Author's Note: I'm sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I didn't want to go into what happens next until the next chapter. Besides, I rather like where I ended it. = )

Previously on Blind…

Stiles quickly jumped to his feet, before making his way over to Derek's side, and pulling him close, his voice a whisper. "What happens if it was a werewolf?"

Derek turned to him, his eyes cold; only someone who really knew Derek could see the fear and worry and his eyes. "If it was a werewolf… he picked Scott as his mate."

Stiles blinked for a moment, staring at Derek, unsure what to say to that new news. He looked over at Scott slowly, who was now laying on his side, looking back and forth between his two friends. "Ummm…" Stiles turned back to Derek. "Okay… So he tells the guy to go to hell. Problem solved. Right?"

"It's not that easy," Derek said, before walking over to the desk at the far side of the room. He tore the top off the bullet before banging out the contents on the hard surface. "Scott, I'm not going to lie to you. This is going to hurt." He pulled a lighter out of his pocket, setting the powder ablaze for a moment, before blue smoke started wafting from the table. Derek scooped it up in his hand and walked over to his wolf brother, motioning for him to get back on his stomach. "Ready?" Without waiting for an answer, Derek quickly put the powder on Scott's wound, digging it deep under the skin.

Stiles couldn't help but cover his ears. It sounded like Scott was dying. Sure, Derek had made some pretty awesome noises while he was healing himself, but Stiles also had to remember that Derek was more used to the pain than Scott was. Derek had been a werewolf his whole life. That meant he's dealt with hunters, with fighting other werewolves, the whole shebang. Scott wasn't used to this. So the sounds that came from his mouth, the intense screaming, made Stiles' heart break a little bit. It was like taking your dog to the vet to be put down when it's irreversibly sick. You knew it had to happen, but you couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

Pulling back from Scott, Derek narrowed his eyes, before sighing. "God dammit!" He kicked the chair on the side of the room, and Stiles watched as the wood broke, causing the furniture to tumble to the floor. Well… he really hoped that Derek could afford to fix that, at any rate.

"What?" Stiles asked, uncovering his ears. He looked over at Scott, who looked worse for wear. Sure, a little bit of his color was returning, but his wound wasn't healed. It was like part of it was, but there was something missing. Why hadn't it worked? "Derek, he's not healed."

"Thank you, captain obvious!" Derek yelled, turning to Stiles quickly. Before giving the teen a chance to answer, he took a few steps towards the bed before sitting down. "Scott, it's not just Monkshood. It's something else. But I'll figure it out, I promise."

"So, Derek-"

"What?" Derek snapped, turning to look at Stiles. The younger of the two took a couple steps back, swallowing hard, before shrugging. "Um… I was just wondering what's not easy about the mating thing… You know… Why Scott can't just say he's with Allison and let bygones be bygones?"

Shaking his head, Derek sighed, looking down at the ground. "Scott, I really need your help. I can't heal you without knowing what or who did this to you. The Monkshood is gone, but whatever's left… it won't kill you as fast, but it'll kill you."

Scott looked down at the pillow, his eyes half way closed. "I can't remember, Derek. Maybe… maybe some sleep will help my brain recover."

Nodding slightly, Derek sat up. "Yeah, maybe. Get some rest, kid." He ruffled Scott's hair gently before walking over to Stiles and grabbing his arm, pulling him out of the room and closing the door. "You need to figure out how to jog his memory. In the meantime, I'm going out."

"Out? You're just going to leave him? He's going to be chopped liver by the time you get back," Stiles said, pulling his arm out of Derek's grasp.

"It's a werewolf, it has to be. And I may know which one."

"How exactly? How would you know which werewolf it is, out of all the ones there are?" Stiles asked, crossing his arms. After a moment, he lifted an arm, scratching his head. "There are a lot, right? I mean… I'd assume so."

"I wanted Scott to come over because I could sense a threat. I wanted to warn him, to help him. And if it's the same threat, then I need to track him. While I'm out, I need you to watch over him. If he dies before I get back, I'll rip your limbs off one by one and then cook them for dinner. Are we clear?" Derek's eyes bore into Stiles' own, until the younger stepped back a few feet, nodding.

"Can you at least explain the mating thing to me before you leave?"

It was obvious Derek was conflicted about letting Stiles in on the secret. How was he supposed to explain this? He wasn't even sure what he was going to do about it. They had four options, and none of them seemed right to him. He really had to talk to Allison about this first. Out of the four, one stood out the most. But if he didn't get her to understand, she'd never agree to it.

"And why would he want to mate with Scott, anyway? Isn't the point of mating in animals to make offspring? Why mate with another man?"

Derek narrowed his eyes, staring at Stiles. "How's your friend Danny?"

Slightly confused, Stiles shrugged. "Good, I guess… I don't really understand what that has to do with any-…" Realization dawned on him. "Ooooh. So the werewolf's gay? Cool."

"C'mon, idiot. We need to go talk with Allison."

"I don't understand. That symbol is for picking a mate?" Allison asked, confusion on her face as her, Stiles and Derek sat at the dining room table.

Derek nodded, his hands clasped together on the surface. "Yes. Scott has to agree to the mating, though. If he doesn't, it makes him weaker. In order to regain his strength, he has to either accept it or deny it."

"Well, it's simple then. He denies it. Right?" Allison asked, smiling slightly, hopeful of the situation.

"Wrong. If he were to deny it, he would have to kill the werewolf. Considering the state he's in, I don't think that's going to happen. He wouldn't be able to go up against him and live, even if he were healed."

Stiles shrugged, drumming his fingers on the table. "Then why don't you kill him? Werewolf's dead, Scott's free, Allison gets a healthy boyfriend back."

"If I kill him, then the bond is transferred to me. Scott becomes my mate."

Silence fell over the table. Stiles was thinking about what that would exactly mean. Would that make Scott and Derek gay with each other if Derek were to save him that way, or would it just be like a bond they would share for the rest of their lives? Allison, on the other hand, couldn't form a thought of her own. She was stuck between the idea of Scott dying, the idea of the werewolf forcing him to mate, and between Derek becoming Scott's mate. What would that mean for their relationship? Would it ruin it?

"Is there… any other options?" Stiles asked in a hopeful, small voice, grimacing slightly.

"Yes," Derek said simply, looking at Stiles.

"Great! That solves it then. We'll pick option C," Stiles said, smiling, looking triumphant. "What is that, by the way?"

"Scott dies. Bond is broken." Stiles stared at him, his smile falling off his face. "Or Scott agrees to be his mate. There's only four choices."

"So… how about Allison kills the werewolf?" Stiles shrugged, looking back and forth between the two. Allison nodded eagerly, a smile spreading across her face. Aha, they had beaten the system!

"If a werewolf claims another as its mate, only another werewolf can claim that title. If a hunter kills him before the bond is broken, then Scott will become ill. He'll die within a few months." Derek stood from his spot at the table. "Allison, think about what will be best for Scott in the long run. I'm going to go find our friend."

Allison nodded numbly as Derek left the dining room. Their choices were limited. Looking at the big picture, Derek being Scott's mate would make the most sense. There was nothing else they could do. But did that mean they couldn't be together?

"I sense a threesome!" Stiles said, a smile on his face as he tried to lighten the mood.