Chapter 83

Stiles knew that he was a little strange. Before the whole werewolf shebang had started, it had mostly manifested in his inability to sit still for very long and his obsession in keeping what little family and friends he had close.

Now, he had an almost embarrassing wealth of people that were important to him. For a few fleeting days in May, he'd thought that his need to be close to all of them would lessen, now that he had an honest to god support structure around himself, even if it was small.

But, no.

If anything, this obsessive drive to protect his favourite people only intensified as more people wanted to join him. At times it even kept him up at night.

Everyone wore protective bracelets now, some even had humoured him and taken to wearing them around their ankles as well, hidden inside their socks. The others would follow in time, Stiles would make sure of that.

He even contemplated bullying Dr Lee into accepting more magical protections and, should the man decline in that infuriatingly respectful way of his, stealth-protect all of his things and spaces anyway until that burning need to keep safe was satisfied.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Stiles murmured and accepted the metal bead Scalyboy had chosen for his latest bracelet. "Everyone's as safe as I can make them and I'm still like this. It's driving me insane."

The kanima rumbled soothingly and deliberately held the arm with his new and extra sturdy leather wristband into the light of Stiles' bedside lamp.

"That you're all so good about going along with it makes it even worse," Stiles huffed, ashamed about his lack of control. "My dad will look like a damn Christmas tree if I don't get a handle on it."

He finished the bracelet and placed it in the small box he'd kept at home for such projects. After a long sigh, Stiles picked up another of the numerous untreated bracelets he kept at home for long nights such as these, this time made of purple hemp string and wooden beads, and said, "But enough about me. How are you doing? School starts in a week, which is honestly sucky timing, and I know that Jackson has concerns."

The kanima tapped his wristband with a claw and chirped.

"I'm pretty sure that you didn't need me to create a change inhibitor but I guess that it'll give Jackson some peace of mind," Stiles conceded. "Still, he'll be jumpy and I don't know how to help him. Even Danny says that he's out of ideas and he's known Jackson since kindergarten."

Shrugging, the kanima picked out a mother of pearl ornament and offered it to Stiles.

"Oh, that's very nice, good choice," Stiles praised. "You got an eye for pretty things, huh?"

The kanima preened a little.

"Well, the one good thing about going to school with Jackson is that you'll get to know our schoolmates." Stiles paused. "And check them out for weird behaviour. Honestly, I'm not taking any chances after the things that already went on in that school. I'd much rather err on the side of caution."

"Rowwwrrr."

Stiles relaxed a little, relieved at the kanima's easy acceptance of this new task. "Great, thanks. If anything comes up, text one of us … that is, if you've got the writing thing down yet. If not, try to take pictures or something. It's less conspicuous than coming running."

Truthfully, Stiles was not very worried about the kanima not being able to handle modern technology. He could already easily take pictures with Jackson's phone and successfully use the remote of Stiles' TV. The more he learned about Jackson's daily habits and delved into the teen's muscle memory, the better he was able to blend in among humans. Reversely, the kanima was diligent in subtly passing on his deadly abilities to Jackson so he could make use of them even in his human state of mind. Even now, after only a couple of weeks, Jackson moved differently. He didn't strut as much anymore; instead, he moved with the understated prowl of an apex predator.

It was a good look on him.

Stiles couldn't wait to bring Jackson to one of Peter's sparring sessions with his betas and see how he fared against them. Since they were all learning martial arts now, Erica having chosen to join Danny at his Wing Chun dojo right after her turning, their training would prove to be very interesting.

That reminded Stiles that he'd promised Lou some serious time alone so they could find out what they were capable of together. It was one thing to react to a threat but Stiles wanted more. He wanted to be assured of his abilities and as competent as possible.

After telling Scalyboy this, Stiles added, "We'll also need to find out more about what you can do, my terrifying friend. Would you consent to some tests? Nothing too grand, we can't afford the whole pack to be out of commission, but I'd love to know how exactly your venom works. Maybe we could treat weapons with it, or set up traps? That would keep you and Jackson out of the line of fire. Well, at least somewhat."

The kanima perked up and made a downright adorable purr-chirping sound.

"Awesome. I'd snag us an alpha douchebag for testing, but my dad would probably find that unethical," Stiles mused. "And I don't particularly want to care for a prisoner, so there's that."

Hissing, the kanima waved his tail.

"Oh, I know that you could probably wolfnap one of them easily, and I could ask Derek to help with the feeding and stuff. The thing is that our pack has morals," Stiles said with a little grin. Scalyboy's exasperation was hilarious. "We're trying to be good, my dude. And let's be honest, if that wasn't what you wanted, more or less, you wouldn't have chosen me."

The kanima huffed and curled his tail around himself irritably.

"I've got nothing against lethal defences, though," Stiles went on. "In case that wasn't crystal clear. I'm not trying to be that good."

Agitatedly, the kanima showed two clawed fingers and then hissed loudly.

"Yup, the alpha douchenozzles had their chances. Fair's fair and enough is enough." Stiles finished treading the hemp strings through the small holes in the mother of pearl ornament and directed his mountain ash to redo the tiny intricate knots. "Aw, look how beautiful this one turned out." He waggled his eyebrows. "Do you want it on your other arm? I placed a malice detection charm on top of the usual protective spells. It would go beautifully with Jackson's complexion but it doesn't look too shabby against your desert camouflage look, either."

The kanima narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and then thrust out his left wrist.

oOo

Having only one week until school started again was very little time for Stiles to do everything he had on his rather full agenda. The entry at the top of that list wasn't business, however, but social. He wanted to introduce Heather to his friends before their obligations separated them again.

"I know that you're not stoked to let the others meet her but she's been a good friend, then and now," Stiles murmured and brushed a kiss over Peter's lips. A sleepover at Peter's with Erica and Boyd didn't make for much privacy but it afforded them some time together at least. "It's just burgers and a couple of hours at the lake. I'm counting on you to call Isaac home around five."

Peter's eyes were glowing red as he returned the kiss with one of his own. His hands stayed maddeningly fixed on Stiles' hips, neither pulling him closer nor pushing him away. His claws were out, however, and putting a hair of pressure on Stiles' heated body. "I wish I were a better man and not call him, but I will."

Stiles cupped that stupidly handsome face with his hands and looked Peter in the eyes. "Good. None of us minds, you know. Especially not with that darach out and about."

"One day there won't be so much danger out there," Peter growled. "I won't promise not to monitor your movements anymore when that day comes."

"As long as you're not creepy or controlling about it I won't mind," Stiles murmured and pressed another kiss to Peter's unhappy mouth. "We might have to hash out an agreement concerning surprises, though, or the gift-giving part of your relationship might become boring fast."

"Mmh, I adore surprises but I do believe that I've gotten the best of them all already."

His intense gaze and smug smile had Stiles flush a little. "You utter sap."

"Just telling it as I know it," Peter rumbled and nosed at Stiles' neck. "Now be good and join the others. I know that Isaac wants to show you all the newest pages for our pack history. You're in for a real treat."

Reluctantly, Stiles stood from his perch on Peter's lap. The following hug was nice but still just a small consolation. "Sleep well, Creeper Wolf."

"You too, sweetheart." Peter led Stiles out of his office and nodded almost imperceptibly at his hovering nephew. "Derek."

"Uncle Peter," Derek returned just as formally.

"Oh my god, can you not, please?" Stiles complained. "We were good; you all could hear that."

"It's not about that," Derek murmured as he let Stiles precede him into Isaac's room where Erica and Boyd were already lounging in brand new sleeping bags on the floor.

"What is it about, then?" Stiles asked.

Derek curled a hand around the nape of Stiles' neck and pulled him into a weird little half-hug. "We promised Peter and your father to help you cool your heels. It's probably a little cruel but it'd hurt you two far worse if it all explodes in your face at the least convenient moment. Because it could. Nine months is a stupidly long time to keep something like this under wraps."

Stiles' first instinct was to narrow his eyes in indignation, which he did. Then, he grimaced. And finally, he rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyed acceptance. "Fine. But just for the record, it sucks to have a whole pack of chaperones."

"I already volunteered to stay celibate with you," Isaac said, not even a hint of teasing in his tone. "And Peter ordered a punching bag and boxing gloves, in case someone needs to let off some steam."

"Well, I don't have any plans at all to go back to celibacy and find it cruel and unusual punishment that you'll have to wait. Therefore, I'll certainly look the other way if you feel the need to mack on Papa Peter," Erica said grandly with a leer and an eyebrow waggle. "After a minute or so. Can't pass up a free show after all."

Boyd merely sighed long-sufferingly even as Stiles sputtered at her.

"Great, that's settled, moving on. Get over here, Stiles, I need opinions," Isaac demanded. "I can only finish the pages if everyone's okay with them."

Stiles, who was a huge fan of Isaac's ever-advancing drawing skills, flailed his way over to Isaac's bed and all but crawled into the other teen's space. "You did the transformer station, right? Gawd, that was horrible."

"Drawing it wasn't much better," Isaac said plainly as he showed Stiles' the first of two dozen pages. "Plus, I'm not sure I haven't landed on some agency's watchlist, the way I researched the transformer station and skulked around and took pictures."

"It was totally worth it," Stiles said, awed. While still only done in pencil, the images on the page were depicting their mad drive along the highway in stark detail. Even as a comic figure, Stiles immediately recognized himself and the others. "This is great. Uh, wow, and you even got the hysterical banter mostly right."

More pages followed and with them Stiles' epiphany regarding the scrying he'd done before their march into the preserve. There was their mad dash along the highway towards the transformer station afterwards, and last - but certainly not least! - Stiles and Derek's desperate attempts to save Peter's life.

When they'd all inspected and admired Isaac's hard work, Erica shook her head and said, "If I didn't know that this is a retelling of real events, I wouldn't even suspect it. It seems so fantastical."

"And horrifying," Boyd added, looking intently at Stiles and Derek. "I'd have needed all the therapy in Stiles' place, probably."

"Well, I went, and am still going, although not for that part, obviously."

Boyd very carefully handed Stiles the page that showed Peter's utterly ruined self in the dirt. "You and Derek should be able to talk about it."

"Maybe one day. So far, we've sort of self-medicated with lots of other problems," Stiles replied sardonically. "There were a lot of them kicking our butts at that time, so we were set on that front."

"Not my preferred sort of self-medication," Boyd stated, tone utterly dry.

"Yeah, I won't do that again if I can help it," Stiles agreed. He pulled half a dozen pages from the sheaf and spread them out in front of Isaac and himself. "Back to the comic. It's mostly like it happened but there are some small things you should add. Like, here Peter needs some more black sludge, and Derek's T-shirt was less badly off after we shocked Peter and the backlash threw us into the wall."

"Flying into a wall," Erica mouthed, her eyes going amber. Boyd's flared as well in response and it was still such a new sight that Stiles had to stop and stare for a second.

He chose not to respond to her agitation, though, since no one was interested in riling up a newly turned she-wolf. "What you absolutely need to add is time stamps. I didn't realize until now but there's just too much going on to keep the timeline straight. Plus, I wanna have proof when I'm lamenting to the fates."

"Same," Derek said dryly, much to Boyd's understated amusement.

"It's no big deal to add small boxes with the dates when I'm working this over digitally," Isaac agreed. "I have a notebook full of information just so I won't forget the details."

"Speaking of details, do you have to watch the security tapes from the garage at The Jungle so often?" Boyd asked. "Because I don't think I could, even if that attack didn't keep me from taking the bite."

Isaac showed his fangs as he smiled. "Oh, I'm actually looking forward to it. Lou obliterated that lady and it really, really needs to be illustrated correctly for posterity."

"Don't feel pressured," Derek said to Boyd. "It's alright if you don't want to have more to do with gore and blood than strictly necessary."

"Well, necessary is a rather flexible term right now," Stiles admitted, "but Derek's still right. We can try to keep you out of it if that's what you want."

Boyd shook his head. "No, I want to fight for the pack. I just don't want to rehash things when it's done. That's not how I'm wired."

"That's more than fair." Stiles leaned against Isaac. "So, since we're having a sleepover … who's up for a game of truth or dare? No smeksy shenanigans are allowed, Erica, so wipe that filthy grin off your doll face."

"Rude," Erica pouted. "And boring."

They still had a lot of fun and as far as pack bonding went, Stiles could hardly have wished for a better way.

oOo

Meeting Heather officially was a Big Deal for the pack. It was so big that there was an honest to god plan involved. The betas had unanimously decided that Stiles would meet with her first and they'd trickle in one after the other, to check out whether one of them wouldn't be able to stand her.

"I still think it's stupid," Stiles muttered as Derek parked in front of the diner. "She's cool, you'll only insult her with this BS."

"We'll be nice," Derek contradicted evenly. "It's just less offensive if only a few leave, instead of all of us at once if we decide we don't like her."

"Erica already likes her," Stiles pointed out. "And Boyd usually tolerates whatever Erica likes. So it's really about you and Isaac."

Derek shrugged and didn't deny the accusation. "We take our pack's security seriously. You're my alpha; you can't think that I'll just accept your friendship with her without vetting her."

"Scott was a really bad apple, but I've since shown much better taste, didn't I?" Stiles asked.

"Meet your friend," Derek said after a small shake of his head. "I'll join you in a couple of minutes. If it helps, I do believe that things will go well."

"Really?" Stiles asked, suddenly nervous despite himself.

The corner of Derek's mouth lifted slightly. "You've known her longer than McCall, yes?"

Stiles nodded dumbly.

"And she's still your friend. I'd say that's promising." Derek cupped Stiles' shoulder and squeezed. "Go now, you're already late. She's beginning to worry."

"Okay." Blowing out a breath, Stiles unbuckled the seatbelt and extricated himself from Derek's Camaro.

It seemed to take an eternity to cross the walkway and enter the diner but then he was inside and Heather spotted him. At once, her expression brightened and she enthusiastically waved him over.

"Hey, there you are," she said, standing and kissing his cheek. "Will the others be by soon?"

"Yeah, they're running a little late," Stiles hedged as he slid into the booth across from her. "It's the holiday schedule, I hope you don't mind."

"Nah, of course not." Heather sat back down and exhaled happily. "I haven't been that excited to meet new people in ages. Should we order drinks already or would that be rude?"

"They snooze, they lose," Stiles said, relaxing a little.

They'd just received their iced teas when Derek made his appearance. It was utterly hilarious how Heather almost swallowed her tongue when she realized that he was actually heading towards them instead of to the beautiful blonde two booths over. Even better was the epic coughing fit as her drink went down the wrong pipe that left her red-faced and wheezing.

"Ohmigod I'm so sorry," she gasped. "Please don't hate me."

Derek handed her some napkins. "I don't hate you. I'm Derek." He easily slid in next to Stiles, their shoulders almost touching.

"Heather," she returned, not able to meet his eyes. She was, however, very capable of glaring at Stiles and muttering, "I'll get you for this, Stilinski!"

After that sort of ice breaker, Derek had no problem summoning Isaac. He was still quietly being entertained by Heather's awkward attempts to explain that she wasn't normally that much of a shallow hussy, please believe me, when Isaac strolled in in all his curly-haired and muscular glory.

"Oh come on now, you must be having me on!" Heather exclaimed. She stared at Isaac. "He was cute in the photos but he's Michelangelo's David in the flesh! Admit it, you went to a gym and paid those guys to troll me!"

Stiles couldn't help it, he snorted with laughter.

"Stiles couldn't have found more aesthetically pleasing dudes than us at a gym," Isaac said snootily and casually waved the waitress over. "In Beacon Hills, no less."

"You're so full of shit," Stiles told him. "I totally could've hired that Malcolm dude. The one that practically lives in the gym on South. A couple of protein shakes might've done the trick."

Isaac raised one judgy eyebrow. "He looks like someone transplanted a potato onto Schwarzenegger's body. That's not more aesthetically pleasing than us. If you actually think so, you might have to get your head examined."

"Also, I'm pretty sure Peter would like to know about his potato-headed rival," Derek chipped in, and just like that both werewolves were gleefully heckling Stiles and Heather was off the hook.

"Too bad I won't get to meet your boo, too, Stiles," Heather said soon after, just as Erica and Boyd made their appearance and Lydia, Jackson, and Danny had announced their arrival via text message. She picked up her soda and took a sip. "I understand why, but it's still a pity."

"He can be a bit much at first," Erica said and grinned. Her curled loose hair spilt over her shoulders and back as she plopped down on the bench. "All that animalistic sex appeal, meow."

"But also, adult supervision," Isaac scoffed. "No, thanks. I get that enough at home."

Heather tittered. "I'm not sure I'd mind."

Erica cried, "Hah!" and held out her hand for a high-five, which Heather gamely completed.

The boys rolled their eyes at the girls' antics. Soon after, a lively conversation about everyone's likes and dislikes came up. Naturally, Heather's plan to study acting garnered a lot of attention.

They were just discussing movie make-up when the rest of the group arrived. Lydia, beautiful and haughty as usual, came up to the table first. Her assessing stare at Heather was intense.

"Hmm, you're not as ditzy as I imagined," she said at last. "You'll do. For now."

Behind her, Danny gave a friendly wave while Jackson merely nodded coolly.

Stiles admired Heather's aplomb in dealing with that rather ambiguous greeting and had to grin widely when she drew everyone's attention to Jackson's new wristbands.

"I love that you're owning your feminine side, Jackson," Heather said slyly, although Stiles had a feeling that she honestly admired the purple bracelet. "The colour really underscores your fair complexion."

"It was a … gift," Jackson said through gritted teeth, throwing Stiles a venomous glare.

"Part of you adores it," Stiles crooned, making Isaac and Boyd smirk.

"Let them talk, Jackson," Erica replied, showing off her lilac-stringed bracelet. "I love mine; we can be bracelet bros."

"I'm not revoking my bracelet broship with Jackson," Boyd said, indicating the blue wristband above Jackson's new leather band that Jackson hadn't taken off and then his own dark blue bracelet.

"You're ridiculous," said Danny, casually showing off his dark brown and green hemp bracelet that Stiles had adorned with a carved piece of abalone shell to honour Danny's Hawaiian heritage.

Heather eyed all of the bracelets, finally turning her attention to her own rather plain wristband. "Huh. Are those a thing in your group?"

"A pretty big thing," Isaac confirmed with a shrug. "Erica, Boyd, Stiles, and I also got varsity jackets but we haven't worn them in a while."

"We should go bowling again soon and show them off," Erica decided. "We had so much fun last time." She beamed at Heather. "You can come, too!"

Heather beamed back. "I will!"

"Can we eat now, or what?" Jackson asked grumpily. "I was promised burgers if I put up with this."

"Sure. It's my treat so go wild," Stiles said. "Whatever you want."

Heather sat back in shock. "Really? Do you have that much money? I don't mind paying my own way."

"Yup," Stiles replied, not elaborating. "I'm down for the Big Bacon Baby."

"Ooh, I want that too," Erica decided. "With extra pineapple."

"You sickos," Jackson said. "How can you eat that crap in this heat?"

Lydia poked him in the side and Danny only laughed. Their table was easily the loudest but thankfully not many people had chosen to sit inside in this weather. After some good-natured ribbing, they gave their huge order to the bemused waitress and then when the food had been brought, the werewolves further amazed Heather with their voracious appetite.

"I can't believe that you all just … demolished all that food," she stammered, half of her fries still uneaten. "How?"

"That's not even the worst of it," Lydia sniffed. "None of them will ever get fat. It's utterly unfair."

"Well, I'd love to be in on that secret," Heather said, still goggling at the empty plates. "Don't take it the wrong way, but I plan on ogling you all thoroughly in your swimwear. Seriously, it's the least I can do in the presence of so many good genes."

Stiles was so proud of his childhood friend for taking it all in stride so far. The guys were more amused than anything at her frankness and Stiles figured that he and Erica had done a good job paving the way.

Now we only need to also have a great time at the lake and I'll officially be able to call this summer a success, Stiles thought, warm all over with satisfaction.

End of chapter 83