Archive of Our Own

“They’re gone.”

The words made Stiles want to fall back into blissful oblivion medicated with morphine and the other pain sucking narcotics that were, at that moment, flowing through his bloodstream like it was no one’s business.

“She heard your heart monitor flatline and lost it.

More words. More reasons to fall back asleep.

“And Boyd?” Stiles rasped despite himself, not even bothering to open his eyes.

“They are a mated pair, where one goes the other follows.”

“Can you track them?” he opened his eyes to black and frowned. “Why can’t I see?”

“Do you know what kind of attackers give forewarning ahead of an attack?” Stiles snapped, glaring across the table at Peter, who was giving him a patient look. “Attackers who lay traps! This is a trap! We will be trapped. In the woods. Away from cell service. With no back-up and Derek Hale so help me God if you try and tell me to stay here you will regret it with every fibre of your being.”

“Why isn’t he a wolf instead of you?” Isaac whispered a little too loudly to Scott, and flushed when everyone turned to stare at him.

“We know it’ll be a trap, Stiles,” Derek gritted out. “But what choice do we have? Do I have? They’re in my territory, I have to see them off; it’s a pack’s job to defend its land against any and all enemies.”

“Then why am I here?” Scott was scowling. Of course Scott was scowling. When wasn’t Scott scowling?

“For two reasons,” Derek answered with ease, unwilling to take any crap from the irritating beta at that moment. “First of all, your best friend has decided that my word as Alpha means nothing when it comes to his personal safety and he’ll be joining us tonight. That means he will need an additional layer of protection, which you will provide. Second of all, if you don’t want the alpha pack to assume that you are an omega, without a pack and that you are expendable so they’ll kill you and your mother, then you’ll shut up, do as I say, and not. Argue. Got it?”

“Those powers of persuasion? You should be in senate,” Stiles drawled, lips twitching when Derek shot him an annoyed look. “Or not. Senate doesn’t really lend itself to growls and the fine art of eyebrow warfare.” This time, everyone was staring at him. “My talents are wasted,” he lamented.

“If you insist on coming along, you will stay behind the line with Scott. Understood? This is something I will not budge on.”

“Understood,” Stiles said, suddenly serious.

“You will not leave him alone, not even if any of us are down and a hole appears in our defense. Do not leave him. Got it?”

“Fine!” Scott shouted. “I won’t leave him! Geeze! You’re acting like I’d let my friend get hurt!”

“And you’re acting like a spoilt brat, but do I complain?”

“Frequently!” Scott retorted.

“If I may...” Peter cleared his throat. “While Scott’s less than cooperative behaviour is tiresome and frustrating, might we focus on the task at hand? Presently, the alpha pack that wants us all dead and gone?” his smile was mocking and superior but Stiles couldn’t help but agree. “Great,” he clapped his hands together dramatically. “As you were,” he gestured for Derek to continue.

The plan as a whole wasn’t a bad one; everyone played to their strengths, what few they had developed during the short time they’d been wolves. Peter and Derek headed the group, Boyd backing them up and Erica and Isaac providing a sideline defence while Scott and Stiles were staying a relatively safe distance away from the action. In theory, they should’ve been okay.

Then again, they did know it was going to be a trap. They just didn’t know what kind.

And then, the thing was. The thing that surprised everyone was... it wasn’t a trap. At least, not one created by the alphas, unless they were smarter and had orchestrated a pack of hunters to follow them to that particular point in that particular forest on that particular day. The alphas were good, brilliant even. But they couldn’t have put that together. No way.

The meeting was about a show of force, something to show the Hale pack that the alphas were it, their ending, their impending doom.

Let’s not mention the fact that the plan fell by the wayside then Kali was taken down by a blow from Peter, the hulking Ennis was tossed aside with the combined strength of Peter, Derek and Boyd and the twins hadn’t even moved from their positions behind the leader, Deucalion. Their show of force fell flat, and the alphas fled like the wind when gunshots rang out from behind their positions.

In all fairness, neither pack had heard the hunters approach.

Erica was downed by a bullet to the gut, her cries rang out over the clearing and Boyd was instantly at her side, the rest of the pack crowding around her protectively until Isaac was hit too.

And then Stiles gasped.

The sound of the entire pack, injured and all, and Scott, roaring at the hunters that had chosen that moment to step out into the moonlight, forced a cease fire as the leader realised something was very wrong with the situation.

“You come into my territory,” Derek growled, eyes glowing red. “You shoot my pack! What happened to the code?!” he ended on a roar and the leader shakily held his gun up, aimed directly at Derek incase the alpha decided to pounce.

“We were tracking the alpha pack,” he said, the firmness of his tone belying the erratic heart beat within his chest. By that point, Erica and Isaac were already standing up.

“Derek!” Scott shouted as he pressed a hand against Stiles’ stomach. “He needs a hospital now!”

“He’ll heal! The others did!” one of the hunters sneered, unconcerned, shifting when the pack growled.

“He’s human!” Derek snarled.

“No way,” another hunter breathed.

“Why was he here?” the leader asked, now sounding panicked.

“Because he’s pack!” Isaac was stopped from flying across the clearing by the restraining hands of Boyd and Erica. “You’re hunters! You have a code! Where in that code does it say you can shoot kids? Where does it say you can shoot humans?” he was snarling, canines and claws out, eyes flashing gold. “He’s the son of the Sheriff, where does your code say you can shoot him?”

As one, the group of hunters took a step back and the wolves could hear a multitude of heart rhythms, all sounded nervous.

“The alpha should have kept him away,” the leader stuttered, his gun visibly shaking. “You should’ve kept him away!” he shouted at Derek, who was barely keeping himself from tearing the idiot to pieces.

“Derek!” Scott shouted again and then Peter was there, putting pressure on the wound by wrapping his shirt around Stiles waist tightly.

“This territory has its own hunters, you have one hour to get out of town or I’ll tell his father exactly who shot his only son without provocation because let’s face it,” Derek’s smirk held no humour. “Who’s gonna believe you were hunting werewolves?” He wouldn’t break his treaty for these morons even though he wanted nothing more.

And then, the pack was gone.

“I’m assuming you told my dad anyway,” Stiles stated after he’d calmed down about the bandages that were around his eyes. On the journey to the hospital, debris had somehow gotten in them both and had to be removed during surgery to minimise damage.

“He knows, but Argent said the hunter’s cleared out of town quickly. He kept saying it was my fault, I shouldn’t have let you come out with us, I should have been an alpha.”

“Derek, I didn’t really give you a choice,” Stiles sighed, wincing. “This is a familiar setting for us,” he commented, reaching out until he could squeeze Derek’s hand. “Let’s not get too used to my being in a hospital bed, kay?” Derek snorted, agreeing and Stiles felt stubble against the back of his hand. “Erica and Boyd?”

“They took what the lead hunter said to heart.”

“Stiles almost died,” Erica said quietly as she stared at her alpha. They were stood in the yet-to-be renovated Hale property and Derek flinched at the words. “He almost died and you could’ve stopped it before he ever got there. You should’ve stopped him.”

“Erica, if we hadn’t have brought him, he would’ve found a way to come alone and that would’ve put him in more danger... you know that.”

“No” she snapped, eyes glowing gold. “You could have! He would’ve listened to you! You’re his alpha!”

“He doesn’t have the same need to bend to my will that you do!” Derek reminded her. “He’s human, he’s here by choice. Casualties happen, Erica. We all know and understand that. Stiles understands that.”

“Casualties happen,” she repeated. “But not to Stiles. Not him. You could’ve stopped him, Derek. You could have and you know it.”

“And what about the next time? And the time after that? And after that? Should I keep stopping him from being a part of the pack until he feels so isolated and alienated that he no longer wants to be a part of the pack? Would you prefer that?” he asked.

“I’d prefer him alive and uninjured!” she snarled and her claws dropped. “You’re the alpha! Be an alpha! Protect him! Protect your pack!”

“You’re still a pup, Erica,” Derek just sighed. “You need to learn that things aren’t always as easy as you’d like them to be.”

“I’ll learn,” she said and straightened. “We’re leaving.”

Despite himself already knowing it was coming, Derek couldn’t help the wince, or the feeling of his stomach bottoming out. He’d didn’t want to lose his pack. He couldn’t...

“Didn’t you hear Stiles after he was attacked?”

“And there’s that! He wasn’t even a part of the pack then but he was attacked by pure association!” she pointed out. “We’re leaving, I can’t... we think we have a shot if we go it alone.”

“You won’t,” he promised her, not the best thing he could’ve said, admittedly.

“We’ll see.” She took up the challenge and walked out of the house without another word.

“I can’t believe she used me as ammunition,” Stiles murmured sleepily. “Gonna kick her ass when she turns up’gain,” he swore and heard Derek snort again. “Y’realise y’can’t get ridda me now, right? M’pack. M’not going ‘nywhere...” his head lolled to the side and he vaguely felt a hand running through his hair as he drifted.

“I wouldn’t have you any other way,” he heard and let out his own mockery of a snort.

“Liar,” he mumbled. “‘can think o’one other way...” he sniggered and then slept, the sound of Derek’s chuckles echoing around his room.