Archive of Our Own

A snapping of a twig was what alerted him to someone's presence. He then noticed a heart beating calmly and the smell of a wolf that wasn't in the pack. Stiles instantly got ready for a fight, just in case. But instead, claws dug deeply into the back of his neck. He howled in pain and attempted to struggle, but claws dug into him in other places and ripped his clothes. Everything went black. 

Derek was at the house with Isaac. He was working out while Isaac watched tv. Both of them heard the howl at the same time. Stiles' howl. Isaac dropped the remote and Derek jumped off of the floor from where he was doing sit ups. They ran out of the door and in the direction of the howl.  

Scott met up with them several minutes later coming from the direction of his own house. The smell of blood met their noses as they approached a clearing. 

Stiles was on the ground, completely unconscious. His clothes were ripped and he was covered in blood and scratches. All three of the werewolves ran toward him, each trying to get there first.  

"Stiles!" Scott yelled. 

"What happened to him?" Isaac cried. 

Derek stayed silent and calm on the outside. On the inside he was seething in rage. He smelled another alpha here and he wanted to follow the trail and rip him limb from limb for hurting Stiles. He really didn't want to leave Stiles though. 

"I-I'm going to follow the trail. Get him back to his house. Take the others with you if you pass them on the way," Derek said reluctantly. "Call Lydia, Danny, and Allison if no one has already. Call Deaton too. He'll need to patch Stiles up." 

Derek took off running in the direction of the smell while Scott and Isaac lifted Stiles up and carried him. Sure, either of them could've carried him on their own, but they both were too upset to think of that. Erica and Boyd came stumbling the some bushes halfway to Stiles' house.  

"What happened?" she choked out upon seeing Stiles. 

"We're not sure yet. Derek's following a trail," Scott told her. 

Boyd opened the front door for them when they reached the house. Stiles' dad was doing something in the kitchen when the came in. 

"I swear, its low fat!" he said holding a hand up in surrender. He turned to see the scene coming in and dropped a dish in the floor where it shattered at his feet. "Holy- what? Stiles!" 

"Call Deaton, someone," Isaac said with a sniff. 

The carefully placed Stiles on the couch just as Jackson and Lydia burst through the front door. 

"What's going on?" Jackson asked. 

"Stiles!?" Lydia yelled dropping to her knees by the couch.  

"Allison and Danny are on the way," Scott said slipping his phone into his pocket. 

"Deaton is coming too," Boyd informed them. 

"What happened to my son?" the sheriff asked, clearly distraught. 

"We're not really sure," Scott said. "Derek, Isaac and I found him like this after we heard him howl. Derek followed a scent. Hopefully he'll be back soon." 

Deaton and Derek both showed up at the same time ten minutes later. Derek came in the back, Deaton came in the front. 

"Nothing," Derek sighed. "I followed it all the way to the highway and it just disappeared. He must've got into a car or something." 

"Who did it?" Isaac asked a little too roughly but Derek knew it wasn't directed at him. 

"An alpha, that's all I know," Derek said. "I have no clue why someone would do this. Any idea what's wrong with him?" 

"He seems to have taken a blow to the head. I've applied some herbal remedies to the wounds, they ought to heal well enough. Also, these claw marks on the back of his neck indicate possible memory sabotage. More than likely, they tried to remove some. If I had to guess, the attacker realised he made an error then tried to make Stiles forget the attack," Deaton said. 

"What about memories?" the sheriff asked. 

"Werewolves have the ability to use their claws in order to share memories. They can also remove them. Some can even create fake memories and implant them depending on how talented they are," Deaton replied. "Alphas are the best at it usually. All born wolves can do it as well. Bitten wolves are rather mediocre but its possible with some learning." 

"What do we do now?" Scott asked Deaton. 

"Leave him be. He's taken a lot of damage. Had he not been as injured as he is, I would suggest waking him up. For now, just let him rest. If the wounds are healed and he still hasn't woken up, you'll need to wake him yourselves." 

"How do we do that?" Lydia asked. 

"As bizarre as it sounds, using a pair of jumper cables connected to a car will work just fine. I should get going, I have an emergency surgury on a pug to do in thirty minutes. Let me know how he is after waking," Deaton said as he packed his bag. 

Deaton left just as Allison and Danny came in. After a lengthy explanation, everyone dispersed to attempt to do something. No one left the house, feeling the need to be close to Stiles. Jackson and Danny booted up the Xbox. The girls went into the kitchen. Scott, Isaac, and Derek stayed where they were and watched Stiles. The sheriff did the same after making his sandwich he was trying to fix when they came in. 

Hours later, they all noticed the claw marks on Stiles had healed. Well, all except a particularly deep one on his stomach. He still hadn't woken though. Everyone was anxious and Isaac was all but read to hook the jumper cables up to his nipples and jolt him awake. Derek told them to be patient.  

The sun was setting as Stiles' eyes blinked open and he groaned. He tried to sit up, but a lot of hands were on him keeping him down. 

"What happened?" he rasped, clearly dehydrated. 

"You were attacked by an alpha in the woods," Isaac said softly. "You were pretty fucked up too." 

"Really?" he asked. "I've really go to pee, so if someone could help me up, I would love you forever." 

Isaac pulled him to his feet and allowed Scott to help him up the stairs to the bathroom. He was feeling a little dizzy.  

Stiles peed and took a look in the mirror. The gigantic gash on his stomach freaked him out, causing his heart rate to skyrocket. He witnessed himself starting to wolf out in the mirror and shouted in surprise before stumbling back and falling into a shelf.  

"Stiles!" Scott shouted from the hall. He kicked the door in to find Stiles wolfed out and sitting in a pile of broken wood and towels. "Shit. Calm down, bro. Its okay. I've got you." 

He led a slightly shaky Stiles back down to the couch in the living room. Everyone was waiting for them. 

"Son, are you okay?" his dad asked gently. 

"S-someone bit me," Stiles said. "I just freaking wolfed out." 

"Could this be any worse?" Derek mumbled. He was hoping for maybe a few days missing, worst case senario a month possibly. Not a year.

"What's Danny doing here?"

"He's part of the pack," Jackson said. "Has been for about a year or so." 

"Stiles," Derek said calmly. "What's the last thing you remember?"