Author's Note: Sorry this took so long for me to post. School is kicking my butt and I didn't have time to write. I hope you like this chapter. Thanks for reading.

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Chapter 12

Stiles POV

You know that awkward moment when you're hanging out with someone and they're on the phone with someone else? Yeah, kinda in that moment right now. And guess what? It's awkward as hell. I'm sitting on the couch watching as Derek paces back and forth talking to the Alpha of Xavier pack. The more he talks the more concerned he appears. The fact that he's been talking with someone for 5 minutes tells you that there is reason to be concerned. In all the time I've known Derek, the longest conversation he's ever had was when he was being tortured. Even then he didn't say much.

I hear Derek end his conversation and I'm standing up and walking towards him. "What did he say? Have they heard about this pack? Were they hit? Do they know where they're headed? Wait, are all of them alive?"

"Stiles!" Derek cut me off. "Shut up. I can't handle your constant talking right now."

"Ok, sorry. But can you at least tell me what he said?"

"I'd rather wait until the rest of the pack is here." With that Derek turned and walked out of the room, calling Scott to have him pass on the message of an emergency pack meeting at Derek's place.

I walk over to Derek and drag him back into the living room. "Derek, Are they ok? I know they were your friends."

"Stiles, not now. I don't want to hear your voice. For once can you just shut up and wait until everyone else is here?"

Great, Mr. Sourwolf is back. "Fine, whatever. I just wanted to help you out. But whatever, go be a freaking asshole while we wait."

Derek and I were having such a great time, bonding over movies. I finally thought I was about to get him to open up about himself. I got him to open up a bit, he did share why he was such a fan of books, but that is as far as we had the chance to go before that call. I know that the call couldn't have been good. He went from 0 to Asshole in a matter of minutes. I really hope that he doesn't get stuck in that ridiculous "asshole" state forever. When we were hanging out earlier I could see his wall slowly coming down. It looks like asshole is his barricade. Great.

After 10 minutes, the first of the pack started to show up. Isaac and Cora were the first ones to come back, followed shortly after by Peter and Lydia. Scott and Allison showed up last, but they tend to do that whenever they are together. It takes them a while to pull themselves out of that annoying "couple cloud."

Scott was the first one to speak up. "So Derek, why did you call us? Is this about that rogue pack?"

"Yea, Stiles and I were talking last night and we think we found the path the other pack is taking."

"Hold up," Lydia interrupted, "You two were talking last night? Where exactly did this happen?"

"Why does where matter?" I asked.

"Honey, the details always matter. So come on." She asked with that really annoying face. The one that said she wasn't going to let it go until we caved. "Fine, it was in my room. Derek continue."

Derek let out a short growl, apparently upset about the little interruption. "I noticed that one of the packs that my family used to be friends with was between us and the rogue pack."

"Which pack is this?" Peter asked.

"The Xavier pack." Peter nodded in acknowledgement. "I left a message last night with their Alpha Mark, and he called me back half an hour ago."

"What did he say?" Isaac said.

"His pack was hit by this pack. They were given the same warning but they didn't find any police reports that supported what they heard, so they ignored it."

"I guess they don't have my researching skills." Derek looked over with a glare. "Sorry, too soon. Continue."

"His pack had 5 including himself and his mate. They were hit by a pack of 7. It was a surprise attack, before they were able to fight 2 of them were already dead. They were able to kill 3 of the other pack, but by the end of the battle only he and his mate survived. They escaped their territory."

"Holy Crap!" I can't even apologize for that one slipping out. That whole situation sounded horrible.

"So the rogue pack is down to 4 wolves? That puts the odds in our favor." Scott says.

"Not Really."

I had to stop him there. "What do you mean not really? I'm pretty sure we can take on 4 wolves. We've done it before."

"The pack isn't going to stay at 4 for long."

"What does that mean?" Isaac asked.

"According to the Mark, the Alpha likes to keep his pack at 7. He overheard the Alpha saying they needed to replace those that were lost quickly. It sounded like they were continuing on to their next target. Considering the path they're taking, it looks like they're headed to Beacon Hills."

"So we'll still have one on them. It's 8 to 7, not the best odds but we're still one stronger."

"No. I'm not going to let you and Lydia join us. Allison can because she's a trained hunter. Do you think you can get your Dad and the other hunters to help us?"

"I'm sure they will. They will definitely want to take out this rogue pack, too many lives have been lost."

"Wait," I jumped up getting everyone's attention, "can we go back to the whole 'No Stiles or Lydia' bit. You can't keep us away. We are members of this pack too. We should be there to help."

"Stiles! I'm not going to have you two there. All we need is for one of you guys to get hurt. Inevitably it will distract one of us and we'll get hurt ourselves."

"Are you freaking kidding me?! Do you know how many times I have saved all your asses?!"

"That doesn't matter." He moved until he was standing right in front of me. "This discussion is over." His eyes flashed red, displaying his anger.

"For now it is" I muttered, but seeing as how I was surrounded by werewolves, they were able to hear me clearly.

Derek growled in annoyance. "Let's keep up our patrols. Tomorrow we'll meet here at 4pm. Allison, see if you can get your Dad to join you. We'll need to set up some strategy to put the odds in our favor. That's it for now. Isaac and Cora, go start your patrol shift."

With that everyone left the house, but I stayed, determined to get Derek to realize that I can be an asset.

"Stiles, I said that we're done talking. Go home."

"No. We are going to talk about what you said."

"Stiles, I told you the discussion was over. It's final."

"No, it's not." He turned, his eyes glowing red. "Don't pull those 'Alpha Eyes' on me. I'm not one of your betas. I don't have to do what you say. Now let me speak." His glare remained trained on me, but I had to keep going. "I may not be a beta but I'm a part of this pack. I have saved all your asses on more than one occasion. I can actually name one of those occasions right now, or do you forget those freaking witches from two weeks ago?! I saved this pack. You should trust me enough to know that I can handle myself."

"I don't care what you've done in the past. You're not a fighter. You're the researcher. You're the one that we go to for answers, not for a fight. You don't belong out there with us."

"You've seen what I can do. You know that I am not some pathetic, desk worker. Can't you trust me when I say that I can help you?"

"I can't trust you. You're human. You can't heal. You aren't as strong or fast. You can't tell me that you can help us because it will be too easy for you to be killed. I can't trust you to be safe because the odds are you won't."

I know that Derek was trying to show some form of caring for me, but all I could focus on was the fact that he said he didn't trust me because I was human. I know that he said more than just that, but that is the statement that stood out.

"So you don't want to deal with the risk of having a human around?"

"It's more than just that. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I think you're right. I should be going." I turned and walked out the house, heading toward my jeep. What Derek said hurt. I know that he cares about me, but he can't trust me to help the pack and be an asset. I guess I'll just have to prove it to him then.

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Author's Note: So this chapter was kinda long, but I had to make up for taking so long to write it. I have a long weekend so I will hopefully get to post another chapter sometime soon. Thanks for reading. Please Review.