Chris Argent lifted up his shotgun, and aimed it at the figure in front of him. "Stay where you are," He warned. "Do not take another step."
Talia lifted her hands in the air, and flashed her red Alpha eyes at the hunter. "Relax, Argent." She said, tilting her head to the side. "I'm just here to talk."
"So talk." Chris said, eyeing the werewolf suspiciously.
"I'm here to make a proposal." She said. "A peace treaty between our families."
Chris looked confused for a second. "What?" He asked.
"A simple wedding engagement. My son with your daughter." Talia explained. She watched as Chris lowered the shotgun.
"Really? That's why you wanted to meet, to set up our children?" Chris said, surprised. "Allison's only ten years old."
"How old is your son?" Chris asked.
"Fourteen." She told him.
"I want this to be considered a peace treaty, Chris. No more hunting any wolves in Beacon Hills. This is a very serious offer." Talia said, lowering her hands.
"And what do we get out of this?" Chris asked.
"My pack will protect Beacon Hills as we've always done. Your daughter will benefit from this, she'll have a very hefty dowry." She told him.
Chris gave it some thought. If he did this, not only would his family profit, but Beacon Hills would be a better place. But that would mean allowing his only daughter to marry a werewolf. That was truly an unpleasant thought, in his mind.
"I don't want my daughter to marry a werewolf." He said, disgusted.
"And I don't want my son to marry a hunter. But I need to protect my pack. No more bloodshed between our families." Talia told him. "Let this be a ceasefire between us."
"And all we have to do is have my daughter marry at eighteen?" Chris said, pondering it for a moment. He was sick of fighting the wolves, sick of seeing his own hunters ripped to shreds.
He reached out his hand, and shook with Talia.
"It's a deal."
Derek Hale grabbed the pull up bar in his bedroom doorway, and did a few quick reps. His mind was racing, as he thought about his upcoming wedding. He'd been betrothed at the age of fourteen, to Allison Argent. Ironic, he thought. The idea of him marrying a hunter. He wasn't given a choice in the matter – it had been settled between his mom, Talia, and Allison's dad.
The idea of being married to someone wasn't great. He'd dated a few people in high school, but everytime he brought home a girl, Talia was quick to remind him that by the age of 22, he was to be married off.
"What if I don't want this?" Derek had shouted, after she'd told him off for not wanting to take Allison out on a date. "I don't even like her!"
"You don't have to!" Talia yelled, banging her hand on the table.
"God, Mom." Derek groaned, rolling his eyes at her. "This is ridiculous."
"Derek Simon Hale, you listen to me right now," Talia shouted, her voice shaking with emotion. "You know perfectly well how important this is. We can finally bring peace to Beacon Hills. We need to keep the peace with the Argents, for the sake of the entire town."
"Then YOU marry a hunter!" Derek yelled, stomping out of the room. Sometimes, late at night, he fantasized about having the same amount of freedom as his sisters and female cousins. His sisters didn't have to be sold out to another family for marriage, to keep the peace. Cora and Laura had the freedom to date whoever they want. Talia put no restrictions on the girls, so they were able to experiment with anyone they wanted. The idea of having such freedom was intoxicating. But unfortunately, he was the only son. And it was his duty to marry into the Argent family. Derek thought it was archaic bullshit.
Allison was four years younger then him, and a nice enough girl, but he just couldn't see himself living with her for the rest of his life. They didn't even have anything in common.
That night, Derek looked around the crowded room with displeasure. There was a large table in the centre of the room filled with gifts for the betrothed couple. The hunters and werewolves were sitting on opposite ends of the room. Allison sat between her parents, as she started to open the gifts. He could see his mom and sisters glancing over at him from their table, but Derek pretended to be busy loading up his plate with pieces of cheese and crackers from the buffet table.
Derek sulked, as he leaned against the wall, sipping his beer. He wanted to be anywhere else but here.
"Hey," Stiles said, as he walked over. "Nice party."
Derek ignored him. He recognized Stiles as one of Allison's friends, but he barely knew him. Derek had bumped into the kid with Allison and Scott a few times around town, but had never talked to him before.
"So, you're marrying Allison." Stiles continued. "Nice."
"It sucks." Derek growled. "I don't have a say in any of this."
"What – like, decorations?" Stiles asked, confused. "Did the bride's family choose the wrong colours or something?" He asked, looking at Chris and Victoria Argent.
"Like I can't choose my own bride." Derek said. He rolled his eyes as the music slowed tempo. He could see Allison glancing his way, and he knew any second now Derek was going to be roped into slow dancing with the hunter in front of all the guests.
"Dance with me." Derek said, grabbing Stiles' wrist and dragging him onto the dance floor. Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek's neck, and Derek put his hands on Stiles' hips. Stiles was a head shorter then him, and he had to crane his neck to look at Derek's face as they slow danced.
"This is . . . surprising." Stiles said, giving Derek a sarcastic grin. "Are you actually into me, or are you just trying to avoid your future wife?"
"I don't want to dance with her." Derek said, inching closer to Stiles.
"But are you into me at all, though? Or am I just the closest distraction? Do you find me attractive?" Stiles asked, curious.
Derek looked at Stiles, at his cupid's bow mouth, and upturned nose. The boy batted his eyelashes at Derek in an adorable fashion. "Yeah," Derek said. "You're attractive."
Derek saw Chris Argent throwing him a death glare at him from across the room, and he quickly looked down at Stiles.
"If you see Talia, or a hunter come towards us, I suggest running." Derek said, as they swayed in sync. "Most of these hunters are armed."
"If you don't like her, why are you marrying her?" Stiles asked, glancing over at Allison. She was dancing with Scott across the room.
"My mom is using this wedding as a sort of peace treaty between the wolves and hunters. Self-preservation for our kind, I guess." Derek said. "And I don't have a choice. If I back out, all the werewolves in Beacon Hills will be obliterated."
"Dude." Stiles said, surprised. "That's messed up."
"Mm hmm." Derek said, twirling Stiles in a slow circle in front of him. He clasped his hands around Stiles' hips again, and pulled him closer.
"Do you like her?" Stiles asked.
"I don't know. She's alright." Derek said, noncommital.
When the song was over, Derek let go of Stiles, and gave him a small smile. "Thanks." He said, about to walk away.
"Anytime." Stiles said, blushing a little. "We could always keep dancing, if you want."
Derek laughed, and nodded. "Okay." He said. They resumed dancing, until Derek felt a hand tap his shoulder.
"May I cut in?" Talia asked. Stiles' eyes got huge, as he nodded and walked away. Derek put his hands on his mom's waist, and watched sadly as Stiles left, his shoulders hunched.
"What are you doing, Derek?" Talia hissed, as they moved on the dance floor. "You're supposed to be dancing with Allison, not that Stilinski boy."
Derek furrowed his eyebrows. "So?" He said.
"Are you trying to piss everyone off?" She asked, glaring at him. "Good news – you're succeeding."
"I'm marrying her, alright? But you can't expect me to be happy about this." Derek said. "This wasn't my decision."
"I'm trying to keep the peace. To protect you and your sisters, your cousins, my brother, the entire pack." Talia reminded him. "Quit messing around, and go dance with her at least once tonight."
Derek walked over to Allison, and stuck his hand out. "Can I have this dance?" He asked. She took his arm, and led him to the middle of the dance floor.
"Too bad about our marriage. You and Scott looked like a pretty cute couple." Derek commented.
"I could say the same for you and Stiles." She said, laughing. "You two looked pretty happy."
Derek shrugged at her comment, but he couldn't deny the fact that he'd felt pretty comfortable around the kid. It helped that Stiles was a very good dancer, and gorgeous to boot.