Chapter Text
Deucalion didn’t even turn around. But Stiles made a squawking noise and the woman holding him snarled, while the bald-headed man tensed up, eyes locked on Derek. Still not turning, Deucalion waved a careless hand through the air.
“I knew I smelled another werewolf on the boy. Come in, Derek, we’ve only just started.”
Stiles’s eyes were wide and panicked, and Derek slowly stepped into the room. He recognized the other two Alpha werewolves; they were part of Deucalion's pack. Ennis and Kali, two werewolves Derek could have done his entire life without meeting.
He’d heard stories of how they’d gotten here Alpha power. And they weren’t comforting ones.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re just having a little chat with young Stiles here,” Deucalion said, turning to gaze at him. There were a pair of shades covering his eyes but Derek knew what they hid. He clenched his jaw and didn’t let himself look at where Stiles was pinned.
The boy’s heartbeats were like a rabbit’s in how fast they pounded. Derek could smell the metallic tang of blood in the air and it made his skin crawl. “What did he do wrong?”
“The same thing I imagine he did to you,” Deucalion said, turning back to face Stiles. “I happen to be missing a few funds, aren’t I, Stiles?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Stiles said, his heartbeat skipping audibly. Kali tightened her grip and Stiles yelped, a line of red running down his neck. Derek clenched his jaw.
“You know,” Deucalion said. “I’d be more than happy to let it slip. But I have a reputation to uphold, as I’m sure you understand. All I want is my money back, Stiles.”
“Can’t do that,” Stiles said, a slight gasp to his voice. This time, there was no skip in his heart. “It’s already gone.”
Deucalion tensed a little. Stiles laughed, in spite of the claws around his neck and the sound of Kali’s low growl. Derek could have facepalmed at the idiot’s recklessness.
“He was at my family’s mansion the night before he left Beacon,” Derek said, stepping forward. “He couldn’t have done anything.”
“Oh, but that’s not the only place Stiles went that night, is it?” Deucalion said, a smirk playing along the edges of his lips. Derek looked at Stiles and the boy’s face said everything. Derek closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath, and tried not to react.
“How much did he take?”
“I’m not sure, was it ten thousand, Stiles? Or twenty?”
Idiot.
Derek didn’t know what kind of rush Stiles got out of robbing Beacon Hill’s wealthy, but he had no idea how the boy had survived this long. He seemed to be terrible at his job. Stiles’s face was pale and his chest was rising and falling in fast heaves. Deucalion pushed himself up and crossed the room, catching Stiles by the chin and turning his face from side to side.
“I suppose there are ways to get you to talk. Where is my money, Stiles?”
“I don’t have it,” Stiles said, amber eyes flashing. “It’s all gone to a good cause and I swear to god, I won’t tell you what that is.”
“Feisty,” Deucalion said with a chuckle. “But everyone has a breaking point.”
“You can’t be talking about torturing him,” Derek said, and every eye snapped to where he stood. Stiles too, looking surprised, and Derek was a little hurt that the idiot would think he would actually hurt him. Sure, Derek had made threats, but that’s all they were. Threats.
This was the real thing. And Derek didn’t know if he could get them out of it.
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” Deucalion said. “He took things that belonged to me so I’m sure if I took a finger or a hand, that would just be returning the favor.”
“Just turn him into the police,” Derek said. “Let them deal with him.”
“Oh, but then how would I get my money?”
Stiles flinched as Deucalion turned back toward him. His heartbeats picked up in speed again and Derek ground his teeth together, head spinning. His claws had started to come out involuntarily, but he knew he was no match for a bunch of Alphas. Especially not with one holding her claws to Stiles’s throat.
“I was chasing after him first,” Derek said, stepping forward. “I get the first few questions.”
Ennis growled lowly, but Deucalion only gave an amused look. And, to Derek’s surprise, he stepped aside. Stiles’s eyes were wide with terror and Derek shot Kali a dark look, who let go of the boy’s neck after a second. Derek stepped in front of Stiles and extracted a claw.
Stiles was looking at him with what could only be hurt and… betrayal. Derek swallowed hard and tried to ignore that. He touched his claw against pale skin and leaned in close.
“Stiles,” let me get you out of here, “what did you take from my family’s mansion?”
Stiles’s eyes widened a fraction. Derek silently willed him to play along and for a moment, Stiles didn’t say a word. Derek’s stomach started to sink until the boy wet his lips nervously. “A ring.”
“A ring?”
“Your mother’s ring.”
Deucalion made a noise that could have only been a soft chuckle. Derek ground his teeth together and tried to smother his anger at that, focusing on Stiles instead. Stiles. The idiot who didn’t know when to stop. “And where is it now?”
Once more, Stiles looked confused. But he didn’t hesitate this time. “I don’t have it anymore.”
“No?”
“No,” Stiles said. “It’s somewhere else too. And I won’t say where.”
“You’re a Spark,” Derek said, changing the subject. “Or at least something of one. You used wards when I was chasing you and I know you have mountain ash.”
Stiles squinted. This time, he didn’t say a word. Standing off to the side, Kali narrowed her eyes and tapped a finger against her leg impatiently. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Not much,” Derek said. “But I have no doubts this idiot carries a lot of things on his person. Especially after our last encounter.”
Sudden realization dawned in Stiles’s eyes. Derek’s breaths stalled as the boy’s fingers stretched for his pocket.
“You’re not getting anything,” Kali snarled, stepping toward him. Derek shot her a warning growl, flashing his blue eyes, but she only flashed her red ones and laughed. Deucalion didn’t seem inclined to do anything but watch in amusement. Alarm itched underneath Derek’s skin.
Stiles took that moment to rip a bag of mountain ash from his pocket and dig a hand into it. Ennis snarled as the boy threw a handful of the stuff into the air, muttering something under his breath. His eyes flashed golden and Derek managed to turn away just in time.
The other werewolves howled, stumbling away. Reaching out blindly, Derek caught Stiles’s arm and yanked him toward the door. He heard Deucalion’s angry roar only a second before they were racing down the hotel hallway.
The guy at the front desk looked surprised as they raced by. Derek thought he heard ‘how did the proposal go?’ but then they were bursting out into the morning light and Derek was yanking Stiles toward his Camaro, even as the idiot tried to squirm away.
“My jeep!” Stiles said, trying to move in the other direction. “I’m not leaving my jeep!”
“I’ll send a tow truck for your damn deep,” Derek said, yanking the passenger door of the Camaro open and shoving Stiles inside. He closed it before Stiles could protest and climbed into the driver’s seat, starting the car right as a red-eyed Ennis came into view.
Throwing the car into reverse, Derek hit the gas. He didn’t look back as they did a one-eighty and he pulled onto the highway, narrowingly avoiding an approaching car. Stiles swore and yanked the seatbelt across his chest.
It was much different from the first time they’d been in the Camaro together.
“Dude, you’re gonna get us killed!” Stiles said, sounding panicked. “I swear to god, if I die in a car accident due to a suicidal werewolf, I’m going to be pissed!”
“I’m not the one nearly getting us killed,” Derek growled, shooting him a dark look. “What the hell, Stiles? You went after Deucalion that night too?”
“He was at your stupid party,” Stiles said, looking like a kicked puppy. “I had a chance.”
“A chance to set all the werewolves in Beacon Hills on your tail?”
“Wait, are there more?”
Derek ground his teeth together and fixed his eyes back on the road. He couldn’t believe he’d gone from chasing Stiles across the state to this. He was actually harboring this thieving idiot.
Derek didn’t know why he cared. He really shouldn’t.
But Deucalion wasn’t a forgiving man. Derek didn’t want to know what might’ve happened in that hotel room if he hadn’t shown up.
“Why,” he said after a moment. “Why do you do it? Is it for the rush? The power? Are you bored?”
Stiles clenched his jaw and didn’t answer. Derek rolled his eyes.
“I could drop you off on the side of the road, you know.”
“Then do it.”
Derek could. He didn’t and he knew he wouldn’t, but he could. Instead, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it over to Stiles. “The passcode is four ones. Call Laura and put her on speaker.”
“What?”
“Call Laura,” Derek said, flashing his eyes to blue. “Or I’ll rip your throat out with my teeth.”
“No, that’s not what I’m asking about. Dude, your passcode is four ones? Seriously? That’s like, the easiest code to crack in the book.”
Derek gave him a look of death and Stiles gulped, unlocking the phone and scrolling through Derek’s list of contacts. He laughed suddenly and Derek glanced over, catching Stiles eyeing the name he’d made his sister’s number.
“LaurLaur, really? Dude, you’re a total sap.”
“Shut up,” Derek said, facing the road again. He tried to ignore the way his face had heated up, or how Stiles was still chuckling to himself as he clicked her number. The phone rang for a few seconds and then Laura’s voice came through, sounding as tired as the last time Derek had called.
“Der, please tell me you’ve found the kid and he hasn’t stolen something else yet. Like your kidney.”
Stiles laughed aloud at that. Derek’s face turned hot and Laura’s voice came through the phone again, sounding excited this time.
“Is that him? Oh my god, is that you, Stiles? Thief Stiles?”
“Aww, Der,” Stiles said, looking absolutely delighted. “You told your sister about me? I’m flattered.”
“Not as flattered as you’ll be if I run you over with the car,” Derek said, teeth gnashing together. Stiles only laughed again and Derek could hear Laura laughing too.
“You, Stiles,” she said. “Have been a pain in my brother’s ass for three days now. I’m almost a little impressed.”
“If I’d known that, I might have surrendered willingly,” Stiles said, grinning ear to ear. Derek growled and snatched the phone from the boy’s hand, driving with one hand despite Stiles’s sudden protests. Turning it off speaker, he brought the phone to his ear.
“Laura, you’re not allowed to like him. He’s an idiot.”
“He sounds quite charming to me,” Laura said, laughter still in her voice. “And it sounds like your blushing, Der. Are you blushing?”
“Shut up,” Derek said. “Your ‘charming’ idot robbed Deucalion and now his pack of Alphas are on our tail.”
Laura instantly went silent. Stiles had gone quiet too and sat still in the seat next to Derek. His face was pale again and all signs of amusement were gone.
“We’re on the road now,” Derek said. “But Deucalion knows I helped him. I had to… improvise things.”
“You’re coming home though?”
“Is that okay?”
“Of course, it’s okay,” Laura said, not a hint of hesitation to her voice. “Come home, Derek, I’ll get in contact with Peter.”
“You don’t think they’ll react, do you?”
“The Alpha pack isn’t one you cross, Der,” Laura said. “They’ll react. But Cora should be fine since she’s a few countries away and I’ll make sure Peter comes around. Try and see if you can figure out what Stiles did and if he can fix it. And don’t let him out of your sight.”
“You still want me to bring him back?”
Stiles had gone tense at that. Even if he didn’t want to show it, Derek could see the anxiety written across his face. The boy tapped nervous fingers against his leg.
“Don’t you dare leave him anywhere,” Laura said. “Unless you want Deucalion and his pack to rip him apart. I don’t care what kind of idiot he is, you bring him home.”
Derek swallowed. “Okay.”
“Did you get mom’s ring?”
“It’s safe.”
Laura sighed at that. It was one of relief and even though they were miles away, Derek could feel that relaxing him too. His Alpha wasn’t panicking and Derek wasn’t going to either. No matter what shit had happened in less than three days. “Good, Der. Come home and stay safe.”
“We’ll be fine,” Derek said. Laura hung up and Derek lowered the phone slowly, eyes still fixed on the road. Stiles gave him a nervous look.
“So are we still going with the ‘leave Stiles for the hungry Alphas’’ option? Cause if so, I’d like to make a few goodbye calls first.”
“Shut up,” Derek said. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“I’m seriously not sure if that’s comforting or not, Sourwolf.”
Derek rolled his eyes but he could smell the relief radiating off of the boy, as well as a soft sense of gratitude. That shouldn’t have made his stomach knot like it did, shaking his head and trying to focus on the road again. Stiles might not be a pain in his side right now, but he was still a thief. He was still the reason Derek was out here in the first place.
But Derek still couldn’t help remembering the boy from the party. The one in the fox mask that had flirted and laughed, and made Derek feel warmer than he had in a while. Derek couldn’t help but wonder if that boy was real; or he’d just been a mask too.
Some part of him hoped not. And some part of him hoped so. It’d make things easier, after all.
What things, Derek wasn't sure. And that bothered him.