A/N: So this is a much longer meatier chapter and I dedicate to Sonisback for resparking my enthusiasm for this story. I work on a lot of different projects her on Fanfiction, other sites and real life that I sometimes need someone to remind me of projects I leave at the way side. This is also the reason updates will be slower than they used to be as I'm continuing the charmed stories I started here along with some others. Will update whenever possible though.
If you find yourself eagerly awaiting another chapter just message me again to give me a proverbial kick in the back side.
Hope you enjoy.
The door opened slowly and Stiles smiled warmly at the looks of surprise on his packs' faces. He could see the new girl Kira half hidden behind a protective Scott. Lydia was peeking round from behind Derek growling in a half transformed state. The pack looked smaller than Stiles expected but no less fierce and protective than he remembered. Stiles even spotted Danny amongst them which at first confused him but seconds later seemed like a god send to him when he realised there was no Cora. Where was she? She was supposed to be the one who would kill Kali and take her place in the new alpha pack.
"Stiles?!" multiple voices cried in surprise closely followed by the chorus of footsteps as they moved towards him.
"Stop", Stiles said while conjuring a barrier to keep some distance between them. "Where is Cora?" he asked in frustration.
"Stiles, what's wrong man?" Scott called from the edge of the barrier in confusion. "What's with the barrier?"
"Answer the question", Stiles said again looking towards Derek.
"She left. She went back to her other pack. She was happy there and she wanted to go back, who was I to stop her", Derek told the half elf in a tone somewhere half way between a growl and a whine.
"Humph", Stiles huffed. "I guess all plans can't go to plan then, huh Isaac? Lucky it did when I found you in France, huh?" Isaac didn't bother answering but playfully punched the mage's shoulder from his position slightly behind and to the right of him. Both of them could feel the tension in the air, it was biting at their restraint. Suddenly Kali let out a whimper as she was shocked.
"What's she doing here?" Derek snarled nodding to Kali.
"Oh her. Well you see I brought young Cora a present. Of course I didn't realise she wasn't here. That seems to be a new development. I had planned to allow Cora the pleasure of killing her. After all Cora always wanted revenge after that time she stabbed a pipe through you Der", Stiles explained with a forced calm.
"But then she would have become an alpha", Scott frowned in confusion.
"Yes Scott. She would have but she would have got her revenge", Stiles mused. "I guess I'll have to let someone else do the honours or kill her myself. It would only be fair after all since she murdered my father", Stiles spat.
"Your father? But that was an accident. Wasn't it?" Lydia muttered quietly. She could sense the tension but didn't understand why Isaac, Scott and Derek all seemed to be growling constantly low in their throats.
"It was only made to look like an accident", Stiles said coldly.
"So is that the only thing that brought you back? And why are the Argent's with you? Didn't they go to France for a hunter conference?" Derek asked warily. Something felt off. This Stiles was darker than the Stiles he had known. Darker than the Stiles he had loved.
"Well no actually. I was just about ready to return home when I had a visit from Deucalion. His visit was rather informative on several topics. For instance he told me of the impending attack on a hunter conference allowing me to intervene and save a small number of them", Stiles hummed speculatively. "And he was the one to provide me with the true circumstances of my father's death along with Kali's location. We talked about other things too which we need to discuss ourselves."
"Okay well now is not really the best time for a catch up. We've got to find the rogue alpha we sensed earlier", Scott growled as dense as ever.
"Scott, don't you think maybe it was Kali you sensed?" Kira whispered quietly to her mate. Scott blushed at the question embarrassed he hadn't thought of that possibility.
"It wasn't Kali. We know her scent and it wasn't her", Derek said uncertainly. He couldn't shake the instinct that he needed to defend something. There was a threat somewhere nearby but he couldn't figure out what or where. "Do we still need this stupid barrier here?"
"Yes. When it is safe I'll remove it but I'd rather you don't fly off the handle and rip someone apart. I said we've got things to discuss, well some of them you won't like. So Danny, Isaac and Allison forgot to tell me you joined the pack. How long have you been a werewolf?" Stiles asked conversationally ignoring the growling alphas in front of him and the one slightly behind him. He was splitting his focus enough ways already what with containing his wolf, containing the binding on kali, maintaining the barrier and conversing with his friends.
"Uh, um. Well I'm not actually a wolf. I'm just a human member", Danny admitted sheepishly.
"That's cool so you wanted to stay human", Stiles replied with a knowing smile. Danny looked Stiles in the eye briefly before looking away ashamed he couldn't answer. Stiles heard the longing in his voice, the hurt at not having been offered the bite. "Well I mean obviously Derek or Scott offered you the bite. After all the bite is a gift."
Silence settled across the pack and Stiles smile became impossibly wider on his face. "Oh, I guess I assume too much. But tell me Danny", Stiles paused until the Hawaiian looked up at him. "Would you like the bite?"
"NO!" growled Derek and Scott in unison.
"NO?! No? You think Danny is not entitled to the bite? Have you even told him why Ethan left?" Stiles asked calming himself as he raised his eyebrows.
"What do ya mean?" Danny asked. "How do you know he left? Do you know why he left?"
Stiles smiled warmly at the man, "He's an alpha; used to be part of the alpha pack. I'm sure you've been filled in on them. Him and his brother Aiden actually. I know he left because I've spoken with them over the past couple of years and yes I know why he left. He told you he was worried about you getting hurt because of his past. Well the twins unfortunately have made many enemies in their time. He didn't want to drag you into it."
"But – But he could have told me. He could have offered me the bite", Danny mumbled in disbelief.
"He considered it but there is a risk that comes with the bite", Stiles said softly.
"Yeah, I know about it. The bite doesn't always take, sometimes it kills you", Danny continued to mumble. "But he should have taken that risk. I would have. I still would."
"Yes, unfortunately he knew someone who attempted the same thing with his loved one and had to pay the price", Stiles breathed as he looked apologetically at Derek. "Ethan grew too afraid to try and decided leaving would be better for your safety. However if you still want it I'm sure we can get you a bite."
"Stiles, you can't do that. We won't let you. You can't do it without me or Derek", Scott fumed at his best friend. Isaac snorted quietly turning to hide his amused expression. Stiles heard Chris mutter almost silently something about 'getting on with things'. Allison alone remained completely composed.
"We promised Ethan we wouldn't offer him the bite unless it was the only way to save him", Derek growled.
"Ah, Scott I hate to point this out for you again but they have Kali. She's still an alpha and her bite could turn Danny", Lydia said through pursed lips.
"I guess now is as good as anytime", Stiles mused. "Isaac if you would." Isaac understood without anything more being said and flashed his crimson eyes at the pack.
"Isaac?! But how?" Scott whined while he wrestled his wolf. Now he knew there was another alpha nearby it seemed intent on attacking. He saw Derek struggling to contain his own wolf as well. If they hadn't both been alphas together for three years he wasn't sure they would have kept it under control. He had no idea how Isaac was managing it.
"We got attacked at the hunter conference. Stiles told you that, remember. Well he arrived in the nick of time and challenged the alpha to single combat. Wolf against wolf", Isaac explained. "I won, so its red eyes for me", he muttered before biting down on his lip in worry.
"Deucalion came to me wanting more than simply to help me. When have you ever known him to offer help without getting something in return? He believes Beacon Hills should be home to the new alpha pack. With three alpha's currently residing here I'd say it's well on its way", Stiles smiled widely again. "But three is not enough. I've seen the werewolf community out there. It's been in chaos since we defeated the alpha pack. If another one isn't formed things will only get worse. I've got the proof of it right here", Stiles hummed patting his hoodie pocket. "And let me tell you it's bad, really bad", Stiles added as his face darkened.
"So what you want us to be the new alpha pack?" Derek snapped. "Until you changed Isaac and Cora left we still had betas. We still have humans, hunters and a kitsune. How exactly do you expect us to become an alpha pack even if we did agree to it?"
"Derek you know as well as I do the Alpha pack had more than just alphas. They had a druid and ordinary humans. The werewolf community only needs to see a large group of alphas working together to stabilise. Besides I believe the non alpha members add to the pack's power. They'll help keep the alphas amongst us human, while presenting their own power in the werewolf world", Stiles replied. "You know I've thought about this right. Like I've seriously though hard about this. I'm not following Deucalion on a whim. Or do you really think so little of me?"
Derek didn't answer him. Instead he just looked at the floor at his feet. "Deucalion recommended an alpha pack have no less than five alphas to be taken seriously. Other attempts have been made to form a new alpha pack but they've ended in death and disaster. Everyone here is pack whether that be in the form of a friend or family member or even both. The bonds in this pack are strong and therefore I think we could succeed."
"We?" Scott asked lip trembling. "Does that mean you're back to stay?"
"Yes. We, Scott", Stiles nodded. "I'm back to stay if you'll have me but I feel it is my duty to help the other werewolves so I will be putting my efforts into creating an alpha pack. If you're not on board I guess I'll have to try forming it somewhere else, with people I don't trust as much. I agree we need at least five alphas for the werewolf community to take us seriously. None of the other attempts worked past three. Deucalion suggested Cora be allowed her revenge so she could rise to be an alpha."
"Wait, if this is all Deucalion's idea and he's helping us what does he want it return?" Lydia asked inquisitively. She was as sharp as ever.
"Like the twins he's made enemies. He hopes we might use our influence to prevent their retribution", Stiles told them all slowly.
"Okay, so we've got three. We only need two more. If we're really considering doing this", Derek mused as the tension in the room began to bleed out.
"Yeah. Without Cora I thought someone else close to all of us would work. That's why I was offering Danny the bite. I hoped he might take Cora's place", Stiles admitted. "And before you start up that argument again I think I should point out that actually we have all the pieces right here to make sure the bite takes."
"What do you mean? There's a way to ensure it takes?" Kira asked curiously.
Stiles nodded, "Yeah I studied a lot over the past five years. The majority of that time was spent with magic as the main focus of my life. I've studied not just magic mages use but the magical workings of the supernatural. The bite is an example of werewolf magic, just like the healing or the transformations. But the point is there are ways to ensure it takes. If Danny were to be bitten he could ensure the bite took by reinforcing the magic to the point it overwhelmed his body; killing an alpha for example." Stiles paused as he let the idea sink in.
"But his body wouldn't change quickly enough for him to be a threat to an alpha", Derek pointed out.
"True but does Kali look in a position to defend herself? Also who said he had to kill them using his claws. If he took a dagger straight to her heart it would kill her and I think we all know he'd have the strength to do something like that, even though the pain of the bite", Stiles continued. "It's just an offer. It's down to him."
All eyes in the room turned to focus on the young man. "Stiles, how sure are you that this would actually work? I mean that it wouldn't kill me", Danny asked the mage softly.
"One hundred percent", Stiles said solemnly. "Did you know elves went to war with werewolves centuries ago? The werewolves almost entirely wiped them out. They didn't need any special weapons, even when the elves had such potent magics though because an alphas bite turned out to be poisonous to them. However one branch of the elves survived which culminated in my birth. So Danny, yeah I know my theory is accurate because I was forced to test it when I was bitten", Stiles swallowed as he let the red bleed into his eyes.
Shocked gasps and jumps meet Stiles' revelation. "Oh, Stiles", Scott muttered sadly. "I'm so sorry."
"Yeah, that bastard bit me. I couldn't use magic to heal it and I realised as a half elf it was poisonous to me too. I had two choices. One, allow myself to die or two put my faith in a theory that quite frankly was solidly based. There was no evidence that suggested it wouldn't work, so I choose life", Stiles mumbled. "It's not so bad. It definitely has its benefits."
"But wait if your an alpha we only need one more", Lydia exclaimed.
"Yeah and actually we don't need any more if I know Scott and Sourwolf as well I hope", Stiles mumbled bashfully. "You see I sort of invited the twins back to Beacon Hills. Deucalion suggested five alphas but I think more than five would show the werewolf community just how serious we are. Plus those two know him reasonably well. They might be able to give us the heads up on any tricks he might be trying to pull."
"So Danny doesn't need to become an alpha at all, then? Or even a werewolf", Chris asked from behind Stiles.
"Well no, not if Scott and Derek are happy with Ethan and Aiden joining us", Stiles confessed. "But he's wanted to be a werewolf since he joined the pack, I gather. This way he could be what he wanted to be but no it's not necessary anymore since I'm fairly sure Ethan will agree that six alpha werewolves can keep him safe."
"No", Danny shouted. "No, I want this. I've wanted this since before I joined the pack. I'm not a damsel in distress either; I don't need to be protected. If I was a werewolf I could look after myself just as well as you guys can. I know murder is wrong but Kali stole my friend from me for five years, she stole his dad from him and all his friends. She forced Ethan to do horrible things and did terrible things to him. I mean at least if half of what I heard about the alpha pack was true. And she tried her absolute best to destroy this pack, my pack. I don't think killing her counts as murder; it'd be more like retribution. Stiles just tell me what you want me to do", he insisted.
"Actually as a point of interest there Danny, we definitely need to talk about that. Do you know why Kali after me? Do any of you?" Stiles asked tensely.
"No", Derek answered slowly when no one else offered a reply and Stiles lost it.
"She went after me for two reasons", Stiles started to say as slight tremors shook the room. His eyes began glowing red and his teeth lengthened into fangs. "Firstly Deucalion recognised me as having potential, I had his favour over hers. And secondly Ennis. She refused to accept Deucalion killed her mate. She forced herself to believe it was you Derek", Stiles continued as the room began shaking harder than before while fur began sprouting along his arms and down the back of his neck. "She accepted she couldn't go after you since you were an alpha and you were powerful. So she decided she'd go after the person closest to you. Apparently she thought that was me. So she set her sights on me; only to find I was powerful too. After her fight with Jennifer, which almost killed her by the way, she was afraid of me. She sent curses to weaken me and those around me so she could get close to me but that plan failed. So she thought if she couldn't make you feel her pain through my death she might make you feel it through my absence." Stiles roared and the room shook even harder, pictures began falling off the walls and dust from the brickwork started raining down on them all. By now stiles face was slowly beginning to change, his mouth and nose merging to form a wolf's muzzle.
"Calm down Stiles", Isaac whined as he pulled the angry half elf into a comforting embrace. No one spoke for a moment while they watched Stiles slowly calm back down and the changes to his body reversed themselves.
"She decided to break me. To kill my father just so you could feel the pain of losing your mate. She knew I'd leave rather than stay in the town where I lost both parents", Stiles growled out in pain as he sank to his knees pulling Isaac down with him. The tremors stopped instantly.
"Stiles, I'm sorry", Derek whispered in a broken voice. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know. That's why I always kept you at a distance."
"I know, Der. And I wish I wasn't angry at the fact that she used me to get at you but I am. I thought I was over my dad's death but finding all this out, it's just too much", Stiles sighed. "You know what hurts the most though? You knew. You knew we were mates from the first time we meet and you kept it from me. If I hadn't become a werewolf I bet I would never have found out. The fact you could keep such a big secret from the person you are supposed to share everything with is more painful than losing my dad." Suddenly the barrier dissolved its self and Stiles stood back up.
"Danny, if don't want to do this I'll understand. I don't believe things are as black and white as Scott but I know personally the darkness killing puts on the heart. I've got an awful lot of darkness already surrounding my heart. A little more won't matter to me. You're still untainted", Stiles whispered as he looked at his friend.
"Stiles", Danny breathed as he walked over to hug his friend. "We survive by banding together and sharing our burdens and you're right."
Stiles pursed his lips as he interrupted, "I know I am. I'm always right but which bit are you talking about this time?"
Danny laughed before he continued, "There is enough darkness already around your heart. Let me do this, let me share this burden. You've done so much for all of us. Let one of us be there for you. Let me be there for you."
"You have such a way with words Mr Mahealani", Stiles joked as he hugged his friend back tighter. "But if you're sure I'll let you do it and owe you big time", he added with a big brittle smile.
"Let's do this", Danny replied in a voice that shook but just barely. Stiles held out his hand and Allison passed to him a sheathed dagger. Stiles handed the dagger to Danny and lifted his friend's other wrist to his mouth. He paused to search Danny's eyes but seeing nothing but acceptance he let his fangs slide out as he bit down briefly before releasing the man's wrist from his mouth. When Stiles released his wrist he moved to place his hand on the back of his friend's neck. Danny yelled out in pain but quickly recovered. "You're drawing out my pain aren't you?" Danny accused the half elf when he realised what was happening.
"Guilty", confessed the smirking young man beside him.
"Thanks, Stiles", Danny whispered before he turned to face the whimpering woman on his other side. Danny stood before her with the dagger held loosely in his hand. After a moment's hesitation Danny found the incentive he needed and plunged the dagger in the werewolf's heart. Instantly he could tell Stiles had been right because instead of pain, which he still felt Stiles attempting to draw away, now he felt a never ending rush. It was like adrenaline was running through his entire system but the affects didn't seem to diminish. Danny turned slowly to look upon his pack with crimson red eyes and saw that it had worked from their strained expressions. Amongst them he could see joy, anxiety, concern and sadness. Sure getting used to most of their group being alphas would take some time but they would get through this as a pack, as a family. Danny had been with the pack long enough that he knew what to expect when he was changed. His wolf was frantic at sensing so many other alphas nearby but there was also fear and an intelligence that prevented him from going rabid. Thinking of his pack he found it eased the wolf's anxiety. A moment of peace and tranquillity settled over the pack as each alpha adjusted to yet another alpha popping up in their midst.
However the moment of peace and tranquillity that helped ease the wolf in every alpha shattered suddenly as the whole room suddenly jumped when Kali's body vanished. "I've put the body where we discussed", Stiles said as he looked over his shoulder at Chris Argent. He was clearly the only one still at ease.
"Damn it Stiles! You scared the hell out of us", Danny laughed as he slapped his friend on the back. He wasn't sorry for what he'd done. He knew it was an unspeakable act but it also felt right because he was protecting his friends. Kali was gone and now the true healing of the damage she inflicted upon them could finally begin.
"Is it only me who has noticed that all the alphas are male?" Kira interjected quietly after a moment.
Stiles laughed loudly, "I know right. Cora was supposed to also be my attempt at gender equality. I guess we'll just have to make sure the females get to show off their strength as well. I mean we have a very talented hunter, a banshee with a higher IQ than most qualified geniuses and you Kira, a very powerful kitsune. You'd have to be to run with this lot", Stiles smiled. "Now what do you say we catch up over pizza and beer? My treat, as long as Sourwolf doesn't mind hosting."
"Sounds great", Scott cried happily while turning to plead with the other alpha. Only that wasn't really true anymore was it? They were all alphas.
"Fine", Derek grunted. "But no one sits in my chair", he added in a growl.
"Oh by the way, I think I should probably give you a heads up", Stiles muttered, waving his friends over to join him as he busied himself ordering pizza and organising a ride to go buy the alcohol. "The twins should be here tomorrow around midday."
A/N: Please review and let me know what you thought. This chapter was lots of fun to write but also one of my more challeging. Let me know if you think I got it right ;-)