Archive of Our Own ^beta

Stiles gasps, icy night air filling his lungs painfully as he glances around the room he’s now found himself in. He was laying on a cold concrete box of a basement, his leg was chained to the wall. With a shaky breath the brunette tries to sit up cautiously only to fall back with a gasp as pain explodes through his body.

His hands stuck to the floor from what he guessed was his own blood. With a soft cry of pain he tries again, slowly forcing his body up and leaning back against the wall.

“…fuck…” Stiles whispers as he looks down at the horrible way his leg is twisted, he was covered in some cuts and was bleeding horribly. With a shaky hand the teen reaches up to wipe the blood from his nose, but finds it sticky and dried.

Where was he? He didn’t even know how he got here, his memories were fuzzy. His phone had been taken from him along with his wallet.

Stiles flinched as he heard the loud metal sliding door squeak open.

“Gerard…” Stiles chokes out weakly as he glares up at the old man.

“Well welcome back dear boy. I was beginning to worry I had been too rough with you, then my whole plan would have just gone right down the drain.” Gerard hums as he goes over to an old women table on the left side of the room.

“Plan… what plan?” Stiles mumbles, his head felt like it was going to explode.

“Well I need something from you. You see I couldn’t take those wolves Erica, Issac, or Boyd because they would never rat out their Alpha. It’s in their system to protect him, but you you are human, you know better don’t you.” Gerard grins and walks closer to Stiles now holding an old wooden handle hunting knife.

“Now how about we make a deal? Hm? You tell me where Derek Hale is and I will get you home. Sounds good?” Gerard crouches down close to the teen.

“What made you think I would know?” Stiles swallowed thickly, his saliva tasted of iron.

“Because you're the boy who runs with wolves. Everyone knows who you are, Stiles Stilinski. Now quit playing games and just tell me where he is.” Gerard says in a creepily calm tone, as he runs the dull side of his blade down Stiles cheek.

“Fucking OZ, I don’t know. He hates me, he wouldn't tell-” A harsh smack strikes the left side of the brunette's face.

“Don’t bullshit me boy. I know you know. Now tell me.” The old man orders.

“I. Don’t. Know.” Another hit across his already bruised face this time with a closed fist, making his ears ring.

“Fine, guess I’ll just have to force it out of you.” Gerard looks at the knife in his hand curiously. “Ya know you only have yourself to blame for this.”

~0~

Derek’s fingers thumb against the steering wheel, listening as Issac bickers with Erica from the front seat, the blonde woman was grinning from her spot in the backseat, her legs thrown over Boyd’s lap.

The whole ride to the newly under construction Hale house was comfortable and left a warm feeling in his pack links, the only missing piece in their little drive was Stiles. Usually the hyperactive human would be with them at the Hale house, either helping with the cleaning or construction while asking as many questions as he can about the supernatural, since lately he’s been fixing all the biased misinformation in the Argents bestiary he has stolen from Chris’ office. How he managed that Derek will never know.

“What the hell?” Issac mumbles, completely turning his attention away from Erica and to the obnoxious blue jeep sitting on the side of the back road leading into the preserve. Derek pulls the Camaro over and steps out quickly, his brows knit together in confusion when he doesn’t hear the teen’s heart beat.

“Did he break down or something?” Issac questions as he and the other two Beta’s followed after their Alpha quickly.

“Even if he did, Stiles would never just leave his jeep here alone.” Boyd responds calmly,but the small knit in his own eyebrows betray his calm facade.

“The dumbass would probably just push it to the house if he couldn’t get it back up and running.” Erica hums confused, sticking close to her Mate. Derek doesn’t say anything in his reply to his Beta’s and just opens the driver side door to investigate, only to be hit with the strong scent of chemicals.

“Fuck it smells like a hospital.” Erica cringes, her nose wrinkled in disgust. The concern Derek was feeling doubles in size as he makes quick work of looking around in the jeep while his wolves try to call Stiles, only for no reply to come through. The human’s backpack was thrown haphazardly in the passenger seat. Derek sniffs around curiously trying to smell through the strong chemical stench; finding some fresh blood on the floorboard of the driverside, and at a closer inspection finds Stiles phone completely shattered and stuffed under the driver seat, but it didn’t look like an accident. Whoever did this had left clues that Stiles had been taken against his will.

“Call Scott try and see when the last time someone had contact with him,” Derek orders as he tosses Issac the keys to the jeep that had been sitting in the ignition. “Issac drive the Jeep to Stiles place.”

“Hey this is Scott McCall, I can’t ans-” Erica tries to call Scott and growls when the other wolf doesn’t answer. After many unanswered calls from Erica Derek gets fed up and tries to call the teen himself.

“Hey this is-” He calls again, not planning on stopping until Scott answers.

“Derek what is it? I’m kinda in the middle of something.” Scott miffed as he finally answered the phone on the 5th try from his Alpha.

“When was the last time you spoke to Stiles? We found his jeep abandoned on the back road in the preserve.” Derek growled, gripping his phone slightly tighter.

“Um… I don't know… chemistry yesterday, he tried to call me after school, but I was busy. Look, can this wait? I’m sure the jeep just broke down or something. Allison and I-”

“No this cannot wait, we can’t find Stiles. Did he leave you a message? Anything that might lead us to him?” The Alpha seethed, growing more annoyed by the second.

“No, he just said to call him back when I could. His jeep probably just broke down like I said, check around, check his house he’s probably there.” The Beta says quickly before hanging up.

Derek growls and shoves his phone back into his pocket. He had accepted Scott back into his pack despite betraying him again and again, because Stiles had begged him to, because Stiles didn’t want to see his best friend become an Omega.

The Eldest Wolf looks to his Beta’s, who all look just as annoyed as him at Scott’s behavior. “Alright did Stiles seem off yesterday? Did he say anything that stood out to you?”

“He said something in the locker room before practice,” Issac responds, “Scott was telling him about this nice dinner he had with Allison and her family, and brought up how nice Allison’s grandfather Gerard was.”

“Gerard? Gerard Argent? Isn’t he your new principle?” Derek lifts a brow at the youngest Beta, all the pieces starting to fall into place.

“Yeah and Stiles said something about how he doesn’t trust him, that something was off about him, but Scott told him he was just being paranoid.” Issac finishes explaining.

“He’s an Argent, they’re all untrustworthy.” Derek crosses his arms.

“Yeah, but we all know Stiles has a sixth sense when it comes to who we should trust or not.” Erica cuts in, her foot tapping against the cold dirt of the backroad.

“Hm… Damnit . Okay let's get moving, we’ll check Stiles place first and move from there.” The Alpha orders as he storms back to his Camaro angrily with Boyd and Erica in tow.

Derek slams the driver side door shut, eyeing the surrounding woods intensely as his Beta’s climb in and slam their own doors shut too. Both cars screech away and towards their humans home.

~0~

Issac pulled the jeep into the driveway and Derek parked his camaro onto the side of the road. The pack of wolves make quick work of climbing up into Stiles' window, grateful that he always kept it unlocked for them. Well… mostly for Derek, since the Alpha seems to prefer sneaking in through the teenage boys window instead of using the front door. The Sheriff is out of the house and with the missing police cruiser the two wolves can only assume that means he’s on duty.

“Alright so… where should we start?” Erica wonders as she gazes around Stiles cluttered bedroom; Books and journals lay in stacks all over the small bedroom, out of their usual spots in his bookshelf.

“I say we look through these stacks of books and see what he was researching, maybe he was onto something he didn’t get a chance to tell us about.” Boyd replies as he immediately sits down on the bed and begins looking through the books that had been open on top of the covers. Erica nods sharply as she goes to the desk to start there. Issac sits down with Boyd and Derek looks around the room curiously, looking for any proof of where Stiles may have been taken.

The four werewolves sit for so long digging through Stiles notes and books, but it wasn't really getting them anywhere, other than gaining the knowledge that Stiles had been researching how to make different healing tonics for various different things, and a lot of different notes were done on runes. Nothing new, just his usual study sessions.

“God this is getting us nowhere!” Erica snaps and slams the final book on the desk down, so hard it shakes the wood.

“Where do we go from here?” Issac questions with worry lacing his tone. Derek pushes off the wall he was leaning on annoyed, slamming down the notes he had been looking at.

“I don't know, but we’re wasting time here.”Derek sighs as he opens a desk drawer, his brows knit together as he sees the Argents bestiary. With a careful hand he picks the book up and opens it, red ink had scribbled out and rewritten things.

“What the hell? What was he doing with the Argent’s bestiary?” Erica questions as she steps closer to her Alpha.

“He was editing it, fixing all the misinformation.” derek hums, unaware he had forgotten to tell his Beta’s this; As he goes to flip the page a neatly folded piece of paper falls from the pages and floats down to the floor.

Huh?

Derek bends down and picks the paper up and unfolds it, Stiles messy handwriting was neater now as if he had slowed down and took time to make this note as legible as possible.

“Dad I’m not sure what circumstances you’re reading this from, whether I’ve gone missing or was found dead-” Derek's words trail off.

“He wrote a goodbye letter?” Erica whispers, her eyes wide.

“Why would he do that? Did he think we couldn’t protect him?” Issac couldn’t help but voice his worries.

Derek growls annoyed by the thought and continues reading, hoping there is some kind of hint in it. “... or was found dead in some mysterious way just like a lot of the victim's your department has found lately, either way I’m sorry. I never wanted to leave you behind, after Mom passed you made me promise to live, to live for you and her, but I’ve run into some unusual issues. Issues I feel you have the right to know about now…”

Derek runs a hand down his face, rage and guilt bubbling in his chest, feeling as though he had failed Stiles, failed to protect his pack.

“Didn’t you say he mentioned something about Gerard to Scott? If Stiles was concerned about something wouldn’t he come to us if Scott didn’t listen to him?” Erica questions Issac.

“Unless he didn’t get the chance to.” The Alpha cuts in gruffly. “He was on his way to the pack house, that’s why his jeep was there. Something stopped him before he could tell us what he knew. He left the note in the bestiary as a hint, there's no other reason why he would. He wanted us to know it was the Argents, in case anything happened.”

Despite Derek’s words he wasn’t even sure himself, but he had to have faith that that was the case. That Stiles was just taken before he got the chance to talk, with a heavy sigh the eldest wolf looked back down at the note and kept reading.

“The creatures of the night are real. Werewolves and Druids are real. No I’m not on drugs or crazy, if you want to double check have them do a test on my body if you find it. They are real, Scott was bitten a few years back in the woods and Derek Hale is a born wolf, ask Derek to show you if you must. There are werewolf hunters too, the Argent family are our towns wackjob hunters, they say they live by a code, or at least Chris does, but that seems to change based on their mood. Don't trust them unless Derek gives the word, they’ve hurt me and my friends.”

“He wanted his Dad to know the truth, so he could get closure in case he died…” Erica sighs, pacing anxiously.

“But he also made sure that his Dad would know to trust Derek…” Issac mumbled to himself.

“Derek Hale is and never has been a criminal. Scott framed him, the real one that attacked us that night in the school was Derek’s psycho Alpha werewolf Peter Hale, who Derek killed to protect everyone, but unfortunately he’s come back to life like the bastard he is.” Issac shakes his head fondly at his friends words.

“If you have to trust anyone, trust Derek. Don't get me wrong the guy can be a grade A asshole and has this Serial Killer vibe going, but between you and me he’s just a Sourwolf…” The Alpha takes a deep breath before finishing the note. “I’m sorry I lied Dad and if you happen to find this and I somehow am alive after everything, I hope you can forgive me.”

“He knew… he knew that one day he was going to get hurt,” Boyd mumbled. “And I guess he was right, he’s missing and nobody’s knows if he’s alive or dead.”

“He’s alive.” Derek snaps, his claws elongating with anger. He carefully folds the note up and places it on the teens desk.

“But we don’t know for sure. Yes we want to think that, but we don’t know. We don’t have the pack bond with him that we do with each other so there is no way to tell.” Boyd explains quickly.

“I can feel him. It’s faint, but I can.” The Alpha growls. “He's alive, that’s all I can feel, but at least it’s something.”

“You can feel him? But you haven’t bit him?” Issac questions quickly in confusion.

“He didn’t need one, we’ve all accepted him as part of the pack and because of that I have a small link to him. It’s weak, but I can feel he’s alive.” The eldest wolf explains.

“But you can’t feel if he’s in pain?” Erica asks cautiously.

“No, I can’t. Our bond hasn’t been reinforced so it’s too weak. Once we get him back he needs to stay near us more to reinforce his bond, that way if this happens again we can find him easier.” Derek breathes a sigh through his nose. He wasn’t dumb enough to believe this will never happen again, Stiles always found a way to get in trouble; this isn’t the first nor the last time this happens.

“Should we try to contact Scott again?” Issac asks cautiously.

“No,” Derek growled firmly. “Scott won’t help, he’s made it very clear who he trusts more.”

Issac cringed at his Alphas harsh tone, his voice carrying so much hatred for the lone wolf. The youngest Beta nodded in understanding and looks around at his fellow pack members.

“What now? We have nothing…” Erica shakes her head in dismay.

“It’s an Argent… all signs point to them, but right now they hold all the cards. We have to wait for them to make their first move or we risk Stiles, so for now we return to the house and wait until we find something or they come to us.” Derek scowls, his brows knit together in displeasure.

“So we just sit and wait?! They could kill Stiles!” Erica snapped.

“They aren’t going to kill him, they need him alive to lure us in; but if we act too fast and don’t have a plan then they will kill him.” The Alpha growled firmly, his eyes flashing red. “Let's go now.”

~0~

“Stiles I’m home!” John yells as he enters his home, balancing pizza in his hand. “I bought home pizza, since you didn't text me about dinner tonight, and yes one is a vegetarian so you can’t scold me too much.”

When the Sheriff isn’t met with his son’s usual chatter he looks around curiously. The older man hadn’t seen his only child since yesterday morning before he left to go hang out with his friends in the preserve, but they had promised each other to eat dinner together tonight.

It was dark out and Stiles' jeep was sitting in the driveway, so Stiles should be home. John sets the pizzas down on the coffee table and climbs the stairs, assuming his son had dozed off at his desk again, but when he enters the room it's completely empty.

“Stiles? You home?” The Sheriff calls out. With no answer back he pulls his phone out and clicks on Stiles’ contact. It rings for a moment, proving it was still on before it quickly sends him to voicemail. He tries multiple times, even leaving voicemails for his son to listen too until it seems like Stiles’ phone powered off. Worry bubbles in his chest, it's not uncommon for Stiles to be gone or unavailable via phone if he was busy, but he never just left his jeep at home and they had promised each other. Stiles at least would always try to tell him if he was leaving for the night or had to cancel their plans and he’s never just shut his phone off, John assumes he had likely broken his phone again.

John turned to leave when he caught sight of a note folded up on his teens desk, and his gut clenched uncomfortably with anxiety. Slowly he approaches the desk and picks the note up with a cautious hand.

Fearing the worst he unfolds the letter with shaky breath and begins to read.
.
.
.
What?

Anger bubbles in John’s gut as he glares harshly at the note, if he didn’t know what his son’s handwriting looked like he would have thought some stranger had broken in and left it here as a joke. What type of prank was Stiles playing at? This couldn’t be real, and yet Stiles wasn’t home; and his son knew better than to make some prank that involved his own life. He folds the letter up and shoves it into his pocket, before turning and leaving the room. Grabbing his keys the father stormed out of the house. Pizza now abandoned on the coffee table untouched.

~0~

A police cruiser screeches to a halt in front of the Hale house, making Derek sigh. He knew he should have taken the note and Stiles jeep back with them when they left or at least put the letter back in the desk drawer.

The Sheriff stormed up the rebuilt steps and bangs on the front door harshly. “Derek Hale, get out here now!” John didn’t even have to wait until the door opened revealing the Hale boy.

“Where is Stiles? Is he here!?” The eldest man snaps.

“I guess you read the note he left.” Derek spoke calmly, his Beta’s listening in, out of sight from the Sheriff.

“No shit. I don’t know what kind of joke this is supposed to be, but where is my son?” Despite the angry tone the Alpha could smell the concern rolling off him.

“This isn’t a joke Sir. I can prove it to you.”

John throws his hands up angrily and turns to leave, in search of someone else who could help, thinking maybe his boy was with another of his friends; When something red flashes in the corner of his eye forcing him to turn back, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Standing before him is Derek Hale and yet… his face has shifted into something predatory. His eyebrows missing, large fangs sit in the… mans? mouth, and bright red eyes bore into him. It felt like forever, when in truth it was only mer seconds for John to get over the shock and jump back, propelling himself off of the patio and onto the cold dirt of the forest floor.

“What the fuck…” His voice shakes, a cold sweat breaking out over his skin.

Derek’s face shifts back to human as he stalks closer to the older man, the porch light glowing behind him as he moves closer, making him appear far more terrifying than John thinks his heart can handle.

“John.” Derek speaks carefully. “Stiles was telling the truth. I don't mean to harm you or him. Please come inside and I can explain everything.”

Despite the humans desperate desire to run away and not face the unknown Stiles was still missing and this… wolf? Werewolf? Seemed to know something about it. With a hard swallow John slowly stands up on his own, refusing to take the hand Derek had stretched out to help him up, chanting in his head over and over again that this was for his son as he followed the ex-suspect into the house.

~0~

Painful shivers rack the teens body, his blood had long cooled causing him to stick uncomfortably to the cold concrete floor. He wasn’t sure how long Gerard has been gone for his dinner break, but it was long enough for Stiles to have gone, but it was long enough for Stiles to have gone numb from the cold, only a painful ache left behind for now.

With a gasp of pain slowly he tried to sit up, popping the muscles in his back as he did, His thin wrists were bound to a long iron chain, thrown over head a large industrial metal pipe so that it was easy to manipulate; so Gerard and his goons are able to pull on it and adjust however they want. They could leave it long, giving Stiles enough slack to move a little more freely or they could pull it taunt and force him to stand on his likely broken leg, so they could beat on him like a pinata. The teen was silently grateful the psycho had left the chain slack, so that he could lay or sit down instead of being forced to stand.

“Fuck…” Stiles grunts as he sits up enough to lean against the icy hard wall. With a steady breath to try and deal with the aching all over his body he opens his eyes. His blood stained the floor in a sticky dark puddle that was beginning to dry, large boxes with the words ‘Argent Weaponry’ stamped on the side towers around him, making the brunette feel claustrophobic.

Outside the warehouse doors the teen could hear some of the Argents men who were left to guard him talking, their tunes quiet and muffled due to the large metal door separating them from him. “I think this is one of the dumbest jobs we’ve been given yet.” A deep burly man’s voice scowls.

“We have no choice. Oldman Argent says he’s important to the Alpha, so in case it manages to find us we have to be ready.” A woman responds in a bored nonchalant tone.

“I don't know, but apparently he is and that means the Alpha will want him back. The perfect bait to get the wolves here.” The woman says, progressively getting more annoyed with the man's persistent bitching. “I just hope it doesn’t take too much longer, I want to know Gerard’s plan…”

Stiles wasn’t worried by the conversation, the teen is sure that Derek and Scott are looking for a way to get him back home… or at least Derek would be. If Scott was with Allison it was likely the other boy didn’t even notice his disappearance. The pain begins to be too much and his head is pounding, starting to make everything fuzzy and he can’t help but doze off into an unrestful sleep.

~0~

John’s head was reeling as he stared wide eyed at the small pack of werewolves in front of him, all the information he was just told was giving him a headache. His son, his 18-year-old, very human and very fragile son has been running with wolves and fighting supernatural creatures behind his back and he never knew. He never knew. John had noticed his son being more distant than usual these last few years, but he had just assumed it was the normal teenager wanting more distance and to feel grown up, but he had been wrong SO wrong.

“So… My son has been fighting off supernatural creatures, but that's not what's taken him, instead it's other humans… hunters, specifically the Argents.” Slowly the shock starts to subside now replaced with a growing anger and fear.

“Yes.” Derek speaks calmly, but his hands that are clenched into tight fists on his lap give away his true anger.

John goes to ask more, wanting to know their plan on getting his sons back and what punishment those hunters would receive, but is cut off by all three of the wolves phones dinging with a text notification.

Derek’s brows furrow in a harsh scowl as he pulls his phone out, a deep growl admitting from his chest. Erica chokes on a gasp as the three Beta’s check their own phones all receiving the same photo. John’s gut knots with anxiety as he stands and moves closer to the others and looks over Derek’s shoulder only to feel like puking and sobbing all at once.

An unknown number had sent a photo of his boy strung up with a chain by his wrists and he was beaten and bloody. His eyes bruised black, his nose dripping blood, and his lip was busted and swollen. The red flannel Stiles had been wearing yesterday morning had been cut off the teen and was laying in a heap on the floor, and his T-shirt was so stained with blood it made the graphic design on it hard to see and had cuts and rips all over it.

“My baby…” John whispers quietly to himself. His hands clenched at his sides before he reaches out and takes Derek’s phone from him, ignoring the look the eldest wolf gives him; putting on his Sheriff facade he examines the photo closely. Taking note of the crate with the words ‘Argent Weaponry’ on them, but that’s not the only thing the Sheriff notices, the lighting was warm and natural showing this had been taken earlier today since it was around 9 pm now.

“What do you see?” Erica looks up at the human hopefully.

The Sheriff takes a deep breath, ignoring the clenching pain in his stomach before passing Derek back his phone and explaining what he noticed.

“Is there a way we can go to the station to try and find the location of this warehouse?” Derek questions.

“I can do that, while I’m doing that though I want you three to keep an eye on the Argent’s. Understood?”

“Of course.” Derek agree’s. While his wolf didn’t like being given orders like being given orders this was his Mates father and knew he just wanted to protect Stiles as much as he did.

Wait… Mate? Mate. Stiles was his mate, that thought didn’t scare him as much as he thought it would. Stiles had always been special in the pack, because of how he cared for everyone equally that the thought of him as his mate was actually more comforting than terrifying; but with Stiles gone and taken from the Argents this was quite possibly the shittiest way to realize he loved him.

The pack forms a plan and takes off to do their own parts, the Sheriff returns to the station to try and track down where the Argent’s are keeping his son and the four werewolves take the camaro to sit down the road of the hunter’s neighborhood, hidden in the darkness of the night.

“What’s that?” Boyd says and gestures to the house where the pack can see Scott climbing out of Allison’s bedroom window carefully. At the sight Derek growls deeply and exit’s the driver seat. His Beta’s tense and follow after their Alpha quickly.

As Scott stalks into the shadows to stay hidden from any Argent’s who might see him and the pack is quick to corner him. Derek grabs the front of the Beta’s shirt and pulls him close, growling lowly.

“Hey. Hey what are you-” Scott is cut off quickly. “What do you know?!” The Alpha snaps, his eyes glowing red.

“What? I don’t know anything!” A skip in his heart beat makes the surrounding Beta’s growl.

Derek moves his hand to grab the back of Scott’s neck, claws just barely nicking the skin there as he drags him back to the camaro.

“Bullshit.” The eldest wolf snaps and shoves the Beta into the back after Boyd so that he is sandwiched between his two strongest packmates.

“I-I mean it I don’t!” Scott panic’s, his heart skips again. Thankfully Erica is quick to smack Scott upside the head harshly, her anger barely contained.

“OW!”

Issac pulls his phone out and opens his message, quickly showing Scott the photo of his supposed “Best friend.”

“Oh my god…” Scott whispers.

“Did that jog your memory?” Derek sneers.

“Th-they didn’t tell me… they didn’t tell me they would hurt him.”

“What do you know?” The Alpha demands, his eyes still Alpha red.

“Gerard said… he said he was gonna take someone from your pack, so that he could get you to come to him. I swear he just wanted to talk!” Scott promises, his eyes not leaving the photo.

“Talk? When does an Argent just want to talk?” Derek’s teeth elongate with rage. “Why did he tell you this? What did you do?”

“I-I didn’t do anything. I just told him the pack’s usual schedule, so that he would know which Beta was easiest to take. He threatened my mom. I didn't know what else to do, I didn’t think he would take Stiles, since he’s not a part of the pack.”

“Stiles is Pack!” The Alpha raged, angered by the disrespect Scott has for his mate.

“What else did they tell you?” Erica demands.

“Nothing.” Another lie, but before anything more could be said Derek’s phone rings. The Sheriff’s caller ID popping up, which is quickly answered.

“I have an address. It’s a warehouse about an hour away, near the outskirts of town,” John says quickly before Derek could even get a word in. “I’ll send you the address and meet you there.”

“Good, we’ll leave immediately, let us know if anything comes up.” The Alpha says gruffly, his tone cold and detached as he hangs up. The overwhelming rage he felt from the entire situation made him seeth and feel numb all at once. Derek couldn’t lose any more people in his life and the fact it was the Argent’s trying to take his pack from him again just made everything so much worse.

“How much does Allison know?” The eldest wolf questions, his tone now eerily calm.

“What? Allison has nothing to do with this!”

“That's not what I asked.”

… “She… She knew her grandfather wanted to speak to you and lure you out, but that’s all. She didn’t know how or why. I swear.” For the first time since the wolf was forced in the car it seemed like he was telling the truth, well for the most part. There was something the teen was still hiding, but Derek saw no need to press further, instead focusing on getting Stiles back.

~0~

Stiles can’t help the involuntary jerk he does when the large metal door of the warehouse creaks open, waking him against his will.

“Well how is our guest doing this evening?” The woman who had been speaking outside asks with a nauseatingly sweet tone as she enters the creaky building, the burly man following quietly close behind.

“Well it’s not the Tipton Hotel, but it’ll do.” Stiles retorted, wincing when his busted lip quirks up in a painful smirk.

“Hm… old man Argent must have lost his spark if you’re still able to sass us.” The burly man finally spoke up, eyeing the teen’s injured form.

“It’s part of my charm…” Breathing was painful, as if his lungs were being pressed on, when in all reality they maybe were. Stiles wasn’t sure what broken ribs felt like, but if he had to guess it was this.

“Do you use this tone with the Alpha?” The woman questions. She crouches now menacingly and puts her hand gently on the boys broken leg before pressing down hard, forcing a cry from Stiles bloody lips.

“F-Fuck you… Bitch…” Stiles grunt’s through clenched teeth, spots clouding his vision from the pain. It was the coldest night of the year so far and Stiles could feel it, could feel it in the spasms that went up his spine and the burning sensation at the tips of his fingers.

“Now now, no need for harsh language.” She taunts, before giving Stiles leg a harsh twist. Only leaving his side once the teen passes out. “Well that’s a bummer I barely did anything.”

“Gerard must have done a number on him…” The man watches as his friend moves to one of the crates and hops on top of it to sit down. “What do you think Gerard is gonna do with this kind after everything?”

“Probably kill him.”

“Jesus I hope not…”

“He’s the Alpha’s whore, he ran with wolves, he did this himself.”

“Damn it Stephanie this is a kid, he’s only 18 and he hasn’t hurt anyone. I understand hurting him to try and get information, but he doesn’t deserve to die.” The man defends.

“He may be 18, but that doesn't mean anything. The Alpha is 20 and he has hurt people. Our people.” Stephanie snaps. “This little brat would have been fine if he had just told Gerard where the Alpha was in the first place he wouldn’t have gotten hurt and been let go, but since he decided to be loyal to some Mutt it’s his own fault he’s now bait.”

“In fact…” Stephanie stood again and grabbed her phone from her pocket and pointed at Stiles unconscious form.

“What are you doing?”

“Sending an even louder message to the Alpha, in case our last one wasn’t clear enough.” The woman starts recording, using her one spare hand to take the knife strapped to her belt and brings the sharp hunting blade into frame, threateningly close to the teen’s face.

“Hello Alpha Hale. I hope our last message found you well. I figured you would want another update on your human.” Stephanie drags the dull side of the blade gently down Stiles face. “I wonder if you’d still accept him as your bitch if I marked up this pretty face of his. I guess you could always just force him on his hands and knees. Then you could still use him and not have to look at him.”

Stephanie's vile taunt’s bring a sadistic smirk to her face as she turns the blade carefully. “Only one way to find out I suppose.” And with that the huntress pierces the skin of Stiles cheek, cutting deep from the top of his cheekbone down his jaw line, only receiving soft sobs from the trembling unconscious body.

“We hope to see you soon Hale.” The soft roar of an engine grabs the Hunter’s attention of Gerards return.

~0~

Derek’s whole body felt like it was on fire and he felt like he was vibrating out of his skin with rage. The camaro stank of bitter anger and hatred, emotions running even higher than before after the pack had watched the video one of Gerard’s hunters sent them.

Control was slipping, Issac was already Beta shifted in the passenger seat. He was the one with the least amount of control and seeing Stiles the human who patched them up and made them food, who took care of them no matter what, who was the Packs caretaker and now he was getting hurt because of them, it set them off. Honestly though it was a blessing that everyone wasn’t Beta shifted and taking everything apart, it showed incredible strength.

Derek wasn’t going to hesitate. As soon as the opportunity presented itself he was going to tear that woman’s face off for defiling his mate and for saying such vile things about him. The Alpha isn’t sure where the hunters were getting the information that Stiles was his “whore” or if they were just trying to anger him more, but it made a pit form in his stomach.

The police cruiser drove behind the camaro, lights and siren off so as to not attract attention to the supernatural gang war that was soon to take place. The less people that are aware of anything the better.

The scent of salty tears is the only thing cutting through the smell of rage permeating in the car. Surprisingly the one responsible for the tears was Scott, the teenage wolf sat stunned, salty tears clinging to his cheeks. If Derek didn’t know any better he may have felt bad for the young Beta, but Scott did this. He betrayed not only Derek, but Stiles especially and that is who will decide Scotts fate.

When all this is over and Stiles is safe and recovering he is allowed to choose what happens to his best friend. Though Derek knows whatever his Mate decides it will not be harsh enough, he’ll likely just let Scott go with a slap on his wrist. The Alpha adored Stiles' kind nature, but when it comes to his own well-being it’s like he deems it as less important. If it were any other member of the pack Stiles would likely vote to maim or kill the one responsible, but he wouldn’t show the same justice for himself.

Derek shook his head gently, trying to calm his racing thoughts and instead tried to focus on the task at hand. They aren’t out of this yet. Instead the wolf looked to his youngest Beta next to him, who was still shifted and snarling with anger.

“Pull back Issac, think of your anchor.” Derek guided, trying to appear calm on his own.

“C-Can’t…” Issac stammered, his claws starting to tear the fabric of his jeans.

“Just… just tell us something about your father.” Boyd voiced, trying to be a voice of reason for his packmate.

“No… no my dad, he… he’s not my anchor anymore. R-rage didn’t work for me…” Issac screwed his eyes shut.

The Alpha freezes in surprise, while it’s not uncommon to find a new anchor, Derek just wasn’t aware of what could be the Beta’s new anchor. Erica and Boyd were each others anchors, and Derek’s has slowly shifted more and more over the months from his anger to a more physical anchor. Stiles.

“Then what is it? Talk about it,try to reel back.” Derek orders.

“It’s you guys. My pack… m-my family… and right now one of my packmates is hurt,” Issac moves his claws up from his jean’s to grip at his hair, growling and snarling. “Stiles could die and I’m just sitting here in this freaking car waiting.”

Derek sighed softly not sure how to react to his Bera’s confession, thankfully he didn’t have to do much because Boyd and Erica lean forward and place a hand on their friends shoulder, grounding him.

Scott stayed back, not offering his support, which was probably for the best; him being there was already adding to the stress of the pack, and they didn’t need him pretending to care anymore.

“You won’t have to wait much longer, because we’re here.” Derek schools his face to his usual scowl.

The two cars pulled over onto the side of the road, hidden among the shadows of the night, and the eldest wolf surveyed the scene carefully. Outside were two black vans alongside Gerard’s own car. At most the pack is looking at eleven hunters inside, out numbering them all.

Knock Knock

The Alpha forces himself not to flinch as he looks out of his window to see John looking ready to burst. Not wanting the man to explode, Derek exited the car, his Beta’s and Scott following after him quickly.

“What are we waiting for?” John hissed.

“I understand you want to just run in there, but you don’t know who you’re up against.” Derek explains. “I need to assess what we’re up against then we can act.”

“My son could be dead-”

“When I explained everything to you, I explained pack bonds. I can still feel Stiles, I need you to trust me to keep him alive.” Derek says seriously. “I swear I’ll get him out of there alive.”

“I’m tired of waiting, let’s go stalk the place.” Erica growled, her hand clasped in Issacs so the Beta didn’t rush the warehouse on her own.

With a sharp nod Derek motioned for Erica, Boyd, and Issac to sneak to the back left of the warehouse, while Derek guided John and Scott to the right. Immediately the Alpha caught sight of people guarding the front, a large burly man and a tall muscular woman, who’s voice he recognized from the video. The eldest wolf swallows a snarl and listens carefully to what’s being said.

“I still don't think the Alpha is going to show Stephanie. Gerard says the human is the Alpha’s whore, but I haven’t seen any proof of that.” The man grumbled.

“You seem to have a lot of doubt in Gerard.” Stephanie says coldly.

“Well, think about it. What would a strong Alpha like that want with a skinny human like that?”

“Easy to dominate.” Stephanie shrugged.

Derek huffed and shook his head. This conversation would do nothing but piss him off, so instead the wolf crept closer to one of the metal walls, trying to hear for Stiles.

Inside there were eight different heart beats, one of them no doubt was Stiles, since he could smell his Mate inside. His scent was bitter with pain and metallic with blood. So that meant there were two hunters outside and only five inside, still outnumbered, but not as bad as Derek was expecting. The Alpha found it odd Gerard would bring such little back up, a gnawing feeling in his gut began to form, but there was nothing he could do about it now, they would just have to be careful and vigilant.

“Are you sure the Alpha will show tonight?” Someone inside ask’s.

“Of course.” Gerard says simply, his voice overly confident and calm.

“We found a way in.” Derek’s hearing picked up Erica’s words easily.

“Don’t act yet. Wait for my signal.” He replies.

“What do we do?” Scott whispers from next to John.

“First we take out the two hunters in the front, before they can alert the others.” The Alpha orders simply, not looking back at the Beta as he creeps slowly towards the front of the building.

“Wait, like we kill them?” Scott whispered, his tone growing angrier. “We don’t ki-”

“Scott enough.” John cut in quickly, cocking his gun. It wasn’t a surprise to Derek that the Sheriff didn’t care about taking these people's lives; they had taken his son and hurt him, and he had made it very clear he would do anything to protect Stiles.

“But c-couldn’t we just knock them out?” The younger wolf tried to reason.

“You saw the photo and video. I don’t know about you, but I’m not so keen on letting any of them live.” Derek growled. “If you don’t want to save Stiles, after you’re the one that caused this, then leave.”

“Caused this?” Scott flinched at the Sheriff’s harsh glare and hung his head.

“I’ll explain more to you later Sheriff, first let's get Stiles home.” The older wolf promises, and John just nods hesitantly.

“Good. Stay here I’m going around the other side. Keep an eye on the woman and as soon as I attack, shoot her.” Derek ordered. “Don’t hesitate. I don’t want anyone inside knowing we’re here yet.”

The Alpha doesn't wait for a reply and circles the building silently, giving his three Beta’s a reassuring nod as he passes them. He peek’s around the corner and see’s John in position, his gun aimed perfectly for the woman’s head. He doesn’t waste another second and pounces onto the man, ripping his throat out before he can even scream, his partner falling to the ground with a thud, the hole in her head watering the grass around her.

“Now.” Derek snarled, his eyes surely burning a bright red, knowing the others could hear him.

All five wolves storm the warehouse, with John following closely behind. Stiles was no longer against a wall like he appeared in the video. Instead he had been moved to a chair in the center of the large open space and was tied up tightly, the teen barely holding onto consciousness. Shots go off in all directions, with Stiles right in the center of it all.

Erica and Issac are teaming up to tear into as many people as they can get their claws on. Boyd has a gunshot wound on his right shoulder, already poisoned and leaking the black toxic blood. The sight of his own blood makes Boyd’s heart spike in panic, his movements turning more desperate, using his bloodied claws to slice through Stiles bindings.

Gerard stood in the back smirking, as if this was what he wanted in some sick and twisted way. Bodies were falling, blood pooling all over the smooth concrete floor, random chunks of flesh and organs also thrown about randomly, making it hard for anyone to keep their footing.

Boyd’s breathing was becoming weak from the wolfsbane running through his system, and Derek was quick to order him out of the warehouse, not wanting to see his Beta die.

John and Scott move to Stiles, who is swaying on his feet, trying to stand up. As Derek moves to take down Gerard he watches as the older man raises his hand, before firing his gun, but it misses him. The Alpha snarls, a smirk on his lips as he keeps moving, grabbing the arm holding the gun and snaps it as he lunges Gerard’s throat only to be blocked and sink his teeth into the man's other arm.

“Stiles!” John’s scream rings out, pulling Derek’s attention away from his target.

Stiles was laid on his stomach bleeding heavily. Gerard’s shot didn’t miss, because Derek wasn’t his target.

Stiles was.

There was no hunters left beside Gerard, but at that moment it was like the Alpha had tunnel vision as he rushed towards his Mate. Carefully Scott and John turn Stiles over, the bullet had gone all the way through, leaving a bleeding gaping hole in his stomach.

“D-Dad?” Stiles shuttered, his hands shaking violently, the tips of his fingers purple from the cold.

“I’m here. I’m here baby.” John had tears streaming down his face as he pressed his hands onto his son’s bloody wound.

“We need to get him to the hospital now!” Scott panicked.

Derek doesn’t speak as he scoops his Mate up into his arms carefully. “Let’s get him into the back of the police car.”

“The closest hospital is a really tiny place about 30 minutes from here.” John didn’t hesitate to open the cruiser door for Derek to slide in with his son. “Beacon hospital will take too long.”

“Erica treat Boyd’s wounds and drive the Camaro to the hospital.” The Alpha barked his orders out as he slammed the door shut.

The hospital was only 30 minutes away, but the Sheriff made it into a 10 minute drive by breaking every traffic law known to California; it was the longest 10 minutes of the wolf’s life.

“W-why is my… D-Dad… here?” Stiles choked out, as he struggled to breath.

“Shhh.” Derek ran his fingers through the teens' hair gently. “I’ll explain everything later, but first we’ve got to get you to a hospital. So hold on for me. Just hold on.”

“I-I don’t want to die… please… I don’t want to die.” Stiles whines softly, making the Alpha’s heart clench, wanting nothing more than to take his pain, but he couldn’t. In fear that if he did it would kill Stiles or put him into shock.

“You’re not going to die. We’re close to the hospital so just hang on. Please .”

“Bury me with my mom…” the human whispers before losing consciousness, unable to keep his eyes open any longer.

The cruiser comes to a screeching halt outside the emergency room door. Once Stiles is being taken care of Derek and John sit silently in the waiting room, still soaked in the teens blood, after giving the Doctors the excuse of a “gang” accident gone wrong in the woods that Stiles had stumbled upon when hiking. That they had found him this way after he had called his dad for help.

“We should have him moved to Beacon Hills Hospital as soon as he is stable.” Derek finally suggests, his body rigidly stiff with tension.

“What? Why?” John acknowledged, his brow knit with tension.

“Because it’s best for him to be with someone who knows the truth,” The Alpha whispers. “Someone he trusts.”

“...Melissa…” The Sheriff realizes. “She-she never told me, a-and yet my son has been involved all this time… h-his life at stake…”

“Stiles begged her not to tell you. He didn’t want your life at risk.” Derek explains somberly.

“I’ll confront that later. Right now I just need to worry about Stiles getting through surgery.” John shakes his head grimmly.

The rest of the pack arrive soon after the conversation. Boyd has already regained his color and is thankfully standing on his own. Erica and Boyd cuddle together in one of the larger chairs, with the blonde woman comfortably in his lap. Issac chose the other empty seat next to Derek, his leg bouncing anxiously. All the while Scott stood silently by the waiting room door, looking awkward and out of place, Derek didn’t pay him any mind.

Minutes turned to hours as they continued to tick by everyone grew increasingly more anxious. When the Doctor finally showed himself he was immediately swarmed by five werewolves and a concerned father desperate to know an update. The Doctor informs them that the bullet had grazed the teen’s lung but they were thankfully able to patch the wound. Despite knowing Stiles was alive through his pack bond the Alpha still couldn’t handle the overwhelming worry for his Mate.

After waiting another few excruciating hours finally Stiles gets the all clear for visitors and everyone piles in, acting as comfort and guards for the unconscious teen. Unfortunately the calm didn’t last before John was pulled out to answer questions to his own deputies. The Sheriff told them that Stiles was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, that the other day he had been hiking in the woods and was attacked by a mountain lion, and while he had escaped and was trying to find his way out of the woods a hunter had accidentally shot him. He explained that the hunter had panicked and ran, but called the police station to report a boy had been shot and John just happened to be the one to pick up the phone. In return for the information the Police told the older man that they had gotten a call about gunshots at the Argent’s warehouse, but when investigated further it was completely empty.

“How could that be possible? I mean the inside of that warehouse looked like the end of a Terrifier movie. Do you have some sort of clean up crew for stuff like this?” John asks, as he re-enters the room.

“No… but Gerard got away and they do have a clean up crew.” Derek sighs in annoyance, knowing that he’ll have to deal with the oldman sooner rather than later.

“Okay well… I managed to convince them to let me handle the case and ask Stiles the questions.”

~0~

Stiles didn’t stay awake the next day for more than a few minutes at a time, even then he was barely conscious, but since he was stable the hospital agreed to transport him to Beacon Hill’s Hospital to get better care upon the Sheriff’s request.

During the whole process Derek didn’t leave his Mates side once and as a week passed, his Betas would often visit to bring him food and a change of clothes as well. Everyone showed up to support Stiles, everyone except Scott who once Stiles had been transferred to Beacon Hills hadn’t visited once, instead had been seen by the pack spending all his time with Allison. John had to return to work almost immediately, having to play the role of a Sheriff desperate to find the culprit who hurt his son; while not entirely off, since Gerard had gotten away, there was nothing the older man could do since this was a supernatural issue.

Derek is sure John would rather be with his son, but he seemed content that at least Derek was there when he couldn’t be, a new found trust building between the two, despite the still lingering awkwardness.

“You look at him the same way I used to look at Claudia…” John sighs as he takes the other seat at his Stiles’ side, still dressed in uniform since he just got off his shift.

“What?” The Alpha finally looked up from the book he had been reading silently.

“Claudia… Stiles' mother. She was everything to me. She made me believe in soulmates… and when she got sick it felt like the world was falling apart around me.” John says softly, his weary gaze on his child’s unconscious face. “You look at Stiles the same way I looked at Claudia.”

The wolf didn’t know how to respond to that, so he just looked away guiltily.

“It’s okay, just please protect him.” John begs quietly. “I-I can’t protect him from this. I don’t know how to and I won’t be around forever, so… please.”

Derek’s face fell in shock. “I promise.”

The older man nods sharply and nothing else is said between the two after that.

~0~

“Dad?” Stiles croakes out weakly, as he blinks his bleary eyes.

“Stiles? Son?” His Father comes into view, his brow knit with worry as he moves closer, grabbing Stiles hand gently.

Movement from the corner of the teens eye grabs his attention. His heart picks up rapidly as he sees Derek sitting at his other side who only lifts a brow at him in return.

“H-How?” Is all Stiles can manage as he turns back to his Dad.

“I got your letter.” John gently runs his fingers through his son's hair carefully.

“I-I’m sorry… I-”

“Don't. It's okay, well actually it’s not, but we can talk when you’re better. Okay?”

“Okay…”

Another two weeks passed and Stiles and his father never did have that chat, even when he was released from the hospital. He couldn’t tell if he was grateful or if he was dreading it the longer he had to wait.

“I can walk on my own, Sourwolf.” Stiles chuckles breathlessly as he walks up the step to his home. His Dad opening the front door for him to enter, while Derek lingered closely behind the teen like a shadow.

“That's what you said in the hospital before you almost fell on your face.” The wolf responds gruffly.

“Oh my God, I tripped. Crutches are hard, okay?” The boy huffs and rolls his eyes.

“Yeah and you still can again, and again I’ll catch you when it happens.” Derek rolls his eyes in return.

“Enough Stiles. I’ve got the night shift and I would feel better with Derek here with you, so behave for him. Please?” John asks exasperated.

“Fine…” Stiles grunts and moves over to the couch before falling back harshly onto the soft cushion, and propping his broken leg up onto the coffee table. “I don’t understand you two’s new alliance, I mean it was only a few years ago that you were on a manhunt for him, because you thought he was a murderer.”

“And who’s fault is that?”

“Scotts.” Stiles answered simply at the scowling wolf.

The Alpha rolls his eyes once more and takes a seat next to his Mate. He hands the remote to Stiles, who immediately plays the first Star Wars movie he still had in the DVD player. John stays with the two for a while and even orders them some pizza for dinner, before leaving for his shift.

“I gotta take a piss.” Stiles grunts as he struggles to stand up.

“I didn’t need to know that Stiles.” Derek sighs, but helps the teen stand up anyways.

“You helped me get dressed this morning, there is no TMI between us anymore dude.” The human laughs before making his way to the bathroom.

Stiles doesn’t look in the mirror as he washes his hands, he hasn’t looked into the mirror since before he was taken. His bandages had been taken off, but when Mellissa offered to hand him a mirror to take a look at the stitches he had refused. He hadn’t been conscious when the hunters had slashed his face, he hadn’t even known it had happened until the painkillers had worn off and he could feel the stitching pulling tightly at his tender flesh.

The teen sigh’s and braces his hands on the edge of the sink, before taking some tense breaths and leveling his gaze on his own reflection. The stitches were red and bruised purple, running from the top of his right cheek bone down to his jaw line, his right eye was matching in purple, the white of said eye was red from the bursted veins, and his lip had scabbed over the once busted large cut.

“ Jesus … and I thought I was unappealing before…” Stiles mumbles.

He flinches startled as a silent shadow opens the door and steps inside.

“Jesus dude I could have still been peeing.” Stiles grumbles, suddenly feeling self-conscious now that he knows what Derek had been looking at this whole time.

“Don't call me dude… I would have heard if you were.”

“Ew.”

Derek just shrugs in return and looks at Stiles face through the mirror. “You don’t look bad.”

“Have you seen me?” The teen scoffs and looks away from both Derek and the mirror, instead turning his gaze down to the sink.

“Yes.” The wolf says simply as he tilts his Mates face up to look at him. “And you still look like you.”

“So not helpful.” Stiles chuckled ruefully, not meeting Derek's gaze, but not pulling away from his touch.

The Alphas already natural frown deepens and he lets out an annoyed huff from his nose before leaning forward and kissing Stiles on the forehead, one of the only spots on his face that's unbruised.

“You look great.” Stiles finally looks up at the Alpha, his eyes wide and face warm with blush.

“W-why did you?” Stiles stammered.

“Because I wanted to.” Derek tilts his head as if listening to something, before sighing. “The packs here, I’m sure if we don't leave now they’ll drag us out of here.”

“Fine, but you have a lot of explaining to do.” Stiles huffs, flustered and annoyed from being interrupted.

The two men leave the bathroom and re-enters the livingroom where Erica and Boyd were curled up in the recliner, with Issac sitting in front of the TV. The pizza must have arrived while the two were in the bathroom, because the boxes sat on the coffee table already open and at the mercy of the hungry wolves. John must have been expecting the pack, because there was more pizza than was meant for just three people.

“Save some for Stiles.” Derek commanded as he guided Stiles back to his place on the couch.

“Don’t worry we did.” Issac smiles over his shoulder.

“There you two are. I was worried you two were gonna start making out and we would be forced to listen.” Erica smirks, before taking a bite out of her own pizza slice.

“You could all leave if you’d like.” Derek miffed as he helped his Mate sit and propped his leg up carefully. He grabbed a plate from the kitchen and placed some pizza on it and served it to the human, before finally taking a seat next to him.

“Nah.”

“Where's Scott?” Stiles looks around with a frown when he notices the lack of his best-friend.

“Probably at Allisons.” Erica leered and rolls her eyes.

“Oh… course.” The teen sighed. He was surprisingly unbothered by the absence of the boy he had considered a brother. It was a long time coming, distance had been growing between them since that first day in the preserves, and now Scott couldn’t even be bothered to check on Stiles after he had been kidnapped and tortured by his girlfriend's family. The distance didn’t scare him as much as he thought it would, especially being surrounded by his pack, he felt safe and secure with them all.

Stiles shrugs and leans his head against Derek’s shoulder, relaxing and finally eating the food his Alpha had given him.

He finally was Home.