Finally a new chapter. I'm sorry, the plot bunnies are really thick on the ground right now. I have several new ones for more Harry Potter and Teen Wolf stories; it's insane! (But I love it.)

Have fun and stay safe!


Chapter 60

Stiles and Lou, who were already riled from having nearly all of their pack almost killed by strange alphas, were in no mood to entertain a school acquaintance's delusions of entitlement. In a flash, Stiles was off his bed, his clawed fingers closing around Danny's windpipe. He felt some ash crawling over his face, and his eyes were weirdly warm, but all he could really focus on was the threat to his friends.

"You think doing one good deed entitles you to all of our secrets?" he forced out roughly, voice a little sandpapery from the ash that was coursing through him. "Fucking think again."

Danny let out a terrified whimper and scrabbled against Stiles' hand and arm. His feet were kicking as well like Danny had no real contact with the ground, which struck Stiles as funny somewhere in the deep recesses of his more rational mind.

Agitated and hyped up on adrenaline and alpha wolf spark energy as he was, Stiles felt neither of the frantic attacks.

"Stiles … he actually helped us out here," Jackson said quietly, voice barely louder than Danny's laboured gasping. "Could you maybe let him at least breathe a little?"

Stiles cocked his head. It was strange how Lou seemed at the forefront right now, considering their captive suspiciously. "We don't like that he snooped. Again. We also don't like how pushy he is."

"Well, he's my best friend, and you're hardly any better," Jackson muttered, although he wouldn't meet Stiles' eye directly.

"Now that the wolf is out of the bag, the question is what Mahealani will do with the information," Isaac said. While still looking like he'd been mauled by a bear, a dozen of Stiles' healing cards and several instances of reading healing spells from the most potent book in Peter's library had firmly put him out of the critical stage. He sneered. "Stiles is right, we don't need a loose cannon running around and telling everyone about our business."

"I wouldn't," Danny rasped and fought against the pressure around his throat. "I swear I wouldn't!"

"Says the guy who hacked my old laptop and tried to do the same with my new one," Stiles honest to god snarled. "I warned you, Danny. Seems like you have a hard time listening."

"You won't kill him, right?" Erica asked hesitantly. When no answer was forthcoming, she tried again, "Stiles?"

"At least not right away," Isaac huffed. "I'll need some time until I'm good for body disposal, although Peter would love to help out."

"I'm sure," Derek said dryly and with a roll of his expressive eyes.

Danny blanched dramatically and let out a pathetic wheeze.

"Stiles, let up a little already!" Jackson bellowed. "You're freaking us the fuck out!"

"Shut your trap, Whittemore," Isaac growled back. "Bitten or not, you don't get to tell us what to do. Mahealani snooped, he'll bear the consequences." He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I for my part don't need his smug ass in our group."

"Well, he did help us out," Derek reminded him. "Letting him vanish would be in poor taste."

Stiles and Lou stared at Danny for a moment longer and then flung the boy on Stiles' abandoned bed like he was a ragdoll. He felt a bit bad for displacing Erica, but she was better off sitting by Derek anyway. "Sit and don't move. I mean it."

Danny nodded, obviously terrified out of his wits.

"I'm pretty sure that Peter's already found several memory modification spells," Isaac said maliciously. "One of them is bound to work on Mahealani."

"Wha … I don't want to betray you!" Danny cried hoarsely. "What the fuck?"

Stiles asked Lou to retreat for the moment and rolled his shoulders when the mountain ash slithered back to his torso and hugged him tightly, reassuringly. "Yeah, Danny. What the fuck. You saw what happened in that garage. Three of my friends were badly hurt, they could've all died. Jackson was bitten by a werewolf, which is a horror all on its own. And you think this is a good idea to come barging in here, demanding answers?" He snorted. "You can be glad that I didn't decide to end you right then after that nightmare. One more threat out of your petty trap and I will do it, you get me?"

Danny's eyes were so wide that they looked like they'd pop out of their sockets any second. "I … I'm sorry. I didn't think … I was just so worried about Jackson. He's behaved weirdly for a few weeks now ... accepting gifts from you and going for visits when you can hardly stand each other. I knew …" He swallowed. "I knew that something was going on, but Jackson wouldn't tell me."

"I told you to stay out of it," Jackson sighed and wriggled a little for a more comfortable position. With a grimace, he grabbed his injured shoulder. "Aw, shit. You have another one of those cards, Stiles?"

It was Boyd who went over and wordlessly ripped up a red healing card and pressed the ends to the front and back of Jackson's bandaged shoulder. To Stiles, he said, "You think he'll transform?"

"Well, I hope he does," Stiles answered. "The alternative is sort of fatalistically permanent."

Jackson hissed in pain but otherwise remained stoic.

"Is that true?" Danny rasped. He struggled up into a sitting position to better see the golden glow of magic surround the shoulder. "Could he die?"

"He could," Stiles confirmed in a flat tone. "But as shitty as that would be, surviving might actually be worse. The asshole that bit him would technically be his alpha, and an alpha has quite a bit of control over his betas, especially the newly bitten ones."

"I'd never listen to him," Jackson snapped. A bit less sharply he said to Boyd, "Thanks, man. I can hold it myself now."

Nodding, Boyd stepped back and assumed parade rest between Jackson and Derek's beds. He looked like a complete badass like that, Stiles decided before forcing his mind back to the topic at hand.

"Jackson will turn or he won't, there's not much we can do about that right now. So let's talk about you and your need to know everything instead," Stiles said to Danny. He felt an odd sense of calm, his insides neither churning nor clenching painfully anymore. As Isaac had said, the wolf was out of the bag now. All they could do was some sort of damage control.

Danny was back to gawping at Stiles. "I really am sorry."

"You'd better be," Stiles said mercilessly. "This shit right here is not a joke. You know what happened, and you better believe that this won't be the last time we get hurt. Getting involved means that you take on a certain responsibility." He paused, almost enjoying making Danny squirm. "I'm not so sure that you're ready for that … or even suitable."

"What about Erica and Boyd?" Danny asked. "They obviously know. How are they suitable?"

"They're friends," Stiles returned evenly. "They earned our trust just by being great people, plus they've been crazy helpful in a lot of ways. Also, they didn't push. I invited them in."

Danny finally lowered his eyes and bit his lip. "You don't consider me a friend."

Stiles and Isaac both snorted.

"Should I? Really?" Stiles asked. "I might've been a bit dumb about people before all of this started, but right now I couldn't care less about you. You mean nothing to me personally. We don't hang out, we don't do each other favours. If you were to move to San Diego tomorrow, I wouldn't even miss you."

"Same here," Isaac said immediately.

Erica and Boyd shrugged and agreed with that assessment as well.

"Don't look at me," Derek said when Danny's shocked eyes landed on him. "I don't even know you. Also, my name's not Miguel, and no, I'm not into guys."

"Look," Stiles said to Danny when it became clear that the teen was at a loss for words and even a little hurt, "I don't mean to tear you down or whatever. People generally like you, which is super for you. Our group, though? We're not interested in sharing our business with a near-stranger. Especially a near-stranger who tries to bully us into revealing stuff when we're already down."

"I didn't mean to …" Danny broke off, mouth opening and closing a couple of times when everyone, even Jackson, raised an eyebrow at him.

"Don't bother. We can sense when you're lying," Derek informed him. "I get that you're curious. That one," he pointed at Stiles, "was a terror before things began to work out. That doesn't mean we're going to tolerate it from others. Not anymore."

"Maybe it really is too dangerous for you, Danny," Jackson said. He tapped his shoulder, where a little blood had begun to seep through the bandage. "I didn't want this, I just got mixed up in all of this drama because of McCall and my own stupidity. Don't be that dumb if you're not planning on going through with it. Despite Lahey's posturing, I'm not sure there aren't actually memory spells. I might want one, should I survive the fucking bite."

That, at last, coaxed a weak chuckle out of Danny. "No, you don't."

Jackson huffed. "Maybe I don't."

"Doesn't mean I won't look into it," Stiles said, earning himself incredulous looks. "What, you guys actually thought I wouldn't? With hunters and psycho alphas around? Come on."

Danny licked his lips nervously. "Maybe I didn't have the best motives for spying on you, and maybe my approach was a bit … manipulative. But I do worry about Jackson and Lydia. What will you do in terms of evidence scrubbing if something like this …" he waved at them all, "happens again?"

"No idea." Stiles looked at Derek and Isaac. "Maybe a disruptor field kind of amulet?"

"It should get activated with a touch and some intent," Isaac shot back immediately. "Like a shirt button or something."

"They shouldn't fry the equipment permanently," Boyd offered. "That'd only piss people off, in addition to making them curious. Also, what about our own stuff."

Stiles snapped his fingers. "Right. We'll figure that out."

"If Stiles can make mini EMPs, can we also get magical pocket alerts?" Erica asked. She pointed at herself and Boyd. "Us squishy humans could do with something that won't run out of battery juice and will reach you no matter what."

"Like a Bat-Signal," Stiles breathed, excited. "Excellent suggestion, Catwoman."

"You're saying that you don't need me loud and clear," Danny said weakly and deflated. "I get it."

"I'm gonna be honest, it'd be useful to have someone with your skills in the pack," Stiles admitted. "But do we want a loose cannon? Nope, definitely not. It's just not worth it, especially since someone like you could squirrel away so much incriminating material it wouldn't be funny in a century, let alone now."

"You realize that I just can't stop being insanely curious, right?" Danny asked. "Even if I never bother you again, I'll be curious. And that's just shitty. I'll drive me crazy."

"Tough," Stiles responded mercilessly. "Most of it isn't my story to tell, so we'd have to hash it out with our alpha first. Everyone in favour of dumping this crap into Peter's lap, raise your hand."

The vote was unanimous and an uncomfortable silence descended on the room.

"For fuck's sake, get over here," Jackson snapped after a minute and waved Danny over to his bed. When Isaac glowered at him he huffed, "I was bitten by a psycho who calls himself the Demon Wolf. Danny stays. He's my emotional support human."

Stiles exchanged exasperated looks with his friends before pulling out his phone and sending Peter a message.

I shld b used to unexpected events bn, he closed with some irritation, but I doubt that'll ever happen. Thx for that, Creeperwolf.

Peter's reply was swift and snarky, like usual. Just doing my part. You'd die of boredom, sweetheart, and we simply can't have that. Hold on, I'll be there soon.

oOo

Peter entered the hospital room fifteen minutes later, accompanied by Stiles' father and laden down with bags upon bags of more take-out food.

"We thought you might get hungry later, what with all the healing you still need to do," John said as he passed the food around. Upon spotting Danny, he started. "What's this?"

"He invited himself," Stiles huffed. "And he scrubbed the security tapes, so I suppose we owe him our thanks."

"Not killing him was enough gratitude," Isaac growled, causing Danny to look at him in alarm.

"No killing of nosy teenagers, please," the sheriff sighed. "It was bad enough finding you all with a headless body in that garage." He eyed Danny out of narrowed eyes. "Protecting the kids from uncomfortable questions notwithstanding, I thought we had an agreement about your unfortunate hobby, you and I."

Danny actually gulped like a little boy. "We did, sir. I, uh, was just looking out for Jackson."

The sheriff's eyebrows rose high on his forehead. "I already know that Stiles roughed you up a little, so I'll let it go - this once. Don't do it again without our permission. Werewolves can get testy when someone's interfering in their business."

"Understood, sir," Danny agreed hastily. "But sir … Stiles said that this won't be the only time that stuff like this might happen. What about then?"

Peter lightly touched John's shoulder, indicating that he'd answer that question. "Isaac already told me about the newest plans for talismans. They'll be a great boon in that regard. I might find an accomplished IT specialist later, we'll need one eventually for several reasons."

Danny bit his lip, exchanged a loaded look with Jackson, and finally turned back to Peter. "What if I want to apply for that position?"

Stiles rolled his eyes.

Peter smirked. "Stiles is not convinced that you'd be a good fit, Mr Mahealani and I'm inclined to agree. We know nothing about you, other than that you're friends with Jackson and dear Lydia and a sunny boy."

"I'm pretty damn good with IT," Danny retorted. "I know all the systems in Beacon Hills, and with some training and planning I'll know when to be where." He chanced a look at the sheriff's unamused face. "I'd only do it with official approval. Like, if Stiles' dad says no, that's it for me."

"There's more to it than that," Peter said. He drew out a chair for John and parked himself at the foot of Stiles' bed. "Being part of a pack is about commitment and loyalty. Our secrets will remain secrets, even if we part ways in the future. Pack life is not for everyone, one has to be able to tolerate the closeness."

"What does that mean?" Danny asked. "If it's about taking your calls and stuff, that's no issue."

"It's not just that, although that's important, too," Derek said. "The pack is … everything. We're individuals, but we make our lives' goals about the pack."

Stiles decided to throw Danny a bone. "Take me, for instance. I sort of stumbled into this and discovered along the way that I can do magic. So to support the pack I began teaching myself and also opened a shop to sell some stuff. Isaac and Derek are helping with that. I'm also responsible for the magical protection of the territory."

"I'm doing the artwork for the stuff we're selling," Isaac added. "And I'll do custom artwork for people who're willing to pay extra for the magic stuff. If they just want art, that's great, too."

"Are you magic, too?" Danny asked Erica and Boyd.

"Nah, we're human, but we helped some in the last couple of weeks," Erica explained. "We painted stones for Stiles' ward thingy and were just around cheering them on. It was fun and I'd love to keep doing it."

"I found friends," Boyd said as if that explained it all, and to Stiles it absolutely did.

"So your pack is like some long-term family unit?" Danny asked sceptically. "What about school and college and jobs? Do you really plan on staying in Beacon Hills all your life?"

That sparked a discussion about the negotiations Peter had done with Isaac, was still doing with Stiles and was open to doing with Stiles' father, Erica, and Boyd.

"Jackson too, I suppose," Peter finished thoughtfully, "although he might prefer Stiles. Only time will tell."

"Let me survive this first," Jackson said bitterly. "Then we can talk about whose slave I'll be."

"It's not slavery," Stiles argued. "Having a great alpha is like having a competent adult around for all the supernatural shit that's going on. Peter just explained to you and Danny that none of this means that you won't get a good education or whatever."

"Right now it feels like the end of the world," Jackson admitted without looking up from his clenched hands.

"Yeah, I know." Stiles flicked out his fingers, sending his mountain ash across the room. Driven by Lou, it wrapped around Jackson's wrist in a little hug. "But you don't have to go through it alone. Not if you don't want to. That's what being pack means, too."

Jackson looked up, his face conflicted. "I'd feel better with Danny."

"No one's telling you to cut all contact with him," Peter said evenly. "All we're saying is that, for the moment, Mr Mahealani is not a good fit for the pack. We compromised by giving him some information so he can be of use to you and Lydia." He let his eyes flash red. "Now it's on him to prove that our trust in his basic decency wasn't misplaced."

Stiles jumped a little when his eyes became oddly warm again. It didn't help that everyone's mouths dropped open.

"What?" he asked self-consciously, cheeks flaming.

"Oh darling, your ruby eyes are beautiful," Peter purred.

Danny's jaw dropped all the way.


End of chapter 60