Chapter Nine: Confrontations

Author's note: Raw content and not beta'ed. I love getting reviews, don't be shy 3

Stiles turned towards the wide-open door to see Scott, Malia and Lydia. Apparently, Scott hadn't invited the baby betas but that was probably for the best, this wasn't their business. They weren't there when the Hale-McCall pack fractured and people disappeared.

They weren't there for most of it.

Boyd. Erica. Allison.

The Nogitsune and the Argents. Up till now they had no experience with dowdy looking older men beating the shit out of them because they were werewolves of supernatural sympathizers.

Liam and Mason and the others had been around when Theo was charismatically tearing them apart from the inside out but that didn't compare to the losses of this room of people, not to mention the damage done more recently.

"Hey guys, so we are going to be at the rehearsal dinner in like two hours, what are you doing here now? How did you even know we were here?"

"I felt it!" Scott snapped, his eyes flashing red.

Stiles frowned, "Felt what?"

Scott rushed into the open space of the loft, his nostrils flaring and eyes still that sharp alpha red. Stiles kept eye contact even as Derek shifted to stand slightly between the two friends. Scott stopped up short and snarled at Derek, "I felt your power! Since when are you an alpha! How come I didn't know?"

The other werewolf shrugged even as he pressed a hand into the center of Scott's chest and shoved him back a step then crossed his arms over his chest making everything bulge in distracting ways, "I didn't need you to know, I didn't come here with my pack and I am trained enough now to mask my alpha sense. I am not here to take the land that rightfully belongs to my family."

"You have no right to Beacon Hills. Your family is dead!" Scott sneered and Stiles lunged forward and punched his best friend in the face, burning with a white-hot rage for his boyfriend's grief. A feeling that Stiles knew never really faded for Derek. He was left staring at Scott's shocked face and a throbbing fist because his friend's face was clearly made of steel instead of flesh and bone but he refused to back down. The room was deathly silent in the aftermath of the punch, Stiles didn't have anything he could say that wasn't going end their lifetime friendship.

"Knock it off Scott, what has gotten into you?" Kira snapped.

"What are all of you doing? Here?" Scott asked venomously.

"They came home to visit Beacon Hills, what's it to you? It's not like you fought for any of them?" Stiles snapped, trying really hard not to snarl like a cornered wolf even though the pressure building in his chest was causing his claustrophobia to rise.

"I am remembering all of a sudden why I don't call or write home," Jackson snorted.

Scott's gaze shifted over to the once-kanima and glared at him, "You never cared about home and pack before Jackson, what makes today any different."

"Something you wouldn't understand," Jackson husked and Stiles sighed because even though Jackson mostly just griped when he called Stiles, there were times when he called and told Stiles that he hated himself, hated all the things that made him a douche. Stiles would jokingly tell him to just stop and they would go back to bickering but he knew better than most of the people in the room, except Danny, that Jackson was the way he is for the same reasons that Derek was the way he was. Grief and loss, confusion and righteous anger at the unfairness of life. Something that Scott apparently had forgotten about completely.

"You assembled a Pack, you hid your alpha status and you did all of this in my territory?" Scott demanded, clearly talking to Derek again. Who just calmly shrugged.

But Stiles was done, this was his best friend and it was his fight to have. He shifted from behind Derek's shoulder and the alpha stiffened in response, the others in the room swelled towards him but Stiles just held his hand up to them. He didn't need to be protected from Scott, no matter how much posturing was going on.

"Scott, I don't understand why this is too much for you to understand. Why are you angry right now? What's with the flashing eyes and canines, you are losing control because Derek came home and he happens to be an alpha. He didn't make a play for your people, he didn't try to claim his legacy. And these people were your friends once."

"Maybe some of them," Scott snarled and Stiles could feel the sadness eking into the back of his mind from somewhere. He could feel it from all around him, there was also the shimmer of anger and the mindless determination to protect each other. It was going to take some time to get used to the sensation.

Stiles crossed his arms and went to work. If Scott wasn't going to explain himself then Stiles was going to tell his best friend all the things he should have said a year ago, "Do you even care about what it was like for me to be forgotten?"

Scott scoffed waving him off, "We all went through the Hunt together."

"No Scott," Stiles snapped, angry tears trying to fall but he shook off the sign of weakness, "By the time any of you three, even Liam and Mason were hit, the train station had already joined with our world and you weren't forgotten. And I wasn't talking about the Hunt."

Scott frowned, "What are you talking about Stiles!"

"I am talking about you turning your back on me because of the chimera, because of Theo."

Apparently the other people in the room couldn't stay silent anymore, Isaac growled. So did Cora and Kira took several steps forward though Derek stopped her. Scott ignored them, not that it was different than any other day, Scott had proven more than once that out of sight, out of mind. He looked at Stiles, "You killed someone!"

More gasping.

Stiles sighed, "No I didn't. I was in a fight for my life against a Chimera, someone who had abilities I couldn't fight against, again in the line of fire with the odds stacking against me because I love you like a brother and you know what's sad? Really sad?" he didn't wait, "I didn't tell you because you live in this little black and white world of judgement and I knew exactly what you were going to say. I was scared of losing you and you know what. It didn't matter because I lost you anyway. I remember that day next to the Jeep before senior year started, and you told me. You promised me that we would be together after high school. And here we are!"

Scott shook his head but his eyes were staring straight ahead and he was still. Stiles didn't know what was about to come from his friend but he didn't think it was an apology. "We got you back, that has to count for something!" he finally declared with a nod to the girls.

Stiles looked towards the ceiling, asking something for strength, "Thanks. Thank you so much for bringing me back in time to have missed everything for senior year. Thank you for getting me back in time to declare love to a girl that I don't think exists anymore only for her to not say it back. Thank you for bringing me back from a place that rewrites the rules of radio silence only to send me on my way across the country and only call me every once in a while to tell me about your latest conquest who apparently was my ex-girlfriend. Thanks for that too."

Scott sputtered, looking from Malia and back to Kira.

"You should have been a man about it and told me to my face," Stiles continued.

"I didn't want it to hurt you," Scott pleaded.

"And yet," Stiles stated, splaying his arms out in production. "Maybe I was right all along, sometimes friends aren't meant to stay close after high school. I think you could be a good alpha to your betas, I think you have a lot in store for you but I don't think I am going to be there to high five your victories with you."

"No, Stiles we can work through all this crap. We've been friends forever, I was there when your mom passed. I was there for you when everything happened, I didn't leave you after the nogitsune, everything you did. Why do you think this is so much worse?"

Derek snarled reminding Stiles that he had a very volatile audience, "You are going to compare the time that he was possessed and being killed slowly by a trickster fox spirit to your behavior over the last year. Are you going to blame it on being a werewolf because that's bullshit and Stiles' deserves better!"

Scott shifted suddenly and punched Derek before Stiles could even respond, Stiles felt and watched as everyone else tensed and Stiles held his hands up and hoped they didn't jump in and this turned into teeth tearing, claws wrecking flesh kind of brawl. Thankfully his wayward friends all stayed were they were, probably not feeling inclined to jump between two angry territorial alphas.

"You are a piece of shit alpha!" Derek shouted as he punched Scott across the jaw. They tumbled sideways and down to the floor, grappling while they shouted at each other.

"It's your fault he's like this! You seduced him, you fucked him up and now he's choosing you over me!" Scott was snarling as he swiped his claws at Derek. The older alpha was on the defensive by choice, he wasn't here to fight but clearly he'd lost control.

"You didn't care about him! You weren't there for him!" Derek huffed as he landed a well placed kick to Scott's legs and the younger wolf landed on his back and stayed there, huffing in deep labored breaths for a couple of seconds then snarled.

"He always belonged to me until you came back into his life!"

Stiles reared back a little and laughed, not because it was funny. He hadn't realized the territory Scott was here to defend was Stiles and though to some pretty unhealthy heroines in story books might think it's flattering he did not.

"I don't belong to anyone but myself Scott, I stood by you as you became someone I didn't know and watched you choose other people over me more than once. I didn't pick Derek as some ultimatum-inducing manipulation. I didn't even really pick him outside of my dreams, he picked me and it had nothing to do with you."

With that said, Stiles walked over and pressed a hand into Derek's arm then leaned down to help Scott to his feet. Scott refused to take his hand, shoving upwards and glared at them both. "You were my pack, you stand with him now? That's your choice?"

"Why is this an us and them conversation right now?" Stiles asked, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "I have at one time or another stood next to each of the people in this room, we don't have to be divided. Why do you want to be?"

"You think you're so special you can be in two packs? Two packs that have the kind of history we have?" Scott sneered.

Stiles rolled his eyes, "Oh god, I am done talking to you." He turned to Malia and Lydia, "Malia, if you are happy and safe with Scott then I get it but don't forget to be your own anchor." The coyote turned away and flushed, nodding a little.

Lydia crossed her arms, "And me Stiles, what is your amazing Stilinski wisdom for me?"

"First of all, get over yourself because maybe this was about you three weeks ago but it isn't anymore." He walked over to her, "And secondly, don't marry some guy under false pretenses. If you are honest with yourself and him and you want to get married now then do it because it doesn't make a lick of a difference to me but if you are doing this for some stupid fucked reason then just stop before you destroy another relationship in your life."

Without another word, Lydia turned and stormed away. Stiles turned to catch sight of a couple of gazes watching as she walked out. Isaac was still watching Scott who was glaring at Derek, the beta looking like he was desperate to say something but he couldn't. Kira was watching Malia and Scott, her gentle gaze shifting between the two of them. Danny, Ethan and Jackson were standing and watching Stiles though he didn't really know why.

Scott turned to look at Stiles again, "You can't ask two alphas to share, that's not how this works."

"I already said I was done talking to you, if you ever want to know what it could be like. Ask Derek and Cora, they were with another pack in Alaska, Derek didn't try to take anything from their alpha. We could live together in harmony, Beacon Hills would be safe under the protection of two alphas."

"I shouldn't have to fight him for you," Scott whined.

"I shouldn't have to ask for you to care about what I went through. I shouldn't have to demand you care about your pack," Stiles said and turned his back to Scott. He knew the second Derek moved closer to him, still staring at Scott. Stiles was allowed to trust, to know that Scott wasn't going to hurt him but Derek wasn't as trusting apparently.

Scott gave a great huff and walked out of the loft, followed by Malia who didn't say another word. Stiles rubbed his hands over his face for a second, thinking that this wasn't over. They had phones and Stiles was going to be in town for another month and a half. If they were going to reconcile, it was up to Scott this time.

"Well that was an interesting experiment in futility," Cora snarked.

Several people laughed and it broke the tension, Stiles walked over to the couch and slumped down into the cushions suddenly exhausted. Derek walked over behind him and sat down, the rest of the adults in the room moved in sync to surround them. Making a loose circle, Cora settled on the couch next to her brother while Kira settled on the arm of the couch. Isaac flopped down on the side next to Stiles, while the other three grabbed chairs and sat down across from them. Stiles looked around the room at each of them.

"I didn't mean to make a pack, I didn't know what to do when someone would call. I thought I was just this weird GateKeeper for Scott. Like whining to mom because you couldn't talk to dad. How would this even work? No one has made a formal declaration."

"I called you because I knew you weren't going to judge me out loud for anything, you weren't going to make demands because you weren't the alpha," Isaac started, he reached down and rubbed his hand through Stiles's hair. He rubbed into the contact, enjoying the sensation. Derek was wrapped tightly around his other side, offering his warmth and quiet support.

"You guys called me for me? Not because of Scott?" he asked, shocked.

"Yes!" they all chorused incredulously.

"You're kind of an idiot," Jackson declared and Stiles laughed.

"It has been said."

Derek pressed his nose into the space behind his ear and whispered, "Our idiot."

Stiles stammered and wiggled the way the sensation tickled and shoved Derek with his shoulder, smiling widely as he responded, "Again, we live all over the place. How do we function as a pack?"

"Same way we have up to this point," Ethan said with a shrug.

Derek took over from there, "What we are trying to get at is that though the pack bonds are uncomfortable with separating the members of a pack, as you said because there have been no formal declarations to an alpha they haven't tightened to the point of changing our lives like that. We can all stay the way we are, spread out all over the place, talking on the phone, maybe upping the communication we all have with each other or we choose not to make anything official. For the humans in the room, you have come and go privileges much more easily because you aren't going to feel the bonds the way we can."

"Then if those decisions are made, I will officially declare alpha and ask for a formal acceptance. We would all decide together where to settle and we could build there or here in Beacon Hills. I have land in Alaska, here in town, as well as in New York and Washington now. I can always liquidate some assets and we can find someplace else but looking around and knowing where some of you are at the moment in your lives, you each have to make this decision for yourself."

Stiles listened to Derek's answer and realized again how smart he was and what an idiot he and Scott had been back in the day for not listening to him. Derek, because he grew up in a werewolf family knew so much more about this. "I am on this path to getting into the FBI and I want to stay in Washington DC."

"I stay with you," Derek said immediately and Stiles leaned over to press a kiss to his face.

"I am not ready to declare anything different, I am going back to Alaska for a little while but I am going to be honest about one thing: I believe the last Hale Alpha should fight for this territory n Beacon Hills."

Stiles figured as much, thankfully that was down the line; maybe Scott wouldn't want to fight. He turned to the others in the room, "Nothing needs to be said or decided today. It's been emotionally high strung around here and we don't need to be making any hasty…"

Isaac cut him off, "I am coming with you to Washington DC. I want to do something different, I want a place to settle down and call home again. I can't stay somewhere waiting for Chris to come back; I don't want to keep pretending that I don't need a pack anymore. Please don't say no!"

Stiles smiled and grabbed the other man's hand and squeezed, "I wouldn't say no to another familiar face in DC."

Isaac's smile was incandescent, a little flushed with embarrassment but totally worth it. There were no other immediate declarations, people had lives in other places but no one turned down the offer. With Stiles and Derek together in Washington they would look for others, people who needed family. That's how Derek found Isaac, Boyd and Erica and though their stories ended pretty horribly Derek was different now. He was stronger and he wasn't alone, Stiles would make sure they were offering a home and a family, not power.

"Okay, so who wants to place some bets about this wedding tomorrow?" Jackson asked.

Stiles smiled, glad that they were moving on for now. He struggled to his feet, using Derek's chest for leverage and walked into the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror as he started the water. He splashed a bit of water on his face and took a deep breath as he tried to make sense of what had happened in the last couple hours. It was hard to wrap his mind around all these changes.

"Hey," someone spoke from the door and he looked over to see Jackson.

"Hey," Stiles returned.

"I wanted you to know something, and everyone is talking out there and giving me the opportunity to say this. When I called and bitched at you, all that time I wanted to say something different and I figured I couldn't. I didn't have the right to ask you to do what you did today with Scott."

"What?" Stiles frowned.

"You picked us but not because you were picking us, you were picking yourself. No matter what I was or what I am, I am a werewolf and I want a pack. All those times when I would call you some stupid name, I was hoping you would call my bluff and ask me to join you somehow. I felt the bond start with you and Derek, even though I have a life elsewhere its not where I am planning on staying because I want to be with a pack and you made that possible. You let me in, even if it was for all the wrong reasons and I might never stop being a douche sometimes but I am going to keep calling you and I am going to keep hoping you'll pick up the phone."

Stiles stood dumbstruck because he hadn't imagined that Jackson was capable of saying anything nice but he had. Then he nodded his head because if there was something he could do, he would do it even if it was picking up the phone in the middle of the night and talking to these people that had been just as affected by the supernatural as him. "I will you know."

Jackson winked and walked away, Stiles could hear him saying to the others that he was going back to his hotel room to shower for the rehearsal dinner because it was still going to be the best party in town tonight. Stiles dried his face and walked out into the open area again and watched as Jackson walked out, turning back with one of those soft looks that Stiles hadn't ever imagined he could possess. Danny and Ethan left soon after, saying that they were going to do the same.

Danny walked over to him and pressed a hand to Stiles's shoulder, "I know I am human but you never treated me any different. You kept what I shared with you to yourself, those things about Ethan and Jackson; you helped me understand about the supernatural. I might not be ready to jump out of my life, but you are a good friend and some day things are going to be different for all of us. I know it, because you showed me that."

Stiles nodded and waved them off because he seriously was not going to cry like a baby in front of them. Again. Deaton had been right, his actions had meant something to these people and their calls had meant he wasn't alone something he'd needed long before he called Derek.

Kira walked out with a wink and skipping as she went by, Stiles chuckled as he watched her. Isaac scent marked both Derek and Stiles with a happy smile, and told them that he was going to shower here since this was where he was staying and shoved Stiles over to Cora and Derek. The alpha easily righted his clumsy boyfriend while Isaac closed himself into the bathroom and proceeded to turn on the shower and music from his phone.

Stiles grinned at Cora as she rolled her eyes, judging everyone with her eyebrows. Just like a Hale. "You guys should go get ready, I am imagining fireworks tonight at the dinner and you should be there. You should know I am staying here as well and making Isaac sleep on the couch."

"Figures," Stiles said with a snort.

"Thanks for inviting us to the show," Cora said to her brother.

Derek smiled, nodding to his sister. "Thanks for coming here for us,"

"Let me remind you little brother, that I am still here to judge your new boyfriend and make sure he's good enough for you."

Stiles stared at her in surprise, "Excuse me!"

"He's more than good enough, trust me," Derek answered smoothly over Stiles's annoyed squawk. Stiles smiled when Derek gripped his waist, pulling him close to his side. "He's the reason we're all here."

Cora smiled and for all the times Stiles had seen her sullen and bratty, seeing the smile on her face as a rare sight and he couldn't help but smile back. Apparently he had it bad for happy Hales. He didn't want to make out with her or anything, not like he did with Derek thankfully because that would have been an awkward conversation but it didn't make him want to hug her.

"We should go then," Stiles whispered and Derek nodded. The Hales exchanged a hug then Stiles leaned in and pressed his forehead into her temple as he dragged her into a tight hug. She paused for a moment then tightened her grip, "I didn't know humans not born into a pack could be like this. You know what this means," it wasn't a question and Stiles just nodded because he did know.

It was just too bad that Scott didn't.

"Go," Cora barked suddenly, "You smell sad and I don't like it."

Stiles snorted, "So much like your brother." He smacked a loud kiss to her cheek and hopped out of range of her ineffectual slapping motion and Derek followed him out of the loft, pulling the door closed behind him, leaving Cora and Isaac to get ready. Stiles turned into Derek's arms easily, pressing a deep kiss into the other man's lips. Derek opened to the insistent pressure with a happy grumble. Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek's neck and shivered in happiness when Derek's hands slid around his back.

Stiles pulled back just enough to smile at his boyfriend, "Thank you for everything."

"Thank you for calling me, I probably would still be sitting in my apartment hoping for the courage to pick up the next time you texted. You were always the bravest of us."

Stiles looked away, flushing a little, "That's what you say, maybe its just that we are brave for each other these days."

Derek shook his head and smiled, "You're not getting off that easily."

"Not getting off at all in this town," Stiles said with a grin.

Derek snorted, "No Stiles, listen to me. You're not alone and I wanted you to know that what you do makes a difference."

"I hear you Derek."

He pressed another kiss to the werewolf's lips.

Stiles leaned back again, swallowing convulsively because he didn't know this was a good idea but he couldn't keep it to himself anymore. He couldn't hide what he felt after Derek had done everything he'd asked, except let himself be taken advantage of, Derek had listened and cared for him no matter what and after years of harboring all these feelings actually having them returned was heady, "I know this is probably stupid to say but I love you, just in case you need to know."

Derek smiled, pressing teeth and tongue into Stiles's lips, his palms holding the human's neck gently, like something to be treasured. He pulled back again, "I don't know what to say, I want to say it back but I'm…"

Stiles pulled back but not because Derek had said anything bad or even unexpected, "Scared?"

Derek nodded a little, "Maybe. I have had hot and heavy romances before and they haven't worked out well for me."

Stiles chuckled, "That might be a horrible understatement. I didn't say it to get a response though. I just want you to know and its because of you not me."

Derek's cheeks flushed and Stiles couldn't help but press a kiss to the man's jaw because he was amazing inside and out and this moment was nothing like when he said those words to Lydia and got nothing in return. He'd been getting nothing in return from her for years, and he was a sad idiot for trying to see it as something it wasn't. Everything he had discovered with Derek had been different and he didn't think that was going to stop. Derek had shown him care, even loving gestures for weeks now.

So instead of making this moment more awkward then it needed to be, Stiles turned and dragged Derek down the stairs and over to jeep. They climbed in, Derek was all animal grace while Stiles almost brained himself on the door. Derek just shook his head while they drove back to the Stilinski residence.

"So I brought a pretty loud suit for this thing," Stiles blurted after a couple minutes.

"Did you bring one that wasn't so loud?"

Stiles grinned, "I don't have such a thing."

"I guess you are going to have to wear it then."

Stiles grinned back as he drove, they barely had time to shower and get dressed before they were supposed to be at the private club that was hosting Lydia and Parrish's rehearsal dinner and the wedding the next day. Stiles decided to stick with a pair of dark blue jeans and a button up white shirt with a black vest, it wasn't the loud outfit he was joking about with Derek but he didn't want to make a scene at his ex's wedding, no matter the fact that they all made a scene about two hours before. Derek came out of his shower smelling dark and alluring, dressed in a black button up shirt, his sleeves folded up, with black jeans and his leather jacket, looking grown up and delicious.

Stiles frowned at him, "Stop being so distracting. We have a party to go to where I can't have my way with you."

Derek rolled his eyes, "I don't think you have any room to complain. You look amazing."

Stiles's stomach warmed in happiness.

The werewolf walked over to him and pressed his nose into the curve of his neck, "And you smell amazing. I can't wait to make you smell like mine."

"Wow, you werewolves and territorial things," Stiles said but he probably smelled as pleased as he was and his heart was lying about the annoyance. He wanted to belong, needed to belong to someone and he wanted that someone to be Derek. "Let's go get this over with."

Derek pressed a quick kiss to the side of Stiles's neck and they headed out. The drive to the club was uneventful and he was able to park close to the door and he looked around the lot frowning. "If this was the biggest party in town with Lydia Martin at the center of it, wouldn't you think this place would be packed already?"

Derek shrugged as he unbuckled his seatbelt, "We're on time, I don't know. Let's go in and find out."

Stiles nodded and exited the jeep and they walked in together, hand in hand. Derek opened the door for him, all gentlemanly. Stiles thanked him and they followed the signs and walked into the designated ballroom only to find Lydia and Jordan waiting for them with the rest of the pack. Scott was there, arms crossed and pouting with Malia standing next to him, Liam, Hayden, Mason and Cory were there as well as Theo. Stiles couldn't help the glare he leveled at the leader of the chimeras who were long gone, thinking he should have stayed gone.

"What?" Stiles questioned just as the others walked in behind them. Jackson, Danny and Ethan came in, followed by Cora, Isaac and Kira. They were all dressed to party and they were left looking around in confusion as well.

"I'm glad you still came, but things have changed. We are just waiting for a few more guests then I can tell you why we were all going to be here tonight."

Derek brought Stiles and the others forward to settle down at one of the round tables close to the front of the room. Lydia was still just standing there, Parrish looked sad and detached like nothing about this was up to him. The door opened one more time, Stiles's dad walked in with Melissa McCall and Chris Argent and Lydia gestured pointedly to another one of the tables.

"What's all this?" the Sheriff asked.

"This was my stupid desire to make things different," Lydia stated mysteriously.

"What are you talking about Lydia?" Jackson asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I am talking about the future, I know the future of Beacon Hills, the supernaturals anyway and I was trying to change things. I have shared with my friends what I saw but now I share it with you. The supernatural is going to be outed, here in town and maybe all over the world but I can really only see this town. And the way it happens, it's going to destroy us all. One final fight and we aren't coming out on top and a lot of people are going to die in the meantime."

Stiles stared at her incredulously and not for the whole seeing the future thing because that was probable. The part that he didn't understand was, "But why are we having this conversation on the night of your rehearsal dinner?"

Lydia looked down, "You were right Stiles, I was going to marry Jordan without being honest with him. I have no desire to be married at eighteen but I was trying to put myself in a position of trust in this town, Jordan is well known and liked in town as a deputy and as the right hand to the sheriff. Not many people know about the supernatural aspect of him, they haven't even had an inkling of it up till now, same with me except for the fact that I hang out with the supernatural crowd. I was going to use my position to bring the supernatural into the light without the fear and death. I was hoping to make it so that the hunters didn't have our silence to use against us."

"And you decided to do that by lying to us, hurting people to keep your secrets?" Stiles asked, not believing what he was hearing.

"It was the best I had Stiles," Lydia sighed and he paused because she sounded exhausted.

"This plan seems a little short sighted," Danny said from where he was sitting closely with Ethan. "As one of the humans 'in the know' Lydia might be a polite introduction to the supernatural but not Parrish, a hellhound who's past isn't very rosy. Not many people in this room are going to make a good spokesperson for the humanity of the werewolves and other things that go bump in the night. Look at all the damage this war between the hunters and werewolves have done to this town."

"So this is why we're all here now," Lydia stated. "We need a different plan, something that will help keep people alive because my vision says that they are coming and the plan is to out us one by one with the intent to build an army and destroy everyone who isn't quite human."

Stiles looked over at Derek and he shrugged, "She's not lying."

He thought about the implications of what she saw. An army of people led by hunters and trained by them to hate werewolves and supernaturals. It was their worst nightmares laid out on a platter for them all and he figured that her methodology and her actions were shit; he could at least understand how Lydia got desperate enough to do something like this. Also didn't mean he wanted to go back to holding her purse again or waiting for her to be his strawberry blonde goddess.

"Scott would make the best face of werewolves," Stiles interjected quickly. "Jackson's kanima days hurt a lot of people, Ethan killed with the alpha pack, Malia had really bad luck with her family, Liam has anger issues that were only magnified by the change. If they learned anything about the chimera then Theo, Cory and Hayden are out. Scott is the best bet we have for a clean face of the coming out party."

"You didn't count out your boyfriend," Scott snarled.

"He won't be doing it either because you put a 'gun in his hand' with the sheriff's department in this town but he is also in some ways a secret weapon."

"Oh?" Lydia asked, sounding intrigued to hear what Stiles came up with in the last twenty minutes.

"Yeah, he was hurt, his family destroyed by humans who decided they were in the right. There are news stories about what Kate did and we could pull out the big guns with her assault on him when he was really young. I wouldn't want him to be out there in front of hundreds of people because at some point, what happened to Paige could come out and I won't let that happen to him."

"Are we going to unwrap our history with the world?" Scott asked Lydia.

She shrugged, "I don't know but whoever is put out there is going to lose any right to privacy they have at the moment, its why I wanted the target on my back, I have a cleaner reputation than most of you and my abilities are not as terrifying than that of a werewolf."

"Yeah only because they don't know jack-shit," Stiles returned.

"Of course," Lydia sniffed imperiously like she was talking to stupid people.

"So obviously this means tomorrow is cancelled."

"No," Lydia responded and took a deep breath. She reached out and took Jordan's hand who smiled at her, still saying nothing. Was he going to say nothing their entire marriage? "We are still getting married but its not just about this anymore. Something we didn't consider happened and Jordan has been gracious enough to stand by me through these harrowing events. Think and thin, through richer or poorer. All that stuff."

Derek lifted his head and took a long breath in through his nose and nodded, like he knew something none of them did but that seemed to be the end of it. Lydia and Parrish nodded to everyone and turned to leave the room.

"Be here for the wedding, it's a happy occasion so please do act accordingly," Scott stated before he turned to follow but his mother stood and shouted his full name which stopped the young alpha in his tracks.

"I need to speak to you, now!" she said evenly then she looked over at Stiles and walked over to the far corner of the room and waited. Everyone watched as Scott slumped and walked over to join her, knowing he was about to get his ass handed to him by his mother in front of the pack. Stiles tried not to listen and for the most part Melissa and Scott were both talking at a level he couldn't hear across the room though most of the werewolves were looking a little uncomfortable which seemed to be Melissa's plan all along.

Stiles looked over at Derek for a second but the other alpha just shook his head.

"Mom!" Scott yelped but she just grabbed him by the shoulder.

"No Scott, I don't care that you think right now. If you think that stabbing the friend that stood by you through everything is the right play, then I don't know what kind of man you are and I will make sure that this ego thing you got going in is held in check. I may not be able to ground you anymore but I can make sure that these people who look up to you and follow you really know what you're doing!"

Stiles's eyebrows rose in surprise and he started to stand, this wasn't what his plan was. Derek held him back. Scott and Melissa argued for a few more minutes then Scott looked over at Stiles, nodded then left. His betas followed, leaving Lydia and Parrish standing there above them all. Melissa walked back over to Stiles and pressed a hand to his shoulder gently then glanced over to the Sheriff and Argent. The three of them left.

"So no food here?" Isaac asked to break the tension, though it didn't. Lydia shook her head and the others started to leave.

"See you all tomorrow," Parrish said, speaking for the first time.

Derek surprisingly stood and walked over to Lydia and whispered something into her ear, the bride-to-be nodded and there was a shimmer of tears in her eyes. He squeezed her shoulder gently and Stiles stared slack jawed at the man.

"Let's go, it's going to be a long day tomorrow," Derek said as he walked over to them and everyone dispersed and Stiles stood and gestured towards Lydia.

"What was that?"

"No here Stiles."

He nodded and Stiles looked back and stared at Lydia for a second then nodded at Parrish. He didn't know what to think about what Lydia had told all of them, he didn't know that banshees could see that much farther into the future but then again, she had always been their wild card.

"Stiles?" Derek asked. The human turned and he joined Derek, taking the werewolf's hand and they walked out to the jeep and headed home. Derek was quiet as they prepared for bed, the routine of sharing the bathroom down the hall had become simple and comforting. Stiles got done and climbed into his bed, and watched as Derek walked towards him and smiled.

"Are you going to tell me what you said to Lydia?"

Derek pulled back the sheet and stepped in, easily sliding into the warmth waiting for him next to Stiles's body. "She's going to tell people soon enough but the reason I am telling you is because you shouldn't go and get it out of her yourself. Apparently we all have enough to worry about. I could smell the change in her body chemistry. I've smelled it before but its been a while. It took me a little longer to figure it out."

Stiles sighed in annoyance, "Come on!"

"She's pregnant."

"Oh," Stiles whispered and tucked his face into Derek's neck. "Well I guess that explains why tomorrow is still a-go, maybe. I don't think it matters. Apparently we have one more big bad that's going to kill us all if we don't figure out how to work together. That's going to matter more than anything else."

Derek leaned back but Stiles didn't move this time to meet his boyfriend's gaze. Derek moved his hand to the side of Stiles's neck and nudged gently until he did move, "What's going on in that brain of yours?"

Stiles shrugged, just thinking that this was always how they lost track of the terrible things that happened to them and to each other. They were always too busy moving on to the next thing to think of what they had lost by the end.

"Stiles, don't start hiding out on me again."

"I don't want to just forgive and forget for the sake of the fucking fight. We should just take our people and leave this place."

"You have every right to have your stuff be recognized but Scott and Lydia and Malia; they are your people too. If you want to leave, go back to Washington with the others then I will go with you but I don't know if you would be able to live with yourself after that."

Stiles shrugged, "Maybe I can't live with myself after ignoring everything for the sake of Scott McCall. I didn't give up everything for everyone; mostly it was for my best friend. And for what? To be abandoned?"

Derek pressed his lips to Stiles's forehead in a kiss, "Sleep on it and don't make any decisions until after the wedding. Okay?"

Stiles closed his eyes and nodded.

What was one more day in Beacon Hills?