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invisible-storyteller · 8 months

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Everybody wants some (Stiles)

(Also on AO3.)

"Dare," Erica grinned after a moment of suspense.

Lydia rolled her eyes, having anticipated Erica's answer ever since the beta had presented her suggestion of a "fun" game to a very tipsy, and very bored group of college students. It had been the fourth pack night in a row after everyone had finally arrived for their summer break and there were only so many movies they could watch, plus it was still better than Scott's suggestion of spin the bottle.

Speak of the devil.

"Everyone has chosen dare so far," Scott noted with the faintest pout on his lips, clearly disapproving of the humiliating tasks distributed so far.

Erica smacked her lips, giving Scott a taunting smile. "Fine. I changed my mind. Truth."

"Can she do that?" Isaac questioned but Scott only shrugged, not caring about the rules as long as no one else was forced to drink spoiled milk from a bowl like a puppy again.

"Okay, so..." Allison leaned forward, a foreboding shadow casting over her face that Erica met head-on, "If you weren't with Boyd, who would you fuck out of everyone in this room?"

Erica raised a single eyebrow, visibly unimpressed. "Stiles, duh."

It was almost superhuman how quickly Stiles straightened up in an instant, his mind having wandered off to fantasies of a certain socially inept alpha who had excused himself from his own living room as soon as the pack had settled down to play, and now getting jolted back into reality.

"That's boring. Everyone knows you had a crush on Stiles." Malia piped up from where she rested her head in Kira's lap, the kitsune's fingers carding through the locks of her hair absent-mindedly.

"You say that like you wouldn't fuck him if you had the chance."

"Of course, I would," Malia shrugged like it was no big deal.

Stiles, on the other hand, nearly choked on his tongue.

"That's not a surprise, either, you actually dated him." Lydia pointed out, and Stiles could only snap his eyes back and forth between the two girls, trying to frantically grasp just when he had lost track of the conversation.

"You don't have to sound so condescending," Stiles mumbled out eventually, his eyes finally pausing on Lydia.

"Oh, honey, you can't be this oblivious."

And Stiles totally wasn't imagining the knowing looks on his packmates' faces.

"About what?" He asked (damn his curiosity), feeling the usual trepidation that came with the whole 'being in a pack with not-so-mythical creatures' schtick.

Erica only snickered as she cuddled into Boyd's side, mischief dancing behind her thick eyelashes and promising no good. "About how everyone wants to breed you in this pack."

Okay, Stiles definitely choked this time (and Scott may have been a bit too enthusiastic with his back slaps) or maybe he fell asleep and was having the weirdest sexy dream without actual sex happening. Although, Lydia's offended yet conceding glance to the side looked pretty real.

"Wha-at?" Stiles wheezed out very eloquently between two consecutive coughs, and got immediately startled by the fact that Mason was the one to answer.

"Everyone in this pack has been attracted to you at one point," Mason clarified as if it was the most common knowledge in the world. Corey's agreeing nod did not help lift the fog in Stiles's mind at all.

"What."

"Say, Lydia, did you ever think of fucking Stiles?" Erica asked, a sadistic grin spreading wider on her firey red lips.

"Of course," Lydia replied, honest and simple, even flicking her hair for extra effect.

"Since when?" Stiles asked, a little outraged. He had spent many years pining after Lydia, so the fact that she hadn't shared this crucial piece of information with him was a bit of a punch into his teenage self's heart. Oh, and there was that tiny detail that Lydia had a boyfriend.

"Remember when we were hiding in the school from a rogue Peter?"

Stiles nodded, eyes squinting in suspicion as he recalled that dreadful night.

"You remember punching Jackson?"

And just like that, Stiles's jaw hit the ground, funny animation movie sound effects and all that. His chest subconsciously puffed out when he heard Jackson scoff indignantly, and continued to stare at Lydia, feeling like he was seeing her in a completely new light. "Wait, you liked that?! That turned you on?"

"Of course," Lydia parrotted with incongruous disinterest, "Still wouldn't have dated you. But I do enjoy a good display of dominance."

This had to be an alternate universe. Or a hyper-realistic dream, Stiles deduced.

"Okay, that makes... wow, three people who thought about getting all up on this," Stiles said in a daze with a half-aborted gesture to his body. Admittedly, the number was impressive (since he had always assumed it to be zero) but, at the same time, it was far from being the entire pack as Erica and Mason had so confidently claimed.

As if reading his mind, Lydia's sweet voice filled the loft once again.

"Hey, Ally, didn't you consider dating Stiles at one point?" Lydia addressed the other girl out of nowhere, making Stiles turn towards his long-time friend with a look teetering someplace between pure shock and utter horror.

"Yeah?" Allison's uncertain response launched her into a pensive moment, probably rummaging through her memories before frowning in mild amusement. "That was actually your fault I think."

"Wha-" Stiles opened his mouth to say something along the lines of 'what the fuck' but Lydia beat him to it.

"It was before prom," Lydia reminisced with an honest-to-God smile, "You were insufferable and tried to convince me to go with Stiles. I told you that if you think he's such a great catch, maybe you should be the one going with him."

Allison snapped her fingers as if the memory had been at once revealed to her as well. "Oh yeah. I remember thinking that he would be a gentleman in bed."

"Ugh..." Honestly, at this point, Stiles's brain was officially out of order. Dial-up error noise, no signal sign, all that jazz. He seriously didn't think the night could get any more absurd, but then again, this was his life, with the constant motto being 'fuck Stiles's sanity', so what was he expecting, really?

"I would feel so grossed out right now if I didn't have fantasies about Stiles, too," Isaac revealed nonchalantly, and to that, Stiles had to make a face. "What? I just wanted to see if I can shut you up."

"With your mouth," Erica added with a conspiring smirk. Stiles really hated her right now. She was the one responsible for this whole avalanche collapsing onto poor unsuspecting Stiles in the first place.

"I had the same thought," Boyd added, apparently joining in on the 'let's wreck Stiles's world' plan, "Although I was planning to shut your mouth with something else."

Stiles's mouth decided at that moment that it was just going to assume a permanent open position, gaping like a fish out of water (cause that was exactly how he felt), which didn't help his case, in hindsight.

"Stiles does have an oral fixation," Malia chimed in, everyone else nodding along like that wasn't news at all.

"Seriously, guys? This- okay, Scotty, help me out here," Stiles pleaded, unsure of how to feel about everything that had been spoken so far, but still solid in the faith for his quasi-brother, "You did not have sexual fantasies about me, right? We're best friends. Brothers from another mother."

Stiles really wished Scott wouldn't have pulled the world's most apologetic and guilt-ridden grimace at that.

"Remember when we went to that pool party in eighth grade?"

Stiles didn't like where this was going, but yes, he could sort of remember. That day marked the first time Stiles had drunk alcohol - some cheap booze their classmate's brother had stashed somewhere in his room. It was also the summer Stiles's body had finally gained some definition so he wasn't too shy about forgoing a shirt.

"You asked me to put sunscreen on your back?" Scott continued with hunched shoulders like he could hide from his own words, and Stiles's eyes popped open in realization.

"Dude."

"That's why I had to go to the bathroom," Scott scratched the back of his neck with flaming cheeks, "Twice."

"Twice?" Liam echoed, and Stiles imagined wrapping his hands around that little pup's throat and just squeezing.

"Stiles's swim shorts were very tight when he got out of the pool," Scott answered sheepishly, and much like a volcano, the pack burst into loud cheers. Stiles was seemingly alone in his mortification, mourning the loss of his innocence and feeling oddly betrayed.

"Since we're being honest," Oh God, why was Jackson talking?, "I did have some dreams about Stilinski, and in my defence, I was still in the closet back then and it was a small locker room, okay? I'm not responsible for my thoughts after seeing what he's packing."

"I did think about making out with him when we were on a stakeout," Theo added, a bit too eager to be part of the pack in Stiles's opinion.

This was all too much. Probably a bigger conceptual change than the discovery of the supernatural's existence. Stiles couldn't help it, therefore, in the following silence where everyone awaited his final reaction with baited breaths, he realized there was only one thing left to do: laugh.

"Okay, wow," Stiles breathed out between bouts of laughter, almost doubling over himself as he clutched his sides, "Nice joke, guys. Really. Prank of the year. Picking on the single pringle in the pack. Did you rehearse this?"

There was something unsettling in the look his packmates shared.

Malia looked around then with a neutral expression and exclaimed. Loudly. "Raise your hand if you ever thought about kissing or fucking Stiles."

Everybody's hands, without exception (Stiles checked), shot up high into the air like they were pulled by strings (Mason might have had to nudge Liam in the side but he, too, raised his hand with eyes downcast in shame), and it was the most out-of-left-field reaction at that moment, but Stiles suddenly felt a glimmer of hope that maybe... no. That was and had always been wishful thinking. Even if, apparently, Stiles was the epitome of bonability in his peers' eyes.

Right on cue, a deep rumble came from the bottom of the stairs, startling absolutely no one besides Stiles who was still momentarily lost in adjusting his worldview.

"What is happening?"

It was truly fascinating how reluctant everybody seemed to answer now in the face of that gruff voice. Stiles, for the most part, could only swallow past the sound of his own rabbiting heartbeat.

"Just playing some stupid game," Jackson deflected as his hands, in comical synchrony with all others', dropped to his sides.

"What game?" Derek pried, arms crossing across his chest and making the muscles bulge threateningly, not that Stiles noticed.

"It's called... 'Who's thought about kissing Stiles'?" Kira replied with a tamer version of the truth, although Stiles had no doubt that Derek had heard the original statement if his 'what brain-dead moron do you take me for' frown was any indication.

Nervous laughter bubbled out of Stiles, and he clapped his hands for lack of a better idea on how to diffuse the situation. The pack was engaging in some creepy version of a stare-down with their alpha, and from Isaac's uncomfortable squirming, it was evident that the others had felt the uncanny chill of Derek's look, too. Even Stiles had the uncomfortable impression of a noose tangling around his neck, awaiting (perhaps) a sentence or an order, and he was eerily reminded of the early days of knowing Derek. Things had been better in recent years so the current tension in the room was all the more puzzling, especially since the pack rarely acted so unassertive around their alpha.

"Well, at least we know one person who hasn't, right?" Stiles joked weakly in the silence, his smile short-lived against the strangely intense leer on Derek's face.

If anything, their alpha's features hardened at the words, his (thankfully still normal) eyes blazing with a heat that Stiles had never seen outside the throes of battle. It was doing some very ill-timed things to Stiles.

Unsurprisingly, Lydia was the first to stand up, the light shake of her head accompanied by a soft "Oh, Stiles" before she made the smart move and left, rousing everyone else into action. Derek kept glaring at the pack until they dribbled out one by one, some sending Stiles encouragement (like Erica with her thumbs up) but ultimately abandoning him in the loft with a displeased alpha to handle. Stiles gaped after his traitorous friends, arms stretched open in disbelief and no clue about anything that had gone down so far. If there was a way to say "???" out loud, Stiles would have done that right then and there.

"Wha- guys?" Stiles asked just as the metal door violently slid shut. It was thunderous in the otherwise empty loft.

He whipped around swiftly and poked his thumb in the direction of the exit because that felt like the next logical thing to do when a murderous-looking werewolf began to move towards him.

"I guess that means pack night's over so I'll just... Umm..."

Stiles could have sworn that he heard a growl before Derek's eyes bled into ominous red, and it was a testament to how fucked up Stiles's self-preservation instincts had become over the years that those weren't the wolfish features that had Stiles's brain melting into syrupy goo. No, that achievement could only be attributed to the sharp fangs poking out from behind Derek's pink lips, and Stiles was like 95% sure that "How would those feel buried in my skin?" was not a normal thought to have in this kind of situation.

"Has any of them touched you?"

Stiles shook his head - you know, once he had enough blood there to comprehend the question - and his hands came up unwittingly to put some barrier between him and Derek. "Hold on, what? No! It wasn't that kind of game- oh well, some of your pups were certainly touching in ways that I tried really hard to ignore- hey, you should talk to them about that! You know, privacy, I'm sure you heard... about... that..."

Derek's eyebrows gradually sank lower during his rant while Stiles's mouth slightly opened to help regulate his breathing (and why was that so hard all of a sudden?). Something in Derek's look made Stiles itchy to speak, like he had to defend himself for some reason. "It's not like any of them would actually want to fuck me- Hey, what's with the looming, dude?"

Derek's eyes narrowed wordlessly onto Stiles's chest where the human's heart rate spiked from feeling the solid surface of the door hit his back. He hadn't noticed how fast Derek was crowding in on him, and something about that fact made Stiles think of one of those National Geographic documentaries. You know, where the gazelle gets mauled.

"Dude, if you want me to leave, just say so. You don't gotta go all Michael Myers on me-"

"Would you let them?" Derek slurred around his fangs, eyes meandering like he was trying to catalogue all of Stiles's (very straightforward and very communicative) reactions, "Would you let anyone in the pack fuck you?"

Stiles shook his head so fast, he almost felt dizzy afterwards.

Derek's eyes faded back to green then, and he withdrew his body heat that Stiles hadn't even taken note of up until that point. With the proximity confiscated, Stiles felt a tinge of disappointment as well as a buttload (hah) of confusion - the same emotions somehow getting reflected back at him in Derek's eyes before the werewolf sculpted his face into his usual neutral look.

Stiles had never had a more life-changing lightbulb moment before (previous truth or dare game included), and he felt the urge to facepalm at himself.

"I mean, it depends..." Stiles trailed off, Derek's hostile yet curious eyebrows making a reappearance. "I, um..."

Instead of bothering with words, Stiles licked his bottom lip as a test and delighted when Derek's eyes followed the movement with failing restraint. With a sudden burst of confidence, he pushed away from the door and violated Derek's personal space as much as he could get away with without actual touching.

"Raise your hand if you have a crush on Derek Hale.

Derek frowned, his eyebrows doing some weird high jumps when Stiles sneaked a hand up into the air and wiggled his fingers for emphasis. This time, when the werewolf's eyes caught his, they were consumed by darkness instead of alpha red but were no less promising. And when Derek grabbed his wrist and yanked him forward, literally tripping Stiles into a kiss, that was something Stiles was for once expecting and welcomed with an eager moan.

As it turned out, nobody wanted Stiles as much as Derek Hale did.

And out of all the reveals that day, that was the only one that truly mattered to Stiles.

#sterek #original: sterek fanfic

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mummybear · 7 months

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My Brother's Best Friend - Part 3 - Explanations

Words: 6287

Warnings: Swearing, Angst, Tiny Bit Of Smut, Multiple Heart To Heart, Protective Scott, Possessive Stiles, Jealously, Talk Of Marking, Talk Of Mates. Think that's it.

Characters: Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall, Reader/Sadie McCall, Lydia Martin, Liam Dunbar, Allison Argent, Melissa McCall, Derek Hale.

Pairing: Stiles Stilinski and Reader

Summary: A little bit more of the truth is revealed and things get heated between Stiles and Sadie, not in all positive ways. Just how much can Sadie take?

A/N: Hey guys! Sorry I know I missed a week there, had a busy week at work! And hopefully this extra long chapter will make up for it, I was going to cut it into two chapter but I felt it flowed better as one, so I hope that's okay! Please let me know what you think, really hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 3 - Explanations

Scott’s whispered confession reaches your ears and you collapse against him almost immediately. Being turned was the one thing Stiles had insisted that he would never want, and he’d become increasingly adamant as the years had gone on. You can’t help but worry how this has affected their friendship, this was a pretty big thing to come between two friends. You also need to find out just how badly it’s currently affecting the two of them individually. They were two of the most important people in your life, which only made hearing all of this that much harder.

Scott pulls back to look at you as soon as you’ve recovered from the shock. You know that he needs to talk, to get this off of his chest, so you don't say anything in reply. You're slightly unsure of what to say right now anyway, because he’d done it, you knew he wasn’t lying, he’d bitten Stiles and that only meant one thing.

Besides, It's not like you can argue with him, because given his choices and his abilities, you would've done the same thing, especially in the heat of the moment. Knowing your brother the way you do, you know how hard it was for him to make that decision. He’d never wanted to turn anyone, let alone somebody who couldn’t make the decision for themselves.

A fleeting thought crosses your mind, does Stiles still have the beginnings of his mothers condition? Or had his new werewolf side shielded him from that reality? But Scott speaking pulls you from your thoughts.

"Trust me, nobody can hate me more than I hate myself for what I did that day. I know it was selfish, I do. But I couldn't lose my best friend, Sadie. Not like that, not when I had the chance to save him."

You hug him again, making sure to squeeze him extra tight.

"I won't tell you that you made the wrong decision, Scott, because that would make me a hypocrite. I'm pretty sure in your position I would've done the same. But have the two of you spoken about any of this? The guilt you're clearly feeling? Are you guys okay?"

"Sorry, I’m just worried about you, well, both of you." You mumble under your breath, pulling back to look at him. You're sure that your wince is visible as soon as the words leave your lips.

Not that Scott shows any sign of being overwhelmed by your inquisition, nothing new there though. He simply gives you a fond smile as he looks you over, as if contemplating if you can handle his next words.

"Typical, Sadie. Always thinking of everyone else, never yourself.” Scott sighs softly, before he continues.

“Stiles knows how I feel and why I feel it, and he gets it. We've talked at length about this, trust me, I think he’s sick of me asking at this point. He isn't happy about what I did, not by a long shot, but he's had time to process and he understands why I did what I did." Before Scott can continue he groans in pain and clenches his teeth.

You quickly grab his shoulders and force him to look at you. "I guess I got it from my big brother, huh?” You state matter of factly, trying your best to distract him from whatever pain he’s feeling but you watch as he balls his hands into fists, clearly doing his best to ignore whatever is wrong. Then you watch as his face begins to contort in pain, instantly worrying you.

“Scott, what Is it?" You demand as the worry tightens your stomach almost painfully. He reaches out and quickly grabs the couch and his claws start protruding from the tips of his fingers.

"I hate to ask you this, Sadie. But I need you to go down to the basement with me. Stiles needs you, he's in pain and he and I, our connection, it’s diff…" Scott's sentence is cut off when he moans, grabbing at his head and dropping to the floor.

You don't even think as you leave your brother, making a run for it, heading towards the basement door. You rip the door open and charge down the stairs, flinging open the final door as soon as it’s in reach.

"Stiles?" You call out as soon as you round the corner, but you come to a halt as soon as your eyes fall on the man in question, he’s chained to the wall in front of you. Growling low and sinister the closer you get to the men. You glance at Derek and Liam standing off to the side, looking like they’re ready to pounce at the slightest hint of trouble, and move away a little.

Lydia quickly grabs your hand and pulls you with her all the way to the other side of the room, with Allison and your mom.

You very quickly realise that you can't look away from Stiles. His eyes are a much deeper purple than you had initially seen earlier. Maybe they changed depending on the situation and perhaps his emotions played a part in it too. Simply another thing you were yet to find out.

You finally allow yourself a real look at him and the man he’s become. Your eyes move over him slowly, taking your time to check him out. He's certainly not the same Stiles Stilinski that you remember. He looks mouth-wateringly good, even covered in dirt and blood, his corded muscles ripple as he strains against the restraints, his clothes clinging tightly to his sweat-soaked body. You’re unable to get over how he was still the skinny defenceless boy you’d fallen in love with. His hair is a little longer than it was the last time he’d been home. Yet another thing you’d failed to notice. Stiles had you so distracted earlier tonight that you’d barely managed to pay attention to anything, except the things he was doing to you. You didn’t give much thought to how much he had changed.

"Mine." Stiles growls suddenly for the second time tonight. Hearing that word again snaps you from your admiration of him, especially when he begins to thrash in his chains to get to you.

However, the tighter he pulls against his bindings the more blood drips from his elbows, but he either doesn’t care or he doesn’t seem to notice. Almost like the rage had consumed him. Stiles doesn’t even seem like himself right now, It’s almost like he’s possessed. And It’s killing you to watch him like this, to see him hurting himself in this way. The fact that it’s because of you doesn’t escape your notice.

You swallow thickly as you step closer to him, almost like you’re hypnotised by him once again. Except that this time you're very aware of the pull, so you don't put up any resistance. You wince when you catch sight of just how deep the handcuffs and chains have cut into his wrists. You’re really hoping that Stiles heals just as quickly as Scott, or he’s gonna be in a lot of pain for quite a few days at least.

"Let him free, please. I need him out of there and so does my brother." You whisper to nobody in particular, eyes locked on Stiles’.

"We can't, Mini. I’m sorry, really. But we don't know what he'll do. He isn’t himself right now and we need to wait for Scott. Alpha’s orders." His words are careful, almost like he’s worried about upsetting you. Apparently he’s right to be worried about your reaction, because suddenly anger creeps up your spine, almost as if it isn't your own and you round on the Beta.

"I said let him the fuck out. Now. It's hurting him and my brother. So your Alpha can’t exactly speak for himself right now. So do it, let him out.” Your voice is practically a growl as you march up to Liam and shove him back against the wall. He holds his hands up to try and placate you, for some reason that just makes your anger spike higher. Your hands tighten in his jacket as you shove him back harder. “Or we can find out what happens if you really piss me off."

Anger is thick in every one of your senses. Although now this anger is one hundred percent your own. It’s a feeling you’re all too familiar with, though not at this intensity. It’s the feeling of needing to protect something that’s yours, so even though you might not have the same power as the people in this room, it is something you can’t stop yourself from trying to do.

You feel everyone’s eyes on you. Of course they don’t look overly concerned about you hurting anyone. It’s probably just that they don’t like seeing you upset, you quickly glance at Derek, “just wait okay, I’ll go get Scott.”

You give Derek a stiff nod in return, watching him leave until the door closes behind him. No matter how much you try to calm yourself, it feels like the anger and despair are drowning you. It’s beginning to scare you now, there’s no controlling it, your hands shake as you screw your eyes shut, searching for some semblance of calm.

"Don't do this, this isn’t you, Sadie. It's okay, I’m okay. Breathe for me, please." You spin around hearing his raspy breathless voice and once again your eyes lock with Stiles.

His eyes have returned to the chocolate brown colour you've always loved. "Stiles," you sigh in relief. Taking a deep breath and stumbling back a little, as the anger seems to leave you in a dizzying rush, almost as if Stiles had helped you gain control of your emotions. But that’s not possible, right?

Your mother wraps her arms around you, right as Scott stumbles into the room with Derek’s arm wrapped around his waist to hold him up.

"He's back. For everyone's sake let him out." Scott’s breathless as Derek releases him and helps him lean against the wall to catch his breath.

Allison quickly undoes Stiles' chains with the key that she’d been tightly clutching the whole time, and with a nod from your brother Lydia and Liam rush to grab Stiles as he collapses under his own weight. You have to look away when Stiles rests his head on Lydia’s shoulder, jealousy and sadness hit you all at once, like a punch to your gut. Turning around in your mother’s arms you wrap yours around her too, burying your face in her shoulder.

Suddenly goosebumps raise at the back of your neck, “not now, Stiles. Sadie needs rest. Now that you’re back to yourself. I hope you understand that.” Your arms tighten around her, and you thank the stars that Melissa McCall is your mother, she has this ability to sense what you need before you even say anything.

Without another word she turns you both and wraps her arm around your shoulder, pulling you into her body tighter, as she leads you out of the room. You follow silently, unsure of what to say. This day has already been completely crazy, you just need a little time and space to process everything. It’s so damn late you’re surprised the sun hasn't started rising yet.

As soon as the two of you walk inside your room you collapse on the bed, throwing an arm over your eyes, but you can feel your mom watching you.

“Can we not talk about it, momma. I just need the rest of the night to myself, we can talk tomorrow, okay? I promise I’ll be fine.”

You inwardly flinch as the images of all the times you’ve seen Stiles and Lydia together flash through your mind on an unforgiving loop.

“Sure baby girl, you’ve got it. But you need anything, you know where I am.” She gives your leg an affectionate squeeze before heading out of the room, with a sigh you close your eyes and roll onto your, doing your best to sleep. Feeling a tear roll down your cheek as the images continue to assault your senses.

Some Time Later That Night

You wake suddenly, hearing the creek of the bedroom door as it opens slowly. You sit up and quickly turn on the bedside light, squinting at the brightness it brings. Your heart hammers in your chest as you feel yourself beginning to panic. Then a mop of brown hair appears around the door, “sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just wanted to talk, or sit, or I guess just be near you. If that’s okay? This is… I sound like an idiot, I just-” you cut him off, unable to stop yourself from giggling at him, his cheeks are bright pink and he looks so nervous. Which is so strange with how he looks now, but it’s also so much like the Stiles you used to know.

“Come in, sit down. Dork,” you smile, patting the bed beside you trying to pretend all he is your brother’s best friend coming to talk, and completely ignoring the fact that you’d been making out a few hours ago.

He watches you closely, almost like he’s worried about scaring you off if he moves quickly.

“You sure? I couldn’t sleep, I just… I guess I just need to be near you, if you don’t mind that is. I don’t want to overstep, guess I thought we could talk.” He’s rambling and fiddling with his own fingers as he watches you closely.

You carefully lay your hand on top of his when he sits beside you on your bed.

“Stiles, It’s okay that you’re nervous. I am too, this whole thing is kind of crazy.”

“You have no idea just how crazy it is. Scott said he told you what happened to me. With this,” he says as he waves his hand over his body.

“This is so strange to talk about, I never saw all of this in my future. Even though I don’t even know what this is exactly. Deaton has some running theories. Unfortunately none of us have anything concrete to go on right now.”

“Can I ask where Scott…” you can’t finish the sentence, unsure if it’s rude to ask about his mark.

Stiles swallows hard and nods, meeting your eyes, he shrugs off his hoodie and extends his arm. The mark is half way up his forearm, and to your surprise it’s still visible. You vividly remember how Scott’s had disappeared pretty quickly after he’d been bitten by Peter.

“Yeah, I kinda got that you’re not just any kind of wolf, you’re different. Right?” you ask as he links his fingers with your own.

Stiles leans back against the headboard and you do the same, turning so that you look him in the eyes. This feels good, like he trusts you, like he wants to confide in you, it’s something you’d always wanted. To feel like you could be there for him when he needed somebody the most.

“I was starting to get used to it, the whole wolf thing. Well, as much as was possible. But then I saw you and something changed, it was like I couldn’t control myself, I needed to get to you. I know you probably don’t want to talk about this, but when I found that douche in that room with you, I lost it. The thought of him touching you made me feel sick, the fact that you clearly weren’t interested both helped and made things so much worse. I wasn’t just angry as your brother’s best friend or even as your friend.” He reaches up and cups your cheek with his free hand, “I didn’t want his filthy fucking hands anywhere near you. I had to have you, make you mine. Possess you, mark you,” he rasps, his voice becoming breathy and laboured, and the purple in his eyes flashes again, before quickly returning to brown.

You swallow thickly, arousal and nerves swimming inside you like an uncontrollable force. “What about now?” you whisper, leaning in a little bit closer.

“Right now, I can’t lie. Those thoughts haven’t changed, they’re still there, no matter how much I try to push them down. The more time we spend together, the harder it gets to ignore, and it gets harder by the second not to throw you on this bed and make you mine.” He all but growls before clearing his throat.

Stiles gives you a wry smile as he shakes his head. “But now I’m in control of myself, I won’t do anything, not until you know everything. I won't let you do anything more with me, not until you know as much as we do.”

“Wow,” you whimper, clenching your thighs together as his words continue to stoke the fire inside you. You clear your throat and take a shuddered breath when Stiles subconsciously edges a little closer to you, so that your thighs are touching.

“What, you’re not even going to kiss me?” The words leave your parted lips in a breathy whisper.

“No.” His words are sharp and blunt. You wish it didn’t turn you on more but it does.

“What else do I need to know?” you question quietly. Licking your lips as you watch him closely, wishing that you could just get this out of the way and get to the good stuff.

His thumb brushes your bottom lip, “stop doing that for starters, beautiful.”

“Why’s that?”

He chuckles quietly. “I think you know exactly why, so stop being a smart ass.”

Your nose brushes against his as you lean in the last little bit, “maybe you should tell me what I need to know Agent Stilinski, then we can get down to business.”

“Ugh, come on you little minx. Don’t do that to me,” Stiles groans, brushing his nose over yours softly.

“Just a little taste,” you whisper before moving in and pressing your lips to his. Stiles sighs in defeat and pulls you closer.

“Fine. You win for now…” Stiles mumbles, pulling away briefly to meet your eyes, “but we’re not doing anything permanent. Not until we talk.”

“Yes Sir,” you grin, throwing off your duvet and climbing into his lap. The sleep shorts you’d pulled on before bed pull tight against your ass as you settle your knees either side of his hips.

You wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him, letting everything you have ever felt for him pour into the kiss. He holds you close, wrapping his arms around you as his tongue moves to brush against yours. The kiss quickly deepens and you feel his fingers beginning to dig into your skin soft harshly, but it only makes you want him more. You whimper as the passion intensifies and you feel like your heart is about to beat out of your chest. You can’t get close enough to him for your liking, It’s almost like you want to be a part of him.

“Please,” you moan against Stiles’ lips as he pulls your hips tighter against his.

The rigid length of his thick cock settles between your thighs, and you can’t help but whimper as you experimentally roll your hips over him.

“Don’t, Sadie.” Stiles demands, his eyes glowing purple once more, only this time the colour doesn’t leave his eyes and you quickly stop your movements.

Stiles tightly grips your ass now in both hands and his fingers dig into your bare skin. You cup his cheeks and watch him closely as you tell him what you need to. Both of you breathing heavily against each other's lips, then the lust that was thick in the room quickly begins to fade.

“Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry, we should talk.” You sigh regretfully, looking down into your lap as you drop your hands to his chest.

“Hey. Look at me,” Stiles asks you, moving his hands up and gently squeezing your hips.

“I guess I’ve just wanted this for so long, you and me I mean. I never even considered you’d look in my direction.” You look up to meet his eyes, instead you find him chewing on his lower lip. “What?”

“How long?” Stiles asks as his thumbs rub soothing circles into your hips.

“What does that matter?” You ask nervously, looking at the wall behind him, too afraid to meet his eyes.

“I’m just interested. I never noticed anything, you never said anything.”

“Come on, Stiles. You’re my big brother’s best friend. I’m just some huge cliche. Not to mention the fact that you’ve been in love with Lydia for so many years. I accepted a long time ago that I never stood a chance. Maybe this thing between us will just fizzle out soo-”

Stiles cuts you off when his lips meet yours, you squeeze your eyes shut as a tear rolls down your cheek. You wrap yourself around him tighter, doing your best to hold onto whatever this is for as long as possible. Stiles threads his fingers through your hair as he attempts to pull you closer. Both clinging to each other as you pour everything you have into a kiss once again, too worried this will be your last. Stiles pulls away slowly, giving your lips a final soft peck.

“I might not know everything about us just yet, but don’t say that we’re temporary. I’d never do that, not to you. I don’t want you ever even thinking that ever again. This is exactly why I said we needed to talk.”

You sigh and rest your forehead against his, “okay, so talk.”

“Okay. So I guess we should start from the beginning. Back when Scott turned eighteen he started having these urges. They were so intense and he really struggled to stop himself from taking every opportunity to be with Alison. When I say be with Alison I mean like be with her,”

“Okay, eww. Stop with the visuals I get it.”

Stiles clears his throat, failing miserably to hide his laugh before continuing. “Anyway, it didn’t matter where they were or who they were with, they couldn’t stop themselves. Frankly I almost threw up on several occasions, frankly I’m surprised that you didn’t notice. Anyway, it only got worse, he started getting visions, he was unbelievably possessive and protective of her and anyone who was around her got the brunt of it, specifically men.” Stiles gives you a sheepish smile as he pulls back to look at you.

“Okay, so some of this sounds familiar…” you trail off, admiring the way he looks in that moment.

“Right, I’m getting to that. So, when Alison started acting out, feeling things that were far from the usual, experiencing not only her emotions but Scott’s as well, amongst a bunch of other things you’ll probably soon notice with us, he went to Deaton for help. Scott asked Deaton if he knew what the hell was going on with him and with Allison, especially since she wasn’t a wolf. As it turns out the good doctor had some idea, he’d been doing some more research into the whole true Alpha thing, while the research is limited, for obvious reasons, it did mention something about the true Alpha and their pack having mates. Where regular werewolves aren’t heard to have mates specifically, Scott is different, and by extension so is anyone in his pack. More specifically the wolves he has turned will be the ones more likely to be affected.” You can almost feel his excitement the more he talks, and his grip on you tightens.

You gently pry his hands off of you, doing your best to ignore the hurt look that crosses his face when you climb off of his lap, moving to sit beside him instead.

You’re pretty sure that you’re starting to connect the dots, as much as you want to listen, you can’t deny that you’re becoming increasingly nervous the more that he talks.

“Please, don’t run. Not again. I know this is alot to take in, but…” you cut him off with a shake of your head.

“I’m not gonna run, Stiles. This is just a lot, and it only confirms everything I was worried about to begin with.” You sigh, rubbing your hands over your face. Stiles carefully and hesitantly wraps an arm around your waist and tries to pull you closer.

You can’t deny the comfort you feel being close to him, his skin touching yours only adds to everything you feel.

“Okay. It’s your turn to talk, what exactly is it that you’re worried about?” Stiles asks, turning your face so that you’re looking at him.

You feel a tear roll down your cheek as soon as your eyes clash with his, “let’s be honest here, Stiles. If it wasn’t for this whole mate bond thing, would you have even looked at me twice, in a way that wasn’t like I was your sister? Can you honestly tell me that anything would have changed between us if Scott hadn’t been forced to bite you that day?”

Your heart hammers painfully in your chest as you watch him, you can see the unease written all over his face. However, that only serves to prove your point and that just breaks your heart that much more.

“It doesn’t matter how things used to be, Mini, things damn well change. And we don’t know what would’ve happened. Please, don’t talk like this. It feels like you’re saying goodbye before anything even has a chance to start between us.” Cupping your face he wipes your tears away carefully. “Please, stop crying.”

“Well we don’t know that now do we!?” You can’t keep your voice down, there are too many emotions swirling inside you uncontrollably.

You jump off of the bed and start pacing your room, fully aware that Stiles is yet to take his eyes off of you. Hearing you bed creek you turn to face the movement, watching as he slowly walks towards you.

“Goddamit Sadie! Just stop. I get that you don’t understand how any of this works, well neither do I, not really! Not first hand! I understand that you don’t see that I could go from not seeing you the way I do now, seemingly out of nowhere. But it was like a bolt of lightning hit me the second I saw you tonight. I laid eyes on you and everything made sense, I know that you don’t completely understand, but surely you feel it?”

“Of course I feel it! I’ve felt it for the last decade of my life! My feelings didn’t just appear overnight! They only got stronger. And It fucking hurts, Stiles!”

“Then why can’t we give this thing a go! Just let me try, please! You don’t know what this mate bond means. At least let me explain that. If you don’t want to talk to me, then ask your brother or Allison, I’m trying here okay! Just tell me what I can do?” Stiles begs, stilling your pacing when he gently takes you by the arms.

“I want to talk to you about this, whatever this is… I just don’t know what to make of all of it.”

Running your hands through your hair you inwardly groan knowing what you’re about to say.

“But first I need to ask you something, and I want only honest answers. Even if it means that I won't like what you say, because I need to know that I can trust you. Especially If we do go through whatever needs to be done to complete this mate bond.”

“How do you know you need to do something to complete the bond?” Stiles asks, a slight grin kicking up the corner of his lips.

“Stiles,” you sigh, folding your arms across your chest.

“Okay, sorry. Go ahead, I promise I’ll be honest whatever that means for us, I won’t lie.” He looks nervous, but there’s a determination you can see written all over his face.

“Do you still have feelings for Lydia?” Your voice remains even and steady, no matter how much you’re dreading the answer to that question. One thing you’re sure of though is that you can read Stiles like a book, always have been able to. Or maybe he just wasn't a very good liar, you just hoped he hadn’t honed that particular skill while working with the FBI.

Stiles smiles at you and shakes his head.

“Honestly, no I don’t, at least not in the same way that I used to. A few years back Lydia talked to me about it, the guys had been joking with me about it, she overhead and pulled me to one side. We talked for a while and I realised my feelings weren’t the same as they used to be, sure I still love her, but only in the same way that I love Allison, that’s it.” He takes your hand and places it over his heart. His heartbeat remains steady and controlled, and his eyes stay locked with yours.

You’re so shocked that you just stare at him for a full minute with your mouth open, but then he begins to look a little too smug so you decide to speak.

“So, let’s say I believe you. Did Deaton say Scott and Allison needed to do something to complete the mating bond? Or was it just a sure thing the minute Scott turned eighteen?” you ramble, fully aware these questions are practically spilling from your mouth.

“I’m guessing you’re using your brother and Allison to try and distance yourself from this. I’ll play along with it.” Stiles agrees reluctantly, and you hate that you have to use your brother and his girlfriend as cover, but you need to distance yourself from the situation a little.

“Deaton’s research indicated that a lot of the myths and stories around werewolves aren't so crazy. As it turns out there’s actually a lot of truth behind them. A werewolves mate is its other half, almost like a soulmate. So when they finally find each other it’s usually instinctual to mark each other. Obviously, like I said, Scott is different. Mates haven’t been mentioned in decades amongst wolves, not until now. So far It’s only been Scott and our pack that we know of, but still, it also means that not both halves are always wolves. Like with Scott and Allison, and you and me.” Silence surrounds the pair of you as you stare at him, he smiles and tucks a finger under your chin to close your mouth.

You frown when Stiles’ smile suddenly drops, and he seems to be contemplating telling you something. However, then you hear him sigh and he screws his eyes shut. When he does open them you see his nervousness and worry staring back at you.

“I should also tell you something else. Something I wish so badly I could lie to you about, because right now I’m terrified you’ll want to choose this option. But I meant what I said, I won’t force you into this, and definitely not without all of the information.”

“Okay. I’m listening. But don’t be so sure I’ll take the easy route.” You smile, trying to reassure him somehow.

Stiles seems to ignore your words, and the worry doesn’t lift from his face as he scrubs a hand over it before speaking.

“You can refuse to be my mate. You can reject me and I can reject you. We also both have the option to refuse or accept the rejection. But I promise you here and now that if you chose to reject me I would accept it. If that was what you wanted, I won’t stop you. But I will NEVER reject you. I need you to understand that whatever happens, It won't be me rejecting you.”

“Is it painful? To reject someone I mean? How would we even do that?” you ask with confusion lacing your tone.

Stiles winces as at your reply and looks down at his hands, which he quickly tucks in his pockets.

“If that’s what you want to do, I understand. But the selfish part of me can’t explain to you how to do it. So you’ll need to get Deaton to explain it properly, I wouldn’t want you to mess it up, not if you truly wanted to do it. But yes, it is. It’s apparently the worst pain a wolf can experience.”

“And you’d do that? For me?” you ask in disbelief stepping closer.

“I’d fucking die for you Sades. What’s a bit of pain?”

Your heart practically breaks at that statement, the look on his face alone could shatter you right then and there, so you decide to try and change the subject. Especially since you have no intention of rejecting him either.

“Wow this is a lot,” you half laugh in disbelief, running a nervous hand through your hair.

“As soon as I caught your scent, my mouth watered and I knew instantly what you were to me, even before I knew who you were. Then I saw you, and that need to make you mine was so insistent and constant that I felt it everywhere. But I wouldn’t ever do that to you, not without you having full knowledge of the situation. I was doing okay at keeping my cool, but then we kissed and I lost it.”

“Has Scott marked Allison?” you ask swallowing thickly when you don’t find yourself completely against the idea.

“Sure has, right here,” he rasps as he trails his finger along your collarbone.

“Scott wanted it where everyone could see it.”

He licks his lips as your heart rate increases, you take a step back as he advances on you, until your back hits the wall.

You clear your throat as you look into his eyes once more, “have you thought about where you would mark me, if we did go ahead with this whole mating thing?”

“You little Minx are playing with fire right now. But since we’re being honest, I haven’t thought about much else. So don’t tease me.”

“C’mon! Tell me, please,” you whisper, unintentionally leaning into his touch.

Stiles chews on his bottom lip thoughtfully, you can feel his eyes roam across any uncovered skin, almost like it burns under his gaze. He hums thoughtfully as he traces several places with his fingers. He starts by tracing the line between your neck and shoulder, before he slowly moves down, lingering on the curve of your breast a little longer than necessary and your heart rate speeds up as he makes his way down your body. His eyes saying everything that his mouth won't.

“So many perfect places,” he mumbles, moving next to trace the line of your hip where your t-shirt has ridden up, lastly he moves between your thighs, tracing along your inner thigh keeping his touch high. He’s so close to your pussy that you can feel an intense heat beginning to overtake you when his fingers dig into your skin.

“Guess it depends just how badly I want people to know who you belong to, doesn’t it? Or If I want it somewhere only I can see.”

You're speechless as you tremble with need in front of him, the need to have him inside you is almost overwhelming. You would do anything to please him right now, you want him more than you’ve ever wanted anything. Stiles’ deep chuckle catches you by surprise as he leans in, inhaling deeply.

“I can smell your need, mate. You’re wet for me again, aren’t you?” he rumbles as he nuzzles into your neck. You’re fully aware it’s a statement not a question.

“That werewolf nose of yours is gonna be a real big pain in my ass, Stilinski,” you giggle as his breath tickles your skin.

He pulls back to grin at you again. “How about you? Where would you want my mark? I know you’re thinking about it, my little minx.”

Licking your lips you slip out from in between Stiles and the wall keeping your eyes on him. “Well, I could tell you the answer to that. But I think we’ve talked enough.”

You slowly slip your shirt over your head and Stiles’ rumbling growl fills the room. He steps forward and you step back another step, slowly letting your shorts drop, leaving you in your underwear.

“I think It’s only fair if we get a good, long, hard look at each other. You know, for research.”

Stiles doesn’t speak and his eyes haven't moved from your body. He quickly pulls off the black t-shirt he’s wearing, and you have to hold your breath at the sight in front of you. If you’d thought he was ripped before, dear lord were you in for a surprise. He has a six pack you could only dream of and he looks like he could throw you around the bedroom with those arms. That deep V at his hips has you itching to run your tongue along it.

You swallow thickly as he smirks at you, and those purple eyes return, only showing you that his emotions have some control over their colour.

“Well damn, you certainly healed up. Real fucking nicely.” You groan, licking your lips as he dips his thumbs into the waistband of his track pants, exposing more of that V.

“Glad you approve, Minx.” He grins, letting his pants drop to the floor, leaving him in his boxers.

“I’ve never been happier to be part of research. Because you look good enough to eat.”

Tags: @julzdec @lettersofwrittencollective @mogaruke @lilulo-12fanfiction @charmed-asylum @defenderrosetyler @emilyshurley @foxyjwls007 @mylovelydame21 @akshi8278 @peaches0007 @stylesismyhubs @peachyyybabyy @fantasy-myth1 @death-unbecomes-you @coffeebooksandfandom @magssteenkamp @screamxqueenx94 @brien-odylan @riseandshinelittleblossom @ceceliaking-18 @mrs-mitch-rapp93 @missindecision @deans-number-one-fan @onethirstyunicorn @amberboo329 @chewie-redbird @all-alone-he-turns-to-stone

#stiles stilinski #teen wolf #teenwolf #stiles teen wolf #stiles stilinski x reader #stiles stilinski x you #stiles x reader #stiles and scott #my brother's best friend #Chapter 3 #mates #fated mates #marking #Stiles is werewolf #werewolf

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eternal-armin · 1 year

Text

ii. SO, HOW SHOULD i begin this?

part two woo. hopefully i'll be able to catch up on this and maybe publish some other stuff now that i'm home a lot more often (yay pain and mobility issues), maybe some arcane stuff since that would be fun, branching out into my last hyperfixation again lol. i've proofread so it should be good :>

pairing : five hargreeves x male/transmasc reader [he/him pronouns]

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where : after trying and sort of succeeding to get on the hargreeves' good side, five and [y/n] try rationalizing the situation and figuring out something, anything, to do about it.

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warnings : mentions of trauma, threats [of physical violence and murder], reader is still totally exhausted because how could he not be, depression, dissociation, pain, bits of shouting, not necessarily a warning but viktor is always viktor in the multiverse because the boy deserves it okay, existentialism, philosophical nihilism, family issues.

five adjusted his clothes in the mirror. although he wouldn't be able to have a proper retirement, he could look like a retired old man, couldn't he? who would've thought that someone could get so excited for beiges and tans. he got an amused look of subtle approval from you. beyond that, it wasn't very hard to look past your façade if he was being honest, you looked hesitant; though could he blame you? there were probably millions of worlds where his family fucked you over or just straight-up killed you. and yet, you also looked too tired to care. he couldn't blame you for that, either.

he touched your shoulder again. in a flit of light, which once again made you feel horribly nauseated and woozy, you were downstairs. surprised exclamations roused from his family.

"anyone know where vanya and allison are?" five asked, glancing with narrowed eyes across the lacking table.

"nope." and after that short reply diego went back to finishing off his meal—for someone who often scarfed his meals down, he seemed to be taking his sweet time. either that or your fun conversation with five had not taken as long as you'd thought; either possibility was equally likely at this point, really.

"nuh-uh... sorry."

"not a clue, unfortunately. something wrong, tiny dancer?" klaus asked.

"well, we have a new problem."

"who's this guy?" luther pointed at you wish his thumb, not caring to cover his mouth; your nausea was worsened to see someone talking whilst eating. diego looked at you then, and you hated how his glare bore straight through your soul. he really, really didn't seem to appreciate your presence. how both of them could so willingly ignore the phrase 'we have a problem,' especially from five, was unknown to you.

"this is [y/n]. he's one of the sparrows."

you waved once to everyone. whether the sluggishness of the motion, and the weak smile which accompanied it, was due to shyness or exhaustion was incredibly murky and unclear.

"so now we're getting all buddy-buddy with the enemy? do you know how stupid that is?"

"i'm sorry, diego, did you not hear me say that we have a problem?"

"well, you say that a lot, little brother!" klaus leaned forward to see you clearer, giving you a smile. it didn't really placate your anxieties or your strong desire to run, however it was appreciated. he waved, and you again waved back politely, still feeling very... guilty for your earlier flub. it wasn't a new thing, either, and that made you feel even worse. "hello, little enemy! how do you look so young? do you use those, like, '10 years younger' face creams? i didn't know they worked that well—"

"that is not a relevant question, klaus, now can someone please tell me where allison and vanya are?"

you cleared your throat slightly. "vanya is most likely getting a haircut. allison is trying to get to claire, but she's... not going to find her." it left a bitter taste in your mouth to refer to viktor in such a disrespectful way, but you couldn't take that from him. upon receiving suspicious stares from the younger hargreeves brothers, you mumbled a quiet "maybe."

"mind telling us what the hell is going on before i deck this mini-muffin across the lobby?"

"hey, hey, do not use mini-muffin as an insult! those are beautiful things, there's nothing better than mini-muffins when you're on a bender at, like, three in the morning!" klaus got a confused and heavily judgmental look in return for that... beautiful insight.

"[y/n] has the ability to see all other timelines, so he can usually find out the most probable events. okay? good. now i need to find allison, so can one of you fetch vanya, please?"

"no, not good, and no thanks! after all we've gone through, we deserve a proper explanation!" klaus objected. after a second or two of awkward silence, and a scowling glare from five, he gave in with a curt sigh. it sounded more like a groan. the brothers looked at you; klaus was the only one to seem patient, showing the approval of a parent understanding a kid's fear of giving a speech; luther stared at you with a puzzling mix of intrigue and subtle impatience; and diego stared at you with a raised eyebrow, leaning his head in slightly as if to say 'i'm waiting.' five's glare, although still quite characteristic, was a bit softer when aimed at you. you could never feel more put on the spot.

"you've gotta say something, little man, we can't read your mind," klaus encouraged.

"well, uh... i don't know exactly what it is yet, but something is wrong."

"aren't you omniscient or some shit? you can see literally every reality!"

the shouting scared you quite a bit and certainly made your headache worse. you put one of your hands to your head, mumbling, wishing you could just get some painkillers. if only five had given them back.

"don't shout, for fuck's sake," five grumbled, annoyed in his own right.

"i'm not omniscient. if no other worlds know something, then i can't, and... no other world knows yet. but something is wrong." your quiet voice was juxtaposed to diego's, still loud and stubborn like back in the academy. around 79.4 percent of every single alternate world which had diego in it found him like this, angry and short-tempered; it was very interesting. "you aren't supposed to be here. you guys, as you are, don't exist here. i don't think reality appreciates you showing up all of a sudden. and if versions of yourselves already exist in this world, then something will need to... iron out the wrinkles, i guess." you pursed your lips for a second. "not to be too brash or anything, but, to really, really dumb it down, you're a mis—you're mistakes."

"seriously? five, i thought you said that this timeline would be safe to stay in." luther looked like a scolded puppy. you felt bad. he was far too sweet—naive? yes, naive—for this kind of life.

"yes, that's what i thought, but second opinions are pretty valuable in my line of expertise. turns out it was sorely needed." his brows pricked up a few times while he spoke. "but, like you said before, it may be a problem we can solve."

diego remained, unsurprisingly, unswayed. "you better not be including this wad of chewed gum in that 'we,' five."

"what is with you and insulting him? he wants to help. jesus christ."

"last time i checked, his entire family just kicked our asses out of our own house, i have a right to be pissed, and he's lucky i'm in no killing mood."

"i don't agree that he should be killed," luther began in solidarity, "but we have a reason not to trust him, right?"

you took a little breath and exhaled it in a quiet sigh. "i know my family can be... extreme. and bad sometimes. trust me. and i totally understand how you can be angry with them and with me and think that i'm not honest. but i never hurt anyone, and i want to help you guys. you're eccentric yourselves, but usually you're good people. you're, like, an actual family," you added, trailing off, "not a group forced to stay together for monetary gain."

five squinted at you slightly. was that one of the reasons you chose not to grow up? you couldn't be associated with the sparrows if you were half their age. throw on a pair of sunglasses and nobody could recognize you.

jeez. didn't that sound nice.

"you guys really deserve a place to rest. a stable place to live, even. and if we can figure this out, then maybe you won't have to live in constant fear of coming into contact with your doppelganger or something. live, like, normal lives. as normal as they can be, anyway."

diego, much to your surprise, seemed to listen to what you were saying. sure, he still looked quite ticked-off and impatient, but you couldn't really ask for too much from him, could you?

"and you're sure that this is a problem we can actually solve? for good?"

"i'm not exactly sure what the problem even is yet. all i know is that something is wrong. but every problem has a solution, even if it seems impossible sometimes." there was a twinge of sage, melancholic hopelessness somewhere in there, some subtle disbelief. "five is quite the expert in timelines and time travel-related problems and paradoxes, and i'm an expert in alternate realities and manipulating reality itself. if anyone can figure it out, i'm sure we can. and i have no doubt that all of you will also play large parts."

luther's face was screwed into an expression of brazen confusion. "so... we're, like, completely blind, and need to fight an enemy we know absolutely nothing about."

"pretty much," you mumbled.

"surprisingly poetic way to put that, luther, i'm impressed," five mused rather sarcastically. "unfortunately, however, it seems we're gonna have to do something terrible and unprecedented." perhaps for dramatic effect, perhaps to quell his own annoyances, he paused and sighed out a breath. "we're going to have to work together." he did not need to specify the parties specified in 'together.'

"well, personally, i think this is a splendid idea. perfect opportunity for family bonding, i'd say! we're surrounded by decent chinese food and competent beds and cable television. decent music, too! and diego can finally figure out some self-discipline by not constantly threatening to kill [y/n]! marvelous idea little ones." admittedly, klaus's unique way of talking and gesturing was quite calming to you. you were very grateful for him. oddly enough—maybe you should've stopped saying that when it came to the umbrellas—klaus seemed to be that pillar of tranquility for you. viktor as well.

"calm down, calm down. you know that he won't turn against us or whatever? you're sure?"

the question was directed at five but you answered for him. "i'm not strong and i've never been in good health. even christopher, without his powers, would be better at fighting you than i would."

"the fucking cube?" you nodded. he plastered a grin over a pouting scowl. he sighed, giving into the plan. perhaps some remaining distrust still lingered, however, he could deal with it. "we've gotta clue allison and vanya in now. i'll go get vanya."

"finally," five huffed, shaking his head. "i'm going to find allison. you said she's going to try and find claire? i'll go to her old house." and then, the next second, he was gone. a few seconds of... incredibly awkward silence passed, where luther was staring at you whole-heartedly.

"go on and take a seat, young whipper-snapper. do you have any dietary restrictions? or allergies? we've probably got something here you can eat, if you want."

you had asked to walk back home with five.

"why with me?" "it's a little bit selfish, but i really don't want to be alone right now, and you're the number one person i trust right now." "flattering," he muttered. "then why walk?" "i think better when i walk."

admittedly, walking was taxing for you right now, so it may not have been your brightest idea, but after this entire day you needed a nice break; the picturesque city sunset was nice, the breeze was subtle and sweet, and it smelled like food out there on the streets. viktor had offered to talk with marcus and try to make a deal; you'd asked him to be very, very careful. "i don't know if purposely seeking out the anomaly would be more effective, or if allowing it to reveal itself would be better. maybe we should seek it out."

five nodded slightly. "allowing it to reveal itself could mean that it becomes too powerful to stop."

"that's kind of what i was thinking. we don't know how it would reveal itself. what if it destroys something, or changes something? what if it hurts people?" your voice was quieter with that last proposition. it was the worst possible option in your mind; buildings could be rebuilt. changes could be undone, with enough time and patience. but people could not be undamaged, and they could not be brought back to life.

well, not permanently, anyway.

five's pace slowed a bit and he peered at you, strangely, for a moment. you avoided his eyes.

"surprisingly enough, i don't think this is the... worst outcome." "forgive me but i don't really believe you. we've got jack all on either side. essentially, we're alone." "you're used to it, five." "hmph. and you aren't?" "not in this way, i guess." there was more he wanted to say but you would not give him the opportunity to dig too deep. "there are worlds where your family is on board. trusts me, even, after some convincing. and there are also some where we narrow the options down. i'd love to be in one of those. but at least we aren't at each other's throats again, or diego's choking me to death." your voice soured. if you got too close, you could feel that pain. there your mind went then, trying to save your other selves out of some ethereal desperation you could never claw yourself away from.

"ow!" you hissed, clapping a hand to your neck where it had stung, sharp and sudden. "what was that?"

"you were seriously so spaced out you didn't see me?" five asked, though it barely sounded like a question. he sounded just barely concerned. you had looked like a glove without a hand. "jeez," he scoffed, shaking his head. "did you see anything helpful, at least? anything at all?"

your mind was still seared and shattered across uncountable realities and he could see that struggle to ground in your eyes. hear it in your breath. you had little mental fortitude left to respond. "sorry? can you repeat that?"

five didn't roll his eyes. unfortunately, he knew dissociation. he carefully took your hands in his, rubbing your knuckles like he'd seen you do before, and that seemed to give you... some amount of usable energy. it was also sort of difficult not to notice him, of all people, doing it, even while he sported an expression of general distaste for the situation; you couldn't tell if it was falsified or not. slowly, you were returning to your body, and it felt heavier than ever before. "what did you see?" he repeated, just as you asked, meticulously annunciating each word and using a decent pace.

you nodded slightly. "i saw a few other timelines. less fortunate ones." you didn't need to elaborate for five to understand what you were referring to. the broad strokes, anyway. "nothing really useful, though," you added after a second in total defeat.

"shit. well, that's alright." and though it clearly wasn't, you didn't say anything.

"how long have we been standing here?"

"... a minute or two."

"oh, great," you mumbled, shaking your head to yourself. your record was around two hours, sure, but it still sucked. "the... we should seek it out."

"wow. you remembered."

"we were having the same conversation a whole lot. given i was still alive and actually grew to trust you." it was a half-joke but it succeeded in getting a bare grin out of five. "we can't risk hurting other people."

"or destroying something," five added.

"or destroying something," you agreed, then furrowing your brow slightly. a cafe nearby was playing pleasant music; that was something keeping you tethered to this world in particular, as if five wasn't enough, but even he was quiet sometimes. "the only problem is we don't know where it is."

"or what it looks like. if it even looks like something at all. it could very well be invisible or incomprehensible." he scowled for a second, though not out of irritation, thinking rather loudly to himself. "we should start where we appeared, i think." you nodded in agreement. "if your... 'family' decides to work with us, all of us, then we can search a whole lot more. but we should get the basics out of the way."

"the beginning is always the most logical place to start."

"quaint way to put it, did you write the sound of music in another universe?"

"what part about 'literally any possible, feasible universe' do you not understand?" you joked, managing a small smile of your own, and five would be lying if he said he didn't feel a little bit relieved to see you humoring yourself again.

"i deserve that." he paused for a second. "i know you said that walking helps you think, and you definitely need to do that more, but you look like a dead man standing right now. i'd rather just drop you off at the academy and get back to my own family. are you okay to teleport?" you did not respond at first, taking careful account of how you felt and how you may feel after. eventually, and rather subtly, you nodded.

"my room is klaus's old room back in your universe."

"wow, that... makes it easier. safer, probably." that was the closest you were going to get to 'thank you' so you took it. you shut your eyes tight and breathed deep through that half-second nausea-bomb. you were happy to see your room when you opened your eyes; smelling like home, looking like home, feeling like pure comfort. five glanced about your room. somehow it looked exactly like what he expected from you, which was a compliment. it was cozy. well-lived—especially the bed. there were many blankets and pillows and a few stuffed animals, unmade, probably because you barely left it. he couldn't blame you, either.

looking at you, you seemed totally relieved and excited to be back home.

"are you going to let go of my hands now?"

five stiffened for a second, mumbling a hushed apology before letting go, shoving his hands in his pockets. you couldn't help but grin a little, tiredly, and he scoffed when he saw it. "don't look at me like that. i was helping you ground, since you evidently can't do it yourself sometimes." not that he could blame you, really. he couldn't imagine what it would be like to be... you.

you ignored the jab. "i'm surprised you're willing to wait to take care of this," you mumbled, hanging up your scarf and sweater, lazily rifling through your dresser to find something decently comfortable to pass out in. "you always insisted on getting things done quick. if not immediately."

"i'm desperate for one damn moment of peace. the world isn't being decimated just yet. i just want to sleep decently for once."

you smiled slightly. no one could work while exhausted, especially not when it came to your quandary. "go on and sleep then. i'll meet you at the obsidian again tomorrow."

"yeah. oh, uh, just remembered something. close your eyes for a few seconds."

"why?"

"just do it."

you scoffed, though without any sort of animosity or annoyance, shutting your eyes tight like he told you to. you heard the familiar sound of his blinking once, twice. "alright. you can look. here." he held out to you your bottle of painkillers. "nearly forgot to give them back."

"oh, sh—thank you." the relief on your face was quite plain and sort of comforting as well. he mustered a slight hum in response.

"good night."

"night, five. sleep well."

"hmph. we'll see."

#number five #five x you #five hargreeves x you #five hargreeves x reader #five hargreaves x reader #five hargreeves #five x y/n #five x male reader #tua x reader #tua x male reader #tua x y/n #tua x you #the umbrella academy s3 #the umbrella academy x reader #the umbrella academy x male reader #the umbrella academy #tua fanfic #tua netflix

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almostcontentcreator · 1 year

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Saved - Isaac Lahey

Summary: the whole pack is fighting against hunters when you get thrown into the cold waters of the school's swimming pool.

Warnings: tiny bit of angst, angry and protective Isaac, violence

Word count: 1,044 words

Pairing/Characters: Isaac Lahey x fem!reader x pack (platonic)

It was 11 pm. When you and the pack were fighting hunters in the school building. The fight was hard, harder. "Since when did they get so good?" You thought. Everyone was tired, but everyone kept fighting. You were fighting with Victoria, Allison's mother. You were winning. You saw the sweat on her forehead. She was getting tired. But then she pulled out the crossbow. Allisons crossbow! Your eyes widened. How did she get it? Before you knew it, before you could move, she shot you in the stomach. You felt yourself stumbling back. Falling on the ground. It felt like a knife stabbing you over and over again, the nagging feeling in your stomach. It was getting harder to breathe. Like there wasn't enough air in the room. She leaned over you and laughed. Then she grabbed you by the collar of your suit and dragged you to the end of the jumping plank. She lifted you into the air as if you weighed nothing and threw you into the pool. It went in slow motion. One second, you were standing up, and the next, you were falling five meters down. It felt like you were flying. Were you flying? Why were you flying? You didn't know anymore. You didn't feel anything at all. You were numb. You hit the water like a rock, and then you were going under. Why weren't you swimming up? You weren't moving your arms or legs. The water was so cold. Like ice, it was freezing. You were trying to swim to the surface. But you just couldn't. Suddenly, you felt it. You were shivering. Why were you shivering? Were you cold? Why were you cold? So confused, so disoriënted. It was getting so hard to keep your eyes open and the air, the air was the worst. It was like it was getting sucked out of you. You weren't one to give up, but you were so tired. Your eyes kept closing, and you were telling yourself, "Come on, you can do this." You kept fighting, but it was getting so hard.

You didn't know how long you were laying there, on the bottom of the pool. There was one moment when you felt something. It was strong, but you didn't know what it was. So you tried to open your eyes but you just couldn't. Something was grabbing you. No, not something, someone! They took you in their arms. But you still couldn't open your eyes. You wanted to scream. But you couldn't do that either. So you just let it be, and so you slipped back into unconsciousness.

The next time you woke up, you heard something beeping. You were confused. What was that beeping sound? You heard different people talking. Where are you? In a hospital? You couldn't be! You can't explain to the doctors why you would heal so fast. You tried to pry your eyes open. But they just didn't want to. So you just tried to get some more sleep.

When you opened your eyes again, it was dark. You were breathing heavingly, and you were covered in a thick layer of sweat. You saw the heart monitor. But that didn't matter. The only thing you could think of was the pack. Where they okey? Was Isaac alright? Where was Isaac? You shot up. That wasn't the best idea. Pain shot in your head. A nauseous feeling came over you. You were so dizzy. Out of nowhere, Derek stood before you. He looked at you but didn't say anything. You wanted to ask where Isaac was. But when you did, only a whimper came out. You grabbed your throat and looked up in Derek's eyes. You couldn't talk?! Why did it hurt to talk? So you tried again. And only a strange noise came out of you. You began to panic. Why couldn't you talk, where was Isaac? Why were you in the hospital? Derek saw you panicking, so he crouched down and looked you in the eyes. "Breath y/n, breath." You tried, but it was so difficult. When you began calming down, you looked around and looked at the door and then back at Derek. You guess he knew what you were silently asking because he began talking. "I know what you’re thinking, but Isaac is alright. I send him back to the loft to shower and eat something. He sat here for 2 days straight." Your eyes widened. He sat here for 2 days?! You grabbed at your throat. You tried to talk again before you could speak. Derek stopped you. “Y/n don’t, you almost drowned, it will take time for you to speak again, okay?” You nodded. “Get some more rest. I will text Isaac and say you woke up.” You do what he says and lay back down. You close your eyes, and maybe it’s ten minutes or a bit more, but once you feel his presence in the room, your eyes shoot open. “I-Isaac?” It hurts to talk, but you needed to know if he was really there. ‘Hey sweetheart’. Your eyes begin to water. You thought you would never see him again. You want to say more. But Isaac interrupts you before you can speak. “I know that you are worried about me, but you need to rest your voice and your throat. Alright?” You nod. I’m alright, so don’t worry about me. You are trying to sit right up, but you wince when you feel the pain. Isaac pushes you back down again, “Shh calm down there, pretty girl. You took a hard blow.” You lay back down and open the sheets of your hospital bed, silently inviting Isaac to lay with you. "Princess, I can't. You're hurt." You give him a pounted face and take his hand. You pull on it, proving your point. He chuckled, "Okay, okay." You move a little to the left so Isaac can lay down next to you. When he lays down, you lay your head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat. Isaac then pulls the blanket over your body. "Get some rest princess, you are safe now. I will be here when you wake up." You smile and close your eyes. Everything is okay now.

A/N:

Hi babesss! What do you guys think of the story? What can I improve? Do you guys have any tips for me? Do you guys want a part 2? If you want to request a story, you can send it to me. X

#isaac lahey #teen wolf #isaac lahey x reader #fem reader #angst prompt #fluff

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strangerstilinski · 11 months

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SELENOPHILES OF BEACON HILLS | Teen Wolf Rewrite

Stiles Stilinksi/Original Female Character

chapter thirteen

fic summary; after an already traumatic evening involving the unfortunate discovery of a gruesome scene, amber is convinced to hike through the woods with her two best friends in search of the other half of a dead body. but it's not as if she could ever say no.. not when stiles looked at her like that.

chapter word count; 15,581

chapter warnings; underage drinking, very mild sexual content

chapter notes; between forced confessions, terrible tasting alcohol, and appearances from both peter hale and the argents, winter formal turns out to be quite the event. chaos ensues.

masterlist

c h a p t e r t h i r t e e n (finale)

code breaker

When they pulled into the school parking lot on Friday night, Ben gestured for Amber to stay put as he got out of the car and jogged around to the passenger side to open the door for her.

"Thanks, but you really don't have to be quite so chivalrous." She laughed.

Ben shrugged with a grin, "Can't have you thinking I'm a bad date."

"I already know you're not a bad date. I'm the bad date, remember?" She reminded him as they linked arms and walked to the front of the lot.

"I thought you were a pretty good date right up until that little slip at the end," He looked down at her with a friendly smile, "It was a pretty big slip, but y'know.. For the other ninety-five percent of the date you were great."

She was laughing as they approached the school building. Jackson and Allison were standing just outside of Jackson's Porsche in the parking lot and Amber watched as the boy lifted a flask to his lips to take a long pull.

"Save some for the rest of us, Wittemore." She joked with a quiet laugh.

Jackson held the small metal container out toward her as he swallowed with a wince, "You want some?" He asked, voice husky from the liquor.

Her free hand twitched at her side. She looked up at Ben hesitantly and her date shrugged at her, releasing her arm with a small nudge.

"If you want some, I'm not gonna judge you." Ben told her softly.

Amber licked her lips and hesitated for another fraction of a second before accepting the flask. She lifted the small opening to her lips and poured some of the liquid into her mouth, swallowing with gag when the taste lingered on her tongue.

"God. What is that?" She asked in disgust as she handed it back over.

"It's bourbon." Jackson told her judgmentally, "Expensive bourbon."

She nodded, "Oh, yeah. You can tell. It- It's really good bourbon."

"You're welcome to have some more," Jackson grinned, holding it back out, "I mean, since you like it so much. I've got more in the car."

"Oh." She faltered, looking around her at Ben and Allison's amused gazes, "Yeah, totally. Thanks."

She took the flask from his grip again and gulped nervously in anticipation. She frowned and took a deep breath before tilting her head back and pouring what was left of the container into her mouth. There was slightly more than she'd been expecting from the weight of it and her mouth was full when she swallowed, fighting against another gag and coughing instead. As she did, she reached out to grab onto the sleeve of Ben's suit jacket and handed Jackson back the tiny metal flask blindly.

Jackson was laughing at her as Amber coughed once more and she heard Lydia's voice chime in from behind them as she recovered.

"Jackson." Lydia greeted, "You look handsome."

"Obviously," Jackson shook his head, tucking the flask back into the pocket on the inside of his jacket, "It's Hugo Boss."

With that, he pulled Allison's hand to loop around his arm and guided her toward the school.

Amber turned to face the new arrivals, dropping her hand from where it had been agressively squeezing Ben's arm. She eyed the pale pink satin of Lydia's dress before she allowed her gaze to flick over to Stiles.

She hadn't seen him in a full suit since his own mom's funeral in elementary school. Back then, the suit he'd worn had been slightly too large and he'd been red in the face from crying.

Now, when Amber looked at him, she floundered for a moment at how handsome he looked. His black suit jacket fit him nicely, and the white button down he had on underneath was crisp and tucked neatly into his dress pants. She swallowed distractedly as her mind drifted with the desire to grab him by his tie to pull him in for a kiss.

Only a few quiet seconds had passed and Amber shook her head to recover as she realized Lydia was speaking again.

"-I will not fall prey to society's desire to turn girls into emotional, insecure neurotics who pull up their dresses at the first flattering remark." Lydia told herself sternly.

"Lydia. You look gorgeous." Amber told her honestly. She leaned closer in the dark of the parking lot to study the red of her lipstick, "That lip color goes really nicely with your dress, too. Your lips really pop and- You look incredible, okay?"

Lydia was fighting a smile, "Really?"

"Really." Amber laughed.

Lydia sniffed and looked Amber over in scrutiny, "Gross. Did Jackson give you bourbon?"

"He might've given me a bit." She admitted with a quiet giggle, already beginning to feel the light buzz thrumming in her brain. She turned her attention toward Stiles with a grin, "Stiles, you look really-" She hesitated for a second, "Really handsome."

Stiles seemed surprised by her comment, "Oh, I. You too." He told her.

Amber laughed quietly and Lydia's elbow jammed into Stiles' side. He jerked in realization as he processed what he'd said.

"I mean- Not- You look really nice too, but not handsome. I meant beautiful. You- You look really beautiful." He amended.

Amber cheeks flushed, stomach flipping from his stuttered words of praise, and there was a small moment of silence between the four of them before Stiles spoke up again.

"And uh, Ben looks great too," He added awkwardly, "Can't leave him out, I mean, look at this guy." He reached out to punch Ben in the shoulder and the other boy blinked at Stiles incredulously as he continued, "So sharp. Uh, should we head inside? I think we should head inside."

His hand came up to rest on Lydia's shoulder and he steered her toward the school building without another word.

Amber simply watched him go for a second before Ben's hand came up to rest between her shoulder blades over the curls in her hair and he nudged her to follow behind them.

"Pull yourself together, Callisto." Ben laughed quietly, "You were practically drooling."

"I was not." She pouted, prying her eyes away from the back of Stiles' head to look up at the tall boy beside her.

"I know he's cute but you are never gonna make it through the night if you keep torturing yourself." He told her.

He squeezed her shoulder as he pulled their tickets out of his jacket pocket with his free hand and gave them to the chaperone at the door.

The minute that they made their way inside, Ben dragged Amber over toward the refreshments table and forced a small bottle of water into her hands.

"I don't trust the punch and since you've had alcohol, you should hydrate sooner rather than later." He told her quietly, looking out at the room around them.

She accepted the water and took a drink.

"Did you want to dance yet?" She asked, the music thrumming nicely with the tipsy buzz in her brain, "I think I wanna dance."

Ben laughed, urging her to take another long sip from her water before he led her into the crowd of students on the dancefloor.

She swayed in her heels along with the upbeat music and Ben reached out one hand to grip onto hers in case she lost her balance. She held onto it gratefully and bounced on her toes as the beat picked up, a few of their classmates bumping into her periodically as she moved.

They danced for twenty minutes before Ben's phone began to ring distantly from inside his jacket pocket.

"Is that you?" Amber asked when she noticed the sound, reaching into his suit jacket to dig around for the device as it continued to chime.

Ben frowned and reached around her fingers to pull out his phone. He read the name on the screen and his frown deepened.

"Sorry, give me a sec. I'll be right back." He assured her before jogging out into the hallway.

As Amber watched him go, she happened to catch sight of Scott hunched down behind an open set of bleachers at the side of the gymnasium and she took off in Scott's direction, only wobbling slightly in her heels as she went. When she came up behind him, she leaned closely into his space.

"Hi!" Amber said beside his ear.

Scott flinched and jumped back, turning to face her with a look of surprise.

"Dude! Aren't you supposed to have like, super-senses?" She laughed joyfully, "How did you not know I was standing right here?"

"I was focussed on Allison." Scott defended, calming down and looking his best friend over slowly, "You look nice."

"You look very nice too." She grinned and reached out to fiddle with the collar of his suit jacket, "Did you see Stiles? You both look so handsome-" She flattened his lapel back down beneath her fingers and pouted with an influx of emotion, "My two boys-"

Scott leaned into her space and unsubtly sniffed at her, "Are you drunk?" He asked with a frown.

"No. I'm lightly buzzed," She corrected with a shake of her head, reaching up to adjust his crooked tie around his neck with delicate fingers, "There's a difference."

Scott looked over her shoulder and his eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head and frowned in confusion. Amber spun around, still gripping onto his tie, to look at whatever he was focussed on but all she saw was a crowded room.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I-I thought I saw Peter."

"Well, did you see him?" She asked quickly, gaze snapping back over to her friend.

Scott shook his head again, "I'm not sure. He disappeared."

"Well, he's not a ghost, Scott." She told him, "You're probably just nervous. I mean, you snuck in, you don't want to get caught, I hope you're still thinking about how to find Derek, Allison's here with someone else-"

Scott shot her a dirty look and she shrugged her shoulders in mock surrender.

"Hey, don't give me that look. Everything I said is true." She defended.

"Hey, there you are-" Ben's voice sounded from behind them, "I couldn't find you."

"I'm gonna-" Scott said, pulling his tie from between her fingers and pointing his finger behind himself before taking off.

Amber turned to Ben with a grin, "So, what's up? Who called?"

He sunk in on himself sadly and frowned at her, "I, uh. I have to go. Home."

"What?" She asked incredulously, "Why? We just got here-"

"I'm really sorry." Ben apologized, "My parents are out of town and they hired a sitter for tonight but she just called and said she's like, vomiting. So, I have to-"

"Hey, no." She cut in quickly, reaching up to grab his bicep, "It's okay. Go watch your sisters. I understand."

"I'm really sorry." He repeated, "Like so unbelievably sorry. I know that Stiles-"

"Ben. Stop." She said gently, "I'll be fine, okay? I'll catch a ride with Stiles, or even Jackson if I have to. Don't worry. Go home, seriously."

He frowned at her and pulled her into a quick hug. Amber startled for a moment before wrapping her arms around him to return the embrace. After a few seconds, Ben pulled away and stepped backwards slowly.

"I'm sorry again." He frowned.

"I forgive you, again." She laughed quietly.

She watched him turn to go and her face didn't pull into a frown until he could no longer see her. Amber sighed sadly and gnawed on her lip, looking around the crowded room. She spotted Jackson and Danny spiking their drinks from a familiar flask unsubtly and she pursed her lips in thought before heading in their direction.

Jackson raised his eyebrows when he noticed her, "Callisto. What do you want?"

"Wanted to know if I can have more of your illicit refreshments." She told him, nodding at Danny in greeting before returning her attention to Jackson.

He looked at her skeptically, "Where's your date?"

"My date had to leave due to a vomiting babysitter." She told him, "And now I'm dateless and I'd really like it if my buzz was a little stronger."

Jackson shrugged at her explanation and poured out another small dose from the flask before handing over his spiked cup of punch, "All yours." He told her, "Try not to get too messy, will you? It's tacky."

She repeated his words back to him in a weak imitation of his irritating voice and rolled her eyes. She raised her cup in a salute of thanks before turning and heading off to find a table where she could sit down.

She spotted Lydia and Stiles sitting at an otherwise empty table and hesitated for only a moment before going over. Stiles had shed his jacket at some point and was slouching unhappily in his chair next to Lydia, who didn't look any more amused. Amber sighed and plopped down into the chair beside the redhead.

"Where's Ben?" Lydia asked, picking at her nail polish and looking bored.

Amber lifted her cup to her mouth and took a dejected sip. Lydia's eyebrows raised expectantly when she didn't immediately get a response and Amber swallowed with a frown before answering.

"Family emergency." She told her.

"W- Hold on. Davis left?" Stiles asked, sitting up straighter in his seat and looking at her in disbelief.

"Mhm." She responded, leaning back in her chair.

She peered down at her own breasts for a moment and tugged at the fabric of her dress where it must have gotten slightly askew from all of the dancing and moving around. She readjusted it before taking another tiny sip of the repulsive drink in her hand.

"Okay, I will not continue to be subjected to this." Lydia announced in annoyance.

Amber's attention snapped over to look at her two friends. Stiles' face had a light flush rising on his cheeks and Lydia was pointing between him and Amber as she shot them both an irritated look.

"You two are ridiculous." Lydia told them, "Sitting here and watching you both sulk is actually infuriating."

"What did I do?" Amber asked, taken aback.

"You?" Lydia repeated incredulously, "You made me go to this stupid dance with the guy you're practically in love with, even though I had a wonderfully stupid and incredibly hot guy from the football team all lined up-"

"Lydia. What the hell?" Amber finally cut her off with wide eyes, heart pounding and refusing to look over at Stiles, "What are you-"

"No." Lydia said, holding up a finger like she was scolding a small child, "No. You want to be here with Stiles. He wants to be here with you. This is stupid."

Amber frowned, "Lyds-"

Lydia sighed loudly and turned in her seat to face the boy beside her, "Do you want to kiss Amber? Right here, right now?" She asked him seriously.

Amber's heart pounded in her chest and her eyes finally darted over to Stiles. He was looking between them with a dark flush on his cheeks, mouth hanging open as he floundered.

"I, uh. Wha-" Stiles articulated slowly.

Lydia's glare intensified, "So help me god. If you don't answer the question in the next two seconds-"

"Yeah, I- Yeah." Stiles interrupted, swallowing nervously and glancing at Amber across the table.

She could barely hear anything over the heavy pounding of the blood pumping in her ears. Her right hand tightened around the plastic of her cup.

Lydia was smiling as she turned to Amber, reaching out to delicately place her fingers over where Amber's free hand was resting on her own thigh.

"Amber," Lydia started almost condescendingly, speaking slowly as if she were dealing with a two year old, "Do you want to kiss Stiles?"

"I, yeah. I do. I like, really, really do." She said quietly, eyes wide.

Lydia patted Amber's hand and stood from the table.

"Great. My work here is done. Have a good night, you two." She told them before turning away, "It's like second grade all over again." Lydia muttered as she strutted off.

Amber didn't move for a moment, her brain fuzzy with adrenaline and a hint of alcohol.

"You wanna kiss me?" She repeated in question after a few seconds passed.

"Is that.. An actual question or an invitation?" Stiles asked, avoiding eye contact and fiddling with a napkin on top of the table.

"Whichever." She told him.

His gaze snapped back to hers and they both paused again for a few seconds.

"Okay. I, d'you- Hallway?" Stiles asked dumbly.

She nodded with wide eyes, "Hallway." She agreed.

When she stood from her seat, she swayed slightly from a combination of the fog in her brain and her high heels. Stiles came to stand beside her and grabbed her hand, tugging her away in the direction of the doors quickly.

They stepped into the hallway and her heart continued to pound in her chest, only now it was with excitement. Stiles didn't stop pulling her along once they broke through the doors. He continued to tug her down the hall and around a corner until the music from the gym was only a dull thumping of bass in the distance.

"Stiles-" She called out quietly, pulling at his hand.

He came to a stop and turned around to look at her with wide eyes, "Yeah?"

Stiles' chest was rising and falling heavily. His face was flushed bright red underneath the speckles of moles dotting cheeks. His hand was damp with sweat where it was gripping tightly onto hers. Amber desperately wanted to kiss him.

So she did.

She tugged forcefully on his hand and when Stiles stumbled forward, she took a step closer. She reached up to cup his face and guided him to tilt his head down until their mouths slotted together softly. He huffed out a small breath in surprise and before she could relish in the feeling of his lips on hers, he was pulling back just a fraction of an inch, his eyes flicking slowly between hers in contemplation.

"Have you had more alcohol since the last time I saw you?" He questioned quietly against her mouth.

She nodded with a quiet sound of affirmation, leaning up onto her toes to bring their lips back together but Stiles brushed her hand away from his face and raised one of his own to grip her shoulder so he could push her down until her heels touched back onto the floor and he pulled back to look at her again.

"I feel like we shouldn't- I'm- If you're drunk-" He stuttered out.

"Stiles." She interrupted softly, squeezing his hand in hers.

"Yeah?" He asked quickly.

"I promise I'm not drunk. And I'm gonna need you to kiss me again." She whispered, "Now."

"Are you sure?" He questioned, fingers tightening around her shoulder for a fraction of a second.

Amber nodded, "Really, really sure." She repeated.

Stiles hauled her back in quickly, his fingers sliding into her hair and releasing her hand from his own to grab at her waist. He tugged her closer and she sighed contentedly into his mouth as their lips slotted together more comfortably.

His mouth on hers felt right. The kiss soft and firm and so fucking perfect she was instantly convinced that her lips had to have been made for his. Her stomach was alive with butterflies and her heart was determined to beat it’s way out from beneath her ribcage and she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to exist now without his mouth on hers.

She reached out to his fancy dress shirt and fisted her hands into the fabric on either side of his hips while they kissed, pulling him along for a few steps until he was caging her back against the wall in the hallway. The stone was cold as it touched her bare back and she gasped in surprise at the chill of it pressing against her skin. When her mouth dropped open, Stiles tilted his head just so and his tongue slipped into the opening to brush against hers.

At the first touch of his tongue, her mind grew hazy and she tugged harshly at the fabric of his shirt. The action pulled Stiles firmly against her and he let out a soft, needy noise into her mouth when his groin pressed against her hip.

She separated their lips to take an unsteady breath and Stiles rested his forehead against hers as they both panted quietly.

"Sorry." He murmured in apology.

He let the hand he had in her hair slowly trail down until it rested lightly at the curve where her neck met her shoulder, his thumb brushing up and down softly over her collarbone. He shifted back until their lower halves were no longer pressed together and she found herself genuinely mourning the loss of contact.

She frowned in the small distance between their faces and reached up to place her right hand at the back of his neck, guiding their mouths back together and tugging him back against her with her grip on his waist. When Stiles released another small sound against her lips at the contact, she angled her head and kissed him deeper.

When he rolled his hips unconsciously against her a minute later, her fingers tightened around the back of his neck. She sighed quietly at the feeling of him and there was an aching heat building between her thighs as she focussed on the point where his obvious arousal was slowly hardening against her.

The hand he had on her hip slid slowly until it was resting over the arch of her back where her spine curved to meet her ass and Amber tightened her fingers around the soft fabric of his dress shirt when he pulled her closer.

His hand at the base of her neck readjusted until his thumb could press lightly into her chin and he guided her to tip her head to the side. His lips skimmed across her face slowly and he pressed tender kisses along her cheek. He continued to tilt her head with his thumb sliding along her jaw until could lower his mouth to kiss lightly at her neck. She gasped out a quiet breathy noise and automatically lifted up onto her toes to push against his mouth more firmly as his lips kissed softly at her throat.

"Stiles-" She said breathlessly. It came out too airy, like an unconscious expression of pleasure rather than a signal. She gasped when he sucked lightly at the sensitive skin under her jaw and took a shaky breath before trying again more firmly, "Stiles."

She moved her hand from the back of his neck to his jaw and pushed his face away from her slightly. He leaned his head back and looked down at her with dazed eyes.

"We should probably-" Her chest was rising and falling quickly and she rubbed her thumb softly along his jaw as she tried to calm her breathing, "Should definitely slow down."

He dropped his forehead down against hers again and heaved a deep sigh before pulling back to look at her, "Yeah. Yeah, you're right-"

"Sorry." She apologized quietly, watching his face closely in the dimmed light of the hallway.

"Hey, no, don't apologize. Not for that." Stiles told her seriously. He readjusted his grip on her jaw and pressed his fingers into her cheek to pull her in for another chaste kiss before taking a few steps back, "God. I seriously need like- Two minutes where your mouth isn't only an inch away."

Amber watched him in amusement while he frowned and reached down to uncomfortably adjust himself in his dress pants. She lifted a hand up to her own face to cover the small smile pulling at her lips.

He caught her gaze and shot her a small glare in jest, "Oh, you find this funny?" He asked her with an incredulous grin, gesturing to his pants.

"No," She shook her head with a serious expression, "No, not funny at all."

He narrowed his eyes playfully at her once more, "Alright, you." He stepped forward to press a final conciliatory kiss to her lips, "Go back in and I'll be there in a minute."

She frowned but took a small step back in the direction of the gymnasium.

"I'm just gonna go to the bathroom real quick." He explained in response to her silent question.

"Oh, you're going to the bathroom, are you?" She asked, grinning at the insinuation.

"W- I'm not- This is embarrassing enough, okay? I just- I'll see you in a minute." Stiles shook his head with a flush on his cheeks.

She laughed and held her hands up in surrender as she backed away, "Sorry, I'm going. I'm going."

She took one final survey of how debauched and truly obscene he looked before she turned on her heels and headed back toward the gym with a giddy smile on her lips. Her gaze drifted across the crowded room once she stepped through the doors again and she picked up her pace when she caught sight of Lydia sitting back at their table, nursing a cup of punch.

Once she was within arms reach, she grabbed Lydia's hand from the tabletop and pulled the girl up out of her chair. The moment her friend was on her feet, Amber's arms were wrapped around her in a tight hug.

"I love you so much right now, I could kiss you." Amber told her quickly.

Lydia stepped back to look at her friend with a barely there smile of amusement, "It looks like you've gotten plenty of kissing done already." She pointed out, reaching up to fix the mess Stiles had made of the hair on the right side of Amber's head, "Was there anything more than kissing?" Lydia questioned casually.

"Just kissing." Amber told her, "Really hot, glorious, incredible kissing."

"Oh, I can see just how hot and glorious it was." Lydia grinned devilishly, pressing her fingers into a tender spot that Amber couldn't see on her underside of her jaw bone.

"God. Do I have a hickey?" She asked quickly, reaching up to press her fingers over the spot Lydia had touched, "Please tell me I don-"

"It's not a hickey." Lydia promised, "Calm down. It's just a little pink."

She sighed in relief and dropped her hand, looking over at the spot where Lydia had taken up residence while they'd been gone with a frown.

"Have you danced at all?" Amber asked.

Lydia shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, "No, and I don't plan to."

"Oh, come on, Lyds," She goaded, grabbing the redhead's hands in hers to uncross her arms and tugging her in the direction of the dance floor, "Please dance with me?"

Lydia pouted dramatically and rolled her eyes but followed behind Amber without protest.

The song that was playing through the gymnasium was a slow one, so when they stepped out onto the dancefloor Amber put her hands around Lydia's waist and grinned as she guided the redhead to sway with her. Lydia brought her arms up around the back of Amber's neck and moved slowly along with the beat, meeting her friend's gaze and smiling back at her with a small roll of her eyes.

They danced closely to the familiar song for a few minutes before a loud voice erupted across the gym.

"McCall! I see you!" Coach Finstock's voice yelled out over the music. "Come here, buddy! McCall!"

Amber turned her head to see the teacher pushing his way slowly through the crowd of teens. Scott's eyes widened from the other side of the gym and he ducked down as he moved through the dancing bodies in the opposite direction. Amber watched as her best friend snuck around the spot where she and Lydia were dancing and came to a stop in front of Danny and his date beside them.

"Danny. Danny, dance with me." Scott said frantically.

Coach Finstock was still yelling as he pushed through to get to the other side of the dancefloor and Scott looked between their teacher and Danny nervously.

"What?" Danny blinked in confusion.

"Dance with me." Scott repeated with wide eyes.

Danny looked between Scott and his date slowly, "No."

Coach had nearly reached them and Amber watched the situation in amusement.

"Please!" Scott begged, "Right now!"

Scott's hands scrambled to untangle Danny from his date and he shoved himself between them. Danny shrugged at his date with a frown as Scott pulled his arms up onto his waist and brought his own arms up to wrap around Danny's shoulders.

"McCall!" Coach said loudly as he stepped up to the couple, "You're not supposed to-" He paused in confusion as he looked between the two boys, "What the hell are you do- What the hell are you doing?"

"Yes, Coach?" Scott asked with a look of wide-eyed innocence, tightening his arms around his dance partner's neck as he pulled Danny closer.

The music had quieted between songs and Coach's raised voice had been loud in the sudden silence. A majority of the gymnasium was turned to see who Coach was yelling at and they all frowned at the sight of the two boys dancing in front of him.

Coach seemed to catch on to the train of thought of the people around him and he backtracked at the perceived homophobia.

"Okay.. Oh, ho, ho- Ha! Hold on," He started, addressing the room at large, "You.. I was just saying that he's not supposed to- I mean, I wasn't saying that he shouldn't- You guys don't think.." He took a small step back from Scott and Danny with a nervous smile, "I-I was- Just dance, everybody! Just dance! Dance! It's a party!"

After shooting a final look of warning toward Scott, Coach disappeared into the crowd again.

Amber snorted softly and readjusted her hands over the silky material at the bottom of Lydia's spine. She watched Scott release Danny with a pat on the shoulder, stepping back and shot the other boy a thumbs-up.

"Thanks, dude! I owe you!" Scott called out before taking off.

A new song started up after a minute and Amber peered at the people around them as they danced. She spotted Scott and Allison now wrapped up in one another's arms closely. After another minute, Lydia slipped her arms from around Amber's neck and took a small step back.

"What's wrong?" Amber asked with a frown as her own hands fell to her sides, "You okay?"

"Just.. I need to take a little break." Lydia told her with a sad smile.

Amber nodded in understanding, "Is that code for going to talk to Jackson?"

Lydia looked momentarily taken aback by her friend's attentiveness before nodding slowly with a small pout on her lips and Amber reached out to squeeze Lydia's hand with a reassuring smile.

"I get it. Go ahead, Lyds." She said encouragingly.

She watched Lydia go and when the redhead was through the doors and out of sight, Amber shuffled on her feet awkwardly for a moment in uncertainty. A slow song was still playing and she was just debating heading over to snag another bottle of water when someone grabbed her hand to gently pull her back a step.

She teetered in her heels and spun around to see Stiles standing right behind her, tugging her against him. When her gaze went to his face, Stiles brought a hand up to cup her cheek and he ducked down to give her a soft kiss that had her stomach fluttering wildly.

"Hi." He said gently as he pulled back.

He was quick to wrap his arms around her waist and she followed his lead by curling her own arms tightly around the back of his neck, holding on to her own elbows as they began to sway to the music with their chests pressed together.

"I distinctly remember you saying something about needing time away from my mouth." She laughed quietly, licking her lips unconsciously to taste the lingering essence of him again following the chaste kiss.

"I had my two minutes away," He spoke softly into her ear, "Now I'm thinking I should actually figure out a way to have you within kissing distance at all times."

She snorted a quiet laugh into his shoulder, "You're ridiculous."

She tightened her arms around his neck and leaned against him to prop her chin up over his shoulder as they moved slowly in time with the music. They made it through another entire song before Amber sighed quietly, loosening her grip around his shoulders and taking a small step back from him.

"Okay. Now I need to use the bathroom." She laughed quietly.

"Must be all that bourbon." Stiles told her with a small smile of amusement.

"Oh, cut it out." She wiped the grin off his face by pressing her lips against his in a quick kiss, "Stop picking on me and let me go because I actually do need to pee. Really badly."

Stiles dropped an arm around her shoulder and guided her through the crowd of dancing bodies, releasing her at the edge of the room and giving her a gentle push out the doors and into the hallway.

She used the bathroom outside the gymnasium quickly, wiping a small bead of water that she'd somehow missed when drying her hands onto the velvet of her dress as she was exiting the girl's room. When she looked up again, she spotted Jackson walking back inside the building with a terrified look on his face.

"Jackson? What's wrong? Did you talk to Lydia?" She asked quickly as she approached him.

"I-I was out behind the school-" He started slowly, voice shaking as he looked at the girl in front of him.

"Jackson, is Lydia okay?" She redirected quickly, her heart rate picking up in her chest.

He shook his head and her stomach dropped before he spoke, "Not Lydia. I-I. Allison's dad-"

"What about Allison's dad? What did you say to him, Jackson?" She demanded, stepping closer so that they were almost pressed together in the dark hallway.

"I-I told him- He promised he wouldn't-" Jackson continued to stammer, "But I told him- I told him Scott-"

She shoved Jackson back against the wall behind him aggressively, her hands shaking, "What have you done?" Her voice cracked with anxiety and the sheer volume of her yelling, "Do you have any idea-"

"Hey- Hey! What's going on?" Stiles' voice came from behind her. Amber had been reaching out to grab at Jackson's suit but Stiles' arms wrapped around her and pulled her a step back, "What happened? What did Jackson-"

"He told Allison's dad about Scott! Her dad is here and he-" Amber said angrily, before ice seemed to fill her body in fear, "Oh, god. Where's Scott?"

She turned to Stiles with wide eyes and he looked just as nervous.

"Jackson, what did you do?" Stiles asked rhetorically, shooting a glare at the boy over Amber's shoulder.

"Lydia's still outside looking for Jackson," She realized suddenly, words coming out between anxious gasps, "And the hunters are- What do we-"

Stiles put his hands over her shoulders and gave her a squeeze, "We'll split up and we'll look for them both, okay? Everything's gonna be okay."

She took a shaky breath and turned to shove Jackson against the wall one final time before she was running outside.

"Lydia!" She called out as soon as she stepped out of the school and into the cold night air. She continued to call out for her friend as she rounded the building and crossed over into the side parking lot near the lacrosse field, "Lydia?"

She heard Lydia's voice calling out for Jackson in the distance and Amber reached down to rip her uncomfortable strappy heels from her feet, taking off in a run across the cold grass. The floodlights around the field began to click on loudly, illuminating the lacrosse pitch in a slow circle until she could see where Lydia was standing at the center of the field.

Amber slowed as she took her first step between the bleachers while a dark figure stepped out on the other side of the field in Lydia's eyeline. Amber lifted her arm over her face in an attempt to block some of the bright light from above as she tried to distinguish the shadow with squinted eyes.

"Jackson?" Lydia questioned the mystery person at the other side of the field in a quieter voice.

"Lydia, no. Wait-" Amber said, only a few feet behind her friend now.

"Amber! Lydia!" Stiles' voice screamed frantically from the end of the pitch, "Run!"

Amber's gaze snapped between Stiles and the dark figure in front of them as it took another few steps toward them. The floodlights over the field illuminated Peter Hale's face and Amber reached out to pull at Lydia's wrist as her heart thumped violently in her chest.

"Lydia, you need to run. You need to run now, please-" Amber begged, tugging a confused Lydia backwards in an attempt to get the redhead hidden behind her.

Peter tilted his head, his eyes slowly shifting to a bright glowing red as he came to stand in front of them. He growled as he shoved Amber to the ground, his face beginning to shift deeper, fangs dropping down from his mouth. The brunette fell to the grass hard and watched on in horror from only a few feet away as the werewolf bit down, sharp teeth sinking into Lydia's waist.

"No!" Amber screamed, already crawling toward them as she watched the dark red of Lydia's blood start to seep out to stain the pale pink satin of her dress.

Peter leaned back but continued to hover protectively over the redhead's unmoving body, forcing Amber to freeze with her hands only a few inches away from her friend. Stiles finally reached them and dropped to his knees at Lydia's other side, both he and Amber watching Peter in fear as a trail of blood dripped from his mouth.

"Don't kill her." Amber begged, hands shaking with the need to reach out for her friend, "Please."

"Of course not." Peter agreed quickly, eyes flicking over to Stiles, "If he tells me how to find Derek."

"W- What?" Stiles stuttered in surprise.

"Tell me. How to find Derek." Peter repeated slowly, tracing a claw down the side of Lydia's unconscious face teasingly.

"He doesn't know!" Amber cried immediately, "We don't-"

"Yeah, I- I don't know that." Stiles reiterated between shaky breaths, "How would I know that?"

"Because you're the clever one, aren't you?" Peter smiled condescendingly at him, "And because deception has a particularly acrid scent, Stiles."

Amber's gaze cut to Stiles with wide eyes and she spoke in a shaky voice, "Stiles, what's he talking about?"

He shook his head, "I-I don't know!"

"Tell me the truth, Stiles." Peter growled angrily.

The werewolf moved with a sudden quickness that the teens could barely comprehend and before they knew what was happening, Amber was upright on her knees, her back pressed flush against Peter's chest as he knelt behind her, the fingers of his right hand wrapped around Amber's throat tight enough that she could feel his sharp nails digging into the flesh of her neck painfully.

"Tell me the truth. Or I will rip her apart." Peter continued.

She squeaked quietly in fear and shifted on her knees, reaching up to grab onto Peter's arm desperately, her eyes filling with tears as she met Stiles' own terrified gaze.

"Look- Look, I don't know, okay? I sw-" Stiles faltered when Peter's fingers gripped tighter at her throat and she let out a whine, "I swear to god I have no idea!" He yelled anxiously.

Amber felt the claws press deeper into the skin of her neck and she whimpered again quietly as she pulled at the sleeve of the werewolf's jacket. The moment the tip of one of his claws punctured her skin, she felt the sharp sting of it and gasped in pain.

"Tell me!" Peter repeated, voice loud and demanding beside Amber's ear.

"Okay, okay! Look-" Stiles relented, "I-I think he knew-"

"Knew what?" Peter asked quickly, refusing to loosen his grip on the girl in front of him.

"Derek. I think he- I think he knew he was gonna be taken-" Stiles explained shakily.

Amber looked at him in confusion through the tears in her eyes.

"By the Argents." Peter clarified.

"Yeah." Stiles squeaked.

Peter jostled Amber in his arms as he straightened his back, "And?"

"When they were shot. He and Scott-" Stiles spoke nervously, eyes bouncing back and forth between Peter and Amber, "I think he took Scott's phone."

"What?" Amber squeaked before whimpering quietly when Peter shook her slightly in a demand for silence.

"Why?" Peter asked Stiles.

Stiles looked at Amber regretfully as he spoke, "Because they all have GPS now. So if he still has it on him, and it's still on-" He explained, "You can find him."

Peter's grip around Amber's neck and body loosened all at once and he pushed her forward as he got to his feet behind her. She caught herself in the grass on her hands and Stiles rushed over to her side, his hands coming up to brush gently over her arms and her waist and her face, touching softly over everything he could as he checked that she was okay.

Her hands were still shaking as she brushed Stiles off to crawl forward and lean over Lydia. Amber pushed an errant lock of her strawberry blonde hair off of her face with trembling fingers before her gaze dropped to the dark stain still spreading across the fabric of Lydia's dress. She trailed her hand lightly over the spot and her stomach turned as her cold fingers came back coated with the warmth of her friend's blood.

"Lydia?" Amber asked quietly, voice choked with tears. "Oh, god."

Peter had produced a handkerchief from one of his jacket pockets and he was delicately wiping the two girl's blood away from his face and fingertips. When he was finished, he tucked the stained cloth away again and turned his attention to the teens still on the ground in front of him.

"Alright. Let's go." He told them simply, as if they were dilly-dallying and making him late for a meeting.

"No." Amber protested quickly, tearing her eyes away from her bloodied fingers to look at the werewolf standing above her, "We're not leaving her here."

"I don't need you." Peter dismissed, "But Stiles is coming with me."

Her chest tightened in worry at the thought of Stiles going off alone with Peter Hale, "No. No, he-"

"I'm not- I'm not going anywhere-" Stiles protested with a shake of his head, pained gaze darting over to Amber as she took in shaky breaths.

"You can call your friend," Peter acquiesced, "Tell Jackson to come out to the field. That's all you get."

Stiles continued to look at Amber with wide eyes, his shoulders still trembling with nerves and adrenaline.

"Call Jackson." Amber told him quietly, nodding her head in what she hoped looked reassuring rather than showing the terror that she was truly feeling.

Stiles frowned and his lips quivered around a shaky breath, looking like he desperately wanted to say something, but after a moment, he closed his eyes and got to his feet, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

While he called Jackson, Amber's gaze dropped back down to Lydia and she exhaled a trembling breath of fog into the air. She brushed her friend's hair back from her face again gently and her heart clenched at the small streak of blood that her fingertips left behind over the pale skin of Lydia's cheekbone.

Amber flinched when Stiles dropped back down to his knees beside her, his hands gripping her cold arms as he studied her worriedly.

"Jackson'll be here in a minute." He said quietly.

She nodded and bit down on her lip, jaw trembling and causing her teeth to chatter over the flesh in a combination of fear and chill from the cold. She felt her eyes prickle with heat again at the reminder that Stiles would be leaving with Peter and she desperately tried to take in every tiny mole dotted along cheeks, her gaze scanning his face intently.

"Stiles." Peter's voice cut in, making them both flinch, "Now."

Stiles teetered back and forth for a moment, seeming to hesitate before he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Amber's lips with a hand at the back of her head. The kiss was chaste, but he still held his mouth firmly against hers, lingering a second longer than was strictly necessary with a werewolf impatiently hovering behind them.

"Teenagers exhaust me." Peter declared in annoyance.

Amber reached up to push at Stiles' shoulder and the two separated reluctantly, "Go." She told him.

He nodded with a frown and got to his feet again. Peter held an arm out in a gesture toward the parking lot and he and Stiles walked away, disappearing from her line of sight to where the Jeep was parked around the side of the building.

It was only another minute before Jackson made it out onto the field, his legs carrying him quickly and his eyes drawn to where Lydia was laying on the ground, his face dropping in horror at his ex girlfriend's bloodied body.

"What happened?" He asked worriedly.

"The Alpha happened," Amber told him quickly, "Just call 911."

"You haven't called 911 yet?" Jackson asked in disbelief.

Amber waved a hand in gesture to the tight fabric of her dress, "This thing doesn't exactly have any pockets for my phone." She snapped. "Just do it."

Jackson glared at her before his eyes dropped back to Lydia in worry and he was nodding and pulling his phone out to call for help.

Amber leaned down to press a soft kiss to Lydia's forehead and swallowed past a lump in her throat. As she heard Jackson's phone call coming to an end, she climbed to her feet reluctantly.

"I swear to god if you let anything else happen to her-" She told him threateningly.

"What do you mean?" He asked quickly, watching her move past him, "Where're you going?"

She spun sharply to look at him again, eyes alight with anger, "I have to go find Scott," She bit out accusingly, "Because someone told a bunch of werewolf hunters who he is and now he's in danger too and he has no idea! I am not letting any more of my friends get hurt tonight."

Jackson's face twitched with an indiscernible emotion, "Be careful." He told her with a surprising gentleness.

She nodded gratefully, casting one last look at Lydia and taking a trembling breath before she turned and ran. The grass was cold against her bare feet as she took off in the direction of the parking lot at the back of the school building. It was the one of the only places she hadn't searched before she'd found Lydia and she knew it was the best place to start looking for her best friend.

"Scott!" She called out, her voice a sharp whisper in the dimly lit lot. She stepped into the treeline and peered into the dark forest for any sign of him, "Scott!"

Someone suddenly rammed into her from the side and a hand reached up to cover her mouth as they pulled her back a few steps into the woods. Amber made a small noise of protest at the familiar position and clawed at the arm across her chest frantically.

"Shh! Amber! Amber it's just me-" Scott's voice spoke quietly into her ear, dropping his hand from her mouth and loosening his grip around her shoulders to allow her to spin around to face him.

She punched him in the shoulder with as much force as she could manage, "Don't ever grab me like that again! I thought-" She hissed quietly, before remembering exactly why she'd been looking for him in the first place, "Oh, god! Allison's dad! He's here and he knows that you-"

"I know," Scott told her quickly, "I already ran into them. And Allison saw the whole thing, so now she knows too."

"Scott," She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug. Scott's arms came up to encircle her back and she felt him take a shaky breath in and out over her hair, "Tonight is- I-I'm so sorry. And- and Peter-"

Scott took a step back and cut off her words quickly, "We need to get Derek." He took a whiff of the air between them, nose scrunching in thought as he sniffed before his gaze dropped down to her neck, "Are you bleeding?"

She reached up a hand to wipe at the right side of her neck where the claw on Peter's thumb had lightly pierced through the skin.

"I'm fine." She assured him, immediately trying to refocus the conversation, "How are the two of us going to find Derek?"

Scott grabbed onto her hand to began to pull her deeper into the woods. They hadn't made it more than a few steps when Amber winced in pain as a twig snapped sharply beneath her bare feet.

"A wolf howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack, right?" Scott repeated the words she and Stiles had told him over a month before, before Scott truly even believed that he was a werewolf.

"Oh my god." She whispered in realization as they continued to trek through the woods.

"I'm gonna call out to him and hope he howls back." Scott finished.

"So why don't you do it, then?" She questioned in confusion, teeth chattering as they began to hike up an incline, "I mean, where are we going?"

"Need to get somewhere that the sound'll carry better.." His steps slowed slightly and turned to face her in the dark, "You're.. Not wearing shoes." He stated.

"Well, I was wearing heels," She explained in confusion at his assessment, shivering slightly harder now that they were no longer moving, "Wh-"

"Crap. Why didn't you-" Scott shook his head and stripped his suit jacket off quickly before handing it to her, "Dude, why didn't you say something sooner?"

She stuffed her arms into his jacket without question and huffed out a shaky breath at the sudden warmth, "Me being cold is the least of our problems right now." She squinted at him in the dark in confusion as Scott squatted down and began untying his shoes rapidly, "What are you doing?" She questioned.

He pulled off his dress shoes and socks before sliding his feet back into his fancy shoes barefoot and re-tying them. His fingers worked at the laces quickly and when he was done, he handed her his discarded black socks.

"Dude, it's gonna be a problem if you lose toes." He told her as he placed the socks into her hand.

She thanked him quickly and bent to pull them onto her bare feet. She'd barely stood upright again when Scott took ahold of her wrist and began dragging her through the trees again with fast steps.

They hiked through the woods for another ten minutes before they emerged from the treeline at the prominent lookout point over the town. Scott released her and went to stand on the rock that jutted out further than the rest, tilting his head back and taking a deep breath in preparation.

When he released a loud, rumbling growl, it was reminiscent of the call he'd made to the Alpha that pivotal night at the school. Amber's skin erupted into goosebumps at the sound despite the jacket she was now wearing over her dress and she took a quiet, shaky breath as the sound faded out and the forest around them settled into silence again.

Scott slowly stepped back to stand beside her again and they both waited with bated breath as they listened for a response. After thirty seconds or so passed, Scott seemed to deflate and he shuffled on his feet in disappointment.

"It was worth a try, right?" Amber whispered, reaching a hand out to grab Scott's, "It's okay. We'll-"

Her voice cut out as they both heard a long howl in the distance. Her grip around his hand tightened automatically and she turned to find him already looking back at her with wide eyes.

"Was that-?" She started.

He nodded slowly, "Yeah." He suddenly pulled on her hand and tugged her sharply into the woods, moving through the trees with purpose, "Come on."

She followed with a tight grip on him as he led them in the direction he'd determined the howl had come from with his enhanced hearing. They were nearly sprinting and they kept up the aggressive pace for another ten or fifteen minutes before Scott finally slowed and released her sweaty hand.

"What-?" She asked quietly, trying to slow her labored breathing, "Are we-?"

Scott shushed her and motioned for her to follow behind him as he crept through the leaves more cautiously. She nodded in understanding and took in another deep breath, trying to watch her step in the dark as she stepped over small rocks and twigs on the forest floor.

When she looked up, Amber noticed the massive dark outline of the Hale house up the slope in front of them. She followed behind Scott as her mind raced with a confused barrage of thoughts, all of them circling back around to the same starting point.

Derek was at the Hale house.

Scott paused in his steps and appeared to pull a deep breath in through his nose before grabbing Amber's shoulders and directing her to stand behind a large tree.

"The only scent I'm picking up is you." He explained quietly.

Unsure whether she should be offended or not, she watched as he stepped back again. He turned and took another determined inhale through his nose and tilted his head in concentration.

When he took a purposeful step to the right, Amber followed behind him automatically. They rounded over toward the side of the property, still skirting around the bottom of the slope, until Scott stopped again.

As she came up to stand beside him, Scott was pulling at a large metal grate, the bars blocking off a rounded cement channel that opened up into some sort of cellar beneath the hill. He gave it a hard tug and the metal creaked agonizingly loud in the quiet night air, both of them flinching at the sound. Scott stepped into the cavern before turning and helping her climb through. Once they were inside, the space opened up into a painfully familiar dark passageway and Amber swallowed nervously and followed behind Scott as he continued to use his nose to guide them through the maze of dimly lit hallways.

When she spotted a familiar doorway, she pushed a hand against Scott's back to urge him to walk faster. He peered into the doorway cautiously before allowing them both to step into the room.

"Why would you bring her back here?" Derek demanded immediately upon seeing them.

Amber ignored him and ran over to the familiar control panel on the table along the wall. She rushed to turn the knob down, putting a stop to the flow of electricity that had been making Derek so weak.

"What do you mean back?" Scott asked in confusion.

As soon as she'd managed to cut the power, she darted forward to stand beside where Scott was already working to undo a shackle around one of Derek's wrists.

"Uh, hi. 'Her' is right here and can hear you just fine." She said to Derek, ignoring Scott's question entirely, "And, quite frankly? I'm not sure you're in a position where you should be getting picky about who's a part of your rescue party."

She was reaching her hands up to assist Scott and their hands fumbled, fingers brushing as they pulled at the metal latch.

"Did he mean 'back' as in 'you've been here before'?" Scott asked worriedly, not willing to let the subject drop as easily as she'd hoped and turning his head to look at the girl beside him.

"You didn't tell him?" Derek asked incredulously, frowning as they both continued to pull and tug at the buckle around his right wrist.

"Tell me what?" Scott asked.

When neither Derek nor Amber immediately responded to him, Scott nudged his best friend with his elbow.

"Amber." Scott prodded again as they finally got the latch on Derek's cuff undone, "Dude. What is he talking about?"

She was saved from having to answer when both Derek and Scott's attention suddenly snapped toward the doorway. Scott shoved her underneath the table in a poor attempt at hiding her while he himself moved to a dark corner of the room to the side of door.

A man who Amber had never seen before stalked through the doorway with an evil grin, his eyes thankfully focussed on Derek and Derek alone.

"Ready to have some more fun?" The man asked, lifting a hand to examine the back of his bruising fist, "To be honest, my knuckles are kind of hurting. So, I brought some help-" He pulled out a bat that he'd been holding behind his back with his other hand and tightened his grip on it menacingly, "But I need to warn you, I played in college."

The man swung the bat but Derek's newly unrestrained hand reached out quickly to grab ahold of it before it could make contact with his torso in the way the man had intended.

"I brought some help too." Derek told him darkly, raising his eyebrows and nodding behind the man to where Scott was stepping out of the shadows.

Scott grabbed the man from behind and ripped him away from Derek, throwing him across the room aggressively as Amber crawled out from underneath the table. She winced when he hit the wall with a loud thud, eyes drifting over to where he laid unmoving following the impact, and she swallowed, wondering whether he was unconscious or dead.

She shook her head to dislodge the thoughts and made her way over to Derek. He was pulling a piece of dried, bloody gauze from his abdomen from where the hunters had caused him some sort of physical abuse that he'd already managed to heal from.

She squatted down quickly to begin working at one of the cuffs around Derek's ankles. Her fingers trembled nervously as she worked to undo the difficult latch.

"Scott, help me with this." She called out over her shoulder after a moment.

"No." Scott replied determinedly.

Both Derek and Amber's attention snapped over to where Scott was slowly approaching from on the other side of the room.

"What?" Both Derek and Amber questioned in disbelief.

"Not until he tells me how to stop Peter." Scott explained.

Amber looked up at her best friend incredulously, "Scott, you're joking. This is kind of time sensitive."

"You really want to talk about this right now?" Derek reiterated.

"He's going after Allison and her family," Scott told them, "He's going to kill them."

"Maybe saving the murdery family of werewolf hunters shouldn't be our main priority right now?" Amber suggested in a frantic shout, turning her attention back to the large metal clasp in her fingers.

Scott ignored his best friend entirely, "Tell me how to stop him." He told Derek calmly.

"You can't!" Derek snapped, "Alright? Now, I don't know when Kate's coming back so just help Amber get me out of this now!" He yelled, pulling at his still-cuffed wrist, "Get me out right now!"

She let out a shaky breath when the manacle on Derek's left ankle fell open and she shuffled on her feet slightly to immediately begin working on the other one as Scott spoke behind her.

"Promise you'll help me."

"You wanna risk my life for your girlfriend? Your best friend's life?" Derek questioned angrily, "For a stupid little teenage crush that means absolutely nothing? You're not in love, Scott!" Derek yelled, "You're sixteen years old! You're a child!"

Her heart clenched at the desperation in Derek's voice and she winced as her finger caught on a jagged piece of the metal, slicing into the side of her middle finger painfully. She took a shaking breath and tightened her mouth as she continued to pull at the tight latch.

"Maybe you're right," Scott told Derek, "But I know something you don't. Peter said he didn't know what he was doing when he killed your sister, right?" Scott questioned.

She heard the rustling of paper behind her as she tugged at the metal in her hands with numb fingers.

"Well, he lied." Scott continued, "Remember this?"

Her attention snapped up for a second as Scott handed Derek a piece of paper over her head.

"You said this brought your sister to Beacon Hills, right?" Scott questioned the older werewolf.

"What is it?" Amber asked them from where she was still kneeling on the cold floor.

"Where did you get this?" Derek asked Scott.

"My boss told me three months ago someone came into the clinic asking for a copy of this picture. D'you wanna know who it was?" Scott questioned, "Peter's nurse."

The latch in Amber's hand finally came free painfully between her fingers as she gasped in surprise at Scott's words and she fell back onto the ground on her butt. Her gaze snapped up again to look between the boys in disbelief while she scrambled to get up off of the cold floor in her tiny dress.

"They brought your sister here so that Peter could kill her and become the Alpha. That's why you're going to help me." Scott spoke again.

Amber got to her feet quickly and began working at the final cuff around Derek's left wrist, rising up onto her tiptoes in the socks on her feet to get a better angle to pull at the difficult metal latch but Derek pushed her fingers away with his free hand. She looked at him in confusion while Scott continued to speak behind her.

"Just say you'll help me and I'll unlock your other-"

Derek pulled aggressively at his remaining restraint and the metal snapped and fell to the ground at Amber's feet. She looked at Derek with wide eyes as he rubbed at his sore wrist and glared at Scott over her shoulder.

"I'll help you." Derek told him.

After being forced to run across town on foot due to Peter Hale rendering his car keys completely useless by bending them with his bare hands, Stiles sprinted through the hospital’s emergency doors and straight into an elevator. Chest heaving, he aggressively and repeatedly pressed the button to take him up to the next floor, bouncing on his toes agitatedly as the metal box crept upward slowly.

When the elevator dinged loudly, Stiles slipped back out through the doors before they'd even slid fully open, dripping with sweat and breathing heavily as he frantically scanned the hospital waiting area. Before he had time to focus on anything in particular, his dad stood in front of him and blocked off his line of sight. The Sheriff placed his hands on his son's shoulders, guiding him backwards half a step, and focussing on him with a serious look.

"You know what?" His dad started, pulling Stiles' gaze up to his angry expression and pointing an accusing finger at the boy as he continued, "It's good that we're in a hospital, because I'm gonna kill you."

"I-I'm sorry," Stiles panted, still catching his breath as he began to explain, "I lost the keys to my Jeep. I had to run all the way here-"

"Stiles!" His dad interrupted in a raised voice, "I don't care!"

Stiles faltered for a moment with a frown, peering over his dad's shoulder and looking through a window to where Lydia was laying in a hospital bed, still unconscious. Mrs. Martin sat beside the bed, petting her daughter's hair back from her face lovingly with a grief-stricken expression.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Stiles asked softly.

"They don't know." His dad told him, lowering his voice to speak more quietly, "Partially because they don't know what happened. She lost a lot of blood. But there's something else going on with her."

"What d'you mean?" Stiles asked worriedly. He knew how sick Amber must be feeling, agonizing over her friend, and he ached in sympathy for her while also harboring his own worry for Lydia.

"The doctors say it's like she's having an allergic reaction. Her body keeps going into shock." His dad explained in a quiet whisper.

Stiles' gaze dropped to the floor as he thought about what Peter had told him about the possibility of Lydia's body rejecting the bite and killing her. His stomach tightened with anxiety as he swallowed.

"She was your date. Did you see anything?" The Sheriff asked his son, "I mean, do you have any idea who or what attacked her?"

"No. No, I have no idea." He lied anxiously after a moment.

"What about Amber?" His dad followed up, "Or Scott?"

That drew Stiles' attention sharply up to his father's expectant face.

"What d'you mean?" Stiles asked immediately, "What about them?"

"Did either of them see anything?" His dad questioned obviously.

Stiles' heart dropped and his brain went slightly fuzzy with panic, "What d'you- Are they not here?"

"What are you talking about?" His dad questioned in disbelief, "I've been calling them on their cell phones. I haven't gotten a response from either of 'em."

Stiles let out a breath in anguish and his eyes drifted over to Jackson over his dad's shoulder. Jackson looked back at him with a shrug of genuine naivety, I don't know, the boy mouthed at Stiles silently in response.

"Yeah.. You're not gonna get one." Stiles finally told his dad in realization that neither Amber or Scott were currently in possession of their cell phones.

His stomach tied itself in knots, anxiety twisting in his gut.

Stupid, reckless, beautiful, selfless-

Amber. Who must have run off to Scott's aid the second that Stiles had left her.

Stiles was getting a stress headache already as he worried about everything that could've happened since he'd last seen her on the lacrosse field.

His dad led him away, into an unoccupied office typically used to privately discuss sensitive matters with the families of patients in the hospital. The Sheriff drilled Stiles again with the same questions, getting a more official statement of what Stiles knew about what had happened to his date.

Ten minutes later, his dad finally guided him back out into the hallway with a hand gripping tightly at his son's shoulder, "Stiles, listen," His father started, "Just- Go wait with your friends, alright?"

"Dad, look. You know all of this has something to do with Derek." Stiles told his dad desperately, finally cracking.

"Wh-" His dad paused in the middle of the hallway and turned to face him, "I thought you three said that you barely knew him?"

Stiles shrugged with a grimace, "Alright. Well, we might know him a little better than that."

The Sheriff looked up and down the hallway quickly before grabbing the back of Stiles' neck and guiding him into a corner of the hall with a firm grip, "You do realize I'm elected to this job. Right?" The man whispered aggressively.

"And if I help you figure out this case, you'll be re-elected," Stiles pointed out, "Am I right?" He turned to fully face his father with a sigh, "Dad, come on."

His dad's gaze drifted down the hallway toward Lydia's hospital room with a frown, "That girl in there has nothing to do with a six-year old arson case."

"Wh- When did you decide it was definitely arson?" Stiles asked in disbelief.

His dad gave him a sharp look for the volume of his voice while discussing a case before responding, "When we got a key witness," Stiles' mouth dropped open but he was cut off before he could speak, "And no. I'm not telling you who it is. But yeah. Yeah, we know it's arson. And it was possibly organized by a young woman."

"What young woman?" Stiles questioned immediately.

"If I knew that, she'd be in jail." His dad told him blankly.

Stiles' face pinched in frustration, "Was she young then or is she young now?"

"Wh-" The Sheriff's phone began to ring from his pocket, "She's probably late twenties." He told him, pulling out his phone and reading the name on the screen quickly, "Oh. I gotta grab this call."

"You don't know her name?" Stiles asked frantically.

"No, I don't." His dad defended quickly, "Wh- What is this twenty questions? All we know is that she had a very distinctive.. A uh, what do you call it? A pendant."

"What the hell is a pendant!" Stiles snapped as his dad peered down at his phone again.

His dad turned his attention back to him quickly, "Stiles, do you go to school?" He asked, raising his voice to match the volume of his son's, "A pendant! A pendant. It's a- It's a necklace. Now can I answer the phone?"

"Yes." Stiles told him with a sigh.

His dad took the call and started off down the hall, leaving Stiles standing in the middle of the corridor in a ball of anxiety. He reached up to rub at his short hair furiously in agitation, taking a deep breath as he spun around.

When the puzzle pieces finally slotted together in his brain regrettably slowly, his expression dropped further.

"Oh." He said in realization.

Allison's pendant. Allison's aunt. Who had helped take down Derek and then had proceeded to kidnap Amber.. And hide the both of them underneath the Hale House.. Where Peter Hale was currently going to get Derek.

He couldn't believe that it had taken him so long to put everything together.

He took off down the hallway in a fast paced walk and when he passed Jackson, the other boy chased after him frantically.

"Where are you going?" Jackson asked as he raced down the hallway beside Stiles.

"To find Amber and Scott." Stiles told him quickly.

"You don't have a car." Jackson said cynically.

"I'm aware of that," Stiles snapped, "Thank you."

"Hey, I'll drive." Jackson said, reaching out and pulling Stiles to a stop with a hand around his wrist.

Stiles ripped his arm out of Jackson's grip, "Look. Just because you feel guilty all of a sudden, doesn't make it okay. Alright? Half of this is still your fault."

Jackson paused for only a second, "Look, I have a car. And you don't. Do you want my help or not?"

"Alright," Stiles sighed before his brain supplied him with an idea, "Did you bring the Porsche?"

"Yeah." Jackson confirmed immediately, pulling his keys out of the pocket of his dress pants.

"Good," Stiles replied, ripping the keys from the other boy's fingers and already moving to walk down the hallway again, "I'll drive."

Stiles' steps stopped just as soon as they'd started at the sight of the person standing in the middle of the corridor, his feet carrying him a step back automatically and causing him to bump shoulders with Jackson.

"Boys." Mr. Argent greeted them, two lackeys hovering intimidatingly behind him for extra muscle, "I was wondering if you could tell me where Scott McCall is."

"Scott McCall?" Stiles repeated dumbly, "Um. Haven't seen him since the dance. Jackson, you?" He nudged the boy beside him and silently urged him to say the same.

There was a long beat of silence.

"Uh-" Jackson started slowly, "Um, I-" He released a shaky breath and turned his head toward Stiles worriedly.

"Oh, for the love of god." Stiles muttered anxiously, watching as the two men behind Mr. Argent stepped forward.

Each of the large men grabbed a teenage boy and dragged them down the hallway before throwing them violently through a set of double doors and into a small exam room for administering x-rays. Stiles and Jackson both collided with the edge of a metal table painfully and quickly worked to right themselves before turning to face the group of men behind them.

Mr. Argent was flipping the latch at the top of the door into a locked position as he spoke, "Let's try this again," He said, turning to face the boys, "Where is Scott McCall?"

When neither one of them immediately answered, Mr. Argent grabbed Stiles with his hands fisted in the collar of his shirt and slammed the boy back against a metal cabinet along the wall. Stiles winced at the a sharp pain than shot up his spine and looked down at the man in front of him.

"Let me ask you a question, Stiles." Mr. Argent started, "Have you ever seen a rabid dog?"

Stiles swallowed and squirmed against the grip the man had on his shirt, "No.. I could put it on my to-do list if you let me go."

"Well I have!" Chris Argent shouted in the boy's face, "And the only thing I can compare it to is seeing a friend of mine turn on a full moon. Do you wanna know what happened?"

"Not really." Stiles answered quickly, unable to hold back a sarcastic remark, "No offense to your story-telling skills."

Mr. Argent ignored his sass, "He tried to kill me." He told the room at large, "And I was forced to put a bullet in his head. The whole while that he lay there, dying, he was still trying to claw his way towards me. Still, trying to kill me. Like it was the most important thing he could do with his last breath.. Can you imagine that?" He asked pointedly.

"No." Stiles lied easily, despite the way his mind flashed to Scott pulling at his handcuffed wrist, screaming and growling in rage as he tried to get to Amber and himself. Another sarcastic remark falling from his lips in an attempt to mask his discomfort, "And it sounds like you need to be a little bit more selective-"

Mr. Argent released Stiles' shirt to slam his hands jarringly against the metal cabinet on either side of the boy's body threateningly, "Did Scott try to kill you and Amber on the full moon?" The man yelled, "Did you both have to lock him up?"

Stiles' gaze drifted to Jackson for the first time. The other boy was looking at them with a terrified expression, as if it had never once crossed his mind that Scott had been telling the truth when he'd said becoming a werewolf was dangerous.

"Yeah," Stiles caved quietly as he maintained eye contact with Jackson, "We did. We chained him to a radiator.." His eyes snapped back to Allison's dad sharply, "Why? Would you prefer I locked him in the basement and burned the whole house down around him?" He asked venomously.

At that, Mr. Argent finally took a slow step back from him with a disbelieving laugh, "I hate to dispel a popular rumor, Stiles, but we never did that." Chris said slowly.

"Oh, right," He said sarcastically, "Derek said you guys had a 'code'. I guess no one ever breaks it."

"Never." Mr. Argent defended quickly, looking back at the men behind him.

"What if someone does?" Stiles pressed.

This brought Chris Argent's attention back around to him. He looked at Stiles in suspicion, "Someone like who?"

"Your sister." Stiles told him, anger twisting in the pit of his stomach, making him feel nearly sick as his mind supplied him with the image of Amber on the floor of her kitchen, tears streaming down her beautiful face, covered in dirt and her own blood.

Kate Argent had done that to her.

Kate Argent was a monster.

And with the way that Chris slowly turned his head to look at Stiles, as if the boy had somehow managed to shed light on something that had been in front of him this whole time — something he was only now realizing he'd been so obviously blind to — It seemed as if now, Chris Argent believed that she was a monster too.

As they climbed back out to the leaf-covered forest floor, Derek reluctantly leaned a small amount of his weight onto Amber's shoulder, still feeling weak from seven days of captivity.

"Hey," Derek said quietly, slowing his steps as he gripped her opposite shoulder. He panted heavily and tipped his head to the side to rest over the top of hers for a brief second as he breathed, "Hold on, hold on," He waited until Scott stopped and turned to face them before continuing, "Hold on. Something doesn't feel right."

"What d'you mean?" Amber asked quietly, tightening her fingers around the older boy's back and watching him look out into the darkness around them nervously.

"I don't know.." Derek shook his head in the dark, "It's- It's kinda like it was-"

"No." Scott interrupted quickly, "Don't say 'too easy'. People say 'too easy' and bad things always happen." He looked between Derek and his best friend slowly before speaking again, "What, you think finding you was easy? Getting away from Allison's dad? Pulling Amber four miles through the woods barefoot?"

Amber reached up to hold onto the hand Derek had resting on her shoulder, "None of it's been easy, Derek."

"Fine. You're right." He sighed.

The words had barely slipped past his lips before they heard a quiet whistle of something soaring through the air. Derek jolted backwards a step and released his grip on Amber, stumbling worryingly.

"Derek?" Amber took a single step to check on him and his hand came up to shove her away. She was still regaining her footing as she watched Derek fall to his back on the ground. There was another soft twish of something flying through the air and she watched in panic as an arrow planted itself into Derek's thigh.

"Scott, your eyes!" Derek yelled suddenly, looking back at them.

"Scott!" Amber called out worriedly as she spun around, unsure what exactly was about to happen but knowing that it wouldn't be good.

Another arrow sailed only a few inches from her face and hit the tree behind her with a familiar explosion of light. She flinched back and ran up the hill to search for her best friend in the dark, following the sounds of his pained breathing.

"Scott." She squatted down, pulling at his arms to help him up.

Derek released two sharp, wounded noises behind her but Amber was focussed on pulling Scott's dead weight up onto his feet as he continued to groan and squint his aching eyes. She had only just managed to stand upright and get her friend's arm around her shoulders when Derek came up behind them and gave them both a push to get moving.

"Go!" Derek demanded, "Let's go!"

They moved up toward the burned house and the trek slowly got easier as Scott was able to hold more and more of his own weight with each step. Derek's hand brushed over her backside when he fell to the ground behind them and she turned her head to look back at him worriedly even as she continued another step forward with Scott.

"Go!" Derek yelled sharply when he noticed her hesitation.

She spun around fully to look back for whatever threat was emerging from the treeline while Scott continued to rub frantically at his eyes with the hand he didn't have wrapped around her shoulder. She tightened her arm protectively around her best friend and guided them a step backwards, heart pounding in her chest with fear.

"Allison, I can explain." Scott said suddenly as someone finally stepped through the trees and into the small clearing in front of the house.

"Stop lying." Allison snapped emotionally, tightening her grip on the large archery bow in her hands, "For once. Stop lying."

The look of pure hatred swimming in Allison's eyes was haunting and it had Amber continuing to carry Scott away as the other girl approached them with quick steps.

"Allison-" Amber started, but she was cut off when Scott spoke frantically again.

"I was gonna tell you the truth at formal," Scott promised, "I was gonna tell you everything. Because everything that I said, everything that I did-"

"Was to protect me?" Allison finished mockingly.

"Yes!" Scott responded quickly .

"I don't believe you." Allison told him.

"You don't have to," Amber pleaded weakly, "But what you're doing.. It isn't- Allison, look at yourself! You've lost your freaking mind-"

"God. Enough-" Kate emerged from the treeline and came toward them with quick steps, "Now, shoot him before I have to shoot him myself."

Amber wobbled slightly in her next step as she stared at the woman in fear. Amber's hold around Scott's waist tightened protectively and she felt his own grip on her shoulder tense at the woman's words.

Allison spun to look at her aunt in disbelief, "I thought you said we were just going to catch them?"

"We did that," Kate rolled her eyes, "Now we're gonna kill them."

There was a loud gunshot and Amber flinched, watching in horror as Derek dropped down onto the ground from a bullet to his chest. Kate lowered her weapon again with a smile.

"See? Not that hard." She told her niece easily. After a moment of silence, she tilted her head judgmentally at the girl as she came up to stand beside her with a sigh, "Oh, no. I know that look. That's the 'you're gonna have to do it yourself' look."

The woman turned her attention toward Scott and Amber and raised her gun again. She aimed at Scott, holding the weapon less than a foot away from the boy's face.

"Kate! Kate, what're you doing?" Allison asked nervously, taking a step toward them as she realized the severity of the situation.

Kate shoved her niece to the ground behind her as Scott dropped his arm from around Amber's shoulders. He moved to stand in front of her protectively but Amber dragged him back and refused to let go.

"Don't shoot him." Amber begged, eyes welling with tears.

"Werewolves really aren't good company to keep. If you want a puppy so bad, you should try starting with something a little easier-" Kate looked at Amber with a mocking grin, "Like a golden retriever. Maybe a lab." She turned her gaze to Scott and pouted jokingly, "I love those brown puppy-dog eyes."

"Kate!" Chris Argent's voice called out from the distance as he too emerged from the woods, "I know what you did."

Kate paused, her gun lowering a fraction but still remaining firmly trained on Scott.

"Put the gun down." Chris demanded.

"I did what I was told to do." Kate defended quietly in response to her brother's earlier statement.

Allison's dad shook his head, "No one asked you to murder innocent people. There were children in that house-" He nodded his head toward the burnt ruins of the home beside them, "Ones who were human. Look what you're doing now. You're holding a gun at two sixteen-year old children. No proof that either one of them have spilled any human blood." Chris said desperately, "We go by the code. Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent."

"We hunt those who hunt us?" Amber whispered quietly in translation.

Kate shot her brother an annoyed glare before she turned to focus on Amber and Scott again. Amber's heart stuttered in her chest as she watched the woman's finger twitch imperceptibly over the trigger on the gun.

Chris Argent pulled out his own gun where he stood a few yards away and raised it slowly, the weapon trained on at Kate, "Put the gun down-" He repeated.

When the weapon aimed at Scott didn't lower, there was another loud gunshot. Amber flinched at the echoing sound again as small chunks of bark flew from the tree trunk just behind Kate's shoulder.

"-Before I put you down." Mr. Argent finished threateningly.

Kate slowly lowered the gun and both Scott and Amber immediately took in shaky breaths of relief. They didn't get more than a second to recover before the front door to the Hale house was creaking open ominously. Amber took a cautious step back, bumping into Scott's shoulder as she did so, her eyes glued to the dark doorway.

"Allison. Get back." Mr. Argent ordered his daughter sharply.

Scott finally succeeded in positioning himself in front of his best friend and his arms went out to cage Amber behind himself protectively as they continued to take slow steps back and away from the house.

"What is it?" Amber asked Scott quietly.

"It's the Alpha." He responded without turning around.

A dark figure darted out of the house in a blur and Peter raced around in the treeline, never pausing in one place long enough for any of them to really catch sight of him. They all spun around nervously. Amber eyed dark forest around them with shaking hands as she stood at Scott's back.

Chris Argent's feet were suddenly taken out from underneath him and he slammed down to the ground hard.

Only a few short seconds later, Allison was knocked onto her back as well, dropping her bow into the leaves as she fell.

Amber was reaching a shaking hand out slowly, intending to grip onto the fabric of Scott's shirt, when something rammed into the both of them painfully from the side. Both teens tumbled to the ground and Amber rolled a few feet away with the sheer force of the hit.

When she came to a stop in the dirt and leaves, she scrambled to get up onto her knees. The small rocks and twigs beneath her dug into the bare skin of her legs as she braced herself on her hands and knees, Scott's oversized suit jacket hanging low enough over her hands to protect her palms where they pressed into the ground beneath her.

"Come on!" Kate yelled out tauntingly to the Alpha.

The dark moving figure stopped suddenly behind Kate in his human form and took her wrist in his hand. Kate pulled the trigger on her gun, missing her target and shooting a bullet off into the forest behind him.

Peter glared at the woman angrily and he held her wrist with a presumably tight grip, bashing it with his other hand until there was a sharp snap of bone breaking. When Kate screamed out and dropped the weapon to the ground, Peter grabbed her by the throat in a frighteningly similar way to how he'd held onto Amber earlier that night.

Amber watched from the ground with wide eyes as Peter tossed Kate up onto the porch a few yards away where she landed with a loud thud. He moved in another quick blur of motion, dragging Kate through the dark doorway and into the house with him.

"No!" Allison protested, getting to her feet and running into the house after them.

"Allison, wait-" Amber tried, but the other girl was already through the door.

Scott got to his feet quickly and followed after Allison and Amber watched him go while she pulled herself up, shuffling in her socks as she contemplated her options. She looked nervously between the dark house, Mr. Argent's unmoving body, and the treeline.

After a moment of hesitation, she took off toward the treeline. She wandered around in search of Derek but saw nothing, no bloodied corpse or dying werewolf anywhere to be found, and after a few minutes, her heart settled in relief at the knowledge that he was most likely alive.

"Dad!" Allison called out from behind her, skidding to a stop in the leaves and kneeling down beside her father.

Amber took a few slow steps toward them, heart nervously thumping in her chest with a new distrust for the entire Argent family. Despite that, when she looked down at Mr. Argent laying on the ground in front of his daughter, Amber felt a pang of sympathetic grief.

She dropped to her knees beside Allison slowly, "Is- Is he-"

"He's alive." Allison said quickly, gripping onto her father's hand tightly, "I-I think he hit his head when he went down, but he's alive."

"That- That's good." Amber replied, reaching out after a moment's pause to pat her hand consolingly over Allison's arm. The girl's attention snapped over to Amber all at once with tears in her eyes.

"Amber, I-" Allison choked on a quiet sob, "I'm so sorry."

She patted Allison's arm softly again and gnawed on her lower lip indecisively, knowing that she didn't forgive Allison for all that she'd done, Amber simply nodded.

Suddenly, a window from the house beside them shattered loudly, glass flying through the air as someone was thrown from the house. Both Amber and Allison's attention snapped up and Amber closed her eyes for a brief second in resignation at the sight of Scott scrambling to right himself on his hands and knees as Peter dove outside in his terrifying fully shifted form.

The Alpha charged forward and Amber fearfully watched as he and Scott fought evenly matched for a moment. Peter grabbed a hold of the boy by the collar of his shirt and let out a loud, animalistic growl. Scott reared back and kicked his feet out against The Alpha's dark hairy chest and they both flew a few feet back from one another from the force of his kick. The fully shifted Peter growled once again in outrage and got back to his feet, immediately turning his gaze on Scott.

Headlights suddenly curved up the driveway through the thick covering of trees around the final turn and the car skidded to a stop in the gravel, the doors flying open and the horn honking loudly in a surefire way to gain everyone's attention.

Jackson and Stiles tumbled from the parked Porsche and Amber had only a moment to panic about their presence at the scene of the danger before Stiles was pitching his arm forward and throwing a glass bottle across the clearing.

The bottle flew through the air and straight into Peter's outstretched hand, the liquid-filled container identical to the Molotov cocktails Lydia had prepared back at the school in the chemistry classroom. The animalistic version of the werewolf growled angrily in Stiles' direction as he caught the container and examined it.

"Oh, damn.." Stiles exclaimed quietly as the Alpha growled again.

"Allison!" Scott yelled toward the two girls.

Amber and Allison's attention both snapped to the boy who was still on his hands and knees on the ground. Scott reached forward toward Allison's abandoned bow and threw it in their direction. Allison grabbed it quickly while Amber snatched an arrow from the quiver laying beside Mr. Argent's unconscious body, handing it over to the other girl just as she righted the bow in her hands to take aim.

When Amber looked back up, the Alpha was turning to face the two girls and pitching his own arm back to throw the container in his hands in their direction.

Allison wasted no time in shooting an arrow toward the Alpha before he got the chance to throw the liquid fire-bomb in his clawed hand. The well-aimed arrow hit it's target dead center, shattering the glass beaker in Peter's hand in a small fiery explosion.

He roared angrily as his left arm was overtaken with flames, shaking his arm in an attempt to get rid of the roaring fire burning over his skin.

A second batch of chemicals shattered over the werewolf's body when Jackson threw a second flask at the Alpha's chest. Peter's wolfed-out form roared in both agony and fury as the flames overtook his whole body, the smell of his burning flesh and fur spreading through the air. Amber couldn't hold back a gag at the nauseating scent when it reached her nose. After a few seconds of his outraged growls, the Alpha turned his attention back toward the two girls who had taken some part in the pain he was now experiencing. Despite the flames on his skin, Peter took a menacing step toward where Allison and Amber were still knelt on the ground, frozen in fear.

Upon the Alpha's first step in their direction, Scott yelled in outrage and ran at the burning wolf, kicking the other werewolf hard and sending Peter stumbling back several steps before dropping to his knees as the flames flickered out slowly.

No longer able to hold his shift, Peter sagged as he reverted to his human form, his pale skin covered head to toe in a combination of spots that were marred red and others that had been singed so deeply that they'd blackened with char, his human flesh so badly burned in some places that there was no skin left at all.

Amber didn't want to feel anything for him, but she couldn't help the microscopic pang of pity she felt when she realized he'd had to experience the feeling of burning alive twice. He was dark, and twisted, and definitely insane, but she wasn't sure that anyone deserved such a painful death even once.

They all continued to watch as Peter made a small noise of pain and collapsed onto his back on the ground.

Allison tugged Amber's arm as she rose to stand, pulling the girl up to her feet and when Allison took a small step to approach Scott, Amber's own gaze snapped to the place where Stiles was still standing in front of the car, his wide eyes glued to Peter's unmoving body.

Not even fully aware of the movement of her socked feet against the ground, Amber took off in a run. She closed the couple hundred feet separating her from Stiles and her body smacked into his with enough force that he was sent stumbling back half a step. Her arms wrapped around Stiles' neck and she lifted up on her toes as she gripped onto him desperately. His hands slipped beneath Scott's jacket to return the embrace, his arms curling tightly around her back.

"You were supposed to stay with Lydia." He scolded softly into her hair.

"I know," She said quietly, reaching up to the hold the back of his head in her hair as her body trembled with excess adrenaline, "'M sorry. But I couldn't let Scott-"

"I know." Stiles interrupted softly.

She loosened her grip just enough that she could lean back in the circle of his arms to look at him, her eyes flicking over his face slowly. Before she could make a move to kiss him, Stiles was leaning in to cover her mouth with his in a gentle press of lips.

"Wait!"

Amber took a startled step back at the sound of Scott's panicked shout, pulling out of Stiles' embrace and lacing her fingers with his in a tight grip as they both turned to watch Scott run across the clearing in front of the house.

Derek was standing over Peter's unmoving body and turned his head a fraction at Scott's voice before he lowered into a squat and returned his gaze down at his uncle.

"You said the cure comes from the one that bit you," Scott said frantically, reaching an arm out toward the other werewolf, "Derek, if you do this, I'm dead." He pleaded, "Her father, her family- What am I supposed to do?"

There was a long beat of silence wherein Derek's attention was focused on the burned werewolf beneath him. Amber's fingers tightened around Stiles' hand nervously while Derek raised an arm over his head in preparation.

"Wait!" Scott yelled again, "No, no! Don't-!"

But Derek's clawed hand swiped down aggressively, slashing Peter's throat as Amber flinched with a gasp. Watching Derek kill someone left a queasy feeling in her gut and her hands shook as she watched him slowly rise to stand again, blood dripping from his clawed fingers. Her haunted gaze was pulled away from the the thick red drops falling from Derek's nails when Stiles reached out to cradle the back of her head and guided her face gently into the crook of his neck.

Her fingers tightened where she was still gripping Stiles' hand and she let out a shaky breath against the collar of his dress shirt when she heard Derek's voice behind them.

"I'm the Alpha now."

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