Chapter Text
Though it wasn't always alarming sometimes when Scott called at 10 pm on a work night Stiles got a little on edge. His best friend had a tendency to overreact to the TV show he was currently watching and called to rant all the time, but this particular time it made stiles pick it up instantly.
Recently they had zero monsters or hunters or even a situation in the pack for a late night phone call. It was almost too quiet for comfort. So maybe it was time the shit hit the fan."What? Is someone dying?"
"Ummm." Came the reply. "Well, we don't know, so probably? No one in the pack though."
Fuck his life.
"Deatons?"
"Yeah, come alone. No pack."
Odd. Usually when things escalated to Deaton's whole pack was needed. In fact the others were needed more than Stiles. He was a spark, a low level of magic bringer, as Deaton said. His magic only required markings and stuff while mages or druids or witches often required something more powerful and hard to get, like blood or sacrifices. Stiles was glad to be Spark just because of this.
He could open and lock doors, make fires, draw simple mountain ash lines, heal minor injuries and once he even made Scott's soda cooler. Markings were only effective for a few minutes though, it was the negative thing about this whole low level magic bringer thing. Stiles was bitter about that. So he proded "Not even Boyd?"
It wasn't possible, probably but he felt Derek sigh rather than heard from next to Scott. He muttered something quickly. "Dude just come here okay, bring your marking pen."
His marking pen was given to him by Deaton, made of ash wood and it was the connector he needed when drawing the runes. The pen made the magic possible, though it wouldn't work for anyone else other than Stiles who had the power to bring the said magic to existence. It wouldn't work for, say, Derek. So the asshole could've been nicer when summoning him.
"Tell him I heard that. " Stiles hung up, and got up to change. "Fuck I have work tomorrow."
~~~
When Stiles heard the screams he was parking his jeep, so he just put it in park and quickly made his way inside. The only light that was on was the examination room's. The nearer he got to it the screaming got louder and made the blood rush to his head his ears thump, thump, thumping with anxiety. "They killed her! They killed her! They killed her! " he screamed over and over. Stiles didn't recognize the voice, he didn't know this person.
When he reached the source of the voice he stopped to see what was going on. It was nothing short of a massacre, what happened to him. He was white as a ghost shivering and trashing against Derek, who was trying his hardest to hold him down on the table.
Deaton was running around the room opening gause packages and handing them to Scott. And Scott, he was putting pressure on a wound that was too deep, too big on the guys torso, it was almost split in clean two. The room smelled like blood, a lot of it. Stiles swallowed back a bile from rising.
He stepped to the other side of the table and helped Derek hold the guy down. "Who- Derek what? What's happened to him?" Derek, never taking his eyes off the guy shook his head slowly. He had sweat beads on his forehead, he looked exhausted and sad. Did he know the guy?
"Hunters. Just outside our borders, I found him while patroling. They were wolves. Him and a female, she didn't make it. I-I don't know anything else."
"Eve! Nooo! " The guy screamed again. It looked like it wasn't even hurting from the wound. He just screamed her name over and over and over. "They killed her! They took her from me!"
Stiles looked at Deaton "Who-"
"His mate." Said Deaton, without even casting Stiles a glance. His jaw was set "They killed his mate."
Mate? So it was a thing? Werewolves had mates? Holy shit, he had a lot of questions. But he could read the room so he shut himself down from asking. It could wait
"Mate. Oh. I-I'm um, sorry. " He said to no one in particular but felt Derek tense front of him. Whether it was because Stiles was babbling or because the guy made a wailing sound at the word, Stiles didn't know. But he knew one thing. "Derek it won't work. I can't heal a wound this big."
Derek gave the guy a pitiying look "Just try something, so we know we tried everything."
Stiles' hands shook when he took them off the guy, forcing Derek to hold him more forcefully. He quickly pulled his marking pen and drew the three runes for healing and one for pain relief. The markings glowed red in the dimly lit room, making it smell of ozone, Though healing didn't happen, the guy gave a sigh and stopped trashing against Derek. He turned toward Stiles.
"Don't." He pleaded. "Please, don't" He whispered. Stiles tried very hard not to cry, he looked near death, He knew it wouldn't work anyway and he would suffer more. So Stiles nodded. He would give a dying man what he wanted. At least he wasn't in pain anymore.
"What's your name? " Stiles asked him bending down to hear him better. "I'm Stiles, this is Derek." He gestured behind himself "these are Scott and Deaton. Let us help you, so what's your name?"
The guy looked at Derek and nodded his thanks. "Frank." "Hey Frank" Derek whispered. He looked at him differently than any expression Stiles saw him have before. He was pitying the guy, for what, dying? "I'm sorry about Eve."
Oh, that.
Frank's face crumbled and he started sobbing. Stiles wanted to slap Derek for reminding him of his mate, who died. "She-she's gone. Derek, do- do you have a mate?" Stiles looked at Derek with everyone else when he tensed, clenched his jaw and said, looking at the ground, "Yes."
What? Was he lying for the sake of the guy or did he really have like a secret mate somewhere they didn't know about. Given his obsession with his own privacy, it wouldn't surprise Stiles if he was secretly married with freaking children. Stiles knew Derek loved his sisters and family, he loved his pack. He didn't know Derek who was in love though. He didn't even know he had someone. The thought made something in him wither and die. A hope that had blossomed under a tree of conversations, laughs, inside jokes and even mutual tolerance. Hurt, he was hurt because Derek said he had a mate? Fuck.
Frank held Derek's hand. "Can you even-" He coughed up more blood. "imagine? Losing them? " Derek shook his head like he was in a trance but his jaw betrayed his fury.
"I- I want to see her, I- sleep, yeah... " The room fell silent as Frank took his last breath and didn't take another.
Stiles' hands were shaking, horribly. It wasn't like he didn't see anyone die before. It wasn't about the gore or the blood. It was the way the light left Franks eyes, feeling his heart stop under his hands and giving a small smile while falling asleep like he did see her. He never had someone die in his arms before.
Stiles shook as he let go and went to hug Scott. Scott was sobbing. "He's gone. We couldn't save him Stiles. Shit. Shit"
He pulled away and left the room. Probably to take breath and break down outside. Stiles could relate, if he could stop shaking. He looked around the room, not knowing what to do now. Deaton was watching Derek with an unreadable expression, and Derek, he was still holding Frank. Eyes wet with tears. Then, as if a switch was turned on, he wiped his eyes, sniffed and became the Alpha once again. He let go of Frank with such care, Stiles wanted to bawl his eyes out but he was probably still in shock.
The whole thing lasted maybe five minutes but it felt like hours had passed. "Tell the sheriff about this, he'll handle the rest. But keep the mate thing to yourself." Derek was talking to him but not making any sense.
"What, why? He needs to know that there's another victim out there." He would drive to the station on his way home and alert his dad. They usually worked like this. Sheriff covered everything law related. His dad was in the pack. But why would Stiles need to lie to him?
<"Then tell him it's a pack mate, under no circumstances can you tell anyone about mates being real Stiles, I mean it." Derek threatened. Him and Deaton looked at him for confirmation. But it only raised more questions.
"Dude okay, no biggie but why? Is it like a super secret wolf thing?" Derek rolled his eyes and sighed before simply saying "Yes."
Stiles made an overdramatic 'can you believe this guy' gesture at Deaton. But Deaton didn't smile, seriously when did he? Instead he pulled a chair and sat, his face solemn. "Mates are the most sacred and secret things in werewolf community, Stiles. Only born wolfs know of them because only mates can concieve born wolves." He explained. Derek looked at him angrily like even telling Stiles this much was too much. It probably was but Deaton probably knew Stiles all too well to know he wouldn't let this go.
"Having a mate makes you vulnerable. It is a unique bond. They are two souls who can not live without each other. So, this knowledge is therefore secret. Don't tell anyone about this, not even the pack."
But that would mean- Stiles looked at Derek sharply, "Wait you really have a mate? A real mate?"
Derek looked like he never did before, nervous. He took a deep breath, looked at Frank one last time, gave Deaton a glare, didn't look at Stiles once before turning around and leaving. But not before saying "It's none of your business. Tell your dad and be prepared, we're going to hunt some hunters."
Stiles gaped after him. Again made the same gesture of 'can you believe this guy' at Deaton.
Only this time he did smile and said "Don't worry, he growns on you."
So on a work night Stiles, saw a guy die, held him while dying, learned his crush had a fated mate somewhere, heard Deaton make a joke, and somehow the most surprising thing was the latest.