"You want to what?" Scott was taken aback. He almost fell off the beam, but he steadied himself.

"Scott, you've said from the beginning that I'm not your alpha," Derek replied calmly, "so I want you to be mine. I want to join your pack."

"Who told you I had a pack?" Scott had planned on telling him personally, rather that having him find out from someone else. It had seemed to be the courteous thing to do.

Derek's frown deepened. "We had run out of conversation topics even before you showed up at the hospital," he said, shifting his gaze to his side. "So when you left, we just kept listening," he explained a bit guiltily.

"Oh. And that made you want to join me?" Scott didn't remember saying anything particularly inspiring. The twins had been the ones doing most of the convincing.

Derek rolled his eyes. "I want to join your pack for other reasons."

"Like what?" Scott asked. He wasn't trying to be difficult, but Derek wasn't like Isaac or Ethan, or even Aidan. Derek had always been self-sufficient and before tonight he had assumed that Derek had high self esteem.

Derek took in a deep breath and spoke. "You make people want to be their best self," he admitted. "The only other person I've ever know who had that skill was my mom. She was a great alpha. She never had to fight to get people to do things or intimidate them into submission. People just trusted her and wanted to help her. It's the same way with you."

"You're also kind of like our grandad," Peter's voice called up from below them. "He was a stubborn bastard, but he would never back down if he knew he was doing the right thing. When I was trying to get you to join my pack, the harder I tried to get you to lose control, the harder you fought me. You're strong willed once you make a decision."

Nodding in agreement, Derek went on. "There's also the problem with Deucalion. I know I can't fix this on my own. He'll either kill me, my family, or both and I can't stop it. I've tried to think of some way around it, but I can't do it alone. If it weren't for him being here I'd probably try to tough it out on my own, but I'm actually glad he's giving me an excuse to step down without being killed." He frowned down at Peter who raised his hands in surrender.

"Hey, we both know that I was a much worse alpha than you, " Peter said seriously. "I was all power with none of the control. I know I complain about being weaker now, but honestly, I would not want to be alpha again. There were times when I didn't even know myself."

"So you want to join, too, Peter?" He didn't know how he felt about that, but so far tonight, Peter hadn't been his usually smarmy self. If he wanted to try to change, Scott wasn't about to discourage him.

"I do Scott, though, don't think I don't see the irony, since I'm the one who bit you." He caught Scott's frown and went on quickly. "I get what you were saying earlier, about me being someone who people actually want to have around. I've never managed it before," he joked lamely, "but I want to try."

Scott thought about what they were saying. It wasn't as if he would have turned his back on them if they had needed him, so what was the difference if they were in his pack or not? Then he looked around the loft again. It was empty and cold, the exact opposite of his own home. If this loft was a metaphor for how depressed the pack was, then the Hale's were in serious need and he couldn't just leave things as they were. They might not have been abused, but there were scars all over them. His mind was made up.

"I accept," he said.

"Thank you," Derek whispered to nobody in particular.

"I do have some rules though," Scott began. "Derek, no more physical attacks on Stiles. You two can fight and bicker all you want, but stop threatening to rip his throat out and shoving him around. If you can't control your anger, then you just have to walk away from him." He looked Derek right in the eyes. "I'm serious about this. You forget sometimes that he's human and doesn't heal that quickly." Derek nodded once in understanding.

Scott hopped down from the beam to talk to Peter directly. "Peter, until you prove to me that you mean to be a trustworthy person, I want you to stay away from my mom. She still thinks you are dead." Peter grimaced, but didn't argue with him.

He looked around the dark room again. "Can we turn some lights on in here?" he asked.

Derek dropped down next to him. "We don't turn the lights on at night. Someone could see."

"See what?"

"That someone's living here. We're not exactly rich, you know," Peter supplied. Scott just looked at the two of them, confused.

"We're squatting," Derek explained. "Like in our old house or in the rail yard. It's not like I can afford anything else."

This explained so much. 'I knew he couldn't afford this place,' Scott thought. "Why don't you get a job then?" he said, looking at Derek in particular.

"Laura always had money," Derek explained a bit sheepishly, "and I bought my car with my portion of the inheritance."

"I was comatose for years, and then dead for a while. Currently I'm just legally dead, but my options are limited is what I'm saying," Peter said, though his joking didn't have the bite it had in the past.

"Well, that's another rule. You have to get jobs and rent an apartment with heat, running water, and electricity that you can turn on. You have a teenaged girl living here, that you are sort of raising. She shouldn't have to do her homework in the dark" Scott shook his head and went off in the direction that Cora had gone earlier. Derek and Peter followed him, deep in thought.

He found her tied up in a straitjacket with chains wrapped around her, securing her to the bed. His cookie was sitting on her bedside table with just one bite taken out of it. Aside from the chains and stuff, she seemed fine.

"Hey, Cora," he greeted her, normally. "Have you been listening to everything that's been going on out there?"

"Yeah, Scott. You're going to let me be in your pack too, right?" She started to get a little panicky, but she glanced over at the cookie and calmed down again.

"Yeah, of course. I wouldn't leave you out. I just wanted to let you know the rules that I have for you." Her eyes widened, but she didn't interrupt. "I want you to come over after school and do your homework at my house until you guys can get an apartment, and I want you to volunteer at the hospital on the weekends. I think it will help teach you patience. Or, at least that's what my mom said when she made me do it," he said with a rueful smile.

"Scott, are all these rules really necessary?" Peter asked from behind him.

Scott turned to look at him. "When you stop needing to be told to do basic things like 'get a job' or 'rent an apartment' I'll stop telling you to do them," he said matter of factually.

"Fair enough," Peter replied, backing down.

Scott wasn't done though. "Derek is right. I do want you to be your best selves, and there's no way you're going to accomplish that by continuing to do the same things you've been doing. If you really want me to be your alpha, this it the kind of stuff you're going to have to accept."

They all nodded at him. He looked at each of them for any signs of disagreement, but he didn't see any. He heard a knocking on the door. 'Oh good, the guests have arrived.'

"Well, lets get this show on the road," Scott said, heading for the door.

"But we don't have a plan," Derek said with a huff.

"I do. We're going to explain the situation and he's going to leave." He heard Derek mumble something under his breath, but he ignored it.

Peter slid the door to the side exposing Deucalion and Kali lit in the red glow of the emergency exit light. They were both smirking. It pissed him off how cavalier they always were.

"I thought I told you to stay away from my pack," Scott stated flatly. He was silhouetted by the moon outside the window, but his face was in shadow. Kali growled lowly.

"So you did," replied Deucalion cordially. "Am I to believe that Derek, whose pride is all that holds him up most days, has submitted to you?" he asked with mock incredulity.

"You are."

"Why doesn't he say it for himself then?" Deucalion mocked lightly.

"Derek?" Scott invited him to speak.

"It's true," he said simply, and without shame. Deucalion frowned.

"If he's not going to join us," Kali began, "then I get to kill him." She smiled cruelly stepping forward.

To Scott, it was as if time slowed down and he was the only one who could tell. He felt a warmth spreading from his chest out to every part of his body. The air had a tension to it that wasn't there before and it felt powerful.

"Stop," Scott commanded in a low, echoing growl. His red eyes glowed from the darkness of his face. Startled by his tone, she did stop. Scott locked gazes with Kali and moved into her path. "You will not harm any member of my pack, werewolf or human. Do you understand?" She didn't answer him, but seemed to be fighting inside herself for the will power to defy him. So he repeated his last phrase, hardening his tone. "Do you understand me, Kali?"

"Yes," she whispered at last, dropping her head.

Scott looked at Deucalion sharply, and registered actual fear on his face. "You should leave my town right now. From tonight foreword, I never want to hear about a pack of alphas taking power that doesn't belong to them. If I ever see your face again, it will be because you wasted the second chance that I am giving you. Do you understand, Deucalion?"

The blind wolf's posture shifted and he nodded.

"Say it," Scott commanded, his words reverberating throughout the loft.

"I understand," he said, sweating under the intense gaze.

Scott held them there for a few more seconds then allowed his eyes to return to normal, releasing them. He felt the power coiled inside him dissipate.

"Get out of here." The disgust in his voice was evident and they hurried away.

When he heard them leave the building, Scott turned back into the light to find Peter and Derek's stunned faces.

"I told you I had a plan," he said with a smile.