A/N: I do not own Teen Wolf.
Thing to know before reading:
~ Sterek is a thing. I refuse to write a Teen Wolf fic without Sterek being a thing.
~ The Hale house has been fully renovated. Derek and Isaac live there, and the rest of the pack might as well live there. I didn't feel like trying to incorporate this information into the story.
~ For all intents and purposes, Scott has accepted Derek as his Alpha. Mostly. Almost. Sort of. Yeah.
~ This story will mention rape and physical abuse, though none of it will take place during the events of the story.
~ Rated M for graphic depictions of violence and language. Will there be smut? I honestly don't know yet.
Weeks had passed since the arrival of the new pack in Beacon Hills. Weeks of paranoia, pain, and all manner of things meant to tear the newly established Hale pack apart.
It's rare for an entire pack to relocate. This particular pack's Alpha apparently believed that he could make a name for himself by taking down the infamous Derek Hale. He honestly thought that his pack was strong enough to take on Hale and his pack of misfits. He was sorely mistaken.
"Fine. Bring it here."
Derek ended the call and stared out into the vast expanse of trees in front of his newly renovated home's property. Isaac watched curiously, wondering what the phone call was about. Not that he couldn't have eavesdropped on the conversation if he wanted to; he merely avoided doing so out of respect to his Alpha.
Derek appreciated the show of respect from his Beta, though he could tell by the looks Erica and Boyd were exchanging that Isaac was the only one he could expect such a demonstration from.
"Scott and Jackson finished off the remaining members of the Hester pack," the Alpha explained. "Scott said he found something… interesting in their base camp."
Isaac didn't push for details. He knew his Alpha well enough to know that if there was anything else worth sharing, he'd have heard about it already.
Lydia, however, still believed that the world revolved around her.
"So," she began, flipping her hair for no other reason than to reassert her importance to herself, "what exactly did he find?"
"Don't you think he'd tell us if he knew?" Erica all but growled at her. The two were arch enemies during the best of times.
Lydia rolled her eyes and flipped her hair once more, as if dismissing Erica. The only thing that held the female beta from ripping her to pieces right then and there was Boyd's firm grip on her shoulder.
"Maybe they found a cure for Sourwolf-ism."
Isaac turned to see Stiles coming out of the Hale house with such a serious expression that, if Isaac didn't know any better, would make him think that Stiles was being serious. Isaac noticed how Derek's lips quirked into what one might almost call a smile.
Stiles walked over and wrapped his arms around the Alpha's waist and leaned his head into the leather clad back. The rest of the pack would never quite understand how those two ended up together, but no one questioned the Alpha or his mate.
A few minutes later, the wolves' ears perked up as they heard rustling in the distance. The rustling was quickly interrupted by constant murmuring about werewolves and their "stupid supersonic hearing" from Stiles.
Soon enough, Scott emerged from the trees, carrying what appeared to be a large solid metal box with a handle. Isaac immediately flinched at the sight of the contraption; it reminded him far too much of his abusive father's punishments.
Jackson appeared soon after and stood next to Scott, the two exchanging awkward glances.
"We're not… really sure what to make of this," Scott said, carefully lowering the box to the ground.
Isaac sniffed the air, trying to get a better sense of what might be in the box. When he realized what that scent was, he looked over to the rest of the wolves, who were wearing similarly confused expressions.
Fear. Resignation. Loneliness. Pain.
There were simply too many emotions in one place to be coming from any kind of animal. That could only mean-
"Scott…" Derek said slowly, untangling Stiles's arms from around his waist and stepping forward. "Why is there a human in that cage?"
Isaac suddenly felt as if he couldn't breathe. His eyes starting tearing up and it was all he could do not to fall down on the forest floor. Erica and Boyd sensed his discomfort and moved to support him, but Stiles had already beaten him there. Despite still being a human, Stiles was very much aware of the individual pack members' emotions.
"Isaac, hey, it's alright, you're fine," Stiles whispered, rubbing one hand up and down Isaac's back. Isaac slowly began to relax, finding comfort in the embrace of the self appointed "Pack Mom."
Once Derek was satisfied that his mate had everything under control, he turned back to Scott and Jackson and raised an eyebrow.
"He was just… there," Scott stated dumbly.
"Their base had a… basement," Jackson said, taking over for Scott. "Honestly, it looked more like a torture chamber slash sex dungeon. We found this cage in the corner. We didn't open it or anything but we couldn't just leave him there."
Jackson shot Lydia a "now is not the time, woman" look in response to her "since when do you care about anyone but yourself" look.
Derek nodded his head toward Scott, and the beta quickly moved to the front of the cage and unlocked it. The rest of the pack watched as Scott began to open the door. Isaac had already averted his eyes, Stiles still rubbing his back. Lydia produced a nail filer from thin air and proceeded to file her already perfect nails in an effort to hide her anxiety. The rest of the pack simply watched and waited.
Scott simply stared into the cage after opening the door, blocking the view from the other wolves. He wasn't even sure how he was supposed to react to the sight that greeted him. The rest of the pack waited impatiently for him to move.
Isaac began growling lowly at Stiles's side, and the Alpha mate took a step back. Stiles knew that Isaac wouldn't hurt him, but he was weary of what could have Isaac growling for no apparent reason. He looked back to the now opened cage.
Scott finally reached into the cage and pulled out the most horrific site Stiles had ever laid eyes upon. In Scott's arms was the bruised and battered pale body of a young boy, no older than eighteen. He appeared to be severely malnourished, and Stiles could see countless cuts and bruises where his tattered clothing had fallen off completely. The boy was visibly shaking and tears were streaming out of his vibrant blue eyes.
The pack let out a collective gasp and nobody seemed to want to move. Stiles figured that he'd have to take charge of the situation as usual and moved toward Scott, only to find that Isaac wasn't by his side anymore.
The next thing the pack saw was Scott flying into a tree and Isaac holding the boy protectively where he once stood.
"What the hell, man?" Scott yelled as he got up and brushed himself off. Isaac's growling became even louder as he turned his back toward the pack, trying to hide the boy from their sight.
Scott started to walk toward Isaac but stopped immediately when Derek raised a hand in his direction.
Derek's eyes turned red as he addressed his beta. "Isaac."
Isaac's growling stopped and he whined softly, but made no move to turn back toward his Alpha. He gripped the boy even tighter in his arms. The boy, though seemingly terrified, relaxed slightly in the beta's embrace.
"Isaac, turn around," Derek commanded, making sure that there was no doubt that this was the Alpha speaking.
The pack let out another collective gasp as Isaac whined again, but made no move to turn around. The rest of the wolves watched Derek anxiously, sure that he would tear into his Beta at any moment. Instead, Derek's expression simply went from terrifying to slightly amused.
Stiles walked over to stand beside his mate and smiled. "Isaac, take him inside," he said gently.
Isaac nodded briefly and took off into the Hale house with his supernatural speed, leaving the rest of the pack staring in shock.
Isaac carefully nudged open the door to his room, being careful not to hurt the boy in the process. He could still feel the boy shaking almost violently in his arms, and it physically pained him that he wasn't able to do anything to make it stop.
He laid the boy down onto his bed and sat next to him, running his hands soothingly through his jet black hair.
The boy simply watched him with big, terrified eyes, as if waiting for some terrible thing to happen to him.
Isaac was desperate for some way to calm the boy down; his wolf was whining incessantly at the waves of terror and unease radiating from him. Finally, the Beta simply leaned down toward the boy's head and whispered "you're safe now."
That was all it took for the dam to break. The boy started sobbing loudly and clung to Isaac's arm as if it was his only source of salvation. Isaac held him just as tightly in return as he continued to stroke the boy's hair.
Done with her nail filer, Lydia produced several bottles of nail polish from the same thin air from which her filer came. Stiles briefly pondered asking her where she kept all of her beauty supplies given that she didn't have any kind of bag with her, but then decided that there were more pressing issues at hand.
Erica, Boyd, Jackson, and Scott stared at Derek, waiting for an explanation. Their Alpha seemed oblivious to their questioning glances, as he simply wrapped his arms around Stiles from behind and let his head rest on his mate's. He gazed at his house with a contented smile.
Stiles wanted to tease Derek for looking like a proud parent whose child had just graduated, but again, more pressing issues.
"What the hell man?"
Leave it to Jackson to break the comfortable (for Derek and Stiles anyway) silence.
Derek just looked at his beta and raised an eyebrow.
"You're his Alpha," Jackson emphasized. "And he disobeyed a direct order from you. How the fuck is that even possible?
"There is one bond that can rival the Alpha-Beta bond," Derek answered, as if that was all the explanation he needed.
"Which is…?" Jackson asked, his tone clearly indicating that he was out of patience.
"Normally, a command given by an Alpha to his Beta can't be ignored," Stiles explained. "But… if the Beta feels that his mate is in danger, he will ignore his Alpha in favor of trying to help his mate."
The wolves stared at the Hale house as realization slowly crossed their features. They weren't entirely sure what to make of the situation and were trying to allow this new information to sink in.
As happy as Derek was that one his Betas had found his mate, he knew that it was going to be anything but smooth sailing from here.