AN: Hey everyone! So I wrote a chapter that is supposed to go before this one. It's got Chris and Scott's first interaction with Derek in Shifted. I'm not sure how to insert a chapter between uploaded ones so I put it in my separate story TW One-shots titled 'First Impressions'.

Stiles' temporary peace ended on Friday. He was by the drinking fountain when he saw his father talking to Principal Thomas. Curious, he tilted his head and focused his hearing on the two men.

"I want everyone under the age of 18 to be in their home by 9:30 pm." His father said looking more grim and official than Stiles has ever seen him, "We'd like to institute the curfew effective immediately."

Suddenly, he remembered the thing that started this whole mess. In the chaos of adjusting to his new life he completely forgot about the dead body and more importantly who killed her.

Before he got bit, all he wanted was to find the body and possibly help his dad in catching the killer. He thought that the killer might have been a psycho or maybe a group of psychos. After all, the woman wasn't just murdered, she was cut in half. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it would take more than just your average human's strength to do that without the use of power tools.

But that was before he knew of the things that really went on in that preserve. Before he knew that the myths he read about for fun weren't just myths but actual truths. Before he realized just how strong even a newly bit werewolf was.

It wasn't too farfetched to think that the Alpha could have killed her even though he couldn't think of a reason why. Maybe he tried turning the girl and things got out of hand and he killed her instead? Except, if he did, he didn't see the point in him cutting her in half. What was the point of that? Was he simply out of control? Or was there something else going on that he couldn't figure out because he didn't have all the pieces?

Stiles spent his next class, Econ, thinking about the girl and his theory that the Alpha killed her. He felt that he owed it to the girl. He didn't think it was right that she was killed in such a gruesome way and she couldn't even be laid to rest because half her body was still missing.

"…something that entrepreneurs use to get the public to notice them?"

Maybe he should go back to the woods after school to look for the body again. He could even bring Scott with him, it could be the perfect chance for him to tell his best friend about everything he's been keeping hidden. With his enhanced sense of smell, he should have a better chance of finding the body now.

"Advertisements."

"That's right. Thank you Danny."

If he found the other half of the body, it would be easier for his dad to identify her and maybe it would help Stiles figure out what the Alpha wanted with her. Why not just kill her? Why the need to cut her body in half and leave one half of it next to a known trail that joggers use?

What was the point?

"By using pictures or infomercials, the public starts to notice the entrepreneur and the business." Coach explained, "Pretty soon they're flocking the stores trying to get their hands on the products."

Stiles tensed and frowned as he turned his attention to Coach's lecture. What did he just say?

With a new theory forming in his hyperactive mind, Stiles raised his hand.

"Coach so you're saying that a simple ad could get people to come from all over the world just to get to the source?"

"Nice to know you were actually paying attention Stilinski." Coach said patting Stiles' shoulder as he passed him by, "And yes. It depends on the effectiveness of the advertisement. Take lacrosse for example…"

He had it all wrong.

That was why her killer took the time to cut her body in half.

That was why one half of it was left somewhere it would easily be found.

The girl wasn't cut in half just because her killer was a psycho.

She was cut in half to send a message.

And Stiles had a pretty good idea who the message was for.

OoOoO

Stiles tried very hard to sit still and wait until the end of the day before going to Derek's. He really did.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, his heightened emotions and natural born curiosity were too much for him to take so as soon as the bell rang and Econ ended, Stiles was out of his seat, out the door, and racing through the crowded hallway to get to Roscoe.

"Stiles!"

Someone was calling his name but he barely heard it, too focused on getting past the sea of hormonal teenagers.

"Stiles! Wait!" Stiles jerked to a stop when someone grabbed his back pack.

He turned and saw it was Scott following him.

"Dude where are you going? Chemistry's about to start and you know Mr. Harris is going to kill you if you're late."

Stiles sighed and rubbed his forehead. He seriously had more important things to do than worry about stupid Harris and his class. Besides, Stiles knew that even if he got to class early and sat perfectly still, that demon would still find a way to torment him.

"Look Scott, you have to cover for me okay?" He said, "There's something I gotta do and frankly Harris is the least of my worries."

Scott frowned, "What? Why? Where are you going?"

"Just please do this for me. I promise I'll tell you everything once I've got it all sorted out." Stiles begged. He could see how much his secret has been weighing on his best friend and more than anything he wished he could tell him right now. But this wasn't the kind of conversation you have in the middle of a busy hallway.

"Scott just, just meet me at my house this afternoon. I promise I'll tell you everything."

After everything that's happened, he knew he had to tell Scott. Hell if his conversation with Coach proved anything, it was that Scott didn't need to know about his secret to be affected by it. As for Allison, part of Stiles was hoping that telling Scott the truth would convince him that the Argents were dangerous. That his continued association with a hunter's daughter could put Stiles' life and the lives of all they cared about to be in jeopardy. Surely, Scott wouldn't risk Stiles' life for his new girlfriend, right?

Not wanting to get asked any more questions, Stiles ran and left Scott once again wondering what the hell his best friend was up to.

For a while, Scott stood there debating his next move. He wanted to find out what was going on with Stiles but he didn't want to do anything to get his grades to go down any further. In the end though, his love and worry for Stiles overcame his fear of failing and he left to follow his best friend.

OoOoO

When Stiles got to Derek's place, he was surprised to see the older werewolf already waiting for him on the front porch.

"You knew her, didn't you?" He didn't waste any time bothering with pleasantries. "The girl that was found dead in the woods the night I got bit."

He waited to see how the older werewolf reacted to his accusation but his face just remained blank.

"She's why you came back, right? She's why you were there the next day. Because you were looking for her. Which means you also know what killed her. And if you cared enough to find her body and lay her to rest in your backyard I'm guessing you also care enough to find her killer."

It didn't take long for Stiles to connect the missing half of the body with the awful scent he smelled the last time he was at the Hale House. Part of Stiles thought that since he buried the other half of the body, then there was a good chance that he killed her too. But something in his gut just told him Derek was innocent. Not only did Derek take the time to give her a proper burial, but he buried her in his property. Neither of those sounded like something a psycho killer werewolf would do.

"And if I'm right about who it is then you need to tell me."

"I don't need to tell you anything." Derek said in that unemotional voice that he uses like 50% of the time, the other 50% he just sounded murder-y. "Even if I did, what makes you think I would tell you?"

"Because you said it yourself, we're brothers." Stiles said, "And I know I haven't been a good brother to Scott lately but I can try to be one with you. That means helping you with whatever shit you got yourself into. It means trusting my instincts when they tell me that you didn't kill that girl."

If Derek was affected by what Stiles said he didn't show it. "There's nothing here." He said, "I don't know who that girl was and none of this is your business."

Stiles just raised his eyebrow at his answer, "Really? So if I grabbed a shovel and started digging around your property I wouldn't find the missing half of a body?"

"You'd be dead before you even grabbed a shovel."

Frustrated, Stiles grabbed his head and screamed.

"So that's it? You're just never gonna trust me? Not even to help fight this Alpha you're so worried about?" Stiles scoffed, "Unbelievable. You know what? Screw you Derek! I came here to get some answers and hopefully get to the Alpha before he gets to me. So if you're not gonna help me with that, then I'll find out for myself."

Derek watched the boy walk to his jeep thinking that he was finally leaving and taking all his questions with him. In all honesty, Derek did trust Stiles. He trusted that he was a good person and that he would never betray anyone he considered a part of his Pack. He trusted that the young wolf would help him find the Alpha and get Laura the justice she deserves. He even hoped that after all this, he could convince Stiles to formally join his Pack so that he could rebuild the Hale family wolves with him as the Alpha.

But none of that made it any easier for Derek to share his secrets with him. He's never been good at opening up or at being 100% truthful to another person. He couldn't even tell Laura the whole truth about what happened six years ago because he was ashamed and guilty and scared that if he told Laura, she would hate him forever.

His eyes stayed on Stiles wondering if he should tell him at least part of the truth. Then he saw him take something from his jeep and without thinking, Derek ran and pinned the other boy to his jeep knocking out the shovel in his hand.

Derek roared at his face, his eyes flashing blue, and his fangs and claws coming out as he crushed the boy's wrist.

"I warned you."

"Tell me who she is." Stiles said seemingly unafraid of the angry werewolf staring him down. "Tell me who she is so I can tell my dad and convince him it was just a terrible animal attack. And maybe he can give you the other half of her body so you can give her a proper funeral. That's all I want to do for now. Everything else, the Alpha, the killer, the game they can all wait until the girl can rest in peace. She deserves at least that."

Slowly, Derek calmed down and released him. He turned his back on Stiles and his eyes found the unmarked grave where half his sister was lying in. Laura Hale was a proud, strong, beautiful Alpha and she deserved more than the measly burial Derek gave her. She deserved a proper send off.

"Her name's Laura. Laura Hale." Derek said letting his grief show for a brief second as he acknowledged the death of his older sister.

"She was my sister."

OoOoO

Unbeknown to the two werewolves, someone was hidden in the bushes watching them. Someone who caught snippets of their conversation and came to a very very wrong conclusion.

AN: Okay, not many changes here but I think it's still pretty good, right?

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Updated: August 2, 2021