"Sunday!" Stiles yelled, putting his head under his pillow. His dad was banging on his bedroom door, he could already hear the water clunking through the pipes as Derek was in the shower. "It's Sunday! We get to sleep past 8 on a Sunday!"
"Stiles, get up. We're going to miss the opening."
"What opening?" Stiles said, sitting up in bed. He tried to remember if something worth getting out of bed was going on.
"State Fair." His dad said, hammering once more on the door before walking down the stairs. Stiles grinned. State Fair meant one thing – his dad never missed one. Never. They were going to be able to spend the whole day together. He launched himself out of bed and into the shower. He ran out of hot water almost as soon as he got in, but the icy water didn't seem to affect him much – his skin stayed warm to the touch even after standing under the cold spray. He could hear someone in his room, from the prickling of the hairs on the back of his neck, he assumed it was Derek.
Jumping out and turning off the water, he wrapped the fluffy towel around his waist and walked into his room. It was Derek, he was standing in the middle of the floor with damp hair and his typical black jeans and grey jumper combo. "Are you allergic to colour?" Stiles said, walking past him and pulling open his dresser drawers. Everything was arranged in colours. "Did you do this?" Stiles said, pointing to the rainbow shades. He owned a lot of red.
"Nothing you have matches." Derek said, as though that made all the sense in the world. "You are the most disorganised person I've ever met."
Stiles pulled out the green tee and matching plaid, throwing them on the bed. He could see the vein in Dereks neck throb. "I need you to call Scott." Derek said, watching as Stiles padded about the room.
"Why?" Although Scott seemed to be getting over his 'lets ignore Stiles for a month or two' phase, Stiles wasn't sure if he really wanted to forgive him just yet.
"Reevers pack is going to be at the fair, and they want to meet… everyone." Derek said, as though it hurt him to say it. "Isaac, Boyd and Erica are going to be there, but Scott needs to be there too." He paused. "And Jackson."
"And you want me to ask them." It wasn't a question.
"Yes."
"Are you making breakfast?"
"Maybe."
"I want pancakes," Stiles said. "A whole stack to myself. Then I'll call them."
Stiles and his dad were walking around the field that had been transformed into the biggest event within traveling distance of Beacon Hills. He loved the fair, the sounds, the people – the rides. Derek had taken Isaac and Boyd in his car, Erica had arrived with her parents (who seemed utterly thrilled that Erica was now apparently better and had a core group of friends). Jackson had arrived, much to Stiles surprise, seemed more than willing to show face at what could be a really awkward meeting. Scott had agreed, although he didn't sound too happy about it over the phone.
His dad had stood and talked to Erica's parents, they had gone to school together and spent some time talking about the lacrosse match.
"I hope you don't mind Erica being late out last night." His dad said, "When I arrived they were half asleep watching TV in the living room." He glanced over at them with a grin. "Gotta say, when I was their age eating takeaway and watching TV isn't exactly what I'd be doing if I had the house to myself on a Saturday night!"
"This is Jackson," Derek was saying, as Stiles stood beside Scott. Reevers family were hard to miss. The boys were all taller than Danny – each with copper hair and liberal freckles. They moved like one person, it was obvious to anyone who knew anything about werewolves that theirs was a tight knit pack. The difference between the two packs was like night and day.
"Hi." Jackson said, looking slightly intimidated. The other wolves smiled. All Stiles could make out was lots and lots of white teeth.
"And Scott."
"Not yours?"
"He's a member of my pack, but he was marked by our last Alpha." Derek clarified. Stiles was surprised that Reevers mom (Gail) could tell that Scott wasn't bitten by Derek. He wondered what else she could tell just by looking, or smelling – or whatever.
"Makes for a difficult dynamic." Gail said. "Trying to fit in to a pack with a new Alpha." She smiled at Scott. It was very clear that she was Reevers mom. They were almost identical. Then her green eyes focused on Stiles, who was trying to hang back.
"And this is?" She said, looking him up and down.
"Stiles." Derek managed, and Stiles could hear his teeth grinding together. "He's… not marked."
"Yes," She nodded, sniffing the air. Her green eyes widened. "You cannot mark him." She held out her hand to Stiles, who shook it awkwardly. "Honoured to meet you. The Harriet Valley pack will always welcome you, should you need a new Den." She said, her touch warm. "We could not believe that Reever had found a pack with a Shaman." She paused, and when she spoke again, it was carefully measured. "You must be careful. Once, there were many Shaman, but they were hunted for their power. No wolf will harm you – but there are more than wolves than run in the wild places." She dropped her eyes, and let go of his hand. "Generations ago we lost a Shaman. We have her things, safe, hidden. We would be honoured if you would take them, and remember our pack as Allies."
Stiles wasn't sure what he was supposed to say, so he just nodded. "Sure." Which seemed to please Gail, and her pack, who all let out a collective breath. They were so close, so obviously pack, that Stiles felt almost ashamed of the teenagers around him. He saw it in Derek's eyes – the pack he had made was nothing like the pack he had once belonged to.
They parted ways, Reever staying with Isaac although Stiles could see the way she watched her family walk away that she wanted to join them. He wondered at the bond she shared with Isaac, that was so strong she would leave her entire family for him.
"That was terrible." Boyd said, sullenly. "They made us look like idiots."
"They couldn't help it." Derek said, running his hand over his face. "They've been pack their whole lives – and Gail has been an Alpha since she was 15 years old."
"We looked like a bunch of rejects." Jackson said. "Did you see the way they moved?"
"We're only a new pack." Derek said, defensively. "We'll be like that, one day."
"How?" Scott said. "They were born werewolves!"
"That's not actually true." Reever said, her voice light and breezy. "Half my family were born human, and later turned. The reason we're so close is because we… they… do everything together."
"Like what?" Erica said, kicking at the packed earth with her boot.
"Well, every night, mom takes everyone out for a run – like we did yesterday. And then we had dinner. Every day. No matter what."
"I don't have the time to run about the woods with you losers." Jackson said. "I've got a life."
"Well, that's up to you. But don't stand there and say you feel like a reject if you don't plan to change it." Reever snapped. "Maybe the reason you aren't pack is because you all act like you're too good to be here!" She turned and stormed off, dragging Isaac behind her, who just shrugged at them as he disappeared into the crowd of people.
"What's got into her?" Erica grimaced.
"She left her pack for us." Derek said, sadness in his voice. "She can't go back."
She couldn't go back. Derek explained it all to them, as they sat around one of the picnic tables that had been set up. Once Reever left her pack for Isaac, she could never go back. She thought she was leaving her family for another close knit pack, a group of wolves who did everything together – and what she got was an Alpha who acted like a lone wolf, and a group of kids who spent most of their time avoiding each other.
"She's hurt, disappointed and very lonely." He finished, looking at his soda. "Losing a pack like hers… and suddenly having nothing – it's very hard."
Stiles thought about Derek, around the same age as Reever, who lost his pack too. He wondered if he felt lonely too. Looking around the table, he could see that Derek's words were not lost on the others. Even Scott, who had been picking at his lunch, was looking sombre.
"Do you think we could become like them?" Jackson asked, voice quiet. "Like a real family?" And Stiles remembered that Derek wasn't the only person at the table who might need more than they let on. Jackson spent most of his time acting like he was too good for them, but he had issues at home, he wasn't as cold as he liked to make out.
"I don't know." Derek admitted. It was the first time Stiles had seen him like this in front of other people. Normally he was brooding and dangerous, now he was just Derek. "It would take a lot of work."
"We've got something that don't though." Erica said, sitting up a little straighter. When they looked at her blankly, she grinned. "We've got Stiles. And they were all over him."
"Yeah!" Scott suddenly said. "They kinda were."
"No, they weren't." Jackson said, but Stiles could tell he was arguing just to argue. Jackson could be like that.
"Whatever, dude." Scott said, good naturedly. "Stiles totally got their attention. They were watching him the whole time, and Gail didn't even bother shaking our hands or anything." He grinned at Stiles, who grinned back. It was obvious Scott was trying to prove that he had Stiles back again.
"Yes." Derek said, although you could tell he wasn't happy about that. "They will try to take him, if they can."
"Never." Stiles grinned widely at the wolves. "You guys are my pack, and I'm not leaving."
Stiles found his dad chatting away to some of his old fishing buddies, exactly where he'd left him hours ago. They were checking out some of the lures and rods on display at one of the booths.
"This is my son, Stiles." His dad said, putting his arm around Stiles shoulders. "You remember him."
"Last time we saw you, you were about this high." One of the guys said. "Your dad was telling us about your game. Good showing, sport."
"Thanks." Stiles grinned.
"We're trying to get your old man to come fishing with us next weekend."
"If you can get him to take time off work, you're doing better than me." Stiles laughed. "I was gonna spend the weekend with Isaac and Derek, anyway. You know… getting everything ready for the new build."
"We'll see." Was all his dad said, but Stiles could tell by the way he was eyeing up the lures and flies… he was already planning his trip.
Derek was stripped to the waist, Stiles was finding it a full time job not to notice. The fact that Jackson, Boyd, Scott and Isaac were also half naked didn't even register in his mind. Stiles was sitting on the hood of Derek's car (much to the Alpha's consternation) as they worked on the hollow shell that was once the Hale house. Derek had hired people to come out and start tearing it down, but first he wanted to make sure there was nothing left that could cause people to ask difficult questions. Like why there was an empty grave in the back yard, and why the basement looked like a torture chamber.
Reever and Erica were moving the debris the boys were throwing out of the missing windows and hauling it into the back of the truck Derek had hired. Reever had brought with her the books and personal effects of the Harriet Valley Shaman, and Derek had told Stiles to get started working his way through them, rather than getting under their feet.
There were a lot of overlapping mixtures – both his books and these new ones (written in a light curving script, by 'Pip') told him that Comfrey Leaves were better than Arnica, and that he should be drinking at least one mug a day of the Honey, mint and walnut leaf tea that Derek handed him each morning. Pip though, had a lot more information on werewolf familiars – because she had one.
'Gavin seems unhappy to share these powers – for they do weaken him overly.' She wrote. 'His pack believe that if he had been an Alpha, things may have been different – it is unlikely that an Alpha would allow the siphoning of power.' Stiles tried not to think too much about that – He'd promised Talon that he'd keep away from those spells until he had someone there to stop things going too far. The result could kill him, and his familiar.
'Blood is not the only essence that can alter my state to heightened.' Stiles wasn't left wondering too long what she meant by that, because the next paragraph was detailed. 'Sexual intercourse produces no enhancements, however, if taken by mouth, semen heightens the touch/smell threshold. Blood still remains the only way to enter a full shift.'
Stiles blanched. Too much information too early in the morning. 'The strength and power of the were lasts only as the quantity of blood ingested. So far, Gavin has been unwilling to test how much I can take from him.'
Blood. That was all Stiles could think about. If he ever wanted to see those colours, and run with his pack, he was going to have to drink Derek's blood.
'Direct ingestion of the blood is the fastest and most efficient way to shift. The suggested herbs cause pain and burning of the skin as they try to heal while the blood works its way into the system.'
Huh. Good to know. He read on, wondering if Pip and Gavin had kinky blood drinking sex – because she wrote about it a lot – she listed a few herbs that could affect him as well, although from what he could see, most of it was so she could get him to give her as much blood as she liked. Herbs to dull his senses, his reaction times – his understanding. From what Stiles read – this Pip wasn't the best kind of Shaman to be. She used her guide like a walking blood bank.
'Gavin died.' He read. 'I cannot live without blood. I will need another familiar.' Stiles snapped the book shut. Not wanting to read any more. This was not him – Pip read like an addict, her need for more and more blood made her sound like a vampire than what he had expected. He had hoped the books would help – but as he watched Derek throw a burnt beam out of the open door, he thought about the way he had felt, running through the trees with the others. The colours, the strength and freedom. Just how much he thought about it, how much he ached to do it again, how his dreams were vivid and impossible to forget.
He knew addiction. Knew how strong the pull could be. But he couldn't hurt Derek. He wouldn't do that to Derek.
Stiles ignored the voice in his head, that taunted – remembered the fear when Derek had grabbed him, choking the life out of him, the feeling of being hurt, the wolf slamming him against walls, and cars…
Why not? It whispered.
Fire danced in his amber eyes as he cradled the book in his arms.
Happy almost Friday! I am so hyper because I've just had my 200th review for this story - and not ONE has been negative! :D My smiles are bountiful! You are all so awesome and supportive and epic and so many of you seem to know what I'm going to write before I write it... So happy!
This was going to be posted at the weekend, but after getting 200 reviews... well... I couldn't just let it fester - so here you go - another speedy chapter. :D
For those calling (howling) for more sexy!sterek... Patience is a virtue, you know!
Still hurting over my precious BB and the leaked first page of season 3.
Still watching SPN - still only on season 1. Deans still got mascara on, I don't know who he thinks he's kidding. And that boy is always eating!
Still kidding myself that I'm going to take a break from writing THIS TIME. For SURE. (yeah... okay...)
Loves and snootchie bootchies!