Someone shoot me for being so goddamn slow with posting. I really apologise for the wait. This chapter took a while to type up to start with, but once I got going, it just flowed.

More notes at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: Teen wolf and its characters are not owned by me. I will not take credit for it. It belongs to it's rightful owners.

Derek stared at the puppies as he paused from going into the kitchen. He still could not believe he'd let himself be roped into caring for them on his own for a week. Shaking his head, he moved into the kitchen where the six bowls sat on the floor.

It was Stiles' idea to get them separate bowls, rather than use one large one for them. He hadn't argued at the time because it didn't overly concern him. But now that he was faced with the challenge of doing everything himself, he was starting to regret it.

He ignored the puppies as the bounded in excited circles and nudged his legs as he filled each bowl with the right food. He was so very tempted to use his little alpha trick, but he had promised Stiles that he wouldn't, unless it was absolutely necessary.

He could remember talking about it to Stiles. In particular, the one part Stiles was pretty clear on.

"Don't use that alpha glare of yours. Or that roaring trick. It works on the pack because you're their alpha and that makes them submit to you because you have rank over them. But these pups aren't your pack. All that does is scare the poor things. And they will only listen so many times if you scare them. Besides, that's not what being a dog owner is about."

He shook his head and glanced over the puppies again. What Stiles didn't know, wouldn't hurt him. At least, not in this case.

Giving in, Derek gave the puppies a red eyed glare. He smirked in satisfaction as they backed off and sat down silently, waiting until he gave them the okay before they darted forward to eat.

He watched them silently, leaning back against the counter. With the puppies being busy with their food, it gave him the peace he needed to think about things. Namely, his pack.

Jackson, Erica and Boyd. That's three from the pack gone. Scott will no doubt help with the alpha pack, but he's made it very clear that he isn't a part of my pack. So that only leaves Isaac. And I know the kid's grateful to me. I've given him a new life and a home. But he can't help me on his own with Scott. The two of them are betas. They don't stand a chance against a pack of alphas. Especially not with the two of them.

He shook his head, glancing at the two brown puppies as they started play fighting. He'd tried training the two betas. But it hadn't worked out much because of him being so focused on finding the alpha pack. In fact, they were running around more for Stiles than they were for him.

Stiles. He's not even part of the pack and yet he always does so much to save us. He may say that he does it for Scott. But I can tell Isaac's grown on him. Heck Erica and Boyd probably would if they'd stuck around long enough. Jackson….maybe not so much. And yet Stiles is spending every minute of his spare time either here caring for the puppies or in his room, working out where the other members of the pack might be.

He was forced out of his thoughts when Lily's cool nose pressed against his neck. Blinking in slight surprise, he glanced at the puppy where she stood on a few tins that had been stacked on top of the counter earlier. How she got up there he'd never know.

Lily pulled back a second to blink at him with bright blue eyes before she nosed his neck again, this time nuzzling it a little. She took a step forward to press her nose harder against his neck and her paw slipped, causing her to fall off the tins.

Derek froze for half a second before he quickly moved, catching the puppy before she could get injured. He lifted her up, holding her the way Stiles had shown him. She looked up at him before she tilted her head and licking his chin, obviously thanking him for saving her.

A genuine smile played on his lips for a second before it faded and he gave the puppy one tickle behind her ear.

"Be careful, silly pup. No need for you to get injured."

He gave her another absentminded pat before putting her on the ground. Truth is, she had surprised him more than he realised. He knew what she'd been doing. He brang a hand up to where she had nosed his neck. His neck was slightly moist but that wasn't very noticeable.

He walked out of the kitchen and sat on the couch, mind running as he stared into space.

She was scent marking me. Making me smell like pack. Her brothers, they already smell like pack to her. And because this house now has their scents mixed in with mine, she finds it only right for her to make me smell like them as well. But…

He paused in his thoughts to glance over the puppies. Two groups of puppy play fighting were going on between the boys. But Lily just sat calmly, watching her brothers and only joining in if one them turned to her first.

For starters, they're only puppies. Scent marking shouldn't be part of what they do for another few months. And secondly, I'm pretty sure dogs don't take great lengths to scent mark their owners. Not like I'm the pups' owner. They're more wild than they let on.

Derek continued to stay in his thoughts when he felt paws on his arm, one pushing against his shoulder and a muzzle rubbing along his neck. He glanced to the side to find Lily's nose pressed against his neck once more.

Instead of pushing the puppy away, he let her scent mark him, keeping his arm still so that she stayed balanced. He could hear the small noise of delight that she made when she wasn't pushed away.

He rolled his eyes slightly and just left the puppy to her own devices, watching her brothers chase each other around. He was actually quite peaceful, subtly noting the smooth motions Lily's muzzle made as she nuzzled his neck.

He could not be blamed for jumping when Scott came bounding in with Isaac. He had been almost asleep by the time the two betas came running in, both pretty happy after going for a run.

He glared at the two of them as he held one hand to Lily's back, making sure the puppy doesn't fall off.

Scott glanced at Derek, then at the puppy that had its face buried in his neck. He let out a small, incoherent noise that sounded a little like a laugh as his eyes wandered over the two.

"I..." He didn't even bother voicing the question on his mind.

Instead, he stepped closer to Derek and then stopped, a small grin forming as his suspicions were confirmed.

"You let the pup scent mark you." It was a simple statement. One that had Isaac suddenly trying to hold back laughter.

"So? They're pack animals. If it keeps her calm then so what?" Derek grumbled out, pulling Lily off his shoulder but letting her lay in his arms.

Isaac bit back the rest of his laugh, dropping down next to one of the male puppies and starting a little play fight with it, obviously being very careful.

"Yeah…but normally an alpha does more of the scent marking." Scott commented, picking up Oreo when the puppy bounded over.

Derek just growled back, putting Lily on the floor and standing up.

"Seeing as the two of you are here, you can make yourselves useful. Watch the pups. And I seriously mean watch them this time. "

Scott and Isaac watched Derek move towards the door. They expected as much. As soon as they get here, the puppies are always pushed over to them and Derek literally gets out. He leaves the house and won't come back for several hours. Despite how late it can get, Scott always refuses to leave the puppies alone with Isaac.

"Going for a run again?" Isaac questioned, standing up with Coco in his arms, the puppy wiggling happily.

"I'm going to see if I can scent any movement from the alpha pack. Howl if anything happens. And I mean it this time. Seriously you two, an accident of a puppy getting stuck inside a couch counts as calling me back for an emergency."

Derek glanced over both once, satisfied once they nodded, before he turned and raced off, already in his beta form.

To this day, Derek still had no idea how the two knuckleheads had managed to let a puppy get stuck inside a couch. One day he goes out for a run, Stiles at the shops buying some more supplies for the pups, and the next he's getting a call from Stiles, asking if he can return home because they have a little puppy situation and while he can handle the actual puppy, he can't handle 'Derek's puppies'.

Derek had come home to Stiles removing the cushions off the couch and both Isaac and Scott wolfed out, hovering over Stiles' shoulder with symmetrical worried expressions. They got to the point where Derek had to drag them outside to be able to get them calm enough to actually go back to their human forms.

If there was any incident he didn't want to repeat, it was that one.

…..:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::..…

What am I doing? This isn't getting me anywhere…

Stiles had been staring at his notes for the past twenty minutes. He had nothing, absolutely nothing! Every place he'd figured one of the pack might be had turned out to be a bust. Both Scott and Isaac had been to every spot he'd suggested, sniffing out the area and trying to see if they could catch a familiar scent. But each one had been nothing more than a failed attempt.

Groaning, Stiles leant his head against one of his hands as he picked up one of the notes he'd made, reading over it again. The closest he'd come to finding Jackson was a few stale scents here and there. Erica's and Boyd's scents hadn't been found since Scott had scented them mixed with the alpha pack.

Throwing the notes down, Stiles moved over to the map to mark off another place that had been a negative. They were running out of areas, and fast. Glancing over the map, suddenly something clicked in Stiles' tired brain. His eyes widened as they darted to each mark where Jackson had been scented.

Scrambling for a spare piece of paper, he quickly wrote down the name of each place in order where Jackson's scent had been discovered. He then made the dots form the same shape they did on the map, joining each dot together. Once finished, he studied the map again, paying closer attention to where Jackson has already been.

Finally, his eyes dart to one place in particular. It was the closest to Beacon Hills but also far enough away that you wouldn't be detected by anyone you knew unless they were actually there. Perfect to use as a getaway from werewolves, while still being able to see family.

Stiles was out of his chair at once, grabbing a smaller version of the map, a few notes and his keys before darting down the steps and out the door, completely forgetting that he was grounded. Jackson was pack and he was coming home, if it's the last thing Stiles does.

…..:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::..…

Alright, so maybe Stiles hadn't thought this one through. At all. He'd just been so happy to have finally gotten a lead that he'd abandoned all thought and gone straight to where he believed Jackson to be. Now, he was faced with the troubles of how to get Jackson home, or better yet, how to find Jackson.

He sat in his car, thumbing through the notes he'd brought with him. But he was stuck. He considered calling Scott or Isaac, but they'd both be pretty annoyed that he was already here. Plus he didn't want Derek to know that he'd found anything. He'd rather surprise the alpha werewolf.

I've so bitten off more than I can chew.

Shaking his head, Stiles thought about this rationally.

Jackson had been avoiding pack members for a while now. It's likely he's also avoided those from school. Which means he'll be keeping a low profile. Asking around would be a waste of time. Not just that, but I don't want to be detected either, by Jackson or anyone else. Once Jackson knows I'm in town, he'll book it the minute he can. Not just that, but I have no idea how long I'm going to be here for. Oh Dad's gonna be so pissed when I get home.

Sighing, Stiles started up his car again and pushed further into town. If Jackson was staying in the outskirts, he wouldn't be on the Beacon Hills side. Which left the other side of town and two days for Stiles to find him, before the full moon. Once the full moon's out, Stiles has no chance of getting Jackson to listen.

It was then that he noticed a forest as he passed. He literally slammed on his breaks, making his poor Jeep jerk to a shaky stop. He glanced over the forest before pulling out the map he had of the town.

Marking key points with his fingers, Stiles followed the way the forest worked on the edge of the town. It was the only forest that actually came into the town and was the easiest way to get in and out undetected.

If there's any place for Jackson to hide while here, that'd be it. It'd have to be.

Stiles jumped when his phone went off in his pocket. He glanced at the name before answering.

"Yo Scott, what can I do for you?"

"Stiles, is it natural for a puppy to be able to climb into things?"

Stiles rolled his eyes. Scott was such a puppy himself sometimes that he seriously couldn't help but like him.

"Yes Scott. Puppies have a knack for getting into things they shouldn't. Just, keep an eye on them alright? Don't let them eat anything apart from the dog and puppy food we bought. I'm guessing you and Isaac have them again for the afternoon?"

"Alright. And yeah, we do. Derek passed them to us the second we came through the door. You should've seen him. He was like a bullet getting out of there. Then again, that might've been because we actually managed to startle him a little."

Stiles' eyes grew wide and he cursed silently for not being able to see that.

"How'd you manage to startle the big bad alpha?"

"Lily was scent marking him. Must've reminded him of his old pack or something because he was really relaxed. And I mean seriously relaxed. He didn't even hear us until we came through the door."

"Aww man! Now I really wish I hadn't missed that!"

Stiles was shifting some of the stuff off his lap into the spare seat as he talked to Scott, listening as his best friend told him about everything that was going on with the puppies at the moment. Man he missed those little bundles of fluff.

"When are you getting off being grounded?" Scott asked, his voice sounding a little hopeful.

"Hopefully at the end of this week. Depends how dad feels ya know."

Scott sighed but accepted that. He knew it wasn't Stiles' fault. They'd both been talking about whether or not to let his dad know about werewolves. So far, both of them agreed that it was better, and safer, if he didn't know. All they had to do is look at what had happened in the past to humans who knew about the supernatural side of the world to know that it could be very dangerous.

"Hey dude, where are you anyway?"

Stiles blinked at that question. He hadn't expected Scott to pick up on anything being abnormal.

"Outside my house. Why?"

"I….thought I heard something through the phone. Stiles, are you sure you're at home?"

Stiles' heartbeat peaked at that. His eyes flew up towards the forest and he scanned the darker area, panic sitting just on his chest, waiting to rise. It was then that he saw the glow of red through the trees.

Without thinking, or replying to Scott for that matter, Stiles started the jeep and pulled away one handed, his foot stamping down on the gas.

"Stiles! Stiles what's going on?! I can hear your breathing over the phone! And the jeep! Speeding for that matter...Stiles answer me!"

Stiles let out a shaky breath as he glanced behind at the forest, replying to Scott in an unsure voice.

"I'm not at home Scott. A-and I think I'm being chased by-"

That's all Stiles got out before something hit the front of the jeep. Instead of the jeep skidding to the side or stopping, it flipped straight through the air and off the side of the road, rolling down the roadside hill several times before it settled on its roof.

Most of the glass had been shattered and the car was smoking slightly. Stiles' phone sat on the roof, the call with Scott having not been disconnected. The last thing Stiles had heard before he went unconscious was the frantic voice of Scott trying to get a reply out of him.

I'm Sorry! Please don't kill me!

I tried to write something happy and fluffy. I really did. But I can't write anything nice without it turning dark. It's an issue I have...WHY AM I DARK?!

A big thankyou again to everyone who has either favourited or is following this story. I'm really grateful for all the support and possitive feedback I'm getting for this story.

Flamealchemist103: There you go, some Derek and puppy cuteness for ya! I apologise for any cavities caused by that part of the story ^^