After school, all three boys went over to Jackson's and stayed for dinner, playing video games well into the night. Stiles decimated them at Mortal Kombat, all of the werewolf reflexes inferior to Stiles' ability to memorize endless attack combos which he punched out with brutal abandon. Jackson and Scott frantically button mashed, but still received one blood and gore-filled fatality after another while Stiles played looking only half-interested in the game.

"Jesus, Stiles, how did you get so good at this?" asked Jackson, shaking the stiffness out of his hand.

"I told you guys, my Dad IS Johnny Kage. In the movie, Johnny Kage beats Goro. And I'm his son! So naturally I am the master. You guys are lucky I'm not one of you, or I would have made you my bitches in real life too."

Scott and Jackson turned towards a suddenly terrified Stiles, their eyes yellowed, and the growling fang-filled mouths gaping wide as the two tackled him.

Scott straddled Stiles while Jackson easily pinned Stiles' arms over his head.

"Now, who's the Alpha?" asked Scott menacingly.

"You are, you are!" screamed Stiles.

"What? Did I hear you right? WHO is the Alpha?" said Jackson an inch away from biting Stiles' face completely off.

Stiles looked around for help, then shouted "Derek's the Alpha! My loyalty is only to Derek!"

"That's good to hear, Stiles." said Derek from the hall.

The boys leapt off Stiles, and looked guiltily at Derek.

"Jackson, I just came by to thank your father personally for what he is doing. The crew showed up today, and began work on the house. Of course, this means I am officially homeless for now…but your dad actually asked about that and kindly offered me the use of your guest cottage. So I guess I'll be within…hearing distance for quite a while!"

Scott and Stiles thought Jackson would be horrified, but he actually grinned and said "That's awesome, Derek, it will be great to have you around! Come by for dinner any night."

Scott and Stiles looked less surprised than Derek himself, who heard clearly the sincerity of Jackson's words in the boy's heartbeat.

'Could it be? Could my Pack be coming together? Could I have a family again?' These are thoughts he would not have revealed under threat of silver bullet. The scars of his past ran deep, but now he was going to really allow himself to hope.

Derek parked on the sofa, and bemusedly watched his cubs…the boys, rather… kill each other over and over on the video game until they got tired. They also filled Derek in on their run-in with the Argents. Derek looked grim, biting his lip until it bled.

"So, let me get this straight. As far as the Argent boys know…Danny told them he was a werewolf?"

All the color drained out of the boy's faces as they realized the import of Derek's words.

"We've got to warn him!" said Jackson, yanking out his phone. There was no answer on Danny's cell, or at his house. Getting more worried by the minute, Jackson dialed the number for Danny's mother, and she picked up on the third ring. Jackson clicked it over to speaker for Stiles' sake.

"Hello, Jackson?"

"Yeah, hi. I was looking for Danny, but he hasn't picked up his phone."

"Jackson, Danny is here with me at Beacon Hills General Hospital."

"What! Is he all right?" asked Jackson frantically.

"No, he was… attacked…stabbed while he was walking home from school. The doctor believes at least three different knives were used…"

She began to openly sob on the phone, sounding close to hysterics. "I knew this would happen to me one day. When he came out to me and told me all his friends supported him I hoped he would be safe, but there are so many bad people in the world. Jackson, they don't know if he will last the night! Oh, what am I going to do, I can't lose my son! He's all I have!" She continued to cry, and Jackson told her that he would be right down.

Jackson's and Scott's eyes were glowing yellow, and Derek…the overlarge teeth of the Alpha seemed to want to explode outward from his bleeding gums.

Stiles backed up, terrified of the infuriated werewolves.

"Um, guys, please calm down. I am pretty sure they don't allow werewolves into the hospital, it's against policy you know."

Slowly they shifted back to normal.

"What do we do, Derek?" asked Jackson.

"We have to go to him. And then…Danny's mother has a choice to make. After that, the Argent boys are going to wish they had never been born."

Derek drove as fast as he could, arriving at the hospital in about half the time it should have taken. They made their way to Danny's room, and found the other seven members of the Lacrosse team there in the hall. Only three people were allowed in the room at a time, and Danny's mother wasn't going anywhere.

Jackson badly wanted to tell the guys who did this, and then organize a hunt for the bastards, but held himself back because he knew that Derek would want to organize a hunt…his own kind of hunt.

The last of the team finished visiting with Danny, and filed out, clapping Jackson on the shoulder as they went by. Mrs. Kean came out to greet them.

"Hello boys, visiting hours are almost over, but three of you can go in if you want for a few minutes." She looked ready to swoon, her thin arms clutching herself as if afraid she would fall apart if she let go.

"Mrs. Kean, can we talk somewhere private?" asked Derek.

They found one of the waiting rooms, empty at this late hour.

"You're son was attacked because the boys who did it thought he was a…monster."

Mrs. Kean looked as she had been slapped.

"Being gay does not mean you are a monster! How dare you…" she began to get red in the face, the tears still pouring down.

"NO! I don't mean they thought he was gay. They thought he was…a werewolf." said Derek quietly.

She looked at the four of them as if they were insane.

"Please leave now. I don't know what kind of craziness you are into…"

"Mrs. Kean!" broke in Scott. "Werewolves are real. But they aren't monsters! Some people think they are, and-"

"Why are you talking about this madness when my son is dying in the other room?" she blurted out.

"Because we may be able to save him." Derek responded.

That got her full attention.

"I think you had better tell me…exactly…what the hell you are talking about." She hissed.

"Werewolves are real…and they have supernatural healing abilities. We can heal overnight. We came here to offer you a choice. I can turn Danny…and IF he survives, he will become like us. But he will live. And he will be stronger than he ever was before."

"No one is stronger than my son. I am sorry, but I just cannot believe this is real. Please go." She turned away from them.

Jackson stood in front of her.

"Mrs. Kean, you have known me my whole life. I'm one of them, but my parents don't know…yet. Just look…but promise me you will show the same strength you gave to Danny by being his mother, and not freak out or be scared. I am no danger to you. Are you ready to see?"

She looked at him carefully, this boy who had been her son's best friend.

Then she nodded once.

Jackson let a single thought cross his mind…what he would like to do to those Argent guys if he had them in front of him…and shifted into the full Beta phase nearly instantaneously.

Mrs. Kean backed up, stifling a shriek. Jackson relaxed enough to turn back. When his features were normal, she approached and gently stroked one of his cheeks, as if unable to believe what his face had just done.

"Will this life…be difficult for him?" she asked.

Derek nodded grimly.

"But he will have friends like us to support him." Put in Scott.

"You are one too?"

Scott nodded.

"And you?"

"I am." said Derek.

"Um, I'm not!" piped up Stiles.

Mrs. Kean burst into near hysterical giggles, and then lapsed into tears once more.

Derek said gently: "Mrs. Kean, the longer we wait, the less-"

She suddenly snapped to full awareness.

"Then what are you waiting for? Go in there and save my son!" she hissed.

"Mrs. Kean. No one is to enter until we come out." He advised.

She nodded once and took a position beside the doorway. She looked like she could take on the entire Argent clan if they tried to storm in, so grim was her expression.

Derek went in, and then angrily gestured for Jackson and Scott to follow. They looked at each other and filed into the room. They shut and locked the door, disabled the CCTV, and closed the curtains over the window. Derek shut off all the alarms on the machines.

"Derek, why are we in here with you?" asked Scott.

"Tonight, you will see the first evidence of how we are stronger as a Pack. There is no way Danny would survive the bite in this condition. Even with you here, it may fail. Our power is enhanced the more of us there are. We heal faster around each other, and we shift further toward true wolves when we are near each other. If I turn him with you two present, it may just give him the edge he needs to pull through this. Stand close, and lay your hands on his skin. Then shift. Stay that way until I tell you to turn back."

Scott and Jackson did as instructed, while Derek took a band of gauze from a nearby shelf. Looking for a spot that would not likely to be examined until the next morning, Derek selected Danny's ankle. He pulled off the hospital slipper, let his teeth grow to their full length without actually shifting, and bit ever so carefully but deeply into the flesh. Quickly compressing the wound with the gauze, Derek wrapped it around and around the ankle until the blood stopped, then fit the slipper back onto Danny's foot. Only the edge of the new gauze was visible over the slipper.

As Derek hoped, Danny was so sedated that the bite made very little impression on the machines that monitored his vital functions. Then, holding Danny's wrist, he sat down to wait.

After about an hour, they heard raised voices outside the door. A nurse wanted to check on the patient. There had been a blip on one of their monitors. Mrs. Kean explained that people from her church were present and praying over her son. The nurse argued that her son's life was more important than any religious beliefs, but got nowhere with Mrs. Kean. The nurse left, threatening to call a doctor.

Ten minutes went by, and now there was a male voice raised in argument. Again, they got nowhere.

A sound caught their attention. It was the EKG machine that measured heart rate. They watched the number climb a single beat per minute. After thirty seconds, it jumped up two more. A rattling sound came from the doorknob. Scott reached over with one hand and held onto the knob that turned the lock. They heard the key inserted which wiggled around fruitlessly, unable to engage the locking mechanism.

Danny's heart rate jumped up a few more beats. It was now 65 beats per minute. Blood pressure increased to 110 over 68.

"It's taking, faster than it would have. Damn, I wish I had turned Stiles." He muttered, perhaps not realizing he spoke aloud. One machine after another began to display a green light, meaning that his life-signs were now within normal limits. As they looked, Danny seemed to grow less pale. Jackson and Scott, too afraid to speak lest they disturbed the process, let out sighs of relief.

Derek sniffed the air.

"Guys, shift back. Now."

This was sometimes a hard thing to do when emotions were running high, but at a direct command from their Alpha, both boys found themselves suddenly human once more. As one, they leaned over with their eyes closed in prayerful attitude. Scott yanked his hand back to his side just in time for the door to crash open.

They looked up, as if startled from meditation.

"What are you doing to my patient?" asked a red-faced doctor.

"We were merely praying…my son." Said Derek, with a straight face.

Mrs. Kean met them out in the parking lot.

"Will he be all right?" she asked.

"It was close, but I think he will make it. You have to get him out of there tomorrow. His injuries will be healed, except for whatever they have sticking in him. Take any medications they give you, but don't give any to him. He won't need them." advised Derek.

Mrs. Kean fully believed now, having heard the doctor's surprised exclamations that Danny was pulling through.

"I'll use my mother's keys to get to the records and destroy them." Scott offered.

"What about the computerized records?" asked Derek.

"Let my son take care of that. The computers do whatever he tells them to." said Mrs. Kean.

"Derek, I want to thank you for what you did, and for being honest with me about the risks. Please come over with the boys tomorrow to help me explain this to him. His father is gone, I am all he has left…but now he has you." she turned to walk away.

"Mrs. Kean!" called Derek. She turned back. "Yes?"

"A war is coming, between us and the people that did this to him. Danny will need to fight with us."

Mrs. Kean came back over to them, her face and tone more chilling than Derek's on his worst day. The hate filled voice she hissed at them with took them all by surprise.

"The war is already here, starting from the moment those boys put a blade into my son. Daniel is a warrior, Mr. Hale. I knew that from the moment he was born, and named him after one who survived being cast into a den of lions. With his strength added to your own, you will destroy those people…those monsters!"

She turned and walked off, leaving all of the boys, Derek included, staring after her in open mouthed wonder.

"I'd turn her, if she weren't so scary already!" said Derek admiringly.

The boys went to their homes, slept fitfully as each dreamed of wolves and lions fighting a great battle, and the then got up that Saturday morning to head over to Danny's when they each got a text stating that he was home.

Mrs. Kean answered the door, and as frail as she seemed last night (until right at the end anyway), she now seemed radiant with life once more. She shared this in common with Danny, who was bustling about the kitchen, helping his mother cook a huge breakfast for them.

"Ah, that first morning ravenousness!" said Jackson wistfully.

"Danny, tell us exactly what happened." asked Derek.

"After breakfast. Mother's orders." Danny said.

Derek paled at the thought of arguing with her, and left the questions until after they had dined.

After a wonderful meal of mountains of scrambled eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon endless piles of toast, milk and orange juice, the boys helped to clear away the dishes, loudly thanking Mrs. Kean for her hospitality. She waved it off, and the group moved to the living room to have their palaver.

"Okay, so I was on my way home yesterday after practice. The team had just left me; makes me think those guys were waiting for me. They pulled up in a brand new Hummer, and the three of them got out and started shouting things at me. Crazy things. I think they were drunk. The kept telling me to…change. I think I said something like 'Screw you, I don't have to change.', and they got pissed off. The biggest one…that Mark character, came up to me and said: 'This is what happens to werewolves when they screw with my family.' I didn't see the knife until it was actually in me. I think I went into shock…I didn't even feel the other stabs. Why would they call me a werewolf? And how did I heal so quickly…" He shook his head, making a sudden connection. "No, that's not possible."

Derek spoke up.

"You weren't one when they attacked you. You are one now. Last night, I turned you. Scott and Jackson are like me too, and they helped me do it. That is how you healed."

Danny did not look as if he fully believed, but kept glancing at where his stab wounds had been.

"Would you like to see a demonstration?" asked Jackson.

Danny hesitated, and then nodded.

"Let's both do it." said Scott.

Ten minutes later, Danny had stopped hyperventilating enough to come to grips with the situation. Mrs. Kean, having seen it once, was no longer impressed.

"And I can do that too? Tell me everything I need to know about this."

He listened carefully as Derek explained the ins and outs of their abilities, connecting the information to the memory of Scott's previous performance on the Lacrosse field.

"We are going to have a kick-ass Lacrosse team this year between the three of us." said Danny, chuckling. "I guess I owe you guys thanks for saving me. But what would make them think I was a werewolf at the time? Oh, shit. I told him 'I know what Scott is, and I'm one too.' This is my own fault."

"No, it's mine. You would never have said that if I hadn't played a joke on Scott, telling you he was…struggling with things." confessed Jackson.

"Oh, so you're not…struggling?" said Danny, looking at Scott.

Scott squirmed. "Sorry."

"My loss. Don't worry Jackson, I don't blame you."

"Of course not! The blame is on those boys. You all will make them pay!" said Mrs. Kean fiercely.

Stiles whispered to Derek: "Do humans have Alphas too?"

Derek could only wonder.

The Argent boys were nowhere to be found over the next few weeks. Scott told Allison they had stabbed Danny, and she had gone home in such a fury that even her unflappable parents caved in to her demand that they leave the house and go back home at once. Her mother had tried to talk to her about the necessity of what they were doing when Allison grabbed the nearest vase and hurled it against the nearest wall where it shattered into smithereens.

"If they ever go near my friends again, I will use everything I learned from Aunt Kate and the two of you to make WHOEVER is responsible pay!"

The Argent parents looked at each other, and knew full well their daughter meant every word she said.

None of the others, and probably Scott as well, felt that this would keep the Argent clan or the other Hunters away forever. Deep down, with the instincts that had helped their kind survive through the centuries, they felt that the war had only been postponed, not forgotten.

School let out, and the three boys began to train in earnest with Derek, learning to utilize their abilities to the fullest. Despite the physical advantages they had, they were as bone tired at night as if they had played twenty Lacrosse games in a row as humans. Jackson was excelling at learning the other boy's fighting styles, and Scott had to grudgingly admit that it would be unlikely he could ever take him again. Danny, for all the he was the 'newbie', quickly surpassed both with a natural talent that impressed even Derek. He was quicker than the other two, equally strong, and adept at shifting tactics and using the environment to help him fight. All three boys lost copious amounts of blood, requiring that they eat plenty of meat heavy meals to help their bodies recover.

Stiles sat in on every training session, often listening to Derek's running commentary about how they were doing. One day, Derek realized how unusually quiet Stiles was at these times, and asked him what was wrong.

"There are days when I am really tempted to ask you to turn me. Then there are days…especially like this when they are busy ripping each other apart…that I think I must be insane for even considering it. Would you do it if I asked you?" said Stiles quietly. Derek knew he was really asking if he thought Stiles was 'worthy', so he answered as honestly as he could.

"If I thought you were completely sure, then yes I would. In fact, there have been a few times I've kicked myself for not asking you. You would be terrific, take it from someone who has an eye for these things. Personally, I think if you did it, you would surprise the hell out of those three mutts out there."

"Yeah? I really appreciate hearing that." Stiles looked extremely happy for a few minutes. "I may ask you. I may not. I don't…want to make an impulsive decision."

"I understand. Maybe when this war is over, you will come to a decision."

"I am fighting with you guys, werewolf or not." He said resolutely.

Derek had to admire him again, this runt of the litter who had so much potential in him. Like a true Omega, he bore the brunt of other people's aggression, yet deep down he had the strength and fighting spirit of a true Alpha.

Derek said nothing in response, not wishing to argue with the boy, though there was no way Derek was letting him near any battle as a human. He was not to be wasted like that. If push came to shove and it might save his life, Derek would turn him just like Danny, without hesitation. Somehow, and he couldn't say where this surety came from, Stiles was vital to the integrity of the Pack.

As if reading his thoughts, Stiles asked: "How big is a full pack, anyway? I mean, how many can you have before you can't take anymore? I don't want to miss the last spot."

"There is no set number. Most Packs consist of roughly 10 members, plus the Alpha, though a particularly strong Alpha can handle more. The largest I ever heard of was 42. But usually, any time you have more than 10 members, you run the risk of one of them spontaneously making the jump to become a new Alpha. Then he leaves and starts his own Pack. Sometimes he even takes some of the old members with him. Werewolves can be territorial, and you won't find two Packs in the same area."

"10, huh? That's a coincidence. That's the same number as-"

Whatever Stiles had been about to say was lost as the three boys chose that moment to leave off their training and return smiling and laughing (and completely covered in blood) to receive Derek's usual highly critical commentary.

"Oh, come on, Derek, lay off, we were doing great out there! Didn't you see when I almost bit off Scott's ear…" complained Jackson.

"Yeah, all this talk, and yet we never see you put anything you say into action. Why don't you show us how it's done?" Scott said. Then he clasped his hands over his mouth, and looked at Jackson and Danny's horrified expressions.

Derek got up, and though the corners of his mouth were turned up, you would never call it a smile.

Stiles let out a small "Eep!"

"Excellent idea Scott. Back onto the field. Your training is about to take a on a whole new dimension."

The three boys backed up warily, shifting into full Beta state. They had a feeling what was coming. Jackson smacked Scott in the back of the head.

"Remind me to eat whatever is left over of you when he gets done." He snarled.

Derek took off his leather jacket, his t-shirt and shoes. He looked at them for a moment, the three snarling Betas, all sharp teeth and claws ready to rip and tear. Then he smirked.

Derek exploded outward in a fury of painful looking metamorphosis. The jeans lay shredded on the ground. The huge and monstrous Alpha wolf growled at them snarling viciously. Claws and fangs were double the size of any of the boys. It lunged at them, scattering the boys, Jackson leaping up into a tree, Danny jumping backward to land on the roof of his car (he thanked all the Saints he didn't land on Derek's Camaro) and Scott diving behind a boulder.

The Alpha went for Scott first, who raced along, zigzagging in an effort to slow the Alpha down. It was no contest in a straight run, only by dodging back and forth could he avoid the tremendous snapping jaws. Then the Alpha anticipated one of his 'zigs' and Scott was bowled over by the lupine equivalent of an 18 wheel truck. He was left on his back and breathless, reminding him of the days he needed his inhaler.

Jackson had not wasted this time, and was busy climbing the tree as high as he could. Though he was nimble enough, he forgot that just because he could pull himself to a branch, that didn't mean the branch could support his weight. A sharp snap later, and a very scared looking Beta plunged downward toward the huge open maw of the Alpha. Jackson wildly grabbed a branch and stopped his descent, but now was within reach the larger wolf. One backhand later and Jackson had become intimately familiar with the trunk of the tree, since his face and body were now mashed into it. The thing went for Danny last.

A leap, and the Alpha was on a flight path that would directly intersect with the newest werewolf. Danny leapt upward, but rather than flee, he made himself jump just high enough to land on the back of the Alpha as it reached the perch of the car roof. It was a clever maneuver, since the Alpha had to use a few precious seconds to maintain its perch, all the while with Danny biting and ripping at his back with claws. The Alpha fell off the roof, landing on top of Danny, stunning him and making him release his jaws. The Alpha flipped over like a pancake in the hands of a master chef, and prepared to go for Danny's neck. He was hit from both sides by Scott and Jackson who slammed into him with all of the force they could summon. Danny rolled out from under the enormous teeth and gave another short jump to land square on the Alpha's back for the second time.

All three Betas were now attacking furiously from the sides and from above when the Alpha stopped and gave one massive shrug. This freed him from all three attackers, at which point he gave the howl that signaled the end of the match.

The boys features slid back to human and they stood warily, watching their leader.

Derek shifted back slowly, and his naked body was a mass of scratches, bite marks, bruises and welts. And yet, he was beaming at them.

"That was the greatest lesson you guys could learn. When wolves fight together, you can take down any foe, no matter how…" in the middle of his speech, his eyes closed and he fell to the ground unconscious.

Stiles had watched the whole match from behind hand covered eyes. "No way, never want to do that…no freaking way…"

"Hopefully when he wakes up, he can finish teaching us 'The greatest lesson we could ever learn.'" Said Jackson sarcastically. Which of course was a joke. All four boys had learned the lesson very well.

"I also learned Danny likes to be on top." Said Scott, nudging Jackson, who laughed out loud.

"Yeah, let me know if you'd like me to continue your education in that regard, McCall." Said Danny in his most threatening voice.

The boys worked together for the second time, helping to drag their wounded leader back into the guest cottage.

Shortly before school started again, Derek's house was complete. A cleaning crew was finishing up removing all the dust and dirt on the morning of the last day, the painters and carpet layers having gotten done the day before. The electricity and water were turned on and the furniture truck had just arrived. The house looked like a show piece, with a Master suite, five spare bedrooms all with their own bathroom, a gymnasium in the finished basement, a library, a music room, dining room, spacious kitchen, family room, and a large deck attached to back with a built in barbecue. Derek could not speak as he took the boys on a tour of the rooms, the burned out house at last a thing of the past. For the first time, Derek felt he could put all of their ghosts to rest. This was a new house, and the old memories, though cherished, were from a different place altogether. Remembering the past, however, Derek made sure to have a sprinkler system installed.

The showpiece quality of the home was marred slightly by the arrival of the security people who installed a state of the art system with laser trip-wires, hidden camera, silent alarms, the whole nine yards. Having gotten the idea from a trashy book about vampires (Derek's reading tastes were terrible) he installed metal shutters that could slide down at the touch of a button over all the windows and entrances to the home, turning it into a fortress. He got the home appraised and insured (properly this time) should there ever be another arson attempt. Derek moved in, and Jackson was depressed for over a week that he was no longer as close as he liked. The four werewolves and the lone human had formed a close bond with each other. What had previously been difficult (especially for Jackson, and to a degree Scott) now became second nature to them. They supported each other, spent almost all of their time together, and argued and fought (of course) but deep down they each awaited the coming storm with a sense of dread. It was as if they felt that whether or not the war was won, the battle would cut some of the ties that had so recently been forged between them. It was this that they dreaded even more than losing.