Teen Wolf || Steter || Teen Wolf || Steter || The Clever One || Steter || Teen Wolf || Steter || Teen Wolf

Title: The Clever One – How Stiles Beauty-and-the-Beast-ed Peter Hale

TW Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Jeff Davis and MTV. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Tags: m/m, Alpha Peter, Erica Lives, Boyd Lives, Jackson Doesn't Leave, Pack Mom Stiles, Pack Feels, True Mates, Spark Stiles, magic, fluff, hurt/comfort, slow-burn, m/f

Main Pairing: Peter/Stiles

Side Pairings: Scott/Allison, Boyd/Erica, Jackson/Lydia

Teen Wolf Characters: Peter Hale, Mieczysław 'Stiles' Stilinski, Derek Hale, Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd III, Isaac Lahey, Jackson Whittemore, Lydia Martin, Scott McCall, Allison Argent, Danny Mahealani, Sheriff Stilinski

Summary: A rewrite of season 2 with Alpha Peter. Peter had called Stiles the clever one but Stiles wasn't sure if Peter realized how true that was, because that was the day Stiles figured out that he was Peter's mate. The reason why Peter never harmed him when he had no qualms maiming and killing others. Stiles decides to use his new position as Alpha Mate to his advantage, to shape the new Hale Pack and to make Peter work hard to earn Stiles as his mate.

The Clever One

How Stiles Beauty-and-the-Beast-ed Peter Hale

Chapter 8: To Tell the Truth

Allison felt really exhausted by it all. With her grandfather in town, she was finally being taught about the family trait. Her dad had abducted her and locked her in a room to free herself. When she'd finally managed to do it, one of her family's hunters had praised her, told her she'd done good with a grin. She'd talked a little to him, on the drive to the Argent home again. To learn more about the hunters in general. He told her about a mission they'd been on before coming to Beacon Hills, to make her fear wolves. How they'd tracked down a feral, dangerous Alpha who had torn into him and killed other hunters he'd been with. And she didn't doubt that wolves could be dangerous.

But that wasn't her pack. And at this point, she thought of them as hers. Scott was her boyfriend, her mate, and Stiles and Jackson were her friends. Peter still regarded her warily, but she understood it. Her family had done incredible damage to him, had killed his family. She wanted to do better, to be better. Now there were Isaac, Boyd and Erica too. In an attempt to bond with Erica and to bring Lydia more into the pack, Allison suggested a shopping trip.

"That really suits you," Allison grinned broadly as Erica twirled in front of them.

She was wearing a knee-long red skirt that flared and black leather boots. The kind of clothes she'd never really been allowed to wear. Tripping in heals during a seizure was too dangerous, she couldn't wear dresses or skirts because she was afraid someone would upskirt her during a seizure, there had already been enough embarrassing pictures and videos of her as was. Now that her epilepsy was cured, she could wear whatever she wanted, could express herself.

"Here," Lydia handed Erica a heap of more clothes. "These should go well with your complexion."

Erica grinned broadly and went back to the changing room. Allison could see how much this meant to her too. Before turning into a werewolf, she hadn't had any friends. Allison knew that was why Stiles had picked her, after they'd all witnessed her seizure. She'd been alone and in pain. They could take her pain away and they could offer her a sense of community, the same way Allison enjoyed so much. All these years of traveling, of never putting down roots and finally she had real friends.

"You have to forgive Stiles," Allison said softly to Lydia while they waited. "He didn't do anything to hurt you on purpose. And… And neither did Peter. I've spent so much time with him in the past weeks and he isn't that feral beast that chased us through the school. He was… out of his mind. He isn't anymore, his matebond with Stiles and the pack-bonds with us helped stabilize him."

"So it's all good, then?" Lydia asked with a glare, her fingers clawed into her skirt. "He tore me up, put me in the hospital, nearly killed me. But he wasn't in control, so it's all good."

"No," Allison sighed. "But it's… complicated. I can't imagine the trauma he's been through and it messed with his head, even though that doesn't minimize your trauma. But what he did was an instinctual response. If it helps you… this Peter, the Peter who is our Alpha, isn't the same person anymore as the one who attacked you."

Lydia heaved a deep sigh at that and averted her eyes, clearly thinking about the night at Peter's when Boyd and Erica had been turned. She had watched Peter tensely all night and she must have seen the very thing Allison had said. But Allison understood Lydia too. She'd gone through something traumatic and painful and these things were easier with someone to be blamed.

This time, when Erica returned to them, she looked nearly flustered as she sat down with them, kicking her feet.

"So… uhm… Can you guys explain something to me?" Erica asked, playing with her curls. "It's like, after we got turned, when I looked at Boyd… everything else fell away? And time stopped? I never felt like that. It was like love at first sight, but I've seen Boyd before. And I mean, he is really handsome and cute, but this was super intense?"

Allison's eyes were sparkling near mischievously. "Okay, let me tell you about True Mates…"

/break\

Being paralyzed actually sucked. Stiles had just meant to have the scratches on Roscoe fixed – because the wolves playing around in the woods had accidentally scratched her new, shiny paint. And then a humanoid lizard attacked the mechanic. Stiles tried to run but touched something slimy and suddenly, he couldn't move anymore. Paralyzed on the floor, forced to watch the lizard person kill the mechanic. The look of worry, followed by exasperation on his dad's face when the deputies arrived…

"Darling, are you alright?" Peter's voice was urgent and concerned as he came rushing in.

Stiles was sitting curled together in a blanket at his car. For the first time since the lizard had appeared, Stiles felt safe and like he could breath again. He leaned forward against Peter's chest, not caring if anyone could see them. Peter wrapped his arms around him.

"There was a lizard," Stiles whispered. "A giant lizard killed my mechanic."

"Mh," Peter made a contemplative noise even as he started excessively scent-marking Stiles. "I knew there was something suspicious about the death of Isaac's father. We may have to do more research. And we should move the timetable on putting your friend Danny in the know, if there is a new threat in town."

Stiles took a shaky breath and nuzzled into Peter's neck, relishing in his comfort.

/break\

"Werewolves, huh," Danny blinked slowly, looking from his best friend to everyone else.

"Yeah," Jackson rubbed the back of his neck. "That's why I've been spending so much time with Scott, Stiles and now Isaac. I just… You're my… best friend. And hanging out with the pack too."

"There are two offers on the table," Stiles added. "You can join the pack. You can receive the bite and become a werewolf. You don't have to be a wolf to join the pack. Me and Ally are human. But if you want, the offer is on the table. And if you don't want to be involved in this mess at all, you don't have to join the pack."

Danny nodded and looked around once more. Lydia was here too, having arrived at Peter's together with Jackson and Danny. It made sense that she wanted to be here for this, since Danny was also a close friend to her. But this was the second time now that she was part of a big pack meeting, after having witnessed Boyd and Erica turning into werewolves. Stiles sat on the other couch, together with Boyd, Erica and Isaac, while Allison and Scott sat on the same couch as Lydia, Jackson and Danny. Both Derek and Peter had opted to stand behind Stiles, on either side of him.

"I think I need some time to digest all of this," Danny admitted. "I mean, I knew something was off with this town. The whole 'cougar attacks' thing… was suspicious. But… werewolves?"

"We'll answer all questions you may have," Peter assured him. "Not just right now. If you have more questions, you can reach out to any of us."

As the conversation dissolved more into catching Danny up on how everyone was adjusting to this, Stiles got up and walked out onto the balcony. He needed some air. Telling Lydia, telling Danny, the newly added betas… All he could think of was his dad, who looked at him like he didn't recognize his own son anymore. His hands were shaking as he clung onto the handle surrounding the balcony.

"I'm not mad at you," Lydia's voice was soft as she slipped out to join him. "You didn't choose your… soulmate. I'm mad at… at everything. At this whole situation. At my own helplessness."

Blinking, Stiles turned to look at her. She stepped up next to him, looking out at the beautiful sunset over Beacon Hills. Swallowing hard, Stiles also returned his attention to the sunset.

"I get that," Stiles whispered. "I didn't exactly start out with date nights with Peter either, I held what he did to you and Scott against him too. But he… All he wants is pack. Now, he has that."

"I can't be out of the loop anymore," Lydia declared firmly. "I need to not feel helpless anymore."

Stiles reached out to take her hand, squeezing it. "I can't promise you that you won't feel helpless anymore. There's hunters and now there is a killer lizard on the lose and we don't… But we watch out for each other."

Lydia squeezed his hand back and something tight in his chest eased.

/break\

Peter bolted out of a restless sleep with cold sweat running down his temple. His hand was shaking as he brushed back his hair and wiped away the sweat. The nightmare had started normal enough, with fire and the screams of his family, but then it twisted into something new and horrifying. There was the creature, a vague lizard-like monster, and Stiles, on the floor, not moving as it stalked up to him and then there were screams – Stiles' screams. Taking slow, deep breaths, Peter tried to calm himself down as he got out of his bed. He, near instinctively, checked in on Derek and Isaac, both asleep in their respective rooms. Then he walked to the living room to get himself a wolfsbane-laced whiskey to sit down on the couch and drink. Try to chase the fear away.

The hunters were one threat. A known threat. And Peter felt like he had his pack together, now even more. With Derek, Scott, Jackson, Isaac, Erica and Boyd, he had strong beta wolves, solid pack-bonds that in return strengthened him. He could even feel Allison and Danny, though both bonds were weaker than the ones to the other wolves. Partially because they were human, partially because Peter still didn't fully trust Allison, and Danny had only joined them yesterday. Even Lydia was coming around, was getting herself involved with the pack. So Peter knew his mate to be safe, knew he had a good, loyal pack at his side. He did not fear the hunters.

But now there was a new threat, a threat Peter couldn't yet identify. A threat that had paralyzed Peter's mate, when Stiles had been all alone and defenseless. It had killed someone, right in front of Stiles, and could have so easily killed Stiles too. There was nothing anyone could have done, not even Stiles. Defenseless, paralyzed by the monster's venom, alone. And Peter couldn't breath.

"Hey. Hey, look at me. Wherever you are in your head, I need you with me now. C'mon, focus on my voice. You need to slow down your breathing for me, okay? Breath in, with me, nice and slow. And now hold it. There you go, now out again, slow. Good. Can you do it again?"

Peter listened to the instructions until he could breath evenly again and the world around him came more into focus. In front of him was Stiles, gently cupping Peter's face. Peter blinked at the boy.

"Stiles…? What are you doing here, darling? It's the middle of the night…?"

Stiles stared at him with those big, beautiful doe-eyes, all warm and soft. "I was woken up by a very painful and panicky feeling coming through our matebond. And then you didn't pick up your phone, so I grabbed my car keys and rushed over here, just to find you in the middle of a panic attack."

"Panic attack," Peter blinked a couple times. "Is that what just happened…?"

"Yeah, you had a panic attack," Stiles looked at him concerned. "Wanna tell me what got to you?"

Peter ran shaky fingers through his hair. "I had a… bad dream. About… the lizard creature attacking you, about it… killing you. Losing you. I can't lose you. I lost too much, I can't lose you, I can't-"

"You're not losing me, Peter," Stiles sighed and got up, tugging on Peter's hands. "C'mon, let's get you back to bed, Prettywolf. You need your beauty sleep."

Prettywolf…? That was new. That sounded nice. Peter liked that. He blinked curiously at his beautiful mate. He let himself be pulled up and back toward his own bedroom.

"Why do you know how to deal with a panic attack?"

Stiles paused for a moment when closing the bedroom door behind them both. "My… After my mom died, I used to have panic attacks. Dad learned how to get me out of them, I just… copied."

Stiles' mother again. One day, Peter wanted to get on the bottom of that. He sighed as he sank onto his bed. Not tonight though. He felt absolutely drained after this whole ordeal. He tilted his head as he watched Stiles shrug out of his jeans and crawl into the bed with Peter.

"Darling, what are you doing…?" Peter asked reluctantly.

Stiles snuggled into the pillow and wrapped the blanket around himself like he belonged there. "I'm not leaving you alone after this, Peter. Besides, dad's out on a night shift anyway."

All Peter could do was stare at the marvel that was his mate. Stiles had felt something off through the bond and had immediately come to him, to take care of him, was now staying to comfort him? Slowly, Peter laid down next to Stiles, staring at his mate. In his den, in his bed, right next to him. He wasn't entirely sure how to proceed with this. What was he allowed…? Thankfully, Stiles took that decision from him by snuggling up to him and wrapping a possessive arm around Peter's waist.

"You got me, Peter," Stiles whispered, voice firm. "You haven't lost me, okay?"

/break\

They had a plan. A solid plan. They were going to steal Gerard Argent's bestiary, in the hopes of finding information about the creature in there. Stiles, Derek and Erica went to the principal's office to steal the bestiary, while Scott, Jackson, Boyd and Isaac were playing in the lacrosse game. Lydia and Danny sat with Allison near the Argent family, to make sure Gerard wouldn't return. Peter was busy with Isaac's case, but that was fine, Stiles had told his mate that it was fine.

It was not fine. Before they got to the damn office did they see the lizard. The trio rushed after it into the pool area of the school. It knocked Erica out and paralyzed Derek. The creature was stalking them and Stiles had no idea what to do. He grabbed Derek and jumped into the pool with him, grateful that the creature was either afraid of water or couldn't swim.

"The others are going to look for us after the game," Stiles muttered breathlessly.

He was holding Derek up, treading water for the both of them, Derek dead weight of pure muscle. The beta stared at him in something akin to surprise. Maybe he had expected Stiles to run away. What Derek definitely hadn't expected was for Stiles to be able to tread water and hold Derek upright for two hours. At one point, Stiles let go of Derek and swam up to the edge of the pool to get his phone and call Peter. He barely got out 'Lizard. Pool. Help', before he dropped the phone and dove back under water to grab Derek and pull the sinking wolf back up.

Stiles kept at it, every muscle in his body burning but the adrenaline and fear kept him going. He pushed himself, until he couldn't anymore. Fatigue was getting to him and he knew he had to let go, not just of Derek. He wouldn't be able to keep himself upright anymore either. A loud roar and a crash and then there was his mate, with red-blazing eyes, claws sinking into the creature and throwing it out of the way. Peter pulled Derek and Stiles out of the water, putting himself between his paralyzed beta and his exhausted mate. Not liking being defenseless, Stiles grabbed a shard from the shattered mirror, holding it up as he stood behind Peter. The lizard froze, staring at its own reflection with no recognition before it seemed to nearly recoil from it and flee. All energy and adrenaline left him now that the danger was gone and Stiles just collapsed. He would have landed on the ground if not for Peter catching him and pulling him close.

"Sweetheart, what happened? Are you alright?" Peter sounded so concerned.

"Fine," Stiles gasped out, lungs burning. "Exhausted. Too… much. Check on Erica."

"Okay," Peter took a deep breath and slowly put him down. "Stay here, love."

Stiles' heart stumbled at the term of endearment when he was placed down next to Derek. The beta, slowly regaining movement, leaned closer to Stiles, a warm look on his face.

"You saved me," Derek muttered. "You could have run."

"We're pack," Stiles glared at Derek in defiance. "I protect those who are mine, Sourwolf."

When Derek looked at him, it was with… respect in his eyes. Stiles' eyelids fluttered shut and he leaned heavily against the wolf, slipping off into much needed sleep.

/break\

Stiles woke up to voices all around him and fingers in his hair. He stretched, just to groan at the burning in his muscles. The hand in his hair slipped to his neck and the pain left him. He sighed relieved and nuzzled into the thigh he was laying on.

"This pain-drain stuff is amazing," Stiles mumbled sleepily.

"You are amazing," Erica argued. "You were like a real superhero, like Batman or something. You kept Derek afloat for two hours?! And you're not even a wolf."

Stiles grinned lazily and sat up, bumping shoulders with her. Peter reached for Stiles' leg to place it on his lap. The wolf rolled up the pant-leg and started massaging Stiles' calves. Oh, that felt good.

"You're going to cramp, you overexerted yourself, darling," Peter whispered gently.

Stiles hummed, contently leaning against Erica while Peter massaged him. "Update me, guys."

The whole pack was gathered, they were at the Hales' again. Derek stood with his arms crossed, eyes not leaving Stiles. Yeah, Stiles had totally won the Sourwolf over today. Hah. Stiles grinned.

"Peter and Derek identified it as a kanima," Boyd supplied. "It's… When the bite doesn't really take? Someone bitten by an Alpha who didn't turn into a proper wolf."

"We got the thumb drive," Erica added, motioning toward Peter's laptop. "It has information on the kanima, but it's all in ancient Latin. Thankfully, we have a redheaded genius among us."

"Archaic Latin," Lydia corrected with an eye-roll. "Though the genius part is correct. The bestiary says that the kanima seeks a master. Which means it's a mind-controlled puppet, essentially."

Breathing came a little easier to him at these news. His eyes found Boyd on Erica's other side. The two of them had realized the day after they got turned that they were each other's mates. First time that Stiles got to see that between two werewolves, where both sides felt the pull. They were being super cute and kept touching one way or another, it was adorable.

"So, we know what it is and that it's not working alone. We don't know who it is though. Do we know how we can figure that out? And how we can stop it?" Stiles asked, looking around.

"Oh, everyone looked at me very awkwardly when we reached the explanation on what it is," Lydia flipped her hair back and gave Peter a scathing glare. "After all, I got bitten by an Alpha but didn't turn into a werewolf. However, apparently you can test that with the kanima's venom."

"We saved some from the pool," Scott added, shifting a little. "Lydia's not it."

"Of course not. Lydia is a banshee," Peter added. "Which I will gladly discuss in great detail with Lydia at a later date. But yes, it must be someone else. But the only people I bit without their consent were Lydia and Scott. I didn't attack anyone else while I was feral."

There was a thoughtful frown on Allison's face. "There's a hunter, who came here with my grandfather. He told me about having been attacked by an Alpha before they came here…"

Peter hummed curiously. "Do you think you can test him? Take some venom with you?"

Allison nodded determined and grabbed a vile of kanima venom.

/break\

Stiles was nervous as he sat opposite his dad, with Peter at his side. After Peter's panic attack, the Alpha had suggested telling Stiles' father the truth and after the pool incident, Stiles agreed. If something supernatural happened to him and his dad wouldn't be able to know…? Besides, this threat could harm his dad, or the investigation could go sideways. Peter squeezed his neck.

"What do you want to talk to me about that you feel like you need a lawyer for it?"

The sheriff narrowed his eyes at Peter and sat down opposite Stiles. "He's not here as my lawyer. But it's time… It's time we really talk, dad. About everything. I hate these lies between us. I love you, dad. I love you and I can't lose you, I need to tell you and I need you to believe me…"

Noah's eyes softened as he reached out over the table to grab Stiles' hand. "You're not losing me. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I'm your dad, Stiles. I'll always love you."

Stiles took a deep breath and braced himself to tell his dad everything about werewolves.


Author's note: Look at all the open communication! Just how much trouble coulda been saved in canon with that xD But yeah! My kanima loophole is to just use one of the nameless hunters that came to town with Gerard, because they hunt wolves, the chances of one of them being bitten by a wolf and the bite not taking due to the conflicting "morals" of hunters and the feeling of isolation and fear if the other hunters would learn? Checks out in my books. Plus, Matt was actively stalking Allison so he could have easily come across the other hunters and thus the kanima

NEXT UP we are going to attend a rave and finally reach Spark!Stiles, whohoo!