Becoming Alpha

Chapter 4- To Stay or Go

A/N: I do not own Teen Wolf.

Stiles felt panic slowly well in his chest as the confused eyes of everyone stared at him. He knows that they don't know what's going on, he can smell the confusion and shock in the air. He turns to raise an eyebrow at Dimitri and the man sighs and nods to the boy. Stiles smells the man and notices there is no confusion in his scent, only shock. Stiles stares at Dimitri and waits for an answer.

"I've only ever heard of this happening once, when a turned wolf had equal potentials to either be a Mate or an Alpha, I knew Stiles could be either but I figured it would be one or the other, I never thought that he would turn like this." The man ran a hand through his hair in nervousness and Stiles growled lightly to get the man moving. " Sorry, yes, well the thing is Stiles that it's your choice. You can either be one or the other, your eyes and strength will change to whichever you choose. But because you are halfway between the two it means that you have a Mate already and that part of your wolf senses this so it is trying to compete with the Alpha inside of you; if you become an Alpha you can still mate with that someone but you wont be their 'Mate'. Do you understand what I mean?" Stiles thought about it for a moment and then nodded tentatively.

"So, if I chose to be a Mate what would happen?" Stiles asked Dimitri, wanting to know his options. Stiles didn't really want to miss out on finding his one true mate and he knew that not many wolves had one. Stiles craved that connection, even more so now that he could feel his pack around him and the closeness and happiness that it gave him. Stiles took a tentative sniff at the other wolves in the room and he could smell Derek the strongest, he didn't know what to think as his wolf whined at the smell but he had some guesses.

Derek growled lightly and answered Stiles question for him, his eyes looked into Stiles' eyes and he could see the man was angry, Stiles felt sad at this and listened intently knowing Derek wouldn't lie to him, even if he wanted to Stiles would smell it on him.

"If you choose to be a Mate then you will know who your intended mate is almost immediately, Mates can only be mated to Alphas so you might find one here or they could be halfway across the world. Unfortunately Dimitri would be your Alpha and it would be his choice who you mated, whether they were your true mate or not. Most Alphas, when they are fortunate enough to turn a Mate, will claim that mate for themselves so that their pack becomes stronger." Stiles stared at Derek's words then turned to Dimitri, a questioning look on his face. Dimitri grimaced and Stiles felt dread and horror fill his insides.

"It's true, if you choose to be a Mate I would most likely claim you, even if I was not your intended mate, I would not do this to hurt you but my wolf would see you as mine." Derek growled loudly at this and Stiles almost jumped at the anger in it, anger for him. Stiles realized that Derek wasn't mad at him, he was mad at Dimitri for making him a part of his pack and taking him out of Derek's.

"Oh my God! You planned this didn't you?" He pointed an accusing finger at Dimitri and the man's face showed shock at the sudden outburst and Derek watched him intently. "You wanted to give me The Bite, to make sure I wouldn't be in Derek's pack when I turned, because on the off chance I was a Mate you wanted me to make your pack stronger!Jesus, how did I not see this? God dammit!" Stiles was furious, he felt his canines elongate and his eyes turn as he rounded on Derek. "AND YOU! Why couldn't you have just given me The Bite? Why couldn't you just give me what I wanted? I wanted The Bite from you Derek, I would have never said yes to Dimitri if you had even hinted that you wanted me as pack for real! But did you? NO! Why? Did you really not want me as pack? Did you not want to take responsibility for me? Derek I am not a fucking child, this is what I wanted! If you had just bitten me then we wouldn't be in this mess! I would still be pack and I could CHOOSE to be a Mate and I could be with you!" Stiles eyes widened at his words and he backs up quickly only to trip and land heavily on the couch behind him, his breaths coming in deep pants from his anger, he knew what the smell from Derek meant, what his wolf was trying to tell him. Derek would have been Stiles intended mate, of course he would have Stiles had probably known that the entire time but had been loathe to admit it to himself.

Derek looked at the boy stunned, as did the rest of the pack with Peter watching with a sad knowledge in his eyes.

"I-I could have stayed pack, but now I don't get a choice Derek, I have to be an Alpha and I have to leave. If I don't I'll know who my mate is but I'll never be able to be with them, I can't imagine how painful that would be." Stiles felt tears in his eyes and all of the fight fled from his body and he sagged into the cushions, Jackson stood and protected him while Isaac came and sat next to him, his arm around his shoulders.

"It's okay Stiles, we'll come with you and we'll be happy, somehow." Isaac's voice tried for gentle but everyone heard the fear behind it. Derek still stood gaping at the boy as his brain tried to process what had just happened.

Stiles wanted him as a mate, he wanted to be in Derek's pack for real. Derek felt horror pool in his stomach and panic set in. How could he be so stupid, he knew Stiles' wanted The Bite but he had thought that the only reason he wanted it was because he wanted to be stronger like his friends, he hadn't realized that he really just wanted to be pack, part of his pack, for real. He felt the breath being knocked out of him and he turned and sat hard in his chair, hands running through his hair as he looked at the boy in front of him.

"I-I was afraid that The Bite would kill you." Stiles head jerked up and watery brown eyes met his with an intense stare. " I didn't want to risk your life for me selfishly wanting you to be pack." Derek saw surprise in the boy's eyes and sighed heavily. "It's not that I didn't want you as pack Stiles, I did, I still do. I just wouldn't have been able to live with myself if The Bite didn't take and you died, I just couldn't risk losing you." The tears finally released from Stiles' eyes and fell down pale cheeks. He nodded and broke their stare, Derek felt the loss of the connection immediately.

"I understand Derek, I just wish you would have told me." Stiles wipes at his face, his heart breaking with what he had to do next. " I'm so sorry." Stiles closes his eyes and feels in his heart that he has made the only decision he can, he takes a deep breath and howls as loud as possible, his bones cracking and his skin reforming from skin to fur. When Stiles' opened ruby red eyes he was in full wolf form, his fur a sleek and a beautiful shade of white. All eyes looked at him and he knew that this was it, this was the decision that he had had to make.

Stiles walked calmly to his and Isaac's room where he changed back to human and hurriedly put on some clothes before he went back to the living room and walked straight towards Isaac and Jackson. They both stood tall and their eyes were trained to the ground in submission to the new Alpha. Stiles stopped in front of them and placed a hand on both of their hips, understanding they began to raise their shirts, Stiles growled in a negative and they both raised confused faces to him.

"No, I'm not going to bite you there." Derek and Dimitri gasped and walked forward to stop him but stopped suddenly when he turned and snarled hotly at them. " I know what I'm doing." His angry red eyes met with Derek's confused ones and he sighs heavily. "I'm sorry I have to take your Betas Derek but I will not leave here without Isaac and Jackson. I could fight you for them but I don't really want to fight you. I know what I'm doing, I'm going to make it so that if some other Alpha wants to claim them as their own that they can't. They will be marked mine until either I die or they die, if I die before they do then your mark will remain and you will be their Alpha once again. It's the only way I can assure their safety even after my death." Derek's eyes widen at his explanation and he looks to the floor heavily and steps back to stand by the rest of his pack, who were all following their Alphas lead and were staying back.

Stile glared at Dimitri, telling him to back off with his eyes and the man bowed slightly and sat back down in the chair he had previously occupied, willing to watch the show unfold. Stiles turned back to the two Betas and motioned for them to give him their hands. He took one of their wrists in each hand and put them wrist up towards his face. He rolled his eyes up to look at both boys to make sure this is what they wanted. When they both nodded, determination in their eyes, he felt his jaw widen and teeth stretch and he set his teeth in first Isaac's wrist and then Jackson's. They both recoiled from the pain but neither screamed. He licked both wounds clean and felt a warm sensation suddenly flood his heart and realized he could feel the two boys inside of him, could feel hints of their emotions reverberating through him.

He turned and saw Derek breathing hard behind him, a look of pain on his face. Stiles knew that he had just lost his connections to Jackson and Isaac and felt the loss deep in his heart. Stiles felt sorrow slip into his emotions as he looked at Derek's eyes. He hadn't wanted to hurt Derek like this, but had had no other options.

Stiles stood and walked towards Derek slowly, the Alpha watched him in curiosity and waited until the boy was in front of him before he rose an inquisitive eyebrow. Stiles fidgeted on his feet and stared at his hands for a few seconds before suddenly flinging himself at Derek and wrapping his arms around the taller man's waist in a hug. Derek let out a surprised 'huh?' before his arms slowly wrapped around Stiles and he hugged back, just as tightly.

"Thank you." Stiles whispered and Derek nodded, knowing he was talking about not fighting him for Isaac and Jackson. He wouldn't have anyways, they belonged with Stiles, anyone could see that, but it did hurt. He was losing three members of his pack in one fell swoop and his wolf mourned.

Stiles reluctantly pulls out of the hug, feeling the instant loss of warmth and the smell of Derek pulling at his heart in a painful way. He pulls away and goes back to stand by his new pack, he knew they could all smell the sadness on him because he could smell it himself. His head lowered for a second as the sadness ruled him then he takes a deep breath and straightens his shoulders and raises his head high, looking towards Dimitri and his 'Betas' with a steely gaze.

"Thank you for giving me The Bite Dimitri, is there anything else you needed from Derek's pack before you can be on your way?" Stiles voice was cold and polite and Dimitri shivered at the power there. Derek felt his heart clench with sadness at Stiles still protecting his pack even though he was no longer a part of it. Derek let him, knowing that he would memorize this feeling and hold onto it forever.

"Ah no, that was all of the business that we had with Derek." Dimitri turns to Derek with a small smile and Derek's hackles rose slightly at the hate he felt in the pit of his stomach for the other Alpha.

"Derek, I think you are doing a fine job so far, even with your young age. I do suggest however that you discipline Erika a bit more, perhaps if she had not made Stiles believe he was unwanted then this situation could have ended happily for you." With that they all left the house to the woods and Derek felt anger boil in his soul and his wolf wanted blood.

"Stiles did Erika ever say anything to you other the things I heard?" Derek's eyes met Stiles and he saw the boy stiffen and his eyes drift towards the girl, hate in their depths. Derek felt a snarl rise to the surface and he turned to his Beta and growled at her menacingly, she cowered for a moment before she glared back at him, not feeling any remorse for her actions.

"Erika, leave. If I even smell you in the next month I will pull out your spine through your mouth." Erika's eyes widened and she took off out the door, sprinting to the woods towards her house. Derek turned to Stiles and sighed heavily. "Well, we should probably all sit down and talk." Stiles smiled and sat on his couch with his Betas and his pack,sans Erika, sat around the room, relaxing slightly.

"I never thought I'd hear you say that you wanted to talk, that's kind of funny. I wonder what it would be like if you didn't have a brain to mouth filter like me? Would you talk about the same stuff that I do or is your head more organized? Oh my God, that reminds me I was supposed to write and essay for history! I haven't even done the outline yet. I'm so screwed you guys!" Stiles looks at them all in a panic and Derek just couldn't hold it in, his laughter spilling out from his mouth and everyone else joining as well, the tension completely leaving the room.

Stiles smiled crookedly at all them but his insides felt cold, he knew that he couldn't keep this, couldn't keep these people. He would have to leave and he wouldn't be able to come back. Stiles watches Derek while he laughs, watches his eyes crinkle with it and his dimples perk up at the attention. Stiles watches and memorizes, knowing it would probably be the last time he got to see it again.

When the room finally calmed down and the solemn air had returned once again Stiles' cleared his throat and met Derek's eyes seriously.

"Derek, I request permission to stay in your territory with my pack until we can graduate school. That's only two months away, it shouldn't be too bad." Derek's eyes were serious as he nodded his consent to Stiles', his heart hardening and protecting the man for the loss of the boy in his life.

"That's fine Stiles. What are you going to do about learning control? Two months isn't very long and you have the power of an Alpha." Derek was already impressed with the fact that Stiles seemed to have good control so far but he dreaded to think about the boys first full moon.

"Well, Isaac and Jackson have perfect control and should be able to ground me on the full moon, it's in about a week so hopefully I can find an anchor before then." Stiles looks into Derek's eyes sadly, wishing that he could ask the other Alpha for help in control, but knowing he couldn't, that path led to many uncertain heartaches, it would just make the goodbyes harder when he left.

"Stiles...do you...I mean, do you have to leave?" Scott's vouce was small and his eyes huge and confused when the met Stiles own calm brown eyes.

"Yes, of course I do Scott. You can't have two packs in the same territory." Stiles' contemplated his best friend and found the confused expression on his face almost endearing.

"But, I mean, it's just you, Jackson and Isaac, I mean..." Scott's face scrunched up, as if trying to think of how to put his thoughts into words.

"Scott, I'm an Alpha now and the compulsion to make my pack stronger is already there, my wold wants me to Bite people already, I wont be able to stay here and make my pack stronger. I wouldn't do that to Derek." Scott's eyes widen as Stiles' explained then his expression became angry.

"You can't go around biting people Stiles!" Scott's voice was indignant and Stiles' eyes flashed red and the boy stopped talking, his eyes no less angry.

"I'm not just going to go around biting anyone Scott! I will not let my pack be weak though, so of course I'm going to make it bigger, a three man wolf pack isn't going to last very long when I egt my own territory. Sorry, I have to go, if I have too many problems controlling myself I'll find you Derek, if that's okay?" Stiles' eyes met the older mans and saw his nod of acceptance before he stood and stormed from the house, Jackson and Isaac following him while glaring at Scott the whole way.

Scott sat in the seat that they left him in and fumed silently, looking at Derek for some kind of hint for what Stiles meant by that, he still didn't understand.

"Derek, I don't understand!" Scott's voice was whiny and Derek felt a growl build up in his chest, his ears still listening to Stiles' jeep getting further down the road, further away from him. Derek turned to Scoot and he let out a long-suffering sigh.

"Scott, two Alphas can't share a territory unless they are mated." Scott's mouth fell open at that and this his eyes became clouded in thought.

"But, didn't Stiles just say that he wanted to be your mate?" Scott's voice was as abstract as his thoughts but his words shot straight through Derek.

Derek's mind went into overdrive at the boys words and he played the words again in his mind. Stiles had said something like that, but he had been so busy being horrified and angry to realize it until now. Stiles had said that if he had given him the Bite then could have been Derek's mate instead of an Alpha. Stiles was telling Derek that he was his mate and he hadn't even realized it until this moment. Derek felt his heart pick up in speed and his eyes met his uncles and he saw the same thought in his uncles eyes.

Derek stood swiftly and told his pack to go home, he needed to go and talk to Stiles in private and get to the bottom of this, before the boy got it into his head that the only option was to leave.

A/N: this chapter was emotionally exhausting. Let me know what you guys think.

-Cries