Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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“All human members of the pack, don’t go out alone - go with another human or, better yet, a wolf. All wolves, be extra vigilant , you are a target. Whether or not it only attacks humans, you, as the protectors of those humans, are a target. If not to kill then to incapacitate because if you’re down, they’re unprotected. If you ever get into a situation where you’re likely to be separated from your human, don’t . I don’t care if you’re on a date, at school, in the damn parking lot. You leave your human, you answer to me .” Stiles stared down at the pack stood before her. Derek was stood off to the side, leaning against a pillar with his arms folded over his chest. “And trust me when I say I’m way more scarier than your alpha.”

“Why can’t we pair up like you and my dad did?” Allison asked and Stiles gave her an exaggerated ‘are you stupid’ look that the kid didn’t really relish in.

“Because neither of us were wolves, so neither of us could catch a scent. By the time the wolves did arrived, the scent died. Scents of rabids dissipate quickly . It’s part of their natural defenses from other predators, because their mind isn’t rational like yours,” she looked at the wolves of the pack. “They need the defense against hunters with more brain power and a heightened olfactory system.”

“So their natural defense against our type of wolf is something that battles our wolf’s best hunting tool?” Lydia asked, eyebrow raised, and Stiles nodded. “What’s the window?”

“Best we ever tested was 10 minutes, but that’s generous, given how attuned to the scent of the rabid our wolf was.” Her tone was so blase they all froze, staring at her with a whole range of emotions, and she snorted. “Picture this, rabid meets rational, cupid pops his shiny hiney down to Earth, shoots one of both in the ass and presto! They fall in love. A match made in the depths of purgatory by powers with way too much free time on their hands.”

“And your part?” Danny asked, looking genuinely curious.

“I was the only hunter with a good enough reputation,” she shrugged. “I don’t kill before I question.”

Not long after that, the pack started to file out. Scott told her that her dad wanted to speak to her and left, following Isaac and Allison. She noted that before each member left, they stopped by Derek and he either nuzzled their cheek or squeezed the back of their necks for comfort and/or reassurance.

“You’re good with them,” she commented when he told her they were out of earshot.

“I’m still learning,” he shrugged. “Are you going to see your dad?”

“Still weighing my options up,” she admitted and jumped back to sit on the table behind her, swinging her legs back and forth. “Would you look after him? If I left?” she asked. “Protect him from anymore supernatural bullshit?” Derek gave her a long, measured look before answering.

“I’d protect him,” he promised. “I’d send you updates whenever I saw him and when it got near the end, I’d go out and drag you back here kicking and screaming because I know, despite everything, you still love him and you don’t want him to die alone.” The Melissa and Scott notwithstanding, went unsaid.

She bowed her head, hands gripping the edge of the table tightly, legs no longer swinging. “Would turning him help at this point?” she asked.

“I offered him the bite, he said thanks but no thanks.” She snorted.

“Of course he did.”

She did end up going to the hospital and because Derek needed a buddy in their buddy-system plan, he went with her.

“I’m terrified,” he’d deadpanned at her when she asked why he was following her out. “Can’t be left alone.” She called bullshit the entire ride to the hospital.

“He’s been moved to a private room, dear,” the receptionist at the hospital entrance said kindly and Stiles just followed her directions until both her and Derek were walking down a corridor towards a guarded room. This room didn’t have glass walls and she figured that was a good thing. Privacy and all that. Despite her earlier talk with Derek, she was still pissed at all the secrecy.

“Red,” a voice called out behind them and they turned, watching Melissa slowly making her way towards them.

“I’m not talking to you,” Stiles said and about turned, continuing her way down the corridor. She heard Derek’s voice murmuring something but couldn’t make out the words and didn’t bother asking when he jogged to catch up with her. “Oh goodie, it’s the new kid,” she drawled when she got close enough to recognise Deputy Parish. “What, you’re not gonna come to their defence? Chastise me for being a terrible daughter?”

“Would you like me to chastise you like I would one of my betas?” Derek asked easily.

“I can defend myself easily in a life or death situation, I probably couldn’t hold my own against one of your ‘lets teach em a lesson’ plans,” she rolled her eyes.

“There’s always spanking,” Derek absolutely didn’t smirk as Parish and the unnamed officer with him froze, eyes widening, mouths dropping open.

“And they say romance is dead,” she turned back and batted her eyelashes at the alpha, rolling her eyes when he lightly tapped her on the ass. “You’re gonna so pay for that later, cujo,” she muttered as the officers let them through without further word and Derek snorted. “You’d be surprised at how imaginative I can be.”

“I really wouldn’t,” he promised and the door clicked shut behind them.

“So,” Stiles started as she stood at the end of her father’s bed, the injured man staring at her, eyes flicking to Derek every so often. “Am I getting ‘worst daughter of the year’ or do you genuinely not give a shit about what I may or may not think when shit happens to you and I’m the last person to know about it?”

“I don’t-”

“Cancer, dad.” Her tone was clipped and she watched him sigh, defeated.

Two hours later, Stiles walked back down the corridor, Derek at her side. When they reached the elevator and got inside, Derek reached over and hit the emergency stop switch.

“When my mom died, the doctors forgot about her for so long, I’d been holding her cold, dead hand in my own for almost two hours. Completely alone. Dad arrived 20 minutes later, had been at a car crash in town somewhere. He never looked at me the same way again... I never trusted him with my mental well being again.”

“How old were you?” Derek asked and she let her head drop back against the wall.

“Just turned 10.” Her laugh was bitter. "He fell into a bottle, I fell into therapists offices all over the goddamn county."

“Do you believe being away from Beacon Hills has helped you or just put off you dealing with whatever it is you need to deal with?” She snorted, giving him a small smile.

“I’ve been asking myself that question for 10 years,” and she flipped the emergency switch again.

 

--- - - - ---

 

“We have it’s scent, I’m trailing it but keeping my distance.” Derek and Stiles shared a look and headed back to the car quickly.

“Where?” Derek asked.

“About half a mile west of Oak Bank Waterfall. I crossed the rocks, you should be able to pick up my scent on the other side. Left my jacket on the rocks... that’s my direction.”

“Don’t engage, Isaac,” Derek ordered. “Tell Allison to keep her eyes sharp - dart from a distance - use the tip Red gave her. Do not approach if it goes down.” He ended the call and Stiles put her foot down. “What are we going to do if we find it?” he asked but Stiles didn’t answer.

It wasn’t long before they got as far as they could get in the car so they left it, continuing on foot until 10 minutes later, they were at the foot of the waterfall, and luckily for them, they were on the side where Isaac’s jacket was so Derek made quick work of picking up the scent and they took off.

They caught up with Isaac and Allison at around the same time Erica, Boyd and Scott arrived, Lydia and Danny not being available for the search that time.

“Did you lose the scent?” Derek asked as Stiles scanned the area. She pulled a small pair of binoculars out and did another once over.

“I shot something that was moving,” Allison admitted, but she sounded troubled.by it. “I don’t know if it was the right thing though. Derek,” she stuttered. “It looked like a kid... but it just kept moving, the sedative didn’t affect it at all.” Scott moved to stand next to her, arm winding around her waist and squeezing while Stiles remained stoic and silent. She went back to scanning and paused when she saw a flash of something pale.

“The rabid is a kid,” Derek admitted and the pack started shifting, murmuring uneasily. It went against everything the wolf stood for to attack a child, Stiles understood that.

“You all need to get out of here now,” she said, voice low and tense. “Allison, stay with me, wolves, go. Now ,” she growled when they started protesting. “Derek, cover their scent as much as you can. I’ll call you later.” When no one moved, she fired a warning shot into the ground at their feet, officially attracting the attention of anything that might be out there. “Move,” she growled without moving her gaze from her binoculars.

“We are talking about this later,” Derek snarled in her ear and she patted his shoulder before pushing him away.

“What do you see?” Allison asked Stiles, for the first time since their arrival, grimaced, slipping her firearm back into its holster.

“Nothing good. Come on, you’re gonna learn something about hunting today.” Her hood was pulled up and she turned to Allison, gesturing for her to do the same. She carefully ran her thumb and index finger over the seam of Allison’s black hood, murmuring under her breath until she was finished. The fabric shimmered and Allison’s face became fainter, more fluid, like heat waves or gas in air.

“What did you just do?” she asked.

“Nothing as good as mine, just a low level perception filter. It’ll hide your face from anyone supernatural, keeping your identity a secret from them. When we get back I’ll teach you how to do it more permanently. This doesn’t last more than 48 hours,” she made a vague gesture to Allison’s hood and the girl nodded. “Come on, hunting waits for no one, kid,” and they were walking.

“What did you see? Before I mean...”

“There are some things that come with hunting that you can’t escape. The notion that evil intentions overlook the innocence of childhood is something you learn is false very quickly. A child can be good or not so good, and whatever they are, they have the imagination to back it up. Supernaturally inclined children are susceptible to outside control - more often than not, it’s by a family member. Like the old Hale pack. Alpha Hale controlled her children to keep them safe. There are some people who control supernatural kids to use them as tools or weapons.”

“You think someone is controlling this kid, making... making it ,” she faltered. “Go around hurting people?”

“Not just people,” Stiles said firmly. “Human pack members. Different packs across the country... You see, there used to be a second rabid, but a hunter killed it a few years ago. So this one is now on its own and its being used.”

“Do you know who’s doing the using?” Allison asked and Stiles pulled them to a stop as they neared the edge of a clearing in the trees.

“I do now,” she murmured, scanning the area. Her scar was itching, tattoos tingling, her blood pumping in a steady rhythm, the calm helping her concentrate on expanding her senses. “Don’t talk, don’t react, don’t twitch anything they can see, don’t make any sudden movements, don’t. React.” Stiles pulled her close, staring into her eyes, her expression severe. “Don’t be scared, don’t allow yourself to be scared. They’ll hear your heart and they’ll use it. Okay?” Allison stared back at her, eyes wide, a little horrified.

“Are we in danger?” she mouthed, hands fluttering as she signed something quickly. Stiles nodded, impressed by her resourcefulness.

“Not iminently,” she murmured.

She took a deep, calming breath and moved out into the open air of the clearing, herself and Allison stopping five paces in. Allison stood a step behind her and to the right, her hands clasped behind her. A glance at her told Stiles she looked calm and collected.

“You’re slipping, Little Red,” a voice purred, echoing across the clearing and disappearing beyond the tree line. Stiles, for her part, smiled and turned around to face its owner.

“You know I don’t speak with the help, Kali,” Stiles clucked her tongue and the woman stood a few meters away paused, her entire body stopping for a split second before she was moving again, swaying from side to side, a small, amused smile touching the corner of her lips. “That said,” she continued easily. “You have my condolences...” Kali tipped her head to the side, eyebrow arching. “Your pack,” Stiles clarified and the woman froze, smile dropping. “I recall you being close, I’m sorry for your loss.” Stiles moved, a few paces to the left, then back again. “Unless of course, you sacrificed them to boost your power... in which case,” she stopped moving, now stood back where she began. “I hope they haunt you.” Kali snarled but didn’t advance her position. “Tell me, did Julia, sweet, adoring Julia... did she scream when you killed her? What about Abby?” Stiles’ expression was hard, though she knew Kali couldn’t see. She was vindicated when Kali flinched though. “You remember Abby... you must do. I was there for her awakening...” she chuckled. “You were so proud of your betas... producing a perfect cub... she was beautiful. Did you kill her too?”

“They’re gone,” Kali ground out through clenched teeth and Stiles studied her.

“You were once a model for younger packs to look up to, you know that? Jasper, Amei, Katie, Hannah, Felix, Thomas...”

“Shut your mouth,” Kali was breathing hard and Stiles knew she was on the edge of her control threshold.

“I wonder...” Stiles continued. “What about Michael?”

The comment was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back and Kali roared, crouching down and launching herself at Stiles.

“You’re slipping, Kali,” Stiles’ smirk was lost on the snarling Alpha as one gloved hand gripped her neck while the other grasped a flailing arm and squeezed . “I hope the loss of your entire world was worth whatever you gained... because there’s a special place in hell for those who kill their own.” Stiles shoved Kali away, delivering a solid kick to her midsection, the soul of her boot being lined with mountain ash as it were, much like her gloves, Kali was propelled across the clearing.

“What are you doing here, Little Red?” Kali asked when she righted herself.

“On a hunt, training the next generation,” she gestured back to Allison, who hadn’t moved a muscle. And from how little Kali had actually looked in her direction, she was doing a good job keeping herself calm too. “See the local pack reached out and you know what I’m like for a good cause! A sucker,” she let out a short barking laugh. “The victim of both attacks were quite close with the pack you see...” she continued and watched Kali’s reactions carefully. “You boys won’t have a spine to share between you if you don’t stop your approach in the next three seconds...” she called out without looking away from Kali, whose eyes widened. They all waited while a pair of twins stepped out of the trees and came to a stop either side of Kali. Stiles sighed.

“Long time no see, Red,” one of the twins spoke up, lips twitching, eyes switching between brown and red.

“I had such high hopes for you two,” she lamented, sounding genuinely saddened by what she was witnessing.

“We can’t say we’re disappointed by what we’ve become,” the other twin shrugged. “We’ve found our lot.”

“And what’s the turnover?”

“As yet undetermined...” a new voice sounded out through the clearing, silky smooth, gravelly, charismatic, confident... hell, it sounded amused and Stiles watched a fourth man stepping out of the tree line.

“Oh look at you,” she drawled, shifting her stance a touch. “I heard a tall tale that told of your untimely demise not so long since... Did you go to the dark side? Did you become... undead ?” she grinned and the man looked as amused as he’d sounded.

“What can I say? I made a deal with the devil and he gave me back my legs,” his arms were spread out wide. “The turnaround, as you mentioned, yes... undetermined because.. well... there has only been one death thus far. That is, the death that lead to my being here today so, it’s all a vicious cycle really.”

“And you’ve bagged yourself a baby rabid too... how quaint.” She watched his expression and saw him twitch minutely before it was covered up. “Can’t imagine it’s doing too well right now, is it?” she reached back, hand open, and instantly knowing what Stiles wanted, Allison put a small phial in the palm of her hand. When Stiles held it up and shook it, she chuckled. “On it’s own, reversible by time. With the magic infusion though...” she clucked her tongue. “Who can tell?”

“What makes you think we have in our possession, the rabid you speak of?” the man asked, moving towards the center of the clearing.

“Because I saw the frantic look only a parent could have when their child is taken ill on the man suspiciously missing from tonight's proceedings...” She shifted again, rolling her head and cracking her neck. “Which begs the question... did you find an alpha in a pack of rabids, or two rabids in a pack of... the more mentally sound, shall we say, subspecies of werewolf..?” The gathered wolves tensed collectively and she smiled. “So it’s him,” she surmised and the ringleader took a threatening step towards both hunters.

“We’ve never met,” the man spoke to her directly. “But I’ve heard nothing but good and positive things about you my dear.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Stiles took a step forward and her arms dropped down by her sides. “What would the late, great, Talia Hale think of her brother now?” the man flinched visibly. “Appropriating a den of alphas, forcing alphas to kill their packs, using a child to kill of humans in otherwise peaceful family packs. What, you think because your family was destroyed no one else is allowed to be happy?”

“This is my territory,” the man growled.

“Or is it him? Is he the one in charge?” She didn’t move as he took a step towards her.

“You. Know. Nothing! Little Red,” he snarled and she smiled.

“Quite the contrary, Peter,” she purred. “What I know would have you running toward the lunar eclipse and begging for a swift end. Your little friend, the one with the rabid child... whatever vendetta he has against pack humans,” Peter, Kali and both twins stiffened as one. “It’s over.”

Peter looked amused at her comment, despite being shocked by her knowledge. “My dear, don’t bite off more than you can chew.”

Stiles waited in silence until Peter moved back towards Kali and the twins before she opened her mouth. “The next time I see any of you, you’re answering for your crimes.”

“You have no jurisdiction over us,” Kali sneered.

“Felix, Hannah and Abby say otherwise.” Kali roared but instead of flying at her again, she disappeared into the treeline. Stiles felt her run to the edge of her senses and disappear.

“You were warned, Little Red,” Peter smiled.

“I’ll send your nephew your regards...”

She turned around, putting her back to the wolves and walked away, Allison matching her step for step.

“Give my love to your father, Ms Argent!” Peter called out with a laugh and Stiles grasped Allison’s hand tightly.

They were silent as they walked and Stiles concentrated on her senses, making sure no one followed them. She stretched them out further than she ever had before but eventually, they reached the car she’d left earlier when she’d been with Derek. After doing a quick sweep to make sure all was well, they got inside and drove.

“What did you see in the binoculars?” Allison asked a few minutes after they set off.

“Grief.”

 

--- - - - ---

 

“You didn’t come straight to me,” Derek was standing at her door, behind the ash line, and Stiles tipped her head, offering him a small smile.

“You are not my alpha,” she pointed out. “You’d do well to remember that.”

“I didn’t mean-” he stopped, frustrated. “We were worried ,” he pressed. “And I am Allison’s alpha.”

“Pouting is an interesting look on you,” she commented and he huffed, finally stepping over the threshold when she waved a hand, removing the ash line and replacing it when he was fully inside. “I was trying to work it all out in my head before I came to you,” she admitted, padding across the floor back to the rug in front of the fireplace, where she sat down cross legged.

“What do you need to work out?” he asked, following her. “You met whatever it is that’s controlling the rabid, simple.”

“Not quite,” she grimaced. “Peter Hale is alive, and is leading a pack of alphas. One of the alphas has a dependent - a child... whether it’s his or not, I don’t know. It looked like it was his. But the child is the rabid. Allison knocked it out with the enchanted sedative dosed tip and when I was watching through the binoculars, I saw the father... the alpha acting like the child was dead. I didn’t recognise him, but I saw a woman with him who I did recognise, which is why I told you all to leave.”

She watched Derek’s face carefully, emotions flickering over it like rapid fire: confusion, disbelief, loss, anger, betrayal, wariness, fear and protectiveness to name a few.

“Peter-” he began but the word, the name was choked even to his own ears. “ How?” he breathed and Stiles shrugged.

“That, I don’t know. We didn’t exactly exchange much by way of pleasantries. I told him he wasn’t welcome he didn’t take kindly to being told what to do.” They sat in silence while they both tried to come to terms with what was actually going on and the implications that came with the new players on the board.

“What do they have?” Derek asked. “In their arsenal I mean... who’re they working with?”

“It’s a pack from what I can gather,” she was frowning though. “I’ve heard tell of a pack of alphas running around America and finding packs old and new, trying to break them and build up their own at the same time. But when I heard about it, all I heard was Deucalion.” At Derek’s raised eyebrow, she raised her own. “You know the name?”

“Vaguely,” he admitted. “He was once the alpha of a pack that did business with my mother. She was one of those alphas other alphas came to for advice, a neutral ear.” Stiles nodded in understanding.

“He wasn’t there though, Peter was. Peter said, in too few words, that he’d taken out Deucalion and had become the new leader of the pack of alphas.” Derek was frowning.

“How many are in the pack?”

“Peter,” she started. “The alpha I didn’t meet, with the rabid child. An alpha called Kali... she’s a piece of work,” Stiles shook her head. “And a pair of twins. I’ve met them before, but they were never alphas. They were barely classed as betas. I can see why they’d go for the more power option because their pack never treated them like a pack’s supposed to treat it’s members, but still... two wrongs and all that,” she waved a hand dismissively. “So... five alphas that I know of, and the rabid child.”

“Do they know why you’re here?” Derek asked, leaving the question as it was, not elaborating.

“Not yet,” she admitted, sounding thankful. “I don’t know what would happen if it was discovered...”

“He’s gonna be okay, Red, okay? They’re both going to be just fine. You said Allison took the rabid down? Will the sedative wear off?” Stiles was shrugging her shoulders even as he asked the question.

“It’s a science and we only had half the equation,” she grimaced. “We erred on the side of caution and overdid the dosage. It might wear off eventually, but only after the magic dissipated... which will take at least-” she frowned in thought for a few seconds. “Outside of Beacon Hills I would’ve said a month. Inside, surrounded by all this supernatural stuff... maybe five? Six months tops.”

“Could they counteract the magic?”

“It’s keyed to me, so no.” Derek was thoughtful again.

“What about the chemical aspect? Could they counteract the chemical side of the sedative?”

“Theoretically, yes, if they A, knew what sedative we used, and B, knew the dosage. Only I know that information so their only option is to come to me directly.”

“Or go through the pack to get to you,” Derek pointed out and she stiffened, then sighed. “It’s a legitimate plan of attack, you’re known for protecting the innocent in any equation, the pack, for all intents and purposes, are innocent. I’m only voicing what Peter’s thinking...”

“They’d have to rely on the fact that I would do something though,” she countered.

“You wouldn’t?” He asked, eyebrow raised and if the situation weren’t so serious she’d tell him his eyebrows are actually ridiculous.

“I can think of reasons why it would be a bad idea,” she rolled her eyes but waved his protests away. “I protect the innocent, human or supernatural. Your little band of teenagers haven’t done anything to me, though my dad’s proximity to all this bullshit is a seriously bad thing .” He winces, but nods in understanding. “I want to know how your uncle, the uncle you told me was dead, is now alive.” Derek growled under his breath, frustration colouring the sound and Stiles could empathise to a point, but mostly she just wanted information.

“I had no idea he was even alive! ” he ground out and she actually believed him. He looked genuinely torn but she knew this was one family member he could never get back. The Peter Hale he knew and grew up knowing was long dead. His expression changed a few seconds after his statement, frowning, confused as he turned towards the door. “Next floor down!” he called and Stiles arched an eyebrow. “Jackson is here with Lydia...”

 

--- - - - ---

 

When Jackson Whittemore and Lydia Martin walked into Stiles’ loft, she immediately saw something was wrong; the girl looked pale, frazzled, almost scared . Jackson was jumpy, eyes darting everywhere as if an enemy was ready to jump out and try take her away from him. He hovered but she obviously didn’t want to be touched so he kept a respectable distance.. of barely 12 inches.

“I’m okay, Jackson,” Lydia whispered gently and the kid glared at everything but her before obligingly backing away a few more feet. “Allison told me Peter Hale was in the forest... he was leading the Alpha Pack,” she started and Stiles nodded, waiting. “Last year, he used me - damn near sent me insane - to bring himself back from whatever Hell he’d been sent to. He disappeared straight away and hasn’t shown his face since.” The silence rang out louder than a damn church bell and Stiles tried to process what she’d just heard. “So,” the girl took a seat on one sofa while Stiles and Derek took the other, opposite her and Jackson. “What do you want to know?”

“Three things,” Stiles said almost instantly, her mind a buzzing hive of activity. “The nature of your connection to Peter Hale, explain it. “ She held one finger up. “Anything you can remember about what he did and how he used you to resurrect himself, tell me,” a second finger joined the first. “Has he had any contact with you since he rose from the dead? And by any, I mean any . Muggle, magical, whatever. Even if you dreamed about something and he was mentioned or it was insinuated that he was the reason for the dream, I need to know. And then, we’re going to work on protecting your mind.” Lydia’s eyes widened.

“But Deaton said-”

“Deaton protects the balance,” Stiles said easily. “He can’t favour one side over the other. I protect the innocent. Big difference, kid.”

She wasn’t much of a help in the end; nightmares, hallucinations, lost time, in possession of way too much wolfsbane to be healthy... most of what Peter did to her, it seemed, was mental and remained locked in her subconscious or just wasn’t there at all. Still, a deal was a deal. Stiles gave Lydia some reading material and some meditation exercises to get her started. Protecting the mind wasn’t as easy as waving a wand and saying a magic word, after all.

“This isn’t Hogwarts,” Stiles rolled her eyes. “But those exercises will help you focus more. “Depending on how much of a Potter geek you are, the various theories bouncing around about Occlumency - the entirely fictional mind magic - is based loosely off basic common sense . You’re more focused when you relax, you relax when you meditate. Focus helps the protection process.” She pointed a finger at Jackson. “I can totally still kick your ass, closet geek notwithstanding.” The kid held his hands up in surrender but his lips were twitching. It was a better reaction than out and out fear, Stiles supposed, so she took what she could get.

“You need to be careful,” Derek spoke up for the first time since Lydia had started talking about her experiences with his uncle. “Even if he can’t manipulate you, he can use your fear of him against you and against us. He can use your relationship with any one of us to get information on us. Stick together,” he looked at Jackson briefly before turning back to Lydia. “Stick with as many pack members as possible. Carry wolfsbane, mountain ash - anything. Just protect yourself from him, got it?”

She bit her lip, expression worried, but nodded firmly, determination setting in. The teenagers left the loft a few minutes later.

Stiles started moving around, rolling her shoulders and stretching her muscles, shaking herself out as she thought about this entire clusterfuck of a situation. She felt Derek watching her but ignored him, instead, bending at the hip and stretching out her lower back and thighs. She continued to move and stretch until her entire body felt loose.

“Now that the rabid is down,” she began. “What do you expect Peter will do?”

“I don’t know,” Derek said honestly. “The uncle I knew growing up and the one condoning all this murder... they’re not the same man. The fire, death... it all changed him. He lost his mate, I’m surprised he survived at all.”

“Objectively,” she pushed on. “Say you’re planning an attack, your main weapon was just taken out and you're stuck with your pack. Teeth, claws and super strength. Everyone is an amped up alpha.”

“Take out the weakest links?” Derek suggested but Stiles shook her head.

“They’ve been doing that across America... they’ve targeted packs with humans and they’ve removed the human element. Like they wanted to cleanse each pack of the human infection,” she grimaced at the wording but it was true. That’s what the alpha pack had been doing. “And we still don’t know how they were controlling the rabid’s turn. Or if it could be used to control your betas change... and if it is, would they induce the change while the pack humans are around and further still, if that happens, would your betas attack the pack humans?”

“We’ve trained for situations like this, the betas wouldn’t attack the pack humans, any of them - up to and including Chris.” He gave her a considering look however and she understood.

“But if I was there, they’d see me as the threat,” she surmised and he shrugged.

“You’ve been helping the pack ever since you arrived, I’ve scented you in front of them, we’ve been nothing but cooperative, It’s 60/40 in our favour,” he said easily. “But the conversation is all but moot, because we’re not restrained to the lunar cycle for our changes. We can change at will, and often do because he helps our control. A rabid’s change cycle is very strict.”

At the last word, Stiles’ head snapped up, her eyes wide as she stared at him. She felt the blood leaving her face as realisation set in - as possibilities flooded her mind.

“- Stiles!” Derek snapped, fingers clicking together in front of her face, forcing her out of her semi-trance. “What just happened?” he asked, tone leaving no room for argument.

“The magic,” she said, starting to pace up and down quickly. “The magic behind whatever it is they’re doing to manipulate the rabid’s turns...” her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to picture the formulae in her head. “It’s possible the residual magic from the rabid’s natural lunar cycle could eat away at the magic in the sedative. It’s really hard to explain, don’t ask, just trust me. It could either be very good for us, or very bad.”

“So the rabid isn’t out of the picture? We need to keep ourselves on alert?”

She was shaking her head but he could tell it wasn’t a negative response but a thin hope, on her part, that he was wrong. She continued until everything about her just stopped and she slumped, shoulders dropping, head bowed, arms hanging limp by her sides. “Fuck.”

“Hey,” his voice was gentle and he slowly reached out, hooking his finger under her chin to lift it up so he could meet her eyes - eyes that shone with deep seated pain and no small amount of confusion. “Take a breath, let me in on your thought process, okay?” he asked and she took a breath as instructed before nodding her head.

“Because I don’t know how they’ve been controlling the rabid, I can’t make a solid prediction on how - whatever it is - will affect what we gave it to knock it out. If it’s something as simple as force of will coupled with a parent’s guidance and a little extra juice from wherever... the sedative I made up will keep it down for months untested. If they’re using magic to force the lunar cycle - if they’re putting the rabid’s already magic fuelled system through more strain by flooding it with yet more magic... the combination of it’s natural magic and their manufactured magic, so to speak-” Derek nodded, understanding, and she went on. “That could eat through the magic and the chemistry of the sedative in something close to... 24 hours. Maybe 72 if we’re lucky and because of the rabid’s size and age, not as much magic is required so it’s got more work to do.”

“Okay,” he breathed, his hands resting on her upper arms. “I’ll put the alert out to the pack and make sure they’re on alert.” He released her after she nodded and pulled his phone out. She moved back to the sofa and sat down, mind still racing until he returned and stood behind her, hands coming forward to knead at her shoulder muscles. “I know you’re on a hunt, but you’re also home. You can’t be everywhere all the time, you need to rest yourself, your body and your mind. You’ll be no good to yourself, your dad or the rest of the pack if you’re not on top form.”

“You’re about a subtle as a sledge hammer, Hale,” she muttered and let her head drop forward, shivering as Derek’s thumbs pressed a line going up her spine and into her hairline.

“If you’re going to make another reference to my sister, please don’t,” he murmured and she snorted.

“Your sister was a great lady,” she defended and he made a noise of agreement. “That said, you’re not too bad yourself.”

“Don’t strain yourself, Red,” he chuckled, fingers splaying out either side of her neck and moving down to her neckline before travelling outwards back to her shoulders. “I’ve not been the best example of an Alpha,” he admitted.

“But you’re still learning, and I can forgive that,” she admitted. “You’ve been accommodating with me, you’ve listened, invited me into your pack - you went against every instincts an Alpha should have when confronted with a hunter of any calibre, and that shows a tremendous level of control. You know Argent a lot better than you know me but you don’t let him in your loft for friendly sparring sessions...”

“Some people wouldn’t call letting a renowned hunter into their pack stronghold a smart move,” he said lightly and she gave a breathy laugh.

“The alliance can be explained to allies who question your competency, I’m an excellent reference, I’ll have you know - Holy fuck , you should do this for a living,” she groaned as he worked out a particularly nasty knot in her right shoulder.

“It’s been said,” he admitted and the smirk on his lips was also on his voice. She rolled her eyes.

“Don’t let it go to your head, brat,” she warned and heard a huffed out laugh as he continued to work. Ten minutes later, he was done and was just stood behind her, hands resting on her shoulders easily, comfortably. “You’re not going to make leaving easy for me, are you?” she asked and heard him chuckle as the hands gently squeezed her shoulder.

“I told you I’d do my level best to get you to stay-”

“You can’t bullshit me kid,” she patted his hand with her own. “I know a beta can be with whomever they like - they’re not limited by anything other than attraction. I also know an Alpha has to be careful. Don’t make the mistake your sister made.” She didn’t do anything when his grip tensed briefly before the hands slipped away and he joined her on the sofa.

“I’m not pimping myself out to you, don’t flatter yourself, Red,” he was rolling his eyes and she flashed him a grin, all teeth. “My sister made a lot of mistakes in her grief, you weren’t one of them,” he promised. “You were the catalyst to get her to sort herself out in the end. You showed her what it could be like and while you weren’t her mate, when she realised she could feel something other than pain and anger again, she let herself open up to the possibility of finding her true mate. She just died before she found them.”

“You think I’m your mate?” she asked him and he flushed, but held her gaze.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly and she arched an eyebrow. “It’s not as cut and dry as simply sniffing someone out and it being love at first sight, not everyone is Scott freaking McCall,” there was a story there and Stiles would know it eventually, as of that moment however she had more pressing things to concern herself with. “But would it be so bad?” he continued. “To entertain the possibility of having something more? Something stable? A home? A family?”

“A pack?” she supplied and this time, he averted his eyes. “I’m not saying the idea that I’m your mate is something I would be averse to, I’m not an idiot. I just… I don’t know if-“ she cut herself off and sighed.

“I’m not throwing this at you because I want you to stay in town, you should stay in town because you want to, not because of what may or may not be between us-“

“Don’t kid yourself, Cujo,” she snorted. “I’m not an expert on werewolf mating lore, it’s generally not required for my profession. The only time I’ve come into contact with the concept of mates is when I accidentally found myself witnessing a claiming after I helped a pack out in Wichita a few years ago. I can’t – I don’t know if I can be what you need in a mate, Derek,” she said finally but he didn’t seem disheartened, only appreciative of her honesty. “I don’t know if I have it in me to be anything more than what I am right now – my relationships have been nameless and more often than not, faceless. Laura is the most memorable partner I’ve ever had and rather than just not wanting the trouble, I just haven’t been able to commit. I’m a hunter. I travel – I move from state to state, hunting bad guys and saving lives. I don’t know how to be anything else.”

She watched him watching her, almost (but not quite) leaning into the fingers that reached out to move a piece of hair that had fallen onto her face. “I do feel something for you,” he finally admitted. “It’s not quite love but it’s strong. I feel drawn to you… I care for you in more than just a member of the pack…”

“Can we not,” she sighed, closing her eyes. “I can’t be that for you, not right now and if it ever could happen, I have no idea when it might. You can’t wait around for a maybe until I’m ready to give you an answer and I can’t let myself – I can’t stop being me, doing what I do, long enough to give you one.” The sofa moved under her and she opened her eyes halfway to see him moving closer, face moving towards hers until they were practically sharing the same breath. “I can’t be what you need,” she whispered and he smiled, turning his head and pressing his lips to her cheek before moving away again. “You’re not pressing this…” she said and he shrugged, standing up.

“You know where I stand, I know where you stand. We’ll do with it what we will and whatever happens, whenever it happens… we’ll live with it.”

“You’re being remarkably level headed about what is essentially, rejection,” she said carefully and he shrugged easily.

“Can’t force someone to do what you want them to do.” She just narrowed her eyes.

“You’re plotting,” she said, making him snort, amused. “Don’t think I’m not onto you, Hale. I know your game.” Her index finger reached out and jabbed him in the abdomen, the closest part of him she could physically reach. “I’m onto you.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” his smile was as innocent as the statement and she rolled her eyes before her expression turned thoughtful.

“Derek,” she took a breath, steeling herself. “If I go… If I leave, after this rabid situation is dealt with – I’m not going to hang around. You know that, right? I mean, I can do a lot of things, but I can’t do goodbyes.”

“As long as you make sure to see your dad before you leave, I won’t hold it against you.” His smile was sincere, his entire being was sincere and it honestly confused her.

She knew what he wanted, knew what it was taking for him to hang on a maybe, and a feeble one at that. She couldn’t promise him anything, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to. When she saw him in New York, he was still a minor, had an attitude problem stemming from the bullshit that was Kate Argent and he was still grieving. She only spoke to him a few times because he focus had been Laura – Laura who had been on a curve of self-destruction until they met. Stiles wasn’t an idiot now and she hadn’t been one back then either, she knew the lay of the land that was Laura Amelia Hale and by the end, she’d started feeling something more than friendship for the Alpha… but that had been fleeting. It was something Stiles knew she couldn’t afford and Laura knew she couldn’t find with Sties.

“Red?” Derek was clicking his fingers in front of her face and she blinked, scowling and swatting the fingers away, much to his amusement. “Where’d you go?” he asked, stepping back a few paces and leaning against the arm of the sofa opposite the one she was sat on.

“Nowhere relevant,” she answered, waving a hand at the door, the line of mountain ash flying up and into its jar. “Go, I’m gonna shower and eat. I’ll be up later when everyone else arrives.”

“Alright,” he nodded his head and pushed away from the sofa, turning and walking to the door. “You need to think about getting over your dad not talking to you,” he added as the door opened. She frowned at him but he just shrugged. “As an Alpha,” he said easily. “A member of my pack is hurting, you can help fix that. I’m asking you to think about it.”

“You seem to be asking me to think about a lot of things lately,” she grumbled and he rolled his eyes. “Fine,” she said with a heavy, put-upon sigh. “I’ll think about everything we’ve spoken about. You just remember your promise about keeping me updated if I leave.” She watched his face carefully and saw the slight pinch of his eyebrows, the tightening of his jaw and she knew he was betting on her staying for one reason or another. “Derek,” she said. “There’s a very high likelihood that I’ll leave after all this, you need to not bank on my staying.”

“You’ll do what’s best for you,” he said by way of replying and closed the door after stepping out. She waved the ash line back in place more out of habit than anything else and sighed.

This entire situation was getting out of control.

 

--- - - - ---

 

“Have you been to see him yet?” Scott asked from the passenger seat of her car as she drove towards the town limits.

“Yup,” she said, the ‘p’ sound coming out like a pop rather than an actual letter.

“Did you do anything other than argue?”

“Don’t preach to me, kid,” she warned and he scowled.

“You realise it’s like I’m riding around with a headless horseman, right?” he snapped, petulant and she snorted.

“Humans can see me just fine,” she sang.

“Yeah well, I can’t really change what I am, can I?” he gave a huge sigh, slumping in his seat.

“Be thankful I let you ride with me at all kid. I’m not your number one fan right now.”

“I said I was sorry-”

“No,” she held a finger up. “You didn’t. You stuttered and stumbled while your infinitely more competent girlfriend dragged your skinny little backside out of my apartment before I could kill you... and then your Alpha helped calm me down. No one has yet to apologise properly.” She drove passed the motel-slash-diner, noting idly that their special was only $5.99. Quality.

“You haven’t given anyone a chance to,” he shot back, voice clipped. “You’ll spend time with Derek, but not with anyone else for any prolonged length - if you want in this pack, you can’t just seduce the alpha and expect the rest of us to follow blindly. You’re a hunter , you need to earn our trust!” She couldn’t help but snort out a laugh at his words.

“Oh sweetheart, is that what you think I’m doing?” she chuckled. “I’ll have you know, that I want in this pack about as much as I wanted to be told by my stupid brat of a step-brother that my dad once had a heart attack, and was shot. I’m helping the pack because it doesn't’ serve me to work against it. The Sheriff is attached to it, it’s a big part of his life. I would be stupid to not acknowledge that-”

“But Derek’s been scenting you a lot-”

“Because, on the off chance something happens and one of you loses what little control you have, you won’t think of me as a threat!” she snapped and he shut up, but not before snorting. She heard him mutter something under his breath but ignored him and any further attempts he made to talk.

When they reached the town line, she pulled over.

“What’re we doing out here?” Scott asked. “I thought we were meant to search the preserve?”

“Change of plan,” she said, climbing up onto the hood of her car and moving up to stand on the roof, her feet planted, balancing carefully (so as not to do anymore damage to her car), and then she pulled out a pair of binoculars. “I had the maps out last night,” she said as she searched the area first with the naked eye, then with the binoculars. “There are a few buildings out here - the distillery, old farms, abandoned industrial warehouses... but they’re all spread out. They are all, however, a stone’s throw from this road. The pack of alphas won’t cross into Hale land without a purpose-”

“They were in Hale land when you spoke to them,” Scott pointed out helpfully and she wished she had something to throw at his head.

“They were in Hale land because their rabid was leading us on a merry chase and they were watching. They stopped retreating when they heard my shot and came to chat. Don’t try and understand the mind of an alpha, Scotty, you’ll just get yourself turned around and twisted up in knots.”

The three buildings within her range of sight from that spot didn’t look very promising; two weren’t abandoned anymore and had actual construction crews roaming around, the third - the farm, was almost ruins. She’d read reports about there being a gas explosion there and the structural integrity of the building had been so bad that no one else could ever live there safely, but no one wanted to buy the land to redevelop.

“Come on, there’s nothing here. Let’s move onto the next spot.”

“I have no idea what we’re doing,” he pointed out, watching her jump down to the ground, bypassing the stepping stone that was the hood of the car completely.

“And that’s why you’re not in charge,” she said with a fake smile he couldn’t see because of her hood, but the scowl on his face told her he’d heard it so maybe it had been worth it.

“Why do you do it?” Scott asked after a few minutes of driving and she made a questioning noise in the back of her throat. “Hunting... why do you hunt?”

“I’m good at it,” she answered and he rolled his eyes.

“But... your dad is here. You have a home here... you bought a damn apartment in this town. Why do you hunt when you could be here?” Stiles took a deep, measured breath and pulled over again - once more getting up onto the roof to look around the area.

“I don’t like Beacon Hills, Scotty,” she said through a sigh, exasperated with the kid. “And the next time you go shouting about my personal life, family ties and/or friendships, I’m gonna gag you with a wolfsbane soaked rag, got it?” She gave him a glare he couldn’t see but she figured the effect of the black void that covered her face was off putting enough because he flushed and averted his eyes to the ground.

The movement gave her pause and she considered him for a long moment before finally turning her attention back to the area.

“The fact that you just bared your throat to me is very telling Scott,” she said lightly, catching him tense in the corner of her eye.

“I didn’t - I don’t-” he shook his head, unable to find the right words and cursed himself for showing that kind of weakness.

“It means you already consider me pack enough to stick me in a rank higher than your own, and considering you are the head beta, you put me right up there next to Derek...” she moved from left to right, taking in the four structures around her. The first was the farm from her previous position, the second and third were possibilities as they looked like solid standing buildings, safe to squat in, safe to hide out between attacks and the final one was an old abandoned church that, if she remembered correctly, was still protected by the council. “Which begs the question,” she went on. “What position would you consider me if I were an actual pack member?” He didn’t answer and she hadn’t really expect him to. She knew exactly what position he thought she could take, and figured Derek must have been giving off some pretty pungent vibes for Scott to even think about reacting to her like he had.

Which meant Derek had the self-control of someone without his particular personal history. Or the kid was just growing up and growing into his Alpha status. Which was comforting, she supposed.

“What are you looking for?” Scott asked and she ignored the question, choosing instead to focus on one of the two possibilities.

“Do me a favour and stretch your hearing out in that direction,” she pointed to the first of the buildings and waited.

“Nothing,” he said and she nodded, moving to the next one and asking him to do the same for that building. When he didn’t answer, she moved the binoculars back and looked down at him. His expression was pinched and confused and she frowned, crouching down so she could get a closer look, not that it helped much, but putting herself closer to him made him turn his focus back onto her. “I don’t hear anything from that one,” he admitted and she cocked her head to the side.

“You don’t hear anything or you hear nothing ?” she asked and he frowned again.

“That one,” he pointed to the first building. “I don’t hear anything from it, but the breeze is going through it, the windows are probably out... it’s empty. No life, no heartbeats, no nothing. That one,” he pointed to the second, expression once more turning troubled. “It’s like there’s a void there. I can hear the wind around it, blowing through the fields and grasses around it, the leaves on the ground, even the squeaking of the sign as it moves in the breeze, but the building... it’s as if it isn’t there at all.” She nodded and jumped back down to the ground, gesturing for him to get back into the car. “Is that it, then?” he asked. “That’s where they’re hiding out?” She turned the car around and headed back to Beacon Hills.

“The void you mentioned, is created by warding. There are certain protections that werewolves use to hide themselves when they’re on the run from hunters or other wolves... it looks like they’ve put those protections in place around that warehouse.”

“What if they haven’t though?” he asked. “I mean... we were down wind. I couldn’t smell anything from that direction at all...”

“Scott, that place was at least 1.5 miles, probably 2 miles away. Wind changes direction, you’d need to be within a few hundred yards to get a positive on anyone being there. But for now, let’s hypothesize. Say they aren’t there and they put the protection in place because they now know I’m in the area. What do you think they’d do now? Where would they hide? Would they hide?”

“If they have an injured or down member like you said, they’d need cover. They’d need a place to lay low. And for all intents and purposes, that warehouse is outside Hale land so they can be there if they like...” She hummed her agreement, nodding her head at the same time.

“Good,” she gave him credit and he flushed, his lips curling upwards in a please smile before he turned to the window, blocking his face from her view.

“Where now?” he asked.

“Now, we go report back to your Alpha. Those protections take energy and time. They’re not going to waste that effort by leaving it empty when the ones they’re after are susceptible to the same weaknesses they have.”

“So it’s not a trap?” he asked after a minute, thinking over her words and she made a ‘so-so’ gesture with her hands.

“It’s certainly not safe for someone to walk in there alone,” she offered. “But the only trap is the physical trap those Alphas will provide. Which means, Scotty, we need a plan.”

 

--- - - - ---

 

“Good afternoon, Miss St-“ Parish snapped his mouth shut when Stiles walked up to him and held a hand up.

“Call me Red,” she said and he frowned, but nodded. “Right, for the foreseeable future, he,” she gestured to the door that her dad was stuck behind. “Is in potential danger. I’m going to have friends stopping by regularly, one will always be nearby. They’re not police, they’re actually kids, but they’re capable and even though you’re going to spit your pacifier out and argue the law at me, save it. Put these,” she held up a small black bag that rattled with the sound of metallic objects hitting one another. “In your piece and if you see anyone you don’t already know approach or try to enter this room and their eyes go a funny colour, shoot first, ask questions later. I’m giving you these because you’re his Deputy and you’re on watch. I’m trusting you to keep him alive in all ways that isn’t medical. Do you have any questions?”

“Is this a supernatural thing?” Parish asked quickly and she blinked.

That was essentially how Parish admitted knowing about the Supernatural world. Her dad was ecstatic when he found out.

“You’re doing it again,” her dad said when she perched herself on the edge of his bed after Parish had left the room. “You did it before you left the first time, and the second time, and the third time...”

“Did what, smartass?” she rolled her eyes, swatting his hand away when he went to poke her side.

“You have the same look,” he went on, shifting so he was more comfortable, so he had a better chance of reaching out to her. “You’re leaving, aren’t you?” he asked and she picked at a frayed edge of the shirt sticking out from under her jacket. “Is it over then? You caught the big bad?”

“I’m not leaving yet,” she assured. “But I’m not coming back to this hospital unless I’m bleeding out and in the back of an ambulance.” He grimaced at the image but nodded, understanding her reasoning. “I can’t... I can’t be here anymore, Dad,” she sighed. “Derek’s going to keep me updated on you, gonna tell me when-” she cut herself off, squeezing her eyes shut and letting her dad reach out and pull her down to lay next to him on the bed, curling into his side. “I can’t watch you die like I watched her die,” she whispered and he pressed his lips against the top of her head.

“I don’t want you to watch me die, sweetheart,” he whispered. “I never wanted that - it’s why I never told you about any of it... the heart attack, the gunshot - I didn’t want you to come here and find out. I didn’t want that on you. Not again.” He sighed. “The hardest thing I ever did was letting you leave when you were 16. I know you didn’t trust me after your mom died... not like a daughter should trust a father, and it took me till you were just about to leave to realise why. I wasn’t there when you needed me, I never was. I was so caught up in my own grief I couldn’t see or help you with yours and when I heard your mom was-” his throat closed up and he choked on the words. “I never gave you an apology worth a damn for leaving you alone to deal with that and I can never hope to find the right words to give you one now... but letting you go when you were 16 was the only way I could ever hope to give you something back... to make up for the shitty father I’ve been...”

She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed as tightly as she dared, burying her face in his chest, eyes squeezed shut and face damp with tears. “You were a good dad,” she breathed. “It took me a while to understand you, but I know you only ever did what you thought you had to do - what you thought was right.” he snorted gently, smoothing down her hair.

“Where are you headed?” he asked fifteen minutes later when she’d finally forced herself to stand back up. She didn’t move far from the bed though, unwilling to leave just yet.

“Gonna go check on a newborn I helped a few months back - his mom was being hunted, I helped secure their place in a pack in Nevada. Their Alpha requested I be there for the kid’s awakening.” At his confused expression, she explained. “It’s like a Christening, but not in a church, no water, no God... just the pack, the full moon and a blessing. It’s a symbolic ritual all pack cubs go through.”

“Isn’t it weird that you’re there if you’re not pack?” She shrugged.

“I don’t know what to tell you,” she admitted. “I think in the few that I’ve done, my magic has afforded the blessing added power, giving the cub more protection. Anyway,” she cleared her throat. “After that... I don’t know. I’ll probably go check on a hunter friend of mine, make sure he’s okay.” Her mind went back to Joe and she sighed.

“Well, just keep in touch, okay? Text me when you’re heading out of town.” He pulled her down for one last hug and she smiled into his shoulder.

“Promise.”

 

--- - - - ---

 

Erica and Boyd were her braun.

The rest of the pack (who could realistically help, which meant Allison, Danny and Lydia were volunteered for hospital duty) were spaced out as they approached the warehouse. The closer they got, the more Stiles could sense. She couldn’t trust her scar or her tattoos, but she trusted her senses and they far outweighed the protections the Alphas had put in place around the warehouse. She could tell they were inside, but couldn’t tell anyone where they were exactly.

When they reached the perimeter of the warehouse compound, she paused and crouched down, resting her hand flat on the ground. She pushed a pulse of magic out and felt it feed back to her in stages as it moved through the concrete. Eyes closed, she got a basic read on what was inside and frowned when all she could see were two life forces - one werewolf, one being so clouded by magics both natural and foreign it was amazing that the host still held a heartbeat.

“The Rabid,” she breathed., cocking her head to the side. “It’s inside,” her voice was low but she knew the pack could hear her. She pulled her magic back, closer to the surface this time and found not only the protection line but four more life forces belonging to werewolves. “The entire pack is here,” she rose slowly, the residual magic coming back to her arching like electricity and making the tips of her fingers tingle. “i’m going to break the line,” she went on. “They’re either going to bait or attack fast and hard. Be prepared.”

Taking a deep, measured breath, the protection line broke under the weight of her magic.

She heard Erica and Boyd stumble back as they both inhaled and a quick glance to her left and told her that Scott, who had been stood roughly 50 yards away with Isaac, had dropped to one knee, hands at his head and head turning back and forth quickly as if he was trying to clear it of cobwebs. A look to her right told her Derek was still standing, but he too was shaking his head.

As for Stiles, her tattoos were at a constant hum.

The designs were such that each protection rune she had was hidden by everything else. She had layers and layers of protections runes and wards that she was probably the most protected hunter on the face of the planet, but those protections meant nothing if a pissed off Alpha was charging at her with claws out and canines bared.

It was show time.

 

--- - - - ---

 

Ethan and Aiden probably surprised Stiles the most by literally joining together to form that big stupid hunk of muscle and Alpha . They were trained, but she’d been at this for a long, long time. Peter and Kali were stood by the door and Stiles noticed Derek’s pack moving towards her location when they realised the only point of entry was the one the Alphas were physically guarding.

“You made a mistake coming here, Derek,” Peter said easily and Derek growled. “Allying yourself with a hunter ,” he clucked his tongue. “Especially after what happened last time? You really are just a glutton for punishment, aren’t you?” he was smiling though, almost amused. “Let’s see the almighty Alpha Hale in action then... see if you’re worthy of the title you stole from me.”

“I’d love to,” Derek gestured to Scott and Isaac, who joined him in stepping forward. As a group, they advanced on the Ethan/Aiden behemoth and roared.

Stiles kept her eyes on Kali and Peter throughout the entire fight.

When Scott jumped on the thing’s back, his claws digging into it’s neck before he kicked himself away, clawing gills into it, Kali flinched but Peter looked nonplussed. When Scott was thrown into the metal fencing - particularly the barbed wire section, she smiled and Peter rolled his eyes as if the move had been pointless, which it had, because Scott visibly healed in seconds. Isaac clawed a cross into the thing’s chest and was repaid by being tossed at Scott - another wasted move as they both helped each other up and attacked together.

When Isaac and Scott were grounded, hands at their throats pinning them to the concrete - that was when Peter took note. Derek moved quickly and silently and the sickening crunch that echoed across the otherwise silent compound made her stomach turn and made Peter’s eyes light up and shine with intrigue. Kali gave a shout of anguish that made a bitter, righteous smile twist at Stiles’ lips. The Alpha didn’t deserve to care about anyone, she didn’t deserve to have anyone care about her.

Stiles heard a wet tearing noise and only realised that Derek had actually torn the head clean off the behemoth when two heads rolled across the ground towards Kali and Peter. Seconds later, Derek was stood beside her, practically vibrating with the power that must’ve transferred with the kill.

She didn’t do anything to encourage touching but when he reached forward, resting a tense hand on her shoulder, she didn’t shrug him away.

That was something else Peter’s eyes lit up at seeing.

The combination of Erica and Jackson wasn’t actually enough to hold down Kali and as much as Stiles wanted to step in and kill the bitch for her crimes, the hand still resting on her shoulder reminded her that the pack had to take care of this part alone at the very least. Boyd launched himself into the fray with a roar that echoed, his claws swiping down in a huge arch, moving left to right and tearing across Kali’s back. The Alpha didn’t die - they were made of sterner stuff - but the attack did a number on her spine and she fell to her knees, her pained screams piercing and close to painful even for Stiles.

“You can take it,” she said gently and Derek’s hand tensed up again. “Trust me.”

“I do,” he murmured, moving so he was flush against her back for a second before stalking away and taking care of Kali, who was trying to glare holes through Stiles’ hood.

“Seems we have ourselves a bit of a standoff, Little Red,” Peter said with a leering smile as the pack returned to flank her. “You have my darling nephew by the balls... just like the last one,” he sneered and behind her, Derek tensed.

“I take great offense to being compared to Kate Argent,” Stiles said, taking a step forward, and then another, and another... until she was walking slowly but with purpose towards the leader of the depleted Alpha Pack. “I’m far prettier,” she stopped when there was barely three metres between them and he tipped his head back, considering before his eyes flickered back to Derek.

“The pack is strong, nephew,” he said, almost complimenting and Derek responded with a low growl. “Tell me,” he turned back to Stiles. “Why did you come here? Why take this hunt?”

“I was in the area,” she drawled. “How did you manipulate the rabid’s lunar cycle?”

“You’re a smart girl, Red,” he chuckled. “You mean to tell me you haven’t figured it out yet?”

“If I had,” she pointed out. “I wouldn’t need to ask, would I?” He just clucked his tongue, shaking his head as if he were disappointed in her efforts.

“I’d like to tell you it was some elaborate ritual... or some highly technical new age science experiment gone awry, or the power of an alpha,” he chuckled, shoulders shrugging once; up, then down. Stiles frowned.

“Why target human members of packs?” she moved on, mind still racing.

“Because they are simply inferior,” Peter rolled his eyes. “Come on, that wasn’t even an effort! Ask me something juicy, you know you want to,” he rubbed his hands together like an eager child about to get something sweet.

“How did it feel,” Derek spoke up for the first time and Stiles felt him standing just to her right, less than an arms length away. “When Aunt Fran died?” he finished and Peter’s smile disappeared. “How did it feel when your sister died? Your brother? Your nieces and nephews? How did it feel, uncle ,” he spat the word out. “When your newborn child was killed in the fire?”

“How did it feel to be responsible?!” Peter snarled, eyes glowing bright red, flashing with anger and hatred and no little amount of madness.

“That’s my cross to bare,” Derek admitted. “I blame myself for it everyday, but I was a child and I was used. You were an adult when you killed my sister - your niece. For what? Her power?” he sneered. “You’re pathetic, and you should’ve stayed dead and buried where I left you.” With a roar louder than Boyd’s, Derek flung himself at his Uncle and Stiles was grabbed by both arms before being pulled back, away from the carnage.

The fight wasn’t a long one but it gave her time to think.

As she watched Peter claw the skin from Derek’s arm almost completely, leaving his bloodied muscle exposed, she thought about his words. Ritual. Science. Alpha... Individually, the elements wouldn’t be enough to inhibit a Rabid. They’d be enough to inhibit a regular werewolf, but Rabid’s were more temperamental, their magic more chaotic. Nothing had reason, nothing had order.

As Derek retaliated by nearly scalping his uncle, tearing almost half the other wolf’s hair from the back of his head and quickly swiping at his back, narrowly missing Peter’s spine, she thought about combinations. Logically, using all three would work, but it would be overkill. Those kinds of magics are protected amongst the few hunting families privy to their existence. There’s no chance in hell that one of them gave the information up to a wolf willingly, let alone a Hale. Attitudes were such, at one point, that the name Hale and its reputation for peace was met with scorn and though they kept to the code, whatever code they had, very few hunters gave an inch when dealing with the Hales.

When Boyd jumped in to strike at Peter and was subsequently thrown back into Isaac and Erica, Stiles thought about the other two - Science and the power of an Alpha. Science could be anything - there were minerals and elements naturally occurring in the world that could be used against werewolves - both rabid and regular, but very few are publicly known. Stiles herself only knew of a handful, the most obvious being Mountain Ash. That couldn’t inhibit the change, only injure the magic of the wolf. Rabid’s were also susceptible to silver though. She was 99.9% sure, however, that any werewolf, rabid or regular weren’t able to handle Mountain Ash, so unless they had a human shacked up, they weren’t using the Mountain Ash.

Scott and Jackson jumped forward next as Derek got his jaws clamped down on Peter’s shoulder and something in Stiles’ mind clicked.

“Hold him,” she said and the pack did as requested, holding Peter Hale still with claws and/or jaws. “Moonstone,” she tried and was rewarded when Peter’s eyes widened. “Okay,” she took a few steps back, nodding at Derek, who had both hands now firmly wrapped around Peter’s head.

“One question!” Peter ground out through gritted teeth and Stiles waited, head cocked to the side. “Why are you here? Really? They wouldn’t have been able to get themselves into any real order if you hadn’t been here to push them, so what brought you to Beacon Hills, Red? What brought you to Derek?”

And because Stiles was feeling magnanimous, she smiled and pulled down her hood, revealing her face. “My name is Stiles,” she admitted and though she saw the tiniest glimmers of recognition in his eyes, she continued. “The Sheriff is my father.” The recognition spiked, but so did realisation as his expression turned ashen, the knowledge that he’d brought Little Red down on his stolen pack. His reactions confused her a little but she continued to smile despite that as she put her hood back up, going back to thinking things through.

Her mind raced as she tried to figure out the likelihood of the pent up magic within the Rabid eating through the magic of the sedative.

“Derek,” Peter breathed and Derek paused. “You truly are Talia’s son,” he was laughing, though Stiles didn’t think it was a malicious laugh, and would later admit that there may have been a hint of pride in there somewhere.

Unable to say anything in return, Derek’s face was set in stone as he did to Peter what he did to the twins/behemoth - tearing his head off with a guttural roar. “There’s one more left,” she said when everything went quiet, Peter’s final words shoved to the back of all their minds.

“And the rabid,” Erica breathed. The entire pack looked like it was getting a backlash from the power Derek was taking in from each kill and, Stiles supposed, they were. They’d no doubt ride this high for a while and neighbouring packs or packs looking to encroach on the Hale territory would think twice before trying anything. She’d seen the effect before, though admittedly, no one pack had taken down an entire alpha pack before and it was a testament to how well the Hale pack worked together. They were still young and there were flaws, but then it came to protecting their own and their town, she could see how well they worked.

It was naive to think Peter had a point by saying she’d somehow managed to bring them together, make the pack a more cohesive unit, but comparing them now to the first time she’d met them all as a group, they were a little more relaxed in themselves. Stiles though, used to erring on the side of caution to get herself through life, was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

She hadn’t lifted a finger, but taking down the twins, Kali and Peter had been... almost too easy. It was as if Peter set them up to fall. The twins, though their advantage had been great, couldn’t multitask enough to get rid of Boyd and Scott and certainly couldn’t react fast enough to keep Derek from taking off their (combined) head. Kali hadn’t been much different. Peter’s fight with the pack was something more, but still, no where near what an Alpha should be - especially the alpha of an alpha pack.

Pushing the thought to the back of her mind for the moment, she and the pack advanced into the warehouse, herself and Derek taking point.

She followed his silent direction as they walked, stopping for a split second when she heard the distant rumbling growl of the last remaining alpha reverberating through the winding corridors of the warehouse. Her heart jumped a beat and she could feel her magic pooling, dancing just beneath the surface. Her fingers twitched, sparks arcing between them until she eventually clenched each hand into a fist to stop it from expelling itself.

A hand dropped to the back of her neck and squeezed through the fabric of her hood - Derek - making her breath hitch. She paused with the pack a few metres away from a set of double doors that, after a cursory inspection from her, didn’t reveal anything other than metal elements; aluminium, steel, etc. Her hand twitched, fist uncurling and she felt a tiny portion of her magic being released, forcing the doors inwards (when they opened outwards), ensuring they wouldn’t be trapped inside at the very least.

When the door was gone, Stiles saw the last remaining alpha, not protecting, but flanking a very awake, very upright young girl. The Rabid , Stiles’ mind supplied.

The girl seemed alert, aware and, by the narrowing of her eyes and the knowing expression on her face, she seemed... in charge was the only logical way Stiles could word it.

This... this was something Stiles had not expected.

“You killed my pack,” the girl spoke, her voice light with fatigue but the weight of her words bore down on the entire pack, Stiles included.

Her eyes narrowed and she reached out with her senses, trying to get a read on the girl. She saw the rabid beneath the surface, the sedative still heavy in her system... her mind however...

When Stiles tried to get a read on the girl’s mind, it made her gasp - she didn’t have a hope in hell of holding it in either. What she sensed - she’d never sensed anything like it. The mind, it was gone. The physical structure was there; the brain tissue, synapses, electrical activity, but the essence of the self, the consciousness, it wasn’t there. And if it was, it was so broken, so beyond healing, there’s no way the girl should be stood up and talking to them.

“Who are you?” Stiles asked, hands twitching, fingers sparking, the sound of crackling electricity filling the air as she worked herself up. The girl cocked her head to the side, seemingly intrigued.

“You’re Little Red,” she actually smiled. “Tales of your prowess haven’t exaggerated, I’m impressed,” she chuckled. “I’m seldom impressed, my dear.”

The alpha flanking the girl flinched silently, but remained resolved in his stance, looking like he would die to protect her.

“What brought you here?” the girl asked.

“You didn’t hear?” Stiles smiled.

“The building is insulated,” she shrugged. A very ‘what can you do?’ kind of gesture that set Stiles’ teeth on edge. “Not even my father ,” she gestured to the alpha. “Could hear.”

“Oh honey,” Stiles smiled, tipping back her hood and revealing her face. “That alpha’s daughter has been gone for a long, long time.” The alpha growled, eyes glowing and teeth lengthening. The girl’s expression turned annoyed for a split second before it was back to amused.

“I’m quite sure I have no idea-”

“Don’t bullshit me, demon ,” Stiles sent out a tendril of magic; one she’d practised for years when she started hunting and the ground beneath the girls feet burned deep and scorched bright orange before fading to black, revealing a perfect devil’s trap beneath her feet. The girl’s eyes widened as she stared down at the ground. “Was she already dead when you took the host? The soul went but the body was alive... you had to be quick,” Stiles mused. “The window isn’t long, a few seconds with physical trauma...”

“What are you-” the Alpha began but the girl spun around to face him.

“Don’t listen to her!” she snapped and Stiles took the opportunity to look around, spying a large cage in the far corner and studying it. “She’s trying to turn you against me! I’m your daughter!”

“So you were in that thing... what? The whole year? You think you’d be able to... I don’t know, lock yourself away, carefully time your attacks on different packs across the country and either no one would connect the dots or, if someone did, they’d figure it’d be just another demon on a timer?” The girl spun around, her expression hard now and Stiles could tell the demon in her was trying desperately to keep up the facade. Stiles’ lips curled into something of a grimace as she spat out her next word. “ Christo, ” she murmured and the demon snarled, eyes bleeding black, the release of energy triggering the rabid’s innate magic. “Could’ve avoided this,” she drawled, taking two steps forward. “Death, destruction... exposure . You know, I wouldn’t have even heard of this had you not attacked my family.”

The demon’s eyes narrowed and the Alpha was looking - Stiles wasn’t sure hopeless was the right word, but something close to it at the very least.

“Family.” The demon’s tone was derisive. “You’ve been hunting for years, any family you had-”

“Watch what you say now, sweetheart,” Stiles smiled. “The rightful owner of that body is long gone and I have no qualms about tearing it apart now I know that.” The demon seethed and even as Stiles got closer, the Alpha didn’t move. “Why here?” Stiles said. “Why Beacon Hills? Why the Hale pack?”

“Peter,” the girl snarled. “Wanted to come back to his hometown and test the worth of his wayward nephew,” she sneered. “Figures he’d be the one to orchestrate you being here and screwing up this operation.” Stiles waited for her to elaborate and luckily, didn’t have to wait long. “I don’t know how he managed to get you here, he was never fully on board with our mission either way-”

“Killing pack humans?” Derek growled and the girl rolled her eyes.

“Human souls are worth a million times more to us than the pitiful split souls of werewolves,” she huffed. “Attacking pack humans made excusing the actions easier.” She was so unfeeling, her tone lacking in any semblance of a conscience that even the Alpha stood behind her was shocked, his eyes widening as he stared at her.

“So you don’t have a vendetta against pack humans...” Scott frowned and the rabid snorted.

“If you’re stupid enough to get involved with the supernatural, you deserve to be culled.”

“And that’s why Peter brought you here,” Derek said finally, saying Peter’s name with something other than the hatred one might have expected. Stiles tipped her head, not taking her eyes off the demon/rabid and she could tell the entire group was waiting for an explanation. “Peter’s mate before the fire was human, one of his two children had been born human and my baby sister was also human. He neither hated humans nor did he want them dead...” Derek took a deep breath, realisation rocking him. “He brought you here because he trusted my pack to be the one to take you all down.” Stiles didn’t have to turn around to know that Derek had a look of intense guilt on his face but when she felt the pack closing ranks around him, offering him comfort, she was pleased. It was unspoken, the fact that that probably meant Peter had known exactly who Stiles was, had known what would bring her back to Beacon Hills to help in the fight... It was a stroke of exaggerated genius if you thought about it, really.

Before any of them could react, the last remaining Alpha of the Alpha pack stepped forward and into the confines of the Devil’s Trap, his hands coming up to wrap around the neck of the girl. His eyes were hard but he was crying, as if what he was doing had been the hardest decision of his life.

Stiles was sympathetic; he’d lost his daughter years ago but had never realised it. The demon had taken over and had manipulated everyone around her.

“ Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus...” Stiles began and the demon started screaming, bucking against the hold of the alpha, spitting out curses towards the pack and Stiles until it all became white noise.

When the demon had been exorcised and shipped back to hell where it belonged, the body of the girl dropped, her father’s hands going slack, the girl’s neck having broken almost as soon as he’d grabbed a hold of her, not counting the countless other wounds the poor body had suffered while under the demon’s control. A look at the body with her senses showed zero activity and for all it hurt Stiles to admit it, it broke her heart to see a child in that state, even one as dangerous as a rabid.

The silence in the aftermath echoed louder than anything Stiles had heard in a long, long time and as the pack watched the lone Alpha kneeling beside the body of his long dead daughter, Stiles considered her options.

“What do you want?” she asked finally and the Alpha’s shoulders shook, with shock or laughter - Stiles had no idea until he opened his mouth.

“She had me fooled for so long,” he rasped, hysteria in his voice.

“She wasn’t your daughter.” Stiles crouched down so she was at eye level. “Your daughter died a long time ago, the demon didn’t care about you. It used you to get to the pack. Maybe even helped initiate-”

“Just kill me,” the Alpha sighed, interrupting her.

“I’m not a supporter of assisted suicide,” she said and his eyes glowed red. His lips parting, teeth baring themselves was the only warning she had before he launched himself at her. Claws out, arms raised, he swiped down from left to right across her body and it was only the combination of her own reflexes and Derek’s as he helped pull her back that saved her.

“KILL ME!” The alpha roared as Stiles got her footing back.

“No,” she said, throwing her hand out, pushing a wave of energy at him to knock his second approach off track and throw him back towards the body of his long dead daughter.

“You better kill me!” he snarled, spinning until he was crouched over the body, ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. “I’ll keep coming at you if you don’t! I’ll go for your father! Your pack! I’ll kill them all!” he launched again and stopped in mid-air, frozen in place. Stiles’ had both hands raised and the force of his power - of his rage was making it difficult for her to maintain the hold so much that her arms were shaking.

“I’m not going to kill you,” she ground out and he snarled at her, eyes wild.

“I’ll kill you,” he vowed. “I’ll kill your friends, your family... I’ll do it! And then I’ll dance on your graves!” he was beyond reason and not for the first time, Stiles found herself hating demons. She’d never met a good one. No one would convince her any good, reasonable demon existed - she’d seen this kind of fall out from a demon possession before and it broke her heart to see what was probably once a proud father, a proud man... reduced to this feral mess.

But she wouldn’t kill him.

“I’ll tell the world about us,” he said suddenly and she started, eyes widening. “About wolves... I’ll tell them where each and every pack I’ve ever encountered is based, I’ll tell them how to kill every single wolf in America and it’ll spread across the damn world!” He licked his lips and gave a sneering laugh. “And I’ll tell them to start here.”

“Derek no!” she shouted, dropping the hold she’d had on the alpha and watching him fall towards the blur that was Derek Hale. The alpha dropped and Derek was on him, claws flying, gauging, slashing, slicing until all the alpha was, was exposed blood, bone and sinew.

Stiles stumbled back, pulling her arm out of a hand that had steadied her. She backed away from the sight of Derek kneeling over the body of the alpha and he stared at her, his eyes glowing, breathing heavily as the new power rushed through his already amped up system.

“Stiles,” he growled out and she flinched, not that he could see her face but he caught the movement of her shoulders and his expression shuttered. “Stiles-” he made to stand up but stopped when he saw her hands twitch.

“Don’t,” she ground out, still backing away. Her eyes ran over the pack as they watched her retreat. Their faces held confusion, questions... Scott looked pained but he didn’t try follow. “Just don’t,” she said to all of them as she reached the door. Once she passed the threshold, she turned around and ran, her magic forcing the darkness of the corridor to swallow her up completely. She didn’t stop running when she heard the anguished howls of the pack, nor did she stop when she felt them start to run after her. No... she only stopped when she reached her car, parked half a mile from the building.

Then she drove.

 

--- - - - ---

 

It had been six hours before anyone tried to text her. First Scott, then Melissa, then Isaac and finally Derek. After two weeks, Derek was the only one texting her, though he’d stopped apologising and asking her to come back so he could explain a week in, instead choosing to keep her updated on her dad. A month in and her dad was back on full duty, and then a month later, he was back on desk duty as his cancer progressed. Derek told her chemo was no longer an option, the cancer had grown too aggressive too quickly.

Stiles took out her frustrations on a pack of vampires in Detroit, a hunter called Frank at her side. Frank lost an arm and Stiles lost a lot of blood but they both survived and the vampires were gone.

Derek sent her pictures of her dad, Scott and Melissa together, the pack training, the pack together on a movie night, her dad eating salad, holding a sign saying ‘meat free zone’. He never sent a picture of himself or with himself in it, she didn’t really know why, didn’t want to over think it, she was still pissed at him for everything and she had every right to be - he killed someone in cold blood. Not even self-defence! Race defence, if anything at all, but it was still cold blood. The other alpha had been grieving!

For every irrational thought about Derek, she had a rational one - a rational reason for his actions and it made her ache inside just thinking about it, thinking about how protective of his pack he was, about how much he took on to keep them and everyone around them safe... she knew he was a good guy, she’d always known that. Hell, she’d even let herself care about him even before he admitted to caring about her. For all she wanted to go back to Beacon Hills and give whatever potential thing they might have a shot, to be with her dad during his last months, she couldn’t... it was too hard for her to fathom. She’d watched her mom slowly waste away to nothing, she couldn’t live with watching her dad too.

At month four, the pictures stopped and Stiles was thankful, her dad had started to look frail, older than his years. Derek had admitted that the Sheriff had requested no more pictures be sent onto her for that very reason, so Derek just sent text updates about how the day’s been, what happened with the pack, what happened during the large family dinner, the restoration of the old Hale house and how it’s progressing... and every so often he mentioned the latest supernatural or hunter threat. Supernatural they could take care of easily, hunter... had been a little trickier. That was until Alison had stepped up and used Stiles’ name Little Red to scare the bloodthirsty hunters into leaving. It took a while to get them to believe her but once they did, they ran, though not before putting arrows through Scott and Isaac.

Stiles caught up with the hunters in Mexico City a week later and they spent an hour apologising and pleading for mercy before she just broke their legs and left them in an alley. They survived evidently and word spread because the next time she visited the Greenway, a dive bar off I-95 heading through Maryland frequented by hunters 98% of the time and she was given a few strange looks until a group of newbies surrounded where she was propping up the bar and accused her of turning dark side.

The entire bar went silent.

By the time she left no one questioned why she’d done what she’d done.

And no one was making any plans to visit Beacon Hills at any point in the near future.

Two weeks later her dad was officially out of his job. Parish was Acting Sheriff until the next election - the county was putting it off until the inevitable out of respect, at least that was the gist she got from Derek’s texts. He was still active around the house in small bursts, slept a lot more, relaxed out in the garden now it was summer. His health insurance from work was covering all the medical bills, even after he’d left the job. The county was being strangely giving in the face of all his years on the job. It would have been suspect to Stiles, but Derek made a point of letting her know without prompting that they’d legally checked everything out to make sure there wouldn't be any unwelcome surprises.

It was sweet really.

In the months since she’d left, she’d never responded - never wanted to initiate conversation. She didn’t want to get caught up in something she might not be able to step back from when she needed to. To be honest, the fact that he’d kept in touch even one-way meant a lot to her and more than once she’d typed out messages and replies to his texts... and more than once she’d typed out messages without any prompting. She’d always deleted them though.

At five months she started getting worried when she hadn’t heard anything from Derek for five days in a row but she was closing in on a hunt so couldn’t do anything about it until the damn demon had been exorcised. Though, last she’d heard her dad had been restricted to the sofa, bed, dining table and bathroom, and the latter only with assistance (for showers only), so she knew he was declining quickly.

The demon on a one way trip to the fire and brimstone from whence it came and the teenage boy it had been possessing safely dropped off at the nearest ER, Stiles returned to her motel room for a much needed shower and sleep.

That had been her plan anyway.

“Stiles.”

And then her world came crashing to a very abrupt halt.

 

--- - - - ---

 

Boyd drove back the Camaro while Derek took shotgun with Stiles from Flagstaff. The beta left with a nod to Stiles and a small smile; Stiles nodded back but didn’t feel up to smiling, so didn’t. Instead, she just walked into her room and started stripping.

“Stiles, we need-” Derek stepped in behind her and quickly closed the door, eyes widening as she pulled off her top and kicked off her boots, her jacket and weapons already in a pile on the bed.

“I’m covered in demon smoke and the blood of a teenage boy, I’m fucking showering,” she said with a hard edge to her voice and thankfully, Derek didn’t argue. “Do me a favour, make sure all my shit is collected and put in the bag,” she kicked a large duffel into view and made for the bathroom buck naked, uncaring with fresh clothes and a towel in hand. It didn’t hit her that she’d done what she’d done with him watching until she was rinsing her hair of shampoo, and she froze for almost a full minute, shaking herself out of the haze when his concerned voice came through the door asking if she was okay. She shut off the shower and stepped out, saying she was fine.

Ten minutes later they were heading out of the reception area after having handed the keys for the room back to the guy on the front desk, who hit on her using the exact same line he’d used when she’d checked in , only this time, she broke his nose.

“You haven’t texted in almost a week,” she said when they hit Route 66 and she heard him sigh.

“I’m sorry-”

“I don’t want an apology, Derek!” she snapped. “Do you know how worried I’ve been?”

“No, I don’t, because you never text back letting me know you got any of the thousands of texts I sent you!” he snapped right back and her hands tightened on the wheel.

“You stopped texting just after getting done telling me the doctors were recommending an overnight at the hospital! How the fuck do I not worry after that ?” They were barely two minutes into their drive and she was ready to kill him.

“I never knew if you got the messages, Stiles,” he repeated, a little calmer this time. “I never know! I don’t get delivery reports, I don’t know if you change your number for work, if your phone is smashed in a hunt- I don’t know! I’m texting you blind, hoping something is coming through and I get nothing from you. Nothing at all! How the hell am I supposed to gauge how you’d feel if I take a few days off of my busy texting schedule to actually go out and find your ass?! Do you actually know how big this country is?”

“Oh grow the fuck up,” she rolled her eyes. “You could have asked me outright on the phone - I don’t care if you didn’t know or not. Best way to see is to ring the damn thing!”

“And you’d have answered? After running away from me the last time we saw each other?” he snorted and her grip tightened again.

“You killed someone in cold blood, I wasn’t going to stay around for a kiss and a fucking cuddle,” she snarled and he shut up.

Five hours later she pulled over at a rest stop and grabbed a few things to eat on the road before tossing him the keys and sliding into the back seat of her car.

“How’d you get the scar down your back, ass and thigh?” he asked twenty minutes in and she flinched but the engine was so loud she didn’t think he’d hear the sharp intake of her breath.

“Wendigo claw,” she answered eventually. “It’ll teach me not to go bathing in a woodland stream.” Derek growled and she raised an eyebrow at the back of his head. He made a show of glancing back at her and she saw his eyes flashing red. “Don’t get all bent out of shape, Cujo, it’s dead as dead and it’s ass is in Purgatory as we speak.”

“And the new scar on your shoulder?”

“Vampire nest,” she answered curtly.

“Crooked pinky finger?”

“Trapped it in a car door!” her tone was growing more and more irritated with every question. “Shut up and drive,” she snapped finally. “I’m a hunter. I hunt bad things. If you weren’t so damn important to my dad I’d probably hunt you after the stunt you pulled with the alpha so don’t you dare start judging me on my work.”

“You got a grand total of 12 new scars, that I could only account for from the view I had, probably more that I don’t know about since you left home and you want me to not say anything? Are you crazy? Or just an idiot?”

“Do you want to walk back to your territory? We’re about to pass through Rosen land, I bet they’d love to hear from a lone alpha!” she snarled and turned away from him, curling up and squeezing her eyes shut.

“I’m just concerned,” he sighed.

“Be concerned about something that needs it. Like say, proving to me you’re a fit alpha instead of a cold blooded killer.”

“I don’t have to prove anything to you,” he growled by way of replying and she snorted. “I killed that alpha because he was a threat.”

“He was grieving! He’d just lost his daughter - his one and only reason for fucking being! You, of all people, of all werewolves , should understand what that feels like!” she twisted until she was sat up and staring at the side of his head.

“I didn’t go on a murdering rampage across the United States!” he shot back and she snorted.

“No, you just turned a bunch of adolescent brats into wolves at the height of puberty. Way to go there, Lassie,” she rolled her eyes. “Good job. Good alpha skills you got going there.”

“He was a threat, he said it himself! He would tell people-”

“He wouldn’t have told anyone!”

“I could hear his heart beat, Stiles!” he shouted. “He wasn’t lying when he told you to kill him! He wasn’t lying when he promised he’d bring ten tons of hell down on our shoulders! He was hurt, upset, grieving, but he wasn’t lying! Not one word!” She glared at his head for a few seconds before going back to her previous position curled up on the back seat. She didn’t speak again but neither could she sleep so she scrolled through her phone and all the pictures Derek had sent her.

She had the one of her dad and Melissa as her homescreen background.

They drove for another four hours before they had to pull over for gas and Stiles decided to take over, considerably bored with pretending to sleep and just winding herself up more and more so she figured having something to occupy her time would be better.

“You know you overreacted by leaving how you did, right?” Derek asked from the passenger seat but she didn’t acknowledge him. “For someone as well versed in the supernatural as you are, it was an overreaction. You weren’t scared of me, or of what I’d done... you were looking for an excuse to leave and you took the easiest road-”

“Fuck you and your huge fucking ego,” she sneered without taking her eyes off the road. “You didn’t scare me, you don’t scare me. The fact that I’d been considering a relationship with someone who could so easily do something like that without a second’s thought? That scared me. That made me think twice and realise oh, the psychotic alpha wolf might not be the right fit for me. I don’t want babies with this one, he’s too impulsive, likes to settle disputes with claws and teeth rather than words and fucking therapy!”

“You said you wouldn’t consider-”

“I said I couldn’t be what you needed, and I didn’t lie. That didn’t stop me thinking about it though! You made damn sure of that didn’t you? It didn’t stop me considering my options!” She pressed down on the gas and the car sped up as she overtook a few slower pick-ups in the inside lane.

“We’re never going to agree on whether or not you believe what I did was the right call or not, you couldn’t see or hear what I did and I can’t see things from your perspective because I didn’t only have myself to think about. I had my pack to consider, the town I live in, it’s people, your father! I had all those people to protect and consider and I had a split second to make that decision and it was hard , okay? I didn’t do it lightly. I’m a predator , that doesn’t mean I have to be a killer but I chose to kill to protect my home. I chose to eliminate a threat to protect the people of Beacon Hills. You can either live with it or not, I don’t care anymore.”

“Bullshit you don’t care,” she snorted, fingers flexing against the wheel and for the next 30 minutes, the car was silent until finally, she opened her mouth and licked her lips, preparing to talk. “Believe it or not, I do understand why you did what you did, I just don’t like it. I have my code, you have yours. I’ve been telling myself for months and I didn’t get it, that he could’ve been saved but that was mostly me being pissed at you for taking what was my decision away from me. I’m a hunter, I’m Little fucking Red, you don’t take shit away from me unless I give you permission and you just waltzed in and stole that choice from me like you had the God given right to do so - Which!” she said with emphasis when he opened his mouth to interrupt. “You both had and didn’t have. It was your territory, you’re the alpha, I get that. But I was born there too. It’s my home town, he’s my father and I should have had the final say in what happened. You took that away from me and yes, I understand, but no, I’m not gonna take it lightly.”

“So it’s been a pissing contest? This entire thing? Your silence? The way you left? You’ve been pouting?” he sounded severely unimpressed and she hit him as hard as she could in the arm.

“Screw you, Cujo,” she snapped. “You killed a grieving father whose whole world had just crashed down on him - his pack was taken from him, his daughter gone... and you just killed him. Suicide by wolf,” she sneered again. “Ironic.”

“What are you going to do after...” he trailed off after attempting to speak two silent hours later and she rolled her eyes.

“After my dad dies?” he flinched but she didn’t acknowledge it. “What am I going to do in general or am I going to stay in Beacon Hills and play fucking house?”

“Forget I asked,” he huffed.

“I have his estate to sort out,” she finally continued, her tone gentler this time and she heard him shifting. “Melissa is his wife, I know that, but there’s some things she can’t sort out. It’s a family thing.”

“She’s his family, Stiles,” Derek sighed.

“Not like this.”

“In the eyes of the law-”

“In the eyes of my mother’s will , she has no fucking claim now if you’ve quite finished trying to piss me off as much as possible, kindly shut the fuck up for the rest of the trip. And if you can’t manage it, call Boyd and tell him to pull over at the next hard shoulder. We’ll catch him up in half an hour and you can get back in your Camaro.”

He shut up.

 

--- - - - ---

 

“Well aren’t you the prettiest picture there ever was?” she drawled, arms folded over her chest as she leaned against the door frame of her dad’s bedroom. He opened his eyes and smiled up at her.

“Hey there, Red,” he sounded terrible and she barely held in her wince, but she held her nerve and pushed away from the frame, walking over to perch on the side of the bed, taking his hand in her own. “You’re here,” he sighed out, sounding happy and she nodded, smiling her own watery smile right back.

“Kinda hard to say no to an alpha that just won’t quit,” she snorted. “Besides, I needed a break. Last few months have been rough.” Her grimace only came through when he patted her hand with his free one.

“You’ve been running from your problems into the supernatural,” he deduced and yeah, she had been, but he wasn’t supposed to know that.

“My problems are the supernatural,” she rolled her eyes and his smile turned soft.

“You know he cares about you, right?”

“I am not talking about Derek with you, Dad,” she huffed but his grip on her hand tightened briefly.

“He cared enough to keep you updated on my progress,” he said. “He cared enough to work with you when you were last here... he cared enough to bring you down from a panic attack. He cares , Stiles.” She glared but didn’t speak. “You think I want to be sat here telling my only daughter to go get laid?” Stiles grimaced and her dad coughed through a laugh. “I want you happy, I think he could make you happy.”

“You think too much,” she pointed out and he shrugged. “Look,” she sighed. “I can’t... I don’t want what he wants. I can’t be what he needs me to be-”

“He doesn’t need you to be anything other than what you are,” her dad pressed.

“I can’t believe you’re sat here trying to get me to go steady with the local alpha werewolf.” She ran her free hand over her face, suddenly very tired. “Have you ever thought about what I want?” she asked. “I might not want him, I might not want to be with a werewolf, Dad. I’m a hunter, I hunt supernatural creatures... I’ve killed a lot of wolves in the last ten years dad, what makes you think I want to spend the rest of my damn life with one? With a pack of them!”

“Because you didn’t tell me to get lost when I brought it up.”

“I don’t care what he’s been filling your head with,” she stood up and tugged her hand free, leaning down to kiss his cheek before stepping back and straightening her jacket. “Whatever I decide to do, it’ll be on me, not you, not Derek, me . Now I’m going back to mine... I’ll be by tomorrow, okay?” He was smiling like he knew something she didn’t and that had always annoyed her but it wasn’t like she could tell him to stop so she just huffed and walked away.

“Hey,” Melissa was stood by the kitchen door as Stiles stepped off the last step.

“I’m going home,” she said after nodding her hello. “I’ll be back tomorrow at some point. When do you start your shift?”

“10,” Melissa answered, a small frown working its way onto her brow. “But Scott’s here, the pack filter in and out all day, he’s never alone in the house.”

“I’ll come by for lunch then,” Stiles decided and Melissa was still frowning. “If you’re gonna start on at me about Derek too-”

“No, nothing like that,” Melissa assured and Stiles didn’t quite believe her but nodded.

“Then why the long face?”

“Besides the obvious?” Melissa sighed. Stiles was suddenly aware of the potential emotional outpour the current situation could bring out and she figured that it would take maybe three seconds to get to the front door but then Melissa started talking again. “How are you so calm right now?” the woman asked.

“What makes you think I’m calm?” Stiles answered with a sigh and Melissa just stared. “This isn’t the first parent I’ve lost to long-term illness. I just skipped the heavy lifting this time around.”

“Don’t talk about your father that way,” Melissa glared and Stiles knew ... she knew that had the woman had less restraint, Stiles would be sporting a hand shaped red mark on her cheek right then. In theory anyway.

“He’s my dad, I can talk about him how I like. I’ll handle this situation however I like and I’ll grieve however I like.” She caught Melissa’s hands clenching into fists at her sides and knew the woman was angry but, to be honest, she had enough on her own plate to worry about. “You don’t understand why I am the way I am, it’s not my job to make you understand, it’s your job to just let me be and let me handle things the way I want to handle them. Whether they’re healthy or not. I don’t much care, but they’re mine. Now, can I go, or are you gonna use one of those fists?”

When Melissa flushed and stared down at her hands in shock, Stiles took her chance and left the house without another word.

“You could be a little nicer, given the circumstances,” she heard and rolled her eyes as she unlocked her car.

“I’m not a nice person, Scotty,” she drawled without looking back.

“Yeah but you are though,” Scott pressed. “But you’re pushing my mom away, you’re arguing with your dad... he’s dying , why are you wasting your time with him?”

“Scott, do yourself a favour,” she opened her car door and finally looked up at the house. “Shut up.”

Seconds later she was peeling away from the curb.

In the shower she had nothing else to do but think about everything; her dad, Derek, the situation, the pack, the history... everything that had happened to lead up to her stood in that shower and the more she thought, the more the cracks in her armour grew until she realised she’d been holding her breath too long and choked out a sob while attempting to get some air. The floodgates opened at that and she spent the next ten minutes crying into the stream of water.

She couldn’t believe it was actually happening again.

First her mom, now her dad... Sure, she’d spent the last 10 years out of Beacon Hills to get away from dealing with the residual emotional nightmare that was her mother’s death, but she’d become somewhat numb to that special branch of hurt over the years. This new hurt was fresh, it was raw and had too many facets for her to properly grab a hold of and she could feel it gnawing at her from the inside out. It was terrifying and for the first time in a long time, she couldn’t run from it.

She had to face it.

And that scared her more than anything else.

When she got out of the shower, she put on loose fitting pyjamas (bottoms too long, top with too long arms) and padded out to the kitchen area to make herself some tea. She’d just put the steaming mug on the coffee table and had turned the TV onto something mundane when there was a knock at the door. Without looking up, she waved a hand to move the mountain ash from the threshold, then waved it again to open the door. She heard someone enter and close the door behind them.

She didn’t look up until Derek was stood two feet from where she was sat on the sofa trying to curl into herself and she sighed, loosening her curl and letting him sit down beside her. She even let him wrap an arm around her and pull her close to his side.

“You’re still on my shit list,” she said and he made a noise, acknowledging her words. “The price of admittance to the orphan club is too fucking high, there’s not even any benefits. What the fuck man?”

“It’s a heavy price,” he agreed. “Shitty outcomes too... it makes you think about what you probably should’ve done during the times you had. It’s a heavy weight.”

“You’re a riot,” she rolled her eyes. “You know he tried telling me you were a catch?” she snorted. “Like I didn’t know that already. No one seems to grasp the fact that I’m as pissed off as I actually am. Like - you think I’m just annoyed. But I swear to God if you were anyone else, you’d be dead right now. You have no freaking idea how lucky you are to be still breathing.” He didn’t comment, just waited for her to continue. “That’s not just personal feelings either, I’m literally on the fence about you on a professional level, because you killed someone in cold blood. I don’t care what reasoning you had or what you heard from him, it was cold blood and you fucking know it - I don’t even care that I understand why you did it. And yeah, I’ll admit I probably would’ve done the same thing were I in possession of the nifty hearing advantage you’ve got going on but all I saw was a grieving man begging for death and you giving it to him. Ever think the packs he attacked may want retribution? Ever think I might want more information about the methods they used to keep the rabid’s power suppressed and free from the moon’s influence?”

“Would the demon effect the moon’s influence?” Derek asked, curious and Stiles elbowed him.

“That was a question on my list. Ever think about shit like that? No, you didn’t.”

“I was protecting my pack, I’m not going to apologise for that, no matter how many times you call me a murder or a cold blooded killer. I’m not going to say sorry for something I’d do again.” She didn’t reply to the statement but felt herself smile as she let her head drop against his chest.

“I won’t ever get over it,” she admitted after an hour of watching crappy cookery shows on cable that had probably been repeated ten times over the course of the day anyway. “The look on your face, the look on his, the blood... I won’t forget it. It reminds me that you are what you are, despite my dad’s best efforts to convince me otherwise.”

“I’m not a wild animal, Red,” he huffed and she snorted.

“I’m just telling you now. I won’t ever forget.”

“Are you ever going to admit to yourself that the fact that you can’t really order me around like you do anyone else is a point in the ‘pro’ column for the potential of ‘us’?” he asked. She pushed away so she could look at him, eyebrow raised.

“Colour your confidence and paint the fucking town with it,” she muttered with an exaggerated eye roll. “You got stones, I’ll give you that.”

“Is it a crime to know what I want?” he asked. “I have an incredibly enhanced olfactory system, Red, I can smell just how interested you are right now.”

“What can I say?” she drawled, elbowing him again and gesturing at the TV. “Red velvet cupcakes get me hot.”

She saw him cock his head to the side and frown so she waited, patiently and pointedly until he saw fit to share.

“Isaac is calling our courtship, and I quote, ‘fucking weirdass love-hate romance bullshit that probably belongs on a teengirl fandom forum online’. I have no idea what I just said,” he rolled his eyes as Stiles snorted.

“He’s probably right; we’re tragic. And I’m still not saying yes because-”

“I’m still on your shitlist?” he surmised and she would’ve elbowed him again , but he managed to catch her elbow before it connected. “You don’t have to like what I did, but trust me as an alpha, as the Alpha of my pack, that I was protecting them and others of my kind from the potential threat that alpha posed. I’m never going to change my opinion or regret my decision.”

Another hour went by before either spoke again and this time it was Derek who broke the silence.

“Entry to the orphan club comes with free therapy.”

“You’re a douche,” she snapped without heat and tried to bury herself closer into his hold. “Thanks ,” she whispered and fell asleep barely ten minutes later.

 

--- - - - ---

 

Her dad died a week later.

She missed it by half a minute, but only because he told her to leave the room. She suspected it was a purposeful act on his part, weak though he was, you didn’t say no to the Sheriff. Melissa had been in with him, as had Scott and Isaac. Stiles wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that but it happened and she couldn’t really do anything about it after the fact. There was a doctor at the house, there to keep her dad comfortable in his final days even though Melissa could’ve done it all herself, the doctor was, apparently, an old family friend and had wanted to be close by anyway.

Stiles knew it had happened when the arms that had embraced her on the front porch of her old family home tensed, pulling her close to their owner’s broad chest.

“I’m sorry,” Derek murmured against her ear and she screwed her eyes shut, her own arms winding around his body and clinging as tightly as she possibly could. She didn’t speak a word for the rest of the day, not as she watched the coroner’s van arrive to pick up her dad’s body, not as it drove away and the rest of the pack were all stood on the porch surrounding her, not even when she let Derek take her car keys from her because her driving at that moment would have been disastrous. She didn’t open her mouth until Derek was standing with her outside her apartment.

“Stay with me?” she asked and he followed her inside.

The funeral would have been small had the entire town not decided now was their time to give something back to the Sheriff that had taken care of their town for so long - in the form of condolences and prayers. Stiles understood why they did what they did, she just didn’t want to hear any of it. She didn’t want to hear their stories, their sorries, their platitudes, well wishes and whatever. She didn’t want to hear any of it. But Melissa had asked her to stick close by.

She’d lasted twenty minutes before she just walked away from an old couple who were regaling her with her father’s heroics. Melissa’s ire was worth the lack of bloodshed, she reasoned.

 

--- - - - ---

 

Stiles left Beacon Hills a week later, waiting until Derek was out of his own loft and dropped her keys in an envelope with a note asking him to keep an eye on the place. He didn’t try to text her or ring her or make any form of contact with her at all. She did keep in touch with Scott though, and Melissa. She helped Isaac out a few times, gave Erica advice, even had a phone conversation with Boyd once about how he might propose to Erica - she got a subsequent email inviting her to their wedding.

Six months after she’d posted her keys through Derek’s door, she knocked on it and waited. When he opened the door fully, she noted that he wasn’t alone; the rest of the pack plus a pack she’d actually helped out the year before were sat around a large table. When her eyes fell back on Derek, she sighed and dropped her hood.

“I’m out,” she said and he held out a hand for her to take.

She stared at it for a long, silent moment before tentatively reaching out and taking it.

“Welcome home,” he pulled her close and breathed her in, his arms wrapping around her tightly as she held on for dear life, trembling as it actually hit her.

She was home.