Chapter 6

Derek sat on Ev's roof, tuning his hearing to her the steady beat of her heart and her breathing. He was so used to falling asleep to that noise and now that she'd let him go, he didn't sleep much of all. She rolled over in bed and muttered his name. This wasn't the first night she'd done it so unlike the first time he camped out on her roof, he didn't nearly fall from shock.

"Derek."

This time the voice wasn't a whisper from a dream but Ev's father, Deaton, down on the ground looking up at him. He leapt from the roof right in front of him.

"I'd ask what you're doing on my roof but I think I have my answer," he said with a raised brow, "I believe you and my daughter are done, Derek."

"And I hope you know we'll never be done…sir," he said because no matter what this was the father of the girl he loved.

"Why are you here, Derek?"

"Because I need to know she's safe," he replied as easy as if he were breathing, "Even if she doesn't want me here."

He nodded curtly, "Keep it up then. Just make sure you keep your distance."

"And what if she doesn't want that?"

"While I do appreciate you protecting her I don't appreciate all the damage you've done along with it," he said and then walked away without another word.

Derek climbed back onto the roof as Ev opened her eyes to answer a pressing need from her bladder. He watched, careful she didn't see him, as she walked the length from her bed to her bathroom in a t shirt that barely covered her long legs. As he looked closer, he could swear she was wearing his shirt.

The bathroom door closed and he tuned his hearing back to the woods around him. Anything to keep him from going in there like he had so many nights before and taking that shirt off her.

TEEN WOLF

"If you want a straight hit to the bulls eye you flick your wrist and keep a light grip on the hilt," Chris said to Ev as she twirled knives between her fingers in their garage, "It'll take you awhile to-"

She let the knife go and it landed right at the intended place on her target.

"Never mind," Chris said with a chuckle.

"You and I both know that's now why you asked me over here. My guess it has something to do with the Kanima."

"What do you know about it?"

"I know it killed Isaac's father and Bennett and Marcus and went after Stiles," she said with narrowed eyes, "So if you're implying I don't want this thing dead any less than you do you're wrong. I want it dead more."

"I know you do," he replied, picking up a gun and dismantling it slowly, "but you're greatest strength is also you're greatest weakness."

"And what might that be?" she asked with a bored sigh.

"You have the never ending urge to protect others," he said without turning to her.

"How is that a weakness?"

"Sometimes you protect people for wrong reasons," he said, putting the gun back down, "And I think you're protecting the Kanima."

"Now why would I protect a killing machine, Chris?" she asked, "You're right. I do protect people, but you know I'm smart. You know that I would do and have done anything to protect this town. Why would I save one life when countless others are at risk."

He went quiet and slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder at her.

"I'll ask only once. Do you know who the Kanima is?"

"Look at me," she ordered and he did, turning full around, "I don't know."

He stared her down, trying to see if she'd cave or falter but she stood her ground, staring back.

"If I did it'd be dead," she added for good measure.

"And what if it were Lydia?" he asked, "Or better yet one of those other teenagers you seem to care so much about?"

She shrugged, "I took an oath to protect this town."

"That wasn't an answer."

"Yes, it was," she said with a clenched jaw, "You just didn't understand me. I'm a protector of this town so I'm going to protect it."

"What if it were Derek?" he asked.

"You know it's not him," she replied with a straight face.

"He may not be a Kanima but he is a threat. What if him and his new pack become dangerous? What if we do kill the Kanima and he becomes the new threat?"

"You overestimate my connection with Derek, Chris," she said with a clenched jaw.

"No, I don't think I do," he challenged, walking towards her, "I think I'm underestimating it. Something's changed in you since you ended things with Derek Hale and that doesn't happen with someone you don't care about."

She didn't respond right away. Instead, she let his words sink in.

"I don't have to justify myself to you," she said finally, "I know the truth. Whether you accept it or not is your problem."

"I won't accept it because I don't think it's the truth."

"If Derek and I cared about each other, do you honestly think he'd let me run around with the people responsible for the death of his family."

She'd hit a nerve with that one. He flinched at her words.

"You know that wasn't us. Just Kate."

"Tell that to Derek," she said with a smirk and with that she went over to the target and pried the knife from the board, "I'm sure he'd enjoy hearing your explanation."

"Allison told me how you begged Peter not to kill Kate that night," he said carefully, "Even after everything she'd done to you her life was still of value in your eyes."

"So you recruited me because I failed to save your family?"

"You saved Allison," he corrected as she turned back to him, "I recruited you because we don't have much of life value in what we do. You're a leader because there's no one better I could think of for the job."

"I don't see where you're going with this," she said indifferently.

"You do realize that for someone to move up the ranks as fast as you did is beyond abnormal, right?"

"Yes, there were quite a few of your men who personally came and tried to complain to me about it," she said darkly.

"So than you know that the reason you're here where you are is because you are a definition hunter," he said sternly, "You fight and think like one of us because you are one of us. To grow up without knowledge of the supernatural and then come in like you'd been doing this your whole life is rare. Very rare."

"Still. No. Point."

"Derek knows you're one of us. Towards the end Kate knew you were one of use. My father is even impressed by you."

"Chris, I have places to go. Is this coming to an end?"

"I've seen you with people you care for. You're driven by your need to protect them. It's what you live and fight for. It's who you are so don't let this job change your priorities."

"What are you saying?" she whispered.

He said in a low voice, "If you're protecting someone I trust it's for the right reasons."

TEEN WOLF

Ev left the Argent house confused. She drove down the road with half attention. Chris was telling her to keep lying to him. Or was he trying to get her to tell him the truth by getting her to believe he was one her side? It was all spinning around and around but it wasn't becoming any clearer.

She sighed. It was times like this she wished she had Derek to talk to and not even necessarily about Chris. About anything. About how much she missed him. About how hard it was to get to sleep at night. At how sexually frustrated she was. He would have laughed at that one and then undoubtedly made her pull the car over so he could take care of it. Going from being ravished by a werewolf on a constant basis to nothing was like going through heroin withdrawl.

She shook her head. She needed to stay away from him. It was for not only his good, but for his life. Being with her could get him killed. At least broken up he had a heartbeat. If he died because she was too selfish to stay away she'd never forgive herself.

It made it only a little easier that she was furious at him. She didn't like it when people told her things about herself that she was trying to desperately deny.

Her phone rang and she smiled seeing it was the one person who could make this all better.

"You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice."

"I know," Mary Ann replied, "It's like an angel choir in my esophougas. Now what's up with you? Why do you sound so depressing?"

"No reason," she lied, "I just…had a rough week."

"Than go jump into bed with your man candy," she said with a giggle, "How is he by the way? Last time we talked you didn't say much about him."

"We actually ended things," she confessed at a stop light.

"I thought you really liked him," she said sadly.

"I did…do," she replied with a sigh, "It's just things are too complicated. We're better off apart."

"Well that's a shame," she said with a sigh, "but you want some good news?"

"More than anything," she replied as she coasted her car to a stop light.

"I'm moving to Beacon Hills!" she squealed and Ev nearly dropped her phone.

"What?" she asked in a whisper.

"I'm moving to Beacon Hills!" she repeated in an ecstatic tone, "I got a full ride to a graduate school right in town."

She gulped, "I thought you loved New York."

She sighed, "Yeah, it is the single's dream palace, but since I'm no longer an undergrad they dropped my scholarship. Can you believe that? And besides New York is no fun without you. I miss you too much."

"I miss you too," she manage to choke out, "but-but Beacon Hills is kind of dangerous. We've had a lot of crime problems lately. Really dangerous for a single young woman living alone."

She scoffed, "I'll be living with you silly. Start looking for apartments I'll be over there in six months at the most."

"Oh wow this is…" she trailed off and she hadn't even noticed the light turned green until a car felt so inclined to inform her.

"I thought you'd be happier," Mary Ann said with disappointment in her voice.

"No," she said quickly and forced a happy tone, "I'm just shocked and- and excited. I can't wait. There's some great apartments around here."

She squealed and Ev had to move the phone away from her ear with a small chuckle, "Oh I can't wait. We have to get something like the old apartment. Maybe with a bigger kitchen. I'm being offered a new job too and it's got a great pay so we can afford something bigger. I found a few listings and I'll send you the details as soon as I get my computer to stop being crazy again…"

Ev was still listening, but she worried what would become of Mary Ann if she moved to the most dangerous place on earth.

TEEN WOLF

Ev sat in silence at the reception desk at her father's office while eating. Even though it was her day off, she'd brought her father lunch as was their custom. He sat on the other side of the desk, staring at her as they ate in silence. Normally, there'd be conversation about anything and everything going on. He was lucky enough to have a good relationship with daughter.

"It's okay to miss him, you know," he said after too many long moments of silence and the glassy look from her eye disappeared.

"Miss who?" she asked, clearing her throat and taking a forkful of salad.

"Derek," he said simply and she didn't meet his eyes.

"It wasn't a hard decision," she said with a shrug, "I'm a hunter. It would have been fine, but he's an alpha that's letting his power go to his head. If he becomes the enemy than I can't let my feelings get in the way."

"That's understandable," he said with a slight nod, "but maybe feelings are a good thing. They keep you out of your own head."

She looked down at her food, "In this case, Dad it's better if I am in my own head. Being in my heart is gonna get me in trouble."

"Do you know what an emissary is?" he asked out of nowhere.

"Uh, it has something to do with diplomatic advising, right?" she asked in confusion.

"Correct," he said with a nod and he put his food down, "In the supernatural world there are emissaries to alphas. They keep them out of their own heads and help them make decisions for the good of their pack and for the good of the outside world."

"And why are you…" she began, but things started to fall together in her head, "You were an emissary. Weren't you?"

"I was," he said with a small smile, " I always taught you to look at situations with all aspects considered. That is the key skill of an emissary."

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked.

"Not too long ago I was an active emissary," he said and she frowned, "When I told you I hadn't been involved in this world since your mother died it was a bit stretch of the truth. Before she died we were both extremely active in the emissary role. After, it was less so."

"Wait, Mom was an emissary too?" she asked with wide eyes.

"After we were married, yes," he answered, "She helped me to fulfill my duties and often she suggested even better solutions than I did."

"You said after you were married," she caught, "What was she before? Did she even know about any of this? The Argents said you used to help them with dangerous werewolves so Mom must have known-"

"Your mother wasn't always an emissary," he interrupted her, "but she did know about the supernatural."

"How?" she asked, "Do you think maybe her past is what got her killed? Maybe something she went after or took down came for revenge and-"

"Evangeline whatever killed your mother is no longer of my concern," Deaton said, harsher than he intended.

"No longer of your concern," she repeated, "Maybe it's not of your concern, but I sure as hell cares what ripped her to pieces leaving me motherless at the age of six."

"Evangeline, please," he said in an exasperated tone, "Whatever killed your mother isn't something to be trifled with."

"Why?" she asked loudly, "This thing killed my mother and your wife. We need to find him or it or whatever the hell it was and make them pay."

"Why so you can end up dead like her?" he asked coldly, "Whatever it was it was deadly and it beat your mother. I know Juliana better than you ever did so I know whatever took her from us must be strong and feared."

"So that's it?" she asked with sad eyes, "That's all I get. I'm an emissary and your mother died from a big, bad monster. What was even the point of that?"

He took a deep breath to calm himself, "You wanted to know about how I know these things and I told you."

"I want to know about, Mom," she pleaded.

"Why?" he asked, "Why are you so determined to go down the same path she did? Dead."

"I'm not trying to get killed, Dad," she whispered, putting her hand over his, "I'm trying to understand why my mother was taken from me. Why didn't I have someone to teach me how to braid or cook? Why didn't I have someone to argue with when I was a hormonal teenager? Why won't there be a mother of the bride at my wedding or someone to call grandma on my side of the family? Dad, I just want closure."

"Than you can't find it from me," he said regretfully, "My closure was you and it was all I needed to let it go."

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she said and slowly pulled her hand away, "I need more than that. A lot more. I may not figure out the truth anytime soon, but I'm gonna try my hardest."

"I wish I could give you answers, Evangeline," he said and she realized as she looked at her father that as painful as it was for her, it was worse for him. Her mother was nothing more than a memory for her. For him she was as real as if she'd been alive yesterday.

"Dad," she said gently, "If you don't want me to look…I won't look."

"It's not that I don't want you to look," he said and then added gravely, "It's that I don't know if you'll like what you find."

"I don't know either," she said, "but isn't it worth trying? Let's face it Dad, there's a part of us that will always be stuck in this stage of grief our own making before accepting she's gone. We can't live like this for the rest of our lives. It's not healthy. I left this town because it was a constant reminder she was gone. I want it to be a reminder that she lived. Don't you?"

He sighed, "I want that for you and I want that myself."

"Then why not let me do this?" she asked.

"Because I love you too much," he whispered, "Don't dig into this, Evangeline. Please?"

She swallowed a heavy lump in her throat, "I won't."

TEEN WOLF

"So this is what normal couples do, huh?" Derek asked as Ev inspected the nutrition facts on the back of cereal in a grocery store aisle.

She rolled her eyes, "Yes, Derek."

"I don't like it," he said and she chuckled and kissed him on the cheek as she dropped the cereal into the cart he was pushing for her.

"Yes, you do," she teased, reaching for a different cereal on the top shelf but not quite being able to get it.

He put his hand on her waist and without difficulty got it for her. He brought it back down and handed it to her with a smirk.

"Shut up," she mumbled with a pout, turning the box over to look at the back.

"You're tiny, Ev," he said with a teasing grin, "No use denying it."

"I can still kick your ass," she said just as a mother with a toddler in the cart passed them and gave her a disapproving look, "Sorry ma'am."

Derek laughed and she hit him on the chest, "It's not funny. I could have just taught that kid a new word."

"That's what's so funny," he replied, leaning down to kiss her but she moved away, "What?"

"We're in public," she said, looking around cautiously.

"If I want to kiss you," he whispered and pulled her close, "I'll kiss you."

With that, he pressed his lips to hers in a way that had her head spinning. It soon turned into something much more and she had to pull away. He growled in the back of his throat as a blush settled on her cheeks.

"We're still in public," she said, biting her lips to keep from biting his.

"You act like that'll stop me," he said with a smirk.

"I'll make you a deal," she whispered, gently pushing him away, "You restrain yourself now and later maybe you…restrain me."

He smiled in agreement and when she turned to put the cereal in the cart he gave her ass a light smack.

"Derek," she whisper yelled and the woman with the child from earlier was staring at them with a disgusted look. She shot the woman another apologetic look and turned to Derek, "I'm serious. Stop it."

"She's just jealous," he said and kissed her cheek and then whispered in her ear, " Love you."

"I love you too," she replied with a smile.

As she stared at that very shelf in the grocery store, she blinked to relieve her burning eyes.

She pushed the cart along, shaking the feeling from her body with a deep breath.

"You're okay," she mumbled to herself, earning her a few wary looks from patrons, "That's right, Ev. Mumble to yourself. That's normal."

"If you want people to think your normal you've got major changes to do."

She turned to see Derek and without a word she turned back and kept walking. She heard him sigh and didn't have to turn to know he was following her.

"Ev," he called after her as she hurried her stride.

"Go away," she said through clenched teeth.

"Look I came to…would you just stop," he said and grabbed her cart, stopping it so he could talk to her without interference.

She shoved it at him and let it go, abandoning her effort to do shopping as she headed for the exit.

"So now you're refusing to talk to me?" he asked, following her still, " Seriously, Ev. I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what exactly?" she whispered harshly, finally turning back to him, "Sorry for turning teenagers into werewolves despite the fact I don't like it? Sorry for practically trying to kill Scott and for actually trying to kill Lydia? Sorry for throwing it in my face that I've lost people I care about?"

"Yes," he said, unsure of what else to say.

"Yes," she repeated with a scoff, "All you have to say is I'm sorry and yes?"

"What else do you want from me?" he asked, grabbing her arm to keep her from leaving, "I don't know what else I can do."

"You can open your eyes and see that the reason we're over isn't because I'm afraid of us," she growled and yanked her arm free, "It's because I'm becoming afraid of you."

He rolled his eyes, "You just lied."

"I did not," she said through clenched teeth.

"You lied again," he said with a raised brow and a smirk.

"Okay fine, Derek," she said, walking closer to him menacingly, "I'm not afraid of you, but you should be afraid. You should be afraid of what could happen if you take one more step out of line. I can only save your ass so many times."

"I'm not the one who needs saving, Ev," he said and she looked away, "Just come back to me. Please."

"I can't," she whispered, "I really can't."

"Why not?" he pleaded with her.

"Because this," she said, gesturing between the two of them, "Isn't right. It's not healthy. You claim you're doing all these horrible things to protect me and I can't stop you from them because I don't want to hurt you."

"Ev we said we wouldn't quit remember," he said, cupping her face gently, "We just have to hold on to that. We have to hold tight to each so we can get through this."

She shook her head and removed his touch from her face, "Derek, we don't have anything to hold onto. We're over."

She forced herself to leave without looking back.

TEEN WOLF

Ev drove around Beacon Hills in any effort not to go home. Her father was there and that was the only place she could go. She had no friends her own age in town so that was out of the question. Her and Derek were far from the acceptance stage of the break up. She was just aimless as she drove down the road. She hit a stop light and she sighed at the darkened sky. Sooner or later she'd have to go home.

Her phone rang and she answered, seeing it was Scott, "Hey. Bad news I presume."

"Jackson attacked us in detention today," was the first thing out of his mouth, "Or his Kanima master made him. He got Erica. She started seizing and she's fine, Derek saved her, but…but Ev you should have seen her…what Jackson did…he's dangerous and I did something you won't like."

The light was still red, "Scott what did you do?"

"I agreed to work with Derek."

The line was silent on her end.

"Ev talk to me," he pleaded.

"Scott you want to save Jackson right?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Derek wants to kill him," she yelled and she could almost feel him flinching, "You just signed Jackson's death warrant!"

"Ev he agreed to do it my way," he tried to explain.

She scoffed, the light still red and she was the only car at the intersection, "Scott, Derek's in love with me and he doesn't listen to a word I say. What makes you think he'll listen to you?"

"Because he knows he needs the help."

She sighed, "Derek isn't exactly the best at…"

She trailed off as something caught her eye. It seemed like something in the night slithered around her car.

"Ev are you still-"

"Yeah, I'm here," she said, reaching for her gun in the glove compartment, "Scott, I think-"

She didn't get to finish. Her window shattered and sharp claws pulled her from the car. She shrieked in hopes Scott could hear her, but her phone clattered from her hand beside her tire. She landed hard on her back to the road beneath.

Through the pain, she crawled for her phone only to have something pull her back and fling her into her car. Before she could fall back to the ground, a hand closed around her neck, only it wasn't a hand. Her vision steadied and she was face to face with Jackson as the Kanima. He hissed in her face and said, "Back off. I don't want to hurt you."

"Who?" she asked, choking for air, "Who doesn't want to hurt me?"

He didn't answer. He just dropped her and slithered off.

"I'm not scared of you!" she yelled, picking up her phone and pulling herself up, "Tell your master I won't be afraid of him and to go fuck himself while he's at it!"

As she climbed back in she could hear Scott calling her name, still on the line.

"Scott, I'm here," she said, pulling open her door and sliding in with difficulty.

"Ev, what the hell happened?" he screamed, "I heard a crash. Why were you screaming?"

"I'll tell you what happened, Scott," she growled, her head throbbing, "Whoever's controlling Jackson just made this personal."

"Ev what does that even mean?" he asked in a panic, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, "I'll call you back."

With that, she hung up the phone as anger and determination flooded into her veins.