the only other girl that i've ever loved died in my arms.

[ 2.12 ]

"Can I stay with Scott and Isaac?"

Warren started to shake his head. "Now hold on—"

"Please," Willow begged, her voice cracking. "I want - I need to help them look for Stiles. After Ja—" She couldn't even say his name. "I need to do something to help find him. Please."

After a moment, Warren sighed. He looked at Willow, taking in the tears that hadn't stopped falling since Jackson was pronounced dead and shoved in a body bag. Danny had also opened up Jackson's locker for her to get his sweatshirt, hoping it might ease her pain. "Text me every hour to let me know that you're alright. And let me know if you do find him."

"Thank you," she said, hugging her dad tightly.

He ran his fingers through her hair more for his comfort than her own. "I love you, Wills. Please be careful tonight."

"I will and I love you too," she said, squeezing his hand.

Then Willow made her way over to Scott and Isaac. They had been inside of the locker room, Coach not putting a stop to the unnecessary visitors given the grim circumstances. Scott, seeing Willow, immediately wrapped an arm around her, letting her curl up against his side while he finished talking with Stiles' father.

"I got to meet with the medical examiner and try to figure out what happened with Jackson," Noah said, sighing heavily. "I've got an APB out on Stiles. His jeep is still in the parking lot, so that means - the hell, I don't know what that means. Um, look, if he answers his phone, if he answers his emails, if either one of you see him—"

"We'll call you," Isaac assured him.

"Look, he's probably just freaked out from all the attention or something," Scott said. It was a lie, but he just wanted to keep Noah calm. "We'll find him."

"Yeah," Noah said, nodding to himself. "I'll see you, okay?"

Once the sheriff was gone, he was soon replaced by Coach Finstock. It was clear that he was devastated by what happened on the field.

"McCall," he said, giving him a stern look. "We need you on the team, okay? You know I can't put you on the field next season if you don't get your grades up."

"Yeah, I know, Coach."

"All right. I mean, I - I know I yell a lot, but it's not like I hate you guys. Well, I kind of hate Greenberg, but, you know, that's different. It's Greenberg. I'm just saying we - I need you on the team," he told him, doing his best to keep his composure. "Get your grades back up."

"I will," Scott promised.

Coach nodded as he slowly walked off. "I know."

After a few more minutes, Scott eyed the empty locker room. "Is that everyone?" he asked.

"I think so," Isaac said, not hearing anyone.

Scott wasted no time in ripping the door off of Stiles' locker. Willow didn't even bother to state that he simply could've ripped the lock off. She wanted to find Stiles just as badly.

"You're gonna find him by scent?" Isaac asked as Scott grabbed some things from inside.

"Yeah, we both are," he said, planning on teaching him since Derek never got around to it. Scott handed Isaac one of Stiles' practice cleats while he held a t-shirt.

"But how come you get his shirt and I get a shoe?" Isaac asked, pouting.

Before Scott could point out that it didn't matter, they were joined by someone else. Derek stepped out from behind some lockers.

"What are you doing here?" Willow asked, frowning. "It's not safe with Gerard and the hunters still looking for you."

Yes, Willow had been well filled in about how Allison was basically leading the hunt for Derek. She blamed him for her mother's death, having no clue that she was trying to kill Scott that night. Because of that, Derek spent most of his time hiding at the railroad or with Willow. It wasn't safe for him to go around town.

"We need to talk," he said, crossing his arms. Clearly, he wasn't pleased about something.

And a moment later, they all knew why as Peter Hale stepped out of the shadows. "All of us," Peter stated.

Willow had been clutching Scott's arm but she went limp, her hands dropping in surprise. Scott, too, was just as shocked as they stared at the previously deceased man.

"Holy shit," Scott muttered, blinking a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Then he looked to Derek, who kept his face blank. "What the hell is this?"

"You know, I thought the same thing when I saw you talking to Gerard at the sheriff's station," Derek replied bitterly.

"Okay, hold on," he said, shaking his head. "He - he threatened to kill my mom. And I had to get close to him. What was I supposed to do?"

"I'm gonna go with Scott on this one," Peter jumped in. "Have you seen his mom? She's gorgeous."

"Shut up!" Scott and Derek ordered in sync.

Isaac leaned close to Scott. "Who is he?" he asked quietly.

"That's Peter, Derek's uncle. Little while back, he tried to kill us all, and then we set him on fire, and Derek slashed his throat," he summarized.

"Um, wrong. I never tried to kill Willow," Peter pointed out, smirking. Then he raised a hand to wave at Isaac. "Hi."

"That's good to know," Isaac muttered, awkwardly waving back.

"How is he alive?" Scott asked.

"Look, the short version is he knows how to stop Jackson. And maybe how to save him," Derek said, hoping to earn a hopeful smile from Willow. But it was then that he finally noticed how she had been crying.

"Well, that's very helpful except Jackson's dead," Isaac informed them. A fresh wave of tears washed over Willow, who shoved her head in Isaac's chest.

"What?" Derek asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, Jackson's dead. It just happened on the field," Scott explained.

Derek and Peter shared a concerned look, which didn't go unnoticed. "Okay, why is no one taking this as good news?"

"Because it's horrible news!" Willow said, wiping under her eyes with the sleeve of Jackson's hoodie.

"Because if Jackson is dead, it didn't just happen. Gerard wanted it to happen," Peter said, giving a reason other than the fact that Willow cared about the boy.

"But why?" Derek asked, not knowing where this was all headed. And he hated not knowing.

"Well, that's exactly what we need to figure out. And something tells me the window of opportunity is closing," Peter said. "Quickly."

☽︎

Peter, in a very out-of-character move, stated that he had something he thought could help them. Apparently, it was back at the Hale house, though he wouldn't tell them where.

As they arrived, Scott got a text from Stiles' father which let him know that Stiles came home on his own, though was quite beaten up.

"Oh. Oh, they found Stiles," Scott told them, relief washing over him. That was one less thing to worry about for the night. Willow would call him as soon as she could before eventually going to visit him to make sure he was really alright.

"I told you, I looked everywhere," Derek muttered as Peter walked through the house. He was quite sure he would've wandered upon anything that belonged to Peter in the time since his death.

"You didn't look here," Peter said, crouching down on the stairs. He pulled up a loose board before removing a deep wooden box.

"What is that, a book?" Derek asked.

Peter scoffed and looked at him over his shoulder. "No. It's a laptop. What century are you living in?"

Willow couldn't help but giggle, and Derek tugged on a strand of hair to silence her.

"A few days after I got out of the coma, I transferred everything that we had. Fortunately, the Argents aren't the only ones that keep records," Peter explained.

Peter brought the laptop over to a desk, everyone but Scott following. His phone rang with a call from his mother, who had gone to the hospital with Jackson's body.

"Hey, Mom, I can't talk right now," Scott told her. Willow glanced back at him, seeing how his eyebrows scrunched up, clearly bothered by what his mother was saying. "What's wrong?"

Scott quickly hung up after promising her that he'd be there as soon as possible. "Isaac, Willow? You coming?"

"Willow's staying with me," Derek said as Isaac nodded. "We don't know what Gerard has planned, and if something's happening to Jackson, I need to make sure she's safe."

"Go, Scott," Willow said softly, letting him know that she was comfortable staying with Derek and Peter.

While Peter started looking through files, they also anxiously waited for a call from Scott to see just what was wrong with Jackson at the hospital. As they waited, Willow studied Peter's side profile.

"You said you might know a way to save him. I mean, if he's - maybe if he's not really dead," she said, sounding hopeful. "What's your plan?"

Peter glanced at Derek for a moment before looking to Willow. "The reason Jackson turned into the kanima is because he lacks an identity, a sense of belonging — a pack. But theoretically, one might could break past the control the kanima has over him and reach him through his heart to pull him back. Now, Jackson may not have much of a heart, but I can think of two young ladies with who he shares a real bond."

"Me and Lydia," Willow realized. Then she was nodding. "I'll do whatever I need to. If - if he's somehow alive, then I will go to the ends of the earth to save him."

"Not you," Derek said in a low tone.

Willow spun on her heel to look at him in surprise. "But Peter just said—"

"You're not going anywhere near him — not even his body. Like he said, Lydia could work as well," Derek stated.

"But I'd work better," Willow argued. Even when dating, Lydia had always told people that Willow and Jackson were closer. It was just the way it had always been. "I—"

"No."

"Derek, you're being—"

"No."

"If I can—"

"No."

"Why are you being like this?" Willow asked, raising her voice. She was getting frustrated, desperate to keep Jackson alive and safe. "You know that I can't just let Jackson go if there's a chance I could help save him. And you know you have no right to ask me to stay out of this."

Derek shook his head, getting frustrated as well. "I'm not having this conversation, Willow. You're not going near—"

"Why—"

"Because I love you!" Derek shouted. "And I'm not gonna risk your life by dropping you in front of the kanima on the off chance that Peter actually knows what he's talking about. I can't watch you get torn to shreds."

Derek was breathing heavily, as was Willow as the weight of what Derek admitted filled the room. Willow suddenly couldn't find it in her to argue with him, not after a declaration such as that. She stared up at him, green eyes burning her where she stood.

"You - you lo—"

Willow was cut off by the shrill ringing of Derek's phone. Scott. Derek stared at her for a moment longer, an unreadable emotion swimming in his eyes — no, not unreadable. It was love. He fished his phone out of his pocket and answered, telling Scott to go ahead and fill them in.

She didn't look at him again as she shuffled over to Peter, who was looking at his computer with a smirk on his face.

"Given the awkward silence, am I correct in assuming that was the first usage of the dreaded L-word?" Peter asked in a teasing tone.

Willow ignored him and nodded to the computer. "What have you found?"

"A lot, actually," he said.

Then Derek pulled his phone from his ear to address them. "They say he's in some kind of transparent casing made from the venom coming out of his claws."

"That sounds sufficiently terrifying," Peter muttered.

"Now very glad I didn't tag along," Willow added under her breath.

"They also say he's starting to move," Derek added.

"Okay, look, I think I found something," Peter said, having them both look at the screen. "Looks like what we've seen from Jackson is just the kanima's beta shape."

"Does that mean there's an alpha shape?" Willow asked, trying to connect it to how werewolves worked.

"Yeah, meaning what?" Derek also asked. "It can turn into something bigger?"

"Bigger and badder," Peter said, pulling up a photo of what Jackson was supposedly turning into. Willow felt a chill run down her spine as she took in the scaled beast with wings that looked easily two times larger than Jackson was now.

"He's turning into that?" Derek asked, alarmed. "That has wings."

"I can see that," Peter muttered.

Derek went back to the phone. "Scott, bring him to us."

"I'm not sure if we have time for that," Scott admitted.

"Look, somebody actually made an animation of it," Peter noted. Willow leaned in to get a better look. "Maybe it's less frightening if we—" Willow screamed as both men flinched in fear. Peter immediately slammed the laptop shut to hide the terrifying monster away. "Nope, not at all. We should probably meet them halfway."

"Scott, get him out of there now. Go now!" he ordered.

The three wasted no time in moving toward the door. But Peter at least took the time to think.

"Derek, we need Lydia," he said. "Especially if you don't want Willow to—"

"There's no time for—"

"That's the problem," Peter cut him off with a knowing look. "We're rushing. We're moving too fast. And while everybody knows that a moving target is harder to hit, here we are, racing right into Gerard's crosshairs."

Derek shook his head, throwing rationality out the window at the chance to end this all. "If I get the chance to kill Jackson, I'm taking it."

"Derek," Willow said, tears welling in her eyes. "Derek, you can't."

"We can't keep making the same mistakes, Willow," he said, not meeting her eye. "This has to end before more people get hurt — you included."

☽︎

Derek and Scott agreed to meet at an abandoned warehouse that was far enough away from town to keep people from being hurt. After Peter declared that he'd be staying out of sight, Derek told Willow to wait with him while he waited for the other's arrival.

Every few minutes, Willow would nosily peek around the corner to see if they had gotten there, only for Peter to roll his eyes and pull her back. He had supernatural hearing and would let her know when it was time.

So, Willow settled for studying Peter. Eventually, he grew tired of her somehow soft but also scrutinizing gaze and sighed heavily.

"What is it, Willow?" he asked.

"When exactly did you come back?" she asked quietly. "How long have you been here?"

"The night of the last full moon. I may have somewhat controlled and manipulated Lydia into helping," he admitted, shrugging. He saw nothing wrong with what he'd done considering Lydia wasn't even hurt.

"That's the night Matt trapped us in the police station," she recalled. Willow's eyes grew wide, suddenly putting the pieces together. The suspicion that she had her pain was taken away before. Seeing blue eyes — Peter's blue eyes. "It was you. You took me to the hospital. You took my pain away."

"Oh, you were in the hospital? I hadn't known or I certainly would've sent flowers," he said, looking off in a random direction. But Peter didn't fool Willow for even a minute. "Stop grinning. You look deranged."

"You know, the doctors say that if I'd of gotten there just a few minutes later, I would've died," Willow informed him. "So, uh, whoever did bring me to the hospital, well, he's a real hero. He deserves a big hug."

"Well, it wasn't me," Peter continued to deny. "And I'm not a hugger, so."

But regardless, Willow threw her arms around Peter, hugging him tightly. He had an annoyed look on his face to keep up pretenses, but eventually, he gave in and rubbed her back gently.

"Thank you, Peter," she whispered.

"Yeah, well, don't count on it next time," he muttered, still keeping with the tough guy act.

Willow felt her heart warm as he inadvertently admitted to saving her. He must have been at the police station with the intent to lurk in the shadows and see what way the wind blew. And after seeing Gerard kill Matt and take control of the kanima, Peter smelled Willow's blood. All plans to keep his return a secret went out the window as he ran with her in his arms all the way to the hospital. It just worked out that she didn't remember — at least until now.

After a few more minutes, a black SUV pulled up to the warehouse and Chris Argent got out along with Scott and Isaac. They must have asked for his help.

"I think he stopped moving," Isaac said, looking at the still body bag in the backseat.

"Where's Derek?" Chris asked, glancing at Scott.

Then Derek made his entrance, running toward them on his hands and feet before ending with a dramatic flip in front of the car. Peter rolled his eyes at his nephew's antics.

"Someone certainly enjoys making an entrance," he muttered.

"You guys look silly when you run like that," Willow whispered, making Peter smile.

"I'm here for Jackson," Chris told Derek. "Not you."

"Somehow, I don't find that very comforting," Derek shot back. Then he looked at Scott. "Get him inside."

Peter and Willow stayed hidden as Scott and Isaac carried the body bag into the warehouse. As they saw Jackson on the ground, Scott looked around.

"Where are they?" Scott asked.

"Who?" Derek asked.

"Peter and Lydia — or Peter and Willow?"

From their hiding spot, Peter kept a tight grip on Willow's hand. Even if he decided to let her go against Derek's decision to keep her uninvolved, he needed to wait for the opportune moment. And Peter's senses told him that it wasn't the right time.

Not answering Scott, Derek moved over the body bag and began to unzip it, revealing Jackson's half-transformed body.

"Whoa, hold on a second!" Scott exclaimed. "You said you knew how to save him."

"We're past that," was all he said.

"What about—"

"Think about it, Scott," he interrupted. "Gerard controls him now. He's turned Jackson into his own personal guard dog. And he set all of this in motion so that Jackson could get even bigger and more powerful."

"No," Chris spoke up, thinking it all over. "No, he wouldn't do that. If Jackson's a dog, he's turning rabid, and my father wouldn't let a rabid dog live."

"Of course not." Everyone turned in surprise to see Gerard standing a few feet from them. He had a wicked grin on his face — a grin that said everything was going according to plan. "Anything that dangerous, that out of control is better off dead."

Derek acted quickly, raising his claws to strike Jackson. Suddenly, Jackson's eyes snapped open and he beat Derek to it, shoving his own claws in his chest and lifting him in the air effortlessly. Peter covered Willow's mouth, stifling a scream as Jackson threw Derek across the room and into a stack of crates.

"Well done to the last, Scott," Gerard praised him. "Like the concerned friend you are, you brought Jackson to Derek to save him. You just didn't realize that you were also bringing Derek to me."

Then an arrow flew through the air. Scott was quick enough to duck, but not Isaac, who was standing behind him. He fell to the ground, the arrow stuck in his shoulder.

Allison's arrow. Meant for Scott.

"Allison?" Scott questioned in disbelief, spotting her hiding behind a pillar for cover.

A battle soon broke out. Chris emptied his gun trying to hit Jackson, but each time he evaded the attack. And it wasn't long until he had completely changed into the kanima. The kanima threw Chris' gun across the room, breaking it.

Then the three wolves ganged up on the kanima, each fighting with all their strength. And even then, it wasn't enough. Isaac was the first to go down, then Scott and Derek.

Isaac tried to get back up and help Derek, but Allison appeared in front of him. He didn't see her knives coming as she slashed him in the chest before maneuvering behind him and stabbing two blades in his back.

"She's gonna kill Derek!" Willow said, trying to rush out and stop Allison.

Peter, however, kept an arm wrapped around her waist, keeping her in place. "Yes," he whispered. "And she'll kill you too if you get in her way."

"No, Allison!" Scott yelled as she approached Derek. He was on the ground, still recovering from the kanima and unable to get up to defend himself.

But before Allison could attack, her weapon was knocked from her hand. Then the hand of the kanima wrapped tightly around her neck, shocking them all. Even Peter hadn't been expecting this twist.

"Not yet, sweetheart," Gerard told her in a fake-caring tone.

It was clear that Allison hadn't known about this part of his plan. She looked genuinely scared of the kanima. "What are you doing?"

"He's doing what he came here to do," Scott said in a knowing tone.

"Then you know," Gerard said to him.

"What's he talking about?" Allison asked.

"It was the night outside the hospital, wasn't it, when I threatened your mother," Gerard guessed. "I knew I saw something in your eyes. You could just smell it, couldn't you?"

Isaac, who was still recovering on the ground, remembered what Dr. Deaton had taught him. "He's dying."

"I am," he confirmed. "I have been for a while now. Unfortunately, science doesn't have a cure for cancer yet. But the supernatural does."

"You monster," Chris said, practically seething.

"Not yet," Gerard said, smirking.

"What are you doing?" Allison asked once more. With a sharp look from Gerard, the kanima tightened its grip on her neck, making it more difficult to breathe.

"You'll kill her too?" Chris asked, desperate for Allison to be let go.

"When it comes to survival, I'd kill my own son!" Chris flinched at his father's words. Then Gerard looked to Scott, an expectant look in his eyes. "Scott."

Slowly, Scott's wolf features faded and then he approached Derek. He roughly grabbed the back of his neck, forcing him to his feet.

"Scott, don't," Derek pleaded, weakly struggling in his arms. "You know that he's gonna kill me right after. He'll be an Alpha."

"That's true," Gerard noted. "But I think he already knows that, don't you, Scott? He knows that the ultimate prize is Allison. Do this small task for me, and they can be together. You are the only piece that doesn't fit, Derek. And in case you haven't learned yet, there is just no competing with young love."

"Scott, don't! Don't!" Derek shouted.

"I'm sorry. But I have to," Scott said, forcing Derek's head back and mouth open.

Gerard rolled his sleeve down and neared Derek. He carefully put his forearm in his mouth, forcing Derek to bite him. Then he pulled away, showing off the fresh bite with an evil and victorious grin on his face.

But then black blood began oozing from the bite.

"What the fu—"

"It's like Jackson," Willow whispered, not glancing at Peter who she had interrupted. He loosened his hold as they watched Gerard.

Gerard finally noticed the confused and somewhat disgusted looks that they were all sending him. He looked at his arm, seeing the black blood flowing from him.

"What? What is this? What did you do?" he asked Scott accusingly.

Scott glanced down at Derek, who now realized that Scott didn't plan to just let him die. "Everyone said Gerard always had a plan. I had a plan too."

"No. No," Gerard muttered. He fumbled in his pocket for a moment before drawing out a pill container. He dumped them out and crushed them, a black puff of ash escaping into the air. "Mountain ash!"

Then the black blood started leaking from his eyes like tears. It was a horrific sight as he fell to his knees. Gerard started dry-heaving before a flood of black blood shot from his mouth, vomiting it all over the floor.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Derek asked, looking to Scott.

"Because you might be an Alpha, but you're not mine," he stated.

Gerard, though weak, managed to lift his head and look at the kanima who was still holding Allison. "Kill them! Kill them all!"

Allison acted quickly, elbowing the monster in the face to get out of its hold. And just as she got out of the way, a familiar blue jeep crashed through a wooden wall and barreled right into the kanima, knocking it to the ground.

"Did I get him?" They all heard Stiles yell, peeking one eye open. Then the kanima jumped back up and onto the hood of the jeep, making Stiles and Lydia scream.

"Willow!" Peter hissed as she slipped out of his hold. But it was useless. She was tired of waiting and she wouldn't give the others another chance to hurt Jackson even more.

"Jackson!" Willow shouted, running from her hiding place.

Sensing yet another arrival, the kanima turned to her and let out a hiss before leaping off the jeep and landing just in front of Willow. In the background, Willow saw Stiles and Lydia scrambling out of the jeep now that it was safe. But she quickly focused back on the kanima, which raised a claw threateningly.

But it seemed to hesitate, tilting its head as it looked down at her.

"Do it," Willow told him quietly, ignoring the others shouting for her to run. "Even if you do, you'll still deserve me. I told you that I wasn't giving up on you. Not even now."

Everyone watched in awe as the scales slowly morphed away, only covering half of Jackson. He blinked once and his glowing, slit-eyes turned back to his human ones. His hand lowered, claws retracted.

"I'm not giving up on you," Willow repeated.

Jackson looked at her a moment longer before realizing that Derek finally got to his feet. He carefully backed up before catching the alpha's eyes and nodding with his arms spread.

Derek and Peter charged, coming at Jackson from both sides. Stiles grabbed Willow and pulled her out of the way as they stabbed him with their claws, lifting him in the air. Both Lydia and Willow let out pained screams, not wanting to watch him die a second time.

As Derek and Peter released him, Jackson fell to his knees. Lydia moved first, catching him and holding him up. There were tears in his eyes as he looked at his first love that he had been so cruel to these last few months. But there she was, still holding him, mourning him, caring for him.

"Do you - do you still—"

"I do," Lydia said, knowing what he was trying to ask even though he didn't have the strength to get it out. "I do still love you. I do, I do still love you. I do. I do. I do still love you, I do."

Lydia cradled Jackson's head as he went limp in her arms. As she lowered him to the ground, the rest of his scales faded away. Willow paid Allison no mind, who asked where Gerard had gone.

Instead, she joined Lydia at Jackson's side. Tears poured down her face as she pressed her forehead to his.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to Jackson so softly that even the werewolves almost missed it. Willow and Lydia were meant to save him, but now he was dead. "I'm so sorry."

Lydia was the first to stand. She wiped under her eyes before turning around, not wanting the others to see her tears. As she turned back around, Stiles stepped forward to comfort her. But he stopped when they all heard a sound. The sound of claws scraping against concrete.

Willow pulled her head up to look at Jackson in confusion. She glanced at his hands to see claws — werewolf ones not those of the kanima. And the wounds on his stomach were quickly healing over.

"Jackson?" she called, leaning back on her hands to give him space.

Jackson's eyes snapped open and they were glowing a bright blue. They all watched in disbelief as he came back to life and slowly stood. He let out a loud roar as he did, fangs and claws illuminated by the headlights of the jeep.

Jackson was a werewolf.

As soon as Jackson's claws disappeared, Lydia ran back to him, throwing her arms around him and hugging him tightly. Willow didn't stop crying, but at least they were happy tears now. After a moment, Lydia reached out and pulled her into the hug.

"Thank you," Jackson whispered, kissing the top of Willow's head. "For not giving up on me."

From the side, Scott heard someone sniffling next to him. He turned to see Stiles wiping under his eyes, trying to hide his emotional tears.

"Scratched my jeep," Stiles muttered. "S - someone find Jackson some pants. It's gross."

☽︎

Willow and Lydia spent a whole day with Jackson, not wanting to leave him after almost losing him twice. But eventually, she went home, giving the two some alone time. By the time she got home, her father was well asleep, so she was quiet as she crept up to her room.

The room wasn't empty when she arrived. Derek was sitting on the edge of her bed, his head in his hands. But he looked up as soon as he heard the door open and close.

"Hey," she greeted quietly. "How long have you been here?"

"Not long. I knew you'd be with Jackson," he told her. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. I'm not the one that went up against an angry Allison and a kanima," she reminded him, coming closer. "Has everything healed up alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."

"You look like something's bothering you," Willow noted, taking in the troubled look on his face.

Derek let out a deep breath. "How could you just run out in front of Jackson like that? Willow, I told you to stay out of it."

"I couldn't stay out of it. I had to do everything I could to save him, and I'm glad I did," she said, crossing her arms. She'd never regret helping save Jackson.

"What part of 'I can't lose you' do you seem to have trouble understanding?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Let me ask you something," Willow said, mustering all her courage. "Did you mean it? What you said back at the house?"

Did he mean it when he said he loved her?

Derek looked down at his hands, swallowing thickly. "Willow, the only other girl that I've ever loved died in my arms. So I don't care if you get frustrated when I'm too overprotective or when I keep you away from a fight. I am always going to do everything I can to protect you."

"You're not going to lose me, Derek," she said softly.

"You can't promise that," he said, shaking his head.

"Maybe not," she admitted. Willow came closer, stepping in between his legs and gently lifting his chin so that he'd look at her. "But I can at least promise to stay by your side and love you — kanimas and zombie uncles and all."

"How could you love me after everything I've done?" Derek asked, a vulnerable look in his eyes. "How could I even ask you to love me back?"

"You don't have to ask," she whispered.

Willow leaned down to kiss him for the first time in such a long time. Derek reacted quickly, kissing her back passionately as he pulled her closer, hands on the back of her thighs.

As they pulled away, Willow placed featherlight kisses along his jaw, playing with the hair at the base of his neck. He let out a content sigh, missing the feel of her soft lips.

"I love you, Derek," Willow said softly.

His warm hands trailed up her body, sending a shiver down her spine as he cupped her face, the pad of his thumb brushing along her bottom lip. "I love you too. So damn much."

Derek kissed her again more forcefully, and they tumbled back on the bed clumsily. It had been so long since his burning touch made her feel like she was on fire. Willow whimpered in pleasure as he bit her bottom lip before letting his tongue explore every facet of her mouth.

Then he swiftly flipped her on her back in one quick movement, hovering above her. Derek placed heated kisses to her neck, and she leaned her head back to give him better access.

But then Derek pulled away and looked down at her with an amused look.

"What?" Willow asked, biting her lip innocently. She wasn't exactly in the mood for talking anymore.

"Peter is not a zombie. You know that right? It's important that you understand that."