Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“He’s not going to stop, Talia!” Noah hissed angrily.

“I’ve already kicked them out of the pack and asked them to leave my territory! There’s not much else I can do except offer the protection of the pack,” Talia responded sadly.

“I know,” Noah huffed, scrubbing his hands over his face in frustration, “But supernatural things seem to be drawn to him. I’m sorry. It’s just after Claudia…..” He trailed off for a moment, his eyes glassing over.

“It’s ok, Noah,” Talia said quietly. They both stood silently for a few minutes watching the young boy in the hospital bed in front of them. His chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm and Talia took comfort in the stable beating of the boy’s heart.

Talia hated hospitals. They were always such an assault on her nose. The constant noise and pungent smell of chemicals came close to giving her a headache when her defenses were down like they were now. She was trying to stall until Derek got there so they could try and keep Noah a little calmer. Right now she was not a fan of the resigned expression on his face.

She watched Noah watching his son for a moment. The love in his eyes was all the prompting she needed to ask her next question.

“What do you want to do, Noah?” He was silent a few more moments and Talia knew she wasn’t going to like whatever came next.  

“We’re going to leave,” he reluctantly answered, not meeting her eyes.

Talia was stunned.  She hadn’t been expecting that; time away from the pack, fine, time away from Derek, maybe, but to just up and leave? She had no counter argument for that! She spluttered for a few seconds before finally opening her mouth.

“What about Derek, Noah? He’ll be devastated! He might not survive!” She cried, her hands balling into fists in an effort to keep her claw sheathed.   

“They haven’t bonded yet, have they?” Noah asked sharply, narrowing his eyes at her. Her silence and glower were all the confirmation he needed.

“I know you don’t like it or agree with me, Talia, but I need to do what’s best for my son!” He stormed angrily, “He keeps getting hurt and its worse each time! Even Derek has hurt him!”

Talia flinched, but she couldn’t deny it. Derek was young and reckless and still had trouble controlling his wolf, especially around Stiles.

“Look, I’m not blaming Derek for this,” Noah sighed, motioning towards the bed, “But Stiles is going to have scars from this attack. He’s lucky he doesn’t already! I don’t want him in this life.” He finished firmly as he moved towards the bed and smoothed the hair off Stiles forehead.

Talia was heartbroken at Noah’s words but she knew they had no claim on Stiles, wolf or otherwise. She knew this was a fight she wasn’t going to win. And perhaps if she let them go now, Noah would let Stiles come back to them someday.

“At least let Derek say goodbye.” She gritted out. Noah’s face softened considerably.

“Of course, Talia,” he stepped closer and put his hand on her shoulder, “I’m not trying to hurt him or the pack.”

“I know,” she whispered.  She also knew that Derek would fight Noah if he knew what was happening.

“We can’t tell Derek you’re leaving,” She said firmly. Noah nodded as he took up residence in one of the chairs next to the bed and reached out to grasp his son's small hand. 

~~~*~~~

~11 Years Later~

“Are you sure you want to do this, kid?” Nura asked softly, watching as Stiles was trying to finish packing his duffel bag into his car. He sighed, he’d gotten rid of most of the stuff from the house, furniture and things he wouldn’t need anymore, but it still seemed like a lot of crap. The most sentimental things were currently sitting in Nura’s garage until he decided what to do with them.

He turned to look at her with an amused expression before he went back to cramming. It was a conversation they’d been having since he’d gotten the notice in the mail a few months ago. It was from a storage facility in some town called Beacon Hills and he was supposedly three months late on the rent. He didn’t understand it at first, his dad had never mentioned living anywhere called Beacon Hills, much less renting a storage unit there. He had called the number on the paper and tried to tell them it was a misunderstanding but the guy on the phone was adamant about the unit belonging to a Noah Stillinski, and it was in danger of being sold off.

Stiles had gotten frustrated and was just starting to tell the guy off when Nura stepped in and snatched the phone away. She’d handled it and even paid for the overdue rent and a few months extra until Stiles was ready to deal with the world. Stiles had been extremely grateful. He took a deep breath through his mouth. He still couldn’t think about his dad. It had been six months and he was still having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that his dad was gone. He’d been staying with Nura, thinking that would help, and it had some, but nowhere near enough.

He was lucky to have Nura, especially right after his dad had died and his magic had been unstable. His dad was his anchor, and now he was gone. He’d pretty much quit altogether after he’d nearly blown up Nura’s living room after trying a simple fire spell. Nura didn’t approve, but she understood, which was why she wasn’t trying harder to stop him from going on this little road trip to Beacon Hills. She thought it would do him some good to get out of this tiny town where everyone was still trying to tell him how sorry they were and force burned casserole down his throat.

So here he was packing up his dad’s car while Nura giggled and watched him struggle from her perch on the porch. He finally got the trunk to close and he did a small victory dance, which made Nura laugh even harder. He stuck his tongue out at her like the mature adult he is.

He ambled over to where she was sitting and she handed him a mug of hot chocolate as he sat down.

“You going to cover those?” She nudged his arm where his tattoos were visible while his sleeves were pushed up.

He stretched out his arms and turned them slowly as he considered the question.

Nura had helped him get his first when he was fourteen and had been struggling so badly with his control that he caused a small landslide out where they were training in the woods. She called in a favor with a friend and the next day a young man named Roy had shown up on her doorstep with a tattoo gun and a rainbowed array of fresh ink.

Apparently he was the only supernatural tattoo artist within one hundred miles and usually didn’t make house calls but Stiles guessed it had more to do with the way he embraced Nura than his lack of control. Nura had explained to Roy what they needed and that Stiles was a Spark and that she wanted Stiles to infuse his own magic in the ink to make the runes stronger. Roy, who coincidentally was also a witch, was delighted and agreed to do the tattoo for free if Stiles agreed to infuse ink for other tattoos from time to time. The trade continued for years and Stiles now had a small army of runes and sigils across his chest and back, down his left side and running down both arms.

Nura had taught him a concealment spell after the first one so his dad wouldn’t freak out. He had planned on telling him about them after he went to college. Stiles frowned.

“I guess it doesn’t matter now, does it?” He said quietly. Nura put an arm around his shoulders in comfort. They sat there for a few minutes enjoying the cool breeze until it started to rain and Nura took the cups into the kitchen while Stile went to use the bathroom before he left. He walked in and closed the door and turned sideways to look in the mirror. He lifted the right side of his shirt and ran his fingers over the raised skin there. Stiles had no memory of how he got them, but whatever happened he knew it must have hurt.

He never put any tattoos on that side because he wanted the scars to stand out, like they were a memory of another life. They were long and thin, almost like claw marks that extended from the small of his back and curved down over his hip stopping right by the ‘v’ of his hips. He stroked the scars almost reverently.

There was a soft tap on the door and Stiles jumped slightly. He had no idea how long he had been standing there.

“You ok, Kid?”

“Yeah. Be right out!” Stiles called. He finished using the bathroom and headed back out to his car where Nura was waiting under an umbrella. She wrapped him in a hug that was more octopus than human and tickled his ribs until he couldn’t help but giggle, then she pulled back and cupped his cheek.

“Please drive safe, Stiles and let me know when you get there?”

“Don’t worry I will,” He rolled his eyes fondly.

Nura waved one last time before scurrying back into the house to avoid getting drenched as the rain picked up. Stiles took a moment to program the address into the GPS on his phone and took a few deep breaths. Luckily Beacon Hills was only a few hours away so he had time to prepare. He reached under his seat to grab a piece of paper he stashed there so Nura wouldn’t see. This was the real reason he was going to Beacon Hills. He unfolded it carefully and began to read:

My Dearest Mica,

You’re turning 18 today, God I wish I was there to see it. If I were there I’d be able to tell you how proud I am of you. I’m sitting here watching you draw and color and I can only imagine the man you’ve grown into, my little Mica. I am so proud of you. I know tonight is going to be special for you and I just wanted to give you a little advice. Trust Derek, Mica. He’ll know what to do and he’ll help guide you through it. Trust Talia as well, I know she will have become like a mother to you after I’m gone. Don’t let your father intimidate Derek into backing out either. I know how stubborn they both are, especially when it comes to you. I miss you so much my perfect son, know that wherever I am, I’m thinking of you and my heart will always be in Beacon Hills with you and your dad.  Happy birthday, my Mica.

Love,

Mom

Stiles frowned at the words. It was short and sweet and he didn’t recognize the handwriting. He had almost destroyed the house when he found the letter and Nura had to field questions from neighbors for days afterwards. He still had no idea what she told them. He’d felt a powerful anger for months towards his father and it had ebbed off some, but he was still simmering. His mother had given him a nickname, a nickname, and he had absolutely no memory of it!

 He and his dad never talked about his mom, not really. His dad had claimed it was too painful, especially after Stiles accident. He leaned back against the seat as he refolded the letter and set it carefully on the passenger seat. His hands had started to shake, like they always did when he thought about his accident. When he was twelve he’d woken up with almost no memory of his life. When he woke up in the hospital his dad had told him that he’d been in a car crash with his mom and been severely injured, including losing most of his memories. He’d cried and kicked and screamed while his dad held him.

Over the years a few things had come back but nothing substantial. His dad had been no help with it either. He was always happy when Stiles remembered something, a song or a favorite movie but he would get this pained look on his face when Stiles tried to press for details. Eventually Stiles learned to accept it and stopped even telling his dad when he remembered things, it was better that way. He talked to Nura about it and she’d comforted him the best she could, but it still hurt.

Stiles met Nura shortly after he had woken up from his coma. She and his dad had met shortly before he woke up and had become friends. She volunteered to watch Stiles while his dad was at work and then she was just around all the time. She helped them cook and clean and Stiles even started spending the night at her house when his dad had a shift. He ended up having his own room and everything. Stiles thought it was strange that Nura never dated or had kids but since he had a gaping hole where his maternal figure should have been, he never complained. Besides, she seemed happy with the two of them.

 A few weeks after he was finally able to go home strange things had started happening; lights burning out, things breaking and a couple of uncomfortable wind incidents with the hot older girl who worked at the pizza parlor and liked to wear short skirts.

It turned out that Nura was a witch. Stiles had come to her in a panic after accidentally making another light explode in the house while his dad was at work. She soothed him and make him hot chocolate while she explained to him about her being a witch and him being a Spark.

 He had gaped dumbly at her for several minutes after her casual announcement and then flailed a bit in surprise, which made him fall out of the chair onto Nura’s cat, Neelix. He still had a scar on his arm from where the cat scratched him and to this day the cat still gave him the stink eye and avoided him when he was in the house.

Now he wondered if his Spark was the reason his dad would never talk about their past. He had learned early never to question it because it would only result in anger from him or sadness from his father and Stiles wasn’t a big fan of either. Nura assured him that it had nothing to do with his Spark since he hadn’t known about it until after, but Stiles wasn’t sure he believed her.

 He had no idea who these people were that his mom was talking about but after receiving the notice from the storage unit and finding the letter in an old lock box of his dads that he knew he was never meant to see. Part of him wondered if the part of the reason he was having such a hard time accepting his dad’s death was because his dad had never given him the letter. He always suspected his dad was hiding things from him, but now he knew for sure and it killed him. He would never be able to ask his dad and find out the truth.

So, he decided to drive to Beacon Hills and check out the storage unit alone. He had plenty of money from dad’s insurance and he certainly had the time. He had taken a year off after high school and then differed all his college acceptances after his dad died.

Stiles started as he felt his phone buzz against the dash board. He saw it was a message from Nura and opened it.

Nura: Get going already! I’m starting to feel like a creeper watching from the window.

Stiles smiled sheepishly and waved in the general direction of the window and started the car. He released a small sigh as he pulled away from the house and started through town. It didn’t take long and as he started up the winding road through the mountains that surrounded the little sea-side town he felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. He double checked the GPS where he had the address of the storage place in plugged in. Next stop Beacon Hills, he mused as his mind raced with the possibilities of what he might find.

Chapter Text

Stiles sighed in relief when he passed the “Now Entering Beacon Hills” sign. It had been a relatively short drive but he suddenly felt dizzy and exhausted as he entered town.

He assumed it was because as usual he’d worked himself up into a small frenzy shortly after the drive started and had ended up having to stop on the side of the road and work his way out of a panic attack. When he finally felt put together enough to keep driving it had been over an hour but he was more relieved that his magic had stayed under control even if it made his control runes burn like hell.

After he got the first one he’d been ok for about a year, until he almost caused a small forest fire when practicing his elemental magic. After that he kept adding them because his power had just kept growing. According to Nura he still wasn’t as strong as he could be. She had been delighted when they finally figured out that his power seemed limitless, but it scared the shit out of Stiles.

He’d called the owner of the storage facility and told him he wouldn’t be able to make it the next morning and asked for a decent hotel recommendation and that’s where he was headed now. As he drove through town he noted the similarities between Beacon Hills and Shelter Cove. One huge difference seemed to be the massive wall of trees that surrounded the town on all sides, versus the mountains he had grown up with. It seemed nice, pretty quiet even for a Thursday night as he pulled into the drop-off area for the motel the storage guy had recommended. Apparently the town only had two and this was the nicer one. At this point he didn’t really care. He was tired from driving and the almost panic attack hadn’t helped.

Stiles got himself a room with a king bed, gathered his duffle bag from the trunk and made his way to the second floor. He swiped his key card and pushed the door open, dumping his bag by the door and collapsing dramatically on the bed. He got up a few minutes later and padded over to his bag and rummaged around for his phone charger and plugged it in next to the bed so it would start charging, then grabbed his toiletries and headed to the shower.

After he showered and was ready for bed he moved to close the blinds he’d forgotten were open when he came in. He had a good view of the forest from his room and he appreciated the sight of the trees swaying in the breeze and he vaguely wondered if the storm he left back home would follow him. As he watched the trees he became aware of a tingling at the base of his spine and a pull at his chest. His vision seemed to zoom in and the world moved in slow motion as he felt the forest calling him. He was vaguely aware of a floating feeling before he tripped and stumbled suddenly, and broke out of whatever trance he was caught in. His duffle bag was sprawled by his feet, he realized. He had been moving towards the door without even knowing what he was doing! He shivered slightly as he straightened his bag and moved back to the window to close the blinds without looking back at the forest.

After he finally laid down he rubbed at his chest a bit, thinking of the tugging feeling. He wasn’t sure what caused it and only remembered something like that happening once before, when he was thinking about losing his virginity to Kyle after Prom. He scowled at the ceiling. He had been so excited but couldn’t go through with it. Something just hadn’t felt right; it was like his body rebelled at the idea of sleeping with someone. Luckily Kyle had gotten so drunk that it hadn’t mattered and was too embarrassed to bring it up ever again. 

Stiles groaned. He was going to be a virgin forever!    

He reached out and grabbed his phone so he could text Nura before he fell asleep. She texted back quickly saying goodnight and that she loved him and Stiles felt a fresh wave of guilt wash over him. She had no idea what he was really doing here and was still under the impression he would only be gone a few days, maybe a week or two, to sort out the storage crap but Stiles had no intention of leaving before he found out the truth about his parents and what in hell it had to do with this town.

Besides, Stiles still wasn’t sure Nura was telling him everything. It was uncomfortable, not fully trusting someone who had taken care of him for basically half his life and he hated to doubt her, but he hadn’t doubted his father and look where that got him. Stiles had to be sure.

But right now sleep was more important. He felt his eyelids drooping so he rolled over and turned off the light. The last thought he had before he fell asleep was that he hoped the manager of the storage place wasn’t as much of a dick in person as he had been on the phone.

~~~*~~~

Talia Hale smiled at her youngest daughter Cora, who was currently making faces at her older brother across the dining room table over desert while her oldest daughter Laura laughed uproariously at both of them and the rest of the family looked on in exasperated amusement.

They were having a family pack dinner so most of the family was there, minus Laura’s husband who was an EMT and was working the night shift. Talia looked around the table fondly. She loved pack dinners. There was nothing quite like the feeling of being surrounded by pack and as their Alpha, she enjoyed being able to provide food and comfort to her pack. Plus, when her three lovely children were shoving food in their mouths, they weren’t bickering, so it was a win-win.

They did full pack nights on the weekends when the members who weren’t immediate family could come to the house and stay and those nights made Talia grateful that they lived far enough out in the woods that there weren’t neighbor to make noise complaints.

She heard the chiming of her phone in her pocket and recognized the ringtone she set for Alan Deaton, their pack emissary. She exchanged an eye roll with her husband over the antics of their children and excused herself from the table to answer.

“Alan, what can I do for you?” She greeted warmly as she made her way into the living room.

“Talia. I’m sorry to interrupt pack night, but I feel I should inform you that a very powerful magic user has recently entered Beacon Hills,” Deaton replied.

Talia quickly grew serious, “do you think they mean us harm?”

“I couldn’t say,” Deaton replied honestly, “the magic didn’t feel malicious or angry but I can’t say I’ve ever felt that level of power before.”

“What do you mean?” Talia asked uncertainly, glancing back at the table where her family was still laughing.

“To be perfectly frank, I have never felt any single being that powerful before,” Deaton replied matter-of-factly, “I don’t think they have ill intent but I would advise being cautious. A wolf won’t be able to scent the magic and I wouldn’t be able to cast an identification spell unless I was close enough to the individual.”

“I will inform the pack, thank you Deaton,” she said sincerely before hanging up. One thing she could appreciate about Alan was his brevity. She walked back to the table making a face at her phone and the noise level from the pack dropped instantly when she sat back down in her chair.

“Mom, is everything ok?” Cora asked suspiciously as all eyed turned her way. Talia decided to be honest. The pack deserved to know if there was a potential threat in their territory.

“That was Alan. He said he felt an extremely powerful magic user cross into Beacon Hills a little while ago. He doesn’t sense any immediate threat but for the next few days I would like to increase patrols at night and I would like everyone to be cautious during the day. It’s likely that whoever this person is they are just passing through and will move on soon. It never hurts to be cautious, though,” she reminded them.

“How powerful?” her son Derek asked with narrowed eyes.

“Deaton said he’s never felt anyone with this level of power before, so right now we don’t really know.”

“Someone like that could be a valuable ally to the pack if they decide to stay,” Laura added with a serious face, easily slipping into the role of her mother’s second.

“Provided they can be controlled,” Talia’s brother Peter supplied from the other side of the table.

“We don’t need to control them if they’re a friend to the pack,” Derek said rolling his eyes at Peter, who simply shook his head at him.

“Always so trusting,” Peter teased in obviously fake disappointment. Derek scowled at him.

“The reality is that we really don’t know what we’re up against,” Talia resumed speaking, “let’s hope we don’t have to do anything at all.” The pack nodded along with her.

After a few more minutes of small talk the table dispersed and started the cleanup while Talia and Laura went to her office to discuss plans for the increased patrols.

~~~*~~~

The morning came far too early for Stiles liking at six am. He scowled at his phone as his alarm played Nura’s unrelenting mantra of ‘happy body, happy magic’ that she recorded for him a few months ago after he kept sleeping through his regular alarm.

He really just wanted to go back to sleep. He had dreamed of trees all night, dancing trees. Trees!! Great, Stillinski! As if you weren’t enough of a weirdo already! He thought sourly as he finally shifted enough to reach his phone and shut off the offending alarm.  Seriously though, who dreamed of dancing trees!?

He wiggled out of his twisted sheets and hauled his duffel bag up onto the bed so he could rummage around for a pair of shorts and a long sleeve shirt. After he pulled them on he decided to activate the rune that hid his tattoos, just in case. He wasn’t expecting any trouble from this Talia woman, whoever she was he could take her, or the people of Beacon Hills, but he didn’t want to take any chances outside his hotel room.

He left the room and stopped to stretch his calves and arms on the landing before heading down the stairs and jogging away from the motel.

Stiles loved running. He loved the feeling of the blood and magic thrumming through his veins as it wound around his limbs and propelled him forward. His magic gave his unnatural stamina and speed and after he’d zoned out running a few years ago and ended up hours from home he’d been careful to keep an eye on both when he ran. He followed the tree line for a mile or two until he found a dirt path leading into the trees.

He followed the path for about ten feet and skidded to a stop abruptly. The tingling was back, but this time it shot up his spine like lightening. It wasn’t unpleasant, but not exactly comfortable either. Stiles scanned the woods around him, there had to be something that was causing his Spark to react like this! There was nothing, barely even a breeze! Stiles made a face at the trees before turning around and continuing his run next to the road. Once he moved to the outside of the tree line and the prickle disappeared. 

After a few more miles he stopped to stretch again. He was completely surrounded by trees now except for the road. He honestly wasn’t sure how far he’d run but decided to head back since he had no clue what time it was. 

He used a little extra magic and was back at the motel within a half hour. When he got up to his room he unlocked the door and collapsed on the bed. He was exhausted! It felt amazing and he was more relaxed than he had been in months. He checked his phone and saw that it was eight. The storage place opened at eight and he wanted to get there early since he had no idea what he was dealing with so he left his sweaty clothes in a heap and jumped in the shower.

When he was done he quickly got dressed and went out to his car, plugging the address for the storage unit again. He looked over the buildings as he passed through town contemplating how hilarious it was that all small towns looked pretty much the same.

He pulled up to the main office of the facility and got out. A little bell rang when he opened the front door and a man came out from a backroom.

“Can I help you?” He asked gruffly.

“Yeah, my name is Stiles, I’m here about the storage unit for Noah Stillinski? We spoke on the phone.”

“Oh, yeah, how was the drive?” The guy asked as he rummaged around for the paperwork.

Stiles pursed his lips, “thankfully uneventful.” The guy shrugged and kept rummaging. Eventually he came up with a small packet.

“Do you have the key?” He asked, turning back to Stiles.

“I didn’t even know he had a unit!” Stiles complained in an annoyed voice. Man this town was already giving him wrinkles! The guy just grunted at him and unlocked the cabinet next to the desk.

After a few uncomfortable minutes they reached the unit and the guy unlocked it and raised the door before handing Stile the key and walking away. Stiles waited a beat to make sure the guy turned the corner, then entered the space and coughed a bit at the stale air. It was some kind of vehicle covered by an old tarp and it was the only thing. He reached out and grabbed the tarp, pulling sharply.

Once the dust settled he saw that it was a jeep; an old, dirty, rickety, baby blue jeep.

What the hell, Dad? Stiles sighed.

Stiles shifted around until he could look into the driver’s side window. He frowned and tried the door; luckily it opened with a squeak. He slid behind the wheel. Reaching out softly, he ran his hands over the steering wheel. The material was cracked and worn and he could feel indents from many years of casual driving. The keys weren’t in the ignition so he reached over to search the glove compartment. He smiled widely when he felt them. Victory! He set the keys in his lap and leaned over again to pull out the paperwork. He flipped open the card holder and wiped off the dust so he could read the name. His jaw hardened. Claudia Stillinski.

He closed his eyes in an effort to calm the magic that was suddenly swirling through his veins, begging to be released and destroy something. After a few deep breaths he managed to gain some semblance of control.

He jammed the key in the ignition and turned.

Nothing. Not even a click. Not that he was expecting anything after it had been sitting here who knows how long, but he was still disappointed.

Stiles sighed again, moved the papers to the other seat and bent down to pull the hood release. He hopped out and moved to the front. He lifted the hood and leaned over to peer down at the engine. Everything was coated in a fine layer of dust but he knew enough about cars to know that the battery was shot. Not that he expected anything different after who knows how long in the storage unit. He shut the hood and stepped back a few paces.

He knew his father wouldn’t keep secrets from him over a jeep, so it had to be connected to something or someone else, even if it had belonged to his mother. What the hell was he supposed to do with it now? His eyes swept over the exterior critically, for sitting in a storage unit it didn’t look too bad, but what would he need with an old jeep? He felt heaviness in his chest when he thought about getting rid of it, though, it had belonged to his mother.

The first step, he decided decisively, was to get it running. He pulled the door down, locked the padlock and jogged back up to the office. There was a younger man at the counter now, looking thoroughly bored. He was so zoned out that Stiles managed to startle him when he spoke.

“Do you have the number for a good auto shop?” He bit back a grin when the guy glared at him.

“There’s only one, but it’s good. Lemme grab you the number,” he opened a drawer.

“Thanks,” Stiles responded when the guy handed him a business card for Beacon Hills Auto Shop. Creative. Stiles stepped outside and called the number. He explained the situation and the girl on the other end of the line assured him they could tow it to the shop and fix whatever was wrong.

Stiles made the arrangements, thanked her and hung up. The guy behind the counter was playing a game on his phone so Stiles decided to wait outside.

It didn’t take long for the tow truck to arrive, one of the perks of a small town. Stiles directed the driver to the unit and waited while he maneuvered the truck so they could get the jeep latched on. The guy hopped out and walked over to Stiles. As the man approached his magic pinged. It was fairly easy for his spark to recognize supernatural creatures thanks to a rune he had gotten inked onto his skin and this guy definitely was one. Based on the vibes Stiles was picking up on, werewolf.

“Thanks for doing this on such short notice, I’m Stiles,” Stiles said sticking his hand out.

“Boyd. No problem,” the guy replied shaking his hand, based on temperature alone, definitely a werewolf. Stiles helped Boyd roll the jeep close enough to the bed so he could get it hooked on and then stepped back so he wouldn’t be in the way. The whole process took about ten minutes and Stiles was impressed at the efficiency. When Boyd got back into the truck Stiles jogged back to his car so he could follow him to the shop.

It took about ten minutes to navigate the tow truck through the small streets before they arrived at what looked to be a large warehouse converted into a full auto repair shop. As Boyd started unloading the jeep Stiles parked his car and made his way into the office. There was a blonde standing behind the counter carelessly typing away at one of the computers. She looked up when Stiles walked up and gave him a wolfish grin and Stiles had to suppress a laugh, she was even more obvious than Boyd!

“Hey handsome, new around here?” she said with a salacious grin and Stiles burst out laughing. 

“No. I’m just visiting,” he finally managed to reply through his laughter, “and I’m not sure I want to stay if those are the town’s best pick-up lines.” She clutched her chest in mock hurt and Stiles just winked at her.

“Erica, stop scaring the customers,” Boyd said grinning as he came in a set of double doors off to the side. Erica snorted at him.

“So I can tell you right away that it’s going to take some work to get this thing running, why don’t you give us the rest of today, and we’ll look it over more thoroughly and let you know in the morning?” Boyd suggested, wiping his hands on his pants.

“That bad, huh?” Stiles replied with a grin. Boyd grimaced and Stiles grin turned into a chuckle. 

“That’s fine, I’m staying at the motel across town so you can leave me a message there in case you can’t get me on my cell,” Stiles said still smiling, “I’m not in any rush so take your time, I’d like to get it fixed so I have options with what do with it.”

Boyd nodded and motioned for Erica to take Stiles information as he walked back out towards the jeep. Stiles wrote down all the info she needed and she giggled at his first name and blew his a kiss before telling him they would be in touch so he headed out to his car, trying not to laugh as he felt the holes she was burning into the ass of his jeans. 

~~~*~~~

After he finished negotiating with Boyd over the jeep Stiles decided he needed coffee, and it was still early enough that he could get some breakfast. He remembered seeing a place on the way to the shop so he just decided to head back that direction.

It was a little stand alone place called Cool Beans and the smell of fresh baked goods was heavenly. Stiles stomach promptly started reminding him that he hadn’t had breakfast yet so he quickly parked and headed inside.

As soon as he entered the two guys behind the counter issued a friendly greeting and his Spark flared in his chest again. Man, this town was crawling with wolves! Stiles would have to be more careful than he thought. To run into four of them in such a short time meant that the Beacon Hills pack must be fairly large. The one taking orders was dark haired and had a bit of a Spanish vibe and the other was tall with curly blonde hair and cheekbones that could cut glass.

It was a nice little shop with coffee, pastries and breakfast sandwiches along with a small section of what looked to be touristy knickknacks. There were also maps of Beacon Hills and Stiles grabbed one so he could get to know the forest and surrounding areas a little better. There was a fairly long line ahead of him so he took a few minutes to decide what he wanted.

When he got to the counter he ordered a large coffee, a breakfast sandwich and a couple of pastries to take back to the motel later along with the map.

“We’re a little backed up so go ahead and take a seat and I’ll bring it over when it’s ready,” the dark haired one said with a sweet smile.

“No problem, but I’m gonna take a seat outside,” Stiles said while making a face and gesturing to his dust and smudge covered shirt. The guy grinned at him and nodded.

Stiles went back outside and sat at one of the patio tables and unfolded the map of Beacon Hills. As he looked it over he realized how large the forest, or rather the Beacon Hills Preserve, really was. He studied it for a few minutes until the dark haired wolf brought out his coffee and a bag with the sandwich and pastries.

“New to town?” he asked gesturing to the map while he put down the food.

“Just visiting for a while, looking for a few good hiking trails,” Stiles responded smoothly, deciding to go with the story he told Erica.

“There’s lot of great trails in the preserve,” the other responded excitedly, “but there’s also a good chuck that’s considered private property, so you’ll want to avoid that,” he supplied helpfully.

“Great! Thanks,” Stiles smiled at him.

“No problem! I’m Scott, by the way,” he said, holding out his hand to shake.

“Stiles,” he responded reaching out. If Stiles wasn’t so good at controlling his emotions he would have gasped at the feeling that coursed through him when he touched the wolf’s hand. Scott tried his best, but a look of shock crossed his features before he schooled his expression. Scott’s smile turned brittle and he headed back into the café, claiming he needed to get back to work.

Stiles was just as shocked. He had no idea what that was and had never felt anything remotely similar. He needed to talk to Nura. He gathered his food and coffee and practically sprinted to his car.

~Meanwhile in the café~

“Isaac!!” Scott burst through the doors to the small kitchen and nearly tripped over his own feet in his haste. Isaac’s head popped out from behind a cooling rack.

“Dude, I think I found the magic user Derek told us to watch out for!” Scott said excitedly. Isaac looked at him like he was insane.

“I’m serious!” Scott whined, “the guy that was last in line! I introduced myself and when I shook his hand it felt like my entire arm was vibrating! Plus he was looking at a map of Beacon Hills and said he was visiting!”  Isaac still looked skeptical and Scott sighed in exasperation.

“I’m going to call Talia,” Scott said walking away and ignoring Isaac. He walked out the back door of the building and called.

“Scott? Aren’t you supposed to helping Isaac today?” she answered. Scott rolled his eyes.

“I am, but look, I think the magic user Deaton warned us about came into the café!” he said in a rush. There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line.

“Why?” she asked simply.

“We were talking about the preserve and trails and we shook hands and I felt this-this zing up my arm! Plus he had, like, zero scent. I don’t know, Talia. I’ve never felt anything like this before! I’d really like to bring him to the pack house so you can meet him, please?” Scott pleaded.

Talia sighed in fond exasperation, knowing Scott was doing his patented puppy dog eyes on the other end of the line. She didn’t like bringing people to the pack house, especially strangers but if this was indeed the magic user she wanted to meet him and she owed it to her pack to make sure he wasn’t dangerous.

“Let me call Deaton, and I’ll let you know,” she conceded and Scott beamed on his end on the line when they hung up. He walked quickly back to the front and peered out the window. Stiles was gone already. Disappointed, he went back in and resumed working with Isaac trying to think of how he could find him again and waiting for Talia’s response.

Whatever Deaton told her must have bothered her because within forty-five minutes he had an incoming text from Talia.

Talia: Get him here.

~~~*~~~

Stiles raced back to the motel, coffee and breakfast mostly forgotten as he pounded up the stairs to his room . After two frustrating tries with the stupid key card the door finally opened and Stiles was tripping over his feet trying to get inside. Once the door was closed he motioned with his hands and a silencing spell fell over the room. He pulled out his phone and dialed Nura’s number. She answered after two rings.

“Hey, Kid, what’s up?” was her cheerful greeting. Keeping in mind that he didn’t entirely trust her at the moment Stiles took a deep breath chose his words carefully.                              

“Hey Nura, what do you know about identifying supernatural creatures?”

“Not a whole lot, why? You find any? I wasn’t aware of any in that area of California,” she said, slightly perturbed. If Stiles hadn’t been fishing for it he might have missed the way her voice slightly changed pitch, indicating a lie. Stiles clenched his fists. He really wished everyone would stop lying to him!

“I haven’t seen or run into any, but it occurred to me that I might at some point,” he gritted out in what he hoped was a pleasant voice, “I was just wondering. I think I’m going to take a nap, I’m still tired from the drive yesterday,” he added to cut the conversation short. If he had to talk much longer his anger might explode.

It made a certain type of poetic sense, he supposed. Nura was nervous about the wolves and lied to him about there being any in this part of California. His dad never told him about Beacon Hills or his mother, who apparently had an entire life here, if the car was anything to go by. Stiles frowned at the shower wall, he knew his father well enough to know that he wouldn’t have left that jeep in just any old town. Despite the fact that he didn’t seem to care or trust his own son enough to know anything about it or his mom, he thought with a scowl.

 He knew his dad lied to him about growing up in Shelter Cove and the no one living there had ever mentioned anything about them moving there, but memories were easy to tamper with unfortunately, Stiles had to do it himself once when a troll was threatening to take out half the town. He also knew Nura was in on it somehow, but she obviously didn’t know everything otherwise she never would have let him come here.   

He cursed and pulled out his laptop. Unbeknownst to Nura he was a member of several supernatural forums where magic users like himself and a few other types of creatures could exchange and gather information. He didn’t want to raise any red flags so he posted a few subtle messages across a few different sites asking a few general things, which he hoped would lead him to the information he wanted.

He continued for a few hours, zoning out a few times and getting sucked down one rabbit hole or another until he had learned everything he ever wanted to about werewolf lore and legend.

The more he read, the harder he gritted his teeth as he realized that in all of his lessons with Nura she had been intentionally vague about them and their history. Of course she was! He could just add that to the never ending pile of crap people deemed it unnecessary for him to know!

He scrubbed his hands over his face and pulled his hair a bit in frustration. He got up and paced around the room trying to get the facts straight in his head.

First, Nura and Dad lied to him for more than half his life. Second, he was connected to this town somehow. Third, there were werewolves living here. No way in holy hell the three weren’t connected, especially when he kept getting creeper vibes from a bunch of trees. He scowled at woods through his closed curtains.

His magic was thrumming dangerously under his skin and he knew he needed some sort of release. He decided on running again and angrily jerked his bag onto the bed so he could pull out clean running clothes. He slammed the door behind him and took off, clearing his head of all thought and letting his magic guide him. 

Chapter Text

Talia shivered as she sensed something crossing the edge of the Hale property line. Deaton, her emissary, had worked a spell that enabled her to feel the wards around the property and house the same way he did. It had come in handy over the years for protecting her home and pack. This time though, she wasn’t sure what she was feeling, it wasn’t dangerous, but not necessarily friendly either. It was probably another pixie hoard, they had been having some issue with them for a few weeks but she called Peter into her office and asked him to take Cora and run the property line, just in case. Her next called was to the emissary.

~~~*~~~

Stiles’ heart was pounding and his legs ached as he flew down a gravel path in the preserve. As he ran farther and farther he felt the chittering of the forest settling into his bones, like it was calling him. He had tried to stay on the road but he wasn't paying enough attention and his spark was insistent this time.

Suddenly he veered to the right, crashing through the trees, leaving the path. He had no idea what was happening. All he knew was that he felt compelled to follow the tug and his body fell into a trance-like state as he ran towards ….. something.

What felt like days later, when in reality it had only been about fifteen minutes, he finally skidded to a stop, skin still vibrating and cursing his spark. Fantastic. He looked around and cursed again. He had no idea how deep into the forest his magic led him. A few feet in front of him the trees seemed to clear out into a natural round shape. He knew without thinking that this is where his spark needed him to be, what he didn’t know still, was why.

Stiles stepped into the clearing cautiously. There was a large, thoroughly unimpressive stump at the center. As he moved closer he felt his magic react and his whole body felt like it was vibrating. The buzzing sounded louder the closer he got and he had to cover his ears when he stopped next to the stump. He felt the tug again, like the tree was reaching out for him and he slowly reached out and gingerly ran his fingers over the gnarled wood. The buzzing stopped. Stiles cautiously lowered his hands and looked around. It was eerily silent, like the forest had come to a standstill and he felt uneasy.

Stiles knew from experience that nothing good came from a silent forest. He took a step back slowly, not wanting to disturb whatever latent magic had drawn him here. He took another and another until he felt the tightness in his chest ease. He heaved a small sigh and was just about to turn and leave when he heard the snap of a twig from the other side of the clearing. Stiles froze.

“Hey, Kid!” came a yell. Over the top of the stump Stiles could clearly see the two people emerging from the trees. By the way his chest flared again they must be wolves. Stiles sighed, he was gonna get sore in this town. And, unfortunately, supernatural beings were attracted to his spark, whether they knew it was there or not. One of the wolves was a young girl, probably around his age with dark hair and the other was a man, blonde but the family resemblance was still noticeable. He didn’t look much older than the girl, actually. The guy called out again.

“You’re not supposed to be out here, you know,” his voiced was laced with amusement but distrustful at the same time. Stiles was impressed. He opened his mouth to respond, but didn’t get the chance.

The stump started vibrating, much like Stiles’ body had been before. The guy and girl started yelling and waving their arms but Stiles wasn’t paying attention. His focus was entirely centered on the tree, which at this point had started to glow.

BANG!

Light exploded out from the stump and the force of it threw Stiles back into the tree behind him. His head started to swim and darkness crept into the edges of his vision. Through the haze he vaguely registered the two forms rushing towards him. There were hands on him and he tried to wiggle away, which only resulted in him slumping further towards the ground. Before the darkness took over completely he looked up and saw massive branches covered with leaves that he definitely didn’t remember being there before.

~~~*~~~

Stiles woke slowly, his sense gradually returning. He was laying on something soft and comfortable and became aware of people talking in hushed voices.

“…..should have killed him, Tal! But it only knocked him out! I’ve never seen anything like it.” Stiles recognized the voice from the clearing.

“It grew mom, it’s a whole tree again.” Another voice, distinctly female, worriedly added.

“Deaton, what do you think it means?” an older feminine voice asked. There was a moment of silence.

“I’m not sure,” a man finally answered, “there must be something special about the boy if the nemeton reacted to him the way you say it did,” the voice finished.

“You doubt our word?” the male asked again, clearly frustrated with whoever this Deaton fellow was.

“No,” Deaton hummed, “but we should err on the side of caution with this one, wouldn’t you agree?”

“He’s right Peter, we really have no idea what happened,” the older female agreed. There was a few seconds of silence before Stiles heard the rustle of clothing and a door opening.

“Is he ok?” a worried voice asked. Stiles instantly recognized it from the café. It was Scott. What in the world would Scott be doing with these people? Were they all werewolves then? Stiles head was starting to pound and he couldn’t stifle a small groan, alerting them all to him being awake.   

Eyes still closed, he tried to sit up and ended up just groaning louder. He felt hands on his shoulder and back, helping steady him.

“Hey, hey, take it easy. You hit your head pretty hard and you've been out for a few hours. Can you tell me your name?” he heard the soft voice of Deaton.

“Stiles,” he slurred, bringing his hands up to massage his temples.

Slowly, Stiles blinked his eyes open. Once the fuzz cleared he lowered his hands and looked at the man sitting next to him. He was younger than Stiles expected, with warm toffee skin and….. a druid? He couldn't tell right away. Stiles wondered if his spark was damaged somehow. Confused, he looked up at the other people in the room. Scott smiled widely at him, looking like a puppy that was just offered a bone. There was the two from the woods and one other, an older woman with similar facial features to the dark haired girl. Stiles guessed mother and daughter. She moved forward and the other two and Scott subconsciously turned their bodies outward, as if shielding her.

Stiles blinked. The woman exuded power and strength and Stiles could feel it practically rolling off her in waves. She was magical like the other wolves, but didn’t have magic, not like Stiles and the druid. There was only one explanation, she was an Alpha.

“What happened?” Stiles rasped out. Deaton looked at the woman, who nodded her head.

“There was …. an explosion,” he said uncertainly, “you were caught in the blast. Peter and Cora were there too, but they weren’t hurt so they brought you back here.”

“And where is here?” Stiles questioned as he lifted a hand to poke at the lump on the back of his skull.

“My house,” replied the Alpha.

“And who are you, exactly?” Stiles snarked, raising his head to meet her eyes, knowing he was risking pissing off an alpha werewolf. When they met, her eyes widened fractionally before she answered.

“I’m Talia Hale. That’s Deaton,” she said pointing to the druid, “this is Peter and Cora, my brother and daughter,” she said motioning to them respectively. Stiles nodded at them not letting his excitement show when she said her name.

“Thanks for bringing me here, I guess?” he said, making Peter snort.

“We’re a ways out of town and Deaton has medical training,” she supplied, scowling at Peter, who just shrugged at her unapologetically. Stiles ignored the byplay, which spoke of a strong brother-sister bond and just nodded absently, before turning to Scott.

"What are you doing here, man?" Scott looked at Talia wide eyed. 

"He's family," she answered firmly. Stiles shrugged, not in the mood to question anything at the moment, and went back to poking the back of his head, becoming consumed by his own thoughts for a moment.

Talia watched the boy closely. When Cora barged back into the house yelling for her, the last thing she’d expected to see was a young man slung over her brother’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. After they deposited the boy in one of the guest rooms Peter explained what happened at the nemeton and she was immediately glad she had followed her previous instincts and called Deaton, who was at the house already and could examine the boy. It had been years since the tree was active and the fact that it exploded and then grew within a span of a few minutes after the young man interacted with it was more than a little troubling.

Remarkably, other than the bump on his head, which would be sore for the next few days, the boy was unharmed. She had called Scott to see if it was the same boy he spoke of that morning about hiking trails and after confirming the young wolf insisted on coming to see if Stiles was ok. Luckily, Stiles wasn't up to asking many questions.

The first thing she noticed when he woke up and finally made eye contact with her nearly made her gasp in surprise. His eyes. Those were Claudia’s eyes. She’d seen some over the years that came close, but nothing like this. It still made her sad, thinking about her friend after all this time.

She watched him shift to sit on the edge of the bed and she noticed something else. The boy had no scent. Nothing. She could hear his heart beat strong and steady but there was nothing else. She nudged Peter and tapped her nose, jerking her head towards Stiles. Peter closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a moment of concentration his eyes opened again and widened considerably. He shook his head, he couldn’t smell anything either. Before Talia could indicate to Deaton, the boy spoke again.  

“I don’t mean to be rude but, could I maybe, uh, get a shower?” Stiles asked tentatively, suddenly very conscious of the dried sweat and dirt clinging to him, drawing everyone’s attention back to him.

Talia startled a bit, like she hadn’t even thought about it and the tension in the room seemed to dissipate a bit.

“Of course,” she said gently, looking to Deaton for confirmation that it was ok, before indicating with her hand for him to follow her out of the room, “Scott can you grab some extra clothes for Stiles?” Scott nodded happily and scampered out of the room like an eager puppy. Stiles managed to contain his grin as he slipped off the bed slowly and followed Talia to the nearest bathroom. He waited until Scott handed him a shirt and a pair of sweatpants and closed the door to take a deep breath.

He started the shower and let the hot water sluice over his skin, washing away to dirt and grime. He grinned as he soaped up. So, Talia was a werewolf, an alpha werewolf. That explained a bit why his dad never mentioned her. Anything remotely supernatural was shut down immediately in his house, even the show! That was why Nura trained him in secret and why they went “camping” twice a month so he could practice more complex magic. It was a little sad, honestly, how easy it had been to hide half his life from his dad. The thought wiped the smile off his face.

As awesome as it was to be in his first werewolf den, none of it explained how his mother fit in. He needed more information. He shut the water off and stepped out grabbing a towel off the rack. Once he was dried and dressed he opened to door and made his way downstairs.  

~~~*~~~

While Stiles was in the shower Talia, Deaton and Peter congregated in Talia’s office.

“What do you think, Deaton?” Talia asked as soon as the door was closed. They spread out in the space, Deaton sitting in the chair in front of her desk while Talia perched on the edge.

“I think it’s strange that the boy has no scent,” Peter said from his place by the door.

“I agree,” Deaton said, looking at Talia, “but I sense nothing out of the ordinary about him and he didn’t trip the wards coming into the house,” he finished with a small shrug.

“It can’t be a coincidence that he came to town the same time as the magic user, or that I felt something in the woods when he was out running through them,” Talia said thoughtfully. Peter nodded in agreement.

“Yes, it is suspicious timing and I don’t believe in coincidence anyway. I would keep an eye on him,” Deaton suggested as he got up, “for now though, I am going to return to the clinic and do a bit of research. I may be able to prove definitively whether or not he has magic.” Talia nodded as Deaton left.

“If he does have power, he doesn’t strike me as the sharing type,” Peter said with a grin. Talia didn’t answer. After a few minutes, they heard Stiles walking down the stairs and Peter walked over and nudged her.

“Tal? You ok?” he questioned.

“His eyes,” she answered quietly, “Peter, I haven’t seen those eyes since….” she trailed off, looked up at earnestly.

“Tal,” he said softly, pulling her into a hug, “that doesn’t mean it’s him.”

“I know, I know, but after all this time? You and Cora both said you felt compelled to the nemeton, too! It can’t be a coincidence!” she said, mimicking her words from earlier, “I know it’s a long shot, but don’t we owe it to Derek and Claudia to find out?” she added desperately.

Peter smiled at her fondly. He knew how much she missed Claudia and Mica. The loss of her best friend was devastating, but Mica had been like another son to her, and should have been Derek’s mate by now. She was right, they had to at least ask.

~~~*~~~

Derek walked into the auto shop that afternoon to discuss a few new training exercises with Boyd. He waved absently to Erica behind the counter and went through the double doors into the shop area. He walked forward until he could hear the telltale grunts and curses of the other wolf from a bay around the corner.

“Boyd?” He questioned in an amused tone. He heard a bang and another curse and had to bite back a grin as Boyd rounded the corner scowling at him. Derek decided to adopt a scowl of his own and they could both hear Erica roaring in laughter from the front room.

“You didn’t hear me coming?” Boyd stiffened.

“New project,” was all the response Derek got. Derek let go of the scowl. He knew how absorbed Boyd could get when presented with a challenge. Hell, sometimes Derek even invited himself along for the ride. Derek motioned Boyd forward so he could take a look. Boyd became more animated, well, more animated for Boyd, which meant more than two or three words at a time, the closer they got to the bay. They rounded the corner and Derek stopped dead in his tracks. There was a tarp over most of it but Boyd had clearly been working under the hood so that part was visible. It was a jeep. A blue jeep. Derek felt his mouth dry up. No…… it wasn’t possible. Derek tuned back in to what Boyd was saying.

“……. ooks like it hasn’t been run in a while, the battery is beyond corroded and the engine probably needs a rebuild,” Boyd was saying while gesturing to some part under the hood.

“Pull the tarp off,” Derek gritted out abruptly. Boyd looked a bit startled but did as asked. Derek let out the breath he didn’t know he’d been holding when the entire vehicle was revealed. His knees nearly buckled and Boyd dashed forward to catch him while yelling for Erica. Derek felt himself being gently lowered to the ground. 

“Breath Derek, breath,” Boyd coaxed gently, rubbing small circles between Derek’s shoulder blades, trying not to panic. He’d never seen Derek react to anything this way, let alone some kid’s trashed jeep. Erica came tearing around the corner.

“W-w-who brought this in? Who was it?” Derek finally stammered between breaths.

“Some kid dropped had it towed here this morning, I can’t….” Boyd trailed off, looking to Erica for help as Derek’s heart beat seemed to triple over the word ‘kid’. She gave Boyd a confused look and knelt down next to the pair.

“Stiles, I think he said,” She said to Derek, who was looking at her desperately while trying to calm his racing heart, “yeah, that’s it. I remember because I thought it was weird and laughed.”

Stiles. Derek didn’t recognize the name, but it couldn’t be coincidence, right? His heart beat picked up again and Erica and Boyd exchanged worried looks over his shoulder.

“Derek? I’m going to call Talia, see if she can help,” Erica said quietly, standing up and taking a few steps back before she pulled out her phone. It rang twice before Talia answered.

“Talia, it’s Erica….”

~~~*~~~

“Talia, its Erica, we’re having a problem with Derek at the shop.”

“I have to take this,” Talia said waving Peter on despite his look of concern at Erica's words as she answered. “What kind of problem?” she asked sharply when he walked around the corner.

“I’m not sure, it’s almost like he’s having a panic attack?” Erica answered uncertainly. “He freaked out when he saw this jeep a kid left here for Boyd to work on.”

“A jeep?” Talia demanded as she dashed back into her office. Erica answered in the affirmative.

“What color?” Talia demanded again.

“Sky blue,” Erica responded succinctly. Talia almost dropped the phone. A young boy with Claudia’s eyes suddenly appears in the forest and a baby blue jeep just happens to show up at the shop? It would explain why Stiles had managed to find the nemeton in the middle of the forest, Claudia always thought he would grow up to be special. She felt hope ballooning in her chest but swiftly squashed it. She had to be sure, for her and for Derek.

“Calm Derek down and don’t let him leave yet,” she instructed Erica before hanging up and exiting her office quickly. She found Stiles with Scott in the kitchen with a few other members of the pack milling around. As she entered her eyes found Peter’s and they shared a look. Peter had gotten very good at interpreting her signals and he casually went to stand closer to Stiles, whose back was turned to her. She didn’t want to do this in front of anyone and she couldn’t risk the boy trying to run if he got spooked.

Stiles felt her walking towards him, power like that was hard to ignore, spark or no spark. He waited for the right timing, when it wouldn’t look strange since she walked almost silently, before turning to look.

“Stiles, could you come back to my office with me for a moment?” She tried to keep her tone as pleasant as possible.

“Sure,” he said uncertainly as he followed her, recognizing that it wasn’t really a question. When they all filed in and Talia motioned for Stiles to take a seat, Peter closed the door casually and Stiles knew he’d been caught. Talia was looking at him like he was an interesting puzzle she’d never seen before and he couldn’t quite read her expression, so he was a bit thrown off by her next statement.

“I just got a call from Erica. I think you know her from the auto shop?” Talia questioned casually. Stiles nodded suspiciously. How would she know that?

“She told me you brought in a blue jeep today.”

“I did,” Stiles confirmed, crossing his arms defiantly over his chest, “I’m picking it up for someone.”

Talia looked surprised, and then narrowed her eyes at him when she didn’t hear a blip in his heartbeat.

“I’m confused by that, because that jeep belongs to someone I know. So why don’t you tell me why you’re really in Beacon Hills?

A million things went rushing through his head at that point, but Stiles knew he had a choice to make. His mother had told him to trust Talia, so she must have trusted her too, right? He was desperate for information about his mother and why his father would hide her entire life from him so he decided to take the plunge. He tapped the pocket of his borrowed sweatpants, willing the letter to appear.

“Actually, I lied,” Stiles replied as casually as he could, pulling the letter from his pocket, “I’m here because I found a letter from my mom. She specifically mentions you, Talia.”

His hands shook slightly as he handed her the letter and when she reached out for it Stiles noticed her hands were shaking too. She read over it quickly, her face paling a bit.

"Mica," she breathed, trying not to tear up at the sight of her dead best friend's handwriting and beautiful words about her and Derek. At some point she was sure Stiles would want an explanation for what was written in the letter, but he seemed more concentrated on her right now. 

"Yeah, I guess that was a nickname?" he shrugged. Talia looked at him in disbelief. Noah even changed what his mother had called him? What in hell happened to them after Noah fled Beacon Hills?

“Stiles, what’s your full name?” She had to be sure it was him and that the letter really did come from Claudia. Mica never told anyone his full name, not even Derek. Talia only knew because of Claudia. 

“Mieczyslaw,” he said with perfect pronunciation and a groan, but without hesitation. 

Talia’s eyes grew wide and Peter just gaped at him. Stiles pretended not to notice their reactions and reached out for the letter. As he gently refolded it Talia made eye contact with Peter, now that they knew for sure, what were they supposed to do about it? It was obvious that Stiles didn’t remember them, or anything about his life here, but they had no idea why.

“So you guys knew my mom, then? The jeep belonged to her right?” Stiles asked eagerly. Talia and Peter both frowned.

“It did before she died, didn’t your dad tell you?” Peter asked cautiously.

“You knew my dad, too, then?” Now it was Stiles turn to frown. None of this was making sense to him. Why would his mom expect him to trust these people when it was clear his father hadn’t? Talia and Peter exchanged another significant look.

“Knew him, as in past tense?” Talia asked carefully.

“Yeah,” Stiles said in a confused and hurt voice, “he died about six months ago, he got shot on the job.”

“Oh sweetie, I’m so sorry,” Talia said sympathetically.

“It’s ok, I’m……. dealing,” Stiles said quietly, “I got a notice about the jeep at a storage unit a few months later and then I found the letter, so you could say I’ve got some unresolved questions,” Stiles tried to joke, but it fell flat, “anyway, why was my mom expecting me to be here when I turned eighteen? This letter makes it sound like I lived here, but obviously I didn’t. Did we move when I was young or something?” Stiles continued, oblivious to the growing concern on Talia’s face.

“So he never told you about Beacon Hills? Or your mom? Nothing?!” Talia asked incredulously, Peter mirroring her look of horror.

“He said it was too painful to talk about mom after the accident, I just got used to it I guess,” Stiles shrugged like it was no big deal but Talia could tell he was hurting.

“Stiles, what accident?” she asked after a beat. He gave her a confused look.

“The car accident?” he said uncertainly, “when I was eleven my mom and I got into a car accident and she died and I lost all of my memories,” Stiles said in a small voice, looking between Peter and Talia suspiciously when neither of them answered. How well could they have possibly known his parents if they didn’t even know about the accident? Nothing was making sense! His magic started simmering under his skin in response to his distress. He took a few deep breaths and decided to reserve judgment until he could gather more information. His spark seemed settled and the words from the letter were still bouncing around in his head, so he would wait.

Unaware of the boy’s own inner turmoil, Talia was so angry she could barely think, let alone speak. She thought that Noah just wanted to keep Stiles safe but she never dreamed he would take his son’s memories! That was the only explanation she could come up with. As far as Stiles knew his memories were gone because of an accident, not because his dad was running from something. He also seemed to be missing time in general! When he and Noah left he was nine but Stiles didn’t have any memories before eleven. Something wasn’t right. Talia couldn’t help but wonder how far Noah had gone to keep his son safe. She needed to discuss the situation with Deaton before she pushed too far.

So Stiles knew nothing about Beacon Hills, nothing about werewolves and nothing about Derek. God, Derek. She had known that if they ever saw Mica again it was going to be hard but this…….. this was something else. They would need to be extra cautious because of the lost time.

 Stiles voice drew her attention back to him.

“The letter also mentions someone named Derek.”

“He’s my son,” Talia finally managed. Stiles scrunched his eyebrows for a moment and then his face fell the tiniest bit. Talia might have missed it if she weren’t studying him so closely.

“I don’t remember him,” Stiles whispered, and Talia honestly wasn’t sure he meant to say that out loud but she responded anyway.

“Oh, that’s ok sweetie,” she cooed at him sensing his distress, “you were …. friends, when you were younger. I could call him if you’d like? Maybe it would help you to see him,” she suggested ignoring the raised eyebrows from Peter. Stiles nodded shyly.

“Why don’t I have Scott finish showing you around and you two grab a snack while I call him?” she suggested as she walked to the door and pulled it open.

“Scott, why don’t you show Stiles the rest of the house?” Talia said sweetly, turning to where she knew Scott was hiding around the corner. Scott came around the corner and adopted a sheepish expression as he looked at Talia, but it soon turned into his usual puppy like enthusiasm as he pulled Stiles out of the hallway and towards the living room, blabbering on about gaming systems. Peter moved away from the door to Talia’s side.

“He doesn’t remember us,” Talia murmured, looking after the boy.

“Something else must have happened after they left,” Peter agreed heavily, “even his name is different. Why would Noah change it?” Talia shook her head.  

“I need to call Derek,” she said hurriedly pulling out her phone.

“Do you think that’s wise?” Peter asked cautiously, “Derek will be devastated the boy doesn’t know who he is.” Talia just shook her head.

“He deserves to know, Peter, especially after going so long without him.” Peter shuddered. A wolf without their mate for an extended period of time was dangerous. The fact that Derek kept it together all these years, even if he and Mic- Stiles never fully bonded, was impressive.

“Can you find Laura and fill her in on the essentials? Derek might be a handful when he gets here,” Talia asked Peter, who nodded and hurried away.

Talia hit Derek’s number and held the phone to her ear. He answered before the first ring even ended.

“Mom?” he asked breathlessly, “is…..”

“It’s him, Derek, and he’s here, at the house,” Talia said trying to hold back a sob at how broken Derek’s voice sounded. The line went dead and Talia knew he was on his way back to the house. She just hoped Boyd was able to calm him before he took off. Stiles had no idea who they were much less what they were and the last thing the boy needed was for Derek to lose control.

Talia left the office to find Stiles and Scott. Having made their way through the house they were now out on the deck. It looked like Stiles was telling Scott a rather animated story if his wild hand gestures were to be believed. Talia took a few minutes to really look at Stiles.

She had to tamp down her anger at Noah for not only keeping Stiles from them for so long, but apparently somehow taking his memories of them! She had hoped that they boy would turn up on their doorstep when he turned eighteen but when his birthday passed with no word she didn’t know what to think. He looked so different now, she might not ever have connected him with the boy she knew if it hadn’t been for those eyes and the thought made her blood boil.

After a few more minutes she heard a car barreling up their long driveway and she sighed, hoping Derek didn’t break too many traffic laws on his way home. The door swung open violently, revealing the trio from the shop, and before Derek could even open his mouth Talia flashed her Alpha eyes at him.

“Derek, you need to calm down,” she ordered. He growled at her, actually growled, until Boyd put his hand on Derek’s shoulder.  

“He’s my mate!” his own eyes flashed back at her. She saw Peter enter the room with Laura out of the corner of her eye and she was grateful for the backup. Derek wasn’t thinking rationally.

“Derek,” she tried again more gently, “he doesn’t know any of us. He doesn’t remember anything from before Noah took him away.”

Her heart broke at the look of utter devastation on her son’s face.

“N-nothing?!” he almost cried out. Talia just shook her head and reached out for him. Derek went into her arms willingly, needing the comfort of his Alpha and mother. He was shaking and Erica and Boyd joined in the hug until he calmed down.

“So he doesn’t know me?” Derek asked again looking at Talia.

“He doesn’t know anything about the supernatural, much less that he’s had a werewolf mate pining for him for eleven years,” Peter added unhelpfully while Laura snorted and both Derek and Talia glared at him.

“You need to be gentle with him, he’s breakable,” Talia said firmly, knowing that the need to protect his mate would calm the wolf, “we’re going to tell him everything, but not now. It’s obvious that Noah kept a lot from him and he’s confused. We need to help him, Derek, not overwhelm him right now.”

Derek shook himself a bit, the need to help his mate flooding into his body, and visibly relaxed, nodding anxiously and they finally led him towards the back door. Derek’s breath caught when he saw him through the glass.

“Mica,” he breathed.

“He goes by a different name now,” Talia warned, flinching when Derek’s eyes turned to her disbelievingly as she moved to open the door. She looked behind her to make sure Derek was in control before they all stepped out onto the porch. Derek couldn't help but stare.

He was standing up against the railing, laughing at something Scott was saying. Goddess his mate was beautiful. He seemed like so much….. more, than he remembered. His body was long and lean, the sweatpants he was wearing riding low on his hips, but Derek could tell there was muscle hidden underneath his shirt and his arms looked strong and sturdy. His hair was a deeper, gorgeous chocolate brown now, but those eyes, those perfect cinnamon and warm whiskey eyes, those were the same. Derek held his breath when those eyes turned on him and he was ridiculously pleased to see that he hadn’t lost his adorably upturned nose either.

Stiles couldn’t believe what he was seeing. This was Derek?!? This was the man his mother told him to trust?!? Holy hell he was beyond gorgeous!! Hell he could have invented tall, dark and handsome! His hair was a perfectly dark compliment to his kaleidoscope green eyes and he had a body that looked like it walked out of one of the skin mags Stiles spent most his teen years hiding from his father. Stiles tamped down his rioting emotions as this gorgeous man, this Derek, moved closer.

“Hi,” Derek breathed, slowly holding his hand out.

“H-hi, I’m Stiles,” Stiles replied bashfully as they shook hands. Stiles felt the same jolt with Derek as he’d felt with Scott but it was more powerful and he felt a corresponding tug in his chest. He wasn’t sure if Derek felt it or not. Derek didn’t say anything more and Stiles looked at him uncertainly.

“Derek,” Talia whisper prompted from behind him.

“Derek,” he said suddenly, shaking out of whatever trance he was stuck in, “my name’s Derek.”

Chapter Text

Stiles felt his spark reacting to the wolf’s touch and had to keep himself from squeaking. He couldn’t remember there ever being anyone his magic reacted to quite like this. His spark was dampened for protection after the incident with the tree and he couldn’t risk activating his full power to find out until he had more information, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of rightness, of this wolf being his. He didn’t know how or why, but this wolf was his and his spark was never wrong.

Stiles took back his hand reluctantly, the warmth gradually fading as he and Derek continued to stare at each other, completely missing the gleeful looks Talia and Laura were exchanging, until Peter cleared his throat loudly causing Stiles to jump. Erica cackled at him from behind Talia and Stiles glared at her while Boyd rolled his eyes.

Derek took a step back and breathed in trying to catch Stiles scent. He was a bit disturbed when he couldn’t. In fact, Derek couldn’t sense anything about him, no smell, no emotion, nothing other than the steady beating of his heart. His wolf growled under his skin at the lack of response from their mate.

What he did smell was Scott. He took a deep breath to keep his eyes from flaring at the boy, who was standing next to his mate. His wolf was snarling in anger but he managed to keep him in check.

Talia was face palming behind them as she heard Derek’s intake of breath. She didn’t even think about what Stiles in Scott’s clothes would do to his wolf but she was incredibly proud of how calm Derek was. For years after Stiles left his control had been tenuous at best and all the extra practice seemed to be paying off.

“S-so,” Stiles started hesitantly, looking at the Hales, “could you maybe tell me about my mom? About me and my life here?” Derek’s heart nearly broke at the hopeful note in his mate’s voice. Noah had really done a number on him. Talia and Laura melted. Stiles’ eye’s returned to Derek shyly and the wolf couldn’t help preening a bit.

“Of course sweetie,” Talia said gently. “We were going to make a late lunch, why don’t you help us and we can talk after?”

Stiles tore his eyes away from Derek to glance at her.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

Talia had to work hard to contain her laughter at the murderous look on Derek’s face at the thought of his mate leaving. A brief look over at her brother and oldest daughter showed them trying to contain similar reactions. It really wasn’t funny, but Derek had been closed off from them for so long, it was a relief to see an expression other than sadness on his face.

“Nonsense! The more the merrier. What would you like to eat?” she questioned lightly, motioning for Stiles to follow her into the kitchen while she started listing off all the ingredients for sandwiches.

Stiles reluctantly moved away from Derek towards the backdoor, feeling the air behind him shift as the wolf followed closely. Stiles bit back a grin, there was no way his spark was wrong about this one.

Stiles figured he should be gentle with his stomach but he was also ravenous considering he hadn’t been able to finish his breakfast from the café that morning. So he requested ham and cheese, making a face when Talia offered tomatoes. He missed the shadow that passed over Derek’s face at the reaction. The Stiles Derek knew loved tomatoes.

Talia and Laura gathered various meats and cheeses from the fridge and set them down on the counter in front of Derek who quickly started making Stiles’ food. Talia smiled at the way Derek hurried through making three ridiculously huge sandwiches, his wolf obviously desperate to provide for their lost mate.

Stiles watched the Hales move around the kitchen effortlessly, never bumping each other or dropping anything, even the ones that clearly were pack but weren’t related. It made sense, he supposed. Werewolves were used to living in often crowded dens and it was obvious the Hale’s were closer than a lot of other supernatural families he’d met. Not that he’s met many, but they had passed through the woods near where he and Nura tended to camp once in a while. He grinned as he remembered how frustrated Nura was when a family of wood nymphs stumbled out of the woods when he had been practicing his spark magic for only the second or third time. Luckily she had managed to coax a promise of silence out of them before they moved on in exchange for Stiles’ help healing their youngest from a nasty case of bark bite.   

“-iles?” A voice broke through the memory.

“Sorry, I was just thinking,” he said, smiling apologetically at Derek who was holding out a plate laden with sandwiches and chips. Stiles took the plate and moved to sit at the table and waited while everyone else finished making their lunch and crowded in around him.

Once everyone was seated Talia motioned to the wolves to start eating. Stiles’ stomach suddenly reminded him of how hungry he was and he proceeded to demolish his first sandwich in under a minute while Derek beamed next to him.

“So Stiles, you said a notice for the jeep brought you to Beacon Hills?” Talia started after letting Stiles get halfway through his second sandwich. Stiles nodded.

“Yeah, it said the payments had gone delinquent so I paid and then decided to see what was so important that dad thought he had to hide it from me a hundred miles away.” Stiles scowled at his ham. Derek cleared his throat.

“A hundred miles?” He almost whispered. Stiles shrugged.

“It’s more than that I think but I’d have to look at my phone.” Crap, his phone! He almost dropped his sandwich before he remembered that it was safe and sound in his hotel room. His hotel room. Across town. Shit.

“I’m staying in the hotel on the other side of the woods,” Stiles said trying to appear casual, popping another chip in his mouth, “will someone be able to give me a ride back there tonight?”

“Actually, Stiles, I think you should stay here,” Talia said cautiously. Stiles eyes widened at the invitation. He looked around the table but saw nothing but smiles from all the wolves and Derek was nodding his head vehemently. The earnest expression on the were’s face did not make Stiles want to coo at him. It did not.

“Oh, I-I don’t want to impose, just because you knew my mom doesn’t mean-“ he started stammering while looking between Derek and Talia.

“Nonsense,” Talia dismissed, “Your mom was…. like family,” she ended softly. 

Talia could tell the boy was nervous and she didn’t blame him, exploding tree aside, they were still strangers after all. She watched him chew on his lip some more and smiled softly. Claudia used to do the same thing when she was thinking hard about something.

She looked over at Derek, who was watching his mate with a desperate expression.

Honestly, she wasn’t sure about letting Stiles leave the house at all. Derek’s wolf was close to the surface as it was and Stiles leaving, even to go get his things, most likely wouldn’t go over well. Derek’s control had been impeccable so far but she wasn’t willing to risk it. The table was silent as everyone waited for Stiles’ answer. Not all of them fully understood what was going on, but they all knew about Derek’s missing mate. She was proud of her other children, though. Normally Laura and Cora wouldn’t miss an opportunity to tease their normally stoic brother but they seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation and had been nothing but supportive so far.

“Um well, ok. If you’re sure it won’t be a bother,” Stiles finally answered, fidgeting in his seat a bit.

But now that it was settled Talia wanted to return to their previous conversation.

“Where were you living if you were that close to Beacon Hills?”   

“A town a little ways south of here called Shelter Cove.” Derek barely suppressed a whine at the words.

His mate had been so close! All this time he thought the boy’s father whisked him away someplace the pack would never find him. Although, listening to Stiles describe the town did make it seem like Noah succeeded anyway. It had mountains on one side and the Pacific on the other, a veritable fortress.

Talia’s questions got more and more pointed though, and soon Stiles was uncomfortable enough to change the subject.

“Can you tell me more about Beacon Hills? I was surprised at how small it is,” he asked, taking a gulp of his water. Laura snorted.

“If you drove in off the highway you already saw most of it.” A few of the wolves snickered at that while Talia shot her a lighthearted glare.

Derek watched Stiles devour the sandwiches while Talia explained more about the town and soon enough Stiles’ eyelids began to droop. And Derek, being extra observant in order for his wolf to start making up for the long years of separation, leaned in and spoke gently in his mate’s ear.

“It’s been a long day, why don’t you nap for a while?”

Stiles jerked slightly, seemingly unaware that he had almost fallen asleep at the table. As if on cue, he suppressed a yawn.

“But Talia was supposed to tell me abouuu-“ the yawn escaped and he listed into Derek, who reached out to steady him. Talia smiled.

“I can tell you about your mom later, Stiles. It's not like your going anywhere." Talia said carefully.

“I guess not,” Stiles mumbled without thinking, wilting further into Derek’s arms. Stiles had no idea the feelings of relief that flooded through the wolves at the admission. They had all been able to feel Derek's need to be close the boy as soon as they laid eyes on each other. Talia smiled gently at the soft look on her son’s face as he gazed at the boy in his arms.

“Derek? Why don’t you put him in your room for now?” She suggested. Derek shot her a grateful glance as he scooped Stiles up and hurried from the kitchen in the direction of the stairs and she smiled again at his retreating back before turning to the rest of them.

“Mom?” Cora piped up after being unusually silent throughout the meal. Talia cocked her head in question.

“He’s going to stay, right? Stiles? I don’t think Derek would survive losing him a second time.” Her voiced dropped to a near whisper at the end. There were several nods of agreement.

“I hope so, sweetie. But that’s up to Stiles, isn’t it?” Talia answered just as quietly. Cora nodded in understanding, tilting her head to listen to Derek move around upstairs.

~~~*~~~

Stiles woke briefly as he felt his body being laid down on a soft, cushy surface and the covers pulled over his shoulder. He swore he felt a hand ghosting over his hair but the touch was too light to be sure. If not for his spark he wouldn’t have heard the footsteps leaving the room either.

Stiles rolled over and smiled sleepily at the ceiling as he lay in bed, listening to Derek walk back down the stairs. So, the Hales were werewolves. The implications of everything he learned today were starting to sink in and his heartbeat quickened momentarily before he took a deep breath to steady it.

Obviously his mother had known, she must have, right? That meant his dad knew too, and all those years if his father pretending to be normal and not know about the supernatural world were bullshit. Dad had intentionally hidden Beacon Hills, the Hales and who knows what else from him! The thought made his blood boil all over again and he took several deep breaths to calm himself down. He knew his father, the man must have had what he thought was a good reason to keep his son in the dark.

Tomorrow he would talk to Talia about his mother and finally have some answers. But first, sleep. He curled into the pillow beside him and grinned obnoxiously at the slight scent of Derek that invaded his nose. He fell asleep within minutes, smile still on his face.

Chapter Text

Stiles body felt soft and light as he wove through the trees. The woods felt warm and happy and the trees around him blurred yellow and green and he willed his legs to run faster and faster. It had been so long since he just enjoyed the forest around him and he laughed as he darted in and out of spots of sunlight. He couldn’t stop the overwhelming feeling of rightness that seemed to swamp him the further into the forest he ran. His spark felt peaceful and powerful in his chest.

As he continued to run the trees changed. They went from bouncy green to a gross, murky brown color. Stiles slowed his pace to a brisk walk. The forest felt wrong here, sickly almost and he hated it. The bright, happy feeling from earlier quickly faded away. He finally stopped to get his bearings.

He closed his eyes so he could reach out with his spark. His power didn’t make it ten feet before he felt a sudden tug in his chest, like the forest was willing him to move. After a few minutes he found himself in the same clearing as the day before.

He approached the tree cautiously, slowly, remembering what happened the last time he touched it. The air around him shimmered as he crept closer. Stiles couldn’t figure it out, why was this particular tree calling to his spark? It was obviously magic, or at least it had been at some point. Now it just looked like any dead tree stump. The top was worn and smooth, like it had been cut down but still used for a long period of time. The ground around the stump felt… dark. It was torn, almost like it was reaching out for help somehow but reluctant to communicate.

Stiles shook himself, trees can’t communicate. Nevertheless he continued to let himself be pulled towards it. Once he was close enough, his spark reacted instantly. Stiles watched in amazement as a soft glow left his fingertips and bounced lightly towards the tree.

It was like a hundred voices talking at once, calling out to him. He clapped his hands over his ears and tried to move away, but vines wound up around his ankles and he couldn’t budge. He cried out, toppling over as he desperately tried to wrench himself free. He watched in fascinated horror as the vines crawled up his legs to his torso, effectively immobilizing him. He gaped up at the tree as a wispy figure started forming and suddenly the voices dulled to a hum, one soft sound standing out of the chaos.

You belong here, Mica.

Stiles woke with a jolt. He breathed in and out harshly, trying to regain control of his stampeding heart. What the hell was that damn tree?! And why was it invading his dreams?

Oh god, the werewolves! He had fallen asleep at the table! Not just any table, the table of potentially volatile pack of werewolves that he didn’t even know! And then proceeded to sleep for what must have been more than fifteen hours judging by the angle of light in the room. So much for control. Stiles fingers started sparking uncontrollably as he tried desperately to suck in air. He curled around himself and forced his lungs to pace through the exercises Nura had taught him.

He’s started getting panic attacks after the accident and his dad had been able to get him through most of them, but when magic was involved Nura had taken over. Stiles had insisted, the last thing he wanted was to hurt his dad.

As much as he tried he couldn’t shake the dream. And as much as he wanted to trust the Hales, he knew he needed to be cautious and figure out what the hell is going on and who the hell was calling him Mica.

~~~*~~~

Derek joined his mother, who was at the kitchen table sipping a coffee.

Derek had barely slept at all. How could he when his mate was sleeping soundly in his room, in his bed, and Derek was unable to touch him? He understood, he knew Stiles would need time to adjust and come to terms with everything. He spent half the morning talking to his mom about what they were going to tell him about his parents. Derek wanted to tell him everything of course; he wanted Stiles to know who he was to him. Talia had gently reminded him that if they overwhelmed him it could have serious consequences, especially since they had no idea about the extent of Stiles memory loss.

The rest of the pack had found other places to be for a while in order to give the three of them some privacy. Well, the three of them plus Peter. Derek had made a face when Talia suggested it, but he knew it was better to be safe. Stiles might be his mate, but they didn’t know anything about him really. So Peter was skulking around somewhere within hearing distance, but not right up in Derek's face thank god. 

“What are we going to tell him, Mom?” Derek asked worriedly.

“I thought we could have a barbeque,” she responded, taking a sip of coffee. Derek was suddenly doing his best impression of a goldfish.

“A barbeque?!?!” He nearly screeched. “I thought we weren’t going to overwhelm him?!” Talia just smirked at her son’s deft impression of a owl.

“I only invited the pack that knew Claudia.” Derek snorted, that was still more than half the pack. “It might be a bit much, but I honestly don’t know any other way to do it. It’ll be a relaxed atmosphere, but  if he gets overwhelmed he can step away. And everyone who knew her will be in one place for him to talk to,” she shrugged. Derek considered the idea.

 “That’s not actually a bad plan,” he admitted grudgingly. Only his mother would respond to memory loss with a barbeque.

“Also, when we tell him about us it’ll be nice that there’s really nowhere for him to run,” she added in a chipper voice. Derek rolled his eyes. There it is.

“Plus, you remember how much everyone loved Claudia and Mica, you’re not the only one that was hurt when they left,” she added again. Derek nodded guilty.

“What about the Nemeton? We got lucky that he seemed distracted yesterday but it’s not likely he’ll forget about an exploding tree.” Derek asked.

“Before he left yesterday Deaton told me he was going to research some things.” Derek snorted again and Talia grinned, everyone in the pack got annoyed with Deaton’s methods at one point or another. “He says he will be able to prove whether or not Stiles has some sort of dormant magic that reacted to the tree, and then we can go from there.”

“You don’t think he’ll feel like we’re attacking him? Especially if he doesn’t know we’re wolves?” Derek asked nervously. Talia shook her head in response.

“I think by then we will have established at least a little trust and once we make it clear to him that we don’t see him as a threat everything will be fine.”   

Derek wasn’t really worried about seeing Stiles as a threat, he was more worried about what the boy would think when he found out his soulmate was a werewolf.

He turned anxiously when he heard feet on the stairs. He sat up just a bit straighter when his mate entered the room and ignored his mother smirking behind her mug.

As soon as Stiles approached the table though, Derek knew something was off. His mated looked anxious, and Derek was willing to bet that if he could smell him, Stiles would smell sour and uncomfortable. Stiles sat at the table eyeing both the wolves.

“Stiles? Are you ok?” Talia asked softly. They boy chewed on his lip, seeming to think hard about his answer.  The gesture made Derek ache, Mic- Stiles did the same thing when he was younger and was having trouble figuring something out. Derek was glad the time away didn’t total change his mate’s personality.

“Honestly? No.” The human finally answered with a sigh. His mother waited patiently for Stiles to continue.  

“I’m usually not this trusting, and it’s freaking me out a little that I fell asleep here last night. And that stuff with the tree? I mean, the thing was in my dream last night!” Stiles blurted out looking between Talia and Derek. The Alpha nodded in understanding and Derek just looked uncomfortable.  

“It’s perfectly reasonable that you might be uncomfortable this morning, yesterday wasn’t exactly a normal day, not even for us,” Talia chuckled. Stiles eyes narrowed for a moment before looked down at the table. Derek was desperate to make his mate feel better.     

“How did you sleep?” Derek asked awkwardly to break the silence and steer the conversation away from the Nemeton. Stiles looked back up with a small smile.

“Actually, better than I have in a long time,” he admitted shyly, reaching up and rubbing the back of his neck. Derek couldn’t help but preen. His mate had gotten a good night’s sleep in his bed! His scent would be embedded in Derek’s sheets for days. He opened his mouth, not entirely sure of what he was going to say when the moment was interrupted by the sound of a phone.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Talia said, failing at hiding her amusement at her son, as she got up and walked out of the kitchen to answer her phone.

“Yes, Deaton?” Derek heard her answer before she was out of the room.

~~~*~~~

“Yes Deaton?”

“Talia, we might have a problem, I would like to come speak to you about it,” Deaton said abruptly. “It involves the boy.”

“Is he in danger?” Talia asked sharply, hearing Derek’s heart trip from the other room.

“Not yet,” Deaton said cryptically. “But it is urgent I speak to you, I can be there in ten minutes.”

“Fine,” Talia snapped, hanging up. She schooled her features before walking back into the kitchen where Derek and Stiles were still awkwardly trying to converse. She held back a snicker, it was adorable.

“Derek,” she interrupted, noting the grateful look on her son’s face, “why don’t you and Stiles make some breakfast?” She knew making Stiles food would help settle some of Derek’s mating instincts. Derek nodded eagerly and moved towards the fridge.  Stiles just watched her apprehensively. She sighed, the boy was smart, took after his mother, so she knew she wasn’t going to be able to hide much from him for long. 

“Look Stiles,” she said softly, the name still sounded strange rolling off her tongue, “I know this is hard for you, you don’t know us, but I knew your mother. She was my best friend, still is in a lot of ways. You can trust her.” Talia knew Stiles was freaked out and scared, but she hoped he could hear the truth in her words. He gave a small nod and she saw Derek beaming out of the corner of her eye before he turned back to his task.

Stiles shoved away from the table, making a face when his chair screeched across the floor and shuffled over towards Derek asking if he could help. The kid wore his emotions on his sleeve, just like his mom.

She watched them move around the kitchen with a smile before she realized what he was doing. Her grin widened. He was making Claudia’s french toast recipe. It had been a favorite of both Derek and Stiles’ when they were little. 

She tilted her head listening to a car pull up the driveway.

“Derek, when you’re done why don’t you two sit out on the patio? It’s such a nice day.” She raised an eyebrow at Derek to convey her meaning. He nodded quickly.

She left the kitchen and moved to the front door, opening it just before Deaton knocked.

“We can talk in my office,” Talia said waving a hand for Deaton to go ahead, which he did, quickly. This was going to be a frustrating conversation she could tell.

She closed her eyes and listened to the sizzling of eggs before sighing and following the emissary.

“Word will spread quickly about what happened to the tree, in fact I know there are individuals headed our way already,” Deaton informed her with concern when the office door was shut.

“How would they know about what Stiles did already?” Talia asked frustrated.

“Magic is a fickle thing, it can be felt for miles around, or not at all. My best guess is that when Mr. Stilinski healed the Nemeton it sent messages to other magical places, the keepers of those places would have been able to feel it. Word would have spread from there.”

Talia pinched the bridge of her nose. The situation was just getting more complicated.

“Also, I did some research,” Deaton said nervously. “The tree growing the way it did, there’s no record of something like that happening, ever.” The Druid emphasized. “Mr. Stilinski exhibited a small capacity for magic when he was young, but all of that should have been erased when his father took his memories. If it wasn’t it means he could be much more powerful than I ever anticipated.” Deaton gave her a hard look.

“So now what?” Talia asked, looking out the window to where Stiles and Derek were sitting. Goddess, she hadn’t seen Derek so relaxed in years. She would do everything in her power to make sure Stiles was safe.

“I think you should talk to Mr. Stilinski, warn him of the possible danger. Let me make a call, I’m sure Mr. Cull can provide us with some tools to help,” Deaton responded, pulling out his phone. Talia simply nodded, looking back at her emissary before heading towards the door.

“Talia,” Deaton called as she opened it. “We need to know more about him, what happened with the Nemeton was no accident, there’s something special about him and we need to know what it is. Magic like that must be contained,” Deaton finished with a serious expression.

Talia regarded the vet closely but his facial expression gave nothing away. She gave a short nod.

~~~*~~~

The breeze felt cool against Stiles’ skin. He appreciated the seclusion of the Hale house, deep in the woods and away from prying eyes. He wondered how much more he could have accomplished with his spark if he wasn’t constantly worried about someone finding out.

He spent so much time alone in the woods with Nura. Sure he had friends at school but no one he was particularly close with.

A wave of anger washed over him. Maybe if his dad had been honest with him he could have had this. He could have grown up surrounded by friends and family, a pack after mom died. But instead he grew up alone. He clenched his fist.

“Stiles?” Derek’s worried voice washed over him like a soothing balm. He turned his attention back to the wolf.

“Just thinking,” Stiles reassured him before taking another bite of french toast. “This is delicious,” he complemented. Derek practically glowed at the praise. The wolf really had gone all out. In addition to the toast, which really was perfection on a plate, he had piled another plate high with fresh fruit and a number of different sauces to dip in. Stiles was a fan of the chocolate and raspberry.

“Thanks, it’s uh, actually your mom’s recipe,” he admitted with a rosy blush. Stiles almost teared up at the thoughtfulness.

“Thank you, Derek,” he whispered, reaching out to cover Derek’s hand with his own. He hadn’t been shocked since the first contact, but something about touching Derek just felt right. Stiles had no idea what to make of it. Derek obviously didn’t mind. He turned his hand and curled his fingers around Stiles’.

The back door slid open and Stiles turned to see Talia walking towards them with a smile. The woman radiated power. Stiles couldn’t believe the humans of this town hadn’t figured out what the Hales were. But, he supposed, humans have been conditioned to ignore all signs of the supernatural, so maybe it wasn’t all that surprising.

“Feeling any better?” Stiles started a bit. He hadn’t noticed Talia sit down across from them. Man, this place was messing with his senses.  

“A bit, yeah,” he responded, shoveling in another bite. She nodded and snagged a strawberry. Derek huffed at her and she grinned, unrepentant. The whole family did that a lot, Stiles noticed. Even yesterday they were all smiling and laughing. A wave of sadness hit him this time, why wouldn’t his parents want to let him grow up this way?

“So, I was thinking that perhaps the most efficient way for us to tell you about your mom would be to gather the members of my family that knew her, other than the ones you met last night, and let you talk to them,” the Alpha announced without preamble. Stiles flailed, narrowly missing elbowing Derek in the face and falling off the bench. Talia watched with an amused expression as her son helped stabilize the clumsy human.

“I know it seems like a lot all at once, but you can go at your own pace and only talk to people when you want to,” she continued, ignoring Stiles’ wide eyes. Stiles chewed on his lip.

“We’ll be with you the whole time,” Derek encouraged gently reaching out for his hand again. Stiles looked at him briefly. He seemed sincere, they all did and he was willing to bet they knew more about his parents than his dad had ever told him. His spark hadn’t sensed and malevolence or ill intent since he woke up yesterday afternoon and even now it was swimming contentedly through his chest, happy and at ease.

It wasn’t a bad idea, really. He could get all the information he needed to confront Nura and learn about his mom. Maybe they could even tell him some about the accident. All the answers he needed in one place…

It  might be overwhelming and frightening, but it was worth it, Stiles decided. He trusted the Alpha and the pack.

“Ok,” he said quietly, looking back up at Talia.

“Excellent!” Talia clapped her hands together. “Derek, where you’re finished why don’t you take Stiles to the hotel to gather his things while I work on setting things up here? Take your time,” she said casually. Stiles and Derek both nodded and Stiles blushed profusely when he noticed that he hadn’t let go of Derek’s hand yet.  

He quickly finished his food and helped Derek clean up before they headed out to the hotel. Stiles hadn’t realized exactly how far into the woods he’d run yesterday, but he was impressed with himself. It took almost twenty-five minutes to get to the hotel from the preserve, but surprisingly Derek was driving the speed limit. Well, Talia had told them to take their time, which Stiles suspected was just a ruse so he wouldn’t feel awkward with a bunch of wolves descending on the house.

The longer they were in the car the more acutely aware Stiles was that this was the first time he and Derek had really been alone together. He looked over to the driver’s side. At first glance Derek looked relaxed and in control, but the white knuckles and the way he tensed as soon as he sensed Stiles looking at him were dead giveaways. Stiles held back a chuckle. It was adorable how nervous Derek was.   

 He decided to put him out of his misery.

“Can you tell me about Beacon Hills?” He asked, turning his eyes back to the window. The atmosphere of the car shifted as the were relaxed. Stiles looked back and Derek was smiling at the road.

“What do you want to know?”

~~~*~~~

Talia was nothing if not efficient. As soon as the boys were out of the house she stared making calls and explaining the situation to members of the pack that weren’t around yesterday when Stiles made his explosive entrance.

Peter popped up from wherever he had been hiding and they had a short discussion about Stiles. Peter had been listening of course. Fortunately he agreed with Talia's decision as the least painful option. Talia couldn't tell if that was more for Peter's benefit or Stiles'. 

She had been planning a regular pack get together for a while so luckily she had most of what she needed on hand. For what she didn’t, she called Robert, who was with Laura who was with Cora and most of the other young wolves. She had told them about her plan before they left that morning so Laura and Cora were more than willing to torture their brother and help out. She knew this plan made Derek uncomfortable, but it would be good to force him to interact some. She knew he wouldn’t leave his mate’s side.

The wolves began to trickle in shortly after and preparations went even more quickly with so many extra hands. Food was laid out on long tables across the deck, meat was sizzling on both the grills and Laura was supervising the salads and other extras in the kitchen.

By the time Derek and Stiles pulled back up to the house everything was ready. She could hear Derek directing Stiles to drop his stuff in one of the guest rooms before they came outside. She went inside to meet them and found her son standing stiffly in the kitchen waiting for Stiles.  

She was right, Derek was obviously tense ad concerned for his mate.

“Don’t worry, sweetie, Stiles is going to do just fine,” she soothed. “I’m going to introduce him to the most important people myself, and the rest have been warned to be gentle and careful about how much they tell him at once.”

Derek nodded and forced himself to relax just a little. They both turned when they heard Stiles clomping back down the stairs.

“Are you ready?” Talia turned a sunny smile on Stiles that he returned shakily. He nodded and let her lead them outside.

~~~*~~~

It turns out Derek needn’t have worried. His mother was right as usual. Stiles did beautifully, chatting with each of the people Talia introduced him to, asking simple questions that lead to extensive answers. His mate was a little social butterfly. And he was so strong. There were a few times he came close to tears when people talked about how in love his parents were, or how much Claudia loved to sing, but he managed to keep his composure every time.

He took a few small breaks to keep himself together, keeping Derek close as he did, which made the wolf glow with pride.

He sat back and watched as Stiles soaked up all the information he could about Claudia and his parents when they lived here. He also noticed how careful everyone was being about letting it slip that Stiles lived here too.

It frustrated Derek. He wanted to tell Stiles everything so he understood what they were to each other but he knew too much too soon could make things even worse. So he let Stiles lead him around from person to person with unbridled enthusiasm and just soaked in the scent of family and the sight of his happy mate.

~~~*~~~

Of course the party was in full swing when Deaton had to make it complicated. He came directly from his shop if his scent was anything to go by and marched right up to Talia, but was ignored by most of the pack because they were used to his antics by now.

“I want to try something,” Deaton murmured to Talia quietly enough that none of the wolves around them would hear. Talia looked at him suspiciously.

“Does it have to be right now?” she huffed exasperatedly.

“Trust me?” he implored, “I can prove whether he has magic or not and the pack should know.” She considered for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. He pulled something out of his pocket and walked towards Stiles.

“Mr. Stillinski, I wonder if I might have your help with something?” he asked conversationally. Stiles looked to Derek, who just shrugged, and he nodded. Deaton beckoned him closer and as Stiles walked towards him Deaton threw a vial of red liquid on the ground at his feet. The liquid flared suddenly and wrapped in a tight circle around Stiles. Derek cried out and lunged towards them, but Peter held him back.

Deaton looked triumphantly at Talia, who had adopted a half confused, half angry look while the rest of the wolves had gone silent, looking worriedly between Deaton and Stiles. Stiles, on the other hand, looked completely unperturbed by the display.

“Raven’s blood, really?” Stiles wrinkled his nose at Deaton.

“It will contain you until we know whether or not you pose a threat to the pack,” Deaton responded. Derek snarled at the word threat, but stopped when Stiles started laughing.

“It would contain most magic users, yes,” Stiles grinned and reached out a foot to scrape at the edge of the line. Deaton didn’t respond.

“Stiles?” Derek questioned quietly. Stiles sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose; this was not how he wanted to do this, damn Deaton! He looked up and around until his eyes found Talia.

“Alpha Hale, I apologize for intruding on your territory without proper introduction but I wasn’t sure you or your pack could be trusted.” Stiles ignored the gasps he inspired with his casual use of the words ‘Alpha’ and ‘pack’. Talia just nodded, stunned.

“You knew what we were all along?” Derek asked incredulously still fighting his uncle’s hold. Stiles gave him an apologetic look.

“I did. I’m sorry Derek, I never meant to deceive you,” he said mournfully before turning to Deaton.

“I assure you, Emissary, if I wanted to hurt this pack there is absolutely nothing you could do to stop me,” he stepped over the blood line and watched Deaton’s eyes widen in alarm. He grinned and stretched his arm out over the line and closed his eyes. The blood blackened and slithered back to the point it had been thrown and shot up into Stiles palm. He then sauntered Deaton and held out his hand. 

“Blood dust works better, but if you want to contain something like me, you’ll have to find something else,” he grinned wider at the man’s comically perplexed expression as he poured the dust into his open hand.

When he was done he turned to Talia and said earnestly, “I mean no harm to your pack, I just wanted to know about my mom, and with all the lies I’ve apparently been told…..” he trailed off and bit his lip to keep his voice from wavering, praying to every goddess he knew that he hadn’t screwed this up. 

She just looked at him for a long moment before she smiled in understanding and Stiles heard a loud exhale from behind him as Derek let out the breath he’d apparently holding as his dad finally let him go. He rushed to Stiles side and scooped him up in a hug, nuzzling into his throat. Stiles let him, especially now that they all realized he knew they were wolves.

“So that begs the question, what are you?” Peter’s voice was laced with suspicion. Stiles bit his lip again.

“I-I’ve never told anyone what I am. I promise I won’t hurt you and I’m being honest when I say I mean no harm to anything, but I’m not ready,” he ended on a whisper, looking imploringly up at Talia. Stiles knew she could hear his heartbeat, knew he was telling the truth. Talia pursed her lips.

“I won’t push you for now, but I will eventually need to know, I can’t let an unknown power wander around my territory,” she said apologetically. Stiles nodded. That was more than fair. He turned to Derek.

“You knew what I was all along?” Derek asked again. Stiles nodded.

“I didn’t even know there were werewolves in Beacon Hills until I met Boyd at the storage place,” Stiles explained earnestly. “But I could tell what you were when I met you.” He looked at his feet shamefully. Derek tilted his head up by his chin.

“It’s ok, Stiles. I don’t blame you for not trusting us right away.” Derek said gently, moving his hand to cup Stiles cheek. Stiles leaned into it, looking into Derek’s eyes. Now that all the unpleasantness was over he could finally figure out how he was connected to the town and this gorgeous creature.

~~~*~~~

Talia and Peter watched the exchange from the other side of the patio with a pouting Deaton next to them.

“Tal, do you think it’s smart to let him keep secrets?” Peter asked softly.

“I want him to be comfortable enough with us to tell us himself, and you know he wasn’t lying,” she responded, looking at her brother calmly. Peter tilted his head in deference. He trusted his Alpha’s judgment.

Stiles let go of Derek suddenly and his eyes snapped to the woods.

Deaton dropped his plate and it splatted on the deck with a wet thwack.

Talia staggered as she felt massive amounts of supernatural energy burst through the wards. Cora and Laura rushed to her side while Peter held her up. All the wolves gathered around her in concern. They parted for the emissary.

“Deaton,” she gasped. He nodded.

“They’re here.”

Chapter Text

“What the hell is going on?” Derek demanded as he watched his mother, his mate and their emissary have similar reactions to something the rest of them couldn’t feel.

“I wanted to have this conversation after the party, but they haven’t left me much choice,” Talia said in a breathy voice, reaching out to grab Laura’s shoulder for support. She beckoned Stiles to her. Of course Derek followed.

“What happened with the tree was no accident, especially now that we know about your magic.” Stiles looked away guiltily and Derek nuzzled him in comfort.

“When the Nemeton grew it likely sent shockwaves through other magical sites,” Deaton explained further.

“That’s a Nemeton?!” Stiles head snapped back up and he gaped at them. Deaton paused.

“You know of them?”

“Well, I mean, yeah, but only through books and stuff. That one felt… off,” Stiles said uncomfortably, thinking of the weird feeling from his dream. Talia nodded.

“The Nemeton has not been healthy for many years, it has caused many an upset for the pack,” Deaton agreed in a slightly amused tone, which garnered a huff from Talia.

“That’s putting it mildly,” Peter grumbled.

“I’ve felt drawn to it,” Stiles admitted, chewing on his lip. “That day in the woods, I ran there without even really knowing what I was doing. And it came to me in my dream last night, I think to ask for help, but that wasn’t the only thing. There was some woman, she called me Mica.”

Deaton looked to Talia, who nodded.

“I know you don’t understand yet, but your connection to this land is strong, Stiles,” Deaton said gently.

“This isn’t the way we wanted you to find out, but you were born here. This is your home,” Talia added quietly. Stiles lip trembled as he stared at her incredulously.

“Your father took you away when you were nine after an… incident,” she continued carefully. Derek growled lowly and Talia shot him an apologetic glance. Noah had begged her not to tell Derek after Stiles got hurt and she’d agreed because Derek had been away at the time and he would have blamed himself. Derek had only found out about the attack months later after Noah and Stiles had left and hadn’t talked to her for months afterwards.

 Stiles cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes.

“What kind of incident?” he asked thickly, allowing Derek to pull him closer without protest. Talia sighed and Peter put his hand on her shoulder in support. She smiled gratefully. It was hard being the Alpha sometimes. She opted for bluntness again.  

“You were attacked by the son of an Alpha of a neighboring pack, it wasn’t the first time, but it landed you in the hospital and your dad decided you weren’t safe here anymore,” she grimaced as Stiles paled considerably.

“Attacked!?” Stiles nearly screeched. Talia nodded with a wince.

“And not for the first time?” Stiles clarified with an incredulous expression.

“Yes. Unfortunately, the young pup had a bit of an obsession with you, for lack of a better word,” Talia answered with another wince at Stiles’ flat look.

“Obsession is putting it mildly,” Derek muttered, pressing his nose to Stiles’ temple.

“And you didn’t do anything about it? My dad had to take me and leave?” Stiles whispered brokenly.

“We chased him off our land several times and Derek attacked him twice,” Laura growled out softly in defense of her mother. Derek gave her a sharp look while Talia shook her head mournfully at Stiles, fully understanding his anger and confusion.

“We had made a deal with the Alpha for his son’s life after the last time, but by the time it was finished Noah had already decided to take you away. I couldn’t argue with him,” she explained painfully. Derek whined low in his throat at the memory.

 Stiles nodded slowly trying to understand and take it all in.

“So my mom didn’t die in a car accident?” Stiles asked after a moment, like he was afraid of the answer.

Talia shook her head slowly. “No, she died when you were six, from a brain disease. Her loss was a huge blow to the pack, as was yours.” Talia tried to comfort the distraught boy.

“What about my memory?”

“That your dad did all on his own apparently, we had no idea. I suppose he must’ve still had reason to think you were still in danger,” Talia said with a frown. She still couldn’t figure out a reason for that one. Stiles looked up at Derek, who was looking back at him sadly.

“If we had known what he was going to do I would have fought harder for you to stay,” Talia added, nearly choking on the sorrow and hurt radiating from the boy.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you,” Derek whispered. Stiles angled his body closer and cupped his cheeks.

“It’s not your fault, Derek.”

“Stiles is right, Derek. There was nothing you could have done at the time,” Peter said and his sisters nodded in agreement, their eyes soft.

“S- so is that why I feel drawn to Derek, too?” Stiles asked nervously, deliberately looking away at the ground and not at Derek when he asked. Derek looked smug regardless.

“Yes, it is,” Talia answered, trying not to let her glee leak into her voice. “You two would have been mates if you had been here when you turned eighteen.”

“Mates?” Stiles asked softly, still staring at the floor. Talia looked at Derek for that one.

“It’s, ah, essentially a werewolf marriage, but more permanent,” he explained stiltedly. Stiles’ cheeks turned a delightful shade of pink and Derek was enchanted. Cora snorted at her brother’s dopey expression and Laura rolled her eyes.

“I-I, um,” Stiles sputtered inelegantly. Derek leaned down and pressed their foreheads together.

“We’ll talk about it later, ok?” Stiles nodded softly, still blushing.  

Talia grinned widely. Stiles may not have his memories, but he and Derek still shared a bond and it was growing stronger by the second. Peter cleared his throat loudly and they sprang away from each other. She scowled at her younger brother. Stiles’ face was beat red when he turned back to them, while Derek was grinning unrepentantly.

“So, what do we need to do?” Stiles asked pointedly ignoring the grins from the rest of the pack.

“Unfortunately there isn’t much we can do except wait since we don’t know why they are here. We know it has to do with the power blast from the Nemeton, but we shouldn’t make any assumptions about their intentions,” Laura answered first. Talia nodded in agreement, eyes glowing with pride.

“Luckily most of the pack is here already, so I don’t need to call for reinforcements. Deaton is expecting a friend who might be able to help us, but for now let’s head inside,” Talia added, waving a hand towards the door. The last part was given as a command and everyone acted accordingly.

Food was put away and tables cleared as the pack worked in unison to put everything back in order. Stiles was amazed at the efficiency. It sometimes took a week for him and his dad to do the dishes after a big meal. He sighed sadly at the thought of his father.   

“Stiles?” Derek questioned softly, his voice laced with concern.

“I’m ok.” He tried to smile.

“It’s ok not to be ok,” Talia said from behind him where she was leaned so she could watch out the windows. Stiles turned to her.

“We just dropped a lot of information on you and I would be surprised if you weren’t upset,” she said kindly, putting her hand on his back. Stiles shrugged, ignoring the warm feeling in his chest at the Alpha’s touch.  

“I’m trying not to think about it right now, honestly. We have more important things to deal with.” He was deflecting, but Talia nodded approvingly and Derek smiled softly. Stiles felt himself blushing again under their scrutiny.

“Also, I think I might honestly explode if I try and think about all the things my dad lied about,” Stiles blurted out. Talia nodded sympathetically and patted his back again.

Derek reached out and folded Stiles into his arms. Stiles felt like he should be uncomfortable with all the sudden intimacy, but it felt right, just like it did this morning and he didn’t want to question the way Derek made him feel. If they really were mates, then he had a feeling he wouldn’t be leaving Beacon Hills anytime soon anyway.  

Talia and Derek both stiffened suddenly and turned towards the front door, pulling Stiles out of his head. Shame, it was such a comfy place right now. Due to Stiles precariously positioning in Derek’s arms he stumbled a bit, too. Derek blushed and stammered an awkward apology while helping him stand upright.

“What’s going on?” he asked, righting his shirt and avoiding Derek’s gaze.

“Deaton’s friend is here, I guess,” Derek answered as Talia moved towards the living room where the front door was opening. They followed slowly still wrapped up in each other when they entered the room behind Talia.

“Ah, Mr. Cull,” Deaton said with a smile.

“Emissary,” the man replied, embracing Deaton lightly. “You know there’s a huge pack of weres and magics that just passed into your territory?” He asked with concern. “It looked like a good portion of them were from the Raeken pack.”

Talia snarled. Stiles was in more danger than she thought! Not just physical danger either. Theo wouldn’t hesitate to use the memory loss against him.

Deaton grimaced. “Yes, that’s what we were hoping you could help with, actually.”

 Stiles peered around Derek and Talia at the familiar voice.

“Roy?” Stiles asked confused.

“Stiles?” Roy gaped at him before he rushed over and pulled him into a hug. The last person he ever expected to see in the den of one of the most powerful wolf families on the west coast was Stiles. Deaton looked between the two suspiciously and Derek barely held back a growl at their familiarity.

“How do you know each other?” Laura questioned. Roy looked at Stiles quizzically and Stiles just shrugged.

“Stiles here is one of my best customers,” Roy replied fondly ruffling the boy’s hair while Stiles rolled his eyes.

“You have tattoos?” Derek choked out.

“A few,” Stiles nodded with a small smile, tugging self consciously at the hems around his wrist. 

“A few--“ Roy started to scoff before Stiles cut him off with a look. Derek’s mouth had gone dry. He had been wondering what Stiles looked like without his shirt but with tattoos… damn, he shook out of the fantasy before he stunk up the room with his arousal. He saw his mother’s nose wrinkle in distaste and his sisters roll their eyes and knew he hadn’t succeeded. He blushed furiously.   

“Anyway,” Stiles continued giving Roy a pointed look, “why are you here?”

Roy looked extremely uncomfortable suddenly. “Deaton said he needed ink for a spell.”

Stiles eyes narrowed in comprehension and the wolves became aware of the building tension in the room.

“And what kind of ink are you giving him?” Stiles asked through gritted teeth. Roy looked down at his feet shamefully and Stiles expression turned thunderous.

“What the fuck, Roy?!?” Stiles yelled angrily. “You told me that ink was only used for protection runes like mine! Why would you lie to me?” he questioned as he took a step towards Roy who looked terrified.

“Do you have any idea how much this ink is worth?” Roy responded shakily taking a step back.  

“Stiles, what’s going on?” Talia asked quietly as she observed the exchange.  Stiles turned towards her and the wolves gasped. Stiles eyes were the color of molten amber and glowing brightly. Derek started to reach out and Peter stopped him, shaking his head.

“Oh my god,” Deaton paled considerably after a few moments of thick silence. Talia turned to him and raised her eyebrows in question.

“All these years, the spells I’ve been using, like the ones to fight off the Montaro Pack,” he started and Talia nodded along in understanding. “They shouldn’t have been able to work, the only reason they did was because of the ink, which is why I’ve always told you it’s worth the price. Now I know why,” Deaton finished looking at Stiles in wonder where he was still staring at Roy in disbelief.

“Wait, what?” Cora piped up in confusion, and she wasn’t the only one.

“The ink, it’s infused with the magic of a very powerful being,” Deaton whispered reverently. Stiles clenched his fists. Finally understanding the rest of the pack turned their eyes to Stiles, who was desperately trying to keep his anger under control.

“It was a trade,” he spit out harshly. “Roy agreed to do my tattoos for free if I infused some of his ink with my magic. It was supposed to be for protection runes, to protect people! And now I find out you’ve been selling it?!”

He took another step towards Roy who now pale as death and looked like he was going to pass out.

“To take advantage of an unknowing Spark…” Deaton looked at Roy with disgust.

“Explain,” Talia barked out, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Sparks are some of the most powerful beings on the planet, it is in their nature to protect and shield supernatural creatures from anything that might hurt them. Their magic flourishes on belief and they’re kind of like the watch dogs of the supernatural community. To take their magic and use it without their knowledge or permission is unthinkable. In fact a hundred years ago it would have been a death sentence,” Deaton said quietly still looking at Roy with distaste.

Derek wanted to rip the man in half. Stiles was shaking with anger and looked so upset that Derek’s wolf was howling for them to hurt the man who hurt their mate.

“Stiles? What do you want me to do?” Talia asked, eyeing Roy distrustfully.

“It doesn’t matter,” Stiles gritted out harshly, looking away from the shaking tattoo artist.

“How can it not matter?!” Derek cried, his wolf still roaring on behalf of their mate. Stiles expression softened considerably when he looked at Derek.

“We have more important things to worry about right now,” Stiles said calmly, seemingly back under control. Talia nodded in agreement and directed Peter to take Roy away. They would deal with him later.

“At least Deaton won’t need the ink,” Stiles joked weakly as several of the wolves followed Peter and led Roy down to the basement. Derek grumbled next to him but supported Stiles when he leaned on him.

Stiles was acutely aware of the eyes on him, especially Deaton. Honestly the guy might as well as have hearts in his eyes. The attention made him uncomfortable but he understood their curiosity. Nura might not have taught him about werewolves but she sure as hell taught him about Sparks. She would be negligent not to.

“This is why you didn’t want to tell me, isn’t it?” Talia asked with a sad look. Stiles nodded

“Sparks are rare and powerful. Being either one in the supernatural community is a big deal, but being both is like painting a target on your back.” Stiles sighed heavily and Deaton made a noise of agreement.

He could do a lot of good with his power, but if someone were able to get control of his magic somehow it could have devastating consequences. 

“Claudia thought you might have the potential for great magic,” Deaton said dreamily. Peter snorted and Laura and Cora gaped at the Druid incredulously. Talia merely shook her head since she was used to the emissary’s eccentricities.

Derek actually wondered whether or not he might need to fight for his mate for a split second before he felt Stiles inching closer with an uncomfortable look on his face. Then he had to resist the urge to laugh.

“We need to talk about Raeken,” Talia said firmly, bringing the attention back to her and away from the nervous Spark for a moment.

“Do you know him?” Stiles asked curiously. Talia sighed internally and nodded. Today was just not their day.

“He’s the son of the Alpha that attacked you,” she said looking at Stiles seriously. “That may be why he’s coming.”

Stiles wanted to throw up a little and his heart started to race. This just kept getting better and better.

“I don’t think he’ll hesitate to use the fact that Stiles doesn’t remember us against us if he can,” Talia said turning to Deaton.  

“Yes,” the Druid agreed. “If he pushes too much it could be damaging and painful, it would be best if Stiles wasn’t allowed to speak to him.”

“No problem there,” Laura mumbled under her breath eyeing her brother strangely, who was currently trying his best to wrap around his mate like an oversized were-octopus. Cora snorted again in an effort to hold back her laughter as did several of the other wolves.  

“My scent should still be blocked,” Stiles piped up without thinking. There were a couple confusing sighs of relief.

“Thank god!” Cora exclaimed. “I thought there was something wrong with my nose!” Stiles chuckled.

“Sorry, I guess I should explain. I blocked my scent before I came into town since I didn’t know what I would find.”

“That’s why we couldn’t scent your magic!” Talia cried in triumph. Derek huffed in Stiles’ ear.

“I want to smell you when this is over,” he demanded in a whisper. Stiles shivered delicately.

“How did you block it?” Peter asked curiously. He had always been interested in magic but Deaton was always frustratingly cryptic. Derek pulled his mouth away from Stiles’ ear and the boy’s eyes cleared.

“I have a rune that I can activate when I need to,” Stiles answered, pulling away and putting some distance between himself and Derek to avoid an awkward situation. The last thing he needed was to get a hard on in a room full of his apparent mate’s family members. And he did not think Derek’s pouting was adorable, he did not.

“Let’s talk strategy,” Talia said loudly, pulling everyone’s attention again. Derek squeezed Stiles’ arm before he stepped forward to stand next to his mother. Deaton took that moment as his cue to leave since he would just be in the way without any supplies, and left the wolves to their planning. 

Stiles listened while Talia, Peter, Derek and the rest of the wolves worked out positions and attack strategy. It was morbidly fascinating, but he had never seen a pack go to battle before. The closest he got was a group of Sprites trying to take out a beehive on their territory. Stiles was positive this would be different.

Talia was proving to be an impressive werewolf and Alpha, she considered the ideas of her pack, particularly Peter, but was still confident enough to make final decisions; and none of her wolves seemed to question them, so that was good. Stiles was feeling more and more confident in his decision to trust her and her pack. He wanted to help in any way he could.  

They were discussing forest and estate placement, which apparently involved them getting out there before the other pack showed and Stiles got an idea. They were midway through the conversation before he actually worked up the nerve to voice it.

“Talia?” he questioned timidly when there was a brief lull. The conversation ceased abruptly and Stiles felt even dumb for opening his mouth when they all turned to look at him.

“What is it Stiles?” she asked softly, sensing his nervousness.

“Um, um,” he started timidly. Derek nodded at him in encouragement and he just blurted it out. “I could put a scent blocker on your wolves, that way no one in the other pack would be able to smell them in the woods,” he ducked his head at her incredulous look. “If it would help?” he ended shyly. He looked back up and both Derek and Deaton were beaming at him.

 Talia looked surprised, like she hadn’t even considered the possibility. She pursed her lips for a moment.

“Thank you, Stiles. That would be extremely helpful. How do you want to do it?”

“I just need to, uh, touch them,” Stiles stammered awkwardly somewhat surprised by her easy acceptance. Talia nodded and quickly gathered the beta’s she planned on using for recon and lined them up. The rest of the pack watched closely, eager to see the magic of a spark at work.

Stiles approached them, his cheeks rosy from the attention. It was a fairly simple process really and he was finished quickly. He chose to place the runes on their wrists where they would be aided by the pumping of blood, or quite literally life force. They were a smaller version of the one inked on his own skin, but for the wolves, they were temporary.

The wolves all examined their wrists in delight since they weren’t used to seeing permanent marks on their skin.

Stiles blushed all over again when he saw the adoring look on Derek’s face. He started making his way back to Derek’s side when he jumped in surprise. Later he would make fun of several of the wolves he managed to startle in the process.

He locked eyes with Talia. The invading pack was close. He felt it through the land, Talia and Deaton through the warding around the property. Stiles felt an uncomfortable shiver run down his spin.

“Alright,” Talia addressed the room. She went over the plan again, and directed the newly tattooed beta’s out into the forest directly butting up against the property. They moved quickly and after a few moments Stiles couldn’t even tell where they were. None of them were going far, though. Stiles suspected it was because of the positioning of the house in relation to the Nemeton, which the Alpha didn’t even realize she was doing. He made a mental note to ask about it later.

“Are we gonna move outside?” He asked no one in particular. Laura answered.  

“No. It’s a power move,” she explained, gesturing in Talia’s general direction where she was waiting by the door with Peter. “By waiting inside the house, Mom is saying she doesn’t consider Raeken to be that big of a threat.” Stiles nodded in understanding. Smart.

Stiles could feel the power of the pack moving closer, they were probably only a hundred feet away now.

He frowned. Something felt wrong.

“Stiles?” Deaton questioned, watching the Spark closely. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not sure,” Stiles admitted softly. “The power just feels off, skewed, like something is wrong with it.”

Deaton beamed proudly.

“You’re correct in trusting your instincts young man. The Raeken Alpha, Theo, has a few less than admirable qualities. Talia and I have been keeping an eye on him since his father and sister died under ‘suspicious circumstances’ a few years ago.” Deaton explained, considering each word carefully. Talia nodded in agreement.

“His father was just as crazy, but a lot less violent,” she said cautiously, watching the line of wolves spread out along her tree line.

 She opened the door and walked outside with a confidence Stiles was certain he would never have in his lifetime.

Stiles had to admit, he was impressed at the showing the Hale pack was receiving. This pack looked strong, the wolves looked dangerous, and he could identify at least four magic users. As he predicted though, the aura of the entire pack looked off. He scanned the party with his spark, eyes flaring briefly. What he saw almost made him recoil.

The aura was a disgusting brownish green color, like it was sickly and dying. Like the magic was being forced and manipulated. Stiles’ stomach turned as he realized that about half that pack, including the magic users, probably weren’t there by choice.  

He had no way of warning Talia without giving away his presence.

“Derek --,” he started, but he was shushed quietly.

Talia was stopping at the edge of the lawn with her own wolves flanking her impressively. Then it was a good old fashioned standoff with the two packs staring each other down until the invading alpha finally spoke.

“Alpha Hale.” He flashed his eyes and grinned manically.

“Alpha Raeken,” Talia responded stiffly, her red eyes flashing dangerously. “Is there a reason your pack is trespassing on Hale territory?”

“I think you know why,” he said causally, hands stuck in his front pockets. “You’re keeping something from me and I want it back.”

Stiles stomach dropped.

Chapter Text

The whole pack heard Derek’s subvocal growl at the threat coming out of the alpha’s mouth. Talia knew she needed to be careful, one wrong word and Derek might lose it completely.

She looked over the opposing pack with a practiced eye. To an outsider they might look strong and cohesive, but she knew better. The magic users were exchanging uneasy glances and the wolves, well they looked almost feral. It was obvious that the madness of the alpha affected the rest of them, even those imbued with magic. In fact, about half the pack looked terrified and ready to run.

Theo was trying to project confidence, but he was unraveling. His fists clenched and unclenched, his hair was matted and greasy and his eyes were wild.

The up side of this situation was that it was a widely known fact that Raeken was becoming more and more unbalanced as he got older. There was nothing they could do about it, since the last person the pack hurt was Stiles and Noah chose to leave rather than press any sort of charges within the supernatural community. The elder Alpha Raeken could be reasoned with, but Theo was considered by most packs to be a loose cannon. He had trouble getting people to follow him since his father died and she knew she could use that to her advantage. The more control he lost the less he would be able to control not only his pack, but himself as well.

“I assure you, Alpha Raeken, there is nothing here that belongs to you,” she responded coolly. “Awfully presumptuous of you isn’t it? Bringing your pack onto Hale land?” she added disapprovingly. She was stating the obvious, she knew, but she needed to goad him a bit.

Theo didn’t respond, instead he let his eyes rove over the assembled pack, searching. Talia let him, knowing he wouldn’t find what he was looking for. His face contorted when he hit the end of the line.

“Where is he?” the alpha snarled.

“Who?” She deliberately baited him.

“Don’t test me, Hale! My pack felt his magic the second we crossed the boundary lines, we saw the damn tree!” His voice was deranged, more animal than human almost. “Give him to me now and I might consider letting you live.”

Talia’s eyes flashed and her pack shifted angrily at the insult to their alpha.

“There is nothing here for you, Theo, go home.” She tried one last time to be reasonable. Theo’s answering roar echoed across the grass.

“He’s mine! I marked him!” Theo shouted angrily. Talia bristled and she could scent the anger coiling around her pack.  

“You attacked a child!” Peter snarled back furiously. Talia looked at her pack with pride knowing they were willing to protect their packmate’s mate.

As if some invisible whistle had been blown, the Raeken wolves attacked. Talia snarled and shifted, her clothes exploding to reveal her full wolf form. Her wolf was sleek and black, her head easily reaching Peter’s shoulders as they tore across the grass together.

Talia went straight for Raeken while Peter viciously tore into his betas. Laura and the wolves that were hiding in the surrounding trees dropped down behind the line and plowed through from the back, effectively eviscerating any opposition.

It might have been an easy fight, but fear was a powerful motivator, and there was no way to be certain whether Raeken’s pack was more scared of the Hale’s or what Theo might do to them if they failed. So, they fought fiercely, with everything they had.

~~~*~~~

Stiles couldn’t stand it. The magic users were trying their best to fend off the wolves, but they weren’t hurting them by any means, they were far too weak. What in hell was this alpha thinking, bringing this group to a fight!?

He felt sick thinking that this was his fault, Theo wouldn’t even be here if he wasn’t after him. He winced as Cora’s claws sunk into the shoulder of a young girl, a druid by the look of her aura.

“Derek, they’re hurting them!” Stiles cried desperately, trying in vein to wiggle out of his mates’ arms.

“That’s what they get for siding with Raeken!” Derek snarled, eyes shining bright blue.  

“Derek, you don’t understand!” Stiles cried desperately. “I can pick out at least half that have no choice, the alpha manipulated their magic, they can’t help it!” Stiles turned pleading eyes on Derek.

“It doesn’t matter,” Derek gritted out, looking back towards the fight.

“It does matter!” Stiles shouted. “Magic is about balance! Raeken fucked it up! I can use that against him, I have to get out there!” Stiles sent a small spark of electricity through his skin, startling Derek into letting him go.

“No, Stiles!” Derek shouted at him, pulling him back roughly.

“I got this.” Stiles said, looking Derek in the eye, pleading desperately. He pushed Derek towards the porch and vaulted out into the grass before he could catch him again.

“Stiles, no!” Derek cried. Stiles stopped and turned, grinning widely. Derek was confused.

“Let me show you what I can do, mate” he grinned wickedly and Derek stopped dead, feeling the answering jolt all the way to his toes.  

Turning back towards the other pack, Stiles slowly stripped off his shirt. He slowly ran his fingers across his skin, and one by one, swirling black, red, purple marks appeared. Derek’s mouth watered at the sight. Stiles’ arms and back were covered in intricate runes and sigils and they accentuated the lean muscles covering his body. Roy, asshole that he was, was obviously good at his trade.

Stiles straightened his back and called forth his magic.

Derek couldn’t help the surge of arousal he felt at the smell of sweetgrass and thunder and the crackle of power, his mate was beautiful, commanding and dangerous. He licked his lips and stared at his mate hungrily. The thought of all that power underneath him and between his legs made his mouth water. 

Stiles sent a searing blast of white light out of both hands. The tendrils shot through the crowds of snarling wolves, weaving and bouncing until it attached to the backs of all the Hale wolves. Stiles wrapped his hands around each of the lights and yanked violently.

They were all jerked back harshly, but they weren’t hurt. They soared one by one until they were all standing in front of the house again, bewildered in most cases. Stiles used the time to throw up a dome around the house, encompassing it and all the wolves.

They shouted and ran towards him, banging their fists on it furiously.

“Stiles let us out! You can’t take them on alone!” Talia demanded, her fear for the Spark making her voice harsh. Stiles shook his head

“No, Alpha. I can do this. Let me protect our pack.” Talia beat on the wall in frustration, her fear for Stiles outweighing the joy she felt when he referred to them as his pack. Stiles caught Derek’s eye, the only one not trying to break the barrier down, and smiled again. I got this, he mouthed again.

He turned to face the Alpha and his pack, most of which were watching his display with slack jaws. Their alpha’s growl brought them to attention.

“He’s mine!” Theo roared and they rushed him as a wave.

The purple swirled around him like a shield of ribbon and the wolves just seemed to bounce right off. Wind swirled around him and the forest crackled and groaned.

“The land,” murmured Peter in awe. Talia looked at him sharply.

“What about it?” Derek snapped frantically, not taking his eyes off Stiles.

“The land is helping him, reaching out, giving him power,” Deaton whispered in awe.

Stiles continued walking, the ground around his feet emitting a soft white glow with every step. Soft strings of green light fell gracefully from the trees and wound their ways around Stiles’ arms. He reached his arms out to the sides and let it flow delicately from his fingertips.

Those that were forced to fight by Alpha Raeken felt an immeasurable weight lift from their shoulders, like they could finally breathe without pain. One by one they dropped to their knees as Stiles walked past. Those loyal to Theo still charged forward, determined to bring the spark down for their alpha.

Stiles’ tattoos burned brightly as he fought them back. He moved swiftly, cutting and jabbing at the wolves, his magic unrelenting in its ferocity. His magic spun circles around the wolves and is eyes burned brightly with anger at each body he was forced to hurt.

The magic he was using wasn’t tactical, it was healing. Every time he touched one of them they let go of a sliver of Theo’s madness. It wasn’t a painless process.

He got lost in the flow of his magic, leaping, rolling and cleansing the wolves one by one until they dropped, exhausted by the sudden lightness of their wolves. Breathing in, Stiles scented the air, it was mostly crisp and clean now, with the exception being the dark stain of the alpha, who simply stood back and let his pack take the brunt of Stiles’ magic, grinning manically.

Stiles’ spark was in no mood to be played with. He shot an arrow of blackened at Theo, the arrow sizzled as it cut through flesh effectively pinning him to the nearest tree and shutting off his healing.  

Something sparked in Stiles’ brain as he approached the writhing wolf, a feeling of familiarity almost. The alpha would have been considered attractive if his wasn’t contorted with rage and Stiles felt like he should know him for some reason, which was alarming, considering he didn’t have those feelings when he was first reintroduced to Derek. Stiles shoved it to the back of his mind to examine later.

Stiles stopped in front of Theo, who was still pinned to the tree.

“Well, didn’t you grow up nice.” Theo leered at him. Stiles felt a shiver of disgust crawl up his spine and did his best to ignore it.

“I’m not sure why you think I’m worth going to war with the Hale pack and the Nemeton for me is worth it, but this madness ends now, Raeken.” Stiles refused to give him the respect of an alpha. Theo palled a bit at the mention of the nemeton, but continued his tirade undeterred.

“You’re supposed to be mine, Mica! My mate, mine! From the minute I scented your magic when we were kids I knew I would be the only one who could handle you, keep you in line.” Stiles was both surprised at disgusted at the words. Disgust because he had no desire to be ‘handled’ and surprise at the sincerity of Theo’s words, like he really thought a spark needed a keeper.

Stiles shivered again.  

“Magic doesn’t need a keeper!” Stiles surprised himself with the ferocity of his words. Raeken just grinned at him through bloody teeth.

“I found you once, in San Francisco, your dad nearly took me out with those special bullets that fucking witch gave him!” Theo snarled.

Stiles stared at him, unimpressed at his attempt to jog his memory. He used his magic to push deeper into Theo’s skin. Theo roared with pain, but didn’t move other than to open his mouth again. Stiles used his magic to pull him forward and slam him back against the tree again.

“And then you gave me a scar to match the one I gave you.” Theo laughed cruelly, spitting blood out of his mouth.

Stiles’ eyes widened and his hand flew to his hip, where the scars lay. It made sense now. His spark hadn’t been developed enough to heal the wounds yet, and by the time Nura found him, they had already scarred over.  

His head burned with the force of what could only be him memories trying to surface. He grimaced in pain and scowled at the immobilized werewolf.

“Derek is my mate and the Hale’s are my pack, you are not welcome on their land,” Stiles forced out through gritted teeth.

Theo could tell he was going to lose, he underestimated Stiles’ power. He began to struggle in earnest. Stiles was weakened and alone, but he knew protecting his pack was the most important thing. He gathered the last of his power and pushed it into Theo, wrapping tendrils of magic around his wolf until it was tied and yanked the alpha power out of him. He smiled listening to Theo roar in pain, he would never be able to hurt anyone ever again.  

The last thing he saw was Theo’s face, looking serene and quiet in the grass, before darkness crawled into the edges of his vision and everything went dark.

Chapter Text

The moments after the fight were some of the most intense and heartbreaking of Derek’s life. As soon as Stiles passed out the barrier keeping them bound to the house fell. The amount of magic it released was staggering and Derek needed to remember to tell Stiles how impressive it was that he could hold such magic while still fighting off feral wolves and magic users, right after he punished his cheeky little mate.

Derek had never felt fear like he did when he watched his mate drop to the ground in front of Raeken, pale and unmoving. The whole pack seemed to move as one, some stopping to check the state of the Raeken wolves, others the magic users. Derek and his mother and Peter ran to where Stiles and Theo lay in the grass.

The spark was breathing, but unconscious and Derek couldn’t help the whine that escaped him as he gathered the lithe body in his arms to bring back to the house, letting his mom and Peter deal with Theo.

After taking Stiles to his room he pulled off his clothes that had been ripped by claws and magic and replaced them with some of his own. Once he was satisfied that Stiles smelled more like him than grass, he collapsed next him on the bed.

No one came in for a while, letting Derek’s instincts calm as he took in the scent of his mate. As soon as Derek was ready Deaton came in quietly and checked him over.  

When he was finished he walked to where Talia was standing in the doorway.

“They may not have bonded yet, but the land recognized their magic. A true pairing between a werewolf and a Spark,” Deaton murmured as they watched Derek stroking Stiles’ hair.

“So he was destined to fix the harm to the Nemeton?” Talia asked quietly.

“It would seem so.” Deaton answered. Talia waited to see if he would elaborate and huffed when he didn’t. Cryptic emissary.

“Is he going to be ok?” Talia asked hesitantly. Deaton shrugged.

 “Physically? Absolutely. None of the wolves landed a single hit, he’s just worn out from using so much magic. Mentally? That I can’t answer. Theo might have done a number on him, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Talia nodded and pushed off the door, walking into the room. Derek looked wrecked. His eyes were red rimmed and pinched with worry. He was curled around Stiles, holding his hand and stroking the knuckles reverently.

After everything was settled Talia called the rest of the pack to update them on the situation. The younger ones demanded to come to the house to make sure everyone was ok, those that were older showed a little more restraint. Soon, Derek was surrounded by the comforting smells of Erica, Boyd and Isaac as they crowded around him next to Stiles’ still form. 

Scott was terrified for his new friend, but also couldn’t wait to ask him about his magic.

~~~*~~~

For the second time within the span of a few days Stiles woke up groggy, disoriented and surrounded by werewolves. He groaned a bit and there was a flurry of movement around him. Warm hands helped him sit up slowly, bracing him against an equally warm chest. He was still pretty weak and didn’t have the energy to make it the whole way and just ended up sagging into the hold. 

“Careful, baby,” a soft voice murmured in his ear. Derek. Stiles felt his magic reach out and wrap softly around that voice and a soft gasp sounded in his ear. Stiles sighed happily, he wanted to stay cocooned in it forever.

 He opened his eyes slowly. "How long was I out?" His voice was hoarse and scratchy. 

"About a day and a half," Derek answered. Stiles wanted to coo at the worry slash disapproval there, but he didn't have the energy. 

“What happened?” he asked thickly.

“I can answer that.” Stiles heard a familiar voice.

“Nura?” he gasped at sat up so fast his head started to spin. He grimaced in pain and cracked his eyes open, the light blinding him momentarily. Everyone was crowded around the bed, Derek's bed, he noted fondly. He briefly registered Scott and the beta's from the mechanics shop. Their presence surprised him, but he appreciated them being there for Derek. He turned to face Nura, trying to ignore the throbbing in his skull. 

“She showed up while you were passed out,” Derek said with an annoyed voice while he steadied him and lifted a cup of water to his lips. Stiles gulped it down, realizing how thirsty he was.

 Stiles could feel the animosity pouring off Derek, not that he was feeling much different after finding out she had been lying to him for most of his life.

“What you did was dangerous, Kid,” she said with a sad sigh. Stiles winced and peeked up at Talia. She didn't seem to register exactly what Nura was talking about, he would tell her later. Somehow he always seemed to make himself his collateral damage.

“Sorry, Nura,” he whispered, looking down at his hands.

Nura cautiously approached the bed. The wolves were reacting to Stiles’ tension and were all on edge.

“Our emissary said he passed out because he overexerted his magic,” Talia said quietly from her place at the end of the bed. Nura answered as if it were a question.

“That’s true, yes, but that wasn’t the only issue.” She turned back to Stiles. “Seeing this Alpha, Theo, put pressure on the memory block in your mind,” she started slowly. Derek wasn’t the only one that growled at that.

Derek seethed at the thought. He wished he could bring Theo back to life so he could kill him again! The trauma he brought to his mate could never be undone. Derek knew the only thing he could do was try and help Stiles through it now.

“Memory block?” Stiles squeaked incredulously.

“I know you know there was no accident Stiles, and a car crash didn’t kill your mom,” Nura said apologetically. Derek’s heart nearly broke at the look of utter disbelief and devastation on his mate’s face all over again.

“Let me start at the beginning.” She gave a weak smile. Stiles nodded sharply, hands balled into fists as he tried to control his swelling anger.

“Your father showed up in my tiny town with a young boy whose magic was out of control. He had gotten my name from a witch in San Francisco. Apparently when he took you away from Derek, your spark decided to cause some trouble. That must be how Theo found you there. You were only ten but had dwindled down to fifty pounds and were refusing to eat, sleeping all the time and when you weren’t sleeping you were yelling and crying. Your spark kept you alive, but not by much. And then the magic itself was out of control.”

Stiles had gone distinctly pale. Derek whined at the description of his little broken mate. The other wolves looked a combination of anger and sadness. Talia looked furious.

“I told Noah not to take him away from Derek!” She spit at Nura angrily. Nura nodded in agreement.

“Had I know the full situation I would have agreed, but Noah didn’t tell me Stiles had a mate. He didn’t tell me much at all actually. Just that Stiles was powerful and in danger, as well as a danger to himself. So he asked me to take away the memories of Beacon Hills. If I had known Stiles had an anchor here, I would have advised him to return right away.”

“And you just did it?” Derek asked in disbelief. She turned sad eyes to Stiles.

“Do you remember people telling stories about the storm that took out the west cliff and nearly half the town?” she asked tentatively. Stiles nodded slowly, his face paling further as he understood what she was saying.

“I did that?” he whispered, feeling sick. Derek pulled him into his arms as he buried his head in his hands.

“You were… out of control. Unhappy, miserable and Noah had no idea how to help,” Nura explained further, trying to be gentle.  

“It’s not your fault, Stiles,” Derek cooed as Stiles lithe frame became racked with sobs.

“He’s right Stiles, it wasn’t your fault. Your father took an inactive spark away from a stable home and mate and put even more stress on him trying to control his magic. You’re not responsible for what happened,” Talia spoke softly, looking at Nura sharply to confirm.

“They’re right. Noah would never tell me what he was running from, just that you had to be protected. He may have made mistakes, gone about it the wrong way, but he loved you, Stiles.” Nura said.

Everyone was silent for a few minutes while Derek tried to calm Stiles down.

“All this time!” Stiles sniffled. “All this time I could have been here with you! I could have been with my mate!” He wailed and buried his head in his hands.

“Stiles, baby, you’re here now, that’s all that matters,” Derek wrapped his arms around him tightly, shushing softly. The pack looked on from a distance, soft smiles on their faces. A wolf comforting their mate was a wonderful sight.

“Can you fix it?” Derek asked eventually, when Stiles’ tears had dried up. Nura nodded slowly.

“I can, but it’ll be painful,” she grimaced.

“I don’t care, my magic feels empty and lonely in this place, like something's missing,” Stiles whispered desperately. “I want them back!” Talia smiled at the quiet ferocity. Just like Claudia. Nura smiled fondly at him and reached out to ruffle his hair before she stood up, then she was all business.

“Alright, I’m going to need the room and a few damp cloths, then we can get started.” Talia nodded and the rest of the wolves dutifully filed out of the room. Derek was barely holding it together at the thought of having to leave his mate so soon after he woke up. Stiles reached across the bed for his hand.

“I’ll be ok, Derek. Just think, after this I’ll be whole again,” he whispered with wide eyes. Derek smiled softly and placed a delicate kiss on Stiles’ forehead.

“You’re already whole, baby,” he whispered back.

 When he pulled away, Stiles cheeks and ears were tinged a soft pink.

Derek looked across the bed at Nura, who was gazing at Stiles fondly and Derek knew his mate was in good hands. He walked to the door where his mom and sisters were waiting for him, Laura and Cora grinning like the fools they were.

“Shut up!” he whisper yelled as Talia pulled the door shut.

“You did good, baby,” Talia said quietly, leaning over an d nuzzling his neck softly. Derek beamed at the compliment from his alpha.

Only for his face to turn into a full snarl at the first scream. Talia was prepared though, and the three of them held him firmly until the screams died down into pained gasps.

Derek couldn’t help it, his mate was in pain.

“Derek!” Talia scolded, flashing her eyes at him. He whimpered and whined, but slowly pulled back the wolf until he was just a shaking mess in her arms. His sisters cooed and petted him until he calmed down, Laura whispering sympathetic encouragement in his ear.

"It'll be over soon," Talia soothed the distressed wolf. Derek nodded. He knew it was a necessary evil if he wanted his mate back. If Stiles could get through it, he could, he needed to be strong for his mate. 

Chapter Text

Derek paced and whined outside the door for an hour before he was forced outside by Talia and Peter, Stiles pained whimpering getting to be too much for all of them, really. Derek forced himself to lay out in the grass, senses thrumming with the smell of pack and home with a layer of Stiles underneath.

Soon, his mate would be with him again and the thought sent shivers down his spine. A month ago he wasn’t sure he would ever see his little Mica again, and here he was strong and courageous, a protector of the pack, it was more than he could ever hope for. So Derek patiently waited.

~~~*~~~

Nura mopped the sweat from Stiles brow one last time and threw the rag in the small pile next to the bed. Most of them were covered in blood from the nose bleeds, but at least it was done. Stiles would sleep for a few hours to recover, but would awaken with his memory intact.

She stared down at the still form and sighed. She pretty much raised him magically, and now their relationship was fractured due to his father’s foolish notions about protecting his son. Hopefully it would repair itself in time.

She checked over him magically one more time and deemed the process done. She tiptoed out of the room and pulled the door closed, turning to face the alpha she knew was waiting.

“How is he?” Talia asked lowly, arms folded stiffly across her chest, eyes critically assessing.

“He’ll sleep for a few hours, but his memories are intact and restored,” Nura hesitated and Talia nodded that she should continue. “I think it would be best that I’m not here when Stiles wakes up. His feelings will be… intense and he might lash out at me in anger.”

Talia nodded, agreeing it was for the best. They walked down the stairs together and Nura headed straight for the door. She didn’t see Derek but most of the pack was gathered in the living room. The animosity from the younger wolves − Derek’s friends − was palpable and she didn’t want to subject herself to more than was necessary.

“Oh, one more thing,” she turned from the doorway to where Talia was updating Peter and Laura, they turned expectantly. “The bond he formed with your son before Noah separated them, it will most likely be volatile, I would recommend letting them bond as soon as possible so Stiles’ magic stays under control.” She held her head high at the resulting growls. Talia just chuckled.

“I don’t think Derek will mind.”

Nura gave one last nod and glanced up the stairs before closing the door. She hoped with all her heart that Stiles could forgive her part in all of this.

~~~*~~~

The time passed slowly. Eventually some of the wolves went back to their respective homes, others, like his mom and sisters, meandered inside and started pulling things out for dinner. Derek ignored them, not sure he would be able to keep himself from going upstairs if he went inside.

Finally, after what felt like hours, there was a shift in the atmosphere. Derek wasn’t sure he could describe it, but it felt like magic settling deep into his bones.

All movement in the house stopped. Derek stood up slowly, looking cautiously, hopefully towards the back door where he re-met his mate.

He heard tumbling through the house and the back door flew open amid a flurry of anxious voices and crackling glass and more than one body spilled out onto the porch. Derek only had eyes for Stiles, though. He stood there, chest heaving, shirtless torso glistening with sweat and his amber eyes burning with an intensity that should have been frightening, but all it did was travel straight to Derek’s dick and his eyes responded in kind.

Stiles strode across the grass with single minded determination, the low light of the evening making his eyes flash like a wolf. He leaped at the last second, landing right in Derek’s arms and wrapped around him like a limpet.

“Sti-umf!” Stiles’ lips crashed into his.

The first few moments were frantic, most likely Stiles was feeling the intensity of the pre-mate bond fully for the first time. Derek coaxed him down softly, sliding one hand up his naked back to thread his fingers through his hair, taking control of the kiss. He nipped and sucked at Stiles’ lower lip and Stiles keened.

“Shhh, baby, I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere,” he soothed softly, feeling the shivers racking  Stiles’ body.

Derek pulled back, panting slightly and let his eyes rove over Stiles’ face. His eyes were glassy and unfocused, pupils blown wide. His tongue darted out to lick over his spit slicked lips and Derek groaned.

“Derek.” That was the amazing thing, deep in the pool of swirling amber and magic, there was recognition. Stiles knew who he was to him, what they were together.

“Mica,” he whispered back. Wind swirled around their feet and leaves blew past softly, but neither could tear their eyes away from the other. Derek pressed his forehead to his mate, reveling in the scent of magic and power.

Derek didn’t know how long they stood there, but it was dark when a voice cleared behind them, hesitantly, like whoever was standing there was afraid to interrupt. Derek turned fully body to see his mother and Peter, both beaming at them.

“I sent everyone else home,” she said softly. “I think I’ll take your sisters out for some ice cream.” Derek turned red all the way to the tips of his ears and he sent her what he hoped was a grateful look, it was hard with Stiles trying to suck a hickey into the skin right behind his ear.

She smiled at him and dragged a grinning Peter along behind her towards the driveway.

Derek didn’t waste any time, he raced across the yard, making sure the movements made him bump and grind against his writhing mate. When they got to the bedroom, he fairly tossed Stiles on the bed, pulling a slight laugh from both of them. He leaned over the lean body of his mate, bracketing him with his arms, they kissed for minutes or hours, Derek didn’t know, but Stiles’ movements became more desperate and he pulled back, there was something he needed to know before they went any further, even though it might kill him.

“Mica, baby, are you sure? The feelings from the pre-bond are still pretty intense, we can wait until you’re a little more clear headed.”

Stiles smiled blindingly and tugged him down for another kiss.

“As adorable as that was, don’t you think we’ve waited long enough? I was going to be yours when I turned eighteen Derek, I’m more than ready now. Plus,” Stiles looked away shyly, “I guess my spark still knew about you somehow, I never… I’m still…” he bit his lip and his cheeks turned a rosy pink color.

Derek stared at him with wide eyes. His mate was still a virgin! He’d hoped, but wasn’t going to hold it against him since he had no memory of Derek or the commitment they made. He wound his fingers back into that soft mahogany hair and tugged his head to the side, exposing that long pale expanse of skin.

He worried at the tendons with his teeth, mapping out the skin with his mouth. He suckled near Stiles collarbone and reveled in the way it made Stiles buck up against him in pleasure.

After a moment he pulled back, ignoring the needy whimper from his mate. He needed to feel all that naked skin with his own. He shimmied off the bed quickly.

He was acutely aware of Stiles’ eyes on him as he started removing his shirt. There was a rustle of sheets and then warm hands came around his shoulders. Stiles turned him to face the bed.

“Let me?” he whispered softly. Derek was powerless to deny his mate. He nodded. Stiles’ answering grin was enough to take his breath away. He ran his hands over Derek’s chest, admiring the corded muscle there, before slowly moving his fingers over the taut skin of his chest and abdomen. He traced the eight pack there, looking up at Derek and licking his lips. Derek barely held back a groan.

Stiles long fingers traced the top of his jeans, elegant fingers nimbly popping the button. He shoved the tight pants down Derek’s legs, falling to his knees to pull them off and throw them in a corner. Stiles looked his body up and down, apparently finding no fault, and Derek preened under the attention.  

“Beautiful,” he breathed, nuzzling the skin of Derek’s thigh. He suckled the skin there, skimming his nose along the crease of Derek’s groin before moving to Derek’s rapidly plumping cock.

Derek sucked in a breath at the wet heat of Stiles’ mouth and groaned loudly when those beautiful lips he’d been fantasizing about for days sucked in his entire length.

He ran his tongue along the underside of the shaft and Derek thought he might lose it completely. His claws popped and his eyes tinged blue. Stiles continued working his length until Derek could feel the tightening in his balls, drawing them up close to his skin.

Derek let out a low warning growl, but Stiles wasn’t paying attention. Derek tightened his hold on Stiles’ hair and yanked his head back, not enough to hurt, but enough to let his cheeky little mate know who was in charge.

Stiles stared up at him, lips swollen and shiny and turned down in a pout.

“When I cum I’m going to be inside you, mate,” he used the word as a promise. The answering arousal and groan that floated up from the floor nearly brought him to his knees. He hauled Stiles to his feet, kissing his fiercely, tasting himself and something else that was purely Stiles. It was mouthwatering.

Derek distracted Stiles with a heady kiss and he walked him backwards to the bed. Stiles gave a sharp gasp as he fell on the bed and the sound was music to Derek’s lupine ears. He tugged on the last piece of clothing blocking him from his mate and gave a satisfied rumble at the sound of tearing fabric. Stiles gave a breathless laugh and canted his hips so Derek could pull them off.

Derek took a moment to gaze at the gorgeous body in front of him. Strong bones wrapped in lean muscles and painted in power. Stiles’ tattoos were a stark contrast to Derek’s boring black sheets and he couldn’t wait to trace them with his tongue.

His wolf yipped with the need to touch and taste all that soft, naked skin. He leaned over and curled his fingers around Stiles’ knees and pulled them apart, wanting to look at all of his mate. Stiles blushed furiously but let his wolf look his fill. Derek leaned in and sucked and rubbed all over the pale skin of Stiles’ thighs, leaving some impressive hickeys and leaving his mate squirming and gasping.

Grinning wickedly, he spread Stiles legs further and spread his cheeks gazing in wonder at his little mate’s virgin hole. Humming he licked a long stripe from Stiles’ hole to his balls, holding the spark’s hips firmly when he tried to wiggle away. He continued the assault with his mouth, licking and sucking the delicious skin until Stiles was mindless with want.

When he felt his mate’s hole was slick and wet enough, he licked and bit his way towards his pretty cock. It was thick and purple and positively dripping with evidence of how turned on he was. Derek lapped at the mess, groaning at the bittersweet taste. He mouthed at the base and licked a long stripe up the side as punishment for the earlier teasing.

He mouthed at the head, swirling his tongue around it and licking at the slit before taking Stiles fully in his mouth. He only got about halfway down before Stiles broke down begging.    

“Derek! Derek, mate, please!" Derek growled at his mate’s whimper and pulled off with a slick pop. He looked up the length of Stiles’ body, the hard planes of his stomach and heaving chest, fist clenched in the sheets, open and panting mouth. He was gorgeous like this, a whimpering, writhing mess and all Derek’s.

The need to claim his mate intensified tenfold when he was met with blazing amber eyes, glowing in their need to solidify the bonding.

Derek shuffled to the nightstand and retrieved a bottle of lube, tossing it up near the pillows. He climbed over Stiles, boxing him in with his arms and legs, his own eyes answering the call of the mate bond.

He grabbed the bottle and slicked up his fingers. His mate’s legs fell open for him and Stiles sighed in pleasure as he set his fingers against his rim, stroking gently.

“Are you ready?” Derek’s voice was gravelly and rough and Stiles shivered delicately in response. He nodded, eyes fluttering and his cheeks flushed.

Derek slipped a finger inside, marveling at the tight heat, knowing it was going to feel amazing surrounding his cock. He took him time, making sure every trace of discomfort was gone before adding more. When he felt relaxed enough, Derek pulled his fingers out, smiling smugly at Stiles’ whine, and slick up his cock.

He positioned himself at Stiles entrance and waited for Stiles to look at him before pressing in slowly.

Stiles’ mouth dropped open and his knuckles turned white where they still gripped Derek’s sheets, his eyes fluttering at the feeling.

“Mate?” Derek questioned in concern. Stiles shook his head back and forth violently.

“Don’t stop!” he gasped out, lifting his eyes to meet Derek’s. “It’s just intense, feels good… so good,” he moaned the last part as Derek slid inside him fully. He gave him a few minutes to adjust before he pulled back tentatively. His first few thrusts were slow and syrupy, letting Stiles adjust to the pace and sensation of being filled for the first time.  

When Stiles started meeting his thrusts, he increased the pace, slamming in and out of his mate while a litany of moans and curses fell from Stiles’ lips. He clutched Derek’s shoulders, propelling himself onto Derek’s cock and they both moaned at the feeling.

Derek felt Stiles’ hole tightening around him and he knew his mate was close. He let his wolf shine through and his fangs elongate.

“Mica, baby, look at me,” he urged around his fangs. When Stiles opened his eyes they were glassy and blown wide with pleasure.

“I need to bite you to seal the bond, ok?”

Stiles gasped at a particularly rough thrust and squeezed his eyes shut but nodded.

“Yes, please, Derek, make me yours,” he whined and tilted his head, exposing his throat for Derek’s fangs. Derek was bursting with pride at the trust Stiles was showing him and he vowed then and there that nothing would ever hurt his mate again.

“Derek please!” Stiles cried, impatient, his nails digging into the meat of Derek’s shoulders. Derek smiled and nuzzled his neck while he sped up his thrusts, reaching down and tugging roughly at the slick cock sliding against his stomach.

It didn’t take more than a few more thrusts, Stiles wailing as he came, shooting cum all over his and Derek’s stomachs.

The smell of his mate’s release and satisfaction sent Derek over the edge, he spilled into his mate and roared as pleasure coursed through his body, leaning down and biting into Stiles’ neck harshly. Stiles screamed and his eyes rolled back, another orgasm slamming through him.

They both felt it when the bond snapped back into place, like a rubber band that had been stretched too thin.  

Derek retracted his fangs and lapped at the bite delicately, shushing and cooing, bringing Stiles back down gently.  

Stiles smiled at him blearily and tilted his head up for a kiss before he sunk into oblivion, the events of the day and intensity of the mating finally getting to him.

Derek spent long moments gazing at the sleeping spark in his arms, his heart nearly bursting with happiness and pride and feeling complete for the first time since Stiles was taken away. 

He felt the echoing happiness through the pack bonds and knew everything was as it was supposed to be.  

Chapter Text

Stiles looked down at the simple headstone, it was fitting for her, he thought. He held the equally simple urn that contained his father’s ashes and knelt down to fit it into the small hole dug next to the stone. He kept a handful of the ashes so he could scatter them around the nemeton, but the rest of him belonged here, with his mother.

He patted down the dirt, making sure there wasn’t too much disturbance. The last thing he wanted was to draw attention to it.

Stiles still had majorly conflicting feelings when it came to his father, all the things he never thought to question suddenly made sense, but looking back on the pizza nights and Saturday morning pancake breakfasts, he knew Nura was right, his Dad had loved him.

He threaded his fingers through the grass and pressed some of his magic into the earth. After a few seconds little wildflower buds sprung up all over the grave and Stiles sat back with a smile. He stood, wiped his hand on his jeans and meandered back towards the entrance to the cemetery.

His smile widened when his wolf came into view. He was leaning against the side of his Camero, wearing sunglasses and what Stiles had come to see as his signature leather jacket. His beautiful resting bitch face split into a blinding smile as soon as he saw Stiles.

It had taken two weeks for Stiles to get his emotions under control after their mating and his magic was just as volatile. Sex was a good outlet, his mate helping him exercise the excess energy, but it wasn’t a cure.

After several sessions of meditation in front of the Nemeton, he finally settled on a solution. Really, the issue was the alpha energy he had taken away from Theo, who now resided in a special wing of Eichen House presided over by Druids that would keep him under control. All that energy needed to go somewhere, and Stiles knew just what he wanted to do with it.

“Are you ready?” Derek asked softly, folding Stiles into his arms.

“As I’ll ever be,” Stiles responded, pressing up for a quick kiss. Derek opened the door for him and they sped off. Stiles watched the buildings and trees blur by, thinking about how anxious he was the first time he drove into town.

Really, other than his magic, things were calm in Beacon Hills. Stiles finally got to actually unpack his stuff from the hotel and ended up unloading the trunk of his car into Derek’s room, his mate grinning like a loon the whole time. Derek and Boyd had finished the work on his jeep and he got to drive it back to the house just in time to see Roy being carted off to stand trial in front of the Magic Council. Stiles didn’t even know there was such a thing, go figure. He’d talked to Nura several times about his Dad, and forgiven her for everything, after all, she didn’t know much more than he did. 

“Mica?”

Stiles jumped. He hadn’t even noticed they’d stopped. He stuck his tongue out at Derek and got out of the car. They were parked at the edge of the Preserve. Derek reached out for his hands and they started walking the same path that brought Stiles to the Nemeton that first time.

They didn’t speak, walking the whole way in comfortable silence.

When they got to the clearing it was to see the entire Hale Pack assembled, at Stiles request. He smiled as Talia stepped forward reaching for his hands.

“I must admit, many of my wolves are anxious being this close to such an ancient power,” she said, her eyes glittering with mirth. Stiles squeezed her hands back gently and smiled before walking to the base of the tree. The pack gathered around him curiously and he stood tall to address them.

“Alpha Hale and Hale Pack.” The pack stiffened slightly at his formality. “As you all know, when we fought off the Raeken Pack, Theo came out of it no longer an alpha. I stripped the Alpha of his power.” There were several gasps and murmurs through the group. Stiles refused to meet Derek’s eye, not wanting to see the disappointment at not telling him. Talia’s eyes widened, but Stiles refused to look away as he continued.

“Nature has a balance, and I upset that balance by taking the power when I already have so much. It took me some time, but I came up with a solution.” He turned to Talia. “Alpha Hale, will you allow me to make a gift to your pack?”

Talia nodded slowly, not knowing his plan but trusting him all the same. He gave her a grateful smile and turned to the rest.

“Hale Pack, will you kneel before the Nemeton?” They all complied immediately, Derek looking at him curiously. Stiles knelt as well and dug his fingers into the soft earth at the base of the tree, calling on its power. His eyes glowed a burnished gold and his tattoos shone brightly, lighting one by one as he felt the power from Theo drain from his body. It mixed with the power of the Nemeton and slithered across the grass, wrapping around the kneeling wolves.

Talia’s eyes burned red and her eyes filled with tears at the sight of her pack each melting into the form of a beautiful forest wolf, their coats sleek and shiny.

They were now the only pack in the world of fully shifted wolves.

“You may shift at will.” Stiles’ voice was intoned with the power of the Nemeton. Derek was the first to shift back and he rushed to embrace his mate. Stiles was soon surrounded by excitedly yipping wolves, some human, some not until they parted for their alpha.

Talia stood in front of Stiles, eyes still shining ruby red and she bowed her head.

“We are humbled by your gift, Spark. You have given every Hale wolf what most only dream of.” Stiles blushed clear into his roots at the honor.

“It was a fair exchange of power, Alpha, to help the pack that has protected me since I was a child.” Talia gave him a blinding smile before she shifted herself and howled. The pack followed suit as she dashed around the clearing, frolicking with her newly shifted pack. Stiles nodded to Derek to join them and sunk down to sit among the roots of the Nemeton.

He could see Erica’s blonde coat nipping at a silvery-gray Isaac, and Derek’s sleek black fur wrestling with Scott’s deep brown.

He reached out and placed his hand on the trunk.

“Thank you,” he whispered to the powers that be, wherever his magic came from.

He felt an answering pulse of magic and leaned his head back, listening to the joyful sounds of his pack.