Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This was all such bullshit Stiles thought to himself, face turned up to the sun. He was going to miss the beautiful weather here in Phoenix when he was in Beacon Hills. It wasn’t so much the lack of sun he admitted to himself – Beacon Hills was in California after all. He just kinda resented the idea of being shunted off to live with his Dad. He had lived here with his aunt since shortly after his mother died – Noah Stilinski had crawled into a bottle when his wife died and it was agreed that Stiles would go and live with his maternal aunt ‘for a while’. A while turned into something pretty much permanent apart from sparse duty visits until even they petered out. But his aunt had remarried and they were going on a romantic round the world trip so Stiles was moving back to Beacon Hills. What absolute joy.

His dad picked him up from the airport in the police cruiser of all things. It was a little awkward – he seemed to expect Stiles to have brought more stuff but he was a 17 year old boy, what baggage could he possibly have? He had brought with him a huge rucksack that had the essentials and a suitcase which was a pitiful view when he considered that it was his life.

“You’ve grown out your hair.” Suddenly self-conscious, Stiles touched the artfully arranged spikes.

“Uh yeah – decided the buzz-cut made me look a bit like a turtle.”

“I remember when you first buzzed it – damned near scalped yourself. I got back from working and you were sat in the bathroom, surrounded by all that hair with the razor still buzzing in your hand.” Stiles was stunned at his father even mentioning that period of their lives. He’d buzzed his hair the day after his mother’s funeral – the agony of loss needing an outlet; his father’s decision to hide by returning to work immediately leaving him alone with a slew of almost uncontrollable emotions. His effort had been uneven at best but it had felt like he was shorn of his childhood as he’d looked at the tear-streaked face in the mirror, not quite recognising the sad eyes staring back at him.

That had been the first night he remembered hearing his father sobbing downstairs in the kitchen, whiskey bottle no doubt in front of him on the table, perhaps the picture of their broken family that had found it’s way from the mantle in his hand. And he’d known that he wasn’t enough, that without his mother he no longer had a family – his father didn’t love him enough and Stiles didn’t seem to be a good enough reason for the man to want to live. He hadn’t fought or argued when the suggested move came up a few months later – he had needed to get away, start afresh.

“Yeah – I um, I remember that.”

“Stiles, I wanted to say – “

“So, is Scott still around?” He interrupted quickly, not ready to hear whatever else his father had to say. It felt like it was far too many years late for an apology – yet another fresh start seemed like the safest way to go.

“What? I mean, yeah, he and Melissa are doing great. He’s looking forward to seeing you again.” A quick glance at his father and he could see that Noah was partly relieved at the change of subject.

“Cool, yeah, it’ll be nice to know someone at school.” Fortunately Noah seemed to take the hint and the remaining journey was full of generalised conversation. Score one for Stiles’ ability to deflect and divert.

“I set you up with a desk – do kids still use desks for homework and stuff? The lady at the store seemed to think it was a good idea but we can change stuff around if you prefer?”

Stiles dumped his rucksack onto the small double bed, surprised to see that beside the addition of the desk nothing much had changed. It was like stepping into the past and more than a little disconcerting.

“No, the desk is fine. I can use it to dock my laptop. Thanks for thinking of it.”

“No problem. I’ve cleared some space in the bathroom. I’ll um, I’ll just let you get settled in.” With a firm nod but an unsure look on his face, his father left the room. Stiles took a deep breath. Fortunately his father wasn’t the type to hover – not that he could recall anyway. He could do this – his aunt deserved this chance to be with her new husband without a teenage boy hanging around and Stiles was more than capable of being back here.

There was the sound of a loud engine outside and then his father’s voice called up the stairs. “Stiles? Would you come downstairs for a minute please?”

He turned and left his bedroom, sliding down the bannisters using both hands the way he used to do when he was younger, and stepped into the kitchen.

“Yeah?”

“Come outside, kiddo – there’s something I want you to see.” Curiosity aroused, Stiles followed his father outside.

“Scotty!”

“Stiles, you’re back!” Before he could prepare himself, Stiles found his arms full of what felt very much like an overgrown puppy. Although taller and broader in the shoulders, Scott looked very much like he had when he was younger – tanned looking skin, lively brown eyes and a shock of dark brown curls atop a perpetually smiling face. He hugged the other teenager back, giving a couple of hearty slaps to his shoulders before finally stepping back.

“Good to see you, buddy – although you look a bit different to all of the mud pie photos I have!”

“God yes! Do you remember when we tried to eat a couple and your Mom had to scrub us from top to bottom because we were such a mess? And more than once!”

“Yeah yeah – I remember.” It was so weird to hear someone mention his mother so casually and he was momentarily thrown.

“Well, look at you young man – it’s been far too long! I can imagine the girls at Beacon Hills High will just eat you up with a spoon!” Melissa Delgado’s smooth tones were instantly recognisable, as was the smell of her perfume as he was once again engulfed in a hug. He was surprised at the lack of awkwardness – it had been at least three years but it felt like yesterday.

“Well hopefully the boys will like the look of me too – I’m kinda equal opportunities.” He risked a look over his shoulder to see his father’s reaction but Noah Stilinski’s expression hadn’t changed.

“Oh I’ll have to introduce you to Danny – he’s cute and gay, and practically the nicest person in the whole school.” Scott announced excitedly.

“Oh I don’t know – I’m not sure nice is my type. I’m 147 lbs of sarcasm, moles and pale skin – maybe I’m too much of an ass-hole for a nice guy.” They all laughed and Stiles inwardly gave a sigh of relief – he hadn’t realised how concerned he’d been about the possible reaction to his sexuality but he’d been determined not to hide it. If he was staying with his father, he was going to be himself.

“So what do you think of your present?” Noah nodded his head towards the powder blue jeep that Scott and Melissa seemed to have arrived in.

“This is for me?!”

“Yep.”

“I helped rebuild the engine – it drives great even if she looks a little bit battered.”

“Holy shit!”

“Language Stiles! She used to belong to your mother and I’ve been keeping it in the garage. I thought – well, I think Claudia would have wanted you to have it.” His father’s face was solemn and once again a little unsure, and Stiles found himself feeling incredibly touched.

“This is just awesome – thank you so much!” He wasn’t sure about giving his father a hug but he gave the man a huge smile. Scott tossed the keys at him and the two young men clambered into the vehicle. The windows were wound down by hand and the vehicle was obviously quite old, but the interior was clean and tidy. He could hear his father and Melissa talking outside as half listened to Scott babbling about the work he’d done on the vehicle.

“Told you he’d like it.”

“Yeah, yeah – you’re down with the kids.”

“More than you if you think they still say things like that!”

“So – do you want a ride to school or something?”

“Oh yeah, that’d be cool! I’m saving up for a dirt-bike but Mom keeps losing her shit whenever I mention it Curse of working in a hospital I guess. It’s really great to have you back. – your Dad has been really excited, man. He poured a lot of money into getting the jeep road-legal again, and even asked my advice about your room. Mom told him he was asking the wrong person because my room looks more like a pig-sty!” Stiles laughed and let Scott’s chatter wash over him – maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Chapter Text

The first day at a new school was never fun, let alone turning up mid-semester. Stiles felt incredibly conspicuous, even with Scott by his side directing him to the offices to collect his timetable and then to the lockers. He’d barely opened his new locker before a chirpy voice spoke up right next to him.

“Hi – you must be Miesc – Mischi – “

“Just Stiles – everyone just calls me Stiles.”

“Oh thank goodness – I knew I was going to mess that up! I’m Kira – I run the school paper and I wanted to welcome you to Beacon Hills”. Stiles found himself thinking the face matched the voice: chirpy, happy and every single positive adjective he could think of. “If you need anything, feel free to ask – I tend to be in the middle of most things. I was hoping to do an interview for the paper, you know you’re kinda big news being the Sheriff’s son and everything. People are really curious because you’ve been gone for so long and – “

“No interview – I’d rather just slide in unnoticed if that’s okay.” Stiles interrupted before she could really get going – he needed to nip that idea in the bud straight away.

“Oh, right – okay, it’s just no one really talks about why you left so – ”

“Hey Kira – did you have a good weekend?” Stiles could have kissed Scott for his timely intervention, smirking as Kira transformed from chatty and chirpy to shy and stuttering in the blink of an eye.

“Scott – hey, I mean hi – I didn’t see you there although I did know this was your locker. Not that was trying to find your locker, I just happened to – my weekend was great! Well I got a bit stuck on that essay – but yeah, it was fine, although – how was your weekend?” Kira had a delightful flush to her cheeks and she kept sneaking looks at Scott as she spoke, nervously playing with her hair.

“Oh mine was good. Yeah, good. Have you met Stiles? Obviously because you were talking to him!” The pair of them were as bad as each other.

“So – do either of you want to direct me to the torture that is gym? That appears to be my first class which seems to be evil in the extreme for a Monday morning!” Stiles happily walked alongside them as they began explaining the intricacies of lacrosse to him and how Coach Finstock liked to have them first thing on a Monday morning when they were fresh from the weekend – he was just pleased not to be the topic of conversation any longer.

Lacrosse was just as horrendous as he’d thought it would be. Baseball at his old school had not prepared him for the bloodsport that lacrosse seemed to be, with sticks everywhere and balls flying past his face at a scary pace and not in a good way.

He flicked his stick, defensively flinging away a ball that had threatened to smash his face in. Unfortunately it smacked a tall youth just across the field on the shoulder and Stiles groaned – he had told Finstock that forcing him to play wasn’t a good idea. He prepared himself for imminent jock beat-down as the brown-skinned, dark haired victim jogged over to him.

“I’m so, so sorry! I told Finstock not to make me play but he kept getting distracted by someone called Greenberg and then couldn’t remember my name so – “

“Hey, no worries! I’m Danny. And you must be Stiles, the new kid everyone’s talking about.”

“Yep, that would be me. Nice to meet you Danny.” He could definitely appreciate what Scott had said about how cute Danny was, and also just how nice.

“So, how are you finding it in Beacon Hills?” Before he could reply, a sharply cheek-boned, very good looking boy jogged over to them both.

“Watch what you’re doing – Danny’s our goalie and we can’t have him injured.” The words themselves weren’t that sharp but the tone definitely was. “Who the hell are you?”

“No harm, Jackson – I’m hardly fragile. This is Stiles, our new student – the Sheriff’s son.”

“And I should care why? Aren’t you from Phoenix? Aren’t people from there supposed to be, like, good looking and really tanned?” The boy called Jackson spoke with a decided sneer in his voice, looking less than impressed with Stiles’ very existence.

“Yeah – I guess that’s why they kicked me out.” Stiles sneered right back, refusing to be bullied. Danny snorted with laughter and Jackson scowled, obviously not used to anyone snarking right back.

“Funny! Come on Jackson – chill dude.” Relieved when Danny managed to drag Jackson away, Stiles resolved to stay as far away from the ball as he could. He did not want to be responsible for crippling someone on his first day.

Lunchtime found him surrounded by what he would have classed as an eclectic bunch of people, although once he remembered that Scott was co-captain of the lacrosse team it made a little more sense. Jackson and Danny were there – the former having given Stiles a massive scowl before preceding to ignore him; as were Scott and Kira, and a set of twins called Ethan and Aiden. It seemed like Ethan? Aiden? was into Jackson judging by the longing looks but Jackson seemed oblivious or uninterested. Either that or he was just being a dick. Chatter was general and Stiles was happy to let it wash over him while he ate the sub-par curly fries offered by the cafeteria and people watched. It seemed like the typical mix of high schoolers with no one in particular catching his eye until the door to the cafeteria opened and a new group of people came in. Actually, prowled in was a much better description of how they made their way to an empty table and Stiles was taken aback by what seemed to be a rather unfair distribution of hotness.

“Who are they?” He did at least try to be discreet, leaning forwards and addressing the group as a whole.

“Oh those are the Hales.” It was Jackson who replied, actually speaking to Stiles for the first time since he’d sat down. However, there was still a sneer very much in his voice, although Stiles got the impression this time it wasn’t aimed at him. “They live out in a huge house out in the Preserve. The big guy is Boyd and he’s with the blonde in the leather – that’s Erica. As in, with-with if you know what I mean!”

“Everyone knows what you mean Jackson!”

“Humph! Erica was really ill with epilepsy and Dr Hale – that’s their Mom – got her into some experimental programme and suddenly she’s all cured and part of their little cult. The red-head is Lydia – she’s a bona fide genius apparently, all set to win some medal in Mathematics. The dark haired girl is actually the only real Hale there – her name is Cora and she is a bitch on wheels! She’s dating the other guy, the tall one with the curls and the scarf. That’s Isaac – the Hales basically adopted him after his brother died in the army and his Dad was arrested for child abuse – he’s a bit of an ass-hole if you ask me, which means you and he should get along great”.

“Hey!” That was Scott protesting but Stiles was too interested in what Jackson was telling him to pay attention to any insults.

“Come on Jackson!”

“What? Is anything I said untrue? Besides, it is weird the way they all live together in that house yet they’re dating. And just how did Dr Hale manage to adopt Isaac when she’s not even married? It’s a cult – I’m telling you!”

“I wouldn’t mind joining – those guys are all hot!”

The door to the cafeteria opened again and Stiles felt his breath catch at the sheer presence of the youth who walked in next. He was the epitome of the tall, dark and handsome trope – coal black hair, a tanned complexion and pale looking eyes that seemed to take in everything and everyone at once. He was dressed head to toe in black, a Henley clinging to what looked like a well muscled chest, a leather jacket and dark as midnight jeans that looked like they should be cutting off his circulation they were so tight.

“And that is Derek – roll your tongue back in to your mouth Stilinski – no one here is good enough for him to even speak to apparently.” Now Jackson sounded downright bitter and Stiles wondered if there was a story there.

“Isaac’s cool – he’s just a bit shy sometimes.” Now Stiles remembered Scott’s unrelenting ability to try to see the best in everyone and realised he wasn’t going to get any interesting information out of him.

“Shy my ass – he fits in with Hale’s merry band of ass-holes far too well to just be shy!”

“Well I think he looks angelic with all of those curls!” Kira giggled when the others turned to look at her. They began teasing her about a potential crush but Stiles only half listened, his attention covertly stuck on Derek Hale who was currently staring right at him. Stiles had the most uncomfortable feeling that Derek had heard everything that had just been said, no matter how unlikely that seemed.

Chapter Text

He was late getting to AP Chemistry, mainly because none of the others shared the class with him and he had managed to get just a little bit lost finding his way there. The teacher seemed annoyed at Stiles’ belated arrival but it worked in his favour as it meant he wasn’t forced to stand at the front of the class and introduce himself. Stiles stood for an extra moment in front of the large fan Mr Harris had running beside his desk, trying to see where there was a spare seat.

“We don’t have all day, Mr Stilinski – be so kind as to take the seat next to Mr Hale so we can continue our lesson.” With an inaudible sigh, Stiles walked the aisle between the rows of chemistry benches and made his way to the spare seat. Hale was looking at him with a strange expression on his face – a weird mixture of shock, horror and hunger that Stiles didn’t quite understand and wasn’t sure he wanted to. As he sat down, Hale shuffled his stool a little further away as though Stiles smelt offensive! What a nerve – Stiles had showered after lacrosse thank you very much, so just why Hale was acting like Stiles smelled repulsive was beyond him.

Fortunately, the experiment they were doing was one Stiles had done at his previous school, so Hale’s lack of speech did not hamper their ability to work together. In fact, they seemed to be really in sync – mixing components and completing the experiment almost perfectly without exchanging a single word. A few times, Stiles was almost sure that Hale was sniffing at him but he put it down to an overactive imagination. He also tried his best not to get distracted by the efficient movements Derek used – he hated to think of himself as pre-judging people, but Derek looked like he would be far more comfortable on a football field than dealing with chemicals. The sleeves of his Henley were rolled back from strong forearms, a leather band encircling his wrist that seemed to be decorated with crest or symbol that Stiles couldn’t quite make out. It was almost a relief when the lesson was finally over and Harris had doled out what seemed to be a truly obscene amount of homework. Even so, when Derek practically bolted out of his seat and rushed out of the classroom, all without saying a single word to Stiles, it felt more than just a little extreme.

“Mr Stilinski – your presence has been requested at the School Administrator’s office.” Harris’ voice stopped him at the door to the classroom.

“Did they say what for?”

“I’m not your messaging service. And please ensure your prompt arrival to my classes in future. Tardiness is unacceptable. You’re dismissed.” Stiles muttered ‘asshole’ under his breath as he left the room, mentally plotting his route to the school office.

He managed to find his way, only getting slightly lost once, surprised to see Derek speaking to the administrator. Derek seemed to stiffen as Stiles walked through the door, almost as though he was aware of his presence.

“I’m sorry Derek, there are no spaces available in any of the other sciences that fit with your schedule.”

“What if I just drop AP Chemistry altogether?” The voice was softer than Stiles had expected and sent an unwanted shiver down his spine.

“It’s one of your requirements so – “ Derek turned his head slightly and Stiles was surprised to realise that they were practically the same height. They were close enough to each other that he could see the kaleidoscope of colours in Derek’s eyes.

“Fine, I guess I’ll just have to endure it!” Derek slammed away from the desk, making what seemed to be an exaggerated effort to ensure that he didn’t touch Stiles as he left the office.

“I’m so sorry, dear. It must be the full moon or something. Normally Derek is such a nice boy. Now, how can I help you?” Shrugging off his confusion, Stiles stepped forward, managing to put the strange behaviour of Derek Hale out of his mind as he sorted out the mild snafu with his transcripts.

“How was school?” They were sat at the table eating microwaved meals and Stiles mentally decided that he would have to do something about that. His father seemed to be in good physical shape but it was never too soon to take care of your body.

“Yeah, it was fine.”

“Everything okay with your classes? Everything transfer okay?”

“Just a minor hiccup with a couple of classes, nothing huge. How was your day – all quiet on the mean streets of Beacon Hills?”

“Quiet enough for now. There was an animal sighting at the edges of town and the full moon always brings out a few crazies and that’s later this week. I’ll have to go back to the station after we’ve eaten. I’m really sorry – I wanted to spend more time with you but – “

“No worries. I’ve got a mountain of chemistry homework to be dealing with so I’ll be up in my room.” Stiles pushed his mushy vegetables around on his plate, not sure how to bring up the topic he wanted to discuss. He decided to just dive straight in. “Hey, Dad – what do you know about the Hales?”

“The Hales? Good family – Talia works at the hospital and is a damned good doctor. Peter – that’s her brother – is a lawyer. Slippery bastard but basically okay. They took on Isaac Lahey after some rough business. Why?”

“Nothing really – I just heard a few things today at school and was curious.”

“Phtb! Small town gossip! Take no notice, kiddo. They’re a good family, don’t cause any problems. They’ve been helping out the Boyd family and Talia got Erica Reyes into an experimental programme that’s really helped with her epilepsy. I won’t hear a thing against them – this town can be full of busy-bodies.” Noah took another mouthful of his food, obviously considering that conversation over and done with.

There went that line of enquiry but Stiles found himself thinking about Derek Hale as he sped through the chemistry homework. The guy had acted like Stiles had the plague and if he was a less confident person, he would have felt all kinds of upset. It was one thing being a general asshole like Jackson, but Hale had seemed to take against Stiles personally and that rubbed him up the wrong way. He resolved that tomorrow he would let Mr High and Mighty Hale have it with both barrels if he acted the same way again – at the very least to let him know that whatever superiority complex Hale had, Stiles wasn’t going to bow down.

But the next day, Derek Hale wasn’t there. Or the next. As far as Stiles could tell from the lessons he was in and what he saw during recess and other breaks, the rest of the Hales seemed to be okay, although by Friday none of them was around. He found himself the subject of a few prolonged stares, from Lydia and Cora in particular, but they seemed to keep themselves to themselves. It was a bit of a let-down because he had mentally prepared himself for a showdown of sorts, but he did his best to shrug it off and slowly merge with the student population of Beacon Hills.

Things at home were settling into a routine, His father worked all of the odd shifts, especially the latter part of the week when the full moon seemed to bring out the slightly strange people in most places. He made a point of checking in with Stiles every day and very obviously wanted to talk but hadn’t found a way to bring the heavy stuff up (thank fuck). Stiles introduced him to the wonders of internet grocery shopping which meant the fridge and cupboards started to have actual food in them, and eating was no longer always an exercise in what take out should they have that night.

He also unearthed his games system and enjoyed a couple of nights playing Halo with Scott online. His schoolwork was okay – to be honest, a lot of it he seemed to have covered in Phoenix or his own meanderings online, so it was going more than fine. He was becoming even more cautiously optimistic that he would survive being back in Beacon Hills. By the time the weekend was over, Stiles was feeling pretty good – his life seemed to have settled down very quickly onto an even keel.

Chapter Text

Monday lacrosse found Stiles making a decent showing (for him). Jackson still acted like a complete asshole but that seemed to be his default setting so Stiles didn’t take it personally. And Danny's niceness seemed to make up for Jackson’s assholery so it all balanced out.

“So what’s the situation with you and Kira?” Towelling off his hair, Stiles checked Scott’s face for clues.

“Man, I don’t know Stiles. She’s, like, really cool and chill and so pretty!” Scott gave a crooked smile, pausing in the act of pulling a long-sleeved shirt over his head.

“And?”

“And nothing. I don’t have a clue what to say to her! We never seem to get past how was your weekend or have you done your homework. I have zero clue how or what to say or how to ask her out. Besides, where would I take her?” Scott scowled, a look that did not sit naturally on his face.

“Well, you could start with something casual – maybe invite her for some lacrosse practice. That way you can get up close and personal but you have something to talk about that you’re comfortable with.” Chucking his towel down, Stiles realised time was in danger of getting away from them – he didn’t want to be late to Chemistry as Harris seemed to have a real boner for Stiles, scowling whenever he saw him around the school.

“Hey, that’s not a bad idea. She is a complete bad-ass on the field, so if she shoots me down or doesn’t think of me that way, then it’s not completely out of nowhere that I would ask for her help, you know? Thanks, Stiles.”

“No problem, buddy. At least one of us should have a shot at getting laid.”

“Stiles! It’s not like that!”

“Uh-huh! Tell that to little Scott!”

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you would say something like that!” They continued their banter as they finished dressing. Stiles was in a good mood (and early) when he got to Chemistry but the whole good vibe he was feeling was instantly destroyed when he saw who was there, looking hot as fire and staring intently at Stiles in the classroom doorway: Derek Hale.

Stiles fairly stomped down the aisle towards the bench, thankful he managed not to trip over his own feet as he was wont to do on numerous occasions. He threw himself onto his stool, grabbing out his textbook, notebook and pens, studiously ignoring Hale whilst being ultra conscious of the burning look he was being given.

“Hello – I’m Derek Hale. I didn’t really get a chance to introduce myself last week. And you’re Mieczsylaw Stilinski.” The voice was much quieter than he had expected, but the first and last time he’d heard Derek talk he had been speaking angrily with the school administrator so what did he know? He was surprised at the flawless pronunciation of his given name but he wasn’t going to let that sway him.

“Stiles – everyone just calls me Stiles.”

“Stiles.”

“You don’t look sick.”

“What?” Derek was still giving him murder face but maybe that was just his natural expression?

“Sick. You were gone – out of school for pretty much the whole week. I kinda assumed you were sick.”

“Oh, yeah. Um – I – no, I’m all better. Wouldn’t make sense to look sick if I’ve just recovered, right?”

“I dunno – when I’ve been ill I look like a wrung-out rag even when I’m better.” Derek didn’t respond and it took a couple of moments for Stiles to realise they were literally just staring at each other. “So did you, like, need to catch up with anything? I could lend you notes or whatever.”

“Yeah, um, that would be good.” The silence stretched out, neither of them moving. “So, how are you finding the weather? I would imagine the heat in Phoenix is dryer?”

“You’re asking me about the weather?” The tips of Derek’s ears went red and he looked embarrassed. “It’s fine – I mean, Phoenix was nice but it could get a bit dusty.”

“Is that why you moved to Beacon Hills?”

“No – my aunt got married and I wanted to give her some privacy. They’ve gone on a bit of an around the world tour and they couldn’t have done that with me hanging around.” That was the stock answer Stiles had been giving whenever anyone asked, but he found himself revealing more. “Besides, it was time I got to know my Dad again, maybe find out more about his side of the family.”

“Is he where the Polish name is from?”

“How did you know it was Polish?” Stiles realised they were leaned in towards each other, creating an intimate bubble of conversation. A quick glance around showed the classroom was slowly filling up with other students and when he turned back he saw that Derek was staring at his mouth.

“Do you have to be careful of the sun – you know, with your moles and everything?” He was bemused momentarily by the change in subject.

“I guess – I mean, I get them checked regularly, keep an eye on them. So, your whole family went down sick?”

“Hmm?”

“I noticed the rest of your family weren’t at school either – I just wondered if they went down with whatever you had.”

“Oh right – yeah, I guess I passed on what I was dealing with.” And that was the oddest phrase to use about a minor ailment that Stiles had ever heard.

“So, how come I never met you on my previous visits?”

“I’m not sure. I remember your mother – I’m sorry for your loss.” Stiles looked down, a sudden fierce longing for his mother sweeping over him. “My family moved away for a bit but we came back about two years ago now.”

“That would make sense – I sort of stopped visiting my Dad about three, four years ago.” Why was he telling Derek all of this? It made zero sense – he’d never discussed his lack of relationship with his Dad with Scott and he’d known him pretty much his whole life!

“I do apologise for interrupting what must be absolutely riveting discussions on your adolescent social lives but if you could all bring yourselves to settle down, perhaps I could attempt to cram something more than rudimentary chemical knowledge into what we shall loosely call your brains.” Harris’ voice snapped Stiles’ head towards the front of the classroom, and he leaned back, suddenly very aware of just how close he and Derek were sitting. He thought he heard Derek take a deep breath but tried to concentrate. “Take a look at the person next to you – that’s your lab partner for the rest of the semester. God help some of you on your grades. Textbooks open now!”

Once again, they worked together flawlessly, with Derek moving with an almost animal grace that captured Stiles’ attention more than once. At one point, Stiles’ flailing arms caught on a bottle of chemicals, sending it flying off the work-bench. He flinched, anticipating the smash of glass and Harris’ no doubt scathing response but somehow Derek caught it before it hit the ground, moving at a speed that caused Stiles’ jaw to drop.

“How did you – “

“Mr Stilinski, if you could refrain from destroying the entire chemistry lab this semester it would be appreciated. It would appear the inability to handle liquid may be hereditary – from your father’s side no doubt?”

Before he could no doubt get himself into major trouble responding to Harris’ dig at his father, Stiles’ felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise at an almost inaudible growl coming from Derek. He shot a look at the other youth, convinced momentarily that Derek’s eyes were flashing a deep red. Harris coughed nervously and took a step backwards and Derek’s eyes returned to normal, making Stiles wonder if he’d imagined the whole thing.

Derek carefully placed the bottle onto the bench and bent his head to make some notes, ignoring the entire incident as if it hadn’t happened. Stiles felt like he should say something, even if it was only to address Harris’ insinuations.

“My father’s not an alcoholic. I’m just saying – he took my Mother’s death really hard but – “

“My family all understand what it’s like to lose your other half. My father died and we weren’t sure my mother would survive the loss. You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Stiles, or your father. Harris had no right – “

“Yeah, well, the man’s a douche-cannon so what can you expect, right?” Shaking off the subject, Stiles checked on their experiment and made notes on its progress. He felt raw and more than a little exposed, wondering if his classmates had realised what Harris had been alluding to. Shit, he hadn’t even given his condolences on the death of Derek’s father – what kind of insensitive jerk did that make him? And now it was too late and would be awkward.

Fortunately, the lesson finished with no further incident, or intimate conversations, Harris making no comment when Derek and Stiles left the classroom together. They were walking down the corridor when Stiles remembered what he had seen. “Hey, you know for a second in there it looked like your eyes flashed red – “

Derek instantly ducked his head, noticeably tensing.

“It must have been the fluorescents. I have to – go, sorry!” Before Stiles could say anything else, try to laugh it off, Derek strode off without another word. Open-mouthed in surprise, Stiles grunted as his shoulder was knocked from behind, and he turned to see Erica Reyes.

“What did you do to Derek this time?” she said, scowling at him over her shoulder as she stalked past.

“I didn’t – “

“Watch it Stilinski.” Stiles found himself privately agreeing with Jackson about Isaac’s disposition as the tall boy pushed past Stiles and followed Erica. What the hell had just happened?

Chapter Text

It felt like the end of the day couldn’t come soon enough. Scott had taken his advice at lunchtime and invited Kira to a quick lacrosse practice (hopefully he had made sure it sounded like something resembling a date but Stiles very much doubted it), so Stiles was alone as he walked his jeep. The parking lot was packed with kids, all desperate to leave school as quickly as possible but Stiles was in no hurry. He was still trying to figure out Derek’s strange reaction to his (mostly joking) comment, as well as being slightly pissed off at Erica and Isaac. Across the lot, he could see Derek standing next to a sleek black car, his sister appearing to be talk to him quite earnestly.

Maybe that’s why he didn’t really pay attention to the sound of a vehicle skidding, turning just in time to see one of the twins behind the wheel of a souped-up panel van, his face a mask of panic as he tried to correct his steering as the van screeched towards Stiles. He barely had time to register the danger he was in before he was grabbed and pulled tightly against a body, the slamming sound of the van’s impact with something loud in his ears.

He opened eyes he hadn’t been aware he’d closed to find that he was being held securely against Derek’s body, who had one arm outstretched. Derek’s hand was almost buried in the door of the van! Their eyes met and this time he knew he wasn’t imagining the red of Derek’s eyes.

“I – “

“Stiles, I’m so sorry – the van got away from me in a skid and – “

“Has anyone called 911?”

“Is he okay? Did it hit him?” A cacophony of voices around him alerted him to the crowd of students but he could barely take his eyes off Derek, who set Stiles gently onto his feet and nimbly vaulted over the bed of the truck they were stood by and took off at a run.

Stiles looked around wildly, barely able to believe that no one else had seen what he had just seen. Cora Hale, Erica and Isaac were staring at him, glaring in fact, and he watched as with a nod from Cora, Isaac took off in the same direction as Derek, albeit at a more normal pace.

“Oh my God, Stiles, are you okay? An ambulance is on its way!” He nodded in Danny’s direction, absently aware of Aiden helping his brother out of the van. Ethan was bleeding from a cut on his brow where it looked like he had hit head but otherwise appeared fine. The familiar sounds of a siren heralded the arrival of the ambulance and he found himself being bustled into it before he could protest that he was absolutely fine – in fact, there wasn’t a scratch on him! The entire way to the hospital, he couldn’t get out of his mind what to him looked like a clear handprint in the side of Ethan’s van.

He was sat in a curtained off cubicle having his blood pressure taken when he heard his father’s familiar voice shouting his name.

“STILES! Where’s my son?!” With his free hand, he pulled back the curtain far enough to see the harried look on his Dad’s face just before he was engulfed in a hug. He felt the blood pressure cuff being removed and wrapped both of his arms around his Dad. “Jesus Christ, kiddo, I about had a heart attack!”

“Dad, I’m okay – honestly!”

“Stiles, man, I am so sorry – “ That was Ethan in the next cubicle where he was being stitched up.

“YOU can kiss your licence goodbye!”His Dad yanked the curtain closed on Ethan’s stuttered attempt to explain. “Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine – not a scratch on me. It was an accident – it could have happened to anyone.”

“You understand you could have been killed?”

“But I wasn’t. I’m fine!”

“Yeah, but – Dr Hale!” His Dad turned to greet the dark-haired woman who had just walked in, and even without hearing her name Stiles would have known this was Derek’s mother – the resemblance was striking.

“Noah – I hear we have an important visitor.”

“Good to see you – although not under these circumstances.”

“Good evening, Stiles, I’m Dr Hale. I’ve just been going over your notes.”

“Is he okay?”

“Dad, I’m fine!”

“He’s all good, Noah. No signs of concussion, no bruising. Stiles, if you suffer any ill effects, nightmares or signs of PTSD then you should let your Dad know. Keep an eye on him, Noah, and if you have any concerns at all just give me a call.”

“I told you – I’m fine! Although I wouldn’t have been if not for Derek – he pushed me out of the way.”

“Derek? Your boy?”

“Really?” Stiles noticed that Dr Hale suddenly looked cagey and was surprised his Dad hadn’t seen.

“Yeah – he must have moved so fast – he was all the way across the lot and then suddenly he was there protecting me from the van.”

“Well, I’m just glad you’re okay and not suffering any ill effects from your little adventure. I must go – my rounds are due to start. I just wanted to check in with you and your father. Noah, we should catch up soon.”

“Thanks, Talia – I appreciate you taking the time.” His father turned back to him, looking only slightly less worried. “Thank God you’re okay, Stiles. Um – you might want to give your aunt a call – she’ll be pleased to hear from you.” Now his dad looked a little shamefaced and Stiles sighed.

“Tell me you didn’t call her!”

“Okay, I didn’t call her. But, yeah, I did – I promised I’d keep her updated on how things were going and she would have my hide if you were in the hospital and I didn’t let her know.”

“Oh, that’s great – just perfect. She’s probably freaking out!”

“You call her – there’s a good cell signal near the lobby. I’m just gonna have a quick chat with Ethan here then I’ll take you to pick up your jeep.”

Scowling at the thought of how the conversation with his aunt was going to go, Stiles grabbed up his stuff and stomped out of the room. Following the signs towards the reception area, he froze as he walked around a corner and saw Derek, Isaac and Dr Hale having what looked to be an intense conversation. Almost instantly, Derek seemed to become aware of his presence, his piercing gaze locking onto Stiles and pinning him in place as he threw off his mother’s hand and stalked over.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“I assumed that’s why you were just standing there staring at us.” Derek’s voice was hard and he held himself stiffly.

“How did you get to me so fast?”

“What?”

“You were all the way across the lot and then suddenly you were right next to me – how did you get to me so quickly?”

“Stiles, you hit your head – you’re confused. I was right next to you.”

“No, you weren’t! I know what I saw!” Angry, Stiles realised he was raising his voice and he tried to calm down.

“And what was that?”

“You stopped the god-damned van – you just pushed it away with your hand. I – “

“Well nobody’s gonna believe you, so – “

“I wasn’t gonna tell anybody – I just need to know the truth – for myself.”

“Can’t you just thank me and get over it?”

“Thank you.” Derek sighed, looking weary.

“You’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“No.”

“Well, I hope you enjoy disappointment.” Before Stiles could say anything else, Derek stalked back to Isaac and they left, leaving Dr Hale staring at Stiles with a considering look in her eye.

It was no surprise that he couldn’t sleep that night, and Stiles found himself irresistibly drawn to his bedroom window. That was the first time he saw the wolf in the trees behind his house. It was huge, fur blacker than black but with incredibly pale looking eyes. It stared up at him for the longest time before fading back into the trees, leaving Stiles wondering if he had imagined the whole thing.

Chapter Text

His Dad made him take Tuesday off school ‘to recover’ so Stiles returned just in time for the scheduled trip to the recycling plant which was being chaperoned by Coach Finstock. As he walked up to the buses that were parked waiting for students to embark, he could hear Finstock hounding people for permission slips, blowing his whistle to get the attention of the chattering students.

Aiden walked up to meet him, a shy look on his face and Stiles wondered what was going on.

“Well look at you – you’re alive!”

“Yeah, rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated!” Over Aiden’s shoulder, he could see Derek and the rest of his little tribe climbing into one of the buses. He was so busy watching them, he missed what Aiden was saying.

“I’m sorry – what?”

“I was saying – I know it’s over a month away, but I wondered if you wanted to go to Prom. With me, I mean.”

“Um – “

“You’re gay – or bi, right? I asked Scott and he said you were but if I’ve got the wrong idea then – “

“No, no – I am. Bi, I mean. But prom. Hmmm, dancing – not really kind to the less coordinated of us. Besides, I have something else that weekend so I don’t think I’m going to be here.”

“You’re going away?”

“Jacksonville – visiting my aunt on one of her pit-stops.”

“Can’t you put it off – maybe go another weekend?”

“Ah – no can do. Non-refundable tickets, sorry. You should ask Jackson – I know he’s a dick but he really does want to go with you – he just hides it under all of his general assholery.” Aiden laughed, then ducked his head.

“You honestly think he’d go with me?”

“Hell yeah – faint heart never won a dick-head! Get over there and ask him!”

“Thanks, Stiles – you’re a real stand-up guy. I know you stopped the Sheriff from slapping Ethan with a hefty fine and points on his licence – we both really appreciate it.” With a cheery smile that reassured Stiles that his rejection had not been taken badly, Aiden turned and jogged back to the buses. Relieved to have escaped that relatively unscathed, Stiles walked around the bus that Derek and his family were on and climbed onto the second one, pleased to see Scott was already there and seemed to have saved him a seat.

The actual recycling plant was cool, although watching and listening to Coach Finstock extolling the virtues of compost tea and somehow seguing into a story about losing his toes to frostbite was vaguely surreal.

Stiles was following the meandering group of students around one of the many rooms in the plant when he almost jumped out of his skin at hearing Derek’s voice.

“What’s in Jacksonville?”

“What – how did you know about that?”

“You didn’t answer my question.” Derek was scowling, apparently his natural expression since Stiles was pretty sure he’d never seen him with anything other than his ‘resting bitch-face’. He kept pace with Stiles and was almost uncomfortably close.

“Well, you never answer my questions, so maybe it’s your turn to live with disappointment.” Score one for Stiles. “Besides, you don’t even say hi to me, so – “

“Hi.” Stiles shook his head, not sure whether he wanted to kiss Derek or strangle him. “So, Jacksonville?”

“Are you going to tell me how you got over the car lot so fast and stopped the van?”

“I had an adrenaline rush. It’s very common – you can google it.” Derek looked smug and Stiles decided that he was definitely veering towards the wanting to slap Derek rather than kiss him.

“Ha-ha – like I haven’t already done my google-fu". He turned away, a little disappointed that Derek still wouldn’t tell him the truth. “Floridians.”

“What?”

“In Jacksonville. I’m visiting Floridians – I’m catching up with my aunt and her husband. There – satisfied?” His defiance would have been a little more satisfying if he hadn’t chosen that exact moment to trip over his own feet, only Derek’s quick action in grabbing him saving him from landing flat on his face on the floor in an undignified heap.

“Can you at least attempt to watch where you’re going and be a little more careful?” Stiles reared back from Derek’s hold, hurt by the harsh tone. “I’m sorry I’m being so rude, it's just – “

“Stiles, Stiles – guess who just asked me to prom?” Scott ran up to him like an exuberant puppy and with what could only be described as a frustrated growl, Derek walked away. “Sorry, it’s just – Kira just asked me to be her date for prom – isn’t that cool?”

“Yeah, Scott – that is excellent news.”

“I’m so sorry you’re not gonna be there. I saw Aiden and he said you’re away that weekend. It’s not weird that she asked me though – right?” Scott was practically bouncing up and down with excitement and Stiles was happy for him – it looked like things between he and Kira were going well indeed.

“Zero weirdness – it’s 2020 man, time to let go of all those boring social norms about who asks who.” He looked in the direction that Derek had walked off in, wondering what he’d been about to say before Scott interrupted.

“Did I tell you what a great time we had on Monday? She’s such a kick-ass lacrosse player – I’m surprised Coach hasn’t made her co-captain instead of me.” The rest of the tour was spent with Scott gabbing in his ear, and Stiles didn’t get the opportunity to catch up with Derek and finish their conversation.

In the end, he didn’t have to search Derek out. Scott was with Aidan and Ethan, teasing Jackson with seaweed which he was shouting would ruin his outfit. Walking back to the buses, Stiles was once more surprised to find Derek by his side.

“I’m sorry I’m being so rude to you. I just – I don’t think we should be friends.” Derek was once more scowling, almost as if Stiles was the one rejecting his friendship rather than the other way around. It made absolutely no sense and frankly, Stiles was sick of it.

“Fine! Although I don’t understand why you didn’t just let the van crush me if you hate me so god-damn much!”

“Is that what you think – that I hate you?” Derek looked stunned.

“Yes, it is – you seem to regret saving me and I just don’t understand why you even bothered!”

“Jesus Stiles – you know nothing of how I feel about you!”

“Hi, Stiles – are you riding with us on the way back?” Stiles jumped, unsure just how Lydia and Cora had sneaked up on him and Derek. The whole group of them needed bells attached because they were going to give him a heart attack if they kept just showing up out of nowhere. It was the first time Lydia had spoken to him and he was also aware of Cora giving him an assessing look.

“NO – our bus is full.” With an angry glare at all three of them, Derek pressed the lever that opened the bus door and disappeared inside.

“Stiles – “ Cora looked like there was something she wanted to say, and Lydia’s expression was sympathetic. Whatever – if Derek wanted to be such a confusing dumb-ass, they could handle him and Stiles certainly didn’t need their pity.

“Hey, no big – I’m cool riding with Scotty, but thanks for asking.” They both nodded before following Derek onto their bus. Stiles made his way round to his bus, confused and more than a little pissed off. It felt like the more he talked to Derek, the more messed up everything seemed to be This shit was getting beyond ridiculous.

His father was sat reading what looked like police files at the kitchen table when Stiles got home. He grabbed a glass and filled with water at the sink, draining it as he stared unseeing out of the window.

“Your aunt called – said she hasn’t heard from you. She’s coming out of her skin with worry – think you could get her off my back and give her a call?”

“It’s your fault – you shouldn’t have told her about the non-accident.”

“Apart from worry about you, she seems good – more settled.”

“Yeah – Alex is good for her.” Rinsing the glass, Stiles deposited it by the side of the sink, restless and not sure what he was going to do with his evening. “I’m gonna get my homework out of the way.” His father nodded at him absently and Stiles made his way to his bedroom, once again drawn to the window. He wasn’t even remotely surprised to see the wolf staring up at him, it’s outline clearer at this time of evening. He didn’t even consider the fact that wolves were not normally found in this area. It’s pale eyes bored into him, but it seemed almost sad.

Shaking his head, he laughed slightly at himself – he’d barely been here two weeks and he was assigning emotions to wild animals. Reluctantly pulling the blinds, he grabbed his laptop and threw himself onto the bed – he might as well get his homework out of the way before he called his Aunt Willow – that conversation was bound to be a long one.

Chapter Text

MONSTER TAG!!” Dumping his bag onto the table, Stiles looked over at Ethan in confusion. In a movie voice-over type of voice, Ethan repeated himself. “MONSTER-TAG!”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Monster Tag, baby – you in?” Stiles looked to Scott for some type of translation, but his friend was busy talking to Kira.

“He means laser tag at the Argent Arcade.” That was Jackson, who was sat next to Aiden but seemed to be ignoring him.

“Yeah – MONSTER TAG! We’re all going this weekend – it’s going to be a battle extraordinaire!” Ethan waved his arms around in emphasis.

“Battle extraordinaire – you guys only won last time because Jackson was complaining – “

“I just said not the face – no one should be aiming those things at peoples’ faces!”

“And that’s why we don’t play paintball – because you’re worried about your pretty face!”

“So, Stiles – monster tag?”

“I’m in if you’ll stop saying it like that – it’s creepy dude!”

“He’s right – you sound like a serial killer or something!” Laughing along with the others, Stiles decided that he was going to grab himself something to eat – he’d forgotten to pack a lunch and definitely needed food to fuel his afternoon. He made his way over to the school cafeteria’s fruit island. He grabbed an apple, cursing when it slipped out of his grasp.

Before it could hit the floor, Derek appeared next to him, kicking the apple upwards and catching it in his cupped hands.

“Edible art, Stiles?” Stiles realised this might be one of the first times he had seen Derek smiling. It lit up his whole face, making him look almost sunny in appearance.

“You know, I’m getting whiplash from your mood swings.”

“I only said we couldn’t be friends, not that I didn’t want to be.” Barely holding back a growl of his own, Stiles snatched the apple out of Derek’s hands. Grabbing a tray, he moved down towards the salads, aware of Derek following him. “Besides, I wanted to hear what you thought – after all, you said you were using google-fu!”

Stiles heaved a sigh, wondering whether he wanted to have another confusing discussion with Derek.

“I was thinking maybe bitten by a mutant spider; caught in a radioactive explosion that made changes to your body – although you didn’t actually turn green. Maybe you’re an alien, or the government did genome experimentation on your DNA when you were in utero!”

Derek smiled, then his brow creased up.

“Yeah, but Spiderman and the Hulk are heroes, right? So – what if I’m not the hero – what if I’m what some people would describe as a monster?”

“You’re not a monster!! I mean, you and your little clique could come across as real dicks on occasion but I’m pretty sure you’re not a monster!” He turned to Derek, caught immediately by the intense stare. “Why don’t we just, you know, try to be friends? You know – hang out together maybe?”

Derek looked unsure, the fingers of his right hand drumming against his leg in obvious agitation.

“Hang out together like, how? Or where?”

“We’re all going to play laser tag this weekend – you should come, spend some time with the gang.”

“Which arcade are you going to?”

“The guys said monster tag – the Argent Arcade.” Derek’s face closed off immediately, his brows furrowing together in a dark line.

“I dunno – feels like things could be a little – crowded maybe.” Derek cocked his head slightly as if listening to something that Stiles couldn’t hear. Stiles looked over his shoulder, seeing that Erica and Boyd had entered the cafeteria and seemed deep in conversation. “I gotta go.”

Before he could say anything else, Derek took off AGAIN, leaving the cafeteria with Erica and Boyd flanking him with just one more look over his shoulder at Stiles.

Stood at the salad bar, Stiles growled under his breath, contemplating just why all of his conversations with Derek seemed to end with Stiles wondering what the hell had just happened?

Saturday early evening found Stiles being checked over to make sure his laser tag helmet and vest were fitted correctly. The young woman – she’d given her name as Kate Argent – seemed a little bit handsy and Stiles found himself viewing her as predatory.

“There you go, cutie, all tucked up safe and sound. You’re all set for some monster hunting.”

“Er, thanks.” Stiles stepped back, turning to watch as the other assistant, Allison, helped Ethan with his rig.

“Did your friends fill you in on how all this works?”

“I’ve played laser tag before.”

“Ah, but our arcade is special. As well as playing either in big or small teams, we have actual monsters you need to beat. Think of it as getting ready for the zombie apocalypse.”

“Meaning?” She stood back, crossing her arms over her chest and plumping up her cleavage at the same time. He wanted to tell her that it wouldn’t work on him but decided it wasn’t worth the effort.

“We have werewolves, vampires – even a wendigo or two. And, of course, you get extra points if you manage to kill one of the beasts rather than just winging them.”

“I think I’ll just stick to tagging my friends' thanks – I don’t see myself as the new Van Helsing.”

“Well, sure thing sweetie! Just giving you the heads up about the monsters that are around – we need to keep them in check after all.” With a laugh that made his hackles rise, Kate moved on to Jackson and began checking his equipment.

“Hey Stiles, we’ve got an uneven number so Allison said she’ll be a team member on our side. I just wanted to make sure you didn’t tag her by accident.” Scotty was once more in excitable mode, no doubt planning to get lost on the battlefield with Kira. It was a good job they were on the same team, otherwise, Stiles was pretty sure Scott would have let Kira tag him as many times as she liked.

“Hi – I’m Allison.” Slender, with long coils of dark hair falling down her back, Allison was very pretty and seemed nothing at all like Kate.

“Stiles – nice to meet you. And thanks – for helping us even up the odds a bit.”

“No problem – Kate and I try to help out as much as we can.”

“Maybe you can help Stilinski out by pairing with him – his date bailed,” Jackson shouted across the room.

“Date?” Scott sounded surprised, obviously not having seen Stiles talking to Derek in the canteen the other day. And just how did Jackson know all of this?

“Yeah! He asked Hale – turned him down flat of course.”

“I think it was nice – no one ever asks the Hales to things.” That was Kira, being sweet as usual.

“The Hales don’t come here.” Kate’s voice cut across the chatter, harsh, abrupt and angry sounding. There was an awkward silence that Allison finally broke.

“Right, let’s get you guys in there.”

No surprise that Stiles found himself paired with Allison, which wasn’t exactly a hardship. She was really pretty and they worked well together. She also proved to be an excellent marks-woman, cool under pressure and cunning when it came to planning how to tag the others and get the best scores. Between the two of them, they were racking up some serious points. During what was meant to be a quick breather when they were safely tucked away from an attack, he asked the question that was bothering him.

“So – the Hales don’t come here?”

“Oh, you picked up on that huh?”

“Well, your sister was hardly subtle.”

“She’s my aunt actually – mid-life crisis baby for my grandparents.” She checked that their position was safe before sitting down next to Stiles on the floor and making herself comfortable. “It’s all part of some big family drama that goes back decades apparently.”

“Yeah?”

“You really wanna hear this?”

“Sure, why not? Give the others a chance to catch up with our amazing score!” She gave a little giggle.

“Okay, well our name, Argent, comes from a lineage that goes back to the 18th Century where allegedly we were quite famous hunters. When villagers were being terrorised by the monsters of the night, they would call on the Argents to save them...”

Chapter Text

“We were quite successful but we never really settled anywhere, instead, following the tales of supernatural happenings and ridding the world of monsters. Somehow, I’m a bit vague on this bit, we ended up in the States where the monster population was rampant.

We came across the tale of La Bête Du Gévaudan, the most vicious, most famous monster to have crossed the seas. Some described it as having cloven hoofs, others talked more about its bright red eyes or how his body was an oily black colour that reared on two legs and killed with no remorse. But the part that grabbed the interest of the Argents was that some alleged that it could also take the form of a normal man.”

“Go on.”

“Some say the Beast fell in love, others that the desire to mate took over from the man entirely and it meant that the beast moved more permanently to the fore. The Beast of Gévaudan found what was called his fated mate, dragged her from her village and carried her away. It is said that it forced itself on her, almost killing her in its beastly lust. Although the Argents hunters searched far and wide, they could not find where the Beast had taken the poor maiden.

It was over a year from when the Beast had taken the maid when tales began to spread of a pack of such beasts roaming the land and killing wherever they went. The Argents joined forces with other hunters and tracked this pack – something far easier to do than attempt to find just one. There was a huge battle, with many hunters dying valiant deaths, until finally, they managed to corner the Beast who was the alpha of the pack, along with his mate. It took many of them but they finally managed to kill the two remaining beasts and the battle was won.”

“Then what happened?”

“Something truly horrific – before their very eyes, the bodies of the beasts transformed until the battlefield was littered with naked, human forms. And the worst thing of all was that the Alpha Mate was the very maid they had been trying to save. The Beast had bitten her and turned her into one such as himself.

But there was even worse to come. An examination of the bodies showed that the maiden had borne the Beast at least one child, as had other females found on the battlefield. The Argents had won this battle but they had not won the war.”

“Fucking hell!”

“I know, right!!”

“So, what does this have to do with the Hales?”

“Allegedly, they are descended from the Beast’s direct line, and if they find their true mate they will transform from their ‘normal’ shape-shifter form to become huge, murderous Beasts, just like the Beast of Gévaudan. And so, the Argents maintain a delicate truce with the Hales, keeping them in check and always watching in case they are consumed by their mating urge and give in to their beastly lusts.”

“Damn, Allison, you tell a good story!”

“Thank you! To be honest, I think it’s all a pile of bullshit and more than likely my Grandfather had a falling out with one of the elder Hales. He seems to completely detest Peter Hale the absolute most because I know they’ve clashed over some legal stuff. Added to which, the fire that happened a few years back – the one that killed Sebastian Hale who was Talia’s husband? Some people think the Argents were involved somehow. Which is why the Hales don’t come here.”

Before Stiles could digest this new information – Derek had never said how his father died – a masked figure appeared around the bend, firing at him and Allison and setting off their vests as direct hits.

“What the hell – “

“Aunty Kate!” The mask was torn off, indeed revealing the person to be Kate Argent.

“Sorry guys looks like the monsters got you! I did tell you to keep an eye out for them sweetie. Let’s go – the battle’s over and the others are waiting for you.”

Sharing a rueful grin with Allison at having so completely lost track of time, Stiles got to his feet and followed Kate back to the staging area. She was correct, the rest of the group were waiting for Stiles already dressed back in their normal clothes and ready to leave.

“Stiles! We were starting to get worried about you – “Kira greeted him.

“Speak for yourself!”

“Ignore Jackson – he’s just pissed that you and Allison tagged him so many times! And hey – you guys racked up some major points – you were the highest scorers in our entire group!” That was Scott.

“Thanks, Scotty – sorry to keep you guys waiting.”

“No big – we were talking about maybe going bowling. You in?”

“I think I’m gonna head home. Maybe catch up with some homework.” The group waved their goodbyes, with Jackson complaining bitterly that of course Allison had scored so well since she worked there and how Stiles had piggybacked off of her. Stiles turned to Allison with a smile.

“Thanks for helping me kick Jackson’s ass.”

“Oh, you’re welcome – he’s a grade-A douche whenever he does come here so it was my pleasure!”

“And thanks for the story – it was fascinating.”

“Glad you enjoyed it.” She smiled at him, revealing cute dimples. “Gimme a call if you want to grab a coffee or anything.”

“Sure, that sounds like fun. Hey, why aren’t you at our school? I mean, you’re our age, right?”

“Yeah, I’m 17. But I go to Private school – that’s my Grandfather’s doing as well. I’m pretty sure my Dad would be fine with me going to Beacon.”

“That’s a real shame. I guess I better hit the road – it was really nice to meet you.”

“You too, Stiles. And don’t forget to call if you get time for that coffee.”

Stiles got changed quickly, leaving the arcade equipment neatly on the bend. He didn’t see Allison as he was leaving the building, but Kate Argent was standing behind the counter staring at him with what he could only describe as a creepy smile on her face.

Once he got home, Stiles ignored his homework and settled down to do a little research. After less than an hour, he leaned back in his chair, pleased with his results. He’d managed to find a book-store that in nearby Port Angeles that held a book that included information on the serial killer of Gévaudan. The stuff he had been able to find out online was interesting, but the book seemed to promise more in-depth information as well as illustrations that could be illuminating. And bonus, it was open tomorrow.

He’d promised Scott that they could go tuxedo shopping – apparently, Beacon Hills did not have any decent shops for formal wear. The only downside was that Jackson was coming along, but Stiles could roll with it if it meant he got his hands on the book sooner.

Absent-mindedly, he got up and stood to look out of his bedroom window. He didn’t even realise what he was looking for until the dark shape emerged from the trees, looking unfeasibly large in the slightly cloud covered moonlight. They stared at each other for a few moments, and as the clouds parted so that the moon shone bright and clear, Stiles saw the normally pale eyes flicker red before the shape turned and disappeared into the woods.

His dreams that night were of Derek transforming from a handsome young man into a hulking beast with gigantic claws and blood-red eyes.

Jerry Haines yanked at the rope holding his boat to the mooring. He looked around a little nervously, feeling like he was being watched. Smuggling was so not the line of work to do if you were easily spooked but after being let go from the Sheriff’s department after one too many complaints against him, he hadn’t exactly had a wide employment pool available to him.

He yanked the starter cord to get the motor going, then turned to the wheel to steer the boat out onto the lake so that he could meet his contact. He gave an unmanly shriek when the engine began to whine and the boat shook as someone landed behind him.

He spun around, jaw dropping open as he took in the woman who was now casually lounging on one of the seats, her bare feet tucked up next to her. Her skin was a beautiful dusky colour, eyes dark in the shadows of the boathouse, long black hair cascading down her back. Her lips were painted a vivid scarlet, and he would have called her gorgeous if not for the cruel smile that twisted her lips. Her canines seemed unusually long and he noticed that the nails on her hands and slender feet were painted midnight black.

He snapped back to himself to realise that the whining noise was the engine trying to power the boat forward, prevented from doing so by the large man holding the stern up out of the water with what looked like minimal effort. He too was smirking, but his eyes seemed to be glowing red.

“Who are you?” Haines wondered if they were business rivals, perhaps sent to warn him off and his eyes darted to the left where his gun was stowed in a lock-box. “What do you want?”

“Why do they always say the exact same thing? Who are you?”

“What do you want?”

“Why are you doing this?” Haines felt like he was watching a tennis match as his eyes flicked between the two of them, only becoming aware of a third man as he stepped out of the shadows and spoke. He was dressed differently to the other two, less Boho chic, with only the sunglasses and cane making him seem strange.

“Ennis, Kali – you really should stop playing with your food.” Food? Haines barely had a moment to register what the blind man had said before he was horrified to see the face of the large man begin to distort, hair sprouting all over his face, teeth lengthening until his jaw seemed to be bulging.

“What the fuck?” Haines turned to throw himself over the side of the boat, screaming as he was yanked back by the clawed hands of the woman. She tossed him almost casually to the bottom of the boat, straddling his body and lowering herself on top of him.

“I’d say this won’t hurt a bit but I do like my prey to know the truth.” A jaw full of razor-sharp teeth was the last thing Haines saw coming towards him, and he uttered no final words as the sound of the motor drowned
out his agonised screams.

Chapter Text

It was a bleary eyed Stiles that crammed himself into the back of Jackson’s Porsche the next morning. He and Jackson grunted at each other in greeting, but Scott was practically vibrating with barely concealed excitement.

“Why exactly are you coming – apart from the fact that you’re driving this penile compensation? I would have thought an overly privileged douche like you would own at least a couple of designer tuxedoes.”

“I do, but I’m not wasting my designer gear on Beacon’s piddling little prom.”

“That, and his Mom has confiscated his major credit card and Jackson refuses to wear something old on his first big date with Aiden.”
 
“Shut up Scott! Besides, Aiden’s folks aren’t affluent and maybe I don’t want to show him up by wearing something obviously designer.”

“Jesus, Jackson, don’t go spoiling my opinion of you by showing some sensitivity now!” Stiles guffawed as Jackson gave him the finger over his shoulder. “Onwards, driver, and don’t spare the horses!” 

Port Angeles itself was a nice enough place but Stile was astounded by just how long it was taking Jackson to choose a tuxedo. Scott wasn’t too bad, mainly because his budget dictated things to a certain extent. Jackson, on the other hand, decreed the offerings in one store were an insult to people everywhere; the next store needed to update to at least the 19th century before Jackson would consider purchasing anything there; the staff in the third store were indicative of what was wrong in the service industry; by the fourth store, Stiles was ready to fill Jackson with his own arrogant bullshit and shove him into the window display as a new mannequin. 

Jackson was admiring his reflection in the mirror closest to the store-front window because it offered the best lighting; Scott was going through the bow-tie selection, worrying about whether or not he should consult Kira on colour so that they could co-ordinate; Stiles had parked himself on a relatively comfortable window ledge and was playing Disney Emoji Blitz on his cell, sacrificing his data plan to keep his sanity. Jackson and Scott had stopped asking him for his opinion since his stock response to anything they showed him was ” needs to show more chest hair”.

Something banged against the window and Stiles jumped, scowling at the group of five or six young men making rude and sexual gestures at them. 

“Eww – gross! I wouldn’t touch any of them with Jackson’s dick!”
 
“Thanks, Stilinski – now I need a shower at the imagery of you touching my dick!”
 
“Turns you on that much, huh?”

“Ugh! Why are you even here? You’re not going to prom and have the dress sense of a blind hermit lumberjack!”

“Actually, there’s a book-store I’d like to go to if it’s okay with you guys.”

“Sure – that sounds fine to me.”

“Well, it’s not like you’re any use here. Can you find your way – I don’t want to be blamed when the Sheriff’s idiot son gets lost.”

“Google maps for the win, thanks for your concern, Jacky! Meet at the restaurant around 5.30 pm?”

“Go, go! But if you’re late we’re eating without you!” Jackson straightened the cuff of his shirt before shooting Stiles an irritated glare. “And don’t call me Jacky!”

“Love you too, Jacky! Scotty, go with navy – you can never go wrong with a classic. Or better yet, just call Kira and ask her what colour her dress is!” He was rewarded by a blinding smile from Scott and an obscene gesture from Jackson.

Finding the actual book-store wasn’t an issue, although it did take him through some narrow and twisting alleyways that were distinctly lacking in personal space. As agreed, the store owner had put the book aside for him and it was in decent condition. It actually looked like an old fashioned grimoire, with slightly yellowed pages, and a lot of it looked like it was handwritten. The illustrations were amazingly detailed on the couple of pages he flicked to: anatomical diagrams with annotations regarding mutations, various strengths and weaknesses, and best method for swift and lethal despatch. It was incredibly disturbing on one level – the handwriting changed several times as he flicked through the pages, the language becoming less archaic the further through the book he got. The people who had written this had completely and utterly believed in the truth of what they were saying, as well as the need to eradicate anything they deemed to be monstrous, deviant or just too different.

Looking up from his readings about a rodent-like creature that was vampiric in nature, Stiles realised that it was beginning to get dark and he was running late for meeting Jackson and Scott at the restaurant. A quick check of his cell showed that it had died, no doubt due to his heavy usage earlier, so he couldn’t even call them and let them know where he was. 

He set off in what he hoped was the right direction, shoving the book into his rucksack as he did so. A few vaguely familiar twists and turns and he became aware of rowdy voices behind him so he quickened his pace, not comfortable with being caught up with in the narrow walkways. He breathed a sigh of relief when he came out into a square, the claustrophobic feeling leaving him. He looked back quickly, groaning when he recognised the five men from the store-front earlier emerging into the same square.

“Hey look, it’s the pretty boy from the store earlier!”
 
“Well, hello twink goodness! What’s your name?” The cat-calling continued but he tried to ignore it, walking as quickly as he could across the square in the direction of the main road. He reached into his pocket for his keys, arranging them through his fingers so that he had a weapon if things escalated.

The voices got closer, the cat-calling more obscene and homophobic, but Stiles was determined to get to the main road, and hopefully safety.

“Hey – where are you going? Don’t you want to get to know us better?”

“I’d like to get to know him better – that mouth is as pretty as a girl's!”

“A mouth’s a mouth, right?” A spurt of speed on their behalf, and they encircled him, closing in and starting to jostle him between them.

“Guys, you don’t wanna do this!”
 
“Ooh hear that – we don’t wanna do this!”

“We’re just being friendly! You too good to be our friend?”

“I know what I wanna do!” One of them grabbed the tail of his plaid shirt, flipping it up. 

“Don’t touch me!” He loosened his grip on his backpack, shifting the keys in his hand to a more comfortable grip. He had no doubts that he stood no real chance against five of them, but all he needed to do was get them off him long enough to make a run for it.

Before he could put his plan into action, there was the sound of squealing tyres and Derek’s sleek black car came careering around the corner. It screeched to a halt and the driver’s door was flung open before it came to a full stop. Derek threw himself out of the car and prowled over, menace emanating from him.

“Get in the car.”

“Derek – “

“Stiles, get in the fucking car!” Stiles pushed past the men and scrambled into the car, staring wide-eyed as Derek stalked closer to the group of men, who were in the process of backing up. The window was open and he could hear quite clearly what was being said.

“Dude, you don’t wanna – “

“We weren’t doing nothing – “ A loud snarl broke into the stuttering protests, an audible cracking sound seeming to come from Derek as he twisted his neck from side to side as though preparing himself for something. Derek shook his shoulders and to Stiles, he suddenly seemed bigger. A lot bigger.

“Shit, man, your eyes!”

“Let’s get the fuck out of here!” The group of men turned and ran, looking over their shoulders in what could only be described as terror. Before Stiles could gather his thoughts, Derek was back in the car, slamming the door shut and turning the vehicle around. 

“What the hell were you thinking, walking around dark unknown streets alone?”

“What was I – dude, way to victim blame!”

“I’m sorry – can you just – talk to me – I need to calm down, stop myself from tracking those evil fuckers down and killing them!”
 
“Whoa, killing them?”

“You didn’t hear the vile things they were saying about you, about what they wanted to do to you!”

“You should put your seatbelt on!” 

Derek gave an almost hysterical laugh and turned to Stiles, a wild look in his eyes which were flickering between their normal pale hazel and red. “You should put your seatbelt on!”

“You heard them talking – where were you to hear what they planned to do?”

“Stiles – “

“Come on, Derek, how could you have heard – “

“Look, just – not now okay? I can’t – “Stiles realised that Derek was shaking, his hands gripping the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip. There were deep indents in the leather, and creaking sounds were coming from the actual steering wheel, as though the pressure was becoming too much. Closing his mouth, Stiles pursed his lips and stared out the window, letting the silence flow over both of them and calm down the tension.

Chapter Text

They swiftly arrived at the restaurant he was meant to be meeting Scott and Jackson at, and he glared at Derek at the further evidence that somehow he had known Stiles’ plans. He didn’t argue when Derek parked the car and walked with him around to the restaurant’s walkway.

Jackson and Scott were just coming out of the restaurant and they stopped as soon as they saw Derek and Stiles.

“Stiles, I’ve been trying to call you – what happened?”

“I warned you we’d eat without you if you didn’t turn up on time!”

“Guys, I – “

“I do apologise – Stiles and I bumped into each other at the book-store and got talking. Time ran away from us – we’re so sorry if we worried you.” Derek sounded cool and collected, not a hint of his normal prickly demeanour showing, let alone the rage that Stiles had just witnessed. Scott looked suspicious, eyes darting between Derek and Stiles, whilst Jackson seemed charmed and almost mesmerised by Derek’s polite smile.

“Totally understandable – that’s fine. We were just concerned – “

“Yeah, when you didn’t answer your cell – “

“Battery died – too much game playing earlier.” There were a few moments of silence whereby Scott looked more and more confused, and Jackson smirked.

“Well, we were just about to head out – “

“I should make sure Stiles gets something to eat – after all, it’s my fault he missed your meal. I’ll drive him home myself.” Derek raised a brow in Stiles direction, presumably silently asking if Stiles wanted to stay. And maybe talk.

“No, yeah, you should totally stay and eat with Derek!”That was Jackson, practically fangirling!

“We can wait – or do drive-thru on the way back to Beacon Hills.” Stiles spared a glance at Scott, taking in the worry on his face. He had a choice to make: the safety of driving back with Jackson and Scott or uninterrupted time with Derek to interrogate him. It was really no choice at all.

“I’ll catch up with you guys at school tomorrow.” Scott looked disappointed but Jackson was gleeful.

“Have fun, guys.”

“Yeah, okay, bye Stiles. Derek.” They turned to walk away but then Scott turned back. “Send me a message to let me know you got home safely, okay?”

“Will do, Scotty.” Stiles watched the two of them walk off towards the car park before turning back to meet Derek’s gaze. “Shall we? I hope you realise dinner’s on you.”

Derek just smiled and they headed into the restaurant.

“Here’s your mushroom ravioli”. Stiles leaned back to enable the waitress to deposit his plate in front of him and it was a good job too – she was so busy drooling over Derek that she almost dropped his plate in his lap. “Are you sure you don’t want anything – anything at all?”

“No thank you – I’m fine.”

“Well, feel free to give me a call if you need anything.” With a scowl in Stiles’ direction, she flounced off. Shrugging, Stiles picked up his fork and tried to think of his first question.

“Okay, I think it’s time for some answers.”

“Yes. No. To get to the other side. 1.7724 – “

“I don’t want the square root of pi – “

“You knew that?” Stiles rolled his eyes at the implied insult to his intelligence.

“How did you know where I was?”

“I didn’t.”

“Alright, dude, I’m out – “ Stiles half rose out of his seat.

“Don’t… leave…. “ Stiles relaxed back into his chair, waiting.

“Did you follow me?” Derek looked uncomfortable for a moment, but Stiles saw the moment he resolved to tell the truth.

“I feel – very protective of you. I’ve been trying to keep my distance, not drag you into something you’re not ready for – “

“Hey! I’m the one who decides what I’m ready for!”

“Only if you have a real idea of what’s going on.”

“Then why can’t you just tell me what’s going on?”

“It doesn’t work like that.” Derek was obviously frustrated and struggling to find the right words. “I tried to keep my distance but you make it so damned hard! I was just keeping track, wanted to be around in case you needed help but then I heard what those evil bastards had planned for you and I – “

“You heard them from wherever you were?”

“I can hear conversations, heartbeats – can sense emotions from everyone in this room.”

“Like extra senses? Or just hyper? And what can you pick up?”

“In this room alone…. she’s thinking about sex". He nodded in the direction of a couple sat across the room. "I can hear her heart beating faster. Smell her getting more aroused. Look at the way she’s shifting in her chair, how she’s biting her lip, how dilated her pupils are – “

“Ahem, okay, alright – “

“But you – you are an enigma to me!” For a moment, Stiles was relieved – he didn’t need Derek to know just how turned on he had been by what Derek had been saying. Or rather his voice while he’d been saying it. “It’s so frustrating – I’ve been able to rely on my senses my entire life but with you – “

“Is there something wrong with me?”

“I tell you I can sense how people are feeling in a way that other people can’t, and you ask if there’s something wrong with you?” Derek dropped his head into his hands and Stiles actually felt kinda sorry for him – it wasn’t the first time someone had said that Stiles was exasperating, but it felt like so much more coming from Derek. “I don’t think I have the strength to stay away from you any longer – I’ve been fighting myself, my instincts since the first time I saw you.”

“Then – don’t. Don’t keep away from me, Derek.”

“There’s so much I can’t tell you, Stiles – there are rules, things I have no choice but to obey – “ Without conscious thought, Stiles reached over and grabbed Derek’s hand, wanting in some way to reassure him, comfort him.

“It’s okay – we’ll figure it out.” Derek smiled at him, a soft smile that made him look more gorgeous yet so vulnerable and Stiles wanted nothing more than to protect him.

“Hey, I think I’m warm enough now.” Their hands met and they both reached for the air vent at the same time. “Wow, you run seriously hot, don’t you?”

Derek snatched his hand back, giving Stiles a quick side glance. Another thing he wasn’t allowed to talk about then? Stiles sighed and looked out of the car window at the world rushing by outside. His gaze was caught by the lights all blazing at the boathouse on the outskirts of town.

“Whoa, what’s going on?” He could see now that there were flashing blue lights, am ambulance as well as cruisers and various people milling around. “Derek, pull in here – that’s my Dad’s cruiser.”

As he steered the Camaro into the car lot, Derek noted in a confused voice. “That’s my Mother’s car.”

“What’s she doing here?” Derek parked the car and they both got out, making their way across to the car lot to where they could see Derek’s mother talking to a patrol-man. The ambulance pulled out of the lot, the lack of sirens telling.

“Mom, what’s going on?”

“Jerry Haines was found on his boat. I just examined the body – or what was left of it.” Talia looked shocked and disturbed, no doubt why she revealed so much.

“He died? How?” She looked up at Stiles’ questions then made an obvious attempt to blank her expression.

“It looks like an animal attack.” Stiles thought quickly, knowing he’d seen something online recently.

“The same animal that attacked that security guard – the one about a town over?”

“You should go inside – Jerry may not have been your father’s friend but he did work with him for quite a few years at the Sheriff’s department.” Stiles nodded, aware that there was some subtext between Derek and his mother that he was missing.

“Yeah, I will, thanks. Erm – thank you, Derek. For earlier. And everything.”

“You’re welcome, Stiles. I’ll see you tomorrow at school.” Wishing for a moment that he could hug Derek, or just do something to take that pinched look off his face, Stiles nodded again and headed into the boathouse, following the lights to his Dad in the office.

“Hey, Dad.” His Dad looked up, the worry on his face making him look much older in the dim lighting. For possibly the first time since he’d returned to Beacon Hills, Stiles followed his first impulse with his Dad and hugged him from behind, looping his arms around his father’s bowed shoulders.

Noah gave a weary sigh, one hand coming up to rest on Stiles’ arm.

“Dad, I’m really sorry.”

“Thanks, kiddo. Haines lost his way a bit, and not saying he wasn’t a bit of an asshole sometimes but he didn’t deserve that – no one deserves that.” They were silent for a while, just making the most of the comfort of being in each other’s presence.

Noah shook himself, looking back at Stiles.

“We’re going to catch whatever did this.” He pulled Stiles around. “We’ll find it but – in the meantime – “ He reached into his belt, pulling out his bottle of department issue mace. “ – I want you to carry this with you.”

“Dad, I don’t know if – “

“Just to give your old man some peace of mind.” Sighing, Stiles took the proffered bottle and put it into his pocket. “Let’s go home.”

Unable to sleep, Stiles found himself engrossed in reading the book he had picked up from the book-store what felt like aeons ago. It was full of mythical creatures – wendigoes, kanimas, berserkers – but one page, in particular, caught his attention. The main diagram on the page looked very much like Allison’s description of the Beast of Gévaudan: hugely muscled, covered in inky black fur, eyes a deep blood red, with massive clawed hands that could easily tear a person to shreds. The face was almost grotesque, a jaw full of lethal fangs terrifying to behold.

The description of the hot-blooded beast that could change at will but was particularly strong during the full moon brought only one word to Stiles’ mind. It was said to be inhumanly fast, a beast that acted on instincts and desires only, taking what or who it wanted, with no compunction about taking human life. Incredibly dangerous, enhanced senses a major advantage, it roamed in packs and was a danger to all.

Stiles didn’t look out of his window that night.

Chapter Text

The night and the entire drive to school the next day passed in a blur. Stiles stood in the car lot, watching as Derek arrived in his Camaro with his sister and Lydia in the car with him. Boyd, Isaac and Erica drove up right behind them in an expensive car that Stiles couldn’t identify, but at this point in time, he had no interest in figuring out what it was. His eyes were stuck on Derek, on the animal grace as he climbed out of the car and prowled towards Stiles.

Saying not a word, Stiles turned and began walking towards the trees, knowing without looking that Derek was following. He kept going until the school buildings were completely out of sight, coming to a stop in the middle of a small copse of trees. He felt more than heard Derek come up behind him, the warmth of his body a solid line against Stiles’ back.

“Your eyes flash red; you’re incredibly strong and inhumanly fast; you have enhanced senses that mean you can hear things that you shouldn’t possibly be able to hear, and you can read what people are thinking or feeling. You disappeared from school the night of the full moon, as did your whole pack of friends.

I’ve done my research – I’ve heard stories, legends really. I know what you are.”

“Go on. Say it. Out loud.”

“You’re a Jonas brother.”

“STILES! This is fucking serious!”

“You know, for a werewolf, you are seriously not chill!”

“Jesus, I can’t believe you just said it like that – like its completely normal!”

“Isn’t it? For you, I mean?”

“Yeah, but – shouldn’t you be freaking out? Running away screaming or something?!”

“Why? Dude – have you never watched an episode of Supernatural?!”

“You’re in the middle of the forest with a werewolf – I guarantee that you didn’t tell anyone where you were going or who with!”

“Okay, Big Bad, do you want me to be scared of you?”

“NO! God, Stiles, you are just so – “ With a roar of frustrated rage, Derek turned and slammed into the nearest tree. There was a loud cracking noise and the tree was now definitely listing to the side.

“Feel better now?”

“I’m not a toddler having a tantrum, Stiles!”

“Then maybe stop acting like one!” Stiles deliberately let go of the mace he’d been holding on to in his pocket, forcing himself to stay calm and breathe deeply. “I have an idea of what you’re capable of, Derek. My Dad isn’t great at putting police reports away where I can’t see them, and I may have seen the pictures of what was left of Jerry Haines – “

“That wasn’t us – my family don’t give in to our wolf like that!”

“Jesus, I know that – do you really think I’d be here with you like this if I thought you, or your family, were responsible for those attacks? Contrary to your opinion of me, I don’t have a death wish.”

“There are packs – roaming packs – that choose to live a different lifestyle. We’ve been trying to track them but – “

“I get it – I do! And I heard the story of La Bête Du Gévaudan, who was apparently your ancestor?”

“From one of the Argents no doubt?”

“Yeah – Allison. I met her at laser tag.”

“I don’t know Allison, but you should keep the fuck away from Kate Argent. That woman is a fucking psycho!” Derek was sat on one of the lower branches of the tree he had destroyed, obviously using motion to deal with his agitation. His tension regarding Kate Argent was palpable and Stiles knew there was a story there. He decided that a slight change of subject was in order.

“So – what’s with the whole hating me on sight thing?”

“That’s a whole conversation all of its own. And not an easy one.” Refusing to meet his gaze, Derek looked like he was trying to figure out what to say – or maybe how much to say. “Our Elders talk about fated mates, about how sometimes a werewolf is fortunate enough to meet the person that Mother Moon has made just for them. It’s a pretty big deal, something our entire community celebrates with us. But usually, that mate is another werewolf, only occasionally another type of supernatural being.”

“Another type of supernatural being?”

“Yeah – someone from a different species maybe, or something just other. Then you turned up and threw the whole thing into question. You threw me for a major loop.”

“Are you saying there’s something magical about me?”

“Maybe something in your genes from the past – a relative in your family tree. Going back a few decades!”

“So – fated mates, huh? Like, mate for life and shit?”

“That’s what it’s meant to be. But I don’t know how it works for humans. You don’t use your senses the same way we do, aren’t tuned into that part of yourself, so – “ The silence wasn’t uncomfortable as Stiles tried to figure out exactly what his emotions were regarding Derek.

“I don’t know what it is I feel for you – confused, a LOT of the time. I – I’m very attracted to you, I know that much.”

“So, it’s a wait and see?” Stiles was relieved that Derek didn’t seem to be upset. Perhaps he had been expecting complete rejection?

“More like a show and tell. I’m not gonna pretend I’m not a little freaked out, Derek. But I’m here, and I’m willing to see how this goes – if you are.”

“Show and tell?”

“Yeah – I’ve seen illustrations, but I get the feeling they were drawn by people who didn’t know any packs like you and your family. And – well, in case you didn’t realise this about me, but – I like to know things, figure stuff out.” A thought suddenly popped into Stiles’ head. “Okay, weird question but – can you turn into an actual wolf?”

“I – yeah. Not every pack can, but my family and I have the ability. Sometimes at night, I like to go out for a run in my wolf form. And – well, I always seem to end up at your place – I’m drawn to you like you’re some kind of drug to me and my wolf. I like to know that you’re safe, you know?” Derek looked really vulnerable and Stiles realised just how concerned the other man had been about his reaction.

“I get that. And it’s reassuring to think that I haven’t been communing with a wild animal, thinking that we had some kind of mystic connection! But – stop putting this off. I wanna see – if it doesn’t hurt you to change or anything.”

Derek nodded, a resolved and resigned look on his face. He dropped down from the tree, cracked his neck from side to side and just – changed. Stiles stepped closer hesitantly, not exactly scared but completely fascinated by what he could see.

“This is what I am.”

Derek seemed taller, but was most definitely thicker about the shoulders and chest, with hair sprouting from the sides of his face. He had an impressive set of teeth, sharp enough to rip someone to shreds no doubt.

“Jesus, that’s just amazing!”

“Amazing? Do you not know how many people would think I was a beast – a complete monster?”

“That’s not who you are.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. I trust you.”

“Stiles – “

“I’m here because I want to be. You’ve told me your big secret and I’m still here.”

“You’re so young – there is so much that comes with this and I didn’t want you to feel trapped, stuck. I tried so hard to stay away from you but your scent, everything about you just draws me in. I don’t know how I thought I was ever going to be able to let you go.”

“Well, the Stilinskis are not so good at letting go ourselves”. Stiles lifted his hand to Derek’s face, stroking the fur/hair at the side which was so much softer than Stiles had imagined. Derek’s teeth were gleaming white and Stiles wondered if they would break his skin if he just ran one of them over the long canines. It touched him so much when Derek tilted his head into Stiles’ palm, eyes closed as he looked at peace for the first time since Stiles had met him. But, the most fascinating of all to Stiles finally made him exclaim:-

“Where have your eyebrows gone?”

Chapter Text

Stiles couldn’t convince Derek to transform to his full wolf form, no matter how much he promised not to freak out.

“Did I lose my shit when you lost your eyebrows?”

“Stiles, I do not lose my eyebrows!”

“How do you know – spend a lot of time admiring yourself in the mirror? Okay, fine, mislay them then, because they sure as shit weren’t on your face!” Derek gave him what was probably meant to be a gentle shove but it sent Stiles bouncing off a tree.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!”

“Fragile human here – don’t dent the mate!” It was lovely to see Derek laughing – he seemed so much more relaxed now that his big secret had been revealed. “I’m exhausted – some of us are not used to communing so much with nature and require a human-break.” So saying, Stiles threw himself onto the ground, dumping his backpack as he did so. He was pleased when Derek followed suit, flinging himself down next to Stiles in the grass.

Folding his arms beneath his head, Stiles turned to look at Derek.

“So – are you going to fill me in on the rest of your pack? Did you bite them? Who bit you? Oh my God, dude, is your MOM a werewolf?!”

“Calm down – you’re gonna give yourself a stroke if you try to ask every question in your brain at once! Yes, my Mom is a werewolf – she was my Alpha. She comes from a long line of born werewolves, which might include your Beast of Gévaudan. Sometimes humans are born in my family.”

“When you say she was your alpha?”

Derek looked pensive, biting his lip. “What did Allison Argent tell you about the fire?” Derek rolled over so that he lay on his stomach, head propped up on his arm so that he was looking down into Stiles’ face.

“She only vaguely mentioned it – “

“Figures!” Derek snorted inelegantly.

“Although she did say some people thought the Argents were involved.”

“That’s because they were. Or more specifically, Kate and her father, Gerard. Hunters like the Argents are meant to adhere to a Code, but Gerard isn’t much for following the rules. He thinks of people like me as base animals, with no control over ourselves”. He looked sad for a moment, then seemed to shake himself out of it. “They convinced a rival alpha of my Mother’s to infiltrate our home – I say convinced but I don’t know if it was blackmail or he was attempting to take over our land.

We welcomed Sam Uley as per our customs, invited him to stay with us because he said he had things he needed to talk about with my Mother and Father. And he used his time with us to scope out as much about our defences as he could, then reported everything back to Kate and Gerard. They used the information to try to trap my entire family in the house, surround it in mountain ash and try to burn us alive”.

“Jesus!”

“Yeah – we were very lucky in a way. We’ve never made a big deal of which members of our pack are human which was fortunate – humans are the only ones who can manipulate mountain ash.”

“Yeah, I was gonna ask what that was.”

“It’s kinda like a supernatural repellent. Most supernatural creatures can’t cross it so it’s used as a defence tool.”

“Right, I get it. Sorry – carry on.”

“My uncle Peter was caught in the fire along with the rest of us – he was trying to help us escape because he was one of the few who could handle mountain ash. The Argents had surrounded the house, armed to the teeth and ready to shoot anyone who made it out of the building.

Peter managed to break the line of mountain ash in a few different places to enable people to get out while my father protected him from the gunshots. He was very badly burned – we weren’t sure if he was going to make it. He’d given my Mother permission to turn him – like a living will if you like – so she bit him as soon as she could while the rest of us dealt with the hunters we could catch. And Sam Uley.”

“So, if you’re not born a werewolf, you have to be bitten to become one?”

“That’s right. My sister, Laura, and I were fighting Uley – my Dad went after Kate. Uley managed to knock Laura out and was going in for the kill.” Derek stopped speaking for a moment, avoiding Stiles’ eyes. “I got to him first – that’s how I became an Alpha.”

Stiles got the feeling Derek was leaving a whole lot out but he didn’t want to interrupt again – it was a traumatic tale to tell and he figured it was about to get worse.

“It hits you hard, becoming an alpha. It’s a huge rush of power, disorientating and a LOT for the senses to cope with. By the time we got back to the house, most of the hunters were dead or had got away.”

“What happened to your Dad?”

“In all the noise and panic, we hadn’t realised that the shots he was protecting Peter from – the bullets were laced with mountain ash. And Kate – or her father – managed to get in a few more shots when he was chasing them. He died before we could get him the cure.”

“God, Derek, I am so sorry.”

“Kate and Gerard left Beacon Hills immediately – the Hunter’s Council wouldn’t accept our word that we knew it was them, even if Chris Argent was prepared to believe us. With Peter needing to recover from both the bite and his burns, and my Mother half-mad with grief at losing her mate, we left Beacon Hills.

While we were away, the original house was torn down – none of us wanted to go back to it the way it was. We rebuilt, with much better security and defences. It took me about six months to get used to all of the changes – I was never meant to be the alpha as Laura is next in line. Peter took about a year to heal because the burns were so severe but fortunately Mom got to him in time and managed to mitigate the damage. Two years ago, I felt the need to be home, on our territory, so back we came.”

Without thinking, Stiles pulled Derek down into his arms, unable to imagine what all of that had been like to live through, Losing his mother had been the single most traumatic thing he had ever had to deal with, followed by feeling like he had lost his dad and his home. He couldn’t fathom how Derek had dealt with all of that and remained sane.

They lay like that in silence for a while, just enjoying being with each other. Stiles was loathe to break the peace, but he knew he should say something.

“Should we be heading back to school?”

“I thought you wanted to hear more about my pack.”

“I do – I just, I don’t want to cause you any more pain and a lot of this seems like it hurts, dude.”

“Don’t call me dude. And yeah, it hurts – but it hurts a lot less here with you.”

“Oh wow, that was smooth!!” Stiles laughed, running his fingers through Derek’s thick hair.

“Forget smooth – can I kiss you? I have been dreaming about your mouth since I first saw you and I would really like to just – kiss you.”

“Far be it from me to stop a man from reaching for his dream – yeah, you can kiss me.” Stiles lifted his head at the same time as Derek lowered his and their lips touched gently. It was so soft, softer than he had expected but it was also perfect. He tilted his head to the side, reaching up for another kiss. And another.

He was aware of Derek moving to lie on top of him, the heavy weight of his body resting fully on Stiles and he automatically spread his legs and wrapped them around Derek. The movement brought their pelvises directly into contact, and Stiles became aware of what could only be Derek’s erection pressing against his own. It was such a hot thought that he couldn’t stop himself arching upwards needing to get closer.

“Jesus, Derek.”

“I knew you would taste like this – that just kissing you would almost be enough to – “

“Enough to what?”

“You really have no idea just how much you turn me on, do you?”

“I think I’m starting to get a clue – that, or you’re carrying a periscope in your pocket!” Derek collapsed in laughter, dropping a kiss onto the end of Stiles’ nose.

“I’m flattered. But I’m also embarrassed because my control isn’t what it should be. Stiles – the things I want to do to you.” Derek’s face was flushed, his hands holding Stiles tightly against him.

“Is it a bad idea to tell you just how onboard I am with all of those things?”

“You don’t even know what they are.” Derek sighed, kissing Stiles gently once again. They got lost in each other again, kisses deepening, bodies grinding against each other. “Stiles – there are rules, guidelines – fuck, I can’t think when you’re this close to me!”

“Is this like when you couldn’t tell me about yourself – that I had to figure it out for myself?”

“Yeah, kinda. I have to present you to my Mother. She might not be my Alpha any more but she is the overall head of our pack and I need her approval. It’s not a test – it’s more of an acceptance into the pack, offering protection that kind of thing. It’s all ancient crap but – “

“But it’s important.”

“Yeah.”

“So, back to school?”

“I think that might be best – I don’t really trust myself alone with you. That’s why my pack has been attached to my side since I met you. They've been trying to stop me carrying you off and having my way with you.” They reluctantly separated, lying apart on the grass as they tried to catch their breath.

“Can I just say I am so liking the sound of that plan – once we’ve got the formalities out of the way of course!” Stiles stood up, adjusting himself in his too-tight pants and trying not to stare at Derek doing the same thing.

“God, don’t look at me like that or we won’t get out of here!” Derek turned away from Stiles with obvious reluctance, reaching down to pick up their backpacks.

“Right, right, self-control! Okay, lead on – I’ll follow so I can leer at your ass without you complaining!”

”STILES!”

Chapter Text

They had the bad timing to make it back to school during break, which meant that absolutely everyone was watching as Stiles and Derek made their way to the yard. It was all Stiles could do not to check his fly – he felt distinctly rumpled and he knew he had grass stains on his back, and quite possibly his ass. The only thing that made it easier was that Derek had his arm thrown over Stiles’ shoulder, holding him close as they walked through the crowd.

“Does no one in this school have anything better to do? They are all staring!” he hissed at Derek.

“No, not that guy – oh, he just looked! To hell with it, we might as well give them something to stare at!” He turned and hauled Stiles into a kiss that rattled a few brain cells and meant that he didn’t notice that Derek was steering him towards his pack members. He finally noticed as they got closer to the five people who seemed to be emanating disapproval.

“Is now actually a good time to introduce me? – I get the feeling a few of your pack members don’t like me much.”

“Has he forgotten so soon that we can hear him?” Erica smirked at him, looking both he and Derek up and down. “Derek, you have grass stains on your knees.”

“Jesus, Erica!”

“Well – he does! I volunteer to turn the cutie around to check where his grass stains are!”

“Guys!”

“Would it be okay to introduce Stiles to you all before you try to completely scare him away?”

“If he’s scared of us, how the hell is he going to cope with Mom and Uncle Peter?” Isaac, Boyd and Erica laughed at Cora’s comment and Stiles decided that meeting the pack could definitely wait. Spinning out from underneath Derek’s arm, he gave a cheery wave.

“My weird meter is full for the moment – I’ll meet your merry band of ass-holes another time!” Without giving Derek a chance to comment, he turned and headed off to the cafeteria and hopefully Scott and some normality.

The rest of the day was supremely boring and Stiles was fine with that. He saw Derek in passing but they didn't actively connect. He wasn't avoiding Derek exactly – he just wasn't ready to meet the rest of the pack. He met his father for dinner at the local diner, enjoying the normality.

Stella, who ran the diner, came over and asked his Dad if there was any news on what had happened to Haines, but his Dad shook his head regretfully.

"We're still investigating, trying to figure out what type of animal it is. We have calls in to other departments like Fish and Game – I promise you, Stella, we're not slacking on this."

"I know, Sheriff – it's just that people are feeling anxious."

"Understandable." Once Stella had gone, the two of them ate in companionable silence for a while. "So, Stiles – anyone at school catch your eye?" His Dad looked vaguely uncomfortable but was obviously trying to connect with him.

"Really? You wanna talk about boys? Or girls?"

"Just asking – wanting to make sure you're settling in. I know I've been really busy and – well, I'd really like it if you were starting to feel at home. Like this could be your home."

"Hey, Dad? Honestly, it's good. I'm good. Relax, old man, you're stuck with me."

"Less of the old, kiddo!"

Stones against his bedroom window were less than subtle, and such a cliché, but Stiles got up from the bed where he had been reading and walked to the window. Derek was still in the clothes he'd been in at school, and Stiles was embarrassed to realise that, yes, the grass stains on his knees were pretty obvious even on the dark denim. He opened the window and leaned out.

"Hey, Big Bad. Allergic to the front door?"

"Wanna come for a walk?"

"Where?"

"Just – out of earshot of everyone. Please." With a shrug, Stiles closed the window and went to his closet to grab a jacket. Fortunately, his Dad had been called into work after their meal at the diner so he didn't have to make any excuses or try to sneak out. They didn't walk far, just to the local park where they made themselves comfortable on the swings.

"If I asked you, would you push me as hard as you could?" Derek looked confused at his question.

"Why would you want me to do that?"

"You've never been tempted to go all the way over on the swings?"

"Not in public, no. We spend our whole lives learning about control. about fitting in. That would be the complete opposite."

"Point. But not all of your pack were born a wolf, right?"

"No, we're not all born wolves."

"So, now they're not listening to our every word, maybe you could tell me about them – kinda pre-warn me before I do officially meet them."

"I really am sorry - "

"Nuh-uh! No more apologising for them! Let's hear it – does someone have to be dying for you to change them?"

"No, not at all. But they do need to have a good reason for wanting the bite, and we are insistent on informed consent. So even if someone's in a vulnerable position – like Erica with her epilepsy – they get the full story – good, bad, ugly and dangerous."

“Like – “

“Not just enhanced speed, healing and senses – they get to hear about hunters, especially the ones like Kate and her father. And the wolf packs out there that don’t live the way we do – they can be just as dangerous as hunters.”

“So, Erica?”

“Cora came home from school really angry and upset – once you meet Cora, you’ll see that she’s incredibly passionate and cares deeply for people she loves. She just hides it under a bit of an angry exterior. I happened to be the one there when she got home, so she told me why she was so agitated. Erica had an epileptic fit at school and had an accident. Bad enough that happened, but some asshole recorded the whole thing and put it onto the internet. Of course, Erica was mortified and humiliated, and no one seemed to be doing anything to help the situation.

I talked it over with Uncle Peter and Mom, and we decided I would offer her the bite. But regardless of her response to my offer, Uncle Peter found out who posted the video and persuaded them to take it down.

It was Matt Daehler – major creep and even bigger asshole. I never got the full story from Uncle Peter – he claimed he just threatened the family with legal action, but I’m not so sure.”

“Meaning?”

“You’ve got to understand that Uncle Peter isn’t what you would call a good guy, not like your Dad for example.” Stiles nodded. “I think he visited Daehler at night, did a beta shift and made sure he knew that Erica was under our protection now.”

“Holy shit, that is awesome!”

“I overheard Mom telling him off – saying it wasn’t how we deal with things, but then I sneaked a look and they were watching a video on Peter’s cell.”

“He recorded it? Classic!”

“I don’t actually have any proof – I’m pretty sure Peter sleeps with his cell – but, yeah, that would appeal to his sense of justice. And he said something to Erica because she was fine about going back to school.”

“I get the feeling I’m either gonna hate your uncle’s guts or get on with him far too well!”

“Yeah, I have that same feeling. Anyway, Erica said yes once I convinced her that it wasn’t a huge prank. That and the thought that it might cure her epilepsy was enough to make her think taking the bite was the right thing for her. And that’s how she became my second beta.”

“Who was your first? Beta I mean – the other is a conversation for another time!”

“Isaac. Has anyone told you anything about him, about his life before he became pack?”

“A little, but it was Jackson so I ignored most of what he said.”

“Okay, well let me try and make a long story short...”

Chapter Text

”Isaac’s Dad used to be the swim coach at Beacon Hills. He was always a bit of a bullying asshole to be honest, but no one realised how bad it was at home for Isaac until his brother Camden was killed overseas. His brother would try to protect him when he was home – Roger Lahey was in love with the idea of his big shot, war hero son – not so much with Isaac. When Camden died, something snapped – or maybe he’d just been building up to it all along. He would lock Isaac in a freezer he kept in the basement as punishment for any perceived misdemeanours: a low score on a test, unhappy with the food Isaac served – anything and everything. 

I was out for a run in my wolf form – being back in Beacon Hills wasn’t easy. I heard the screaming fight they had and realised a little too late what Lahey had done. I couldn’t leave Isaac in there. Of course, I had a lot of explaining to do – some naked teenager letting him out of his prison on top of everything else he’d been through was enough to send him into a panic attack. 

I managed to get him home, and Mom and Uncle Peter just kinda swung into action. They took pictures of his injuries, sat through getting a statement from him of what had been happening and for how long; then they asked him if he wanted to stay with us and get his life sorted out so that he was safe.”

“So, he’s not – “

“He is. Before anything could be done to deal with his father apart from the arrest, Roger Lahey got off his face drunk and wrapped his car around a tree while he was out on bail. We helped Isaac sort out the financial side of things, and handle his grief – despite what had happened, that was his father, you know? We thought we’d been relatively discreet about the whole supernatural side of things but about a year after it happened, he asks all casual-like over dinner if we ever intended to offer him the bite.” Stiles laughed, well able to imagine the snarky Isaac dropping that into general conversation.

“So, that leaves Lydia and Boyd.”

“Lydia’s not actually a werewolf. She’s a Banshee – in the main, anyway. She’s also got some other powers – sometimes she gets premonitions.”

“Whoa!”
 
“Yeah. She came to us for help in training – it can be difficult for Sensitives like her in the real world, overwhelming. She came to us via our local druid – and no, I won’t be telling you about him because it’s not my secret to tell. Once she’d met us, realised the extent of our library and the stability of our pack, she just decided to stay and announced she was part of my pack. I don’t know if you’ve had a lot to do with Lydia, but – well, you don’t turn her down. She’s an invaluable member of my pack, the one who acts as our liaison when it’s needed. And it doesn’t hurt that she’s a genius.”

“I can see how that would be handy.”

“And then there was Boyd.

Boyd has been one of my closest friends most of my life – before and after the fire. He never asked and I never told, and that worked for us for years. It was Lydia’s idea to offer him the bite – she said that a stable alpha needs at least three betas and that he would be a good match for the pack, especially as he and Erica were becoming closer and the secret would be coming out sooner rather than later. 

I wasn’t going to do it – the bite carries a risk of failure and why take that risk? But Uncle Peter and my Mom helped convince me. One day, this territory will be mine and I’ll need a good support system, a stable pack. So I talked to him. All he wanted was that his family be looked after if anything happened to him – he wasn’t thrown by the revelation, didn’t seem bothered that I hadn’t told him before or anything like that.”

“So, what about your sisters? You mentioned Laura, right? And there’s Cora.”

“Laura doesn’t want to stay in Beacon Hills. She’s going to study Law and will probably affiliate with a pack wherever she ends up. She feels guilty that she wasn’t able to save our father – if we hadn’t been fighting Uley, had been there as Dad’s back-up when he confronted Kate – “

“You can’t think like that – you’ll drive yourself mad! Is that what you think too?”

“No. One of the positives of being away from here was seeing a therapist – to help with the alpha transition and everything. He helped me deal with my guilt over not being able to save Dad, about killing Uley.”

“That’s good.” Stiles looked down at his hands. “My Aunt Willow made me see a therapist after I moved away from here. Took me a few years but now I have a better understanding of my daddy issues!”

“What a pair we make, huh?”

“At least we’re aware of our issues – too many people hide from them until they reach out and kick them in the ass.”

“Very, very true.” Derek smiled and part of Stiles melted – he could really get used to being the person to put that look on Derek’s face. “When Mom decides to cede the territory to me, Cora could go with her or she could stay. I don’t think she’s made up her mind yet and I’m happy to let her make the choice when it’s time. And as for Uncle Peter – who knows? He’s a law unto himself.”

Stiles nodded, letting it all sink in. It was a lot of information to digest, but he hoped it would help when he couldn’t avoid meeting Derek’s pack any longer. And he was dying to talk to Lydia about the whole Banshee thing – now that sounded completely fascinating. 

“So, fully armed with all of this information, do you think you’d be up to meeting my pack tomorrow? Maybe come over for dinner? They really do want to meet you, and maybe if you get it over and done with you can stop hiding in the bathrooms whenever any of them get anywhere close to you in school.”

“You knew about that, huh?”

“You’re really not the subtle type Stiles. Besides, I gave them an alpha order that they weren’t to harass you – otherwise, I think Erica would have just followed you into whatever bathroom you were in!”

“Do you think maybe you could make that alpha order stick until the weekend? Then I could come over and not worry about missing my Dad. I know he’s working this weekend.”

“I’ll let my mother know.”
 
“Hey – is that why you couldn’t just tell me about the whole werewolf thing? Did your Mom alpha you into submission?”

“Something like that. It’s not something to be shared lightly and she wanted to be sure. And I’m going to admit, last full moon I was difficult to handle – they ended up restraining me in one of the rooms in the basement. I wasn’t able to think straight – I just wanted to get to you.”

“Is that what you meant when you said you’d passed on what you were dealing with to the others?”

“I did influence them – they could tell their alpha was agitated, and it exacerbated the effects of the full moon. According to Erica, it was one of the best full moons she’s had with Boyd but that was sort of too much information! She’s like that – she can be all kinds of inappropriate but when she’s around my Mom, she’s angelic!”

“Sounds like someone I could be friends with.” Stiles gave a mild eep as Derek pulled on the chain of his swing, dragging him closer. “Um, are we at make out portion of the evening?”

“Stiles, I’ve talked more to you since we met than I have in years. I think I’ve earned a reward, don’t you?” Shifting his swing sideways until they were face to face, Stiles smirked, eyes dropping to Derek’s mouth as if irresistibly drawn. 

“I like being your reward.”

Chapter Text

”Derek, I think I love your house more than I love your car.”

“I’m not sure that’s possible – I was pretty sure I should have given you and my car some privacy!” Stiles shoved Derek, pleased that the element of surprise made Derek at least stumble a little. “What, were you expecting anyway? Dark, cave-like, animal bones littered around?”

“No, not the animal bones”.

“Not the animal bones.” Stiles allowed Derek to guide him into the house, still gaping at the beautiful interior. “We like open spaces – to feel free. The whole rear leads to the Preserve.”

As they walked, delicious scents reached Stiles.

“Is that – “

“I told them not to do this but Uncle Peter insisted.” They entered a large kitchen which, despite its size, was welcoming and cosy, all warm woods and green accents.

“You made pierogis!” A handsome man wearing a full apron over a deep v-necked shirt walked towards them.

“Of course. I had to do something for the special person who made our grumpy Derek smile.”
 
“He’s not grumpy” “I’m not grumpy.” They both answered at the same time. Stiles followed his nose towards the array of dishes, seeing that the man had made pierogis as well as bigos.

“This is amazing – I haven’t had proper Polish food in an age!”

 “Why thank you. And since my nephew appears to have been struck mute by your beauty, I shall introduce myself. I am Peter Hale and you are Mieczsylaw.”

“Ugh, Stiles dude – everyone calls me Stiles.”
 
“Ah but I don’t wish to be lumped in with everyone. What if I want a special name for you all of my own?”

“Only if I can call you Zombie-Wolf since you were damned near dead according to Derek!” There was a gasp behind him but Stiles didn’t turn around. He got the feeling this was a test and he wasn’t going to fall at the first hurdle. “Or I could just call you Satan in a vee-neck? No – Creeper-wolf – now that suits you!”

“Creeper-wolf? Hmm, slightly childish but effective. Welcome to our den, Stiles.” Hiding his relieved exhale, Stiles reached over and grabbed a pierogi, closing his eyes to savour the flavours on his tongue. “I congratulate you on finding your mate Nephew – he truly seems to be a stimulating influence.”
 
“Uncle Peter, do you have to be such a complete sleaze?” Stiles opened his eyes and turned towards the new voice. A young woman stood appraising him, deep brown eyes assessing him from head to toe. Her dark hair was pulled into a messy ponytail atop her head and she was most obviously Derek’s sister. “I’m Laura – since my bone-headed brother appears to be catatonic with lust upon seeing you eat, I’ll do the introductions.”

Derek finally stopped staring at Stiles’ mouth, flushing a dark red as he turned and tried to shove Laura. She dodged, delivering a slap to the back of her brother’s head before moving to Stiles’ side.

“Normally no one eats before the alpha but as a guest and potential alpha mate, we’ll let you off.”

“I’m sorry – I didn’t realise – “

“Please, don’t worry. Besides, you are an honoured guest – Peter wasn’t wrong when he talked about how grumpy Derek normally is.” Stiles was sure he heard Derek say “it’s just my face” but was prevented from saying anything by the loud arrival of what looked like everyone else. Before he could begin to feel too overwhelmed, Derek was by his side, putting his hand on the base of Stiles’ spine.

“Stiles – I would like to formally introduce you to the members of my pack. This is Lydia – a banshee and a seer, who acts as my liaison on pack business. My betas are Isaac, Boyd and Erica.” Stiles nodded at each of them in turn, cataloguing their reactions to his presence. Lydia seemed to be evaluating and categorising him; Boyd’s expression was blank, whilst Erica seemed open and friendly. Isaac looked – unhappy.

“It’s nice to meet you all – Derek’s told me a lot about you.”

“Yeah, but has he told you what happens if this all goes badly? The Sheriff’s son in a wolf pack? I – “

”ISAAC” A firm voice cut across whatever Isaac was going to say, and Talia Hale came striding into the kitchen. She was dressed much the same as she’d been when Stiles met her at the hospital, but her presence in her den seemed larger, more imposing. She was very much the Alpha here. “Forgive him, Stiles – Isaac can be extremely protective and sometimes that can make him speak out of turn.”

“I get it. You’re his family and he wants to keep you all safe. And, obviously, being the son of the Sheriff can bring scrutiny that you would rather avoid.”

“Not to mention the Argents are just itching for an excuse to attack!”

“Isaac, I won’t tell you again!”

“You mean, in case Derek turns into a giant beast ruled by his lust for my skinny pale body, drags me away to his cave and ravishes me?” Stiles’ statement was met by a snort from Derek, a surprised laugh from Peter and stunned silence from the rest. “To be fair, it’s more likely to be me that ravishes Derek – he’s being very old-fashioned in his courting habits so far. And, alas, no giant slabs of meat have been left on my doorstep as gifts so I think we’re safe enough for now.”

“I must admit, Nephew, I am quite envious of your good fortune – welcome to the Pack, Stiles. Now, get out of my kitchen – I must look after the kielbasa. Dinner in fifteen.”

Stiles found himself being steered after Talia as she left the kitchen, aware of an approving look from Lydia as he steadfastly ignored his pounding heart and walked past the pack at a leisurely pace.

Talia led them to what Stiles assumed was her study, taking a seat behind a large oak desk as Laura shut the door.

“Do please take a seat, Stiles.” A quick glance at Derek showed he looked relaxed, so Stiles assumed that so far, all was going well. Derek and he sat in the chairs in front of the desk, whilst Laura sat to the side. “Firstly, let me apologise once more for Isaac. You are quite correct – if Derek were to have control issues and something happened to you, the Argents would indeed take that as an opportunity to initiate hostilities. However, Derek has been an alpha for several years and has extremely good control – I have little fear of anything amiss there.”

“But you are worried about something?”

“You are very like your father, very astute. Yes, I am concerned about the recent spate of animal attacks in the area. We have reason to believe that a small pack has entered our territory and is causing mischief. A new pack-mate at this time could be distracting. But fate and Mother Moon make decisions on their own time-scale and we will handle whatever comes along, including the Argents if need be.”

“Should be worried – for my father, I mean?”

“As Derek’s mate, your father will be accepted as part of our circle of protection. But to be honest with you, Stiles, very few packs – wild or otherwise – are stupid enough to do anything to anyone in law enforcement. As I’m sure you’ve realised by now, the need for secrecy dictates a large number of our actions.”

A knot of tension he hadn’t realised he had dissipated. It made sense – and explained the need for hunters. The normal police force wouldn’t be equipped to deal with something like this, not by any stretch of the imagination. Nevertheless, he made a mental note to ask about mountain ash bullets. He wasn’t going to be the weak link in Derek’s pack, and as a human, he didn’t have teeth and claws but that didn’t mean he was helpless. And at some point, was he going to have to let his father in on Derek’s secret?

Chapter Text

”Do you know anything about me – about my heritage, I mean? Is there something in my family history – something supernatural?”

“Peter’s already put feelers our in the community, although you could be completely human. Either way, it isn’t an issue for us – if you were interested in the bite or completely uninterested – as long as you and Derek are happy being mates, that’s a conversation for the two of you to have.” Talia smiled. “You look surprised, Stiles. We do not believe that we are superior simply because we are werewolves, and supernatural does not always mean better. It means far more to me that you and my son are happy.”

“I guess I was wondering whether you would look down on me for being human, or be upset, So, thank you – it actually means a lot that you would say all of that without knowing it was a concern of mine.”

“I hope Derek told you that this meeting isn’t a test?”

“I did.”

“Yeah, he did. But I tend to run towards the cynical and sceptical.” Laura laughed and Stiles jumped slightly, having forgotten she was still there.

“You look like a cutie cupcake, but you’re all sass really, aren’t you? I can totally see you running Derek ragged and I am so here for it!”

“Thanks, Laura”.

“Oh come on, Der. You’re so serious and uptight. We all want to see you happy and I’m actually starting to think that Stiles can help that happen.”

Before Derek or Stiles could respond, there was a rap on the door and Erica’s head popped through.

“Peter says if you don’t come and eat now, he’ll throw away all the good stuff and order vegetarian pizzas.”

“Well, we definitely don’t want that – shall we go and eat?”

Derek’s bedroom felt warm and intimate, decorated in deep browns and raspberry colours. One entire side was comprised of floor to ceiling windows, and walking over Stiles could see that after a drop to the ground, the Preserve wasn’t far away.

Stuffed to the gills with Peter’s amazing cooking and feeling very relaxed after a lovely meal watching Derek with his family, Stiles was feeling pretty good.

Stepping away from the windows, he explored the closest bookcase. It was crammed with all sorts of books, ranging from textbooks, different types of fiction, as well as autobiographies – an eclectic mix that included some of Stiles’ favourites and others he wanted to read. Derek put some music on and Stiles recognised Khalid’s voice and approved.

“You okay? I know my family can be a little overwhelming.”

“No, it’s cool. I mean, Peter’s intense when he’s talking about something he’s passionate about, but he’s fascinating. And your puppies were all on their best behaviour.”

“Don’t call them my puppies.”

“Too soon for dog jokes?”

“Always.”

“Okay, no offence meant.” Running his hands over the spines of some of the books, he thought for a moment then turned to Derek. “Where was Cora?”

“She’s out running the perimeter. We normally do it in pairs but I wanted you to meet all of my pack together so she went alone.”

“Will she be alright? I don’t want to be responsible for you half-assing your security arrangements.”

“Mom checked in with her when she got home – honestly, it’s fine.” Stiles nodded his understanding, then stepped closer to Derek.

“So – can everyone hear everything that’s going on? In here, I mean?” Derek looked confused, his brow furrowing before comprehension dawned.

“A present to all werewolves upon puberty – soundproofing.” Stiles laughed, appreciating why that would be needed.

“So, no one can hear what we’re saying? Or doing?”

“Why do I feel like it’s a mistake to answer that? I’m sorry, Mr Stilinski, you’re going to have to put in a bit more time and effort before I put out – I’m just not that kind of boy.” Feeling bold, Stiles placed his palm on Derek’s chest.

“Could I persuade you?”

“Probably. But I would actually like to take things slow – if you don’t mind, that is.”

“No pressure, no rush. But do you mind if I ask why?”

“It’s a big deal, finding a mate. It takes some adjusting to and I don’t want to mess things up. And yes, I have good control but I would like to acclimatize to you a little bit more before we go too far.”

“There’s more isn’t there?” Derek looked pensive.

“Sometimes, being able to hear people isn’t always a blessing. I’ve been hearing about my looks and physique since I was a young teenager – sometimes from people who are old enough to know better. A lot of the time, it’s creepy and disturbing. I can’t imagine what it was like for Laura and Cora.”

“You want to be sure I want you for more than your body?”

“Does that sound stupid? Or conceited?”

“No. I mean, just the way you were described to me, I can imagine some of what you’ve heard. I’m not gonna lie, you are wrapped in some mighty appealing packaging, but I am just as interested in your brain, I swear. We can take as long as you need.” Stiles was relieved to see that Derek was taking him at his word. “I can still kiss you though, right?”

“Yeah – you can still kiss me.” Derek slipped his arms around Stiles’ waist, pulling him closer. “And I can still kiss you – like this.” A gentle peck that lasted less than a second. “Or like this.” A longer press of the lips. “Or even like this.”

Deciding that Derek had teased him enough, Stiles slid his fingers into Derek’s hair, holding him in place when he would have pulled back. This kiss was deeper and much more satisfying, tongues rubbing against each other as they pressed their bodies close together. Mindful of what Derek had said, Stiles kept his hands above the neck and tried not to let his excitement overtake him.

There was a loud knock on the door, the only warning they had before the door opened and Cora walked in. They jumped apart, Stiles moving to the windows and keeping his back to Cora in an attempt to hide his obvious arousal.

“Jesus, Cora, a little privacy!”

“Mom says you should come down so we can spend time getting to know your mate.”

“Oh for God’s sake – “

“Consider yourself lucky she sent me instead of Erica. I’m pretty sure she was planning to record whatever she saw. Hey, Stiles.”

“Hi, Cora – nice to finally meet you officially.”

“Five minutes?” Derek sighed.

“Fine.” Pushing his sister out of his room, Derek closed the door firmly.

“Can you make it from here to the ground without hurting yourself?”

“What?”

“Can you jump from this window to the ground, safely?”

“Er, yeah.”

“Holding on to me, or maybe catch me from down there?” Derek gave it a moment’s thought before nodding, obviously having caught on to Stiles’ idea.

“Well, it wasn’t an alpha order.”

“And you know Peter and Erica are just going to be competing to see who can ask the most embarrassing questions.”

“You’re not wrong.”

“I would just like to spend a little time with just you – if that’s okay?” Derek smiled, moving past Stiles to open what Stiles hadn’t realised was a door. “Not the first time you’ve used this to escape then?”

“Nope. But the first time I’ve done it with someone on my back.” Taking the hint, Stiles climbed carefully onto Derek’s back, peering over his shoulder nervously. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. “Do you trust me?”

“Yeah – yeah, I really do.”

“You better hold on tight, Spider-monkey!”

Stiles screamed as Derek jumped, shrieking with laughter as immediately upon landing safely, Derek took off at a run, holding tightly to Stiles’ legs.

Several hours later, Stiles waved to Derek from his bedroom window. He held his hand to his mouth in stunned surprise as Derek efficiently shucked his clothes, and from one moment to the next, shifted into the now-familiar black wolf.

Grabbing his clothes in his mouth in what was obviously a practised move, the wolf gave Stiles one more look from beautiful pale eyes before bounding off into the trees. Shaking his head in wonderment, Stiles headed to the shower – that had to count as one of the most bizarre Saturdays in his entire existence and as Laura had said, he was so here for it.

Chapter Text

The next few weeks flew by. School was boring and routine apart for the preparation for Prom which seemed to consume every conversation. Stiles tried to split his time evenly between Scott, Kira and the gang and Derek and the Pack. Evenings were either spent with his father; playing Halo with Scott; or out at the Hale house.

He enjoyed spirited debates with Peter on any number of subjects – the man was a font of knowledge that awed Stiles, and he seemed willing to talk to Stiles anytime. Stiles didn’t make the mistake of thinking that Peter trusted him – sometimes, the conversations seemed to be testing his beliefs, but he was cool with that. Almost dying after betrayal meant Peter had the right to his trust issues as far as Stiles was concerned.

He and Erica discovered a mutual love of all things comic and MCU related – other superhero and mutant movies were up for discussion and often derision; Lydia proved to be a fascinating mix of genius and ‘mean girl’, ready with information about the goings-on at school along with pithy commentary one moment, philosophical and mathematical debates the next; Laura and Cora were a fantastic source of information on Derek as a child, including baby pictures and awww, just how cute had he been with those big ears, pale eyes and bunny teeth? Boyd spent a lot of time with his family, and Stiles didn’t see a lot of Talia due to the number of hours she spent working at the hospital.

Isaac remained hostile, seeming to view Stiles with suspicion and often outright dislike. If he hadn’t been dating Cora, Stiles would have wondered whether there were any ‘feelings’ for Derek that were behind it all, but in the end, he decided that Isaac was just a paranoid dick and left it at that.

And then there was Derek. They were still taking things slowly, both happy to pull back when things got too heated. Which they did, often. It wasn’t easy not to go further than major kissing – Derek was hot like fire and seemed determined to learn every single thing that turned Stiles on. They could kiss for hours at a time but sometimes, they would just lie cuddled together on Derek’s bed, talking about nothing, learning each other. He told Derek about losing his Mom and a bit about how his father had got lost in a bottle for a while – Derek had been sympathetic but not pitying, which Stiles appreciated more than he could say. And Derek shared stories of his father and what he had been like, describing a man who loved fiercely and had died doing what meant the most to him: protecting his family.

Stiles noticed that Derek had an endearing habit of offering him comfy clothes to wear when he came over for the day: hoodies, sweatpants, tee-shirts and finally asked Peter about it, not wanting to embarrass Derek.

“He does it so that you’ll smell like him, and also to be a ‘provider’. It satisfies his wolf to have you in his clothing, warm and safe.”Peter seemed deep in thought for a moment. “Of course, that’s not all it is. I would imagine he makes use of the clothing once you’ve gone home.”

“What do you mean, makes use of?” Stiles knew he was going to regret asking the question as soon as the smirk crossed Peter’s face.

“Well, my nose tells me that you and my dear nephew haven’t taken things very far sexually - “

“Peter!!”
 
“ – so I would imagine he’s using your scent as a stimulant during his special ‘Derek’ time.”

“You are such a creeper – like, really, were you like this as a human? It’s a wonder you haven’t been reported for sexual harassment!”
 
“You did ask, my boy. And far be it for me to ask why you haven’t taken things to the next level. I would imagine the closer it gets to the full moon, the more urgent Derek’s needs will become.”
 
“Is that meant as a warning?” The smirk left Peter’s face and he gave Stiles a sincere look.

“Whether it’s you or him holding back, you both need to be aware of the lunar cycle. Especially with that rogue pack still in the vicinity.” He put down the towel he had been using to wipe his hands, and turned to Stiles fully. “Derek does have phenomenal control, but even that will be severely tested. You’re his mate, Stiles, not just a casual boyfriend. The desire to claim you fully will become much, much stronger and harder to fight. You need to bear that in mind if you want to have any control over when he claims you – it may well be that the full moon forces things along.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but Derek wants to take things slowly and I respect that. Is there – I can’t believe I’m asking you this, but is there anything I can do to help him? Make it easier to bear?”
 
“I believe Talia will be speaking to Derek about this soon – the Argents tales about the Beast of Gévaudan may be exaggerated, but as I am sure you are aware, most legends do contain at least a sliver of truth.”

“Well, shit, do I have to worry about him clawing me up? Do I need to lock him up in your creepy-ass basement which he refuses to show me in case I freak the fuck out?”

“Hopefully that won’t be necessary. The last full moon before he declared his interest in you was hard on all of us.”

“As a lawyer, I can’t believe you’re actively encouraging me to have under-age sex!”

“Actively encouraging might be a little strong. More like, information is power and the better informed you are, the better mate you will make for Derek. I want what is best for my family, and to be frank the difference in Derek since you came along is nothing short of miraculous.”

“I thought he saw a therapist, was pretty well adjusted.”

“Considering everything that happened, yes, he is very well adjusted. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t deeply affected by everything surrounding the fire. He and his father were very close, and his loss caused our family to go into deep mourning. I wondered at one stage if Talia would choose to follow Sebastian, their bond was that deep.”

“But she didn’t. Why is that – if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Because the Pack needed her. Because I needed her. Being surrounded by wolves my entire life was one thing – actually becoming one was something else entirely.”
 
“Peter – do you think I should take the bite? Talia has said it’s my choice but – would I be a better mate for Derek if I was a werewolf?” Until he verbalised it. Stiles had not realised how concerned he was – he didn’t want to be the weak link in Derek’s pack, and if that meant turning into a werewolf then so be it.

“I don’t think you should, no – not unless you have a burning desire to anyway. I have been wondering if we should consider introducing you to our Druid – it is possible you may have something magical about you.”

“Have you heard back from the packs you contacted about me and my family? Is there something in my background?”

“No – I promise, I would have spoken to you if I had heard anything. But there is a definite spark about you, Stiles, that just makes me wonder…. And I am a personal testament to the fact that sometimes humans are the ones doing the saving. Now, be a dear, go away so I can concentrate – I’m trying out a new venison recipe and you are distracting me.”

“Thanks, Peter. I’ll be back at feeding time – I look forward to your cooking almost as much as I look forward to seeing Derek.”

“A high compliment indeed, but that won’t get you out of clean-up duty! Now, kindly scram.”

 “Message received and understood.” With a cheeky salute. Stiles left Peter alone and went in search of Derek. He had some questions he needed to ask.

Chapter Text

”Hey, Derek?”

“Hmm?” Stiles got the feeling Derek wasn’t 100% listening to what he was saying but it was understandable – they were lying on Derek’s bed, topless, with Derek immersed in finding all of the moles on Stiles’ back with his lips. Stiles was cursing the fact that he was wearing his jeans instead of sweatpants, or, hey, even better, nothing at all, because he was pretty sure he had the imprint of his zipper embedded in his cock.

“Jesus, what you do with your tongue should be illegal – “

“Like that do you?”

“Um, if I said I’d respect you in the morning, do you think we could – well, I mean – “ Derek froze above him and Stiles panicked, thinking he had said the wrong thing. “I’m sorry, I just – “

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Rolling over onto his back so that he was between Derek’s legs, looking up at him, Stiles realised that what he was seeing was not the expression of someone who was about to leap from the bed, clutching at his figurative pearls in maidenly horror. Derek’s hair was a rumpled mess of hedgehog spikes caused by Stiles’ clutching hands; his lips were red and slightly swollen from all the kissing they had been doing in the last half hour. But his eyes were what captured Stiles’ attention. His pupils were blown wide with arousal and the look in them made Stiles feel like prey in the very best way.

“It depends. If you think I’m saying we’re both a little overdressed and maybe we could take things a bit further – “ He didn’t get to finish his sentence as Derek reared back, hands on Stiles’ waistband and working furiously at his belt. Since Derek seemed to be enthusiastically on board with the idea, Stiles reached for the drawstring on Derek’s basketball shorts. He cursed when he realised that they were double-knotted, but his determination had them undone quickly and a sharp tug had the age-soft material sliding down Derek’s hips.

“Lift up.” Obeying, Stiles pressed up with his hips so that Derek could yank down his jeans and boxers in one motion. Realising this would go a lot easier if he was stood up, Stiles pushed Derek away, leapt off the bed, and shoved his clothing off. Derek followed suit, kicking off the shorts whilst staring at Stiles with lust-filled eyes.

Being up close and personal with Derek’s frankly beautiful body, Stiles felt momentarily self-conscious. Derek was built like a God, all smooth tanned skin over muscle – not bulky like a bodybuilder, but sculpted, sleek and enticing. But the way Derek was looking at him removed any fears he had that he was lacking. His eyes were flickering red as they roamed up and down Stiles’ body. Stiles was mesmerised by the way Derek was staring at him stroking his cock almost unconsciously.

“Want a hand with that Big Guy?” He’d never heard his voice sound like that, all husky and low. He’d also never been in this situation before and for a moment, he felt a little overwhelmed.

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“My idea, remember?” Stepping forward, he ran his hand along Derek’s shoulder then down his arm, enjoying the feel of skin like hot silk over rippling muscle. He trailed down Derek’s forearm before moving his hand to his stomach. Tracing the pronounced abs, he was slightly amazed to realise that Derek was almost panting. He’d done this – with just kisses, with standing in front of him naked. It was a heady feeling.

It was the work of a moment to push Derek in the direction of the bed, following him down and gasping at the feel of that heated body pressed against his. He wanted to be smooth and practised, wanted to dazzle Derek with his skills and blow his mind, but Stiles would settle for not blowing his load in the next sixty seconds.

“Got any lube?” Derek nodded fast, then seemed to realise that Stiles was asking for a reason, flipped over and scrabbled in his bedside table. He turned and triumphantly presented Stiles with a battered, half-empty tube. The trust in Derek’s eyes, the way he was letting Stiles ‘drive’ the entire encounter was a major turn-on, and Stiles had to grab the base of his dick and give it a hard squeeze to stop himself coming then and there.

Flipping the lid on the tube, he squeezed out a generous amount, then closed it and tossed it aside on the bed. Staring into Derek’s eyes, he slowly and deliberately reached down and took hold of another guy’s cock for the first time. They gasped in unison as Stiles slid his lubricated hand up and down, learning the length and girth, squeezing the head gently each time he reached the tip.

Derek shook his head and Stiles wondered what he was doing wrong.

“Together – I want to feel your skin against mine.” Eagerly, Stiles lowered himself enough so that their cocks lined up and he could grasp both of them at the same time. “God, I’ve had dreams about your hands, about how they’d feel touching me.”

“Yeah? Does the reality match the dream?” He tried to set a leisurely pace but knew there was no way he was going to last. He could only hope to take Derek over with him.

“Fuck, yes! Your skin, your scent – just having you in my space is a god-damned dream come true!” Derek started thrusting with his hips and Stiles felt like he was going cross-eyed at the intense new sensations. He kept his grip tight and tried to match Derek’s rhythm, heart thundering in his ears.

“Derek – I’m not gonna last – “ He was a little embarrassed to admit how close to the edge he was, but looking down into Derek’s face, he could see he wasn’t alone in how overwhelmed he was feeling.

Derek flipped them over, taking over from Stiles in jacking their dicks, hips pistoning back and forth. Seeing Derek above him, eyes a fierce ruby red, mouth open as he gasped for air sent Stiles over the edge, a scream punched from him as he experienced the most consuming orgasm of his life. Derek was growling, nostrils flaring as he lowered himself fully onto Stiles and wrapping him securely in his arms. His chin dug into Stiles’ shoulder as he began to thrust his dick into the groove of Stiles’ hip, rhythm becoming choppy, desperate and uncoordinated.

Still gasping for air, Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek’s back, holding him tightly.

“Stiles – please – can I come on you? Please?”

“Fuck yeah!” At his response, Derek pulled back so that he was on his knees between Stiles’ legs, hand instantly stripping his cock in furious, jerky motions. Realising how close Derek was, Stiles moaned “Come all over me Derek – mark me as yours!”

Derek roared as though he was dying and came, splattering Stiles’ chest, stomach and dick with spurt after spurt of hot spend. Stiles had never imagined he would find it erotic to have someone come all over him, groaning as Derek began rubbing the still-warm, sticky fluid into hid skin, still growling the whole time before throwing himself next to Stiles on the bed.

They lay together, the silence is broken only by their heaving breaths as they recovered.

“Jesus fucking Christ, I think you’ve killed me.” Turning his head, Stiles smirked at the pole-axed look on Derek’s face.

“I – nothing in the world could have prepared me for you, Stiles.”

“Right back at ya.”

“Was it okay? I mean, we haven’t talked about – “

“It was hot! And I kinda got the feeling that me smelling like you is one of your kinks. Am I right?”

“Oh yeah – but you letting me do that was just so more than I imagined – and meant so much.”

“There was no letting you do anything – I was, and am, one hundred per cent on board with the whole marking me thing. Although I draw the line at pissing on me!”

“STILES! I have zero desire to piss on you – now or ever!” Stiles’ broke down into giggles at the outraged look on Derek’s face. His laughter faded as the expression changed, softened. “I love watching and hearing you laugh.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. You laugh with your whole body – it’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

“Note to self, orgasms make Derek sappy.”

“Not orgasms – you.” Derek shifted to his side and leaned over, kissing Stiles gently on the mouth. Stiles kissed him back just as gently, wishing he had the words to express how he felt. “Do you have to go back to your Dad’s or can you stay over?”

“I can stay – he’s pulling an all-nighter.”

“Good.” Without saying anything else, Derek stretched to turn off the lamp, throwing the room into darkness. He pulled Stiles into his arms as he settled.

“You do realise if we don’t shower or at least wipe off, we’re gonna be stuck together in the morning.”

“You’re worth losing a few pubic hairs for. Now shut up – I’m trying to enjoy the afterglow.” Smiling, Stiles closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him.

Chapter Text

Stiles did his best to ignore Peter’s obvious smirk, burying his face in his mug of coffee to hide his red cheeks.

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“I can hear what you’re thinking.”

“I do hope not – sometimes my thoughts about you are less than familial, and I would hate for Derek to try to kill me.”

“You know, I don’t think you’re half as sleazy as you make yourself out to be.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Stiles. Ah, good morning, Derek.” Stiles watched, bemused, as Derek shuffled into the kitchen, obviously half asleep. Without responding to Peter’s greeting, Derek walked over and plopped himself down into the chair next to Stiles, With a sigh, he dropped his head onto Stiles’ shoulder and closed his eyes.

“You okay, Der?” A grunt was his only response and Stiles smiled, charmed despite himself.

“Oh gag, I can’t cope with this before coffee! And couldn’t you two have showered before you came down? Some of us have sensitive noses!” Cora clattered about loudly, obviously disappointed at the complete lack of response from her brother.

“I distinctly remember you and Isaac being a similar level of nauseating when you first got together.” Cora scowled at Peter before finishing making two cups of coffee and stomping back out of the room. “Although she does have a point – even a human nose would be able to discern your aroma – I would ensure you shower before the Sheriff sees you, Stiles.”

“Will do.” Finishing his coffee, Stiles gently pushed Derek’s head off his shoulder and forced him to sit upright. “I better check in with my Dad before he gets back home and starts calling around looking for me.”

Derek whined, obviously loathe to let him go. He opened his eyes and made a discernible effort to wake up.

“Will you come back afterwards? Lydia says there’s a thunderstorm brewing so we’re thinking of playing a game of baseball.”

“Why do you need a thunderstorm before you can play?”

“You have to come back to find out.”

“Yeah, okay, cool.”

“Don’t you think it’s time I met your Dad? Like, officially?”

“I guess you could meet him this afternoon if you come and pick me up?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I don’t see why not.” The smile on Derek’s face was rewarding enough for Stiles to decide that however awkward the meeting was, it was worth it. “If I leave now, I can spend a bit of time with Dad, catch up with Scotty and pack a bag to stay overnight. You okay with giving me a ride to school tomorrow?”

“Sure.” Derek’s beaming smile belied the casual tone of his voice.

“You got enough room in that car of yours?”

“Cora can walk in.”

“And, definitely one of those times when I’m glad I don’t have siblings.” With a sigh, Stiles checked his watch. “I gotta leave now.” Ignoring Derek’s rather adorable pout (and Peter’s snort), Stiles pressed a kiss to Derek’s cheek. “Just think of me smelling of you as I go back to my Dad’s. Your scent will be in my room there – doesn’t that sound good?” Derek seemed appeased which made the decision not to shower before he came down for coffee worthwhile. “See you at about 1?” Derek nodded and not wanting to give Peter a chance for any further teasing, Stiles grabbed his jacket and headed out.

Freshly showered, caught up on all of his homework, and waiting for his Dad to get back, Stiles logged on and started a game of Halo with Scott.

“So, how are things with you and Kira?”

“Really, really good! And her parents like me, which is awesome because I can’t afford to fail History because Mr Yukimura doesn’t like me dating his daughter.”

“Ah, the perils of dating a teacher’s daughter!”

“Speaking of perils...”

“Hmm?”

“So, you and Hale?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t like it – I don’t like the way he looks at you. He looks at you like he’s starving and you’re something to eat.” Stiles couldn’t explain to Scott why that had him laughing hysterically.

His Dad was cleaning his guns at the dining room table whilst drinking a beer when 1 p.m. rolled around. A text from Derek warned him of his imminent arrival, and Stiles realised the moment had come whether he was ready for it or not. He grabbed another beer, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to butter his father up just a little, went through to the dining room and placed it on the table.

“Hey – I got you another one.”

“Thanks.” He stood hesitantly, not quite sure what to say. In the end, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“I have a date with Derek Hale.” His Dad stopped polishing the barrel of his shotgun, piercing gaze coming to rest on Stiles.

“He’s a bit old for you, isn’t he?”

“Nope – he’s a junior, I’m a junior.” The Sheriff nodded but he didn’t resume cleaning. “I thought you liked the Hales.”

“And I thought you didn’t have your eye on anyone in town.”

“The Hales don’t live in town.” The Sheriff rolled his eyes, giving Stiles a sceptical look.

“Technically.”

“Look, Dad, he’s right outside.” Noah seemed surprised then thoughtful.

“He is, huh?”

“Yeah – he wanted to meet you. Officially.”

“He wants to meet me?” Stiles nodded, nibbling at his bottom lip nervously. “Alright – bring him in.”

“Dad – like, could you be nice? Please? He’s – well, he’s important to me.” They looked at each other and Noah seemed to be searching for something in his son’s eyes. Whatever it was, he appeared to see what he was looking for because he nodded gravely, then made a halo gesture around the top of his head, as though promising to be angelic. Stiles didn’t trust it in the slightest but he figured it was the best he was going to get. He went to the door to let Derek in, breath taken away momentarily by the way his boyfriend looked at him. He would never get used to that.

Reluctantly leading Derek in through the living room to the dining area, he saw that his Dad had resumed cleaning his guns, although he’d obviously taken the time to put his Sheriff’s badge prominently on the table. Subtle he was not.

“Dad, this is Derek. Derek, you know my Dad. Ignore the gun-cleaning – he’s enjoying himself a little bit too much at my expense.”

“Sheriff Stilinski – it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Derek was using his polite voice, the one that had charmed Jackson so completely at the restaurant all of those weeks ago. Stiles almost rolled his eyes but he couldn’t complain that Derek was trying to make a good impression.

“Hey, Derek, nice to meet you. I know your mother well.”

“She always speaks highly of you.”

“So, you want to take my son out on a date?”

“Yes, if that’s alright with you. We’re just going to play baseball with my family – out in the Preserve.”

“Baseball? With your family?”

“Yes, sir – that’s the plan.” At hearing they were going to be in a group setting, Noah seemed to relax. “My mother and Uncle Peter will be there – mother says we cheat so we need an umpire.”

“Well, Stiles should fit right in – he always cheats, especially at Monopoly.”

“Dad!”

“Just telling the truth, kiddo. You boys have fun.”

“Thank you, sir.” Derek turned and headed towards the door, obviously relieved to have survived the encounter. Stiles followed him, already plotting revenge against his Dad in the form of swapping his coffee for decaf.

“Hey, Stiles.” He turned back to his father, hand already on the door. “You still got that mace I gave you?” Stiles slammed the door on his father’s laughter.

Chapter Text

”I don’t always cheat.”

“What?” Derek turned from leading Stiles through some trees.

“What my Dad said – I don’t always cheat.” Derek laughed, holding back a branch so that Stiles could pass safely.

“To be honest, I was just really pleased to get out of there without being shot.” Stiles gasped as they suddenly stepped out into a huge expanse of space that he would never have found on his own. In the clearing, the bases were being set up by Boyd and Erica, whilst Isaac and Cora were standing talking. It was the first time Stiles had seen Talia in casual clothes and they suited her, making her look much too young to have a daughter Laura’s age.

Laura and Peter appeared from the side carrying a large cooler and baseball equipment, including a helmet that Laura unexpectedly threw at Stiles, saying “Think fast!”

“Laura!” With only a slight fumble, Stile managed to catch the helmet before giving Laura the finger.

“I figured his delicate human head needed some protection – brains are always a little icky when they’re oozing out of someone’s head, and knowing Stiles’ luck, he’ll get hit with a stray ball.”

“You are so grody!” Talia was smiling at her children’s antics, turning to hug Stiles and scent him by rubbing her cheek against his. It had taken a little getting used to initially, but now Stiles was almost used to how tactile almost all of the pack were.

“Come on, Stiles, you can stand with me and act as umpire.”

“She thinks we cheat,” said Peter, looking suave as only he could whilst wearing a baseball uniform.

“I know YOU cheat!” Talia replied and Peter laughed. Lydia appeared, dressed in full baseball regalia yet still looking elegant. There was a faraway expression on her face that Stiles had begun to associate with her looking ‘past’ everything that everyone else could see.

“It’s time.” Just as she spoke, a rumble of thunder made Stiles jump.

“So why do you guys need to wait for a thunderstorm?” Talia smiled at the question, watching as Derek set himself up in the ‘batting square’.

“You’ll see.”

Cora was pitching, with Isaac, Boyd and Erica spread far out, way past the bases. Stiles watched, mouth agape in awe as Cora threw the ball at Derek. He was glad he wasn’t standing in the way as the ball fairly whistledwith the speed it was headed for Derek. Derek swung the bat with practised ease, smacking the speeding ball with a loud thwack that did indeed sound like thunder. It went flying, shooting past Isaac and way further. He launched himself towards first base, strong and arms and legs pumping as he ran with supernatural speed.

“Jesus, I finally understand why you have to wait for thunder – and why high school sports are not exactly a challenge!” Derek was a blur of motion, passing third by the time Isaac reappeared with the ball in hand. He didn’t stop running, heading for fourth even as Erica sprinted over to catch the ball Isaac was throwing. Derek made it ‘home’ with a beautiful slide and Stiles felt like he should be giving a round of applause.

“Safe!” shouted Talia as Derek stood up, dusting himself off and laughing at something Erica said.

“Derek, stop showing off for your mate.” That came from Laura as she stepped up to bat.

“You’re just jealous because you can’t slide to save your life!”

There followed one of the most bizarre baseball games Stiles had ever seen. Laura was competent, Peter was efficient, but Derek was absolutely amazing. Stiles was treated to displays of werewolf physical prowess that he had never expected, including Isaac practically flying up a tree to catch a ball like it was nothing.

“That’s my monkey man!” Cora exclaimed with pride and Stiles laughed, enjoying the sight of Isaac blushing at the compliment. When Isaac, Boyd, Cora and Erica were batting, Lydia took over pitching, an elegance to her movements making it look like she was dancing as she tried to annihilate her family with her fastball.

Derek and Peter collided in mid-air trying to catch the ball that Boyd struck, collapsing on the ground together laughing whilst Boyd ran a comfortable home run. There was an awkward moment when Isaac tried to slide into base and Stiles had to call him as out. He growled at Stiles, baring his teeth until Cora walked over and took him by the arm, saying “Babe, it’s just a game.”

Lydia was just about to pitch to Erica when she suddenly froze, staring into space.

“Lyds?” Derek ran over to her as she dropped the ball, a look of fear on her face.

“STOP!”

“What is it?”

“They were leaving, then they heard us. They’re coming.” Derek rushed over to Stiles, grabbing up his backpack.

“Let’s go.”

“It’s too late.” Peter was herding Lydia towards the rest of the family, her distress obvious to all.

“Put your hood up.”

“Like that’s gonna help – I could smell him clear over the other side of the field.” Isaac sounded more worried than scornful and Stiles wondered just who ‘they’ were.

“I’m sorry – I shouldn’t have brought you out here.”

“What? Derek, what the hell is going on?”

“Just – be quiet and stand behind me. If we have to go, it’ll be quick so just – stay close, okay?” Stiles nodded, still completely clueless as to what was going on.

From the far side of the field, three people appeared – two men and a woman. It seemed incongruous, but one of the men was carrying a walking stick, tapping the ground as he went. If he was blind, it didn’t seem to be slowing him down at all and he was in the lead. As they got closer, Stiles could see the leader was wearing dark shades, whilst the woman wore no shoes, her long dark hair tangled about her head and shoulders, adding to the air of wildness that emanated from her.

The second man was huge, easily towering over Derek and Peter, slightly taller than Boyd, He looked brutish, his face roughly hewn, the twisted smile on his face uncomfortable to see. Stiles realised he was looking at the rogue wolf pack that had eaten Haines, and a shudder of fear went over him.

“Good afternoon.” The blind wolf spoke, his voice urbane and civilised.

“Good afternoon.” Talia’s casual demeanour was entirely gone, her alpha aura around her like a cloak of armour.

“I am Deucalion. My companions are Ennis and Kali.”

“I’m Talia Hale and this is my family.” Talia gestured to the pack as a whole rather than introducing them individually. “I’m afraid your hunting activities have caused something of a mess for us.”

“Our apologies – we were simply passing through. We didn’t realise the territory had been formally claimed.”

“We maintain a permanent residence here – the Hales have held this land for decades.” Deucalion bowed his head in acknowledgement of the rebuke.

“Well, we won’t be a problem for you any longer. The humans were tracking us but we led them east.”

“Yes – your tame existence should be safe,” Kali spoke with a sneer in her voice and Stiles felt himself bristling with indignation at the slur. Talia didn’t respond to the baiting tone.

“Thanks.”

“So, could you use a couple more players – Kali and Ennis haven’t had a good game in a while and it would be pleasant to chat.” Deucalion’s tone of voice was silky and respectful but Stiles felt that out of the three of them, Deucalion was probably the most dangerous.

“We were actually just getting ready to leave – the thunderstorm is almost over.”

“Ah, but surely you have time for one more game?”

“Sure, why not?” That came from Peter, stepping up on Talia’s left side with a smile. “A few of us were just leaving so you could take their place.” Casually tossing the ball up and down in his hand, he suddenly threw it at Ennis. Kali stepped in, catching it with a feral grin.

“Actually, I’m the one with the wicked curveball.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can handle anything you care to throw at us.”

“We shall see – “ Kali turned as though to head towards the pitching mound but stopped when Deucalion spoke.

“What a delightful scent – is one of you newly mated?” Derek’s grip on Stiles's arm became almost painful as he began to edge them backwards.

“We try not to discuss such matters openly – I’m sure you understand. Hunters are always looking for reasons to assume we have given in to our baser instincts.” Trying to follow Derek’s slow movements away from the pack, Stiles thought for a moment that they had been successful in avoiding confrontation, but then Deucalion raised his head, sniffing the air.

“Your new pack-mate is a spark? How – rare.”

“The boy is under the protection of my pack.”

“He’s human!” The stunned comment came from Kali and Stiles saw Deucalion’s eyes flare red even through the darkness of his shades. Suddenly the whole Hale pack were on alert, a low growl from Derek making the hair on the back of Stiles’ neck stand on end.

“I think this game is over.” Peter’s voice was threatening and Stiles watched as Deucalion appeared to assess the situation.

“Yes. Perhaps it is time for us to take our leave. For now.” Bowing his head in Talia’s direction, he turned to Ennis and Kali. “Let’s go.”

The Hale Pack watched, still on full alert, as the three werewolves walked away in the direction they had initially appeared, Kali giving a final look over her shoulder.

“What the hell is a spark?!”

Chapter Text

”Are you saying that he’s going to be after me?” Stiles managed to hold his questions until they were back at the Hale house, but with the whole pack in the living room it felt time to get some answers. Derek was pacing back and forth, talking to himself under his breath.

“If Deucalion is right – “

“Yeah?”

“A spark is capable of magic – far more powerful than simply handling mountain ash.”

“What does that mean for Stiles?”

“We’ll need to speak to Deaton.”

“What – Deaton, the town vet?”

“He’s the Druid I spoke to you about, the one who directed Lydia to us.”

“You’re talking about the vet that Scott works for? He’s a druid?” Stiles felt like he’d entered some sort of twilight zone.

“Everyone needs a day job, Stiles.” Peter sounded like himself, but Stiles could see that he was worried.

“Do I need to be concerned about my father? If Deucalion could scent that I’m a – a spark from that far away, could he track me – to my Dad’s house I mean?”

“He won’t go near your father, Stiles. He won’t want to tangle with law enforcement.”

“So what does he want?”

“I’ve read about sparks. They’re revered in the supernatural community, and also highly desirable, especially a human spark.” Lydia sounded distracted and seemed a bit ‘spacey’ and Stiles wondered what she was seeing.

“So he wants me? And I guess a straight-forward ’no thanks, dude, you’re old enough to be my father’ won’t work?”

“If he turned you, made you his beta – you wouldn’t be able to say no to anything. Even untrained, a spark can achieve amazing things.”

“Jesus, can’t we just kill him and his creepy little entourage?” Erica was tucked up against Boyd’s side on one of the sofas. “All three of them give off ‘bad touch’ vibes if you ask me.”

“All three of them were Alphas – I could feel it.” Laura was sat alone near one of the bookcases. “Mom, how is it possible that all three of them in a pack were alphas? I thought Derek was an anomaly.”

“I have heard of it – of an Alpha Pack.”

“There are rumours – alphas that turn on their packs, kill them all for their power. But I didn’t believe that anyone would actually do something like that. Peter – do you think they are after the territory?”

“If it was me – I would want Stiles and the territory. Deucalion could build a formidable pack that way. And I have heard of an alpha, blinded by Gerard Argent – there can’t be two of them. If he could take our territory, take over and build the pack with a spark – he might be able to get revenge on Argent and survive any consequences.”

“But they said they hadn’t known the territory was claimed.”

“That’s bullshit. There’s been a Hale on these lands for far too long for anyone to claim such ignorance.” They sat in silence, each of them absorbing the threat that they were under.

“So, well kill them – all three of them.”

“Isaac – “

“What? They’re a threat to the pack, to the peace we’ve achieved and maintained. They need to be dealt with – and before the Argents use it as an excuse.” Talia looked uncomfortable with the idea, but Stiles was shocked to see the others all seemed to agree with Isaac’s blunt statement. Including Derek. Erica had at least sounded like she was joking but Isaac was deadly serious.

“We were driven off our land once. Not again.” Derek was resolute. “And he is not going to lay one finger on Stiles.” He stood in front of his mother, silently demanding an answer, his gaze challenging. Talia looked back at her son for a few moments and then nodded.

“Agreed. We prepare for battle.”

“Are you telling me I can’t go home?” Stiles stared at Derek, disbelief written all over his face. Derek looked uncomfortable.

“Erica and Boyd are watching over your Dad. Mom’s right – it’s doubtful Deucalion would do anything to him but we still need to be careful.”

“So, what, we just tell him I’m on an extended sleepover? That isn’t going to work Derek.”

“No. You tell him you’ve seen animals close to the house and you’re a little freaked out and scared when he’s he working nights. You’re staying here – in separate rooms of course.”

“Oh, of course.” His sarcasm went completely over Derek’s head, who was clearly in planning mode.

“We’ll need to lure Deucalion somewhere away from people. We don’t want innocent casualties.”

“Jesus Christ, this cannot be real.” Derek seemed to realise Stiles was freaking out and stopped talking, pulling him into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry, Stiles. This was all of the shit I didn’t want you to have to deal with, why I tried to stay away from you in the beginning.”

Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek’s waist, taking deep breaths as he tried to ground himself.

“Is there really no other way?”

“Not if this is about you and territory. You know the atrocities Deucalion is responsible for just lately – I cannot imagine what a war zone Beacon Hills could turn into if he manages to achieve what he’s after.” Stiles nodded, accepting the truth of Derek’s words.

“Hey Stiles, could you do me a favour?”

“Sure, Scotty, what do you need?”

“I had a phone call from Kate Argent – she says she’s been trying to get hold of me about some damage we caused when we were last at the arcade.”

“What did you guys do?”

“It wasn’t me – I was with Kira and we barely let off a shot all night. But Jackson and Aiden got into it about something and caused a bit of damage.”

“So, why doesn’t Jackson deal with it?”

“My name on the paperwork. Will you come with? You’ve been busy with Derek most of the weekend, and it would be cool to see you.”

“Sure. Do you mind if I bring Isaac? We were hanging out at Derek’s place and I don’t want to just ditch him.”

“No, that’s cool. Meet you at the arcade – in about an hour?”

“Sounds good.”

“Remind me why this is a good idea? And just why I had to be the one to come with you?” Isaac gave Stiles a glare from the passenger seat.

“Because. Now shut up – I’m concentrating.” The entire drive to the arcade, Stiles’ mind was racing. It felt like there was too much going on to think clearly. The house was full of tension, Talia tight-lipped, whilst Peter displayed none of his normal casual sass as he checked over the security around the house. He hated to think that he had brought all of this down onto the Hales – it just seemed unfair. They arrived and parked up next to the dirt bike Scott had finally been able to buy, Isaac getting out of the car first and checking for signs of Deucalion. Stiles took the precaution of pre-dialling Derek’s number so that all he had to do was press call if something went wrong.

With a nod from Isaac, Stiles led the way into the arcade, seeing Scott at the counter with Kate Argent.

“Hey, Stiles, Isaac – thanks for coming at such short notice. Kate was just going to take me through to the main arena where she says the damage is.”

“Hey Scotty – anything for you, bud, you know that.” Kate gave Isaac a strange look but didn’t question his presence, leading them through to the main battle arena which looked strange with all of the lights on.

“Where did you say the damage was?” Scott turned to look at Kate, mouth dropping open in shock as she took in the gun she had pulled and was pointing at the three of them. “What the actual fuck?!”

“Poor Scott – you really have no idea what you’ve got yourself into the middle of, do you?”

Chapter Text

”Lady, you are bug-nuts crazy!”

“Ah ah ah!” Kate turned the gun onto Isaac as he made an abortive move forwards. “None of that, young mutt.”

“Kate – what do you want? We’re a little bit preoccupied with important stuff at the moment.” Stiles pressed the button on his phone, keeping his voice steady as he stepped in front of Scott to keep him out of the line of fire.

“Oh, I know. Who do you think pushed Deucalion and his two psychopaths in the direction of the Hales?” She laughed. “Of course, we’re well aware of his intention to double-cross us and make an attempt on my father’s life – we’re prepared. But in the meantime, we get rid of the biggest pack in the area with minimal damage to hunters. Works out if you ask me.”

“So, your first attempt all those years ago didn’t work, so what – you thought you’d sub-contract?”

“Why allow humans to die when you animals can fight it out between you? And if you beat Deucalion, then no harm, no foul. It couldn’t be led back to our door.”

“You are a sick fuck.”

“Don’t presume to judge me. We know all about you, Stilinski – we researched your family name. So we know you’re less than human. Hardly a loss if you ask me, human or no. After all, you’ve mated into that Pack, haven’t you? We’ve seen you with Derek.”

“Stiles, what the hell is going on? Kate – I have no idea what you’re talking about. Is there damage here or not?”

“A few bricks short of a wall, aren’t you Scott? There is no damage – I just needed someone completely unrelated to all of this to get young Stiles here. If you hadn’t had him come and meet you voluntarily, I was going to make you call him – you just did some of my dirty work for me.”

“How is Deucalion going to react when he finds out you killed me – which I assume is part of your plan? I’m the one he wants.”

“Deucalion will be here soon enough – then I’ll hand you over. No doubt, Derek and his mangy mutts will give chase and voila, at least one less set of animals in Beacon Hills.” Kate made a gesture with the gun. “Go sit against the wall, all three of you. And no funny business – we wouldn’t want this to go off by accident.” They obeyed, moving towards the nearest wall and sliding down onto the floor.

“Stiles – what the hell is she talking about?”

“I’ll explain everything, Scotty.”

“Will you? Oh, this should be good – I’m all ears.” Kate spoke sarcastically, checking her watch as she did so.

“Okay, Scott, so what do you know about werewolves?”

“Oh my God, now is not the time – “

“Shut up and listen! Go on, Stiles – tell him just who you’ve got in that school, masquerading as humans.”

“Have you ever heard of the Beast of Gévaudan? – “

By the time Stiles had finished the whole story, Kate was sat opposite them, gun casually held in one of her hands. Scott was looking alternately shocked and entranced, the romance between Stiles and Derek one of the highlights. Isaac had agreeably shown his beta shift to assist with the show-and-tell portion of events, to which Scott had merely exclaimed ‘whoa!’

“So, now Deucalion wants to take over the Hale territory and yours truly, apparently ably assisted by our resident psycho lady over there. And now you’re completely up to date. I am so sorry you’ve been caught in the cross-fire Scott.”

“That is just amazing!! I cannot believe all of this has been going on under my nose all of this time and I never knew!” He turned to Isaac. “Is this why whenever I asked you to hang out, you said no?”

“Partly. And partly because I didn’t want your pity – I know what people were saying about me after my Dad.”

“Dude – I didn’t pity you. I felt kinda bad for what you’d gone through but I just thought you seemed cool. So, maybe after this, we can hang out?”

“Umm, Scott – you did catch the bit where cannibalistic werewolves are headed this way, right?”

“Oh, yeah.” Stiles felt sorry for him, but before he could say anything else, there was a tapping noise and Deucalion, Kali and Ennis entered the arena.

“Ah, Ms Argent – you stuck to your end of the bargain. I’m impressed.” Kate stood up, taking a step back to maintain the distance between herself and the werewolves. “A shame your father couldn’t be here this evening – I would have liked to see him again.”

“Less chat. Just take Stilinski and the Hale pup and go.”

“Are you in the habit of leaving witnesses?”

“Fine – you can take him too. I was going to arrange for an accident but you might as well have it.”

“Excellent – I would imagine young Stiles might be a tad peckish once he’s changed and a meal readily available will be useful.”

“Ew!!! You think I’m gonna eat one of my best buddies?”

“I’m your best buddy? Cool!”

“You’ll do as you’re told, you insolent little shit!” Kali was obviously on edge, scowling at Stiles and Scott.

“If you knew anything about me at all, you’d know that I very rarely do what I’m told. And I’m certainly not taking orders from someone who clearly needs a pedicure as much as you do.” Before Kali could respond, the lights went out leaving them in complete darkness.

“What the hell – Argent, if this is a double-cross – “

“As if I could get myself stuck in here with you mutts!” Grabbing Scott’s hand and placing his hand on Isaac’s shoulder, Stiles followed as the werewolf used his vision to move into the smaller battle arena where there were nooks and crannies where they could hide. Stiles could hear Kate and Deucalion arguing behind them and he hoped they kept at it – if the Alphas realised they’d moved, things could get even more awkward. “Stay back – these are a rare type of mountain ash bullets and I sincerely doubt you could find a cure in time to save yourselves.”

There were sounds of a struggle and two shots rang out.

“Shit – Isaac, can you lead Scott out of here?”

“The exit is back the way we came. We’ll have to wait until Derek, Peter and the Pack deal with whoever’s left after those shots.”

“Scott, get down into the corner – unless it’s one of the Hales, just stay down, okay?”

“Got it.”

“Isaac?”

“Yeah?”

“You can go help out if you want.”

“Derek told me categorically to stay here and protect you.”

“Do I look like I need protecting? No, don’t answer that.” Stiles pulled out his ever-present canister of mace. “I modified this – it’s got mountain ash in it. It’ll get Kate or any of those mother-fuckers if they try to get close. Now, go help our pack – I know we outnumber them, but they’re alphas so it’s not gonna be easy and I’d rather we had more numbers on our side.”

“Okay. Thanks, Stiles.” Isaac patted him on the shoulder and Stiles heard him walking away. Using his outstretched arms to guide him in the darkness, Stiles felt for the wall then slid down to the ground, keeping the mace handy.

“Stiles?”

“Yeah, Scotty?”

“Apart from the life-threatening terror, this is kinda cool. Nothing like this ever happens in Beacon Hills.”

“Phoenix either, dude. Took coming here for my life to turn into an episode of Supernatural.” They sat in silence, listening to the distant sound of fighting, animal growls and shouting. It felt like it went on forever, and Stiles couldn’t stop biting his nail wondering if his pack-mates were okay. Derek had said they didn’t want any innocent casualties, but Stiles didn’t want any of his pack to be hurt – he just wanted this over.

Peter had been convinced there was more to the whole meeting with Deucalion than had originally appeared to be the case, and paranoia combined with the Argent name had made them wonder if this was once again Kate using a werewolf to do her dirty work. Derek had been resistant to the idea of using Stiles as bait at all, but he had finally listened to reason especially when Stiles agreed to take Isaac along as his bodyguard. There was too much danger of Kate just shooting Derek if he came along, but Isaac was unknown to her and they thought she might perceive him as less of a threat. He flexed his fingers around the can of mace, knowing if he held on too tightly he wouldn’t be able to use it if the time came. He just wanted this over with.

“Oh look, there you are!” Stiles looked up in horror as Kate appeared in front of them, a torch in her hand and her gun pointed in their direction. He stood up quickly, trying to keep Scott behind him whilst hiding the mace.

“Look, Kate – “

“No! I’ve heard enough of your voice! You’ve wrecked this entire plan and now you’re going to pay!”

Chapter Text

Kate raised the gun and without giving himself time to stop and think, Stiles threw himself in her direction, spraying the mace where he thought her face was. She screamed and there was the bang of a gunshot, deafening him as he shoved her backwards. She staggered backwards but kept her grip on the gun and the torch and desperate, Stiles grabbed at her. They struggled against each other, fighting for ownership of the weapon. He had his hands wrapped around her wrist, pushing her arm upwards so that she couldn’t get off another shot. She pulled the trigger, the noise loud even to his compromised hearing but then clicking registered and let him know the gun was empty.

With all of his might, he pulled his arm back and punched forwards, a loud crack announcing that he had broken her nose and his hand as well. Lights came on, blinding him momentarily, but he didn’t let it stop him as he rode her body down onto the ground and kept punching.

“Stiles, STILES!! You can stop now – stop!” He struggled against the hands trying to pull him off of Kate before finally registering that it was Derek. He allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, falling into Derek’s arms and sobbing as he realised it was over. A quick glance around showed all of the pack apart from Erica and Boyd – they looked a bit battered and bedraggled but all of them were there and in one piece. He looked down at Kate, not proud of his actions but not feeling sorry for her at all.

“Derek!” Isaac tugged at Derek’s arm, pulling him over to where Scott was prone on the ground, blood seeping sluggishly from a wound on his chest. “He’s been shot.”

“Oh my God!”

“How bad is it?”

“He’s got minutes, if that. You need to make a decision.”

“I can’t – I barely know him!”

“Change him! If it will save him, bite him – please Derek! He’s only here because of me!”

“Mom – “

“Do it, Derek. We’ll sort out the ramifications afterwards.” Nodding at his mother, Derek knelt next to Scott and pushed the side of his shirt up. He changed to his beta shift, eyes glowing red and Stiles watched as he leant over and carefully bit Scott on the side.

“We need to move – Lydia has gone outside and is calling Chris Argent to come and sort this out. This time, his sister will face the Hunter Council’s justice – and hopefully his father too. Cora, Isaac, grab – “

“Scott.”

“ – yeah, Scott. Grab him and put him in my car. We’ll get him back to the house and monitor his change. Derek, you bring Stiles and Isaac can drive that car back. Does everyone know what they’re doing?” Everyone nodded at Peter in acknowledgement, and they began to move, gathering up anything that could identify them as having been there. Stiles deliberately didn’t look at what was left of Deucalion, Ennis and Kali, not wanting that imagery in his head. Instead, he was happy to be pressed against Derek’s side, letting himself be guided out of the arcade and to the vehicles outside.

“I’ll bring Scott’s bike – besides, I’m the only one who can ride.” Laura gently reached into Scott’s pocket for his keys before turning to climb onto his bike. Stiles allowed himself to be folded into Derek’s car, not protesting when Derek did up his seat belt like he was a child. He had had enough adulting for the day – he was perfectly happy to have someone take care of him for a little while.

Fiddling with his tie, Stiles looked himself over once more in the mirror. How the hell he had been convinced to go to Prom was still something of a mystery to him: his tickets to Jacksonville had miraculously been swapped so that he could visit with Aunt Willow later in the year, and he found himself being convinced to get himself a new suit as the only one he owned was from his mother’s funeral and besides the ew factor, it didn’t fit him any longer.

Perhaps he could lay the blame for this squarely at Peter’s feet. Peter had volunteered as a parent chaperone and was escorting Melissa Delgado who he’d been spending quite a lot of time with since the whole incident at the Argent Arcade. He was actually attending more as a ‘Scott’ chaperone, to ensure that the young werewolf maintained control and wasn’t overwhelmed by the large group of people. So, no, maybe he couldn’t really blame Peter. That and Peter’s new alpha status courtesy of Kali meant Stiles wasn’t inclined to argue with the man. Peter was adjusting to his new status well, but Stiles wasn’t going to test his control.

Maybe Scott? Scott had used what could literally be described as puppy dog eyes to beg Stiles to attend. There was still a lot of residual guilt for the way things had gone down and how Kate Argent had used Scott to get Stiles to the arcade. Everyone insisted it wasn’t his fault but Scott had been shot and turned into a werewolf – life-changing events that were, in the main, because of Stiles. Scott had adapted amazingly well to being a werewolf and had been easily accepted into Derek’s Pack. Melissa had been shocked initially, but several nights out with Peter, an in-depth discussion with Talia, and the realisation that the alternative was that her son was dead and she had adjusted.

Derek’s Pack could bear some responsibility definitely. They were much more involved at school, Scott acting as a natural bridge between his circle of friends and his new Pack members until more often than not they ended up pushing two tables together during lunch to accommodate the two groups. Erica, Cora and Lydia had gone shopping with Kira for her Prom dress, and they had rapidly become a regular sight around the school. Some people had taken to calling them ‘The Coven’ but Lydia seemed to find it more amusing than anything else so that wasn’t an issue.

Boyd went where Erica went, and Isaac had relaxed a lot now that the two main threats to the Pack had been handled. His relationship with Stiles seemed to have settled into guarded respect (with a side order of antagonistic and sarcastic), mainly because it had been Stiles’ plan and willingness to act as bait that had got rid of both the Argents and the Alpha Pack with no casualties to the family. Chris Argent had cleaned up the remains at the Arcade and delivered his father and sister to the Hunter’s Council for justice. He had also offered reparations to the Hales, but Talia had graciously refused, stating that maintaining the truce was payment enough. Chris had also informed them that they would not be hearing from either Kate or Gerard ever again, and no one had asked exactly what happened to them – Stiles had wanted to forget he had ever met Kate Argent.

Obviously, the main culprit was Derek. Apart from the enticing prospect of seeing his mate dressed up in a suit, Derek had sweetened the deal by telling Stiles they would have their own private after-party. It seemed that Derek was determined that Stiles would enjoy many of the Prom traditions, including a room booked at a swank hotel on the outskirts of Beacon Hills.

Privacy had been at a premium with a newly turned werewolf at the Hale house, and Derek took his responsibilities as an alpha seriously – spending a lot of time with Scott helping him through his initial confusion and difficulties. So, yeah, Derek and his kisses and his promises of more were the real reason Stiles was dressed up in a ridiculously expensive suit courtesy of Peter, and even the cast on his hand didn’t detract too much from the overall look.

Peter had promised to teach Stiles to fight properly without injuring himself, saying it was a rookie mistake to make breaking several bones in his hand punching someone in the face. That had been fun to explain to his Dad. The Sheriff was under the impression that Stiles had broken his hand whilst playing baseball. It had had a slightly detrimental effect on his relationship with Derek – Noah had trusted him to take care of Stiles while they were together, and returning from his first official date with Derek in a cast had not gone down well.

Stiles knew that at some point he would have to fill his father in on all of the supernatural happenings – however much he might want to keep his Dad away from all of that, his involvement was inevitable. After all, Stiles was all but werewolf-married! That, and the fact that Melissa had insisted that Noah had a right to know and Peter agreed with her.

Stiles was scheduled to begin his ‘Spark’ training with Deaton over the summer and he was excited to see how that turned out. He had no idea if he was going to be a powerful spark, but initial tests had Deaton saying that Stiles showed serious potential. Talking with his Aunt Willow, she hadn’t been as surprised as he might have expected – apparently, the magic came from his maternal line. She had promised him a few of his Mother’s important textbooks and full disclosure when he and Derek went to visit.

Hearing the sound of the doorbell and realising that Derek had arrived, Stiles fluffed up his hair one final time and decided that this was as good as it was going to get. Pocketing the mountain ash infused mace by habit (you never knew what or who was going to be out there), he left his room and clattered down the stairs.

He had a prom to get through and a private after-party to enjoy.