Warnings: Mild implied smut

Bamby

I pushed Derek onto his bed, climbing on top of him. His hands held my waist, pressing me to him. I grinned against his lips, laying myself on his chest as my hands came up to run through his hair, tugging and pulling. He rolled us over, sliding his knee between my thighs, pressing it against my crotch.

Teeth nipping at my lips, his fingers gripped the bottom of my shirt before slowly dragging it up, his knuckles brushing against my skin. Moaning, I arched into him. His lips came down to my neck where he nibbled and sucked on my pulse, his hands still moving tortuously slow with my shirt.

Wanting more, wanting all of him, the wolf inside me snapped, rolling us over so I was on top again. I grabbed his shirt, tearing it over his head, barely waiting for it to come off before crashing my lips to his again.

He sat up, reaching for my shirt once more, finally pulling it off me. Hands falling to my waist, he pressed me against him, against the heat of his bare chest and his hard cock growing in his jeans. Lips on my neck again, he bit at my skin, dragging his teeth against the spot that had my eyes roll back.

Tilting my head, giving him more access, I rolled my hips, grinding against him. The moans and gasps slipping from my lips were involuntary, my body reacting to his touch while my brain failed to keep up.

"Derek, not sure if you remember, but your bed is in an open and public space in the apartment," Isaac noted, coming down the winding stairs. "And even if it wasn't, I can still hear you guys."

"You could always leave," Derek suggested with an annoyed groan, falling back onto his bed in defeat.

Biting my lip to hide my grin, I pulled away from Derek and turned my head to look over my shoulder at the other Beta. "Sorry."

Derek had bought the loft in order to set up roots. He knew living in the Hale house had been fine when it was just him, and the railroad depot had served a purpose when he was hiding from the Argents. But with Isaac's father dead, leaving him an orphan, Derek took him in. That meant he needed a proper place to live. Hence the loft.

It also made it easier- and more comfortable- for me to stay over.

The loft was huge. It was on the top level of the tall building, which meant you had to take the rickety elevator- which always made me a little nervous. The front door was a large metal sliding door that couldn't be locked- which also made me a little nervous. That brought you to a large open room.

A few steps led down to where Derek had a couch and a coffee table. A little way's over, passed some foundation pillars, sat a large table and some chairs in front of some windows that stretched all the way up the extremely high wall. To the left was the winding stair case that led to a loft. Isaac's room. Off to the right side of the table was Derek's bed, which was covered in dark grey cotton sheets.

There was an open space between the bed and front door, which looked like it had been made with a sledge hammer. It led to an elevator that didn't work, and a hallway. Down the hallway was a simple bathroom and a kitchen.

The whole place was made from bricks, and concrete, and wood. It was very industrial and dark. It suited Derek.

Grabbing our two shirts, I dropped Derek's onto his chest before tugging mine over my head. "Come on." I swung my leg over Derek and gave his thigh a pat. "He's right. It is public space."

"It's my place," Derek countered, sitting up to tug his shirt on, not hiding his anger and frustration.

Chuckling lightly, I got off the bed and headed over to Isaac. "Wanna go get some pizza with me? Leave Derek so he can pout by himself?"

Isaac offered a small smile, nodding. "Sounds good."

The flirting had stopped once Isaac realised I was with Derek. With his Alpha. He questioned why that didn't make me part of the pack, but he didn't have a problem with me sticking around. I think he liked the company.

Over the past four months I'd gotten closer to the Beta. Knowing Isaac, Derek and Peter were looking for Erica and Boyd, I found myself naturally drawn to Isaac. He'd lost two friends when the others left, I lost one seeing as Erica and I had kind of bonded. That loss brought the two of us together.

"Great." I beamed, moving over to the table to grab Derek's car keys. "We'll be back soon," I called over my shoulder to Derek as Isaac and I left.

…

After a great night with Derek and Isaac- and pizza- my mood had deflated in the morning once I found out we were having a visitor.

Derek sat at the table, reading a book, trying to ignore Isaac as he paced in front of the large window. I was over by Derek's bed, grabbing my things to shove in my bag, hoping I could get out of there before the visitor arrived.

"You know, I'm starting not to like this idea," Isaac noted, still pacing. "Sounds kinda dangerous." Pausing, he thought about it, before he continued to pace. "You know what? I definitely don't like this idea, and I definitely don't like him."

"You'll be fine," Derek insisted, voice flat.

I rolled my eyes, walking over to him. "Yeah. Because nothing bad ever happens when he's around."

"Does it have to be him?" Isaac asked, looking from me to Derek. He was really hoping there was another way.

"He knows how to do it. I don't," Derek stated simply, ignoring my comment. "Be more dangerous if I tried doing it myself."

Isaac still looked really unsure. "You know Scott doesn't trust him, right? Neither does Angela." He gestured to me. "You know, personally, I…" he shrugged, "well, I trust them."

Looking up from his book, Derek's eyes met mine as I gave a little smug smile, before he glanced over at the other Beta. "Do you trust me?"

"Yeah." Isaac nodded. Pleased, Derek looked back to his book seconds before Isaac spoke up again. "I still don't like him."

"Nobody likes him," Derek noted as he closed his book and reached over to place it on the table.

He looked up at me as I stood by him. Grabbing my waist, he pulled me to him until I had to rest my hands on his shoulders to keep myself standing as he pressed his lips to mine. I smiled against him, melting into the touch of his lips against mine.

Suddenly the large metal door was pulled open.

"Really? At the dining table?" Peter rolled his eyes at Derek and I as we pulled away from the kiss just enough to turn to him.

Peter Hale. Goddamn Peter freakin' Hale. He was so infuriating. Annoying. Frustrating. Irritating. He was the human embodiment of nails on a chalkboard.

"F.Y.I., yes, coming back from the dead has left my abilities somewhat impaired, but the hearing still works," Peter noted as he walked into the loft, coming towards us. "So, I hope you're comfortable saying whatever it is that you're feeling straight to my face."

"We don't like you," Derek told him without hesitation. I pulled back from him so he could stand up, his eyes still on the former Alpha. "Now shut up and help us."

I gave him a proud smile, standing close to him. My eyes moved over to Peter, a single brow raised in challenge as I waited for him to respond.

Looking from me to Derek, Peter gave a simple shrug. "Fair enough." His claws extended from his fingers.

…

Sitting next to Derek on the couch, I watched Peter as he moved towards Isaac who was sitting on a chair, his back to the table with some space between so Peter could move behind him. I was on the edge of my seat, fingers fiddling with fingers as I watched and waited. I hated this plan.

"Relax," Peter told Isaac. "I'll get more out of you if you're calm." He stood behind him.

Isaac quickly turned to Peter, not trusting him or this plan. "How do you know how to do this, again?"

Peter examined his claws as he explained. "It's an ancient ritual used mostly by alphas, since it's a skill that requires quite a bit of practice." He brought his claws to the back of Isaac's neck. "One slip, and you could paralyse someone. Or kill them."

My eyes went wide. "What?"

Derek rested a hand on my thigh in an effort to calm me, but I could feel he was just as nervous as I was- well, almost as much as I was.

"You- you've had a lot of practice, though, right?" Isaac stuttered.

Peter moved so he could offer a small- and not very convincing smile- to the Beta. "Well, I've never paralysed anyone."

"Wait, does that mean that you-"

Peter cut Isaac off, grabbing a hold of him as he stabbed his claws into his neck. Isaac flinched and twitched, fighting against him, but Peter just held on to him, his eyes glowing cobalt blue.

As Isaac continued to struggle, his movements become more violent and panicked, both Derek and I got to our feet, ready to intervene.

Peter spoke, stopping us. "Wait, I see them."

A moment or so passed before Peter tore himself away from Isaac, turning away from all of us as he flexed his hand, his whole body on edge.

"What'd you see?" Derek asked, needing answers now.

"It was confusing." Peter shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. "Um, im-images. Vague shapes."

"But you saw something," Derek noted.

"Isaac found them."

My back straightened as my hope began to grow over my concern. "Erica and Boyd?"

"I barely saw them. I mean, glimpses."

"But you did see them." Derek was holding onto that fact. He needed to be reassured that they were okay.

Peter's eyes flickered. "Worse."

Looking away, Derek's eyes landed on me for a moment before they turned back to Peter. "Deucalion."

"He was talking to them. Something about time running out."

Isaac, who had been hunched over in his seat, rubbing at the back of his neck, looked over to Peter. "What does it mean?" He turned to Derek and me.

Derek sat down again. "He's gonna kill them."

"No, no, no, no, no, he didn't say that." Peter shook his head. "He did make them a promise that by the full moon that they'd both be dead."

"The next full moon?" Derek and I asked at the same time, neither of us liking the sound of that.

Slowly, Peter turned to us. "Tomorrow night."

…

I stood between Derek and Scott in one of the classrooms at school. Stiles was sitting on one of the desks by Scott, waiting for Derek to respond. He'd been dropping me off at the school for work, but before he could leave my brother and best friend drag him here to talk to Allison and Lydia.

The two girls stood in front of us, Allison's right arm and Lydia's left arm stretched out so we could see their matching bruises.

Arms folded over his chest, mouth set in a straight line, Derek shrugged. "I don't see anything."

"Look again," Scott told him.

I looked down at the bruises myself. I had to admit, it did look like something, I just wasn't sure what. Even if I did, it wouldn't change Derek's mind. He had a reason for acting as short and abrupt as he was.

"How is a bruise gonna tell me where Boyd and Erica are?" Derek asked, looking from my brother to both girls, not hiding his impatience.

"It's the same on both sides," Scott noted, a little annoyed with the Alpha. "Exactly the same."

"It's nothing," Derek insisted, voice still as flat and as agitated, his eyes on Alison.

She gave him a look herself. Neither of them were even bothering to hide their distaste for each other.

Lydia shrugged, speaking up, "Pareidolia. Seeing patterns that aren't there." When Scott and Stiles looked confused, she explained, "It's a subset of apophenia."

Moving closer to Derek and me, Scott lowered his voice. "They're trying to help."

"These two." Derek gestured to Lydia. "This one, who used me to resurrect my psychotic Uncle. Thank you." He gave her a short and fake smile before pointing to Allison. "And this one, who shot about 30 arrows into me and my pack."

"Okay, all right, now, come on," Stiles spoke up in an attempt to ease the tension which was quickly thickening. "No one died, all right? Look, there may have been a little maiming, okay, a little mangling, but no death. That's what I call an important distinction."

"My mother died," Allison countered, eyes on Derek.

"Your family's little honour code killed your mother. Not me."

"Okay…" I grabbed Derek's arm. "Thank you for dropping me off, but I think it might be best if you-"

Allison cut me off as she continued to give Derek a slight glare, "That girl was looking for Scott." She shrugged. "I'm here to help him, not you."

"You wanna help? Find something real," he told her before turning on his heels and storming out of the classroom.

"Derek," Scott sighed, going after him.

I reached out grabbed his arm, stopping him. "I've got it." I nodded to him reassuringly before I followed Derek. He was walking down the hall, heading for the exit, but stopped as I called out to him, "You gonna leave without saying goodbye?" A smile played on my lips

Stopping in his tracks, he sighed as he turned. "Angela, you can't expect me to work with them."

"They're just trying to help."

"Help?" he scoffed, shaking his head.

Coming to stop in front of him, I grabbed his arms, pulling them apart from where they were crossed over his chest again. "You don't trust her, I get it." I wrapped his arms around me as I stepped closer to him, my own arms snaking over his shoulders. "Do you trust me?"

"You know I do." He didn't even hesitate to answer, his eyes looking down at me.

"Well, I trust them."

He tensed against me. "Her mother tried to kill you and your brother."

"I know. And not too long ago you beat the crap out of my brother. So did your entire pack." I gave him a pointed look, the corner of my lip turned up and a slight smile. "But, I still trust you. I'm still here." I leaned up to press a quick kiss to his lips. "Trust my judgement. If they come back with more, we give it a chance, okay?"

Sighing, he looked up at the roof for a moment as he nodded his head. "Okay."

"Good." I smiled, moving onto my toes to get closer to him.

His lips pressed against mine in a chaste kiss. It was sweet and simple… which never lasted long. Proving my point, Derek's arms pulled me closer, squeezing me tighter as he lifted me off the ground. My hands slid into his hair, running through the short locks as I gave a little moan.

Before the kiss could deepen he pulled back, setting me on the ground, keeping his arms around me. "I'll pick you up this afternoon."

"Can't wait." I smiled again, lifting myself onto my toes to press one last quick kiss to his lips.

…

Coach dropped his text book onto his desk, startling the class. They all turned away from their phones and friends, setting their eyes on the teacher and myself as we stood at the front of the class.

"Everyone meet Angela McCall." Coach gestured to me. "Some of you may already know her. She was a student here last year. Now she's at college. For extra credit she has volunteered to work as a teacher's aide, and will be joining us a few times a week." He gave me a nod. "You wanna say anything?"

Shrugging, I leaned back against the windowsill I stood in front of, shaking my head. "That about covers it."

"Great." Coach gave another short nod. "Okay, then. The stock market is based on two principles. What are they?" He asked, getting straight into the lesson.

Scott's hand went up in an instant.

"Yes, McCall, you can go to the bathroom," Coach told him before going on. "Anybody else?

Looking a little unsure, Scott lowered his hand as he spoke up anyway, "Uh, no, coach, I know the answer."

Coach laughed. He didn't even try to hide his amusement. The idea that Scott actually knew something was so beyond his comprehension, that Coach actually laughed… until he turned to me and I gave him a pointed look.

His smile fell as he looked to Scott, doubtful. "Oh, you're serious."

"Yes." Scott nodded. "It's risk and reward."

"Wow!" Coached beamed, walking up to my brother's desk. "Who are you? And what have you done to McCall?" Before Scott could say anything, he stopped him, "Don't answer that. I like you better." He nodded, backing up. "I like you better."

Scott smiled a little, looking over at me. I smiled back, proud. After months of hard work, it was good to see his efforts paying off.

"Does anybody have a quarter?" Coach asked the class, looking around. "A quarter?"

"Yep," Stiles called out, reaching into his pocket to retrieve said quarter.

But as he reached into the pocket of his jeans and fished it out and moved to suddenly, causing something else to fly out and land on the ground, in the middle of the room, for everyone to see.

A condom. Sized XXL.

Raising my hand to my mouth, covering the laugh that was edging to come out, I looked down at the ground, unable to look at my best friend. This was some nightmare stuff right here.

Coach reached down to pick the condom up and hand it back. "Stilinski, I think you, uh… you dropped this." He placed it on the desk as Stiles handed the quarter over. "And congratulations," he mumbled before getting back to the lesson. "Risk and reward. Put the quarter in the mug, win the reward."

Moving to his desk, he grabbed his empty mug and set it on the ground. Walking a few paces over, he then crouched down, lining himself up with the mug as he held the quarter between his thumb and finger.

"Okay, watch coach," he told the class before tossing the quarter.

It bounced off the floor and flew through the air, landing right into the cup.

Getting back to his feet, smiling widely, Coach turned to the applauding class. "Huh? Huh? That's how you do it. Okay." He grabbed the coin and tossed it to one of the student. "Danny. Risk, reward."

"What's the reward?" Danny asked, fiddling with the coin.

Coach shrugged. "You don't have to take the pop quiz tomorrow."

Pausing, Danny looked around for a moment before noting, "Coach, it's not a pop quiz if you tell us about it."

Shaking his head, Coach walked over and took the coin from him. "Danny, you know, I really expect more from you at this point. Really." He stepped over to the next desk. Scott's desk. "McCall." He set the coin down on his desk. "Risk, reward. If you don't put that quarter in the mug, you have to take the pop-" He stopped and glanced at Danny before continuing, "The-the quiz. And… and you have to write an essay. Risk, more work. Reward, no work at all. Or choose not to play." He shrugged.

"But isn't this just chance?" Scott asked.

"No," Coach answered. "You know your abilities, your coordination, your focus, past experience all factors affecting the outcome," he explained as Scott picked the coin up, contemplating the choice. "So, what's it gonna be, McCall? More work, no work, or choose not to play?"

If we're talking about a werewolf's capabilities, then Scott had it in the bag. If we're talking about person, individual capabilities, then it was more of a risk.

Scott was a capable guy, no doubt about that. But past experiences did show that he made rash decisions, thought single-mindedly, was easily strayed by dominate but also misleading emotions, and could be led astray and manipulated.

He put the coin back down on the table.

"No play. Okay." Coach grabbed the coin and walked back to the front of the room, looking to the rest of the class. "Who's next? Who wants the quarter?"

Stiles drummed his hands on his desk excitedly.

Coach nodded, beaming at Stiles. "There ya go! There's a gamblin' man! Come on! Step up, step up." Stiles moved over to Coach and took the coin, getting in position. "All right, Stilinski."

Stiles didn't crouch, he stayed standing, leaning over a little instead. His eyes were focused on the mug, his fingers barely holding the edge of the coin as he lined it up.

The classroom door opened as Sheriff Stilinski and a deputy walked in.

I pushed off the windowsill. "Stiles."

"Yeah, Angie, I got this." He nodded without looking from the mug.

"Stiles," his dad spoke up.

Stiles looked up, the smile washing from his face. I could sense the nerves and anxiety waving off him. Scott could too as he looked from the Sheriff to our friend. We all knew something was wrong.

The lesson rolled on as Stiles stepped out into the hallway to talk to his dad and the deputy. I listened to the conversation, knowing Scott was as well. Apparently, a friend of Stiles' had gone missing from the party he and Scott went to last night.

"I couldn't find her," Stiles explained. "I just figured she'd hooked up with her other friends. Has no one really seen her since last night?"

"No. We put out an A.P.B., but, Stiles," Sheriff Stilinski sighed, "all her friends say you were the last person who saw her."

"Me?" Stiles sounded shocked.

Scott and I looked to each other then, concerned. This was not good. People going missing was never good, but when it involved people we knew- especially Stiles- then it was really bad. The worst of it was the fact there were new Alphas in town who'd already taken two teenagers. What if they were taking more?

"We hope that it's just a series of bad decisions based on too much to drink," Sheriff Stilinski tried to reassure his son, but you didn't need werewolf senses to hear his doubt. "But if you remember anything else, you call me.

"All right?" Stiles agreed.

"Yes!" Danny cheered in the class, pulling my attention back to the room.

"Reward!" Coach exclaimed, giving Danny a pat on the shoulder as the student moved back to his desk. "Okay, who's next?" One hand came up but Coach shut them down. "Greenberg, put your hand down. You don't have a chance."

…

Despite being part of the staff, meaning I could- and probably should- be eating with them during the lunch break, I instead chose to sit with Scott and Stiles in the cafeteria, just like I'd always done. Besides, after the conversation Stiles had with his dad, I was pretty sure he could use all the friends he could get.

"So, you think they kidnapped Heather to turn her?" Scott asked.

Stiles had a theory that the Alphas were the ones who took his friend. I wasn't so sure, but at the same time I wouldn't be surprised. It wasn't common for people to just go missing for no reason in Beacon Hills. Most of the time, it involved the supernatural.

Stiles shrugged in frustration and concern. "Derek says it's easier to turn teenagers."

Scott didn't look convinced. "But what would a pack of Alphas need with a Beta?"

He had a point.

"Scott, I don't know. I don't care. All right?" Stiles shifted in his seat, unable to stay still. "This girl… our mums were best friends before mine died, all right? We used to take freakin' bubble baths together when we were three. I gotta find her."

I reached over and grabbed his hand. "Hey. We know," I told him. "And we're gonna help. Promise."

Stiles relaxed ever so slightly, giving me a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"We need Isaac to remember," Scott noted.

Stiles' smile fell as he turned to my brother, his anxiety rising once more. "How? Peter and Derek couldn't do it. You know any other werewolves with a better trick?"

Pausing a moment, Scott thought about it before coming up with a plan. "Maybe not a werewolf. But someone who knows a lot about them."

Bamby