Just a heads up, this chapter is from Derek's perspective.
Oh god.
What had I done? What the fuck had I done?
Stiles was looking at me and I could see that he was terrified of me. I couldn't blame him. I had just killed my uncle, my last living family.
And now I was an Alpha! What the hell was that going to do to our relationship? How would that work? It wasn't completely unheard of for there to be more than one Alpha in a pack, but the dynamic was difficult to navigate. The Alpha Pack was volatile–they had a leader, but they were all still Alpha's, their instincts told them to lead, they fought against being ordered around.
What if I had to leave the Pack? What if I lost them? I couldn't lose them, too! They were all I had left and I needed them and I couldn't be alone, not again. Not when I had gotten so used to being able to depend on people.
"-ek! Derek, baby, it's okay!" I realized that Stiles was stroking my face, his nose almost touching mine he was so close. I also realized that I was snarling and panting–I was having a panic attack. This was certainly not my first, I used to have them all the time after the fire.
"Stiles?" I was too panicked to even care about how scared and vulnerable I sounded.
"It's alright, Der, I'm here. I'm not leaving, you're safe," he assured me. His voice was soft and soothing, and if he had spoken to me like this a month ago I would have thought he was mocking me. Now though, I just leaned into his hand against my face and breathed in his scent.
"Scott? Lydia?" I asked after a few minutes.
"They're right here, they're okay," Stiles told me. I finally opened my eyes and saw them standing on the other side of the hall. They didn't look scared, just concerned. And the way they looked like they were holding themselves from coming over, I thought they might even be concerned for me.
"Come here," I whispered, making grabby hands at them. They rushed over to kneel on either side of Stiles.
I sat up a little straighter and leaned towards Lydia. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" I asked her, touching her cheek and trying to siphon any pain she might have. It didn't seem like there was much except a mild headache.
"I'm alright," she smiled.
I nodded and looked to Scott. "What about you? Are you okay?"
He smiled, too. "I'm good, dude. How are you?" He frowned slightly and moved his hand like he wanted touch me but thought it might not be a good idea. I put my hand on his shoulder, letting him know it was okay.
"I'm… I'm freaking out," I admitted. There was no point lying, it was pretty obvious. I feel like the panic attack gave it away, honestly.
"That's understandable," Lydia said. "Though, you're handling this pretty well, all things considered."
I gave her a small smile, thanking her for the comfort. Being around them made me feel better, enough that I was calming down. "How did you do that, by the way? That was incredible!" I exclaimed, remembering how she had saved us all.
She shrugged casually, like it was something she did everyday. "My grandmother wrote in her journal that if I can direct my scream it can be used as a weapon. I've practiced a few times."
"That is–" Stiles cut off abruptly, tilting his head to the side. I concentrated for a second and then I heard it, too. Sirens.
"Fuck, we gotta go. Scott, Lydia, get to the car and open the trunk," I told them. They nodded and ran to the doors.
"Derek I can do this alone, you don't have to–"
"Stiles, we don't have time to get emotional yet, I'll deal with all of that later. Come on, I'm fine," I interrupted. I probably sounded a little harsher than I meant to, but I couldn't risk my Pack getting into any trouble over this.
I grabbed Peter–Peter's body–and threw him over my shoulder and ran to the Jeep. We had put a tarp in the back for this possibility, so I wrapped him in it and climbed into the driver's seat, starting the Jeep. Stiles came running out with his arms full of sheets that he had used to clean up the blood on the floor.
"Okay, go, they're really close, everything is done."
I backed out of the parking spot and sped away from the hospital, keeping the lights off so the police cars wouldn't notice us as they peeled into the lot. When we were far enough away I slowed down, not wanting to get pulled over with a dead body in the back seat.
"Where are we going?" Scott asked when we drove past the Stilinski house.
"The Preserve," the rest of us answered. It was the only place we could put Peter's body when it looked like he had been attacked by an animal. The rest of the drive was silent.
"Derek…" Stiles whispered gingerly, like someone trying to approach a scared animal.
I stopped in front of the burned skeleton of my family's home and got out of the Jeep. Nobody else moved, maybe realizing this was something that I had to do alone.
I moved Peter's body to the living room, laying him on the floor like he had collapsed there after being attacked. Then I turned away from him and walked back to the Jeep.
Peter was a lot of things in the end, but he was still family and he deserved to be with the rest of them. I took one more look at the house and I got the feeling that it was the last time I would see it. I realized that I was okay with that. This wasn't my home anymore.
I looked at my Pack, my family. They were my home now.
I nodded once to myself and then drove out of the trees. Whatever the fallout was from this, we would be okay. We would have each other.
An hour later found us all crammed onto Stiles' bed, our legs tangled up and an alarming amount of junk food and Dr. Pepper's strewn around us. We hadn't really talked, except for the occasional request for someone to pass a snack.
"I still… feel like Pack," I voiced uncertainly. I wasn't sure if the others felt the same as before. It was strange though, my wolf didn't feel any different towards Stiles, which it normally would towards other Alpha's. It would feel a need to protect, defend.
"That's because you're Mates. The Mate bond overrides the Alpha status and thus Mates can both be Alphas," Lydia told us. I stared at her, a little shocked that she knew this. I didn't even know this, and I'm a wolf, raised by wolves.
She looked up and saw that all three of us were staring at her with looks of shock. "What? I read," she told us, grabbing the gummy bears and popping a few in her mouth.
I snorted, shaking my head and smiling.
"When did you read this?" Stiles asked.
"Last night, after I went home. I was curious," she replied.
I nudged Stiles, hearing his dad driving towards the house.
"I know. Are we going to explain this to him now? Or wait?" He asked me.
I listened to the Sheriff pull into the driveway, unlock the front door, take off his gun belt.
"Might as well explain it now," I said. It wouldn't be any easier if I waited. And I wanted this to be done with.
Noah walked up the stairs–he sounded tired–and then knocked on the door before coming in.
He took one look at our faces, sighed, and sank into the desk chair. "What happened?"
The next day I decided to sleep in–I really needed to just take a day and gather myself. Stiles and the rest of them had school and Noah was at work, probably waiting for the call about Peter's body to come in. It would probably be a while before they found him but he was still going to be a missing persons case.
Anyways, I was in bed when I heard someone pounding on the door. I got up and pulled on some sweats to go downstairs. I was still half-asleep when I pulled open the door and was face-to-face with Chris Argent and two other Hunters.
Fuck.
I backed up a few steps, more than a little shocked.
"Derek, I heard you were back in town," Argent said. He sounded casual, but I was pretty sure he was here to blame me for all the attacks in town. I said nothing and moved out of his way when he walked into the room to sit at the kitchen table.
"I also heard about your sister."
That comment was harder for me to stop any reaction. I knew he was waiting for me to show any sign of aggression to attack and I wouldn't give him the opportunity.
But I was beginning to panic now. I wasn't an idiot, there were three of them, and while I was an Alpha I still didn't want to hurt anyone.
"Anyways, what are you doing at the Sheriff's house?" He asked curiously. That question meant that he probably didn't know anything about Stiles. Good.
"He heard that I didn't have anywhere to stay and offered me a room until I figured everything out," was all I said. I wasn't going to out Stiles as supernatural.
I closed my eyes, thinking about how much I wanted Stiles and the rest of the Pack with me, but also glad that they were safe right now.
When I opened them again I saw Chris staring at me, sizing me up. I leaned against the wall behind me, trying to seem more relaxed than I was.
"What are you doing here, Argent? You're not here to chat about my living arrangements."
"Well Derek, there are people being attacked, and I can't have that. Considering they started around the time you came to town, I have to wonder if you're the one attacking."
Halfway across town, Stiles heard Derek's voice in his head "I wish Stiles was here, but at least him and the Pack are safe."
He was shocked for a moment, he had never heard Derek's voice in his head, not like that. It was like Derek had spoken to him.
Stiles closed his eyes, focusing on Derek, and had to stop the growl threatening to come from him throat. Why were there Argent's in his kitchen?
His eyes flew open, and he was thankful Lydia and Scott were in this class with him.
He stood up, grabbing his things and shoving them in his bag. "Lyds, Scotty, we gotta go. Code Silver," he said and ran from the room. Lydia and Scott grabbed their things just as quickly and were following him before the teacher even had time to react.
"I'm not the rogue Alpha, he's been dealt with. It was my Uncle Peter, he killed my sister for her Alpha status and then started attacking anyone that was related to the fire that killed my family. He was going after your sister next, but I killed him last night," I explained wearily. I really didn't want to get into this, especially not with an Argent.
Argent looked shocked, "My sister? Why would he kill Kate? We had nothing to do with the fire!"
I sighed, rubbing my hand over my face tiredly. I had just wanted to sleep in and have a day to collect myself. Was that too much to ask?
"I know you had nothing to do with it. But your sister did."
"No, she di–"
"Did you know that your sister dated me when I was in high school?" I asked, thinking it was best to just put everything out on the table.
"What?" He clearly did not know this.
"When I was fifteen your sister and I dated. She told me that she didn't agree with everything your family believed, she thought some werewolves were good and she made me think she loved me. I stupidly trusted her and told her too much about my family. Then she waited until she thought my whole family was in the house and burned it to the ground. Did you know that some of my family were kids? Humans? She is the only person that knew enough about my family to have been able to do it. To want to do it."
The shock and repulsion on his face was clear. He hadn't known any of this. I had always known that, but I didn't think he would believe me if he ever had this explained to him.
I had been wrong.
That was when Stiles, Lydia, and Scott had burst in through the door, ready to fight. The three Hunters stood up, guns pointing at the teenagers standing in front of them.
"Stop, stop, it's fine!" I shouted, putting myself between the Hunters and my Pack. Fuck, why were they here right now?
"Dad! Put the gun down!"
I turned to see Allison pushing through my Pack to stand beside me, putting herself between her father and us.
"Allison, you and your friends need to leave, you have no idea what's going on here," Argent said, lowering the gun. The other two Hunters followed his lead, though they didn't seem happy about it.
"You sure about that?" Stiles asked. I turned to see him and Scott flashing their eyes. I sighed heavily. I had been hoping they could keep this secret; fewer people that knew about them, the better.
"You're… oh. Well, Allison, take Lydia and go back to school. You don't know what this is really about, you're not involved." Chris looked a little more cautious now, he didn't outnumber us anymore.
"Is this about how Kate killed Derek's family?" Allison demanded. She sounded a little offended at being asked to leave.
"Or about the rogue Alpha? Because I helped Derek kill him last night," Lydia said. She said it like she was talking about the weather, like it was a casual everyday topic of conversation.
"You-you helped," Argent repeated, a little hysterical now. "Naturally, you helped. What are you then? I'm assuming not a werewolf because you didn't glow your eyes at me."
"I'm a banshee," Lydia stated.
Argent stared at us for a moment, and I could see a vein in his forehead throbbing. He looked like he might explode.
Finally he sat down, sighing. "What the fuck is with this town?"
I had to admit, I'd asked that question more than once.
We had talked to Argent, explaining that we weren't going to hurt anyone. If he wanted to keep an eye on us that was fine, we couldn't stop him. But we also made it very clear that our Pack was protected by two Alphas and we wouldn't take threats lightly. We decided to make a Pact between the Hunters and the Pack of Beacon Hills. It seemed like the best option.
When I asked Stiles how he knew the Hunters were here, he explained that he had heard me and then looked through my eyes, saw Argent, and immediately left school. We all concluded that because we were both Alphas, both even more powerful, our Mate ability had amplified slightly. It was nice, it meant we had more control.
Allison and Lydia, after weeks of tiptoeing around each other and hinting at their feelings finally started dating. It was a relief to all of us that had to watch it when it was absolutely obvious that they were completely gone on each other.
Everything was really good for a while.
Until Scott dropped Isaac off at home one night after hanging out. They had been just as frustrating as the girls, but we understood Scott's hesitation a little more. Isaac knew nothing about the supernatural and we had no idea how he would react. And then there was how nervous and jumpy he was. We were all certain something was happening with this kid but any time someone voiced any concern he brushed it off.
So the night Scott dropped Isaac off, he decided to stay close to the house for a little. We were all pretty sure the problem was that his dad was hurting him, but without proof we couldn't do anything.
That was when Scott heard Mr. Lahey start shouting, then something being thrown, then a grunt from Isaac that sounded like he had been punched in the stomach.
Scott kinda lost it, ran into the house half wolfed out and stood in front of Isaac, snarling and approaching Mr. Lahey.
Isaac had said Scott's name, which calmed him down enough to realize that he couldn't hurt Mr. Lahey, not with the Pact and not when it could hurt Isaac. The man was horrible but he was still Isaac's dad.
So he just held out a hand to Isaac, offering to take him home. Isaac had very willingly accepted the help, not even questioning the fact that Scott had glowing yellow eyes, claws, and fangs. He just knew Scott wouldn't hurt him.
Scott had brought Isaac straight to our house to talk to the Sheriff. The Sheriff was still at work for a couple hours, so we took the time to explain about werewolves.
"Can… I want… Can I become a werewolf?" Isaac had asked all of us, eyes wide with wonder.
Scott, Stiles, and I had looked at each other, unsure of how to answer the question.
"Are you sure that's something you would want? You've had a chaotic night, maybe you should think about this. It's dangerous, being in this world," Scott had explained. We nodded in agreement.
"Scott, you know that I'm a claustrophobic?" Scott nodded, but I could tell he was confused. "I'm claustrophobic because at least twice a week my father locks me in a freezer in our basement. He leaves me down there for hours, sometimes all weekend if he's really pissed. So if you think this is chaotic, or I don't know how dangerous the world is, think again. I get that there are Hunters and other supernatural threats, but at least I would have the strength and a Pack to back me up with that danger. I would have people that care about me. I know what I'm asking."
We all just stared at him, unsure of how to respond to that.
Der, we have to help him.
I know, Mischief. But is it really what's best for him?
We can help him, he needs to be helped! How is having a Pack not helping him! He understands what the dangers are. He just wants to feel safe, loved. We can do that. And he's Scott's Mate. We knew this was always a possibility.
I know, I just… we've never turned anyone. What if he dies? You and I both know that not everyone survives the Bite…
"Can you guys not have secret conversations concerning us?" Scott demanded. The Pack always got a little annoyed at us when we did this.
Isaac looked at Scott. He obviously had no idea what the hell Scott was talking about.
"Sorry, sorry," Stiles apologized sheepishly.
"Isaac, you should know that not everyone survives the Bite. There's a chance you'll die," I told him seriously. I was guessing he wouldn't really care about that though.
"It's a miracle my father hasn't killed me yet anyways, I'll take my chances. This is something I want to do," he said firmly, proving me right. I really hoped he would survive–he would make an amazing wolf.
"I think Derek should do it."
I stared at Stiles, a little surprised. I had just thought that because he had been an Alpha longer, he would do it. And he was Scott's best friend, surely Scott would want him to do it.
"Just listen for a second," Stiles said quickly. "Isaac, I think you should talk to my dad about your father. Then you should get emancipated, and you can talk to Melissa about maybe staying with Scott and her. Scott and my dad explained the werewolf thing to her a few weeks ago and she seems okay with it now. And then, Derek can turn you, that way he and I both have 'our' Betas. Scott being mine and you being Derek's."
Isaac thought about it for a few seconds before nodding. "Alright, that sounds fair."
Three days later, Mr. Lahey was arrested, Isaac had filed for emancipation, and he was moving into the McCall house. He had been thrilled when Scott had told him about them being Mates, that Scott cared about him.
I gave him the Bite just after the next Full Moon, wanting him to get as much time to gain control. It wasn't easy, but Scott had gone through a couple Moons and was much better with his control. He helped us a lot with Isaac.
When Scott and Isaac properly Mated, they got their Mating marks. They were two bands, Scott's around his bicep, and Isaac's around his wrist. They were pretty much inseparable after that, constantly kissing and saying stupidly sweet things to each other.
We all pretended to be disgusted by it but we were secretly happy they were happy.
Eventually they realized that their Mate ability was that they could tell what the other one was feeling, but only when the feeling was really strong. For a while they didn't realize it because they both just felt really happy and in love.
Until Scott woke up panicking, but he couldn't understand why–he had been having a really good dream apparently. He had looked at Isaac and realized Isaac was having a nightmare, and he must have been able to feel that panic.
It had been useful whenever Isaac was on the verge of a panic attack or when Scott got angry at someone. They had been able to calm each other down.
"Stiles, I don't have an opinion on any Marvel characters."
"That's a lie and you know it! Admit it, Banner is your favourite Avenger!"
I woke to the sound of Lydia and Stiles bantering in the kitchen, the others making the occasional remark. I smiled and pulled on some pants. Stiles was making breakfast for the Pack.
"Lydia hasn't seen any of the Marvel movies, she can't have an opinion," I heard Allison tell Stiles. I snorted as I reached the bottom of the stairs and entered the kitchen.
The Pack turned and looked at me, silently questioning my snort. Everyone except Lydia, who glared at me.
"Don't you dare, Derek Hale!" Lydia warned.
I smirked, "Did Lydia not tell you guys that she's a closet comic book nerd?"
"WHAT?" Everyone shouted at the same time.
"You promised you wouldn't say anything!" Lydia whined. I just laughed, kissing the top of Stiles' head.
"Yeah," I continued, still smirking. I went over to Lydia's one day to help her move some furniture and I mentioned that I really like to read. She showed me all of her books, saying I could borrow whatever, and then I saw some comics hidden behind the books on the top shelf. She has almost as many as Stiles," I told them. I laughed at the scandalized look on Lydia's face.
Everyone was still in shock, but Stiles wasn't a person that stayed silent for very long.
"No way! That's awesome! We need to have a Marvel movie marathon! Come on, Lyds, you know you want to!"
I smiled, watching my Pack tease each other. They were my favourite people in the world, the people I cared most about in this world. And I was just so glad to call them my family.
So the story is done!
I apologize for the choppy ending, I couldn't write anything except bits and pieces of the Pack after Peter, so I hope this can answer any questions about the future for the Pack!
Thank you to everyone who stuck with me through this, especially when it took so long for me to update someone. I appreciate each and every one of you!
