'To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents.

What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.'

Sir Winston Churchill

Chapter 1

Stiles is dead on his feet.

No wonder.

He hasn't had a good night's sleep in days. Not to mention a decent meal.

But he can't just call it quits and go home, waiting for things to resolve themselves. Sure, that would be great, but unfortunately it never happens.

No, usually, it goes like this.

They get attacked out of the blue by something they haven't met before. They try to fight it, but lose out. They run and hide, using the breather to regroup and plot their next move. And then they go out and fight again. And just before things seem to get completely out of hand, someone comes up with a brilliant idea and saves the day at the very last minute. And not to sound conceited or anything, but most of the time it's Stiles.

But not this time.

Well, he probably would have come up with something if he'd gotten the chance. But everything went down so fast.

In fact, it's over before it even started …

For days people have been disappearing.

Just a few, not enough to put the Beacon Hill's Sheriff's department on high alert, at least not yet, but more than enough to arouse Stiles' suspicion that yet another supernatural creature has found its way to Beacon Hills. Not to settle down and enjoy the scenery, but to wreak havoc.

There are no witnesses of course. The creature, whatever it is, only seems to strike at night. What a surprise. It snatches up one person at a time, which is a relief, of course, but it also means it takes a few days before anybody catches on.

Weirdly enough, it's Lydia who leads them to the first body.

It's a young girl, barely thirteen, a runaway from a few towns over, which explains why nobody has been looking for her here. It's hard to say how long the thing had been keeping the girl, before discarding her lifeless body like garbage. But whatever the thing did to her, it left her body completely depleted, almost sucked dry.

According to Melissa McCall, there are no puncture wounds, or any other wounds for that matter, nothing to indicate what they might be dealing with. The only thing they know for sure is that the poor girl died of dehydration.

Naturally, the creature's presence makes everybody nervous, not just Stiles.

Fortunately, it doesn't take the wolves long to track down its scent and find its hiding place. It's the sewers underneath a vacated building in the old part of the town.

Stiles goes with them, of course. But a certain werewolf insists that he stays in his Jeep and wait for their return. Needless to say, he puts up a fight, but one look and the usual threat of teeth do the trick, and he complies, although grudgingly.

He watches the six wolves split up in teams of two, entering the building from three sides. And then he waits.

Fifteen minutes.

He is just about to disregard Derek's order and go after them, when his phone rings. He doesn't recognize the number, but accepts the call nevertheless.

"Stiles, it's me."

"Scott, thank God." Stiles breathes a sigh of relief.

"Stiles, you need to call Deaton." Scott instructs. He sounds a bit winded, but otherwise fine.

"Is everybody okay?"

"More or less. The creature is dead, though. But Isaac and Derek are out cold."

"I'm on it." Stiles replies and hangs up, immediately dialing the number of the animal clinic.

The veterinarian makes it there in record time.

And he is not alone. Allison is with him.

Together they follow Scott down into the sewers, right to the chamber where he left the rest of the pack, guarding their unconscious pack mate and their Alpha, and of course the dead creature.

The thing looks human. Tall, bald-headed, half-naked and covered in ink from top to bottom, but human nevertheless. But according to Scott the creature's eyes had glowed bright blue and so had his hands when he attacked them.

"What is he?" Scott inquires.

"From what you just told me and the things we've learned so far, I'd say we are dealing with a Djinn." Deaton concludes, kneeling next to Derek and Isaac to check their vital signs. He seems to be equally relieved and worried. Not exactly a good sign, but it's something. "It would certainly explain why a simple touch managed to put out an Alpha."

And it's true. Derek's body has no marks on him, but he is still out cold. It's weird. Who would have thought Djinns were real? But then again, after everything he has seen so far, Stiles isn't overly surprised.

"A genie, really?" Erica says, eyeing the dead creature with new interest.

"I doubt it's the kind that grants you three wishes." Stiles comments, wryly.

"Stiles is right." Deaton confirms. "Djinns are nothing like the creatures you know from books or television. Granted, despite their physical appearance they aren't very strong, which is probably why you were able to take him down so fast. But they are still a serious threat. They can poison their victims with a mere touch. I don't know how it works exactly, but my guess is that they use that connection to inject some sort of venom, effectively trapping their victims inside their own mind; making them think that their deepest desire, their dream reality, is real. And the longer it goes on, the more damage they can cause."

"Isaac barely made contact with the Djinn, maybe for a second or two." Boyd points out, clearly just trying to be helpful.

"Yeah, thanks to Derek." Jackson remarks, snidely. Some things never change. Stiles still loathes the guy, but he tries to get along with him. And as much as it pains him to admit it, Jackson makes a pretty good werewolf. "He pushed him out of the way. Derek and the thing got into a fight after that. It didn't last long, but something happened between them …"

It's easy to tell that Jackson is worried, even though he tries his best not to show it. But so is everybody else, including Allison. "They are going to be all right, though?"

"Too soon to tell," Deaton answers honestly. That's a thing Stiles loves about the man. He may not tell them everything, but he certainly doesn't sugarcoat things either. "Let's get them to the clinic. All three of them."

So, yes, it's true.

There is no need to come up with another plan of attack.

And that's great. For once their first attempt was successful. The creature is dead. Crisis averted.

As if!

They still need to find answers, more precisely, a key to solve their current predicament.

Well, not exactly their predicament.

Derek's.

Isaac, thank God, is fine now. But it took him almost a day to wake up. And he only got a small dosage of the poison. Derek, on the other hand, got the full load. When he killed the Djinn, his entire system was flooded with the creature's venom. Simply put, he got an overdose. And according to Deaton, if he hadn't been the Alpha, it would have killed him right on the spot.

Unfortunately, it still could.

It's been three days, and Derek is still out cold. And things don't look very promising. His condition hasn't worsened, and that's good, but he hasn't made any progress either.

And neither have they, but not for the lack of trying. They checked every book they could get their hands on, even the Argent's bestiary, but so far, nothing.

Stiles is beyond frustrated, and angry.

Frustrated with himself and angry with Derek.

Why does he always have to play the hero and throw himself head first into danger?

Sure, in this he truly is the perfect Alpha. Always ready to sacrifice his own life in order to protect his pack. But it's not just him and his three Betas anymore. His pack includes five more people now, and three of them are human. The only element of uncertainty is Peter. And he probably always will be. But that's neither here nor there.

Derek needs to be more careful. As the Alpha, he needs to set a good example, not teach them how to be a reckless fool.

There is a cure out there, and Stiles will find it, no matter the cost.

And when he does, he will tell Derek to stop being such an idiot and man up.

Thoughts?