AN: Wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who's been reading this. It is not beta'd so please forgive my mistakes. Also should warn people, if you are a fan of Scott this story might not be for you. Anyway, hope you enjoy and if you like it let me know!
Chapter 4-Something's Not Right
"Well, look what assuming gets ya," Stiles growls out, "So what does this mean for Derek and me?" He rubs at his neck; his mating bite has been itching since he landed. Something he's ignored until now, but it's been getting increasingly harder to ignore as the itch begins to morph into a dull ache.
"You are beginning to experience the first side effect of a neglected bond," Bowie eyes Stiles' neck again, "Derek's bite is fading due to the distance between you. Once it is gone your bite on him is going to become infected."
The rest of what the Lupine says goes unheard; Stiles doesn't think, he just reacts. One moment he's listening to the Lupine and the next he has the older wolf by the neck pressed against the desk. Purple eyes regard him calmly as he snarls into the wolf's face.
"Fix it." His voice is barely understandable around his fangs; his beta shift is taking over. Stiles doesn't even attempt to control the change, welcoming his wolf to rage with him. Thoughts of Derek in pain, because of him, flit through his head. Suddenly he wonders if this is what Nyx had been trying to warn him about in all those dreams.
That thought pulls Stiles from his anger. Could he have prevented this? Abruptly he lets go of the Lupine, not even phased as he finds the other wolf back in his chair. Stiles stares at the Lupine numbly, "How can I fix this?"
The room feels suffocating as silence stretches. Stiles thinks back over everything he thought he know about mating bonds. How could it go so wrong? He's pulled from his thoughts as the Lupine speaks up.
"What exactly were you told about mating bonds?" his smooth voice is firm and almost calming in a way.
Stiles feels a little of his anger and self-hatred dissipate. He gets the feeling it is some freaky Lupine mojo, but he's too grateful for the ability to reason again to question it currently.
"When one werewolf loves another werewolf very much, they give one another a mating bite. This bite will form a bond between them. If they so desire, they may strengthen the bond farther by engaging in knotted penetrative sex." Stiles tells the Lupine with only a touch of sarcasm, "On our wedding night, Derek and I gave each other the bite. We wanted to wait for the second step until I was back from this trip."
The Lupine has a look of his face that is a part annoyance, part concern, and part incredulity. He arches a brow at Stiles around the time he mentions the bite and the other eyebrow joins his partner when Stiles suggests the sex bit. If it were anyone else, Stiles would say the Lupine's shocked into silence.
The Lupine purses his lips and lets out a breath, "Thank you, Alpha Stilinski for that lovely interpretation. Oddly enough, you have all the right elements in the completely wrong way," Bowie pulls out a few sheets of paper and begins to write as he talks, "A true mating bond, one that is based on love and commitment can almost happen by accident. When an alpha knots their mate, and they exchange bites while tied together, then a bond is formed. It is really quite simple if a little unorthodox to American werewolves. Unfortunately, what you did was a bastard form of a mating bond." He stops his writing, glances up at Stiles before folding the paper.
"Sooo…. It's knot and bite, not bite and eventually knot. Does this really cause that much of a difference?" Stiles runs his fingers through his hair, pulling out his phone.
The Lupine finishes with his paper and leans back in his chair, "Sadly this time, yes. What you and Derek have is an Omega claim, something only possible with omegas and alphas." Stiles is given a long, weary look from the Lupine, "What I am about to tell you is not pleasant, do try and control yourself." He points to the chair in front of the desk, "Do not make me restrain you."
Stiles lets out a grumble, his wolf whispering 'leave and go back to Derek.' Stiles ignore him for the moment as he follows the Lupine's directions, "I'm listening."
The Lupine gives him a nod, but his eyes have a faint purple glow, "The love you have for your mate is evident, once this little mess is sorted, the two of you will be an almost unstoppable force. That being said, what you've done to your partner is akin to slavery." Stiles feels his wolf howl in rage; he finds he is unable to move as his claws lengthen. The Lupine sighs at him, "Gods save me from protective alphas and their omega mates." He stands up, moves around the desk to perch on the edges, arms folded, "Do not worry, Brice is getting the ipassage /i set up for you, once Derek is back in your immediate presence the bite will become inactive again. Call your mate; it will help negate the bite."
Stiles doesn't wait for the Lupine to finish. As soon as he feels the magic slip away from him, he has his phone out and dials Derek's number. It rings a few times before going to voicemail. "Fucking hell. Come on Derek. Pick up." He hits redial, only for it to go directly to voicemail again.
Stiles almost throws the phone before he thinks to dial Boyd's number. Which also goes directly to voicemail. Growling in frustration Stiles hits Scott's name in his list. He's more shocked when he hears the line click, and Scott say, "Sup man? How bad is it with the Lupine?"
Stiles feels some of the tension leave, at least he's able to get ahold of Scott. Nothing too wrong can be happening if Scott's this relaxed. "Hey, how's Derek? You with him, right?" Stiles doesn't even pretend to not be a worried wreck.
"Uh, yeah dude. He's here talking to the alpha of the visiting pack. Seem his usual surly self, surprised the alpha hasn't punched him yet. Everything okay?" Scott's voice is loud in his ear. Stiles can't hear his heartbeat over the phone, and Scott's tone sounds even.
"Can you put him on the phone?" Stiles phrases it as a question even though he's using his alpha voice.
"Ugh, this is the last time I babysit for you. Hold on." Scott doesn't bother hiding his irritation. Stiles listens as Scott talks to someone in the background; he doesn't catch what is said as other voices are also talking. Then a gruff voice comes on the line, "Stiles?"
Stiles lets out the breath he feels like he's been holding since learning about the blotched mating bite, "Hey baby, how you holding up?" Stiles doesn't want to worry Derek if he's not suffering from the bite yet.
There is a pause, "What did you do?" Derek asks on a sigh.
"What?! Me? Nothing! You need to learn to answer your phone." Stiles gripes back.
There is a chuckle before Derek replies, "Alright, was that all?"
Stiles frowns, something isn't right. Derek isn't acting like himself, no teasing or fond grumbling. Stiles looks over at the Lupine and notices the man's eyes are glowing as his lips move soundlessly. Then as if he's standing directly next to him Stiles hears the Lupine's voice in his ear, "What's something only he would know?" The frown deepens before a thought lights up in his head.
"Yeah, needed to hear your voice. That and thought you'd like to know I slept on the plane without Morpheus invading my dreams. It was just you, me, and a big bathtub." Stiles feels his heartbeat quicken as he waits for Derek's response.
"A bathtub, huh? Guess Morpheus was busy elsewhere, glad you had me instead." The person impersonating Derek almost has his teasing tone right, Stiles swallows thickly as he hears everything wrong with the voice.
He meets the Lupines eyes and gives a small shake of his head, "Something we can try when I get back," his voice sounds flat even to his own ears.
The Lupine's voice whispers again, "don't give yourself away."
Stiles gives a shaky nod and forces a smile on his face, "Well babe, the Lupine only gave me a few minutes. I love you and will see you soon."
"Love you too, Stiles." The fake doesn't put the right emphasis on love that Derek always does.
The imposter must have handed the phone over to Scott as the other man speaks up, "You know just because you're the alpha doesn't mean the rest of us can't handle things. I'll make sure Derek calls you later, but dude being clingy isn't good for the alpha image."
Stiles feels his stomach drop as he listens to Scott lie to him. He swallows the roar his wolf is letting out, "Ha. You were the one that cared about the alpha image. I just want my pack safe. You can do that for me, Scott. Keep them safe." Stiles puts a little too much force in his words.
Scott laughs, "Come on Stiles, you know I care for my pack members. Speaking of which I've got to go, looks like things might finally be wrapping up. Later man."
Stiles stares at his phone, the picture of Scott smiling at him from the end call screen. For the first time ever, Stiles notes the smile in the photo doesn't reach Scott's eyes. Dropping the phone on the chair isn't as rewarding as throwing it, but Stiles knows he might need again.
"I'm going to kill him." Stiles' voice is void of emotion, his heart is steady, "He better not have hurt Derek, or it'll be a slow death." Stiles meets the Lupine's eyes, surprised to see pride and acceptance directed at himself.
"It seems they've underestimated you, as I was beginning to," Stiles glares as the Lupine continues, "you are emotional, mouthy, and quick to react, but I must say you are much smarter than you let on." The Lupine inclines his head to Stiles, "as well as observant and fiercely loyal. You are going to make a fine Lupine someday," The Lupine gives a wolfish smile, teeth sharp, "But first we must get you back to your mate."
"Ugh, guess it's back to the airport," Stiles stands up, "As much fun as this has been. Which other than finding out I'll get to eventually be a mysterious, scary, werewolf overlord, it's been a major downer. How about we don't do this again. Wait, do I have to come back for training or something. Ugh more training, Derek is going to love that." Stiles goes quiet, a look of worry crossing his features, "Derek, you better not be dead."
"Thankfully for our needs, I have a changeling in my employment," The Lupine rolls his eyes skyward, "who is going to be sleeping in the shed if he keeps curdling the milk."
"Hey! A fish has to swim, and a bird has to fly, and all that rot. I can't help it if for all my many services you from time to time have to deal with buttermilk," a cheerful voice rings out around the room.
Stiles' eyes widen as he looks for the owner of the voice. He didn't notice anyone coming into the room, nor does he smell or hear them now.
"Don't bother looking for him, Brice is probably in the basement. He's been listening in since bringing the sandwiches, which means the passage is ready." The Lupine's begins to walk to the door, "Come on Alpha Stiles, you can ask your myriad of questions during our next visit."
"You don't know me at all if you think I'm going to keep from asking," Stiles complaints as he follows Bowie out of the room.
The basement is more of a root cellar; dirt packed floors and bare wooden beams. The drab environment only makes the glowing circle of swirling colors seem that much more unworldly. Stiles stares, memorized, at the glowing orb of light, slowly reaching a hand out to touch it.
"I'd advise against that until we set the endpoint. Touching it now will leave you in Faerie," Brice laughs as Stiles blanches and quickly pulls his hand away. "So, I can get you as close as the lands around your pack house, any closer and the iron in the house might mess up the magics." Stiles nods absently, still awed by the swirling light, "Arg, freaken magic werewolves! Here these will help."
Brice slips a pair of sunglasses on Stiles. Stiles suddenly finds himself in the basement, a disc of light is in from of him, with glimpses of what looks to be the preserve. He blinks a few times and looks toward the other men in the room; both are grinning at him.
"What just happened?" Stiles gets the feeling he missed something.
"Fairy magic is like heroin to werewolf magic users. Might have forgotten you haven't been exposed to it enough to build up a tolerance to its call. Sorry 'bout that." Brice doesn't seem too sorry, but he did stop Stiles from touching the magic, so there is that. "Now remember, this is going to be a permanent passage as per his lordship's request, that means you need to find a way to remember where you land. Also, don't be weirded out if you feel like your skin is sunburned when you land, that's normal." Brice stands next to Stiles, his hands in constant motion as he talks. Stiles watches as the lights shift and change as Brice's fingers move through and around them. Finally, with a nod Brice turns back to Stiles, "alrighty Lupine 2.0, this is good to go." Brice suddenly pulls Stiles into a hug, "give a shout if you want help with the torture." When Brice let's go his eyes are nothing but black orbs, and his smile is something Stiles never wants to see again.
"I'll, uh, remember that. Thanks." He shifts away from the changeling, not wanting his back to him.
Brice lets out a joyous laugh and disappears. Stiles isn't sure that is better than being able to see him. The Lupine only shakes his head. "Brice is harmless, even if he does feed off chaos. "Here, take this," he holds out an envelope, "open it when you need it."
Stiles takes the envelope; there doesn't seem to be anything special about it. He also doesn't sense any magic on it, "How will I know when I need it?"
"It will tell you when it is needed," The Lupine gives a shrug, "It makes as much sense as anything else, wouldn't you say?"
Stiles puts the envelope in his back pocket, "Got me there. So, this portal thingy, it's safe right?" Stiles eyes the glowing circle as the Lupine gives him the affirmative, "So just touch it, and I'll be back home?"
"That is the general mechanism of a passage. Just remember to mark when you came out so you can return here as needed."
"Yeah, yeah, come back in two weeks for a history class, with Derek, unless I require reinforcements; then return as needed."
"Hum, let's hope that you get there before I have to send Brice back with you," The Lupine gets a look of horror on his face, "he can be a bit … extreme when dealing with situations."
"Noted, don't ask the changeling to help unless I want a bloodbath," Stiles turns back to the light, "guess this is good-bye for now. Tell Walter I'll miss him, and we'll have to reschedule our movie date."
"Noted," The Lupine tells him dryly, "Good luck Alpha Stilinski, may you not need it."
Stiles gives himself a little mental pep talk as he takes a deep breath, "here goes nothing."
He touches the swirling colors and at first thinks nothing happens, "Hey, this passage is …"
Turning around he trails off as he finds himself in the woods near the packhouse, "Never mind, guess Brice knew what he was doing." Stiles looks around the spot he landed in; it's reasonably close to the house, he can hear people talking and smell something cooking.
Picking up a few rocks, Stiles makes a little pile to mark the spot like instructed, "Guess Brice was wrong about that sun- mother fucker!" Stiles feels as if his skin been rubbed with sandpaper soaked in lemon juice, "That is more than just a damn sunburn. Brice, we are going to have a talk next time I visit." Stiles takes a few shallow breaths as the pain begins to fade.
He gives himself a shake as he begins to walk toward the house, listening intently for Derek's voice among the chatter. Not hearing it, nor does he hear the steady rhythm of his heart, Stiles begins to run. He slows as he approaches the back of the house, noticing Deaton and Allison's cars are parked in the driveway. Stiles feels his claws itch, Allison had been banned from pack grounds. A growl begins to rumble in his chest as Stiles smells blood, Derek's blood.
Barging into the house, Stiles takes in the scene in front of him. Allison is sitting on Scott's lap; the two apparently cuddling while Deaton and Chris Argent sit across from them each with a beer and smile. They all look incredibly cozy, Stiles roars as the smell of terror, blood, and wolfsbane hits him. He instinctively reacts to the phantom pains of his mate. Before anyone at the table can comprehend what is happening Stiles lifts Deaton and Christ by the throats. He doesn't want them dead, yet, so he slams their heads on the table and drops them at his feet. Barely sparing a second to make sure they are still breathing before he has Allison in a similar position.
"You were banned from Stilinski-Hale land. I'll deal with you accordingly, later." Stiles squeezes his hand round her throat, adding a bit of magic to send her to unconsciousness. She too is dropped at his feet without concern. By this time Scott has moved to the far side of the kitchen with a look of bewilderment on his face.
"Hey man, didn't expect you back for another day," Scott gives Stiles a bright smile, apparently believing his charms are enough to save him.
"Where is he." Stiles advances on his once best friend, blocking any path Scott may have out of the kitchen, "What the fuck did you do?!" Stiles grabs Scott by the front of his shirt, shouting in his face as he pulls the other wolf closer.
Scott finally seems to recognize the position he's in, he loses the easy smile, and his look hardens as he locks eyes with Stiles, "He's where he belongs."
Stiles loses his grip on Scott's shirt at the pure venom in the other were's voice. Scott moves away while Stiles is distracted, he runs over to Allison and picks up the hunter, cradling her to him, "He ruins everything! I'd still be Alpha if he hadn't talked you into accepting the bite. Then you go and marry the fucking bastard. All while kicking Allison out of the pack, and for what? Trying to collect the bounty on his head before he brought us all even more pain and suffering. God Stiles, how could you have been so fucking blind?!" Scott glares up at Stiles as he pets Allison's hair back from her face.
Stiles stares at him numbly. He knew Scott had been angry about the Allison issue, but he never realized Scott was still hung up on losing the Alpha spark to Stiles. Stiles feels his wolf become restless as he doesn't immediately go after Scott again. Stiles is in complete agreement with his wolf, Scott is going to tell them where Derek is, and then once he is no longer useful, he's gone.
Stiles pulls on his alpha spark and adds his magic to it, he looks at the boy he once considered his best friend and feels nothing but a need to eliminate the threat to his pack. Scott lets out a gasp of shock as he finds himself shoved into the wall, "Where is Derek?" Stiles lets the full weight of his alpha voice out, making sure it is filled with his pain.
Scott lets out a whine as the voice hits him, he begins to sweat and struggle as he fights the pull of the command. Stiles lets a smirk grace his lips as he stares down the other wolf, "Those weak Omegas that you so love to hate on," Stiles voices is a low growl, "they wouldn't even feel a twinge of what you are experience right now." Stiles increase the press of his hand as Scott throat slickens with his sweat and tears, "Derek would be laughing at me for trying. Now tell me. WHERE. IS. DEREK." Stiles lets all his rage and worry twist around his words, watching as Scott howls in pain.
"I don't know! We sold him to Kate."