Transformed, but not yet shifted to his Alpha form, Gregory moved in step with Stiles, their fight really did seem like a dance. Each one had drawn a bit of blood from the other, Stiles with his knives had managed two very shallow slightly smoking cuts; One across Gregory's side and the other across his arm. Stiles had shallow claw marks on his left arm, and a rip in his hoodie to match, which actually pissed him off more.
All around them there was a cacophony of multiple air horns echoing through the station. Smoke and various strong scents were driving wolves in different directions, madly and without caution. He hadn't seen any packmates yet, but they were obviously on the attack from more than one front. Layer after Layer of sound was coming from the dark of the Tran tunnels. If nothing had changed, Peter and his dad had slipped in that way, following the tracks.
A gunshot somewhere closer to the tracks distracted Stiles just long enough for Gregory to get a wide swipe in with his left hand, across his chest. The wolf looked victorious for all of two seconds, while Stiles reached up with his right hand and slammed one of his knives into Gregory's side, between his ribs. Stiles twists the knife and then left it in. He quickly jumped back from the howling and flailing wolf, jerking his claws out of the Kevlar body armor the wolf had become stuck on, as he did. His empty hand shot to a pocket, throwing down two or three small stoppered test tubes before grabbing a canister of the modified pepper spray. Before Stiles could trigger it, Gregory jumped backwards, shifting.
He howled as he shifted, the knife in his side moving in unnatural ways as he took on a more lupine form. Stiles knew the moment it would take to activate the spray was far too long. Instead of moving away or bringing the spray to bear, Stiles slammed forward, planting the other knife into the snarling snout of the Alpha. He let go of the blade and dived past the exceedingly pissed of werewolf, ending up behind him. The wolf stumbled around a little as it tried to paw the knife out, stepping on one of the test tubes, shattering it. The smell from the liquid in the tube drove the wolf even madder than it was before.
Stiles pulled out a sandwich baggy and started circling the wolf, brow furrowed in concentration. He had almost completed the circle when the wolf seemed to realize what he was doing. It slashed out again, this time against Stiles side, just as he completed the circle, trapping the wolf. Stiles was straddling the line, unfortunately with a set of claws digging into, and slowly through the vest he was wearing. He swung around, and finally let lose with the modified pepper spray, before quickly unzipping the hoodie and letting it fall away, just as he jerked loose. Gregory ended up trapped with two knives lodged in him, preventing any sort of transformation back to human.
There was a growl and a scuffle behind him. Stiles quickly turned, looking for Derek, only to see him struggling against the pair of beta's who were trying to drag him away. He was shifted, despite the chains and the gag, and was attempting to claw his way free.
Stiles slid his hands into his pockets, pulled out his last knife, and gripped the pepper spray before moving towards them. The Betas apparently knew when a cause was lost, or Stiles scared them. Either way they ran, leaving Derek tumbling back into Stiles' path. He quickly stabilized Derek, and then started pulling him towards the door that led to Jackson and Danny. It was difficult, to say the least, because sometime between the start of the fight and now, Derek had slipped entirely into himself. The wolf and its Omega instincts were in charge and he was clearly out of it.
"Derek, you need to come with me." Stiles ordered, grimacing over the whole situation. Derek was too out of it to actually let him free; at least until he could get where they were going, and focus on him. Derek zoned in on Stiles' voice and when he gripped Derek's arm and pulled, he obeyed, despite the fact that Stiles' touch was clearly burning him, as a result of handling the wolfsbane. Stiles moved his hand to the chains, instead, pulling him down the corridor. He jerked open the room where he'd left Jackson, and walked right into not one but two growling wolves. He stumbled back into Derek, and then stopped, pulling himself upright.
"It's me, shift back, NOW." Jackson did, slowly, before putting a hand on Danny's chest. "He needs to sniff me, Jackson, but he can't until I clean up. Keep him back while I wash the wolfsbane off my hands." He ordered, pocketing the knife and pepper spray before moving over to the water bottle sitting on the counter along with what looked to be Jackson's uneaten dinner. He shuffled through the various bits and bobs in his pockets, until he found a particular bag of powder. He scrubbed the powder into his hands and arms, rubbing it over every bit of skin before tapping it off and rinsing himself with the water, and drying them with the small stack of napkins on the tray.
Satisfied, he turned to face Danny and Derek, who were both wolfed out still. "Jackson, I need that claw again." He held out the hand he'd previously clawed open and let Jackson reopen the wound, just barely. Both Derek and Danny reacted, Danny almost immediately shifted back and was staring at him with huge eyes, while Derek began whining. Stiles jumped forward and started releasing the buckles on the gag, now that he could touch Derek without burning him. He pulled Derek's head down to his throat, where he'd been marked, and let the scent calm him down while he struggled to get the shackles off. It took a minute or two, because his damp and bloody fingers slipped on the bolt more than once, but finally he removed them, and threw the lot of it into one corner, before pulling Derek into a kiss.
He pulled back and looked at Jackson and Danny. "Are you two both okay to fight?" When they both nodded he continued. "Jackson I need that knife back. Here's the plan; I'll take point, I want one of you on either side of Derek. He's tripped over into his fertile state so he's going to be super susceptible to Alphas, and they're generally going to be drawn to him. Do not fucking let them near him. If it's not one of our people coming towards you, you gut them like a fish. Your priority is to get him the fuck out and keep him safe. You don't stop for me or anyone else." He stepped out of the room and then started moving towards the exit and the sounds of fighting. "The air horns seem to be dying out." He commented, before turning to look for Gregory.
He had managed to pull the knife out of his snout and shifted, red eyes still present and glaring at Stiles, promising death, before shifting back to amused. "You are a very good dancer, little human Alpha. You taught me more than one new step tonight, but that one is still mine," He said, pointing to Danny. "and the next time we dance? I'll be sure to take the lead."
"Danny," Stiles asked, eyes on Gregory. "Who's your Alpha?"
Danny shifted, eyes a deep burnished gold, verging on copper. "You are."
Furious, Gregory roared, calling to Danny's wolf, but got no response.
"I'd leave you with that little present you gave me, but I am the greedy type." He said before pulling out a red labeled test tube, and shaking it up. "And honestly, a little vindictive." He said before throwing the tube and letting it shatter right in front of Gregory. "Move it. I don't want anyone breathing that in." He said pushing the others forward.
Gregory was slamming into the barrier of mountain ash that was holding him in with the fumes and the splash of burning liquid, that was eating into his skin. Stiles turned and left, following his pack. Stiles shivered from nerves. "Come on, we need to get the Hell out, now." He said urgently, moving towards the stairs and the remains of a broken escalator. He slipped his hands in his pocket and pulled out a silver tube. He pulled it to his lips and gave a long and to him, silent, blow. All three wolves growled at the noise of the dog whistle, but he just pushed them ahead of him, and turned to back up the steps, watching for the others.
FL*FL*FL
Peter Hale felt alive again for the first time in seven years, if not longer. The fact that he was also probably about to die, again, was ironic to be sure, but didn't even come close to dampening the euphoria of it. Of actually living, of feeling real for the first time in so long. He was fighting with teeth and claws and yes even a gun. He had killed so many after he woke up from the coma, and he still felt they deserved their deaths, but they didn't matter like these deaths mattered. They had been vengeance, which is bitter by nature. This, this was fighting for one's pack, for one's family. This was putting your life out there at risk for pack, and knowing the rest of your pack was doing the same thing for you.
If you had told Peter even a week ago that he would be fighting for pack, any pack, let alone the rag tag team of pathetic teenagers Derek had chosen, he would have laughed in your face before slitting your throat open for the sheer insolence. But then he'd been approached by Derek to do something that should have been done a very long time ago, by Peter's brother. Derek had finally acknowledged the fact that the Alpha pack was something he needed to deal with. Of course the big stupid martyr wanted to abdicate his throne instead of fight for it, but at least he realized something needed to be done.
Peter had began to evaluate possible mates for Derek. Unfortunately, they were fairly skint when it came to natural Alphas. A pack full of Betas wasn't a bad thing, but it wasn't what was needed. Any beta could be controlled by a strong enough Alpha, ruining the whole point of taking a mate. What they needed was a handy trustworthy Alpha who wouldn't destroy their pack and take over their land. What they had were children or the deviants of the Alpha pack.
Peter was beginning to despair ever finding someone, when he saw Derek and Stiles arguing over what to do about Gerard. He had slunk off, ostensibly to die, but Peter didn't believe they were quite that lucky. Neither did Stiles. Derek was, understandably, distracted with the Alpha pack, but Stiles had been furious over the fact that the lot of them had let Gerard escape.
Peter had taken a look at the rage in Stiles, and at the injuries, both visible and hidden, and then sniffed. That alone told him something was off. Stiles didn't even smell of the blood Peter could see on him. Instead there was an oddly mild herbal scent in the air that he had only noticed upon sneaking up behind Stiles and sniffing like some sort of bloodhound searching for a scent. If he didn't have his wolf reflexes that little trick would have gotten him slapped. As it was, he'd been scowled at by a seriously freaked out Stiles. Instead of commenting on the obvious use of some sort of trickery, Peter joined in the discussion, agreeing with Stiles that they needed to be sure about Gerard's fate. Stiles looked almost, but not quite, ready to begin arguing the other side of the debate, just because Peter was agreeing with him, but managed to refrain.
Despite their best efforts, they hadn't been able to track down Gerard. That being said, the whole thing wasn't a total bust, because Peter had been able to watch Derek and Stiles interact. Clearly the boy was a human Alpha, and wasn't that a shock to the system, but despite that, his interactions with Derek were those of an equal. He was willing to listen to Derek, and take orders, when he agreed with them, but also to argue and come up with his own demands, without simply overriding Derek. They complimented each other. Better yet, from Peter's point of view anyway, Stiles had already let Peter control him, back before his death. Stiles was pliable, useful, and even a blind fool could see the two of them were attracted to one another. Which naturally meant neither had a bloody clue.
He'd brought it up to Derek, since he had asked Peter to help him with finding a solution, but was resoundingly shut down when Stiles' name was mentioned. The thing was, none of Derek's arguments had anything to do with disliking, or not wanting Stiles. Instead it was all said with this undertone of guilt and want and general misery. Some utter tripe about how young Stiles was, and how it wasn't fair to tie him to Derek like that. God save him from the utter martyr complex Derek had going, because he was seriously contemplating just smacking the sense back into him.
Instead of trying to convince Derek when he knew he'd already began to dig in his heels, he decided to bring the matter to Stiles' attention. He was practical, and once he got past the hysteria that Peter fully expected, he would see what their best, Hell, what they're ONLY option was. The encounter had been interesting from the start. Instead of just answering the door, like Peter fully expected, Stiles had discretely checked to see who was there, and then had backed away from the door, instead of opening it. He had also began typing into his phone almost immediately, which said he was calling in reinforcements. Unfortunately for Stiles, both Isaac and Scott had been unavailable. Derek at least had his phone, but he was two towns away, which was why Peter picked that day to explain things to Stiles.
Stiles had naturally listened to reason, allowing Peter into his house, just like Peter had expected, but his whole demeanor had thrown Peter for a loop. Calmly offering him a drink? Not exactly what Peter had been expecting, unless it was laced with wolfsbane or possibly ex-lax, knowing the boy's sense of humor. Instead Stiles had simply gotten him a glass of water, and then when he'd taken it, relaxed completely; almost as if Peter's acceptance of the water meant something to him. That had nudged something in his head, but for the life of him he hadn't place it, not yet anyway. That measure of the unknown had thrown him, just a bit.
That hint of something being off was just the starts of it. Stiles seemed almost hungry for information about the wolves. He'd eaten it up; completely fascinated with the lore. Of course he was still a bit naive at how things would work, but the sheer anger he had put out at the thought of the Alpha pack using Derek was palpable. He was almost positive that Stiles would agree, and then Stiles had basically told him it was no longer his business. Right.
Derek had of course taken offense and slammed him into a wall or three, before taking off to ensure that Stiles hadn't been unduly influenced by mean old Uncle Peter. Peter had almost gone to listen to that little meeting, but knew Derek would expect him to try something like that. Instead he made sure to be around when Derek came home, in the weirdest mood ever. He seemed strangely calm, almost peaceful. It had really started to freak Peter out, because even as a child, Derek had never been calm or peaceful. He just never seemed to have that in him. Naturally Peter was so concerned he had to pry and poke at whatever was causing this bizarre change. Upon finding out his nephew had a date of all things he couldn't possibly resist a few teasing remarks; and there he went again with the wall slamming. Never let it be said that Derek couldn't be consistent.
Of course the consistent wall slamming was completely worth it, since he got to watch Derek run out of the apartment like all the hounds of Hell were after him when Peter started talking about properly vetting his new suitor and chaperones and curfews. You'd think the boy was still twelve or something. When Derek hadn't come home that night, Peter had held great hope that he might return properly and safely mated. He was almost feeling smug on the whole matter, which was obviously when Isaac called begging for help. Apparently a few of the Alpha wolves was attacking Jackson, Scott and Isaac, and they were in serious need of help.
The four of them had managed to run off two of the three attacking Alphas, and between Peter and Isaac, they'd captured the third. Scott and his boyscout ways kept them from doing too much actual damage to the wolf, despite the fact that he'd specifically come to steal away one of their group, something Scott didn't seem able to comprehend. Isaac added a lovely touch of manic to the mix however, and between the two of them, they'd gotten quite a bit of information before the Alpha was send running, metaphoric tail between his legs. It would seem they had another problem on their hands. He had Scott and Isaac make sure Jackson got home safely, and then returned to the apartment to contemplated the news about Stiles and Derek.
According to the wolf he'd questioned, Stiles had taken down, and dominated an Alpha. He had even managed to permanently, or as near as to be considered such, marked the Alpha. The fact that it had been a human, Alpha or no, had seriously pissed the Alpha pack off. It had also apparently altered their plans. Since Derek was probably now useless to them, they decided they needed to take Jackson, who had been an Omega human; and didn't that just explain his extreme overcompensation tendencies? Even if they turned Stiles, at this point Peter was fairly sure he'd be a leader Alpha as well as a sexual one. That wouldn't help them in any way, and honestly if Derek had willingly bonded with Stiles there was no way the death of his mate would result in anything less than complete insanity and death at the worst.
Peter had been pleased about the fact that a mating seemed to be in the works, but he had become uncomfortably aware that Stiles wasn't going to be quite the pushover Peter had been hoping for, when it came to Peter's role in the pack. He had wrongfully assumed that with Stiles as the "Alpha" he'd actually be in charge by way of manipulating Stiles where he wanted him to go. Clearly that wasn't going to happen now. He'd also figured out what the strangeness had been over his visit to Stiles' home. He'd inadvertently accepted hospitality. Stiles had offered him the sanctuary of his home, ensuring Peter would suffer for any attempt at hostility while there, and had started what might possibly lead to Peter earning some sort of belonging, when it came to Stiles and the pack. Perhaps even the easy acceptance he'd lost with the fire so long ago.
The next day he'd found out they hadn't mated after all, but while he was disappointed, he could tell there was something important happening. Beyond the need to mate, Stiles had a need to protect Derek, and if he was doing it by showing Derek how he respected him, as opposed to jumping to use him? Well as Derek's sole remaining family, he couldn't find fault with that really. He'd taken a chance and offered Stiles hospitality, some part of him expected a refusal, but Stiles had not only accepted, he had specifically given a verbal agreement to Hospitality. Peter wasn't entirely sure of the repercussions, but he knew that acceptance was important.
Of course, then Stiles had showed off how truly competent he was, how different from the Alpha pack. He had the opportunity to absolutely ruin Jackson; a young man Peter was certain Stiles disliked, with reason he was sure. Instead he refused to take the bond with him, and came up with the perfect solution. Then when Jackson had insulted Stiles, and inadvertently insulted Derek, Stiles had put on that lovely display of dominance for everyone, without ruining Jackson's chances with Lydia. Peter wasn't ashamed to say he'd been adjusting himself after that little display. Stiles had walked away from the chance to make Jackson his slave, and instead proclaimed Derek his equal. If Peter hadn't been there smelling the truth practically pouring out of Stiles, he'd have assume it was some sort of bullshit.
Peter was halfway convinced the boy couldn't possibly be any more perfect, and then he'd listened in on Stiles' apologizing for the display, as if he was afraid he'd somehow offended Derek. Which naturally meant Derek tried to be a bloody fool and a martyr offering to 'let Stiles go' for his own good. Thank God one of them had their heads on straight, because Stiles had nipped that little moment of stupidity in the bud, and then proceeded to initiate what smelled like some very hot sex. Creeper reputation or not, Peter had practically fled from that little display.
He'd been in the middle of trying to reread all the family history about damaged mates, hoping to find something that might offer insight into Lydia and Jackson's situation, when Stiles' call came in about Derek and the Alphas. Just like that, Peter knew their pack was going to war, and that Stiles was going to lead them. Over and over tonight, Stiles had pulled something out of his bag that would push things further in their favor; Little ideas and plans that would protect them, or hurt the Alphas. Despite how much he had wished the year before that he'd turned Stiles instead of Scott, he knew, really and truly knew that would have ended with him dead much sooner. The moment he gave Stiles a real reason to stop him, Stiles had. Now, looking at the things he'd figured out or came up with, Peter knew without a doubt he'd never EVER try to go against Stiles and his pack. More than that, for the first time in a very, very long time, this was a pack he'd die to protect, if it came to that.
Now, here they were, him and a very human Sheriff Stilinski creeping down the rails from the old F station to try and get a bit of an edge in this battle. Both of them had guns, and naturally Peter had his claws and teeth, but more than that, they had a bag full of toys that Stiles had instructed them on. Stiles dad had a bandoleer filled with vials instead of bullets; each one specifically labeled, and each one incredibly useful in a battle like this.
As they approached the end of the tunnel, or at least the last of it before their target, the Sheriff held out a baggie, and Peter nodded, moving a few feet further in as the sheriff began laying down a squashed oval that ran from one side of the tunnel to the other, completing the circle before waving Peter over to test it. The 'circle' of mountain ash now blocked this tunnel from werewolves, cutting off any retreat for the Alphas. Yet another brilliant maneuver on Stiles' part. Only their group knew the safe exits, the rest blocked off by more of the mountain ash.
Peter took out the ear plugs he'd been presented with earlier in the evening, and then watched as Stiles' dad proceeded to set out several cans inside the now protected circle. Once Peter put the plugs in, which were apparently considered industrial strength, he watched as the Sheriff popped his own in and pulled out his watch to keep track of the time. At exactly midnight he began to deploy the canisters. Despite the plugs he could tell the noise from all of the air horns Stiles had modified, would be unbearable, especially echoing like they would down this tunnel. What seemed like seconds later, there was the shake of an explosion, which they both knew was Stiles' signal for come play.
Guns out and ready they stalked ahead. Peter was the first to pull the trigger, dropping an advancing Alpha the moment it turned towards him, it was merely eyes in the dark. The Sheriff put two more rounds in another set of eyes before catching Peter's attention and slipping on the gas mask he carried. Peter followed suit, and soon they were both throwing out tear gas canisters, flash-bangs and a few of Stiles' homemade wolfsbane grenades. They also took the opportunity to deploy another wave of air horns, since they only last a minute or so with the Velcro holding them on.
That done they pushed forward into the actual station, and up the stairs along one side of the platform. Between them, they put down, either temporarily or permanently at least eleven wolves, six of them Alphas. After tapping him in warning, the sheriff threw out another set of flash-bangs and tear gas canisters, followed by the second to last wolfsbane grenade. They watched, Peter with utter satisfaction, as at least five wolves in the area dropped, coughing and gasping. Their breathing become more of an issue than fighting the intruders.
Isaac and Scott came out of the smoke to their left, and caught their attention, indicating that that they should remove the ear plugs. They both did quickly, and moved further into the station. Peter noted more than a few wolves doing the smart thing and retreating. There was only one entrance that hadn't been blocked off though, so hopefully the running wolves would guess wrong and trap themselves, instead of being able to rally outside as some sort of last ditch revenge.
The dog whistle, and Peter dearly wanted to smack Stiles upside the head for that, sounded the retreat, and they had just turned to leave when a set of howls pulled the wolves up short. Scott looked confused, but Peter and Isaac both knew what that was.
"Boyd and Erica" Isaac said from behind his gas mask.
FL*FL*FL
Derek and Stiles both pulled up short at the echoing howls. Derek started to push back down the stairs and Stiles stood, blocking him, one hand on his chest. "I'll get them, you need to go." He pushed Derek further up the stairs before turning to look at Danny and Jackson. "Take the north exit, it should be unblocked. Lydia will be waiting just down the road. Get Derek back to his place, and don't let anyone except the pack in."
He put a hand on Derek's cheek, and looked into his eyes. "I'll bring them back, one way or another, but you need to go, NOW."
He pulled Derek into a kiss before pushing the three of them toward the exit and turned, running back down the steps and into the station.