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Chapter Text

“I hate you.” Allison muttered.

Stiles barely even budged and she couldn’t see his eyes behind the stupid glasses he had stolen from the last gas station they stopped at. Their dad hadn’t said a word when he saw Stiles slide them on.

“I hate you more.” He replied.

Allison shifted and turned her back on him. “This is all your fault.” She growled.

“Yep.” He said, letting the last letter pop out of his mouth. “Mom killing herself and the house burning to the ground, that was all me.”

“If you had just listened-”

“Well, I didn’t-”

“Both of you, shut up.” Their father growled from the front seat. They fought so viciously over the passenger seat that their father had sent them both into the back seat and piled the passenger seat with snacks and bags. The steering wheel creaked under his hands.

Stiles and Allison fell into silence.

***

Derek and Scott were leaning against the Camaro, soaking up the sunshine.

“Do you have any thoughts?” Scott after a long moment of silence. It was good to hang out with Derek, to just chill. Now that Peter was taken care of and it was just Derek and Scott looking out for each other, they could look towards a future that was further than two days from now.

“About?” Derek’s voice was as lazy as Scott felt.

“The pack. Have you seen anyone you think would be… good?” Scott asked. It was weird, talking to Derek like this. He was always so quiet, it was like pulling teeth from someone.

Derek was quiet for long enough for Scott to consider going back inside.

“You know, for a long time, it was just mom, me and you. And after that, after Peter came after you, after you came into your powers, after everything was said and done, it was just… me and you and mom. It feels weird to purposely build something.” Derek finally admitted.

“So you’ve been avoiding thinking about it.”

Derek shrugged.

Scott sighed.

They were silent again.

***

“Why this place?” Allison asked, sitting up straighter as they passed a sign welcoming them to Beacon Hills.

“I grew up here.” Chris replied gruffly.

Allison glanced over at Stiles who sat up straighter at his father’s words. He rarely spoke of the past.

“Why now?” Stiles asked after a moment.

There was a moment but the silence wasn’t as tense this time. “It seemed like the right time.” Their father said softly. Stiles slid his stolen sunglasses to sit on top of his head and glanced over at Allison. She shared his look and on the seat between them, she offered her hand. A habit as old as they were, Stiles traced a diamond on her palm before sliding his hand into hers.

They drove in silence for awhile before his dad sighed and turned down a street. “I think we’re lost.”

“Why don’t we ask those juvenile delinquents in front of that car?” Allison asked, pointing with the hand she still had locked around Stiles’ fingers. Chris wondered if they sometimes forgot that they were teenagers who were supposed to hate each other, but his twins had always been something else when it came to each other.

Chris took Allison’s advice and pulled up in front of the two guys. One looked to be about the twins age and the other a bit older. They both regarded Chris for a long moment before the younger one gave a tentative smile.

“Hi.” He said slowly.

“Hi.” Chris said.

Allison rolled down her window and propped her chin on her hand and stared at the two. Stiles scooted over, practically in his sister’s lap, and mimicked her posture. The younger guy stared at them and blinked.

“Can I help you with something?” The older guy asked when it seemed like the silence was going to become uncomfortable.

“Priest Street?” Chris asked. “I haven’t been in town for twenty years and these two are about as helpful as a bike is to a fish.”

The older guy gave a sort of almost smile before nodding down the street. “Continue that way about four more streets and it will be on your left.”

Chris nodded. “Thank you.” He rolled up his window and they drove away.

“Dad, why didn’t you tell us you grew up in a town where they grew models?”

“Stiles-”

***

Derek turned his attention to a silver SUV turning down the street and they both watched as it pulled to a stop in front of them. An older man rolled down the window and stared at them for a moment until Scott offered up a smile.

“Hi.” He said.

Derek remained silent but Scott could feel the tension in his shoulders.

“Hi.” The older man said, watching the two of them with steady eyes before flicking his eyes back to Scott’s house and Derek’s Camaro.

The window in the back rolled down and a girl about Scott’s age stared out at them. A second later, a guy about the same age scooted in closer to her and Derek and Stiles watched as they propped their chins in their hands, staring at the two of them with the same whiskey brown eyes, the same creamy, smooth skin, the same slightly upturned nose, the same smirk.

“Can I help you with something?” Derek asked.

Scott was entranced when the two in the back smiled slowly.

Chris watched Scott watch the two in the back. “Priest Street?” He asked.

Derek tipped his head down the street and the guy in the back followed Derek with his eyes. “Continue that way about four more streets and it will be on your left.”

The older man nodded. “Thank you.”

The two in the back gave Derek and Scott identical winks before rolling up the window and driving off.

“Holy hell.” Scott said.

“Looks like you got trouble on your hands.” Derek said with a smirk. He pushed Scott off his Camaro and opened the door. “Think about pack members. Anyone specific comes to mind, we’ll talk.”

Scott nodded, still staring at the SUV that was driving away.

***

On Monday, Stiles was sitting at the counter drinking his father’s coffee when Allison came down. There was a huge article on the front page of the newspaper about a mountain lion attack the day previous. Stiles didn’t even realize his father read the paper as opposed to getting it on his phone.

“Your car or mine?” She said.

“Would you actually agree to the Jeep?” He asked, glancing up at her.

“My car.” She said with a nod.

Chris came in and glanced at his children. Sometimes they reminded him of him and Kate so much that he got a sick twist in his gut. Kate, the perfect daughter, who had staged the twin’s mother’s death and burned down their house, thinking they were all inside. Kate, who was in a grave in the desert next to their father who had ordered the hit.

Chris schooled his face into an impassive mask, plucked his wallet off the table and handed both the kids money.

“Don’t fight anyone.” Chris said to Allison.

She sighed.

“And don’t smart off to the teachers.” He said to Stiles.

Stiles grinned.

“I’ll see you both at home right after school.” He ordered and both twins groaned. They picked up their backpacks, already loaded up with all their brand new, necessary supplies and went out to Allison’s car. They sat in silence for a moment, staring at the garage door to their new house.

“Everything here is so new.” Allison muttered.

“It smells like plastic and paint.” Stiles agreed.

“Even our clothes are new.” Allison said.

“I want to go home.” Stiles added.

“I miss mom.” They both said. They didn’t look at each other or even try to console themselves. They had been through this before; the crying, the sleepless nights, even when they hovered near each other. After their mom’s death, the stagnant rumors of them being too close had picked up steam and when Allison was hauled into the principal’s office for the third time in a week for fighting, Chris decided that a move was in their best interest. The police and arson investigators hadn’t found anything and their father’s less than savory contacts had nothing to tell them either. They left the small suburb outside of San Francisco and came south, settled in Beacon Hills.

Stiles let out a huff. “Let’s get this over with.”

Allison started the car and they drove to the school, where their father had registered them just the day before. They had only three classes together and it made Stiles’ fists clench. He was protective of his sister and she was just the same. When the fire happened, they closed ranks, didn’t even let their father close to them. When they were hurt they protected each other fiercely.

“The worst is going to be fifth period.” Allison said, picking up on his thoughts. “You’ll be upstairs in the northeast quadrant and I’ll be downstairs in the southwest quad.” She gritted her teeth and the ring on her left finger glinted in the light.

“I’ll be in history and you’ll be in chemistry.” Stiles said. “If we need to, there’s a bathroom in between us. We can meet there if anything happens.”

The Argent twins were raised in a time when school shootings and violence were a matter of fact. Their mother and father taught them to look out for one another and this was just one more plan.

“Lunch together and first class, so our lockers should be near each other.” Allison said as she pulled into a parking spot. Buses were unloading kids and they watched for a second before they opened their doors as one, swung their jackets on identically and shrugged into their backpacks, arms through the same loop. A guy and a girl got out of a Porsche a few spots away and Allison caught the girl’s eye as she studied both of them.

“Ready?” Stiles asked, looking at the school in front of them. Allison fell into step next to him, following her brother into the school. The students parted around them, staring. Neither of the Argents returned the look, stopping instead in front of their lockers. Down the hall, Stiles saw the guy who gave them directions before and nodded at him. The guy raised a hand to him but then his gaze turned troubled when he looked past them.

“Hi.” A sweet voice said from the other side of Allison.

“Hey.” Allison replied easily.

“I’m Lydia. That is a wonderful jacket.” She said plucking at Allison’s sleeve. Stiles caught the slight twitch in his sister’s body but Lydia didn’t. “Where did you get it?”

“My mom used to bring home sample pieces from when she worked from a designer. I can’t even remember which one this belonged to.” Allison said with a soft laugh.

The girl’s eyes widened. She was dressed like she worked at high fashion New York office, not a high school girl. “That’s amazing. And you are my new best friend.”

There was an inelegant snort from beside Lydia and Stiles closed his locker to see a jock type with a jaw sharp enough to cut diamonds standing behind Lydia. The guy caught Stiles’ eye but Stiles turned away, shoving a book inside his backpack and zipping it closed. He glanced up at Allison and tipped her head. She held up a finger and began rummaging through her locker.

“Is he deaf or something?” The guy behind Lydia asked. Lydia closed her eyes and Stiles could see the frustration written all over her.

“No, you idiot.” Stiles snapped back. This guy reminded him too much of the ones back at home that spread the rumors about him and Allison.

“What did you just say to me?” The guy said, straightening up to his full height which was still two inches shorter than Stiles.

“You heard me, you moron.” Stiles said.

Allison pulled a book out of her locker and slipped it into her bag. She closed it and the guy rounded her and came to stand in front of Stiles. “You little-”

“I wouldn’t.” Allison said softly, pulling lip gloss from her pocket. “I really, really wouldn’t.” There was enough warning and tension in her voice to stop the guy.

The guy hesitated and then sneered at Stiles. “You let her do all the talking for you?”

“Usually, yeah.” Stiles bit out. He was surprised when the guy from down the hall approached them, slowly.

“I do the talking because the last guy that tried anything with him ended up in the hospital for four days. They had to call in a plastic surgeon to fix his face.” Allison said casually. Lydia’s eyes tracked them both, studying them.

“Jackson, coach is looking for you.” The guy said suddenly.

Jackson looked over at the other guy before turning the opposite way and leaving them. Allison watched him go for a moment. “You should watch him.” She said to Lydia.

“Well.” Lydia shrugged. “I do what I can.” She looked over her shoulder before dismissing the guy entirely. “What class do you have first?”

“English.” Allison and Stiles said.

Lydia blinked at them and looked at the guy on the other side of Stiles. “Twins?” She asked.

“Could you tell?” Allison asked rolling her eyes.

Lydia laughed. “Come on, Scott and I have the same class.”

“You’re Scott?” Stiles asked the guy.

“Yeah.” Scott shifted his backpack and stuck out his hand. “And you are?”

“Stiles.” He tipped his head at Allison. “My sister Allison.”

Scott grinned, his whole face lighting up. “It’s nice to meet you guys.”

***

Turns out, Scott was probably the most amazing person that Stiles had met that wasn’t his own sister. Video games, nerd references and random comments that made Scott laugh were the highlight of Stiles’ day. Lydia and Allison were glued to each other’s sides by the end of the day. It was nice to get away from the place where they had grown up in; maybe their dad was right, maybe a new start is what they needed.

“So, this weekend.” Lydia began, turning to make sure that she had Scott and Stiles’ attention as she led the out the front doors. “We can go out to the Jungle, see what we can rustle up and take it from there. Thoughts? Scott, I’ll pick out your clothes.” She said with a sigh.

“I can’t go to the Jungle.” Scott hissed. He glanced around, as though he thought someone was watching him and was going to pop up from behind a bush at any moment. “What if my dad found out?”

“What’s he going to do? Arrest you?” Lydia asked.

“Yeah, he hasn’t this month.” Scott pointed out. Allison and Stiles looked at each other. “My dad’s the Sheriff.” Scott added.

“Oh.” Allison and Stiles said, nodding. “What’s the Jungle?” They asked together.

“Do people get used to that?” Lydia asked, gesturing to them.

“Our dad has.” Stiles said.

“No he hasn’t.” Allison said.

Stiles thought for a moment. “No. He hasn’t.”

“But we’ll go.” Allison said.

Lydia and Scott’s eyes bounced between them and waited for a second until they figured that Stiles and Allison were done. “Good.” Lydia said nodding. She poked Scott hard in the chest. “Tell your dad you are staying at Stiles’ place. He wants you to make new friends that aren’t scary.”

Scott sighed and looked up. “I’m going to get caught, arrested, and if Derek has to bail me out, I’m sending him to you for the money.”

Lydia laughed and waved as she walked away. She stopped by a different girl’s car and they talked for a second before Lydia gave her a hug and climbed into the other girl’s car.

“What about Jackson?” Allison asked.

“They probably broke up since this morning. They’ll probably be back together before school starts tomorrow.” Scott said with a small smirk. He shook his head.

“Hey, do you need a ride? It looks like we are going the same way-” Stiles started but stopped when a sleek black car rolled up in front of them, the same older guy in the driver’s seat. “Oh.” Stiles said softly.

“Derek. What are you doing here?” Scott asked.

“Hey.” Derek said noncommittally. He parked his shiny car and got out, leaning over the hood. “Dad couldn’t come get you so-”

“Guys, this is Derek, my older brother. Derek, this is Stiles and Allison.” Scott said.

Stiles and Allison swung their backpacks into the car and offered smiles to Derek who gave them the faintest upturn of his lips, barely a smile himself. “Nice to meet you.” He said, the smile disappearing before his sentence was finished. “Sorry, I didn’t get your last name?”

“Argent.” They both said, those identical smiles curling at their lips.

The silence fell heavy around all of them, like a curtain had fallen. Derek’s entire demeanor changed, his eyes hardened and what little smile had been on his own lips vanished completely. Scott’s gaze turned cold and a little hard too. He stepped away from them and closer to Derek. He actually reached a hand out and Stiles could imagine he was looking to put a hand on his brother. Instead, he found the car under his hand. Allison and Stiles exchanged a look, confused.

Derek blinked at them. “Scott.” He said softly, nodding to the car.

Scott opened the door and climbed in. He didn’t say another word to the Argent twins. Instead, his jaw clenched and his hands were fisted. He stared forward and Stiles saw the similarities between him and his older brother right then. Derek gunned the engine and left the parking lot in a squeal of tires. Stiles raised a hand to wave goodbye but thought better of it. He frowned and looked over at his sister. She looked thoughtful.

“They were interesting.” She remarked.

“Very.”

***

“Are they twins?” Derek asked.

“Yeah.” Scott said, pulling up Lydia’s number and texting her.

Derek snorted. Scott was silent as he made up an excuse to get him out of the weekend with Lydia and everyone else. She sent back an angry reply but he ignored it and slipped the phone into his pocket after he turned off the ringer.

“I didn’t know who they were.” Scott said softly.

Derek remained silent but knew that Scott was telling the truth.

“Are they all back?” Derek asked softly. Scott heard the skip in his heartbeat.

“I don’t know. They only mentioned their dad today.” Scott said.

Derek nodded and didn’t say anything until he pulled into the driveway. “We have to tell mom.”

“I know.” Scott said.

Chapter Text

“So.” Chris said as Stiles and Allison walked in and sat at the counter. He put down the newspaper he was reading. “How was it?”

“I didn’t get into any fights.” Allison announced proudly.

“I only got one teacher to hate me.” Stiles said, also proud. He straightened out his t-shirt and preened.

Chris frowned but shrugged. “Better ratio than a month ago. What about schoolwork?”

Allison plucked an apple from the bowl on the counter. “Exactly where we left off over there.” She bit into it.

“Homework?” Chris prompted.

Allison rolled her eyes. “It’s a joke.”

“You had us in Latin classes at seven, dad. This place is-” Stiles gestured vaguely with his hands. To blend in with the other hunters, the twins had been put in early language learning centers. Between the two of them they knew six languages fluently , passable in ten and could get by in fourteen. It made public school a joke to them, especially since Claudia put such an emphasis on schooling and hired the best tutors for them from the very beginning. But both Claudia and Chris had agreed that home schooling was not what was best for the twins, they felt that socializing would get them out of their shells, out of the world that they had created and lived in since they were conceived. They were obviously wrong.

Chris laughed. “What about friends?”

“Actually-!” Stiles said, raising a finger. “I made one and then lost him when I mentioned our last name. Those two guys that we got directions from when we first came into town?” Chris nodded. “They heard our last name and bam! Immediate hatred.”

“Who were they?” Chris asked, leaning away from the twins, trying to hide his immediate interest.

“Hm.” Allison said. “Weird last name.”

“Sti- Stin- No.” Stiles thought for a moment and snapped his fingers. “Stilinski.”

“Is there something you want to tell us dad?” Allison asked sweetly. She batted her eyelashes and asked, “Did you break their mom’s heart?”

Thoughts of Melissa Stilinski and her alpha eyes flashed through Chris’ mind. He remembered John as a good man, but a good man that promised to bury him in little pieces if Chris came near his sons or his wife.

“No. Nothing. Who wants to go get some pizza?” Chris asked.

***

Derek’s hands were shaking and Scott looked ill. They were in a sick circle and until Derek pulled himself out of it, there was nothing for them to do. Derek was the alpha and Scott was his beta and this was how their relationship worked. Even if they weren’t, this would probably be how they worked anyway. They were naturally a close pair. So they waited for their parents, in the living room.

“Did you-” Derek cleared his throat and looked down at Scott who was sitting while he was pacing. “Did you think of anyone who might be a pack member?”

Scott looked confused for a moment until he glanced out the window. It was sunny, beautiful. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “There’s this girl. Erica Reyes. She has epilepsy. I heard her talking to the principal about having to do work at home because she might have to go in for brain surgery.”

“Wow.” Derek said. He concentrated on Scott’s words and the panic that was making him sick receded enough for him to think. “What’s she like?”

“Smart.” Scott nodded. “Brave. I mean, you’d have to be right? To walk into your principal’s office and say, So hey. I’m going to get a piece of my brain removed. No big deal. But I will have to work at home for awhile.”

“She said it like that?” Derek asked, impressed.

Scott shrugged. “Pretty much.”

Derek nodded.

“She has a friend. I think he’s her friend. I don’t know, they might be dating. Vernon Boyd. He’s a big guy. Quiet. Real nice. His grades aren’t great but I think he would be good.” Scott shrugged. “I like to sit next to him during tests because he’s so peaceful.”

Derek’s eyebrows knitted together. “Peaceful.”

“You’d like him.” Scott promised.

Derek looked at his little brother and frowned. “I would like to meet them.”

Scott looked up. “Really?”

They sat for another hour until their dad came home. The circles were dark around his eyes and he didn’t even try to hide the fact that there was something on his mind. He hugged Scott and then turned to Derek. He wrapped his arms around Derek and Derek wished he were smaller than his dad again, so that he could wrap himself up in the sheriff’s coat and sleep and forget about the past three years. “You heard?” He asked.

Derek nodded. There was a lump in his throat and fear clawing at him and he didn’t trust himself to speak.

“She’s not here. Not that I can tell.” John pulled back and cradled his oldest son’s face in his big, warm hands. Derek felt the calluses on his palms. “I’ve been keeping tabs on her, son. Seems like she disappeared after a fire up north.”

Derek glanced down between them.

“How long-” Derek tried.

Scott twitched. He could feel the panic rising in Derek. John put one hand on Scott to steady him.

“Come on, Derek. You can say it.” John urged him patiently.

Derek nodded, took a deep breath and said, “How long since the fire until they moved here?”

John blinked. That was not the question he was expecting. He was expecting, How long until she shows up? How long do I have? How long do we have to wait? How long will I feel hunted?

But he grew up the sheriff’s son and facts were what mattered, even in a world where werewolves were real.

“About seven weeks.” John said. That had been one of the first things that he had found out too. Along with Chris Argent’s wife’s suicide and disappearance of Kate and Gerard Argent. The officer he had spoken to about the whole fiasco sounded spooked himself but didn’t have time to elaborate much. Or the information, it seemed. There was an electrical fire and Claudia Argent was asleep in her room. Allison and Stiles Argent were out after having had a heated argument with their parents. Chris had chosen to go after them and called his sister for help. Kate Argent found the twins across town in a park they used to play in as children and Chris returned home to find his home in flames, Claudia inside. Chris attempted to go in after her, but the staircase collapsed, the house itself shortly afterwards. There were a few sightings of Kate after that, but she seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth since.

An accident, the officer insisted. There was no reason to suspect foul play. The Argents were a fine, upstanding family. If their children were a little-

The officer paused. There was information there that he didn’t want to reveal, John knew. But the officer said that there were other things that he had to attend to. If there was anything else that Sheriff Stilinski needed, he could call back at a later time.

Now, John sat in the living room with one son who was scared out of his mind and another who was the victim of an attempted murder. Derek spread his hands out, looking down at his fingers. It was an old trick he learned from Melissa. It made him remember where he was, who he was.

“There’s five.” Derek muttered.

Scott offered him his hand and Derek gripped his fingers. “Five.” He said softly, nodding.

“Ok?” John asked, stroking his older son’s head. Derek bowed his head and leaned into John, even though Derek was so much bigger and more powerful than his father.

“Dad.” Derek muttered and John didn’t need supernatural powers to know that Derek was close to tears.

“What is it, son?” John asked.

Scott shuffled in and nuzzled Derek’s shoulder.

“I want to come home.” Derek whispered.

That, in itself, was telling. Derek had moved out six months ago and relished his freedom. But now he wanted to come home, “back to their den”, as Melissa called it.

“Of course.” John said and pulled both his sons into his arms.

***

Life continued on much like it did up north, if without the rumors. There were more patrol cars around, Allison noticed. But they were closer to the woods and there had, so far, been two mountain lion attacks since the first one when they arrived in town. But Allison found a close friend in Lydia and was able to get out a little more, despite her father’s warnings to stay close to town. Stiles would go with them sometimes and sometimes he would stay at home and train with his dad. While Allison had her bow and arrows and her ease with other sharp objects, Stiles had his guns and close hand to hand combat. He felt comfortable with the weight in his hand and the feel of punching someone. Never let it be said that the Argent twins were defenseless.

School was much the same. Stiles and Allison went to their classes, hung out with Lydia and if she felt like dating Jackson, he was around too. Lydia, while prickly, wasn’t without her strong points. Stiles had to admire her brilliance and candor. Most others stayed away from Stiles with the exception of Danny who was just a nice guy, all around. Stiles watched a few of the other students, namely one Isaac. Isaac kept to himself, which Stiles always thought was a little odd. Isaac was good looking in an innocent way. But the girls didn’t look twice at him and neither did the guys who were so inclined. Stiles wondered out loud about that as Isaac passed by them.

“Well-” Lydia said, taking a drink of water. “Its kind of like you guys, you could say.”

Stiles and Allison watched Lydia, waiting for an explanation.

Lydia sighed. “You put up a wall that makes you unapproachable. People want to know you but you have this-” Lydia waved her hand around elegantly, “Air that says, Don’t come near me. And then there’s the Stilinskis.”

“Ok, we didn’t do anything to those dudes.” Stiles objected, raising a hand. “We introduced ourselves and they hated us.”

From across the lunch room there was a clatter and the three of them turned to see Scott leave the lunch room, a scatter of food left behind him. A blonde girl and a dark skinned guy stared after him in amazement. Then they turned and pinned the Argents with a cool gaze.

“Look, they are forming a club.” Allison remarked.

“Lets Hate The New Kids club.” Stiles added.

“Derek is the president, I’m sure.” Allison continued.

“Scott is vice president.” Stiles said.

“The other two are vying for Speaker of the House.” Allison glared across the room.

Lydia waited in silence until they were done. After several weeks of hanging out with the Argent twins, she had a sort of expectation of them that they rarely missed. This was one of those times.

“There’s history there.” She said.

“History?” They asked.

Lydia nodded. “Ask your dad. Or go to the library. I’m sure its on public record there. You would have been…” Lydia hummed and tipped her head to the side. “Twelve years old.”

She refused to say anything else and the bell rang shortly after, signaling an end to lunch.

***

“I can’t stand it!” Scott roared. His claws were out and he was panting, like he had been running. He paced back and forth across a clearing in the woods, clothes torn and dirty. Boyd and Erica watched him from behind Derek’s back. “That spazzy little fucker actually said that they didn’t do anything.”

Derek watched his brother calmly. His arms were crossed over his chest and his heartbeat was even.

“If I had been anywhere else, Derek, I would have-”

“You can’t.” Derek said flatly and there was the echo of his alpha there, plain as day. Derek was ordering him to leave the Argent twins alone. “You can’t because if you do anything, you’ll be exactly like her. And we have to be better than them. Do you hear me?”

Scott’s head was bowed and he didn’t look up. Blood leaked from his palms onto the ground and Derek could smell the spice of his anger on the breeze.

“If they draw blood, I don’t care from who, but if they do, that’s when we attack.” Derek continued, watching Scott.

Scott growled, clearly not happy with his orders.

“I know this may not be the time or place, but has anyone ever considered-” Boyd paused when Scott and Derek looked at him.

“Go ahead.” Derek urged gently.

“Has anyone ever considered that they don’t know anything?” He finished.

***

“Holy shit.” Allison said, pulling up the news article on Stiles’ laptop. Stiles was doing pull ups in her doorway on a bar that he put there moments ago.

“What?” He grunted.

“The older brother was in a car wreck.”

“Happens all the time.” Stiles muttered. “Doesn’t explain why he was the world’s biggest suitcase full of dildos to us.”

“He was in a coma for two months.” Allison said, her eyes wide.

“And he’s ok? I mean, mentally. Personality wise, the guy is a glue stick.” Stiles did pause at the new information.

“He seems ok. He graduated with honors.” Allison said, reading the article.

“Now what’s he do?” Stiles asked.

“Doesn’t say. Hold on.” Allison said and opened up Facebook. She looked up both Stilinskis but they either didn’t have an account or had already blocked her. She frowned because it felt like it was probably the latter. “He doesn’t seem to have much of a social circle.”

“Well, color me surprised.” Stiles said and let go of the bar. “I’m going to try out for the lacrosse team.” He announced.

“Is that right?” Allison murmured, typing Derek’s name into a search engine. “Wait, isn’t Scott the captain of the team?”

Stiles grinned and winked at her. She rolled her eyes.

“Ah.” She said and sighed. “Of course.”

“What?” Stiles asked, wiping his neck with the bottom of his tshirt. He came over to her desk and looked over her shoulder.

There was a picture of the angry, older brother wearing a sheriff’s deputy uniform. Stiles’ eyes lingered over him for a moment until Allison cleared her throat.

“Course. Of course he works with daddy.” Stiles’ lip curled in disgust. “I’m going to go shower. Want to go get dinner after?”

“Yep.” Allison said, trying to puzzle out what Derek’s car crash had to do with her family. “When did dad say he was coming home?” She called after Stiles.

“Tuesday!” He yelled back.

It was Thursday. There had been another mountain lion attack last night right after their father had left for Los Angeles on business. This was the fourth attack since they arrived in town.

***

In the Jeep, the drove around aimlessly until it was past dark. On the outskirts of town, Stiles sighed.

“Let’s just go get something from that diner we saw.” He said.

“They better have wings, Stiles, or so help me-” She threatened.

He grinned at her and pulled over to the side of the road. The Jeep wasn’t one to be able to make sharp turns. Stiles put his blinker on, looked both ways and pulled back out into the street. Allison reached for his phone to change the music and smiled as a song their mom used to sing came on.

“Do you remember when mom-” Stiles started but stopped when blue and red lights flashed behind him. “Fuck.” He muttered.

***

Derek was set back against the road, just atop a hill where it was hard to see his parking lights. It was a trap, he knew, his dad knew, hell, the whole town knew it. He was notorious for filling his quota for the month up there and most people slowed down to a crawl at that point. But he needed some down time, time away from the station and time alone, to settle his thoughts about the Argent family coming back into town. He knew, logically, that these kids had nothing to do with what Kate had done to him. Derek knew that the kids were out of the country with their parents when the accident happened and frankly, they were twelve years old at the time. Derek had serious doubts to a couple of twelve year olds being involved in the attempt on his and his mom’s lives.

Nonetheless, the fact that they were back, now of all times… It rubbed Derek wrong. He was the alpha and his mom explained to him how that now he would feel biological urges to protect and claim what had always been Stilinski pack land, especially from those that his wolf recognized as enemies.

That was the only plausible explanation he had to wanting to find the Argent boy and beating the snot out of him. Seeing if he was as cocky underneath Derek-

Derek cleared his throat in the empty car and slammed a lid shut on wherever those thoughts were going. The Argents maybe eighteen, but that didn’t mean anything. And really, Derek had his fill of Argents.

Alone as he was, his eyes tracked the road, watching one car slow as they approached where Derek was. So it was interesting to see a Jeep stop, pull over and turn around. Dangerous, so close to a hill. Derek pulled out behind the Jeep and flipped his lights on.

***

“Please don’t be Deputy Don’t Fuck With Me Or I’ll Rip Your Face Off.” Stiles muttered. “Please, god. You killed our mom, just give me this one little- Oh for fuck’s sake.” Stiles muttered when he saw the broad shoulders and narrow waist he might have thought of more than once in the shower.

“It’s Deputy Don’t Fuck With Me Or I’ll Rip Your Face Off, isn’t it?” Allison asked.

“Of course it is.” Stiles muttered, keeping both his hands on the wheel, while Allison kept both hers visible on her lap.

Stiles glanced over at her and she smiled faintly at him. She tapped her chest, right above her heart.

I’ve got your back, she told him silently.

He nodded.

There was a light rap at the window and Stiles turned to the officer that was glaring at him from the other side. Stiles rolled down the window.

“Officer.” He said flatly.

“License and registration.” The other man growled.

Stiles reached up to the sun visor where he kept his info and handed it over to the officer. Then he leaned forward and started to pull his wallet out of his back pocket-

“Step out of the car.” The guy said.

Stiles looked up at him and saw the anger there. He recognized it because he knew it so well. He looked over at Allison who was taut with unease and she met his eyes. He swiped at his left brow. She bowed her head.

Call dad, he told her.

He opened the car door slowly and swung his legs out. Before his feet touched the ground he was pushed up against the Jeep, large hands fisted in his shirt.

“What are you doing back here?” The officer growled.

Stiles took a second to assess the situation. He did not know this man. This man was implying that he had been in this town before. This very large, very strong man was armed and Stiles was not. This man seemed to be at least slightly unhinged.

“I’ve never been here before.” Stiles muttered, looking Officer Stilinski in the eye.

Stilinski pulled him forward a bare inch and slammed him, hard against the Jeep. Gray clawed at the edge of his vision and blood pooled in his mouth where he bit his tongue.

What happened next was 90% instinct and 10% Stiles being sick of the shit he had been put through for the past year.

Stiles used his keys to swipe at the officer’s face. The skin opened up immediately and as the other man turned away, Stiles was already swinging forward with a fist, connecting solidly with the other man’s face. He swung forward with his leg but ended up on his back and he could have sworn that the officer’s eyes were blazing red until Allison’s long fingers were twisting in his hair and jerking his head back. There was a knife at his throat and for a moment, Stiles wished that she would. When he met her eyes over Stilinski’s shoulder, he could see that she wanted to too.

“Drop the knife, girl.” A voice came out of the woods.

“Fuck you.” Allison bit out. She pulled Stilinski back off Stiles and he climbed to his feet slowly and pulled open a false side of the open door of the Jeep. There was a Glock there that his father bought for him for his last birthday.

A woman stepped out of the woods and she looked like that was the last place she belonged. She was beautiful and for some reason, Allison’s heart ached for her mother. Stiles’ hand shook as he held the gun out in front of him.

“This was foolish.” The woman chided.

“We didn’t-” Stiles started.

“Going after children? Children, Derek.” She continued, like Stiles hadn’t even spoken.

“Argents. They aren’t children.” Derek replied, voice hoarse.

More lights appeared and it looked like the Sheriff arrived.

“I don’t think we could actually be more fucked.” Stiles stated.

“Maybe if we had drugs.” Allison suggested.

“Good thing dad took our stash.” Stiles agreed.

“Do you two ever shut up?” Stilinski asked, grinding his teeth.

“Well, you know. Near death experiences-” Allison started.

“Arrest-” Stiles added, shifting his stance to keep the sheriff in his sight.

“Police brutality-” Allison continued.

“Strange people appearing out of nowhere in the woods-” Stiles said.

“It brings out the best in the Argent twins.” Allison finished.

“What can we say?” Stiles shrugged.

The sheriff looked them over and sighed. His shoulders slumped. “Derek, damn it.” He rubbed his face. “I told you that patrol was too much right now.”

Derek didn’t reply.

“Come here, son.” The sheriff said to him.

“Dad-” He said, gesturing to his throat.

Sheriff Stilinski actually rolled his eyes and Stiles grinned.

“I like him.” He whispered to Allison.

“Me too.” She replied.

“Listen, let Derek go and we’ll not talk about this. I won’t report it and you won’t have to go to jail for assaulting a police officer.” The Sheriff cleared his throat. “A felony, I would like you to know.”

“Actually-” Allison started.

“Oh Jesus.” Derek said.

“According to California Supreme Court, if the arrest is found to be unlawful-” Allison continued.

“Which it clearly is because I didn’t do anything wrong, he slammed me into my Jeep, threw me on the ground, and is clearly mentally deficient-” Stiles added.

“Then it won’t be a felony. We would only be found to be guilty of simple battery if that because everything my brother just listed, is on tape and on its way to my dad.” Allison finished smugly.

Derek suddenly twisted out of Allison’s grip which surprised her but Stiles seemed to be expecting it. When he began to twist Allison’s arm around, extending her forward so that she was now between Stiles and Derek, her knife on the ground between them, Stiles used his sister as a guide. He actually stepped closer to her, close enough so that she was cradled in his chest and one arm came up around her back. Derek held his eyes for a second, the gun at his head.

“Let her go.” Stiles whispered.

“Drop your-”

Stiles pulled the trigger.

Derek barely ducked out of the way, the bullet zinging past him, cutting his ear.

Derek roared and both Argent twins stumbled away from him as Scott, the other two that sat with him at lunch, the beautiful woman from the woods and the Sheriff descended on them. Stiles was momentarily confused at the sudden influx of bodies.

“Go.” Scott said to Stiles, nodding at his Jeep.

Stiles pulled Allison away and shoved her in the Jeep through the driver’s side. He slammed on the gas pedal and they peeled away.

***

Scott was worried. It had taken their mom at least fifteen minutes to talk Derek down from following the twins back to their house and killing them there. His eyes were blazing red and his teeth muffled his words but the threats that he was growling were heard loud and clear. Scott paced back to Boyd and Erica.

“I don’t think they know.” Boyd said softly.

Erica hesitated and nodded. “You heard him. You could hear his heartbeat. He wasn’t lying. He’s never been here.”

Scott worried at his lip and glanced over at his family behind them. “I know. I don’t-” Scott shook his head. He paused. “He’s my alpha. But he’s also my brother. I was the one who sat by his bed when he was in that coma. If this is what he’s going to do, I’m following him.”

Boyd and Erica stared at him for a long time. Erica tipped her head back and looked up at the stars. Boyd glanced away and to their left.

“We understand.” Boyd finally said.

“We’re here too.” Erica agreed.

Chapter Text

Allison slept in Stiles’ room that night. They both slept with guns under their pillows.

***

In the morning, Chris was at the counter, glancing through the newspaper that was spread out in front of him. He looked like he had gotten a full eight hours of untroubled sleep.

“So.” Chris started as the twins came in, bumping into each other and snapping at each other. They didn’t stray very far from the other’s side though. “What are your thoughts?”

“I think that the Stilinskis are a very fucked up family and we should move immediately before Derek catches me and kills me in the woods.” Stiles replied.

“I also think that we should move before I am kidnapped from my bedroom and buried alongside my brother.” Allison said.

Chris looked between the two of them and couldn’t decide if they were serious or not. Finally he said with a sigh, “We aren’t going to move.”

They didn’t look like they expected any less.

“How are you going to play this at school?” Chris asked.

“I don’t think we should do anything.” Stiles said slowly.

“Just another regular day at Beacon Hills High.” Allison said.

“Why?” Chris asked.

Allison glanced over at Stiles before saying, “We want to keep them on their toes. The last thing they are going to expect is for us to not do anything. Right? So that’s what we should do.”

Stiles nodded.

Chris glanced down at his hands and smirked. He shook his head and said, “Are you guys armed?”

“To the fucking teeth, dad. We aren’t stupid. School is ridiculous enough without the added fun of a crazed deputy and his probably crazed brother and their more than likely crazed friends.” Stiles said.

“With what?” Chris asked.

“Collapsible bow and arrows, knives in my boots, razor on my key chain, mom’s lucky ring,” Allison raised her hand to show him, “And a pair of brass knuckles.”

“My. 38, a pair of brass knuckles and my Glock. Good thing Beacon Hills hasn’t caught up with the times and installed metal detectors.” Stiles said.

“No switch blade?” Chris asked.

Stiles’ eyes widened and he turned and went back upstairs.

“Dad, is there something-” Allison stopped and looked at her dad right in the eye. “Is there something about this place that we should know?”

Chris frowned. Allison had always been more intuitive of the two. “Maybe later, baby. Right now, I just need you two to look after each other.” He hesitated and added, “I’m going to go talk to the Sheriff today. He’s a good man, but-” Chris shrugged. “I had Ben put a copy of the incident in secure location. If anything happens to us, we’ll bring them down too.” He stood and the twins gathered around him, hugging him tight. He thought of all the times he had seen werewolves do the same thing, reaching for touch and love, and lost his smile.

“Be careful out there.” Chris called after them.

They shouted their goodbyes and shut the door after themselves.

Chris wanted to collapse underneath the weight of all the decisions that had led to this moment. He wanted to get out the whiskey and hide in his bed and cry to Claudia.

Instead, he finished his coffee and went to find his shoes from the night before.

He found them upstairs, outside Stiles’ room where he spent the previous night watching the twins sleep.

***

Stiles and Allison entered the school, easy smiles on their faces as they spoke about a cop show they had seen the previous night. Allison got her stuff together first and closed her locker while she waited for Stiles to get his things together. They watched as Lydia approached them.

“I heard about last night.” She said as way of a greeting.

“Did you?” Allison asked, tugging at her necklace.

Stiles closed his locker. “It was a nice night, I guess.” He said.

Lydia watched the two of them closely before shrugging. “Class?” She said.

They walked by Scott, none of them so much as turning to look at him or Boyd.

They exchanged a look but followed the others into the classroom.

***

The Sheriff didn’t even bother to look surprised when Chris Argent came into his office and sat down. Derek was ordered out of the station until the Sheriff saw fit. He was at home today, thank god. Or maybe Chris had foreseen this and waited to speak to John until such a time.

Chris sat down and the two men stared at each other for a moment.

“We aren’t here for any of you. Or anything. This is the only place I could bring them to get away from what happened but close enough for them to visit their mother’s grave.” Chris said.

“How can we know that?” John asked.

Chris frowned. “You can’t, I suppose. But they don’t have any wolfsbane on them, ever. Stiles’ gun last night wasn’t loaded with wolfsbane and I’m sure Derek’s ear has repaired itself just fine by now.” He stopped. “They don’t know anything.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that your son shot at my son-” John started, letting the anger he felt flood his chest.

“And your son, an alpha werewolf, had both of my children alone, while he was armed and clearly not in control, John! Allison is all Stiles has. And Derek was about to break her arm in front of him.” Chris snapped. “Do you think wolves are the only ones closely bonded? One of them get hurts, the other cries! They are barely two people.”

“You need to get them out of here.” John said.

“You need to get your head out of your ass, get control of the wolves in this area, and get your son under control before he murders someone.”

“Like Kate?” John asked as Chris stood.

Chris didn’t even hesitate. “Exactly like Kate. And believe me, Kate is the last thing you want Derek turning into.”

Chapter Text

The days and the weeks passed until Stiles found himself dressing in layers and warming up Allison’s car for the drive to school. Scott kept his distance but didn’t glare like he used to. Instead he was slowly opening up, if from a distance. In lacrosse, Scott passed the ball more often to Stiles than anyone else. Maybe because Stiles was better than everyone else, or maybe because there was a silent conversation going on there that Stiles wasn’t sure he could read properly.

Once, Scott was pushed into Allison pretty hard by Jackson. She stopped his fall with a steady hand on his shoulder and a glare at Jackson. Stiles didn’t say anything, his face a mask of clear disinterest. Scott looked surprised at Allison’s easy touch.

When Stiles ditched one afternoon and holed himself up in a coffee shop down the street to read an old text he found in his father’s library, he was surprised to find himself face to face with Derek who was sitting at a table across from him, facing him. Instead of saying anything or doing anything, Stiles glanced back down at his book and made himself relax. Derek was clearly off duty, wearing jeans and a leather jacket. The worst he could do was call Stiles’ dad to let him know that Stiles was ditching.

Stiles heard the bell above the door ring fifteen minutes later, bringing him out of a daze of monsters and witches that the journal was about. He glanced up, surprised to see Derek glancing over his shoulder at Stiles and meeting his eyes. There was something in his eyes, something that looked like he wanted to say. He even let the door shut and made to turn back into the shop. But then Stiles blinked and Derek was striding away in the weak sunlight outside the cafe.

“Stiles!” The barista called out.

Stiles frowned and stood. At the counter, he pushed the drink back. “Sorry, I already got my drink.” He said, nodding at his cooling drink on the table he was occupying.

“Yeah, but leather jacket guy ordered you another. Said he owed you.” The barista smirked. “Wish a guy that looked like that owed me.”

Stiles laughed softly and pulled the drink back to his side of the counter.

He couldn’t figure out the people in this town.

***

“That’s so fucked up.” Erica breathed.

“How could they not know?” Scott asked. He looked like a puppy that had lost his favorite toy. “It’s their family for crying out loud.”

John looked over at Melissa, trying to figure out how much they should tell their newly formed pack. They were in the Stilinski kitchen, Derek by the stove and everyone else seated at the table. “From what I can figure out, Chris never wanted them to be hunters.” John said. “He trained them like hunters so that the twins could blend in but at their eighteenth birthday, when they should have been told, they were in Hawaii, away from everything and everyone that were involved with the hunting world. They never told them. Three weeks later, Claudia Argent was dead, a week after that, Gerard disappeared, Kate disappeared and six weeks after that, they showed up here.”

Boyd looked up at Derek. “Do you think they had anything to do with their mother’s death?”

“No.” John said. “That’s real grief. That whole family is still in pieces over what happened to her.”

Melissa watched the rest of the pack piece together what that meant.

“Oh my god.” Scott said, the first to realize. “But why would they kill Claudia? That makes no sense.”

“Hunters-” Melissa started and then stopped. She looked at her and John’s hands, linked together on the table. “They have an interesting class system. Chris and Claudia had an arranged marriage. Their genetics were best matched to produce strong hunters. The very strongest, smartest hunters that they’ve ever been able to produce. Claudia came from a long line of female leaders that could easily recreate what used to be. The wars, the killing, all of it. But when I met Claudia, that wasn’t her. I have never met a more gentle woman. And the love that Chris and Claudia had was very real. They grew to respect each other and eventually love each other.” Melissa’s tone was softened and Scott felt a wave of sorrow for a woman he never met, for a woman that was ruthlessly killed by a sociopath.

“There were rumors of hunters in an underground system who had access to a lot of really good information, that worked with the wolves.” Derek said. “They were up north. A married couple. Very high up in the hunter world.”

“Argents-” Scott looked wildly around the room. “That means silver in French.”

“Silver kills werewolves.” Derek whispered, following Scott’s thoughts.

“But it can protect them too.” Melissa said, looking at both her boys.

“Kate figured out who was helping the wolves and killed Claudia.” Boyd said, putting all the pieces together out loud.

“And the twins have no idea.” Erica added.

***

“What did you get for number eighteen?” Allison asked, adding more whipped cream to her hot chocolate. The Argents were seated around the kitchen table, all dressed in their pajamas. It was Saturday night and no one had anything better to do than homework or paperwork, like Chris.

Stiles flipped through his pages and found the problem Allison was asking about.

“Which part?” Stiles asked.

“All of it.” She groaned and slumped over her algebra book.

Stiles pulled out the papers from his binder and handed them over.

Chris pushed a pile of papers in Allison’s direction. “What does that say?” He asked, tapping his finger on some form that Allison wasn’t able to figure out.

“Uh…” Allison frowned. “It looks like ‘Shipment container 87-D, contents mislabeled.’”

“D?” Chris said and flipped through his other paperwork.

Allison hummed and began to look through Stiles’ math. There was silence for a few minutes until the doorbell rang.

“Pizza.” Stiles said with a sigh. He stood and made his way to the front door.

Chris and Allison remained where they were, both too involved to pay attention.

Until there was silence. It stretched on and on and Allison looked up, waiting for Stiles to return. The incident with the Stilinskis wasn’t forgotten. Chris stood and opened a drawer where he kept a .38 and Allison grabbed a steak knife from the kitchen counter. They both rounded the corner to see Stiles standing there, staring at Scott and Derek Stilinski, who were staring back.

“Son.” Chris said softly.

In his Snoopy pajamas and matching slippers, Stiles didn’t strike a very intimidating figure, but both Allison and Chris recognized the stance and tension in his shoulders. After another moment, Stiles stepped back and Chris stepped forward. Allison wrapped a hand around Stiles’ forearm and tucked the knife into the back of her pajama pants. Chris did the same with his gun.

“What can I do for you boys?” Chris asked.

“We, uh, sorry.” Scott started and Allison and Stiles exchanged a look. His voice was shaking. This was so far from the confident lacrosse captain that Stiles had grown used to, that he shifted uncomfortably.

“What my brother is trying to say is that, what I did earlier-” Derek stopped.

“Stilinskis are not that great at communication, are they?” Allison whispered.

“Really not.” Stiles whispered back.

Over their father’s shoulder, they saw Scott smirk.

“When I went after Stiles, I was not in control.” Derek started again, looking right at their father. “And I shouldn’t have been out there. I shouldn’t have pulled them over. I shouldn’t have assaulted them and I can only apologize for that.” Derek bowed his head and scuffed his shoe against their stoop. “Stiles was right in defending Allison and I was wrong.”

“Little do they know that Allison could have broken Derek’s neck from the position she was in.” Stiles whispered to Allison.

“But Allison didn’t have to because Stiles had it covered.” Allison whispered back.

They gave each other a fist pound.

Scott was grinning now.

“So Derek made you cookies.” Scott announced proudly. He gave three containers to Chris who looked speechless.

“Cookies?” Chris asked. “For almost-”

“You know, dad, cookies are a magical thing.” Stiles said, stepping up to his father’s side. “Cookies are a big apology-” Stiles tore open the top lid and the smell of lemons wafted out. “Oh dear lord in heaven.”

“Cookies make up for almost anything-” Allison added and tore the second lid off and chocolate filled the air. “Oh sweet mother in heaven.” She whispered

“The others are just sugar cookies.” Derek muttered. He was looking down at his shoes still. He finally looked up at the twins, both of whom were shoving cookies in their mouths already. They were communicating by gestures to their mouths and the containers. “I am really, very sorry. It was a bad day-”

“We know.” Stiles said, nodding.

“You know?” Scott squeaked.

“We know that it’s close to the anniversary of when Derek got into that car accident.” Allison said. She frowned. “We can’t imagine-” She shook her head and ate another cookie.

“Hey, do you guys want to come in?” Stiles asked, stepping back into the house. “We’re doing homework and stuff so you can totally interrupt.”

Scott looked to Derek. “You go ahead.” Derek said nodding at Stiles and Allison. “I’ve got some paperwork to catch up on.”

“Oh, come on!” Allison said.

“Are you too cool to hang out with a bunch of high schoolers? Come on, pizza is on its way and we’ve got homemade cookies.” Stiles and Allison held up the boxes in their hands like Derek needed the proof.

Derek chuckled. “Another time. Call if you need a ride.” He said to Scott.

Scott was already striding into the house and for a second, only for Chris to see, Derek’s eyes flashed.

Chris looked at the kids making their way into the kitchen and went down the stairs after Derek.

“Derek.” He said.

Derek turned.

“I’m sorry. For what-” Chris frowned and looked down at the ground. “For Kate. That’s why we left, Claudia and me. Kate wanted to get Melissa, and there was no stopping her. So we left. We tried to get her away. We were in France when it happened, when the car wreck-”

Derek took three steps forward, until he was in Chris’ space. “I know. We know it wasn’t you. But my mom also told us that it was you and Claudia that were warning off the other wolves around the country when Kate was getting too close. You saved a lot of people.” He glanced away and took a step back. “My parents know that if you had been here, if you had known, you would have stopped her sooner.”

“You-” Chris started. But it seemed to be the night to interrupt him.

“It wasn’t hard to figure out. Your wife dies and your sociopathic family dies.” Derek said softly. He put a hand on Chris’ shoulder and nodded to the house. “Watch out for Scott. He’s got a huge crush on Allison and he’s a klutz.”

Derek left then, leaving Chris feeling a number of things that we wasn’t sure he could articulate.

***

For Scott, it was like picking up on a friendship he never knew he had. Stiles was hilarious and Scott was envious of his Snoopy pajamas.

Allison was a totally different feeling though. Scott shifted in his seat when she passed her English notes over to him. He could smell the lavender that she used in her shampoo and the sugar caught in the corner of her mouth. He was glad he was a born wolf, otherwise it would have been a lot harder to not lean into her space, to subtly brush past her, to mark her up with his scent. As it was, Chris was watching him and looking like he was trying his hardest not to laugh at him.

“Scott?” Stiles prompted.

“Yeah. Yes? Sorry, no. What?” Scott asked.

Stiles laughed at him. “Are you going to the winter dance formal thing?”

Scott looked down at Allison’s elegant scrawl. “I hadn’t thought about it, really.” The alpha pack had been at the front of his mind for the past two months.

“Buddy boy, girls are clawing each other’s faces off in hopes you’ll ask them.” Stiles said. He reached for another piece of pizza and Allison looked up.

“They are?” She asked.

“Oh yeah. It’s getting ugly. Have you not seen it?” Stiles chewed and swallowed. “I can’t go anywhere without the girls asking me if I know who the captain is going to ask.” Stiles rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t- do I have to?” Scott whined. He started to copy down Allison’s notes.

“Course not. But, you could always ask Lydia. I think her and Jackson broke up during lunch today.” Stiles and Allison picked up their drinks and Scott watched, fascinated, as they mirrored their gestures without even glancing at each other.

Scott laughed. “That’s gross.”

“What are you talking about? Lydia is a goddess.” Stiles pointed his pencil at Scott threateningly.

“Oh, she is. Totally. But our moms are best friends. We used to take baths together. I think there are pictures somewhere but Lydia said she’s got them all.” Scott smirked and shook his head. “She’s my sister.”

Stiles looked at Allison and made a face. “Gotcha.” He said.

“So who do you want to take?” Allison asked. She was wearing a pale green tank top and matching pajama pants.

Scott watched the slope of her shoulders, the elegant curve of her neck. Chris, coming into the kitchen, caught the look on his face and laughed.

“What?” The twins asked.

“Nothing. TV. Carry on.” Chris said, grabbing a beer and leaving.

“So?” Stiles prompted. “Maybe if I have news for the girls, I won’t get threatened.”

“I don’t know.” Scott said.

Stiles shrugged and let it go, but Allison caught his glance and Scott watched the blush start at her collarbone and work its way up.

“You two should go together.” Stiles said casually, glancing through the paper that he was proofing for Allison.

“What?” Allison said, her eyes wide.

“Yeah.” Stiles said, nodding. “It’ll be cute.”

“I can’t go without you!” Allison sputtered.

“This is the kind of attitude that got us run out of our last town. Go with Scotty. Dad will buy you a pretty dress. I’ll put on my Superman pajamas and marathon Dragonball Z.” Stiles said.

“What do you mean?” Scott asked, confused.

“We always marathon Pokemon when we skip out on social events.” Allison said, looking horrified.

“But you won’t be with me, so I can’t marathon Pokemon. That would be sacrilegious.” Stiles said.

“What attitude?” Scott asked.

“But we’ve always gone together! I can’t go with just Scott!” Allison continued.

This was one of those conversations that the only ones to exist were the Argent twins, Scott could tell.

“Sure you can.” Stiles said with a gentle smile. “And you’ll dance and he’ll twirl you under the pretty lights and you’ll laugh and drink shitty punch and eat terrible cookies and hopefully Derek will let you take his super cool car and you can finally tell me if it has a leather interior like we talked about.”

“It does. Heated.” Scott provided.

“Stiles.” Allison whined.

“Alli.” He said gently.

“All right, I’ll go. But I want you to at least try to find a date.” Allison said after a quiet moment.

“Ok.” Stiles said.

“Wait, what?” Scott said, looking back and forth across the table.

“You’re going to the winter formal with Allison. It’ll be fun.” Stiles said.

“What attitude?” Scott pressed.

Allison and Stiles exchanged a glance.

“Another time, my friend.” Stiles said softly and looked back down at the paper in his hand.

Allison smiled at him. “We’re going to have to match.” She said.

Chapter Text

“So what do you know?” Melissa asked two weeks later, sitting down at the kitchen table across from Scott.

He blinked at his mom. “About what?” He asked, his mouth partially filled with a sandwich Derek had shoved at him before leaving the house to go do things that Derek does that no one else knows about.

“The Argents.” Melissa said. She folded her hands and waited for his answer.

“They are armed to the teeth.” Scott said, shaking his head. “It’s unreal how many guns they have. None of them are laced with wolfsbane, as far as I can tell.”

“Ok.” Melissa nodded.

“Stiles and Allison are pretty much always training. Allison is deadly with her bow and arrow. And crossbow. And knives.” Scott shuddered. “Stiles is fast, mom. He’s fast for me. Are we sure they are human?”

“Genetically picked, my love.” Melissa said with a smile.

“He’s accurate with his guns. Any gun. Put a gun in his hand and he could kill someone very far away. He’s strong. He wears clothes a size too big so he looks skinny but he’s all muscle underneath it.” Scott shook his head. “They speak a stupid amount of languages.”

Melissa nodded. “But what do you know?”

Scott stopped and looked away. “Stiles still has nightmares. He thinks his mom dying is his fault for some reason. Allison misses her to the point that she’ll get a panic attack that makes her feel like she’s having an asthma attack. She can’t breathe and her heart rate goes through the roof. Stiles is the only one that can calm her down. Chris is-” Scott frowned. “He’s sad. He’s always really sad. I think he’s still trying to pass along information to those that he can help, but I’m not sure he has the heart to do it since his wife died.”

“Can you help them?” Melissa asked, reaching forward for her son’s hand. He had been spending so much time at the Argent house, she missed him.

“I’m trying. I want to, but I don’t know how.”

Melissa cupped her son’s face and kissed his brow. “I’m sure you already are.”

***

“Lahey.” Stiles said, sliding next to Lydia at their table. Scott and Allison looked up.

“What is with your obsession?” Lydia asked.

“I can’t help it.” Stiles said. “In practice, he always waits until there is a shower stall so he can change. He’s quiet. Doesn’t do well with confrontation.”

Scott watched Stiles watch Isaac.

“But I saw him the other day. He didn’t close the curtain all the way. His back is all scarred up. Bruised too.” Stiles added quietly.

No one said anything.

“His brother died in Iraq. His mom died a long time ago. His dad didn’t do well with the loss.” Lydia said softly.

“And no one can do anything?” Stiles asked. He flexed his hand.

“He says there isn’t anything happening. His dad doesn’t say anything.” Scott said. “My dad has been out there so many times, Stiles. And it’s the same thing. We all know, but there isn’t anything we can actually do.”

Stiles glared at his lunch like it was the root of the problem and not Isaac’s dad. “There should be.” He whispered.

And maybe there could be, Scott thought.

***

“Wait.” Derek said, holding his hand up to his brother. They were standing in Derek’s room where Derek had been doing crunches. “So Stiles mentions this kid that might be being abused and you immediately jump at making him pack to- what? Save him?”

“Pretty much.” Scott said, slumping against the door frame.

“Scott, do I look like an superhero?” Derek asked.

Scott paused. “I don’t know if you are being serious or not.” He said glaring at his older brother’s torso.

There was a familiar rumble from the front and the Sheriff was answering the door at Melissa’s prompting before either son could make their way to the front. Stiles barreled through, like he had been doing it for years. He hastily shook the Sheriff’s hand and added, “Sir. Melissa, you look radiant as always, I need to talk to Scott, thank you-” Before he ran up the stairs and spotted Scott in Derek’s door.

“Scott, buddy, pal.” He threw himself at Scott and Scott caught him one handed and they both fell into Derek’s room where Derek watched the entire thing unfold in front of him like a cartoon. Stiles looked at Derek, blinked, pointed at him and turned to Scott, “That’s unfair. There is something in the Stilinski genetics that is unfair to the rest of humanity.”

“How much Adderall?” Scott asked, steadying him.

“I don’t want to talk about it. You need to come with me, Derek you need to put a shirt on for the sake of humanity and my virginity, I’ll return him later, nice to see you.” Stiles said.

Derek blinked and Stiles was pulling Scott out of his bedroom and through the front door. The Jeep started up again and they were gone.

John looked in at Derek.

“What was that?” He asked, pointing at the front door.

“They call it Stiles.” Derek said, fumbling for a shirt.

***

“This is the stupidest thing you have ever talked me into doing!” Scott hissed at Stiles.

“Clearly, you haven’t been hanging around him enough.” Allison muttered from his other side. She smelled like steel and gunpowder and lilies. It shouldn’t have been as comforting as it was.

“It’ll be fine. It’s not like we are breaking and entering.” Stiles muttered.

They were crouched outside the Lahey house, underneath a window and partially hidden by a bush. Stiles had hacked the school grade system, dropping three of Isaac’s grades significantly. He explained that if anything was sure to set the older Lahey off, it would be grades. Everyone knew how hard Isaac worked to keep them up.

“You could be putting him in danger if what you say is true.” Scott growled. He wasn’t comfortable this close to the house.

“We won’t let it get that far.” Allison said. She reached forward and gripped Scott’s hand. He took comfort in the fact that he could feel the leather of her archery glove.

They were silent for a long time. He could feel both twins start to get cold and they seemed to unconsciously gravitating towards him. He was giving off enough warmth to keep the three of them warm but didn’t say anything when Stiles’ shoulder pressed into his and Allison’s legs pressed into his.

“This is stupid.” A voice said flatly from the other side of the bush.

“This is what you came up with?” Another voice agreed.

Scott groaned.

“Shut up and get down.” Stiles hissed.

“Scott, let’s go home.” Derek said softly. “Come on. We’ll talk to dad about it. I promise-”

Derek stopped and Scott stood up slowly. Lydia glanced between them and then gestured to the twins. “Come on.” She said. They looked at each other and then both at Scott.

“Yeah, you guys should probably-” Scott winced a split second before there was a crash and someone yelled.

“Scott.” Derek growled. He turned on his heel and they went for the door.

“Guys, we have to get out of here now.” Lydia said, reaching for Allison. Allison went after her, trying to turn around and see Scott. Stiles went after his sister.

“Are they going to be ok?” Stiles asked. Sure, Derek was built like a god, but muscles didn’t always mean you knew how to fight.

“They’ll be fine.” Lydia muttered, pulling them into Derek’s car. She shoved Allison in the back and made Stiles sit in the front. She got in the driver’s seat and pulled out of the parking spot, speeding away just as a patrol car pulled up. She gave a tight nod to one of the deputies behind the wheel who nodded back, face grim.

When Lydia dropped them off and pulled away from the curb at a much more sedate pace, Allison and Stiles looked at each other for a long time.

“Do you get the feeling-” Stiles started.

“That there is a lot of information we are missing?” Allison finished.

“We need to research.” Stiles said.

***

The next day at school, Isaac sat with Lydia, Erica, Boyd, and Scott at lunch.

The twins were absent.

***

“There are a ridiculous number of animal attacks lately.” Allison said. They were sitting in their father’s office, papers gathered around them.

“Last night makes five.” Stiles said.

“No survivors.” Allison said.

They were silent as they continued to research their chosen subject.

“How far back do they go?” Allison asked, straightening up.

Stiles typed something into his laptop.

“At least… twenty years? What the fuck.” He said softly.

“How often?” Allison asked, leaning into Stiles and reading the screen.

“Sporadic. But it seems like something huge happens before it ends.” Stiles said. He scrolled through the screen. A warehouse explosion, an orphanage on fire, Main Street getting flooded by a busted water main, the mall suffering an earthquake-

“Derek’s car wreck was one of them.” Stiles said, his eyes widening.

“What did we just find?” Allison asked.

***

“Do they know?” Isaac asked Scott.

Scott shook his head.

“But their dad does.”

“Yeah.” Scott said.

“How have you kept it from them this long?” Isaac asked.

Scott could only shake his head again.

***

It was dark outside when Allison and Stiles left their house. They headed to the school, faces grim. At the front door, Stiles picked the lock while Allison watched his back. They slipped inside and headed for the library. Stiles picked another lock and they headed straight for the librarian’s desk where all the past yearbooks were kept.

There, in Derek’s sophomore year, they found his picture. He was much happier looking, his arm slung around a much smaller Scott who was grinning up at his brother in a picture taken at a basketball game. His cheeks were fuller and his eyes sparkled. A huge grin spread across his face.

“He looks happy.” Allison whispered.

Stiles didn’t say anything. Instead, he flipped to the faculty pictures.

It didn’t take long to find Kate Argent among them.

Stiles paled and slumped down.

Allison threw up in a trash can.

It was well documented in Beacon Hills Times how Kate Argent, a one time faculty member of Beacon Hills High, viciously stalked Melissa Stilinski throughout town. There was a number of crimes committed against Melissa’s property and threats were documented. It was reported almost daily for a month in the newspaper. There didn’t seem to be a cause for this, other than Kate accusing Melissa of being a “monster”.

One night, Derek walked to the hospital from the high school because his car was in the shop. He was going to wait for his mom to get off her shift and go home with her. However, Melissa picked up another shift and told Derek to take her car home and Sheriff Stilinski would pick her up after his shift. Derek did as he was asked. On the way home, the brakes went out, Derek was unable to stop at a red light, an SUV slammed into him, pushing him into another car, puncturing the gas tank and causing the car to catch fire.

The driver of the SUV was never found. Later, the SUV was found to be stolen from San Francisco earlier that week.

Sheriff Stilinski was one the first to arrive on the scene and pulled Derek from the still burning car.

Derek was in a burn unit for a month and in a coma for another two months.

“Why didn’t dad tell us?” Allison whispered from her spot on the carpet.

Stiles could only shake his head.

“Is that why he left? Him and mom? Because Kate was fixated on Melissa and Aunt Kate was a special brand of crazy?” Stiles asked.

It was Allison’s turn to shake her head.

Stiles stood and helped his sister up. They left the library quietly, pulling the door closed behind them.

“Why are libraries and schools creepier when there is no one in them?” Stiles asked.

Allison looked down the hallway. “I think its because you expect them to be filled with people and when they aren’t, you can almost hear the echo of them. It’s ghostly. Fucking creepy.”

They both turned down the hall that would take them out the way they had come in.

At the end of the hall, there was a silhouette of a very large person.

The twins stopped in their tracks.

Allison gripped Stiles’ forearm and dragged her nails upwards to his elbow.

Go back, she was telling him.

He followed her without a word. They made it to their lockers and saw another tall silhouette at the opposite end. Both of their planned exits were blocked. Allison stepped over to their lockers and quickly entered her combination.

“Hurry.” Stiles said politely, watching as the silhouette at the end of the hall began to advance.

“Yeah.” Allison said softly, dropping her books on the floor as she reached for the back of her locker. She pulled out her collapsible bow and four arrows, she tucked two knives into the back of her skirt and handed a gun over to Stiles. His switch blade was already in his other hand.

“Well.” Stiles said as he took up watch at his sister’s back.

“Assess.” She snapped at him.

Stiles felt himself sink into that perfect headspace that came from having trained with his sister for his entire life, for knowing her moves and her body just as well as his own. He let one leg slide behind him as Allison mirrored his position behind him.

“How many?” She asked.

“One.” He said.

“Same here.” Allison said. Stiles felt the familiar tension of her pulling her bow.

“That’s fine.” Stiles said. He was aiming at the center mass of whoever was coming at him.

“Call out to them.” She ordered.

“Stop where you are!” Stiles said loudly. “We are armed and licensed to use them.”

Red eyes flared in the distance.

“Um.” Stiles said.

“Focus.” Allison said, but there was a question in her voice.

“Right.” Stiles said. “Is this where the animal attacks are coming from?”

“Probably.”

“Extreme prejudice?” Stiles said.

“Yes.”

Chapter Text

It was like a far away dream, listening to Stiles and Allison piece together a part of his life he didn’t talk about with anyone. They didn’t know. They didn’t know the part about their aunt, they didn’t know the part of the werewolves, they didn’t know anything that had to do with their family’s history.

Derek and Scott listened to them from the car. As soon as they left the library, Derek turned on the car.

“Are you ok?” Scott asked softly.

Derek shrugged. “Kind of a relief to know that your girlfriend doesn’t share her aunt’s psychosis.”

Scott frowned at him.

“What do you want me to say, Scott?” Derek asked softly. The heater was blowing warm air in their faces and it reminded him of how they would curl up in his bed and he would read scary stories to Scott late at night. Of course Scott got nightmares and instead of sleeping with his parents, he slept with Derek. “They didn’t know. There are actually innocent people in all of this mess.”

***

Allison didn’t like what she was seeing. Rarely did she ever in instances like these, but this was making her feel a little sick with how much she did not know what to expect.

“Warning shot.” She ordered Stiles. She had always been in charge, letting Stiles free to beat on whoever or reigning him.

He fired a shot downward towards the floor in front of the thing.

The things kept advancing.

***

Derek was driving away from the school when they heard the gun shot. Without a word, he turned the wheel and slammed on the gas. As they approached the front door, both brothers were already taking off their seat belts and heading up the stairs.

***

“All right, Alli. I think they want to play.” Stiles said.

“Center mass.” She ordered.

They fired simultaneously.

The thing in front of Stiles jerked as the bullet pierced it.

The one in front of Allison caught the arrow.

“That’s disconcerting.” She said.

“Really, it is.” Stiles added dryly.

The one in front of Allison broke into a weird loping run at her.

“Eighteen.” She muttered and Stiles handed her his switchblade without a word, without breaking contact with the thing in front of him. Allison switched her bow and arrows into one hand and grabbed the blade.

Allison connected solidly with the thing in front of her, the switchblade’s handle doubling as brass knuckles. There was a crack but that was expected. The thing shook its head and stepped back, into a sliver of light.

“What the fuck…” Allison breathed out slowly.

“Assess.” Stiles snapped.

Allison swallowed and she heard her throat click. “Enlarged eyes and ears. Canines are…” She shook her head. “He looks like a fucking monster, Stiles. His teeth are down to his chin, hands are long, talons? Are those fucking talons? Oh god.”

“Ok.” Stiles said as the thing in front of him entered the light. It grinned and licked its lips. “Hair, everywhere. Claws. Teeth. Eyes are enlarged, ears are enlarged, you’re right, Jesus Christ were we drugged? Fuck.”

“Assess.” Allison reminded him.

The one in front of Allison threw himself at her again and it was only because the twins had trained so long together that at Allison’s change in stance, did Stiles know what to do. As the thing launched itself at her, she gathered her strength and threw it over her and Stiles’ head. Now both things were side by side, facing the twins.

“Nice.” Stiles said, fist bumping her.

“Thank you.” She said primly. She straightened out her skirt.

“Argents.” One hissed. Or growled.

“Was that a growl?” Stiles asked.

“Sounded like it.”

“Didn’t know animals could talk.” Stiles mused.

“Me either. Maybe they aren’t animals?” Allison said, as they both took a step back.

“I am going for radioactive cannibals.” Stiles said. Allison’s front was to Stiles’ back, their left legs forward, Allison’s bow in hand, Stiles’ gun aimed.

“You’ve been watching too many horror movies. “ Allison said.

“I’m going to tear your entrails out.” The other said.

Allison sighed. “He doesn’t need encouragement.”

“Thoughts?” Stiles said.

“Cannibals.” Allison agreed.

“Stiles. Allison.” A voice said from the end of the hallway.

Neither turned.

“Did that sound like Derek to you?” Stiles asked.

“I am not the one who listens to his voicemail on repeat.” Allison said, as they took another step back.

“Not the time or place, sister dear.” Stiles said, keeping his gun trained on the two figures in front of them.

“Alli.” A voice called out. “Stiles. Come to us.”

“Scott.” Allison said.

“Let’s talk about listening to voicemails on repeat now.” Stiles said. He squeezed off a shot as the two in front of them began to run once more. Allison shot an arrow, catching one in the arm.

“Enlarged eyes-” Allison said.

“And ears.” Stiles said, panting.

“Red 42.” Allison said. Stiles handed her his glasses and stepped behind her. She pulled an arrow back and Stiles pulled her knives from the back of her skirt. He tucked his gun away and risked a glance back at Derek and Scott.

The light caught them and yeah, they were Scott and Derek but they were very much not Scott and Derek. They looked like the things that were advancing on them but without the threat.

“Hold. We’ve got vulnerable stand bys.” Stiles said, the information running through his head like facts that needed to be checked off on a list. He would not consider Derek and Scott being on the side of monsters or what it meant that they were actually like the things in front of them. No, this was his buddy Scott. The guy who couldn’t do chemistry for his life but could make a mean sandwich. And this was Derek; beautiful, angry, smart Derek.

Allison’s hand was steady. “How vulnerable?” She asked.

“As vulnerable as they come.” Stiles said.

“Take care of it.” Allison said, pulling back once again and aiming. Stiles turned and ran for Derek and Scott. He saw Scott’s mouth open, saw all those teeth, but Stiles slammed into him and Derek, spun them around and pulled them into his chest. Stiles knew that they let him. He could feel how powerful they were, how they could tear him apart with one swipe of their hands. He covered their ears as best he could and pulled them in tight. “Close your eyes, close your eyes.” He told them.

Allison let the arrow go and as she did, she took as many steps back as she could.

The arrow was, essentially, a flash bang. It was concussive, sending out noise and light at the same time, rendering the target blind and deaf. They were designed for the average human and these were not the average humans; they were far more sensitive. As soon as the thing went off, Stiles let Derek and Scott go, turned and headed straight for his sister. Despite the glasses that shielded her eyes and offered protection for her ears, she was vulnerable after the red arrows went off. Stiles pulled her back and headed straight for the thing that was coming for her. He slashed quickly at it, drawing blood from three different places before it swiped out at him, laying his right forearm open in ribbons.

“Stiles!” Allison screamed. She was quickly drowned out by Derek, who, having reoriented himself, stepped up next to Stiles and let out a roar that shook Stiles down to his bones.

Stiles, dizzy with seeing his own blood, nodded and pointed at Derek. “What he said.” He told the two things in front of him. Scott stepped up next to him and Allison pulled Stiles back. She took off her jacket and tied it tightly around his arm. There was another sound from further down the hall and Stiles wondered if there was a major artery in his arm because he seemed to be losing a lot of blood.

“Ok.” Allison said, pulling him in close and sliding them both down a row of lockers. She sounded shaky. “I’m here. I got you.”

Stiles watched as a pair of high heels crossed in front of him followed, unbelievably, by a lizard’s tail.

“Did you see that.” Allison said. Her voice was flat and it was only then that he noticed the large, red, misshapen circle on her ribs. Stiles pulled himself up and took off what was left of his shirt and pressed it to her side. She pressed harder on his arm. Stiles was getting dizzy.

“Yeah.” Stiles said. “But we’ve lost a lot of blood so I don’t think we should put much stock into the fact that Derek and Scott are some kind of… species other than human and that there is a man sized lizard following Lydia.”

“What about Boyd and Erica and Isaac looking exactly like Scott and Derek?” Allison asked as the three came down the hall. Isaac stopped in front of them and Stiles got to see the teeth up close.

“Hey. I bet no one is messing with you now, right, buddy?” Stiles asked, patting his cheek and leaving a smear of blood there. He winced but Isaac just shook his head fondly at Stiles.

“Stiles.” Allison scolded. “I’m pretty sure that’s rude.”

“It’s ok.” Isaac said. “Ambulance is on its way.”

“Ok, but can you guys kill those things that tried to kill us?” Stiles asked. He was slumping over again and Erica was at his side, pulling him up and taking over for Allison. Isaac tugged Stiles’ hand away and took over for him.

“Derek will take care of it.” Erica soothed. She ran a hand through Stiles hair and he leaned into her neck. “Derek will take care of you.” She said softly.

The last thing Stiles remembered before losing consciousness altogether was his dad, Sheriff Stilinski and Melissa running down the hall towards them.

***

When Stiles woke up, his room was dim and Allison was in the bed with him. They were curled towards each other, hands clasped together.

“They tried to separate you, but I told them to not even try.” His dad’s voice came out of the darkness. “They work their best when they are together, I told them. So as soon as you were patched up and resting, they put you back in the same bed.”

Stiles met his sister’s eyes as she blinked awake.

“It’s not usual practice, but they let it slide just this once.” Melissa said, coming up next to Allison’s side of the bed. She ran a hand through her hair. Stiles tracked the movement. Allison’s curls bounced back to their former position when Melissa’s fingers slid through them easily. Someone must have cleaned them up. The Sheriff came up next to Melissa and put a hand on Allison’s ankle.

“We’ve got some things to talk about, baby.” Chris said gently to Stiles.

There was a flash of red and gold and blue from the corners of the room and Derek stepped up next to Stiles’ ankle and put a hand there. “Are you ok?” He asked softly.

Stiles met Allison’s eyes. She gripped his hand tighter.

“I don’t know.” Stiles whispered, speaking for both of them. Always, always he could speak for both of them.

“We can wait.” Chris said softly.

Allison was crying and she tried to pull herself into Stiles’ arms but the stitches in her side were making it hard for her to move. She cried out softly and then ground her teeth together, hating the sound of her own voice being so needy.

“Here.” Melissa said softly. She picked Allison up just enough to place her closer to Stiles. He curled his good arm around her and knew he was crying too. Allison buried her face in his neck and clung to him. That was the one place she could hide, the one place she could count on being steady. Her brother was her rock and the one thing she could count on not changing.

“Yeah.” Stiles said softly. “I think we need a minute.”

The Sheriff looked so sad and his father looked like he was realizing his wife was dead all over again. Melissa nodded. Derek squeezed his ankle gently and nodded to the others in the room.

“Could-” Stiles started. He didn’t like feeling like this. He didn’t have any way to protect himself or Allison. And he knew there were some pretty powerful painkillers working their way through his system. “Could one of you scary people stay? If anything happens, we can’t-”

“I’ll stay.” Derek said softly.

“Me too.” Scott said.

Chris looked at his children, curled in towards each other like opposite ends of a parenthetical sentence. That sentence was his entire life, his entire world. They carried each other and knew each other. But right now, they were both looking at him like they had never really known who he was before.

Maybe they didn’t.

“I’ll be back in the morning.” Chris whispered. He smoothed Stiles’ hair back and laid a kiss there. He did the same thing for Allison. He was thankful that neither one pulled away.

Erica, Boyd, Isaac, Lydia and Jackson left the room first. The Sheriff, Melissa and Chris followed.

“What are you going to do now?” Melissa asked Chris. She was walking in between him and the Sheriff.

“I’m going to go home. Sleep. Get some clothes and come back here. I’ll tell them everything.” Chris said decisively.

“Have you thought about how they might react?” John asked.

Chris nodded, tightly. “If they don’t want anything to do with me after they know everything, I will support that decision. If they want to join your pack, I can support that too. If they want to work independently, fine.”

“What if they want to join the other hunters?” Melissa asked softly.

It was a thought that Chris didn’t want to think about.

“Then we are going to have to restrain them.” Chris said.

“Can that even be done?” John asked.

“I can do it.” Chris said. He nodded at them and left.

Chapter Text

Derek waited until the twins fell asleep, their heartbeats a slow and easy rhythm.

“Even their hearts match.” Scott muttered.

“Twins are weird.” Derek said, his eyes sliding over them. Allison was still tucked into Stiles’ chest, her face in his neck. Her hands were curled into his tshirt and her toes were on top of his feet. His large hand was at the back of her neck, his other arm pillowing her cheek.

“It’s strange that these two have been there for each other their entire lives, ya know?” Scott said, watching them.

Derek glanced at him and shook his head.

“Well, I mean, even us. You had four years to yourself. I had a couple years when you went to college. You know? We’ve had our own time. Our own space. These two, they never had. In fact, they haven’t had much space at all.” Scott said.

“And that’s weird?” Derek prompted.

“Just different, I guess.” Scott said. “I wonder what its like to have the other half of you from the very start.”

Derek watched the two of them sleep and it was a long time before he replied.

“I would think its like knowing that every day, the moon is only for you.”

***

Allison woke up in long breaths. The first, she felt her brother’s hand on the back of her neck. The next, she blinked and she was staring at the hospital gown he was wearing. She was pulling back and so was he and they stared at each other for a long time.

He put his hand lightly over her side and glanced up at her.

She nodded at him. She placed a hand over his arm and looked at him. He grimaced but nodded.

“Have you two always been able to communicate without words?” Derek asked.

Twin whiskey brown eyes turned to him and he felt momentarily pinned by their gaze; cold and analytical, he could tell that they were judging him as an opponent.

“Yes.” Stiles said, his voice husky from sleep.

“Cryptophasia is pretty common in twins.” Allison said.

“And we were encouraged from a very age to keep that language up, to keep it to ourselves. It’s easier to communicate as a team with signals that the other people don’t know than it is to shout commands at each other.” Stiles said. He slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position. Allison followed.

“You’re a pretty lethal team.” Scott said. His hair looked flat and there were circles under his eyes.

“Look who’s talking.” Allison said. There was no bitterness in her voice; just admiration for the second in command.

“We try.” Derek said gently. “How are you feeling?”

“Thirsty. Achy.” Allison said.

Derek stood and went to her side of the bed. He stretched out a hand and Allison watched him, wary. “May I?” He asked, gesturing to her side.

Allison studied him and nodded after a moment. He placed his hand on her ribs, right where the bandages pulled the tightest. Black veins appeared on his arms, snaking upwards to his neck. His eyes glimmered red for a second and after a moment, he pulled away. Allison laid back against the bed.

“These guys are pretty awesome if they aren’t trying to eat you.” She told Stiles. She smiled stupidly and he was reminded of the time they smoked weed.

Stiles shook his head at her and turned back to Derek and Scott. Derek held his hand out to Stiles and wiggled his fingers.

“I’m good.” Stiles said, ducking his head. Allison slumped next to her. “Did you roofie her?” He asked.

“Endorphins.” Scott said from his chair. “The good stuff.”

Stiles nodded.

They were silent for a few moments and Stiles shifted around. “So, uh.”

“Your dad is almost here.” Scott said. “I think we should wait for him.”

“For what?” Stiles asked. He tugged the blanket up further around Allison’s hips.

“To tell you the story.” Derek said.

Chapter Text

Chris came in, followed by Boyd and Lydia. Jackson brought up the rear and a few moments later, Melissa slipped in wearing her nursing scrubs.

“John said he would be along as soon as he could.” Melissa said. “Go ahead.”

Chris was helping Allison into the bathroom where Lydia waved him away. She shut the door in his face and helped Allison change. When Allison came back out, in decent pajamas and her hair pulled out of her face, she looked a little better. She started the slow climb into bed until Scott stepped in and helped her into it. Stiles swung his legs off the bed and slowly stood. Jackson was closest and held his hand out to him. Stiles was grateful and took it. Derek stepped up to his other side and Stiles did not miss the look that Boyd and Lydia exchanged. Chris opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Derek shut the door in his face. In the bathroom, there were a pair of Stiles’ favorite sweatpants and his Snoopy shirt. There were boxers tucked away into the pocket of his pants and Derek pulled them out and handed them over to him. Stiles looked at Derek and Derek rolled his eyes and turned away. Stiles let the hospital gown drop to his feet and tried to put the boxers on. The issue was, was that his dominant hand was still wrapped up and it hurt to stretch it out. It actually hurt to stand, breathe and walk, but Stiles thought surely he could handle putting on his own boxers.

“Can I help you now?” Derek asked politely.

Stiles hung his head in defeat. Derek turned around, kept his eyes somewhere over Stiles’ shoulder and held the boxers out. Stiles grasped his shoulder with his good hand and stepped into them. They repeated the process with the sweatpants and then they both stared at the shirt.

“Arm first?” Derek suggested.

“Yeah. Let’s try that.” Stiles said.

After a few moments of wrestling Stiles into the shirt with minimal jostling of his arm, Stiles emerged victorious, if he was leaning on Derek a little more than when he entered the bathroom. He smiled at his dad who was fussing over Allison. She scooted over for him and Derek helped him up into the bed where he collapsed. Derek silently offered him his hand once more.

“Probably after I hear whatever shit is going on, big guy.” Stiles said, squeezing his forearm. “Thank you.” He added softly.

Derek left his side and stood next to Scott. The group did a little reshuffling until they found more comfortable spots. Allison was unsurprised to see Derek at the center of their group. Chris stood off to the side.

“Ok.” Allison said nodding.

“Vampires.” Stiles guessed.

“Radioactive cannibals.” Allison said.

“Wendigos.” Stiles said.

“They are loners and I already used cannibals.”

“But not cursed zombie cannibals.” Stiles argued.

“Still cannibals!” Allison said.

Chris and Lydia sighed.

“Government experiment that went terribly wrong and now you have to band together to fight for the right for continued existence in our society?” Stiles guessed.

“That-” Allison looked thoughtful. “That’s pretty good. I’m going to go with that one.”

“Werewolves.” Derek said softly.

Allison twitched and Stiles blinked. Allison furrowed her brow and Stiles shifted his gaze out the window, past Chris’ shoulder.

“Ok.” Allison repeated slowly.

“All of you?” Stiles asked.

“Well, not dad.” Scott said.

“And not me.” Lydia added.

“Or me.” Jackson said with a slow smile.

“But Derek, Isaac, Boyd, Erica and mom.” Scott said, nodding.

Allison and Stiles turned to their dad.

“Oh, not me either.” He added.

“Mom?” Allison asked.

“No.” Chris said, shooing Jackson out of his chair and pulling it close to Stiles side and reaching for Allison’s hand. “No, we’re something different.”

“We?” Allison and Stiles said.

“Let me start at the beginning.” Chris said softly.

***

“I met your mom at a party where we were engaged. There was no college coffee shop or philosophy class like we told you. Her parents and my parents thought that we would make a good match and our children would be strong. Your mom came from a very long line of hunters that made a sport of catching, torturing and eventually killing werewolves. She was the last of them. My family didn’t discriminate. If it wasn’t human, they hunted it.” Chris swallowed and looked down at his children’s hands, wrapped around his own. “So we met and three months later we were living in a small house near the beach in France. My family came from France and they figured we could start out there and then go to America.”

Chris looked down at their hands, all wrapped up together like all the lies he had told them. Their fingers were long and elegant, reminding Chris of Claudia and how she would play the piano in their little cottage seaside house at the edge of the world.

“I got lucky. Your mom was the kindest, sweetest soul that I ever met in our ugly world. She made it so easy to fall in love with her. So I did. I don’t know how it happened but she fell for me too.” Chris paused and there was a lump in his throat that he couldn’t get past. Melissa handed him some water. After a moment, he continued. “And then, one night, we got orders. We were supposed to go into Paris, find this family of wolves and put them down.”

Derek shifted at his words and Chris looked down.

“Your mom couldn’t. And if she couldn’t, then I wouldn’t. So we let them go, said they knew we were coming and were long gone by the time we got there. That night we went for a walk, circling around Paris. Your mom, she said to me that she thought that everything that we had done, everything that our lives led up to at that point was a mess. It was classist and awful and prejudice and she wouldn’t be involved in killing innocent people, let alone their children. I guess I always kind of knew that she felt that way. Some people say that she was a terrible leader, that she made poor decisions, bad judgement calls. But-” Chris gripped Allison’s hand tight. “But I knew. She was saving everyone that she could. That night, I promised her that she and I would do everything we could to help as many people as we could. But it had to be kept between her and I. No one else could know. Five years later, we had you two and everything changed.”

Chris closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Most of the kids know what they are going to grow up to do. Especially in hunter families. Some are administrative, some are muscle, some are practically royalty.”

“We were the muscle, weren’t we?” Stiles guessed.

“All the training, that makes sense.” Allison agreed.

“You were the royalty. The Argent twins, they were supposed to take us back to what we were before. When the hunters ruled over all the supposed monsters that ran around in the dark, killing sweet little kids.” Chris whispered.

No one moved.

“Allison was supposed to be the general, the one that led your army to the fight. Stiles was supposed to be her right hand, her confidant, her advisor, her closest friend.” Melissa picked up when no one spoke. “There were rumors of these children that went throughout our entire world. Entire families went into hiding. Entire packs disappeared overnight. The Argent twins were a terrifying story that no one wanted to talk about.”

“But your mom wouldn’t have it. She wouldn’t.” Chris insisted.

“Then why were we trained? The languages, the traveling? Why?” Allison asked.

“Because if you weren’t, your grandfather, your aunt, all the others would have known. And we knew, eventually, we would have to tell you and let you decide what you wanted to do. If you didn’t want any part of this world, it didn’t mean that this world wouldn’t come for you. That it wouldn’t want a bite of you. And Claudia Argent’s babies would not be defenseless.” Chris said. “So we trained you, relentlessly. We needed you to take care of yourselves. Do you understand?”

Allison nodded slowly.

“What happened to mom?” Stiles asked through gritted teeth. Scott and Derek shifted as one and Allison looked up at them. She shook her head once, tightly.

Chris looked up but the tears were still bright there in his eyes. “Your aunt Kate. She was-”

“Bat shit crazy.” Jackson said.

“She wanted to ‘bag a Stilinski’.” Chris said, speaking over Jackson. “The Stilinskis, their land, they are just as legendary as the Argents. And when Melissa made no move to hide from her, Kate saw it as insult, a slap to the face. Kate went after her. Threats, vandalism, whatever she could do. Melissa never rose to the challenge. Kate saw her as an easy target, an easy alpha to add to her very long list of names.” Chris thought he was going to be sick. His vision swam. “She was the one who caused Derek’s accident.” He whispered.

“John showed up first. Good thing he did. Kate shot Derek full of wolfsbane.” Melissa said, picking up the story. “Wolfsbane is a kind of poison that can put us down. Between that and the fire, Derek was surely dead. But John was there and burned it out of him.”

“All I can remember was the flames, both inside and out.” Derek muttered.

“He was in a coma for a long time. He was dying, but it was slow.” John said from the door. “And the only thing that our emissary, Deaton, could do for us was a spell. It was dangerous. We had to wake a witch of incredible power and Melissa had to willingly hand over her alpha status over to Derek.”

“What does it mean to be an alpha?” Allison asked.

“Power, control. They are the head of the family.” Derek said shortly.

“So we woke the witch, a twelve year old little girl at the time-” John nodded at Lydia who smiled wanely and waved. “Melissa let Derek take over being alpha and he healed and woke up.”

“After that, Kate became more dangerous, less able to control herself. Your grandfather, even if he was constantly cleaning up after her, was proud. Kate waited until you were eighteen when there was supposed to be a ceremony to welcome you into the ranks but when there was none, she figured it out. Who was passing the information along, who was telling the wolves about raids, all of it. She figured that your mom was the one who convinced me to stray from the path, and when-” Chris shook his head and stood up. He left their bedside and went to the window. His hands were shaking. “She started the rumors that made you fight with your mom, Stiles. She called Allison to get her out of the house. She thought I was still there, didn’t think I would go after Stiles. She wasn’t counting on that. But when she figured out that I was gone, she went after your mom-” Chris shook his head.

“Kate started the fire and left town.” John said quietly. “After your mom’s funeral, your dad said he was following up on some leads. Instead, he went after Kate. No one has heard from her or Gerard since. But no one has bothered to step near Beacon Hills either.”

“Beacon Hills is a safe haven. The Stilinski pack is strong, they have a good alpha, a witch that can cause torture to rival the middle ages, a man-lizard thing that no one can put a name to-”

“Kanima.” Jackson drawled.

“And now Beacon Hills has the Argent twins.” Allison whispered softly.

“No.” Stiles said softly. “Now the Stilinski pack has the Argent twins.”

“Something is coming, isn’t it? That’s why the animal attacks. Its other wolves, trying to come for us. And you’ve been building your pack to keep them out.” Allison said, putting the pieces together so fast that Derek could only nod.

“You’re trying to make yourself big enough and strong enough to keep us safe.” Stiles said.

“It’s not just you. Don’t flatter yourself.” Lydia said with a wink to take the sting out of her words.

“It’s the entire town. We protect it, guard it.” Derek said. “You haven’t drawn innocent blood. As far as we are concerned, you are to be protected as well.”

“We don’t need protection.” They both said.

Scott snorted. “We saw.” He said.

Chris left suddenly. John and Melissa exchanged a look before following him.

“We ought to go too.” Boyd said softly. He stepped up and placed a hand on Stiles’ shoulder. “It was good to meet you.”

“You too.” Stiles said softly.

The others followed Boyd, whispering their goodbyes. Derek fell into the chair next to Stiles. He raised his eyebrows and offered him his hand.

Grateful, Stiles slid his hand into Derek’s warm palm. Allison curled up next to him.

He fell into a deep darkness.

Chapter Text

The next few days passed in a blur for Allison and Stiles. They were released from the hospital but got doctor’s leave to stay at home for the rest of the week. The school was in the middle of repairs after the “gang” fight that happened after hours. Scott and Lydia brought them their homework and dropped off the answers so all that they had to do was copy them. Derek stopped by almost nightly to speak to Chris about strategy.

It was a pack, Allison and Stiles found out. But it wasn’t just any pack. A pack of alphas with so many betas underneath them, it was hard to put a number to them. Derek put it somewhere in the seventies.

Chris shook his head at the information and they spent many nights glaring at a map in Chris’ office. John would sometimes join them when they would glare at the map. Melissa would come over as well and spend some time with the twins, explaining the finer points of the hunters world that she knew of.

“Why are we so high up in the food chain?” Stiles asked. He nodded at the paper Melissa was writing on. It was a list of families, as many as she could remember, that were hunters.

“It’s hard to say.” Melissa said with a shrug. “I know the Argents have been around longer than any other family. I know that they were some of the fiercest war lords way back when. I know that the trophies that they collected were among the largest in the world.”

“And by trophies you mean people.” Allison said. Her mouth was screwed up in disgust. Jackson and Scott looked up from their spot at the kitchen table where they were shoveling lasagna into their mouths. The Argent household had somehow become the headquarters for all of them.

“Yes.” Melissa said.

Stiles turned away from the list and went to the backdoor. He turned back and put his finger on the list. He was trembling with a little bit of rage. “I don’t want on our name on this list anymore. I want to make a different list.” He said.

Allison nodded. “A list that makes more sense. A list that can include both the Stilinski and Argent name.”

“We will not be a part of this world anymore.” Stiles swore.

“It ends right here. If they chose our mom and dad to make the fiercest warriors that they could, then that’s what we are going to give them.” Allison added. She wasn’t shaking like Stiles, but her voice was cold and quiet with anger.

“Then we need to train.” Derek said from the doorway.

“We can do that.” The twins said.

***

Derek would like to think that he didn’t underestimate people. He would like to think that he was an ok judge of what a person could and couldn’t handle.

But Stiles tore that idea right out of his head.

They were facing each other in a clearing, panting. Stiles’ heartbeat held steady and his hands were steady.

Derek darted in, feinting left and then heading right. Stiles ducked underneath his hand, easily dodging the swipe and using his momentum to swing himself around and almost caught Derek in the ribs with a punch.

“Green twelve.” Allison called out, stalking behind Derek.

Stiles shifted his stance and darted in. The switchblade opened up a slice over Derek’s ribs and along the back of his thigh. Derek caught his wrist on an upswing and pulled his wrist in close, disarming Stiles and tossing it behind him. Stiles was already twisting in his grip, pulling Derek in close and driving his knee upward into his stomach.

“Red twenty two.” Allison said.

When Derek tried to breathe, Stiles took the opportunity to swing around him and put him in a sleeper hold.

“That’s not bad.” Chris said after a long moment. “Let go, son.” He ordered Stiles.

Air rushed back into Derek’s chest. Stiles held his hand out and Derek took it.

Stiles patted his chest. “I know you took it easy on me.”

“Well, didn’t want to hurt the fragile little human.” Derek said, returning the gesture. He caught his mom’s eye across the field. She smirked. She knew he was lying.

“Allison, you’re next.” John called out.

As Stiles left the clearing, Allison and Stiles exchanged a complicated handshake.

She was wearing a skirt and tights and she took her stance seven feet away from Derek. He didn’t want to think of himself sexist but neither could he bring himself to fight a girl in a flower skirt.

“Can’t Erica-” Derek said, glancing over at his dad.

Pain exploded over his jaw and Allison darted away, quick and silent.

Derek blinked and turned to her. She was silent and steady and there wasn’t a single motion to betray her.

“If you can fight my brother, you can fight me.” She said softly.

There was a silent moment across the clearing and Chris shifted. He had a gun loaded with wolfsbane bullets under his coat.

“Ok.” Derek said.

Where Stiles went for the big punches, the big finish, Allison took Derek apart like a scalpel. She carved first at his stamina, using as little of her own energy as possible.

“White eighty two.” Stiles said calmly from the side. Derek was panting and Allison’s cheeks were red.

She darted in and there was a fierce pain in Derek’s side.

“Eight.” Stiles said softly.

Allison darted in again, swept Derek’s legs out from under him and landed heavily on his chest, a blade Derek didn’t know she had at his neck.

“Just like old times.” He muttered.

Allison laughed. Scott helped her up.

“I think we have the training all wrong.” John said, raising his eyebrows at Chris.

***

Scott was gasping for breath when he came to a stop.

“They aren’t human. They aren’t, Derek.” He insisted. His shirt was plastered to his chest and his hair was flat against his head.

“We can keep up with them.” Derek said. Boyd and Erica were leaning against each other and Isaac was splayed out in the dirt. Jackson was leaning up against a tree and Allison and Lydia were consulting a book between them.

“Yes, you can.” Chris said, coming up and putting a hand on Scott’s shoulder.

“Where is Stiles?” Scott asked, looking around.

“He finished his run awhile ago.” Chris said. “Come on, we’ve got drills to start.”

Isaac whimpered from the ground.

***

Scott was in Allison’s bedroom looking over homework she had helped him with. Stiles came in, unannounced and sat down next to him. There was a laptop in one hand, a blood pressure cuff in the other. He took Scott’s arm without a word and ran the instrument. He frowned at the reading and did it again.

“Hm.” He said. He typed something into his laptop and Allison came back in her room and looked on over his shoulder.

“Hm.” She said.

“Uh?” Scott asked.

Stiles didn’t reply. Instead, he flipped Scott’s hand over and took his pulse.

“That can’t be right.” Stiles said and gave Allison Scott’s wrist.

She did the same thing and nodded. “It’s right.” She said.

“Hm.” Stiles said.

He took Scott’s temperature and frowned.

“How are you feeling?” He asked Scott.

“Fine.” Scott said with a shrug. “Why?”

“Your temperature is 105.7.” Stiles said.

“That’s about right.” Scott said.

“Hm.” Stiles said, stood up, and left the room.

“Your brother is strange.” Scott told Allison.

She leaned in and kissed him gently. His eyes widened at the easy gesture.

“Yeah, but you like him.” She said.

***

Stiles’ room was empty when he returned, a first for in a long time. The Stilinski pack made themselves at home pretty quick and it wasn’t unusual for him to find someone using his computer, copying his homework or even sleeping in his bed. He ran a quick analysis of all the data he had collected from the wolves and nodded at the response he got.

“Interesting.” He said. “Do you mind if I get your vitals?” He asked.

“I’m going to take you by surprise one day.” Derek vowed as he climbed the rest of the way in the window.

“Probably when you decide to use the front door.” Stiles said, picking up his thermometer and blood pressure cuff. Derek sat at his spare desk chair and let Stiles run the same things on him as he did to Scott. Stiles sat in the other chair, knees bumping Derek’s.

“Hm.” Stiles said. “How are you feeling?” He asked.

“Fine.” Derek said with a shrug. “Why?”

“Your temperature is 115.8. Scott’s was 105.7. I thought you two would be at least slightly similar.” Stiles said. He reached for Derek’s hands and held them.

“What are you doing?” Derek asked, looking at their tangled hands.

“My hands are cold. Why are you so much hotter than Scott?” Stiles asked.

Derek raised his eyebrows.

“You know what I mean.” Stiles said. He didn’t let go of Derek’s hands.

“Alphas are different. I don’t think there is an actual reason. If there is, its something to do with healing properties and faster shifts and being able to take pain.” Derek didn’t pull away from Stiles. He liked feeling the calm rush of blood underneath Stiles’ skin, his comforting heartbeat. There shouldn’t have been so much comfort here in the Argent household, let alone in this kid’s room.

“What are you doing here?” Stiles asked after a long moment.

“Looking for Scott. He wasn’t home for dinner.” Derek said softly.

“He ate here. But they also have these neat things called phones. All the cool kids have them these days.” Stiles said with a grin.

“I was in the neighborhood.” Derek said instead.

“Lies.” Stiles said.

“I wanted to go for a run.” Derek tried.

“More lies.” Stiles said, his grin widening.

“It’s a nice night out.”

“You wound my pride, Derek. Want to watch a movie?” He asked.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Derek said, his grin matching Stiles’.

Chapter Text

“Can anyone take them down?” Erica panted, glaring at Allison and Stiles, in the middle of their circle.

“Maybe if Derek would stop holding back.” Isaac grimaced, looking at the blood that was drying stiff on his shirt.

“Wait, wait. Time out.” Chris called out.

They were in a warehouse Chris purchased years before the twins were even born. Thanks to the Stilinski pack, it had been outfitted into a gym. Now, Stiles and Allison were training almost daily with the wolves, matching their speed and performance easily.

Stiles and Allison immediately stood up straight, dropping their hands. Listening to their father’s voice was second nature to them. For the wolves, it was not so easily done.

“Is that true?” Chris asked Derek when everyone was a little more relaxed. “Are you holding back?”

Derek shifted his gaze to Erica and Isaac who gave him an apologetic look in return.

“I don’t want to hurt them.” Derek finally said. “I’m not sure how fast or how hard you know we can go.”

“And the last thing you want to do is hurt them, I get it, both you and Scott.” Chris interpreted.

Scott looked alarmed and looked to Derek, who was already glaring at his little brother.

“Scott, goddamn it-”

“I didn’t say anything!” He sputtered.

“Neither did I!” Derek hissed.

They both turned to the twins who were sitting back to back now, legs splayed out, comfortable and easy with their own father’s words. They merely looked back at Scott and Derek serenely.

“What?” Stiles finally asked.

“He’s not stupid.” Allison said.

“He literally grew up in your world.” Stiles added helpfully.

“You don’t think he didn’t notice?” Allison asked, arching an eyebrow slowly.

“We just didn’t deny it.” Stiles finished.

“Sir-” Scott started.

“Mr. Argent-” Derek tried.

Chris waved them quiet. “It’s different talk for another time. Say, Saturday at one. You can come over. Through the front door, Derek.” Chris said pointedly. “We’ll have lunch and a pleasant talk about what it means to date an Argent.”

Scott looked balefully at Derek. “I knew you would get me killed one day.”

“But you need to stop holding back. Whatever alphas are coming for them are not going to hold back. And if they are killed, right in front of you, two things are going to happen. We both know what they are.” Chris said, looking Derek right in the eye. “You are cheating them and you are cheating your pack.” Chris stomped out of the ring and took a seat by John.

Derek shot his dad a look and John nodded. “Go ahead, son.” He said softly.

Stiles and Allison were already on their feet, casting a wary glance around themselves now. Armed with only a baton and switchblade each, they had still caused enough to damage for the wolves to think twice about going in on any straight on attacks. Derek, Scott, Isaac, Erica, Jackson, and Boyd formed a loose circle around the twins. Derek was the first to drop down into a defensive position, teeth and claws out. Scott followed and then the rest did the same.

“All right, let’s show them what you can do.” Chris said.

He leaned back and John shifted against him.

“Don’t worry, old man.” Chris told him. “They can take care of themselves.”

“You put them in the ring with five wolves and a giant lizard-”

“Kanima!” Jackson yelled.

“Don’t you think that’s something to worry about?” John asked. He winced as Stiles struck Isaac in the jaw, missed getting his hand taken off by mere inches and then kicked Isaac in the chest, sending him flying out the ring.

“Nope.” Chris said. He leaned forward, his forearms on his elbows and both him and Lydia, who had snuck in earlier and then seated herself on the other side of John, winced when Allison landed a spinning back kick to Jackson’s face.

“Why did it have to be to his face?” Lydia moaned.

Boyd growled and launched himself at Allison, who spun out of the way gracefully and slammed her baton into his back. He stumbled into Stiles who threw Scott into Boyd, pushing Boyd out of the ring.

With a frustrated growl, Boyd picked Jackson up and marched over to Chris. “This sucks. You raised some X-Men or something. I don’t believe you when you say its genetics.”

“Well, its the genetics and its the training they’ve done for the past sixteen years.” Chris said. There was a collective wince when they all heard a yelp and Erica fell at Jackson’s feet. He helped her up. “I think them being twins plays a part in it.”

“Mutants.” Boyd muttered and they all turned to the ring that had gone strangely silent.

Derek and Scott were in the center of the ring, back to back. Allison and Stiles circled them, slowly, as though they were the born predators.

“I will pick up the hook.” Stiles said and spun his baton in one hand. He was facing Scott. “You will see something new.” His voice was flat and emotionless.

“Oh, no.” Chris said and stood.

“What are they doing?” John asked slowly. He stood as well.

“Two things.” Allison picked up. Her switchblade caught the light.

Chris hid his face.

“And I call them-” She whispered.

Stiles and Allison rushed in. Derek dropped back, expecting Allison to crash into him. Instead, she ran past him, but opened up a wide welt at his side. She caught Stiles’ arm as he slammed his fist into Scott’s face and turned back around, switched her grip on the knife, using the brass knuckles and struck Derek where she had just cut him three times.

Stiles caught Scott so unaware that the first punch stunned him and the following four made him claw for consciousness. His wolf took over and his claws slashed out, missing Stiles by only inches. Stiles copied his sister’s moves, catching Scott in the ribs easily. Scott hit Stiles, once, enough to get him to back off, only to have Stiles shake it off and charge in again.

Allison was relentless. She was no longer a surgical instrument. Now she was taking Derek apart with huge hits to his face and ribs, one to his neck. Derek saw his opening and charged her, grabbing her around the waist and slamming her into the wall behind them.

Chris watched in horror as Allison quickly dropped her switchblade, reversed her hold on the baton so that she was holding an end in each hand and slammed it into the back of Derek’s head before covering his face again.

Derek dropped like a dead weight the same time Scott did.

“Thing one-” Allison finished, straightening out her boots.

“And thing two.” Stiles said.

They dropped their weapons and switched sides, Stiles going to Derek’s side and Allison going to Scott.

“What was that?” John asked, sounding strangled.

“That was years of military training, cryptophasia, twins who are mostly one person, self hypnosis, and deadly accuracy.” Chris said from behind his hands. “Is it over?”

Stiles was pulling Derek over so that he was face up and patting his cheek gently. “Derek?” He said softly.

“I died.” Derek whispered.

“No. Well, not right now. I can’t speak to the rest of your medical history.” Stiles said. “How you feeling, big guy?”

“Like your sister broke a baton over my head.” Derek moaned.

Stiles looked at the scattered pieces of his sister’s baton. “She did. Can I do anything?”

“Go buy all the ibuprofen.” Derek groaned.

“All of it?” Stiles asked.

Derek squeezed his eyes shut. “Yes, all of it.”

Stiles looked back to see Scott wrapping himself around Allison’s waist and burying his face in her stomach.

“Is training over?” Jackson asked.

“Oh yeah.” John said.

***

Stiles stretched out on his bed, fresh and warm from a shower, in his favorite shirt that he had stolen from Derek. Allison came in and flopped on the end of his bed.

“Today was fun.” She said.

“I’m exhausted.”

She hummed and Stiles relaxed into his bed.

“Do you think they are mad at us?” She whispered.

“Nah.” Stiles said. He rolled over and looked at her. “Are you thinking about it?” He whispered.

“Probably.” She said and rolled her eyes. “Of course I am.”

“But if we are part of their pack, Derek is the alpha. Like. That’s a thing we have to submit to.” Stiles said and watched his sister carefully. He had always followed her lead and had always supported her. He could count on one hand the times that he questioned her decisions but she was never wrong, not when they went into battle.

Allison drummed her fingers across her stomach and looked up at the ceiling. “It’s been that way for awhile too.” She admitted. “It’s not like he’s a new alpha or anything. His pack, he made that. He comes from a family that can feel that on a biological level.”

“I wonder if its like us.” Stiles said.

Allison was silent for a minute. “If they even offered, would we be able to take it?” She finally asked.

“What do you mean?” Stiles asked.

“You and I belong to each other. Nothing weird or gross like those people back home suggested, but you know.” She gestured at them both, “The two of us, we are a pack. We always have been. We don’t let anyone in, ever.”

Stiles nodded.

“So if we were pack, which each member protects the other equally, or in the case of the alpha those betas protect Derek with everything, would we be able to do that?” Allison asked.

“If it were between me and Derek, you would save me.” Stiles surmised. “And the other way around. If it were between you and Derek, I would save you.”

Allison nodded. “But in the pack, Derek is the most important. He’s the one they all work together for-”

“It’s not actually like that.” Derek said softly from the window.

“Christ almighty!” Allison screamed and fell off the edge of the bed.

“He does that.” Stiles muttered and shuffled to the end of his bed and helped Allison up.

She pushed her hair out of her face and pointed at the door. “Our front door does work you know.”

Derek shrugged. “This way is faster.” He turned his eyes to the doorway and Chris threw the door open, gun in hand.

“Derek, damn it.” He muttered before turning around and leaving the room.

“He’s going to shoot you one day.” Stiles said.

“Your sister broke a baton over my head. I’m sure your dad shooting me will pale in comparison.” Derek said and sat in the armchair next to Stiles’ bookshelf.

“Sorry.” Allison said softly, looking shy.

Derek waved his hand. “Training. It happens. Erica broke Isaac’s jaw once and then he broke her arm. Things happen.”

There was a weird silence in the room but Derek seemed strangely at ease. Stiles and Allison kept shooting looks at each other and trying to use their eyebrows as communication.

Finally, Derek sighed and spread his hands out wide as he leaned forward on his forearms. “I’m not sure how much hunters know about us or what you’ve been told. I don’t know how much your dad knows. But it seems like a lot of hunters think that the pack lives and dies solely at the alpha’s…” Derek trailed off and frowned. “At the alpha’s orders. That’s not the right word.”

“Whim?” Stiles guessed.

“Closer.” Derek muttered. “It doesn’t matter because that isn’t how we work.” He stood and went over to the mirror that Stiles had on the back of his closet doors. They were wide, about as wide as the closet itself. Derek grabbed a marker from the desk and at the top of the mirror wrote ALPHA in large block letters. “Without an alpha, a pack won’t survive. Every pack, even the shittiest, least able bodied packs, need a leader. Otherwise there would be too much in-fighting.” Below that, he wrote BETA. “After the alpha, comes the beta. The beta is the right hand to the alpha. This person can offer suggestions and will be the least likely to get their head bitten off when doing it.”

“Literally or figuratively?” Allison asked.

Derek smirked. “In the older packs, the more traditional ones, the beta will be the second to eat, the second in line for all the best things: clothes, paycheck, mates, food, living space.”

“Scott’s your beta.” Stiles said.

“Close.” Scott said from the doorway.

“Goddamn it.” Stiles and Allison muttered.

“Mom is my beta.” Derek said with a soft laugh. “I had the choice to name Scott my beta, but I was seventeen when I gained all the alpha power and Scott was only thirteen. That’s a lot of responsibility for a kid and I still wanted him to have something of a childhood.”

Scott sat next to Allison’s legs, on the floor. “And mom has way more experience with everything. She’s more level headed and can think clearly when the rest of us are ready to go tear someone’s head off.”

Derek turned back to the mirror and drew four more smaller circles from the large Beta that was already printed neatly. Inside each small circle was a B and each circle was pointing upwards to the much larger BETA. “All the others in the pack are also betas, but of a lower ranking. The lower the ranking, the less regard each member has in the pack. In the traditional packs they get the smaller portions and lesser made things.”

“But in your pack…?” Stiles urged.

“They get what they earn.” Derek said with a shrug. “Naturally, there are things that are a given. Food, for example. I don’t make the others wait on me to eat. I don’t really care if Boyd gets the first slice of pizza.”

“That’s way too old school for us, anyway.” Scott said. Allison tugged affectionately at his hair and he gave her a goofy smile.

“But that’s not your entire pack.” Stiles said, nodding at the mirror.

Derek pointed the marker at him. “Good.” He said. Stiles blushed. Allison laughed at him. Stiles threw a pillow at her head and Allison threw it back. The pillow fight devolved into a wrestling match and Derek and Scott stepped out of the way.

Stiles and Allison had each other in headlocks when their dad opened the door. “Children.” He said, sarcasm at leaking into his voice.

“She started it!” Stiles choked out.

“I did not!” Allison said. She smacked him in the face. He pulled her hair.

“These two are the ones that took you two out.” Chris said to Derek and Scott.

“I am so ashamed.” Derek muttered as Stiles and Allison devolved even further into a slap match.

They finally pushed each other away and fell on the floor.

“Sorry.” Allison said, pushing her hair out of her face.

“Please continue.” Stiles said.

Derek raised an eyebrow at the two of them and turned back to the mirror. Chris sat down in the office chair and propped his chin up on his fist. “Lydia and Jackson can’t really belong to a pack. Not in the traditional way, anyway. All wolf pack members are linked to one another by a not-quite-telepathic bond-”

“What do you mean ‘not quite’?” Stiles asked.

“We can feel what Derek feels and he feels what we feel. Not in a specific form or words. It’s not like a sentence or words-” Scott said, his words failing.

“Think of each member as a source of light. Blue is sad. Red is love. Green in content. Yellow is happy. When one of them is feeling something in particular, they glow brighter or they dim. If Scott is unhappy, his light is blue. If he is deeply unhappy, its an even richer shade of blue. If he is in love, he’s red.” Derek explained.

“And you can discern their emotions from these colors.” Stiles concluded, nodding.

“Back to my original point. Jackson and Lydia can’t belong like the wolves belong. But they are pack. We take care of them like they are pack because they belong to us.” Derek said, drawing a line from ALPHA down to two separate bubbles that were the equal height of the lower betas. One had an L in it and the other had a J in it. “So we created what Deaton called a bridge from me,” Derek tapped the two lines that he had just drawn, “To them. So while they aren’t quite wolves, they are pack.”

“Wow.” Allison said, standing and studying the structure. Derek backed off and let Stiles in as well. They stood in silence for a minute, staring at the mirror, then tilted their heads to the side exactly the same.

“So if we wanted to join your pack-” Allison started.

“Deaton would have to create the same bridge from you-” Stiles picked up, tapping the mirror.

“To us.” Allison concluded.

“It’s a little bit more complicated than that.” Derek hedged. “But that’s basically it.”

“What’s more complicated about it?” Stiles asked, turning to face the others. Scott and Chris exchanged a look while Derek pursed his mouth. Allison turned to the others.

“We are nothing but assets.” Allison added, looking between the other three that either sat or stood in front of them

“You can clearly see that we can handle ourselves.” Stiles added, looking at his sister.

“We have had years of training.” Allison added.

This time, the silence was awkward all the way around.

“It’s more than that.” Scott said slowly.

“We aren’t a military team. We fight together because we have to, to defend the Stilinski land and pack. We don’t fight for sport. Fighting doesn’t bring us together. It’s pack.” Derek said softly.

Chris stood and left his side of the room, stepping closer to his children. Allison rocked back on her heels and Stiles tipped his head to the left, slowly, studying Derek and Scott.

“I see.” Allison said softly. Her eyes flicked over to her brother, who nodded. “You guys can see yourselves out.”

Chris blinked and glanced over at his children. Scott stood. Stiles took a dirty shirt out of his hamper and began to wipe the writing off his mirror.

“Allison-” Scott said.

“No.” She said stepping back, closer to Stiles, their shoulders brushing. “We get it.”

Chris didn’t say anything but only wearily glanced between the two groups. Stiles finished wiping the mirror clean and tossed his shirt back in the hamper before turning back to Scott and Derek.

“We didn’t mean-” Derek said.

“We actually think you meant exactly what you said.” Stiles said slowly.

“We get it.” Allison said and waved her hand dismissively. Her eyes had gone cold and distant. “We’ve got homework to do.”

They left Stiles’ room and went across the hall to Allison’s room. Stiles slammed the door shut and they didn’t need supernatural hearing to hear the door lock or the music being turned all the way up.

“We didn’t mean-” Scott said.

Chris nodded to the hall and the two followed. They went down the stairs and Chris opened the door for the two of them. Scott and Derek left the house but turned back to Chris.

“I would like to think of myself as a good parent.” Chris said, nodding to himself, his eyes on their shoes. “Which means, in nine of out ten cases, I will take my children’s side over anyone else’s. This is one of those times.” He said, raising his cold blue eyes to Scott and Derek. Derek stepped forward a bit and pushed Scott behind him. “My children have been through a lot-”

“They aren’t the only ones.” Derek growled.

“No one of yours died, Derek. Kate killed their mother. They didn’t see Claudia’s body, but I did. She tore her apart.” Chris cleared his throat and glanced behind him. “What you just told them, what they just heard the two of you say to them, is that it’s not that they aren’t good enough, but that they don’t have love in them. That they can only operate as a team out to hunt or kill. That they are, essentially, only good as weapons. And if that’s what you honestly think, then I feel sorry for you. Because once one of them loves you, the other loves you so hard that you don’t know what you did to deserve it. Of course they’ll fight for you but the other thing they do for you? Do you know what it is?” Chris asked them, genuinely wanting an answer.

Both boys shook their head.

“They’ll live for you.” Chris shook his head once more. “Good luck finding that again.”

The second door of the night slammed shut in their faces.

Chapter Text

Stiles could feel Scott’s eyes burning into the back of his neck. He knew it was him from the way that Jackson glanced between the two of them.

“Everything good, Jackson?” Stiles asked stiffly, zipping up his backpack.

Jackson frowned at him and shook his head. “Whatever, man.” He said and walked away. Much like the first day, Stiles waited for Allison.

She didn’t look anyone in the eye and passed Scott by without even so much a glance his way. Stiles followed his sister’s example and she sat in the corner of their class and directed Stiles to sit next to her. He did, slumping gracelessly next to her. Scott came in shortly after them, followed by Lydia. Lydia glanced between the two of them and was clearly torn. Finally, she sighed and took a seat near the front, choosing not to choose a side. Allison handed Stiles a pencil and class began.

***

It was like that for the rest of the day. Even when Stiles had a class alone with Scott, he ignored him. He skipped lacrosse practice and told coach the next day that he needed to drop from the team because of family issues. Coach sputtered but Stiles merely left his office, waving off the man’s comments. Allison didn’t ask him to, nor would she ever, but even if he didn’t know what it was like to be in a pack, he knew what solidarity meant. Instead of going to practice that day, he walked outside with Allison. He saw Derek’s Camaro and Scott leaning into the passenger side door, talking to Derek in a low tone. He didn’t understand why but once he saw those dark aviators and that jaw, he had to remind himself not to care.

He slid into the car and looked over at Allison. Her eyes were bright and her lower lip was trembling. She gritted her teeth and looked over at him. “You good?” She asked.

Stiles nodded. “Good as gold.”

She put the car in gear and almost hit Derek’s car on her way out of the parking lot.

***

Scott, Lydia, Jackson, Boyd, Erica and Isaac were all sitting in the living room. Melissa was leaning against the doorway, studying all of them. No one was speaking and they seemed to be avoiding staring at each other, or worse yet, Derek.

Melissa cleared her throat and Jackson and Erica winced at the sound.

“I missed something.” She said politely. Derek turned to her, snarling. She blinked, completely unfazed.

The front door open and John came in, already trying to pull off his duty belt. He paused when he passed by the living room, taking stock.

“Derek, don’t snarl at your mother.” He finally said with a sigh. Derek turned to him and John glared. “You and your brother are the only ones who can be at fault here. No one told you to speak to them in that way and I don’t blame them for shutting both you,” John pointed at Scott, “And him out.”

“Dad!” Scott said.

“Tell me what defense you have here, son. Explain it to me. You and Derek have been snapping and snarling at one another,” John paused and glanced around the room, “You know what? Cancel pack night. You guys don’t deserve this, go home.” John pulled Melissa aside and let the others out of the room, gently shooing them out. When they left, John went upstairs and changed. When he came back down, he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Derek was still growling and pacing. Scott was still sitting. Melissa was still in the doorway, eyeing her two sons.

“Sit.” John said to Derek.

Derek flashed his eyes at him.

“Derek, damn it. Sit down.” John snapped. Instead of sitting next to Scott, Derek slumped in the arm chair across the room. John rolled his eyes and sat next to Scott. Melissa sat in the chair in the other corner of the room. “Why are you acting like such a child?” John asked, as soon as everyone sat.

“No one will let me explain why I didn’t think they would be a good match.” Derek finally said after a long moment of silence.

John gestured for him to speak.

Derek glared at the floor.

“So instead of laying it all out on the line in front of the people who are least likely to judge you, you what? Remain silent? No wonder Chris didn’t let you get a word in edgewise.”

“You saw him?” Scott asked softly.

“We crossed paths at Cindy’s today.” John confirmed. “He told me what happened, why his children are sequestering themselves. He told me not to take it personally. Apparently Allison and Stiles are still fans of the local sheriff.”

“But?” Derek urged.

“But nothing.” John said. “You are a grown adult. Actually, legally, both of you are. You both have decisions to make that will now begin to affect you for the rest of your life.”

“No pressure.” Melissa added.

“What do we do?” Scott asked.

Derek remained silent.

“What do you think you should do?” John asked.

“I want-” Scott frowned and looked at Derek.

“What?” John asked.

“I miss them.” Scott mumbled finally. “For the first time, it was like finally having two pieces of my own. When mom was alpha I shared her with the pack. Same with Derek. Erica always had Boyd, Lydia always had Jackson and Isaac has some weird hero worship going on with Derek. And Allison was mine. Not that she belonged to me, but she was- she was my person. And Stiles felt like the best friend I should have always had. They just don’t understand what its like. They think its like them. And its not.” Scott looked up at his father. “Stiles and Allison are singular. What they have is something that none of us can touch. But what they have has built a wall that the rest of can’t touch either.”

“Hm.” John said, turning to Derek.

“What?” Derek snapped.

“Your turn.”

“I’m not sharing my feelings, dad.” Derek snorted.

“All right, big tough guy. Why not? Is it because these two are related to Kate? Or is it because Stiles is a guy?” John asked, his tone even.

Derek didn’t reply.

“It doesn’t matter. You know it never did.” Melissa said softly. “All we want is for you to be happy. And that little spaz made you happy.”

“They don’t get it.” Derek said. He shook his head and looked out the window. “All of them? They get it. They wanted this. They wanted to be in this life. They wanted the bite. Or the powers. Stiles and Allison never wanted this. When I look at them with their dad, in their stupid pajamas, doing homework, all I can see is this family that was never touched by our world till a few months ago. They aren’t in it yet. They still have a chance.”

“A chance at what?” Scott whispered.

“A chance at the world. College. A job. Some normal life somewhere beyond Beacon Hills that they can call home. They don’t have to be here. They can go anywhere. They can live on a beach in France or in the woods of Colorado.” Derek sucked in a breath because he wanted to scream at the thought of Stiles so far away, nothing but a distant whisper in Derek’s head. “They can run a company or be a stay at home parent. They don’t have to have this.”

“But we do.” Melissa finished.

“Of course we do.” Derek snapped and his eyes glimmered red. “We were born like this. We didn’t get a second chance. We didn’t get any chances.”

“They were born into this, same as you.” John said. “Their parents, grandparents, great grandparents made choices. Those choices brought them here and probably killed their mother and burned their home to the ground. Those choices brought them to your pack and you make them feel like they aren’t good enough? Derek, I saw that girl take you out in less than five moves. She is a gift. And Stiles? His strategy puts everyone else to shame. But if this is your choice, you own it. Don’t put it to them and what they should have.”

***

The doorbell rang and Allison and Stiles looked up from the house remodeling show that neither one of them was watching.

“Are you going to answer it?” Stiles asked.

Allison sighed and stood. Stiles followed her to the door. It was Friday, closing in on nine o’clock.

Lydia stood there, a large bag over her shoulder, a grocery bag in the other. Her eyes were large and she seemed to be on the verge of tears.

“I brought cookie dough ice cream.” She said, holding out the grocery bag.

Allison held the door open wider. Erica peeked in from around the corner. She too, was holding a bag. “I brought sugar cookies and three different kinds of frosting.”

“These ladies are speaking my language.” Stiles said after noting Allison’s body softening. “Come in.”

Erica bounded in first, but Lydia paused at the doorway. She tapped her finger on the frame. “You need to redo your runes.” She said thoughtfully.

“Another time.” Allison said, pulling her in for a hug as Stiles and Erica made their way into the kitchen.

Lydia returned the hug. “Another time.” She agreed.

The four of them spent the rest of the night baking cookies. Chris came in only to order Thai food for everyone and to steal cookies.

“We just miss you.” Lydia said finally, spearing a piece of orange chicken savagely. They had been avoiding the subject all night, but Lydia finally decided it was time to talk about it. “All of us. Despite how those two acted, they miss you too.”

“Could have fooled us.” Allison said, but there was no bite to her words. She pushed her empty plate back and leaned into her chair.

“We know how they are.” Erica said. She rolled her eyes. “We probably know better than anyone. We don’t agree with what they said-”

“As a matter of fact, they are idiots and wrong.” Lydia said.

“-but there is something to consider to what they said.” Erica finished carefully, glancing between Allison and Stiles.

“What do you mean?” Stiles asked.

“The way you two work is with each other. I’m not faulting you, in fact, your system works flawlessly.” Erica said.

“But?” Allison prodded.

“But we have to work together, all of us, as a pack. There is no room for just the two of you to work together. There will be times when Stiles will have to work with Isaac and Allison will have to cover Boyd. That’s the nature of the pack.” Erica said.

“That’s not a problem.” The twins said immediately.

“What the problem is, is that Derek pointed out that we live to fight. That’s all we do. That’s how Stiles and I connect. That’s how he thinks we bond with our dad.” Allison said.

“But that’s not it.” Stiles said, shaking his head. “I can see how someone would mistake us for weapons, but we are more than that.”

“And for him to imply that that’s all we are?” Allison said, her eyebrows knitting in concern.

“That’s what killed us.” Stiles said.

“To follow that line of thinking even further,” Allison said softly, looking down at her hands, “It means that what the two of them were doing with us-”

“Meant nothing at all to them.” Stiles finished.

“That’s what made us shut them out.” Allison said.

Erica and Lydia exchanged a look from across the table. To that, they had no defense. Instead, they both glanced down at their own hands, feeling shame, bright and aching, for the first time of their pack mates.

“We don’t feel that way.” Lydia said softly.

“We know.” Stiles said softly.

Chapter Text

“You have had terrible, terrible plans, but I think this one takes the cake.” Scott told Derek.

“It wasn’t really my plan.” Derek replied.

“Well.” Scott said and crouched. Four of the alpha pack were closing in on Derek and Scott. The rest of their pack was either pinned or unconscious underneath the claws of the other alphas. “I always knew you would get me killed.”

***

Allison and Stiles were in their basement, facing each other. They sat on the floor, stretching. The music pulsed in the corner, drowning out anything they might have said. Not that they needed it.

Stiles was wrapping Allison’s hand when the door behind them was thrown open. Their dad came in first, followed by the sheriff. The sheriff was breathing heavily. Allison began unwrapping her hand and Stiles stepped over to the speakers pumping out the music.

“Where are they?” Allison asked.

“Warehouses. On twenty third street.” The sheriff said.

“How many?” She said, going to the cabinet where they kept hers and Stiles’ favorite weapons.

“The entire pack is there-”

“How many did they go up against?” Stiles clarified. He went to his sister’s side as she fit her archery glove on her hand.

“Derek thought there could be as many as twelve.” John said.

“His pack should have been able to handle that.” Chris said slowly, looking at John. “Jackson and Lydia are huge assets. What went wrong?”

“It’s an alpha pack.” John said.

Stiles and Allison shared a look and then looked to their father, who was looking at John.

“What in the hell is an alpha pack?” Chris asked.

“Exactly what it sounds like. A pack made up of only alphas.” John said.

Stiles and Allison turned back to each other and there was a long silence. They turned back to the cabinet and pulled out a drawer at the very bottom. They pulled out holsters and began to slip guns in them. They stood and had thigh holsters in their hands when they turned to John and Chris.

“You don’t have to do this.” Chris told them.

“We know.” Allison said.

"Nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger eux-mêmes." Stiles said gently.

“I don’t know, they seemed pretty capable of taking care of themselves when they left here last time.” Chris countered.

Stiles rolled his eyes and Allison sighed. “Yeah, but that’s Scott and Derek, dad. They aren’t the greatest war strategists of our time.”

“I would be offended if she wasn’t right.” John muttered.

“They are wolves but they are untrained.” Stiles said. He left the room and went upstairs. Allison followed him and they came back downstairs in different clothes, darker colored. Chris was frowning at them and Stiles put a hand on his shoulder.

“This isn’t our first time, daddy-o.” Stiles reminded him.

“I know. I don’t like it.” Chris finally said.

“Neither do we, honestly.” Allison said and she opened the door to the garage where she opened another cabinet with a key. She began to pull arrows and magazines out of the racks and handed a set of brass knuckles to Stiles. He tossed the keys to his sister and opened the garage door. Before they climbed into Allison’s car they raised a hand to their dad and the Sheriff.

“We’ll send them back.” Allison promised.

And before either man could respond, they were gone.

***

They could hear the snarling and howls once they approached the building. They exchanged a look and raced to the back of the building. Stiles gave Allison a boost up to a fire escape and there was one last look before Stiles disappeared around the corner and Allison in through a window.

From her spot, Allison surveyed the situation below her. Lydia was in a crumpled pile in the corner. Jackson was pinned to a wall right behind her, like he had been guarding her and had been attacked from behind. Derek and Scott were in a corner, four others advancing on them. Boyd and Erica were in opposite ends of the large room, pinned as well.

From her spot, Allison could only see nine wolves. That left three as a big question. Allison took a deep breath and pulled her bow string back. She took aim at the wolf holding Jackson first.

“Puisse notre cause juste. Puisse notre courage ne faiblira pas.” She whispered and the arrow buried itself in the wolf’s throat. It gagged and then turned black as the arrow began to pump the wolfsbane into it. The prototype that Chris designed seemed to be working well. Jackson fell forward when it fell to the ground. He didn’t wait to see who had taken his captor down. Instead, he went straight for the wolf holding Isaac to a wall near him. The next wolf that got an arrow to his chest was the one holding Erica. There was a quiet pop and the wolf holding Boyd was thrown backwards and Allison jumped down next to Stiles as he shot another wolf in the shoulder that was advancing on Scott. Allison pulled a baton out of her boot and it lit up electric blue and she stabbed savagely at one of the other wolves advancing on Derek. She ducked when it turned to strike out at her but still caught the tips of the man’s knuckles on her chin.

She blinked back the sudden tears and dropped the baton. She jerked her Chinese ring daggers from her belt and ducked twice more when the wolf tried to strike out at her and then stabbed him with clean precision in the muscles that joined his neck to his shoulder. She twisted the knives, jerked them cruelly to make sure she cut as much tendon, muscle and blood vessels before she pulled them out. As she did, Stiles put down the last wolf that was trying to attack her from behind.

Derek and Scott stared at them.

The rest of the pack gathered to their side. Lydia was cradled in Jackson’s arms.

“Hey.” Stiles said. Derek’s eyes snapped to him but he was looking at Allison. “You ok?” Stiles reached out and tipped Allison’s chin to the side.

“Yeah. Just grazed me.” She said. She wiped the blood that was dripping off the daggers off on her pants and tucked them back into her belt.

“Get some ice on it at home.” Stiles said, slipping his gun into his holster. He and Allison turned to the entrance, without a word to the pack.

“Hey!” Derek said, striding towards them and rounding them. “We didn’t need your help.” He stopped in front of them, chest heaving, canines still digging into his lower lip. “We didn’t ask for your help.”

Allison and Stiles looked him slowly up and down. His shirt was torn and there was blood all over his chest and legs. The cuts on his face were healed but the bruises remained. Neither Allison or Stiles said anything. Instead, they made to go around him. Derek stepped in front of them again and stopped Stiles with a hand planted squarely on his chest. Before Derek registered what he had done, there was electricity sparking up his side a second after a pistol struck him across the face.

Allison and Stiles left.

Chapter Text

The worst were the nightmares. Allison’s father and Stiles didn’t know that she knew that Kate was at the house the night her mother was killed. They didn’t know that as Allison was leaving the house, Kate was coming in.

“I thought I was meeting you?” Allison said to her aunt.

“Oh no, sweetie. Stiles won’t listen to me right now. You go on ahead. He’ll listen to you.” Kate wrapped her up in a hug and Allison thought she was going to choke on the amount of perfume her aunt was wearing. “Bring him home.” She whispered.

Allison nodded and smiled. “I will.” She promised and left her mom alone with a murderer.

Those five sentences haunted Allison in her dreams. Sometimes it would be her mother, on fire, telling Allison to bring Stiles home. Sometimes it was her mother begging her to stay at home, to protect her, while Allison smiled and walked away. But the worst ones were when her mother was the one wrapping Allison up in her arms and setting them both ablaze.

Those nightmares had her screaming herself awake, Stiles rushing into her room and turning on the light. Those nightmares sent her to the hospital, the panic attacks making her forget how to breathe.

It was a month after the warehouse when Stiles carried her into the ER. Their father was away, trying to negotiate a land treaty for some old friends of his, both werewolf packs. Now that they knew the truth, he could tell them where he was really going.

Allison’s fingertips were turning blue and she was gasping and clawing at Stiles when he ran into the hospital, screaming for help. Two nurses swooped in out of nowhere, taking Allison out of his arms and put her into a bed. They snapped an oxygen mask over her face and turned it on. One of the nurses was speaking to him but his eyes were glued to Allison.

“Stiles!” A voice snapped at him. He blinked and looked down at Melissa.

“Yeah.” He said hoarsely.

“What happened?” She asked.

“She was- she was asleep. She gets nightmares about our mom and panic attacks. They aren’t bad. I can help her. I always help her.” He said desperately. He made for the doors that Allison disappeared behind but Melissa stopped him.

“Stiles.” She said gently.

“I don’t know what happened this time.” He shook his head. “She couldn’t catch her breath so I put her in the Jeep and came here and I should have called the ambulance but I was scared, Melissa-”

“Ok. Ok. Calm down.” Melissa said and put a hand on his forearm. He warmed under her touch and was able to take a deep breath. She nodded. “Let’s go see her.”

Melissa led him down a maze of hallways after speaking to someone. Lightning and thunder crashed outside, the rain coming down in sheets. The hospital was quiet except for the squeak of their shoes.

“Wow, this place is empty.” Stiles said, glancing through the rooms.

“Oddly enough.” Melissa agreed. Her eyes shifted from the empty rooms to the windows and the rain outside. “Usually storms like that will bring in people in car accidents or just doing stupid shit.” Melissa said. She stopped at a door and pushed it open. Stiles stepped in first to find a man looking over Allison’s vitals.

“Family?” He asked.

“Brother.” Stiles said, holding his hand out. Dr. Lewiston introduced himself and Stiles did the same. Allison still had the oxygen mask over her face and her eyes were closed. Stiles laced his fingers through hers.

“Your father was called. He said he was cutting his business trip short and would be here before morning.” Dr. Lewiston said. “Looks like your sister here had a severe panic attack relating to a nightmare.”

Stiles nodded tightly.

“I want to keep her overnight, just for observation.” He continued. “As long as her oxygen stabilizes, we can release her in the morning.” Dr. Lewiston scribbled something on a pad and tore the paper off and handed it to Melissa. “A sedative to help her sleep. She needs it.”

Stiles nodded and the man left the room.

“Melissa?” Stiles said before she left the room.

“Yes?” She said.

“Don’t give her the sedative. It makes the nightmares worse and she can’t wake up.” Stiles said softly.

Melissa looked at him and her heart broke for him, for them both. To know this about his sister and to be the one taking care of her-

She nodded. “Ok.”

He nodded tightly. He turned back to his sister and he didn’t realize that Melissa was crossing the room until she pulled him into a hug, fierce and warm. “You’re doing ok. You both are.” She told him. Melissa left the room before Stiles could figure out a reply.

He looked down at his sister, asleep. He slipped his hand in hers and traced a diamond on her palm.

Forgive me.

Her fingers tightened in his and she slept on.

Eventually, Stiles slept too.

***

Scott had fallen asleep watching a reality tv show about models and ice cream and nerds… or that’s what he thought the premise was. Usually, Stiles or Allison were able to explain the point to him and Derek refused to watch the shows with him. He woke up when he heard Derek tromping down the stairs. He blinked at the darkness and there was a flash of light outside.

“Lightning.” Scott told Derek pointlessly.

Derek nodded and sat down next to him. He pulled his boots on and began to lace them up. Scott checked the time. It was a little after two in the morning.

“Where are you going?” Scott asked.

“Mom just text me, the car won’t start and she just got off her shift.”

Scott blinked and looked around the room. He wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed when he woke up. “She isn’t supposed to get off until six.” He said.

Derek shrugged. “Someone might have let her leave. Either way, can’t let her walk home like this.” Derek paused and looked at Scott. He was ruffled and still blinking the sleep out of his eyes. He was too young and it made Derek’s heart ache. “Come on. I’ll buy us some donuts.”

“Ok.” Scott said.

***

There was a crash of lightning and both Stiles and Allison jerked awake. Stiles glanced at her and then moved to the window.

“Should you be that close?” Allison asked, her voice hoarse.

“Probably not.” He admitted and stepped back after a moment. He let the curtains shut after him. “How are you?” He asked.

Allison shrugged. “Tired. Did they have to put me in a gown?” She asked, looking down at herself and frowning. She found the buttons that controlled her bed and pushed it into a sitting position.

Stiles stood and went to the small closet where Allison’s pajamas had been put away. He turned his back politely as she put her other clothes back on.

“Much better.” She declared. Stiles turned around and she regarded him for a moment. He knew she wanted to say something but he wasn’t sure what it was. There was a mix of emotions on her face. Finally she sighed and said, “How long we in for?”

“Just till morning.” Stiles made his way to the bed and dropped down heavily in it. He rubbed his face and sighed. “What am I going to do with you?” He asked.

“As long as I don’t end up eaten by the Big, Bad Wolf or in a straitjacket…” Allison waved her hand dismissively.

“Can you talk about it yet?” Stiles asked softly.

Allison looked down at her lap.

“Ok.” Stiles said, consolingly. He rubbed one of her hands in his. “Ok.”

***

Derek peered through the windshield to the doors where his mom usually waited for him. She wasn’t there. The rain was coming down in huge sheets that Derek had only seen one summer when he spent it out on the ocean with his crazy uncle.

“I can’t see her.” He finally said.

“She might still be inside.” Scott said, squinting out his window.

They both got out of the car at the same time and headed up the stone steps. By the time they reached the doors and stepped through them, they were both soaking wet. There was no one at the front desk and Derek couldn’t help but glance at Scott.

“Weird.” Scott said slowly.

“Yeah. Let’s go check the break room.” Derek agreed.

But every single room that they checked was empty, not even a patient to be found. There were no squalling babies on the fourth floor, no one in the emergency room. They tried the phones, but they were dead.

“Let’s get out of here.” Derek said and they both turned back the way they came. They took the stairs three flights down but when they got to the first floor, Derek knew it was a lost cause. He could smell the mountain ash from where he stood.

“Fuck.” Scott said matter-of-factly.

They turned around when they heard stumbling footsteps accompanied with faster, better coordinated steps.

Allison and Stiles came around the corner, gasping for air. Allison was partially collapsed in her brother’s arms, gasping for air.

“They’ve locked us in.” Allison gasped.

“There’s no way out.” Stiles said.

***

“I’m gonna go grab a soda.” Stiles said. “Do you want anything?”

Allison shook her head.

Stiles stepped out of the room and dug in his pocket for some change. He passed by the nurse’s station and paused. There was no one behind the desk. He glanced down the hall, both ways.

It was empty.

And disturbingly quiet.

Lights flickered at the far end of the hallway and began going out, one by one.

Stiles ran back to Allison’s room. She was slowly pulling the IV already, holding a bunch of tissues over it.

“There’s something wrong.” Stiles said to her.

She nodded and pulled the needle out the rest of the way. “I thought I heard something when you left.” She said. She held an arm out to him. “Let’s go.”

Stiles looped an arm around her waist and they left the room. They both glanced down the hall where the lights were winking out one by one.

“Not onimous.” Allison said.

“Not at all.” Stiles said, pulling her close as her steps began to falter.

“Stairs.” Allison said, nodding at a closed door.

“Yep.” Stiles said. They made their halting way down the stairs and opened the door. They heard voices down the hall and glanced over at each other. Allison worried at her lower lip and shrugged, leaving it up to him. Stiles nodded and they headed towards the voices and when they rounded the corner, Stiles couldn’t decide if he was happy or not with Derek and Scott in front of him.

“It’s better than nothing.” Allison murmured next to him, following his line of thoughts. “They’ve locked us in.” She said to them.

“There’s no way out.” Stiles confirmed. “At least not from upstairs. They were coming for us and booked it. Didn’t have time to try all the exits.”

Allison nodded to one of the closed doors and let go of Stiles. “I’ll look in here, you take the room next door.” She said. Stiles reached for her but she batted her hands away. “They come equipped with their weapons, we don’t. Look.” She ordered him and went into the other room.

Scott and Derek looked to each other but still did not speak. Stiles came out with three scalpels in his hand. “Not much else.” He said, frowning at the small implements in his hands. Allison came back with the same thing.

She shook her head. “I don’t want to get this close to whatever trapped us in here. You know?”

Stiles nodded. “We can throw them.” He said.

“We each have three.” Allison pointed out.

“I didn’t say it was a good plan.” Stiles admitted.

They sighed and turned to Derek and Scott.

The brothers remained silent.

“Fine.” Allison said after a moment. “We’ll find a way out.” She said.

Stiles didn’t seem to mind her plan at all and stepped forward to help her. They turned back the way they came but didn’t like the near pitch black darkness from that hallway.

“Why do you think its completely empty?” Allison asked.

Stiles paused. “It wasn’t when you came in. Mrs. Stilinski said that it had been quiet. She added that it had been suspiciously quiet, actually.”

“Where is she?” Derek bit out, the first words he had spoken since the two arrived.

Stiles looked over his shoulder and shook his head. “I don’t know. The doctor came in, ordered a sedative for Ally and I asked your mom not to give it to her. She hugged me and left. A few hours later-” Stiles gestured around. “We stepped into the Twilight Zone.”

“Not funny.” Scott growled.

“You see me laughing?” Stiles asked. He pointed down a hallway that was still lit up, to Scott’s right. “What do you think?”

Allison squinted. “It’s suspiciously bright.” She said.

“Like they are luring us down there.” Stiles said. He looked down the other two halls, neither one inviting because of their lack of lighting. “And we don’t have night vision, so-” He glanced behind Derek. “Why don’t we just try to walk out the front door?”

“I would think they would have that covered.” Allison pointed out.

Stiles helped her lean against a wall. “I’ll check. I’m sure they locked these two in with mountain ash, but short of an army, they can’t keep us conniving humans in.”

Scott winced at his words as Stiles brushed past him. He turned to follow Stiles, to talk to him, maybe and that was probably why he heard the pull of a trigger before Derek. He threw himself into Stiles as Stiles was knicked in the bicep and the bullets rained after them.

“They have an army.” Stiles groaned from underneath Scott. He twisted and had his hands on Scott’s shoulders to push him away when he saw a pair of red eyes behind Allison, far away but closing in fast.

“Allison!” He screamed, scrambling up. But Derek was already there, scooping her up and darting down a dimly lit hall, dodging bullets like he was born for it.

A flash bang appeared on the floor beside Stiles’ head.

Scott had him on his feet and was shoving him into some kind of industrial closet as it went off. He pushed a steel shelf in front of the door, wedged another one on top of it and stepped back just as something threw itself on top of the door.

Stiles scrambled on top of them and beat on the door and screamed. There weren’t words, but rather a howl that Scott understood.

Stiles’ sister was out there without him.

Chapter Text

Derek pushed his way into a room that he wasn’t familiar with. It smelled like plastic and cleaning fluid and dirty cement. He set Allison down as gently as he could and turned back to the door. There were steel shelves and broken hospital beds all around the room that he shoved in front of the door, locking them in. He stepped back as he heard two sets of footsteps approach. One was human, the other was definitely not. They paused but didn’t say anything. The non-human tested the door, pushing on it with his or her considerable strength.

Derek thanked whoever was looking out for them when the door did not move. He took a step away from the door, taking in their surroundings. He took out his cell phone and checked it, looking for a signal.

For once, his luck held out. He called his dad, clenching his fists.

“Derek. Where are you? Your mother said she went home but you weren’t-”

“Dad.” Derek ground out.

“Where are you, son?”

“The hospital. We’re here with the twins. They’ve trapped us.”

“Who’s they?”

Derek shook his head and then realized that his dad couldn’t see him. “I don’t know. Hunters, I think. But there’s alphas here too, from what the twins are telling us.”

“Is your brother with you?” His dad asked. He heard shuffling and his mom was speaking to someone over the phone. He hoped it was Boyd. Or the twin’s dad.

“Yeah, but we got separated. He’s with Stiles right now in a closet on the west side of the hospital.”

“Where’s Allison?”

“She’s here. We are in the northeast corner of the building-” Derek turned and looked back at Allison and noticed that she was curled into a ball in the corner of the room. “Dad-”

“We’ll be there, son.” His dad said and hung up. Derek dropped his phone into his pocket and approached Allison slowly. He could hear her shallow breaths coming in too quickly. “Allison?” He asked.

She shook her head but stayed curled up in the corner.

“Hey, tell me what you need.” Derek said.

“Stiles.” She said, gasping for breath.

Derek opened his mouth to snap at her that that wasn’t really going to help since he could only assume that Scott had barricaded the two of them in a similar fashion. Instead, he pulled his phone out and dialed Stiles’ number. It rang and rang.

“He doesn’t have it.” Derek muttered and dialed Scott.

Same results.

Allison was becoming more and more pale as Derek watched and she was shaking. Derek sat down next to her.

“I know that I’m not your brother and I don’t understand a fraction of what’s going on with your right now,” He whispered to her, “But please. Let me help with what I can.”

Allison looked up at him before nodding hesitantly.

***

Stiles was still banging on the door and screaming at the alpha that was on the other side. Scott paced behind him, restless but not willing to get between Stiles and the door until he was sure that Stiles could listen to some kind of reason. He worried about Derek, alone with Allison somewhere else.

“Scott.” Derek said.

Scott jerked around and looked over the tiny little room.

“Derek?” He said suspiciously. “Where are you?”

“I’m in the northeast corner of the hospital.”

“Yeah, ok. But how can I hear you?”

Scott could actually hear the sigh. “Are you or are you not a werewolf?”

“Right.” Scott said. “But how do I know its you? How do I know its not one of those freaks outside mimicking you?”

“Because I am the only one that knows that you took mom’s wolfsbane whiskey and I took the blame for it, you dick.”

“That is true.” Scott said.

“Sit down and concentrate on my voice. You sound like a bad cell phone reception.” Derek ordered. “Allison is freaking out and I can’t get her to stop. Make Stiles stop screaming and get him to help me.”

“Easier said than done.” Scott said, sitting down. He looked up at Stiles. “Stiles.” He said calmly. He had to repeat his name three times before Stiles finally turned around, looking crazed.

“I can hear Derek.” He said, tapping his ear. “Allison is freaking out, he says. How can he help her?”

Stiles wiped at his face and it was then that Scott realized that he was crying. “What’s wrong with her?” He asked.

Scott opened his mouth to answer but Derek’s answer came before he could. “She’s shaking and she’s cold. She is hyperventilating. Her eyes are dilated and her heart rate is through the roof.”

Scott repeated what Derek told him. Stiles nodded and sat down in front of Scott. “Can he hold her? She’s cold, she might go into shock.”

Scott heard Derek murmur something and there was some shuffling around and then there was a settling.

“Done. She’s still breathing weird.”

Stiles closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Tell her to close her eyes and think about the house on Pearberry where we could hear the sea from our house when we opened her window.”

Derek repeated the words to Allison and Scott watched as Stiles’ tried his hardest not to collapse. He scrubbed at his face with shaking hands and then clenched them into fists.

“Tell her to remember when mom would start a fire and let us roast marshmallows in the fireplace and dad would come home and pretend to be mad until we gave him one too.”

Derek relayed the message.

“Take her right hand and trace a diamond on it.” Stiles said, taking Scott’s hand and doing the same thing on it. “Do that three times.” He said, tracing the pattern over Scott’s hand.

“She put her hand over my heart.” Derek reported back.

Stiles smiled but didn’t open his eyes. “Good. That’s good.”

Derek repeated the words. He hesitated before he said, “She said that she’s sorry for being weak.”

“Tell her she’s a fucking idiot. She is the strongest person I know and that doesn’t change, ever.” Stiles snapped back when Scott repeated what Derek said.

***

Derek expected Allison to flinch away from him when he opened his arms to her, like Stiles had ordered him but Allison surprised him once more by climbing into his lap willingly enough and tucking her head underneath his chin. Derek wondered if this is what it would be like to have a little sister, a daughter. He cradled her like a child, her ear against his heart, her legs thrown over his right thigh.

They spoke to Stiles for a few more moments and when the conversation lagged, Derek expected her to pull away.

“I can move.” She muttered.

Derek shook his head. “It’s ok. You’re cold.”

They were silent for a moment longer before Derek asked, “What’s that thing with your hand?”

“Our silent way of talking. He told me to forgive him.” She whispered.

“For what?”

Allison was quiet for so long, Derek wondered if she had fallen asleep. “Stiles feels like he has a lot to make up for.”

Derek didn’t reply. He wasn’t sure about the guilt and where it should rightfully land. If he were to voice an opinion, it would be to say that Kate was the only one to blame, ever. But he kept his mouth shut. Allison was balanced on a razor’s edge and he didn’t want to tip her over to the wrong side. His mind raced though, going through all the ways he could get to the other two.

“What are we going to do?” She asked.

“Wait. There are only four of us. With the alphas and the hunters outside, we don’t have a choice.” Derek muttered.

***

“Has he said anything else?” Stiles asked, pacing back and forth.

From his spot on the floor, Scott shook his head.

“What’s the plan, then?” Stiles asked. He was twitchy and kept glancing at the door like he wanted to break it down and go get Allison.

“To wait.” Scott said calmly.

“For what?” Stiles asked, turning to face him.

“Reinforcements. We can’t do this alone. You guys are good, but that’s an alpha pack out there. They are out for Argent blood.” Scott said. “Derek called our dad, who will probably call your dad and get the pack together. They’ll come in and then we can fight.”

Stiles stared at him and even though Scott had to admit that their relationship had been more rocky than not, he could see the wheels in his head turning.

“You’re going to fight.” Stiles said after a moment.

“And what are you going to do?”

Stiles chewed on his bottom lip and studied his scuffed up shoes. “Allison can’t fight. Derek can’t take care of her and fight too. I’ll get her and get out of your way.”

“What’s- what’s wrong with her?” Scott asked.

“There’s nothing wrong with her.” Stiles snapped. “She just has some anxiety things that she needs to work through. She gets panic attacks, can’t breathe, can’t sleep and we end up here.”

Scott nodded slowly. “Derek used to get panic attacks. After he woke and was the alpha. It’s different though, for wolves. He would run. One time, he got as far as Canada.”

Stiles squinted. “Did it go away?”

Scott shrugged. “He says it did. Sometimes I wonder though.”

Stiles sat down next to Scott and stared at the barricaded wall. “I’m not good at waiting.”

Scott snorted. “No shit.”

***

Derek got the call an hour later.

“We’re on our way.” Lydia said softly.

“All of you?”

“Yes. Mr. Argent brought some friends as well.”

“Ok.” Derek repeated to her where they were and Lydia told him to get ready and they would know when they arrived.

Derek hung up and Allison stood.

“You good?” Derek asked.

Allison held out a hand and watched as it shook unsteadily. She pursed her lips. “I can defend myself but I can’t attack.” She shook her head and dropped her hand. “Vision is blurry.” She muttered.

“Stay behind me.” Derek said.

“Stiles will come for me. As soon as he can.” She told him and the red emergency lights above them flickered and there was an explosion from somewhere deep in the hospital.

“I know he will.” Derek said, shifting and pulling everything off the door. Allison crouched, trying to get heart to stop tripping out whatever weird beat it was doing. Derek threw his shoulder against the door and gunshots went off. Allison flinched.

“Ready?” Derek asked.

Allison nodded.

Derek stepped back.

***

As soon as the gunshots went off, Scott and Stiles were out the door. A man that Scott didn’t know tossed him a shotgun. Stiles ran to the northeast part of the building, jumped over a crouched Isaac and spun past Erica. He paused at his dad’s side, took another gun from him and a mean looking machete before going on. His dad barely blinked and pumped his own shotgun and aimed once more. He barely registered shooting whatever was getting in his way and registered the black leather of Derek’s jacket only seconds before Derek roared.

Derek held one arm out and Stiles caught sight of Allison crouched behind him. Two wolves were behind him, coming for her and there were three in front of him. There was a flash of silver and one wolf coming for Allison had a scalpel embedded in his eyesocket. There was a thump of his body as it fell and the other wolf next to him roared, paltry compared to Derek. Derek turned to that wolf, leaving his back unguarded. Stiles growled and aimed his shotgun and took out one of the wolves that were heading straight for Derek. Derek turned, unable to decide if he should protect his back or Allison. She was shaking and Derek was backing them into a corner.

Stiles finally caught sight of Allison, more than just a flash of her arm or her hair. She looked wild and panicked. She was adrift and wasn’t anchoring to anything.

The two of you ground each other, keep each other. Their mom used to say. You are each other’s haven.

Stiles screamed and it was enough. It was enough to get one of the wolf’s attention away from Derek, making the decision for him. Stiles ran the machete through the wolf that turned to him but before it shredded his shirt and the plaid he wore over it. He stepped in front of Allison, pushing Derek in front of them.

“Go.” He whispered to Derek. “We’ll follow.”

Allison wrapped her arm around Stiles’ waist and Stiles laced his fingers through hers. They followed Derek to the front of the hospital, tripping over the bodies that were scattered all over the floor now.

Boyd was on the floor and Erica stood over him, looking impatient. John was sitting down in a broken chair, Melissa next to him, her eyes still blue and fangs still out. Jackson was brushing dust off his shirt and Lydia was leaning heavily against him. Chris came out of a dark hallway behind them, blood splattered and confused.

“How-?” He started. Then he shook his head. “Whatever. I’m not leaving you two alone-”

Stiles was pulling Allison next to him and she was still clutching at him. It was Derek and Scott that saw the wolf first. The red eyes that came out of nowhere and retreated before any of them could register the blood that was seeping from Chris’ neck and chest.

Stiles’ entire world stopped.

His dad looked up at him and those frighteningly clear blue eyes pinned him to his spot.

Derek was the one to rush forward first, followed by Melissa and then everyone else. Stiles pushed Erica away and knelt in the growing puddle of blood around his father. Chris had one hand pressed to his collarbone, the other laying uselessly at his side. Melissa knelt across from Stiles and her eyes went cold and clinical. She took Stiles’ hand and put it to his father’s collarbone. “Hold there.” She ordered and left. Allison fell next to Stiles and Chris looked up at them. He reached for Allison and put her hand over Stiles’.

“Hold on to each other.” He said.

Chapter Text

“We’re probably not the ones you want here, but if you need one of us, any of us to stay, we can.” Derek said. He was standing in the front room, facing Stiles.

Chris was fine. There was some muscle and tendon torn, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. In the end, he required a lot of blood, pints and pints of the stuff, but he would be ok. Melissa was at the hospital, staying near his room. When she wasn’t there, there was a hunter friend of his that Stiles and Allison could vouch for. Members of the pack were starting to take turns staying with him as well.

Allison was asleep upstairs with Erica on one side of her and Lydia on the other.

“Scott said that they were after Argent blood.” Stiles said instead of answering Derek’s offer. “Which one of us? My dad? Us?”

“We can’t know. Maybe all of us.” Derek said with a sigh and his shoulders slumped. “It was the Alpha pack but it was also hunters. Both have a reason to come after your family.”

Stiles nodded.

“We can take shifts.” Jackson said from behind Derek. “You need to sleep at some point, Stiles. We’ll close the mountain ash lines on your house and we can sleep in shifts.”

“Until when?” Stiles asked.

Derek knew that it would be until they caught the Alpha pack. That it could take months. That it could be tomorrow.

“I appreciate the offer, but how can we go on like this?” He continued.

Derek’s eyes flicked to the summer light outside. He shook his head. “We can take it one step at a time.” He said with a deep sigh. His father had given him leave until this could be taken care of.

“And there’s the town, Derek. How are you going to protect Beacon Hills?” Stiles asked, gesturing to the windows.

“I know, Stiles. Believe me.” Derek said.

“I want to say yes, Derek.” Stiles said, leaning against the wall and watched as Derek slumped next to Scott on the couch. “I do, believe me. I feel a hundred times better with you guys here than I do without. But, if there’s someone out there that can’t protect themselves-”

“The police department knows.” Scott muttered.

Stiles stopped and looked around at everyone. Boyd nodded.

“Well.” Stiles said. “I guess that clears some stuff up. Are they armed with stuff that will hurt the alpha pack?”

Derek and Scott nodded.

Stiles sighed and looked out the window again. Finally he nodded. “Ok.” He whispered.

Derek nodded.

“I’m gonna go check on Allison.” Stiles said. “When she’s ready, we need to have a plan. Of defense or attack. It doesn’t matter.”

“What if she isn’t going to be ready?” Boyd asked before Stiles could leave the room. Stiles’ face looked stormy but Boyd went ahead. “I know a thing or two about panic attacks, man. They can-” Boyd shook his head. “What if she isn’t ready? Ever?”

Stiles took a step back. “Then you’ll have to count us out. I won’t do this without her.” He said.

Everyone watched him leave the room.

“At least he’s honest.” Jackson muttered.

***

In Allison’s room, Lydia was reshuffling things in her wardrobe and Erica was curled around Allison. Erica wasn’t asleep and seemed to be reading something on her phone. Allison was out like a light.

“How is she?” Stiles asked, looking at the other two.

Erica frowned but didn’t answer.

“She’s tired. Exhausted, maybe.” Lydia said. “She needs time to recover.”

Stiles nodded.

“She’ll be ok. Even Melissa said so.” Lydia added, walking over to Stiles and squeezing his hand.

“I know. I just-” Stiles shook his head.

“What?” Lydia prompted him.

Erica turned her head so that she could watch the two of them.

“I don’t like being in charge. Allison is, usually. Or dad. But that’s not who I am.” Stiles said.

“It’s not for long.” Erica whispered.

“But what if it is?” Stiles asked.

Lydia and Erica didn’t have an answer for that.

“Nothing is ever for sure.” Allison said softly, her voice gravel. “Mom used to say that all the time.”

Stiles felt like a ten ton weight was lifted off his chest when he knelt in front of his sister. “Hey.” He muttered.

Allison smiled. “I have a plan.” She said softly.

Stiles slumped, his head hitting the side of the bed inelegantly.

“Of course you do.” He muttered. “Of fucking course you do, Allison Argent, beautiful hunter, sister extraordinarie. I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

“But I want a nap. And then food.”

Stiles groaned.

“Are you going to puke?” She whispered.

“I think so.” Stiles said and stood up and headed straight for the bathroom. Erica stood and went after him and Lydia looked at Allison.

“He has a sensitive tummy.” Allison said with a smirk. “Stress makes him puke.”

“You make me puke!” Stiles yelled from the bathroom.

“That’s probably more accurate.” Allison said, nodding. “It’s only when I am hurt that he freaks out that bad.”

Lydia couldn’t decide if she wanted to laugh or cry.

Chapter Text

It took them three days to get everything that Allison needed. Three days of sneaking around, of the pack going off on their own, three days of people disappearing and reappearing in the Argent household. In that time, neither of the twins left the house, even to see their own father. Chris was in a rehab center that was modified to be a hospital since the hospital had been slightly… blown up.

Until the previous night. Now, he was on his way to somewhere in Canada in the back of a supplies van to an office supply store. There, he would wait and recover until the twins could get out of Beacon Hills without causing any death to the Stilinski pack.

Melissa had to sedate Chris before they could get him into the van.

“Let it never be said that the Argent family can hide their feelings very well.” She muttered as the van drove away.

Derek wasn’t so sure. The last three days around the Argent household had been stiff, to say the least. Allison and Stiles were talking and were amicable to everyone, but avoided any alone time with Scott and Derek. There was something they were holding back but Derek couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It wasn’t anger nor was it revenge. He knew what those felt like. And it wasn’t avoiding talking about what was happening with them. That they would just shrug off. Derek couldn’t figure it out and it was driving him insane.

On their last night together, in the Argent house, with the entirety of the pack there but the Sheriff and Melissa, Derek stood in the kitchen and watched the sunset. Everyone else was spread around the house, pretending to do homework, watching tv or talking quietly. Derek steeled himself when he heard Stiles head to the kitchen. He didn’t turn when he heard him enter.

“Hey.” Stiles muttered and opened the fridge. “Better cut Scott out of the plan.” He said.

“Why?” Derek asked, looking over his shoulder at Stiles as he rummaged through the fridge.

“He drank the last root beer. I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold Allison back.”

Derek chuckled and turned back to the window.

“See anything interesting out there?” Stiles asked and closed the fridge.

“A few. You guys have a squirrel problem.” Derek said. He scrubbed at the back of his neck and turned. “Can we talk about this?” He asked.

Stiles looked down at the ground and then up at Derek. “Talk?” He said.

“Yeah, I mean-”

“Sure, Derek.” Stiles said in an icy tone. “Let’s talk.”

Derek could feel his hackles raise at the tone. “I don’t want to fight.” He said.

“Hey! Who’s fighting?” Stiles asked, spreading his arms wide. “I’m not fighting. You said you wanted to talk. So let’s talk.”

Derek was silent.

“Fantastic. Since this was your idea to share our feelings, I’ll go first since you are being so verbose about it.” Stiles said. He slammed his soda can down on the counter. “First, we didn’t deserve the treatment you gave us. Second, we knew you didn’t ask for our help back in the warehouse and we weren’t looking for any apologies or gratitude. We were asked to do a job. We did it. I’m not sorry for defending myself or Allison during that one so don’t even-”

“This isn’t about you, Stiles! Or even Allison! It’s about my pack and how we plan on defending our territory that you happened to stumble on. After you and your batshit crazy family decided that our land, the Stilinski land that has been guarded for centuries by my family was your place to just walk in-”

“You think we would have chosen this place if we had a fraction of the knowledge of what happened here when my sister and I were children? You think that we would have chosen this place that has tried to kill us from the day that we stepped foot on here?” Stiles yelled.

“I don’t know-” Derek started and his claws dug into the counter he was gripping.

“No!” Stiles yelled. “Believe it or not, Derek, you and your little brother leading me and my sister on, leading us to believe that-” He stopped himself and glared at Derek. “That whatever was happening was something that could be serious? And then seeing our father almost die in front of us? Do I have to explain to you what it feels like to have your only parent dying on a dirty hospital floor in front of you before you will understand that not everything is pack, that not everything is land, that not everything is black and white?”

Derek was struck silent.

Stiles hurled the almost full can of soda at Derek, missing his face by inches, shattering the pane of glass behind him.

“Answer me!” Stiles screamed.

Derek was silent.

Stiles turned and fled the house.

Chapter Text

Stiles jumped in his Jeep and took off. The engine protested but he pushed it to the limit of what he knew it could do. He sped through the streets and once, he thought he saw a police cruiser but it turned down a different street. He kept going and going and then it was night and he was out on the Preserve. He remembered, vaguely, Derek whispering to him in the middle of the night how he liked to come out here and run, let his senses free and feel the dirt underneath his feet and feel the cool wind on his bare back.

He parked at the end of the field and slammed the door. He was sick of this town. He wanted to go back to the little suburb they used to live at. Where they had a big rambling house decorated with colorful rugs and awful clown paintings and it smelled like springtime rain and his mother’s perfume. He wanted to just go back.

He heard a twig snap behind him.

“Stiles.” A voice said behind him.

He turned and faced the person who had been following him since he left the house.

*~*

Derek counted to three before joining Scott at the door. They watched as Stiles drove away.

“We need him.” Scott said.

“I need him.” Derek said.

Scott and Derek turned away and at that the last second looked at each other.

“Allison.” Scott said and dashed up the stairs. When he made it up, her window was open but there was no Allison in sight.

“Fuck!” Derek yelled and the pack came running.

“What happened?” Lydia asked, pushing past Scott and scanning the room.

“Stiles and I fought. He took off. I think Allison went after him.” Derek said.

“We have to go after them.” Boyd said.

“We need a plan first.” Lydia said. “We always go after them with some vague sense of a plan and then everything gets fucked all to hell and someone is going to end up dead!”

“Our plan is to find them before the alpha pack does.” Scott said.

“Where do we start?” Erica asked.

“They could be anywhere. Stiles left in his Jeep.” Jackson said, looking around.

“He wouldn’t go far. Not without Allison.” Isaac pointed out.

“But he would go somewhere to get away.” Boyd added.

“I know where he went.” Derek said softly, his eyes glued to the bed across the hallway.

*~*

A man stepped out of the clearing and closer to Stiles. He stood between Stiles and the Jeep and Stiles didn’t have a weapon on him.

“You’re from the alpha pack.” Stiles muttered, turning to face him. His face was regal and his sunglasses were dark.

“And they say your sister is the smart one.” His voice was soft with an accent that Stiles wasn’t sure of.

“She is.” Stiles said. He watched the man’s face, looking for a hint of what the man wanted.

“She is indeed. A genius, maybe.” The man had a walking stick in his hands but Stiles wasn’t sure that he even needed it.

“Maybe.” Stiles said. “Wouldn’t surprise me.”

“But you are the one with the cunning. The manipulation.” The man took another step forward. “You use your training like a surgical instrument, to take a person apart piece by piece.” The man paused and Stiles was almost positive that the man was blind, but for some reason he felt like he was being weighed and measure behind those dark glasses. “You would make a magnificent wolf.”

“I make a pretty good human, as is, thanks.” Stiles said.

The man stepped forward and an arrow planted itself in front of him.

“That’s close enough.” Allison called out.

The man’s smirk widened into a smile. His teeth were small, even and white. “I am in the presence of royalty.”

“Call me princess and I’ll shove your dick so far up your ass, you’ll be tasting it for a week.” Allison said. She stepped up next to Stiles and offered him her boot. There were two knives in there and a gun strapped to her thigh.

“You flatter me.” The man said.

“I didn’t say it would still be attached to you.”

He laughed and it was like a signal had been thrown. Wolves stepped out of the clearing, one of them landing on the hood of the Jeep.

“Come on.” Stiles said.

“We have heard much about the Argent royalty. Their line. Their breeding. Their… pedigree.” The man said. “I would like to see what you can do.”

*~*

Derek led his pack through the woods at a break neck pace. He could feel Jackson and Erica flagging and he could only hope that Lydia made it there on time.

*~*

“Surprisingly enough, if you demand that we entertain you, it incurs a small fee.” Stiles said, standing with his back to Allison’s.

“Fifteen.” She whispered.

“That we can see.” He muttered.

“Please, monkey.” The blind man said. “Dance.”

And the wolves descended on them.

*~*

Jackson would like to blame all the times they are late on Lydia, but let it be known that Lydia Martin is never late.

*~*

Stiles let himself get lost in the fight. He could feel Allison behind him and counted his breaths, counted her steps. He could feel the pull of her arm against his shoulder every time she pulled the arrow back and let loose. He used the gun first, aiming for the head or neck first, feeling a swell of pride every time a wolf fell in front of him. “Out.” Allison said, tossing aside her bow. She tugged out her last resort, the machete her mom had gifted her on her fifteenth birthday. It was deadly sharp and engraved with a prayer.

“Me too.” Stiles said, tucking the gun into the back of his pants. He gripped the knives in his hand and centered himself and picked a target; a man, no more than five years older than himself. He was well muscled and tan. He might have been handsome in his human state but now his hair line had descended to his eyebrows and his lips were non existent. The blind man was leaning against Stiles' Jeep and was deeply interested in the fight.

“Stiles.” The man called out. The wolf in front of Stiles halted and he caught movement out of the corner of his eye and saw a wolf advancing on Allison pause as well. “Let's talk before you kill anymore of my wolves.” He said.

Stiles wiped the sweat from his forehead but didn't reply. “I will let your sister walk out of here, unharmed. I can promise you that none from my pack will go after her.” He said.

“For what?” Stiles asked.

“If you will join us.” The man kicked aside someone's arm. Stiles shifted in front of Allison, protecting her from the man but not letting her see his face, his consideration.

“For the rest of her life, you can guarantee that they will leave her alone?”

“Every single wolf in my pack.” The man vowed. The clearing suddenly erupted in light and every wolf fell to the ground, their sensitive eyesight all but destroyed in the sudden flash of light. Except, of course, the blind man in front of them.

Lydia was at the edge of the clearing, her hand raised and a smirk on her lips.

“If you think Allison needs your protection, you've got another thing coming.” Stiles said.

The blind man in front of them shifted into his alpha form and they knew, without a doubt, that he was no longer blind.

*~*

Derek ordered the others to spread out, to flank him and they left his side, still at their dangerous speed. When he burst through the final line of trees, he saw an alpha shifting in front of the twins and let loose his own alpha that he always kept in check. Just as they planned, the twins parted and Derek leapt and shifted into his full wolf form, growling and snapping, aiming for the other alpha's throat.

“Holy-” Stiles started, seeing Derek as an actual wolf for the first time.

“What the-” Allison breathed. Even the other wolf didn't expect Derek and the remnants of his pack was too distracted by the actual full wolf shift in front of them and weren't prepared for the rest of the pack that descended on them. Lydia rushed to Allison and Stiles' side, shoving the arrows into Allison's hand and magazines into Stiles'. He pulled his gun out, slammed the magazine in and shot the wolf that was coming for Lydia's back. He caught it in the shoulder but it didn't matter because Jackson was there, caught between the wolf and the kanima and tore out the wolf's entrails.

It was not quick and the sheer amount of blood turned even Allison's stomach.

Stiles turned to see the man on the ground, bleeding from multiple places.

“You planned this.” The man said, blind once again, Derek’s jaws at his neck.

“You said it yourself.” Stiles said and stepped away from Derek’s hard earned kill. “I’m the cunning one.” There was a snap and a crunch and the blind man and alpha wolf were no more.

When they emerged from the other side of the battle, wounded, tired and bloody they looked at each other.

“Did you see it?” Stiles asked Derek who stood naked for a second until Lydia threw him a pair of pants.

“No. The one there-” Derek shook his head. “He was too big. The one that went after your dad was sleeker.”

“Did anyone else see the one that attacked my dad?” Allison asked, looking around.

Everyone else shook their head.

“Could it be an omega?” Erica asked, from where she knelt next to Boyd. She was using tatters of Isaac's shirt to make a makeshift bandage for Boyd's shoulder that had been slashed open.

Stiles looked to Derek who looked trouble. “Could be. But it wouldn't make sense for an omega to join this one pack for such a short time.”

“Well. At least he's not just pretty.” A voice called out from clearing.

Everyone turned and Stiles felt like his entire world was shaken like a snow globe.

Allison felt like she was in a nightmare all over again. “Kate.” She whispered.

Her aunt raised a hand and waved, using just the tips of her fingers. “Hey baby. Your dad sent me.”

“Bullshit.” Scott said, rising from his spot next to Lydia.

Kate's eyes narrowed but her smile widened. “My, my. The Stilinski boys are very tasty. I cannot fault your taste, Alli.” Scott bared his teeth. “Wait. Or Stiles? Does this one have your collar?” Kate said. Derek took a step forward. Kate spread her hands in a faux surrender. “I stand corrected. Stiles, your taste is better than your sister's.”

“How?” Allison asked, a strangled whisper.

Derek took another step forward and Stiles put a hand on his forearm. Derek looked at him and there was a conversation there that no one else was privy to, not even Allison. Derek stepped back, in front of his pack and after a moment, Scott joined him.

Kate stepped forward into the clearing. Her eyes glowed blue. “It was easy.” She said. “Claudia might have been soft on the wolves but she fought unlike anyone I had seen and even I had to admit that she was better than I was. When my father explained to me how Claudia lured your dad off the path he had started so long ago and was denying you two your own birthright-” Stiles and Allison snorted. “Then it was easy to find a wolf, get him to bite me and let him go.”

Kate said. “You sent your own alpha away?” Erica whispered, sounding disgusted.

“I'm not like you. I've been my own alpha, all my life. I don't need pack.” She spat. “Your deranged family and incestuous-”

“You know, you keep coming back to that.” Allison said suddenly. Scott didn't need to see her to know that her eyes were cold and distant. “You were the one that spread those rumors about me and Stiles back home.”

“Are you having more than sisterly feelings towards our dad? Was that the real reason that you killed her?” Stiles asked.

“Or was it Gerard? Some issues with daddy that need to be resolved?” Allison added. That was it. That was the thing that made Kate shift. Her full beta form coming forward.

“Is that it?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah.” Derek said.

“Why did you let yourself get bit?” Allison asked.

“Because no one could take Claudia on, not in hand to hand. And there was still your father to contend with.” Kate said. “So I sent you away, after your brother, and went after. Kudos to Claudia though. It never slowed her down.” She pulled her shirt down to her collarbone and there was a burn there. “She got me once before I tore her throat out and burned her in her own home.” Allison knew that this was the first time that Stiles was hearing about Allison seeing Kate when she left their house but he didn't let it bother him. There would be time later; there always was, for the twins. “I was going to go after your father next. I thought he would be home and it would be two birds with one stone. But he went after Stiles too. I figured that Chris would do what Chris always does when someone takes his favorite toy; cry about it.” Kate paused. “That was my mistake. I didn't realize that your father actually loved that wolf whore.” Both twins shifted identically and it did not escape Kate's gaze. “I let him think that he killed me in the desert. He didn't, obviously. I came back for him and for you the pair of you. To take you back to the hunters that still have their facts straight.”

“You can't go near them.” Stiles said, remembering what Melissa told him, that hunters who were turned had the worst death of them all. “They wouldn't want you.”

Kate shrugged. “But you would be where you should be. The general and the right hand here to bring us back to the light.”

“You really are bat shit crazy.” Jackson said, sounding surprised.

“I didn't realize you kept pet lizards too.”

“Kanima.” Jackson, Erica, and Isaac snapped.

“We aren't going with you.” Stiles said casually, bringing the conversation back to them.

“Of course you are. Your training needs to be finished.” Kate said, sounding surprised that they would consider anything else.

“I actually think our training is pretty complete.” Allison said.

“When your dogs are around, sure.” Kate said, glancing back at the wolves that were standing around in a loose line. “But the two of you aren't ready to take on an actual werewolf.”

Boyd and Lydia exchanged a long look.

“Let's talk.” Stiles said suddenly. “We can make a deal like your friend tried here.” Stiles said, nodding at the pile of gore that had once been the blind man.

Kate tipped her head in a manner that was too close to a gesture that the twins did so often.

“If you can take either one of us, then we'll go with you.” Allison said. “No fight. Nothing. We'll go with you.”

Kate smiled, wide and deadly. “Fair enough.” That was all the warning they got before Kate rushed at them. She separated them and slashed out at Stiles and turned and kicked Allison, landing a solid blow at her ribs. It sent her reeling. Kate was not pulling any punches. Stiles ducked when she lashed out again, but her claws shredded the back of his shirt. Allison swung savagely with her machete and slashed open Kate's jacket at the sleeve. Kate swung around and Allison stepped forward, swinging again. Kate ducked but Stiles' fist landed in her ribs and he swore he felt something break. But it didn't slow her down at all. The three exchanged blows for a moment longer until Allison ended up by Stiles, both of them panting. Stiles had ended up with machete and there was a small silver knife in Allison's hand. They looked down at the weapons for a second before meeting each other's eyes. There was another conversation there, something that they would never speak out loud. Something that they probably couldn't ever say to each other. Saying the words out loud would have cheapened the sentiment somehow; made what they felt then and the dam that they had so artfully created that kept all the emotions at bay from their mom's death and their father's lies and their aunt's mindless destruction collapse underneath a storm of violence.

So instead, Stiles reached for Allison's hand and traced a diamond.

Forgive me.

She reached over and tapped the space above his heart.

I love you.

Allison took the first step forward because she was the leader and always had been. Kate's eyes focused on her first but it didn't mean that she didn't see Stiles move to the right either.

“I will pick up the hook.” Allison whispered and switched her hold on the small silver knife.

The entire pack took a step away from them. “You will see something new.” Stiles murmured and Scott saw his friend's gaze go distant.

The machete dropped from his hand and landed in the dead grass next to his feet. They rushed her at the same time, taking her by surprise by their speed. They had been holding back out of some sentiment they couldn't let go. Stiles ducked at the last second and slammed his shoulder into the middle of Kate's spine and everyone at the tree line winced at the crack and Kate screamed. Allison landed a kick to midsection and there was another crack, and Kate spit out a mouthful of blood. Allison broke her nose, her collarbone, her forearm, in quick succession. They were silent and Derek could barely hear them breathing. Stiles punched her again where Derek was pretty sure he had broken her back. Her gasping breaths were thick with blood and she coughed up something thick and red. Derek wondered if she could survive them.

He doubted it.

Stiles finally got his arms around her in a wrestling hold that bared her neck. Allison didn't hesitate. There was a flash of silver and Kate's throat was open, blood pouring out of her neck. Stiles let her drop with a thud. Scott started forward but Derek stopped him.

“They aren't done yet.” He whispered.

Everyone looked away as the twins hacked Kate's body apart.

Finally, Allison stepped away.

“Two things. And I call them-”

Stiles wiped the blood from his face.

“Thing one and Thing Two.”

Chapter Text

Four Months Later

Derek woke up in his bed in his loft. There was coffee in the air and the bed next to him was warm. Derek listened for the matching heartbeats and his brother's own snores from downstairs and on the other side of the loft.

They had blown out the wall that separated the small apartment next to Derek's and expanded the loft. The living room was bigger, Derek's room was upgraded and the kitchen was finally large enough to feed the pack.

After Kate's death and a sudden massive fire in the Beacon Hills forest, the pack and the Argent twins went their own ways.

For about three days.

Boyd had been the unlucky one that was forced to speak to Derek about the fracture they all felt, that they were once whole but now felt like they were missing something vital within their family. Derek listened but it was another three days before he was able to bring himself to speak to Stiles and to make himself listen to why and how he had gone so wrong.

Three weeks later, Deaton had built two more bridges, connecting the twins to the pack.

When Allison and Stiles had moved into his loft, he wasn't entirely sure. But he woke up one day to Scott and Allison sprawled out on the couch pull out and Stiles curled up in his room and Boyd frowning at the two burner stove and the small fridge and decided that he needed to make this place bigger if this was how his life was gonna be. The guys from he police department helped in the demo of the wall and the apartment but the pack put it all back together.

Derek made his way down the stairs and watched as Allison practiced old ballet moves that were as deadly as she was.

Stiles was doing pull ups in the door frame. “Look who joined the party.” Alison said, stopping mid-twirl with a practiced ease.

Derek rolled his eyes and Stiles paused in his exercise as Derek passed and kissed him. “Everyone is coming over in a bit. There's been talk about something going on in the outskirts of town.” Derek said.

“Of what?” Scott said with a huge yawn and entering the living room.

“Something called Dread Doctors.”

“Never heard of them.” Allison said.

“Stupid name.” Stiles added.

“How bad could they be with a name that stupid?” Scott said.