Stiles let himself into the McCall household with the key that Melissa had given him once she'd caught him climbing through Scott's window once too many times. Scott didn't even twitch when Stiles flung open his bedroom door; he had felt him coming through the bond. Both boys were used to monitoring each other through their connection and there was always a part of them that was looking out for the other.
"I saw my dad leave 20 minutes ago," Stiles announced without his usual cheer. "Dispatch called. They're bringing in every officer from the Beacon Department, and even State Police."
"For what?" Scott questioned, watching him with open concern. Ever since Laura died Stiles hadn't quite been himself; he'd been a lot quieter and had thrown himself into research about who could have killed the Alpha.
"Two joggers found a body in the woods," Stiles replied, causing a sinking feeling to develop in Scott's gut. He knew before Stiles continued what he was going to say. "It was a girl, probably in her 20s. I know it was Laura."
"If they found the body," Scott repeated slowly. "Then what are they looking for?"
"They only found half," Stiles told him. "We're going."
Stiles drove them both in his Jeep to the preserve. He could tell that Scott wasn't comfortable with what they were doing, but he didn't say anything. He knew that it was important to Stiles, and, truthfully, he wanted to find Laura's killer too. He could feel the guilt and anger that Stiles was holding inside and Scott hated that someone had been able to make him feel those things. Scott was his Alpha; he was meant to protect him from things like that.
"I was trying to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow," Scott grumbled half-heartedly as they scanned the dead leaves around them.
"Right, 'cause sitting on the bench is such a gruelling effort," Stiles teased, flashing a smile at him so that he'd know he was just joking.
Scott mock glared at him, pleased that he was beginning to act a little more like himself. "No, because I'm playing this year. In fact, I'm making first line."
"Hey, that's the spirit," Stiles laughed. "Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one."
Scott sighed; though Stiles was only playing around, it was true that the idea of him making first line was practically laughable. "Just out of curiosity, which half of the body are we looking for?" He asked, changing the subject from his terrible sports skills.
"I didn't even think about that," Stiles admitted, continuing to scan the ground at his feet while walking.
"And, uh, what if whoever killed the body is still out here?" Scott questioned again; poking another hole into Stiles's plan.
"That's not a problem," Stiles pulled a sharp looking dagger out of his pocket. The handle was shaped like a wolfs' head and there were images of wolves decorating the sheaf and top of the dagger. "It's coated with Wolfsbane and made of silver," Stiles explained, taking care not to catch himself with it. "It's passed down from Guardian to Guardian in my family to be used in protection of the pack."
"Do you even know how to use that?" Scott demanded, watching nervously as Stiles returned the dagger to its sheaf.
"Of course," Stiles scoffed, as if it was obvious. "I've been training to be a Guardian since I was seven. Even when my mum could no longer train me, my dad made sure that I'd know everything I'd need to protect my pack. He hated the thought that what happened to my mum could happen to me."
"Great," Scott said absently, looking around and not seeing anything but darkness. "Maybe the severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight, huh? Especially since you don't even need a light to see in the dark."
"Wait," Stiles caught sight of a group of officers and dogs searching. "Come on!"
"Stiles!" Scott protested, forced to stop and take another breath of his inhaler as Stiles ran forward. "Wait up! Stiles! Stiles!"
Unfortunately, Stiles was caught by his dad before Scott could stop him. Scott was forced to duck behind a tree while Stiles lied to his dad about Scott being at home. Thankfully, the bond Scott shared with Stiles didn't mean that John could find him. He could only feel that he was alive, not where he was or even if he was hurt like Stiles could.
Stiles waited until his dad had dragged him back to the Jeep before speaking. He hated leaving Scott alone in the dark, but he also knew how much trouble he'd be in if his mum found out what they'd been doing.
"The body you're looking for is Laura Hale," Stiles blurted out, secure in the knowledge that only his dad was around to hear him.
The Sheriff sighed, rubbing a weary hand over his face. "How do you know that, Stiles? We haven't managed to identify the body yet."
"I felt her die," he admitted in a small voice. "I arranged to meet her when she came back to town and we strengthened the bond."
John flinched, no doubt thinking about what had happened to his wife when her bonds had been broken. "Are you okay?" His eyes roamed over his sons' body, as if he would be able to see the damage caused by a bond being broken.
"I'm alright," Stiles shrugged, shifting uncomfortably. "We didn't renew the bond, so she was only half-pack when she died. It still hurt, but Scott's been helping me get over it."
"I'm sorry, son," John pulled Stiles into a quick hug before ordering him to go home and get some sleep. If he noticed the dagger hanging off of his sons' belt then he didn't mention it.
Stiles was just drifting off to sleep when a flare of pain and panic came through the bond he shared with Scott. Without really meaning to, his eyes flashed silver and his teeth sharpened as his body and power reacted to the threat on his Alpha. Before he could do anything, his phone buzzed with an incoming text.
'Don't worry. Talk to you tomorrow. Try sleep.'
It was from Scott, but the reassurance didn't do much to calm the instincts that were flowing through his body. Stiles took a deep breath and let it out again, repeating the process until he had pulled back the vampire side of himself. He wanted to go find Scott and demand to know what had happened, but Scott could be just as stubborn as he was, so it was probably best to just wait until the next day.
By the time they found each other the next morning; the bond had strengthened enough for Stiles to know what had happened. The only way for Stiles to be able to be so connected to Scott was if his pack mate was no longer human. The feelings he could sense through the link were enough to prove his guess; they were a lot more focused on instinct and Scott's protectiveness was even stronger than before.
"I think we have a problem," Scott said immediately once Stiles was at his side. "I'm pretty sure a wolf bit me, and I heard howling."
"California hasn't had wolves in, like, sixty years," Stiles protested weakly, even though they both knew what had really bitten him.
"I'm a werewolf, aren't I?" He asked numbly, pressing a hand to his side where Stiles knew the bite was – if it hadn't already healed.
"I'm sorry, Scott," Stiles apologized, guilt welling up inside of him. "I know you didn't want the bite, and I was the one who dragged you out."
Reassurance flowed through the bond before he'd even finished speaking. "It's okay, Stiles," he soothed quickly. "Being a werewolf has some good benefits; like not needing my inhaler and like our bond becoming even stronger. Anyway, I hadn't decided whether or not I wanted the bite, I might have said yes."
"Well, since it's my fault you were bitten," Stiles ignored Scott as he insisted that he didn't blame him. "Then I'm going to teach you how to be a werewolf and control it. We'll start today after school."
During the day, Stiles noticed that Scott was having a couple of problems with his enhanced hearing, but he let him try to manage it on his own. Stiles was looking forward to the training session because he would get to try new things too. The great thing about being connected to a werewolf was that he would be able to tap into the werewolf's powers without it taking them away from the werewolf.
It only worked if the connect between the vampire and werewolf was really strong, but since Scott had been his Alpha since they were seven years old, Stiles was fairly confident it would work. That meant that he would be able to have enhanced senses and move quicker just like Scott without the yellow eyes and transformed face. If he wanted to, he would be able to sharpen his nails into claws, but that was the extent of any physical changes he would gain from Scott getting bitten.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to play?" Stiles asked as they got ready for lacrosse. "Other than the fact that I'll have no one to talk to on the bench, you don't know how to control yourself yet."
"I can't sit out again," Scott argued, Stiles could feel his determination, but also his nerves. "My whole life is sitting on the side-lines. This season, I make first line."
"Okay," Stiles nodded in defeat. "But tonight we work on your control. The last thing we need is you wolfing out and hurting anyone."
Scott was sent into goal before they could talk anymore. Stiles watched in amazement as Scott caught every ball that was thrown at him. Even though he knew what the effects of a werewolf bite were, it was a completely different thing to see them in action.
"I don't know what it was," Scott fumbled with his words as he tried to explain what had happened on the lacrosse field. "It was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball."
Stiles had dragged him back to the preserve, saying that they still needed to find the body and Scott needed to find his inhaler. Even if he didn't need it anymore, his mum would get suspicious if he didn't at least carry it around with him.
"That's great, Scott," Stiles agreed, following his friend to where he'd seen the body. "But remember that we need to work on your control; the full moon's this Friday."
"I know," Scott sighed, his good mood dropping. "And I don't want to hurt anyone." He stopped walking and looked around in confusion. "I could have sworn this was it. I saw the body, the deer came running. I dropped my inhaler."
"Maybe the killer moved the body," Stiles suggested, scanning the ground to see if there was anything that could tell them where the body had gone.
"If he did, I hope he left my inhaler," Scott joked. "Those things are like 80 bucks."
"What are you doing here?" A male voice demanded angrily, causing them both to look up. "Huh? This is private property."
Stiles knew from the faint bond that he shared with the Hale pack that the man in front of them was Derek Hale. He could sense more about him since he'd strengthened his bond with Laura before her death. The link allowed him to know that Derek wasn't the Alpha, which meant that he wasn't the one that had killed Laura.
"We were just looking for something," Scott spoke up when it became apparent that Stiles wasn't going to break the silence. "Forget it. Come on, Stiles, I have to get to work."
Derek threw Scott's inhaler at him before they could turn away and then left them standing there, staring after him. Stiles watched him carefully; he had sensed that Laura had had a lot of affection for her brother, and there was always a possibility that Derek could one day become Alpha.
"Was that Derek Hale?" Scott questioned, turning to look at his friend.
Stiles nodded. "It was. And didn't he just seem like a ball of sunshine."
They went back to Stiles's house for training before Scott had to go to work. The training session mostly included reading the books that Amanda had given them about werewolves and then trying to figure out Scott's anchor. The only way to test his anchor would be to get him angry, which neither of them really wanted to do.
"Just, try to think of an anchor before Friday night, we can start testing them tomorrow," Stiles patted him on the back as he was leaving.
The next morning Scott was practically walking on air as he told Stiles that he'd asked the new girl, Allison, if she wanted to go to the cinema on Saturday. He admitted that he'd nearly asked her to go to the party with him, but remembered at last minute that it was the same night as the full moon.
His day got even better when he made first line thanks to some new gymnastic skills. Stiles was happy for his friend, he just hoped that he wouldn't wolf out when playing. With that in mind, Stiles made Scott tell his mum that he was staying the night at Stiles' house.
The Sheriff was going to be working all night because of the murder, so it would give them time to find an anchor for Scott before the full moon came up. They were both understandably apprehensive when they read in one of Amanda's books that there was a family of hunters with the last name 'Argent' that had lived in Beacon Hills before. Since that was Allison's last name, they were worried that it might be her family, but without proof they decided to think about it later.
"Right," Stiles clapped his hands together and spun his office chair around to face Scott who was sat on the bed. "The best way to test your anchor is for you to wolf out and get angry."
"What if my anchor doesn't work?" Scott asked anxiously. "I could hurt you."
"I don't think you will," Stiles admitted. "I'm part of your pack; therefore your first instinct should be to protect me, just as it's always been."
Scott was too nervous to get angry, which meant that they were forced to wait until the full moon rose before they would be able to see if his anchor worked. Stiles watched carefully as Scott transformed; his teeth and nails sharpening while his eyes changed to gold. He was growling under his breath and Stiles could sense that he was close to bolting out of the window.
"Scott," Stiles caught his attention. "Focus on your anchor. Think of your pack; me, your mum, my dad, Allison."
The last name caused Scott to blink and visibly pull himself back. Stiles grinned, pleased that he'd managed to find Scott's anchor. It didn't bother him that he wasn't his anchor; he was just happy that Scott had found someone that he liked so much. Scott was still wolfed out, but he was more conscious of what was going on.
"Stiles?" He rasped, staring at him.
"Hey, buddy," Stiles couldn't keep the grin off of his face. "You did it. Just keep focusing on Allison."
They stayed awake the whole night, both of them worried that if they fell asleep then Scott might lose control. Scott didn't change back to normal until the sun came up, but he managed to stay in control, which was good enough to start with. The bond helped as something Scott could hold on to, it kept him tethered to his human side and reality.
After their sleepless night, they both slept the morning and most of the afternoon until Scott had to leave to get ready for his date with Allison. Scott seemed a lot more at ease about being a werewolf now that he knew he could control it, with help from Stiles. He began thinking it might not be a curse after all.
A/N: Dagger =