Staring down at his claw tipped hands in shock Stiles completely ignored the younger boy as he ran trembling fingers over sharply pointed ears and down the sides of his face feeling the furred mutton chop that covered his cheeks. His jaw felt strange and he tentatively brought his fingers to his mouth to trace over the fangs pricking his pad on their points.

"What the hell happened to me?" The younger boy leaned back giving Stiles the room he didn't know he needed until the extra space between them loosened the tension in his chest. The shifting wind brought hints of a scent to his nose, somehow familiar to him. Tilting his head Stiles stepped closer, letting his nose flare to take in more of the scent letting the instincts he didn't have until just now sort through the information gathered.

Amber eyes flashed from under a dark mop of hair as Stiles moved closer. "You were bitten." Something in that other worldly glow cast by the boy's eyes triggered anger in Stiles that he had never felt before. A low growl rumbled out from his chest and he stalked across the small space toward the boy.

Stumbling backwards the dark haired boy found himself pressed to a tree with Stiles pinning him in place with his gaze along. Tilting chin up and to the side, he offered his throat to Stiles. Teeth brushing along the vein Stiles forced the wild instinct down before he drew blood. Voice deeper with the echo of his growl still vibrating along his skin he spoke. "I WAS bitten but then I got better. Is that why you've been stalking me? In the hallway at school and then the bathroom. Do you have something to do with this?" The threat implied by that question was left unspoken but the intensity leaving his meaning clear.

Lifting his chin higher as his eyes changed completely to amber the boy answered in a frantic tumble of words. "I wasn't stalking you. I caught your scent but it was funny like your wolf was being blocked. I was trying to find out if you had been changed. There's another wolf in our territory. That must be what happened to you."

Stiles thought as he allowed the razor tipped nail of his thumb to stroke up and down the side of the boy's throat. Inside his mind was whirling, trying to deal with the new set of instincts and emotions suddenly thrust upon him. He had never been a violent person but he found himself strangely drawn to the sound of the blood pumping below his fingertips. His thoughts twisted and twirled and he struggled against the pull of instinct, latching on to one important fact. "I was bitten by a werewolf?"

"Yes." The answer was hissed as his nail scraped skin drawing a line of blood down the boy's throat. Stiles' new instincts screamed NOT PACK, NOT SAME, rattling against his control to dominate the younger wolf, drive him into submission or off his territory.

Shaking his head as if to knock the violent needs from his brain, Stiles stepped away from the boy, fighting back his wolf until his claws slowly turned back to human shaped nails. The internal battle left him panting, eyes glassy and staring at the boy.

"Damn, your control is really good. I've never heard of a newly turned wolf being able to control his shift." With a friendly smile he extended a hand. "I'm Alexander Hale."

Stiles eyed the blood that ran down Alex's neck from a wound that was no longer there. Feeling bad for the pain he had caused he reached out to touch the trickle.

"Alex, I'm going to fucking kill you," called an angry voice from just out of their sight. "I told you to stay away from that kid until we had more information about who turned him." I muscular man stepped into view.

Stiles had merely a moment to process the man, dark hair spiked in front with piercing green tinted hazel eyes wearing combo of black on black accented with more black, before he was lunging across the short distance and flinging Stiles against a tree.

Shaking off the speckles of darkness impeding his vision Stiles stared at the werewolf that had just tossed him like a toy doll across the forest. His eyes were now blazing neon blue, fangs out snarling as he stood between what had to me his little brother and Stiles.

Stiles pushed himself off the trunk and slowly turned as the older wolf circled him. Both of them ignored Alex's whispered, "oh shit". Feeling the change Stiles let his shoulders roll enjoying the way his muscles shifted and flexed under his skin. The forest's colors muted slightly but their outlines became more defined and detailed.

Letting his nostrils flare Stiles took in the wolf's scent. The underlying scent of werewolf, it seemed, was a deep woodsy scent, which both Alex and his older brother shared, but each wolf had a different over scent that accompanied it. The younger wolf was woodsy with the scent of fresh grown grass but the wolf circling him was woodsy with a touch of warmth. Stiles couldn't quite place it but the scent brought up memories of the clothes his mother lined dried and how they always smelled better than the dryer, like somehow she had bottled up the sun and wind to scent the clothing.

The older wolf was just slightly taller than Stiles but broader in the shoulders his strength evident in the build of his arms and chest. He hadn't really felt threatened by Alex but the older brother was a whole different matter. He was certainly the big bad wolf and Stiles was beginning to feel like Little Red. Stepping forward the larger wolf let out a howl that made Stiles' spine quiver. A sudden flash ofother, wrong, badhit Stiles so quickly, so hard that it forced him back a step.

Both his logical and instinctual parts of his brain reacted to the challenge. He knew that he was the unknown wolf trespassing on another wolf's territory and that sent his new instincts on fire. Blue eyes traveled down Stiles' body until they rested, fury evident, on his hands. Lifting his palm Stiles stared at the blood still staining the tips of his claws. Alex's blood.

He could feel the growl before it reached his ears, low and deadly it made his chest vibrate. Reacting to the increase in Stiles' heartbeat, Alex moved closer and tried to catch hold of his brother's arm but was pushed away to land bottom first on the leaves. Stiles felt the panic welling up inside of him along with the scent of fear, an acrid stench that burned his nose.

Body lowering as he prepared to attack, the larger wolf let his growl become a full throated roar. Stiles didn't wait to see what he was planning to do, just turned and fled as fast as his new werewolf body would let him. At first Stiles ran like a human fighting against the forest as branches caught at his shirt and roots seemed to appear out of nowhere to trip him up. His breathing becoming labored as his chest filled with fear of the wolf behind him and what he would do once he caught him.

Stumbling over another root, Stiles found himself slamming face first into the ground. Instead of driving his panic, the smell of moist earth reached something primal in his soul helping him find his center and calm his frantic nerves.

Ahead the forest narrowed down, his pathway became clear and he was weaving through the forest on all fours running full out and doing his best of leave the other wolf far behind him.

It was an unfortunate combination of things that ended Stiles' escape: a lack of knowledge of his surroundings plus his inability to pay attention to what was up ahead caused Stiles to find himself at the edge of Buther's Ravine, a rocky expanse about twelve feet down and twenty feet across. Stiles reacted quickly, stopping just shy of the edge before turning west to head parallel to the ravine until a ragged outcropping of boulder blocked his path.

Being backed into a corner by werewolves made the human part of Stiles start to panic but his wolf, newly formed and still weak, growled in anger causing the approaching werewolves to snarl back. Stiles tried to think, to make some sort of escape plan. He had always relied on his quick wit and sharp tongue to get himself out of the most insane situations but this time it was like swimming though cotton, his mind was sluggish and unresponsive.

With reason locked away instinct took over. The newly awakened wolf threw himself forward, attacking the larger male in a fury of slashes. Stiles' claws blurred with the speed and power behind each strike but the other wolf seemed to know his move before he even made them, anticipating each thrust until Stiles was panting with exhaustion.

The dark haired wolf paced back in forth keeping himself between Stiles and escape while watching his opponent struggle to catch his breath. Stiles felt a little betrayed by his own body. Damn, he was a werewolf, shouldn't things like being out of breath be a worry of the past. Pulling in another gasping, shuddering breath Stiles found himself backing up as the older man smiled, fangs glistening, lacking humor but full the dark promise of violence to come.

Backed to the very edge of the ravine, loose rocks clamoring down the side behind his, Stiles fought back the red haze that was his fighting wolf. Instinct alone would not be able to save him. Pushing down the fear his human side felt and the raging instinct to just attack mindlessly from his wolf, Stiles concentrated on finding a way to join the two halves of his soul. Acting as both wolf and man would not help him escape.

Alex crashed out of the woods behind his brother identical hazel eyes darting between the two fighters. "Derek, you're scaring him. Dad always says that backing someone into a corner is the best way to make them attack."

"Shut up Alex! You know better than to confront an intruder. I think Mom was pretty clear about keeping your distance and alerting the family if you came across any strange wolves."

"He's not a strange wolf. It's Stiles. He goes to high school with me. His father is the sheriff so it's not like you can just run him out of town."

"No, I guess we can't."

Stiles didn't know what was going on in Derek's head but he didn't like the calculating look sent in his direction. Wolf and human were in accord on this; he needed to get away.

Lunging forward again, Stiles imitated the uncontrolled attacks he had made before, then twisting under the expected counter to run his claws along Derek's rib cage, cutting through leather, cloth and skin. He had just a split second to look at the blood that coated his fingertips; Alex's whispered "oh fuck" hinting at the trouble he had just unleashed.

Derek pulled on his jacket eyeing the small tear in the leather before shooting Stiles a look of disbelief. Stiles returned the gaze with a smirk before he was fending off Derek's attack.

Stiles quickly found that Derek had been going easy on him, gently testing an unknown, newly turned idiot wolf so that no one would really get hurt. That was before. Now Derek was fully invested in the fight and more importantly winning the fight and letting said idiot wolves learn their place.

Stiles tried employing skills learned from his brief interest in boxing. Maybe if he had lasted more than three classes he would have had a better chance but being on the wrong end of the rapid slashes of claws followed by formidable punches, Stiles doubted years of study would have helped him in this battle.

Stiles again found himself balanced on the edge of the ravine. This time his clothes were ripped and stained with blood. He could feel the cuts, slashes, and bruises trying to heal, the strange pull and itch as the skin knitted itself together and the muscles beneath reattached.

Derek looked unmarked except for the one tear in his jacket. Stiles knew he had cut him more than that one time but there weren't even blood stains on his clothing to show that he had been attacked while Stiles looked like a war zone survivor.

Stiles was beginning to feel light headed from the blood loss even with the rapid healing his body was not able to replace the amounts of blood he was losing as quickly as it could mend flesh and muscle. Desperate Stiles' wolf takes control narrowing the world to a hazy red. Attacking low as if trying to hamstring his opponent the wolf thrusts his body upward at the last second coming in under Derek's reach and aiming straight for his neck. Pulling the wolf back for just a moment, Stiles is shocked to find himself mere centimeters away from tearing into someone's throat with his fanged teeth.

For a brief moment they both stared into each other's eyes astonishment etched on their faces. Stiles' wolf and human halves struggled for control in that instant giving Derek the time needed to counter this unorthodox move. With one hand shoved claws first deep into Stiles' abdomen and the other almost shattering his shoulder, Derek tossed Stiles away from him and into the trunk of a large pine tree not too far from where Alex stood.

Stiles struggled to rise to his knees, his vision going dark, and blackness creeping along the edges of his vision making the world tunnel down to a distant view. He cupped his hands around his stomach trying to slow the flow of blood pouring out, running down his pants and onto the leaves below praying for the wound to heal.

Alex stood between him and his older brother yelling, "He's just been turned Derek. You need to stop before you kill him."

"I'm not going to kill him Alex but he is going to tell me the name of his alpha." Turning toward Stiles Derek threatened with brooding eyebrows and a scowl, "You WILL tell me."

Stiles found the way to his feet and stood on wobbly legs as Derek walked toward him. "I don't know who bit me. I was attacked last night while in the woods looking for the rest of the bodies of those two men that were attacked."

He tried to process the jumble of questions that bombarded him as he slid back down the tree the last of his energy used up. "Did you get a look at the alpha? Where exactly were you?" and a whispered, "Derek, he was bit less than twenty – four hours ago, he shouldn't even be able to change yet," followed Stiles into darkness.

Time seemed to move slowly for Stiles or the world was just moving at top speed around him. Each blink of his eyes had him jumping through time. Blink; he was on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Blink; he was being carried with infinite care by the brooding wolf that had just gutted him toward a dark car. Blink; he was in the back seat with a shirt tucked under his head and a black leather jacket draped over his shoulders while the brothers argued in the front seat.

"He wouldn't be bleeding all over your precious car if you hadn't tried to disembowel him out there. I thought we wanted to talk to him, find out who invaded our territory not fillet a high school student."

Derek's reply was lost as Stiles found himself pulled under again as his body forced him to shut down so that it could heal his badly wounded side.

His next weary blink occurs as they pull in front of a large house. From his position in the back seat, Stiles can make out the second story corner of the house, dark wood and in need of a paint job. Derek is pulling him out of the back of the car and up the steps before he even has time to sit up and get a good look around.

Stiles feels his side and stomach with gently probing touches finding that all his wounds have healed but are still tender to the touch. Still light headed from his blood loss Stiles allows Derek to half carry him into a large airy kitchen and force him into a chair.

The kitchen is bright and cheerful and just a little out of place for a group of werewolves to be sitting in. The curtains were yellow dotted with red script French words for food and the appliances scattered across the countertop all in a matching shiny red. Derek grabbed a glass from a cabinet and poured a large glass of OJ and placed it in front of Stiles.

At his confused expression Derek frowned, his eyebrows pulling together like gathering storm clouds. "Drink, it will help with the blood loss."

Derek spins a chair and sits backwards on it, arms crossed across the back of the chair, and stares as Stiles takes his first tentative sip of the juice. "You said you were attacked? When and where did this attack occur? And don't think you can lie to me. I can hear it and I will rip your throat out with my teeth if you do."

"Dramatic much," groaned Alex from where he stood behind Stiles.

Stiles glanced over to look at the younger brother. "Your brother is kind of a douche."

Alex let his shoulder shrug slightly in response. "Sorry about that."

The sound of Derek's palm slamming onto the kitchen table echoed in the kitchen like a gunshot causing both boys to jump. "Does this look like a game to you?"

"Well your eyebrows seem to be playing charades," Stiles mouth snarked before his brain had a chance to think of a proper response. Alex chuckled and Derek had Stiles pinned to the kitchen wall before he even knew the older man was moving. The up close view of neon blue eyes and fanged teeth had Stiles chest filling with the cold burn of panic.

"Derek, why do you have a guest pinned to the wall?" asked a soft warm voice from the back door. Stiles could see an attractive woman with honey blond hair over Derek's broad shoulder which tensed as soon as the she spoke. Alex expression was trapped between gleeful and shamed as he looked between his brother and, from the resemblance, his mother.

Derek dropped Stiles so quickly that he couldn't get his feet under him. Knees buckling Stiles ended up falling onto his ass, legs sprawled in front of him on the kitchen floor as Derek and Alex stared, guilt evident in their expression, at their shoes. The Hales' mother walked gracefully into the kitchen, dropping a quick kiss on Derek's forehead as she passed, followed by a dark haired female who circles around behind Derek to ruffle his dark hair. "You're in trouble" was mouthed by full lips along with a smirk that was quickly hidden as the mother turned toward the two.

"Who is our young guest?" Her voice remained pleasant but for just a second her eyes flashed red and the two brothers spilled the story out to her in fits and starts, running over each other's sentences as they tried to put their best spin on a situation that had suddenly spiraled out of control. When they both came stuttering to a halt, shoulders drooping as if they were slowly deflating, the brothers looked everywhere but at their mother.

Stiles waved, a weak flip of his wrist, and smiled unsure if he was allowed to talk. "Uh. Hello. I'm Stiles."

A soft 'hmmmm' was her only reply to the torrent of words. Walking over the where Stiles still sprawled on the floor she knelt gracefully next to him and ran a hand through his short hair. "Let's hear this from your point of view." It was said with a smile that warmed her eyes but with a tone that Stiles felt compelled to obey.

In a gush Stiles told her everything from his name to how he had forced his best friend to go traipsing through the woods with him in the middle of the night looking for half a body. "I didn't even know it was a werewolf. I thought it was a giant dog or something. Scott teased me all day that it was just a rabid poodle because the bite mark healed. I've been able to smell and hear things all day. I guess being a werewolf is better than having some sort of horrible brain tumor and dying."

The mom listened to the outflow of thoughts and fears as they poured from Stiles' mouth with a tilt of her head and a small smile on her lips. At the end she pulled him into a tight hug that made him feel like crying. It had been years since he had felt the warm arms of a mother wrapped around him. Suddenly, amidst the dead bodies and revelations of werewolves he felt safe. She placed a small nip on his cheek, almost like a motherly kiss, and a feeling of belonging and home washed over him.

A rush of warmth flowed through Stiles. He could feel a connection between himself and the female, the alpha his instincts provided. He tilted his head to the side, the act of submission feeling right to his new wolf. Smiling the alpha tussled his hair as she stood.

"You made him pack," Derek snarls before being cuffed by his older sister. "He's just some stray."

"Moron. As alpha she has the right to make a three eyed skunk part of the pack if she wants too. Hell, she keeps you around."

"After having to put up with you, I'm an improvement." Derek ducked out of reach as his sister reached over to try to mess his hair again but there was a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Bounding over his bickering sibling Alex pulled Stiles to his feet. "Wanna play X-Box? I've got the new Halo."

Some small part of Stiles was screaming at him to run, get away from the werewolf version of the Cleaver's but all he seems able to do was nod and follow the younger teen into a living room brimming with furniture and pillows to play video games.

"Honey." Stiles looked up to see his new alpha standing in the living room door.

"Yes, ma'am?"

Tossing him the phone he had lost in the tussle with Derek she grinned, "Why don't you call your father and ask if you can stay for dinner. And Stiles, call me Maria."

"Crap." Ducking his head in embarrassment at his language, Stiles smiled as he apologized. "Sorry, ma'am. I just forgot. I'm grounded right now. I'm supposed to go home right after practice. It skipped my mind with all the…" Stiles looked at the werewolves surrounding him and flailed his arms trying to encompass all the chaos that had happened to him during the day.

Smiling in understanding the mom turned and patted Derek on the shoulder. "I'll call your dad and explain that you were helping my youngest while Derek takes you back home."

"I need to get my jeep from school." Stiles eyed the brooding Derek with distrust. He wasn't looking forward to spending time with him alone. His side gave a phantom twinge as Derek raised his lip letting a hint of fang show.

As if somehow knowing Derek was giving Stiles a hard time, Maria let her hand drift up to the back of his neck, giving it a gentle squeeze. "To your jeep then." Derek scowled under her hand but didn't argue. "I think you will start tutoring Alex's after school so that you can spend more time with your new pack. I'll call your father tonight and set it up." With another quick hug and a frown in Derek's direction, she pushed both boys out the front door.