Stiles tossed and turned on his bed, unable to fall asleep. His girlfriend was late. She was always good to show before 2 am. And for some damn reason, he felt like he couldn't sleep without her.

A soft tap on his window alerted him to her arrival. Usually she let herself in. He jumped out of bed, yanking up his window and letting her climb through. She was panting a little, and he smiled as she kissed him.

"You're late," he teased. "I was about to howl out the window, alpha summon you." She laughed softly, but he saw her wince.

"What's wrong?" he asked, pulling her to his bed.

"Its nothing…" she began before he switched on his lamp, revealing a long cut across the side of her face. Check that, it was more like a gash. Blood was caked on her cheek, and the wound was bleeding freely.

Rage pumped through his veins. "What happened? Who did this?"

Malia tried to glare at him, but instead she winced again. "No one. I tripped."

For once, humor eluded him; Stiles was having none of it. "Tell me!" he pleaded grabbing her waist. To his horror, she let out a gasp and bent over, grabbing at her side with both hands.

Stiles ran out of his room. "Dad! Dad!" No answer. Must be working a late night, especially after the body found today. He found the first aid box in the kitchen. He brought it back to his room, where Malia was still sitting, hunched over on his bed.

"Here," he said, handing her a roll of gauze. He dabbed at her cheek, noticing the cut had healed a bit. "Why isn't it healing faster?"

Malia took a shallow breath. "It was caused by an alpha. Remember the guy I told you about in the woods? The one who was with Isaac? It wasn't him, but I think they're in the same Alpha pack. He cornered me in the woods, and we fought. Well, I fought. He just hit me a bunch of times and left. That cut just heals a bit slower because he's an alpha."

Stiles tried to push his anger away, though it was not happening at all. "How's your side?"

Malia tried to smile. "I think my ribs are just bruised. Nothing worse."

Stiles could tell she was being honest. "Good. You'll be better by the end of the weekend. Come on." He took her gently and layed her on the bed, covering her with his comforter. For once they didn't spoon. He propped her head on his shoulder, and she buried her face in it. Her breaths were short and shallow. He placed his hand on her injured side, softly massaging it. "I'm not gonna leave you. I'll be here all weekend. Right by your side."

She mumbled her consent. Usually he would be worried about her scratching him, but tonight was different. She didn't have the strength to do anything. For the first time since they had met, Malia Hale looked scared and beaten.

Stiles closed his eyes. Right before he drifted to sleep, he vowed to punish whoever thought he could hurt her.

…

"You have a thing for hurting girls?" Isaac snarled. The Beacon Hills high schooler had confronted Cain the moment the big alpha returned to the cabin.

Cain was even bigger than Ennis, the powerful alpha wolf that worked with Deucalion before dying on Deaton's operating table. "Whether they're a boy of girl means nothing to me," Cain answered, his voice a low rumble. "The point was to get them to take us seriously."

"You're making them mad, that what you're doing!" Isaac exclaimed. Roan stood behind him, not allowing himself to take sides. However, if this escalated much further, he knew he might have to step in.

Cain shook his head. "You still care about these kids, Lahey. Don't let your weakness slow the rest of us down."

Isaac shoved Cain, sending the larger man stumbling back a few steps. It took a lot of strength to push that man back, strength that Isaac had in spades now that he was an alpha himself. "You shut your goddamn mouth. You know jack about me or my friends."

"Friends?" Isaac and Roan spun around. Evelyn stood there. "Isaac, those kids aren't your friends anymore. You turned your back on them. And if I recall, one of them got your hunter-girlfriend killed."

Isaac swallowed, as the painful memory jetted through his train of thought. "He did, and for that he will suffer. But we shouldn't aggravate them needlessly, and she doesn't deserve getting blindsided and beaten up just to send a message!"

Eve held up a hand, silencing him. "But you said you wanted the Stilinski boy to suffer. Harming his mate seems like a good way to start."

Cain smiled menacingly. Evelyn looked his way. "Cain, do it again if you find her in the woods alone. Make her suffer. They'll get it sooner of later."

Isaac opened his mouth to protest, but the she-wolf froze him with an icy stare. "Either he does it, or I do, Isaac. Unless you want us to skip the beating, and just kill her like I did with that human last week."

…

Scott was getting seriously worried. Stiles hadn't responded to his texts all weekend. He hadn't picked up or returned any of his calls. He visited the house twice. The first time, no one was home, and the second time, Sheriff Stilinski assured him that Stiles was fine, just sick.

Scott knew he shouldn't feel so nervous, but he could tell the Sheriff was lying. Mr. Stilinski was always tired, and he was more difficult to read than most because his work made him a calm and excellent liar. But Scott knew. They way the sheriff looked at him, like he didn't care if Scott knew whether he was being completely truthful or not told him everything he needed to know.

After bidding Kira farewell before her first class, Scott caught up with his friend. "Hey man, is everything going well with you?"

To his relief, Stiles looked relatively fine. The dude was a little sleep-deprived, and he seemed a little sad, but that was all.

"Yeah," Stiles said softly. He told Scott what had happened to Malia. "I've just been taking care of her the last few days. I'm sorry didn't answer my phone; I just wanted to show her that I was there for her."

Scott was seething. "Its ok dude. Jesus, I can't believe that he just jumped her in the woods."

Scott nodded. "I know. I'm so angry. She's feeling a bit weak still; he did a number on her. That's why she isn't in class. I wanted to skip and stay with her, but she threatened to scratch my eyes out if I did." He smiles ruefully.

Scott didn't. "We're gonna get them, Stiles. I promise you, we're gonna get them."

…

It did not escape Xavier's attention on Tuesday that Malia was acting differently. Well, differently was quite the understatement. The girl shrank whenever her friends or Isaac happened to be in the same area. She often looked straight at the ground and hurried to each class, clutching her books to her chest, almost like they were shields. And she was limping.

He felt a degree of pity for her. He wondered what on earth had happened over the weekend to reduce the usually vivacious girl to such a withdrawn state. Before he could offer to help carry her books-he doubted she would have let him-Stiles appeared and yanked them out of her arms and carried them himself. Xavier watched them walk together. He's a good guy. I hope he can protect her.

…

Derek had just woken up from a leisure nap when the intruder blinker began, well, blinking. He quickly made sure Talia's claws were not in sight before he opened the loft door.

Xavier Cho stood in the doorway, looking unhappy. "Is your sister here?"

Derek raised his eyebrow. "Why do you care?"

Xavier cocked his own eyebrow, in perfect imitation of the supernatural. "Why do I? I have no idea. Maybe because she actually talks to me. Your turn, big boy. So tell me about this alpha pack."

Cora, you little liar. Derek wasn't angry, though. Its not like this whole thing was being kept well under wraps, as the body found in the woods has been a staple of the local news channels for the past few days.

"What do you want to know?"

"Depends on how much you know."

Derek shrugged. "Powerful alpha. He has other alphas."

Xavier laughed. "Yeah? Go on, please."

Derek growled. Cheeky kid. "Look, Adam is an old alpha. He knew my mother. He has a…"

"…second in command who is also his lover. Adam and Eve." Xavier finished for him. So they're the alphas Cora was talking about.

Derek nodded. So the kid did know a bit about the alphas. "Can you tell me anything about them?"

Xavier nodded. "Whatever you want." And as Derek spouted off questions, the boy answered them all diligently and thoroughly.

Adam Ward was born a werewolf. He quickly mastered control over his senses and his body, rapidly becoming a powerful alpha. Though it is only a rumor, he was the first and only true alpha besides Scott McCall, but this was deemed insignificant. What really concerned hunters was his immense power. He was charismatic and

influential. Not known for his foresight, like Talia Hale, but he was likely the second most respected alpha of the time. It was he who was responsible for turning Deucalion, who ended up leaving him and forming his own Alpha pack.

Adam had met Evelyn Murray while growing up, and she readily accepted the bite from him at a young age. She also grew to be a powerful alpha after killing her own betas, much like Kali did. She was well known among other alphas for her stunning beauty as well as her ferocity and cunning thought process. Perfect mate for Adam. Together, they had nearly driven the Calavera family extinct, only to be stopped by the intervention of Gerard and Chris Argent, who banded with Araya Calavera to drive the couple out of Mexico. Though Adam was technically defeated, they achieved immense notoriety, as no wolf had even dared to hunt the family until Adam came along. Xavier suspected he did so simply to establish a reputation.

Xavier nor his family had never actually interacted with the alpha or his new pack, but there was not a single hunter in all of Asia that didn't know of Adam Ward and his prowess. If there was a real Demon Wolf, a true Apex Predator, it was him.

Derek whistled softly after Xavier finished speaking. He heard the young hunter dryly apologize for talking his ear off, but he didn't respond. The two sat in silence for a few minutes.

Xavier finally broke the cold spell. "You know, when your sister mentioned an Alpha pack she could have brought up it was this one. I would have hightailed it back to Asia."

Derek chuckled, but he stopped when he noticed that Xavier wasn't joking. "This is deep shit, Derek."

Derek rubbed his jaw with his palm. "Yeah, sure seems like it. Am I out of my league?"

Xavier shrugged. "You're Derek Hale. Adam is a monster, but I don't think anything is completely out of your league."

Derek smiled upon hearing this. It made him feel a lot better. Xavier was a prodigious hunter from a premier family. He didn't mince words. "Thanks for telling me all this." They shook hands.

The sound of a throat clearing caused both of them to turn their heads to the door. Cora had just returned from a run, and her body was drenched in sweat. "Before I strip out of my gear, can the teenager leave?"

Xavier tore his gaze away from the she-wolf. It was kind of hard. "I'll be heading out."

Derek smiled to himself. "You do that."

As Xavier brushed past Cora, she smiled at him, perhaps genuinely. "You smell nice." Derek made a face at her, and she flushed. God, I'm an idiot.

Xavier slowed on his way to the door, but he didn't stop. "And you don't. But both of you be careful."

Cora continued to stare at the door, long after he had left. Had he been smiling?