True Alpha, True Anchor

Stay grounded, stay focused. You can do this. Just breathe. Stay calm, stay human. Scott kept trying to calm himself down, tried to "be his own anchor" as his mom had suggestion what felt like long ago as he chased the coyote through the woods. He was in danger, Malia was in danger, and his friends were in danger. He had to keep his anchor or find a new one if he was going to save anyone…everyone.

But nothing was working. He couldn't be his own anchor. How could he? He had all of this new power now. He was a True Alpha. He was a True Alpha? Jeez, he barely knew what it meant to be a werewolf! How could he be an alpha? Scott never considered himself a leader, even if Stiles always did.

Not to mention all of the things Scott had done to fail his friends or himself lately. He had let Derek almost die. He had watched so many of his friends actually die. Hell, when this all started he even got the Sheriff hurt. Scott seemed to only remember the mistakes. Then the motel came to mind. What kind of Alpha holds a flare while drenched in gasoline? He was so weak…he might have been pushed to that position but he meant every word. Only Stiles could talk him down and even then he had to be pushed down as they were all almost set on fire.

How was Scott supposed to handle the power of being an Alpha when he could barely handle the power of being a normal werewolf? Hell, he could barely handle being a normal teenager. He was struggling hard to be a better son, student, friend, and everything else that was human. Now he was alpha and he couldn't handle a simple shift. What if he became like Peter?

No, he couldn't think like that. They needed him right now. His friends needed him right now. He had to save them. He had to save this girl. He had to save everyone. But he needed an anchor if he was going to do that. And he obviously couldn't be his own anchor.

But who? Allison obviously wouldn't work anymore. To be honest he could now see how foolish it was for him to ever make her his anchor. How often does teenage love ever actually last? But no, he had to be so caught up in the moment like any cliché teenage love-sick boy. Allison wouldn't work, so what about his other friends, maybe a werewolf? But none of them were close enough, not even Derek who had been like a big brother or mentor teaching him so much over the past few years and fighting alongside with him. Even though he'd grown close to Isaac, shared a house with the boy, there wasn't any anchor material there. He couldn't be calmed by them enough to use them. His mom came to mind. She was strong, so strong, smart, independent, and had taught him everyone he knew but for some reason she just wasn't working…

That's when it clicked. He knew why his mom wouldn't work. He thought of the nights after his dad left when he was so scared. When his mom had to start taking even more extra shifts at the hospital to make up for his father's lost paycheck. He was scared. He hated being alone. And for some reason he started having these nightmares about his dad…but he wasn't alone. There was always someone where to comfort him, but it wasn't his mother. And again when all of this werewolf stuff started, his mom wasn't there (because of course he had to lie to her to keep her safe). But someone else was there when his mom wasn't.

It was Stiles, the lanky, hyperactive, motor mouth that helped him through it. Stiles held his hand and talked him through the nightmares. In fact, Stiles was always there for him; when his dad left, when his asthma put him in the hospital, when he needed a practice partner for lacrosse, when he turned into a freaking werewolf, and every adventure that followed.

Stiles was the one who did the research and discovered what Scott was and didn't turn away when Scott got mad at him for it. Stiles was the one who helped him through his first full moon and all the full moons that followed. Stiles was the one who followed him home from the party to make sure he was okay. Stiles didn't freak out and leave him when Scott tried to attack him. Stiles spent all night and morning looking for Scott after his first full moon. Stiles ran right into danger to take down the alpha just to have Scott's back. Stiles helped Scott keep his relationship with Allison even if it took away from their friendship. And Stiles was there when the relationship ended (he didn't even say 'I told you so'). Stiles stayed by Scott's side through a restraining order and getting the sheriff in trouble. The kid took a beating from a hunter for Scott and never once complained. He even showed up for the final battle after he'd been beaten. Stiles trudged through sacrifices even if his virgin self was a potential target and he had to witness an old friend lie on a mortuary slab. He talked Scott off the ledge and then put himself in danger jumping at Scott when the flare rolled back into the gas. And Stiles even sacrificed himself right alongside Scott. Stiles was there through everything, from beginning to now.

When everything felt like it was falling apart but Scott tried to hold it together, tried to put on a mask, Stiles saw through it all. Stiles was there to put a hand on his shoulder and ask if he was alright. Stiles always could sense when something was wrong with Scott, even if he was human and had no supernatural abilities. Jeez, Stiles was just human and he stayed by Scott's side.

Even with the horrible nightmares, anxiety, and the awful return of panic attacks Stiles stayed by Scott's side. He didn't run when Scott began to lose control in the hallway at school. Scott had told Stiles to leave, to run away because he didn't know what would happen. He was so afraid he would attack his best friend again. But Stiles stayed because Stiles always stays. That's just who Stiles was. It's like Stiles said back at the motel, they're brothers. Stiles had been there from the beginning, he was pack before Scott even knew he had a pack. Stiles was there when Scott had been nothing. When Scott thought he had lost everything at least he always had Stiles. The most loyal and dependable friend anyone could ask for.

Stiles was a big part of what made him a True Alpha. Stiles was his true anchor.

With that in mind Scott took a breath and jumped in front of the coyote in need of saving. It didn't take long for him to find Stiles' rapid heartbeat. He probably didn't even have to be that close. Scott had been around the boy long enough to have Stiles' heartbeat memorized. It was one of the perks of being lifetime friends. He knew Stiles had to be panicking right now but Scott could fix that. Scott could fix anything as long as Stiles was around.

Knowing Stiles was his anchor, knowing he was grounded, Scott let his eyes turn red and he let out an alpha roar…

/There's my little dip into Stiles' being Scott's anchor. I couldn't decide if I wanted to make this into a story or just leave it as a one-shot so I'm just putting it up and going to see what kind of reactions I get. If you want more let me know, if enough want more I'll write more :) Thanks for reading, please review, and have a great day!