2

"It was right over here," said Derek, excitedly. He led Stiles to the field where he saw the two wolves earlier that day.

"Slow it down, Carl Lewis," said Stiles, struggling to keep up with the alpha. "Non-werewolf here."

"Sorry," said Derek, finally stopping at the entrance to the field. "Right here. There was a whole herd of deer and the two of them just came bolting out of the grass. It was unbelievable."

Stiles looked around, his eyes finally settling on the deer carcass twenty feet from him. "And you helped them take down the deer?"

"Uh huh," said Derek, grinning proudly.

Stiles wasn't sure what to make of Derek's giddiness. The normally dour alpha male never smiled. "But then they split."

"After they ate, yes."

"Hmmm," said Stiles. He zipped up his sweatshirt and shrugged. "Well, let's go see where they ran off to."

The weather had taken a turn for the worse, and a cool drizzle settled in on the woods of Beacon Hills. Tiny droplets of water clung to Stiles' and Derek's hair and clothing as they walked in the direction that the two wolves made their earlier exit. They passed the old mine, Derek having to drag inquisitive Stiles away from that particular point of interest. Fortunately for Derek, the boy was less chatty than usual, so their walk was only punctuated by the small puffs of air from their exhalations on the cold day.

They got just over a small hill when Derek stopped short. He sniffed. "They're here. I can smell them."

"This is why I always try to shower before seeing you, Derek," said Stiles.

"Yeah, doesn't help," said Derek, fighting a grin at his own retort.

"Ha-ha."

Derek used all of his senses to gather what he could about the two new visitors. They were remarkably quiet and excellent at camouflage. Only their scents gave them away. A human would certainly not be able to find them. Derek strolled forward, sensing the male behind a thicket. Stiles followed close as they rounded the thicket's edge.

Derek smiled upon seeing the young male's eyes through the branches. He moved to part the branches in order to get a better look. Suddenly, the female came bursting out from behind a nearby rock wall. She rammed into Derek's side, knocking him off kilter. She snarled at him, baring enormous fangs in defense of her pack mate. Her grey fur was prickled and her deep growls let Derek know that she wasn't backing down.

"Jesus," said Stiles, quietly.

Derek stood in front of Stiles protectively and held his hands up. "It's okay," he said. "It's just me. From before."

Sura backed up several steps and got closer to Miki. She observed the wolf man that she met earlier in the day. His posture was submissive, letting her know that he didn't mean her or Miki any harm. However, he had brought back a human with him, which did not please her. Miki whined from the thicket, causing Sura to snort in his direction, warning him not to disobey her by moving from his spot.

Sura watched the human step out from behind the wolf man. "They're so beautiful," he said, brown eyes sparkling. "I wonder where they came from."

"Or how long they've been here," said Derek.

"And you think they're mother and son? Like the boy's a little were-kid or something?" asked Stiles.

"That's what I'm thinking," said Derek.

"That's freaking awesome. I want to talk to them. How do you get them to shift back?" Stiles asked.

Sura's ears perked. There was that word again. Shift. She wondered why they felt this was such an important thing to do. Perhaps the wolf man wanted to be with others like him, but if he had a human friend already, what else did he need?

"I don't know. I tried to talk them into it earlier. But they wouldn't do it," said Derek.

Stiles shrugged. "Maybe they can't understand words in wolf form. Like maybe when they're in full shift, they actually think like wolves and can't change back for a long time."

Derek nodded. "It's possible."

"Well, I mean you'd know," said Stiles. "I'm sure you've changed before, right?"

Derek set his jaw and searched for something to get Stiles' mind off Derek shifting. He nodded towards Miki. "Someone's interested in us."

Miki's curiosity got the better of him and he emerged from the thicket, sniffing at the air, eyes turned to Stiles. He was fascinated by the human and wanted to get closer to him. He edged closer to the boy. Derek stayed close to Stiles, ready to protect the young man if the male wolf decided to attack, although the creature lacked any malice in his eyes, only interest. "Hey there," said Stiles, softly, moving to one knee. "You're not as cautious as your friend I see." However, Miki's inquisitiveness was met with punishment. Sura nipped at his neck in scolding. He whimpered, circling her with his head bowed.

"Damn. She's got the balls in the relationship," said Stiles. "Even though little man there," he said, pointing to the area just below Miki's tail. "Ain't so little."

Derek nodded. "That's certainly one way to tell."

"Well we all can't have rock solid pecs and super manly scruff to alert everyone of our masculinity, you know," said Stiles.

They stood and watched the two wolves for a few moments. The animals regarded them with a mix of fear and fascination. Stiles broke the silence. "Hey here's an idea. Maybe they'll shift once you do."

"What?" Derek. "You mean go full-on wolf?"

"Yeah," said Stiles. "Maybe you can use it as a gesture of goodwill or something."

"But I'd have you, you know, strip," said Derek. "I'd be naked."

Stiles rolled his eyes. "I'll try to control myself."

Derek suddenly looked down. "I can't."

Stiles folded his arms. "Oh geez Derek, I never figured you for bashful. I promise I won't look. I mean, I'll admit, even as a straight guy I'd probably check out your furry junk just because, well, it's your furry junk, but you'll be a wolf not a dude, so no harm no foul."

Derek sighed. "I meant I couldn't shift into a wolf, dumbass. And I don't care if I could turn into a purple space alien with tentacles for arms…you will never check out my junk."

"What the hell do you mean you can't wolf out? You're an alpha!" argued Stiles.

Derek sighed. "Look I've tried, okay? But I can't. It's like my body suddenly shuts down or something. I've been trying ever since the night I became alpha. I go into the woods, naked as a jaybird and try to make the change."

"And…zippo?" asked Stiles, looking concerned.

"Yeah," said Derek, sounding sad.

"Oh," said Stiles. "That sucks." Sura and Miki watched him walk over to a large rock and settle on it. "Well, maybe you just have to get pissed or something," he offered. "I piss you off a lot. Here, let's see if I can help. Um…"

Derek folded his arms and watched Stiles struggle to say something that would anger him enough to shift. Even Sura and Miki watched the young man with interest. Stiles scratched the back of his head. "Oh, here's one," said Stiles. "Last week I saw your car at Save Rite and I put peanut butter under the door handle."

"That was you?" asked Derek, incredulous. "Are you freaking kidding me? Do you know how stupid I looked; sniffing my hand to make sure my hand wasn't covered in crap? People were laughing at me. And pointing."

Stiles stood up excitedly. "Yeah, I'm a real douche! I made you look like a total idiot! You must be mad enough at me to change, right?"

"No," said Derek, frowning. "Just mad enough to kick you in the taint. Several times."

Stiles huffed and sat back down. He looked at the two wolves, which both sat fifteen feet away, watching Stiles and Derek intently. "Well these two aren't going to do much. Not now anyway." He took out his phone and snapped several pictures of the animals. "Let's bring this to Deaton," he said, holding the phone up. "I bet he'll have something useful to offer."

"We shouldn't leave them," said Derek. "What if hunters find them?"

Stiles chewed the inside of his mouth. "Okay I'll go to Deaton. You stay and handle the babysit. Don't stray too far from your phone though."

"Okay," said Derek, getting as comfortable as he could against a tree. "Stiles," he said, as the boy began to walk away.

He turned. "Yeah?"

"Hey, don't tell anyone other than Deaton about the wolves okay?" Derek asked. "Can we just keep them our secret?"

The sincerity of the question surprised Stiles. "Sure," he said, offering a small smile. "I'll be in touch soon."

Derek sat and watched Stiles disappear into the woods before turning back to the wolves. Stiles' exit seemed to calm the female but the male fussed for the young man's return.

Derek zipped up his jacket as the wind whipped at him. "Geez," he said, looking at Miki. "Now I know why you guys won't shift back. It's freezing out here. Having furry junk would definitely come in handy right about now."