Stiles wasn't always a long distance fighter. Before Alison had taught him how to use bow and arrow, Derek had taught him hand to hand combat. He could fight with his fists, shoot a gun and he knew his way around a knife. He could protect himself if he needed to. The one time something ever went wrong was when we was caught off guard during a fight with a roaming wolf pack. He was knocked over and had his hands pinned above his head so he couldn't get to any of his weapons. He barely had time to make a sound of distress, and the wolf was tackled off him seconds later. His pack always had his back.

So really, Stiles should not have been taken by surprise when he was ambushed to the ground. Technically he had hurt one of Sonic's betas, so The Alpha did have every right to seek redemption. But he didn't expect it and it fucking hurt.

"Jesus fucking ouch."

The Alpha just snarled and slammed Stiles' head back to the ground.

"Sonic. Let go." Praise Dean and his angelic voice saving Stiles and his precious brain cells. "He's healing."

The Alpha's eyes flashed red as a last warning before he got up to check on Reed. Reed who was sitting up and staring at Stiles like he had all the answers in the world.

Butch was the one to break the silence. "What just happened?"

"Wolfsbane counteracts wolfsbane. Stiles healed Reed's wound." Sonic spat out.

Some Alphas took longer to calm down after a fight than others.

"Oh stop being a grumpy wolf. We won. Everyone is fine. Now sit and calm down." Dean's tone left no room for argument. "Stiles my man, I did not know you had that in you! I know you said that you carried a lot of weapons, but I didn't think you would be able to use them that well!"

"Just a man of many hidden talents." Stiles replied, still somewhat jolted.

Reed and Sonic were having a conversation with their eyes and Sonic grunted out an apology before sitting down and nodding at Reed. Stiles found himself on the floor again. But this time it was at the bottom of a puppy pile, Dean curled around one of his sides, and Reed wrapped around the other, whispering their thanks over and over again.

Once things had calmed down a bit, and the pack had woken up from their inevitable puppy pile nap, Sonic asked Stiles to sit down and try to have their talk again.

"Hopefully this goes better than last time!" Stiles liked that Dean tried to lighten the mood.

With mostly everyone seated in the same seats as they were a few hours ago, bar for Reed who had taken up the spot next to Stiles' feet, Sonic turned to Stiles and began his talk for the second time.

"Stiles, by all means I should not trust you at all. A boy from a pack far away, who fights as well as any hunter I have ever seen, that just shows up unexpectedly in our town? If I had not met you before I had seen you fight, I would have assume that you would not be on our side. But you did help our pack and my mate seems to trust you. You interest me, Stiles. I would like to know as much about you as you are willing to share."

Stiles froze for a minute. He barely knew these people. Sure he had fought with them, healed one of them, and joined them in a puppy pile (in which he was sure he was being scented sneakily), but he was still somewhat scared of being judged. He barely knew these people. Nevertheless, they had housed him and tried to protect him so they did deserve to know something about him. So he periodically ran his fingers through Reed's dark blonde hair (something he knew Isaac used to enjoy) and told them everything. From the night Scott got bitten, to the Peter problem, to falling in love with Derek, to The Incident, to being left alone, to running away and everything else in between. The pack looked sympathetic in all the right places and angry when Stiles went into detail about the pain of being alone. They didn't interrupt him once, and Stiles was grateful for that. He didn't know if he could continue if he had to stop. His conclusion was met with silence from whole room.

"I found him sitting on the side of the old cliff," Dean said quietly. "I could smell the sadness from miles away. I thought I would get there too late."

Stiles looked down for a while after that.

Somebody's stomach growled and Sonic declared that it was time to break for dinner. Ryan, Breeana and Kellin headed off to the kitchen and returned ten minutes later with chicken pasta for everyone. Once they had finished eating, Dean turned the news back off and all attention was on Sonic again.

"Stiles," he began. "I will never be able to express my thanks to you, for both helping us fight, and healing our wounds. We are forever in your debt, and you will always have a room to stay in here. We have only known you for a short time, but Dean has become attached to you, and you have proved yourself valuable to the pack. We only wish the best for you, which is why I would like to offer you a place in the pack. I know you would be downgrading from an Alpha Mate, but you seem like the type to be flexible, and please know that we would only ever treat you in the best of ways. You don't have to make a decision quite yet, I would like you to sleep on it and let us know your thoughts in the morning. Protocol, however, does dictate that I will have to contact your old Alpha to let him know I have made an offer to you."

Stiles was shocked. He never once thought that someone else might want him in their pack. Sure he could fight well enough, and he knew a shit load about things he shouldn't, be he was a human. He would never be as strong as something he had no desire to become. But as he looked around the room, and saw the pack all smiling at him, he thought that maybe, just maybe, he could learn to be content here. Stiles smiled back at them all and thanked Sonic for his offer.

"Reed, honey, could you take Stiles up to his room? I'm sure he's tired after his long day." How did Dean always seem to know when he needed sleep? But he let Reed take him by the hand and lead him up the stairs. By the time he had showered and headed back to his designated room, he found Reed standing outside his door, fidgeting in a somewhat nervous manor.

"I know you've only been here one night, and you're not even in the pack yet, but um, would you mind if I, um, I mean would it be okay to, uh…"

Stiles decided to put him out of his misery and drag him onto the bed. His puppies had always needed cuddles if they had been hurt that day; he assumed that this pack would be the same. He received his confirmation when Reed cuddled into him and sighed a quiet 'thank you'. And it was somewhat possible that Stiles went to sleep smiling, for the second night in a row.

Sonic may have not been the oldest Alpha out there, but he knew everything he needed to know. He knew quite a lot of things he didn't need to know as well. He knew that the boy hadn't shown up on his territory coincidentally. He knew that the boy would be an asset to his pack, to any pack. He knew that he would have to talk to the one Derek Hale. And he knew that if it came down to it, he would have to fight for the right to keep Stiles. And he would. For his pack, for his mate, and for the one beta currently curled up next to the newcomer. He would fight, because after everything the boy has been through, he deserved to be fought for.

"Hello, Operator? Yes, I would like the number for Derek Hale. Beacon Hills, California."