Chapter 13

A Face Worth Saving

The day after their semi pack meet was a school day. So that meant that the three kids would be heading back to school, for Alex it was the first time in a good week. It was the first day back since the attack on Derek and Paige. The wound on his side was almost gone by now though it still ached from time to time. Both he and Derek tended to have nightmares, Derek's consisting of Paige. While Alex's was of him getting there a little too late as well as of the man that was hunting down Alisa and baby Fiona. He hadn't been able to quite get past the way the man felt, cold, cruel, and calculating. Another thing that worried him was the fact that he still had not gained control of the emotion/ mind-reading he had acquired. It had made him a bit paranoid, with a school full of kids and adults running around him all day.

His mom had dropped him off at the Stilinski house, just as she always did. He knocked on the front door, and Mr. Noah had let him in with a pat on the head. They made their way to the kitchen where Stiles was finishing up the breakfast his mother had prepared. Once he was spotted, the little kid ran to him and started talking a mile a minute. Going on and on about how he would be joining in on the training he was doing with the kid's mother.

Alex smiled down at the small boy, bending at his knees to lift him onto his hip. He let the small boy rant about how he wasn't allowed to tell other people about his powers and how it wasn't fair.

"Listen Mieczyslaw, we don't want other people to know cause they might turn around and end up hurting us. Even if they didn't mean to. So you can only tell people who your mom and dad know we can trust okay?" Alex said tapping the boy's nose.

Stiles nodded and they were ushered out the front door and towards the school. Stiles didn't live too far from the school, but that didn't necessarily mean that it was going to be a short walk. The entire time he held onto the boy's hand and laughed at the little jokes he told or argued on which was better Spiderman or Batman. Though, they both tended to agree that it really didn't matter. Once they made it to the school Alex led Stiles to his classroom and then headed to his own.

Once he made it to his side of the school he met up with Derek and his friends, who were hanging out by the lockers. The group of middle school jocks didn't tend to associate with Alex, and the only reason they really tolerated him was because Derek was his brother. He didn't like them. They always left the atmosphere feeling a little awkward and kind of weird.

'I can't believe he and Derek are twins. They're nothing alike. '

'He is sooooo boring'

'Why do we have to hang out with him?'

"I wonder if I get to touch some boobs soon."

It was as if a bomb had gone off in his head. There were so many thoughts and it was hard for him to differentiate where which one was coming from. So many people going on about their weekend, whether they remembered their homework, who was who, and what was what. He decided he really didn't like being in the heads of so many kids. Especially ones who were all doped up on teenage hormones. It was getting to be really disturbing. Some peoples' thoughts though he picked up on and knew exactly who they were. He decided he couldn't sit there and listen to the three idiots think bad things about him anymore.

"I'll see you in class, Derek. By the looks of it, your 'friends' aren't really keen on the fact that I hang around yall in the mornings." Alex said heading off in the direction of their shared science class. He did pause when he heard his brother going off on the other three guys, and it wasn't but a minute till Derek had caught up with him.

Eight periods in one day with so many people crammed into one room was torture. Especially for the kid who could read each and every thought going the minds of everyone. It was all starting to run together to the point he couldn't tell up from down, left from right, or green from nine. His headache had turned into a migraine and he couldn't get rid of it. He was just lucky that it was the last class of the day.

He spaced out a little bit, trying to ignore the everything that was going on around him when a flicker of panic caught his attention. He blinked trying to follow the thread of thought. Sifting through the hundreds of voices and focusing on the one repeating 'no', 'my fault', and 'make it stop'. Alex recognized that voice was familiar with the pain that shot through the person. He felt it every day.

Derek! He shot up out of his desk and started taking off for the gym. Why didn't he realize what would happen with his brother? Neither he nor Derek had stepped foot in the gym since the day that Paige had died. Here he was wrapped up in his own turmoil that he completely forgot about his brother's pain. It also didn't help that Derek had no control of his wolf at the moment. He needed to go faster before something bad really happen.

Alex completely ignored the shouts of his name as he tore out of the academics building and headed straight into the gym. He shoved past the group that had gathered around his brother, watching as the boy lay curled into a tight ball. Alex shouted at the kids telling them to get the principal and to get the hell out of the way. He knelt in front of his brother and lifted his head so they looked at each other in the eyes. Derek's flashed a bright blue and in turn Alex's flash a vibrant purple. He pulled Derek into a hug.

"Try to match your breathing to mine as best you can. In, and out," Alex said shifting Derek so that his back was against his chest. He remembered that this was the way that his dad uses to help calm him down when the stress of being a weird hybrid got the better of him. He would wrap him in a hug and have him match their breathing. Then he'd tell him to recite the words that always helped him.

"Repeat after me, Derek. The sun, the moon, the stars." Derek did, though he stuttered through them. His breathing was starting to calm though he could still hear Derek's thoughts, could hear the panic.

"Alpha, beta, omega."

After a few moments of Derek repeating the mantra his breath evened out and Derek slumped against him, exhausted from the panic attack. It wasn't something that his body was used to, so it took a hell of a lot out of him.

"What is going on here?"

Of course, now was when the principal wanted to show up. Alex turned his head toward him but kept his body still so he wouldn't rouse Derek.

"Could you call our mom?" He asked, "I don't know what happened, but I think having our mother here would help."

"Very well," He muttered and turned walking back towards the office.

"He needs to move so that we can finish practice," Coach Lahey said.

"Well, Sir." Alex growled, "I don't think moving him would be the best opinion at the moment. He just had an anxiety attack and from personal experience that takes a lot out of you. Plus, once the principal actually calls, our mom will be here within the minute."

"Now you see here-"

"What the hell happened?" Talia yelled rushing to her sons. Alex turned to smirk at the coach but stopped himself when he caught a tread of his thoughts. He saw a little boy and a freezer, a lot of bruises.

"Mom, we need to get him home," Alex said feeling the vision coming to his forefront.

She read the panic in his eyes and hefted the catatonic Derek into her arms and ushered the panicking Alex towards the entrance. She buckled Derek into the car and took off as Alex was sucked further into the vision.

A little boy was crying, tears staining the red cheeks, he looked about Stiles' age. He cowered in the corner begging the man not to hurt him. He crowed into the corner and tried to hide his face from the man. Rage built-in Alex's chest as he gazed at the boy who huddled into himself, screaming for the man to stop. Brown curls bounced as he shook his head. The man yelled calling the boy a freak, worthless, a piece of trash that should have never been born. He recognized that voice, heard the sharp bite of anger that always yelled at the kids in the gym.

Alex jerked himself away from the vision, snarling in anger. He caught his mother's gaze in the rearview mirror. He could tell before his mother's eyes widened that his eyes were purple and that he was partially shifted into beta form. He felt his teeth lengthen and poke at his bottom lip. His nails scratched into his palms from the force he was using to hold back his anger. He felt the hair appearing along his jaw and eyebrows. A snarl ripped its way from his throat, causing his mom to bring the car to a skidding stop.

He ripped off his seat belt and flung the car door open. He took off into the woods fighting off the urge to kill and maim. Paws hit the ground before he could process the impulse to tear the man apart for what he saw. He couldn't tell if it was necessarily in the future. From the way that the child was acting scenes such as that had to have happened before. He felt the wolf growl as it tried taking full control, fully intending to shred the man to pieces.

He wasn't fully prepared for the wave of bloodlust that encompassed his body once he shifted, and for a moment he lost all control of his mind. The wolf taking full command of his extremities. It was difficult but he finally managed to force the beast down and shift back into his human form. He looked around noticing that he was within the limits of the Hale property. He sighed, almost in tears from the amount of anger that raged within him. It wasn't something he used to deal with. He had never felt that level of pure hatred in his life. His mind ran in circles as he made his way home. One way or the other he was going to help this boy.

Once he made it to the edge of the property, he noticed his mother sitting on the back porch steps, waiting on his return. She stood as he walked closer, giving him the eyes she always gave when she was very, very upset with anyone of her children. She lifted her eyebrow when he came to a stop at her feet.

"I'm sorry, mom." He mumbled looking down at his feet. "How is Derek?"

"He's asleep," She said, "What did you see?"

"Coach Lahey abusing his youngest son," Alex growled his eyes flashing purple again. He saw his mother's eyes flash red and he whimpered showing her his neck in a form of submission. She blinked the red away and nodded at her son.

"I'll see what I can do."

A thought popped into his head and he grinned at his mother. "Can you take me back to school? I still have to walk Mieczyslaw home."

His mother smiled and ushered him around the house and to the car.