Stiles tried to fall asleep but the cold radiating through his body kept him shivering. During the night he thought about Derek and why he was his anchor. He looked down at his phone, it was 10:00 am, and he decided this was as good a time as any to call Derek.

"Hey, It's Stiles. Um. Can you come over?"

"Is everything ok?"

Stiles paused. He didn't know how to answer that. Based on the research he did everything was not ok, far from it. But he didn't want to worry Derek, he was already dealing with Braeden's absence. Stiles was about to speak when Derek interrupted obviously troubled by the pause,

"I'm on my way."

The call ended and Stiles decided it would be a good idea to at least clean up his room a little bit, try and get his mind off what he had to tell Derek. Stiles picked up stray clothes and disposed of them in the overflowing laundry basket. He started his shower and got in. He kept turning the water hotter and hotter to shake off the chilling feeling, but almost boiled off his skin. Stiles dried off and brushed his teeth. He opened the door back into his room and found Derek standing in the center staring at the white board. Stiles recoiled back, his heart skipped a beat, and he let out a shocking scream. Stiles felt his towel fall down and his body flooded with panic. He saw Derek turn to find him butt naked on the floor grabbing for his towel. Derek laughed as Stiles tried to pick up whatever pride and privacy he had left.

"Derek! You can't just break in!"

"You shouldn't flash people either but you don't see me complaining."

Stiles went red, what is that suppose to mean? Stiles ran over to his closet and put clothes on, hiding himself behind the closet door.

"You got here quickly."

"You were quite, which isn't like you."

Stiles walked over to Derek and pointed at the board.

"I found some stuff about the book and it's seriously freaking me out. It's called The Shade."

Stiles navigated through the board, spewing out the information he planned on giving him all last night, terror started coating his voice as he spoke more and more about the book.

"The Shade was put together by… a dark cult who worshipped… Satan and generally anything creepy and dark. They put together all their resources and, enchanted this book with black magic. It required thirteen innocent sacrifices."

Stiles picked up the book and looked at it as he recited the rest from memory. Reaching the conclusion of his conversation in his head forced a tear to slowly burn down his cheek.

"And by innocent I mean a newborn… they fucking sacrificed thirteen babies to make this… thing!"

Stiles wiped the tear and kept going, "The book allows the owner to use the black magic spells inside. But… to be able to cast a spell in the book, you need to form a connection with…"

Stiles shook his head and pointed at the paper on the board. Derek moved close to it to inspect the writing and was shocked.

"Hell!?"

"Hell. And to do that you have to form a bond with the book and survive 'The Test', which basically is when the book tries to kill you."

Stiles guided his shaking finger down from one paper to the other by the string connecting the two. Stiles recalled the night before, and the pain started to resurge into his head.

"So you formed a connection with Hell?! Is that why you almost died yesterday?"

Stiles sighed and nodded. "Yeah… I only survived because I found an anchor."

Derek turned back to Stiles, "Anchor? Like what werewolves do?"

Stiles nodded, "I guess." He sounded hopeless.

Derek shook his head with horror. Stiles took that as a sign to continue, he took in a deep breath.

"To be able to form a bond the last owner has to be dead."

Stiles flipped the board and pointed at a man in black and white.

"A cultist by the name of Luke was the very first to wield this books power and quickly became obsessed with the 'purification' of the world through mass executions of the 'innocent.' Eventually a group of Crusaders gathered word of this and executed him. They tried to destroy this thing, but it was impossible, it's too dark to destroy. Instead they forced the cultist group that originally put the book together to set a curse on it."

Stiles hated this part.

"The curse was that if the book is reactivated and a bond formed, it would emit a beacon that would warn the Crusaders of the reactivation."

Stiles guided Derek's troubled eyes to the picture of the Vatican.

"During the ritual the cultists had to sacrifice themselves to set the curse in place. The Crusaders took the book and secured it in a vault underneath the Vatican, never to be seen again. That was like a thousand years ago and now you find it in your house."

Derek shook his head and looked down.

Stiles had already realized the graveness of the situation, but he didn't realize that he was banking on Derek having a plan. Stiles started panicking and anger boiled over in his chest.

"Well? Any idea what to do?"

Derek shrugged, "I have no idea. This is the first I'm hearing about any of this."

Stiles eyes glazed over, "I just got over being possessed by a dark fox and now I have a 'bond with Hell'! These Crusaders are probably heading over to my house RIGHT NOW! What do I do Derek!?"

Stiles eyes started to water and he dropped to the floor in tears.

"What do I do? I can't break the bond unless I die, but I can't use this book after knowing how many innocent lives were sacrificed to make it! And I can't get rid of how cold I am! I'm freezing and couldn't even sleep yesterday and… and I can't think straight!"

Stiles looked up at Derek his eyes red. Derek just shook his head and looked back, water filling his eyes.

"Stiles… I'm sorry, but I don't know what to do. I should never have called you in the first place. This is all my fault, but I won't let you die. Let the Crusaders come, I will take care of them. Have you looked through the book to see if there is anything we can use?"

Stiles wanted to look through the book but he was scared something would happen and no one would know. He opened the book on the floor and started flipping through the pages, feeling safe with Derek there. He recalled the spell that he used yesterday to translate everything and casted it with ease; it came shockingly natural to him. Stiles flipped through the pages mumbling as his purple eyes tore through every page, corner to corner, until he found,

"The Shade's Thrall? Is that like the books protector?"

Stiles looked up at Derek who looked equally puzzled. Derek moved down to the floor, sitting eye level with Stiles,

"What does the spell translate to?"

Stiles looked back down at the book, his purple eyes straining.

"Hear from the shadows your master's call, join me in battle my eternal Thrall."

Stiles felt warmth radiate in the palm of his hand. When he lifted it up he saw a purple orb grow, floating above his palm. He looked into the perfectly round orb, mesmerized by its simplicity. Stiles looked up at Derek who was also staring at the orb. Stiles figured if there were anyone who knew anything about the book, it would be the thrall who protects it. Stiles instinctively looked back at the orb and envisioned the spell in his head. When the force became palpable he wrapped his fingers around the ball and squeezed, the warmth pressed hard against his hand. Stiles crushed the orb and the warmth fizzled away. A purple rift formed opposite Stiles and as he looked in disbelief something else caught his eye. Derek was glowing purple!

"Derek!"

Derek was looking at his arms, panicking. Derek looked back up to Stiles, the purple light was quickly consuming him, and then in a split second he was gone. Stiles felt his heart drop and he gawked at the empty space where Derek was just sitting, but then he felt a change in the rift to his left. He turned to see Derek emerging from the rift. Stiles watched as Derek came back into view, the purple light dissipating until nothing was left. Derek was standing there, but something was off. Derek's eyes weren't the same as they were moments before. They looked the same, but Stiles could see some property wasn't right, they looked, withdrawn.

"Derek? Are you ok?"

Derek nodded.

"Of course. How can I help master?"

Stiles eyes went wide and his heart fluttered at the idea of Derek calling him 'Master'.

"Master? Are you… the protector of this book?"

Derek nodded.

"How are you the thrall? You never told me any of that! Derek this book is full of dark magic, why are you involved with it?"

"The moment when the Master passes The Test, a person is selected by me that the Master trusts. This is involuntary as I'm capable of picking the best choice for the Master. Derek is the person I chose, but also the one you refer to as your anchor. He is smart and strong, and has a protective nature that could be very useful to you."

Stiles felt the air escape his lungs.

"I enslaved you!?"

Derek shook his head.

"As I said I did that for you, but only based on your true feelings. I assure you Derek's the best person for you."

Stiles shook his head in disbelief, and he got up off the floor and grabbed Derek's shoulders, a lump was forming in his throat and a sinking feeling took over his body.

"But you're not the real Derek. Is he in there? Is he aware all of this is happening?"

Derek nodded. "As protector of you, I must ensure the thrall puts your priorities ahead of their own. If they are not able to do that, then I force them to. The Derek you refer to is still here and highly combative, so I've taken over."

Stiles backed away from Derek, fear starting to spread through his body.

"So then who am I talking to right now?"

"I am the book. I'm The Shade."

Stiles grabbed his head and ran his fingers through his hair, pulling to relieve the pressure accumulating, "You're the book? What are you? A demon? Or are you the people sacrificed to make the book?"

Derek's gaze never once changed, it was withdrawn and cold.

"My name is Luke. I was the creator of the book, which I now serve."

Stiles mouth opened wide.

"You're the one who killed all of those innocent people!"

Derek shook his head. "What I did with the book has no importance. It is your turn to wield the power; I'm simply an instrument to help. That is the original curse of The Shade, one that has been replaced by the Crusaders. The details of which you uncovered by yourself."

Stiles looked at the book and then back to Derek.

"How do I stop this? How do I separate my bond with this book? I don't want this power."

"Only death may separate you from this book now. The bond has been made."

"Then how do I defeat the Crusaders?"

Derek smiled. "Through me of course. Within me you'll find spells of many kinds. You can summon demons to possess your victims, hell fire to consume the ones you hate, chilling shadows to empower your allies, or demonic ruins to corrupt others to the core. These are just a few things you'll find within me, but all of them are capable of defeating the crusaders."

Stiles squinted at Derek.

"So how did you get defeated?"

Derek frowned, the thought was obviously not pretty.

"The Crusaders used a nullifying trap on me. Something I didn't think they were capable of. In that trap I was unable to use any magic."

"One last question. How do I set Derek free of this? I don't want to use him, or anybody."

Derek shrugged. "That is simply not possible. If you are finished with him you can always release him. He will return to normal but will remain the thrall in case you ever need to call on him again. If he resists I will simply take over his body again."

"How do I release him?"

Derek nodded and crouched over the book Stiles had on the floor. He gently turned the page as if it was sacred to him. He laid a finger on the spell and stood back up. Stiles knelt down and read it.

"Back to the shadows I wish you withdraw, I release you now my eternal thrall."

Stiles hand felt the warmth again and he quickly held it up in front of Derek. The orb floated in his palm and he wrapped his fingers around it again, crushing it. Derek shined purple and fell back onto Stiles bed. The purple aura disappeared and Derek shot up with horror in his eyes. He turned to Stiles and stared in disbelief.

"Derek? Is it you?"

Derek nodded slowly.

"Are you ok? Do you remember what just happened?"

Derek nodded again.

Stiles sank onto the floor, staring in bewilderment at the book.

"You thought of me as your anchor?"

Stiles looked back up at Derek who was looking very confused. Stiles took in a deep breath and exhaustion took over his body.

"Yeah."

Derek looked Stiles up and down, "Why me?"

Stiles shrugged.

"I don't know…"

Derek leaned forward, "Stiles."

Stiles felt his blood rush through his body and for the first time he felt warm, that's when he figured it out.

"How did you do this to me?"

Derek looked confused.

"Do what?"

"You make me… warm, when I'm always cold."

Derek's eyebrow arched, "Warm?"

Stiles nodded. He didn't feel like he had to explain anything as long as he knew. I like you Derek. A lot. Stiles looked back down at the book.

"Promise me one thing, don't cast that spell on me again."

Stiles nodded never looking away from the book.

"I'm sorry. I know how it feels to not have control over your actions… I would never put someone through that."

Derek exhaled. "It's not your fault. And for the record I'm sorry too… for everything. When you were choking yesterday I felt… like I was losing my family all over again."

Stiles felt incredible sad and all he wanted to do was put his hand on Derek's leg, offer some support. But that wasn't possible. All he could do is sit in his loneliness and relish in the fact that he finally found out why he didn't feel very sad about Malia leaving, and why Derek gave him so much comfort. But to say it out loud would be impossible.

Derek left and Stiles body was rejecting anything other than sleep. Stiles laid in his bed for an hour or so before sleep consumed him. He was exhausted and ready to forget all about what happened, he drifted off. He remembered that dream vividly.

It was dark and the only thing he could see was a stone slab in front of him. He heard faint chanting erupt into a sea of chorus accompanied by the cries of babies. Looking around he saw shadows of men in clocks emerge around the slab and each one held a baby, some by the feet others by the hand, all of which were dangling in the air and flailing, just like Stiles did when he was being choked. One stepped forward and held the baby over the Altar by the arm. The singing started getting louder and louder and as the voices became too much for Stiles, the man swung the baby back and then onto the slab. The infant cried as his legs broke in opposite directions against the stone. Again the man swung the baby back and slammed the body against the stone, this time the baby rebounded a little and the man took the opportunity to swing again. The baby let out blood curling screams and Stiles cried out, tears rushing down his face. The man turned his head to Stiles and the other members followed. The man by the stone slab took the baby by the neck and walked over to Stiles, the baby was blue by the time the man made it to him. Stiles screamed for them to stop but the man only made the grip tighter. Stiles could feel his own neck constricting and he grabbed at it. The man held the baby inches from him and he could see every ounce of pain the baby was experiencing. The worst part was the baby didn't understand what was happening, and it was helpless. The man squeezed so hard that all Stiles heard was a pop echo through the darkness. The baby's face didn't change from the agony it must have endured. The man ran back to the slab and slammed the baby's head onto it, bathing the stone in blood. Stiles ran up to the Altar to try and save the baby but couldn't make it in time. Stiles recoiled back in an onset of tears. The man dropped the lifeless body next to the slab and stepped back into the circle. Another figured emerged and took the first ones place. The chorus got louder and the man took the baby by the leg and swung. Stiles screamed again and tried to push the guy back but his neck was seized by the shadows and soon he was in the air flailing again. His body started to shake controllably and his neck got tighter and tighter. He tried gasping but couldn't force anything in. All he could do was fight for his own life as the babies were sacrificed one by one.

Stiles felt the grip around his neck vanish and he woke up to see his Dad holding his arms down. Stiles burst into tears and his Dad embraced him.

"Stiles it was just a dream! You're ok! You're ok."

Stiles hugged his father, not wanting to fall back to that horrible place. They stayed there for a few moments, Sheriff Stilinski holding his son in his arms.

"I thought these nightmares were suppose to be over?"

Stiles shook his head, "These are different… more vivid."

The Sheriff looked at Stiles with sadness. "I was about to go into work, but do you want me to take off?"

Stiles glanced over at the clock. It was 9:36 pm.

"I need to go see Derek."

Stiles released his father and wiped the tears from his face. The Sheriff left after a few more rebuttals and Stiles was on his way to Derek's with The Shade sitting right next to him. The dream resurged a few times while Stiles was on the road but he did all he could to block it out until he was at Derek's front door.

Stiles banged on Derek's door and was greeted by a grumpy man in sweatpants. Stiles was so traumatized he didn't even notice Derek was shirtless until he felt nothing but skin embrace his cheek as he hugged him.

"Stiles? What's wrong?"

Stiles let go of Derek and tears started running down his face.

"I just had another nightmare, but this one was about the book! Derek. It's happening all over again!"

Stiles tried wiping the tears off his face but they just kept coming. Derek frowned and backed away from the door, inviting Stiles in. Stiles sat on Derek's couch with the book still in his hands. He always had the book next to him, even though the book was the problem Stiles felt connected to it. Probably because of the bond with Hell… Derek grabbed Stiles a glass of water and asked what happened. Stiles retold what he saw and Derek's frown only turned more dramatic. Stiles wanted to spare the details about how the babies were sacrificed but he figured Derek needed to know.

"And then my father woke me up. But he was holding down my hands…"

Derek was silent for a moment,

"You said you had the feeling that you were being choked again right? Maybe you were doing that to yourself? Was there ever a time when you were hurting yourself when the fox was possessing you?"

Stiles shook his head. "I never hurt myself… just others."

Derek recalled the details and winced, not meaning to bring up that subject with Stiles.

Stiles was overwhelmed with fear, not able to get the image of the babies out of his head. He didn't realize that he was closer to Derek. He had scooted over to Derek when he was describing his dreams.

"And something else is happening to me. I can't shake this cold feeling."

Derek's eyebrows furrowed. "Ever?"

Stiles paused. He needed to tell Derek the truth…

"Well, expect for…"

Derek cocked his head to the side, "For what?"

Stiles looked down at the book in his lap, he didn't know how Derek would react to this. He can't lose Derek… not when he needed him the most.

"For when I'm with you…"

Derek slowly nodded, surprised and confused.

"That warm feeling?"

Stiles felt a rush of panic and the need to explain.

"I don't know why. I've tried to make sense out of it but I can't. It just happens."

Stiles looked down in shame, not wanting to see how Derek was taking all of this.

"Yeah… I feel like that too sometimes."

He feels it too? Could he feel the same way about me? Derek sighed and rubbed his bed head.

"Stiles?"

Stiles looked up hesitantly, "Yeah?"

"Promise me if you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation that you will summon me."

Stiles heart dropped as memories of being trapped in his own body flooded his mind again. He stood up with shock.

"I can't do that! I don't want to put anyone else through that! Besides you told me to promise to never use it yesterday."

Derek shot up to his feet with anger coating his words.

"You're not the only one who has nightmares!"

Derek's eyes were glazed over, full of anger. Stiles stepped back at the sudden outburst.

"I haven't been able to sleep too. Every time I close my eyes I see your body hanging in the air, flailing, all while knowing it was MY fault. I can't handle having another person die because of me!"

Derek's eyes were blue and he was breathing heavily, Stiles didn't even think about how Derek felt.

"I… I didn't know you felt that way."

Derek recoiled and his eyes changed back.

"If you need my promise you have it."

"Thank you."

Stiles nodded still a bit shaken up by Derek. There was another pause.

"Did you want to sleep here?"

Stiles heart fluttered again, but he didn't know how to answer so he just didn't. Derek nodded and gestured for Stiles to follow. Derek brought Stiles into his room.

"You can sleep here… I'll be on the couch."

Derek grabbed his pillow, leaving one for Stiles, and started to leave.

"Derek."

Stiles didn't want him to go. Not yet at least. He felt a lump form in his throat again and breathing took a lot more energy than he had.

"Can you sleep here too?"

There was a moment of silence before Derek shifted his weight back towards Stiles. Stiles started to shake, as Derek got closer to him.

"Sure."

Stiles went on the other side of the bed and got in. The cold sheets brought back the endless chill he's always feeling. Derek got into bed and in seconds his body heat radiated throughout the bed. Stiles felt warm and safe. He made himself comfortable and drifted off to sleep knowing Derek was inches from him. A few moments before he was out he thought he heard Derek let out a low growl, kind of like a purr. For some reason that was all he needed to hear to have a good nights sleep.