Another chapter! Have fun!
When Stiles finally has calmed Allison down, he drags the others with him to go home. They are in need of a serious puppy pile, and he isn't going to let them go tonight for anything.
After finally reaching the Stilinski home Stiles quickly orders pizza for the pack and then guides them to his bedroom, where everybody shuffles around until they are in their sleepwear. Stiles starts up a comfort movie, so no, Lydia, we are not watching the Notebook. And after another ten minutes, the pizza arrives.
Stiles makes sure everybody eats and drinks enough, and Lydia is the first to drift off. Jackson holds onto her. He hasn't said anything after finding out Peter is his father, but Stiles didn't really expect him to. Jackson needs to process this first. Thankfully he has Lydia and Danny, and Stiles and Allison, of course. Danny is now the big spoon to Jackson while Jackson has Lydia in his arms.
Stiles turns his head to look at Allison, she is also still silent, and Stiles worries about her. When Allison catches him looking, she smiles at him, then she lies down next to him and snuggles into his side. Stiles places a kiss on the top of her head and feels good when she sighs and tightens her grip. He has his arms around her and feels it when she relaxes and falls asleep. Soon Jackson and Danny also drift off, and Stiles is the only one awake.
He hears his dad come home and waits until his dad will open the bedroom door to check on them. After about twenty minutes, his dad does as expected, and the door opens.
He seems surprised that Stiles is still awake but shakes his head fondly.
"Everything alright?" He whispers at Stiles, just barely loud enough for Stiles to hear, but he does.
"No, did you feel the bonds today?"
"A little, but I'm not really good with it, kiddo." His dad sighs.
"Not a problem, dad. I will tell you in the morning, okay?"
"Yes, I will make pancakes."
"Awesome, your pancakes are the best."
"I know," His dad simply smirks before wishing Stiles goodnight and closing the door.
Stiles stays awake for some time but finally drifts off, curled around Allison with Danny at his back.
Stiles doesn't know why, but for some reason, he doesn't feel the same the next time they go to Griselda. The shop seems less bright, and the cookies even taste a little weird. He can feel the confusion coming from his pack, and he doubts telling Griselda about what happened with the Nemeton. They finally only tell her that the wards took and that they should work.
"Good work, Mieczy. I'm proud of you. How is the other training going? You know what I always say-" "Always have a backup plan," They all echo, smiling at her and taking another cookie.
The pack is getting really good at working together, and Stiles feels confident that they will be better if something will happen. It won't be a repeat like with the Alpha and Witch, even if they did win that fight.
The training they are doing is good. They work well together, and Stiles trained Danny's and Jackson's senses as much as possible. They are getting pretty good with their noses and ears. Jackson's Kanima side is a surprise, he can even pick up hidden scents.
After leaving Griselda's for the day, they decide to go to the woods for target training and hand-to-hand combat training. All the training is making Stiles more defined with muscles, and he doesn't feel shy anymore to pull off his shirt, especially not in front of Allison, who always winks at him as soon as his shirt comes off.
Allison has trained them in the crossbow, but the only one really good at it is Lydia. Danny and Jackson can both shoot now with crossbow and gun, but the noises make them flinch, so they rather stick to hand-to-hand combat with knives and their own claws. The knives are coated with wolfsbane, and they will only use them if they are getting a disadvantage while fighting with a were. The handles are protected, so they don't burn themselves. Well, that's more for Danny than Jackson because Jackson can handle a lot of the wolfsbane. Yeah, they have tested it a little. Jackson agreed! So it was purely for research value.
Lydia can put glamors on herself now and is getting freakily good at sneaking up on everybody in the pack. During training, this is good because you can never let your guard down.
Stiles is getting stronger physically but also magically. The Nemeton is glad about his progress every time they visit. He feels a little like a little boy showing his report card to his grandparents, and they tell him that he has been a very smart boy. It's a lot of weird. But still, he feels very pleased about it.
Stiles still hasn't heard anything from Scott, which is getting a little worrying. He does know he's fine. His dad still talks with Melissa, even more since they told him that Melissa knows about the supernatural. His dad needed someone to vent to, and a grown-up and Stiles can understand that. And Melissa promised not to tell Scott about the pack until he would contact them so Stiles could explain it to him himself.
He's shaken out of his thoughts when his magic registers an intruder at the wards. The whole pack is at attention and ready to go. Stiles uses a couple of hand gestures, and they start the run towards where the intruder is. Lydia and Allison stay back to be a last line of defense, Lydia with a glamor and Allison with a gun or crossbow. They stay out of sight until being told by Stiles that they're needed.
Stiles follows his magic to where the ward is breached. While Danny and Jackson follow him, they let him know that it's a werewolf from what they hear and smell.
Stiles sees a man on his knees looking at the edge of the ward with a curious expression. He hasn't noticed Stiles, Danny, and Jackson yet.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Stiles says, directly coming to the point.
The man startles and turns around with a snarl. His eyes flash blue, and Stiles can see in how the man is holding himself that he's almost feral. This is the first time they need to protect themselves since they have the wards. Because of the hours of training they have done, they know exactly what to expect from each other.
Without further words, the man flings himself at Stiles, Danny, and Jackson. But Jackson already anticipated him and intercepted. The man struggles, but Danny helps Jackson by holding him down.
Stiles hovers over the man while Jackson and Danny pin him to the ground. The man is trashing and snarls at them, but when Stiles flashes his eyes, it tethers off to pitiful whining. After the attack on Danny, he found out that he can make his eyes flash red like an Alpha. His eyes already flashed purple and green when he used magic, but red was new. He doesn't use it, but with a feral Omega, it feels needed.
"What are you doing here?"
"Hungry-food-" The man rasps out in a voice in which it's clear that it hasn't been used for some time. His clothes are hanging on his frame. He's dirty, his eyes are gaunt, and his blonde hair is clothed with mud and probably blood, at least that is what Stiles thinks.
Stiles flashes his eyes again, and the feral wolf whimpers. "What did you eat before you came here?" Stiles asks, using his Alpha voice to command the wolf, already suspecting that the wolf didn't only eat burgers or something.
The man tries to snarl, but one glare from Stiles has him whimpering again. "Sorry, Alpha." He whimpers pitifully.
"Don't let me repeat myself," Stiles says harshly, knowing that the longer they are out there, the more chance they have with Derek or someone from his pack finding out about them.
"Kidney - lung - blood-" The man pants out, almost foaming at the mouth with how delirious he sounds.
''Human or not human?'' Stiles sneers. The feral werewolf whimpers again before mumbling a soft, "human."
Stiles snaps his fingers, holding the feral werewolf against the ground with his magic. Stiles has made a decision. This wolf isn't going to hurt anyone else. Not anymore. He always knew he was more in the grey area with his moral compass, never the white side like Scott. Stiles knew that he couldn't bring the wolf back from this. He already tasted humans. He needed to be put down. And better at the hand of Stiles's pack, then at the hands of hunters like Gerard. Who would've played with them first.
"Jacks, Danny, if you don't want to see this, go back to Ally and Lydia,"
They both stay there looking stubbornly at Stiles. Stiles is secretly glad that he doesn't have to face this alone. He reaches back for his gun that is in the back of his jeans and pulls the safety off. The wolf tries to escape and whines loudly, making Stiles snap his fingers again to silence him. He feels like he's on the edge of something, and he doesn't know if he can come back from it once he does this. It's necessary, but that doesn't mean he likes it.
He won't use his magic for the kill, but he knows that this wolf can't be saved. A hand lands on his shoulder, and he doesn't even flinch. He had felt her coming from a mile away through the bonds. Allison squeezes his shoulder in solidarity, and before Stiles can hesitate, he pulls the trigger. With one clean shot, he shoots the Omega between the eyes, Stiles sees the moment the Omega dies, and his eyes turn dull. The shot echoes through the forest, and a flock of birds sets off.
Stiles slowly bends down before closing the Omega's eyes and touching the wolf's forehead. With a simple spell, the body goes up in flames. Within minutes there is nothing but ash. Stiles fishes out the bullet he used from the ash and sends a gust of wind to scatter the ashes.
Then he turns back to the pack, who are watching all of it with resignation written on their faces. Allison is the first one to shake it off. She steps forward and cups Stiles' cheeks before pressing a kiss to his forehead. Lydia hugs him tightly, as does Danny and Jackson.
"You did what needed to be done. Don't doubt that, Stiles." Allison says, and he knows she's right. Even if a bitter thought shoots through him for a moment that a hunter would think that. He isn't a hunter. He's an Alpha. He only does this to keep the people in this town safe. To keep his pack safe, to keep his dad safe.
"We will stand with you, Alpha," Lydia says. Danny and Jackson both nod in agreement.
"I want to say I wish we were just normal teenagers, but I don't wish that. I like being supernatural. I love you guys. I just wished that we didn't have to kill to protect."
Allison lays her head on his shoulder, and they walk back to the training ground in silence, nobody really wants to train anymore, and soon they are packed up and ready to go home.
When Stiles parks the jeep at the house, he starts to shake, the stuff that happened earlier catching up to him. He barely registers it when the others leave the jeep. He keeps seated for a long time until his dad opens the driver's door and guides him inside to his room.
The pack is already gathered there, and they all touch him for comfort. Then his dad starts to talk.
"The first time I shot someone, I had been in a high-speed chase after some drug dealer broke into a gas station and killed the clerk. He almost got away, we shot his tires, and the car flipped. He climbed out and started to run. We followed him, me, and my partner, and when he was cornered, he reached inside his jacket. We both thought it was a gun and shot."
The pack is all listening to John's every word, and Stiles feels himself relax a little under his father's voice.
"He went down hard. When the paramedics arrived, he was declared dead, and the thing he wanted to take from his jacket was a photograph. Of him with a woman and small girl. We never knew what he wanted to do with the photo while being cornered by two deputies, but it felt wrong, even if we knew it was a bad man."
His dad then strokes Stiles's head a little with tears in his eyes.
"I know you do this to protect others, and I'm proud of you." His dad then stands and leaves the room.
It soothes Stiles a little that his dad doesn't judge what he's done. His dad understands that this isn't something the regular police could solve and that this is the reason why hunters exist. Yeah, he wishes that Stiles didn't have to be the one pulling the trigger, but he's the Alpha.
And he doesn't wish it on anybody from his own pack, even if it's probably inevitable.
The weeks after the Omega are crazy. It's almost as if a dam has broken since then because they get so many creatures that it's absurd in the next two weeks.
Thankfully nobody gets seriously hurt. Jackson's shoulder dislocates after a troll tried to rip out his arm, but Lydia used her scream, and the troll just fell down crying while holding his bleeding ears. It was enough for Allison to put him to rest with a couple of well-aimed shots.
Danny got poisoned, but it was with a love song from a siren, who was a woman, so it was pretty funny to see her face when Danny told her that it wouldn't work because she didn't have the right equipment. Then Stiles banished her from the town, and she went pretty fast, reeling with the fact that Beacon Hills had his own Mage.
The pixies were the funniest by far. Nasty little assholes, but funny, they took great joy in trying to trick the pack, but they only succeeded in taking the left shoes of the pack, to the great dismay of Lydia. And tangling their hair, which was far worse for Lydia and Allison than it was for the boys.
But they got rid of them with a little milk and bread, which was kind of hilarious.
School would start in about a week, and the pack was inseparable. Stiles loved that he had this many friends. Since he only had Scott while growing up, he still missed Scott, but Scott didn't respond to any of his messages. It was pretty devastating for Stiles, but he tried to ignore it and enjoy his pack.
They were now walking through the Preserve to go to the Nemeton. They did this every week, trying to find out more secrets. Stiles had Danny keep an eye out for any of the Argents, while Allison had interrogated her father about them. Chris had been amazed that they were still alive, and they believed him when he told them that he didn't know anything and would stand with them, Danny and Jackson didn't hear any lies, and he was pretty afraid of losing Allison. Because Allison made it very clear that if her father was working with Gerard or Kate, she would move in with the Sheriff, which was fine with Stiles. And it wouldn't be such a transition because the whole pack stays together almost all of the time.
Jackson decided that he didn't want to confront Peter just yet, so they won't be doing that until he wanted to. They didn't hear anything from the Alpha pack, no members leaving the wards or entering. So that was pretty weird. They had expected at least something.
"Hey, Nem, missed us?" Stiles said as soon as they walked into the clearing. He shook off a shiver when he felt the magic of the Nemeton wash over him.
The Nemeton doesn't actually respond with words, but it does send a feeling to him, which he appreciated. He touched the surface of the Nemeton, sending his magic into the stump, they could see the growth that started in the middle, and it excited the whole pack that the tree finally was growing again.
He hums when he feels Lydia join in with her own magic. He opens his eyes and smiles at his packmate. They keep giving the Nemeton their magic for about half an hour, then Lydia goes over to Jackson, and Stiles just takes a seat in the grass in front of the Nemeton. It hadn't exactly shared another memory or secret with them, but Stiles felt like something was blocking the Nemeton. As if he wanted to share so much more but was being held back.
It's calm in the clearing, and he revels in the silence.
"What are you doing!?" A screech interrupts them. Stiles whirls around to see Griselda standing at the edge of the clearing with big eyes, well, bigger than usual.
"Griselda, what are you doing here?" Stiles asks warily, not liking the fact that she is suddenly here. Why didn't he feel her coming?
"I-I, oh, bloody hell, you shouldn't have done this, Mieczy." She snarls, and Stiles is taken aback a little by her vehemence.
"Done what? Regrowing the Nemeton? Why, Griselda? What is wrong with that?"
"It doesn't matter, not anymore," She mutters before throwing a barrier around the Nemeton and Stiles. He pushes against the barrier, but he can't push through it. Jackson and Danny start to growl and attack Griselda, but she blasts them away without effort. Stiles can't see where they landed, and he can feel some pain come through the bond, nothing too bad, but still worrying. Allison takes aim, as does Lydia with her own gun, but Griselda throws a pouch with something to them, and they dive away as soon as it hits the ground. It explodes in a flurry of red dust, and Stiles snarls. Nobody harms his pack!
He rolls his shoulders before taking a step back onto the flat surface of the Nemeton. He feels the power of the Nemeton flow through him, even if it's weakened because the Nemeton is not in his old state yet. It feels powerful enough.
Stiles closes his eyes and makes the connection with the Nemeton, he feels the fabric of his shirt fall away, and the faint smell of burning hits his nose.
"Let them go." His voice booms through the clearing. It sounds almost like twenty people are talking at once while it's still Stiles's voice. He opens his eyes to glare at the witch, who is frantic. She is scratching at her scalp and grinning like a maniac.
"No! No! I've worked hard for this! I deserve this!" Griselda shrieks.
"You poisoned them, made them believe that you were pure of heart." Stiles is certain now that the Nemeton is using him to speak, but he doesn't mind. He feels fury run through him by the thought Griselda used them and poisoned them.
"I made them trust me! I deserve the power of the boy!"
"You deserve nothing." Stiles spits out. He closes his eyes again and steps off the Nemeton. With the extra power boost he got from the Nemeton, he flings away the barrier Griselda had cast without effort.
"You want my powers? Come and get me." Stiles then taunted, wanting Griselda away from his pack. He sends reassurances through the bond and sprints into the Preserve.
Griselda is on his heels, and she is uprooting trees to make Stiles trip or be squashed. Both are possibilities.
His pack knows to follow him at a safe distance, and Stiles knows they will have his back. He's immensely glad that he didn't share with Griselda how they trained and which tactics they were using. Stiles jumps with the aid of his magic over a small river, landing harshly on the other side. He looks back and sees that Griselda is toppling a tree to get to the other side. He quickly spins around again and starts running again.
He barely ducks aside on time when she starts flinging fire blasts.
"Stiles-Mieczy! Come to granny!" Griselda cackles when she almost hits him with another blast. She sounds freaking creepy, and Stiles shivers. Her true colors are finally shining through.
"Jesus, Griselda." Stiles pants. He quickly deflects another fire blast with a simple faint maneuver he learned from Jackson. He can feel his pack come closer, but he doesn't want them to get hurt.
"Stiles, you are ripe for the picking. You've got no idea how much I wanted to do this and how hard it was for me to wait,"
"Iew gross, dude. I saw you as some cool grandma."
He ducks behind a tree and snarls when he sees red eyes focused on him. He let his guard down, and he didn't feel Derek and his pack coming, and for God's sake. Scott is there too.
"Go away, Sourwolf. This isn't your fight." He hisses.
"Shut up, Stiles."
"Eloquent." He snarks before a blast shakes his tree. He feels his eyes glow purple and ignores the gasps he hears from Derek and his pack. He gathers his spark in his hands, and with a snap of his fingers, he appears behind Griselda in the clearing again. He hears Derek's pack bursting through the underbrush. Griselda hasn't noticed Stiles yet, and he is ready to strike when Scott starts shouting.
"Don't kill her! This isn't you, Stiles!"
Griselda whips around, and Stiles is thrown in the air and flies against a tree. He groans before feeling Jackson and Danny next to him. They help him up, and Jackson quickly takes some pain until Stiles pushes him away so he doesn't get woozy. Stupid werewolf mojo. Great for pain relief, not great for not feeling drugged out of his mind.
"Awh, is this the big bad Alpha you told me about, Stiles?" Griselda taunts while looking Derek up and down. Derek lets out a growl.
Stiles glares at her and bares his teeth. He knows he looks almost feral. But this bitch wants to steal his powers, and there is only one way of doing that. Killing him.
Derek roars at her and advances, but she simply stops him with the flick of her wrist. He crashes against Scott and Isaac. Erica and Boyd are growling and, in their Beta shift, readying themselves for an attack. Stiles can't let that happen. They are no match for Griselda.
"Leave them alone." He bellows at Griselda, who turns around with a feral smirk.
"Make me, Mieczy." She taunts, and he snarls again, he feels his magic in his hands, and when he glances down, he sees that his hands are on fire. It doesn't hurt him, so he doesn't panic. This is the first time this has happened. Yes, he could do fire magic, but not like this. He sees a flash of panic shoot through Griselda, but she schools it fast and snarls at him.
"Stiles! Stop!" Derek growls, and it almost sounds like he is afraid of what happens with Stiles, but Stiles knows better.
"Shut up, Derek." Stiles then snaps his fingers, and Derek's pack is frozen to the ground. They can't move until Stiles allows them. They all growl in frustration, but Stiles won't relent.
"Where do you want us, Alpha?" Jackson asks. Stiles knows he calls Stiles Alpha on purpose, probably to shock Derek's pack and Scott. Normally he only calls Stiles Alpha on the full moon or when he needs comfort.
"Watch my back, but keep to the edges. I don't want you to get hurt," Stiles states before strolling forward again towards Griselda.
She cackles again as if everything Stiles does is freaking funny. Stiles sneers in response. His hands are still on fire and his eyes blazing purple.
"Stiles! No!" Scott and Derek both shout.
"I said shut up!" Stiles growls, and he snaps his fingers again, making sure that the idiots don't say anything else or distract him.
"You know this will cost you-" Griselda smirks. And yes, Stiles knows, holding Derek's pack like this costs him too much magic, but he needs them safe and silent. "-They just think that they are protecting you, but they have no idea, do they?"
"Griselda, this is between you and me-" Stiles tries, but it's too late.
The grin she gives him is only to describe as shit-eating. And before he can stop her, she barrels on.
"They don't know that you're magic, they don't know that you're a Mage, they probably don't even know that it was you that kept the town safe. They don't know that you have a little pack for yourself. With a huntress, hybrid werewolf, a banshee, and a regular werewolf." She spits out, and Stiles closes his eyes briefly. Because no, they didn't know. And they wouldn't have known if Griselda would just shut her freaking mouth. He doesn't dare look at Derek's pack and Scott. He doesn't want to see the shock or outrage.
"What do you want, Griselda?" Stiles says with an exasperated sigh. He already has cast a protective shield around Derek's pack, so they're safe. It costs him too much magic, so they need the backup plan to get rid of her.
Jackson is behind him with Danny. He knows that Jackson's eyes are glowing blue while Danny's eyes are shining gold in response. He can almost feel the shock coming off Derek's pack.
"I want your power, Stiles. I want your youth, I want you." She gushes with a manic grin.
"Still sounds creepy as fuck." He retorts snarkily. He was barely repressing a shiver. This was his mentor for the last couple of months, and here she is now, crazy and feral, waiting to strike so she can kill Stiles. He ate her goddamn cookies!
She snarls and throws another fireball at him. Stiles can see the panicked look on the faces of Derek and his pack, but Stiles simply catches the fireball as if it was a regular baseball. Griselda shrieks.
Stiles rolls his eyes before squeezing his fist around the ball to demolish the flames. His eyes burn with his rage. He feels that Allison and Lydia are in place, so just another couple of seconds, and it's done.
"You made a couple of mistakes, Griselda." Stiles starts, knowing that he needs to make sure everybody is safe and out of the blasting zone. He begins to saunter to the other side of the clearing. Griselda shows her rotten teeth in a manic grin but circles with him, wanting to keep the same distance between them, exactly what Stiles was hoping for.
"And what is that, Mage?" She spits out. Just a little further, just a couple of feet, he thinks to himself.
"You trained me too well, and I listened, like you always said, 'Don't only trust your magic, always have a backup plan.'"
He then gives a two-finger salute, the sign he has trained with his pack, and before Griselda can react, two shots are heard in the clearing. Blue blood starts spilling out of Griselda's mouth before she coughs and falls to her knees. Her eyes are wide and focused on Stiles.
Stiles sits on his haunches in front of her, so he's on eye level with her. He braces himself for the impact this will have, and he sees that Jackson and Danny are already moving out of the blasting zone.
"It's pretty stupid that people keep underestimating me. You should've known better-" Lydia screams in the distance, and Stiles knows it's time. He throws up another shield, but this one only around him and Griselda. Because if anyone is getting that bitch's magic, it's him. It's going to hurt like a motherfucker, but he isn't going to back down. He only knows it will hurt because of what Griselda told him, and after reading about it in a couple of books.
The magic blasts out of Griselda the moment she dies, and even when Stiles braces himself, he's thrown back a couple of feet. He bites down and sets his jaw, trying to breathe through the pain, but then he starts screaming when it becomes too much for a moment. He doesn't know how long it takes, but when he blinks his eyes open again, he sees Jackson's blue eyes and worried expression hovering above him.
"Hey Jacks, how long?" He asks in a scratchy voice.
"Just two minutes." His beta responds.
"Awesome. Help me up." Stiles says while making grabby hands. Jackson rolls his eyes but helps him up. Stiles can't help the groan that escapes him. Everything is sore, but he can feel his magic healing him bit by bit. The ache will be gone before he knows it.
He shakes his head when he stands and clasps a hand on Jackson's neck before resting his head against Jackson's for a moment. Then he turns and does the same with Danny. Checking them both quickly with his magic, but they're fine. Allison and Lydia walk into the clearing like the deadly duo they are, two badass women that will kill for the people they love. Just like Stiles would do the same.
He opens his arms, and Allison is the first one to duck in for a hug and a kiss on the side of her head. He wants to do so much more to her, but he settles for a hug and a kiss on the head. Then Lydia is there punching his arm first before almost crushing his ribs in the tight hold she has.
"Everybody okay?" He then asks, even if he knows they're fine physically, it doesn't mean that it's the same mentally. He roams his eyes over Allison and Lydia. They have just shot the witch who made them cookies for the last couple of months. Who trained them and was an extra grandmother for all of them.
"I still can't believe she betrayed you like this," Allison replies with a sneer aimed at the corpse in the middle.
"People do stupid things for power." Stiles hums, but he feels heartbroken, he really trusted her, and yes, he did notice some weird things with her, but for her trying to kill him was not something he fully expected. He now thinks that she used the cookies to have some kind of influence on them. The Nemeton said that she poisoned them. He sneers in disgust at her corpse.
Stiles then turns to Derek's pack and Scott. They look shell-shocked and are watching on with wide eyes. Stiles sighs. He really didn't want to deal with this today. School will start next week. Couldn't this have waited until then?
He snaps his fingers, and they can speak and move again. They all start talking at once, well, everyone except Derek, who is just staring intently at Stiles.
"What the actual fuck?" ''Magic?!'' ''DAMN! That was awesome!" "Why didn't you tell us?"
Stiles holds up his hand, and he's surprised when they actually fall silent.
"I didn't tell you because you're Alpha-" He starts with a glare aimed at Derek. "-was clear that I'm not pack. Yes, I have magic. Yes, witches are real. Yes, you just saw a witch die. She has been my mentor since the start of the summer since I found out that I have magic."
Before anyone can ask anything about that, Scott starts talking. "Derek isn't mine Alpha. Why didn't you tell me?" Scott asks, sounding wounded and with his puppy eyes in full force.
And seriously? Does he think this is going to work? That asshole.
"Because you betrayed me, Scott, and then after that fact, you didn't even try to contact me. Since Jackson was saved, you haven't sent me a single message or responded to any of mine. Since the night I was tortured in Gerard Argent's basement." He snarls. Feeling not a bit guilty for the flinch he receives from Scott, Erica, and Boyd.
Derek whips his head around to Erica and Boyd, looking betrayed. Seriously? Stiles snorts. For some kind of reason, he expected this.
"Seriously? You didn't even tell Derek that you weren't alone there? Figures." He scoffs. He feels his magic shift under his skin. It is reacting to his anger. He is still adjusting to Griselda's magic, and he needs to calm down before he makes something explode.
He turns around and looks at his pack. The people he has grown incredibly close to the last couple of months.
"I'm running home. Jackson, Danny, keep an eye on the girls and the pack. Allison, can you call your dad to deal with the body? Lyds, I need some cloaking and-"
"And your magic is reacting to your emotions right now, I get it." She says before her eyes turn white. He feels the cloaking spell settle over him. He turns around and starts to run. Knowing his pack will be safe, and the body will be dealt with.
Now he needs to run because today was too emotional, and Stiles is nothing but in favor of ignoring his feelings or pushing them down. So running away is a good solution for now.
When Stiles finally returns to the house, he feels his pack in the living room, his dad is in the kitchen, and he could really use a good Stilinski hug. So he starts in the kitchen. His dad is puttering around and was clearly working on some cases because the files are all over the table.
"Hey, dad," Stiles croaks out. He may have had an almost panic attack in the middle of the woods after the events of today, and he may have shed a few tears.
His dad turns around, and his face softens when he takes in Stiles's state. He's still in jeans. His shirt was scorched off his torso back at the Nemeton, and the scraps on his body may have healed now, but the blood is still everywhere, as is the dirt from running and fighting through the woods.
"Oh, kiddo, come here." His dad says with his arms wide open. Stiles doesn't hesitate and seeks shelter in his dad's arms. Feeling like a little kid again, instead of the Alpha of a strong pack.
They keep standing like that for a couple of moments until Stiles pulls back to wipe his eyes. "Why, dad? Why are people like this? Why do some people only care about power?" He asks in a small voice. He can hear steps behind him and isn't surprised when Allison glues herself to Stiles's back with her arms around his waist.
His dad releases a deep sigh before talking. "Some people don't care about anything else, some people only want power to feel good about themselves, you use your pack, your friends and family to feel good, some people don't have that and don't care about that, they think they need power and -, and they hurt other people to get it." His dad sounds resigned like he isn't a stranger to these kinds of people. Stiles feels sympathy for his old man.
Stiles nods in response, it does make some sense, but that doesn't mean he likes it. He turns in Allison's arms to hug her properly. He hears his dad leave the kitchen to give them some privacy.
"Hey, are you okay?" He whispers in her hair. She shakes her head, and Stiles holds on tighter. "Me neither."
She lifts her head after a couple of minutes, and Stiles looks back in her intense brown eyes. He brushes some of her hair from her cheek behind her ear, and she leans into the touch.
She closes her eyes for a moment, and when she opens them again, Stiles sees the determination in them. Allison leans in, while still looking at Stiles's face as if searching for permission. Stiles was waiting for this moment ever since she told him about her feelings, hell, since he felt the feelings through the pack bond. When they went out to the Jungle the last couple of weeks, he didn't hook up with random guys or girls. He spent most of the time watching Allison having fun or dancing with her.
When they trained together, he was always aware of her, following her moves and repressing a shiver when she worked him against the ground. It was the most difficult when she was straddling him, but at first, he thought it was just lust that he felt, but it's more, the last month has been amazing, he had gotten to know her, really know her. He had fun with her and the pack and saw how much it hurt when they talked about Kate or Gerard. He felt her desperation when someone in the pack was hurt or when it didn't seem like they were winning. He felt her arms around him at night, and when someone in the pack woke with a nightmare, he witnessed her soothing abilities, her soft core that she won't show to strangers, only to those close to her. And he fell in love with her ruthlessness, she is the same as Stiles, and she will only spare the ones that deserve to be saved. She will do anything for the people she loves, and Stiles can relate to that a lot.
He closes the gap between them and pours his feelings into the kiss, cupping her face like she is made of glass, but Stiles knows better. She is the strongest one of them.
They pull back a little, and Stiles rests his forehead against hers. He likes it that she is almost the same height as he is.
"I don't want to only have fun with you, Stiles," She says into the silence, making Stiles ache with the sadness pouring off her.
"I know, Ally. I know, I would never ask that from you,"
"Then what do you want?" Allison asks while pulling back a little so she can look into Stiles' eyes.
He smiles at her, a soft smile that he knows she loves seeing. "I want you, Ally. I want to go on dates with you, I want to kiss you, I want to love you." He says honestly. The smile she gives him could light the entire room, and he revels in it. He's the one that made her smile like that. He's the one she trusts not to hurt her. He's the one that will be there for her whenever she needs it.
"I want that too," She replies softly.
"So, it's official now? Are you my girlfriend now?" Stiles says with barely contained glee. She laughs and darts in for another kiss. "Yes, I'm your girlfriend, now come on, the pack wants cuddles with their Alpha. But first, you need a shower,"
She then pushes him to the stairs so he can go shower. When he's clean and dressed again, she's waiting in his room and guides him to the living room, where the whole pack is lying on the floor with a couple of blankets. There is room in the middle for Stiles and Allison, and Stiles gives them a goofy smile in thanks.
Lydia, Jackson, Danny, and his dad start clapping when they see that Stiles and Allison are holding hands. "Finally! I thought it would never happen." His dad says with a beaming smile, making Stiles blush.
Lydia gets handed twenty dollars from Jackson and Danny. When she sees Stiles's incredulous look, she shrugs her shoulders and tosses her hair over her shoulder. "They thought it would happen two weeks ago. I bet them that it would happen when something bad would happen, and I was right, of course."
Stiles gets settled in the middle of the puppy pile, Allison leaning against him while seated between his legs. He scrunches up his nose and pushes Allison's hair to the side before putting his chin on her shoulder. She nuzzles the side of his head before dropping a kiss on his cheek.
"Of course, you were right. But I could've gone without the backstabbing witch, to be honest." Stiles drily responds. He hates how Lydia immediately falls silent.
"We could've all gone without that," She says while looking Stiles in the eye. He nods, as does the rest of the pack. They settle a little watching a movie.
It doesn't take long before everyone falls asleep in the living room, even his dad. The next couple of days, they mostly stay together, nobody addresses it, but they hated how Griselda fooled them and tried to kill Stiles.
They get as much comfort from each other as possible. The pack stays at the Stilinski home and trains in the backyard, not wanting to make the trip to the Preserve.
On day four after the battle, they are watching another movie in the evening when suddenly Jackson and Danny flash their eyes and growl at the front of the house.
"What's wrong, puppies?" Stiles whispers, already sending out his magic to feel around.
"Derek." They both respond. Allison looks at Stiles, and without speaking, they both stand and walk to the front door.
"Stay in the living room. He isn't here with bad intent." Stiles orders just before leaving the room with Ally. Jackson growls but accepts the order.
His dad grumbles from his own seat in the living room but also stays seated. Stiles flings the front door open and steps onto the porch with Allison on his heels. Derek is standing in the middle of the front yard, his hands in his jacket as if he's there for a casual chat. But Stiles knows better than that.
"Sourwolf, what can we do for you?" Stiles says with a sharp smirk aimed at the Alpha.
Derek flashes his red eyes, and Stiles is pretty sure that he would hear a growl if he had better hearing. Stiles wants to flash his own eyes back at the Alpha, but when he glances around to look if anybody of his neighbors pays them any mind, he sees a curtain ruffle, and it's enough for him to ask Derek inside. Derek seems startled for a moment before nodding stiffly and following Stiles and Allison back into the house.
He guides Derek to the kitchen before pouring a cup of coffee for himself.
"Do you want some?" He asks Derek.
"Yes, please, two sugars." Derek grits out the please, but it's clear that there are some manners beaten into the Alpha.
When Allison, Stiles, and Derek are seated around the table, it's awkward. So Stiles starts talking.
"Let me guess. You came to ask for the story behind all of the shit that happened a couple of days ago?" Stiles doesn't give him any time to respond because he just starts talking again. "Or are you here to threaten me because I'm another Alpha? Or are you here to threaten my pack? Because buddy, I'm going to be very clear to you, you ain't got shit to threaten me with, and I lash out pretty badly if needed." Stiles says while bearing his teeth. It's a lot like a wolf, but Stiles doesn't care. To his surprise, Derek doesn't really react.
He eyes Stiles for a moment before swiping his eyes over Allison. Stiles feels a little heat stir inside him. He almost wants to throw Allison on the table and kiss her breathless, just so Derek can watch. But he shakes the thoughts off. He isn't a possessive asshole, well, not all the time. He also feels a little turned on by the idea of someone watching him with Allison, but he shakes it off. Bad Stiles. Not the time.
"I'm here to make an alliance between us. It's clear that you have your pack under control and well trained. I worked the whole summer with my three betas, and we are better than we were," Derek looks a little pained to talk this much but also pretty proud when he talks about his betas, and it melts Stiles' heart a little. But his anger is still his first emotion when it comes to Derek.
"I'm willing to negotiate an alliance at some point, Derek. But only if you first apologize to me. You kicked me out, accused me of something terrible, and now you find out I'm powerful with my own pack, you come asking for an alliance? You do know how shitty that sounds, right? You heard today what really happened in that basement all those weeks ago, I think I deserve a fucking apology." Stiles spits out.
Derek seems at a loss and shocked by Stiles' vehemence. Allison reaches out and takes Stiles's hand. She squeezes it, and Stiles lifts it to his mouth to drop a kiss on it. She immediately calms him down. It's a soft gesture, and from the look on Derek's face, he knows what it means.
"You're right. I should apologize. I truly thought for a moment back then that you worked with Gerard Argent." Derek glances at Allison when he spits out Gerard's name, but she doesn't even flinch. "I was wrong to treat you like I did, and I'm sorry for that. I hope that we can still make some kind of truce. And Stiles, I know you probably won't believe me, but I didn't come here to ask for an alliance with you because you're powerful. I came here because I'm worried. About you, and about your pack, there-there is a threat in town." Derek grounds out with a grimace.
"Jacks?" Stiles says, barely raising his voice. Jackson immediately shows up in the kitchen and takes a seat on Stiles's right. "He's telling the truth." Jackson simply states, and Stiles loves that he has this kind of relationship with Jackson. Jackson knows almost immediately what he needs or thinks. Jackson is still Danny's best friend and vice versa, but Stiles is also close to both of them. It's the reason that Jackson is his right hand in the pack.
Stiles nods at Jackson in thanks and turns back to Derek. Derek looks as if he's amused about how they work together, but Stiles doesn't mind. He doesn't think that Derek has much fun in his life.
"Thank you for your truth, Alpha Hale, I will talk about it with my pack, but I think an alliance is possible if you could work with the Argent's Matriarch, of course," Stiles replies, sounding more official, because dammit, he wants to do this right! And he believes Derek's apology, and because he knows it's a good idea to work together.
Derek blinks a couple of times before smiling at them, a real fucking smile. Stiles is taken aback and pretty sure that his heart tripped in his chest for a moment. He also feels Allison's feelings about the smile and is surprised but doesn't feel jealous at all. She also feels a little shame for feeling like that, but Stiles soothes her by rubbing his thumb over her hand.
Jackson rolls his eyes but keeps silent, and the tips of Derek's ears turn a little pink. Clearly, he picked up on the change in the room, and he was not expecting this at all, which is fair.
"Thank you, Alpha Stilinski. I'm looking forward to hearing from you with the verdict. I can work with the Argent Matriarch, as long as she keeps the promise she made to us a couple of weeks ago. As for the threat, I would feel better to let you know about it already, even before we have made a truce.''
"It's Alpha Genim. But go on,"
Derek frowns and then sighs. "Of course, you're Alpha Genim, I wanted to tell you about the Alpha pack, but it seems like you already know of them."
Stiles scrunches up his nose in annoyance. The witch and Alpha still told the Alpha pack about him.
"Yeah, one of the Alpha's bit Danny on the full moon, not the last one, but the one before that." Stiles seethes. Danny promptly walks into the kitchen and stands behind Stiles with his hands on Stiles's shoulders. Then Lydia also walks in, and Stiles rolls his eyes. His pack is too stubborn for their own good.
"I'm surprised that Danny could resist the Alpha's call and that you came out of the encounter alive," Derek says with raised eyebrows. Stiles is pretty impressed because this is the most he had heard Derek talk since they know each other. He is also surprised that Derek decided to come alone instead of with his left or right hand.
"He was already bonded to me,"
"When he was human? That-I've never heard of that." Derek replies, making Stiles' whole pack smirk at him.
"Well, what can I say? I'm special," Stiles says, earning a slap on the back of his head from Lydia, which evolves in a round of laughter when he looks at her with a pout.
"We came out of it alive because of Jackson and Stiles. They saved me." Danny says when they fall silent for a moment. Derek nods, and Stiles thinks he sees something akin to respect, but he doesn't dare to overthink it.
"Was what the witch said today true? That you have a banshee, a hybrid werewolf, and that you're a mage?"
"Yes, it's all true, she wanted to rattle you, and out us, we kept it silent for the whole summer. The only other people who know are my dad and Melissa, but Mellisa doesn't know everything."
"Even Scott doesn't know?" Derek asks incredulously.
"No, I haven't spoken or seen Scott the whole summer."
"That-that's pretty weird. Isaac told me that he has seen Scott at work, but if Isaac asks to hang out. Scott always blows him off, but he also doesn't turn feral at all. I thought that he had you or Allison to ground him, but now I'm not sure."
"He has ignored all my attempts of contacting him, and when Allison went to talk to him to apologize, he said some shit. She didn't want him back as a boyfriend, but he also blew being friends completely out of the water, which surprised me too when I heard. But he was with you earlier today, right?"
"Yes, but that was because I called Isaac, who was working at Deaton's. When Isaac told Deaton that something was happening in the middle of the woods, Deaton ordered Scott to go with Isaac."
Stiles nods in understanding but is seriously confused. What is happening with Scott? He doesn't think that Scott has only been working for Deaton the whole summer. What did he do the rest of it? Stiles hasn't seen him anywhere.
"He seemed pretty normal to me, but I didn't really talk to him because I was pretty angry," Stiles admits while scratching the back of his head.
"We also didn't speak to him when we waited for my dad to show up. But Scott was also gone before my dad was there." Allison says with a frown.
"I will ask Isaac to keep an eye on him at work. Monday school will start for you again, so maybe it will be possible for you to check on him." Derek proposes, Stiles nods in agreement. Now he knows that Scott is acting this strange. He feels a little fearful for his best friend. What if something is seriously wrong? Melissa told his dad that everything seemed fine with Scott, but maybe he acted like everything was fine for his mother?
Derek is starting to stand, and Stiles is pretty sure that he's going to leave. But Stiles isn't ready yet. He can feel Derek's seriousness about an alliance. And Stiles knows it will be a good step for both of them.
"Jackson, right hand of the Genim pack, what are your thoughts about joining the Hale pack for an alliance?"
Jackson looks to be thoughtful for a moment before responding. "I agree that it's the right move. Especially with the Alpha pack coming to town."
"Danny, same question." Stiles keeps his eyes on Derek, who is looking back at Stiles with a surprised expression.
"I agree with Jackson."
"Lyds?"
"I agree, but I think training together is a must. Otherwise, we will fail."
"Of course, my Queen. I think that Derek would agree with that." Derek simply nods, and then they both turn to Allison.
"Allison, as Matriarch and left hand of the Genim pack, what is your opinion?"
She looks Derek in the eyes before responding. "If Alpha Hale could find it in himself to try and trust me, I would love to have an alliance with him. With my clan and with the Genim pack."
Derek swallows heavily under Allison's stare but still responds. "It will take time. The Argents has caused a lot of pain to my old and new pack. But it's clear that Alpha Genim trusts you, and that's good enough for me."
Stiles is pleased with Derek's response and then hollers for his father. "Yoo! Dad! For official pack business, do you agree to an alliance with the Hale pack?"
"For crying out loud, kid-'' His dad starts to grumble. ''-Yeah, but tell Derek that if he hurts you again, I will get some wolfsbane bullets from Chris!"
The pack laughs at his dad's response, and even Derek smiles. Stiles then stands, as does Derek. They look each other in the eyes, and Stiles can feel the magical tension between them. He reaches out his hand, and Derek clasps it with his own.
"I, Alpha Genim, hereby declare an official alliance between my pack and the Hale pack. May we work together without conflict and pain."
"I, Alpha Derek Hale, hereby declare an official alliance between my pack and the Genim pack. May we work together without conflict and pain."
Derek and Stiles both gasp when they feel the small bond form between them.
"It kind of feels like a pack bond," Stiles says while rubbing his chest with a smile aimed at Derek. Derek gives him an incredulous look. "You have pack bonds?"
"Yeah, with all of my betas and my dad, he's in the pack but doesn't fight with us because he's human, and he should have plausible deniability," Stiles says with a shrug.
Derek looks pained but visibly shakes himself. "I-I haven't bonded with my betas."
Stiles smiles softly at Derek, and he feels a sad kind of pride come through the bonds from his pack mates.
''Dude, that isn't that strange. You need to trust them as much as they trust you. That was the case with all of my bonds. And you have some serious trust issues. Not that anyone blames you!'' Stiles quickly says when he sees Derek's eyebrows scowl at him. When did eyebrows become this expressive? ''You've had a lot of shit happening to you, Derek. I'm going to be honest with you because you deserve that, but Griselda, the witch that died today, told us about you, some stuff that is pretty personal and we didn't know about. That's when the first red flag was registered with us about her.''
Derek shakes his head before rubbing his face with his hands. ''Figures. I don't want to know.'' Stiles can see Derek's hackles rise, and he feels sorry for the Alpha.
"Fair enough. Just know that we don't think any less of you. I even felt more respect for you when I found out. But I was still angry, so-" Stiles ends the sentence with a blush and a shrug.
Derek looks a little cautious but nods after a couple of moments of silence.
"Well! Before I'm going to make it any more awkward, I think it's a good time to go to bed.'' He says while clapping his hands.
His pack starts touching him for comfort, and when Stiles smiles at them and glances at Derek, he sees a face full of longing. It shocks Stiles a little, but he doesn't let it show.
Derek tells them goodnight, and before he leaves, they make plans to train together the following Saturday.
The pack all crawl into Stiles's bed, and he falls almost asleep immediately with Allison as his little spoon. Just before he drifts off, he can hear the howl of a wolf. Three other howls join the first one just moments later, and he drifts to sleep with the Hale pack in his mind.