#that despite being Scott's second bitten beta

[momentofmemory]

FICTOBER 2020 - day seven

Prompt #6: “That was impressive.”

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Characters: Hayden Romero, Scott McCall

Triggers: Discussion of Death

Words: 1711

Author’s Note: Hayden’s adjusting super well to being a werewolf. Adjusting is what she does. But adjusting to everything else that happened to her... That might be a little more of a struggle. Set post-5B, pre 6A. Hayden POV. For @daughterofluthien

>> incremental steps

Running.

So fast and so far and so strong it feels like she’s flying, leaves kicking up under the balls of her feet and wind ripping freely through her hair.

It’s her favorite part of her new body.

She’s always loved to run, first out in the backyard with her sister and then on the field for soccer, but running alone has always been her favorite. It feels like nothing—no one—can ever catch her, ever tell her to stop.

There’s a power that thrums through her veins now, buzzing in time to the rhythm of her steps. This is running the entire preserve in under a half hour without pausing for breath; it’s pushing up off the ground and landing a dozen yards away without even trying, it’s leaping off a ledge and flipping three times midair to land—

“Oh, shit!”

It’s the quick pivoting of the body below her that saves her from crashing headfirst into it more than anything else, but the impact still sends both of them tumbling into the dirt.

“Sorry!” Hayden scrambles upright first, spitting leaves and shaking twigs out of her hair, slowly bringing her senses back down to the present. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t—”

She takes in the grey henley, crooked jaw, and surprisingly chill attitude at getting blindsided from a height of thirty feet. “Wait, Scott?”

“That’s me,” he says, sounding far too cheerful for the situation as he brushes his shirt off.

Hayden blinks, trying to refocus her eyes and tune out the sound of their heartbeats, hers purring gleefully along from her run, and his idling at a much more sedate pace. Her brow furrows.

“But—what’re you even doing out here? I thought you guys had lacrosse practice—” A new thought occurs to her and her blood pressure spikes, crashing her fully back into reality. “Wait, were you following me?”

“Uh.”

That’s a yes.

All the freedom she’d felt to just be from earlier vanishes, now viewed from the perspective of an outsider.

“So you saw—” Hayden flushes, remembering the excessive flipping she’d done. “Oh, god.”

“No, it’s okay, really.” Scott heaves himself back onto his feet, nodding towards the ledge she’d just jumped from. “Actually, I, uh—I was just going to say that was impressive.”

Hayden feels like the words should be mocking, but there’s nothing but sincerity in his voice.

“…Oh.” She hadn’t been expecting that, and a warm rush of pride overtakes the heat of embarrassment. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Scott’s smile is warm, too. “I just—you’ve been adjusting to your powers really well. Faster than most people.”

Hayden’s pretty used to adjusting to things. Losing her parents, her kidney, her life. Gaining something for once is a nice change.

She shrugs like it’s not a big deal. “I had powers before the bite, even if they were a little different. Guess being a fish boy’s science experiment has some perks.”

Scott arches his eyebrows.

“Mason’s fault,” she says. “Their outfits looked like those weird old diving suits with like, the copper plating and tubes and stuff, and fish are—look, it doesn’t have to make sense.”

Scott laughs, and Hayden’s startled to realize it’s a sound she’s never heard it before. “Probably a good mindset for most of the things that happen around here.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that idea.” Hayden fidgets, her muscles upset at the sudden end to her workout. Too much thinking, not enough running.

Since Scott seems unbothered by the delay, she pursues it herself. “So like. If I’m doing great at the whole werewolf thing, why did you follow me?”

Instead of answering directly, Scott looks over at the ledge that’d started the whole altercation and nods towards it. “How’d you know you could fall that far?”

“I just—did? I mean, I’ve jumped pretty far by myself. And it’s not like it’s the first thing I’ve jumped off of.”

Scott nods. “Incremental training. You do something at lower levels of risk until you know you’re ready for the real thing.”

“Sure, I guess.”

Scott falls quiet, his hands slipping into his pockets. Hayden senses—something radiating off him, that wasn’t there before. She’s good at controlling the physical aspect of her powers, but the finer points like chemosignals or whatever are a little fuzzier.

Not that she has any intention of telling him that. She can figure it out on her own.

And if not, she can still read body language well enough to know that what she’s sensing in Scott is unease.

She really doesn’t want to have that kind of conversation right now.

“I probably need to—”

“The full moon’s coming up in about a week.” Scott winces, either at interrupting her or at the statement itself. Probably both. “I know we already gave you the basic run-through before you got bit, but. If you have any questions, I can help. Your first time can be a little… intense.”

“Apparently not just your first.”

It’s a terrible thing to say; she realizes that the second after it crashes into the conversation. But she’d be lying if she said she hasn’t thought about it.

A lot.

“Um.” Scott rubs at the back of his neck, turning into the massage just enough to avoid eye contact. “That doesn’t usually—I mean—”

He sighs. “There were a lot of factors involved.”

Despite how much she doesn’t want to have this conversation, Hayden doesn’t miss the way Scott’s hand drifts over his chest.

She checks her eyes for mercury sometimes, too.

“I’m sorry,” she blurts out, before she can think better of it.

For his part, Scott just cocks his head to the side. “For what?”

“I’m kind of—I mean, he used me—” Hayden gestures vaguely, hoping he’ll get the point. She’s not good at this. “With Liam.”

Scott, obnoxiously, just looks even more confused. “What—”

“Liam chose me over you.”

It’s blunt, but. Judging by the way Scott flinches, it gets the point across.

“He shouldn’t have done that. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d have been a fan of not dying, but…” Hayden shrugs and her eyes focus on the scuffed up toes of her shoes. “…He shouldn’t have done that.”

Scott bites his lip, his eyes clearly focused elsewhere, then slowly drops down into a crouch on the forest floor. He looks up at her, and she takes that as an invitation to do the same. He only starts speaking after they’re both settled.

“Liam wasn’t…” Scott sighs. “Anger’s not exactly like that.”

Hayden’s own anger flares. “What, moral?”

“No, it’s like… you dying was a reality for Liam at the time, right? Whereas me dying was just… a hypothetical.”

“Pretty messed up hypothetical.”

“No argument there,” Scott agrees. “But being angry that you were dying—that was a good thing. The problem is that anger is really, really powerful. And sometimes we’re so angry about one thing, we let it make us do some other thing that winds up being just as bad.”

Hayden’s angry about a lot of things. Even before all this.

“So is that gonna be me? I’m just angry all the time until one day I snap and try to kill someone?”

“No,” Scott says. “You’re not a monster.”

“Then what am I?” There’s the anger again, and wouldn’t it be so ironic if this were what made her snap? “Because so far all I’ve accomplished is helping to get you killed, working for the guy that did it, and then just getting saved again.”

She can feel her claws wanting to come out, and she wants to run, to run where she can’t hurt anyone and no one can stop her and—

“Hayden, hey, it’s okay.”

A sense of calm washes over her, and when she glances up, Scott’s eyes are tinged crimson. She takes a deep breath, then another.

The claws recede.

“See? Incremental steps.” Scott smiles. “And I’m still here, so you didn’t get me killed.”

“You still died, Scott.” The anger’s gone from her voice, replaced by its worser cousin: fear. “And don’t tell me that didn’t matter because I—because I did, too.”

And there it is.

Treacherously, a tear escapes her eye, and she hastily wipes it away.

But not before making sure it isn’t bright and silver.

Scott doesn’t comment on it. “If it makes you feel better, it’s not the first time I’ve died.”

That is definitely not the sentence Hayden had expected to come out of Scott’s mouth, and if it’s meant as a distraction, it works pretty well. “That mean anything?”

“Means I’ve had more practice.”

Hayden snorts. She wipes at another tear, one that’s definitely still just salt and water. “Didn’t know it worked that way.”

Scott smiles ruefully. “I’m pretty sure I got worse at it every time, actually.”

“Your pep talks suck.”

The laugh from before returns. Hayden counts that as a win, somehow.

“Look,” he says, eventually. “The thing about anger is that it’s really easy to let it get anchored in the past. And life’s like that, too. But… if you get too focused on the past itself, instead of what it means for now, or even for the future, it’s easy to let it take you to some messed up places.”

“Like with Liam?”

“And a bunch of other people that had it even worse, yeah.”

Hayden considers this. “So what do you do?”

“Well, you don’t ignore it.” The way Scott says the words makes it abundantly clear that he’s tried. “And you can’t go at it all at once. So—” Scott nods towards the ledge—“you work at it a little bit at a time.”

The corners of Hayden’s lips quirk upwards. “Incremental steps?”

His responding grin is blinding. “You got it.”

Scott rises to his feet, dusting off his jeans again, while Hayden watches—this time, a sense of shared understanding between them.

Hayden clears her throat and looks up at him. “So what’s the first step?”

“For now,” Scott says, and he reaches his hand out to her, “think you beat me in a run?”

Hayden looks at Scott’s deep red eyes, then his hand, then his eyes again.

They’re a rich, warm brown.

She takes his hand.

“You’re on.”

[asterekmess]

Been seeing you getting hate mail and while I absolutely can't understand why anyone would go to all the trouble to make some one else feel bad... I also kinda really love the discourse on Scott? Like YOUR RANTS oh man. On point. Always. Tbh I tried giving Scott a chance... He is the main char after all... But I was like??? Wtf? That dude does nothing but refute others and does whatever he wants. And this was when I didn't particularly like Stiles either (first time watching Teen Wolf). But then I got to know more of him and like Tony he went asshole to lovable asshole—seriously, Stiles might not be the ‘nicest’ but he tries and his heart is in good place—while Scott is just... self-righteous. Someone pointed out that he sees people as possessions and that irks me too that I can actually see it being true. The dude has literally nothing going on except for being the one that gets bitten. And the Romeo-and-Juliet-esque romance he has.

Okay, okay, where was I going with this?? Right. LOVE YOUR RANTS. People need to understand that Scott not being liked isn't because of his race or anything trivial like it—he just happens to be—but because of his actions. Or inactions, as it were. *remembers the pool scene and Scott saying he's busy and resists the urge to chuck a shoe at him*

Basically, love you, love your work, and love your words! ❤️

I've talked with some friends about it, and our number one issue sort of...boiled down to the hypocrisy of the show? I....sort of rant a lot here, and I would add a Read More, but I can't find the option anymore?? I fucking hate Tumblr. EDIT: I found a post that told me how to do it!

So, since he's the character I focus on the most, let's talk about Stiles' morality. Because, you're right. Stiles is an asshole. He does some fucking awful shit in the first season, and even if he had a Reason to do it, it was still bad. And I still don't like it. But I understand it.

Stiles' lack of shits about what is 'lawful' is literally established in the first ten seconds of the show. He's a sheriff's son who sneaks onto people's roofs in the middle of the night bc they aren't answering his calls, who listens in on his dad's work conversations and is willing to fuck up a crime scene because he's so excited about getting to see a dead body. He doesn't care about laws. He doesn't even care about most basic manners (invasion of privacy much, with having Scott sniff Lydia to see if she liked him?). He's a dickhead, even to the people he cares about sometimes. But personality and morality aren't the same. Stiles' entire actual morality system is based around whatever he needs to do to keep the people he loves safe and happy. Lying to his dad so he doesn't get murdered by hunters? Totally fine. Telling Scott that it was "Jackson's own fault" that Scott attacked him with superstrength and dislocated his shoulder, so Scott doesn't feel like an asshole? That's just best friend duties! He will lie, steal, cheat, and he will kill to keep his loved ones safe (let's not forget this boy threw molotovs at Peter, knowing damn well what they would do to him). We can headcanon all we want about all the different people who are in this group of loved ones, but the list is canonically very short: Scott, his dad, and Lydia. Later on, like, past s3B? It includes Derek. Canonically. Stiles puts his life and the lives of others he cares about on the line while he lies to the matriarch of the Calavera hunter clan, to save Derek Hale. Derek is just canonically a part of that group now, and he fucking knows it bc Stiles is his anchor (that's canon too bb). End of Story, Sterek or no Sterek. It's why we get that insane number of lookbacks when Derek is dying before his evolution. Because Stiles is being forced to choose between two people who are BOTH in his ride-or-die group. He Cannot Pick between Scott and Derek, until Derek begs him to leave.

SO, yes, Stiles does fuckface things, and I don't always agree with what he does, but it is ACCURATE TO HIS CHARACTER. He is morally grey. He NEVER CLAIMS to be pure or good or just or righteous. Stiles knows who he is, and he stays true to himself. And I love him for that.

The same goes for a bunch of other characters! For Peter, who is strikingly similar to Stiles, in that family goes above literally everything. Screw the idea that he was following Derek around waiting for the chance to steal back the Alpha spark. That man put his life on the line (his second life, no less) to get the shit beaten out of him until Derek let him help save Derek's life Again and Again. Family Comes First.

Scott's morality is...confusing as fuck. I thought at first he was similar to Stiles, in that family came first, but...while he's protective of his mother, he also does a lot of stuff that puts her at risk without seeming to care/worry (like leaving Peter alone with her once Stiles hits their car, so he can chase Jackson) (or asking her to come to the high school when he's convinced there's a bomber in it)? Seriously, he's more protective over Allison, than his mother. It's very black and white the rest of the time. Very "this bad" "this good." And if you do "bad" then you are bad forever, while if you do "good" you are only good until you do "bad." The Betas were "good" until they asked for the bite, and then they were "Bad." Derek was "bad" when Scott met him and scared him, so after that, no matter how much "good" he did, he remained "bad." But only when it suits him. Allison is good even when she does bad, because he wants her to be good. Chris is good even though he's done mountains of bad, because of the minuscule amount of good that Scott has seen him do, because Scott wants him to be good. Even DEUCALION is good, despite the crazy CRAZY amount of bad he's done and despite having seen him do NO GOOD, just because Scott wants him to be good. Lying to those closest to you is bad, unless Scott is doing it, and then it's good, because he knows HE is good. Killing people is bad, unless Scott is doing it. Letting villains go is bad, unless Scott is doing it. Biting people is bad, unless Scott is doing it. Protecting family is good even if it requires killing or lying, unless it's not Scott doing it. Revenge for past slights is good, unless it's not SCOTT doing it. And you try to understand it! You try to say, okay, then he's morally grey, got it. He plays with the rules to suit his own morality, whatever. Except that Scott, the other characters, and THE SHOW ITSELF, are all telling you otherwise! They all say that Scott is morally pure. That he is good and righteous and lawful. That he always does the "right" thing, and that when he does "bad" things, it's justified and he had to. THE HEAVENS THEMSELVES say Scott is somehow better or more righteous than the other characters by MAKING HIM AN ALPHA OUT OF NOWHERE. (I'm talking abt canon here, not going into deaton conspiracy theories) It's like....Like in the hate mail response I did, where I pointed out that Every Single Thing people get angry at Derek for doing, Scott did too. Lying, killing (or at least attempting it), attacking innocents, losing his temper, keeping secrets, refusing to work with someone who could help, etc etc etc. Everything Derek has done that is morally "wrong," Scott has also done. And that's okay! Doing a bad thing doesn't make you a bad person, and even if it did, Scott is ALLOWED to be bad! GO FOR IT.

Except that he is sinless. It isn't that he learns from the bad things he does, it's that they aren't treated like bad things in the first place. Because Scott did it, and Scott always does the right thing.

Derek's behavior is reprehensible at times, but the show ADMITS that and frames it as bad. Frames it as him doing a bad thing when he scares Isaac or throws Peter or tells Erica who to date. And that's fine, because Derek is established as not being morally pure.

But SCOTT IS. And because they were so desperate to make him continue being "Pure" they didn't frame the things he did as wrong, or if they did, they absolved him of it immediately, using the exact same reasoning that works for Derek's situations, but this time Actually Accepting it.

He scares Stiles, well it's because he's scared. He throws Isaac, it's because he's upset. He attacks Jackson well it's because Jackson was being a dick. He orders Allison to date Matt, well he had a goal to accomplish. Every reason is treated like a fucking doctor's note that erases the bad things he does.

Being scared, or angry, or retaliating to someone being an asshole, or trying to protect himself, was NEVER a good enough reason for Derek to do ANYTHING "Bad." It was never an acceptable excuse.

IF IT WERE: If the show were making a statement about how fallable people are, how they do bad things, but they do them for a REASON. How people will do wild and terrible things out of fear, and how that doesn't make it less bad, but it makes it understandable, so don't demonize them out of nowhere. If that were the case, I would HAVE BEEN FINE WITH IT.

Scott is held to COMPLETELY different standards than everyone else in the show! And I DON'T mean that people held him to higher ones. They dropped that bar so fucking low. Anything was allowed, and any excuse was good enough.

He made out with a girl who was dating someone else, who his best friend was in love with? It's just the full moon, he's angsty about losing Allison. He ducttapes Liam to a bathtub and starts throwing random phrases at him that he hated Derek for saying to him? He's freaked out! He doesn't know what to do with a bitten wolf! It was an accident! He works with a mass murderer behind people's backs without telling them the whole story? Am I talking about Gerard or Deucalion? Who fucking knows. Either way, it's okay, because he was protecting his family. He plots to murder a cancer patient slowly and painfully by replacing meds that likely included painkillers with mountain ash, and the uses someone else's body to deliver the killing blow, and it's okay because he was just being smart! He was just working ten steps ahead! He was saving his mom and the whole town! Who cares if it DIDN"T WORK?

He walks into his ex-girlfriend's hotel room and scares the SHIT out of her while she's naked and alone in the shower? It was the wolfsbane. It doesn't matter that no one else's impulses included HARASSING someone. He lies to his girlfriend's face about her own life because he doesn't think it's important enough for her to know (who am I talking about, come on, take a guess, which one is it? Allison or Kira? Trick question: it's both). He was just being kind! He didn't want to worry her! He didn't want to make her feel bad! She didn't need to know!

I'm so far off track it's not even funny. My point was that Everything the other characters in the show are demonized for or framed as evil or bad or wrong for doing, Scott is shown to do and it's treated like at minimum a comedy, if not a Perfect Brilliant Strategic Move.

God, fucking hell. I mean, the PARALLELS you see in this show, between Scott and others. The scene of Alexander Argent going to the hotel after being bit? That bit where he pulls his shirt up in the mirror? It's a near PERFECT replica of Scott looking at his bite at Deaton's. They paralleled SCOTT MCCALL with AN ARGENT. Deaton has this whole line in S2 where he's bitching at Derek about "the person you should trust the most doesn't trust you at all" And then seasons later, we have Scott look his best friend in the eye and refuse to trust him, only to get upset later because Stiles doesn't want to work with him anymore and he "lost them." Scott goes running into Derek's house in S1 to accuse him of killing the bus driver, and when he can't get a real response, he EGGS HIM ON by accusing him of Murdering his SISTER, just to get Derek to react. Which is the EXACT same thing Kate did when she showed up and wanted Derek to lose his temper. Scott is CONSTANTLY paralleled with villains and assholes, and constantly does the things that others are persecuted for. But instead of feeling regret or learning something from it, instead of growing AT ALL. Those actions are treated as good. We are told they are righteous. And clever. That they are what heroes do. AND YES: There are parallels between Derek and Stiles' behaviors and villains/morally grey characters! Of course there are!

BUT THEY AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THE TRUE ALPHA MAIN CHARACTER. SCOTT IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE GOOD GUY. HE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO MIMIC/EMULATE THE VILLAINS, AND HE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE REWARDED WHEN HE DOES IT ANYWAY.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; I understand the urge to think that the Teen Wolf writers did all of this on purpose. That they built Scott up as an unreliable narrator, so that we're forced to come to terms with a protagonist who isn't good, and we watch them fall into a villainous role while thinking all the while they are a hero. That all these parallels are intentional and the writers just couldn't Tell us what was going on bc they didn't have enough power.

And sometimes I play into it. I will lie to myself about Scott being the 'narrator' of the entire show, and that we're seeing it all through his eyes so of course things are biased and conflicting, just so I can actually Enjoy watching it.

But I think it's absolute bullshit that this was done on purpose. It wasn't. The parallels appeared because they Wanted Scott to do the badass things that they had all the villains doing, throwing people and being sneaky and clever, and stopping the bad guy, and they didn't want to deal with the fact that they were having him do bad things. So they just pretended he wasn't and refused to acknowledge that they'd already punished other people for doing the same exact shit, but somehow Scott was getting rewarded. They wanted Scott to be the hero, so they made him the hero, and screw everybody else.

[froggirlboy]

i'm still so angry at Jeff Davis and the writers for how much they screwed up Hayden and her storyline. they never made her a fully fleshed out character and now people just know her as "liams girlfriend". i love her regardless but she deserved to be treated the way the rest of the characters were. anyways I miss her and she deserved to have killed a man just for fun, for a laugh <3

literally drives me insane like if we could have just gotten SOMETHING once or twice like theres some stuff i genuinely forgot like her being part werejaguar or even that scott bites her at the end of s5 like??? she’s literally scotts second ever bitten beta and its barely even touched upon ??? and the way both her and corey’s reaction to theo’s return were just nonexistent despite like everything just so not cool jeff 😠

[officialthiamlibrary]

Do you guys have any long slow burn AU fics to rec?

We sure have! 😊 Enjoy!

(Please not that this list only contains stories over 30k.)

Anchors by @thiamlife

Liam Dunbar has had enough of being out of control. So he decides to shut his wolf off for awhile… the only problem is it could end up getting him killed.

Theo Raeken had never been good with feelings. But he can’t fathom the idea of losing the little beta. So he makes it his personal mission to help Liam find his way back to the supernatural. Lines will be crossed and there may be no coming back from it.

[NR / 42.2k / complete]

Vargary by @lovelylittlegrim

Liam is worried everything will go to shit once the elder pack members leave Beacon Hills.

It does, of course, but he has Mason and Corey there to help him out.

He also, surprisingly, has Theo Raeken.

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Just too good to be true by @raekentheoryarchive

Liam has the worst luck when it comes to girls. Things just keep crashing and burning. Mason tries to convince him that maybe it’s time to come out, to date a guy instead, but his best friend won’t hear it. So he and Corey decide to find him the ultimate date, someone who’s exactly his type—snarky, tendency to punch people, and tough enough to put up with their volatile friend. Bad boy Theo Raeken is the perfect fit, despite his murky past and caustic personality. And the fact that he won’t do it for free. What could go wrong? // 10 Things I Hate About You AU.

[TeenUp / 56.2k / complete]

Midnight into morning coffee by @pettigrace

In an anger fit, Liam slashes his social studies teacher's tires. Enter Theo, who is an enigma surrounded by rumours, saving him. In return, he just wants Liam to pay his lunch. Easy, right? Liam would have never guessed the lane he starts walking by accepting the deal.

[TeenUp / 138.5k / wip]

On the same side by @teen-wolf-af

Liam is an FBI agent. Theo is an untouchable drug lord. There's a chase, some grudging trust, and finally the falling in love. It may seem unlikely, but in the end, they find themselves on the same side.

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Compared to the moon by @flyde

Theo Raeken is back in Beacon Hills. He is an outcast in a world where people show their true colors as actual colors beneath their skin, because Theo himself is a blank page. Joining the lacrosse team, he hopes for one last shot at finding a real place to belong. But things don´t start off too great, especially not between him and the team captain, Liam Dunbar.

[Explicit / 143.8k / complete]

Desolate by @glitter-cake20

Liam involuntarily becomes an Alpha. He refuses accept the new wolf and instead runs away, leaving Beacon Hills behind, and takes to a small cabin in the Colorado mountains for refuge, mostly from himself. He subdues the alpha wolf in him... Until one day when he has absolutely no choice but to let it out.

[Explicit / 60k / complete]

I can't not love you by @raekentheoryarchive

Liam's a little lost in life. His latest relationship has fizzled out, his best friends are about to be married, and he’s rapidly realizing he doesn’t want to be the best man without a date. So, inspired by their tale of rekindled romance, he decides to track down all his exes and figure out which one was right for him all along. The problem is that several have been out of contact for years, and he has no idea where they are. The solution? His promiscuous, struggling musician neighbor Theo, who happens to have dabbled in the police academy long enough to be good at digging up dirt and finding people. But time is running out, the wedding countdown clock ticking ever closer, and if Theo can stop flirting with him for maybe five seconds and find his former flames, he might have a shot at this. || What’s Your Number AU.

[TeenUp / 48.6k / complete]

Wilful Entrapment by @RedCoral

Theo looked at him from head to toe in the dingy bar they were at, his expression thoughtful and deadly serious as he said, "So tell me Liam. Are you sure you're not a parking ticket? Because you've got fine written all over you."

Liam laughed so hard, he almost fell from the barstool. "Oh my God. Is that what you're going with?"

"Did you know people are more likely to laugh at the jokes of people they're attracted to?"

[TeenUp / 41.9k / complete]

Tougher Than The Rest by @glitter-cake20

Theo is horribly self conscious about his body, but a pair of blue eyes sees him for what he truly is.

[Explicit / 44.1k / complete]

The Last Of Us by @raeken_09

A bizzare fungal infection breaks out all over the world, causing people to lose their minds and turn into infected monsters. The remainder of civilisation was quarintined in cities while soldiers kept a close watch on who goes in and out. The McCall Pack is fractured when it proved that the bites of the Infected were deadly to werecreatures. After a careless night out to just be normal teenagers Liam and Mason are bitten. So why does Liam live to see te morning?

[Mature / 50.3k / complete]

Vacancy Signs by @lovelylittlegrim

Theo and Liam are in Manhattan negotiating a pack allyship when the zombie apocalypse breaks out. Now, the two of them have to find their way back to Beacon Hills without getting eaten by zombies or killing one another.

[Explicit / 89.6k / wip]

Just like a tattoo, I'll always have you. by @mmmwddd

The pack has just defeated the Ghost Riders and for now everything is fine. At least until Liam’s sixteenth birthday when his soulmark shows up with a name that he was not expecting.

[NR / 31.4k / complete]

Happiness is a four-letter word by @glitter-cake20

Liam goes out looking for trouble, instead he finds the beginning of a road that could change everything for him.

[Explicit / 93.4k / complete]

Highway to Hope by @flyde

Theo has been obsessed with this youtube guy who posts videos of himself singing in his car. Watching every video there is of Liam, Theo finds himself falling in love. When Liam's songs get more and more sad and dark, Theo starts worrying. The shadows beneath Liam's eyes get darker in every new clip, his voice huskier, his driving a little too fast, a little too reckless. Paying close attention, reading between the lines, Theo can tell Liam is not okay. And then the catastrophe happens.

[Mature / 41.4k / complete]

Scepticism by @sweetest_thiam

Everyone told Liam to avoid the kid in the hallway, but that scrutinizing gaze was just too tempting.

[TeenUp / 50.9k / wip]

Red by @extrasteps and @ajp-37

Theo returns from hell but has lost all of his powers, including his chimera status, making him completely human. He also has a red string of fate wrapped around his left wrist, connecting him to Liam, the one who brought him back. When Malia attacks him, she nearly kills him, and Liam and Lydia step in, all but forcing Scott to bite him and make him a werewolf. Making Theo pack, and the growing connection between him and Liam, changes the whole outcome of season 6.

[Explicit / 134.1k / wip]

We Who Wait by @wolfenboyb

Liam is the son of a local preacher struggling to get good grades, to fit in, to live up to his father's expectations. Every spare moment is spent at the church or school, much to his best friend's annoyance. So when Mason drags Liam out to an underground all-ages punk rock show he's thrown into a world that frightens and excites him. Especially when he meets Theo, the pink haired, in-everyones-face vocalist that gives no fucks and causes trouble where ever he can. And he has a close eye on the preacher's son.

[TeenUp / 83.3k / wip]

The boy I shouldn't want to love by @dan13la-blog-blog

Liam comes back to Beacon Hills after years, when his mother decides to get remarried. His big shock is finding out that his new step-father's son is the same guy that back then in elementary school used to bully him, making his life a literal hell...

[Mature / 161.6k / wip]

[lacrossepapi]

Surprises

Day One: Accidental Bonding and Creature Stiles

Ao3 Link| Words: 2601| for @steterweek 

The first thing stiles hears outside of his own mind is a deep velvet voice saying, "Here take this."

He didn't know what "this" was but he attempted to reach out with an open hand to take whatever it was. He tried to open his eyes but every time he did pain shot through his entire body.

"I don't think" a pause to catch his breath and wet his lips, "I can stand."

The words had come out coarse and stuttering, but Stiles had fought to get them out and he would be damned if after all these years his words failed him too.

"Here."

The voice was the same that offered him the soft cloth in his hands. He had rubbed the cloth between his fingers enough to piece together that it was a large shirt. The collar of which was in a large V shape. Adding that knowledge to hearing that deep velvet again was all Stiles needed.

"Peter?"

"Yes, pet, I'm here. So are Scott, Lydia, Derek, and Melissa. We're all here with you." Peter spoke with a softness Stiles had not heard from him in a long time.

Those words with that tone made Stiles want to curl up and whine while someone scratched his ears.

"What the fuck?" The words slipped quietly through his cracked lips.

He slowly reached up and touched his head. He felt nothing but sweat drenched hair until his fingers touched something soft and furry which also made his ears twitch.

He had ears, soft furry animal ears. What happened to his body when the nogitsune left? Was this a dream? What if the nogitsune was still in his mind messing with him? What if none of this was real? Oh God how could he still be stuck in his own mind after the pain and torture of kicking that demon from his body? Was that all a lie? A trick?

Suddenly someone had him by the back of his neck and was rocking them as they let out a low soothing rumble. He sniffed and was surprised to smell Peter again and not one of the others.

"Breathe Stiles. Count your fingers on my arms if you need to. You're here, darling. Awake and alive." Peter's words were soft soothing whispers as he rocked them side to side.

Stiles found himself slumping against Peter the best he could with his eyes still screwed shut.

"What happened to me when it left? Peter what am I?" Stiles cracked his eyes open just enough to look at the werewolf holding him.

"Beautiful." Peter's whisper was drowned out by Scott declaring that he didn't care what Stiles was now he was still his best friend.

Stiles had heard Peter though thanks to his new hearing capabilities.

"Come here sweet boy and let me look you over." Melissa's voice called out to him and he nodded.

He tried to take a step in the direction he heard her voice coming from but stumbled the moment Peter let go of him. Luckily Peter caught him with a hand on his arm at the same time Scott grabbed his other arm. Scott guided Stiles back over to the couch and sat him down gently so Melissa could look over him.

"Why does it hurt so bad to open my eyes? Everything is too bright it hurts." Stiles let out a high pitch whine he didn't realize was humanly possible.

He wasn't a human anymore so it probably wasn't humanly possible.

"You haven't adjusted to your new senses." Derek's voice was just as even and assertive as usual but there was a note to it that made Stiles uneasy.

"Give me a second to see what other senses I do have." Stiles demanded more than asked.

He sniffed the air but other than each of their scents he couldn't smell anything else that he couldn't before. He couldn't smell their emotions or smell what one of them had eaten recently like he had heard the other shifters complain about.

Smelling their scents was new and an odd sensation. Derek smelled like the Preserve on a rainy day, chocolate ice cream, and mint. Melissa was harder to figure because of the perfume she was wearing, but Stiles could smell lavender, and vanilla but also a strong hit of lemon. Scott was all oatmeal raisin cookies, brown sugar, and underneath those sweet smells was a metallic tang.

Those were the three closest to him, though he could still smell Lydia's clean linen and rotting flowers. That one really caught him off guard, though it must be because she's a banshee. Peter's was harder to articulate, the warmth of a soft blanket added with cinnamon, the way everything smelled the day after a storm, and something else Stiles couldn't place at all. That something else was like a drug, he found himself subconsciously leaning towards Peter to smell it more clearly until he realized how weird that must look.

So instead of asking Peter why he smelled like that Stiles canted his head to the left, his right ear twitching as he let in all the sound around him. Six heart beats, six puffs of breath, countless birds in the Preserve out back, and the noises of people moving in the houses all around them. Stiles had struggled with ADHD his whole life, and shutting out outside noises was almost easy by now, so he simply focused on the sounds in his immediate proximity and calmed his heart rate as best he could.

"I'm going to open my eyes now. Can you guys make sure the lights are off?"

"They've been off the whole time darling but we will try to block the light from the windows as best we can." Peter assured him.

Stiles was getting anxious again with the knowledge that the lights haven't been on and everything was still so bright it hurt, but he had to try.

"Okay. I'm going to open them now."

He slowly cracked them open with his head facing the floor. Nothing was bright down there so far. He could see his feet and the feet of the other five people surrounding him so he slowly lifted his head higher. The room was almost pitch black but Stiles could see everyone clearly. Finally he reached eye level with everyone and went to give a cheer when bright dazzling colors erupted from all around each person.

Stiles whine again and closed his eyes tight.

"Stiles your eyes are different. They're bright yellow." Scott breathed.

"Like a beta?"

"No. Like Kira's but more yellow than orangeish red." Derek elaborated Scott's revelation.

"Guys am I a kitsune? Did it make me into another nogitsune?" Stiles tried to keep himself from panicking but what was he going to do if he turned out to be as evil as a nogitsune?

Again Peter gripped the back of his neck somehow comforting him despite the roughness of the move.

"You're not a nogitsune. You are something new. Something different. Why did it only hurt you to keep your eyes open when you looked at our faces?"

Something new? Something different? Stiles didn't want to be new or different he wanted to go back to the way things were before Scott had been bitten. He wanted his dad.

"Has anyone called my dad?"

"Yes honey. He's on his way." Melissa informed him.

"Okay. Okay that's good. And uh Peter? I'm not sure what happened but when I looked at your faces colors exploded all around each of you. Different colors of all shades and images too. Like there was a scale balance by Derek and a mans hand with a wedding band on his finger next to Melissa." Stiles took a steadying breath, "what does that mean?"

"Everyone step behind Stiles please."

"What? Why would we do that?" Scott asked petulantly.

"Because he can't open his eyes when six people's auras are right in his face. Step behind him so you aren't in his line of sight." Peter sounded like he was grinding his teeth as he explained.

"He sounds like he knows what's going on. Just listen to him Scotty." Stiles breathed, exhausted and ready to get this over with.

"They're all behind you now, pet. Look at me and describe what you see." Peter's voice was so soothing Stiles couldn't help but do as he asked.

The moment Stiles' eyes locked onto Peter's his aura opened up around him.

"There are colors in certain spots but all around you is a swirl of dark red, bright red, and orange red. There's a black arch over your head that feels like pain. Right in the middle of your stomach is a burst of bright yellow. There's a light blue spot on your throat. Over your heart is a yellow green burst with dark green swirls. What about the images?" Stiles kept his eyes open despite the brightness of Peter's aura, he couldn't walk around with his eyes closed forever.

"Good job darling. Don't worry about the images for right now. They stop when the auras go away so ignore them. We're gonna add another. Are you ready?" Peter sounded so proud Stiles didn't even have to think before he was nodding.

"Melissa please come join me."

Slowly Melissa made her way into Stiles vision.

"Before you look at her I want you to picture a radio. Look at my aura and picture yourself turning the volume knob down. Keep picturing it until my aura dims." Peter spoke with calm assurance and Stiles was compelled once again to follow his words.

He pictured a radio and focused on it and Peter's aura as he pictured the knob turning the volume down.

"It's working." Stiles gasped, sweat beading up on his brow.

"Good boy. You're doing great. Now look at Melissa's. Hers shouldn't be as bright as mine was because she's not a supernatural being. She should be easier to look at." Peter sounded so pleased Stiles grinned at him before turning his attention to Melissa.

"Hi honey. You're doing great but if it's too much just close your eyes okay?" She'd always been a second mother to him and she always would be, but Stiles had to do this and he had to do this now.

Melissa's aura was slower to spread out and not as vibrant or pulsing as Peter's. She was rainbow colored all over. Every single spot had a beautiful array of colors. But her hands and heart were bright rainbow bursts.

"She's a rainbow." Stiles breathed out amazed at the difference and beauty of Melissa's aura.

"I had figured as much. She's a healer all the way to her soul. Are her hands brighter rainbows than everywhere else?" Peter inquired.

"Yes. But her heart is also as bright."

"Ah. That means she's got a pure healers heart. But we already knew that didn't we?" Peter asked, mirth clear in his voice.

Stiles smiled at her and at Peter, "I've known that my whole life."

Melissa started tearing up and it was making the burst around her heart brighter and pulsing stronger. So Stiles pictured the radio and turned her down.

"Okay guys I think I'm ready for everyone at once."

Derek, Lydia, and Scott came around and entered his sight with bursts of their own auras. They were so bright standing together that Stiles almost closed his eyes again. But he caught Peter's pleased scent and pictured a radio, this time not for a specific aura but for his own abilities and dialed it down until he could only see a faint glow around them and nothing from Melissa.

"I think I've got a handle on it!" Stiles declared with a bright grin despite his aches and over all weariness.

"Got a handle on what?" The sheriff asked as he made his way into the living room.

Before anyone could speak he gasped, "Son. What is going on? What happened to you?"

-

Stiles found himself in front of an apartment door in a building he'd never been to before in a part of town he couldn't afford to shop or eat in with no idea how he'd gotten there. The last thing he remembers is telling his dad goodnight and that he loved him. He went to bed and woke up here, wherever here was.

"Stiles?" Something about the scent and the roughness of a usually smooth velvet voice cause a shiver of arousal to take over Stiles' body.

"Peter why am I here?"

Peter looked at him a moment before opening the door wider. Stiles took a moment to not only check out Peter's apartment but also the man in the doorway. Peter was standing with his hands in his soft gray pajama bottoms pockets. His chest was freckled and hairy, his hair messy and soft looking. And Stiles was getting an erection just from looking at him.

"I had noticed the bond back at the house but I did not think it would affect you like this." Peter sighed.

"Bond? Is that why I know you're pleased but wary?" Stiles asked, placing a hand on the warm spot in his chest that hummed for Peter.

"You were always my favorite. And you're quick wit is definitely one reason why, pet." Peter breathed, a smirk replacing the slight frown he had been wearing.

Stiles shivered again at the name, "Peter what's happening? Why do I want to jump you more than usual?"

Peter had looked guilty at first then delightfully pleased, "More than usual, huh? Good to know. What's happening dear boy is we have accidentally initiated a mating bond."

Stiles had to take calming breaths to not jump him right then and there, but what Peter was saying was important and he needed to focus.

"A mating bond? But doesn't that take an exchanging of gifts and bending of wills?"

"I do so love that brain of yours. Yes it does and yes we did do those things. You're wearing my shirt right now darling. And you followed my directions to the letter all day. Add to that the attraction we already shared and the mating bond snaps into place." Peter grinned at him like the cat that caught the mouse, or the wolf that caught his mate.

"Well it smells good. And I thought the bond doesn't snap into place until you have sex?" Stiles forced himself to say it strongly, to not give into his desire to eat Peter up right then and there.

"Very true. But I imagine that's why you walked here in your sleep and why you're about to burst out of those adorable boxers." Peter purred as he backed Stiles against the closest wall.

Stiles looked at his erection almost poking through the hole in his Batman boxers. That obviously was why his body brought him here, but was his mind and heart ready to mate with Peter Hale too?

"I need a minute to catch up to my body." Stiles spoke with the assurance that Peter would step back, and smiled at the man when he did.

Did he love Peter? Maybe not. But he'd been the only one to help Stiles today. The only one to help Stiles through so much he hadn't even noticed. The only one to pay attention and listen to him no matter the circumstance. It was why he had been harboring a crush on the werewolf for months. The mating bond wouldn't have solidified if they weren't well matched and their feelings not reciprocated.

"Okay, Peter. I'm in. All the way."

[rqgnarok]

the turns of the heart, or: coming home – derek hale

continuation to this.

fandom: teen wolf

words: 2555

warnings: talk of blood, death, teen wolf spoilers, if you haven’t finished the series? brief mention of a kinda ptsd episode. STILINSKI!READER

summary: some things aren’t the same as when derek left beacon hills behind.

author's note below.

Coming home shouldn’t feel like this, but then again, Derek Hale has never been quite good at it.

He’s driving, into what he feels is another one of Gerard’s deathtraps, but he learned long ago that he’d be willing to follow Scott McCall and his pack literally anywhere, even if it also meant for him to be willing to lose his own life. He turns, for a moment, from staring at the road to gaze at the youngest Stilinski in the copilot seat, and any tranquility he had acquired after seeing his pack again fades as anxiety fills his tensed muscles. He can smell it, too, (Y/N) reeks of it as she realizes Derek’s staring, eyes tearing her apart as they’ve done many times before, and yet, it’s different. 

He hadn’t been away this long before. (Y/N) hates feeling like she’s talking to a stranger. They’ve been through too much together for it to be like this. 

“Are we gonna talk about this?” he presses, almost winces because yes, he’s never been smooth, but this is a whole new level of awkwardness. On the corner of his eye he catches (Y/N) shifting uncomfortably, a tic somebody who wasn’t looking for it wouldn’t have been able to find. It kind of bothers him to know that she was hoping he wouldn’t notice.

“I’d really rather not,” the familiar Stilinski form of humor, her favorite way of self-defense, rolls off her tongue effortlessly, and okay, at least that hasn’t changed.  “But thanks for asking, though. God knows what would’ve happened if you hadn’t.”

“(Y/N),” a downside of one of his favorite traits of her, and he can’t help but grow annoyed by how quickly it turned against him. He makes a face, and (Y/N) sees him, it would be the only sane explanation to why she shrunk further into the car seat. The guilt takes less than a second to settle into his chest, and his voice softens after a few moments of difficult silence. “When?”

“When or who?” she bites back. Of course, she knows exactly what he’s thinking. They’re bonded, for Christ sake, or at least they were before he left. Despite his wolf heritage, he knows little of bonded soulmates, and now he wishes he’d listened closely to his mother whenever she tried to explain. The thing is, after Page, he’d doubted he’d find anyone else, let alone someone he would want to spend the rest of his life with.

Imagine his surprise when little (Y/N) Stilinski came into his life, as sudden as a recently bitten Scott and an overly curious Stiles. Except she wasn’t little at all, even when still human, she thrived in the supernatural world and managed to keep herself alive all by herself, until the bite was necessary for her not to die and Derek had gladly taken the honor of marking her, back when he was still an Alpha.

Months passed and his title of leader of the pack disappeared, but his bond and attraction towards the youngest Stilinski didn’t, and it was only a matter of time before he surrendered to his want, bringing her into a rough kiss one late night in his loft after she was kidnapped by Jennifer. The sheer relief and need of the embrace led him to confess his feelings right there and then, and the day after that and then the day after that, cause Jennifer’s harsh, manipulative and biting words, as only she could be, had blinded (Y/N) to believe there was no way someone like Derek would want her, let alone as a mate.

Oh, and had Derek had so much fun proving her wrong…

Those days seem lifetimes away now, as the darkness of the night in Beacon Hills is being shadowed by the feeling of despair and hate Gerard and the Anuk-Ite have brought into town.

“If you want to talk about that, then yes,” he insists, hands tightening around the steering wheel. The streets are completely empty, yet he stops at a red light because it means he can give her his full attention, and he’s always loved the way (Y/N) reacts under his spotlight. “You used to tell me everything, (Y/N), what could have possibly changed since-”

“Since you left? Enough has,” her eyes flash a bright blue, something Derek can’t help but stare, half amazed half terrified, at. It’s a look, definitely, but the memory of her he’d left Beacon Hills with had been a beta, golden eyed and with a light he hasn’t caught sight of yet ever since he came back.

  He’d arrived mid battle, and it had taken the younger Hale more than he’d liked to admit that the blue-eyed werewolf that had been effortlessly slipping throats was the same (Y/N) Stilinski he’d left behind. 

“What, cat got your tongue, Bad Wolf?” she sneers out the nickname, opposed to the usual fondness she spoke it with, and Derek looks away, ashamed that he has nothing to say. The light is still red, and time couldn’t be passing by any slower. “What does it matter to you, anyways? What is so important that you need to know what changed the color of my eyes?”

“You are,” he says simply, oh, and (Y/N) hates him for that. Hates him because he’s not good with words, they’re both well aware of that, but sometimes he has these brief times of clarity in which he says things like these, and it takes all energy inside (Y/N) not to kiss him senseless. If Derek notices the change in her heart rate, he does not show or mention it. “You always have been, (Y/N)-”

“You can’t disappear for over a year and come back, say things like that and want me to just crawl back to you,” (Y/N) spits out, but the way she struggles to get out her words makes Derek believe she’s lying her ass off. Even when fighting, there’s something that links her to him, and invisible force that’s been pushing her to him, ever since he arrived. She looks desperate, eyes faded back to the familiar brown, and even in this mess, Derek has never loved her more. “And I’m not expecting you to,” he insists, even though he’d like nothing more than to embrace her tightly, just like he did when he first kissed her, and shelter himself from all the dangers in Beacon Hills. It doesn’t matter. He’d rather get his point across even if it meant not having her for him again.  “But I know what that color in your eyes does to you.”

She tenses, looks away and stupidly hopes that now that the light is back in green, they’ll move on and she won’t have to have this conversation. She already went through all of this with Scott. It was his house (Y/N) had crashed into after it happened, in the middle of the night, babbling about a hunter who’d managed to intercept her in the woods, and how she had no other option but to defend herself. She rambled about how she’d realized too late, he was a father, to someone at their school (someone (Y/N) had considered a friend until now, too afraid to cross their path ever again since that night), and two other little kids, had a wife, a family. The blood, there was blood everywhere, his blood, and (Y/N) had caught her glowing golden eyes in the reflection of her phone, shifting to a cool, bright blue, it slipping from shaking hands when she’d realized that she could never go back to what she used to be. She was a killer, a monster-

“Hey,” Derek calls, soft and concerned about the fact that it seems that she hasn’t been listening to a word he’s been saying, which only proves his point further. (Y/N) seems in some sort of trance, staring at the nothingness of the road in front of them as her hands wrung with each other, a nervous tic he recognizes well enough. Derek can’t help but reach to hold one of them in both of his. “(Y/N).”

She snaps out of it, albeit slowly, first her mind returning to where she is, in a car, with Derek, far away from the night in question, and long moments later she’s removing her hand quickly from his grip, unable to look at him in the eye. “You should drive,” she mumbles, for the first time since she engaged this conversation with Derek remembering that there’s an outside world they belong and should be helping. (Y/N) looks around, searching for hunters hidden in the shadows, ready to attack the two distracted werewolves. “I don’t want to die because you were having a mental breakdown in the middle of the street.” “Look who’s talking,” he scoffs, not even pretending that he wants to follow her orders. He shifts his torso completely and abandons the task of meeting Scott at the school completely, earning an immature huff from the teenager besides him. “Please, let’s just- talk this out. What killing someone does to you? An innocent person? It changes you, (Y/N). I know that all too well.”

He reaches for her hands again and this time she falls into his embrace, enough for him to notice but not quite for him to assume he’s forgiven. (Y/N )thinks about the nightmares and the visions, shivers, and decides he’s right, even if she’s not willing to admit it to him.

“And if you don’t know how to manage it,” he continues, somewhat frantically, the mere idea of (Y/N) losing herself to her own mind being too much for him to handle. Derek remembers as clear as crystal what killing Page felt like, that night tattooed into his memory despite how much he’d begged his mother to take it away, and he would never even dare to wish someone else that heavy feeling of guilt on their chest. Let alone someone he loves, probably too much. “It- it destroys you completely. And I don’t want that for you. I can’t let you-”

He hesitates, frustrated, but (Y/N)’s looking at him with those wide eyes that he loves, and he wants to spill everything he’s got to say there and then. Can’t let you lose yourself like this, I’m sorry I left, I love you, I’ve always loved you, I’m sorry, I-

“It was a hunter,” she finally admits, when Derek doesn’t continue. He feels her trying to pull away, but he tightens his grip, and something softens in her features when he does. Derek’s not sure if he should count that as progress. “He caught me in the woods after a late study night with Lydia, tried to hit me with wolfsbane bullets. I slit his throat.”

Derek doesn’t flinch at the harsh wording, but (Y/N)’s voice does crack, and he hates himself, he so does and wishes he could turn back time so he could be there, even if she hadn’t run to him when in danger, he at least would’ve found out the right way and not mid battle when she turned to him with that blue stare that could freeze hell over if she wanted it.

“I didn’t know what to do,” she continues, sounds half as panicked as she actually was that night, crying and shaking and covered in blood. “I’d never, y’know, obviously, so I ran, and it took me too long to realize where I was going. It was until I got to the loft that I remembered there was no one there.”

He can hear her heart beat wildly against her chest, so he’s completely sure she hears his when it does a flip on his chest at the revelation.

“I ended up going to Scott’s, but I-” she bites her lip, suddenly looks exhausted as she leans into the car seat and looks up at him, movements sluggish. “I was so out of it, and so, so terrified of what would happen next. And when he held me, he told me it would be okay I just kept thinking- I wished it had been you.  Even after you left, everything ended up being about you somehow.”

It’s what he’s been waiting for to make his move, he realizes, as he lets go of her hand and leans into her, seatbelt and all, takes her face into his hands and kisses her, almost as passionately as he did two years ago for the very first time, with more longing and want that he ever imagined someone would be able to keep inside their body.

(Y/N) kisses him back, equally as desperate, hands fleeting all over his body, as if she didn’t know what she wanted to rememorize first. His broad shoulders, his neck, his cheeks, his chest, all clothed and unclothed skin burning at her touch, his body eagerly responding to the hands of his soulmate. It’s amazing how well they fit against each other, even after all this time and here, now, in the oddest of places when their lives are so, very much in danger.

Somehow, he feels like it’s the first time he can breathe freely in months. “I’m here now,” he breathes when they part, hot words near enough to her lips for (Y/N) to shiver against him, for a whole new different reason rather than a few moments ago. She opens her eyes to look up at him, even if she ends up cross eyed, Derek knows her attention needs to be completely on him as he says this. They both need a resolution, and Derek really hopes that giving it to her doesn’t mean the end of their relationship. “It might not be enough right now, or ever, but I am. If you want me to stay, I will. If you want to run away to college then I’ll be right behind you. I’m never leaving you again. I don’t think I would be able to live with myself if I did.”

One of (Y/N)’s hands rests above Derek’s chest, and there’s nothing but complete sureness beneath it, the rhythmic beating of her heart assuring her towards complete tranquility. He’s never been one of public displays of affections, specially if it meant having one of their too many enemies realize how important she is to him. Nevertheless, his heart has never once lied to her. Its beats are as familiar to her as her brother’s sarcasm or her father’s embrace, her mother’s face moments before she passed, all things that she has committed to memory.

No one, not her father finding out about the supernatural, not Stiles being kidnapped by the Wild Hunt, not even Theo Raeken, who came crashing into her life more than once, the last time with the wish of earning his redemption and planting more than one sinful kiss against her mouth in hopes of making her forget about the Wolf (Y/N) just couldn’t seem to forget, were able to make her forget him. And after getting her heart broken by Derek Hale, it had been all she had wanted for so, so long. 

And right now, she thinks, with the promise of him being hers, even after everything, and despite what supernatural threat might come to them, (Y/N)’s sure that he has never loved him more. 

So, she kisses him again.

so. hi.

yes, i know i haven’t written anything that i promised since, like, june or july of last year. i also know i gave you the summary of this story MONTHS AGO but i hated what i had written (which was something almost as long as this) and forced myself to restart and give u my best aka something im kinda okay with.

and this is it! IM SO SORRY i have been gone for so long, and whatever i write and post next won’t be much for a while, school’s keeping me busy and rehearsals for the school’s musical are, well, not exactly a drag, but they do take a lot of my time.

in the meantime, i hope you enjoy this material and don’t be afraid to request for more! i can’t say i’ll have it ready soon but i can say it’ll be my best.

thank u so, so much to those who have stuck around, even after my worst case of writer’s block, yet, and i hope for your opinion on this!

much, much love,

- e.

[welshwoman1988]

Your Blood In My Veins - A Complication

Beginning - Previous - Next

(I dedicate this chapter to @onesentenceanon, who makes sure I’m always writing, and @misfitmonarchythings, who reminded me I was even writing this story!)

(Also, light trigger warning: there is self harm in here, Stiles hurts himself to help Lydia(but he’s also a vampire, so idk?) Maybe have a friend give it a read over before diving in? It’s merely a sentence at the end of the paragraph starting with “Humming lowly...” and doesn’t really go into it more after that. There is also a description of a dead body, but not in too much detail.)

Enjoy!

There is nothing but static at first, a dull buzzing that grows louder and louder, filling his body until he feels as if he will scream from it. Only then does it stop, instead turning into a lullaby that makes warmth flow from his head to his toes, a warmth that has more to do with the woman singing than with the lullaby itself...

Those feelings are overcome by soft hands and words, MommaAlphaSafetyHome holding him close, guiding him and loving him as he makes mistakes, praising him and so proud when he does something right and all he wants is to be just like her, mimics her whenever she visits other Packs and revels in her laughter when she catches him at it.

That too is overcome by the smell of burning flesh and screams, a scalding heat that crawls up his arms and licks at his legs, pulled back by an embrace he fights as he screams and pleads and-

A hospital room with a steady metronome of a beeping heart monitor, a man in a bed that is the last of his family and all his fault. He weeps and begs to stay, to not abandon Peter to humans that do not understand what they are or how they work, but those same hands that pulled him away from the house now tug him away from his Uncle-

A dark, dank room in a city with too many sounds, too many smells, everything is just pressing in on him like his guilt isn’t enough to suffocate under. It’s all a wall of wailsperfumesexhatejealousystupidliarfuckyoutooloudtoomuchmakeitstop-

BigsisterAlphatoosoonImsorry is leaving, and she’s ordering him to stay behind, doesn’t even hug him goodbye, just leaves and he’s stuck in a room for so long he thinks he will go crazy when she doesn’t answer her phone, hollow feeling in his chest feels like it’s gotten bigger and he’s in his car, wishing, praying, not Laura please-

She looks almost normal, as long as he just looks at her face, as long as he thinks of this like the end of a full moon when she got so tired, she just passed out in the leaves and Mom had to carry her back home, smiling the whole time, oh, Mom, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry-

Peter is back, but he’s not Peter, he’s wrongangryhurtspoison and he follows where Peter says to go, listens when Peter says to hurt, tries so hard to be a good Beta because somehow Peter knows-

Uncle laying in the dirt, burned again, his fault again and when he drags his claws across his neck, Uncle almost looks relieved-

Three, just three, so alone, wants a Pack, a family and his Bitten brother hates him, pushes him away, not my Alpha, no. Just wants someone to run with, teach about the Moon and the Pull, someone to chase away the cold-

Fuzzballlittlesistersodifferentbuthere is alive and Peter has come back somehow, and the Bitten boy is slinking around, can’t let him become Omega, Omegas die, and then there are Hunters on the land, a strange smell that calls to him, what is it, who are they...?

Stiles doesn’t know when or how he moved, but the Alpha is cradled in his arms much like a child seeking comfort. It would be almost the same visage, if not for the pounding of Derek’s heart and the line of blood dripping from his wrist.

Unable to help himself, Stiles licks the line before it can hit Derek's elbow, the soft noise that Derek makes hidden under the canopy of growls his Pack releases at the action.

It takes a few moments before Derek can move away, his wound healing sluggishly as he staggers to his feet. Stiles keeps his arms out, ready to catch him if he falls, but does not move any closer to the Alpha. He has a feeling that he might be on the business end of a bunch of angry wolves if he tries.

“Does-” Derek’s voice comes out in a rasp that makes Stiles wonder what else the man would give him if asked. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get the chance to think upon it for too long before Derek clears his throat and tries again.

“Does she need blood as well?”

It takes Stiles a second, always a little off kilter after he feeds, but when he realizes what Derek is offering, Stiles smoothly raises from his sitting position to block Derek’s gaze on his blood-sister.

“That will not be necessary. She can feed from me.”

Derek’s brow furrows, even as he takes a step forward. “I can-”

“No.”

The single word reverberates around the clearing with the force of an Alpha order, but all it does is make Derek’s brow furrow even further and Lydia sigh from behind him. He knows that he’s being unreasonable, but the thought of anyone else feeding off of Derek, even his own blood-sister, makes him want to rend and tear.

“I would be more than willing to let the young miss feed from me.”

Stiles had sensed the other man shifting from wolf to human, so he does not startle at the new voice. Lydia makes a noise in the back of her throat that says she isn’t impressed by the tall man preening in front of her, her fangs lengthening in a smile that is more the baring of her teeth.

“I’ve already tasted that toxic mess you call your blood. I’m more of a mind to just rip your head off than drink from you.”

Peter grins at that, body shifting as if to pounce, but before Stiles can move in front of Lydia, Derek is snarling at his Uncle and the man subsides with a petulant grumble. Giving both Stiles and Lydia his back, something that makes one of his wolves whine in distress, Derek takes that moment to address the lot of them.

“Boyd, Isaac, make sure those Hunters are out of our territory and see if you can find out why they were here. Scott, Erica, make sure we missed nothing chasing them out and if we need to renew the wards around the perimeter. Peter, go back to the Pack House and make sure that the guest rooms are ready for our new occupants.”

There are a few grumbles from the wolves, but no one slips back into their human skins to argue, and a few growls from Derek have them moving to complete their assignments.

Stiles doesn’t even realize that there is still a wolf with them until Cora woofs lowly from where she’s laying near Lydia's feet.

Humming lowly (and trying not panic about the fact he’s learned more from feeding off of Derek than he has on anyone else, that he knows not only Cora and Peter's names, but their entire complicated relationship with Derek), Stiles moves to Lydia’s side, drawing his pinky nail across his wrist before offering it to her.

Lydia makes a hum of her own before bringing Stiles’ offering to her lips, a slight rush of air letting him know that Cora has shifted to her human skin.

“You wolves really don’t have a problem with nudity, do you?”

His quip makes Derek snort and Cora huff out a breath, both Hale's eyes on were Lydia is feeding from him, expressions too blank for Stiles to get a read on their moods. Their heartbeats are too even, and scents hidden to gather any clues that way, either.

It makes the hair on the back of Stiles' neck rise, a familiar uneasy feeling settling in his stomach as Lydia finally pulls away.

“Thank you for your help, but I believe it might be better if my sister and I just left now.”

That gets him a pair of furrowed brows, and another huff of breath from Cora before she flatly states, “You may have fed, Vampire, but you’re far from fully healed. You’ll stay with us until you’ve regained your health at least.”

“A few deer would work just as well-”

“Stiles.”

Sighing heavily, Stiles withdraws his arm from his blood-sister and glances at her for only a moment. She wasn’t lying when she said that Stiles had been in the Hunter’s ‘care’ longer than she had; where she had only a few weeks, Stiles had been there for months and he was still feeling the effects of that entrapment. Perhaps he should follow Lydia’s lead for now, despite his misgivings about how much he drew from Derek in a single feeding.

Nodding once, Stiles pulls his sister to her feet and lets his eyes traveling over their companions before stating, “Are you going to be our guides, then? Or just making sure we don’t wander off on the way to your lovely home?”

“Who says that it has to be just one of those things?” Cora grins at him, a baring of teeth much like his had been when he showed the ‘wolves just what it was they found, a wink thrown in when she meets Lydia’s gaze.

Stiles decides that he likes her.

“How about the vampires that have already been captured and held against their will?” Lydia quips but allows herself to be led, eyeing Cora over with interest herself. Stiles smoothers a giggle at how Derek frowns at that, knowing now that it is more to do with Cora being his baby sister than anything else.

Well, mostly anything else… They are still strangers here, no matter how much Stiles gleaned from feeding from Derek.

Speaking of the man, he has yet to shift back to his wolf form and is looking at Stiles like he isn’t sure quite what to do with him. It’s fitting, since Stiles isn’t sure what to do with himself either, something that hasn’t happened since he was still human.

He blames the Hunters, blames how much he fed from the man – he’s never taken that much, was always so careful, knows that it is only the ‘wolf metabolism that is keeping Derek upright despite the shaking of his knees that Stiles can see oh-so-clearly – but thankfully Lydia keeps her head while he’s losing his and asks questions as they walk.

Stiles just watches Derek as he fights with himself on whether they should stay, or just run as far away as he can from the man that has him clenching his jaw to keep his fangs from dropping at the thought of feeding from him again…

[mummybear]

How Things Change - Chapter 8 - Alpha Beta Omega

Warnings: Swearing, blood, changes, angst, pain, close calls

Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Alex(OC), Malia Hale, Melissa McCall, Deaton, Chris Argent, Sheriff Stilinski, Lydia Martin, Mentions of Peter Hale and Tracy Stewart

Pairings: Stiles Stilinski x Alex (OC)

Words: 3200

How Things Change Part 8

Finally, Scott, Lydia, Malia and Alex had all arrived back at the hospital after much trudging through the wet woods around Derek's old house. Alex felt sick to her stomach though, as the four of them stepped into Stiles' room, and for the first time since she had first met him, Alex found herself a little apprehensive of entering a room where he was, whether he was still unconscious or not.

Though she had made sure the tears had cleared from her eyes before stepping foot into his room, and she had wiped her face clean but all she wanted to do was help him now. Then after they hopefully saved him she would worry about the fact that he lied to her.

Alex held her breath when her eyes locked on his unconscious form. Completely still in the hospital bed, knowing he was still in pain was the worst part it all, it didn't help that he was still bleeding, pretty obviously by all accounts.

Suddenly, this entire day and being in his hospital room again had all become too much for her, and despite her best efforts to keep it up, the wall came crumbling down. Silent tears falling down her cheeks again. Luckily Melissa was on her before she collapsed to the ground, quickly helping her into a chair.

"What happened out there, sweetheart?" Melissa questioned sympathetically and calmly, taking Alex's hands in her own. Melissa turned her hands over carefully looking at the palms, with worry in her eyes that Alex didn't miss. Alex then noticed that she still had Tracy's blood on her hands.

"She's lucky she's still alive. She can thank Scott for that one. We left her with Peter" Alex explained a little stiffly, but her eyes flicking up to meet the woman she considered a mother, hoping that she didn't think less of her now. Melissa nodded with tears in her eyes, pulling her into a tight hug.

While hugging the older woman tightly back, she tried to keep her breathing even, then Alex quickly noticed Deaton and Argent over Melissa's shoulder, she watched them chatting, clearly deep in thought, as they continued talking over a book in the corner. Beside them, nodding along in agreement was the red-eyed Sheriff.

Alex pulled back from Melissa, wiping her eyes on her sleeve again, "I take it that she didn't give you any help then" Melissa sighed sadly, even though she was sure that she probably already knew the answer.

Alex shook her head confirming Melissa's worst fears, "No nothing, I did find out that Peter is my dad and I'm at least half a werewolf" Alex revealed a little bluntly with a shrug, although the sadness was obvious in her voice.

The older woman's eyes widened in complete shock, "Are you okay?!" she gasped in shock, pulling Alex into yet another tight hug.

Alex nodded slightly, "I'll be okay, there's just something that I'm finding it hard to get my head around. Scott and Stiles both knew, about Peter at least. But neither of them said anything to me, and I'm really starting to doubt who I can trust anymore" Alex all but whimpered into Melissa's shoulder.

Melissa, however, didn't get chance to answer, both of them released each other and jumped to their feet, as all of the monitors and machines started to beep like crazy. Alex didn't need to ask, she knew something had gone horribly wrong.

Melissa ran towards the noise, checking Stiles' stats and noticed his heartbeat had slowed down considerably. But this kind of situation couldn't be resolved by shocking him back, or anything similar. She checked every single thing that she could think of to steady his heart rate, pressed any and all buttons that might help, but nothing worked. She didn't want to risk giving him any drugs, not knowing how they would react to the Kanima venom. Alex stood there momentarily in shock, her breath stopping almost in her lungs, it felt like she couldn't breathe and she felt like she was drowning.

"I can't stop this!" Melissa exclaimed, her breathing erratic as she pushed her hands in her hair, trying to calm down so she could possibly think of something else to help, but nothing was coming to her mind at all. She turned to look at her son, "His heart is giving out, and I have tried everything I can think of" she explained sadly.

"Scott! Do something!" Alex all but screamed her eyes wide in panic, not a trace of anger in her voice now, just pure terror and panic in her voice, she was terrified that she was about to lose him.

Scott clocked on to what she was asking of him almost immediately, "I don't know if I can Alex, what if he doesn't want it? What if it doesn't work? I've never done it before!" Scott said just as worried as his friend.

Scott looked between Alex and the sheriff, "Do it!" they both shouted decisively.

"In 30 seconds Scott, you won't have a choice," Chris said grimly, placing a hand on the sheriff's shoulder. Scott knew they were right, he had no choice, he couldn't lose his best friend. He just hoped Stiles would forgive him and that he would be okay, and if he did hate him at least he would be alive. If the worst happened and it didn't take, well at least he knew that he had tried everything to save him.

Scott's eyes started to glow his Alpha red as he took hold of Stiles' wrist, without another thought or word he sank his teeth into his best friends wrist. Alex stood beside Scott and took his hand, earlier in the day was now completely forgotten. She knew that this was something that Scott had never wanted to do, especially not to Stiles.

That being said, what choice was he left with, Scott carefully withdrew his teeth, spitting Stiles' blood into a cup that his mum handed him.  A silent tear slipping down his cheek as they all focused on Stiles, they all collectively held their breath, watching his body and the machines.

Once thirty seconds was up they let themselves breathe a little, the machines started to even out and they started to beep steadily, as Melissa pressed the stethoscope against Stiles' chest, moving it around to different spots.

Melissa's shoulders visibly relaxed, when she heard everything she had wanted to. Now while his heartbeat was very slow, it was still steady enough for a werewolf at least. "How is he?" the sheriff asked, tear tracks visible on his cheeks.

"For now at least, I think he's going to be okay," Melissa said calmly, smiling a small smile, checking his vitals against the ones that she had from tests she had done with Scott and Issac in the past. The room practically heaved a sigh of relief, all except Scott, Alex and Lydia.

All three were a little worried about how Stiles was going to handle this. The people in the room slowly dwindled overnight, until it was just Deaton, the sheriff, Melissa, Alex and Scott. With the others saying they would come back in the morning, all except Malia, who had decided to check on Peter and Tracy.

It had been almost two hours now since Scott had bitten his best friend, with only two small encouraging advances, like the finger and claw marks around his heart were slowly healing, and suddenly not as deep as they had been.

Alex still hadn't sat down in those two hours, and now she was tucking Stiles in, making sure he was warm and as comfortable as possible. The sheriff put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and Alex turned so she could face him, "You know you don't have to do that right" he smiled small, gently pushing Alex back into a chair.

"But I do though, this is my fault.  He wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me, I'm so sorry" she sighed, tired sad and guilty, as she looked at her feet.

A few tears running off of her cheeks, "Hey, don't say that. I know my son, if he wants to be involved in something, nothing is going to stop him. None of this is your fault, frankly, I'm just a little surprised it didn't happen sooner" the sheriff said with another small smile, hoping to ease the young girl's guilt and pain. But their conversation was interrupted by a loud coughing, Alex jumped to her feet, and ran to him hearing a groan of her name.

"Lexi?" Stiles moaned again, trying to sit up so he could search for her.

"I'm here Stiles. I'm here" she soothed, beaming as she grabbed his hand in hers.

"What the hell happened?" he groaned as the pain started hitting him, seemingly all at once, he dropped his head back into the comfort of the pillows behind him. Alex swallowed hard the nerves getting the best of her, looking back at the sheriff, he nodded at her standing on the opposite side of Stiles' bed.

"Good to see you awake son" the sheriff smiled genuinely, patting his son's shoulder gently.

Giggles left Alex before she could stop them, possibly nerves but mainly because she was so happy he was alive and finally awake. Scott came to stand beside Alex, about to help her to explain, "Ouch!" Stiles practically squeaked, Scott's close presence seemingly making the mark burn harder than before, so that he noticed. Stiles was lifting his arm up before anyone could stop him to explain and looking at his wrist, now that he could finally focus because it had suddenly started burning in pain.

"Stiles, don't panic okay" Alex tried carefully.

"Don't panic she says, why would I panic Alex?! It's not like I have teeth marks in my wrist! Oh wait, that's right! I do!" he blurted out, sarcasm dripping from his words, as his voice got much higher than usual with every word he said. Alex winced a little at the anger in his voice and the way he had said her name didn't help much either.

Stiles looked away from Alex and quickly turned to his best friend, "Start talking Scott! I'm taking it that this has something to do with you" Stiles demanded, thrusting his newly bitten wrist at his best friend. Eyes wide and panic-stricken, heartbeat and breathing increasing quicker by the second.

"You nearly died you, idiot! Now calm the hell down, besides it wasn't even Scott's idea!" Alex practically shouted, partly because he was probably about to have a panic attack, or it was possible that he could shift. Unfortunately, if that did happen he might now be able to control it, and there were three normal humans in the room currently, that fact really wasn't helping Alex's anxiety.

Stiles really did try his best to do as Alex said, trying to only focus on her but he noticed her eyes glowing, making him suck in a breath as the shock hit him, right now he had less of a filter than ever for his thoughts, and that was saying something. "Your eyes!" Stiles practically stuttered, pointing at her face.

Alex sighed, climbing onto the bed next to him surprised when he didn't flinch away from her, keeping hold of his hand. "Look, a lot has happened since you've been out," Alex said a little vaguely.

"Like what....?" Stiles tried to finish what he was saying, but the monitors started beeping like crazy again, and Stiles' eyes went wide as he clutched at his wound, his other hand having a death grip on Alex's hand.

"What's going on?!" Alex asked turning worriedly to Melissa.

"Everyone except Alex needs to get back," Deaton said pushing past the Sheriff, from the back of the room where he had been standing, watching and waiting just in case he was needed.

Scott jumped to Deaton's side ready to help, repeating Alex's question, "What's going on!?" his voice thick with panic.

"What's wrong with my son!" the sheriff demanded of a very busy Deaton.

"The venom is still seeping into his heart, now although the bite has clearly taken. Kanima venom works just as well on supernatural creatures, as it does on humans, so I need to try and remove the venom. But one wrong move could end in death. So I need to concentrate" Deaton explained grimly.

"Now, hold him down this is going to hurt, but he will heal" Deaton explained briefly, Alex got up and carefully climbed behind him, resting his head between her crossed legs, and linking fingers with him as she held his hands and arms out of the way.

Deaton quickly assessed that only one of the five claw holes was the problem, as it was the only one that was struggling to heal. Making his job just that little bit easier, there were tears in Alex's eyes as Stiles opened his eyes again, and he was immediately looking up at her completely terrified. "It's all gonna be okay, baby" Alex practically whimpered, softly kissing his forehead as the tears continued to fall from her cheeks.

The other three held down his legs and his waist, trying to give Deaton as much time as possible, not that he had much longer. Alex didn't dare watch Deaton, so she just kept her eyes locked with Stiles. As the tears continued to silently roll down her cheeks.

The scream he suddenly let out was violent and blood-curdling, Alex gripped him tightly,  finding it difficult to hold onto him as his eyes started to glow, she noticed they were suddenly identical to hers. Stiles panted something but she couldn't understand him, she just had to make sure she didn't let his arms go, even if it killed her.

He was shouting and squirming and began to cry out, which almost broke Alex's heart, she wanted to wrap him in her arms and never let him go, he was begging for the pain to stop one minute, the next he had passed out. Causing Alex to fear the worse and start to panic again, "Stiles! Don't you dare!" Alex whimpered, squeezing his hands tightly, as his hands went slack in hers and his muscles relaxed.

Deaton placed a bloodied glove on Alex's hand, she looked up at him with red puffy eyes. "He's okay Alex, I just had to put him to sleep for a little while, for his own safety. He needs to rest and heal, but I'm confident Stiles will recover fully by this time tomorrow" Deaton assured her with a small squeeze of her hand and nod of his head.

She nodded at him, her mouth closing finally, and he let go of her and went to wash up, followed by everyone except Scott and Alex, maybe to give them a minute to talk.

Scott helped Alex carefully ease herself out from behind Stiles, and she just climbed back onto the bed, nuzzling next to him against his shoulder gently. She linked their fingers together and watched him sleep, promising herself she would stay awake until he came back to her, and this much she was determined of.

Suddenly someone placed a hand on her shoulder, "Alex, why don't you go home, get some rest, I'll stay with him I promise" Scott tried, but found himself sighing when she started growling under her breath. Alex knew she was unable to leave him, in fact, she was now clinging tighter to him, her eyes started to glow and she refused to look away from Stiles to look at Scott.

"No! I'm not leaving him" she muttered protectively into Stiles' shoulder, trying to snuggle closer to him. She knew the others had entered the room again but she didn't care. No one here posed a threat, and as long as it stayed that way she wasn't moving.

Scott smiled a little despite himself, "You got it, Alex, I'm not leaving either then" Scott said patting her shoulder and sat on the chair next to the bed. Everyone else looked a little shocked at her outburst, except Melissa, who knew why she would never leave, even if Alex didn't know exactly why.

It quickly seemed to click with Deaton to, but for the complete reason that knew exactly what this was, he and Melissa led everyone including Scott over into a corner to speak. Knowing Alex could hear them if she concentrated, though they were sure she couldn't care less what they were doing.

Everyone gave Deaton a questioning look, he sighed a little before speaking, "So I was hoping this could wait, but what I believe has happened with Alex and Stiles is something remarkably rare. Something the French call né jumelé, which literally translates as born mated." Deaton let that sink in before continuing, "You will probably find that they won't want to leave each other, they will also have parts from all stages of being a werewolf, such as their tempers will be in the line of that of an Alpha. While their strength will be more around a Beta's, and just like the Omega, they can easily be a lone wolf, until such a time as they find their mate. But they will gravitate towards a pack. You may also notice that their eyes often glow at the same time, slightly more golden than that of a Beta, also if one is in trouble or in pain, anything like that can trigger the other to change" Deaton explained in as much detail as he could.

"Now that being said, it is very rare to find two so easily. It may have been because Stiles has only just changed, and Alex has only just started presenting. They may also listen more to each other than even their Alpha, now that isn't to say that they won't listen, but they were pretty stubborn as humans so only time will tell how the change will affect them. I'll have to explain all of this again, plus a few other things, but that is a general idea." Deaton said giving Scott a small glance when he had finally finished.

While Melissa and the sheriff looked a little shocked at the revelation, probably not realising how seriously Stiles and Alex would be bonded, Scott smiled to himself a little. He was almost intrigued as to what this could mean for his pack because he probably currently had the most mixed and rare pack in the entire world.

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted though when the hospital door burst open, slamming against the wall. Alex jumped down from Stiles' side, standing in front of his hospital bed, her teeth bared and her eyes glowing a golden colour. Whatever had been holding her back, had now clearly stopped getting in the way. Scott stood in front of her, while the humans stepped back, except Deaton who had grabbed something that looked like a wooden mop handle and stood beside Scott. Poised and ready for a fight, especially considering who was standing in the doorway currently.

Tags: @loverofwaytoomanythings618 @thegirlwhorunswithwinchesters @fox-in-a-mousetrap-8 @all-will-be-well-love @imperfect-circle @lusyschwa

[daydreaming-away-reality]

First Impression

Liam Dunbar x Reader | ☁️ | 1.7k | Supernatural!Reader

“I’m here!”

Your voice echoed down the hallway of the McCall house as you hurried up the stairs. You had received a flustered call from Scott fifteen minutes ago, claiming something happened. He didn’t say what that something was, but judging by his tone, you assumed the worse and practically flew over.

Hearing sounds of movement, you immediately knew Stiles had beaten you here. But there was someone else here as well.

“Sorry it took me so long,” you apologized, stepping into Scott’s room. “Something strange caught my attention and must have gotten distracted.”

You were greeted by anonymous murmured sounds, much like they were calling out for help. That definitely piqued your curiosity.

“I can literally feel the desperation coming from someone in your bathroom,” you dryly commented, eyeing your best friends. “Anyone want to explain?”

Scott looked nervous as he ducked his head.

“So you know how I accidentally hurt someone during the lacrosse tryouts?”

“The freshman, right?”

“Liam,” Stiles supplied.

“Liam,” you echoed, nodding. “Is he doing okay?”

“About that...” Scott exchanged a look with Stiles.

“Let’s just say Scott saved his life?”

You were completely puzzled. Scott and Stiles loved to speak vaguely about things, especially when they were in trouble. Most times, you could tell what it was about. But now?

“Please explain,” you said with a sigh. Sitting down on Scott’s bed, the two boys summed everything in the quickest way possible.

Rogue - now dead - supernatural being. Hospital rooftop. A mute axe murderer. And the desperate struggle to make sure Liam didn’t fall off the roof.

For some reason, the story made you think of the incident on your way here.

“I smelled blood on my way here. I don’t know if its relevant, but I think something strange has come back to Beacon Hills.”

“When is it ever calm around here?” Stiles asked, shaking his head in disappointment. “The moment Scott was bitten, every problem finds a way to get to us.”

You sadly smiled. “Yeah, our world is problematic.”

“Come on, (Y/N).” Scott said, getting up. “I’ll show my current problem.”

Scott led you into the bathroom, with Stiles trailing after you all. You could hear the scuffling sounds of someone being in there more prominently now. When Scott pulled back the shower curtains, a startled figure flinched and stared at you all.

Desperate blue eyes blazed into your own (E/C) eyes. Wrapped up in duct tape from head to toe, he was completely helpless. A sense of pity instantly washed over you.

Silently turning to look at Scott, the young alpha gave you a brief response.

“I panicked.”

You sighed. Hopefully poor Liam here didn’t hear the hushed conversation about the supernatural. There was only so much you could cover up if that was the case.

Keeping eye contact with Liam, you leaned down to check on how he was.

“Sorry about Scott causing this,” you said softly. “He doesn't know what he’s doing sometimes, so I hope you’ll forgive him. I’m (Y/N) by the way.” You could see the boy in front of you relaxing a little. That was a good sign. "Let’s get you out of here. Think you can help, Scott?”

You shifted aside, letting Scott move Liam out of the bathroom.

“We need to check if he’s accepted the bite,” Stiles urgently whispered to you. “We can’t let him go yet!”

“At least be nicer to him,” you pointedly replied. “Being kidnapped like this is traumatic.”

Heading out to the room, Scott and Stiles put down Liam in an interrogation chair before negotiating.

“Liam, we’re taking the tape off. If you scream, it goes right back on, okay?”  Stiles asked. “You talk quietly, it stays off.”

Liam’s eyes flickered around the room before settling on you. You offered him a small smile. He nodded.

Stiles reached out to rip the tape off, but you intervened. With a sympathetic look, you tried to gently peel the tape off. Mumbling apologies as your best friends tried intimidation, you weren’t sure how this was going to end.

“Okay, Liam, you’ve seen a lot of confusing things tonight. More confusing things are going to happen because of the confusing things that happened. Do you understand?”

“Not really,” Liam replied.

You cringed at Stiles' choice of explanation. Although you understood, it was hard to understand without a context. 

“That’s good,” Stiles said.

“I don’t understand either.” Scott commented. 

“Maybe you should tell him.”

I turned to the door. “I’m going to get him a glass of water. Good luck.”

Leaving the boys be, you headed into the McCall kitchen. If anything, things couldn’t get worse than Stiles’ word choice, right? Grabbing a clean glass from the cabinet and filling it with cold water, you suddenly heard a loud crash.

Halting your actions, you listened to the screams and crashes coming from upstairs. Footsteps were hurriedly making their way through the hall, and you began to move too.

Grabbing your bag, you walked over to the staircase just in time to see everyone tumbling down in chaos. There was scrambling to grab the blonde boy but as far as you could tell, this wasn’t going to work out.

Moving as fast as the blur of colours, you ran out the open door behind the escaping boy.

“Liam!” you called out, only a few steps behind him. “Stop, please.”

The blonde halted, his anger slowly calming down, and looked at you skeptically. “Why? So you can take me back to be a hostage?”

“Honestly, I think its better if I walk you home.” you answered. Silently taking note of the healed ankle Liam had from the accident earlier today, you made a note to tell Scott that Liam was accepting the bite. “It’s really dark out, I don’t think its safe to walk around alone.”

“You’re friends with them,” Liam said accusingly. "How can I trust you?”

“Tough question,” you replied. “Use your judgement, I guess. Until then, I’ll try my best not to let anything bad happen to you.” 

Liam watched you, unsure what to do.

“You’re still bleeding,” you noted, spotting his arm.

You reached into your bag and pulled out some of your first aid stuff. Gently reaching out for the boy, you took his left wrist and examined the injury. The bite was already slowly healing, Liam probably didn’t notice yet, and there was still a lot of blood around.

Making him sit on the curb with you, you tend the wound with disinfectant before wrapping it up.

The entire time, Liam never stopped watching you. You had a soft aura around you, which enhanced your natural beauty and made him feel more comfortable. He could feel his heartbeat increasing like before, but it was different compared to when he was angry. 

“There we go,” you sang out. Admiring your job well done, you started packing your bag up. Standing up, you headed off in the direction Liam was running off to earlier. Getting up, Liam followed you.

“Why do you carry that stuff around?” Liam asked, curious.

“My friends and I often end up in trouble,” you explained. Your eyes drifted to your arm, where a faint gash mark still remained. Liam’s eyes followed and caught sight of it as well. “It’s good to be prepared.”

“I see...”

Things were quiet for a bit. You were staying alert while Liam watched you.

He couldn’t help but wonder how someone like you would be friends with Scott and Stiles. Your presence, despite your mysterious demeanor, glowed. It was warm and soft, something Liam noticed his first day after transferring. You had a different air around you. He couldn’t really explain it, but he knew you were a unique and kind person.

“Which way?”

“Huh?”

Liam was pulled out of his thoughts as you indicated to the street.

“Which way to your place?”

“Oh, right turn here.”

You nodded, following his directions and keeping pace with him. Liam felt his heart flutter again when you sent him a beautiful smile.

“I wish we met under different circumstances,” you commented. Brushing back a strand of your (H/C) hair, you looked into his blue eyes. “I think you’re cute.”

Liam flushed. He didn’t expect your words to be so direct. Your words rang true to him too. Meeting you somewhere else without the violent episode would have been pleasant.

“I hope this incident doesn’t ruin your image of me,” you murmured.

“It hasn’t!” Liam blurted out. “I’m more surprised you’re not scared after seeing me fighting with Scott and Stiles.”

You waved him off. “You had an eventful day. I’m relieved you’re still alive and well.”

“Thanks.”

Your reassuring words stuck with him. Knowing how thoughtful you were only continued to build his image of you. As you two were approaching his house, Liam felt fidgety. He was enjoying his time with you and didn’t quite want this strange day to end.

“Do you need a ride back home?” he asked, eyes wide. A pretty girl walking home alone at night. With the murder, kidnapping and the strange things he saw today all in mind, it made in realize the world was more dangerous than he thought. “It probably isn’t safe -”

“Don’t worry about it, Liam,” you interrupted. He was so sweet, trying to look out for you. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

“Are you sure?”

You nodded. “Of course! Think you can get inside safely?”

Liam broke into a smile and nodded.

“Oh!” You clapped your hands together. “Can I borrow your phone for a second?”

Liam nodded, pulling it out from his pocket and handing it to you.

Quickly inputting your number in, you sent yourself a text before handing his phone back.

“Feel free to contact me about anything, okay?” you exclaimed. “I should get going, make sure you get inside safe and lock the doors.”

“I will,” Liam replied. “Get home safe as well.”

“Alright, good night, Liam.”

Watching him walk up to his front doors, you listened for any signs of potential dangers before making a quick disappearance. When Liam had turned to look back, you were long gone. 

Making your way home, you sent a quick message to your true alpha best friend.

‘The new beta of your pack is cute. Don’t try to scare him off.’

[sterek]

lols legit i just love me my fluff and mutual pining and just all types of that wonderfulness, even with light angst tbh and i love me my HS Aus or college Aus or Human Aus or anything inbetween lmfao XD Ur brilliant and hope this isn't too much of a bother =D

Sorry it took so long, I got distracted! Here are some recs :) [Sorry if I don’t have a lot of light or human fics, most of my bookmarks are heavy werewolf angst oops. I went through half my bookmarks and this is already too long lol enjy!]

I’ve Been Everywhere With You by Leslie_Knope [61k, E]

“Dude, you should totally come with me.”

“What? Like on the road trip?“

“No, come with me. To Austin. Get out of Beacon Hills.”

Derek paused. “What?” he asked again.

He’s Not Mine by Sunnee [68k, E]

Derek comes home to find an abandoned werebaby on his front porch and Stiles volunteers to help him out. Surprisingly, that is just the beginning of his problems.

302, I Love You by paintedrecs [4k, T]

It was a beautiful summer morning—mid-70s with a light breeze, ideal weather for soaking up the sun without fear of overheating. If anyone asked, that was why Stiles was sitting on his balcony with a book he hadn’t touched in the last half hour and a mug of coffee he’d been absently sipping from, his gaze fixed on the parking lot several stories below.

Coincidentally, one of his neighbors—Hot Dude From 302, not that it was relevant—had chosen the same morning to wash his stupidly flashy Camaro.

Shyft by paintedrecs [6k, T]

Derek finally gave the driver more than a passing glance.

He was roughly Derek’s age and surprisingly handsome, despite the ugly plaid shirt he’d rolled up past his elbows. He had broad shoulders, honey-dark hair, a line of moles trailing enticingly along his cheek, and thick eyelashes framing dark eyes that glittered with humor. And he was laughing at Derek.

***

At the end of a long work day, all Derek wanted was to get home as quickly as possible. When his scheduled ride showed up—distractingly good-looking, driving a beat-up Jeep, and full of interesting conversation—Derek felt like his evening might turn out a whole lot better than he’d expected. Until his trust issues flared back to life, telling him "Stiles” wasn’t everything that he’d seemed.

Lovebitten by LunaCanisLupus_22 [10k, M]

The one where Derek gets bitten by a lovebug and Stiles is the first person he lays eyes on. Hilarity ensues.

Bricks by paintedrecs [8k, T]

“Mornin’, love,“ Derek says, and Stiles freezes in his arms. They haven’t exchanged official I love you’s yet, and Derek seems determined to derail Stiles’s plans to say it first. With fireworks. Or bubble baths. Something epic.

The point is, Derek barely even seems to realize he’s doing it, and it’s driving Stiles crazy.

Or: My first time writing a 5 + 1 fic.

remember my love by bleep0bleep [23k, T]

Stiles wakes up and suddenly the war is over, he’s no longer a penniless mage, and living in an exquisite manor married to the man he’s been in love with for far too long.

“It’ll be fine,” Stiles says gallantly. “I am certain I will just fall in love with my husband all over again, and I will find plenty of joy doing that.” He winks at Derek for good measure.Derek blinks.

ritten in the Stars by Quixoticity [26k, M]

Derek Hale is a lucky guy. He’s got a great family, good friends, and a fulfilling job as a tattoo artist.

He’s also one of the twenty-five per cent of the population born with a soul mark.

He likes his life, but he’s waiting for his soul-match. The odds of meeting them aren’t great but hey, Derek’s a lucky guy. He has faith.

He can’t believe how good his luck really is when one day his soul-match wanders right into his studio, all long limbs and copper eyes. There’s just one problem: Stiles is there to get his soul mark covered up. Permanently.

No Homo by RemainNameless [84k, E]

Stiles’ sophomore year starts something like this:3 FourLokos+ 1 peer-pressuring cat- 1 best bro to end all best bros= 1 Craigslist ad headline that reads "str8 dude - m4m - strictly platonic”.Derek is the fool who replies.

Cross our bridges when we come to them by RemainNameless [103k, M]

The five times Derek called the Sheriff “Dad” on accident and the first time he did it on purpose.

Our Hearts Are Tigers by skoosiepants [7k, T]

This is what Stiles figures out after a week of harboring Isaac: he’s kind of a dick, for a ten-year-old.

Turn a Little Faster by skoosiepants [3k, T]

He shifts back and forth on his feet and tries to psych himself up. He can do this. He’s a badass werewolf, he can totally tell Stiles that they accidentally got werewolf married because—because Stiles was thinking about him, and happened to give him a token of his, uh, affection under the silvery light of the last full moon. Platonic affection, Derek thinks sourly, so he doesn’t get why his wolf feels all warm and fuzzy and bonded all of a sudden.

Honestly, it’s like—why aren’t people accidentally getting werewolf married all the time, if it happens this easily?

Filter Out the Starlight by skoosiepants [12k, T]

“Why are you not more curious about me?” Stiles says when Derek’s got the door half open, sun spilling over the dark wood, dust motes spinning about his legs. Stiles is wearing fabric that hasn’t been invented yet, he’s clutching a smart phone to his chest, and he appeared out of nowhere, like an angel.

Softly, Derek says, “We all have our secrets,” and closes the door.

Or-

A heartbroken Stiles accidentally travels back in time to find his one true love. A harlequin-ish Christmas romance.

Under Yellow Moons by skoosiepants [17k, T]

They stare at each other, half-grinning, and Derek knows it’s definitely the absolute wrong time for this, but he wants. He wants to grin at Stiles over dinner every day for the rest of his life, baffled over yams and Moon Pie Day, and, god, crap, goddamn, when the fuck did he have time to fall in love?

Or

The life and times of Deputy Stiles and Supernatural Foster Dad Derek Hale

Lord knows it would be the first time by uraneia [12k, E]

Stiles is home from Berkeley for the summer, but only because he promised the pack. He’d rather not see Derek, because whatever the thing was that they were doing, they’re not doing it anymore, and it sucks.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a choice. The betas tried a magical remedy for Derek’s melancholy, and now Stiles has a three-year-old who looks like Derek. Stiles doesn’t know how to deal with that, and he definitely doesn’t know how to tell the betas he and Derek were secret fuck buddies for a year and a half.

You Smell Like Mine by bleep0bleep [13k, E]

People talk about the alpha instinct, an alpha’s head being swayed by a nice-smelling omega, or the desire to drop everything and show off. Derek’s never felt any of that. He’s just not that kind of alpha.

Then he meets Stiles.

The Prince and His Painter by Dexterous_Sinistrous [8k, G]

Stiles was always a sick child. He was never supposed to live beyond his infancy—shocking many when he reaches adulthood. With his inevitable death looming over his country, Stiles chooses to accept a successor through marriage. His advisors commission a painter to capture the prince’s likeness in order to advertise him to potential candidates. Only, Derek Hale isn’t like most painters—or humans, for that matter.

Certain Kind of Fool by saraubs [36k, M]

Derek, who has been dragged against his will to the same resort his family visits every summer, is determined to spend the next two and a half months sequestered in his room. His only friend, his sister Laura, is preoccupied with her newly-bonded mate, and doesn’t seem to care about anything but making him happy.

When Derek meets Stiles Stilinski, a sharp-tongued waiter, he thinks that this summer might not be a complete waste of time. There are only two problems: First, Stiles is human. Second, he doesn’t believe in mates.

Painful Maneuvers by saraubs [11k, T]

Still, whether or not the nurses want to hear it, Derek has some serious issues with the way Stiles skates around the ward, upending instruments and scattering papers and chewing on pens. His scrubs never fit right and are always riding up to show patches of smooth, pale skin and his hair is frankly pornographic. It’s just so…unprofessional.

Stiles is a hyperactive Obstetrician. Derek is a grumpy Midwife. It’s true love (and babies!).

little spoon by bibliosexual [6k, T]

To save money while attending college in NYC, Stiles and Derek decide to rent one tiny apartment together. With one bed.

you know you’re on my mind by bibliosexual [16k, T]

If there’s one thing Derek’s learned in life, it’s that crushing on someone who lives on an entire other fucking continent is probably a bad idea.

Put Down in Words by paintedrecs [203k, M]

“Oh,” Stiles said, his voice coming out low and breathy, “fuck me.”

“I don’t think that’s on the syllabus, but we can check to see if there’s a spot open in any of his classes,” Scott said, grinning.

“This isn’t an actual professor, though,” Stiles insisted, unable to resist brushing his thumb over the sharp line of the man’s bearded jaw. He was laughing at something off-camera, the shot taken in three-quarters view, his coat collar casually rumpled and opened to reveal a sliver of a simple grey t-shirt. The whole thing was deliberately calculated to lend him a more accessible feel, and god help him, Stiles was falling for it.

*

When Stiles signed up for Dr. Hale’s intro to history class, he had two goals: knock out the credits his advisor was bugging him to complete before he graduated, and spend a few hours a week daydreaming about his sexy professor’s salt and pepper beard.

Derek, a few months away from turning forty and not sure when his life had started feeling so damn lonely, had never encountered someone like Stiles before. Bright-eyed, sharp-tongued, determined to throw Derek’s carefully cultivated world into disarray…and absolutely the last person Derek should be falling in love with.

Somewhere Else, Someone Else by megxmas [19k, T]

They’re sitting in the car, and Stiles’ dad is poring over the scans, gesturing violently at the air. ‘I just don’t understand!’ he says. ‘There’s never been anything out of the ordinary on any of your tests, and yet you always have seizures! How come nothing ever comes up?’

Stiles shrugs, has heard his dad complain about this a dozen times before. Stiles is pretty sure that he and Derek are some kind of magical soulmates and this is the way the world has decided to connect them, but somehow, he doesn’t think that’ll fly as an explanation.

Cupboard Love by mklutz [32k, G]

He’s carefully balancing the sandwiches and the two biggest tupperware containers he could find that both had functioning lids when the front door opens and he almost drops everything right there in front of the stupid fountain.

If that’s Derek Hale, he’s definitely not a mountain man.

The Epic Love Story of Wolf and Twister by KeriArentikai [11k, E]

Stiles has a tiny adorable hyper puppy. Derek has an awesome huge Malamute mix. They both go to the dog park a lot.

So, obviously, Sterek ensues.

One life stand by Vendelin [84k, E]

Stiles is used to selling himself to make ends meet. But it’s getting harder to keep those ends meeting, and there’s only so much of Stiles to go around. Until a too-fancy car shows up in his neighborhood, and he meets Derek Hale.

All Derek wants is Stiles’s time, someone to stay on his arm for events and smile for the cameras. It’s the easiest job Stiles has ever had, the best-paying one he’s ever had, and he’s more than happy to sign up.

Derek is everything and nothing Stiles expects him to be, with his tailored suits, sharp mind and his quiet way of caring. But it’s just a job and Stiles never meant to fall in love.

only fools rush in by decideophobia [13k, T]

Is it an imaginary date?

No. I met him in a coffee shop.

When?

This morning. It was love on first sight.

Millstone by eleanor_lavish [31k, E]

Derek waits until the door is shut behind him before he turns around. He holds out his hand, plants his ‘if you’re not weird about it, I won’t be’ smile on his face and says, “Nice to meet you, Stiles. I’m Michael. What kind of a good time are you looking for tonight?”

In Other Words, Baby, Kiss Me by primroseshows [61k, E]

Stiles has simple goals in life. To successfully complete his secret radar project without getting fired, to get a cottage on the Moon, and to untangle his mess of feelings for Moon Station 3 deputy, Derek Hale. Heck, he’ll even settle for two of the three.

i have always been the storm by stilinskisparkles [25k, E]

“You’re all headed out to Oklahoma in a week.”

Derek snaps his head up, stares at him in horror, “No, boss.”

“Yes,” Finstock insists in a steely voice. “The NSSL have been on at us for a year about some decent exposure, and I think you’re just the team to do it.”

“I haven’t done weather since college,” Derek protests.

Boyd snorts again, presumably because he’s thinking back to the time when Derek and the weather last collided and he…. well, did the guy into the weather for a brief, wonderful, terribly foolish time. But, Boyd needs to shut up before Derek punches him on the nose.

Abominable by Revenant [20k, T]

Where Derek buys a secluded cabin halfway up a mountain, meets a yeti and falls in love with Stiles, but not necessarily in that order.

The Cintron Hall Situation by dragon_temeraire [3k, T]

Stiles is freezing and miserable in his dorm, so he decides to knock on his hot neighbor Derek’s door for help.

nothing ever promised tomorrow today by preromantics [11k, T]

Grocery shopping, waking up, lasagna, and parallel universes. / When Stiles jumps the last two stairs and turns into the kitchen he’s got his mouth halfway open around “Morning, Mom,” before his dad folds down his paper at the kitchen table to look at him.

In a Straight Line Down by standinginanicedress [40k, T]

“So you want to go to Prom with me just so you can get a plastic crown and a fifty dollar gift card to Outback Steakhouse.”

Stiles sets his jaw. He wants to go to prom with Derek because he wants to go to prom with Derek. But, of course, he’s stubborn and prideful and can’t admit to Derek how it’s barely been twelve hours since they officially broke up and he’s already barely handling it as it is, so he just raises his chin in the air and says, “yes.”

Our Puddle is Deceptively Deep by calrissian18 [10k, E]

They start out in a literal tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

In This World or the Next by Lissadiane [20k, T]

Derek wakes up to the smell of frying bacon and brewing coffee on an ordinary morning in his ordinary life, but he can’t help but shake the feeling that he’s forgotten something important. It probably has to do with the three wishes he’d been granted by the fae after saving the life of their fairy prince, and possibly also the sheriff’s missing son.

In which Derek Hale learns that sometimes being given what we want more than anything else has disastrous consequences.

The Socioeconomic Repercussions of Mutually Assured Destruction by alocalband [15k, E]

"The trouble with having the kind of brain that likes to write essays on male circumcision for an Economics class, is that it also likes to turn PowerPoint presentations for Biology into odes on the perfection of notorious bad boy Derek Hale’s backside.”

Five Times Derek and Stiles Kissed For Practice (And One Time They Didn’t) by mikkimouse [5k, T]

In which Derek and Stiles grow up together and practice kissing, roughly in that order.

Little Promises by crossroadswrite [2k, G]

Derek doesn’t really know what happened. He just knows there was a lady and she was pretty but she was also really mean and she was trying to hurt his friends.

“Holy fuck,” Erica mutters and is harshly shushed by Isaac.

“Don’t swear in front of the kid.”

“It’s not a kid,” Erica counters. “It’s just-“

“Derek?”

King of the Road by Stoney [30k, E]

Derek sees the guy–all long lines, furtive glances, hungry–leaning against the diner out in the middle of nowhere. Yeah, Derek’s hungry, too.

tide pulls from the moon by paintedrecs [45k, M]

hen Derek left Beacon Hills, finally ripping the tether free and remembering how to breathe, how to live again, it was Stiles who came after him. Stiles, who showed up at his door with blazing eyes, looking like he wanted to punch him in the face, but wrapping his arms around him instead, making him grunt in surprise at the raw strength of his embrace.

“You asshole,” Stiles said, slapping him heartily on the back as he extricated himself, his voice rough under his bright smile. “You couldn’t have made yourself harder to find, could you?”

The Summer of Snow Cones and Not-Dates by clarkoholic, skywardsmiles [38k, M]

Summer is really boring. Like, mind-numbingly boring. Except for the part where Stiles can’t figure out if Derek’s his boyfriend, or why every werewolf in town keeps approaching him in the bathroom.

Teenage Dream by matildajones [58k, M]

“I’m married. I’m married to Derek Hale,” Stiles says. Everything seems to hit him at once. He pushes aside the fact there’s a celebrity sitting right next to him, and then thinks of why the fuck he can’t remember him, why he doesn’t know who he’s married to, and how much time he must have lost.–After an accident, Stiles wakes up to what can only be a dream. He has money, he has fame, he has award winning actor Derek Hale as his husband. It quickly seems more and more like a nightmare because Stiles doesn’t remember getting any of it - and it’s hard to accept the reality that Derek can still love him.

You look like my next mistake by Vendelin [15k, T]

“So, are you dating someone new? Someone who doesn’t mind that you’re frigid?” Kate cocks her head to the side, smiling as though she just asked him about where he bought his shoes.

His entire body sighs in defeat as his shoulders grow square. Just as he opens his mouth, someone comes up to stand beside him, snaking an arm around his shoulders. When he glances to his side, expecting to see Isaac, his brain seems to malfunction. Because it isn’t Isaac. It’s Stiles Stilinski, the lacrosse talent of the year, a senior who Derek has seen multiple times from far away, but never ever talked to.

In which Derek is a nerd jock, and Stiles is a frat guy, and Derek falls for him even though he knows he shouldn’t.

A Problematic Loyalty by alocalband [4k, T]

The problem isn’t that Stiles is stubborn. The problem is that people keep hitting on him.

Not Quite Lost (Not Quite Found) by alocalband [25k, E]

A year after the nogitsune is defeated, Derek is living a quiet life in the mountains above a small town in Colorado.

Then Stiles shows up.

‘Till You Make It by standinginanicedress [46k, M]

“I’m saying – let’s fake it.”

Derek blinks at him. Hard. Stiles never knew that someone could physically make a blink look hard, but there Derek goes, slamming his lids together like he’s fucking exercising them. “Fake it.”

“Pretend, dumbass,” he backhands Derek lightly on his upper arm. “Pretend like we’re doing as well as our parents want us to and then they’ll be off our backs, right?”

“We don’t have to pretend anything, Stiles,” Derek says evenly, in a tone that suggests he’d much rather be yelling. “We’re literally soulmates.”

“That’s the beauty of it! It’s going to be so fucking easy. I can’t believe we never thought of this before,” he runs his hands through his hair and shakes his head in amazement, grinning from ear to ear. “Holy shit. I can’t believe I just solved all our problems for us, man.”

Kindred Spirits by Stoney [104k, E]

Stiles is the adopted son of the Sheriff, brought to Beacon Hills to hopefully stay for good. A family, a best friend, school, Jackson as Josie Pye (because who else could he be?) and the mystery of a dark haired, green-eyed boy which leads Stiles to discovering a secret within himself.

we’re catching bullets in our teeth (it’s hard to do but they’re so sweet) by prettyasadiagram [12k, M]

Stiles says he’s a Web Developer. Derek says he an Internal Auditor.

They’re both liars, but you can’t exactly tell your significant other that you kill people for a living, now can you?

Insane Chemistry (with Derek Hale) by theroguesgambit [13k, M]

Derek is the popular, varsity jock, prom king of the school, and Stiles is not going to be the cliche that ends up falling for him. (It’s not a cliche if no one else knows about it, right?)

Strut on a Line, its Discord and Rhyme by xiaq [61k, T]

“Carry me,” Stiles says.

“No.”

“But I’m injured.”

“You have a rash,” Derek says. “On your arm. Your feet work just fine.”

“Please?”

“No. You weigh almost as much as I do. And you ate a pound of chicken at lunch.”

"Well, yeah, but I pooped like an hour ago, so.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Don’t play, you love me.”

I do, Derek thinks, relatively horrified. I really do.

But Then What… by Stoney [24k, E]

Senior year is almost over, and all Stiles needs to do is keep his head down to survive. A teacher calls in a favor, leaving him stuck tutoring Derek Hale, one of the most popular jocks in school and a member of a group of douchecanoes who have bullied Stiles for years. He’s someone Stiles totally hates. Totally. Like, doesn’t like him even a little bit. DEFINITELY isn’t attracted to him.

Except that is a total lie. Fuck his life, seriously.

The Great Pretender by talktowater [45k, E]

Stiles is the new kid at Beacon Hills High, class of 1958 and he’s trying to make an impression. Derek can’t figure out why this kid is so set on making such a bad one.

Here’s to the Static by matildajones [80k, T]

Stiles spends most of his college break in a coffee house where he stares after Derek Hale. For some reason, Stiles is unaware of the fact he’s quite the musician, and Derek amuses himself at Stiles’ obliviousness.

Cross a Canyon (with a broken limb) by theroguesgambit [18k, T

“You never graduated,” Stiles says, just to say it. To test it out in the open air. That’s… huh.

–

Stiles spends his senior year battling troll-gremlins, taking on an unexpected tutoring job, and definitely not falling for a certain sourwolf (even though everyone else seems to think he is).

The Rest Is Unwritten by mikkimouse [6k, T]

Once upon a time, the werewolf king and queen invited five fairies to the christening of their only son. The fairies bestowed the boy with gifts—beauty, grace, wit, and the most adorable teeth in all the land.

But before the fifth fairy could give her gift, a wicked fairy from the other Court arrived and cast a terrible curse on the baby prince. He would have a life full of tragedies, she declared, and die young, of a broken heart.

The king and queen were beside themselves with grief. It was very old, powerful magic, so there was little they could do to break it. However, the fifth fairy had yet to give her gift. The curse could not be broken, she told them, but it could be altered.

She bestowed upon the prince the gift of perseverance, so that he would never lose his will to live, even in the face of countless tragedies. And when he found the one who would stand by his side and face those tragedies with him without fail, that is when the curse would be broken. Because the fairy knew there was nothing in all the world more powerful than true love. Not even a wicked fairy’s curse.

Laying Groundwork by LunaCanisLupus_22 [10k, E]

His expression isn’t much to go by but the entire clubs howling gets louder at his appearance and Stiles literally pops a boner watching the guy’s big hands wrestle with the microphone stand.

Or the one where Scott and Stiles go clubbing and there’s this broody Bouncer out to get Stiles-

Or get into his pants. Thank God it’s the latter.

By a Law Divine by mirrorkill [23k, M]

Okay, so, kissing Stiles. That’s a weird thing that Derek’s doing now. He has no idea where it’s even coming from, especially considering bickering and fighting is their usual state of existence.And then he does find out where it’s coming from: A curse that’s making everyone in town kiss someone they have mutual feelings for. …yeah, Derek’s not even sure why he’s surprised by that.

Friends of Early Theory by Nanoochka [23k, E]

In which Derek is a gruff, struggling executive for his family’s sprawling, wealthy company in New York, and Stiles is his quirky, offbeat intern who brings him cold coffee each morning and wears stupid T-shirts to work and generally succeeds at being a thousand times more charming than Derek could ever hope to be. To the outside observer, their relationship is combative but fond, although in private Stiles and Derek have a great deal more secrets, anger, and painful history between them than Derek is prepared to acknowledge or reveal. In retrospect, that might be half of the problem.

The Way to My Heart (French Insults) by KuriKuri [10k, T]

Letting out a long sigh, Derek turns away and braces himself for the next hellish filming segment. After all, apparently he’s going to have to smile while greeting twenty-five contestants. Shit, what if they try to hug him? Or, god forbid, kiss –

He doesn’t get any further with that thought, because a limo pulls into the driveway. He braces himself for the worst. The worst, who… actually doesn’t look that horrifying.

“I’ve been dying to meet you!” she exclaims as she catches sight of him.

Then, she flings herself at him and ensnares him in a bone-crushing hug.

Scratch that – she’s completely horrifying. And Derek’s pretty sure he can hear errand boy what’s-his-face laughing in the distance.

(Or: In which Derek gets roped into being the 'eligible bachelor’ on a dating show and instead falls for one of the show’s interns.)

How I Met My Werebunny by Moku [19k, T]

“This is going to end in tears,” Scott told Derek while he watched the man easily lifting Stiles’ desk up with one hand and driving nails into the ceiling with the thumb of the other. “Probably mine.”

Or:

When a Stiles and a Failwolf love each other very much, they’ll engage in a prank war. Basically, it’s a mating ritual for dorks in love.

Wild Tonic by officerstilinskihale [11k, M]

Stiles nodded and smiled again, his teeth flashing brightly and he signed something again, before looking frustrated with himself.

“You’re welcome,” Derek told him, feeling a wave of relief when Stiles’ face brightened. That would’ve been awkward if Stiles hadn’t been trying to say thank you.

“I had a really good time, so yeah. I’m glad you came with me,” he said, feeling his face grow hot. Derek wasn’t usually like this. He wasn’t confident. Sure, he had the looks and he could flirt shamelessly when he got hit on, but he always got shy around the people he genuinely liked, not that there was too many of those.

But Stiles didn’t let him dwell on that. He gripped Derek’s arm, grinned cheekily and pointed at himself before lifting two fingers. It took a while for Derek to get it but when he did, he couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his face.

Me too.

Practice Makes Perfect by blacktofade [21k, E]

In his sophomore year, Stiles gets dragged to lacrosse tryouts by Scott and ends up practising alongside the senior captain, Derek Hale. Stiles just wants to live long enough to become a junior.

Feline Persuasion by rensahannou (asmalltigercat) [15k, T]

Derek doesn’t need to worry about the cat living under the porch at his family’s old house, it’s just—Derek’s just used to worrying about things.

Hot Single Dad Derek Hale by WhoNatural [13k, E]

Wherein Derek is a Hot Single Dad, possibly with a little case of martyrdom, and Stiles is the newest client at his publishing house who really just wants to make him happy. Preferably while they’re both naked.

He doesn’t get to talk to Stiles a whole lot - and it’s fine, it’s professional and polite, but there is a little something that lights up in him when he thinks about him, sees him. Derek’s life has been mostly about preschool and Big Hero 6 and extra-curricular activities for so long now that it’s a shock to the system when he finds himself pre-occupied with something so… adult.And there are many, many adult things on his mind where Stiles is concerned.

I Call You Names Because I Love You by Rawren (Zimothy) [13k, M]

Years of touring with Stiles would never have prepared Derek for the day his beloved techie fell in love with someone else.

Maybe Someday (I’ll Be Home For Next Year) by ofherlionheart [16k, T]

AKA, the Grandma Stilinski fic. Derek Hale meets a Mabel Stilinski while living in New York. He learns that she has a grandson. There are miscommunications, scarves, stealth-matchmaking plans, and cookies. Many, many cookies.

my wings a hurricane by kellifer_fic [20k, T]

Stiles had been like any other kid growing up in the era of dragons. He’d watched the cartoons, the news stories, had the lunch box. When his screening at Beacon Hills High had come up negative, he’d been disappointed but unsurprised. His positive results were returned three years too late for it to be in any way convenient or cool.Or, the one where they ride dragons.

Thrill (like white-hot wire) by raisesomehale [4k, M]

Stiles made the decision that Derek was his new best friend (and that he’ll one day marry him) the day he shared his dinosaur chicken nuggets with him.

The Newlywed Game by Captain_Loki [19k, M]

Stiles is (still) single when the pack’s getaway to the Caribbean comes by (oh misplaced optimism); lucky for him Derek is committed to being uncommitted and even after all these years is still powerless against Stiles’ unique forms of persuasion.

Cue a romantic getaway for two: sun, sand, and sarcasm abound…and the two roped into competing in the Resort’s version of the Newlywed game. Only it’s completely obvious it’s going to end in disaster. Probably homicide.

Most probably homicide.

Plot twist: It doesn’t.

[Sleep]Walking After You by relenafanel [59k, M]

Derek is a sleepwalker who keeps wandering into his downstairs neighbour’s bedroom.

Stiles is pretty sure the hot guy from the park is going to kill him in his sleep. He knows he shouldn’t have been so obvious about objectifying the guy’s really fine ass.

Too bad it turns out Derek is easier to get along with when he’s sleeping.

[halekingsourwolf]

hihi, in that post you just wrote you mentioned that Derek has a more personal stake in what's going on throughout the series than Scott does. Can you expand on that or was it just a hyperbole?

Hey there,

Oh, not at all. I don’t mean to say that Scott has no stake in what goes on, or that this is true in every instance. But overall, I think you could definitely make a case that, while Scott is the protagonist, Derek is the more central character to most of the conflicts. This is probably most apparent in seasons one and 3A, and I’d argue also four, and I’ll just run through them all roughly here.

Just a reminder that I haven’t actually watched most of the show in years so I apologize for any details I miss or get wrong. And yeah, I do focus more on Derek as a rule so maybe I’m forgetting some huge contributions by Scott; if so, please feel free to jump in and correct me. That said, I’m really not going to list out every detail from every season, just run roughly through the overall arcs and the way the characters impact them and vice versa. Obviously this just covers seasons 1-4, where Derek was a regular character. And ok, that’s enough disclaiming. Diving in:

Season one

While arguably the show starts with Scott being bitten, what really sets everything into motion is the murder of Derek’s sister. Laura’s death, the thing Derek needs to solve and avenge, is the launching point that pushes all the other show’s conflicts into motion. And while the show puts most of its focus on Scott and his personal dramas (whether the pretty new girl will like him, whether he’ll do well in lacrosse) most of the actual conflict is driven by Derek. He’s the one determined to figure out who the Alpha is (and who, it turns out, has a personal connection to him), he’s the one with a history and continuing conflict with the Argents, which turns out to be the whole motivation behind the Alpha’s actions. Scott’s conflicts are relatively small things: will he make co-captain? Will his bowling date go well? While Derek brings in most of the major conflicts: shot by Kate leading to revelations about the Argents, captured by Kate… Eventually, he (with Stiles’ help) is the one who discovers who the Alpha is and confronts him, and later he’s the one who kills him.

Despite Scott being the protagonist, this season is really a story about the Hales vs the Argents, Derek and Peter dealing with their trauma, and Derek avenging his sister.

Season two

This one is less Derek-centric, since the main villain/conflict for most of the season (Matt) has nothing to do with either him or Scott. However, most of Scott’s actions throughout the season are reactionary to Derek –– while Derek recruits betas and builds a pack, Scott shows up to try and convince the betas how terrible Derek is. Derek makes plans to try and stop the kanima, and Scott works to thwart him. When Derek rescues Scott and it leads to the death of Allison’s mother, Scott sends Allison after Derek. And while Scott is the apparent “hero” of the season, since his “master plan” is what ultimately defeats Gerard, he does so by using –– yep, guessed it –– Derek.

On another note: the entire kanima arc (really, the entire thing that set the season in motion) was a direct result of Derek’s actions. Derek bit Jackson at the end of season one, which turned him into the kanima, which allowed Matt and later Gerard to use him to their own ends. While Derek doesn’t realize this at the start of the season, he does have a much more personal stake in what’s going on than Scott does. His killing of Peter is also the driving force behind Lydia’s arc, and he’s the target used to resurrect him later on, so while the “master plan” is Scott’s… most of the major plot elements are set in motion or resolved in one way or another by Derek.

3A

Here’s a rough summary of the season: two of Derek’s betas are captured and he works to find them and save them. Derek’s long lost, thought-dead sister is rediscovered. Their captors are a group of Alphas who spend most of the season terrorizing the pack and killing two of Derek’s betas to try and recruit Derek to their side. Meanwhile, Derek strikes up a romance with a new teacher who turns out to be one of the season’s main villains, a dark druid who had been manipulating him for protection. Derek’s sister is hospitalized and he ends up having to give up his Alpha power to save her. One entire episode is focused on exploring Derek’s backstory and another tragedy in his life, which notably led to the awakening of the Nemeton and set everything happening this season into motion. …At the last minute, it turns out that Scott is actually a “True Alpha” and the Alpha pack had been after Scott all along (despite actively pursuing Derek to the point of kidnapping and murdering members of his pack). I’ll let you decide who the driving force of the season was.

3B

This season is definitely the weakest in terms of focusing on Derek, though notably it also had the least focus on Scott. Stiles (and the Nogitsune) was undeniably front and center and behind most of the action, with the rest of the characters scrambling to react to him.

Season four

The driving conflict at the start of season four is the kidnapping of Derek Hale. The first two episodes are almost entirely focused on this, with them first saving him from Kate and second dealing with the aftermath of that –– figuring out how to deal with de-aged Derek and Kate’s plans for him.

The Benefactor arc affects both characters equally at first as they (along with the other supernaturals) are being targeted, but spins back to focus on Derek when a bit of computer coding suggests that Derek is destined to die soon. Derek and Scott each have their individual arcs as well, with Derek slowly losing his powers and Scott trying to train newbie wolf Liam. However, the Liam arc isn’t particularly intrinsic to the story (it could be removed without the overall plot being affected) and, while Derek’s loss of powers is ultimately the same (it apparently has to do with his evolution… somehow. Don’t ask me. It still makes no real sense) it’s played as being part of some master plan by Kate. It’s the reason Derek hires Braeden, to find out where Kate is and what her plans are, and it’s repeatedly suggested to be part of the villain arc until the finale reveals it not to be. Therefore… again, while Scott and his beta troubles and his lacrosse games and his love life have the majority of the screentime and focus, these are all ultimately details. Minor plot points. Just like in season one, Derek’s story is more connected to the villain’s story and the overall arc of the season.

I also think it’s notable that Scott’s attempts to win over Liam are basically just Scott parroting Derek’s dialogue from season one. So a driving force behind all of Scott’s interactions with Liam is… again, Derek. (This isn’t even really shown as character growth –– Scott never goes to Derek to commiserate over new betas or apologize for his early behavior, recognizing how hard it must have been for Derek. It’s played for laughs and then Liam ends up idolizing Scott anyway…. this isn’t really on topic but it’s just frustrating.)

Now, I don’t want to ignore the second villain arc in this season –– Peter, and his attempt to steal Scott’s powers. And as I said at the start, I don’t mean to say that Scott was not important to the plot in any season. He was the main character and, yeah, he did stuff. In most seasons, he was the one who struck the final blow and saved the day. But, as far as I recall, Peter’s plan to kill Scott only became a major plot element in the final two episodes (and that whole plan… and Peter’s motivations were muddled to all hell). The major villain of s4 –– the one whose arc carried over, who started and ended the season –– wasn’t Peter, wasn’t even the Benefactor. It was Kate. The driving question was what is Kate up to? The person who was wronged at the start of s4 was Derek, and the one who overcame that and emerged triumphant was Derek. In a very real way, the season was about Derek overcoming his traumas caused by Kate, with the story taking us through him being young and naive and manipulated by her, to the trauma of that aftermath (shown here by physical weakness and inability to fight back), to his evolution and her defeat, with him standing over her, triumphant. Scott doesn’t have anywhere near that strong and coherent an arc in s4.

God, this was not brief at all. But yeah, I’d definitely argue that, for most of the seasons Derek was in, he was more deeply entrenched in the narratives and in pushing the story forward than Scott was. Scott may have been the POV character but very often he was just pulled along by the plot or focused on more trivial matters. Derek was the core character and the driving force in much more of the major, relevant action.

[queenofmoons67]

The World Knows Our Name

Summary: More than a decade in the future an incident reveals werewolves to the world. As the True Alpha, the American 'wolf community pushes Scott forward as their main representative, throwing the entire McCall Pack into the spotlight as people try to figure out what to do with this revelation.

Notes: This happens a little more than a decade in the future, when Scott is thirty years old. This was written before season six aired.

It is the 11th fic in my series “The Strength of the Wolf is the Pack”. It can be read without reading the others, but for those who have read them: because it takes place in the future, the pack hierarchy has changed and more people have joined it, while others have left (sorry, but I didn't think the McCall Pack could last ten years without a death).

The new hierarchy, in order, is: Scott, Kira, Stiles, Derek, Melissa, the Sheriff, Chris, Liam, Hayden, Mason, Lydia, Isaac, Malia, Braeden, Parrish, Corey, Ethan, Danny, Brett, Lori, Naomi (OC), Jackson, Marshall (OC).

The title is adapted from Hamilton's "Alexander Hamilton".

WARNING: There is a mention of self-harm in this fic. There is another warning right before the paragraph it's in, and it's easy to skip.

The truth began as a rumor no one believed, spreading for the simple fact that it seemed impossible. A werewolf, they whispered. With yellow glowing eyes and claws and fangs. A werewolf's been found in Virginia.

The truth began as a horror story no one wanted to believe, spreading for the simple fact that more danger lay in not believing and being caught off guard. An omega, they whispered. Trapped in a jail cell on his second full moon with no alpha and no control. An omega's the death of us all.

The truth… the truth was online for everyone to see in full technicolor HD video within a week, and when the rumor and horror story became truth, the only surprise anyone really had was that it took that long. Then the truth set in, and so did the panic.

Scott yawned as he rolled over in bed, the ringing phone piercing his sensitive ears. "Mm… what time is it?" Kira murmured from beside him, eyes still shut.

"Two am," her mate replied softly, thumbing the answer button. "Scott McCall, may I - mmph," the alpha rubbed sleep from his eyes, trying not to yawn. "May I ask who's calling?"

"Turn on your TV."

"Wha- Satomi?"

"Yes."

"What are you - what are you calling so late for?"

"Turn on your TV, Alpha McCall."

This woke him up fully. She always called him Scott unless there was a serious reason, usually one that also required her deferring authority to him. "What channel?"

"Any of them, though a news channel would be best." Scott nodded, though he knew she couldn't see him, and flipped the TV on while making sure his worry didn't flow through the pack bonds, ignoring the click over the line that told him the other alpha had hung up.

"- Has been transferred to a high security prison. One can only hope that it's enough to hold him," a news anchor stated.

"You don't think he deserves the benefit of the doubt? Callie, he was only in jail in the first place for being in the middle of a bar fight he didn't even start."

"That may be true, but have you considered what might have happened if the deputies hadn't managed to stun him? He could have killed someone! As it is, one of the young officers remains in the hospital with severe injuries."

Slowly, Scott reached over and shook his mate. "Kira…" he said lowly, not taking his eyes from the TV as he sensed her stir.

"We don't automatically sentence people to prison for being criminally insane, we give them a trial," the second anchor argued. "We can do no less for him when he obviously had no control over his actions."

"This is…" Kira whispered, trailing off. Scott nodded anyway, knowing exactly how she felt. Until now, there had been hope that it was a lie, or that no one would believe the rumors. The news had discussed it jokingly, but now they were completely serious, trusting the story. There was nothing funny about it now.

Muting the TV, the alpha turned to his mate. "We need to prepare for the worst, more than we already have."

Kira nodded, slipping out of bed and throwing on jeans and a sweatshirt. "I'll get the adults up and in the War Room. Can you get the pups?"

"Yeah. I'll try and break it to them gently, calm them down. Do you…" Scott took a deep breath, considering the past and possible future events. "Do you think we should head out into the Preserve? Get the pack away from civilization, just in case? Or stick it out?"

"Stick it out," the kitsune stated firmly. "But pack easy-to-grab bags just in case."

With that, she headed out, while Scott pulled on clothes and kept thinking. He knew his mate was right, that wasn't a question. It had been the answer he was leaning towards anyway, as he now knew why Satomi had figuratively bowed to him. As the True Alpha, with a reputation before he even left for college, once he'd left school for good the 'wolf community had dragged him in deeper. Now filling a position similar to the one Talia Hale had held, he couldn't just leave - not even for the protection of his own pack. The 'wolves that would stay - the majority, he suspected, as it wasn't in their nature to run and hide - would turn to him and his pack for support and guidance.

The truth was that werewolves existed, and everyone knew it. There was no hiding from that, whether you were human or 'wolf.

Scott slipped silently from the master bedroom and moved down the hall. The door to the automatic right of his own was open, lamp light spilling softly out, and he knew Kira had decided to wake Stiles first. They'd split up - his mate probably staying on this floor to wake Derek, Melissa, the Sheriff, Liam, Mason, and their mates, while Stiles headed down one floor for Lydia, Parrish, Isaac, Malia, Ethan, Brett, Jackson, and their mates - and meet him and the pups in the War Room. Nicknamed by Stiles as such because it was the only room in the McCall Pack's Den big enough for everyone to sit down, with a giant conference table in the middle, they had planned everything from battles to dinners to marriages in there. But nothing like this. Never anything like this.

Scott paused outside a door two down from his own, willing away the fear-provoked red eyes. He didn't need to cause chaos the moment he stepped in the room.

Opening the door, he moved inside and whispered, simultaneously tugging on their pack bonds, "Lori. Naomi. Wake up."

Two pairs of glowing yellow eyes opened, both girls sitting up to take in their alpha as the flare eased. At the sight of them safe and uninjured, something in Scott eased. Despite both of them being in their mid-twenties, only a few years younger than Liam and already graduated from college, they were two of the three youngest in the pack, as well as two of the newest additions. Both taken together had caused quite a few protective urges in the older 'wolves, and no matter how many times they proved they could take care of themselves and weren't teenagers anymore, it would take several more years and a few more new additions until they stopped being "pups" to everyone.

"Come with me. We're getting Marshall, having a talk, and then meeting everyone else in the War Room."

The girls shared a glance, but followed him.

Marshall, unlike Lori and Naomi, was a pup in every sense of the word. Seventeen years old, he'd only been bitten by Scott a few months before when they'd found him dying in the woods from hypothermia (unfortunately, dying or in mortal danger seemed to be the state of every person Scott bit, from Liam and Hayden to Marshall and Naomi, who Lori had begged Scott to bite after a terrible car accident nearly took her life a few years back). Somehow, he'd managed to convince his parents to let him move into the Den. Part of it, Scott knew, had to do with him rooming with Jackson, whose parents were good friends with Marshall's parents. But otherwise, the alpha didn't have a clue - he knew his mother would never have allowed it, though then again, having first Peter the murdering psychopath and then Derek the doom and gloom murder suspect as an alpha were extremely different circumstances from having Scott the veterinarian (not that Marshall's parents knew the truth anyway).

Scott peeped into the room the last pup shared with Jackson, noting that the older beta was gone already. Stiles must have woken him already. "Marshall," he whispered, tugging on his pack bond like he had the other pups'. "Wake up."

The entire McCall Pack - twenty-three people strong - sat in silence around the table in the War Room. Emotions surged back and forth across the pack bonds, rebounding off each other, multiplying in strength - panic, fear, disbelief, anger. Scott and Kira had explained the situation and what the plans so far were, but with no one outside the pack knowing they were werewolves the best they could do was act normal and hope for the best. If no more werewolves were found, nothing would happen except a lot of speculation, possibly the passing of laws that would never affect them.

More werewolves were found. Or rather, old hunter families like the Calaveras and the Campbells got their information out there through the Internet, the media, any way they could guarantee that it would spread quickly. Within a day of the original video release, over fifty packs worldwide had been revealed to the public, along with the knowledge that more than just werewolves existed. Of the packs caught in the crosshairs of the rising panic, the McCall Pack knew the majority and had treaties with ten of them spanning across Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The only reason they themselves hadn't been revealed in the information dump was that Chris's treaty with the Calaveras still stood. The truth was out there, and the McCall Pack couldn't just sit back and watch their world - their friends - turn to ash.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Stiles whispered, glancing out at the podium with the spotlight and cameras shining down on it and then back to Scott. "You don't have to. We can start out slow, if at all, and-"

"Yes, he does, and yes, he is," Satomi and Derek chorused, both glaring at Scott's right hand.

"Geez, sorry," he muttered, raising his hands in the universal 'I-give-up' gesture. "I just wanted to make sure."

"I know," Scott nodded. "But they're right. Even if I wasn't a True Alpha, I'm bound by treaties ten times over to help. There's no choice to make."

The moment Scott stepped on the stage, Kira by his side, the reporters and city leaders in the audience snapped to attention. The pack hadn't revealed much about the press conference, only sending out invitations stating that it was 'wolf related, knowing that would be enough.

"Many of you know us," the alpha began. "But for those who don't, I'm Scott McCall, Beacon Hills veterinarian."

"And I'm Kira, a science professor at Beacon Hills College and Scott's mate."

"Yes, mate," Scott continued. "I'm also the alpha of the McCall Pack. Our territory occupies about half of Beacon Hills, including the Preserve from the city line in."

"We're revealing ourselves today," Kira picked up, "because of the crisis facing the 'wolf community. Anyone in need of help of any kind, whether it is understanding our world or facing prosecution with who you are revealed, you can come to us. We'll do our best to help. Any questions?"

One reporter shouted, "How do we know you're telling the truth?"

The video of Scott and Kira, standing strong side by side, flashing red and orange irises garnered a record number of views on YouTube.

They had all thought things were going as fast as they could, but it didn't take long after the press conference to figure out they were wrong. Kira, and several other member of the pack guessed to be 'wolves just by association, lost their jobs. Marshall's parents refused all contact with him. Other alphas followed Scott's example, trying to show people trust in the hope they would return it. Others turned and ran, entire sections of communities all over the world disappearing without a trace overnight. The number of gun sales in the United States skyrocketed, and the amount of wolfsbane being imported into the cities was so large the scent of it followed the 'wolves wherever they went. But the final tipping points happened within the same hour as each other.

Kira, Derek, and Chris sat in the kitchen enjoying lunch, the TV on in the background and the voices of news anchors humming lowly. The pack's left hand, about to take a bite of his sandwich, suddenly jerked in his seat and whirled to face the screen, wolf blazing its way to the surface. A clawed hand grabbed the remote, muscles tense as he held back to avoid crushing it, and began turning the volume up. Blue eyes peered out from a jutting brow, entirely focused on the news. Kira and Chris exchanged startled glances. Whatever had scared Derek was cause for serious worry.

"- His condition has worsened, his body refusing to heal itself, and the doctors say he is not expected to make it," a voice reached a level regular ears could hear clearly.

"This is a grave day for us all," the second news anchor added. "This attack demonstrates the lowest humans can go. When frightened, we're no better than the animals the majority of us claim the werewolves are."

"And yet, Evan," Callie - Kira recognized her from that first night - continued, "We must ask ourselves if it's not a push in the right direction. Alvin Coleman has just been declared dead on arrival. Cause of death? A beta werewolf, completely in control of herself an entire two and a half weeks before the next full moon, ripped his throat out on the street."

"But you can't say he was completely innocent. Witnesses say the attack was provoked by multiple barbs, and the beta ignored him the best she could for several minutes."

"She tore his throat out with her teeth. There's nothing innocent about that, just pure savagery."

"Scott?" Chris asked into his phone, thumb on the mute button, eyes watching Derek and Kira. "The omega was just attacked in prison. And a beta killed someone in broad daylight. I suggest you get the pack home safely and then contact other alphas. We need to do something before this gets anymore out of control than it already is."

Seconds after Scott ended his call with Chris, his phone rang again. Frowning down at a number he didn't recognize, Scott answered it anyway.

"Alpha McCall?" a stranger's voice asked.

"Yes?"

"Alpha McCall, this is Alpha Quinn. I'm calling on behalf of the American Packs. Since the igniting incident, all that has come out of waiting for things to calm down has been chaos. I have discussed with multiple other alphas doing something that has never been done before - electing one alpha to represent us all. In the light of today's events, we came to a decision and reached out to other packs to make sure they were in agreement. They are."

"I never received a call," Scott frowned.

"That is because you are the agreement, Alpha McCall. Congratulations, you have been elected to the new position Representative of Werewolf Packs in the United States." Scott breathed in sharply, eyes widening and flashing red in recognition of the responsibility laid at his feet. "After this conversation, I will be contacting President Sandoval and letting her know of this development. I would expect a call soon after. Any questions you have can be directed to Alpha Ito. Do you understand and accept this position?"

Doing so would place his pack in the spotlight as a prime target for hunters, even more than they already were. Doing so would put them in the best place to help, especially with a pack as diverse as theirs. They were more than capable, Scott thought. He hoped. He knew. "Yes."

"Thank you, Alpha McCall. And good luck."

There was a click as Alpha Quinn hung up, but Scott barely noticed, too busy locking up the clinic and hurrying home.

Scott wandered the halls that night, senses reaching out to try and settle the red occasionally taking over the brown in his eyes. Kira, the scent of her lightning and the steel of her sword engrained within the very walls of the Den. Stiles, his heart beating just a little bit faster than everyone else even in sleep. Derek and Braeden, their scents entwined after more than a decade as mates. His mom and Chris, her distinct hospital smell mixed with his gunpowder from a marriage of five years. The Sheriff, an affectionate nickname now as he'd finally retired and become a consultant only a year before, snoring loudly. Liam and Hayden, in training to become the alpha pair when he and Kira eventually died as the more experienced of the four betas who could actually inherit his True Alpha power, sleeping and, judging by their steady heartbeats, without nightmares. Mason, who had taken over Deaton's position as Pack Emissary after the druid died in a car crash of all things, his job obvious to anyone with a good sense of smell and the right knowledge. Corey, who Mason had finally convinced to officially join the pack a year before the chimera proposed, his reptilian scent mixing perfectly with his husband's herbs.

Lydia and Parrish, banshee and hellhound, hearts beating in sync. Isaac, Ethan, Danny, and Jackson - three betas and one non-supernatural who'd all left at one point and returned home safely, their scents part of that unique McCall Pack smell. Malia, the lone source of the coyote smell in the Den. Brett, who'd gradually transitioned from Satomi's pack to his over the college years, and brought his sister Lori with him, their hearts beating similar tunes despite being on different floors. Naomi and Marshall, one fully integrated to the pack and the other still adjusting, still learning, but both their scents screaming McCall Pack.

WARNING: MENTION OF SELF-HARM IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH.

Satisfied that his entire pack was safe in the Den, the red faded entirely from Scott's eyes, but he didn't stop his wandering - which was, he admitted to himself, not wandering at all but guarding and marking his territory with each brush of his arm against the wall. There should have been more. As big a pack as they were, there should have been more. Allison, Aiden. Erica and Boyd. Deaton, of course, and… Scott hesitated, not wanting to go down that path. No matter how much the guilt had been relieved by pack members, it was still a dark road and one that, without fail, would send tendrils of pain carving their way down the pack bonds. The alpha breathed sharply, claws piercing his hands and the pain bringing him back to himself before he could think the name. The emotional pain, for the moment, pushed back by the physical.

Scott hurried through the Den, eased open the door, and bolted for the woods their home bordered. Within the safety of its trees, he dropped to all fours. A midnight run would, hopefully, clear his mind of past pains and future worries and burdens enough for him to get some sleep before his flight to Washington, D.C. in the morning.

"Don't go," Liam pleaded, panic and fear pulsing in his bond. Next to him, Hayden stood still, the same emotions emanating from her own bond, but eyes wide with understanding.

"They have to, Liam," she whispered, curling her fingers between his and squeezing.

"I'm not ready to… to… be you!" his first bitten beta cried.

Scott shook his head, smiling softly. "You'll be alpha eventually, and this practice run means you get to try it out with me coming back as a safety net. Besides, you won't actually be an alpha - you'll just be in command. And Stiles will still be here, and my mom and the Sheriff. And you have Hayden to support and advise you. Liam, you'll be fine. Besides, you've done stuff like this before."

"Not like this," Liam muttered, but still nodded shakily, his bond settling a little.

"Come here," the alpha commanded, opening his arms for a hug. The two betas gladly stepped into it, sighing as they felt his fingers run through their hair, curl around the backs of their necks, and finally squeeze tight around their bodies. They had watched him do it with their pack mates, and so had Derek, Kira, and Chris - instinct telling them to scent mark the ones they left behind more than they usually did, especially when they had no idea how long the trip would take.

Getting to D.C. wasn't the problem, as President Sandoval had sent a private plane. When they arrived, though, the press bombarded them the best they could considering the security surrounding them. All of them wanted to know why the president would go to such trouble for a group of people from Beacon Hills, California. All it took was one person recognizing him and Kira from the YouTube video the week before, and then the scene became more chaotic than it already was.

"Alpha McCall! Why did the president summon you to D.C.?"

"Alpha McCall! How could you leave the rest of your pack weakened without four of its top members? I thought pack protocol went against that."

"Werewolf! Are you here to defend your kind?"

"Alpha McCall! Has the president asked for the bite? Are you going to give it to her?"

"Alpha McCall! Is it true your bite has killed someone before?"

All the other questions, the sensory overload from the camera flashes and yelling, all that the pack could weather with little trouble. But at the last question, the pain that ripped through all the pack bonds from their alpha had Derek turning on the source, eyes blazing electric blue, fangs snapping in warning, a growl rumbling in his chest. The entire mass stilled, security unsure who they should defend and the reporters' eyes wide in fear. The spell broke when Scott stepped up to his beta, murmuring words so quiet only the 'wolves could hear them, and rested a hand on his shoulder. Security, assured that no one was about to be mauled, took the chance to push the reporters back - not that they were protesting much. Derek's eyes faded and his fangs vanished. Standing staunchly at his alpha's shoulder, mirrored on the other side by Kira and Chris, the four members of the McCall Pack made their way to the car waiting for them without further incident.

"Scott?" Kira murmured inside the car.

"Hmm?"

"Are you ok?"

"I will be. I have to be."

Derek, his anger closer to the surface ever since the world learned about werewolves and the omega was attacked and killed in prison, growled, "How did they even find out?"

"Medical reports?" Chris suggested. "His death was labeled as an animal attack, and it probably didn't take long for people to figure out most of those were actually supernatural. Taking into account the one bite, the fact he was found on McCall territory, and after Scott became an alpha… It wouldn't be hard to guess."

Scott nodded, mind flashing back unwillingly. His death. Dustin's death. A young boy, not even a teenager, out playing in the woods alone, unaware that another pack had made a move on the McCall Pack's territory and the preserve wasn't safe that night. He had, they guessed, heard the sound of fighting and, like all young kids that age, decided to investigate instead of running away. He'd run straight into the claws of a beta from the other pack fleeing the battle. Scott hadn't found him until after, when he'd bled too much to have a chance at the hospital and Scott… Scott had bitten him, hoping and praying that his youth and strength would turn him and save his life. They hadn't.

Like all other werewolf related things those days, the video went viral (though not as much as the picture of Alpha McCall shaking the president's hand on the steps of the White House did).

The next few weeks scraped by. Scott, as the True Alpha and Representative of Werewolf Packs in the United States, Kira, as his mate, Derek, as a born wolf, and Chris, as a hunter who found himself a member of a werewolf pack, found their days filled with explaining to and arguing with congressmen, Supreme Court justices, representatives of the House, and every other government official imaginable why, exactly, werewolves were people, deserved the same civil rights as everyone else, and did not need to be systematically hunted down and imprisoned, if not killed, by the United States Army. Most agreed with them, at least on some level, but there was always someone in the room who firmly believed they would eventually go to hell and there was no reason not to send them there early.

At the same time, Alpha McCall found himself fielding calls from 'wolves - omegas, betas, and alphas - across the country on issues, as well as calls from the Representatives of Werewolf Packs in other countries around the world to discuss what they needed to do (the formation of RPAW, Representatives of Packs Around the World, had been fairly quick). One of the first things they did was create and release "So Your Neighbor's a Werewolf" and "A Guide for Werewolves: How to Handle Your Entirely Non-Werewolf Neighbor's Issues With You". They may not have made much impact in resolving the riots, shootings, and maulings, but they did drastically decrease the number of calls and allowed the Representatives to focus on resolving those.

In the end, though, things didn't start calming down because of something RPAW did, but rather because of They Are Human Too, or TAHT. Their non-supernatural pack members, the McCall Pack members in D.C. learned, had not been sitting idly by (not that they thought they were, they just hadn't thought they were doing something quite this big). Led by Stiles and Melissa, TAHT had become immensely popular in Beacon Hills, quickly spread throughout California, and then went country and world-wide simultaneously, though slowly, with the non-supernatural members of other packs joining the charge. People who, for years, had been ignorant of the werewolf community only to find their families and best friends part of it, barely hesitated. With a movement to get behind, the people arguing werewolves were all monsters soon found themselves vastly outnumbered.

There would always be problems, they all knew that. Regardless of how many people accepted their werewolf friends, most remained at least a little wary. The Census of American Werewolves, with jail time if it was discovered you didn't reveal yourself, would likely pass. No one wanted unknown concealed claws and fangs any more than they did non-permitted concealed guns. Other laws meant only for werewolves would, over the coming months and years, be introduced as well. RPAW and TAHT would pick their battles carefully and fight the ones necessary. Some would pass anyway. Some wouldn't. For the moment, though, the McCall Pack - for the first time in two months - would be whole.

Note: You can find the complete series of “The Strength of the Wolf is the Pack” on AO3, and a list of all the fics’ summaries on Tumblr.

[eliehasmoved]

we’re the ones who made it out - teen wolf/thiam

Pairing/Characters: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt, Alec Word Count: 9350 Rating/Warning(s): Teen. Mild violence and swearing. Mentions of blood. Summary: You’d think spending Christmas and New Years cooped up in a safe house with his best friends, the new beta and a little girl would be the worst way to spend the holidays, but Liam’s okay with it, honestly. At least until the mistletoe incident that almost screws everything up.

A flash-forward written as a belated Christmas gift for the lovely @purplehoodiesandleatherjackets <3 also on ao3

There's something flickering in the distance, a faint blue and green that glows and pulses throughout the old shopping district they’re driving through. It’s late, very late, which means everyone’s safely tucked into their beds and the lights are out. Well, most of them, apparently. It makes Liam wary, and he grows tense the closer they get to their destination, running through all of the scenarios that could be the cause of it. His fingers drum a nervous beat on his thigh.

Theo obviously has his own concerns—he’s silent for once, and focused, grip so tight on the wheel his knuckles are turning white. They’re supposed to fly as far under the radar as possible while they’re here, looking into rumors that a few omegas had settled here two weeks ago, on the run from one of Monroe’s hunter cells. Argent had picked this place to hide in plain sight, in the thick of the shopping district, where they could come and go with a crowd. The only drawback was that it was directly above a Christmas store, apparently.

Despite that, nothing could have prepared them for the sight that greeted them when they finally turned the corner.

“Holy shit!” Liam exclaims, grin lighting up his face. “Did Rudolph throw up everywhere?”

Theo lets out an annoyed huff, hands tightening on the wheel. There’s Christmas lights everywhere, strewn all over the outside of the old brownstone they’d chosen as a safe house. It looked as though someone had simply dropped them there in a hurry—no rhyme or reason as far as they could tell, except to be as garish as possible. One string’s even dangling off the Holiday Shoppe sign out front, making it lopsided.

They may as well have hung a giant neon display that said “Hey, hunters, we’re right here! Look at us!”

“Did you have something to do with this?” Theo asks, voice tight as he pulls into the alley next to the townhouse. He undoes his seatbelt, gaze still fixed on the building in spite of the glare.

Liam snorts. “Please. I have some taste.”

The chimera gives him a sidelong look, mouth curling up in a half-smile, not saying a word. He doesn’t need to, not when the werewolf catches his look and rolls his eyes good-naturedly.

“Come on,” he says, unfastening his own seatbelt. “Guess we’d better go find out why the guys wanted our safe house seen from outer space.”

Theo follows close behind, still smiling to himself and content, apparently, to let Liam take the lead just this once. The beta wishes it were for something more important than scolding their friends about the definition of laying low, but he’ll take it. They take the side entrance in and find the culprit almost immediately—Alec’s in the middle of plugging in another set.

He smiles when he catches sight of them—or, well, Liam anyway—and straightens up, ignoring Theo the way that he usually does. There’s a slight tick to the chimera’s jaw. Liam thinks this is getting old.

“Nice decorations,” the taller man says mildly, forcing the younger wolf to acknowledge him. “Very...festive.”

Alec gives him a tight little smile before his attention switches back to Liam, and it widens, becoming far more genuine. “I thought the kid might like them.” He jerks his head towards Lea, who’s hovering in the doorway, eyeing Alec like he’s grown a second head.

The six-year-old doesn’t return his smile, but she certainly returns Theo’s as the chimera starts towards her with a grin. He reaches down, plucks her off her feet, and swings her up into his arms, rubbing his stubble against her face just to make her giggle and squirm. “Hey, short stuff!”

Liam watches them indulgently for a few moments, reminiscing.

Scott had shown up with her eight months ago, the same way he had Alec the year before. He and Derek had found her whole pack cut down in Montana after they’d spent weeks trying to find them before Monroe’s hunters did. She’d only survived because her mother had hidden her in a nearby lodge, sensing trouble had been coming.

He had originally hoped that his mother would adopt her, and while Melissa had been overjoyed at the prospect (despite the fact that she already had Alec under her roof), Lea had taken an immediate shine to Theo when he’d picked her and the Alpha up from the airport. And then she’d spent nearly the whole ride to Beacon Hills playing I, Spy with Liam after they’d picked him up from their apartment.

By the time the pack meeting had ended and they’d tried to leave, wanting to make it home before it was too late, she’d refused to be left behind. Liam had taken one look at her, small fingers wrapped tightly around Theo’s wrist, his green eyes glassy with tears as he saw someone else in her, and known they couldn’t leave her. So, after much deliberation, weighing whether or not the boys could support her while finishing their senior year at Berkeley and working part-time, they’d ended up with Lea instead.

If someone had told Liam at sixteen when he’d been bitten that by twenty-two he’d be adopting a six-year-old werewolf with the man who’d tried to manipulate his whole pack and kill his Alpha, he’d have checked them into Eichen. Hell, if all they’d done was tell him that he’d be best friends and roommates with said murderous chimera, and that they’d be sharing an apartment and attending the same college together for four years, he’d probably have laughed in their face and sent them on their way.

And yet, here they were. And despite the fact that they’d never planned on having a third person in their small, two-bedroom bachelor pad when they’d picked it, they’d made it work. They had fairly opposite class schedules, which meant that someone was almost always home with Lea. She helped Liam with his history presentations; she got to listen to him read off all the names of places and point them out on maps. But she particularly liked it whenever Theo had a biology project, because it usually meant they had arts and crafts time together.

Mason thought it was hilarious that the big, bad chimera had been reduced to a giant, soft teddy bear in the face of a little girl. It pulled all sorts of heartstrings for Liam, who had a pretty good idea of why his roommate had taken such a shine to her, and who she reminded him of.

But then, they all had. It’s exactly why she was here with them in Portland. Because none of them had been willing to leave her behind. Mrs. Geyer and Melissa had both been more than happy to take her when Scott had called asking for them to look into the omegas while he was overseas dealing with a Nemeton, but the light had gone out in Lea’s eyes when they’d told her they might be gone for Christmas. Her lower lip had begun trembling, and a single tear had made it to her eyes before they’d caved.

It was dangerous; they knew that. They were putting her life in danger by bringing her along, and Liam’s pretty sure Scott would have their heads when one wrong move in this city could bring hunters knocking at their door. But everyone’s spirits were higher with Lea around. Corey found immense joy in turning invisible for her, Mason doted on her constantly and called her his niece, and Alec… well, Alec was trying.

It’s then that Liam realizes the young wolf is still watching him, waiting for something.

“It’s uh… it’s nice,” he tells him, blinking awkwardly. “It’s a little bright, though?”

“What Dunbar’s trying to say,” Theo interrupts, placing Lea back on her feet, fingers tightening around her little ones as she slips her hand into his, “is that it’s the kind of thing that draws attention. Maybe the wrong kind of attention?”

Alec shrugs, his handsome face settling into faint lines of distaste. Liam wonders, sometimes, if he’s even aware of the expression on his face when he looks at Theo—always disgruntled, always a little bit offended by the chimera’s existence. He doubts it, somehow. He feels like the younger wolf would be better at controlling it if he did, but then, it’s not exactly like his distaste for Theo is a secret.

“It’s in character,” he says, waving a hand towards the front of the brownstone. The light leaking in through the windows is a putrid green. “We sell Christmas decorations, remember? That’s part of our front.”

It’s not, technically. Although Mason and Corey have both taken turns working in the shop as part of Argent’s safe house agreement, they don’t really have to. Keeping up appearances downstairs isn’t entirely crucial, but they’ve done it anyway, using chatter with customers as the best kind of recon.

There’s a slightly condescending tone in Alec’s voice, though, and Theo doesn’t miss it, sending him a glare over the top of Lea’s head as he crouches down beside her. For once, he stays blissfully silent, not pushing things further and goading Alec into a fight, the way he usually does. Liam’s grateful. He’s the Alpha when Scott’s not around, and with the chip on his shoulder, he thinks the other boy fancies himself his second, when he’s the furthest thing from it. It means that he typically gets incredibly pissy when Liam takes Theo’s side.

Which happens almost always.

“You ready for bed?” Theo asks the girl, and she nods, despite being obviously disappointed. She doesn’t argue, merely squeezes his hand.

“Will you read me a story?” She says, gaze flicking to Liam over her shoulder. “Since you’re back on time?”

“Sure, kiddo,” and now Theo’s looking at him over her head of curls. “Want to go brush your teeth and one of us will be with you in a minute?”

Lea grins, trotting off obediently, and Liam moves to follow her down the hall. He’s idly aware of Alec hard on his heels, but he ignores him in favor of exchanging a look with Theo as they fall into step with one another. He’s about to ask him which one of them has story duty tonight when he comes to a sudden stop, staring upwards. Slowly, he turns to give Alec a look of wide-eyed innocence that immediately puts Liam on guard.

“We sell mistletoe, too? Hm, I hadn’t realized that was part of our front.” There’s a twinkle of mischief in his eyes, as Alec stops, too. His tone is more than a little sarcastic as he presses on. “What with it being poisonous to us, and all.”

Alec’s expression is nonplussed, but when it slides Liam’s way, there’s something furtive in it that fills him with unease, triggers his flight instincts hard. He can feel his cheeks heat. Oh, no.

“Aw, man,” Theo continues. “You shouldn’t have. No, really, you shouldn’t.”

The younger wolf opens his mouth, maybe to argue or make some comment intended to put the chimera back in his place (as if he’d ever stay there), but Liam will never know which, because Theo isn’t finished yet. He never does unless he’s guaranteed the last word.

“But since you did…” Theo reaches out, grabbing a hold of Alec’s shirt front and jerking him forward before he can react. And then he presses his lips firmly to the werewolf’s, the corners curling up into a mischievous smirk. It lasts only a moment, but with the two clasped together barely a foot in front of him, Liam’s stomach does a strange sort of reversal. Something twists almost viciously at the sight, and his heart skips a single traitorous beat.

He’s not sure what it means, but doesn’t have the time to figure it out, because then Theo’s pulling away, staring straight down his nose at Alec. The look on his face is neutral, but his eyes are still glittering with amusement, just daring the younger wolf to say something.

His lips part, and for a split-second Liam thinks he might actually be that stupid. But then Alec clamps his mouth shut and shoots an embarrassed look his way, cheeks flushing.

“Merry Christmas,” Theo says lightly, patting Alec’s shoulder and turning to walk away before he could react. It means he misses the sudden furious colour that blooms across the beta’s face. Anger this time instead of embarrassment, Liam thinks.

He shrugs, offering him a ‘what are you going to do?’ half-smile before he turns to follow Theo, hurrying the first few steps to catch up to the older man.

The chimera shoots him a little sidelong look, mouth quirking up at the side in quiet amusement as he winks. “Someone has a crush,” he says, voice sing-song.

Liam snorts. “On you? Unlikely. He hates you. And that was mean, by the way. It’s just going to make his opinion of you worse.”

“Eh. He’s a big boy. And you know I don’t really give a shit what he thinks of me.”

“Well, I do,” Liam says, sighing. “I’m Alpha when Scott’s not around, which means I have to deal with it if my pack members don’t get along.”

“Good luck with that,” Theo gives him another sidelong look, this one longer and more searching. “I wasn’t talking about me, by the way. You know he’s got a major hard-on for you, right?”

Liam sputters, eyes wide as he throws a furtive glance behind them. Theo knows full well Alec can probably still hear them. “W-What? No, he doesn’t!” Liam hisses, dropping his voice to a whisper.

The chimera rolls his eyes. “Oblivious as always,” Theo mutters, and he sounds a little bitter. “You probably don’t think the mistletoe was for you, either, do you?”

Liam feels his cheeks heat again. “You’re imagining things.” But he knows he isn’t, because he saw the way Alec looked at him when they discovered the mistletoe. He feels his stomach twist unpleasantly with nerves at the memory.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure I’m not,” Theo says. “At least not if the awkward conversation I had with him yesterday while you and Corey were out on patrol is anything to go by.”

This isn’t remotely a conversation Liam’s interested in having, yet he still finds himself asking, “What kind of conversation?” His tone is wary, careful. Theo’s answering smirk sets off all kinds of alarms.

“Oh, you know. He wanted to know whether or not he’d be stepping on any toes if he made a move on you.”

Hang on, what? Liam’s eyes widen, his pulse icing and his heart skipping a beat. Theo breezes on, seemingly having not noticed, coming to a halt outside Lea’s room with a huff. His eyes roll skywards as he keeps speaking, a strange edge to his voice.

“As if he’d really give a fuck if he was. It sure as hell wouldn’t stop him.”

Liam’s pretty sure he resembles a fish with his mouth agape, but he doesn’t care. He’s far too busy processing the chimera’s words, repeating them on a loop in his head as if that’s going to cause them to make any kind of sense. Wrapping his head around Alec having a crush on him is difficult enough, though it does explain the innapropriate level of hero-worship the younger wolf has for him, but then he gets hung up on the rest.

Why had he gone to Theo to ask permission?

Liam makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat.

Why had he thought he needed permission? From Theo?

Sure, they lived together, but they’d done that for convenience when they’d chosen to attend the same university. They’d decided it would be far better than trying to find a roommate and explaining away their strange behavior once a month. Or more, if their penchant for troubled decided to follow them from Beacon Hills. And it made more sense than trying to adjust to someone else’s habits, when they’d already been used to one another, considering his parents had taken Theo in after the hunter war.

And okay, they spent the majority of their free time together, but they were best friends. Maybe not the way he and Mason were, but still. They liked the same movies, played the same games. They’d grown together after the war, Theo teaching him how to handle his anger, and Liam helping him in turn with his nightmares. And they made a good team, which meant they often paired off together for missions, like tonight. (Although, he wouldn’t necessarily call last minute Christmas shopping a mission.)

And then, of course, there was the Lea situation. They were, for all intents and purposes, raising a child together. A werewolf child. Who’d more or less chosen them by the force of her large, brown eyes and adorable pigtails.

Liam blinks.

He knows it’s silly. Theo clearly thinks it’s ridiculous. Mason and Corey would find it hilarious. But he supposes that from an outside perspective, of someone who doesn’t see them outside of monthly pack meetings, like Alec…

He gets how it might look.

“Um,” Liam says finally, returning to the present with his revelation. “And what did you tell him?” He’s already in this deep, so he figures he may as well ask.

Theo shrugs, but he gives Liam a peculiar little smile, one that’s harder around the edges than his normal ones and doesn’t reach his eyes. “Told him I had no claim on your affections. And that I was looking forward to watching him crash and burn.”

That much he can believe. Theo’s incredibly good at being an asshole when he wants to be, and clearly, that’s the mood he’s in tonight. His next words confirm it. “Still. Mistletoe? Fuck, is that really the best move?”

Liam’s brain helpfully supplies the earlier image of him swooping in to kiss the younger wolf, and he pulls a face. He tries very hard not to let the swell of bitterness—or disappointment—show. He has no reason for either, and he’s still not quite sure how he feels around the kiss. He thinks, maybe, that it’s jealousy. At least, the bitterness.

After all, it’s been so fucking long since he’s been kissed—really kissed—that he barely remembers what it feels like.

He’s dated, since Hayden. He hasn’t loved, not like her, but he’s gone out on dates. He’s seen people for extended periods of time, intimately. But he’s never tied himself down to someone for more than a few months, much to his mother’s chagrin. He just hasn’t found anyone to keep his attention focused. And he stopped bothering, after Lea. Between school, the kid, and being the Alpha whenever Scott is off saving the world or other supernaturals, well…He just hasn’t had the time or energy.

The disappointment, though, is surprising. And unwarranted.

Theo said it. He has no claim on his affections, and vice versa. He isn’t allowed be disappointed about that, he thinks. It’s not like it’s news—if he’d been interested, he’d have made a move before now. He’d certainly made plenty over the years they’d lived together whenever they went out with Mason and Corey, though he’d always been polite and never brought them home with him.

And if Liam’s thought, once or twice, about wanting moves to be made, well, that’s his business.

“It’s still an asshole move,” the beta says mildly, bringing himself back to the conversation and hiding how much it stings.

“Funny, though,” Theo snickers.

So Liam changes the subject. “Do you want storytelling duty, or…,” he lowers his voice, making sure that Lea can’t hear him from her bedroom. “P-R-E-S—”

“She can spell, you know?”

He shoots Theo an irritated look, and the chimera grins back at him, lighter this time, the edge gone from his eyes, as though it had never been there. “I’ll get stuff out of the truck, you do story time. Deal?”

“Deal. As long as you start wrapping them, too. I have a feeling that story time,” he makes little air quotes with his fingers, the same way he’s seen Theo do a hundred times before, “might last, oh, at least as long as it’s going to take to wrap those suckers.”

Theo’s eyes narrow into a halfhearted glare. “Now who’s being mean?”

Liam hums a little in answer, knowing he has the chimera just where he wants him as he slips into Lea’s room and beyond his reach.

——

Lea wakes them up first, slipping into the room at the crack of dawn and padding over to the bed he’d elected to share with Theo when they’d arrived to discover the safe house had a total of four. Mason and Corey had claimed the one off the computer room immediately, and they’d wanted Lea to have her own, so it had been normal that they’d ended up together. He certainly hadn’t been about to share with Alec, but he realizes, somewhere in the back of his mind, that this is probably another strange thing about their friendship he could’ve read the wrong way.

The little girl crawls up onto the bed and throws herself unceremoniously onto Theo’s back first, who wheezes out a breath as she knocks the wind from him. Giggling, she rolls off him and onto Liam, tapping her fingers against his chest as he smiles down at her. “Merry Christmas!” she shouts, and he watches Theo wince at the volume.

The chimera grunts, pulling the pillow over his head.

“Lea,” Liam says patiently, and she beams at him. “You know Theo’s a Grinch before his morning coffee, right?”

She nods, and there’s a mischievous twinkle in her eyes that’s all too familiar. He can’t help but laugh. “C’mon, why don’t we go make him some?” He slides out of bed, dragging her with him, dangling her feet off the ground a moment before he sets her down. “I’ll start the machine, and you can do the honors of getting everyone else, yeah?”

“Okay!” She grins, then zips out of the room at inhuman speed.

“Thanks,” Theo mumbles from the bed, voice muffled.

Liam smiles and slips from the room, throwing over his shoulder: “If you’re not up by the time she’s done, I’m sending her back in here.”

He cackles at Theo’s petulant groan.

An hour later and the whole safe house is up and abuzz. Corey’s playing with Lea in the other room, Alec’s in the shower, and Liam is sipping his morning coffee, going over the folders of the omegas they’re looking for. Mason and Theo (who is now a functional being after guzzling a cup of coffee) are making breakfast together in the kitchen. While the human whips up pancakes and fruit dishes, the chimera focuses on the meat and eggs—a strange complimentary dance they’d discovered one morning after Mason and Corey had come to spend a weekend at their place.

It’s incredibly domestic, their little set up, and Liam can’t help but smile at the sight of everyone working in tandem. He’d been worried about spending Christmas away from his family for the first time in twenty-two years, but he more or less realizes, looking at all of them, that he brought his family with him, instead.

There’s Christmas music playing out of Mason’s laptop and he’s singing along, bobbing his head, while at the stove, Theo’s dancing. Something in Liam’s chest tightens, a little flutter around his heart, and he tears his eyes away just in time to see Alec arrive in the doorway, damp hair low around his eyes. His face reddens when he spots the older beta.

“Good morning,” Liam says, and he knows from the look Theo shoots him from the stove that there’s probably something off about it. He ignores him. “Did you sleep okay?”

He knows the younger wolf has trouble sometimes in unfamiliar environments. It had taken him weeks before he’d started sleeping properly at the McCall residence, a side effect of being on the run. Alec makes a face at him. “It was alright.” He glances furtively into the other room, where there’s a loud thump, following by a small giggle. “Is breakfast almost ready? I think she’s getting antsy.”

Despite that, Lea’s as good as gold. She waits patiently for them to be ready after breakfast, barely needing the hot chocolate with whipped cream that Theo made her to keep quiet. She sits on the sofa in the living room, feet kicking back against the couch, eyes glued to the presents under the tree. She’s careful with her hot chocolate, sipping at it gingerly, having taken Liam’s request about not spilling any to heart.

They’d decided on presents, him and Theo, because they weren’t sure what her Christmas had been like, before. The other boys had been more than fine with it, and Mason said they’d planned on bringing their gifts along anyway. They didn’t know what sort of traditions she had with her family in Montana, if that was even where she was originally from, but they hadn’t wanted to ask her either. Or do anything that could bring up bad memories.

Argent would probably be pissed they’d used some of the mission funds on gifts, but one look at her huge, round eyes and excited face when she’d opened the first gift, a pair of ridiculous, fluffy wolf slippers Liam had fallen in love with and they’d known it was worth it.

It had warmed Liam’s heart to watch the way her face had lit up when she’d unwrapped the soft, stuffed coyote Theo had chosen for her, or her pleased smile when she’d carefully opened the covers of the illustrated Disney books Mason and Corey had contributed to her large Christmas haul. They’d probably all spoiled her, but none of them really cared.

Alec gives them all knitted sweaters he’d worked on with Melissa. From Mason he gets an autobiography from his favourite historian, while Theo gets a new cookbook. Corey gifts them both with a beautiful photo album filled with pictures he’s taken of Lea and their adventures since she came into their lives. Liam’s favourite is a photograph of her sitting on Theo’s shoulders the day they’d taken her to the San Diego zoo. It displays Corey’s artistic talent beautifully, and Liam’s never been happier that he chose to follow his creative passion at UCLA.

And Theo, well…

Maybe he just loses track. Maybe, with all the exchanges, he just forgets. But by the end of the morning, Liam is one gift short, having received a great big nothing from the chimera. He doesn’t say anything, doesn’t even know why it bothers him anyway, and then Lea’s climbing into his lap to ooh and ahh at the pictures of them he ends up distracted.

But there’s an ache in his chest that serves as a pretty obvious reminder.

Christmas is a success overall, at least as far as Liam can tell. Enough so that he loosens up enough to smile at Alec during dinner when he takes the time to talk to Lea one on one. So what if he takes it as encouragement? He’ll deal with it if he does.

It isn’t like Theo’s interested anyway.

——

They find the omegas four days later.

One’s dead, but two are holed up in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Mason gets a hit on an old security camera, and they’re up and out of the brownstone in minutes. The human stays behind with Lea, who looks none too pleased to see them gear up and head out towards danger. Liam presses a kiss to her forehead on the way to the door, promising they’ll be safe, and be back before she’s even started to miss them.

He’s half right, in any case. It doesn’t take them long to find the two wolves, and to convince them that they’re there to help. They’ve heard about Scott McCall and his pack’s efforts to save and protect people from Monroe. They just didn’t think they’d ever need it, but they’re immensely grateful.

They’re on their way to the truck when the gunfire starts.

Liam curses, and feels heat at his back as a body covers his. He hears Theo grunt, and he glances up to see the flash of pain across his face. “Did you just—?”

“I’m fine,” the chimera snaps, but a moment later he cries out, and blood sprays from his shoulder.

Liam curses, and panic strikes at his heart. His hands come up to push at the chimera, herding him back into the warehouse as his pulse thunders in his ears. Alec rolls in behind them with one of the omegas, and then Corey rematerializes across the doorway with the second one. “Anybody hurt?” Liam calls to them.

The omega with Corey raises a hand, and Alec grounds out: “I got clipped.”

“Bad?”

“No.”

“Then watch the door,” he orders, and the younger wolf moves forward to do that. He focuses on Theo then, searching his face as the chimera lets out gasping little sounds, pale and etched with pain. His green eyes are panicked when they meet Liam’s, and it sends a wave of fear surging through him. “Where—”

His hands find it immediately, pressing into the sticky warmth of blood near Theo’s ribs. A breath wheezes out of him at the contact, and Liam has to resist getting angry at his carelessness. “The bullet was meant for me.” And Theo got in the fucking way, like he always does.

“Was it?” Theo smirks, but it’s pulled tight at one corner with pain. “Hadn’t noticed.”

“I heal faster than you—I could’ve taken it,” Liam says, even though he knows it’s pointless. They’ve had this argument a hundred times, and it always ends the same.

“Not when it’s wolfsbane.” Theo’s voice is level despite the way he seems to be fighting for breath. He looks down, fingers sliding over Liam’s where the shorter wolf is applying pressure to the wound. He scrambles for purchase, and then squeezes the werewolf’s fingers hard, like he’s trying to pull him closer and can’t quite manage it. Something sparks through Liam at the touch.

His unbloodied hand comes up to touch at Theo’s cheek, stroking his skin with his thumb. “You’re a fucking idiot,” he says, but there’s less bite to it than he intends. He’ll have time to be angry, later. Right now, he can hear boots thundering against the pavement outside, moving closer, and that means he needs to keep his head. “You need help digging it out?”

“No,” he huffs. “Kick their asses.”

So he does. He exchanges one look with Alec as he sidles up next to him, and glances across the warehouse to nod at Corey, and then they move.

He channels every ounce of anger and fear into his fists and claws as he assaults the hunters, dropping them like flies. The omega that isn’t injured joins in, but really, he doesn’t need to. When he’s this angry, this scared about one of his own, Liam’s a wrecking ball with a singular purpose: protect. Monroe’s hunters know this—it’s why the first shooter had gone for him.

It’s why Theo had taken not one, but two bullets for him.

Lea’s going to be pissed when they get back to the safe house.

——-

By the time New Years rolls around, Liam’s exhausted.

He’s slept very little since the warehouse fight a day and a half prior. Everything had been a blur after Theo had gotten shot. He’d placed calls to Argent and Scott to figure out how to deal with the hunters, and where the omegas would go. Those he remembers.

But the aftermath in which they’d returned to the safe house, with a semi-conscious and bleeding Theo draped over his shoulder, well, most of that’s just a flurry of colours and sounds and panic. The problem with the chimera being the one to get shot and subsequently lose enough blood to pass out was that he was a Biology major. Which meant that on most missions, he was their fucking medic.

So Liam spends a fair amount of time pacing their room, on the phone with Deaton, growling and snapping at anyone that dares step foot inside. Except Lea, of course, who stays curled up at Theo’s side, refusing to move. Tears stain her cheeks, but she stays quiet, drifting in and out sleep with the chimera.

He’s as white as the sheets he’s laying on, and a fever causes sweat to glisten against his skin in the early hours of the morning. He’d gotten the bullet out of his ribs at the warehouse, but the one in his shoulder had remained until they’d made it back here, meaning that some of the wolfsbane had gotten into his system. Not enough to kill him, but enough to make him sick. And certainly enough to make Liam worry.

He knows he’s being ridiculous, this isn’t the first time one of them has had a close call like this, and knowing how they throw themselves into danger for one another, it definitely won’t be the last. Liam thinks back to that day in the elevator, all those years ago, two reluctant sort-of friends and allies promising that they weren’t going to die for each other.

He wonders if that’s when he started lying to himself about his feelings for the chimera, or if it came later, with the realization that the volatile boy had become his anchor. He isn’t sure, but he’s not doing it anymore. There’d been real fear in his eyes when he’d gotten shot, and that’s an image Liam just can’t shake. Because he’d felt it, a visceral panic at the thought of something happening to Theo.

At the thought of their apartment, with his history books strewn about and Theo’s neater, organized textbooks (because he was surprisingly tidy for someone who’d grown up in the sewers and lived in his truck), suddenly being emptier. At the prospect of no longer waking up to the smell of pancakes on Sunday mornings, or being able to see the bright smile he reserves solely for Lea, that dimples his cheeks handsomely. Or the one that only surfaces when they’re alone, that twinkles in his eyes and that Liam knows is just for him.

He thinks of Theo’s earthy scent, and the way it’s calmed him down from many an anger episode. Of the way he styles his hair messily when it grows too long, and favors shades of grey or black, but owns this one green sweater Liam’s mother gave him his first Christmas with them that brightens his eyes. Of the way he hasn’t kept a partner for more than a few months, because none of them could ever measure up.

Of the way that he has loved since Hayden, after all. It’s just taken him some time to realize it, to see it written there, clear as day, a neon thread running through their last few years together. To say it, in the dark, quiet of the room when both other occupants are asleep.

It’s the reason panic keeps a vice-like grip around his heart until Theo’s fever breaks late morning on New Year’s Eve. By the time his breathing evens out, Liam feels confident that the worst has passed, leaving him tired, a little ripe, and with a head swimming full of emotions he’s only just figured out.

He drags his sorry carcass from the room, headed for the coffee maker in the kitchen. He’s almost there when a little gasp to his left tells him he’s not alone. His gaze flickers there to find Mason seated at the kitchen table, the omega files spread out before him.

“How is he?” he asks after a moment.

“Out of the woods, I think,” Liam sighs, and it sounds so damn heavy. “Not well enough for me to kick his ass yet, but he’s getting there.”

“Liam.” He’s got that look in his eyes like he’s itching to give out unsolicited advice.

“I don’t want to hear it, Mase.” He chugs back the lukewarm cup, wiping at his mouth with his sleeve when he’s finished. “Where are the others?”

“One of Argent’s guys came by to pick up the omegas already, so Alec and Corey are down in the shop.” Mason motions to the paperwork around him. “I’m just finishing up a brief to send to Scott.”

“Thanks,” Liam winces, because that’s meant to be his job.

Mason shrugs. “You were busy. I figured with it out of the way, we could enjoy our last night here, instead of worrying. We don’t have to clear out of here until late afternoon tomorrow.”

He grins at his best friend. “Is that your less than subtle way of hinting we should take the night off?”

“I don’t hint,” The human laughs, and it’s full of delight. “I mean, it’s New Year’s Eve. We won this time. Your personal bullet magnet lived to fight another day. What’s not to celebrate?”

It brings something of a smile to Liam’s lips. “Yeah. We could do with a fun night.”

“Good.” There’s a mischievous glint to Mason’s eyes. “Because Corey’s actually on a liquor run, not downstairs.”

“Thank fuck,” a voice says, sounding thrilled, and the two men look up to see Theo standing there, hip cocked against the doorframe. Lea’s pressed against his left side, blinking blearily at them, hair falling out of her ponytail. “Best plan to wake up to.”

Liam’s eyes narrow into a frown. “You can’t get drunk.”

“There’s still wolfsbane in my system, that is definitely something I can do,” Theo smirks. He ducks his shoulders slightly, and his cheeks flush. “If that’s alright with you, boss?”

Liam blinks at him. Something flares in his chest at the submissive gesture, something low in his belly that wars with the gentle urge to step up and ruffle his sleep-rumpled hair. He shrugs it off. “As long as you don’t expect me to hold your hair back.”

Theo and Mason exchange grins.

——

Apparently, it wasn’t just Theo that planned on getting drunk now that the chance had arrived. Mason had brought wolfsbane for everyone that wasn’t him. Just enough to mix in with the booze his boyfriend had picked up and give them all a good buzz. He says it’s because Alec’s never experienced it, and if the kid’s going to try it, New Year’s Eve is the perfect time.

Liam figures there’s no harm, at least until the younger wolf corners him in the kitchen when he’s getting another drink.

“Hey,” he says, shuffling awkwardly in the doorway.

Liam offers him a tight smile. “Hi.”

“You seem to be in a better mood,” Alec says, and the older beta realizes from the way his lips curve at the corner that he’s trying to joke. He winces at the implication.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Liam grumbles into his cup. “I know I snapped at all of you, and I shouldn’t have done that. I’m supposed to be in charge—I’m supposed to keep my cool.”

“Yeah, well, it’s a little hard when Theo throws himself into shit like that,” he shrugs, but Liam can hear the sharp tone.

“This isn’t about him,” Liam frowns. That’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told.

“Ah,” Alec says. “I guess Theo isn’t quite as special as I thought.”

He bites down the instinct to bristle at that, putting on his best imitation of Scott’s patient, serene face. “I would have been upset if any of you had been that careless, that reckless. I don’t like it when other people put themselves in danger for me. That’s not the kind of leader I want to be.”

Alec straightens up, smiling brightly at him. “For what it’s worth, you’re a great Alpha. I’m glad to have you.”

Liam shakes his head, suppressing the awkward tightness in his chest with a laugh. “Alec, I’m not an Alpha yet.”

“But you will be, one day. And I’ll be right there with you.” He had a nice, supportive smile, something warm and human in it. It just… wasn’t the smile Liam was used to, or the one that made him want to smile back.

“Look, Alec…” He pulls a face, because this is so not how he pictured having this conversation with the younger wolf, but realizing he sort of needs to. Especially if he’s going to have the other conversation he needs to have, after this. “I’m sorry. I’m not interested in you like that.”

“What?” Alec blinks, back to shuffling his feet awkwardly and staring in his cup. “What gave you the impression that I was interested in you like that?”

Liam fights the flush that wants to rise in his face, clearing his throat and drawing Alec’s gaze back up to his. He forces the humiliation from his face from sheer effort.

He’s going to kill Theo if this whole thing was his idea of a joke.

“You did,” Liam says quietly, firmly. “Maybe I misread you, but that would also mean you didn’t talk to Theo about me. Am I wrong about that, too?”

“He told you, huh?” He ducks his head guiltily.

“He told me that you asked if you’d be stepping on his toes, yes.” It’s difficult to keep the irritation from his voice, to hold back on pointing out that no one but him got a say in his own romantic life. “You’d probably have been better off asking me that question, though.”

Alec nods, mouth curling up in a rueful smile. “I’ll bear that in mind. He let me know that you were… available. Of course, he also told me that he’d break my face if I tried anything, which didn’t really give me the free agent vibe.”

Liam stays silent, but there’s a tick to his jaw, and his eyes flicker past Alec’s head at the sound of Theo’s laugh drifting from the other room, deep and hearty.

“Guess I wasn’t wrong about that.” Liam watches the light in his eyes dim. “Well,” he says, dragging out the word as he raises the cup to his lips. “It was worth a shot, Liam. You were, I mean.”

“Uh, thanks. I think?”

“It’s a compliment,” Alec confirms, backing away. His voice remains low as he says, almost wistfully: “You should probably tell him, y’know. Start the New Year as you mean to go on.”

Liam blinks. “What?”

“It’s something my mom used to say. I think it’s the same as starting off on the right foot, but it always sounded better when she said it.”

Liam watches him walk away, frowning as he mulls over the words.

He makes a decision a few heartbeats later, following him back out into the hall. He disappears into a room, and the click a moment after tells Liam he’s retired to his bedroom for the night. In the living room, Lea’s curled up on the couch between Mason and Corey, her new bunny clutched to her chest and fast sleep. Theo’s nowhere in sight.

“How’s she doing?”

“She’s fine,” Corey says, smiling fondly down at the little wolf. “Just a bit overtired, I think.”

Mason straightens the blanket draped over the three of them, careful not to spill the cup in his other hand. “She wanted to wait up to see the New Year in, but I don’t think she’ll make it.”

Liam nods, reaching out to stroke a hand over Lea’s soft, dark curls. “If she doesn’t wake up on her own, we’ll put her to bed.” He chews his bottom lip, the only outward sign of his nerves. “Have you seen—”

“He went up to the roof,” Mason says, and Liam doesn’t miss the knowing smile that stretches across his lips. “You should probably go find him.”

“We’ll watch her,” Corey adds with a grin, and Liam thinks they definitely know something he doesn’t.

He narrows his eyes at them, but doesn’t ask anything more, nodding his thanks as he turns away. Liam snags the bottle of vodka from the counter as he passes the kitchen, glancing at the clock. Lea had been close; the minutes to midnight are ticking down fast, and he’ll be damned if he’s going to see it in without a drink in his hand to toast it on its way. He takes the stairs at the end of the hall leading up to the flat roof.

When he toes the door open at the top, he spots Theo right away, leaning against the railing and staring out over the distant city. He’s brought one of the camping lanterns from the gear room up with him, and it’s set on the small bistro table, throwing off warmth but not much in the way of light, at least not from a distance. There’s enough to see Theo, the fluid lines of his body, the relaxed set to his shoulders, and the sleeping bag and pillow tucked into one chair.

“Hey.”

He turns at the sound of Liam’s voice, giving him a pleased little smile as he joins him. “Hi,” he says. “Thought I’d try and make it a bit cosy up here in case half-pint wanted to watch the fireworks.”

“She’s asleep,” Liam says, smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Fireworks?”

His face screws up in momentary disappointment before it smooths out again. “Yeah. City’s putting on a show at midnight, down by the river, but we should be able to see them from here.” He nudges Liam slightly with one shoulder. “Want to see the fireworks, Dunbar?”

“Sure,” Liam shrugs, watching the profile of Theo’s face for a moment as he turns to stare back out over the city. “I’m avoiding Alec anyway.”

Theo snorts, but Liam doesn’t miss the way his lips tighten at the name. He isn’t able to tell from his voice, though, which stays light and even. “Why? Is he after a New Year’s kiss? Hasn’t learned his lesson?”

“You could always teach it to him again, I suppose.”

He snorts again, more genuinely this time. “Once was enough, thanks. I can think of, oh, at least half a dozen people I’d rather kiss than him.”

It strikes him right in the chest, like a gut punch that knocks the air from him. Liam does miss the bitter tone to his own voice. “That many, huh?”

Theo’s eyes find his, then darken slightly as he watches the shorter wolf intently. “Maybe just one.”

Liam takes a swig from the bottle in response, trying to stop the way his heart starts beating a little faster at the look. “Well, maybe I’m keeping my options open. After all, what was it you said? Alec wouldn’t be treading on your toes?”

Theo’s voice stays even, while the light from the lantern dances across his face. “No, I said I had no claim on you. If we’re being accurate.”

“Really?” Liam takes another swig, feeling the burn of wolfsbane and courage right down to his stomach. “I thought—since we’re being accurate—you said you’d punch him in the face if he tried.”

“I told him I’d break his face, Liam,” Theo says, eyes glittering with genuine amusement. “I don’t think I specified the body part I’d use. Since we’re doing the whole accuracy thing.”

He’s unbelievable, sometimes, even if he is nearly as funny as he seems to think he is.

Liam opens his mouth, ready to tell him that he’s figured it out—how he feels, what Theo means to him—when the chimera drops something into his hand. Frowning, Liam looks down to see a small, black box, roughly the size of his palm.

His throat dries up.

“Relax, it’s not what it looks like! Jeez,” Theo barks out a laugh, loud and full of life. He reaches out, plucking the bottle of vodka from Liam’s other hand, his fingers brushing against the shorter boy’s. It warms Liam’s insides, and he ducks his head, smiling slightly.

He opens it to find a watch. The face is made of dark, tungsten steel, and Liam can see a leather strap disappearing into the inside of the box.

“I didn’t forget your gift, you know,” Theo says, clearing his throat with a cough. His voice sounds strangely light, and if Liam’s not mistaken, there’s colour dusting his cheeks. The chimera’s not looking at him. “I just… wasn’t sure it was appropriate to give this to you, in front of the others. In front of the new kid, in any case.”

“It’s a watch,” Liam stares, dumbly.

“Very astute observation.” He takes a swig of the vodka, smirking. “Might want to dig a little deeper.”

His brow knit together into a frown, but Liam plucks the watch from the box, letting it drop into Theo’s hand as he reaches for it. Carefully, he turns it over, examining every inch. The leather smells good, really good, which means it’s real. And probably expensive. He goes to turn it back, to admire the watch face itself, when it catches in the light at just the right angle for him to see it. There’s an engraving on the bottom.

“Until the end of time,” Liam reads out loud. He frowns, looking up at Theo. “I’m confused.”

“There was a card, originally,” Theo says, setting the box and the vodka down on the table. It frees up his hands, and he cards one through his hair, mussing it. “With a number on it. 1460 days. It doesn’t make much sense now, given that it’s not Christmas.”

“What’s 1460 days?”

“The amount of days since I realized I was in love with you.”

Liam’s shoulders lock up, the breath whooshing out of him in a nervous little laugh. He doesn’t see a single hint of mischief in Theo’s eyes, only raw, brutal honesty. And fear. “What?” he squeaks, a small voice the only thing he can manage.

Theo’s lips turn up softly into a smile that dimples the way Liam likes, pulling at the scruff on his face. It’s warm, and a little nervous. “Our first Christmas at the apartment together. You woke me up at the crack of dawn to show me that you’d decorated everything, and stayed up all night wrapping.”

Liam remembers. They hadn’t been going to, originally. They were supposed to go to his parents, like the year before when they’d been living there. But his dad had gotten called into work for an emergency surgery, and his mom had chosen to drop by her office and settle a social case to ensure the kid involved had a roof over his head on Christmas. And, well, Liam hadn’t wanted it to ruin things for them. “I’d wanted you to have a good Christmas. You’d had so many bad ones over the years that I couldn’t bear the thought of another one going wrong.”

“I was so angry you’d woken me and tried to thrust Christmas cheer on me before I’d had caffeine, but the second I saw the way your eyes lit up like the lights you’d strung around the apartment, it evaporated. I didn’t care, as long as you kept smiling.” He gives Liam a searching look. “Do you remember what you got me that year?”

Liam nods, not missing a beat. “A piece of Kira’s sword.” His voice is barely above a whisper as he speaks, breathless. “I’d meant to do the year before, that first Christmas, but I wanted to ask her, first. And she didn’t come back until the spring.”

Theo chuckles, and hs breath ghosts over the tip of Liam’s nose. “Scott had already told me I was pack by then, and you’d said it more than enough times but… To be given a piece of it, the thing that could send me back down there, to her… I’d never felt more accepted than in that moment.” His voice breaks, slightly, and Liam’s fingers twitch around the watch in his hands like he wants to reach out. “It meant everything to me, and I realized you did, too.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Theo shrugs. “It wasn’t the right time. You were seeing that guy, from your psych class? And, honestly, I wasn’t sure it ever would be. Right right time, I mean. I wasn’t sure if you’d ever—” His eyes flicker away from Liam, then back, and the beta catches a whiff of uncertainty, of fear. “I’m a very hard person to love, Liam.”

This time, the werewolf reaches out, fingers catching Theo’s as he tries to pull away and lacing them together. He squeezes. “You’re not. It just—took me awhile to realize.”

Theo huffs out a laugh, and the corner of his mouth tilts upwards. It looks less wounded than before, but still fairly self-deprecating. “Had to explore all your options, right?”

His fingers grip the chimera’s tighter, and he shuffles closer, knees knocking against Theo’s. “There hasn’t been another option in years, Theo. Not really.”

The smile softens into something more genuine. “I know,” he breathes. “There hasn’t been for me, either. Not for 1460 days, and—”

Until the end of time.

The meaning clicks. Liam opens his mouth to respond, to say the words he still hasn’t, when the dull sound of a cheer echoes from below and the sky to the east of them lights up with blue and red and gold.

The firework display draws his attention for a moment, and when he turns back, Theo’s eyes are warm in the lantern light, his hair shaded with the colours exploding overhead. “Happy New Year, Liam. Hope it’s better than the last.”

He grips the watch in one hand, and Theo’s hand in the other, and grins. “Happy New Year,” he parrots back, eyes searching the chimera’s face, memorizing the shadows and the curves, the shape of his nose and the angles of his cheekbones. It’s familiar and yet new, somehow, as though he’s never seen him before but still knows him on a deep, instinctual level.

When Theo leans in, Liam meets him halfway. His free hand comes up to cup the shorter man’s cheek, a gentle pressure that has him tilting his head, letting him deepen the kiss.

Liam presses closer, sliding out of Theo’s fingers to mirror his move, capturing the chimera’s face as his lips parted, letting him in. His mouth moved slowly over Liam’s, sending heat racing through him as he wrapped his liberated arm around his waist, pulling him closer.

Eventually, he broke away to look down at him, staying close enough for his breath to brush against Liam’s skin, warm and certain. “Well, this year is looking up already.”

The beta’s heart swells, threatening to burst with emotion as he watches fireworks flicker in the light of Theo’s eyes. “I love you too, you know,” he whispers, grinning. “I just thought I’d say it. To be sure.”

“That you felt it?” Theo arches a brow.

“That you knew.”

“Don’t worry, kid,” Theo says, kissing the tick in his jaw at use of the nickname. “I know. A little birdie told me.”

It’s Liam’s turn to arch an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Lea heard you curse it at me, apparently.”

Colour floods Liam’s cheeks. I love you, you fucking idiot, so wake up any second now so I can tell it to your face. And then punch you. In whichever order is fitting.

“Oh,” Liam says, ears burning. “She heard me.”

“She did,” Theo smirks.

And then he closes the gap between them again, pressing his mouth against Liam’s, soft and sweet. The beta slides his hand around his neck, holding him there, kissing him back again and again, taking his time with each achingly slow kiss until he could feel the warmth of Theo’s touch in every part of him and he—finally—relaxes completely against him.

This time when he pulls back, the warmth in his eyes, the light there, rivalled any amount of Christmas cheer.

“Happy New Year, Liam.”

It was going to be.

[formerprincess]

A tale written with fangs and claws || Chapter 18

Chapters: 18/? Fandom: Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken Characters: Liam Dunbar, Theo Raeken Additional Tags: Alpha Liam Dunbar, Slow Build, Friends to Lovers, Dunbar Pack, Bisexual Liam Dunbar, Werewolf Theo Raeken, Alpha Theo Raeken, Canon-Typical Violence, Smut Series: Part 1 of Morning Dew Pack

The whole pack is in for an emotional rollercoaster this time. 

Liam closed the front door to the pack house behind himself and sighed. It was warm inside the house, he heard the crackle of a fire and felt the warmth and he heard his pack talk in the living room. He took off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack and tied off his shoes before wandering into the living room. The fire was lit in the fireplace, Sadie and Tim were playing chess by the window, Mike, Ever, Maya and Nolan watched TV, and Theo was in one of the chairs and read. They all looked at their Alpha and smiled when he walked in and Liam smiled back. Tim noticed the package the nineteen-year-old was holding in his hand.

“Liam, what’s that?”

Now the others got curious too as Liam walked over and dropped down on the armrest of Theo’s chair. The chimera put his book aside and smiled up at his boyfriend, arm resting on Liam’s upper leg. He was just as curious as the others to see what was in the small package Liam held wrapped with brown paper with colorful prints on it. Liam opened it and retrieved two small sacks, one in bright red and one in a bright blue color. He handed the red sack to Mike and the blue one to Tim and both looked perplexed. The rest of the pack chuckled happily. Mike frowned and played with the little sack. “Liam, what’s this here?”

“Our necklaces!” Maya explained and pulled out her own from under her shirt. “We all have one and they were all in such small sacks.” “I thought this was something you got done for yourselves. As a pack thing.” “Yeah but you’re part of the pack too and it was only a matter of time before you got ones yourself from the pack at the lake.” Theo said calmly.  Mike still looked baffled something would actually give him something. “So is this some kind of pack pledging or something? Do I need to do something?” “You need to listen.” Liam cut in and unfolded the letter that came with the necklaces. 

Mike and Tim,

our fellow pack mates already got their gifts when their pack bound grew stronger after defeating a threat and you didn’t even think about becoming a part of a wolf pack. But times change, here you are now and we are just as happy to welcome you to our family as they were. Being freshly bitten is never easy but we want you to remember you have a family in all of us. People to love and people that will always and unconditionally love you. 

To explain what those necklaces stand for: The Morning Dew Pack has its own pack symbol and every Alpha still decides on their own symbol for their reign. Liam did this too and you surely noticed the various pendants on your pack members’ necks. Those are for you now.

Liam looked at Tim. “You go first.” 

Tim, you have a very soft soul and you are very understanding. Your open mind made it possible for you to seek help when you realized you needed it and you have been a valid part of the pack ever since. Your heart is true and you know how to love and forgive. Your soft character is one of the strongest traits you have, so keep it under all circumstances. We all are proud of you for being so strong and calm. Thank you for not letting the harsh world destroy this for you.

Tim stared at the pendant and the chain he had pulled out of his little sack. It hung on a soft brown leather cord and the pendant itself was a rotund shale plate with both pack symbols painted on it with white paint. Tim’s mouth hung open and he was completely speechless, just staring at the beautiful thing.  “Why are they sending us something like this?“ He suddenly asked. “Something so incredibly beautiful? They don’t know us.“ “They are our pack and that’s how they are.“ Liam explained with a soft smile and Tim nodded with tears in his eyes and happily pressed his necklace against his chest before putting it on.

Mike eyed his little sack and turned it in his hands. For a moment Liam was sure he would decline it, but then he snorted. “Did they write anything about me?“ “They did.“ Liam answered.

Mike, you’re probably more stubborn than Sadie but it also means you have a very strong character. We congratulate you on this, it’s a good thing to have. You are strong and you stick to your beliefs but you are also able to understand the difference between people who really care and people who just use you for money and admit when you were wrong. Let it be known, this pack will never use you nor your money. You are wanted here and we all deeply care about you, son. We are family.

Mike’s pendant hung from a silver leather cord and was a copper plate in oval shape. The symbols were burned into both sides of the plate. Mike looked at it from all sides and then he slowly exhaled. “I don‘t know when was the last time somebody made me something.“ He muttered and just like Tim he had tears in his eyes. “That’s pack.“ Sadie suddenly said. “I had to learn that too, that sometimes this can mean something good.“ She smiled at Liam who nodded with a fond smile and a proud look on his face. He surveyed his pack and laced this fingers with Theo’s. This was their family and despite all the hardships they already come so far and still had years of all kinds of experiences waiting for them. And he couldn’t wait for Thanksgiving to have the whole pack together.

He felt a tug at his hoodie string and averted his eyes from his pack to look at Theo. His boyfriend smirked and then he tugged at Liam’s hoodie string once more, pulling him in. Their lips touched in a sweet kiss and Theo teasingly nipped at his bottom lip. “I didn’t get a welcome kiss.“ He joked and Liam chuckle. “How could I forget that?“ And just because he could, he put his hand on Theo’s cheek and kissed him again, deeper but still as sweet as before. Theo’s heartbeat picked up at that and he sighed into the kiss, making Liam smile again. He did this quite often lately. All because right now, he was happy and his life was simply perfect.

****** The Betas were gathered in the kitchen of their house, Theo trying to store away all groceries they had bought while at the same time defending the cookies he also bought from hungry wolves. It was all fun and games until they heard the front door slam and immediately their heads spun around, alarmed and ready to pounce. And then Liam barged into the kitchen, cell phone pressed against his ear, and his face, as well as the tone of his voice, portrayed how angry he was. Not that his chemosignals weren’t another indicator, no. Liam was fuming with rage and it was enough to make the whole pack tensed.

“You know nothing about them because you are not here. Why do you think I asked you to come to Seattle? Just to meet Theo and me? We are fine, we don‘t need constant monitoring from our former Alpha!“ Theo mouthed Scott’s name when the Betas looked at him, unsure what to do. Their Alpha was angry and they all were at loss. But Theo stayed relatively calm, watching Liam while bracing his hands on the countertop. Liam himself was pacing through the kitchen. “Liam, I know I promised you to come and I am sorry I had to cancel. I was just surprised you didn’t tell me about you seemingly finding a new pack.“ Scott tried to reason with his Beta but it only fueled Liam’s anger. “I could not tell you because you barely listen to me! When was the last time we had a long talk? I know you’re busy with saving every werewolf in existence but for the love of god, Scott, I was your first bitten Beta, you should pay a little attention to me too. I could have died! And this is not me being jealous of Alec or any other wolf you come across, this is just me stating facts! You didn’t even bother to ask about Thanksgiving. I mean, come on, Scott, I’m aware you have a lot on your plate but seriously?”

A part of Liam knew he was being unfair but right now he was too riled up to care. Liam tried to focus on Theo being there, his anchor, but when Scott started to defend himself and excuse himself, it didn’t. “I know I’m not doing anything right, Liam, but I’m trying. It’s hard with everyone scattered all around the states.“ “Well, you could try a little harder! It’s possible to manage a pack scattered across different places. With weekly calls for example.“ Liam snapped and then hung up. He did the same thing with his pack, dammit! He threw his phone on the counter and then braced his arms on it, head hung low, while he pressed his eyes shut and tried to calm down.

“Liam?“ Ever hesitantly asked, worry etched on her face just like insecurity. They all had no idea how to handle an Alpha who was that pissed and had the anger rolling off him in waves. Theo was the only one brave enough to approach him and so he stepped behind Liam and massaged his shoulders before pressing a soft kiss on Liam‘s neck. “Talk to us.“ He said softly, not really demanding since he knew it wasn’t good to pressure Liam in times like this.

Liam didn’t reply but pushed himself off and moved away. Theo’s hands slipped from his shoulders but Theo didn’t move to grab Liam again when he stormed out of the kitchen and upstairs. “What is he doing?“ Mike asked. “Going for a run.“ Theo simply answered. “He needs to blow off steam and he feels caged right now.“ “Because of us?“ Sadie asked. “Because he’s angry at Scott, angry at himself for being angry at Scott, his anger issues act up, all together. Let him. He will calm down in a while.“ The second Alpha calmed their Betas down.

Liam meanwhile ripped his shirt over his head and threw it away before changing into a tank top. He had already put on running shorts and shoes and now grabbed his music player. He was so incredibly angry and despite how chilly it was outside, his light clothing would literally cool him down, aside from the running giving him an outlet. He spun around again and left his room, racing down the stairs and outside. And when his feet hit the pavement, he started running.

Music was blaring in his ears and overloaded his senses but he didn’t care as he raced through the streets and into a park. How long he ran at a relatively fast speed, Liam paid no real attention but when his lungs finally burned and his whole body ached, he slowed down. Taking some several deep breaths, Liam steadied his hands on his knees and looked around. He ran quite far and going back when his whole body ached would be a bitch but it also helped clear his head even more. It helped him think differently about the call and he knew he had lashed out and had been a bit unfair to Scott. But it was too late now, they just had to talk another time and make up again. Scott thankfully wasn’t resentful.

Turning down the volume of his music, Liam started walking back home. He shivered, the chill air and him being drenched in sweat even made an Alpha werewolf run cold, and he was happy when he finally saw the familiar house coming up after a while. He opened the door and basked in the warmth inside. This was where he belonged, this was his home.

His way led him into the kitchen again where he found his pack, gathered around the island again, but this time to fill bowls with all kinds of snacks and candy. “We decided to just have a slow night, curl up on the living room floor by the fire, talk and eat candy.“ Maya said when she spotted Liam.

“And hot cocoa.“ Sadie added from her place at the stove where she was making said hot chocolate. Theo looked at Liam, took in his appearance, and popped a mini marshmallow in his mouth, eyes never leaving Liam’s. They shared a look and Liam got the silent question if he was alright again and nodded curtly.

“I’ll take a shower and then I’ll join you.“ He mumbled and when he walked past them Ever softly squeezed his arm in silent support. It made him smile softly while he ascended the stairs. He was tired but the outlook to have a quiet night with his friends was enough to keep him up. And the hot water of the shower helped him relax even more and warm him again, so when he trotted back into the living room, dressed in a grey hoodie and black sweatpants paired with fluffy socks, he felt better than before. The pack had already settled on top of the many blankets and pillows they had thrown to the floor after they pushed the couch table aside. The fire was warming the room and the only source of light in the otherwise dark room. The bowls full of candy stood on the floor between them all and Liam settled next to Theo before grabbing a handful of gummy bears.

“Feeling better?” Mike asked Liam and he nodded.  “Liam, what exactly happened? You were already so angry when you came home. What did Scott say?” Sadie inquired. “I mean, you don’t have to tell us, of course, but we are worried.” Liam sighed deeply. “I don’t know how it happened. We started talking and everything was fine but suddenly he mentioned the talk with Lydia and asked why I didn’t tell him I got a new pack. One word led to another and suddenly I got so angry and snapped.” He shrugged helplessly when he ended and Theo rubbed his shoulder in a comforting gesture before pulling him closer. Liam smiled sadly and leaned against his boyfriend. “I will probably call him and say I’m sorry.” “Wait a day or two. You may have been angry but in the end, you said some things which were true, so you both should consider some things. Talk in a few days, after you both calmed down.” Theo muttered and kissed Liam’s cheek. Liam snuggled closer to him and nodded. “Hm, maybe you’re right.”

He sighed and then cleared his throat. “Let’s stop talking about that and instead talk about other things, shall we?” He suggested and his Betas nodded and they all fell into an easy conversation about Thanksgiving and how excited they all were.  "It’s sad but I really can’t remember a Thanksgiving I didn’t spend with people who were not paid to spend time with me.” Mike said with a thoughtful look before reaching over and grabbing a hand of chocolate beans to eat. “So I am really excited, guys, even though I may not jump around like the rest of you.” “We know you are. You don’t have to jump around.” Maya said with a soft smile. “Though I would love to see you jump around, not gonna lie.” “Well, that...never happens.” “Why? Because you think you’re too cool?” Sadie asked sarcastically. Mike grinned, “Because I’m too old for it now.” He mimicked the voice of an old man. “When you experience the things I experienced, when you saw the things I saw, when you did what I did, then you will understand, young lady.” Nolan started to giggle hysterically. “That was comedy gold!” He gasped out, tears streamed down his face while he still tried to compose himself. “I didn’t know you could do something like that.” Mike shrugged with a grin. “There are still a lot of things you don’t know about me and I’m sure I don’t know a lot of things about you as well.” “Okay, then tell us one thing we don’t know about you yet.” Theo prompted curiously. Mike tilted his head while he thought about something. 

“When I was still in high school, I hacked my parents’ company.” He then decided on something.  “You what? Really? I mean, I know you are good with computers but why?” Ever asked and scrunched her nose in confusion. Mike sighed. “I didn’t want to commit a crime but I wanted to see how far I could come. It wasn’t my intention to cause any harm.” “And how long did your parents ground you?” Liam wanted to know, an amused smile twitching at the corners of his mouth, Mike grumbled. “Not one day. When they found out it was me they simply said ‘Oh.’, turned around and walked away, back to their work.” He explained and added bitterly: “They didn’t even care enough to ground me!” Tim gave him a comforting squeeze on his leg and Mike gave his best friend a grateful smile. Liam could not wrap his head around how little parents could care about their children. But on the other hand, his biological father was like that too...

And since they already had the topic of terrible parents, Liam decided to join. “My father, my biological father I mean, was abusive.” He enunciated and they all stared at him. Theo, the only one who knew the story, put one arm around Liam’s shoulder to give him a little bit of support. Liam shrugged his shoulders. “He was very tyrannical and intended to make sure my mother knew her place. Verbally at first, then he started to hit her and later he also hit me. When he beat me to up so badly I needed to go to the hospital, my mom finally realized she needed to divorce him. It was just her and me for years after that and we had to recover from what happened. Since the day at the court I haven’t seen my father, I don’t even know where he is.” “Oh my god, Liam. When you said your father wasn’t a good dad, I simply thought he didn’t care, I never expected this. I am so sorry.” Sadie said shocked. Ever nodded and reached over to pat Liam’s leg. Liam smiled sadly. “I have a great dad now. My stepdad is really awesome, you will see at Thanksgiving. And he also loves my mom with all his heart. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner for her.”

"They must be really amazing parents, their son is already pretty amazing.” Maya said with a soft smile. “Can’t wait to meet them.” Liam smiled at her and bowed his head. “Thank you, Maya. They will love all of you for sure.” “Really? All of us?” Mike asked with a grin. Theo chuckled. “Hey, they took me in and treated me like their second son. When they can love me, they for sure will love you.” He pointed out.  Liam looked at him and grinned. “I’m still happy they didn’t adopt you. That would have been weird, dating my brother.” “Kinky!” Maya, Tim, and Mike said at the same time and laughed. Theo just rolled his eyes. “Well, we would have made it work for sure.” He kissed Liam before the young Alpha could say anything against it and Liam just melted into the kiss and kissed back.

When they pulled away again, Liam smiled at his boyfriend and Theo smiled back but Liam also saw some sort of hesitation in his boyfriend’s beautiful hazel eyes. He made a questioning face and Theo seemed to ponder on something before he sighed. He then turned towards the rest of the pack, hand squeezing Liam’s and never letting go. “Since we’re already having some serious topics here, might as well jump the bandwagon and tell you my story.” He addressed what was on his mind and Liam’s eyes widened slightly. He knew that this was hard for Theo to talk about and that he was willing to do it, took a lot of bravery. He squeezed Theo’s hand back in silent support while the Betas curiously waited for the second Alpha to elaborate. 

“I was born and raised in Beacon Hills and lived with my parents and my older sister Tara. I was a quiet kid, battling asthma, and since I was very reserved and serious I didn’t have many friends. A few kids I played with but that was it. Scott and Stiles were a few of those kids, I played Little league with Stiles at some point but that’s not really important right now. When I was the age of nine, three people in leather mask suddenly showed up and started talking to me.” “The Dread Doctors you once mentioned?” Ever asked and Theo nodded. He took a deep breath and continued.

“They...told me a war was about to happen. Two very powerful creatures and nothing could stop them, it was like some sort of prophecy or something. I was eight, I didn’t understand everything they said but I understood it was bad. And then they told me I could do something, that they could help me survive this war. I didn’t know when this war would happen but I was deadly afraid of what they told me and I didn’t want to die. I was just a kid, it didn’t cross my mind they were lying or manipulating me, they told me they saw greatness in me after all. That I was the perfect one for their plans. And after weeks they told me that my sister wasn’t strong enough to survive the war and that they had talked to her too and that she accepted her fate.” Theo swallowed around the lump in his throat and Liam put his arm around the chimera.  “You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to. It’s okay.” He mumbled but Theo shook his head and blinked away the tears in his eyes. “They should know. I want to tell them now. I already started.”

He swallowed again and rubbed over his eyes and decided to rip it off like a band-aid. “The Dread Doctors told me my sister wanted me to have her heart and that this was the only way I could become strong enough to survive the war. They also told me that because my sister was weak she wanted me to have her heart but would still beg and scream when it was finally time to give her heart to me. Long story short, they had manipulated me for weeks and when Tara and I were in the preserve and she fell into the creek, I did nothing to help her. She froze and I did nothing, just watched her. That day I killed my sister, just like the Dread Doctors wanted me to, and when she was dead, they came and took us both back to the laboratory to transplant her heart in my chest.” He stopped once again and looked down at his hands, not daring to look at his Betas. They all stared at him and nobody said something. Liam rubbed his back and tried to give his boyfriend the best support he could at this very moment. 

Theo collected himself after a while and continued. “My parents were devasted after Tara’s death. Their favorite child was dead and they never got over it; the Dread Doctors made me leave with them anyway and for years I was their experiment, the first chimera. I saw others come and go but they never survived and I learned you only survive if you have power, so I needed to gather more power. To survive their experiments and become their ultimate experiment.”

“The Beast.” Liam cut in and Theo nodded. It wasn’t easy to talk about all this but he felt the need to continue.

“When I heard about the True Alpha Scott McCall and his pack in Beacon Hills my plan set into motion. There is rarely a bigger power than a True Alpha’s power and so it was pretty straight. Kill Scott McCall and take his power as well as his pack. Because they all had this powerful dark side. The only problem was that the one able to take A True Alpha’s power is a Beta bitten by them and so I manipulated Liam.”

“I have to say that this was a time where my first girlfriend, Hayden, was dying. She was also a chimera and her body repulsed the changes. I begged Scott to bite her and save her life but he refused and I felt so betrayed. Theo’s manipulation was just the last straw. Add a supermoon to that and you have an explosive mixture. I completely lost it and tried to kill Scott so I could become an Alpha and give Hayden the bite.” Liam said quietly. It wasn’t fair to give Theo all the blame in this.  “But you didn’t and in the end, I went back to kill Scott myself.” “Since his mother brought him back, you also didn’t really kill him.” Liam added yet again and Theo just shrugged. 

“I did a lot of bad things, even though I didn’t become the Beast. I brought some people back from the dead to have my own pack and then killed most members of it again to get their powers. The only ones who survived were Corey and Hayden. I was responsible for Scott and Stiles having a fallout and for Lydia to land in Eichen House. I did everything to gain power.” Theo wrung his fingers. “Kira, a kitsune, put an end to it when she sent me to hell. And for three agonizing months, I had my dead sister rip my heart out over and over again in a neverending circle.”

“How did you came back?” Maya asked, but her voice sounded clipped and strange.

Theo, however, was too caught in his story to really notice. “Liam brought me back. He used Kira’s sword because he thought I could help against the Ghost Riders with the powers I stole from the dead chimeras. We found out I lost the powers while I was in hell but Liam still decided to not send me back.” “You changed.” Liam stressed. “That’s why.” “Yeah, I wasn't power hungry anymore, I just wanted to survive. After Ghost Riders came the hunters and the war and I was lonely, without any home or any ties. I slept in my truck because who would take in a chimera who tried to kill anybody? Nobody and I deserved all of this. I deserved the pack’s distrust and hate and despite us having to fight together, I deserved every mean word they sad to me, every punch and every broken nose. I still wonder how they came around in the end and started to accept me.” 

“Hey.” Liam said softly but he made Theo look at him before kissing him firmly. “You changed. You’re not the Theo who came to Beacon Hills back then. That Theo was left in hell. You are the real Theo, the good Theo. And we know it.” He told his partner and kissed him again to convey the meaning of his words. Liam actually expected his pack to agree but when he and Theo finally looked at the Betas, they all stared at them, unreadable expressions on their faces. Liam felt Theo squeeze his hands so tightly he almost broke the bones when minutes ticked by and none had said anything, and the Alpha cleared his throat. “We probably should all go to bed. It’s late anyway. We can clean up here tomorrow.” 

Maybe a good night’s sleep to let all of this sink in would help to relieve the tension in the air. The Betas hastily got to their feet and scattered away. Liam and Theo slowly got to their feet too and Liam pulled Theo along, upstairs and into their room. When the door closed behind them, he wrapped his arms around Theo from the side and kissed his temple. “I’m proud of you.” He said softly.

“Hm.” Theo made an unconvinced sound and gently freed himself from Liam to change into pajamas and brush his teeth. When he was done he walked back into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. Liam let him, deciding to not pressure Theo into talking right now, and changed too as well as brushing his teeth. 

When he walked back into their bedroom, Theo still sat at the edge of the bed and stared at the floor. “They hate me.” He said in a broken voice and Liam saw the tears in his eyes. “Have you seen their faces? They hate me.” 

“Baby!” Liam said bewilderedly and sat down next to Theo to put a hand on his leg and the other around his shoulders. “Nobody hates you! They were just shocked. They all know you as the good Theo, they didn’t know about your story, that’s all. It is shocking, we both know that, but you changed. That’s important.”

Theo shook his head and could barely look at Liam. “They hate me and they will never trust me again. I’ll leave the pack if you want me to. I would understand. If I were them, I would hate me too. I do it anyway.”

“Hey, hey!” Liam said and wrapped both arms around his boyfriend. “No one’s going to leave the pack! They don’t hate you, they just need some time to let it think in. Maybe it was all a bit too much but it’s good you told them. Took a lot of bravery from you and I am so proud of you, baby.” He consoled Theo and stroke over his back while hugging him tightly. Theo leaned against him and cried into his chest, clutching Liam’s shirt with one hand. “I wanted them to know, I couldn’t hide anymore. They are my family, they should know and I wanted them to know. I destroyed everything.” He sobbed. “Shh.” Liam mumbled. Liam’s heart clenched painfully,. Seeing his lover like this broke his heart, Theo didn’t deserve this. He could understand his Betas initial shock but another part of him wanted to storm into their rooms and yell at them for making his boyfriend cry.  

He decided to focus on Theo instead and when Theo finally stopped crying he moved them both into bed and under the covers. Pulling Theo close, he felt the chimera press even closer to him as if he was seeking shelter and Liam soothingly stroke through his hair. “They will come around. They don’t hate you.” He muttered softly and Theo sniffled.  “I hope you are right but like I said, I could understand if they do hate me and don’t trust me anymore.” “Shh.” Liam said. “Try to sleep. Tomorrow is a new day and we will see from there.” Theo sniffled again and clung to Liam, almost as if he was afraid Liam would leave too. Liam could do nothing more than to hold him. 

None of them noticed their Betas overhearing their conversation and then meeting in Ever’s room. “He thinks we hate him.” Tim announced after he had closed the door. He was leaned against it, Mike leaned against the wall while the three girls sat on Ever’s bed and Nolan leaned against her desk.  “Well, he can’t hold our distant behavior against us.” Sadie cut in. “But we don’t hate him.” Maya replied. “Yes, what we heard was shocking but we don’t hate him. It’s Theo! Our big brother!” “Hate is a strong word, agreed.” Ever said but she didn’t confirm Maya’s other statement.

Mike cleared his throat and stepped away from the wall. “Can we all stop acting like fucking hypocrites right now? Yes, I never expected Theo to have such a backstory but who are we to judge? We weren’t there, we weren’t living in Beacon Hills when all this shit went down. We have no right to judge Theo for what he did in the past. And he got sent to hell! Hell! If that doesn’t change a person, I don’t know what does! Also, Liam was one of the people he manipulated and tired it kill. Liam was there and he should hate Theo’s guts but instead? He loves him! He forgave him! If Liam can forgive Theo, who are we to hold a grudge and claim we don’t trust him anymore?”

“Mike’s right.” Nolan said. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and had looked at the floor but now he looked up. “If you hate Theo and say you can’t trust him anymore, you have to hate me too. I was manipulated by another person, just like Theo, and I know how easy it can be for people to get into your head, especially when you are young and afraid. I was on the side of the hunters and at some point, I was okay with Liam and the others dying because they were something I didn’t understand and was scared of. And I was also okay with humans dying because they stood with the supernaturals. So you kick Theo out, you kick me out too because I did nothing different.”

“You both changed.” Mike stressed. “Otherwise you wouldn’t be part of this pack. You may not trust Theo at the moment but trust Liam. He took Theo and Nolan in, Theo even in his home without fearing he would kill him in his sleep. Trust our Alpha’s judgment, guys!”

“Also, I was there, at the hospital, I saw Theo taking Gabe’s pain; the pain of a guy who had tried to kill him minutes ago. Liam once said to take the pain you not only need to care but you also need to be completely selfless and put another’s wellbeing over yours because you take their pain into your body. This takes a really good heart, guys.”

The Betas were silent after this, all lost in thoughts.” We should have at least told him we are thankful for him being honest.” Tim stated after a while and the others nodded.

****** Liam woke up the next day and immediately checked on Theo next to him. The chimera was hidden under the blankets and still wrapped in Liam’s arm as if he sought protection from all bad feelings during the night, It still made his heart clench and he softly stroke through Theo’s hair. The night had been unruly, Theo didn’t have nightmares per se but he kept tossing and turning and Liam never really slept tightly, always keeping his attention on Theo in case the older freaked out.

So now he was in desperate need of coffee and he planned on making breakfast and bringing it to Theo, spoil his boyfriend a bit before he had to face the harsh reality. He carefully slipped out of bed and Theo clung to his pillow and then quietly left the room to walk down into the kitchen.  His nose was hit with the smell of pancakes and when he walked into the kitchen, the whole pack was already there. Ever was at the stove making pancakes, the others all around the kitchen. They stopped talking when Liam entered and immediately got guilty looks on their faces.

“Liam? We wanted to say sorry. We didn’t react so well last night.” Maya tried first. “No, you didn’t.” Liam simply confirmed, face blank. He was still angry at them and his loyalty was currently parted between his Betas and the love of his life.  “We were shocked and I guess that’s perfectly understandable.” Sadie took over from Maya. “It is but that doesn’t mean you should have left him like this.” Liam scolded and his Betas hunched their shoulders in shame.  “We’re sorry, Lee.” Tim muttered. “Don’t tell me this, I’m not the one you should apologize too!”

They looked like kicked puppies and the caring part inside Liam felt bad for them. They obviously felt really sorry about last night.

How sorry they were showed moments later when Theo entered the kitchen and stopped dead in his tracks when everyone looked at him. Liam saw the way the chimera’s eyes wandered to the doorway, almost as if he was looking for an escape way. He didn’t talk but eyed the pack with panic in his eyes. It hurt Liam to realize Theo expected a bad reaction from the pack or a punishment. 

Mike was the first to step forward and wrap his arms around Theo. He didn’t say anything but the sheer gesture took Theo completely by surprise. It took a while until he hugged Mike back and when they finally parted Sadie was the next to hug Theo. The whole pack, aside from Liam, hugged Theo one after another with Ever being the last one. 

“We are sorry, big brother. It was just something we never expected and yes it was shocking but we should have cleaned the air and not make you feel like we repulse you or anything.” “You are and will forever be our Theo. Our second Alpha and we all trust you with our lives. Can you forgive us?” Tim said Liam was pretty sure there were some puppy eyes thrown into the mix.  Theo stared at them, still visibly in shock, then he slowly seemed to find his words again. “You guys don’t hate me?” “Never did.” Maya said with a smile. “So, do you forgive us?” Mike asked and Theo nodded, still overwhelmed. Next moment he was engulfed in a group hug from all Betas and Liam stood there and watched his pack with a soft smile and tears in his eyes. 

“We made blueberry pancakes, your favorite.” Ever told Theo and wiped her eyes. They all looked kind of teary-eyed, especially Theo, who smiled weakly and then walked over to Liam to wrap his arms around him and bury his head in the crook of Liam’s neck. Liam smiled and hugged him back instantly. “I love you.” He muttered into Theo’s ear. “I love you too.” Theo muttered back and squeezed him. Liam was just happy everything turned out fine again.

****** “If you play one more Christmas song, I will kick you out and leave you on the side of the road!” Theo threatened and gripped the steering wheel tighter. “It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, so leave it.” “Geez, you’re a real Grinch.” Sadie said and giggled. Theo growled and looked over to Liam in the passenger seat.  “Why did we had to take the girls with us? I’d rather have the guys in my truck right now.” “Hey!” Maya, Ever, and Sadie yelled from the backseat and Liam laughed.  “It just happened.” He said nonchalantly and turned around to check if Isaac was still following. Nolan in the passenger seat of Isaac’s car saw him and raised his hand to wave. Liam grinned and waved back. While Theo and he had gotten the three girls, Nolan and Isaac were driving with Tim and Mike. Corey and Mason would drive to the lake by themselves and his mother took the train and Bernie had offered to pick her up from the train station since he had some business around. Liam’s dad had to switch shifts with a sick colleague so he wouldn’t attend the Thanksgiving dinner but hopefully would be able to celebrate Christmas with his family. 

Liam now sat back again and looked ahead. It had started snowing slightly but steadily got more the longer they drove. “I can drive too if you want. You worked until late last night after all.” He offered. Theo smiled and took his hand from the gear shift to lace his fingers with Liam’s.  “It’s okay, baby, I’m not tired.” “Maybe you should drink less coffee. Or decaffeinated in that case. You could sleep in the car.” Ever suggested and Theo glanced at her in the rearview mirror.  “Decaf is for quitters! I don’t quit! I don’t plan on sleeping until we’re there. And I slept last night.” “How much? Two hours?” “Three.” Theo simply answered, still holding Liam’s hand. “But don’t worry, I have an Alpha who takes care of me.” He said and raised their interlaced hands to press a loving kiss on the back of Liam’s hand. Liam bit his lip and looked out of the window, a blush spreading across his cheeks. Despite him and Theo being in a very committed relationship, he still got abashed by actions like this. It was just so sweet and he saw Theo smirking from the corner of his eyes and heard the girls coo in the background. 

 “But speaking of switching - and no this is not me talking about our Alpha’s bedroom activities - I would like to switch the backseat for the seat of a diner to eat something.” Maya suddenly called out and pointedly ignored the look Liam gave her before sticking his tongue out. She laughed and could not refrain from sticking her tongue out too.

“But she’s right, we all haven’t had breakfast yet.” They had left very early to have more time at the lake and so breakfast had suffered. Now, after some time on the road, they all got hungry. So Liam decided they really should stop by the next Diner or fast food restaurant. 

Reaching over he pressed the buttons on the hands-free kit and dialed Isaac’s number. It didn’t take long for him to pick up. “Food?” “Yep.” Liam answered. “Thank god!” “A few more minutes.” Theo said after a sign appeared next to the road. “Can you do that?”

Turned out they could and when the cars stopped in front of the restaurant, they all spilled out of the cars. Liam stretched and was pulled into the restaurant by Isaac who loosely draped his one arm around Liam’s shoulders and the other around Nolan’s and walked in. Finding two tables they could push together and then they ordered their food and soon sat down with all kinds of greasy food.

“So unhealthy.” Sadie said and bit into her bacon burger.  “Yeah, hence why you have the greasiest stuff on the menu.” Mike shot back and she gave him the finger while chewing.  Liam chuckled and drank from his milkshake. His other hand rested on Theo’s leg who was quietly sipping yet another coffee and ate his waffles. “You okay?” He asked while going in for a soft kiss. Theo kissed him back and nodded. “Guess the coffee’s broken, I’m getting a bit tired. Not too much but I know I won’t stay up late tonight.” The chimera explained and Liam nodded. Theo had been working his ass off lately and he was happy his boyfriend now had a few days to just relax and calm down. And Liam would make sure Theo enjoyed the holidays absolutely.

“Nobody expects you to.” Liam mumbled and kissed Theo again. The older grinned into the kiss and put his arm around Liam to pull him closer to himself their food and drinks long forgotten. It was really easy to blend out everything and just focus on Theo, and so Liam had to blink when they parted for air and everybody was staring at them with amused expressions on their face.

“What?” He asked, “You’re making out like horny teenagers.” Isaac said with a grin.  “Love must be beautiful. You’re so cute.”  “Jealous?” Theo asked with a raised eyebrow and a cocky grin. Isaac shook his head. “Not at all!”

Liam just scoffed and stole a piece of Theo’s waffles. In exchange, Theo got a bit from his burger and Liam leaned against him. Looking outside he noticed it had started to snow more. “Should get going soon. I don’t want the streets to get too snowed in.” He thought out loud and continued eating his burger. Despite the weather, they had to eat. But the others seemed to agree with him because they all managed to eat in record time and then they left the restaurant and piled into the cars again. 

“Brr, it got cold!” Ever complained and huddled into her scarf. She rubbed her hands together and snapped her fingers and the flame on her hands appeared again, instantly warming the whole car. 

“Thank you.” Liam said with a smile and the witch smiled back and nodded while she let her flame dance over her hands. Theo shifted the gear and the truck started moving again. Sadie used it to start yet another Christmas song and Theo groaned when he heard the melody. 

“O’Mara!”

“What? This song is great!” And just because she could, she started singing along with Santa Baby.

“First of all, the song is good but if you start to sing along now I will surely leave you here! And secondly, you have to sing this sultrier.” Theo corrected her. “Like this: 

Think of all the fun I've missed, think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed. Next year I could be just as good...if you'd check off my Christmas list

.” He sang the few words in a husky, profligate voice and when nobody said anything about it, he turned his head. Liam gaped at him, just like the girls. “What now?”

“That was....” Maya began. “Probably the hottest you ever sounded. Do that again!” Liam exclaimed and Theo laughed. “I’m not a singer, I just have a good ear for melody.” “And I’m the queen of motherfucking Narnia.” Maya mumbled behind him. Liam had to agree with her.  “I didn’t know you could sing at all.” “I don’t do it often but my shower head is quite fond of my vocal skills.” “I knew you could be vocal but actually having vocal skills? I’m impressed.” Liam complimented him and Ever and Sadie squeaked while Maya laughed. “TMI, Alpha!” Theo laughed loudly at that. “Your fault for starting this song!”

“I meant he’s good with words. Get your mind out of the gutter!” Liam innocently said but his grin destroyed the illusion. He had meant it exactly how they understood it and now he reached over to squeeze Theo’s leg. “I know which song will be playing in their bedroom from now on.” Maya said thoughtfully and Sadie and Ever squeaked again before laughing.

****** Liam had slouched in his seat but when he spotted the lake, he immediately sat straight up. He watched the water which appeared frozen glinting in the sun and the forest glistening with snow. A winter wonderland all around with the winter sun shining brightly. It looked amazing! “Feels like coming home, hm?” Theo said and Liam nodded enthusiastically. They shared a private smile and then Theo drove into the smaller road leading to the lake. “Are those Christmas lights?” Liam laughed. “They are! Look they give us a lead!”  Theo grinned and followed the street illuminated with colorful lights until they stopped in front of Lana’s and Byron’s cabin. 

The minute Theo turned off the engine, the door flew open and Lana and Byron exited their cabin. Liam climbed out of the truck, barely rounded it and was pulled into a tight hug by Lana.

“Liam, Theo, I am so happy to see you! Welcome back!” She exclaimed and hugged Liam for several moments before letting go in favor of hugging Theo who had hugged Byron first. The two younger ones switched and Liam beamed at Byron. “Gramps!” Byron smiled back and pulled Liam into a tight bear-hug. “My sons, welcome back!”

It was amazing to have them back and talk to Lana and Byron face to face and Liam realized how much he had missed them. They were still as loving and as welcoming as they had been on the first visit and when the pack gathered around them, the former Alpha couple hugged all of them and gave them a warm welcome. 

Lana clapped happily afterward. “Look at all of them, Byron, so mature and so beautiful. Such a strong core pack for such a strong Alpha. We are so proud of you and we can’t wait until you meet the rest of the pack. But now come in, we have hot punch and we can talk a bit before they all arrive.”

She led them inside and they all found a place in the living room and soon they all had a mug with steaming hot punch in hand. Liam needed one look at his Betas faces to see how amazed they were by the warm welcome and they liked it here from the start. Talking to Lana and Byron came as easy to them as it came to Liam and Theo and the young Alpha could lean back, sip his punch and just watch,

And then they heard the squeal of car brakes. “Bernie really needs to get his brakes oiled.” Lana said with a laugh and Liam got up. If Bernie was back that meant his mom was here and Liam was dying to see her. He opened the door and ran outside, just as she exited Bernie’s car.

“Mom!”

Liam ran over to her and flung his arms around his mother. She laughed and hugged him back. “Liam, sweetie!” She hugged her son and when he finally let her go, she took his face in her hands. “Look at you, all mature and so grown up. When did you grow up? And you’re growing a beard.” Her thumbs stroke over his cheeks and Liam nodded happily, happy tears in his eyes. He really had not shaved in a few days now.

Theo stepped behind him and Liam’s mom beamed at him just like she did at her son. “You didn’t shave either. Should I call you son-in-law now?” She joked and Theo laughed before hugging her. “Only if Liam askes.” He joked back when they parted and she gently punched his chest. “He will ask you, I will take care of that!” “Mom!” Liam laughed and she reached out to run a hand over his cheek. 

Ilona Geyer had the same sharp facial features as her son but her eyes were grey instead of blue so the only thing Liam got from his biological father were his eyes. Ilona was smaller than her son but she was agile and bubbly and Liam loved her like no other. 

Now he introduced her to his pack. “Mom, those are Maya, Sadie, Tim, Mike, Ever, you already know Nolan, Isaac, Lana, and Byron. Lana and Byron own the cabins around, we met them during our summer vacation.” He introduced them and they all greeted his mom politely. Not only because they had manners but also, even though she had no idea about the supernatural world, she was the Alpha’s mother and so they highly respected her. Lana stepped forward and shook Ilona’s hand. “You have two great boys! They are truly wonderful and they both are very loyal! You did a great job! Especially your son has a very big heart.” She praised and Ilona looked proudly at Liam and Theo.

“That sounds like my boys.” She said, right when Mason’s car stopped behind Bernie’s car. Only a few moments later Mason and Corey got out and were happily greeted by the pack. Liam happily hugged his best friend and Corey as well and then he looked at Theo. “Now that everybody is here, we can have great holidays.” He said. 

Theo smiled and reached out to brush snow out of Liam’s hair. “Right. Maybe we should go inside, it’s getting a bit snowy.” 

“Yes, yes, inside, you’re all wearing no jackets. I don’t want you to get sick!” Ilona shooed them all inside and Liam shared a look with Theo. They both were used to Liam’s mom caring for everyone and now just smiled and rolled their eyes fondly. They were the last ones to step inside and Theo gently pulled him back. “Hey.”

“Hm?” Liam asked and got his answer when he got pulled into a loving kiss. He wrapped his arms around Theo’s waist and smiled at his boyfriend. “I love you.” They said at the same time and again rolled their eyes when everybody else cooed at them. 

“And I was worried this was a joke from you.” Lana teased. Liam shook his head and snuggled closer to Theo. “Not a joke but the best present I will get this year for sure.”

Tissues, anybody? *holds out box* The situation between Scott and Liam tapers. Also, I nominate Mike for president! And Nolan as vice-president. Yes, Liam refers to Theo as 'love of his life' in his thoughts already. And they are at the lake, yay. Next chapter we will have the pack celebrating Thanksgiving like the big family they are. I'm excited.

[nyxelestia]

I'm caught between 5 different plotbunnies for the Teen Wolf Big Bang.

TL;DR version:

1.) Scott sleeps with Deucalion in exchange for Deucalion taking his memories of his loved ones (ab)using him. Pro: Emphasis on Scott's trauma and martyrdom. Con: Not a big fan of the ending and can't think of a better one. 2.) Turns out Rafael molested Scott, and everyone finds out because nogitusne. Scott still resents Rafael more for leaving him than for abusing him in the first place. Pro: Emphasis on Scott's tendency to put up with a ton of abuse from people as long as they don't leave him. Con: No satisfying ending. I know how to end it, plot-wise, but no idea how to end it emotionally. (Mixed feelings about combining #1 and #2.) 3.) Chris/Melissa/Sheriff fic about the three parents growing into and embracing their new reality, and each other along with it. Pro: Lots of fluff and emotional development. Con: Plot is shitty and cliched as all hell. 4.) Sheriff gets turned into a werewolf, but with alpha!Scott. Emphasis is on the Sheriff's changing relationship with Scott (father-figure-come-beta). Pro: Father-son-figure fluff, and the dark reality of the Sheriff trying to cope with lycanthropy. Con: No real plot or narrative beyond that. (Mixed feelings about combining #3 and #4.) 5.) Scott dies in 5A, everything goes to hell. After Beacon Hills becomes a corpse-ridden ghost town, Lydia and the Nemeton arranges for Allison, Scott, and Stiles (and/or herself) to wake up that first morning all the way back in the pilot/101, with all their memories up until their death. Pro: It's the ultimate fix-it fic, with a greater emphasis on the real cost and stakes of the supernatural drama (and the value in protecting them). Con: Like zero plot whatsoever, just an idea and some vague, disconnected scenes.

Detailed explanations below cut.

Idea #1: Dark Scott/Deucalion fic.

After Season 4, Scott starts sleeping with Deucalion in exchange for Deucalion taking some of his more traumatic memories involving his loved ones (i.e. Derek's assaults of him in the first two seasons, Chris' early mistreatment of him, nogitsune!Stiles stabbing him, etc).

Despite how exploitative it sounds, Deucalion does somewhat care for Scott (as a mentor/mentee thing). Scott ends up falling in love with him a little, but this is also happening in tandem with his relationships with Kira (and later, Malia). Main Appeal: The emphasis on Scott's trauma, and how his experiences leave him open to a certain type of exploitation and vulnerable in a certain way. He's not getting rid of all traumatic memories - just the ones of people who he cares about, but have hurt him, because it was getting difficult for him to spend time around his loved ones without being scared all the time. He lets people continue to hurt and use him because he'll be able to later pretend it never happened. Main Drawback: Not sure about the ending. Part of  the reason I'd abandoned it before is that I never came up with a good ending. I kinda like how Season 6B fits into this - that ultimately, Deucalion dies, and in the absence of another alpha willing to help Scott take a short-cut through is trauma, Scott finally has to confront his trauma and self-martyrdom. I'm not sure of an ending which is just the beginning of another story or process which I know I'll never write/the reader will never see.

Idea #2: Very Dark pedophile!Rafael fic

Original plot bunny has the nogitsune revealing to all and sundry that Stiles figured out Scott was "looking for his own kiddie porn" when he broke into Rafael's laptop for Kira. Things...devolve from there.

Allison lives for no discernible reason and she and Derek debate the merits of just killing Rafael, together. Chris is hurt that they didn't invite him. :P Stiles taps into the void the nogitsune left in him to put Rafael down for good. Main Appeal: I've seen fics where Rafael abused Stiles and I've always just been like - he's got his own kid right there and for some reason never touched him? I also really want to emphasize that much like the show, Scott resents his father abandoning him more than any abuse - including this sexual abuse. This plays into his current mental state, that he'll accept almost any level of use, abuse, and mistreatment if it means his friends and pack won't leave him. (Also, given how often stories like this involve the McCall family being subsumed by Stilinski drama, I like the idea of reversing that script.) Main Drawback: I feel like this would be a little OOC for Rafael (6B made me actually like him!). While I do not say this as a gesture of abuse erasure or apologism, I quite liked his arc in the show (and was upset to not see more of it), and I'm afraid I'd be shitting on that a little with molestor!Rafael. Also, no idea how to end it. Narratively, I have the idea that Derek tries to actually get Rafael arrested and tried and convicted, wanting Scott to see and experience how wrong Rafael's actions were...but Rafael's too good to be caught, and the pack/friends just work together to kill him. Great for "rallying around and protecting Scott" feels, but no real emotional development from Scott, who would probably resent them for this, and I don't know how to fix that. (Kinda tempted to combine with #1, but that might be rather cliched - Scott getting away from one sexual abuser only to fall hard for another? I know I get irritated by "everyone's trying to fuck him/rape him" fic when it comes to Stiles, and I'd have mixed feelings about subjecting Scott to that. I think it would be very true to his character, post-Rafael, to fall into that pattern of exploitation with Deucalion - but the Deucalion fic was a little more oriented to Scott's tendency to martyrdom, whereas this one is more about Scott putting up with (ab)use to keep people close to him.)

Idea #3: Chris/Melissa/Sheriff fic (+Allison lived AU)

What it says on the tin, it's just the story of Chris, Melissa, and the Sheriff developing a relationship.

Original plot bunny was that after Season 4-ish events, Rafael is poking around, mistakes some post-supernatural circumstances for a threesome, and gets mad. Team Root Cellar initially just rolls with the farce to keep Rafael from finding out about the supernatural, but also to troll him, only for it to turn real.

But now I'm also inclined to something post-6B/show? Main Appeal: Lots of fluff, and lots of everyone starting to settle down into a new life and embracing their new reality for good. Part of that new reality is the whole "kids leaving the nest" thing (Scott, Allison, and Stiles going off to college or wherever, the trio having to build a life that isn't about/around parenting).

It’s also kind of embracing how far they've come from who they used to be (Chris going from hating werewolves to dating the True Alpha's mother and his Emissary's father, the Sheriff embracing the supernatural in terms of dating a Hunter and someone so heavily involved in werewolves, and Melissa growing as a more confident and self-assured person). Also, accidental baby is sort of a representation of a new future with these three once-disparate forces of Beacon Hills now united as one. Main Drawback: There isn't much of a plot to this. My current ideas, post-S4 or post-6B, are basically a series of interconnected one-shots. I also feel that in most ways, it would be a little cliched - older parents finding a new love life after their kids are gone, accidental baby feels cliche (even if what it's representing is not).

Idea #4: Turned!Sheriff with Alpha!Scott

Exactly what it says on the tin. At some nebulous point during or soon after the events of the show, somehow the Sheriff gets Bitten by a rogue alpha or something. He turns, but now has to deal with being a werewolf.

In particular, what I intend to be different about this AU is that the Sheriff doesn't magically cope well with the changes. While he is level-headed, he isn't the best at self-control, and does have a lot of issue that'll make full moons downright nasty. And while the enhanced strength and senses are nice (especially as Derek teaches him how to use them), the loss of alcohol/drinking is not. Main Appeal: I see so many fics that focus on the Melissa and Stiles relationship, I wanted to flip that on its head a bit, and focus on Scott and the Sheriff. Ironically, Stiles isn't actually in it all that much, with the focus being on the Sheriff's relationships with Scott (and somewhat, Derek). Scott has to be the Sheriff's alpha, despite also being like his second son. It's a hard transition for them both, for different reasons. And since I did love the Derek and Sheriff relationship, Derek teaches the Sheriff to use his senses to benefit his job. (Also, while Stiles isn't in it much, he is still in it - and he's there for the Sheriff's first Full Moon. It's exactly as horrifying as you'd expect. Main Drawback: Again, no real plot. I have a premise and I have some scenes in mind, but no overarching plot, and no real character arc beyond "Sheriff and Scott forging a new relationship in their new reality, while still maintaining a bit of the older paternalism". (...maybe I could combine this with the threesome fic...? Except that that fic was intended to be about all three parents, whereas this would make it overwhelmingly Sheriff-focused.)

Idea #5: Time Travel Fix-It fic.

Basically, Scott actually dies in the end of 5A and stays dead, and everything just goes straight to hell after that. After a lot of 6B-like tensions, bloodshed and carnage, and the Ghost Riders, Beacon Hills is a desolate Ghost Town with nothing left but corpses, and Lydia left wandering around in it.

She goes to the Nemeton and ~magic happens~ and her, Scott, Stiles, and Allison all wake up the very first morning from the pilot with all their memories of the future until they died. (And maybe not even Lydia, just the trio. Or, alternatively, only her, and she has to try to prevent everything.) Main Appeal: A huge re-focus back on Season 1, and how all of the insanity of later seasons holds up against that. The events of the later seasons make the Season 1 drama look so small - yet at the same time, the stakes are higher because of those consequences. Part of what I think was lost in later seasons was that there was less grief and shock in lost lives, so even as the body count rose, the stakes didn't feel like they were rising, too. But going back to Season 1 would put the focus back on that loss of life (with everyone alive and well, again - but all that darkness and evil just waiting for them).

I also like the idea of characters getting to see each other at different stages of development - Allison getting to see the the awesome alpha and badass banshee Scott and Lydia came to be, Scott coming to admire her powers (since she didn't learn how to use them outside of death knells until 5B), and a lot of wary respect of the kind of capable yet dark person Stiles ultimately became without Scott (or Allison) to temper him. Main Drawback: This idea has the least plot out of all my ideas. You can probably tell by the fact I'm not even 100% sure who I'd want effectively going back in time to fix things. Even if they do - I'm not sure of the ripple effects and consequences, what I want to happen, etc. I have a vague idea that they kind of...speed up the rate of attacks (basically, instead of pacing over several years, all the villains pop up almost at once), and the heroes ultimately using that to their advantage by turning/using all these villains against each other, somehow.

But I have no concrete plans for any of this, just a cool idea and a lot of individual scenes in my head.

[halekingsourwolf]

1/3 I saw this post again about someone only knowing Teen Wolf from gif sets who thought that Scott wouldn't survive the pilot and it got me thinking: What would've happened if Scott *hadn't* survived the bite? Just in season 1 alone? Would Peter've bitten anyone else (he tried half on s1 to connect with his beta but seeing his beta die would that have encouraged or discouraged him)? Would Stiles've still sided with the wolfs (he would've felt guilty for Scott & maybe looking into hunting (hint,

hint) what attacked his best friend)? Would Allison (without Scott, Kate would’ve brought her into the fold & she wouldn’t have had any evidence that wolfs *are* people)? Would Jackson’ve been tempted (no Scott, no rival Lacrosse Captain, he still would’ve been attacked in the video store but would he’ve sought out Derek)? Would Derek’ve died from wolfsbane (no Scott, no Stiles?, no bullet) or would he’ve hurt Deaton (then again no Scott, no Night School, no one howling for the alpha)? How different would season 1 (& 2 & 3 etc) have been? What are your head cannons?

Oh I love thinking about this –– one single detail changing everything that comes after it. I’m going to preface this theorizing by saying that I don’t remember all the details on s1; it’s been a long time since I watched so I might veer off in the wrong direction at any point. That said, here goes.

Scott’s turning is the trigger for a lot of the early events in the series, and his death would change pretty much everything about the characters’ dynamics, relationships, and alliances. If Scott were dying in a hospital bed after the Wolf Moon, I’ll bet that Stiles would be right by his side that day, meaning that he wouldn’t run into Derek in the woods, in search of his friend’s inhaler. That said, Scott would have an animal bite on his hip, and would probably tell Stiles that a wolf bit him as he lay dying, and that, combined with the full moon and the other animal attacks/dead bodies around town, would probably still lead Stiles toward the truth.

A werewolf bit his friend. A werewolf killed his friend.

And you can be sure that a guilty, bitter, raging Stiles would latch onto that knowledge and decide to do something about it.

Stiles probably wouldn’t run into Allison at this point. Would have no reason to connect to her, no reason to really even notice her. She’s just the new girl in school and he has a hell of a lot bigger things to think about, like his dead friend, like the supernatural threat apparently running through the preserve killing innocent teenagers.

That said, I can absolutely picture Chris Argent visiting Stiles after Scott’s death. Maybe even in the hospital. (I put Scott in the hospital and not dying at home because Melissa.) He slinks up all grim and mysterious and asks Stiles if he’d been out there in the woods too –– what he saw, whether there was anything unusual. And when Stiles snarks back –– and Stiles would inevitably snark back –– he’d probably make some vague comment about bringing the thing that killed Stiles’ friend to justice before slipping away again.

And this might even be what helps Stiles connect those final dots.

So Stiles would take to the woods. Which… maybe not the smartest plan, but something out there fucking killed Scott and Stiles isn’t in the mood for smart right now. He’s in the mood for payback. When he runs into Derek he nearly takes his head off with a baseball bat and then he’s just kind of reeling because Derek Hale, survivor of the Hale fire is randomly hanging around the preserve six years after anyone in town’s seen him.

Hanging around the preserve where Scott (and another person) were killed.

Hanging around the preserve where an actual legit werewolf might be living.

Would those dots take too long to connect?

The thing is, though, grief recognizes grief and I think that a Stiles who’d just lost Scott might not be so quick to dismiss Derek’s bad attitude as he’d been in the show. And Derek, in the state that he’s in throughout s1, would be a lot more likely to open up to someone on a vendetta of revenge and grief than a couple of kids who seem more concerned with sports and dating.

So whether it happens right then or later, it would happen –– Stiles realizing what Derek is. Lashing out or bolting. Derek catching his bat on a desperate swing, chasing him (chasing the secondhand scent of gunpowder and Argent) slamming Stiles back against a tree and and Stiles screaming “My best friend is dead” and Derek snarling back “so’s my sister.”

And then for a few seconds they’d just… stare. Recognizing that grief, that loss, that hopeless rage, in each other’s wrecked expressions. And after a long second Derek would just… fall back. Give up his hold on Stiles, let the ugly weight of the losses settle between them. And Stiles would know… not really knowing how, but he’d know, that Derek wasn’t responsible for Scott.

But would Stiles go back to Argent? Would he approach Allison then, after hearing her last name in class and connecting those dots, would he make friends to try and find out what she knows? Or would he just seek out Chris Argent and demand information, demand weapons, demand whatever the hell it takes to take down this werewolf threat or else he’ll just go public to the Sheriff with what he knows and he’s pretty sure Van Helsing here wouldn’t love that.

So Argent agrees, on these terms: he trains Stiles.

It’s a good compromise, actually. Gerard’s been pushing for the next generation to start getting brought in on the family business and Chris really just wants to keep Allison out of it. Keep her safe, keep her happy in her ignorance. Is it so wrong to want a normal life for his daughter? And Stiles isn’t an Argent, and Chris isn’t sure he’d even want this kid carrying on his family legacy, but if it slows things down, lets Allison get through high school at least without having to face down the horrors he grew up with… he’ll take it. He’ll use this boy who’s already willing to fight and die for the cause and keep his daughter safe.

(Of course, this won’t work for long. Allison’s not oblivious and she’ll notice her family’s strange behavior. Notice Stiles dropping by a strange number of times… and his sudden “internship at Argent Arms International” –– her dad’s never taken on sixteen year old interns before… or any interns –– doesn’t completely explain it. So eventually, despite her dad’s best efforts, Allison will still realize her family business.)

–Jumping off the continuity track for a bit, with Scott gone and Jackson’s place on the lacrosse team assured, he wouldn’t feel any particular need to seek out new skills, strength, or the supernatural at all. So his involvement in the main arc would only come through Lydia (through Allison) or, if you’re with me on this one, once Peter takes interest in him, recognizing him as his son.

I also (and this is where my not having watched the season in so long might come into play) don’t particularly think Peter would bite anyone else if Scott died, because I generally feel like Peter biting Scott was just a case of Scott being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He saw a kid wandering through the woods –– the moon was full, his wolf was howling, those wacky CGI deer had sprinted away, and he figured why not? Peter wasn’t really focused on building a pack in s1. He had a lot of opportunities to bite other people, to make a whole pack, and he didn’t take them. He liked the idea of Scott being his beta, and having help getting his revenge, once he already had him, but I think his priority was really just killing the people involved in the Hale arson and Scott was just a bonus. If Scott didn’t take –– or if Scott hadn’t been in the woods that night –– I don’t think Peter would have gone for anyone else.

Back onto the main plot, though, with Stiles on the hunter track, his tentative truce with Derek would become very interesting. He wouldn’t tell Argent about knowing Derek, but the next time he runs into Derek –– fucking bleeding out in the school parking lot in front of his Jeep because Stiles and that few-second bond of loss is still the only connection Derek has in this town –– I think Stiles’ secrets would come out to him. He’d mention the wolfsbane and of course Stiles knows what wolfsbane is, how it works, where to get some, and he’d leave Derek in the safety of his bedroom probably while he flits to the Argents’ and gets himself a bullet to help bring him back. He figures Kate probably thought what Stiles did at first –– a local werewolf, must be the feral Alpha –– stupid mistake but it’s not like Derek exactly gives off the warm, cuddly vibes… but once Derek’s recovered enough to realize what had happened, where Stiles had gone and how he’d gotten that bullet, what would he do? Grit teeth, clam up? Push Stiles into the nearest shadowed space and snarl that the Argents can’t be trusted, they’re killers until Stiles snorts, snaps back a blithe “Oh yeah, and what are you?”

And Derek would pull back, looking wounded for a heartbeat before walling off, and Stiles would almost want to take the words back but he’d lift his chin stubbornly instead because these guys are helping him learn to fight, ok? They’re helping him learn how to take down Scott’s killer and yeah it sucks that Derek caught a bullet but everyone’s on red alert right now and it was a fucking shitty mistake.

And Derek would hold his gaze, steady and cold, say “your father’s Sheriff Stilinski, right? Look into the Hale fire. Visit the hospital’s long term care center. See what your new friends call justice.”

And of course Stiles does. He looks into the records. He sees that everything in the police files scream arson. And he can’t connect Chris Argent and his stern code with the mentions of children’s corpses, but the more he gets to know Kate the more he can see that in her. And I think he would start to question the Argents at that point, start questioning his alliances and everything he thinks he knows.

And that’s as far as I’m going to go with this headcanon for the moment, because it’s getting incredibly long already. But I really adore this canon divergent concept, with it starting as a tragedy/revenge story and Stiles being pulled in on the hunters’ side of things at first, and I think so much could be done with it.