Chapter 9
August 2006

It would be nice to say the full moon went without a hitch, and in a perfect world, they would have spent the night researching and having a nice slumber party like an average bunch of teens with adult supervision. However, everything Chris had been pushing down, all the anger and the unmitigated rage at his family came out with his wolf.

Chris spent several hours trying to push his way through the mountain ash barrier and growling at the various humans to break the line and let him out. This worried Stiles enough that he set a second barrier outside the first then another barrier across the door.

Peter handed Cora and Derek a book at the start of the evening, it was one of the rarer books in the vault that had information about twin bonds in wolves. They spent the night using the advice from the book rebuilding the bond safely without affecting the pack bond they had with Chris and their Uncle Peter.

Peter spent the night trying to calm Chris down and wishing he knew what had happened to their alpha level restraints. He had texted Cora to look for them while she was in the vault but she had let him know when they returned that she could only find the standard restraints they used on beta wolves which would have been useless on an alpha, even a newbie alpha like Chris.

Eventually, after several hours, Chris calmed down enough to snuggle into Peter and he murmured too quiet for anyone else to hear, "I just want to end them for what they have done."

Peter whispered, "Why end them when we can let them rot in prison. Serial killers get life without parole or the death penalty. I can suggest they take the death penalty off the table and I am sure there are a few wolves that work as prison guards who will request a transfer for the chance to torture an Argent once word gets out."

Chris nodded in agreement, "As long as they pay and it hurts as much as they have hurt others."

Peter promised, "They will hurt, I promise you they will hurt in all the ways they deserve. Now get some sleep, Alpha. You have bites to give tomorrow."

Chris looked around and he saw his pack were all asleep in various piles around the room and he agreed and finally snuggled down with his mate to sleep.

-x-

Isaac and Stiles got up the next morning before everyone else to cook a big breakfast for the pack as the full moon had been hard on all of them.

Derek and Cora had been able to rebuild their twin bond with help from the moon but it left them feeling exhausted. Peter was still putting a lot of energy into keeping the burns on his face from healing before he could 'disappear' to get them healed and Chris was exhausted after a long night of trying to break through a strong mountain ash barrier.

Stiles was sure if the barrier had been set by a vanilla human that Chris would have broken through it due to his desperation to kill those who had dared to harm his mate. Peter had finally talked him down at around 3 am so the two teens figured 11 am would be a good time for brunch.

The teens had tried to block out Chris' demands to break the barrier but they all found it hard as they knew what he wanted to do and most of them would have been fine to let him. The research they had done so far into the Argent financials had shown 8 packs that they had targeted over the four year period that they had been ordering the restricted strains of wolfsbane. They were fairly sure there had been others but they could only work with the evidence they had.

Once they had enough evidence to start the investigation Noah was planning to contact a friend of his in the FBI and see if he could put him in touch with someone from the Devereux Taskforce. They dealt with serious supernatural crimes but usually only met with the various supernatural councils. Peter had found the name of the task force in Talia's council documents.

Isaac was mixing up a new batch of batter for the pancakes and he asked, "So, what was the verdict from all the reading you did last night?"

Stiles half shrugged as he flipped the pancakes carefully, "It looks like a druid has been screwing with the Nemeton. It's why things seem to be out of balance."

Issac asked, "How can that affect our parents though? None of them are supernatural, that we know of."

Stiles pinched the bridge of his nose and he huffed, "That's what I can't figure out. The Nemeton shouldn't but if it's being fucked with by a druid there is no telling what they are doing to it."

Noah walked in and gave Stiles a slight slap to the back of the head, "Language, kiddo. When we find Laura you should be able to get the name of the druid. I think Talia replaced her old emissary with a druid about a year before the fire since Claudia was no longer around to power the ward that was blocking druids from moving to town."

Isaac asked, "Why keep the druids out?"

Stiles sighed and he said, "Normally druids are fine, and if the Hale pack had been anywhere else they would have been fine with a druid emissary. But there is a quote by an English Lord, 'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.' If you stick a druid in a territory with a Nemeton most will start to tap into the power of the node and the best way to explain it is that the Nemeton drives them to use that power they have tapped into to gain more power."

Isaac asked, "And Talia knew that druids were not allowed in the territory?"

Noah nodded, "She had a contract with my wife that she wouldn't take on a druid as an emissary but she considered the contract ended when my wife died. Stiles was only 10 and just coming into his spark so he was too young to enforce a new contract."

Stiles rolled his eyes and he snarked, "And the great Talia Hale would never lower herself to accept advice from a human."

They all turned as they heard Peter laughing. Stiles paled, "Sorry Peter."

Peter held up a hand and he said, "No, no don't mind me. You're not wrong, but not entirely right either. Talia wouldn't take advice from anybody, human, wolf, or even her emissary, it's why Serafina left the pack. The emissary and alpha relationship is supposed to be a give and take, both of them working together to keep the territory safe. But Talia had gotten to the point where she gave orders and she refused to accept she could be wrong in her decisions."

Noah agreed, "Claudia warned me of her epic stubbornness. It's why she had set up a ward that specifically restricted druids rather than rely on Talia sticking to the contract."

Stiles pulled a journal out of his pocket and he said, "I read about that ward in here. Why can't we just set it up again? I am a stronger spark than mom already, I have enough power to feed the ward and I haven't reached my full potential yet."

Noah glanced at Peter and he said, "You know more about this stuff, would it work?"

Peter shrugged, "It would depend on the Nemeton, and if he has tried to bond with it."

Stiles laughed, "The Nemeton is bound to Mom's family line. So he can bond with it but if I complete my bond with it, then it will cut any faux bond the druid has with it."

Peter asked with a grin on his face, "And the backlash?"

Stiles grinned evilly and danced out of range of his father before he said, "That all depends on how much he has fucked with it. She is a vengeful Nemeton."

Chris yawned as he entered the kitchen followed by the rest of the teens. He looked around at all the food that the group had been cooking and preparing and he said, "We are going to need a bigger table."

Noah and Peter went over their earlier discussions about the Nemeton with the rest of the group while Stiles was reading through his mother's journal to make sure he hadn't missed anything.

Peter saw Stiles lean back after he was done reading and absently eating and he asked, "So what do you need to complete the bond?"

Stiles shrugged, "I can do it now. Chris has everything I need in the cabinet downstairs I just need Lydia and a wolf or two to come with me."

Chris muttered, "At least she was useful for something."

Allison snorted her coffee out her nose as she laughed. "Dad!"

Chris rolled his eyes and he suggested, "Why don't you take the twins with you while I sort out the pack bites for those who want them."

Isaac asked in surprise, "You are willing to bite us?"

Chris nodded, "Allison has already asked and I am offering it to anyone who wants it, with the understanding that if you take the bite you are pledging your loyalty to the pack and to protecting Beacon Hills." He glanced at Peter, "I plan for us to eventually be the new Hale Pack."

Peter smiled, "You still want to take my name?"

Chris nodded and he said, "It might have been 20 years but my plans haven't changed."

Allison said, "As long as I get adopted in the process. I don't want to be an Argent anymore."

Chris asked the teens, "Any questions?"

Erica asked, "The bite will definitely cure my epilepsy?"

Peter nodded, "I have seen it cure a severe case of it, they went from having grand mal seizures several times a week to a normal life. We had a doctor we used at Beacon Hills Hospital, Dr. Dowling, who is aware of the supernatural and he can help us with disguising your cure with a diagnosis that you grew out of it with the appropriate medical records to match."

Erica grinned, "That's my doctor so I can make an appointment to see him next week."

Boyd rumbled, "Stiles explained about hunters and wolfsbane are there any other downsides or weaknesses that we should know about?"

Chris suggested, "Avoid mistletoe, it can be fatal if ingested even in small doses. I can't think of anything else."

Peter said, "We'll be training you all in self-defense beyond what Stiles and Cora have already taught some of you. Chris will also be adding eskrima as it can be useful especially in the preserve where sticks are in abundance."

Noah checked his phone when it beeped and he said, "Whoever wants the bite, choose now. Chris needs to get the bites done before we go down to see our visitor at the station."

Peter grinned, "She showed up. Excellent."

Chris led Allison, Isaac, Boyd, Erica, and Jackson through to the living room to do the bites as Stiles laid out his and Jackson's idea for the challenge. He wanted to get the Nemeton claim done so she couldn't call on the emissary for help as she fought Peter.

He suggested to his father, "Why don't you tell her you can take her to see Derek after she is formally interviewed, once we are in place we can text you and you can bring her out to the Hale house ruins. Peter can be waiting there for her with Cora and Derek. I would suggest you give her two options when she shows up, she can give up the alpha spark willingly and still be a member of the pack, from New York, or you force her to yield and she will be forever banished from Beacon Hills if not killed."

Peter smiled, "She will underestimate me due to the visible burns, and she never knew that there was a good reason why Talia made me her left hand."

Peter and Noah both agreed with his plan and after a slight hesitation, Derek and Cora added their agreement. They didn't want their sister to die but they also felt she was not fit to be an alpha.

Peter was in full agreement with Stiles' plan so he left them to sort out their supplies for their trip to the Nemeton as he went to help Chris with those being bitten. Danny was staying behind with the new wolves to gather up all the evidence they had collected so far into what was legally usable and what would need to be feed carefully to the FBI.

The first clue Noah had that Stiles was successful in bonding to the Nemeton was when he was interrupted during his interview with Laura by a call from one of his Deputies who informed him that the local vet Dr. Deaton was dead. He'd a heart attack in front of Deputy Nero just after he was done treating one of the K9 unit dogs who had sliced a paw open on some glass.

Deputy Nero had immediately started CPR but his heart had taken too much stress and he was pronounced DOA when he arrived at the hospital.

He saw through the door that Laura had paled when she heard that Dr. Deaton was dead and that confirmed for Noah that Deaton was the former emissary. His phone beeped with a text as he talking with Deputy Nero to let him know that the others were ready for him and Laura.

He stepped back into the interview room and he said, "I think we should suspend the interview there for now. I have been asked to take you to see Derek."

She nodded mutely and stood to follow him out of the station. He had warned Tara ahead of time that he would be taking Laura out to the house to visit with the Hale's she left behind before the official interview with her in regards to Derek's disappearance after the fire.

On the way out to the preserve, Laura accused, "You didn't sound surprised that Dr. Deaton was dead."

Noah smirked, "Oh I was. Not that he died but that the druid was Deaton. He certainly nailed hiding in plain sight. You are aware of why he died?"

Laura snarked, "I heard him say it was a heart attack."

Noah shrugged, "Sure, I guess that's how it will go down on the autopsy. We both know druids live a long time and that it takes a lot to kill a druid."

Laura asked snidely, "And you, a human, would know what killed him?"

Noah chuckled, "So disdainful of those who aren't supernatural. Yes, I know what likely killed him. It was magical backlash, the Nemeton is not forgiving when it is forced to help a druid gain power by dark rituals. Your mother was warned not to take a druid as her emissary."

Noah pulled up at the house, forestalling any further questions from Laura and he walked across to join the few pack members standing on the ruined porch. Derek was standing, sandwiched between Cora and Stiles as Chris and Peter stood at the top of the stairs with their arms crossed.

As Noah climbed the stairs he murmured, "She's all yours, Peter."

Peter nodded once and he descended the stairs, staring at Laura who was glaring defiantly at him, refusing to give an inch.

Peter stood across the clearing from Laura and he intoned, "Laura Hale, I challenge you as a former beta of the Hale Pack, one you callously abandoned to the torture of hunters. You are unworthy of the Hale Alpha Spark, submit, or die."

Laura sneered and she yelled at her siblings, "Is this what you want, a deranged and scarred alpha?"

The twins looked at each other and they nodded firmly. Derek called back, "You abandoned my twin and snapped our twin bond." He took a step forward to stand at the top of the stairs with Cora and Stiles holding his hands in support, he screamed, "You told me she died. Uncle Peter is right, you aren't worthy to be an alpha, you will never again be my alpha."

Cora added, "Nor mine. You left me to die, as far as I am concerned you are dead to me."

They turned and with a brief hug from Stiles, they entered the ruins and shut the still intact front door. Stiles smirked and he stood to stand beside his father just behind Chris in support of the new alpha pair.

Peter asked, "So, what's it going to be Laura? Yield, or die?"

Laura snarled, "You will kill family?"

Peter rolled his eyes, and he asked, "Do you have any idea what I have been through over the last eighteen months? Kate Argent sent a hunter to work for Beacon Hills Hospital, she took over my care personally and spent every single day pumping me full of wolfsbane to keep me in a coma and other drugs apparently for fun and experimentation. The first lesson you were taught was AN ALPHA NEVER ABANDONS THEIR PACK, yet you left two of us behind, vulnerable and able to be found and killed by the hunters. Cora was lucky she found a spark and his friends who were ready and able to protect her, they even made sure she was declared dead in the fire to protect her from being discovered."

Stiles held his hand up and waved from his position on the porch. "You're welcome, by the way."

Laura snarled, "You were the left hand, you should have seen the hunters coming!"

Chris chuckled, "Oh really, that's how you want to play it. Kate Argent has taken out 8 packs that we know of, they all had strong alphas and strong packs. She knows how to target a pack without being spotted."

Laura asked snidely, "How would you know."

Peter smirked, "Maybe I should introduce you to my alpha. This is Alpha Chris Argent, soon to be Chris Hale, Kate's big brother, and an alpha werewolf."

Laura shifted and she said, "You brought an alpha werewolf into my territory."

Peter looked at her pityingly, "Oh sweetheart, you left the territory and the alpha rescued me from the hunter that was trying to kill me. Something you should have done from the start."

He shifted to his beta shape and he screamed, "DECIDE! Submit or fight, what's it going to be Laura?"

Laura shifted to her beta shift and overconfident in her abilities she rushed at Peter who sidestepped at the right time, reached out, and grabbed her by the throat before pinning her to the ground.

He shifted back to his human face and he finally allowed the healing to finish healing the burns on his face as he glared at the impudent pup he had pinned to the ground.

He roared in Laura's face, "Submit!"

Laura snarled, "You don't deserve to be alpha. You failed at protecting the pack."

Derek yelled from the porch, "Give it up, Laura. The only person who didn't protect us was Mom. She's the one who sent Peter away after Paige was killed. She's the one who didn't even notice that I was being stalked and drugged by one of my coaches. She's the one that failed our pack. We want an alpha who will care for us, not abandon us when it becomes too hard."

Laura asked, "What happens to me if I submit and give you my alpha spark?"

Peter replied, "You leave Beacon Hills for good, no longer a Hale wolf. You can keep in touch with the twins if they want it, but I will never forgive you for abandoning me to be tortured by hunters. As long as you find a new pack and stay away from Beacon Hills I will leave you alone."

"Fine!," She grasped his wrist as she tried to loosen his grip before she dug her claws in and he felt the spark transfer and the influx of power.

As Chris moved forward to support Peter as he accepted the Hale Alpha spark Stiles and Noah approached Laura.

Stiles crouched in front of her and he said, "I have a magically binding contract for you to sign, one that states you will no longer claim to be a Hale wolf, that you will stay away from Beacon Hills and that you will return all Hale property."

Subdued, Laura nodded and she stood ready to follow the sheriff to sign the contract and get out of town. She would leave contact details with him for the twins if they ever decided to reach out.