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Title: The Wolf's Pack, the Dragon's Hoard – Stiles Summer Stories 2026

TW Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Jeff Davis and MTV. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Tags: m/m, Erica Lives, Boyd Lives, Jackson Doesn’t Leave, Allison Lives, Pack Alpha Peter, Dragon Stiles, fluff, f/f, m/f

Main Pairing: Peter/Stiles

Side Pairings: Jackson/Allison, Malia/Kira, Boyd/Erica, Ethan/Danny, Noah/Chris

Teen Wolf Characters: Mieczysław 'Stiles' Stilinski, Peter Hale, Noah Stilinski, Chris Argent, Allison Argent, Jackson Whittemore, Derek Hale, Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd, Isaac Lahey, Cora Hale, Malia Tate, Kira Yukimura, Danny Mahealani, Ethan Steiner

Writer’s Month Prompts 2026: earthquake + volcano

Summary: Stiles takes after his father, they are both dragons. Other dragons hoard gold, Stiles' hoard consists of a pack of werewolves. Only that his wolves don't know he's a dragon.

The Wolf's Pack, the Dragon's Hoard

Stiles Summer Stories 2026

He didn’t understand what was going on. He’d taught himself a new trick – a double loop in the air, without getting dizzy and dropping – and had wanted to show it off to his mom. She had screamed and called him a demon and started throwing things at him. One of the things had scratched his cheek so his dad saw the bloody evidence when he got home.

“Oh, Mietek,” Noah sighed heavily as he pulled his crying son into a hug.

“Why would momma say those things?”

He sniffed a little and rubbed his cheeks even as he snuggled into his dad’s embrace. “Your mom, she… She’s human, unlike us. And sometimes, humans get… get sick. She… forgot. She forgot that you and I, that we’re different. That we’re dragons. She still loves you very, very much, never doubt that. But she got… scared, when she saw your horns and wings.”

“She loves my horns,” he scrunched up his face and patted for his little stumps.

They were really mostly bumps on the sides of his forehead at this point, nothing compared to the mighty curve of his dad’s golden horns. But his mom loved them, she would kiss them whenever he was in half-shift. How could she possibly forget that?

“I know,” Noah sounded pained and he hugged his son even tighter. “I’m so sorry.”

/break\

Losing his mom had been the hardest thing Stiles thought he would ever have to endure. The years would prove him wrong with that, but that would only sneak up on him slowly. It started simple enough. If one wanted to call it simple. A feral Alpha werewolf on their territory, tearing through their town – and turning Stiles’ best friend into a werewolf.

Stiles debated with himself whether or not he should tell Scott the truth about himself. But there was so much other stuff going on – feral Alpha, grumpy Sourwolf, hunters, Scott’s new girlfriend, lacrosse, suddenly hanging out with Lydia and Jackson and Danny – so in the end, he decided against it. Maybe just a little bit out of fear too. He would never forget his mother’s face when she had called him a demon for his horns and wings and scales.

Now, as a teenager, playing fantasy video games and watched TV, he knew he did look like a demon when he was in half-shift. His horns had grown, were about the length of his forearms but curved backward, the tips a brilliant ruby-red that faded into a more rusty color toward where they met his forehead. His scales were a shining, shimmering gold where they appeared in patches on his skin. His eyes were golden too. Not yellow, like Scott’s, real gold, slitted pupils and all. He had claws and fangs too, different than a werewolf. Sharper, more pointy.

“You should keep out of this, son,” Noah frowned deeply at Stiles.

Stiles just rolled his eyes and stretched out his legs. “It’s not just your territory, dad.”

“I am the head of this family,” Noah’s frown somehow deepened and his green eyes took on a golden hue. “You’re a hatchling. Don’t huff like that, you are. You’re barely sixteen, you haven’t even started your own hoard. You shouldn’t involve yourself in any of this. It’s dangerous. The Alpha is dangerous. I can take him on, if I have to. You shouldn’t.”

Stiles huffed offended at that again and crossed his arms on the table. This wasn’t fair. He wasn’t a hatchling! Sure, he hadn’t figured out what his hoard was yet – he had started various kinds of collections over the years but none sparked that feeling that dragons should get when they find the thing that’s theirs to hoard – but that didn’t mean he had to sit on the sideline! Especially now that his friends – and that there was a plural at that – were involved and in potential danger.

/break\

Out of the Stilinskis, Stiles was the first to come face to face with the Alpha. Two times, technically. First when he managed to trap the Alpha, in beast-form, into the school. It had been dangerously thrilling. Stiles had had the urge to flick his tail and curl together, pleased with the prey he caught, the treasure he took. His. He shoved that feeling down, very very deep down, and let himself quickly be distracted by the clusterfuck that was their night stuck at school.

In the end, the Alpha escaped again. And Stiles got to come face to face with him in human form.

“You must be Stiles,” Peter Hale smiled at him, a dangerous, knowing smile.

It got under his skin, made him shudder. Being a dragon, Stiles had never really felt like there were predators to him. In that moment, being looked at like that by piercing, blue eyes, he felt like he had come face to face with a fellow predator. A challenger. But before Stiles could raise to the challenge, Derek came rushing in, shoving Stiles aside and attacking Peter.

There was that thrilling feeling again. His. His wolf. Protect him. Fighting for him. Dangerous.

/break\

Foolishly, Stiles thought he might be allowed a normal night, like a human teenager. Going to prom with his long-time crush Lydia. Pretending to be just like his friends. Being happy. And then Peter attacked Lydia and Stiles came across them on the lacrosse field. It had been horrifying.

He went willingly with the Alpha, to ensure Lydia’s safety. And in the hopes of taking Peter out himself. Sure, his dad had said not to interfere, but the wolf had just attacked someone Stiles considered his and that was personal. The most personal things could get for a dragon.

“Do you want the bite, Stiles?”

Stiles had no idea how things had escalated like that. One moment, he was more or less unwillingly helping Peter track down Scott’s phone to find Derek – somewhat willing, because Derek had become one of those Stiles considered his, and he knew that, in his own way, Peter considered Derek his, as his pack, so the Alpha would help Derek and Stiles wanted that too. The next moment, Stiles found himself standing before Peter, with the werewolf cradling Stiles’ wrist close to his face. His wrist. Stiles stood frozen in shock when the wolf’s mouth opened like he wanted to bite Stiles.

How dare this Alpha offer him a mating bite this casually! For dragons, the wrist was where they bit their mates to claim and this wolf wanted to just sink his teeth in like that. Stiles snarled, when he snapped out of it, and wretched his arm out of Peter’s grip.

“I don’t want to be like you,” Stiles spat.

I could never be like you, echoed in his mind. A bite, the kind of bite that Peter had meant to give him, would never take. Stiles was a dragon, he couldn’t be turned into a wolf. Peter regarded him for a long moment as though he could see something else, something Stiles wasn’t willing to share. And in the end, Peter just bent Stiles’ keys and left.

Two apex predators facing off and neither of them being harmed. If Peter had wanted, he could attacked – if Stiles were as human as Peter thought, the Alpha would have easily killed him, yet Peter didn’t even try. And Stiles? Stiles didn’t either. Because there was something about Peter.

/break\

Fire was a dragon’s weapon of choice, yet it still felt wrong when Stiles set Peter on fire. Fire was the man’s source of trauma, the thing that had taken his pack away. But Peter had threatened to take those Stiles cared about away from him and a dragon’s first instinct was always to protect theirs.

It left Stiles shaky for a little while, but he didn’t exactly get a reprise from it all. The next danger lurked right around the corner, in the form of Gerard Argent and more hunters and then the kanima. Derek started turning teenagers into werewolves and things got kinda messy, because on one side were Derek, Isaac, Boyd and Erica, on the other side were Scott, Allison, Lydia and Jackson, on the third side were Gerard and the hunters. And Stiles was… Well, Stiles was kind of overwhelmed.

He’d started to think of Derek as his, the same as he had started to think of Scott, Lydia, Allison and maybe even Jackson to an extend as his. So this othering of Derek, and Derek building his own pack, it was confusing and upsetting for the young dragon. The fact that both Lydia and Jackson were being alienated from them too, with the kanima accusations, and that Gerard was slowly sinking his claws into Allison, it was… too much. It was overwhelming. Stiles needed the people he considered his to be safe and to be together, not to fight each other!

“It’s okay, it’s going to be okay,” Stiles whispered as he cradled Erica close.

Boyd and Isaac were hovering close by, while Scott and Derek were outside the train cart. Talking. It was due time they talked. The kanima had attacked them at the school, during detention. Due to the venom, Erica had a seizure. And as Stiles held her and tried to soothe her, he could feel the fire build up in his chest. A possessive beast that wanted to burn down everything that dared to hurt those who were his. And while he could hear Scott and Derek talk in he background, when he heard Scott finally agreeing to join the Hale Pack… Stiles was finally able to name it.

That desperate, possessive feeling. The his that overwhelmed him over and over again. He felt a little silly for taking so long to understand. He’d found his hoard. His hoard were werewolves.

“Is she going to be alright?” Isaac asked with a frown.

“It’s just the venom overriding the werewolf that’s bringing back her seizure, “Stiles replied absentmindedly. “She should be alright once the venom is out of her system.”

“You really do make a great Batman,” Erica smiled weakly up at him. “Detective and all.”

Stiles grinned at that and brushed her hair out of her face. Yes. They were his. They were his hoard. Scott, Derek, Isaac, Erica Boyd, even Jackson, Allison and Lydia, despite not being wolves. But they were part of a pack, Scott’s makeshift pack, they had been part of it before all of this. Maybe they could be a part of the pack, now that Scott had joined the pack too. Stiles could feel his dragon side take over with a pleased rumble at the thought. Keep his hoard together and safe.

/break\

So keeping his hoard together and safe was made more complicated by the fucking assholes he had picked as his hoard. Boyd and Erica attempted to run away and got themselves captured by Gerard. So did Stiles, so he supposed glass house and all that.

They were wolves though. Easy to break, quick to tear apart. He was a dragon, he could endure much, much more than them. So he drew Gerard’s anger, needling him on to make the seasoned hunter focus on him instead of Boyd and Erica. Being more durable didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.

“Stiles,” Chris Argent looked genuinely shocked when he came down the basement.

Stiles wasn’t much in the mood. He was hurting all over. His bones may not break because they were made of dragon gold, but his flesh still bruised and tore. He wiped the blood off his chin and glared up at the hunter. Letting Chris see the damage his father had done. He’d tried reasoning with the man before, about Kate, and Chris had refused to see the truth. Would he still be able to turn a blind eye while the truth was bleeding all over his basement floor?

Stiles could have killed Gerard. Easily. But a dragon’s wrath was a very, very dangerous thing. If he had allowed his dragon side to take over, the kind of anger he had felt taking that beating and knowing his hoard endangered, he could have razed the whole town. Sometimes, control came at the cost of personal pain. Nothing he couldn’t bear. But Gerard was going to pay for it. Later.

“I…” Chris trailed off as he helped Stiles up.

There seemed to be regret in his eyes. Stiles didn’t care for it right now. Chris was glad Stiles had his iron-clad control, because quite frankly, otherwise Stiles would have burned down the fucking house. Stiles took a deep breath and headed over to his wolves. Chris followed and helped him let Boyd and Erica down from their bindings.

“I’ll drive you home,” Chris offered, looking at them.

Stiles frowned deeply, supporting Erica while Chris helped Boyd. The idea of letting his wolves out of his sight was unsettling and frustrating. He pulled Erica a little closer and she leaned into him.

“To my place,” Stiles declared, checking in with Boyd.

Boyd gave a sharp nod at that. “My parents have no idea about any of this. I… I need some place not at home to heal up. If we can crash at your place until then…”

“Same,” Erica huffed. “Mom would totally freak if she saw me like this.”

“My place it is,” Stiles nodded pleased, suppressing the rumble in his chest.

Chris just gave a sharp nod and led the way to his SUV. Boyd and Erica got into the back and instinctively leaned into each other, Boyd pulling her close and burying his nose in Erica’s hair. Stiles gingerly climbed into the front and relaxed into the comfortable seat.

He barely made it out of the SUV at their house before his dad came running out. “Stiles! Stiles!”

He cupped Stiles’ face, tilting it to look at the injuries before pulling him into a tight hug. Stiles wrapped his arms around his dad and clung onto him. A sob shook him as he got hugged by his dad.

“I was so worried, kiddo,” Noah whispered, brushing a kiss to the top of his head. “What happened to you? Where have you been? Who did this?”

“Dad…” Stiles trailed off, so exhausted. “Can we get Boyd and Erica inside, please?”

Only then did Noah look up and even notice the others. He frowned at Chris and then nodded at the teens, ushering them all into the house. Stiles quickly curled together on the couch with Boyd and Erica, while Chris stood aside, looking somewhat awkward.

“Gerard had us,” Stiles admitted in the end, while his dad stared at him. “Chris got us out.”

“Chris and Allison also got us into the basement,” Boyd pointed out lowly.

Stiles narrowed his eyes at Chris at that and the man averted his eyes. “And I regretted it. Which is why I came down to get you out. Sheriff, I can explain this, I swear.”

“You’re a werewolf hunter,” Noah sighed and waved a hand. “They’re werewolves.”

Stiles snorted at the stunned face Chris made. Honestly, that was nearly worth it.

“You kids need anything?” Noah asked, looking at Boyd and Erica.

“...Food?” Erica asked hopefully. “I’m starving.”

“Because your body is healing and needs energy,” Noah smiled and patted her shoulder. “I’ll heat up some stew for you. Argent, kitchen. Help.”

“Yes, sir,” Chris muttered before thinking better of it, just following him.

Stiles knew the man was in for a serious preaching from the sheriff, about the ethics of werewolf hunting, about hurting teenagers, about putting his son in danger. Stiles closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax for now. Maybe they’d get to just be safe now and heal in peace.

/break\

They did not, in fact, get to be safe and heal in peace, because Lydia came by just as they finished eating their stew. In the end, the sheriff and Chris ended up driving them all to a warehouse for a horrible show-down that ended with Gerard having a bullet between his eyes and Stiles could swear he’d seen the gold bleed into his dad’s eyes when he’d pulled the trigger.

But Stiles’ attention was quickly drawn to the somehow no longer dead Peter Hale standing by Derek’s side. The wolf’s gaze was intense as he stared at Stiles, like he was trying to strip away layers. It was unsettling, to feel so laid bare before the wolf, so Stiles turned away and shuffled toward his dad. After the day he’d had, he really did not have the energy to unpack whatever Peter’s deal was – both, in the no longer being dead department and also with the intense stares.

“Can we go home and nap for like the rest of the weekend now, dad?” Stiles asked, voice raw.

“Yeah, kiddo,” Noah wrapped an arm around Stiles’ shoulders. “And you get to nap even longer because you are grounded until you’re thirty for trying to hide your involvement with this mess.”

Stiles groaned but for now he didn’t have the will to fight his dad about it. He just wanted to nap.

“C’mon, you two,” Noah called out, looking at Boyd and Erica. “I’ll drop you off at home. Argent, you good to take these two home?”

He pointed at Jackson (still naked) and Lydia. Chris gave a quick nod at that and ushered the two toward the SUV, together with Allison. Derek paused for a long moment and stared at Stiles curiously. Which was probably fair, since Stiles had rolled up here with his father the sheriff, who far as Derek knew wasn’t aware of werewolves, Chris Argent, who had been an enemy until like literally this evening, Boyd and Erica, who had supposedly left the pack, and Lydia, who had been the key in breaking the kanima curse. All Stiles had to offer to the Alpha was a shrug. Derek seemed to accept that for now and headed toward the Camaro with Peter, Isaac and Scott.

“Is there any way we can just crash at yours, Batman?” Erica asked exhausted.

“Yeah, I’m not entirely ready for mom’s inquisition,” Boyd muttered.

Stiles turned big, hopeful eyes on his dad, who just heaved a sigh and nodded. “You kids had a big game, you celebrated and then crashed at our place because it’s gotten late. I’ll call Verne, and Berto. I’m sure they’ll me more fine with the short notice if it comes from the sheriff.”

“You’re the best, dad,” Stiles grinned broadly.

/break\

Things changed after that night. Stiles grew closer to Boyd and Erica. Peter was alive and a part of the Hale Pack now. Jackson was a wolf and also a part of the Hale Pack. Jackson and Lydia broke up, because the bullshit he’d put her through had been a lot and he in return recognized that maybe building his entire identity around his girlfriend wasn’t that healthy (the therapy his parents forced him to sign up for after everything helped there too). Scott and Allison broke up too, because while Chris felt guilty, he also didn’t want that relationship to continue.

And then the Alpha Pack came. Derek finally bought an actual place to live in, the whole pack worked together to turn the loft into a livable place where pack meetings could be held too. After all, at this point, Derek had quite the impressive pack and needed to care for it. (Peter needling him on from the sidelines had done a lot there too and Stiles tried not to think about how easily Derek had let himself be manipulated by his uncle, or about how, for once, Peter was manipulating someone for the greater good and not just his personal gain.)

(Stiles generally tried not to think about Peter. It was better for everyone involved.)

“Can you at least try to be useful?” Stiles shot Peter a seething glare.

The wolf was sprawled out on the couch in the loft, completely relaxed. It was a front, Stiles knew that quite well. The Alpha Pack had revealed that they had a hostage – Derek’s younger sister Cora, somehow also still alive (a theme for the Hales, it seemed). And Peter was bubbling with the inner turmoil about that, Stiles knew it. Regardless of how much the wolf pretended that he didn’t care about anything but himself, he cared very, very deeply about his family.

“And you are being useful by pacing around the loft, how exactly, sweetheart?”

Peter cocked one mocking eyebrow and Stiles felt his own blood heat up. This guy really knew how to get under his skin and Stiles wanted to – well, he didn’t entirely know. Setting the wolf on fire hadn’t done much last time around and even Stiles had to admit that ‘royally pissing Stiles off’ was too low a crime for such a sentence. The point still stood. Peter Hale was infuriating.

Peter heaved a sigh and sat up. “Why are you pacing?”

“I don’t know,” Stiles frowned at the wolf. “Something’s off. Something is bothering me.”

And just like that, Peter got Stiles talking. And somehow, Peter managed to filter through all of his rambling to find the core of the problem. The bank vault and what it was made out of. It was like an electric shock going through Stiles’ system as the two called Derek and explained to him that they couldn’t just free Cora, that she had been isolated from the moon for too long and would be downright feral if left out right now. They even finished each other’s sentences. It was a thrill. A very, very dangerous thrill that Stiles did not approve of.

/break\

“I don’t like this,” Jackson was glowering over to where one of the Alpha twins was flirting with Danny. “We need to tell Danny the truth. He needs to know who that is.”

Stiles was tapping his pencil against the table, not looking up. The school year had started and two of the Alpha Pack were going to school with them. Lydia had chosen to hook up with one of them – Aiden. And the other, Ethan, was trying his luck with Danny.

“If the Alpha Pack are doing this to figure out which of the non-wolves are important to the Hale Pack, then we might actually keep him safer by not telling him,” Stiles pointed out. “Still high-key offended that the hot, gay twin isn’t hitting on me to see if I matter.”

“Stiles, you are literally covered head to toe in pack-scent,” Erica pointed out, stealing a fry from his plate. “Their noses work, they know that you are pack.”

Stiles hummed, his lip curving a little. That might be it, or it might be instincts kicking in. Even though wolves couldn’t identify dragons by scent, they instinctively knew that they were facing a superior, more dangerous predator and tended to steer clear. They may not even notice that was what was happening. Stiles reached over and stole one of Jackson’s fries.

“Hey,” Jackson glared at him. “She stole from you, not me.”

Stiles gave an unapologetic shrug. “Pack shares.”

Both Erica and Boyd snorted softly at that. Isaac and Scott were at the lacrosse field, getting some extra practice in. It was nice, to be among pack. It was nice how much closer they all had grown. Lydia and Allison had separated themselves from the pack over the summer – with Allison and Scott being broken up, and everything she had gone through, Allison was focusing on healing, actually going to therapy and she had no real ties to the pack, especially with Lydia also not really being a part of the pack. Lydia had found a good distraction with Aiden, and the two girls spent a lot of time with each other with all of that.

Stiles watched how Danny offered Ethan a dimpled smile. Stiles didn’t like that. Danny, Lydia and Allison, though not wolves, had been involved since the get-go too. It may be safer for them right now to stay away from the pack, so the Alpha Pack wouldn’t go after them, but the dragon inside him hated that those he considered his weren’t really his.

/break\

Stiles licked his lips at the tempting scent of garlic bread and tomato sauce. Following his nose, he reached the kitchen of the loft to find Peter at the stove. Stiles’ eyes narrowed. It was just the two of them. The Alpha Pack wasn’t the only threat they were facing, there was someone doing human sacrifices too – and they guessed that it wasn’t Deucalion. For some reason, Stiles got stuck on research duty with Peter. Because Peter was smart, Peter had the books, and Stiles was also smart and didn’t have the physical prowess of wolves (or so they kept thinking).

“So, how’s Cora settling in?” Stiles asked while setting the table.

“Wonderfully. She heard about what happened to Laura and is now giving me the same evil side-eye as Derek,” Peter replied in a fake chipper voice. “It is so lovely living with them.”

Stiles watched the man’s back. He knew that deep down, Peter had regrets about Laura. Complicated regrets, because the man was quite unapologetic about it too. He didn’t regret trying to defend his territory, he may not even regret the death of the Alpha who had abandoned him. But he did regret the loss of family. The Hales were drenched in complicated feelings.

“You know, Jackson thinks that we should tell Danny the truth,” Stiles said casually. “His best friend. Human. But he is also currently dating one of the Alpha twins.”

“Why are you telling me that, darling?” Peter asked, uninterested.

“Because it’s affecting the pack and despite how much you pretend that you are annoyed by all the teenagers running around the loft, you of all people know how important pack is and how important it is to protect pack,” Stiles replied. “Danny may not be pack, but he has been entangled in all of this for longer than Isaac, Boyd and Erica have. He is Jackson’s best friend, so he will continue being at the fringe of the pack. Plus, he has very useful skills.”

“Why are you telling me though? You should tell our dear Alpha.”

Stiles’ lips quirked at that. “You know Der. He will just glower and growl. He needs a little more convincing. He’s softening up a little, the larger and more stable his pack is growing.”

“He is also on his guard right now,” Peter pointed out. “The Alpha Pack, the sacrifices. His pack is being directly threatened. Adding anyone new is a risk.”

Peter put the gnocchi and sauce onto two plates and then placed one in front of Stiles. If it didn’t smell so fucking fantastic, Stiles would be throwing the plate into Peter’s face. That the bastard wolf dared to try and sneakily court him, thinking that Stiles wouldn’t notice. But damn the food was too good to pass up on and Stiles might even be enjoying the company, which was the much more shocking part. Over the past months of working with Peter, of Peter being part of the Hale Pack, part of Stiles’ hoard, Stiles had grown attached to Peter. It wasn’t good.

/break\

“Do you have anything to tell me, pops?”

Noah looked up and frowned at his son. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The Stilinskis stood on opposite sides of the table, staring at each other narrow-eyed. A stand-off between two stubborn dragons, who were both acting on their own. For the same reason too. To keep each other safe. But Stiles knew that it wasn’t working. He’d been smelling Chris Argent on his dad a lot. And at first, he assumed they might have become friends. But lately, in his investigations with Peter, he had picked up both their scent a lot too.

“You’re investigating, with Argent, instead of with me,” Stiles accused Noah.

“Oh, because you’re being good and keeping out of it?” Noah raised his eyebrows. “I allowed you to be involved with the pack, but you are chasing an Alpha Pack.”

“And you are trying to track down a Darach!” Stiles yelped, throwing his hands up.

Both dragons glared at each other, trying to make the other back down. The damn Stilinski stubbornness. Stiles took a slow, deep breath. He just wanted his dad to be safe.

“Chris is good,” Noah admitted after a long moment. “He figured out the pattern of sacrifices, we’ve been working together to track them and try to get ahead of things.”

“We’re trying to fight the Alpha Pack,” Stiles admitted then. “They’re wolves. They consider it their territory. They need to protect it from the other, invading wolves.”

Noah sighed and looked at Stiles with soft eyes. “Be careful, kiddo.”

Stiles latched onto his dad and hugged him too. “You too, okay?”

Maybe it was for the best, to divide and conquer. Let his dad focus on the Darach and the murders, while Stiles and the pack focused on the Alpha Pack. Together, they were going to protect their territory. Neither threat was going to get the best of them.

/break\

“Werewolves,” Danny looked utterly unimpressed. “You are a werewolf.”

Jackson gave a half-shrug. Stiles collapsed onto the bench of the bus, fully exhausted. The motel had been a real mind-fuck. Trying to keep his wolves safe – Scott, Jackson, Isaac, Boyd, Stiles had even gone and saved Ethan’s life, despite the Alpha being one of their enemies. But Ethan’s entanglement with Danny made things complicated and confusing to Stiles’ instincts.

“Yu—up, werewolves, Dannyboy,” Stiles adjusted when Boyd sat down next to him.

“We can give you the big run-down later,” Isaac muttered exhausted. “Right now, sleep.”

“I feel like I got the gist of it,” Danny pointed out, shooting Stiles a look. “You guys literally talk about this stuff out in the hallway. I just kind of assumed it was… LARPing or something.”

Jackson snorted and leaned against Danny, while Ethan was on Danny’s other side. The Alpha was quiet. Was staying with them, despite them being on opposing sides. Stiles wondered if there was something there, if Ethan and maybe even Aiden could be turned.

/break\

“You’re alive, you’re alive, you’re alive,” Stiles gasped as he collided with his dad’s chest.

He wrapped himself around his dad. He’d made a bad bargain with Deaton. Stiles, Allison and Scott. To save their parents. He knew the ritual would come and bite him in the ass on the long run, but the only thing he could think about was saving his dad. He tried not to think about the way Peter, of all people, had anchored him. Because Lydia had anchored Allison as her best friend, and Deaton had anchored Scott as his father-figure. But Scott was Stiles’ best friend and his dad was missing. And for some reason, Peter could anchor him. For weeks now, he’d told himself that he was just accepting the food because it was good, but he might have started to build something with Peter. Something he wasn’t ready to think about just yet.

“I’m sorry, Stiles, I’m so sorry,” Noah whispered as he hugged Stiles close. “I thought we had it under control. I thought we had her. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Stiles buried his face in his dad’s chest, but his head was turned so he could watch Allison and Chris hug as tightly. While hugging his daughter, Chris was looking at Noah. There was something in the man’s gaze that Stiles wasn’t sure how to name. Maybe chasing the Darach had been about more than just chasing the Darach. Was his dad hiding a secret boyfriend from him…?

/break\

“I’m the Alpha. I’ve always been the Alpha.”

Stiles bit his lip, trying not to find this hot. He was hiding, watching. Derek had let Jennifer Blake live. Stiles couldn’t fully blame him. The Darach had seduced and manipulated Derek. Again, a villain trying to kill his pack had used and abused him that way. Killing one’s lover was… asking a lot. So Stiles let Derek get away with it, but decided to follow and kill the threat himself. Only that Stiles wasn’t the only one who had been tracking her. Peter was too.

After a very hot villain monologue to the Darach, he tore out her throat. Stiles’ inner dragon was thrilled by the display of dominance, power and the fact that Peter had just murdered the woman who’d tried to kill Stiles’ dad. Protector, strong, capable, willing to do what it took. Good mate.

“Come out from your hiding place, sweetheart,” Peter called out, eyes a blazing blue.

He had taken out a handkerchief to clean the blood off his hands, even as he stared at where Stiles was hiding. Dragons were good at masking their scents. Peter shouldn’t be able to pick it up like that. Unless the wolf was very in tune with Stiles’ scent. He swallowed hard as he got up.

“You finished the job,” Stiles pointed out, trying not to sound too pleased.

Even though he was very pleased. His cunning wolf was defending their territory, was taking apart the threats that tried to take everything from them. Taking a deep breath to calm down the raging fire in his chest, he stepped up to Peter, who was just smirking at him. Urgh, how did that man make him feel so attracted to him and at the same time evoke the desire to punch him in the face?

“Someone had to,” Peter shrugged. “And it’s not like we have an Alpha to defend the territory.”

Stiles bit his lip. Yeah. Derek had given up his Alpha spark to save Cora’s life. Another reason why Stiles let him get away with sparing Blake. Which seemed ironic, considering she had nearly killed Cora. But Derek had once again gone through great loss and trauma. Poor guy couldn’t catch a break. Months of trying to build a pack, to rebuild the Hale legacy, and now it was taken away again. Now Derek had to start over again. They all did, really. No Alpha anymore. No pack without an Alpha. The beast caged by Stiles’ ribs rumbled and growled displeased at that. His hoard. The pack was his hoard and without an Alpha, there was no pack.

“The Darach isn’t the only one who got away,” Stiles said, his gaze heavy on Peter.

Peter tilted his head intrigued, his eyes intense and not looking away from him. The pack needed an Alpha. Peter was the only one to step up. Derek was too traumatized to try again. Everyone else was a teenager, traumatized in their own ways and not in any way or shape cut out to be a leader. Peter was stepping up. Was doing what needed to be done. And over the past half year since his resurrection, he’d proven to be smart, careful, powerful.

“I’m aware,” Peter stepped closer to Stiles. “Yet somehow, I assumed you would try and stop me.”

“Because I am so Anti Murder?” Stiles asked, one eyebrow cocked.

“Because of the implications of what will happen when I kill the ‘Alpha of Alphas’.”

Stiles attempted to give a careless shrug. “Someone has to. Are you aware of the implications? That becoming Alpha isn’t just about the power? It’s about the pack. The whole pack. Not just your family. You have to lead them all, protect them call, care for them all.”

Peter blinked curiously at him as the two headed into the forest together. “Against my better judgment, I might have grown attached to this pack of misfits that my nephew has built. Erica has potential, I’d like to train her as a Left Hand. Boyd is smart, reasonable, a good Right Hand in the making. Even Isaac, when he’s not angsting so much, has a delightfully wicked side. Jackson… reminds me uncomfortably much of myself. And I’ve even learned to work with Scott.”

Stiles hummed at that, a small grin curling on his lips. At the hospital, fighting the Alphas, trying to protect Cora while she had been suffering from the poison. Scott and Peter had fought side by side. The pack really had been coming together, fighting together.

“You’re a part of it too,” Peter pointed out, after they’d walked for a while. “The pack.”

Mh. The wolf would think so. It was more complicated, of course. Stiles was a dragon, he didn’t stand under the Alpha’s command as part of the pack. The pack was his. His hoard. But he couldn’t explain that to Peter. Had still not told anyone what he really was.

“Do better,” Stiles requested when they neared the fleeing Demon Wolf. “This time around, do better. Your last attempt at being an Alpha was a flaming disaster. Literally so. Do better.”

/break\

“Hi,” Allison smiled awkwardly at Stiles, carrying a box.

Stiles heaved a deep sigh and shot his dad a look. He would have appreciated a bit more of a heads up. Turned out he had been right after all. His dad was hiding more from him. Apparently, Noah and Chris had been hooking up. Fooling around. Growing closer.

“Look, kiddo, I need the help. Chris offered,” Noah sighed. “And… I would… like to have him here. Things have been getting more serious between us.”

“Moving in together serious?” Stiles asked incredulously.

“You’re sick, kid,” Chris spoke up, his voice and gaze soft.

Stiles jerked away a little. Nobody had really dared to say that part out loud. In the midst of fighting a dangerous, ancient demon, they had discovered that Stiles was suffering from the same symptoms as his mom. He had frontotemporal dementia. Just like his mom.

“You wandered out into the woods on your own and got lost,” Chris continued. “The whole pack, the whole department, everybody was looking for you. But your dad’s the sheriff, he can’t stay home all day. This way, someone is going to be home, even when your dad’s at work.”

Chris slipped his hand into Noah’s, giving it a squeeze. It wasn’t just about Stiles. Yes, maybe it would be a good idea if someone else was there to catch him before he sleepwalked out of the house, or forgot something else – burned down the house or something like that. But it was also about Noah. About Noah who had already lost his wife to this sickness and who shouldn’t go through losing Stiles all on his own. Chris could be there for Noah, could make sure Stiles’ dad wouldn’t start drinking again. That he would be taken care of. Even when Stiles was… gone.

“Okay,” Stiles whispered in a small voice.

He walked past Allison and went to pick up another box from the car to carry inside. Stiles was going to die. And before that, he was going to forget everything. Everyone. He blinked away tears.

/break\

Stiles woke up gasping for breath, another nightmare. Someone pulled him into a tight embrace, shushing him, soothing him. It wasn’t his dad, but Stiles clung onto him and cried anyway, until he was calmed down. Only then could he place his wolf’s scent.

“I could help,” Peter whispered, flashing his eyes red at him. “One bite.”

Stiles curled together against Peter, allowing the wolf to hold him close. The bite wouldn’t take. He was a dragon. But he was also only part dragon. His mother had been human, and his mother had been sick too. Maybe his human side wasn’t the only thing he had inherited from her.

“There’s nothing you can do,” Stiles whispered, clinging onto Peter.

“We could try,” Peter had never sounded this desperate before. “It could work.”

“Or it won’t,” Stiles argued, a sad smile on his lips. “I’m sick, I’m going to die. Wouldn’t be strong enough to take the bite. And in the end, you’d be in the same position as Derek was back then. Forced to put me out of my misery. Do you really want that? Could you really do that?”

“I could do anything for you, sweetheart,” Peter whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“But I wouldn’t want to make you do that,” Stiles shook his head. “Let me die as I am.”

“I don’t want to let you die at all,” Peter muttered, clinging tighter onto him.

And Stiles didn’t want to die either. He clung onto Peter as he started crying. He’d tried to be strong for them all so far. Smiling, trying to be optimistic. But here, in the darkness of his bedroom that Peter had broken into through the open window, Stiles felt safe to cry.

/break\

It was worse. Stiles wasn’t just sick. He was possessed. Well. That meant he didn’t necessarily have to die. But it also meant that all the deaths caused by the Nogitsune were his fault.

“Do it,” Stiles was pleading with Chris. “Do it, just shoot me, end it, do it!”

They were in the loft. Stiles, Noah, Peter and Chris. Noah may have his weapon trained on Stiles but he would never shoot his son. Chris might. Chris was a hunter. He could end the threat, protect the territory, protect his dad. The chaos demon inside of him was battling with his inner dragon. It wanted to destroy everything, to wreak havoc.

Chris didn’t shoot. The hunter lowered his gun and, in the end, when the oni came, he formed a protective line with Noah and Peter. Protecting Stiles from the oni. No. Protecting the Nogitsune from the oni. Stiles? Stiles was just the vessel. The collateral damage. Just like all the deputies he had killed when the Nogitsune had bombed the station.

Stiles watched with resignation how his Alpha, his father and the man who was becoming a stepfather to him were protecting him at all cost. They would continue doing so. They weren’t going to let him die, regardless of how big of a threat he was going to become.

/break\

Stiles sat curled together on his window-sill, staring out the window. He was saved. The demon was gone. It had left scars on his outside and his inside. Scars that he thought might never heal. But he was saved, and that was what mattered, right?

Aiden had died. The twins had lost their Alpha spark in the high show-down with both the Alpha Pack and the Darach, had sided with the pack in the end. Had spent the past months trying to prove themselves to Peter, to join the Hale Pack. Aiden had died, fighting the oni with Derek and Ethan.

But Stiles was saved and that was what mattered. Stiles was going to be fine.

“Hey,” Jackson knocked on the door even as he walked in.

“Wrong room,” Stiles muttered, not turning to look him. “My basically step-sister is one room over if you came here to flirt with Allison, again.”

Jackson snorted at that. Lately, those two had been flirting. Well, not just lately. Stiles knew Jackson had been hitting on her even when she’d first come to Beacon Hills, after his first break-up with Lydia. Now that the two had broken up for good, Jackson seemed ready to actually move on. And for Allison, enough time had passed since her break-up with Scott.

“I’m actually here for you, and not for Allison.”

“Well, that seems wrong,” Stiles turned to shoot him a look after all.

Jackson snorted and slowly walked over to him to sit down at Stiles’ desk. Sure, they were spending a lot of time together – being in the same pack, on the lacrosse team, sitting together at lunch – but they weren’t exactly spending one on one time together. The original Beta trio would break into his bedroom, Stiles had bonded with Cora ever since she’d arrived, Malia was… new. Malia was new and they had bonded in Eichen House and he might now be looking at her as a project to distract him. As a new wolf for his hoard, he was working on convincing Peter to take her in too. Kira was also relatively new, but he liked her, and she had proven vital during the possession. The two had bonded over research and a thirst for knowledge, and she had been a guide to him to his fox.

“You’ve been pulling back from everyone,” Jackson pointed out, sitting backward on Stiles’ chair and watching him. “You keep telling everyone you’re fine, but you’re not. Someone else took your body and used it to kill people and everyone is telling you that it’s not your fault, but you know it is. Because you let it happen, because the blood’s on your hands.”

Stiles sucked in a breath at Jackson’s words, because they rang true. But nobody had dared to say them to him. His dad just hugged him and promised him it would be alright. Scott absolved him of all blame. Peter, oh, Peter wouldn’t even mind if Stiles had purposefully killed those people. The wolf was obsessed with him, it was complicated and Stiles… Stiles had procrastinated dealing with those feelings – Peter’s feelings for him, but also his own feelings for Peter – until he had no space to deal with it at all. He didn’t even have space to deal with himself.

“I know how that feels,” Jackson’s voice was softer now. “Because that’s how I felt after the… after the kanima. And I tried to push everyone away too. It’s why I broke up with Lydia too. But in the end, pushing them all away wasn’t… right.”

“What, so you want Lydia back?” Stiles asked, his eyebrows raised, trying to deflect.

“No,” Jackson actually smiled at him, shaking his head. “I broke up with her to push her away, but in the end, I actually did need the distance from her to… find myself. I really had built my whole identity around her, around our relationship, around what we stood for. The golden couple of the school. That was it. That was all I was. The captain of the lacrosse team, king of the school.”

“That’s not really my problem,” Stiles snorted softly. “I know who I am.”

Liar, the beast in his chest rumbled. He was a dragon. Part of a pack that was supposed to be his hoard. Had been a fox. Was now in a body that wasn’t his. It felt wrong. The demon had spit him into this new body. Stiles was terrified of it. It ran colder than his old body had and dragons never ran cold. Ever since he had gotten this new body, he hadn’t tried to shift yet, too afraid that it might now work. What if he was no longer a dragon, not really. What was he, then.

“I just…” Jackson shrugged. “If you wanna talk, I can listen. If you just want to sit in silence, that’s okay too. You gotta work through this first and that’s… on you. But you’re not alone with it.”

Stiles blinked surprised and nodded briefly. He didn’t know what to say to that, so he didn’t say anything at all. For a while, Jackson just sat with him in silence, before he ultimately left the room. Yet after he left, Stiles still kind of didn’t feel so alone anymore.

/break\

“You need to relax some, Stiles,” Danny called out to him over the loud music.

He had his arms around Ethan’s neck. Stiles bit his lip and nodded. And then Jackson was pulling him onto the dance floor. So he was letting Jackson close, might have actually become friends with him. Jackson and Danny had decided to take him out to dance at the Jungle.

“This is nice,” Kira yelled, an excited grin on her lips.

She was dancing with Malia and there were definitely sparks between them. The coyote pulled Kira closer, her nose running along the curve of Kira’s neck. Stiles tilted his head as he watched the two girls for a moment, before his attention was drawn to Jackson.

“It’s nice that you guys invited Malia and Kira along too,” Stiles told him. “To make them feel more like pack, since they’re still new.”

“Yeah, well, we know what it feels like to be the new kids on the fringe,” Jackson huffed. “Besides, when Malia heard we were taking you out to the Jungle and what the Jungle was, she essentially came out as bisexual to us and then decided to invite Kira.”

Stiles hummed and turned to watch Malia and Kira again. So that was definitely not just friendly dancing, then. Good for them. A small smile spread over Stiles’ lips as there was a content rumble in his chest. His hoard was growing and his hoard was good together. He was healing, slowly.

/break\

Allison was out on a date with Jackson – yes, a real, actual date. Because this new friendship between Stiles and Jackson went both ways and while Jackson helped Stiles deal with the aftermath of the Nogitsune through bonding about similar trauma, Stiles might be nudging Jackson toward Allison. She’d nearly died, at the Nogitsune’s hands. She deserved to be happy and over the months, Jackson had been a loyal, good friend to her. He would be a loyal, good boyfriend too.

“Dad…?” Stiles whispered softly, knocking on his dad’s office door.

“Yeah, kiddo?” Noah didn’t look up from the files he was working on at first. “If you’re hungry, Chris made something I can’t pronounce that smells delicious. He left it on the stove for us before leaving for work. I could… take a break, we could eat together?”

He slowly lowered the paper to look at Stiles. Stiles swallowed hard. There were bags beneath Noah’s eyes. He’d been working a lot of long shifts, a lot of double shifts. Because so many lives had been lost thanks to the Nogitsune, and the kanima before him. At one point, young deputies asked themselves twice before considering working here. That wasn’t just getting to Noah as the sheriff, or as a human being who’d been close to these people for years. It got to him as a dragon. Because the sheriff station was his cave, the deputies were his hoard. And his hoard was dwindling, he was losing those he cared about and couldn’t protect them.

“Never mind,” Stiles shook his head and stepped back. “It’s fine.”

His dad had enough on his plate. He didn’t need to worry about Stiles. He had enough to do. Noah frowned deeply and put the papers aside before getting up. Stiles found himself pulled into a hug.

“What is is?” Noah asked when the hug broke. “I know I’m busy. I… I know you blame yourself for how busy I am, but it is not your fault. And regardless of how busy I am, I will never be too busy for you, Stiles. What did you want to say when you entered the room?”

“I…” Stiles was wavering a little, getting nervous. “I want… Can we go on a flight, dad?”

Noah looked surprised by that. Stiles hadn’t asked his dad to go on a flight in months. But the pack was really helping him. He was healing, growing a little surer in himself. His big fear, that he had lost his dragon, it was time he faced it. He was just afraid to face it on his own.

“Yeah,” Noah smiled and squeezed Stiles’ shoulder. “I’d really like that, kiddo. I could use it too.”

The two of them got out, Noah scribbled a quick note for Chris, in case they wouldn’t be back before Chris, and then they went to Roscoe and started driving. Beacon Hills was named that for a very simple reason. It was surrounded by hills. A mountain range, really. The tallest mountain was a dormant volcano. Dormant for centuries now, but it had drawn Noah’s family here years ago when they had moved here from Poland. Though dormant, there was still the blood of the ancient fire in it and that felt like home to the dragons. Stiles and Noah drove mostly in silence.

“Okay, you ready?” Noah asked when they parked at the mountain’s peak.

Stiles shook his head and started unbuttoning his shirt. He was shaking a little with nerves. His dad shifted first. The half-shift took over easily, but it went beyond that. His shape changed, he grew in size and the scales took over his whole body. He was a real dragon, the size of a school bus. Noah gently nuzzled him, nudging him to urge him on. Stiles took a deep breath and concentrated on his dragon. Relief flooded him when it worked, when he shifted and grew. Not as large as his dad by far. He was about the size of Roscoe, his tail as long as the Jeep too. He thrilled and turned around in a circle, looking at his wings and tail and scales. It had worked. He was still himself.

Noah rumbled and took off into the sky, his mighty wings flapping and causing large gusts of wind. Stiles chirped and followed his dad. They took off high, so high that to the regular humans down on the ground, they would look like planes. Stiles closed his eyes as he soared through the sky. He could be up here all day, maybe forever. There was no freedom like the sky.

When they touched down hours later, Stiles felt much more grounded, ironically.

“You feeling better, son?” Noah asked gently once they’d turned back human.

“Yeah,” Stiles grinned at his dad. “Yeah, I… I think I am.”

Noah patted him on the back, smiling pleased. The two of them got dressed again and climbed back into Roscoe. This time, the drive wasn’t quiet. It was like the floodgates had finally broken. Stiles told his dad about Jackson and Allison, about how Scott had become a rock to Lydia and Stiles thought that there was something developing there, about Malia and Kira and how cute they were. He talked about seeing the newest DC movie with Erica and dragging Boyd along with them. Even lacrosse practice and how frustrating the unfair amount of werewolves on the team were. And Peter.

“He’s been by a lot,” Noah commented when they reached the topic of the Alpha.

“I mean, I’m part of his pack. He worries,” Stiles shrugged a little.

“Mh, mh,” Noah’s gaze was sharp and pointed as it landed on him. “That all there is to it?”

“What are you accusing me of?” Stiles sputtered. “Malia’s been breaking in and literally sleeping in my bed! I keep spending a lot of time with Jackson, including going to the known gay club with him! How did you land on Peter as a suspect for, what? A romantic endeavor?”

“Romantic endeavor,” Noah snorted softly. “That what it is, then?”

“It’s nothing! Literally nothing!” Stiles groaned, his cheeks dark-red.

“Your denial is a little too strong to be true,” Noah pointed out. “I let it slide, because he was helping you. I know… I know he helped you during the possession.”

Stiles bit his lips and turned away from his dad. “I don’t know what it is. He… He’s been courting me. For a while now. And I… I think I like him. He has been helping me. I have been helping him. But… can I be with someone I’m lying to?”

“Yeah,” Noah replied simply and then sighed. “I… still haven’t told Chris yet either. I don’t know how, to be honest. The last person I told was… was your mom.”

They both fell quiet at the mention of Claudia. It was a big step, telling the truth. Noah and Chris were literally living together now, had been dating for months, and Noah still hadn’t told him.

“Are you nervous he’s going to take it poorly because he’s a hunter?” Stiles asked softly.

Noah remained quiet for a very long beat. “Yeah. Maybe a bit. He’s been working closely with the pack, we’ve all been working together to protect the town, but… working amicably with werewolves and dating a dragon, that’s different.”

For another moment, Noah fell quiet, his brows furrowed. “It’s a big commitment. Maybe I’m not sure I’m ready for it. I had a mate, and I lost her. I don’t know if I can do that again.”

Stiles blinked away tears at his dad’s honesty and swallowed hard. “Isn’t the happiness worth it? Even if it’s all gone in the end? Do you regret mom…?”

“No, never. I could never regret loving your mother,” Noah said firmly.

“Then don’t… don’t turn Chris into a regret before you really had him.”

After a moment, Noah chuckled. “You know you’re too smart for your age, kiddo.”

“Yep, I know that,” Stiles nodded, a small grin on his lips.

“Don’t think that gets you out of trouble about the middle-aged man courting you,” Noah pointed out. “You may be smarter than your peers, but you’re still only seventeen. And he’s forty.”

Stiles humpfed at that and crossed his arms. “I told you, it’s nothing. We’re not together or anything. You don’t need to worry about it. I don’t really have the mind for any of that anyway.”

Which was the truth. He’d been so busy with himself, with his healing, he really couldn’t spare half a thought to the idea of romance. That didn’t deter Peter though. The Alpha kept feeding him, watching over him, taking care of him. Patiently waiting and helping him heal, without anything to gain. Stiles liked how taken care of he felt with Peter, liked the wolf’s devotion.

“Do you love him?” Noah asked plainly when they pulled up into the driveway.

Stiles sucked in a breath, his eyes on the front door. “I… think I might.”

The door opened and Chris stepped out, smiling at the car. Noah instinctively smiled back at him.

“Tell me, when anything changes,” Noah requested. “I don’t want you to keep secrets from me. I may not like this, but… if he’s good to you, I’d rather know that you’re together than to have you sneak around and hide it. You never have to hide anything from me, son.”

“Not even a middle-aged boyfriend who is an Alpha werewolf?” Stiles asked surprised.

Noah heaved a deep sigh. “He’s… been patient with you, if there’s nothing between you yet. He seems to be a good man. And all I want is for you to be happy.”

“You two coming in for dinner, or are we eating in the car?” Chris called out.

“Coming, dear,” Noah called back with a small smile.

They got out of the car and walked into their home. Their home that felt so much warmer than it had in years. Allison was setting the table, chatting away about her date with Jackson and Stiles was quick to join her and help. It was… family. With Chris and Allison, it felt like family.

/break\

“You have horrible taste,” Cora complained.

“You just say that because you haven’t tasted raw deer yet,” Malia argued.

“I don’t want to,” Cora made a face at her cousin.

Stiles, sitting on the kitchen counter, was kicking his feet as he watched them argue. Ever since they’d figured out that Malia was Peter’s daughter, she was slowly integrating not just into the pack but into the Hale family. It was complicated and hard. They’d all suffered so many losses. But Stiles was glad to see them gain something amid all the pain and suffering.

“If you had full-shift, you wouldn’t say that,” Malia pointed out.

“Oh, stop bragging,” Cora growled and flashed her eyes.

Stiles snorted softly, causing both girls to look at him. “Nope, sorry, didn’t make a sound!”

An arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him out of the arguing cousins’ range and closer against the Alpha who was cooking dinner. Stiles tried not to think about why he was here, during family dinner for the Hales. He knew the answer, but he still found himself unwilling to face it.

“Darling, don’t antagonize hungry wolves or hungry coyotes,” Peter requested.

“I literally didn’t even say anything,” Stiles huffed, pouting at the Alpha.

“Stiles, you have turned antagonizing people entirely without words into an art-form,” Derek said.

“Says the guy who communicated mainly with his eyebrows for the whole beginning of us knowing each other,” Stiles complained, throwing a potato at Derek.

“I think the both statements are true in this case,” Peter said with a smirk.

Stiles huffed at the Alpha, leaning into him. Peter’s arm was still around his waist, a solid weight across Stiles’ chest. It was so easy to lean into Peter, to lean onto Peter. He turned a little when Peter hummed, watching the way the Alpha was cooking with one hand just so he could keep his arm around Stiles’ waist, just so he could hold onto Stiles.

“Taste,” Peter prompted, lifting a spoon up to Stiles’ lips.

Stiles opened wide and then moaned softly at the delicious taste. That Italian blood on his mother’s side of the family really shone through in Peter’s cooking. It got weirdly quiet in the kitchen.

“...Are they always this… domestic?” Malia asked, her eyes narrowed.

“It only gets worse,” Cora sighed. “You should get used to this.”

Stiles licked his lips and then paused. Were they? Being domestic? He turned to look at Peter and was once again left speechless by the utter devotion on Peter’s face. What had once been instinctive obsession on the wolf’s part had turned into love. Stiles frowned. Was he stringing Peter along? Reaping all the perks of Peter’s devotion without ever committing.

“Relax, sweetheart,” Peter whispered as he leaned in to nose Stiles’ cheek. “There’s no pressure.”

“I’m at your family dinner,” Stiles pointed out softly.

“Because you are wanted here. Not just by me,” Stiles could feel Peter’s smile against his skin. “I can wait, as long as you need. I just want to be at your side, darling.”

“And that’s okay?” Stiles asked, doubtful and guilty.

“You have been through a lot, my love. I want to be your strength as long as you need and I’m ready to wait as long as it takes, because you’re worth it. I adore you,” Peter brushed a kiss against Stiles’ cheek. “Besides, you’re still only seventeen. You’re young. I don’t expect you to make such a commitment lightly. And being with a wolf is a commitment. We don’t do casual.”

Stiles nodded and bit his tongue. Dragons didn’t do casual either. In fact, they were much more possessive than wolves. It was in their nature. A nature he still hadn’t shared with Peter. He couldn’t date Peter until he was ready to admit what he was. And he wasn’t ready for that yet.

His dad had a different reason for not telling Chris. His reason was the loss of a mate before, and the fact that Chris was a hunter for the supernatural. Those were valid reasons too, Stiles understood why Noah was hesitant, but in the end, Stiles knew Noah would be ready eventually.

Stiles’ reasons were different. Stiles’ reasons were tied to the look of horror and fear on his mother’s face as she tried to drown him and called him a demon. Stiles was afraid. Terrified. What if Peter, love and devotion and all, would look at him that way? The wings, the horns, the scales. For all intends and purposes, he looked like a demon. That fear had only grown with the possession, because now he had actively hosted a real demon.

“Let’s eat, for now,” Peter suggested, voice gentle. “Before the food gets cold.”

/break\

Stiles grinned and flipped Jackson off when he saw the boy climbing out of Allison’s window. Noah had chosen to ignore that for now, because he didn’t quite know how far he was allowed to parent Allison. It was a strange dynamic, Stiles supposed, for the two single dads to share a household, each bringing a teenager with them. Stiles bit his lips, filled with a yearning for that too.

“Can we talk?” Chris asked as he entered Stiles’ room.

Stiles blinked owlishly at him and nodded. “Sure. What’s up?”

Chris closed the door behind himself, which had Stiles sitting up straighter. Serious talk, then.

“There’s something your dad’s keeping from me,” Chris pulled up the chair and sat down next to Stiles, who was still sitting on his window-sill. “I know it has something to do with you. I may not be the sheriff, but I got good instincts too. I don’t know what it is, but I want you to know that the two of you can trust me. I care about you both. I’d… I’d like for us to be a family.”

Stiles bit his lip and nodded again. “Yeah, I… Do you want me to talk to my dad for you?”

“No,” Chris smiled and shook his head. “Noah has to be ready on his own, he has to make that decision himself. But since whatever it is has something to do with you too, I want you to know that you can trust me. I want you to be able to trust me, Stiles.”

He got up and walked over to Stiles, pulling him into a surprise hug. Stiles clung onto him just a little. It was nice, having two parents in the house again. Seeing his dad have support, stability, love.

“I think he’s afraid to lose you too,” Stiles admitted against Chris’ chest. “The way he lost mom. It really hurt him a lot. It messed him up. I don’t think he’s ready for that again.”

“I get that,” Chris hummed. “Loss is… hard. I’ve seen enough of it myself too. I get that Noah may need a little more time, then. That’s okay. He’s worth the wait.”

Stiles nodded slowly, remembering what Peter had said about him.

/break\

“We gotta tell them the truth now,” Noah muttered displeased.

He was clinging so tightly onto the paper in his hand, it was crumpling. Stiles was pacing in front of his dad. Some faceless Benefactor was running a deadpool on the supernatural. And at the top of the latest list – at the top of all lists so far, price-wise – was Noah. Dragons were powerful and also worth a lot of money, in general. After all, their bones were made of gold.

“If you mean about why your name is on the deadpool? Yes.”

Both Stilinskis looked up as Chris entered the kitchen. It hadn’t even been that long since Stiles and Noah had talked about it. But everything in this town happened so fast and so much. Chris’ arms were crossed, a frown on his face. Allison was right behind her dad, looking at them too.

“There… There is something that… that we hadn’t told you,” Noah looked nervous. “I didn’t know entirely how. But… guess the Benefactor is forcing my hand now.”

Chris’ frown deepened. “I didn’t want you to be forced to tell me. I wanted you to tell me on your own, whatever it is. I… didn’t expect it to be that you were… something other than human.”

“I do want to tell you,” Noah got up and looked at Chris with an edge of despair. “I have wanted to tell you for a while, I just didn’t know how, I suppose.”

“Just say it,” Chris raised his eyebrows. “Did you get bitten? When Peter was feral?”

“I’m not a wolf,” Noah shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m something… more powerful. Rarer. More dangerous, too.”

When he opened his eyes again, they were golden. Allison gasped surprised. Stiles ducked his head and then also showed his golden eyes. They both slipped into half-shift. Chris swallowed hard, not taking his eyes off Noah, His horns, golden but tipped emerald-green, his wings folded but mighty, his tail wrapped around his legs. He stood tall and proud and awaited judgment.

“A dragon,” Chris whispered stunned. “You’re both dragons?”

“Ye—ep,” Stiles shrugged awkwardly. “That’s the big family secret. The Stilinskis are descendants of Wawel. The dragon of Krakow, after whom the king named his castle.”

“Our ancestors guarded Krakow for a long time, until they left and found a home in Beacon Hills,” Noah paused for a moment. “Made a home of Beacon Hills. We inhabited the mountains even before the Hales came and built a town here.”

“Not just any dragon, then,” Chris gave a surprised grunt. “One of the big dragon families. I… get why you didn’t tell me. Hunters have… always hunted dragons, for longer than they hunted werewolves. The kings’ brave knights, trying to make a profit.”

“It’s not like I was afraid you’d put a long-sword against my throat,” Noah snorted, then paused. “Though your family does have a history with long-swords.”

“I’m not…” Chris stepped up to Noah. “This is a surprise. But I’ll guard your secret. And we’ll find the Benefactor and end him before either of you can be in danger.”

Stiles and Allison took that as their cue to leave the kitchen so their dads could talk. Allison was staring at him in awe and, as soon as they were in the living room, pulled him into a hug.

“This is kind of wild,” Allison whispered. “I didn’t know dragons were real.”

“Ye—ep, very real,” Stiles grinned, relaxing a little in her arms.

“Does… anyone know? Scott? Peter?” Allison asked.

“No. Nobody does. Did,” Stiles amended after a moment. “I’m… I never told anyone.”

“Is that why you aren’t with Peter?” Allison asked, her eyebrows raised. “Because everyone, really everyone, is wondering about that. Jackson, Ethan, Erica and Cora have a betting pool on it.”

Stiles huffed at that and shuffled a little. “Maybe it’s part of it. I mean, the past year has been a lot, you know? I don’t really know if I have… space, for a relationship.”

“That’s stupid,” Allison frowned at him. “I’m sorry, but… He loves you. You deserve to be loved. Things with Scott didn’t work out, but I don’t regret loving him. Just like Lydia doesn’t regret loving Jackson. And I’m glad I was ready for something new and let Jackson in. I was hurting badly but he was there for me and he… he made me feel better. If Peter is making you feel better? Do you enjoy being with him? I think you have the space, you’re just afraid of the potential loss. And you shouldn’t be. If you don’t even try, you can’t lose it but you also never got to have it.”

Stiles stared at her in surprise. She wasn’t… wrong with that, actually. It was kind of what he had told his dad too. That if he didn’t regret loving Claudia, then he shouldn’t shy away from loving Chris. Maybe it was time Stiles took his own advise. Or rather Allison’s advise, he guessed.

/break\

Danny was sitting cross-legged on the couch, his laptop between his knees as he typed fast. He was trying to track the Benefactor, to find where the assassins took the payment and hopefully find the Benefactor through that. Ethan walked out of the kitchen with a plate full of sandwiches. As soon as he neared the couch, Jackson stole one off the plate.

“These are for Danny,” Ethan growled at him. “Who’s actually being useful and needs food.”

Danny looked up to smile at his boyfriend, grabbing him by the neckline to pull Ethan into a kiss. Jackson made gagging noises just to make a point. It relaxed Stiles a little as he watched them.

“Stilinski. Came to help?” Jackson asked, with his mouthful.

“Nope,” Stiles grinned and gave Danny the finger-guns. “I know Dannyboy got it covered.”

“I do,” Danny inclined his head. “So you’re here for… Peter?”

“Why would you assume that?” Stiles squeaked just a little.

Jackson snorted and exchanged a pointed look with Danny. Stiles made an indignant noise as he walked past them, stomping up the spiral staircase. By the time he reached the top of the stairs, the Alpha was already standing there. Waiting for him with a delighted smile.

“Oh, shut up, Smug Wolf,” Stiles muttered with a glare.

“You know, I had hopes you would want something nice from me, but the glare and attitude make me feel more like I’m in trouble,” Peter chuckled amused. “What can I do for you, sweetheart?”

Stiles’ heart was racing in his chest. He’d tell the whole pack. But he needed to tell Peter first. Because he needed to tell Peter about more than just what he was. Peter frowned, clearly able to hear Stiles’ heart racing in his rib-cage. Stiles took the wolf’s hand.

“Come with me,” Stiles requested. “I think we need to talk. But I don’t want any nosy wolf ears nearby. Just you and me. Please?”

“You even said please,” Peter’s face took on a teasing note again. “Anything for you, love.”

Stiles’ heart jumped again at that. Damn it. Peter allowed himself to be pulled along down the stairs and out of the loft. Danny whistled at him, while Ethan and Jackson were hollering. Damn them. Stiles’ cheeks were red and he tried not to look at Peter on the way.

“Can I know where we’re going, dear?” Peter asked as they climbed into the Jeep.

“Mountain,” Stiles offered and started the car, not looking at Peter.

Peter hummed and watched Stiles intensely. He needed the distance, first. They needed to be away from everyone, so Stiles could show him and he also needed a little more time to psych himself up.

“I’m on the list,” Stiles blurted out as soon as they reached the clearing.

“What?” Peter looked at him in confused concern. “What… are you talking about?”

“The latest list, from the deadpool,” Stiles fidgeted and nearly stumbled. “Damn it.”

Peter caught him by the arm, steadying him. Stiles turned to look up at the Alpha, taken aback by just how gorgeous the man was. Taking a deep breath, Stiles straightened up.

“I’m not actually that clumsy,” Stiles said, only further confusing Peter. “It’s just that, I’m not… I’m not human. I’ve never been human. And this… human form is kind of… it throws off my balance. Because I should have a tail to help me balance, and there should be the weight of wings adding to me. It causes me to stumble a lot, when I’m all human.”

And while he chattered, he half-shifted, finding it easier to talk through it. He shuffled around nervously as he stood before Peter, feeling strangely bare. His wings, tail and horns on display, patches of golden scales along his arms, neck and face.

“I’m a dragon,” Stiles finished, finally raising his gaze to look at Peter. “That’s why I’m on the deadpool. And that’s also part of why I haven’t really been… been ready to have the big conversation with you yet. Because I couldn’t be with you without telling you the truth.”

Peter was staring at him, not saying anything. It was starting to make Stiles nervous and maybe a little self-conscious. He crossed his arms, waiting for the wolf to say something. Anything.

“I didn’t know how to tell you. Or anyone. Nobody knows, aside from my dad, since I got it from him,” Stiles continued talking, to fill the silence. “But now with the deadpool, we had to tell Chris and Allison. And it made me realize I had to tell you. All of you, I mean. I’m going to tell the rest of the pack too. But I needed to tell you first. Alone.”

Peter continued staring at him. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, say something, Peter! Anything.”

“You’re beautiful,” Peter whispered in awe. “Gorgeous. Stunning.”

That cut Stiles off. He stared at the wolf in surprise. Peter reached out, gentle fingers touching Stiles’ right wing. Stiles spread his wings at that, wrapping one of them around Peter to pull the wolf closer. It startled a laugh out of Peter, who couldn’t seem to stop touching him.

“Amazing,” Peter reached up to trace the curve of Stiles’ horns. “I always knew you were special, darling. I had… no idea just how special though. A dragon.”

“Stop,” Stiles muttered, incredibly flustered.

“Why? I’m only telling you the truth,” Peter smiled. “You are the most beautiful sight I have ever laid eyes on and I am… incredibly honored that you chose to tell me, to show me.”

“I… I love you,” Stiles raised his eyes to meet Peter’s gaze.

Peter seemed in awe at that, looking at Stiles with all that adoration again. “You do?”

“I didn’t think that part would be a surprise,” Stiles frowned at the wolf. “I mean, yeah, I haven’t been ready to tell you yet, but I thought you knew that I do.”

“I… had wished so,” Peter smiled a little. “But I didn’t… dare to hope. I was just grateful that you were letting me be close to you. I had hoped I could gain your love, I thought that was why you weren’t ready to say anything yet. Because you liked me, but weren’t there yet. Weren’t where I was with you. And, knowing how deeply wolves love, you rather didn’t say anything until you were sure. I… didn’t expect you to be in love with me.”

“I didn’t expect to fall in love with you,” Stiles averted his eyes. “I mean, the wolf who kidnapped me and dared offer me a mate-bite right after? I wanted to bite you in a very different way then. But you have come such a long way since then. You helped. You… you kept this pack together, when it was threatened. You continue keeping my hoard safe.”

“Your hoard?” Peter raised his eyebrows intrigued at that.

“Uhm, so, yeah,” Stiles ducked his head a little. “Dragons don’t necessarily hoard gold or treasure. I… I am hoarding werewolves. They’re mine. This pack is mine. You’re mine.”

Peter’s eyes flashed red at that declaration and he bared his fangs in delight as he laughed. “Oh, darling, I have been yours for a long time now. I am wholly and entirely yours.”

Stiles curled his fingers into Peter’s v-neck and pulled him down into a possessive kiss. Yes. Yes, Peter was his. His wolf. Part of his hoard. But even beyond that, wholly his.

/break\

The Mute had made the mistake of trying to kill Peter. When Stiles saw the ax in Peter’s chest, saw the wound even as it slowly healed, all he saw was red. How dare an assassin not only try to take away from his hoard but to try and take his mate? He hunted the Mute down into the school, where Noah and Chris were already chasing him, trying to arrest him. Peter had tracked his assailant down himself too and was heading their way. But this was Stiles’ kill.

The ground shook beneath him with every step, an earthquake emitting from the bubbling volcano that felt its dragon’s rage. Noah lowered his gun and stared at his son with wide eyes before one of his arms shot out to pull Chris aside. He recognized his son’s anger for what it was.

“You tried to take what is mine,” Stiles’ voice was a roar that echoed through the halls.

He flexed his hands, claws extending from his fingers, his eyes were probably blazing with the fire within. As he snarled, he could feel that his teeth were more like fangs at that point. Peter slowed down to a halt too, distracted from his own quest for revenge. The Mute stood frozen in fear.

“Nobody takes what’s mine,” Stiles growled as he lunged at the assassin.

The earthquake continued as Stiles’ rage culminated in the murder of the Mute. His claws sank into him and Stiles opened his mouth to let his flame light the bastard on fire. There was fear in his eyes before the light went out behind them. Stiles sneered, his chest heaving.

“Oh, sweetheart, that is the most attractive thing I have ever seen.”

“Easy, Hale,” Noah grunted and shot Peter a glare. “I don’t need to hear any of that.”

“Maybe we should head back then,” Chris suggested. “I don’t think you want to hear or see anything that follows. And I’m mostly basing that off of my experience with dragons here.”

“What,” Noah huffed offended, but then he looked at his son. “...Okay, yes.”

Because he knew how possessive a dragon could be. And someone had just tried to take Stiles’ mate from him. Noah approached Stiles, one last time, gaining his son’s attention.

“Are you alright, kiddo?” Noah asked softly.

“Yes,” Stiles forced out between his fangs. “I just… needed him gone. He put an ax in my mate. He tried to take Peter from me. I had to… I… I’m good. I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”

Noah brushed his fingers through Stiles’ hair and nodded before he left with Chris. As soon as their steps faded did Stiles find himself pulled off the assassin and into Peter’s chest. The wolf hugged him close, gently rubbing Stiles’ back in an attempt to soothe him.

“Easy, sweetheart, I’m safe, I’m fine, he didn’t seriously harm me, love.”

“You were here to kill him too,” Stiles muttered. “You wanted your pound of flesh too.”

“Alpha werewolf. Hurt pride. Also just generally a me thing,” Peter chuckled. “I’m done being prey. Though I have to admit, I can do without my pound of flesh if I get to see you serve justice.”

“Don’t call it that,” Stiles groaned and buried his face in Peter’s neck. “Dad is gonna give me a preaching about this. I mean, he knows why I did it. But he’s still not gonna be a fan of it. Also, we gotta get, uh, rid of the body too. It’s gonna be kinda… suspicious.”

Peter grunted his agreement and then turned to look at the burned remains of his wanna be murderer. “Peculiar, I can appreciate fire so much more if it burns my enemies instead of me.”

“You’re a horrible person,” Stiles heaved a sigh and raised his gaze to meet Peter’s blue eyes.

“And yet you love me,” Peter’s voice took on a teasing note. “You consider me yours. You consider me your mate. That’s what you said. That he tried to take your mate from you.”

“You’re going to be unbearably smug about that, aren’t you?” Stiles cocked one eyebrow.

“Absolutely,” Peter smiled and tilted Stiles’ head so he could kiss him softly. “Forever.”

Stiles leaned into him and into the kiss, smiling just a little. Forever sounded quite good to him.

~*~ The End ~*~