After they cleaned themselves up, Stiles threw a few things in a backpack and they were preparing to leave when his dad came home. He sent the other two ahead, and the two of them just stood there a moment looking at each other. Suddenly, everything just hit him and the only way to stay upright was to grab his dad and hold on. Arms firmly wrapped around him, squeezing tight.

"Shh, it's okay, Stiles. Everything is going to be okay." His dad just held on, murmuring soft words and assurances as the last week, Hell the last year just poured over him. All the lies and the danger, and the fact that he was a totally different species now. All of it just hit him at once, his walls, so carefully propped up and reinforced just fell, and there wasn't anywhere else in the world he wanted to be when it happened.

Slowly he could feel strength flowing in, coming from his mates, just outside, and from his pack, but mostly from his dad. Once he felt strong enough, he pulled back a little, not yet leaving the safety of his dad's embrace, and finally after so long looked him in the eye without lies between them. "I'm sorry, Dad. I swear I just wanted you safe. I couldn't risk losing you too, and it just seemed like the more I tried the more crap there was I needed to keep you safe from. There were times I couldn't breath with the thought of you getting hurt over this, especially after Matt, and all the people he killed."

Slowly Stiles pulled himself together, one hand holding onto the side of his dad's shirt, like it was a security blanket. Keeping him close, he wiped his face and then looked up again. "Too much, too fast, you know?" He asked, softly.

"I know, Stiles." He replied, a smile for his son, probably the first true smile they'd shared in months. "I uh, remembered something while I was out. Your mom had some stuff from her family. Books mostly, I think, but it was all what she called 'Wolf crap' so when we decided to wait to explain things to you, and you were starting to read and just being so damned curious, she put it all into storage. I don't know if it will help with anything, but it's well past time for you to have it." He put a key into Stiles' hand with a sad smile.

"We're going to have a chat with the Argents, Well, Chris at least, possibly Allison, if she's not having a homicidal day. Then we're going to regroup, and see about finding, and dealing with, that bastard Gerard." Stiles said looking at the key in his hand. "I'll check out the storage unit as soon as possible. Both the Argents and the Hales had, like, family histories with information about all this supernatural crap. Maybe the MacCoinin did too."

Stiles hugged his dad one more time, promised to let him know where to meet them, and then he headed outside to his mates. He climbed into his Jeep and followed the Camaro through town, until they reached the Argent's neighborhood. Once they parked, Stiles was the one who approached the house, leaving his mates standing next to Derek's car, waiting and alert.

"We need to talk. It's important." Stiles said to Chris Argent, when he opened the door and quirked an eyebrow as if to ask why the Hell Stiles was at his door.

He stepped back and waited, Buffy style. Stiles stepped in and mentally counted to two and a half before Chris Argent was moving to slam him into a wall. Instead he found himself pinned and Stiles jerked his shirt open to show an tattooed free patch of skin on his chest over his heart. Stiles quickly stepped back and threw his hands out and up, talking fast.

"This isn't an attack, and I'm not here to fight. I just had to make sure you were still you. Clearly you know something has changed, neat trick by the way. I totally wouldn't take you for the magic type."

"I'm the focus, not the caster."

"The homeowner and ward keeper." Stiles said, with a nod. "Makes sense."

"What did you mean, 'still you'?" Chris asked.

"Funny thing happened to me the night you let a pair of wolves go, Big Brother." Stiles said and waited.

Chris looked at first confused and then turned pale, stepping back arm out, either to reach towards or to ward off. "Kate?"

"Not anymore, but she stopped by for a visit, thanks to Gerard. A little kidnapping and torture. You know, her normal routine." Stiles sneered.

"What do you mean?" Chris asked, eyes haunted.

"Gerard grabbed me off the lacrosse field the night everything went down with the kanima. He beat the crap out of me and while I was out of it, had a set of runes tattooed over my heart. One that calls a dead wolf into the body, and another one that locks the werewolf in the driver's seat. When Peter killed Kate, he slashed her throat, she was turning. Gerard keyed the rune set to her and basically had her possess me." Stiles rubbed his hand over his head, as he spoke, trying to make sure he told all the real need to know stuff without giving away anything else.

Chris reached his hand out to pull Stiles shirt aside, and stopped at the blank canvas of skin over his heart. "How?"

"After a few rounds of torture the werewolves, I figured out a way to keep her out long enough to be turned. My wolf forces the ink out, and hey presto depossessed Stiles. Pretty sure I'm on her 'to kill list' if Gerard finds her a new body."

"What do you need from me?" Chris asked.

"We both know Gerard had big plans for Allison. What are the odds he won't use her, or you for that matter, as a host for Kate or himself. Get Allison and keep her safe. Make sure she isn't marked. If she is, we might be able to do something, but it would be better all around if she's kept clear of this, considering how you all feel about wolves. Don't let Gerard or any of his people get to you or her. We're going after Gerard within the next few days, hopefully before he pulls a body snatchers sequel, so if you could stay on your guard until I give you the all clear... or you hear about our horribly maimed bodies being found. You know... whichever."

"You'd turn her into a wolf to save her." He said, intensely eying Stiles.

"To be honest, it's not my first, or my tenth choice, but if all else fails... I mean I liked Allison, and I know Scott loves her, but she hurt almost every member of my pack. I am all for keeping any Argent as far away from my wolves as possible, but I won't sacrifice her to Gerard, if push comes to shove. Besides, the method I'd use might not work for her, she'd have to truly love Scott, and last I heard they broke up."

"Not for lack of love." Argent said, sounding defeated.

"Hopefully the point will be moot. I'd tell you to get out of town, but that would probably end with you ran off the road and walking right into Gerard's wrinkly old hands. Keep her close, keep her safe. If she's marked do what you can to safely incapacitate her and we'll figure something out. She'll be stronger and faster, if they manage to possess her, and she won't have the normal weaknesses, so don't count on them to work. I need to go."

He was more than a little shocked when Chris held out his hand to shake.

TDITD * TDITD * TDITD

The three of them met up with the rest of the pack in a mall parking lot on the north side of Beacon Hills. They were only a few miles south of where Stiles could sense the void he was fairly certain was Gerard. They quickly explained the latest information about Gerard's history with Stiles' mother's family.

"Dude, your mom was a wolf, how come you never told me? Is that how you knew when I was bit?" Scott asked, a confused look on his face.

"I never knew. Mom figured I wasn't a wolf, so they decided to wait until I was old enough to really understand and keep a secret. After she died, Dad didn't know how to say anything, because really how do you claim werewolf without a little furry proof?" Stiles explained, mind still reeling at the reality of it all, slowly reevaluating all his memories of his mother, in light of the news about their family and heritage.

"Your mother was a MacCoinin, wasn't she?" Peter asked, thinking hard.

"Yeah, why?" Stiles replied.

"She wanted permission to stay in Hale territory, and later, for her cub to stay. I remember her petitioning my brother for sanctuary, first for herself, and then for you. I never realized, because she used MacCoinin, not Stilinski. That explains a few things." Peter said, shaking his head.

"What things?" Derek asked, looking at him.

"Why my wolf wouldn't let me force him to take the bite, for one thing. I was still half out of my mind and my instincts all pushed for me to ASK his permission. I might have sensed it would be a breach of sanctuary."

Isaac spoke up then. "Is Sanctuary anything like Hospitality?"

"They're similar concepts, but Sanctuary puts you under the pack's protection, to a degree, and laws, while Hospitality is more mutually agreeing to be polite, to not cause trouble. Hospitality is always temporary, and if by some fluke the person seeking hospitality decides to stay they need to ask for sanctuary instead." Peter explained.

"And what would have happened if you'd have breached Sanctuary?" Isaac asked.

"It depends on the degree really. Think of it as instant bad karma or a leech on the power of the wolf and the pack. The same thing works for Hospitality. If we attack the Alpha pack first, we might as well just bare our throats, now that we've accepted their bid for Hospitality, but if they breech... well they'll be weakened as long as they're in our territory and lose all safe passage. A big enough betrayal in either will turn the land itself against the perpetrator."

"What so like they'd get lost or run into quicksand?" Jackson asked, sneering.

"You're not as far off as your sarcasm would make it seem. Some of the oldest of stories are based on breeches to Sanctuary, and then later to breeches of Hospitality. Hell, even Little Red Riding Hood... A young female wolf requested safe passage and Hospitality to tend to an ailing human family member who resided in the territory of another pack. The Alpha granted her request, and promised her safe passage, as long as she was the only wolf of her pack to enter their territory. After several successful trips, her scent caught the nose of the Alpha's brother. He tried repeatedly to woo the young girl, as she crossed their land, but the girl refused him. Angry the wolf slaughtered the family member, who knows if it was truly her grandmother or not, and lay in wait for the girl. He attacked her, breaking the agreement for Hospitality. The young wolf ran fast and far through the woods chased by the older man. The land itself turned against him as the girl led him through forests he had roamed all his life. He became lost and turned around and she was able to lead him into a trap. He leaped after her and instead impaled himself on a broken rowan limb. The tree trapped and held him as the young girl escaped, unharmed. A local hunter had found the dead human and followed the trail through the woods. I'm sure you can guess what happened from here."

"I'm guessing it involved an axe, just on principle alone." Stiles said.

"Not exactly the version the Brothers Grimm would have told, I know, but that's the one that I was told as a young child." Peter said with a smirk.

"Well, now that story hour is over..." Jackson started.

"Right, okay, down to business." Stiles said, shifting things back on track. "From what I can dredge up of Kate's memories of the place, it's not that big and there can't possibly be more than a handful of hunters, if any. Gerard isn't exactly going to want to show off his wolfy side to other hunters, what with the high probability that they'll take it as a betrayal."

Stiles reached out both hands, holding onto Derek on one side and Isaac on the other before closing his eyes and looking for the web of pack connections all tight together, shifting and thrumming with power and worry and anticipation. He looked further out and noticed a strange connection to the other pack, before shifting towards the void that he was sure was Gerard. The void seemed bigger, stronger some how and he could almost feel a tug as if it was trying to pull him in. Shuddering he pulled back and opened his eyes.

"Gerard is getting stronger, or the pull is greater the closer we are." Stiles squeezed his mates hands. "We need to be careful and we definitely need to take him out before he has time to do anything more." Stiles quickly pulled out his phone and texted their location to his dad. "We need to be very careful. For all we know, he could have some poor schmuck in there now being tattooed. If he's made the jump to a new body he won't have normal werewolf weaknesses, but he won't be quite as strong as one of us generally. Before he jumps bodies, Derek might have some pull as his Alpha, but I seriously doubt it. Gerard has more than enough willpower to resist. Plus the Mountain Ash has had some bizarre effects on his turning."

"Obviously." Derek snarked, shooting Scott an irritated look.

"Shit... I'm an idiot... Gerard doesn't have any way of knowing Kate failed. He doesn't know I'm not her. You guys get ready and I can just waltz in the front door. I get the lay of the land and call the rest of you in at the right time. Hell, I might even get some of his plan out of him, so we can find out if he has hosts ready to go yet." Stiles said, talking faster the further into the plan he got.

Isaac and Derek were not quite as enthusiastic about the plan.

"There is no freaking way you're going into that house alone." Derek ranted.

"It's not like I can just waltz right in there with one of you." Stiles said, glaring at Derek, when Isaac spoke up.

"Why not? Kate was supposed to keep him busy right? Who's to say she doesn't have one of us with her. What better gift for the crazy father who has everything, right?"

Derek and Stiles froze, looking at each other and then at Isaac. "I can't take him Derek. He'd kill him immediately to boost his wolf up to an Alpha." Stiles said thoughtfully.

"It's got to be me." Isaac said.

"No it doesn't." Derek protested before Stiles could.

"He might just kill Scott outright, too, just for screwing him over so badly. Peter isn't exactly full strength yet, and who knows what kind of residual kanima bullshit he might try on Jackson. Plus we just got Boyd and Erica back." Stiles tried to come up with an argument, but Isaac continued before he could. "With the exception of Derek and you, I'm the strongest one left. Besides we're stronger together, even when it's only two of us. You know I'm right. If we're doing this, it has to be me."

Stiles and Derek looked at each other, then at Isaac and then both nodded, before pulling him in for a hug. After a few minutes the pulled away and began to plan out the assault.