Disclaimer: I own nothing
Warning: Contains explicit sibling incest and a relationship between three people, all consentual.
SOMEWHERE WE BELONG
Derek became the Hale Pack's Alpha when he killed Peter. Peter hadn't been the same since surviving the house fire that had killed almost the entire family. Having the Alpha power had made him worse. He'd tried to turn people and had killed several of the nearby town's citizens. He'd tried to kill Derek.
Derek tried to remember the uncle who'd amazed him with sleight-of-hand tricks and who had then explained exactly how they were done so that Derek could fool other people. The uncle who'd helped in his training and had slipped him illegal beers and had run with him in the moonlight.
But that uncle was gone by the time that Derek faced off against the Hale Alpha. He was definitely gone when Derek tore his throat out.
Derek lost track of how long he spent staring at the blood soaking into the ground, at the final much-missed peace appearing on his uncle's face.
The next thing he was really aware of was Laura's voice.
"Derek, I'm hungry."
Peter wasn't the only one who'd emerged from the fire changed.
Laura was dipping her feet in the lake again. Her claws were showing as she swiped at the life that teemed in the water. She looked fascinated by it, eager to hunt. Derek watched her.
She was both old and young now, meshed beautifully together in a way that Derek didn't know how to even start untangling. She was still Laura though. Unlike Peter who had lost all lightness during the fire, Laura had clung onto hers. She was still his sister.
"Derek!"
A slippery fish flew through the air. Derek swatted it away before it hit his forehead. He raised an eyebrow at his sister's giggles and bitten lip.
"Good aim."
Laura preened before shoving her claws back into the lake. Derek went back to watching her.
"And he never said goodbye to the moon!"
The words were being sung into his chest. Derek twitched and then grabbed the fingers that were walking across his pecs. Laura, naked and glorious, smiled blissfully at him. The corner of Derek's mouth drew upwards. He flicked his tongue against her caught fingers. His smile grew at the happy sigh that his actions got from her. That sigh turned into a pretty little frown when he then released her fingers.
"No teasing!"
Derek drew his hands faux-lazily down her arms. It made her shiver delightfully. "Who's teasing?"
Laura fidgeted at his too-light touch and unable to bear it any longer, pounced. Derek held her wrists but let her struggle. It felt good. Laura was enjoying herself too, snapping her human teeth amidst giggles and gasping threats. Finally he swallowed it all up with long drawn-out kisses that purposefully stole her breath and kept her still and hungry against him.
Laura pouted when he drew back. It was a look that always made him want to draw the culprit's blood.
"You're mean."
Derek smirked and flipped them over without warning. Laura's shriek was music to his ears. He slid a hand between her legs, intent on turning that shriek into beautiful moans. He licked her wetness off his fingers. Laura petted his head happily.
"Good boy."
After Peter's death, the only place they could stay was Beacon Hills. Laura shook her head violently whenever Derek suggested maybe heading outside the town limits on a permanent basis.
"This is where they are. So we need to be here too," was her explanation.
And where Laura went, Derek went too.
He met with Chris and Victoria Argent, taking a sullen tense Laura with him by way of explanation. Chris looked astonished at the change in her – the last time he'd seen her was before the fire. Victoria was suspicious to start with, like Laura's behavior was all an elaborate act. But Derek swore that they had no plans to rebuild their pack, just the house. Beacon Hills was where they'd both die, like every other Hale.
"I'm going to paint the stars here," Laura confided in him, as they walked through what remained of their family home.
Derek mentally tallied up the insurance settlement money against all that the house would need. They would more than stay afloat.
"Good."
Then he pinched Laura's hip and let her chase him around the house until the moon rose.
Laura was wearing pink satin. Pink satin trimmed with white ribbons. Derek tried to control his claws. Laura hated it when he ruined her pretty things.
"What do I taste like, Derek?"
Derek's fangs grew at the question and his mouth watered. He prowled in front of her and cupped her breast. He thumbed the nipple thoughtfully. Laura's pupils dilated and she laughed.
"That's not an answer."
Derek dipped his head and bit shallowly near her collarbone. He watched as a teardrop of blood rolled down her alabaster skin. He licked at it and savored the taste.
Laura's breathing was heavy and her eyes were yellow when his finally focused on her.
"Cinders," he said at last. "Crushed foxgloves and the first spring rain."
Her taste often changed, as did Derek's palate. Laura asked that question a lot. He always enjoyed answering it.
The first time they spotted the boy, he was watching as they bathed in the nearby stream. It was cool and refreshing after hours of working on renovating the house. Laura had been wielding a hammer beside Derek. She'd always had a good eye for DIY. Derek had clear memories of her working alongside their Dad and Manisha and Aunt Rachel. It'd been good to see that same delight in Laura's eyes again as she'd worked.
Derek watched as Laura scrambled over rocks, her hair like wet sunlight down her back. She knew to be careful in the water, to look out for shallow spots and sharp stones. The other creatures living there knew to leave the Hales alone. They knew all about avoiding predators.
Laura splashed back into the stream and over to his side. She tried to pull his feet out from underneath him but he flipped her easily over his shoulder and watched as she spluttered and cursed. She determinedly snatched a bottle of body wash off the bank and squirted it at him in petty retaliation.
As she scrubbed both herself and him with cinnamon-scented bubbles, she leaned close like she was going to tell him a secret.
"He's been watching us for a whole fifteen minutes," she whispered.
Derek slanted a look toward where Laura was subtly indicating. Yep, a teenage boy was bobbing ineffectively behind some bushes. They had a voyeur. Derek's teeth sharpened. Nobody should be coming onto Hale land without permission. Nobody should be looking at Laura like that.
"Don't hurt him too much. I like the way he smells."
Laura was serious. Derek scented the air, and slowly nodded. There was no hint of gun oil, silver, or wolfsbane. The boy's terrible stealth abilities also clearly demonstrated that he was no hunter. He smelled good. Human, fearful, fascinated, aroused. Whoever he was, his personal aroma was intriguing. Derek stood up, water running off him as he strode out onto the bank. The boy's eyes widened – another wave of fear and heavy arousal – and then he darted away. Derek could run and catch him. But the boy was off Hale land now. That was what mattered.
Laura smiled, her hair thick with bubbles. "I hope he comes back."
Derek nodded absently. He hoped so too.
The bathroom got finished first. Laura immediately wanted to shower, to test it out. She shoved Derek in unexpectedly, fully clothed, when he refused. They got confirmation that the shower and bath worked just fine.
Laura painted each bedroom a different color – one was pearly turquoise, another brown sugar, a third warm orange. Her clothes and skin got covered in a splatter rainbow. She fingerpainted stars onto the ceiling of every room and insisted that she and Derek lie beneath them, to test her handiwork out.
"They're all here," she said quietly, her fingers intertwined with Derek's. "I got them here."
Derek stared at her for a moment, then brushed his free fingers down her soft cheek. "You did."
Laura didn't like that the boy hadn't visited again. It niggled at Derek too, so he slipped into Beacon Hills for research and to follow the boy's scent. He found that the boy's father was the Sheriff. Derek remembered the man as a deputy, horrified by the Hale fire. A good man. He found that the boy went to high school and that he didn't play lacrosse as much as he wanted to. The boy talked a lot and had a fast heartbeat and took medication that smelled waxy.
The boy blushed when he caught sight of Derek. Derek slid away before the boy's friend saw him.
The boy had a name.
"Stiles Stilinski," he told Laura, whose eyes were wide with excitement.
"Like the deputy."
"His father." Derek nipped at Laura's fingers.
"Derek, what do I taste like?"
"Caramel and salt water."
The boy did come back after that. Maybe because he'd spotted Derek in town, watching him. He crouched behind trees and stared, his heartbeat skittering whenever Laura or Derek looked his way. He never came near the house though. Laura watched him through the window.
"I want to eat him up."
Derek growled in agreement. The boy's smell was distracting now, as was his lean awkward figure, large expressive eyes, and lush tempting mouth. He was ridiculously enticing.
"I wonder how long we'd have to chase him for."
Derek tugged at her hair. "He's easy prey."
"Still worth catching though."
She was right. The urge to just hunt the boy down and take was growing inside of Derek. Laura raked her claws down his back.
"He's ours, isn't he?"
Derek curled a possessive hand around the back of her neck. There was little point in denying it. Clearly even the boy knew where he belonged.
"He will be."
They ran in wolf form during the next full moon, enjoying the chase and the hunt together. It was what they were made for. They gorged on rabbits and small prey. Bigger animals kept out of their path.
Blood dripped down Laura's chin as they rutted together, not for the first time that night. Derek shoved into her, his senses wildly sharp and craving more. Laura pushed back, snarling and howling for the same. On full moon nights, they couldn't stop touching each other, even more than usual. Why would they ever want to stop?
After the familiar rush of release, Derek caught that scent again – waxy, fearful, fascinated, aroused, Stiles. Laura had clearly caught it too, because she took off with an excited howl. Derek followed immediately. Their boy was here. He'd seen the wolves and he hadn't run away.
"Whoa! Sharp teeth! Please don't eat me!"
He was talking to Laura who was circling him excitedly, yipping out exactly what she wanted to do to him. Derek growled in agreement. The boy was still there, looking like he wanted to run but he was standing his ground and he still smelled aroused. Derek longed to claim and bite and gorge. But the boy didn't understand yet and he stunk of too much fear.
So Derek reminded Laura of that in snarls and she nipped at his heels and agreed because she didn't like the taste of human tears anyway. Stiles stared at them both, his heart beating too fast. Derek nudged at his thighs and knees. The boy needed rest. He needed protecting on a full moon.
"Okay, that's…you're not going to…this is…" Stiles stuttered his way through half-finished thoughts and sat down, bewildered. "You're not saving me for dessert, are you?"
Derek huffed out laughter and some of the worry in Stiles' expression disappeared. He still looked wary though, watching carefully as Laura rubbed her face against his arm and Derek circled them both. But deep down the boy knew that he was safe there, just like he'd been drawn to watch them in the first place. It was where he was supposed to be.
Laura curled up next to Stiles, her head pillowed on his stomach. Derek wrapped himself around them both and kept one ear open for what other dangers could be out in the woods. He slept well though, two important scents soothing him. It'd been too long since that had happened.
In the morning, Stiles was still there, tense and worried and watching in fascination as Laura and Derek shifted back to their human forms. He reddened when Laura stretched, unabashed and nude. Derek smirked. She was always beautiful under the sun. Stiles hadn't grasped yet that he had the right to look at her whenever he wanted to.
Stiles cleared his throat and attempted not to stare at either of them. "So…um, Derek and Laura Hale, right? Werewolves?"
Derek nodded and Stiles let out a shaky overwhelmed breath. "That's so…wow. Okay. Awesome. Werewolves. Hi. So those were your werewolf forms last night? Do you ever become full wolves? Are you the only ones in Beacon Hills? Is that why you came back?"
Laura laughed at Stiles' overspill of eager words. He was still tinged with fear, but he was mostly enthusiastically interested, almost giddy with it. And he was still swathed in a layer of arousal. Derek's chest rumbled with greed and he moved deep into Stiles' personal space, pressing his jaw to Stiles' shoulder before nosing down to his neck. The smell there was concentrated and blissful. Derek's teeth grew. Laura was nosing at Stiles' thigh.
Stiles froze, his heart fluttering like a frightened bird once more. "Are you…smelling me? Please tell me I don't smell like breakfast."
Derek licked his neck. The taste was just as good as the smell, and Stiles' heart gave a delightful skip that had nothing to do with fear. Derek grinned and drew his whole body invitingly closer. Stiles looked like he didn't know what to do with his hands. Laura was practically sprawled out across his lap now, snuffling at his waist happily. Derek stroked her hair.
"Stay for breakfast, you'll find out what you want to know."
Laura sat up quickly, smiling and heavy-eyed as though drunk on the heady scent combination of Derek and Stiles. "Pancakes! Pancakes and syrup and bacon!"
Derek flowed to his feet and pulled Laura up into an embrace. He liked to check, to be sure that she was fine after each full moon. All kinds of things could have happened to her. He licked into her mouth and let her suck on his tongue. Stiles looked slightly dazed when they parted.
Laura waggled a hand at him. "Coming?"
Stiles shook his head, as though trying to clear it, and shakily got to his feet, looking more than a little lost and flushed. Derek smiled, pleased. He'd done that. He and Laura. It would only get better too. How could the boy refuse?
"I need to call my Dad. He thinks I'm at Scott's and Scott thinks I'm…actually, I don't know where Scott thinks I am."
Derek shrugged a shoulder fluidly and turned to walk back to the house. "Signal's good here. We'll be waiting."
Laura ran ahead, singing songs into the sun. She was still breathless when Derek reached the porch.
"He'll come."
Derek cupped her jaw and kissed her forehead, her cheekbones, her mouth. She tasted of fresh rabbit sinew, evergreens, and blunt liquorice. "He will."
Nothing was a certainty. But this felt sure and strong wrapped around his spine. Laura pulled on a yellow and white sundress over her favorite jeans. Her bare feet displayed purple-painted toenails. Derek set the table as she mixed the batter and fried the bacon. He brewed coffee and squeezed juice as he heard a now-familiar heartbeat get closer and closer. He called out before there was a knock at the door.
"It's open."
Stiles appeared, biting his lip, backpack uncertain over one shoulder. He had one foot out the door but his eyes took in everything. Derek pushed a glass of juice his way and nodded to the table.
"Hope you're hungry."
Laura flashed inhuman teeth over her shoulder in greeting and agreement. She hummed under her breath as Stiles fiddled with the silverware and Derek stood over him. He brushed fingers against Stiles' neck and smiled with the corner of his mouth when Stiles jerkily looked up.
Time for some answers before the rabbit ran.
"We're the only werewolves left in Beacon Hills. Our family was our pack."
Stiles' eyes went even bigger and they sheened with sympathy. Not pity though. Derek remembered the obituary for Jennifer Stilinski that he'd found during his research into Stiles. Stiles was no stranger to soul-crushing loss.
"And you came back because...?"
"Because Peter woke up," Laura supplied the answer as she cooked the first pancake. "Only he wasn't Peter after the fire. Then he tried to kill us. So Derek killed him."
Stiles' eyebrows shot up. "Wait, your brain-dead Uncle tried to kill you? And you…"
"He was going to kill us," Derek kept his voice low and steady and filled with Alpha power. "The fire changed him. All he could think about was the hunt. He hunted people in Beacon Hills and then he hunted us."
"The animal attacks!" Stiles sounded excited. "My Dad – he's the Sheriff – he's been looking into this weird pattern of animal attacks in the area. That was Peter?"
"He was trying to build a new pack." Derek grabbed the syrup and sugar from the sideboard and sat down. "But he tried giving the bite without permission and it didn't take. And when some refused, he filled up the morgue."
"Wait, wait," Stiles waved a hand. "Your coma-patient Uncle went crazy and tried to build his own pack, while wiping out his old one?"
"You understand." Laura was pleased as she dished out pancakes and sat down on Stiles' other side.
"The bite is a gift. It shouldn't be forced," Derek continued. "That's not why you're here."
Stile started; clearly surprised at a question he was probably thinking about, but hadn't asked, being answered. "Okay, thanks. That's…werewolves have made me pancakes for breakfast. Werewolves. I'm having breakfast with werewolves."
He was beginning to sound a little hysterical. His excited adrenalin rush had finally run out. Derek had been waiting for that to happen. He pressed a warm hand to Stiles' cheek and coaxed the boy into looking at him.
"We didn't invite you here to hurt you. I swear."
Laura took hold of Stiles' hand and cradled it close. She kissed his fingers fleetingly. "Me too. I swear."
Stiles' eyes darted to them both. He seemed to grasp the hidden gravity of their words and nodded slowly, his breaths steadying. Derek and Laura both kept hold of him, reluctant to let go.
"We like you watching us," Laura told him. "We like that you like being near us. We want you to keep coming back."
Stiles' eyes widened and Derek stroked his face fondly, resisting the urge for now to lick his neck again. "You're free to leave and you're free to come back. We strongly encourage the last part."
Stiles' mouth worked but nothing came out. Derek relished being so close to him, being surrounded by his scent.
Laura smiled. "We haven't broken him, have we?"
Stiles shook his head quickly. "No, sorta, maybe. This is a lot…it's…I mean…really?...can I…?"
Derek leaned in and kissed the boy's forehead. Then Laura darted in and nibbled at Stiles' lips before tearing into her pancakes. She trusted Derek to find the right words.
"When you want to, you can ask more questions. You might not like the answers though."
"Right. Okay. Thanks. I'm going to…"
Stiles swallowed a last forkful of pancakes and then scrambled to his feet. His gaze lingered on Derek and Laura, a blush charmingly sweeping his face. Derek licked his lips.
"I won't tell anyone."
And with that, he left, quick footsteps matching his heartbeat as he beat a path to his Jeep that was parked near the main road through the woods. Laura pulled Derek's hand closer and licked the sugar and syrup off his palm.
Stiles did come back. Derek was sawing wood in front of the house, stripped to the waist and sweating in the sun. He smiled as he smelled Stiles' welcome scent nearing. Laura was out at the library, working her weekly shift. It helped her to be out in the community, interacting with people. She was always social and Mrs. Kelly looked kindly on her, remembering her from their childhood trips to hire out books.
"Oh, that's not fair." Stiles gestured to Derek. "You're all…distracting."
Derek raised an eyebrow. "But you don't want me to put a shirt on."
"Well…no. No. Just don't expect a lot of coherence."
"I don't."
"Hey!"
Derek finished sawing the wood and stacked it with the other pieces. He was brushing wood shavings off his hands when he saw Stiles step closer, hesitating but determined. The boy was brave. He'd need to be.
"I'm still welcome, right? I mean, you haven't changed your minds or decided to leave or…"
"You're welcome here," Derek cut in. "That won't change."
Stiles glowed with pleasure and nodded shortly. "Cool. Okay. So werewolves, the licking and the smelling, is that a normal thing for you guys? I mean, do you go to the grocery store and lick the guy's hand when he gives you your change?"
Derek rolled his eyes and led the way into the house. "It's a pack thing. We mark who we belong to."
"And because…because you like the way I smell?"
Derek turned abruptly so that Stiles bumped into him. Derek held him close and brushed his nose against Stiles' cheek. His lips danced a trail across Stiles' face. The feel was intoxicating. Derek's claws lengthened a little, catching on Stiles' clothes.
"Because we like you."
He turned again, his eyes flashing red, and opened the door. Stiles hurried to catch up, his breathing labored and yearning. "You really mean that, you…you both like me."
"Exactly."
Stiles dropped down into a nearby seat and watched as Derek pulled a cold beer out of the fridge. Stiles seemed unable to look away. Derek leaned against the wall and drank. He had a great view of Stiles. And he'd pushed and scent-marked the boy. It was Stiles' decision now, as much as the Alpha hated to admit that it was out of his control.
Stiles swallowed. "This is…ah…"
He licked his lips and Derek's own arousal kicked up a few notches. He gripped the neck of his bottle and tried not to break it. Stiles tried again.
"Unbelievable is a huge understatement. Sort of way out of my wildest dreams. I'm…I'm kind of new to all this."
Derek nodded. Of course. He could smell that. It was just a sliver of Stiles' appeal. Derek and Laura would have to claim him soon though, before somebody else tried to. He was theirs. In the meantime, Derek would keep him for as long as he could.
"I need a spare pair of hands for the house's trim."
Stile stared at him for a moment, apparently looking for something, and then a tiny smile grew across his face. He waggled his fingers. "Mine are free."
They worked on the house until it was close to the end of Laura's shift and Stiles needed to get home to make dinner for his father. Derek felt dazed from the close and constant contact with Stiles, his smell and his eagerness and desire and the sweetness of his shyness. Laura had been right – they were going to eat him up.
Stiles paused as he grabbed his backpack again. Then he seemed to make up his mind, reaching a hand towards Derek, and clumsily pressing a goodbye kiss to his lips. Derek let out a pleased noise and pulled Stiles closer, deepening the kiss and exploring Stiles' mouth until Stiles pulled away, starry-eyed.
"Laura will hate that she missed that," Derek told him.
Stiles flushed. "I could…uh…make it up to her?"
"She won't hate that."
Stiles stumbled on his way towards the pathway out. Derek's laughter hailed his exit. The boy was getting closer. They'd have to be patient a little while longer. Patient wolves, that was unique. Stiles was worth it. Derek nodded to himself.
Laura jumped on him the moment that she smelled Stiles, her claws sinking past his flesh in her anger.
"You cheated!" she snarled.
Derek let her claw out her fury. "He initiated."
Laura's expression lit up at the news of such progress and she shoved Derek down onto the kitchen floor in wild celebration, tearing at his clothes. She rode him with happily bared teeth.
"I wish…"
Derek touched the space between her breasts. "He'll be here again soon."
Stiles began spending long evenings at the Hale house. He talked about his best friend, Scott, who was dating Allison Argent. That brought on long explanations after Laura started twitching and spitting at the Argent name and she swore that as long as Allison didn't smell wrong, she wouldn't hurt her. Stiles still looked worried.
"Hunters hate wolves," Derek said simply. "We kill each other."
Stiles didn't look reassured and kept asking questions. He looked more relieved at the news of their truce with Chris and Victoria and admitted that Victoria unnerved him a lot. Derek smiled at that – their boy could sense a threat.
"Allison will have begun her training now," he revealed one evening. "Her mother will tell her stories, hoping that we'll be Allison's first kill. She can claim that Allison misheard her afterward."
Laura nodded. "Housekeeping."
Stiles looked and smelled horrified at their matter-of-fact words. "Oh God, you're not going to kill my best friend's girlfriend?"
Derek smiled with teeth and ran a hand down Stiles' back. "Only in protection of my pack."
Stiles yelped but Laura soothed him with her favorite nonsense words and her sweet touch. She liked to curl up with Stiles, and Derek liked to watch them. Laura was careful with the boy, sensing his uncertainty and embarrassment at his own inexperience. She wrapped herself around him, stroking his chest and arms, and sniffing and nibbling at his neck and jaw. Stiles began relaxing in her embrace. He made beautiful noises when Laura lapped at his mouth. They looked stunning, twisted around each other, their mouths greedily fused together. Derek could watch them for hours, and join in for even longer.
He palmed Laura's ass and made a triumphant mark on Stiles' neck, a vivid bruise that pleased him and his wolf. It pleased Laura too. She nipped at it and sucked her own mark onto Stiles' chest. Stiles groaned and arched. The wolves watched him eagerly, drinking in the sight of him writhing between them, comfortably theirs.
"His house doesn't smell like us," Laura pointed out, expertly straightening a bookshelf. "And his Dad doesn't know us."
Derek frowned. It was true that neither he nor Laura had been in the Stilinski house yet. Stiles always came to them. They'd both looked at the house, walked around it, noted the easiest route up to Stiles' window, all for when hunters inevitably struck. But they hadn't ever gone inside. It wasn't their territory.
"Neither does Scott," added Derek thoughtfully.
They should change that. Stiles' pack, the people he loved, should know who he belonged to. Allison Argent should know the other side of the story too. Derek could sometimes see too much of Kate in her when he watched her train.
They didn't warn Stiles. Laura knocked on the Stilinski's front door and beamed when the Sheriff opened it.
"Hi! We're here for Stiles."
The Sheriff raised his eyebrows, but didn't look alarmed. This was where Stiles got his strength from. "He didn't mention we had guests coming tonight."
"We didn't tell him," Laura winked and held out a peach pie. "We brought dessert though."
"Dad? Who's at the…?" Stiles stopped behind his Dad, his eyes wide as he took in the siblings. "Guys? Hi."
The Sheriff looked at the pair on his doorstep and then at his clearly surprised and slightly panicked son. "Friends of yours, Stiles?"
Stiles swallowed and looked at Derek. Derek held his gaze. This was Stiles' choice, but it was clear what Derek and Laura wanted – to be as welcome in his home as he was in theirs. Stiles nodded and seemed to visibly steel himself before answering.
"Yeah. You know how I said I was helping some friends out after school and at the weekends? This is them. Derek and Laura Hale."
Laura smiled and stood tall, beautifully fractured and glowing. "Stiles's been helped us with our house. He's really good at taking direction."
That made the Sheriff laugh. "I'll believe that when I see it. There enough for four on the stove, Stiles?"
"Yeah…yeah, I think I can swing it. Come on in, guys."
Stiles looked at them both firmly when he issued the invite. Derek smiled, just a little, and Laura bounded across the threshold, starting to chatter to the Sheriff about what they were doing to the old Hale place. Stiles closed the door behind Derek and stared at him.
"You're actually…you're meeting the parents."
Derek brushed a hand down Stiles' arm, reveling in the beautiful shudder it caused. "Thanks for the invite."
Stiles brightened, and the usual look that overtook him when he researched made an appearance. "Right. So are you guys like vampires? You can't enter without an invite?"
Derek rolled his eyes as he shucked off his coat. "It's considered polite to wait for an invitation before you enter territory that isn't your own."
"Ah, because possession is all with werewolves."
Stiles squeaked when Derek squeezed his hip and suddenly breathed close to his ear. "It's everything."
He left Stiles breathless in the hallway to find Laura sat at the kitchen table, describing the latest work-related mishap to the Sheriff who was listening attentively and not showing any pity in his expression. Good. Derek slipped into the seat next to Laura.
The meal wasn't too awkward. The Sheriff – who told them to call him John – asked what precautions they were taking while working on the house and offered to help, if they needed it. Laura filled every conversational gap with her own delight. Stiles looked a little bewildered at his two worlds colliding so unexpectedly. Derek enjoyed smirking at him, just to see him flail a little more.
The Sheriff pulled him aside at the end of the night, as Stiles and Laura finished the last of the pie. Derek gestured for Laura to keep an ear on the conversation but to keep Stiles distracted. This was an important meeting, Alpha to Alpha. The Sheriff was not a stupid man.
"I appreciate you keeping an eye on my son," the Sheriff started with. "And I'm glad that something's happening to that house of yours. It wasn't right, it being left like that to fall down."
Derek nodded, glad that the Sheriff understood that much. The Sheriff looked at him sharply. "And I'm glad you and your sister aren't sitting out there alone either. If Stiles ever gets to be too much…"
"Laura's good at dealing with him," Derek finished for him, a wry smile twisting his mouth appropriately.
The Sheriff paused, seeming to juggle words in the silence. Derek watched with interest. The Sheriff had clearly noticed something between the three of them and was now trying to work out how best to inquire who his son was sleeping with.
"My son is still only sixteen, Hale," the Sheriff decided at last. "And there's a more-than-healthy age gap between you two. Now he might not see what I see between you yet, or maybe he does, in which case there'd better be proper precautions taken and no undue pressure being applied, am I understood?"
An Alpha protecting his territory, as he should. Derek nodded, a smile playing with his lips. "Perfectly, sir."
The Sheriff scoured Derek's expression but seemed to make peace with what he saw there. Good. They had an understanding. The Sheriff nodded toward where Laura was, laughing and happy.
"Your sister's been doing better?"
Derek's smile widened as he heard Stiles' voice overlay Laura's. It made his whole body loosen. "She's perfect, sir."
Stiles furiously texted Derek after they left that night.
Why does my Dad have your cellphone number?
Derek grinned, licking at Laura's thigh as he replied. In case of emergency. For you and him.
He didn't get any answer to that for a while. In fact, not until after the eager pressure of Laura's mouth around his cock had made him howl did he notice that the message light was flashing again.
Thank you.
Laura kissed him. He caught the taste of sugared peaches and flaky pastry, and realized only once they'd parted that she'd taken his cellphone to read the messages.
"I like John. He loves Stiles."
Derek smiled and dived back down.
A few days later they picked up Stiles after lacrosse practice. It was the easiest way to meet Scott and Allison. Laura looked ready for a fight. Derek wrapped both hands around her fists for long moments. He thought about Kate and how her pretty smiles had turned ugly and how happy she'd looked at killing almost all of his family. He thought about killing her. It would happen one day. She'd return, because she'd hear that he was back and would want to twist another knife in, and then he and Laura would kill her. Kate wasn't covered by his truce with the Argents. He'd made sure that the wording gave him that particular loophole.
He'd told Chris and Victoria that he'd be approaching their daughter. Victoria had narrowed her eyes and Chris had looked furious at the idea of revealing Kate's past actions. Clearly that story had become an Argent family secret. What a shame.
"I'll be talking about it with her this week," he'd told them. "Whether you warn her or not."
And there she was, outside the lacrosse field, looking a little tense. She'd spotted them. Derek pressed his forehead to Laura's. She growled, low and powerful in her throat. He caressed her neck and she bared it to him. She'd go with what he wanted, no matter how much she didn't like it. Because making Stiles comfortable, and making sure that they knew all the different parts of his life, was that important.
He walked over to Allison's side. The way she was standing…she definitely had a gun stuffed down the back of her jeans, there was also probably a weapon or two in her bag. Laura had recognized that too and was angling her body in a way that would give her the best point of attack. She was looking forward to it.
Allison looked at him, wary and worried but she raised her chin and didn't back up. She didn't smile. She wasn't very much like Kate in that moment.
"You're learning the family business," Derek stated. "Just like we did."
Allison nodded and swallowed. She was wound very tight. "My Dad…he told me about Aunt Kate. I'm sorry. I had no idea."
"Nobody ever does," piped up Laura. "But she's gone now and we're here. So we win."
Allison looked startled at Laura's apparently flippant tone. But perhaps she could sense the hard lines of Laura's words and the fury that filled her lithe body. He could see Allison trying to categorize Laura, how much of a threat was she? How badly was she really damaged? How much did she deserve that damage? After all, no werewolf was truly innocent. How very like her mother Allison was. Derek's teeth grew.
"Carolyn was five years old. Thomas and Trisha were twins, fourteen years old." He turned, so that she'd see the brief blurring of red eyes. Had her parents admitted that children had burned that night in the Hale house? "Don't believe all the stories your parents tell you."
Allison's mouth hardened and her hands clenched at her bag. Derek smiled slightly. She was an Argent through and through. He made sure to memorize her scent. Within the next few years, he would definitely be smelling her in the woods, around his house, trying to catch him in behavior that would justify his death. He would enjoy that hunt. From what Chris had said, Allison was Kate's favorite niece.
There was a shout and Stiles waved, emerging from the locker room alongside Scott. Laura waved back with a brilliant smile. Derek inclined his head. Allison looked confused.
"You know Stiles?"
Ah, her parents hadn't told her everything. Interesting tactic. "He's ours. And he knows about the family business."
Now Allison looked astonished and a little more on-edge. "You told him?"
"He's not a wolf. We're keeping to the truce."
"But if we didn't tell him who was out there waiting in the dark, that would be cheating," Laura added, serious and solemn in the sunlight. "And then you'd win."
"He hasn't told anybody, not even Scott."
Allison stared at Stiles like she couldn't believe that he'd been successfully keeping so much a secret. She was still staring as Scott and Stiles reached them. Scott looked delighted and besotted as he hugged and kissed Allison. Stiles was smiling shyly at the Hales with half of his mouth, like he couldn't believe that they were willing to be seen with him in public. Derek watched with pleasure as Laura happily slipped her arms around Stiles and kissed his cheek. He'd learn eventually how treasured and desired he was, held between two werewolves.
"Hey. Scott, you remember Derek and Laura Hale? It's their house I've been at, you know, renovating."
Stiles' words were filled with an undertone – I'm with them, you don't notice how much time I spend with them because you're with Allison – but Scott seemed oblivious as he offered Derek and Laura a hand to shake. Allison watched the interaction with amusingly wide-eyes.
"Oh right, hey, you guys know Allison?"
Laura grinned. "Our families go way back."
Stiles fleetingly grimaced and quickly stepped in with a bright smile and his best weapon - babble. "And we have to get home. Dad owes you guys a pie, am I right? And the things he comes up with in a pie dish have to be experienced to be believed. See you later."
Scott had already turned to Allison who looked troubled. Derek gave her a last smile, nothing threatening, nothing that an Argent could use as a truce-breaker, and guided an arm-in-arm Laura and Stiles back to his car. Stiles relaxed under his touch and Laura practically purred. They'd met the important people in Stiles' life. They'd staked their claim.
It wouldn't be long now.
KATE ARGENT IS IN TOWN!
Stay at home and lock the doors. Tell your Dad a dangerous lunatic is in the area. Tell him.
...He says her name was briefly on the suspect list but she literally disappeared. He said don't anything stupid. Please say you've locked Laura up. Please be careful.
Stay safe. Stay ours.
Laura was sent to Stiles' house, because she'd want to protect him at all costs and that combined with the Sheriff would keep them both safe. That settled the wolf under Derek's skin. His pack, his mates, were safe.
He thought about his family's burial plot. He thought about the flowers that Laura had planted there and tended to regularly. He thought about the new Hale house, built on old foundations. He wouldn't let an Argent destroy that again. He smiled and waited.
Kate didn't disappoint. She'd even brought back-up, though no Allison. But she liked the personal touch and she wanted to finish off Derek herself. She got too close.
Derek relished the look in her eyes when she realized.
He limped into the house, washed her blood off his hands, and waited to heal in the bathroom. He smiled into the mirror with sharpened teeth and called Chris Argent.
"Your sister broke the treaty. She brought friends. Their bodies are yours."
There was a sharp intake of breath but Chris didn't shout or swear vengeance. He loved the code too much. And he'd broken ties with his sister years ago, the night that she'd burned a house to the ground and killed almost an entire family. That had been a step too far for him. A rare hunter.
Derek didn't say he was sorry. He hung up.
Come home.
Less than half an hour later, Stiles' Jeep screeched to a halt and Laura and Stiles rushed to his side. Stiles looked pale but he crowded close, babbling and worried. He smelled of fear and relief. Laura buried her face in Derek's neck. They pressed in, a triskele tightly bound together without words.
Stiles spoke first. "The bodies..."
"Chris can do what he likes with them." Derek looked at Stiles with interest, but Stiles didn't seem disturbed by the fact that he'd run past dead bodies, or that Derek's hands had been plastered with their blood.
"You've got some explaining to do to my Dad. Sorry. But God, Derek..."
Stiles sought out Derek's mouth and Laura pulled them both into the bedroom. Derek let them peel his clothes off and slide their bodies against his on the bed. The adrenalin was still buzzing under his own skin. He needed them too. Stiles murmured under his breath and against Laura's mouth. They surrounded Derek and he welcomed them and their wildness.
They drew on each other to prolong the layers of pleasure and reassurance and rightness.
Sometime later, Derek roused himself to find Laura sat up against the headboard, delightedly watching as Stiles sucked at her left breast with a stunning mix of reverence and desperation. She ran a hand through his short hair and encouraged him softly and keenly. Derek made a sound that rumbled deep in his chest.
Laura met Derek's eye with a proud happy smile.
"You've pleased the Alpha, Stiles."
Stiles started and rolled his eyes in order to catch sight of Derek. Derek drew close enough to touch them. But they made too good a picture to disturb. Stiles cradled Laura's right breast and made the sweetest noises. There was a flush of color up his neck, the only sign of his still too-present worry and embarrassment. How could Stiles ever think he wasn't desirable when he worshiped Laura like that, so instinctively?
Laura turned to Derek with her heart in her eyes. "Derek, what do I taste like?"
Derek held Stiles' gaze as he reached to carefully pierce Laura's delicate-looking skin with his claws. Stiles made a distressed sound. But he watched attentively as Derek ran a thumb through the dripping blood and then sucked it clean. When Derek made room for him, Stiles didn't hesitate for a moment, licking at the already-healing wound. The blood on his lips and teeth was a sight too good to resist.
Laura sighed contentedly, one foot poking Derek's muscled thigh. "You cheated. You didn't answer."
Derek lapped a trail down from Stiles' mouth to the hinge of his jaw to his neck, long licks that made Stiles shudder and close his eyes, one hand still paying enthusiastic attention to Laura's breast.
"Like warm pennies," Stiles slurred out, eyes still closed. "And cake frosting and a heavy shot of citrus."
Derek threw his head back and laughed into the moon.
-the end