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“Wow... That’s- that’s a beautiful ring.”
Derek shifts a bit and nods towards the box in Stiles’ hands. “It’s an Emissary Binding ring. In the old days, Alphas would present a certain kind of jewelry to their Emissary; ring, necklace, or bracelet. It would be like a claiming bite for some Packs, a physical symbol of the bond between Alpha and Emissary.”
Stiles tries not to react to the way Derek’s eyes flick up to his neck when he says ‘claiming bite’ before looking away again. While he is more than okay with any kind of sexy biting, there was still that spike of fear that goes through him whenever any kind of supernatural came anywhere near him with their fangs.
His heart must have done something then, because Derek frowns on his chest and gestures at the box again. “Ever since you’ve agreed to be my Emissary and started to come to meetings with other Packs, more than one of the Alphas have made comments about your missing bite. I know how you feel about that, so I found an alternative.”
Swallowing down the quip about knowing that Derek cared about him, because something is telling him that this isn’t really a joking moment, Stiles looks back at the ring in his hands.
He isn’t going to lie; there had been a moment, when Derek had shoved the box in his hands, where he had been fighting dual emotions of absolute ecstasy and utter terror.
On the one hand, when Stiles opened the box and seen what was inside, he had believed that Derek had finally given into his feelings and wanted Stiles almost as much as Stiles wanted him.
Which had led to the other hand, where that joy had been struck down with the terror that Derek had been hit with some kind of spell or enchantment that had made him feel things that he would never do normally.
When Derek had started to explain what this really was, Stiles had almost gone lightheaded at the relief that warmed fear-numbed limbs.
Mentally shaking his head, Stiles focused on the ring in his hands and not on his feelings for the Alpha in front of him.
It is a beautiful ring, he wasn’t lying about that. It was a carved mahogany, coated a deep brown with the Hale triskelion carved into the band, along with some runes that Stiles is pretty sure are the binding needed for the ritual between the Alpha and Emissary.
“So, how do we do this thing?”
Derek just looks at him for a while, just long enough for Stiles to start shifting, biting back on the words that he wants to say and letting Derek take his time before he answers.
Instead of doing so with words, Derek simply moves forward and grabs the ring out of the box, hands surprisingly gentle as he takes Stiles hands and intones, “Much like in the days of yore, I - Derek Hale of the Beacon Hale Pack - use this ring to show my bond and promise to care for Stiles Stilinksi, Spark and chosen Emissary of the Hale Pack if he so wishes. What say you?”
Heart thrumming at how much like a wedding this is starting to feel like, Stiles nods and swallows hard. “I, Stiles Stilinski of the Beacon Hale Pack, accept you, Derek Hale of the Beacon Hale Pack, as my Alpha and protector. My spells and might shall be yours, until you no longer have need of my skills.”
There is another intense stare, before Derek slips the ring on Stiles’ finger.
There is a sudden wave of something that spreads through them and out past them, filling Stiles with this overwhelming feeling of home and love and Pack.
Blinking at Derek, Stiles sees this smile on his face - not one of those fake grins that he shoots at people he rather not, or the teasing uptick of his lips whenever something funny surprises him - and he’s hit with the certainty that it’s because of him, of what he just did.
“Oh.”