See Chapter 1 for all warnings.


To Save Them All

07

With everything falling into place I try on my new body armour and grin to myself, it fits like a glove, like a second skin that will keep me safe. The colours aren't traditionally black like I've always wanted them to be, no they are a random mixture of dark greens, greys, browns with a few touches of blues, reds and purples, all to help break up my outline when I'm hiding and the material itself changes those colours depending on heat, humidity and other factors, this makes it even harder to look at me.

The tips of my fingers have slits for my claws, and I have a face mask that moulds to my face and I've built in ridges so facial recognition won't work. My eyes have a very thin film over them, enough to protect them from simple things but I can still see out of them, I had to do adjustments as the first lot interfered with my new night vision.

I also had to compromise on my ears, the material has to be thinner there too or I my new senses get screwed up. And I can't bite people through the material so I've taken that bit out altogether. I've added a hood to the ensemble, which looks kinda cool when it's up and my eyes glow amber under the cowl.

Checking myself out in the mirror I have to hide my grin because I look like a damn superhero from those comics I used to love. Though thinking of Batman I should add belts or other pocket things to carry evidence or useful items, I only have two hands after all.

Peeling it all off I hide it in my closet and get my homework up to date.

The moonlight filters down into my room and my skin is itchy, tomorrow is the full moon, tomorrow we'll find out if my lifetime worth of meditation is any match against the wolf, I can feel this thing inside, it's me, the darker side of me, and I have built up a lot of dark over my life.

I spend the night in meditation and think about my dad and Scott as much as I can, I've loved them both since forever, they have been my corner stones for years, because of them I've done some really stupid shit to protect them, and because of them I've not gone dark side because I've known how disappointed in me they would be.

It's hard to get my internal balance right, the wolf thing is throwing it off, I'm used to me and my magic, the wolfy thing is extra and it fucks with my ADHD, I can hear every little nose, I can smell things, usually rank things as I'm surrounded by teenagers all day and do they have to act like they invented sex and go at it like bunnies?

Getting back on track I go back to meditating and by morning I have a type of equilibrium going, I'm in control and my wolf is as invested in dad and Scott as I am, they are our family our Pack, without them we are Omega.

Except that makes me think of Peter and how he smelt as we curled up sleeping together in the cave, and my wolf sits up and wants to be with Peter, doing whatever Peter wants us to do, because pleasing Peter is a good thing, the best thing and I have to rein my wolf in. Peter's insane right now, he doesn't understand how this is all going to blow up in his face, he needs to me protect him while he's healing.

That kind of reasoning my more instinctive wolfy side does understand and seems to go along with.

School is hell and I grumble through it, I have to lie to Scott and Allison, I hear the blip in my heart as I tell them I have a headache and it really hurts. Allison gives me medication for it but my body metabolises it so quickly that if I had a headache it wouldn't have worked.

Being quiet and miserable freaks my teachers out so badly they let me go to the Nurses Office and I doze off for a few hours. I'm still cranky when I wake up but I'm able to put on an act to get through the last bit of school.

Wishing Scott and Allison the best I leave them thinking I'm going to bed early and slope off home, my homework was up to date as of yesterday so now all I have to do is wait for nightfall.

Dad phoned to say he'll be working late, something about the care facility, I hope Peter's okay and will be able to ride out the full moon tonight on his own, he's hiding himself really well so I have faith that he'll keep it up.

Though that reminds me and I slip out of my window with one of dad's shirts, I make it unseen to Scott's and leap up to his room, his old t-shirt is easy to find, his mom is right he really needs to put his laundry in the basket.

Putting the two articles of clothing together gives me almost the right scent of home, there's only one thing missing.

Peter.

Scurrying to the care facility I sneak in the side door where the laundry goes in and out and hit pay dirt. A set of Peter's sheets, and they must have been changed today.

Dragging my smelly cargo triumphantly into the growing gloom, I navigate back to the little cave that Peter found for me, I know the Hunters will be in the forest tonight, they believe that all werewolves are dangerous creatures that crave only blood and hunt down all living things… The Hunters can be such dicks at times.

Making myself a nice little nest I settle into it and curl up, I let my nose fill with dad, Scott and Peter. Having something so tangible gives me a fighting chance as the moon rises up and CALLS to me.

The night is full of life and I'm hungry.

But here under my nose is something better than blood, and flesh and the crunch of bones. Here is warmth, and love, and everything that matters.

My anchors hold and I spend the night safe and sound.

As night sinks down the moon's call is still strong but my wolf and I aren't listening to her, we're listening to Pack and family.

Gathering up my makeshift bed I jog through the morning mist and head for home, the clothes go in the laundry and Peter's bedding gets shoved under my bed, I'm not sure how to return it to him, I'll work something out.

Showering I wash off the grim and dirt and then hunt in the kitchen for breakfast, dad's left me a message to say that he'll be back soon and that the girl I like was at the station first thing to report her jacket missing.

Girl I like?

Oh Lydia. I wonder where she lost her jacket? Shrugging it off I stuff my face and slump on the sofa, an old program I used to like comes on and I smile remembering old times, then I realise this is the first time this episode has ever aired and I sigh, this one is good but the next one is better.

The rumble of the cruiser pulls to a stop outside and I amble into the kitchen to start making him some food. "Stiles!" Its dad letting me know he's home, "I'm back."

"Hey dad, what do you want in your omelette?" I yell back knowing that he's getting the low fat stuff anyway.

"You're cooking?" He sounds surprised, "Since when do you cook? And that smells nice…" He gives me a funny look and I mentally smack myself, I didn't really learn to cook until college, there is only so many times you can eat take out before you want to barf, okay so maybe the takeout I could afford was probably chopped rat surprise disguised as chicken, but hey, it got me cooking.

"First time for everything…" I shrug it off. "So how did the all nighter go?" I fish for information.

"Fine, it was lucky we found the evidence right there in her locker, the doctors are going nuts and testing patients, though I overheard some of the other nurses talking, without that stuff in their veins some of the patients might start waking up now."

"Cool," I nod and act impressed, "Here sit I have your breakfast ready," I serve up the omelette and watch as he prods it with his fork, he's acting like it could poison him.

Taking a tentative bite his eyes widen and he takes a bigger bite, "This is good, son, really good."

"Thanks," I preen under the praise.

"So that jacket," he says with his mouth full and I shake my head at him, seriously he spent years trying to get me to stop doing that, it never worked. Exaggerating his swallow he carries on, "I got a call from Jefferies, something about lights in the woods last night," must have been the Hunters, "The Forest Rangers and some of the morning shift went out there in case the murderer had come back and they radioed in, weirdly they found the jacket hanging up nearby."

"WHAT!" I stiffen in shock, didn't dad say the missing jacket was Lydia's? Why the hell would it be hanging up in the forest?

"Yeah, and the strangest part," he leans forward, "One of the rangers found tracks, lots of footprints, but he swears one of them looks like a paw print."

"Huh," I say weakly and try to remember what the fuck happened last time, I'm drawing a blank I was too busy making sure Allison was safe and worrying about Scott.

It can't have been Jackson as a Kanima because the dick hasn't been bitten.

Baffled and worried I spend the rest of the day listening to Scott talk about Allison and the most perfect date in the history of dating. The movie was good and he's blissfully happy. To the point that I slaughter him on the gaming field and he doesn't even notice.

He's such a sap it's cute.


A/N: Sorry for any and all mistakes, I've tried to catch those I could, but I'm only human.

Puckurt-VS-Kurtofsky believe me you are not a broken record, far from it, feel free to keep telling me how awesome this is :)