Stiles wasn't really sure what to do. I mean... Isaac had a point – had Derek turned him? Was he undergoing some freaky change between human and wolf that he wasn't aware of?

But... he knew, knew inside that the shallow marks on his back that had faded so much he could hardly see them wouldn't do it. And Derek hadn't bitten him – oh, he'd kissed the crap out of him, but he'd never actually bitten him.

So what was going on?

He stepped out from under the shower and turned off the hot water. He didn't bother with the towel – letting the water run down his body as he stared at himself in the mirror. The bruises were there, a lovely new one forming on his shoulder where Jackson had slammed into him. The others were still there too – like each bruise had got to the point where they looked the worst... then just stopped getting better. His entire torso and back was a mass of blue and purple marks – it was impossible to see where one stopped and the other started.

But there were changes. He had put on weight, his chest seemed wider, his stomach more defined. Was it possible to hit a second puberty? Was that what was going on? Had he hit a stage when he was going to start looking like a real guy and not just a skinny kid? He opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out the tube of Arnica and rubbed some onto the new bruise that was forming. He tried not to look at the unopened box of condoms, with the thin layer of dust over the top – and totally ignored the brand new tube of lube that he'd bought after that kiss. Just in case.

The cream soothed instantly, he sometimes felt like he could feel it working. Only... it wasn't working. The bruises weren't fading, if anything – he looked worse. He felt great, but he looked like hell.

Grabbing his jeans he pulled them over his wet skin. Derek was already standing in his room, waiting for Stiles to throw the tube at him. He could hear the wolf breathing. Huff puff.

As he walked through to his room, he noticed Derek had on his regular black jeans and one of the grey t-shirts he'd bought at the GAP with him. And just seeing it made Stiles feel bad. A few weeks ago they'd been laughing in a store, cute girls thinking they were a couple – they'd watched TV together on the floor, he'd been laughing at Stiles stupid jokes and his obsession that Dean really just needed to open his damn eyes because Castiel was totally gagging for it (how fucking ironic). So when Derek stood there in that T-shirt that Stiles picked, he felt like crying. It was like losing Scott – only worse because Scott hadn't given him a hickie that refused to fade.

Derek held out his hand for the tube, and Stiles threw it at his head. Of course the wolf caught it, didn't need to even look when his hand shot out and grabbed it.

"You need more of this."

"Yeah, I can pick it up after school tomorrow."

"Isaac said you were still benched?"

Oh, and didn't that just suck all kinds of balls? He'd been benched because coach had seen the bruises that were all over his body. And freaked out. So he was on a medical break – in other words, back to second string.

And Scott had been happy. Happy that Stiles was on the bench and he wasn't. Isaac had been happy too – but for different reasons. He was worried, worried about Stiles and his stupid temper and bruises and the fact that he broke Jacksons arm by accident.

"Yup."

"That might be a good thing."

"Yeah, cause being kicked off the team is awesome." Stiles said, turning his back on the wolf. "Best thing that's happened to me in weeks."

Derek rubbed the lotion into his back. There was no point in him trying to single out each bruise now – there was more bruises than pale skin now – so he just started at the neck and worked his way down.

"You know that's not what I meant." Derek said, and Stiles could feel the frustration pour out of the Alpha.

"I know." He sighed, as Derek added more cream to his back. "I just really hate being benched again. Like before."

"I made dinner." Derek said, once he'd finished. He threw the finished tube in the trash can by Stiles desk and left. Stiles guessed he should be happy – it was the most the grumpy assed wolf had said to him weeks.

They ate dinner in the livingroom. Derek had been working his way through the Stilinski family DVD collection and had reached the Westerns. Stiles hated cowboy movies.

"Can we please watch something else?" He begged. "Anything else?"

"No."

"Derek." Stiles moaned, "I'll keep talking the whole way through this movie and I'll keep talking until you do what I want."

"Shut up and eat." Derek said, eyes on the TV. Stiles groaned as though he was in actual pain, putting his plate on the coffee table and lifting his cushion back onto the sofa. Clambering onto the sofa, he sat himself right down beside Derek.

"I'm going to talk the whole way through this film. I'm going to sit here and talk and talk and you're eventually going to give in because you know I'm serious."

Stiles though for a moment Derek was going to either kill him or kiss him – both preferable to sitting through one of his dads westerns – but he didn't.

"Fine, put what you want on." He said, handing the remote to Stiles, making sure their fingers didn't touch.

And Stiles was pissed. Really, really pissed off that he'd given in. Pissed that he'd not even thought it was worth arguing over, which was stupid, because he didn't want to argue with Derek.

"Never mind. I've got homework anyway." Stiles said, climbing off the sofa and grabbing his plate. He threw the remote back on the sofa where he had been sitting and stalked out, furious with himself.

He was acting like a child. No wonder Derek was avoiding him. He'd made a mistake and kissed a kid who'd become a total fucking creeper over it. Stiles needed to get a life, because he was starting to obsess over Derek Hale and that wasn't cool. Really wasn't cool.

"Idiot." He muttered, turning on his laptop. He ate his dinner (steamed chicken and veg – was fucking amazing) while flicking through his dash.

When he got back from school the next day (with a plan to avoid thinking about Derek Hale firmly in place) His dad had left a note pinned to the fridge.

'Trunk upstairs. For you – arrived with this letter.'

It was from his dead aunts solicitors. The personal effects had arrived.

The case was full of books. Note books mostly. Although nothing like he'd ever seen before. They were all bound in leather, looked hand stitched. Some even had etched drawings on the covers.

But inside…

Pages and pages of hand drawn illustrations, notes, poems. Each one written in different handwriting. There were additional notes, side points. A few even had faded photographs pinned to the thick pages.

Learn your Herbs.

Your blood is closely attuned to the earth. Typical medication may not affect you as well as others. Herbal mixtures and teas will aid you more than Western Medicine. Be warned – some herbs will cause great changes in the body.

Arnica – Apply sparingly. Effects blood cells. Depending on familiar can be deadly or extremely powerful.

Camomile – In tea will help calm and settle minds. Often used by those guided by Spiders or insects. Will aid in concentration. ((Very useful))

Honey – Mixed with teas will boost immune system. Has limits. No need to measure – no negative side effects.

Research is vital. Normal effects of herbs may have extreme reactions with you. Always test first.

Your familiar will effect strength of results.

This was Harry Potter type stuff. These were Neville Longbottoms herbology books or some crap like that. No wonder his mom had left if this was the kind of things that they thought was normal.

He still read everything though. Sat on his bedroom floor and read each book cover to cover. This was… herbs, old recipes and tea making guides and then thrown in amongst it, insane stuff like:

Familiars are guides, normally animals, which bestow their natural gifts to us.

They may not at first be apparent. They are not always pets.

The stray cat that shows up every day, The bird that nests outside your bedroom window. ((NEVER ASSUME.))

Typical Familiars:

Cats: The most common and widely known. They promote grace, cunning and independence. Downside: They can cause those they guide to distance themselves from others. ((wicked witch syndrome))ß DAMN RIGHT!

Spiders: Very common but often misunderstood. They promote patience, planning and occasionally defensive Skills. Downside: Can often cause those they guide OCD.

Birds: Not as common anymore. They promote speed, memory and in rare cases increase logical thinking. Downside: They can cause dependence issues / emotional distress.

Dogs: They promote loyalty, empathy and sometimes speed. Downside: They are not always intelligent.

Jesus. Had they been in some kind of witchy-poo cult or something? This was like those books he'd loved as a kid, when his mom had freaked out and taken them all out of his room. No wonder, she'd obviously gone through a lot of this crap when she was younger and didn't want him around it.

He'd almost missed it. Almost didn't see the book at the very bottom. Bound in soft red leather, he picked it up and opened the first page.

Lore of Beasts.

He read a few pages and stared at the books scattered around him in a whole new light. In his hand he had his own Bestiary. His own full on 'Charmed' moment.

Now this…. This was fucking MAGIC.

Turning off the hot water and stepping out from under the spray, he listened for any sounds in the house. No one was home. He'd blown off school – text Isaac and told him not to tell Derek he'd skipped class. The last thing he needed was for the wolf to show up if he was going to do something that may end up making him look like a total idiot if nothing happened.

He'd driven into the city – Beacon Hills was an okay town but he needed a few very specific things. A google search named two places where he could get what he needed. The first was a huge store, filled with candles and pentagrams and women who wore long flowing skirts and lots of jewellery. He felt like an idiot as soon as he walked in with his list.

"Can I help you?" The woman behind the desk said, floating over in a cloud of perfume that made his eyes water.

"I'm looking for comfrey leaves." He said, "And…"

"We have oils infused with comfrey essence." She said, waving a bangled arm over the walls of glass vials. "Very good for healing."

"I need the leaves." He said, as people started looking at him.

"We don't have those." She said, softly. "The oils though…"

"Nevermind."

Rare/Mythical Familiars:

Sprites/Kelpies/Halfinches/Fay or similar – once common, now almost extinct. Very little is known about magik / supernatural guides. They were misunderstood as powers shared were often uncontrollable.

Further research will be required. ((VERY DANGEROUS))

The next place was tiny. Cramped. There were bunches of roots hanging from the beams of the roof. He'd had to walk through China Town to get there, leaving his car on the main street as he tried to find his way to the tiny shop.

"I'm looking for comfrey leaves." He told the old man at the counter. He looked like one of those old guys in Kung-Fu movies, the white pointed beard and aged about a million years old.

"We have those." He said, in a strange half English accent. Stiles felt bad for assuming that he'd talk like Mr Miyagi.

"Do you have these?" He said, handing over his list. He'd put down everything he thought he might need from the books.

"This we have. This we'll order. This we cannot do." He said marking the list with a pencil. "Until they make it legal."

"I'm making herbal teas for… a project. Nothing illegal."

The old man gave Stiles a very odd look as he worked down his list. "These are very… specific." He commented. "Black Mountain Ash?" He said, glancing now at the list and back to Stiles. "We can get this. Very rare. Not often needed for tea making."

"Very specific tea." Stiles said, as the old man smiled.

"Yes, I understand. I can give you some of these now, others will need ordered. You will pay for everything today."

He'd crushed a single dried leaf in the pestle that Derek had bought for the kitchen. He was the only one that used it – so Stiles made sure he washed it out really well before putting it back. He didn't want the Alpha to know what he'd been doing. The fine powder didn't look like anywhere near enough for what he needed, but the book he was working from had been very clear. Test everything first.

Testing:

Mix honey & a small crushed/chopped/drop of item. Mix well. DO NOT INGEST. Apply a small rubbing to the skin just below the knee. Wait 24 hours. Any effects must be documented. Skin discolouration is a sign of altered blood. Black = Bad. Burning that lasts more than 30 seconds after application is a sign of danger. Clean well with mild tea or lemon juice.

If no negative effects:

Mix sample with food. Be warned – use a very small dose and a lot of food (ice cream is ideal) Effects may be instant or take up to one full day. Remember – NEVER MIX MORE THAN ONE HERB AT A TIME. They may mask effects. Honey is the only neutral base.

He tipped the powder in a plastic tub and poured honey over it. Mixed it well – really well, until the honey was almost white with the air he'd whipped in it.

It was sitting on the sink now, the little air bubbles risen to the surface. Sitting on the edge of the toilet he used a spoon to add the honey to the bruise on his thigh. Nothing happened.

He felt like a fucking idiot, as the honey mixture started to run down his thigh. Using a wet cloth, he wiped it off and pulled on his jeans. Leaving the tub on his sink, he picked up the leather bound book and re-read it.

It was interesting, and read like it might work – but he'd been stupid to think it was actually real.

"Did you do whatever it was you needed yesterday?" Isaac asked, walking around the huge auditorium. The School had insisted that his year should attend a careers event in the city – there were a few other schools from around the state as well, it was kind of strange to see some kids in uniform – guys walking about like they were in Dalton Academy or something. He half expected them to burst into song.

"Yeah." He said. "Yeah – thanks for not telling Derek." He added, knowing that it was difficult for him to keep things from his Alpha.

"It's okay I just…" Isaac's voice trailed off as his eyes stared past Stiles shoulder. Turning, he couldn't see anything, just people. Lot of people.

"Are you okay?"

"Do you see her?"

"Who?"

"Her." Isaac hissed. "The girl in the green."

"There are about forty girls in green, Isaac." Stiles said, elbowing him in the ribs. "You'll need to be more specific."

"The red-head." He said, eyes fixed on one spot like he couldn't even move. And then Stiles saw her. Saw her because she was staring at Isaac like her life depended on it, totally ignoring the girls who were giggling and nudging her. She was tiny, a mass of red curly hair, pale skin and covered in freckles. Cute, in a way. And then she smiled. And Isaac actually stopped breathing. Totally just stopped. And so did Stiles. That was one hell of a smile.

Something though, something tugged at the back of Stiles brain, like a kite on the end of a string. Something about her smile that made him think he'd seen her before.

There were a lot of teeth. Stiles glanced at Isaac who was smiling back. All teeth.

"Uh, dude." He said, trying to grab Isaac's arm before… He saw them out of the corner of his eye and his heart rate kicked up a gear. "Uh, Jackson, Scott, Boyd, Erica… get your asses here right now." He hissed, knowing that no matter where they were in the crowd they would be able to hear him, or at least, the panic in his voice. Because he'd seen the guys. The three huge, giant red-headed jocks in varsity jackets and pissed off expressions. And those smiles were all teeth. "This is Stiles and I'm sending up a giant fucking Bat Signal right now!" He said – and Isaac still hadn't moved. Neither had the girl in green, whose brothers were most defiantly of the wolfy persuasion. Jackson got there first, dragging Lydia behind him, Boyd and Erica shoving their way through the crowd just behind.

"What the hell?" Jackson said, looking like he wanted to kill Stiles. "Why did you…" And then he saw them. Oh, four of them now. "What is going on?" Lydia said, following Isaac's line of sight. "Oh, She's a cute one! You should go talk to her."

"No!" Five voices spoke at once – loud enough to get the girl in green to look somewhere other than Isaac, and for Isaac to face Stiles, just as a heavy hand came down on Stiles bruised shoulder. And damn it, but it hurt like hell. His knees almost buckled.

"Who the hell are you?" The giant red-headed werewolf growled in his ear.

"Stiles." Was all he could manage as the pain in his shoulder made him light headed. "Just Stiles."

"Stay away from our sister or-"

"Oh my god!" a shrill voice broke in. "You are the most embarrassing things in the whole world!" The little red headed girl, who was about 4 inches shorter that Stiles, was suddenly there. "How dare you!" She hissed, eyes flashing green and fire. "How very dare you!"

"He was staring at you." The older guy said, although all the threat had left his voice. He was practically whining.

"No he wasn't!" She snapped. "I'm telling mom right now." She said, whipping a phone out of her pocket. "I'm telling her what jerks you are. I'm telling her you almost got into a fight with another pack and you hurt a human." She said as she dialled. "I'm telling her-"

"Reever!" Four voices whined at once. "Come on, we're just looking out for you."

"The day I need you to look out for me will be the day Argents cut me in half." She hissed, ear to the phone.

"Reeve!"

"Mom?" She said, paying them no attention. "I'm going to kill my brothers. All of them. They were going to beat up a guy just for looking at me." She paused. Even Stiles could hear the woman on the other end of the phone yelling. The guy who'd slammed his hand down on his shoulder was now holding on to him like he needed all the help in the world to stay standing. Stiles was sure he heard the word 'castration' before all four whined again. "Sure." She girl (Reeve, he assumed) said, holding out the phone to the brother holding onto Stiles.

He took it gingerly, as though he'd just been handed a bomb.

"Ah, Hi mom."

Remember: Words are powerful. Try not to rhyme – the camber of tone and rhythm can cause power to infuse.

As always – Remember, words spoken can hurt if they are power infused or not. Beware of those spoken in haste.

They were sitting in the lunch area in the middle of the event. Lydia had stacks of stuff that she was idly flipping though, While Jackson was pretending to read some leaflet about the army that Boyd had shown him. Scott and Alison were still standing at a stall chatting to a guy about the archery programme at his college. Reever - who was actually called 'Genevieve'- was sitting at the other table talking to Isaac. Well… they weren't talking. They were just kind of staring at each other. And smiling. Her brothers were sitting around Stiles, chatting away as though nothing had happened. Turns out they were actually pretty cool – although football obsessed.

"So mom said we could go on the team, as long as we didn't you know… kill anyone." Said Gabe (the smaller of the four brothers).

"Yeah – Isaac plays lacrosse. Same deal."

"I guess." Gavin (the one who'd almost broke Stiles shoulder) said. "No hard feelings, right?"

"Nah."

"She's our little sister, you know. We just… it's a bit soon for her to be…" He glanced over at the girl who was still staring into Isaac's eyes like he was the only person worth looking at in the world. "Dating."

"I'm 17." She said from across the table, not breaking eye contact with Isaac.

Isaac sat beside Stiles on the way back, Scott and Alison up at the back of the bus holding hands and whispering to each other. Stiles wouldn't have minded, but Isaac, normally okay with conversation, had his phone out and was texting non-stop. Stiles had a feeling of Déjà vu all over again. Girl shows up… wolf stops hanging out with Stiles.

Then Isaac hit send and looked at him. "Sorry."

"No worries, dude, text your girlfriend." He grinned.

"Did you see this?" He said, ignoring the 'girlfriend' bit, but blushing a little. "I picked it up when we were going around."

He handed Stiles a glossy photo brochure. A smiling guy in blue scrubs was holding the most adorable puppy Stiles had ever seen. 'Veterinarian College' in bold letters at the top of the page. "I thought it looked pretty cool. You know… what do you think?"

Stiles grinned. "This is awesome, dude!"

"It's pretty close too – so I wouldn't need to leave Derek." He said, pointing at the simple map on the back. "I could travel back and forth at weekends or whatever – and still keep my job at Deatons."

"Would you want to stay with Derek?"

"Yeah." Isaac said, not really looking at him. "He's my Alpha, and he saved my life." He smiled then. "And we've got some pretty neat woods out here, you know. Living in the city would be… hard."

"I've got an image of you now – singing 'born free' skipping through the woods." Stiles grinned, which made Isaac laugh and elbow him in the ribs.

I'm really, really not updating at all for the next few days. I know I said that yesterday, but then I got a bug in my head about a few things, and this idea for Stiles and now it's all I can think about and I'm going crazy.

So…

Thanks for all the great reviews! I've had such fun reading them and (yes, pilfering a few ideas and adding a couple of things here and there that you mentioned) I'm so very pleased with the whole world right now.

I know a lot of people are wondering what is going on with Stiles and there are some pretty big hints in this chapter – but all may not be what it seems! Maybe.

I dunno – I make this up as I go along.

I like to be surprised too, you know!