![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sibylmoon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/2021-sm-be-cover.jpg?resize=703%2C980&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Title<\/strong>: Becoming <\/p>\n An hour later Stiles was riding the line between exhilarated and exhausted after his encounter with Kate and working on his anchor some more. He pushed the thoughts of Kate away to deal with later when he could get ahold of Derek again.<\/p>\n Settling in at his desk he began to look over his research, Stiles wouldn\u2019t have noticed it if he hadn\u2019t just been through the files on the Hale fire and the arson investigation report he\u2019d finally found. Garrison Meyers used to be an insurance investigator. In fact, he was the insurance investigator for the Hale fire. His report had been one of the reasons that the fire had been marked accidental. Stiles tried to tell himself that it was a coincidence that Meyers had a connection to the fire. A link that was looking to be somewhat shady. He\u2019d been in league with the hunters, or they\u2019d paid him to write a false report.<\/p>\n Stiles began to dig into Meyer\u2019s finances as much as he could. He noticed that Meyers had retired as an insurance investigator six months after the fire. Meyers had quit his job there to become a bus driver. That was also around the time he had started drinking to the point of being picked up. He didn\u2019t have any DUIs or driving violations, but he had a few drunk and disorderly pickups. Most of them seemed to have been on weekends.<\/p>\n Reading between the lines, Stiles guessed that Meyers had falsified his report or just hurried to close the case. Something must have tipped him off that it had been a murder, or at least the guilt of it began to eat at him.<\/p>\n Stiles was sure the guy deserved to be arrested and charged with his role in the fire, but he didn\u2019t think murder was what the guy had earned. Stiles did more research into the fire, compiling his file on it. He hoped to somehow pass it to his dad or Tara and get the case reopened. It deserved to be investigated correctly and to have those responsible brought to justice.<\/p>\n Stiles checked his phone; he had a response from his dad. Glancing at the time, he saw that he had about thirty minutes before his dad would be home. His dad had asked about dinner and Stiles shot him a text suggesting the diner.<\/p>\n He got an almost immediate affirmative answer. He looked to see if he\u2019d missed any other texts or calls, but it looked like Derek hadn\u2019t gotten back to him. Stiles felt a curl of worry in his chest, but he tried to ignore it. Maybe Derek was just checking out the Argents or something. Stiles hoped he hadn\u2019t pushed too hard about Kate and the fire.<\/p>\n Shoving those thoughts aside, he shut down his research and hid the file he was compiling into the back of his desk drawer. He would have to take the time later to get everything transcribed online and secured. By the time he\u2019d taken care of his research and changed his clothes, his dad was home.<\/p>\n \u201cReady to go, kid?\u201d he asked, still in uniform. \u201cWe can grab dinner and talk, but then I need to catch some sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure thing, Dad.\u201d Stiles squashed down the disappointment of not being able to spend more time with his dad, telling himself to take what he could get.<\/p>\n They headed out of the house and to the diner. Stiles was talking about everything and nothing. Once they were seated in a booth and had ordered, Noah Stilinski looked at his son. Stiles swallowed. He recognized that look. Usually, he\u2019d gotten it when he\u2019d done something wrong and his dad wanted him to confess.<\/p>\n \u201cSo,\u201d his dad began. \u201cI got a call from the school to inform me that you had changed your school plan.\u201d<\/p>\n Stiles carefully kept the relief that this was what his dad wanted to know out of his posture and face. \u201cYeah, I know you wanted me to have a normal school experience here, but I\u2019m getting so bored. Yes, even in the advanced classes.\u201d Stiles said the last before his dad could do more than open his mouth.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay.\u201d The sheriff pulled a hand down his face. \u201cOkay. I still think you should have a normal high school experience. I wish you would have talked this over with me. We might have been able to find other alternatives. I don\u2019t know how I feel about you graduating so early. You\u2019re only sixteen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDad\u2026\u201d Stiles tried to it say very gently and ignored how his heart was being chipped away at again. He\u2019d glue it back together later when he had time. \u201cI\u2019m going to be eighteen in April.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAre you?\u201d The sheriff looked startled at that news; his brow furrowed as he thought. \u201cWell, hell, I guess you will be.\u201d He laughed, shaking his head. \u201cTime flies, doesn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n Their food arrived shortly after that and they ate, the subject closed. Stiles moved on to regular conversations that revolved around his dad\u2019s horrible eating habits and simple station calls. He was determined to ignore the fact that his dad had forgotten how old he was, even if it was just for a minute.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should have ordered the salad instead of those fries, dad,\u201d Stiles told him around a bite of his burger. \u201cThe curly fries might taste great, but your arteries will not thank you for it.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe not, but my taste buds and stomach are thrilled right now.\u201d The sheriff grinned at his son, eating a few fries as if to prove his point. \u201cSee, delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m only looking out for you,\u201d Stiles grumbled good-naturedly.<\/p>\n \u201cI know you are, son,\u201d he said, grinning at him, \u201cbut you don\u2019t have to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, I do if you keep ordering fries instead of salads,\u201d Stiles rebuked, but he was smiling as he said it.<\/p>\n They finished their dinner, the sheriff getting a final cup of coffee while Stiles mangled the straw in his milkshake.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout these men who accosted you at the gas station,\u201d he began.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t do anything,\u201d Stiles protested, mostly because he knew his dad would expect it. \u201cThey tried to shoot me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m aware.\u201d His dad did not look happy about that fact. \u201cAll of them are up on weapons charges right now. Some have made bail, so I would prefer you not wander around town by yourself right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay,\u201d Stiles agreed readily. \u201cHave you heard anything about my Jeep, though?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can pick it up from the station tomorrow,\u201d he said with a grimace. \u201cThe bullets left mostly cosmetic damage to your door and side paneling. They didn\u2019t hit anything further in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a relief.\u201d Stiles had a good amount of money in the trust fund from his grandmother for after his birthday, but given a choice, he wanted to save most of it for his schooling and not buying a new vehicle.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry I couldn\u2019t make it down that night,\u201d his dad said, head bowed a little. \u201cI\u2019m glad that Derek was there and could watch out for you until I got back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a good guy. You\u2019ve met him. He\u2019s quiet but solid,\u201d Stiles said with pride. Even if Derek wasn\u2019t a friend the way that Stiles portrayed him, he was still someone that Stiles was coming to count on. Now, if he\u2019d just text him back. \u201cHe\u2019s dealing with a lot right now, with his sister\u2019s death and his uncle still in the hospital. I think he\u2019s going to be okay, but it\u2019s a lot to deal with.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u201d The sheriff nodded. \u201cI\u2019m sorry about the reason that he came back to town, but I\u2019m glad that you got to meet him in person. It\u2019s nice to see you have a friend again, Stiles.\u201d<\/p>\n Stiles forced himself not to flinch. His dad had been worried about him after Scott died, especially when he hadn\u2019t made any close friends after that or, really, any friends at all.<\/p>\n \u201cDerek\u2019s cool,\u201d Stiles said instead of the thousand other things he wanted to say about how his dad shouldn\u2019t worry about him. \u201cYou aren\u2019t mad about the school thing, right?\u201d Stiles asked, changing the subject from Derek and the hunters.<\/p>\n \u201cDisappointed a little,\u201d his dad said honestly. \u201cI wish you would have talked about it with me, but I\u2019m not mad at you, Stiles.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay then.\u201d Stiles sucked up the last of his milkshake and watched his dad finish his coffee. He was about to ask about hitting the store before heading home when his dad\u2019s radio went off.<\/p>\n They both listened and the sheriff answered the call with his eyes on his son but focused elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have time to run you home,\u201d he said to Stiles. \u201cYou will stay in the car until I can get someone to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI will,\u201d Stiles said, getting up and following his dad out of the diner.<\/p>\n They drove quickly through town with the lights on, but the sirens themselves off.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened?\u201d Stiles asked, holding on to the door as they sped through town.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was an attack of some sort at the video store in town,\u201d the sheriff answered.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know all the details.\u201d He glanced at Stiles with his eyebrow raised. \u201cYou heard as much as I did on the radio.\u201d<\/p>\n Stiles gave his dad a sheepish smile. \u201cYeah, I guess I\u2019m still a little stressed out by what happened the other night. Then the other morning when I saw Tara at the bus yard.\u201d<\/p>\n The sheriff frowned. \u201cThere has been a lot of activity over the past few weeks.\u201d He acknowledged. \u201cI am serious about you staying in or at least not being out on your own until things begin to settle down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought I heard that most of the problems have been due to animal attacks?\u201d Stiles asked, wondering if his dad believed the story or was using the cover of animal attacks to investigate on his own.<\/p>\n \u201cMost of them, yes,\u201d his dad agreed. \u201cWhich is why I don\u2019t want you in the woods at all. If a mountain lion or similar is coming into town and attacking residents, it\u2019s either feral or ill. Tara calling me about you being in the wrong place is not something I need right now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know, dad,\u201d Stiles said, ignoring the part of him that said that his dad didn\u2019t show up half the time, even when Stiles called him.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, wait here.\u201d The sheriff pulled up in front of the video store, two other vehicles already there with their lights on. \u201cI mean it, Stiles, stay out of the crime scene.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI will, Dad,\u201d Stiles said, offended. \u201cI haven\u2019t gone into a crime scene since you grounded me for it two years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight,\u201d he said, already shutting the door, his attention on the scene and not his son.<\/p>\n Stiles watched his dad walk away before he rolled down his window. He caught the scent of blood, and then he heard Jackson and Lydia giving shaky statements to the deputies. He assumed they were the ones to call it in.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026monster, it was huge,\u201d Jackson was saying.<\/p>\n \u201cYou say it was an animal that you saw,\u201d The deputy was asking, \u201cNot a person?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a monster. iIt didn\u2019t look like any animal I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d Jackson said, his customary arrogance shaken but still evident in his voice.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is ridiculous,\u201d Lydia\u2019s voice cut in from nearby. \u201cWe\u2019ve told you everything we know and I wasn\u2019t even in there.\u201d<\/p>\n The deputies took down their information and then sent Jackson and Lydia on their way.<\/p>\n Stiles got out of the car but didn\u2019t go any further. He didn\u2019t need to move to get the information he needed. The clerk was dead; Jackson had found the body and been attacked by some animal. The deputies were putting his claims of \u2018monster\u2019 down to Jackson\u2019s trauma for now. Stiles wasn\u2019t sure what Lydia might have seen, but it sounded like she\u2019d been in the car and away from the alpha.<\/p>\n And it was the alpha. Stiles could smell the familiar scent of the werewolf that had bitten him now that he knew what to look for. The same smell that had been under the blood at the bus was here as well. He heard someone coming up beside him and turned to see Derek.<\/p>\n \u201cHe struck again,\u201d Stiles murmured, not looking at Derek, just breathing in the comforting scent of the man, letting it calm the anxiety the alpha caused him.<\/p>\n \u201cI see that,\u201d Derek replied, leaning against the car next to him and letting their shoulders brush. \u201cAny idea why?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot yet,\u201d Stiles said with a shrug. \u201cI\u2019ve got a name, but I\u2019ll need to look it up when I get home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour dad looks like he\u2019ll be a while. You need a ride?\u201d Derek asked.<\/p>\n \u201cCould use one.\u201d Stiles shrugged again. \u201cLet me get his attention.\u201d He headed towards his dad.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be here,\u201d Derek replied.<\/p>\n \u201cDad,\u201d Stiles called out as he made his way closer to the storefront.<\/p>\n \u201cStiles.\u201d His dad came to the door sounding exasperated. \u201cI told you to stay in the car.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was,\u201d Stiles defended with a frown. \u201cDerek was driving by and saw me. He offered me a ride home if I need it. It looks like you\u2019re going to be awhile.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d The sheriff looked over towards where Derek was standing. \u201cThat would be helpful. I don\u2019t know when I\u2019m going to make it home after this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI figured,\u201d Stiles said.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you think he\u2019d mind taking you to get your Jeep tomorrow?\u201dhe asked.<\/p>\n \u201cProbably not, but I can ask him on the way home,\u201d Stiles said.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, let me know.\u201d He was already turning back to the store. \u201cText me when you get home, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure thing, Dad,\u201d Stiles agreed. \u201cLove you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLove you, too, kid.\u201d Then he went back to work.<\/p>\n Stiles turned and headed back towards Derek, who had already grabbed his jacket from the car, waiting for him.<\/p>\n \u201cI can take you to get your Jeep tomorrow after school,\u201d Derek said, without preamble, as they walked towards his car.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to school tomorrow,\u201d Stiles said, grinning at Derek\u2019s incredulous look. \u201cI\u2019m done with everything but the tests. Of course, I\u2019ll need to study, but I\u2019ll be testing on the eighteenth and nineteenth. After that, so long as I pass, I\u2019ll be completely done with high school. I know I told you most of this already.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh,\u201d was all Derek said as they got into the Camaro and began the trip to Stiles\u2019 house.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it would be best to be able to retreat if I need to for control or whatever and I can\u2019t do that if I\u2019m still in high school, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity.\u201d Stiles shrugged and then sat up with excitement. \u201cOh, I haven\u2019t talked to you today. I found my anchor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou did?\u201d Derek asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYour doubt in me is noted, but yes, I did,\u201d Stiles replied. \u201cIt was after that run-in I had with Kate Argent. I made it home, but I had trouble after. I managed to find my anchor then.\u201d<\/p>\n Derek\u2019s hands creaked on the steering wheel as soon as Stiles mentioned Kate. \u201cI got your text.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI figured,\u201d Stiles said agreeably. \u201cGood thing she doesn\u2019t know I\u2019m a werewolf. She was more interested in warning me off you and getting my dad to drop the charges against her brother. I think they are feeling out their ability to bribe him or me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat seems likely,\u201d Derek agreed, his eyes glowing slightly.<\/p>\n \u201cPut away the high beams, dude,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cYou talk to me about control and you snap at just about every mention of her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s responsible for the death of my entire pack, Stiles,\u201d Derek said through gritted teeth.<\/p>\n \u201cThen find your anchor, Derek,\u201d Stiles replied without pity. \u201cYou aren\u2019t going to do any good against this alpha if you can\u2019t deal with this Argent bullshit.\u201d<\/p>\n Derek swung into the driveway of Stiles\u2019 house and they sat for a minute as Derek fought for control. \u201cI\u2019ll be by in the morning to take you to get your Jeep. We\u2019ll talk about the alpha then.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the Argents,\u201d Stiles replied as he got out of the car. He shut the door before Derek could respond, heading into the house. He didn\u2019t hear Derek drive away for another few minutes, but he figured he\u2019d get his way.<\/p>\n He knew the both of them had things that needed dealing with, but Derek\u2019s issues with the Argents seemed to be the most distressing for him right now. The alpha was a problem, especially with the murders going on, but if the Argents took down Derek, Stiles wasn\u2019t confident in his ability to take down the alpha by himself. He wasn\u2019t sure he wanted to, if it came down to it, not if he would end up with the alpha spark, as Derek had mentioned would happen.<\/p>\n Not that he thought Derek would be a much better alpha at this point, but at least he had more experience being a werewolf than the five minutes that Stiles had.<\/p>\n Plus, Stiles liked the other man and didn\u2019t think Derek should still be dragging the Argents around with him, especially if he was going to be an alpha. Especially if he ended up being Stiles\u2019 alpha.<\/p>\n Stiles listened to Derek finally drive away before he made his way upstairs to his room and laptop. He changed his clothes and got comfortable before he started to research the video store clerk. Stiles wished that he was surprised when he found that the guy had a record related to arson. Stiles couldn\u2019t tie him directly to the Hale fire, but that didn\u2019t mean much considering that the fire had been ruled accidental. He leaned back against the wall at the head of his bed and let everything circle his mind.<\/p>\n So far, all the victims, including Laura, had been related to the Hale fire. Stiles sat up and made his way into the case files for the bus murder with a few careful clicks.<\/p>\n There.<\/p>\n He doubted even the crime scene techs knew what they\u2019d been taking a picture of, but there was a spiral. A spiral like the one Stiles had seen in the photograph online. Derek reasoned that Laura had seen or heard of one and had come to Beacon Hills to investigate. Now, here was another one at the site of a murder victim.<\/p>\n He\u2019d bet if he and Derek went looking, they\u2019d find one at or near the site of the newest murder. Revenge was the answer, but revenge on who and for what? Revenge for the fire was obvious, but Stiles knew that Derek wasn\u2019t responsible for the murders. Maybe Kate was tidying up loose ends from six years ago and using the alpha to cover her tracks?<\/p>\n He sat back again. His eyes were feeling gritty and he was tired. He set the laptop aside and got ready to get some sleep. He hoped they found the alpha soon; he didn\u2019t think his dad would buy animal attacks for very much longer if this kept up.<\/p>\n Derek showed up bright and early the following day, rousting him out of bed and taking him to get his Jeep from the station. Still half asleep, Stiles signed the paperwork and was once again in possession of his own transportation.<\/p>\n \u201cYou owe me breakfast,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cAnd coffee, so much coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe diner?\u201d Derek asked, steering Stiles toward the driver\u2019s side of the Jeep and stepping back.<\/p>\n Stiles could see the slight uptick at the corner of his mouth that indicated that Derek was amused at Stiles\u2019 morning grumpiness.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d Stiles said, pointing a finger at Derek, \u201cand stop laughing at me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what you mean,\u201d Derek said, getting into the Camaro and heading out in the direction of the diner.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course you don\u2019t,\u201d Stiles muttered. He got in his Jeep and followed Derek, desperate for coffee and blueberry pancakes smothered in syrup and butter.<\/p>\n Seated in a back booth with their breakfasts in front of them, Stiles told Derek what he\u2019d discovered last night.<\/p>\n \u201cYou think he had something to do with the fire?\u201d Derek asked, staring hard at the waffles on his plate as if they held all the answers.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s likely,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cLook, if he\u2019d been the first to die, I wouldn\u2019t be so quick to assume the fire. Even taking Laura out of the equation, we know that Meyers was involved with the fire and we know that the alpha was involved with both murders. I saw the pictures that had the spiral at the bus murder scene and I bet when we go back to the video store, we\u2019ll find another somewhere around there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI smelled that same scent under the blood at the video store that I did at the bus, so, yeah,\u201d Derek agreed. \u201cThey are connected. Just, the fire?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe fire is the common denominator here,\u201d Stiles said, draining his coffee and waving over a refill, waiting until the waitress left before continuing. \u201cLook, I have two theories. One is that someone is seeking revenge for the deaths of your family, though why they\u2019ve waited so long to do it, I don\u2019t know. Maybe they didn\u2019t have enough evidence until now?\u201d Stiles shrugged and took a drink of coffee, setting the mug down and taking a bite of his pancakes. \u201cTwo is that Kate, or someone involved in the actual murder of your family, is tying up loose ends and using the alpha to do it. How that works, I\u2019m not sure. There are a lot of questions either way, but those are the two working theories.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to figure out who the alpha is. That would give us an idea of what theory holds more water,\u201d Derek said, finishing his meal.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have an idea of how to do that, lay it on me,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cI\u2019m all ears.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI have some ideas,\u201d Derek said evasively. \u201cI need to look into a few things. I\u2019ll get back to you later today.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay,\u201d Stiles said, not at all reassured. \u201cNothing I can help with, I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot right now,\u201d Derek said, standing up and putting some money on the table. \u201cI\u2019ll let you know when I need you.\u201d He leaned down and put a hand on Stiles\u2019 shoulder, looking him in the eye. \u201cI will. Just not yet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll right,\u201d Stiles said, nodding. Waiting for Derek to step back, he slid out of the booth and stood up, following Derek outside. \u201cCall me when you have something. Try to avoid the Argents. They would be too happy to fill you full of holes and I\u2019d like to avoid that for now.\u201d<\/p>\n Derek gave a harsh laugh and then looked surprised that he\u2019d done it. \u201cJust for now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you\u2019re growing on me. I might like to keep you around,\u201d Stiles replied with a shrug and a smile. \u201cI think we\u2019re becoming pretty good friends right now, despite everything, and, you know, we\u2019re pack.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Derek smiled the soft smile that Stiles had only seen once or twice before and it always made his stomach swoop. \u201cWe\u2019re pack.\u201d<\/p>\n Stiles made his way back home; he noticed the sheriff\u2019s car in the drive and was glad to see that his dad made it home. He parked and headed inside.<\/p>\n His dad was seated at the kitchen table with files spread out. Unfortunately, instead of a cup of coffee, he\u2019d poured himself a tumbler of whiskey. Stiles bit his tongue to refrain from pointing out that it wasn\u2019t even noon yet.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, dad,\u201d he said, coming into the kitchen, grabbing a glass, and filling it with water from the fridge. \u201cAre you home for the day?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor now,\u201d his dad said, eyes on the files sipping at his drink. \u201cI might need to go back in tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAny word on when I can run the preserve again?\u201d Stiles knew better than to ask directly about his dad\u2019s cases. He\u2019d learned that lesson with a few harsh words shortly after they\u2019d lost his mom and Scott.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, we have the park service out looking,\u201d Noah said tiredly, looking up finally. \u201cWe aren\u2019t sure what we\u2019re looking for. Tests aren\u2019t back yet. The best guess is a rabid mountain lion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRumor has it that it was a bear.\u201d Stiles held up his hands at his dad\u2019s glare. \u201cHey, Derek and I had breakfast at the diner. I overheard the gossipy geezers going on about Jackson\u2019s description of a \u2018monster\u2019 and they said it had to be a bear.\u201d He shrugged and took a drink.<\/p>\n The sheriff sighed in defeat at Stiles\u2019 explanation. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t call them that, Stiles. They\u2019re going to find out and then what are you going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey already know,\u201d Stiles said with a laugh. \u201cI think they had shirts made.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course they did.\u201d His dad shook his head. \u201cI don\u2019t think it was a bear. Someone would have noticed something that large coming into town. Jackson was understandably traumatized by the event.\u201d He gave Stiles a look. \u201cDon\u2019t go using this in your war with him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not at war with him, dad,\u201d Stiles said with some exasperation shaking his head at his dad before Noah could say anything else. \u201cNo, I\u2019m not. I don\u2019t know where you got that idea. Yeah, we don\u2019t get along and we haven\u2019t for some time, but I try to stay away from him. I\u2019m more apathetic towards him than hostile, dad. He\u2019s the one that can\u2019t seem to see me and let the event pass without saying or doing something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReally? That\u2019s not the way I hear it from David Whittemore whenever we run into each other., he said with his eyebrows raised, taking a swallow of his drink, eyes darting back to his files.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you shouldn\u2019t have to worry about it then since we\u2019re not going to be in school together anymore,\u201d Stiles said, deciding just to cut the conversation short. He never knew where his dad\u2019s doubt and disbelief in him came from, but it didn\u2019t make it hurt any less.<\/p>\n \u201cTrue,\u201d his dad laughed in such a way that Stiles knew that the tumbler he was drinking from wasn\u2019t his first. \u201cWell, one benefit then.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Stiles knew his smile was brittle, but his dad wouldn\u2019t notice with his eyes on his paperwork once again. \u201cWant me to make you something to eat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I\u2019m just going to finish this up and then catch some sleep in case I get called back in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay.\u201d Stiles nodded and finished his water. He rinsed the glass and set it in the drainer. \u201cI\u2019m going to head up and do some studying. Is there anything I need to know, other than staying out of the preserve and keeping an eye out when I\u2019m in town?\u201d<\/p>\n His dad looked up and Stiles saw the bleary-eyed look of a man who was probably into his fourth day of little sleep and his third tumbler of whiskey. \u201cTry to stay in well-populated areas if you are going out alone or go out with Derek.\u201d He paused, obviously thinking about something, so Stiles waited. \u201cDerek is a good kid. I wasn\u2019t sure when you started hanging out with him after he came back looking for his sister. But he\u2019s a good kid. It\u2019s a tough break what happened to his family and then to have this happen to his sister, too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you know what happened to his sister?\u201d Stiles asked, wondering if he\u2019d get anything out of his dad. His attempt paid off.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks like she was attacked by this same animal.\u201d The sheriff\u2019s brow wrinkled in a frown. \u201cHow she ended up cut in half is the puzzler, though, but I\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Stiles agreed. \u201cI\u2019m going to study. You get some rest, dad; you\u2019ve had a rough few days.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJust like your mom,\u201d the sheriff mumbled, eyes going completely glassy, a look that Stiles recognized, and he sighed, moving towards his dad to nudge him to his feet. Stiles got him to set the glass on the table and walked his dad to the stairs.<\/p>\n \u201cDerek is a good kid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou said that dad. I agree.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, you aren\u2019t bad, either.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks, dad. Here are the stairs, careful.\u201d Stiles eased his dad up the stairway, one step at a time.<\/p>\n His dad kept pausing to lean on the wall, gazing at him earnestly. \u201cYou are the best part of us, Stiles, the best part.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks, Dad,\u201d Stiles kept repeating. He was familiar with this routine; it didn\u2019t happen as often in the last couple of years, and it was easier to get his dad up the stairs now than it had been six years ago when his mom had first died. He\u2019d been a lot smaller then and his dad a lot angrier.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry Scott died too,\u201d his dad reached out and patted his cheek. \u201cLeft you all alone. All alone. My poor boy. Now you\u2019re leaving me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not leaving you, dad,\u201d Stiles sighed, finally getting him to the top of the stairs. \u201cI\u2019m just getting you to bed. You need some sleep.\u201d He\u2019d learned over the years not to bring up his dad\u2019s drinking, especially when he\u2019d been drinking.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re all grown up now. All done with school and going away.\u201d His dad sighed.<\/p>\n Wonderful they\u2019d reached the maudlin portion of their schedule. Stiles hated this so much.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just high school, dad. I\u2019m not planning on leaving you.\u201d Stiles had never been happier about this new werewolf strength than when his dad suddenly slumped. He managed to catch him before he hit the floor. \u201cEasy there, dad.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo tired,\u201d Noah muttered, hanging in his arms, head resting on Stiles\u2019 shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cI bet.\u201d Stiles agreed, shifting him enough to maneuver him up another step. They were almost to the landing.<\/p>\n \u201cMiss you so much, Claudia.,\u201d he whispered, breath hitching.<\/p>\n \u201cI know you do. Come on, dad.\u201d Stiles managed to half walk, half drag his dad down the hall to his room.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a good kid Stiles,\u201d his dad said, patting Stiles on the face. \u201cSuch a good kid.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve said,\u201d Stiles replied. He hated days and nights like this. He was grateful they were few and far between. Only once every couple of months, instead of every other day the way it had been back in the beginning.<\/p>\n Stiles got his dad sitting on the end of the bed and knelt to take his boots off. The sheriff leaned forward suddenly and grasped his face in both hands.<\/p>\n \u201cYour mom didn\u2019t mean it.\u201d His face was full of a drunk\u2019s fervent belief. \u201cShe never thought you were a monster.\u201d<\/p>\n Stiles sighed again, ignoring the throb of that old wound. \u201cI know that, dad.\u201d He reached up and removed his dad\u2019s hands. \u201cHere, let\u2019s get your boots off so you can get some sleep, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay.\u201d His dad then proceeded to fall back on the bed.<\/p>\n Stiles rolled his eyes and got his dad\u2019s boots off, setting them to the side. Then he got his dad undressed down to his undershirt and boxers. With some additional struggle, he even managed to get him under the blankets. That done, he headed towards the door, turning off the light.<\/p>\n \u201cLove you, son,\u201d Noah mumbled before the snoring started.<\/p>\n \u201cLove you, dad.\u201d Stiles shut the door, leaning his head against it for a minute, and just drew in a few deep breaths, refusing to let the sobs that were trying to gather in the back of his throat get out.<\/p>\n Once he had himself under control, he went back downstairs to clean up. He dumped the tumbler of whiskey and double-checked that his dad had secured his service weapon in the safe. Noah had forgotten that once; it had been the only time that Stiles lost his temper with his dad and his drinking. Ever since that incident, his dad had made sure to lock his weapon up before he poured his first tumbler, but Stiles still felt the need to check every time.<\/p>\n He glanced at the files he was straightening up and saw they were what he expected \u2013 the files on the \u2018animal attacks\u2019 and the analysis reports that were back. The reports included the one for Laura Hale and the conclusion of the animal attack for her cause of death. The local vet, Dr. Alan Deaton, had identified the animal hair as a mountain lion in origin.<\/p>\n \u201cThe vet? Really, dad?\u201d Stiles muttered as he stacked up the files neatly. Reaching for the last few files, he froze. \u201cHale Fire,\u201d he read the file name out loud before flipping it open.<\/p>\n Stiles groped behind him for a chair and sat down hard because this wasn\u2019t just the official copy of the Hale fire. This was his dad\u2019s personal copy, which meant that his dad was quietly investigating the fire on his own.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t believe it was an accident either,\u201d Stiles said as he flipped through the handwritten notes page by page. All the computer-generated paperwork was the same as what he\u2019d printed out, but everything else his dad had come across was either typed and printed out separately from a Word document or handwritten. Nothing was officially reported or noted. He looked at the dates on some of the notes. \u201cFuck, he\u2019s been looking into this for years.\u201d<\/p>\n He picked up all the files and headed into the office, dropping everything but the Hale file onto the desk. The Hale file went with him to their all-in-one printer. Carefully, he began to make his own copies of each of his dad\u2019s notes before putting the file back together and leaving it on the desk with the others.<\/p>\n He took the copies upstairs with him and sat on his bed after closing his door and just stared at the wall. He knew that his dad was good at his job, excellent in fact. He wouldn\u2019t have made Sheriff if he weren\u2019t, especially not with his whiskey habit directly after Claudia Stilinski\u2019s death.<\/p>\n His dad was an even better detective than Stiles had given him credit for. He\u2019d been looking into the Hale Fire since shortly after he\u2019d become sheriff. Stiles didn\u2019t know what had tipped him off to it, but he had some comprehensive notes, and Stiles didn\u2019t doubt that, if he\u2019d had the connecting pieces about werewolves and hunters, he\u2019d have already solved it.<\/p>\n Stiles decided right then that he couldn\u2019t tell his dad about werewolves. His dad might be the best detective in the county and great at solving crimes, at finding justice for families, but Stiles just didn\u2019t know if his dad could deal with the very grey world of the supernatural. Stiles didn\u2019t agree with what the alpha was doing in any way, shape, or form, but what he and Derek were going to have to do to stop the alpha was necessary. It was also something that his dad would find unacceptable.<\/p>\n His dad had always been something of a black and white type of person. The fact that he had this file on the Hale Fire was surprising, but that he was going about it in a meticulous and above-board fashion in gathering evidence wasn\u2019t. He wasn\u2019t going around the procedure, at least according to his notes. He was just getting second opinions on reports and looking into cases in surrounding counties.<\/p>\n Stiles didn\u2019t doubt that his dad would stick by him, that he would cover for him. He also knew that it would eat away at Noah Stilinski to do it. Stiles didn\u2019t think that his dad could take having any more of himself eaten away these days. His job was all that he had, it was what he\u2019d poured himself into since his mom\u2019s death, and Stiles didn\u2019t want to sully that for his dad.<\/p>\n That was going to mean keeping werewolves a secret from his dad. Stiles sighed and stood up to put his new papers into the file he had on the fire. This also meant that he\u2019d have to look into moving out as soon as possible without it being suspicious. It looked like he\u2019d be dipping into his little trust fund sooner than he\u2019d thought. He wondered if Derek would like a roommate and then shook that thought away.<\/p>\n His grandmother on his mom\u2019s side had left him some money that would be available to him when he turned eighteen. It should be enough to get him on his feet and he had some schools interested. He just needed a plan. Hopefully, this thing with the alpha and these hunters wouldn\u2019t take any longer than that. Then, he could sit down with Derek and figure out a long-term plan regarding his training and being a werewolf for the rest of his life.<\/p>\n He spent the rest of the day studying for his tests and trying to ignore everything else. He grabbed something to eat for lunch and checked on his dad. Finding him still passed out, he left a glass of water and some aspirin next to the side of the bed before going back to study some more.<\/p>\n When Stiles finally came up from his study-induced stupor to a knock on the door of his room, he saw it was getting dark outside.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m headed into work, son,\u201d his dad said, showered and changed. Almost as if nothing had happened that morning at all.<\/p>\n The red-rimmed and slightly bloodshot eyes combined with the whiskey that Stiles could smell on him belied that, but he doubted anyone else would take note of anything more than an overtired man.<\/p>\n \u201cUh,\u201d Stiles shook off the equations that were floating around in his brain at the moment. \u201cOkay, um, I put your files on your desk when you went to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay. You didn\u2019t go through them, I hope,\u201d his dad said, frowning.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d Stiles shook his head. \u201cI just moved them off the kitchen table to the office. I didn\u2019t know if they were important or just paperwork, so I didn\u2019t want to leave them sitting out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, thank you, son.\u201d The sheriff smiled at him. \u201cI\u2019ll see you tomorrow night, hopefully.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNight, Dad,\u201d Stiles replied with a wave. \u201cLove you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLove you, too, son.\u201d The Sheriff headed down the stairs and Stiles heard the front door shut a short time later.<\/p>\n Stiles put his schoolwork away and pulled out his alpha research after checking his phone to see if Derek had texted yet. He hadn\u2019t, but Stiles expected to hear from him soon. Derek had told him earlier that morning that he\u2019d call once he\u2019d check out a few things. Stiles was ignoring the worry that was starting to pool in the pit of his stomach, telling himself to give Derek time to figure out what he needed to and get back to him.<\/p>\n Pulling his files closer, he began to read over what he had put together. He pulled out his dad\u2019s notes and added them into his own where they fit. It was like slipping pieces of the puzzle together and the more that came together, the more he felt his blood begin to chill.<\/p>\n He pulled up a blank document and began to add together the commonalities of everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks. What had brought Laura to Beacon Hills? Well, they didn\u2019t know for sure since she hadn\u2019t told Derek, but after seeing that post online, it was likely that the revenge spiral was the culprit. Okay, what did the two other murders have in common? The Hale Fire, or, at least, connections to the Hale Fire and a connection to arson.<\/p>\n The hunters had overplayed their hand with the cops here in Beacon Hills. Had they been that confident in their ability to buy their way out of trouble? That didn\u2019t matter right now. It wasn\u2019t going to happen with his dad and the deputies currently on staff around. Now, once they got in front of the judges, Stiles couldn\u2019t say. Stiles didn\u2019t think they would have shown up and pulled their guns on him and the cops like idiots if they were running around cleaning up loose ends from a fire that everyone claimed was accidental over six years ago.<\/p>\n That left someone directly affected by the fire. The only survivors had been Laura and Derek. Laura was now dead and Derek wasn\u2019t an alpha, so he hadn\u2019t killed her. Stiles was pretty sure that Derek wasn\u2019t lying about that. Stiles was also reasonably confident that he wasn\u2019t going around killing people for revenge either. Derek hadn\u2019t mentioned any other family outside of his Uncle Peter and Stiles wasn\u2019t stupid. He really wished that what he was thinking was wrong, but unless Derek returned with some extraordinary evidence, Stiles would have to tell Derek that his uncle was not only not in a coma but was a crazy murderer.<\/p>\n Stiles rechecked his phone, hoping to see a text from Derek. Finally, he sent out one of his own.<\/p>\n \u2018Derek come on, you said youd get in touch where are you dude\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n He waited, staring intently at his phone before throwing it on his bed in disgust, he worry from before eating at his gut painfully now.<\/p>\n He changed into a pair of jeans, something more durable than sweats just in case he ended up facing the alpha while looking for Derek. Why he was going to look for the insufferable sourwolf, he didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n Well, yes, he did know. He thought of the smile this morning as he had told Derek that they were pack. They were friends at this point and even though Stiles was crazy attracted to Derek\u2019s looks, because who wouldn\u2019t be, he was also finding himself attracted to Derek\u2019s shy smiles and arrogant smirks. Even his angry, grumpy, confused eyebrows when he didn\u2019t quite get what Stiles was talking about.<\/p>\n Stiles could do with Derek\u2019s martyr complex and his default-to anger switch, but he figured that Derek needed some pretty intensive therapy once this was all over. He made a mental note to find a therapist in the know, especially if Derek ended up having to kill his Uncle.<\/p>\n Stiles grabbed his laptop then sat down with his phone to try and find a location on Derek. He located Derek\u2019s phone through some less than legal means at the Hale property and didn\u2019t try to think why he might be there.<\/p>\n Pocketing his phone, Stiles picked up the paper files he\u2019d just finished transcribing before hiding them electronically and he went downstairs. He stopped by his dad\u2019s office to use the sheriff\u2019s extra secure shredder. He needed to make sure none of the documents were recognizable. That done, Stiles went to the safe, spinning the dial to open it. Taking what he needed, he locked it up again, then switched the light off as he left the office.<\/p>\n He grabbed his keys, tossed on his jacket, and slipped the baton onto his wrist. Stiles took a deep breath as he locked the door on his way out. He knew that he needed to go to the hospital first and check out his theory. Then, he\u2019d confront Derek and figure out what to do next. Stiles took another fortifying breath and started the Jeep. As he drove to the hospital, he went over various scenarios in his head and wondered how it would play out. If it went as he imagined, he wouldn\u2019t even see Peter. He just needed into the records and another scent of the man. He eyed the night sky while stopped at a red light. The moon was up, just a sliver. Waxing crescent. The first step towards the full moon.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t know if that was good or bad. The hospital loomed in front of him. He pulled into the garage. He parked. He entered through the side door and headed towards the long-term ward. The check-in desk was empty. He pulled his phone out to check the time\u20148:00 pm. There should be someone here.<\/p>\n Stiles skirted around the desk with a hand in his jacket pocket. He had the phone in his other hand, pressing the speed dial for Derek\u2019s number. It didn\u2019t even ring but went straight to voicemail.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, Derek, thought I\u2019d drop by and visit your uncle. There\u2019s nobody here. You might want to check on the security of this place. Hey, I noticed you were out at your old place. Want to tell me about that? Call me. I mean it.\u201d He ended the call and stuffed the phone into his jeans. Most of the resident doors were closed. Those that were open showed dark rooms and everyone tucked in asleep. Stiles made his way to Peter\u2019s room. The door was closed. Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and opened the door slowly.<\/p>\n No one was there. Stiles stepped through. He used his senses as best he could. No heartbeats. Peter\u2019s scent was hours old. Peter\u2019s scent was familiar. Familiar, as in what had been under the blood at the scenes.<\/p>\n Stiles smelled anger. He smelled hatred. Stiles didn\u2019t know madness had a scent until now. He whirled around and headed back out. Peter wasn\u2019t here anymore. It was time to find Derek.<\/p>\n Stiles headed back to the parking garage.<\/p>\n A prick of claws brushed the back of his neck. His baton was crackling with energy and swinging before he registered the thought.<\/p>\n Peter was already out of range, standing a few feet away smirking.<\/p>\n Stiles tightened his grip on the baton and drew a deep breath in trying to settle himself.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, now, darling,\u201d Peter\u2019s voice was just as smarmy in reality as it was in Stiles\u2019 dreams. \u201cIs that any way to greet your alpha?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou. Are. Not. My. Alpha.\u201d Stiles\u2019 voice came out like ice. He bit off each word as he moved until he had his Jeep at his back.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, but I am,\u201d Peter said, even as he moved forward warily. \u201cI bit you. That makes you mine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t work outside of elementary school cafeterias, dude, and even then, they make you sit in time out,\u201d Stiles replied, studying the man with careful eyes. \u201cShould I even ask how long you\u2019ve been awake?\u201d<\/p>\n Peter tilted his head. He paused his approach. \u201cYou\u2019re a smart one, aren\u2019t you. You make a lovely wolf, darling.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe.\u201d Stiles shrugged. \u201cBut I\u2019m not your pack or your beta, so I don\u2019t see why it matters to you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy do you fight me so hard, little wolf?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t like insane rapey assholes.\u201d Stiles shrugged again. He kept his grip on the baton loose and easy. \u201cI\u2019m funny about consent and things that way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t rape anyone,\u201d Peter roared at him, lunging forward.<\/p>\n Stiles twisted his body and swung the baton, clipping Peter\u2019s shoulder and sending him into the car next to the Jeep. The beta shift slipped away.<\/p>\n \u201cI sure as hell didn\u2019t consent to being attacked and bitten by you,\u201d Stiles responded harshly, breathing heavy. He felt his eyes flash and forced the shift away. He kept his eyes on Peter as he unlocked his Jeep one-handed. That attack had been too close for comfort.<\/p>\n \u201cYou were out there in the woods and look how you\u2019ve taken to it.\u201d Peter got back to his feet, obviously shaking off the charge from the baton. Stiles noticed that the scars from the fire were gone now that Peter was closer.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s just straight-up victim-blaming, you mother fucking asshole,\u201d Stiles said. Anger welled up in him, but he sought out his anchor and didn\u2019t allow the change to overwhelm him. He couldn\u2019t afford to lose control now. He could feel the draw to Peter and he didn\u2019t like it.<\/p>\n \u201cYou need me, little wolf.\u201d Peter seemed to switch to a different tactic. \u201cI\u2019ve seen you with my useless nephew. He\u2019s merely a beta and can\u2019t give you the help I can as your alpha. I can help you reach your full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, how \u2018bout you stop there, Voldemort,\u201d Stiles snorted. \u201cI\u2019ll pass on joining the dark.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou need me.\u201d Now, Peter smiled at Stiles like he had a secret.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would I need you?\u201d Stiles asked.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause Kate Argent has my nephew,\u201d Peter said. Then he actually buffed his nails on his sweater and blew on them.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to run that by me again,\u201d Stiles said. His shock made him let go of the door to his Jeep, but not the electric baton, which he brought up when Peter took a step towards him.<\/p>\n Peter assessed him with a long look before smiling another of his sly smiles. \u201cKate Argent has procured Derek\u2019s company for the evening. She picked him up this morning. I\u2019m not sure where they are having their assignation, but I don\u2019t doubt that they are together.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDude, you talk like a romance novel. Stop it,\u201d Stiles said, even as his mind whirred through the possibilities.<\/p>\n \u201cI hardly think that romance is inappropriate here.\u201d Peter\u2019s eyes took on a gleam that had Stiles gripping the baton a little tighter. \u201cIt was Derek\u2019s romance with her that burned our family the first time around, was it not?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, it wasn\u2019t,\u201d Stiles said. He eyed Peter carefully. \u201cYou really are insane, aren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you know what it is like to be a wolf with the injuries I had?\u201d Peter asked him, his eyes so wide that they bulged out even as the ridges of his forehead rippled with the change. Stiles glanced down and saw that Peter\u2019s fingertips kept changing from human to wolf and back again.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t say that I do,\u201d Stiles admitted.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t in a coma,\u201d Peter said, voice hissing. \u201cI was aware, from the moment my body began to burn. My body burned and healed, healed and burned. Constantly over the last six years. My pack bonds shattered. My alpha should have been here, but she abandoned me, leaving me to heal in this pit of piss and despair.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe was scared. She didn\u2019t even know if you would survive,\u201d Stiles objected. \u201cLaura was also your niece who you tricked back here and murdered for power. I\u2019m sorry about what happened to you, it sounds horrific, but that doesn\u2019t excuse what you\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI told her.\u201d Peter took a step forward. He ignored the baton that Stiles raised again. Stiles stepped back into the open door of his Jeep, boosting himself up a little. \u201cI told her what I discovered. She was going to go to the sheriff and let them get away with it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou mean she was going to have them arrested and put in jail for a crime instead of murdered.\u201d Stiles felt his eyebrows raise in disbelief. He wondered if he\u2019d be able to get his Jeep going before Peter could tear him out of it. He didn\u2019t fancy his chances.<\/p>\n \u201cThey deserve to die for what they\u2019ve done.\u201d Spittle sprayed as the change rippled back over Peter\u2019s features before it resettled on his human characteristics.<\/p>\n \u201cJust like Laura did?\u201d Stiles asked softly. He\u2019d always sort of known the alpha was crazy. Peter was a whole other level of insane, though. He wondered what Peter had been like before the fire. Before broken bonds and tortured healing. Stiles had some compassion for the man, but he didn\u2019t have enough empathy to let the man be his alpha or to let him continue on his murder spree unabated.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, yes.\u201d Peter\u2019s eyes glowed a sickly red. \u201cShe abandoned me. She took the boy who killed us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDerek didn\u2019t kill anyone,\u201d Stiles said. How was he supposed to get out of the garage? Get away from crazy Peter and get to Derek to rescue him?<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe not directly,\u201d Peter said slyly, wickedly. \u201cBut if he hadn\u2019t wanted to get his dick wet in Argent pussy then he wouldn\u2019t have shared our secrets. If that bitch hadn\u2019t had our secrets, then our family would still be alive, and I wouldn\u2019t have burned!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat isn\u2019t what happened at all,\u201d Stiles said, even as he wondered why he was trying to argue with the crazy man. He could see that Peter healed physically, but he had to wonder if the fire damaged the mind irreparably or if there had been something wrong with Peter before the fire.<\/p>\n \u201cHow would you know, little beta wolf, little omega,\u201d Peter taunted, leaning forward. \u201cYou weren\u2019t there. You don\u2019t know what a real pack bond feels like. You will, though. You will give in eventually and be my beta. Come with me. You\u2019ll need my help to save Derek from that Argent bitch. We\u2019ll hunt her together and end this tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought that she was working with Derek?\u201d Stiles asked. He thought, \u2018Now we need to save Derek from her?\u2019<\/p>\n It would have been amusing to see what had most likely been an extremely sharp man attempting to manipulate him into doing what he wanted if it wasn\u2019t so devastatingly depressing.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if he is,\u201d Peter said, his voice taking on a cajoling tone. \u201cOnce we save him, he\u2019ll become part of our pack. If he does that, then I\u2019ll forgive him, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course,\u201d Stiles said faintly. He had to wonder if Peter even realized how much his moods were switching around. He had to think that Peter had managed to keep himself relatively under control until recently unless\u2026 \u201cPeter, how long have you been awake, I mean, able to move around. Everything that you\u2019ve been doing has been happening very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI discovered what was behind the fires when the sheriff-\u201d Peter eyed him with a smile full of teeth, then, \u201cyour father, isn\u2019t he? A few months ago, the Sheriff stopped by to visit my poor catatonic self and talked out his confusing case about the Hale Fire. He didn\u2019t have all the pieces, but I did. The next night was the full moon and my anger was so bright that I could move for the first time in years. My window had been left open and I ran into the woods for the first time in so long. I returned to my room at dawn and nobody even noticed I was gone. That was the first of many forays I took.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019d been awake for a few months, then; this month could only be his fourth or fifth full moon, wholly awake and aware, if Stiles was calculating correctly, and his second as an alpha.<\/p>\n \u201cYou managed to get Laura here, then. How did you do it?\u201d Stiles asked. That had been something that had bugged Stiles for a while.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that was a stroke of genius, if I do say so myself.\u201d Peter leaned against the car beside him. He had managed to wrestle most of his wolf features away, but his claws were still out. Stiles didn\u2019t know if that was on purpose or not, if Peter was trying to intimidate him even more than he already was.<\/p>\n He began to punctuate his words with a hypnotic tap, tap, tapping. It was distracting Stiles, so he tried to ignore it and figure out how he would get out of the garage.<\/p>\n \u201cHow so?\u201d Stiles asked, hoping to get answers while at the same time distracting Peter enough to get away to rescue Derek. He didn\u2019t think that Kate was going to kill Derek right away. She seemed the sort to play with her prey. That didn\u2019t mean that he wanted to leave Derek in her hands any longer than he had to, though.<\/p>\n \u201cI made sure to leave signs that no alpha could ignore,\u201d Peter said, sounding smug.<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe spiral,\u201d Stiles said, thinking hard about what he and Derek had theorized.<\/p>\n \u201cAhh.\u201d Peter nodded with a smile. \u201cI knew you were smart. Yes, the spiral. It was just a matter of sneaking my way into the office of my sister\u2019s old emissary and getting the information about Laura\u2019s whereabouts. I knew he would have it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEmissary?\u201d There was so much that he didn\u2019t know. Stiles hated that.<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAn emissary is someone who works with the alpha to act as an advisor to keep them connected to their humanity.\u201d Peter sneered at this before shrugging and waving it off with one hand. \u201cHe did have Laura\u2019s address in New York and it was a simple matter of sending her pictures of the deer with the spiral. Then I just waited for her to show up.\u201d<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThen you killed her,\u201d Stiles said. He slid out of the Jeep. There was no point getting into the seat when he\u2019d never get it started before Peter caught him.<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI had to,\u201d Peter said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to. She was my niece, my alpha.\u201d<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThen why?\u201d Stiles wondered.<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cShe refused to help me,\u201d Peter responded, smiling cruelly.<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s bad?\u201d Stiles tilted his head. Was Peter getting closer? No, he was still near the car Stiles had knocked him into.<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d help you. You\u2019ll help me, right, Stiles?\u201d Peter lifted a hand, beckoning him.<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHelp. Derek needs help,\u201d Stiles insisted.<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll help Derek, then. Together,\u201d Peter agreed, still smiling.<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t. Stay back.\u201d Stiles shook his head, stepping back.<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSuch a smart boy. A magnificent wolf. I knew you would be.\u201d Peter chuckled. His tapping became louder, echoing in the garage.<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll hit you. I did it before.\u201d Stiles gripped the baton, fumbling for the button to make sure it was on.<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou did. You\u2019re a vicious little thing,\u201d Peter said proudly, practically preening.<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHelping you. Isn\u2019t that heavy?\u201d<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll take it. Then we can help Derek.\u201d<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHelp Derek. Have to help Derek.\u201d<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes. Come along, little beta.\u201d<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNot my alpha.\u201d<\/p>\n Tap<\/em><\/p>\n Stiles woke up to an aching head and a tongue that felt two sizes too big for his mouth. It felt like that time when the anniversary of the deaths of his Mom and Scott had been too much and he\u2019d raided his dad\u2019s liquor cabinet to see if the remedy his dad used would do him any good.<\/p>\n At least he didn\u2019t have the queasy stomach.<\/p>\n \u201cGood, you\u2019re awake, sweet boy,\u201d Peter purred from next to him.<\/p>\n Oh, look, nausea, right on queue.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the fuck,\u201d Stiles managed to get out while struggling to sit up. He realized he was in the passenger seat of his Jeep. Peter was driving.<\/p>\n \u201cYou make things so much more difficult than they need to be, little wolf,\u201d Peter said in a mild complaint. \u201cI had to work so much harder than I should have had to get control of you and get us on our way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTake control of me?\u201d Stiles felt his stomach swoop and swallowed back the bile that rose in his throat.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, of course,\u201d Peter said. He flicked the blinker on and turned the Jeep down a side street. \u201cYou were taking too long just standing around at the hospital and we have things to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThings to do?\u201d Stiles couldn\u2019t wrap his mind around what was happening. He felt like he was going a little crazy himself currently and wondered if it was possible to get out of the Jeep right at that moment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe aren\u2019t going to get very far if you keep repeating what I\u2019m saying.\u201d Peter glanced over at him. \u201cI hope I didn\u2019t damage your mind too much. I do value your intelligence, you know. You just need to learn to use it for your alpha and not against me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou aren\u2019t my alpha,\u201d Stiles said instantly. He realized that, at least, was still accurate and relaxed a little internally.<\/p>\n \u201cNot yet,\u201d Peter conceded with a nod. \u201cBut you\u2019ll soon see that you have no choice in the matter. As I said, you are a brilliant boy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are we going?\u201d Stiles asked. He\u2019d managed to pull himself up fully and, even though his head felt like it was about to crack open and spill his brain out, he felt a little more in control of himself.<\/p>\n \u201cWe, dear boy, are going to rescue the fair maiden.\u201d Peter grinned at him with far too many teeth. The crazed gleam was still shining in his eyes and Stiles felt fear settled firmly in the pit of his stomach. \u201cOr rather, we are going to rescue our dear Derek and kill Kate Argent.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh boy,\u201d Stiles said. Drawing a deep breath, he leaned back against the seat as Peter took a turn a little too sharply. He didn\u2019t use the blinker this time, either. \u201cDo you know where we\u2019re going?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, but you do.\u201d Peter looked over at him before pulling into one of the parking areas for the walking trails in the preserve. He parked the Jeep and turned to Stiles. \u201cWhy don\u2019t we get out? You can tell me how to find my nephew. I won\u2019t even make you come with me to kill the Argent bitch.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like there\u2019s a catch in this somewhere,\u201d Stiles said. He was already getting out of the Jeep, though he wasn\u2019t sure what he could do against an alpha wolf that had already proven that he could exert some level of control over Stiles when he wanted to.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause you are a smart young man.\u201d Peter came around the hood of the Jeep with Stiles\u2019 laptop. \u201cNow, I see you have this little program that will show me where Derek is at.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want to know that catch to not going with you first,\u201d Stiles said.<\/p>\n \u201cOh, it isn\u2019t much of a catch.\u201d Peter grinned at him. \u201cIf you\u2019re not going to join my pack, I\u2019m going to have to find other members. I think that the sheriff or any number of deputies of this fine town will be a good candidate .\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t,\u201d Stiles objected, horrified at the thought of this man getting a hold on the men and women in the department.<\/p>\n \u201cI can and I will.\u201d Peter tilted his head. \u201cActually, now that I think of it, even if you do come with me, I will need more packmates and your police department is a ready-made pack for me to choose from.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll see you dead one day,\u201d Stiles swore.<\/p>\n \u201cNot anytime soon, dear boy,\u201d Peter replied dismissively. \u201cNow find my nephew.\u201d<\/p>\n Stiles pulled his phone out of his pocket. Internally, he was surprised that Peter hadn\u2019t taken it away. He set it next to the laptop. Logging into the program, he brought up Derek\u2019s location and saw that he hadn\u2019t moved.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s at the old Hale house,\u201d Stiles said, turning to look at Peter. \u201cHe was there earlier when I checked. He hasn\u2019t moved in the last\u2026\u201d Stiles looked at the time. \u201cThree hours at the least.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGood,\u201d Peter purred. \u201cYou\u2019ve been a great help, dear boy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cYou aren\u2019t going to go bite the Sheriff\u2019s department, are you? That doesn\u2019t seem like a good way to keep under the radar at all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe, maybe not.\u201d Peter shrugged. \u201cIf you aren\u2019t willing to be my beta, then I do need to find others.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou are insane,\u201d Stiles said. He knew this, but it was still baffling that Peter was this insane and still walking around looking completely normal.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I have things to do, places to go.\u201d Stiles saw Peter reaching for him out of the corner of his eye and he tried to move back.<\/p>\n ****<\/p>\n Waking up with a headache was getting very old. Stiles rolled over, gravel and dirt shifting under him. He lay on his back for a minute and stared up at the night sky. What had he done in a past life to deserve this?<\/p>\n It was a good thing he was a werewolf now, he thought. All these head injuries he\u2019d been getting in the last few days would not have been good for his poor human brain. He wasn\u2019t entirely convinced that they were any better for his new werewolf brain, either, but he was going to ignore that for now.<\/p>\n Groaning, he dragged himself to his feet. Werewolf healing was great and all, but he noticed that he stayed pretty sore when he got hurt. Derek swore up and down that it would stop happening after his first full moon. Stiles wasn\u2019t sure if he believed that or if Derek, the born werewolf, was just talking out his ass. He guessed he\u2019d find out in another week or so.<\/p>\n He saw his phone on the ground a few feet away and headed towards it. He crossed his fingers and pushed the power button. When it flashed on, he sighed with relief. It looked like he\u2019d only been out about thirty minutes this time. He looked around the parking area and, to his shock, he saw that his Jeep was still there.<\/p>\n He paused and searched the area with his senses more thoroughly. He still wasn\u2019t particularly good at it, but he should be able to detect Peter if he was still nearby. The only scent Stiles got, though, was a fading scent disappearing into the preserve in the direction that he thought went towards the Hale house.<\/p>\n Stiles knew that he would have to head that way as well. He didn\u2019t care if Peter killed Kate, not really. He just didn\u2019t trust that Peter wouldn\u2019t kill Derek while he was at it. Stiles was also aware that there might be severe repercussions if Peter killed Kate on this murderous rampage. He also wasn\u2019t interested in letting Peter loose on the Sheriff\u2019s department with his infectious non-consensual biting.<\/p>\n Peter was going to have to die; he was too crazy to let live. If Stiles knew of someplace that could safely hold him, he\u2019d be all for incarceration, but he was unaware of werewolf jail. So, execution it was.<\/p>\n He hoped that Derek was up for the task because Stiles didn\u2019t want to be alpha. He didn\u2019t know that Derek would be a better alpha, but at least he could vote right now.<\/p>\n Stiles walked over to his Jeep and realized the problem when he got there. His keys were laying on the ground, crumpled so badly that Stiles had no hope of straightening them out, even with his new strength, not without snapping them. Stiles looked in the open door of his Jeep and saw that at least the asshole hadn\u2019t ransacked it. He reached into the back seat and pulled out his running duffle and beneath the sweaty shorts and t-shirts until he got to the bottom and the box with the carved flower on it. Flipping it open, he saw that it was still mostly full of those deadly bullets. He dug back into the bag and pulled out the gun he\u2019d taken from his dad\u2019s safe. Stiles loaded the gun, glad to see he\u2019d been right about the caliber. If Derek didn\u2019t kill Peter, Stiles would need all the advantages that he could get. If it came down to it, a bullet was a bullet and would kill a hunter just as well. Stiles made sure that the safety was on before slipping it into the pocket of his jacket.<\/p>\n He studied his Jeep again and then knelt and reached under the wheel well on the driver\u2019s side, feeling around for a minute until he found the heavy-duty magnetic box. Pulling it out with a jerk, he shook it and heard the rattle of his spare key. With a grim smile, Stiles tossed his duffel into the back again and got the Jeep started up. He sighed in relief, grateful that Peter hadn\u2019t done more than destroy his keys.<\/p>\n As he drove, Stiles considered how he wanted to approach this. He knew that Peter was probably already at the house and, while he didn\u2019t know if Kate was there or not, he imagined that she was. She seemed the type to want to take advantage of not being noticed in the preserve late at night.<\/p>\n He couldn\u2019t park close to the house, or somebody would hear him. What he\u2019d do when he got there, he had no idea. Rescue Derek, that was priority one, and after that, he didn\u2019t know. He supposed it depended on how Derek took it when he revealed Peter\u2019s role in the current events. No matter what happened, Derek wasn\u2019t going to stop Stiles from shooting Peter if Derek couldn\u2019t step up and do what he\u2019d promised to do with the alpha.<\/p>\n He was at the end of the long drive to the Hale property when he pulled into the trees. He hid his Jeep off the road in the dark cover of the trees and brush. Climbing out, he grabbed the spare baton that Peter hadn\u2019t noticed from the back of the Jeep next to the spare tire and headed towards the house, looping the baton strap around his wrist as he went. Stiles kept his ears open, and he scented the air using his senses the best he was able to. He smelled Peter, but he couldn\u2019t pinpoint where he was. He could smell Derek, though, and he knew that he was in the house. He could also smell Derek\u2019s blood and more electricity than what his baton was giving off. That brought a frisson of fear to his gut.<\/p>\n Stiles crept up to the house as silently as possible, making his way up onto the porch. Stiles winced with each creak that the wood made under his feet. Redoubling his efforts at stealth, he entered the house, Immediately, his nose wrinkled with the stench of old ashes, sorrow, and death. He scented Derek underneath the miasma of death and followed where the scent trail led.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere else but the basement of the burned-out house,\u201d Stiles muttered to himself, looking down the dark hole where a door used to stand. Sighing, he jumped down, skipping what were undoubtedly loudly creaking stairs.<\/p>\n Listening, he only heard one heartbeat. He also heard the snap and crack of electricity. He hoped that the heartbeat he heard was Derek\u2019s and that no one was dead down here. At least, that no one was newly dead down here.<\/p>\n He made his way down a long hallway, past rooms set up like cells, with bars and chains visible through the open doors. Derek had said that they\u2019d spent the full moons down here until everyone could control their shift. He imagined they kept those that had control issues separate to keep everyone safe. He also suspected that these cells had become their tombs on the night of the fire.<\/p>\n Light spilled out of a room at the end of the hall and he cautiously made his way to it. He poked his head around the doorway. Only by force of will did he keep himself from dashing into the room without checking. Derek hung suspended on a large section of chain link fencing. Shackled and stripped down to his jeans, like some modern-day porn version of the crucifixion. All that was missing was a busty Mary Magdalene showing up to offer him some comfort.<\/p>\n Stiles shook his head at those disturbingly nightmarish thoughts. A few seconds later, there was a buzz and a snap. Derek\u2019s body arched as electricity traveled through the fence and into him.<\/p>\n \u201cMotherfucker,\u201d Stiles whispered. He moved into the room, eyes wide as he looked around. He spotted the generator that was feeding the shock fence and moved towards it. With a few quick jerks, he managed to unhook the wires.<\/p>\n He turned to Derek. \u201cHey.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cStiles,\u201d Derek lifted his head and stared at him, his expression somewhat dazed and pained. \u201cYou need to get out of here. She\u2019ll be back soon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure she will,\u201d Stiles agreed. \u201cWhich means we need to get you out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou need to go,\u201d Derek glared weakly. Sweat dripped from his hair, and his body shook with tremors.<\/p>\n \u201cI met the alpha.\u201d Stiles ignored Derek and looked around for something to get the shackles off him. \u201cHe\u2019s an asshole, but we already knew that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou saw the alpha?\u201d Derek stared at him again, shocked enough to stop glaring.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Stiles looked at Derek, debating. \u201cHe\u2019s your uncle, Derek.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy uncle?\u201d Derek looked even more dazed if possible. \u201cI don\u2019t have any uncles.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour Uncle Peter,\u201d Stiles clarified as he came across some wire snips. He didn\u2019t want to think about what the hunters used them for in this makeshift torture dungeon. \u201cThe one that was in a coma but really wasn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat,\u201d Derek said, shock echoed quietly between them.<\/p>\n \u201cQuestion marks, Derek. We\u2019ve talked about this dude,\u201d Stiles said, walking towards him. He eyed the shackles that were holding him up and decided to do one of his feet first. Stiles snipped at the shackle on his foot, and then he did one of his hands. He continued until Derek was free, dropping the snips to catch Derek as he fell forward when he made the last snip on his arm shackle.<\/p>\n \u201cI got you,\u201d Stiles said, easing him down. \u201cWe don\u2019t have much time to linger here. Your uncle was on his way to kill Kate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh, okay?\u201d Derek seemed like he still didn\u2019t know what to think.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s either going to recruit you or kill you. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s decided yet. He\u2019s insane, Derek. Like, full-on belongs in the looney bin insane,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cHe purposely brought your sister here with the intent to kill her if she didn\u2019t go along with his plan to kill everyone that had to do with the fire. I\u2019m fairly sure he always planned to kill her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe killed Laura?\u201d Derek whispered.<\/p>\n Stiles began to lead Derek out of the basement. He kept his ears open for the sounds of returning hunters or Peter coming around. He needed to get Derek back to the loft and healed up. If he could get them just one more good day, maybe he could get Derek in a better place so he could kill Peter.<\/p>\n Who the hell was he kidding? Derek was never going to be in a good place to kill his last remaining relative, no matter how crazy cakes Peter was.<\/p>\n \u201cCome on, Derek. Let\u2019s get back to the loft and we can talk about it, okay?\u201d He got Derek up the basement stairs and they were just as creaky as he thought they would be. Getting into the open area of the house made it easier to get Derek moving. They were to the front door quickly after that.<\/p>\n Stiles was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he made it onto the lawn when Peter melted out of the shadows.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at you, little wolf,\u201d Peter said, smiling with all of his teeth. \u201cYou\u2019ve rescued our packmate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe aren\u2019t your pack,\u201d Stiles said with finality. He ignored Derek\u2019s soft whimper at the sight of Peter.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, you\u2019ve certainly made yourself clear,\u201d Peter smirked. \u201cDon\u2019t you think that Derek should have a chance to speak for himself?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy do you want him?\u201d Stiles asked, keeping a tight grip on Derek.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s my family. My last remaining family,\u201d Peter said beseechingly. \u201cJust because he played a part in the demise of most of our pack doesn\u2019t mean I\u2019d deny him a place in my pack.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not responsible for any of that, Peter,\u201d Stiles hissed out. \u201cYou killed Laura. Derek\u2019s done nothing wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRegardless, I want him as my packmate.\u201d Peter turned his gaze to Derek and smiled. \u201cWhat do you say, nephew? Come with me, we can create a new Hale pack.\u201d<\/p>\n Derek wobbled on his feet next to Stiles. Stiles felt his heart crack when Derek glanced at him and part of him couldn\u2019t even blame Derek. No matter what Peter had done, no matter what Peter was now, he was still all Derek had left that connected him to his family.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be pack, Uncle. Of course, I will,\u201d Derek whispered, he crossed the yard to Peter.<\/p>\n Stiles stayed where he was at watching them. He felt his eyes shutter when they both turned to look at him. \u201cGood luck with that,\u201d he said to Derek, ice coating his words.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t understand, Stiles,\u201d Derek said. \u201cHe\u2019s family, and I need an alpha. So do you, you should\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, thank you, Derek,\u201d Stiles snapped out. \u201cYou know I will never follow that raping asshole of an alpha.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll leave you to become an omega then,\u201d Peter said with another of his toothy grins. He turned away; Derek gazed sorrowfully, his eyes slightly glazed, at Stiles one last time before following his uncle, still limping.<\/p>\n Stiles slowly pulled the gun out of his pocket and carefully aimed. He was too late. Peter was already in the trees and Stiles wouldn\u2019t risk hitting Derek. Stiles put the gun away. He made plans to keep it on him at all times. He wouldn\u2019t lose his chance next time. He headed back to his Jeep.<\/p>\n He knew that things were going to come to a head sooner rather than later. Kate wasn\u2019t going to be happy to find Derek gone when she returned. Peter would go after her soon and, despite what had just happened, Derek wasn\u2019t going to be satisfied following a crazy Peter for very long. Crazy Peter could attack Derek anytime he decided that Derek was responsible for the fire, something that seemed to change from moment to moment.<\/p>\n Driving home, Stiles tiredly wondered what his next steps should be. He headed up to bed as soon as he got in. He didn\u2019t even undress. He slipped the gun under his pillow. No matter how unsafe it might be, he wanted it there in case crazy cakes came in through his window while he slept.<\/p>\n Waking up late the next day, he lay in his bed for a long while just staring at his ceiling, wondering for the first time if he would survive this. It didn\u2019t seem likely, but he was determined to take Peter Hale with him.<\/p>\n \u201cHey Scottie, hope you reserved a good spot up there for me. I might be needing it sooner than we thought,\u201d he murmured to his ceiling. He hefted himself out of bed and grabbed some clean clothes before heading for a quick shower.<\/p>\n Once cleaned and dressed, he moved the gun from under his pillow to the pocket his leather jacket and headed downstairs. He picked his cell up from the table next to the door and saw a text from his dad telling Stiles that he was catching some sleep at the station before heading over to the neighboring city of Beacon Valley for a couple of days for court testimony. Stiles answered with an affirmative and told his dad that he loved him.<\/p>\n He ate a quick breakfast before he headed out, deciding to hit the loft first. He needed to talk to Derek and that was a good place to start looking for him. Joining up with his uncle had to be one of the stupidest things that guy had ever done and Stiles needed to tell him so. Loudly.<\/p>\n He drove through town, going over what he had to say in his head. He barely paid attention to the traffic lights and stop signs. He hit the empty stretch of road that had the preserve on the left side and the warehouse district on the right. A vehicle passed him, but Stiles didn\u2019t pay much attention until it slammed on its breaks in front of him, causing him to swerve to avoid the car. Another SUV clipped him from behind as he swerved, spinning him halfway around. Yet another hit caught him in the driver\u2019s side.<\/p>\n Stiles lay in the driver\u2019s seat bleeding from his forehead, dizzy with pain. He glanced out the window and saw those familiar black SUVs surrounding him. It didn\u2019t take a genius to guess that they were hunters. He managed to drag himself over to the passenger door, the only side that looked free of vehicles and people. He popped it open. He made it out by luck alone, grunting softly when he hit the ground and rolling under his Jeep. The SUV behind him was high enough off the ground that he could shimmy under that as well.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, where is he?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow the fuck should I know?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe should be here; that Jeep wasn\u2019t driving itself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe passenger\u2019s side door is open.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFind him. Now!\u201d Kate demanded.<\/p>\n The only voice that Stiles recognized was Kate\u2019s. Kate was hunting for him. Whether she knew that he was a werewolf or not, he didn\u2019t know, and honestly, he didn\u2019t care at this point. He shimmied out from under the vehicle, keeping it between him and the hunters.<\/p>\n He had two choices. He could go into the preserve or he could go into town. Either way, Kate would hunt him. He knew that where Kate went, Peter was following. Considering his options, going into the preserve was his best bet.<\/p>\n He took a deep breath and slid from under the vehicle, rolled to his feet, and ran. He didn\u2019t look back.<\/p>\n \u201cThere he is.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe woods.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGet him.\u201d<\/p>\n The pop-pop of gunshots going off had him ducking his head and swerving to the side as he hit the tree line.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t shoot, you idiot. We want him alive.\u201d Kate again, and she sounded pissed. \u201cHe\u2019s our bait for Hale and Hale is our bait for the alpha.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow we hunt.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGet your gear. He\u2019s one kid in the woods. This shouldn\u2019t take long.\u201d Kate ordered.<\/p>\n Maybe if they were chasing someone other than Stiles, but he\u2019d spent a large portion of the last six years in this preserve. Running almost every day, learning the paths. The trees. He might not know every inch, but he knew enough.<\/p>\n Stiles ran. He hid and then he ran some more.<\/p>\n When Stiles hit the small creek that he\u2019d found early on during one of his excursions, he knelt and drank a few sips of water. Careful not to overdo it.<\/p>\n He scanned the area with his hearing and heard the hunters moving far enough away that he wasn\u2019t worried just yet. Stiles was quick to move on, though. Moving towards one of the groups, he listened in on their conversation. They didn\u2019t suspect him of being a werewolf. They thought he was a sympathizer and there was some debate about whether he was a dupe being tricked by the evil werewolves or whether he was a willing accomplice to their treachery.<\/p>\n He pulled his phone out to see the time. It was late afternoon. At least his dad wasn\u2019t home to worry about. He didn\u2019t have any bars this far out in the preserve, so couldn\u2019t call for help. Stiles shut the phone down to avoid the risk of it making noise if he suddenly moved out of the dead zone.<\/p>\n He kept them moving after him and it didn\u2019t take a lot of work. He could stay ahead of them with no problem, but his attempts to cover his trail were hit or miss. They followed him around in circles. He\u2019d caught a couple of them on sudden declines. Stiles was reasonably sure one of them broke his leg. Another, Stiles managed to lead right off a cliff. It was like being in his own action movie. Only terrifying. Stiles now had one of their rifles and two hunting knives.<\/p>\n \u201cI will never want to be an action hero again,\u201d he muttered to himself, tossing one of the knives.<\/p>\n Between the defense and martial arts classes taken, Stukes knew how to use knives in theory, but he\u2019d never actually been in a fight outside of dealing with Jackson and that didn\u2019t require weapons. He didn\u2019t want to have to stab someone. The thought made him a little queasy. He was aware enough to know that he was more comfortable pulling the trigger of a gun at a distance than using a knife up close. Despite his discomfort, Stiles kept one of the knives in its sheath and hooked it to the waistband of his jeans. He wished he\u2019d thought to wear a belt this morning.<\/p>\n Stiles had the advantage; Kate\u2019s orders were to take him alive and the hunters he\u2019d run into seemed to be following that order to the letter, though didn\u2019t seem to have a problem with maiming him. Stiles was desperate to avoid being hurt. If he got hurt and they saw him heal, then the jig was up and he didn\u2019t know if Kate\u2019s no-kill order would last.<\/p>\n Eventually, Stiles made his way towards the Hale house. It was beginning to turn dark and he\u2019d managed to put two more hunters out of commission with falling injuries and a hard knock to the head. Unfortunately, neither one was Kate, but you couldn\u2019t have everything. He expected that one or two of the men that he\u2019d taken out would rejoin the other hunters eventually. Stiles didn\u2019t think Kate would allow a sprained ankle or minor fall to keep them out of the hunt. He found a small hiding spot where he could keep an eye out for anyone coming towards him close to the house and turned his phone back on. He made sure to keep the volume and vibration off, though. There was no sense announcing his presence after he\u2019d tried so hard to hide it. He hoped that the hunters didn\u2019t follow him too quickly to the house.<\/p>\n Stiles just wanted to go home.<\/p>\n Looking back to his phone, he saw that he had a text from Derek.<\/p>\n \u2018Stiles found your Jeep what happened.\u2019<\/p>\n Stiles found himself rolling his eyes at that because if something had happened, it wasn\u2019t like he could answer. It was a couple of hours old and he figured that Derek was probably even more worried by now. He hoped the guy hadn\u2019t done anything too stupid. There were a few more texts in the same theme before they stopped altogether. Stiles bit his lip before deciding to risk it. \u2018I\u2019m fine for now, hunters hunting. Don\u2019t be stupid.\u2019<\/p>\n He hit send and held the phone tightly, waiting to see if a reply came through. Stiles wondered what he\u2019d do if Derek didn\u2019t respond. Then what he\u2019d do if he did.<\/p>\n \u2018Where are you.\u2019<\/p>\n Stiles stared at the text. He bit his lip until it bled. He let it heal while he thought of how to reply. \u2018Doesn\u2019t matter, not pack.\u2019<\/p>\n He liked Derek all right, but they\u2019d both made their positions clear last night. He still planned to scream and yell at Derek in person about his awful life choices. Derek had chosen to be in his Uncle\u2019s pack and Stiles\u2013Stiles just couldn\u2019t. Stiles still planned to kill the bastard. He reached into the pocket of his jacket to touch the still unused gun. How he\u2019d made it out of his Jeep and into the preserve without losing it, he had no idea, but he wasn\u2019t going to question his luck.<\/p>\n \u201cFan out.\u201d Kate\u2019s voice startled him out of his thoughts. The hunters had arrived while he\u2019d been distracted by Derek\u2019s texts.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not here, Kate,\u201d a man argued belligerently.<\/p>\n \u201cShut up, Dan, and do what you\u2019re told,\u201d Kate said, venom dripping from each word. \u201cIf the lot of you weren\u2019t so incompetent, we\u2019d already have both him and Hale.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe if you\u2019d secured Hale better, we\u2019d have the alpha by now and be on our way out of this stupid town,\u201d Dan muttered.<\/p>\n Stiles just barely made out what he said and winced.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you need to be reminded of your place in our world, Dan,\u201d Kate said, and Stiles was happy that he couldn\u2019t see her right then. \u201cYou\u2019re a soldier. Your job is to follow orders. If you can\u2019t do that, what good are you to me?\u201d<\/p>\n A shot rang out and there was a scream.<\/p>\n \u201cGet him out of here,\u201d Kate said. \u201cIt\u2019s a shame he had a hunting accident. Lucky we are so close to town and the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, the rest of you. Fan out. I want the boy found. His luck can\u2019t last forever.\u201d Kate sounded like she headed up the steps and into the house.<\/p>\n Stiles had flinched back at the shot, holding himself still. Barely breathing, he listened to the men begin searching the yard and area around the house itself. He\u2019d chosen his hiding place further back, so he felt secure for the moment. He decided that Kate Argent was just as insane as Peter Hale. They could start their own insanity club if they didn\u2019t want to murder each other.<\/p>\n He looked down at the phone in his hand. Luckily, he hadn\u2019t gripped it too tightly when the gunshot had startled him. He saw that Derek had texted back.<\/p>\n \u2018Stiles you are pack where are you\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Please\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Stiles\u2019<\/p>\n He looked at the texts and wondered what went on in Derek Hale\u2019s head.<\/p>\n \u2018You are Peters Im not I refuse\u2019<\/p>\n Hopefully, that would remind Derek about what had happened the night before because it seemed the older wolf was having a bit of amnesia about it.<\/p>\n \u2018Peter is my uncle.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018Peter was Lauras uncle too.\u2019 That might have been a low blow, but it was also true, Stiles thought, as he jabbed the keys with his response.<\/p>\n He kept an ear out to see if the hunters were moving any closer, but they seemed to be sticking to the house. Kate came out and ordered a few of them to head into town to get some food and the vehicles. She ordered some of the others to head to Stiles\u2019house to see if he\u2019d gone home.<\/p>\n He\u2019d never been more grateful for his dad being out of town than he was right then.<\/p>\n \u2018He didn\u2019t mean to said he wasn\u2019t in his right mind.\u2019<\/p>\n Stiles had to set the phone face down on his leg and close his eyes. He leaned his head back against the tree. The thing was, he knew that Derek wasn\u2019t that stupid. He knew that Derek was just that desperate for the family connection.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew that this was going to happen,\u201d he muttered to himself before picking his phone back up.<\/p>\n \u2018Believe what you want I won\u2019t follow a bite rapist and a murderer.\u2019 He sent his response and felt his heart crack a little more. He knew that Peter and Derek couldn\u2019t be the only werewolves in the world and that he could possibly find another pack somewhere, but he\u2019d hoped\u2013well, he\u2019d just hoped.<\/p>\n \u2018Bite rapist what does that even mean.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018I didn\u2019t consent Derek I was attacked\u2019<\/p>\n Stiles controlled himself enough not to punch through the phone as he typed his answer out.<\/p>\n \u2018Your uncle took what he wanted, did what he wanted and didn\u2019t care about anyones consent I won\u2019t follow an alpha like that.\u2019<\/p>\n His phone didn\u2019t light up again. Stiles eventually turned it back off and put it away. He turned his attention back to the house that had been crawling hunters. It looked like Kate had sent the majority of them away, now. If Stiles\u2019 admittedly amateurishly trained senses were correct, only three people were on the property. One of those was Kate. He didn\u2019t even sense anyone in the woods surrounding the area. He wondered if he missed something big while he\u2019d been arguing or whatever he\u2019d been doing with Derek. The hunters were all in the house.<\/p>\n Stiles crept a little closer so he could try to see and hear what was going on. It wouldn\u2019t be safe to go home until they were out of the county. Hopefully, he could come up with something for Tara or his dad to arrest them like they had with the other group of hunters and Kate\u2019s brother.<\/p>\n Stiles had a brief moment to wonder what would have happened at the gas station if he\u2019d been anyone else. If he hadn\u2019t been the kid who\u2019d been raised by the sheriff\u2019s department the last six or seven years since his mom and best friend had died and he\u2019d been left without any outside childcare.<\/p>\n In the hunter\u2019s defense, he doubted that they\u2019d had such a quick and thorough show of force in the past. He\u2019d guess that\u2019s why the hunters had reacted the way they had instead of in a more controlled manner.<\/p>\n Then again, Kate and her hunters seemed to think they could go rampaging around the town and preserve with no care about who might see them. Did they really not care about the law? Were they able to buy their way out so easily?<\/p>\n \u2018No,\u2019<\/em> Stiles thought as he made his way forward cautiously. \u2018They probably use a mix of bribery and intimidation. If that doesn\u2019t work, well, people die or disappear every day.\u2019 <\/em>He felt a shiver run through him. As crazy as Peter was, Stiles thought that hunters were the more significant threat. They seemed to have a mission and that was what was scary. They probably thought they were doing it all for the greater good, but they weren\u2019t just going after werewolves. That would be bad enough, but they were also taking out local law enforcement. They had to be, there was no other way that their organization could work, not with the way Chris Argent had rolled into town, armed to intimidate, and Kate was running teenagers off the road and kidnapping people.<\/p>\n Stiles had just made it to the porch when his jacket snagged on the rail and jerked him out of his thoughts. He shrugged it off and tucked it between the porch and the scraggly bush that had somehow survived the fire and made an attempt at regrowth.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t want to go up the stairs. The creaking would give him away immediately. Stiles heard movement and went around the side of the house towards the noise to look into one of the windows. Reaching up, he put his fingers on the window sill and held himself up. Looking in, he saw Kate and one of the men. They were bent over a half-broken table, looking at what Stiles assumed was a map. Stiles focused his sight to try and make out what was on it and tried to channel his hearing towards the two inside. He had a moment to wonder where the third man was. A gun cocked behind him, and he felt the barrel nudge at the middle of his back. Fuck!<\/em> Stiles had been focusing his senses inside the house so much he\u2019d neglected his immediate surroundings.<\/p>\n \u201cFound you,\u201d the voice sang behind him.<\/p>\n \u201cLucky me,\u201d Stiles managed to choke out past the sudden flood of fear welling up his throat. He turned around, slowly facing the man and his gun.<\/p>\n \u201cMs. Argent wants to see you,\u201d he said. \u201cHas some things to discuss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI really have to get home,\u201d Stiles said, smiling. \u201cDinner time, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure it won\u2019t take long.\u201d The man reached out and grabbed Stiles by the shoulder to shove him towards the front door.<\/p>\n Stiles would have taken the opportunity to get away if he hadn\u2019t glanced at the window and seen the two figures watching them. Two armed figures. Kate gestured to the other man and he left the window, obviously to come out and help bring Stiles into the house.<\/p>\n Stiles was positive that he was not going to enjoy the next few hours. He was under no illusions that once Kate discovered that he was a werewolf, she would kill him. How quickly he would die would depend on how useful she thought he would be.<\/p>\n \u201cStiles.\u201d Kate smiled at him when he came into the room in front of two guns. \u201cYou\u2019ve led me on quite a chase. You naughty boy, playing hard to get.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d Stiles said with a careless wave of his hand. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to seem easy, you know. Bad for the reputation.\u201d He sent her a look. \u201cYou\u2019d know something about that, though.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019d never really been good at not pissing people off. Also, he figured she would kill him anyway, so why not say what he wanted to at this point.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have a smart mouth, don\u2019t you?\u201d Kate said, her smile fading. Her eyes narrowed as she walked forwards. She leaned into his space. \u201cYou\u2019re going to regret that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe,\u201d Stiles said with a shrug. \u201cI regret a lot of things. Not as much as you should regret your dye job there, but, you know, I\u2019m young yet.\u201d He left the \u2018unlike you\u2019 unsaid. He figured it had more punch that way.<\/p>\n Kate definitely had more punch and it knocked the breath out of him when it landed in his gut.<\/p>\n \u201cTake him to the basement. He can use Hale\u2019s cell until he turns up,\u201d she said, turning away from him as the men dragged him down into the basement.<\/p>\n They weren\u2019t careful about dragging him down the stairs and, if Stiles hadn\u2019t been a werewolf, he would have been seriously damaged. He figured he had until Kate came down for her first visit before she discovered his new species.<\/p>\n Goon One and Goon Two shackled him up on the fencing where he\u2019d taken Derek down\u2013Jesus fuck, was it only the night before? Stiles was too exhausted for this bullshit.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes this accommodation come with dinner, by any chance?\u201d he asked when they finished locking the restraints. \u201cWatching you run around the woods this afternoon really worked up an appetite.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou tell us where Derek Hale is and we might be able to get you something,\u201d Goon One said, though it looked like it was physically hurting him to play at being Good Cop for this part of the evening\u2019s entertainment.<\/p>\n \u201cHe gets nothing. He\u2019s a wolf\u2019s whore,\u201d Goon Two, or Bad Cop, spat at Good Cop. \u201cHe tells us where Derek Hale is and maybe he gets out of here alive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWow.\u201d Stiles looked at them with wide eyes. \u201cYou\u2019re both very bad at this. For one, I\u2019m not a whore \u2013 a wolf\u2019s whore or otherwise \u2013 just an FYI there. Two, I have no idea where Derek Hale is right now. Your attempt to audition for a Mad Max movie interrupted my attempt to find him this morning. Maybe if you chuckle-heads had waited, but nope.\u201d He shrugged as best as he was able to and smiled with false cheer at them.<\/p>\n \u201cYou little shit.\u201d Good Cop, who was about to lose his title, stepped forward and caught Stiles with a backhanded blow across his face. \u201cYou\u2019ll tell us where Hale is at or you\u2019ll tell Kate, but you will tell someone. You can\u2019t protect that animal forever.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou should never have thrown your lot in with those beasts, boy,\u201d Bad Cop said with a nod, spitting on the floor and glaring at Stiles. \u201cCome on, Win, we\u2019ll leave him to the princess.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t call her that,\u201d Good Cop muttered as they turned to leave. \u201cYou know she hates it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, she shouldn\u2019t act like it then,\u201d he replied, shrugging.<\/p>\n \u201cShe just shot Dan. You should watch out, Ken,\u201d Win cautioned.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, yeah,\u201d Ken said. Their voices faded out as they went down the hall and Stiles heard them stomping back up the stairs out of the basement.<\/p>\n \u201cFuck,\u201d he muttered, banging his head back against the metal fence a few times. He didn\u2019t want to die. Stiles hoped he could get himself out of this, but it wasn\u2019t looking so good at the moment. The cuffs were resistant to his attempts at breaking he didn\u2019t know if the hunters made them special for werewolves or if there was something wrong with him, but he was stuck and had no way to get out.<\/p>\n At least he couldn\u2019t give Derek up, since he didn\u2019t actually know where Derek was . On the other hand, Peter wanted Kate, so he figured that Peter and Derek would be showing up soon. Peter didn\u2019t strike Stiles as the type to put off his kill list.<\/p>\n Stiles didn\u2019t know how long he hung there before Kate made her way down to him. He\u2019d begun singing his way through the most annoying songs of the last year. He\u2019d just finished a rousing edition of \u2018Only Girl in the World\u2019 and had started on \u2018Peacock\u2019 when Kate entered the room.<\/p>\n \u201cWould you shut up?\u201d Kate bit out before she even set her gun down on the table with what Stiles assumed were their torture tools. \u201cYou are more annoying than anyone I\u2019ve ever met.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cConsidering that you creep around high schools so much, I don\u2019t see how that\u2019s possible,\u201d Stiles said, \u201cbut okay.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou think you\u2019re smart, don\u2019t you, kid?\u201d Kate peered at him like he was some sort of unknown specimen. \u201cSo very clever.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou aren\u2019t the first person to say that to me., Not even the first one this week.\u201d Stiles gave her a smirk and a nod. \u201cI suppose it must be true, then.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot smart enough to stay away from Derek Hale, though,\u201d she said, turning back around to pick up various instruments on the table, holding them up to the light, and setting them back down before moving on to the next one.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a friend,\u201d Stiles said with a nonchalant shrug that rattles the fence and his shackles. His shoulders were beginning to ache, and he couldn\u2019t imagine the pain he might be in if he were still human. He knew what she was doing, but that didn\u2019t make her technique any less intimidating or terrifying. \u201cI don\u2019t have so many of those that I\u2019m going to kick one to the curb because he\u2019s a little different.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA little different?\u201d Kate turned and stared at him. \u201cOh, honey. He\u2019s not a little different. He\u2019s a beast. He\u2019d as soon tear you apart as look at you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d Stiles rolled his eyes. \u201cI haven\u2019t had a problem with that, maybe because I\u2019m not trying to kill him. Most people are funny that way, though.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey are beasts and they need to be put down. They are dangerous to all of us.\u201d Kate\u2019s eyes had the fanatical light that Stiles recognized from documentary footage he\u2019d seen of world war two and the civil rights movement. He figured that was about right. The hunters would fit right in with the white supremacists around the world.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I haven\u2019t seen Derek be a danger to anyone,\u201d Stiles said dismissively.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about these murders,\u201d Kate said. \u201cWe know an alpha is killing. Our men saw a beast with red eyes near the site of the second murder. We also saw Derek Hale give you a ride home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen you know that Derek isn\u2019t this alpha,\u201d Stiles said, making sure to convey how much he wasn\u2019t impressed with her arguments.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, if you aren\u2019t going to help me out of the goodness of your heart,\u201d she said, coming forward with what looked to be a very sharp knife. \u201cIf you won\u2019t just do what is right, what I\u2019ve asked you so nicely to do,then I guess I\u2019ll have to persuade you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou are a very creepy old lady,\u201d Stiles said. He kept the fear out of his voice by the skin of his teeth. He refused to let her know how terrified he was. One cut with that dagger and she would know what he was. He gave a brief thought to his chances of survival after that.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are an annoying kid,\u201d Kate said, then she proceeded to cut the shirt off of him.<\/p>\n He was suddenly extremely glad he left his jacket outside. He liked that thing; it was leather and Tara had gotten it for him for Christmas just last year. He supposed if he died here, it wouldn\u2019t matter, but he was still glad it wasn\u2019t getting diced up by Edwina Scissorhands.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, you\u2019re a little old for me,\u201d Stiles said, trying to bite back the terror as Kate leaned forward, pressing the edge of the blade to his bare skin. \u201cAlso, I\u2019m not really into this kind of thing, especially without discussion and establishing proper safe words. Safe, sane, and consensual, you know. You\u2019re uh, failing on all points here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShut up,\u201d Kate said. \u201cTell me where Derek Hale is and how to get in touch with him.\u201d She pressed the blade hard enough that Stiles felt it separate the skin, and blood began to trickle down. The knife must have been razor-sharp because the sting of the cut didn\u2019t come until a few seconds later.<\/p>\n \u201cYou just told me to shut up,\u201d Stiles said, grinning through the pain. \u201cMight want to make up your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n Kate pulled the knife away and went to slice again. She paused, and Stiles closed his eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, well, well.\u201d Kate was smiling when Stiles opened his eyes to look at her. \u201cThis is interesting, isn\u2019t it.\u201d She paced in front of him, eyeing him like he was the grand prize at a carnival, and she\u2019d just won.<\/p>\n Stiles just looked at her. \u201cI\u2019ve always been interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re a werewolf. Oh, this is fantastic. It answers so many of my questions,\u201d she murmured. She looked dazed and terrifyingly delighted. \u201cWe should have known. No one normal would willingly hang out with Derek. You\u2019re a monster just like he is.\u201d She stared at him, obviously in thought.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t call myself a monster.\u201d Stiles sniffed disdainfully before he drawled, \u201cI haven\u2019t killed anyone. More than any of you can say, I\u2019d bet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe question is, have you always been a werewolf?\u201d Kate was quite obviously ignoring Stiles\u2019 words, even while she squinted at him. \u201cI don\u2019t think so. Which means the alpha bit you.\u201d She turned her very creepy smile on him. \u201cAnd that means the alpha will be coming for you since you\u2019re his very special beta.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNope.\u201d Stiles popped the word and continued without remorse, \u201cI rejected him. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I try not to associate with crazy people. Kinda why I\u2019m trying to get away from you. Well, that and you want to kill me, now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s your alpha.\u201d Kate waved away Stiles\u2019 denial. \u201cHe\u2019ll come for you and, when he does, we\u2019ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n She turned to the generator and flipped it on. \u201cWe\u2019ll need to use this, though, to keep you nice and docile until he shows up.\u201d<\/p>\n Stiles gritted his teeth as the first wave of electricity surged through him. He still didn\u2019t regret using the baton on Peter, but he thought he might start looking for an alternative weapon if he made it out of this alive.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, just relax for me,\u201d Kate smiled. \u201cTell me how to find your alpha and I can stop all this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have an alpha,\u201d Stiles ground out through another wave of pain. \u201cI already told you that. Do I need to use smaller words or speak slower?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou have such a smart mouth. Think you\u2019re so smart,\u201d she hissed at him. \u201cYou\u2019re just a little baby beast. You don\u2019t have any idea, do you? Your alpha will have to come. We\u2019ll just make sure that you\u2019re in enough pain that you howl for him. He won\u2019t be able to help himself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never howled in my life,\u201d Stiles said as deadpan as possible while his nervous system stuttered with pain. \u201cUnless you mean laughter? I thought we were supposed to be wolves, not hyenas. But, hey, you\u2019re supposed to be the expert.\u201d He paused while she hit a button that sent an extra jolt through him. \u201cHow does that work? How do you get to be an expert on them when what you really are is just a mass-murdering rapist?\u201d<\/p>\n CRACK<\/p>\n Stiles tasted blood almost before he felt the pain of Kate\u2019s fist. He spat a mouthful of blood on the floor. He\u2019d bitten his tongue. \u201cCan\u2019t take the truth there, Katie cat?\u201d He smiled, sure the blood on his teeth made for a ghoulish image.<\/p>\n \u201cYou are a beast,\u201d she snapped at him. \u201cI should have seen it.\u201d She picked the knife up from where she\u2019d laid it on the generator and moved towards him. \u201cI should just end you now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cProbably,\u201d Stiles agreed, spitting out some more blood, less this time. He felt his tongue healing, slower than usual, but healing. \u201cDoes it make you feel strong? All big and powerful to kill others while they\u2019re tied down? Chained up? To burn them in their homes that you\u2019ve locked them in. It seems pretty cowardly to me, but then again, you were the one that brought three vehicles to take out my Jeep when you thought I was one measly human teen. So, I guess courage and bravery aren\u2019t really among your attributes.\u201d<\/p>\n Kate\u2019s eyes were blazing with what Stiles could only classify as some high-level crazy and burning hate. She raised the knife.<\/p>\n \u201cKate!\u201d Panicked shouts poured down the hall and into the cell where the two of them were.<\/p>\n \u201cKate! You better get up here!\u201d There were a couple of loud thuds and a crack before it was silent again<\/p>\n Kate had paused, her head turned towards the doorway. Her hand didn\u2019t shake from where she held it in the air while she waited. When the voices didn\u2019t call again, she turned back to him, her eyes wide and wild.<\/p>\n The house shook with a roar. An Alpha roar. Peter.<\/p>\n \u201cI told you he\u2019d come,\u201d Kate\u2019s smile reminded Stiles a little too much of Harley Quinn\u2019s in those comics where she was about to run after her Mr. J.<\/p>\n She plunged the knife into his shoulder. He let out a garbled shout, bucking against the pain in his shoulder and the electricity still running in the fence. The wound wouldn\u2019t heal with the knife still in his shoulder and the electricity was slowing his healing down in more. It wasn\u2019t stopping his abilities from trying, though.<\/p>\n \u201cHold on to that for me, sweetie,\u201d she said, turning away to grab a couple of guns from the table in the back. \u201cI\u2019ll be right back after I take care of your alpha.\u201d<\/p>\n Stiles watched her storm out of the room through blurred vision. He heard her make her way down the hall and up the stairs. He didn\u2019t hear anything else in the rest of the house and he wasn\u2019t sure if that was the electricity numbing his senses or if Peter had killed the other hunters and was lying in wait for Kate.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t think she\u2019d be that easy to take out, but he did believe that they were both overconfident about their ability to take out the other. Peter would have the advantage right now since Kate still didn\u2019t know who the alpha was.<\/p>\n He lifted his head when he heard footsteps rushing down the hall towards his cell.<\/p>\n \u201cStiles.\u201d Derek burst into the room. \u201cFuck.\u201d He made his way to the generator first and turned it off before turning to Stiles and looking at him hanging in the shackles.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, you and your Uncle came to get your revenge,\u201d Stiles said, his voice quiet. He had little energy to deal with Derek right now. He didn\u2019t have the strength to give Derek the reproachful shouting match he felt was deserved and he was still feeling betrayed from the night before. \u201cWhy are you down here, Derek? I\u2019m not going to join Peter. One of us will be dead before that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n Derek just looked at him. He reached up and jerked the knife out of his shoulder. Stiles let out a hiss of pain, too tired to even cry out again. Derek glanced around and grabbed a set of snips off a table and snapped the shackles quickly with steady hands. Stiles watched him and thought back to when he\u2019d rescued Derek, feeling something almost like d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re right, Stiles,\u201d Derek said softly, helping Stiles off the fence. He tilted his head suddenly. \u201cHurry. We have to get up there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWait, what do you mean I\u2019m right?\u201d Stiles said, wobbling on his feet and leaning on Derek grateful for his sturdy presence. He\u2019d be mad at him again in a minute.<\/p>\n \u201cMy uncle is completely insane,\u201d Derek looked pained as if someone had reached in, torn his heart out, stomped on it, and shoved it back in. \u201cI thought I could just\u2026I don\u2019t even know, but I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what to tell you, Derek,\u201d Stiles said after a moment of silence. \u201cI think your uncle is completely crazy and I have little sympathy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know,\u201d Derek said with a nod.<\/p>\n \u201cI do have some sympathy for you, though,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cI know this has to be tearing you into pieces and I am sorry for that. I wish I knew what to tell you to do. You\u2019re still a jackass for going with him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think there is anything that you can say to make this any better or any easier,\u201d Derek said with a shrug and a nod to acknowledge Stiles\u2019 words. \u201cI left Peter this evening shortly after texting you. I don\u2019t even know why I was trying to convince you to join. I already knew that it was wrong when I walked away with him. It just felt like I didn\u2019t have a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n Stiles tilted his head at that and thought about it, going over what he\u2019d learned about werewolves in the short time he\u2019d known about them. Between Derek and his online pal, Art, he was still woefully under-informed, but he\u2019d managed to pick out a few pieces of information that might be applicable here. \u201cYour uncle had the Hale spark, right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe killed\u2026\u201d Derek trailed off, swallowing harshly, looking away, and then back. \u201cYeah, he\u2019s got the Hale spark.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve always been a Hale beta, right?\u201d Stiles asked, testing out his theory.<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d Derek nodded. \u201cMom and then Laura. I\u2019m still a beta now, but if I don\u2019t find an alpha soon, I\u2019ll become an omega.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you think that since you\u2019ve always been\u2013let\u2019s say\u2013attuned to the Hale spark, you\u2019d respond to it automatically, especially if a family member wields it. Given time to think, you can\u2019t be held to it if you don\u2019t trust the individual holding the spark, but initially?\u201d Stiles asked. He shrugged and then winced when it pulled at his nearly healed shoulder. \u201cYour uncle would probably know that. He managed some kind of mind control hypnosis thing with me the other night. Any ability to mindfuck someone seems to be something he\u2019d be interested in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s possible,\u201d Derek said, frowning in thought. \u201cIt would make a certain amount of sense, I guess. I don\u2019t know much about it; I wasn\u2019t supposed to be anything but a beta. I was never interested in learning about anything more either.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d Stiles nodded. \u201cWhat do you want to do now?\u201d<\/p>\n Derek sighed and looked out the door, he gestured. They started to head out.<\/p>\n \u201cUncle Peter is probably going to kill Kate. I don\u2019t know how we\u2019ll be able to stop him,\u201d Derek said with a sigh. \u201cNo matter what we do about him, that\u2019s going to cause trouble later.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not worried about later at the moment, so let\u2019s stick a pin in that,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cIf we can stop him, it isn\u2019t going to be any better.\u201d Stiles shrugged at Derek\u2019s look. \u201cHey, if we stop him, she\u2019s just going to turn around and kill us. What are we going to do about him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to put him down,\u201d Derek said, his shoulders sagging as they made their way up the stairs.<\/p>\n Stiles heard shouting and gunshots coming from outside. He saw the savaged body of the hunter, Win, near the front door and grimaced.<\/p>\n \u201cIdeally, Peter and Kate will take each other out,\u201d Stiles muttered as he peered out the crack in the door. He saw that Peter and Kate were holding each other off at the end of the yard. He eased his way out the door.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ll have that good of luck,\u201d Derek muttered from behind him.<\/p>\n \u201cMe, either,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cDerek, is there a way to slow down my healing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, but it takes some practice,\u201d Derek said. \u201cOr wounds from an alpha take longer. Why?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I think we\u2019re going to need a reason why we\u2019ve got our DNA all over the scene of multiple murders, especially with a torture chamber in the basement and no wounds on us.\u201d Stiles shrugged at the look Derek gave him.<\/p>\n \u201cYour mind is a strange place. Is this something you need to be thinking about right now?\u201d Derek asked. \u201cWe might not even make it out of this alive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI like to try and plan when I can,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cYou get injured anymore, try not to heal too much. We might need to document them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure,\u201d Derek said, obviously baffled by Stiles. \u201cI\u2019ll do that. I\u2019m going to draw the line at near-fatal injuries, though.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure, I\u2019ll give those a pass,\u201d Stiles said, still eyeing the combatants in the yard. \u201cThey\u2019re coming this way.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/p>\n Derek stepped up beside Stiles and they watched as the other two moved. Almost like dancers. Kate would aim and shoot at Peter; he\u2019d manage to evade most of them and then he\u2019d take a swipe with his claws while in his beta shift. He\u2019d obviously gotten at least one swipe in since she was bleeding, but not severely.<\/p>\n Stiles figured she was using regular bullets right now since Peter had a couple of grazes on him that were healing, blood showing on his dirty button-up shirt and slacks, but the wounds weren\u2019t slowing him down at all.<\/p>\n While they were watching, two SUVs came careening into the yard. Derek stepped forward as if to protect Stiles from whoever was in the vehicles. Stiles thought it was kind of sweet but unnecessary.<\/p>\n The doors opened and Christopher Argent stepped out, his daughter, Allison, and his wife, Victoria, emerged from the other vehicle with two more hunters that hadn\u2019t been at the gas station.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, well,\u201d Peter said. \u201cThe family is all here.\u201d He took advantage of Kate\u2019s momentary distraction and had her in his arms; his claws were at her throat mere seconds later.<\/p>\n \u201cAunt Kate!\u201d Allison stepped forward, raising her bow.<\/p>\n \u201cAh, ah, ah,\u201d Peter said. Kate let out a cry. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to kill Katie too quickly, now, would I?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet her go, Hale,\u201d Chris said. \u201cThis won\u2019t end well for you. Not for any of you.\u201d His gaze flicked over to Derek and Stiles on the porch.<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t my end, Chris,\u201d Peter said. \u201cThis is hers. Isn\u2019t it appropriate that her end comes where she ended so many other lives? So many innocent lives.\u201d His eyes were glowing red; his mouth snarling the last words.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fire was an accident, Hale,\u201d Victoria said. She looked bored standing there in her business suit and heels. \u201cThe investigation proved that. We all saw the report.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know,\u201d Stiles said, drawing everyone\u2019s attention to him. He made his way down the porch, stepping to the side as Derek came down behind him. \u201cPeter is crazy \u2013 and I mean seriously insane.\u201d He twirled his finger around his ear. \u201cAbsolutely cuckoo for cocoa puffs. That being said, he\u2019s not wrong. Kate Argent is responsible for the fire. The one that killed those in this house all those years ago. She\u2019s also responsible for four other fires around the country in the last six years that I could link her to. That was just in the research I had time to do in the last week. If the pattern holds, there are probably more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKate.\u201d Chris turned his disbelieving eyes from Stiles toward his sister, sounding shocked. \u201cThe Hales hadn\u2019t broken the code.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey were animals,\u201d she hissed. \u201cJust look at them now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, Peter is crazy,\u201d Stiles acknowledged. He leaned down and picked up his jacket, glad to see that it hadn\u2019t been discovered and trashed. He dusted it off and shrugged it on. He shoved his hands into his pockets, ignoring the look that Derek was giving him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you want, Hale?\u201d Victoria asked, leveling her gun at him. She seemed to be ignoring Stiles and Derek altogether.<\/p>\n \u201cI want my pack back,\u201d Peter snarled. \u201cSince that\u2019s not possible, I want her to apologize. I want some justice. I want my vengeance!\u201d<\/p>\n He jerked Kate around. \u201cApologize!\u201d he roared into her face.<\/p>\n Stiles saw spittle fly and heard Kate whimper; her pretty face was terror-stricken.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d she managed to stutter out, all her easy confidence from before disappearing in the face of Peter\u2019s rage.<\/p>\n \u201cNot to me,\u201d he said. \u201cTo her.\u201d He turned her around by her neck and thrust her in front of him towards Allison. \u201cTell her how sorry you are that you destroyed an innocent family and broke the Argent\u2019s precious code. Tell her how sorry you are that her Aunt whored herself out to get the secrets to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAllison,\u201d Kate whimpered and choked. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, so sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPeter,\u201d Derek said suddenly. \u201cPeter, that\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Peter said, looking at Derek and Stiles, his eyes haunted and mad. \u201cIt\u2019ll never be enough.\u201d<\/p>\n He turned back to Allison, Kate still in his grip. \u201cYour apology is not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n With a wrenching movement of his arm and a sucking pop, he tore Kate\u2019s throat out, spraying blood out onto Allison. She stared at Kate, then at Peter, and then she began to scream.<\/p>\n Distracted by Kate\u2019s body as it fell, no one saw Peter change. He charged at Allison, but Victoria was there, her gun up and firing. She missed. He didn\u2019t. His jaw clamped down as he bit hard on her shoulder. She fell back with a guttural cry. She kicked out, taking Peter in the stomach, knocking him back.<\/p>\n The other two hunters that had come in with them entered the fight to get to Victoria and Allison. Peter swatted them away like annoying little flies.<\/p>\n Derek looked at Stiles and nodded before heading into the fray. Stiles made his way over. He jerked Chris back and managed to thrust Allison at him while Derek got Peter\u2019s attention on him.<\/p>\n \u201cGet your daughter and your wife out of here. This is pack business now,\u201d he said with a glare.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you think\u2026\u201d Chris began to say, even as his daughter sobbed in his arms.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the Argents have done enough to the Hales,\u201d Stiles said. \u201cIf you stay, I can\u2019t promise that Peter won\u2019t take out the rest of you. Derek will do his best, but he\u2019s only a beta. Even with me helping, there are no guarantees.\u201d<\/p>\n Christ stared at him and then nodded. He bundled Allison into the vehicle and then went back for his wife, but he didn\u2019t drive away. He watched the fight between the two wolves.<\/p>\n Stiles stood at the edge of the yard, watching the fight. He wrapped his hand around the gun in his pocket, letting the weight of it comfort him. Derek was fighting hard, but Peter was an Alpha and his Uncle.<\/p>\n Stiles pulled the gun from his jacket, not taking his eyes off the two wolves fighting in beta shift.<\/p>\n Chris drew a sharp breath somewhere behind him, but Stiles didn\u2019t have time to deal with him. If an Argent got in his way, there was a bullet in the gun for him, too.<\/p>\n Stiles slid into a shooting stance and aimed.<\/p>\n Peter tossed Derek to the ground, roaring into his face.<\/p>\n Derek lay flat on his back and he wasn\u2019t getting back up.<\/p>\n Stiles flipped off the safety. Peter leaned over Derek, smirk evident even through his fangs and elongating muzzle.<\/p>\n Stiles pulled the trigger and took the shot.<\/p>\n Peter stiffened, his shoulder jerking forward.<\/p>\n Stiles fired again.<\/p>\n Peter turned, body jerking again as another bullet hit.<\/p>\n Stiles fired, steady. He breathed in and out, making each shot count.<\/p>\n Derek rolled over behind Peter and crawled to his feet.<\/p>\n Peter stalked towards Stiles, furious. His eyes were flaring red, his shift rippling over his skin.<\/p>\n \u201cYou dare. I am your Alpha!\u201d His roar shook the clearing. He moved slowly towards Stiles, quicker with each step.<\/p>\n \u201cNot my alpha,\u201d Stiles replied, refusing to back down. He kept the gun level, but he\u2019d allow Derek his chance.<\/p>\n Derek leaped at his uncle. He took Peter down and rolled him. Stunning Peter, he leaned over him. \u201cPlease don\u2019t make me do this, Uncle Peter.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFinish it, nephew.\u201d He grinned through bloody teeth, Stiles saw as he came closer. \u201cIf you don\u2019t, I will make sure you regret it.\u201d<\/p>\n Derek thrust his hand through Peter\u2019s throat, tearing it out. Derek threw his head back, roaring. Coming back to himself, he flung the contents of his hand away. He shuddered.<\/p>\n Both Stiles and Derek watched the red glow fade from Peter\u2019s eyes. Stiles looked at Derek and watched the blue bleed to red.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m the Alpha now,\u201d Derek whispered, sounding heartbroken, looking heartbroken.<\/p>\n Footsteps made Stiles turn and bring up the gun, aiming it at Christopher Argent. \u201cI told you to take your family and go, Mr. Argent. You and your family have done enough damage. You aren\u2019t wanted here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow are you going to explain this? I can help with clean-up,\u201d he said, his gaze sweeping the yard and the carnage around them.<\/p>\n Stiles doubted he was offering out of the goodness of his heart, though, and Derek didn\u2019t need that. Neither did he.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve already got that covered,\u201d Stiles said cuttingly. \u201cWe need nothing from you.\u201d<\/p>\n It took Stiles another ten minutes to get the Argents to leave. Once they did, he turned back to Derek.<\/p>\n Derek was sitting on the ground, smoothing Peter\u2019s hair; tears were falling silently. The red eyes had faded away.<\/p>\n \u201cDerek,\u201d Stiles said softly, coming up to him. \u201cI think we need to talk about how we\u2019re going to explain this.\u201d He gestured to the clearing around them.<\/p>\n Derek looked up. \u201cYou have some idea or you wouldn\u2019t have sent Argent away.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think we should tell a couple of people on the force,\u201d Stiles blurted out. He waved off Derek\u2019s frown. \u201cNot my dad. I don\u2019t think he\u2019d be a good candidate. But there are a couple of people who I think would be good allies and are high enough in the chain of command that having them know about this, about you and me, would be worthwhile.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou think that it will work?\u201d Derek asked, looking around at Kate\u2019s body, towards the house where there was at least one more body, probably two. \u201cHow do you know it won\u2019t end as badly as this did?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s necessary right now,\u201d he said. \u201cHopefully, we won\u2019t need them for this kind of thing ever again, but they could come in handy if hunters decide to visit the town again. That is, if you\u2019re staying?\u201d<\/p>\n Derek looked around and then back at Stiles. \u201cI think I want to stay here. I already have pack here, don\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you still want it now that you\u2019re all big and fancy with your red eyes,\u201d Stiles grinned at him as relief swamped him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have a problem with me being an alpha?\u201d Derek asked with a tilt of his head.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I think that you can be a good alpha if you\u2019re willing to learn to be one now,\u201d Stiles said, looking at him. \u201cWe\u2019ll have to figure it out together. You\u2019ll learn how to be an alpha, I\u2019ll learn how to be a werewolf, and both of us how to be pack together. It\u2019ll be interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll be something,\u201d Derek agreed, moving to get up finally.<\/p>\n Stiles leaned over and gave him his hand, helping him up. \u201cWhat do you say?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGo ahead and make your calls,\u201d Derek said. \u201cHopefully, you\u2019ll be right, and we can get this cleaned up without either of us in jail or dead at the end of it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour optimistic attitude could use some work, man,\u201d Stiles grumbled at him.<\/p>\n Stiles made his calls. Tara Graeme came within an inch of either arresting them or committing them before finally believing them and agreeing to help. She suggested a couple of other deputies that she\u2019d bring in, but she had Jordan Parrish at her side immediately. He seemed to take the reveal without more than a couple of extra blinks. He was new to the force and to Beacon Hills. It said a lot that Tara trusted him at her back so soon.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are having a long talk about all this later, Stiles,\u201d Tara said, pulling him into a crushing hug. \u201cI didn\u2019t know I should have been worrying about you twice as much these last few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d he said and, at her look, he laughed a little. \u201cI\u2019ll be fine. Derek is looking out for me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s had a harder time than we thought, huh?\u201d she asked rhetorically, looking across the yard where Derek was giving his statement to Parrish. \u201cPoor kid,\u201d she murmured.<\/p>\n Tara had Parrish take statements from Stiles and Derek. She signed off on Stiles\u2019 statement and let the other man take the lead on the scene. By the time they were done, the other men Tara had called in had arrived and were processing the scene.<\/p>\n \u201cGo on home, Derek,\u201d Tara said to the figure slumped against her cruiser. \u201cAnd if you don\u2019t mind, take Stiles with you, the sheriff is out of town tonight, and he\u2019s exhausted.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I can do that.\u201d Derek straightened up, moving away from the door so that Stiles could unfold himself from the front seat where he\u2019d been hidden behind the man\u2019s bulk. \u201cCome on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSure,\u201d Stiles muttered, swaying on his feet before he found his balance. He nodded to Tara and followed Derek. \u201cWhere did you park anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n Before Stiles knew it, he was walking into Derek\u2019s loft, asleep on his feet, with dawn breaking in the sky through the wall of windows<\/p>\n Derek slid the door closed behind him and tossed the keys in the bowl on the table, his jacket going over a chair halfway between the living area and the kitchen.<\/p>\n \u201cNow what?\u201d Stiles asked, stifling a yawn, his eyes burning as he blinked himself awake.<\/p>\n \u201cTake a shower and then go to sleep,\u201d Derek ordered, making his way towards the kitchen and beginning to bang around in there.<\/p>\n \u201cSounds good,\u201d Stiles agreed, stumbling his way into the bathroom. He slapped at the shower controls until they turned on and then he stepped under the spray.<\/p>\n Exhaustion sunk heavily into his bones and he realized that the last couple of weeks were finally beginning to catch up with him.<\/p>\n He shoved shampoo through his hair, thoughts turning sluggishly over in his mind. He\u2019d been running nonstop since Peter\u2019s attack. Now, he\u2019d be able to sit back and breathe, figure out what came next for a typical soon-to-be high school graduate instead of a newly bitten werewolf. He rinsed quickly, turning off the water and stepping out to dry off.<\/p>\n It took him a full minute of staring before he realized that Derek had left clean clothes on the sink. Having missed Derek coming into the bathroom, his exhaustion had to be dulling his senses to a dangerous degree, and he could only be grateful that Derek was there to watch his back. He returned to the open area of the loft and didn\u2019t see the newly minted alpha, but he heard Derek on the roof.<\/p>\n \u201cDerek,\u201d he called, shuffling his feet on the cold floorboards. \u201cYou need anything?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be down later,\u201d Derek said. \u201cGo to sleep. I\u2019ll keep watch for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n Stiles knew that there wasn\u2019t anything to keep watch from, but he also knew that Derek had just killed his last remaining family member, and no matter how insane Peter was, Derek was going to need to process that. Stiles would give him some time before he stepped in.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t stay up all day,\u201d he admonished, \u201cYou need your sleep too. Nobody wants you any bitchier than normal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGo to sleep, Stiles,\u201d Derek huffed, but it sounded like he was covering a laugh.<\/p>\n Stiles smiled and moved toward the bed. That would do for now. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. When he woke to the sunlight warming his face, he was being aggressively cuddled by Derek.<\/p>\n \u201cWhu?\u201d Stiles mumbled, rolling over to blink muzzily at the other man.<\/p>\n \u201cYou move too much in your sleep.\u201d Derek yawned, cracking his neck. \u201cIt was either hold you like this or end up with a concussion.\u201d He let go of Stiles and rolled away, getting out of bed.<\/p>\n Stiles blinked dazedly and followed after him. With more flailing and less grace, he made his way out of the bed, walked into the kitchen, and watched Derek flip on the coffee maker through bleary eyes. Derek must have set it up before they went to sleep that morning.<\/p>\n \u201cAt least the worst of it is over,\u201d Stiles said, looking out the wall of windows as evening began to creep over the sky. He took the cup of coffee Derek handed him and wandered closer to the windows to look out over the preserve. \u201cWe just have to figure out what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll get a job and you\u2019ll graduate, go to college, and train.\u201d Derek shrugged at Stiles\u2019 look. \u201cWe\u2019ll build our pack and live.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat sounds good, Alpha Hale,\u201d Stiles agreed, turning his gaze back to the darkening sky. \u201cI\u2019m in.\u201d<\/p>\n Title: Becoming Author: Sibyl Moon Fandom: Teen Wolf Genre: Paranormal\/Supernatural, Pre-Relationship, Shifters Relationship(s): Gen, Pre-Derek\/Stiles Content Rating: R Warnings: Hate Crimes\/Hate Speech, Torture, Violence \u2013 Graphic, Discussion-Murder, Discussion-Rape, Discussion-Torture, Murder, Violence-Canon-Level, Kidnapping, Drug\/Alcohol Use. Per Drug\/Alcohol use: Sheriff drinks heavily in one scene. Discussion of Rape\/Assault: Kate Argent & Bite… Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,7,9],"tags":[39,20,40,28,30,31],"class_list":["post-492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gen","category-quantum-bang","category-teen-wolf","tag-derek-hale","tag-fix-it","tag-pre-derek-stiles","tag-quantum-bang","tag-stiles-stilinski","tag-teen-wolf"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sibylmoon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sibylmoon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sibylmoon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sibylmoon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sibylmoon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sibylmoon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sibylmoon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sibylmoon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sibylmoon.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAuthor<\/strong>: Sibyl Moon
\nFandom<\/strong>: Teen Wolf
\nGenre<\/strong>: Paranormal\/Supernatural, Pre-Relationship, Shifters
\nRelationship(s)<\/strong>: Gen, Pre-Derek\/Stiles
\nContent Rating<\/strong>: R
\nWarnings<\/strong>: Hate Crimes\/Hate Speech, Torture, Violence \u2013 Graphic, Discussion-Murder, Discussion-Rape, Discussion-Torture, Murder, Violence-Canon-Level, Kidnapping, Drug\/Alcohol Use. Per Drug\/Alcohol use: Sheriff drinks heavily in one scene. Discussion of Rape\/Assault: Kate Argent & Bite as assault\/rape. Hate Crimes & Hate Speech: As related to werewolves & hunters.
\nBeta<\/strong>: Twigen<\/a>, Alpha Read<\/strong> by DarkJediQueen<\/a>
\nWord Count<\/strong>: 57,600
\nSummary<\/strong>: A few days before Christmas, while out on his nightly run, Stiles is attacked by a monster in the preserve. When he begins to change, it doesn\u2019t take him long to figure out what\u2019s happening to him. Once he discovers Derek Hale is back in town, he finally has a few answers, even if they lead to more questions. Stiles isn\u2019t sure he can trust the other man, but he believes that Derek is as invested in tracking down the feral alpha as Stiles is and that will have to do for now.
\nArtist<\/strong>: Penumbria<\/a> ( Also on Ao3<\/a>)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sibylmoon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/2021-SM-BE-Ch10.jpg?resize=780%2C121&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nChapter Ten<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sibylmoon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/2021-SM-BE-Ch11.jpg?resize=780%2C121&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nChapter Eleven<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sibylmoon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/2021-SM-BE-Ch12.jpg?resize=780%2C121&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nChapter Twelve<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sibylmoon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/2021-SM-BE-Ch13.jpg?resize=780%2C121&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nChapter Thirteen<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sibylmoon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/2021-SM-BE-Mood-1100x1100-1.jpg?resize=780%2C780&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sibylmoon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/2021-SM-BE-Ch14.jpg?resize=780%2C121&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nChapter Fourteen<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sibylmoon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/2021-SM-BE-Ch15.jpg?resize=780%2C121&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nChapter Fifteen<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sibylmoon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/2021-SM-BE-Ch16.jpg?resize=780%2C121&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nChapter Sixteen<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sibylmoon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/2021-SM-BE-Ch17.jpg?resize=780%2C121&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nChapter Seventeen<\/h1>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sibylmoon.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/2021-SM-BE-Quote2.jpg?resize=780%2C528&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"