John spent half the night on the internet. He wanted to be prepared for his conversation with Mark tomorrow, he wanted to know as much as possible about the Hale family and werewolves in general.
The Hales were a big family and they had been around since Beacon Hills had been founded, it wasn't hard to find information about them. To make it even easier, the Hales always had been active in the community. There had been two mayors by the name Hale and there was always at least one member in the council. They were involved with the church and various organizations. They owned half the businesses in town and John had the suspicion that they had their hands in the rest as well. There was Mark at the sheriff's department and two Hales at the fire station. And those were just the ones with the last name Hale. Through marriage, there were a lot of other names connected to the family.
No wonder Agnes knew about everything going on in town. She had members of her pack everywhere. Just like Mark had said to Peter the other day, he must have tried very hard to find a store to shoplift from that wouldn't call his mom first.
John took notes and he made a mental note to check who of the pack they had on file. It was probably a good idea to start his own file on the Hale pack. If he kept it in his safe it would at least have more purpose than to keep his gun out of his reach. John didn't think of the werewolves as enemies but it didn't hurt to keep an eye on them.
With that covered, John typed werewolf into the search bar.
That turned out to be a rabbit hole he went down until Derek came to get Stiles around four in the morning.
If Derek was surprised to find him still awake he didn't show it.
"How's Stiles?" He asked instead.
"Sleeping." John rubbed his face in an attempt to get more alert. Maybe he should try and get an hour or two of sleep before he had to head out for work.
"No nightmares," John added after a moment. That had come as a surprise. The way Stiles had acted earlier John had feared another night terror. Maybe he had to thank the alcohol for that. Not that he would recommend it but a drink or two had helped him through a rough night before. It never stayed at one or two, though, not on the bad nights.
Stiles had tangled himself into the blanket and he almost fell out of the bed when he startled awake, both proof that his sleep had been far from peaceful but once he recognized Derek, he fell back into a half-asleep state. It never failed to amaze John how comfortable Stiles was in Derek's presence. Given their circumstances, it would make sense if Stiles were wary of him maybe even afraid but quite the opposite was the case. Stiles trusted Derek. Unconditionally.
Stiles slung one arm around Derek's middle and snuggled into his side while he sleepwalked over to the bathroom. Derek returned the gesture, his strong arm was the only reason Stiles did not face-plant on the way.
"See you later." Stiles blinked open his eyes to say goodbye to John and then he and Derek disappeared.
John half-heartily mopped up the water Derek had left behind with a towel he pushed around the floor with his foot, then he went to bed.
He got almost two hours of sleep before his alarm went off but he must still look worse to wear when he came into the station. Bad enough for Mark to take a not-so-subtle sniff at him.
"I'm not hungover," John muttered while he poured himself a coffee. "Just didn't sleep that much."
Mark hmmed to that.
"Did Agnes do that?" He gestured over his own throat to indicate what he meant.
"Yeah." John took a sip of his coffee. Hot and strong, he closed his eyes in bliss. Maybe he would not fall asleep behind his desk.
"It's fine," John assured him when he noticed the worried look on Mark's face. If John was honest, he had forgotten about the claw marks on his throat until he had a look at himself in the mirror this morning. The collar of his shirt covered most of them so he should be fine.
"Way to make a first impression." Mark rubbed the back of his head, clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation. "I'm sorry, we're not all like that."
"You can tell me all about that later." John took another sip while over the rim of his mug he had a look around. They were currently alone but this was an open area, the desks of the other deputies just a few feet away.
"She did tell you that you're supposed to answer my questions, right?" John hoped that Agnes had bothered with informing Mark about their agreement. "I spent half the night making a list."
"She mentioned something like that." Mark nodded. "She said you would clue me in about Stiles and Derek as well. Is this the same Derek you asked about the other day?"
It took John a moment to remember what Mark was referring to. Back then he'd thought that Derek was Stiles' pimp. John snorted into his coffee at that thought.
"Yeah, turned out that he isn't such a bad guy after all." John sobered up. "I would appreciate it if you kept this to yourself, though. Everything about Stiles and Derek."
"Agnes said something similar." Mark finished his coffee and turned to the coffee maker to refill his cup. "She doesn't want word to get out about you either. That you're in the know, I mean. "
"Thanks." With his free hand, John gave him a pat to the shoulder when he walked past him on his way over to his desk. Sheriff Thompson was coming over to get a coffee. They would have time to talk later.
John doubted that it was intentional but he didn't see much of Mark over the day. They were both on desk duty, busy with paperwork and making phone calls. Beacon Hills didn't have a high crime rate but they did have more things to deal with than fender benders and shoplifting teenagers.
John didn't have that much on his plate, Sheriff Thompson was still going easy on him, so he did have time to work on his own project.
Stiles was right, Agnes most likely had killed more people than Derek. Nothing ever stuck but her name came up a few times. In her teens, she'd been caught smoking weed and trespassing when she and some of her friends had sneaked into a pool for some nightly skinny dipping. Those were the only charges she ever had. She had been a witness, and sometimes even a suspect, more often than the average person, though. Not enough to prove anything but enough to read between the lines. Agnes Hale was most likely the most dangerous person in Beacon Hills.
Her son Peter was following in her footsteps. Aside from the shoplifting, Peter had been caught breaking and entering and he had stolen a car to take on a cruise. His file read like a rebellious teenager, just like his mother's, but John couldn't help but wonder if she was grooming her son into becoming the next left hand.
Gregory Hale, however, Agnes' husband and alpha of the Hale pack didn't even have a parking ticket to his name. It was almost disappointing.
John didn't have time to dig deeper into the family but it was a start.
After their shift, Mark drove them out to the lake.
John used the ride to ask some questions. About fangs and claws and glowing eyes. About control and if he should be worried on the full moon.
When Mark parked the car at the path that led up to Stiles' cabin, he held up his hand and showed his claws to John.
"We're in full control," he said around a mouth full of sharp teeth, his eyes glowing yellow. "Always."
He retracted his claws and his face turned back to normal as well.
"That's good to know." John managed a smile. Knowing about werewolves was one thing but seeing those claws up close was something different. Especially after Agnes had dug hers into his throat just yesterday.
When they came down the path, they found Stiles already waiting for them. He was sitting at the end of the pier with his feet hanging just inches above the water. The weather was nice today and he was enjoying the sun.
"You're early," Stiles said with barely a glance over his shoulder. "Agnes isn't here yet."
"What about Derek?" John stepped out onto the pier but he made sure to stay away from the edge.
"He'll come up once we're all here," Stiles said and rose to his feet. "Hey, Mark."
"Stiles." Mark gave him a nod, clearly at a loss on how to deal with him. Stiles was mostly known as the escape artist Sheriff Thompson never wanted to see in his station ever again.
"Did Agnes tell you about him?" John asked. Not that Agnes knew much about Stiles in the first place. Just that he'd drowned in the lake and that Derek had kept him. Nothing about the pack's role in that.
"She mentioned that he would be here," Mark answered while he studied Stiles from head to toe. He was looking at him with new eyes, trying to figure him out. John watched in amusement how after a few seconds Mark gave up with a shake of his head.
They were saved by Agnes' arrival.
"I hope I'm not late," she greeted them with her usual warm smile. John had half-expected her to bring a picnic basket but she came over to them empty-handed. She was wearing another summer dress and that white base cap John had known she owned.
The second she joined the group, Derek emerged from the water. So he did know what was going on around the lake, he just didn't care most of the time.
They all watched when Derek slowly walked out of the lake, water running down his face and his hair plastered to his skull. John couldn't help it, this had horror movie vibes.
Next to him, Mark sucked in a breath, this was his first encounter with the lake creature.
Stiles introduced them but it was clear that Mark had even less of a clue what to do with Derek than with Stiles.
"We take the cabin and you can hang out on the pier?" Stiles suggested before things got too awkward.
That's how they ended up with Agnes and Derek sitting next to each other at the end of the pier while Stiles led the others to his cabin.
"You sure she's save with him?" Mark looked over his shoulder where Agnes carelessly kicked her legs like a little girl with the water creature just inches next to her.
"Absolutely." Stiles didn't leave room for doubt.
Stiles had only two chairs in his cabin which he left for Mark and John while he leaned against the stove.
"Okay." Mark spread his hands in an almost desperate manner. "Where do you want to start?"
Turned out that John wasn't the only one with a list. Stiles had some questions of his own. Mark threw him a glance as if he was wondering why he was even here but in the end, he answered all their questions.
In return, they answered his questions about Stiles and Derek. It seemed only fair and John had to admit that it was a good idea to have somebody else in the know about the lake. If they both patrolled the backroads, they could keep people away from the lake more effectively.
Over the next hour, John learned a lot about werewolves but in the end, he leaned back in his chair and just listened to Mark and Stiles discussing what Mark called the omega streak. Apparently, a werewolf could become an omega and if he wasn't stopped in time he could become so feral that he could start a new streak of werewolves. Mark spoke about them with disgust. Most of the common lore was based on this kind of werewolf and more often than not hunters had to put them down.
Stiles was so fascinated but this concept that he even forgot his general hatred of werewolves. He chatted with Mark like he was an old friend and they only stopped when Agnes knocked at the door to announce that she had gotten all the answers she needed.