Chapter Text
Stiles was surrounded by swaying pine trees bathed in sunlight as far as the eye could see, and beside him stood Derek, frozen like a tense, marble statue. Something was wrong. That much was obvious. But the werewolf had yet to say anything about the mysterious predicament they were in. The Alpha looked confused and concerned all at the same time, so taking an educated guess, he ventured a theory.
“Oh great. Let me guess… We’re lost aren’t we?”
Derek growled at the insult and continued to scan the trees, rocks and stumps around them.
“We’re not lost, Stiles. The landscape has… changed.”
“Changed?” Stiles repeated in disbelief, before intentionally wandering in front of the werewolf to block his view. “As in, the trees just grew legs and walked away?”
Derek flexed his fingers as he resisted the urge to shove Stiles into a tree, but then a twig snapped nearby and he found himself urgently stepping in front of the human as he tried to figure out who or what was roaming on his territory.
The telltale scent of magic filled his nostrils, but aside from that he couldn’t see anybody.
“Show yourself!”
A moment passed before a woman with green skin and brown hair, dressed in literal foliage stepped out from behind the nearest tree. There were branches growing out the sides of her head in the shape of antlers, and it was then he realized what the creature was.
A Dryad.
That at least explained why the landscape had changed, but it didn’t explain everything.
Ignoring Stiles who leaned out from behind him and gaped in shock, he demanded answers.
“This is Hale land. Why are you rearranging it?”
The woman immediately shrank in on herself, sensing the threat, before quickly responding.
“I meant no harm. The energy flow here was blocked, so I fixed it.”
Stiles excitedly piped up, “So basically, you were performing magic feng shui… Man, that is so cool!”
Derek rolled his eyes at Stiles, “Which tree are you tethered to?”
The woman’s hand was still pressed against the tree she’d emerged from, and Derek didn’t miss the way she forced herself not to glance up at it out of fear.
“Why are you asking? Are you planning to bring harm to my home?”
Derek was quick to answer, “No. I’m trying to keep you and my land safe. It’s my responsibility.”
Without taking her hand off the tree, the woman looked up at it and took a deep breath.
“This tree has been my home for hundreds of years. Please see that no harm comes to it.”
Derek nodded solemnly, and Stiles subsequently stepped out into the open and waved as he introduced himself properly to the creature.
“Hi there. Sorry to interrupt this very important meeting the two of you are having but… I have to ask. How does the whole moving of trees thing work? Do you like, move it telekinetically with your mind? Or do the trees actually stand up and move from spot to spot with their roots acting like little legs? Because if that’s the case, I actually owe Derek here an apology.”
The woman smiled in amusement before visibly struggling with deciding how forthright to be in her answer.
“Our magic organically coaxes the plants into growing where the energy flow is best.”
Stiles pressed his hands together in prayer, “Oh my god. Could we please get a demonstration? I want to see the trees come alive so badly.”
Derek sighed in exasperation and quickly stuck an arm out to hold Stiles back as the human tried to get closer, no doubt in an attempt to flash his big, brown eyes to guilt the Dryad into cooperating.
“That’s really not necessary.”
The Dryad considered the request, and ultimately decided it would be harmless to let the pair witness the magic, considering she could sense how naturally they were both tied to the land. She was also grateful to have a werewolf and a spark protecting her home.
She lifted her palm before closing her fingers over the top. After a moment, she unfolded them to reveal a small pool of golden pollen in the dip of her hand.
Stiles immediately tried to duck under Derek’s arm to get a closer look, but the werewolf snagged his inner wrist, causing him to lose his balance and trip. His outer hand swung up and accidentally knocked the Dryad’s hand, sending a cloud of golden dust raining down over him and Derek.
He gasped in surprise and looked over at Derek, who appeared to be fighting the urge to sneeze, before looking over at the woman and seeing the shock on her face.
“Oh god! I'm so, so sorry! I didn’t mean to knock that stuff out of your hands! Please forgive us!”
The Dryad blinked and when she realized what had happened, she giggled.
“It’s okay. But the two of you are now going to have to work together as one.”
Derek growled at the vague comment and sought clarification, “What does that mean?”
“This magic encourages energy to flow. Because you two are bound by the same spark, you won’t be able to do anything unless you’re both in agreement.”
Stiles immediately tried to take a step forward to ask more questions when he suddenly found himself bouncing back. His brain was sending the signal to his feet to move, but it was like there was an invisible force yanking him back each time he tried to move.
He officially freaked out.
“What do you mean we’re bound by the same spark? And why can’t I move?!”
Derek’s stomach dropped.
He hadn’t expected the Dryad to expose their shared energy signature. He was beyond grateful that Stiles was too busy panicking beside him to notice the fear in his eyes. It gave him just enough time to school his features into something hard and unwavering.
Everything his heartbeat was not.
He flashed his red eyes at the woman, daring her to give him an excuse to break their pact.
“She just means her magic has bound us together, Stiles. When will it wear off?”
The Dryad swallowed nervously and lowered her gaze, “Once the energy between you two begins to flow, it’ll cease. I would recommend trying to walk in the same direction. That should do it.”
Derek and Stiles turned to face one another, and the latter was extremely relieved to find that he could move again. He looked up at the Alpha, only to find that Derek was looking extremely displeased. As such, he tried to be diplomatic for once.
“Okay, Sourwolf. Which way are we going?”
“Back toward my cabin.”
Derek and Stiles turned and began walking in the same direction and quickly felt the magic deteriorate.
Stiles tested his newfound freedom by waving his arms around and fist pumping in celebration.
“Yay! I can move again!”
Derek turned around and glared at the tree, only to find that the snitch was gone. He was glad to see that the creature had taken the initiative to hide after having almost blown his secret. Yes, he and Stiles were True Mates, which meant they shared two halves of the same spark. But he hadn’t planned on revealing that to the human. Or spark. He wasn’t entirely sure what Stiles’ magical capabilities were, but it didn’t matter to him.
The Hales were basically cursed.
He was the only one in his family still alive, and he couldn’t risk getting any closer to Stiles and seeing his mate meet an untimely fate too. It was much safer to keep him at arm’s length, still within the pack for immediate safety, but outside his personal realm.
That was, as much as one could keep Stiles at bay.