Setting 1: Stiles and Scott have been friends for years and when their parents died, they took off on their own. It's hard finding work when your brother is a Werewolf, but they do their best to get by. Stiles was working as a courier, trying to make some good money for himself and Scott, but then he went and got himself shot. Now he and Scott are on a mission to kill Peter, wanting him to pay. And to make matters worse, it turns out Peter is the one that Bit Scott all those years ago, so Scott has even more of a reason to want Peter dead.
Setting 2: Derek is wandering the Wastes, just trying to find a place to live, wanting to escape his past and his family's destruction. Hoping for a fresh start, Derek made his way to the Ca/Nv border, just wanting to escape. He gathers a few Betas along the way that want to settle down somewhere nice as well. But the Legion is becoming a major problem, fighting with the NCR for dominance. Derek and the Betas travel together, trying to overcome all the hardships the Wastes offer, especially if you're a Were.
Follow these two groups as they try to find a place for themselves in the wastelands and come across various people, making some friends and even more enemies. And find out what happens when the meet each other, can they put aside their differences and band together to destroy their enemies?
Derek approached the buildings, finally crossing into what used to be Nevada. He kept his head down, not looking at any of the NCR soldiers, keeping his posture slouched so no one would think he was dangerous. After a quick glance around Derek made his way into the outpost headquarters to check-in, giving Major Knight his name and his status as a pilgrim. Some of the soldiers looked him over, his muscular frame and grumpy demeanor catching their attention. As soon as he was cleared, Derek nodded his head and left the outpost; the sun was finally setting so hopefully it would begin to cool down soon. The merchants and other civilians all eyed him as he followed the road, passing by the two statues without much of a glance. He really hated being around Humans, even though none of them knew he was a Werewolf, their instincts still screamed to be wary of him. The faster he left them behind, the better; Derek couldn't stand to be around anyone lately anyways, regardless of the staring.
As he followed the road down, he walked around all the abandoned cars, ears perked to listen for anyone approaching. He was thankful that the road seemed to be empty, all of the travelers were most likely holed up back at the outpost. As he got further down the mountain, the breeze brought a strong smell of blood to his nose; he breathed in, determining that it wasn't Human blood but some other animal. Derek was intrigued, where was the massacre? The scent quickly pulled him off the road, and he traveled along the rocks, following his nose. Within minutes he found himself at the mouth of a cave, the heavy smell of blood wafting over him. Derek widened his senses, not wanting to be surprised by anything, but in the dim light he couldn't see much from the entrance. He readied himself to enter, but remembered that there were still areas that were emitting radiation; it might be possible that there was some creature in there that had been exposed and died. But it was unlikely, almost every creature out in the Wastes had adapted to the radiation, they shouldn't be affected by it. Still, he glanced down at his dosimeter, making sure that the coast was clear; the badge was still in the safe color so he cautiously entered the cave. Walking slowly to reduce echoes, his eyes scanned everything, looking for the source of the blood. As he walked further in, he saw signs of a struggle, blood splatters along the wall, and small pools of red here and there. A few more steps and he reached a slight bend in the cave, but as he approached it, he heard a weak growl.
Derek stopped, recognizing the growl, it belonged to another Were; was it hurt or dangerous? He shifted to his second phase, ears shifting and growing, poking out from the top of his head. His tail quickly sprouted, whipping the air behind him as he prepared for a fight; teeth and claws becoming pointed. With a snarl, he jumped around the corner, teeth bared and claws extended. But the sight that met his eyes astounded him, at the back of the cave there was a young Omega covered in blood. Derek pulled back his snarl, the Omega clearly shying away from the more powerful Were in front of him. He glanced around the space, finally finding the source of blood; there was an entire family of slaughtered Night Stalkers, their corpses littering the floor all around the smaller Wolf. Derek pulled back, returning to his Human form, "Can you speak, Omega?"
The other Wolf whimpered at his harsh tone but nodded his head, not wanting to upset the Alpha.
"What's your name? What happened here?"
"My name is Isaac," the teen started, keeping his posture submissive, "I needed somewhere to stay and I found this cave. But the Night Stalkers attacked me, so I fought back. If you're hungry, I'll share with you, please take what you want."
Derek took a small step forward, pausing when Isaac flinched and threw his hands up to protect his head, his tail wrapping around his stomach. "I'm not going to hurt you Isaac, you seem smart enough to know better than to attack me. Are you hurt at all?"
Isaac slowly pulled his arms away from his face, ears perking up as he stared at the Alpha. He ran his fingers through his tail, an old nervous habit, " I got bit a few times, but they're healing kinda, I'm mostly covered in their blood."
Derek nodded his head, crouching down by one of the dead creatures, "I'm Derek by the way, just came into the area via the outpost up the hill. Are you from around here?"
"Kinda, but not really close by, I've wandered a bit, hiding out from my old gang, the Scorpions. Turns out they aren't really fans of Werewolves, so once I got turned, they tried to kill me. Hell, my father is the one that turned me in, druggie bastard!" Isaac spat, hands curling into fists.
"What do you say we get a fire going, we can cook up these guys for food? Also, you should wash your shirt, you'll be killed instantly if you go near a town with that much blood on you," Derek stated, standing up once more. "That small pool of water still looks clean so go ahead and wash off while I gather some brush for the fire, I'll be right back."
Isaac watched at the Alpha walked away, amazed by his ability to hide his ears and tail- he looked perfectly Human. He looked down at his blonde tail, scowling, if it weren't for that, no one would have found out about his change. Standing up, he pulled his grey long-sleeved shirt over his head and dropped it in the water, soaking it as best he could. By the time Derek came back, he had washed most of the blood out, rubbing the fabric against itself to scrub it, before wringing it out and laying it over a rock to dry. He watched as Derek stacked the dry materials together before pulling out a lighter to start the fire.
It wasn't long before Isaac was drawn to the warmth of the flames; he generally shied away from fire... his father hadn't been kind with it. He continued to watch, crouched by the fire, as Derek shrugged off his pack and pulled over the largest Night Stalker. Then he brought out his claws, using them to tear up the meat; after separating the various portions, he skewered the largest pieces on sticks and held them over the flames. It was awhile before the meat was done enough, their partially Human stomachs couldn't process completely raw meat. But as soon as it was done, Derek slowly handed Isaac one of the sticks, obviously trying not to startle him with sudden movement. Isaac appreciated it, his nerves were still through the roof... both from the fight and from being around an unknown Alpha.
Derek smiled as he watched Isaac tear into the meat, he seemed like he was starving! As he ate his own piece, he started cooking the rest of it, knowing that they would both want seconds.
They ate in silence, both of them focusing on the food and warmth; as soon as they finished off the whole Night Stalker, Isaac laid down, curling in on himself to be as small as possible. Now that he had a full stomach, he was asleep within moments; Isaac couldn't remember the last time he had eaten that much food in one sitting. Derek sat for awhile, letting Isaac fall deeper into sleep before he finally stood up and grabbed the damp shirt, dropping it closer to the fire so it would dry faster. Then he tossed on some more brush before lying back, hands tucked under his head to serve as a pillow. Sleep didn't come to him for some time, he just lay there, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about his family. Eventually he fell asleep too, ignoring the hard, rocky floor.
After a few hours of sleep, Derek woke as the sun started to rise, glad that the smoke had filtered out of the cave while he slept. He really hated the smell of smoke and burning wood, but he needed the fire to keep them warm. At the thought of Isaac, he sat up and checked on the Omega; as expected, he was still asleep and Derek surprised himself by being glad that he hadn't disappeared in the middle of the night. Maybe he just wanted to make sure the Omega was really okay, he was young and clearly all alone. Derek sat up and reached into his pack, digging out an old hoodie that he had found a few weeks ago. It was too small for him but he had kept it just in case. It looked like it would fit Isaac thought, so he might as well give it to him- the boy could certainly use it. "Hey, Isaac, wake up," Derek said, tossing his dried shirt at him.
Isaac shot up and covered his face with his hands, crying out, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sleep in so late. Sorry, sorry-"
"Whoa, Isaac, calm down, calm down," Derek said, attempting to soothe him, lowering his voice as best he could.
Isaac blinked as his brain registered the voice, realizing it wasn't his father's. He carefully peeked out from behind his hands, catching sight of the Alpha from last night. Isaac hadn't seen his dad in weeks and yet he still woke up startled and thinking he was nearby. How could he have forgotten last night? Lowering his hands, he bit his lip, feeling ashamed; he couldn't look Derek in the eye, so he looked down at the bloody floor instead.
"Everything okay Isaac? I didn't mean to startle you."
"Yea, it's fine, I'm just used to rude wake up calls is all. I keep forgetting that I'm not with my dad anymore," Isaac whispered, afraid that the Alpha would see him as pathetic now.
"Well, go ahead and get dressed, the sun's coming up and it's better to start before the day gets too hot."
Isaac mutely nodded his head, reaching down and picking up the shirt he had dropped, quickly pulling it over his lean torso. So far the Alpha had been nice but there was no telling if he might get aggressive if he took too long to follow orders. In general, Isaac was surprised that he hadn't said anything about his outburst, no scathing remarks about being pitiful or stupid... nor had he laughed. A pleasant change from the reactions he was used to getting.
Derek tried not to stare at Isaac's battered body, he was severely malnourished and covered in wounds; the fact that there were still purple bruises tattooing his skin told Derek that he needed a lot of care. He hadn't looked too closely the night before, but now, in the low light, he could see the bites from the Night Stalkers. Werewolves were supposed to heal quickly; it was startling to see someone in that battered of a was no way he could just leave him... not after seeing him in such a horrible condition. "So, uh, I was wondering, would you like to accompany me Isaac? I'm new to the area and you're from around here right? Maybe you could help me stay away from all the troublesome areas, yea?" Derek proposed, adding on, "If you want to of course."
The Omega's head shot up, eyes searching Derek's face for any sign of a joke. He'd love to be traveling with someone, as long as they weren't anything like his dad... he felt vulnerable when he was alone. "That'd be cool. Maybe you could teach me more about being a Wolf?" he asked hesitantly.
"Of course, I may not be the one who turned you, but I'm an Alpha and I won't let you go untrained."
Isaac nodded slowly, "So does that mean I'll be your Beta now?"
He froze, surprised by the question... why would he want to be his Beta? Was he even ready for a Beta? Derek wasn't the warmest of people and didn't usually like company... but he was the one that had asked about joining up so he didn't feel like he could just say no. The poor kid probably just wanted to feel accepted, safe; that was something Derek could understand. Hell, if he was honest with himself, he had started toying with the idea of inviting Isaac to be his Beta as soon as he saw the bruises. But he was going to wait a few days, get to know one another... slowly work up the proper way to broach the subject... Apparently Isaac didn't see any reason to wait, or more likely, didn't know better. "If you want to be, yes, I'll accept you as my Beta. But I won't force you to join me just because we're traveling together. There's nothing wrong with staying an Omega- it's not like you know me at all. But there are obvious advantages of becoming Packmates, we'll both be a lot stronger for one," Derek explained, wanting Isaac to make his decision based on merit and not intimidation; he was not going to be like Deucalion.
"I think... I think that I should. Not because I feel like I have to but like this is an opportunity I shouldn't pass up. I have no idea how to be a Werewolf and I need to learn. You seem nice enough, and strong! So I'd be pretty stupid if I decided to stay as an Omega." Isaac cleared his throat, "I'm not sure how... is there something I have to do?"
"Not as the Omega no, just look at me real quick."
Isaac cautiously looked up, nervous about meeting Derek's eyes, but he did. Derek's eyes flashed red and he felt his own eyes light up in response. Suddenly there was this... connection that he felt, something he couldn't explain. But he didn't feel alone anymore and that was enough for him. "Just like that?"
"Yup, just like that. As an Alpha, I can reach out and create bonds with other Weres, at least ones that don't already have a Pack. It was easy because you felt the desire to be my Beta, otherwise you would've felt your inner Wolf fight against it, like if I was forcing you to join me. Now that that's out of the way, take this," Derek said, tossing the old white hoodie over to his new Beta. "It will help keep you a bit warmer in the morning chill, sorry it doesn't have any sleeves though. But the hood will help keep your ears hidden until you learn how to control your appearance."
Isaac stared at Derek, mouth agape, "I can control that too? That isn't just an Alpha thing?"
Derek shook his head, "Any Wolf can learn to control it, I call them phases or shifts, but it can take time for Bitten-Weres to figure it out. I mean, your eyes don't always glow right? So it makes sense that the other physical traits can be hidden too, with practice. The eyes are almost always the first thing newbies learn to control, usually without them realizing it. We just have to find out what emotions are tied to your other various phases; once we learn that we can start the process of controlling your Beta form and when you shift."
"Why couldn't I have learned that earlier?" Isaac moaned, thinking back on his last month. If no one could tell he was a Were, then they wouldn't attack him on sight. It would be so much better to walk around masquerading as a Human than to stand out! He reached up and touched his face as he registered the rest of what Derek had said... And just like Derek had said... it was true, he could 'dim' his eyes now. When he had first transformed, they were always glowing but now they were usually 'off'. How... how had he ever turned them off in the first place?
The Alpha chuckled at his reaction, "Yea, that's how a lot of Weres feel once they learn it's possible to hide the physical stuff. I promise I'll explain more on the road, I can see that you already have a bunch of questions. I want to get started though, so are you ready to go?"
"Yea! Oh wait, no!" Isaac called out, hand reaching up to his neck. He turned back to the far wall of the cave, "I forgot something!"
Derek watched as he picked up a long scarf and wrapped it around his neck before pulling the hood back over his head. "Where did that come from?" Obviously it was important to him so he was curious.
"I got it from this really nice lady in Goodsprings, her name was Melissa, she's the bartender there. One night she heard me crawling around out back and instead of chasing me off, she welcomed me. She gave me a little bit of spare food and let me sleep there for the night. She was the first person to ever be nice to me. And that's counting the guys in the gang, even before I'd been attacked."
"She gave you a scarf?"
"Yea, before I left, she told me to take it, so that way I'd think of her if I was ever in trouble. I wanted to stay, but I don't think the other townspeople really liked me," Isaac explained. "So I said good bye and left, haven't really stayed in one spot too long since the Scorpions leader tried to kill me."
"Well, that was nice of her," Derek mumbled after a moment, unsure of what else to say. No wonder the kid didn't want to lose it; it was probably one of the first real gifts he'd been given, if Derek had to guess. He waved and let Isaac pass in front of him, finally ready to get back on the road. The pair climbed out of the cave, Isaac blinking in the sunlight; Derek remembered the sunglasses, pulling one pair out of his leather jacket to put on. Then he swung his pack around to search for the spare pair he kept, hoping that they hadn't gotten broken. As they reached the road, he finally pulled out the other pair, handing them over to the Beta. "These help a lot, so now we can travel a little more comfortably during the day, I have a tendency to hoard these, because they break way too easily. So keep your eyes peeled for some."
"Will do, thanks," Isaac promised, sighing in relief as the tinted glasses provided some protection for his sensitive eyes.
"Well, why don't we make our way to Goodsprings, I'd love to meet Melissa, if you don't mind going back."
"I'd love to see her again, and thank her properly. That sounds like a great place to start," Isaac agreed, tail wagging just a bit.
Derek gently clapped Isaac on his shoulder, he had no idea how far Goodsprings was, but they'd spend that time getting to know each other a little better. A Pack couldn't grow together if they didn't trust one another, and Derek could feel Isaac's fear, it was coming off him in waves. But Derek was patient; he would work with Isaac and encourage his inner Wolf to become stronger.
A/N: Much thanks to my buddy DisputedJustice on tumblr who totally gave me the idea. Like I stated in the summary, this is based around the Fallout: New Vegas game, it's the one that I know the best. I'll be introducing A LOT of the TW characters, but I don't quite have a role for all of them, but I've done my best. I have soooo many ideas for the characters as they progress through the storyline. Please let me know what you think! I'm so excited for this story, it's going to be my most action packed story yet, thanks for reading!
Edit 8-25-2018: I'm going to be picking this story back up and so I'm going through all my older chapters and editing. I've added a few bits of dialogue, some more 'thoughts' for the characters, and also finding as many errors as I can. If you're re-reading this story, I hope you like the changes (not that they are really that noticeable, unless you just read the chapter lol)