The Hale Pack

by Missmusiclover573

What if Scott and Stiles hadn't separated that night in the woods? What if both boys had been bitten? Would things have played out differently? Or end in the same amount of loss and pain? *Eventual Sterek*

28. The Oncoming Storm

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or any of it's characters. If I did, Sterek would be canon.

A/N: The pack race to save Cora, they make a daring move, and new, and old, faces come to town.

The Hale Pack: The Oncoming Storm

Now Stiles was stumbling through a collapsing, burning building, looking for his pack. Jennifer was free, and probably kidnapping someone at that very moment, no one knew what the Hell happened to Deucalion, Cora was dying, with no hope in sight, Erica and Boyd were losing their minds in worry, and their town was in danger.

How the hell was Stiles going to fix this?

15 hours earlier

At the Hale house, Lydia and Natalie Martin were in Lydia's bedroom. After the events with Jennifer, Natalie didn't want her daughter out of her sight, but neither did the pack, so the woman had spent the night at the Hale House and was helping her daughter get ready for school. Lydia insisted on going back, and was able to convince her mother by reminding her that Jennifer wouldn't be there and her pack would.

The Martin duo sat in front of Lydia's vanity and Lydia was looking at the bruise on her neck in the mirror. Natalie noticed this and began searching for the concealer and foundation. "Okay sweetheart, this is not a problem. Having gotten my share of hickeys in high school, I developed some patented cover up methods." She assured and she opened a container, but Lydia reached out and stopped her. "If you don't want to go to school, honey, you don't have to." She assured, internally hoping that that was the case.

"That's not it." Lydia said quickly, unintentionally slashing her mum's hopes. "It's just… someone tried to strangle me, and I survived." Natalie couldn't help but smile at that, watching her daughter lift her head up high. "I don't need to hide that." Blinking back tears, Natalie ran a hand through Lydia's hair, turning her head and looking at the young woman directly, with pride.

"No. No you don't." She agreed, kissing her daughter's head. Lydia closed her eyes as she did, taking herself back to the times her mother would do that when she was a little girl. When she opened her eyes, Natalie spoke with a grin. "But we're still gonna do your hair, right?"

Lydia rolled her eyes at the asinine question, then spoke in a 'duh' tone. "Of course we're doing my hair." Her mother giggled at that, causing a genuine smile to appear on her face.

"Alright."

Twenty minutes later, the pair made their way downstairs and to the dining room, where the pack was serving up breakfast. They were all more solemn than usual, and missing a few members, but they put on smiles and tried to make the most of their day. They wouldn't be helping anyone by moping around.

Stiles smiled at them as they sat down. "Morning." He greeted them, and Natalie smiled at him as Lydia returned the greeting. "So, uh, Derek and my dad are at work, and Erica and Boyd will be going to the hospital to be with Cora, so we'll be changing up the travel methods." He told them all as they settled at the table. "I will be taking Allison, Lydia and Danny in the Jeep, and Scott, Jackson and Isaac can either go in a car, or take their bikes. Or one of you can come in the Jeep too, of course." The three quickly decided to take their motorbikes. "At school, we will still be going to classes in groups, but with some slight changes. After English, Scott and I will be accompanying Lydia to her math class, in Cora's place, before heading to our own math class. Afterwards, Danny and Jackson will walk her to art, where she will be with Allison and Isaac. Things are normal from there until fifth period, when Scott and Jackson will walk Danny to and from Music in place of Boyd. Is everyone okay with that?" There was a unanimous agreement from the pack. "Great, Mrs Ma- Natalie" He corrected himself when the woman gave him a pointed look. "Will you need a ride to and from work? There's room in the Jeep."

"No, I brought my car." She told him with a smile. "But thank you for the offer."

"Wait, didn't you start at seven?" Lydia asked suddenly, eyes wide in worry and she looked at the clock, which showed 7:15. Natalie chuckled and shook her head.

"That's right, I didn't mention it." She muttered to herself. "No, I'm starting a new job today." Lydia's eyebrows shot up quickly, looking at her mum in surprise, and slight annoyance that she wasn't told about it. "I'm taking over mr. Harris' chemistry class." She then looked to her daughter and said, "I haven't taught in a while and I want this to go well." She told her, then teasingly added. "So try not to embarrass me."

"If you don't want to be embarrassed, then you might want to change your shoes." She said sweetly, smiling innocently at her mother, causing her pack mates to chuckle. Natalie just gave her an unimpressed look. "Love you."

"So what's going to happen to us?" Erica asked suddenly. "During the eclipse, what will happen?"

The rest of the pack looked to Stiles and Lydia for the answer. Stiles quickly swallowed his food, then answered. "We'll all be powerless." He told them simply. "We derive our power from the moon, during this eclipse, it will be completely covered for fifteen minutes. During that time, we won't be able to access our wolves. We'll be completely human."

"Well, that's gonna suck." Jackson grumbled. "Especially if we need to fight."

"Wait a second." Boyd interrupted, "The eclipse, when it occurs, and Erica becomes human again, will she- will-" He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, trying to muster up his nerves. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes again. "Will her epilepsy return?"

Lydia quickly shook his head. "No, that is completely gone. Removing your power doesn't undo what has been healed. The same goes for Scott's asthma." She assured, calming everyone. "However, it will remove Cora's enhanced healing." She told them solemnly.

"So…" Jackson tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "If we can't heal her before then…"

"Don't say it." Scott warned. "We will save Cora. We have to."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Derek sighed as he sat down at his desk. Jennifer was trying to get a deal. She was trying to convince them to take her to the hospital to save Cora, rather than bringing the girl to her. As much as Derek wanted to agree, it gave her a window of opportunity to escape. She may have set up escape routes just in case, contingency plans for if she got caught. Taking her to the hospital could mean taking her to where she needed to be to hatch her plan, so Derek had sent Chris in. Hopefully the hunter would be able to… persuade her to change her mind. Though Derek doubted that he'd be successful.

Danny, Stiles, Lydia, Victoria, Deaton and Morrell were all devoting their free time to searching for a way to help Cora, who was being cared for in the Supernatural ward of the hospital. Boyd and Erica weren't allowed to stay with her the night before, as the nurses were running tests all night, and Derek refused to let them stay at the hospital overnight. Now that they were allowed to see her, they were refusing to leave her side, so John pulled some strings to allow them to do their work outside of school.

The rest of the pack still had to go, but given the circumstances, none of them complained about it, just constantly asked for updates on their pack mate. Not that there was much to update them on.

A heavy hand clapped down on Derek's shoulder, startling the alpha, but it was only John, so he relaxed quickly. "We'll figure this out." The man assured him with a soft smile. "Cora's going to be fine." Derek nodded, forcing a weak smile onto his face, which his father-figure saw right through. "You don't have to pretend to be fine, Derek. You have every right to be worried and upset. You should go home." He insisted, not for the first time that day.

"No, I need to be here, at least whilst the others are at school." Derek protested firmly, looking John in the eyes. "If I'm alone, I'll over think things and that won't do anybody any good." The Sheriff nodded in understanding, knowing what that was like all too well.

"Alright son. I've got to go to my office and work on some paperwork, but don't hesitate to come and talk to me, about anything, okay?" His tone and expression left no room for arguments, so Derek nodded and agreed. John smiled at him once more, and squeezed his shoulder lightly before walking away.

Derek sighed again, then dove into research mode, looking for anything that could help save his sister's life.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

At the school, the pack went about their day, forcing themselves to get the school work done. Lydia was sitting beside Aiden in chemistry, and the wolf was trying to ask her about Jennifer. "She can't get out, right? She's done?" He demanded in a whisper, distracting Lydia from her notes.

"Yes." Lydia sighed in exasperation. "She's done, she won't accept it, but she's done."

"What do you mean 'She won't accept it' is she-"

"Mr Steiner." Natalie called out, cutting him off and causing the class to look at him. "Something you'd like to share with the class?" Aiden cleared his throat, trying to not let his embarrassment show on his face.

"No ma'am, sorry." She gave him a warning look before continuing her lesson and Aiden turned to whisper to Lydia again.

"I'll tell you everything later." Lydia promised in a voice so low that only wolves could hear her. "Now, let me focus."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

At lunch, Derek went to the school and told the pack about Jennifer's 'offer' which she was still sticking to. He expected Stiles to protest or be annoyed at the woman, he didn't expect Stiles to just agree. "What? You seriously want to go through with this?" He asked incredulously, idly wondering if his mate had lost his mind.

"It's not that I want to, but this could be our only way to save Cora!" Stiles argued in a determined tone, shocking the rest of the pack. "I don't trust her to not try to escape, but we can't just let Cora die. I think we should have my dad, Chris and the twins take Jennifer to Cora, while you and I go with Deaton and Morrell to the Nemeton. Everyone one else will be spread around the hospital and Preserve, for if she manages to get away."

"You mean-?" Scott asked with wide eyes, looking terrified.

"Yes." Stiles confirmed confidently. "But we can't risk doing it before she saves Cora. The four of us will set up at the Nemeton and when we get the call from dad, either saying Jennifer escaped or that Cora is fine, we go through with the spell either way. Then it's all done. All of the power Jennifer took will be taken from her."

"And given to the Nemeton!" Derek reminded him with a hiss. "It will be fully powered by then!"

"It will be soon enough, anyway." Stiles pointed out calmly. "But with our plan, we can influence it."

"I'm not sure about this." Jackson admitted as he shook his head. "You talking about connecting yourselves to an old magical tree! Am I the only one who thinks this is a bad idea?"

"It's the best plan we have." Lydia argued for Stiles. "If we allow Jennifer to do it, the Nemeton will be unstable, shooting out a constant signal of 'Hey Supernatural creatures! I'm here, come and find me' but if they do this, they can tell it to send all of its excess energy to the town itself. Send it to the lake, the tree's, everything. Not only that, but we will all be connected to it through our pack bonds. It'll further our own abilities, too. Even the humans, it'll make us all faster, stronger, more perceptive."

"It'll also mean we're protected." Stiles added, sending Lydia a grateful smile. "The Nemeton can hide itself, to protect it, when we connect to it, it'll see us as an extension of itself. So it'll protect us too, hide us, if necessary."

"I didn't know all of that." Derek admitted softly.

"We told you we would research it." Stiles reminded him softly.

"That you did." Derek smiled as he ran a hand through his hair. "So, I know where Stiles and Lydia stand, but what about the rest of you?"

"I'm in." Allison told him with a nod. "You say it will protect us, right? So, if Jennifer doesn't hold up her end of the deal, if she doesn't save Cora, maybe the Nemeton will do it for her." One by one the others agreed, some looking unsure, but deciding to trust their Pack Mates judgement.

"Alright then. I'll call Deaton."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Later that night, a storm was raging as Jennifer was being taken to the hospital. The twins were gripping one of her arms each as they rode the elevator to the basement. Jennifer rolled her eyes as she looked around to see both Chris and John glaring at her and aiming their guns at her. "Why isn't Derek here?" She asked innocently, trying to get a rise out of them. "It's his sister, after all."

"He's busy." Was all John said as the elevator doors opened. Jennifer sighed and allowed them to lead her to Cora's room. The girl's mates were there, and Jennifer could practically feel the anger and hatred rolling off of them, all of it directed at her. She rolled her eyes once more.

"I'm not doing this because I have to, you know that right? I'm doing this because I want to. I don't want Cora to die." Jennifer told them as she walked to the hospital bed.

"Just help her." Boyd all but growled at the Darach, his eyes glowing against his will. The anger and fear pulsing through him had him on the edge of shifting, and he was barely hanging on. Jennifer nodded, then got to work.

Within minutes, Cora was visibly better and she soon opened her eyes. "Erica? Boyd?"

"Hey." Boyd greeted softly with a brilliant smile as Erica sobbed in pure happiness. "We're here. You're okay."

Jennifer smiled at the scene in front of her as John pulled out his phone. He tapped at the screen a couple of times before lifting the device to his ear. "Hey, she did it. Cora's fine." He said, then hung up. "Right, you." He pointed at Jennifer. "Let's go." They passed Melissa on the way out, who smiled at them, except Jennifer, before going to see Cora.

The five of them waited for the elevator to arrive in silence. The elevator dinged and as the doors began to open, she sprung into action. She sent an elbow into Aiden's gut at full force, causing him to lose his grip on her. She then flipped Ethan over her shoulder, turned and, in one swoop, kicked John and Chris' guns out of their hands. She then kicked Chris in the gut, sending him flying down the hallway. She grabbed John and turned to face the elevator again, just in time for the twins to finish merging. Sighing, she released John for a second as they growled and charged at her, but she dodged it, then wrapped an arm around their neck and pulled.

There was a sickening crack.

Erica and Boyd ran out into the hallway in time to see her drop the body. "What's that line Coach likes to say? The bigger they are…" She grinned before kicking the body hard, sending it hurtling through the corridor and crashing into the pair of wolves. John had tried to get away, but she grabbed him again before he could get too far and pulled him into the elevator.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

As this unfolded, Derek and Stiles were sat face to face on top of the Nemeton, gripping each other's hands. They each had their eyes closed as they fell into a kind of meditation. A state between awake and unconscious, allowing them to find a deeper part of themselves, hidden in their subconscious. Accessing this part meant opening themselves to a whole new spectrum of their abilities, allowed them to better communicate with their inner wolves, and also allowed them to let the Nemeton in. They felt the power of the Nemeton, the energy of the town and everyone in it, all of it was coursing through them. Around them, the chanting of Morrell and Deaton was drowned out by the rushing wind. The further into the spell they got, the more the weather picked up.

Rain hammered down against them, but the candles that the two druid's held stayed lit. Stiles lost all measurements of time as power of the Nemeton wrapped around them, shielding them from everything and everyone.

Lightning crackled in the sky, thunder clapped, and the sky opened, and Stiles and Derek were oblivious to all of it. The energy of the Nemeton reached out to them, and dug into them like roots. It then followed their energy to the rest of the pack and connected itself for them too.

Their energies linked, the Nemeton claiming the pack as a part of it. Protecting them as it would protect itself.

Across town, in an abandoned warehouse, with an unconscious Stilinski at her feet and Deucalion chained up in the corner, Jennifer felt the power leaving her. Everything she'd worked so hard to gain was being taken. Any previous connection she had to the telluric currents was gone.

At the Nemeton, the two druids had just finished chanting when a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, hitting the centre of the tree stump dead on.

The storm slowed to a stop.

The candles went out.

Stiles and Derek were lying on the tree stump, unconscious, and without pulses.

Morrell and Deaton rushed over to help them, and Jennifer screamed in anger as her glamour faded, revealing her true face.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

At the hospital, ten minutes later, Erica woke up in a hospital bed, her eyes glowing of their own accord. She pushed herself to her feat as Melissa walked in and tried to stop her. "Help the twins." She ordered Melissa as she pulled a hair tie from her wrist and pulled her blonde locks into a ponytail.

"What? They're-"

"They're alive." Boyd told her as he walked in, carrying them in his arms, his eyes were also glowing without his input. As if on cue the 'body' began to twitch. Boyd quickly placed them down on the bed Erica had previously occupied, just in time for Aiden to fall out of Ethan, returning them both to their own, separate bodies.

"We're going to get the sheriff." Erica told her confidently. "We know where he is."

"How?" Melissa asked in bewilderment and relief and the two shared a look.

"We can… feel him." Boyd explained the best he could, but it only confused Melissa further.

"Wh-"

"It's like we're connected to everything in the county, we know exactly where everyone is." Erica told the woman. "The spell worked, and we know where the Sheriff is." She then pointed to the twins again. "Now help them." Melissa nodded and rushed beside the boys whilst calling for help.

As she did this, Erica and Boyd went to Cora's room, to see the girl throwing up black blood. "Help!" Erica yelled over her shoulder. "Somebody help her!" She and Boyd rushed to Cora as nurses approached. "That bitch! I'm going to make her save you for real. I promise!"

"Go!" Cora ordered weakly, trying to push her mates away as the nurses gathered around. "Save the Sheriff, I'll be fine." The pair tried to protest, but the nurses pushed them back. "Go!"

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

The entire pack except for the twins, Cora, and the parents arrived outside the warehouse at near enough the same time. "So it worked." Danny commented with a grin. All of the wolves had glowing eyes, unable to hide them away at that point in time. The power flowing through them made their wolves excitable and ready to come out and defend their land.

"Yeah, it did." Stiles smiled back in a hushed voice, glancing at the building warily.

"Not for Cora." Erica growled. "Jennifer didn't really heal her, when we were forced to leave, she was puking black blood!"

"We'll find something else, she'll be okay." Stiles promised with a determined look on his face. "We'll take down Jennifer, heal Cora and save my dad. I promise. Danny, could you get the Jeep and-"

"I'll be the getaway driver."

"Thank you." Stiles smiled gratefully, then Derek took over to give everyone else their tasks.

"Isaac, I need you to look for any back exits, if there are any, block them, if not return here and make sure everything is ready for a quick getaway. Scott, I need you to stick by Danny, keep him safe if necessary and when he takes John to the hospital, you need to wait in the SUV for when the rest of us come out. Erica, when we get in, I need you to grab John and get out, then leave with Danny, to protect them both. Lydia, Allison, I need the two of you to stay by the door, Allison, bring your bow, Lydia, warm up your voice. Peter, you stay with them at all times, protect them, make sure nothing gets to them. Boyd, Jackson, the two of you will take Deucalion. Stiles and I will help Ennis and Kali take care of Jennifer. Everyone okay with that?" The pack nodded.

"Where are Kali and Ennis?" Allison asked, just before she heard the quiet rumble of a distant car engine. "Nevermind."

Within thirty seconds, the couple were climbing out of their car and walking towards them. Stiles quickly told them their part in the plan and they agreed. "Remember, the eclipse will start in ten minutes and last for fifteen. During those fifteen minutes, all of us wolves will be powerless, so be careful." Stiles warned them firmly.

Isaac rushed off to search for any exits as the others waited and carefully listened out for any signs that Jennifer knew they were there. Less than a minute later, they were springing into action.

In the warehouse, Jennifer had sealed herself and John, who was unconscious and restrained, in a circle of mountain ash and was screaming angry words at Kali. Unfortunately, before she trapped herself, she had set Deucalion free and had restored Deucalion's sight, to show him what he had caused. Then, left the pack to deal with the demon wolf, whilst trying to convince Derek to help her still. "Derek, he's a monster, help me stop him!" She tried. "We're good together."

"There's no 'we', Jennifer." Derek growled, flashing his eyes at her. "That wasn't me, I'd never willingly choose you over my pack."

The scarred woman sighed, as if this was an inconvenience. "You know, Derek, I really thought you were different." She shook her head at him. "But I guess all alphas are the same."

Deucalion had shifted into his half werewolf/half wolf, alpha form. His Alpha form was vastly different to Peters, his skin being darker and almost leather like. He was also larger, Stiles could see why he was called the Demon Wolf. The blind alpha was attacking Jackson, Erica and Boyd. Ennis rushed to help whilst Allison and Lydia ran over to the Darach, flanked by Peter, to try to break the mountain ash barrier. As they grew closer, Jennifer lifted her arms. as she did, stones and rocks levitated off of the ground. The girls froze in shock, and Kali took a cautious step back. "You didn't think that I lost all of my power, did you?" The woman asked, her torn face twisting up in an odd, terrifying version of a smirk. She suddenly thrusted her hands forwards, pelting her enemies with the stones, most of them directed at Kali. Some of them though, hit the Huntress and the Banshee, sending them both diving to the ground and covering their heads.

Then, the eclipse started.

The wolves all fell to the ground as their power left them, some of them being forcefully turned back to humans. Jennifer used the distraction to escape the circle and grab Kali by the throat. "Look at me Kali!" She screamed in the alpha's face. "Look at what you've done!" The woman opened her eyes and looked at the woman. Truly looked at the remnants of the face of the woman she vowed to protect, the woman who used to be her closest friend.

"I should- I should have-" She began as she tried to pull in oxygen. Jennifer loosened her grip slightly, allowing the woman to speak. "I should have ripped your head off!" She yelled and Jennifer screamed in anger, squeezing Kali's throat tighter as her rage increased. But strangling wasn't satisfying her anger, or her pain, it wasn't enough. Jennifer began slamming Kali's head against the ground, hitting it repeatedly until the woman was bleeding.

Suddenly, hands landed on Jennifer's shoulders and she was roughly pulled off of Kali and tossed to the ground by Ennis. Even without werewolf strength, the man was still rather strong.

As this happened, Lydia broke the mountain ash circle and Erica rushed over to John and set him free. She helped the now conscious man to his feet, and after a moment's hesitation and a nod from Lydia, she half carried/half dragged him out of there and to the waiting vehicle.

Outside, Scott and Isaac were pacing frantically, desperately wanting to go inside and help their pack, but Derek had given them strict orders. They looked towards the warehouse at the sound of approaching footsteps. Erica looked tired as she supported John, so the two males rushed to help. Within thirty seconds, they had John in the back seat of the Jeep. "Thank you." Erica said gratefully. "Allison's fine, by the way, they all are."

"For now." Isaac muttered bitterly and Erica frowned at him. "Sorry, just get out of here, make sure the Sheriff is okay." Erica sighed but nodded. She exchanged good luck wishes with the pair before climbing into the Jeep and telling Danny to drive.

The two males rushed to get the other cars ready, slower than usual without their supernatural speed. Back in the warehouse, Jennifer was fighting Ennis aggressively as Boyd went to help Kali.

Stiles told Lydia and Allison to get back to the door, and sent Peter with them. He then told Boyd to get Kali out of there and to the hospital. Jackson was watching over Deucalion when they all got their powers back. Jackson looked down at his hands and flicked his fingers out, feeling satisfied when his claws were drawn. However, when he looked back at Deucalion, the alpha was swinging a fist at him. Jackson fell to the ground in pain when the hit landed, Stiles roared in anger and ran at Deucalion, only to be thrown across the room, and crashed into a pile of petrol canisters. Allison fired an arrow at the alpha, hitting him in the shoulder and causing him to stumble away from Jackson.

As this happened, Jennifer froze when a hand gripped her wrist, preventing her from hitting Ennis again. "Your fifteen minutes are up." Derek told Jennifer, releasing her wrist, right before Ennis threw her across the room. When she landed, the woman didn't hesitate to pull out a handful of mountain ash and encase herself in another circle.

She smirked as Derek, who had been running towards her, skidded to a stop. "You know, I don't need the sheriff here to kill him, Derek." She taunted. "Remember the recital?" the alpha growled, slamming his fist against the mountain ash barrier. "Your mate's dad is going to die, Derek, and there's nothing that you can do to stop me." Derek growled and pushed against the barrier with all of his strength. "Really?" She asked in disbelief, scoffing at him. "That's not going to work, you're not strong enough. Stilinski is going to die and it's all your fault. Maybe I won't get the Nemeton, but I can still gain power from him, enough to do what needs to be done."

"Derek." Stiles warned, as Derek pressed more force against the barrier. All fighting froze as everyone in the warehouse watched Derek do the impossible. Jennifer's smug expression dropped to a look of shock and panic as Derek's hand pierced through the shield. He glared at the woman with red eyes. They shone a brighter red as he forced his way through the barrier. There was a blinding flash of light as Derek broke through and destroyed the circle.

"Ho-how?" Jennifer gasped looking up at Derek in shock and fear. "How did you do that?" She demanded.

"I'm an Alpha, and I won't let anybody hurt my pack." He told her in a warning voice. "Whatever you had planned, forget it. Heal Cora and leave this town without harming anybody else. Or I'll kill you myself."

"Let me do the honors." Deucalion sneered, leaving Jackson in favour of approaching Jennifer, and before anybody could react, swiped at the woman.

Lydia screamed when Deucalion moved to tear the Darach's throat out. When she screamed, she forced the alpha away from the Darach, but also shattered the lights. This in turn, set off a spark, which ended up igniting a leaking petrol canister over in the corner, next to Stiles. Said canister was amongst a pile of canisters.

That's how the fire started.

The second Peter realised what was about to happen, he spun around and threw himself at Lydia and Allison, using himself as a kind of human shield for them. Derek did the same for Jackson, and Stiles threw himself as far away from the canisters as possible. The force of the explosion sent them all flying.

"Get out of here!" Derek ordered Jackson urgently once he was able to stand again. He looked around and saw Peter and Allison rush out of the warehouse, dragging a struggling Lydia away from the flames, she was yelling something, and though Derek couldn't hear her over the roaring flames, he knew she was calling Jackson's name. "Lydia needs you, go!"

"Bu-"

"Go!" He ordered again, this time putting in Alpha Command. "I'll be right behind you." He promised in a softer tone. The beta in front of him sent him a pained look before nodding then scurrying out. He stayed silent as he left, because anything he could have said would've sounded like a goodbye. "You too." He told Ennis. "Go, I'll find Deucalion and Jennifer."

"I'm not leaving you behind." Ennis stated firmly. "I made a promise to help you, I'm not breaking it."

"Then help me by making sure my pack is safe." Derek insisted before coughing, the smoke in the air had gotten into his lungs. "The longer we stay here talking, the more likely it is that Jennifer and Deucalion will get away, so go!" He flashed his eyes at the man instinctively, and surprisingly the man complied.

Ennis sighed in frustration before giving up the argument, and rushing outside to find Kali. Derek looked over to where Deucalion was previously, and the man was gone and Derek couldn't pick up his scent over the smell of smoke.

His mind flashed back to that night. Coming home with Laura to see the house on fire. They heard the dying screams of their family, their pack. They desperately tried to get to them, but couldn't get past the mountain ash. They couldn't save them.

Derek felt his chest tighten, but it had nothing to do with the smoke. He hadn't had a panic attack in years, but this one had him trapped in a vice-like grip.

Across the warehouse, Stiles coughed, trying to push the smoke out of his lungs as he staggered through the building. There was fire everywhere, he could barely see, barely breathe, but he had to keep moving, he had to find his pack. The flames licked at his skin, the burns faded within seconds at first, but were soon replaced by new ones.

The further he walked, the more he was burnt, and the longer it took to heal. Stiles had lost track of how long he'd been walking through the burning building, trying to avoid being hit by falling foundation. Just the day before, the pack had Jennifer and Deucalion held captive, they had powerful allies on their side and were close to finding a cure for Cora, and now…

Now Stiles was stumbling through a collapsing, burning building, looking for his pack. Jennifer was free, and probably kidnapping someone at that very moment, hoping to get her power back. Though, he couldn't sense her anywhere.

No one knew what on earth happened to Deucalion. Stiles had seen him get thrown by the force of the explosion, but he never got up, and he wasn't there anymore. When he briefly tapped into the town's energy, he couldn't find Deucalion or Jennifer anywhere. It was as if they just vanished.

Cora was dying, with no hope in sight, Erica and Boyd were losing their minds in worry while trying to focus on everything else as well, and their town was in danger. Yes, they now had the Nemeton, but Jennifer was relentless in her revenge, she could still hurt people, she threatened to kill his dad, after all.

How the hell was Stiles going to fix this?

He was searching for any of his pack, or their enemies, but he wasn't having much luck. He was about to give up and leave the warehouse, when he felt it. The all too familiar clutches of a panic attack, but it wasn't his. Mentally cursing, Stiles felt out for Derek and soon found him.

Derek was on the ground, desperately gasping for breath, and the flames that surrounded him were burning him mercilessly. "Derek!" Stiles called out, but the alpha didn't seem to hear him. He stepped forward, closer to his mate, but a beam fell down from the ceiling, blocking his path. "Derek!" He tried again, louder and more desperately.

Derek was trapped in his mind, remembering how it felt to have those pack bonds snap, one by one. To feel the people he loved die, disappear from the world, some before they had even had a chance to live. 'It should have been me' he thought in anguish.

Derek couldn't hear anything over the roaring fire. He could feel a constant tugging at his skin. Each time he was burnt his body desperately tried to heal itself, only to be burnt again. He felt another pain, as well, a pain that wasn't his own.

"Derek!" Stiles roared, putting all of the pack-mum and Mate command he could into it. They weren't as strong as an alpha's command, even when used together, but it was enough. With a start, Derek snapped back to reality.

"Stiles." Derek gasped, followed by a cough. He staggered to his feet and looked for a way to get to Stiles.

Working as one, the pair were able to get out of the burning warehouse. Once they were out, they gasped in clean air as their pack and allies surrounded them.

"Isaac took Kali and Ennis to the hospital." Scott told Derek, who was looking around frantically for the boy. "Erica, Boyd, Danny and the Sheriff are already there."

"Jennifer and Deucalion are gone." Derek coughed out, warning them.

"We know." Allison told him, her phone clutched in her hands. "I called my dad. He and the police are going to search for them whilst we all go get checked up at the hospital."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

They all arrived at the hospital a little over half an hour later. When they arrived at the supernatural ward, Melissa, Erica, Boyd and Danny rushed over to them. "I'm glad you're all alive. The twins are recovering well, do any of you need check ups?" Melissa asked hurriedly, looking them all over for any visible injuries.

"Stiles and Derek will need a little check, they inhaled a lot of smoke." Lydia informed the nurse quickly. "But the rest of us are fine. What about everyone else"

"Where's Cora?" Derek asked. "I want to see her, and John, Ethan and Aiden, before I get checked up."

Melissa smiled and nodded towards the girl's door. "She's in there, the boys are next door, John's across the hall, there." She pointed to each door in turn and Derek thanked her, then Erica and Boyd led the pack into Cora's room. When they walked in, they saw Cora tugging on her clothes.

"You're back, are you all okay?" She greeted them when she noticed them staring at her in awe.

"Cor, you should really li-" Derek tried with a relieved smile as he walked over to the brunette

"No." Cora cut her brother off with a glare. "I'm fine, I'm okay, I promise." She finished dressing and stood up. "The nurses think that my last wave of nausea was just my body getting rid of the poison. I'm fine now, so, you can either take me home with you when you go, or I'll walk there myself, but no matter what, I'm getting out of here today." Seeing that they wouldn't be able to change her mind, Derek sighed.

"Fine." His sister smirked triumphantly. "But if you even seem a little bit ill, we're dragging you straight back here."

"Deal." Cora readily agreed, doubting she'd fall ill again. "So how is everyone and when can we leave?"

"Well, we're all fine, though Derek and I need to get checked up first, as we inhaled a lot of smoke. Then we need to see the twins." Stiles informed her with a soft smile. "So an hour at most."

"Alright, I'll let the rest of you guys see the twins before me, as I was in there a few minutes ago." Cora told them as she picked up her jacket and tugged it on. "For now, I need to go talk to Melissa about my release forms."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Two days later the pack, including the twins who were no longer alpha's, were running through the preserve. It had started off as training but somehow turned into a race.

Ennis and Kali had left town the day before, as there was no sign of Jennifer or Deucalion anywhere. Though the couple promised to return in either of them did show up.

The twins had woken up just before the pair left, meaning they were able to say goodbye in person. They all may have had their differences, a lot of them, but close or not, they had been a part of the same Pack, and had spent a lot of time traveling together. There was some form of bond there, even if it wasn't that strong, so it didn't feel right to just leave without a real goodbye.

It was shortly after the Alpha's left, that the twins realised something was different, and they quickly discovered that they weren't alpha's anymore, but somehow, neither of them were too upset about it. Jackson found an odd serenity in the knowledge that the twins had blue eyes when shifted now, he thought he should be uncomfortable with the fact that they had killed, but he didn't. It made him feel less like the odd one out. Sure, Derek used to have blue eyes, but he's an alpha now, and that's not the same. Peter also had blue eyes, but he wasn't fully pack yet, in Jackson's eyes, not after what he did to Lydia. So, it was nice to have pack members with the same eye's as him. Yes, pack. The twins, upon waking, found that their connections to the pack were a lot stronger. It wasn't just an ally connection anymore, it was the beginning of complete pack bonds. They were further along than Peter's, but not as strong as Victoria's yet.

Deaton theorised that they lost their alpha status due to the amount of energy their bodies used to repair their broken necks. He also suggested that the reason their bonds to the pack were strengthened was because the pack now completely trusted them, after they'd basically given their lives for them. Though, personally, Aiden disagreed. He thought that it may have been because, despite truly wanting to be a part of the pack, his own alpha instinct made him partially want to lead it, and if he felt that, the other's probably worried that he would do it, and that there would be a power struggle. Now that his alpha ability was gone, there was less resistance between them, allowing them to form those bonds. The twins were invited to live with the pack that night.

There was a discussion about what happened to Derek in the warehouse. His eyes still glowed brighter than before and he was stronger, faster, improved in every way, and it was from more than just the Nemeton. "It's called a true alpha." Deaton explained. "It's extremely rare and the only prior recorded cases included an omega or a beta rising to the status through sheer force of will. In this case, however, it seems that your determination to save your pack, brought out the true alpha within." The majority of the pack were surprised to find out about true alpha's, but none of them were really surprised that Derek was one.

The next day, with everyone healed and energised, Derek took the pack out for training. The twins found that they worked a lot better alongside the pack, now that the bonds were stronger. They did work well together before, but this was… different, better.

After they got all of the combat and weapons training out of the way, they took off on a run, which turned into a game. They had all thought that they were taking their regular route, and allowed their bodies to lead the way. Which is how they soon found themselves at the Nemeton, looking down at Jennifer and Deucalion's bodies.

"The level of decomposition suggests that they have been dead for days." Lydia pointed out knowingly as she inspected the bodies.

"That must be why we couldn't sense them." Jackson suggested with a shrug.

"There's no visible cause of death from this angle." Scott added, lately, he'd seen his fair share of dead bodies, so his mum taught him a few things about looking for injuries and clues without disturbing the body, or, in some cases, the crime scene. "No bruising or open wounds. It's like they just dropped dead."

"No." Derek shook his head knowingly, and the pack turned to look at him. "They were killed." He told them, nudging his head to indicate the Nemeton. "They were a threat to us, and by extension, the Nemeton. This is it's way of eliminating the threat." Derek informed them, causing worried looks to appear on some faces.

"Don't worry." Stiles assured quickly, trying to calm them all. "It won't just kill anyone who isn't on our side, nor will it kill every threat. When we were researching the ritual, I read about this sort of thing. The reason the Nemeton killed, well, 'sacrificed' them was for multiple reasons. 1) It had just gained a new part of itself, a powerful part that contains a whole lot of supernatural energy, and it'll want to keep us safe, as it benefits from us. 2) When the explosion took place, I believe that the Nemeton wanted to make sure that no one would stand in our way of getting out of there, so it brought them here to keep them from stopping us from getting out. And 3) Even though the Nemeton has us now, it doesn't get all of our power like it would from a sacrifice. No, they weren't guardians in the way we interpreted it, but both of them guarded themselves, protected themselves. It didn't need all three sacrifices, but it did need more than it can safely take from us. So, it makes sense that it killed them, as it benefits the Nemeton in multiple ways." Stiles theorised with a shrug. "That's my theory, at least."

"What do you think, Lyd?" Jackson asked, not that he doubted Stiles' theory, but it's always a good idea to look into multiple perspectives from different people who know a lot about the subject at hand. Unfortunately, Lydia was distracted. "Lydia?"

"There's something else." She announced as she walked around the stump. "Something it wants us to see."

"Could it be this?" Erica called out as she looked down at something. A hatch.

Derek took the lead from there, stepping in front of the blonde to open the hatch. He then led the pack down the steps into a root cellar. Derek gasped as he realised where he was, his heart racing in his chest.

"Derek?" Stiles asked in concern, placing a hand on Derek's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"This place, it's- Paige, it's where I…" He faded off, and the pack members who knew the story, looked sympathetic for him. Stiles didn't say anything, just gave Derek a soft, comforting kiss. After a second, they pulled apart and Derek looked to Cora, Ethan and Aiden. "I'll tell the three of you about it later." He promised them.

"I've seen this place before." Lydia spoke in a dazed voice, Looking around, running her hands over some of the roots before pulling her backpack off.

"What do you mean?" Derek asked in concern as the girl unzipped her bag. Lydia said nothing as she searched through her belongings. She bypassed the water bottle and snacks, instead, pulling out the notebook she had brought to keep herself entertained during their rest breaks. She flicked through the pages, until she landed on a drawing of a tree. Except, it wasn't a tree. She turned the notebook upside down, walking around until she found the right angle.

When she found it, she held the notebook up again. The roots of the Nemeton were a perfect match to Lydia's drawing. "Didn't Jennifer see you drawing that in class?" Danny pointed out, then his eyes widened in realisation as Lydia nodded. "Of course! She was surprised when she realised you're a Banshee! What was it she called you before that? A girl who...?"

"A girl who knew too much." Lydia recounted in a shocked whisper. "She recognised the root cellar I was drawing, that's why she wanted me dead." She realised, subconsciously lifting a hand to the -now yellowish- bruise on her throat. Within seconds, Jackson had an arm wrapped around her. "I'm fine, Jacks." She assured him with a soft smile, but leant into his embrace anyway. "Can we just get out of here, please?"

They quickly climbed out of the cellar, and stood around the Nemeton again. "What do we do about them?" Aiden asked, gesturing to the bodies.

"We call it in." Derek said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Then we go home. We'll finish training in the basement."

"The basement?" Ethan asked with a perplexed look on his face, which his brother was unintentionally mimicking. Danny smirked as he placed a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"There are a few parts of the house that you haven't seen yet."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Aiden was lying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling with a soft smile.

His thoughts were quiet for once. He wasn't worrying. He wasn't scheming. He wasn't angry, or upset, or on edge. He was calm. For the first time in his life, he felt completely, and utterly at peace. Today, he and Ethan had spent the entire day with their pack, and the bonds were even stronger than before. The pack had shown them the tunnels and second basement. It surprised Aiden how right it felt. They had been officially part of the pack for barely two days, and it already felt right, like this was where they belonged.

He had been a part of two other packs, each for longer than he'd known the Hale Pack, yet nothing ever compared to this. Maybe it was because of how they treated him, and his brother. Despite all of the horrible things he'd done, some of which he'd done to them, they were willing to give him a second chance. They let him prove himself, they forgave him and accepted him as one of their own. They didn't care that he was damaged, because they all were, in some form or another.

They all had their regrets, their dark sides, but they accepted each other anyway. They saw past the bad and reached out for the good. Sure, some of them were more willing to forgive than others, but none of them were completely shut off to letting people in. Not anymore.

There was a gentle tap on the door, before it was slowly pushed open, bringing Aiden back to reality and Ethan poked his head in. "Hey." Aiden greeted quietly as he sat up. "What's up?"

"We've been invited to join a puppy pile in Stiles and Derek's room." Ethan told him with an excited smile.

"A what?" Aiden blinked as Ethan rushed forward and began dragging him out of bed.

"Come on!"

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

The nightmares started a few weeks later. Derek was drawn from his sleep by the sound of Stiles' racing heart and terrified whispers. "No, no, no, no," He whispered over and over again, as Derek sat up and looked at him in concern. "Don't let them in."

"Stiles." Derek tried as his mate rolled around. Sweat dripped from Stiles' forehead, and his head thrashed from side to side as he kept whispering.

Stiles felt light beaming across his face in streaks, he opened his eyes to find that he wasn't in his bed. He was in a locker, at the school. He tried to push it open, but it didn't budge, panic prickled under his skin as he slammed his hand against it repeatedly.

Stiles allowed his wolf to slip through, putting in all of his strength into the next hit. The door swung open and Stiles stumbled out. He looked around at the familiar locker room in confusion.

He left the locker room and walked through the school cautiously, finding himself drawn to an open classroom door. He slowly crept into the room, as his heart was beating rapidly in his chest, his breath hitched at the sight before him.

The Nemeton.

The tree stump sat in the center of the room, as if it had always been there. It pulled Stiles in like a magnet, and he couldn't resist reaching out for it. Before he could, however, thick vines shot up from the tree, and wrapped around Stiles' wrist, holding him captive.

Stiles shot up in bed, gasping for breath. Derek immediately sat up next to him and began running a hand over Stiles' arms. "Are you okay?" Derek asked worriedly, looking at Stiles in concern. "Stiles?"

Stiles took a few breaths, forcing himself to calm down, before answering. "Yeah, I was just dreaming." He assured his mate, "It was weird, it was like a dream within a dream."

"A nightmare?" Derek asked with a frown, setting his other hand on Stiles' knee.

"Yeah." Stiles sighed, placing his hand on top of Derek's own, running his thumb over Derek's knuckles. Stiles looked up and sent Derek a soft reassuring smile, but it quickly faded when he noticed the posters on the wall. They didn't have posters on their bedroom walls. And their bed was supposed to be in the centre of the room, not at the side. With a start, Stiles realised where they were: in his old bed, at his old house.

He looked back to Derek, who was smiling at him, in a way that just didn't seem like Derek. "Wait a second, Derek. What are we doing here?" Before he could answer, a creaking sound flooded the room as the door slowly opened, by itself. "Hang on." He whispered as he moved to get off of the bed, but Derek grabbed his arm.

"Stiles, where are you going?"

"I should close the door." Stiles said, and Derek wrapped an arm around him.

"Just go back to sleep." Derek tried to pull Stiles back but the lanky boy pushed forward.

"No, no, I should close it."

"Don't worry about it."

"What if someone comes in?" Stiles asked as he finally stood up from the bed and walked towards the door.

"Like who?" Derek asked as Stiles walked forward. "Just come back to bed, Stiles."

"No, what if they get in?" Stiles whispered, feeling terrified suddenly. He didn't know what he was afraid of, who he was worried about 'getting in' he just knew that he needed to close the door.

Behind him, Derek was desperately yelling for him to stop, and come back to bed. Cautiously, Stiles wrapped a hand around the door handle, but instead of closing it, he pulled the door open. Ignoring Derek's yelling, he stepped through.

He was in the preserve, looking out at the Nemeton. Bright lights turned on with a buzz around him, reminding Stiles of the lights on the Lacrosse field.

Lacrosse. These lights are from the Lacrosse field. They don't belong here. His old bedroom door didn't lead here.

This wasn't real, he realised. "Okay," He said aloud to himself. "This is just a dream. Okay, just a dream, so get it out of your head Stiles. You're dreaming! Alright, so wake up Stiles! Wake up Stiles!" He hit his head, trying to force himself back to reality. "Wake up!" He screamed and the next thing he knew, he was waking up in his and Derek's bed, with his mate gently shaking him awake.

"Hey," Derek smiled softly as stiles blinked up at him in confusion. "You need to get up for school."

An hour later, Stiles recounted the dream to his pack as they made their way through the school yard. "And you couldn't wake up?" Scott asked in shock and concern.

"No, and it was beyond terrifying." Stiles sighed, running a hand over his hair.

"It sounds like sleep paralysis." Lydia commented with a concerned frown and Stiles nodded in agreement.

"That's what I thought too."

"And what is this 'sleep paralysis'?" Aiden asked.

"Well, have you ever had a dream where you feel like you're about to wake up, but you can't move or talk?" Stiles asked and multiple pack members nodded.

"Yeah, I've had that." Jackson confirmed to move the conversation along.

"It happens because during REM sleep, your body is basically paralysed." Lydia took over the explanation. "It's called muscle atonia, which is a loss of muscle tone." She explained easily, but with the more she recounted, the more concerned she became for Stiles. "It prevents motor movements, that way, if you dream about running, you don't actually start running in your bed."

"That makes sense." Scott shrugged, not fully getting what they were trying to say.

"Yeah, but sometimes your mind can wake up before your body does." Stiles explained, and Scott started to catch on. "So for that split second, you're actually aware that your body is paralysed."

"And that's the terrifying part." Scott realised with a nod.

"It turns your dream into a nightmare. You can feel like you're falling,"

"or you're being strangled-" Lydia gave her example, unintentionally gesturing to her, now healed, throat.

"Or in my case, like in the centre of a grove of magical trees where human sacrifices were committed."

"Do you think that means something?" Boyd asked as they walked into the school, frowning at Stiles.

"What if what Derek and I did that night is affecting me?"

"It did say that the ritual could 'unlock something in you'. Maybe that has something to do with it?" Lydia suggested, covering her concern with a mask of intrigue, as if she was trying to convince herself to see it as a science project.

"Then why wouldn't we be affected too?" Cora asked with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, it connected all of us to it."

"It did, but they were the ones who went through the ritual." Lydia explained, pausing with a thoughtful look for a second, then continued. "They were the ones who created the conduit between the Nemeton and us. They had all of the energy surging through them as the Nemeton was finding us. Now that it has 'rooted' to us, it doesn't need to pass through them anymore, but theirs are still the stronger, and technically older, bonds because of all the energy it took to establish the roots. A bond being forced open like that can cause you some damage." She paused again, trying to think of anything else she had learnt, before deciding she was done, and nodded to symbolise this to the pack.

"What, like PTSD?" Scott asked as they walked into the English class, thankfully Jennifer free.

"Something." Stiles mumbled as they all approached their desks and sat down. "You wanna know what scares me the most?" Stiles asked as they all settled, he waited until they were all looking at him. "I'm not even sure this is real."

Stiles shot up in bed screaming. Arms wrapped around him, and his bedroom door shot open.

He kept screaming until he heard two familiar, comforting voices in his ears, telling him it's okay.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

The next morning, Derek was sorting out his things for work, as he worried for Stiles. He picked up his bag and turned to leave the room and find Stiles. As he reached out for the door handle, he noticed his shadow. More specifically, the claws on his shadow. He looked down to his hand, only to find it completely human. He looked back to his shadow, and the claws were still there. Keeping his eyes on the shadow, he closed his fist, and the shadow did the same. When he felt no claws, he opened his hand again, and the shadow finally matched his physical appearance.

Derek shook his head, and finally opened the door, revealing Stiles about to do the same, the Sheriff behind him. "Morning." Stiles greeted as he walked in, and headed to where his bag sat, in the corner. Derek and John exchanged a look as Stiles went about packing his bag, like nothing had happened the night before.

They noticed as Stiles became apparently fixated on one of his books, and ran his fingers over the title.

"Hey." John called out to draw Stiles out of his musings. "You alright?" He asked when Stiles turned to face him. Rather than answering, Stiles looked at the book again, and Derek could feel his relief and confusion. "You ready for school?"

"Yeah." Stiles nodded, putting the book in his bag. He zipped it and slung it over his shoulder as he turned to them. "Yeah." He said again, nodding as he walked towards them. "Yeah, I'm good." The two older males gave him unconvinced looks. "Seriously, I'm fine, it was just a nightmare." He assured before his eyes fell on the box in his father's hands. He pointed to it and asked; "What's that?"

"Oh, it's just a few files from the office." John explained with a shrug.

"It says 'Sheriff's Station: Do not remove'."

"Well, yeah, unless you're the Sheriff." He told his son in amusement.

"Alright." Stiles jokingly raised his hands in defence.

"Get your butt to school. Alright?" He half ordered his son. "Derek, meet me in my office when you get to the station, I need to show you something." He then left the room, leaving the couple alone.

Stiles had noticed Derek's elevated heart rate as he made his way to their room and knew something was up. He quickly finished packing his bag, slung it over his shoulder and turned to face Derek.

"Are you okay?" He asked. Derek looked behind him at this shadow, seeing a fully wolfed out silhouette. He turned back to Stiles, who glanced at his shadow and didn't react in any way other than confusion.

"Yeah." He nodded in response to Stiles' question, but his mate saw right through it.

"Well you don't look alright, Der." Stiles told him with a frown. "It's happening to you too, isn't it? You're seeing things, aren't you?" Derek nodded. "Okay, I don't know if I should feel relieved or even more terrified."

"I'd recommend a healthy amount of concern." Derek stated as he wrapped his arms around Stiles' waist. He tugged the lanky boy closer, until they were chest to chest and their noses were touching.

"Since when have I ever done something the 'healthy way'?" Stiles countered with a raised eyebrow.

"Fair point." Derek agreed with a weak smile. "But we'll figure this out."

"Since when were you such an optimist?" Stiles teased with a grin.

"I've been spending too much time with Scott, Allison and Danny."

"Excuse you?" Stiles gasped in mock outrage. "Why would you spend time with those losers, when you could be spending time with me?"

"You do remember that these are your best friends and pack mates that we're talking about, right?"

"They'll get over it."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Derek ran through the doors of the police station frantically, freezing when he noticed where he was. He looked to the door again, and confirmed that he was definitely in the station.

But, he was just at the morgue, right? He just saw…

He saw Laura, but not exactly Laura.

"Hey man," A voice pulled Derek from his thoughts, and he turned to see the new recruit, Parrish, looking at him in concern. "You okay?"

Derek nodded quickly. "I'm okay." The other Deputy didn't seem convinced, and pointedly glanced down. Derek looked at his hands to see his claws on full display. He looked back up and found that the deputy seemed only slightly surprised. "Sorry. You've been filled in on this?" He asked for confirmation, as he withdrew his claws.

"Yeah, yesterday. I could tell it wasn't a joke, but up until just now I didn't fully believe it."

"Yeah, that's the general reaction around here, that and disbelief and fear." Derek told him with a soft smile. "But you're doing well."

"Thanks." Parrish smiled gratefully.

"Derek!" John's voice sounded and both Deputies looked to see the Sheriff leaning out of his offices."When you've got a minute, I could use your help."

"Yeah, I'll be right there." Derek called back, then returned his attention to Parrish, "Well, it was nice to meet you, but-"

"Yeah, of course. It was good to meet you too, Derek, right?"

"Yeah, Derek Hale."

"Jordan Parrish." The two males shook hands before Derek made his way to John.

In John's office a few minutes later, he and Derek were looking through old cases, specifically, old cases with connections, or possible connections, to the supernatural.

"I should have done this when I found out about all of the stuff." John commented out loud as he pinned a picture of a young girl next to an old calendar, with the full moon circled on it. "But I was so caught up in everything that I didn't even consider it." Derek could sense that the sheriff was annoyed with himself, so tried to ease the self-guilt.

"You're doing something now, that's what matters." Derek assured him "You're trying to do the right thing, which is more than a lot of other people can say." He told him whilst reading the name on the picture. "Malia Tate?"

"Eight years ago, I was elected Sheriff of County, my first official duty was to tell a man that not only had his wife and two kids died in a car accident, but, as best we could tell, the body of his nine year old daughter had been dragged from the wreck by coyotes." The sheriff recounted. "We didn't find the car until three days after the crash. They had driven off the road into a pretty deep ravine. Two bodies that were still in the car were covered in bites and slashes."

"Werewolves?" Derek asked and nodded to the full moon marked on the calendar. "But coyotes scavenge, right? So, couldn't they have just left the bites and the slashes?" He suggested with a shrug.

"Maybe, but my gut tells me otherwise." John told him with a sigh. "From the beginning, something about that case felt wrong, but I didn't know about all of this back then. I didn't think of anything but 'Car accident' and 'Coyotes' but now…"

Derek nodded, and clapped a hand on the older man's shoulder. "So, where do we start?"

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

"Well, well, look who's no longer the crazy one." Lydia couldn't contain her teasing smile as she walked in front of her pack mates as they entered the school.

"We're not crazy." Stiles defended with a sigh, causing Lydia to stop and turn to face him.

"Hallucinations, sleep paralysis, yeah, you and Derek are fine." She said sarcastically, irritating Stiles.

"You guys did go through that whole ritual and got struck by lightning." Scott pointed out cautiously. "That's got to have some side effects, right?"

"Plus, you were technically dead for like, two minutes." Jackson added, gritting his teeth at the thought. "I'm pretty sure resurrection isn't something you just get over in a few weeks."

"We can all keep an eye on the two of you." Ethan suggested after slight hesitation, still not quite used to being part of the pack and therefore, unsure if his input was welcome. "If we notice that you're getting worse, we can try to do something. If not, maybe it'll fade away with time?"

Stiles nodded in agreement, sending him a grateful smile. "That's a good idea, thank you." Ethan preened as the bell rang. "Alright, come on, we've got class." He half ordered as he began walking again. "And Lydia, stop enjoying this so much."

"What?" She asked innocently with a smile.

A few minutes later, Scott, Stiles, Cora, and Erica were in History class, looking up at their new teacher.

"Good morning everyone." The man greeted. "My name is Mr. Yukimura and I'll be taking over from your previous history teacher." He informed them with a smile. "My family and I moved here three weeks ago, I'm sure by now you all know my daughter, Kira, or you might not, as she's never actually mentioned anyone from school, or brought home a friend, for that matter." He said casually, and at the back of the room, a girl sighed and hit her head against her desk, drawing attention to herself. "Either way, there she is." He grinned, pointing at her, and Erica realised that had she not drawn the attention herself, her father would have done it for her.

Kira slowly raised her head and smiled weakly as several of her classmates chuckled. Erica sent the girl a genuine, kind smile, knowing how much it sucked to be the center of attention in an embarrassing situation. Seeing a friendly gesture perked Kira up a bit, so she sat up straight, adjusted her hair, and returned Erica's smile.

The blonde felt pleased with herself for cheering the girl up, and gave herself a mental pat on the back as she returned her attention to the teacher.

A little later that day, Scott and Stiles walked over to the latter's locker. "Maybe you just need a little time to get back to normal." Scott suggested as Stiles fiddled with the lock.

"Yeah, try not to forget that we hit the reset button on a supernatural beacon for supernatural creatures, and connected ourselves to it in the process." Stiles reminded his best friend snarkily. "There's a pretty good chance of things never going back to normal." He pointed out and tugged on the lock, but it didn't budge. He tried again, only to get the same result. He looked at the lock, and felt his heart begin to race. Gone were the usual numbers, they were now replaced with symbols and shapes. "What?"

Scott didn't notice this though, as he was distracted by his enhanced hearing picking up hushed voices down the corridor. "I thought you said you wanted to make friends." Mr. Yukimura pointed out.

"Not like that!" An annoyed hushed voice replied. Scott looked to see the teacher and his daughter, Kira, walking down the corridor.

"You said you wanted to be noticed!"

"I could set myself on fire and be noticed." Kira retorted, spinning around to face him.

"Well, then you'd be dead." The man sighed, mirroring her movements.

"Exactly." She said and turned, catching Scott staring at her.

She paused as Scott looked away, and hid himself from her view, by ducking behind Stiles. It looked as though he had been listening to their conversation, but how could he have heard them from all the way over there?

"Kira." Mr. Yukimura spoke calmly, but she was still fixated on Scott. "Kira."

Scott blocked them out and returned his focus to Stiles, who had given up on opening his locker. When Stiles looked at Scott, his eyes were glowing. "Dude," Scott began, as he frantically looked around to see if anyone had noticed. "Your eyes!"

"What about them?" Stiles asked urgently, looking around as his inability to keep still kicked in. Scott grabbed his shoulders, holding him in place.

"They're starting to glow." He informed him, trying to keep calm and figure out what to do. "Come on, you need to stop."

There was a pause as Stiles tried, but he failed and began to panic more. "I can't. I can't control it." He told him, lifting a hand to cover his eyes.

"O-okay, just- uh, just keep your head down, okay? Come on." He pulled Stiles to an empty classroom, drawing odd looks from students nearby, including Kira.

Scott shut the door behind them as Stiles staggered away from him, fighting for control. The crooked jawed boy moved closer to his best friend. "Stop!" Stiles all but growled, using his influence over Scott to keep him in place. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Stiles, it's okay." Scott assured, pushing past the command that his wolf was trying to obey.

"Get back!" Scott stayed back against his will, but after a full minute of no results, he decided to take action. His mind took him back to the first time he truly lost control, in the locker room with Stiles. It was Stiles' pain that snapped him back to reality. Well, the fact that Scott caused Stiles' pain, but clearly Stiles was fighting not to hurt him, so Scott took matters into his own hands, literally.

He lengthened his own claws, and after a moment's hesitation, dug them into his own palms. The second the first drop of blood appeared, Stiles' head shot towards him. In a second, Scott's claws were removed from his palms and Stiles was taking his pain, completely human.

"What the hell did you do that for?!" Stiles demanded as Scott's skin knitted itself back together.

"Do you remember back when we first turned? When I lost control during Lacrosse practice and attacked you in the locker room?" Stiles nodded, a confused look etched on his face. "I turned back after I hurt you. Your pain and the smell of your blood brought me back, I thought that maybe my pain would do the same for you." Scott explained. "And it worked, so…" Stiles blinked, having only just realised that he had his control back.

"God, you are such a martyr." He shook his head at his best friend. "Alright, you're fully healed, just please don't do that again."

"If it means helping you, I'd do it a million times over." Scott grinned, causing Stiles to sigh. "Come on," He started as the both stood up. "We're supposed to be meeting the others for lunch, remember?"

Stiles nodded and picked up his bag and followed Scott out of the room. Before he left, however, he glanced over to the blackboard which was covered in writing, and he couldn't make out a single word.

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

After school, Stiles went to the station, after stopping by the florist, to meet his dad and Derek. They had made arrangements to visit Claudia's grave together, Derek felt like he would be intruding when they first mentioned it, but Stiles insisted. "It's about time I introduce my mum to my boyfriend." He had said, so Derek caved.

"Hey, Posey." Stiles greeted the deputy at the front desk, but when the man turned around, it wasn't Posey. "Oh, sorry man, you're the new deputy, Parrish, right?" He asked, setting the flowers on the counter and holding out his hand.

"Yeah," The man confirmed with a smile as he shook Stiles' hand. "And, you are?"

"Stiles, I'm the Sheriff's son." Parrish gained a look of realisation on his face.

"Yeah, I've heard of you, it's nice to put a name to a face."

"Likewise." Stiles grinned. "So, uh, is my dad in?"

"Yeah, he's in his office." Parrish told him. "But one of the other deputies is in there with him, so you might not be able to go right in."

"Which one?"

"Hale."

"Oh, it's cool, Derek's my boyfriend, so I'll be fine. And if any of our kids stop by, can you let them know that Derek and I will be at the Cemetery with my dad until five? Thanks." Stiles told him, grinning at the Deputy's shocked look as he picked up the flowers. "It was nice to meet you Parrish." Stiles grinned as he started moving to his dad's office, passing Tara along the way. "Hey Tara, the new deputy seems nice."

Tara glanced over to Parrish and sighed at the shocked look on his face. "Stiles, he's been here a week and you're already trying to scare him off?" She yelled over her shoulder, causing Stiles to laugh as he made his way to his father's office.

He walked in without knocking, and immediately placed the flowers down on the desk "You know, the last time we bought one of these to her grave, it was stolen the same day. Hundred bucks down the drain." He sighed, then froze as he realised neither his dad nor Derek were actually sitting at the desk. Hearing a noise, he peered over to find both men on the floor, surrounded by files "Hey, Dad? Derek?" Both of them looked up at him "Hi, what're- what are you doing down there?"

"Working." Derek replied, then returned his attention to the files.

"And hey, if somebody wants the flowers that badly, they can have them. It's the gesture." John spoke up as Stiles looked around at all of the file boxes in shock.

"Hey, Dad, what is all this?"

"I've been looking over some old cases from a more illuminated perspective, if you know what I mean."

Stiles picked up a file and read the reported sighting. "Strange sighting of bipedal lizard person sprinting across freeway."

"Kanima pile." Derek stated, taping the pile in question. Stiles dropped the file onto said pile then crouched down next to the two elder males and spoke to his dad.

"Dad, you're not going back through all your old cases seeing if any of them had something to do with the supernatural, are you?"

"I admit the recent opening of my eyes to the greater mysteries of the universe has got me… reassessing." Stiles ran a hand over his face in frustration "There's at least 100 cases here, where I look at the details and I can ask myself, If I knew then what I know now"

"Right, but are you sure you wanna go down that path?"

"Do I have a choice?" The sheriff asked with a raised eyebrow, then went on to explain the Malia Tate case. During his explanation, Stiles tried to argue that it could have just been Coyotes, but his dad didn't accept that.

Stiles sighed in frustration, and hit Derek on the arm. "How can you encourage this?"

"I think it's a good idea." Derek defended with a shrug. "Not only does dad get credit for solving these cases, but the families will be able to get some peace of mind."

"By learning about the supernatural?" Stiles asked incredulously, then shook his head. "Never mind, just.. where are all these going, anyway?"

"Yeah, we, uh." Stiles followed his father's gaze to a label. A label reading 'Agent McCall' "We probably need to talk about that."

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

Scott, Allison, Isaac and Melissa were setting up for dinner at the McCall house, chatting easily to one another, until the doorbell rang. "Who could that be?" Scott asked aloud as he made his way to the door. He paused at the somewhat familiar, but also foreign, scent, before finally opening the door. He stared in shock at the man on the other side.

"Hi Scott." His father greeted him with a soft smile, and Scott heard his mother's heart rate rise. "Can I come in?" Scott said nothing, simply slammed the door in the man's face.

"Scott!" Melissa scolded, rushing into the hallway.

"I don't like him." Scott told her with a shrug, well aware that his father could hear him.

"Who is that?" Isaac asked and Allison looked to Scott curiously.

"My father." Scott told them with a grumble as Melissa opened the door.

"Hello, Rafael." She greeted her ex-husband curtly. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you and Scott." He told her. "I miss you."

"Well, that sucks for you." Scott all but growled at the man, who looked at him in shock. "Mum has moved on and is in a happy, committed relationship, I have my own incredible relationship, and we have everything we could want, or need, with our true family. That doesn't include you."

"Scott, that's no way to talk to your father." Rafael reprimanded, stepping past Melissa and into the house.

"You are not my father, you gave up that role when you walked out on us." Scott told him, forcing himself to keep his wolf in line. "You don't get to waltz in here out of the blue, after all of this time, and just expect us to welcome you back with open arms. You also don't get to 'correct my manners' or try to parent me in any way. Mum raised me, she kept me sheltered and fed and clothed, she made me the person I am today and if you think you can just show up and slot right back into our lives and give out orders, you have another thing coming."

Agent McCall blinked in shock at his son's assertiveness. Scott had always been rather shy and reserved as a child, clearly that had changed. "You're right, I'm sorry." He apologised honestly. "I have no right to come here and expect things to be the same as when I left, or even how they were when you stayed with me, before I moved to Washington. But I do want to be a part of your life again, even if I haven't been a good father, you are still my son and I want to get to know you again. So maybe we could start over?" Scott looked unsure for a second, before he nodded and Rafael smiled. He glanced at Allison and Isaac, who were standing awkwardly behind Scott, looking out of place and unsure of what to do. "Could you introduce me to your friends?"

Scott's face lit up in a brilliant smile and he immediately grabbed them both and tugged the forward. "Agent McCall," The man winced at the title. "This is my girlfriend, Allison Argent," He announced proudly, gesturing to the brunette girl, causing Rafael to smile. "and our boyfriend, Isaac Lahey." The agent's smile dropped to a shocked look as he stared at the trio, trying to figure out if they were pulling a prank on him, or something. When he saw no trace of a bluff on his face, he realised this was completely true. He looked to Melissa to see if she knew about it. His ex-wife looked to be a cross between proud and smug of her- their son and his… partners.

Rafael's first instinct was to argue it, say they were too young to enter into something like this, but he realised that, although it was true, he was being tested. "Okay," He said instead. "If all you're all" sure about this, "happy, and being safe, then there's nothing" I can do to stop you. "to get in the way of." He felt bad for lying, but the pleasantly surprised look on Scott's face made him realise that it was the right thing to do. Besides, if they miraculously could make it work, or if it fell apart, Rafael could be there for his son, every step of the way. If they did work out, maybe he would come to accept it, or, at the very least, become accustomed to it.

"Alright." Scott said with a nod, a small smile tugging on his lips. He exchanged a look with his mother and partners before speaking again. "Would you like to join us for dinner?" He invited and Rafael smiled.

"I'd love to." They led him to the dining room, and he exchanged proper introductions with Allison and Isaac. As they served up the food, Rafael spoke again. "So, Melissa… Scott mentioned you have a new boyfriend?"

-Teen Wolf-Sterek-Teen Wolf-Sterek-

The next day at the school, the Pack were sitting outside around a bench, discussing what was happening to Derek and Stiles. Stiles had just finished telling them about his 'dream' that he apparently had whilst he was awake, and what he wrote in his notebook, during said 'dream' and it had turned into a group discussion.

Stiles, Scott, Isaac (With Allison half on both of her mate's laps) and Aiden were sat on one side, and Lydia, Jackson, Ethan (With Danny on his lap) and Cora were on the other. Boyd had pulled up a chair on the end next to Aiden and Cora, and Erica did the same next to Stiles and Lydia.

"Okay," Scott began, tapping a pen against the table. "so what happens to a person who has a near death experience, and comes out of it seeing things?" He asked with a worried frown.

"-and is unable to tell what's real or not?" Stiles added.

"And is being haunted by demonic visions of dead relatives?" Cora added, having remembered Derek mention seeing Laura.

"They're both locked up because they're insane." Isaac muttered, but everyone at the table heard him.

"Ha. Can you at least try to be helpful?" Jackson asked, with his best bitch face on. "Please?" His frustration at not knowing what to do to help his pack was riling him up.

"For half of my childhood, I was locked in a freezer, so being helpful is kind of a new thing for me." Isaac retorted, with a glare. He knew Jackson didn't mean it, but he wasn't in a good mood either.

"Okay, are you still milking that?" Jackson scoffed as Scott dropped his head against the table in frustration.

"Yeah, we are still milking that."

"Guy's please-" Stiles began to try to sooth his pups, but was interrupted by a timid voice.

"Hi." They all looked to see the new girl, Kira stood behind Erica, looking unsure of herself. "Hi, sorry, I couldn't help overhearing what you guys were talking about." She told them nervously and the pack exchanged nervous glances. "And I think I actually might know what you were talking about." Stiles gestured for her to go on. "There's a Tibetan word for it, it's called Bardo. It literally means 'In-between state' The state between life and death." She explained shyly, fidgeting nervously.

"And what do they call you?" Cora asked, semi-rudely, not wanting to be nice until the girl proved that she deserved it.

"Kira." Erica stated, smiling up at the girl, who smiled back. The pack looked at her in surprise and some, Cora, gave her a questioning look. "She's in our history class." She shrugged in explanation causing Kira to smile again, looking down as her cheeks flushed.

"So," Lydia began, drawing Kira's attention from Erica. "are you talking Bardo in Tibetan Buddhism or Indian?" As she spoke, Erica stood and offered her chair to Kira.

"Uh, either I guess." Kira told her as she sat down, and Erica walked to the other end of the table, and sat on Boyd's lap, and used Cora as a footrest. "But all that stuff you guys were just saying, all of that happens in Bardo." She said, glancing over to Erica, who nodded for her to continue. "There are different progressive states where you can have hallucinations. Some you see, some you just hear. You can be visited by peaceful or wrathful deities."

"Wrathful deities?" Isaac asked, leaning forward slightly, the best he could with Allison on his lap. "And, uh, what are those?"

"Like demons." She said casually.

"Demons?" Aiden asked with wide eyes, then sighed and looked around at the pack. "Why not?"

"Hold on," Allison interrupted thoughtfully. "If there are different progressive states, then what's the last one?"

"Death." Kira shrugged, clearly not realising how serious the situation was. "You die."

"Seriously?" Stiles groaned, then slammed his head against the table, startling Kira.

"Sorry, I-"

"No, no, it's not you." Erica assured her with a smile. "Just some personal things going on." She said and Kira's eyes widened in realisation.

"Oh, you mean, someone you know is actually going through Bardo?" No one said anything, but they didn't have to. "I'm sorry, if I'd known, I woul-"

"Don't worry about it." Stiles assured, lifting his head from the table. "We wanted to know, you didn't do anything wrong." He held out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Stiles."

"Kira." She smiled, shaking his hand. "which you already knew, so I don't know why I just told you." Stiles chuckled as he withdrew his hand, and Lydia introduced herself next.

"I'm Lydia, and this is my boyfriend, Jackson." She introduced with a friendly smile, gesturing to the boy in question, who shook Kira's hand politely.

"I'm Allison, and these are my boyfriends, Scott and Isaac." Kira blinked in surprise, but shook all of their hands anyway.

"If you don't mind me asking, is this polyamory or an open relationship?" She asked curiously. "Of course, it's none of my business, and you don't-"

"It's fine, Kira." Scott assured the girl with a chuckle. "It's poly, the three of us are in a relationship." Kira sighed in relief that they weren't upset at her for asking.

"Okay, cool." She smiled. "You guys must all really care about each other to make this work in high school." She commented thoughtfully. "I don't think I'd be able to share someone I'm in love with, but then again, I've never loved two people at once, so I wouldn't be able to accurately guess." She rambled, then cut herself off as she realised what she was doing. "Sorry."

"Stop apologising!" Allison giggled, leaning forward to playfully shove the girl's shoulder. "If you were calling us freaks or anything for being together, we'd be mad. But you're not, you're just asking questions and you're not undermining us or our relationship, so it's fine."

Kira smiled happily as she relaxed in her seat. "Erica, Boyd and I are together." Cora told her, gesturing to the pair in question. There was a small trace of disappointment coming off of Kira, but it quickly disappeared. "I'm Cora, by the way."

"I'm Ethan, this is my boyfriend Danny, and my brother Aiden."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Kira smiled genuinely.

"So, Kira." Boyd began with a smile. "Care to tell us a little about yourself?"

A/N: So, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! As you could probably tell, I've decided to pursue the Nogitsune story, but I will include a few twists, to accommodate the changes from the series. If you have any suggestions or requests that you'd like to tell me, feel free to pm me, or simply comment, thank you x

lianis180: Thank you, I hope that you've enjoyed this chapter x

083: Welcome to the story and I'm glad you like it so far! I hope that you enjoy this chapter too x

white collar black wolf: I hope you enjoy this chapter too x

Chikacookie: Thank you, I hope that you enjoy this chapter too x

SquidaQdaloo: Sorry that it wasn't in this chapter, but it isn't the right moment for it, but I swear I have it all planned out! x

XxZessxX: There will be more angst soon, I just needed a fluffier ending. Yup, she's officially gone now, yay! I am planning a big 'breakdown' for Stiles, because as you said, nobody can fix everything. I hope you enjoyed this chapter x

Tetractys: Welcome to the story, I'm glad that you like it! I plan on taking this story all the way through the seasons, but obviously with a few differences to account for the changes I have made. I hope that you liked this chapter, please let me know what you think x

The Guest Who Tried To Guess: Yes, I'm sorry it took a while. I'm glad that you liked it. So, no, the twins didn't give their powers like that, I considered it, but opted for another route, obviously. I know, she's incredible! I love that show, though I've only recently started it and have just finished the first season. Living without a decent laptop is torturous, I hope that you get your laptop back soon! And don't worry, there may be sad and angsty times throughout, but the ending to this story will be happy, I promise. I couldn't bring myself to end it in sadness. I even have an emergency ending for if something happens to me. My best friend receives an updated version after each chapter has been written, and has strict instructions to post it, with a note explaining the situation, if something is to happen to me. So, no sad endings here, I promise x