Another update after several weeks without uploading!

I keep getting sick. I swear my body hates me. Between being sick and school, I've found next to no time to write. Eventually that will change, once I can get on top of everything.

As always, a big thank you to my beta Lessienamandil

More notes at the end.

Disclaimer: Teen wolf and its characters are not owned by me. I will not take credit for it. It belongs to its rightful owners.


It had now been two months since Stiles had woken up from his coma. His body was almost back to its full strength and he was back to his usual playful self. It was a huge relief to the pack and they were able to focus on more pressing matters, aka the alpha pack. Stiles did what he can to help, but he wasn't allowed to do it alone anymore, Derek's orders. The alpha wasn't taking any chances when it came to the possibility of the boy sneaking off again to try and find another pack member. Once had been enough.

Stiles huffed a sigh as he lay on the couch in the Hale house, his eyes skimming a map as he drew another cross on a location. They were going in a big circle with no leads. It was becoming pointless. They were no closer to finding Erica or Boyd. If anything, it just led to the pack becoming more and more frustrated.

Stiles turned his gaze away from the map to watch the puppies playing around on the floor in front of him. They had grown quite big in the past two months. It wouldn't be much longer before they were fully grown. A small smile played on his lips as he watched them.

"Any luck?" a grumpy voice asked behind him

The voice made Stiles jump and he glared up at the werewolf above him, smacking the wolf's arm playfully.

"Damnit Derek! You scared me! You gotta stop the creepy wolf sneaking. It's not healthy." Stiles scolded him with a large grin, sitting up to give room for his favourite werewolf.

Derek grunted in reply as he sat down, allowing Lily to jump up on his lap and lay there. He gave Stiles a glare before nodding pointedly at the map.

"Well?"

Stiles sighed and passed the map over, shaking his head as he did so. He tickled Lily behind her ears as he waited for Derek to look over what he'd done.

"Nothing so far. Still not a single sign to point us in the right direction. It's getting pointless. We might have to think of widening our search area. We've almost completely exhausted all our other options." Stiles reported, not looking up at Derek.

Derek nodded slightly and placed the map to the side, letting out a sigh. Stiles watched him as he ran through his brain, working out the pack's next move. It was at times like this where Stiles didn't envy the wolf. Looking after the pack's wellbeing was a hefty task. One Derek often took on alone.

Stiles bit his lip as he thought it over. Derek took too much on himself and it was taking its toll. The wolf was absolutely worn out and still had nothing to grasp onto. Stiles could only imagine how it was eating at him on the inside.

Stiles opened his mouth to speak when he was cut off by Lily. He glanced down at the puppy as she let out a loud growl. She jumped down off Derek's lap and raced for the front entrance. The other puppies held back a bit, all growling uncertainly. Stiles glanced at them before looking at Derek as the werewolf chased the young pup, already half shifted.

"Derek! Hey wait! What is going o-."

Stiles froze as he got to the front door, standing slightly behind Derek. In front of him was none other than the one werewolf he wished to never see ever again. The alpha that had tortured him for so long. Stiles' scars throbbed in reminder of the blinding pain he had felt over those days.

"Ahh, Stiles. How nice it is to see you well. I take it your injuries have healed quite well?" The alpha questioned, a smirk plastered on his face.

Stiles took a step back and wrapped his arms around the scars at his front, hidden by his shirt. Derek glanced back at Stiles before he shifted into a more protective stance in front of the boy.

"What are you doing here?" Derek growled out, his claws and teeth extending out.

"Now now Derek. Is that any way to treat a guest? I would've thought your mother would've taught you better. Oh that's right!" The alpha grinned and glanced at the growling puppy.

Derek growled himself, pushing Stiles further behind him so the boy wasn't accessible in any way. The alpha took note of this and his grin widened. He took a step forward, ignoring the sharp warning he got from both the puppy and the alpha werewolf in front of him.

"What's this Derek? You seem to be quite intent on protecting that human. Don't tell me….Hah! You have, haven't you! You're fond of this human! Oh Derek, young Derek. Have you really fallen that low?" The alpha taunted, noticing the slight twitch Derek gave to show that he'd hit a nerve.

Derek growled more, dropping slightly before taking a swipe at the alpha. The alpha caught his arm easily and shook his head.

"Tsk tsk Derek. I thought you knew better." He laughed, tossing the other werewolf to the side into a wall, smirking as he heard the loud crack of his body hitting the building.

Stiles stared at the spot Derek lay, trying to gather himself from hitting the wall so hard. His gaze flew back to the alpha as he took another step towards him. The alpha grinned and reached out a clawed hand, reaching for the boy. Stiles took a step back, trying desperately to protect himself from the wolf that had caused him so much pain. It was then his back hit the couch. He was trapped.

He stared forward at the alpha, not knowing what to do. He bit his lip and glanced around, trying to work out a way out of this situation. He then squeezed his eyes shut as the alpha got closer.

"ARGH!"

Stiles' eyes flew open at the cry. In front of him was the alpha, trying desperately to get Lily off him. The puppy had clamped her jaws tight onto his arm and was refusing to let go. Stiles could see blood welling up from where her teeth sank into his flesh.

"Damned mutt! Get off!" The alpha cursed, trying his best to remove the puppy.

"What's wrong? Can't handle a simple pup?" Stiles asked, laughing slightly.

The alpha glared at him before pushing Lily off and throwing her out of his way. He stepped forward again towards Stiles, his amused look replaced with a sudden rage. Stiles gulped as he leant back as far as possible. His wounds throbbed, reminding him of the pain this wolf could, and would, cause him.

A large black blur leapt onto the alpha with a snarl and attacked with tooth and claw, digging at any flesh it could get a hold of. As Stiles watched, he could distinguish the shape of a wolf in the black animal. Its ears were flat on its head and its jaws were parted to show its sharp fangs. Even the alpha seemed to back away as soon as he broke free from the animal's jaws.

The wolf let out a loud snarl, enough to send the alpha towards the entrance. The alpha glanced at the wolf before glaring at Stiles.

"You're not safe yet boy. Just remember that!" He growled, turning and darting away into the woods.

Stiles watched him go before he turned to look at the panting wolf still guarding him. He studied the black fur, biting his lip as he recognised parts of the wolf. It was then that he saw the wolf's shining red eyes as it turned to look at him.

"Derek?! How? When could you do that?! WHAT?!" He questioned, confused.

The wolf seemed to laugh before turning and darting away upstairs. Stiles watched it in confusion before he turned and moved quickly to Lily's side. He checked the puppy over before picking her up and holding her against his chest.

"Oh Lily, you were so brave. You're my little hero." He said, laughing as she licked his chin.

…..:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::…..

Stiles was busy cleaning Lily's fur when Derek walked into the kitchen. He eyed Stiles up and down before he came closer. Stiles barely even looked up, checking to make sure Lily wasn't badly injured from the alpha.

"Are you okay Stiles?" Derek asked, reaching out a hand and touching Stiles' arm gently.

"I'm fine Derek. He didn't get a chance to touch me. You and Lily made sure of that." Stiles replied, smiling slightly at the werewolf.

Derek let out a small sigh of relief before he gave Lily gentle pets. He smiled slightly at her before letting her run off to join her brothers in the other room.

"She's a brave pup, I'll give her that." Derek said softly, watching her go.

Stiles nodded, leaning against the kitchen counter for support as he faced Derek.

"So, you can go full wolf now. That's new."

Derek chuckled softly, shaking his head.

"It's what I was working on the whole time you were in a coma. We needed an edge over the alpha pack and I found one. The rest of the pack I'm working on. I don't think they'll be able to do it. I think it might be an alpha thing….or a Hale thing. My mother could do the same so I don't know for sure." He explained.

Stiles nodded slightly as he glanced up and down at the werewolf.

"But why reveal it now? We lost our edge. They know you can shift full wolf now. We can't use it to catch them by surprise. They can prepare. Why'd you do it?" He asked.

Derek sighed, placing a hand over his eyes and rubbing them before letting it drop.

"I couldn't bear to see him lay another claw on you. If he had managed to hurt you again…I can't even think about it. I honestly don't know what I would have done. Just seeing him that close to you. I snapped. I shifted before I was even aware I was doing it. The only thought I had in my mind at the time was protecting you." Derek replied honestly, turning away from Stiles.

Stiles froze, his heart leaping into his throat. Derek couldn't like him. There's no way that would be why he'd done it. He probably just saw Stiles as pack. He protects his pack as the alpha. That had to be it.

Stiles shook his head to clear his thoughts and glanced at Derek.

"Why? What makes me so important?" He asked.

Derek stared at him, almost taken aback by the question. He bit his lip, searching Stiles for some sign that would allow him to back out of the question. Seeing no escape, he sighed and moved closer, leaning his forehead against Stiles'. He ignored Stiles' surprised intake of breath as he closed his eyes, taking in the close proximity.

"I did it because I couldn't bear to see you hurt. To know that I had failed to protect you a second time. To know that….you could be taken away again." He replied quietly.

Stiles stared at Derek, frozen with shock. He bit his lip, mulling over everything Derek had said in his mind. It all connected to one solution to him. And there was only one way for him to find out if that solution was correct.

Taking a sharp breath in, he pushed forward until the space between him and Derek had disappeared completely and crashed his lips on top of the werewolf's lips. He felt Derek stiffen and closed his eyes to avoid the reaction from Derek after the werewolf understood what he was doing.

What he didn't expect was for Derek to kiss him back.


I apologize for how slow this story is but I hope that you guys can stick with me as I try to build myself back up into writing it again. I really don't want to give this story up