Chapter Text
The next day, Derek and Stiles were having a late breakfast on the outskirts of town to talk things over.
“I still don’t see why we had to come all the way out here,” Derek said as they went to the door.
“Because members of the sheriff’s department frequently visit the one in the town square, and I don't feel like explaining to my dad why his underage son is having breakfast with a 22-year-old murder suspect.” stiles told him.
“I’m only a murder suspect because of you,” Derek argued. “And I’m 23.”
“I said was sorry about that,” Stiles said, Derek shrugging at that.
Stiles slid into one side of the booth, and Derek took the other.
A waitress came over to give them menus and vanished to getb them both coffee.
“Order whatever you want,” Derek told stiles. “Literally, whatever you want. You need a lot of calories as part of the transition.”
“No arguments here,'' Stiles said, licking his lips as he scanned the menu. “I’m so hungry I could eat a whole horse. Maybe a miniature horse, too.”
The waitress came back with their coffees.
“Are y’all ready to order?” she asked.
“I’m going to get the deluxe breakfast pattern, a bagel with cream cheese and lox, and a slice of apple pie.” Derke smiled as he handed his menu back to the waitress before raising an eyebrow at Stiles.
“I’m going to get a double bacon cheeseburger served rare with onion rings and curly fries, a bagel with butter, a strawberry milkshake, and a slice of lemon meringue pie.” stiles ordered, smiling awkwardly at the end.
The waitress’s eyes were huge as he took in that order, and then she left the table as quickly as possible.
“Well done.” Derek smirked at Stiles.
“It’s so weird, I never order my burgers rare.” Stiles said, frowning. “Something about it just felt right.”
“That’s the change.” Derek told him. “It’s a good sign that you’re craving rare meat.”
“I’m guessing it's also a good sign I don't have the hickey from hell anymore.” Stiles snarked at Derek.
“For the last time, that wasn't a hickey.”
“It felt like a hickey,” Stiles smirked, getting a rise out of Derek.
“And how would you know what a hickey felt like?”
Stiles nearly spit out his coffee as Derek smirked at him.
“Rude.” He muttered, putting down his mug.
Their bagels arrived, and they quickly dug in.
“So, I have questions about all this.” stiles said around a mouthful of bagel while he pointed at Derek with it.
“Don't talk with your mouth full. You’re not an animal.” Derek said, giving him an unimpressed stare.
“Aren't we technically animals?” stiles wondered. "Scott always made it seem like there was a beast inside him that was in control."
“Scotts an idiot who needs a good anchor,” Derek said bluntly. “Werewolves straddle the line between man and beast. They aren’t animals."
“So what should my anchor be?” Stiles asked.
Derek put down his food and began to explain.
“Your anchor is something that ties you to your human side,” Derek explained. “Something that reminds you of the best parts of being human."
“That would probably be my dad.” Stiles said, thinking about it. “He’s everything to me.”
“And that’s perfectly normal,” Derek told him.
“So why is Scott’s anchor Allison and not his mom?” Stiles asked, curious.
“Scott’s anchor should probably be his mom,” Derek explained. “But Scott is so resistant to the idea of it being anything but Allison that it's hard to convince him otherwise. And now, every time he and Allison have a falling out, Scott’s control will suffer as a result.”
“And that’s one of the reasons you didn't want them together, right?”
“That and Allison comes from a long line of werewolf hunters.” Derek answered.”It’s not a good idea for a new werewolf
Stiles sat with that for a second before asking the one question that he had always wanted to know.
“Do werewolves have knots?”
Derek choked on his coffee and glared at Stiles while he coughed out a lung.
“Why would you think that?” He asked, voice rough.
“Fanfiction, porn, lots of different reasons,” Stiles told him. “So..?”
“No, werewolves don't have knots,” Derek said, glaring at Stiles. “Next question.”
The waitress came by to clear plates, so Stiles waited until she was gone to ask his next question.
“How is this going to work?” Derek cocked his head in confusion, so Stiles clarified. “How am I going to be in your pack without being with the rest of the pack?”
“I’m going to spend a certain amount of time with you a week strengthening the bond between alpha and beta,” Derek told him. “Once we’re done here, we can go out to the forest and train to make sure you’re ready to rejoin school and the lacrosse team on Monday.”
“I can rejoin the team?” Stiles asked, confused.
“Yeah, of course.” Derek paused. My only request is that you don’t draw suspicion like Scott did.”
“That’s fair.” stiles nodded. “But I think I’m going to pass.”
Now Derek looked confused. “I thought you loved lacrosse.”
“I do, but explaining why I took a break and how I improved so quickly is gonna be odd. I don’t want to risk it. Especially with murder grandpa in town.”
Derek smiled at that, a glimmer of pride in his eyes.
As quickly as it appeared, it was gone, and Derek changed the subject
“And I think I already explained how full moons would work, so what else do you want to know?” Derek asked.
“Let me get back to you on that.”
Just then, the waitress dropped their platters of food off at the table.
Stiles eyed the massive burger on his plate and turned to Derek.
“Do werewolves have to deal with cholesterol?” Stiles asked.
Derek smirked around a mouthful of bacon.
“Nope,” he said after swallowing.
“Awesome,” Stiles said as he dove into his pile of food like a starving animal.
Not that he was one.
Derek was very clear on that front.
Either way, he was happy with the fact that he no longer had to worry about eating healthy
Except at home. In front of his dad.
They quickly polished off their meals, Derek paying the check before Stiles had a chance to reach for his wallet.
Stiles tried to give Derek some cash, but Derek quietly growled at him.
“I’ve got it. It’s a pack meal.”
“Having a pack is starting to feel an awful lot like having a sugar daddy.” stiles snarked at Derek.
Derek coughed loudly, cuffing Stiles on the back of the head.
“When we’re out to eat. I cover it,” he said quietly, barely managing to keep his eyes from going red. “I’m the alpha, it’s my job.”
“I’m starting to think you just love saying “I’m the alpha” just to win arguments.” stiles grumbled as he followed Derek to the jeep.
Derek smirked as he slid into the passenger seat.
“Drive into the woods.” I’ll guide us from there.” he commanded.
Stiles did as he asked, Derek’s nose wrinkling at the sound of the engine.
He’d been doing it the entire ride to the diner but stiles had tried to ignore it.
He was failing to ignore it now.
“This car is a hunk of junk.”
Stiles fought the urge to snap at him.
“It’s not that bad.”
“It sounds like everything is broken.”
“Maybe someone’s beta shouldn’t have ripped a piece out of the engine. It didn't sound that bad before.” Stiles snapped at him.
There was a long silence in the car.
“Shit up and drive, Stiles,” Derek said, looking annoyed.
“Sir, yes, sir.” Stiles saluted sarcastically.
Before long, Derek told him to stop the car, and they walked from there.
“I feel like you’re leading me out here to kill me.” Stiles said.
“Yes, Stiles, that was my whole pan. To turn you, lure you out here, and kill you.” Derek said, a sarcastic note in his voice. “Curses, you’ve figured me it.”
Sarcasm just sounds wrong when you do it.:” Stiles told Derek, turning to him.
Instead, he had to dodge a fist to his face.
“Wha the hell, dude!” Stiles yelled at Derek.
“Don’t call me dude.” Derek grunted before running at Stiles.
Stiles moved faster than he ever thought possible and found himself on the other side of the clearing.
He felt the urge to shift but he thought of his dad and it went away.
“Did you really think sneak attacking me would make me shift?” Stiles, asled, raising his brow.
“I’m a little surprised it didn’t but that’s not the point of the exercise.” Derek told him before moving towards stiles again.
“What is the point of this exercise?” Stiles asked, annoyed.
“The point was to see if you could keep your cool when someone was attacking you without shifting.” Derek said, stopping in front of stiles. “Which you did.”
“So what does that mean?” Stiles asked, confused.
“It means that I’d like you to have some practice, but that you’re already doing pretty well for your first day.”
“Really?” Stiles jumped, excited.
“Really. Now let's go, that’s not the only thing we're testing.” Derek motioned for stiles to stand in front of him.
“Let's see you flash your eyes.” Derek ordered.
Stiles thought of making his eyes glow, and by the look on Derek’s face, he guessed that he did.
“Okay, now let’s see your beta shift.” Derek told him.
“What’s that?” stiles asked, confused.
“It’s the lack of eyebrows thing.” Derek told him, sounding annoyed.
“Don’t blame me for not knowing all the fancy technical terms.” Stiles said, taking a defensive tone. “It’s not like there’s a werewolf Wikipedia.”
Stiles frowned. “Wolf-i-pedia?”
“Just do it.” Derek groaned.
Stiles focused and felt his teeth extend.
“Like this?” Stiles asked.
“Yeah, exactly like this.” Derek said, looking confused, “You’re picking up this stuff very quickly.”
“I’ve always been a fast learner.” Stiles said dismissively. “Hey do I have my eyebrows in this shift? Yours go away. Which is a shame because your facial expressions are like 85 percent eyebrows.”
“No, you do not have your eyebrows,” Derek told him, an amused look on his face. “Now, turn off the beta shift.”
Stiles thought of his dad, and the shift went away.
“Now let me see your claws,” Derek told him.
Stiles displayed his claws with ease, making Derek more troubled.
“Dude, why are you upset? This is a good thing, right?'' Stiles asked.
“Don't call me dude."
Stiles stared at Derek for a long moment, and Derek finally sighed.
"Yeah, it;s a good thing. It’s just strange.” Derek turned to pace the floor of the forest. “I have never seen a beta take to the shaft this fast. Even Boyd took a few days, and he was more even keeled than you are emotionally speaking. No offense.”
“Um, I’m a little offended,” Stiles said, but Derek didn’t seem to hear him.
“So what should we do to figure this out? Do you have anyone you can go to?” Stiles asked. “Someone your mom went to about problems?”
“There is one person, but I don’t have the best relationship with him.” Derek said. “And honestly I really don’t feel like dealing with Scott today.”
“Why would you have to deal with Scott?” Stiles asked, confused.
“Doesn’t he work at Deaton's on Saturdays?” Derek asked.
“No, he changed his shift schedule when he was dating Allison,” Stiles said before blinking in confusion. “What does Deaton have to do with all this?”
“He’s the guy my mom used to go to.” Derek told stiles. “He used to be her emissary.”
“So you're saying that in order to figure out what’s going on with your new werewolf, you need to go to the vet?” Stiles asked, trying not to laugh.
“Technically, you have to go to the vet.” Derek corrected him.
“I thought you said we weren’t animals!”
“We aren’t, but Deaton works as a vet to pay the bills, so that's what we have to do.”
“Great.” Stiles groaned. “That place smelled awful before my senses were enhanced.
“Cheer up Stiles.” Derek said, putting a hand on his back as he led Stiles back to the car. “It’s not like I’m taking you to get fixed.”
“Derek, that is not funny.” Stiles shot back.
“Eh, it was a little funny.” Derek jumped into the passenger seat of the car.
Stiles put the car in drive, wondering what he was about to get into..