Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/12301566.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Teen_Wolf_(TV)
  Relationship:
      Derek_Hale/Stiles_Stilinski
  Character:
      Derek_Hale, Stiles_Stilinski, Sheriff_Stilinski, Scott_McCall_(Teen
      Wolf), Lydia_Martin, Jackson_Whittemore, Allison_Argent, Chris_Argent,
      Victoria_Argent, Kate_Argent, Danny_Mahealani, Melissa_McCall
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe_-_Canon_Divergence, Werewolf_Stiles_Stilinski, Wolf
      Derek, High_School, Explicit_Language, Explicit_Sexual_Content, Mentions
      of_Beastiality, reckless_boys, Non_canonical_shifting, Full_Shift
      Werewolves, Blood_and_Gore, Canon-Typical_Violence
  Collections:
      noch
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-10-08 Updated: 2018-03-10 Chapters: 16/40 Words: 110872
****** Even Bad Wolves can be Good ******
by My_Trex_has_fleas
Summary
     Stiles takes a bet that he really shouldn't and ends up lost in the
     woods.
     There's definitely a Laura Palmer reference in there somewhere.
Notes
     Ugh. Oh well, here we go.
***** You're Gonna Give Me How Much? *****
It starts out as a joke, a dare. Stiles doesn’t take any of the rumours
seriously, even though his dad warns him to stay out of the preserve.
Especially at night.
Scott is terrible, just eggs him on and on until Stiles gives him his cockiest
grin and opens his stupid mouth.
‘I’ll do it.’ The statement is full of false bravado, but then he is sixteen
and far dumber than his genius level intelligence would have anyone believe.
‘Really?’ Scott is frowning in that adorably puppylike way of his. ‘I was kind
of kidding.’
‘Nope.’ Stiles grins and plucks the twenty from Scott’s unprotesting hand. ‘Gas
money is gas money, my floppy haired friend. I’m taking that action.’
Of course this declaration of intent just so happens to take place in the
locker room after practice and within earshit of Jackson. He immediately jumps
in and says that if Stiles completes his task, he;ll give him a hundred
bucks.Stiles is not one to decide whether a fool and his money should be parted
so he holds out a hand.
‘Up front.’ he insists. ‘I can’t spend it if I’m dead.’
‘Good point.’ Jackson smirks but he antes up and now Stiles has a hundred and
twenty dollars burning a hole in his hand.
Then it snowballs. Apparently everyone wants to see if there really is
something living in the Beacon Hills preserve and Stiles is the perfect bait.
Now he’s got well over three hundred bucks and a small amount of concern that
he may have just signed his own death certificate. Still, too late to back out
now.
They settle on Friday night. Noah’s got the night shift and he’s also working
overtime on the whole Monster of Beacon Hills case. Stiles takes some
consolation in the fact that should his dead body turn up, his dad will at
least have some hard evidence.
To his surprise, everyone turns up for his little show. Jackson is grinning
from ear to ear as he produces a wicker handbasket.
‘For effect.’ he snickers and Lydia joins in and it about tears Stiles’ heart
out because he’s so in love with her it hurts.
‘Fuck you.’ he snipes, grabbing the basket and tugging his red hoodie up and
over his shorn hair. ‘We’ll see who’s laughing after.’
Scott pulls him aside and gently tries to reason with him.
‘Dude.’ His big brown eyes are full of worry. ‘You can totally back out.’
‘I really can’t.’ Stiles replies. ‘I’ve already spent the money.’ He doesn’t’
tell Scott that part of it went on a subscription to a gay porn website. It
would damage his innocent brain.
The deal is that he has to to walk through the preserve from one side to the
other. They are currently at the side closest to town, all hanging around in
the public parking lot. The pathway winds through the trees for about eight
miles until it comes out at the beauty spot that overlooks the town. That’s
where the bet ends and Stiles can go home, jack off to his new all access
subscription and get some well deserved sleep.
He scuffs his sneaker along the ground. For the first time, he feels
trepidation at what he’s about to do. The moon is full and there’s so much
light he shouldn’t but he mutters the words anyway.
‘I just know I’m going to get lost in those woods again tonight.’ He looks at
Scott as Scott snorts, knowing Stiles and his passions so well he recognises
the quote.
‘I’ll be waiting for you on the other side, dude.’ He puts a hand on Stiles’
shoulder. ‘Try not to get eaten, okay?’
‘Thanks.’ Stiles snorts and then stands and watches as all the spectators climb
back into their cars and head of to wait for him on the other side. Then he
checks the basket and grins when he sees that it’s got mace and a half-jack of
JD inside.
At least Jackson has taste.
He takes the bottle out, cracks the top and drinks enough to make himself
cough.
‘Right.’ he exhales sharply. ‘Show time.’
He starts walking into the trees, squaring his shoulders and trying to look
like he’s not shitting himself. It doesn’t really work.
The first half hour goes pretty quickly and Stiles manages a reasonable pace
that’s not quite a lope. He’s got long legs that eat up the ground and he
starts to relax as he goes, the Jack doing its job. The light really is enough
to see by and he starts to enjoy himself, sniffing the air and breathing in
dead leaves and moss. There are noises, birds and the low shuffles of animals
and Stiles grins to himself. This is the easiest money he’s ever earned. It
takes him another twenty minutes to realise something is off and he stops,
listening carefully. Then it hits him.
There’s not a single sound to be heard. It’s like someone threw a switch and
now the silence is deafening.
A shiver goes down Stiles’ spine and then he panics because there’s the soft
tread of something coming towards him. He turns in the vague direction of the
beauty spot and starts running, dignity be damned.
The sound of his feet pounding the dirt doesn’t quite drown out the grunts of
the thing that’s chasing him. Stiles hasn’t got time to cry, just sticks his
head down and runs as fast as he can. Bizarrely, he’s still holding onto the
stupid wicker basket Jackson gave him, and he’s a little hysterical when he
considers the implications of when his dad finds his body. Something along the
lines of Local Youth slain in Little Red Riding Hood Roleplay gone Wrong.
Yes, this may not be the best life decision he;s ever made and now he’ll never
get to finish that awesome threesome comeplay vid he’s just downloaded.
That’s the last thing he gets to think because right after that, something
roughly the size and shape of a small elephant slams into him and Stiles is
thrown through the air, landing on his back with all the breath knocked out of
him.
He lies there and wheezes like a ninety year old emphysema patient as the thing
that tackled him comes to stand over him. His somewhat drunk brain realises
that it’s a quadruped and very very big. Hot breath washes over his face and he
cracks an eye open to see glowing blue eyes looking down at him.
‘Holy shit.’ he squeaks and the thing growls, lips pulled back to reveal a very
impressive set of fangs that are probably as long as his pinkie finger. Stiles
can smell it now, a deep woodsy animal smell that is oddly pleasant.
Still, if this thing thinks he’s going to be a free dinner then it’s got
another thing coming. He does the only thing he can think of and swings the
basket still clutched in his hand so it whacks the animal right in its snout.
There’s an affronted whine and to Stiles’ complete astonishment, the thing
backs off from him completely. He manages to sit up and that’s when he realises
he’s looking at a huge black wolf.
‘I must be fucking dreaming.’ he mutters to himself and now the wolf chuffs. It
sounds a little like it’s laughing at him and Stiles frowns.
‘Fuck you, buddy.’ he retorts. ‘What the fuck did you do that for?’
The wolf tilts its head and snorts at him. Then it pads forward a couple of
paces and boy, it’s fucking enormous. Stiles reckons that it would come up to
at least his shoulder and he’s not exactly small. He holds out one hand.
‘Dude.’ He gives it his best authoritative look, the one he’s copied from the
one his dad uses on him. ‘Just stay the fuck away from me.’
The next thing he knows, Stiles is flat on his back again with one huge clawed
paw pressed to his chest and the wolf is snarling in his face. Stiles stares up
into glowing blue eyes and then…
Oh fuck. Talk about an inappropriate boner.
Stiles is not ashamed to admit that he has kinks. He just didn’t think
potential beastiality was one of them.
The wolf hesitates and then leans down closer. The fangs disappear but then the
sniffing starts and Stiles is mortified as his cock gets hard in what must
surely be a land speed record.
‘Fuck.’ It comes out as a hoarse moan. ‘Dude, seriously?’
The wolf ignores him, nosing into his neck and taking deep breaths and Stiles
shivers at the press of that cold wet nose against his skin. He still can’t
move, trapped by the giant paw and an unexpected urge to just let the thing do
what it wants to him. He’s just about to give it up when the wolf retreats and
then licks him from his chin to his nose.
‘Gah!’ Stiles flails wildly and swipes at the wolf’s snout, only to have one of
his wrists caught and held lightly between jaws that he’s pretty sure could
snap his bones like twigs. He freezes, feeling the wolf’s tongue lapping over
the exposed skin of his wrist and then he’s released. Not sure what to do,
Stiles lies there and watches as the wolf sniffs down his body, nose pressing
in on his hard cock and that’s enough to nearly get him off all by itself.
‘Hey.’ He sounds weak. ‘No way, dude. Not without verbal consent from both
parties.’
The wolf makes that chuffing noise again and then gets off of him. For half a
minute Stiles contemplates changing his mind, but then he hears the shouts of
people and sees flashlights in the distance and the wolf goes on immediate
alert. Its blue eyes sweep the trees surrounding them and then it darts away,
disappearing into the darkness and leaving Stiles with a hard-on and whole lot
of questions.
It turns out that Scott is actually a big scaredy cat who caved when Stiles
hadn’t appeared after an hour and called his dad. Now they are both in the back
of the squad car getting a lecture of safety and public spaces and underage
drinking and Stiles gets grounded for a week.
At least he has his porn to keep him company.
***** Sourwolf *****
Chapter Summary
     Stiles just can't resist and ends up right back where he started.
Chapter Notes
     Okay so this started out as an experiment and has somehow mutated
     into an alternative AU where it's Stiles who gets bitten instead of
     Scott and all the ensuing chaos, because let's face it we have all
     thought it would have been hella funny if that had been the case.
     So it's kind of following Season One canon, but with Stiles becoming
     the wolf and Scott being the one who has to deal with the fallout.
     Also Derek is kind of swept away by the entropic mess that is Stiles
     Stilinski. Prepare for shenanigans.
The very next night after his house arrest ends, Stiles is back out in the
woods.
His dad would fucking kill him if he knew, but Stiles is actually a fantastic
liar. Scott is oblivious because he’s busy chasing after some new girl at
school, and then came the news that there’s half a dead body lying somewhere
out there in the trees and Stiles is curious as hell because he’s pretty sure
his wolf didn’t do that. He had made no move to harm Stiles and he’s convinced
he would have made an excellent snack.
It doesn’t go unnoticed in his own head that he now calls the thing that
knocked him flying his wolf.
Stiles has given up trying to explain it to himself. His dreams have been
filled with glowing blue eyes and hot panting breath and he’s been getting off
on it so hard the porn subscription has pretty much gone unused.
It’s not the same case with Google, however, and now Stiles knows way more than
he probably ever should about werewolves, knotting and bestiality in general.
All the scrubbing in the world cannot remove the depravity of his search
history.
He’s also made up his mind about a couple of things and that’s why he’s
standing at the edge of the trees, his heart thumping against his ribs and his
ass leaking because he used way too much lube and now he’s more than a little
sticky.
He must be insane to even think this is a good idea, but he’s not going to back
down now. He’s been thinking about this for a week, jacking off to his wolf and
making a complete mess of his bed, the shower and pretty much any place he’s
been able to get his hand on his cock without being disturbed. He’s buzzing
with anticipation, having spent a good portion of the evening with his fingers
up his ass prepping himself but not allowing himself to get off. That part is
for later.
No-one had the faintest idea of what he’d been planning all week and Stiles has
managed to keep things under wraps, even from Scott. After all, it’s not like
he’d understand Stiles’ sudden desire to disappear into the woods when there’s
an actual maniac on the loose who’s killed someone, in the hopes of finding a
werewolf and convincing it to fuck him.
He takes that first step, and then it’s easy to just let go and out his fate in
the hands of whatever deity might see fit to watch over him. This time he
strides confidently into the trees, heading for the pathway he’d taken before.
If he wanted to find his wolf, he figured he’d have a better chance doing what
he’d done the time before.
It takes him two hours before Stiles concedes defeat. He’s bored, cold and
tired and he’s pretty sure that his jeans are now welded to his ass. Not his
finest hour, but then again maybe it’s for the best.
He starts heading back in what he thinks is the right direction and then
realises that he has no idea where he’s going.
Shit.
Stiles is about to take out his phone and see if he can get any kind of signal
when he hears a soft noise and looks up, inhaling sharply when he sees his wolf
standing a few feet from him on a fairly large boulder. His stomach lurches and
his heart starts racing and the wolf tilts its head and gives him a quizzical
look. Stiles looks back, his suspicions confirmed as the wolf jumps down
lightly from the boulder and he catches sight of what’s between his back legs.
The wolf pads forward and Stiles stands perfectly still, watching him approach
with growing excitement. He lets him come right up close and the wolf circles
him, nudging him with his snout a couple of times and sniffing him.
‘Hi there, big guy.’ Stiles is grinning like mad. ‘Looks like you found me,
huh?’
The wolf looks right at him and huffs.
Stiles keeps smiling, delighted that at least this time he wasn’t being
threatening. That thought is short lived, however, because the next thing he
was flat on his back again.
‘Fuck.’ he groans. ‘Dude, can you like not do that please?’
The wolf comes to stand over him and then sniffs him up and down. Stiles waits
until his nose gets level with his crotch and holds his breath. He frowns when
the wolf sniffs tentatively and then sneezes all over the front of his jeans.
‘Ew.’ He makes a face. ‘That’s gross.’
The wolf growls and then does a full body shake. Stiles has to blink because
between one second and the next, the wolf changes and he is now looking at a
very naked man kneeling over him and that is weird as fuck, but also very nice
because the guy is incredibly ripped and damn hot and then something clicks in
his head.
‘Derek Hale?’ Stiles can only stare.
Derek looks up at him and huffs. His luminous eyes are no longer blue but they
are just as exasperated.
‘What the fuck are you doing?’ he asks and he sounds completely annoyed. ‘And
why the fuck can I smell lube on you?’
‘Um.’ Stiles flounders for something to say that wasn’t going to come out
incredibly creepy. ‘Would you believe that it was an accident?’
‘Jesus Christ.’ Derek sits back on his heels and...oh yes. That is definitely
his cock and now Stiles can’t stop staring at it. ‘You’re the sheriff’s kid.’
He narrows his eyes at him. ‘I knew you smelled familiar.’
‘Really?’ Stiles is not sure whether he should be terrified or flattered that
Derek knows who he is.
‘Yeah.’ Derek is still looking at him intently. ‘I remember your dad brought
you into the station one time while my sister and I were there.’ His voice is
flat. ‘It was after the fire. He was nice to us. Kind.’ He gets up and moves
away and now Stiles is scrambling to his feet.
‘Well, this is awkward.’ He tries not to giggle nervously like he normally does
when he’s freaked out. ‘So, like...I’m just going to go. Unless…’ He trails off
and Derek turns back around to look at him.
‘How old are you?’ he demands and Stiles huffs.
‘Sixteen.’ He says it like it’s no big deal. There’s an odd quirk at the
corners of Derek’s mouth.
‘You have some issues, Stiles.’ He shakes his head. ‘And there’s no fucking way
I am doing anything to you that’s going to land me in jail.’ He keeps walking
away and now Stiles is running to catch up.
‘Okay but like I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.’ he protests and there’s
a derisive snort from up ahead. ‘This is not what it looks like.’
‘You came out into the woods to find me.’ Derek points out. ‘You’ve got
probably about a quart of lube up your ass and you smell like a horny teenager.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what you wanted to happen.’
‘Okay so maybe it is what it looks like.’ Stiles admits. ‘But you kind of
started it by smelling me like that the last time we were out here.’
‘That’s how wolves identify people, dipshit.’ Derek shoots back. ‘We smell
people. It was not an invitation to stalk me.’
‘Hey.’ Now Stiles is a little defensive. Okay make that a lot defensive. ‘I was
going to ask you.’
‘What?’ Derek wheels around. ‘If I wanted in on your little freak show?’ He
huffs and started walking away again.
‘Well, when you put it like that.’ Stiles grumbles, still trotting behind him.
‘Hey can you kind of slow down a bit? I have questions.’
‘Yes, I’m a werewolf. Yes, I’m back in town. No, I am not going to tell you
why. No, I did not kill the girl your dad found. And fuck no, I am not going to
have sex with you.’ Derek glares at him as Stiles catches up. ‘We are going to
get you back to your car and you are going home and if you tell anyone about
this or what I am, I will find you and tear your throat out.’ There’s a flash
of gleaming white fangs. ‘With my teeth.’
‘Sweet.’ Stiles forgets that his life has just been threatened in face of the
other information. ‘So you’re an actual werewolf. That must be pretty cool?’
‘Shut the fuck up Stiles.’ Derek growls, but now Stiles is in that special
place in his head where his mouth is working independently to his survival
instinct.
‘So, like did you get bitten by another werewolf? Obviously you can change all
the time, it’s not even full moon yet. Fuck, do you like eat shit and I know
you said you didn’t kill that girl but…’ He stumbles back immediately when
Derek turns on him, fangs out and eyes blue and snarling in his face.
‘I told you to shut the fuck up.’ The threat in his growl is very real but all
it does is make Stiles’ stupid ass hormones go into overdrive. He really needs
to get his head checked, because the fear boner is totally real.
‘Okay. Yeesh.’ He throws up his hands in submission. ‘I am officially shutting
up. You don’t have to keep growling at me.’ Then he sees the look on Derek’s
face change and now his stomach sinks.
‘That’s not me.’ Derek is looking around them. ‘Fuck. Can you run faster than
the other night?’
‘I have no idea.’ Stiles feels himself starting to panic a little. If
whatever’s out there is scaring Derek, then it’s probably something he really
doesn’t want to meet. ‘Why?’
‘Because I’m not the only wolf out here.’ Derek comes and grabs his arm,
fingers digging in hard. ‘Your car is that way. Put your fucking head down and
run your ass off. I’m going to try and distract him.’ He gives Stiles a shove.
‘Now get going and don’t fucking come back.’
The howl goes up just as Stiles is about to protest and it sounds like whoever
is making that noise is out for blood. It’s enough to scare his legs into
working and he darts off, running as fast as his legs can carry him in the
direction Derek has turned him. Behind him he hears growls and snarls and then
a yelp.
Stiles skids to stop, already ready to turn back and try and help. Scott always
says he’s too brave, too stupid to know when to leave something well enough
alone and Stiles has been shoved into enough lockers to know it’s true.
He’s still standing there straining to hear anything else, but it’s gone back
to that awful silence from the last time only with about a thousand times more
menace.
‘Derek?’ he calls out, his voice faltering. ‘Hey are you…?’
He doesn’t get to finish the sentence because something is coming out of the
trees towards him and it’s even bigger than Derek is and its eyes are red and
it smells like it’s been rolling in blood and now Stiles is completely and
utterly terrified and he shrieks and starts running.
It’s too late though.
The pain is unimaginable. Stiles has never experienced anything like it. He’s
slammed into the ground with the thing on his back. Razor sharp claws rake his
sides and then fangs sink into his shoulder and he’s screaming and screaming
and he’s going to fucking die a virgin and this is the shittiest thing that has
happened to him all day.
Actually make that all year. It’s even worse when Jackson hit him in the balls
accidentally on purpose during practice.
Then it stops.
Stiles ears are ringing and he’s shaking violently and he can feel fucking
holes in his body, his blood warm on his own skin. The pain is like fire
snaking over his shoulder and ribs and he just manages to get onto his back and
then he sees the two shapes wrestling in the clearing he’s fallen in and the
thing that’s attacking Derek is huge and vicious and Derek yelps when it bites
him and then manages to grab it by the arm, shaking his head viciously to throw
it off.
Stiles wants to help but he’s paralysed. He’s fading quickly, his vision
blurring and the last thing he sees is Derek pouncing on the prone form and
grabbing it by the throat, holding on doggedly even as the thing’s claws rake
his own body, tearing fur and cracking bones. There’s a sickening snapping
noise and then another shake of Derek’s head and he lifts it and howls into the
night.
Stiles has just enough time left to see him get up and limp over to him,
shifting back to human and kneeling by Stiles’ side.
‘You asshole.’ he grumbles and it strikes Stiles as wildly funny that even
though he’s bleeding and pretty much ripped to pieces, Derek can still look
like he’s got a stick up his ass. ‘I thought I told you to run.’
‘I did.’ he protests. ‘Just not fast enough.’ He coughs and there’s blood in
his mouth. ‘Can you take me back to my dad. I’m sure he’ll appreciate you
returning my body.’
‘You’re not going to die, dummy.’ Derek huffs and then he’s reaching down and
gathering Stiles into his arms and fuck that hurts like a motherfucker, even
though he does take a moment to appreciate that an insanely hot naked man is
carrying him bridal style though the woods.
‘Pretty sure I am.’ he corrects, coughing feebly. ‘I’ve got big fucking holes
in me.’ He wants to look at how bad his injuries are but everything hurts and
he’s just so done.
‘Christ.’ Derek mutters. ‘Don’t you ever fucking shut up?’
‘Dude, I’m dying.’ Stiles protests, although weirdly he doesn’t feel as bad has
he did a few moments ago. ‘These are literally my last words.’ He winces when
Derek stumbles and jolts him. ‘Watch it!’
‘I already told you’re not dying, you idiot.’ Derek snorts. ‘Unless I kill you,
which is quite possible unless you shut your fucking mouth.’
‘You’re so fucking grumpy.’ Stiles mutters. ‘A regular old sourwolf.’
‘Fuck this shit.’ Derek sounds pained. ‘I should have just let him eat your
ass.’
Stiles is not so far gone that he doesn’t laugh a little at the sexual
innuendo. All it gets him is a disgusted look, but then there’s a blinding wave
of pain and thankfully it’s the last thing Stiles sees.
He slips into blackness regretting that he never even got to get off once with
somebody. Life really sucks balls sometimes even if he never got to.
***** Plans Are Afoot *****
Chapter Summary
     Stiles learns more about what happened to him, even though Derek is
     being obstructive as hell.
The first thing Stiles notices is that he’s not as dead as he thought he would
be.
The second is that he’s also no longer full of holes. He gingerly prods at hi
side and shoulder and finds only smooth skin underneath the rips in his
clothing.
The third is that he’s lying on a mattress on the floor of a room that looks
like it took some pretty intense fire damage. It’s morning and he can make out
a duffle bag lying on the floor and see that he’s covered with a sleeping bag
that’s been unzipped. It’s red plaid and that makes him grin and then pull it
to his face because, damn it smells delicious. In fact, he’s pretty sure it
smells like Derek and that fact soothes him for some reason and also makes him
predictably a little bit horny. Stiles has no excuse for this apart from the
fact that he’s perpetually horny (hello teenage boy?) and that Derek Hale has
turned into sex on legs in the time he’s been gone.
He takes a chance and sits up, realising that there’s no pain at all and taking
a good look at himself, stripping off his flannel to stick his fingers through
the rips left by the werewolf’s claws and reassure himself that it was not a
dream. He can see and smell the dried blood that makes the fabric stiff, and
sticks his nose into it on instinct. It doesn’t smell as repellant as it should
and before he knows what he’s doing, Stiles is tentatively licking at the
fabric. The coppery taste is much richer than he’s ever remembered it being and
it’s even bordering on delicious, which blows his mind a little bit.
‘Stiles.’ He jumps when Derek speaks. It sounds like he’s right in the room
with him when he’s clearly not. ‘I can hear you’re awake. Get your ass down
here. We need to talk.’
He gets up, stretching and feeling oddly energised. Maybe it’s having a near
death experience, but Stiles feels...great.
How is that even possible?
He starts to walk, wincing at the incredibly loud noises coming from the
floorboards as they squeak underfoot. It’s got a particularly sharp tone that
makes his ears physically hurt and Stiles shakes his head to try and alleviate
it. There’s a sigh from Derek’s disembodied voice.
‘You’ll get used to that.’ He sounds weary. ‘Your body’s still adjusting to
what happened to it, so you’re going to be hypersensitive for a couple of days.
I’d suggest pretending you’re sick for a little while, get out of school if you
can. This is not going to be a pleasant experience and being around other
people is going to be difficult.’
‘Where the fuck are you, dude?” Stiles is now getting more than a little
irritated himself.
‘Downstairs, asshole.’ Derek mutters. ‘I got coffee.’
That gets Stiles moving and he simply follows his nose once it catches a hint
of java. He makes his way down a dilapidated staircase and into a room to the
left. Derek is there, kneeling at the fireplace. There’s a scarred table in the
corner and there’s a white paper bag and two take out cups of coffee in a
cardboard holder. Stiles’ nose twitches when he identifies danishes and he
starts drooling.
Like really drooling.
‘Holy shit!’ It just comes out like a tap’s been turned on. Derek glances back
over his shoulder. Stiles does notice that he’s now dressed, black jeans and
grey henley making him look a little like a brooding supermodel. Nobody’s ass
should look that good at this time of the morning.
‘Great.’ he stands up and glares at Stiles. ‘Horny and drooly. Terrific.’ He
makes it sound like maybe he’ rather Stiles had been eaten, so Stiles
retaliates the only way he knows how.
‘Hey.’ he retorts. ‘Technically, this is your fault.’
Derek’s dark eyebrows do a thing where they meet in the middle and then rise up
and then go back down again. The sheer number of emotions they convey on this
particular journey is actually very impressive.
‘My fault?’ He sounds pissed. Come to think of it, he also smells pissed and
how the fuck can Stiles even know that? ‘I’m not the one who decided trying to
seduce me in the middle of the night in a forest that currently contains a dead
body was a good idea.’
‘Hey?” Stiles lifts his head, still distracted by the whole smell thing that’s
going on. ‘How come I can smell you’re annoyed?’ That shuts Derek up
immediately and Stiles grins.
Lions - one, Christians - nothing.
Except now he’s getting the glare again.
‘How much do you remember?’ Derek growls and manages to make a simple question
sound like a death threat.
‘Most of it?’ Stiles hedges. ‘I remember the full frontal nudity and the
getting gnawed on like I was a human dog toy.’
‘So you also remember the part where told you I was a werewolf.’ Now Derek’s
face changes and it actually manages to freak Stiles out even more.
‘Dude, are you smiling?’ He does a full body shiver. ‘Cut it out. You look like
a serial killer.’
‘Answer the question Stiles.’ Derek folds his arms and Stiles is momentarily
distracted by the flex of his biceps and how the henley barely contains them.
‘Yes, I remember.’ He fixes Derek with a look. ‘It was just before I nearly got
eaten by another one, wasn’t it?’
‘It’s an Alpha.’ Derek replies with a huff. ‘A rogue. Extremely dangerous and
very clever and you’re lucky I was there to make sure your skinny ass didn’t
get eaten.’
‘My ass is not skinny, it’s lean.’ Stiles snaps back. ‘And so? What the hell
does that even mean?’
‘You got bitten by an Alpha werewolf.’ Derek pronounces like that’s supposed to
mean something. When Stiles blinks at him in incomprehension he snorts in
derision. ‘You got turned.’
‘Into what?” Stiles says automatically, and then it slowly sinks in. ‘Fuck.
Like I’m now a…’ He trails off.
Derek gives another mass murdering smirk and nods.
‘Yeah.’ He doesn’t sound the slightest bit sympathetic. ‘Congratulations,
you’re now a werewolf.’
Stiles lets this news wash over him. Then a slow smile starts on his face and
by the time he’s done he’s grinning like a lunatic. Which, he supposes, he now
actually is.
‘Sweet.’ He looks at his hands. ‘Am I going to wolf out like you?’
‘No.’ Derek snorts. ‘You have to be born a werewolf to do a full shift. You’re
going to look more like this.’
With that he lunges forward, shifting into something that is terrifying and
toothy and has no eyebrows at all and Stiles meeps in fright and falls over on
his ass.
‘You suck.’ He gets back to his feet, eyeballing Derek and rubbing his bruised
posterior. Then he stops and gives him an intent look. ‘How come the eyes are
different?’
‘Alphas have red eyes.’ Derek replies and shifts back into his human face. ‘I’m
a beta. So are you now.’ He nods at the coffee and pastries. ‘Now sit your ass
down and eat something and I’ll tell you what’s going to happen.’
*********
A half hour later, Stiles is still hungry and nowhere near being satisfied with
the explanation he’d been given. There was only the briefest of rundowns, which
had mostly consisted of him asking questions and Derek growling at him.
‘Okay.’ he says and narrows his eyes at Derek. They are now on the even more
dilapidated front porch and Stiles is still trying to get to grips with all the
news sounds and smells around him. ‘I can’t ask you about how you got here,
where you’ve been for the past six years, what you’re doing here or who the
alpha wolf is? That cover most of it?’
‘Pretty much.’ Derek is unrepentant. ‘You forgot not being allowed to come back
here, staying the fuck away from me and waiting for me to contact you when I
think you’re ready to find out more. You’re going to go home, pretend to be
sick for a week and stay inside at night. I can’t help you stay alive if you
act like an idiot.’
‘I still don’t get why you didn’t just kill it.’ Stiles grumbles. He has not
taken the news that Derek had only disabled the Alpha long enough for them to
get away well.
‘It’s a rogue Alpha.’ Derek’s voice is flat. ‘You’re lucky I was able to even
break its neck. It would have laid there until it healed enough and then fucked
off. It certainly wasn’t there when I went back to check.’
‘Great.’ Stiles folds his arms. ‘And now it’s after me?’
‘It will want you for its pack.’ Derek inspects his nails. ‘It’s going to come
looking for you. That’s why you have to stay inside. That will hopefully give
me another chance to track it down.’
‘And you’re definitely going to kill it?’ Stiles gives him a sidelong glance.
‘I’m going to try.’ Derek replies. ‘Then hopefully you’ll go back to normal. Or
whatever the hell counts as normal for you.’ This last is said with a curl of
his lip that reveals a hint of fang.
‘What do you mean hopefully?’ Stiles hears his voice go up in slight panic.
‘You said I would be human if you managed to kill it.’
‘No, I said you might be.’ Derek gets up. ‘Come on. We need to get you back to
your car and then you can leave me alone to clean up this mess you’ve made.’ He
starts walking off and Stiles has to scramble to catch up with him.
‘So that’s it?’ he demands. ‘You’re just sending me back home with no
information and advice other than develop a head cold and stay indoors.’
‘Exactly.’ Derek doesn’t even look at him. ‘I find the Alpha, kill it and you
turn back. Until that happens we need to make sure you don’t get into trouble
or do something stupid that gives you away. Nobody can know about you or me or
the Alpha and if I find out you’ve told anyone…’
‘Yeah, yeah.’ Stiles finishes for him. ‘You’ll rip my throat out.’
‘With my teeth.’ Derek adds.
They trudge through the woods until they get back to the parking lot where
Stiles left his jeep. He notices that Derek is making no move to say anything
else so he just gets in the driver’s side and sighs.
‘Guess, I’ll see you around.’ He’s feeling a little dejected. Nothing this cool
has ever happened to him and now he just feels like Derek has completely taken
all the fun out of it. Although he does have a point, Stiles grudgingly admits.
He’d like to be alive to graduate.
‘I’ll find you when I need to tell you anything.’ Derek’s eye are even lighter
in the daytime and Stiles finds himself wondering just what colour they
actually are. He turns and stalks off into the trees and leaves Stiles there by
himself. He hadn’t even offered to give him his number in case of newbie
werewolf emergencies.
‘Douche-bag.’ Stiles mutters and starts the jeep. ‘I hope he chews your ass
off.’
He reverses a little more dramatically than necessary and drives home.
***********
His house is empty when Stiles gets there, but he’s been a latchkey kid since
his mom died and so it doesn’t bother him. His dad is probably still working
and there’s no message on his phone querying his absence, so he’s dodged a
bullet on that one. Stiles grins to himself as he wonders if now it would have
to be a silver bullet. He adapts remarkably well to things, has learned how to
not be too freaked out by the unusual. It’s the more mundane life experiences
of bullying and stress that freak him out. Being a werewolf is not such a big
deal when you’re a social pariah with no mom.
He does notice just how much he feels at ease the second the familiar smells,
now so much more intense, hit his nose. There’s the smell of his dad’s
aftershave, gun oil and leather, sweaty lacrosse gear that’s still in the
laundry basket waiting to be washed. It smells like home and makes Stiles
unease that little bit easier.
He is starving though and his first priority when he slams the front door
closed behind him is food. Thankfully there is sliced bread and pastrami in the
fridge and he makes three sandwiches and snags a half empty bottle of soda from
the fridge and heads up to his room.
Here he’s assaulted by a barrage of news scents and wrinkles his nose as he
collapses on his bed with his laptop in front of him and the plate of food at
his elbow, the bottle on the floor in easy reach. He can smell himself first
and foremost, the scent of his own body and the lingering smell of come from
his sheets and the t-shirt he’d used to clean himself off the last time.
Stiles settles down and opens his laptop, stuffing half a sandwich in his mouth
in one bite. He can’t believe how hungry he actually is. The sandwiches
disappear quickly and he makes another trip downstairs for two more and a bag
of cookies he’s got stashed out of the way of his dad.
This time he eats more slowly and contemplates where to start. One thing Stiles
prides himself on is the ability to research the fuck out of things. His best
work is done with the laptop on front of him. It’s not always appreciated (his
essay on male circumcision for Finstock being a case in point) but he’s smart.
Maybe not Lydia smart, but he’s up there. His GPA coasts along just fine
without him even trying some days.
Now he’s got more focus than he’s had in days, the caffeine from the soda is
making its way through his bloodstream and he’s raring to go. Let the
information gathering commence.
**********
Three hours later Stiles is jolted by the sound of his phone ringing and
realises he’s been way down deep in that hyperfocused hole that his ADHD drives
him into. It’s the reason he does as well academically as he does and then his
brain meanders and he wonder if he’ll still need his Adderall now he’s a
werewolf.
That thought doesn’t freak him out and Stiles thinks it’s because he’s always
been a little off when it comes to shit like this. His mind is surprisingly
open for the day and age he lives in.
He picks up his phone and sees that it’s Scott calling him.
‘Hey.’ He still sounds a little distracted. His werewolf research has led him
down many a rabbit hole now that he’s focusing on shit other than porn.
‘Dude.’ Scott sounds happy and Stiles knows it’s probably because of New Girl.
He thinks her name is Allison and she seems nice. He hadn’t really been paying
that much attention because of reasons. ‘I have to ask you a favour.’
‘Shoot.’ Stiles flops over onto his back. ‘What’s up?’
‘So Allison said we could totally hang out but she’s already said she’d go over
to Lydia’s.’ That makes Stiles blink and then he remembers. Lydia had also
latched on to Allison and he’d seen them walking arm in arm through the quads
and sitting together at lunch.
‘So?’ He’s not quite sure what the problem is. ‘Go hang out with them.’
‘Well, I kind of wondered if you wanted to go with. That way you can give me a
ride and also get to see Lydia.’ There’s a knowing smile in Scott’s voice.
‘It’ll be the perfect set up.
Stiles is not so convinced that Lydia will see it that way.
‘Maybe.’ He says it more to himself than anything else, but Scott seems to take
this as disapproval and puts on his wheedling voice.
‘Come on, Stiles.’ he pleads. ‘Say you’ll come with me.’
Then Stiles remembers.
‘Shit.’ He huffs. ‘Dude, I can’t.’
‘Why not?’ Scott sounds like he’s pouting now. ‘Your dad home?’
‘No, actually. I just have...stuff’ Stiles lifts a hand and studies his
fingernails, wondering if he’ll get claws like Derek had that morning. He’s
actually pretty bummed he can’t tell Scott what’s going on, but then threats of
disembowelment will do that to a guy. Then he has a brainwave. ‘Why don’t you
come over here? We can watch movies.’
‘Yeah?’ Now Scott perks up. ‘That could totally work.’
They chat a bit longer about school stuff and what Scott did with Allison the
night before (dinner with her creepy folks) while Stiles was out trying to get
laid and ending up being transformed into a creature of the night. Scott agrees
to come over at around seven and bring stuff to eat and Stiles adds some
godawful romcom shit to his Netflix queue. He could do with the distraction.
Once he hangs up, he downloads a moon phase tracker onto his phone and adds the
dates of the full moon to his calendar. Everything he’s researched has pretty
much informed him he’ll transform then, even if Derek has told him exactly
doodly with regards to this. He seems pretty convinced that he’ll have Stiles
back to his boring human self by then. Still, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared.
And because Stiles is ridiculous when it comes to being in the know, he’s
discovered that being a werewolf doesn’t make him immune to everything. Sure,
according to so called experts he’ll be stronger, faster and have killer senses
but he’s also going to be allergic to silver, aconite is deadly and he’s
vulnerable to any sort of charm that is designed to ward off supernatural
creatures.
Interesting.
He finds something called The Book Of Werewolves and starts reading. It’s
pretty interesting stuff and he learns a lot. Derek told him he was a born
werewolf. That means there must be werewolf families, or maybe pack is a better
word.
The sound of the front door opening is incredibly loud in his ears and Stiles
almost levitates off the bed.
‘Stiles?’ His dad’s voice rifts up the stairs to him. ‘Hey kiddo, you home?’
Stiles smiles and rolls off the bed. He heads downstairs and finds Noah with
his head in the fridge. Fatigue is rolling off of him in waves and to Stiles it
smells like stale air and dust, all covered up in his aftershave and the
familiar scent of his uniform.
‘I threw out the fried chicken you had stashed at the back.’ he says and his
father has the grace to look guilty.
‘I didn’t have a choice.’ he protests and Stiles snorts. He’s already lost one
parent. He’s not letting a poor diet and stress filled lifestyle lead his other
one into an early grave so he moves past him and gets started on making an
omelette while his dad pours himself a cup of coffee and sits at the kitchen
table.
‘You’re later than usual.’ He glances over his shoulder and Noah gives him that
look that tells Stiles he’s on to him.
‘I’m not telling you anything, so stop fishing.’ he says and Stiles grins. That
means his dad knows something.
‘Okay.’ He flips the omelette onto a plate and makes up a quick green salad to
go with it. ‘Here.’
Noah sighs but accepts the offering.
‘No cheese?’ He sounds hopeful and Stiles relents and grabs the bag of pre-
grated cheddar from the fridge. He dangles it just out of reach until his
father sighs. ‘Fine, but this doesn’t leave this kitchen.’
‘It never does.’ Stiles grins and it’s sort of true. Scott doesn’t really count
because he never knows what to do with the information anyway.
‘We got an ID on our Jane Doe.’ Noah sighs and starts eating. ‘She’s the
daughter of a family that used to live here. Her name was Laura Hale.’
That makes Stiles drop the bowl he used into the sink. He spins around and
stares at his father.
‘As in Derek Hale’s sister?’ He remembers now. They were the only two left
after the fire. Stiles has an attraction to tragedy which is why he knows
Derek’s face. When his own mom died, he’d started reading those kinds of
stories and the fact that his dad hasn’t changed his password on his computer
at the station for five years means it’s always been easy to hack in and read
whatever he wants. ‘How do you know?’
‘DNA.’ Noah replies. ‘We still had hers on file from the fire.’
‘Shit.’ Stiles is frozen to the spot. That means that Derek is here for a very
specific reason. Maybe it was the Alpha that killed her. He very much doubts
that Derek would kill his own sister. ‘Have you got anything else?’
‘No.’ Noah sighs. ‘We’re trying to find her brother. They were in New York, but
we’re having a hard time tracking him down.’
That’s because he’s here. Stiles thinks
‘Wow.’ He leans against the counter. ‘That’s pretty awful.’
‘I know.’ Noah shakes his head. ‘Who the hell would want to cut up a young
woman and just dump her out in the woods like that.’
‘Have you...found the other half?’ Stiles is now feeling sick to his stomach.
No wonder Derek is as grim as he is. Now he understands completely.
‘No.’ Noah pushes his plate away. ‘Look, until he get a better handle on this,
I would appreciate you staying home in the evenings. You and Scott can hang out
here or go to his house, Okay?’ he gets up and Stiles smiles as he comes over
and plants a kiss on top of his head. ‘I just want you to be safe.’
‘Okay.’ He agrees readily enough. After all he’s already under instruction.
‘Scott’s actually coming over tonight. He’s got this crush on the new girl at
school and he wants to bring her over to watch movies.’
‘Sounds fine.’ Noah nods approval. ‘I’m going to be working this all night so
I’ll see you in the morning. I’m going to grab a few hours sleep and then head
back to the station.’
Stiles gives him a jaunty salute and watches his father leave the room. He
waits until he hears him close his bedroom door and then the sound of the
shower going and then takes his car keys from the hall table and goes out to
the police cruiser parked next to his jeep. He gets in and sure enough, his dad
has his case folders in the trunk. He brings them home when he needs to think
about things and Stiles finds the one he wants and sits in the front seat and
reads. He can still hear the shower and his father, even from outside and now
he;s really starting to appreciate his new werewolf ears.
The pictures make him want to gag, but the coroner’s report is very
informative. The weapon used was a sharp serrated blade, but it wasn’t what
killed Laura Hale. The cuts that severed her in half were made post mortem. The
cause of death is officially listed as exsanguination and Stiles knows what
that means. The fact that they haven’t found her top half is probably very
telling.
Wolves kill by biting the throats of their prey and either asphyxiating them or
bleeding them to death.
So many pennies are dropping he’s starting to feel like that little dude in
Asterix and Cleopatra that gets covered in gold. He needs to tell Derek. The
guy may be an asshole, but now he knows why. If someone killed and cut up his
sister, he;d be an asshole too. And he did save Stiles’ life.
The only problem is that he doesn’t know how to get hold of him.
What he does know is that Derek is hanging out in the old Hale house. At least
he’s pretty sure that’s where he was this morning. A plan starts forming in his
mind. And he won’t be alone. After he takes Scott and Allison home later
tonight (because he’ll be a good host and offer to drive them) he can convince
Scott to go with him. Safety in numbers, right?
Derek did tell him not to tell anyone but then he wasn’t exactly being honest
with Stiles, so he can afford a little bit of leeway. And Scott’s like his
brother. Derek will understand.
He hopes.
***** Investigations *****
Chapter Summary
     Things start to move along.
Chapter Notes
     For CJ and their sleuthing skills LOL.
The knock at the front door is tentative and right on time at eight o’clock.
Stiles is not sure how he knows that, but his ears have gotten much sharper in
the hours between his call from Scott and the imminent arrival of him and the
girls.
Stiles has changed and put on more deodorant than was necessary. He’d actually
given himself a headache with the stuff, belatedly realising that werewolf
noses are super sensitive to artificial odours. Still he thinks he looks okay
as he comes down, feeling a little nervous. He’d been strangely ambivalent
about seeing the girl of his dreams earlier, but now she’s at his front door
(he can smell her perfume even through the wood) it’s coming back to him. He
really does like her, but when he opens the door and sees the three of them
standing there, Stiles realises something is off.
Scott smells like himself - warm and a little earthy and with a chemical tinge
from his inhaler. Allison is light and fresh, her friendly smile matched by her
smell. It’s so weird how comfortable Stiles is with sensing moods from smell in
such a short time but he just seems to know.
Lydia is another thing entirely.
She is not happy. Not only that but when she gives him an extended up and down,
her smell changes even further and Stiles is appalled to realise that what he’s
smelling is disgust.
Lydia doesn’t just not like him, she seems to be actively revolted by him.
Wow. That actually hurts a lot.
Stiles stumbles back a bit and stammers out a greeting as they file in. He sees
Scott frown at him and then recovers himself enough to be a good host.
‘So.’ He forces a smile. ‘You’re the incredible Allison.’ He ignores Scott’s
furious blushing, and she smiles in response. Her smell tinges with warmth and
Stiles is jealous as all hell because Allison clearly likes his best friend.
‘And you’re Stiles.’ She has a lovely voice, just tinged with snark. ‘It’s
weird but we have like four classes together and yet we’ve never actually
spoken.’
‘I know.’ Stiles smiles at her and then grows a little self-conscious at the
way Lydia is looking around her like she has landed in the middle of landfill.
‘It’s not much I know, not compared to your house Lydia.’
‘No.’ She fixes him with cold green eyes. ‘It’s not.’
‘So.’ Allison sounds too bright, obviously to counteract the supreme
awkwardness. ‘What are we watching?’
They end up watching the Avengers. Stiles is in his dad’s armchair, Scott and
Allison are on the sofa and Lydia is on the loveseat. Popcorn is passed back
and forth and Stiles gets up periodically to go to the kitchen to get refills
of soda.
They watch the first film and move onto the next one. Lydia is spending more
time on her phone than actually watching and Stiles can smell how bored she is.
Scott and Allison are riveted, hands brushing as they dip into the bowl of
popcorn and they catch each other’s eye and blush.
It would be sickening if it wasn’t so adorable.
Stiles heaves a sigh. This is not how he envisaged this going down. His mind
wanders to Derek and what he might be doing. He thinks again about whether he
should say anything to Scott.
It’s just before midnight when Lydia puts down her phone and her expression is
triumphant.
‘Time to go.’ she announces. ‘Jackson has finally apologised so I need to go
see him.’ She gets up. ‘Allison?’
‘Oh, Okay.’ There’s a shuffle as Allison and Scott untangle themselves.
Stiles walks them all to the door and Scott lingers while the girls go to the
car.
‘Thanks, man.’ His brown eyes are sparkling. ‘I owe you one.’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles is pleased to see him so happy. ‘Next time though, don’t bring
Lydia.’
‘No?’ Scott glances over his shoulder. ‘But I thought…’
‘She really doesn’t like me.’ Stiles says and the hurt is still there but now
it’s more like it’s sliding into resignation. ‘I just didn’t get it.’
‘But you’ve had a crush on her since the third grade.’ Scott protests. ‘And
it’s not like she doesn’t ignore you normally. What’s different now?'
‘What’s different is that I finally got a clue.’ Stiles sighs. ‘Look, I need to
talk to you about something. Can we hang tomorrow?’
‘Sure.’ Scott agrees readily. ‘You want to go practise?’
‘That sounds good.’ Stiles slaps him on the shoulder and notices that Scott
winces.
‘Damn.’ He rubs his shoulder. ‘You been working out?’
‘Something like that.’ Stiles says. ‘I’ll catch you later, dude.’
‘Night.’ Scott gives him a little wave and heads to Lydia’s car.
Stiles watches him go and then retreats inside. He cleans up the glasses and
bowls and puts everything in the dishwasher, stopping to look outside. There’s
a weird pull inside him, like he wants to go outside and just take off. He
walks to the door, placing his hand against the glass pane and looks outside.
For a moment he feels like he can just see a silhouette in the shadows of the
back yard, but then Stiles blinks and it’s gone.
He sighs and takes his phone out when it buzzes. It’s Scott thanking him and
telling him that he kissed Allison and Stiles can almost feel the giddy
excitement coming off the screen. He skims through a few things as he makes his
way upstairs, so engrossed that he doesn’t notice the smell until he’s actually
in his bedroom.
He looks up and sees the shadow in the corner, starting and nearly falling over
onto his bed in fright. Then the smell registers properly and he huffs.
‘Dude.’ He waves the phone at Derek. ‘How the fuck did you get in?’
‘You left your window unlocked.’ Derek replies, one eyebrow doing a very
disapproving dance. ‘That’s a stupid ass move. Lock them from now on.’
‘Please.’ Stiles snorts. ‘It’s not like apane of glass is going to stop a
werewolf getting in.’ he shows him the screen. ‘Did you know it’s like full
moon in five days?’
‘Yes.’ Derek says. ‘I can track the cycle.’ He narrows his eyes. ‘You had
people over.’
‘I did.’ Stiles folds his arms. ‘You told me I couldn’t go out.’ He frowns.
‘What are you doing here anyway.’
‘Forget it.’ Derek starts to turn and then Stiles feels bad, remembering what
his father had told him earlier. He moves quickly, grabbing Derek’s arm and
catching hold of his leather jacket.
‘Hey, wait.’ he starts and then is silenced when Derek wheels around, eyes blue
and a low growl in his throat. He lets go abruptly and then shuffles back. ‘I
need to tell you something.’
Derek stills, his eyes turning back to normal. He seems to suddenly deflate and
Stiles realises he’s exhausted. He hadn’t really noticed but now he can smell
it.
‘What?’ He sounds so much older than he should. Stiles thinks about a mattress
thrown on the floor in a burnt out house and a dead sister and it hits him like
a thunderbolt that Derek has just lost his last living relative.
‘My dad came by this afternoon.’ He’s shaking now, not sure how to even begin.
‘They got an ID on the body in the woods. It’s your sister.’
Derek’s mouth quirks but there’s no humour in it.
‘I already know it’s Laura.’ His voice is emotionless. ‘I found the other half
of her last night before you showed up. That’s where I’ve been all day. I was
burying her so no-one will find her.’
‘Shit.’ Stiles bites his lip. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘I need to find that Alpha, Stiles.’ Now Derek’s eyes are glowing. ‘That’s why
I’m here. I have to find the name of someone, someone my family knew. He might
be able to help us.’
‘Who is he?’ Stiles asks and gets the disapproving eyebrows again. ‘Okay,
that’s going under shit I don’t need to know isn’t it?’
‘For now.’ Derek says. ‘If you turn back, it’s probably going to be better for
you to know as little as possible. The problem is that I need to track him
down.’ He looks at the laptop on Stiles’ desk. ‘You any good with that?’
‘Uh, yeah.’ Stiles says. ‘You got a name?’
‘No.’ Derek huffs. ‘All I know is that he’s a druid. Laura and my mother were
the only ones who knew his identity.’
‘A what now?’ Stiles does a double take. ‘Did you say druid?’
‘He was the emissary for my pack.’ Derek explains. ‘Before…’ He trails off and
shrugs.
‘What’s an emissary?’ Stiles asks, moving to sit at his desk, feeling a lot
more comfortable. Research he can do. He can research the fuck out of this.
‘It’s a liaison between a pack and the others in the supernatural world.’ Derek
moves to stand behind him and Stiles shivers a little at his proximity. Then he
remembers that Derek can smell him and blushes.
‘Sorry.’ he mutters and Derek makes a funny noise. It’s not quite amused, but
it’s getting there.
‘It’s fine.’ He’s grinning. Stiles is like one hundred percent sure he is.
‘It’s very flattering.’
His dismissive tone makes Stiles feel even worse than Lydia’s rejection did so
he goes on the defensive.
‘You know what, fuck you.’ he mutters. ‘I get you’re not interested. All you
had to do was say. Guess a guy like you probably has hot chicks crawling all
over him.’
‘I’m not interested in hot chicks, Stiles.’ Derek growls. ‘I’m interested in
finding my emissary. Can you help or not?’
‘You’re not giving me much to go on.’ Stiles snaps. ‘You don’t have a name or
an address, so where the hell am I supposed to start?’
‘They would have been associated with my pack.’ Derek replies. ‘Can you dig up
anything that is related to the fire? The person would have been involved in
dealing with what happened to Laura and me. She was nineteen so she was
technically an adult but they must have helped her get guardianship of me and
sort out things like insurance.’
‘Actually I can do that.’ Stiles’ fingers are now flying over the keyboard. He
half turns and sees Derek heading for the window. ‘You’re welcome by the way.’
Derek stops half in and half out. Now the amused glow in his eyes is obvious.
‘For the record, I never said I wasn’t interested Stiles.’ His mouth quirks
again. ‘I just know jailbait when I see it.’
And with that parting shot, he’s gone and Stiles is left sitting with his mouth
hanging open.
‘Well, fuck.’ He breathes out hard. ‘What the hell am I supposed to do with
that?’
‘Try jerking off. It helps.’ Derek’s words make him cringe in embarrassment. He
bolts to the window and sees him outside, standing next to a black Camaro. Now
Stiles can see the shit-eating grin on his face. He flips Derek off and watches
him get into the car and pull away.
He goes back to his computer and spends the next three hours hunting down
insurance records before he hits on a name and he grins because he actually
knows who it is. That makes him feel pretty damn good and he rewards himself by
jerking off and thinking about Derek’s cock.
**********
The sound of the front door closing jolts Stiles out of sleep. It’s obviously
morning and he’s sprawled on his bed and still dressed in his clothing from the
day before. He hears his dad moving around downstairs and sits up, wiping away
a string of drool. He really needs to get that under control.
‘Hey kiddo.’ Noah looks up when he comes downstairs. ‘How was movie night?’
‘Okay.’ Stiles scratches at his stomach, grimacing when it growls loudly. He’s
starving again. ‘Allison seems nice.’
‘She’s Chris Argent’s kid, isn’t she?’ Noah goes back to his coffee and paper.
‘We were in the same year at school. Interesting family.’
‘Really?’ Stiles pours himself a cup and comes to join him. ‘I didn’t know
that.’
‘They moved away about a year after the Hale fire.’ Noah tells him and then
peers over the top of the newspaper. ‘You got plans today?’
‘Yeah, actually.’ Stiles sips. ‘I’m supposed to be seeing Scott later.’ He
watches Noah for a moment. ‘You have any luck last night?’
‘No.’ Noah’s blue eyes are now sharp. ‘And that doesn’t mean I need any
either.’
Stiles smiles. His dad can read him like a book sometimes. Too bad he can’t
tell him he knows exactly where Laura’s body is.
‘Are you going to sleep after?’ he asks and Noah nods.
‘I’m pretty beat.’ He doesn’t bother stifling his yawn. ‘I’m going to grab some
shut eye and then head back to the station. Are you going to be okay by
yourself for dinner?’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles’ brain is already cooking up a scheme. ‘I’ll be fine.’
He waits for his dad to go upstairs and the texts Scott. A second later his
phone rings.
‘Hey.’ He sounds distracted.
‘Hey.’ Stiles tries to inject the right amount of enthusiasm into his voice.
He’s already expecting the inevitable refusal when Scott speaks.
‘Look, I know we said we would get together today.’ He is trying to sound
apologetic but Stiles can hear he’s not. ‘Allison wanted to study for the Chem
test next week and I kind of said I would and now her mom’s invited me for
lunch and I can’t really say no.’
‘No, you can’t.’ Stiles wants to feel bad that his best friend is ditching him
so consistently, but he actually feels the opposite. Now he’s got his whole
afternoon free to follow other avenues of interest. ‘Look it’s cool. You stay
and have fun and I’ll see you later if you want.’
‘Thanks.’ Scott’s bouncing on the other side. ‘Later.’ He hangs up before
Stiles can say anything.
He looks at his phone and then gets up. It’s a quick clean up of the kitchen
and then he dashes upstairs. He grabs some clean clothes, showers and changes
and then checks in on his dad. Noah’s in sweats and an old BHPD t-shirt on his
bed, watching TV. His eyelids are already drooping.
‘So I’m heading out.’ Stiles says, keeping it casual. ‘I’m meeting Scott and
we’re going to do some lacrosse practice and then maybe go out for pizza. I’ll
be home by eleven.’
‘All right.’ Noah waves him off and Stiles grins and leaves him to sleep. He
grabs his laptop on the way out and jogs downstairs, picking up his car keys
and heading out.
The drive to the preserve takes him past the donut shop and Stiles stops for
coffee and a box of twelve assorted. He has no idea what Derek takes and so he
gets it black with some sugar and cream for him to add. He has no idea why he’s
being so thoughtful, other than he wants donuts and Derek would probably just
steal his so it makes sense to take extra.
He stops to pick the lock on the preserve gate chain. It’s now locked until
further notice, but that doesn’t stop him. Stiles has a lot of unusual skills,
most of which no-one knows about. He takes the jeep through, gets out to relock
the chain and then he’s on his way into the park.
Google maps has revealed the exact location of the Hale house and he follows
his GPS until he sees the roof sticking out through the trees and then he gets
close enough to see the facade. He parks next to Derek’s Camaro and gets out.
The first thing he notices is that music is playing. Not only that but it’s the
kind of electronic dance music that Stiles is not expecting. He’d had Derek
pegged for an angry death metal type of guy.
He walks towards the house and the music cuts out and then Derek is there on
the front porch. He’s in a white v-neck t-shirt that’s stretched indecently
tight across his shoulders and Stiles melts a little. He’s stupidly hot in the
daylight, all muscles and stubbled jaw and he would probably give his left nut
just to lick him. As it is, he can smell Derek’s scent drifting downwind and it
makes him get that funny little shiver down his spine again.
Derek folds his arms and glares at him.
‘You were told to stay away.’ His sounds annoyed but he doesn’t smell that way.
In fact he smells...not annoyed. It’s odd.
‘Yeah, well I guess you probably figured out that I don’t respond well to
instructions.’ He nods at his laptop bag on his shoulder and holds it the
donuts and coffee. ‘And I think the fact that I think I found your guy and
brought you coffee might make up for the disobeying the rules thing.’
Holy shit. Derek actually looks marginally impressed. Then it’s lost in a
flurry of eyebrows.
‘Get your ass in here.’ he growls and Stiles finds himself almost skipping up
the stairs. He follows derek inside and wrinkles his nose. Now he can smell the
ghosts of fire and something else underneath. It’s charred and awful and he
doesn’t want to know what it is. He has suspicions and that makes him a little
sick to his stomach.
‘Here.’ he holds out the coffee and Derek takes it. ‘I figured you’d like it
black, like your soul.’
‘Asshole.’ Derek says it but the tone has changed dramatically from the first
time he used it. ‘And for your information, I like cream and sugar in my
coffee. Just so you get it right next time.’
‘Hey, just because I’m now a werewolf doesn’t mean I’m your errand boy.’ Stiles
retorts. He dumps the donuts on the table and then his laptop, opening the bag
and getting set up. He digs the sugar and cream from his pocket and hands it
all to Derek. There’s a second where their fingers brush and it’s like a tiny
electric shock.
Stiles pulls his hand away a little too quickly and then starts opening
documents.
‘So I kind of hacked the City Hall.’ He grins at Derek’s ill-concealed
surprise. ‘You were right. The death certificates for your family were all
issued to a man called Alan Deaton. Not only that but when I started digging a
little further, I found the insurance claim on the house and life policies were
also handled by him. Now that was interesting because it requires power of
attorney. That I checked as well and got the same name. He handled pretty much
everything after your family got killed.’ He stops and waits for a reaction.
‘So that is pretty awesome but it gets better because I just so happen to know
who he is.’ He gives Derek a sidelong glance and preens a little when he gets
an approving nod.
‘Good work.’ Derek says. ‘Thank you.’
That makes Stiles stop dead and then break out into a wide smile.
‘Did you just say thank you?’ he asks. ‘Wow.’
‘Yeah, well don’t let it go to your head.’ Derek growls but it’s too late.
Stiles is already beaming. ‘Now are you going to tell me who he is?’
‘He’s Scott’s boss at the vet clinic.’ He folds his arms and gives Derek his
cockiest smile. ‘So I figure we should mosey on over and talk to him.’
‘What do you mean “we”?’ Derek’s inspecting the donuts. He takes out a jelly
filled one and gives Stiles a look right back that says this is not going to be
an easy win. ‘Your work is done. Now you get back in your jeep and go home and
be a good boy.’
‘Uh, no.’ Stiles is scornful. ‘I did the work, dude. I get the pay off too.’
‘This is not a game Stiles.’ Derek admonishes. ‘And I don’t need you tagging
along and bothering me.’
‘You wouldn’t even have this intel without me.’ Stiles retorts, slamming the
laptop shut. ‘I go and that’s the end of the story.’
He’s not expecting Derek to put down the coffee an donut and crowd into his
space, eyes blue and fangs out and growling at him. He skitters back and then
it’s like something breaks inside him and he feels a flash on intense pain in
his gums and fingernails and the next thing he knows he’s getting right back in
Derek’s face, growling and snarling like an animal.
Derek doesn’t even flinch. Instead he grabs Stiles by the front of his
sweatshirt and lifts him bodily, turning them and slamming him into the wall
next to them. He crowds right in and Stiles growls, his chest vibrating with
the sound. Derek’s inches from him and there’s something surging through him,
heat and a deep seated urge to do something that will make Derek come in even
closer. That’s not what he should want, but boy does Stiles want it.
Derek responds by roaring in his face.
It’s so loud it makes Stiles’ ears hurt and then he does the strangest thing,
backing down and tilting his head. He has no idea why he’s doing it, he just
knows he has to.
Derek stills, the roar quieting to a deep rumble in his chest. Then he leans in
and Stiles feels him breathing on his neck, hot and damp over his skin. It
makes him break out in goose bumps and he whines, wanting more. His heartbeat
is now a steady thud, loud in his own ears as he feels his body respond.
Derek growls in reply and inhales deeply along his neck before connecting. His
stubble burns along Stiles neck as he rubs his face over him and it’s enough to
make Stiles get stupidly hard.
‘Fuck.’ It comes out a little strange because of the unfamiliar fangs in his
mouth. ‘What are you doing…?’
‘Shut up Stiles.’ Derek instructs but he doesn’t stop. Instead he moves to the
other side and Stiles tips his head obligingly. He can feel the way it’s
soothing him, Derek’s deep rich smell pulling the wolf back under his control.
His fangs and claws recede and then it’s just the two of them.
Derek pulls back and his eyes are wary.
‘You need to learn control.’ His voice is low.
‘You’re the one rubbing off on me.’ Stiles really thinks he should shut up, but
he can’t. It’s almost like a disease. He looks back at Derek and their eyes
lock and it’s intense enough to make his breathing hitch. This close up he can
see all kinds of colours in Derek’s eyes and it’s doing things to him. There’s
bits of gold and brown all scattered on a grey-green background and they are
kind of hypnotic.
‘You know I can teach you.’ Dereks says and now this is getting interesting.
‘I thought you wanted me to stay away.’ Stiles is starting to shake. ‘You
called me jailbait.’
‘You are.’ Derek’s smile is slow this time, almost lazy. ‘Training you doesn’t
mean fucking you.’ He looks down at Stiles’ mouth. ‘And this way I get to keep
you out of trouble. Two birds one stone.’ He finally moves away. ‘Okay. Get
your shit, bring the donuts and we can get the hell out of here. We’ll take my
car.’
‘Sweet.’ Stiles perks up immediately. ‘I always wanted to ride in a Camaro.’ He
grins and chances his arm. ‘And maybe drive one?’
‘Cold day in hell, Stiles.’ Derek growls. ‘Now move your ass.’
They drive into town, eating the donuts and drinking the coffee and it’s almost
friendly. Derek glares at him when Stiles tries to change the radio station and
he yanks his hand back like he’s been burned.
They get to the clinic and Stiles directs Derek to park around the back.
‘So we need a game plan.’ he says and Derek scowls at him.
‘You’re staying in the car.’ he orders and Stiles gets completely distracted
because there’s just the tiniest hint of icing sugar at the corner of his mouth
and he desperately wants to lick it off so he just stares at it.
Derek huffs and then snaps his fingers in Stiles’ face.
‘Hey.’ He raises his eyebrows at him. ‘My eyes are up here sunshine.’
‘Do you ever get tired of being so hot?’ Stiles asks and that was definitely
not something he meant to say out loud. ‘You have icing sugar on your mouth.’
Derek sighs in exasperation and then gets out the car. Stiles scrambles to
follow and falls into step beside him. He’s disappointed to see the sugar is
now gone.
The clinic is empty when they go inside, and Stiles looks at Derek.
‘Coffee break?’ he asks and Derek’s eyes narrow.
‘He’s here.’ He returns the look. ‘Use your senses.’
Stiles frowns and then focuses. It starts out as a low thump and then coalesces
into a regular sound that he knows is a heartbeat. There are others too, faster
ad lighter and he knows those must be the animals.
Derek smiles, satisfied and knowing. The he walks over to the counter and leans
on his elbows, deceptively casual.
‘Dr Alan Deaton?’ he calls, voice carrying. ‘We know you’re here.’
There the sound of someone exhaling and then a movement. Stiles has met Scott’s
boss a few times before, but the normally affable man that he knows is not the
one that steps through the door.
Deaton looks wary and closed off, but when he sees them his scent even changes.
It becomes suspicious.
‘Do I know you?’ he asks and Derek smiles.
‘You know me.’ He holds Deaton’s gaze. ‘You knew my sister. And my mother.’
‘How did you find me?’ Deaton asks. He folds his arms and lifts his chin,. Not
an ounce of fear in him. ‘No-one knew apart from them.’
‘He found you.’ Derek turns to look at Stiles and now Stiles smells
astonishment when deaton focuses of him.
‘You’re Scott’s friend.’ he says and then his expression changes to one of
complete mystification. ‘And you’re…’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles interjects. ‘That was kind of an accident.’
‘You knew Laura was here?’ Derek cuts in. ‘You knew what she came to do?’
Deaton heaves a sigh. Now he slumps and shakes his head.
‘I told her it was a bad idea.’ he says. ‘I told her that it wouldn’t solve
anything, digging up ghosts.’ He looks at both of them. ‘I feel I should tell
you I am retired.’
‘We just need information.’ Derek folds his arms. ‘That’s it.’
Deaton nods at Stiles.
‘What happened to him?’ His question is addressed to Derek.
‘The Alpha attacked him.’ Derek explains. ‘You know it’s what killed Laura?’
‘I guessed.’ Deaton looks sympathetic. ‘I know you and her weren’t close after
what happened, but I am sorry.’
‘She was here looking for something.’ Derek sighs. ‘I need to know what you
know.’
Deaton considers and then nods.
‘We better have a talk then.’ He beckons to them. ‘Come on back. I have tea.’
He goes through the doorway and Stiles looks at Derek, grinning.
‘Okay.’ Derek huffs. ‘Maybe this was a good idea.’
‘You bet your ass it was.’ Stiles grins and ducks round the counter.
***** The Druid *****
Chapter Summary
     Derek and Stiles meet Dr Alan Deaton.
Chapter Notes
     Okay, I give up. This started as a short fic and has rapidly
     descended into a retelling of Season One, lol.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
The tea is peppermint and delicious.
They are in a back room at the vet, all sitting around a conference table and
surrounded by filing cabinets and medical supply cupboards. Stiles is not sure
he’s ever seen anything quite so funny as Derek holding a china cup in his huge
hands and the way he sniffs the tea and sips with ladylike delicacy. It’s
surprisingly adorable and he has to bite his lip to keep from getting heart-
eyes all over it.
Then Derek catches the way he smells and the glare that is directed at Stiles
is harsh enough to strip paint and the illusion is well and truly shattered.
‘So.’ Deaton is sitting back in his chair, fingers steepled and his dark eyes
fixed on Derek. ‘I want to know what exactly you know.’
‘Shouldn’t I be the one saying that.’ Derek growls at him. ‘Or asking why the
hell this is the first time I am meeting you?’
‘Your mother wanted it that way, Derek.’ Deaton explains. ‘She knew that if
anything happened to her, she would have to have someone she could trust to
take care of things. I did only what was required of me.’
‘Why would she want that?’ Derek’s voice rises slightly and his hand grips the
tea cup. Stiles can see his knuckles starting to go white and before he knows
it, he’s leaning over and taking the cup from Derek’s hand.
‘Dude.’ he cautions. ‘Dial it back.’
‘Shut up Stiles.’ Derek says, now seemingly on instinct. His eyes though are
still locked on Deaton’s face. ‘So you…?’ He raises his eyebrows in question.
‘I did all the paperwork.’ Deaton replied. ‘I buried your family, got the
insurance paid out and covered any sign of you and your sister once you left
town. Her and I both knew that whoever it was that killed your family, they
wouldn’t stop until they had finished the job. It’s why she took you and ran.
Peter was in no condition to go anywhere so I got him admitted to the long term
care unit at the hospital and made sure that you would be as safe as you could
be.’ Now he looks away and Stiles catches a hint of something.
‘You feel responsible.’ Derek says it like it’s a revelation.
‘Of course, I do.’ Now Deaton’s eyes flash angrily. ‘I was your mother’s
emissary. I should have known there was a threat. It’s one of the reasons I
retired. I could no longer serve any pack in good faith.’
‘No.’ Now Derek’s voice changes and so does his smell. It’s almost like he
feels ashamed and that makes Stiles pay attention. He’s always been good at
listening and there is so much now happening in this conversation that he knows
he needs to remember everything. ‘It wasn’t your fault.’
‘I did not know about the hunters.’ Deaton says, his face growing sad. ‘If I
had…’
‘It probably wouldn’t have changed anything.’ Derek lowers his head. ‘How long
have you been in contact with Laura?’
‘All the time.’ Deaton relies. ‘More so in the past six months. She thought she
had found something. Something to do with who they were.’
‘I know.’ Derek sighs. ‘The last time I spoke to her, she said as much. Then
she came here and I couldn’t get hold of her. It’s why I left New York and came
back to find her. I had a really bad feeling and as it turns out I was right.’
‘She was already dead.’ Deaton says. ‘She came to see me when she got into
town, but then she disappeared and I had no way of finding her.’
Derek sighs.
‘It doesn’t matter anyway.’ He pulls himself together and the emotion
disappears from his face. ‘But she was killed by an Alpha. And now I need to
find it. It bit Stiles a week ago out in the preserve and if he’s going to
stand any chance of changing, back I need to kill it.’ He looks at Deaton. ‘Do
you have any idea who it could be?’
‘No.’ Deaton is apologetic. ‘I really don’t.’ Now he addresses Stiles. ‘What
about you? I assume you’re undergoing the Turn.’
‘The what?’ Stiles is caught off guard. ‘You mean what’s happening to me?’
‘He’s coping.’ Derek interjects. ‘And he’s going to be staying away until I can
deal with this.’
‘What about full moon?” Deaton frowns. ‘You know what will happen to him.’
Now Stiles stomach knots.
‘Uh, what’s going to happen to me?’ He looks at Derek for clarification and
gets nothing. He really should play poker, Stiles is pretty sure he’d clean up.
‘That’s a need to know, Stiles.’ Derek starts and Deaton gives him a stern
look.
‘No, it most certainly is not.’ He sounds adamant. ‘You haven’t explained this
to him?’
‘I’m handling it.’ Derek growls. ‘The less he knows at the moment, the better.’
‘Absolutely not.’ Deaton shakes his head. ‘He needs to know. What if killing
the Alpha doesn’t reverse the Turn? Had you thought of that?’
‘It will work.’ Derek insists. ‘It has to.’
‘You need to to have a talk.’ Deaton is not letting him off the hook. ‘Stiles,
there are a lot of things you’re going to be dealing with, but it’s not going
to sound right coming from me. You need another wolf to guide you through it.’
‘Is that what you meant by training me?” Stiles asks Derek and catches a brief
glimpse of surprise crossing Deaton’s face.
‘Partly.’ Derek admits. He looks at Deaton and his eyes are now blazing. ‘What
is it I should be explaining, exactly. How he’s going to end up spending his
life running from hunters? That humans will always let him down? Or maybe how
losing your entire family really fucks up your life and the only person who you
are able to talk to about it is so obsessed with what happened that she spends
the next six years dumping you in empty houses and leaving you alone until you
turn eighteen and think fuck it so you bail and pretend like nothing ever
happened?’ His eyes are flashing blue and Stiles can smell his anger. It’s
rapidly getting out of control and he looks down at Derek’s hands, seeing the
claws that are already sprouting. ‘Maybe I just want to protect him from that
until we know for sure whether he can go back to being a normal human kid who’s
biggest fucking worry is whether the hot girl’s going to ever give him the time
of day.’ He’s on his feet now, and his entire face shifts, fangs appearing and
Deaton is also on his feet, hands up in a conciliatory gesture.
‘Derek.’ He sounds firm but not afraid and Stiles is amazed. ‘Calm down.’
‘Don’t tell me to fucking calm down!’ Derek roars and Stiles knows he’s as
close to losing it as he could possibly be. He can smell the rage coming off of
him and hear Derek’s elevated heartbeat.
What Stiles does next is purely instinctual.
‘Derek!’ He’s moving between Deaton and Derek and he has no idea how he knows
Derek won’t rip his arms off, but he gets his hands on Derek’s face and
basically yanks him around so he’s staring into Stiles’ eyes. ‘Hey, man. It’s
okay. Just fucking chill!’ He gives Derek a shake for good measure, and then as
Derek’s furious eyes meet his he realises just what he’s done and drops his
hands. ‘Okay, backing off now.’
Then something unexpected happens.
Derek backs down.
He moves back from Stiles, still breathing hard but now regaining control and
Stiles’ can hear his heartbeat starting to even out. He chances a reassuring
smile.
‘That’s it.’ He keeps his voice soothing. ‘You’re cool. Just breathe, big guy.’
‘You’re such an asshole.’ Derek snarls, but then his eyes fade back and his
fangs recede and he’s just him again.
They all stand there and then Stiles checks if Deaton’s okay and sees him
staring at Derek like he’s just been slapped in the face.
‘Derek…’ he starts and Derek throws up a hand, silencing him.
‘Not a goddamn word.’ he hisses and then looks at Stiles. ‘We need to go. Now!’
‘But…’ Stiles starts to protest but the next thing he knows, Derek has him by
the scruff of the neck and is hauling him out of Deaton’s building and nearly
throwing him into the passenger seat of the Camaro. He gets in the other side,
starting the car and burning rubber all the way out the lot and Stiles finally
manages to get his breath back and goggle at Derek in disbelief.
‘Dude?’ His own heart is pounding, adrenaline surging through him. ‘What the
fuck?’
‘That was a bad idea.’ Derek growls. ‘I’m not going back there.’ He glares at
Stiles. ‘And neither are you.’
‘Hey.’ Stiles sits up straight. ‘You’re not the boss of me.’
‘I’m the one looking out for you.’ Derek snorts. ‘So yeah, I kind of am.’
‘Fuck that shit.’ Stiles counters. ‘It you’re looking out for me than what
about everything that Deaton said I needed to know, huh? And what the hell was
all that stuff about your family?’
‘Exactly that.’ Derek snaps. ‘My family, Stiles. My business and not yours.’
‘Jesus.’ Stiles slumps back in his seat. ‘You know you’re going to have to
trust me at some point, right?’ he looks at Derek and sees how his hands
tighten on the steering wheel and hears his heartbeat rocket.
‘I don’t trust anyone.’ he declares. ‘It’s better that way.’
The sadness and resignation in his voice and his smell shuts Stiles right up.
‘Derek…’ he starts and Derek’s shoulders tense and then the anger is back.
‘Don’t say anything else.’ he orders. ‘Not a damn word or I swear to God I will
throw you out the fucking car.’
Stiles slumps back in his seat, folding his arms and keeping his mouth shut.
The drive back to Derek’s is frosty, the silence almost overwhelming.
Stiles gets out and stamps over to his car, not even looking back once until
he’s in the driver’s seat, starting the engine and reversing. Only then does he
chance a glance and sees that Derek is still in the driver’s side. He feels a
pain in his chest, fleeting and stabbing through him like a knife but he
ignores it and goes home.
**********
Stiles gets home and parks up, still seething.
He gets inside, slamming the door behind him and charging up the stairs. He has
no explanation for why he’s feeling so enraged but when he gets to his room,
his mind is starting to race and he knows that he needs to talk to someone.
Derek told him to keep quiet but that’s not an option he wants anymore so he
takes out his phone and sends a message.
How soon can u get here? I need to talk to u.
The reply comes in under two seconds.
Dude. U ok?
Stiles sighs and rubs a hand over his face.
No.
He throws himself on the bed in a fit of dramatics and then lies there staring
at the ceiling. This is all so fucking confusing and he wants nothing more than
to get back in his car and go find Derek and make him explain himself.
Then his stubbornness kicks in and he snorts angrily and gets back up, going to
his desk. If Derek isn’t going to be forthcoming then he needs to be proactive.
Deaton had mentioned hunters and now he at least has something to go on.
He starts working, and he’s so caught up he doesn’t hear the knock at the door.
In act, when Scott comes in he almost jumps out of his skin.
‘Dammit, Scott.’ He blows out a deep breath. ‘You scared me.’
‘Dude.’ Scott looks worried. ‘You don’t look okay.’
‘I’m not.’ Stiles replies. ‘That’s why I wanted to talk to you.’ he swings the
chair around as Scott dumps his backpack and sits down on the edge of the bed.
‘There’s been some shit going on and I need to tell you about it.’
Scott starts to smell worried. His dark brows draw down and then he’s leaning
across, hand on Stiles’ arm.
‘It’s okay, Stiles.’ His face is an open book and Stiles smells nothing off.
‘You can tell me.’
Stiles inhales deeply, steeling himself.
‘Okay so you know how I took that stupid bet?’ he asks and Scott nods. ‘Well I
kind of maybe went back the following weekend.’
‘Okay?’ Scott’s not following, that much is obvious and stiles inwardly curses
choosing a best friend who is a master at loyalty and enthusiastically joining
in his terrible schemes and not one who is...well, smart.
‘So I had an experience.’ He knows he’s not really making much sense. ‘I met
someone…’
‘Dude!’ Now Scott’s eyes light up. ‘Is she hot?’ He’s grinning like crazy. ‘No
wonder you’ve been kind of weird this week.’
‘Wait, no.’ Stiles shakes his head and then glares at him. ‘I’ve been weird?’
‘Yeah.’ Scott nods. ‘You’ve been distracted and not really there, kind of.’ He
shrugs. ‘Now I know why.’
‘No, that’s not it.’ Stiles protests but Scott’s away with the fairies by this
point.
‘So it makes total sense that you met a girl you like. That’s awesome. We can
totally double date. Is she someone from school? What does she look like? I bet
she’s…’
‘Scott!’ Stiles has to stop this disaster before it completely derails his
attempt at confessing. ‘I didn’t meet a girl. I ran into Derek Hale and got
bitten by a werewolf and now I am one!’ The last is blurted out and he can
actually pinpoint the moment that the penny drops.
‘What?’ Scott’s look of utter confusion is ridiculous. ‘Did you just
say...werewolf?’
Stiles looks at him and nods.
For a moment he thinks it’s going to be okay and then Scott starts laughing.
‘Oh man.’ His whole face is creasing up. ‘You really had me going there for a
moment.’ He’s actually holding his sides, the stupid bastard, and Stiles loses
what little control he’s been hanging onto since they left Deaton.
He crowds into Scott’s space, his eyes flashing gold and his fangs coming out
and he growls so loudly he swears Scott’s hair blows back a little. Then he’s
scuttling back onto the bed, flattening himself against the wall and his face
is a mask of terror.
Stiles smells his fear and it cools him off like a glass of water in the face.
He backs down and changes back and holds up both hands.
‘Dude.’ He’s now terrified that he’s blown it. ‘It’s okay, it’s me.’ He moves
away. ‘See, giving you safe space.’ he backs into the desk and stays there.
Scott is wheezing and he digs out his inhaler, taking several deep puffs and
flopping down on the bed.
‘Fuck.’ He is staring at stiles, his dark eyes still terrfied. ‘What the hell
happened to you?’
‘Exactly what i just said. ‘Stiles repeats. ‘I got bitten by a werewolf and now
I am one.’ He sighs deeply. ‘So...I kind of wanted to tell you when it happened
but Derek told me not to and…’
‘Hang on.’ Scott is back in confused territory again. ‘Who the hell is Derek
Hale?’
‘He was a few years older than us.’ Stiles says. ‘His whole family was killed
in a fire like six years ago. Anyway that’s not important?’
‘Is he the one that bit you?” Scott asks, his whole face scrunching up as he
tries to understand.
‘No, he’s not.” Stiles pinches the bridge of his nose. ‘Look he’s a werewolf
but he’s not the werewolf. He’s been kind of helping me to understand what’s
happening. Sort of. Actually no he’s not told me very much but that’s besides
the point. The point is that I’m now a werewolf and you’re my best friend and
you have to help me.’
That seems to be something Scott can understand and he nods frantically.
‘Absolutely.’ He moves forward on the bed, swinging his legs back to the
ground. ‘What can I do?’
*************
Derek sits at the top of the stairs and listens to the house.
The last time he was there was the morning of the fire. His mother had made him
breakfast and he’d eaten it at the table with Laura and Cora in his lap. His
father had been upstairs with the twins and Peter had come down and ruffled his
hair in that annoying way of his. Derek had laughed and not thought anything of
it.
They hadn’t come back after the fire. There had been police and social workers
and then Laura had packed them up in his dad’s Camaro and they had left
California. They had gone from place to place, staying only long enough for him
to get his GED before she’d taken off and he’d gone to college, hoping it would
give him some sort of security.
He’d chosen New York because it was far away from his life and Beacon Hills and
what had happened. What he’d let happen.
He lifts his head and scents the air. He can still smell Stiles lingering in
the house and it stills his anger in a way he knows it shouldn’t. He’d nearly
lost it with Deaton, his anger at the druid almost making him shift. Stiles had
stepped in and it was like Laura or his mom had done, bringing him back into
himself and making the wolf calm and grow gentle under their hand.
This was not something he’d ever expected.
A wolf’s anchor was sacred, something that rooted them into their humanity and
allowed them to control their inner beast. Talia had been his first anchor,
just as she had been for all her children. His father James had been human, not
subject to the same biological rules as werewolves.
After the fire, Laura had become his anchor. But she had been restive and angry
and determined to find the people that had killed her family and that had made
it difficult. Derek had never told her that he was the reason they had died,
and so their relationship had become stained and the link between them broken.
As he’d gotten older, his anchor had changed again. He’d grown to realise just
how badly he’d been manipulated and that had fed the all consuming anger inside
him. It’s constant presence has become the anchor he so desperately craves and
it has given him strength. It has also made him closed off and difficult to
relate to and Derek has not had another significant relationship with anyone
until the time he’d come back to Beacon Hills. It tells its own tale that he is
closer to a random kid he’d met two weeks previously than to anyone he’s fucked
in the past six years.
He needs to cut this off and soon, before the attachment gets too strong to
ignore.
**********
‘So.’ Scott’s got his concentrating face on again. ‘You’re a werewolf and you
got turned by this thing called an Alpha.’
‘Correct.’ Stiles is amusing himself by trying to hold his pen between his nose
and upper lip.
‘Derek is also a werewolf, but he’s not an Alpha.’ Scott frowns. ‘Then what is
he?’
‘Don’t know, don’t care.’ Stiles snorts.
‘But if he kills the Alpha then you get to turn back to human.’ Scott says. He
looks at Stiles. ‘Just how the hell is he going to do that?’
‘No idea.’ Stiles tips his head back. ‘God, I’m starving.’
They end up in the kitchen. Stiles is making them pizza rolls from the freezer
and watching as Scott finally seems to get it.
‘So what does all this mean?’ he evetually asks. ‘Like are you different?’
Stikes gives him a look of disbelief.
‘Seriously?” He pulls a face. ‘Did you miss the fangs and the glowy eyes shit?’
‘No, I get that.’ Scott is looking thoughtful. ‘But you said that wolves have
better senses, right? So how much have you tried out?’
‘Well, I can smell a lot better.’ Stiles replies. ‘I can smell that you had
cherry cola at Allison’s and that she was wearing watermelon lipgloss.’ He
grins at Scott’s blush. ‘I can also hear your heart beating, which is pretty
cool.’
‘Are you stronger?’ Scott asks and then seems to recall the night before. ‘You
felt stronger.’
‘I guess.’ Stiles shrugs. ‘Maybe faster too.’
‘Dude.’ Now Scott looks downright envious. ‘Don’t you see what that means?’
‘No?’ Stiles isn’t quite making the connection and then his brain fires and it
slaps him in the face. ‘Shit! I’m going to totally rule at lacrosse if that’s
true.’
‘Dude.’ Scott bounces in his seat. ‘And Finstock is totally looking for new
guys for first line. You can finally get off the bench.’ His smile is wide and
Stiles remembers why he’s his best friend. ‘It’ll be awesome.’
Suddenly things are looking up.
‘Okay.’ He grins. ‘I can work with this.’ Then he recalls Derek’s words about
him not going to school but that would mean missing practice.
Fuck that. It’s not like Derek’s playing fair right?
‘So, this is going to change everything.’ Scott’s now rattling ideas off like
he does when he’s excited. ‘You can make first line and that means that Lydia
will totally notice you and maybe break up with Jackson and then we’d be like
our own group…’
And that’s also when Stiles remembers Lydia’s sour smell and the way she’d felt
and he instantly backtracks.
‘No.’ He shakes his head. ‘Dude, she really doesn’t like me.’
‘You can’t give up that easily.’ Scott laughs. ‘She’ll come around.’
Stiles watches him stuff two pizza rolls in his mouth and hears a traitorous
little voice in the back of his head saying that Derek is far hotter than Lydia
will ever be, and boy would he turn heads at prom. Then he immediately jumps
all over that thought because that makes him think about what Derek said the
night before and the way he’d put his face in Stiles’ neck and he’s read enough
fanfiction to know what the fuck that is supposed to mean even if his dick
hadn’t been all over that already.
No, he doesn’t want Lydia. Not anymore.
Lacrosse on the other hand is something he;s wanted forever and it would make
his dad super proud to see him playing first line and maybe kicking everyone’s
ass out on the field. So fuck Derek and his stupid insistence that Stiles stays
home. He’s going to fucking school and he’s going to get on the team and blow
everyone away. Derek can just suck it.
That of course brings up a whole other set of images and Stiles has to get up
and got stand over by the sink and take deep breaths because now he’s imagining
Derek on his knees in front of him, looking up at him with those glowing not-
quite-green eyes while he sucks Stiles’ cock like a pro, and all Stiles’ blood
is heading south.
He really needs to get a handle on this. Lacrosse sounds fucking perfect.
Thankfully Scott is blissfully unaware of his inner turmoil and they start
making plans for getting Stiles on the team.
At some point later Scott folds his arms.
‘You need to try this out.’ he says. ‘When’s your dad home?’
‘He’s not.’ Stiles replies. ‘He’s working nights.’
‘Sweet.’ Scott gets up. ‘You wanted to practice. Let's go practice.’
Stiles look at the window. It’s still light enough out that they can get a
couple of hours in. Derek only said to stay in at night.
‘Let’s go.’ he says and follows him.
***********
They drive to the school playing field that’s out the back of the school and
surrounded by trees. It’s fairly secluded and they both fall out of the jeep
and haul their gear up to the field.
Stiles bounces around a bit and warms up. He does feel different, there’s no
denying it. He feels like he has energy to burn and when Scott suggests they do
a couple of laps around the field he happily agrees. He takes off and lets go,
tearing down the first stretch. The weird pull in his chest loosens and he just
enjoys running, the stretch in his muscles delicious. His heart is pounding but
in a good way and Stiles swears everything just gets a little sharper and a
little high definiton and he puts his head down and runs. He doesn’t stop until
he hears Scott yelling and then he pulls up and sees that he’s about to lap
him.
‘What the hell?’ He’s puffing hard. ‘You’re like a total machine. You just
cruised the whole damn field.’ He grins. ‘You’re not even sweating.’
‘Damn.’ Stiles realises he’s right and that he could also just keep going. He
jogs in place, now bordering on ecstatic. ‘You want to try some plays?’
Now Stiles knows he’s not the best player. He’s too ungainly to be graceful,
too disparate to be strategic. Not today though. Today he’s focused and sharp,
his hits timed perfectly and Scott doesn’t manage to get a single ball past
him.
They play for an hour and by the time they are done, Stiles is breathing hard
and loving every minute of it. By contrast Scott has to pull his inhaler out
and he’s sweating like a pig. Stiles laughs and carries all their gear back to
the jeep. He drops Scott off at his house and then swings through the drive
through to get a double order of everything that he consumes in the car before
he goes home. He feels incredible, his body singing with its newfound
capability and he has no doubt he’s going to kick ass on Wednesday afternoon.
He gets in and crashes up the stairs, chucking his things on his bed before
going to hit the shower. He’s about to take off his shirt when he sees the book
on his desk. He goes over and picks it up and frowns at it. It’s incredibly
old, the leather bound cover singed and a little tattered and Stiles turns it
over but there’s no title. He opens it and sees it’s hand-written and that the
chief subject is werewolves.
That makes him go to the window but there’s no black Camaro outside. In fact
the whole street is deserted.
Stiles retreats and puts the book on his nightstand. It’ll make for interesting
bedtime reading.
***********
Deaton is busy bedding the animals down to the night when he hears the stealthy
tread behind him.
‘You ready for a real talk?’ he asks, not turning around. ‘Because if not, I’d
rather you didn’t waste my time.’ Now he looks around at Derek, taking in the
dark shadows under his light eyes and the wrinkled clothing. ‘When was the last
time you slept in an actual bed? When was the last time you slept at all?’
‘I don’t sleep particularly well these days.’ Derek says, the sharpness
underneath his words mirrored in the flash of fang that Deaton gets.
‘No. I can’t imagine you do.’ He sighs. ‘You’re drifting. Laura said that you’d
become disconnected.’
‘She’d know.’ The bitterness in Derek’s voice is terrible to hear. Deaton
remembers a sweet boy with a ready smile and an eagerness to learn. It’s a far
cry from the cold-eyed man in front of him. But then again, loss on the scale
Derek has experienced counts for a whole lot.
‘How about this.’ he suggests. ‘I haven’t had dinner yet and there’s an
excellent Indian restaurant that I happen to know your parents loved not too
far from here. We can have dinner and that talk.’
For a moment he thinks Derek’s about to turn and leave but then his face
creases and Deaton sees exhaustion at having to live like he is and carry the
burden he carries. It’s hard to remember that Derek is only twenty-three. His
sorrow and anger make him seem so much older.
‘Okay.’ he relents. ‘We can do that.’
‘Good.’ Deaton chances a small smile. ‘I take it your prospective mate went
home?’
Dereks growls, low and warning, and Deaton gets the confirmation he wants. He
has a knack for picking things up and the way the boy had settled Derek that
morning, calming him and bringing him out before he shifted like that, has made
it very clear just how Derek feels about him.
‘It’s not like that.’ He’s almost bristling. ‘He’s just some kid.’
‘Sure.’ Deaton smiles. ‘And I’m the Queen of Sheba.’ He moves to grab his
jacket. ‘You know I do happen to understand how these things work, Derek.
Emissary.’
‘Like I said.’ Derek glowers at him, hands clenching into fists at his side.
‘It’s not like that.’
Deaton chuckles as he ushers him out the back room.
‘You might want to tell your wolf that.’ He shuts the door behind them. ‘Just
to clear things up.’
Chapter End Notes
     If anyone wants to yell at me I am over on tumblr at darkhawkflying.
***** Monday *****
Chapter Summary
     Stiles goes to school and Deaton visits Derek.
Chapter Notes
     *shreds canon* LOL
     Think of it as my way of dealing with ALL THOSE ENORMOUS PLOT HOLES.
Six in the morning and Stiles is awake, largely because he hasn’t actually gone
to sleep yet.
He is propped up in bed, pillows stuffed behind his head and the book on his
chest, blinking back sleep. He hadn’t been able to stop reading once he’d
started. Whoever had written it had clearly been an actual wolf and he is
learning that pretty much everything on the internet was conjecture mixed in
with some fact.
Silver doesn’t kill werewolves but it does mean they can’t shift properly if it
is in their system. Dog roses give them anaphylactic shock and mistletoe is
toxic, as is wolfsbane. Mountain ash inhibits their powers and lunar eclipses
renders them completely useless. Stiles has also discovered that wolves had
other powers than those he already knew about, like the ability to draw pain
from others or to share memories, and that’s only in the first three chapters.
He still has another seven to go. It is fascinating. It is also very cool and
now he is having a hard time convincing himself that he wants to turn back into
a normal human. He lies back against the pillows and looks at where the morning
light is starting to seep through his blinds and then frowns as he realises
that in an hour he’ll have to be up and getting ready for school.
Coffee is needed.
Stiles gets up and goes to shower, stopping to examine himself in the bathroom
mirror. It has only been a couple of days and he doesn’t look any different. He
thinks about shifting and then tries, but nothing happens and he just ends up
giving himself mock growls in the mirror. He tries a few more times until he
remembers that he might well get stuck like that so he stops. His dad will have
enough of a hard time dealing with what happened without having this sprung on
him.
That is something Stiles is rapidly coming to realise might be something they
will have to talk about. He did a lot of thinking during the night as he
consumed the book, and being a werewolf is not something he thinks he can hide
for an extended period of time. They will have to deal with it eventually, but
Stiles hopes that he will have a definitive answer soon.
Now though, it is time for school.
************
Derek hears the car long before it pulls up outside the house. He’s downstairs
and on the porch before Deaton even gets out and he frowns at the sight of the
man he’s learned a lot more about in the past day than in the previous twenty-
two years.
‘Good morning.’ Deaton says and then stands and looks up at the house and derek
wonders how many times he came here, how well he knew his family. There had
been hints the night before as they’d eaten curry and Derek had shredded
innumerable poppadoms while engaging in fairly stilted conversation.
Half of him wants to brain Stiles for this, but the other half of him is
grateful beyond all reasoning. He’d have never thought to find Deaton the way
Stiles had. There was no denying the kid is smart, way smarter than Derek is.
That’s not all though.
‘Emissary.’ he replied and sees a flicker of amusement in Deaton’s dark eyes.
‘You know your sister would say then whenever she called me.’ he says. ‘She’d
always laugh when I called her Alpha in return.’
‘She hated that stupid title.’ Derek feels pain inside him, squeezing his heart
as he thinks about his sister. Laura, so strong and stubborn and brave. Now
that she’s gone, Derek is realising just how special she was and what he’s
lost. It doesn’t help his cause, but he’s determined that he’s going to find
the people that killed her and make them pay any way he can.
‘I know.’ Deaton places one foot on the bottom step. ‘May I come in?’
Derek’s mouth quirks at the traditional request for entry.
‘Not much to see up here.’ he says and Deaton shrugs.
‘It’s still your den and now you’re the only one left to ask.’ he replied and
that causes the hurt to intensify and then flow out into acceptance. Derek has
gotten very good at living on the edge between loss and despair.
‘You are welcome.’ He steps back and makes a little gesture and Deaton climbs
up the stairs. He gets to Derek and holds out a hand.
Drek stares at it for a long time.
‘I’m not very good at this.’ he finally admits and Deaton gives him a small
smile, sad but also reassuring.
‘That’s why I’m here.’ he replies.
Derek takes the offered hand.
***********
Stiles heaves a sigh and looks up at the school building as he slams the jeep’s
door shut and shoulders his backpack. He’s trying not to inhale too deeply.
Apparently cramming a large number of hormone ridden teenagers all marinated in
deodorant and perfume is not very kind to a new werewolf’s nose and he has to
resist the urge to recoil as two girls who reek of candy floss go past him.
He scans the front step and smiles when he sees Scott, heading over to him.
Scott’s wearing his concerned face, his dark eyes watching Stiles intently.
‘Hi.’ He smiles, his whole face open and friendly and Stiles feels a whole lot
better. ‘How are you?’
‘Okay actually.’ He takes Scott's arm and pulls him along with him. ‘Look, I
know I don’t have to tell you that this needs to be kept under wraps, right?’
‘Totally.’ Scott nods vigorously. ‘Not a word. I promise.’ He grins and then
looks around shiftily. ‘So? What are you going to do now?’
‘Go to English?’ Stiles raises an eyebrow at him. ‘I don’t think my conditions
precludes me from the joy of public education. Besides, I need to be out of the
house.’
They head inside, Scott’s head bobbing up and down as he tries to spot Alison
in the crowded hallways. They get to their line of lockets and she's already
waiting there. She gives Scott a lovely smile and Stiles wrinkles his nose at
the flood of happy hormones that ate now positives oozing from his best
friend's every pore.
‘Well, that's gross.’ He says cheerfully and they both give him an odd look,
reminding Stiles that he really needs to learn to shut the hell up.
‘So, I was talking to Lydia.’ Allison tells them as she links her arm with
Scott's. ‘She's having a post game party on Friday.’
‘We won't be invited though.’ Scott replies. ‘She never invites players from
the bench.’
‘She does now.’ Allison looks smug. ‘I told her if you can't go, I'm not
going.’
‘Sweet.’ Scott grins and looks expectantly at Stiles. ‘So we'll go?’
‘I don’t think that invite includes me, dude.’ Stiles says. ‘Pretty sure she
just means you.’ He enters the classroom ahead of them and spots the person in
question. It’s almost a reflexive action now, and Stiles inhales as he goes
past and gets the same sour note. Yeah, definitely not invited.
Normally that would bother him, but he’s feeling oddly unperturbed. Maybe he
can scare up something else to do on Friday night, maybe something with broad
shoulders and green eyes and a surly disposition.
‘Hey.’ Scott whispers behind him. ‘I’ll make sure you get invited, okay?’
‘No problem, dude.’ Stiles looks over his shoulder at him. ‘I’m cool with it.’
‘No.’ Scott is insistent. ‘You should come with.’
Stiles shakes his head and turns back as the lesson starts. He catches a
glimpse of Allison leaning over to whisper to Lydia and it’s the easiest thing
to just focus a tiny bit and the conversation becomes as clear as if they were
sitting right next to him.
‘He’s Scott’s best friend.’ Allison whispers and Lydia pulls a face.
‘He’s creepy and weird.’ she hisses back. ‘I don’t want him at my party.
Besides Jackson hates him. He says he brings the whole team down.’
Stiles sets his teeth and feels a sense of grim determination flare up inside
him.
That’s going to fucking change.
**********
‘There wasn’t very much left.’ Deaton is looking around the basement of the
Hale house. ‘I took what I could and put it in storage should either of you
ever want it.’ Then he catches the present tense he just used and his mouth
twists. ‘Sorry.’
‘So what was it?’ Derek asks. He wants to leave the room. He can smell death
and the sickening odour of burned flesh, even after all these years.
‘Books, some pictures. A few pieces of furniture.’ Deaton shrugs and rubs his
hands together. ‘This house is full of ghosts, Derek. You shouldn’t be staying
here.’
‘She was.’ Derek glances up at the ceiling. ‘She was in her old room. I found
her stuff.’
‘And look what happened.’ Deaton shakes his head. ‘No, it’s not safe out here
for you. You’re a beta. Taking on a rogue alpha could mean you’re the next one
that has to be buried.’
‘I can’t do nothing.’ Derek replies, his words a little harder than he’d meant
to say them. ‘And now I’ve got Stiles to deal wit and turn back, it’s even more
necessary.’
‘How exactly did that happen, anyway?’ Deaton asks, his dark eyes alight with
curiosity. ‘I know that there’s been a lot of noise about people staying
indoors. If there’s another incident, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Sheriff
institutes a curfew.’
‘He was out in the woods.’ Derek snorts, but he doesn’t elaborate further.
‘Being an idiot.’
‘He’s far from an idiot, Derek.’ Deaton raises an eyebrow at him. ‘He’s a smart
kid. And he’s the Sheriff’s son.’
‘Don’t remind me.’ Derek rumbles. ‘Hopefully, we can get this shit done and
then he can turn back.’ He looks at Deaton. ‘Do you know how?’
‘No.’ Deaton replies.‘But I have some old contacts I can get in touch with,
people I can ask. But in the meantime, you need to keep an eye on him. You know
what the Alpha will want.’
‘I do.’ Derek growls. ‘And I’ll be damned before I let it have Stiles.’ he sees
the small smile playing at the corners of Deaton’s mouth. ‘What?’
‘You’re already protective.’ Deaton points out. ‘That’s good. He’ll need it.’
He walks past and goes up the rickety stairs. ‘Now, let us put our heads
together and figure out how to find our Alpha.’
************
By lunchtime, Stiles is ravenous. He plows his way through his burger and
fries, eats half of Allisons and consumes both his and Scott’s pudding cups.
He’s still hungry when he pushes his tray away and sees them both staring at
him, openmouthed.
‘You hungry, Stiles?’ Scott is grinning at him.
‘Yeah.’ Stiles fishes in his pocket wondering if he has enough change for the
vending machine. ‘Growing boy.’ He sees Scott’s eyebrows go up and narrows his
eyes at him in response and Scott shuts his mouth. The last thing he needs is
him letting something slip because of the heart-eyes he’s got going on.
‘So.’ The sound of Lydia’s voice makes them all look up as she slides into a
chair next to Allison. ‘I have an idea.’
‘What kind of idea?’ Allison is smiling and then Stiles has to restrain himself
from growling because Jackson is not far behind and he’s now dropping into the
seat at the end of the table. His pale blue eyes are dismissive when he looks
at Scott and Stiles.
‘Well, we have the game on Friday after school, and then of course there’s the
traditional season opener at my house.’ Lydia says. ‘But I was thinking it
would be super fun if we all did something on Saturday night.’ She looks
pointedly down the table. ‘Like a double date.’
‘Oh God.’ Jackson is pulling a face. ‘You didn’t say anything about that.’
‘It’ll be fun.’ Lydia’s voice has that edge that says she means business. ‘The
four of us.’ She looks down her perfectly formed nose at Stiles. ‘No singles
allowed, I’m afraid.’
Stiles would be insulted if he wasn’t already giving himself an internal high
five. Saturday night free means all sorts of interesting possibilities,
especially seeing as it’s full moon. The book in his bag has been quite
specific on what he can expect to happen to him and he’s wondering just what
Derek has planned, because Stiles is willing to bet his ass that he’s got
something up those ridiculously tight sleeves of his.
‘It’s cool.’ he rebutts cheerfully. ‘Like I would want to be the fifth wheel
anyway.’ He grins and leans over to steal Scott’s apple. ‘Besides watching the
four of you go all googly eyed over each other is not my idea of fun.’
‘Oh really?’ Jackson snorts. ‘You going to stay home and jack off over those
stupid cartoons of yours?’
‘Um, Fairytail is anime dude.’ Stiles retorts around a mouthful of apple. ‘And
no actually. I have plans of my own.’
He catches the little glint of hurt in Scott’s eyes and feels bad for all of a
second when Lydia smiles truimphantly.
‘See.’ she says to Allison. ‘It’ll be great.’
‘Fine.’ Allison laughs. ‘What did you have in mind?’
‘Something fun.’ Lydia looks thoughtful. ‘Maybe bowling?’
‘God.’ Jackson throws his head back in exasperation. ‘I fucking hate bowling.’
‘Why?’ Now Scott is eyeballing him, clearly not amused. ‘Do you suck?’
‘No McCall, I do not suck.’ Jackson hisses. ‘I actually happen to kick ass at
bowling. It’s just stupid.’
‘It is not stupid.’ Lydia’s green eyes are now sparkling with what looks like
an urge to kick Jackson’s ass into next week, something Stiles can truly get on
board with. He vaguely contemplates the fact that he seems to have a major kink
for green eyes and then looks at Scott just in time to realise that his best
friend is wearing his stubborn-as-a-mule expression and that never signals
anything good or well thought out.
‘Well, so do I.’ he says. ‘And if you don’t want to go, I’m sure Stiles will be
happy to fill in for you.’
Well, fuck.
Stiles doesn’t know what to say to that and neither does anyone else. There’s a
loud snort of laughter from the other end and Stiles glances down to see Danny
barely containing his glee at what’s happening.
‘No fucking way.’ Jackson hisses at Scott in reply. ‘And we’ll see if you’re
any fucking good.’ He gets up from the table and storms off to join Danny as
they walk out the cafeteria and that leaves a very uncomfortable foursome.
‘Okay then.’ Lydia gets up, an artificially bright smile on her face. ‘Double
date it is.’
‘I need to go to.’ Allison get up. ‘I’ll see you after class?’
‘Sure.’ Scott beams at her. Allison shoulders her bag and smiles at him before
she leaves. Scott watches her every move and then the second she gets far
enough away his whole face drops and he leans forward to bump his head against
the table repeatedly. ‘Fuck.’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles can’t resist grin. ‘You really do suck balls at bowling, man.
Why the hell did you agree to that?’
‘I don’t know.’ Scott whines. ‘I’m going to look like an idiot.’
‘An evening with Jackson Whittimore.’ Stiles cackles. ‘That’s going to be like
fucking waterboarding levels of torture.’
‘You have to come with.’ Scott pleads. ‘Dude.’
‘No.’ Stiles shakes his head. ‘Not a chance. You heard Lydia. No singles
allowed.’
The walk back to their last class is mostly Scott pleading with Stiles to go
with them and Stiles chuckling because he’s got way more sense than that. He
might have issues that ended up with him getting gnawed in by a werewolf but
even he draws the line at willingly sitting in a room with Jackson for a couple
of hours. Besides, it’s not like he can even go outside. Mr tall Dark and Hairy
will go ballistic if he does and Stiles has a feeling that Derek just might eat
him if he acts out on a full moon.
‘I can’t.’ he explains, keeping his voice down. ‘Look I wasn’t going to say
anything, but it’s full moon on Saturday.’
‘Oh shit.’ Now Scott looks concerned. Stiles grins. He’s a little slow on the
uptake, but now he’s there he’s fully engaged. ‘What are you going to do? Do
you even know what’s going to happen to you?’
‘Not sure.’ Stiles shrugs. ‘I’m weirdly looking forward to finding out though.’
************
The dry leaves crunch underneath Derek’s feet as he walks the land that used to
be where his family patrolled and played under the moon. The smells are
familiar, and he knows the ways without having to be told. The wolf inside him
knows this territory as well as he now knows the streets of New York.
‘Anything?’ Deaton asks from behind him and Derek stops to shake his head.
‘No.’ He huffs in frustration. ‘Whoever this Alpha is, they’re cunning and they
know how to hide their tracks.’ He gives Deaton a questioning look. ‘How long?’
‘At least since before Laura got here.’ Deaton replies. ‘She’s the only one
they’ve killed but I have a feeling that she won’t be the last. Stiles could
well have been a casualty if you hadn’t saved him.’ He looks up at the trees.
‘What do you have planned for saturday? You know he’s not going to be able to
sit out the transformation just anywhere. He may even need to be restrained.’
‘I know.’ Derek frowns. ‘I was thinking about bringing him out here but now
that you’ve pointed what what could happen, that seems like a very bad idea.’
‘The Alpha might well call to him and if he’s anywhere he can get away from
you, then he’ll run straight to it.’ Deaton says sternly. ‘And you know the
outcome will not be a good one. He could be influenced to kills any one of us,
you even, as the Alpha seeks to impress his authority over him.’
‘I am well aware of this.’ Derek says. ‘I am handling it. I’ll chain him to a
wall, if I have to.’
‘Not very productive.’ Deaton replies. ‘Just how many bitten humans have you
watched turn? I would guess it’s not that many.’ He raises an eyebrow at
Derek’s silence. ‘Let’s assume that you’re basically flying by the seat of your
pants here and say that you have no idea what you are doing. I, on the other
hand, have a fairly good idea on how to handle this. We will need a secure
location and a few things, but chains are not going to be necessary. What you
need to do is be there to keep him calm and stop him from hurting himself or
me, and I will take care of the rest.’
‘Why are you doing this?’ Derek asks straight out. He’s not convinced by
Deaton’s good guy act and, even though there’s not change in Deaton’s heartbeat
it doesn’t mean he’s not lying, just that he might be very good at it.
To his surprise, Deaton stops and looks up at the trees like he’d been doing a
bit earlier.
‘The night your family was killed was one of the worst of my life.’ He looked
at Derek, his face perfectly serious. ‘I was extremely fond of your parents,
and of you even though you didn’t know me back then. I took my position
seriously and the fact that I missed something, that I was the one that dropped
the ball, has had me doubting myself for a long time. Like I said, my
retirement was a direct result. Now it feels almost like I’ve been given a
second chance, and I am not going to disappoint myself or you this time.’
That catches Derek off guard and he can only stand and look back at Deaton,
listening to the steady earnest thump of his heart. It also makes him feel even
worse, knowing the truth of what happened that night. He swallows hard and
tries not to let it show. Thankfully Deaton doesn’t seem to notice his
discomfort and they carry on walking. After a short while Derek can’t resist
asking the question.
‘So you believe in them?’ he asks and gets a quizzical look. ‘Second chances?’
‘Of course.’ Deaton nods. ‘Absolutely. Everyone deserves a second chance.’
Derek is not sure why that makes him feel a little better, but it does.
************
School ends and Scott makes noises about going to the clinic and Stiles
volunteers to drive him. Scott beams because it’s long bike ride and he happily
accepts the offer, completely unaware of Stiles’ ulterior motives.
They walk out into the afternoon with Allison and she waves at a man in a dark
SUV.
‘My dad.’ she says by way of explanation to Stiles.
They walk down the steps so Scott can put her in the car, leaning in and giving
the man inside a little wave. He’s wearing sunglasses in Stiles can’t see him
all that well, but he can smell him and for all he looks like any suburban dad
collecting his daughter, Stiles can smell gun oil and cordite on him. There’s
something else too, a bitter herbal note that has his eye almost watering.
‘Hey Mr Argent.’ Scott leans in the window. ‘This is Stiles. He’s my best
friend.’
‘Scott.’ Allison’s dad greets him and gives a smile but when he looks at
Stiles, Stiles can see the watchfulness. He knows that look from his dad and
how he stares down suspects. Stiles has hung out enough at the station to see
him use it more than once and he doesn’t envy Scott trying to get up to
shenanigans with Allison if that’s who’s on watch at the Argent house. ‘And
Stiles, is it? That’s an unusual name.’
‘Nickname.’ Stiles offers with a grin. ‘My real name is Polish and has way too
many consonants in it to be pronounced safely.’
Mr Argent gives him a nod and then sits back and Allison and Scott do their
best puppy eyes at each other before the car pulls away.
‘Well, he looks scary.’ Stiles announces, slapping Scott on the shoulder.
‘You should meet her mom.’ Scott laughs and looks a little wild eyed. ‘And her
aunt. Now she really scares the shit out of me.’
‘Does she live with them?’ Stiles asks. ‘That’s kind of weird.’
‘She does something that means she travels a lot for work, I think.’ Scott
replies as they start heading for the jeep. ‘But sometimes I swear she looks at
me like she wants to…’ He flushes. ‘Let’s just say it’s not the good kind of
look. Anyway, her and Allison are kind of like sisters so I haven’t said
anything.’
That makes Stiles’ curiosity prick up its ears.
‘Like a creepy kind of look?’ he asks and Scott goes even redder.
‘She keeps talking about my beautiful brown eyes.’ he shivers a little. ‘Dude,
she freaks me out Like stranger danger freaks me out.’
That makes Stiles thoughtful. Sure, Derek’s a stranger but even though he does
to creepy brooding werewolf super well, Stiles has never felt like that around
him.
‘What makes it worse is that she’s super hot.’ Scott continues. ‘But the kind
of hot that super-villains are.’
‘Nice.’ Stiles laughs as they chuck Scott’s bike in the back and get in the
jeep.
They chat amiably back and forth on the way to the vet. Scott is psyched about
the party on Friday and the double date on Saturday, in spite of the fact that
he can’t bowl for shit. When they get to his work, Stiles pulls in and
automatically scans for Derek’s Camaro, hoping he’s not there. Especially
seeing as Stiles is very much not listening to him about never going back
there. They get out and go inside and Scott yells his arrival as Stiles inhales
deeply and then realises something. Deaton comes out of the back store room and
it’s to his credit that he doesn’t so much as blink when he sees him with
Scott, but then they are pretty much a pair so it’s not unusual to see them
together.
‘Hello.’ He gives Scott a smile. ‘You’re early.’
Stiles gave me a ride.’ Scott replies.
‘Well, you’re just in time to see the new arrivals.’ Deaton says and Scott’s
face lights up.
‘She had them?’ He’s already bouncing.
‘Six of them.’ Deaton tells him. ‘Why don’t you go have a look.’
‘Sure.’ Scott bounds to the door and then stops and Deaton waves him off.
‘I’ll keep Mr Stilinski company.’ He gives Stiles a look that speaks volumes.
‘Go on.’
He waits until Scott’s safely out of earshot and Stiles grins.
‘Thanks.’ he says and watches deaton’s face change ever so slightly.
‘For what?” he asks, his eyes guarded and Stiles takes his backpack off his
shoulder and digs out the book. He holds it out.
‘This book.’ he says and Deaton says nothing. ‘You left it for me.’
‘I’ve never seen that book in my life.’ he replies and Stiles listens very
carefully. The blip is so small he barely catches it but it’s there.
And maybe you haven’t been hanging out with werewolves for a long time.’ he
points out. ‘I know you’re lying. The book told me how to.’
Deaton narrows his eyes at him and then smiles. It’s resigned but not
unfriendly.
‘Smart.’ He sounds slightly impressed. ‘Does Scott know?’
‘About me?’ Stiles nods. ‘But not about you.’
‘Good.’ Deaton looks back at the door. Stiles grins because he can totally hear
Scott making cooing noises at the newly arrived puppies. ‘I’d like to keep it
like that.’ he nods at the book. ‘How did you know it was me? I was careful.’
‘It smells like here.’ Stiles says. ‘I’m getting pretty good with this nose
thing.’
‘Talia gave it to me when I became her emissary.’ Deatons takes the book from
Stiles and runs a hand gently over its cover. ‘But I thought that you would
probably get more use out of it for the present time. Let you know what you’ve
got yourself into.’ He hands it back. ‘Keep it safe. It’s going to be a lot
more forthcoming than Derek. At least until he trusts us.’
‘He’s so closed.’ Stiles feels a little tuug inside him. ‘He’s not telling me
anything.’
‘There’s a reason for that.’ Deaton replies. ‘And he’s right. You need to be
protected, but that doesn’t necessarily mean being kept in the dark.’
‘Forewarned is forearmed?’ Stiles asks and he nods.
‘Something like that.’ he says and then they both turn as Scott comes back.
‘You’ve got to come see them.’ He’s bubbling over. ‘They are so freaking cute.’
‘Maybe later, Scott.’ Deaton smiles. ‘Stiles was just leaving.’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles grabs his bag and shoves the book back inside before Scott can
notice it. ‘Dad’s back on days so I got to be home for dinner.’
‘No sweat.’ Scott waves him off. ‘Thanks for the ride.’
He’s gone again before Stiles can even say goodbye, but it’s puppies so he
doesn’t take it personally.
‘Before you go.’ Deaton says. ‘How much have you read?’
‘The first three chapters.’ Stiles answers. ‘History, mythology and what
werewolves basically are. That stuff.’
‘Read all of it.’ Deaton insists. ‘Tonight. You know saturday is full moon?’
‘It’s in my phone.’ Stiles tells him.
‘You’ll need to be somewhere.’ Deaton says. ‘Make sure you have a cover story.’
He doesn’t say anything else, just leaves Stiles in the exam room and follows
Scott. Stiles leaves the vet, getting into the jeep and sitting there for a
while. He considers going to stalk derek but then figures that if he wants to
talk he knows where Stiles lives.
He stops off at the grocery store for dinner and he’s made everything by the
time his dad gets home. Noah comes in, looking tired and extremely grateful
when he spots to food Stiles has made, even if it includes vegetables.
‘Hey kid.’ He takes off his gun and Stiles hands him a diet soda from the
fridge. ‘It’s nice to actually see you.’
‘You too.’ Stiles nods at the table. ‘Sit.’ he learned to cook a long time ago
and now he sees it as his solemn duty to guide his father’s dietary choices
away from saturated fats. ‘How was work?’
‘Long.’ Noah dishes up some of the chicken bake he’s made. ‘No solid leads but
we’re hopeful. We’re still trying to track down Derek Hale, but it’s like he’s
vanished into thin air. A couple of deputies even went out to the old house
today, but found nothing. The place has been abandoned for years.’
That surprises Stiles but he hides it enough that his dad doesn’t even notice.
It also gets him thinking about where the hell derek could have gotten to. He
fervently hopes it wasn’t his bedroom because that would be very difficult to
explain.
**********
Derek looks around the place and the realtor next to him coughs a little
nervously.
‘It’s not quite finished.’ he explains but Derek isn’t really interested. He
already likes the place. It’s big, with massive floor to ceiling windows that
will let in the moonlight, a terrace and a narrow spiral staircase that leads
up to the only bedroom and bathroom. The building itself is solid brick, the
loft conversion taking up the whole top floor so it’ll be just him. There’s no
tenant for the commercial unit below him and Deaton has already explained that
underneath the warehouse is a storage unit that is currently locked, but which
will make an excellent holding cell for Stiles. The neighbourhood is not to
fashionable yet that it’s even got that many people running around.
He turns and looks at the man and gives him a toothy grin, relishing the way it
makes the realtor look rather discomforted.
‘I’ll take it.’ he says.
***** Busted *****
Chapter Summary
     In soooo many ways...
Wednesday arrives with little fanfare. Stiles hasn’t seen or heard from Derek
since Deaton’s and he starts to wonder if he’s being ignored. Not that he minds
because it means Derek’s not going to bust his balls over going to school or
indeed lacrosse practice on the Wednesday afternoon.
He’s in the locker room humming to himself as he changes and Scott gives him a
sidelong grin. He’s actually taken the whole werewolf thing in his stride and
he’s more than a little excited on Stiles’ behalf at what might be coming. That
and the fact that Allison is coming to watch him means he’s bouncing like a
rubber ball.
Stiles, on the other hand, feels oddly calm. He has since he looked at his
Adderall bottle this morning and realised that he hasn’t taken any since
Saturday night. At first he was freaked out, but then he remembered what the
book had said about illnesses and genetic conditions and sure he still feels
buzzy and distracted but it’s not like it was before. He feels better than he
feels on the Adderall to be honest.
He kits up and grins as Danny comes past him and rolls his eyes at the sound of
Finstock yelling his peculiar brand of motivational language at them. There are
a couple of mentions of dead relatives, one of physical capabilities compared
to farm animals and the usual bellow of ‘Bilinkski!’ in Stiles direction.
‘You think he’s ever going to get my name right?’ Stiles muses as he shoulders
his crosse and clatters out after Scott.
‘He might after tonight.’ Scott grins. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Good.’ Stiles says and means it. He’s got so much energy, but it’s not the
flailing kind that normally imbues his lanky frame. He can feel a difference
and he finds himself tracking Jackson in front of them as he chats with Danny.
Even from here he can smell them both, Danny’s Armani aftershave (God he smells
good) and Jackson’s Eau de Douchebag, which also happens to be Paco Rabanne. He
also smells of arrogance and Stiles is surprised that it smells like actual
money.
Finstock is patrolling the field as they strap their helmets on, barking at
them through a megaphone. Stiles shakes his head, the high pitched whine it
emits going unheard by the people around him but annoying the crap out of him.
‘Stop doing that.’ Scott cautions. ‘You look like a dog.’
‘Hey, ixnay on the dog jokes, dude.’ Stiles tries to be serious but ends up
snickering. Never let it be said he has no sense of humour.
‘So what’s the plan?’ Scott asks as they form into lines, with one man in
opposite goal each side.
‘Just see what happens, I guess.’ Stiles replies. ‘I honestly don’t know…’ He
never gets to finish the sentence because something’s off and in the split
second he’s taken to realise that, he’s magically caught the ball that was
heading for his face.
‘Dude!’ Scott breathes in reverence and Stiles just stares at the ball.
‘Holy hell.’ He can’t actually believe what he just did. Normally he’d be man
down by now. Jackson’s notoriously accurate when he wants to stave your face
in.
‘Shit.’ Scott’s grinning. ‘I think this is going to be good.’
************
Good turns out to be an understatement.
Stiles nails every throw, every catch. He even does a nifty little somersault
thing when Jackson sweeps his feet out from under him in a moment of
distraction. He uses the opportunity to flip Jackson off and pass the ball to
Scott at every turn. Scott can read him like a book and the two of them fall
into some kind of crazy rhythm where they are actually scoring goals and
Allison is on her feet screaming so loudly in the stands, she’s like a one
woman cheerleading squad.
Finstock looks mildly blown away and when they get to the end of practice he’s
wearing a thoughtful look. At the end of the night, he stands with his
clipboard and goes through the first line for Saturday’s game and to their
everloving astonishment Stiles and Scott are both on the list. Jackson is
livid. Stiles can actually smell the anger oozing out of every pore and it
makes him happy as fuck.
Things only get better when Allison comes screeching down from the bleachers
and throws her arms around Scott’s neck and kisses him silly in front of
everyone. Stiles is pretty sure he’s never seen him so happy. He’s laughing
along with them when he gets a weird feeling and turns. The floodlights are now
on and he can clearly see the figure in the treeline, black leather jacket and
the mother of all scowls clearly identifying who it is.
Derek raises an eyebrow.
‘You just had to go and fuck things up.’ he growls, the words easily reaching
Stiles’ ears. ‘Meet me in the parking lot. Now.’
Stiles takes a second to stick his tongue out at him and watches as Derek
narrows his eyes and then stomps off into the trees.
‘Hey.’ He feels a nudge. ‘Who was that?’
Stiles turns and sees Danny looking at him quizzically. He panics and flails
mentally and says the first thing that comes into his head.
‘He’s my cousin.’ He gives himself a mental high five for his quick thinking.
‘He’s here visiting.’
‘Yeah?’ Danny is still looking speculatively in the direction of the trees.
‘He’s hot.’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles shrugs. ‘If you like anal retentive and grumpy as hell.’
‘Why was he here?’ Danny can’t seem to let it go and Stiles scratches at the
back of his head.
‘He’s tutoring me.’ he finally says.
‘In what?’ Danny asks and now Stiles’ brain is not keeping up at all.
‘Lacrosse.’ he grins. ‘It’s how I got so good. He was on the varsity team. Won
a bunch of stuff.’
‘You get tutored in lacrosse?.’ Danny looks confused. ‘But yeah, you were
pretty good out there tonight.’
‘Thanks, man.’ Stiles beams.
The rest of the team are suitably nonplussed or congratulatory by turns. They
go in to get changed and Scott’s now nearly floating on happy hormones. He does
manage to come back down long enough to confirm that Jackson is looking at
Stiles like he wants to bury him alive and then jump up and down on his grave
for good measure.
‘He looks pissed.’ Scoot points out. Stiles would care but he’s too busy doing
an internal victory dance at the thought of his dad’s face when he tells him
he’s starting line up on Saturday.
‘So let him.’ he snorts. ‘He’s just pissed that we totally stole his thunder.’
he grins at Scott. ‘You’re actually a decent player when someone gives you an
opening.’
‘Yeah.’ Scott is all smiles. ‘Thanks for that.’
‘Hey, it’s what best buds are for, right?’ Stiles grins. ‘Got to impress the
girl.’
They leave the locker room and find Allison waiting for them. To their mutual
surprise Lydia is with her.
‘So.’ she flips her hair over one shoulder. ‘Allison has pointed out that you
are now on the starting line up and that means I have to invite you to the
party on Friday.’
It’s enough to almost knock Stiles off his feet in surprise. She doesn’t even
smell that annoyed.
‘Okay.’ he manages. Lydia rolls her eyes at his less than verbose response and
walks off. Allison grins and does a little bounce.
‘You’re in.’ she cackles. ‘Lydia says it’s tradition that all the starting
players go to the pre-game party. Now you can come with us.’
‘That’s so cool.’ Scott says and shoves Stiles in the arm. ‘See, it’s like fate
is telling you to make your move.’
‘Sure.’ Stiles wants to be happy but he also knows he has a perennially pissed
off werewolf sitting waiting for him. ‘Look I got to go. I’ll call you later.’
He shoulders his bag and runs off, noticing that Lydia and Jackson are now
embroiled in a massive argument outside the school when he gets to the parking
lot. There’s a lot of arm waving and screeching going on an he would love to
eavesdrop but he spots the Camaro next to his Jeep and knows he’s about to get
his ass handed to him.
‘Get in asshole.’ Derek hisses when he gets to him and Stiles snorts and shakes
his head.
‘No way dude.’ He takes a precautionary step backwards. ‘You’ll just take the
opportunity to murder me and dump my remains somewhere off the highway.’
‘Oh my God.’ Derek actually puts his face in his hands. ‘Just get in the
fucking car, Stiles.’
‘No.’ Stiles puts on his stubborn face. ‘You’ve been holding out on me. I need
answers to the many many questions I have and I am not letting you kill me
before you answer them.’ He folds his arms. ‘So, suck on that Sourwolf.’
‘Don’t call me Sourwolf.’ Derek growls and Stiles takes another step back and
then ducks around his car and gets in the Jeep, starting the engine and peeling
out the car park before Derek can maim him.
He did not count on Derek tailgating him all the way home.
‘You’re a goddamn psycho.’ Stiles yells at him and gallops into his house,
slamming the front door in Derek’s face. He grins in triumph and goes into the
kitchen only to find Derek standing there with his arms folded and his teeth
bared.
‘Dude!’ Stiles snaps. ‘You can’t come in unless you’re invited.’
‘That’s vampires, moron.’ Derek snarls. ‘What the fuck was that I just
watched?’
‘That was me totally ruling at lacrosse.’ Stiles snipes back. ‘In case you
didn’t know this, I’ve basically been waiting to get off the bench for fucking
ever. I am not letting this gift horse look me in the mouth.’ He stops a
moment, not even sure that his mangled metaphor worked and finds Derek staring
at him with a scrunched up face and a look of rather adorable bemusement that
results in Stiles realising that Derek’s two front teeth bear a remarkable
resemblance to Bugs Bunny’s. That just makes him laugh and the glare is back.
‘You could have gotten in a shitload of trouble.’ Derek is now jabbing at him
with his index finger. ‘You can’t control the shift yet and you can’t show off
like you’re a fucking superhero. You’ll end up either losing control or drawing
the wrong kind of attention and that would be very fucking bad.’
‘Dude, chill out.’ Stiles retorts. ‘I totally have this under control.’
‘No you fucking don’t!’ Derek yells and starts waving his arms. ‘Why do you
have to fucking disobey everything I tell you to do!’
‘Because you don’t fucking tell me why!’ Stiles yells back and it just
deteriorates into an argument because Derek is glowering at him and Stiles is
refusing to back down and the sheer number of sarcastic insults being thrown
around make them both completely oblivious to the fact that there’s now a third
person in the kitchen until Noah clears his throat and they both start
violently and look at him with perfectly synchronised movements.
‘Oh fuck.’ Stiles says very succinctly.
Noah’s eyebrows go up even higher and Stiles realises that the fact that Derek
has him thrown up against the fridge and and was shaking him by the lapels up
until a second ago really doesn’t look good at all.
‘So.’ Noah says, folding his own arms and narrowing his eyes at them both. ‘Is
someone going to explain why Derek Hale is in my kitchen and just how the hell
you two know each other?’
‘This is not what it looks like.’ Those are the first words out of Stiles’
mouth and he instantly regrets them. Derek’s green eyes flash dangerously but
he lets Stiles’ go as if he’s burned him.
‘Sheriff Stilinski...’ he starts and Noah holds up a hand, cutting him off.
‘Both of you, sit down.’ he orders and it’s almost bizarre to see how quickly
Derek complies, taking a seat at the kitchen table with Stiles opposite him.
‘Now I am going to make myself a cup of coffee and you two are going to stay
right there until I am done and then you’re going to tell me what the hell is
going on.’
‘Huh?’ Stiles frowns and Noah rolls his eyes at him.
‘You’re nowhere as good a liar as you think you are.’ he says, going to the
coffee machine and pouring himself a cup. ‘I had you pegged as being up to no
good after that little moonlight walk stunt you pulled a couple of weeks ago.
Then there’s the fact that last Saturday I just so happened to stop off here
because I was worried about you. Imagine my surprise when I discovered you were
nowhere to be found.’
‘Crap.’ Stiles knows he’s been caught bang to rights. ‘Dad…’
‘And then I just so happen to get a call from Mrs Stevens across the road who’s
seen a man climb in your bedroom window.’ Noah doctors his coffee and comes to
take a seat at the table. ‘And of course my first thought is that it’s Scott.
Christ knows you two have a bad habit of pulling shit like this, but then I see
Melissa at the hospital yesterday while I’m babysitting a drunk driving
casualty and she tells me that Scott was his new girlfriend that night so I
know it can’t be him. I ask her about the Saturday and she confirms that Scott
was at home, so now I know you’re sneaking around and when you do that it means
you’re getting up to shit you don’t want me to know about. Now, it’s one thing
if you’re seeing someone. That I don’t have a problem with. I don’t even care
if it’s a guy, you know my feelings on that already. But now we’re all here and
it turns out that it might just be someone who’s a lot older than you and who’s
connected to a murder case that I’m currently working, a very odd and somewhat
disturbing murder case and you can see why I might be concerned.’
Stiles throws a panicked glance across the table at Derek and sees that he’s
got a frozen in the headlights look on his face.
‘Explanations would be nice.’ Noah prompts. ‘You can both talk now.’ He takes a
long pull of his coffee and folds his hands around his mug. ‘I’m listening.’
‘So…’ Stiles starts and then Derek cuts him off.
‘I’m trying to find who killed my sister.’ It comes out blunt and Stiles sees
Noah flinch just the tiniest bit.
‘How did you know?’ he asks. ‘We haven’t been able to get in touch with you to
tell you. Obviously that’s because you’re here.’ He gives Derek a penetrating
look. ‘Just how long have you been here?’
‘About three weeks.’ Derek replies. ‘I was worried when I couldn’t get hold of
her so I came to find her.’ He taps his fingers on the table-top and Stiles
sniffs. There’s an acrid note in Derek’s scent and he recognises it as
something starting to border on distress.
‘Why the hell didn’t you come to the station?’ Noah frowns. ‘We could have
helped you. We didn’t even know she was here until we found…’ He stops speaking
and his face clouds over. ‘Jesus, I’m sorry. I’m not handling this very well.’
‘It’s okay.’ Derek says. ‘Neither am I.’
That surprises the hell out of Stiles because Derek is Mr Stoic but then he
remembers what he’d said about Noah from the last time he’d dealt with him and
how he’d been kind to a teenage boy who’d just lost his entire family.
Who’s also now just lost the only one he has left.
That jolts him like nothing else and he opens his mouth to say something to
intercede but Noah beats him to it.
‘Start at the beginning.’ he says. ‘I want to know everything you know.’
‘I don’t know much.’ Derek confesses and suddenly Stiles realises just how true
that is. ‘I know she came back here and I also know she disappeared about a
month ago. I was trying to find her.’ He frowns and looks down at the table.
‘And I did. Just not all of her.’
‘Shit.’ Noah is now looking very concerned. ‘You found the other half of her
body?’
‘Yeah.’ Derek nods. ‘I buried her at the house. I was hoping to find who did
it.’ He sighs heavily. ‘Stiles has been helping me. We ran into each other when
he was doing that stupid bet in the preserve and I helped him get back out but
not before he’d recognised who I was and guessed what I was doing.’
‘Stiles?’ Noah is looking at him. ‘Is this true?’
‘It is.’ he finally says. ‘We’ve been trying to figure out who it was.’
‘Christ.’ Noah rubs a hand over his face. ‘Why the hell didn’t you come to the
police, Derek? Do you know how bad it looks that you’ve just told me you’ve
buried the other half of Laura’s body?’
‘I needed some time to think.’ Derek protested. ‘How bad would it have looked
if I’d just called you out of the blue and told you I’d found her? You probably
would have arrested me.’
‘I still might.’ Noah pointed a finger at him. ‘You’ve tampered with evidence.’
‘All I did was put her in the ground.’ Derek’s shoulders slump. ‘I couldn’t
leave her lying out there.’
‘No.’ Noah gets up and goes to a cupboard. He comes back with two glasses and a
bottle of whiskey. ‘Not for you!’ He glares at Stiles, who hastily withdraws
his hand from reaching for one of the glasses. ‘And I suppose all those little
interrogations have been you trying to get the inside track so you two can play
Hardy Boys?’ He pours out the two measures and shoves one across to Derek. ‘I
don’t need to tell you boys this is a royal fuck up from every damn angle.’
Stiles blinks at his father’s language. Noah almost never curses in front of
him and usually it’s when he’s hurt himself.
‘I know.’ he says contritely. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘That’s all good and well, but now we need to figure out how the hell we’re
going to fix this.’ Noah says.
Derek shoots him a look.
‘So you believe me?’ He sounds astounded. ‘That I didn’t kill her?’
‘Kid, let me tell you something.’ Noah says. ‘I saw you two after the fire, the
way you held onto each other. No, I don’t believe you killed your sister. I
know you two have travelled around a lot in the years after you left Beacon
Hills. I also know you didn’t communicate all that much after you moved to new
York. But that doesn’t negate the kind of love I saw between you that day and
how devastated you both were. I’d be surprised as hell to find that you had
anything to do with this. On the other hand, getting my teenage son involved in
your attempt to play detective doesn’t do you any favours.’
‘It wasn’t his fault, Dad.’ Stiles interjects. ‘I may have kind of not given
him a choice in the matter. And you know how persistant I can be.’
‘That is very true and the only reason I’m not going to give Derek any grief
over this. I might ground your ass until you’re sixty, however.’ Now his blue
eyes are shrewd. ‘Unless you tell me everything I want to know.’
‘I don’t think you have a choice, dude.’ Stiles tells Derek. ‘Look at him. The
man is machine when it comes to interrogation.’
Derek slumps even further.
‘I’ll tell you everything.’ he says.
*************
He doesn’t tell Noah everything, but he does tell him enough.
It’s now an hour later and Noah is looking tired and the notepad he’s got in
front of him is a lot fuller than it was.
At some point Stiles gets up and disappears and then comes back while Noah
continues asking questions. Derek gives everything he can without giving
anything away and to his credit, Stiles sits there and lets him.
‘So she was coming back to find leads?’ he asks and Derek nods.
‘She’s been doing this for years.’ he says. ‘She never thought the fire was an
accident.’ The traitorous little voice in the back of his head knows she was
right and tells him so, but Derek ignores it. He’s gotten very good at doing
that.
‘No.’ Noah is thoughtful. ‘Neither did I, but the best we could get was a
possible arson verdict on the official report.’ He sighs heavily. ‘It never sat
right with me. Did she tell you what kind of leads she was following?’
‘No.’ Derek digs into his pocket, comes out with a piece of paper. ‘She just
had this.’ He slides it across but makes no mention of the other clue he has in
his possession. That one he’ll hold onto for now.
‘These are names.’ Noah is frowning at the paper. ‘She suspected them?’
‘I think so.’ Derek is telling the truth now. ‘I don’t know.’ He sees Stiles
trying to get a look at the list but Noah glares at him and folds it up,
putting it in his top pocket.
‘I’ll check them out.’ he assures Derek. ‘On the QT for now but if anything
turns up then we’ll see.’ He looks pointedly at Derek. ‘I don’t need to tell
you that you can’t go out to the house anymore. If it’s going to turn into an
investigation then you have to stay out of it. You also need to tell me where
Laura is buried. We’ll make it look like an anonymous tip came in. You also
need to not sneak in my underage son’s bedroom window because that makes you
look like some sort of sex offender.’
‘I can do that.’ Derek says. ‘And I promise I won’t get in the way.’ He doesn’t
feel bad about the lie because he’ll be able to get around the cops now he
knows they’ll be looking.
‘Good.’ Noah says and stands up. ‘Where are you staying?’
‘I just got a place.’ Derek tells him. ‘It’s in the industrial quarter.’ Stiles
gives him a surprised look. ‘I’m busy sorting it out.’
‘You got food there?’ Noah asks and he shakes his head. ‘Then you’re staying
for dinner tonight. Stiles, I want you to order pizza and I want everything
that’s bad for my arteries on mine and you’re going to give me exactly zero
grief about that. I think I’ve earned it by not throwing Derek in jail or
handcuffing you to the table.’ And with that he leaves them alone, shaking his
head and muttering about idiot boys.
Derek lets out a deep breath and leans back in his seat.
‘Fuck me, dude.’ Stiles breathes out. ‘I thought for sure we were totally
fucked.’
‘The trick is to give just a little to hide a lot.’ Derek says. ‘And you have
the world’s worst poker face. Never ever speak again.’
Stiles holds up both hands and grins.
‘Pretty sneaky distracting him with the whole murder case thing, right?’ he
asks. ‘He didn’t even ground me and he has no idea about the...other thing.’
‘Maybe.’ Derek is now exhausted. It’s an odd feeling, like a weight has been
lifted but also very disquieting. He had never meant to share this much and now
he’s got Stiles and Deaton and Noah involved. So much for keeping it in the
family.
‘This is good though.’ Stiles assures him. ‘My dad is a great cop. If he can
find out who burned your house down, he will.’
Derek says nothing about how he already knows who did it and why. That’s
another secret he’s going to hold onto.
‘Don’t think it let’s you off the hook.’ he hisses. ‘I’m still pissed at you
for the lacrosse practice.’
‘Shit!’ Stiles smacks himself in the forehead. ‘I didn’t even tell him I made
the line up. Fuck.’
‘Wait, you made the line-up?’ Derek asks. ‘No fucking way you’re playing.’
‘Fuck you, asshat.’ Stiles is in a snit. Derek can smell it on him, even
without the tone and look he’s getting. ‘It’s the first time in history I made
the first line. I am playing. You’ll just have to teach me some like meditation
or shit to keep control of myself.’
‘Meditation or shit?’ Derek is appalled. ‘This isn’t some yoga retreat you’re
on, Stiles. You could seriously hurt someone.’
‘Dude, I only turn properly when the moon is at its zenith.’ Stiles snorts.
‘Which will be at 11:37 exactly. I looked this shit up and the book is very
clear.’
‘What book?’ Derek asks and Stiles immediately looks and smells shifty as hell.
‘Just a book.’ he says but his heart stutters and Derek folds his arms and
gives him the eyebrows.
‘Stiles.’ He waits for an answer and true to form, Stiles can’t keep his mouth
shut.
‘Deaton gave me a book. It’s kind of Werewolf 101.’ he admits. ‘And it’s really
useful. I’ve learned a lot.’ He folds his arms and glares at Derek. ‘And it’s
not like you were volunteering to teach me.’
‘There’s a reason for that.’ Derek hisses. ‘Or are you telling me you don’t
want to turn back?’
That question seems to hit Stiles like a smack in the face and then Derek
realises two things. The first is that maybe Stiles doesn’t want to go back to
being human.
The second is that maybe he doesn’t want him to either.
‘I mean it’s not like this is all bad.’ Stiles starts. ‘The strength and speed
shit is hella cool.’ Then he wrinkles his nose. ‘I could do without the extra-
sensory scratch and sniff shit at school though. Jesus, I can fucking smell
everything! Like I know exactly what everyone had for breakfast and who didn’t
wash their hands after they took a dump and what the fuck is actually in the
mystery meat at lunch and it’s super gross.’
And just like that Derek starts laughing. He doesn’t even know why he’s finding
this so funny, but when he takes another look at Stiles indignant face, it’s
like he just can’t stop. Part of it is probably hysteria and part of it is that
for once, he feels like he’s got someone in his corner. He misses everyone so
much. He’d had two younger brothers and Zach would have been in the same grade
as Stiles is now if he were still alive.
‘Dude.’ Stiles is clearly trying not to smile. ‘Stop laughing, you’re freaking
me out.’
‘It’s truly horrible though.’ Derek is bordering on giggling. He remembers how
it was. ‘Do you have any idea how many times I wished I couldn’t do that? Do
you have any idea how difficult it is to jerk off in the house without everyone
giving me knowing looks because they could smell it on me?’
‘Shit, really?’ Now Stiles looks horrified. ‘Christ, that sucks.’
‘Yeah.’ Derek smirks. ‘I got very good at doing it in the shower.’
He hears the sudden surge in Stiles’ heartbeat, looks up and sees the colour
creeping into his cheeks and then the smell hits him. His expression must give
him away because Stiles goes an even deeper red and drops his eyes to study the
table top.
‘Sorry.’ he mumbles. ‘You started it.’
Derek takes a deep breath and lets himself enjoy the unmistakable scent of
teenage arousal. It’s not like he finds Stiles unattractive and different time
different place and all that shit, but he is only sixteen and that more than
anything is why he leans over and shoves him hard in the arm.
‘No harm, no foul.’ he says. ‘You’re sixteen. You’re perpetually horny.’
‘Oh thank God.’ Stiles breathes a sigh of relief. ‘I mean I know we kind of got
started on the wrong foot but then you said you weren’t not interested and I
kind of feel like you might like me, just a tiny bit.’
‘I would if you weren’t so damn annoying.’ Derek replies and Stiles gives him
the finger. They both stop and look at the ceiling as they hear the shower turn
off.
‘Pizza time.’ Stiles pulls a face. ‘I guess I have to let him have this one
even though it will set his cardiac health back about a thousand years.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with your father’s heart, Stiles.’ Derek snorts.
‘Haven’t you listened to it?
‘Huh?’ Stiles seems to be struggling with the concept and then has a visible
epiphany. ‘Oh.’
‘Yeah, you can hear it.’ Derek grins. ‘Didn’t you read it in your Werewolf 101
book?’
‘No, I did but just the part about detecting deception.’ Stiles frowns and
Derek sighs.
‘It’s not just for that.’ he says. ‘You can hear what someone is feeling which
is why you can tell they’re lying but you can also hear if someone is sick.
Eventually you’ll become familiar with the heartbeats of your family and the
people who are closest to you. It’s kind of like their scent. Everyone is
individual and it’s comforting to be able to tune in and listen to them.’ He
catches the sudden look of deep concentration on Stiles’ face. ‘Are you
listening to me?’
‘No.’ Stiles replies. ‘I’m listening to your heartbeat.’
That frank admission has an unexpected effect on Derek and he immediately does
the same, zoning in on the sound of Stiles, the strong slightly elevated thump
in his ears that’s as distinct to Derek as his fingerprints would be to his
father.
It’s a good sound.
‘Boys?’ Noah’s voice comes from up the stairs somewhere, making them both jump.
‘Where’s my pizza?’
‘Shit.’ Stiles starts to get up but Derek already has his phone out. He might
have scoped out the best pizza place in Beacon Hills and have it on his speed
dial. After all, a wolf’s got to eat. He gives Stiles a questioning look and
Stiles smiles at him. This time it’s an actual genuine smile, not the smirk
that simultaneously makes Derek want to smack it or kiss it off his stupidly
adorable face with its scattered moles that he finds more and more distracting
as time passes.
‘Triple pepperoni for the good sheriff and a Hawaiian extra cheese, for me.’ he
says without blinking and Derek rolls his eyes at him because, of course,
Stiles would order something utterly ridiculous.
He gets six large pizzas and tells the guy on the other side to charge it to
his credit card and doesn’t miss the frown on Stiles’ overly expressive face.
‘You have money.’ It’s not a question.
‘Traditionally I use it to buy goods and services.’ Derek can’t resist the
snark. It makes him more comfortable.
‘No, obviously.’ Stiles frowns even harder. ‘I just thought, seeing as you were
staying in the house…’ He looks at him. ‘You have a place now? Or did I
hallucinate that part of the conversation?’
‘Deaton helped me find it.’ Derek replies. ‘It makes sense, especially if I’m
going to be here until we find out what happened to laura and sort out this
shit with the Alpha.’ He narrows his eyes at Stiles. ‘And keep you out of shit
on Saturday.’
Stiles starts to protest but Derek holds up a hand. He can hear Noah’s on the
move and they both fall silent as he comes back into the kitchen, now in jeans
and a sweatshirt. He goes to the fridge and takes out a couple of beers and a
soda, plonking them on the table.
‘Feed me.’ he says and Stiles snorts a laugh and Derek feels a little tug
inside him. His dad was the same. He tries not to think about him too much,
about any of them, but this house is warm and smells like home and he starts to
relax a little.
The pizza arrives and Noah looks visibly shocked by the number of boxes until
Stiles points out that Derek paid for it. That gets a curious glance but no
further comment and they sit down and start eating.
Derek takes it slow, knowing that he’s got to at least act human. Stiles has no
compunction, however and Derek can see that his appetite has clearly kicked up
into wolf levels. He demolishes both his Hawaiians and then starts stealing
slices of Noah’s triple pepperoni, until his gets his hand smacked and he
retreats, rubbing it and giving Noah baleful glares.
‘I know you’re a growing boy but that’s slightly ridiculous.’ Noah points out.
‘What the hell is wrong with you?’
Stiles looks unbelievably smug.
‘I’m going to need my energy.’ he declares. ‘Seeing as how I’m starting line-up
on Saturday.’
That makes Noah choke on his beer.
‘You…’ His face is a beacon of hopeful delight. ‘You made starting line-up?’
‘I did.’ Stiles grins. ‘Finstock even forgot to call me Bilinski when he
announced it.’
‘Holy Mother of God.’ Noah is beaming. ‘That’s fantastic!’
That cuts just too close to home and Derek gets up. He doesn’t stop to say
anything, just stumbles out the kitchen and into the back garden. He feels the
pizza churning in his stomach, his heart starting to pound as he gets to the
end of the back porch and sits down heavily.
He hasn’t had a panic attack in years, has spent so long burying his guilt and
sadness to the point where he’s almost forgotten how to feel. It scares him
shitless that this is happening now and his chest tightens up and he has to
lean forward and squeeze his eyes shut because everything is threatening to
overwhelm him, dig his claws into his palms to channel the pain. He tries to
dredge up his anger, to control the feelings inside him and then he hears the
door open and then next thing, Stiles is kneeling in front of him, his hands on
Derek’s forearms and he’s talking, a steady stream of words in a low calm
voice.
‘Hey, it’s okay.’ he’s saying. ‘I’m right here, dude. Just listen to my voice
and breathe.’
Derek doesn’t open his eyes, but something inside him latches onto Stiles’
voice and he feels the knot in his chest start to ease.
‘That’s it big guy. You’re okay.’ Stiles is rubbing circles into his skin with
his thumbs and it soothes him, makes him unclench his fists until he’s
breathing normally again. He openes his eyes and sees Stiles glance over his
shoulder, aware that they’re glowing electric blue. He can see it reflected in
Stiles’ own eyes, those dark eyes that seem to glow even without the benefit of
the shift. He gives Derek a reassuring smile and Derek finds himself pulling
back, the shift receding.
‘How…?’ he starts and Stiles shrugs.
‘I started getting them after my mom died.’ he explains. ‘I still get them when
I’m stressed out, so I’m kind of an expert.’ He makes a weird little face, a
mixture of nostalgia and sadness that Derek recognises all too well.
‘Thanks.’ It’s barely above a whisper. Derek hasn’t let anyone see him like
this for years, and he has no idea why he’s so comfortable with letting Stiles
see him shaking and trying to get his breathing under control. Why he feels so
much better when he’s with him. It doesn’t make sense at all.
Maybe Deaton’s onto something. After all, his mom always said that when he
found the one he would be more anchored than he’d ever been before.
He looks up back into those deep brown eyes and wonders.
‘Hey.’ It’s Noah and he’s peering out the back door, watching them. Derek can
smell that he’s concerned and it feels good to have someone worry about him
again. ‘Everything okay?’
‘It’s fine, Dad.’ Stiles replies. ‘We’ll be inside in a little while.’ He does
something with his eyebrows that’s obviously a coded signal and Noah goes back
inside.
‘He’s still kind.’ Derek doesn’t even know why he says it, but he feels he
should. He watches Stiles’ eyes go soft as he smiles.
‘He’s a good dad.’ he says. ‘And you can totally borrow him any time you need
to.’
That makes Derek feel all kinds of things he really doesn’t want to and he
takes in a shuddering breath and then steels himself.
‘I should go.’ He moves to get up and Stiles cages him in with his arms.
‘No.’ He shakes his head. ‘Not until we’ve worked our way through every Batman
movie I own and eaten a shitload of microwave popcorn. Then you can go home.’
He raises his eyebrows at him. 'Deal?'
‘Why Batman?’ Derek asks and Stiles laughs.
‘Dude, have you seen yourself?’ he asks and stands up, holding out a hand. ‘Now
move your ass, Sourwolf. We’ve got flicks to watch.’
‘Don’t call me Sourwolf.’ Derek growls, but he takes the hand anyway.
***** Well, This Is Unexpected... *****
Chapter Summary
     Friday.
It is weird as fuck walking on four legs instead of two, but Stiles eventually
figures it out after tripping over his own paws a few times. He is now able to
trot rather proficiently if he says so himself, and it takes only a short while
until he manages a rather uncoordinated canter and then he’s away.
It’s good, feeling the sun on his fur and lifting his muzzle to scent the air.
The woods are full of good smells, squirrels and dirt and leaf litter and he
sticks his nose to the ground and follows it in random patterns until he runs
across another smell, one he really really likes.
It’s deep and has hints of tree resin, leather and grouch in it. If Stiles
could smile he would, but he does what he can. His approximation of a wolfy
grin curls his mouth and his tongue lolls out as he noses along the line of
scent, searching for its source.
He pads through the trees, the earth spongy under his paws, and it’s only when
he gets to the Hale house that he realises that he’s been led here by the scent
he’s tracking. Stiles lifts his head and sees the massive black wolf he now
knows is Derek lying on the remains of the front porch, front paws crossed and
his head resting on them. His ears are pricked but he makes no sign of moving
although his blue eyes are watchful and his wolfy eyebrows twitch as he keeps
an eye out when Stiles come closer.
Stiles can barely contain his excitement. He immediately trots closer to that
wonderful scent and then his exuberance gets the better of him and he bounces
on stiff legs a few times, his happy yips breaking the stillness of the woods
around him. Derek just looks at him and heaves a huge sigh, sounding like the
world’s most put upon martyr, and that’s too much for Stiles to cope with. He
snarls playfully and drops into a bow, tail in the air and wagging furiously.
He can almost hear Derek’s voice in his head.
you’re an idiot
That doesn’t deter Stiles in the slightest and he bounces some more.
playplayplayplay
Derek sighs again and closes his eyes.
no
Stiles wiggles his rear end, always hopeful.
pleaseplayplayplay
He growls low in his throat, delighted when Derek finally gets up. He yawns and
stretches out his front legs, toes spreading, and then does the same with his
hind ones, each foot getting the same treatment one at a time. Only then does
he jump down from the porch and come closer, slowly circling until he’s close
enough to bump his wet nose against Stiles’ in greeting.
silly pup
Stiles whines, licking at Derek’s mouth. Derek puts his ears back and growls at
him in reply, but it’s not fierce. It sounds almost fond and that just makes
Stiles wiggle all over in pleasure.
chasemechasemechaseme
He’s not expecting to be bowled over by Derek’s mass and goes limp when he
feels fangs resting against his throat where Derek’s knocked him onto his back.
It sends arousal rushing through him to be in this submissive pose and he
whimpers. There’s fire in his veins, making his his eyes close as he tips his
head back further, inviting Derek to take him.
There’s a chuff and warm dry humour in Derek’s thoughts.
you’re impossible
He lets Stiles up and for a moment Stiles thinks he’s going to go back to the
porch and lie down. Then Derek snarls at him just as playfully, going down into
a bow to mirror the one Stiles gave him before he’s up and away, bounding into
the trees.
Stiles gives a happy bark and follows him.
**********
Stiles jolts awake, his legs and arms still twitching as the dream fades away
and he’s left drooling into his mattress and humping the bed.
Well, that’s new. Okay, maybe not the drooling or humping but definitely the
incredibly realistic dreams about being a wolf. He lifts his head, making
smacking noises as his tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth, and then grabs
for his phone, swearing as he misses and it goes sliding off the nightstand and
under the bed somewhere. He fishes it out and rolls onto his back, squinting
through one eye as he texts.
dude i just dreamed I was a wolf wtf?
He gets a reply that sounds grumpy as hell. Obviously Derek is not a morning
person. Or an any-time-of-the-day kind of person come to think of it.
It happens. Get used to it.
Stiles grins as he rubs the sleep from his eyes. He hasn’t seen Derek for a
day, but he did manage to hijack his phone long enough on Wednesday night to
program his number in and then give himself a missed call so he now has Derek’s
number as well.
Of course he’s put it under Srwlf.
You were in it
His phone buzzes.
Please for the love of god tell me it was PG.
Stiles snickers and burrows back under the duvet. He’s not going to tell Derek
that he’s got a terrible case of morning wood because that would probably just
freak him out. He’d tried pulling a couple of moves on Wednesday night after
they’d finished watching the Dark Knight. Nothing too serious, just worming his
feet under Derek’s thigh and flicking popcorn kernels at him, but Derek had
given him a glare of epic proportions and Stiles had behaved himself for the
rest of their admittedly unconventional first date.
At least that's what Stiles is calling it.
He puts the phone back on his nightstand and shucks his boxers before he
contemplates his erection with a calculating eye. It’s still early enough that
he can rub one out now and still get in another go in the shower before school,
so he scrabbles in the drawer next to him for the tube of lube he has stashed
at the back and then gets his hand wet enough to take the edge off. The first
touch makes him hiss, and he sinks back down into the bed and closes his eyes
as his imagination goes into overdrive.
Stiles thinks about Derek’s green eyes, his surly expression and that stupid
stubble that makes him look like he just slid off the front page of GQ and then
he’s going for it, breathing picking up as he strokes his cock and tries to
pretend that he’s not going to come in under three minutes flat. He imagines
Derek over him, one hand braced on the bed as the other rests against Stiles’
throat the way his teeth had done in the dream, growling and driving in hard,
the impact of his hips hard enough to leave bruises on Stiles’ inner thighs.
It’s embarrassingly quick, or at least it would be if Stiles gave a shit. He
lies back, chest heaving and his hand sticky, and grins at the ceiling like a
crazy person.
One shower, another round and some clothes later, he’s in the kitchen as Noah
eats a bowl of Greek yogurt (Stiles’ idea) with banana and very long teeth.
‘This stuff is disgusting.’ he grumbles and Stiles’ grins. Nothing is going to
ruin his day. He’s just had two stellar orgasms and he’s playing starting line-
up on Saturday and he spent Wednesday night watching his favourite action hero
with the werewolf of his dreams. Life is good.
‘So this party…’ he starts and Noah raises an eyebrow at him.
‘I only ask that you’re responsible.’ he says. ‘I know the other kids will be
drinking but you’ll be driving so remember that you can’t graduate if you’re
dead. And I’ll be on night shift so don’t think I won’t catch you.’
‘I know, I get it.’ Stiles replies. He’s been roped into being the designated
driver for the evening, not that he minds much. At least he’s going. ‘You’re
still coming to watch on Saturday right?’
‘Of course.’ Noah assures him. ‘I wouldn’t miss it. I’ll go on shift straight
after though so I hope you don’t mind your old man showing up in his uniform?’
‘So long as you don’t shoot anyone.’ Stiles laughs.
‘Okay.’ Noah gets up as he drains his mug and sets it in the sink. ‘I’ll see
you later. Do you want anything from the store?’
‘Cheetos.’ Stiles replies and makes his own breakfast of yogurt and banana. He
does have to admit it tastes like ass, but he has to set a good example.
Noah goes back up to bed for his pre-night shift sleep and Stiles leaves for
school.
***********
Derek stands and contemplates his new abode.
The loft is pretty much empty. He’s managed a bed and a couch and a small table
with two mismatched chairs. The upstairs bedroom is being left for now and
there’s not much need for anything else. All the furniture is from a hipster
vintage place a couple of blocks over and Derek is pretty sure that he’s not
going to be around long enough to really leave a mark. This place is not a den,
not for him anyway. Dens mean pack and he’s got no pack to fill the space with
their voices and scents. That thought makes him growl and he takes out his
phone and looks at the message Stiles sent him. It’s a damning indictment on
the state of his life that the only people he’s exchanged messages with since
Laura left are Deaton and Stiles.
He shoves the phone back in his pocket and contemplates what happened only one
short day ago. He had never meant for anything like that to happen, but it had
felt good. The Stilinski home reeked of junk food and gun oil and fucking
Stiles and his perpetually hormone ridden sweat, but it also smelled like home
and love and comfort. Those few hours on the couch with Stiles trying to
insinuate his toes under Derek’s leg had been the closest he’d had to a real
pack since the fire. It had made his wolf lie down and rest its snout on its
paws as it relaxed for the first time in a very long while.
It hurts, but it is also something Derek definitely wants to do again and that
scares him more than he knows how to deal with.
He takes his phone out again, aware that he must look like he was slightly
unhinged, and dials Deaton.
‘Hello, Derek.’ He doesn’t even sound surprised to hear from him. Then again,
Derek suspects that his mother’s emissary doesn’t really get surprised by
anything.
‘We need to make plans for tomorrow night.’ he says and hears Deaton writing
something down.
‘Give me a couple of hours and I’ll be over.’ he replies and hangs up. Derek
leans back on the couch and then flicks back through the messages from Stiles.
Against his better judgement he types one out and then sends it before he can
change his mind.
*************
Stiles gets out the Jeep and slings his backpack over his shoulder, frowning
when he feels his phone buzz. He takes it out and looks at the message.
You need to come over later. We can start getting you prepared for what’s
coming tomorrow night.
He huffs and fires a message right back.
No can do big guy. Got a party to go to.
It takes all of five seconds and then his phone is ringing. The fact that he’s
set Derek’s ringtone as the Monster Mash is just too good and he lets the song
play until the first chorus before he answers.
‘Yooooo.’ He makes himself sound as infuriating as possible and hears the
patented Derek Hale Sigh of Exasperation on the other side. ‘What’s hanging
dude?’
‘Christ.’ Derek mutters on the other side. ‘Can you be normal for five goddam
minutes?’
‘Says the wolfman.’ Stiles snorts. ‘I’m going into school. What do you want?’
‘You’re not going to that party.’ Derek says and that just gets Stiles’ blood
up.
‘Uh, yes I am.’ he replies. ‘You know that thing about not being the boss of
me? Still fucking applies, dude.’
‘Stiles, I swear to God…’ Derek is just getting into the swing of things when
Stiles hangs up on him and cackles madly as he takes the front steps two at a
time.
***********
Derek stares at his phone in disbelief.
The little shit hung up on him.
He growls at the phone but it doesn’t reply and he slams it down on the sofa
and wonders just how the fuck he got saddled with a puppy wolf that is not only
clueless but belligerent and annoying as fuck. If Stiles wasn’t so fucking
cute, Derek would have eaten his face off by now.
And just like that he’s trapped in his head thinking of amber eyes and moles
and ungainly long limbs. His physical reaction happens before he can even stop
himself and Derek stares down at his very interested cock in frustration and
betrayal. He’d go jerk off but that makes him feel like a pervert, so he just
glares at the bulge in his jeans and wills his erection into submission.
************
The day passes quickly. Stiles floats through the corridors, smiling and
generally loving life. In the final class of the day, he and Scott exchange
grins at the thought of the evening’s upcoming festivities. After school they
drive to Stiles house to contemplate what to wear and just how much alcohol
they can consume without it being detected.
‘You can always try and ask your mom for a ride.’ Stiles suggests hopefully.
He’s not quite sure, apart from the fact that he has a car and Scott only has
that stupid ass bicycle of his, how he’s been roped into playing chauffeur.
‘I can’t.’ Scott’s eyebrows are waggling in a meaningful way. ‘I think I’m
going to ask Allison if she wants to come home with me. My mom’s working night
shift.’
‘Seriously?’ Stiles snorts. ‘Dude, I am not sitting outside waiting to take her
home so you can get to second base.’
‘Already got there.’ Scott looks smug. ‘This is going for third.’
‘Jesus fuck.’ Stiles shakes his head. ‘Speaking of, why do I get the feeling
I’m going to be third wheel again?’
‘Yeah but now you’re starting line up you’ll definitely get some.’ Scott
assures him. ‘Girls are going to be lining up.’
Stiles contemplates telling him that he’s not so much interested in girls
because he’s currently got a hard-on for Mr Tall, Dark and Definitely An
Asshole, but his bisexual crisis is going to have to wait a while and in the
meantime he probably needs to play along.
‘Sure.’ He shrugs. ‘Whatever.’ He pulls into the drive of his house and they
get out.
The second he opens the door, Stiles can smell something that should not be
there. He panics briefly as Scott makes himself at home and then waves his
hands in the general direction of upstairs.
‘I’ll be back.’ he deadpans and Scott snorts.
‘Dude, why don’t you just piss down here?’ he asks and Stiles pulls a face as
he tries to think his way out of this one.
‘It’s broken.’ he ad libs. ‘Got to use the one upstairs.’ He runs off before
Scott can say anything and then throws himself through his bedroom door and
glares at the empty space in front of him.
‘Der…’ He doesn’t get to finish the word before he’s grabbed and slammed
against his now closed door. Derek’s suddenly in his face, fierce eyebrows and
blazing green eyes doing nothing for Stiles’ attempt to act cool.
‘You hung up on me.’ He says it like Stiles killed his father and he’s about to
prepare to die at Derek’s hands.
‘You were being a dick.’ he hisses back and then they both freeze as Scott
yells up the stairs.
‘You okay?’ He sounds mildly concerned, but then he’s also so used to Stiles’
inherent clumsiness that him falling over nothing barely warrants a reaction
anymore.
‘Yeah.’ he yells back, grinning at how Derek winces. It’s those sensitive wolf
ears. ‘I just tripped.’
Scott laughs and Derek narrows his eyes dangerously.
‘No party.’ he says and Stiles glares right back.
‘Yes party.’ He’s insistent. ‘Look if you’re so fucking worried, then you can
come with and keep an eye on me.’
That throws Derek completely and he lets Stiles go.
‘It’s a high-school party.’ he says, like it’s the social equivalent of facing
a firing squad.
‘Bingo.’ Stiles straightens up and walks past him, flinching as Derek makes a
brief lunge in his direction. ‘Asshole.’
‘Fine.’ Derek grumbles. ‘But when you accidentally turn and eat half the
guests, you’re going to be in a shitload of trouble.’
‘I won’t.’ Stiles grins. ‘And I said you could come with. It might even be
fun.’
‘I’m allergic to fun.’ Derek says with a completely straight face and Stiles
raises his eyebrows at him.
‘You seriously need to lighten up.’ he tells him. ‘Get drunk, kick back, make
out with someone…’ He trails off meaningfully but now Derek’s smirking at him
and Stiles’ knows he’s about to be told something deeply unpleasant that
Derek’s going to absolutely love.
‘You can’t get drunk.’ he says and Stiles frowns.
‘What the fuck are you talking about?’ he asks.
‘Wolves can’t get drunk.’ Now the smug fucker is smiling and Stiles hates him
so much. ‘Our metabolisms just burn the alcohol right off. You can drink as
much as you want, but it won’t have any effect. And as for making out with
someone, just imagine what will happen if you accidentally bite her tongue
off.’
‘Crap.’ Stiles huffs. ‘Or his.’ He rubs his hands over his face. ‘Can I at
least spend the time listening in on people’s conversations?’
‘That you can do.’ Derek replies and the weird smile he’s got widens enough to
actually look genuine. ‘It’s actually kind of fun.’
‘So you’ll come with?’ Stiles asks. ‘Seeing as I’m going to be the only sober
person there.’
‘No.’ Derek says. ‘I have actual adult shit to do, like go and try and find the
fucking Alpha.’ He moves to the window. ‘And if you’re insisting on going, then
that’s where you’ll be staying. If I catch you near the preserve tonight, I
will punch you in the head.’
‘Hey, it’s a step up from ripping my throat out.’ Stiles says after him, but
Derek’s already out the window and gone. He stomps back downstairs, the
knowledge that he’s going to be sitting in a corner or saving drunk people from
themselves now his plan for the night and goes into the kitchen where Scott is
frowning at his calculus homework like it’s from another planet.
‘So what do you think I should wear?’ Stiles glances briefly at the front
window as he hears the sound of the Camaro pulling off at speed. ‘Tonight, I
mean?’
‘Huh?’ Scott looks confused. ‘What you normally wear.’
‘But what if I was trying to appeal to someone.’ Stiles toys with his phone and
then sets it down. ‘Like an older someone.’
‘Now I’ve lost you.’ Scott says and Stiles rolls his eyes. ‘I thought you like
Lydia.’
‘Liked.’ He corrects. ‘Past tense.’
‘Are you serious?’ Scott laughs. ‘You’ve liked her since third grade.’
‘And now I like someone else.’ Stiles counters. He sighs. ‘I may have actually
invited them.’
‘Who is it?’ Now Scott’s all ears and Stiles kicks himself. Maybe he shouldn’t
be distracting someone who’s currently in danger of failing math.
‘You’ll see later.’ he says and nods at Scott’s book. ‘Now do your homework.’
‘You sound like my mom.’ Scott grumbles.
‘You still haven’t told me what I should be wearing.’ Stiles points out.
‘Give me something to go on and I’ll try.’ Scott offers and Stiles thinks for a
while.
‘Generally an asshole but hot as fuck?’ he says and Scott snorts a laugh.
‘So just like Lydia?’ he replies and Stiles wants to smack his face into the
table.
Seems he has a type.
***********
Deaton is at Derek’s loft when he gets there and they go down into the basement
of the building. It’s all concrete walled storerooms down here, and the one at
the end has a heavy steel door that they both deem perfect for holding a newbie
werewolf who’ll want to chew his way out through the nearest exit.
‘This is good.’ Deaton is inspecting the room carefully. ‘It should hold him
quite comfortably. He’ll need water and something to sleep on. No need to make
him any more uncomfortable than he’s already going to be.’ He looks at Derek.
‘Would you like me to be here?’
‘No.’ Derek shakes his head. ‘I’ll be fine on my own with him. It might make a
pleasant change and get him to shut up for a while.’
The corner of Deaton’s mouth twitches.
‘Stiles is an interesting boy.’ he says and Derek doesn’t like the undercurrent
of humour he hears. It feels far too much like it’s being directed at him.
‘Whenever he comes to visit Scott at the vet, I always find him with his nose
in something.’
‘That’s precisely how this happened.’ Derek growls. ‘He couldn’t keep his nose
out of the preserve and now I’m stuck with him until we can kill the alpha.’ He
gives Deaton a sidelong look. ‘He says you gave him a book.’
‘Maybe.’ Deaton replies. ‘But then there’s only so much I can do. I’m not a
wolf and he needs someone who is to guide him through this.’
‘I know.’ Derek growls. ‘He’s such a stubborn little shit. I told him to stay
inside tonight but apparently he’s going to some stupid high school party and
isn’t even considering listening to me.’ He glowers at the floor and Deatons
huffs softly, not quiet laughing.
‘He should be fine.’ he says. ‘So long as he stays out of trouble.’
‘That doesn’t make me feel any better.’ Derek snipes. ‘I have the feeling that
trouble has a habit of finding him.’
‘In that case, maybe you should be keeping an eye on him.’ Deaton suggests.
‘You can pass for high school.’ He gives Derek an up and down glance. ‘More or
less.’
‘I am not going back to school.’ Derek snarls. ‘No fucking way.’
‘Not school.’ Deaton tells him. ‘But maybe just a party. We both know what
could happen if Stiles gets into a situation he won’t be able to control
himself in.’
‘He’s an idiot.’ Derek grumbled.
‘And I’ll bet he’s just ignoring the fact that you told him not to go.’ Deaton
chuckled. ‘You could do worse, you know. He’s a smart kid and he’s clearly not
afraid of telling you what he thinks. He’d be a good wolf.’
‘No.’ Derek’s face darkens. ‘I don’t need anyone else.’
‘Yes.’ Now Deaton’s giving him a stern look. ‘Because you and Laura were doing
so well on your own. Wolves need a pack, Derek. You need a pack.’
‘One skinny ass teenager with a smart mouth is not a pack.’ Derek retorts. ‘I
didn’t even bite him. He’s not family.’
‘True.’ Deaton says. ‘But the least you can do is try and help him.’ He raises
an eyebrow. ‘It’s what your mother would have done.’
Derek growls at him, but he knows Deaton is right. Talia would have helped a
new wolf to adjust, to get used to being what they were.
‘All right.’ he huffs. ‘I’ll keep an eye on him tonight.’
‘And make sure he’s here tomorrow.’ Deatons says. ‘I’ll come by after I finish
at the clinic.’
They walk back up together and Derek thinks about the lacrosse game and how
Stiles was insisting on playing. It looks like he’ll be babysitting that as
well. Deaton leaves him at the side door and Derek stomps up the seven floors
to his loft, getting progressively more annoyed. Once there he considers his
options and then starts looking for something to wear.
************
The party at Lydia’s is set to start at eight but Stiles knows that only the
deeply uncool get there before nine, so he picks Scott up and then they go past
Allison’s house. She’s waiting for them on her front step and climbs in the
back, giving Scott a quick kiss over the seat and making Stiles feel incredibly
jealous. Scott’s street cred is still way better than his will ever be, even
with the asthma. He’s not bad looking and he’s dorkily cute and now he has a
hot girlfriend who’s Lydia’s new BFF.
‘So that’s what you went with?’ She’s grinning at Stiles and he snorts.
‘Tried and tested dude.’ he replies and yes, he’d kind of fallen back on jeans
and a graphic tee and blazer because that’s what makes him feel comfortable and
Derek is more than likely not going to show anyway and it’s not like he’s even
in a position to make out with anyone else.
‘Is that a unicorn on your shirt?’ Scott is peering at him and he grins.
‘Deadpool’s favourite animal.’ he replies. ‘That is cool by association my
friend.’
Lydia’s house is one of the nicest in Beacon Hills and it’s already packed by
the time they get there. Stiles finds somewhere to park after dropping Scott
and allison at the front door, but it’s a way down the road and he gets out the
Jeep grumbling and then nearly has a heart attack when a hand lands on his
shoulder.
‘Fuck.’ He has his hand over his heart as he glares at Derek. ‘I need to get
you a fucking bell.’
‘Stiles.’ Derek says by way of greeting and then Stiles’ stomach does a little
flip flop thing because Derek is there and he looks like he’s actually made an
effort to dress up somewhat. His jeans are dark blue and look like they’re
actually clean and he’s wearing a pristine white t-shirt and that stupid
leather jacket and now Stiles’ hormones are raging out of control because he
totally has a bad boy kink and it takes him a moment to realise that Derek’s
asking him something. ‘What the fuck is that on your shirt?’
‘Unicorn.’ He’s grinning. ‘Sooooo, shall we?’
They start walking down the street and Stiles wonders if he should grab Derek’s
hand because waltzing in with him on his arm will definitely get people
talking. Derek is ridiculously hot and that will send his reputation
skyrocketing.
Derek, of course, immediately reads his mind and steps out of range.
‘I’m only here to babysit you.’ he mutters. ‘And only because Deaton told me
to.’ He’s got his hands shoved in his pockets and he looks deeply
uncomfortable. ‘To make sure you don’t make an ass of yourself.’
‘Or a wolf.’ Stiles snickers and ignores the glare that could strip paint. ‘To
be honest I am kind of surprised Lydia’s even letting me near the place,
lacrosse team or not.’
‘Why?’ Derek asks, sounding bored already.
‘Because she hates my guts.’ Stiles replies. ‘Which sucks because I was crazy
about her. I’ve sent her a Valentine’s card every year since middle school. I
also used to leave roses stuck to her locker but she kind of always threw them
in the trash. Then there was the time I wrote her this poem and read it to her
in class, but she really didn’t like that. I mean she’s been telling me for
years that she hates me so God knows why I persisted, but she’s kind of a
goddess so...’ He trails off when he realises that Derek has stopped walking
and turns to look at him.
‘Gee, I wonder why.’ Derek’s voice flat. ‘That’s all kind of creepy.’
‘Uh, excuse you.’ Stiles retorts, more than a little defensive. ‘Climbing in
someone’s bedroom window is creepy. Me giving Lydia tokens of my undying esteem
is not.’
‘Did she ever tell you not to?’ Derek asks and Stiles frowns.
‘Yeah, sure she did but…’ he frowns. ‘Oh.’
‘Creepy.’ Derek repeats. ‘Consent is important, Stiles. I thought you kids all
knew that these days.’ There’s something in the way he says it that has Stiles
paying attention and he breathes in, now checking Derek’s other tells. His
heart sounds steady but there’s something leaking through his scent. It’s
almost like ashes.
‘What are you talking about?’ he asks. ‘There’s something going on with you
about this particular topic.’
‘No, there isn’t.’ Derek says and steps past him. ‘Can we just go and get this
over with?’
Stiles trots to catch up with Derek’s angry man-stalk and thinks hard about
what just happened. By the time they get to Lydia’s house he’s cringing.
‘Shit.’ He stops dead. ‘I’m a stalker.’
‘Yup.’ Derek sighs. ‘You’re a stalker. And you’re going to be a dead stalker if
we don’t go in so you can do shots and dance like a moron and find some girl to
hook up with so we can then get the fuck out of here.’
‘I don’t want to hook up with a girl.’ Stiles snorts and then grins. ‘And
you’re right. I can totally do shots.’ He’s got a wicked sparkle in his eyes.
‘I literally can’t get drunk?’
‘You literally can’t get drunk.’ Derek huffs. ‘But you can be incredibly
annoying.’
‘That’s all part of the charm.’ Stiles laughs and walks into the house. He’s
slightly disappointed that he doesn’t get much of a reaction, but then several
people spot Derek and he’s pretty sure he can hear the sound of multiple pairs
of panties dropping. He glares at him in an accusatory manner and Derek just
gives him a smile that screams serial killer to him but probably looks like a
siren call to every single female in the immediate vicinity.
‘Stiles!’ He hears Scott’s voice and sees him coming over, a red cup already in
his hand. He stops and gives Derek a confused look before he suddenly has a
moment of clarity. ‘Oh my God. This is him?’ That last is hissed and now Stiles
is feeling the weight of the furious look Derek’s giving him.
‘Yeah.’ he says. ‘Scott this is Derek. Derek this is Scott, my best friend.’
‘You told him.’ Dereks hisses and Stiles is pretty sure he’s going to get
eviscerated in front of the entire room when Allison comes up as well. She
gives them both a sunny smile and looks at them expectantly.
‘Hi.’ She is now looking Derek up and down.
‘Uh.’ Scott looks like he’s about to cave so Stiles steps in.
‘Allison, this is Derek.’ he says. ‘He’s my...lacrosse tutor.’
Oh God he’s going to die. Derek’s eyebrows look like they’re about to fly right
off his face.
‘Oh.’ Allison smiles, even if she’s a little confused. ‘I didn’t know that was
a thing.’
‘Yeah.’ Derek looks like he wants to eat something. ‘And you know Stiles needs
all the help he can get.’ He brings his hand down on Stiles’ shoulder and
squeezes and Stiles grits his teeth because even without claws he’s going to
have marks. He’s also now looking at Allison like something’s up and it’s
making everyone a little uncomfortable.
‘So.’ Scott looks a little frantic as he takes her arm. ‘You need a drink.’
‘I have a drink.’ Allison says holding up her cup.
‘Well, you need another one.’ Scott replies and tows her away. That of course
leaves Stiles there with murderwolf.
Derek narrows his eyes at him and grabs him by the collar of his blazer and
yanks him close enough to not be overheard.
‘You told him.’ And yes, that does indeed sound like a murder threat and
Stiles’ heart starts galloping and he fervently hopes that Derek thinks it’s
because he’s scared shitless and not because being manhandled does things to
him.
‘I had to tell someone.’ he hisses back. ‘Scott’s my best friend. We’ve known
each other since we were kids.’
‘You’re still a kid.’ Derek glowers at him. ‘An irresponsible pain in my ass
kid who…’
‘Stiles.’ The sound of Lydia’s voice brings them both up short. She’s looking
gorgeous as usual and her green eyes (emerald and not weird ass sea-mist green
and Christ did he just compare Derek’s eyes to sea mist he seriously needs
help) rake over them both and end back up on Derek, one coppery brow arched in
question. ‘Who’s your friend?’
‘I’m his lacrosse tutor.’ Derek’s voice has an edge that could probably maim
but this is Lydia they’re dealing with and she simply takes it in her stride.
‘All right then.’ She doesn’t look like she believes a word of that
explanation. ‘Just don’t be weird. I have people here who actually know me and
I don’t want to be embarrassed.’ She swans off and leaves them still standing
there.
‘God.’ Stiles swallows nervously. ‘She’s so freaking scary.’ He gives Derek a
sidelong glance. ‘I think she might even be scarier than you.’
‘Fuck.’ Derek looks mildly horrified. ‘I think you might be right.’
***********
Two hours later and Stiles is actually having a good time. He’s killed at beer
pong, drunk a record breaking number of shots that have earned him acclaim with
every single jock (expect that dickbag Jackson) and now he’s watching Derek
attempting to fend off every girl in the place. It certainly beats watching
Scott and Allison slow dancing and making heart eyes at each other, when they
manage to stop making out long enough to breathe that is, and that’s when Lydia
suddenly appears beside him. Stiles actually jumps and bemoans the fact that
being a werewolf hasn’t made him any less twitchy.
He watches her watching Derek with a thoughtful expression on her face and then
decides that he needs to say something.
‘I’m sorry.’ he blurts out and she looks at him, her eyes assessing him before
she responds.
‘What for?’ she asks and she’s got that smell again, her nose wrinkling like
he’s dogshit on her shoe.
‘For basically stalking you since middle school.’ Stiles replies. ‘I kind of
realise now that must have been…’
‘Creepy as hell?’ she asks sweetly. ‘Incredibly invasive? Borderline
psychotic?’
‘Yikes.’ Stiles winces. ‘Yeah. All of the above.’
He’s expecting a slap maybe, or at least a devastating verbal takedown but then
he’s blown away as she actually smiles at him.
‘Apology accepted.’ she says and then her grin turns evil. ‘If you answer one
question.’
‘Anything.’ Stiles agrees readily, just happy that she’s actually now smelling
like she doesn’t completely hate him.
‘I want to know how the hell you managed to land that.’ she replies, turning
back to look at Derek. ‘Because quite frankly he’s so far out of your league
that I am amazed.’
Stiles eyes widen comically and then he flails in protest.
‘No.’ he shakes his head. ‘We are so not…’
‘I’m calling bullshit on that one.’ Lydia snorts and that’s funny because he’s
never heard her do that before. ‘You do realise that you both keep staring at
each other when the other one’s not looking. He’s turned down every girl here,
most of whom are far more physically attractive than you are, and he keeps
staring at your ass every time you turn around.’ She now looks at him
expectantly. ‘So if he’s not your date, then what’s really going on?’
‘Nothing.’ Stiles squeaks. ‘Really, not a damn thing.’
‘Danny says he’s your cousin.’ Lydia muses. ‘But we both know that’s not true.
That makes him something of a mystery and I just happen to love mysteries,
Stiles.’ With that she flicks her hair and leaves him realising that whining at
Derek to come with him to the party might not have been such a good idea.
He sighs and trudges to the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him
because he has performance anxiety. He’s just about to unzip when he feels
something and the next second he’s doubled over in pain.
It feels like someone’s stabbed him right in the chest and attached a chain to
his ribcage and it trying to yank it right out of his body. Stiles gasps, not
even able to make a sound as the agony twists him and then he’s grabbing at the
edge of the vanity. He looks down and sees his claws are out and then looks up
to his his eyes are glowing gold and there’s fangs where his teeth should be.
Oh shit. This is not good.
*********
Derek is leaning against the wall when he feels it. He immediately looks over
the heads of the kids milling around him, on alert as he listens for Stiles’
heartbeat. He inhales sharply and bolts, shoving his way through and following
the trail of smell that Stiles left until he gets to the bathroom. He knocks,
hammering on the door.
‘Stiles!’ It’s a bark. ‘Get out here!’
There’s a low growl behind the door and Derek has to rein himself in tightly to
not shift. He can feel something is very wrong and he knows exactly what it is.
‘Shit.’ He moves back and goes in with his shoulder, splintering the lock under
his weight and flinging the door open. The bathroom is empty and the window is
open and Stiles is long gone, leaving his blazer on the floor. Derek grabs it
and hurtles out the bathroom back through the press of bodies until he finds
Stiles’ friend Scott and grabs him by the arm, startling him and Allison.
‘Come with me.’ he demands, and Scott bleats in protest as he’s hauled along
with him and they get outside into the back garden where there are more people
around the pool.
‘Dude.’ Scott protests. ‘What the hell…’
‘You know.’ Derek growls. ‘You know what happened to him.’ Scott’s eyes go wide
and then he nods.
‘Yeah.’ he looks confused. ‘But I don’t now.’
‘He went out the bathroom window.’ Derek is furious. ‘I have to go look for him
before he does something so stupid he ends up in serious shit.’ He lifts his
head, listening. ‘You need to go home.’ He hands Scott Stiles’ jacket. ‘Take
his Jeep and get you and your girlfriend out of here. It’s not going to be
safe.’
‘What about Stiles?’ Scott hisses and Derek waves him off.
‘I’ll find him.’ He looks past Scott to where Allison is now coming towards
him. ‘Just fucking go.’
He doesn’t stay for explanations, just takes off over the back fence and into
the trees before he’s running back down the street to where he left the Camaro.
***** Hunters *****
Chapter Summary
     If you go down to the woods tonight...
Stiles runs.
He has no idea where he’s going, just keeps following that tug inside of him.
There’s a sound, thrumming deep under the noises of the night and the pounding
of his own blood in his ears. It calls to him like a siren song and he can’t
help but put his head down and run faster. He’s lost his shirt along the way,
but he doesn’t care. All he’s fixated on is getting to the source of that call,
to where he’s being summoned.
The sound of something catches his attention and he stops running for a moment,
shaking his head at the irritating tinny noise coming from his pocket. Stiles
rips the phone out of his pocket and snarls as he tosses it aside, then gets
going again. He picks up the pace as he breaks through the trees and then he
hears a howl going up. It’s loud and commanding, and he goes towards it. His
nostrils flare as he breathes in deeply, the smells of the preserve thick in
his nose. He sorts through the tangles scents, pushing aside dirt and trees and
animals until he finds the one he’s looking for and lets it lead him in a new
direction. His alpha is waiting for him and Stiles needs to get to him as soon
as he can.
**********
Derek swears as he pulls up at the house. In the dark he can see the outline of
the ruined roof clearly and when he gets out, he still catches the stink of
ashes and fire. He hates this place now, a reminder of everything he’s managed
to fuck up in his short life and if he was in his fur his ears would be laid
flat against his head.
Now of course, he has more pressing matters. He’s tried calling Stiles
repeatedly since he left the party, but there has been no reply. He tosses the
phone onto the driver’s seat and closes the door, raising his head to scent the
air. It’s cool, the forest scents filling his head with unwanted memories but
he pushes these aside and concentrates. He needs to find Stiles, and he needs
to find him before whatever alpha is waiting out there gets its claws in him.
He starts jogging once he gets into the treeline, listening carefully for
anything that might give him a clue as to where Stiles is. He can feel
something is out there, the prickles down his spine alerting him to the fact
that there’s a larger and far more dangerous predator out here tonight. Not for
the first time, he kicks himself for not dragging Stiles to the loft and tying
him to a pillar so he couldn’t go to the stupid party.
A stray thought leaks into his head, an image of Stiles throwing his head back
as he sank ten shots in a row with not a single ill effect, the way he
snickered when the linesman he’d taken on fell over to the side and sprawled on
the floor. His warm amber eyes had lit up with good humour, his wide mouth
curved in a delighted grin and it had definitely caught Derek’s attention. It
was actually becoming something of a problem.
He was broken out his thoughts as the sound of a howl went up through the
forest. It is enough to make him growl angrily, the thought of another wolf on
his territory, on Hale land and he immediately heads in its direction.
*********
Scott pulls up at Allison’s house and avoids her eyes. He knows she has
questions but he has no idea how to answer them.
‘So.’ He rubs his sweaty hands down his jeans. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow?’
‘No.’ Allison has her arms folded. ‘We’re going to talk about what the hell
happened back there and why you dragged me out of the party early and who the
hell Stiles’ creepy ass boyfriend is.’
‘Huh?’ Scott scrunches his face up in confusion. ‘Stiles isn’t gay.’
‘No?’ Allison gives him a look that says very clearly he’s an idiot. ‘You’re
probably the only one that doesn’t realise that he’s more than likely at least
50 percent gay.’ She narrows her eyes at him. ‘That’s not even the part that
concerns me. Who the hell is Derek and why was he even there? I want to know
what’s going on and I know you know.’
‘I can’t.’ Scott practically squirms in his seat. ‘I promised.’
‘In that case, you can kiss yourself goodnight.’ Allison announces and prepares
to exit the car.
‘Stiles is a werewolf!’ It’s out before Scott can stop himself and he claps a
hand over his mouth, brown eyes going wide in horror as he realises what he’s
done.
‘Oh my God!’ Allison hisses. ‘That’s the best you could come up with?’ She
shakes her head in disbelief and throws open the door of the Jeep and gets out,
slamming the door hard enough to male Scott wince before storming off up the
pathway to her house.
‘Shit.’ Scott moans and drops his head to the steering wheel. ‘Shit, shit,
shit.’
He huffs and lifts his head. Well, tonight is a bust but he still has a best
friend on the loose somewhere and Scott knows Stiles well enough to guess where
he’s gone. He’s not as dumb as people think he is and he actually listens to
Stiles’ rambling a lot more than he’s given credit for, so he turns the engine
back on and pulls out to make a u-turn and go in the direction he needs to get
to the preserve.
***********
The pull is getting stronger and Stiles hurdles a fallen log, growling as he
revels in his newfound speed and agility. He’s never been this graceful, this
in control before and he thunders across the clearing in front of him, blind
and deaf to everything else but the call he’s following.
Then something thuds against his shoulder and he skids to a stop at the pain
like a magnesium fire, too hot and too much and he howls as he falls to his
knees and scrabbles at the steel shaft that’s protruding from his skin. It
burns like the time he put his hand on the stove, only so much worse and Stiles
barely manages to get his head up to see the four shadows that have come out of
the trees and who are standing in front of them. He can smell gun oil and rope
and an odd herby scent that makes his lips curl back as he bares his fangs and
snarls at them.
The next one goes into his thigh and now Stiles is howling, the pain almost too
much to bear. He writhes on the ground, can smell his own blood and then the
man in front steps into the moonlight and Stiles sees the gleam of it on the
metal of the crossbow he’s holding.
‘Looks like we got one.’ His voice is smooth, assured and just a little bit
familiar as is his face and the shock of what he’s seeing nearly makes him
laugh.
‘It looks young.’ One of the others, a burly man with a rifle, steps up behind
him.
‘Don’t let that fool you.’ the leader replies. ‘He looks young but they’re
lethal right from the beginning. We need to catch them while they’re still
learning. You can’t trust a werewolf to not kill, it’s in their natures.’ He
casually rests the crossbow against his shoulder and Stiles growls deep in his
throat as he looks at the man.
It’s Allison’s dad, Chris Argent. And he’s clearly not recognised who Stiles
is, which his moondrunk mind tells him can only be a good thing. Now if he
could just get off the ground and to the one that’s calling him, but he feels
as weak as a kitten and that enrages him amid the pain. He tries to get back to
his knees and the men are coming closer and Argent lifts his other hand and
Stiles sees a gun in it and he roars as best he can. The men behind Argent
chuckle as his feeble attempt but the smile soon fall away from their faces as
something roars back in the dark.
‘What the fuck…?’ one of them says.
‘Stay alert.’ Argent says, his light eyes scouting the darkness and then
something flies through the air behind him, snarling like a wild animal and one
of the men goes down screaming. Argent wheels, gun going off, and the snarling
carries as the shadow moves far quicker than even Stiles can track before the
next man is caught and hurled through the air like he weighs nothing.
The lack of attention on him is enough to give Stiles time to get to his feet
and then he’s staggering away, the pain in his leg and shoulder slowing him but
the adrenaline and sheer rage he’s feeling carrying him forward. It’s enough to
get away and down the slope behind him, chucks sliding on the dead leaves, He
can hear the shouts and more gunshots behind him and as he skids down to the
bottom of the slope, something leaps over it. He catches the outline of what
looks like a man and then sees electric blue eyes blazing at him and Derek
grabs him under the arms and hauls him to his feet.
‘Fucking run!’ he snarls and Stiles tries but it hurts and he stumbles.
‘Derek.’ It comes out mangled by his fangs and Derek makes an angry noise and
then he’s being scooped off the ground and hauled over Derek’s shoulder and
carried into the night, the impotent curses of the men behind him soon drowned
out. The pain is back even more than before, his shoulder and thigh jarred by
Derek’s steps, and Stiles’ face bangs into his stupid leather jacket and he’s
pretty sure he’s going to die and all he wants is to get back into the trees
and find whoever called him out.
‘Shut up.’ It’s a venomous hiss. ‘Do you want the Hunters to find us?’
‘Hunters?’ Stiles is confused and in pain and his claws hurt and there’s a
dreadful ache in his head.
‘Jesus fucking Christ.’ Derek growls and runs faster. He takes them through the
trees and then nearly drops Stiles as he falls on his ass, snarling at the
shadow in front of them. The person shrieks and throws up both hands, the
flashlight he’s holding throwing a beam of light across the bare branches above
him.
‘Don’t eat me!’ Scott’s clearly terrified and Stiles can almost hear Derek
rolling his eyes. He gets jostled as Derek grabs Scott’s collar and drags him
to his feet and he’s pretty sure he hears something about I’m not a fucking
babysitter before he passes out from the pain.
*************
‘What the fuck was that?’ Bellagio is back on his feet now, helping Travis to
get up.
‘An old acquaintance.’ Chris stares into the trees. ‘Looks like our cub has
some friends.’ He huffs and moves back from the ridge. ‘Come on. We’ve still
got an alpha out there.’
*************
They get back to the house and Derek now sees Stiles’ Jeep parked next to his
Camaro. He wrenches the passenger door of his car open and dumps Stiles in the
seat, grimacing at how the blood makes shiny patches on the leather. This kid
is going to be the death of them both.
‘Now fucking stay.’ he snarls and then turns to Scott, who’s staring at Stiles
like he’s grown two heads. In his defence he’s probably never seen his best
friend with glowing golden eyes and fangs and claws.
Fuck. The claws.
‘And keep your hands off the fucking seats.’ he barks over his shoulder and
then realises that Scott is staring at him with just as much terror on his face
and Derek snorts and shifts back to human looking.
‘Is he…?’ His voice is trembling but Derek’s got to hand it to him, Scott
hasn’t shit himself yet and he clearly is very concerned about Stiles.
‘I’m taking him back to my place.’ he growls. ‘I need to get the bolts out and
clean him up.’
‘Is he going to die?’ Scott’s lip is wobbling and Derek takes the time to pinch
the bridge of his nose.
‘No.’ he mutters. ‘But he’s going to wish he had when I take them out.’ He
lifts his head, hearing the sound of men retreating into the forest. ‘Look,
just get in the Jeep and follow me. I could use your help.’ He says it
begrudgingly, but then he’s got a newbie wolf on his hands so all the help will
be welcome and Scott seems nowhere near as annoying as Stiles. He shaking he’s
so scared but he’s also so freaked out that Stiles needs help that he came out
into the preserve at night and Derek can kind of respect that.
He gets in the Camaro and guns it out from the house, the Jeeps headlights in
his mirrors. Scott manages to keep up and they drive back into town, taking the
outer road to the industrial quarter and into the underground garage of the
loft.
Stiles is still pretty much passed out when he gets him out the car and hauls
him into his arms. Despite the deceptively lanky frame, he has some weight to
him and Derek grunts as he settles him in his arms and heads for the service
elevator. The Jeep isn’t far behind and Scott pretty much falls out in his rush
to catch up.
Derek elbows the button and then gives Scott a pointed look that has him
yanking the door open so they can go inside. The bleak lighting makes the blood
on Stiles’ skin and jeans a dark sticky red and he can smell it, the metallic
reek making him battle to control himself. Scott is pale and looks like he
wants to puke but he has one hand on Stiles’ arm as they ride up to the top
floor and then opens the door again.
‘It’s the one at the end.’ Derek tells him but he’s already there, sliding the
metal door open with a nasty grating sound and going in ahead. He carries
Stiles in after him and summarily dumps him on the couch. Stiles’ groans and
then his eyes open. They’re still glowing and Scott stumbles over his own feet
backing up.
‘I don’t think I’m going to get used to that anytime soon.’ he says and Derek
snorts. He takes Stiles’ face in his hands and makes him look at him.
‘Hey.’ He holds that golden stare and watches Stiles’ pupils flash when the
light hits them. ‘Snap out of it. I need to get the bolts out and I’d rather
you didn’t freak out and scare the shit out of Scott.’
‘Scott?’ Stiles is trying to focus and then grins. His teeth are still
elongated and there’s an audible gulp from behind Derek. ‘Hey, buddy.’ It’s
drawn out like Stiles is drunk, but Derek knows that his healing trying to kick
in. Unfortunately, the silver in the bolts hinders that so he really needs to
get them out and then Stiles will heal by himself.
He looks at Stiles again and braces one hand against his bare shoulder, taking
the slippery crossbow bolt in his other hand and getting a secure grip.
‘You ready?’ he asks and Stiles opens his mouth to protest, but Derek just
yanks and the bolt comes out with a fresh gush of blood and then has to shove
Stiles back into the couch as he bucks against his hands in agony. He’s got a
pretty good roar on him and Derek is thankful that he has no neighbours.
‘Oh my God. Oh my God.’ Scott whines behind him. ‘Dude.’
‘It had to come out.’ Derek’s already on the next one. This one will be
tricker, stuck in Stiles’ jeans, but he used more force and wrenches it out,
his forearms straining as he holds Stiles down. The bolt clatters to the floor
to join the other one, and he watches as Stiles growls and tries to snap at him
before he suddenly goes limp. Derek can smell him healing and he gently places
one hand back on the wound in Stiles’ shoulder and the other over the one in
his thigh. He closes his eyes and reaches in for the pain. It’s thick and
rancid, making him choke as he gets hold of it and drains it out, the veins on
his arms carrying it away in black streaks.
‘Holy shit dude.’ Scott’s voice is awed. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Taking the pain.’ Derek grits out. Stiles is calming, his eyes fading back to
brown and his breathing less frantic. His fangs and claws are both retracting
and he slumps back against the couch. Derek waits until he can feel that most
of it is gone and finally gets up.
‘Is he okay?’ Scott is hovering closer and Derek moves aside so he can get to
Stiles.
‘He’s healing.’ he stumbles over to the bar fridge he’s got against the wall,
takes out a bottle of water and brings it back over. Stiles is back with them,
eyes tracking Derek as he approaches.
‘Hey.’ His voice is raspy. ‘What the fuck happened?’
‘You broke out of Lydia’s bathroom.’ Scott babbles. ‘You went out the window
and then Derek busted down the door and she’s going to be so pissed and you got
shot.’
‘Chill, Scotty.’ Stiles has his head tipped back. ‘What the hell do you mean I
went out the window?’ He seems to be coming out of his daze and then his eyes
widen as he takes himself in. ‘Fuck…’
‘It’s healing.’ Derek reiterates as he cracks the bottle and hands it to Scott.
‘Man.’ Stiles frowns. ‘These were my favourite jeans.’ He looks up and there’s
a little glint in his dark eyes. ‘Those fuckers shot me.’
‘I told you not to go to the damn party.’ Derek huffs as Scott gets Stiles to
drink. ‘And you were running through the woods shifted and out of control.’
‘He was calling me.’ Stiles seems as surprised by this as Derek is. ‘I could
feel him.’
‘Who?’ Scott’s looking between them. ‘Who’s he talking about?’
‘The alpha.’ Derek replies. ‘It called Stiles out.’
‘He.’ Stiles repeats. ‘Definitely he.’ He drinks the water Scott offered him,
noisy gulps until the bottle was empty. ‘Fuck, those dudes though.’ He looks at
Derek. ‘They were hunters? I remember you saying that.’
‘Yeah.’ Derek nods, hands on his hips. ‘Not the kind of people you want to run
into on your first night out.’ He meets Stiles’ eyes. ‘But we can talk about
that later.’ He looks down. ‘How’s the leg?’
‘Feels better.’ Stiles replies. He got a considering look in his eyes and Derek
knows he had to head this off at the pass.
‘Then you can get out of here.’ he states and looks at Scott. ‘Can you take him
straight home?’
‘Sure.’ Scott nods. ‘Straight home.’
‘Wait, no.’ Stiles protests. ‘We need to talk about this more.’
‘No. You need to go home and sleep.’ Derek says, injecting just a hint of
menace into his voice. ‘It’s full moon tomorrow and we have to be ready. If the
alpha was trying to call you out tonight, he’ll definitely be doing the same
tomorrow.’
‘Fuck.’ Scott is all worried puppy eyes. ‘Will Stiles try and get out again?’
‘Hey right here.’ Stiles snorts and they both ignore him.
‘Probably, but I have a contingency plan.’ Derek replies. ‘Just make sure he
gets his ass here.’
‘Okay.’ Scott shoves his hands in his pockets. ‘We should go.’
‘Yeah.’ Derek sighs and then has a flash of inspiration. He shrugs out of his
jacket and then takes his henley off and hands it to Stiles. ‘It’ll help mask
your scent.’
‘Great.’ Stiles mutters. ‘Eau de Asshole.’ That makes Scott snicker and Derek
rolls his eyes at both of them.
‘Get the fuck out.’ he orders. ‘And don’t be late tomorrow. I want you here
before nightfall and no fucking lacrosse game.’
‘Sir, yes sir.’ Stiles mutters. ‘Good thing my dad’s working nights.’ He lets
Scott haul him to his feet and they leave, Stiles grumbling all the way out the
door and down to the elevator. Derek waits until the door shuts, accompanied by
a snide goodnight asshole before the sound of it descending reaches his ears.
He moves to the window, watches the lights of Stiles’ Jeep go on and then move
as the car pulls out and then he’s on the phone.
Stiles got called out tonight.
Well, that’s not good. Derek can almost hear the quiet sarcasm in Deaton’s
words.
He also had a close encounter with some Hunters. It was the Argents.
Yes, I had heard they were back in town. We need to talk. Come over tomorrow
morning.
Derek replies in the affirmative and then stands and chews on his lower lip for
a few moments. He is angry but also horribly relieved that he managed to find
Stiles when he did. The remembered scent of Chris Argent makes him growl though
and brings back things he really didn’t want to remember. He thinks of blue
eyes and a smile that hid the psychotic mind that killed his family and it
makes him feel sick to his stomach.
He thinks for a moment and then shoves his phone back in his pocket before
heading upstairs.
***********
In the Jeep, Stiles contemplates.
His brain has always worked way too quickly, but it has its moments and now he
threads things together in his mind and glances at Scott. He knows he can’t
come right out and tell him who he saw, not with the way Scott feels about
Allison so he takes his phone out and thinks about texting Derek. His head is
still swimming and his shoulder and thigh are throbbing but when he gingerly
probes the wounds, he can feel they are already closed.
‘Shit, dude.’ Scott sounds a little alarmed, but it’s a world away from how
panicked he had smelled earlier. ‘That’s freaking cool.’
‘Yeah, it is.’ Stiles grimaces at the smell of his own blood. ‘Thank God my
dad’s not home. I wouldn’t want to explain this.’ He surreptitiously lowers his
nose into Derek’s shirt and breathes in deeply. His smell is soothing and it
makes Stiles realise how tired he suddenly feels. ‘Christ I really need to
sleep. And eat. I’m goddamn starving.’
They hit the drive through and Stiles spends his last ten dollars on all the
junk food he can get, cramming it in his mouth as Scott takes him home. They
pull up into the drive and then he smells a sharp sour note coming from his
friend and looks at him.
‘Hey, what’s wrong?’ he asks and Scott’s shaking.
‘You have fucking things in you, Stiles.’ His dark eyes are huge and way too
shiny. ‘You were seriously hurt!’
‘And now I’m okay.’ Stiles tries to soothe him. ‘Look being a werewolf is weird
as fuck but it has these great work benefits.’ He grins and manages to get a
small smile from Scott. ‘Now go home and text Allison and apologise from me for
breaking up the party because you obviously had to take her home early to come
and deal with me.’ The sour note intensifies and now Scott’s looking incredibly
unhappy.
‘She’s angry with me.’ he near whispers. ‘She knows something’s up and I can’t
exactly tell her.’ He looks at Stiles. ‘I hate lying to her.’
Stiles feels bad for all of a second before remembering the way Allison’s
fucking father shot him. Twice.
‘You can’t tell her.’ he says. ‘Promise me Scott. She can’t know about this.’
‘Okay.’ Scott looks miserable. ‘You want me to stay over?’
‘No.’ Stiles shakes his head. ‘Are you going to be okay getting home?’
‘Sure.’ Scott sighs. ‘It’s not like anything is after me, right?’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles looks at his darkened house. ‘You sure. We can fire up the old
console if you want?’
‘No. You need to sleep.’ Scott gets out and Stiles follows. He goes around the
car and grabs Scott in a hug, squeezing him hard enough to make him wheeze.
‘Thank you for coming after me.’ he whispers. Scott squeezes back and then lets
him go.
‘I’ll message you when I get home.’ he says and starts off down the road.
Stiles watches him go and then decides to try a little experiment. Like he’d
done before, he focuses on Scott’s heartbeat and tracks him down the road.
Scott only lives a few roads away and he can follow him as he goes and enters
his own house.
He walks upstairs in the dark and switches the bathroom light on, checking
himself out in the mirror as he pulls Derek’s shirt off. He’s sad he lost his
one, another favourite, but that gets sidelined as he stares in amazement at
the now unblemished skin of his shoulder. It’s like the injury never existed
and when he kicks off his shoes and takes his jeans down, it’s the same story.
Only a slight residual tenderness lingers where the bolts went in. Stiles
presses his fingers against himself and frowns, then he turns the shower on and
gets in. he stands under the hot water for what feels like ages and when he
gets out he towels himself off and goes to his room, now feeling even more
exhausted.
He’s about to get a clean t-shirt out the dresser when he suddenly changes his
mind and goes to retrieve Derek’s henley from the bathroom, pulling it over his
head. The smell is fresh, Derek’s sweat and earthy scent rich and thick. It’s
enough to get him half hard as he slides into bed, but he’s honestly too tired
to do anything so he just lies there and breathes it in. His eyelids droop and
at one point he thinks he sees two blue flashes outside his window but then
Stiles succumbs and goes to sleep, caught up in strange dreams about forests
and a huge black wolf that runs beside him.
****************
Derek sits on the roof just outside Stiles’ window and listens to his heartbeat
even out and his breathing slow as he falls asleep. He’s tempted to just stay
put but then he thinks of the alpha and gets up, cracking his neck and jumping
down from the roof to land soundlessly before going back to his car. He figures
he can trust him to be in the same place. Stiles must be exhausted by what he’s
been through tonight.
What’s more worrying is the fact that he also felt the alpha’s pull, although
nowhere nearly as strongly as Stiles. It’s concerning because even though he
was easily able to resist, Derek knows a strange alpha that he has no
allegiance to would not have influenced him like that. It had felt vaguely
familiar, like someone he should have known. The thing is that his alphas are
all dead, his mom and now his sister. Nothing about this makes sense.
The scent in the woods was also off. He could track Stiles by the distinctive
notes he carries, but that other scent was almost chemical. It wasn’t like an
alpha at all and it makes Derek feel very uneasy. He doesn’t like this one
little bit.
He gets in the Camaro and sits back, breathing in the smells that cling to the
surface of the seats and the carpet in the footwells. It had been his dad’s car
and there are still lingering traces of him here, overlaid with Laura’s smell
and his own. There’s now also the green sharpness of Stiles, more recent and
mingling with Derek’s earthiness to make a very pleasing combination, but the
scent of his dead family overpowers it for a second and that’s enough to break
through to him.
It catches him in the chest and Derek has to grip the steering wheel and force
himself to breathe evenly as the feelings inside him rage out of control for a
few moments. He tries to reach for the anger inside him, the anchor that’s he’s
been able to rely on for all these years, but his grip on it is slippery and
weak and he snarls and throws himself back in his seat, fighting to control
himself. That of course just makes him breathe hard and the green smell grows
overwhelming as he gulps it in. It takes a few minutes but then the strangest
thing happens and Derek feels himself calming.
Shit. It can’t be. He won’t let it be.
Twenty minutes later, he’s back on the roof and resting his hand against the
window of Stiles’ bedroom. He sees something move in the darkness and fixes on
the heartbeat inside, can hear how it speeds up when Stiles opens the window.
His eyes glow with warmth and he holds out a hand.
‘Come on, Sourwolf.’ His smile is nothing more than a quirk of the corners of
his mouth. ‘Get your ass in here.’
This isn’t right. Derek is older, he’s the adult. He should be the one dealing
out comfort. Instead he finds himself being helped through the window, the
leather jacket pushed from his shoulders before he’s guided to the bed. Stiles
tells him to take his boots off and he does and then he’s shoved over to the
side as Stiles gets in next to him, arm around him as he gets comfortable with
his nose in the back of Derek’s neck.
‘Thank you.’ he whispers. ‘Thank you for coming to find me and taking me out of
there.’
‘You have to be careful of the Hunters.’ Derek resists the urge to hold the
hand that is now pressed to his chest. Up close, Stiles smells like the meadow
grass in the open stretches of land between the trees behind his family’s home.
It makes him ache inside.
‘Tell me about them.’ Stiles asks and he closes his eyes and starts talking. He
doesn’t stop until it’s all out there, how they kill werewolves that have
broken their rules of conduct. He tells Stiles about how his family had always
had a cordial relationship with the hunters in Beacon Hill, at least until the
fire.
‘The man tonight.’ Stiles says when he pauses for breath. ‘It was Allison’s
dad.’
Derek goes still.
‘Scott’s Allison is an Argent?’ he asks and Stiles nods. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Positive.’ Stiles lips are moving against the skin of Derek’s neck and he has
to stop himself from shivering.
‘The Argents are an old Hunting family.’ he says. ‘They were here when my
family was still…’ He can’t bring himself to say it but he knows that Stiles
doesn’t need him to. He steels himself for what he has to say next. ‘They
killed them. They set the fire that night.’
‘Fuck.’ Now Stiles sits up. ‘Allison’s dad is a murderer?’
‘Not him.’ Derek doesn’t look at him. ‘Kate Argent. She’s Chris’ sister. She’s
the one who did it.’
‘Derek?’ Now Stiles smells confused. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘She told me that I was special.’ Derek turns his face into the pillow. ‘That
no-one would understand us being together. I told her things about my family,
about our house and she used them against me. Then she sealed them all inside
one night and set fire to the place.’
‘Jesus Christ.’ Stiles’ eyes are wide. ‘Why the hell didn’t you tell anyone?’
‘Who was going to believe me?’ Derek sits up as well, now angry that he’s
exposed himself this much, let himself talk too openly. ‘I was sixteen. I had
no proof apart from the my side of the story.’ He shakes his head. ‘No.’
‘You know it’s not your fault, right?’ Stiles sounds outraged on his behalf.
‘Dude, she’s like way older than we are. Scott’s keeps telling me about how she
makes him feel like she’s going to give him the bad touch any second.’
That makes Derek’s head snap up.
‘She’s here?’ He’s appalled and panicked in equal measures. ‘Why the hell
didn’t you tell me?’
‘Because I didn’t know who they were?’ Stiles gives him his you’re-a-stupid-
asshole look. ‘You’ve literally just told me about this and you weren’t exactly
in a mood to listen earlier when you threw me and Scott out the damn loft.
Which is kind of a dick move seeing as I got shot. Twice.’
‘You have to tell Scott to stay away from Allison.’ Derek’s bordering on irate.
‘She’s dangerous. Her whole damn family is dangerous.’
‘Dude, I don’t think Allison knows anything about this.’ Stiles says. ‘She
hasn’t picked up anything from me, or treated me any differently.’
‘Her family literally kills us, Stiles.’ Derek digs his claws into his palms.
‘You can’t trust them and if Scott is going to be with her, you can’t trust him
either.’
‘Oh, fuck you man.’ Stiles snorts. ‘I trust Scott with my life. He’s like my
brother.’
‘He won’t be for long.’ Derek tells him. ‘Watch. He’ll turn on you.’
‘No he won’t.’ Stiles is insistent. ‘He freaked out a little at the beginning,
but now he’s totally cool. You’re the one freaking out.’ He flops back onto the
bed. ‘Now shut the fuck up and go to sleep. I’m beat. We can talk some more in
the morning.’ He makes a grabby hand at Derek and for a second Derek considers
getting up and leaving. He knows he should but then there’s that fresh grass
smell and he lies back down.
‘I hate you.’ he growls and feels Stiles smile against the back of his neck,
arm snaking around Derek’s waist again. This time, though, he insinuates his
hand under Derek’s shirt and it’s warm against the skin of his belly.
‘I hate you too, Sourwolf.’ It’s said through a yawn. ‘But at least you’re not
boring.’
***** Game Time *****
Chapter Summary
     Stiles starts plotting and drags Scott down with him.
Chapter Notes
See the end of the chapter for notes
‘So.’ Stiles jolts awake to the sound of his father’s voice. ‘Anyone want to
fill me in on what exactly is going on here?’
He sits up and then realised that Derek hadn’t gone home and is in fact still
lying right next to him, his black hair now sticking up all over the place and
blinking against the light, his green eyes a little unfocused. At least the
fact that they are still fully dressed gives the situation respectability.
‘Uh...would you believe it was a spontaneous sleepover?’ he says and Noah
glares at him. ‘Okay, maybe not.’
‘Stiles got drunk last night.’ Derek cuts in, his voice rough. ‘I had to go get
him and Scott from the party and get them home because he couldn’t drive and he
called me to ask for help.’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles jumps on that immediately. ‘And then Derek stayed over to make
sure I didn’t choke on my own puke.’
‘What have I said about the drinking?’ Noah is still stern. ‘But I am grateful
that you asked for someone to drive you and didn’t attempt it yourself.’ He
looks at Derek and there is something there that Stiles is not quite sure how
to read but he thinks might be a mix of suspicion and gratitude. ‘Thank you,
Derek. And seeing as my son has no sense of his own boundaries, I think he can
repay us by making pancakes for breakfast.’ He gives Stiles a glare as he turns
to leave.
‘What?’ Stiles is mildly outraged but he knows he is getting away pretty much
scot free.
‘With extra bacon and maple syrup.’ Noah yells as he goes back downstairs.
‘Shit.’ Stiles snorts. ‘Thinks he can get away with eating off the goddam
approved list.’ He turns and then stops dead at the look on Derek’s face.
‘Dude, you okay?’
‘I’m sorry.’ He looks away, surprisingly awkward. ‘I didn’t mean to overstay my
welcome.’
‘Oh shut up.’ Stiles grins and hits him in the arm, gratified at the way Derek
winces. ‘You’re almost acting like a real boy. Don’t fuck it up now.’ He
scrambles over him and gets off the bed. ‘I’ll use my dad’s shower.’ He walks
over to his dresser and digs out a t-shirt that might possibly fit and some old
sweat that are stretched out enough and chucks them on the bed before he gets
some clothes for himself ‘You can take mine. It’s down the hall.’
‘Thanks.’ Derek says it in a soft voice.
‘Don’t mention it.’ Stiles replies and leaves the room, still smiling to
himself. He gets to his dad’s room and goes in, breathing in deeply. His sense
of smell really is so much stronger now and he starts to isolate the individual
scents that made up his dad. Underneath it all is a lingering scent of rose and
it makes his heart ache for a second before he swallows it down and goes to the
bathroom. He knows Noah keeps a bottle of his mom’s perfume somewhere in the
room and that is the source of the smell but now it is like she is still around
somewhere.
His bedroom is empty by the time he gets out and dressed. He goes to the window
and peers outside and then listens and hears Derek downstairs talking to Noah.
He goes down and finds them both in the kitchen. To his astonishment, Derek
already has a bowl out and is making pancake batter.
From scratch.
Fuck his life. Stiles wants to just jump him right fucking now.
‘You can cook?’ He doesn’t meant it sound quite so accusatory and he gets the
eyebrows for his tone.
‘Yeah.’ Derek’s sarcasm could cut glass. ‘I don’t live on Cheetos and shit like
you.’
‘Language.’ Noah says mildly behind his paper, but Stiles can hear the
amusement in it.
‘Don’t you dare side with him.’ he hisses and his father’s eyes briefly regard
him over the top and then disappear.
‘There’s some chocolate chips in the top cupboard behind the plates.’ he says.
‘Stiles thinks I don’t know about those.’
‘Got it.’ Derek opens the cupboard and reaches in and Stiles finds his eyes
drawn to the strip of bare skin revealed as the too small t-shirt rides up.
Then he realises what he’s doing and turns away, but not too soon for his
father to notice him noticing. The amused look on his face tells Stiles that
he’s clocked him and Stiles goes red.
He stomps over to the fridge and takes out the orange juice and then goes to
get three glasses.
‘I thought I was supposed to be making those.’ he points out and Derek moves
over and nods at the stove.
‘You can do the bacon.’ he instructs and Stiles grumbles and goes back to the
fridge.
‘You two are in cahoots.’ he accuses and then he is getting looks from both
directions.
‘Son, I wouldn’t push it too hard if I were you.’ Noah lays the paper aside.
‘The only reason I haven’t grounded you for the underage drinking is that you
acted like an adult and because I intend sitting in the front row tonight to
see you play first line.’ He glances at Derek. ‘You’re coming to watch aren’t
you?’
Derek looks a little startled and then frowns at Stiles. Stiles knows exactly
what he is getting at and studiously avoids his eyes.
‘I hadn’t planned on it.’ Derek admits and Noah snorts.
‘I hadn’t planned on finding you in my son’s bed but here we are.’ He fixes
Derek with a stern look. ‘Whatever this weird thing you two have going is, it
would be nice to have someone to talk game with tonight. Melissa tries but it’s
not quite the same as having someone who played to discuss the finer points.’
‘You know I played?’ Derek looks surprised and Stiles snorts, sounding far too
much like his father for comfort.
‘Yeah, I know.’ he says to Noah. ‘Dude, we’ve been through this.’ He looks at
Derek. ‘Dad was on the team when he was at BH.’
‘I actually played with your uncle.’ Noah says. ‘He was good too.’ Then he
catches himself. ‘Sorry, that probably wasn’t the most sensitive thing to say.’
‘No, it’s okay.’ Derek says. He’s finished mixing the batter and has set it
down to prove and is now looking at Stiles cooking the bacon in a particularly
judgmental way. ‘You’re going to burn it.’
‘Bite me.’ Stiles retorts, and then he’s being bumped out the way. ‘Hey no
fair, you have superior muscle mass.’
‘I have superior everything.’ Derek smirks and Stiles’ brain immediately goes
there and he has to go and stick his face in the fridge again to hide his
blush.
Breakfast is incredible. Stiles is glad to bow to Derek’s clearly superior
pancake making skills to go along with the muscle mass and whatever else he is
definitely not thinking about. Noah eats four pancakes and a huge pile of bacon
strips, making very appreciative noises, and Stiles relaxes a bit. Oddly
enough, so does Derek, losing some of the wariness that he seems to carry with
him at all times. By then end of breakfast he’s actually chatting lacrosse
plays and he’s even managed a couple of small smiles. Stiles thinks it’s
excellent progress and internally high fives himself for convincing Derek to
stay the night.
After breakfast he has to do the dishes and Derek goes back to retrieve his
other clothes and go home. When he comes back into the kitchen it’s to thank
Noah for his hospitality and Stiles almost giggles at the serious old fashioned
way he does it.
‘No problem, son.’ Noah smiles over his coffee, looking remarkably sphinx-like.
‘I’ll see you later at the game.’
‘Sure.’ Derek gives Stiles a look that could kill at twenty paces. ‘I’ll see
you later, sir.’ He doesn’t bother to say goodbye to Stiles and he grins as he
hears Derek muttering to himself as he leaves the house. Unfortunately his glee
is short lived because when he looks at his father, he realises that he’s about
to be lectured.
‘You know your mom and I always thought there would be a fifty fifty chance
that you liked boys as well as girls.’ Noah says almost conversationally. ‘You
kissed Greg Mackie in third grade and told us you were going to marry him. That
was before Lydia of course.’
‘I did?’ Stiles is mortified. ‘Oh.’
‘You know I have no problem with the fact that Derek is a man.’ Noah says
pointedly. ‘Whether you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend is immaterial to me.
What does bother me is that he’s twenty-three, Stiles. You’re sixteen.’
‘Seventeen in three months.’ Stiles says automatically and then gets what his
dad is alluding to. ‘And we’re not dating. He really did just sleep over.’
‘Last night, yes.’ Noah smiles. ‘But I’m not blind kiddo, and if you stared at
his ass any harder you’d spontaneously combust. I’m hoping you’re sensible
enough to know that whatever you two do together, I’ll worry. Also the age of
consent is eighteen so I don’t want to be given any reason to haul his ass
downtown. Keep it PG and bring him around so I can get to know him properly and
supervise and we won’t have a problem.’
‘Hang on.’ Stiles is now frowning and trying to catch up. ‘Did I just get
permission to date Derek Hale?’
‘No.’ Noah grins. ‘But you did get permission to continue seeing him. Dating
sounds far too official for two people who’ve just met. Like I said, I’m
reserving judgement until I get to know him a little better.’ He gets up. ‘Now
I’m going to the store and you need to get your kit in order for tonight.’
‘Okay.’ Stiles doesn’t really know what to say so he says nothing else. He
carries on cleaning up and waves goodbye when Noah leaves to go shopping. When
he’s done he heads back upstairs and buries himself face down in his bed,
breathing in the smell of Derek and himself in the sheets and sighing happily.
It’s a good smell, a smell that makes him happy and horny and a little bit love
drunk.
His dad is right. He’d date Derek in a second.
***********
Derek gets to the loft and sits in the car, hands clenched around the steering
wheel as he tries to make sense of what he’s done.
He’s never meant to let things get that far, or to let himself get close to
anyone like that again. He hasn’t shared a bed with anyone since his family
died, neither has he allowed himself to feel anything like what he suddenly
finds himself feeling.
He likes this boy, far too much if he’s being honest. Stiles could have freaked
out with what happened to him the night before, but he’d just rolled with it.
And then he’d invited Derek into his bed, like it was nothing. He’d smelled of
trust and comfort when they’d been together, his warm skin heating Derek
through. He’s missed that so much, the warmth of another wolf next to him.
Laura had withdrawn after the fire, her and Derek sleeping in separate rooms
and it had broken him in more ways than one. He didn’t blame her, knowing that
she was struggling with so much more than he could ever understand, but he’s
wanted it so badly.
Now it is being given freely to him and Derek knows if he lets himself fall
into what Stiles is offering, he’ll never come back up from it. He inhales at
the sleeve of the borrowed shirt, the scent of Stiles clinging to it, and feels
the wolf inside him curl up and whine. It wants Stiles, wants to be close to
him.
His phone buzzes and Derek heaves a sigh and takes it from his pocket.
Looks like we dodged a bullet :)
He shakes his head, smiling in spite of himself.
Your dad needs to know.
DUDE. He’d kill me and then he’d kill you. No way.
Derek huffs and gets out the Camaro and goes inside. He finds the loft as he
left it, completely empty and filled with light. He stops and breathes in,
finding the remnants of Stiles scent, the iron tang of his blood that is still
staining the couch and the floorboards in places. It makes his fangs descend,
and he breathes in through his mouth to take more in as he ignores the tug in
his chest, the need to go back and pin Stiles up against something sturdy and
put in a claim that would make them a pair in more than just what they are.
He goes to shower, the hot water clearing his head even as he feels
disappointment at washing the smells away. He’s just started a pot of coffee
when the buzzer sounds and he knows it’s Deaton with what they need for the
evening. He’d texted on his way that he’d been diverted and the emissary had
agreed to come and meet him instead.
The emissary comes in, carrying a duffle bag and giving Derek a look.
‘Stiles.’ It’s not a question.
‘He changed last night.’ Derek says. ‘There were hunters.’
‘I know.’ Deaton puts the bga down. ‘Chris came to see me this morning.’
‘What?’ Derek as to bite back his anger. ‘Why?’
‘He wanted to know if I knew anything.’ Deaton replied. ‘How he knows about me,
I’m not sure. I didn’t give anything away if you’re wondering. Just played my
role as I always have.’ He raises an eyebrow. ‘I think we’re going to have our
hands full.’
‘They shot Stiles.’ Derek replies, watching as Deaton picks the bag up again
and sets it on the table. ‘But I don’t think they recognised him.’ He keeps the
news about Scott’s association with Argent’s daughter to himself for now.
‘Is he all right?’ Deaton has unzipped the bag and is now taking things out.
Derek winces as the heavy chain he’s got clanks on the table top.
‘He’s fine.’ He looks on, trying to hide his curiosity. He’d never ever gotten
to know what kind of things an emissary did. Talia had kept all her betas out
the loop, and he wonders just what Laura and Deaton might have talked about.
As if reading his mind, Deaton stops and holds his gaze.
‘He knows how important it is that he’s here tonight?’
Derek sighs.
‘He fucking better.’ he mutters.
***********
Scott arrived exactly half an hour after Derek had left and Stiles hustles him
up to his bedroom, making the sure the door is securely closed before they
start talking.
‘Holy shit dude!’ Scott’s hiss is fraught. He scrabbles at Stiles’ t-shirt and
Stiles lifts it, unable to keep the smug smile off his face.
‘Not a mark.’ he hisses back. ‘How freaking cool is that?’
‘Damn.’ Scott looks envious. ‘I wish I could do that. No more asthma.’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles stops smiling. ‘Me too buddy.’ He puts a hand on Scott’s
shoulder. ‘It would be awesome, you and me both werewolves.’ He sighs. ‘I kind
of wish I didn’t have to turn back.’
‘I don’t blame you.’ Scott goes to sit down on the edge of the bed. Now he
looks downright morose. ‘So Allison’s not returning my calls or texts.’
‘Because of me?’ Stiles rubs a hand over his hair. ‘I’m sorry.’
‘It’s okay.’ Scott said. ‘Like, this is big. And it’s your secret, dude. I
won’t tell. I promised.’
‘Good.’ Stiles grins. ‘So, you want to hear on how I’m planning on kicking ass
tonight and how you’re going to help me?’
‘Yeah.’ Scott perks up. ‘I have to ask what’s going to happen after the game
though. Derek told me I have to get you to his place.’
‘Full moon, dude.’ Stiles replies. ‘I think the same thing as last night is
going down.’
‘Shit, yeah.’ Scott frowns. ‘That was intense.’ He grimaced. ‘I bet Lydia is
pissed.’
‘Fuck.’ Stiles winces. ‘I know.’
‘I can’t believe it.’ Scott said. ‘That Derek actually broke down the door to
get to you. He was like, mildly unhinged.’
That makes Stiles look up, and he ducks his head just as quickly because he can
feel the heat in his cheeks.
‘He was?’ He tries not to sound pleased. ‘Damn.’ He glances up but it’s too
late and now he has to watch Scott’s face as something dawns. It’s like
watching ice melt, but Scott gets there in the end.
‘Oh my God.’ he yelps. ‘Allison was right. You’re totally gay for Derek Hale.’
He looks confused. ‘I didn’t know that.’
‘Okay firstly, bisexuality is totally a thing dude. Secondly, until I took my
little walk in the woods, it was just kind of an abstract concept but I pretty
much figured it out, so yeah if you’re going to label me that’s probably the
one that fits. Besides, have you seen him? Derek’s sex on legs with the walking
and the brooding and the ass. And do not get me started on the eyebrows. Or the
fact that right now, I kind of want to lick him all over. Even though he’s a
huge dick. Fuck, I wonder how big his dick is. I bet it’s like…’ Stiles makes
measuring gesture with his hands and Scott gags.
‘Okay enough. That’s just...gross.’ he cuts in. ‘Although I suppose he’s kind
of objectively hot in a weird creepy older guy way.’ He admits this even though
his face is all scrunched up in that bemused way he gets when he doesn’t quite
compute something. ‘Which seems to be your type, I guess?’
‘I think he is.’ Stiles huffs and shakes his head at himself. ‘What even the
hell is this?’
‘Okay, so we take things one step at a time.’ Scott reasons. ‘We get through
the lacrosse game, get you to Derek’s and you can have your full moon wolfing
out thing. Then we work on getting you laid.’
Stiles thinks his brain must have short circuited and he gives Scott an amazed
look, but Scott is wearing his earnest face.
‘Are you serious?’ he asks and Scott grins.
‘Why not?’ he replies. ‘You’re always bitching about being a virgin and now
I’ve got Allison so you should have someone too.’
‘Well, so are you.’ Stiles knows he sounds defensive, but fuck it. ‘And it’s
not like I want to jump him or anything.’ Then he grins and even Scott is
giving him a look that says he doesn’t believe a word he’s saying. ‘Okay, I
totally would but he’s made it very clear that he’s not going there.’ He uses
his fingers to make the air quotes. ‘I’m “jailbait” apparently.’
‘You’re sixteen, Stiles.’ Scott points out. ‘He’s right.’
‘Fuck off.’ Stiles grins. ‘You just said you were going to help me get laid.’
‘I am.’ Scott replies and now his dark eyes are twinkling. ‘We just got to be
sneaky about it.’
‘Who are you and what have you done with Scott?’ Stiles asks but he’s
completely touched.
‘You’re kidding, right?’ Scott smiles. ‘This is the craziest thing that’s ever
happened to us. I’m your best friend. Who else is going to have your back?’
‘Thank you.’ Stiles goes and sits down next to him, holding out a fist. ‘You’re
the best friend a guy could have.’
Scott accepts the fist bump and nods.
‘Damn straight I am.’ he says with a perfectly neutral face and Stiles laughs
and shoves him off the bed.
*********
Derek spends the rest of the afternoon setting up the room downstairs in the
basement where they are going to hold Stiles. He’s drilled holes in the walls
and is busy setting the chains that they’ll use to restrain him, having already
laid down a mattress and gotten supplies set up. It’s not that far from what
he’d gone through when he hit puberty and his parents had had to keep him
locked up that first full moon and the few following that until he could
control himself. It had helped to have his anchor there, but he doesn’t know
what Stiles feels connected to that might ground him. He had been out of
control the previous night and Derek knows that they’ll need to get that under
control quickly.
He thinks about the Sheriff and that makes a lot of sense to him to suggest to
Stiles that he uses his father as his anchor. They are close, bonded in a way
that could work for Stiles just like Talia had been his.
He has to stop right hen, his chest tightening as he thinks about his family.
It hurts, far more than he’s allowed it to for a long time but that breakfast
at the Stilinskis has knocked something loose inside him and Derek desperately
wants to lock it away again. The sound of the door opening behind him jolts him
out of his thoughts and he turns to see Deaton watching him. As usual, his face
is inscrutable.
‘I will be back tonight.’ he says. ‘You may need my help. Especially if the
alpha tries to call Stiles out again.’
Derek just nods and Deatons leaves him alone with his thoughts. He finally gets
the chains all done, stepping back to test them. They hold and he’s satisfied
and then goes back upstairs. He showers and gets dressed, telling himself it’s
because he’s sweaty and gross from doing manual labour and not because he’s
going to watch an idiot newbie wolf try not to fuck things up on a lacrosse
field or make sure he gets to where he needs to be afterwards.
He knows the drive to school like he knows everything else about Beacon Hills.
He finds an empty spot in the lot and parks the Camaro well away from everyone
else, and takes the pathway that leads around the back of the school towards
the lockers rooms and the fields. He remembers playing there himself, lacrosse
matches and basketball games in the gym. Those had ended when they’d left, and
home-schooling hadn’t come with a whole lot of extracurriculars.
The smells are what hit him hard. The school still smells the same, the riot of
scents that kids carry - perfume and deodorant and the hormone ridden stink of
hundreds of teenagers. Derek shakes his head as he gets to the stands, walking
underneath and running a hand of the metal tubing. He and Paige had come here a
couple of times, making out and giggling before it had all gone to shit. It had
also been the place Kate had first approached him, strolling out of the woods
to sweet talk him and get him to cut through the trees with her to get into her
car.
He only realises his claws are out when he feels them sink into the wooden seat
in front of him and he quickly pulls them back in again. He focuses, now
hearing the sound of a couple of kids coming down the pathway from the school.
They’re carrying kit bags and laughing but it’s not who he wants to see and he
leaves the bleachers and sticks to the side of the buildings as he makes his
way to the side door that will get him to the locker rooms.
There’s kids all over the place, laughing and he can hear the sound of a pep
rally in the gym. There are boys trickling in and out the locker room and it
doesn’t take long for Stiles and Scott to appear down the corridor, backpacks
on their shoulders and Derek feels a funny little surge in his chest when
Stiles’ head comes up immediately, nostrils flaring as he scents Derek and sees
him, face breaking out in a wide smile.
They come over and Stiles looks and smells completely enthused about the fact
that Derek came to watch him and Derek has to school his own face into a
neutral expression because inside his wolf is dancing around in little circles,
tail wagging. It’s stupid and also very distracting.
‘You came.’ Stiles can’t keep the pleasure out of his voice. ‘I didn’t think
you would to be honest.’ The steady beat of his heart shows he’s being honest
and Derek feels bad for a second.
‘Just trying to see if I can talk you out of it.’ he growls and then Stiles’
brown eyes widen and he starts laughing.
‘You’re a lying liar who lies, Derek Hale.’ he accuses and Derek’s now on the
back foot.
‘Shut up Stiles.’ The words don’t have their normal bite and it’s really
starting to piss him off that he likes this boy. To counteract whatever the
hell is going on, he grabs him by the arm and tows him down the corridor to
where he remembers there being a storage closet, yanks the door open and all
but hurls Stiles inside. Instead of protesting though, Stiles just smirks at
him and leans back against the wall.
‘The janitor’s closet, Derek?’ He grins. ‘So, are you going to kill me or make
out with me.’
‘Neither.’ Derek snaps. ‘I need to talk to you.’
‘Yeah, well there’s this device known as a smart phone Sourwolf.’ Stiles
replies, but he’s staring at Derek’s mouth. ‘I know you know how to use one.’
‘This is important.’ Derek takes a step back. ‘Look, you need to be careful
tonight. Out on the field. You can’t give anything away so I’m telling you you
need to have something to focus on.’
‘Like the game?’ Stiles is frowning.
‘No.’ Derek huffs and rubs a hand over his face. ‘Look, all wolves have an
anchor. It’s something you can hold onto to keep yourself balanced, stop the
wolf from taking over. You need one for the game.’
‘Oh you’re telling me this now?’ Stiles all but squeaks. ‘What the fuck, dude?
I could have used this yesterday.’
‘Well, if you’re not going to listen to me then we need to start making sure
you’re not going to hurt anyone.’ Derek snaps back. ‘So shut the hell up and do
what I tell you.’
‘Fine.’ Stiles folds his arms. ‘So exactly where the hell am I going to find an
anchor at this time of night, O Keeper of All Wolfy Knowledge?’ Derek can
practically hear the capital letters under the ten feet of sarcasm and he
growls threateningly and flashes his eyes as he gets up in Stiles’ space,
completely unimpressed when Stiles just growls back at him, eyes flaring an
answering gold in the dim light of the cupboard. It doesn’t have the desired
effect and now Derek isn’t just annoyed, he’s also feeling something else
entirely.
He calms himself down enough to step back and huffs again.
‘Your dad.’ he mutters. ‘Use him. Tonight when you’re playing, just focus on
his heartbeat, on him being there. That can be your anchor.’
Stiles has also retreated to his side of the closet, and is now looking like he
gets it.
‘My dad.’ He nods. ‘Got it.’ Now his face is quizzical. ‘What’s yours?’
Fuck.
‘Anger.’ Derek says, even as he says it realising that it’s no longer true. He
has to make himself believe it so that Stiles doesn’t notice his heart
skipping. Thankfully he doesn’t seem to pick up on what Derek’s just said and
he shrugs.
‘That’s so broody emo, I can’t even.’ he laughs. ‘You use anger to centre
yourself?
‘It works.’ Derek snarls and Stiles holds up both hands.
‘Whatever dude.’ He nods. ‘You got it. I will do my best to make sure I don’t
wolf out and eat anyone.’
‘Stiles…’ Derek starts the admonishment but doesn’t get to finish it because
the door flies open and now Scott’s in there with them.
‘What the hell?’ he hisses. ‘You do realise that Danny saw you drag him in here
and he now thinks you two are making out before the game.’ He looks Derek up
and down. ‘He thinks you’re Stiles’ boyfriend.’
‘No.’ Derek nearly falls over moving away. ‘That is so not what is happening
here.’ He glares at Stiles. ‘Look, don’t forget what I told you.’ Now he
addresses Scott. ‘You get everything sorted out?’
‘Yeah.’ Scott nods. ‘We told our folks that we’re staying at Stiles’ house
tonight so I can totally be there if he needs me.’ He grins and Stiles returns
it and Derek wants to bang their heads together before they fist bump or do
something else equally boneheaded.
‘Good.’ He narrows his eyes at them. ‘Straight after the game. Do not make me
come find you, or I will bite both your faces off.’
‘Jesus fuck, yes Dad.’ Stiles mutters and Derek yanks the closet door open and
steps out only to see both Danny and the good looking boy that Stiles had
pointed out was Lydia’ boyfriend standing there staring at him, although Danny
look considerably more amused than Jackson did.
Derek glares at them too for good measure and stomps down the hall, his
internal monologue swearing profusely.
***********
Inside the closet, Stiles and Scott celebrate with a high five and a chest bump
which results in Scott flying back into the wall a little too hard.
‘Shit.’ He rubs a hand over himself, grimacing. ‘Dude, you have to learn to
check that.’
‘Sorry.’ Stiles is flying high. ‘Did you see his face though? And his heart did
this weird bunny hop thing when he denied it.’ He is starting to feel really
good.
‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ Scott is smiling. ‘But I can see
that your crush is well on the way to being a full obsession. You weren’t like
this last night so I’m guessing something must have changed.’
Stiles stands and thinks about how Derek’s heart hadn’t just skipped on the
last sentiment but also the way he’d said that anger was his anchor and the
shifty way he’d looked at Stiles when he’d said it.
‘I think it has.’ He throws an arm around Scott’s shoulders. ‘Now for part two
of make Derek Hale fall in love with me.’
‘Dude?’ Scott looks at him. ‘What happened to just getting off with him?’
‘Fuck that.’ Stiles is smiling madly. ‘I’ve just upped the stakes.’ He grabs
Scott’s arm and hauls him out the closet only to see Danny and Jackson watching
them, looking weirdly amused and disgusted respectively.
‘I didn’t know you were into threesomes, Stiles.’ Danny’s dark eyes are wicked.
‘Next time can I join you and your crazy hot boyfriend?’
‘See.’ Stiles turns around and pulls his smug face. ‘Danny already thinks we’re
dating.’ He does a fist pump and skids down the hall, Scott running to keep up
with him.
************
Noah arrives and parks the cruiser right outside the school entrance. He is
just getting out when he sees Melissa coming from her own car, a jacket thrown
over her maroon scrubs.
‘I managed to get away between shifts.’ she said by way of greeting. ‘Are we
too early?’
‘How else are we going to get the best seats?’ Noah grins and offers her his
arm. ‘It’s not everyday our sons are playing first line.’
God, I know.’ Melissa can’t seem to stop smiling. ‘I nearly burst a blood
vessel when Scott told me.’ They stop and have a shared moment of parental
pride before they go up the stairs and start their walk around to the
bleachers.
‘So the boys are staying over at your place tonight?’ Melissa asks and Noah
nods.
‘I’ll only be back in then morning.’ he says and she nods.
‘The joy of working night shift.’ She sighs a little. ‘I wish I could be around
more but you know how it goes.’
‘I do.’ Noah replies. ‘At least they’re good kids, Mel. It’s not like they’re
doing drugs or having orgies.’ He laughs and then stops and looks at her. ‘God,
you don’t think they are, do you?’
‘Of course not.’ Melissa laughs. ‘I do get the feeling that Scott’s little
romance has hit its first bump in the road though, judging from the way he was
moping when I went to work this morning.’
‘Yeah, well I’m about to be right there with you.’ Noah confesses. ‘Except I
think mine is a little more worrying.’ He grins. ‘I think Stiles is angling to
get himself an older boyfriend.’
‘Oh?’ Melissa stops and then keeps walking. ‘Boyfriend?’
‘It’s not completely unexpected.’ Noah says. ‘Stiles thinks I don’t know about
the stash of magazines under his mattress. Not all of them are of women.’
‘That’s okay though, right?’ Melissa asks and Noah nods.
‘It’s not the boy part that’s the problem.’ he says. ‘It’s the twenty-two year
old that’s the problem.’
‘Oh, I see.’ Melissa is grinning. ‘Kind of like your past coming back to haunt
you, isn’t it?’ She laughs at the look on Noah’s face. ‘Come on, now you get to
experience what your father-in-law went through.’
‘It’s the only reason I’m not forbidding Stiles from seeing him.’ he explains.
‘God knows, Claud and I used to sneak around all the time and I don’t want that
for him. I want Stiles to trust me and tell me things. And honestly, I was
starting to worry about his little obsession with Lydia Martin. At least now
he’s talking about something besides the fact that she’s got strawberry blonde
hair and won’t give him the time of day.’
‘So what are you going to do?’ Melissa asks as they come round the back of the
school to the fields. The bleachers are starting to fill up already, parents
and students crowding to find a place to sit.
‘I’m keeping an eye on them.’ Noah says and then stops and surveys the crowd.
‘There.’
They make their way to an empty spot and Noah keeps looking around until he
spots a familiar shock of black hair and lifts a hand as they sit down. Derek
spots him and then ducks his head. Noah’s not going to be put off that easily
so he puts his fingers to his lips and whistles and when Derek lifts his head,
points very deliberately at the empty space next to him. Derek’s mouth twists
but he starts coming towards them, climbing up the side of the bleachers with a
martyred expression like he’s Joan of Arc going to the stake.
‘Is that him?’ Melissa asks and then grins. ‘Well, I have to say that I’m
impressed. Your son has excellent taste.’
‘Oh hush.’ Noah nudges her with his elbow. ‘He looks like a Marlon Brando
wannabe but this kid is not bad. He just needs a little direction. I think he’s
kind of lost.’
‘Oh no.’ Melissa’s dark eyes are sparkling with good humour. ‘You want to adopt
him.’
‘What, no.’ Noah brushes her off. ‘He’s not a kid.’
‘You do.’ Melissa laughs. ‘You’ve got your face on, the one where you want to
take home every sad sack story or lost kid and feed them cookies and keep them
forever.’ Her smiles is brilliant. ‘I know you, Noah Stilinski.’
‘He’s had a tough life.’ Noah watches as Derek stops and then seems to be at a
loss as how to get to them, moving awkwardly between people. ‘And I was there
when he lost his family, Mel. I know what’ he’s been through and I wouldn’t
wish that on my worst enemy, let alone a sixteen year old kid.’ He looks up as
Derek finally gets to them. ‘Hey, Derek.’
‘Sheriff.’ Derek’s got both hands jammed in his pockets.
‘Derek, this is Melissa McCall.’ Noah watches as Derek liberates one hand long
enough to shake hers.
‘You’re Scott’s mom.’ he says and Melissa looks at Derek’s sad green eyes and
gives Noah a look that tells him that she wants to adopt him too. They can both
recognise someone that needs looking after and Derek, for all that he’s
technically an adult, definitely needs it.
I am.’ she replies and Derek just stands there, shitinf on his feet until Noah
takes pity on him.
‘For Pete’s sake kid, just sit the hell down.’ He indicates the seat next to
him.
Derek hesitates and then sits and Noah frowns because he’s like a furnace next
to him in the evening air.
‘I guess you don’t catch cold easily.’ he remarks and Derek looks like he’s
about to jump ten feet in the air. Even his tension has tension. ‘Relax, we’re
just watching the game.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Derek says and then proceeds to sit like he’s got a stick up his
ass.
‘So how do you know the boys?’ Melissa asks and Noah decides to field that one.
‘Derek’s been coaching Stiles while he’s in town.’ He knows they haven’t made
Laura’s death official yet, not while they are still investigating her murder
and he also doesn’t want Derek hightailing it if he brings up his sister.
‘Oh, that’s nice.’ Melissa offers a smile. ‘So I guess we have you to thank for
this.’ She nods at the field and Derek catches Noah’s eye. Noah just gives him
a look he hopes Derek can interpret and then it seems he gets with the program,
apparently trying to look slightly less like a serial killer when he answers.
‘He’s really improved. And he’s teaching what I tell him to Scott. Because
they’re friends. ’ It sounds strained and Noah wonders just how many people
Derek speaks to in a day beyond asking for his change or giving a coffee order.
Melissa seems to have picked up on his stilted tone and is looking at him
quizzically and Noah steps in.
‘So, are you joining the boys tonight?’ He gives derek a look, wondering if
he’s factored into Stiles and Scott’s after game plans.
‘No.’ Derek says and Noah breathes an inward sigh of relief. ‘I have other
plans.’
‘Good.’ he says, a little too quickly and then backpedals. ‘Because you know,
rules and not being there when there’s not adults around. Not that I don’t
trust you boys, but I know Stiles and he can be a handful when he goes after
something he wants and I don’t want you getting put in an awkward position.’
He’s a little surprised when Derek’s green eyes go like saucers and a look of
horror crosses his face, his ears going scarlet. It’s actually rather endearing
and Noah feels oddly reassured by this reaction.
‘Stiles and I are not dating.’ he protests and Noah laughs and puts a hand on
Derek’s arm, mildly alarmed at how it bears a distinct resemblance to an oak
banister.
‘I know. He told me.’ He grins at Melissa, who’s looking extremely amused by
the whole ordeal. ‘But I also know that you two have been spending time
together and maybe something might come of that so this is me just laying out
the ground rules. You’re welcome at the house anytime there’s someone to
supervise and I would not be averse to you maybe taking him to a movie so long
as he’s home by curfew. I also want you to know that you can come and talk to
me, man to man, about anything you may need or just want to ask.’ he waits for
a response, grinning at how he’s managed to put Derek on the spot with his
little speech that he may or may not have rehearsed severals times during the
day and in the cruiser on the way over.
‘Thank you, sir.’ It ends on something that sounds suspiciously like a squeak
and Derek is now completely red. Noah nods acknowledgment and looks back at the
field, pleased with himself and the mature cool dad way he’s just handled
things. He gives Melissa wink and settles in for the game because he just
handled the shit out of that.
*********
Stiles is bouncing off the walls. He feels so full of energy, so ready to just
go play, that it’s making everyone look at him like he’s a freak, more so than
usual.
‘Jesus, Stilinski.’ Jackson’s mouth is twisted in distaste. ‘What the fuck did
you take?’
‘Nothing.’ Stiles is grinning like a maniac. ‘Just high off life, Jackson. You
should try it sometime.’
Jackson glares at him and storms off muttering but Stiles is far too happy to
care. He grabs his helmet and crosse and follows Scott back out the locker
room, all of them now changed and ready to head down to the field.
His senses are going nuts, the pungent locker room smells, the noise of people
all around him and his own overexcitement making him feel like he’s being
bombarded with stimulation. Even on his most ADD days, he’s never been
subjected to something like this. At the same time though, it’s not the
horrible low key buzz in his brain that his ADD gives him, the feeling that
he’d like to just soak his brain in a bowl of ice water for a few hours.
Instead it’s like he’s feeding off of this and when Danny good naturedly bumps
him from the left, Stiles bumps back and grins.
‘So seriously?’ Danny says. ‘Does he have a brother? A cousin? Any kind of male
relative will do.’
‘He’s not my boyfriend.’ Stiles replies and then gives Scott an evil look.
‘Yet. I’m kind of hoping to seduce him with my awesome lacrosse playing
prowess.’
‘Really?’ Danny laughs. ‘Why don’t you just grab him by the dick and make your
interest known. It’s not like he’s going to put up a fight.’
‘He won’t?’ Stiles has to admit that he’s not really well versed in this
particular field. He’s quizzed Danny a few times on things, and also made an
ass out of himself asking him if he found Stiles attractive before falling off
a chair but now he realises that he’s got a golden opportunity here.
‘No.’ Danny scoffs. ‘He’s a guy. Trust me, just lay a couple of moves on him
and he’ll come running.’ He looks smug. ‘That’s how I do it.’
‘Yeah, but you’re…’ Stiles haves a vague hand at him. ‘You. You have dimples
and things.’
‘And you’re not exactly ugly, Stiles.’ Danny laughs. ‘Your dress sense
sometimes leaves a little to be desired but you do okay. Besides, I know what
it looks like when a guy’s into you and he looks at you like that, when he
thinks you’re not looking. He was doing it all night at the party before your
escape out the bathroom window.’ He now gives Stiles a questioning look. ‘What
happened last night anyway?’
‘Too many shots.’ Stiles laughed to cover up the lie. ‘Man, I was flying. Going
out the window seemed like a good idea.’
‘Uh huh.’ Danny shakes his head at him. ‘If you say so.’
He moves ahead to catch up with a glowering Jackson and Stiles looks at Scott,
who’s dark eyes are slightly panicked.
‘Dude.’ he hisses. ‘That was close.’
‘It’s cool Scott.’ Stiles took a deep breath. ‘Let’s get out there and go kick
some ass.’
Chapter End Notes
     Rating goes up in the next chapter to Explicit.
***** First Moon *****
Chapter Summary
     So that happened...
The whistles blows and Stiles feels like he’s never been so on point in his
life.
It is enough that he gets to trot onto the field with the rest of the first
line, that he gets to look up and see his dad beaming at him from the
bleachers, sitting next to Melissa and waving at him with pride etched into
every line of his face. That alone makes his life right there. But then Stiles
sees Derek sitting with them and he looks like he is actually sort of smiling,
a little less hunted and a little more human, and Stiles knows that this is
what is going to stay with him from this night. It makes him happy, feeling
that he could give Derek just a little bit of normalcy in what must be such a
fucked up situation that the only way he is coping, the only way to deal is to
cut himself off.
‘Bilinski!’ Finstock’s yell brings him up short. ‘Stop daydreaming and get your
head in the game!’
‘Shit.’ Stiles mutters and moves to his position, catching Scott’s eye and
getting a grin. He can tell why Stiles has been distracted and Stiles blows out
a deep breath and focuses. He tenses, waiting for the whistle and that’s when
he hears it.
‘Stiles, keep your head up.’ Derek’s voice is soft, barely audible and Stiles
knows he is just breathing the words. ‘Can you hear me?’
Stiles nods and looks across to his opposite number, seeing how he is already
targeting Jackson, who is taking the face-off. It sets off something inside
him, a strange urge to chase and bring the player down. He grins behind his
cage and shivers in anticipation.
‘Calm down.’ Derek’s voice is tense. ‘Your heartbeat is way up. You need to
control it. Remember what I said and focus.’
Stiles tries, he really does but then the whistle blows. Jackson fights off the
opposing player and takes the ball, running down the field with the rest of
them in pursuit. Stiles’ marked player turns and runs with the field and he
takes off after him, feeling the adrenaline course through his body as he picks
up a pace he’s never been capable of before. It feels insanely good, his body
damn near singing, and the player in front starts weaving in to tackle Jackson
and it is like a red rag to a bull. Every instinct, every fibre of his body
screams at Stiles to give chase and he does, charging in and getting the boy
with a shoulder tackle that knocks him flying.
The whistle blows but right then, Stiles gets why Derek had been so dead
against him playing. He wants to throw himself at the other boy, maybe get his
teeth in his throat, growling as he takes his prey apart. The sound of people
shouting and cheering in the bleachers is lost to him, the only thing he is
aware of being the boy’s pounding heart as he looks up at him, throat bared.
‘Stiles!’ The sound of Scott’s voice seems very far away but he manages to look
up and sees his best friend’s dark eyes were wide with something that is close
to fear. He grabs Stiles by the arm and hauls him out of the fray as the boy
picks himself up and everyone moves back for play. He doesn’t want to go
though, not until he hears the growl which is so low it is almost subsonic.
‘Goddammit Stiles!.’ Derek sounds furious. ‘Calm the fuck down!’
‘Dude.’ Scott is still hanging onto him, his voice a low hiss. ‘Your eyes are
glowing.’
Stiles shakes his head, trying to get rid of the urges that are making him
crazy and squeezing his eyes shut.
‘Stiles!’ Derek is now growling through clearly gritted teeth. ‘Remember to use
your anchor.’
Stiles starts to slow his breathing down, using the techniques he learned for
his panic attacks to try and counteract the overwhelming feelings that are
overflowing from his every pore. He lets himself zone in on Scott’s hand on him
and reaches out, listening for what Derek has told him. He has to sort through
a rush of noise and thinks about his dad, trying to picture his face at that
moment, the pride he’ll seen on it.
He finds it after a few seconds, beating strongly enough in a steady,
comforting rhythm. It is soothing, the turmoil inside him quieting enough that
Scott eases off and lets him go, and Stiles knows that he is no longer in
danger of giving himself away. He tries to latch onto it with a tighter grip
but there is something else at the edge of his hearing and it draws him away
from the sound of his father’s heart and in towards it like he is powerless to
resist it.
This heartbeat is stronger, deeper. It sounds like thunder in his ears the more
he zones in, hypnotising him until it is the only thing he can hear and he
turns to look towards its source, knowing even before he does what he will
find.
**********
Derek sits in the bleachers, his entire body frozen.
He can feel it, the tentative connection brushing just at the edge of his
consciousness, and his first instinct is to shy away from it. He knows what it
was, but this is not the time and it most certainly is not the person he should
be feeling this with. It isn’t right, just a reflex that is probably happening
because it has been so long since he’s even thought about getting close to
another person, and Stiles has a way of getting under his skin that is beyond
inappropriate.
God, he wants it though.
It is so tempting, pulling at him so strongly he can feel the wolf inside him
howling to be set free so it can chase Stiles down and get its teeth in the
back of his neck. It wants to take him down, wrestle him into the dirt and play
fight, get dirty and loud and just take and take and take.
‘Derek.’ Stiles’ whisper is enough to set his own heart pounding. He can’t help
but look, Stiles’ dark eyes fixing onto him, the glint in them apparent even
behind his face cage.
‘Get your head in the game.’ Derek breathes, heart starting to pick up pace
even as he tries to fight it. ‘Stop looking at me.’
‘I…’ Stiles trails off and Derek realises he is waiting for a reply. Even from
here, Derek can see the hesitation in him, the hope for something he knows he
shouldn’t give.
Fuck it.
He reaches out and listens to the way Stiles’ heart is beating, catches hold of
the tenuous silvery thread between them that is the start of something and
holds fast.
‘I’m here.’ he whispers. ‘Just hold on to me.’
***********
Stiles feels it go through him like a lightning bolt, shooting up his spine and
into his brain, like two live wires being touched together.
Just like that, Derek’s voice, his heartbeat, everything crystalises into such
perfect clarity that it nearly knocks the air out of him. He feels the tug
strengthen but at the same time it is being fed into him as well, a loop of
feeling being shared and returned. He feels a deep seated calm come over him, a
purpose of thought he’s never experienced before taking over and he smiles and
turns back to the game.
This time he’s quick, graceful and aggressive, running fast and hitting the
opposing player in front of him hard enough to knock the boy on his ass,
scooping up the ball and taking off. In his head he feels the other inside him,
the wolf that he now is, running with him and it’s joyous and perfect and
Stiles wants it to never end as he hurdles a downed player and takes the shot
with perfect accuracy, the ball smacking into the net with a satisfying thwack
that thunders in his ears.
There’s yelling as Scott gets to him, bouncing him around, but Stiles only has
eyes for one person and when he looks at the stands, it’s not his ecstatic
father that he’s locking eyes with.
The corner of Derek’s mouth curves up and Stiles feels approval thrumming
through the link between them.
‘Good work, Stilinski.’ It’s coloured with something warm that makes Stiles’
pulse race even faster. ‘Now do it again.’
***********
Derek watches.
Next to him, Noah isa yelling his head off with Melissa, the shouts of a father
so enraptured by how his son is excelling. It makes him a little sick to think
about it, remembering his own father doing the same thing when he used to play,
but at the same time it makes everything feel a little bit like it’s going to
be okay.
On the field, Stiles is slaughtering the opposition. That first goal seems to
have given him the confidence to really let himself go and Derek can only watch
in admiration as he plays, those long limbs of his that seem so clumsy at times
now affording him speed and reach. He’s almost poetic in the way he moves. The
rest of the team are now in on the whole idea and Derek feels an odd sort of
pride at how Stiles is not a selfish player, passing and receiving in turn. The
next goal goes to another boy, and then the one after to Scott.
Stiles plays as part of a team.
Part of a pack.
Derek feels something light up inside him, something he hasn’t felt for so
long. He wants to believe that he could have this again.
Maybe he can.
*********
Noah is so happy that he feels like he might actually have an emotion induced
heart attack if he’s not careful.
He’s so proud, so ridiculously proud. Stiles has never been the kind of kid
that’s been a real athlete, too clumsy and uncoordinated to get his arms and
legs to move in unison a lot of the time. Christ, Noah’s seen his kid trip over
literally nothing.
But there’s another goal and then another and Noah’s on his feet, yelling like
he’s lost his mind and Melissa’s yelling beside him just as loudly because her
boy’s out there too, also scoring goals and playing like there’s nothing wrong
with him.
Stiles jogs back from the goal where he’s just hammered the ball in again and
he looks up and Noah smiles like his face is going to split and waves both
hands at him in delight. Stiles smiles behind his cage and gives him a thumbs
up, but then his eyes flick to Noah’s left and that’s when Noah knows for sure.
He teased Stiles about it earlier but now he’s sure as hell that his son is
goofily, head over heels for the young man next to him.
He turns to look at Derek and finds him also on his feet, not cheering and with
his hands shoved in his pockets, but smiling. It’s small and still blurry with
sadness that’s not going to go away for a long time, but it’s there and for
some reason Noah is sideswiped by a memory of a six-year old Stiles watching
Lilo and Stitch with them at the cinema and whispering in their ears that he
was going to wish for a very special angel to be his friend like Lilo did. That
year he’d met Scott at elementary school, and for a long time Noah had thought
that maybe Stiles had got his wish.
Now of course, it’s so clear that Scott wasn’t it.
The boy next to him is no doubt damaged. He hides away under a layer of black
leather and disdain but Noah is willing to bet every dollar he has that Derek
is looking for someone who’ll understand him. He’s experienced far too much
loss in his short life, but then so has Stiles. Yes, there’s the age difference
to think about, but Stiles is not like other kids. He’s hard in ways that Scott
doesn’t get, using sarcasm and self-deprecation as his armour.
He and Derek have more in common than Noah thinks they realise. He turns and
Grins at Derek, slaps him on the shoulder in an unmistakably fatherly gesture.
‘What the hell have you been teaching him?’ He yells to be heard above the
cheers. Derek jumps as though startled and then looks down, abashed.
‘He’s a quick learner.’ he replies and Noah laughs and goes back to cheering
for his on.
*********
It’s half time and Stiles is walking on air. He’s barely panting, wiping the
sweat from his forehead as he takes his helmet off. Next to him Scott’s thick
hair is all over the place, his face wreathed in smiles as he waves up at
Alison and Stiles notices for the first time that she’s there. Not only that,
but she’s sitting with Lydia and he’s more than a little surprised to see her
grace him with an arched eyebrow and a knowing nod.
A month ago and that would have sent Stiles into a frenzy of hormones, but now
he sees it for the friendly gesture it is and grin in reply. Alison and Scott,
however, are so busy making heart eyes at each other that Stiles laughs and
rolls his eyes at them and then Lydia does the same and it’s like they’re
suddenly on the same wavelength and when the hell did that happen?
‘Hey.’ He gets shoved none to gently and turns to see Jackson glaring at him.
‘Keep your goddamn eyes to yourself, Stilinski.’ His face is twisted in an
angry sneer and Stiles realises with a rather delicious sense of schadenfreuden
that Jackson reeks of jealousy.
‘Chill out, dude.’ He gives him his most infuriatingly cocky grin, the one that
gets him detention every time from Harris. ‘I’m not trying to steal your
girlfriend.’
‘Like you could.’ Jackson spits, bridling at him enough that Danny actually
comes over and drags him off.
‘What the hell is that about?’ Scott looks bemused. ‘It’s not like he didn’t
see you with Derek earlier.’
‘He’s just being an asshole.’ Stiles snorts, now looking up for where Derek is
watching him, green eyes intent. He can’t resist raising both eyebrows at him
in a how about that? gesture and smiling when Derek just rolls his own eyes at
him. That prompts a conversation conducted by eyebrow only for a few moments
until Finstock calls them into a huddle and Stiles has to go. He slaps Scott in
the chest with the back of his hand to get him to stop making googly eyes at
Allison and they jog over.
‘Right we’ve got them by the balls!’ Finstock is rubbing his hands together
with unconcealed glee. ‘Time for a change up.’ He looks at Stiles. ‘You.
Bilinski, right?’
‘Sure, Coach.’ Stiles doesn’t have the heart to correct him.
‘You’re facing off.’ Finstock holds up a hand as Jackson immediately starts
voicing his objections. ‘Shut up, Jackson. You’re moving like my ninety-year
old grandmother after she had her hip replaced out there.’
Scott gives Stiles a sidelong glance that says very clearly he’s in deep shit
and Stiles knows he might as well now have a target painted on his back. The
thing is, tonight he doesn’t give a fuck.
‘Sure thing, Coach.’ He smiles as he says it, looking at Jackson and daring him
to say something. Revenge is indeed a dish best served cold and Stiles is going
to shove it right down Jackson’s throat. This is for every time he’s been
shoved into a locker, every bruise from a sneakily lobbed ball, every cutting
remark.
‘Get this right, and you’re going to be drowning in pussy, kid.’ Finstock says
and Stiles winces a little.
‘Didn’t you know, Coach?’ Jackson really just can’t keep his mouth shut.
‘Stiles likes guys. His boyfriend’s watching in the stands.’ He clearly means
it to be disparaging but all it does is make Danny glare at him, obviously
furious at the jibe.
Finstock is completely unfazed.
‘Drowning in dick then.’ he says. ‘Whatever floats your boat, kid.’
‘Uh.’ Stiles doesn’t know whether to be horribly embarrassed or touched at the
sentiment. ‘Thanks?’
Finstock nods and then whacks Jackson around the back of the head.
‘That’s for being a homophobic asswipe.’ he says and Jackson is now looking
positively murderous.
The whistle blew for the second half and as Stiles put his helmet back on he
heard Derek speaking.
‘They play too defensively.’ It sounded like he was was speaking to Noah, but
Stiles knew the words were meant for him as well. ‘You’ve got to get around
them and you can do that by faking left on the attack.’
‘You think that will work?’ Noah asked and Stiles grinned at being able to hear
them both as clearly as if they were standing next to him.
‘Yeah, Derek.’ He kept his voice low. ‘Will that work?’ He knew he was being a
little shit, but it was fun and when he looked up at the stand, Derek was
giving him one of his more fearsome glares. ‘Hey now, don’t look at me like
that, you’ll give the game away.’
‘You are such a little asshole.’ Derek muttered and then had to clear his
throat and make it sound like he was coughing when Noah questioned what he’d
just said. It was enough to make Stiles cackle as he jogged back into the line.
He is excited. He faces off occasionally in practice, but this is an actual
game and he is in the spotlight for the first time in his life, and Stiles
finds he likes it. He glances over at Scott and gets an encouraging smile and
that is enough to settle his nerves.
‘Look sharp.’ Derek’s voice cuts through the crowd. ‘Focus. You got this.’
Stiles takes a deep breath in and reaches out, wrapping himself around Derek’s
heartbeat. He lets the sound of it fill him and then opens his eyes and throws
himself into the game. The whistle blows and he easily beats the opposing
player to the ball, getting it in his net before bolting down the field,
zigzagging to avoid tackles and then spotting an opening.
‘Left.’ Derek’s low growl makes him grin.
‘Already on it.’ he replies and side steps two players, charges down a third
and does a cool little jump thing as he slams the ball into the back of the
net. Even with all the cheers he can hear a snort from Derek and damn if it
doesn’t sound just the littlest bit amused.
‘You’re a such a fucking show off.’ Yeah he’s definitely amused. It makes
Stiles smile as he runs back to his overexcited teammates, pumping his fist and
bracing himself as Scott jumps all over him.
**********
The final whistles goes and Noah is hoarse. He has no idea how he’s going to
work the night shift and prays that it’s a quiet one and that he doesn’t have
to speak that much. Next to him, Melissa i suspiciously bright eyed as she
jiggles up and down, barely containing her excitement.
‘Our boys.’ She is close to squealing. ‘They were amazing.’
Noah looks at her and her dark eyes are shining. It makes him think of another
dark eyed woman who would probably be incoherent right around now and that
makes him a little sad. It’s nothing he hasn’t felt before, especially all
those milestones that Claudia missed out on. The last one had been Stiles
turning sixteen and getting his license, face lighting up when Noah presented
him with the keys to her old Jeep. It catches him in the chest, a tight feeling
that means his smile falters for just a second and that’s when he feels the
hand on his arm. It’s strong, he can feel that much, and it steadies him. He
looks up into those oddly hued green eyes that he remembers from James Hale,
Derek’s long dead father. Talia had dark brown eyes, but James had had the same
heterochromatic eyes as his son. Derek actually looks a great deal like him and
it gives Noah a shiver. Derek frowns and then briefly squeezes Noah’s arm and
lets him go before turning away and leaving his spot next to them, pushing his
way through the crowds of students and parents and going down to the field.
‘What it something we said?’ Melissa asks him, her face questioning.
‘No. I think it’s just ghosts.’ Noah watches him go, seeing how Derek
disappears around the bleachers before looking back at the field where Stiles
is generally being shoved from player to player in happy celebration. His
helmet is now off, his brown hair sweaty and sticking up everywhere and his
smile is so bright it could probably illuminate the whole field by itself. Noah
waves at him and Stiles waves back and breaks free from the knot of boys. Noah
looks to Melissa and she nods and now it’s their turn to go down to the field.
‘Dad!’ Stiles is now running across to them and Noah laughs and holds out his
arms, catching Stiles in a tight hug. He smells awful, sweaty and hormonal as
teenage boys tend to be, but underneath is that smell that Noah remembers from
the first time Stiles was placed in his arms in the hospital. He tightens his
arms around him and Stiles responds, his grip enough to make Noah’s ribs creak
and then the unthinkable happens and his sixteen year old son hauls him off his
feet.
It surprises the hell out of him.
Stiles sets him down a second later, but it’s done the trick and now Noah is
looking at him with appraisal. Stiles is tall and still growing, probably going
to top out at just shy of six feet. He’s probably not going to be as tall as
him, too much of his mother in him for that, but he suddenly notices that
Stiles is a lot broader in the shoulder than he remembers. Not only that but
he’s all lean muscle, deceptively gangly but strong nonetheless. Noah shakes
his head and reaches up, hand to Stiles face and Stiles beams at him.
‘Did you see me, Dad?’ He is jubilant. ‘I was freaking amazing out there.’ It’s
not arrogant, just enthusiastic and it makes Noah smile.
‘Yeah, I did.’ He gives Stiles a gentle tap. ‘You did good, kiddo.’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles turns as Scott comes up, his arm around his mother. ‘We won,
Scott.’
‘Dude.’ Scott’s shaking his head, his smile almost as bright as Stiles’. ‘We
kicked ass.’
‘I think this calls for a celebration.’ Noah says, then checks his watch.
‘Dammit, I have to go. Tomorrow night?’
‘Absolutely.’ Melissa agrees. ‘We can go for burgers, all four of us.’
Scott immediately gets the puppy eyes and Stiles grins.
‘I’m sure Allison will come if you ask her.’ he says and Scott smiles again.
‘Her and Lydia are waiting at the bleachers.’ he replies.
‘In that case, I’m going to go to work.’ Noah says. ‘Mel, I’ll walk you to your
car.’
‘Okay.’ Melissa gives Scott a quick kiss on the cheek. ‘Are you boys going
straight home?’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles says. ‘We’re just going to hang and maybe get some pizza, watch
a movie.’
‘Will Allison be there?’ Melissa asks and Scott blushes.
‘Just for a little while?’ He gives Stiles a pleading look. ‘If that’s okay.’
‘It’s fine.’ Noah knows that look all too well. ‘Just make sure she doesn’t
stay overnight.’ He offer Melissa his arm and she laughs and takes it.
‘He is completely gone on that girl.’ she says once they are out of earshot.
Noah chuckles.
‘Things are starting to get interesting around here.’ he replies, looking
briefly over his shoulder at where Stiles is not looking at the bleachers but
staring out into the forest that surrounds them and briefly wondering why.
**********
‘Dude, you coming?’ Scott asks and Stiles keeps looking into the trees. He
knows Derek is out there, can hear him breathing and make out the deep thud of
his heart.
He feels it pulling at him and he lifts his head and stares up into the sky,
now dark and clouded over. He can’t see the moon, but he can feel it in his
blood. The adrenaline from the game is now gone, but it is being replaced by
that same connection he felt earlier. It’s thrumming just underneath his skin
and Stiles lifts his head and scents the air, nostrils flaring. There’s the
briefest flash of blue from in the trees and he answers it, his own eyes
illuminating for a second.
‘Stiles.’ Scott puts his hand on his shoulder. ‘Hey, you okay?’
‘Go.’ Derek’s voice is soft but it carries well enough to Stiles’ ears. ‘We’ll
talk about this later. The moon is rising and you need to be safe.’
Stiles nods and lets Scott pull him away, even though his feet feel like they
only want to walk in one direction and that’s the one that leads to Derek. He
keeps looking over his shoulder, the pull getting stronger and more urgent the
further away he gets and Stiles wonders just what the hell he’s feeling.
Oh my God!’ Allison squeals and throws herself at Scott the second he gets to
them. ‘You were amazing.’
Scott is all smiles as he kisses her and Stiles suddenly wants that. He wants
to throw himself at someone, preferably someone tall and dark and grumpy,
kissing the frown off that gorgeous face.
Instead he meets Lydia’s eyes and gets an arched copper eyebrow.
‘Well, well Stiles.’ she smirks. ‘Haven’t you suddenly become very
interesting.’ Her green eyes, darker than Derek’s and nowhere near as beautiful
Stiles suddenly realises.
‘Sorry, Lydia.’ He can’t believe he’s going to say it. ‘But I’m kind of taken.’
‘Oh, I know that.’ Lydia’s smiling. ‘But it makes Jackson jealous when I talk
to you and a jealous Jackson is very generous.’ She comes over and stands on
tiptoe, kissing him on the cheek. ‘Congratulations on ascending to lacrosse god
status. I’m sure it will be very educational.’
Stiles just stares at her and then Lydia turns to Allison.
‘We have to go.’ she announces. ‘Allison is helping me pick out Spring formal
dresses and then we’re going to watch the Notebook and cry.’ She gives Scott a
bright smile as she literally steals his girlfriend from under his nose. ‘You
boys get home safely and don’t forget the curfew.’
‘I’ll call you later.’ Allison giggles as she lets Lydia tow her away and Scott
looks like he’s been told that someone ran over his puppy.
‘I was going to ask her to come with us.’ he grumbles.
‘And she’s blown you off for online shopping and chick flicks.’ Stiles laughs.
‘Besides, we’re supposed to be getting me through my first full moon,
remember.’
‘Yeah, about that.’ Scott looks at him quizzically. ‘Aren’t you supposed to be
sprouting hair and teeth and all that shit.’
‘Moon’s not at its fullest yet.’ Stiles says. ‘But we should probably get
changed and then get to Derek’s.’
‘You know where?’ Scott asks and they walk back across the field.
As if by magic, Stiles phone buzzes and he doesn’t have to look to know who the
message is from.
‘I do now.’ he says and looks back at the trees for one final glance. The flash
of blue is longer this time and then it’s gone and Stiles can hear Derek
walking away.
The locker room is a riot, boys laughing and yelling in the showers. The stink
of sweat and male bodies is strong, but it’s also good and Stiles inhales the
steamy air and then wheezes as he’s dealt a massive slap on the back by
Finstock.
‘Bilinski!’ he’s yelling right in Stiles’ face and he wants to whine because
it’s an actual assault on his newly sensitive ears. ‘What the hell was that
tonight? Why the hell haven’t you been playing like that all this time?’
‘Growth spurt, Coach.’ Stiles moves back a step and gives him a winning smile.
Finstock narrows his eyes at him and walks off, stopping once to yell at
Greenburg and flick him with the towel he was carrying, provoking a loud yelp.
Scott gives him a look and Stiles follows him to their lockers. It takes a
while to strip off his pads and uniform, grabbing his towel and heading for the
shower. They are in amongst the stragglers and by the time they are done, it is
just them.
They get dressed and Scott checks his watch.
‘It’s half past six.’ he says. ‘We can stop for food on the way, maybe?’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles slings his backpack over his shoulder and slams his locker door.
He is about to suggest they also pick up some for Derek when Jackson comes
around the corner looking murderous. He ignores Scott completely and walks
right up to Stiles, getting in his face.
‘What the fuck are you on?’ he hisses and Stiles steps back, getting distance
between them. Jackson smellsawful, anger and jealousy leaking out of him like
slime.
‘Nothing.’ He gets his hands up and shoved Jackson away, taking care not to be
too aggressive about it. He doesn’t want to lose it, but he feels the anger
building as his brain tells him he’s now in a position to actually do something
about it.
‘Bullshit.’ Jackson sneers. ‘I’m going to find out, Stilinski. And when I do,
you’re going to let him in on the action or I’m taking it to Finstock and he
can get your ass expelled.’
‘Jesus, Jackson.’ Scott looks appalled. ‘What the hell are you talking about?
Stiles isn’t on anything.’
‘Like hell, he’s not.’ Jackson is still eyeballing him. ‘Nobody gets that good
in a week. You two losers are up to something and I’m going to find out what it
is.’
‘Fuck off!’ Stiles is now on edge and he wants nothing more than to get right
back in Jackson’s face and bite him. His gums are itching like crazy and
there’s a sharp pain in his nail beds, hgis claws threatening to come through.
He clenches his fists to restrain himself and feels them pricking his palms.
‘Stiles.’ Scott is starting to sound panicky. ‘Dude, you need to calm down.’
He’s next to Stiles now, a hand on his arm.
‘Yeah, Stilinski.’ Jackson’s smile is as unpleasant as his voice. It’s the last
push Stiles needs and then he’s snarling, getting both hands on Jackson’s shirt
and literally throwing him up against the opposite bank of lockers. He is just
about to throw himself at Jackson, claws out and eyes flashing, Scott’s frantic
yelling reduced to nothing but an irritating buzz in the back of his head when
someone stepped in front of him. He snarls at the newcomer, feeling nothing but
animosity at being prevented from reaching Jackson, and that is when Derek
roars in his face.
It is commanding enough for Stiles to snap right out of what he’d been about to
do and he falls back, claws and fangs retracting immediately. Derek’s eyes are
electric blue, his fangs out but not completely transformed. He steps back, the
shift fading, and speaks directly to Scott.
‘Get that asshole out of here.’ He keeps his eyes fixed on Stiles, the green
almost luminous with anger. ‘I don’t need to tell you what will happen if you
say anything, right?’ Now he glances at the very obviously shaken Jackson. ‘No-
one will believe a word you say and I’ll make damn sure that very pretty car of
yours gets trashed. Do you understand me?’ He raises his eyebrows in question
and Jackson gets to his feet, shaking like a leaf and very pale. He doesn’t
reply, just nods and lets Scott drag him out of the locker room.
‘Fuck.’ Derek shakes his head and grabs Stiles by the collar, now taking his
turn to slam him into the lockers behind him. ‘What the fuck did I say?’
‘He was being an asshole!’ Stiles tries to shove him off, but Derek has more
strength than he does and holds him still. ‘You can’t seriously be taking his
side?’
‘This is meant to be a fucking secret.’ Derek hisses. ‘Now I have to deal with
another fucking teenager knowing what the hell you are, and me now too.’
‘Don’t worry about Jackson.’ Stiles mutters, finally managing to get Derek’s
hands off of him. ‘He won’t do a thing to jeopardise his stupid car. I think he
loves it more than Lydia.’ As much as he hates to admit it, Derek is right. It
also didn’t escape his notice how Derek’s proximity is calming him.
‘You better hope not.’ Derek growls and then lets him go. ‘Now get your ass out
to the car. You can’t be trusted out tonight.’ He turns on his heel and storms
out the locker room, leaving Stiles jogging to catch up with him.
They find Scott in the parking lot, chewing on a nail.
‘He was shitting himself.’ he reports, giving Derek a very nervous look. ‘I
can’t say I blame him. You sure he can be trusted?’ This is to Stiles and he is
impressed that Scott has the balls to ask in front of Derek.
‘It’s fine, Scott.’ Derek has the passenger door of the Camaro open. ‘Stiles,
get in. You take the Jeep and follow us.’ He stands and glares at them until
Stiles huffs and digs his keys out of his pocket and chucks them at Scott.
Scott catches them but still looks dubious until Derek heaves a sigh and backs
down a little. ‘Look, the moon is getting higher and Stiles needs to be
somewhere he’ll be safe and where everyone else will be safe from him. Now
please drive the damn car.’
Stiles looks at Scott and nods and Scott finally gets into the Jeep, prompting
Stiles to get into the Camaro. Derek shuts the door on him and all but storms
around to the other side, getting in and giving Stiles a glare that would have
completely intimidated him a week ago. Now, he can smell the concern that is
motivating it and sighs.
‘I’m okay.’ He shrugs. ‘He pushed my buttons.’
‘You almost lost it out on the field too.’ Derek’s got both hands on the
steering wheel. He looks over and now there’s something in his eyes that makes
Stiles’ heart stutter. ‘I told you to find an anchor.’
‘I did.’ The words make him shiver, watching the response on Derek’s normally
emotionless face.
‘You can’t.’ Derek sounds like he wants to believe it more than Stiles should.
‘This is a terrible idea.’
‘It just happened.’ Stiles wants to reach out and touch him so badly he can
almost taste it. ‘You were just there and then I couldn’t hear anything but
you.’ He takes a deep breath, steels himself. ‘And it worked. Didn’t you see
how great I was out there?’
‘Yeah, I did.’ Now there’s the smallest smile playing around Derek’s mouth and
Stiles wants to fist pump but he knows he’ll probably get growled at. He
settles for beaming at Derek instead.
‘So?’ He’s nervous, desperately wanting an answer to the unspoken question
that’s hovering between them.
‘Fuck.’ Derek shakes his head and starts the car. ‘You’re the most aggravating
little shit I have ever met.’
‘But that works for you, right?’ Stiles is on the edge of his seat.
‘Seems it does.’ Derek mutters and the steady beat of his heart is music to
Stiles’ ears.
They don’t speak on the drive, simply sitting there as Derek throws the Camaro
around corners like he has a death wish. All the time, Stiles inhales the heady
foresty smell of him and tries not to feel like he’s about to explode from a
combination of teenage hormones and a wave of anticipation that has actually
taken him by surprise with how focused it is.
Eventually Derek pulls into the lot of his building and Stiles sees the jeep
follow suit a moment later. Scott gets out follows them into the building.
‘Kind of different to the last time we were here, huh?’ he says and elbows
Stiles. Derek gives them both a look and leads them to a door just past the
elevator and Stiles frowns.
‘Where are we going?’ he asks and Derek huffs.
‘I’m not letting you loose in my loft.’ he replies. ‘I have something set up
downstairs for tonight?’
‘What like some sort of bondage dungeon?’ Stiles is joking but the smirk on
Derek’s face makes him hesitate. ‘Dude, please tell me that you’re not going to
tie me up.’
‘No.’ Now Derek is smiling and it looks slightly unhinged, so much so that
Stiles and Scott actually take a step closer to each other. ‘I was actually
going to chain you to the wall.’ he has the door open now and ushers them in
with a wave of his hand. ‘After you.’
They walk past, both of them trying their best to stick to the wall.
‘He’s not really going to do that is he?’ Scott hisses.
‘Yes he is.’ Derek says. ‘You saw him tonight. He needs to be restrained. The
alpha could call him out and we need to keep them apart. Besides, the hunters
are probably going to be out as well and the last thing we need is Stiles
getting shot.’
‘Shit.’ Stiles winces. ‘That is an experience I definitely don’t want to
repeat.’
‘Good.’ Derek shoves him through the doorway at the bottom of the stairs and
into a room, the walls and floor all concrete. ‘Then we can get started.’
That’s when Scott sees the man waiting for them in the room.
‘Dr Deaton?’ His face scrunches up in confusion.
‘You’re here.’ Deaton gives them his sphinxlike smile. ‘We can get started
then.’
*********
Derek has to admit that there’s a tiny bit of glee inside him at seeing how
Stiles’ eyes get wide when he sees the chains, his scent spiking with a mixture
of fear and arousal. Seems he’s got a kinky side.
‘You can’t.’ he squeaks.
‘I’m going to.’ Derek replies, making himself sound stern. Now that they are
inside the building and locked down in the basement, he is finally starting to
relax. Stiles will be safe down here and the alpha won’t be able to get to him.
Deaton keeps giving them knowing looks and Derek knows he’s cottoned on to the
way they’re reacting to each other. Scott is thankfully oblivious, smelling
like panic and overwhelming curiosity. His reaction to finding out that his
employer not only knows about werewolves, but is also in on the fact that
Stiles is now one has been better than Derek would have expected. It’s clear
that he likes and respects Deaton and he’s a lot calmer now that he’s got
something to do, notably help Deaton with securing the room.
‘I’ve used mountain ash on the window.’ he tells Derek, indicating the tiny
barred window at the top of the room. The moon is just visible now through the
glass and Derek feels it pulling at him. Stiles is clearly getting agitated as
well, pacing back and forth.
‘What is that for?’ Scott asks and Deaton shows him the jar he’s holding.
‘Mountain ash is able to act as a barrier to supernatural.’ he explains. ‘The
alpha that’s hunting Stiles will not be able to get in.’ He smiles at him.
‘We’re going to do the doorway at the top of the stairs as well. You, me and
Derek will be in the room just outside this one, so we’re the first line of
defense as it were.’ He gave Scott a searching look. ‘You’re all right doing
this, aren’t you?’
‘Yeah.’ Scott nods vigorously. ‘My mom thinks we’re staying over at Stiles’
house. I don’t want to leave.’
‘Good.’ Deaton looks approving. ‘We shouldn’t have too much trouble. Once we
have dealt with Stile, we can try and get some sleep out here.’ He hands Scott
some keys. ‘There’s sleeping bags and supplies in my car. Can you go get them?’
Scott takes the keys and jogs off and Deaton waits for him to leave before
turning and looking at them both, eyebrows raised.
‘It looks like things have escalated.’ he says and Derek can smell Stiles’
denial before he even speaks.
‘What?’ He laughs nervously. ‘Nothing’s escalated.’
‘You’ve chosen an anchor.’ Deaton is smiling again. ‘It’s Derek, isn;t it?’
Stiles looks light a deer in the headlights rather than a wolf before his
shoulders droop.
‘Yeah.’ He sounds sheepish. ‘It just happened.’
‘It doesn’t just happen Stiles.’ Deaton says kindly. ‘It’s natural that when
wolves find their potential mates that they immediately fixate on them and the
wolf in question becomes their anchor.’
His words have an immediate effect on Derek, startling him into action. He
throws up both hands and protests.
‘No.’ He really can’t get into this now. Stiles is staring at him with his
mouth hanging open and Derek is furious because he had his suspicions but
Deaton pretty much confirming things for him is not part of the plan. He can’t
even look at Stiles, but he can hear the way his heartbeat has rocketed and now
there’s a sweet smell saturating the air and Derek realises that Stiles is
happy and hopeful and so lovestruck that it’s not even funny anymore, not that
it ever was.
‘He’s chosen you as well.’ Deaton is talking to Stiles now. ‘There’s a
connection between you. You can feel it?’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles’ eyes are wide, their warm amber hue glowing. ‘Dude, I’m your
anchor?’
‘Fuck.’ Derek shakes his head. ‘You’re not supposed to be. Mates are a fucking
fairy story.’
‘Just because you don’t want to believe it, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t
work like that, Derek.’ Deaton is now stern. ‘Your mother would have told you
that.’
‘He’s sixteen!’ Derek snaps. ‘He’s a fucking kid!’
‘Screw you!’ Stiles is now glaring at him. ‘I’m not a fucking child, Derek!’
‘It doesn’t matter!.’ Derek growls at him. ‘That doesn’t change just because
we’re supposed to be…’ He can’t bring himself to say it.
‘So it’s like a thing?’ Stiles is looking at Deaton. ‘Like what, soulmates?’
‘In a way.’ Deaton says. ‘Can I ask what you felt the first time you saw
Derek?’
That’s when it clicks in Derek’s head. That night in the forest when he was
shifted and drawn in towards the boy, chasing him through the woods before he
even knew what he was doing, pinning him to the ground and breathing him in.
‘Shit.’ He slumps against the wall.
‘I…’ Stiles is looking at him. ‘I wanted to climb him like a tree.’ He frowns
at Deaton. ‘I thought it was just me being… you know, a horny teenager.’
‘It was more than that.’ Deaton said. ‘Even if you hadn’t been bitten, the
connection would have been there.’ He’s now looking at them both, his face
thoughtful. ‘This is quite the turn of fate.’
‘I don’t believe in fate.’ Derek folds his arms. ‘It’s all bullshit.’
‘Clearly it’s not.’ Deaton’s black eyes are sparkling and he looks like he’s
enjoying himself far too much. ‘And now the connection is in place, it’s only
going to get stronger.’ He makes a considering noise. ‘You’re going to have to
be in with him.’
‘Not a goddamn chance.’ Derek backs up. ‘No.’
‘It’s his first full moon.’ Deaton states. ‘You need to get him through it. It
will be much better this way.’
‘Why?’ Stiles is now starting to panic as well. His eyes dart from Deaton to
Derek.
‘I think Derek should be the one to explain that.’ Deaton smiles. ‘At least
this way you won’t actually have to chain him up.’
‘Christ.’ Derek pinches the bridge of his nose. ‘The alternative is worse.’
‘Just let nature take its course.’ Deaton says, all business now. ‘There’s not
need for a full consummation or a claim. But your wolves will want to get to
know each other a bit better so you need to be inside, otherwise you’re going
to be just as out of control as he is.’
Scott returning interrupts the conversation and Deaton smiles and instructs him
where to put everything. Then he turns to Derek and holds out a hand.
‘You know the drill.’ he says and Derek growled.
‘Shoes and shirt.’ he says to Stiles.
‘Dude, what?’ Stiles wraps his flannel shirt around himself. ‘Why?’
‘Because you’ll probably shred it if you don’t.’ Derek explains, pulling his
henley over his head and then sitting down on the edge of the mattress to take
off his boots. ‘You’re also going need to lose the jeans as well, actually.’
‘Why don’t I just go naked?’ Stiles snaps, but he stripsto the waist and toes
off his sneakers, stubbornly leaving his socks on.
‘It’s all right.’ Deaton assures him. ‘If need be, Scott can always go and get
you more clothes.’ He takes their shirts and shoes and hands them off to Scott
before going out the room and bringing back a bag. ‘I have water and protein
bars in here. I think that should tide you over.’
‘Thank you.’ Derek takes the bag and stashes it in the corner. He rolls his
shoulders, feeling the pull inside him growing stronger.
‘You going to be okay?’ Scott asks and Stiles looks at Derek, his face one huge
question. Derek sighs and reaches for the connection between them, sending
reassurance down through it. He sees Stiles’ face change as he relaxes, the
tension leaving his shoulders.
‘Yeah I’m fine, Scotty.’ He smiles at his best friend. ‘I guess I’ll see you in
the morning.’
Deaton herds Scott out and the heavy steel door is closed so it’s just the two
of them. There’s the sound of it being locked and Stiles lets out a harsh
breath and then starts pacing back and forth. Derek can smell the mix of
confusion and agitation and he lets him be. Christ knows Stiles’ first full
moon was going to be trying without the bombshell that he and Derek are a
little more than Derek’s been letting on.
He shifts back on the mattress and closes his eyes, bringing up one knee and
leaning his elbow on it. He’s had so many full moons but he still remembers
what it was like when he hit puberty and the shift changed for him. That was
when he’d shifted into a full wolf for the first time and he’d felt every bit
as out of control as Stiles is feeling now.
‘Were you going to say anything?’ Stiles asks, the sudden shift from silence to
sound shaking Derek out of his thoughts. He opens his eyes and sees that Stiles
is now standing there. There’s a set to his shoulders, a watchfulness that is
new and Derek suppresses a smile because he can see the wolf in it.
‘No.’ He tells the truth. ‘I wasn’t sure what it was.’ He leans back against
the wall again. ‘Look, it’s not as cut and dried as Deaton says. Mates are an
outdated concept. It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re destined to be…’
He’s completely cut off as he suddenly finds himself with lapful of Stiles,
strong hands gripping at his shoulders and Stiles’ mouth bruising his in a very
messy kiss that is all inexperience and enthusiasm and undeniable heat. It
quite takes Derek’s breath away.
It is all of a second before his instincts to kick in and he grips the back of
Stile’s neck, growling as he takes control. He slows the kiss down, licking
Stiles’ mouth open and tasting him for the first time, the wolf inside him
nearly out of its mind with want. That gets him a high-pitched whine and a
flood of pheromones that assault his nose and practically melt his frontal
lobe. He barely has the control needed to break them apart but he manages and
sees that Stiles’ eyes are glowing beta gold, his fangs dropped but not yet in
a full beta shift.
Derek looks at him, really looks, and sees what he’s been trying to deny this
whole time. Stiles is beautiful, his mouth kiss bitten and his cheeks flushed
as he breathes heavily. It’s enough for him to let his own eyes flash and drop
his fangs in kind.
‘You asshole.’ Stiles' voice is rough, making him sound older. ‘You were going
to make it seem like it was just me.’ His smile is bright and happy and Derek
can’t stop himself. He leans in, tracing one fang with his tongue and Stiles
makes that lovely sound again, his claws digging into Derek’s bare shoulders.
‘You’re such a fucking brat.’ he snorts and Stiles laughs.
‘A brat that you want to bone.’ He grins and it’s so smug that Derek can’t
decide if it’s obnoxious or endearing, even with the fangs. ‘I’m your fucking
mate.’
‘It’s not half as romantic as Deaton makes it sound.’ Derek knows he should tip
Stiles off his lap but now his cock is fully invested and he growls as Stiles
catches on and then the little shit wriggles on him. Derek feels that he’s very
much in the same condition and he can’t stop himself from grabbing Stiles
around the waist and thrusting up enough to wipe that smug smile off his face.
‘Are you kidding me?’ Stiles laughs. ‘I hit the goddamn jackpot. You’re hot
like burning, dude.’ He snarls playfully at Derek and licks over his mouth.
‘Now I really think we need to do something about this.’
‘Okay, but we are not fucking.’ Derek knows he has to put the brakes on.
‘Deaton said it doesn’t have to be a full claim or consummated so you can get
that right out of your head. If I claimed you properly, there’s no way we could
turn you back, even if we kill the alpha.’
Stiles pouts at him. Derek tries desperately to ignore how cute it is.
‘So what can we do? I really really want you.’ He crinkles his nose in
consideration and that finally breaks through Derek’s reserve. He gives in and
buries his face in Stiles neck, inhaling deeply. His smell is addictive,
especially now that they’ve made the connection between them. It’s thick with
arousal, almost syrupy, and Derek feels Stiles tentatively respond, his own
nose now in Derek’s neck as he scents him.
‘This is so much hotter than it should be.’ He sounds astonished and Derek
feels bad because he’s told him practically nothing about this. That has to
change.
‘Smell is important for pack.’ He says it on an inhalation. Stiles smells so
good and it’s becoming more and more difficult to hold back. He runs his hands
up Stiles’ back, feeling overheated skin that’s as smooth as silk under his
fingers and dotted with moles. He traces lines between a set of them, and feels
Stiles shiver in his arms.
‘I’m starting to get that.’ Stiles is still sniffing him. ‘Why do you smell so
incredible?’
‘It’s the connection, the fact that we’re compatible.’ Derek noses along
Stiles’ neck. ‘It’s what I smelt that first night.’
‘So you were into me.’ Stiles sounds delighted. ‘Shit. That never fucking
happens to me.’
‘That’s because people are idiots.’ Derek gently pushes him away and looks up
at him. ‘But I am serious. No sex. You know we can’t.’
‘Fine.’ Stiles grumbles. ‘Can we at least make out?’
Derek watches him, all hopeful and plain old horny. It’s disgusting how
adorable he finds it.
‘Yeah, okay.’ he says and Stiles crows and then sticks his tongue down Derek’s
throat.
************
Scott looks at his watch.
It’s been a half an hour and Deaton has told him more about werewolves than
he’s ever wanted to know.
‘Wow.’ He frowns. ‘So what else is real? And how do you know about this?’
‘I used to work with Derek’s pack.’ Deaton says. ‘Before the fire. When Laura
and he moved to New York, I stayed behind. I looked after their uncle for a
while, hoping he’d get better, but he didn’t and I severed what ties I had with
the supernatural and became just a vet.’ He smiled. ‘Now it seems I am coming
out of retirement and it looks like you’ve been dragged in head first.’
‘He’s my best friend.’ Scott replies. ‘I have to be there for him.’
‘Good.’ Deaton nods approvingly. ‘He will need a friend he can trust.’ His dark
eyes are piercing. ‘I don’t need to tell you that this has to be kept secret.
No-one can know outside the four of us. There are people out there that would
hurt Derek and Stiles, even kill them if they could.’
‘But why?’ Scott asks. ‘I get that the alpha is bad news but Stiles would never
hurt anyone.’
‘They think he could and for some of them, prevention is best served by making
sure he never lives to do it.’ Deaton explains. ‘They are supposed to abide by
a code but that doesn’t always get put into practice.’
‘So what do we do?’ Scott asks.
‘We help keep them safe.’ Deaton says and looks over at the door.
***********
Inside the room, the air is thick with the smell of them both and Derek feels
like he’s actually getting high off it. They are still on the mattress, the
shackles in the wall forgotten as is the water and food Deaton gave them.
Stiles is wonderfully pliant and responsive beyond anything he’s ever dreamed
of. His mouth is red and wet from all the kissing, Derek’s stubble marking him
as clearly as if he’d been bitten. He’s still hard, neither of them getting off
yet although it’s pretty damn close.
‘Derek.’ It’s plaintive and Derek growls and commits himself to biting down on
Stiles’ neck until he’s shuddering underneath him. It feels so good, and he
thrusts down and smells the precome leaking through Stiles’ jeans.
Stiles growls and digs his claws in, breaking the skin. Derek replies, setting
his teeth in enough to make Stiles whine. It’s good, the push and pull and
flashes of pain as their marks heal over in seconds. Sex with a human is never
as good as with a wolf because Derek is always scared of letting go, of hurting
them. Here though he has someone who can give back as good as he gets and he
moves, dragging his tongue down the jut of Stiles’ collar bone before tracing
over it with his fangs.
‘Holy shit.’ Stiles is panting hard. ‘So many new kinks, Jesus fucking Christ.’
He throws his head back and the long line of his throat is exquisite to Derek’s
eyes. ‘Derek, this is really fucking hot and all but I’m like two seconds away
from coming.’
Derek smiles against his skin and keeps going until he’s level with one
perfectly pink nipple. Stiles’ skin is pale and smooth and unblemished apart
from the dark moles that embellish it like punctuation marks. He thumbs at the
nipple, admiring how it pebbles under his thumb and then licks at it softly
enough to make Stiles moan, a long drawn out sound that elicits a snarl from
him that’s nothing but possession. He latches on, tonguing it and inhaling the
smell coming off Stiles’ overheated skin and then realises he’s gone quiet. He
lifts his head and sees that Stiles has stopped moving and is now listening
intently. His eyes are fixed on the window and that’s when Derek knows.
‘Stiles.’ He growls it low but Stiles ignores him. He whines, but it’s not in
pleasure or pain. If anything it sounds like the whine of a cub that wants it’s
pack. He starts shoving at Derek and Derek moves to let him up. Stiles rolls to
his feet and goes straight to the stand under the window, head tilted as he
listens.
Derek gets up, erection fading as he watches how Stiles has become completely
fixated on whatever is calling to him. He moves to the door and taps on it. His
blood is running cold and he waits for Deaton to answer, hearing him get up on
his side and move to the door.
‘What’s wrong, Derek?’ He doesn’t sound particularly perturbed but then again,
Deaton could probably be confronted by the end of the world and face it with
nothing but a raised eyebrow.
‘The alpha is calling Stiles out.’ Derek has to raise his voice to be heard on
the other side, shifting back to human as he speaks. ‘He’s under the window.’
‘Try and distract him.’ Deaton instructs. 'He can’t get out anyway. I have put
mountain ash across the door.’
‘You should secure this one too.’ Derek can’t believe he’s saying that but it
makes sense.
‘You won’t be able to get out either.’ Deaton warns him.
‘I know, but it will be safer for him.’ Derek stands back and hears the sound
of the ash falling. He reaches out a hand to test and can feel the repulsion
provided by the barrier.
He turns his attention to Stiles and starts moving towards him but he only gets
a couple of steps closer when Stiles goes into a full beta shift and growls
menacingly, worlds away from where they had been only a few moments before.
There’s no recognition in his eyes and Derek’s immediate reaction is to shift
as well, growling in defense. This feels horribly wrong and he now knows that
he’s too far gone, the connection too established to let Stiles goes. The very
thought that another wolf coming between them is making him furious and he
roars, the sound deafening in the enclosed space.
Stiles roars in rely, claws out and already in a defensive stance. Derek finds
himself mirroring him, his control slipping as he tries to restrain himself
from just launching himself at Stiles. This is not what he expected and now
he’s questioning the choice to seal them inside the room with no way out.
Stiles growls low and threatening and then Derek hears the howl that filters in
from outside. It distracts Stiles long enough that he can leap forward,
knocking him to the ground and getting on top of him. He doesn’t want to hurt
him so he’s less rough than he should be and the next thing, Derek’s flying
through the air and hitting the wall behind them.
Stiles lands on top of him and there’s a blinding flash of pain as his claws
sink into Derek’s flank. He roars in pain and shoves Stiles off of him, rolling
to his feet and settling in on all fours. He can hear Scott and Deaton shouting
at them, but now he’s seeing red and he snarls and rushes at Stiles, getting
him around the waist and bearing him to the ground, fending off the blows that
Stiles is throwing at him. He gets his legs up, kicking Stiles off and then
flipping himself back onto his feet. He barely has time to dodge when he lands
because Stiles is now completely out of control and that’s when Derek stops
trying to hurt him and starts fighting for real.
He catches Stiles when he throws himself at him and heaves him at the wall,
rushing in and grabbing him. He gets Stiles up against the wall, pinning him
with his hands around his wrists and using his body to hold Stiles against the
wall. Stiles flails wildly, and Derek’s body works on instinct. He snarls and
sinks his teeth right into Stiles’s neck at the junction with his shoulder and
Stiles whines and then goes limp. Derek tightens his hold, the taste of Stiles’
blood between his teeth and then he realises what he’s done.
There’s enough time to think oh fucking hell and then Stiles roars in his ear
and sinks his own teeth into Derek’s neck. The jolt that goes through him is
like electricity, shocking him into silence as he feels the bond change form
the tenuous silvery thing it is into something that is almost tangible and that
shimmers between them. It locks down and then he’s pulling back, horrified at
what he’s just done, eyes fading back to green.
Stiles is breathing like he’s been running suicides but the crazy look in his
eyes is gone, the brown as warm and familiar as it’s ever been. There’s blood
on his mouth, Derek’s blood, and he’s frowns.
‘What…?’ He looks like he’s just woken up. ‘Derek…?’
‘Shhh.’ Derek doesn’t know what to say. He leans in and rests their foreheads
together. ‘Can you feel that?’
Stiles looks like he’s thinking and then it’s like everything is coming to life
between them, the bond now fully formed and singing as all his feelings flood
into Derek, just as he knows his is doing the same to him. He can feel the
confusion, the fear inside Stiles but he can also feel the attraction that he
feels for Derek, a deep vein if what could only very politely be called lust
that’s directed right at him.
Stiles lifts a hand to his neck, taking it away and staring at the blood on it.
Then he looks at the matching bit on Derek’s and he immediately starts panting
like crazy and Derek does the only thing he can think of and grabs his face in
his hands and kisses him like they’ll both die if he doesn’t.
Stiles makes a muffled sound and then he’s kissing back, his tongue in Derek’s
mouth and his hands everywhere it’s possible to reach. In the background, Derek
can just hear the howling of the alpha but it sounds so far away. All he wants
to listen to is the thump of Stiles’ heart, now loud as thunder in his ears.
His scent is roiling around them both, mixing with Derek’s and even thicker
than it was before and Derek grabs the backs of Stiles’s thighs, barely
breaking the kiss to haul him up and slam him into the wall.
Stiles moans into his mouth, locking his ankles at the small of Derek’s back as
he rolls his hips up to meet Derek’s, the friction between their cocks nearly
enough to drive Derek mad with the need to claim him. He meets every thrust,
slamming one hand into the wall to brace them as Stiles takes his away and then
they’re at Derek’s jeans, popping the button and yanking them open, pulling him
out as those long clever fingers wrap around him. It feels incredible and he
shoves them away from the wall and carries Stiles’ over to the mattress, their
mouths still glued together as they lick and bite at each other. He throws
Stiles on the mattress and he lands heavily, eyes flashing and growling up at
him as he holds out grabby hands.
‘Off!’ It’s bratty and demanding but Derek can’t resist anything Stiles asks
him for now so he shucks his jeans and practically rips his boxers off before
falling to his knees and doing the saem to Stiles, who’s so busy wriggling to
try and get out of his clothes that it actually makes it worse. He throws
Stiles’ jeans and boxers over his shoulder, nothing in his head now but the
need to mate and claim and fuck him into the mattress.
There’s yells from outside the door but Derek can’t even make out words anymore
before he’s falling onto his knees again, his eyes taking in the perfect
stretch of skin in front of him that’s just begging for him to get his mouth on
it. Stiles’ moles extend right down his chest, the muscle definition more than
Derek expected, lean arms and legs and an entrancing line of dark hair leading
down his flat stomach to his cock, hard and leaking against his stomach. The
smell is indescribable and Derek lowers his head to lick up the smear of pre-
come already marking Stiles’ stomach. The taste sparks on his tongue and he
feels fingers in his hair as Stiles arches up against his mouth and he drags
his fangs over the soft skin of Stiles’ abdomen before licking up the line of
his cock.
Stiles snarls at him, one hand up by his head and claws ripping into the
mattress as he hooks one leg around Derek’s shoulder and tugs hard on his hair,
the flash of pain in his scalp enough to make Derek raise his head and flash
his eyes in warning, baring his fangs. He gets a snarl in reply and then Stiles
is up off the mattress, grabbing at him and hauling Derek down over him.
Their mouths meet in a clash of fangs, the taste of blood back as it deepens to
the point of them just jamming their tongues down each others’ throats. Derek
is out of his mind with want and he gets a hand between them long enough to
wrap around both of them, the slick slide of their cocks making them both
growl.
He makes it onto one elbow and locks eyes with Stiles, now burning gold and
blue and Stiles doesn’t look away. Instead he grabs the back of Derek’s neck
and hisses as he thrusts up into his fist, his beautiful face contorting in
pleasure.
They are both beyond words now and Derek can feel everything between them,
burning white hot and consuming every part of him as he drops his head, teeth
finding the mark he left before and biting down on it just as Stiles does the
same and they both come over his hand.
***** Morning After *****
Chapter Summary
     Time to wake up and smell the werewolf.
Stiles wakes up with a thick head and a stale coppery taste in his mouth. It
feels kind of like a hangover, but not. It’s almost like he’s just been
returned to his body, not that that makes any sense at all.
He inhales and the smell nearly knocks him out. It’s amazing, thick with notes
of sweat and semen and something animal that he’s learned is the base note that
Derek carries, and that he’s started to develop. Then he clocks that he’s naked
and wrapped around something very large, warm and furry. It’s enough to wake
him all the way up and he gasps and tries to sit up, but then there’s a deep
rumbling growl and he’s pinned back to the mattress by a massive black paw.
Derek.
Stiles manages to squirm enough that he can turn over and he’s greeted by a
pair of very recognisable eyes in a face that he saw those first nights in the
woods. Derek is regarding him with something that looks like amusement and
Stiles is momentarily charmed by the fact that Derek’s eyebrows of doom
translate even when he’s in wolf form. He lies still and they are so close that
he can really appreciate all the colours in Derek’s extraordinary eyes. He has
a little patch of silver fur under his chin that Stiles missed the first time
and he’s so soft, especially the fur on his undercarriage that Stiles is
currently cuddling.
‘Hi.’ he says and Derek yawns in his face, massive fangs exposed in a very pink
mouth. He lays his head back down and Stiles smiles at him and lifts a hand to
scratch through the thick fur on his head.
‘So that happened.’ He can’t stop smiling, the smells now making him a little
light headed. ‘Although my ass feels okay so I’m figuring we didn’t go all the
way. Good thing too, I wouldn’t want you to think I was easy or anything.’
Derek chuffs in a decidedly mocking way and Stiles tugs on an ear, grinning
when Derek flicks it away in annoyance.
‘You know that’s what started all this shit, right?’ He lays his head on his
folded arm and blinks at Derek, smiling like a goof as he realises he is happy.
‘You and your fine as hell furry ass.’
Derek makes a soft rumbling noise and noses at him, wet tongue dragging over
the lower half of Stiles’ face, making him giggle and try to shove Derek away.
‘You’re such a sappy asshole.’ he says. ‘So what the hell did happen last
night?’ He can feel an ache in the junction of his neck and shoulder and
reaches up to feel where there’s skin that is almost raised under his
fingertips. ‘I don’t remember all that much, but I can kind of smell that we
obviously did something. This whole room reeks of come.’
The wolf sighs in that put upon way dogs do and Stiles pokes him in the side,
snickering as Derek actually rolls his eyes at him.
‘You going to talk to me or just be all mysterious?’ he asks and Derek snorts
at him. ‘Okay fine, but you’re going to have to change back sometime. You can’t
drive the Camaro like that. You need thumbs.’
Derek growls at him but Stiles is on a roll.
‘I guess Deaton will have to give me the keys. I’ll have to drive you back to
the loft, maybe get you some dog food in a can?’ He laughs when Derek
retaliates by sticking a very wet nose in his ear, flailing happily at him.
‘Fuck off. Just because you had your hand on my dick doesn’t mean my ears are
fair game.’
He blinks in surprise because the next minute, Derek’s black fur seems to
almost melt away and his features rearrange until he’s human again, lying there
next to Stiles with a look of murderous intent on his face.
‘If you ever feed me dog food, I’ll rip your balls off.’ he threatens and
Stiles takes a moment to appreciate him in all his naked glory before
answering. Then he spots the mark on Derek’s shoulder and zeros in on it. It
looks like a very light scar, the skin almost silvery and he reaches up to
trace it with a fingertip.
‘Fuck…’ He looks at Derek and sees the way his green eyes are fixed on the same
spot on his own shoulder where it aches. ‘What did we do?’
‘Something incredibly stupid.’ Derek sighs. ‘This is probably the worst fucking
thing we could have done.’
‘Worse than hooking up?’ Stiles doesn’t want to know. He has some vague
memories of biting but they feel like they are in the abstract. He can’t,
however, stop touching the mark on Derek’s skin and even as he does, he feels a
odd possessiveness inside him.
‘Worse than eloping to Vegas.’ Derek says in all seriousness. ‘It’s a claiming
bite. It’s used as a prelude to mating.’
‘Oh my God!’ Stiles sits bolt upright and now he’s craning his neck trying to
look at his own shoulder. ‘Did you put a supernatural ring on it?’
‘Yeah.’ Derek’s nose is all scrunched up and Stiles is torn between freaking
out and kissing him on it. ‘Sorry.’
‘Oh fuck.’ He puts his face in his hands. ‘My dad’s going to kill me.’
‘I think we may have covered that already.’ Derek stretches out on his back and
Stiles is distracted from his plight long enough to admire him. It’s the first
time he can get a really good look at him, the lean lines of Derek’s body and
every perfectly defined muscle. He blushes when he gets to the trail of black
hair leading from his stomach that Stiles just wants to run his tongue down
until it reaches the soft line of Derek’s uncut cock. He gets a little huff and
looks up to see Derek’s looking at him with a raised eyebrow. ‘My eyes are up
here, Stiles.’
‘Fuck that.’ Stiles mutters, moving so he is sitting up next to Derek. ‘How the
hell are you this hot?’ He starts to feel incredibly smug knowing what happened
between them. ‘How are you with me?’
‘I think I am going to be asking myself that on a regular basis.’ Derek remarks
in a dry tone. ‘Apparently we just fit.’
‘Damn.’ Stiles is grinning like a maniac. ‘Lucky fucking me.’
Derek opens his mouth to retort but then the clank of the door being unlocked
shuts them both up and Stiles looks around frantically for his clothes just as
Deaton sticks his head in. Derek isn’t bothered by the fact that he’s lying
there naked but Stiles dives for his discarded jeans and then frowns when he
picks up his boxers and sees the claw rips in them, turning to glare at Derek.
Derek smiles in that toothy way of his that says he’s completely unrepentant
and Stiles huffs and fights his way into his jeans.
‘Where’s Scott?’ he asks and Deaton comes into the room, arms folded as he
regards them.
‘I sent him on a coffee run.’ he replies and looks at them in a very pointed
way. ‘I see the claiming bites have been taken care of.’
‘Not really part of the plan.’ Derek grumbles but Deaton shakes his head.
‘On the contrary.’ He smiles at them. ‘It’s actually the best thing you could
have done. Now the alpha will have no hold over Stiles because the mate bond
effectively cancels it out.’
‘Dude.’ Stiles grins. ‘That’s a win, right?’
‘It most certainly is, Mr Stilinski.’ Deaton says. ‘This way we don’t have to
worry about the alpha calling you out, which means you are going to be able to
help Derek try and track him down without the fear that he could be used
against you.’ His face turns stern. ‘That is now going to be our first
priority. I know that the police and the Argent hunters will be looking as
well, but I feel that there’s something not quite right with this scenario. I
have never seen this happen before and it doesn’t sit well with me.’ He looks
at Derek. ‘Have you been to see Peter? If the alpha is aware that you are here
and has already killed Laura, it may be after him as well.’
‘Who’s Peter?’ Stiles asks and then feels something take root in his chest, a
disquieting sense of concern and guilt that makes his stomach lurch. It takes a
second to realise it’s coming from Derek.
‘He’s Derek’s uncle.’ Deaton explains when Derek doesn’t answer. ‘He also
survived the fire but he’s been in a catatonic state since it happened.’
‘I didn’t know.’ Stiles says, looking at Derek. He can now feel pain in between
the other emotions and his first instinct is to comfort and he goes over and
puts a hand on Derek’s arm, tugging him into a hug. Derek is obviously too
surprised to protest but he’s stiff in Stiles arms for a few seconds before he
relaxes and then there’s the tentative movement of his own arms around Stiles
waist. He could feel the conflict and tightened his hold.
‘Why are you hugging me?’ Derek whispers it in his ear.
‘Dude.’ Stiles whispers back. ‘I know how it feels.’ He’s not sure how he knows
what to do but he lets it out, the sadness he carries everywhere with him like
a worn piece of clothing that’s become too comfortable. He feels Derek accept
it and then it’s coming back, just so much more than he would ever imagine it
possible for a person to carry. It overwhelms him for a second, but then Stiles
steels himself and bears up under it. He’s an old hand at this, has done it for
his dad often enough and that’s when everything feels real to him.
Derek pushes away from him, but it’s not harsh or annoyed. Instead there’s
gratitude in his eyes and understanding thrumming through their connection.
The sound of Deaton clearing his throat interrupts them and the moment passes,
but Stiles wants to jump around because he feels like the amount of progress
that’s just happened is monumental.
‘I would imagine that Stiles needs to get home.’ he says and Stiles nods.
‘My dad’s probably going to be home soon.’ He looks at Deaton. ‘What time is
it?’
‘Just after seven.’ Deaton walks back out and they follow him. ‘When Scott gets
back you and he can leave. In the meantime, get dressed.’ He smiles. ‘I don’t
think Scott would appreciate your current state of undress, Derek.’
‘Shit.’ Derek starts as if he’s only just realised that he’s still naked. He
goes to get his own clothes while Stiles pulls on his shirts and hoodie,
sitting down to put on his sneakers. The t-shirt he’s wearing thankfully covers
up the bite mark, which means he won’t have to explain it to Scott.
Derek is also fully dressed when Scott comes back bearing coffees and a bag of
what Stiles can smell are muffins. His stomach growls and Deaton notices as he
hands out the food.
‘You’ll need to eat.’ he points out. ‘Your body is going to need a lot more
fuel.’ He turns to Derek. ‘Have you given much thought to training him?’
‘Yes.’ Derek says and that surprises Stiles, but his mouth is full of muffin
(and Christ everything tastes so good this morning) so he says nothing.
‘You have?’ he asks and Derek snorts at him again.
‘Now I really don’t have a choice, do I?’ He glares at Stiles but Stiles is
quite proud of the fact that he’s pretty much immune.
‘So what are we going to do?’ he asks, unable to hide his grin. ‘You going to
teach me how to sniff for rabbits and pee in trees. Because I think I can
probably kind of do that already.’ Scott snorts a laugh at this and they high
five each other while Derek gives them the ferocious eyebrows.
‘You need to take this seriously.’ he growls. ‘For now you’re going to act like
a proper werewolf, even if it kills you.’
‘I think the expression is even it kills you.’ Stiles is being smug and he pays
for it by getting slammed in the wall, a fact made more disturbing by how his
brain automatically slides into the gutter. ‘Hey, watch it sourwolf. You can’t
put a ring on it and then break it.’
‘You’re not going to break, Stiles.’ Derek huffs but he lets him go. ‘Tonight
we start turning you into a proper wolf.’
'A sound idea.’ Deaton is smiling. ‘You can begin with sensory training and
getting him to control the wolf at will. From what I’ve seen Stiles only shifts
in response to the alpha and when he’s in a heightened emotional state.’ He
gives Stiles a quick up and down. ‘Agility training might be a bit of stretch
at the moment, even with his improved reflexes.’
‘Hey!’ Stiles is slightly outraged, even though he knows it’s a fair call.
‘Fine.’ Derek’s eyes are narrowed in amusement at his expense. ‘Tonight.’
‘No.’ Stiles snorts. ‘School tomorrow.’
‘Tonight.’ Derek repeats. ‘No arguments.’
‘Harsh, man.’ Stile shakes his head at him. ‘But I can’t. My dad is home
tonight.’ Derek growls but he is unmoved and grabs Scott’s arm. ‘Now I am
getting my ass home and I’m taking this nerd with me.’ He grins as he’s
assaulted by the feeling of Derek’s supreme annoyance.
They leave Deaton packing up and Derek follows them out to the Jeep. he leans
in Stiles’ open window and glares at him.
‘The only reason I’m letting you get away with this is so I don’t get shot.’ he
mutters and tiles knows he’s got him right where he wants him. It’s kind of
making him feel a little drunk on whatever this weird new feeling is and he
leans out the window and kisses Derek just because he can. Derek jolts a little
and then responds, one hand resting lightly at the back of Stiles’ neck to keep
him there until he’s kissed him rather more thoroughly than Stiles had
anticipated. It’s their first proper kiss sans werewolf face and it’s stupidly
good, so much so that he’s actually completely breathless when Derek finally
lets him go.
Derek’s eyes shift colour, the green moving into grey, and Stiles is lost, his
heart thumping joyously as he remembers just what they did. He brings up one
hand and rests it where the bite mark is under Derek’s shirt and to his
surprise Derek smiles at him. It’s slow and almost shy but it’s beautiful and
Stiles can’t help but smile back.
‘Silly sourwolf.’ he murmurs and then Derek turns his head and kisses the
inside of his wrist.
‘Leave your window unlocked.’ he tells him. ‘I’ll be over later.’
Stiles moves back from him, turning the car on and almost marinating in his
happy hormones. He doesn’t even notice that Scott is watching him with his
mouth hanging open until they hit the first set of lights.
‘Dude.’ He sounds scandalised. Stiles looks at him and sees that Scott is
staring at him. ‘You kissed him.’
‘Um.’ Stiles flounders for a second and then gives up. Even Scott’s not dumb
enough to convince him that he just hallucinated the whole thing. ‘Yeah, Derek
and I might be kind of a thing.’
‘Like a make weird ass noises while you’re locked in a room together thing?’
Scott is grinning. ‘You know that room is not completely soundproofed right? Dr
Deaton and I could hear you. It sounded like you were trying to eat each
other.’
That just makes Stiles think of things that he really shouldn’t think of while
driving.
He drops Scott off, shaking him awake when they pull up outside his house.
Scott says a sleepy goodbye and stumbles inside and Stiles waits until the
front door closes before he starts for home. The drive is thankfully empty when
he gets there and he charges in, galloping upstairs to shower before he dresses
in a t-shirt and pyjama pants and goes back downstairs. He’s starving and his
first order of business is to grab the box of cereal from the cupboard and then
contemplate a bowl. He wrinkles his nose in dissatisfaction at his options
before finding a mixing bowl under the sink and chucking what’s left of the box
into it and filling it three quarters full with milk. He grabs a table spoon
and merrily demolishes the whole thing, belching loudly to the empty house when
he’s done.
The sound of the cruiser turning into the street makes Stiles look up and he
quickly washes and dries the bowl and spoon, hiding the evidence before the car
stops outside and he hears his father walk up to the house. His steps sound
heavy, like his dad is carrying a weight and the smell he carries is sour with
fatigue and a sense of worry that goes beyond what he normally has and Stiles
instantly knows something is wrong.
‘Hey.’ He stands in the doorway of the kitchen, watching Noah take off his
utility belt and hang it up. ‘Rough night?’
‘You could say that.’ Noah looks troubled. ‘I guess it’s going to be all around
town in a couple of hours so you might as well know. There was a murder last
night.’
‘Really?’ Stiles is instantly intrigued, his inner armchair detective coming
out front and centre.
‘Yeah.’ Noah heaves a sigh. ‘At the school.’
‘What?!’ Now Stiles is right back to bouncing. ‘Who was it?’
‘A driver. He was found in one of the buses.’ Noah moves past him and Stiles
follows him back into the kitchen, going to pour him some coffee and doctoring
it with cream and sugar, knowing it will get his dad on his good side. He hands
it to him and goes to the fridge, pulling out eggs and the stas of turkey
bacon.
‘What happened to him?’ he asks and Noah looks at a loss.
‘We’re calling it an animal attack. The poor son of a bitch was inside, had his
whole damn throat ripped out.’ He took a sip of coffee and then gave Stiles a
suspicious look. ‘And that’s all I’m telling you.’
‘Oh come on.’ Stiles whines, cracking the eggs into a bowl and whisking them
with a fork. ‘You can’t hold out on me. There’s got to be some perks to being
the Sheriff’s kid.’
‘Nope.’ Noah’s looks at the pan where the scrambled eggs are now cooking. ‘It’s
bad though. We’ve got the whole department coming in again. After finding Laura
Hale, the mayor’s office is going to be on my ass. I’m literally eating this
and going back out again.’ His face is guilty when he looks at Stiles. ‘I’m
sorry, kid. You’re going to be on your own tonight.’ He frowns. ‘Although I
can’t say I’m pleased about that either. I don’t suppose you can ask Derek if
he wants to come over, stick around for a bit.’
‘Are you serious?’ Stiles is astonished. ‘You’re allowing to come over while
you’re not here?’
‘Well, I’m hoping that you’ll be sensible enough not to jump him all over the
future.’ Noah replies, one eyebrow cocked. ‘Melissa said that Scott is having
Allison over for dinner with them so he’s not available and I don’t want you to
be here by yourself while something is running around taking bites out of
people.’
Stiles dishes up the eggs and bacon and grabs the toast he’s just made and sets
it all down in front of him.
‘Can we get pizza?’ he asks and Noah narrows his eyes at him.
‘Make him buy the pizza.’ he mutters through a mouthful of eggs. ‘And no funny
stuff.’
‘Got it.’ Stiles feels only slightly guilty about the fact that he and Derek
had been fooling around in a full moon induced frenzy the night before. ‘All
hands will be kept above the waist.’
‘Good.’ Noah practically inhales his breakfast,and then accepts a second cup of
coffee. ‘I’m going to grab a couple of hours sleep and had back out.’
‘Okay.’ Stiles watches him get up. ‘I’ll text Derek and tell him to come over.
He can help me with my homework.’ He grins at the thought of forcing Derek to
do calculus.
He goes to lounge on the couch, idly flicking through the channels as Noah
sleeps upstairs, thinking back to what he could recall from the night before.
He’s still got the slightest hint of Derek’s scent clinging to his skin and
there’s nothing more he ants than to rub himself all over him later and
reassert his claim on him. He’d never had himself pegged as the possessive type
but it’s on full force now and Stiles wonders if it’s another facet of the wolf
coming out.
He listens to the shower stop and the sound of his dad getting ready for a nap,
the springs of his bed creaking softly as he gets in. Stiles stares at the
ceiling and thinks about his mom for a bit, how she and his dad always seemed
like they were made for each other. It’s been almost seven years since she
died, but Noah still wears his wedding ring and sleeps on his side of the bed
and Stiles wonders about that as well, if that’s what he and Derek will be
like.
That thought makes him feel all warm and fuzzy, and he startles as his phone
buzzes. Stiles picks it up and smiles as he reads the message.
Stop it. I can feel you thinking about shit you shouldn’t be.
He snickers and taps out a response.
Make me, sourwolf.
You’re an asshole.
Still with the asshole. You need to come up with a new schtick.
I need to come up with a way to eliminate you from the face of the planet.
Your face needs to be eliminated from the face of the planet.
You’re such a fucking child.
That makes Stiles laugh out loud. He dials Derek’s number and hears an
exasperated sigh when the call is answered.
‘Your dick didn’t say that last night.’ he says and he can swear that he hears
Derek’s eyebrows judging him through the phone.
‘What do you want, Stiles.’ Derek grumbles. ‘I was sleeping.’
‘Liar. You were just messaging me.’ Stiles is delighted that Derek is being
such a dick. ‘You were lying in bed pining for me.’
‘Werewolves don’t pine.’ Derek snorted. ‘Why aren’t you sleeping?’
‘My dad came home and told me some dude got his throat ripped out in the back
of a school bus.’ Stiles says as casually as possible. ‘Sounds like our alpha.’
Derek goes from grumpy to alert in second.
‘Shit.’ He is getting up, Stiles can hear it clearly. ‘Do we know who he is?’
‘Just a bus driver from school.’ he replies. ‘Got caught in the wrong place at
the wrong time probably.’
‘I don’t think so.’ Derek is walking. ‘Look, I’m coming over.’
‘Great.’ Stiles grins. ‘That means I don’t have to invite you. Because you
were. Invited that is. By my dad. Just much later, so you can go back to bed
and turn around three times before you go to sleep.’
‘What?’ Now Derek sounds as suspicious as Noah did not too long ago and Stiles
rolls his eyes at the realisation that he might be not-dating his father. He
also notices that Derek has completely ignored the dog joke. ‘Why did he do
that?’
‘Because he doesn’t want me to be alone and so inviting my sort-of boyfriend
makes him feel better. He’s working flat out so he won’t be home until tomorrow
again.’ he explains and then bites back a giggle at the splutter from the other
side.
‘He said that?’ Derek eventually asks, sounding horribly uncertain. ‘He called
me...you know. That.’
‘That?’ Stiles laughs. ‘Dude, you can say the word boyfriend.’ He bites his
lip. ‘I mean, you kind of laid a claiming bite on my ass, so I think boyfriend
is not that far off the mark.’
‘It wasn’t on your ass, dipshit.’ There’s a little huff on the other side.
‘I can’t help it your aim is shitty.’ Stiles is going to hell. One way trip,
all expenses paid.
Derek growls. It vibrates through the phone and Stiles’ stomach lurches as his
body responds automatically, heat surging in his chest and his claws popping
out. He growls back and then smiles.
‘So good thing?’ he asks and he can hear Derek smiling.
‘Yeah.’ He manages to make it sound like a huge concession, but Stiles knows
he’s fronting. ‘I guess it’s okay.’
‘Cool.’ Stiles is all smiles. ‘So come over in a couple of hours, and we can
get pizza and maybe make out on the couch.’
‘Christ.’ Derek huffs. ‘I can’t believe I’m dating a high schooler.’
‘Shut up.’ Stiles says happily and then yawns. ‘I need to sleep. I feel like I
got thrown into a wall. Oh yeah that’s right, I did get thrown into a wall.’ He
cackles and hangs up on Derek’s indignant protestations before trudging
upstairs, his own fatigue now well embedded. He gets to his room and falls face
first into his bed, asleep before he even has a chance to think.
*********
On the other side of the phone, Derek puts one hand behind his head and smiles
at the ceiling, knowing he’s acting like a stupid hormone ridden teenager and,
for the first time in what feels like forever, not actually caring.
It’s liberating, feeling something so simple as his attraction to Stiles. Derek
hasn’t allowed himself this since Kate, and he feels like his whole perspective
on life has been turned on its head by a pair of warm amber eyes and a smart
mouth. It’s a good feeling though, and he wallows in it until he falls asleep.
It’s only much later that he wakes up, stretching and feeling the pleasant
sensation of a good rest and the way his body feels energised. It’s been a long
time since he’s woken up with something other than a sense of despair and it’s
nice.
Derek takes a long leisurely shower, the slipslide of his hands over his own
body making him think of Stiles and not in a particularly PG way either. He
closes his eyes and brings back the sounds and smells, the stickiness of semen
on his hand and the way Stiles’ eyes flashed gold at him when he came, his soft
panting turning into harsh moans. Derek lets himself want, jerking off with
measured strokes that keep him on edge until he falls over with abandon, his
roar echoing off the tiles.
There’s a blinking light on his cell when he gets out the shower, Stiles
begging for ice cream as well as pizza, and Derek smiles indulgently because he
knows he’ll give into whatever Stiles wants. It’s in wolves to provide for
their mates and now he and Stiles are skipping around that, and although the
consummation may never happen and Stiles might go back to being human, he can
have this for whatever time they have.
He gets dressed and takes the Camaro past a place he hasn’t been to in years.
It was where his family went every weekend after the kids various sports games
on a Saturday. Derek stops outside and looks at the front, seeing how it hasn’t
changed at all. There’s a knot in his stomach, and he sits there for far longer
than he should, memories that he’s suppressed coming back in waves. The smell
of his pack, the sound of his mother’s voice. His father’s terrible dad jokes
and the way he and Laura would roll their eyes at each other. Peter’s sharp
smile, Cora kicking him in the shins under the table. It hurts, but now it
feels like it’s a pain he can live with.
He gets out and goes inside, half expecting to be disappointed but the smells
are the same and he orders his favourite, plus a Hawaiian for Stiles and extra
hot wings on the side. He buys four bottles of soda to go with it from the
store down the road while he’s waiting, along with two pints of ice cream and
then goes back to pick up the food.
He gets to Stiles house and the door opens before he even gets to the sidewalk.
It’s still light enough out to see that he obviously woke Stiles, and he’s in
pyjama pants that are covered in tiny white stormtrooper helmets and a faded
red t-shirt, rubbing his eyes as he stands on one foot in the doorway, the
other resting at the back of his calf. He’s sleep rumpled and Derek can smell
him from where he stands, warm and soft and enchantingly endearing as he blinks
at Derek with his mouth curling into a pleased smile as he scents the food,
nose in the air like a real wolf. Derek feels a pull in his chest and lets
himself get reeled in towards him.
‘My hero.’ he smirks and holds out his hand for the pizza boxes. Derek unloads
them into his hands and follows him in, waiting until Stiles has set them down
on the kitchen counter before doing the same with the other bags and then
getting hold of him around the waist and hauling him up so his ass in on the
counter. Stiles makes a surprised noise that Derek stifles with his mouth,
licking insistently until Stiles opens up for him. It’s wet and messy but Derek
doesn’t give a fuck. He wants and he’s going to take as much as he’s allowed,
taking hold of Stiles’ face and pressing in deeper, sweeping his tongue through
his mouth until Stiles is hard in his pants and arching up against him with
mindless little whines through his nose. It’s so sweet and Derek has to
forcibly pull himself back, utterly gratified by the little noise of
disappointment he gets.
‘Pizza’s getting cold.’ He smiles evilly and backs off, and Stiles gives him a
furious look, eyes flashing gold and fangs elongating involuntarily.
‘It can wait.’ he grumbles, clawed hands fisted in Derek’s shirt. ‘Get the fuck
back here.’
Derek laughs and gently noses at him before loosening his hands, mindful not to
let Stiles rip his shirt.
‘First lesson.’ he says. ‘Self-control.’
‘Oh fuck you, Hale.’ Stiles snipes with his eyes still flashing, his shoulders
slumping when Derek escapes and goes over to the table. ‘You’re a fucking cock
tease.’
‘You’re only just figuring that out?’ he laughs and opens the box with the hot
wings. ‘Come on, we eat first and then you’re getting dressed so we can go
check out that school bus.’
‘Sadistic asshole.’ Stile slides off the counter, giving his erect cock a sad
look even as he finally calms down enough that his face goes back to human.
‘What a waste.’
‘You’ll live.’ Derek smiles but when Stiles crowds up next to him, he drops a
kiss on his head and flashes his eyes in turn at him, breathing deep as Stiles’
green-grass scent turns syrupy sweet with happiness. ‘Here’s your abomination.’
Stiles accepts his pizza with glee and grabs one of the containers of hot
wings, ticking a bottle of soda under his arm.
‘What do you want to watch?’ His voice drifts back as Derek collects napkins
and follows with his own food.
‘What have you got?’ he asks and Stiles snorts.
‘What don’t I have?’ He is on the floor behind the coffee table and Derek sits
so Stiles is between his knees.
‘That one.’ Stiles has Netflix open and Derek nudges him with a foot.
‘Seriously?’ Stiles is grinning. ‘You like that shit?’
‘Shut up and put it on.’ Derek orders and the credits roll up.
They eat in silence, both focused on the food. There’s a moment when Derek sees
Stiles doing illegal things to his straw and kicks him, but apart from that
it’s almost peaceful. Stiles leans back against his legs when he’s done and
picks up a steady commentary on the film.
After the first one, Derek goes to get the ice cream and they eat it right out
the container with spoons. Stiles is now on the couch next to him so they can
share, his feet tucked under himself and leaning into Derek’s side. It’s
instinct to put an arm around him when they are finished and Stiles sinks into
the hold happily, making a soft rumbling noise that Derek doesn’t think he’s
even aware of. It makes his own wolf curl up, sated and sleepy. He scratches a
hand through Stiles’ hair, noting how much it’s grown in only two weeks.
‘I need to get it cut.’ Stiles remarks. ‘Is that a werewolf thing?’
‘Yeah.’ Derek tugs on the stands gently. ‘It grows like grass.’ He smiles when
he hears Stiles heart pick up. ‘You like that?’
‘I’m finding out I like all kinds of things.’ Stiles looks up at him, the
upside down angle making him look adorably odd. It also reminds Derek just how
young he is and he sighs and turns serious.
‘Last night got out of hand.’ he says. ‘Both of us lost it. That’s not going to
be the case from here on out. There’s going to be no sex.’
‘Okay.’ Stiles says. ‘I can do that. But making out is okay?’
‘Sure.’ Derek smiles at him. ‘Your dad doesn’t seem to mind.’
‘He was eight years older than my mom.’ Stiles replies. ‘My grandparents hated
him when they first got together.’ His smile is wistful. ‘My mom would have
probably grilled you though.’
‘Moms are supposed to do that.’ Derek thinks about Talia. She would have seen
through Kate’s bullshit in a second. He checks his watch. ‘Call Scott. See if
he can come with.’
‘Why?’ Stiles frowns.
‘Because we’ll need a lookout.’ Derek says. ‘I’ll need you to go in there with
me. You might be able to pick up something that I can’t seeing as you have a
connection with the alpha.’
‘What are we going to do?’ Stiles’ eyes are bright with excitement.
‘Try and figure out what we’re dealing with.’ Derek explains. ‘There’ll also be
a much better chance of getting the alpha’s scent in the bus.’
He clears up while Stiles is on the phone to Scott, giving him a thumbs up when
he obviously gets the okay.
‘He’s good.’ Stiles says, hanging up. ‘He was supposed to go over to Allison’s
but her dad got kind of freaked out about the alpha and enforced the curfew.’
He pulls a face. ‘Guess he’ll be out trying to hunt it.’
‘I would say that’s a safe bet.’ Derek thinks about what the Hunters will be
doing. ‘They’ll probably be sweeping the streets. We’ll need to be careful we
don’t run into them.’
‘Or my dad.’ Stiles says. ‘We should take my car. Melissa will definitely know
something’s up if you turn up in the Camaro.’ He grins. ‘It’s sexy as hell but
not exactly conspicuous.’
‘Idiot.’ Derek snorts but he knows that Stiles is right. He’s sharp and thinks
in a far more strategic way than his outward appearance of being chaos
personified would suggest. ‘Fine but your piece of shit better not break down.’
‘Hey!’ Stiles sounds hurt. ‘That car is the best goddamn car in town buddy. And
don’t let me catch you saying anything that might hurt Roscoe’s feelings while
you in him.’ He frowns as his brain obviously goes off on a tangent.
‘Roscoe?’ Derek can’t help but grin at the ridiculous name.
‘He was my mom’s.’ Stiles is now looking away and Derek can smell the change in
his mood. ‘It’s not like my dad could afford to buy me a new car when I got my
license.’
Now that suddenly makes a lot more sense and Derek feels shit for making fun of
something he understands all too well. He backs Stiles up against the counter
and sighs as he puts his arms around him. It costs a lot to open himself up
like this, but this boy has a way of getting under his skin. He feels Stiles
stiffen at the gesture and then his own arms come up, hesitant as he hugs Derek
back and Derek sticks his nose in the soft brown hair and inhales, Stiles scent
rolling over him in comforting waves.
‘The Camaro was my dad’s.’ He swallows hard, fighting back feelings he normally
pretends don’t even exist. ‘Laura took it when we left. I get needing a
connection.’
‘Yeah?’ Stiles’ voice is small, a lost child’s voice. He shrugs as Derek lets
him go, eyes suspiciously bright. ‘It’s just a thing, but it makes me feel like
she’s not all gone.’
‘Yeah.’ Derek says. He thinks about the phantom scents in the Camaro, the hint
of his dad’s aftershave that still clings to the leather jacket Derek wears
like a second skin. It had taken him four years to grow into. He steps back,
now embarrassed at this show of emotion, but Stiles catches him by the shirt
and then he’s back in Derek’s space, nose in Derek’s neck as instinct takes
over and Derek accepts it, lowering his own to the soft stretch of skin just
above the collar of Stiles’ t-shirt. ‘Go on. You need to get your ass into some
clothes so we can go get Scott.’
‘Okay.’ Stiles bounds off and leaves Derek alone in the living room. He moves
around, looking at the pictures that show Stiles and Noah, but he does notice
that there’s only one of them with Stiles’ mother. She and Noah look like they
are happy, the two of them flanking Stiles in a Little League uniform, looking
about eight or nine. He wonders about that, whether it is the last photograph
of her before she got sick. Stiles looks like her, with her dark hair and eyes
and sweet smile.
Derek picks up the frame and studies the picture. He’s never give much thought
to the fact that Stiles’ mother died, but it would have had to have been the
same year his own family did.
‘Hey.’ Stiles is back, now dressed in jeans and the same red hoodie Derek first
encountered him in. He moves to stand next to him, taking the frame from him.
Derek’s smells the sadness creep up, sees how Stiles’ eyes fix on his mother as
he looks at the picture. Then he looks up and the way he looks at Derek makes
his heart hurt because there’s so much sympathy there that it’s a little
overwhelming.
‘Do you have any pictures left?’ he asks. ‘After the fire?’ His guileless
expression mitigates the pain Derek feels and he finds himself taking out his
wallet from his back pocket.
The picture was taken just before Paige. It was a late summer day, his family
all in the frame. His mother and father are at the back and he’s in front of
his dad with one arm looped around hi neck. He was the only boy and they had
been close.
Derek looks at them all, happy and smiling and close as pack always is. Then he
hands the picture to Stiles, taking the frame in exchange and putting it down.
‘You all look really happy.’ Stiles says. His voice is wistful. ‘You had
siblings. I always wanted someone else.’ Then he looks up, horrified at what he
said. ‘God, I’m sorry.’
Derek takes the picture back and looks at the faces he still remembers so well.
‘It’s okay.’ His voice is rough. ‘We were happy.’ He puts the picture back
gently. ‘We were close. I mean, they pissed me off sometimes but I loved them.’
He can feel his control slipping and reels it back in. ‘We should go.’
Stiles hand lands on his arm and then there’s that comfort that Derek felt
earlier, warming him through.
‘You got me now.’ he says. ‘And my dad. We’re not much but you can have us if
you want.’
Derek looks at him, the earnest way Stiles’ big brown eyes are shining. He
gives him a light cuff at the back of the head and gets a smile.
‘Yeah?’ he asks, trying to sound like that wasn’t the best thing he’s heard
since he got back to this shitty town. ‘You want me in your pack?’
‘Fuck yeah.’ Stiles replies and kisses him, still a little hesitant. Derek lets
him, and then wraps an arm around his waist and shows him how it’s done.
************
SCott dashes across from his front porch when the Jeep pulls up outside and
when he gets to the passenger door, his look of confusion makes Stiles grin.
Derek just glowers at him until Scott gets in the back, whining already.
‘Dude.’ He looks at Stiles in the rearview mirror. ‘I’m your best friend. Why
does he get to sit up front?’
Before Stiles can reply, Derek is giving Scott one of those predatory looks of
his, lip curled in something close to a snarl.
‘Because boyfriend trumps best friend for shotgun.’ he growls and Stiles heart
does this dumbass bunny hop thing because boyfriend.
‘Really?’ Scott’s puppy eyes go wide and then he holds up his hand for Stiles
to give him a backwards high five. ‘Dude!’
‘Jesus Christ. I’m in a fucking car with Harold and Kumar.’ Derek mutters but
Stiles can smell he’s pleased.
They drive over to the school. It’s dark but when they get around the back,
there’s lights on in the fenced off area the school buses are kept and police
signs cordoning off the area. Scott and Stiles exchange a look when they get
out the Jeep.
‘Shit.’ Scott wrinkles his nose. ‘This is not good.’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles has it even worse. He can smell the blood, and something murkier
that he has the awful suspicion is somebody’s insides. It’s a red sort of smell
and he watches derek lift his head and scent the air, not even hiding the wolf
inside him.
‘Can you smell that?’ he asks Stiles and he frowns and does the same, not
missing the look Scott gives him. Now he can pick up that weird animal smell
underneath the overwheming stink of bodily fluids. It’s the same smell from the
woods, the edges sharp with an almost chemical tang.
‘The alpha?’ he asks and Derek nods and stalks over to the chain link fence.
They get to the barrier and look through. There’s yellow police tape around a
bus at the back and Stiles frowns.
‘I’m surprised they haven’t taken it away for processing yet.’ He shrugs. ‘Good
luck for us I suppose.’ He gives Derek a look. ‘You know not to touch anything,
right?’
‘Yes.’ Derek’s sarcasm makes Stiles grin. ‘I’m not a complete idiot.’
‘Good.’ Stiles turns to Scott. ‘Give us the signal if anyone comes.’
‘No problem.’ Scott looks immensely pleased that he doesn’t have to go and look
as well.
Derek rolls his eyes at them and takes a flying leap, catching the wire and
levering himself up and over in a showy move that sees him vaulting over
effortlessly and landing on the other side without a single sound.
‘Show off.’ Stiles mutters and makes his own ascent, far slower than Derek just
has. He makes it to the top and then gets a giddy feeling as he jumps to the
ground, a good ten feet, landing easily if not soundlessly.
Derek has his hands in his pocket, eyebrows doing an expectant dance as Stiles
straightens up, then heaves a sigh and grabs him by the collar and drags him
off to the bus in question. Stiles yelps and manages to get his feet under him,
trotting to keep up. They duck under the police tape and now the smell is so
thick it’s almost tangible. Stiles feels his nose twitch and his lips curl back
automatically. The smell is getting right up his nose and Derek is watching him
intently.
‘Well?’ he asks and Stiles shakes his head.
‘Nothing yet.’ They both look at the bus. ‘Oh man. Really?’
‘Don’t be such a baby.’ Derek growls but Stiles can feel his unease. Without
even thinking, he moves in closer to him and is gratified when Derek steps into
his space, a reassuring rumble making Stiles calm down instantly. He rubs his
face on Derek’s shoulder, the leather creaking.
‘You first.’ he insists. ‘You’re bigger.’
‘Fuck that shit.’ Derek responds, surprising him. ‘You’re almost as tall as I
am.’
‘Yeah, but you’re like a foot wider.’ Stiles protests. He looks down and sees,
to his complete astonishment, that Derek has linked their fingers together.
‘Come on.’ He tugs at Stiles hand. ‘Together.’
‘Ugh.’ Stiles lets himself be towed. ‘Fine. But if it’s in there, I’m tripping
you and running like hell.’
‘Funny.’ Derek mutters as they get to the bus and he lets Stiles’ hand go to
open the door. The air inside reeks and they both fall back under the assault
on their noses.
‘Fuck.’ Stiles swallows back a wave of nausea. ‘Man, that is gross.’ he raises
a hand as if to ward off the smell. ‘What the hell did it do?’
‘Ripped whoever it was to pieces.’ Derek is getting in, but Stiles knows he’s
reluctant. He hangs back a few seconds later Derek sticks his head back out the
door. ‘Get your ass in here and help me.’
‘Oh God.’ Stiles grits his teeth and climbs into the bus. ‘Man, I’m so going to
puke.’
‘Hey.’ Derek glares at him. ‘Snap out of it. I need you to focus.’
‘Christ, okay.’ Stiles flails a hand at him, trying not to breathe too deeply.
‘What the hell am I supposed to do?’
‘Go look.’ Derek says, like he thinks Stiles is being an idiot, shoving him
towards the back of the bus and moving down the aisle after him. The smell
intensifies and when they get there, the dark shiny patches coating the floor
and seats are all too noticeable.
‘Oh that is disgusting.’ Stiles recoils and backs up into Derek, who’s like a
brick wall at his back. ‘Why are we doing this again?’
‘Jesus, Stiles.’ Derek loses patience and pushes him out the way. There’s a
brief tangle as he tries to get past and then he’s sniffing around and Stiles
really can’t get over the fact that that is a literal statement.
The pain comes out of nowhere and is so great it makes him double over, eyes
igniting and claws extending as his mouth floods with saliva, dripping out over
his fangs. The images flashing in front of his eyes are worse though and his
vision bleeds red as he pants for air and then he sees him.
The man is terrified, screaming for help before he’s cornered and then a hand
rises, massive claws glinting as it comes down to rip out the man’s throat, and
blood sprays everywhere. Stiles can almost feel it hitting his face and then
there’s nothing but the fetid smell of the man’s belly being opened up as the
alpha attacks him in a frenzy.
‘Stiles!’ The shout snaps him out of his panic, Derek’s hands tight around his
wrists as he shakes him. His eyes are electric blue, glowing in the dark
interior, and his voice is pitched higher than normal. His grip tightens when
Stiles manages to focus on him for all of two seconds before he twists free and
bolts for the door of the bus, almost falling out the door and hurling his guts
onto the ground. He’s still doubled over when he feels Derek behind him,
concern and worry permeating their connection. A hand comes down on his back,
rubbing gently.
‘It’s okay.’ Derek’s low growl is soothing. ‘It’s a lot.’
Stiles braces himself on his knees, spitting the foul taste out of his mouth.
‘Shit.’ he mutters. ‘That was stupid.’
‘It’s okay.’ Derek repeats. ‘We’ll get rid of it. What did you see?’
‘I saw it ripping that dude to pieces.’ Stiles spat again and then wiped his
mouth with the back of his hand, wrinkling his nose at the smell. ‘Christ, that
was fucking awful.’
‘Go back to Scott.’ Derek says. ‘I’ll take care of this.’ He’s already looking
around and then walks off. Stiles sees that he’s headed to the back of the
building that makes up one side of the parking area.
He drags himself over to the fence and sees Scott standing there, his face
stricken.
‘You okay?’ He grimaces. ‘I heard you puking.’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles starts climbing back over the fence. This time the drop jolts
his stomach but he recovers quickly. He hears the sound of water and realises
that Derek’s got a hose and is washing down the tarmac where he threw up and he
bends over again, fighting the nausea.
‘You need to sit down?’ Scott is hovering over him.
‘No, I’m good.’ Stiles stands straight and looks at the lot. Derek is moving
around, but he’s not in sight. ‘I just want to go home.’
Derek is back a minute later, jogging across to the fence and vaulting back
over.
‘I went back in.’ he says. ‘I’ve picked up a scent.’ He puts a hand to Stiles’
neck, warm and comforting. ‘Go home. I got this.’
‘You’re going to track him?’ he asks and Derek nods.
‘Yeah.’ he gives Stiles a long look. ‘Stay inside and be safe.’ He leans and
brushes a quick kiss over Stiles’ mouth. ‘I’ll call you if I find anything.’
‘You’ll be careful, right?’ Stiles is filled with dread. He whines a little,
not caring that Scott is now staring at him in astonishment. Derek holds his
gaze and his expression softens.
‘I’ll be okay.’ he leans on, pressing their foreheads together. ‘Go home,
Stiles.’ Then he’s taking off, running for the trees and blending into the
dark. Stiles can just hear him, but then even that fades out and he and Scott
go back to the Jeep.
The ride back to Scott’s is quiet and they exchange brief goodbyes when they
get there. There’s not much to say, and when Stiles turns the Jeep for home he
realises that his stomach is knotted not just because of the incident in the
bus. He’s filled with his own worry, and he finds himself reaching out through
the bond, a light touch on what he knows is Derek. There’s a response, like a
ghost of a touch on his mind, and it reassures him enough that he can drive
home.
The house is in darkness as he gets there and Stiles is all too happy to get
himself up to the front door, unlocking it and leaning back against it when
he’s inside. He lets out a long breath, and starts the seemingly endless walk
to the stairs. He’s suddenly exhausted, everything that’s happened in the past
two nights finally coming to a head. All he wants right now is his bed and
maybe a warm werewolf to keep him company.
Stiles climbs the stairs, his head buzzing with all the things he’s dealing
with and he doesn’t notice anything wrong until he’s at the top and looking
down the hallway. It’s dark at the end where the door to his father’s bedroom
stands open and a prickle goes down his spine as he catches the smell of
something that shouldn’t be there. He looks up, heart starting to race as two
red eyes gleam in the darkness and the space fills with a deep growl,
completely feral and devoid of anything but ferocity.
Stiles stands frozen to the spot, his heart hammering up to levels that would
probably have seen him keeling over as a human. His every instinct is screaming
at him to run but this is his house and he stood his ground, even as he knew
that it was probably the stupidest thing he can do. The alpha steps forward,
coming into the half light that is coming through the open doorways and now
Stiles can really see how fucking huge it is, its twisted shape and gnarled
claws as it starts to come towards him, stalking on soundless feet. It growls
angrily, the sound reverberating through the space between them and that makes
him feel like he wants to drop to the floor and present his belly in
submission, something his mind is railing against. It’s that or run, which
seems to be the most intelligent choice at this particular moment.
Instead he braces himself, shoving his panic aside as he shifts, opens his
mouth and roars in anger and fear and disbelief that this thing has invaded his
home. The sound that comes out is almost as loud as the alpha’s challenge and
surprises the shit out of him. The alpha comes up shirt and for a second Stiles
can swear he sees disbelief cross it’s face, before it’s quickly replaced by
rage.
It roars again and this time it’s close enough that Stiles gets a blast of hot
foul breath, feels it’s drool spatter across his skin. He grimaces and then
realises that he is probably supremely stupid for letting it get that close to
begin with. He takes three steps back and then, predictably, trips over his own
feet and ends up on his ass, scrabbling to get away before the alpha pounces.
That’s when he hears something and it cuts right through the terror, bringing
with it something even worse.
‘Dad.’ He breathes the word, listening as the cruiser pulls into their drive
and then cuts out. There’s no way he can let this thing get his dad, not if he
can help it. The sound of the car door closing seems to have caught the alpha’s
attention as well and it stills, one giant paw lifted in a stance that is
remarkably dog like.
It’s enough to give Stiles the time he needs to scramble to his feet and blot
back down the stairs. He’s still shifted, but he doesn’t even think about that
as he throws himself into the hallway, skidding to a stop when he sees Noah in
the doorway, about to hang up his jacket. His father’s face screws up the same
way his does when something confuses him and then he’s flinching in what is
clearly shock, hand immediately going to his sidearm.
‘Stiles?’ His voice is soft and laced through with desperate fear.
Stiles meets his eyes, knowing what he must look like, but then the alpha comes
barrelling down after him and he can’t stay, can’t let it get his dad and he’s
running again. He gets through the kitchen and doesn’t stop for anything,
shouldering the back door and feeling it break under his charge. There’s the
sound of shots and a bellow of pain and then red eyes behind him, the alpha
chasing him out the house and across the yard. Stiles takes off, hurdling the
back fence easily, and he runs right into the trees. There’s nothing but woods
behind them and that’s where he goes.
As he runs, he tries to think what he should do, but the only instinct he has
is to get the alpha far from his house and the only family he has left and so
Stiles runs and runs. He can hear the sound of the alpha behind him, it’s deep
panting breaths and the thumps as it rebounds off of trees.
There’s light through the trees and Stiles veers away, knowing that means
houses on the other side. It’s a bad move because the alpha anticipates his
path and then searing pain burns through his side as he goes flying through the
air and hits a tree, falling to the ground in a heap. It’s agonising but he
knows he has to get up, clutching at the rips in his side made by the alpha’s
claws and trying to stagger to his feet. The alpha is only a few feet from him
and it’s snarling, fangs glinting as it lowers its head and prepares to charge
and Stiles squeezes his eyes shut, waiting for the end.
Another roar tearing through the night jolts him back into reality and he knows
that voice, his entire soul filling up with hope and happiness and relief as
his brain screams matematemate at him. It’s Derek and Derek will save him.
The alpha howls and turns to face its new attacker but then Derek seems to fly
right out of nowhere, eyes blazing blue and fangs bared as he lands on the
alphas back and immediately sinks the claws of both hands into its sides,
growling and snarling and biting all at once. The alpha snaps at him, trying to
twists enough to throw him off but Derek’s hanging on like a burr. He’s
furious, Stiles can feel it now through the connection between them, and it’s
enough to get him on his feet and throwing himself at the alpha too, wanting
nothing more than to take it down and protect Derek just as he’s protecting
him. He lands a solid hit, his claws sinking into the alpha’s shoulder and
ducking as it swings its massive head back around to retaliate.
In the fray, Derek is thrown off. He lands and rolls to his feet in one fluid
motion and then he’s back, and they take turns to duck and claw and strike at
the alpha. It’s almost like a dance, and Stiles can feel when he’s supposed to
move by feeding off the feelings he’s getting from Derek.
The alpha lands a lucky blow, and Derek roars in pain, grabbing at his stomach.
There’s dark soaking through his t-shirt and Stiles smells blood. It sends him
into a frenzy and he ignores the pain he’s in, giving it everything he has. He
slides under the alpha’s neck to pop up on the other side and crouch
protectively over Derek, snarling at it as he protects his mate. The alpha
retreats a step and then rears up, bellowing as it prepares to strike. That’s
when the shot rings out and it howls in pain as there’s an explosion of fur and
meat from its shoulder.
Stiles drops to his knees, grabbing at Derek and trying to haul him away. He
looks at the source of the shots, heart filling when he sees his dad standing
there with the police issue shotgun raised as he takes aim again and shoots,
pumping the reload and firing again and again until the alpha howls in agony
and then, just as quickly as it started, the fight is over as it turns and
flees into the trees.
Noah stops and watches it go and Stiles falls back on his ass, arms around
Derek as he pulls him close. He whines, all his instincts on go as he nuzzles
at his mate’s face, rubbing their cheeks together and nosing at him. He feels
Derek’s hand come up to hold on tight and he’s growling in response as he tries
to soothe Stiles. It’s enough that Stiles relaxes, petting at Derek’s hair and
processing what just happened.
‘Stiles?’ His father’s voice makes him look up. Noah’s moved closer and he’s
staring at the two of them like they have grown an extra head.
‘So you know that night I got lost in the woods?’ His voice is shaky. ‘I maybe
went back the following week and got bitten by an alpha werewolf. Derek’s been
tracking it because we’re pretty sure it killed Laura. Derek’s also a werewolf,
but he’s the good kind and he’s been helping me. Also Derek and I are kind of
dating, like seriously.’
Noah frowns and then shakes his head, trying to comprehend what he’s just been
told.
‘What the fuck?’ He’s clearly at a loss.’ What the fucking fuck, Stiles?’
Stiles winces. He knows that voice. It means he needs to come clean or he'll
probably be grounded forever.
‘It makes more sense when you hear the whole story.’ he offers. ‘Also we’re
both kind of hurt so maybe we can do this back at the house?’
That immediately spurs Noah to action and he’s there, hoisting Derek up and
then gaping at the obvious wounds on Derek’s belly. He looks at Stiles next and
he can see his father go white even in the dark.
‘Shit.’ He grabs Stiles by the arm. ‘He got you?’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles feels the pain now that his adrenaline is subsiding. ‘It’ll heal
though.’ he gives Noah a wan smile. ‘Werewolf powers are pretty useful.’
‘Nothing you’ve just told me makes a lick of sense.’ Noah mutters, bracing
Derek against his shoulder, goggling when he makes the mistake of looking down.
‘Jesus Christ, son. Are those your goddamn insides?’
‘It’s okay.’ Derek rasps. ‘I’ll heal. We need to get out of the trees in case
it comes back.’
‘Okay.’ Noah says. ‘But then we’re sitting the fuck down and you’re telling me
everything. From the beginning, no omissions or alterations. Got it?’
‘Deal.’ Stiles replies and helps him drag Derek back into the trees. They go as
slow as possible, Derek trying to walk as best he can and still hold whatever
the hell is bulging through his tattered shirt inside his stomach. Stiles is
pretty sure it’s not good and he has to bite back an urge to hurl again.
‘Dude.’ He’s got Derek’s other arm over his shoulders so he can’t even hold his
nose. ‘You smell like shit.’
‘It’s the blood.’ Derek mutters. ‘Fuck, he really went deep.’
‘We need to get you to a hospital.’ Noah sounds insistent but Derek shakes his
head.
‘I’ll be fine.’ He’s pasty and shaking now, barely able to speak. ‘I just need
to get it cleaned up and bandaged and my body will take care of the rest.’
Stiles looks over his head, meeting his dad’s eyes as they share an exasperated
look.
‘Can we at least call Deaton?’ he asks and Derek growls and then nods.
‘Deaton?’ Noah asks. ‘The vet? He knows about this?' He huffs, sounding
completely unimpressed. 'I knew that son of a bitch was hiding something.'
‘It’s a long story.’ Stiles tells him.
‘Don’t worry, I’ll make sure we have time.’ Noah’s eyes narrow and Stiles knows
he’s in deep shit so he just puts his head down and helps carry Derek to the
fence that borders their yard. They heave him over and then its across the lawn
and to the back door, which is shattered and hanging off its hinges.
‘Ah.’ Stiles makes a face. ‘Sorry about that.’
‘It’s coming out of your allowance.’ Noah replies and they wedge Derek through
the door and into the kitchen where they lower him into a chair. ‘You sit and
keep an eye on him.’ This is directed at Stiles. ‘I’m going to get the first
aid kit.’
‘Get the big one from the cruiser. And the good drugs.’ Stiles calls after him
and then slumps back in the chair. Noah goes out the front door, muttering
about werewolves and crazy kids and how he’s probably going insane and Stiles
grins. He’s taking it far better than he thought it would.
He looks across at Derek, getting the eyebrows. It’s impressive that Derek can
manage that much annoyance considering his stomach is ripped open.
‘He knows we're dating?’ he grinds out and Stiles snickers in spite of himself.
‘Dude, he pretty much gave us permission the first time you came around.’ he
says. ‘Let’s start with that and go from there.’
‘Whatever.’ Derek huffs and closes his eyes. ‘He’s your father.’
‘Fuck off, douchewolf.’ Stiles grins. ‘Hey, you came to save me. Like
Superman.’
‘I heard you roar.’ Derek’s eyes stay closed. ‘I knew that you’d probably do
something stupid, so I came to get your ass out of trouble.’
‘Shut up, you love my ass.’ Stiles laughs and there’s a ghost of a smile
hovering at the corners of Derek’s mouth when Stiles whines because it’s pulled
the wounds in his side.
‘Maybe.’ he replies.
***** Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys *****
Chapter Summary
     In which Derek is definitely Nancy Drew :)
‘So me get this straight.’ Noah is pinching the bridge of his nose. ‘The Hales
were all werewolves. The Argents are hunters, or people that kill werewolves.
They are only supposed to do this when a werewolf is rogue.’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles has his confession face on and it’s all scrunched up and if
Derek wasn’t in so much pain he’d actually be smiling at it. ‘But then along
came Kate Argent, who was not such a good hunter. She seduced Derek when he was
sixteen, torched the Hale house and then took off.’
Noah puts his hand down and looks at Derek.
'That true, kid?' he asks and Derek nods, looking away.
‘Yes, sir.’ he confirms, wincing as there’s a horrible shiver across the thin
skin of his stomach where his wounds are slowly knitting together.
‘Okay then. So fast forward six years, we have Laura coming back from New York
because she suspects the fire wasn’t an accident. Something kills her and goes
after you.’ Noah cocks a finger at his son.
‘Alpha werewolf.’ Stiles says doing the same thing, and Derek has to bite back
a broken laugh because they are so similar in mannerism it’s eerie. ‘Which
bites me out in the woods.’
‘The woods I specifically told you to stay out of.’ Noah’s blue eyes are
narrowed.
‘That is technically correct.’ Stiles hedges. ‘Anyway I get attacked, Derek
fends it off and hey presto werewolf me.’
‘Christ.’ Noah drags both hands through his hair. ‘This is fucking insane.’ He
looks back at Derek. ‘So Deaton falls into this how exactly?’
‘He was my family’s emissary.’ Derek replies. ‘They’re like intermediaries
between the human world and the supernatural one.’
‘So he would know if shit was going down around here, wouldn’t he?’ Noah’s
voice is stern and Derek nods.
‘You said he knew more than he was telling?’ He’s curious about that. Noah
catches the question and sighs.
‘Things have been happening around here that haven’t been to kosher.’ He pushes
away from the counter. ‘Before Laura came back we got a call about a deer in
the preserve that got found by a couple of dog walkers.’
‘A deer?’ Stiles if frowning. ‘What does that have to do with all of this?’
‘This deer had its throat ripped out.’ Noah tells them. ‘Not only that, but a
pattern had been carved into its side. Now I’m guessing that it was probably
this alpha wolf that did it, judging from the wounds.’
‘What kind of pattern?’ Derek asks and shifts a little to ease the ache in his
sides.
‘A spiral.’ Noah scratches at his cheek and Derek feels his blood run cold at
the words. ‘I went to Deaton to see what he knew and he blew me off. Now I know
why.’ His look at Derek is questioning. ‘You know what it means?’
‘Symbols are important to werewolves.’ he finds himself saying. ‘Every pack has
one, but there are others that are used to communicate.’
‘Is that what your tattoo is?’ Stiles asks and he nods.
‘So what does the spiral mean?’ Noah asks and Derek frowns.
‘Revenge.’ he shakes his head. ‘But that doesn’t make sense. The only people
that would want revenge would be my family and they’re all dead.’
‘Except for you.’ Stiles says.
‘And your uncle.’ Noah’s looking thoughtful.
‘Yeah, but Peter’s catatonic.’ Derek points out. ‘It can’t be him and it’s not
me so who the hell is it?’ He’s exhausted. The healing is taking it all out of
him and Noah seems to realise this. His face softens and then he’s talking to
Stiles.
‘Get Derek upstairs.’ he says. ‘He’s staying here until he’s better and you’re
going to keep an eye on him.’
‘But school…?’ Stiles starts and Noah shakes his head.
‘I’ll call you in sick tomorrow. I don’t want either of you out after dark and
when Stiles goes back to school and I’m not here you will be, Derek. I’ll feel
a hell of a lot better knowing you’ve got each other’s backs.’ Derek feels a
rush of gratitude and nods willingly. ‘Now, besides us who else knows about
you?’
‘Just Scott.’ Stiles says. ‘I told him.’ He doesn't mention Deaton and Derek
doesn't either.
‘Good.’ Noah is thinking again. ‘Call him and get him to bring your homework
over. I need to do some digging.’ he looks at Derek again. ‘Do you know a man
called Garrison Meyers?’
‘No.’ Derek frowns. ‘Should I?’
‘He’s the bus driver that was killed.’ Noah taps his finger against the
counter. ‘Used to be an insurance investigator.’ He looks grim. ‘Not only that
but he’s on the list you gave me. The one your sister had.’
‘Oh crap.’ Stiles is already there. ‘He’s connected?’
‘When we had that first talk about it not being an accident, I should have
started digging.’ Noah says. ‘Meyers was the one who signed off on the Hale
fire being an accident. He got let go by the insurance company not too long ago
for irregularities and took the bus driving gig to pay his bills.’
‘Shit.’ Stiles turns bright eyes on Derek. ‘You know what this means? Someone
else knows. Someone who didn’t have Laura’s list.’
‘But nobody else does.’ Derek protests. ‘And I never told anyone about Kate.
Not even Laura.’
‘But she was investigating on her own.’ Stiles says. ‘And I hate to break it to
you dude, but you’re kind of easy to read. You carry that damn cross around
with you all the time.’
‘He’s right.’ Noah adds. ‘But then why is she dead? If she got too close and
someone killed her I could understand, but then why keep killing?’
That’s when it suddenly comes crashing down around Derek’s ears.
‘He needed to be an alpha.’ His astonishment at this realisation is second only
to his anger as he realises just why Laura was killed. ‘That fucking bastard.
He killed her to take her power.’
‘Is that a thing?’ Noah’s asking Stiles and gets a shrug. ‘Derek?’
‘Wolves become alphas in two ways.’ Derek’s mind is racing. ‘We inherit our
power through the family line, which is why Laura became the alpha when the
fire happened.’
‘Or…?’ Noah prompts him.
‘Or you can take it by killing another alpha.’ Derek growls. His eyes flash in
anger and he sees Noah recoil.
‘I’m not getting used to that anytime soon.’ he says. ‘Would Laura have known
what that symbol was?’
‘Of course.’ Derek tells him. ‘She was training to take over from our mother,
so she would have been very aware of all of that stuff.’
‘So maybe she got tipped off about the idea that someone was looking for
revenge.’ Noah muses. ‘But it turns out to be a trap, someone kills her and
takes her power. Then they start going after the people that are connected to
your family. Do you know where she was staying while she was here?’
‘She was in our house.’ Derek replies. ‘I found her stuff and the Camaro there.
That’s where I got the list from.’ He looks away. ‘There was something else
though. I didn’t give it to you the first night because of the connection to
what my family was. There was another piece of paper. It had a drawing on it.’
‘What did you do with it?’ Noah asks.
‘It’s at the loft.’ Derek feels the sick lurching of his stomach as he thinks
about her.
‘Would you mind if I go get it?’ Noah’s voice is gentler, realising that he’s
upset.
‘No.’ He bites back a wave of sadness that’s almost debilitating. ‘That’s
okay.’
‘All right.’ Noah holds out a hand. ‘Give me your keys. I’m going to go have a
look for it. It might be something that can help us.’
Derek nods and then digs his keys out his pocket and hands them over, giving
Noah the address of the loft.
‘Thank you.’ he says. ‘I can’t repay what you’re doing, but I appreciate it.’
‘Kid, something is ripping people to pieces on my watch.’ Noah’s anger shows in
the way his eyes narrow. ‘They bit my kid. They killed your sister and a man
she was looking into and I seriously doubt they are done. This is what my job
is, finding people like this and shutting them down.’
‘I’m not even sure it is a person anymore.’ Derek says. ‘Although I really
don’t know what the fuck could have happened to turn a wolf that badly.’ It’s
terrifying to even contemplate and he shivers, making Stiles look at him and
whine.
‘Well, I reckon it’s time to find out.’ Noah says and now there’s steel in his
voice. ‘You boys go to bed. I need to get back to the station and start working
on this.’
‘What about the door?’ Stiles looks over at where Noah has managed to wedge
some of the door back enough to keep out the night, the rest covered over with
taped up garbage bags.
‘I’ll call someone first thing in the morning.’ Noah comes over and Derek
watches him drop a kiss on Stiles’ head. ‘Bed and sleep. I don’t care if you’re
a werewolf or not, those injuries need to heal properly.’
Stiles smiles and holds his arm, leaning into him a little.
‘Okay.’ He nods. ‘We’re not going anywhere.’
‘Good.’ Noah kisses him again for good measure, making Stiles’ nose crinkle.
‘Love you, kiddo.’
‘Love you too, Dad. Be careful, okay?’ Stiles lets him go.
‘I’ll try.’ Noah walks to the door but he stops at Derek and then there’s a
strong sure hand on his shoulder, squeezing in the same way his own father used
to. Derek looks up and sees nothing but gratitude in Noah’s eyes. ‘Thank you
for saving my dumbass son.’ He ignores Stiles’ outraged noise. ‘I’m glad you
were there tonight.’
‘You’re welcome, sir.’ Derek replies and Noah smiles.
‘You need to stop calling me that.’ His mouth twitches. ‘Especially after
seeing how close you two have become.’ His eyes have a twinkle in them that’s
undoubtedly amused. ‘I don’t need to give you the talk do I?’
‘No.’ Derek grimaces.’To be honest, right now I just want to lie down for about
a hundred years.’
‘I think you should.’ Noah says. ‘I’ll see you boys in the morning.’
‘Hate to break it to you Dad, but it’s already morning.’ Stiles calls after him
and gets a snort in reply before the front door slams. They sit in silence for
a few moments, but Stiles already twitching and Derek can’t help the small
smile that crosses his face.
‘Go on.’ He raises his eyebrows at him. ‘Say it.’
‘Oh my God!’ Stiles is nearly vibrating, his scent flooding with borderline
hysteria. ‘What the fuck!?’
‘I know.’ Derek slumps across the table. ‘Jesus fucking Christ.’ He closes his
eyes, ready to just pass out right there. ‘Your dad’s right. This is fucking
insane.’ He throws out a hand and feels Stiles take it. ‘You okay?’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles chokes out. ‘I’m not the one with huge fucking holes in me.’ His
eyes are warm with affection and concern when Derek opens his to look at him.
‘Come on, let’s get you to bed.’
He helps Derek up the stairs and into his room, his own breath drawing short as
the healing gouges in his ribs pull. They are nowhere near as deep and already
the skin over them is whole and clean. He stops and lays Derek down on his bed
as gently as he can, then fusses over the dressings around Derek’s midriff for
a moment. Noah had seen to them first and then done the same for his son and
they now both stink like antiseptic and Derek’s in a pair of Noah’s sweats and
one of his t-shirts, which fit him better than Stiles’ do.
Derek waits patiently for him to get done and then Stiles slides in next to
him, the bed dipping under their combined weight. He eases up to Derek, mindful
of both their injuries as he pulls the covers over them, and Derek moves his
arm so Stiles can curl up along his side with his head on his shoulder. He
feels like a wolf now, the heat from his skin coming through the thin fabric
layers that separate them. His scent is still there under the medication and
Derek turns his head to bury his nose in his hair.
‘I’m beat.’ It’s said through a gigantic yawn and Derek smiles.
‘So sleep.’ he murmurs. ‘You heard your dad.’
‘Mmm.’ Stiles’ eyes are already closed. ‘You’re the best pillow.’ He snuggles
closer and Derek winces slightly as the movement jostles him. ‘Sorry.’
‘I’m okay.’ He’s been saying that a lot tonight and in spite of the fact that
he’s only being held closed by bandages and gauze and surgical tape, Derek
actually believes it when he says it. ‘Hey, can I ask you something?’
‘Sure.’ Stiles practically has his face in Derek’s armpit. ‘What?’
‘What you said about joining your pack.’ Derek falters, knowing that this is
something that he’s been denying himself since he finally separated from Laura
and moved to New York. He’s quiet for too long and Stiles lifts his head,
frowning at him in the dark.
‘Hey.’ He works himself onto one elbow, his own grimace and the flare in his
scent telling Derek that his own injuries are still painful as well. ‘You can
ask.’
‘I think I’d like that.’ Derek finds himself whispering. ‘I’ve missed this.
Having ….’ He trails off, not able to say it.
‘A family?’ Stiles finishes for him.
‘Yeah.’ Derek tries to swallow down the lump in his throat. He won’t cry,
hasn’t been able to in years, but he’s as close as he’s ever gotten. Everything
feels raw, like all his nerve endings are exposed to the air and the slightest
brush across them would be agonising. And yet, Stiles’ scent and his warmth
next to him are like a soothing balm that heals even as it lets him feel.
Suddenly he’s more tired than he’s ever been.
‘You know that would be totally cool, right?’ Stiles’s nose is gently nudging
at his face. ‘My dad likes you and well, you probably know I’m crazy about you
already.’
‘Or you’re just crazy.’ Derek says it without thinking and hears the snicker.
‘Probably.’ Stiles settles back down and now his arm is across Derek’s chest,
carefully steering clear of the bandages. It’s grounding and Derek brings his
right hand up to hold onto the fine boned wrist, feeling the steady beat of
Stiles’ pulse under his fingertips.
**********
Noah drives, keeping his eyes open for anything that looks out of the ordinary.
He’s not stupid, never has been, and he’s known for a long time that Beacon
Hills is not what it seems. He’s got good instincts and he trusts them, and now
that he’s seen his own son turn into something truly otherworldly with his own
eyes he understands a lot more. The memory of the girl, the one in the accident
the night Claudia died, comes back to him and Noah sucks in air through his
teeth and wonders just what the hell is out there that he still doesn’t know
about.
Derek’s loft is in a part of town that is practically deserted. The building
used to be an old textiles factory, but now it’s supposed to be turned into
luxury apartments. He wonders if Stiles is aware that Derek now owns the entire
building (a quick computer check on recent property registration caught that
one) or just how much money he’s got. Christ knows he doesn’t live like he
does, but then Derek hale is turning out to be one hell of a contradiction.
He thinks about the Hales, about Talia and James and the kids that he’d known
in passing. All the Hales had been home schooled until they went to middle
school and now he gets why that was the case. Talia and James had been good
people though, strong and steadfast and devoted to each other in a way that had
made him smile. If he thinks about it, he remembers the kids too. Derek had
been shy and serious, Laura a bubbly outgoing teen that had take part in
community outreach programmes and Cora a bundle of energy that he’d seen
tearing around the market with her parents or one of her relatives. Hell, he
even remembers Peter Hale, with his sharp clothes and even sharper smile.
He gets to the building and parks, leaving the cruiser and letting himself in.
The building is deathly quiet and a little unnerving as Noah finds the elevator
and goes to the top of the building. He lets himself into the apartment and
finds the lights. There’s precious little in the way of belongings or furniture
and he finally finds Laura’s things in the closet in Derek’s bedroom upstairs.
There’s not much - changes of clothes and her wallet, some keys and he’s about
to give up when his fingers brush a slip of paper wedges into one of the
pockets of her backpack. Noah works it out and unfolds it, staring at the
pencilled sketch. It’s a drawing like Derek said, something that looks like a
stylised wolf and it immediately sets his Spidey sense tingling, a phrase that
Stiles loves to use but which he also defaults too. Not all those comics in the
garage are his son’s.
Noah pockets the piece of paper and checks the wallet for anything else.
There’s nothing of interest and he packs everything back and leaves the
apartment, knowing just where his next stop is going to be.
He gets back to the station and gives everyone on duty a quick greeting,
hearing the reports from his deputies as they give him the rundown of what’s
been happening. Everyone is jittery, the murder playing on their nerves. He
listens and issues orders and then it’s into his office where he fires up the
terminal on his desk. Stiles makes frequent jokes about the lack of computing
power at his disposal and tonight Noah feels it keenly. His impatience plays
out in the way he taps his en against the desk, trying desperately to
compartmentalise as his anger finally works its way out. He’s seething by the
time he logs into the station’s server and starts bringing up names. He’d meant
to look into this sooner, but all the craziness had meant sticking it on the
back burner. Now he’s sorry he didn’t, especially when it turns out that
Garrison Meyers is only the tip of the iceberg.
The second name, a Bradley Simpson, has a criminal record that includes arson.
He’s joined by Jason Unger and Donald Reddick, both of whom have done time for
the same offence. That all makes perfect sense. The only name might stand out
is that of Adrian Harris, his son’s chemistry teacher at BHHS, but then the
fact that he’s the one who could have supplied them with enough accelerants to
level a building several times larger than the Hale house makes his involvement
understandable.
The search for the symbol turns up nothing, and he resolves to hand it over to
Stiles in the morning. His son is a genius when it comes to using what he
refers to as his Google fu, much to Noah’s amusement. He has no doubt that
Stiles will probably be able to turn up something.
He tracks Simpson down to a video store in Beacon Hills. The other two men are
currently listed as of no fixed abode and Harris is, of course, employed at the
high school. Noah makes notes and puts them on his watch list. Right now the
murder is his priority but if they are involved in any way at all, he wants to
know.
Next, he starts looking into the Argents.
**********
Stiles wakes up slowly, his face buried in Derek’s chest and his scent filling
his nose. It’s probably the second best way to wake up, after cuddling a wolf
that’s roughly the size of a cow, and he makes a happy noise and wriggles
closer.
Derek rumbles back, the vibration coming from deep in his chest. He watches,
waiting for Stiles to blink his eyes open. He does and then he smiles and the
warm feeling is back, suffusing through Derek’s blood until he wants nothing
more than to tighten his arms around Stiles and never let either of them get
out of this bed again. He shifts and his body protests, not quite healed yet,
so instead he turns his head and Stiles looks at him.
‘Can I ask you something?’ His voice is rough with sleep and Derek is caught on
the back foot because a question is not how he expected his day to start, but
then he should have probably expected it knowing Stiles.
‘What?’ he asks and Stiles looks at him in the same way he might study an
interesting conundrum.
‘Your eyes are blue.’ He reaches up and Derek feels him trace a light fingertip
along his eyebrow. ‘But mine are gold and the alpha’s are red.’
‘That’s not a question.’ Derek counters and now Stiles is giving him a pretty
good glare considering he just woke up.
‘Is it a born wolf thing?’ he asks and Derek sighs, wondering just how much he
can get away with. In the end he knows it’s probably best to come clean and
steels himself.
‘Blue means I killed someone.’ He looks away. ‘An innocent.’
‘Wow.’ Stiles is sitting up, and he smells surprised. ‘You killed someone?’
‘Yeah.’ Derek can’t bring himself to look at him. ‘My first girlfriend was
called Paige. I wanted her to be a wolf so I got an alpha who wasn't my mom to
do it.’
‘But if she got bitten then why…?’ Stiles frowns and then realisation crosses
his face. ‘What happened to her?’
‘The bite didn’t take.’ Derek closes his eyes, trying to blot out the memory of
Paige in his arms, the black blood leaking from her mouth and the smell of her
body shutting down. ‘I just wanted to end her suffering so when she asked me to
make it stop, I did.’ He doesn’t go into detail, doesn’t want to remember the
sickening sound of Paige’s bones breaking or the way she went limp.
‘Fuck.’ The shock in Stiles’ voice makes him open his eyes and chance a look at
him. To his astonishment, he doesn’t look horrified. Instead his face is filled
with sympathy. ‘That must have been fucking awful.’
‘Why are you okay with this?’ Derek tries to move, wincing at the residual pain
in his stomach. ‘I’m a murderer, Stiles.’
‘No, you aren’t.’ Stiles looks bemused. ‘It’s not like you wanted to kill her,
right?’
‘Well, no…’ Derek starts, all too ready to explain why he’s a terrible person
and Stiles snorts at him.
‘And she was suffering . Like, she was already dying?’ His eyebrows are raised
in question and Derek nods.
‘She was, but it was my fault for putting her in that situation.’ he replies.
‘I’m the reason she died.’
‘Did she ask for the bite?’ Stiles is still looking at him with the odd
combination of sympathy and frustration like Derek’s just not getting it.
‘No.’ He frowns. ‘In fact we never actually spoke about it. It was Peter who
suggested it. He even set up the alpha who bit her.’
‘Your uncle?’ Stiles scratches at his jaw. ‘Why would he do that?’
‘Because he knew what would happen when she found out what I was.’ Derek says.
‘He said she would leave unless she got the bite. It would be good, we could be
together and she’d be safe from anything else that might happen to her. I was
so desperate to have her with me forever that I didn’t even think about how
dangerous it was.’
‘Hang on.’ Stiles is now giving him a disbelieving look. ‘Did you even ask her
if she wanted that? Or did you just go on what your uncle told you?’
‘What? No. I mean Peter did convince me but I’m the one who went along with
it.’ Derek growls. ‘That’s why it’s my fault. Paige died because I was stupid
and selfish and I wanted us to be together. I listened to Peter and it cost
Paige her life. I was the one that got her to go to the distillery and led her
right to the alpha.’ He can feel himself shutting down at the sick feeling it
gives him to recall that night. ‘I tried to take it back, but she’d already
been bitten when I tried to save her.’
‘Dude.’ Stiles is now shaking his head at him. ‘You know you were totally
manipulated into that, right? I mean, how old were you?’
‘Fifteen.’ Derek replies and now Stiles is making disparaging noises.
‘So your much older family member, someone you know and presumably trust,
pretty much convinces you that this is a good idea and then sets all this up?’
He snorts and looks particularly unimpressed.
‘A set up?’ Derek’s having trouble computing. ‘What the hell are you talking
about?’
‘Christ, Derek.’ Stiles waves his hands around. ‘That’s like manipulation 101.
You want something so you convince someone to do it for you.’ He looks
thoughtful. ‘What would your uncle have to gain though?’
‘Huh?’ Derek’s trying to keep up. ‘I don’t get what you’re saying.’
‘Okay, so bear with me.’ Stiles says. ‘But my dad’s a cop and one thing I’ve
learned is that you suspect fucking everyone and everything. Why were you so
ready to believe him, especially if you hadn’t even told her about what you
were?’
‘I…’ Derek falters. ‘Peter told me that it had happened to him. He said that
he’d been in love with someone and they’d left him when they found out he was a
werewolf. He didn’t want that for me.’
‘So he tells a fifteen year old teenager to lure his girlfriend into getting a
bite she could have possibly been killed by?’ Stiles shakes his head. ‘Why
didn’t you just ask your mom?’
‘Peter said that she’d never do it.’ Derek remembers this clearly, the argument
he and Peter had had. ‘I had no choice.’
‘Okay but did you ask her? Stiles has his eyebrows up again and Derek growls.
This is starting to feel more like an interrogation than a confessional and
it’s completely throwing him.
‘No.’ He wants to turn over and ignore what’s happening, but Stiles kind of has
him where he can’t get away.
‘So you just took his word for it?’ Stiles asks. ‘You didn’t think that maybe
this was pretty hinky shit going on? I mean, he basically manipulates you into
thinking that you’ve got to do this, gets you to set up your girlfriend and
then what? Was he even there when it happened?’
‘No.’ Derek scowls at him. ‘He showed up afterward.’
‘Fucking hell, Derek.’ Stiles is now giving him a look that is screaming that
he’s an idiot. ‘And you think that this was your fault?’ He shakes his head
again, this time far more vociferously. ‘You got conned, dude. Big time.
There’s no way Paige’s death is on you.’
‘I’m the one who killed her.’ Derek protests.
‘Are you?’ Stiles says, still unconvinced. ‘Because I’d say that you are
probably the last person who’s responsible for that fucking debacle.’ His mouth
twists. ‘Your uncle sounds like an asshole.’
‘Yeah, well he’s paying for it now.’ Derek mutters, but his mind is racing.
He’s been so caught up in feeling guilty about what happened, he’s never really
stopped to think about it. ‘You think he wanted something?’
‘No.’ Stiles gives a mirthless little chuckle. ‘I know he did. I know I look
like an a goofy kid, but I’m pretty good at getting what I want. I know how to
manipulate someone because I do it to Scott all the time. You just got to ask
yourself what he would gain. And how would it work anyway? If the alpha that
bit her wasn’t your mom, she would have been in a different pack wouldn’t she?’
‘Yeah, but we would have been mates.’ Derek says. ‘That’s what Peter told me.’
‘Did she smell like me?’ Stiles asks, now clearly curious and just a tiny bit
jealous if his scent is anything to go by.
‘No.’ Derek realises that he’s certain nobody has ever smelled like Stiles.
‘So then she obviously wasn’t your mate?’ Stiles points out. ‘The question is
why Peter wanted you to think she was. Whatever the reason, you can bet it
wasn’t anything to do with you and all about your uncle getting what he
wanted.’
Derek lets this sink in. Peter had been older than him, out of school but still
young enough for Derek to look up to him, even idolise him a little. He’d
always been a bit strange, his sense of humour slightly skewed and with a way
of making you agree with him about pretty much anything. It had broken all of
Derek’s trust when Paige died and he’d been very careful to hide everything
that happened with Kate as a direct result, which had turned out to be an even
worse idea.
‘Sourwolf.’ Stiles is looking at him, his face back to sympathetic. ‘You’re a
grumpy douche and you’re probably the most emotionally constipated person I’ve
ever met, but you’re not cruel and you would never hurt anyone on purpose. I
truly believe that.’ He places one hand right over Derek’s heart and the simple
gesture has his breathing going all out of kilter. ‘You didn’t have to save me
from the alpha that first night, but you did. Just like you saved me last
night. You’re not a bad person.’
‘Or maybe you’re just a terrible judge of character.’ Derek grumbles and Stiles
huffs and flicks him on the nose.
‘Maybe.’ He is grinning. ‘But I don’t think I am.’
************
Deaton hears the sound of the clinic’s doorbell and leaves the store room,
going into the examination room and frowning when he sees Noah Stilinski
standing there in his uniform and looking particularly officious if somewhat
exhausted.
‘Sheriff.’ He puts on a pleasant smile. ‘How can I help you?’
‘I need to ask your professional opinion.’ Noah has a brown manila folder with
him. ‘You’ve probably heard about the death at the high school that happened on
Saturday night.’
‘I did.’ Deaton starts to feel suspicious. He knows it pays to be on his guard
around Noah. The sheriff is far too astute to be taken lightly. ‘It sounded
like a particularly violent act.’
‘It was.’ Noah moves to the examination table. ‘He was ripped to pieces and I
am being quite literal when I say that.’ He sets the folder down. ‘I realise
that what I am about to show you is quite graphic but I would really appreciate
your input.’
‘You think it was another wild animal attack?’ Deaton is very careful to keep
his face perfectly neutral.
‘You tell me.’ Noah opens the folder, his sharp blue eyes not leaving Deaton’s
face. He places several glossy shots on the table and slides them across. ‘What
do you think could have done this?’ His mouth twists minutely. ‘Another
mountain lion perhaps?’
Deaton is immediately on alert. After the last time Noah had come to see him
with regards to Laura Hale’s death, he’d lied and tried to get Noah onto the
wrong trail. It had taken a great deal of self-control to not react to seeing
Laura’s body. He’d known it had to be her even without the top half. Hunters
had a very distinct signature.
He takes his time, perusing the pictures. It’s clear that the alpha has struck
again, this time with a ferocity that is truly frightening.
‘There’s a lot of tissue damage.’ he says. ‘It’s difficult to say.’ He’s aware
of Noah coming to stand close to him, leaning over and looking at the pictures
as well.
‘You have another explanation?’ he asks.
‘No.’ Deaton knows he has to shut this down now.’ I’m very sorry. I can’t help
you.’ he starts to move away but then Noah chuckles.
‘Now you see?’ He’s looking ever so slightly gleeful. ‘That shit really isn’t
going to wash anymore, Doctor Deaton.’ He grins, but there’s precious little
humour in it. ‘You’re going to have to start being straight with me.’
Deaton weighs his options and folds his arms, giving Noah a steady look. If
this is going to be a showdown, he needs to make sure that the sheriff knows
that he’s not some teenage perp he can walk roughshod over.
‘How much do you know?’ he asks and Noah’s smile widens. It’s actually quite
terrifying in its intensity and Deaton moves around the opposite side of the
table for good measure.
‘All of it.’ Noah replies. ‘I know that this man was killed by an alpha
werewolf. I know that it’s also the thing that killed Laura Hale and that she’d
been back in town investigating the fire. I know that Derek is in this up to
those ferocious eyebrows of his and I also know that last night that thing came
into my house, smashed my kitchen door to smithereens and took every shotgun
round I have before it ran its ass off into the woods.’ He leans both hands on
the table. ‘How’s that?’
Deaton sighs and bows his head. He really needs to get a handle on things and
do some damage control. Then again, having the sheriff in the know could prove
to be extremely useful. He doesn't miss the fact that Stilinski has taken care
not to mention that Stiles is a werewolf and wonders if he knows.
‘You want some coffee?’ he asks. ‘I have a box of Krispy Kremes in the back.’
He pulls a face. ‘I think we’re going to need them.’
‘Now you’re speaking my language.’ Noah says and follows him out the room.
***********
By the afternoon, Stiles is bouncing off the walls and Derek kind of wants to
kill him a little bit.
Or maybe a lot.
He’s managed to migrate from the bed to the couch, his insides feeling less
like they’ve gone through a cheese grater. Stiles, the little fucker, is
completely healed and so he’s doing his best to entertain himself which means
he’s basically just annoying the fuck out of Derek while trying to look after
him.
It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate it, but Derek is feeling a little raw after
his confession that morning. He wants to hide a bit, wrap himself in on himself
and heal inside as well as out. It’s a lot harder to ignore the pain when it’s
being poked at, and Stiles is a nosy little shit. He’s also far too clever to
let Derek off the hook when he tries to lie, and Derek gets the feeling that
would have been the case even without the werewolf abilities.
‘You need to calm the fuck down.’ he says and Stiles looks up, his face a
little startled and his nails in his mouth.
‘I’m calm.’ he replies, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. ‘It’s not like my
life has turned into a horror flick overnight.’ He grins. ‘Oh no, that’s Scott.
My life, on the other hand, has become completely fucking unmanageable. The
only reason I’m still going along with it is that I get to stick my tongue in
your mouth.’
‘If that’s your only motivation, then it sucks balls.’ Derek observes and
Stiles flips him off and gets up off the couch.
‘I can’t sit around here.’ He starts pacing back and forth. ‘I need to get out
there and start looking around for something that will get us back on track.’
‘Well, you’re not going out alone.’ Derek growls and gets an arched eyebrow in
response. ‘You dad was very clear on that particular instruction.’
‘So?’ Stiles snorts. ‘It’s not like I ever do what he tells me to do.’ His eyes
narrow. ‘And don’t think that because you got all territorial on my ass that
I’ll listen to you either.’
‘I wouldn’t dream of it.’ Derek drawls, giving back as good as he’s getting.
‘But I am telling you that I’ll bite your legs off before I let you go out
there alone.’
‘Then you’re just going to have to come with.’ Stiles tells him. ‘Besides, I’ll
need you.’ He starts heading for the stairs and Derek swears and gets up.
‘What? Why?’ he asks and then huffs in annoyance when he gets no answer.
‘Stiles, for fuck’s sake. What the hell are we doing?’
‘Going to see your uncle.’ Stiles yells from his room and Derek stops dead.
‘No.’ It comes out without him even thinking about it. ‘No fucking way.’ He
starts stomping up the stairs in temper and then winces when it jolts him.
‘Dude.’ Stile sticks his head out the door as he gets up the stairs. ‘You’re
the only one that’s going to get us in. I need you.’
‘Did you miss that part where he’s also in a catatonic state?’ Derek spits.
‘Because the last time I checked, that meant not being able to speak.’
‘Oh ha ha.’ Stiles is flinging clothes around. ‘Yes I realise that, you
asshole. But if we go and see him, maybe the staff there will be able to tell
us something. Like if anyone has been trying to visit him. That’s also why I
need you.’
Derek opens his mouth to protest and then grudgingly realises that actually
makes a lot of sense.
‘Goddammit.’ He walks over and snatches the shirt Stiles is holding out with a
gleefully triumphant smile on his face.
‘You know I’m right.’ he says and Derek growls at him again and then looks at
the shirt, holding it up.
‘This is never going to fit.’ He chucks it back.
‘Then I guess we’re stopping off at your place to get you some clothes.’ Stiles
replies and starts getting dressed. He pulls his own off and gives himself a
critical look in the mirror on the inside of his closet door. ‘Did you come out
the womb with a six pack? Am I ever going to get one?’
‘I work out, Stiles.’ Derek folds his arms. ‘You’ll put on some muscle mass
with being a wolf, but that doesn’t mean you can skip leg day.’
‘Great.’ Stiles rolls his eyes. ‘Forever a loser.’
‘You’re not a loser.’ Derek corrects him. ‘I would never mate with a loser.’
‘No?’ Stiles looks delighted. ‘So you think I’m cool?’
‘I wouldn’t go that far.’ Derek snorts and shoves him into the closet, grinning
at the outraged squawk.
They bicker continuously all the way to the loft before Derek remembers that
Noah has his keys.
‘Fuck.’ He makes a face.
‘Guess it’s Plan B.’ Stiles says.
‘And what the hell is that?’ Derek asks and gets a grin.
Plan B turns out to be breaking in.
‘You need better security.’ Stiles tells him before very skilfully picking the
locks. Derek just stares at him.
‘Why is it that the son of the sheriff of Beacon Hills knows how to pick
locks?’ he asks and Stiles snickers.
‘I can hotwire a car too.’ He grins at Derek’s raised eyebrow. ‘Come on. I have
severe ADD. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve left my keys somewhere?’
‘That is entirely not comforting.’ Derek mutters following him in.
‘Hey. I come with an incredible skill set.’ Stiles says over his shoulder. ‘You
may have won the genetic lottery but my brain is like a steel trap, baby.’ He
taps his temple for good measure and Derek wonders again just how is this his
life.
He can smell Noah in the loft when they get inside but he’s pleased to see that
whatever the Sheriff may have found, he’s put everything back where he found
it. It only takes a moment to get showered, checking his abdomen for anything
worrying. The wounds have finally sealed shut completely and while he’s still
in some discomfort, the worst of the damage is gone. He can hear Stiles poking
around his bedroom and smiles in spite of himself when he hears the draw next
to his bed sliding open and hears Stiles heart rate kick up a notch.
‘You have a one track mind.’ he says when he comes back into the room,
towelling his hair and dressed in clean clothes.
‘Ha.’ Stiles leans back against his dresser. ‘I’ll have you know that multi-
tasking is my forte.’ He then gets an adorably shy look on his face. ‘We’re
going to eventually be trying that stuff out right?’ He nods at the nightstand.
‘I mean you have lube. And condoms. Obviously sex is something you do.’
‘If we’re still together after we’ve caught the alpha and you still want this,
then we can discuss it.’ he replies.
‘Good.’ Stiles grins. ‘Because I have like a list of things I want to try.’ He
watches as Derek packs some things in a duffle bag. ‘So this mates thing? It’s
serious, right?’
‘It is.’ Derek hauls the bag over his shoulder. ‘Which is why we’re taking it
seriously.’
‘Cool.’ Stiles crinkles his nose. ‘Why me though?’
‘You smell right.’ Derek says and that makes Stiles frown.
‘So that’s all it is?’ he sounds a little disappointed. ‘Body chemistry?’
‘Not all of it.’ Derek replies. ‘But it’s a lot of it. You need to fit with
your mate, have wolves that are compatible.’
‘So our wolves are like...smitten with each other?’ Stiles asks and Derek
stifles a smile. He thinks of his own wolf and how it wags its tail frantically
and bounces whenever Stiles is near. In fact, that’s exactly what it’s doing
now, head tilted and whining happily.
‘That’s it.’ They go down the staircase and he shakes his head when Stiles
takes a flying leap off the fifth step.
‘So say I stay a wolf and we get mated for real?’ He turns and looks at Derek
and the light coming through the floor to ceiling windows hits his eyes and
turns them to amber. It’s enough to momentarily stop Derek in his tracks and
stare at how beautiful Stiles actually is when he’s not being a colossal dork.
‘Then what?’
‘Then we belong to each other.’ he explains. ‘If you wanted we could get
married, but we wouldn’t have to. It would mean nobody else for either of us.
Ever.’ He says the last word with gravity, half expecting Stiles to be put off,
but all he gets is eager excitement in his scent.
‘Does that mean you’d come to all my school dances with me?’ He’s smiling.
‘Because that would be awesome. I’d totally have the hottest date there.’
Derek gently cuffs him as he passes.
‘Idiot.’ He can’t hide the affection in his voice and this is so much more than
he signed up for, but he’s strangely okay with it.
‘Hey, I just want to be in the know.’ Stiles protests. ‘I know the plan is for
us to get the alpha and turn me back into a human, but I have to say this is
kind of cool.’ he shrugs. ‘I’m first line, I have a smoking hot boyfriend and
my life has gotten about 1000 percent more interesting.’
‘It’s also gotten about a 1000 percent more dangerous too.’ Derek points out.
He does preen a little at the description of himself as smoking hot and his
wolf is one very happy camper.
‘Oh, don’t smell so smug.’ Stiles backhands him in the chest and there’s now
some serious strength behind it. ‘You know you’re hot.’ They get back
downstairs and Stiles starts the Jeep when Derek speaks again.
‘You know you’re actually really cute.’ He hadn’t missed the wistfulness
earlier when Stiles was checking himself out in the mirror. ‘And I like you
pretty much the way you are.’ He shrugs. ‘I might have a thing for those.’ He
nods at Stiles’ face and gets an astonished smile as Stiles lifts a hand to his
neck, brown eyes sparkling.
‘You like my moles?’ He looks abashed. ‘I always thought they were ugly.’
‘They’re not.’ Derek replies. ‘They’re like little constellations.’ He sighs at
his own sappiness. ‘I might want to play connect the dots with them.’ He gives
Stiles a meaningful glance. ‘With my tongue.’ It’s very gratifying to see how
wide Stiles’ eyes go and how his mouth falls open.
‘Dude.’ He breathes the word with an almost religious reverence. ‘That’s so
freaking hot.’
‘Well, it’ll have to wait.’ Derek tells him. ‘Now drive. I’ve got my single
remaining family member to harass.’
‘Are you going to be okay with this?’ Stiles asks as he pulls out of the
parking lot. ‘I kind of didn’t even ask.’
‘I have to see him sometime.’ Derek says, thinking about the last time he saw
Peter. Laura hadn’t allowed him to go with her to the hospital, worried about
traumatising him further after the fire. He remembers a man with a wicked sense
of humour and a tendency to buy wildly inappropriate gifts. He’d been
eccentric, but in a way that appealed to Derek and he’d always treated him like
an adult. He doesn’t want to confront the reality that his uncle is nothing
more than an empty shell in a hospital bed. Still, if it gives them a lead on
the alpha then it will be worth it.
‘I know but I kind of shoved this in your face.’ Stiles’ mouth twists. ‘I do
that and I don’t always think about what will happen afterwards so if I do
overstep just like yell at me to not. Hopefully I’ll listen.’
Derek looks at him, and he feels a warmth inside him at the realisation that
Stiles is the only person who’s had this level of concern for him since his
family died. He thinks of the declaration that he’s now part of the Stilinski
pack ad how much that meant to him.
‘You know you’re a really good person.’ he says. ‘I think that’s why my wolf
chose you. That and the fact that you smell really good.’
‘Yeah?’ Stiles is smiling. ‘You do too. All leathery.’ Then he goes scarlet as
he realises what he says and they way he looks so mortified makes Derek’s
stomach do a funny flipping thing and oh fuck this might be a lot more serious
that he thought. He stays quiet all the way to the hospital when he senses the
change in Stiles’ demeanour and smells his scent tinge with sourness. He knows
without asking why Stiles is sad, and he puts a hand on his knee.
‘You know that checking if you’re okay thing goes both ways.’ he says. ‘Are you
going to be okay going in there?’
‘No.’ Stiles gives a weak laugh. ‘But with how clumsy I am, I haven’t exactly
been able to avoid it. Besides, Melissa works there.’ He sees Derek frown.
‘Scott’s mom.’
‘Oh.’ Derek looks at him. ‘I’m guessing we’ll have to avoid her.’
‘Probably a good idea.’ Stiles undoes his seat belt. ‘She’s a lot smarter than
Scott and she’ll ask questions about who you are.’
They go in the side entrance and scout around for a second to find the
signboard that tells them that the long term care unit as at the back of the
building. There’s a nurse at the station when they get there and she raises her
eyebrows at them in question.
‘Can I help you?’ she asks and Derek turns on his tried and tested smile,
knowing full well how it can charm the pants off practically anyone.
‘I hope so.’ he says. ‘My name’s Derek Hale. I’m here to see my uncle.’ He can
see Stiles gawking at him out of the corner of his eye and gives him the
smallest sub-sonic growl. Stiles immediately schools his face into something
less suspicious (although not by much) and shuffles in behind him.
‘Oh.’ The nurse looks at them both. ‘He hasn’t had a visitor for a long time.’
‘No.’ Derek says. ‘I’ve been in New York and only just got back to town. I
wanted to come and see how he is.’
‘Of course.’ The nurse is now looking a little uncomfortable and Derek knows
she’s thinking about the fire. ‘I am sorry. About your family.’
‘Thank you.’ Derek hates this, the pity in her eyes. She nods briskly and holds
out a hand.
‘Driver’s license?’ she says. ‘I need some form of photo ID. Just to confirm
you’re who you say you are.’
‘Sure.’ Derek takes out his wallet and hands it over. Stiles is peering over
his shoulder and then stifles a guffaw as he catches sight of Derek’s middle
name. He decides then and there to wreak bloody revenge and find out what
monstrosity he’s hiding.
The nurse inspects it and then hands the card back, gesturing down the
corridor.
‘He’s down there, third on the left.’ she says and Derek thanks her. They start
down the corridor and he feels his feet getting heavier as anxiety gets the
better of him.
‘Hey.’ Stiles’ hand is on his shoulder. ‘Just keep breathing, big guy. You got
this.’
The door is ajar and a red haired nurse comes out just as they get to it.
‘Oh?’ She doesn’t look or smell pleased to see them. ‘Can I help you?’
‘I’m here to see my uncle.’ Derek says, and he sniffs discreetly. The medicinal
smell of the hospital layers everything, but he can also catch something else.
It’s almost corrupt and there’s something else that he swears he recognises.
‘Of course.’ The nurse steps around them and marches down the hallway and Derek
turns to watch her go, the hairs on the back of his neck prickling.
‘Well she’s creepy.’ Stiles says next to him. ‘Think her name’s Nurse
Ratchett?’
‘Come on.’ Derek moves into the room. It’s a typical hospital room, a bed and
nightstand and privacy curtain. He takes a deep breath and moves to stand next
to the bed and gets a good look at his uncle for the first time in six years.
Peter Hale had been a handsome man before the fire. Now looking at him, Derek
can still see the vestiges of those looks that had often gotten his uncle free
coffees at the local cafe. That is only from one side though, the other is
terribly scarred from the fire. The skin is waxy and unnatural looking, almost
like Peter’s wearing a prosthetic.
‘Damn.’ Stiles is staring at him. ‘Dude got hit pretty bad.’
‘He made it out though.’ Derek says. ‘But at what price.’
‘I thought you guys could heal from anything.’ Stiles has moved in closer.
‘Within reason.’ Derek shakes his head. ‘Laura told me that his injuries were
so severe that he would never have survived them if he were human. The coma is
his body’s way of healing him.’
‘So shouldn’t he be healed by now?’ Stiles looks confused. ‘It’s been six
years.’
‘I don’t know, Stiles.’ Derek looks down at his uncle’s hands which are clasped
over the bedclothes. The nails are neatly trimmed but then something catches
his attention. He sniffs, the chemical odour from earlier coalescing into
something with the distinct scent of dirt.
‘Derek?’ Stiles is watching him. ‘Dude? What?’
Derek ignores him and reaches out, taking Peter’s right hand. His uncle’s skin
is warm and alive, but not the temperature a werewolf would normally run at. He
lifts the hand and then bends his head, sniffing more intently. The smell of
dirt is subtle, but it’s there and that sets his mind racing.
‘Smell.’ he orders and Stiles grimaces.
‘Dude.’ He looks unconvinced. ‘You’re asking me to smell your uncle’s fingers?
That’s like super creepy.’
‘Just do it.’ Derek growls and Stiles pulls a face and complies, then frowns.
‘He smells like dirt.’ His brown eyes sharpen as he gets it. ‘But if he’s
comatose then how could he get outside?’
‘Maybe he didn’t.’ Derek scents the air again. ‘I can smell something else.
Like chemicals.’
‘Not the disinfectant?’ Stiles copies him, his nostril flaring.
‘No.’ Derek shakes his head. ‘I smelled it in the woods when I was tracking the
alpha and on Laura’s body. I wasn’t sure what it was but then I smelled it all
over the alpha when it attacked us last night too.’
‘So that means it was here?’ Stiles hisses, looking around. ‘It got into the
hospital?’
‘Shit.’ Derek’s blood runs cold at the thought. ‘Maybe this is some kind of
vendetta. Maybe it’s trying to take all of us out, the last Hales and the
people who killed my family.’
‘Okay, that makes no sense at all.’ Stiles says. ‘We’re missing something.’
‘Maybe.’ Derek looks down at Peter. ‘We can’t leave him here.’
‘He’s safe here, Derek.’ Stiles puts a hand on his arm. ‘If the alpha hasn’t
killed him in here, it shows that.’ He tugs on Derek’s sleeve. ‘Look, getting
him out of here will probably take a while anyway. We should talk to Deaton,
maybe get something to keep him even safer but it’s not like you’re equipped to
take care of him at the loft and we can’t take him to my house.’
‘No.’ Derek agrees. ‘Okay. But we need to let your dad know. Maybe he can get
him some extra security or something. That should make the alpha think twice.’
‘Good idea.’ Stiles shoves his hands in his pockets and now Derek notices the
scent of unease. ‘Look, could we go? This place is creeping me out.’
‘Yeah.’ Derek steps back. ‘Not a lot to see here.’ He feels horrible inside,
remembering how Peter was never quiet, never this still. He wants to leave
every bit as badly as Stiles does. They exit the room a little more quickly
than is graceful and nearly gallop down the corridor, past the nurses’ station
and head for the exit.
In the Jeep, Derek sits back and huffs.
‘This is turning into a fucking Nancy Drew mystery.’ he grumbles and Stiles
looks at him like he’s just won the lottery.
‘Nancy Drew?’ he asks.
‘Laura was crazy about those books.’ Derek replies. ‘I might have stolen them
from her to read.’
‘Oh my God!’ Stilles crows. ‘You’re a secret nerd! And your middle name is
Sebastian.’ He cackles. ‘Dude! This is great. You’re just like me.’
‘No.’ Derek sticks his finger in Stiles’ beaming face. ‘I was never as deeply
uncool as you are.’
‘Bullshit.’ Stiles snaps playfully at his finger. ‘You said I wasn't a loser.
No takesies backsies. And you’re tapping this. Well, kind of tapping this.
Besides, I’m not so uncool anymore. I’m playing first line now. Lydia is even
talking to me.’
‘Whatever.’ Derek mutters as Stiles starts the car. ‘Okay we need a plan.’
‘Which I will be in charge of.’ Stiles says. ‘But we also need food.’
‘Fine, we’ll go to the store.’ Derek leans back in his seat. His healing is
taxing his body and he definitely feels the need for food. ‘I can make dinner.’
He catches Stiles’ amazed grin. ‘What? I can cook more than pancakes and if I’m
going to be staying there a while, I’d like to earn my keep.’
‘You could do that in other ways.’ Stiles replies as casually as he can and
Derek snorts.
‘Like I said.’ He smirks at the idiot he’s hitched himself to. ‘One track
mind.’
***********
In the hospital, Jennifer Hall waits until her colleague goes on her rounds to
check on the patients on her ward before taking out her cell phone and dialling
a number from memory.
‘You said you wanted to know if he came around.’ she says without greeting the
person on the other side. ‘I’m calling to tell you he was just here.’ She
listens. ‘No, he was with some kid I didn’t recognise. They stayed for about
ten minutes and then took off.’
The person on the other side is clearly not happy and Jennifer’s brows knit in
annoyance.
‘Look, you don’t pay me enough to draw attention to myself. The treatments will
be administered as they have been. If I change his medication protocols, it’ll
be suspicious. I do my best but I can’t watch him twenty-four seven.’ She huffs
at the answer. ‘No, he’s not getting out without my knowledge. You can trust me
on that.’ She toys with her pen. ‘I’m here until eleven. If you want to come
in, you better do it before I leave.’
The person on the other side disconnects the call and Jennifer smiles to
herself, getting up and walking down the corridor to the room the visitors were
in. She goes inside and closes the door, smiling as she approaches the bed.
‘You’re causing quite a stir, Mr Hale.’ she says. ‘Your master is not very
happy with you. The bus driver was messy and you missed your mark last night.’
She reaches out and adjusts the covers. ‘I hate to think what they’re going to
come up with to punish you.’
She hums as she bustles about the room, making sure things are neat and tidy
before leaving once again, completely missing the way Peter’s hands tighten
briefly on the covers and icy blue eyes track her to the doorway.
***********
‘Get off that.’ Derek is rolling his eyes at him and Stiles scoffs and ignores
him completely. He’s currently riding the shopping cart down the parking lot,
making spaceship noises just like he used to do all through his childhood.
‘Make me.’ he shoots back and then yelps as Derek grabs the back of his hoodie
and he flies backwards off the cart and into Derek’s arms. It’s not unlike
hitting a brick wall. ‘Douchewolf.’
Derek huffs and sets him down, commandeering the cart and steering it in a far
more adult manner into the store. Stiles shoves his hands in his pockets,
dragging his sneakers so they squeak along the floor. He grins when he sees how
it makes Derek scowl at him.
‘So what do werewolves typically eat?’ He’s snickering already. ‘Do we prefer
kibble or wet food?’
‘Shut up, Stiles.’ Derek’s heading in the direction of the fridges. He stops at
the meat counter and Stiles flails.
‘No.’ he says. ‘Absolutely not. It’ll just give him license.’
‘You know as amusing as it is that you police your father’s diet, I don’t think
one night of steak is going to kill him.’ Derek points out, grabbing five packs
and dumping them in the cart.
‘Says you.’ Stiles immediately retrieves them and puts them back. ‘Red meat is
a killer in men over forty.’
‘So is prostate cancer.’ Derek picks the steaks back up and puts them in the
cart again. ‘Are you telling me you’re going to make him have that removed?’
‘No, gross.’ Stiles huffs and tries to pick the steaks back out. Derek growls
at him and he growls back on instinct and there’s a very undignified scuffle
over the steaks for a few minutes until they realise that three people in the
same aisle have stopped to watch them.
‘Move.’ Derek shoves him in the back and Stiles trips briefly over his own
feet, glaring at him when Derek snorts with laughter. The steaks stay in the
cart.
‘You’re such a dick.’ he hisses as he regains his balance and affects a
nonchalant attitude as they pass the onlookers.
‘For that you can pick the vegetables.’ Derek says with mock sweetness and
Stiles kicks him in the ankle.
‘I finally get a boyfriend and he’s the most annoying person on the planet.’ he
grumbles, even though he’s having the best time of his life. There’s nothing he
loves more than bickering but Scott rarely manages to keep up with him.
‘That’s because he’s driven to it.’ Derek stops and mulls over potatoes before
picking some out. Stiles knows he’s being as immature as he can get but he
sticks his tongue out at him all the same and then ducks a stray hand. He grabs
a bag of kale and some green beans and hurls in them in the cart.
‘I don’t want him to die.’ he blurts out.
Derek stops and his face softens, his scent changing and becoming almost
wistful.
‘I know.’ he replies. ‘But there’s such a thing as being too protective.’
‘Like you wouldn’t be?’ Stiles chews on a nail. ‘If you could go back, wouldn’t
you sit on Laura until she decided not to come?’
‘I would.’ Derek’s face is closed off, but Stiles can smell he’s sad. ‘I would
never let her go.’ He sighs and then shakes it off and keeps moving. ‘We
weren’t as close as we could have been. Shit happened and I didn’t help her as
much as I could have. I’d do things differently now.’
‘Yeah.’ He moves in, his instincts driving him to rest his cheek against
Derek’s shoulder. ‘I’d tell my mom how much I loved her a lot more.’
‘Yeah.’ Derek’s breath skims the top of his head, a not quite kiss but it makes
Stiles’ heart thump all the same. ‘Me too.’
They wander the aisles, arguing over the finer points of breakfast cereals and
pop tarts, whether regular Cheetos are superior to hot ones and how much jerky
Derek seems intent on buying. At the checkout, Stiles packs while Derek pays
and then they haul out the extraordinarily large number of bags to the Jeep and
load them into the trunk.
‘We eat a lot, don’t we?’ Stiles eyes the overflowing trunk.
‘Yeah.’ Derek rearranges some bags and closes the trunk. ‘You should have seen
our weekly shop.’ He grins and chucks a bag of Twizzlers at Stiles. ‘Think
fast.’
Stils smiles as he catches them easily, ripping them ope with his teeth. It’s
very satisfying. He gets in the car and offers the bag to Derek, only a little
surprised when Derek takes two and chomps on them. They finish the candy by the
time they get to the house and see the cruiser is parked outside. Noah is at
the dining room table when they come inside. Stiles can smell he's showered and
he's changed into jeans and a sweater, his reading glasses on his face. He
regards them making two trips to bring in everything and then shakes his head
and goes back to what he’s doing. Stiles leaves Derek unpacking the food and
goes to stand behind him.
‘What’s up Daddio?’ He leans on the back of Noah’s chair.
‘I will pay you a million dollars to never call me that again.’ Noah replies
and Stiles hears Derek snort with laughter from the kitchen. ‘And I am putting
things together.’ He nods at a set of mugshots. ‘Meet the Hale house
arsonists.’
‘Seriously?’ Stiles reaches over and Noah smacks his hand. Derek’s come out the
kitchen and he’s now at the table also staring at the photographs.
‘Who are they.’ he asks and Stiles sees a muscle twitch in his jaw. It’s not
hard to see and smell the anger in him and he finds himself whining. That gets
a raised eyebrow from his father but he says nothing, addressing himself to
Derek instead.
‘These are all the men from the list.’ he says. ‘All with criminal records for
arson barring one. I think it’s clear that they were the ones who assisted in
torching the house. These two are in the system as having no fixed abode.’ He
indicates two of the pictures. The one of a balding man he sets aside. ‘This is
the late Mr Meyers. I also looked up the Argents. It seems Christ Argent is in
the arms business.’
‘Hunters.’ Derek all but spits the word. He folds his arms. ‘So now what?’
‘We need some hard evidence to link them all.’ Noah says. ‘I’m going to be
having a quiet word with Adrian Harris in the near future.’ He hands a
photocopy of a drawing to Derek. ‘So this drawing I got from Laura’s things, do
you recognise it?’
‘It’s a wolf, obviously.’ Derek says, taking the paper. ‘That’s the reason why
i didn’t show you right away. The connection must be with the Argents somehow.’
‘I don’t know yet.’ Noah replies. He takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes.
‘I need to sleep. Maybe this will all make more sense in the morning.’
‘Food first.’ Stiles can smell his fatigue. ‘Then you can go to bed.’
‘Derek can take you to school in the morning and collect you.’ Noah says. ‘I’ll
go back in tomorrow and see what else I can find.’ He looks at Stiles. ‘Scott’s
dating the Argent girl, right?’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles is looking at the drawing in Derek’s hand.
‘See of he can get anything out of her.’ Noah leans back in his seat. ‘I guess
we should have dinner.’
‘I’ll take care of that.’ Derek hands him back the picture. ‘We got steak.’
‘Oh bless you.’ Noah immediately perks up and Stiles glares at Derek when he
gets a smug look.
‘Don’t get used to it.’ he mutters and Noah grins.
‘Derek knows how to get on my good side.’ he retorts. ‘I think he’s going to be
my new favourite.’
Derek’s smugness intensifies and Stiles bares his teeth at him, grumbling all
the way to the kitchen as he gets dragged off to help with dinner. Noah’s glee
extends to the bakes potatoes and he even eats the kale and green beans without
complaint and Stiles has to grudgingly admit that Derek knows how to cook.
There’s idle conversation about baseball, a brief argument about the Mets
versus the Yankees and by that time, they’re all yawning. Noah inspects Derek’s
now healed midriff, his eyes widening at the complete lack of evidence of any
damage.
‘That’s something else.’ he says.
‘It helps.’ Derek says as he clears the table. ‘Alpha inflicted injuries heal
slower, but they do heal.’
‘Is there anything that is lethal to werewolves?’ Noah asks. ‘Silver?’
‘It hurts but it doesn’t kill us.’ Derek replies. ‘Aconite is lethal and so is
mistletoe. Electricity hurts us and stops us from shifting.’ He makes a face.
‘Hunters use all of those things to kill us.’
‘How?’ Noah asks. Stiles also pays attention to this. He’d gotten kind of
carried away by the idea that he was pretty much invulnerable, especially after
healing from the claw marks in his side.
‘They use rounds with aconite cores.’ Derek replies, letting water in to do the
dishes. ‘They coat projectile weapons in silver and use the electricity to
torture pretty much the same way humans do.’ He grimaces. ‘They’ve had
centuries to perfect their techniques.’
‘Still.’ Noah looks thoughtful. ‘Those things would also be helpful in taking
down the alpha, wouldn’t they?’
‘Yeah.’ Derek turns and leans against the counter. ‘But you’d have to be able
to get your hands on them.’
‘Electricity is no problem, we got plenty of tasers at the station. Could
Deaton help us with the other stuff though?’ Noah asks. ‘He seems pretty
knowledgeable.’
‘You saw him?’ Stiles asks, now filled with curiosity.
‘We had a very enlightening conversation.’ Noah says and Stiles feels his
stomach twist, wondering just how much Deaton told his father. He can see that
Derek is also apprehensive, his eyes darting to Stiles for a second. ‘He
explained a lot about what we’re dealing with.’
‘Oh?’ Stiles doesn’t want to give the game away. He’s said nothing about how he
spent the full moon and hopes like hell that Deaton hasn’t either. Noah doesn’t
seem to be angling for anything, but he knows from experience how sneaky his
father can be.
‘He agrees with you about the deer.’ Noah says to Derek. ‘I haven't said
anything about you Stiles. Figured I wanted to get a feel for him first.’
‘He could help.’ Derek replies, smelling relieved at this. ‘Although I don’t
know how much he knows about making bullets.’
‘That part I can take care of.’ Noah says. ‘I can find someone to do that if he
gets us the other thing.’ He frowns. ‘Aconite, you said?’
‘It’s also called wolfsbane.’ Derek explains. ‘What else did you find out?’
‘That Kate Argent is in town.’ Noah says. ‘She’s staying with her family. Has
been for a couple of weeks.’ He looks at Derek, obviously concerned.
‘We know that.’ Stiles pulls a face. ‘She’s harassed Scott a couple of times
when he’s gone there.’ He looks at Derek. They haven’t told Noah after anything
about Peter but now’s probably as good a time as any. He raises his eyebrows
and Derek frowns in concern and Stiles growls at him. ‘Dude.’
‘Fine.’ Derek huffs and folds his arms. Noah’s looking between them, apparently
bemused.
‘You both realise you just had an entire conversation with your eyebrows?’ His
mouth quirks. ‘Spit it out, boys.’
‘We went to see Peter today.’ Derek says. ‘At the hospital.’
‘Oh?’ Noah’s eyes narrow. ‘I thought I told you both not to go anywhere.’ He’s
using his dad voice and Stiles winces and looks at Derek and sees him doing the
exact same thing. ‘Did you find anything useful?’
‘Yeah, Derek’s middle name is Sebastian.’ Stiles can’t help grinning. ‘That’s
like the dorkiest name in existence.’ Derek rumbles at him and Noah gives him a
look before chuckling.
‘Has he told you his name’s Mieczysław.’ he says and Stiles chokes in
indignation.
‘Dad!’ he hisses and Noah gives him an affronted look.
‘You make fun of his name, then I give him ammunition.’ he replies. ‘Stiles
hates it. He even defaced his driver’s license so nobody could find out. I
don’t think Scott even knows what it is. Trust me, compared to that Sebastian
is a very nice name.’
‘It was my grandfather’s.’ Derek says and Noah smiles.
‘Well isn’t that a coincidence.’ He nods at Stiles. ‘It was his grandfather’s
name too.’
‘God.’ Stiles throws himself dramatically back into his chair. ‘I’m starting to
feel somewhat victimised here.’
‘You’ll live.’ Noah says. ‘But seriously, anything useful?’
‘The alpha was there.’ Derek replies. ‘In his room. We could smell it.’
‘How though?’ Noah asks. ‘That’s a closed ward and I’m we would have had
reports of something rampaging through.’
‘He’s a werewolf, Dad.’ Stiles shrugs. ‘I’m assuming that he’s human looking
when he’s not howling at the moon.’
‘Good point.’ Noah makes a note. ‘I’ll get hold of the visitor log.’ He looks
at them. ‘So, if we find this alpha and take him out, Stiles turns back?’
‘Maybe?’ Derek shrugs. ‘It’s what we’re hoping.’
The tick in his heartbeat makes Stiles look up immediately, eyes wide.
‘Okay then.’ Noah gets up. ‘We have a lot of work to do. Stiles, you’re on
finding out what that drawing. Derek, you’re on security and I’ll start chasing
up Harris.’ He shakes his head at them when they both start protesting at the
same time, holding up a hand. ‘Shut up both of you. I’m going to bed and then
we are stating this questionable and dare I say it highly illegal investigation
tomorrow.’ He huffs and shakes his head. ‘Fucking werewolves. Next you’re going
to tell me unicorns are real.’
‘You know Mom would have been very disappointed in your swearing.’ Stiles
snipes at him. ‘Just putting that out there.’
‘’Your mother had a filthy mouth.’ Noah retorts. ‘And I loved her dearly for
it. There’s no doubting you get it from her.’ He narrows his eyes at them. ‘Now
it’s a school night. You need to go to bed and Derek needs to be in the guest
room.’ His look is meaningful. ‘I’m letting this whole dating thing slide
seeing as there’s bigger fish to fry, but now I know how to kill you Derek and
I won’t hesitate to use deadly force if I find you in my son’s bed again.’ He
grins. ‘So let’s just make sure everyone’s hands stay out of everyone’s pants
and we’re all good.’
‘Oh my God, Dad!’ Stiles yells, horrified at the implication. Even Derek looks
appalled, his ears burning red.
‘Yes, sir.’ he sounds strained. ‘I promise that will not happen.’
‘Good.’ Noah looks downright cheerful. ‘Switch off the lights before you come
up.’
Stiles glares at his back and then folds his own arms, sulking as he realises
that he’s lost his cuddle buddy for the evening.
‘Well this blows.’ he mutters.
‘And there will definitely be none of that!’ Noah yells down the stairs and
they both jump about a foot in the air.
‘Are you sure he’s not a werewolf?’ Derek asks and Stiles flips him off.
***** Friday I'm In Love *****
Chapter Summary
     It's Friday and plans are being made.
Chapter Notes
     Apologies to the Cure (Derek loves them).
Stiles is woken by the sound of Noah’s cell going off down the hall and
realises two things. The first is that something must have happened because
it’s still dark outside. The second is that his dad is going to kill him
because he’s woken up with his fangs in the pillow and his claws ripping
through the sheet and into the mattress.
It’s the third time this week.
On top of that, Stiles is unbelievably horny and humping the mattress like he’s
just discovered what his dick is for. He gingerly disengages himself, grimacing
at the fact that he’s so hard it almost hurts. He whines softly, his whole body
aching for something he can’t really understand. It’s like an almost physical
urge and Stiles knows what he needs. He needs Derek, the feel of his skin and
his scent in his nose. This feeling has been intensifying as the week’s gone by
and it’s now Friday and starting to drive him a little crazy.
The sound of the shower going makes him frown and Stiles lifts his head. He can
hear his father humming and then closes his eyes and listens for something
else, smiling to himself when he finds it. He’s been getting better and better
at this, locating and honing in on the steady beat of Derek’s heartbeat in the
guest room across from him.
They’ve had precious little privacy. The alpha has been lying low, no new
attacks keeping Noah on double shift. He’s been home every night for dinner,
effectively blowing all Stiles cunning plans on getting into Derek’s very tight
jeans right out of the water. There have been a couple of clandestine make out
sessions on the couch and in the Camaro but nothing compared to what happened
on the full moon. Derek has been taking his promise to Noah very seriously,
dropping Stiles off at school and picking him up to make sure he gets home
safely. But he’s also been keeping his distance, standing hidden in the
treeline on Wednesday while Stiles was at lacrosse practice and basically
giving nobody any indication to suspect that they have been getting up to
anything that might class as shenanigans. He’s point blank refused to act like
Stiles’ boyfriend at school, parking at the back of the lot and definitely not
standing waiting for Stiles to flounce down the stairs and plaster himself all
over (as he was secretly hoping he would).
All in all, it’s been downright frustrating and Stiles is pretty much ready to
murder him. He’s been retaliating by jacking off in his bed, making what he’s
hoped are alluring noises, but Derek’s refused to take the bait and sneak into
his room after lights out. Instead Derek’s been a perfect gentleman, making
them all dinner and chatting with his father and holding Stiles’ hand while
they watch TV.
Noah drops something in his room, muttering under his breath and Stiles has to
grin. His father has always been very careful not to curse in front of him too
much, but this past week has seen him throwing that rule out the window as he
gets to grips with the realisation that the supernatural not only exists but is
living in his house and is also now related to him directly. He’s been quizzing
Derek about werewolves and so Stiles has inadvertently learned a lot more about
himself and what he’s now capable of. There’s still been no mention of what he
and Derek really are to each other, but he knows now that it’s a lot more
serious than he’d thought. The way Derek talks about pack and what it means had
brought things a little closer to home.
He waits until he hears Noah walk past his room, closing his eyes and
pretending to be asleep when his door is cracked open and then closed again
once his father has checked on him. He’s been doing that since Sunday, his
concern obvious in his scent. Stiles has never really thought about the way his
father smells but now it’s a very useful barometer as to his mood. Derek’s also
been helping him to try and isolate individual scents while he’s in a familiar
place and Stiles has always been a quick, albeit erratic, learner.
He waits until Noah goes downstairs, tracking his steps and hearing the front
door close before he makes his move. He gets up, going to the window and
walking a little uncomfortably because he’s sporting an erection that is quite
frankly obscene. He watches the lights on the cruiser come on and then Noah is
pulling out the drive and Stiles grins like mad because he now has the perfect
opportunity to put into place his plan to Seduce Derek Hale Part two.
He pads to the door of his room, opening it and listening. Derek is still
sleeping surprisingly deeply for someone who’s usually so on edge. Stiles feels
a little bit proud of that, realising all too well that this is probably the
first time since coming back to Beacon Hills that Derek is able to sleep deeply
enough to fully relax. He looks it, coming into the kitchen in the mornings
with his black hair sticking up in all directions and his green eyes blinking
sleepily. It has been enough to make Stiles simultaneously melt and have a
desperate need to throw himself in Derek’s general direction and he know is of
the opinion that Derek going commando in sweatpants should be outlawed by the
Geneva Convention.
He walks across the corridor, easing Derek’s door open. Inside he sees the
object of his affections sprawled across the bed. He’s shirtless, the triskele
standing out against his olive skin and easily seen with Stiles’ new werewolf
night vision. Derek’s smell comes rolling over him and Stiles breathes it in,
almost tasting him on the air. He has to stifle a growl, his cock definitely
taking an interest and he throws caution to the wind and moves to the side of
the bed Derek is currently occupying. After all, his dad said that his was off
limits but nothing about the one in the guest room. Stiles is very good at
reconciling inconsistencies and using them to his advantage.
‘Derek.’ It’s a low hiss. ‘Hey. Wake up.’
Derek snuffles into his pillow and rolls over, giving Stiles his back. Stiles
rolls his eyes. That’s another thing he’s come to learn. Derek Hale is actually
a champion sleeper when given the opportunity and will actually sleep through
things he shouldn’t. Still, it give him license to make a move and he’s smiling
to himself as he lifts the covers and eases in next to him.
Derek is warm and Stiles now knows that it’s part of being a werewolf. He’s
taken to sleeping in just his boxers as well, the flannel pyjama pants and t-
shirts simply to hot for his new core temperature that seems to be a couple of
degrees higher when he was still human. It does mean that there’s an awful lot
of skin on skin contact as he aligns himself along Derek’s back and nuzzles at
his neck, his wolfy instincts making him rumble contentedly at being this
close. There’s a soft sigh on the other side and then Derek’s sleepy voice. He
sounds more than a little exasperated.
‘Stiles.’ He sounds all gravelly and it makes Stiles’ toes curl. ‘What are you
doing?’
‘Making a move.’ He smiles and chances a soft kiss to Derek’s bare shoulder,
resisting the urge to just bite. ‘Seeing as you’ve pretty much been snowballing
me all week.’
‘You know why.’ Derek shifts and his head turns just enough for Stiles to
glimpse a hint of dimple. ‘And shit like this doesn’t help.’
‘My dad’s just left the house.’ Stiles sneaks a hand onto Derek’s hip. ‘I’ve
been good all week. I figure we’re owed a little fun time.’ He smiles against
Derek’s back and chances a gentle thrust to his backside. ‘You can’t tell me
that doesn’t sound good.’ He inhales again, tracking the sharp spike in Derek’s
scent. ‘I can smell you now, so you can’t hide it from me.’
‘You’re such a little shit.’ There’s clear affection in Derek’s tone and Stiles
marvels at how quickly they’ve fallen into this. He turns over and now Stiles
is confronted with those light eyes and the way they are looking right into
him. He’s close enough that Stiles can catalogue a whole range of things he’s
smitten by, from the sweet buck-toothed smile he’s getting to the dimples that
flicker in and out like searchlights underneath Derek’s stubble.
He smiles back and then Derek’s mouth is on his, warm and perfect and Stiles
melts into it. He presses up as close as he gets, making small noises when he
feels the answering hardness of Derek’s cock against his thigh. It’s enough to
knock every thought right out of his head and when Derek’s arm comes around to
pull him in close, Stiles lets go and the moan that he lets out is a little
loud.
Derek responds by licking at his mouth and Stiles lets him in. He loves kissing
Derek, can’t really get enough of it. He’s patient and skilful and the way he
maps out Stiles’ mouth leaves him breathless. He breaks away for air and opens
his eyes to see Derek smirking at him before he leans in and rubs his face over
him, more like a giant cat than a werewolf.
‘You okay?’ His voice is teasing. ‘Or do I need to get the smelling salts?’
‘Fuck you, Derek.’ Stiles snips and then dives right back in, hauling him back
down. His own efforts are a little clumsier and their teeth clash for a second
before Derek places one warm hand at the side of his neck and slows them down.
He sucks gently at Stiles’ bottom lip and it’s game over. He can’t take anymore
and before he even knows what he’s doing, he’s molesting Derek’s thigh in a way
that is anything but graceful. It’s perfect, muscled and the ideal vehicle for
a spot of dry humping.
Derek growls at him, a low vibration that just spurs Stiles on, lightly
dragging his curled fingers down Stiles’ sides, making him snort with laughter.
He manages to get a hand just under the waistband of Derek’s own boxers, but
it’s halted in its quest to get to his ass and Stiles inwardly curses when
Derek gently pulls it back up to a safer point of contact.
‘Not a good idea.’ He sounds regretful but his hands are still wandering, one
currently holding him up and the other absently tracing Stiles’ happy trail
which does nothing to alleviate the situation in his pants.
‘Fuck good ideas.’ He’s getting a little desperate. ‘Look you don’t have to
pout your dick in me. I am so okay with the not having a dick in me. Just let
me get off a little, okay?’
‘You can’t get off a little.’ Derek’s using that tone of infinite logic and
Stiles snorts and then bites at him, teeth scraping over stubble.
‘I would if you weren’t being such a stick in the mud.’ he complains. ‘It’s
only third base, dude. Please?’ He looks at Derek imploringly. ‘We can just use
hands like last time. Maybe mouths if you want to push the boat out a bit?’
‘God.’ Derek huffs and moves in, nose resting against Stiles’ cheek. ‘You
really don’t make things easy.’ He breathes in deeply and the licks Stiles’
cheek for good measure. ‘Do you have any idea how hard it is to stay focused
with you smelling like that?’
Stiles does an internal fist pump and wriggles in what he hopes is an
attractive manner.
‘Come on, Derek.’ he wheedles, trying to get his hands down the back of Derek’s
boxers again. ‘One teeny little orgasm. We’ll both feel a lot better.’
‘Fine.’ Derek smiles at him fondly. ‘One. And then you’re going back to your
bed.’
‘I can do that.’ Stiles is practically vibrating with anticipation as he gets
his hands down Derek’s pants, nearly swooning at how incredibly smooth his skin
is. ‘Is this okay? Because I really want you right now.’
‘Yeah.’ Derek noses at him. ‘But if you want me to stop, just tell me.’ His own
hands are now on Stiles and they roll over a little so he’s more or less on top
and his weight is pressing him down into the mattress and making him want to
growl happily, so he does. He’s also not really listening because he’s got
Derek’s ass in both hands and it’s glorious, the entire thing eminently
squeezable. Their cocks are almost perfectly aligned and when he moves, the
friction is unbelievably good. Derek’s hard and thick and even through his
boxers, Stiles can feel the way he’s now leaking. He also smells incredible and
it’s like a whole added layer of almost physical sensation. Derek obviously
feels the same way because he buries his face in Stiles’ neck, bracing himself
on his elbows.
‘Your heart is beating so fucking fast.’ he murmurs and the feel of his breath
on Stiles’ skin makes him shudder. He turns his head, allowing Derek all the
access he wants and thrusts up enough that it sends lightning down his spine
when their bodies connect. He tightens his grip on Derek’s shoulders and then
Derek’s back, kissing him deep and slow and with languid drags of his tongue
through Stiles’ mouth.
He eventually starts moving but he’s going in a completely unexpected
direction, his mouth at the corner of Stiles’ dotting little kisses that are as
soft as breaths of air, continuing down his neck. Stiles gasps when he licks
along his collarbone, punctuating with a gentle bite. He doesn’t stop there
either and Stiles pants as the kisses trail down his chest, right before Derek
shoots him a wicked look through those impossibly long eyelashes and drags his
tongue right over Stiles’ left nipple.
Well now, that was not what he’d expected.
His frankly unmanly squeak is enough to get a low huff of amusement and then
Derek does it again, flicking it with the tip of his tongue, and Stiles has to
bite his own lip to stop himself from shouting the house down because in all
his self-explorations he’s never managed to make something as simple as this
feel so good.
‘Fuck…’ he whines. ‘Derek.’
‘Uh huh?’ Derek licks over him again, his tongue warm and so wet it’s making
Stiles head spin. ‘You like that?’
He switches to the other side and now Stiles knows that he’s not going to make
it. His cock feels like it’s about to explode from all the pent up frustration
and he digs his nails into Derek’s shoulders. There’s a low growl of warning,
but Stiles is just the right side of not giving a fuck so he growls right back
and then Derek’ lifts his head and his eyes are burning blue. That breaks
through whatever semblance of control Stiles, claws and fangs out as Derek’s
gone again. He trails his tongue down Stiles’ stomach, licking along the line
of hair from his navel until he can press his entire face against Stiles’ cock,
inhaling deeply.
‘You said mouths.’ There’s a flash of blue as he glances up. ‘You want me to
blow you?’
‘Fuck, yes.’ Stiles nearly brains himself against the wall in his attempt to
nod vigorously. ‘Christ, yes. We are a-okay for blowjobs. In fact I would be
willing to not a single word for the rest of the day if you put your mouth on
my dick. Seriously.’’
Derek’s laugh is muffled by Stiles’ boxers and the effect of fangs pressing
lightly over his nether regions, which is not what he expected. He should be
scared out of his mind by the proximity but instead of trying to squirm away,
which every coherent part of his brain tells him he should be doing, Stiles
finds himself arching up into the damp heat of Derek’s mouth as he licks over
the cotton fabric, his tongue velvety soft even through the fabric. It’s mind
blowing and when Derek catches the waistband in his teeth and pulls it down,
Stiles starts shaking and then next thing he’s coming all over Derek’s face,
set off by nothing more than a burst of hot air on his cock and the mere
thought of Derek’s mouth on him.
‘Oh fuck.’ He’s mortified. His first actual potential blowjob and he’s just
ruined it. ‘Oh no, no, no…’ He flops back on the bed, ready to cry in
disappointment, squeezing his eyes closed and not wanting to be faced with the
visual confirmation of his eic failure. Then he hears something.
Derek’s laughing.
He’s laughed before, sometimes mirthless and sometimes so sharp it hurts to
hear but this is heartfelt and light and Stiles cracks open one eye. Derek is a
state, swiping at the sticky white lines that traverse the bridge of his nose
and his cheeks, sticking in his stubble.
‘Oh jeez.’ Stiles can’t help whining. ‘That’s hot.’ He’s horribly torn between
wanting to just stare at him and being so embarrassed he wants to fall through
the bed.
‘Yeah?’ Derek raises an eyebrow at him and absently licks a string of come off
his fingers from where he’s wiped it off his face. ‘Not what I was expecting,
but I guess this can work.’ Then he smiles and it’s like the sun coming up.
‘Guess I should be flattered.’
‘Are you kidding me right now?’ Stiles flails horizontally. ‘I couldn’t even
wait until you actually had your mouth on me.’ He trails off, looking away.
‘I’m sorry I’m such a stupid asshole.’ He doesn’t get any further because Derek
surges up, face full of come and all, and kisses him quiet.
‘It doesn’t matter.’ His voice is warm. ‘It happens and you’re a virgin and
kind of a weirdo so it’s not like I shouldn’t have expected it. Besides it just
means I can take my time with you next round.’ He’s still smiling and it’s so
completely disarming that Stiles growls at him and then smacks him on one
unyielding shoulder.
‘Now you’re the asshole.’ He’s sulking now, slumping back into himself. ‘I
can’t believe you’re making fun of me.’
‘No.’ Derek is suddenly serious. ‘I would never do that or laugh at you for
this. What we do has to be fun for both if us and that means if shit happens we
smile at it and not make it something it isn’t.’ He looks down between them.
‘And in case you hadn’t noticed, my cock is still very hard and really into
this.’ Then he smirks. ‘I should also probably tell you that one of the
benefits of being a wolf is that you’re going to get it up again in a few
minutes.’
Stiles frowns and then looks down and sees that his dick has obviously decided
to get back in on the action, regardless of what just happened. He’s always had
a ridiculous refractory period anyway and this seems to have translated across
with his new found wolfiness.
‘Oh.’ He’s kind of lost for words, especially when Derek slides back down his
body and this time he doesn’t hesitate in licking up the line of Stiles’ cock,
taking his time and cleaning the residual come from Stiles’ belly while Stiles
lies there and watches him, propped up on his elbows and moaning. He’s
completely hard again by the time he’s cleaned up and Derek’s mouth is
impossibly hot as he finally slides it over the head of his cock and sucks
softly, tongue moving against the underside as he does.
‘Oh, holy fuck.’ Stiles can barely speak by this point and there’s a vibration
along his cock when Derek answers with a moan of his own making him tip his
head back as heat flares in his chest and very soon the pillow is a goner,
Stiles’ claws shredding the fabric like it’s wet tissue paper.
This is beyond anything his very active imagination has been able to come up
with. Derek moves his head, his mouth working up and down as he makes noises
around Stiles like he’s the one getting off. It’s too much and Stiles wants to
say something, anything really to warn Derek about the impending orgasm that’s
going to probably make him pass out in its intensity, but when he opens his
mouth the only sound that comes out is a deep snarl and then it’s all over,
white light and stars and all those other stupid metaphors a very poor
substitute for what is actually happening to him. His whole body arches off the
bed and he’s dimly aware of Derek’s claws digging into his hips to hold him
down as he fucks up into Derek’s mouth, coming harder than he ever has before.
Afterwards he’s actually pretty sure he’s just had some sort of traumatic brain
injury because he’s completely incapable of doing anything but lying there and
trying to remember how to breathe. It really doesn’t help that Derek rocks back
on his heels and pulls his cock out, hand moving desperately until he comes all
over Stiles’ lower stomach with a reverberating growl that seems to go on
forever. The amount of come is impressive and Stiles’ stomach is streaked white
by the time he’s done. He can smell it, smell them both and it’s plugging right
into the animal part of his brain as the wolf inside him howls. He feels
claimed by Derek, and it’s a wonderful thing that makes him feel so secure and
happy and even more so when Derek falls back down to cover him with his own
body. For a while it’s nothing but heaving chests and panting until they look
at each other and then both of them break down into frantic giggles. The sight
of Derek giggling is almost as good as having his first blowjob and Stiles lies
there in astonishment, taking it all in.
‘Goddammit.’ Derek rolls off him onto his back. He looks at his soiled hand and
then lazily starts licking it clean, green eyes blurry with pleasure when he
looks at Stiles.
Stiles can’t help whimpering at the sight.
‘Okay.’ He sounds like he’s been screaming for hours. ‘That was amazing.’
‘Yeah?’ Derek smiles, a proper brilliant smile. ‘Good.’ He stretches out next
to him and Stiles turns his head and sees that he’s still got come caught in
his stubble. Curious he rolls over and gives it a tentative lick, hand on
Derek’s chest so he can feel his heart thump. It’s not as awful as he’d thought
it would be and Derek snorts and bats at him playfully, then catches him and
hauls Stiles over so now he’s sprawled on top of him. He sticks his face in
Stiles’ neck, scenting him. Stiles smiles and returns the favour, rubbing his
cheek against Derek’s neck. They’re both sweaty but it feels so good and smells
even better.
‘I like this.’ he says and Derek licks a wet path up his neck, rumbling in
agreement.
‘Me too.’ He pulls back so they can look at each other. ‘Better?’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles lies down and settles in on his shoulder, yawning. ‘And we still
got time to get an hour in before we have to get up.’
‘You staying here?’ Derek shoves at him, but it’s not hard enough to dislodge
him. ‘I thought I told you to go back to your bed.’
‘Fuck that.’ Stiles feels wonderfully sleepy. ‘If you want me to go, you’ll
have to carry me there.’
‘Lazy.’ Derek yawns, but he makes no further move to get rid of him.
**********
The alarm on Stiles phone goes off an hour later and he scrambles out of
Derek’s bed to go and turn it off. He finds Derek in the bathroom, shower
already on and one hand stuck under the water to test it by the time Stiles
stumbles in. There’s a lot of jostling to get them both in together, shoulders
knocking and Stiles’ arms and legs waving around as they get clean. Afterwards
he stands and watches Derek shave, more than a little envious of the fact that
he manages to make it look so easy. His own relationship with a razor is a
little more fraught and he’s pleased he doesn’t have to shave every day like
Derek clearly has to.
He gets bored eventually and goes to get dressed, making it down before Derek
and grabbing cereal and coffee. He sets it out when Derek comes down, now
immaculate and dressed in jeans and one of his ubiquitous henleys. Stiles takes
the time to look him up and down, feeling horribly smug that he gets to have
sex with such a truly magnificent specimen.
‘Can I ask you a favour?’ he ventures and Derek arches an eyebrow at him in
answer.
‘You already came on my face, Stiles.’ There’s a hint of a smile when he says
it and Stiles blushes to the roots of his hair and kicks him under the table.
‘No douchebag. I just meant could you like do the boyfriend thing?’ He digs his
spoon into his cereal. ‘When you pick me up this afternoon.’ He looks up and
sees that Derek’s frowning.
‘What the hell are you talking about?’ he asks and shoves an inconceivable
amount of rice crispies in his mouth.
‘I mean you always just like, make me jump and roll.’ Stiles says. ‘And to be
honest, I kind of want to show you off a bit.’ He shrugs. ‘Show everyone I got
enough game to land someone as hot as you.’ He knows it’s silly, but he wants
it.
Derek tilts his head in a way that’s entirely canine and regards him.
‘Are you telling me you’re only with me for my looks?’ he drawls and Stiles
snorts at him.
‘Dude. You’d do the same fucking thing if you were me.’ He jabs his spoon at
him. ‘I’m allowed to lord it over all those stuck up assholes at Beacon High
for two minutes.’
‘You know you don’t owe anyone anything, right?’ Derek is looking at him
intently. ‘There’s nothing wrong with you.’ He carries on eating and Stiles
huffs.
‘Not the point.’ He pokes at his cereal. ‘It was probably great for you. You
were like captain of every sports team and probably had people falling at your
feet.’
‘I was only captain of the lacrosse team and the basketball team.’ Derek
replies evenly. ‘And I had exactly one girlfriend who I killed and then I got
seduced by my psychotic substitute teacher who turned out to be a hunter.’ His
eyebrows are in full on grump mode. ‘So yeah, maybe not such a great time at
high school.’
‘Christ.’ Stiles slumps further in his seat. ‘Way to make me feel like an
asshole.’
‘That’s not it.’ Derek sighs and reaches out, hand over his. ‘I’m just saying
that you’ve got a lot going for you. You’re smart and funny and way more
attractive than you think you are.’
‘Yeah, that’s not really making me feel any better.’ Stiles narrows his eyes at
him.
‘Fine.’ Derek replies. ‘But I am not carrying your goddamn books.’
***********
They get to the school and it’s mayhem as usual. The murder on campus has
thrown everything into chaos, with everyone talking about nothing else all
week.
Stiles grabs his backpack from between his feet and opens the door.
‘I’ll see you later.’ He’s about to get out like he normally does when Derek
smirks and grabs the front of his shirt and hauls him over, kissing him full on
the mouth. He hasn’t done that in public at all and Stiles kind of loses it a
little, smiling like a goof when he’s finally let go.
‘See?’ Derek bops him on the nose. ‘I can do boyfriend.’ Then he ruins it all
by shoving Stiles out the car with a sharp grin. ‘Now get the fuck out and go
to class.’
Stiles flips him off through the window and watches Derek floor it out the
parking lot. He’s still standing there when Scott pulls up on his bike, having
narrowly avoided being run over by the Camaro. He takes off his helmet and
bounds up to Stiles, dark eyes sparkling.
‘That’s like five days in a row, dude.’ He holds his hand out for a fist bump.
‘You two are like a serious item.’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles feels like he could actually float into school. He’s been
keeping Scott appraised of developments and now he’s actually got something
noteworthy to mention. He’s also told him about the alpha attack and that his
dad now knows, and they’ve had a serious talk about telling Melissa too. ‘I got
to come on his face this morning.’ He does not mention that fact that it was an
accident.
Scott does a double take, his mouth falling open.
‘Really?’ He looks amazed. ‘That’s…’ He seems to be struggling for words and
Stiles gives him a toothy grin.
‘Awesome?’ He grabs Scott’s arm and drags him along. ‘Because it was.’ He can’t
help bragging a little. ‘Blowjobs are the fucking best.’
‘What!’ Now Scott’s at full on startled deer. His whole face scrunches up in a
weird combination of TMI and obviously wanting to know more. Then he actually
looks envious. ‘They are?’
‘You know this.’ Stiles frowns. ‘Don’t you?’
‘I may have exaggerated a little.’ Scott looks shifty.
‘Ha!’ Stiles is jubilant. ‘I knew you were lying your ass off.’
They find the object of Scott’s affections inside at her locker and she gives
them a sunny smile.
‘Hi.’ She kisses Scott hello and smiles at Stiles. ‘You look happy.’
‘I am.’ Stiles shoves one hand in his pocket and grins, running the other over
his growing hair. ‘Had a really good morning.’ He winks at Scott and gets a
shake of the head.
‘Good.’ Allison now has Scott’s hand in hers. ‘So I was thinking seeing as
we’re kind of all paired up, we could all do something tonight.’ She looks at
Scott. ‘What do you think?’
‘I think it’s a good idea.’ He’s looking at Stiles. ‘You and Derek could come.’
‘Like a triple date.’ Allison beams. ‘That’s a great idea.’ She’s bouncing and
they both look so cute together it makes Stiles feel a little sick. He knows
he’s all dreamy but he’ll never be that bad, mostly because he knows that he
and Derek are actually both assholes. Then he clocks the word triple.
‘Hang on.’ He narrows his eyes at them. ‘Who else are we talking about?’
‘Me and Scott, you and Derek and Lydia and Jackson.’ Allison explains and
Stiles throws Scott a look.
‘Nuh uh.’ He shakes his head. ‘Look I love Scott like my brother and you are
pretty cool, but I am not going on a triple date with that douchebag. I don’t
care how much fun it would be.’
‘Oh.’ Allison looks a little taken aback. ‘Okay. I hope you don’t think he’d be
weird about you and Derek. I mean, Danny’s his best friend.’
‘Oh it’s not that.’ Stiles replies. ‘Believe me it’s way more complicated than
that.’
‘So what is it then?’ Allison has stopped and she’s looking between them. ‘I
know there’s something shady going on. Scott won’t tell me what it is, but I’m
not stupid Stiles and I don’t believe it’s just you and Derek being a thing.’
Well, fuck.
‘Um…’ Stiles is put on the spot, desperately trying to come up with something.
‘It’s...well...so we’re like…’ He looks at Scott hoping for back-up, but
Scott’s even worse at doing this than he is so he ducks his head and near
gallops down the corridor to home room, skidding around a corner and almost
taking out Greenburg as he does.
The morning goes fairly smoothly, although Allison keeps giving him looks.
Stiles does his best to avoid the subject but she starts up again when they all
convene for lunch.
He’s sitting chewing on his juice box straw while Lydia and Allison throw
around suggestions for the triple date after commandeering the table they are
at. Danny is opposite him, grinning.
‘So you’re now the token gay?’ he asks and Stiles chokes on his juice.
‘Dude.’ He clears his throat. ‘Token bi, thank you very much.’
‘Whatever.’ Danny laughs. ‘I think you’d be better off coming out to Jungle
with me tonight. I can show you the scene, such as it is in Beacon Hills.’
‘No.’ Lydia is glaring at both of them. ‘We’re all going out on a nice couples
only date night, and there will be no interference.’
‘God.’ Jackson throws his head back in a truly dramatic fashion. ‘Do we have
to?’ He waves a hand around. ‘I can think of a hundred things I would rather
do, like stab myself in the face with this fork.’ He gestures with the
aforementioned implement.
‘So what should we do?’ Lydia is giving him a death glare that is truly
magnificent.
‘We could go out to watch a movie.’ Allison suggests and Stiles snorts, then
realises he did and looks up.
‘Sorry.’ He smiles apologetically. ‘But I don’t think I like the same kinds of
movies you guys do.’
‘Yeah.’ Jackson sneers. ‘Not everyone thinks the Notebook is the pinnacle of
filmmaking, Lydia.’
‘You have no taste so I am ignoring that comment.’ Lydia snips and then looks
thoughtful. ‘How about something a little more active. We can let these boys
blow off some steam.’ She looks at Jackson. ‘How about bowling? You love to
bowl.’
‘With these idiots?’ Jackson snorts. ‘I need actual competition for it to be
fun.’
Stiles glares at him, shoving fries in his mouth and trying to bore through
Jackson’s skull with his eyes.
‘Dude.’ Scott’s getting in on the act now. ‘We are totally competition. We bowl
all the time.’ He ignores Stiles’ look of surprise. ‘In fact, I’m a great
bowler.’
Jackson raises an eyebrow at him and Stiles rolls his eyes.
‘Then it’s settled.’ Lydia is smiling. ‘We’ll meet you at the alley at seven.’
‘So what have you guys heard about the attack?’ Danny asks, shining his apple
on his sleeve. ‘I heard it might have been a cougar.’
‘Or a mountain lion.’ Jackson says.
‘A cougar is a mountain lion.’ Lydia says under her breath and then looks up
when she realises Jackson is now staring at her. ‘Isn’t it?’
Stiles wants to lean over and tell her that she doesn’t need to act like an
idiot to impress her stupid boyfriend when Allison holds up her phone. ‘They’ve
figured out who it was.’ she says and Scott shoots him a look. She’s got a news
website open and plays the video, showing his dad walking around the bus and
supervising the investigation the day before.
‘Garrison Myers?’ Danny frowns. ‘He’s one of our bus drivers.’
‘Yeah.’ Stiles hoovers up what’s left of his fries and stands up. ‘Scott, can I
talk you you?’ He jerks his head meaningfully and Scott nearly falls over
himself getting up. Allison is watching them intently and Stiles grabs Scott’s
arm and hauls him out the cafeteria once they’ve gotten rid of their trays.
‘What the hell?’ he asks him. ‘You’re a terrible bowler.’
‘I know.’ Scott groans. ‘I just couldn’t stop myself from saying it.’ he huffs.
‘At least you’ll be there.’
‘Hey, I haven’t even asked Derek if he’ll come with us.’ Stiles says. ‘He might
think it’s totally lame.’
‘Dude, come on.’ Scott has the serious puppy eyes out. ‘It’s one night and we
can totally take out Jackson. It’ll be sweet.’
‘Fine.’ Stiles digs his phone out.
Triple date bowling tonite?
His phone buzzes not a second later.
I am not exaggerating when I say I would rather disembowel myself with a spoon
made from mountain ash. Twice.
Stiles snorts with laughter.
Way to be overdramatic sourwolf. Please? I’ll let you come on MY face later.
There’s a few beats of silence.
Ugh. Fine. But I reserve the right to not speak to any of your little friends.
Deal.
‘He’ll do it.’ he says. ‘But don’t expect him to talk to you.’
‘That’s weird.’ Scott replies. ‘He’s weird.’ He grins. ‘But then you’re not
exactly normal so you kind of suit each other.’
‘Oh gee thanks, Scott.’ Stiles shoves him a little harder than strictly
necessary. He would take offence but Scott’s telling the truth so he lets it
go.
The end of the day comes and they head out so Scott can get his bike. There’s a
mass of giggling girls on the front step, ranging from freshman to senior and
for a second Stiles wonders if there’s some sort of thing no-one’s told him
about. They push through and that’s when he sees him, and the recollection of
what he’d said that morning comes back from where it’s been elbowed aside by
conspiracy theories and avoiding Allison.
Because he’d asked Derek to do the hot boyfriend thing and boy is he
delivering.
He’s leaning against the Camaro, parked pretty much front and centre in his
leather jacket and his sunglasses, long legs stretched out and looking fine as
hell. It’s enough to make Stiles trip over his own feet so he does and nearly
goes sprawling. When he recovers he sees that the smug bastard is grinning and
it makes him look even more dreamy. The whispering around him goes up
exponentially ad Scott is elbowing him.
‘Dude, I think your boyfriend came to get you.’ He’s grinning, the jerk.
‘What’s that all about?’
‘I might have said something this morning.’ Stiles confesses. ‘And now I am
really regretting it because he did exactly what I asked him to do.’ He knows
it makes no sense but now he’s got cold feet about strutting out there. It
seemed like such a good plan a few hours ago. He panics a little and looks at
Scott. ‘I feel like I want to kind of hide.’
‘Dude.’ Scott’s smile is wide. ‘You are dating a hot guy. It’s like dating a
hot girl like Allison. You just got to own it.’ He pushes Stiles forward. ‘Go
get him, Tiger.’
‘Oh shut the fuck up.’ Stiles laughs but he’s moving, taking the steps one at a
time and feeling like he’s in a John Hughes movie.
He makes it halfway down and catches the smirk now being thrown his way.
Something uncharacteristically possessive lights up inside him and Stiles lifts
his head, subtly scenting the air. Derek catches him doing it and now he’s
leaning back against the hood, legs slightly spread and Stiles hears the
gathered girls behind him start speculating madly as to who he’s there for.
That’s what does it and now Stiles is starting to feel cocky as he takes the
last few steps, because hell yeah that hot guy is there for him. He gets to the
bottom of the steps and Derek straightens up as he approaches, all the people
in the background fading away as he gets to him.
‘Hi.’ he says and Derek snorts in amusement and reaches out, taking his
backpack.
‘You should see your face.’ he replies and then he’s got one hand on Stiles’
neck and he’s kissing him in front of everyone and Stiles can only stand there
and feel himself melting into the tarmac.
‘I thought you said you weren’t going to carry my books.’ he blurts out when
Derek let’s him come up for air, his cheeks burning as he realises everyone on
the steps has stopped talking to stare at them.
‘Yeah, but this way I figure I can get to come on your face and your cock.’
Derek says and that makes Stiles meep rather more loudly than he should,
especially when he takes in the unbelievably cocky grin on Derek’s face.
‘Holy shit, dude.’ He’s breathless again and he’d swear Scott is supposed to be
the one with asthma.
Derek opens the passenger with a dramatic flourish, completely at odds with the
way he’s smirking.
‘You getting in or what?’ he asks and Stiles nearly dives in head first,
yelping when Derek swats him on the ass and chucks his backpack in after him.
He’s still snickering when he gets in the other side and Stiles glares at him
but he’s mollified when he opens the window and catches the whispers coming
from the crowd on the steps, all of which seem to be a variation on how the
hell did he catch that. He smiles and Derek starts the Camaro.
‘Happy now?’ he asks and Stiles nods.
‘Yeah.’ He is hunched into himself but smiling like a maniac. He sneaks a
glance out the window and sees the gathered crowd of girls are staring with
what looks like unconcealed envy. ‘I am.’
\
‘You should be.’ Derek’s face softens. ‘You know you’re the prettiest one
there.’
‘Dude.’ Stiles is ridiculously pleased at that. ‘Stop it.’ His face feels like
it’s on fire, but his heart is thumping away happily.
Derek just snickers at him and then tears out the parking lot, nearly running
over a string of people as he does.
*********
When they get to the house, the cruiser is is attendance. Noah is going back
onto nights and Stiles is gnawing at a nail. Derek can smell he’s worrying
because he knows the alpha is out there and could well go after his dad. He
reaches over and gently pulls his hand from his mouth, his frown less murderous
than usual as he smells the distinctive scent of Stiles’ saliva on his hand.
It’s a smell that evokes the basest kinds of instincts in him, makes him want
to get that smell all over him. It’s on everything Stiles’ chews - straws,
hoodie strings, his pens.
‘Hey.’ He leans over and noses at Stiles’ cheek, rumbling at him in an effort
to comfort. ‘You okay?’
‘I hate that he’s going to be out there.’ Stiles huffs and Derek nods.
‘I know.’ He gives Stiles hand a squeeze and then lets go. ‘But he’s in the
know now. He’s got a much better chance being aware of what he’s dealing with.’
‘I guess.’ Stiles opens his door and grabs his backpack.
They find Noah in the kitchen, snacking on a sandwich and dressed to go out on
shift.
‘Boys.’ He nods at them. ‘You have a good day at school?’ This is to Stiles.
‘Yeah.’ He shrugs and heads to the fridge. He’s almost permanently hungry these
days and Derek’s been good at making sure that it’s always full. He grabs a
soda for himself and chucks one at Derek, smiling as he catches it out the air
without even looking. ‘You going to be okay?’
‘I’ve been doing this job for twenty years, Stiles.’ Noah smiles and comes over
after he’s put his plate in the dishwasher, catching him around the shoulders
and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. There’s been a lot of those this
week. Stiles reciprocates, hugging him until Noah wheezes and shoves him off.
‘You’re too damn strong, kiddo. My ribs aren’t built to take werewolf hugs.’
Stiles snorts and refuses to let him go. His father’s scent seems to be as
soothing as Derek’s and he watches Stiles inhale deeply, hears how his
heartbeat steadies. Noah looks down at him, affection clear on his face.
‘You know it’s extremely weird to be sniffed by my own son.’ he remarks and
Stiles growls softly at him, finally releasing him go before Noah looks at
Derek. ‘I’m assuming all this is perfectly normal behaviour.’
‘It is. Most wolves are extremely tactile.’ Derek sips his soda. He’s not
really one to talk though, having been ignoring a lot of things since his
family’s death. ‘Stiles has adapted to being a wolf extremely well. He’s
picking up on the instinctual behaviour I do and running with it.’ He means it
too. Stiles is showing remarkable control, which probably is a combination of
his willingness to just embrace the wolf inside him and also that he and Derek
have formed a bond.
‘You know.’ Noah looks thoughtful. ‘I think some of those abilities could come
in very handy in the police force.’ He grins. ‘Imagine how easy it would be to
track a suspect with your sense of smell.’
‘Some are.’ Derek replies. ‘You’d be surprised how many of us there are in
mainstream careers.’
‘I suppose you have to earn a living like the rest of us.’ Noah is now
regarding him in a considering way. ‘Do you have any plans Derek?’
Stiles blinks in surprise. Derek having a job obviously isn’t something he’s
really thought about, but he’d had a life in New York. He’d lived in an
apartment and botched about rent, gone out to bars, had friends. He’d had a
life.
‘I used to work from home mostly.’ he replies, and that just makes Stiles even
more curious, judging from the expression on his face.
‘Yeah?’ Noah raises his eyebrows in query. ‘What did you do?’
‘Translation.’ Derek is a little abashed. He’s never liked talking about this,
always felt a little odd whenever his parents drew attention to it. ‘I have a
Masters in Foreign Languages.’
‘Dude, how?’ Stiles interjects. ‘You’re like what, six years older than me?’
‘I graduated early, got on a correspondence programme that let me do some extra
credit.’ Derek shrugs. ‘And I’m kind of a polyglot.’ He’s even more embarrassed
now and Stiles mouth falls open as he takes in what he’s said, staring at Derek
like he’s some sort of museum exhibit.
‘How many?’ Noah asks, looking equally astonished. In their defence, Derek
knows his current appearance really doesn’t lend itself to highly intelligent
language prodigy. They’ve never seen him in New York in regular person clothes
and commuting on the subway, going about his life like anyone else.
‘Seven. English, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian and German.’ he replies.
‘It’s not a big deal. It’s just a very useful way to make a living.’
‘Dude!’ Stiles is staring at him like he’s just declared that he can do magic.
‘That’s amazing.’ He immediately looks like he’s coming up with a plan. Derek
has learned to recognise that particular look.
‘I’m not helping you with homework.’ he states. ‘I did my time. You can suck it
up and learn like everyone else.’
‘But Spanish is so hard.’ Stiles whines. ‘You don’t even speak the best one
either.’
Noah chuckles.
‘I don’t think many people speak Polish outside family, Stiles.’ he says and
Derek’s ears prick up.
‘You do though?’ he asks, now interested in being the one asking questions for
a change.
‘With a name like Stilinski? Of course. Claudia and I both did.’ Noah replies.
‘Stiles grew up speaking it as well. It was the only language his great
grandmother spoke.’ His expression grows a little sad. ‘Claudia was far better
at keeping up with it though. We don’t speak it as much as we should.’
‘So are you fluent?’ Derek looks at Stiles and Stiles grins.
‘Pretty much.’ He’s clearly proud of himself and Derek thinks he has a right to
be. His brain is also now whirring at the thought of maybe taking it up. He
hasn’t learned something in a while and it would be a good way for them to
bond.
‘You could teach me.’ he ventures and Stiles whole face lights up, then his
eyes barrow at him.
‘Only if you help me with Spanish.’ he bargains and derek can’t help barking
out a laugh.
‘Fine.’ He shakes his head at him.
‘Don’t let the little bastard con you.’ Noah is shrugging into his jacket. He
gives Stiles a look that says he knows exactly what his son is up to. ‘You boys
staying in tonight?’
‘No actually.’ Stiles replies. ‘We’re going bowling.’
‘Christ.’ Noah laughs. ‘Try not to break anything please, including Derek.’
‘I don’t think he could break me.’ Derek says automatically and then realises
what he’s just said. He can feel his ears getting hot and ducks his head.
‘Not what I meant, kid.’ Noah grins. ‘It’s just that Stiles and a bowling ball
are not a particularly safe combination and now he’s a werewolf, I can’t
imagine that being any better.’ He slaps Derek on the shoulder and walks out
the kitchen, leaving Stiles glaring daggers at him.
‘I’m not that bad.’ he grumbles.
‘So this bowling thing.’ Derek says. ‘Who exactly is it?’ The last thing he
really wants to do is go out. He’s gotten quite used to having Stiles to
himself during the week, sitting on the couch and watching TV, making them
dinner and getting to kiss like he never really got to when he was a teenager.
His relationship with Paige had been pretty short lived and Kate...well, the
less said about that the better. She’d never been one for kissing, preferring
to get right to the main event. By contrast, Stiles is enthusiastic in that
stumbling boyish way he’d been at that age and he has to admit that sometimes
he still feels like that. He’s been around, New York had been good for that,
but there’s been no connection or relationships to speak of. He’s as new to
this as Stiles is and so he’s enjoyed their feverish make out sessions, the way
Stiles pants just from a hand brushing over the soft skin of his belly when
Derek slips a hand under his shirt. His smell, always strong under normal
circumstances, intensifies when he’s horny and he makes these amazing little
whimpery sounds when Derek’s sucking on his tongue. The fact that their wolves
are shamelessly rubbing themselves all over each other, metaphorically
speaking, only makes things more heightened. He really enjoyed their tussle in
the morning, the taste of Stiles’ semen still strong in his sense memory even
after brushing his teeth and many coffees. He’s catalogued every one of Stiles’
smells, even the unpleasant ones because he is sort of mated to a teenage boy
after all. He smiles a little, thinking of how Laura would have mocked him
relentlessly for his choice. The memory of her still cuts deep, but there’s not
the same despair that there was even a week ago. Stiles has made things a lot
more bearable, him and his father and his new pack of three. Noah is not his
alpha, but he’s as good as one for the time being and Derek plans to hold onto
this for a while.
‘Us, Scott and Allison.’ Stiles now looks shifty. He mumbles something else and
Derek raises his eyebrows at him.
‘Excuse me?’ He glowers at him and watches how Stiles avoids his eyes. ‘Did you
just say Jackson and Lydia? Why the fuck would you agree to go out with them?’
‘Because Allison is Lydia’s new best friend and she’s dating my best friend.’
Stiles whines. ‘And because Scott said we’re totally going to kick Jackson’s
ass at bowling.’ He huffs. ‘Which was a big fat lie because Scott is actually
the worst bowler on the planet.’
‘Good thing for you I’m not then.’ Derek tells him and watches as Stiles starts
to smile. He’s actually far more invested in making this boy smile than is good
for him but what the hell.
‘Really?’ His whole face lights up. ‘Are you telling me that my awesome
boyfriend is going to kick Jackson’s ass?’
‘He’s lucky it’s the only thing I’m going to kick.’ Derek snorts, preening a
little. He hasn’t been bowling in a very long time, hasn’t dated in forever but
he’s starting to remember what it was like to have fun. And he has to admit,
pissing off the jerk that laid hands on Stiles is going to be fun.
‘Cool. I’m going to go shower and get changed.’ Stiles is already bounding to
the stairway. ‘Can we go in the Camaro? It’s way sexier than Jackson’s dumbass
Porsche.’
‘Yes, we can go in the Camaro.’ Derek has to hold back a laugh and when the
hell was the last time he did that?
‘Great.’ There’s a cackle and then Stiles yells loud enough to make Derek
wince. ‘You’re also way hotter than he is.’
‘Thank you.’ he calls back and then hears the shower going. Half of him is
tempted to go and crown in with Stiles again, but he got elbowed one too ,many
times in the ribs that morning and so he opts for going to lounge on Stiles’
bed instead while he showers. He likes the smell of it, likes to linger over
the things in Stiles’ room. It reminds him of his own before Paige, before the
fire and before his life went to shit. He lost everything he had that night,
not only emotionally but physically. That would have been hard enough as a
human, but the loss of scent and the way his room smelled was another gut
wrenching blow he’d had to deal with.
He hears Stiles get out and pad down the hall, coming in drying his hair and
with another towel around his narrow hips.
‘Shower’s free.’ he says. His pale skin is pink from the hot water and Derek
lifts his head, scenting him. Stiles smells clean but still like himself and he
grins as he watches Derek. ‘You’re a lot more obvious about that when it’s just
us.’
‘Humans get worried when we behave differently.’ Derek finds himself smiling
ruefully. ‘I was taught very early on that we don’t sniff company or out in
public.’ He moves to sit on the edge of the bed. ‘I meant what i said earlier
though. You’re picking it up quickly. You’re turning out to be a good wolf.’
‘Thank you.’ Stiles looks and smells happy at the praise before he turns
serious. ‘I’m trying, dude. I know how important it is to you that we get this
guy. Make him pay for what he did to your sister.’
That little declaration touches Derek in the most ridiculous way and before he
can stop himself he’s on his feet and taking Stiles’ face in his hands and
kissing him. It’s not anything like their other kisses have been either. This
is soft and sweet and he feels Stiles completely melt into it.
That is until the towel around his hips comes undone and falls to the ground.
They part and both look down, Stiles face and Derek’s ears going red.
‘Oops.’ Stiles says. He looks up, still blushing furiously. ‘Kind of weird that
I let you suck me off this morning and now I’m embarrassed that I lost my
towel.’ He then clocks Derek’s ears and smiles shyly. ‘Although it seems I’m
not the only one freaking out.’
‘It’s your fault.’ Derek mutters averting his eyes as he gathers up his towel.
‘I turn back into a teenager around you.’ He steps back. ‘And I was a fucking
awkward teenager, Stiles. The only reason I actually spoke to Paige in the
first place was because I literally ran into her.’
‘Okay so that’s almost as good as the name.’ Stiles is grinning even as he
juggles his towels. He trips over as he dodges Derek’s half hearted swipe.
‘Still cooler than you.’ he growls and ignores Stiles’ strident laughter as he
stomps off to his own room.
***** Bowling and Video Stores *****
Chapter Summary
     Tinkering with the timeline here XD and putting Lydia into play
     because I love her.
Scott’s waiting for them when they get to his house, grinning as he jogs down
the steps and to the Camaro. Stiles gets out and pulls the seat forward so he
can squeeze in the back and then jumps back in.
‘This is such a cool car.’ Scott enthuses and Stiles can smell and feel that
Derek’s pleased even if he’s wearing his poker face.
‘Totally hotter than the Porsche.’ he says, never really getting tired of that
fact.
‘Yeah.’ Scott’s now giving Derek his puppy dog grin. ‘So do I have to give you
the best friend talk and tell you not to knock my buddy up?’
That makes Derek growl loudly and Scott falls over in the seat with a small
yell.
‘Okay.’ he’s got both hands up in surrender. ‘No best friend talk.’
‘It’s not like I did that to Allison, dude.’ Stiles tells him and Scott
scrunches his face up in confusion.
‘That’s ‘cause she’s not a guy.’ he points out like Stiles is dumb for even
saying it. He starts to protest that he is, but then Derek slams on brakes and
glares at both of them.
‘There will be no talk.’ he says. ‘There will be no warning or threatening or
innuendos because if there are, I’ll eat both of you.’ Then he catches the
wicked smile that is bursting out all over Stiles’ face. ‘And you can shut the
fuck up.’
‘Just sayin’.’ Stiles can’t resist. ‘You’ve kind of already done that.’
He’s completely unprepared for the grin to be returned and the look of pure
evil in Derek’s green eyes.
‘Not your ass, I haven’t.’ he replies and Scott yelps in indignation from the
back seat and jams his fingers in his ears.
‘Sourwolf used humiliation.’ Stiles mutters, slouching down as far as he can in
his seat. ‘It’s super effective.’
‘You bet your ass it is.’ Derek snickers and keeps driving.
The bowling alley is kind of deserted when they get there. Stiles has no doubt
that the murder the weekend before is to blame, along with the curfew that his
dad has in place. Most kids were talking about house parties (he knows for a
fact that Danny has gone to one) and so there’s hardly anybody out. He and
Scott fall out the car and when he catches up to Derek he has a minor crisis of
confidence trying to decide whether he should take his hand, before Derek
catches his on the back swing like it’s nothing, linking their fingers
together. It’s enough to make him go pink with pleasure, so stupidly happy at
such a tiny thing. He catches Scott’s eyes and gets a grin.
Inside they stop to get shoes and Stiles is bouncing a little because Derek
totally did the holding the door thing for him and is now paying for them as
well.
‘So is this like a proper date?’ he asks. ‘Not just a hanging out with my
friends date?’
Derek gives him a look like he’s nuts.
‘Yes, Stiles.’ he says in an over-deliberate way. ‘It’s an actual date.
Considering this morning, I thought it might be a good idea for us to have at
least some formalities.’
Stiles nearly falls over at that and then sees how the girl behind the counter
is grinning at them, making him go bright red.
‘Dude.’ he hisses. ‘Stop it.’
He and Scott leave Derek buying snacks and go over to find Lydia, Allison and
Jackson on the lanes, having already commandeered one.
‘Oh look.’ Jackson’s face is a picture of disdain. ‘It’s testicles, left and
right.’
‘Blow me.’ Stiles snarks back, delighted at the way Jackson looks past him and
then goes visibly pale when he sees Derek approaching. He shuts up immediately
and Stiles wants to punch the air in victory at having gotten him to shut up.
‘So.’ Lydia’s raspberry lips are curved in a knowing smile. ‘This is the first
official outing for you two, isn’t it?’ Her eyes are on Derek and Stiles
decides that isn’t a good thing at all. Lydia is studying him the way she
studies a particularly fascinating calculus problem.
‘So what if it is?’ He scoots closer to Derek, feeling the strangest urge to
rub his face all over him. He thinks for sure Derek is going to be
uncomfortable, but when he looks at him, he is surprised to see that Derek
actually looks a little bit amused.
‘Nothing.’ Allison says, clearly trying to smooth things over from where she is
sitting with Scott pretty much glued to her. ‘It’s cool.’
Stiles feels rather than hears the growl, the vibration so low none of the
others catch it at all and he covertly jams an elbow into Derek’s ribs. The
growl stops instantly and now he is getting the benefit of both the Glare and
the Eyebrows. He ignores both and claps his hands together.
‘So we bowling or what?’ he asks and Jackson rises from his self-imposed grump
to jab a finger at them.
‘You’re going down, Stilinski.’ he hisses. ‘You and your guard dog.’
Stiles didn’t know what was more horrific, the fact that he has in fact
promised to go down on Derek later or that Derek is closer to being an actual
dog than Jackson thinks, as indeed is he. His nervous giggle comes out choked
and he claps a hand over his mouth. Now the Eyebrows are judging him and Scott
is going cross eyed with the effort not to laugh out loud.
It gets worse once they actually start bowling.
Scott is predictably awful but he really doesn’t seem to give a shit because
Allison is going all out for Girlfriend Cheerleader of the Year. Lydia is
surprisingly and elegantly lethal with a bowling ball and has a higher score
than all of them, Derek included.
‘It’s all about calculations.’ she tells them after another flawless strike and
Stiles can’t help but notice that while he would have been watching her like
she was a dream goddess come to earth even a month ago, now all he admires is
how perfect her aim is.
Huh. Guess he is in pretty deep.
Derek, for his part, has resorted to aggressively beating Jackson’s score,
sitting with his legs open, no doubt doing some kind of overt werewolf
territorial display, and giving Jackson looks that would have set his head on
fire if he were flammable. Stiles would be lying if he thinks it isn’t just a
little bit hot. Jackson, meanwhile, is leaning back in his seat, not quite as
good (nobody glowered like Derek) but he is giving it the good old college try.
‘Stiles.’ Derek doesn’t even break the stare. ‘You’re up.’
‘Oh good.’ he mutters, getting up and going to get his ball. Even with newly
acquired werewolf powers, he’s ungraceful and barely manages to stop the ball
from hitting the gutter.
‘Good one, Stilinski.’ Jackson smirks and Lydia kicks him in the ankle making
him splutter in pain.
‘Be nice.’ she orders and he folds his arms and starts sulking. Stiles flips
him off and goes to sit down, watching as Scott gets up for his turn, Allison
cheering him on with bright lovestruck eyes. He notices that Derek is now
watching her. He smells suspicious, but also a little confused.
‘You okay.’ Stiles keeps his voice low.
‘She’s just a kid.’ Derek murmurs. ‘She doesn’t even know.’ He seems to shake
himself out of whatever he’s thinking. ‘Can we go?’
The sudden change of mood sets Stiles’ stomach lurching in sympathy and he
nods.
‘Sure.’ He checks his watch. ‘It’s almost curfew anyway.’ He taps his watch at
Scott as he comes back from yet another awful attempt and he nods.
They all go and hand their shoes in and Stiles sits next to Derek and watches
the methodical way he laces his boots. The protectiveness inside him has
intensified, made stronger by the sadness that’s now seeping through Derek’s
scent. He reaches over, touching him on the arm and Derek looks up, his eyes
distant. He makes a soft rumbling noise and Stiles leans into him a little,
returning it. The sadness eases a tiny bit and they leave, the others already
outside. Scott and Allison are kissing in a way worthy of a Shakespearian
tragedy and Stiles grins.
‘Time to go, buddy.’ he says. ‘You need to turn Allison loose.’ Next to him
there’s a soft huff and he feels Derek ease a bit.
‘So we’ll see you all later.’ Lydia waves. ‘We’re going to get a movie and go
watch it at Jackson’s house.’ She waggles her fingers at them even as Jackson
is stomping off.
‘I think she likes you.’ Stiles says to Derek. ‘Ot at least she doesn’t quite
know what to make of you.’
‘Oh, that’s my dad.’ Allison says and waves at the black SUV pulling into the
lot and just like that Derek is suddenly backing off, melting into the shadows
behind them. Stiles knows why so he says nothing. Allison gives Scott a final
kiss on the cheek and trots over to the car just as someone gets out of it and
comes around the front.
It’s not her dad.
Instead it’s a woman and then Stiles hears Allison greet her as Aunt Kate and
his blood runs cold because he knows damn well that Derek’s watching this
unfold in front of them.
‘Fuck.’ It slips out and he glances behind him, and now the scent he’s getting
is no longer sad but angry. It’s angrier than he’s ever felt Derek being, the
bond between them stretched tight with it. But there’s also distress and
something that feels like fear and that makes Stiles furious, knowing that even
this woman’s voice has that effect on Derek.
‘You have fun sweetie?’ Kate’s voice is sugary but Stiles can here something
underneath it and it makes his skin crawl. ‘Who’s the cutie over there.’ She’s
looking in his direction and Stiles shoves both hands in his pockets.
‘Oh, that’s Stiles.’ Allison says and then she’s frowning because she is also
looking for Derek, presumably to introduce them. ‘He’s Scott’s best friend.’
She beckons and Stiles now torn. He really doesn’t want to get anywhere near
that woman, but he also knows if he acts off he’ll just draw attention to
himself.
Kate watches him approach and he can see she’s attractive as hell, but she
seriously creeps him out with the way she’s looking at him. He’s had enough
lectures on the dangers of sexual predators from his father to give no-one the
benefit of the doubt and he is very unsettled by the way her blue eyes rake him
from head to toe.
‘Another one with pretty brown eyes.’ she purrs. ‘You know how to pick them,
Ally.’ She moves and she’s graceful in the same way a predator would be. ‘So
are you the third wheel, sweetheart? I can’t imagine it’s fun watching these
two all night. Maybe next time I should come keep you company.’
Stiles wants to back up but it’s too late, she has one hand smoothing over the
collar of his shirt and that’s when he hears the growl. He has a second to give
Scott a startled glance, seeing how his friend is wearing his oh fuck face, and
then a very large obstacle is between them and Kate’s face goes from
seductively predatory to completely shocked in seconds.
‘Stiles already has someone to take him out.’ Derek’s voice is cutting. His
entire body is tense, the threat he's presenting obvious even to someone who
can't smell him.
Kate takes a step back and her face smooths out, her smile back in place.
‘Hey, Der-bear.’ The sacharine tone she’s using makes Stiles want to bite her
face off. ‘I had no idea you were back in town.’ Her eyes drift past him to
Stiles. ‘Or that you have a habit of hanging around with a group of teenagers.
You know a lot of people would be very suspicious of a grown ass man wanting to
be around underage kids.’
‘Yeah, well it’s a good thing then that my dad, who also happens to the
Sheriff, knows that Derek’s my boyfriend and is also completely okay with it.’
Stiles snaps before he can stop himself. It’s making him furious what she’s
implying, knowing how she manipulated Derek when he was even younger. ‘Plus the
fact that our relationship is completely consensual and not some crazy abuse of
power.’ He takes Derek’s hand, just daring her to say something.
He can see and smell the astonishment on Scott and Allison’s faces. They have
no idea what’s going on but Stiles also knows that he and Derek might as well
have just painted targets on their backs because as Kate looks between them, he
can see her connecting the dots and coming up with just who the other beta
werewolf probably is. She holds up her hands, painted lips curving up.
‘No offence meant.’ He eyes are flat though, and the rancid stench of fury is
pouring off her in waves. ‘Funny, I had no idea you swung that way Derek. You
certainly didn’t when I knew you.’ The implication is clear and Stiles abandons
any common sense he has and opens his mouth but Derek beats him to it.
‘That’s because I had no idea what I was missing.’ he says evenly, but his
green eyes are flashing angrily. ‘Turns out I prefer this side of the bench.
God knows it’s better than anything I had before.’
Stiles wants to yell at that, to tell Kate to suck it because Derek’s basically
just told her that he’s better in bed than she is and he’s so not above being
petty as fuck about this.
Kate clearly isn’t as pleased with Derek’s announcement and she is clearly
holding back whatever reply she so desperately wants to give. There’s another
note in her scent and it’s overly sharp, like unripe apples, and Stiles
realises it’s jealousy. That surprises him completely and he can feel that
Derek is too, although he makes no move to let go of Stiles’ hand. If anything
he holds it tighter.
‘Kate?’ Allison’s voice is tight and unhappy. She’s not stupid or unobservant
in the way Scott is and Stiles knows that now she’s not going to leave this
alone until she gets answers. ‘We need to go.’
‘Sure, sweetie.’ Kate steps off, her mouth twisting the tiniest bit. ‘God knows
what kind of animals are out tonight.’ She stalks back to the SUV and Allison
follows, shooting Stiles and Derek one last confused look before she gets in
the car.
Scott’s waves goodbye as the SUV drives off and he turns around with questions
all over his face and for a second Stiles wants to just grab him by the
shoulders and shake him for loving Allison after what her family has done.
Instead he moves in closer to Derek, takes back his hand and puts his arms
around his neck. He’s half expecting Derek to resist but he comes to him, arms
around his waist and his face in Stiles’ neck.
‘I’m sorry.’ Stiles whispers. ‘I know it hurts.’ He does too, can feel it
spiking like an angry rash through Derek’s feelings and scent.
‘She’s driving around like it was nothing.’ Derek’s voice is muffled but Stiles
can hear the tears in it. ‘Like killing my family meant nothing. She has no
remorse at all.’ He snuffles and then it comes out, low and venomous. ‘I hate
her.’
‘I know.’ Stiles tightens his arms and holds on until Scott clears his throat,
clearly uncomfortable with whatever is going on.
‘Stiles?’ He’s shifting from one foot to the other. ‘Dude, what the fuck was
that?’
‘It’s okay, don’t worry about it.’ Stiles pulls back, shielding Derek as much
as he can. He looks at him and Derek gives him the tiniest of nods. ‘We need to
go.’
They walk back to the Camaro, Scott no longer chattering about how wonderful
Allison is and the whole time Stiles can feel the tension in Derek’s body.
Thankfully Scott keeps quiet for the whole ride back, only breaking the silence
to thank Derek before he gets out the car. Stiles goes with him and walks him
to the door.
‘You know I can get into my own house, right?’ Scott asks and there’s an
undercurrent of irritation there. He looks back at the car. ‘Is everything
okay? That was pretty intense back there. I didn’t know Derek knew Kate.’
‘It’s a long story.’ Stiles says. ‘Derek and her used to be something but it
ended really fucking badly and he hates talking about it.’ He listens carefully
for a moment, but hears nothing inside Scott’s house. ‘I’ll text you tomorrow.
We can hang later if you want?’
‘I can’t.’ Scott says. ‘Allison’s invited me for dinner.’ He’s looking at
Stiles like he wants to ask him everything but then his face shuts down and he
goes inside, closing the door without saying goodnight and Stiles wants to bang
his head against the wall because this is all getting too hard to keep quiet.
He gets back to the car and gets in, looking over at where Derek is sitting
stony-faced and silent and it makes Stiles nearly sick with anger to feel what
is going through him - a never ending stream of guilt and loss and self-hatred
that he knows Derek has no right to feel.
‘Hey.’ He says it a little too loud and Derek winces, like even words are too
much for him to bear. ‘None of this is your fault.’
‘She’s right though.’ Derek doesn’t look at him. ‘I’m just like her.’
‘Bullshit!’ Stiles growls and he can’t keep his eyes from flashing. ‘You’re
nothing like her. She’s a fucking psycho and you’re not for one. Secondly, I
choose to be with you regardless of what you are. You’ve never hidden that from
me and you’ve told me things that I know for a fact you’re never told anyone
else. You trust me and I trust you right back.’ He snaps his seatbelt into
place. ‘Now let’s go the fuck home so I can make you tea and fucking look after
you because right now all my instincts are telling me to go after that bitch
and fucking kill her for what she did to you.’ He finally shuts up and then
realises that Derek is looking at him, disbelief and hope and fear and just
about everything fighting it out on his face. It’s the most Stiles has ever
seen him emote and it’s all happening at the same time. Then he’s leaning
across too quick for Stiles to even take a breath before he’s being kissed so
desperately it makes his blood catch fire. He kisses back, catching Derek
behind the neck and holding on tightly.
‘She’s never going to hurt you again.’ he growls when they part, eyes glowing.
‘I won’t fucking let her. You’re mine.’ It’s slightly more possessive than he
wanted it to sound but by the way Derek flashes his eyes back at him and then
growls into his neck, Stiles is pretty sure he’s okay with that.
************
Kate is furious.
She’s not used to this, feeling so out of control. She’s never had a problem
with what she does, in fact she enjoys it. Taking down wolves is in her blood,
has been since the day she turned thirteen and her father put a gun in her hand
and got her to shoot the werewolf in the old barn out back in the head.
Chris had been sick the first time he’d killed but not her. She’d stood strong
and the approval in her father’s eyes meant more than anything ever had and she
still lived for it - to be the best, to be Daddy’s favourite.
Seeing Derek was not something she was expecting. She knew that he and his
bitch sister had gotten away, but she’d never thought that he’d show his face
back in Beacon Hills. She’d honestly though Chris was seeing things when he’d
told her, but now it looks like she’ll get a second chance to take Derek down.
Not only that, but now she’s pretty surer the teenager with the pretty brown
eyes and attitude coming out the ears is the mystery beta they’re looking for.
There’s something in the way he and Derek were together that also tells her
that this is much more than kids playing boyfriends. She’s had the pleasure of
killing mates in front of each other, manipulated their overwhelming need to
protect each other make them do things in exchange for a promise to save the
other. Not that she ever followed through and it was always fun seeing the hope
die in their eyes.
Derek had been on of her first targets and it had been such fun. He’d so
pathetically easy to seduce, still hurting from losing the Krasikeva girl that
he’d all but fallen into her arms. She’d used wolfsbane diluted in beer to drug
him enough that first time that he hadn;t been able to stop her when she’d
opened his jeans and made him hard enough to climb on top and fuck. It had
gotten her off like crazy, the knowledge of what she was doing and what would
come later. She’d taunted him for months afterwards until Laura had gotten wise
and dumped their cells and the pain in his voice as he’d cried had been like
mainlining heroin.
The Derek she’d seen tonight though, he was completely different. He was angry
but at the same time so controlled and icy that she’d been tempted to say
something just to rile him up. The way he’d stepped between him and his whelp
had infuriated her. He’d grown up to be beautiful and she’d felt the pull
between her legs as she’d looked at him. He’d be fun to break, to make into her
pet again but she very much doubted that he’d ever submit to her again.
Chris had been adamant that she was not to kill him. Derek had apparently done
nothing they could pin on him since he;d been back and they knew he was not the
alpha, but that wouldn’t stop her. Kate didn’t so much see the Code as a
guideline, more like a set of impediments to what she knew was their real
mission in exterminating every wolf from existence.
She’d have to be sneaky though and that would mean using outside help. Even an
inexperienced were could be difficult to take down. Allison being friends with
the boy was also out of the question and she glanced over at her niece. Chris
hadn’t wanted to start her training until she was out of school, but Kate knew
that she would have to get in first.
‘That boy, Stiles.’ she said. ‘He said he was the Sheriff’s son?’
‘Yeah.’ Allison replied. Her dark eyes were guarded and Kate knew she wanted an
explanation. Good thing she was in the mind to manufacture one for her.
‘He says he knows but I think that maybe he doesn’t know everything.’ She chose
her words carefully. ‘Like the fact that Derek Hale shouldn’t be anywhere near
his son.’
‘How exactly do you know him?’ Allison asked and Kate smirked inwardly. She
made her expression as distressed as she could and matched her voice. She was
an excellent actress and knew Allison would eat up everything she told her.
‘We were involved once.’ She took a shuddering breath, watching how Allison’s
face became sympathetic. ‘He was violent and I ended it.’
‘Violent?’ Allison’s voice was barely a whisper. Kate nodded.
‘He’s dangerous Ally.’ she said. ‘He used to hit me, force me to have sex with
him. I hate to think what he’s doing to that boy, Stiles is it?’ She shook her
head, playing it for all she was worth. ‘He’s just a teenager. He’ll get hurt.
You need to help him.’
‘Oh my God.’ Allison’s face was now a picture of righteous anger. ‘I knew there
was something funny going on.’ She clenched her fists and Kate smiled to
herself. Allison was as easy to manipulate as her father. ‘Why didn’t you go to
the police?’
‘Because he threatened me.’ Kate was crowing. This was too good to be true. ‘He
knows us all, Ally. It wouldn’t surprise me if the reason he’s here and with
that kid is to get back at me. His whole family were strange and while they
never ever proved that it was arson when his house burned down, I’m pretty sure
that he did it. He’s psychotic and you need to stay away from him.’
‘I will.’ Allison was still furious by the look of things and Kate knew that
things would be very interesting. ‘Scott’s coming for dinner tomorrow. Can you
help me tell him. I don’t want him to be around Derek either if that’s what
he’s like and he can help us get Stiles away from him.’
‘Oh honey, I don’t know.’ Kate said, sounding reluctant. ‘I never told your dad
what he did and you know what he’s like. We’d have to keep it just between the
three of us.’
‘Of course.’ Allison assured her. ‘I promise we won’t tell anyone.’ She even
puts a comforting hand on Kate’s arm. ‘Anything we can do to help.’
‘Thank you. I knew I could count on you.’ Kate says and starts to think about
just what she needs to do next.
**********
Derek parks in front of the house and turns to Stiles.
‘You go in.’ he says. ‘I need to go somewhere.’
He can smell the hurt but Stiles doesn’t fight him.
‘Will you be back?’ he asks and Derek sighs and nods.
‘I will.’ He means it but he needs to not be here right now. This house with
it’s worn in kindness and promise of pack needs to be protected and that can
only happen if he has people who can help him do that. Before it was that he
had no-one apart from Laura and while she’s gone, he has Stiles and Noah and
Deaton and he means to make use of this.
He had felt like his heart would burst when Stiles had defended him. It’s been
so long since someone has loved him enough to do that so openly and it had cut
right through him. Now Derek knows there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to protect
the brave young wolf next to him. He places one hand at the side of Stiles’
neck and makes him meet his eyes.
‘I’m not going to do anything dangerous.’ he tells him and Stiles’ relaxes a
little. ‘I’m going to talk to Deaton. He needs to know about this. If Kate now
knows that I’m here, it’s only a matter of time before she makes a move and I
want to be ready and I want to protect you.’ He rubs his thumb along the sharp
cut of Stiles’ cheekbone, the feelings inside him so potent that they take his
breath away. ‘You said you weren’t going to let her hurt me? Well, the same
goes for you. I’ll never let her get anywhere near you if I can help it.’
‘What can Deaton do?’ Stiles asks. ‘He’s not a cop. We should tell my dad
rather.’
‘Deaton has other ways we can protect ourselves.’ Derek says. ‘And I know how
hunters operate. They have weapons that can take us down. We have to be
prepared.’ He lets Stiles go. ‘Go get some sleep. I’ll be back in a couple of
hours, I promise.’
‘Okay.’ Stiles leans in quickly and kisses him, soft and so heartfelt that
Derek wants to grab him and never let go. Then he gets out and Derek watches
him all the way into the house, tracking his heartbeat until the light goes on
upstairs. Then he turns the Camaro back on and turns the car towards town.
Deaton’s lights are still on when he gets there and he doesn’t bother knocking
when he goes in. he finds the vet in the back room.
‘You should lock your doors.’ he says and Deation snorts. He’s got a book laid
out on the table in front of him and Derek recognises the language as Aramaic.
‘I have some ideas.’ he says. ‘About how to track our mystery alpha.’ He looks
up and then tilts his head in question. ‘What happened?’
‘The fire.’ Derek says. ‘You know who started it?’
‘I know your sister was convinced it was a conspiracy and not faulty wiring.’
Deaton replies. ‘I know that Noah Stilinski is busy building a case for that as
well.’
‘It was Kate Argent.’ Derek tells him. ‘I know because I’m the one that
inadvertently helped her. She approached me under subterfuge and I gave her
everything she needed to destroy my family.’ He feels sick to his stomach but
telling Deaton makes him feel a little less nauseous, like poison draining from
an infection. He waits for Deaton’s reaction but the vet’s black eyes are
completely calm and he smells neutral.
‘I always thought there was something.’ he says. ‘I admit I never suspected
that.’ He doesn’t ask Derek to elaborate and for that he’s grateful. ‘Why are
you telling me this now?’
‘We ran into her tonight.’ Derek says. ‘She saw me with Stiles so it’s highly
likely she’ll put two and two together and realise the person the alpha bit is
him. I need something to keep him safe.’
‘She’ll be using hunter weapons.’ Deaton says, frowning. ‘Do you have any
countermeasures?’
‘No.’ Derek shakes his head. ‘Just what I am.’
‘Have you told him about your weaknesses?’ Deaton turns around and opens a
glass fronted cabinet behind him.
‘Yeah.’ Derek watches carefully. ‘I need to train him properly. I’m going to
take him to the preserve tomorrow. Start teaching him how to fight.’
‘Also work on his senses.’ Deaton says, coming back with a couple of small
brown glass bottles. ‘He’s smarter than you are even though he’s not as strong
so use that too.’ He sets the bottles down. ‘These are wolfsbane extracts, but
you know that if you get hit by a hunter bullet…’
I need one to counteract the wolfsbane.’ Derek nods. ‘What are these ones?’
‘They’s anaesthetics and painkillers.’ Deaton explains. ‘I have some dried as
well which you can use for inebriation but I think maybe it’s best to keep
those out of Stiles’ hands.’
That pulls a wry smile out of Derek, remembering how he and Laura used to sneak
the wolfsbane treated alcohol his parents, aunts and uncles had drunk.
‘I’m betting a drunk Stiles would be even louder than normal.’ he says and
Deaton smiles. It’s barely a twitch of his mouth but Derek knows it’s meant
well.
‘How is he?’ he asks and Derek shrugs.
‘Things are okay.’ he says, skirting around what’s happened since the full
moon.
‘How did he react tonight?’ Deaton asks and Derek thinks about how Stiles held
his hand tight enough to have bruised if he’d been human.
‘He was protective.’ The words alone make him feel wanted like he hasn’t since
he had a pack.
‘He would be.’ Deaton says. ‘He’s young though and probably impulsive. You need
to make sure he doesn’t take unnecessary risks. Both of you need to stay safe.’
And now there’s something else on the counter and Derek stares at the objects.
‘Um.’ He swallows noisily, ears going red. ‘That’s not what I expected.’
‘It will be inevitable, Derek.’ Deaton says. And you know what could happen.’
He nods at the rings lying on the table. ‘I had those made for when Peter was
going to be mated. Then it all fell through and they’ve been sitting gathering
dust ever since.’ He raises his eyebrows at Derek. ‘It doesn’t hurt to be
prepared. I’m also assuming that once the alpha has been taken care of, you’ll
want Stiles to take the pack sign.’
Derek finds himself nodding. Deaton makes a considering noise.
‘Come and see me when he’s ready.’ he says. ‘I know that you’re staying with
them at the moment. Noah would benefit from having some wards around the house,
just in case. I’ll speak to him about it tomorrow.’ He leans on his hands. ‘Are
you going straight home?’
Derek nods and sweeps the bottles and rings up, putting them in his pocket.
‘Good.’ Deaton folds his arms. ‘I can’t help but feel we have a fight brewing.’
‘Yeah.’ Derek replies. ‘Thanks.’
‘Anytime.’ Deaton replies. He doesn’t see him out.
In the parking lot Derek takes a second to breathe in deeply. He still has the
stink of Kate’s perfume in his nose and it’s making him feel nauseous with the
associated memories. It’s no surprise that he prefers men now, free from the
recollections of what she did to him.
A noise comes from off to his left and he freeze then turns his head to look
behind him. There’s nothing there and he eventually chalks it up to paranoia,
getting in the Camaro and leaving even as the shadow that was watching him
melts back into the side of the building.
***********
‘You know they close at half past eleven.’ Jackson grumbles and Lydia rolls her
eyes at him. They are way past curfew but she’s not particularly worried. Her
parents and Jackson’s are not really bothered about where they are most of the
time and so they went for dinner before going to the video store.
‘Well then you better get your ass inside and go get the movie.’ She studies
her mouth in the visor mirror and wipes away a barely discernable smudge.
‘I told you, I don’t want to watch the Notebook.’ Jackson’s sulk has only
gotten worse since they left the bowling alley and Lydia has had enough of it.
‘It’s that or you take me home.’ she hisses. ‘And right now, that’s looking
like my best option.’ She narrows her eyes at him and he huffs and then
eventually relents. He knows if he doesn’t that he’s getting nothing out of
her. In fact, she’s quite tempted to deny him anyway for his petulance. Still
he gets out and she watches him storm over to the store, enjoying her little
victory. Jackson is very easy to keep wrapped around her finger, although she
tries not to push him too far.
It seems to take forever and Lydia starts to get impatient. Jackson hasn’t
reappeared and she knows it doesn’t take that long for him to get the movie she
wants and so she sighs and opens her door. He’s going to catch hell for making
her get out the car, but as she enters the store something prickles up her
spine.
It’s quiet, nobody in sight and Lydia feels the first trickle of panic as she
starts moving down an aisle.
‘Jackson?’ she gets to then end by the open area where the cash desk is and
then her eyes widen because she can see two legs sticking out from another
aisle, the cheap light brown carpet around them stained a deep red. Not only
that but Jackson is on the ground with something crouched over him that looks
like it comes out of some demonic nightmare. It’s huge and misshapen, black
skin and coarse hair making it look not quite like an animal. It has Jackson
pinned on his stomach, the claws of one huge hand driven into the back of his
neck. It looks up at her, maw dripping and eyes glowing red and Lydia can’t
even scream she’s so shocked by what can’t possibly be real and yet is right in
front of her.
The creature snarls and tears it claws from Jackson’s neck and then it’s
stalking towards her and she wants to run but she’s frozen in place. She digs
her nails into her hands as the thing gets close enough for her to feel it’s
hot breath on her face and hear it drawing in deep sniffing breaths and then
it’s nose, cold and wet like a dog’s, is under her sweater and teeth sink into
her side and she falls, down and down into black.
************
Noah gets the call just as he’s finishing off a sneaky burger and hoping like
hell that his son’s new super senses won’t pick it up when he gets back. It’s
the first time he’s chancing it but the events of the past week and his hellish
schedule entitles him to a little bit of comfort food. The dispatcher calling
in gives him the code and Noah’s blood runs cold when he hears that there is
another casualty.
He floors it, tearing through the streets with his lights flashing and sirens
blaring until he gets to the video store parking lot. The ambulance service has
beaten him there and there are already two deputies on scene. Graeme, who is
the one closest to him, comes over to the car, her face pale.
‘It’s another attack.’ she tells him. ‘The victim is in pieces. It’s the worst
thing I’ve ever seen.’ It’s clear that she’s very shaken and Noah knows it’s
going to be another endless night.
‘Shit.’ He starts walking towards the door. ‘What else?’
‘We got two witnesses.’ Graeme nods towards the ambulance. ‘But they’re both in
shock so the EMT is busy checking them over. I’ve already got dispatch to call
their parents.’
‘Statements?’ Noah asks and she shakes her head.
‘The Whittamore boy says something jumped him from behind and Lydia Martin is
not making any sense at all. She said it was some kind of animal but she
couldn’t say what it was.’
‘Okay.’ Noah lays a hand on her arm. ‘I want you to deal with the parents when
they get there. Those kids will need to speak to us again later.’
Graeme nods and walks off, and Noah continues into the store, drawing his
service weapon as a precaution. There’s no sound at all except for a flickering
light overhead and it completely unnerves him. He walks down the aisle and when
he gets to the end he inhales sharply.
The dead man is a mess of blood and guts, exposed ribs sticking out and
glistening. The stink of blood is so strong that Noah has to breathe through
his mouth until he acclimates, screwing his face up in abhorrence at what he’s
seeing. He has no doubt that he’s looking at the man from his list, even before
he crouches to check the bloodstained name badge on what’s left of the man’s
chest. He looks around for CCTV and spots one on the corner over the cash desk
and rays that it’s working.
He could really use a break on this.
***************
In Stiles’ room, Derek lies on his back and stares at the ceiling. Stiles is on
his side, one arm draped over him and his head on Derek’s shoulder. They
haven’t spoken since he got back, apart from Derek showing him the bottles from
Deaton and a brief explanation as to what they are.
Derek turns his head to look at him, gently running his fingertips along
Stiles’ arm and getting momentarily lost in his warm amber eyes. If he’d had
this all those years before, he wouldn’t have looked twice at Paige or Kate,
not for a second. Stiles is watching him in turn, his face uncharacteristically
serious as he breathes steadily. Every now and then he moves just enough to
nose at Derek’s face and then he settles back down again and Derek smiles at
him.
The howl takes them both by surprise and they sit bolt upright. Derek instantly
moves his arms around Stiles protectively, holding him close.
‘He’s looking for me.’ Stiles sounds scared and when Derek looks away from the
window he sees that Stiles eyes are glowing gold.
‘He can’t hurt you here.’ he says. ‘I’ve got you.’ He nuzzles at Stiles’ neck,
feeling the bond between them. ‘Just hold onto me.’
‘Okay.’ Stiles leans into him and they lie back down, legs tangled.
The howl comes again, plaintive and calling out to both of them. Derek tries to
tune it out but it’s difficult.
‘He sounds so sad.’ Stiles murmurs. ‘I almost feel sorry for him.’
‘He’s insane.’ Derek replies, absently scratching through Stiles’ hair. ‘We
can’t help him. Putting him down is the kindest thing to do.’
‘Why though?’ Stiles asks. ‘How did he get like that?’
‘Sometimes wolves go mad when they lose everything.’ Derek says. ‘He might have
lost his mate or his pack. That would drive anyone crazy.’
‘Not you though.’ Stiles moves up onto one elbow and looks at him. ‘You seem
pretty sane to me.’
Derek meets his eyes and knows that Stiles can see right into him. It’s
simultaneously the scariest and the most incredible thing he’s ever
experienced.
‘But I’m broken.’ he whispers. ‘You know that.’
‘Maybe.’ Stiles nudges his nose with his own. ‘But I’m not exactly the most
stable person either and I know what it’s like to lose someone.’ His face is
completely open. ‘Maybe we can fix each other?’
Derek nods and pulls him close, kissing him softly.
‘I’d like that.’ he whispers.
**************
It takes well over three hours for the coroner to take the body away and the
forensic techs to bag up all the evidence, by which time the owner of the store
has been and gone. His statement was very brief. The deceased had come to work
for him three months earlier. Yes he knew about his criminal record but the guy
had kept his head down and complied with the terms of his parole. No, he’d
never had any trouble with wild animals lurking in his store and eating his
staff.
The two kids had been dispatched to the station for their parents to collect
after a final check up and Graeme had gone with them to see of she could get
anything more coherent. Noah didn’t need it though to know that this was their
alpha again. He picks up the phone and calls Derek’s cell.
Derek picks up after the first ring.
‘Noah?’ He is on alert, his voice sharp.
‘The alpha’s killed a video store clerk.’ Noah says. ‘I hate to ask you but
could you come down and have...well have a sniff around.’ He feels stupid for
saying it but it’s not like he isn’t right.
‘Okay.’ There’s the sound of Derek moving and then Stiles’ voice. He is
obviously arguing with Derek and then the phone is wrestled away.
‘Dad?’ He sounds worried and Noah sighs
‘What time did Lydia and Jackson go home?’ he asks and Stiles makes an alarmed
noise.
‘The same time we did.’ he says. ‘Dad? Are they okay?’
‘No injuries, thank God.’ Noah looks around to make sure he’s out of earshot.
‘I thought you and Derek should know.’
‘Fuck.’ Stiles blurts out. ‘Did they see it?’ There’s the very loud sound of
Derek swearing in the background and Noah is impressed at the boys’ creativity.
‘They saw something, enough for Lydia to think it’s our mystery Beast of Beacon
Hills.’ he says and Stiles consults Derek again.
‘I can ask her.’ he says. ‘I’ll do it when she’s at school on Monday, maybe get
some more information.’
‘All right.’ Noah says. ‘Send Derek over and I’ll see you later.’ He’s now
stern . ‘And that means Derek, not you. You are to stay right where you are,
you hear me?’
‘As if.’ Stiles snorts and hangs up in him, leaving Noah now swearing at the
stubbornness of his only child.
‘Dammit, Stiles.’ he mutters and goes back to his crime scene.
***********
‘No.’ Derek is trying to be decisive but it’s very difficult when the person
he’s trying to argue with is having none of it. He even has his shoes on
already and when Derek shoves him on the bed, Stiles just growls at him and
gets back up again.
‘Dude, you are not leaving me home alone.’ He grabs his hoodie and outs it on.
‘So shut the fuck up so we can go and do the sleuthing.’
‘I don’t think your father would appreciate you calling it ‘the sleuthing’. Not
at all.’ Derek points up, grabbing his jacket and keys. Stiles is already out
the room and charging down the stairs, making him jog to catch up.
They bicker the whole drive over and Derek parks a couple of streets down so as
not to draw attention. He leads Stiles not to the front but to the rear of the
adjacent line of shops and around the back to where the alleyway runs. Stiles
follows and Derek would swear that he’s humming something that sounds
suspiciously like the Mission Impossible theme. He stops and glares at him and
gets a grin. Derek shakes his head at him and then surveys the building for a
way up. He finds it in the form of a fire escape ladder that doesn’t quite
reach down past the first storey and backs up to give himself space before
taking a running jump and catching the lowest rung in his hand and hauling
himself up.
He gets himself settled half way up and holds a hand down. To his surprise,
Stiles gives him a smug look and then he’s doing the same thing, jumping easily
to catch the ladder and pull himself up with little effort. Derek takes this is
stride and climbs, getting to the rooftop and watching Stiles climb over after
him.
‘So what was that?’ he asks and Stiles cackles.
‘What? I climb Scott’s roof all the time. I know I look like I could probably
kill myself if I attempted anything remotely athletic a lot of the time, but
this shit I got.’ His dark eyes are glowing faintly and Derek raises his
eyebrows at him. Stiles is clearly tapping into the wolf which shows a level of
control that is remarkable considering it’s largely unconscious. A thought
forms in his mind about what they will be doing later in the day.
He leads the way across the rooftops until they get to the alleway between the
building they’re on and the video store. He leaps across the gap, landing
gracefully and then beckons for Stiles. His jump is a little more flailing but
he lands solidly and Derek is pleased. He can now hear the sound of Noah’s team
below, see the flashing lights and he trots to the edge. Stiles follows him,
looking down at the roof.
‘Ew.’ His nose is wrinkled. ‘It used blood?’ The coppery scent is strong enough
to almost conceal the stink of the alpha underneath it.
‘Yup.’ Derek looks out over the edge. ‘You see what the pattern is?’ He catches
sight of Noah and winces because the sheriff is standing with a man who looks
like one of the parents and is yelling at him, right up in his face.
‘It’s a spiral.’ Stiles is now next to him and his reaction when he sees the
man instantly puts him on alert. ‘Fuck, that’s Jackson’s equally assholeish
father. He’s the ADA and he acts like my dad is his personal employee.’ He
snarls softly and Derek eyes him, fascinated by how instinctive Stiles’ is when
he forgets to be human. It gets worse as Stiles hears the way Whittamore is
berating his father and Derek smells the tension and anger emanating from him,
enough that he reaches for Stiles’ wrist to ground him. He relaxes a little and
they listen in until Whittamore waves a finger under Noah’s nose and then
storms off. Noah waits until he’s out of earshot and then mutters the word
pompous little prick under his breath, making Stiles bark a short laugh and
then clap both hands over his mouth. It’s obviously loud enough for Noah to
pick up and he looks up towards the roof, seeing them and glaring at Stiles for
disobeying him. He gestured to the alleyway and Derek nodded, taking Stiles’
arm.
He chooses a spot close to the alleyway entrance and drops down. It’s a good
fifteen feet, but he lands soundlessly. Noah is already coming into the shadows
when Stiles does the same and his astonishment at the fact that his son has
just leaped from the top of a building is almost comical.
‘Jesus Christ.’ he has one hand pressed over his heart. ‘That’s the shit that
will kill me, not a goddamn burger.’ Stiles just snorts and dusts himself off.
‘So?’
‘Definitely the alpha.’ Derek tells him. ‘He’s drawn a spiral on the roof.’
‘Who was it?’ Stiles is peering out the alleyway and Noah huffs and drags him
back into the shadows by his hoodie.
‘Our good friend Arsonist Number One.’ he says. ‘It’s pretty clear that this
alpha is taking people out one by one. The question is who will be next?’
‘Shit.’ Stiles is looking wicked. ‘Does that mean a new Chemistry teacher might
be in my future?’
‘You wish.’ Noah says. ‘I need to get someone on him and try and find the other
two as well. If I can get one of them to give something up, I can throw all
three of them in jail and hopefully get them in front of the DA before
everyone’s too dead to testify against Kate.’ He now looks at Derek. ‘Speaking
of, I need you to lie low for a few more days. Whittamore was making noises
about getting in touch with the FBI over this. He hasn’t got a leg to stand on,
but I’d rather not take the chance.’
‘I can do that.’ Derek says. ‘I’m taking Stiles to the Preserve later today.
We’re going to work on his self-defense skills.’
‘Good.’ Noah nods his approval. ‘You know how to shoot, Derek?’
‘No, sir.’ Derek frowns. ‘I never needed to.’ He lifts a hand. ‘Kind of got
built in weapons.’
‘Well, I think it would be a good idea for you to learn.’ Noah looks at Stiles.
‘You two are coming into do some range time this week. If we can get a handle
on the ammo then we can get you kitted out. Stiles already has his
certification and carry permit, but I’d feel better knowing you do too.’
Stiles nods.
‘It’s a good idea, dude.’ he says to Derek. ‘We can probably use every
advantage we have.’
‘Okay.’ Noah looks back towards the alley. ‘I’m going to be here all night and
probably most of tomorrow. I’ll check in when I can.’ he gives stiles a quick
hug and then squeezes Derek’s shoulder the same way he did before. ‘You boys
get your asses home and call me if anything comes up.’
He strides back out the alleyway and Stiles face does that complicated thing
where he’s battling his feelings.
‘I hate that.’ he whispers. ‘And that asshole Whittamore just treats him like
shit.’
‘Explains a lot about Jackson though.’ Derek moves next him, watching Noah
talking to two deputies. He looks at Stiles, the sharp profile with his
upturned nose highlighted by the police lights. ‘It also explains a lot about
you. You dad is a good person and a good sheriff. A lot of people wouldn’t have
been close to being understanding about all this shit. You should be proud of
him.’
‘I am.’ Stiles says, all protective ferocity. His eyes are flickering again
when he looks at Derek. ‘No matter what anyone ever says about him, he’s been
good to me and he’s always done the best he could.’ His hand finds Derek’s.
‘I’m sorry I’ll never get to meet yours.’
‘Me too.’ Derek nuzzles the top of his head, the not quite buzz cut making his
nose itch.
*************
In her bathroom, Lydia winces as she looks at the bite that marred the perfect
white skin of her hip. It wasn’t hurting anymore and had stopped bleeding
almost instantly when the thing had licked it. There were four distinct
punctures interspersed with smaller notches from the creature’s incisors and
there was a brief sting as she dragged the cotton ball soaked in disinfectant
over it.
Lydia has no idea why she hadn’t said anything about being bitten. Jackson had
been groggy when he’d finally come out of the trance-like state to find her
slumped against the shelving unit. The wounds from the creature’s claws had
sealed up and he didn’t even seem aware of what had happened so she’d kept her
mouth shut and told the EMT nothing. Then she’d been taken to the station and
collected by her parents and brought home, questioning everything she knew and
her own sanity into the bargain.
‘Lydia? Honey are you okay?’ Natalie’s voice comes from her room and Lydia
quickly tugs down the top of her pajamas as her mother comes to the bathroom
door and peers in. ‘I thought you’d need something to help you sleep.’ She
comes in and hands Lydia a couple of small blue tablets and then smooths her
hand over Lydia’s hair. ‘Your father and I are worried about you. That was a
terrible thing to see.’
‘I’ll be fine.’ Lydia reaches for her tooth mug and fills it. ‘I’ll take these
and go to sleep. Maybe not go in tomorrow.’
‘Of course.’ Natalie replies. She presses a kiss to Lydia’s temple. ‘Night
sweetheart. Sleep well.’
Lydia watches her go in the mirror and then fixes on her reflection. She spends
a few moments taping a square of gauze over the bite and then flushes the pills
with a look of distaste on her face as she goes back into the room and
considers that a couple of weeks ago she might have broken down but now she’s a
lot more open to what has happened. All the weird shit that’s been going on
with Stiles and Scott, who’s nowhere near as sneaky as he thinks he is, has
presented her with an interesting little puzzle that she’s been pondering since
the events at her party. The man who’d come to replace the door the next day
had informed her that he was impressed that someone had taken it down and that,
combined with everything else, had gotten her thinking.
The thing she’d seen in the video store hadn’t been her imagination and it
hadn’t been a mountain lion or any other kind of wild animal. It’s glowing red
eyes had looked at her with intelligence and she knows that being bitten is
going to turn out badly for her.
Her laptop whirrs softly as Lydia boots up, her eyes tracking the words as she
enters them and then inhales sharply when she sees the search results come up.
She starts reading, knowing that none of this should be real but also that she
believes her own eyes and trusts herself to not be crazy. The deeper she gets,
the more things start to make a horrible sort of sense as the tiny clues and
misdirections and things that simply don’t make sense all fall into line.
Lydia eventually slams her laptop shut with a determined look on her face. Then
she picks up her cell and scrolls to a number that no-one knows she has. She
taps out a message and sends it, knowing that she needs answers and she’s going
to do whatever it takes to get them.
We need to talk. Come see me later when you get this. Do NOT tell anyone else
and bring your boyfriend.
Message sent, Lydia gets under her comforter and settles a hand over the gauze
as she contemplates just how her life is going to change.
***** In The Woods *****
Chapter Summary
     Another revelation and some down time in the trees.
Stiles is groggy the next morning when he wakes up. He’s in his own bed and
sprawled out, the sound of his cell ringing making him lift his head.
‘Answer your goddamn phone already!’ Derek sounds grouchy as hell but
considering they are both running on very little sleep, it’s to be expected.
‘Shut up, sourwolf!’ he yells back and hears Derek growl from his room,
grinning as he scrabbles for his phone and checks the number. It’s not one he
recognises so he is cautious as he answers it. ‘Hello?’
‘Are you ignoring my message on purpose?’ The voice is snippy and it takes a
second for Stiles to realise who it is.
‘Lydia?’ He sits up and frowns. ‘Why the hell are you calling me?’
‘Obviously you haven’t even read the message.’ Her voice is cutting. ‘I need
you to come over. Now.’ And with that she hangs up on him and leaves Stiles
staring at his screen in bemusement. He flicks through to his messages and his
eyes widen as he reads the one that can only be from her.
‘What did she want?’ Derek’s leaning in his doorway, black hair a mess and his
green eyes narrowed against the weak sunlight streaming through Stiles’ window.
‘For us to go over there.’ Stiles gets up, stretching and relishing the way his
body aches in a very pleasant way. ‘Guess she wants to talk about last night.’
‘Great.’ Derek’s sarcasm could cut steel. ‘Another problem child I have to deal
with.’ His eyes are twinkling though and Stiles grins and launches a pillow at
him. Derek bats it away easily and then he’s right there in Stiles’ space,
nosing at him and rumbling happily. ‘You okay?’
‘I’m good.’ Stiles links his arms around Derek’s neck. ‘I should be asking you
that after last night.’ He’d been worried, especially when Derek had refused to
share his bed citing a desperate need to sleep. He looks into Derek’s eyes and
listens to his heartbeat and sees nothing but calm.
‘I’m dealing with it.’ Derek tells him and Stiles knows he’s telling the truth
and it comforts him no end. ‘Get ready and we can go grab something to eat on
the way to Lydia’s. I’m assuming she’s not going to let us get away until she
has what she wants.’
‘It’s like you know her already.’ Stiles cackles and then yelps indignantly
when Derek gets him around the waist and throws him on the bed, chuckling as he
watches Stiles flail and then hightailing it out the room before he can get
revenge.
********
Noah gets home at about ten, nearly falling out of the cruiser in exhaustion.
He’s got about an hour to have a shower and get into a fresh uniform. He
unlocks the front door and goes in, heading upstairs and peering in at Stiles’
door. His son is half dressed, digging through a dresser drawer in search of a
t-shirt, and Noah notices with some surprise that Stiles is looking
considerably broader in the chest. The muscles in his arms and shoulders are
also more defined, rangy and lean and startling him a little. He glances back
over his shoulder at Noah and grins.
‘Hey Dad.’ He pulls an obnoxiously bright blue t-shirt over his head and Noah
winces when he sees it’s his stud muffin one.
‘Hey yourself.’ he says. ‘I’m just looking in to check you’re both okay and
grab some sleep if I can.’ He watches Stiles rubs his eyes.
‘You catch the bad guy?’ He sounds like he used to when he was little and
Noah’s heart aches at how much he’s had to grow up over the years.
‘Not yet.’ He leans against the doorframe. ‘The surveillance is a bust. Both
cameras were out. The owner hasn’t had them operational since they went down
last year. He says they’re just for show now, do the job without him having to
pay for their upkeep so we got nothing from that. The statements from Jackson
and Lydia are vague at best, so I’m back to knowing what the hell is going on
and being able to prove exactly jack shit of it.’
The bathroom door opening makes him turn to see Derek coming out in his boxers,
hair wet from the shower. Noah notes that his physique is considerably more
impressive than Stiles’ and muses as to whether that’s because he was born a
wolf. It also explains a little as to why Stiles stares at him with his mouth
hanging open half the time.
Derek looks at him as he scratches at his stubble and then tilts his head. It’s
so canid like that Noah has to stifle a smile and he wonders if Stiles will
pick up the same mannerism.
‘You’re going to have to try another route.’ he says and Noah nods.
‘Yeah.’ he straightens up. ‘What time are you going out?’
‘Now.’ Stiles is now up off the bed, laces tied. ‘We’re going out for coffee.’
He gives Noah an affectionate shoulder bump and then hurtles downstairs. That
gives Noah the chance to raise an eyebrow at Derek.
‘He’s being particularly evasive this morning.’ he says and Derek’s ears go
red. ‘I am surprised at how early he’s awake, all things considered. Anything I
should know about?.’
‘I can’t say.’ he mumbles and Noah wants to laugh at how earnest he is. ‘But if
it turns out to be important we’ll tell you. Stiles seems to think we’re on to
something and I can’t say no to him so he’s dragging me out.’
‘It’s those goddamn Bambi eyes.’ Noah chuckles. ‘I can’t tell you how many
bedtimes were missed because of them.’ He smiles. ‘Claudia was the same, and
Stiles is nothing if not her son.’ He gently raps the door frame with his
knuckles. ‘Just don’t let him push you around. He’s a bossy little sonovabitch
with absolutely no sense of self-preservation. I’m counting on you to be the
adult here and keep his ass out of trouble.’
‘Yeah, I’ve realised that.’ Derek replies. ‘I’ll do my best.’
‘Good.’ Noah waves him off. ‘I want to be kept in the loop.’ He looks over his
shoulder as Stiles gallops back up the stairs, pulling on a flannel shirt and
skidding on the floorboards as he gets to them. He’s got his cell and a very
excited look on his face.
‘Come on already.’ He waves the phone under Derek’s nose. ‘You know she’ll kick
our asses if we keep her waiting.’
‘Who will kick your ass?’ Noah asks and now Stiles looks a bit shifty but one
glare from Noah gets him to cave.
‘Lydia.’ he says. ‘She asked us to come over.’
‘Really?’ Noah frowns. ‘I thought you were going to wait until school to talk
to her.’
‘No, Dad.’ Stiles jabs at the screen. ‘She messaged me last night and then
called to bust my balls when I didn’t answer her this morning. I didn’t even
know she had my number. She wants to talk about last night.’
‘Now isn’t that interesting.’ Noah narrows his eyes at him. ‘You are of course
going to take copious notes and report back to me when you’re done.
Understood?’
‘Fine.’ Stiles huffs, grabbing Derek by the arm. ‘Derek still has to get ready.
We’ll see you later.’
‘Bye Sheriff.’ Derek says as he’s physically dragged away to get dressed and
Noah grins, going into his room where the promise of a hot shower and a soft
bed call to him like a siren.
********
They grab coffee and doughnuts on the way, steadily eating their way through a
good dozen before they get to Lydia’s house. Her parents’ cars are gone and it
takes a few minutes for her to answer the door. When she does it’s in sweats
and a pink hoodie, her face free of make-up and her hair in a messy knot on top
of her head. She looks so unlike herself that Stiles just gapes at her and she
rolls her eyes at him before grabbing his arm and hauling him in through the
front door. Derek follows, surreptitiously sniffing the air and then frowning
at her.
‘Something happened.’ he says and now Stiles copies his action and then
realises that without her usual floral perfume, Lydia smells like wintergreen.
It makes his nose itch it’s so strong.
‘No shit, something happened.’ Lydia puts her hands on her hips. ‘I have
questions.’
‘Crap.’ Stiles takes a step back. ‘This is trap. Derek, we should definitely
run for it.’
‘Not a chance, Stilinski.’ Lydia hisses. ‘I want to know just what the fuck
that thing was that bit me last night. All the shit I’ve looked up tells me it
was not a mountain lion, which would make a hell of a lot of sense considering
what all the crazy around here. Not only that, but you’ve been acting weirder
than your normal freak self.’ She starts ticking things off on her fingers.
‘There was that thing with the woods and then all of a sudden you’ve got super
strength, this amazing new sporting prowess you’re demonstrating and you’re
going nuts on the full moon.’ She glares at him. ‘I know what this all adds up
to.’ She glances at Derek. ‘I can’t quite figure you into the equation, but I
know you’re involved. There are way too many things happening to be coincidence
and I want in.’
Stiles looks at Derek but he’s wearing his super poker face and has his arms
folded.
‘What exactly are you getting at?’ he asks and Stiles winces because Lydia’s
eyes go all flinty and he knows she’s in a mood to possibly maim both of them,
their wolfy powers be damned.
‘I’m not stupid.’ Lydia replies. ‘I’m even smarter than your boy toy over there
so don’t try that deflection bullshit with me. I’m very good at putting things
together and the same word keeps coming up whichever way I do it.’
‘And what word is that?’ God, Derek is almost as terrifying as she is, his
green eyes hard as chips of jade, and Stiles wants to hide in a closet
somewhere until they’ve duked it out. He watches Lydia’s unpainted mouth curve
in a knowing smile, her eyes not leaving Derek’s face, which is now completely
unimpressed.
‘Werewolf.’ she says and Stiles’ heart jumps. He sees Derek’s nostrils flare
ever so slightly and knows he’s angry, so he jumps in to try and rescue the
situation.
‘You know that sounds ridiculous, right?’ He can hear the frantic edge to his
words but he keeps talking anyway. ‘Because everyone knows werewolves aren’t
real and so what you’re saying can’t be right. We’re just two normal dudes,
okay maybe not exactly completely normal but definitely human. That’s all we
are, three totally normal humans having a conversation…’ He trails off with a
nervous laugh and then realises that they are both staring at him. Lydia has
one coppery eyebrow arched at him and Derek actually facepalms.
‘For fuck’s sake, Stiles.’ he mutters then looks up at Lydia. ‘Fine, you want
to know? Yeah, we’re werewolves. Stiles got turned into one when the alpha bit
him and I can smell that you got bit too, but you’re not turned.’ He takes a
step forward and to her credit, Lydia doesn’t even flinch. ‘I can smell that
your bite hasn’t healed.’ He raises his own formidable eyebrows at her and now
Stiles can smell it too, a coppery tang that he knows is blood.
Lydia seems to be weighing things up and then lifts the side of her hoodie.
There’s a square of gauze taped to her side and it’s spotted with bloodstains.
‘What is an alpha?’ she asks while Derek leans in a little closer, peering at
the bandage.
‘The leader of a wolf pack.’ he replies. ‘But this one is insane. It has no
pack so I think it’s trying to make one.’ He looks at her. ‘Does it hurt?’
‘Not really.’ Lydia lowers her shirt. ‘That’s not normal either, is it?’
‘No.’ Derek tells her. ‘There are two results of a bite - your turn or you
die.’
‘How would I know?’ Lydia asks and Derek huffs.
‘You’d be dead by now.’ Something crosses his face and Stiles smells an acrid
note creep into his scent and knows he’s thinking about Paige. ‘It doesn’t take
very long.’
‘So if I’m not a werewolf and I’m not dead, then what am I?’ Lydia demands and
now her voice is shaking ever so slightly. ‘Because none of this makes any
sense.’
‘I honestly don’t have a clue.’ Derek replies and his heart stays steady. That
surprises Stiles but he keeps his mouth shut. ‘I don’t know what to tell you.’
He frowns. ‘Do you have anything supernatural in your family.’
The shriek of laughter from Lydia has a hysterical edge to it.
‘No!’ She’s vehement. ‘We’re just normal people, maybe a little dysfunctional
but definitely not… just no.’
‘Then I can’t help you.’ Derek says and shrugs. He looks at Stiles. ‘We need to
take her to Deaton.’
‘Who’s that?’ Lydia asks, sharp with suspicion.
‘He’s kind of an expert.’ Stiles rubs the back of his neck. ‘He might know what
the hell is happening to you.’
‘I don’t want anyone to know about this.’ Lydia hisses.
‘Don’t worry, he’s very discreet.’ Stiles tries hard not to burst into
hysterical laughter. This is getting too close to home. ‘Was Jackson bitten
too?’
‘No.’ Lydia shakes her head. ‘But when I went into the video store, that thing
had its claws in the back of his neck. It was kind of holding him there, but
after it ran off the holes just closed up by themselves.’
That obviously means something to Derek judging by the sharp intake of breath.
‘What about you?’ he asks. ‘Did it attack you?’
‘No.’ Lydia sounds confused for the first time since they started talking. ‘It
didn’t. It kind of walked over to me, looking at me. I could see it was
thinking. Then it sniffed me and it gets kind of hazy after that. When it let
me go, it licked me. I remember that. Like it was trying to clean up after
itself.’
‘That’s an alpha instinct.’ Derek put his hands on his hips, his face troubled.
He looked at Stiles and Stiles instinctively raised a hand to his neck,
remembering the soft warm glide of Derek’s tongue over the marks he’d left.
‘It bit her on the side.’ he says and Derek nods.
‘Pack placement.’ He catches Stiles’ eye. ‘The other is only for certain
things.’ He’s being deliberately vague, but Stiles doesn’t miss the way that
Lydia is watching them.
‘So now what?’ she asks. ‘Do we go see this mysterious Deaton?’
‘He’s not mysterious, but he can be kind of annoying.’ Derek snorts. ‘And no.
Right now, we have no idea what is going on so it’s probably best if you stay
home and keep quiet. We’ll tell Deaton what’s happened and then he can get back
to us if he finds anything out.’
‘So I’m just supposed to sit here?’ Lydia’s eyes are sparkling angrily again.
‘No. I’ll go see him myself if I have to.’
‘Fine.’ Derek huffs. ‘Then go get dressed and we’ll take you there. But I can
tell you now he’ll say the same thing.’
‘Then I’ll wait while he does.’ Lydia counters and stalks off in the direction
of her room. Stiles waits until she is gone and then gives Derek a quizzical
look.
‘Think he’ll know what she is?’ he asks.
‘Maybe.’ Derek says. ‘She’s not human, that much I can smell. Clever trick with
the wintergreen. I’ll bet it’s all you’re getting.’
Stiles nods and scratches at his nose.
‘Told you she’s smart.’ he replies. ‘You think the alpha bit her on purpose?
Because of what happened on Friday?’
‘Except you’re not exactly friends, now are you?’ Derek shakes his head. ‘We’re
missing something here. Why didn’t the alpha bite Jackson as well. He’s
stronger than Lydia so he’d make a better target.’
‘Unless he gets off on smart.’ Stiles says, and now he’s grinning. ‘I mean he
bit me and her. Maybe that’s the connection.’ He’s joking but Derek suddenly
looks very interested in what he’s saying.
‘Maybe it is.’ His expression has changed and his green eyes are intent. ‘If he
wanted a strong pack, he'd be picking more imposing people. People he could use
as fighters.’
‘Dude.’ Stiles snorts. ‘That is like the opposite of me and Lydia. We’re
definitely more the brains of the operation.’
‘But you’re smart.’ Derek counters. ‘Which make this alpha even more dangerous
if that's his selection criteria.’
‘Great.’ Stiles sighs and then they both turn as Lydia comes back, now dressed
and made up.
‘Shall we?’ she says and sweeps past them. Stiles and Derek exchange looks and
follow.
She makes Stiles sit in the back, a single glare prompting him to rush to open
the door for her. He gets in behind, grumbling and settles in between the
seats.
‘Deaton.’ Derek is on his phone. ‘I’m bringing someone over.’ he gives Lydia a
sidelong glance. ‘Yeah, it’s to do with last night. I don’t know. It’s nothing
I’ve seen before.’ he listens and then nods once. ‘Okay.’ He hangs up and nods
at Lydia’s side. ‘Seatbelt.’
The drive to Deaton’s is done in silence and when they get there, Lydia frowns.
‘Deaton as in Doctor Deaton?’ she asks and Stiles meets Derek’s eyes in the
rear view mirror. ‘This is where I bring Prada. What does he have to do with
this? I thought you said he was an expert?’
‘Books and covers, Lydia.’ Derek replies and gets out the car. The waiting room
is thankfully empty and he wastes no time, going through to the back and
letting them follow him. Deaton is in the examination room, turning to greet
them as they approach.
‘Miss Martin?’ He looks surprised. ‘I had no idea that you were one of the
people concerned in last night’s attack.’ His black eyes zone in on her side.
‘You were bitten.’ It’s not a question.
‘Yes.’ Lydia replies without hesitation, frowning at him. ‘But I’m not like
Stiles.’
‘No.’ Deaton’s mouth curves up and Stiles can’t decide if it’s reassuring or
creepy. ‘You are something else entirely.’ he looks at derek and Stiles. ‘Thank
you gentlemen, I’ll take it from here.’
That puts them both on the back foot. Derek starts to protest and Deaton holds
up a hand.
‘I need to talk to Lydia first.’ He’s stern. ‘Then if she decides that she’s
comfortable with other people knowing, she can tell you. Until then, you can
both go do something else.’ His eyes narrow. ‘Maybe some training would be
good.’ His pointed look makes Derek growls but he complies, one hand going to
Stiles’ shoulder as he steers him out.
‘Dude.’ Stiles wriggles but Derek’s hold is like iron. ‘We should totally
eavesdrop.’
‘No.’ Derek huffs. ‘He’s right. Lydia deserves privacy for what he’s going to
tell her. He obviously knows what’s up. Didn’t you see the way he looked at
her?’
‘What would he know though?’ Stiles frowns. ‘I get he’s an emissary but that’s
all right?’
‘It’s not just that.’ Derek replies. ‘Deaton can recognise magic and I’m
betting that’s exactly what he felt.’ He opens his door. ‘I could smell it in
the car, when she as much closer. There’s magic around her but I don’t know
what it is.’
Stiles’ eyes go wide.
‘Magic?’ He might be a little bit breathless with excitement. ‘Like actually
Harry Potter kind of shit?’
‘Nothing so exciting.’ Derek deadpans at him and Stiles growls in reply. ‘Now
get in the car.’
‘Why?’ Stiles leans on the roof. ‘Where’re we going?’
‘You heard Deaton.’ There’s a flash of too sharp, too white teeth. ‘Training.’
**********
In the back room of the clinic, Deaton looks at Lydia intently as he makes them
tea, handing her a mug of what smells like chamomile.
‘This is not what I expected.’ he says and Lydia feels a chill go up her spine.
‘You know what happened to me?’ she asks and he nods.
‘Supernatural creatures are immune to the bite of a werewolf.’ he explains.
‘That is why you didn’t turn.’
‘But I’m not supernatural.’ Lydia protests. ‘I’m just me.’
‘No, you’re not.’ Deaton goes to a shelf and takes out a book. ‘I always
thought there was something about you, but I could never put my finger on it.
It seems that whatever powers you have, they have been lying dormant. The
alpha’s bite will have brought them to the surface, however, and now we need to
find out just what you are.’
Lydia looks at the book, frowning at the lettering on the spine that has faded
almost to illegibility.
‘That’s Latin.’ she says and Deaton nods.
‘Do you read it?’ he asks and for a moment Lydia hesitates. Then she realises
that here she doesn’t have to hide.
‘I do.’ she replies and sees a gleam of approval in his dark eyes.
‘Then this will go a lot easier.’ he says, placing the book on the table and
taking a seat opposite her.’ ‘Shall we begin?’
***********
Derek parks at the Hale house and looks through the windscreen at the shell of
the house he grew up in. It doesn’t hurt in the same way today. It still aches,
but when he inhales Stiles’ scent, it ebbs enough to be manageable. He gets out
and his gaze is automatically drawn to the mound of earth, the purple blossoms
around its edges a line of brilliant colour in the winter palette. Stiles comes
to stand next to him, one hand curling around his bicep in a comforting
gesture.
‘You okay?’ he asks and Derek nods, leaning over to nuzzle behind his ear.
‘Yeah.’ He steps back. ‘Okay, let’s get started.' He moves away, back to the
car as he strips off his jacket and shirt in practised movements. Stiles
follows, looking bemused.
‘What are you doing?’ he asks and Derek hops on one foot as he gets rid of his
sneakers as well, socks balled up in the toes.
‘We’re going running.’ He nods at Stiles’ ratty converse. ‘You need to be
barefoot.’ That gets a horrified look.
‘But I have soft feet.’ Stiles protests. ‘And the ground is cold.’
‘Just fucking do it.’ Derek says. ‘Trust me.’
‘Trust me, he says.’ Stiles mutters, prying off his sneakers and giving Derek a
filthy look. ‘What kind of asshole runs around barefoot in winter?’ He glares
at him. ‘I am not taking my shirt off. You can do that GQ model shit all by
yourself.’
‘Fine.’ Derek snarks. ‘When you completely overheat, be it on your head.’ He
waits for Stiles to throw his shoes in before locking the car and watches as he
shifts from one foot to the other. Then he takes a step forward, rolling his
head until his neck cracks and letting his eyes bleed to blue, fangs
descending.
Stiles squeaks and takes a step back.
‘Derek.’ His eyes are narrowed. ‘What the fuck are you doing?’
‘You have a count of three.’ Derek growls, gleeful on the inside at how Stiles’
honey-brown eyes widen.
‘No.’ He stumbles back, nearly falling on his ass. ‘You’re being a childish
asshole.’
Derek snarls and goes full beta shift. He bares his teeth and smells how
Stiles’ scent floods with a mixture of panic and excitement.
‘One.’ he takes another deliberate step. ‘You better start running because when
I catch you, I’m going to kick your ass.’
‘Fuck.’ Now Stiles wheels around, momentarily losing his balance and scrambling
to get his feet back under him.
‘Two.’ Derek smiles, his predatory instincts kicking in. Whether it’s for
feeding or fucking, wolves love to chase. ‘Best move that skinny little ass of
yours, Stiles.’ He curls his fingers, claws out.
‘Shit, shit, shit…’ Stiles is off, racing through the trees with a yowl that
would be better suited to some sort of feline and Derek can’t stop himself from
laughing. He waits and listens to the sound of his mate skidding on dead leaves
and then starts jogging after him.
‘Three.’ he breathes and then he’s running, his body stretching and moving
fluidly. It’s glorious and he throws himself into it, tracking Stiles by scent
and sound into the Preserve.
**********
‘Here.’ Deaton is looking at another book. ‘I think I may have found
something.’ he hands it to Lydia and she looks at the illustration. ‘Does this
sound familiar at all?’
She reads the description and shakes her head.
‘No.’ She sighs. ‘To be honest I don’t even feel that different. Just sore from
the bite and weirded out by the fact that I now know that not only werewolves
exist but that Stiles is one.’
‘Well, he had no real choice in that.’ Deaton replies. ‘And there are far more
things out there. Werewolves are only the tip of the iceberg.’ He looks at her,
considering. ‘May I ask what you intend to do with this new found information?’
‘Absolutely nothing.’ Lydia replies. ‘I want to know, but you can bet I won’t
be telling anyone. The last thing I want is to end up in Eichen House like my
grandmother.’
That seems to get Deaton’s attention and he sits up straight.
‘Your grandmother was in Eichen House?’ he asks and Lydia looks away. It’s not
a memory that she enjoys recalling.
‘She used to read to me.’ she finds herself saying. ‘The Little Mermaid. I
always wanted to be Ariel because she was the only Disney princess with red
hair.’
‘May I ask why she was committed?’ Deaton asks and Lydia frowns.
‘I always thought it was because she blamed herself for Maddy’s death.’ she
says, then realises she needs to clarify. ‘Maddy was my other grandmother. She
and Nan Lorraine got married after my grandfather died. They were together for
a long time and then Maddy died while they were on vacation at our lake house.’
Her feelings, usually so carefully controlled, fray a little at the edges.
‘Nana Lorraine never forgave herself for it. She had a premonition that Maddy
would die but she didn’t believe it and then it happened and I guess the guilt
and the strain just got too much. She got really obsessive towards the end and
I remember my dad talking about her hearing voices so she was committed.’ her
mouth twists. ‘My parents acted like she was dead after that and I never got to
see her again. She died in Eichen House.’ She studies her hands, the perfectly
manicured nails and then looks up when Deaton doesn’t reply. His face however
is speaking volumes.
‘You said she had a premonition of death?’ he asks eventually and Lydia nods.
‘What do you mean by obsessive?’
‘She worked for IBM.’ Lydia replies. ‘She started a project, something to do
with using computers to hear sounds beyond the normal spectrum. I don’t really
know, my parents tried to shelter me as much as possible from it all.’ She
looks at him. ‘Why?’
‘I think I may have something.’ Deaton replies and flips through his book,
finally setting it down in front of her. Lydia stares at the illustration, a
watercolour of a woman in a white shift, her face contorted as she screams. The
name at the top of the page is not unfamiliar but she’s never believed in any
of these things and she scoffs.
‘You can’t be serious?’ She reaches out but stops just short of touching the
picture. ‘That’s what you think I am?’
‘No, Lydia.’ Deaton’s voice is gentle. ‘That’s what I know you are.’
**********
Stiles runs and runs and runs. He’s amazed at how effortless it is, especially
after a lifetime of suicide runs exhausting him to the point where his legs
burned and he couldn’t breathe. Now he floats over the ground, his earlier
clumsiness gone in the face of how fast he actually is. It’s incredible and he
tunes out everything around him but the pounding of his blood through his veins
and the quick high pitched breaths he takes as he flies through the trees.
Derek might be stronger than him, but he’s definitely faster. He’s outpacing
him easily, and even the attempts by Derek to psych him out be swerving and
changing direction haven’t resulted in him being caught yet. He catches a
glimpse of him off to the left and puts on a little extra speed, laughing
breathlessly as he swings out wide, losing Derek behind him. He can hear him,
breathing just as hard and growling a little when Stiles eludes him.
The chasm comes up on him unexpectedly. This part of the preserve is deeper
than he’s ever been and Stiles finds himself either having to take the jump or
go tumbling down to the bottom so he does, throwing himself forward and landing
hard. He’s off balance, rolling with the momentum until he’s back on his feet
and then Derek’s full weight slams into him and he’s done. All the wind has
been knocked out of him and he lies there wheezing as Derek gets up, shifting
back and grinning at him.
Stiles lies there on his back, panting and gasping for air until he can finally
raise a hand and flip him off. To his surprise, Derek just laughs and holds out
a hand, pulling him to his feet so Stiles can double over, hands on his knees.
‘Asshole.’ he pants and Derek smirks at him.
‘You work on instinct alone at the moment.’ he says. ‘You need to learn
control.’ he moves to stand next to him. ‘Try to shift.’
‘I can’t.’ Stiles shakes his head. ‘I’m trying to freaking breathe here.’
‘When hunters come for you, they don’t care if you’re compromised or
distracted.’ Derek is suddenly serious. ‘You need to get out of your head.
Every time you’ve shifted has been in response to an emotional state. You need
to learn to get past that and make the transition at will.’ He shifts
effortlessly into beta form and back with barely a flinch. ‘You try.’
‘Shit.’ Stiles mutters and tries to focus.It’s like looking at one of those
stupid magic pictures, the feeling of the wolf under his skin slipping away
just as he grasps it. It’s incredibly frustrating and that, coupled with how
hot and sweaty he is and the burn in his thighs, makes him growl.
‘That’s instinct coming out.’ Derek crouches to look at him. ‘Okay, let’s try
only part of the shift. Eyes first.’ He nods at Stiles and Stiles eases up on
trying to cling to the feeling inside him. He can feel warm encouragement
through their bond and lets that guide him. He doesn’t know when he does it but
Derek’s pleased smile tells him he has.
‘This okay?’ he asks and gets another nod. Derek holds out a hand and Stiles
watches him unsheath his claws.
‘Try.’ he instructs and Stiles straightens up. He gives Derek’s claws a curious
once over and then peers at his own fingertips. He does try to get them to come
out but this is even trickier and he huffs in annoyance when nothing happens.
He’s about to give up when Derek lunges at him and, yep, there they are. Like
Derek’s, they are razor sharp and shaded to brown where they grow from his nail
bed. He turns his hand this way and that, examining them more closely than he
has before.
‘Still instinct.’ Derek takes his wrist, his hand warm on Stiles’ skin. ‘Look.’
He holds up his other hand, the claws retracting and then sliding back out
again. ‘It has to be something you don’t struggle to do. Your shift needs to be
part of you, but part that you control. Lack of control means shifting when you
don’t want to and that’s the quickest way to get found out.’
Stiles looks at him, feeling the sadness prickling at the edges of their bond.
‘Who taught you this?’ he asks and Derek sighs, electric blue shifting back to
green.
‘My parents.’ he replies. ‘My pack. We all learn when we’re pretty young that
we need to control ourselves. We start shifting when we’re still toddlers but
it’s purely reactionary. We only start to control it when we’re older. That’s
why we don’t go to mainstream schools.’
‘I bet it’s cute though.’ Stiles can’t help smiling. ‘Toddler werewolves?’
‘Yeah.’ Now Derek’s mouth is curving upwards. ‘It is.’ He turns Stiles’ hand
over, claws tracing lightly over his palm. ‘I always had trouble with control.
It wasn’t until after the fire that I really got the focus to cut myself off
from everything. Laura never did, she was the exact opposite. If anything she
felt things more deeply, appreciated everything more. I couldn’t bring myself
to do that, not knowing that i was responsible.’ He lets go and steps back.
‘I’m probably the worst person to teach you but I’m all you got right now.’
His green eyes are downcast, his face guarded as he glances up at Stiles
through his lashes. It’s not meant to be seductive, but damn if it doesn’t go
straight through Stiles like a lance. He darts forward, arms around Derek’s
neck as he kisses him hard, knocking him a step backwards. Derek growls at him,
then his hands are at Stiles’ waist and he’s holding on. It turns deep in
seconds, both of them breathing through their noses as Stiles lets Derek in and
fights back as hard as he’s being given. When they break apart, Derek’s eyes
are a steady blue glow and there’s a hint of fang. Stiles grins, knowing he’s
just as bad, feeling their bond between them grow taut with anticipation.
‘So does being a wolf mean we can do it outside?’ he asks and Derek snorts,
amused at him. His hands are sliding lower, coming to rest on the curve of
Stiles’ ass. He tilts his head and leans back in, hot breath ghosting over
Stiles’ mouth.
‘You have a one track mind.’ he breathes and Stiles runs his hands up Derek’s
bare arms and over his chest, feeling the muscles contract under his
ministrations. He rubs his thumbs over dusky nipples, his cock hardening
steadily as Derek growls at him softly.
‘Teenager.’ he murmurs back, looking up at him and seeing his own eyes
reflecting gold in Derek’s. ‘I’m perpetually horny.’ He bites at his lip,
making small circles with his thumbs and admiring how readily Derek’s body
responds. ‘And I can’t help but notice that you’re not stopping me.’
That’s because I don’t want to.’ Now Derek comes in closer and Stiles breathing
catches as he feels Derek’s tongue tracing along his lower lip where he’d been
biting before driving back into his mouth. There’s a heave and now he’s in
Derek’s arms, being carried until his back hits a tree behind him still kissing
him frantically. Derek’s cock is a hard line against his own and Stiles wraps
his legs around him, ankles locking at the base of Derek’s spine. He sinks the
fingers of one hand into Derek’s thick hair, angling so that their mouths are
sealed together and just lets go, both of them biting and licking at each other
with no finesse at all.
Derek takes his weight easily, thrusting up against him with the same graceful
movement he uses to run and Stiles whines into his open mouth. The friction of
denim and cock is good, almost too good, and he’s barely hanging on. He wants
it all, to feel everything that derek will give him, and when Derek pulls back
to bite at his neck Stiles loses it. He arches up against him, his cry loud
enough to set the birds in the tree overhead flying as he comes uncontrollably.
Derek pins him against the tree, his own movements discordant as he chases
after Stiles, his answering sounds muffled in Stiles’ neck. He shudders through
his orgasm like it’s killing him and Stiles can feel it, bright white and
rippling through their bond. The feedback from himself and Derek gets mixed up
together and it draws everything out until they are both panting and
incoherent.
They stare at each other, eyes glowing and smiling like idiots. Stiles can hear
how Derek’s heart is triple thudding in time with his own and he takes one hand
away from his neck, resting it on that perfect sculpted chest.
‘That was good.’ he looks up and sees Derek smiling at him.
‘It’s always good with you.’ he whispers and that makes Stiles’ heart contract
and nearly jump right out of his chest. ‘It makes it worth waiting for.’ He
gently lets Stiles down, both of them grimacing at the feeling of come in their
underwear.
‘We could have probably timed this better.’ Stiles snickers and Derek shoves
him and then reels him in so they are pressed together again.
‘I’m supposed to be teaching you.’ he says but his eyes are fixed on Stiles’
mouth. ‘And all I can think of is how I want to lick you clean.’
‘Fuck.’ It falls out of Stiles’ mouth without him even thinking. ‘Okay, that
sounds stupidly hot.’
‘So you’d let me?’ Derek is nuzzling at his neck, rubbing his face against
Stiles’ skin. ‘I want to, if you’ll let me.’
‘Go for it, big guy.’ Stiles is not turning down an offer like that and Derek
growls at him and backs him up against the tree again before dropping to his
knees. He manages to make it look almost elegant but then his hands are at
Stiles’ jeans and he’s undoing them, tugging down and taking Stiles boxers with
them. The air is cool on his semen wet skin but that only lasts a second before
Derek’s warm tongue licks a path through the mess and Stiles nearly has a
coronary at how good it feels. He throws one hand up against the tree, claws
out and shredding the bark and shuddering as Derek’s tongue traces a line down
his happy trail en route to his cock..
‘So.’ he gasps as Derek curls his tongue around the shaft, getting hard again
in what must be record time. ‘This werewolf stamina thing?’
Derek hums in acknowledgement but doesn’t stop licking and Stiles sticks one
hand back in his hair, holding on a little tighter than he probably should but
fuck it. It’s not every day that he gets dry humped into an amazing orgasm only
to have it followed up with what will hopefully turn into a spectacular
blowjob. Sure, Derek’s taking the no penetrative sex thing seriously, but
there’s still a lot of options at their disposal.
Derek is nothing but thorough, licking every trace of come away, but halfway
through Stiles is completely hard again and he wants more, tugging on Derek’s
hair and hoping he gets the hint. That gets a low rumble of laughter from Derek
and then one broad hand is sliding under his shirt and pressing him against the
tree. Derek’s skin is warm, his claws gently pricking into Stiles’ skin and it
feels so good that he moans out loud.
‘So many new kinks.’ he mutters and Derek laughs, his eyes perfectly clear when
he looks up at him, one hand lazily stroking up and down. He laps at the head
of Stiles’ cock like a cat, still watching him intently and Stiles is wrecked.
He wants to look away but he can’t, trapped by those amazing eyes that are
fixed on him.
‘You taste really good.’ Derek’s voice is rough and he nuzzles at the base of
Stiles’ cock, inhaling deeply. ‘And you smell even better.’
‘Yeah?’ Stiles whines, digging his claws into the tree as far as he can to hold
himself upright. His fangs are out as well now and he’s lisping but he doesn’t
care because when Derek sees what a state he’s in, he takes him in all the way,
throat contracting around Stiles like he does this every day. His cheeks are
hollowed and when he looks back up there’s heat in his eyes, the electric blue
flickering in and out. Stiles watches him, wetting his lips as he makes a
decision.
‘I want to do this to you too.’ he murmurs. Derek pulls off in a slow slide,
hand back and working him. He snarls softly, his own control slipping.
‘You want to suck my cock, Stiles?’ His tone is teasing. ‘Put that smart mouth
of yours to good use?’
‘Holy shit.’ Stiles has to grit his teeth. He has a terrible weakness for dirty
talk and the fact that it’s Derek saying this to him just makes him crazy.
‘Yes, I want to suck your fucking cock. Like now.’
‘Later.’ Derek laughs and then his head is back down, all focus now as he goes
to town on Stiles’ dick. It doesn’t take long for Stiles to get close to coming
again, but this time Derek holds him there. It’s like walking a knife’s edge,
every breath strained as he thrashes against the tree, Derek’s hold on him
tightening as his head moves faster. He’s rumbling deep in his chest and it
vibrates all the way up Stiles’ cock until he loses it and thumps his head back
against the tree with s sharp cry, coming in Derek’s mouth and feeling him
swallow around him.
It’s even more intense than the first one, the feelings ricocheting between
them heightening everything and Stiles slumps back against the tree, completely
breathless as Derek pulls off and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand.
‘You okay?’ he asks, eyes sparkling, and Stiles slides down the tree trunk onto
his ass so they are more or less face to face.
‘You’re very good at that.’ he manages and Derek smiles.
‘The bond gives me feedback on what you like.’ he says. ‘It lets me read you.’
‘To be honest, the mere fact that you want to blow me is enough.’ Stoles waves
a hand at him. ‘Okay, your turn. Come at me, dude.’
‘Don’t call me dude.’ Derek says but he gets to his feet, undoing his belt and
jeans and getting his cock out. He’s hard as a rock, wet from when he came
before and clearly worked up. Stiles stares unashamedly, dying to know what he
tastes like. He should find this gross, but his nose is almost twitching as he
inhales greedily.
‘How do you want to do this?’ he asks. ‘I don’t think my legs are working.’
Then he has a brain wave and glances up. ‘You could fuck my mouth if you want?’
That is clearly not what Derek’s expecting, but the look on his face in
unmistakeable, even without the sudden flood of want through the bond and the
reek of arousal in the air.
‘Can I?’ he asks, almost disbelieving and Stiles snorts a laugh.
‘Seriously?’ he asks. ‘I’d let you put it anyway you fucking wanted right now.
Actually I’d let you put it anywhere anytime you wanted.’ He makes weak grabby
hands at him. ‘You underestimate just how fucking into you I am.’ He grins.
‘Even though you’re a sarcastic asshole who drives me nuts.’
‘Because I’m a sarcastic asshole who drives you nuts.’ Derek counters, but
there’s no disguising how much he wants this and Stiles gets himself a little
more comfortable and beckons him closer. Derek leans over him, one hand braced
against the tree and the other holding himself steady.
‘Stop me anytime if it’s too much.’ he says. ‘And don’t be overambitious.’
‘Fuck that shit.’ Stiles grins. ‘Stick your cock in my mouth Derek.’
‘Christ.’ Derek growls. ‘You’re going to be the death of me.’
Stiles is now nose to cock with him and so he concentrates on what’s about to
happen instead. He can smell Derek, deep and earthy and making every hormone he
has do little back flips. He’s so wet too, pre-come now running down the side
of his cock to mix with semen, and when Stiles puts his hand on him he uses it
to stroke him a couple of times, feeling steely hardness under velvety soft
skin. He breathes in deeply, letting Derek’s scent wash over him and then
tentatively flicks out with his tongue, just catching the tip of Derek’s cock.
It doesn’t taste anything like he expects it too. He knows what he tastes like
but Derek is stronger and with an animal note that he finds he likes.
Derek’s guides himself, wetting Stiles mouth and then nudging his cock against
his lips.
‘Go slow.’ he says, his voice breathy and soft. ‘And don’t fucking bite me.’
‘Got it.’ Stiles says and obligingly opens his mouth for Derek to slide in.
It’s a little awkward at first and he has to focus on breathing through his
nose so he doesn’t choke, but the feeling it gives him negates all that and he
latches his fingers into the loops of Derek’s jeans and takes it. Derek’s ski
tastes really good and he completely gets it now and why some people rhapsodise
(Danny) about sucking cock like it’s the best thing on earth.
‘You good, baby?’ Derek asks and the enearment is so unexpected that Stiles
moans around him, heat flashing through his chest. He nods and Derek starts to
move, little ripples that drive him in and out slowly and carefully. It’s not
at all overwhelming and gives Stiles the chance to experiment a little. He
sucks on the next pull out and Derek makes a strangled sound and there’s a
brief fall of bark because he’s obviously shredding the tree just like Stiles
did. That goes straight to Stiles head and he’s suddenly wildly confident
because he knows he’s the one making Derek lose control of himself. He gets
braver, using his tongue the way Derek had and holding on tighter, pulling
Derek in with more force.
‘Fuck, Stiles.’ Derek is panting hard. ‘You need to let go.’
Stiles is feeling particularly stubborn so he gives a small shake of his head
and sucks harder. It’s enough to make Derek throw back his head, his roar
shattering the silence as come floods Stiles’ mouth. He does choke a little,
pulling off and spitting out what he can. There’s a lot and Derek is still
coming, shaking hard with both hands now braced against the tree. He’s moaning,
desperate and thick with need, and Stiles takes hold him him again, hand
getting sticky as he strokes him through it.
When Derek finally quietens the look at each other, both of them a mess of come
and saliva and flushed with exertion. Stiles is the first to break, laughter
bubbling up inside him. The whole situation is so completely out of left field.
A month ago, he was just another high school loser with a crush on the most
popular girl is school, warming the bench and watching his life go by.
Now he’s a werewolf with a burning hot boyfriend who he’s just blown for the
first time in the woods in broad daylight and it’s better than anything he
could have dreamed up for himself.
‘I think you’ve finally lost it.’ Derek remarks, sarcasm back in place as he
does up his jeans.
‘I think you just face fucked my brains out.’ Stiles counters with a smug grin.
‘Help me up.’ His knees are weak and his legs are wobbling like a newborn
deer’s. Derek holds him up under the arms and peers at him.
‘You need me to carry you back to the car?’ He’s smiling, the bastard, and
Stiles makes an ineffectual swipe at him, trying to growl and sounding like a
kitten which only makes Derek laugh in his face. ‘Okay, that’s just pathetic.’
‘Says you.’ Stiles retorts and then nearly falls over when Derek sets him on
his feet. ‘Damn, next time we need to have a flat surface available.
‘Agreed.’ Derek says and then looks thoughtful. ‘Shift for me.’
Stiles doesn’t even think about it, just does it and sees Derek’s eyebrows
trying to escape off the top of his head.
‘What?’ he asks. ‘It’s easy when there’s nothing in my head.’
‘Yeah.’ Derek wipes his hands down the sides of his jeans. ‘Maybe I’ve been
looking at this wrong.’ He holds out a hand. ‘Come on, we’ll go slow back to
the car. You can try and track our way back.’
‘I’m not a sniffer dog, Derek.’ Stiles protests but he takes the hand anyway.
**********
‘How do you feel?’ Deaton asks and Lydia cracks an eye open at him.
‘The same as I did ten minutes ago.’ she says. She raises her eyebrows at him
and he glares back in kind.
‘Hmmmm.’ he says and dives back into his book.
Lydia rolls her eyes at him and goes back to meditating.
***********
The walk back is considerably more relaxed and Stiles starts to appreciate his
new senses as he lifts his head and air scents. Derek is off in the bushes to
his left somewhere, having heard something and gone to chase it after lobbing
his jeans at Stiles and shifting into his full wolf form. He’s a lot more
animalistic out here, his every move predatory, and Stiles has been watching in
fascination. He doesn’t feel quite the same urges, but then he’s only been a
werewolf for a hot minute. This is Derek’s territory after all and it makes
sense that he behaves like this out here in the preserve.
There’s the sound of small paws scampering over leaves and then screeching as
Derek trees a squirrel and Stiles laughs and jogs through the brush to find him
standing at the base of a tall pine, forepaws braced against the trunk and
looking up at his potential prey. He sees Stiles and whines plaintively with
his tail wagging and Stiles can’t stop himself from smiling. He goes over and
scratches through the thick fur behind Derek’s ears and squints up at the
squirrel, dying a little on the inside at how cute it is.
‘Guess he was too fast for you, huh sourwolf?’ He looks down and sees green
eyes glaring at him. Even in his fur, Derek is judgy as hell. He snorts and
then backs off, cocking his leg and pissing rather aggressively on the tree. It
makes Stiles burst out laughing before he carries on walking, Derek’s paws
soundless as he jogs alongside.
By the time they get back to the house, Stiles is in love with what he’s seen,
heard and smelled. It feels completely different being out here, calming in a
way all his medication has never managed to be. Derek shifts back as they get
to the porch, rising up on his hind legs and fur melting away. Stiles can hear
how his bones are rearranging before he rolls his head a few times like he
always does and then stretches, canines still on display as he yawns
expansively. It’s getting on for late afternoon judging from the nagle of the
sun and Stiles is a little surprised to glance at his watch and realise they’ve
been out in the woods for close on four hours. He opens the Camaro passenger
door and redresses quickly, barely lacing his sneakers.
Derek is looking up at the house, his face neutral. Stiles can smell his unease
and goes to stand next to him, handing him his jeans. He breathes in and
catches the stink of old fire, ash and blood. Even now it’s like it’s seeped
into the wood and if it turns his stomach, he can only imagine what it’s like
for Derek. He looks at him as Derek pulls his jeans on, soiled boxers stuffed
into the back pocket and then reaches for his hand.
‘Why do you come back here?’ he asks and Derek sighs.
‘It’s my home, Stiles.’ he says. ‘I can’t stay away from it.’ His mouth quirks,
then turns down. ‘It used to be beautiful. You should have seen it.’
His sadness is palpable now, humming through their bond and Stiles moves to
rest his cheek against Derek’s bare shoulder. He almost misses the sound of the
car, but raises his head when Derek tenses beneath him. His eyes are trained on
the trees behind them.
‘Get in the house.’ he growls and Stiles backs up as the cars get louder.
‘What is it?’ he asks and Derek bares his teeth.
‘Hunters.’ He moves behind Stiles, shoving him at the porch. ‘Get in and go
upstairs. I want you to stay the fuck out of sight, you got that? I don’t want
them to find you.’
They tumble through the front door together and Stiles runs up the rickety
staircase, taking refuge in a room off to the right. He can hear Derek moving
around and then there’s silence as the car pulls up and stop outside the house.
He can hear the sounds of people getting out.
‘Well his car’s here.’ It’s a man he doesn’t recognise. Then he hears a voice
he knows and it chills him.
‘He’s inside.’ The words send a shiver down his spine because Stiles knows that
the woman is Kate Argent. ‘Dogs always hide in their dens.’ Stils can hear her
moving, the click of her boot-heels as she ascends the stairs. It makes him
indescribably angry and he really has to bite back the growl that wants to come
out to lay claim to this place and the wolf in it as his. He strains his ears
but Derek is making no sound at all.
The front door creaks as the hunters enter. To another human they would make no
noise, but Stiles can track their breathing, their heartbeats as they fan out
in the entrance.
‘He told us to wait.’ It’s an older man, the same one who spoke outside.
‘So I’ve been reminded - to death.’ Kate sounds annoyed.
‘It means we can’t kill him.’ This man is younger.
‘Doesn’t mean we can’t say hello.’ Kate is moving around slowly, but with
confidence.
‘Doesn’t look like anyone’s home.’ the younger man says, sounding unsure.
Stiles holds his breath and then hears Kate call out.
‘Derek.’ Her voice is inviting, almost as if she was visiting a lover and not
stalking her prey. ‘I know you’re in here. Come out and play.’
‘Maybe he’s out back.’ one of the hunters says. ‘Burying a bone in the yard.’
His amusement makes Stiles grit his teeth and dig his claws into his palms.
He’s struggling to hold onto his control.
‘Really?’ Kate laughs. ‘A dog joke? Is that the best you got? If we’re trying
to provoke him, there are better things to say.’
‘Like what?’ Now the hunter sounds sulky.
‘Like too bad your sister bit it before she had her first litter.’ Kate’s
voices is raised to carry. ‘Too bad she howled like a bitch when we cut her in
half.’ She laughs and Stiles frowns. He knows that the hunters didn’t kill
Laura so why Kate is taking the credit is something to think about.
He stills as he hears them split up, Kate moving through to the left, one up
the stairs and one behind the staircase and towards the back of the house. Now
he can smell a horrible pungent scent that gets right up his nose and makes it
burn but before he can think about what it might be, there’s a resounding crash
and then Derek’s roaring in fury. Gunfire goes off, but it’s obviously wide and
Stiles sneaks a look around the corner in time to see all three hunters
converging in the room to the left. The sounds of fighting intensify and the
younger man is hurled back into the hallway, skidding along the floor.
‘Fucking get him!’ Kate yells and there’s more gunfire and then the sound of
Derek howling in pain. There’s a thump that Stiles knows is him collapsing to
the ground before a brilliant surge of pain goes through him, setting his very
teeth on edge.
‘Aww.’ Kate is gloating. ‘This one grew up in all the right places. I don’t
know whether to kill it or lick it.’
That’s the final straw and before he knows it, Stiles is wolfed out and leaping
gracefully over the landing. He lands in a defensive crouch, snarling at the
interlopers and sees Derek on the floor, writhing in agony while Kate stands
over him with a taser in her hand. It’s police issue or something pretty damn
close and Stiles knows how powerful those are. Thankfully his entrance has
startled them both and he manages to duck past the older hunter (thank you
lacrosse training) and knocks Kate right off her feet into the wall behind.
‘Stiles, get the fuck out.’ Derek groans, but Stiles ignores him in favour of
grabbing him and hauling him up bodily so he can throw them both out the
shattered window at the back. What remains explodes in fragments of glass and
splinters where the frame collapses and they hit the ground hard. He rolls to
take as much of the impact as he can and then scrambles to his feet, running on
adrenaline as he drags Derek up and behind him. He gets them as far as the
treeline before the first shot goes off and then Derek jolts as he’s hit.
Stiles knows that at least on of the bullets have found their mark but he
doesn’t stop and they are soon out of sight. He listens for the hunters but
they are now arguing among themselves and Kate is swearing a blue streak.
‘I’ll be back for you, Derek!’ she yells. ‘Your bitch too. I’m going to make
him bleed in front of you!’ She fires off another round into the air and then
there’s the sound of them all packing back into the SUV and peeling off from
the house.
‘Fucking psycho.’ Stiles wants to shred her face. ‘What the fuck did you ever
see in her?’
To his alarm, Derek doesn’t even respond and when Stiles looks at him he sees
that he’s pasty white and sweating profusely. Not only that, but there are dark
tendrils leaching their way from the bullet wound on his shoulder where he took
the round Kate had fired at him. The blood leaking from the hole is black and
smells like the same pungent herby scent the hunters gave off and Stiles knows
it’s bad.
‘Fuck.’ He pulls off his flannel and presses it to the wound. ‘Derek?’
‘It’s wolfsbane.’ Derek growls. ‘I need to get to Deaton. Now.’
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