Stiles felt it immediately; the surge of power that filled his body for a few milliseconds before leaving him swaying on his feet. He ran his tongue over his teeth, poking his canines to explore the new pointy feeling. Amanda; his mum, chuckled at his expression, guiding him towards a mirror so that he could see his new silver coloured eyes.
John; his dad, stood in the doorway of his bedroom, watching over the events with a mixture of pride and resignation. Stiles knew that there was a part of his dad that had hoped he wouldn't come into his inheritance, but also accepted that it was who Stiles was now.
He'd been waiting his whole life for this; to see if he would become a vampire like his mother. Neither of his parents had ever tried to hide the truth from him, but they'd only explained everything in detail a few weeks before his birthday.
It was on the seventh birthday that the potential vampire would find out if they'd inherited the gift, and they'd wanted him to be prepared. There was so much that came with being a vampire, and a part of Stiles felt overwhelmed, but he was still young, he had time to learn.
Scott, his best friend, stared in amazement at Stiles's new reflexion, grinning wildly when he caught his friends' eye. Scott was his only and best friend; Amanda had told him everything at the same time that she'd told Stiles. Scott knew that he had to keep it secret, even from his own family, but there were also no doubts that he would betray them.
Vampires needed a stable pack to survive – a lot like werewolves. Amanda had explained that werewolves and vampires were connected; a vampire would always find a pack to belong to. For now, Scott was Stiles's pack, even if he was human.
A vampire was classed as a pack Guardian, because it was their job to protect the pack and advise them, much like their Druid emissary. Amanda was bonded to the Hale pack, which meant that when Stiles was old enough, the title of Guardian would fall to him. It would be his responsibility to protect the Hale pack from harm.
It was important to have a healthy pack, and the larger it was the better. A vampire could only feed from pack, which was why packless vampires tended to die out. At a push, a vampire could go two weeks without feeding at all, but to be healthy, it was important to feed at least once a week, more if the vampire was injured.
Unlike werewolves, vampires didn't get many special abilities when they came into their powers. They didn't have extra speed or strength and their senses remained the same. The only bonus's a vampire got was to be able to see better in the dark.
Once a vampire was bonded to a pack, like Amanda was, they would have other abilities that were more Druid like than anything else. Amanda could feel each member of the pack if she concentrated; she could only feel certain things, like where they were or if they were injured in any way. She said that it helped her protect them since she could sense if there was a problem.
A pack with a Guardian was actually extremely rare, mostly because vampires had been hunted down until they were close to extinction. This meant that the remaining vampires were treated with a very high degree of respect from the supernatural world. No one wanted to mess with a pack that was protected by a Guardian.
Much like the Druid emissary, only certain members of the pack knew who the Guardian was. Everyone in the pack knew that they had a Guardian, for they could feel them in return, but if the vampire and a member of its pack were to meet face to face, the pack member would only know the truth if the Guardian chose to reveal itself.
"Can you feel it?" Amanda questioned gently, running a hand over her sons short hair. "The pack?"
Stiles scrunched his face up in concentration before nodding carefully. He could feel the faint echoes of a pack, but since he wasn't bonded to them yet, he couldn't sense anything important. The only reason he could feel them at all was because his mother was preparing him to take over from her when he was old enough.
"I'm hungry," he admitted after a moment of silence. He looked up at his mum carefully, unsure about how to proceed or if what he was feeling was normal. The feeling was strange and new to Stiles, it was like a thirst, but at the same time it was a hunger. It made him feel uncomfortable, but he knew that if he tried, he could ignore it. Amanda had informed him that the longer he left it without feeding, the harder the feeling would become to ignore, until it became a physical pain.
"Scott," Amanda called out softly, holding out a hand to the young boy. He walked forward to her and smiled nervously. "Do you remember what we talked about?"
"I'm Stiles's pack," Scott nodded, pride was clear to hear in his voice. "I'm the only one he can feed off, so he needs me…I'm his Alpha."
"That's right," Amanda smiled, nudging him towards his friend.
Since he shared DNA with both of his parents, Stiles couldn't take blood from either of them without it reacting badly in his body. Both of his parents were classed as part of his pack, but because Scott was the only one he could feed off, he was the only one who was actually classed as an actual part of his pack.
No vampire could be the dominant part of a pack. As a rule, vampires were submissive towards other members off their pack, which meant that they needed an Alpha. It was the Alpha's job to make sure the Guardian was safe, since a Guardian protected the pack, which meant they weren't protecting themselves.
While submissive to their pack, a vampire was incredibly aggressive towards anything that threatened those they'd declared as part of their pack. A Guardian had been known to wipe out an enemy pack single-handedly. They earned the respect and fear that they were given, but none of their pack members would even think about fearing them. It was physically impossible for a Guardian to hurt any member of its pack.
Scott stepped over to where Stiles was still stood by the mirror. Fumbling slightly with his sleeve, he offered his wrist out until Stiles took hold of it, bringing it to his mouth. Staring him straight in the eye, Stiles waited for some sign that Scott truly didn't mind what he was about to do. Giving his a shaky smile, Scott nodded his head. It was all the signal Stiles needed to bite down into the soft flesh that was offered.
As soon as the blood entered his mouth, Stiles knew what his mum had meant when she'd talked about bonds. He could feel Scott in his mind, he knew instinctively that he'd be able to find him if he ever needed to. From the startled gasp that escaped, he knew that Scott was feeling the same thing; the sense of protection that was offered from both sides of the bond.
Since Scott was human, the bond wasn't as strong as it would be if he was a werewolf, but it was still strong enough to anchor Stiles to Scott and accept his best friend as his Alpha. It was instinct that told Stiles when he'd taken enough blood, and he didn't even consider taking more, he pulled away and watched curiously as the two puncture wounds healed themselves before his eyes.
Now that he was no longer feeding off of him, the bond was less intense. He could still feel Scott there, but only if he actively concentrated. Even so, he could feel the link between them as if it was a physical rather than mental thing. Scott grinned at him, no doubt feeling the same thing and a surge of affection filled the bond as Stiles welcomed the feeling of having a pack.
Focusing, Stiles managed to recall the lessons he'd had with his mum, pulling at the power he could still feel thrumming through his veins. When he reopened his eyes and looked in the mirror, his eyes were back to their normal colour and his teeth were blunt again.
Amanda laughed, pulling him into her arms. "Say hello to the night," she whispered against his hair before kissing his forehead and letting him go.
There would be time in the future to focus more on his training, for now she wanted him to have a childhood like normal children. He was too young for the responsibilities that came with being a Guardian, and until she was ready to step down, he wouldn't have to take over. John came up behind her and wrapped her into a hug as they watched their son drag his friend out of the door, babbling something about a game that they'd been playing.
"I almost wish he'd been more like you," Amanda admitted quietly. "It would have meant that he could have a normal life. But at the same time, there's no beating the sense of family and belonging that you get from being part of a pack."
John hummed in agreement. He may have been human, but as a vampire's mate, he could feel the pack bonds too. They were nowhere near as strong for him; the only thing he was able to sense was their acceptance of him, even though most of the pack had never met him.
"There's so much he needs to learn," Amanda murmured sadly, leaning her head back against his shoulder.
"There's time," he reassured her, tightening his hold on her. "He has time to learn."