Word: Wildling
...
Stiles crept along the tree branch, tracking the motion of the creature down below. A crude knife was held between his teeth and he was silent as he jumped between the trees nimbly. Barely a leaf fluttered, and his breathing was soft even to his own ears. He would never be heard unless he wanted it to be. He went still completely when the creature below tensed slightly, ears sharp and pointed, and it let out a howl. There was an answering howl, not too far away, and then the wolf left, bounding through the trees and far too fast for even Stiles to catch. He let out a snarl around the blade, and slipped down the tree trunk to the forest floor. He knew there were some berries in a bush nearby, and the weather hadn't changed so much that they would be inedible. Stiles crouched low to the ground and began to run through the forest towards his dinner.
Hidden in the encroaching shadows behind him, the wolf watched silently as the man disappeared from sight.
...
"There's a wildling in the forest," Derek announced when he returned to the loft to find the rest of his pack waiting.
"A what?" Scott, his beta, asked.
"A wildling's a wild plant, flower, or animal," Lydia said, rolling her eyes. "So which one is it, oh fearless leader?"
"None; it's a man. Well, he looks to be about your age," Derek said, nodding at Scott and Isaac briefly.
"Well, that narrows it down superbly," Peter drawled, rolling his eyes. "Do you have anything more descriptive, perhaps, nephew?"
Derek let out a small growl his eyes turning red. Peter flinched from his Alpha, but didn't respond otherwise.
"I'll try to find him again tomorrow and let you know," Derek said briefly.
"How haven't we found this guy before?" Scott asked.
"He's in an area of the forest we don't generally go to," he replied, voice short and not allowing for any more questions.
"Should we be worrying about this right now?" Isaac asked hesitantly, looking between Derek and Peter. "I mean, the Darach's still out there, and the Alpha pack's still got Erica and Boyd hidden who knows where since you killed their leader."
"Lydia, go with Peter to try and find where Erica and Boyd are; try to use your banshee senses this time," Derek added coolly.
Lydia gave a brief nod, not looking pleased at being saddled with Peter again.
"Isaac, you and Scott try and find something about the Darach and what he wants. Use Allison as a last resort," Derek added.
Scott blushed, but both boys nodded, leaving the loft with Lydia and Peter not far behind them.
Derek was exhausted from his day of running through the forest and made his way to his bed. He was still new to being an Alpha, and his pack just wasn't working as a pack should. They barely listened to him (Derek somewhat blamed Peter's nonchalant attitude for this; he knew that his uncle only accepted him as Alpha because he'd killed Deucalion and therefore had more strength as an Alpha than Peter's own Alpha form did), and there were times when he thought that it might have been better if he hadn't killed Deucalion at all. Still, he had a pack again, and it was better than no pack at all.
He'd smelled the wild man in the forest almost a week ago, and there was a part of Derek that revelled in that scent, despite the fact that he couldn't place it. He wanted to roll over and present his stomach to whoever belonged to that scent, something that his Alpha wolf was in complete agreement with, and that terrified Derek more than he would admit to. Then today, when he'd seen the man's amber eyes, intelligence in his gaze, Derek knew that he'd found another part of his pack. He just didn't know how to get the young man's consent when he looked like he'd been raised by actual wolves and probably wouldn't understand what Derek was offering.
Derek fell asleep to the remembered scent of the wild man, his amber eyes haunting his dreams. Tomorrow, he would find the wildling, and Derek would make him understand what he was offering in the best way he could. Derek didn't really know why, but he just knew that he needed the wildling to be part of his pack. Maybe with the addition of the wildling, and his scent that reminded Derek of something, they'd finally start feeling like a real pack.
...
Stiles watched with vague curiosity as the wolf neared his tree. It was sniffing softly, ears pricked as it listened out for something. Stiles cocked his head to the side, glancing from the wolf over to his knife. It wouldn't be too far of a stretch to get the knife, but he was still full from the berries and nuts he'd found the night before. He wouldn't want the wolf to go to waste. Stiles contemplated going back to sleep when he saw the wolf shift.
It was a slow process, and by the end of it, Stiles couldn't look away. In the wolf's place was a man. His heart raced at the sight of another human after so many years, and Stiles couldn't handle the shock or closeness of such a monster. He grabbed his knife, leapt down from the tree and sliced the monster up before he could do anything. His eyes widened when he saw the wound close before his eyes. Stiles tore his gaze away, clutched his knife tighter, and ran.
"Wait!" the monster called, but Stiles just kept running.
He was about to cross into the coyote's territory, but she looked out for him sometimes, and Stiles hoped that she wouldn't mind his trespassing today. He could hear the monster running after him, but Stiles was faster on two feet, and he soon lost the flesh-made monster, climbing up a tree in a matter of seconds to hide.
He waited, heart pounding in his chest and knife gripped in his hand, and watched the forest floor below. Stiles breathed softly but deeply, slowing his heartbeat to its normal slow pace, and tried to stop sweating onto the hilt of his blade.
Eventually, Stiles spotted the wolf nearby. It walked directly up to the tree he was hiding in and curled up at the trunk, snout resting on its front paws gently. Stiles refused to be tricked by the monster wearing the wolf. He had successfully hunted deer, waiting patiently for hours before leaping for his prey. This would be easy in comparison.
...
Derek had been caught off guard when the man dropped from the tree, snarling and slicing at him with a knife. He'd run off before Derek could do more than call for him to wait, but the stench of fear had been strong enough for Derek to follow after he shifted.
He hadn't been scared of his wolf in the slightest, but his human self terrified him. It was usually the other way around, Derek though to himself, padding his way through the forest carefully.
Derek didn't even have to glance up to know which tree the wildling was hiding in and simply settled down in front of the large tree easily.
Hours passed, but Derek didn't move until the sun set. He stood on all four paws, stretching his limbs with a wide wolf-toothed yawn. He'd come back tomorrow in his wolf form and see if the -
His thoughts were cut off abruptly when he heard a soft snarl from nearby, and Derek turned to see a coyote between the trees, teeth bared in anger at the intrusion. His eyes flashed red and he snarled in return, turning and leaving once the coyote whimpered and scampered away from him.
Derek left the forest without stopping, even though he could feel the gaze of the wildling on him the whole time.
Lydia announced that she knew where Boyd and Erica were later that night, and Derek didn't have a chance to tell them about the wildling or his response to Derek's human form.
They were able to rescue Boyd, Erica, and Cora (his youngest sister was alive and he'd never known) a day later on the night of the full moon. All three were crazed with moon lust, and ran straight into the forest after Scott and Isaac. Peter and Derek ran after them, both snarling in their Alpha forms to try to get them to submit.
They ran further into the forest, Scott and Isaac working together to keep the three wolves away from the rest of Beacon Hills. It wasn't until they passed by the coyote's territory that Derek realised where they were headed. He leaped forward just as they came into the wildling's clearing, snarling loudly to get them to back down. Erica's eyes flashed uncertainly but Cora and Boyd didn't seem to respond. Then, without a sound or whisper of warning, Derek's wildling dropped from the trees straight onto Boyd's back, his knife plunged into the wolf's side.
Derek jumped forward - whether to protect his wildling or his beta, he didn't know - and then closed his jaws around Boyd's neck. The position made Boyd submissive immediately, and though there was some angry snarling, Boyd settled down. Spurred on by Derek's display, Peter jumped forward while Cora was distracted and did the same, both betas growling in anger, but no longer crazed.
When he was sure that Boyd would no longer be a threat, Derek let go of his beta and looked to where the wildling had been thrown from Boyd's back. He seemed to be breathing in short gasps, blood trickled down the side of his face, but it was a small wound and Derek could tell that he hadn't broken any bones or ribs, which was somewhat of a miracle in itself. The wildling looked at Derek with amber eyes, his bloodied hand loose around his knife, and then passed out.
"Well, I can certainly see the appeal of your little woodland creature," Peter remarked with a smug smirk.
Derek growled at him fiercely.
"Oh, don't worry, I have no designs on your creature. Would you like me to do your job as Alpha and turn him, or are you going to keep your precious creature the way he is?"
Derek hadn't actually thought about giving the wildling the bite. Sure, he wanted him to be part of his pack, but he hadn't thought of the specifics. Lydia was part of the pack and she was still human (more or less), so Derek didn't think he needed to make a decision right then and there. Besides, he would never do so without the person's permission. Not again.
He shifted back to human form - though his wolf protested, wanting to protect the wildling - and picked the young man up easily.
"We'll return to the loft and work out what to do from there. If you are going to be near him, then stay as close to your wolf as possible. He doesn't like humans," Derek said, glancing to the wildling briefly.
"All right, boys and girls, you heard your Alpha. Home time, patch up those wounds, and keep the wolves out in the open when dealing with his pretty little woodland creature."
Derek bit back his snarl at Peter, choosing to ignore him instead, and started walking through the forest with the rest of his pack following meekly.
When he returned to the loft, Derek had a pack to take care of and get under control; an Alpha pack to contain, make a treaty with, or outright kill (they were losing focus without their leader, and Scott and Isaac had already said that the twins were no longer at school - it smelled like they had fled the state entirely); a Darach to find and probably kill; and a long-lost sister to hopefully reunite with.
But for now, Derek would keep his focus on the wildling in his arms, and he could only bring himself to hope that the wildling would agree to become part of his pack one day.
...
The end (maybe).
Thanks for reading!
