He Might Be on the Verge of a Great Relationship

Can you even remember a time on Teen Wolf when Derek was just a werewolf who only had to worry about being Scott's mentor, evading hunters, and getting wrongfully arrested for his sister's murder? It seems like a much simpler time, so long ago. Since then, Derek has gained and lost Alpha status, got kidnapped and tortured several times, fell in love with an unassuming school teacher who turned out to be a human-sacrificing monster, and was turned into his high-school self for a while. And that's just the tip of the iceberg of Derek's problems. Given all that he's gone through over the last few years, it's about time for one of the only surviving Hales to catch a break. That break may come in the form of some romance with Braeden, someone who — for once in Derek's life — doesn't seem to be completely insane.

In last Monday's episode "Muted," Derek had the chance to spend some quality time with the lady mercenary when he hired her to help him and Peter find Kate and the $117 million worth of bonds she took from them. How they're going to pay Braeden if they can't find Kate and the money is completely confusing to me, but this is Teen Wolf so I'm just not going to question it for now. What I did find interesting though, was quite the obvious sexual tension between the two characters. And — dare I say it — a little flirting perhaps?

Teen Wolf creator Jeff Davis has teased that Derek has some major events happen to him in Season 4, and that he will be getting a love interest. Davis also made it extremely clear that Kate will not be said love interest, thank goodness. So is it possible the lady in question is Braeden? I really hope so, because these two could actually be kind of great together.

Both Braeden and Derek have seen their fair share of terrible crap. Braeden's past is still a mystery, but we know what she had to endure with Deucalion and his band of merry psychos in Season 3A. I'm sure she'll never forget either, considering she has giant claw marks on her face and neck thanks to all of that nonsense. Derek's tragic past is getting clearer and clearer now that we've had some great flashbacks to his time in high school. Plus, there's that fire that killed most of his family. So these two can easily empathize with each other's struggles in life and understand how they both put up walls and try to keep themselves as safe as possible from other people. Could this common personality trait bring them closer together? Could they both possibly trust each other?

It might also be nice for Derek to be with someone who is strong and independent, just like him. And preferrably someone who isn't secretly trying to kill people like his previous girlfriends. In the trailer for Teen Wolf Season 4, there was a glimpse of a possible kiss between Derek and Braeden so it seems I might be on the right track here. All I know is that it's about time for Derek to find someone who isn't a crazy murderer and who can actually make him happy. Maybe that person is Braeden, and maybe she can help him grow and learn to accept help, to let people in, and to properly be part of a pack again.

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