Maia and Boyd fought in the 'dungeon' as Isaac had so affectionately called it, the younger wolf struggling to stand up against the more experienced and deadlier Alpha. She hit him in the chest, working him up and down the length of the room, making sure to rile him up as she went.

"Now Boyd! Do it now!"

He attempted to fully phase, feeling his wolf rear up within him and trying to let the transformation overcome him. Maia watched as his wolf emerged, his massive form starting to coalesce into a dark russet shape before it retreated underneath her burning gaze, Boyd letting out an roar of agonized defeat. "Goddamn it! I almost had it Maia-" She moved to place her hand on his shoulder, shaking her head, "Its alright Marcus. A full phase isn't completed sometimes until after the first year of being a lycanthrope- I promise you, you'll get it. But until then, get back up and try again."

Once the young wolf was thoroughly exhausted she allowed him to leave, but instead of following him up to bed, Maia continued to train- something that was pretty much pointless considering she had full control over her wolf and she was much stronger on four legs than she could ever be on two.

The door opened and she paused after an impressive cartwheel ended in the decapitation of her invisible adversary, turning to see Derek standing in the doorway.

They looked at each other for a long while before either of them spoke, Maia attempting to ignore the warm familiarity of his scent as it stole through the room. "Maia." The sound of his voice was different- Derek must have done a lot of soul searching on his run; when she had returned from retrieving the information on their next lead, he was gone, leaving Isaac to deliver the message that he didn't plan on returning for a few days' time. However, being that it had only been a little over six hours, obviously he had something to say.

"Let me speak," she said quietly, looking at her husband, knowing that he had made up his mind about something- she at least needed to have her voice heard, for once. "We gave it the college try Derek, attempting to be… what we used to be, but obviously, the events of the past week have shown that we can't just go back. You know how hard it was for me that year after Joshua died, trying to keep a hold of Maia even when my wolf was just calling and calling for me… You knew Derek and still, you walked out on me. I can honestly say that after losing my sister, after losing your family, after losing our son, that that was rock bottom for me. And yet, I came back from that and I'm standing in front of you, stronger than ever… but only because I'm standing here with you. You don't get to walk away from me again, because I won't let you. I won't go back to that-"

Derek felt his heart clench up at the guilt that rocked him in a great crashing wave- despite all that he had tried to believe, that the was only doing the best by leaving Maia, here she was throwing it in his face that he had been wrong. And that, the knowledge that he had done that to her, caused her so much… pain, broke him.

She moved to wrap her arms around him, burying her face into his neck even as he stood as still as a statue, his arms held against his sides. "Why do put yourself through this? Letting me break you into a thousand little pieces…" Maia pulled back to look up at his face, seeing that his eyes were coal black- a color she had only seen once in his eyes as he had held her in his arms on the eve of her humanity's death- Derek taking a hold of her shoulders and pulling her away. "Why do you let me do this?"

"Because I love you."

He tore his gaze from hers and shook his head, feeling her hands pressing against his chest, "You're not supposed to hurt the one you love…"

"Derek, look at me," she whispered, lifting his chin up and searching his eyes for something there she couldn't see. "Can't you see it? Don't you understand why all that pain was necessary? Everything in this life has a price and that includes happiness- I had to lose everything to realize how precious it truly was when I gained it all back. Just like you; you are the most important thing in my life and I only recognized that truth after you were already gone. Its why I never stopped running, why I'm here now… because you are it for me. And I will do anything to keep it that way-"

Maia was aware for half-second that she had thrown against the wall when the stone cracked underneath the force before the sudden crushing weight of Derek's body pinned her there, the sensation of his arms wrapping around her not uncomfortable, even if it momentarily knocked the breath from her lungs.

It was a compulsion to kiss her, his hand tangling in her hair, their burning lips moving in tandem, the Alpha female allowing herself to dominated for only a moment before taking her mate to the ground. Maia let out an impressive growl before ripping the shirt from his body, Derek doing away with a trivial thought at how it had been one of his favorites when he felt her hands sliding down his chest. He gasped when her lips followed closely behind and Derek had to fight the urge to phase as she dragged her teeth over his left nipple, feeling her settle on his waist. Looking up, he could see the almost feral, hungry look in her eyes-the same look she always gave him to let him know that she was devouring his very body with her sight; there was something incredibly powerful about that look. And though he wanted to deny it, something incredibly powerful about her that left him both in awe and apprehensive awareness that he had no idea just how dangerous she really was.

He sat up to meet her lips, the both of them working their way up to their knees, undressing each other… well, more literally, ripping the other's clothing to absolute shreds. Her legs came up to wrap around his waist as he moved to place her on her back, her embrace warm and inviting. Derek brought them together with one movement of his hips, feeling that all-too familiar pleasure take root in his body and start to branch out like some sort of running vine. Her hand wrapped around his bicep and her head fell back against the concrete, her hips meeting his every time he attempted to pull away, refusing to let him go.

"Maia, let me love you," he said, allowing his weight to hold her down, his hand tightening on her hip.

She forced herself into being still, her hands on his face as she felt herself start to sweat from the exertion just laying prone put her through, kissing him deeply. Derek pleasured her the best way he knew how, well-versed in the finer, more delicate workings of her body and was satisfied with every growl or moan that escaped her lips. However, lying completely still did not last for long, Maia moving to dig her nails into Derek's back, holding onto him like a drowning man with a life preserver. And she was drowning, swept away in the feel of him against her, within her, his very smell clouding her mind.

Derek was very good at keeping his pace, but she could sense that he was close now, much too close to bear it alone. He brought them into the position they had fallen from before, Maia resting on her knees, her mate fitting perfectly into the cradle of her welcoming hips. Hands like fire moved against her back, holding her against his chest, Derek seeking to come face to face with her very soul. "Derek…" She exhaled, her hands on his face, her eyes wide open even as her body was overcome, resisting the need to escape just to be with him.

He could feel her hands stroking his hair when he was capable of coherent thought again, catching the scent of tears upon the air as she soothed his wound, her touch like a balm.

"I don't know you," Derek whispered into her shoulder, his wife biting down on her bottom lip.

"No," she whispered, leaning forward to rest her chin on his burning flesh. "No, you don't."

He closed his eyes and fought the pain from rising in him, moving to wrap his arms around her, "But it doesn't matter, because I know that if you could tell me, you would. That… if it were safe for me to know, you would tell me. And it shouldn't be this way Maia- I should be the one protecting you, because if it were enough, if my love were enough to keep you safe, we wouldn't be in this danger now. That if my love had been enough, that we would still have Joshua…"

"All of our love and it still wouldn't be enough," Maia said sadly, her breath whispering against his skin.

In retrospect, she had never acknowledged the almost unbearable sadness that had wrapped itself around Derek in those darkest days following their child's death; she had only been concerned about her own pain and loss, never acknowledging his… She had been incredibly selfish and naïve, thinking that her Derek could never feel weakness, pain, but strangely, Maia grasped only now that he had suffered in a way she had never experienced or understood. He had put aside everything he was feeling to love her and try to help her when he had been struggling himself.

She wrapped her arms around him only that much tighter, biting down on her bottom lip after she spoke, "Never again Derek- I'll die before I let that happen. And know that you know, just let go baby. All of that pain... Just let it go."

Knowing that he could finally let his grief take hold of him, Derek allowed himself to fall and sobbed freely, unashamed- knowing that Maia would be there to catch him after.

"Alan."

Dr. Deaton looked up from his charts to smile at Maia, ignoring the way she was dressed in favor of meeting her eyes- they were bright and glowing, happier than he had ever seen them after her departure from humanity. He saw her fingers squeeze her husband's before letting go, the Alpha female leaning against the counter closest to the doctor. "So, I hear that you have a plan to slow Jackson down enough to catch him," she said pointedly, her pack moving to lean in the doorway. He held out a syringe of clear liquid, scarlet-painted nails moving to grasp it gingerly, "Ketamine? Shit, if you had told me to drop him in a K-hole I could have done that long ago-"

"This isn't the street stuff Maia; I promise, after you inject him with this, if he's human at the time- he'll drop like a ton of bricks," Dr. Deaton replied, the Alpha spinning the syringe upon her palm before turning to Isaac.

"Do whatever you have to."

Derek took over then, looking at the fledglings, "Boyd, you and I will keep the perimeter outside of the warehouse to watch for the hunters; Scott you'll be doing the same thing inside. Isaac is in charge of doping Jackson and Erica will patrol the rave in case Scott or Maia needs help- she'll be working on pressing Kara for information."

"What about this," Deaton questioned, holding up a small bag of black dust. Maia reached out to touch it before drawing back, her eyes narrowed, "You know very well that none of us can touch that."

"That's what I called in a friend."

Stiles stepped out of a side room to look at the pack, the Alphas both throwing each other a glare- neither of them particularly cared for the hyperactive teen, but they still didn't want an innocent in harm's way. "I know, I know that I'm the last person you want to be there, getting in the way of all the supernaturals, but you need my help. The Mountain Ash spread around the warehouse will trap the Kanima and his master inside-"

"And my wife and pack as well. Deaton, we can't use that," Derek said fiercely, shaking his head as he looked at Maia. The thought of her being trapped inside with the Kanima and something- anything- happening to her where he couldn't get to her, would kill him. "Its too risky."

"Derek, it's the only way we have a shot at trapping both Kanima and the master. We have to try."