The kids were waiting up when Derek and Maia walked through the door, Erica sitting between her pack brothers. Derek had sent her away when the Kanima had appeared with the intent of getting Maia- when she hadn't appeared in a few minutes, he had had to call for his mate himself. "Derek, I am so sorry-" He just raised his hand and waved her off, leaning on Maia for support.

"Go to bed- all three of you. Boyd, Erica, I'd let you stay home tomorrow, but I really need both of you at school so people don't… worry," Derek said, he and Maia dragging themselves upstairs. They undressed in silence before the Alpha male collapsed onto the bed, looking up at his wife as she stared out of the window quietly. "This isn't right," he murmured quietly, his eyes tracing the long lines of her back. Maia smirked without really thinking that his words were funny, her nails digging into the window frame, "No, its not… but then again, when have things ever gone right for us?" He pondered her reply before closing his eyes and letting his body fall back into the bedding, letting out a sigh. "Maia, I need you to be honest with me; you owe me at least that much. All of this insanity in Beacon Hills started when you-"

"Hey, I don't owe you a goddamn thing," Maia snarled, looking back over her shoulder at the man sprawled out across her bed. "And don't blame this bullshit on me- I haven't fucking done anything to result in a Kanima. Hell, you were the Alpha here; why weren't you in control?"

Derek opened his eyes then and looked at the ceiling, exhaling, "I was in control. I was building my pack." They met each other's fierce gaze and Maia was the one to finally speak, her nails curling into talons.

"Jackson."

It was quiet in the boys' locker room as Jackson sat on the weight bench, staring absentmindedly at the steam rising from the showers. His mind was racing with thoughts of McCall and Derek and the mysterious woman who was suddenly a fixture at his side- if she could be a wolf, why couldn't he?

And as if speaking of the devil- well, thinking- she cleared her throat from over his shoulder, Jackson standing in a blinding motion and backing himself against a wall. It wasn't a smart move on his part, Maia thought, and then she was on him like a cat on the mouse, her hand wrapping tightly around his throat. "Aw, what's the matter Jackson? You don't look happy to see me," she said in a mocking purr, smiling down at him. The teen swallowed before mustering up a glare, "I'm not: I don't know you and you don't know me."

"That breaks my heart darling," the Alpha female pouted. "Being that my blood runs through your cold little veins."

Jackson's eyes widened slightly- she knew that he had been bitten and could obviously tell that he wasn't a wolf; Derek must have sent her to take care of him so as to keep their deadly little secret. "You can't kill me." He was startled by Maia's dagger-like grin, the woman leaning into his face and looking into his eyes with a gaze that could have killed.

"Why would I kill you Jackson? I need you."

Time seemed to pass in a blur for Jackson, being thrown into the trunk of Maia's Challenger and driven God knows where. He was then shuttled out of a garage- seeing the inside of a lavish house for a split second- before he was taken to a very dark, very cold room.

Derek stepped out of the shadows and pulled the string to the single light bulb that dangled from the ceiling. Jackson was shoved forward towards him by the Alpha's mate, the rest of their pack leaning against various walls to watch. "Did you get it," Derek asked his wife, the woman reaching into her jacket pocket and pulling out something wrapped in plastic. She gave him the small, informal package and stepped back- Jackson was his problem.

"Well, I haven't heard from you in awhile Jackson," Derek said, prowling around the teen slowly. He could sense his mounting fear, almost surprised by how stoic Jackson really was. "And that surprises me, even after I gave you the Bite. Which I only did to pacify you… But what really pisses me off, is that I spent all of my time grooming you to be one of my wolves and nothing happened. And absolutely nothing happened, right?"

When Jackson was silent, he paused, looking at his vulnerable back, "What happened the night of the full moon?"

"Nothing," he replied quietly, swallowing. "I even taped myself; I can show it to you."

The Alpha male unwrapped the package he held, the plastic falling away to reveal a shard of glass Maia had taken from the scene of the first Kanima attack. He could see that venom coated one of the edges, Erica and Isaac moving forward quickly to bring Jackson to his knees. "Have you ever heard the saying that 'a snake isn't bothered by its own venom'? Unfortunately for you Jackson, past history makes me not believe you. And this… this might be unpleasant." He struggled against the two young wolves, but it was pointless, Derek tipping the edge of the glass into his mouth and allowing a single drop to hit his tongue, Erica pulling his entire head back by his hair.

It took a moment, but then Jackson's entire body locked up, Maia letting out a frustrated snarl. "He's fucking paralyzed," she said, her eyes glowing crimson as she took a step towards the defenseless young man. Derek growled and shook his head, "Its pointless Maia- killing him. Besides, Isaac needs a word with Jackson here. Go cool off. Outside."

Maia turned and stalked up into the house, knowing that Boyd was following after her.

"Mai."

She looked over her shoulder, giving him a half-smile before taking off her jacket and shoes, tucking her hair behind her ears. Boyd watched as she stepped out into the backyard, curling her toes into the grass and closing her eyes. "Come stand beside me Marcus. I have to cool off," she said, extending her hand. He did as she asked, his fingers curling around hers as Maia turned her face up to the sky. "Your dad thinks I'm a hothead… but I'm really just trying to keep us all safe. Together." And then the Alpha smiled, Boyd's eyes locked on her face, "And here it comes."

Just as she spoke, the sky opened up, drenching them both with the pure coolness that only water possessed. Maia looked at her companion when he started to laugh, squeezing his hand just a little tighter. "The best thing known to this great world, isn't it," she asked, Boyd nodding as he dropped her hand and moved to pull his shirt off. She watched him run his hands back over his head, his lips parting ever so slightly to kiss the rain. "This is indescribable…" And then they were no longer alone, Maia looking over her shoulder at Erica and Isaac. They both had strange, curious looks on their face, as if they were seeing something new for the first time- and well, they were experiencing the rain like never before.

When Derek was done with Jackson, he found them all half-naked in the rain, staring up at the clouds and laughing, Maia smiling quietly as she watched. Her eyes were calm and almost tranquil even behind the fire that lived in them, defined her- her tee shirt dress clung to her every curve, her mass of corkscrew curls thick and heavy and wild. Derek knew that she was what gave purpose to his otherwise meaningless life, that his pack… his children were his legacy.

And whatever threatened that had to be destroyed.

And that meant Derek had to find the Kanima, soon.

"Hey, the family's all together now," she said as he kicked his shoes off and walked towards her. He didn't say a word as he cupped her face in his hands, kissing her lips and tasting the rain upon them. Maia was caught off-guard, her hands over his even as she pulled away, her eyes searching his carefully- there was more behind that kiss than just simple desire. "What is it?" Derek pressed his forehead to hers and sighed, blinking away droplets of water from his lashes. "I was just thinking about how much you mean to me, about how much this family means to us. And I realized that the thought of living without you, of being Derek without you… was unbearable," he replied, knowing that the fledgling wolves weren't paying enough attention to be anxious. His mate exhaled quietly, looking up at her husband, "You don't ever have to worry about that Derek- and I swear that on my life. We will get through this together, no matter what."

He brought her forehead to his lips and tasted her flesh, hoping that she would never break that promise to him…

It was later that night that Derek found himself awake, sitting on the edge of the bed with his chin in his hand. Maia and Isaac were in each other's arms, Erica lying abandoned in the sheets from where he had pulled himself away from her. He couldn't possibly sleep, not when his thoughts were running wild with the Kanima- it had already attacked the most important person in his life and who was to say that it wouldn't try again, succeed even?

"Derek?"

He turned to look at Maia, his mate staring at him intently; she hadn't really been sleeping. She could never sleep when he was so troubled and so she sat up in bed, rubbing her throat to remove the hoarseness from her voice. "You won't be able to sleep until we get to the bottom of this," Maia said stately- she had known Derek for the better part of her life and knew his ways almost as well as her own. "Let's go for a run to clear your head; we can talk after."

The two wolves left their pack, running all out through the woods of Beacon Hills, side by side, the sound of their pounding footfalls matching every beat of their hearts. Maia took off through some underbrush, leading Derek to the river where he found her shortly after, his mate having reared up on her hind legs and shaking the magic of her wolf from her human form. She watched the air shimmer around Derek as he stood naked before her, running his hand back through his hair with a sigh.

"How do you prevent something akin to an illness," he asked, trying to think logically. "That's what the Bite is, essentially. Its in our blood and when we transmit it to fledglings, its like exposure. They're being exposed to a bloodborne pathogen."

"Alright, pathogen. You prevent it with medicine, vaccines- things that introduce the pathogen in small enough doses to have an immunoreaction," Maia replied, relying on her previous knowledge of infectious diseases- Derek had better been damn glad his wife aced every biology class she had ever taken. He nodded and turned to stare at the rushing river, hearing her move to his side, "But he had never been exposed-" Derek went silent, remembering something that he had neglected to mention. "I should have killed her when I had the chance…" His wife gripped his shoulder, seeing the muscles tense in his back. "Killed who?"

Derek looked at her, letting out a silent growl as his eyes darkened. "If disease can be passed sexually, can something like lycanthropy or a resistance to it be passed the same," he asked, his nails curling into talons angrily.

"I- I'm not sure; we aren't the norm when it comes to biology, but… it could be. But that means that its Lydia then," Maia murmured, her husband turning in the direction of where they came. He flexed his muscles, preparing to phase, "Then we kill her."

"Wait! You wouldn't let me kill Jackson so you can't kill Lydia; test her and get proof first," Maia said, gripping Derek's shoulder to make him pause. He narrowed his eyes before looking back over his shoulder at her, trying his best to push her buttons. "Since when do you give a fuck about humans Mai?" His wife smirked and brushed past him while banging her shoulder against his, "It isn't about humans or werewolves anymore. I'm in fucking mom mode Derek- and she's... somebody's kid. I know how I felt when someone hurt my child, how I would feel if anyone tried to hurt my pack. We're going to do this but we're going to do this right. We'll have Marcus and Erica test her during school-"

Derek shook his head, knowing that his next words were going to piss her off beyond belief, "Not Boyd… Isaac."

"Excuse me?"