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Stiles groaned. His phone was ringing. It was Scott's ringtone -- again -- and it was still o-dark-thirty. A phone call from Scott at this time of day was never good.
"What?" Stiles barked.
"Stiles! Come and get us. We're all ready and you need to get here, man!" Scott chirped. Scott was entirely too cheerful for whatever time of day it was.
Stiles blinked and shook his head to clear it. He looked at the time. Just after four in the morning. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Stiles! You need to take us to the airport! For the trip to Hawaii!" Scott said, sounding faintly exasperated.
"What the fuck?" Stiles growled.
"Come on! We need to get going soon," Scott complained.
"Who is we?" Stiles' voice lowered dangerously. Not that Scott would notice.
"The Pack!" Scott replied patiently. "Most of the others have rides and have already left for the airport, but you said you weren't doing anything today, so I figured you could take me, Malia, Mason, and Liam."
Stiles flopped back on the bed. "I can't take four people and their luggage that far in the Jeep," Stiles said, going for practical. "So, no, I'm not taking you." He knew Scott well enough to be explicit. Short, declarative sentences were best.
"But... what are we going to do?" Scott whined.
"I cannot help you," Stiles said firmly, through gritted teeth. "Have fun." Without me. He hung up and blocked Scott's number on his phone. He wanted to throw the phone against the wall, but then it would break and he'd have to get a new one, which wasn't worth the hassle for the moment of satisfaction it would give him.
At least this explained all the half-assed 'oops' conversations that had been going on among the Pack members over the last few weeks. Someone, maybe Scott but unlikely, had planned a Pack trip. To Hawaii. Without Stiles.
Now wide awake, Stiles climbed out of bed and went to the kitchen. Since it was early, he had time to make a breakfast casserole. Maybe he could nap later in the morning.
It wasn't even seven when the casserole was ready but Stiles made himself coffee and got two plates out. It was then that there was a tapping at his door.
Stiles was -- and wasn't -- surprised to find an annoyed Peter Hale standing there.
"Come on in," Stiles said. "Breakfast is ready."
Peter was momentarily surprised. "You were expecting me?"
"Well, I told Scott to fuck off earlier," Stiles shrugged. "But since Malia was involved, I guessed you would be their next victim. And would be less likely to say no. At least if Malia asked, instead of Scott."
Peter huffed. Which answered Stiles' question.
"Breakfast casserole just came out of the oven," Stiles said. "Come and eat."
Stiles pointed at the plate and mug sitting on the table. "Help yourself," Stiles waved a hand at the food. "So, what were you told?"
"Well, Malia has learned a tad of discretion, so more than Scott was comfortable with but less than I wanted," Peter admitted as he fixed his coffee. "But Malia was giving Scott a hard time for not including you."
"What did Scott have to say to that?" Stiles asked, curiosity warring with disappointment.
"Mostly he hissed at her to shut up but that it was for the best," Peter grinned. "Mason and Liam were definitely uncomfortable with the entire thing. At least they were polite and thanked me for taking them to the airport. Scott was huffy and only worried about being late."
"How long are they gone for?" Stiles asked.
"Ten days, according to Malia," Peter admitted. "They're going to spend the Full Moon in Hawaii and coming home two days after the Full Moon."
"How..." Stiles sighed. "They assumed that you, me, and Derek would be enough if there were problems?"
"I did ask our mighty Alpha what contingency plans he had made, and got a babble that floated between 'it's been quiet' and 'you can handle it' and 'nothing will happen'."
"We're fucked, aren't we?" Stiles sighed.
Peter gave a short laugh.
Something struck Stiles. "Did he actually ask you to watch things or did he just assume?"
Peter looked thoughtful. "He did not overtly ask. So, yes, it's an assumption on his part."
Stiles looked at the time. He grabbed his phone.
come for breakfast... got an idea... need your help Stiles sent it off twice.
Peter looked over curiously. "What are you planning?"
"Who me?" Stiles grinned not-so-innovently.
"I want in." Peter nodded firmly.
"Oh, counting on you!" Stiles nodded.
Peter blushed slightly, which Stiles found charming. "I'm flattered. What do you need?"
"I just asked Derek and dad to join us," Stiles said. "It will take all of us."
"All right." Peter fixed his coffee and took a sip. "I can wait."
John showed up first, still in uniform. Stiles knew he had worked the night shift. "Breakfast is perfect. Thanks!"
"Anything interesting?" Stiles asked.
John shook his head. "Nothing. Which is both unusual in itself as well as boring."
"Too true," Stiles agreed.
"What's up?" John asked, helping himself to food and coffee.
"We're waiting for Derek," Stiles admitted. There was a knock at the door. "That should be him."
Stiles was surprised when it was not only Derek but Kira.
"Kira! I didn't know you were in town!" Stiles said as he greeted her with a hug.
Kira squeezed Stiles tightly before letting go. "I got in late last night. I was going to surprise everyone today but no one is answering any messages I sent."
"That's partially why I asked Derek to come for breakfast, but you can make up your own mind," Stiles said. "Come in and get some food. Coffee or tea?"
"Tea, if it's not a bother," Kira smiled.
Stiles looked at Derek, patiently watching Kira greet Stiles. "Come on, SourWolf! You look like you need breakfast."
Derek rolled his eyes but followed.
Kira flitted about the kitchen, starting hot water before Stiles could do it, and bringing Derek coffee.
"Good to see you," John nodded at Kira. "What brings you back to Beacon Hills?"
"An asshole at work thinks he can do my job better than I can," she shrugged. "So I'm letting him try."
Everyone laughed.
"My boss has my back, and he hates the guy, too," she went on. "So when I brought up that I had accumulated a bank of PTO, he suggested I take two weeks. That's long enough for the asshole to hang himself but not do irreparable damage to the project."
Stiles nodded. He held up his coffee cup and tapped it against her juice glass. "To taking care of assholes."
"Speaking of which," Peter said. "You have something in mind. Tell us about it."
Stiles put a last forkful of casserole in his mouth, to give himself a second to organize his thoughts.
"It's been brewing for a while but I got a call at four this morning," Stiles said. "Scott was calling me to have me drive him, Malia, Mason, and Liam to the airport. Turns out the entire Pack is going to Hawaii for ten days."
Derek huffed and John got a dismayed look on his face.
"And you didn't know anything about it?" Kira asked, aghast.
"Got it in one!" Stiles nodded.
"Wait! How can Scott afford to go away for ten days like that?" Derek asked. "He's always whining about not having any money between his school loans and his part time hours at the vet's office."
Deaton had disappeared on night without warning. No one was sure where he was but Stiles wasn't going to ask any questions. A new vet bought the property and had hired Scott as a part-time vet for the office.
Stiles breath caught. NO! Scott wouldn't.... Stiles scrabbled for his phone and logged into his banking app. "That mother fucking bastard!" Stiles growled.
"What did he do?" John asked carefully.
"He emptied the Pack Fund," Stiles sighed. "There's just under a thousand dollars in it, but that's it."
"How much was there?" John asked.
"Almost twelve thousand dollars," Stiles said baldly.
"Pack Fund?" Kira asked.
"I made Scott build a Pack Fund," Stiles said. "Everyone could contribute to it. and most of them have. Some of it is like twenty dollars a month, others gave more as they could, but it's been a group thing."
"And most of it was your money, wasn't it?" Peter asked.
Stiles shrugged. "It was to help with things like medical bills that insurance wouldn't cover, training events, and Pack meetings. So that no one had to scramble to pay for food for a Pack meeting, or if someone needed training in something that was for the benefit of the Pack."
Peter nodded. "Most Packs have something like that," he replied. "The Hale Pack Fund was larger because it had been in existence for years, as well as benefiting from a larger Pack."
"Exactly! We aren't," Stiles paused for a breath, "weren't up to sending people to college but it made day-to-day things easier."
"Scott probably decided the trip was for the benefit of the Pack and paid for himself and maybe a couple of others," Peter mused. "Malia has her own money that I've given her, She didn't ask for anything special, so I didn't even think to ask questions about finances."
Stiles poked at the phone for a minute, then set it down.
"What did you do?" John asked.
"Took Scott off the account," Stiles said. "It's tied to my bank account and I gave him access. So I can take it away."
"Did it have a debit card?" John asked.
"Yup," Stiles nodded. "I deactivated it. So if he was going to use it on the trip, he's shit out of luck."
"He'll get Malia to pay for things," Peter said. "I can..."
"Nah," Stiles waved a hand. "Don't spoil it for the rest of them."
"You had an idea?" Derek asked. "Or something you asked us to come here for."
Stiles nodded. "Think carefully," he said. "Did Scott ask any of you to take over while he's gone?"
John shook his head. "I didn't even know they were going anywhere."
"Neither did I," Derek added. "I haven't talked to Scott outside of Pack meetings in a couple of months."
"Do you think he'd ask Satomi?" Stiles asked.
Peter shook his head. "I strongly doubt it. And, well, she would likely call me or you to see what was going on."
Stiles nodded. "Agreed." He gave a grin he knew was faintly feral. "We now have a situation where the Alpha has taken his Pack off of Pack Lands and has left no representative of the Pack officially responsible for the Lands."
Peter got it immediately. "Stiles!" he breathed.
Derek nodded slowly.
"What?" Kira asked, bouncing up and down. "I get that it's important, tell me!"
"Tell me, too!" John said.
"If the Alpha and his Pack leave their Pack Lands, and the Alpha has not designated an official representative to protect the Lands, then the Lands are open territory," Peter said.
"And open territory is available for Claiming on the next Full Moon," Derek added. "Which is next week."
"The trip is for ten days," Peter said. "Malia specifically mentioned that they would be in Hawaii for the Full Moon."
"It's that simple?" John asked with a frown.
"Meh," Stiles shrugged. "Technically, we don't have an Alpha but, well, there's enough of us to be Pack." He looked at Kira. "You can decide to throw in with us or remain neutral. I don't want to guilt-trip you into doing anything you don't want to do."
"Oh, I'm in!" Kira said. She looked at Derek. "You and I can talk later?"
Derek blushed and nodded. "I'd like that."
Kira dimpled.
"Can you claim the land without an Alpha?" John asked. "I'm in, or at least willing to try."
"I think if we do it at the Nemeton, and we have two Hales as part of the Claiming, that we can petition to be given responsibility for the Land, even without an Alpha," Stiles said confidently.
Stiles felt Peter look at him sharply and knew there would be other questions later. That, he could deal with.
"What will happen to Scott and his Pack?" John asked.
"Some things will depend on what happens at the Claiming," Peter said. "If we are seen as a Pack, then we have primacy for the area. We will need to negotiate with Scott over how to proceed. But we will have, essentially, right of first refusal over most decisions."
John huffed. "Scott will not like that. At all."
"He's the one that went away and left the land open to anyone who would want to come in and try to claim it," Peter replied. "He'll say he didn't know, but, well, he made no effort to ask. Even a simple courtesy of letting someone know he was going and to keep an eye on things would have sufficed."
"Only the fact that there are Hales in town has kept most challengers away," Stiles added. "Without Peter and Derek, there would be other Packs looking to take over the area. Scott's not known for his good stewardship, but everyone knows there are Hales here."
Peter stared at Stiles for a moment. "You took care of the MacInnis Pack."
Stiles shrugged. "I may have had a chat with the Alpha's wife..."
"Oh, clever boy," Peter grinned.
Stiles felt himself blush. "If we're going to do this, I have some things I need to do," he said, trying to drag the conversation about things he may or may not have done.
"Let us know what we need to do," Derek said.
Kira nodded. "I'm off for two weeks, so that should be good," she said. "I have more PTO, if we need."
"I doubt it," Stiles said. "The Claiming either will or will not work on the Full Moon. We'll know right away."
Kira bounced up. "I'm glad I'm here, then!" She cleared her place at the table and asked, "Anything else we can do right now?"
"Nah, I cleaned as I prepped, so it's mostly the plates," Stiles said. "They can go in the dishwasher."
"Come to the loft tomorrow for dinner?" Derek offered. "I'll get steaks and we can grill on the roof."
"I'm on mornings tomorrow," John said, "so that's perfect."
"I'll make a desert," Stiles said.
"Perfect!" Kira grinned. She came over and hugged him, Peter and John. "See you then!"
Derek and Kira left.
John looked between Stiles and Peter. "I'm going to suspect there are things I will not want to know," he grinned. "I'm going home to sleep."
Stiles hugged his dad before John left.
"I think you skimmed over some of the possible... consequences, if the Claiming is successful," Peter said pointedly.
"Meh," Stiles grinned. "Things about chickens and eggs crossed my mind."
"What do you need?" Peter asked.
****
The night of the Full Moon came, clear and warm. There was a small breeze as they made their way to the Nemeton.
For all that the Nemeton was able to hide itself, tonight the path was smooth and easily traveled. It was like it wanted to be found.
"You poor thing!" Kira cried. She went to the tree stump but then hesitated before touching it.
"It seems to want you," Stiles said. "Go ahead."
Derek moved close to Kira as Kira placed a hand on the stump. "Oh!" she said softly. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Derek looked at Stiles with panicked eyes. "Go ahead," Stiles said. "She's fine but it seems a choice has already been made."
Derek moved to Kira and put his hands on her shoulders. She leaned into him but did not move her hands off the tree.
"Dad, move near them," Stiles decided. "Put your hands on the tree, like Kira. You'll feel something, but it won't be as strong. But it will be fine."
"Okay," John nodded. Stiles could see he was slightly apprehensive but willing. He moved into position and released a startled breath as he touched the tree.
"Our turn," Stiles said to Peter.
Peter nodded, and they stood on the opposite side of the tree from the others. Stiles let Peter place his hands on the tree first, then lay his own hands on the tree.
As Stiles made contact, the world turned white.
"Not this again!" Stiles sighed.
A small tinkle of laughter. "Thank you, young Spark. Your companions are a combination of people I never expected, and they are more than I hoped for."
"We offer to lay Claim to the Hale Land," Stiles said. "We offer to serve the Land as it should and to protect it from harm."
"You are small but have the dedication needed to keep these Lands safe," the voice said. "You are missing one thing that I can fix for you..." The voice trailed off, leaving the impression that it said more. Information Stiles might need another time. "Thank you for your service..."
The white room faded away. Stiles opened his eyes to see a flash of white light flow over them. When the brightness eased away, he found there was a new tree growing from the center of the stump. More than a sapling, the tree stood tall and proud. As they moved away from the stump, it collapsed into ash, leaving only the new tree.
"It's beautiful!" Kira breathed.
Stiles heard Peter take a sharp breath. He turned. "Peter? Are you okay?"
Peter took several breaths before he turned to Stiles. He flashed his eyes. Red!
"She said there was something she could fix," Stiles said softly. "Peter. Are you okay?"
Peter took another breath, then straightened. "I'm... honored and.... I don't know what to say."
"Someone thought you needed that," Stiles said.
"That we needed that," Derek added. Derek moved to Peter and hugged his uncle tightly. "You'll be the Alpha we need."
Peter unwound an arm and they all moved to join in a group hug.
"Puppy pile!" Stiles laughed.
"A new, stronger Hale Pack," Peter said. "We have Claimed the Land and we will serve it to the best of our abilities."
"I didn't expect to be included that way," John admitted.
"Come on," Stiles said. "I could eat a horse!"
"Come back to the loft," Derek invited. "While it's late, we need to make plans."
"Do you have food or should we order something?" Peter asked.
"Order something," Stiles said. "Several somethings."
"I'll order pizza and you order Chinese?" Derek asked. "We should be able to pick it up on our way back."
"Yeah," Stiles nodded. "That would be good."
Stiles and Peter went to get the Chinese food and Derek, Kira and John went for the pizzas. They ended up at the Loft at the same time.
Stiles stopped at the entrance to the building. He put a hand on the door frame and a small flash of light flowed from his hand.
"What did you do?" Peter asked.
"A... protection ward," Stiles admitted.
"I didn't know you could do that," Peter said.
"I didn't either!" Stiles admitted.
"Inside," John said. "Sounds like we have a lot to talk about."
They went up to Derek's loft and dug into the food. Once everyone's initial appetite was sated, they sat around the table.
"Okay, I'll start," Stiles said. "Something talked to me, I'm guessing the Nemeton? Anyway, it called me a Young Spark and thanked me for bringing you. You were more than it had hoped for, for some reason. And it said it could fix something, which I assume was needing an Alpha. But I offered our service, as we had discussed, and it accepted that. It was... happy, I guess you would say."
"It didn't really talk to me, but called me Guardian," Kira admitted. "I'm not sure what that means."
"That makes you the... conduit isn't the right word but the representative between the Pack and the Nemeton," Peter said. "I don't know the last time there has been a Guardian, to be honest."
"Mom never believed in the magic that went with being a 'wolf," Derek added. "Magic users had their place but, well, she didn't want much to do with them."
"Which is why we never knew Deaton was a Druid or the Emissary," Peter replied. "That was short-sighted and I tried to point that out to her."
"It called me a Protector," John said.
"That is pretty self-explanatory," Peter replied. "It's probably like being the Right Hand in the Pack. Your role is to do what is needed to protect the members of the Pack. It's likely that includes protecting the Nemeton. Both are important."
John nodded. "That... feels right, if you know what I mean."
Derek moved uncomfortably for a moment. "It said Anchor. That... that sounds too important."
"You're Kira's Anchor and you automatically opened your home to us," Peter said. "It's more of a... touchstone. Strong. Sturdy. Someone we can count on."
"Oh." Derek seemed taken aback but pleased by that.
"What happens now?" John asked.
"Since we have claimed the Land and we now have an Alpha," Stiles said, "Scott's pack is now secondary in Beacon Hills. There is a small handful of supernaturals who have kept their heads down because they wanted to be here, or something drew them here, but they were unwilling to join Scott's Pack. We can reach out to them and see if they are interested in joining the Hale Pack."
"Scott's no longer an Alpha," Kira blurted. She slapped her hand over her mouth then removed it. "I don't know why I said that."
"If that's true, that will make everything even more interesting," Peter grinned sharply.
"We offer to take in anyone that wants to stay in Beacon Hills, on probation," Derek suggested. "We talk to them and see what we think."
"While I'm Pack, I can be a semi-neutral option, if anyone wants to discuss what they might want to do," John offered. "Being human might make me more approachable?"
Peter nodded. "That would be good," he agreed. "Thank you for thinking of that."
"Some of them are still kids," John shrugged. "But they'll know that I can offer them some feedback on what they may want to do."
"We can find Packs for those that don't want to stay," Stiles said. "Some of them will leave on their own but others will need help. So that's an option."
"We won't throw anyone out empty handed," Peter said. "We'll set up a fund so that they don't go to a new Pack with nothing to their names."
"That's generous but will be helpful," John nodded.
"What about Scott?" Stiles asked. "That's not going to be easy."
"What were you going to do about Scott before?" Peter asked.
Stiles rolled his eyes. "There's a small town vet in Wyoming that's looking to retire," Stiles admitted. "There's a loose Pack in the area and the Alpha is pretty laid back, since the Pack members are scattered over some pretty good sized distances. It's enough of a Pack to keep the members from going omega, but it's loosely structured enough that Scott should be able to fit in."
"Almost the opposite of a big city," Derek mused. "Supernaturals get to do their own thing but yet there is an Alpha to take care of them as needed."
"True," Stiles agreed. "The vet will 'turn over' the clinic to Scott, which we will quietly bankroll. The area gets a pretty decent vet and, well, it's Wyoming."
"Will Scott take it?" Kira asked.
"Fighting tooth and nail every step of the way," John said. "Especially if Peter is a new Alpha, Scott will refuse to leave."
"It won't take long before Scott is... uncomfortable," Stiles said. "The Nemeton will prod him to be willing to leave. He'll fight it, but he'll give in at some point."
"And Scott doesn't need to know I'm the Alpha," Peter said. "We can leave him guessing." He flashed his eyes. Blue this time. "Huh. That is an interesting option."
"What about Melissa?" John asked.
"Rural areas are always short of medical professionals," Stiles shrugged. "She may or may not go with Scott."
"I can come and go but the Nemeton will want me close," Kira admitted. "I have to see what I can do about that."
"I work remotely," Stiles said. "Maybe your work will do that for you?"
"They aren't fans but let me see what I can do," Kira said. "If I can't work it out, then I'll come and talk to you and see what we can come up with."
"That's a good start," Peter said. "We don't even know what we'll need to do. Send anyone to me or John and we'll sort that out as needed."
"Move in here," Derek offered. "There are empty apartments on the floors below. It feels more secure than what some of you have." He looked at Stiles. "Especially you."
"I'd love to!" Stiles said.
"We'll work on a Pack House," Peter said. "This is good but we should have more space, meeting rooms, a library, a bigger kitchen and things I'm not thinking of yet."
"I don't know about you, but I need some sleep," John admitted. "I took tomorrow off. We can work on this more tomorrow."
"Sounds like a plan!" Stiles grinned.
Peter followed Stiles outside. "I... I don't want you to be alone," he admitted. "At least until you move here."
"I don't have that much," Stiles admitted. "I have to see what furniture there is, but I can move pretty quickly."
"Before Scott comes back," Peter said firmly. "I have this... itch."
"And I'll respect that," Stiles said. "Come home with me tonight and I can be moved in here tomorrow."
"That's... better," Peter admitted.
Feeling bold, Stiles crowded against Peter. Peter's hand fell to Stiles' hips and Stiles leaned in. "Stop me if I'm getting this wrong."
Peter moved in for a kiss that quickly brought them even closer together.
"Best idea I've had in a while," Stiles said softly. "Come on. I have a pretty comfortable bed at my place. You can help me move out tomorrow."