Derek Hale paced over the floor again. The old, almost abandoned wood bent and creaked under his feet. He wasn't sure how many there were now. It was reckless to build up a pack so quickly in a town with a history like Beacon Hills. Not only was Laura dead, but now, whoever killed her had her power. Now... there was a new alpha.
What if he couldn't find this threat before it strengthened its betas? And it was hard to keep track of them. Derek knew that a boy named Scott McCall was one. That was easy to figure out, the kid kept wandering around suspiciously in the woods with his friend Stiles. And there was another that went to the cemetery near the woods sometimes. He'd come running around blindly in the night and then dashed back into town. Luckily Derek didn't have to intervene as he watched from behind a car. The boy had shifted back into human form on his own and then helped out Stiles and Scott. But Derek had heard of other animal attacks in town. Were they all bites? Were they all werewolves? And who was the mastermind behind it all?
With every new bite, Derek felt his home invaded. His safety threatened. He noticed that the hunters patrolled the woods more often now. It was only a matter of days before they attacked him directly. For generations, the Hale family had been the most powerful pack in Beacon Hills. For decades, they'd been the only ones. Now, Derek was the only one and he wouldn't put it past the Argent hunters to lay the blame on him.
Except he wasn't the only one. He had to control the other betas. He had to find them first though, and he desperately needed to find this reckless alpha. Derek felt his anger build up in him as he pivoted, continuing his circular pace. He felt the urge to transform, but he held it back. Flaring his nostrils, he breathed in and out, keeping his calm and collected composure. It didn't matter if it wasn't fair. He couldn't change the fire, he couldn't change his sister Laura's murder. The only thing he could do was take back the alpha power of the Hale pack. With every beta, the alpha would get stronger… but if Derek could just get rid of the alpha and take the pack as his own… maybe things would finally turn around for him.
Xxx
The sound of plastic cups being shuffled around could be heard in the other room. There were only a few hours left before the party started.
"Hey did you notice…"
"About Scott?"
"-Yeah he-he's"
"He's amazing." Danny said.
"Yeah, but it doesn't make sense, like he isn't just good-" The click of heels made its way across the floor. Strawberry blond hair quietly bounced its way around a corner.
"I know."
"It's like, like he-"
"I know."
Lydia looked between Danny and Jackson as she entered the room, interrupting their conversation. "What? Scott got better. He also showed up to practice yesterday, unlike you two." She narrowed her eyes at Jackson. "What kind of captain doesn't show up to the first day of practice? You want to be on the losing team?" Danny looked away, but didn't say anything. She was always like this. Danny didn't understand why Jackson dated her. Look at the way he clenched his jaw. Or the way his claws-wait.
"Jackson." Danny grabbed Jackson's wrist.
Suddenly Jackson seemed to snap out of it, looking up at Danny in surprise. He pulled his arm away and took a step to her saying, "Look Lydia, maybe there are bigger things going on in my life right now than lacrosse."
"Really? Like what?" Lydia said, half laughing with disbelief, twirling her hair in her hand.
Jackson tried to hold down his anger with deep breaths that fumed in and out of him.
Lydia's smile began to creep up her face, a sense of control rolling over her. She took a step closer with pursed lips and said, "Just show up to practice Jackson. Don't screw it up. No one wants to cheer for the losing team. Now help me set up the keg." And then she took him by the arm and started walking, him following her as she did so. Danny sighed to himself as he watched them leave.
But it was strange. Scott wasn't just better. It wasn't natural. And Isaac was different too. Could there really have been so many attacks? Danny began to wonder if they knew more than he did about why this was happening to them.
Xxx
Stiles didn't say anything for a while. An awkward quietness began to fill the room.
"I didn't-"
Stiles quickly interrupted, not wanting to go through this again. "I believe you, alright? I know you wouldn't mean to kill anyone… on purpose."
"Really? You don't think I-"
"It was probably a rabbit or something." Stiles said, looking down at his desk pretending to look through an open book. "You wouldn't…" Stiles glanced up at Scott and then let his eyes run back to the pages.
"A rabbit? What would I do with a rabbit?"
Stiles looked up to narrow his eyes at Scott. "Eat it, duh."
"What- raw?"
"No, put it in your little werewolf oven and-yes of course raw!"
Scott unhappily swallowed and looked down at his hands.
Stiles watched him and felt compelled to say, "Look Scott, it doesn't matter," He straightened his spine and took a step towards him. "I've got your back. We'll figure this out, but you've got to trust me."
"No, I do. It's just… a werewolf?"
Stiles rolled his eyes. "Yes, a werewolf Scott! Look-" He took another step towards Scott. "The full moon is out tonight, okay? So I need you to just… just trust me and stay in."
Scott heard his phone beep, indicating he had just gotten a text. "Yeah, sure, whatever." He felt uncomfortable with the surveillance. He just wanted things to be normal. Holding onto one arm awkwardly, he reached down into his backpack and pulled out his phone.
"Seriously." Stiles said.
"Stiles…"
"What?" Stiles perked up his head in interest at the change in Scott's voice.
"Look at this text… it's from Danny." This wasn't unusual despite Scott not really being friends with Danny. The lacrosse team had each other's phone numbers in case of an emergency, for last minute strategy changes, or any other lacrosse related reason. Some people just had coach's and the captain's number and didn't bother to save anyone else's numbers from the phone list, but most people listened to coach and saved everyone's numbers.
Stiles went up to Scott then, their shoulders touching as they read the text together.
Danny: Hey, good job at practice today. Did you train in the summer? Or did you get bit by some luck?
"Well… that could mean anything, really." Stiles said with an awkward smile, shrugging.
"Could it though? He was saying something weird in the locker room too. Him and Jackson were talking about a bite."
"What-like an animal bite? Or like your bite?"
"I don't know, but it was weird." There was another beep.
Danny: If you want, there's a party tonight. I'll send you the address and we can talk more there.
"No, no, no." Stiles said, seeing the look in Scott's eye. "You are not going anywhere tonight. You can't! Werewolf! Remember?" Stiles said in exasperation.
"Stiles, he might know something."
Stiles crossed his arms, "Doesn't matter, we're not going." He then jabbed Scott's chest with his finger, "You can't go! The moon remember? Werewolf problems?"
"Yeah, but Danny will be there too, and he's not worried about-"
"He might not even be a werewolf!" Stiles said in exasperation, "It could have just been poor word choice!"
"Really? 'Get bit by some luck?' Who says that?"
"I don't know-Danny. Danny says that." Stiles said. "Anyway, you can't go. We-we have to figure out what to do when you'll change."
"I'm not gonna change."
"You might. And maybe this time it won't be a rabbit."
"I-"
"Scott." Stiles gave him a hard look, and then put a hand on Scott's shoulder who puffed out an air of frustration and glared off at a corner of the room, shaking his head. "Look, I know that you don't want to believe that this is happening to you-"
"But-"
"Scott, you can't deny, even if you aren't turning into a werewolf, things have been weird lately. If you don't turn, great, then we get to stay in and hang out. It'll just be another night of us being weird." Stiles said with a chuckle.
"But what about this text?"
"What about it, Scott?"
Scott stared at Stiles and then shook his head. "Fine, I'll just tell him to come over then."
"No! You can't-what if you change while he's here?"
"Stiles-just let me do this!"
"No, give me the phone-"
"No- Stiles!" The human rigged it free from his friend and instantly he saw Scott's eyes turn an odd bright orangish-brown color. Stiles jumped back in surprise, the phone fumbling in his hands.
Scott immediately started to apologize. "No- I- I didn't mean-"
"You've got to stop doing that!" Stiles said impatiently, trying to calm down. "Look at your hands! They're- you've got fucking claws for fingertips!"
"What?" Scott looked down at his hand then and sucked in a breath. "Oh shit."
"Now you believe me?"
The phone began to ring. Stiles looked up at Scott with an 'oh shit' face.
"Well, who is it?"
"Danny."
"Answer it."
Stiles squinted at Scott and shook his head, "I'm not gonna answer it, are you-no, no, no, Scott don't! And you grabbed it." Stiles said in defeat.
Answering the phone, Danny's voice could be heard on the other end. "Hey. Sorry, I sent you a bunch of texts. The party's gonna get busy soon, so I wanted to make sure I heard back from you before it started."
"Yeah, I read them. Sorry I was just- I'm at a friend's place right now."
"Oh. Well, if you want, your friend can come over too."
"Uhm yeah, well, uhm… I'm not really sure if I should go out." Scott then glanced at Stiles and said, "The full moon and all those animal attacks, you know?"
Danny didn't answer for a while.
"Hello? You still there?" Scott said into the phone.
"Yeah, sorry I just- Did you, I mean, those animal attacks, do you know what kind of animal it was?"
"... No I just-" Scott glanced up at Stiles who was waiting with his arms crossed.
At Scott's glance, Stiles looked up impatiently, "What? What is he saying? Put it on speaker phone."
"Is someone else there?" Danny asked.
"Yeah, just Stiles- stop, I'll do it."
"Alright, whatever." Stiles said.
"Don't put me on-" Danny started before Scott interrupted.
"I thought it might be a wolf."
The other line went quiet again. "Danny!" A voice said in the distance. Danny's voice could be heard replying, "I think he is."
"Who is?" The voice said.
The phone then sounded like it was being muffled before Danny's voice came back saying. "Sorry. Scott, I think you should come over."
Stiles grabbed the phone then, "Should you even be out?"
"What? Is that Stiles?" Danny asked.
"Yeah, and if you're trying to say what I think you're trying to say, then you really shouldn't be going to a party anyway."
There was some quiet. Danny could be heard saying, "I told you so."
The background voice said, "What, and not show up? Lydia would be even more suspicious. It's not like we weren't planning on leaving early anyway."
"Lydia? Is that Jackson?" Stiles said with annoyance.
"Yeah moron, you sure you know what you're talking about?"
"Yeah, so just, I don't know, ditch the party or something."
"I can't just ditch okay? It's the first party of the school year-"
"Oh my god, are you hearing yourself? You're a-" Stiles suddenly stopped midsentence.
"A what?" Jackson asked, daring him to go on.
Stiles looked up at Scott then who shrugged a 'I don't know what to do.' "Whatever, we're not coming." Stiles said, about to hang up.
"Fine, where are you?"
"What?"
"Where are you?" Jackson said, his voice lathered with annoyance.
"What-like you'll come over?"
"Duh asswhipe, where are you?"
"Uh…" Stiles glanced over at Scott who nodded. "I'm just at my place." Stiles said, scratching at the back of his head, and then gave Jackson and Danny his address.
Xxx
Alison walked in by herself. She didn't really know anyone, which was why she didn't really want to go in the first place, but now she was here wondering why she left. Her eyes searched for Lydia, or maybe any other familiar face from class who might be friendly enough to talk to her. She remembered then, her neighbor in her literature class, and the guy from the animal clinic, Scott. But it was Lydia who she found first and she looked pissed. She was having an argument with her boyfriend and someone else who looked familiar but Alison didn't think she knew. Maybe she'd go talk to Lydia later. So Alison walked around the party aimlessly looking for something to do or someone to talk to. Eventually she found herself in the backyard. She looked down at the pool and around at the red solo cup sea of people.
Suddenly Lydia burst into the backyard, anger spilling from her face. As Alison was just about to approach her, Lydia straightened her back and regained her composure and headed for a drink. Alison followed her and said, "Hey! I came."
"Oh, hey Alison." Lydia said disinterestedly. "What happened to family night?"
"I… didn't feel like going. My dad- You looked like you were having some argu-"
Lydia looked up with a glare and suddenly Alison felt like maybe she shouldn't have brought it up.
"Uhm, nevermind, you probably don't want to talk about it."
Lydia shook her head in a pompous sort of way and leaned back, taking a swig from her cup. "No, it's fine. Just Jackson, you know? He's being weird lately. And he left the party. Early. Like really early. Maybe I should dump him."
Alison raised her eyebrows and took a cup for herself.
Lydia went on saying, "It's just, he's supposed to be, like, perfect. And he was. He listened to me, he was captain of like, the best lacrosse team. He's smart. Now he's just… I don't know."
"Maybe he's just having a bad day?"
"It's not just one day." Lydia said, glancing up at Alison with a judgemental glare. She looked back down at her cup. "Well, whatever." She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Let's just go have fun." Lydia said with a mischievous smile. "And I can introduce you to some new friends."
Alison grinned, feeling a bit unsure, but followed Lydia's hand into the red sea of drunken friends yet to be made.
Xxx
Isaac sat in front of his screen, absorbed in Call of Duty. He wasn't thinking about anything in particular, just focused on his kills. He wondered if his brother's training was like this. Suddenly his health started getting low with blood littering the sides of his screen. He'd been killed.
He let out a sigh and released his hands from the controller, stretching them. Glancing down at his fingers, he remembered that adrenaline rush he felt last night. Then he remembered Scott in the light of the convenience store. It was weird. He'd never seen anything like that before. Isaac looked out the window and remembered the way Stiles had talked to him today.
Well it didn't matter. The screen indicated that he'd respawned. He stopped thinking about them and let his mind focus on the game again. He wouldn't care. He didn't need them. He didn't need anybody. He never did.
Xxx
Derek waited outside of Stiles' house. In the shadows of creeping night under a tree, he glanced back up at the moon. The alpha had to reach out to them eventually, otherwise, what was the point of making a pack? Derek began to wonder if he should be more concerned about Stiles' life right now. At least the sheriff wasn't home, Derek thought with relief.
He was surprised at Stiles figuring it out so quickly. Derek made a mental note to be careful around that human as he remembered overhearing Scott and Stiles' conversation when he had crept over to spy on them earlier. At least the human seemed trustworthy. But then again, humans could be deceptive, Derek thought, remembering someone he once loved.
At the sight of headlights coming towards the house, Derek treaded backwards, deeper into the trees, but not so far that he couldn't see the road. The car rolled to a stop, pulling up in front of the house. Derek watched the doors as they opened and closed and saw two boys approach Stiles' house. They looked to be about the same age as Scott, maybe a year older or so. At least one of them had that cocky aura of an upperclassman. The other had a calmer mature air about him.
Derek watched as they rang the doorbell. The porchlight turned on and the door opened. With a sense of unease, Derek looked on as they walked in the house. Feeling unsettled, Derek crept closer to the house. Through the walls he heard the boys' voices.
"We… we want to talk about..."
"The bite." That sounded like it might be the cocky one. "You've been acting weird McCall. Don't think we haven't noticed."
"Yeah, but we're not trying to get on your case. You… you got bit too right?"
"What, by luck?" A sarcastic voice answered that Derek recognized as Stiles.
"Stiles." Another said. That sounded like it might be Scott. "I think I heard you two talking about a bite?"
Derek perked up his ears in interest. Was one of them turned too?
"Yeah… we-" There was a pause, and Derek leaned closer.
The cocky one spoke up then, "Were you bitten or not?"
"... I was."
"By what?"
Another pause. "Well, it could have been anything really. Like something with rabies or-" Scott said.
"Why do you want to know?" Stiles interrupted. "Were you bit too?"
"Were you?" The cocky one said again.
"No."
"Then why are you even here?"
Derek could hear a huff and smelled the annoyance wafting off Stiles' skin. Derek expected him to say something snarky in return, but the calm voice said, "Was it a werewolf?"
The room went silent.
"Wait, you believe it too?" Scott said.
"Believe it? We're living it." The calmer voice replied.
"Great, we're all just fucking werewolves now." The cocky one muttered.
"I'm not." Stiles said, his sarcastic grin apparent in his voice.
"Want me to make you one?" Jackson said, threateningly stomping a foot towards where Derek thought Stiles might be. Stiles' footsteps could be heard shuffling backwards.
"We came because we wanted to know if you knew who bit us or why." The calm voice said.
Derek put a hand to the wall of the house then. The yellow light from inside draped itself over the bushes from a window just out of reach of him.
"No… I don't know anything. I thought it was just random or something. I didn't really think about it." Scott said.
"Do you know if Isaac was bit too?" The calm voice said.
"Isaac? Why him?" Stiles said.
"Didn't you see him at practice? No one gets as good at lacrosse as quickly as he did… except you, Scott." The calm voice said.
"Yeah… I guess it was weird." Scott said. "But maybe he just practiced a lot during the summer. Ugh."
Derek looked up as a car started to come down the road.
"Doubt it… You okay?" Stiles said.
Quickly, Derek ducked into the darkness.
"Yeah, I just feel kind of weird. Why us though?" Scott said.
The leaves rustled in the wind as the car passed by the house.
"I don't- ugh."
Nothing interesting.
"Woah, Danny are you o-" Stiles said. Suddenly the room was filled with groans of discomfort.
Oh. Derek thought, looking up at the moon. Quickly, Derek walked to the front door and checked to see if it was locked. "What's happening?" Scott yelled. "I feel like I'm gonna be sick." Luckily it opened freely.
"I-I-I think you're changing- Scott you're changing! Oh, you're all changing! Right, because you're werewolves. I have three werewolves in my house on a full moon. Oh my god. I'm gonna die." Stiles said, defeat in his voice "No," His voice cracked. "It'll be ok. I'll… I'll just leave and lock the door. My dad-I-I'll figure it out, but don't leave- just don't leave ok?" He rushed to the front door, promptly bumping into Derek. "Uh… hello?"
"Hi Stiles."
"You know my na- wait you have to leave. You- we can't be here right now."
"No Stiles. You can't be here right now." Derek said, putting a hand on Stiles' shoulder and walking past him.
"No, you don't understand you really can't be here right now."
Derek ignored him and walked up to the confused teenagers trying to sort out their transformation. "Listen to me. You can get through this. Just let go and feel it out, don't fight it, control it."
Stiles watched, his mouth gaping open as he started to realize what this meant. "Oh my god. They're everywhere." But then something else came to mind as he realized the experienced ability Derek had. Stiles couldn't find any doubt. Derek had to be the one who bit them.
Xxx
Isaac loosely went down the stairs. The hospital bill wasn't on the counter anymore. He pulled up a cup of water. The front door opened and his father walked in.
"Hey, son. How was school?" He asked as he put down the book he used to keep track of his athletes. Isaac glanced at his father's purple jaw before Mr. Lahey looked over at him. Coach Lahey must have had a good practice to be in such a cheerful mood. Maybe his team was especially gifted this year. It wouldn't surprise Isaac with his own talent rising out of nowhere.
"Fine." Isaac said, starting to walk away. As he did so, Mr. Lahey went to grab a cup of water, the smell of chlorine invading the kitchen. Maybe his father's good mood would protect him tonight.
"Where you going? Don't want to talk to your old man?"
Isaac stopped. Tension built up in his muscles and he could feel his heartbeat slowly rise. He turned around nervously and tried to look anywhere but at his father's face.
"You don't look too good, son. Everything okay?"
"Yeah. I was just-I was thirsty so I got some water." He said, his free hand clutching his other arm.
"Well that's good. It's important to stay hydrated." At some silence, Mr. Lahey smirked and chuckled, making Isaac feel small even as he tried to be strong. It made Isaac so unhappy how even the smallest things could affect him so strongly. "How's that lacrosse thing going for you?"
"Uh… it's good-"
"Look me in the face like a man, you look like a nervous wreck like that."
Isaac felt saliva building up in his mouth and tried to meet his father's eyes, praying he wouldn't accidentally glance at his father's jaw. He swallowed hard despite his own resistance. He didn't need to glance down to see how swollen Mr. Lahey's jaw was.
"Now…" Mr. Lahey said. "Tell me about lacrosse."
Xxx
"Stiles. Now." Derek commanded, looking over his shoulder at the human who gaped at him.
Stiles felt the impulse to obey, and with the uncomfortably high population of uncontrollable werewolves in his house, it might be in his best interest to listen. But Stiles glanced at Scott and then back to Derek. He wanted to know more, and he didn't know if he could trust the mysterious Derek Hale.
"Suit yourself." Derek said. Stiles stared from the doorframe. "But close the door. Sorry if your place gets ruined. Scott, stop trying to fight it, just let it happen."
"What if I hurt someone-I don't want to wake up with blood on my hands!" Scott yelled, his hands over his head as he tried to hold off the transformation, feeling more sick the longer he held out.
Danny glared up at Derek. "You did this to us!" Danny yelled, charging at Derek, his face taking on a new shape as claws extended from his fingertips.
"Watch the lamp!" Stiles called from behind a wall he peeked his head around. "Or not." He said as Derek crashed into it.
Derek got up and shrugged off the shards of broken glass.
"I'm pretty sure that's toxic." Stiles muttered at the crushed lightbulb. Quietly, he went to close and lock the door at the sound of another passing car. Quickly he rushed back to his spot and looked at the windows to see if the blinds were closed. They weren't. "Of course." He muttered. Nervously, he looked back at the werewolves and decided he didn't really want to get close enough to close the blinds. He checked to see that his keys were in his pocket before leaving the house to find something to cover up the windows with. He didn't trust Derek but he also knew that no one could know about this.
"That was cute." Derek said, and gently threw Danny into a wall, trying not to break Stiles' house down completely. It was probably best not to damage the sheriff's house. Derek paused as Jackson stared with wide eyes at Danny who slumped against the wall briefly before getting up. But would Derek really have to deal with it? Who was going to be the one to explain what happened here?
Jackson rushed to Danny's side, but Danny brushed him off. Jackson stared wide-eyed at Danny. He'd never seen him like this before. Danny yelled, but it transformed into a roar as he did so. Was this what Danny meant when he said the bite changes people?
Derek squinted unhappily. It wasn't like his sister's murder. You couldn't pretend that wolves had come in and destroyed every piece of furniture and tossed children into the walls. Well maybe you could, but it'd be harder to convin-
Danny charged into Derek again, who moved out of the way for Danny to bump head first in the wall. At the sound, Derek glanced back and noticed a small indentation in it. Derek nodded, impressed at the durability of the house.
-ce anyone. Would it be best to take everyone into the woods for a late-night training session? Oh right, the hunters. Derek rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He couldn't have the children die so quickly, not before he turned alpha. Where was the alpha anyway? Did he really not care that it was his beta's first night under the full moon? Well better for him. Maybe he'd bond with them and they'd be a nic-
"Stop. Moving." Danny said, before trying to charge into Derek again. This time Derek slammed him into the ground, pushing his head down. Danny made a grunting sound, which urged Jackson to step in for a punch. Suddenly Jackson was rushed by a strong wave of moon juice that overwhelmed and disoriented him. He grew dizzy and lost his balance before failing to land his punch and toppled over Danny.
-e little obedient pack. Derek smiled at the thought of that. Of course, to Scott it looked like Derek was smiling at how weak everyone was. Scott winced, as he looked down, trying again to focus on staying human. He wasn't going to kill anyone.
"Scott, you need to relax. You won't wake up with blood on your hands." He paused. "Well, you might, but you haven't killed anyone if that's what you're worried about. At least, not anyone human. Yet."
"What?" Scott asked, looking up with desperate eyes. In his lapse of concentration, he felt his face contort and take shape. "Ugh-no!"
Xxx
"Yeah, those scum." A man who Chris Argent knew as Jack said in the passenger side. In the backseat was a crossbow along with other weapons. Some were traps, others were maiming items.
"But it's strange that we haven't seen Derek tonight. I want to send him a message." Mr. Argent said, gripping the steering wheel. A car followed closely behind him as it normally did. "There's something strange happening. We don't need another uprising."
The man in the passenger side chuckled. "As if that would ever happen. Our technology and weapons are even better than the first time we did this, and I was just a kid then."
Chris Argent chuckled and said, "True, my dad was pretty dangerous then. Still is probably."
The man to his side shook his head as he was reminded of the legendary pack that once lived in Beacon Hills. "We shouldn't have let him live-"
"We've gotta stick to the code." Chris said, picking up on Jack's change of direction.
"Yeah, but look what's happened now."
"We don't know that it was him. There might not be any new wolves."
The man scoffed in disbelief. "So what, you think it's really just animal attacks?"
"Listen, all I'm saying is, if we don't have to start a little war in Beacon Hills, it's better for everyone. That's why I just want to give Derek a warning for now. When we investigate a bit more… then we'll see what happens."
The man shifted around in his seat, dissatisfied. "What's that kid doing?"
"What kid?" Chris looked up the road to see a boy who looked to be about Alison's age. He seemed to be trying to put stuff over a window of a house. It looked like maybe he was taking a foldable chair and leaning it across the windowpane. "Uh… good question." Chris said with a chuckle.
"Is he playing a prank?"
"I don't know, want to check it out?" He asked as he got closer to the house, slowing down just enough so he wouldn't pass it before Jack answered.
The passenger seat went quiet for a while.
"It's now or never." Argent looked up at Jack just as one of the uncovered windows had something flicker past it from within the house. The boy, glanced around and jumped at the sight of the cars, and rushed to the other window, trying to spread his arms over it. Immediately he tried to create a casual looking pose. "Well?"
Jack looked up from the dashboard. "No, we should focus on finding the other werewolves. We don't want anyone else to get bit tonight."
Chris nodded and turned back to face the road, glancing at the boy as the headlights passed over him. The car behind him honked as they drove past the house. Chris looked in the rearview mirror to see the safety lights blinking. Mr. Argent pulled over two houses down from the strange teenager. He rolled down his window as the car behind him opened it's driver's door.
"Hey." A man Chris recognized as Steve said.
"Hey, what's going on?" Chris asked, looking up at him, leaning an elbow against the car door.
"There's something weird about that house down the road."
Chris laughed and nodded, looking back at Jack who smiled back. It wasn't a real smile, more like one of those polite ones people make when waiting for something to be over. Jack looked out his window, looking for any movements in the trees.
"Yeah we saw." Chris said, turning back to Steve. "Why, you think it's something we should worry about?"
"I don't know, I just saw something in the window and thought we might as well should check it out."
"Something? Like what?" Argent asked, his interest perking up.
"I don't know, but it was fast."
The car went quiet. "Well, I guess it doesn't hurt to check."
Xxx
Isaac sat in his room. He was angry and restless. He wasn't sure why he was angry. When he thought about his conversation with his dad, he didn't really seem mean. It just felt mean. Was he overreacting? His dad did seem to be in a good mood after all. Isaac pressed a hand to his head, a strange feeling washing over him.
He decided he didn't care. It took too much energy to try to understand his dad. "Ugh." He said at the strange tingly feeling that came from his mouth. "Augh." He felt his teeth shift, but it oddly didn't hurt. "Ah-" He felt like gagging from the headrush that came at him. He cursed, not sure of what was happening and in denial that his teeth could have actually just extended like that. Isaac tried to stand and immediately felt dizzy. His head rushing at himself with the sensation of falling forward as he stood still. "Oh." He muttered and sat back down. "No.." He mumbled to himself, shaking his head. Maybe he just needed some fresh air. He walked over to the window in his room and opened it, the cool air draping over his skin like a soothing blanket. The moonlight gently kissed his face and he felt himself relax. His fingers grew claws and he felt that strange sensation again, like his face was changing, but this time he was conscious enough to notice it. He let his fingers feel his eyebrows that arched over his eyes. Isaac suddenly remembered the way Scott had looked that night in front of the convenience store. His heart quickened as confusion ruptured through him. What was happening to him?
There was a knock on his door, making Isaac jump.
"Hey son, one more thing."
Without thinking, Isaac pounced out of his room and into the night.
Xxx
Stiles ripped off the last piece of duct tape fastened over the cardboard cover for the window. He tapped the cardboard and was satisfied when it didn't shift under his hand. Glaring suspiciously at the chair he'd put over the window next to it, he decided that the extra piece of cardboard he had would be a better fit, considering the chair still revealed parts of the window. Before he did so, he looked over down the road again. The cars he'd seen earlier sounded like they'd pulled over down the road. As his head went over, he jumped back in surprise as two people stared at him. Gripping his heart in surprise, he rushed back into the house just as a loud thud erupted from inside.
"Guys, shut up! What if someone calls the cops-" Stiles began as he walked in, closing the door behind him. As he turned around, he saw the three little werewolves strewn about on the floor, panting and glaring up at Derek. A couch was on its side and a picture frame on the wall was now on the ground, glass scattered around it. "Are you serious?" Stiles said, almost in a whimper as he cowered closer to the door. He lips quivered as he looked up at the ceiling praying he'd make it through the night. "Derek, you said you'd help them." He whined.
"I am. Look, they're starting to get the hang of it." Derek said looking over his shoulder and then back at the werewolves. "Feels better, doesn't it? And where normal humans would be bruising, you don't even feel sore. Nice, isn't it." It wasn't a question.
"No." Scott and Danny yelled at Derek defiantly with disgust. They both glanced at each other in surprise.
"The bite is a gift. I can help you-"
"I didn't ask for this!" Danny yelled. Scott moaned unhappily with his hands pressed against his head. "I never wanted any of this-"
"You will-"
"No! I won't! My family has always hated your kind! You're disgusting and vile and cruel! The hunters should have exterminated you in that fire." Danny said. Damn. Stiles thought. Jackson stared at Danny in surprise. Danny panted and his eyes seethed with anger, brimming with hot tears. Jackson felt the urge to reach out to him, his clawless fingers stretching to touch Danny's shoulder.
Derek gripped his fists. He walked up to Danny. The werewolf's eyes flashed blue as he squatted in front of Danny. Jackson's head spun toward Derek defensively. Through gritted teeth, Derek said "It's not 'your kind' anymore." He paused, letting that sink in, watching the lines in Danny's face shift from rage to horror. "It'll never be that way again, and if you want learn how to control yourself so you don't become 'disgusting, vile, and cruel' then you better shut up and do what I say." Danny said nothing but glared at Derek. "What? You want to kill me? Go ahead and try. It's not like you've been able to hit me once this whole time."
Scott felt like he could be sick, and finally let go. He groaned, rolling onto his back as his body finally fully shifted. "There you go." Derek said, standing up to walk over to Scott. "That feels better, doesn't it?" He said with a know-it-all mentality. "If you'd let go earlier, you might have been more in control of yourself like Danny is now." Derek said, glancing back at Danny who wasn't attacking Derek at the moment, though he still looked like a werewolf. Danny turned away, glaring over in Stiles' general direction without really intending to. Stiles winced away anyway.
The doorbell rang. The three new werewolves covered their ears and flinched away from the noise. "Don't answer it." Derek warned.
"Hello?" A voice said from outside. Stiles saw Derek's face flash with frustration as he seemed to recognize it. "Mind if we come inside?"
"Don't. Move." Derek said through gritted teeth.
The door started to knock and the doorbell rang again, making the three boys moan.
"I can hear you in there." The voice said.
Derek spun on the boys and said, "Go hide. Now." Noticing a staircase he said, "Upstairs."
"Why?" Danny challenged.
"Because you're a fucking werewolf now and no one can know about it." Derek said, shoving his face into Danny's personal space. "Or do you want everyone in on what a disgusting creature you are?"
Danny glared at Derek, but headed up the stairs. Jackson quietly followed Danny's lead into helping carry Scott between their shoulders. Jackson kept his eyes attentive as he did so with Derek trailing closely behind them. Stiles walked to watch them go upstairs as he heard something clatter behind him by the window.