A/N – Once again, I am left hanging at the end of a Teen Wolf Season wondering what will happen next…so I had to write about it.
Season 3
"Well, well, well…what have we here?" growled the tallest of the Pack that surrounded them. Six werewolves with crimson eyes surrounded them. A freaking Pack of Alphas.
Erica and Boyd looked at each other fearfully. For the hundredth time, they regretted abandoning Derek and Isaac and wished they had just laid low until all of this had blown over.
"Looks like two Betas on the run. Where are you headed…or what are you running from?" asked a female. Her crimson eyes lingered long on Erica before switching over to Boyd.
"Hunters…they captured us, tortured us…we only just got away." Boyd told them, still panting heavily.
The male spat on the ground.
"Their crimes will be punished…and it will be legendary even among our kind. Where is your Alpha? Did they kill him?"
Erica blanched at the tone. It was useless to lie.
"We…we don't know. He was alive when we left his Pack."
The Alphas growled.
"Omegas…do you know what the punishment is for abandoning your Pack?" asked the male leader. He approached them, claws extended, fangs protruding from a lengthening jaw.
The female got in his way and shoved him backward.
"William! It is not for us to punish these whelps. We will take them back to their Alpha and see how he handles them. It will tell us what we need to know about him…if he is truly strong or a mere pretender."
William growled at her.
"It is a waste of time. I already know the Hale Pack is weak. There are but a few, and they delayed their vengeance against the Hunters for too long! The whelps will slow us down, they reek of weakness!"
Boyd found himself getting angry. Between the Hunters, the Kanima and all the other crazy shit he'd been through lately, he was damned if he was going be called weak on top of it.
He launched himself at William, using every technique Derek taught him as he dodged the surprised Alpha's claws and snapping teeth. He raked the Alpha twice with his own claws, and used his own formidable strength to lift the Alpha over his head and hurl him into a tree.
One of the other males moved to attack, but was tackled by Erica who was roaring with animal fury. She too had been pushed well past her limits. Erica was pulled off by the female who had spoken, while two of the other males pulled Boyd off of William.
William got to his feet and approached Boyd, who growled and snarled at him.
"You are strong for an Omega. Your Alpha was a fool to let you go."
William put out his hand.
Boyd looked down at it.
"Let Erica go and I'll think about shaking your hand."
William laughed.
"Simone, let the young she-wolf go."
"All she had to do was ask…politely." Simone responded. She released Erica.
Boyd walked away from William and embraced Erica. William still had his hand out.
"I said I'd think about it. The answer's no." Boyd growled.
William laughed again.
"Whatever your other faults, cowardice is not among them. But the fact remains that you two abandoned your Pack. Why did you do it?"
"The Hunters gained control of a Kanima. There was no fighting it. It was too powerful. We tried to beat it several times, and it just kept kicking our asses."
William's glowing red eyes widened in shock.
Simone approached, her eyes seeming to burn through them.
"I think…you had better come with us."
{}{}{}{}
Jackson sat on the bench and stared out across the field. The memories had come back, all of them. He knew everything he had done while under both Matt's and Gerard's control. He avoided Stiles, Scott…even Lydia, who had seen him as that monster and still told him she loved him. Alienation was a feeling he had his whole life…the feeling that he was not a real person like everyone else who had their real parents and knew where they had come from. That paled in comparison to how Jackson felt now…he was a killer that had put everyone he knew in danger. He had even attacked his best friend. He couldn't bear to look at them, couldn't imagine why they would want to be within a hundred miles of him.
A pair of shadows fell across him. Jackson closed his eyes and chided himself for not scenting them sooner.
"If I wanted to kill you just now, I could have done so easily." said Derek.
"You still could." Jackson responded. He bared his neck.
Derek rolled his eyes.
"Jackson, enough. None of what happened was your fault. I was the one that bit you-"
"You bit me because I never stopped harassing you for it. You bit me because I put myself out there to be bitten. I know why you did it for the others…their lives sucked. No offense, Isaac."
Isaac shrugged. "None taken, asshole."
Jackson ignored the insult. "I had everything anyone could want…but I just had to have the wolf too. I didn't deserve it…and look what happened, Derek. You were right when you said I was a snake. Even if I was controlled…those people would be alive if I had just learned to appreciate what I had."
Jackson looked down, his face turning red. He fought down the tears he knew were coming. He fought, but the battle was over before it started.
"Look what I did! God, why didn't you all just kill me? Why am I still here and all those people are dead?"
He looked up at Derek, his face twisted with self-hatred and despair…a look Derek recognized. After all, he had seen it in the mirror nearly every day for six years.
Derek sighed. "Actually, we tried to kill you. Several times. You just kept surviving. Makes me think there has to be a reason for it. You're alive…hell, we're alive because there was at least one person who cared about you enough to get through to you. One person you cared about more than yourself. That's one more person than I gave you credit for. If you were really and truly evil, you would be dead…or we would."
"Lydia should hate me…you all must hate me after what I did. If I told my parents, they would hate me too."
"I hated you before all this crap." Isaac chimed in.
Derek glared at him. "You're not helping, Isaac."
"Let me finish. I hated you because I…was jealous. You had the life I always wanted…and I'm not talking about the Porsche or the money. Your Dad and Mom love you. Lydia loves you. I hated you because you had the things I wanted, and didn't seem to care…you didn't even see how lucky you were. When I became a wolf, it was awesome because I finally had something you didn't…something you really wanted and didn't get even after the Bite. But when I saw what happened to you…what people were doing to you…I felt sorry for you for the first time ever. I don't hate you anymore. In fact, I think I could like you. But you need to take a lesson from Derek and think about what gifts you have, instead of wasting your life thinking about what you don't…like I did."
Derek glanced sharply at Isaac. The teenager was far too observant for his own good.
Isaac pulled Jackson to his feet, giving him a rough hug.
"Okay, enough bromance." Derek growled.
Jackson looked at him hopefully.
"Don't even think about it." Derek advised.
Jackson looked so wounded and stricken that before Derek even knew what he was doing he found himself hugging Jackson as well.
Derek pushed Jackson gently away and looked him in the eyes.
"I said it before, and I'll say it again. You're with me now. With us. Is that something you want?"
Jackson hesitated…then nodded.
Derek spoke to Isaac without taking his eyes off of Jackson.
"Isaac, if you don't delete that picture from your phone, I'm going to see that it's flushed down a toilet…after first passing through your digestive system. Got it?"
"Okay, okay…" muttered Isaac resentfully.
{}{}{}{}
The McCalls were having lunch in the Beacon Hills Burger Barn. They only came here for serious mother-son talks. The last time was when Scott had found out about his parents impending divorce.
"And that's everything that happened." Scott finished. He downed the last of his burger and milkshake while Melissa picked at her salad.
"So this Peter character is the one that bit you? The guy I went on a date with?" Melissa asked, amazed. She muttered something under her breath about always attracting losers.
"Yeah. That's why I never wanted to tell you what happened…between Peter and Gerard, I had both sides threatening to get to me through you. I wanted to protect you. Allison already lost her mother, aunt and grandfather over this, and Derek lost his whole family…except now Peter's back. You're all I have."
"I don't know what to say. Half of me wants to yell and scream at you for keeping secrets, and the other half is ashamed about how I reacted when I found out. I am so sorry about that, Scott." Tears shone in Melissa's eyes. "And to think, I've been all over you about your grades."
"Mom, it's okay. It's a lot to lay on you all at once. Danny's mother took a whole month to get used to it when he told her he was gay. You took a week to get over me being a werewolf. That's pretty impressive."
"I wish you were only gay…oh, Scott you know what I mean."
Scott rolled his eyes.
"Allison's family have known about werewolves for years, and they couldn't accept it. I still can't believe Mrs. Argent killed herself rather than be one of us. No wonder Allison flipped out…"
"So, you two are taking a break?" Melissa asked gently.
"That's one way of looking at it." Scott mumbled.
"You're in danger by yourself, aren't you? As an…Omega?" she asked.
"I'm not alone, Mom." Scott insisted.
"Honey, Jackson and Lydia, Allison and Stiles…they're all dealing with their own problems right now. Even Derek and his…Pack…are you sure it wouldn't be better to have his protection?"
Scott shook his head.
"With Derek, there's always a price to pay. He doesn't trust, he uses people, even sacrifices them when necessary. It's just as dangerous being part of his Pack as it is being alone. I will never accept him as my Alpha until he learns that it's a two-way street. That's why Boyd and Erica left. You know, Derek thought I was an Alpha, although everyone in my Pack was human. But I trusted them, and they trusted me…well, except for Jackson who was the Kanima, and almost got killed by Derek because of me…and Lydia, who we never really told the truth to, which allowed Peter to come back…then Allison, who sided with her family against me after she lost her mother…and Stiles, who I hung up on when he was calling me for help…"
Scott looked down at his empty plate. "Holy crap, I am just like Derek…"
He put his face in his hands. "How did this happen, Mom? How could I do this to my friends?"
Melissa looked at him sadly. "You said it yourself, Scott. Trust is a two-way street. You didn't even trust your mother, though I don't blame you for that. The only way people can really help each other is through trust. It can't be given, though. It has to be earned. Maybe this experience has taught all of you what lying and betrayal can do to even the closest of families."
"I just wish there were another choice. Someone that could lead all of us."
{}{}{}{}
The Alpha Pack brought Eric and Boyd back to their camp, and gave water and some salted meat to the renegade Betas. Simone showed them to their tent, and suggested they get some rest afterward. The next morning when they awoke, they found the Alphas sitting around the campfire roasting some freshly skinned rabbits.
Simone called them over. The morning light shone off of her chestnut brown hair and bright green eyes. They remained focused on Erica, giving Boyd only brief glances before flicking back to the blonde.
William's hair was as fiery as Lydia's, and he was both taller and more well-defined than even Derek. His eyes were a startling blue, clear and direct.
The two other males were Caine (who had a distinct French accent) and Darius, clearly brothers in their near identical looks. Both sported blond hair so light it was almost white, contrasting sharply with their dark eyes. Caine was the heavier of the two, almost a match for William in the muscle department.
Regina was a pale raven-tressed dark-eyed beauty who seemed to be in charge of cooking the meals for the group. She rarely spoke, and when she did, her accent seemed almost Cajun.
The last was Em, a stunningly beautiful Haitian girl that the others treated with respect bordering on fear. She had a look on her face that Boyd had only ever seen on Xena, the Warrior Princess. It was cold, calculating, and told the world that if it wanted to get the jump on her, it had better make sure it knew damned well what it was doing, since there would be no second chance.
Boyd and Erica ate in silence while the Alpha Pack stared at them. Erica ignored them and tore into her food with relish, while Boyd was a bit put off and ate only a little.
"You were very brave to go up against a Kanima. Some of our strongest wolves would have run if faced with such a creature, and to do so is not cowardice…it is wisdom. Kanimas are nearly invincible, and their strength is legend. They have no fear or remorse, save that of their master…and such masters rarely have any. This Pack defeated one many years ago, and it took all of our combined strength. Now we know what you were running from. Where, pray tell, were you running to?" asked Em.
"We were looking for another Pack. We thought we heard one, but it was only the Hunters trying to trick us." Boyd told her.
"That trick is an old one. But now you have found a Pack (or rather we have found you), and there is none stronger. What would you have happen?"
Erica spoke up next.
"Teach us to be strong, how to fight." Erica growled. Simone nodded at her approvingly.
"What say you, Boyd?" Em asked, staring at him intensely.
"The same. I'm strong…but not enough. I want to make it so that the next Hunter or goddamn freak monster that comes at me will die, in as much pain as I can dish out."
Em's lips curled upward in a smile. She turned to William and Simone.
"Perhaps we were mistaken. Perhaps it is their Alpha that is to blame. He sounds weak, maybe he is unworthy of the power."
"We will find out soon enough." grunted William.
"Did he not try to train you?" asked Simone.
"He didn't have enough time. He did the best he could. The Kanima appeared right after we were turned. We even captured it once in its human form, without even realizing who we had." Erica felt the need to defend Derek. Whatever else he was, he definitely wasn't weak.
"It is honorable of you to defend him." spoke Regina. She looked impressed that they had captured a Kanima.
"Why did he turn you? Did you go to him, and ask him for the bite?" asked Caine.
Boyd shook his head. "No, he came to us. Told us what being a werewolf could do for us. Our lives kind of sucked."
Caine shook his head, and spat. "He did it to increase his own power. Would you change your decision, knowing what you know now?"
Boyd knew it was pointless to lie. "Yeah."
"I wouldn't." Erica said defiantly.
"Turning a human is more than picking desperate faces out of a crowd. In the past, humans would seek us out. If we judged them worthy, they were granted the gift. If not, they were destroyed. Did no one in this Pack seek the bite willingly?" Darius looked hard at Boyd and Erica.
"Jackson did. He became the Kanima."
"Your Alpha…has much to answer for." hissed Regina.
{}{}{}{}
Stiles showed up at Lydia's house uninvited…which was hardly surprising, considering the only time she had invited him she had been under the spell of Derek's madman uncle. Then, as now, he carried a large box. This one was unwrapped, however.
"Hey." He said wittily when she opened the door.
She gazed at him for a long time. "Come in."
They went up to her room. He placed the box on her dresser. She sat on her bed, while he took the pink computer chair across from her. He looked at it with distaste.
"I'm fucked." he began, smiling.
"Who's the lucky guy?" she asked sweetly.
"Very funny. No. What I mean to say is…it's obvious that fate and other cosmic forces all agree that you are in love with Jackson and he is in love with you. If it had been anything less than epic Romeo and Juliet style passion, we would all have died the other night. The werewolf gods have told me in no uncertain terms that you and I…will never happen."
"Stiles, I sent you that memo in third grade."
Stiles looked down at the floor. His eyes were really red, as were the unbruised parts of his face. "Fuck that."
Lydia frowned. "What?"
"I said, fuck that. What I feel for you is real. God, Lydia, I know it is. It can't be anything but real love. I have never looked at another woman my whole life. It's like they don't exist. Who is Fate to tell me I've been wrong all this time? Fuck the werewolf gods. You tell me, and you tell me straight. Have you ever felt anything towards me? The night of the Formal, I saw something. The night of the party, I saw something. When you were crying in your car, I know I saw something. Either I'm a delusional psycho stalker and you should call my dad and take out a restraining order against me (its funny that Jackson had to get one first) or tell me that there is one chance in a million that you could love me back!"
Lydia was quiet for several minutes before responding.
"Before I answer that question, I want you to think about something. If I said 'yes'..if I said 'yes'…it would take cruel bitchery to its highest possible level. You would wait around for me, hoping for Jackson to find himself on the wrong end of a wolfsbane bullet so that the path would be clear for you. Even if that happened, you would spend the rest of your life knowing you were my second choice. You would always know that I preferred Jackson over you…and it would destroy you. You would feel inferior to his memory in a way you never felt when he was alive. On the other hand, if I answered 'no', what would you do?"
"Give up and move on. I'd do the cruelest thing I could do…and find someone to be my second best."
Lydia stared at him levelly. "Well, since I care more about you than this hypothetical person, I'm going to say 'no'. I love Jackson."
"But would that be the truth, Lydia? I'm not a freaking werewolf. I can't tell."
"Stiles…does it make a difference?"
Stiles got up. He pointed to the box. "That's yours. It always was."
He left. She was able to wait until the front door closed before she started to cry.
Stiles stood in front of the Martin residence and waited. In a moment, Scott was beside him. They began to walk towards his Jeep.
"Well?" the twitchy teen asked.
"Stiles…I know I agreed to do this, but I think Lydia is right…"
Stiles grabbed a surprised Scott by the front of his shirt and slammed him into the Jeep, denting it. Derek would have been proud.
Stiles drew back a fist, his face twisted in anger.
"Don't you dare. Don't you fucking dare hold out on me! Was she telling the truth when she said 'no'?
Scott was too surprised to fight back…his wolf was as dormant as if he were strolling through a field hand-in-hand with Allison.
"Jesus, Stiles! All right! She was lying!"
Stiles blinked a few times, then let Scott go. He smiled. Then he started to laugh. Scott looked at him worriedly when he fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.
Scott looked down at him.
"But she was telling the truth when she said she loved Jackson."
Stiles stopped laughing.
"So…she loves both of us?"
Scott was silent. He felt he had done enough damage.
Lydia might have looked out the window to watch him leave…and if she had, she would have seen Scott and known instantly what Stiles had done. If she had, future events might have taken a very different course. But Fate is a powerful force, and Lydia instead walked over to the box that Stiles had left for her.
In it were the keepsakes of a lovesick boy kept and stored for a period of years. There were grade school marble notebooks with stick figure drawings of the two of them holding hands, usually enclosed by wobbly hearts with arrows through them. There were really bad attempts at poetry, done in junior high judging from the dates. Pictures of them at the Formal taken by the photography geeks littered the bottom. The final item was a diary, written by Stiles…and it contained all of his thoughts and musings on her, compiled since the day he first noticed her. She read a few of these…they were unfailingly complimentary, even when they mentioned Jackson. More often than not, Stiles wished he had Jackson's looks or skills so he could hope to get Lydia to notice him. His observations of her were eerily accurate, not merely the ravings of an obsessed stalker. The fault at their failure to connect was always laid at his own feet, and never hers. He never even criticized her choice of Jackson, thinking that it was natural for the two of them to connect, but he was upset with Jackson for not treating her the way she deserved to be. He had a major point there, at least until recently.
The last entry was dated today, and read simply 'I know what answer I'm going to get…but I'll still love you forever. If you need me…I'm there. Yours…Stiles.'
The ache in her chest was painful. Stiles terrified Lydia…if only because she knew how ridiculously easy it would have been for her to fall in love with him, if there had been no Jackson. There were even one or two instances where it could have gone his way. The night she he found her crying in her car…she had thought to herself that if he came back, then she would give up on Jackson and give Stiles a real shot. But he hadn't come back. If what she felt for Jackson was true, as she knew it to be, why did she feel for Stiles as well? Why did she love two men?
{}{}{}{}
"The Alpha Pack is coming. Have you decided what to do, Derek?" asked Peter pleasantly.
"No. I'm not strong enough to challenge them. I need three Betas to reach the next level, and six more after that to reach the peak of my powers."
"You have Jackson and Isaac…and me." Peter smiled.
"Cut the crap, Peter. You aren't a Beta, you don't want to be in my Pack, and I wouldn't accept you if you did. You would do nothing to increase my strength…hell, you draining me during your little resurrection ceremony is still slowing me down. One day, you'll have to tell me how you managed that."
"Always have a backup plan, Derek. Even Scott learned that lesson. You were right about him…he is Alpha material. I knew I made the right choice that night in the woods. Ahh, seeing Gerard's blood and guts turn to corruption while we watched is one of the highlights of my life…right up there with tearing out Kate Argent's throat."
"How did murdering Laura fit in there? Was that good for you too?" Derek asked, growling low. "I know ripping your throat out was good for me."
Peter's eyes flashed a pale crimson. "I paid the debt for that, Derek. A life for a life. You took your vengeance, and profited from it. By our law, I am exempt from further retribution on your part."
Derek laughed. "Our law? You and I are the only law left, except for the Pack that is coming for us. They may decide we both die, regardless of the justification for what we did."
"Which brings us back to the original point. You need a third Beta!" snarled Peter.
They both sniffed the air, and looked towards the door to the abandoned railway station.
"I'd like to volunteer."
Peter smiled, even as Derek scowled at their visitor.
"I always knew I was right about you." Peter told Stiles.
Stiles looked at Peter witheringly.
"I'd still say no…to you."
The expressions on Peter and Derek's faces switched places.
"Why do you want the bite, Stiles?" asked Derek.
"Isn't it obvious? I can't compete with a werewolf. I can't protect the people I care about from Hunters and monsters."
"Does Lydia have anything to do with this?" Derek asked suspiciously.
"Of course. She's one of the people I care about. Duh."
Derek hesitated. He strongly suspected there were ulterior motives behind this sudden change of heart by Stiles. However…he needed another Beta. Badly.
"Stiles…Isaac and Jackson have faith and trust in me as a leader. Boyd and Erica didn't, and they paid the price for it. They are on their own and at the mercy of a powerful Pack. Before that, Hunters captured them as easily as if they were children. They almost died. If I do this, I need to know you have trust in me as your Alpha, and won't abandon me when things look bad. Do you?"
Stiles was quiet. Derek was Glaring, while Peter looked amused.
"No. I don't have trust in you as the Alpha you are now. But…you could be someone I could trust. You could be a great Alpha. But it means trusting me too, and listening for once instead of scowling and threatening me all the time. I've shown you what I'm capable of, Derek. So have Isaac…and even Jackson, in an evil sort of way. I've saved your ass as many times as you saved mine. Don't take me for granted. If you can do that…I'll follow your lead no matter where it goes. But my first loyalty is always going to be to my father…and then my friends."
Derek frowned. "So as your Alpha, I'm third in your priorities? I'm not sure I like that, Stiles."
"God, you're dense. Be my friend, Derek, and only my Dad will beat you out."
Derek actually looked abashed.
Peter chuckled. "You would be his first, I think."
Stiles looked at him sourly.
"Where do I fit in your loyalties?" Peter asked.
"How many people are on planet Earth?" Stiles asked.
"Nearly seven billion." Peter said, confused.
"Then you rank seven billionth."
Derek smiled. "Stiles, are you absolutely sure about this?"
Stiles thought of Lydia for the briefest moment. "Yeah."
"Then take your shirt off and come here."
Stiles moved to obey, then glanced at Peter. "Could you not look? You're kind of creepy."
Peter growled and stalked out of the station.
"Keep that up, and you'll become my favorite Beta." Derek chuckled.
Stiles pulled off his shirt and hung it over a bench. He walked into the train car and leaned over, exposing his side while he gripped the steel support pole in both hands.
"Stiles? If you become a Kanima, I'm going to have to kill you. Do you have any unresolved issues I need to know about?"
Stiles had his eyes squinched shut. "I do, but I'm working on them."
"Fair enough." Derek's voice devolved into a bestial growl.
Stiles screamed once, long and loudly.
{}{}{}{}
Allison and her father found no trace of Gerard. He seemed to have vanished into thin air. When they had given up, they sent the remaining team of Hunters back to their headquarters for reassignment. Chris informed the organization that due to the multiple losses his family had suffered, they were taking an indefinite furlough. Chris told them of Gerard's betrayal, and that he was to be executed on sight.
Allison took a leave of absence from school until she could process the events of the last few months.
The night after she broke up with Scott, her father called her down to dinner, and she knew that the time had come to talk about the choices they would be making for the future. The dinner was cooked by domestic help specifically employed by Hunter families, and who could be counted on for discretion. After three bites, Allison realized that her mother had been one of the world's greatest cooks by far. She pushed her plate away.
"Dad…I don't want to be a Hunter." she said it, watching for his reaction.
Chris nodded as if he expected this. He stared down at his own plate, and moved his food around like a child trying to avoid eating vegetables.
"You know, when I was growing up…my mother was the leader of our clan. We followed her lead…but it was never like this. We had the Code…and we lived by it. We destroyed some truly evil monsters…not just werewolves either. Many fed on humans for sport, or even to survive. Your Aunt Kate and I once killed a shape-changing monster that fed solely on children. It used to hide in closets, or under beds and terrorize them before killing them. I remember the kid we saved from it…he hugged us, with tears coming down his face. 'You killed the Boogeyman!' he kept saying over and over. I was never so proud to be a member of this family as I was at that moment. And now…I've never been more ashamed."
Chris looked at his daughter. "I knew your mother didn't have to do it. I knew she could have lived, and never hurt anyone…that didn't deserve it. Her will was iron, I don't care if there were six full moons in the sky, she would never have hurt an innocent person. But I let that evil bastard get in my head. I let him force me to lose the most magnificent woman in the whole world. And for what? Nothing. The Code went bad under my father. It started with Kate, and the Hale fire. I finally know whose orders it was she was acting under. He turned good Hunters into vicious, brutal killers. They forgot they were there to protect and believed they were there to kill. Even your mother bought into his hate, and accepted what she felt she had to do to herself without question. But who winds up putting all of us to shame? Who always tried to do the right thing and protect his friends and family? A boy that I once threatened to kill because he loved my daughter…a boy who risked his life for her over and over again, fighting enemies on all sides."
"A boy I betrayed over and over again." Allison said softly.
Chris shook his head. "If you want to be angry at someone who fell for that old bastard's lies, you could start with me. I cost this family my wife…your mother. What I'm saying…is that I don't want to be a Hunter all that much either."
"What are we going to do, Dad? I feel like I don't know anything anymore!" Allison said shrilly.
"Honey, I have dragged you all over this country…but now you're the leader of this family. You decide. If you want to stay, we stay. If you want to go, we'll go. Just let me know. Whatever you want…I'll try to make it happen."
The maid poked her head in.
"Anybody want a cookie?"