Danny flung Stiles away from him with a strength he didn't know he possessed and screamed "Run" at him. He couldn't bear the thought that his beloved younger foster brother would be attacked by the snarling monster in front of them. Gods, Danny didn't want to die but he'd be damned to all the hells before he would let his Stiles die if he could save him. He just hoped that he would be re-incarnated as a bee so that he could so sting Stiles' idiot ass for this stunt.
Stiles the stubborn little shit had tried to pull him away until Danny had used his superior size and strength and backhanded him across his face in a frightened rage and hissed "Get help you fool "and then to Stiles' horrified disbelief had turned to run towards the monster instead of away from it.
Danny had lost his senses. He had gone fucking nuts. "No" Stiles had screamed, terror shuddering through his spine like a fast flowing snow swollen river and keeping him frozen to the spot.
But before he could move towards Danny, he had been grabbed from behind. Stiles had flailed in shock and he begged "Please, please help us" as he recognised that it was muscular human arms wound tightly around him and he was pulled against an unyielding torso, until a hard rough hand had clamped over his mouth and a harsh cruel voice hissed in his ear "Shut your mouth boy"
Stiles could barely breathe as he saw with horror the red eyed monster emerge from the shadows. It was a wolf, a dappled grey and black wolf, the biggest fucking wolf he had ever seen in his entire life, and Stiles could feel his heart stop as that thing made an impossible leap and landed on Danny, an almost human sadistic leer on its face as it buried its enormous jaws into Danny's side. For an eternity Stiles' world descended into disbelieving despairing silence as he watched his beautiful Danny, his beloved brother in all but name turn into a bloodied screaming chew toy for the snarling werewolf. Sound, scent and reality crashed through Stiles' body with the force of a mighty blow and suddenly he was struggling frantically against the brutish arms which held him still as he watched the forest floor become a darker shade in the moonlight as Danny's blood flooded out of his helpless body and pooled around them.
But to Stiles mind, his world had become red, he could see only red, the red of his brother's blood, the red of the gaping maw tearing into Danny, the red in those vicious terrifying eyes. He truly believed at that moment that he would never see any other colour again as his continuous screams were muffled against a calloused hard until another voice, a different voice, an utterly cold and indifferent voice spoke and forced Stiles to focus.
"Enough Deucalion, we don't want the Sheriff's son to die now do we? He is only to be given your blessed gift" the last two words were spat with contemptuous disgust and then the voice returned to its empty echoing inhuman darkness "Whilst we take this hysterical screaming little nuisance of a foster son to meet his gods face to face"
The purring pleasure in that voice as it finished speaking made Stiles want to vomit, despite the pain in his throat, scrapped raw by his screams. Then Stiles intelligent restless brain realised something important. Merciful Bel, the stupid bastards had mixed them up, they thought Danny was Stiles and Stiles was Danny. Stiles thanked the gods that he was gagged so that he couldn't inadvertently let them know their mistake, because at least Danny had a chance this way, if they knew he wasn't the Sheriff's son then he would be killed outright and Stiles would be the next munchy snack for the monster. Then something else began to pound at his brain cells, that voice, that cold voice, he knew it, he had heard it somewhere else, but before his brain could work it out, something hard and heavy slammed against his head and he knew no more as he plunged into darkness.
"Damn it Allison, you know what Stiles is like, he's bound to have persuaded Danny too. Danny has absolutely no will power when it comes to Stiles' wiles, we need to go after them." The graceful redhead was adamant in her conviction. The impeccably dressed heir to the throne of Beacon Hill, in her soft lilac silk tunic and matching brigga, with her dark leather boots was blocking the exit so that the Captain of the Sheriff's Hunters couldn't slip past her without acknowledging her words.
Allison looked at her best friend and sighed with irritation "Lydia, you know we have too much to do to be ready in time for this damn ceremony with the Weres. If our darling idiot Dear ones have gone for a moonlight toddle just to satisfy Stile's bloody curiosity, well they won't get passed my sentries and I will work their asses off in training for the next week in punishment. Then I will tell Sheriff John just to see Stiles face when they are both grounded for the next year and will be banned from the welcome ceremony and the negotiations"
Lydia tossed her hair back and glared at Allison coldly "If something happens to my boys Allison because you wouldn't listen to me, I will make your life a living hell, best friend or no best friend, I promise you" Lydia's frustration was obvious as she continued "It wasn't Stiles or Danny's fault that your Dad disappeared and I should have thought being the Sheriff's Captain actually meant protecting his family too"
Allison's normally calm brown eyes hardened at the words and she glared right back as she moved in such a way that Lydia felt threatened for a second. Allison was so not in the mood for Lydia's manipulative shit right now. " Well if you are that sure that they are in danger my lady Lydia, let us go and speak to the Sheriff so that we can alert all the Hunters and take appropriate action"
Allison smirked, she knew that Lydia would want to keep Stiles out of trouble for as long as possible.
Lydia narrowed her eyes at her best friend, flounced her hair back, spun on her heel and stormed off towards the exit as Allison closed her tired eyes, sighed and started to say "Lyds, I didn't…" but she was left speaking to thin air.
She rolled her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, trying to ignore the guilty feeling in her gut. Lydia was rarely wrong, no doubt Stiles was up to something but she couldn't spare the time for Stiles and Danny's antics now, and there was no way the two Dear ones would manage to slip passed her sentries. There was too much to worry about, too many odd occurrences and strange happenings including the three recent deaths which were being blamed on animal attacks. The humans had been savaged, there was no other word for it but it had happened before the Empire's legions had arrived or the Sheriff would have had Allison investigating them. It was all adding up to something ominous, and she couldn't afford to make any mistakes with regards to the damned formal visit by the Werewolves. They had to be prepared for as many contingencies as possible.
However she turned to her second in command who had been silently listening in the corner "Erica follow her and make sure she does nothing stupid or at least keep her relatively safe" She ordered with a weary sigh. She knew her best friend and future Sheriff would not leave it alone when it came to her family. Allison sometimes thought Lydia should have been born a Were, she had the same instinct to protect her family as the members of the infamous wolf true pack.
Lydia stormed off in a foul mood because of all three of her friends. She just knew that Stiles was up to something which meant Danny was involved too, and damn Allison for not listening to her. She should have let Allison call the Sheriff but she honestly didn't want the idiot boy to get into any more trouble with his Dad. They hadn't been getting along properly for some time and she didn't want to exacerbate it.
If only Stiles would tell his father he didn't want to be offered in marriage to the douche-bag Ethan, Sheriff of that ridiculous backwater Lake-town, his father wouldn't force him, he didn't want him to go, but that nasty conniving Kate Argent, daughter to the Head of the Druids Gerard, and stupid Allison's stupid favourite Aunt, stupid best friend, had convinced Stiles it was his duty and what his father wanted.
Merciful Bel that boy could be so gullible when it came to his loved ones. So of course the idiot had listened to that evil hag ( she wasn't more beautiful than Lydia, she didn't care what Erica had said, Lydia was the most beautiful woman in Beacon Hills and all those envious bitches knew it), instead of talking to his father and things had become more strained.
It galled Lydia that the smile on that vicious bitch Argent's face had grown wider and more satisfied at each sign of the father/son relationship faltering.
Of course it hadn't helped that the Alpha Sheriff had bedded that Beta bitch. John Stilinski was still a handsome and vigorous man and Lydia could admit that Kate might be beautiful in the way that deadly predators were beautiful. Lydia wanted to strangle the druidess with her own ugly silver torque and bury the bitch in her green speckled druid cloak where no one would ever find her body.
Stiles the fool had not wanted to hurt the relationship, or rather hurt his father, he wanted his father to be happy, was almost pathetically desperate for his father to be happy, it had been the overriding ambition of the kid's childhood since his mother had died, and of course Stiles had just played straight into that bitch's claws.
Lydia decided the only time she was using the word bitch was for Kate Argent, in fact she was not going to acknowledge her by anything other than Bitch Argent from now on and she was going to have to do something about Bitch Argent herself, as the men were so stupid and blinded by that mediocre face and body. Not that Lydia didn't know how to use her own superior face and body to her own advantage, she just didn't prostitute herself like her unfavourite Argent female. She was the Sheriff's heir, an Alpha and the cleverest and most beautiful person in Beacon Hills, it was no contest.
It had broken her heart when she had realised that the only reason Stiles wasn't going to be Sheriff was because he was a Dear One, an Omega, because he was just as amazingly smart (though boy stupid because boys were just so stupid sometimes, well most of the time) and beautiful as she was, But it was unheard of that any other tribe would accept a Dear One as Sheriff. It would be seen as a sign of weakness and would lead to opportunist attacks and even war.
As far as Lydia was concerned, that rampant stupidity just reinforced exactly how stupid most people were, because her Stiles could be as ruthless, relentless, dedicated, courageous and creative as Lydia herself, sometimes more so because he had the ability to unite people around him which was a struggle for Lydia because she thought most people were just stupid. He would make an awesome leader but since that wasn't going to happen, he would make an even more awesome advisor and they would be dragging her cold dead body away from a giant green lizard man before she would lose him to some overblown, druid loving, weak chinned, weak kneed pox ridden sorry excuse for a Sheriff like Ethan.
Danny and Stiles were hers, her brothers and friends, and they were staying with her unless they really and truly fell in love and wanted something different. If it came down to it, to keep them safe she would bond with the boys herself. It might piss the pair of them off, especially as she knew she was not Danny's type and she also had her doubts about Stiles' inclinations although he had never said anything but at the very least the two Dear Ones would having a loving Alpha with her, and their children would be utterly beautiful and incredibly intelligent.
It took them twenty four hours to find Danny and there was still no sign of Stiles. Lydia had dragged Erica and as many able bodied "volunteers" she had set her eyes on as she had made preparations for the search, through the forest. It was the whine of one of the Sheriff's hunting hounds that drew them to the unconscious boy.
Lydia's blood turned to ice in her veins as she dismounted. There was a terrified silence as she stumbled over to Danny's body, followed by the Captain's rigid faced second in command Erica. Lydia's clinically logical brain could only repeat unuttered prayers "Sweet Mother, Merciful Mother, Merciful Bel, not Danny, please not Danny" until she dropped to her knees besides the blood covered unmoving figure( Merciful Bel, so much blood, please don't take him, please, please). She didn't hear the pitiful whimper which left her lips, Lydia Martin was never pitiful and she absolutely did not whimper. She didn't realise that she was holding her own breath hostage in her throat until she felt the weak pulse in the neck of the prone boy, and saw the shallow rise and fall of his mauled chest.
"He lives" She screamed in triumph, daring any god to try to take him away from her, and the sound shocked her people into motion as they made him comfortable to transport him back to the settlement.
Lydia refused to look at Allison when she had Danny carried to the Healing House. Lydia was ice, her rage cold and deadly. She couldn't think about Stiles, she couldn't, she had to focus on Danny. She had to make sure he lived, and then he could tell them where Stiles was. She had heard Allison tell Erica that the Sheriff was looking for Stiles but she couldn't speak to another stupid Argent bitch at the moment or she would strike her down, Captain of the Hunters or not, she would hurt Allison for this. She addressed her remarks to Erica.
"Find him a wolf healer" and then followed Danny into the healing house, ignoring Allison's desperate attempts to speak to her.
AN:
Thank you so much for all your kind reviews and favouriting and following. . XXX. I don't have a beta reader for this so your comments and concrit are always welcome.
Anyway a quick question. Would you lovely people like to read a one shot set in this universe about how Derek actually met and made Isaac true pack? I have been having a pesky image again, of a bloodied but victorious absurdly young Gladiator in a hot dusty arena saluting members of the imperial family, and I started to write it. What do you think?
Enjoy xx Hope to get Chapter 8 up this weekend, as long as this heat wave doesn't scramble any more of my brains!
Disclaimer: As always no infringement intended, only having fun.