With The Wild Wolves Around You
Tuesday is a blur. It's a lot like Monday. Derek leaves before Stiles goes to school, and is waiting out at the Jeep by the time he's out. He even has dinner with Stiles and his aunt, (who he actually likes a lot, and when he mentions that to Stiles, he gets this far away look and says something along the lines of 'She's a lot like my mom') and finds himself cuddled up next to Stiles again, listening as his breathing slows, putting him to sleep.
When Derek wakes up Wednesday morning, he can smell the alpha from inside Stiles' room, even though the window is shut and locked.
"Is he seriously that stupid?" Stiles groans when Derek mentions it to him, "He has to know you're here. So why is he snooping around?"
Derek shrugs, "Trying to figure out our plan?"
"Good thing we don't have a plan," Stiles replies, to which Derek just smiles. "Wait, do we have a plan?"
"I'm sure you've thought of something," Derek replies.
"Oh, just because I'm the smart one..." Stiles groans, though he can't deny that it's kind of a boost to his ego. He grins, "Okay, maybe I do have a plan."
He assumes that's the end of their conversation, though, because Derek doesn't say anything in response and even if Stiles wanted to talk about his potential plan, he wouldn't want to do it if the alpha was still listening. So naturally, he's surprised when Derek drives to school with him that morning, and is even more surprised when Derek leans over the center console of his Jeep before getting out, planting a kiss on his lips in front of God and everyone and whispering, "Meet me out here at lunch."
Stiles listens, and the second after his class before lunch ends, hes practically running out the front doors of the school toward the parking lot. Sure enough, Derek is waiting for him at his car, along with Isaac. "We'll have to hurry," Isaac says as the three of them pile in the Jeep together, "They're already waiting for us."
"They?" Stiles asks, turning to look at Derek, who just smiles a little bit in return.
"The rest of the pack."
At that, Stiles pulls out of the parking lot and follows Isaac's directions to some diner he's been to once or twice. Which is apparently where the badass new werewolf meetings are held. He has to admit, it's kind of smart. It's in a public place, and the alpha - Adrian - wouldn't even think to look for them there.
To Stiles surprise though, the rest of the pack includes not only Erica and Boyd, but also Scott, Allison, Jackson and Lydia. "Why are they-" Stiles starts, immediately nervous, "How did you...?"
"I do have a cell phone, you know," Derek teases, climbing out of the Jeep.
"Weird, I thought you only communicated through howling," Stiles teases back, following him into the diner and trying not to get too nervous. The last time he even acknowledged Scott, it was when he was saving his life, and Stiles didn't even so much as thank him. He can't help but be a little nervous. And can't help but feel like an asshole.
Regardless, Stiles takes a seat at the booth with everyone else, situated between Derek and Isaac.
"Can we get this over with?" Jackson snaps immediately after they sit down, "I have a Trig quiz after lunch and I can't miss it." Apparently, becoming a werewolf hadn't cured Jackson's shitty attitude.
"It's good to see you, Stiles," Lydia counters, and Stiles can't help but find it funny that Lydia acknowledges him now that he's not interested in her anymore.
"So what's this plan?" Scott finally speaks up, halfway through a burger. Man, that kid can eat. "Boyd filled us in on what happened this morning. So he's still snooping around your house?"
It isn't until the last question that Stiles realizes that Scott is talking to him. He shakes himself out of his stupid daze. "Yeah, Derek could smell him..."
"And the plan...?" Jackson pushes.
"Right," Stiles says, trying to get his brain in gear, "Well, I figured since Derek and Isaac already know his scent, and since Derek's house and my house are probably covered in it by now, we can track him. Or at least try to figure out the general area that he's staying right now. I'm positive that it's somewhere in the woods. When he kidnapped me, he didn't have a car, which means it can't be too terribly far away..." He trails off, memories of that night flooding his head and it takes a gentle nudge of Derek's elbow and an apologetic glance to get him back on track.
"Anyway," Stiles continues, "If we can figure out where he is, then we can ambush him. Split up into groups or something. And take walkie talkies. Walkie talkies are good."
"That's your plan?" Jackson snaps, "Walkie talkies?"
"You got anything better?" Stiles shoots back. When he doesn't say anything back, Stiles continues, "I mean, I figured you guys could deal with the cool ass kicking part of it all. I'm just the brains." Derek reaches down at that, gripping Stiles' hand as if to assure him that he's worth more than that.
"Scott," Derek finally speaks up, "Why don't you and Issac take the first watch tonight? And then switch off with Boyd and Erica."
"What about me?" Jackson asks, feeling left out.
"Don't you have some important test to get to?" Derek taunts, obviously frustrated with him, "We'll let you know when we need you."
"You owe me food after school," Stiles mumbles to Derek as they leave the diner toward the end of lunch, "I didn't even get a chance to eat."
"Fine," Derek agrees, leading him to the car.
Stiles can't help but find it adorable when he gets out of school that afternoon to find Derek standing by his car again, holding a couple of boxes of Chinese food, mumbling something along the lines of, "I hope this is good enough."
They fall asleep together again that night, Stiles' head on Derek's chest. Stiles doesn't mention how his aunt had asked if they were dating earlier that day, and Derek doesn't say anything when he hears Stiles' heart speed up when he thinks about it.
Stiles wakes up early Thursday morning, not because his alarm is going off, but because Derek's phone is ringing. When he glances at his clock, it reads 4:03 and he turns back over, groaning and wishing the ringing away. When it keeps ringing though, he smacks at Derek's sleeping chest. "Derek. Phone," He mumbles.
At that, Derek rolls over, reaching for his phone, which is somewhere on the ground with his jeans – Stiles insisted that he sleep in his boxers because it gets insanely hot with two people in his bed – and finally answers. "Erica," He breaths out, half awake.
"Derek, I think we found him," Stiles can hear Erica say on the other end, even though the phone isn't on speaker.
"You what?" Derek asks, sitting up. Among the rustling of the blankets as Derek moves and the sound of him getting up and out of bed, Stiles can't hear what Erica has to say, but he can hear when Derek replies with, "Okay, well get out of there, and we'll check it out after Stiles heads to school," He then pauses before adding, "Good job."
"Did they-" Stiles starts, hoping it's good news.
"They think they found where he's been hiding out," Derek answers from the other end of the room, "I'll check with them when you're at school-"
"And then my plan is in effect?" Stiles asks, smiling though he's sure Derek can't see it in the darkness.
"Then your plan is in effect," Derek confirms, climbing back in bed, "Now get some sleep."
As excited as Stiles is, he does pass back out after Derek gets back in bed with him. And as excited as he is, Stiles manages to get through all of his classes, despite the fact that he wishes he was on some crazy awesome werewolf hunt.
When Stiles is out of class, he makes his way back to his car, and can't decide if he's more flattered or surprised when he sees not only Derek, but also Scott, Allison, Jackson and Lydia waiting for him. "When does your aunt get off work?" Derek asks, as Stiles nears them.
He shrugs, "Not for another couple of hours, I think."
"Can we-"
"Yes, we can all meet there," Stiles answers, smiling a little at him, and at that, his friends scatter, mumbling something about seeing him soon.
"Is it really as awkward as I'm making things between Scott and I?" Stiles asks as they pull out of the parking lot, Jackson and Allison's cars not far behind.
"I'm sure things will be better after all of this is over," Derek says, and Stiles can't help but take his words in more than one way.
"I hope so."
The meeting at Stiles' house goes by fairly quick. They split up into three groups - Stiles, Derek and Issac in one, Erica and Boyd in another, and Scott, Allison, Jackson and Lydia in another. Though Derek tries to get them to split up into four, Lydia can't really defend herself, and as much as Allison insists she'll be fine, which she probably would be, Scott won't go anywhere without her.
It's a little bit before five that the groups head out, and Stiles quickly writes his aunt a note when they leave, letting her know that he's out with friends. It's half true.
They start the search at Derek's house. Erica explains where she and Boyd found the campsite set up, and they split up just a little bit before sunset, walkie talkies in hand. "Stay in contact with eatchother," Derek orders, before they're all too far apart, "If you need anything, let one of us know. We're a team."
A pack.
Stiles adjusts the gun that's tucked into the waistband of his jeans as they start walking. He hadn't mentioned bringing it to Derek, but he's sure that both he and Isaac can smell the wolf's bane bullets. If they can, though, they don't say anything about it.
"I'm surprised you let me come with," Stiles says as they walk, "Isn't this supposed to be the big showdown?"
"Maybe," Derek replies, obviously trying to be quiet, "And leaving you at home doesn't really seem to work well for us, does it?"
Stiles smiles a little, "Well at least something good came from me getting kidnapped." Derek doesn't say anything in response to that, and Stiles doesn't expect him to.
"Find anything yet?" Derek asks into his walkie talkie about twenty minutes into the search.
Scott's response is almost immediate, "Jackson and I picked up a scent, we're following it."
"Erica, anything?" Derek asks after Scott answers.
"No," She says and even Stiles can tell that she sounds worried, "I swear, we're following the same path we were on last night and we can't even smell him. Something's off..."
Derek sighs, "Okay well... Just keep your eyes open. And be careful. All of you."
It's a new side of Derek that Stiles hasn't really seen – genuine concern for his pack. And for Scott and his friends. Stiles finds himself wondering if they're pack now, too, and his mind wanders back to the other day when they were at the diner, and Derek said the pack was waiting. And that did include Scott, Allison, Jackson and Lydia. He wants to ask about it, but he can do that later. They have more important things to worry about right now.
"Do you guys... ya'know... smell anything?" Stiles asks after another ten minutes of walking.
Derek and Isaac share a glance before Derek looks at Stiles, worry etched on his face. He shakes his head, "No. Nothing."
"Do you think it's-"
"Don't say a trap," Isaac warns, speaking up, "It's not."
And at that, it's silent between the three of them again.
After another thirty minutes of walking – they've been out there for an hour now – Derek's walkie talkie goes off. "Derek?" Erica's voice sounds panicked, "I think something's circling us. I don't know what's going on, but I don't think it's good."
"Where are you?" Derek asks immediately, and if Stiles isn't mistaken, he can see his claws coming out just a little bit.
"We're-" Erica starts, and then nothing.
"Erica?" Derek asks into the walkie talkie. When she doesn't say anything, he begins to panic, "Erica, answer me." And when there's still no answer, he tries for Scott. "Scott, did you hear that? Be careful."
And then there's no response from Scott's end. Stiles' heart sinks.
"You don't think-" He starts.
"I don't know," Derek snaps, and Stiles can tell that he's scared. It's something Stiles hasn't actually seen on his face before. "If you were planning on actually using that gun though, now might be a good time to start thinking about it," He adds.
Stiles is already gripping it before Derek says anything, not pulling it out, but waiting. If anything happens, he knows that they're going to need the element of surprise on their side.
Within a few seconds, Isaac is glancing around the trees surrounding them, "Can you hear-"
"Yeah," Derek answers, glancing around as well.
"Great," Stiles mumbles, heart racing. Without warning, Derek reaches out to grab his free hand, squeezing it tight. When Stiles looks up at him, he's staring intently into the woods, waiting. The touch calms him slightly, but the look on Derek's face makes him nervous. "We're cornered, aren't we?" Stiles asks quietly, looking at him.
Derek doesn't say anything in return – just squeezes his hand tighter.
And then there's a terrifying growl coming from the woods, just out of sight.
"Guys..." Isaac says quietly, nudging at Derek. It isn't until that moment that Stiles realizes that the three of them are standing back to back and -
Fuck, we really are cornered.
- he turns to look in the direction that Isaac is staring.
Of course, stalking out of the woods is the alpha – Adrian – a nasty smirk playing on his face. "Nice to see you, Derek," He says, breaking the silence.
Derek just growls, crouching in response.
"You know, your pack isn't as great as you made them out to be," He taunts, "They were pretty easy to take out." Stiles heart drops at his words because Scott and Allison and Jackson and poor, defenseless Lydia... "Especially that blonde one of yours... Erica?" He continues, "You should have heard the way she screamed."
Derek knows that he's bluffing – he would have felt it if Erica was in pain – but Isaac isn't that experienced. He doesn't know. Without warning, he crouches, leaping at Adrian, and it only takes a second before he's being tossed away, slamming into a tree.
"Really, Derek?" Adrian says, looking back at him, "They're barely even trained. I'm practically doing you a favor by killing you. You're a terrible alpha, you've got no family, no friends, and this one..." He nods at Stiles, "You realize that he has a ton of potential, right? You must be stupid if you haven't given him the bite yet."
Stiles wants to say something along the lines of 'I didn't want it' but his voice catches in his throat.
"Hell, maybe after I kill you, I'll turn him. Just for kicks."
At that, Derek lets go of the grip on Stiles hand. Stiles tries to reach forward – to stop him, to reel him back in or something – but he's too late. In the blink of an eye, Derek is shifting and lunching at Adrian, teeth bared.
It's just what Adrian wants. Stiles can tell by the smirk on his face when Derek shifts.
He watches helplessly, much like he had the other night, as they fight. Stiles knows that he can end it, he can pull out his gun and he can shoot, but they're moving too fast and Stiles isn't that good of a shot and doesn't want to hit Derek on accident, so he stands there helplessly and watches. Until he hears Isaac groaning.
He sprints to where his classmate – his packmate, his friend – is lying and crouches down by his face. "Isaac," He whispers, nudging him, "You need to get up. Please man. We need you..."
Isaac just groans in response again, eyes shut tight in pain, and Stiles goes to shake him more and yell at him to get up, but that's when he hears Derek practically yelp in pain, and turns to look over his shoulder. Derek is laying, face down, about ten yards away, and Adrian is walking away from him, smirking. "Derek..." Stiles whispers to himself.
"Don't worry, he's not dead," Adrian taunts, stalking up to where Stiles is now standing, cornered against a tree next to a half conscious Isaac, "Yet."
"You don't scare me," Stile says, eyes narrowed. His hand is gripping his gun, ready to pull it out.
"You're a good liar, Stiles," Adrian says, stepping closer, "But not that good." And then he's suddenly in Stiles' face, making him jump, "You're fucking terrified."
"So you're going to torture him by torturing me?" Stiles asks, buying time. Only a couple inches closer...
He's quick with the gun, pulling out and shooting twice, in his stomach. He's too close for Stiles to extend his arm and hit his chest or his head, but he hopes it will do the trick. He watches, back pressed against the tree, as Adrian glances down at his wounds, then back up, face pained. It worked.
Within a second though, Adrian is closing the remaining gap between them, hand is gripping Stiles' shaking arm tight, catching him off guard, and squeezing, making him struggle to hold onto the gun. He panics in that moment, realizing that the two shots weren't enough. Sure, he might die eventually, but it's going to take a little while. "Wolf's bane?" He asks, ripping the weapon away from Stiles' grasp and tossing it to the ground behind him, "Really, Stiles? Now that's just cheating."
"Kick my ass, then," Stiles challenges as Adrian grips the collar of his shirt, "Get it over with." He's really just trying to buy some time before the wolf's bane kicks in and starts weakening him - he tries to remember how long it took to effect Derek - but he can't help but be a little terrified when red eyes are still staring back at him, hard.
And for once, Adrian doesn't have a snarky comeback. Instead, he just delivers a hard punch to Stiles' face and wow that hurts a lot more than he had been expecting.
Stiles swears that he hears Derek say his name after another hit or two or three, but he's lost track of them after a minute, his head spinning and his eyes shut tight, just hoping that the bullets weaken him soon. He's scared to find out what will happen if they don't.
Stiles manages to open his eyes, though, in time to see Derek stalking up from where he was lying, blood trickling down his head, claws out, Stiles' gun in hand. Adrian seems to sense him too, because a second after Stiles sees him, he smirks, dropping his fist. "Lets make this a little more interesting," He growls, and Stiles watches as his claws slide out in slow motion. He goes to call out to Derek, to tell him to shoot him now, but his voice catches in his throat, and then there's suddenly a sharp pain in his stomach.
He can't even scream, it hurts so much.
Stiles does manage to look down though, to see Adrian's claws buried deep into his skin.
He looks up again, at his face – his stupid, smirking, evil face – and then he hears a gunshot. And then he's being dropped to the ground.
He hears another two gunshots before everything goes black and silent.
AN: Sorry for the cliffhanger. I love you guys.
Second to last chapter!
The title of this chapter is from the song "The Wolves (Act I and II)" by Bon Iver.