With school back in session, the boys had to leave off their training sessions with Derek to get back into the swing of things; grades, Lacrosse practice, spending time with their families. Scott took a trip with just his mother, so they could have some time to catch up. Jackson's parents took him on trips nearly every weekend, and they visited all of the sightseeing spots California and Mexico had to offer. They talked of overseas trips during the summer, though Jackson was unsure how he would handle a month or more away from his friends…his Pack.
Danny and Stiles were the only two who were not traveling so much, and they were also the ones who saw the least of their parents. Mrs. Kean came to pick up Danny one night (his car was finally in the shop to repair the damage Derek had done to it) and was introduced to Sheriff Stilinski. The boys were forgotten as the two began to talk and share stories about what it was like to raise a child as a single parent. Stiles had worried about Scott's mother hooking up with his dad (he felt this would be incestuous for some reason) but the two were just good friends. It looked like there was definitely a spark there with Mrs. Kean, however.
"So, tell me Maria, how did you do it? Stiles was such a handful with his ADHD…"
Stiles rolled his eyes, and Danny snickered at him, telling him they should start figuring out how to decorate their bedroom once they were officially stepbrothers.
"Blasphemy. I am and always will be an only child." Insisted Stiles.
"Come on, I promise not to sneak over to your bed in the middle of the night and…" here his eyes turned yellow, "…eat you like a piece of fried chicken!"
Stiles pretended to sigh with relief. "For a minute there, I thought you were going to say something else. Tell me something. If I were your stepbrother, would you still find me attractive?"
Danny smacked him on the back of the head.
All of the boys thought of Derek Hale, in the new house all by himself. It made them feel a nagging pain in their chests, though none of them discussed this with the others. The Pack mentality was fully awakened in each of them, and it bothered them to be away from their leader.
The next blow came when Coach Bobby Finstock announced he was taking a position at Berkeley University to coach their newly formed collegiate Lacrosse team. Danny, Scott and Jackson were again reminded of the pain of loss, although they of course congratulated him and wished him good luck. A big party was thrown, and the Coach was sent off in style. The next day, Principal Woodard came in and told the boys that they already had a new candidate for the position. The boys rolled their eyes, hating the idea of breaking in a new coach.
The groans stopped as soon as he was introduced. It was Derek Hale.
The three werewolf players were open-mouthed for all of a minute, and then jumped up cheering and screaming. The other seven members of the First Line looked at them for a minute, then shrugged their shoulders and accepted the replacement stoically. If this was okay with their three best players, then it was okay with them.
"I say again, we will have a KICK-ASS Lacrosse team this year!" Danny exulted.
"As you boys know, in addition to my coaching responsibilities, I am required to teach classes, some of which you boys will be in. My certification is in Mathematics. Anyone with less than a B average in my class or anyone else's will be suspended from the team. You are all excellent players, and so I do not want to lose ANY of you."
For a second, his eyes flashed red. The human boys caught it and sucked in their breath in fright.
"I HATE losing, especially kids that I am…coaching." His eyes briefly darted to Danny, Jackson and Scott.
"So you will all keep your grades in the B range at minimum. Any difficulties with this should be addressed with me privately. Believe me when I say I can… motivate you to try harder."
All ten boys gulped.
Scott looked crestfallen. "I have a C+/B- average. That was always good enough for Finstock!" He put his head in his hands.
"I'm doomed!" he said.
"Sucks to be you." Said Danny and Jackson together. They both had straight A's.
If the boys thought Coach Finstock was merciless, they were about to redefine their perception of the word. Coach Hale made Finstock look like a kindly grandmother who slipped kids chocolate chip cookies every chance she got. He was relentless on the field, pushing the boys to the limits of their abilities. He built up their endurance with vigorous calisthenics, endless training sessions and any who slacked off were made to run suicide laps for hours. In math class, he was equally strict, expecting full attention. The class soon learned how good he was at hearing whispers, which he would repeat loudly to the room to the embarrassment of the offenders. He could also tell who understood the concepts he was teaching and who was having trouble. He met with these children in mandatory tutoring sessions during their free periods to keep them up to speed with the class. Soon the other teachers were whispering about him as well, some jealous at the sheer inexorable progress students made under his care. Derek of course heard all of these whispers as well, but pretended ignorance. Incoming freshmen were quickly advised not to screw with "Hard-ass Hale" lest they get their own asses handed to them.
'Coach' Hale still somehow found time to train the boys to hone their lycanthropic fighting skills. Between all of his demands on their time, Danny, Jackson and Scott were always bone-tired in a way that they hadn't been since they were human.
"Oh, God, I can't take it anymore!" said Scott, hyperventilating. Hale made him feel like his asthma had come back.
"You have to admit, though, his technique works." Said Jackson, ever loyal to Derek.
In the coach's office, Derek leaned far back in his chair and smirked, hearing every word the boys said.
"Doesn't hurt that he is smoking hot, too." Said Danny.
A crashing sound from the office told them that 'Hard-ass Hale' had just fallen off his chair.
During Easter break, Scott informed them of a talk he had the night before with Allison. The Argents and their contacts were gathering. While Mark and his flunkies were not among them, the anti-werewolf sentiment was running high. They knew the identities of all four werewolves in town. Some expressed frustration at the lack of werewolf related deaths, preferring the traditional code of only 'Hunting that which Hunts us', but they were quickly shouted down by those who were worried about Derek's 'recruiting'. If they didn't know Danny was one before, they certainly knew after he recovered from fatal injuries overnight. The fact that Derek Hale was now a teacher and coach led them to assume the worst.
"Let me get this straight. They almost kill Danny, and then they become suspicious when Derek recruits him?" Scott asked. Allison shrugged her shoulders.
"They are just blind. We have to accept the fact that they will come for you guys. I will be there with you. No way I am letting you fight this alone. Argent against Argent. I wonder if that ever happened in our history before. Scott…my parents are staying out of this. I told the rest of my family what I felt. Don't feel you have to hold yourself back because you will lose me if you hurt them. Do what you have to do, you are the one I care about. There are good Hunters in my family, but the rest have taken it on themselves to wipe out anything supernatural in the world. Just…because."
"Why does Mark have it in for me so bad? You?"
"No. Didn't you know? He's my cousin. My Aunt Kate was his mother."
Scott looked at her, shocked.
"What?"
"She had him when she was a teenager, with another Hunter. The father took him in to let Kate finish her training, and he trained Mark as well. After Aunt Kate…well he just went off the deep end. Endless training, steroids. I guess he wants to be the ultimate warrior. I told him that the Alpha that killed his mother was destroyed, but that didn't seem to satisfy him. He's worse than the rest of them now, and the more aggressive ones use him as a poster boy.
The boys went to Derek with this information. He looked unhappy at Allison wanting to fight with them, but it was obviously not his call to make.
The boys returned to school, and after the next Lacrosse competitive game with the Little Rock Lions (who were soundly thrashed) they took the time to celebrate. It was the coach's habit not to spoil a victory with criticism (at least, not until the next day) so they just gave themselves over to partying on the field. Their mascot suddenly removed the giant wolf head of his costume to reveal…Stiles. In an effort to be part of the team, he had insisted on being the mascot. He claimed dressing as a giant wolf would help him make his decision about the Pack. The boys lifted him up over their heads, shouting and cheering, and carried him to the locker room for a traditional dunking in Gatorade (no one quite had the nerve to try this on the coach, so they switched over to the mascot). Stiles, an Omega in spirit, happily went along with it, loving the feeling of being a real and valued member of the Lacrosse team. As the other boys entered the locker room, Hale stopped his Pack members for a private word.
"Listen. I didn't want to say this before the game, but the Argents are going to try something. My contacts tell me that they are gearing up, weapons, explosives…"
And as if the word were magic, at precisely that instant an explosion sounded from the field locker room. Glass blew out through all of the windows, and a hole broke open in one wall. The remaining students and teachers began screaming in panic as the building caught on fire.
Derek's eyes flared crimson as he looked at the fire, stunned beyond action as for a brief second, he was carried back to his past and the loss of his family. Then all four of them rushed into the burning building.
For a miracle, all seven of the boys on the team were not seriously injured. They stumbled quickly out of the burning building into the arms of their frantic parents.
Sheriff Stilinski and Maria Kean ran up as Derek and the boys emerged, Stiles' unconscious body held in his arms. Derek laid the boy on the ground, real tears pouring from his eyes…eyes that were flashing menacingly red. The team, the coach and the all of the parents looked down at the burned and unmoving body of the boy in the oversized wolf costume. Sheriff Stilinski fell to his knees, completely unmanned, and cradled his son's head. He had to be physically pulled off by Hale and the paramedics before he would allow them to load Stiles into a waiting ambulance. Mrs. Kean was crying too…and Derek saw her eyes flash at him once. Only he heard the one word she whispered.
"Monsters."
Later…
For the second time, Derek found the Lacrosse team waiting in a hospital hallway in support of one of their own fallen members. This time, the boys had the shell-shocked look of combat veterans. Their faces were full of fear…and rage. While Stiles had not been actually on the team, in his short time as their mascot they had become as endeared to him as if he were a lifelong friend. Stiles' condition was stable, but he had been closest to the bomb when it went off and the full extent of the damage would be unknown for some time. Ironically, his dunking in Gatorade had likely prevented more serious burning. The bomb had been placed in Hale's office, and Stiles was just opening the door to leave a gift that the team had pitched in for on his chair. He saw the bomb, slammed the door and was about to shout when it went off. Constant tests were being done, and between the ever-vigilant sheriff and hospital staff (who had not forgotten the incident with Danny) there was no chance of being alone with him to administer a bite. Derek swore to himself he would turn Stiles the minute he recovered and was released. If he recovered.
An investigation under Sheriff Stilinski's personal control was launched. With the help of an anonymous tip, the Argents and their extended family were implicated in the bombing. Stilinski called in federal agents who quickly rounded up the majority of the Hunters, their locations and weapon stores being given in the anonymous tip. Enough explosives were found to blow up a hundred buildings, and it was obvious that this 'extremist terrorist' group were planning something big. The connection between Hale, Kate and Mark Argent were explored as motive, though Mark and his friends were the only ones not caught. The reporter had not known their whereabouts.
On another of the innumerable visits to the hospital, Sheriff Stilinski, Maria Kean, and the three boys sat together. The team was downstairs in the cafeteria. They had been spending every night there, and had just received the news that Stiles was in a coma from which he might never awake…and if he did, he might not be the Stiles that they remembered. Jackson looked grim, and walked out of the room.
Whatever had been holding the Sheriff together up to this point finally gave out and he collapsed in a chair, weeping openly and unashamedly. "This is all my fault. I should have kept an eye on him, made sure he was safe…"
Mrs. Kean had enough.
She stood up and addressed the room.
"Well? What is to be done about this? Twice they have attacked us, and twice we have done nothing! When will the fight be brought to them?"
"I am going after them. Alone. I can't lose anyone else. This is all my fault. They were after me; if I hadn't decided to become their coach…" That was as far as Derek got.
Mrs. Kean picked up a chair and slammed it into the soda machine. Before it expired, 4 cans of free soda popped out of it to roll across the floor. She had everyone's attention. Even the Sheriff looked at her with blank shock.
"What is it with you men that you put blame everywhere but where it belongs? These men did not care that they hurt children! No one in this town is safe while they are out there. If we do nothing, then we are truly responsible!"
Derek got up and stalked over to her, his eyes glowing bright crimson. If she felt any fear at all (and Derek did not smell any) she showed no sign.
"There aren't enough of us. They are skilled at hunting us. I have three boys barely into their first year. These men have been training their whole life. It will be a slaughter!"
"There are enough of us now." Said Jackson from the hallway. "The boys are on their way up. Derek…remember that last assignment you gave me? Well consider it mission fucking accomplished. They know everything, I showed them, and they want in."
Sheriff Stilinski looked at Jackson in bewilderment.
"Into what?"
And Jackson let the wolf emerge, causing the Sheriff to back up and unconsciously reach for his pistol. Mrs. Kean slapped his hand away. He looked at Scott, Danny and Derek (all partially shifted now), and leaned slowly against the wall. "Into what?" he repeated.
"Into the Pack."
It took some time to explain it all to the Sheriff, and he seemed equally amazed that Maria had known all about it, and calmly accepted it.
"Is Stiles…is my son…?" he gasped out, still shocked.
"If he were, he would already be recovered." Said Derek. "He was unsure. I respected his wishes. Scott was turned by my uncle, against his will. I don't do that. Jackson asked for it, and Mrs. Kean asked on her son's behalf because he was nearly dead."
"Can this save him? CAN THIS SAVE MY SON?" shouted the Sheriff.
"It can. Danny's injuries required all three of us to be near him when he turned. Now, though Danny was mortally injured, there was not in fact extensive damage to his body overall. Stiles is in pretty bad shape for all that his condition is stable. If I turned these boys, we may have a much better shot at saving your son."
"We're here, coach. We're ready. Send us into the game. Nobody messes with our mascot and gets away with it."
At the door stood the Lacrosse team, having just arrived.
Tim Stevens, Frank Kretzsky, Peter Burke, Thomas Wayne, Patrick Yan, Brian Forbeshire, and LeRoy Rodgers.
Derek turned to the Sheriff.
"Um, we are going to need some privacy." Maria took his arm, and led him from the room."
"Okay boys, back out now if you are going to back out." Said Derek grimly.
No one moved.
"Right. This may be a little scary for you…"
"Coach, you already scare us. We're used to it." Patrick Yan, the only Chinese player on the team pointed out.
"Right. Now it's our turn to scare them. For Danny, and Stiles." LeRoy put in, his thick Jamaican accent adding a peculiar elegance to the words.
"Let's do it then. Boys, hold out your left forearms and come to me one at a time."
The boys obeyed, and to their credit, not a single one of them cried out in pain.
After the boys went home, with instructions to return to the hospital as soon as visiting hours began tomorrow, Derek met privately with Sheriff Stilinsky.
"They will turn by tomorrow. Then we will try to save Stiles. If you are sure that this is what you want for him."
The Sheriff was quiet.
"Stiles…I always worried about him. The ADHD…his tendency to get into trouble, to get bullied…I did everything I could to make him tough. Sometimes, I wondered if I was too hard on him, other times…he drove me insane." The Sheriff laughed aloud thinking of Stiles antics over the years.
"Derek, I want him exactly the same. This won't change him, will it?"
"It may get rid of the ADHD."
The Sheriff considered. "I'm okay with that."
The next morning, ten young Lacrosse playing werewolves arrived at the hospital. They met with Derek and he requested them to formally acknowledge him as their Alpha and leader, and each other as Pack brothers.
They did so, and Derek was not the only one to feel the sense of raw power that was flowing through them…between them…Scott, Jackson and Danny would be no less surprised then the newbies at how far they would shift now, at how great their powers had grown. His pack was full at last…except for one other. Derek found the Sheriff, and told him it was time.
He nodded curtly, led them to Stiles' room, and told the medical staff in no uncertain terms to get out.
"But Sheriff…" blustered the same doctor that had presided over Danny.
"But nothing. My son was a part of their team, and it was the happiest time of his life. He would want this and he is going to get it. Out! NOW!" he barked.
As an Officer of the law, there was no higher authority to appeal to, so the doctors and nurses filed out.
Once the room was secured, Derek thought of asking the Sheriff to leave…then changed his mind.
"This may be difficult for you to see." He said quietly.
"Stiles dressed as a wolf and being dunked into Gatorade by his friends…and him liking it. That was difficult to see. This will be a piece of cake."
The team shifted, and each took a place around Stiles, laying a clawed hand anywhere they could find a bare patch of skin. Derek looked down at him. There was the tiniest chance…nah, that was one in a million. Without any hesitation, Derek lifted up Stiles left arm, regarded it for a moment, and bit.
With ten Betas and one Alpha, Stiles turned in less than half an hour.
The machines went haywire for about five seconds…and then all registered green.
Stiles opened his eyes. He took in a slow deep breath.
They all jumped backward as he suddenly shouted:
"WATCH OUT, THERE'S A BOMB!"
Derek, his heart beating at over two hundred per minute (the boys looked no better and the Sheriff looked like he was truly having a heart attack) grunted: "Yeah, Stiles, you're a little late on that."
The next few days were a blur for Derek Hale. As an Alpha of a full pack (well, OVERFULL pack), he worked to get the newest members into the shape they would need to be in for the coming battle.
Lacrosse was forgotten, and the school itself was closed until repairs could be made and it could be sure there were no further threats. No one knew how the bomb had been placed, and so new security measures would have to be implemented. Jackson's father facilitated the rebuilding of the field house and was donating some of the same top of the line security measures that Derek had installed in his home. Derek himself received a honorary citation from the school for rescuing Stiles from the fire. Everyone was pleased when Stiles himself was released, none the worse for wear. When asked how he felt, he stated "Different." And would speak no more. For the first time, he joined in the sport he had seen his best friends engage in so often (and for which he came up with his own name); Werewolf Kombat.
It was an amazing thing to watch. As Derek had suspected long ago, Stiles had inner strengths that had only just now emerged with the acquisition of his inner wolf. He could summon or dismiss it with an ease only matched by Derek himself, he was lightning fast (he made Danny look slow and clumsy by comparison) and he was stronger than both Scott and Jackson. It was as if all of the pent-up energy his ADHD unwisely provided him had at last found the proper channel in the wolf that could make full use of it. No longer a hindrance, it ramped up his powers to a new level. Derek was unsure he wanted to test his own abilities against him, lest he lose the respect of the Pack.
Anytime he trounced one (or two, or three of the others at the same time) he would shout "FATALITY! Told you guys you were my bitches!"
Scott and Jackson, hiding behind a boulder, and so far the only two to not receive a 'fatality' (that day) remembered the promise he made long ago.
"Oh, I SO want to kick his ass!" muttered Jackson, bloody and shivering.
"Shhh, he'll hear you!" hissed Scott squinting his two black eyes painfully.
Overall, it took four of the other Betas to subdue Stiles at any time. There were nervous mutterings among the group about who Stiles would be replacing if he ever decided to try out for Lacrosse again, but he remained thrilled with his role as mascot when they started playing practice games again and everyone relaxed. The new wolf costume looked ominous on him rather than silly, now.
The Sheriff was delighted to have his son back, but still remained worried about the remaining Argents and whatever they might have planned. This did not stop him from formally asking Maria Kean to marry him; she accepted, and the date was set for June 30th of that year. All of the gang was invited, and Danny and Stiles accepted the fact that they were going to be stepbrothers as well as Pack brothers.
"And, dude, when I'm asleep…stay out of my room!" Danny asked nervously. More and more, he was the one that felt like a piece of fried chicken around the other boy.
"I can't promise anything. You know how I get peckish in the night…" he said, grinning at Danny his eyes flashing yellow.