Chapter Text

Prologue

January 2011

Stiles Stilinski picked up his feet a little more. He was near the end of his run, so he didn't pick up his feet unless he was thinking about it. He wanted to shift over into his fur and run, but there were too many people in the Preserve lately. He didn't want to be shot as a few were hunters. Both kinds. The ones that hunted game and then the kind that went after Shifters and other Supernatural beings that broke the laws of their kind. Stiles didn't really trust Hunters. He stumbled a little and caught himself on a tree. He grinned as he was able to run longer and longer lately. He thought about it, and his claws came out. More useful than fox claws really were, and he scaled the tree with ease. He couldn't hear anyone around him, and he enjoyed the chase of the squirrel up the tree since it had thought it was safe.

A squirrel wasn't his favorite game, so he let it go. He wasn't hungry anyway, and his father would kill him if he brought home another rabbit to skin and eat. It wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that Stiles didn't do well with blood in his human form. Which meant his father had to be the one to actually skin the animal and get it ready to cook.

Dropping down to his feet, Stiles was fully human again. He laughed as he scared off a few other animals that had been hiding in the bushes around. It was getting to the time of night where the nocturnal animals were coming out of their dens and burrows. He loved this time of night and how the world sounded. Stiles raised his arm to look at his phone, strapped to his upper arm. He changed his playlist from his steady one to his ending, one that was full of extremely heavy bass lines. He hit play and started to bob his head as the first started up. He could feel his heart starting to beat just a little bit faster as the music filled his brain.

Beacon Hills was a safe town, as safe as his father could make it with the help of the Beacon Hills police department. Stiles took off toward home, the long way. He half-ran, half-danced as he moved, his limbs flailing out as his body just couldn't not move. It looked stupid as hell, Stiles knew he had recorded himself once, but he loved to exercise like this.

A howl of a wolf cut Stiles off. He stopped but only paused his music. There hadn't been real wolves in California in a long time, and the ones that were being reintroduced hadn't made it this far yet. He waited to listen for it again. There was nothing. Werewolves weren't in the area either, not since Kate Argent had been caught killing the Hale family. Only a few members had survived that, and they had left. The oldest alive was Peter Hale, but he was still here, stuck in a coma from something that Kate had done to him when he had caught her. Then there was Laura, the Alpha now after the death of her mother. Laura's three siblings Derek, Cora, and Spencer. Then there was Peter's daughter Malia, roughly the same age as Cora. They had left for parts unknown after the fire had been settled. Leaving Peter behind.

Stiles visited Peter every Sunday and read to him for a few hours. The man was still in the coma, but being around other Shifters had allowed his burns to heal better. He wasn't scared at all anymore. No one understood why he was still in the coma. Stiles figured it was that he didn't know fully that he had family out there, that his daughter was still alive. Stiles could feel his small pack, just him and his father in it, even now. Scott was trying to build a pack of some kind, but Stiles was pretty sure that he didn't know what the hell he was doing as a Beta. Stiles was okay with not being in his pack. With his human father and him being a hidden Shifter, Stiles was just happy that no one looked at the weird magic-user who hung out with a lot of Shifters.

Beacon Hills had always been accepting of Shifters; the Hales had been the ones to found the city and even now owned most of the land in it. A firm kept tight control over everything for Laura. The Argents were the oddballs in the Hunters as it seemed that they were of the racist type and thought that all Shifters should die, even though they made up over a third of the population worldwide. Stiles figured that they had some deep dark secret that they were hiding, and it was why they did shit like that. It wasn't like the Shifter population was hidden, and it hadn't been for about three hundred years. It had come out when the King of England at the time had shifted in a gathering of the world powers at the time. It had spiraled out from there, and it was like a veil had been lifted.

Another howl and Stiles' body shivered of its own accord. That wasn't a normal wolf. Stiles lifted his arm and tapped to call his father.

"Stiles? Are you okay?"

"Dad, there's a Werewolf in the Preserve, and it just called for its pack."

"I'll get the guys out there. Be safe and don't do anything stupid. Call the station so that the on-duty person can give us what we need," Noah said before he hung up.

Stiles dialed the station and gave a rundown of what his father said before he turned down the phone volume to where he could barely hear what was being said. He followed the sound that he was pretty sure the howl had come from. Stiles was only sixteen, but he was the closest to where it was happening, and with his magic, he could do more to protect than anyone else until the Sheriff's department got there. Most of his magic was defensive, and he could trap a Shifter behind a line of Mountain Ash powder, but if it was a human attacking a Shifter, Stiles could block the human from getting to the Shifter with a spell. However, he wasn't the greatest at keeping it going for a long time.

"Look at you," a voice said.

Stiles slowed down to where he was barely making any noise. The wolf howled again, and Stiles was pretty sure that the wolf thought that he was whoever they were calling. Stiles cast his hearing out into the trees but heard nothing other than his own heartbeat and the two others that were the human and the wolf. He tried not to freak out when he saw that it was an older man, and he had a sword in his hands. The smell of wolfsbane filled Stiles' nose, making him want to sneeze.

The wolf was being held by wolfsbane-infused ropes by the looks of it. She was bleeding, and it looked like she had been running for a while, given the state of her hair and clothes.

"Hurry, there is a guy who has a sword, and I think he's going to kill her."

"Don't do a damned thing; you stay where you are on orders of your father," Tara said.

"Yeah, sure cause I can't do shit against a sword," Stiles said.

"Look at the Hales now, broken and scattered. I'll kill the one in the hospital next, then the rest of the beasts will come back," the man said.

Stiles looked at the woman and saw that it was Laura Hale. He whispered her name so that Tara could relay that message to his father. He itched to do something, but if they were going after a Hale, they were going to be protected against magic. It was well known that the Hales' youngest kid was a human who had magic. Stiles often wondered if he was a fox Shifter like Stiles, and they lied to protect him. Stiles had never got close enough to smell if he was or not. The whole family was protective of their only human.

"Do you think I'll hear them howl from where they are? I know you brought all of them back here. Broken little Derek who destroyed my daughter."

"She tried to hurt him," Laura said.

"Gerard Argent," Stiles said.

"They are five minutes from your location," Tara said after Stiles said the name.

"She doesn't have five minutes," Stiles said.

"Don't even move. He would gladly kill you."

Stiles wasn't sure what to do. Gerard stepped closer, and before Stiles could decide, he was swinging his arm. Stiles closed his eyes, and he heard it. The thud of the sword connecting with Laura's body. He tried not to gag as the smell of blood filled his nose.

There was a howl from deep in the Preserve, and Stiles heard Gerard chuckle at that.

"I found them. Well, I will find them. The new Alpha won't know what the hell to do. I'll be happy to gut him like I did you, Laura."

Another howl came from a different direction, further away. It sounded pained and ill-used.

"What's that?" Gerard asked.

Stiles opened his eyes to see that Gerard was looking at him, shining a light right into his eyes.

"Who are you?" Gerard demanded.

Stiles stayed still, but the voice in his ear was telling him to run, so he did. He turned and took off, hearing the older man following him. Stiles didn't know what to do, so he just ran and ran. He found a heartbeat and followed it. It wasn't until he was busting through a group of trees that he thought about the fact that if it was one heartbeat, it wasn't his father. He groaned and tried to stop, but his body seemed to have other ideas. There was something about the heartbeat that was drawing him closer and closer. There was no scent, at least on one that Stiles could pick out from the rest of the forest's scents. He heard his father heading right for him; he had a spell on his father that would always tell him what direction he was in. It was a good bit of fun that he had done once when he had gotten lost while running in the Preserve when he was thirteen.

Following the pull he was feeling, Stiles realized that while he was running, he was tripping more than anything, and Gerard was close to him. He could hear his heartbeats. There was a howl from close by, and Stiles turned to head to it. It seemed to be heading to him.

Stiles tripped over something and fell down to the ground. He groaned as he felt his arm break as it hit. He rolled to curl the arm to his chest as his body healed it back. There was crashing all around him, and he tried to ready his magic to blast the old fucker back to kingdom come, but as he did, he heard that the crashing at his head was closer. He turned to take care of that when a man with red eyes and in full Beta shift burst through. Stiles felt that pull right to him, but just as he was about to say something, the old man burst through with his sword ready. It was still dripping with Laura's blood.

Protection, that was what Stiles wanted. He rolled, and as he did, he shifted. It had been too long since he had done so in a hurry like this, so the change took them. When he was done, he wiggled out of the running clothes and looped behind the wolf who was growling at Gerard. Stiles found a bush and got into it. He watched the scene in front of him.

"Ah, I see. Another Shifter. No wonder he ran like that. I'll cut him in half after I get you," Gerard said.

The wolf growled at him, but he stayed where he was.

Stiles wasn't sure who the wolf was, but he sounded pissed off. Stiles could just see his back, heaving with each breath. He looked slightly older but nothing like Gerard. Gerard swung with the sword, but the wolf just dodged it. Stiles tried to listen to where his father was and the rest of the Deputies. He wanted to stop before this fight got bloody.

"I'm surprised you aren't over there eating your dead sister's body," Gerard said.

Stiles knew that this was Derek Hale then. He made a whining noise, which had Gerard looking at him, but Derek didn't. Derek used that to lunge, going for the belly. Gerard screamed in pain and backed away, holding the sword to protect his body. The sounds of Stiles' father getting closer were loud even to Stiles' ears. He yipped so that his father could hear that he was fine. Gerard turned to look at him in the bush and then lunged, but Derek caught him. A hand on his chest, claws dug deep into his skin.

From all angles that Stiles could see, Deputies filled the area with his father at the head of it. He saw his father look shocked at what he saw.

"Save me”, Gerard said.

"Whose blood is that?" Noah asked.

None of the Deputies had their gun pulled. They were all waiting to see what happened.

"No human," Gerard said.

"Derek," Noah said.

"Laura's." Derek flashed his eyes.

Stiles could just see the edge of the red eyes. The last that Stiles had seen him the night of the fire his eyes had been blue.

"You killed the Alpha of his pack, Gerard Argent; it's his right to do what he wants with you." Noah waved the Deputies back. "Now, where is my son?"

"That thing is your son? I should have killed him with a shot back when he saw me kill the bitch," Gerard said.

Derek growled and pushed his claws in a little more. Gerard screamed in pain, and then he was dropped.

Stiles saw Gerard land on the ground.

"You have no witnesses," Gerard said.

"Well, actually, my son was on the phone with the station. It was recorded," Noah said as he walked over and cuffed Gerard. "Alpha Hale, please go and tend to your sister's body. Deputy Karnes will go with you; he's human but is married to a Shifter who teaches high school here in town."

"Thank you," Derek said with fangs still present.

Two Deputies picked up Gerard and carted him out of there. He would be taken to have his wounds taken care of, and then he would be handed over to the FBI, the authority of hate crimes like that. One of the other Deputies started to pick up all of Stiles' clothes. He ended the call on Stiles' phone and then pocketed that.

"Stiles," Noah called out. He was looking around at the human level, probably assuming that Stiles had shifted back and was hiding because he was naked.

Stiles pawed at the ground and then trotted out from under the trees. His father looked at him, a little shocked.

"He's a fox?" one of the Deputies asked.

"Yes," Noah answered as he reached down to scoop up Stiles and hold him close.

"No wonder you don't tell anyone. We'll all keep it quiet, but Argent probably won't," the Deputy who picked up Stiles' clothes said.

"I know. We've kept it quiet for longer than I thought."

"Hale is on his way back," someone said.

Stiles buried his face into his father's neck. He felt that pull still, and he wanted to jump out of his father's arms and run for Derek.

"That was quick."

"They bury their dead, so he probably just tended to her as much as he could while not disturbing it too much until CSU gets here."

Stiles whined when Derek got into the clearing.

"Sir, is that your son?" Derek asked.

"Yes," Noah said with a hesitant tone to his voice.

Stiles whined and pawed at the air in the direction that Derek was. Derek stepped closer and held out his hand. Stiles petted the hand that was held out, and Derek chuckled.

"Son?" Noah asked.

"He's my mate," Derek said.

"What?" Noah asked.

"Laura and I were running, and we split up to chase a few animals. When I got to the far edge of the Preserve and turned back, I felt him. I started toward him. Then I felt Laura's death, I took a header down the one ravine on that side, and I felt it. There was a puddle of water on the ground, and I looked down to see my red eyes. I knew she was dead."

"Where are your siblings and cousin?"

"They are back at the house we are renting when we came back three days ago. They are all worn out as we were all running around all day, working on stuff to get them ready for school in a few days. They didn't want to go on a random run in the woods."

"So was that them, the one set of howls that we heard?"

"No, the one that was weird, I don't know who it was.

Stiles listened to the sounds around them. Just having Derek holding his paw made him feel powerful. He wanted more of that. He pulled it free, though, and let out a howl of his own. He moved to where his father was cupping his hind legs, and his front was on his shoulder; he raised his head up in a howl that reverberated through the Preserve.

"Well, everyone in town heard that," Noah said.

"Sir," someone yelled.

Stiles heard it, the sound of something rushing at them. It didn't feel bad, though. He jumped off of his father and landed on his own four legs before he shot off. He heard his father and Derek following him. He knew that someone was coming for them, but it wasn't anyone who was scary. He crashed into the person, and the scent of him was off. He smelled hospital and nothing else until he got his nose in his neck. Peter. It was Peter.

Jumping off of him, he yipped until he was sure that his father and Derek were close, then he jumped on Peter again. Stiles curled up on his chest, and one of his hands came up to pet at Stiles' head.

"Uncle?" Derek asked.

"Hello, Derek," Peter said.

Stiles felt his body go limp, and he smelled of pain.

"What happened?" Derek asked.

"I don't know. I woke up and freaked out someone in the room with me. I went through the glass of the place, and I went for my Alpha." Peter sounded exhausted.

"Let's get everyone settled into a place, and we can all talk. Gerard is on his way to central holding, and they are going to send a doctor to him instead of letting him into the hospital."

"Gerard Argent?"

"I'll explain everything. I have missed you," Derek said.

"I've missed you as well; who do I feel?" Peter asked.

"Cora, Spencer, and Malia."

"There is someone...this guy." Peter petted at Stiles again.

"That's the Sheriff's son."

"He's been visiting me."

"Yes," Noah said.

"Why?" Peter asked.

"He latched onto you after Claudia died. He visits you every single Sunday and reads to you. I never pushed it as he was happy when he went and happy when he came home. Now though, I think I know what was going on with that."

"What?" Peter asked. He moved, carrying Stiles up with him as he stood up. For a Werewolf, he was fairly steady. He still smelled of pain but was smelling better.

Stiles pushed at the little bond that he had with him. He had known about it, but Peter's Alpha had kept it pretty tightly pushed away. Stiles hadn't realized that Laura was that kind of person. He didn't want to hurt Peter, though, so he stayed still.

"He's my Mate," Derek said.

"Well, he's a good Mate so far," Peter said. He held out Stiles to Derek.

Stiles looked at his father, who didn't look worried. It felt good to be in Derek's arms. It felt right.

Stiles jumped from the back of the couch down to the ground before taking off through the kitchen to head outside. He dove through the doggie door that his father had put on the house and rushed out. He was halfway across the yard when Derek scooped him up. Stiles licked at his face and settled into his arms when he pulled him all the way into his body. Stiles rubbed his face into Derek's neck and then just went limp.

"I've missed you too," Derek said.

"He's been like that for a day," Noah said as he stepped out of the back of the house with a cup of coffee in his hand.

Stiles could smell it, and he whined a little.

"New York and closing everything down and out and finding homes for the Betas that didn't want to come with me took a lot longer than I thought that it would."

"How many are you bringing back?"

"None," Derek said.

"None? That's..."

"Laura had us living on a war footing. We weren't living the best. I'm hoping to have a better life here. I know you said there are a few Shifters in the area who need a good Alpha. I'm willing to be that. I'm willing to be what this town needs, what this town had for years with my mother."

Stiles nipped at Derek's neck and heard his father laugh. Stiles needed a good Alpha, and he hoped that Derek was the kind of Alpha that his mother had been.