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Derek could hear his own heart stuttering as he walked to the living room. Memories kept flashing through his head as he fiddled with his tie.
He saw Peter suggesting he should have Paige turned, as he walked to the stairs.
He saw his parents’ reactions when he told them of Peter’s advice, as he turned on the landing.
He saw the knock-down, drag-out fight that had happened in the back yard afterwards between the three, as he turned towards the living room at the foot of the stairs.
He saw his parents sitting him down and explaining the Treaty to him, as he entered the living room and saw Paige, resplendent and practically glowing in her white dress, sitting with her parents.
*
He’d known about hunters for years. The Hales tended to deal with the Argents, mostly Chris and Victoria now that Gerard had finally been forced into retirement, and Kate was “retraining” somewhere in northernmost Canada for the next several years, at least. He knew they weren’t the only hunters out there, and that one day, little Allison, who was six or seven years younger than him, would follow in her mother’s footsteps. The Hales helped Chris track down rogue supernatural creatures, demons, and those who hurt innocents. It wasn’t their calling the same way it was for the hunters, but Derek’s father would smirk a grin and say it was their “private public duty.”
What Derek hadn’t known, was that the reason for this good relationship, and the past several centuries of that good relationship between several packs of werewolves and several clans of hunters, had to do with the Treaty of 1607, signed by werewolves and hunters in Brittany, saying that they would work together for the public good, to preserve life and community.
Life being what it was in 1607, their idea of how to “preserve community” was a bit more literal, and, er, explicit, than Derek had really expected. The most memorable moment of that conversation was when he’d stared at his mother in shock and said, “Wait, are you pimping me out to the Argents?”
That part of the conversation had not gone well. Though since Allison had been all of about 9 at the time, he still thought that was a reasonable reaction.
But to preserve the Treaty, once every hundred years or so- it didn’t have to be perfectly exact, ten years either way was fine- a werewolf would marry a hunter, and they would have children who would grow up to be werewolves and hunters in the same home. As long as at least one family like that came along every hundred years, the Treaty would continue, and the werewolves and hunters could coexist in peace. Traditionally the couple and their family would be a living symbol of the Treaty as well, travelling to promote good relationships between werewolves and hunters around the world.
In recent years, with conventionally accepted relationships changing quickly, there had been much speculation about what could change, regarding the Treaty couples, and what couldn’t. There were even rumors that the Treaty provided for the possibility of same gender couples, with magic intervening to make procreation possible, but as the original Treaty had been written in a rather obscure Latin dialect, that particular translation was still being argued over. It was definite, however, that those who couldn’t have children could be made fertile by marriage on behalf of the Treaty. The 1807(ish) Treaty couple had been unusually old, due to extenuating circumstances, and the bride was a widow who’d been married 10 years when her husband died, leaving her childless. She had given birth to twins just 14 months after the wedding.
There was enough magic in the Treaty to make sure there’d always be a few suitable candidates when the time came around. A small ritual at the wedding would ensure that the marriage would be reasonably happy. Magic couldn’t create from nothing, but it could encourage, and while Treaty couples always had free will, the Treaty magic encouraged them to understand where the other was coming from and care about each other. His age made Derek one of the possible candidates for the werewolves- he’d be 20 in 2007.
*
Derek was only rendered speechless when his father told him that Paige was Victoria Argent’s niece, and therefore a candidate for the hunters.
Which, come to think of it, did a fantastic job of explaining why his parents had been so very angry with his uncle Peter. He couldn’t imagine what Peter’s plan to have Paige turned would have done to the Treaty, but he knew it was nothing good.
After they’d finished that part of the conversation, his parents had assured him that he and Paige weren’t going to be forced into anything- they were only some of the available candidates, after all, and the real deadline was years away yet. But he and Paige were welcome to continue to date, and encouraged to keep the long-term relationship of their families in mind. Normally potential candidates weren’t told about the Treaty until they were both 16, but as he and Paige already had a strong connection, they needed to be informed early. His father had gone to call Paige’s parents, while his mother had shared a basic outline of the history behind the Treaty with Derek.
And he and Paige were going to be required to abide by certain rules as long as they were candidates. The part of that conversation he wanted most desperately to forget was when his parents outlined exactly what Derek and Paige were and were not allowed to do, if they were going to remain possible candidates for the Treaty. Because, again, life was different in 1607, and they had very specific ideas about what was appropriate for “betrothed” couples who would going to be the living symbols of werewolf/hunter relations.
His father looking him straight in the eye and saying, “Absolutely no orgasms,” was especially horrifying.
Derek silently resolved to avoid thinking of that part of the conversation ever, ever again. Ugh.
*
He broke that resolve eventually, of course. It turned out that moment of memory was more effective than a splash of cold water when he and Paige needed to slow things down.
*
But as Derek entered the living room, just over three years later, to see Paige in her white dress and their families gathered together, it wasn’t the embarrassing conversations with his parents he was thinking about. Instead he remembered the look on Paige’s face the next time they’d seen each other after they’d learned the truth: her hopeful smile, and the light in her eyes as she’d touched his cheek. The way the sunlight had given her hair coppery highlights. Their astonished laughter at the idea that they each wanted to date someone their own parents already enthusiastically approved of.
Paige had also spent the next three weeks or so making the, “Werewolf? There wolf!” joke about every 4 hours. Derek realized early on that the best way of stopping her was to kiss her, so he didn’t really mind as much as he’d first expected to.
They hadn’t made any promises back then- they were simply teenagers, dating and trying not to piss off each other’s parents. It hadn’t quite been normal- little in Derek’s life was, and little in Paige’s life ever would be again- but it had been good. Basketball games and symphony concerts, kissing in the distillery and making out in the woods, picnics and hikes and video games. Training and exercise and strategy and lore.
The promises were what today was for. It was late August, and they had both graduated high school the spring before, and were now 18. Derek was fully trained in controlling his instincts, and Paige was well on her way to learning what she’d need to know to lead a group of hunters. Their relationship was still strong, and while they’d had their fair share of fights they’d learned to argue through it and come out the other side together. They understood each other, respected each other, and trusted each other.
The sexual frustration was getting pretty damned irritating, but both sets of parents had firmly vetoed the idea of marriage before college. So today, just a week before they’d head down to UC Berkeley together, they gathered with their families for the Treaty Betrothal ceremony.
It wasn’t quite engagement- if they were still together in a few years they’d do that like any other couple. This was Paige and Derek’s chance to come forward and state for themselves that they were willing to be candidates for this century’s Treaty Marriage. There were already three other couples who’d gone through the Betrothal for this time around, but that didn’t mean they’d make it all the way to the wedding ceremony, or that they’d be willing to take on the weight of the Treaty if they did get that far.
Paige wearing a white dress to the Betrothal was a new fashion this time around. Girls had never used to wear white dresses to betrothal rituals- the previous Treaty had been a little too early to adapt the vogue of white wedding dresses, into white betrothal dresses. But being a possible Treaty groom, Derek had already had six different people explain to him the new “tradition” that the girl wearing a white dress to the Betrothal meant she was really hoping to marry the boy. Two girls of the three girls already Betrothed this time around had worn white- the third was claiming it was Hallmark fakery she’d have no part of. But the rumor mill said that relationship was already a little rocky.
When everyone was ready, Paige and Derek faced each other in the center of the room. Derek held out his right hand, palm up, and Paige put her left hand in his, before putting her right hand over her left, palm up, for him to rest his left hand in. Their fathers stood behind each of them, each resting their hands on their child’s shoulders in support. Their mothers each stood to the left of their child, right hand on their child’s shoulder and left hand under their child’s wrist.
Derek and Paige had memorized the words months before, had practiced saying them to one another in stolen moments, excited and hopeful. They’d been practicing for today.
“I make you no vow today, Paige Elizabeth.”
“I make you no vow today, Derek Samuel.”
“I am a werewolf, like my people before me, swift and strong.”
“I am a hunter, like my people before me, righteous and true.”
“You have earned my trust and respect, so faithful a hunter.”
“You have earned my compassion and understanding, so valiant a werewolf.”
“In the name of the Treaty between our peoples, I am honored to betroth myself to you today, witnessed by both our families.”
“In the name of the Treaty between our peoples, I am honored to betroth myself to you today, witnessed by both our families.”
Their parents released them and stepped back, as Derek’s sisters and Paige’s little brother gave them a ridiculous round of applause. Derek grinned at Paige, who was suddenly struck by a moment of her old shyness, and she ducked her head. He gently lifted her hands as he stepped towards her and brought them to his lips. As he kissed her fingertips she raised her head once again, and he did his best to promise her the world with his eyes.
*
College was… both amazing and awkward. Derek had a shoebox of a studio just off campus, as his senses made living in the dorms impossible. Used to the Hale family house, always busy, living alone didn’t suit him, but there weren’t really any other options.
Paige’s family couldn’t afford an apartment for her, so she was in the dorms, and while her freshman year roommate was a nice enough girl, living with someone who knew nothing about werewolves, hunters, or the existence of the supernatural was nerve-wracking.
Not to mention the looks they got when they told people they were high school sweethearts. Both Paige and Derek spent most of freshman year fending off advances from increasingly incredulous classmates. Paige’s roommate at one point called it her mission to find Paige a boy to hook up with, just to “see what she was missing.”
They never told anyone they weren’t having sex. There were some conversations they just did not want to have.
Thankfully, there was a small group of people on campus who were aware of the supernatural. Derek had a temporary pack to run with occasionally, and Paige had a new mentor and a few trainee hunters to work with. They weren’t an official campus-sponsored extracurricular, which made scheduling a little awkward, but it helped.
Derek and Paige had agreed immediately to take summer classes, and graduate as early as they could. They loved college, but they were looking forward to graduation- and what would happen after graduation- more. They missed their families, but some were able to come down and visit the couple occasionally, and they drove home together in Derek’s truck for the breaks.
They declared their majors early. Paige was going in for Integrative Biology with a pre-med focus, so she could study supernatural biology as she grew older. Surprisingly few of the people aware of the supernatural went into the sciences, so there was little research available. It was frustrating not being able to tell her professors that her real interest was in studying things like why the werewolf bite sometimes killed, and why vampires couldn’t bear sunlight. Derek majored in American Studies, specializing in cryptohistory- urban legends, mythology, and the like. His professors just thought he was slightly off-kilter and didn’t care about actually making any money in his career.
Their second year, Paige lived with Maribel, a friend she’d made in the college symphony, whose grandfather was a druid and who she could tell about the Treaty, and her and Derek. Derek started spending less time in his shoebox of an apartment when he wasn’t with Paige, and started volunteering to escort students home late at night while she was in the labs at all hours.
That August, during the break between summer and fall classes, they drove back home to visit. Halfway there, Derek pulled off at a beautiful lookout they’d stopped at before, and as they stood together, admiring the view, he knelt and asked Paige to marry him.
She’d seen this coming, sure, but she still squeaked a little as she pulled him back up so she could throw herself into his arms.
Their families were delighted for them, but this also meant a new level of responsibilities towards the Treaty. They would go through the usual premarital counseling with their priest in Beacon Hills, but they’d also have interviews and essays to write for the Treaty Council, an international group overseeing relations between werewolves and hunters abiding by the Treaty around the world.
There were now still three other couples betrothed, but two were new since Derek and Paige had gone through the ritual. Of the three that had gone through the ritual before them, one was still “in the running” but was having some financial difficulties, one had gotten married but had chosen to back out of being the Treaty Couple, and one had broken up. (The “Hallmark fakery” couple was the second- they had a wonderful marriage by all accounts, but had ultimately decided they weren’t called to be parents, which took them out of the running.) The two new couples were both fresh out of high school.
There was reportedly also a same-gender couple who was interested in exploring the possibility, but the Treaty Council was worried about the lack of research available on what the magic would do to provide for procreation- would a man carrying a baby die when it was delivered? Would a woman inseminating another be harmed by extra testosterone? They just didn’t have enough scientists aware of the situation to figure it out.
Paige resolved to devote herself to those studies and more, once she had her degree. The Treaty Council enthusiastically agreed to fund lab space for her- they had two chemists and a geneticist pursuing related research already.
Their last year at Berkeley felt like an endless marathon- between classes, premarital work with the Council, volunteering for Derek and the symphony and grad school applications for Paige, they had little free time. What they did, they spent working with the younger members of their supernatural cohort, passing on what they’d learned and trying to help them through the transition to college, which they felt they’d barely gotten over themselves. Paige’s roommate Maribel was a big help, running interference for them with those unaware of the supernatural and helping them practice for their Treaty interviews.
Some days stood out. The day in early spring when Paige received her acceptance letter to the Medical Scientist Training Program at Stanford, so she could get her MD and PhD simultaneously, was quite memorable. Not just for that, but also because she and Derek came the closest they ever had to breaking their Treaty obligations. Only Paige jumping out of Derek’s arms and directly into the cold spray of the shower stopped them.
Finally, the third week in April, the Council contacted them. With two couples still too young to predict, and the other betrothed couple still in financial difficulties, would they be willing to be the new Treaty Couple for this generation of hunters and werewolves?
Derek and Paige took a night to talk it over, just to be safe, but they’d known what their answer would be for years by now. They said yes.
*
They graduated, and were married the second week of June, in Beacon Hills. Derek’s sisters and Paige’s old friend Maribel stood as her bridesmaids, Paige’s brother was Derek’s best man. There were two members of the Council present as witnesses, and much to everyone’s surprise, everything went off without a hitch.
At the end of the wedding ceremony, when the priest motioned them to kiss, they leaned into one another and said the words Dr. Deaton had taught them to seal the Treaty the week before, “pace nuptias.” If there was a slight extra tingle to their lips in the moments after, neither thought it had anything to do with the magic they’d just sealed.
Derek and Paige snuck out of the reception just after the cake was cut and they’d had their first dance. They had a week to spend in a cabin owned by some of Paige’s cousins, in the woods an hour north, and they weren’t going to waste it.
Laura was the last to speak to the couple as they left, telling them she’d texted the one other candidate couple who’d been waiting just as long as they had, as soon as the marriage ceremony was over. They hadn’t officially been off the hook for possibly becoming the Treaty Couple until after Derek and Paige exchanged their vows. Apparently they’d taken the weekend off in anticipation and had replied with the biggest emoji Laura had ever seen. She wasn’t surprised they didn’t respond to her after that. Derek and Paige were suitably amused.
They were somewhat less amused by the gallon jugs of lube someone had snuck into the trunk of the car they were taking up north.
When anyone asked them how their honeymoon had been, they each just smiled and replied, “Magical.”
*
Life wasn’t always perfect. Paige enjoyed her new program, but her advisor threw an incredible hissy fit when she learned that Paige was pregnant with twins (which apparently tended to happen with Treaty Couples, but wasn’t a sure thing) and would need to revise her schedule. But with the Hale family’s help, since she didn’t quite have a full ride at Stanford, they were able to make it work. Derek was a devoted and loving husband, doing what research he could to help the Council with information requests they received from the West Coast, when not organizing Paige’s doctor’s appointments for her, and keeping the apartment in order.
The twins were born in September. David and Anna were both “hale and hearty” from the get go, as the obstetrician insisted on saying as often as possible. David would grow into a hunter one day, and Anna was a classic werewolf baby, stubborn and strong.
Derek loved looking after them, but he and Paige doubled down on their birth control afterwards, until she finished her degree. Finally, when the twins were six, she graduated with her MD/PhD, and they moved back to Beacon Hills, where the Treaty Council had set up lab space for her and Derek would be easily reachable for research requests.
As their family was the living embodiment of the Treaty- not just Derek and Paige, but the children as well- their life was rather unusual, even for a mixed werewolf/hunter family. They had to travel quite a bit to meet with different sub-Councils and liaison groups, even when Paige was still in grad school. Though thankfully the Council restricted anyone from asking them to travel while Paige was heavily pregnant.
Still, traveling with twins, especially when one is a werewolf, is never easy, and when their family expanded it only got more complicated. Especially the international travel that took them off the North American continent- while Paige had been finishing her degree, they’d only ever been asked to travel within the US, Mexico, and Canada. As soon as she received her degrees and their third child, Daniel, another werewolf, was born three months later, the Council arranged a tour of Eastern Europe and North Africa for the whole family. They took Allison Argent, newly graduated with a BA from Stanford, with them so the children wouldn’t outnumber them, and their two months touring from Krakow to Cairo were exhilarating.
It would be the first of many such trips, but while travel was so much easier than it had been in previous centuries (the diaries and journals of previous Treaty Couples were… enlightening, and certainly showed some things never changed), Paige was eventually able to convince the Council of the merits of videoconferencing. It was less effective with werewolves, who preferred being able to use their senses in a negotiation, but when only hunters were involved it cut down nicely on financial and personal costs.
*
As they settled back into Beacon Hills, Derek rejoined his childhood pack, and got to know several of the newest werewolves in the area, including Erica and Boyd, who he took to especially. That wasn’t always easy, however- two of the younger werewolves’ friends, Scott and Stiles, who were both human, got too curious after a while and wound up knowing more than they should have. A pack with humans who weren’t relatives or hunters in it was new to Derek, and Paige teased him about being a grumpy old man until he got used to the idea.
Their youngest child, Violet, was born when the twins were ten, and she would lead hunters like her mother did one day. Years later, Cora would ask Paige if there was any difference between carrying a werewolf and human baby. Paige explained that while she was unusually healthy while carrying a werewolf- even with the twins- and didn’t even have morning sickness or sore feet, their constant activity and kicking made the trade-off with carrying a human child about even.
They never wavered in wanting to remain in Beacon Hills over the years. The town was so much home to both of them – Derek’s family had generations of history there, and while Paige’s family was more scattered, she loved her lab and her community to much to ever want to give it up. Especially when Maribel landed just an hour north of them, teaching chemistry in a local college.
The pack waxed and waned as time went on, certainly. Erica eventually moved away, and Boyd would be heavily scarred from a particularly bad fight. Derek never had any interest in becoming Alpha, since he and Paige had so many Treaty responsibilities, but they were both well-respected in the pack.
And secretly he was pretty sure that Chris Argent appreciated having him around to be a voice of reason for Scott and Allison when they finally realized they were serious about each other. If Chris believed Derek was a more enthusiastic “chaperone” than he was, and if Allison believed he was on her-and-Scott’s side rather than just her side, well, that worked out just fine for Derek.
Being a groomsman for Scott was also fine; but being practically led around by the nose by Stiles, the most irritating Best Man of all time, was certainly not. However, neither Paige nor Allison were about to let him get away with leaving Stiles unsupervised. Especially when it came to the bachelor party.
The bachelor party. Damn, there was a night he would love to forget. If he never saw a sequin ever again, he would die happy. Werewolves were not meant for bachelor parties, he was convinced. There was a reason he had never had one of his own, and that reason was his nose. Ugh.
Standing at the front of the church one cool September afternoon, he listened as little Allison repeated her vows in a strong, sure voice, as Scott struggled not to cry, and Paige beamed at the happy couple from the second row. The whole pack, all the Hales and the rest, were scattered through the church, and the fall sunlight fell in through the windows in great drifts.
And if, in that moment, his eyes flashed gold as he smiled, remembering his own wedding and the happiness that followed, well.
No one noticed.