Chapter 8

Stiles felt like a passenger in his own body. As the wolf took over, his own consciousness was forced to the back of his mind, to watch through his own eyes but having no control. He felt himself shift, fangs and claws bared, his ears lengthen and brow becoming more pronounced. As his irises turned to a glowing red the whites of his eyes bled to a void black. The roar that tore from his throat echoed off the walls and just as the wolf positioned its self to pounce Deucalion raised his hand and pointed out of the small window.

Still ready for the attack, the wolf glanced in the pointed direction, what it saw instantly made it stop from making any further movements. On the floor by the exam table laid Derek, chained and unconscious. Kali stood over him with her clawed hand wrapped around his neck ready to tear flesh at the given signal. Stiles used the wolf's surprise to force himself back into control of his own body. He stayed shifted but the black in his eyes returned to their normal white.

His attention was snapped back to Deucalion when the man started to chuckle. Stiles kept focused on the man in front feeling his chest starting to rumble in a low threatening growl.

"I do commend you, Stiles, you regained control of your inner wolf quicker than I thought you would given what happened last time it took over. Now that I have your full attention I believe we have a deal to make". Deuc had a grin that stretched from ear to ear that turned Stiles' stomach.

The Alpha teen knew that whatever happened next would determine not only his own fate but that of both Derek and Deaton. If he even moved threateningly Kali and Ennis would kill their captives. Taking a deep breath to calm himself Stiles slowly stood to his full height and kept his eyes on the blind man. "Tell me again about this deal"

Deucalion's expression went from amused to serious instantaneously. "Finally you see it my way. As I said before, in 3 months you will join my pack and help me with a little task. If you complete this task I will leave you and your pack unharmed, but if you fail then your pack and everyone you love in this town will meet their end". Each word that the man spoke was enforced his deep baritone voice.

Stiles had no doubt in his mind that Deucalion would fail to carry out his threat. Now he needed to get as much information as he could. "So in three months which is what September, I have to join your pack, help you with a task and then what?"

Deuc returned to his relaxed expression "That is not something you have to worry about now is it, Stiles. Right now I suggest you shake my hand and take Alan and Derek out of here, especially since you and Derek have a lot of catching up to do"

Fuck Stiles hated being pulled into mind games. He took another glance out of the window, Deaton was still being restrained by Ennis but looked fairly uninjured. When he looked over to Derek his eyes widened in shock, the man's usual muscle mass was reduced to skin and bone, his almost naked body was covered in bruises which shouldn't be possible for a werewolf. Stiles felt the inner wolf's rage start to rise but he managed to force it down inside his mind.

"Very well, I'll agree to your deal. But I still have your word that we can leave here unharmed". Stiles somehow managed to keep his voice from sounding shaken. He took a slight step back when Deucalion quickly lent forward and extended out his hand as if this was just some simple business transaction.

The Alpha teen stopped himself from letting out a growl of anger. He cautiously stepped forward and firmly grasped the extended hand, shaking it much harder than necessary. Deucalion just laughed and withdrew his limb from the teens grasp. Without saying anything further, the demon wolf rose to his feet and boldly strode out of the small office; his blindness completely unhindered his exit.

Stiles stood firm in his position, watching through the open door as the leader of the Alpha pack signalled for Ennis and Kali to follow him. Both of the Alpha's seemed unimpressed by the lack of violence but kept their disappointment quiet. Ennis released Deaton first, letting the man drop to his knees. Kali had to physically push Derek over in order to remove him from her grasp. The weakened man collapsed into a heap on the floor as the female Alpha growled and followed after her pack mates.

Stiles held himself in position until all the members of the Alpha pack had exited the clinic and the door was firmly shut behind them. As soon as the lock clicked the Alpha teen stumbled backwards into the plastic chair, his chest felt tight as he was on the border of a panic attack. All the adrenaline that had filled his body suddenly rushed to his head making him dizzy.

While the teen was occupied with his near breakdown, Deaton had scrambled his way to the unconscious man that was huddled on the floor on the opposite side of the exam table. He gently turned Derek over so that he was laying on his back. The vet gasped in shock as he saw the condition the werewolf was in. Derek was extremely thin his ribs and hips were showing through pale skin, covering his entire body were dark purple bruises along with multiple lacerations that marred his chest and back. The most horrifying part for Deaton was that it had been just over a week since he had seen this man last and he had been a completely fit and healthy Alpha werewolf, now in such a short space of time he now looked like he had spent years in a concentration camp.

The vet looked back over to Stiles who was still staring blankly at the closed door, the only sign that the teen was calming down was that he had finally shifted back to normal. He felt for the poor boy but right now he needed him to help figure out what was wrong with Derek. He purposely let out a loud cough in the hope of getting the teens attention but was completely ignored. Alan let out an exhausted sigh then shouted.

"Stiles! I need your help"

Stiles quickly snapped out of his adrenalin comedown haze and looked over at the two men by the exam table. As soon as he registered what was happening he ran out of the office and dropped to his knees on the other side of an unconscious Derek.

"Deaton what is going on what's wrong with him!" The Alpha teen questioned. Now that he had a closer look at the older werewolf he could see his wounds were much worse than he had originally thought. Stiles could again feel the wolf pulling in the back of his mind, it was releasing a confusing amount of different emotions.

"I don't know Stiles he shouldn't be in this condition, even if he had been starved and tortured for an entire week, as an Alpha werewolf he should be in better shape than this. Please lift him onto the table so I can get a better look at his wounds" The vet stood and walked over to his equipment stand and started to pull out all the tools and herbs he could think of.

Stiles stared at Derek's unconscious face, his brow was scrunched in pain and dried blood covered his pale cheeks. The teen leaned closer to the older werewolf, his right hand reached out and hovered over bruised flesh, he wanted to touch but was scared that the lightest brush against his skin would injure the man further. Slowly he gave into the irrepressible urge and as gently as possible let his fingertips graze against Derek's chest.

A sharp spike of electricity sparked through the Alpha's fingers and ran straight up his arm quickly filling his body. Stiles groaned in pain as all the oxygen in his lungs was knocked out by the force of the shock. He closed his eyes and focused on catching his breath, it took a few moments before he managed to compose himself. When he opened his eyes and looked back at Derek's still motionless form he notices that his hand was now firmly pressed onto the other man's chest, right over the heart.

"Stiles! I need you to lift him onto the table. I need to assess his wounds!"

For the umpteenth time that night Stiles was brought out of his own mind by the vet shouting at him. The teen looked at Deaton and then back to Derek before he just nodded and moved to a crouched position. Never removing his hand from the man's body he slipped his right arm under Derek's torso and his left under his knees. As the Alpha teen began to lift the werewolf from the floor he noticed that he was far too light.

As carefully as possible Derek was placed on the exam table, a shiver ran down his body as the cold steel touched his bare skin. Stiles removed his arms from under the older man but gently took hold of Derek's left hand in his right. The teen once again zoned out as Deaton began his examination of the werewolf's wounds.

Stiles examined Derek's beaten body as Deaton was carefully wiping away all the dried blood and dirt. He was suddenly overcome by a wave of conflicting emotion. He didn't know how to deal with this. All this time he had thought that Derek had attacked him, turned him and then ran, up until this point he had hated the man for what he had done. But now seeing the older wolf in this condition the teen couldn't help but wonder if he had the whole situation wrong.

Sluggishly Stiles released his grip on Derek's hand and slowly backed away from the table. Deaton stopped his administrations to take a look at the teen. He noticed the confused expression that marred Stiles' face.

"Why don't you step out for some air, it's been quite a traumatic evening" Deaton suggested calmly.

Stiles still at a loss for words, simply nodded his head before turning in the direction of the back door of the clinic. Once outside the teen took a deep breath of the cool night air. He started to shiver at the cold but soon his muscles were shaking from the lack of adrenaline that had now fully left his system. The teen lent back against the wall of the building trying to get a grip of himself. He focused on his senses; the sound of traffic a few miles away, the scent of the trash that was actually more over powering than it used to be.

After a good five minutes of concentrating solely on his senses and blocking out all thought, Stiles finally let his mind begin to work again. He began to question everything that had happened this night. Firstly why had Deucalion lured him out to the clinic purely to make a deal? Why did he want him of all people? Secondly what did Deuc mean by Stiles was the only other Alpha in Beacon Hills, surely Derek was… wait Derek was no longer an Alpha, how was that possible the only way for an Alpha to lose their status was to be killed or willingly give it up.

More and more questions flooded the teens mind. How did Derek get caught by the Alpha pack? Why did they have him? What did they do to him? Did they take his Alpha powers? Why did his inner wolf keep referring to Derek as his mate?... Wait, what the fuck? The muscles in Stiles' legs suddenly gave way, dropping the teen into a heap on the concrete. Derek was his mate!

The wolf took the opportunity to let its presence be known. 'It seems you're finally prepared to listen'. The teen flopped his head back to rest against the brick wall of the clinic, he took in a deep breath through his nose and spoke aloud, not caring if any one heard him taking to himself.

"Well I'm sorry for not letting you go on a rampage getting us, Deaton and Derek killed. Any way what is all this about Derek being my mate?"

Stiles swore he heard the wolf huff inside his head. 'Derek became our mate the moment we claimed him'.

"Wait what do you mean we claimed him?! I don't remember any claiming happening!" Stiles shouted jolting up onto his feet. If there had been a physical form to the wolf he would have grab it by the scruff and shook it till it gave an answer.

'That you will have to figure out for yourself, now you need to go I sense our mate needs you' The wolf answered sounding far to calm. Stiles opened his mouth about to shout his objections when he felt the wolf's presence diminish back into the dwellings of his subconscious. He turned around and lightly head butted the wall, feeling as though he had traded his ADHD for a multiple personality disorder.

Letting out a final loud sigh the Alpha teen stood straight and went back in to the clinic. When he entered he instantly spotted Deaton continuing to work on Derek who was still unconscious form. Slowly he walked closer to the exam table and round to the opposite side. Derek now looked better without all the blood and dirt covering him but the full extent of his injuries was now obvious.

"How is he doing doc?" Stiles asked with an concern evident in his voice.

Deaton remained silent for a few minutes as he finished drawing a syringe of blood from Derek's right arm. "He is stable but very badly malnourished. I can't quite figure out why he hasn't healed from his wounds"

Stiles stood nervously for a moment before responding. "I don't know if this will help but the wolf told me something that changes everything we've been thinking about Derek so far". The teen paused for a second as Deaton looked directly at him with a curious expression. "Derek is my mate, apparently I claimed him"

Deaton's eyes widened before he strode closer to Stiles and stopped only a foot in front of the teen. "What else did it say about claiming Derek?"

The Alpha teen blinked in surprise and slightly leaned back away from the vet. "Nothing, that's the only thing it told me, it said that I needed to figure out the rest".

Deaton swore under his breath and turned back to Derek on the exam table. He pulled his stethoscope from around his neck and put it into place in is ears, he place the diaphragm of the stethoscope against the werewolf's chest right above his heart. He listened to Derek's heartbeat for a minute then slowly moved it downward stopping just below the navel; again he listened for about a minute.

Stiles watched in silence when the vet muttered under his breath as he put his stethoscope back around his neck then walked over to get another needle and syringe. He stared in curiosity as Deaton drew another load of bloods from Derek. Stiles was about to question the vet but Deaton turned to him before he had the chance.

"Stiles you're going to have to take Derek somewhere he can rest and you need to stay with him. I think I know what is wrong but I need to run some tests on his blood to determine whether I'm correct".

The teen stood speechless for a moment before pulling himself together. "Erm excuse me but where am I supposed to take him. I can't just turn up at home going 'hey Dad I've brought home the man who you all think attacked me at turned me into a werewolf, oh and by the way he's my mate whatever the hell that means'"

Deaton paused for a second to think before answering "You need to take him to his loft, being somewhere familiar will help him when he wakes which I'm guessing soon. I will contact your father and Scott to let them know you're with me tonight for some werewolf training before the full moon which is only a few nights away"

The teen wanted to protest but knew that this was the only option to get Derek somewhere safe for him to heal. "Ok I'll do it"

"One more thing Stiles when Derek wakes he's going to be confused and scared. He may even try to attack you if he is being driven by his instincts but you will need to remain calm and reassure him. As his mate you will need to remain close to him I would even suggest skin contact to aid his healing"

Stiles placed his head in his hands then rubbed his temples, he was all out of fight to argue, he just wanted to get this over with. He turn and walked over to the exam table where Derek was still lay, the older werewolf was still shivering. The Alpha teen asked for a blanket to wrap around his mate, god it was going to take some getting used to that.

Stiles and Deaton worked together getting Derek wrapped up and into the front seat of the Jeep. As Stiles was about to jump into the driver's seat the vet gently rested a reassuring hand on the teens shoulder and gave him a smile. "It's going to be ok Stiles, we're here for you. We going to work this out as a pack"

The teen just tiredly returned the smile and nodded. He jumped in behind the wheel and closed the door, he turned on the engine and put her into reverse. Being careful not to jostle his injured passenger Stiles drove the quickest way he knew to the Loft.