Archive of Our Own ^beta

SOULS, LOVE AND MARKS

PART 1

Stiles cursed Scott for not answering his phone again, if he’d answered they’d already be on there way and he wouldn’t be failing at trying to climb the stupid trellis to Scott’s room. Which wasn’t exactly accurate. Stiles loved climbing this trellis, it was always worth it to see Scott’s shocked puppy face. He could easily have rung the doorbell, Mrs McCall was working a night shift and not there to question what he was doing here so late at night.

He couldn’t wait to surprise Scott, already picturing Scott’s freaked out face and high pitched scream. He didn't notice that he was about to miss his next handhold and gasped as he fell back. His leg caught the trellis and he scrambled with his other leg for a hold while his body swung back. Luckily he hadn't gotten very far and so swung underneath the porch instead of hitting the side of the house. 

And there was Scott’s high pitched scream. What was he doing out already? Damn, Stiles wouldn’t have been able to surprise him in his room.

‘Stiles? What the hell are you doing?’ Scott demanded brandishing a… bat? Really?

‘You weren’t answering your phone.’ Stiles retorted, gently swinging upside down, it was kinda peaceful and a lot more effective at organising his thoughts than hanging upside down off the sofa. ‘I know it’s late, but you gotta hear this. I saw my dad leave twenty minutes ago. Dispatch called. They’re bringing in every officer from the Beacon department and even state police.’

‘For what?’ Scott frowned at him but Stiles was so glad he’d asked, it made it all that more exciting.

‘Two joggers found a body in the woods.’ Stiles explained, already there in his mind as they both crept through the foliage, avoiding his dad and the officers as they tracked down the body themselves.

‘A dead body?’

Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘No, a body of water. Yes, dumbass, a dead body.’ He reached up and untangled his legs, pulling himself free and jumped down.

‘You mean like murdered?’

‘Nobody knows yet, just that it was a girl, probably in her twenties.’

‘Hold on, if they found a body, what are they looking for?’ Scott asked, looking confused.

‘That’s the best bit, they only found half.’ Stiles beamed at him. This was going to be so cool. They were going to be the kings of school when they returned tomorrow after having found half a dead body. Sure, his dad was going to be pissed but it was so going to be worth it. 

Scott huffed but didn't protest and followed him out to his jeep. That was the thing about best friends, they always went with you, no matter what it was you were doing. They were always by your side, and he and Scott had been best friends for years. Neither of them were really popular, but they didn't care. 

‘I was trying to get a good night’s sleep for practice tomorrow.’ Scott said as Stiles drove down the empty road.

Stiles scoffed. He wasn’t all that bothered about it. ‘Right because sitting on the bench is such a gruelling effort.’

‘No, because I’m... shit! What was that?’ Scott asked, spinning around in his seat.

‘What was what? Scotty, talk to me? What did you see?’ Stiles demanded, craning his head around before something darkened the road in front of him. ‘Shit!’ 

Stiles spun the wheel and stamped down on the brakes as he tried to avoid it but he knew it was too late. Whatever it was was massive and Stiles felt the jeep smack side into it. He winced and threw his hands over Scott to get him to cover his face, Scott was probably still looking behind them. Only the jeep didn't stop, it hit the creature side on and at speed so that it flipped over it.

Stiles heard Scott scream and he looked up, no down, to see a massive deformed black thing with bright red eyes stare up at him as the jeep flew over it.

‘What?’ Stiles managed to say before he was jolted forward as the jeep landed and his face smashed into his steering wheel.

The jeep still didn't stop, although it was thankfully no longer airborne but it kept rolling, the windscreen shattering and glass flying everywhere. Stiles could feel it in his arms which were now somehow protecting his head. There was a loud ear-piercing screech as the jeep slid along the road, before edging towards the embankment.

It wobbled there, threatening to careen over and down into the gulley. Stiles could feel something thick dripping down his face and groaning coming from his side. ‘Scott? Scott? Scotty?’

‘Yeah?’

Thank god. Scott was still alive and talking. That was a good sign. ‘Can you move?’

‘Yeah, yeah I think so?’

‘Can you get out? We need help.’

Scott coughed and Stiles prayed that his asthma didn’t act up. Not now. He could feel his seat belt pinning him in place and he wasn't sure he would be much help to Scott if he had an asthma attack now.

‘Yeah, yeah I think I can.’

‘Just be careful. And make sure that thing we hit is gone.’

He heard Scott mumble an agreement and the sound of crushed glass being moved as the jeep jerked. He automatically turned his head to see what had happened, a sharp pain shooting through his neck making him gasp as he saw Scott’s arse and feet crawl away just as the jeep lurched again and with horrifying slowness, slid down the embankment.

‘Scott!’ Stiles screamed as he threw his arms out trying to grab hold of something, anything, to save himself but all he heard was Scott’s echoing scream and a loud banging as the jeep tumbled down the incline, lurching every which way as it hit trees.

He finally came to a stop upside down again. Stiles looked around but all he could see was darkness and trees and a worrying groaning. He moaned and coughed, feeling something splutter out of his mouth. ‘That’s not good.’

His voice sounded funny and he blinked a dark red substance out of his eyes, frowning at his lightheadedness. He blinked again and looked up and saw the ground staring back at him from several feet away, obscured by very thin looking branches. The groaning increased and the jeep slid forward an inch.

‘This is going to hurt.’ Stiles whimpered as the groaning turned into a cracking and the jeep plummeted to earth.

God, Stiles just wanted that piercing beeping to stop. It had been going on for hours now and no one was doing anything about it. And why the hell couldn't he open his eyes? Or move at all? Was he dead and in hell? Because this was torture. He couldn’t even speak and everyone knew that was what he was best at. Talking. Wait, was that his dad? His dad would know what was going on, his dad would get him out of here.

‘What are you saying doctor?’ His dad’s voice said, sounding strained and tired.

‘Physically, he’ll recover, but there was a lot of damage done to his brain.’ A voice he didn't recognise replied.

‘That’s why you induced the coma. The MRI’s weren’t good.’ His dad said. MRI? Coma? What the hell?

‘Yes, they’re better now, that’s why we tried to reverse the coma.’

‘Tried? You said he should have woken up two days ago?!’

‘It seems your son’s brain injuries were worse than we thought. This isn’t a medically induced coma anymore.’

‘What are you saying?’ His dad asked. 

Yes, what was this doctor saying? He couldn’t be in a coma. Who was going to look after his dad? Who was going to make sure he ate healthy and didn't cheat on his diet? Stiles couldn’t be in a coma, he was only sixteen. He’d barely lived. His soulmark hadn’t even come in. He had so much to live for, there was no way he could be in a coma. He could hear them! Why didn't they know he could hear them!

‘Try speaking to him. Some studies say they can hear, or feel touch. I’m afraid that this is an area that we just don’t really know much about.’ The strange voice was saying. The doctor's voice. Did that mean that Stiles was in a hospital? That the beeping was actually his heart monitor? What about Scott? Was Scott okay? Did he make it out alright? Where was his best friend?!

PART 2

Derek was cursed. Staring up at the burnt-out ruins of his old house he knew this to be a fact. Why else would he be back in this God-forsaken town that had taken everything from him?

He’d grown up here, it was supposed to be his home. His safe place. Where he’d taken his first steps, shifted for the first time, cried for the first time, laughed for the first time. Where he’d spent his first fifteen birthdays and Christmases. It was his family’s home and it was also their grave.

Proof he thought, proof that he should have died too, that he should have burnt with them, in place of them. Instead, they were dead and he was alive. They were dead and he was standing here. Laura had returned before him and now she was dead too. 

She hadn’t known why he was so scared of this place, of coming home but she had known how the thought of home made him feel. The guilt, the shame, the nausea. She’d loved him and wanted what was best for him. And now she was dead too. 

He needed to know why. If it was her, if she’d come back and somehow lured his sister back. To finish off what she’d started. To kill the last of the surviving Hales. His uncle Peter was as good as dead. Lost to them in a coma, unhealing, his wolf gone.

No one knew that it was his fault, that he was the reason his family was dead, that he had killed them all. And he needed to keep it that way. He never told Laura, wouldn’t have been able to handle the way she would look at him. He couldn’t have Laura stare at him accusingly and he doubted she would ever forgive him if she knew. He hadn’t told her because he didn't think he would survive as an omega. And now he was. He couldn’t live without his sister, without his alpha, but now he had to. What he didn’t know and couldn’t figure out was, where did the alpha spark go? 

He knew what it meant though, that another werewolf must have killed her. It ruled out Kate, but there was still that small part of him that whispered ‘ what if’, what if Kate has used another wolf to do her bidding, do her work. It wouldn’t be the first time.

So here he was. Laura had been here too. He inhaled deeply, breathing in her scent while he still could. It would fade soon, he was surprised he could still smell her to be honest, but it meant that she had been here just before she died, just before their pack bond had broken, just before she was murdered.

He followed the scent, her scent, walking in her footsteps, wondering what it was she had seen that had made her walk this way or if she’d just felt like it. What had drawn her here or had she just wanted to say goodbye, to pay her respects.

He gave one last look at the house, feeling suffocated by the silence, the lingering echoes of their screams ringing in his ears. His breath shuddered out of him and he squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to think about that, to remember what had happened. 

It hurt to remember the good times too, to hear the echo of his family's laughter and running footsteps. To remember the way his mom used to smile at him, the way his dad would ruffle his hair no matter how many times he protested. That warm feeling he always got in his chest when his parent's scent marked him.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Derek deliberately turned his back on his burnt-out family home and continued following Laura’s scent. He mimicked her last steps, walked the path that she had last walked. He knew he’d found the place she’d died, not just because of the overwhelming smell of her blood, but by the strong scent of another werewolf. Confusingly, there was something both wrong and familiar with the scent.

What he couldn’t understand though, was why did Laura’s scent leave in two directions when she had died here? Was Derek right in that Kate was back? Had she cut Laura in two like hunters were known to do to enrage the remaining members of her pack? It was an old hunters trick, but one they used when they needed to prove they were following the code. Kate didn't need to prove she followed the code. She refused to follow the code. That’s why she massacred his entire family. His peaceful family who had never hurt anyone.

Kate’s scent wasn't in the clearing though. Just this other wolf’s. But a wolf wouldn’t cut another wolf in half, not deliberately anyway. He frowned and followed one of Laura’s scents. He never reached the end of it but did reach police tape. Part of her had been found then. He backtracked and followed the other scent. It ended at a lump in a little gulley with a stream running through it. He didn’t need to look to know it was Laura. Or half of her anyway.

He picked her up gently, biting his lip as he felt tears pushing at his eyes. He couldn’t look at her, but cradled her to him, thankful that the half he had was her upper half. It meant more to him to have her head cradled against him as he took her body back to their family home to bury her with the rest of their loved ones. She hadn’t deserved to die like this, but she did deserve to be put to rest with their family,

Burying her was automatic and he didn't really remember any of it. He didn't want to remember any of it. He stared at his hands afterwards, cut and bleeding from the wolfsbane plant he had dug into the ground around her, protecting her.

He swallowed, allowing a tear to fall before he took in a breath and went back to where she had been killed. He needed to find the wolf who had done this. He needed to know why, he needed to know if it was an accident or if the wolf was feral and a danger to all. And if it was, then he needed to kill it.

He stood in the area Laura had died and stared around it, he followed her footsteps, trying to mimic her moves before he did the same with the other wolf’s.

He swallowed shakily as he realised, Laura didn't fight back. That was why she died, she didn't fight back. He followed the trail the other wolf had left, only it didn't make sense. It zigzagged everywhere and along the road for a while, it was strongest at the sight of tire marks and the scent of human blood. Then it left again.

It took him all over the preserve until it finally led him back to the town, to civilisation. He stared at the building it led to in horror. No wonder Laura hadn’t fought back. How could she? He wouldn’t have been able to either. Their uncle Peter was supposed to be unresponsive in a coma, so how was he the wolf that had killed Laura?

Derek stood there, staring at his handiwork before he dropped to his knees and threw up. He’d just killed his uncle, his last remaining relative. He was alone, not an omega but an alpha. The power sang through his veins and his eyes flashed red. Anger burned through him. Kate had burnt his family, leaving only himself, Laura and Peter alive. Peter killed Laura and he had killed Peter. He was the last Hale. He had done this to his family.

He caught sight of his soulmark on his wrist and shuddered. The delicate outline of a howling wolf. It felt wrong, nothing about him was delicate. He didn’t want to think about what they were like. He never wanted to meet them, he wasn’t deserving of them. He would only bring them pain and death.

Derek coughed and gasped as he felt his bones shifting. It didn’t feel like his normal shift, his mouth felt funny, his fangs different. The claws on his hands weren’t the same, not as long but still just as sharp and dangerous. His legs were shorter, his centre of gravity lower and more balanced. He threw his head back and howled.

The howl wasn't anything like his normal howl, it was more guttural and animalistic, it sang of sorrow and horror and pain.

He kicked off, leaving the remains of his uncle behind along with the remains of his previous life. He didn’t notice that he was on four legs, that fur covered his entire body. He didn’t notice that he wasn't in his beta shift but was a full wolf. He ran as fast and far as he could and he didn’t stop. If he stopped then he would remember and he didn’t want to remember. He didn’t want to be Derek Hale any more. Derek Hale meant pain and heartache and he couldn’t stand anymore.

PART 3

The wolf sniffed the air, there was something different but he didn’t know what. Something in the air. He was needed somewhere. He glanced around, his ears flat to his head as he gingerly stepped forward. He knew the direction he was meant to go in. The wolf didn’t question it and the human part of him wasn't around to question it. 

Once he was sure the coast was clear, he took off at a steady trot, his ears pricked forward. It was only when he neared the edge of the preserve that he started paying more attention.

He trotted along the road, hiding whenever a car came. He darted across and stuck to the shadows when he neared the town. He was still needed but it was daylight and he felt too vulnerable. He whined lowly but found a safe spot to hide out in until darkness fell.

He couldn’t wait until full darkness but did wait until there was no one around, ducking out of sight whenever a human appeared. He made his way to the hospital, glaring at the sliding doors in full view of the reception desk. He couldn’t get in that way. Too many people around.

He skirted around the edge, feeling the wrongness of the direction he was taking until he found a side door wedged open and quickly shot through it. Pausing, he sniffed the air, no one was around so he slunk down the corridor carefully. 

Somehow he knew he was on the wrong floor, he needed to go up and not just one floor but at least two. He’d know when he was close. Hearing voices, he paused, seeing a door open he went just inside, there was a strange looking room with things all over the place and something floating off the floor, but it was empty. He waited for the voices to pass and carried on. He paused when he passed a door that had a funny zigzagged sign. Something, a part of him he hadn’t listened to for a long time, told him it would take him up.

He scrabbled at the handle until the door swung open and he was faced with stairs, going both up and down. He headed up, glancing around when the stairs took him up but in a circle. Shaking his head he continued, going past several doors and lots of signs that meant nothing to him. He paused, one paw on a step and cocked his head to one side. He was going too high, he looked around and saw a door close by, he went to it, the rightness within him telling him he was getting closer.

He pushed the door open with his nose and quickly scrambled back as someone walked past. He didn’t want to be caught, his instincts telling him it would be bad. He waited, till the sound of footsteps had faded away. He’d gotten complacent knowing that he was close to his destination. He wouldn’t let it happen again. He carefully poked his head around the doorway, checking both ways before silently padding out, answering the call he felt in his bones. 

He slowly walked past door after door, hearing heartbeats in each. It was just as he passed one that the feeling came back again, he’d gone too far. He backtracked. This room here. He paused outside, only hearing one heartbeat in it. He checked the corridor again but it was still empty. Ever so slowly he pushed the door open with his muzzle, ready to run out the second the owner of that heartbeat moved or spoke.

Nothing happened. There was a loud beeping coming from the room too, almost in time with the heartbeat, maybe half a second or so out of sync from the person’s heartbeat. He sniffed around but there was only the person lying in the bed, the window was hidden by cloth and the room stank of cleaning agents but the scent of the person didn’t leave any trails. The person and their scent was contained to the bed. He cocked his head to one side, it looked like they were sleeping.

Finally satisfying his curiosity, he sniffed at the person. They smelt male and they smelt right. He was being pulled here. He rested his head on the bed, near his hand and breathed out noisily, huffing his breath over the hand. It made the hand smell like him a little and he found he liked it.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been there, but he heard footsteps come and go all around but none entered the room. The night slowly progressed but he didn't leave the sleeping man’s side. It lulled him into a sense of security, a false one it seemed as the door opened unexpectedly.

He jumped back from the bed at the sound of a shout and growled at the person who entered. The person continued shouting, bringing more and more footsteps, coming fast to his room.

His hackles rose and he backed away. He didn’t know how to escape, they were blocking the only exit. There was a high pitched scream, quickly followed by a shout before they all fell silent.

He kept growling, the first person to enter was still there and was now pointing something at him. Something that smelt bad and wrong, something that was familiar at the same time. Something he knew to be dangerous.

He didn’t hesitate, he lunged for the closed window, his strength making it break as he made contact but the cloth covering got tangled in his legs and he couldn’t right himself before he hit the ground and felt and heard numerous bones break.

He whined, staying still for a moment, hearing the shouts coming from the room he had been in as his bones started to knit back together. He knew he didn’t have long, they would come, it was what humans did. He staggered to his feet, desperately trying to get the covering off of him, feeling the pain of putting weight on his broken limbs.

The covering got stuck under one of his paws and slid off his face. Suddenly able to see, he made a break for the cover of the trees. There weren’t many but there were enough, just as doors were slammed open and more shouts filled the night air. He escaped down side streets, sticking to shadows and kept running, until he was back in the preserve. He found a den, an old hole that smelt like fox and settled down in it to lick his wounds and heal.

He found himself returning that night. Unable to refuse the pull. But this time he was led to a different room. There were two heartbeats inside so he waited. 

Footsteps approached so he hid in the room opposite, waiting and watching. But the second heartbeat never left. It moved around the room, spoke occasionally, but never left. 

When he felt the sun rising, the wolf left instead. It was too dangerous in daylight.

He returned every night until five days later there was only one heartbeat in the room. He made his way inside, this time only glancing around to ensure it was clear. He didn’t need to check everything this time, he just needed to be near that heartbeat. 

He rested his head on the bed again. This time on the man’s other side but once again near his hand. The smell of him calmed him. He nosed at the hand, mainly the wrist, breathing in where the scent was strongest. 

Opening his eyes, he saw funny squiggles. There were lines drawn on the wrist, lines in a familiar pattern but his wolf brain couldn’t decipher them, just knew that those lines meant something to him. That they were important, but he didn’t know what it was that was so important.

He huffed, it was human stuff but he was no longer human. He settled in again, resting his head on the hand, his nose breathing over the squiggles on the wrist and breathing in the man’s scent with each inhale. 

Only once did he freeze, when the man’s head lolled to the side, facing him and he could see the mole dotted face, the pale lips and brown hair. He looked peaceful.

It was calming, watching him and breathing him in, but all too soon the sun started to rise.

He needed to go but a strong part of him resisted. He wanted to stay too, he needed to stay, but he could come back. He heard footsteps, which wasn't new, but he recognised these footsteps. They were from the first night. From the man who alerted everyone to his presence.

He quickly ran from the room, hunkering low to the ground to avoid detection. He heard a shout and the footsteps started pounding loudly after him but he was already skidding around the corner. He knew his way out and made quick work of it, throwing himself down the stairs and out of the hospital, darting across the road and hiding in the tree line and shadows. Watching and waiting. It took a few minutes but the man came huffing into view, clearly angry. He muttered something, peering around before he turned back into the hospital.

The wolf waited until he’d gone before he headed back to his den.

That night there were two heartbeats again and the wolf huffed and waited in an empty room all night. The same happened the next night, but the third, his heartbeat was alone again.

He crept in again and had just relaxed, getting used to the footsteps coming and going but never entering, when the door opened. It quickly closed again, blocking his exit. The man threw his hands up but the wolf didn’t like the motion. He growled, flattening his ears against his head and back away, going for the window again. 

It was the voice that stopped him. It was low and pleading. The wolf didn’t know what it was saying but there was something desperate in it. He stopped, his ear flickering back and forth. He continued growling but stopped when the man turned his head sharply to stare at the man on his bed, his scent turning surprised.

The wolf stopped growling, was there something wrong with him? His heartbeat hadn’t changed. He sniffed but he still smelt the same. He approached the bed, nosing at the hand. A finger moved and the man behind him stepped forward. The wolf spun around, growling, his hackles raised but the man spoke again, his hands shooting into the air again.

This time around, something in the wolf recognised it as a sign of peace. He stopped growling but kept his hackles up. The man still smelt of badness, of bad metal and gunpowder. The man went around the other side where his one lay. He picked up the hand and sat down.

The wolf watched, waiting for something else to happen. Nothing did.

After a long time, the wolf finally gave in and pushed his nose into the hand near him but he kept his eyes open, watching the other man.

He left again when he felt the sun rise, skirting wide around the intruder before leaving silently.

There were two heartbeats the next night as well and the wolf debated on hiding out until the other one left, but he never had before. After a while, he hesitantly entered the room. The intruder was already where he had been the night before, sat down on one side. But this time, there was another chair pulled up on his side. The wolf stared at it, before sniffing carefully and ever so slowly crept up to it, inspecting it carefully before deeming it acceptable. He stood next to it, resting his head on the bed, watching the intruder as he breathed over the squiggles on the wrist, the sleeping man’s scent calming him but he stayed on alert.

The following night, it was the same, only the empty chair was even closer to the bed. The wolf jumped into it. While it brought him closer to the sleeping man, it was harder to rest his head in the hand with the squiggles. Glancing around, he jumped onto the bed and padded around in a circle, flopped over the man's legs and huffed his nose into the hand, keeping a close eye on the intruder. The other man seemed surprised but didn’t move.

This continued every night, the only thing different was the sleeping man. Every so often, he would move but not much. Just his head flopping in the direction of the wolf, his hand curling, usually when the wolf moved his head out of it and his feet moving, jerking and disrupting the wolf’s rest. Every time it happened, the other man got excited. The wolf didn’t understand it.

But then one night it all changed. 

The sleeping man opened his eyes. 

The other man started talking excitedly. The wolf backed away, his ears flat against his head. 

The man on the bed caught his gaze and suddenly he was in agony. His bones shifted, but he didn't know why. He fell off the bed with a yelp, scuttling backwards as his eyesight changed. Colours he hadn’t seen before appearing and his sense of smell becoming duller. He gasped, but his mouth and teeth were different, shorter, rounder, blunter.

He stared around and shakily got to his feet. He wasn’t a wolf anymore. He was a man.

‘It’s true.’

A voice made him raise his head and he stared at the man with the bad smell, the dangerous smell, blunter to this nose but still present.

‘You’re his soulmate.’

Stiles blinked, staring at the white ceiling in front of him. That was not his bedroom ceiling. He could hear his fathers voice but he had to concentrate to understand the words. Soulmate? He was too young to find his soulmate so his father couldn’t be talking about him. 

He screwed his face up and glanced around, moving his arms to help shift him around but they felt weak. He’d never been very coordinated but he felt as if he had even less control over his limbs than he usually did.

‘Ugh?’ He garbled as he watched a hot naked man make a run for it past his dad. Was he hallucinating? Was this why he was in hospital? Had he imagined how toned that arse was? Although why he’d imagine a tattoo that he’d never seen before, he couldn’t fathom. ‘Dad?’

His voice sounded funny and his throat was raspy.

‘Stiles! God, Stiles!’ His dad said before throwing himself on top of him.

Stiles patted his dad’s shoulder as he was aggressively hugged while not having a clue what the hell was going on. He was quite clearly in a hospital but he couldn’t figure out why. He didn't feel in any pain and nor was he in any casts but he was definitely in a hospital bed, in a hospital room, with a drip attached to his hand.

‘Dad? Was goin on?’ He glanced towards the door, maybe the hot naked man would come back and explain a few things.

The last thing Stiles remembered was that the school year was about to start. He had one more night of freedom but that didn't explain why he was now in a hospital. 

He felt his dad’s chest heave before he pulled back. Stiles blinked at him and stared. When the hell had his dad gotten old? ‘Dad?’

‘You’re awake.’ His dad ran a hand over his face and Stiles suddenly realised he was crying. ‘I need to call a doctor.’

‘What’s going on?’ Stiles asked as his heart began to beat faster. Something was very definitely wrong. His breath started to come in gasps and his mind frantically tried to fit all the pieces together. He was in a hospital, his limbs felt funny and his dad was older and crying. Something very bad had happened.

‘Stiles! Stiles! It’s okay, you’re okay, listen to me son, you’re fine.’

His father’s voice began to filter through his panic and he blinked, suddenly realising that his dad’s face was right in front of him and he’d been trying to get his attention.

‘D-dad.’

‘That’s it, Stiles, breathe with me.’

‘What-what happened?’

‘You were in a car accident, you remember?’

Stiles shook his head.

‘You got hurt, mainly your head, but you’re better now.’

‘H-how, how long?’

‘Two years.’

‘Sc-Scott?’

‘He’s fine. He wasn’t hurt.’

Stiles nodded, trying to get his breathing under control. Numerous panic attacks had taught him that his heart rate would follow if he could sort out his breathing. But he would be feeling jittery and like shit for a long time. He wanted his room, his bed and pillow and blanket. He didn't want to be here, in a strange room, surrounded by strange people with none of his stuff. He wanted to go home.

The doctors finally released him the next day, but only after a barrage full of tests. He hadn’t gotten any rest, even though he had been in a coma for two years. He was exhausted, but the doctors had insisted on test after test to make sure he was okay. One of which his dad had returned after seeing the results looking both stressed and relieved but refused to say anything more on the matter apart from “let's go home”. Stiles was all for that. It didn't mean he was going to drop it. He’d just wait until he’d gotten what he wanted, which was to go home, before bugging his dad about it.

‘Sofa or bed?’ Noah asked him as they entered his house later that day. 

Getting discharged had been a nightmare and Stiles had been ready to throw a full-on wobbly at all the delays but had refrained. It made it worth it when a bunch of doctors and nurses had come to bid him goodbye. He didn't know a single one of them. His dad had taken it all in stride and it made Stiles think about how long he’d been there and how many of them had befriended him. He’d called more than a few by their first names.

‘Sofa.’ Stiles replied. ‘Oh god please the sofa. And TV. And snacks, and hey what’s for lunch?’

‘No snacks, and you’re getting a light lunch. Sandwich only.’

‘But daaad!’ Stiles whined as his dad helped settle him on the sofa, hovering just enough to be helpful but not get in the way. 

After two years of lying in a bed, his limbs were working fine thanks to the physiotherapist his dad had insisted on, just really uncoordinated. More than he ever had been before and sometimes his body just didn't listen to what he was trying to tell it to do. But he knew it could have been a lot worse.

‘Stiles, you haven’t eaten solids in two years. And I’m not cleaning up your vomit.’ Noah frowned at him but was still smiling.

He’d been smiling all day. No matter what obstacles had been thrown at them, every time he had glanced at Stiles or Stiles had complained, his dad had smiled.

‘But foooood!’ Stiles whined just to see his dad smile and shake his head as he headed into the kitchen.

Stiles flopped himself lengthways along the sofa, wriggling to get comfy, only smacking himself in the face once when he’d tried to reach the cushion and completely missed. Okay, maybe four times.

‘So where’s Isaac?’ Stiles called. His dad had explained to him that after Mr Lahey’s murder, by a fellow student no less, evidence had been found that Mr Lahey had been physically abusing his son for years.

Noah had taken him home until social services and Isaac came to a decision. That decision has been for Isaac to stay with Noah.

‘He didn’t want to overwhelm you so is staying with friends.’ Noah called back.

Stiles stared at the door sceptically. From what his dad had told him, Isaac didn’t really have any friends.

His dad returned with the tiniest looking ham sandwich Stiles had ever seen. He threw his dad a glare, not just for the pathetic looking sandwich but for having ham in the house before he tried to gobble half of it down. And promptly had to stop. 

He winced and pulled his finger out of his mouth, glaring at his hand. He’d wanted to shove the sandwich in his mouth, not his fingers. He examined his dented finger. ‘Did someone file my teeth into weapons while I was sleeping? Because they are dangerous!’

Noah snorted and settled himself with a much larger and better looking ham sandwich in the chair opposite. Stiles eyed it up but his one mouthful was already sitting heavily in his stomach. He refused to be bested by a mere pitiful looking sandwich. 

He picked it up again and carefully took another bite, munching happily and groaning at the taste. Had he missed ham? He had no idea but it tasted wonderful. He slowly ate half of the sandwich, not wanting to become an actual cannibal and eat any more of his own fingers.

He leant back against the sofa, feeling stupidly full and as if he’d just polished off a ten course meal not half a tiny sandwich. He eyed up the other half, glaring at it sullenly while he rested his head and felt his eyes drift closed.

He sighed contentedly a moment later when he felt a blanket cover him and his dad kiss his forehead.

‘I love you, Stiles.’

‘Love you, dad.’ He mumbled before snuggling into the blanket and security of sleep.

Derek stood at the driveway to the house. The pull had led him here this time, not to the hospital where he had found himself earlier. He’d been standing here a while, unable to move. He wanted to leave, to go, to run, but found that he couldn’t. Just like he couldn’t bring himself to go up to the house where his soulmate was.

He wasn't stupid enough to ignore the reason behind the pull. He knew what it was and what it meant. Although he didn't know why his soulmate had been in a hospital. He couldn’t remember all of his time as a wolf, but remembered flashes of things that had happened. 

He remembered visiting someone in a hospital bed, but they were always asleep. It stood to reason that his soulmate had been in a coma. Which seemed par for the course for him. Except that now, his soulmate was awake. Maybe things were changing. Why else would he be here, at this house?

‘You coming in son?’ A voice called and Derek startled. He blinked, suddenly realising the man from the hospital was stood in the doorway, framed by the light from inside the house.

Before Derek knew what was happening he was in the house and the door was being closed behind him.

‘You hungry? Thirsty?’ The man asked, giving one quick glance over the ill fitting clothes Derek had grabbed off of someone’s clothesline.

Derek shook his head.

‘You got a name?’

Derek stared at him, the man raised an eyebrow and he realised he was familiar, he’d met him before. He was a deputy with Beacon Hills Police Department. ‘Derek Hale.’

The man sighed. ‘Well, that explains your lost look. I’m Noah Stilinski, and your soulmate is my son, Stiles. Come on in.’

Derek followed and found himself in a lived in looking lounge where a stranger was splayed watching TV.

‘Isaac feet off the table.’ Deputy Stilinski reprimanded casually as he headed into another room.

Isaac flinched and pulled his feet off the coffee table, all without even looking at either of them. He didn’t smell afraid and the flinch looked more automatic than anything else.

Derek found himself in a kitchen where Deputy Stilinski was opening a beer and offering him one.

He shook his head. Alcohol didn’t do anything for him and he wasn’t keen on the taste of it.

Deputy Stilinski leant against the counter. ‘I don’t know if you remember me.’

‘I do.’ Derek cut in hoarsely. He didn’t want to think about the only other time they’d met. It hadn’t been under good circumstances and he could still smell the ash that had covered them.

Deputy Stilinski nodded. ‘Do you know about Laura and Peter?’

Derek nodded.

‘We couldn’t get hold of you. But I’m now assuming that was because you were in the preserve?’

Derek closed his eyes, feeling his body shudder.

‘I get the feeling you know more about their deaths than I do.’

Derek nodded again, just the once.

‘Okay then. Care to explain why you were a wolf when you visited my son?’

‘W-werewolf.’

Deputy Stilinski stared at him, as if waiting for more. He didn’t smell surprised. Eventually he nodded. Derek wondered if it explained some other things he’d seen on the job. ‘Your family?’

Derek nodded.

‘Is that why?’

He nodded again.

‘I’m going to need a name.’

Derek swallowed. ‘K-Kate A-Argent.’

Deputy Stilinski took a long drag of his beer. ‘I’ll reopen the investigation. You sticking around?’

Derek blinked at him.

‘For my sons sake I hope you are.’

‘Okay.’

‘You got anywhere to stay?’

Derek swallowed. ‘Preserve.’

Deputy Stilinski shook his head. ‘I don’t have a spare room, it’s now Isaac’s, but the couch is comfy. You’re welcome to stay.’

‘I-’ Derek’s throat worked as a lump formed in it. ‘Thank you Deputy Stilinski.’

Deputy Stilinski chuckled. ‘It’s Noah or Sheriff. I’d prefer you call me Noah but either is fine.’

Derek hunched his shoulders. He hadn’t realised he was the Sheriff now, he should have though. The man was in uniform with the Sheriff star clipped to his chest. Derek had been so overwhelmed with being back in civilisation he hadn’t even noticed. It didn’t surprise him that the deputy was now Sheriff, he’d been good at his job.

The Sheriff nodded and headed towards him. ‘Come on, Stiles is upstairs sleeping.’

Derek eagerly followed him this time. Something in him needed to be reassured that his soulmate was okay, that he was healing. He just wanted to see him, reassure himself that he was okay then he could leave.

He blinked in surprise when the Sheriff ushered him into the room ahead of him.

The boy he remembered from the hospital was lying in bed sleeping. He somehow looked completely different. Before he’d been lying straight in bed with the covers tucked in around him and his arms down beside him. Now he was lying with his limbs sprawled everywhere and a pillow half underneath him with his mouth wide open and a small trail of drool leading down his face.

He twitched and mumbled something in his sleep, one arm jerking up and smacking his head.

‘Wha?’ The boy, Stiles, started. Blinking blearily as he sat up, overshooting and almost falling out the bed.

‘Stiles.’ The Sheriff smiled, his scent almost overpoweringly happy. It made Derek realise that Stiles could have been in the hospital longer than he’d thought. And he still didn’t know why Stiles had been in a coma.

‘Dad?’ Stiles yawned, showing off a long pale neck. ‘Was going on?’

‘Have you seen your wrist yet?’ The Sheriff asked.

Derek turned to him, wondering what was going on. What was wrong with his soulmates wrist?

‘Holy hell!’ Stiles exclaimed, staring at his wrist in amazement. Derek could see the edge of some black lines on it but he couldn’t stop staring at the moles covering his face, the pale pink lips and the hazel eyes that seemed to light up in excitement. ‘When did it come in? Shit, my eighteenth birthday. Fuck I missed it. I have a soulmate. This is amazing!’

‘When, how long were you in a coma for?’ Derek asked, feeling taken aback. He’d never felt this strongly about anyone before. And while he knew he found the guy beautiful, he mainly wanted to protect him, to wrap him up in bubble wrap and make sure he couldn’t get hurt again.

‘About two years. I was sixteen a couple days ago.’ Stiles grumbled. 

‘No, you really weren’t.’ The Sheriff grumbled, a flood of negative feelings wrapping around him.

‘Now I’m eighteen and am two years behind all my friends.’ Stiles continued with a scowl. ‘Scott will have moved on without me. He’ll be going to college while I’m still stuck at school.’

‘What happened?’ Derek asked quietly, so quietly he wasn't sure if anyone heard or if he just hoped they wouldn’t hear.

Stiles scrunched his face up and Derek couldn’t help but stare. ‘Dad said it was a car accident.’

‘You don’t remember?’

Stiles shook his head, a grin crossing his face again as he peered at his wrist. ‘This is so cool! And it’s so lovely. Although I wonder why it’s a wolf. And look how delicate it is!’

‘I don’t think it’s a coincidence that your soulmate showed up and then you woke up after almost two years.’ The Sheriff said, startling Derek.

‘Wait, what? My soulmate showed up?’ Stiles gaped at his father.

‘One of the tests the doctors ran, an x-ray, confirmed something I suspected.’ The Sheriff said as he pulled out his phone and pulled up his pictures. He showed it to Stiles.

Stiles grabbed it, staring at it, his scent dumbfounded. ‘Wait, is this real? How? I have butterflies in my stomach? What the hell?’

Stiles looked up, glancing at Derek before he stared at his dad for an explanation.

Derek frowned. Butterflies in his stomach? Butterflies showed up on an X-ray?

‘It means that you've been around your soulmate. That the connection between the two of you, while tentative, is being accepted and that your soulmate is the reason you woke up. The connection woke you up.’ The Sheriff explained.

Derek felt weird. That was possible? It was an actual thing? He’d heard incredible stories about soulmates, who hadn’t? The movies were full of these sorts of storylines where the connection between them saved the life of one soulmate. He’d thought it was all bullshit.

But there was no way this could be happening to Derek. He was cursed. Nothing good ever happened to him and anyone who got close to him died. Horrifically. There was no way that Derek could have had anything to do with Stiles waking up. It was impossible for Derek to be responsible for something good happening.

Stiles’ head shot round to Derek. ‘Y-you? You’re my soulmate? Holy shit I won the jackpot! Oh yeah dad, there’s now a really strong chance I’m bisexual.’ Stiles grinned at Derek and nodded. ‘Oh yeah totally bisexual.’

The Sheriff groaned.

Derek blinked. Stiles hadn’t known it was him? Of course he hadn’t, he’d only just found out he had a soulmate. He opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say so closed it again.

‘Did I break him?’ Stiles asked aloud, staring at him in concern.

‘I think he’s just a little overwhelmed with everything that’s happened recently.’

Derek could hear the sheriff speaking, but it sounded far away.

He breathed in, blinked and breathed out. The weirdness he’d started to feel had only gotten worse, stronger. He didnt understand, none of this made sense.

‘What? My waking up? That’s overwhelmed him?’ Stiles’s voice sounded hurt.

‘No, but he’s been living in the preserve for the past couple of  years.’

‘Where? I thought only the Hales lived out in the preserve.’

‘Did I forget to introduce you? This is Derek Hale.’ 

The Sheriff’s face swam into view and Derek stared at him helplessly. He felt as the sheriff gently manhandled him over to the bed. He wanted to growl at the man to stay away from him, to stop touching him. Instead he sat down on the bed when he felt pressure pushing him that way.

‘Hey, Derek? You okay?’ Stiles asked, his voice was concerned and very close. ‘It doesn't look like he’s having a panic attack.’

There was a warm hand placed on his shoulder and Derek heard himself whine and felt himself lean into the touch.

‘Dude, did you just whine?’

Derek closed his eyes. It was all too much, he was surrounded by his soulmates scent, in his soulmates bedroom, with his soulmate talking to him and touching him. After he’d spent the last two years as a wolf in the preserve with no one but himself for company. He couldn’t remember his last meal that wasn’t a wild animal or the last time he’d washed or shaved. This was his first time wearing clothes in two years and they chaffed.

The Sheriff sighed. ‘Really Stiles?’

‘Why are you looking at me like that? He’s the one who whined!’

Was this really happening? His soulmate didn't even know about werewolves. How was he meant to explain that? And why was he even thinking of explaining it? He’d meant to only watch from a distance, to make sure his soulmate was alright before returning to being a wolf. And yet, he found he couldn’t leave, not when he was here and so close.

‘And he should be the one telling you why.’ The Sheriff replied, sounding far away. ‘But I don’t think he’s had any company in a long time.’

‘Hey dad, help me get him on the bed?’

Distantly, Derek felt someone touching him, moving him, pulling him into position, then a blanket covering him and an arm wrapped around him. He drifted off to sleep with the scent of his soulmate strong in his nostrils.

Stiles woke up absolutely roasting, he tried to shift away from the source of the heat but it followed him. He groaned and tried to push it away but it pulled him closer. He sighed and sunk into the secure feeling being held so close gave him. Before he suddenly wondered why he was being held so securely. He opened one eye and recognised his bedroom, but even if Scott was sharing his bed with him, and had gotten handsy, he wasn’t usually this much of an octopus. Or so hot.

He wriggled around, freezing when a face was pushed into his neck. He slowly inched back and stared at the gorgeous man with immense eyebrows sleeping in his bed with him.

Derek Hale.

His soulmate.

And there was something important about him that Stiles was missing. Something that his dad seemed to know about even though he didn’t know much about Derek Hale. There was some big secret that Stiles hadn’t unearthed yet. Hadnt had a chance to unearth yet.

Why was Derek so touch starved? Why had he whined and practically blacked out last night. And his dad had left Derek Hale, alone with him, in his bed. His sixteen year old son. 

Well, eighteen, technically, Stiles kept forgetting about that. He wasn’t sixteen anymore, he was eighteen, and two years behind all of his friends. Scott would be off at college now and he didn’t even know where or what his best friend was studying.

Isaac, who he knew of but didn't know, was now living with him and his dad and how strange was that? Mr Lahey, the swim coach, turned out to be an abusive father and had been murdered by one of his schoolmates, Matt Daehler. Stiles had never liked him, always felt something off about him. But Mr Lahey? Never pinged his radar. Not that he’d ever had anything to do with him having not been on the swim team.

Lydia, his goddess Lydia, obviously not his soulmate and he had completely forgotten to ask anything about her. She was probably soulmates with douchebag Jackson.

What else had he missed while he’d been sleeping. And what had taken Derek so long to get to him? He’d turned eighteen months ago.

He had a lot of questions but Stiles was reluctant to think the man sleeping in bed with him would be happy to give him the answers even though he held them all. He hadn’t seemed very talkative when his dad had introduced them, which Stiles also couldn’t get his head around. 

He understood that he was now eighteen even though he certainly didn’t feel like it, and that Derek was his soulmate, but his dad had just let them sleep in the same bed together? After Stiles had only met him, consciously, once? What was he missing?

Something had happened to Derek Hale to make his father trust him. And Stiles wasn’t naive enough to think it was Derek being a Good Samaritan or neighbour. Especially as his dad seemed to not know much about Derek as a person.

The forehead in front of him scrunched up and the eyes slowly opened to reveal a myriad of colours that Stiles couldn’t describe with a simple colour. Light hazels and browns clustered near the pupil leading to maybe greens or blues until they hit a dark circle around the outside. They were mesmerising and after a moment, Stiles realised he was staring at him.

‘Morning.’ Stiles grinned to cover the fact that he’d been caught watching him sleep.

‘Morning.’ Derek replied, his voice sleep ridden and husky.

The noise went straight to Stiles’ groin.

‘So, Derek Hale, soulmate and enigma.’ Stiles grinned when Derek frowned at him. ‘Tell me about yourself.’

Derek’s frown deepened. ‘What do you want to know?’

‘Anything. Everything. Where do you live? Where do you work? Do you work? Or are you still at school? How old are you? What’s your favourite colour? Favourite food? Which is an important one because we’re gonna be eating breakfast soon.’

‘Do you ever breathe?’ Derek asked, staring at him in mild horror.

‘Yeah I taught myself to breathe when speaking a long time ago, saves on time and allows me to talk more. It’s pretty basic stuff, when did you learn to control your breathing? Or are you naturally gifted in everything you do, you look as if you are, I mean these muscles…’’ Stiles broke off to squeeze the arm that his hand had been trailing down without his knowledge. ‘What do you bench press? In fact don’t tell me, I won’t know what your answer means but I’m guessing you like working out. I don’t. I mean I play lacrosse so of course I’m a sucker for painful and humiliating physical exertion seeing as I suck at it and I really didn’t mean to make any references to BDSM. Are you into that? I have no experience apart from what I’ve found online, which you know is a lot and I like knowing things. So I have no experience to know if I’d be into it or not but I wouldn’t rule it out and I’m gonna shut up now because you’ve turned a really attractive shade of red and haven’t said anything although you kinda look like you’ve been sucking on a lemon without the tequila after shot and your ears are so cute with just the tips red. Huh, do you think that’s a kink?’

Derek blinked.

‘Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it, I ramble a lot. You usually have to shut me up, again didn’t mean kinky references but seeing as we’re soulmates I figure at some time we’ll be trying that out, unless you’re ace? Are you ace? I figure you’re at least bi, seeing as we’re both men but there’s still a lot of sexualities that you could be, that is if you in fact use labels.’

‘Stiles.’ His dad sighed from the doorway.

‘Dad, didn’t know you were up, how long have you been there?’

‘Long enough to know that Derek probably needs a coffee before answering any questions of which he doesn’t have to.’ Noah gave Stiles a look.

Stiles winced. ‘Sorry, got carried away but they are important questions that eventually we’ll need to talk about.’

‘Exactly.’ Noah cut in before Stiles could carry on. ‘Talk about, not just one person talking but both of you.’

‘He really doesn't say much.’ Stiles defended himself.

‘Then give him a chance to.’ Noah replied, as he left, calling back. ‘Coffee’s on and once you’re both downstairs, I’ll start on breakfast. And Stiles? Be gentle.’

Stiles bounced into the kitchen, his hand clamped in Derek’s. He’d taken his dad’s advice to heart and had treated Derek with kid gloves. Metaphorical ones anyone, and for some reason Derek had allowed him.

He eyed the space where the fridge had been and noticed Isaac shrink into himself at Stiles' questioning look. There was a story there and obviously a bad one.

‘Those eggs had better be heart healthy and that better not be real bacon.’ Stiles said in greeting to his dad. ‘Morning Isaac.’

Isaac nodded at him and Stiles decided to ignore how he drew into himself. After hearing about Mr Lahey, Stiles wasn’t surprised, but he needed to find out how long ago that had been and how Isaac was dealing with it. By the looks of it, not very well. He knew his dad well enough that he’d have insisted that Isaac get therapy, but Stiles would see how Isaac was responding to it and look into the therapist. Isaac was family now, even if they weren’t friends yet.

‘Really Stiles?’ His dad sighed at him. ‘This is a celebratory breakfast.’

‘What are we celebrating?’

‘You being awake.’ Noah said sardonically.

Stiles winced. ‘Yeah okay, you get a pass today. But just for today! And don’t think I’m not questioning everyone at the station on your diet.’

His dad rolled his eyes but continued with setting up breakfast. ‘They’ll be pleased to see you. Derek, anything you don’t like?’

Derek shook his head.

Stiles definitely had his work cut out. 

‘What’s everyone’s plans for the day?’ Noah asked as he set the bacon in the pan and cracked the eggs into a bowl.

‘I was gonna call Scott, see what he’s up to, let him know I’m awake. Surprised I haven’t already heard from him.’ Stiles frowned. ‘Hey where’s my phone?’

Noah turned around to face him, wincing. ‘Yeah, about that. Scott moved away.’

‘What?’ Stiles gaped at his father. ‘When?’

‘Not long ago. His girlfriend moved back to France after falling out with her family, Scott followed the second his soul mark came in and it matched hers. Nothing Melissa could do to stop him, she’s still here though.’

‘Scott has a girlfriend?’ Stiles asked, utterly stunned. What the hell had happened while he’d been in a coma? Scott was older than him by a couple months so he’d have moved to France before Stiles’ mark had come in. Did Scott even know he’d gotten his mark?

His dad nodded, glancing at Derek quickly. ‘Her family moved here shortly after your accident. She and Scott became an item pretty quickly and they’ve been hot and heavy ever since.’

Stiles narrowed his eyes. ‘What aren’t you saying?’

Noah sighed. ‘Stiles leave it for now.’

Stiles shook his head. This wasn’t adding up, had he entered an alternate reality? Was he hallucinating? Had he even woken up? Was this all a dream? ‘No. No. No. No. This is wrong. Too much doesn't make sense. You’re lying to me!’

Noah dropped the fork he was using to stir the bacon with and was by his side in an instant. ‘No. Stiles I’m not. I’m sorry but I’m not lying.’

‘None of this makes sense.’ Stiles wrapped his arms around himself, shaking as he felt his breath come in gasps. ‘If you’re not lying then you’re hiding something from me. I don’t want to be eighteen. I want to be sixteen again, when this isn’t happening and my best friend hasn’t left me!’

‘We can get Scott on the phone, video time or face call or whatever it is you kids call it.’ Noah said, keeping Stiles’ eyes on him.

Stiles snorted, trying to calm his breaths as he listened to his dad’s voice. His hands were clenched tight around another hand and it took him a moment to trace the hand back to Derek, who was also apparently drawing circles on the back on his hand. Stiles followed Derek’s finger with his eyes, his heart rate slowly down slightly and his breaths coming in time with the movement of Derek’s finger.

‘Thanks.’ Stiles gulped, leaning into Derek with a sigh. ‘Neat trick.’

‘You’re welcome.’ Derek said, hesitantly placing an arm around Stiles’ side.

Stiles wriggled himself further into Derek’s embrace, he felt safe and secure, and manhandled Derek’s arms so that he was wrapped around him. He looked up to his dad. ‘So what weren’t you telling me then?’

‘Shit.’ Noah sighed and looked at Derek. ‘Scott’s girlfriend. Her name is Allison Argent.’

Derek growled and Stiles blinked. He twisted his head around and stared sideways at Derek’s glowering red eyes. ‘Dude! What the fuck!’

‘Language.’ His dad said.

‘You knew about this?’ Stiles turned back to his dad, then looked down as he felt something sharp digging into his hands. He gaped at the claws sprouting from Derek’s fingers and raised his hands up to get a better look. ‘Dude! What are you?’

Derek didn’t respond so he twisted to look at him but Derek was looking a mixture of angry and embarrassed.

Noah sighed. ‘He’s a werewolf and Stiles, Isaac, this doesn’t leave this room.’

‘Yessir.’ Issac nodded his head frantically but was looking as interested as Stiles.

‘This is so cool!’

‘Stiles.’ His dad reprimanded.

‘Course, doesn’t leave this room. Can I tell Scotty though? He’s gonna freak!’

‘No!’ His dad said sternly just as Derek growled again.

‘Why not? Who’s Scotty gonna tell?’ Stiles asked before remembering that Scott now had a girlfriend and probably more friends than he had two years ago when it had just been the two of them.

‘Derek reacted to his girlfriends name.’ Noah said, pulling Stiles out of his internal slump.

‘Allison something?’ Stiles frowned. ‘Why? Who is she?’

Noah sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘I’ll find out if she’s related to her.’

Derek nodded stiffly.

‘To who?’ Stiles demanded. He knew he was being left out and did not appreciate it, he felt as if he’d been left out of the last two years of his life.

‘To the woman who murdered Derek’s family. Are you happy now, Stiles?’ Noah said sharply.

Stiles flinched. ‘Shit. Sorry. I, I didn’t know.’

‘Nor were you taking any hints.’ His dad said in his disappointed voice.

‘Alright, alright I get it. Stop pushing.’ Stiles grumbled and glanced at Derek again. ‘Hey, where did your eyebrows go?’

Derek turned to face him and flashed red eyes at him.

‘That is so cool!’ Stiles said excitedly, reaching out excitedly and running his fingers all over the angles of Derek’s face. ‘How does it work, do you howl at the moon, turn into a rabid animal once a month, were all your family werewolves? Do you get any perks, do the red eyes mean better eyesight? Wait! Is that what dad meant when he said you’d been living in the preserve? As a werewolf?! Dude!’

‘Stiles, pause, breathe.’ His dad ordered before turning to Derek. ‘I know he’s a lot but he doesn't mean to be rude.’

‘I’m not being rude!’ Stiles retorted affronted, then stared at Derek in worry. ‘Am I being rude? I’m so sorry. I’m prying aren’t I? But you’re the first werewolf that I’ve ever met and wow that is a sentence I never thought I would say and would I even know if I’ve met a werewolf before? And I can see dad’s face, I’m shutting up.’

‘No.’ Derek said around his fangs. ‘It’s fine.’

Stiles peered in closely, running his fingers over the sharp edges gently, jumping when they disappeared.

‘You’re not scared.’

Stiles cocked his head to one side. ‘Why would I be scared? You’re my soulmate.’

Derek blinked. Looking as if he was processing it then glanced at Noah and Isaac.

‘You’re my son’s soulmate and brought him out of that coma.’ Noah said simply.

Isaac shrugged. ‘Mr Stilinski and Stiles trust you. I trust them. And it is cool.’

‘Right?!’ Stiles enthused, raising his hand for a high five that Isaac dubiously stared at.

‘My family... were werewolves. We have advanced strength, healing, and hearing. The red eyes mean I’m the alpha.’ Derek told them stiltedly.

‘Like alpha, beta and omega?’ Stiles asked.  ‘You’re the one in charge?’

Derek nodded. ‘Beta’s are pack members, omega’s are werewolves without packs, they usually go feral.’

‘Are omega’s common?’ Stiles asked.

Derek shook his head.

‘And you can turn into a full wolf?’ Stiles asked. ‘What about what you just did?’

‘Werewolves have a beta shift, which is what you just saw. Only certain werewolves can fully shift into a wolf. It’s a genetic thing.’

‘And it runs in your family?’

Derek nodded.

‘What about the full moon? Silver? Hey, can you eat chocolate?’ Stiles wondered aloud.

Derek stared at him sardonically. ‘We feel the pull of the moon. Silver is a myth, it derives from the french word and yes I can eat chocolate.’

‘Wait, the french word for silver is argent…’ Stiles trailed off and stared up at his dad.

Derek hunched in on himself. ‘They’re a hunting family.’

Stiles stared at him, feeling sick. ‘They hunt you for sport?’

Derek looked away from them. ‘They’re meant to have a code, hunt those who have hurt innocents, but they don’t stick to it. My family never hurt anyone. We were peaceful.’

‘How did they know you were werewolves?’ Noah asked.

‘Me.’ Derek shrugged uncomfortably. Stiles pushed himself further into Derek’s space, unsurprised when Derek breathed in deeply beside his face. ‘She was a substitute teacher. She was nice, friendly. I thought she loved me. I trusted her.’

‘It wasn’t your fault son.’ Noah said, grasping Derek’s shoulder. ‘I trust my gut, and it’s saying that you're a good man.’

Stiles swallowed, feeling suddenly nauseous. ‘How old were- I mean, this happened ye- a while ago.’

Derek nodded, curling in on himself and hiding his face behind Stiles’ shoulder. ‘I was fifteen.’

Stiles looked over to his dad in horror.

‘Son, Derek.’ Noah said gently, gaining Derek’s attention. ‘You know what she did was wrong. You were not in the wrong. She was. What she did was illegal. Even if you consented. It’s called statuatory rape. The age of consent in California is eighteen. Not sixteen.’

Derek nodded but Stiles could feel him shaking behind him. He shuffled around so that he could pull Derek into a side hug.

Stiles looked at dad in alarm when Derek went willingly, his entire body pliable.

‘Derek I promise you son, I will find evidence against her, and I will put her away.’

Stiles felt something wet on his neck and heard Derek sniff.

Stiles rubbed his hands along Derek’s back and arms as Noah ushered Isaac awkwardly from the room.

What a great first day home, his dad had prepared a special breakfast and he’d ruined it by bringing up all his soulmates' trauma. He was really killing this.

‘I’m sorry.’ Stiles said, feeling helpless and useless.

‘Why are you sorry? I got my family killed.’ Derek shrugged, pulling away from him but avoiding eye contact.

‘That wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry for being a shit soulmate. Our first morning together and I ruin everything.’

‘You haven’t ruined anything.’

Stiles looked around and realised that Derek was right. He could still salvage breakfast and they could move forward from this. He nodded. ‘You’re right. Let’s finish breakfast and you can tell me to shut up when I put my foot in things again.’

Derek raised an eyebrow. ‘You’re awfully sure you’re going to.’

Stiles shrugged and grinned at him. ‘It’s part of my charm.’

‘Aww, come on dad, please?’ Stiles whined. What he wouldn’t do for a diner burger and curly fries, but his dad was refusing to take him out and had hidden the keys for his jeep so he couldn’t even drive himself there either. 

He doubted Derek would be any help, after living in the preserve for God knew how long, Stiles doubted he had a car or transport.

‘No. Not yet.’ Noah groaned. ‘We’ll be there all day.’

Stiles glared at him. ‘No we won’t. I just want a burger from the diner, we’ll be quick I promise.’

‘No, we won’t. Because everyone knows you’re awake and they’ll want to stop and chat and I just want to spend one full day with you before I have to go back to work.’

Stiles froze, blinking rapidly, a lump forming in his throat. He was being a shitty son. He nodded. ‘Yeah, that sounds... yeah. We’ll stay in.’

‘We could order the food to go?’ Isaac offered in a voice barely above a whisper. ‘Erica and Boyd could pick it up and bring it over? Or, or we could, collect it I mean.’

Noah smiled at Isaac who had paled and was looking down at his feet fearfully. Noah gently touched his shoulder. ‘That’s a great idea Isaac. I’m sure Lorraine wouldn’t mind packing it up for us just this once. I’ll give her a call, what does everyone want?’

‘The house special burger with curly fries and a chocolate milkshake, large. Can I have two chocolate milkshakes? With extra cream. Ooh and their triple chocolate brownie for dessert.’ Stiles immediately asked, his mouth watering from just the thought of diner food.

‘Derek?’ Noah asked.

Derek blinked, looking startled.

‘I’m assuming you like your meat.’ Stiles grinned, feeling proud of himself.

‘Stiles.’ His dad groaned. ‘I’m right here.’

Startled, his arms flew out and he managed to hit both himself and Derek and possibly Isaac who flinched and almost hit the ground. ‘Daaaad! I meant him being a werewolf! Jeez, get your head out the gutter.’

‘Sure, you did.’ Noah replies dryly, giving him a disbelieving look. ‘The lasagna’s good, which is what I’m going for. I can recommend all the burgers and the ribs are fantastic. Only I doubt my son will ever let me eat them again. They also do a meat platter which I’m told is out of this world.’

Derek nodded.

‘Ribs or platter?’

‘Do they do barbecue ribs?’ Derek sounded hopeful.

‘Barbecue ribs it is. Isaac?’

‘Tex Mex burger please.’

‘What’ll Erica and Boyd have?’

‘Really?’ Isaac straightened up, looking pleased.

Noah chuckled. ‘Course, get their order and call it in, they can pick it up on they’re way over. Here’s my card, you call in the order but make sure they know it’s for Stiles being home.’

‘Hey!’ Stiles glared at his dad. ‘You’ve never given me your card before.’

Noah raised an eyebrow. ‘Isaac I trust.’

Stiles poured. ‘Rude.’

Isaac preened as he took Stiles’ dad’s card and pulled his phone out, wrist on display as he left the room to speak to his friends. Stiles leaned forward as he caught sight of the soulmark there, an ocean wave. Well, they were in California.

‘Erica?’ Stiles frowned, his mind jumping topics. ‘You mean Erica Reyes?’

His dad nodded.

‘Whose Boyd?’

‘Really Stiles? He was in your class.’ His dad sounded disappointed.

‘You mean Vernon Boyd? Big bloke, doesn’t like words?’ Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘You know Scott was the only one willing to put up with me.’

‘Not anymore.’ His dad said with a pointed look towards Derek.

‘True, I now get Derek.’

Derek blinked. ‘You-you want me to stay?’

‘Course.’ Stiles turned to him, wondering why he looked so surprised at that. Did Derek not want to stay with him?

‘Okay.’ Derek said simply before Stiles could get himself worked up. The instant acceptance took all the wind out of his sails and Stiles realised it had been Derek’s own insecurities that had made him question him wanting him.

Stiles was going to have to work on that. Along with Isaac. They were both family now, and Stiles looked after his own.

‘Hey dad, I know you think I can’t read any cues, but while Isaac’s not in the room, what happened to the fridge?’

‘At least you picked up on that cue.’ His dad mumbled.

Stiles glared.

‘Isaac's father used to lock him in the freezer, among other things. He never stopped staring at it when he forced himself into the kitchen. It’s out in the utility room now and Isaac doesn’t go in there.’

Stiles nodded, taking a moment to digest that. ‘How did none of us know?’

Noah sighed and dragged a hand down his face. ‘He hid it but I ask myself that question every day. But this is a conversation for when he’s not around.’ 

Stiles nodded. It really was, he had so many questions and none of them were ones he wanted Isaac around for. He had plenty more for Isaac, but those were more about getting Isaac better. Although if this was Isaac better, then Stiles wasn’t sure he wanted to know what Isaac was like before.

‘His father abused him?’ Derek asked quietly. Noah nodded. ‘That explains a lot.’

‘Like what?’ Stiles wanted to know what Derek has picked up.

‘His scent. He’s just ending his phone call.’

‘How can you tell?’

‘Werewolf hearing.’

‘How far can you hear?’

‘A lot more than you.’ Derek smiled and if Stiles didn’t know him and how insecure he was, he’d say it was smug.

‘You said earlier, you have better hearing, healing and strength.’ Noah added.

Derek nodded. ‘Your neighbours have very questionable taste in music and a car two roads over needs a new exhaust. We don’t get diseases, but wolfsbane is highly poisonous to us.’

‘You can hear all that!’ Stiles asked, astonished as Isaac walked back into the room. ‘That’s so cool! What kinda music are they playing? What about wounds? I thought when you said better healing, you meant like, physical injury, not diseases.’

‘Bad music.’ Derek said flatly. ‘I used to be able to filter it out better but I’ve been in the preserve for two years.’

‘Two years!’ Stiles exclaimed but quietened at a look from his dad. But that meant that Derek has been in the preserve for as long as he’d been in his coma.

‘You were talking about healing?’ Noah asked, staring at Derek intently. Stiles frowned wondering what he was thinking.

Derek nodded. ‘Knife wounds, gunshots, arrows, unless the weapons are laced with wolfsbane.’

‘Arrows? How would anyone know to put wolfsbane on their weapons?’

‘Hunters.’ Derek said darkly.

Stiles winced.

‘You mentioned diseases.’ Noah pushed. ‘You don’t get any?’

Derek shook his head. ‘Our advanced healing means our body wouldn’t allow the disease to take hold. But it’s not infallible, we still get old, just at a slower rate.’

Noah nodded thoughtfully.

‘You said your strong, how strong?’ Stiles asked.

Derek gave him a sardonic look. ‘When you asked what I bench press, I could easily bench press your car and not break a sweat.’

‘Dude!’ Stiles waved his arms excitedly. ‘That is so cool!’

‘It comes with its drawbacks.’ Derek sighed.

‘Like what?!’

‘Hunters. We can’t have our picture taken with our eyes open because of the flare, it makes our eyes flash.’

‘Do you need packs?’ Noah asked.

‘Sort of.’ Derek pulled a face. ‘If I wasn’t an alpha, then yes, otherwise I’d go omega.’

‘What’s that mean?’

‘An omega is a beta without a pack. They go feral and chances are, start killing people. Technically, they’re what hunters go after.’

‘Okay, but because you're the alpha you don’t need a pack?’

‘I won’t turn omega without one.’

‘But you’d like one?’

‘It’s preferable.’ Derek admitted, rubbing his chest. ‘It’s an urge that I’ll constantly have, to create a pack, but I don’t need one.’

‘Create?’ Noah asked quickly. ‘You don’t have to be born a werewolf?’

Derek shook his head. ‘An alpha bite can turn someone but I wouldn’t do that. And only the bite of an alpha can turn someone. Betas and omegas can’t turn people with their bite, but an alpha bite doesn’t necessarily mean the person bitten will turn.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘A body will accept the bite or reject it. If the body rejects it, they die.’

‘So an alpha bites someone and they either turn into a werewolf or die?’ Stiles summarised.

Derek nodded.

‘Why don’t you need a pack?’ Stiles asked.

‘I already have one. You, Noah and Isaac. You don’t have to be a werewolf to be pack.’

‘Me?’ Isaac asked, startled.

Derek nodded. ‘You’re all family. My bond with Stiles was the quickest and is the strongest, but you’re Stiles’ family.’

Isaac turned to Stiles, looking dumbfounded. ‘You consider me family?’

‘Course.’ Stiles shrugged, not understanding what Isaac was upset about. ‘Dad adopted you.’

‘He didn’t, he’s my guardian and we weren’t friends before your coma.’ Isaac shook his head.

Stiles shrugged. ‘So? Family doesn’t mean we have to be best friends. We don’t know each other but we now get to find out if we do get on. Family means we’re there for each other even if we don’t like each other. And if we fall out, it still won’t change that you’re family now.’

Isaac bit his lips, his eyes suspiciously moist.

‘Dude, do we need to hug it out?’ Stiles grinned, stretching out his arms.

Isaac glared.

Stiles laughed. ‘Come on, don't leave me hanging!’ He pouted when Isaac crossed his arms, still glaring. He turned to Derek.

Derek rolled his eyes and yanked at the back of his shirt.

He yelled and fell into Derek’s lap where Derek’s arms instantly wrapped around him, anchoring him in place. ‘Dude! A little warning next time?’

‘Don’t call me dude.’ Derek grumped but Stiles could see the corner of his lips were turned upwards.

‘Erica!’ Stiles exclaimed as she entered with Boyd right behind her. ‘You look wonderful! And Boyd, still as stoic as ever.’

Boyd nodded to him while Erica beamed and flipped her hair and slipped her hand into Boyd’s. ‘Thanks, finding my soulmate suits me.’

‘Boyd’s your soulmate? Congrats guys! This here,’ He shoved his thumb over his shoulder, indicating Derek. ‘Is mine.’

Erica’s eyes widened. ‘Dude you hit the jackpot!’

‘Right!’ Stiles exclaimed excitedly raising his hand for a high five.

‘I- I didn’t know you guys knew each other?’ Isaac asked, glancing between them looking subdued.

Stiles shrugged. ‘Yeah, of course. Not well but we knew each other.’

Erica nodded. ‘Stiles always stuck up for me when he was there.’

‘Hey Isaac, who’s your soulmate?’ Stiles suddenly realised he’d never even asked. Some friend he was turning out to be.

Isaac blinked and looked away, hunching his shoulders up. ‘Don’t know.’

Stiles scrunched his nose up, wondering why Derek narrowed his eyes at that, Isaac clearly didn't want to talk about it. He turned back to Erica. ‘How’ve the last two years been? Apart from glorious because you found your soulmate, how’d you figure it out anyway?’

Erica smiled shyly. ‘Boyd saw my mark during a seizure. He came with me to the hospital and showed me his once I was conscious.’

‘I bet he did.’ Stiles grinned and held up his hand.

Noah and Derek groaned.

Erica high fived him, beaming.

‘So then, catwoman, catch me up on the last two years, what movies have I missed?’

Ericas eyes lit up. ‘What was the last marvel movie you saw?’

‘Captain America, and Thor had come out a couple months before that.’ Stiles said, leaning forward. Finally he had someone to geek out over marvel with. How had he never known she was into them as well? Scott always went with him to see them at the cinema but wasn't really all that bothered about them.

‘Okay so you’ve only missed two really. The Avengers and Iron man 3. Thor: The Dark World is still at cinemas now.’

‘I can’t believe I missed seeing The Avengers at the cinema, that sucks! But you know what this means? Total rewatch!’

Noah groaned.

Derek looked perplexed but Isaac looked reluctantly pleased and Stiles was still to see any kind reaction on Boyd’s face.

Stiles grabbed Derek’s hand. ‘You won’t have seen them either will you? This is going to be brilliant!’

‘I don’t think I’ve seen any of them.’ Derek admitted.

Stiles stared at him. ‘Are you kidding? Why the hell not?’

Derek shifted, looking uncomfortable. ‘Well, apart from the Dolby sound being too loud on my hearing, most of my family died in 2005. Watching movies never really appealed to me and Laura wasn’t really into marvel.’

‘Fine, that’s a damn good reason. You get a pass. Until now. We’re watching all of them. I can’t have my soulmate not having seen marvel, hold on! Please tell me, you have at least seen Stars Wars?’

Derek nodded.

‘Oh good, you can still be my soulmate.’ Stiles grinned.

Derek threw him a dark look.

‘You two are so cute together.’ Erica exclaimed.

Derek threw her a dirty look.

Stiles kept his face tucked into Derek’s neck as the credits started playing on Captain America: The First Avenger. They’d just watched four films back to back. And he’d spent them all curled up next to his soulmate on the sofa. It was the best day of his life. He had friends over, his soulmate here, his dad here, delicious food. The only thing to make it better would have been Scott, but he’d texted him and emailed him. He hadn’t heard back yet.

His dad hadn’t lasted for all four movies but had still surprised Stiles by managing all of Iron Man, most of Iron Man 2, all of Thor and only the beginning of Captain America. Not that he’d left, he stayed in his office and pottered around after them. It seemed he still wasn't quite ready to leave Stiles for too long.

‘I’ll bring over The Avengers and Iron Man 3 tomorrow.’ Erica yawned. ‘I haven't seen Thor as I don’t visit cinema’s.’

Stiles frowned. ‘Why not? I love seeing films on the big screen!’

Erica shrugged. ‘They can’t promise that there aren’t any flashing lights which will cause a seizure.’

‘That sucks!’ Stiles exclaimed. He’d never thought of that before. Did that mean that Erica had never been to the cinema then? ‘Second it comes out on DVD, we’re watching it. Movie night!’

‘Yeah?’ Erica grinned, looking overjoyed.

‘We could make it like a weekly thing?’ Stiles offered. He may not have Scott here with him, but it seemed he still had friends. ‘You can catch me up on everything I’ve missed.’

‘I’d really like that.’ Erica admitted. ‘I’m glad you’re awake Stiles.’

‘Me too!’ Stiles grinned at her.

‘Come on, we’d better get you home.’ Boyd said, nodding at Stiles.

Erica huffed. ‘Next time we’ll bring my meds with me. Thanks for dinner Sheriff!’

‘You’re welcome Erica, Boyd. And you know you’re both welcome anytime.’ Noah yawned as he cleared up.

Erica hugged Isaac, pulling him close. Stiles watched as Isaac melted into it. 

Boyd nudged Isaac’s arm as Stiles got taken completely off guard when Erica enveloped him in a hug too. It wasn’t as tight or as long as Isaac’s had been, but Stiles still returned it.

Yeah he’d miss Scott, but he was already making new friends. He’d emailed Scott, the time difference between them was an obstacle but not an insurmountable one. They would deal and as soon as Scott checked his email, they’d arrange a way to skype each other.

Isaac saw Erica and Boyd out while Noah carted all the empty snack packets to the bin. It seemed that with Derek around, they would never have left overs. Another perk of being a werewolf it seemed, they ate tons.

‘Derek you mind if I ask you some questions about being a werewolf?’ Noah asked.

‘Sure.’ Derek turned to him.

‘I’m going to head to bed.’ Isaac said, his head going between them.

Noah shook his head. ‘I think you should be here for this. I want everyone’s opinion.’

Isaac nodded and sat down on the seat nearest the stairs. Stiles wondered if that was a conscious decision or not.

‘You said your healing stops diseases from taking a hold in the body.’ Noah started. Derek nodded. ‘What if you bit someone who had a pre existing condition? Would that have any effect?’ 

Derek frowned. ‘Sheriff, you’re fully healthy, so is Stiles and Isaac, what are you asking?’

‘That girl who just left, Erica, she has epilepsy and it’s getting worse the older she gets. The doctors don’t think she’ll live past twenty-five and that she’ll be lucky to get to that age. Any seizure could be her last.’ Noah sighed. ‘I know you said you won’t bite anyone, but would you consider it?’

‘You-you want me to turn her?’ Derek asked, blinking rapidly.

‘She’s out of options. And from everything you’ve said and done, I think you’d be good for each other.’ Noah admitted. ‘But you would have to get her consent first.’

‘Of course.’ Derek said, startled. ‘I would never bite anyone without their full knowledge and consent. And even then, only if I believe it’s the right thing to do. But..’

Derek trailed off, frowning intently.

‘What is it Derek?’ Noah asked.

Derek drew into himself, still not speaking, his frown turning into a glower.

‘You know you can tell us anything, you’re family, we’ll support you. Even if you’re being an idiot.’ Stiles told him bluntly, then wondered if he should have used more tact.

‘Stiles.’ His dad sighed.

‘I wasn’t trained to be an alpha. Laura was meant to take over. I don’t know how to be a good alpha.

Noah smiled and clasped his shoulder. ‘We’ll be here to help you, and that right there, admitting that you don’t know and need help? That is a sign of a good leader.’

Stiles nodded. ‘We can all help, I’ll research and it’s not like any of us can compare you to other alphas we know.’

Noah groaned again, placing his whole face in his hands.

‘Thanks.’ Derek said dryly.

Stiles grinned.

‘Isaac, what do you think?’ Noah asked, turning to him.

‘M-me?’ Isaac virtually squeaked.

‘You know her best.’ Noah shrugged.

‘She’d jump at the chance. She worries about what will happen to Boyd when she dies.’ Isaac admitted, hunching in on himself.

‘So tomorrow, when she and Boyd come over, we break the news and see what she says.’ Stiles cut in.

Noah raised an eyebrow at him.

‘What? Boyd’s her soulmate, she won’t keep this from him and you said you’d want her to make an informed decision.’ Stiles shrugged.

Derek nodded. ‘I’d need her to think about it as well, really think about it and know the pro’s and con’s of it all.’

‘I agree. If she agrees, we won’t let her run into it blind.’ Noah agreed. ‘You said if the body rejects the bite, the person dies?’

Derek nodded. ‘There aren’t any statistics, but the younger the person is, the higher the chance they have of surviving it.’

‘Do you have any objections to any of this?’ Noah asked Derek. ‘You can say no, I need you to feel comfortable with this. If you’re not, you have to say so.’

Derek shrugged. ‘I got on with her today, she seems nice, genuine, she’s part of Isaac’s pack so even if she doesn't take the bite and become a wolf, I’m pretty sure she’ll still end up pack. And like Stiles said, where Erica goes, Boyd follows. You aren’t going to get one without the other.’

Noah nodded thoughtfully. ‘How do you think Boyd will take it?’

Derek shrugged. ‘If Erica goes for it and turns, then I think he’ll ask for the bite too.’

‘Really?’ Noah looked surprised. ‘How would you feel about that?’

‘I’d want your opinion before I agreed.’

Noah smiled. ‘But you’d agree?’

Derek nodded. ‘I would. He adores Erica and is settled with her, but underneath it, he’s lonely. What was he like before him and Erica got together?’

Isaac shrugged. ‘We became friends because we were all social pariahs, I was never really sure if he even really liked us but then it turned out him and Erica were soulmates.’

‘He cares.’ Derek told him.

‘You’re closer to Erica right?’ Stiles asked. As an outsider, he probably had a better perspective on things, and as his dad liked to point out, Stiles could be observant when he wanted to be. ‘He’s probably worried that when he loses Erica, he loses you too.’

‘Well then, we’d better disabuse him of that notion.’ Noah said looking between both Stiles and Isaac.

‘Yessir.’ Isaac nodded instantly.

Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘Gee and I was gonna reinforce it instead. Oww.’ He winced and rubbed the back of his head. ‘Recently brain damaged remember?’

‘Wish I could forget.’ His dad said pointedly.

Stiles grimaced.

‘When can you bite me?’ Erica asked, her eyes shining brightly as if all her Christmas’s had come at once.

Stiles grinned broadly at her, pleased that he’d correctly anticipated her response.

‘Not yet. You need to think about this, weigh up the pro’s and con’s. If I don’t think you have, then I won’t bite you.’ Derek told her seriously. ‘The bite is a gift but it isn’t a get out of jail free card.’

‘I understand.’ Erica sighed. ‘Hunters are evil, they are what they sound like, they hunt werewolves. But I won’t have a ticking time bomb in my head.’

‘Only if your body accepts the bite.’ Derek reminded her.

She pulled a face. ‘I know. If my body doesnt, I die, painfully. But I’m not going to change my mind.’

Derek smiled at her and Stiles lost his breath. His soulmate was beautiful when he smiled. Why hadn’t Stiles seen it before? Derek needed to smile all the time. 

‘I don’t expect you to, but I need you to really think about it.’ Derek told her.

Erica nodded. ‘I will. I promise.’ She threw her arms around him. ‘Thank you.’

Stiles watched as Derek stiffened and then slowly relaxed into her embrace.

‘I want the bite too.’ Boyd said.

Derek nodded. ‘You’ve heard everything I’ve said, but as you don’t have a medical reason..’

‘Ticking time bomb in your head.’ Stiles interrupted helpfully.

Derek shot him a glare. ‘I’m going to need you to think about it for longer.’

‘How long?’ Boyd asked.

‘A month. At least. Same deal, if I don’t think you’ve made an informed decision, then I will refuse.’

Boyd nodded. ‘That’s fine.’

‘I want the same deal too.’ Isaac said, looking shocked.

Stiles got the impression that he’d surprised himself by speaking up.

Derek looked surprised as well. ‘You do?’

Isaac nodded resolutely. ‘I don’t like who I am. I hate being weak.’

‘Being a werewolf will only give you physical strength Isaac, not mental.’ Derek said softly. ‘Are you in therapy?’

Isaac nodded glumly.

‘It not going well?’ Stiles asked.

Isaac shrugged unhappily. ‘I can’t relax and I still get nightmares.’

‘Being a werewolf won’t change them, but it might make them worse with all the added senses.’

‘You’re saying no.’ Isaac hunched in on himself.

Derek shook his head. ‘No, I’m not saying no, but I’m also not saying yes. We need to talk more about this.’

‘Really?’ Isaac asked, looking hopeful.

Stiles’ heart broke for him.

‘What’s it like?’ Stiles asked for something to distract Isaac. ‘Changing from human to a werewolf? I’m assuming dealing with the advanced hearing isn’t easy?’

Derek shook his head, throwing Stiles an appreciative look. ‘It isn’t, and on top of that, your emotions are all over the place. Lots of things will set you off and any emotion, extreme or not, can cause you to shift until you get a hold on it. Anger is a very common problem.’

‘How do you get a hold on it?’ Stiles wondered.

‘Find an anchor. A lot of werewolves use their soulmates but it’s best to have several anchors and to not have them as people. People argue which can have an effect on your control. The more anchors you have the better. It can be a memory, a place, a smell.’

‘So if I can get over my issues, you’ll consider biting me too?’ Isaac asked, looking fearful.

Stiles didn't like Isaac’s phrasing, but he didn’t comment yet. He didn't want to interrupt when he seemed so hopeful and this might give him the encouragement he needed to make a difference in his therapy.

‘If I think it’s in your best interests, and if Noah agrees, then yes.’ Derek agreed.

Isaac beamed.

Stiles grinned and glanced at his dad. He was smiling too, looking at Derek proudly.

They would figure this out, as a family. As a pack.

‘Are you really going to make Erica wait a week?’ Stiles asked Derek, pulling a face.

Derek stared at Stiles. ‘A week isn’t forever.’

‘When you have a bomb in your head that can go off any second it might as well be an eternity.’ Stiles pointed out.

‘Only for you youngsters.’ Derek glared at him.

‘Hey, you’re not that much older than me, are you?’ Stiles asked, suddenly realising that he didn’t even know how old his soulmate was. ‘Wait, are you?’

Derek sighed. ‘No, Stiles, I’m not, I’m twenty two.’

‘Sweet! You can legally drink!’

‘Alcohol doesn't affect werewolves.’

‘But you can legally buy alcohol.’

‘I am not buying my soulmate, underage son of the sheriff, alcohol.’

‘Spoilsport.’

‘Law abiding.’

Stiles grinned. ‘But I’m yours and your mine.’

Derek smiled.

‘You should do that more, it suits you. I like it.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Smile.’ Stiles slid onto Derek’s lap, delicately tracing his mouth with his finger tips before exploring the rest of Derek’s face that way. ‘Did you know, this is how blind people see people, by tracing the physical contours of a face. I couldn’t imagine being blind and not being able to see my soulmate’s face.’

‘Would it matter?’ Derek asked quietly.

Stiles shook his head. ‘No, we’re not soulmates because of how we look, thank God, but because of who we are, our personalities, what makes us up, how we click.’

Derek smiled again. ‘How you look is just a bonus.’

‘You-you like how I look?’ Stiles paused in his explorations. He’d never really given much thought to Derek liking his looks, thinking that Derek didn’t really have much of a choice in the matter seeing as the universe had put them together. Although, there had to be a reason why they were soulmates.

‘I do.’ Derek leant forward and gently pressed their lips together in a soft chaste kiss before pulling away. ‘Very much.’

‘Yeah?’

‘Yeah. And your scent makes me feel like I’ve finally found my home.’

‘My scent? You mean I have a smell? Dude, is that good?’ Stiles asked desperately trying to remember when he’d last showered and how thoroughly. He’d definitely washed his hair and he was ninety percent positive he’s used shower gel. He just wasn’t convinced at how thoroughly he’d used it.

‘Don’t call me dude. And everyone has a scent or a smell that is specifically them. It’s hard to describe what an individual smells like, you can't compare it to other things.’

‘Can you try?’

Derek shrugged. ‘In your case, the closest thing I can think of is fresh and cotton. Probably all the plaid you wear.’

‘Hey, plaid is comfy!’ Stiles defended. Why did everyone get on his case about his plaid shirts?

Derek shrugged. ‘I’m not complaining.’

‘What else do you like?’

‘How distinctive your heart rate is, I could pick it out of a crowd of a thousand or more.’ Derek admitted.

Stiles blinked. ‘Really? Your hearing is that good?’

Derek nodded. ‘We can pick up nuisances in its beating as well, so if you lie, we can tell.’

‘So, what you’re saying is, don’t lie to you?’ He grinned, already thinking of ways to test it. Would Derek pick up on omissions? What if you thought you were lying but were actually telling the truth? And vice versa.

‘Not unless you want me to know you’re lying.’

‘Good to know, so who was the last person who lied to you?’

‘Who lied to me or who I last heard lying?’ Derek hedged.

Stiles narrowed his eyes. Derek had only been around him and four other people since he’d been living in the preserve. ‘Last heard lying.’

Derek winced. ‘Isaac.’

‘What about?’

Derek stared at him.

Stiles sighed. He knew he could run his mouth off, but he also knew how to keep secrets. ‘I won’t call him out on it. I promise.’

‘His soulmate.’

Stiles thought back. All Isaac had said was that he didn't know who it was. ‘He knows who it is? Why would he lie about that?’

Derek shrugged. ‘There are plenty of reasons he could have. And ultimately it’s his decision.’

Stiles nodded thoughtfully. ‘How did you feel when your soulmark came in?’

Derek winced and looked away. ‘I wasn’t in a good place then.’

‘No shit, you spent the last two years as a wolf.’ Stiles rolled his eyes.

Derek glared at him.

‘I won’t take it personally, I know you had other shit going on in your life that wouldn’t have helped things. I just thought it might help our relationship if I know where you’re coming from and it might help Isaac who is obviously having issues as well.’

Derek sighed. ‘I didn’t want to meet you. I thought I was cursed and that I would only bring you bad luck.’

Stiles kissed him, now that Derek had opened those floodgates, Stiles would definitely be taking advantage of kissing him whenever he could. ‘But you didn’t. You brought me good luck, you woke me up.’

Derek stared at him as if he was the most amazing thing in the world. ‘I didn’t even know that was possible.’

‘Even with all the movies made about it?’

‘That’s why I didn’t think it could happen. And when I was a wolf, I didn’t recognise that you were in a coma, I just felt the pull and answered it.’

‘Pull?’ Stiles frowned. ‘What pull?’

‘Werewolves feel their soulmates differently. We feel the bond between us when the younger one turns eighteen and it pulls us towards them. That’s why werewolves always find their soulmates quickly, my great grandma was Austrian, my great grandfather was Mexican. She was older by three months, the pull guided her to him and she found him two months after he turned eighteen.’

‘That’s so cool! Really makes you wonder how the hell regular people are so successful with finding their soulmates.’

Derek rolled his eyes. ‘Well, they do have the soulmark to help them.’

Stiles punched his shoulder. ‘Shut up. We don’t have a pull guiding us like you do.’

‘I don’t know if I would have found you without it.’ Derek admitted. ‘I was completely feral, the wolf had taken over and my human mind was gone.’

‘How did your human mind come back?’

‘You.’

Stile stared at Derek a moment. He was serious. Stiles had brought Derek’s mind back and Derek had woken Stiles up.

He pushed himself closer. ‘So, what you’re saying is, we saved each other?’

Derek smiled and Stiles felt his heart trip over itself at the sight. ‘Yeah, we should be in a hallmark movie.’

Taken by surprise, Stiles threw his head back as he laughed but it turned into a moan pretty quickly when Derek placed a gentle kiss to his neck, followed by another and another. 

‘I’ve been looking into the fire.’ Noah began that night when he finally got home. Stiles had been surprised that it was Isaac who had insisted they wait and all have a sit down meal together. Although he had to admit, it was nice.

Derek went still beside.

Stiles slid his hand over and entwined their fingers together.

‘There’s several discrepancies that were either overlooked or hidden at the time.’

‘Like what?’ Stiles asked.

Noah sighed. ‘I can’t go into the particulars, not in an ongoing investigation that I’m too close to, to start with.’

‘Ongoing?’ Stiles instantly noted. ‘Wait, what do you mean you’re too close to it?’

‘I’ve had the case reopened and have put my new deputy in charge of it. Seeing as Derek is my son’s soulmate, I can’t be seen to be any part of the investigation.’

‘That makes sense I suppose.’ Stiles grumbled.

‘What I can tell you is how I got the case reopened, as it will soon be public knowledge. The fire Marshall who ruled it an accident was wrong and was dismissed from the job several years later.’

‘But I already told you who set the fire.’ Derek frowned, looking lost and Stiles squeezed his hand.

‘I know son, but I’m going to need more than that to get Kate Argent put behind bars.’ Noah sighed. ‘Have you got any evidence that the two of you were in a relationship?’

Derek frowned. ‘My old phone would have her texts. I don’t know where it is though.’

‘That’s a start. If you can find that phone, the actual messages would go a lot further than just the record of messages and calls between you two.’

Derek nodded. ‘I’ll have a look. It might be in the old Hale vault. Laura stashed most of our stuff there before we left for New York.’

‘Err, Hale vault?’ Stiles repeated. ‘Like, vault as in bank vault? How rich are you?’

Derek shrugged. ‘I don’t know. We lived off the insurance money when it finally came through but growing up I don’t remember my parents ever having money concerns.’

‘So where is this vault then?’

‘Underneath the school.’

‘You, you have a family vault underneath the school?’ Stiles repeated, incredulously. ‘Whose bright idea was that?’

‘The vault has been there longer than the school.’

‘Oh. Okay then. So what’s in this vault?’

Derek shrugged. ‘Whatever my family thought was valuable. Works pretty much the same way as a bank vault, only it can't be broken into it. Laura stashed all the stuff we had on us in there before we left. She didn't want anyone following us.’

‘What do you mean it can’t be broken into? How?’ Stiles asked, noticing that his dad looked interested at that one as well.

‘It can only be opened by a Hale’s claws.’ Derek said, holding his hand up and extending a claw. ‘All the adults kept things in there, not just mom and dad.’

‘Well, we can do that while we go discuss getting Stiles schooling sorted.’

‘Wait, what?’ Stiles stared at his dad in horror. ‘I have to go back? Without any of my friends there? Are you serious?’

‘Yes Stiles. I am serious in that I want you to get an education.’ 

Stiles huffed. ‘That is so totally unfair.’

‘What about homeschooling?’ Derek asked.

‘Can’t afford the tutors, and I work too many hours to do it myself.’ Noah sighed.

Derek shrugged. ‘I’ll cover it. I still have the insurance money from the fire and I’m sure there’s more in the vault.’

‘That’s a very generous offer, but you don’t have to do that.’ Noah clasped Derek on the shoulder. ‘Stiles will be fine returning to school for two years.’

‘But daaad!’ Stiles complained. Here was his soulmate offering to make his life easier and his dad was just turning him down. What was wrong with him?

Derek smiled. ‘I know, but Stiles is my soulmate and if we get full time tutors  and Stiles continues through the holiday periods, it’ll cut the time down significantly. Maybe to only a year so he won’t be as far behind as his friends.’

‘It’ll be like I only took a year out!’ Stiles exclaimed, bouncing excitedly. ‘That would be so cool! Come on dad, that would make things so much easier and I’ll study and pay attention. You know I will, I was second in my class and only because Lydia’s a genius, hey has she owned up to how intelligent she is yet?’

Isaac blinked as the attention turned to him. ‘Err, no? But she was valedictorian.’

‘See?’ Stiles looked pointedly at his dad.

Noah sighed. ‘Fine, we’ll look into it. But we’re still going to the school, I don’t want reports from people seeing a man in a leather jacket prowling around the school.’

Derek blushed, the tips of his ears turning pink. ‘It’s underneath the school and I wouldn’t be seen. I’d go in the middle of the night.’

Noah closed his eyes and breathed deeply. ‘No. Just no.’

Stiles laughed. It was great seeing someone else on the receiving end of that look.

‘So what happened to everyone else? Lydia? Jackson? Let me guess they’re soulmates?’ He rolled his eyes.

Isaac shook his head. ‘No, they have different marks and only Jackson has found his soulmate.’

Stiles stared at him. ‘Run that past me one more time?’

Isaac frowned. ‘What? That Lydia and Jackson aren’t soulmates?’

‘Holy shit!’ Stiles exclaimed. ‘I did not see that coming, but good on Lydia, she deserves someone better than Jackass douchbag Whittemore.’

Isaac snorted before looking around worried.

‘I wonder who Lydia’s soulmate is, gonna be someone amazing.’

Derek looked unimpressed. ‘I take it this Lydia is someone you admire?’

‘Oh God, I thought I was in love with her but she is so out of my league.’ Stiles sighed before staring at Derek. ‘Kinda how if I’d met you before we found out we were soulmates, I would have been sure you would have been out my league and yet here we are.’

‘Yippee.’ Derek muttered.

‘Aww, boo, are you jealous?’ Stiles crowed.

‘Don’t call me boo.’

Stiles cackled. ‘We should meet up with them! I can show you off, I bet you’re hotter than Jackson’s soulmate. It’s a shame he found his, but I can still totally rub it in their faces how hot my soulmate is.’

‘Stiles.’ Noah sighed.

‘Or you know, just catch up, see what’s what with them now. Hey, who is Jackson’s soulmate anyway?’

Isaac nodded to Noah. ‘He’s applied to be a deputy.’

Noah nodded. ‘Ethan Steiner.’

‘Sweet!’ Stiles cackled. ‘I can so totally lord it over Jackson that my dad holds his soulmates fate in his hands!’ Stiles beamed then coughed as he caught sight of his dad’s expression. ‘Err, I mean, what about Danny? How’s he doing?’

Isaac shrugged, staring at the ground intently as his body tensed.

Stiles raised an eyebrow and looked questioningly at his dad who shrugged.

‘Sheriff Stilinski.’ Noah answered the phone. 

Stiles watched him frown and wondered what had happened now, if it was anything as exciting as half a dead body. He blinked, shocked. 

‘Who is this?’ His dad asked.

Stiles ignored it. He remembered half a dead body? Well, he remembered listening to the police scanners about it and going to get Scott anyway. He turned to Derek excited but Derek was tense and staring at his dad intently.

‘You got a last name to go with Cora?’ Noah listened for barely a second before he passed the phone to Derek.

‘Cora?’ Derek’s voice was hoarse when it had been fine a moment ago.

Stiles looked to his dad questioningly.

Noah smiles. ‘It seems Derek isn’t the only Hale after all, that was his sister Cora.’

‘She made it out alive?’

Noah shrugged.

Derek gave out their address before he hung up the phone and stared at them looking shell shocked. ‘She’ll be here in under half an hour.’

‘That.’ Stiles glanced surely at his dad. ‘That’s quick.’

Derek nodded. ‘Her soulmates in Beacon Hills but she hasn’t been able to bring herself to enter town. She’s been scouring newspaper pictures for a matching mark when she found a story on the sheriff's son being woken up from a coma by his soulmate.’

Stiles beamed. ‘You.’

Derek nodded, breathing out and grinning. ‘Me.’ He turned to the Sheriff. ‘I hope you don’t mind that I gave her your address?’

Noah shook his head. ‘Of course not. The whole town knows where I live.’

Stiles thought back, he vaguely remembered a Cora Hale. ‘She was in my year wasn’t she?’

Derek nodded. ‘Her birthday was a couple months after yours.’

‘So she’ll have felt the soulmate pull that you did?’

Derek nodded. ‘She said she felt the pull and went all around Beacon Hills, hoping that it hadn’t come from here. When she realised it did, she holed up outside, hoping her soulmate would leave and checking pictures for a mark that matched hers.’

‘And found a story about my soulmate, a certain Derek Hale, waking me up.’ Stiles grinned.

‘Yeah, she sounded disbelieving but recognised my voice.’ Derek sighed happily, picking up Stiles’ hand.

Stiles felt his heart stutter, it was the first time that Derek had initiated holding his hand. He hoped Derek hadn't heard it, then realised it didn't matter if he had.

‘So has she been living as a wolf these past few months too then?’

Derek shrugged. ‘I don’t know, but she won’t have been here longer than a couple weeks. I couldn’t full shift before I found myself living in the preserve. My mom could, but it’s rare. I know previous Hale’s have been able to, but I don’t know if it’s an alpha thing or something else.’

‘So you’re like werewolf royalty or something?’ Stiles asked excitedly. ‘Awesome!’

Derek’s head whipped round to face the front of the house and his head cocked to the side. ‘She’s here.’

Stiles smiled encouragingly and squeezed Derek’s hand. ‘Come on then, let's go let her in.’

He tugged on Derek’s hand and let him through. Derek froze when they got to the front door and Stiles had to reach forward and open it.

A pretty brunette stood there, her face pale as she stared straight past Stiles, at Derek. ‘It is you.’

Her voice seemed to trigger something in Derek and he jerked forward, opening his arms and she rushed over the threshold into his arms. 

She gasped and jerked backwards, staring up at her brother. ‘You’re an alpha!’

Derek nodded. ‘It-it’s a long story.’

She nodded and gently placed a hand on his check.

Derek leant into it.

She smiled. ‘Alpha.’

Derek closed his eyes as he breathed in deeply, holding it a moment before slowly letting his breath out and opened his eyes, flashing them red.

Cora’s flashed yellow in response.

Stiles would never get over that. Derek’s red eyes sent shivers of the awesome variety down his spine. Although he did wonder what yellow meant. Was that how werewolves distinguished between alpha and beta?

Cora smiled. ‘Seems I’m moving back to Beacon Hills then.’

‘You are?’ Stiles asked automatically before wincing as his brain caught up with his mouth.

She grinned at him. ‘Yeah, my alpha is here, my pack is here and my soulmate is too. I just need to find them.’

‘Your part of Derek’s pack now? How? Wait, was that it? The eye flashing thing? It’s that easy? Seriously?’ Stiles stared at them feeling both awed and worried. Firstly, that was so cool, secondly, how did werewolves not manage to accidentally swap pack’s all the time if it was that easy?

Derek chuckled and Stiles felt his jaw drop slightly. He had never heard that sound come out of his soulmate and he loved it. He vowed there and then to make it happen as often as possible as it was a sound sent from the Gods above.

‘No, it’s not that easy, but Cora’s family.’ Derek grinned, keeping an arm wrapped around her.

‘I hate to miss the reunion, but I’ve been called into work.’ Noah said from behind, shrugging into his sheriff jacket. ‘You guys be good. And Stiles, sleep in my room tonight and give Cora yours.’

He brushed past them, giving Derek a gentle clasp on the shoulder, Cora a smile and Stiles a hair ruffle.

Stiles nodded. ‘Sure dad, thought you weren’t due in til tomorrow? What’s happened?’

‘Old habits die hard huh?’ Noah sighed but still smiled. ‘Something’s come up that I have to deal with as sheriff. Derek, keep him home and out of trouble please.’

Derek nodded looking as if he was taking the order seriously. ‘Will do, Noah.’

Stiles’ heart sank. How was he supposed to find out what had happened? He’d work on Derek. ‘Bye Dad!’

He waved as his dad climbed into his cruiser, wondering how easy it would be to get Derek around to his way of thinking. They had to be soulmates for a reason right? Now he just has to remember where he had put his police scanner, he’d had it the night he went looking for that half body in the woods with Scott.

He turned round to Derek, his brow furrowed. ‘What happened to that half body in the woods? Did Scott and I find it?’

Derek blinked at him, his body turning tense.

‘Derek?’ Cora asked hesitantly.

‘It was Laura.’ Derek whispered.

‘What was Laura?’ Stiles frowned. ‘Who’s Laura?’

‘Our older sister.’ Cora said slowly. ‘Laura was cut in half?’

Derek nodded and Stiles felt himself sway. He’d gone looking for his soulmates half body in the woods? Oh God, he was going to hell, how had they even managed to find each other?

Derek closed his eyes, his body tense and rigid. ‘I don’t know who cut her in half, but it was Peter who killed her.’

‘Uncle Peter?’ Cora sounded horrified.

‘W-wasn’t he in a coma?’ Stiles asked slowly as he thought back. He must have missed something only Derek nodded.

‘She didn’t fight back. I don’t think he recognised her. He didn’t recognise me.’ Derek’s chest jerked as he tried to take in a breath.

Stiles pushed himself into Derek’s space, sliding one hand up round his neck and into his hair and the other into his hand.

‘You fought Peter? And became the alpha.’ Cora sounded faint as she answered her own question.

‘Come on Derek, let’s go sit down.’ Stiles tugged at Derek’s hand, unsurprised when he just followed Stiles lead and let him manhandle him into sitting down on the sofa where Stiles plonked himself in his lap.

‘What’s going on?’ Isaac asked, looking worried as he appeared in the doorway.

‘Hey Isaac, this is Cora, Derek’s sister, who we all thought had died in the fire.’ Stiles said, letting Derek be behind him. ‘Cora, this is Isaac and as you’ve probably guessed, I’m Stiles.’

Cora nodded, looking between them suspiciously. ‘Yeah, we were in the same class.’

‘Cora’s pack now, apparently all they had to do was flash their werewolf eyes at each and hey presto, instant packmate.’

Cora narrowed her eyes. ‘He knows? He’s not a wolf.’

‘Isaac’s family. He’s my brother, not quite adopted but my dad’s his guardian so that makes us brothers as far as I’m concerned. And hey, you're basically my sister now seeing that my soulmate’s your brother.’ Stiles laughed. ‘I fall into a coma for two years, wake up, have a soulmate, a brother and sister. This is so weird, not even counting the fact that my soulmate and sister are werewolves.’

Cora sighed. ‘You still talk a lot.’

Stiles nodded. ‘ADHD, not one of the lucky ones who grow out of it, or at least not yet I haven’t. Do werewolves get ADHD or is that something being a werewolf would cure? Not that I want to become a werewolf, I’m quite happy being human, not that I have anything against being a werewolf, if it was a matter of life or death, bite me. Seriously Derek, if I’m dying turn me. Derek, are you listening to me?’

Derek nodded. ‘If you’re dying, bite you.’

Cora snorted with a sly smile. ‘Seeing as your soulmates I’m sure they’ll be plenty of biting going on. Us werewolves like to mark our territory.’

Stiles looked at Derek wide eyed. ‘Would that turn me? I mean if we get carried away and you bite me, would I turn?’

Derek rolled his eyes. ‘No, Stiles. There has to be intent and it has to be deep enough.’

Stiles did not feel impressed or reassured. ‘Deep enough? What does that mean? And what do you mean intent? Do you want me to be a werewolf? Would you prefer it if I was?’

A small smile appeared on Derek’s face and he leant forward and placed a quick kiss to his lips. ‘I like you the way you are and the bite has to be deep, break the skin deep and bite down.’

Stiles sighed, instantly feeling better. ‘You say the sweetest things.’

‘You two are so weird.’ Cora said, staring at them.

‘I’m so confused.’ Isaac said, staring suspiciously at Cora. ‘No one’s spoken of you before, how did you know to come here?’

Cora stared at him, huffed and sigh and turned her to back to him.

Isaac flinched.

‘Hey!’ Stiles glared at her.

‘Cora.’ Derek growled warningly.

Cora blinked, looking at Derek startled before she huffed again. ‘Fine. My soulmate is in Beacon Hills, I was looking for who they might be when I found a story mentioning Derek was alive.’

‘Yeah.’ Stiles grinned. ‘My story. Apparently my soulmate waking me up from a coma is newsworthy. Which, now that I think on it, I gotta see. I need my laptop.’

Stiles scrambled off Derek’s lap and tripped his way up the stairs, grabbing his laptop, booting it up and only just managing not to drop it on his way back down.

He unceremoniously plonked himself back in Derek’s lap, ignoring the “mph” Derek let out but curled up as he waited for it to load. He clicked on the local newspaper website.

‘Holy shit!’ He crowed, fist pumping the air. Derek kept him and the laptop in the same place. ‘We made the front page! We’re the bomb!’

Stiles pulled a face. ‘Oh no, they mentioned a wild animal snuck into my room and broke out smashing through the window. Well, at least they didn’t say anything about it being a… oh no, here it is, a wolf. Well that was several months before I woke up and you weren’t mentioned again until by name.’

‘It’s like watching a train wreck.’ Cora said watching him.

Stiles ignored her.

‘You hungry?’ Isaac asked.

‘Starved.’ Stiles said absently, clicking further through the article.

‘I wasn’t…’ Isaac sighed and stood up. ‘Never mind.’

Cora eyed Stiles and Derek before standing up and following. ‘I’ll help.’

‘I’m going to have to find somewhere for us all to live.’ Derek mumbled.

‘I want an on-suite!’ Cora called through.

‘What?’ Stiles yelped, dropping his laptop. ‘You’re moving out? Why? Don’t you want to be with me anymore? What did I do?’

Derek huffed a smile and wrapped his arms tighter around Stiles. ‘We need a bigger house with more rooms. Ours, you can have your own room until you’re ready to share with me.’

‘I’m ready!’ Stiles exclaimed loudly.

‘Until your dad’s ready for us to share.’ Derek continued smoothly. Stiles grumbled. ‘One for Cora, Erica and Boyd, Isaac, and your dad if he wants. Even if its just to stay over the odd night.’

Stiles smiled, relaxing in Derek. ‘Look at you, providing for us all.’

Cora reappeared. ‘Who’re Erica and Boyd?’

‘Soon to be werewolves once Derek’s bitten them.’ Stiles grinned.

Cora gave him a bitchface.

‘They’re pack. Erica will get the bite in a few days.’ Derek explained, hooking his chin over Stiles shoulder. ‘Boyd will when he’s had a least a month to think about it.’

‘They soulmates?’ Cora asked suspiciously.

Derek hummed in agreement. ‘Erica has epilepsy, could die at any minute.’

‘Why are you making her wait?’ Cora frowned.

‘That’s what I asked!’ Stiles exclaimed, accidentally hitting Derek’s chin.

He huffed. ‘Fine, we’ll call her over and do it tomorrow.’

Stiles grinned triumphantly, catching Cora’s eye and saw her smile begrudgingly.

‘Dad?’ Stiles yawned. ‘Everything alright? You’ve been gone a long time.’

Noah sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. ‘Yeah son. I think we all are now. Can you put a coffee on?’

Stiles froze. ‘Don’t you want to sleep? What do you mean we all are now?’

‘Derek?’ Noah asked softly, not bothering to raise his voice as he slipped his shoes off and padded through to the kitchen.

‘Noah?’ Derek asked worriedly, then frozen and deliberately sniffed the air.

Noah nodded. ‘Thought you might be able to smell what happened.’

‘What did happen?’ Stiles demanded.

‘I can smell Kate. And another werewolf.’ Derek said, his tone detached.

‘Yeah, I think she might have read the same article Cora did, coz she knew you were back in town. What she didn’t know about was all the BOLO’s I had out on her.’

‘You got a call when she got into town?’ Stiles asked, putting the coffee on and pushing Derek into a chair. He wasn’t surprised when he saw Cora hovering in the doorway. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room and into a chair.

‘Yeah. She wasn’t expecting us, or the warrant that we had out on her.’ Noah yawned.

‘What happened?’

‘She pulled a gun on the deputy.’

‘Shit, is he okay?’

‘Yeah, because apparently, Deputy Steiner is a werewolf.’ Noah gave Derek a look.

‘Who?’

Noah sighed. ‘The deputy who’s wanting to transfer to Beacon Hills to be with his soulmate, Jackson Whittemore.’

‘Wait, Jackson’s soulmate is a werewolf?!’ Stiles dropped the mug he’d just gotten out of the cupboard and turned to stare at his dad.

Noah nodded. ‘Not that anyone else knows that. I had to help him hide the shirt covered in his blood that showed he’d been shot even though he had no wounds.’

‘I don’t know of any werewolf called Steiner.’ Derek frowned.

Stiles placed a glass of water in front of his dad while the coffee brewed.

‘Ethan Steiner, well, you owe him a thank you. After she had shot him and had him and his partner pinned down, backup arrived. I’ve got four officers in the hospital, thankfully with nothing serious.’ Noah sipped at the glass. ‘They should all be discharged shortly. She was not coming quietly or at all. I made the call to take any shot they could. Deputy Steiner killed her with his next shot.’

‘She-she’s dead?’ Derek blinked, going still again.

‘Yeah, she’s dead. He nailed her right between the eyes.’

‘Damn.’ Stiles whistled. ‘We really do owe this Deputy Steiner.’

‘Well, I’ll be accepting his transfer for one thing.’ Noah sighed. ‘But is that going to be a problem? Having another werewolf in Beacon Hills?’

Derek blinked. ‘I- I don’t know, I wouldn’t think so. Is he an alpha or beta?’

‘Assuming he’s not an omega?’ Cora cut in bluntly.

Noah shrugged. ‘I have no idea. I just know he was surprised that I knew about werewolves and probably to smell one on me. At least I’m assuming that’s what all the not so subtle sniffing was about and not because I really need to shower.’

Stiles bit his lip but couldn’t help laughing. ‘Y-you had a deputy sniffing you?’

His dad yawned in reply.

‘Okay dad.’ Stiles grinned at him. ‘Shower and then bed, we’ll meet up with this deputy later on after you’ve decontaminated and slept.’

‘I don’t smell.’ Noah grunted but did get up from the table, forgoing his coffee.

He clapped Derek on the shoulder, before he left.

Stiles watched Derek’s struggle to breathe as he heard his dad clamber up the stairs and the shower switch on.

‘I have no idea who this woman is who’s dead and why her death is important.’ Cora huffed, crossing her arms.

‘She’s the woman who seduced your brother and killed your family.’ Stiles said quietly.

‘And she’s dead.’ Derek breathed in, knocking his head back and closing his eyes. ‘She’s actually dead.’

‘Yeah sweetums, she is.’ Stiles smiled.

‘Don’t call me sweetums.’

‘Pumpkin then? Sweetheart? Sweetie? Babe? Stud? Krull the Warrior King?’

Derek glared. ‘No. Just no.’

‘Baby cakes? Baby daddy? Treacle? Sour patch?’ Stiles’ eyes widened as he had an epiphany. ‘Sour wolf? Sold, too late to change, you are now and forever will be my sour wolf.’

Derek sighed and smacked his head against the table.

‘Coffee?’ Stiles asked Cora innocently, soothingly rubbing his hand along Derek’s back on his way to the coffee.

Cora eyed him worriedly. ‘Have you ever been tested?’

‘Yep, for many things. IQ genius level, ADHD, autism, blood tests, the normal school curriculum tests, rabies after I was bitten by a fox which turned out to be a rabbit, BDSM test, multiple marvel and stars wars fan tests, ooh guess the Disney theme songs. I rock at them.’

Cora huffed. ‘I regret asking.’

‘Not that I like cliches or anything, but I brought DOUGHNUTS!’ Stiles yelled, making Derek wince and he held the five boxes high in victory. ‘But none for my dad!’

Derek paused and gave Noah a look at Stiles’ yell. Noah just shook his head, his scent a mixture of resignation and pride.

‘Stiles!’ A cheer went up and for the first time Derek saw that people were pleased to see his soulmate. 

The only friend Stiles spoke about with any frequency was Scott, and then Lydia and Danny on occasion but that seemed to be more hero worship. He knew that Stiles got on well with Isaac, Erica and Boyd, in fact he was developing a strong bond with Erica, Derek could feel it. But it was nice to see that his soulmate had had more people in his life.

He followed them into the bullpen but it was easy to tell which deputy was the werewolf, his scent alone gave him away. So probably not an alpha, or an alpha who didn't care about hiding his scent.

It was strange walking into a place so crowded after being a wolf for almost two years and then spending all his time at the Stilinski house. He hadn’t even realised until Stiles had made an offhand comment that Derek hadn’t actually left their house since he had arrived. 

It had been daunting at first, leaving their house, but it had also felt right. He had the sheriff and his soulmate beside him. And stopping off at the bakery on the way and following them in had made him remember going in as a kid with his family. Excitedly picking which treat he wanted and squabbling over it with his siblings, none of them wanting to have the same as each other but each of them wanting to have the best and biggest one.

He’d felt nostalgic and sad, but Stiles had been there to distract him and cheer him up with his running commentary and over the top greetings he’d gotten from everyone there, including the clients.

He left Stiles, Noah and the doughnuts and made his way over to the deputy. ‘I hear I owe you a thanks.’

Deputy Steiner squared his shoulder and nodded, giving Derek a not so subtle sniff. ‘You Derek Hale then? The Sheriff’s son’s soulmate?’

Derek nodded. 

Deputy Steiner shrugged. ‘It was all legal but you know these hunters, we’ll probably get some coming here to check it all out.’

Derek paused, he hadn’t thought about that, but he was now in a much stronger position than he was before and found it didn't worry him as it might once have. He smiled. ‘Let them.’

Deputy Steiner grinned, showing a lot of teeth.

‘Noah said you’re going to be a new deputy here?’

He grimaced. ‘The second I turned eighteen I followed the pull to my soulmate, he’s in college, going to become a lawyer but lives here. So I put in for a transfer, the next county over was the closest I could get.’

‘What about your pack?’

The deputy shrugged. ‘It’s just me and my brother and he’s happy to follow. He hasn’t felt his pull yet.’

Derek nodded. It wasn’t rare, it usually meant the soulmate wasn’t yet eighteen. ‘Either of you alphas?’

He shook his head.

‘Well Deputy Steiner, the sheriff has some news for you, but if you want to see about joining my pack, come over to his house tonight with your soulmate and brother. I’m assuming your soulmate knows?’

The deputy broke out into a grin. ‘He does, as do his two best friends, okay if I bring them too? And it’s Ethan.’

‘Derek.’ Derek held out his hand and as Ethan grasped it, flashed his red eyes. Ethan’s flashed back blue but Derek didn’t outwardly react. He himself once had blue eyes. ‘I have humans in my pack too, and one human has chosen to take the bite tonight. We’ll see how you all get on.’

Ethan stared at him intently. ‘Y-you don’t mind that my eyes are blue?’

‘We all have our stories but you’re a deputy and Noah trusts you. I’m willing to give you a chance.’

Ethan beamed at him. 

‘Are you biting me tonight?’ Erica demanded the instant Derek opened the door to her. ‘Is that why you wanted us to stay the night?’

Derek rolled his eyes. ‘Hello Erica, how are you today?’

‘Cut the bullshit, I’m going out of my mind waiting!’

‘I want you to meet my sister and two other werewolves who want to join the pack, and afterwards, yes, I will bite you.’

‘Yes!’ Erica threw her arms around him and Derek blinked. His arms slowly wrapping around her as he stared in surprise at Boyd.

Boyd just shrugged as Erica tried to squeeze the breath out of him. He was sure if he wasnt a werewolf, she would have actually done some damage and reminded himself to make sure she didn’t try that with any other humans, especially once she turned.

‘I can’t believe I missed meeting the werewolf deputy!’ Stiles moaned loudly. ‘Dad, why did you have to send him away!’

Derek felt the corners of his mouth turn up in affection, mainly because of why Stiles had missed meeting the other werewolf, and it hadn’t been because he’d been sent out on a call. ‘I seem to recall you having plenty of time to meet him but you were too busy.’

Stiles spluttered, his arms waving around causing Cora to duck as she meandered past with chips and dip to go on the table. ‘I’ll have you know that doughnut eating competitions are a time honoured tradition at a police station!’

Stiles waggled his finger at Derek.

Derek stared at him unimpressed. ‘Umm hmm. And shoving three in your mouth at once was also necessary was it?’

‘I was not going to let Haigh win! Haigh! No way!’

Erica narrowed her eyes. ‘What other werewolves that might be joining the pack?’

Derek smelt her anxiety and fear. ‘One’s done us a favour, he followed his soulmate here who is also coming over tonight. If they join, it will be a group decision and if someone, anyone, is against it, then they don’t join.’

‘Will they turn omega if they don’t have a pack?’ Noah asked, looking interested but smelling worried.

‘Yes.’ Cora said instantly.

‘I don’t think so.’ Derek disagreed. ‘From what Ethan said, he’s been here a few months and they already have their own pack with humans. They just don’t have an alpha.’

‘So it’s not just the werewolf deputy and his soulmate?’ Isaac asked carefully, his scent belying how nervous he was.

Derek shook his head. ‘The deputy has a brother who is also a werewolf, the deputy’s soulmate and his two best friends.’

‘Who are they?’ Stiles asked, sounding and smelling interested.

Derek shrugged. ‘I didn’t ask.’

‘What? Why not?’ Stiles asked, dismayed. ‘How am I meant to look them up and check them out when you didn’t even get their names!’

‘Next time I’ll ask for their social security numbers too.’

‘It would save time.’ Stiles agreed.

Derek huffed quietly and rolled his eyes but he was pleased that his soulmate was looking out not just for him, but for their pack.

‘But we’re still pack right?’ Erica asked nervously. ‘You’re still going to turn me right?’

Derek nodded and smiled as he went over to her. ‘Of course. And in a months time, if Boyd still wants the bite and both you and Noah agree, then I’ll turn him as well.’

‘Good.’ She nodded, trying to appear unaffected but he could smell the relief coming off of her.

He grinned and pulled her close, unsurprised when she willingly flopped into his arms and he scent marked Boyd as well. Boyd’s facial expression didn’t change but he smelt satisfied and more settled.

‘They’ve just driven up.’ Cora said, ferrying more food through.

Derek nodded, he could hear and smell the scents of five people in the car idling outside.

‘Shit.’ Cora whispered, before glancing over to a picture frame and smoothing her hair down in its reflection.

Derek raised an eyebrow but she glared at him. He grinned smugly. It seemed her soulmate was in that car. Well, this was going to be exciting.

‘What are we waiting for?’ One of them asked petulantly and oh boy, Derek was wondering if he’d done the right thing in inviting them. He really hoped that wasn’t Cora’s soulmate.

‘Oh for God’s sake, we’re at the sheriff’s house, what exactly could they do to us in Stiles’s dad’s house?’ A female voice demanded, followed by the opening and closing of a car door and then three other car doors as her heels made their way up the front path.

It seemed the humans knew of his soulmate at least. Derek wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not though. If they were friends, wouldn’t they have already been around when Stiles had woken up to see him? Which meant they either weren’t friends or were acquaintances.

He glanced at Cora but she had her head tilted to one side listening. He wondered if she understood but knew that if anyone could handle having their soulmate in a rift with their pack, it would be her.

Noah stood up and headed to the door, waiting for the bell to ring before answering it. ‘Miss Martin, Mr Mahaleani, Mr Whittemore. Deputy, and you must be Aiden.’

It was confirmed. The three humans knew Stiles. Derek’s heart sank and he glanced at his soulmate who was excitedly bouncing in his seat in anticipation.

‘Danny!’ Stiles exclaimed surprised, his scent turned elated and then worried. ‘And Lydia! Oh. Jackson.’

Derek winced at the annoyed sound coming out of his soulmates mouth combined with the disappointment in his scent. He glanced at Ethan and blinked when he realised that Ethans brother was in fact an identical twin. It was only the fact that Ethan still smelt of his deputy uniform that Derek could tell them apart.

Both Ethan and Aiden looked nervous, their scents resigned as they both glanced to Jackson and glared at him.

‘What, like it was a surprise we were going to see Stilinski here when we’re at his house.’ The blond man who Stiles had called Jackson rolled his eyes.

Lydia elbowed him and he winced. ‘Christ Lyds.’

Cora bounced up to her. ‘Hi, I’m Cora.’

Derek rolled his eyes, of course his sister would ignore the elephant in the room. He hid his frown as he realised that the longing he had been smelling wasn't just coming from her though. Derek sniffed the air and glanced surreptitiously behind him to find the source of the scent of longing.

Isaac was staring at Danny in dismay but his scent conveyed heartbreak. Derek turned back around but Danny seemed oblivious. He checked the bare wrists on the Hawaiian man and there for all to see, was the soulmark that matched Isaac’s. Derek smiled, and saw both Ethan and Aiden sigh in relief, probably thinking it a sigh of acceptance. 

Which it was. 

Derek wasn’t exactly about to refuse to let both Cora’s and Isaac’s soulmates into his pack. Cora would be fine, he had no doubt about that. He just had to figure out a way of getting Isaac to drop his defences and accept his soulmate.

He’d get Stiles to help with that, his soulmate was good at those things and would love the challenge. Not that Derek was about to tell him. Oh no. He knew his soulmate and it was up to Stiles to figure it out himself and then help him.

He grinned and felt Stiles lean into him.

‘I love it when you smile.’ Stiles whispered into his ear and Derek pulled him close. Something inside of him settling. 

They still had a lot to do and get through, turning Erica for one thing, and then probably Boyd too, Derek couldn’t see him changing his mind about that. Maybe Isaac but Derek wanted him to accept himself first. And adding two blue eyed beta’s to his pack with two more humans and his sisters soulmate who smelt of something else, like shadow and thunder.

He didn’t think Cora had smelt it, not yet. He wasn’t sure if he would have even picked up on it a couple years ago, but after living in the preserve as a wolf, he had a better nose than he had before. But it didn’t matter, they had the time to figure it all out. Together. As a pack.