Chapter Text
Bonds were created all the time between two or more creatures who had grown close with each other, but the werewolves had some of the closest bonds of all with their packmates, whether werewolf, human, or some other type of supernatural creature. The closest of all bonds was the mate bond between two werewolves. And the only bond that came close to that level of closeness was the bond between an alpha werewolf and the emissary of their pack, the one who would help them protect their pack.
And today was the day that the Alpha Derek Hale would be bonded to the Emissary Stiles Stilinski.
To say that Derek was nervous would be an understatement. It wasn’t just that he was forming such an intense bond with the person who he’d be closest to next to his mate. It was that he was forming this bond with his mate.
He knew he was extremely lucky to have the young man he was in love with become his emissary. An alpha-emissary bond combined with a mate bond would be so intense, they would be able to sense how the other was feeling or if they were hurt. There were even rumors that telepathic communication could even be possible depending on the powers of the emissary. And Stiles was quite powerful, even more so than Deaton, the emissary of his mother Talia, the head alpha of the Hale pack.
Talia and her husband had not one but two alpha children. The eldest child, Laura, was originally supposed to inherit the Hale territory, but when they’d had a second alpha child, they’d decided to divide the territory. Laura had gone to New York for college and fallen in love with an alpha in one of the territories there, and with the family’s blessing, she had married the alpha and the two had created a territory for themselves and their little pack. Derek had become the one who would inherit the Hale territory. Talia had given him a small portion of the Hale territory and a few betas so he could train as alpha. One of the betas, Scott, was Stiles’ best friend, which was how he had met his mate in the first place.
The two bonds couldn’t be created at the same time because it might result in a power overload that could kill one or both of them. Deaton had said there had to be a waiting period of at least six months between the ceremony where Stiles officially became Derek’s emissary and the mating ceremony where they would be romantically joined for life.
There was a knock on the door, and Derek went to open it. Talia Hale walked in and gently ruffled her son’s hair. “Are you ready?”
Derek took a deep breath. “I think so.” He gave his mother a tentative smile.
“It’s okay to be nervous,” Talia said. “I was nervous when I bonded with Deaton, and now he’s a very close friend. And Stiles is your mate. He’s meant to be bonded with you, in this life and beyond.”
A feeling of relief and love fell over Derek. He loved Stiles and Stiles loved him, they would protect the pack together, and that’s all that really mattered. He nodded and said, “Let’s go, Mom.”
The two of them went into the garden behind the Hale house deep in the preserve. The garden was a large circle with spoke-like paths running through it. In the center was a white gazebo, where Deaton was waiting. Many people had come to see the bonding of alpha and emissary. The whole Hale pack was there, including Laura, her husband, and their New York pack members, as well as alphas and high-ranking pack members from packs the Hales were friendly with. They were milling around all but two of the garden’s paths.
Talia kissed him on the cheek and disappeared into the crowd. Derek stood at the beginning of one of the two empty paths and looked ahead to the gazebo. He could sense another figure coming to stand on the other path.
Derek squared his shoulders and walked down the garden aisle, standing tall and proud. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Stiles walking down the other aisle, a confident smirk on his face and his hands in the pockets of his trademark red hoodie that had earned him the nickname of “Little Red”.
They reached the end of the aisle and Deaton at the same time and looked at each other. Stiles’ smile still radiated confidence, but it also had a softness that was reserved just for Derek. He smelled like flowers and coffee and happiness and a tiny bit of nerves. Derek felt relief in knowing that he wasn’t the only one hit by nerves despite their faith in each other.
Deaton looked at them both, then took a deep breath and intoned to those watching, “The bond between alpha and emissaries have existed for for ages. Both of them work together to protect the pack and each other. The alpha leads, and the emissary guides the alpha. The alpha and the emissary must choose each other and form a bond which benefits the entire pack as well as each other.”
Stiles stepped forward first. “I, Mieczyslaw Stilinski, present myself as a potential emissary for the Hale pack,” he said clearly, then he turned to Derek with a hopeful look on his face.
Derek stepped forward. “I, Alpha Derek Hale of the Hale pack,” he said, his voice calm, but his insides had turned to butterflies, “accept Mieczyslaw Stilinski, who will become the emissary of my branch of the Hale pack.” He was relieved that he had pronounced Stiles’ real name correctly without stumbling. He remembered all the practicing he‘d had to do to be able to say the difficult Polish name correctly, to Stiles‘ laughter.
Now came the bite. The mate bite between werewolves and their mates were done at the juncture between neck and shoulder. The alpha-emissary bite was done along the emissary’s dominant arm. Stiles removed his red hoodie and his plaid overshirt, leaving him with only a light t-shirt covering his torso. He held out his right arm in invitation to Derek.
Derek took the proffered arm. His eyes flashed red as he inspected Stiles’ wrist. His fangs dropped and he bit into Stiles’ wrist, concentrating on the bond that existed between them as pack mates.
While he continued to bite down, he could hear soft chanting from above him as Stiles cast a spell that would complete the alpha-emissary bond between them. He could feel Stiles’ power flowing into him. It was warm and comforting and made him feel powerful. He kept his teeth in Stiles’ skin no matter how much he wanted to howl in pleasure.
The chanting grew in intensity and Derek could feel a breeze swirling around him and Stiles, a reflection of the power swirling inside of him.
Finally the chanting stopped, and he could feel a hand gently prying his face from Stiles‘ wrist. His mouth felt wet and he could still taste the iron of Stiles’ blood. He could see the bloody puncture wounds his fangs left on the emissary’s wrist, but he knew that it would heal to a scar in a few hours.
Then he was facing Stiles again, the young man’s hand still on Derek’s chin. “Alpha,” he said fondly.
Derek’s eyes flashed in acknowledgement. “Emissary,” he replied, removing Stiles’ hand from his chin and tangling his fingers with his own.
With their acknowledgements, he felt the new bond lock into place. He had always felt a bond with Stiles, somewhat stronger than a regular pack bond, closer in intensity to a family bond. But now the bond with Stiles practically sang with magic and protection. He knew that Stiles would do everything he could to keep the Hale pack safe.
As the crowd cheered for them, Derek looked at Stiles and grinned, their hands still entwined. Their bond was already stronger now as official alpha and emissary, and Derek was looking forward to finally being mated with Stiles as well, cementing their love for all to see.