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The song featuring in this chapter is 'Come Back To Me' sung by David Cook, copyrighted by Zac Maloy Music. I claim no rights to this song.
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"How are things?" Derek looked up and a small smile tilted his lips.
Last time he didn't know he was dreaming. This time he knew. Last time he could hardly gather his bearings. This time he was just happy. They were somewhere in the middle of some forest beside a small lake. Derek didn't recognize this place. He never dreamed of it before. It was nice though.
"As usual." A low chuckle came from behind him and he shivered when he felt two arms wrap themselves around his shoulders, and a warm breath tickled his ear. He could feel a strong body leaning against him, and he closed his eyes to breathe in the scent that surrounded him.
The hug tightened and Derek raised his right hand to take a hold of Stiles' right forearm.
"Care to elaborate?" Stiles whispered and Derek sighed.
"Scott's grades jumped up considerably. He's giving his all, and Peter and Lydia are doing their best to help him. Isaac started working part time at the clinic since Scott's trying to do the best that he can at school. Erica started working part time at a local flower shop. She's happy. Boyd's also working part time at a workshop. No one knew he was so interested in cars. Jackson talked with me a few days back about signing up for the local college. He says he wants to go into Law enforcement. Lydia's considering MIT. We talked about it and she said she'd think about it. Jackson's a bit hurt that she'd go so far away, but it's her choice and I don't really think he has any say in it."
Stiles chuckled and Derek shivered when the teen placed a small kiss under his left ear. He sighed and leaned back into Stiles' hold. This place was calming. It was comforting. The sun could barely break through the thick branches above them and the lake beneath his feet was glimmering mysteriously, untold secrets hidden in its depths.
"Melissa is spending a lot of time with Deaton. We think there's something going on between them, but we hadn't managed to confirm it yet. Peter and your dad are going steady. I think them getting together was a pretty big surprise for the pack, but it's done worlds of good for the both of them. Peter's working in the local library. Now that was a shock for everyone." Derek chuckled while Stiles nodded.
"What about you?" Stiles' murmured, his lips caressing Derek's ear like the fluttering wings of a butterfly, drawing a content sigh from the alpha.
"Your dad has a new deputy." He felt Stiles tense up before he snickered and hugged Derek tightly.
"Congratulations." The alpha nodded and comfortable silence settled between them.
"It's been two months," Derek muttered and Stiles sighed.
"I know. I've been pretty busy and by the time I was free I was too tired to think let alone do anything." Derek squeezed Stiles forearm and the teen let go of him.
Derek turned only to tense up when he looked at the younger man for the first time in two months. His hair was to the middle of his ears now, the tips curling in every which direction, giving him a softer, boyish look. His body was still lithe, but his clothes did nothing to hide the muscles. Derek frowned and reached up to trace a thin scar on Stiles' right cheek. The teen's eyes glimmered as he leaned into Derek's touch.
"That wasn't there when I last saw you," Derek said and Stiles chuckled.
"An unfortunate meeting with a hostile witch. I'm afraid she paid for that with her life." Derek swallowed but nodded.
"Where are you now?"
Stiles smiled. "Belize."
Derek raised an eyebrow at him. Stiles sighed and leaned forward until he rested his forehead against Derek's shoulder. The Alpha frowned but wrapped his arms around Stiles' shoulders. The teen nuzzled closer, hugging Derek around his waist.
"I'm tired, Derek," Stiles whispered and Derek's frown deepened. "It's growing harder to stay away." Derek buried his face in Stiles hair and took a deep breath. "And yet there's still so much to learn. I feel like – like I've not done well enough; like I should go further and yet..."
Derek squeezed his eyes tightly shut and kissed Stiles' brow.
"I don't recognize myself anymore, Derek." The Alpha took a deep breath.
"I know." Stiles' hold on him grew stronger. "I know."
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You say you gotta go and find yourself.
You say that you're becoming someone else;
don't recognize the face in the mirror
looking back at you.
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Stiles moved back a little and looked in Derek's eyes. The alpha smiled and cupped Stiles' scarred cheek. He caressed the scar with his thumb and Stiles' lips twitched into a small smile.
"Take however long you need," Derek whispered and Stiles closed his eyes. Derek leaned forward and kissed Stiles chastely before nuzzling his nose against the teen's. "You left to find yourself. You left to become stronger. No matter how much you see, no matter what you do, no matter how long you take, you are and you'll always be Stiles. And you'll always have me."
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Take your time; I won't go anywhere.
Picture you with the wind in your hair.
I'll keep your things right where you left them.
I'll be here for you.
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Stiles looked in Derek's eyes before he leaned forward and kissed him. Derek sighed into the kiss and pulled the slightly smaller man into his arms. Stiles fit against him like a missing puzzle piece. It felt so right. It felt perfect.
Stiles moaned into the kiss and they parted. The teen rested his forehead on Derek's and let go of a deep breath.
"Weary with toil, I haste to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tires;
But then begins a journey in my head
to work my mind, when body's work's expired." Derek pushed his hands under Stiles' shirt and the teen shivered against him when he dragged his nails just above the line of Stiles' pants.
"For then my thoughts – from far where I abide-
intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee,
and keep my drooping eyelids open wide,
looking on darkness which the blind do see." Stiles voice broke and Derek swallowed difficultly.
"Save that my soul's imaginary sight
presents thy shadow to my sightless view,
which, like a jewel hung in ghastly night,
makes black night beauteous, and her old face new." Stiles buried his face in Derek's neck and the Alpha had to try hard as to push down the growing need settling in his stomach.
"Lo! Thus, by day my limbs, by night my mind,
for thee, and for myself, no quiet find."
Derek nuzzled his cheek against Stiles' head and breathed in his scent. "Since when do you quote Shakespeare so much?" he murmured and Stiles chuckled.
"Since I can't find my own words to express how much I miss you?" He pushed himself away from Derek to look in his eyes. "And I've been practicing astral projection with Deaton," he added almost sheepishly and Derek rolled his eyes knowing full well that the Emissary adored poetry… in secret of course.
"His mind is arranged differently than yours and to practice my concentration he had me learning Shakespeare's sonnets with him. Something about conscious mind and unconscious mind being apart and needing them connected for astral projecting," Stiles explained and Derek nodded in understanding, allowing content silence to settle between them in which they simply breathed one another in, soaking in the other's presence because both knew they would soon part.
"When do you have to go?" Derek asked and Stiles' eyes saddened.
"Soon," he whispered mournfully and Derek nodded. He moved forward and kissed Stiles lightly at first.
The kiss soon deepened and Stiles shivered against him as Derek moved to lay him on the grassy ground. Stiles gasped when Derek kissed down his chin, his hands pushing Stiles' shirt up. He ground against him slowly as he kissed and nipped at his neck.
This may be nothing more than a dream, but it didn't mean Derek couldn't cut as much as he could into his memory.
Memory was the only thing he had right now.
Remembrance was the only thing stopping him from going insane.
He knew the others missed Stiles as well, but he also knew what he felt and what they felt was nothing even remotely comparable. They missed their friend; their brother. John missed his son. Derek missed his mate and that was worse than anything in the world.
"I miss you," Stiles gasped as Derek ground against him in a slow, agonizing rhythm. Derek squeezed his eyes tightly shut as he buried his face in Stiles' neck and the teen hugged him tightly to his chest.
"I love you." Everything went dark as Stiles' warmth washed over him.
"I'll come back to you."
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I'll let you go.
I'll set you free.
And when you see what you need to see;
when you find you – come back to me.
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"Fuck!" Erica hissed before she threw her head back and howled into the night. She received seven responding howls and broke into a run towards the closest one.
A roar coming from behind made her duck and roll, and the next thing she saw was Scott ripping the beta's throat apart. Scott howled into the night before he looked at Erica.
"You okay?" Scott asked as he helped her up.
"I'm starting to wonder where the fuck they're all coming from." Scott snorted and they tensed and turned around when they heard the sound of an engine.
"Scott! Erica!" John stopped his bike and hopped off of it, immediately pulling the Colt out of its holster. He checked the bullets before he looked around.
"Why did you leave your post?" Erica asked and John huffed.
"Because three betas attacked us and tore it down. Lydia and Peter went to the northern border. They're waiting for Derek's signal to activate Deaton's traps. We can't take any risks." Several unfamiliar howls echoed through the forest. Scott and Erica crouched low while John aimed the Colt into the darkness.
They stood back to back, waiting.
"When did a simple meeting turn into aggressive negotiations?" Scott muttered and the other two snorted in everything but amusement.
"It could be when the First Beta of the Denver Pack decided it would be good to hit on Derek one too many times after being refused?" Erica commented. John's phone rang, followed by Derek's mighty howl.
"Talk to me!" John snapped, holding the phone to his ear with his right shoulder.
"We have them cornered! Get your asses here!" Jackson's voice came over the line.
"On our way," John said and nodded at the two teen wolves. "You go first. I'll follow after you." The two shifted fully into big wolves; Scott dark brown and Erica sandy colored. John jumped on his bike and revved up the engine. 'Just another Friday night at Beacon Hills I guess.'
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Derek growled as his betas gathered behind him. John abandoned his bike in favor of riding Peter's back, Melissa was on Isaac's back while Lydia rode Jackson's. All three of them were armed and ready to fight, and the wolves were trained to both fight and serve as their shields during battle.
The other pack, the Denver Pack, came onto their territory in an attempt to get a treaty. Derek was willing to negotiate until the First Beta of the Denver Pack, Sarabi, suggested they combine their Packs through mating her with Derek.
The alpha, Gordon Buick, thought it a great idea.
Derek refused three times. The fourth time he told them nicely to either be happy with a treaty or get lost. Gordon obviously didn't like that. He thought they could simply claim the Beacon Hills territory as their own since no arrangement could be made. He assumed that the Hale Pack was weaker than his pack. The Denver Pack counted sixteen betas.
He wrongly assumed that the slightly smaller Hale Pack would be easy to beat. The Denver Pack no longer counted seventeen members. Now there were only eight.
"One last chance," Derek rumbled, his eyes flashing red at Gordon who growled and pulled back a little. "Turn around and leave. There will be no treaty between us."
Two betas growled at Derek. In return Boyd, Scott and Erica crouched lower, Lydia raised her crossbow, Melissa cocked her gun and John tightened his hold on the Colt.
"I underestimated your pack, Alpha Hale," Gordon growled. "We will leave."
"They killed our members!" Sarabi roared.
"Do you want to join them?" Lydia snapped and aimed her crossbow at Sarabi. The she-wolf growled at Lydia, her golden eyes glowing menacingly, and Jackson snapped his teeth at her while the others growled.
"Learn your place!" Derek hissed out through bared teeth threateningly and Sarabi flinched back.
"We're leaving." Gordon nodded his head at Derek and turned around to leave. His betas shot the Hale Pack poisonous glances, but followed after their alpha. Once they were gone and the werewolves could no longer hear them, Derek straightened and a rumbling pleased growl sounded in his chest.
"So!" Erica bit out. "Who's making dinner tonight?" both humans and werewolves rolled their eyes at her.
"You're not getting out of cooking again, Erica," Derek growled as they turned around to make their way home.
"Well then I'll just order take out."
"Oh! Oh! Can we have Italian today? Scott ordered Thai last time!" Isaac cheered.
"Ordered?" Melissa drawled.
"Isaac!"
"I thought they knew!"
"Knew Scott couldn't cook to save his life. That was too good to be true."
"Jackson, you're a prick."
"Oh, you know you love me."
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"It'll be a year soon." Derek looked up from his book and frowned when he saw the small, sad smile on Erica's face. "In a month we'll count exactly three hundred and sixty-four days since he left. We last heard from him eighty-three days ago." She snorted and shook her head. "And people say time flies." Derek looked at his book with a frown.
It's been a while since Stiles contacted them in any way, shape or form.
In two weeks school will be over.
Come October Lydia will leave for MIT. She'll come home for the holidays, but for the next several years she won't be around constantly. Isaac and Scott will go to the local college and study to be veterinarians. Jackson decided to go into law enforcement. He joked about replacing John when the older man decides he had enough of dealing with drunks and thieves. Erica would get a full time job at the flower shop. Boyd already worked full time at the work shop. Derek and John worked well together.
Beacon Hills was going through a surprisingly calm time. That calm meant that they had more time to think. More time to miss Stiles. And it was showing. They were fewer fights among them. The teens were more subdued. They spent their nights huddled together in the living room.
The only difference was that Deaton started to join them as of late. He and Melissa were now going steady. They were good for each other in a way no one thought they would be. Deaton's quiet strength and calm nature was something Melissa needed, and the woman's open heart and loving nature made the Emissary open up considerably.
They were strong; both separately and together. And yet they knew they were missing the most important part of their pack. Their common denominator; their base.
Their heart.
"He'll come back." Erica looked at him and smiled.
"I know." The alpha was surprised when Erica stood up and walked over to him.
She took a seat on the ground, laid her head on his knee, and looked out the window at the blue sky. "Read to me."
Derek chuckled, placed his hand on Erica's head, and started combing his fingers through her hair in a calming gesture. She sighed and Derek went back to the book, his soothing voice lulling Erica into calm slumber.
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"You heard nothing about him?" Deaton shook his head and Derek looked to the side. The others bowed their heads sadly while Melissa squeezed Deaton's hand, trying to smile at him reassuringly. The veterinarian sighed and smiled back at her.
"He will appear again. You must understand that he learned a lot of things. When I last heard of him he was passing through Guatemala. He's on his way back. The only thing we can do is wait for him," Deaton concluded.
"Well, he never said when he'd come back," John drawled and Peter rolled his eyes.
"Do you really think he'll stay away for more than it's absolutely necessary? He's a quick learner, and I do believe that he already learned everything he needs to know, and right now he's probably putting that knowledge to the test. Say what you want, but he doesn't strike me as someone who'd do anything by halves."
"He could test his knowledge right here!" Scott insisted.
"Scott, the last battle we had was over two months ago," Melissa said. "I honestly don't count a group of Pixies that wanted to build a home deep in the forest a problem we'd need Stiles to handle. Sure, he maybe would have handled it quicker, but it was done. If he really learned as much as he did, in a way I do understand why he'd want to test that knowledge in situations he wouldn't face here at Beacon Hills."
"Well, I still think he should hurry it up a bit. I want to see him before I go to college," Lydia grumbled and the others looked at her fondly.
"When was the last time he talked to you, Derek?" Isaac asked and Derek frowned, looking at the floor.
"A few days before we dealt with the Denver Pack," he recalled, turning his shadowed stare to the fire and making the others frown thoughtfully.
"That leaves the past three months unaccounted for," Boyd rumbled in his low tone. "Is he traveling on foot?"
"I wouldn't be surprised," Erica drawled while the others laughed quietly while Derek smiled and looked out the window into the star covered sky as silence settled between them.
"Derek?" Isaac called out to his alpha, shifting in his seat and leaning forward.
"Hm?" Derek hummed distractedly and Isaac tilted his head to the side with a small frown.
"Are you okay?" Derek frowned at that.
"I'm fine." Isaac raised an eyebrow at him while the others rolled their eyes.
"Derek, it's been almost a year since the one you chose to be your mate left. Believe me, you're not fine," Peter drawled and Derek looked at him dully.
"I do believe that I am," he stated dryly, although he knew that there was no way for him to lie to his pack anymore.
"You have been quiet." John agreed with Peter.
"I'm always quiet."
"Not to this point." Derek looked at Scott and the teen shrugged. "We've all come to you to talk about Stiles at one point. You listened, you gave advice, you worked with us, trained with us, spent time with us, but you never talked about what you feel." Derek's frown deepened and he looked at the wooden floor.
"Scott's right," Jackson said and winced. "I can't believe I just said that." He grinned and dodged Scott's fist. "What I mean is that you haven't talked with anyone about your own feelings. We all talked with you. You've become a better alpha than we thought you'd ever be. But the fact still stands that you've been keeping something from us. And I think it's obvious that it's eating you up."
Derek looked away from everyone. He guessed it was foolish of him to think they wouldn't notice eventually, although he did hope they wouldn't notice until Stiles came back, and by then he would get over those stupid feelings.
Yes, something did bother him.
It came in the form of a lithe, strong body, long, delicate, dexterous fingers, full, delicious, smiling lips, tussled, brown locks, and eyes that were sometimes as dark as amber and sometimes as mischievous as sun playing in the cuts of a carved topaz.
It came in the form of a teen that barged into his life out of the blue, tore down everything Derek worked hard to build, and made a place for himself in Derek's heart; a place he thought he didn't have.
It came in the form of a strong, young man that just as soon as Derek finally accepted the fact that he loved him packed up and left.
It summed up in need, desire, love, pain, passion, loss, hope and so many other things that Derek could neither name nor count them. It summed up into the simple fact that it's almost been a year, and Derek still couldn't stop these feelings from growing.
He knew Stiles would come back. He knew Stiles grew stronger. He knew they grew as a pack, and that Stiles would be proud off all of them; he would be proud of what they've become. And yet Derek couldn't stop doubting.
He never voiced that to anyone, but every single night he'd lie in bed thinking, fearing that this new stronger Stiles wouldn't want him. He feared that Stiles would come back and find Derek lacking. He feared he wouldn't be good enough for Stiles.
"The other two, slight air and purging fire,
are both with thee, wherever I abide.
the first my thought, the other my desire,
there present – absent with swift motion slide."
Derek looked at Deaton with a frown while everyone else stared in confusion.
"For when these quicker elements are gone
in tender embassy of love to thee,
my life, being made of four, with two alone
sinks down to death, oppressed with melancholy."
Deaton looked to his right when Melissa covered his right hand with her left and gave it a gentle squeeze taking over for him.
"Until life's composition be recurred
by those swift messengers return'd from thee,
who even but now came back again, assured
of thy fair health, recounting to me." Deaton smiled at Melissa when she recited the verses instead of him.
"This told, I joy; but then no longer glad,
I send them back again and straight grow sad," Deaton finished the verses leaning closer to press a lingering kiss into Melissa's temple, and everyone looked at Derek when the alpha let go of a small, subdued laugh.
"Stiles did mention that the two of you have been practicing astral projection with you making him learn Shakespeare's sonnets. He's grown a tendency to recite them when he doesn't know how to word his thoughts," Derek spoke with fondness and love lacing every word and Deaton offered a small mysterious and quite mischievous smile.
"Shakespeare put a lot of things into words," he spoke, nodding his head. "The forty-fifth Sonnet is by far my favorite." Deaton smiled at Melissa when she squeezed his hand. "I often recite his words when I can't find my own. Sometimes, when you have problems voicing your thoughts and fears, it's easier to find words already written and used."
Derek nodded, remembering the Sonnet Stiles recited when he last shared Derek's dream. Derek often thought of it, reciting it over and over again in his mind when he couldn't find rest.
"Derek?" said man looked at John.
In a minute decision Derek stood up, letting go of a grave sigh as he walked over to the bookshelf in the back of the room. He could feel their eyes following his every move. He swallowed difficultly as he took one of the books he had acquired a few weeks ago, and walked over to his armchair again. He took a seat and started flipping through the pages under watchful eyes of his pack. He stopped and took a deep breath.
"Derek?" he looked up when John addressed him. "We only wanted you to talk. We don't want to force you into anything." Derek frowned at John's words.
"I guess – You're right," he said as he placed his hand on the page and traced the words with his fingers. "I don't want to talk about it; mostly because I find it stupid. I don't want to talk about it because my own thoughts and feelings about this come from – well, they're not supposed to be there and-"
"Derek?" Deaton interrupted him and the Alpha looked at him. "Weakness, fear and doubts are nothing to be ashamed of. They make us human. They make us stronger." Derek frowned and looked at the book.
This was really out of character for him. He was neither romantic nor really into poetry. The only reason he had bought this book was because of Stiles, and while he does respect the quality and the historical value of the words he was staring at, he would never, under any circumstances walk around quoting it.
But his pack was right. He needed to get this off his chest, but atop of being an unromantic grump who would rather reed a good historical book like Law and Order, he really wasn't the best conversationalist, which meant that finding the right words to convey his feelings to his family was impossible.
So he was left with no choice but do this.
He nodded minutely, took a deep breath, and cleared his throat.
"O! lest the world should task you to recite
what merit lived in me, that you should love
after my death, - dear love, forget me quite.
For you in me can nothing worthy prove."
"Unless you would devise some virtuous lie,
to do more for me than mine own desert,
and hang more praise upon deceased I
than niggard truth would willingly impart." His voice broke and his hands trembled.
"O! lest your true love may seem false in this
that you for love speak well of me untrue,
my name be buried where my body is,
and live no more to shame nor me nor you." He closed his eyes as his voice wavered, and closed the book.
"For I am shamed by that which I bring forth,
and so should you, to love things nothing worth."
Silence settled over the room as Derek placed the book in his lap, his right hand resting over it. Even though those weren't his words he felt as though he had just ripped his heart open, and the weight on his shoulders seemed to triple. His mouth was dry and his heart beat faster than normal, and so many thoughts passed through his mind that he could make neither heads nor tails of them.
Derek's eyes snapped open and his mind went quiet when he felt a light body slide into his lap. Erica wrapped her arms around his waist. A moment later two arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders. Isaac buried his face in his alpha's hair. Next he felt someone pushing against his right side. Scott threw an arm around Erica and leaned his forehead on Isaac's shoulder.
Jackson all but threw himself on the armrest on Derek's left. He pushed himself closer to the alpha with a small smirk. Boyd took a seat on the ground, leaning back against Derek's legs and resting his head on Erica's thigh. Lydia squeezed in on Jackson's lap and leaned her head on Erica's.
"We may have started wrong, but you've become the best alpha we could wish for," Erica muttered nuzzling the tip of her nose in the hollow of Derek's neck.
"You're an emotional wreck. But so are we," Jackson drawled.
"You're my savior, papa-wolf," Isaac whispered against Derek's ear and hugged him tightly. "You gave me family."
"You've become the best big brother I didn't know I wanted," Scott murmured. "I'm happy to have you, Der."
"You're an idiot if you think you're not worthy of anything," Lydia snipped.
"Everything we lived through – it was all worth it," Boyd grumbled.
Derek chuckled, closed his eyes and rested his head on Lydia's. Peter, John, Melissa and Deaton exchanged small smiles. Often it was easy to forget just how young their wolves were. Derek wasn't that much older than they were. He was also young. He had his doubts, had his fears.
And the fact that the teens figured them out and asked him about them proved how much all of them grew up. It proved that they've come a long way from being a mismatched group of people that couldn't be more different if someone tried to make them that way. It proved that they were pack.
It proved that they were family. Despite being as different as they could be, despite every mistake they made in the past, they became a family.
And soon enough they would be complete.
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Sweet love, renew thy force; be it not said
they edge should blunter be than appetite,
which but to-day by feeding is allayed,
to-morrow sharpened in his former might:
So, love, be thou, although to-day thou fill
thy hungry eyes, even till they wink with fullness,
to-morrow see again, and do not kill
the spirit of love, with a perpetual dullness
Let this sad interim like the ocean be
which parts the shore, where two contracted new
come daily to the banks, that when they see
return of love, more blest may be the view;
As call it winter, which being full of care,
makes summer's welcome, thrice more wished, more rare.
- William Shakespeare, Sonnet LVI
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"Scott!" Isaac called out and his boyfriend turned to look at him.
"What is it?" he ran over and frowned when Isaac raised his head and sniffed the air.
"We're nowhere near the Pixies, are we?" Scott raised an eyebrow at him.
"We're practically on the other side of the forest," he answered and Isaac hummed.
"Then why do I have a feeling we're being watched when I can't smell anyone?" Scott frowned and looked around. He couldn't smell anyone, let alone see anyone.
But he didn't doubt Isaac.
Oh, no.
The slightly younger werewolf was never wrong when it came to feeling something was wrong. It was like a sixth sense and it saved them on several occasions.
"Do you feel a threat?" Isaac frowned and after a moment shook his head.
"No. It's just a feeling that we're being watched. Like someone's observing us from afar."
Scott hummed and nodded. "We're done with our rounds either way. We should go back home." Isaac nodded although he kept looking around. "We'll tell Derek. He'll tell us what to do about this."
"It's just…"
"What?"
"It feels familiar," Isaac muttered and Scott's frown deepened. Isaac's eyebrows suddenly met the line of his hair.
"What is it?"
"It's gone." Scott tilted his head to the side in confusion.
"What is?"
"That feeling." Isaac looked at Scott. "It's gone." Scott bit into his bottom lip.
"Let's go home," he muttered. "I don't like this."
Isaac nodded. "Sure." They shifted and broke into a run.
A low chuckle echoed through the forest. A branch creaked under added weight, and fiery eyes glimmered in the growing darkness. "They're just adorable."
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"We should make our way home."
Erica sighed and leaned against Boyd's side. He smiled and kissed her forehead as they walked towards the parking lot. "It was a good movie though." she commented and Boyd nodded.
"Jackson planned to take Lydia to see it."
Erica snorted. "I can already hear her say that she'll rather stay home and watch The Notebook again."
Boyd smirked and opened the door of the car for Erica. He frowned when Erica hesitated, looking at something over his shoulder. "What is it?" he asked and she looked at him.
"No – Nothing. I thought-" she swallowed and looked over his shoulder again. Boyd turned and looked at a small alley on the other side of the street. "It was nothing. Just – Just thought I saw someone."
Boyd nodded. "Let's go." Erica got in the car. As she waited for Boyd to get in and start the car, she kept on watching the entrance to the alley.
Just as they rounded the corner, out of the darkness of the alley a man stepped out and smirked. "Cute."
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Melissa smiled widely as she ran across the road where Deaton waited for her beside the car. She leaned up to kiss him and he smiled down at her. "Ready for another evening of hyperactive teen wolves?" she asked as they entered the car and Deaton chuckled.
"I've been handling werewolves for most of my life." Melissa rolled her eyes and Deaton smirked. "But I must say; nothing prepared me for them." Melissa laughed and shook her head.
"They sure are special," she commented as they drove out of town and towards their home. Melissa looked out the window and relaxed in her seat.
Just as they took a turn down the road that would lead them to the Hale house, from the darkness of the forest a lithe figure dressed in tight, blue jeans and a red t-shirt stepped out from behind a tree. He chuckled as the moon rose to shine light on his striking features, dancing in ruffled, brown hair.
"That should be all of them."
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"You say you felt like someone was watching you," Peter stated and Isaac nodded. The others exchanged worried glances.
Derek frowned. "You saw nothing? Smelled nothing?"
"Nothing," Scott said and squeezed Isaac's hand comfortingly, "but I'm willing to bet my life that someone was watching us. Isaac's feelings are never wrong."
"I don't doubt that," Derek muttered and Isaac smiled at him. "We'll wait until tomorrow. Jackson and I will go with you. If it happens again, we're going for a hunt." Isaac, Jackson and Scott nodded at him.
"Is something wrong, Erica?" Melissa asked the younger woman. She noticed Erica was frowning ever since they gathered in the living room.
"It's nothing."
"Erica, it's not nothing," Boyd said. "Before we entered the car to go home Erica saw something."
"Not something," she corrected and everyone's attention focused on her. "Someone." She brushed her fingers though her hair and sighed. "It was just a man who-"
"Who what?" Erica looked at Lydia with wide eyes.
"Who resembled-"
In that moment a loud howl reached their ears and the wolves tensed up immediately.
"Well, I wasn't wrong," Isaac said and rolled his shoulders as he stood up. "Seems we have a trespasser." Derek rolled his eyes while the others grinned.
"I wouldn't be so sure." Everyone looked at Deaton in confusion.
"Why?" Melissa asked and walked over to stand beside him. Deaton smirked as he turned to face anyone.
"It does sound like a howling wolf."
"Are you saying it isn't?" Derek stepped towards him just as another howl echoed through the night.
"Why don't we go and see?" John said and Derek smirked at him.
"Why not indeed?"
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"Hold on, Mel!" Isaac called out to the woman riding his back, and Melissa squealed when he jumped, pushed away from a tree, flew over Boyd, and landed beside Peter who had John on his back.
They ran down the forest with Derek taking the lead with Deaton on his back. John looked to the side when Scott howled. In front of them they heard that same howl again.
"Am I the only one who really doesn't like this?!" Lydia shouted and the wolves huffed in laughter while Melissa and John exchanged an amused smirk.
They yelped when Derek suddenly changed direction, the betas following immediately.
"Spread out!" Derek roared and they spread in a line; half of them to Derek's left and the other half to his right.
Derek howled and everyone looked up.
"That's a wolf!" Melissa called out.
"Too small to be a werewolf!" Lydia shouted.
"There hadn't been wolves in Beacon Hills in over sixty years!" John shouted over the sound of rushing wind.
"That's not a wolf!" John looked at Deaton. "That's a coyote!" the wolves had to take a sharp turn and the humans ducked lower on their wolves as not to fall or get in their way.
"He's leading us around in circles!" Scott cried out.
Derek answered. "He's leading us back to the house!"
"He's smart for a normal animal!" Melissa called out to Deaton, and the man spared her a glance making her raise an eyebrow when she saw a small, knowing smirk on his face.
The moment they ran onto the clearing in front of the House they saw the coyote run into it through the front door. John, Melissa, Lydia and Deaton jumped on the ground and the Werewolves quickly ran off into the forest where they left their clothes to change quickly. Within minutes they were back on the clearing, and everyone gathered around Derek.
"Okay, what the fuck?" Jackson yelped in dismay.
"Either that coyote isn't just a coyote, and he just chased us out of our own house, or someone else is in there that made a great big fool out of all of us," Lydia ranted.
"I can't smell anyone else but the coyote." Isaac looked at Derek. "But that feeling's back."
Derek frowned and looked towards the house. Without a word he started to walk towards it. The others followed after him with the humans right behind him and the others surrounding them.
They walked into the house slowly, one by one, and heard excited whining coming from the living room. The moment they stepped through the double door they stopped in their tracks, their breaths hitched in their throats, and their hearts clenched.
Standing by the window with the moon casting half his face in shadows, a small smile on his face and his left hand on the coyote's head was Stiles.
"Hello." His voice broke and he took a small step forward into the weak light of the moon, allowing them to take a good look at him.
His clothes were pretty tight, stretching over taut muscles. He was still lean and lithe, but he was no longer waif-like. His hair was longer than anyone ever saw, reaching the middle of his ears and falling into his eyes in wild brown locks that curled at the tips in every-which direction. There was a thin, horizontal scar on his right cheek. His lips were pulled into a thin, hesitant smile.
And his eyes.
Heavens above, his eyes. They were both brown, and red, and amber, and topaz, and they glowed with something no one has ever seen in them.
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You say you gotta go and find yourself.
You say that you're becoming someone else;
don't recognize the face in the mirror looking back at you.
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"Stiles?" John breathed out first and took a small hesitant step forward. Stiles' smile grew slightly bigger.
"Hey dad."
In the next moment John was on Stiles, his hands pulling him into a bone crushing hug. Stiles didn't complain. He closed his eyes and hugged John back just as tightly, burying his face in John's shoulder and breathing in his father's scent.
"Hey..." he whispered and John let go of a deep breath. He pulled back with his hands on Stiles' shoulders, checking him out.
"You're really here," he spoke in disbelief and Stiles nodded, holding on to his dad's elbows as his eyes filled with tears and his whole body was wreaked with shivers.
Melissa was the next one to break out of her stupor, and she walked over slowly, immediately attracting their attention. John let go of Stiles, although he hovered nearby, and the woman smiled at Stiles lovingly as he pulled her into a hug.
"Look at you," Melissa whispered. "All grown up."
Stiles smiled at her as they parted. "You look as beautiful as ever, Mrs. McCall." He looked up at the others as Melissa took her place beside John. Deaton smiled at Stiles and walked over, and the two shared a warm hug.
"Thanks for all the help, Deaton. I owe you a lot."
Deaton shook his head. "You owe me nothing."
Peter walked forward and Stiles grinned at him, although his eyes were brimming with tears. Peter smirked and pulled the teen into a bone-crushing hug.
"Thanks for taking care of my dad," Stiles whispered in his ear and Peter clapped his back.
"We took care of each other." They parted and Stiles took a deep breath as he turned to face the others.
Derek and the rest of the teens were still staring at him, dumbfounded, with their eyes wide open, their jaws hanging, and disbelief written all over their faces.
They looked like they still couldn't believe he was really there.
"Guys." Stiles approached them slowly with his hands raised as if he was approaching a scared animal. "Guys, I'm – I'm really here." That triggered an avalanche.
Not a moment later Stiles found himself under Isaac, Scott, Erica, Lydia and Jackson while they hugged the life out of him. Happy exclamations and shouts filled their air, closely followed by Stiles' laughter.
"Get off of me! You're choking me here!"
"You deserve to be choked, Stilinski! You're a right son of a bitch!"
"I can't believe you're here!"
"Scott, you're slobbering!"
"You're an idiot, Stiles Stilinski!"
"Lydia, you're choking me!"
"When the hell did you become solid muscle?!"
"Boyd, get your girlfriend off of me! And Isaac that is NOT A FLASHLIGHT!" Everyone almost immediately moved off of Stiles and Isaac grinned at him bashfully. Stiles rolled his eyes and ruffled Isaac's hair.
"I know that was an accident," he said. "At least I hope it was," he muttered a moment later and Isaac winked at him while Scott rolled his eyes fondly at his best friend and boyfriend. Stiles stood up and looked at Derek and Boyd.
Both looked like stone statues. Boyd moved first and Stiles accepted a hug from him. "Welcome back."
"It's good to be back, Boyd." Stiles said and turned to look at Derek, swallowing difficultly and wiping his sweaty palms against his thighs. "Hey, D-" before Stiles managed to finish his thought, the coyote sneaked in on him from behind and jumped on his back, making Stiles fall forward.
"Stiles!" The teen looked up and blushed furiously when his eyes met Derek's. A moment later he felt the alpha's hands tighten around him.
"Hey, Mr. Big Bad Alpha," he teased breathlessly and Derek breathed out a chuckle.
"I don't remember falling asleep," Derek whispered and Stiles gulped.
"You never do," he murmured, lips tilting up into a small, wavering smile.
"So, how do I know this isn't a dream?" Derek asked, gaze darting all over Stiles' face, taking in every line, every freckle, every single change he could find, and Stiles smiled, tilting his head to the side.
"You'll just have to believe me."
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So I'll let you go.
I'll set you free.
And when you see what you need to see;
When you find you – come back to me.
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Derek's nose twitched and Stiles' scent overwhelmed his senses. His hold on the teen tightened and Stiles shivered.
"I'm home."
Derek pulled him into a kiss.
And just like that everything smacked into place.
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And I hope you find everything that you need.
I'll be right here waiting to see.
You find you – come back to me.
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They parted for a second and their eyes met. A huge grin broke on Stiles face and he let go of a tight, choked up laugh.
A moment later Derek snorted, and not a second later he picked Stiles up in a hug and Stiles laughed brightly, cupped Derek's face between his hands and kissed him soundly as Derek spun him around, while the Pack cheered.
"Get ready, Beacon Hills! Stiles Stilinski is back in town!"
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He's home! He's home! He's home!