Scott was wary as he walked through the door of the Hale house. Despite his planned attentiveness, Derek was still able to catch him off guard, springing from behind the door just a second before Scott could react. Wrapping his hand around Scott's throat, he drove the boy into the wall beside the door. Isaac and Peter materialized on the stairs, watching the scene unfold. Scott shifted, clawing at Derek's arms and fighting to be released.
"Stop struggling," Derek said, his voice booming with authority. Scott realized that he wasn't getting anywhere, and pressed his back into the wall, trying to at least minimize the Alpha's hold on him.
"What the hell, Derek?" Scott squeaked, his voice raspy under the Alpha's vice.
"This is it. I don't have any more time to sit around and wait for you," Derek snarled, gripping his hand more tightly against the Beta's throat. "Either you're going to join my pack, or you're going to die tonight."
Scott managed to scowl, despite his face turning a desperate shade of bluish red. His throat was far too constricted to talk, but he managed to mouth a clear Fuck you to Derek. Isaac snorted, and Peter punched him in the arm.
"Listen, Scott, maybe I haven't quite explained myself well enough," Derek said, leading the boy by the throat across the room and slamming him into another wall, making it crack beneath Scott's back. "See, now that Erica and Boyd are gone, I'm down to half a team. I need manpower, Scott. I've got a pack of angry Alphas in town, ready to tear us all to shreds. Now, I can't have Omegas running around town. That's a liability, especially since half of the population of Beacon Hills seems to be trying to kill us lately. So I can either take you in as part of my pack, or I can make sure that you don't get in my way."
He released his grip on the boy's throat just enough to let him speak. "You know, Derek," Scott started, his voice cracking and gravelly, "that's not much of an ultimatum. Either you kill me, or I die as your Beta. You're not much of an Alpha, and I'm pretty sure that all you're just going to manage to get us all killed by the pack of Alphas."
Derek gripped the boy's throat tighter again, his claws now angrily digging into the back of Scott's neck. "Scott, you're being an idiot. You think you know anything about being an Alpha? You think you know how to lead a pack? You forget that you haven't been a wolf all that long. Has it even been a year?"
The pressure was released from Scott's throat as Derek let go of him. They stood face to face for a moment before Derek landed a punch squarely in the boy's gut, sending him flying through the already cracked dry wall. Scott landed on the other side, his claws scraping the wood of the floor beneath him as he slid on the dusty powder from the wall. He instinctively crouched low, his eyes flashing yellow as his body transformed into his Beta form. Derek stepped through the hole in the wall, his red eyes also gleaming in his Beta form. He scanned the room, his prey momentarily lost in the dust. This was just enough time for Scott to pounce, digging his claws into Derek's chest and driving the pair to the ground.
Derek shoved the boy off of him, his neck narrowly avoiding Scott's teeth as he sent the boy flying across what was once his living room. The Beta crashed against the couch, wood splintering around him as he fell. Derek leaped across the room, lunging at Scott. The boy picked up a piece of the broken couch, managing to shield himself from Derek's impact with the length of wood. He used the moment of Derek's instability to push him off, rolling the man onto the floor as he regained his own footing.
A thought crossed Scott's mind: If Derek had wanted him dead, he would have already killed him. The Alpha was toying with him, trying to prove his ability to lead so that Scott would join him. He would take his time, drawing out the fight in order to give Scott an opportunity to reconsider.
"You know, with someone like you on our team, we could really put the Alpha pack in their place," Derek said, unwittingly confirming Scott's belief as he climbed onto his feet.
The man lunged at Scott once again, this time with a little more vigor. Scott timed the man's trajectory just right, managing to topple their balance just as their bodies made impact. This resulted in the pair rolling across the floor, Derek's claws drawing blood from deep wounds in Scott's shoulders. The Beta managed to stop their rolling while he was on top, springing up from the floor and making a mad dash to the front door as blood trailed behind him.
Scott's timing was perfect, and Derek wouldn't be able to catch up with him if he'd made it to the woods. Unfortunately, Peter seemed to materialize out of nowhere, blocking the front door. Derek grabbed Scott's ribcage, drawing long, deep lacerations in his sides as he spun the boy around. He landed a heavy blow across the boy's face, sending him skidding across the foyer as the taste of blood bloomed in his mouth. With only survival on his mind, Scott's hands searched for the hallway. At this point, Derek was slow, taking his time in the last round in order to give Scott one last chance to join his pack. Scott sought to use this to his advantage, numbly fumbling toward the back door.
He'd forgotten that Isaac had also been present, and now the boy sneered at him, leaning against the back door. Scott stumbled forward, his head woozy from blood loss and the last blow to face. Isaac watched with pity, completely off guard as Scott dug his claws deep into the boy's stomach. Shock spreading across his face, he moved out of the way enough for Scott to touch the door handle. Derek crouched behind him, delivering a razor-sharp swipe to his backs of his knees that sent him sprawling across the floor.
With every weak breath, Scott could feel sharp pain in his sides and racking his shoulders. Lying on his back, he gnashed his teeth and blindly swiped as he felt Derek's presence near. The man straddled him, pinning down his arms as he leaned down so that his lips were level with Scott's ear. He nipped the boy's throat lightly, demarcating where he would land the last, fatal blow.
"So, Scott," he whispered into the boy's ear, "this is it, do or die. Are you really gonna throw away your life?"
Scott's tongue felt thick in his mouth, and blood trickled down his throat. His vision was hazy, and all of the strength had drained from his body. He turned his head slightly toward Derek, his eyes settling on the bleary image of a werewolf in front of him. "Y-You'll never... be my Alpha..." he wheezed weakly, and Derek thought he saw a slight grin on the boy's face.
Rage boiling inside of him, Derek prepared to deal the final blow. Scott closed his eyes, preparing for death. Stretching his jaws wide open to reveal his rows of sharp fangs, he lowered his lips just above Scott's already-bleeding throat. Suddenly, a change in the atmosphere of the room gave him pause. He rapidly became aware that something was slightly off. Isaac and Peter seemed to feel it, too. For half a second, the entire world seemed to become silent and still as everyone analyzed the new changes. A spicy smell, like anise and saffron, precluded the sudden gush of wind that caused all of the windows to shatter and doors to open, blowing the dust and ash of Derek's lost life out of the house with it. Isaac and Peter gathered around Derek, crouching low and shielding their eyes.
When the wind died down, a figure was standing in the middle of the room who had not previously been there. As if borne of the wind, Stiles had materialized and was now staring down the pack of wolves with vengeance burning in his eyes. He narrowed his sights on Derek. The Alpha looked up from his beaten prey, grave understanding in his red eyes. His family had known about the Stilinski's power since they'd moved to Beacon Hills, and he knew that if Stiles ever found his mother's power, then he wouldn't stand a chance of defying him. He'd hoped that his bond with Scott would be weak, and that he could manage to force Scott's decision before Stiles found his abilities, but it seemed that he was too late. "Damn," Derek said aloud, mostly to himself.
Before the man could say another word, Stiles pointed at him and sent him crashing backwards, a strong gust of wind blowing him clear across the room and driving him into the wall. He took a moment to close his eyes, concentrating on encouraging the air in the room to continue pelting Derek while simultaneously calling entropic forces to the wood in the wall against which the Alpha was pinned. The boards of the wall rotted beneath Derek's weight, crumbling behind him as the continuous stream of air pushed him out of the house. Stiles lowered his arm and opened his eyes, satisfied with his show of power. As the energies in the room settled, the spicy scents of anise and saffron mixed strangely with the pungent, woody odor of cypress. Though it would've been only a faint whiff at most
for an ordinary human, the supernatural creatures within the Hale house could smell it in every dusty corner and rotting floorboard. The smell of magic stuck to the energies called, and witches and werwolves alike could smell it strongly.
Stiles confidently walked over to his lover, concern creasing his face as he bent down. He cradled Scott's head in his hand, elevating it as the boy choked on his own blood. Setting his mouth in a hard, determined line, Stiles lightly touched a spot on the boy's forehead with the tip of his index finger, feeling Scott's third eye. This portal to the boy's innermost workings, Stiles had learned, was the most private part of a person's body to witches. By intruding on this spot, Stiles could delve into every part of Scott that he wished to see. He delved deeply, following the channels and flows of his body until he found the dark, feral workings within the boy.
While he did this, Isaac peered through the rotten hole in the wall, looking out at his Alpha. Derek was dusting himself off with the help of Peter, who had gone out to help his nephew. The pair seemed grim, clearly defeated. He looked over at his two friends, Stiles crouched over Scott. They didn't seem all that threatening. Derek would certainly be impressed if he could sneak up on the pair and serve them up to the Alpha. There was no way that Stiles' human hearing would be able to hear him if he used his wolf agility to creep in closer. He slowly neared the pair, claws extended as he looked over Stiles' shoulder. A sudden flash of heat and light stopped Isaac in his tracks, making him lean back as flames erupted from the floor to surround the two boys in a circle. He turned and ran through the opening in the wall, his tail figuratively between his legs as he joined the Hales in retreat.
Stiles released his grip on the ring of fire around the pair, allowing it to die out and leaving a scorched circle on the floor around the pair so that he could focus once again on healing his lover. Delving back into his psyche, Stiles found the wolf part of Scott. He could see the moonlight in the boy's blood, and the parts of him that were infected by the pack-related disease. Stiles carefully untangled the Alpha energy flow that was wrapped around Scott's immune system flow, allowing him to heal with werewolf speed despite the fact that the wounds were inflicted by an Alpha. The third eye allowed witches to access information inside of a person, and to see certain flows of energy and parts inside of their body. It was like going through a person with a medical camera, except he saw in energy and symbols rather than organs and fluids.
Stiles quickly retreated from within the boy, drawing his sight back into his finger and removing it from Scott's forehead. His stomach clenched with nerves as he sat back and waited for the boy to either heal or die. He wasn't confident in his ability to deal with human DNA, especially since he'd only practiced on frogs and cats thus far. Humans were much more difficult, especially werewolves. All he could do at this point was hope that Scott started to heal.
A rush of emotions suddenly caught up with Stiles. Thus far, he'd been simply determined to help the boy he loved. Now the dam broke, and all of the fear, worry, and doubt that he'd been ignoring washed through his body. He fought back tears, willing the water to stay inside of him. He had to focus on willing Scott to heal. He had to think of someone other than himself. He watched intently, choking back both sobs and bile as he fought to contain the emotions ripping through him. This was no time for falling apart. Taking a deep, cleansing breath, Stiles tapped into the deep well of calmness and confidence that he'd visited so often as a child after his mother's death. He idly wondered if even then he'd been showing signs of magical ability, using his powers to fight off his panic attacks. Now he implemented the familiar sensation in order to regain control.
It happened suddenly, as if it had taken Scott's body a few moments to register its new ability to heal. Some of the smaller cuts on his face, arms, and chest shrank and disappeared, leaving only a trail of drying blood. Stiles bounced to his feet, tears now freely running down his face as he celebrated his victory. With a relieved sigh, he scooped Scott into his arms, willing the air around the heavy boy to lighten his load. Hugging the damp, bloody mess of a werewolf to his chest, Stiles smiled as he turned and walked out of the house. Leaving the musty, crumbling relic behind them, Stiles and Scott stepped out into a bracingly warm evening. Bluish grey clouds held the light of the day within them, dropping a light rain on the pair, but promising more to come. In the distance, the clouds broke to show a purple sky, a crown set with with silver stars, beckoning the pair.
Stiles' lungs felt more open and free as they left the dank house and breathed in the wet air. Scott's breathing seemed more regular and less labored, too. The rain washed some of the blood of of his tanned skin and torn clothes. His eyes flickered open, dark and confused. Registering Stiles' face, and the warm, wet embrace of his skin, Scott's face settled into a mask of serenity. Stiles looked down at him, tears mingling with the increasing summer rain as he smiled. Scott's wet hair fell back against the boy's pale arm, giving a constant gentle reminder to keep the air around Scott lifting him upward.
"Derek?" Scott started, confusion marring his face. "Am I dead?"
"No," Stiles said, making an effort to withhold snarky remarks for the touching moment. "Derek's taken care of. And you're alive and healing."
"But..." Scott was silent for a moment, digesting everything. He looked around at the green trees, dripping warm rain on them as they made their way back to the suburbs. "So, this isn't heaven?"
Stiles looked ahead, training his eyes on the walk through the woods ahead of them. Clearly, Scott's brain was still recovering fro being jostled around and knocked unconscious. "No, this isn't quite heaven."
Scott was silent for a moment once again, still trying to get a grip on the situation. "So... then... you saved me?" he asked, looking up at Stiles once again. He wished that he could walk. He didn't like feeling as if he was burdening the boy he loved. However, when he squirmed gently, the jolting shots of pain reverberating within his body informed him that walking would be quite impossible at the moment.
Taking his turn, Stiles walked a few paces in stony silence. His jaw was tense, and Scott could hear that his his breathing had all but stopped. "Yeah," he responded. "I guess I did."
"But... why?" Scott asked, not missing a beat this time.
Stiles stopped walking, looking up at the rainfall, as if he were torn by indecision. He looked down at Scott, his short hair flopping down and plastering itself to his forehead. For a moment, he considered lying. But, looking down into the boy's honest brown eyes, with his crooked jaw and earnest expression, looking almost helpless with his wet hair falling back from his face in thick tendrils. A pang in his heart told him that he could never lie to the boy. Scott could sense tension welling in the boy. Stiles squared his shoulders and took a deep breath, reaffixing his gaze into Scott's eyes.
"Because I love you," he answered frankly.