AN: Please read the "AN" at the end of this chapter. It has some important info about chapter 10.

So if the story were divided into two Acts, this would mark the end of Act One.

Timeline Help: Reminder that chapter one began on a Thursday, this chapter takes us from that Sunday, all the way to the next Thursday. Making the events of Act One take place over one week.

I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own TW or the characters, just my AU/AR. (and MY OCs). Also FYI, this is un-betaed, so all the mistakes are mine


Alpha She-Wolf

Chapter Nine


Once the pack was gathered everyone started talking at once.

"We aren't letting them in are we?" Scott asked.

"We can't just ignore them, they might turn out to be allies against this Maxwell guy." Cora said.

"They are hunters! They hate what we are, they would not hesitate shooting any of us!" Peter growled.

"If we let them in, we can't give them a clue about who is a wolf or not, that's one of the questions Isis wanted to know…" Braeden said.

"They only know about Scott and Isaac being Bitten. Everyone else is just under suspicion…" Allison added.

"Allison is so new, is she loses control of her shift while they are here, they might start shooting." Isaac said worriedly.

"Why should we let them in, that gate will hold up against them! They can't break in." Jackson stated.

"We haven't restocked our supplies in a few weeks. We aren't prepared for a lockdown or a siege." Malia told the group. "We have to let them in."

"It's stupidity to let them in!" Danny said.

"It's definitely not smart to leave them out there either." Lydia added. "We automatically make them our enemies."

"You want to be allies with those people? Do you not remember Gerard trying to exterminate us this time last year? How Victoria looked regretful when it was decided we hadn't done anything wrong and they couldn't kill us because it was against their code?" Stiles asked. "If you ask me they can rot out there for all I care."

After that it was hard to tell who was saying what, even with supernatural hearing. They all were yelling their opinions as loud as they could. She supposed this is why packs had Alphas, Elders, Second and Thirds; because everyone in this pack (werewolf or not) was so stubborn and opinionated, they would never reach a consensus and get things done if there wasn't some sort of hierarchy. Derek and Erica looked at each other, silently trying to decide who was going to shut their panicking pack up.

Erica blinked first, losing the staring contest…

"EVERYONE SHUT IT!" She yelled. Her mate's reaction was a slight smile, a raised eyebrow and lust…Really Derek? My screaming at our pack turns you on? AT A TIME LIKE THIS! He was beyond ridiculous.

The pack however had a different reaction, they all swiftly stopped talking over each other and muttered "Yes, Alpha" before quieting.

Now that everyone wasn't thinking out loud she could finally hear herself think. She nodded to Derek, letting him go first.

"We have to let them in, but we have to be smart about it." He said in a thoughtful tone. "This is our home; we can control the situation. We knew they would come. John and Melissa, please go in your home with the pups. We don't need them thinking that the two of you are wolves, they might show up when you are at work and attack. If the pups hear our howls and say they have to run, get them to the bunker ASAP. "

John and Melissa nodded and walked towards their home. Erica watched them retreat and gave the next order "We need to keep them on the driveway. Core, can you place three or four cars blocking the end of the driveway? We will all stand in front of them. That way if they start shooting we will have cover." Cora nodded and dragged her mate and the Twins to follow her to the garage. "Marin, Bray is there a spell that will protect us from their guns?"

"This property is warded with every protection ward my brother and I could perform. As long as you are a member of the Hale Pack, no man-made weapon can be used against you on this land." Marin said. Erica had forgotten that Marin and Alan Deaton helped Derek plan the security measures of the property and altered the memories of the builders so they did not remember a thing about the underground network of tunnels they built.

Their home was safe; the Argents could not hurt them here with their hunting equipment. This meeting was about a strategy moving forward. They wanted to be friendly with the Argents, without revealing all their secrets to them (and hopefully getting the Argents to reveal a few of their secrets to the pack).

"I can't be standing next to you when we meet them. They can't know the pack has two alphas." Erica said. "It would be foolish to reveal our pack hierarchy in any way, if they turn on us they will know who to kill first, we have to confuse them as much as possible so they are unsure on our hierarchy."

Derek looked upset that she wouldn't be by his side but nodded. "I know, you and Rose need to be holding onto Allison, making sure she doesn't shift. Cora and Malia will flank you and Marin, Bray, Sarah, Kira and Lydia will be behind you…. I need all the rest of you standing in front of them and directly behind me."

All the women started protesting this arrangement, claiming that they could defend themselves and didn't need their pack brothers protecting them. Except for Erica and Allison.

"Its what will work the best," Allison said, "Victoria will be too focused on the chauvinistic display to realize that you all are standing in front of the highest ranking members of the pack aside from Derek, and the non-wolf pack members."

Erica nodded in agreement and everyone else thought about it for a moment. The strategy was brilliant. If they stood like this the Argents would think that one of the male pack members were Derek's Second and Third, and they would not suspect another Alpha if they made it look like they were all comforting a distraught Allison upon seeing her old family. "She's right, they'll never guess our structure if we present ourselves like this and make it look like we are comforting Ally, instead of keeping her from shifting."

Everyone reluctantly agreed to the reasoning.

"Okay," Erica sighed. "Let's not keep our guests waiting any longer."

With that everyone ran towards the front of the den to get into position.

Erica looked up at Derek and grabbed his hand. "Ready?"

"I wish you could be next to me. I'm not looking forward to facing these people alone." He said squeezing her hand.

"You are not alone. We are right behind you. We'll be observing each one of the Argent hunters while you chat up Chris making sure nothing fishy is happening, and I'll be keeping our pack in check. All you have to do is get them away from our home as quickly as possible without tipping our hand." She told him. "Hey, I'd rather be right next to you too. But the last thing they need to know is that you have a mate. Especially right now when we don't know if they are working with Maxwell or not."

"You are right." He sighed and nodded. "Let's do this."

They began walking hand-in-hand towards the front of the house. Derek let go of her hand when the reached the pack (that had lined up already) and pushed the button on his phone that unlocked the front gate.

Erica sighed and took her place between Allison and Cora, watching as the two vehicles rolled down the drive.

She looked behind her pack, making sure that Cora had placed their own vehicles close enough so if the hunters started shooting they could get behind them quickly with minimal damage. She did. They would be fine.

As the vehicles got closer her anxiety spiked. She took a deep breath in attempt to calm down. If the pack sensed her nervousness they would get nervous. But the closer the vehicles came the stronger the smell of gunpowder and wolfsbane got, and all Erica could think of was Rosalyn and Connor lying on their gurneys, half dead from wolfsbane poisoning.

Erica felt Allison growl at her side and squeezed her betas hand harder. "Don't do it Ally. We will be fine. This will be over soon." She whispered soothingly.

"All of you stay calm." She whispered to the pack, "Follow Derek's lead in this, and try not to give anything away. These people are not our friends. At best they aren't our enemies."

The whole pack could hear her commands; even the non-wolves standing directly behind her, the only people who couldn't hear her were the humans getting out of the cars with their heads held high.

Erica had never met a hunter before but she knew of these people, these murders. Hunters travelled around and killed anything supernatural. They had a code 'we hunt those that hunt us' but they didn't always use it, most of the time killing anything they deemed dangerous. They had the twisted view that werewolves were the monsters and hunters were the good people. But, it was hunters that decimated innocent packs everywhere leaving countless pups orphans, not wolves. Erica was the first to admit that there were bad packs out there; packs like the Thorne Pack* that needed to be stopped, but The Argents saw the Hale Pack on the same level as the Thorne Pack. They were all just wild beasts that needed to be put down.

"Hello Derek." The leader of the hunters said.

"Chris. What a surprise to see you." Derek said, his voice taking on a cold tone that Erica had rarely heard her mate use. It was a detached tone that made her skin crawl; a far cry from the loving, sarcastic, caring man she fell for. This tone oozed the stereotype of the unfeeling, power-hungry, alpha male. She saw a few of Argent's men step back slightly as Derek spoke, their hearts beginning to race.

The red headed woman standing next to Chris Argent was unaffected by Derek's tone and was standing slightly behind her husband taking careful looks at each member of the Hale Pack. Erica held back a smile. This woman was doing the same thing she was, let the men talk while the she gathered information on their targets without the leader noticing. To bad that the Hale Pack had two leaders and Victoria was caught. Erica did not miss the puzzled look on Victoria's face at their stance, and watched the woman as she tried to discern which of the boys was standing nearest to the Alpha. She probably was thinking whoever was closer was the Second in command, but everyone stood in a straight line and was an equal distance behind Derek. Erica wanted to cackle at seeing the woman's nostrils flare in annoyance.

One Point Hale Pack.

"By the amount of time it took for you to open the gates, I figured it was a surprise we were coming back into town." Chris said, a slight smile on his face.

"We were out in the woods at bit, it takes awhile to walk. We only move as fast as our humans can, it would be unfair to do otherwise." Derek said. "It is surprise you are back, may I ask why? No offense, but we were all quite happy to see you leave."

"My wife missed home. She grew up here you know, and our daughter lives here." Chris said looking towards Allison.

Allison's eyes yellowed in anger at this point, but luckily she had placed her head in Rose's shoulder, pretending to cry but really using the scent of her pack sister to anchor her to human form. Rosalyn was glaring at Chris, specifically at one of the men behind him.

"Alpha, one of those men, he was one of the ones in the woods… the ones that were chasing after the puppies and shot me" Rosalyn whispered gripping Allison tighter, this time to keep herself from shifting.

"You don't have a daughter." Derek said. "You gave her up, all official records say she was never yours. You did that. So please tell me the reason you are here besides tormenting one of my pack members. Does it have anything to do with that man behind you that was involved in an attack on my beta on Friday afternoon?"

Chris and Victoria looked taken aback.

Point Two Hale Pack.

"Yes, Jason here worked for a man named Henry Maxwell. He has since defected once he found out they were hunting were-children that have committed no crimes. He is helping us take down Maxwell." Victoria said.

"And what was my betas crime besides trying to help children in danger?" Derek said, his voice getting deadlier. "What does this Maxwell have against innocent pups?"

"I'm sorry." The man, Jason, said stepping forward, looking to Derek and to Rose. "We killed their mothers, Henry told us they were responsible for some murders in the Seattle area. I had no clue it wasn't true I swear. When we saw you in the woods, we were told you must a pack mate to the ones we just killed if you were defending the pups, and that you were responsible for the murders too."

Derek let out a growl and Erica knew his eyes flashed red by the look on the hunter's faces. "Do not address any of my pack. From where I stand you are the murderers. You are the monsters." He told Jason as the man jumped back, and Erica wanted to laugh at the smell of urine in the air. "The only reason we let you on our land is because Chris helped us last year against Gerard and I felt like we owed him the opportunity to hear his explanation."

"We want the opportunity to stop Henry before he comes after you for harboring the pups." Chris told Derek.

"If he attacks first, we will defend ourselves." Derek replied, neither confirming nor denying the existence of the pups to the Argents. "You have five days to find him and end him before I start looking."

Chris nodded and signaled his men back to the vehicles. "Fair enough." He said, "As a courtesy, you should know that we intend to stay in town once Maxwell has been handled. And if you or your pack steps a toe out of line we will not hesitate to kill you all."

"My pack has never murdered any innocent person in cold blood. It seems that the hunters we've encountered are the ones with that urge. Gerard, Kate, and now another deranged hunter named Maxwell…when will you realize that the real monsters might be looking you in the mirror?" Derek fired back. "Your threats don't scare me Argent. Now get off my property."

The high and mighty demeanor that Victoria and Chris Argent had seemed to deflate at Derek's words, as they returned to their vehicles quickly. No one moved until the vehicles were out of the gates and Derek pressed the button locking them.

Erica ran to her mate and hugged him. "You did great, babe." She told him.

He kissed the top of her head and sighed. "What was your assessment?" he asked.

"Victoria was frustrated at our stance, she couldn't figure us out. None off the goons have been with them for long; they were too twitchy to be as well trained as Chris and Victoria are. They were all terrified of you and amazed at the size of our pack. They were also hiding something; a few of them had a small smile on their faces when Chris mentioned us stepping out of line…they know something we don't" Erica told him, before breaking the hug and turning to her pack. "Did I miss something?"

The pack had arranged itself more comfortably. They typically didn't arrange themselves according to status during meals and meetings. So the fake hierarchy they set up for the Argent meet had everyone uncomfortable. They had all scattered and rearranged to form a semi-circle around Derek and Erica; a much more soothing arrangement for everyone involved.

"Not that I could tell." Cora said. "But your right I do get the sense they know about something we don't."

"The only thing we can do is be on our guards." Derek said, "Best case scenario, they take care of our Maxwell problem and leave us alone."

"Nephew, when has the best case scenario ever happened?" Peter asked.

"It doesn't hurt to be cautiously optimistic, Dad." Malia said.

"Okay." Sarah sighed, "I say we all have ourselves a pool party, and dinner so we can decompress before our week starts. I'll let John and Mel know we are in the clear."

Everyone nodded; most of the pack started school in the morning, Rosalyn started her new job, and everyone else had to go back to work. It was also Allison's first day out in the world as a wolf. Tomorrow would be a busy day indeed.

"Allison," Erica said holding the beta back as Derek and the rest of the pack made their way to their rooms for their swimsuits. "You could barely handle your shift when the Argents were here, do you want to risk it at the school? There is no harm taking the week off, I had to when I was first turned. You can help Marin watch over the pups."

Allison shook her head. "I have packmates in all three of my lectures tomorrow, Isaac and Scott had a schedule drawn up for someone to be with me at all times, just in case I need an anchor, even when I'm at work. I should be fine. The only thing that had me shifting is that they were still referring to me as their daughter."

Erica was skeptical. "If you are sure…"

"I am, Erica. Let me do this. I'll come home the second I feel it its not going to work."


What remained of Sunday evening passed blissfully, and the next thing Erica knew it was Monday morning and Wolf's Run was bustling with activity. Breakfast was burning, people were falling asleep where they stood, notebooks and textbooks were flying, people kept spilling on their outfits and a five year old was screaming in the middle of the dining room at the top of her lungs.

The "foolproof" schedule that they had worked out for childcare was thrown out when Marin got a call during breakfast about a counseling job at the elementary school. Her old position at the high school had been filled but they were in desperate need of someone at the elementary school to start as soon as possible. The pups wouldn't start school for another week and now that Marin couldn't watch them some rearranging had to be done.

Peter and Derek, called into work immediately, opting to work from home. They could do that since they were the bosses. This did not please Juliet at all; spending her day with 'icky boys' was not a priority. She was even less pleased when she heard the plans for the day consisted of shopping for school supplies for the pups and a restock of the Den's pantry and cupboards (which was running dangerously low). Raul and Diego seemed excited at the news they were spending the day with their adoptive father and cousin, and Connor looked torn between disagreeing with Juliet and behaving himself.

Melissa and John had left for their early shifts by the time their new daughter began her tantrum, so as Juliet's alpha Erica was forced to step in.

"Stop." Erica said in her alpha tone, and Juliet reluctantly obeyed. "If you promise to behave until lunchtime for Peter and Derek, I'll come and pick you up and you can spent the rest of the day with me. But understand I can only do this for today, because I only have one class, the rest of the week you have to stay with whatever pack-mate is not busy, got it?"

Juliet had nodded her agreement enthusiastically.

The whole room sighed in relief once the tantrum was over and proceeded to get ready for the day. Mondays were the busiest days for most of them, everyone except Erica was scheduled to be somewhere between the hours of eight and three, with no one having enough free time to babysit. So, the morning proceeded in the same rushed, organized chaos it had before Juliet's banshee impression; with the added drama of no one being able to find their keys.

Everyone was in their cars and out the gate by eight o'clock. Erica was nervous that she would not make it to her class on time.


She did end up making her lecture on time, but the professor ended up being ten minutes late, and decided that meant he should lecture for fifteen minutes after class was supposed to end. The lecture hall was full with first- year students, who were afraid of telling a professor they went over, and the only thing that shut the man up was the professor for the next lecture barging in the room telling him that the next class started soon.

She called Derek asking where he wanted her to meet them.

"We're in the parking lot, Peter is putting Juliet and Connor's carseats in the backseat of your truck." He said. "Connor refuses to go anywhere without Juliet."

"How does everyone have a key to my truck?" She mused before hanging up the phone.

Erica walked to the parking lot and saw Diego and Raul chasing Juliet around her truck, Connor sat patiently on Derek's shoulders looking exasperated while Derek smiled.

Once she arrived at the vehicle Peter emerged from the backseat. "Okay, carseats are in." He said giving a glare to the running children. "They have been like this all morning."

Derek's smile was a full-blown grin at this point. "Welcome to fatherhood Uncle." He said getting Connor down from his shoulders and handing him to Erica.

Connor was the most easy-going of the pups; he loved cuddles, playing and being held. "Hi Erica." The little boy sighed wrapping his arms around her. "We did lots today." He sighed as she settled him on her hip.

"No we didn't." Diego said, as the chasing stopped. "We only did school shopping Erica, we barely did anything. But Peter and Derek are taking us to do guy things now that you are taking Julie and Con with you."

Erica opened her car door and threw her backpack on the front seat."Really. Guy things?" She said smirking towards a guilty looking Derek and Peter. "I thought you boys were going to stock the pantry?"

"We're going to the sporting goods store later. We need some supplies for the bunker and the armory. Malia wasn't exaggerating when she said we weren't prepared for a siege." Derek said. "We are calling it guy things because it is what got my new cousins to get excited about helping."

Erica laughed and placed Connor in her back seat fastening him in the blue carseat with a 'C' on it. "Do you guys need help?"

"No, we're making trips. And most of the pack will join us when they are out of class or work." Peter said, herding his sons towards his car. "We're heading home to unload the school stuff and get the Van."

Derek leaned down to kiss Erica before walking towards his uncle's car.

"Gross." Came from Juliet who was now standing next to Erica with a disgusted look on her face.

Erica rolled her eyes and picked up her little beta, helping her into the truck. Juliet then climbed past her brother and began fastening herself in the green carseat with a 'J' on it.

"Do you need help with that Julie?" Erica asked.

"Nope." She said as the buckles clicked. "Daddy says I'm a smart girl, since I did it myself after seeing him do it once."

Erica smiled and engaged the child lock on the door before shutting it and heading for the drivers seat. She then took a picture of the two McCall-Stilinski children, strapped safely in her backseat and sent it to their parents.

"So, who is hungry?" She asked.

Melissa had told Erica via text that once they had lunch, her children would need a nap. This was absolutely true for Connor, who was currently passed out on Erica's lap. Juliet however saw that there was a park with "a playground way cooler than the one at home" down the road from the diner. Her desire to play on the playground combined with the fuel she got from her chicken nugget meal was enough to get Juliet to overcome any tiredness she felt.

So here Erica was, watching Juliet socialize with the other children on the playground, sitting on a bench with a snoring three year old on her lap, having the distinct feeling she was being watched.

She had seen the same vehicle follow her from the school to the diner, and now it was parked right across the street from the park watching them. When they left the diner, she deliberately drove by the vehicle with her window down, to see if she could catch the scent of wolfsbane, but she could only pick up the smell of coffee.

They weren't hunters so why were they following them? Erica remained wary of the vehicle, just because they didn't smell like hunters did not mean they weren't dangerous.


GROUP MESSAGE: DEREK, ALLY, ROSALYN, CORA, MALIA, and YOU

YOU: This car has been following me all day. They don't smell like hunters, but spread the word to everyone to keep an eye out.

DEREK: Are you okay? Do you need backup?

YOU: I'm fine. They are just watching. I'd figure we'd head home soon.

CORA: We'll spread the word Erica. Stay Safe.

MALIA: Derek, I can here you frowning from here. She said she's fine.

ALLY: I'll get the phone tree started. Wait how does that work now that we have two Seconds in the pack?

ROSALYN: And two Thirds.

CORA: We'll divide and conquer. I'll call you when I get out of class and we'll meet up okay Allison?

ALLY: Fine with me.

MALIA: Rose, do they mind if you have a visitor at the school for lunch? I have an hour and a half until my next class.

ROSALYN: Shouldn't be a problem, I'll leave your name in the front office.

YOU: I am so proud of you four, sharing responsibility…

Derek: Considering that as a child Cora couldn't be bothered to share our mother's attention…I'm impressed too. She's come so far.

CORA: Shut up Derek.


The rest of the day and the days that followed were relatively uneventful in regards to threats on the pack. The car and others like it was spotted many times by most of the pack but it never presented itself as a threat, so they all just tried to go about their days.

Derek and Peter were able to go back to work on Tuesday, because as the week went on, everyone's schedules got a bit more flexible, so there was always someone at Wolf's Run to watch the pups. Everyone seemed to be settling into some sort of routine.

Unlike the majority of her pack, as the week went on Erica got busier. College life was different than she had anticipated, but compared to being an alpha werewolf, it wasn't horribly difficult. It just called for a few adjustments. The classes were much longer than high school, and the workload was ridiculous, but she found if she spent her free time at the library doing homework and studying between classes she was able to get what she needed done in and not have to study in the evenings. Evenings were pack time for her; time to be an alpha, a pack-sister, a mate and friend, time to laugh and bond. She didn't want that time sullied by schoolwork, as it was precious to have time as a pack when they did not have an immediate threat to deal with.

That's not to say that she and Derek weren't aware of the threats looming on the horizon, they were keeping an eye on the situations as best they could.

The Council and the Argents all had intelligence that Maxwell was lying low outside of town, and the Argents had left to hunt the guy down. A part of Erica hoped that they would find him and bring him to justice, but a larger part of her knew that they would have trouble killing a human, no matter how evil he was and her pack would end up having to deal with him. She was not looking forward to this confrontation.

The Argents themselves were still classified as threats. Victoria had been spotted multiple times on the campus observing Allison. The woman seemed determined to reconcile with her daughter, but Allison knew what it was really about; Victoria wanted intelligence in case they had to take the pack down and a fake reconciliation seemed like her best option. The Argents seemed oblivious of their control over the Lane Family, who would provide whatever intelligence Victoria wanted if she asked them. Thankfully, The Council was understanding of their position in sharing sensitive information in front of a Shaman, and did not press Peter any further during his second meeting. In fact, Isis Lane had been relieved that Peter knew of her binding to the Argents, as she didn't want to be in the position of sharing information any more than The Hale Pack wanted her sharing it.

As for the threat of the FBI, they still had no clue what that was about. Agents from the Sacramento field office had taken over the conference room of the Sheriff's Station on Tuesday. They were not willing to share "Sensitive Information" with the Sheriff and told him that when their lead agent arrived he would notify the Sheriff of the situation. The whole pack knew that this meant that McCall was the lead agent on this case; they just had no clue what the case was. Erica had never seen John Stilinski so pissed off in her life.

The pack couldn't prevent what was going to happen, they could only prepare mentally. And they honestly were too preoccupied dealing with the pups' problems to worry about something they could not stop.


Raising traumatized children was as difficult as they anticipated. It hurt to see them all struggling to adjust to having a pack and people that would protect them, and not having to fend for themselves. Each child dealt with their past differently, but after a few days the pack had gotten used to it and was supporting the pups' parents and Marin in helping the children work through things. These kids were great kids the majority if the time, but they needed therapy. The early trauma they experienced was clearly affecting them.

Raul typically was a quiet, slightly sarcastic child, but when he was frightened that fierce little child-alpha that Erica met last week appeared with a vengeance. Raul was prone to violent outbursts. He didn't have nightmares but his outbursts were triggered by loud noises and made him think that he was still running from hunters, responsible for keeping Diego, Juliet and Connor alive. In these moments, only his adoptive father or his alpha could bring him back to the present.

Diego was normally a mind-mannered agreeable boy. But when he had a nightmare or was scared by loud noises he would run into the woods. They would find him hiding in the ruins of the old Hale House, the mausoleum, or in one of the underground tunnels, and he would refuse to come out for hours, insisting that they were all a good dream, that he could never be happy or safe.

Juliet was a happy child; she talked constantly, was always laughing and constantly moving. The trouble was she constantly had nightmares. This lack of sleep caused her to have epic tantrums at whatever displeased her.

And then there was Connor, who Erica swore was actually a puppy dog at times- until he got cranky. He was very sensitive to the pack link, so whenever someone else was frightened or nervous, he got upset. When that little boy was upset he cried endlessly until someone- he preferred it be John or Melissa- picked him up and tried to soothe him.


Thursday evening found the entire pack on the main floors of the den. And Erica loved it. There was togetherness and laughter, and everyone was content.

After dinner was finished and the dishes clean, Jackson had declared it game night. So multiple games** had broken out all over the den.

In the dining room, Jackson began with a slight lead in the game Monopoly. Cora and Stiles had been trying to broker alliances with the other players for most of the game so they could "take the asshole down". Lydia, Danny, Boyd and Rosalyn refused their offer, and as the game went on it became apparent that the four of them had an alliance of their own; they had turned the tables on Jackson, bankrupted Stiles and had set their sights on Cora.

John, Peter, Derek, Marin, Allison, Aiden and Ethan were in the midst of a poker tournament at the small kitchen table. They were playing for money, not poker chips. Her mate was getting his ass kicked by the sound of it, but the man didn't know when to quit.

In the basement, a Wii tennis tournament had broken out in the theater room. Team Melissa/Sarah had successfully beaten Team Kira/Malia and Team Diego/Raul had demolished Team Braeden/Scott. The losing teams would play for third place after the championship match so as Melissa put it "they could sit their buts down and watch Mama win", but instead of watching they were playing a game of Go Fish. The championship game was well underway, causing Sarah and Raul to engage in some light Mother-Son trash talk during the game.

Erica was in the living room with Isaac, Juliet and Connor engaged in an intense battle with her tiny betas and her pack brother at the coffee table. Connor was too young to play most of the games the pack had in the cupboard downstairs but when he saw that they had Candy Land the boy started squealing in delight. Apparently they played the game at his old daycare and he loved it. So she couldn't help but saying yes when he asked her to play with him. She was losing to a three year old, but at least the three year old was happy, and at least (unlike some mates she could name) she was not losing money.

"Erica, how they heck are you losing?" Isaac asked. "Alpha up, Puppy. The real puppies are kicking our asses. Its embarrassing."

"Ohhh, you said a bad word." Juliet sang as she made her next move. "Mama Mel said she's going to make a swear jar because everyone in the pack has a potty mouth."

"Is that so?" Erica said with a grin, that jar would be filled in minutes; they'd be able to pay for the pups' future college tuition on this swear jar method.

"Yep, she already has one in our house, Daddy and Stiles had to put a lot of quarters in it already." Juliet said.

"Shit." Connor said when his card moved him back a few spaces. Erica held back a laugh, but Isaac was not so self-controlled.

"Who taught you that word Con?" Isaac said while cracking up.

"Sti and Daddy. I heards it." Connor said. "That a No-No word?" he asked.

"Yes it is." Erica said.

"Don't tell Mama Mel! I no have moneys." Connor said seriously.

"I don't think you have to pay if she doesn't hear it Con." Juliet informed. "I had a vision of Uncle Peter using a naughty word at his Council meeting yesterday and Mama Mel said that it didn't count, because he didn't say it in front of us."

"Why was Peter swearing?" Isaac asked.

"I asked him when he came back." Juliet said, "He told me that a were-kitty annoyed him. Nothing bad happened he just has a potty mouth."

Erica grinned knowing the story. Peter unknowingly dated a were-tiger in high school, and the breakup ended badly. Now she was on The Council and liked to cut Peter off whenever he spoke as penance for dumping her. Peter had come home cursing about interrupting tigers.

It was nearly eight thirty and the pups were getting tired. Erica figured that everything would wrap up soon.

She was wrong. Her phone beeped and the security app popped up.

She finally had the app that Derek had on his phone, installed on her own. She was tired of being the second to know what was happening on their property.

Main Gate: Movement Detected

She opened the feed. A tan-skinned man with could be seen and he had multiple vehicles with flashing police lights on them. "This is the FBI, we have a warrant to search the premises, open up these gates immediately." He said.

"Everyone stop what you are doing and either sit quietly in the living room or in the dining room while Erica and I great our guests." Derek ordered from the kitchen.

Derek Hale has unlocked Main Gate

She heard every one move around, the wolves explaining what was happening to the non-wolves and Erica got up and met Derek at the front door. He handed her his phone and keys and she put them in the pockets of her hooded sweatshirt. They didn't want the FBI to have the all access pass to their security system that Derek's phone and keys would give them, and they both knew whatever this was about, it was about him, not her.

She grabbed Derek's hand as the opened the front door and saw all the police vehicles, and FBI vans speed down the driveway of their home.

"This is not good." Erica said.

"No it is not." Derek said. "But we can handle it. I love you."

"I love you too." She said as they both stepped onto the porch.

The man from the front gate exited the lead vehicle, they all had guns pointing at Derek.

"Hale, step away from the girl." He yelled.

Derek put his hands up in the air and stepped away from her, Erica had never been so frightened in her life. All these people surrounding their home, many of them pointing guns at her mate, and the worst part was she could smell the self righteousness; these people truly thought Derek was a danger to her and others.

She felt the alpha part of her ache to break free and attack these people that dare point weapons at her mate, before she remembered the protection spells on the property that protected him from harm. She could tell Derek was barely keeping it together as well, her bond sensed a barely contained alpha male fighting for release, to protect his pack and mate from intruders.

"We can't fight them Der." She whispered. As many men stormed the porch and a few cuffed Derek.

Once the metal was placed on her mate's wrist she lost it in a very human way. She started fighting with the female agent that was holding her back, and screaming. "He didn't do anything wrong! Where are you taking him? Why are you doing this to us?"

She sensed that the pack was watching the scene from the windows, all of them in agitated states of disbelief.

"It's okay." The man that spoke at the gate said in a condescending tone, looking from Erica to the faces in the windows. "You are all safe now. Derek Hale will be going away for a long time."

Erica used her wolf strength to break free of her agent and walked up straight to the man. "We were never in danger from Derek you ass. What crimes has he committed exactly? None. Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Agent Rafael McCall. I've been investigating Derek Hale for the past few months. We now have enough evidence to bring him in. He can't hurt you anymore if you and the rest of his followers decide to cooperate."

Erica glared at McCall in disgust. "You know nothing." She told him before looking to the car they were putting her mate in the back of. "Derek! We'll get you out of this I swear! I love you!" She yelled.

"I love you too Erica." She heard him whisper. "Take care of our pack while I'm gone, the lawyers will have me out soon."

She hoped that was true.

She was helpless as the FBI tore apart their home over the next few hours as Derek watched from the backseat of a cruiser and the rest of the pack looked on dumbfounded and helpless to stop it. John had looked over the warrant; they had an all-access pass to search all the buildings on the property. Needless to say the Sheriff was fuming that many of his deputies were helping the FBI serve the warrant. Not only had McCall served them the warrant that allowed him to tear apart their home, but he also served John with papers giving him a hearing date…the Sheriff could lose his job for being involved with a suspected cult.

The FBI tore up all the furniture, looking for hiding places or anything illegal. They took photos of everyone's rooms and belongings, took some pack photos and knick-knacks as "evidence", and had EMTs give simple "non-invasive" examinations. These exams were to check everyone over for injuries, fingerprint them and asking their full names. Erica and John put their foot down about them doing these invasive examinations in a different room, the pack had been traumatized enough and the kids were in tears. If they wanted exams done they would be done in the open, not behind closed doors where shady things could happen.

"We have to do a rape kit on all of you." McCall insisted.

Erica raised her eyebrow, and tried her hardest not to kick the man in the balls. "Not without their consent you aren't. I say no for me. I don't want anyone poking around down there. And I haven't been raped."

"Ms. Reyes, you have been brainwashed." McCall stated. "All of you have. Why else would Hale keep all the women in this main house and the men in the houses outside? He's using all of you. You just haven't seen it yet."

Erica snorted. "Open your eyes. You've seen the houses. You see clearly that my boyfriend and I live in this house with his sister, his cousin and their boyfriends and everyone else lives in their own homes. Check the rooms on the third floor, there should be dust showing you no one has used them in months."

"If I have to get a court order for rape kits for all of you…" McCall started.

"You can try." Jackson said walking toward them. "But our lawyers are on their way. And they will block that. This whole investigation and search is on shaky legal ground, be prepared to lose you badge when this is finished."

"Lawyers?" Erica whispered to him.

"I called my parents." He whispered back. "They are getting on the first flight they can."

Erica sighed in relief. The Whittemores were the best lawyers one could hire. She was happy that Jackson had swallowed his pride and called them to help the pack. She was unsure if the lawyers at Hale Holdings would be useful if the FBI was bringing criminal charges against Derek.

McCall looked unimpressed at Jackson's statement, and walked away having everyone redouble their search. And Erica returned to watching the whole affair in a daze, completely helpless to stop any of it.

She wasn't too concerned about them finding werewolf stuff or weapons. During renovations the armory was moved underground, accessed only by placing your index finger on a keypad on the first floor of the pool house. When Braeden moved back she had charmed all the supernatural books on the premises to seem like innocuous books found in your local library. All access to the underground bunker and escape tunnels were well hidden, and most entrances were in the woods, a place the warrant did not cover.

The only thing that they could find that was "Cult-y" was the triskele. The triskele was everywhere on the premises, and each pack member had a triskele that they wore on them at all times. The FBI took pictures of their pack symbol where ever it turned up; Erica heard whispers of it being how Hale marked and controlled his cult. She rolled her eyes at this, because no one but Derek had the symbol permanently marked on their flesh; they all had golden key-rings, rings, bracelets, anklets, earrings, or necklaces. Derek didn't want them to tattoo themselves, because tattooing for a wolf was extremely painful.

Last night was such a good night; they had given her new pack-members their own triskele symbols. The pups didn't wear jewelry so Raul and Diego had insisted on having one painted on their bedroom walls, Connor had a stuffed wolf named Joey with a triskele on his collar and Juliet's nightlight was a glowing triskele. Rosalyn and Marin opted for the jewelry route; Rosalyn getting a bracelet that matched her mate's and Marin a ring. Everyone had spent the evening celebrating and happy.

How could things be so different a mere twenty-four hours later?

It took the FBI hours to finish. By the time the agents were packing up Wolf's Run was a mess and the pups had fallen asleep crying on their parents and older siblings.

"I'm sorry I can't stop this." She whispered to Derek, crying as the FBI convoy began to drive away with him cuffed in the back of a walked out onto the porch and watched them go, the alpha in her demanding control and retribution for being separated from her mate.

"I don't expect you to. Just keep them safe until we can get out of this..." He said, before he was to far down the drive for her to hear him.

She used his cell phone to lock the gate behind the last car. She took a deep breath and began to cry harder. She searched the pack link; everyone was upset. Braeden and Marin channeled their energy to magically cleaning the mess the agents left in their wake. John soothed the distraught Connor and Juliet the best he could when they woke and found that what had happened wasn't a nightmare. Lydia, Kira, Sarah, and Mel began looking for "blankets unsoiled by FBI agents grubby hands" and were organizing the theater room to become the place they could all end up sleeping tonight as a pack, knowing closeness was imperative during times like these.

All the wolves (besides Juliet and Connor) joined her outside. She felt they were all so angry they were barely holding back a shift. They all started to strip out of their unnecessary outer layers (sweats, jackets etc), preparing themselves for the pack run. Unlike a full moon run, this pack run would not be joyful and the pack would be incomplete. No Derek.

She heard multiple whimpers behind her.

She howled in agony. They all followed suit.

She shifted and ran for the woods. They all shifted and followed her.

They ran and howled for an hour, until Raul and Diego's little legs gave out in exhaustion and they had to return to the den.

She let out one final howl before re-entering the den. This one was more of an alpha-roar and it conveyed more than just the packs agony and anger. It was a message to her mate sitting in a cell across town.

Stay Strong My Love.


AN: So if you all hate POV changes you should speak now or forever hold your peace.

Chapter 10/Begining of "Act Two" will be divided into two parts (and posted within a day of one another) Part A will follow The Pack (and maybe The Argents a little bit) in the aftermath of this chapter and will be shorter that the typical 6-7 thousand words … and Part B will follow the POV of everyone's "favorite" FBI agent as he conducts his investigation. The reason I am calling this all chapter 10 is because I don't plan on Erica to be narrating this part much…she's going to be too angry and running on pure instinct and I don't know if I can portray that properly through her POV.

Thoughts? Questions? Leave a review below or and ask on my tumblr.

Check out my tumblr (hailhales or hailhaleswriting) Or visit allhailhales DOT webs DOT com / teen-wolf for bonus info and updates on this fic and others.


Footnotes:

* if you didn't read Teen She Wolf… the Thorne Pack was the big bad during that story, they were a all-male pack that wanted to kill all the Hales and take their female wolves to use as 'breeders', obviously they did not succeed.

* * Games mentioned: Monopoly, Poker (Texas Hold Em), Wii Tennis, Go Fish and CandyLand