Multiple points of view in this chapter!
And a little action, just a smidge!
Derek's POV;
''STILES!'' Derek screams as soon as Stiles starts to cough. He wants to reach for him, but he still has a struggling Alpha beneath him. He bashes the woman's skull on the hard tiles until she blacks out from the force of it.
He scrambles up only to see Stiles's eyes go completely white. Stiles is looking at him, but he doubts Stiles is seeing him. Scott is sobbing and chanting ''No, no, no,'' in the background. Derek is torn for a moment who he should be helping first. Scott is clearly being hurt, but Stiles is now out cold!
''Your magic is going to be extraordinary when I'm done with you,'' Deucalion says in awe while cupping Stiles's cheek. And Derek snaps. He can't have that. He will not have Deucalion take Stiles! He fears for what Deucalion can do to him. The stories that he heard about the Demon Wolf can be vomit-inducing.
Stiles collapses onto the floor, and his eyes close. It's that Derek can still hear his heartbeat. Otherwise, he would panic even further. Allison is probably going to kill him if anything happens with Stiles while under Derek's watch.
He never thought he would feel fear like this again, not after his last pack bond broke when Laura died. He doesn't fear being killed by Allison, but for what will happen with Stiles. This teenager has grown under his skin in just a year.
Derek roars and tries to lunge at the Demon Wolf, but the spell that Stiles had on Deucalion and Deaton was gone. So, just before Derek can reach the wolf, he crashes against an invisible barrier. He looks down and sees the Mountain Ash barrier that Deaton must've thrown up just now.
Derek snarls at Deaton, who just looks smugly before opening the ash line of the other Alpha and the one where Scott is still huddled. Ennis, the Alpha wolf that bit Paige all those years ago, runs to Kali, the female wolf who is still out of it. Derek would love to rip the man apart, but he can't get out of this barrier.
Derek pounds against his barrier. Even if Scott betrayed him in the worst way possible just a couple of months ago, he could see how much Scott is hurting. How much Scott has been struggling.
''No, no, no, I did as you asked, don't hurt him, don't hurt him!'' Scott sobs out, pleading on his knees and scrambling back and away from Deaton. Derek's heart breaks a little for the stubborn beta. Could it be that Scott always has been influenced by Deaton? Derek knows about the Elpen ash and the grey monnikswood. Could it be that Scott was under the influence longer than they thought? Derek feels the familiar guilt rise in him. It tastes sour in his mouth.
''Get away from him!'' Derek roars, not entirely sure he means if they should get away from Stiles or Scott. But both would be good. He keeps pounding on the ash line, but it won't move an inch.
''Derek Hale, my sincere apologies for cutting our time short today, but to have been delivered such a delicious present, well, I can't wait to get my hands on it,'' Deucalion says with a smarmy smirk, making Derek bite back bile. What is this man going to do to Stiles? He can't hurt him! He can't!
''If you touch him, I'm going to rip you to shreds!'' Derek roars.
Deucalion just chuckles, ''I think you need to be able to get out of that barrier first.'' He muses.
Then Deucalion turns to Ennis, who has Kali cradled in his arms, he is growling at Derek, but Derek doesn't care. He can't get out of the barrier, but that also means Ennis can't get in.
''Ennis, take Kali back to our place and call the twins. They can deal with mister Hale.''
Derek pounds against the barrier again and roars as hard as he can, hoping that his betas will hear him.
''They will be here too late,'' Deucalion chuckles.
''You sure about that?'' A deadly cold voice comes from just behind Deucalion.
Deucalion whips around surprised, with a snarl on his face.
Allison is standing behind him with her crossbow raised, Jackson, Lydia, Danny, Isaac, Erica, and Boyd all behind her. It should surprise Derek that Allison is at the front, but he can't imagine her at any other place. She is fearless and fierce, the perfect second in command even if she's a hunter. And, of course, she is the Matriarch of the Argent Clan. Derek can imagine her at the front of every battle.
Allison glances at Derek and then down at the mountain ash line that is holding Derek back. She then lowers the crossbow a little and shoots.
The arrow shoots through Derek's legs, and he makes a shocked noise before noticing that the barrier has fallen away. She shot the ash line. Wow, the little show-off. When he looks back up at her feeling a little awed, he's not surprised to see a smirk on her face.
He shifts into his beta shift and goes for the attack on Deucalion, the biggest threat in the room.
''McCall! Take the Mage and go!'' Deaton snarls before tossing a vial at the group of betas while Derek is fighting with Deucalion.
Scott whimpers before running to Stiles to lift him up. He looks back at the betas, who are all coughing and on their knees, even Allison, ''I'm sorry!'' He yells before bolting after Ennis, who is still carrying Kali.
Derek wants to growl in frustration, he thought he could save Stiles from being taken, but it didn't matter! He's still gone. Deucalion is stronger than Derek, and Derek doesn't know if he can come out of this alive.
The 'blind' Alpha places punch after punch and delivers swipe after swipe. Derek is bleeding heavily, and he's worried about his betas, who are still on the floor coughing, looking like they're about a moment away from coughing up their lungs. And let's not forget Stiles's betas. Allison is just human, and Lydia only has human healing powers! Derek wants to rip out Deaton's throat for throwing that concoction at them. Whatever it was.
Derek suddenly feels white-hot pain flair in his chest and only sees Deucalion's smirk in front of him. When he looks down, he sees Deucalion's claws in his chest. He knows instantly that it's too deep. There is no chance in hell he's going to survive this. He feels blood bubble in his throat, the copper taste of it on his tongue. He coughs, and some blood splatters on Deucalion's face. Derek feels a little pride for the disgust that shows on Deucalion's face until the man starts to howl and rips his claws out of Derek's sternum.
Derek falls to the ground but sees two, no three arrows sprouting out of Deucalion's back. The way Deucalion is panting, it can only be laced with wolfsbane. Deucalion starts to turn to the betas with a snarl on his face, but then Deaton is there.
''Come on!'' Deaton yells, and he pulls Deucalion with him out of the office.
Derek tries to look at the betas, check if they're alright, but he thinks he loses some time because he's suddenly lying on his back with a pale Allison hovering above him. She is putting pressure on the wounds in his chest.
''Lydia, what do I need to do?'' She sounds panicked, and Derek can't really understand why. She's a hunter. Shouldn't she be happy to finish her aunt's job?
He tries to shake any thoughts of Kate away and feels guilty about thinking like that about Allison, who has proven the last month that she isn't out to get them.
''Alli-'' He tries but starts to cough up blood again, a wound from an Alpha always heals slower, but he thinks that this will heal too slow. He's going to die in a veterinarian's office. Derek believes that Stiles could appreciate the joke in that.
''Don't talk, Derek.'' She shushes him while pushing on his wound a little harder, making him flinch and groan. ''You're not allowed to die on me, okay? You're going to help me save Stiles, and we're going to have the best fucking alliance packs have ever seen, and we're going to kill Kate and Gerard together. You're not allowed to die.'' She says vehemently.
He wants to laugh at her ramblings but really wishes what she's saying is true. He wants to see the light in Kate's eyes die. He wants to torture Gerard as he did with his betas and Stiles. He wants revenge on them. And when he looks into Allison's eyes, he only sees sincerity, she wants the same, and he can't help but ask. ''Why? Why do you want them dead? You're family.'' He grounds out through the pain. Making Allison shush him again with shining eyes, she combs a couple of strands of hair out of his face. The action is so tender he's shocked by it. Is she seriously afraid for him? How or why did he deserve that?
''Because they hurt too many people, family doesn't mean anything to them. What I have with the pack, that's family. I hate them, Derek. I hate them so much for what they did to you and your family, what they did to Stiles, and what they did to me. I'm fucked up, and that's on them.'' Allison says with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Allison then snaps her head back, ''Where the hell are those supplies?'' She yells. Derek doesn't know to who, but it doesn't take long before he sees a frantic Lydia kneeling on his other side with a lot of bandages and other supplies.
Lydia gets to work immediately, and Derek is surprised by her steady hands. He then looks back at Allison, who is still putting pressure on his wounds. She isn't looking at him, and he feels that he has lost too much blood. He isn't going to be awake for much longer.
''We're all - fucked up,'' Derek says while still looking at Allison. She snaps her gaze back to him and gives him a small, sad smile. He thinks he returns the gesture, but he can't be sure because he soon loses consciousness.
Allison's POV
''No! Derek! Stay awake!'' She yells at the passed-out Alpha, shit, shit, shit! She doesn't know why she's feeling like her chest is being crushed at the moment. Well, partly because Stiles has been taken. But another part feels like it's because Derek is losing this fight, and he doesn't deserve to fucking die!
''Lydia!'' She screeches, not knowing what to do. When the vial broke in front of the betas and her, she thought for a moment they would die, everything hurt, and it was like her lungs were on fire. Then she saw the blood coming from Derek's mouth, and it didn't matter. She needed to help the Alpha.
She was already shocked that she couldn't do anything to stop Scott from scooping up Stiles and run out of the room. What the fuck did he mean with his 'I'm sorry'?
She quickly placed three sloppy arrows in the other Alpha's back, but it was enough for him to let Derek go. Then she struggled to breathe for a moment, but when she got her breath back, she saw that the other betas also were coming to themselves. Thank god Deaton didn't kill them. She quickly ordered all the wolves to follow Deaton and the Alpha at a safe distance, so they could hopefully find their location to save Stiles and Scott.
She then crawled as fast as she could to Derek's body and put pressure on the wound. She kept babbling while Lydia was hunting down some supplies to help him. When Derek opened his eyes again, she felt such relief she almost slumped down until she remembered to keep pressure on the wound.
And now they finally had the right supplies, he goes and blacks out, again! The asshole!
''I'm working on it!'' Lydia snaps back while already preparing a needle to put stitches in Derek.
''Should I wake him up?'' Allison asks. She can't lose him, not now. She hasn't done enough to help him. She hasn't done enough to help him back to his feet after everything her family did to him. He doesn't deserve this!
''I really think being out of it while being stitched up is better.'' Lydia snarks, making Allison glare at her.
They stay silent for the time being, but Allison has her hand against Derek's pulse point in his neck, just making sure he's still alive. When finally the last wound is closed, she releases a deep breath before pulling out a little pouch from her belt. In it are very powerful smelling salts. She holds the pouch under Derek's nose and does not think it's cute how his nose scrunches up. Why the hell did she think that was cute? Get a grip, Allison. Your fucking boyfriend is missing.
Derek finally opens his eyes again and groans. ''Where is Stiles?'' He says before trying to sit up, the freaking idiot!
Allison pushes him down without using any strength. Derek is still too out of it or too weak to fight back. He does try to glare at Allison, though.
''Calm down, dumbass, you almost died on us. You need to heal before you're going wild.'' Allison says with a roll of her eyes.
''I can heal on the way. Where are the betas?'' Derek tries to sit up again, but two glares from Lydia and Allison pin him down, and he keeps lying down. Smart move.
''The betas are following Deaton and Deucalion on a safe distance. When you're healed, we will follow them.''
At that moment, Allison's phone starts to ring. When she reaches out to pull her phone out of her pocket, she suddenly notices how she's still holding Derek at his pulse point. Her eyes widen, and she quickly takes back her hand and pulls out her phone, trying to act normal. Jackson is calling her, and she answers directly with, ''Yes?''
''We've lost them. Deaton used some kind of potion again.'' Comes Jackson's annoyed voice.
''Fuck! What do we do now?'' Allison is at a loss for the moment. She never thought someone could snatch Stiles away. Not again. He's so powerful and strong, and still, those assholes got him!
Derek taps her hand, and she looks down at him. He gestures for the phone and tries to sit up again. She glares at his wounds, and he just raises his eyebrow at her.
Allison then sighs and rolls her eyes before handing the phone to Derek, knowing that she will lose the glaring contest.
''Do you still feel the pack bonds?'' Derek asks Jackson. Allison can't hear what Jackson replies, but she immediately feels for her own pack bonds. She feels them deep in her chest and is glad to feel Stiles's too. It's a little dulled but still strong.
''Good, then we can track them to where they are holding him,'' Derek says before ending the call and trying to get to his feet with a lot of groaning. Allison is this close to punching him in the wounds so he will sit back down and heal properly, dammit, but she isn't completely heartless.
''Let me help you,'' She says in a soft voice. Derek looks at her and nods, so she grabs his arm and throws it over her shoulder before hefting him up. He groans the whole way but is standing at least.
''How can we track them through the pack bonds? I've never heard of it.'' Lydia tells Derek with narrowed eyes. Allison is a little afraid that Lydia won't believe Derek until she has all the facts, but they don't have the time. Who knows what those Alphas are going to do with Stiles?!
''Focus on your Alpha's bond, and try to envision it before you,'' Derek says while pulling off the bloody tatters of what was once his shirt. Allison absolutely is not gaping or blushing. Shut up.
She closes her eyes to focus on the bond, it doesn't take long before she can feel the bond itself, and she tries to see it as a rope that has her bound to Stiles, her Alpha, her boyfriend. Only Allison doesn't really have magical powers, so it's hard. She is panting after just a couple of minutes of trying, and then she hears Lydia. ''Found him!''
Allison feels disappointed in herself. She couldn't even find her Alpha, her boyfriend, only because she can't do magic. She can't even form a Mountain Ash circle. It just won't work. She tries not to feel jealous that Lydia could find Stiles before she could, but she thinks she still reeks of frustration because Derek suddenly squeezes her shoulder.
When she looks at him, he has a soft smile on his face. She gives him a week smile back before checking the weapons she has on herself to occupy her mind.
''They are in the old bank, on the edge of the town,'' Lydia explains when they walk to the car, Derek is thankfully completely healed now and can walk for himself. He is scowling at the shirt he's wearing, though. It's one of Deaton's scrubs, and Allison just barely can hold her laughter.
''We need a plan before we go in,'' Allison says, trying to be practical. She suddenly has an idea but is pretty sure Stiles is going to hate it. She bites her bottom lip in doubt. ''What are you thinking, Allison?'' Lydia asks, pulling her out of her thoughts. Allison blinks a couple of times at Lydia and Derek, who are both looking at her with expectant eyes.
Allison squares her shoulders before telling Lydia and Derek the plan. Derek hates the plan but agrees in the end. Lydia doesn't dismiss it and also thinks it could work.
Allison gives them both a smile before taking action. Time to get her boyfriend/Alpha back.
She takes out her phone and dials the number. Stiles is going to kill her probably, but they need the help. She just hopes she's making the right call. The line connects, and Allison rushes out her words.
''Sheriff, we need your help.''
''iles-buddy-please, please, please wake up! Stiles!'' Is what Stiles hears when he comes out of his forced sleep. He groans and shuffles before burying his face in his arms. He smacks his lips together. ''Just five more minutes, dad.'' He grumbles.
He is roughly pushed, and he rolls over forcibly. ''What the fuck-'' He finally opens his eyes to see two sets of golden eyes aimed at him. He immediately sits up and looks at his surroundings, but everything is dark. He can't even see the shapes of the people in front of him—only their golden eyes.
''Where the fuck am I?'' He reaches for his spark, so he can defend himself if necessary but finds his spark blocked, he doesn't feel the warmth in his chest, and he panics. ''Where is it? Where is it?!'' He starts harshly patting his chest, he should be feeling the pack bonds, his spark, his fucking magic, but he can't feel anything.
''Stiles! Breathe!'' The voice that tells him to breathe pulls him back to the present in shock. ''Scott?'' He questions. What the hell is happening?
Two arms engulf him in a tight hug, and before he knows it, he's clinging back to his best friend, who is sobbing in his arms. He heavily sighs. He had missed his best friend so much, even if he has been angry at Scott.
They knew each other since the sandbox. You never forget the first boy that shares his pudding cup with you. It was fated to be an epic friendship. And here they are now, thirteen years later, and a whole lot of supernatural shit behind them.
''I'm sorry - I'm so sorry! I never- I never wanted anyone to get hurt.'' Scott sobs out, and Stiles is at a loss for the moment.
''It's okay, buddy, I know you woul-''
''No! You need to listen to me! I was so stupid-''
''That's probably an understatement.'' A snappy voice comes from right next to them. Stiles whips his head around to look at the figure, but it's too dark to really see anything.
''Who the hell are you?'' Stiles asks while still patting Scott's shaking shoulders. He wants to glare at the person that is shattering this heartfelt moment.
''Does it really matter? They've taken me too.'' The girl snarks back.
''Oh, I'm sorry, but a little more information over what the hell fucking happened would be maybe helpful? I don't know about you, but I was just drugged and dragged to somewhere I don't know where, so excuse me if it's inconvenient for you to tell me your name.'' Stiles replies in his most dry voice, every word dripping with sarcasm.
The girl growls at him, and yeah, fuck no. ''Shut up, I'm used to Derek Hale's eyebrows. Your growl doesn't even get in my top 100 list with scary shit.'' He snarks at the girl.
The growl shut's off immediately, and Stiles feels kind of proud of himself. He just wants to go back to comfort Scott and figure out how to get the hell out of here when she speaks again. ''You know my brother?'' The girl says in a small voice, making both Stiles and Scott look up now.
''Brother?'' They both repeat in a surprised voice.
''Did I stutter?'' The she-wolf growls again.
Stiles goes over the files of the Hale fire in his head. He knows Derek and Laura survived, but who could-
''Cora, you're Cora Hale. But you- everybody, thinks you're dead, dude!''
''Don't call me dude!''
Oh, yeah, definitely Derek's sister. ''How sweet, your brother also says that to me. I already see, well, hear the family resemblance.''
''You're an idiot.''
''You're pretty bitchy,''
''Shut up!''
''Oh, good, come back,'' Stiles snarks, and he starts a slow clap because, yes, he is a little shit.
Cora snarls and is probably on the verge of attacking when Scott interrupts. ''Shut up, the both of you! Shouldn't we try to get out?''
Stiles pouts because he actually kind of liked to rile up Cora. But fine.
''I can't access my magic. Something is fucking blocking me.'' Stiles grumbles out.
''It's probably that collar you got on your neck.'' Cora simply says, and Stiles can practically imagine the Hale eyeroll.
Stiles's hands fly to his throat, and yelps when he is burned when he tries to touch it.
''They collared me?! What the hell? This is so not a kink of mine,'' He asks incredulously before groaning when he is suddenly blinded by fluorescent lights. Both wolves flinch, too, and Stiles blinks the stars out of his eyes before looking around again. Scott is bloody, sitting just on Stiles's right. He sees the tear tracks on his best friend's cheeks and feels his heart break when Scott crawls back to a pillar and starts to whimper. Cora is growling and completely wolfed out. She lunges but is stopped by a Mountain Ash line before she can reach Deaton and the twins that just walked in.
''The collar is necessary, mister Stilinski. We can't have you interrupt any more rituals that are in the works for several years.'' Deaton says with a smirk.
''Fuck you, you cryptic asshole,'' Stiles snarls, and he goes to stand next to Cora, shielding Scott from Deaton.
Deaton simply chuckles, and Stiles bares his teeth, Cora seems mildly impressed that he acts like a wolf, but Stiles doesn't care.
''Take the collar off, and then you and I can see what I can interrupt, maybe your fucking bloodline,'' Stiles says with a sneer.
''That's not going to happen, mister Stilinski. Those rituals should've been the gateway to finally achieve my lifelong goal. And you almost ruined it. Thankfully we can still sever your connection to the Nemeton.''
Stiles lunges at Deaton without warning. He punches the asshole Druid straight on the nose. Apparently, they forgot that he could cross the Mountain Ash line. Suckers!
His victory is unfortunately short-lived when he's roughly pulled back and thrown back in the circle. He lands on his elbow and feels that he landed wrong immediately. ''Mother fucking ow!'' He yells when he tries to sit up, but a flare of pain shoots through his entire left arm.
The twins were smirking and wolfed out. Deaton is cursing and holding his nose, but Stiles can see the blood pooling from it. He feels a little vindicated but really wants to punch the asshole some more. Cora is next to him instantly and helps him up while he hisses through the pain in his arm. The collar blocks all his magic, even his healing one, so this is pretty shitty.
''Thanks,'' He mutters at Cora. ''I should thank you, that was awesome.'' She says back, and he smirks at her. He gets an amused smile in return before she lets it fall into the Hale scowl. Seriously, they should get their own trademark or something.
Stiles focuses back on the Druid and two Alphas. ''You'll never sever the connection I have with Nem. He trusts me.'' Stiles snarls at Deaton.
''We will see about that.'' Deaton mutter through his broken nose before turning away and walking back up. The twins linger for a moment.
''Deucalion is going to have so much fun with you.'' The twin standing on the right chuckles with a smirk.
''He will love to see you break.'' The other one adds.
''He can try,'' Stiles replies with a glare.
The twins both snort and walk out of the vault, closing the big door behind them.
Stiles growls in frustration and tries to touch the collar again. He hisses when it pulls at his elbow and when his fingers burn at the touch.
''Fuck! I need to get this thing off.''
''Come here, let me try,'' Cora offers, and she gets out her claws and advances. Stiles stumbles back a little before he hits Scott's legs. He yelps and falls down. Again.
''Fuck! I think my elbow is broken.'' He groans from where he's wittering on the ground. He feels like such a badass Alpha right now. Not.
Cora clicks her tongue in clear annoyance before reaching out again to touch the collar. But when she touches it, she also yelps.
''Okay, okay, okay, let's stop for a moment because this is not going to work.'' Scott pleads. Stiles reluctantly agrees, as does Cora.
Stiles lets out a sigh before turning to Scott. ''Scotty, what the fuck happened?''
Scott seems to curl even more inside himself and lets out a small whine before rubbing his hands roughly over his face.
''The first day I came to work after being turned, Deaton tried to control me. I - I didn't know at first. I just thought his ideas made sense, you know?''
Stiles tries to stay calm but to hear that his best friend has been struggling with the asshole Druid makes his blood boil. He reaches a hand out and puts it on Scott's shoulder, rubbing his thumb in small circles. Scott lets out a shuddering sigh before talking again.
''Then everything with Jackson and Gerard happened, and Deaton told me the idea of switching Gerard's cancer meds with Mountain Ash pills. And then go ahead with Gerard's plan and make Derek bite him-'' Cora lets out a small gasp. ''-but I refused. I know how Derek felt about the bite. I couldn't do that to him. I admit I didn't like the guy, but Deaton kept whispering in my ears how he couldn't be trusted. That's mostly where all the hate came from, you know.'' Scott admits with a shrug. Stiles has moved his hand to Scott's neck and squeezes it just as he does with his betas.
''What happened when you refused?'' Stiles softly asks when Scott melts against Stiles's touch.
Scott's lips start to wobble, and he wipes his hand against his eyes to make the moisture go away.
''I didn't know anything was wrong at first, but Deaton gave me a bottle of water at work, and then everything he told me - I - I just immediately did it. Word for word... I was forced to listen to him. I tried to fight back, I really did! But nothing worked. He forced me to paralyze Derek and force him to bite Gerard, then after he made me act like everything was fine to my mom. And he wanted me to break up with Allison completely, and not to contact you because he thought you would notice it when something was wrong.'' Scott rushes out with pain in his voice.
Stiles flinches involuntarily. Crap. ''So that's why you ignored me the whole summer and at school?'' He carefully starts with.
''Yeah, I'm so sorry, Stiles! I know you were hurt that night with Jackson and the end of the Kanima, but Deaton didn't let me say anything to you.''
They are silent for a moment, Stiles keeps his hand on Scott's neck, and he sees Cora lying down in the corner of his eye. He's glad she's given them some privacy.
''And- and Allison?'' Stiles finally says with a dry throat. Scott shuffles a little. Stiles is afraid of what Scott will tell him. Will he hate him for being with Allison? Scott clearly didn't want to break up with her.
''I didn't want to lose her, but the last couple of months, I did see that we weren't right for each other. I hope we can be friends in the future, but I'm glad you two found each other, though.'' Scott tells him with a sincere smile. And Stiles pushes out a relieved breath.
''Come here, dude,'' Stiles says while pulling Scott into a tight embrace. Scott immediately tries to push his face into the crook of Stiles's neck, but the collar is holding him back a little.
''Stupid collar,'' Stiles mumbles.
They stay like that for a couple of minutes, but it's clear that Cora has lost her patience. She scuffles over to them and opens her mouth a couple of times to start a question, but it never comes.
''What is it, Cora?'' Stiles finally asks, sounding a little exasperated. He really doesn't know how to act around Cora. She should be dead. He's sure Derek and Peter both don't know about her. And she was pretty bitchy when he just arrived.
''You-You act like an Alpha, but I only heard about a Hale Alpha in this territory.''
Stiles snorts. ''I became Alpha this summer when my magic came to me and my first beta submitted to me,'' Stiles explains.
Cora lights up. ''So you have pack bonds?''
Stiles frowns a little at her but nods. ''Yeah, I have pack bonds with all of my pack. Even my human girlfriend and my human father.''
''Wow, okay, then maybe we have a way to get out of this.'' She says with hope.
''What do you mean?'' Stiles asks with a frown, but when she opens her mouth to answer, they are interrupted.
The ominous steps they hear with the clinking of a cane make them all stand up and square their shoulders. Deucalion and Ennis enter and stand just in front of the Mountain Ash line. Just out of reach for the wolves, and Stiles knows he can't surprise the two Alphas now as he did with Deaton.
Stiles feels his blood boil again and snarls at the two Alphas.
''What do you want?'' Stiles says while stepping in front of the two betas, his inner Alpha instinct drives him to protect them.
Another person steps in sight, and Stiles is confused, he doesn't know who she is, but even with his collar, he can feel the magic pouring off her.
''What do you want?'' Stiles grits out again. Getting agitated with the silence.
Deucalion starts to chuckle, and it makes every hair on Stiles's body rise. He swallows heavily and waits. Knowing that it will be bad if he talks again.
''We want you, Mage. Alpha Genim, I've heard quite some tales about you. It had me intrigued, but alas, I was disappointed when I found you. So easily caught.'' Deucalion taunts, making Stiles grit his teeth, he hears two growls from behind him, but Stiles waves them off.
''Believe me, old man, I will not disappoint again.''
''Duke, the magic the collar is registering is extraordinary.'' The woman says, and Stiles is pretty sure she's a witch.
Stiles smirks at her and sees her flinch just a little.
''Should that mean something to me?'' Deucalion reacts, sounding bored. ''Only that you should never take off the collar.'' She simply replies, but she gets an irritated look in response.
''Make him come with us.'' Deucalion then states with a smirk. The woman sighs and shakes her head as if she knows that this is a bad idea. She then stretches out her hand, and a leash appears in her hand. The leash goes all the way to Stiles's collar, and he snarls. Feeling humiliated and a little afraid, but mostly angry that they think they can get away with treating him this way.
When she pulls on the leash, Scott immediately throws him in front of Stiles to stop him from crossing the Mountain Ash line, but with a simple flick of the witch's hand, he's being thrown against another wall.
''Don't hurt him!'' Stiles bellows. His voice carries, and the Alphas and witch cringe at the sound and the command in it. Deucalion snarls and fights the compulsion, Stiles doesn't have his magic, so it's easy to shake off in the end, unfortunately.
''How are you doing that?'' Deucalion then questions, but he won't let Stiles answer. He just waves his hand at the witch to continue with the pulling. Stiles curses and struggles against the collar and sputters with hard pulls. His breathing is getting harsher and harsher. He doesn't know if it's a panic attack or because of the hard pulls of the collar.
He glances back at Scott and sees Cora kneeling next to Scott, eyes on Stiles and clearly afraid. ''Take care of him!'' He shouts at her, and she nods immediately.
Finally, they succeed in pulling him out of the room. They bring him to a high ceiling room with balustrades, and he finally understands where he is. He is in an old bank. Stiles remembers that he has been here with his mom once before it was robbed and the bank was abandoned.
He also knows it's on the outskirts of town, so he knows for sure that nobody will find them here soon. Fuck his life.
Stiles is being pushed harshly to the ground and glares at the Alphas and witch. He sees the twins in the corner of his eyes, the only one he doesn't see is the female Alpha and Deaton.
He is still cradling his arm. It hurts like hell, and being jostled around doesn't really help it.
''Marin, please tell me again, how can we get his powers?'' Deucalion asks in a pleasant voice. Marin, the witch, answers clearly, but Stiles's ears are already ringing.
''Killing him. His magic would go to me, but because he's also an Alpha, your Alpha spark will also be fed with his death.'' She sounds clinical and not at all interested. Stiles glares at her, but she just looks bored.
''Mh, interesting. But so tedious, it would be a shame to only just kill him, don't you agree, Ennis?'' Deucalion says with a smirk. Stiles shivers from the indication it brings with it.
The big, bald Alpha laughs a deep laugh. Stiles immediately thinks of a couple of evil villains from his comic books.
''A waste, if you ask me,'' Ennis says with a smirk. Stiles grits his teeth again and gives them his best glare.
''So what? You want to hurt me first? Torture me?'' Stiles spits out.
''Pretty much,'' Ennis shrugs before stalking forward. He grips Stiles's chin in his hand and shakes, making Stiles bear his teeth at the Alpha. But Ennis only chuckles. Amused with the Mage's antics.
''Pathetic. You're a big bad Alpha, and now you wanna punch a human Mage a little around before killing him? Kind of weak, don't you think? Let me at least fight back. Or are you afraid you're going to get your ass kicked?'' Stiles taunts, his heart going a million beats per minute, but he doesn't care. He isn't going to take this beating kneeling. He isn't in the basement with Gerard anymore. He trained so much. He wants to be at least able to kick back.
Ennis snarls and pulls his fist back, but Deucalion stops him.
''We aren't going to release your collar, so it won't be a fair fight either way.''
''Who says I need my magic to kick his ass?'' Stiles smirks.
Ennis looks back at Deucalion, waiting for his order. Probably also eager to show Stiles exactly how weak he is in comparison. Stiles really hopes he gets a chance, he isn't going to make it the Alpha easy, and hey, maybe he can stall enough for someone to show up.
''Let the boy fight. We will have at least a little entertainment.'' Deucalion says with a wave of his hand. Marin sighs again and lets the leash disappear. The collar remains, of course. Stiles quickly stands on his feet and takes a couple of steps back, so he isn't in Ennis's direct reach.
Marin and Deucalion step back, and Deucalion sprawls over a big chair. Stiles rolls his eyes. The Demon Wolf clearly thinks he's the top dog here. Stiles would like to hurl now.
Stiles feels the shift in the air and ducks before planting his hands on the floor and kicking his legs up. He throws Ennis a couple of feet through the air, and he hears Ennis grunt when he lands.
''Oh yeah, one - zero for Stiles!'' He crows with a feral smirk. Ennis looks murderous when he stands again, his face already in his beta shift and ready to lunge.
Stiles quickly turns serious and focuses on the fight. He is faster than Ennis, and that's the only reason he hasn't been scratched yet. But Ennis is getting angrier with the minute.
Stiles's arm still hurts like a bitch, the first move was already too much for it, and it throbs. He's only ducking and running now, he has planted two good kicks, but the Alpha is already recovered from them.
Stiles knows he's going to lose, but that doesn't mean he will give up. He's panting and sweating like a pig, and then he makes a mistake. Ennis is on him the second. He's just a tad too slow. Ennis takes him by his throat and roars in his face. Stiles is stunned and scrambling for air. How can Ennis touch the collar?
Stiles is struggling against the hand that is holding him up from the floor when he glances at Deucalion and Marin. Marin sees him looking at her and brings her hand to her throat before mimicking claws. Could she-?
Stiles stretches his neck as if he's going to submit, and he can see Ennis's eyes widen, and something akin to lust is in them. Making Stiles gag. Then Stiles shifts his neck, so Ennis's claws cut through the collar.
Ennis roars, but the euphoria of feeling his magic is enough to make Stiles laugh. His arm heals immediately, and he pushes both arms forwards against Ennis's chest to make him fly against the other wall. He crumples to the floor after being tossed against the wall and doesn't get up again.
Stiles feels his magic whirl inside him, his eyes are probably blazing purple or green, and he sighs in relief.
Stiles kneels on the floor and pants for a moment, getting his breath back, but then he feels the twins and Deucalion move, Marin is suddenly gone, and Stiles is pretty sure that she helped him before fleeing the scene. He doesn't know how to feel about that.
''Deucalion, feeling impressed yet?'' Stiles can't help but taunt. He stands again, and the twins are doing something weird. It's almost as if they are climbing into each other, a gruesome sight, to be honest.
But then all the glass in the windows shatters to the inside, making everyone flinch and take cover.
''This is the Sheriff's department. Everybody lower your weapons and on your knees. We're coming in.'' Sounds a very familiar voice. Stiles doesn't know if he wants to sob in relief or to get angry that his fucking father is here in the middle of a supernatural showdown. Which he pretty much got handled, thank you very much!
The twins are startled so much that the weird climbing in each other is stopped and reversed. They are kneeling immediately on the floor with their hands behind their heads, and looking around with terror in their eyes.
''You guys are so screwed.'' Stiles can't help but cackle.
Deucalion, on the other hand, has other ideas. He snarls at Stiles before turning and running. Ennis, who just had woken up, scrambles after him right after piercing Stiles with a menacing glare.
''They're getting away!'' Stiles yells just before the door is kicked in, and a team of deputies is pouring in.
A couple immediately goes to the twins while others follow the direction Stiles is pointing in. Hopefully, the wolves are already gone. Stiles would feel guilty for his entire life if somebody gets hurt by werewolves right now.
Then his father steps inside and only has eyes for Stiles. He rushes to his side and pulls Stiles in the tightest embrace they have ever been in. Stiles struggles for breath after a moment but refuses to leave his father's embrace.
''I was so freaking worried, kiddo, when Allison called and told me you were taken I-''
''I'm okay,''
''You're not,''
''...''
''Stiles?''
His dad pulls back from the embrace, and Stiles lets out a small whine before meeting his dad's eyes. ''I can't believe she called you.'' He mutters.
''She thought it was the best plan of action when they knew where you were. They can't kill an entire Sheriff's department and want to keep the supernatural a secret.''
''It isn't as if nobody has already tried to kill an entire Sheriff's department.'' Stiles snarls, feeling more afraid than angry at what could've happened.
''Stiles-'' His dad starts, sounding more tired than Stiles expected.
''I'm okay,'' He repeats.
''Stiles.'' His dad says in his no-nonsense tone, making Sitles flinch.
''I-uh, will be fine. Shit! Scott and Cora!'' Stiles suddenly yells with his hands in his hair.
''Scott and who?'' His dad has a very confused expression on his face. He knows Stiles can jump from one thought to another, but this is a pretty weird leap.
''Scott and Cora Hale are downstairs in the vault! They were being kept here too!'' Stiles frantically explains before running towards the stairs.
His dad is on his heels, and they finally reach the vault, Scott and Cora are huddled together in a corner, and Cora growls as soon as the door opens before stopping when she sees it's Stiles.
Stiles flicks his wrist, and the whole line of Mountain Ash disappears. He rushes over and pulls them both into a tight embrace. A little surprised that Cora even lets him. But he isn't going to comment on it or comment on the fact that she buried her face in his neck.
''How the fuck did you survive them?'' Cora asks with awe in her voice.
''I'm like a cockroach, very hard to kill.'' Stiles snarks back with a smirk before helping them both up. Scott is shaking, and Stiles really wants to check out his best friend. Making sure that the compulsion Deaton had on him is entirely gone.
The next hour is tedious with giving statements. The deputies are all floored by the reveal of Cora Hale. Instead of keeping silent, like Stiles thought she would do, she simply says that she was with family in Puerto Rico when the fire happened and that she thought everybody died in the fire, so that's why she never came back. Until a couple of months ago when she heard Derek had returned to Beacon Hills. When she came looking for him, she was taken by Deucalion, who she thinks was some kind of cult leader—making Stiles and Scott almost collapse down in laughter. But they can hold it in, barely.
After an hour, the Sheriff has had enough and tells the deputies that they have enough information and that the kids should be checked out in the hospital and that he will drive them. The deputies agree without fighting, and the Sheriff drives them over to the Stilinski household instead of the hospital. But he needs to leave for the station to clear everything up. He quickly gives Stiles another hug to reassure himself that his son is okay before leaving again.
As soon as Stiles steps into the house, he's crushed into a group hug by Allison, Jackson, Danny, and Lydia. He feels extremely glad to have his pack surround him again, and he touches every beta as soon as possible to scent mark them.
They are pretty much blocking the entire hallway until Cora lets out a small whine.
''Oh, shit! Derek!'' Stiles yells, and he pushes everyone away until he can lead Cora to the living room, where Derek is already standing and flaring his Alpha eyes.
''What-'' But the words die in Derek's throat when he sees Cora. Cora flies past Stiles and into Derek's arms, who collapses to his knees—burying his face in Cora's hair. Stiles quickly guides everyone to the kitchen so he can drink something while he lets Lydia order pizza.
''Who is that?'' Erica asks with a pout, still looking in the direction of the living room where even Stiles can hear the small whines both Hale's are emitting.
''Cora Hale. So let's give them some space.'' Stiles says in his no-nonsense tone. Making everybody nod, he sees Jackson's jaw go slack, and he pulls the beta in his arms.
''You'll get your chance, pup. She's just as bitchy as Derek, though.'' Stiles jokes. Making Jackson chuckle.
''So, are you going to explain what happened? And more importantly, what the hell he's doing here?'' Lydia says with a glare aimed at Scott, who was trying to become one with the wallpaper until now.
He looks like a deer caught in headlights, and the pout on his lips is just plain ridiculous. So Stiles starts explaining immediately.
''Deaton was controlling Scott with the grey monnikswood and Elpen ash. He isn't responsible for his actions the last couple of months. That's the only important thing right now. He's a victim, and we're going to help him.'' Stiles says firmly to his pack, who all nod in acceptance, even Jackson, who seems more sympathetic towards Scott than he ever has been. But maybe that's not that strange because Jackson knows how it is to be used and controlled.
Allison looks between Stiles and Scott, seeming torn with what she should do. Stiles walks towards her and kisses her on the head before whispering in her ear. ''You should talk to him, but he already told me he was glad that we found each other.''
Allison nods before tugging him into a tight hug, and he loses himself for a moment in holding his girlfriend. He feels his pack hustling around him in the kitchen, Jackson and Danny are even talking with Scott about the pack, and it warms his heart. He has the best puppies.
Stiles feels that he's exhausted and just wants to sleep, but food is more important at the moment. When the doorbell rings for the pizza delivery, he's more than relieved. They all migrate back to the living room, where Derek and Cora are still catching up and constantly touching—checking for themselves if it's real.
After just three pieces of pizza, he finds himself nodding off against Allison's shoulder. ''Maybe we should go,'' Derek proposes when he sees that Stiles is barely awake. But then the Sheriff walks back into the house.
''Nonsense, Lydia, Jackson, Danny, you know where everything is. Make a puppy pile. God knows everybody needs one after yesterday and today's events.'' If anyone tries to object, it's lost to Stiles.
His dad then quickly snatches a box with meat lovers pizza. Stiles tries to grunt a protest against his father eating pizza, but he's too tired. He lets himself being manhandled until there is a puppy pile with his pack and Derek's pack. Derek seems highly uncomfortable lying down with a bunch of teenagers but is soon pulled down by Cora and Allison, of all people.
Stiles doesn't know who is touching him, but he thinks that it are at least four different people. He doesn't care. The only thing he now cares about is sleep. Shuffling closer to the body next to him, not even knowing who this muscled shoulder belongs to, he nuzzles it before promptly dropping off.
Derek's POV
Derek really tries to relax and not panic, but Stiles just literally nuzzled his shoulder before dropping his head there and falling asleep. The guy is seriously exhausted if he didn't even notice that it was Derek's shoulder. When Derek lifts his head a little to look around who is still awake and maybe has seen this, he sees Allison behind Stiles, looking amused at him.
He mouths, 'What the hell?' at her and sees her shoulders shake in silent laughter before tightening her grip on Stiles and biting her bottom lip.
'He trusts you.' She mouths back, which baffles him, to be honest. Stiles trusts him?
But when he really thinks about it, he also trusts Stiles. He never truly believed that Stiles betrayed him with Scott, and now it turns out that Scott possibly didn't even betray him, or at least, not wanted to. But he knows Stiles can be trusted. The guy saved his life more than Derek likes to admit.
It hits Derek on the head out of nowhere. He trusts Stiles.
Stiles knows Derek has trust issues. Hell, he told him exactly that when Derek said that he didn't have pack bonds yet. That's mostly why he doesn't have a pack bond with his beta's yet. But if he can trust Stiles Stilinski, it should be possible for him to trust more people, right?
His sister and betas would be first, of course, but he can't help it if his mind wanders to Allison. Who saved his life just yesterday when Deucalion took Stiles and Derek was heavily wounded. He's sure that if Allison hadn't put pressure on the wound, Derek wouldn't have survived it.
He really doesn't like the thought of being in Argent's debt, but Allison is nothing like her family. At least, not anymore. He can see how hard she's working to prove she's more, better.
He glances at Allison again and sees that her eyes are closed now too. Her arm is thrown over Stiles's middle, her face pressed against Stiles's neck, and the back of her hand is touching Derek's side. The soft, relaxed look on her face tells Derek that she's asleep too now.
He can't help but trying to compare Allison to Kate. Maybe trying to find the resemblance, so he has a reason to mistrust her. But it's impossible. Even asleep, they look nothing like each other. For some reason, Kate even had in her sleep a cruel twist to her features. At the time, he found it somewhat endearing, thinking that she was tough. Nothing could surprise her and take her down. He knows better now, of course.
Their scents are completely different, too. Kate always smelled sharp, spicy, and a little of gun oil.
Allison smells like her crossbow, not of gun oil, and mostly like cotton candy and apples. With Kate, the gun oil ruled her scent. Allison also smells like Stiles, and Stiles smells a little like Allison. Which isn't strange for a couple, of course, but Derek is surprised to find the scent this soothing.
Kate never smelled like him. She always immediately showered with heavily scented soap whenever they had been together. It hurts that now he thinks back, he sees the signs, how she never really wanted him but only used him. He swallows back bile and tries to think about better things. About how this alliance is a good start to finally let more people in his life and to feel more like himself than he has in more than six years. He has felt like himself whenever he started to snark with Stiles the last couple of weeks. So it really feels like a fresh start.
He looks to his other side, careful, so he doesn't dislodge Stiles, and sees his beta's curled around each other. Isaac is pressed against Danny and a little against Scott but still touching Boyd. Erica is almost entirely sleeping on top of Boyd, who just has an arm curled around her middle, and Cora is pressed against his own side. She isn't asleep yet, and he moves his arm so she can cuddle with him. He tells himself that it's for her, but he loves to have his sister back with him. To hold her close, he couldn't believe his eyes when she stood there suddenly just behind Stiles. At first, he thought he saw the ghost of Laura, but Cora just looks so much like her. It's a blessing because he probably will never forget how Laura looked, but it also hurts so much, thinking back of his former Alpha, but mostly his sister that died just a little over a year ago. His heart aches for Cora that she didn't meet Laura again.
Shit, he probably should tell Peter about this... Well, that can wait. It will be another shit fest to explain to Cora how Laura died. Yeah, he isn't going to open that can of worms just yet.
''I missed you, Der,'' Cora whispers as if it's a secret. He presses his lips against the top of her head before whispering. ''I missed you more.''
Author note's
Stiles lost some time in the bank, it took the Sheriff's department almost a day for they could get them out, in the vault was no daylight, so Stiles really didn't know how long went by. And he was out for most of the time.
I hope you all liked the new part of the story!
xxMBlack93