Danny wakes up slowly, bright light stirring him out of a deep and comfortable sleep. He nuzzles into his pillow, his arms tightening their hold around something solid and warm. His eyes snap open then, and he realizes he's not resting on his pillow so much as someone. Looking up, he sees Derek staring at him with a fond gaze and a soft smile. When did he get here? Danny wonders, recalling perfectly well Derek leaving last night after their long and tiring conversation. He's quickly aware of the morning wood he's sporting, livid when he realizes how his erection is pressed against Derek's thigh, their legs intertwined together. It doesn't help that Danny can feel Derek's own morning wood against his leg.

"Morning," Derek greets him with an easy smile, his hand running lazily through Danny's hair. Danny jerks his hips back from Derek's warm body and disentangles his legs from the latter's, feeling his ears burning red from embarrassment.

"Morning," he mumbles back, and glances at his clock, seeing the blue numbers indicating 7 am. He heaves a sigh and rests his head back on Derek's chest, too tired to get up, too comfortable in the warm cocoon of Derek's arms around him. Resisting a gorgeous man like Derek is tiring, after all. Under other circumstances, he would've gladly welcomed someone like Derek in bed, worry free. If only this relationship wasn't so complicated and strange, Danny thinks.

Danny closes his eyes and breathes in gently, debating what he should do now. He has more than enough time to get ready for school if he wants. And maybe he should, after all. He wasn't so sure last night, but he can't possibly stay here all day with Derek, can he? He's not supposed to see Derek in the first place—he's pretty sure his parents wouldn't be happy about this. Besides, today's supposed to be his mother's day off, Danny recalls; she could be home any minute. As for his father, Danny wouldn't be surprised if he didn't come home at all and went on with his normal day of work after last night's emergency. "Are my parents home?"

"No, they never came back from the hospital," Derek answers him, his lips pressed into a thin line, gaze avoiding Danny's. Danny tries to get a read on Derek's thought, but finds it hard. He's never been good at reading people to begin with, and with the ring he's wearing, he can't tell what Derek's feeling at all.

"Okay," Danny says as Derek scoots up on the bed, half sitting with his back against the headrest. Danny's cheek slides down to Derek's belly, his own body still too heavy with sleep to move.

"What are you doing here, Derek?" Danny asks as looks up at the other man, curious to know how they ended up in bed like this, and if anything else happened between them—not that he thinks anything happened, he would've remembered if it had. He does remember making out with Derek at one point, but he stopped everything before things could go further. Danny takes a deep breath, taking in Derek's familiar scent, which makes his body go completely mellow. His fingers curl over Derek's hip possessively, the gesture mirrored by Derek, and it makes Danny feel at home. They fit well together, Danny admits to himself, biting his bottom lip.

"I…You were having nightmares. You kept screaming my name; I think you were reliving what happened yesterday. I tried to leave once you calmed down, but you started screaming again when I left."

Danny remains still, soothed by the slow rise and fall of Derek's abdomen, processing what Derek's just told him. He remembers the nightmares Derek's talking about. He remembers them vividly, almost as though they were real, as though he had just been reliving memories. A series of torture scenes, with Derek and Danny always chained far apart and yet close enough to see each other suffering. And of course, they all involved the woman who'd kidnapped them. Speaking of whom, he still doesn't know who she was, and why she did this to them. He's been trying hard to push his gnawing curiosity aside, to forget what happened to him and move on, but he can't. It seems it's not only harassing him when he's awake, but also when he's asleep. He never got a proper explanation after all, from his parents or Derek, and it only adds to his curiosity, his fear of it happening to him again. Danny needs to know more about this werewolf thing too. He needs to know why he was abducted and almost killed in such a brutal manner by this sociopath of a woman. He also needs to know if he's out of the woods now, if he can stop worrying about other life threats or if he should, on the contrary, start worrying more about it.

Danny also remembers screaming Derek's name in his dreams, he remembers screaming until his voice gave out; he just didn't know he'd actually screamed out loud. If he were to get nightmares regularly like he did tonight, it would become problematic. He can't possibly spend every night with Derek now, can he? His parents aren't likely to allow it, and it won't help Danny get the distance he needs from the other man.

Danny just nods in response to Derek's explanation, and nuzzles further into Derek, his brain starting to work a bit faster as he tries to sort through all the questions he still has to ask Derek.

"Who was that woman? I don't understand what exactly happened to us, and most importantly why?" Danny asks first, sitting up as well beside Derek so they're both at eye level. Derek heaves a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he averts his eyes away for a second.

"Her name's Kate Argent," Derek starts, a frown marring his face as the name escapes his lips. "She's a hunter, and so is her entire family. She comes from a long line of hunters, they've been hunting supernatural creatures for generations."

Danny nods as he listens to Derek, not finding it that hard to believe, after everything he's had to process. It makes sense, after all, that there would be people hunting dangerous monsters, Danny reasons.

"Hold on, you said Argent? As in…"

"Allison Argent, yeah," Derek finishes for him. "Kate's her aunt."

"Wow," Danny breathes out, not expecting that one. Allison's involved in all this too? Has everyone from his school been aware of everything all this time?

"Speaking of whom, you should stay away from her, for your own good," Derek warns him, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek. Danny leans into the touch, the concern in Derek's voice making his heart flutter. He appreciates Derek looking out for him, but Danny doubts Allison's going to do anything to him.

"I don't interact that much with her to begin with," Danny reassures Derek, although he does spend a lot of time with Lydia, who spends a lot of time with Allison. As he stares into Derek's intense blue eyes, Danny starts to feel the tension in the room rising up, so he decides to move the conversation along. "So…what, they captured us, tortured us to eventually kill us, is that it?"

Derek nods, and proceeds to tell Danny everything about the Argents. About the Hale fire that happened years ago, and Danny's shocked when he learns the truth behind that incident. It also makes Danny wonder about Derek's sexuality, what with him having been manipulated by Kate Argent, though the question is a bit inappropriate considering the tragedy Derek's just told him about. Not to mention Derek's sister passing away recently, and his psycho uncle being the only family he had now. Danny feels for Derek, and edges closer to him.

"I'm sorry," Danny whispers, nuzzling into Derek's neck and wrapping his arms around the latter's waist. "That's awful."

Derek doesn't say anything, prompting Danny to pull away and look at the other man. Derek's guilt-ridden eyes shine bright with tears, so Danny stops talking, hugs Derek back instead. He can see how lonely Derek is, he can tell, for he knows—in a sense—how it is. They remain silent for a while, and leisurely slip back into the bed, resuming their initial position; Derek lying on his back, Danny's head resting on top of Derek's chest. Danny takes advantage of the situation to weigh the pros and cons of a potential relationship with Derek. Pros: Danny's at peace when he's with Derek, of that he's sure of. For some reason, Danny's restless whenever Derek's not around, and he can't stop thinking about him. It makes him wonder whether that's how people who are in love feel like about the person they're in love with. Derek makes him feel safe, ironically, considering Danny's been in danger because of him. Derek seems to be devoted to him, even if they've known each other for three days, and that probably means Derek isn't likely to cheat on him. Cons: Danny doesn't know Derek really well. He also almost died twice in the short time he's known Derek, and it would've never happened had Derek not entered his life. And that's really the only two reasons Danny can think of. One can be fixed, the other can't be helped. And there are more pros than cons, so at the moment, Danny doesn't really have any tangible reason not to be with Derek.

"I'm so happy when I'm with you," Derek says out of the blue, breaking the soothing silence they were basking in. Danny's heart skips a beat at that, and he doesn't know whether he feels joy or sorrow. He adds the fact that Derek's so open emotionally to the pros list.

"Derek…" Danny trails off, not knowing how to respond, Derek's last words making him uncomfortable. What Derek said holds so much meaning, and everything seems so serious between them now that Danny can't help but get antsy. He's truly dazed by how calm Derek is about all this, how this all seems so natural to him. Danny has never met a guy that was quite so open with his feelings, so unguarded, so…true. It unsettles him, to say the least; Danny's learned to play games when it comes to seeing guys, whether he deals with a hookup or a potential boyfriend. But with Derek, everything's turned upside down; they're working on a clean slate, with no rules whatsoever. Danny's not sure whether he likes it, he's not sure he can be that open, that vulnerable. He's been burned before, and he already learned to protect himself from being hurt again. Derek's sincerity makes Danny want to trust him, and there's something about the way Derek looks at him that makes him think being with Derek is right.

"I just wanted you to know," is all Derek says, and Danny cranes his neck to look up at the Derek, catching a soft smile from him. He settles his head back on Derek's chest, his head roaming with thoughts and questions. Right this instant, he wants nothing more than to define this relationship between them once and for all, to make it official. But he did tell Derek he needed time to figure things out, and while that is still true, Danny's convictions are faltering with Derek being so close to him.

"You shouldn't be here," Danny mumbles into Derek's shirt—well, actually, it's his shirt, but Derek's wearing it—and fixates on the ring on his finger, the urge to take it off growing stronger with every minute he spends attached to Derek.

"Do you want me to leave?" Derek asks, and Danny can hear the underlying challenge in Derek's question, along with a trace of sadness.

"No," Danny admits, biting his bottom lip down. He could stay here all day, in bed with Derek, in comfortable silence. His parents aren't likely to come home until late tonight, and Danny still hasn't decided whether to go to school or not. But he made a decision last night regarding Derek. He can't just go back on his words, no matter how good it feels to be with the other man.

"Get some more sleep," Derek whispers, and presses his lips to Danny's head. Danny decides to let it go, he is still sleepy, the comfortable and warm embrace he's currently wrapped in making it even harder to fight sleep. He could use a couple more hours of rest, he reasons, and he could still go to his afternoon classes. Danny lets himself drift off to the steady rhythm of Derek's breathing, cocooned in the latter's hold.

—

Derek watches Danny fall back asleep, and he can't keep himself from dropping another kiss on top of Danny's head. Derek just wants a couple more hours of quiet with Danny, a couple more hours of rest before he has to go back to reality and confront the hunters. He thinks about his next course of actions, about the best way to handle the situation. For that, he needs his uncle's help. The Argents already know about Danny, Kate already tried to use him to get to Derek, and Derek knows she's bound to try again, especially considering the way they escaped last time. Danny's mother's on the hunters' radar as well now, and from what little Derek can remember, she's pissed Kate off big time. He's got to keep watching out for Danny, for his safety. Kate came too close to endangering his life, and Derek won't let that happen again.

He dares to hope his uncle will help him with this whole mess; he really could use an ally for once, what with Laura gone now. Suppressing a tear at the thought of his sister, Derek draws in a deep breath and lets himself drift back to sleep, lulled by the sound of Danny's breathing.

—

"Derek, wake up."

Derek flutters his eyes open slowly, his uncle's face coming into view, making him groan slightly. Danny's still asleep in his arms, and Derek doesn't want to ever leave this bed. He looks at the clock, and sees he's managed to get an hour of sleep. Derek tightens his hold around Danny, inhaling the enticing scent he's come to adore before he opens his eyes again. Peter looks at him with that same serene face and unreadable gaze, and Derek never knows whether he should be worried.

"What are you doing here?" Derek asks his uncle in a whisper, looking back down at Danny. Heaving a sigh, Derek resolves to carefully remove himself from his mate, and gets out of bed, missing the warmth radiating from the latter immediately. He walks out of the room to let Danny rest peacefully; making sure his uncle is following him.

"I came to check on you," Peter answers as they walk down the stairs. "You're still hurt."

"That would be because of Kate Argent," Derek spits out, turning to look at Peter. "She doesn't know you're the alpha. And I almost got killed protecting your identity. Speaking of which, where were you when I needed you?"

"I did look for you, I felt your distress," Peter replies, pain seeping through his voice, the genuine concern taking Derek aback. It feels like nothing has changed, like he's back with the loving uncle he's known while growing up, and not a mindless killer. It makes Derek hopeful, somehow, to know he might get his uncle back. "I was afraid I was too late, but I'm glad to see you safe and sound. Both of you."

"Right," Derek mutters as he steps out of the house, breathing in the fresh morning air. He turns around and worries over his lip, reluctant to leave Danny alone, defenseless.

"We don't have to leave if you don't want to. We can talk in your car, I saw it not too far from here," Peter says, having sensed Derek's reluctance to leave his mate, and Derek's thankful for that.

"How did you manage to escape them, exactly?" Peter asks as they start walking in the direction of Derek's car, a light breeze brushing Derek's skin.

"Danny's mother, she saved us," Derek says, unlocking his car when they get to it before stepping in. Once his uncle's sitting beside him, Derek turns to the latter and speaks up, "We need to talk about our next move."

"Agreed," Peter replies, sending him a soft smile. "We need Scott with us, that much is clear. But we could also use the help of two more wolves."

"You mean Danny and his mother? Because I don't think they'd be willing to help," Derek informs him, recalling all too well the disapproval in Danny's parents' eyes whenever they'd look at him.

"I can be…persuasive," Peter says, letting out a little chuckle. "Besides, once you and your mate complete the mating ritual, we'll be family. And you do for family, right, Derek?"

"Mating ritual?"

"Yes, it's quite poetic, actually," Peter answers him. "On the day of a new moon, one shall bite their desired mate to the neck to initiate the ritual. On the night of the following full moon, the other does the biting, and voilà. You get two werewolves mated for life. I thought you and Danny were already mated when I first saw you with him. Only when I saw him up close did I notice the mark on his neck. You'd bitten him not long ago."

"What? I don't remember biting him," Derek says, trying to recall all his interactions with Danny before the whole incident with his uncle kidnapping Danny. That narrows things down to the first time he met Danny, at Stiles', and the following night when he came to Danny after Peter wounded him. He remembers kissing Danny at Stiles', and basically dry humping him. Not much happened at Danny's, he was too weak to do much. He did kiss Danny again in the morning, but that was it. Derek's eyes widen when he goes through the scene at Stiles' again, he remembers nibbling Danny's neck while they were grinding up against each other. He couldn't have bit Danny accidentally then, could he? He had lost control at that moment, and he doesn't have a grasp on what happened exactly. Could it have been the influence of the new moon, the mating urges making him mark Danny?

"It doesn't matter whether you remember, it happened, I saw the mark, which confirmed my suspicions about him being your mate-to-be," Peter's voice cuts through his thoughts, looking at him with an amused smile. "Look at your neck in a mirror, you'll see it too."

"But what about all the stuff you said about mates being bonded from the moment they are born?"

"It's a legend, Derek, I never said it was true, I never said it wasn't either. It could be. The bond you feel right now is probably the one you made when you bit him. Any werewolf can do it, if two have decided they want to be together. Much like humans marry each other, only more permanent and meaningful."

"So you don't believe in soul mates," Derek remarks, trying to process all these new pieces of information.

"Not really," Peter counters. "If you want my honest opinion, I just think it's love, and pheromones and everything. And being a werewolf, with your enhanced senses and whatnot, it just intensifies everything. But hey, everyone's entitled to their own opinion, right?"

His uncle's last sentence leaves Derek confused. He's not an expert with relationships; on the contrary, he's a cripple when it comes to it. Kate did a number on him, and that's understandable, considering what she did. He thought it would be easier to let fate decide for him, to trust a higher power, and a part of him still wants to believe Danny's the one for him.

"So, on the night of the upcoming full moon, Danny has to bite me in his wolf state, and we'll be mated for life?" Derek asks, his heart beating with excitement just at the thought of going through with this ritual with Danny. Derek's been restless; the wolf in him has been restless, ever since he met Danny. He has a feeling it will all end once he claims Danny as his for good.

"That's right, the link will be permanent," Peter replies. "Don't worry, I'll help you through it. You're in good hands."

"All right," Derek says, heaving a sigh. He's glad to have someone he can fall back on, someone who can mentor him, even if he can't fully trust Peter yet.

"Just trust me on this, don't go see him until the night of the full moon. You can keep an eye on him from afar, but don't talk to him, and don't approach him, all right?" Peter instructs him, making Derek frown in confusion.

"Why? For how long?" he asks, not understanding what his uncle's coming at.

"Just do it, at least until the next full moon, which is not that far from now. You think you can keep it in your pants?" Peter lets out the last words with a chuckle.

"Yes," Derek grits out through his teeth, refraining from rolling his eyes.

"I have to go take care of some things, I'll see you later," Peter says, his hand already on the door handle, ready to leave.

"Where are you going?" Derek asks, following his uncle out of the car.

"I'll tell you later."

—

Danny's woken up by his phone buzzing several times, and this time, he's alone in bed. It almost makes him wonder if he just dreamt the whole thing up with Derek earlier this morning. Shaking his head, he grabs his phone from his nightstand, seeing a few missed calls and a couple dozens of unread text messages. 10 from Lydia. The rest from Jackson. It's almost 11 a.m. and Danny plans on taking his time preparing for school. He reads Lydia's texts first on his way to the bathroom.

8:07

Where are you, Danny? I'm bored.

8:15
Mrs. Reynolds just made a mistake in a simple equation, you should've seen her face when I pointed it out. You missed it.

8:28
I really hope you're having fun.

8:29

And by that, I meant with a guy.

8:29
A hot guy.

10:15
Oh waow, I slept through history, how surprising.

10:28
I can't believe you're skipping that many classes, Daniel Mahealani.

10:35
Did you party that hard last night? Why wasn't I invited?

10:47
Ugh, I just realized how much school sucks when you're not around.

10:51
Seriously though, are you sick or something? Are you showing up at all today?

Danny lets out a chuckle and types a quick reply to Lydia, telling her he'll be back this afternoon. Danny really likes her, and he loves how affectionate she is with him, considering how she can be a total bitch to other people. She's a lot like Jackson in that respect, and Danny's glad to be on their good side, it makes him feel somewhat privileged. Lydia and he became friends pretty young, and their friendship formed organically, from the moment they spotted one another as academic rivals, but they put their rivalry aside pretty quickly to enjoy making fun of others instead, no matter how wrong it was, because Lydia made it seem fine. He feels a little bad, thinking about Lydia, considering Jackson dumped her, and most likely because of him. Things are so messy between his best friend and him now, what with Jackson's declaration of love for him—which is really the last thing he wants to think about—and Derek thrown in the mix. Jackson's texts are short, and are a combination of where are you and are you okay and Danny. He replies briefly, telling Jackson the same thing he did Lydia, before he goes downstairs to grab something to eat and clear his mind. And coffee, Danny needs his coffee.

His espresso is done brewing by the time his mother comes home, exhaustion written all over her face when he sees her come in the kitchen.

"Hey mom," Danny greets her with a hug, which she half returns, leaning most of her weight on him. He can tell she's about ready to pass out on him.

"Hey, sweetie, how're you feeling?" she asks, pulling away to look at him, bringing her hand up to cup his cheek.

"I'm fine, mom, you're the one who looks—"

"Hold on," she cuts him off, her brows furrowing as she leans close to him. "What happened? You have his scent all over you, Danny."

"I…I what?" Danny stutters, grabbing his shirt and smelling it, not finding anything weird about it. "I don't smell like anything."

"Derek, you have Derek's scent on you, I can smell it, Danny," she explains with an accusing tone, folding her arms over her chest. Right, his mother's a werewolf, Danny recalls. He's still weirded out by that fact. "Did he come back last night? What did you do?"

"We didn't do anything," Danny replies, feeling uneasy under his mother's grilling. "I…I was having nightmares, apparently, and he…came to sleep with me, that's all."

"Excuse me, he did what now?"

"I mean, literally sleep, we didn't have sex or anything," Danny hurries to add, feeling increasingly ill at ease talking about this with his mother.

"After your father and I explicitly forbade him to go anywhere near you," she raises her tone, making Danny flinch at that. He never likes it when his mother gets mad, no matter how often it's happened in the past. She scrutinizes him for a second, and grabs his hands, looking down at his fingers. From their point of view, Derek did bring Danny a lot of trouble, so he does understand why they wouldn't Derek around him, but it still feels like they're forbidding Danny to see his boyfriend. Which, Derek is not, of course.

"Danny, where's your ring?" she asks, looking up at him. "I mean, my ring, the one I gave you yesterday, why aren't you wearing it?"

"I don't know, I was wearing it when I went to bed last night," Danny answers her, as surprised as his mother to see it missing from his finger. He distinctly remembers putting it on last night, which even prompted Derek to pay him a visit after that. Now that he's aware of the ring missing, Danny's overwhelmed by Derek, unable to ignore the man's presence. Derek's not far, and Danny can feel him, aches for him.

"Let me see your neck, I forgot to check it yesterday," she asks, her hands on Danny's shoulders, tugging to make him lean down, exposing his neck at her eye level.

"Why?"

She ignores his question, her fingers palpating his skin, and not in the way she usually does when she looks for swollen lymph nodes. He hears her whisper a curse when she's done, her eyes avoiding his.

"What's wrong?" Danny asks, trying to coax an answer out of her, and he starts to worry.

"Nothing, let's go upstairs and look for that ring," she heaves a sigh, taking a long sip of coffee out of Danny's mug. She catches him looking and adds, "I need it more than you."

"I didn't say anything," Danny replies, hands in the air, before she drags him upstairs.

They spend a half hour looking for the ring but come up with nothing, and by the time they're done tidying up Danny's room, his mother looks ready to kill someone, and Danny's hands start shaking ever so slightly with want; the need to be with Derek only exacerbated by the latter's proximity and own longing.

"It's not here, mom, let's forget about it, I'm going to be late for my afternoon classes," Danny throws his hands in the air, exhausted from all the moving around. Not to mention all his senses going out of control; his eyesight going from blurry to really precise in a second, his sense of smell picking up on stuff he should've never been able to pick up on, his ears assailed by random noises from outside.

"How could you have lost it? I mean, how is it possible, you lost both rings in under 24 hours," she says, pushing her hair out of her face. Danny feels like a child being scolded again, and he doesn't like it when his mother uses that reprimanding tone with him. He's not a kid anymore, and he hasn't been scolded like this for a few years now.

"I don't know, I was wearing them, I don't remember taking them off," Danny replies, at a loss for a good answer, as he rubs his temples, a headache sneaking up on him.

"It must've been Derek," she mutters, glancing at him. "It's him. He took off your ring when you were asleep."

"Why would he do that?" Danny asks, figuring out the answer to his own question as soon as he voices it out loud. He remembers wearing the ring when he woke up this morning, he still had it when he went back to sleep after his little talk with Derek. It fits, Danny admits, Derek was the only one there, and he didn't seem too fond of that ring. Things are still unclear as to what's between him and Derek, this link that the ring diminishes, but Danny's mother seems to know more than Danny does. If he plays the ignorance card, he might get some answers out of her. He waits for his mother to provide him with an answer, watches her bite her bottom lip, seeing the internal conflict she struggles with.

"Because," she starts saying. "I don't know—"

"Mom," Danny grabs her arm, looking her straight in the eye, knowing fully well she's hiding something from him. "What aren't you telling me? This directly concerns me; don't I deserve to know the truth? Haven't you lied to me enough?"

"I'm not even sure," she begins, running her hand through her hair before glancing back at him. "And it's complicated, honey, you don't need this in your life right now."

"But it is in my life now, and it doesn't look like it's going away any time soon, so I might as well know what it is," Danny retorts, getting impatient of his mother's stalling. He starts pacing, feeling a bit hot and restless. He's finding it harder and harder to focus, his need to see Derek becoming pathologically concerning.

"I think you and Derek are mates," she says finally, and Danny doesn't quite compute what she just said at first, the words falling down on him like a pile of bricks.

"Mates? What does that mean?" he asks, now definitely curious to know more. His heart picks up a pace as he anticipates the answer to his question, what it would mean to his relationship with Derek. What it would do to Danny's life. Are they soul mates? Is that what his mother meant? Danny's never believed in fate, he's never bought into the whole soul mate thing. His past relationships have only comforted him in his convictions. But he has to admit that, as puzzling as it sounds, Derek being his mate would explain a lot of things, and it worries him even more. He already feels like an addict going through withdrawal at the moment—not that he knows what it's like, but he imagines it's what they go through—how worse could it get? What if he never sees Derek again? Is he going to die from it? The idea just repulses him, making him shudder with dread. He doesn't want to be that dependent, he doesn't want his life to revolve entirely around one person, no matter how important they are to him.

"I'm really not an expert on the subject," his mother's stalling again, and her persistence to avoid the subject is starting to make Danny go out of his mind. He feels a bit hot, and breathing is becoming a difficult task. Not to mention how horny he is right now; making him feel all in all, uncomfortable in his own skin.

"What. Does that. Mean?" He repeats, stressing every word, both of his hands holding his mother's shoulders now, itching to shake her. He's on the verge of having a mental breakdown.

"Look," she grabs his neck again, and then gets her phone out of her pocket to take a picture before she shows it to him. Danny frowns at the screen, his hand instinctively reaching for his neck, his fingers trying to feel the tattoo his mother's showing him. It's two half circles that are sort of embedded in one another, forming an S. It's never been there before, and he has no recollection of going to a tattoo parlor—or getting drunk enough for that to happen without him remembering. "This mark means you're mated, or that you are about to be, I'm not really sure so chances are things might not be set in stone yet. If you listen to me, hopefully it'll be gone after the next full moon, and everything will go back to normal, all right? No more werewolves stuff, no more Derek, no more hunters. There's no point in telling you more than that. You wouldn't want to hear the rest anyway, especially since what I could tell you would probably be not true."

"Mom, I just learned yesterday that I was an honest to God werewolf or hybrid or whatever—which, you and Dad did a hell of a good job hiding it from me, and now you're telling me I might be Derek's mate and won't tell me more about what it means? How am I supposed to just ignore that?" Danny refrains from hissing at his mother. He keeps rubbing his neck, right where the mark is, wondering how it got there, what it entails. Does Derek have one too? Questions keep piling up in his head, adding to the headache and general unease he's experiencing at the moment.

"Look, this isn't our priority right now, the full moon's coming up soon, and I don't have any other ring for you," she says, sounding tired, her hands rubbing her forehead.

"What's going to happen? Is one half of my body going to turn into a wolf or something?" Danny inquires, barely hiding the sarcasm from his tone. "Also, since you haven't told me anything yet, I assume you're the one who gave me the werewolf…gene, or whatever? Does dad even know?"

"Yes, your father knows. Of course he knows," she replies, combing her hair back behind he ears before drawing in a breath.

"You're going to turn into a full on wolf, Danny," his mother says in a serious tone, her face devoid of any trace of joking. She's using her doctor voice, the one that leaves no place for discussion, and so Danny listens carefully. "Every family's different, some keep their human body and go through very little organ changes, and ours has the singularity of turning completely into actual wolves. So far, we've been able to avoid that turn with you and your sister. As the full moon draws on, you will have your senses and physical abilities heightened, your killing urges—and yes, you will have them—will grow stronger. It'll be harder for you to deal with them since it'll be new; you've never had to learn how to control any of these components that come with being a werewolf. Had you been a full-blooded werewolf, you would have to deal with those urges on a daily basis. So if we don't find either ring back, we will have to get another one, or find a way to restrain you so that you don't hurt anybody or yourself. There are hunters in town, I think you know that better than anyone."

"The Argents," Danny mumbles, remembering the painful encounter he's had with them as he processes everything his mother told him. She's right. He never had to deal with this, never even thought it was possible, he can't nor does he want to. None of what his mother described to him is appealing to Danny, and it makes him freak out that much more about his current situation. He curses himself for having lost those rings, wondering whether he is really at fault here, or if, as his mother's suggesting, Derek's the culprit. But then a thought occurs to him.

"Derek said he didn't know about the ring," he starts saying, recalling the conversation he'd listened in yesterday in Derek's car. "He couldn't have taken the first one."

"But he could've taken the one I gave you yesterday, especially since he knew then what it's for," she counters. "Speaking of Derek, I want you to stay away from him, will you? You will only get caught up in between his battle with the Argents, and that's the last thing you want."

"Isn't it too late for that? Kate Argent knows who I am now, and I know Allison, it won't be hard for her to find me."

"They won't try anything on you at school, in broad daylight," his mother replies, looking out the window, arms folded over her chest, before she glances back at him. "Come straight home after practice, all right? Surround yourself with friends. And avoid Derek."

"I…"

"You have tostay away from him, no matter how hard it is, you have to fight the urge to be with him," she insists, her eyes boring into his.

"All right, fine," Danny concedes, even though avoiding Derek is the last thing he wants to do right now. Quite the opposite, actually. He wanted some time away from the guy, but now his body is itching to be around him, it doesn't make one iota of sense. He's worse than a pregnant woman, what with his mood swings. His mother seems pretty adamant about it, and although Danny hates being kept in the dark as to why, he decides to listen to her. If there's the slightest chance this weird connection between him and Derek might go away, that Danny's life can go back to the way it was, he's willing to listen to her and avoid Derek.

"This is for your own good," she adds.

"And you won't even tell me why," Danny mutters, deciding he's not really mad at her. He just hates not knowing everything there is to know about something, he usually tries to get to the bottom of things. "You know I can feel there's something between Derek and I, don't you? I don't understand why you won't explain to me what this mate thing is exactly. I can take it, mom."

"I trust you, but I also think it would be best if you don't know, that's why I'm asking you to trust me on this," she pleads, taking both his hands in hers. "Please."

"Fine, but what about you? You're going to be home alone when I'm off to school," Danny says, getting progressively more worried about his mother's safety now. He hadn't thought about it, that his mother's also a target now.

"They don't know who I am," she replies, shaking her head.

"Yet," Danny interjects. "You showed your face to them yesterday when you came to save us, didn't you?"

"I can defend myself," she says, and though Danny believes her, he can't help but worry anyway. The Argents seem resourceful, and would outnumber them easily, he frets.

"Your father will come home during the day to set up some protection around the house," she adds.

"How? How's he going to protect the house from gunfire? We already have a security system against breaking and entering, what more could he do about that, stand guard?" Danny frowns, looking at his mother expectantly.

"Don't you worry about that," she waves his questions off, a clear indication she wants to end the conversation. She cups his face in her hands, inspecting him. "Are you all right, though? You don't look so good, maybe you shouldn't go to school today."

"I'll be fine, I just need to take a shower," Danny lies, the heat starting to get to him, his head throbbing and his entire body tiring.

"Are you sure?" I'm going to take a shower as well, I'll come back to check on you, I'll drive you to school then if you're all right," she says.

"All right. You still have a lot to tell me," Danny reminds her as he leads her out of his room, glancing at his clock to make sure he still has time to get ready.

She leaves his room after that, and Danny proceeds to change out of his clothes. He's left with a lot more of information to process, an afternoon of classes he has not interest in attending at all, and more importantly, that perpetual and relentless desire to be with Derek. Things are not going as planned, and it's not good.

"Hey," the voice startles him just as he's about to pull a shirt over his head, turning to see Derek standing by the window, leering at him. Think of the devil, and he shall appear on your doorstep—or by your window frame, in this case, Danny scoffs inwardly. All of a sudden, Danny's heart racing, his nostrils are invaded with Derek's scent, his eyes are fixated on Derek's face, and all he can hear is Derek's fast but steady heartbeat. This is not good. He pulls on the shirt, self conscious of Derek devouring him with his eyes, and takes a step back from the latter, until his legs hit his bed, making him fall back on it.

"No, Derek, you can't be here," Danny breathes out, panic taking over him as he feels himself losing the last bits of control he has left over his urge to jump Derek's bones.

"It's okay," Derek murmurs, and in a second he's right up in Danny's space, straddling him on the bed, hands cupping his cheeks, leaning down closer and closer to him. Derek's smiling at Danny; not grinning, not smirking. Smiling. Just a wholehearted and genuine smile that makes Danny's heart melt. "I know you want me."

"Why is this happening to me?" Danny mumbles as his arms wrap around Derek on their own, his hands seeking out Derek's smooth skin underneath the latter's shirt, the contact sending shrills of electricity from Danny's fingertips through his entire body. Derek ignores Danny's question and silences him with a kiss, slow and languorous, their bodies fitting into each other completely.

"What are you doing here?" Danny breathes out when their lips part for a moment, before Derek claims them again, effectively silencing him. They pull away seconds later for lack of air, leaving Danny panting heavily, staring up at light blue eyes and an elated smile. They stare at each other like this for what feels like an eternity, and Danny still waits for an answer, but Derek won't speak, and he won't budge either; they just remain still like this, with Derek's body lying on top of Danny's, their limbs attached to the other. Eventually, Derek's lips move, laughter in his eyes, but Danny can't hear anything, everything's drowned out.

"Danny! Danny!" his mother's voice comes through, and in the blink of an eye, Derek's gone from his sight, his mother's face replacing Derek's. He blinks several times again, rubbing his eyes until he comes out of this haze.

"What happened? Where's Derek?" Danny asks, confused, his heart still pounding loud in his ears. Was he hallucinating?

"Oh my God," Danny's mother says, her hands framing Danny's face in the same manner Derek's were just a few seconds ago. "Sweetie, you had an absence, you just…blacked out for a couple minutes, your gaze was empty and you weren't responding at all. I was starting to think were having your first seizure. But I guess I know now what that was all about."

"I…It wasn't real?" Danny wonders out loud, the feel of Derek's lips against his lingering. His body is on fire, and Danny can hardly breathe, drops of sweat streaming down his face.

"No," his mother says in a soothing tone, her thumb still stroking his cheek as her other hand lowers down to his neck.

She touches his forehead with the back of her hand, using the other on his neck to take his pulse. "Maybe you shouldn't go to school at all today, I think it's best for you. Go back to bed, Danny, you're burning and your heartbeat's going through the roof. I'd rather not prescribe you beta blockers at your age, so you go and get some rest, I'll bring you some aspirin."

"Okay," Danny breathes out, wiping some sweat off his face as he makes his way to the bathroom. He splashes his face with ice-cold water in an attempt to wake up from this nightmare, and to cool down his burning body. This sudden heat wave is a real shock, and he wouldn't be surprised if he had a 104° fever. Danny takes off his sweat-drenched shirt, breathing slow and deep to calm his heart down, fingers on his neck to assess his pulse rate. He takes a good look at himself in the mirror, leaning on the sink and panting heavily.

His mother's back a couple minutes later, handing him a glass and a couple of pills, which he swallows mechanically. "Thanks," he mutters, splashing some more water on his face. He takes some time to compose himself, his ragged breathing making it hard for him to speak. "What's happening to me?"

"You're going through your first heat," she replies, a note of sympathy in her voice, and the words hit Danny hard.

"What?" Danny deadpans, unable to believe what his mother just told him. "Are you actually saying that I'm…that I'm in heat?"

"Oh God," his mother croaks, her eyes fidgeting until they settle back on him. She grabs another towel and helps wipe sweat off of her son. "I'm afraid so, sweetie, I never thought it would happen."

This can't be happening to him, he tells himself, scrubbing his face with a towel. He's going through his first heat? Like an animal? Humans don't go through heats; humans are more evolved than that. Humans are one of the rare species who have sex for purposes other than reproduction. But then Danny's reminded he's not entirely human, and in the end, that's the hardest truth to swallow. He still hasn't gotten around to accept that about him, and he's most likely not going to any time soon.

"How long is it going to last?" Danny worries, feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

"I don't know, it usually lasts twenty four hours, but with you, it's different—"

"Different how?" Danny cuts her off, leaning back against the counter behind him. He watches his mother biting her nails, worry sketching her features, before she finally heaves a heavy sigh and looks back at him.

"You're a hybrid, Danny, not a full-blooded werewolf, you shouldn't be going through this heat to begin with," she starts explaining. "But…you're in the middle of a mating process, and you've been exposed to Derek for quite some time without actually…mating, and it's triggered it, I suppose. Especially since you're not wearing your ring anymore."

"How do I stop it?"

"I don't know," she replies, throwing her hands in the air. "I've never dealt with this sort of thing before, I cut myself from the supernatural a long time ago. I don't know what to do but wait this out."

"Awesome," Danny mutters, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He's never felt this horny in his life, his skin feels too tight, and it makes him want to scrape it off. He really wishes Derek were here right now, he's almost desperate for the other man's touch.

"Look, we'll go to my bathroom, and you'll take a nice cold bath to cool down, all right? Hopefully it'll get better soon," she suggests, taking his hand in hers and dragging him out of his own bathroom where there's no bathtub. Danny complies, not knowing what else to do anyway, grateful that his mother was around when this happened to him.

The cold water helps a little, along with the aspirin he took earlier, and after a few minutes, Danny can already feel his body temperature decreasing. Nevertheless, he's still hot, and the water's warming up too fast to his liking, forcing him to change it. Derek's getting close, he can sense it, and his heart beats so fast with excitement it feels like it's going to give out any second. Eventually, the heat gets to Danny, who's already exhausted and dizzy, and he passes out in the bathtub.

tbc

This chapter took the longest time, and I've been working myself crazy over it, over the mating thing. Let me know what you think!