A/N: An update, hooray! Hopefully the next chapter will be up within the next couple of days. And many thanks to my wonderful beta, Valerie! You're awesome, m'dear. :D
Stiles could practically feel the temperature in the room drop with their icy glares. He nervously rubbed his hand along the back of his neck. What the hell had he done now? He literally hadn't even said a word to them and already he feared for his safety. The male - who Stiles assumed was Isaac - was sitting completely still and staring at Stiles like he'd never seen another werewolf before. The girl, Erica, however, looked like she would have loved nothing more than to feast on his innards. And that was not an attractive look on someone who ordinarily would've been a solid ten out of ten in Stiles' book.
"What the hell is a Stiles?" Erica sneered mockingly, eyes narrowing even further.
"Cool it, Cujo. Stiles is my name," he replied easily. Her gaze was steady but her heartbeat told of her discomfort. He sensed the same nervousness from her that he did from her companion, Isaac. Apparently that discomfort made her angry. At Stiles. Who was seriously in the dark here.
"And what are you doing here?" she spat.
"Oh my god, you act like I've come to steal your soul. I was wandering around the forest and stumbled across big bad wolf over here." He threw his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing to Derek. "I'm assuming you don't get guests very often." Stiles crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. Stiles didn't know any werewolves other than himself and his mother, though he had always assumed the ones he would meet would be friendly to others of their kind – as he was. Had he been wrong or was this pack the exception?
Derek moved forward to stand just in front of Stiles, almost seeming to shield him from the other wolves. "He's not a threat to us. Use your senses, Erica." Stiles could see her visibly relax at the words, and he realized that Derek must be their Alpha. "Go call and check in on Scott," he continued and she nodded immediately, standing up and scrambling out of the room. Isaac looked unhappy at her departure and quickly followed her. Derek turned back toward him and gave a one-shoulder shrug. "They're new wolves. Still in training." Stiles nodded slowly, though he didn't know what that meant. Were new wolves more territorial or something? Stiles had been born into this, so he wasn't sure what differences lay between being turned and being born a werewolf. He couldn't imagine that gaining so much power so suddenly without a way to control it had been easy for them. Derek's answer hadn't explained his own reaction, however. Stiles could tell that Derek was surely not a new wolf. So why had he reacted so strongly only to change his opinion and attitude so quickly? Stiles filed that question away for later.
"Okay," he responded, dragging the word out for several seconds. "So how many of you are there?" Stiles could smell that at least a couple more beings frequented the house, though he couldn't tell if they were human or wolf.
"There are eight of us in all. Two human," Derek replied. Stiles smiled. That meant there were six werewolves here. Surely Derek wouldn't mind if Stiles stuck around to meet them? "Though only Isaac and I live here permanently. The others drop by whenever they can," Derek continued.
Stiles hummed in understanding and looked around. "When can we be expecting them?"
Derek's eyes widened a bit, as if questioning the "we" part of Stiles' statement. Stiles flushed as he realized that he was sort of taking advantage of Derek's hospitality. Stiles shouldn't have assumed he was welcome in Derek's den any longer. But Stiles found that he did want to stay and meet the rest of the pack – if Derek would allow it, anyway. After a pause Derek said authoritatively, "They should be here within the next couple of hours. Pack meeting."
"Oh," Stiles said upon hearing Derek's tone. Stiles wasn't pack, so of course he wouldn't want him here for a pack meeting. "Then I'll just be going. Sorry for uh, intruding," he said, turning and reaching for the rusted doorknob.
He got the door about halfway open before Derek's voice stopped him. "Meeting another wolf might be good for them." Stiles bit back a gleeful grin and turned to him. Derek had a weird, almost panicked look on his face, like he didn't want Stiles to leave. Stiles did smile at that. That had to be a good sign, right?
"So I can stay?" he asked almost a little too eagerly. He cleared his throat and felt a flush rise over his cheeks as he amended, "I mean- I think I can help on that front, if that's okay with you."
Derek nodded gruffly and turned quickly away, striding into the other room, toward where Isaac and Erica had disappeared to. Stiles figured he was supposed to follow, so he quickened his pace to catch up. The two betas were whispering again, and Stiles stopped a good distance away from them. Both straightened immediately but looked less afraid and more wary. Stiles gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile and could tell that Isaac was trying to return it. Sure, it looked more like a grimace, but hey, A for effort.
Derek gave them a pointed look and Isaac rushed forward with his hand outstretched. "I'm Isaac." Stiles shook it firmly. "Sorry about before."
"No problem, man," Stiles replied easily and smiled wider. Erica, on the other hand, just stared silently at Stiles. Well, at least she didn't look angry anymore. He gave her a little salute and was rewarded with a small smirk. Yes, progress. This he could work with.
Derek was looking back and forth between Stiles and his betas with an unreadable expression. Stiles could hear his heartbeat, steady and sure. He counted that as a victory. If Derek was at ease with him, then maybe he would be all right. Heh. He wouldn't get eviscerated, anyway. Hopefully. Stiles was convinced that he could totally defend himself either way, but he had been serious before in the fact that he was a lover, not a fighter. He had a silver tongue and the wits with which to handle himself verbally, but he tried to avoid physical conflict whenever possible.
Derek seemed to come back to himself and gestured awkwardly at a nearby chair. "You can sit down if you want," he said. Stiles nodded politely and walked over it, perching tentatively on the cold metal seat. Derek almost looked pleased with himself, and Stiles tried not to snort. The four of them sat in silence for a few minutes and he knew in the back of his mind that it really should have been awkward as hell. Stiles was naturally an awkward person and here he was sitting in a stranger's kitchen with three other werewolves who he'd only just met. And yet, Stiles felt strangely calm. Calmer than he had been since he'd lost his father, at least. The pain was still there - a constant ache in his chest, but it wasn't as piercing now. Stiles tried not to think about what that meant.
The silence - along with his train of thought - was broken when someone rapped on the door. Stiles blinked rapidly, taking note of the fact that he'd been inadvertently staring at Derek. He was busy silently cursing himself for being a weirdo until he realized that the Alpha had been staring right back with a curious expression on his face. He shook it away and stood to answer the knock, disappearing across the threshold to the living room. Stiles looked down at the floor and prayed that the flush on his cheeks wasn't noticeable.
"And who's this?" came a new voice. Stiles looked up to see a short, red-haired girl standing in the doorway. She was probably the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, but he could tell she waswaaaay out of his league. Hell, this girl was probably out of everyone's league. Then again, so was Derek. Stiles briefly wondered if they were a couple. He was glancing between the two of them when she cleared her throat. Oh, he should probably answer.
"Um, I'm Stiles. Nice to meet you...?"
"Lydia Martin," she replied with a smirk. She glanced back at Derek and winked. Stiles' forehead wrinkled. Um, what? "Welcome to Beacon Hills, Stiles. Sorry that you had to meet these hopeless souls first. Believe me, the rest of us are way more interesting to talk to." Lydia gave them a fond look and strode into the kitchen, taking a seat opposite Stiles at the table. Even though Derek was Alpha and Lydia was nothing more than human, Stiles could tell she was the one to watch out for. "And forgive the mess. We're in the process of turning this heap into something habitable."
Derek shot her a glare and Stiles smiled. "It's no problem, really. I'm just glad to finally find some more werewolves. It's been just me for a while."
"Oh, an Omega then? Hmm," she said and gave Derek a knowing look. She was conniving, Stiles just knew it. "Normally Derek doesn't allow anyone here unless they're pack. Aren't you special?"
Stiles flushed but didn't answer. What would he even say to that? Apparently Derek didn't know how to respond either, since he just averted his eyes and stared pointedly out the window over both of their heads with his jaw clenched tight. Lydia smiled at them and tapped her long fingernails on the table.
Stiles heard a ring made ten times louder by his wolf senses and watched as Lydia pulled her phone from her bag, the screen lit up with a message. "Allison said she's on her way with Scott," she said to Derek. He nodded curtly, still not meeting anyone's eyes.
"What about Jackson and Boyd?" The question was more of a demand, Stiles noted.
"Boyd's still at the library, but he said he'd be back in time," Isaac piped up. "No idea about Jackson."
Another nod. Derek reached into his own pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He typed a text message and got a response before he could even put it back into his pocket. Stileswondered how the answer could have come so fast but was instantly distracted from that thought when the door opened.
A new – and decidedly male - figure stalked into the kitchen doorway, looking at the back of Derek's head with more annoyance than Stiles thought possible. "Derek, I said I'd be here at two. Stop trying to keep tabs on us. We're not your pets." The new guy hadn't even noticed Stiles, too caught up in raging at Derek.
"There are hunters in the area; we have to be careful. You, of all people, should know that, Jackson," Derek replied calmly. Stiles' eyes widened. Hunters? Here? No, not good. He'd tried for years to avoid them after what happened with his mom. Hecouldn'trun into any more. If he did, Stiles knew he'd do something he would regret.
Stiles looked up to find Derek, Isaac, Erica, and the new guy (Jackson, his brain helpfully supplied) all staring at him. Jackson looked confused at his very existence – Stiles figured that confusion was also sort of a default look for him. The others looked concerned. "Stiles, why's your heartbeat through the roof?" Erica asked.
"Oh, that," Stiles stammered weakly as his eyes met the ground, "I, uh- I lost my mom to hunters. Years ago." He paused. "I didn't know there were any here." When Stiles looked up, he found all of them giving him a look of sympathy – except Derek who just looked sort of… Pissed. The Alpha turned and stalked out of the room without a word, leaving Stiles to wonder for the second time that evening what he'd done wrong.
This meeting new people business was much more difficult than he'd thought.