The world slowly blurred into focus as if coming out of a long dark tunnel. Looking around Stiles could see dozens of people streaming around him their movements sluggish and jerky as if they were running in slow motion.

His head hurt and boy was that an understatement. The skin around his crown seemed to crackle, the nerve endings sending up a fireworks worth of agony. Reaching tentatively he touched the edges of the sorest area. It was like stabbing himself with a burning knife, the pain was indescribable and he jerked his hand back down to stare at his blood coated fingers.

Noises from the street and surrounding areas registered in choppy bursts like the sounds he used to make as he talked into a fan as a child. He couldn't make out words but could almost feel the underlining panic that filled the air.

Pulling himself to a sitting position he took a stunned look at the street before him. The sounds that had been muffled came back with a 'pop' and Stiles winced as his ear drums almost burst with the sound of horns blaring and the echo of screams.

Directly in front of him, backed by the billowing smoke coming from what was left of a bright yellow taxi, stood Derek Hale. At least Stiles was pretty sure it was Derek. The creature looming before him was at least seven feet in height. His fur was an inky black that glowed with blue highlights and eyes that blazed with the neon red of an un-mated, un-anchored alpha.

A huge chunk of twisted yellow metal was held in one clawed hand. From the shredded hood of the taxi, Stiles deduced that the cab had somehow offended Derek and was now paying the price. While he watched Derek reached inside the vehicle and ripped out part of the engine tossing it to the ground where it lodged itself a half foot deep in the street.

"Derek you need to calm down." Laura spoke in composed tones, her voice even and soft in the face of the shear rage that Derek was displaying. Behind her cowered the taxi driver curled into a fetal ball at her feet. "I need you to shift back Derek."

Her eyes desperately latched on to Stiles as he sat up, weaving back and forth slightly as the world around him tilted and spun. The relief was evident on her features and in the slight release of the tension in her shoulders.

"Look, Derek! He's okay. Derek, your Mate needs you. I can smell the blood on him. You need to help your Mate Derek." Stiles had a split second to imagine Laura with a huge dog playing 'get the ball' before the enraged alpha turned his full attention to him. Damn, in the real life version HE was the ball.

If Stiles could have figured out how to work his legs he would have run.

Derek stood in the center of the street, head and shoulders twisted back to look at him, for what seemed an eternity to Stiles. Muscles shifted beneath thick fur as the wolf turned the rest of the way around, sniffing the air and eyeing the blood covered hand Stiles still held numbly before him.

A metallic clang rang out in the sudden silences as Derek dropped the hunk of taxi hood to the ground and started moving toward Stiles. After the third step taken by the giant wolf, red eyed, claw tipped, and scary enough to make Hell itself scream and flick its skirt around its dainty cloven hooves, Stiles' self-preservation mechanism kicked in and he tried to scoot away.

Wobbly elbows collapsed after just a few seconds of his mad scramble backwards. Heels scrapping along the rough surface of the street propelled him along as Stiles guided himself on increasingly bloody palms.

The agonizing light show as he hit his head on tail pipe of a mini-van quickly ended his frantic crab walk. Rolling to his stomach Stiles was half way under the van when his ankle was caught in the unforgiving grip of the alpha. Stiles kicked and thrashed to no avail as Derek pulled him out from under the van.

At Derek's growl Stiles let his body go completely limp, allowing Derek to pull him out and flip him over on his back. You don't fight an alpha when he's enraged. Common wisdom stated that your best chance of surviving was to act as submissive as possible and hope they pass you by for more worthy targets. Unfortunately, Stiles was pretty sure he was the only target Derek was interested in.

Dropping his head back and arching his back to expose as much of his throat as possible Stiles prayed that Derek had enough control to realize that he was supposed to be his Mate. Derek continued to pull Stiles forward by the leg, back and elbows grating painfully against the black asphalt of the road, until he was completely beneath the protective cover of the alphas huge form.

Sliding a gentle but claw tipped hand behind Stiles'neck, Derek lifted and pulled his Mate against his chest, fingers checking the back of his head to see the extent of the damage. Stiles let out a small whine of pain as Derek's claws gazed the sore edges of his swollen and cut scalp. Derek stilled and then tucked him deeper into his chest, curling his body around him.

Nose pressed to the surprisingly soft fur of the alpha, Stiles inhaled the scent that surrounded him. It was a rich scent, earthy and strong but not unpleasant in the least. Stiles found himself breathing it in threw his nose and releasing his breath in a long slow exhale threw his mouth.

The pain that racked his body just moments before bled away leaving him relaxed and calm in the alphas arms. Closing his eyes Stiles burrowed deeper into the wolf's chest, letting his fingers card through the thick fur and cling.

Derek shifted his weight, scooping Stiles up into his arms and carrying him to the safety of the café where Laura commanded a team of frightened waiters like a drill sergeant.

"You need to let me see him Derek. I can't check his wounds if you won't let me touch him." A low menacing growl rumbled from Derek's chest when Laura mentions touching Stiles but he slowly released his grip, lowering his Mate to the chair.

Waiters appeared, as if by magic, with bowls of warm water and arms full of towels. Laura gently wiped away the blood from Stiles scalp while Derek snapped and snarled at any who came too close.

At Stiles' pained hiss Derek turned and lunged toward Laura, his blunt muzzle pressing against the line of her neck. Stiles could only hold his breath in horror as Laura reached out and pushed her brother's muzzle away from her jugular with an annoyed huff.

"I'm not hurting him on purpose but I need to see how bad his wounds are. They look fairly superficial but I need to clean them to make sure." It was a testament to the love between the siblings that Laura could touch Stiles at all with Derek wolfed out. Stiles knew that if anyone else had dared touch they would have been killed outright.

"I think this cut in his scalp will require stitches and we really need to get him checked to make sure he doesn't have a concussion but the rest of it is just scrapes and minor cuts. Some salve and Band-Aids and he will be good as new." Derek almost purred in response, a deep pleased rumble that made Stiles' chest vibrate.

It was at that moment, when Stiles was feeling safe for the first time since his parents had been killed, that the City Police arrived. The City Pack betas were large, intimidating, and one of Stiles' greatest fears. For the last few months Stiles had lived in constant fear of these betas. They could easily make an unclaimed, undocumented human such as himself disappear without a trace and no one would even question their actions.

Stiles couldn't help the rush of cold fear that flooded his veins. Hearing the increase in his Mate's heart beat Derek turned and roared a challenge to the betas who immediately dropped to their knees in the middle of the sidewalk.

"Enough," snarled Laura, her own eyes finally flashing the deep burgundy of a mated alpha. "You need to calm down. We need to let HPS take him so that they can treat his wounds. You aren't doing either one of you any good by losing control like this."

Laura continued to coax and sooth Derek as the City Police took statements and cleared the traffic. One of the braver slowly approached the alphas, head down and tilted.

"Alphas, when you have time we need to ask you just a few questions." At Derek's growl the beta backed quickly away.

"Derek we need to give statements and Stiles obviously doesn't want to be near them. Why don't you let the HPS take him, get him fixed up and settled into his new home and then you can visit him tonight after we get all this soothed out?"

Derek grudgingly let Laura tug the unresisting human out of his embrace. With Stiles braced between the two of them Laura and the HPS agent guided him to the car. Woozy and disoriented Stiles let himself be directed to the back of the car before snapping back. But it was too late. The door was closed and locked. Stiles could only stare out the back window as Derek was left behind.

Stiles watched until the wolf was completely out of his sight. Sighing he sunk into the seat, mentally preparing himself for the return to the Pack House.