulled away and licked her lips, smiling venomously at Derek. He composed himself before getting off of the counter, looking down at her, "So you have me Mai. You hunted and you captured- now what are you going to do?"

"I think I'm going to stick around for a little bit. Have some fun," she smiled, going into his bedroom.

She climbed in the bed and made herself at him, reveling the scent of Derek all around her. He narrowed his eyes, knowing that she wouldn't move once she was comfortable, "This is my bed." Maia smiled at him again and patted the place beside her, Derek letting out a sigh as he moved to yank a pillow from underneath her head.

"On second thought, I'll sleep on the couch."

Derek made breakfast for two, leaving Maia's food purposefully undercooked so that she would eat it. In all the time he had been with her and her wolf, he'd been forced leave food half-raw just to get it in to her. It was either that or literally hunting down fresh food which he liked even less: he had no problem ripping into a living thing with his teeth, but when Maia did it… it just seemed wrong.

He climbed the stairs to wake her up, seeing her sprawled out in the king-sized bed. He remembered fondly all the elbows she threw and the kicks to the shins he received while she was pregnant and uncomfortable in getting to sleep; Maia was a wild sleeper to say the least.

Quietly, Derek moved to her side, reaching out to touch her shoulder. He was startled when her eyes snapped open and her hand wrapped around his wrist, Maia flipping him onto his back before she straddled him.

"Mai!"

She dropped her fist warily, panting heavily as she stared at him, "What the fuck were you thinking Derek? Sneaking up on me- an Alpha- while I was sleeping? Are you crazy?"

"Calm down Maia," he replied with the order of the Alpha in his voice, his hands restricting on her thighs. Derek could feel the strength there, never truly knowing it when they had been together but feeling it all too well now. He lifted her into a more comfortable position, inhaling deeply as he took in her heavy-lidded eyes and kinky hair. Derek allowed himself to stroke her cheek, watching the skin there darken slightly as she blushed, "Its alright Mai, you're safe sweetheart. I didn't mean to startle you like that- I'm sorry."

"Its okay," she murmured before sniffing him again, curious. "You cooked?"

Derek half-smiled and shook his head, "You have really got to stop sniffing people- or I can't take you out in public… And I should really find you some clothes."

"What? You don't like what I'm wearing?"

"I'm not even going to answer that," he actually laughed, Maia letting him up and going through the closet. Derek watched her carefully, the petite female pulling on a sleeveless sundress that she tightened around her waist with a belt and a pair of stockings. She then brushed out her hair and stepped into a pair of flat boots, turning towards Derek for his approval. "I think you need a leather jacket."

Maia rolled her eyes and started downstairs, following the scent of food. "You and your leather… Grow up Derek- we're not sixteen anymore," she smirked, grabbing a still-pink piece of sausage.

"But we are still pretty bad ass, don't you think?"

She looked at him evenly before turning to look out of the window, "Yesterday in the car, you said you couldn't go outside for long periods of time. Why?"

"The Beta that I was running with got me into a scrape with the Beacon Hill police over Laura's murder. Short story short, I was exonerated on all charges but I still try to keep to myself- especially now that I'm breaking and entering into people's houses every other week."

"You haven't been to my house," Maia questioned, Derek shaking his head. It wasn't like he hadn't thought about going to the place where he had spent so many of his nights as a teenager- Derek just couldn't face laying in the bed in which she had given herself to him for the first time without her being there by his side. Maia smiled softly and wiped her hands on a napkin, "We'll go today then, move out of this place- I have to admit, crocheted chair covers and the smell of moth balls does nothing for your reputation as a bad ass. But first, I need to go see something."

Maia grabbed her coat and Derek's hand, half-leading him through the forest behind their temporary house. They moved in silence, neither having to try and keep up with the other when they were walking side by side. It was the way they had always been: Derek had never dragged her behind him and Maia had never been one to follow unless she was chasing him.

They had been walking for some time before Derek froze, knowing where she was leading him.

"Mai…"

She walked further, leaving him behind until she came upon the ruins of Hale house. Its wooden skeleton was charred and burnt, in a state of dilapidation after they had abandoned it. Still, even in its worst, its beauty shown through, Maia biting her full bottom lip.

"It still feels the same," she whispered, rubbing her own arms as an eerie feeling overcame her.

Derek came at her back, looking at the house and thinking of all the memories they had made here. "It still feels like home."

Unconsciously, he wrapped his arms securely around her waist, resting his chin on the top of her hair. "Just close your eyes and remember how everything used to look… Mom painted the door yellow to try and bring a little light into the house, even on the forests' darkest night. We took it upon ourselves to paint the foyer blue one day… the wood underneath our feet was cold at night when we were sneaking out. The fireplace would rage all night in the winter and we would lay in front of it on fur rugs, smiling at each other like we were stupid," he murmured as he rocked her back in forth gently. "I remember your room," Maia smiled to herself, resting her hands over Derek's. "Your lacrosse trophies and ribbons. The black comforter on your bed, the picture of us on your desk; and I remember us, in your room."

He struggled to control himself as Maia's voice caressed every word in the most sensual manner, hearing her heartbeat and feeling her blood rush through her veins, all of the mechanics in her body intense in a way that was simply… her.

"There he goes again," she said quietly, stepping away from him. "The animal you've become."

Even after all these years, there was still the smell of gasoline and ash, the scent burning Maia's acute nose. "I dream, no I have nightmares about that day sometimes, Derek… And then I wake up screaming at the top of my lungs. Screaming for you," Maia murmured, her eyes fixed on the house…

Derek held Maia's hand as they drove home from school, his eyes locked on her. It was their anniversary today- one year they had been together- and they were going to celebrate in true fashion, as they always did. She was wearing his favorite pale blue dress and white flats, her hair barely restrained with a headband, lips painted red.

And then there were fire trucks and squad cars racing past them, Derek's eyebrow furrowing.

"What the hell-"

They turned onto the private drive towards his house and it was only then that they noticed thick, black smoke rising in the distance, fear growing in Maia's heart. "Derek," she whispered, biting her bottom lip.

"Put your seatbelt on Mai," Derek said, throwing his car into fifth gear and speeding up the driveway.

Maia could feel the heat before she saw it, hearing Derek shout as he threw the car into park and jumped out. Dozens of firefighters tackled the growing flames, Maia struggling to get out of the car. Derek roared as he rushed towards the house, knowing that he had had to get his family out before they were burned alive. It took several cops to restrain him, his girlfriend seeing the fire devour the home that had been almost like her own. Laura Hale was already there, seemingly in shock, her eyes affixed on the fire.

"Damn you," Derek roared, throwing himself on the ground. "Aargh-"

She knew, subconsciously, that something was seriously wrong, running to his side and pulling on his arm. Hot tears were running down her face as she thought of the entire family having perished in the flames- they had been her family, too and her heart broke for Derek. "Baby, we have to go. Now," Maia sniffled, pulling him into the trees away from the others.

Derek pushed her away once he could think half-way straight, knowing that the change was coming.

"Go away Mai. You don't need to see this- now!"

"I am not leaving you Derek," she replied, reaching out to him. He could feel his skin ripping apart at the seams, throwing himself onto the ground, "Mai! Run-"

She watched for the first time as he phased in front of her, Derek roaring to the skies. He stood, shirtless in the sunlight, the waves of heat from the flames behind them seeming much cooler in comparison to the warmth radiating off of Derek. Maia covered her mouth with both hands to keep from screaming, feeling herself shake uncontrollably. He turned on her, his eyes a bright, glowing blue- Derek didn't seem to recognize her.

Slowly, he stalked towards her- half man and half… something else, as Maia scrambled to her feet, backing away from the only person she had never thought to fear.

"What are you," Maia asked quietly, jumping when he bared his teeth at her. "Derek!"

He held his hand out to her, looking at the nails that had turned into claws before pulling back, moving to run away from her. Maia held her breath and moved to grasp the locket around her neck, looking at Derek.

"Derek, please…"

"Derek," he murmured, finding some logical, rational part of his brain. He loved this girl and he would never hurt her- and somehow, she knew that she loved him beyond the façade he wore everyday; she wasn't running from him in terror. No, she was standing before him, defenseless and prone, but calling him by his name. "I'm Derek. I'm… still Derek."

Maia nodded tearfully and took a step towards him, knowing that no matter what he was, that he was still hers.

"Yeah, you're still Derek. And I love you."

"You stayed with me," Derek murmured, moving to stand at her side.

"Of course," she replied quietly, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear. "Because even after all of this time, you stayed with me. You've always stood right beside me Derek Hale, and I will never walk away from you, understand? You might walk away and disappear, but I promise that I will come after you every time." He swallowed before digging his hands into his pockets again, half-smiling even as he challenged her very nature, "You promise baby?"

Maia laughed in reply, nodding her head and holding out her hand to Derek.

"I promise baby."