He could smell the laundry detergent. This wasn't possible...the woods smelling like laundry detergent? Unless he was having a weird dream. He remembered being in the woods and Derek attacking Chris Argent. Someone shot Wilson-

Jackson started awake as a gunshot echoed in his mind. His breathing quickened but he soon realized that he was back in his room, on top of his covers in his bed. He still wore the same clothes he had on tonight, and he could smell the wilderness seeping from them.

"You okay?" A voice asked him from the darkness.

Jackson yelped and flicked on his lamp. Derek was sitting on the beanbag in the corner of his room, long legs crossed and a sports magazine in his hands. He half smiled, which quickly turned into a frown as Jackson glared at him from across the room.

"What are you doing here?" Jackson croaked, his throat suddenly dry. "I thought we were in the woods-"

"We were, but I brought you home. You passed out after you shot that old geezer. You don't remember?" Jackson shook his head, prompting Derek to sigh heavily. "Oh well. Nothing I can do there. You sure you're okay?"

Jackson scoffed. "Why do you care? You tried to kill that many times-"

"I was trying to protect you, you self-absorbed idiot. Do you not remember Wilson saying he was going to shoot you too but it was too late?"

Jackson shook his head. "This is stupid. Why would he want to kill me anyway? I'm human!" The look on Derek's face made him tremble. "R-right? I am human?"

Derek didn't say anything as he got to his feet. "You might want to change out of those clothes. I hear your mom rooting around in her room for something."

Jackson looked down at his shirt to find it covered in blood. "What the-what is this from?"

"Not Wilson, that's for sure," Derek glanced out the window. "I'll leave the window open for you. I know how you don't like having it closed."

"Derek! What the hell happened tonight? After I blacked out?" Jackson pulled off his shirt and grimaced at the sight of all the blood.

The Alpha sighed, leaning his forehead against the window. "You won't believe me if I told you."

"Try me. I've heard worse, Derek. Much worse."

Derek turned around to face him. "Okay. Well, for starters you blacked out and I was left to bury Wilson's body by myself. When I came back for you, you were on the ground screaming in pain. I got closer to you and saw that you were..." He cocked his head to one side, seemingly listening for something.

"What was I doing, Derek? What happened?"

Derek placed a finger on his lips and pointed to the door. Jackson could then hear footsteps coming towards his door. He raced over and locked it before his mother could knock and come in.

"Jackson? Sweetie, are you okay? I hear you moving around in there..."

"I'm fine, mom! Just got out of the shower. Don't come in! I'm naked..." He saw Derek roll his eyes.

"Well, I kind of can't when your door is locked. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Fine, mom! I'm fine! Good night!" Jackson heard her sigh and walk away from the door, and her own bedroom door closed with a gentle click. "Now what were you saying to me? What was I doing?"

"I'm not sure you want to-" Derek backed up into the wall as Jackson approached him, much to Jackson's surprise. "Okay, back off, you little mutt. Sit down and I'll tell you."

Jackson sat down on his bed. "What. Tell me."

Derek sighed. "Tell you? Okay. You shifted, Jackson. You full on shifted in front of me."

Jackson felt his heart sink. "I...w-what? I couldn't have! I'm human! I-I've never before in my life!"

Derek smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. "You needed a trigger. All that pent up anger inside you? Sports wasn't enough to satisfy it. You needed to kill. And that's exactly what you did last night."

Jackson moaned and wrapped his arms around his knees. "No. No, no, no, no..."

"What? You got what you wanted, didn't you? You wanted to be like me? Well, now you're like me. So why are you complaining?"

Jackson wiped the tears from his face, and Derek backed away as he saw the smile on the teen's face. "Who said I was complaining? I think this works out to be perfect, don't you think?" He got to his feet and looked himself over in the full length mirror in the corner of his room. "I think I know why your dad saved me that night. Want to hear my theory?"

Derek growled, sensing something wrong about this situation. "Why?"

Jackson flexed an arm and smiled. "He obviously wanted to save at least some of the werewolf bloodline from the fire, right? I mean he had you and what's her name? Laura? But I guess he didn't think you were worthy of the Alpha title. You practically stole the title, didn't you?"

Derek growled, his eys changing. "What are you talking about kid?"

Jackson turned to face him, a full blown smile on his face. "While I was asleep, I dreamt some more. I remembered more of that night of the fire. Your father told me that I was the Hale's last and only hope. I don't know about you, but that just puts things into another perspective, don't you think? What if...he didn't want you to become Alpha wolf?"

Derek rumbled again and bared his teeth. "Don't piss me off, pup. Especially not when your parents are in the other room. It could end badly."

"Touch them, and it'll just end badly for you..." Jackson's eyes flashed blue, much to Derek's surprise. He popped his neck and rolled his shoulders, letting out a low rumble. "Get out of my house. Now."

"And if I don't?" Derek backed up into the window and smirked at the teen's anger building up inside him. "Careful, pup. I've heard of cases where young pups like you accidently kill the people they love when they got too angry. Are you sure you want that to happen? You'd be an orphan all over again."

Jackson slammed a fist into the wall an inch from Derek's face, causing a hole to appear in the wall. "Get out of my house. Now." He repeated. "And I won't have to kill you."

Derek scoffed, sliding one leg out the windowsill. "You think you can do it? Kill me?"

"Don't test me," Jackson hissed. "It might actually happen."

"Whatever. What. Ever. Oh, and by the way...come near my house or my territory again and I will kill you. I won't even blink when I do it."

"Just get out of my face, Hale. I'm sick and tired of looking at it," Jackson watched as Derek flung himself over the edge of the window and landed with ease on all fours. He could hear Derek chuckling even as he walked away from the house and jumped over the front gates.

As he lay down in his bed, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He could hear the slightest crinkle of the bedsheets in his parent's room as they shifted in bed, the hum of the fridge downstairs, and the ticking of the old grandfather clock that his father had bought years ago. He smiled at his newfound ability. He could really get used to this. If Scott could do it, then so could he right? It was simple.

Something (or someone) from outside let out a howl that pierced the night air, and Jackson rolled his eyes. He got up out of bed, and for once since he lived in this house, shut his bedroom window and locked it. He didn't have to be afraid anymore. There was no reason to be afraid. He could protect his family from Derek now.

He sighed, crawling back into bed and smiled, falling asleep. Dreamless, and the best sleep he had in years.