Derek and Stiles finally make it to the loft were Isaac is waiting with their prisoner. He's not such a good prison-guard. Stiles get's a little jealous when he sees Alex, but he feel sorry for him and tries to be friendly. Allison and her dad realize what will happen to her and they are doing their best to deal with it.
Hester is seriously pissed off, but after a while, she manages to look at the incident as a small victory.
Scott, Melissa and Mr Stilinski are having lunch together at the hospital. We learn a little about Alex' life and how he became a werewolf.
Isaac makes a new discovery about himself. (I'm not getting to far into it now, but this will be explored further in later chapters. Feel free to give me suggestions.)
Calling Hester's three boys Omegas, was technically not the correct term. Being in a pack, they were Betas just like her girls. It was still a big difference. None of them had any say in what the pack was doing. They were more or less servants for Hester, and ranked much lower than the twins.
Derek didn't even want to think about how they served her, or what they were willing to do to stay in her grace. He'd seen the dungeon, and could only imagine what kind of treatment she subjected them to.
There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Hester's relationship with the boys was very different from what he had with Stiles. Derek got turned on by inflicting pain; he had to admit that, but he would never do anything that Stiles wouldn't be in on completely. He was pretty sure that Hester didn't take the boys wishes into consideration. Derek was also capable of enjoying a 'vanilla' scenario with Stiles. For him it was all about the attraction and the love. He didn't know if Hester could love anyone but herself.
Alex was obviously the latest addition to her pack. He was not very skilled in fighting, and his body seemed underdeveloped for a werewolf. Maybe Hester wanted him like that. Maybe she liked the fact that he appeared younger than he really was. At the moment, this fact came to their advantage. Derek was pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to come loose from the cuffs, and if he tried to attack anybody, he would be easily defeated.
He parked outside the building, and helped Stiles out of the car. "We shouldn't have brought this guy here. I don't know what I was thinking." Derek shook his head as he unlocked the door. "I guess I just..." He didn't bother to continue. Stiles had already heard his excuses.
"Derek! I don't care why! He's here and we have to deal with it." Stiles gestured for Derek to help him get inside. "If you keep rationalizing and apologizing, I'm gonna think you're hiding something." He cocked his head. "You're making me think I have competition. If you're trying to make me jealous, you are doing an excellent job."
They ascended the stairs slowly. Stiles insisted on walking up instead of being carried. It wasn't easy. "I'm not, believe me. There is no need to feel jealous. It's just... If he's truthful, we'll have another member of our pack. I feel that you should have been there to make the decision with me."
Stiles paused for second to adjust his grip around Derek's waist. "Me? Why? I'm not a werewolf. It's your pack, for now." He tugged on Derek's shirt to alert him that he was ready to keep moving. "A bigger pack will make you stronger, right? It can't be bad. We need strength to fight Hester."
Derek nodded. "Yeah, well, Yeah, but we don't know if he's conning us, uh, me. If so, we're in deep shit."
He didn't know what to expect when he opened the door, but the scene in front of them surprised him. Alex was lying on the floor, curled up under a blanket. It covered him almost entirely. His left hand was sticking up, hanging from the cuff attached a few feet off the floor. The top of his head with the messy curls was also visible.
Next to him – and within reach if Alex wanted to attack – Isaac was sleeping. It seemed like he'd tried to stay awake, but even in a position that must have been uncomfortable, he'd dozed off.
He woke up in an instant as Derek slammed the door shut. Throwing a quick peek at Alex, Isaac scooted away before he got up. "Uh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fall asleep. He's been good though. He didn't try to, eh... I think he really wants to join us. I think he can be trusted." A small sound from Alex made Isaac jump and take a few steps away. Derek chuckled. "Clearly you trust him."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Allison was still lying on the floor. The sobs had now diminished to a faint whimper. Her dad was sitting next to her, stroking her hair. The pain in her arm had been excruciating, but at the moment she could only feel a light throb from the wound. She hadn't dared to look at it. She knew it was closing up by the minute.
"Dad I..." She had to draw her breath and calm herself before she continued. "I'm not as strong as mom. I can't kill myself." Again, the sobs were about to take over but she forced it away. "You have to do it."
Chris' hand stopped moving for a second, before he again let his fingers run through her hair. "Shush Baby-girl, it'll be alright. We'll deal with this." His voice was trembling, and Allison knew that he'd understood what was about to happen to her. "Deal? We'll deal? She bit me! She's an Alpha. It was Hester, right? I can already feel the transition." She swallowed hard and squeezed her eyes shut to avoid shedding any tears. "You have to do it before the full moon. Promise me, dad. Don't let me go through this."
She didn't want to die, but she had an obligation to the family. There was no way she, as an Argent, could live as a werewolf. There was still a few days till the full moon, and she could possibly muster up the courage to off herself. If only Hester had managed to finish the job, this wouldn't have been an issue. She cursed to herself for not closing the door properly.
"Hey, maybe we should tell the others that she's in Beacon Hills." Her dads' voice interrupted Allison's train of thoughts. "She could be going after some of them." With a heavy sigh, she got up from the floor. She threw a quick peek at her arm, and as she suspected, the wound from Hester's teeth was barely visible. It would probably be completely healed in a few hours.
"I'll give Scott a call, you can alert Derek." Allison patted her pockets to find the phone. It wasn't there. "Oh, God! Lydia! I called her, she could have picked up. Oh my God." Back down on the floor she crawled around a bit before she found the phone under the coffee table. "I have to call Lydia first."
Her dad was watching her while she waited for Lydia to pick up. He seemed like he was lost in his own thoughts. It was perfectly understandable. He'd lost his wife under similar circumstances, and now he was about to lose his daughter.
"WHAT HAPPENED! You called me just to hang up on me? What's going on?" Lydia sounded extremely annoyed. "I was about to call you back, but then I..." Allison cut her off. "SHUT UP! Listen! Are you at home?" When Lydia confirmed, Allison continued without giving the girl a chance to say anything else. "Stay inside. Do not open the door for anybody you don't know."
When Lydia again tried to speak, Allison shushed her. "You helped us, you could be in danger. We'll figure something out, but at the moment you just have to trust me. Stay put and arm yourself." It took a little while before anything happened, and when Lydia finally said something, her voice had a totally different tone. "Arm myself? Are you kidding me? I have no weapons." She sounded scared. "I'm home alone, and you are freaking me out."
Allison promised to get someone to pick her up. "You can come here. I'll call you when I've organized something."
Chris was still staring at her when she hung up. "Dad, shouldn't you call Derek?" She found Scott's number and pressed the call-button as she at the same time gestured for her dad to get on with his task. A shiver went through him as he dug out his own phone. "What do I tell him? Should I tell him what happened?" Allison widened her eyes. She hadn't even thought about that.
The moment Scott picked up, she'd made a decision. He greeted her with happiness in his voice, and Allison had to swallow hard before she managed to respond. She stared at her dad and shook her head slowly as she addressed her boyfriend. "Hi Scott. We have bad news. Hester is in town. We don't know if she's here alone. We don't know if she's after anyone in particular, but she's been spotted."
Scott was surprised by the news. "Already? I feared that." He told her that he was at the hospital with Mr Stilinski. "Derek and Stiles are probably at the loft. Where did you see her? Did she come to your house?"
Allison didn't want to lie to him, but she didn't want to reveal what happened either. "I'll tell you about it later, just take care. We have to alert the others. I'll call you."
Her dad had still not called Derek, but now he finally lifted the phone to his ear. It took a while before Derek answered, and Allison could see that Chris got a little impatient. Finally he got a response, and it startled Allison to realize that she could hear Derek's voice from across the room.
Her dad told him that Hester was in town, and that they should all get together. Derek suggested that they could come to him and when Allison nodded, Chris confirmed that they would do so. He didn't even blink when he obviously got aware of the fact that Allison could hear what Derek said.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The sun didn't reach their table. They were sitting in a booth in the darkest corner of the restaurant. The table was chosen partially because they didn't want to be spotted, but also because they didn't want anyone listening in on their conversation. It was after lunch time and only a few tables by the windows were occupied. They were the only ones sitting in the back.
Joy and Jade stared at their adoptive mother as they picked at their sample platter of appetizers. Hester herself hadn't ordered any food; her hand was clenched around the stem of a wine glass. She frowned ever time she lifted the glass to her lips as if the wine had a foul taste.
The girls knew what had happened, and they knew not to comment on it. "You could have picked a better place, they don't have decent wine here." Hester took another sip and scrunched her face in disgust. Her daughters didn't comment on that either.
A waiter came towards their table. He was in his mid twenties and one could easily spot that he was somewhat smitten by the booths occupants. The two young, identical blonds with model-like features and the older, more sophisticated, beautiful woman, could turn heads wherever they were.
He nodded shyly before he asked if they wanted anything else. Hester gave him a piercing stare before she lifted her glass. "Give me another one of this dish-water." He took the glass and tried to apologize, but Hester just waived him off.
Fifteen minutes later, Hester had finally managed to calm down somewhat. She sighed and shifted her gaze between the two girls. "It may not have gone according to plan, but it could work out to our advantage anyway." She took another sip, and didn't react to the taste anymore. "If the bite takes, that girl is practically dead already. The hunters' code is rigid."
She twirled the glass between her hands. "Ben is going to go after the McCalls. The mother should be an easy kill, but that Scott-person is a little unpredictable." Joy hadn't said a word since they ordered their food, but now she leaned forward and cocked her head. "Will you kill the Stilinski-boy? He's cute. Can I have him?"
Hester rolled her eyes. "We'll see. If you catch him alive, I'll think about it." She got up abruptly, and threw a few bills on the table. "Let's go. Let's wait for the full moon. Let them think we gave up."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Stiles were sitting on the couch with a sandwich in his hands. He'd joked about getting jealous, but after seeing the guy they brought back, it wasn't a joke anymore. There was no reason to the madness that made them bring him here, and Stiles got seriously intimidated by his appearance. Alex was absolutely adorable.
He hadn't moved much or uttered a word since they came in, he was just sitting there on the floor following them with his big brown eyes. The only time they saw a change in him was when Derek received a call from Chris telling them that Hester was in town. Alex had flipped his head around and stared at Isaac, mouthing something Stiles couldn't understand. When Isaac gave him an almost invisible nod, he exhaled in relief.
As soon as they arrived, Derek had rushed to the kitchen and made some sandwiches. Stiles took the one he was handed , but wasn't very hungry; Derek had brought him food at the hospital. He noticed that Alex swallowed hard as he watched the others eat, and he figured that the guy had to be hungry.
Stiles didn't know if Derek and Isaac had a plan to starve him, but for Stiles, it felt wrong to not offer him anything. He got up and jumped towards him on one leg. He didn't want to come too close; they didn't know if they could trust him yet, so he just leaned forward a little and held his hand with the sandwich out in front of Alex' face.
Alex looked up at him suspiciously, but when Stiles nodded, he reached out to grab the food with his free hand. "Thank you." He immediately bowed his head and scooted a little further back. Stiles remembered years ago; a stray dog had camped outside their house for a few days. When they tried to feed it, it had acted the same way. Sheriff Stilinski had explained that the dog probably was used to being beaten or kicked, and that was the reason he behaved like that.
Derek and Isaac had watched the scene without interrupting, but now, Derek came over to help Stiles back to the couch. "That was nice of you. I totally forgot that he hadn't eaten either." He gave Stiles a quick kiss on the cheek. "I can make more."
Back in his seat, Stiles shook his head. "No, it's okay, I wasn't that hungry." He could see that Alex had a hard time trying to keep the sandwich together with one hand. He tried to use the cuffed hand too, but couldn't help it when a slice of tomato landed on the floor. He threw a quick peek at Derek and seemed to shrink a little.
When Derek walked over to him there was a hint of fear in his eyes, but Derek just picked up the tomato-slice and shrugged. "No big deal. I'm sorry we have to tie you up, but you know..." Alex nodded, but didn't say anything. Derek cocked his head. "I'm not used to having prisoners, and I'm not sure what the Geneva convention says, but we will try to treat you fairly." He started to walk away, but then Alex lifted his head and cleared his throat. "Sorry Sir, but would it be possible to use the restroom."
Derek stared at him puzzled. "Sir? Well yeah." He chuckled a little. "I guess it's possible." He dug the key to the cuff out of his pocket and threw it to Isaac. "You take care of it. He's your responsibility."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
There was a knock on the door, and Scott jumped up from his seat, ready to cover Mr Stilinski from whoever it was. The door opened slowly, and he relaxed as the scent of his mother, together with an unmistakable smell of pepperoni pizza, hit his nose.
Melissa tiptoed into the room. "Lunch." She whispered, throwing a quick look at the sheriff. "I ordered pizza." She nodded towards the bed. "He has to be hungry, and I thought..." She stopped and smiled a little shyly. Scott followed her line of view and noticed that the sheriff had woke up.
"Pizza, uh? I hope some of it is for me. I'm starving." He tried to sit up, and Melissa hurried to hand the pizza to Scott, before she went over to the bed and helped him. "Of course. I thought we could have lunch together." She adjusted the bed so he could sit up. "Giving you a decent meal was a priority."
Scott sighed. "...and pizza it is." He opened the box and put it on the nightstand next to the bed. "I thought it was for me, but I guess we'll have to share." He giggled a little as he grabbed a piece. "You first." He handed it to the sheriff. "I was joking, you know that?"
Mr Stilinski rolled his eyes, but he took the piece. "I'm not quite sure. You're a werewolf, right? I don't know anything about your metabolism."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
For almost six years, Alex had been living on the streets, surviving from day to day on scavenging and petty theft. When he started to get more heavily into drugs, he'd had to find other means to support himself and his addiction. It wasn't easy when he the first time solicited a well dressed businessman in an alley next to a posh restaurant. He'd hung out with a few prostitutes for a while, so he knew the tricks of the trade.
It took him only a couple of weeks get used to that fat old med stuck their dicks in his mouth.
One late evening he was sitting on a bench cunting his money. He was waiting for his dealer when a woman walked up to him. He wasn't sure how to react. He'd never dealt with a female client before. She didn't look like someone who'd need to pay for his services, but he wasn't picky on customers.
The offer she made him was intriguing and after a decent amount of bills had changed owner, he followed her to her car. He knew that the withdrawal symptoms from not getting a fix that day, had clouded his judgment, but the money was good. He'd barely had any sexual interaction with a female before. He didn't count his first sexual experience with the neighbor girl, way back when he had a home. At that time there had only been some heavy petting involved and he'd cummed before they got to the interesting parts. Not that he'd had any real experiences with guys either. The light frottage he'd shared with a friend from the streets when they were huddled together on cold nights, or the blow-jobs in the alleys, didn't count either.
Turned out she wasn't interested in having sex with him. She brought him to her house and tied him up. After a session of abuse that left him bleeding and in pain on the floor, she took off with the young man who'd been watching the whole thing.
Alex was shivering from drug withdrawals and was in no condition to even think about the aftermath. He couldn't get out of the dungeon, and he knew he'd made a bad decision when he took her offer.
He didn't know how long he'd been there when Hester came back. At that point he was a trembling mess, covered in his own feces and vomit. With ease and a frown on her face, she'd lifted him off the floor, and carried him into the bathroom. There she pushed him under a cold stream of water.
When he was somewhat clean she made him another offer, and even if he had no idea what she was talking about, he was ready to do anything to get rid of the pain he was suffering.
The bite was excruciatingly painful, and for a moment he thought he would die, but then it subsided and he could see the scars from last night closing up. The craving for drugs also went away, and he hadn't touched anything stronger than wine since that day.
She'd treated him well except for the torture she sometimes subjected him to, and for Alex it was a small price to pay for having a family again. That this new family was slightly dysfunctional didn't bother him; he'd come from a home where abuse was a daily feature, so this was not so bad.
Troy was Hester's lover, and even if he too got smacked around from time to time, he had a bit of authority in the household. Alex and Eric – the third boy in the pack – became friends, and together they kept the house clean and tidy. Ever so often they both had to suffer through a few sessions of serious torture, but knowing that they would heal – physically – it was bearable.
He rarely had any interaction with the girls. Alex did his best to avoid them. Hester herself was abusive and sometimes horribly rigid, but at least they knew where they had her. Joy and Jade were spoiled little brats, and could be extremely unpredictable.
At the moment Alex knew that he was in danger. He was pretty sure he would be dead before the week was over, and he just hoped it would happen swiftly. It wasn't like he'd given up; he really wanted to live, but he knew that Hester wouldn't rest until she was sure he was snuffed out.
There was a sliver of hope in his mind. He'd just have to convince Derek Hale that he was going to be loyal to him, and that he could help them conquer Hester's pack. Alex knew he would have to start talking, but speaking to the Alpha without being addressed was unheard of in Hester's house.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Isaac unlocked the cuffs and watched as Alex slowly got up from the floor. He gestured for him to move towards the bathroom, and made sure to stay a few feet away. It wasn't like he was scared of the guy; he could easily overpower him, but if Alex made an attempt to attack, they would have to kill him, and Isaac didn't want Alex dead.
As they walked to the bathroom, Isaac could smell that Alex could use a shower. It wasn't a rancid scent, and it didn't bother him too much, but he was pretty sure that Alex at least would want a change of clothes. He also had the stench of Hester lingering around his body.
Alex entered the bathroom and seemed to wait for Isaac to follow him, but Isaac just left the door ajar and turned his back to it. Even a prisoner was entitled to a minimum of privacy. "Do we have any clothes that will fit him?" Isaac addressed Stiles and Derek while he was listening to Alex taking a leak. "I mean..." He nodded towards the door. "Maybe we should... he should... he smells like her."
Derek and Stiles looked at each other, before Stiles spoke. "My clothes can possibly fit him." He turned to Derek. "He's about my size, isn't he?" He gestured for Derek to get his bag. "I'm sure I have something."
Derek decided that it would be okay to let Alex take a shower. The bathroom didn't have any windows; he couldn't escape from there, so letting him be in there alone for an extended period of time wouldn't make a difference.
A half hour later Alex came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. His tan skin was glistening with droplets running from his wet hair. He wasn't very tall, and he looked even smaller when he just stood there staring at the floor. Suddenly Isaac felt the urge to run over and wrap his arms around him. It had nothing to do with sexual attraction – sort of – it was more a wish to get closer to that beautiful flawless body.