Chapter 10 – Off With Your Head

Disclaimers: I DO NOT OWN TEEN WOLF, nor do I receive any monetary recompense for my writing. I just write for enjoyment. Rated M for a reason. Special thanks goes out to my beta SweetEnigma!

Derek woke violently, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat. He panicked briefly, looking around and taking in his surroundings to find he was still in the corner of the bedroom in the little nest he had arranged. Dawn was nowhere in sight. Once he regained his senses he noted that the air in the room was stagnant, even though the window was open. Something felt incredibly… off. "Something's not right…" he said to no one, running his hands up his forehead, slicking his damp hair back. He had been having nightmares again lately. Before, they had been about the fire, but now visions of Kate clouded his mind… Of her violently slaughtering Stiles...

He unexpectedly heard the miserable howl of a female wolf and shot out of bed, running for the door, not even bothering to shrug a shirt on. The sound had come from the direction of Stiles' house, but when he arrived in the yard he was only met by the overwhelming stench of burning rubber and fresh blood. "STILES!?" Derek burst into the house, bounding up the stairs, before ripping open Stiles' bedroom door. The sound of the door cracking loudly against the wall echoed through the house, while Derek stood in the threshold, gaping at the sight before him.

There in front of him was the naked, fragile teen, sprawled helplessly on his back on the bed, saturated in his own blood. Derek could hear him breathing from across the room, it was shallow; his heartbeat disturbingly slow. "Oh, Stiles…" He stepped past the doorway finally, pushing back the wolf that rose up within him. He was almost to the boy when he slipped on blood, griping the bed to steady himself. He couldn't help the tears that came now that he was right there, right there next to this carnage, this stupid human that he had such strong feelings toward, and such a desire to protect.

The gashes ran all the way down his chest and stomach, and there was a bite mark on his throat. 'He's bleeding out. It's only a matter of minutes…' Derek tried to apply pressure to the wounds and started rambling suddenly, even though he knew Stiles probably couldn't hear him. "I'm so sorry, I should have known better, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have left you alone with such a new werewolf that obviously wanted you. It's just… I was feeling so… Hateful… And jealous. I just wanted you to be happy, even if… Even if I ached to have you for myself." He was sobbing now, leaning over the other. "I know you don't want this, but it's the only way. I have to try…" He searched for a place that was unscathed, he couldn't bear to inflict any more pain than neccessary. He nuzzled his face against the inner part of Stiles' thigh before releasing the wolf and sinking his teeth into the tender flesh. Once the deed had been done, he curled up next to the boy, letting some of the blood paint his skin. It was then that Scott burst into the room, a horrified look washing over his face.

"Oh my god!? What did you do? What happened?!" he rushed to his friend's side and immediately found himself trying hard not to vomit. Tears started rushing down his face as he dropped to his knees next to the bed.

"Dawn", Derek replied.

"You bit him?! Where is she?" Scott asked before continuing, "I heard her howling but when I got here I didn't see her anywhere. I smelled rubber outside, though. Do you think the other pack came looking for her?"

Derek said nothing for a moment, just sitting there glaring at Scott before looking back down at Stiles. "I had to, he's going to die otherwise. I don't particularly give a fuck if they came back for her." Scott was angry of course, his best friend was dying. But, at the same time he couldn't HATE the girl. 'She's been nothing but trouble, but the wolf had probably taken over. She's too new to be left running around on her own. Oh my god, Stiles. Stiles is dying. There's so much fucking blood. Wait, is Derek crying?'

"Wait a second. Derek…" Derek just stared dismally at Stiles' body, a fresh tear dripping from his eyelashes. "You. The cottage. You actually have feelings for him, don't you?" Derek closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them he was looking directly into Scott's. He didn't say a word, he didn't have to. 'I've never seen Derek look so… vulnerable.' "Everything makes sense now. Its fine, I'm okay with it. It's weird but… Derek is he going to die?"

"I don't know, I'm not sure if I bit him in time." Stiles stirred suddenly, groaning. "His wounds look like they're starting to close a little…" Derek stood up and started pacing, before heading toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find the girl. I'm beyond pissed right now but it's partially my own fault for leaving her alone with him… I should have known better. Stay with him, try to keep him calm. When he's able to move get him cleaned up a bit. I'm sure the sheriff won't be working forever." With that, he turned and departed.

"I should have known better…" he growled to himself as he thought back to Kate, how sweet and caring she had seemed. That 'hot older woman' charm had worked its magic on him in ways he didn't want to remember. 'All I ever do is bring pain upon the people I love.' Knocking on Chris Argent's front door was awkward to say the least, as was the look the older man gave him upon opening said door.

"Hale," he stated.

"Chris… I know we aren't exactly on the best of terms but I require the aid of someone of your… profession."

Chris raised an eyebrow at this and motioned for him to enter. "Don't worry Hale, I won't bite." They entered the living room and sat on alternate pieces of furniture. Derek was stiff, taking in his surroundings cautiously. "Well, spit it out. I know it must be pretty serious for you to come to me for help."

The alpha rolled his eyes and started from the beginning, "Well, I took the boys for a little vacation in Canada…"

"You mean Scott and Stiles?"

"Yes. Some friends of my family own a cottage up there; I thought it might be nice to get away from it all..." Chris nodded his head and Derek continued, "Well, while we were there we stumbled upon a pack of vulgar werewolves. They had taken a young girl captive and bitten her so they could torture and rape her repeatedly…" Chris's eyes widened. 'I knew that would get to him. He cares deeply about the women in his life, he would die before letting that happen to his daughter.'

"So you rescued her, how valiant of you. Perhaps you aren't the monster I thought you once were."

"Yes, we waited for the full moon, since they decided to let her 'free' so they could hunt her. We scooped her up and brought her back here for safekeeping, only now –"

"They came back for her."

"Yes and I –"

"You weren't prepared."

Derek sighed loudly and planted his face in his hands. "She had a bit of a thing for Stiles, there were… Complications. I should have been there. Anyway, she's been taken. I don't exactly want her around but I can't just let them have her after witnessing what they did to her before. I knew that you would disapprove of monstrosities like that traipsing about, so I decided to come to you for help."

"There's nowhere else you could have gone, really. Is the boy alright?"

"Cut the crap Argent, will you help or not?"

"It's my sworn duty to help. I'll make a few calls, I should be able to round up a few good hunters within a few hours. In the meantime, Derek, try to pick up the trail while it's still fresh. It's late, and it's supposed to rain a lot tonight. I doubt they'll go too far. Let me know if you find anything." Chris was writing down his number and handing it to him. "And Derek... You did what you had to do." He gave the man a knowing look before turning to go locate his phone.

Derek too the paper reluctantly and motioned that he was leaving. "Thank you." On his way out, he glanced up the stairwell to see a waylaying Allison. He whispered up to her "Scott is over with Stiles… They might need your help." She nodded and retreated to her room, as Derek opened the door to depart.

»»-¤-««

Stiles opened his eyes and was immediately hit with such a massive wave of pain that he shuddered. He looked to his left to see Scott sitting at his bedside, looking extremely concerned.

"Stiles, you're awake!"

He glanced down at his chest, where the majority of the hurt was emanating from, and upon seeing the vast amount of blood, blacked out.

He awoke again, but this time he wasn't stinging quite so badly, he was able to move a bit more. He still couldn't sit up, but Scott was pressing a bottle of cold water to his lips.

"Drink, please."

He gulped some down, coughing a bit, before croaking out "What… what happened?"

"Uhhhh not to sound blatant or anything but... It's looking like you were ripped to shreds by Dawn and left here to bleed out…"

Stiles gaped, remembering the situation he had been in just a bit earlier in the evening. How she grinned devilishly when he told her he was a virgin, the sickening tearing sensation he felt when she dragged her claws down his body, and the way he was still inside her when her body started to contort… "Oh my god…" He shook, traumatized to the core, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Stiles, I'm sorry. Calm down, please!" His friend leaned down and pressed their foreheads together, before looking directly into his eyes. "Stiles, you're safe now. Everything's going to be fine."

Stiles could feel his breath coming in short gasps, he was starting to have a panic attack. He reached out and latched his hand onto Scott's shoulder, trying to ground himself, but fell into darkness anyhow.

The third time he awoke, he heard voices. Allison was in his room, she was crying. She was on her hands and knees on the floor and it sounded like she was scrubbing. 'Was there really that much blood…?'

"Stiles, hey!" She smiled and stood up, walking over to the bed and gently seating herself. "You should be up and moving here soon, it looks like you're healing up pretty quickly."

"Healing up… What's going on? Oh my god, no, no way…" He shot out of bed, stumbling toward his bathroom.

"Stiles wait! You shouldn't be straining yourself!" Scott called, as Stiles slammed the door in their faces. He took a deep breath and looked into the mirror, surveying the damage.

His torso had indeed been ripped to shreds but it looked as if the wounds had almost closed completely. There was a bit of a bite remnant on his neck, and as he looked down he could see a deeper one on his upper thigh that was healing slower than the rest. "Fuck me…" He leaned across the counter staring into his own eyes, concentrating hard. They flashed colors just then, a green glow overtaking his natural brown. He rubbed his face with his hands and paced back and forth in the small room, trying to even out his breathing. "Scott! Why am I a werewolf?!"

"Because you were dying and Derek decided to save your life!" He called back. 'Well, I guess I should be thankful, even if it was against my will.' "Where is said alpha werewolf? I'd like to have a few words with him!"

Allison spoke up this time, "He went to my dad for help, they're out looking for Dawn, the other pack came back for her…" A sickening feeling flooded Stiles' gut and this time it wasn't from the pain.

Song Credit: Mz Ann Thropik – Off With Your Head

"The queen of hearts holds my fucking cards; off with my head… Alice, oh Alice, oh Alice, you're falling down a rabbit hole…"