So, this story is a companion to my fic "That One Time Nico di Angelo Accidentally Summoned Jordan Parrish". You can read this without it, though I would love it if you would give the other a try. Please note that while that one is a crossover with Percy Jackson, this one is only Teen Wolf. Also, because it's going to be a series of connected one-shots, it is marked as complete, but there are more chapters to come.

The title is taken from Rudyard Kipling's poem "The Law for the Wolves".

The first chapter takes place after season five. Please note that Derek is OOC in this, the explanation for which is at the end of the chapter to avoid spoilers.

McCall Pack: Scott, Derek, Liam, Hayden, Malia, Parrish, Lydia, Deaton, Stiles, Braeden, Mason, Chris Argent, the Sheriff, and Melissa. While the list isn't needed for this chapter, it will be for others, and I will add names to it as the Pack grows.

I do not own Teen Wolf.

I hope you enjoy!

Derek blew past the "Welcome to Beacon Hills, California" sign over the speed limit, bent low over the wheel, the entire car stinking of his own worry and anxiety. He'd felt his alpha's death, and the despair and loneliness accompanying it, while out of the country and on the run from hunters. It had taken him weeks to lose them and get into California. The worst thing was, though, that he'd lost his phone with all his contacts after the hunters set his jacket on fire, so the only reason he knew Scott had died was the stretched pack bond between them. Or at least, it would be the worst thing, if not for a horrible truth - Scott didn't know Derek was his beta, and Derek himself had tried denying the bond until it had shattered. Now, coming home for the first time in months, he had only one wish - that whoever murdered his alpha still breathed, so Derek himself could rip his throat out.

Scott jogged through town, itching to give into instinct and run on all fours, but resisting until he reached the preserve. Almost there, he caught a familiar scent, but tainted, as a black car drove past him way above the speed limit. Spinning around, trying to place the scent, he watched as the car screeched to a stop and the driver's door was thrown open, revealing - "Derek?!" He called in disbelief.

The other werewolf didn't respond, instead racing over to Scott. Bending down slightly, he sniffed at his alpha's hair, reassuring himself that it was, in fact, Scott, and listening to his heartbeat - rapid, but there - to tell himself the teen was still alive. This done, he wrapped his arms around Scott, gathering his alpha to him and now burying his nose in his hair, doing his best to cover himself in his alpha's scent without Scott scent marking him. "How are you still alive?" he whispered, amazed.

Scott squirmed a little and Derek tensed, thinking the teen was trying to get away and desperate to keep Scott close to him - with the revelation that his alpha was not, in fact, dead, all the walls around his 'wolf instincts came crashing down. However, it turned out that Scott was only freeing his arms enough to hug Derek back and - . The beta gasped as he felt his alpha's hands card through his hair, rub over his neck and cheeks, and pass down his arms. Scent marking. Scott was acknowledging that Derek was pack, was his beta, and not with words but in the traditional way 'wolves do. "How do you…" he managed.

"Know about scent marking?" Scott asked. "Once I bit Liam, I started going crazy with alpha instincts. I probably would have before that, but the people I counted as pack were already scent marking me, and me them, without us realizing it just by going about our normal interactions. But Liam was a stranger, and we weren't comfortable with casual touches. Or at least, our human sides weren't. Our wolves begged for it, but neither of us knew what it was, or thought the other would be ok with it, so we ignored it. After you left, we finally caved and I scent marked him. Stiles found out, looked up wolf pack behavior, and told me everything he found." The entire time Scott talked, his hands moved, coating Derek in his scent, and making both their inner wolves whine in delight.

"And you're…" Derek found himself unable to form full sentences, probably from the combined shock of finding out Scott actually was alive, being formally acknowledged as pack, and the suddenness of a strong bond forming between them. But his alpha knew what he meant.

"You were always in my pack, Derek," Scott whispered, pausing in the scent marking as his wolf decided it was enough for now and that actual hugging was the way to go now. "I denied it for so long, not wanting to acknowledge my wolf side, because I was afraid I would become more wolf than human. But it's been years. I have full control, and I'm not afraid to let loose and follow my new instincts now. I'm sorry I never told you before."

They finally released one another and stepped back, each studying the other. But Derek's original question still hadn't been answered. "How are you still alive?"

"How do you know I was dead?"

"Just because we ignored the fact we're pack doesn't mean I didn't feel our bond snap," Derek growled back, 'wolf instincts retreating a little now that they were settled, and irritated at Scott for stalling.

"I… a lot has happened since you left," Scott finally said. "But basically, I was killed, and my mom somehow brought me back. We still don't know how."

"And the killer?" Derek growled.

"Dead."

Anger flowed off of his beta in waves, making Scott one very confused alpha, until Derek growled, "I wanted to rip his throat out."

Scott relaxed, and asked, "How about a run instead? I was just headed to the preserve to meet up with Liam, Hayden, and Malia for a pack hunt."

"Hayden?" Derek questioned.

"Liam's mate, and my beta."

Derek hesitated, not wanting to get in the way of what he now saw as a teach-the-baby-betas-session, but eventually nodded. After all, he was part of the pack, and two experienced 'wolves would be better than two. "Just let me park my car." They both turned to look at it, and Scott laughs while Derek allows his lips to quirk in a small smile. The car sits in the middle of the road, at an angle from the skid it went into when Derek hit the breaks, blocking the entire road. They were lucky no one tried to drive by.

"Alright," Scott agrees, and Derek heads for the car - the beta calm and his normal self for the first time in weeks, the alpha settled with his pack a little more complete.

Derek is extremely OOC in this, but from my point of view - he thought his alpha was dead. Again. And that he hadn't been there to save him. Again. When he scents Scott unexpectedly, and realizes that he's actually still alive, his 'wolf instincts take over, and being pack creatures, that means personal boundaries are down. At the same time, Scott's beta returned smelling anxious and worried, and the first thing his alpha instincts tell him to do is calm him down - and the best way to do that is scent mark him, reassuring him that Scott is there and not going anywhere. Put the two together, and you get lots of shared personal space and touching. If their places were switched, and Scott was the beta that thought alpha Derek was dead, the same thing would happen. The majority of this is not Derek and Scott, it's their 'wolf instincts in complete control of the situation and their actions.

I hope you enjoyed, and please review!