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Chapter Text

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This is what inspired the fanfic. It's soo cool!!!

More art that FailWolf was able to do for this fic, they are soo AMAZING!

Chapter Text

Chapter One

Stiles was having a wonderful dream, he was finally kissing Derek Hale after trying to get the man to notice him. Only to have an annoying ringing echoing through the preserve the two of them were in. "Fuck sake," he hissed as he pried his eyes open and glanced around for his phone. Groaning as he relaxed it was at his desk on the other side of the room. He held out his hands, demanding his phone fly into it. Not even a second later it did. Looking at the name on it he groaned. "What?" he growled out, "I was sleeping!"

"Stiles, you have to help me!" Scott demanded, panic lacing his voice.

"With what, becoming a decent person who doesn't wake their best friend up after they had only just gone to fucking sleep?" Stiles snapped. Looking at the time, he realized he had only got into bed an hour ago. He had been caught up in researching some of the bestiary that he had been able to get from Peter.

"My Spark, it's gone, the Alpha Spark is gone!" he added, "I don't... I don't know what to do! I'm trying to think and I can't think of why it would go. I'm-"

Stiles groaned as he listened to Scott continue his panic, "Scott, shut up. I get it, you lost the Alpha Spark. Now shut your damn gob so I can think for a second," he told Scott, grumbling under his breath, knowing that it was coming and had been for a while. Stiles had tried to get through to Scott that he had made a deal for the Alpha Spark when he had taken it on.

"What am I going to do?" Scott asked again, pleading and begging.

"Well, first thing first, you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that you won't be an Alpha anymore," he told him bluntly, "Look, Scott, you were told what you had to do to be able to keep the Alpha Spark, yeah?" he asked him, wanting to know if he could even remember. Scott had told him as soon as he had gained the Spark and the fight had been over.

Scott went quiet for a bit, "but I was doing that. I was doing what it asked, protecting Beacon Hills."

Stiles wanted to scream, "You weren't Scott, you were letting the dangers go. How was that protecting Beacon Hills? How was that making sure that the supernatural didn't murder and continue to murder innocents? Because at least three of the ones that you had let go went on to kill another innocent person. So, that was on you. You were told ages ago, by Derek, me, and Peter that if you want them to stop, you have to kill sometimes. Even fucking Chris Argent knows that. Some supernatural beings are not able to be stopped or saved like you want to do."

"Stiles, I can't do that, they all deserve a chance. We gave Peter one, didn't we?" Scott told him, a hurt tone in his voice.

Stiles sighed, "We gave Peter a chance because he was mentally unwell after being in a waking coma and reliving his family burning to death every single moment for the last six years. No one would be able to remain sane after that. Only when he came back from the dead —  which if you remember, was our fault —  was he able to put things together in his mind again and realize what he had done. He mourned for his Niece, he hated what he had done, which yes, included biting you."

"He-"

"Listen, you lost it because you didn't do what you were supposed to," Stiles interrupted him before he could even say anything. "Next time, when you’re told that you have to do something, maybe you'll listen because you never do Scott. Sometimes people have good ideas and such, but you don't want to listen to them because they don't follow the strict moral code you want to remain with. Well, you can, but the rest of us are not too naive," he pointed out to him, "Now, I'm going to get a tiny bit more sleep before I have to get up for school," he told him, ending the call and flopping on his bed.

"For fucks sake," Stiles muttered as he looked at the ceiling of his bedroom, he closed his eyes and wondered what he should do. "Problem for later, now, breakfast, may as well get up. My mind is too awake to go back to sleep," he grumbled as he rolled out of bed and grabbed a few things before going to the bathroom and having a shower.

He trudged downstairs and smelled waffles being cooked. He knew it wasn't his dad, he always burned waffles because he was better at pancakes. That meant that Peter was downstairs and was cooking. He dressed quickly as soon as he was done with his shower, ending the dining room and nodding at Peter, who was cooking.

"Morning Stiles," Peter greeted him, giving him a smile, "Waffles are ready," he stated, plating a few and setting them down.

"Morning, I take it you brought Dad home from his shift?" he asked as he sat down.

Peter nodded, "Yes, he's already asleep, I didn't feel like doing so just yet. Now, did I hear you having Scott on the phone?" he asked as he joined Stiles at the table to eat.

Stiles sighed and then nodded, "Yeah, did you hear what he said?" he asked.

"No Alpha Spark," Peter answered, "and it was you I heard that from, and also, thank you, for defending me. Though you really didn't have to at all," he said, a soft smile on his face, "Now, your father is sleeping, he had a late night going over some old cases. Nothing else is going on at the moment in the town."

"Yeah, it's been..." Stiles stopped and gave a wobble of his hand. He wasn't going to jinx himself at all, he really didn't want to bring down the wrath of any particular deity on his head should he challenge the powers that be on making things worse and bringing something interesting for him and the others to battle.

Peter snorted as he knew what Stiles was thinking, "Well, what are you going to do about the lack of Alpha?" he then asked.

"The Alpha Spark should go to the next one in line. Which would be back to Derek. I'll need to confirm it, but that's how it should work. The Spark that Scott had was the Hale Spark, and he only got it because he was bit by a Hale wolf," Stiles said, as he had been reading up on as much of the Werewolf Lore as he could get from Peter and the books that had been kept hidden in some of the Hale Vaults around the town.

"So, why didn't it come to me?" Peter asked, a slight frown on his face.

"Because you don't want to be Alpha, you never have. You play the role of wanting it, but your heart isn't in it. We all know that. You prefer to work from the shadows, not in everyone's faces and in the spotlight. You also know that Derek, while he wasn't the best at the beginning at being an Alpha, now has you on his side to help teach him the things that your mother taught you in case you became Alpha," Stiles pointed out to him, smirking when he saw Peter snort.

"You read me too well Stiles," he replied, shaking his head and eating the last of his waffles, "You want any more?" he asked, getting up, he was still hungry and planned to cook a few more for himself.

"Nope, I'm good," Stiles answered, "Though I do want to ask why Talia didn't teach all of her children how being an Alpha worked?"

"Talia, she was a good Alpha, trusted the wrong people in my eyes, but she..." he sighed, "She was short-sighted, thinking that we were safe. Werewolves are never safe, not just because of Hunters, but others that would wish us harm, as you've seen there are a lot of other supernatural beings in the world that would like to make Beacon Hills their home. Only the Fire kept them away for so long. But as soon as a Hale was heard of in these parts again, people ran back here, believing that it was safe to try their luck again. Talia would only teach about being an Alpha when a werewolf turned sixteen. Derek had three older siblings and two younger ones. He was the next one to be taught. His younger brother was born Human, but he was contemplating taking the bite at sixteen, and if he had he would have been taught as well. Laura wasn't the next in line for the Alpha spark, it was Mathew, the second eldest. He had shown he had what it took to truly be a good Alpha. Laura was... jealous of that, believing that since she was the oldest girl she should get it since Talia was the current Alpha. Didn't matter that the Alpha before her was our father. Our father had a different approach, he started teaching us as soon as we could walk," he snorted, "So that the things we would need would be ingrained into us by the time we would be Alpha."

"Right," Stiles nodded a few times, going back to his coffee as he finished his waffles.

Peter began to cook, "You have to know that Laura was a bad Alpha because in the end, she shouldn't have run like she had. Or rather she shouldn't have left a Pack member in a vulnerable position as she had," he told him, glancing over his shoulder at him, "She was a scared teenager, we all know that. But she should have done what she could to protect me first before leaving. Along with a few other pack members who were at the house that night. She cut all bonds and ran, taking only Derek with her. I understand that I do, but the werewolf in me screams at it, she had a duty as an Alpha that she didn't fulfill in the end. Derek at least tried to do the right thing when he became Alpha, and me... well, we all know how wrong that went," he snorted, shaking his head again.

"Yeah," Stiles sighed, nodding.

"You should call Derek and ask him to return. The pack doesn't have an Alpha, and it will need that soon. I know he is spending time with Cora to get to know her again, but he needs to be told," Peter warned him.

"No, we're not in danger at the moment, he can carry on getting to know Cora a little more before we call him home," Stiles stopped him before he could carry on.

Peter sighed, "Stiles, I think you're making a mistake," he pointed out, "I know where you're coming from, you need to tell him soon."

Stiles sighed and nodded, "I will, but for now, let him have a little peace, and I'll call him later and ask about the Alpha Spark and if he has it back. If he does and notices it, then he'll call me first. Right, I need to get ready for school, I'll talk to you later."

"I'll finish eating and join your dad in bed," Peter said, grinning when he heard Stiles groan.

"I don't want to know!" he called out as he hurried to his room to get ready. Looking at his phone, he bit his lip, wondering if he should try and call Derek now. He didn't want to worry him about anything. They were all fine and nothing was going on that would need an Alpha around at the moment. "Later, I'll call later," he muttered to himself as he hurried back down the stairs and out of the house.

Chapter Text

Chapter Two

Stiles groaned when he saw Scott waiting for him as he arrived at the school parking lot. The phone call that had woken him up had been quickly followed by several more calls that he had ignored and let go to voicemail, which he had deleted before leaving home. Along with several messages that Stiles had done the same with. He didn't want to read or hear Scott moaning about losing the Alpha Spark. He had warned his friend several times what was going to happen if he carried on the way he was going.

"Stiles!" Scott yelled as he ran over to him, there was a burst of inhuman speed as he reached him in record time.

"Scott," Stiles turned to give him a glare, "I don't want to hear about how you lost your Spark, I warned you, So losing it, is all on you."

"Come on Stiles, you're my best friend, you have to help me get it back!" Scott begged him as he followed the eighteen-year-old as he walked past him without sparing another glance and towards the school building.

Stiles paused, gritted his teeth as he turned, and replied scathingly, "You are the one that didn't want to listen. You are the one who ignored all the voices around you that gave you advice now what you needed to do, But no, you ignored everyone and did things your way and caused trouble for people. You are the cause of the Alpha Spark leaving you. I was expecting it to happen sooner than this though," he finished with a growl as he turned around once more to head into the school building he could see some of the other isn't he Pack standing there, he had to admit that Erica looked a little lost as did Issac. Boyd looked as he usually did, but there was something else, a cloud than hung around him showing his upset to the world. Though Stiles could tell that he wasn't happy, he knew Erica and Derek were the only other lines that had been able to read Boyd and his moods.

"But!" Scott said, following him.

Stiles ignored him as he made his way over to the others, "Hey," he smiled at them, pulling his arm free of Scott a second time as he reached them

"Come on, please, you have to help me with this!" he demanded once again, causing the rest of the Pack to stare at him. They had all felt the bonds breaking with each other and with Scott, there was nothing that really tied them all together anymore and it was hurting them. 

"You refused to kill those that needed it," Stiles hissed in a whisper, "You let them go."

"I won't kill them, Stiles, you know that it shouldn't be done like that. They deserve a second chance," he protested, shaking his head, "You know that. You know I don't even like to do anything when Deaton has to put an animal to sleep. it's.... horrible Stiles, really," he said, looking like he was about to fall apart and start crying.

"They need to be taken down," Stiles told him, "They were killing people, they were harming the innocent and you let them go. They then caused problems in Beacon Hills again and we had to take them out and then we have those that get out of Beacon Hills and cause trouble with other Packs around us. We're in their bad books and are going to have to do a lot to make it up to them. One of them lost a Pack Member, a human pack member," he added, growling a few times as he glared at the man, "I know you don't like it, but sometimes you have no choice in this world we're now part of."

"It's just not who I am!" Scott roared in Stiles' face.

"Tough shit, Scottie," Stiles bitched back, glaring, "You have no choice. You live or die by them, and in my eyes Scott, that any death that was caused by those you let go are on your hands. And trust me, your hands have a lot more blood on them this way than if you actually did what was needed."

Scott steps back, eyes wide at Stiles' declaration. "Stiles..."

"He's right," Boyd said quietly, "You let them go, you wanted to let the Alpha Pack go as well. How many more would they have killed if they hadn't been stopped? Would another Pack have died at their hands like so many others have in the past?"

"Boyd and I only just survived them," Erica added, "if I hadn't been so quick in moving after they started attacking me and trying to kill me when we got out of the vault, I would be dead. If Derek hadn't been able to kill the others before Boyd went totally fucking crazy..." she trailed off, "Derek would have no choice but to have killed Boyd. He was feral, Scott, and with the Alpha's goading things on, he would have died if not for Stiles and Lydia being able to contain him and Cora until Derek had taken out the Alpha's and had been able to subdue them both along with Noah's help," she pointed out, shaking her head, voice strong but tears gathering in her eyes at the reminder of what she experienced.

"In their eyes," Lydia added, "You don't care if they live or die, they don't mean anything to you. Yet they are supposed to be your Pack members. Your actions say that other people you don’t even know matter more."

"We should stick together, but you were on another level, not caring if we died for your ideals. Not caring if we were killed because of those you let go. You... you didn't care when Alison attacked us for no reason, and you didn't care when you found out that Stiles had been tortured either," Issac said, looking at the teenager in front of them.

"You just don't care if it goes against the moral code you think you need to follow. You don't kill, but you don't care who is killed when you let them go. You feel like you've done your job in stopping them, but you haven't," Stiles sighed, stepping back himself.

"I made my choice, and you've obviously all made yours. I just hope you enjoy the peace and quiet that we have here, that I brought," Scott snapped at them as he moved around them and headed into the school.

Stiles watched him go, "He fucking challenged the powers that be."

"Of course, he's an idiot. I can't wait until Jackson comes back," Lydia said as she hooked her arm around his, "Come on, let's get inside."

"He's coming back then?" Stiles asked, escorting her inside with the others following.

She nodded, "He's told his parents that with the money that goes to him on his birthday, he'll come back to Beacon Hills. He belongs here, they know of the supernatural, and they are... not happy. They don't have much of a choice, but they plan to follow him back if Jackson does come back. I've already been helping on this side of things. Been looking at places for him to rent for himself, looking at furniture, and getting a few things and putting them in storage for it. I don't think he'll want to live with the Whittemores for a while at the very least. They are not doing well."

Stiles nodded as they headed to their lockers to get ready for the day.

Stiles shivered as they headed out to the courtyard for lunch. The others were joining him as he sat down. "Everything alright?" he asked each of them, frowning as they all said that they were.

"What's going on?" Erica asked, leaning closer, "You're on edge," she added.

"You're only on edge like that when something is about to go down," Issac stated.

"I just... feel like something is coming and it isn't going to be a good thing. I don't know if it was because of what Scott said, or something else," he sighed as he opened the lunch he had packed himself that morning. 

Issac landed back, "Well, you know that the Twins are hanging around Beacon Hills. They are on the outskirts though," he pointed out, "I saw them a few times but they haven't really approached yet."

"I think they might be waiting for Derek to come back," Stiles answered him, giving a shrug as the others frowned. "They want to join the Hale Pack, not Scott's, but Derek’s, they are hoping that if he comes, they will be able to give him their Alpha Sparks and he can be Alpha and they Beta's. They don't like being Alphas at all."

"And how do you know that?" Erica asked him, picking at some of her boyfriend's lunch, the other teen was a good cook, having taken over the cooking from his grandmother when he was young and helping her out when she wasn't well.

Boyd snorted and pushed over another lunch he had made for her, "Here," he said, handing her a spork.

"Thanks," she grinned widely as she dug into the pasta salad that he had made. "Soo damn good," she groaned obscenely.

"Really Erica!" Lydia said before laughing.

Erica pointed her spork at her, "You haven't had Boyd's cooking, have a taste and tell me that is not orgasmic," she smirked, generously offering her a bite.

Lydia rolled her eyes, "Fine, let's have a taste then," she muttered, not expecting much. "Ohh," she said as she chewed a few times before swallowing, "Ohhh," she added, "Okay, I can see your point."

"I don't know what the hell he does," Erica told her, "But damn, it's so fucking good, not even my wolf nose is able to sniff it out," she added.

Boyd just smirked as he carried on eating his lunch, Issac and Stiles looking on before Erica gave them a taste.

"Well," Stiles smirked, "It's really good," he looked at Boyd, he had a pretty good idea what the other had added to get the creamy rich taste, with those subtle hints of herbs and spices that just set it apart from other pasta salads.

"Yeah," Boyd nodded, "it's good," he said as they carried on eating.

Lunch felt a little more at ease as they talked and caught up on what everyone was doing. The bell rang before long and they headed off for the rest of their lessons.

Stiles arrived home and sighed in relief as the door closed behind him. "Damn, that was fucking torture," he muttered to himself as he trudged to the stairs and headed up to his room.

"Stiles?" Noah called out, "Why have I received a high number of messages and calls from Scott to get you to help him?" he asked.

"He lost the Alpha Spark," Stiles answered as Peter popped out of the kitchen.

"Dinner is steak, and yes it will be healthy," Peter said before Stiles could object to the red meat, "and I’m unsurprised that he has lost the spark, he's an idiot for not listening to us."

"Oh," Noah nodded, "Right, I'll ignore as well. I told him," he muttered as he went to the kitchen to see exactly what healthy steak meant for Peter.

Stiles was about to say something more as his dad came back out from the kitchen, phone at his ear.

"Yeah, I'll be right there," he stated with a heavy sigh, "Don't touch anything." He hung up and looked at the two, "Sorry, I can't stay for dinner, a body has been found. I need to head out," he sighed as he began to get himself ready.

Peter headed into the kitchen, Stiles following as the man handed over the last of the cooking to him. "Take care of this and I'll watch over Noah," he smiled, as he patted Stiles on the back and headed out of the kitchen to get ready to follow Noah.

Stiles shook his head as he finished up the meal, leaving it to one side for the two to warm up when they got back. "Honestly," Stiles grinned a little, "Peter is a fucking puppy when it comes to dad."

Chapter Text

Chapter Three

 Noah reached the car and waited a second as Peter joined him. "You coming too?" he asked, giving him a smirk.

"I'm keeping an eye on you, that's all. I know that Stiles worries about you," Peter said as he went to the other side and got in.

Noah sighed and rolled his eyes as he joined him in his car, "Okay, you do what I say, and you don't go running off. From what they said, it looks a little odd," he added, "The body is that of a male, from what they can tell," he sighed.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, glancing over at the older man.

"The body isn't whole," he answered, "And that's all I got, it's grizzly from what the deputy told me, he sounded like he was going to throw up."

"Rookie?" he asked, smirking a little about the soft stomach the deputy must have.

"Yeah, new, as in three days new," Noah snorted, "With what can happen in this town, I don't know if he is going to last."

"Not many have the stomach for some of the things that we see in the supernatural world. Like Scott, he really doesn't. He's too kind-hearted and soft, he wants to believe the best in everyone around him. Though he really doesn't listen well to those in authority. I think you and Deaton might be the only ones that he does," Peter said, frowning as he thought of the former Alpha.

"He can be a little self-centered as well," Noah pointed out, "But well... he and his dad don't get along. His dad is FBI, and he's seen some bad things, he tried not to take it home, but that happened a few times. They split up because of it and Scott. Well, he hates his dad for leaving and heading to LA and leaving them behind. He started to distrust people, especially those in authority. The only one he listened to for a long time was Melissa and then Stiles. It took a while for him to warm up to me," he said, "They bonded over the fact they have a missing parent, Claudia for Stiles and Rafe for Scott. Though for two different reasons."

Peter nodded, "I'm surprised they didn't try to match make," he said.

"Oh, they did, a few times. Never got anywhere, as Mel and I are friends, nothing more."

"Good," he said, as he looked out the window.

"Jealous much," Noah said, his voice low and husky.

"Hush up and concentrate on the road, I have no reason to be jealous, you're not going to bed with her, are you, behind my back?" he asked.

"Course not," he snorted, knowing that Peter was only playing a little. There was a hint of insecurity in his voice and Noah had to wonder where it had come from.

Peter looked at him and nodded, "Where was the body found?" he then asked, changing the subject.

"Not far from the preserve, near one of the smaller paths that run off it," Noah stated as he turned down one of the roads, flashing lights could be seen in front of them. Parking the car he got out, "he's with me," he said before anyone could protest Peter's presence, though no one looked to have even started doing so.

"Sheriff," Tara said as she walked over, "Male, 24, barely any blood on the scene, and the body parts are in different places. Have fun with this one," she snorted as she turned around, "Oh, and Mark is over there trying not to throw up," she added a little quiet.

Noah nodded, "Send him back to the station, he can man the desk for a while," he sighed, shaking his head, "He's going to have to grow a stronger stomach," he added.

"Will do," she nodded and got one of the others to send him back to the station. "Right," she said as she led Noah and Peter over to the first body part.

"Damn," Noah said as he knelt, "This was torn off, not cut," he added, frowning as he glanced at the location of the others. "blood looks like it's been drained," he added as he looked at the coroner on the scene, "Hey, Angie," he greeted the older woman, "You got anything for me?" he asked, standing up and walking over.

"Just like you said Noah, blood has been drained, that's why there isn't much on the scene. I would say he was ripped apart as well, though what type of things caused it, I'll leave that up to you guys," she snorted as she glanced down at the torso and head that were still linked together, but only just. "Blood drained, pulled apart," she shook her head, "There are so many damn oddities in this town that I think there is a hidden cult of some kind half the time," she finished.

Noah snorted and sometimes wondered if she had a little bit of a clue as to what was really living within this town. "Well, it's something. We need to ID him," he added, "Got anything to help with that."

"His license," Tara said as she handed it over.

"Nigel Faraday," he said as he looked at it, "local address as well," he murmured, "Well, looks like I've got a bit of bad news to give," he sighed.

"I'll come with you if you don't mind," Peter added, there was something in his eyes telling Noah that this wasn't the normal crime that he preferred to encounter.

"Sure, it'll keep you out of trouble," he added, giving them man a nod before Noah went around the scene to see if there was anything else and letting Peter have the chance to look things through as well.

In the car, they headed to Faraday's home. "So, what are you thinking, Peter?" Noah asked him.

"Definitely supernatural, there wasn’t a lot of blood for that murder and it happened only a couple of hours before the body was found."

"But the... it looked like they had been killed at least a day or two ago," he frowned, "The body had cooled too much for it to be less than that," he stated having listened to Angie about what she had gound as he had gone around the other parts and listened to what she had figured out.

"No, there was something else at play causing the body to look like it had been dead longer than it really had. With my senses, I could tell, no one else would be able to do so. There was something about the smell that was there," he paused for a moment, "I can't place it though. I don't think it's something I've come across before though. Just the smell reminded me of something I read."

"Well, it might be time to crack open those books again," he stated as he turned onto another road towards a small cul-de-sac. "There," he stated, as he saw the address, it was a small apartment block only two stories high. "Let's go and let me do all the talking, unless you know they are lying, then tell me," he told him.

"Of course. This isn't my wheelhouse, delivering bad news like this," he sighed, shaking his head as he followed Noah.

Noah walked up to the apartment number that was on the information he had been given. "Hello," he greeted the young woman who was standing there, she looked like she had been crying and he frowned.

"If you're looking for Nigel he fucked off, the bastard was cheating on me and I kicked him out last night," she spat, "The asshole was cheating on me with my fucking cousin! The little slut!" she yelled out. 

"Ma'am, ma'am, please calm down for now, we would like to talk to you about Nigel, he has been found," Noah began.

"He has, then... then why are you... here?" she said slowly as she began to come up with as many scenarios as she could of why the cops would be on her doorstep.

"May we come in?" Noah asked, "I would rather speak with you somewhere comfortable," he told her, mustering up a smile.

"Yeah, erm, okay," she said, opening the door.

"What's your name?" Noah asked as he was let inside the apartment. He glanced around and saw a life that was beginning to be built.

"I'm Cassie," she said, sitting down, and gesturing for them to do the same.

Noah and Peter sat down. "I'm sorry to say," Noah began as soon as they were all seated, "That Nigel was found this afternoon, he has been murdered," he told her as gently as he could.

The woman before him froze, eyes blank for a moment before tears began to form and fall, "I... he can't be, I know he... he can be a bastard, but he..." she mumbled, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am," Noah said, "I really do need to ask a few things about his movements, and if you can give me the address or number of some of his family at all," he added.

"I... he called me, last night, he said he was sorry. He was telling me how sorry he was, he was... crying," she said, grabbing a tissue from the end table, "He fucks up a lot, but I love him, I do... I did... I..." he sobbed, "I just can't picture him gone. He's going to be banging on that stupid door with flowers and promising not to be a dick. He was a dick, never hurt me at all. We argued a bit, always about something stupid. He cheated on me, and he was just telling me that it only happened once. I called the stupid bitch, I did, and she said she had tried so many times to get him, maybe it really was the one time. Maybe he was weak and she manipulated him. I don't know, she's always been my rival, our families pitting us against each other. Nigel wasn't perfect, hell no one is, but he did love me, he cared and tried to make me smile all the time," she babbled for a few more minutes about Nigel, and Noah and Peter took everything in.

"Cassie," Peter said, even though Noah shot him a look, "The last time you talked, you said he was crying?"

She nodded, "He was crying and apologizing, telling me it only happened once." She wasn't able to give them more than that before telling them more about his family and their address.

"Thank you for your time," Noah said after a while longer, leaving. The visit to Nigel's family went much the same. Nothing they added to what they knew, helped to shed any light on what had happened.

Arriving home, Noah walked in and sighed as he saw Stiles barely awake reading on the couch.

"You should head to bed," Noah said as he walked over to him, and took the book from semi-lax hands.

"Dad," Stiles blinked up at him, "You're home," he began to get up.

"Bed, Stiles, go on," he told him again, trying to usher him to the stairs.

"I was gonna war-" he was cut off as he yawned loudly.

"Bed, Stiles, I'll sort Noah and my dinner. Don't worry, you have school in a couple of hours," Peter told him, shaking his head fondly.

"I want to know about the case," Stiles pouted sleepily.

"We can tell you tomorrow, bed," Noah said a little more firmly.

Stiles huffed but he finally did what he was told and headed to bed.

"That Kid," Noah said with a snort as he followed Peter to the kitchen. The two of them were able to finish cooking the last part of their dinner and warmed the rest up before eating. They didn't talk about the case at all, instead focusing on other things, since they would be going through what Noah had learned and had reported in before going home, with Stiles in the morning.

Chapter Text

Chapter Four

Stiles was bounding down the stairs early the next morning. He could already smell waffles and bacon being cooked and he knew that Peter was already downstairs. He could hear someone in his Dad's bedroom, so that would have to be his dad. "Morning!" he said, he was chirpy and that didn't bode well for Peter and Noah, he was on the hunt for information.

"Morning, breakfast is almost ready, just have to finish off the eggs. Coffee and Juice are already on the table," Peter said as he began to scramble some eggs.

"You really need to let me cook sometimes," Stiles said, "You've been doing it for the last few days, breakfast and dinners, and even a packed lunch for the three of us."

"Have nothing better to do, I don't sleep much either. Haven't really done so since I fully came around again," Peter answered him, "My mind doesn't seem to like me sleeping."

Stiles nodded, mood turning a little somber. He had seen the man sleeping occasionally, and he never looked like he was relaxing or creating properly each time. "Really, thought Peter, you don't have to," he reminded him again.

"I know I don't, but I do find it rather relaxing," he stated, giving him a smile over his shoulder, "Your dad is about to come down," he said, tilting his head like he was listening to something above him, "Ah, and he said if you have questions to not bombard him with them, but to ask them in a calm and orderly fashion."

Stiles laughed and nodded, "I will," he promised as he drank some coffee and plated himself some of the waffles.

Noah walked into and sat down as Peter finished the eggs and plated them, putting some on everyone's plate. Sitting down himself, he smiled at Noah as they shared a quick kiss. Stiles rolled his eyes at them, but smiled, "Okay," Noah said as he looked at his son. "So, what do you want to know?"

"Give me the basics for now," Stiles told them both.

"Name is Nigel Faraday, 24. He left his home just before midnight the night before he was killed. Called his girlfriend around 3 am, upset and crying, he had cheated on her with a cousin. One night is what was said on the call. He was apologizing to her. That was the last he was heard of. Found at 4:37 pm," Noah stated the facts."

"Method of death?" Stiles then asked as he began to eat the bacon and eggs.

"Blood was drained, and I do mean drained dry almost. Very little was found at the scene. Will know more after the autopsy. He was ripped apart," he added.

"It was supernatural as well," Peter told him, "I know that there was a very distinct smell that was around the area. I just can't place it at all," he added.

Stiles nodded, going over what he had learned, "When you get the autopsy report, can I read it?" he asked, "It's supernatural, you need more than just normal eyes on it."

"I'll let you, but Stiles, no going off on your own with this one," Noah warned him, staring at him until Stiles gave in.

"Fine I won't," he promised with a sigh.

"Good," he said.

"Though, can I stay home? I want to look through the books and see if there is anything that would do this, I know there should be some. Vampires come to mind after all," Stiles said as he started to eat a little slower as his mind began to go over what he knew of Vampires.

"Not a chance, Stiles, you're going to school," Noah told him point blank, "No, not a chance," he added before Stiles could protest further.

"Fine," he grumbled but carried on eating his breakfast. He headed off to school half an hour later, rushing out the door. "I'll message you if I want to know anything!" he called out over his shoulder.

Noah snorted and shook his head as he and Peter got up and began to clean up, "You could go and sit down you know Peter," Noah suggested to him, "I'll bring something to drink and we can relax for a bit before I have to head to work."

"I'll meet you there a little later. There are a few books I want to get from one of the Vaults. I want to have a look at them and see if something can be shaken loose," he said as he ignored the suggestion and carried on helping.

Noah shook his head as he started up some hot water and began to wash the dishes after the leftovers, which were much, were scraped away. "You know you're always welcome by the station, Peter," he told him, his tone soft and gentle. He could tell that Peter was bored and lonely most of the day, since he was working and the others were at school, or in Derek's case in New York.

"Thank you," he smiled. The two finished clean up and Noah went to relax with a coffee before he had to head to the station. Peter gave him a kiss before heading out the door to the Vault, a vow to meet him at the station in an hour or so.

Stiles sat down at lunch, concentrating on his phone as his dad sent him a few things about the case that he had been able to figure out. Though there wasn't much if Stiles was honest. All they knew now was the blood had been drained, less than 7% of the victim's blood remained within the body, and that was mostly still around organs. "Hmmm," he hummed as he absently began to eat his lunch.

The others sat down around him, having noticed that he was distracted for most of the day. "So, are you going to tell us what's going on?" Lydia asked as she nudged into Stiles.

Stiles jumped and looked a little startled to see them all sitting around, even Scott and Alison. "Well, you know the murder that happened last night?" he asked them, looking up from his phone.

"Yeah," Lydia nodded, "It was all over the news. A Young man was found murdered. No real details were given though. From what the gossip chain has going on is that the man was pulled apart," she added what she had been able to learn.

"Correct on that, Dad was called in not long after I got home from school. Didn't even get a chance to have dinner together," he snorted. "They got back home at almost two in the morning, and they hadn't found many leads or anything for it. Peter said that it's a Sup death though. There was a scent if I remember right," he told them, as he turned to face them all properly and tucked his phone away.

"Sup?" Scott asked, frowning.

"Yes, supernatural. There is more to the way he died, but I'm not to talk about some of it," he said, glancing around, which was giving them the hint that this wasn't the right place to talk about the murder case. While Stiles didn't think anyone around them was involved, it was all too easy for someone to overhear, and then gossip would spread and it would end up in the news, leading to a few problems that always arose from such things.

"Right," Alison said, giving her boyfriend a look that told him to shut his mouth and not ask anything else.

Scott huffed but did so.

"He cheated on his girlfriend," Stiles said, his voice lower, as this was more gossip than part of the case. "Dad talked with the other woman in the case and she said that she was dating the man. She's the cousin of the girlfriend that he lived with. Peter was there for the interview and was able to determine she was lying about that. Dad got to the bottom of it and that she had dressed so much like his girlfriend that when he was drunk and high, he slept with her thinking it was his girlfriend," he said, shaking his head, "It's disgusting, Dad... wants to do something about her, in a way that was... rape," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Fuck, that's sick," Issac said with a shudder. 

"Yeah," Stiles agreed, "Dad's handing it over to someone since she admitted to it during a formal interview," he added, "SO it could lead to something. The girlfriend is pissed and angry. She heard what was being said when she came into the station an hour ago. Almost ended up with a damn fight to keep her out of holding," he said as he began to eat his lunch again.

"Well, hope your dad gets that sorted," Erica snorted, shaking her head, "Hope they throw the book at the bitch too," she added.

"Same here," Alison said, her mind going to Kate and what she had done to Derek. She had been learning a lot about that from Stiles. Having taken the time to ask him what he had meant with some of his more pointed comments to her dad.

"We'll talk more about this another time," Stiles said, as he then changed the subject for the rest of lunch.

Peter walked into the station waving a hand at Tara and nodded as he was let through to head to Noah's office. "Is he still in his office?" he asked as he carried the lunch he had brought for the two of them.

"Yeah, he went back in after putting the women in the cells, they're currently yelling at each other," she snorted, "The Sherif told us to leave them to it and warn them that they are being recorded and it could be used against them still," she shrugged, "Go on through."

"Thanks," he smiled presently at her before heading to the office. 

Noah looked up as the door opened and Peter walked in, "Lunch? Burgers?" he asked hopefully. Stiles still liked to try and make sure his dad ate healthy. Peter often found a way to let him have what he liked, in a healthier way. Stiles wasn't complaining too much, and Noah was enjoying his food and looking after himself.

"Yes," Peter smiled, "some nice ones too, I think even Stiles would approve of these," he added as he walked over and they laid lunch out for themselves.

"Sometimes I wonder if this town is Cursed," Noah said as they began to eat.

"It wouldn't surprise me if that was the case sometimes," Peter snorted, "Though there are a few ways to do it, most are not things that would be in just anyone's wheelhouse," he smirked.

"W-" he began as the door opened, "Tara?"

"Another has just been found, blood drained, partially ripped apart. Near the Grocer on Mikalsen," she told him. 

"Damn," Noah said as he took the last bite of burger, "Let's get down there then," he added as he then got up, cleaning up before they headed out. Peter with him.

Arriving at the scene, the body was laid out in the alley, one arm off and a little further away. The amount of blood around the area was extremely small once again. Peter walked with Noah as they approached the body, both of them looking around to see if there was anything of note.

"The same," Noah whispered under his breath as he knelt by the body.

"Yes," Peter answered, just as quietly, remaining standing as he continued to look around.

Noah gave a sigh, knowing he would be telling Stiles as soon as he saw his son. He hated that his work was also part of Stiles' life in this way. He had always wanted to keep Stiles safe from such things. The monsters of the world were only human, they were supernatural and for that, he had no true way to fight it, unlike Peter, and the others. Even Stiles could fight it with what he was learning as a Spark.

Chapter Text

Chapter Five

"Sheriff," Matterson said as he walked over, he was the one who had been on the scene first.

"What have you found out so far?" Noah asked as he stood up. The deputies around him were talking to a few bystanders. The forensic team was small, very small, and was going over the scene. The coroner had walked over and had taken over the examination of the body already.

"Names Anton Yarding," he said, "20," he added, "Was seen walking into the store half an hour before his body was found. Though, have to say, Sir, it looks like it could have been here for a day or two," he shook his head in confusion. 

"Right, anything else? Family? Friends?" he asked.

"He has family, he still lives with them, working as a mechanic," he added as he looked at the notes he had made. "Not much going on with the young man," he said as he looked back up.

Noah nodded, and looked down at the body and then at Angie, "Well, what do we have?" he asked her as he went back to the body.

"Temp says he's been dead for at least a day," Angie told him, "But we all know that isn't possible. I've had the same problem with the other one as well. The body is telling me it's been dead longer than it actually has," she sighed, shaking her head, "It's annoying."

"I bet it is, what else?" he prompted.

"Well, they started to tear him apart, but it looks like they were stopped before they could even truly get started. Only his arm is missing, and that's over there. Blood looks to have been drained again," she added.

"So, this is really another one," he sighed.

"I would say this damn town is cursed for the weirdness that comes across my table," Angie said, "Now, let me carry on with my work and I'll try and get A report to you as soon as I can. I did a rush on the other, so it should get to you later on. Tox won't be back until tomorrow, but I'll make them fear me to get it back ASAP."

"Wouldn't surprise me to find out that it has been," Noah snorted, smirking a little as Angie laughed, "Well, I'll be after you for the reports," he told her.

"Aren't you always, Noah," she said, shaking her head.

Noah gave her a smile before heading to talk to the other deputies and the witnesses, along with the one who found the body.

Stiles walked out of the school, bag slung over his shoulder as he looked at that message that his dad had sent him. A second body had been found, not even twenty-four hours after the last one. Stiles shook his head as he stopped near his jeep and thought for a moment, "I need the books, don't I," he huffed to himself as he went over and got it. He knew that Peter had left a few books at Derek's place.

Stiles threw his bag onto the passenger seat and started up Rosco, he nodded and waved to Lydia as he passed her and drove towards the loft. Stiles had to admit that he missed Derek's presence, the man could be surly as hell, but he did do his best. Now, he was Alpha again, having confirmed that from Peter who had talked to him, Stiles knew that the Hale Pack was going to be stronger than before. He just hoped that whatever this was, that was attacking, would be taken care of quickly.

"Well," he said to himself as he arrived at Derek, "Let's get thi-" he began as he got out only to find himself thrown away from his jeep.

Stiles landed hard, but he rolled, just like he had been taught. He came up on his feet. Gathering energy in his hand to fight back. Before him stood something shrouded in shadows. They looked female, but Stiles couldn't be a hundred percent sure about that.

"Who the hell are you?" he called out as the being ran towards him. They were fast. He let loose the energy that he had gathered, hoping that it would hit them. It didn't, it flew over them as they almost looked like they were flying against the ground before coming back up and slamming into him. Stiles felt hands gripping around his neck. He couldn't even see the face of what it was that was holding him.

They were hissing something and he couldn't tell if it was a language at all or just them hissing at him like a damn snake.

"Okay, Voldemort," Stiles gasped out as he put his hands on the creature's wrists and willed them to heat up. The creature screeched in pain as they were burned. Stiles dropped to the ground as the creature rushed away from him. He stayed there for a few moments, trying to catch his breath.

Getting up on shaking leg, he wobbled to the loft and opened the door. Making sure to put down a few wards so only those he knew could enter he headed for Derek's apartment at the top. Stiles flopped down on the couch, letting himself rest for a moment. His eyes closed against his will as he went into a light doze. It was only the constant ringing of his phone that he woke up.

"Fuck!" he yelled out as he reached for it and answered the call.

"Stiles, where are you?" Noah demanded straight away. Stiles could hear the worry in his dad's voice.

"I'm at the loft," he croaked, his throat feeling sore from the almost strangulation that he had gone through.

"Stay there, we're coming to get you. I don't like how you sound," Noah said.

Stiles winced, "Yeah, okay," he said, nodding even though they couldn't see him.

Stiles ended the call and lay back. Letting himself drift a little as he thought over what the hell happened. He didn't get much into his thoughts when the doors opened to the loft and Noah rushed over, Peter hot on his heels. He groaned, "I only just talked to you," he said, as he began to sit up.

"That was twenty minutes ago Stiles," Noah frowned as he began to check his son over.

Stiles frowned, "How is that possible," he said as he waved his dad away.

Peter walked over with a glass of water, "Here, drink this slowly," he told him, handing it over.

Stiles sighed but did as he was told. The cool liquid soothed his throat a little, he would be able to do something more when he got home. 

"So, what the hell happened?" Noah asked, "You didn't answer messages and finally answered my call, missing time."

"I came here, I know Peter left a few books here, I was going to hunt for them and have a read-through," he said, looking at the two of them, "Really I'm fine," he reassured, "I just wasn't expecting to be attacked. Now that I know better, I'm going to be more prepared for it," he told the two of them, hoping that they would calm down a little. He could tell that what had happened had scared them. His Dad especially.

Noah sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Just... you're coming home, get the books you want, and then we're going home. I don't want you out of my sight for a bit," he said, calming himself down a little more.

Stiles smiled slightly as he got up, making sure he was steady on his feet as he headed to the room where Derek often kept the books they would search through for whatever big bad had decided to walk through the town.

Peter wrapped his arms around Noah, "He's strong, don't worry about him so much," he said, trying to reassure his partner.

Noah turned in his arms, "How can I not worry. I know he's strong, but a surprise attack, like this, it knocked him around. You can tell that," he sighed.

"I know, but he's okay, we'll keep better what, and he will know that he is a target. Though of what... We'll see," he added as he listened to Stiles rummage around, muttering to himself in the other room. Shaking his head he slowly let Noah go as he could sense that the man’s heart rate was mostly back to normal.

Noah and Peter waited a few more minutes before Stiles made an appearance again. "Got what you wanted?" he asked his son.

Stiles looked up, "Yeah, I got a few of them, there are more, but I think Peter has them in his Vaults."

"I think they are now at home. I went and got a few of them this morning," Peter told him as they left the loft.

Stiles looked around, missing Derek even more. He wondered if Peter was right and that he should call the other man and tell him what was going on. "Right, let's get home, I'll-"

"Peter will drive Rosco, you're with me," Noah said before Stiles could even suggest separating and going on alone.

Peter took the keys for the jeep from Stiles and headed to it. Stiles grumbled under his breath as he got in the patrol car with his dad.

"Really, Dad," Stiles grumbled again as he looked over at his dad.

Noah sighed, "I know you want to keep being independent, but I just learned that you've been attacked. To know that, has scared me, you know it does. Doesn't matter that you're this Spark. You're still my son and I worry."

"I know you do, Dad, but you can't always protect me, I have to stand up on my own two feet and do it myself at some point," he tried to reason with him.

"Stiles, you worry about me, daily, with what I'm eating and doing. Like you worry, I worry, doesn't matter how old you're going to be, I'm always going to be that worried Dad," Noah told him.

Stiles paused and then nodded,d "Fine, Okay, I get it," he said, shaking his head, "I'm going to be careful Dad, I promise," he said, giving him a reassuring smile.

"I know, you're prepared now, and I want you to tell me and Peter exactly what happened when we get home," Noah told him, Stiles nodded and the rest of the journey home was silent. Stiles was already glancing through the books that were in his arms, hoping to get a head start.

Arriving back at the house, Peter went and made them all something to drink before the three of them sat down.

"So, what was it?" Peter asked him, handing the other some hot cocoa.

Stiles took it, sniffing the rich chocolate smell and settling down a little more into his chair. "I couldn't see what it was. It was dark, that's for sure. But it was like the thing absorbed any light. I think it was female. It was strangling me but I think it was about to bite me," he explained.

"I don't think this is a Vampire," Peter said, "While they do, indeed, drink blood, not all of them are bloodthirsty maniacs. They don't need to suck someone dry to get what they need."

"So, not them?" Stiles said.

"Most likely not. Those that do kill, don't like to show that they are vampires, after all. They protect the supernatural as well in their own way. If people know they exist then they will be hunted. Vampires, they tend to take out their own should they cause problems. If this was one, then they would have already been here to take them out," Peter explained.

"So unlikely it’s them," Stiles said as he went back to the book.

Noah and Peter shared a look as they got up to get a start on dinner. Stiles remained with his books until he was dragged to the table, before going back to them again.

Chapter Text

Chapter Six

Stiles rubbed at his eyes and looked around his bedroom. He had gone there after being made to by his Dad. Peter and Noah had retired to bed themselves hours before. He yawned. "Still nothing," he muttered to himself as he looked at the list that he had been making. Stiles jumped as the door to his bedroom opened.

"Stiles," Noah sighed as he went over to the chair, and pulled the book from Stiles' hands. "YOu need to get some sleep, you have school in the morning and I'm not letting you have a day off," he warned him, putting the book down.

"Dad, I just want to get a few ideas down, I need to know what we're up against," Stiles whined as he was pulled up from his chair.

"I know you do, but you really need to get some sleep. You have a couple of hours before you need to get up. If you're not well rested then how can I trust that you're going to be able to fight if you need to," he said, giving Stiles a pointed look.

Stiles grumbled but let himself be pulled from his chair and guided to his bed. He lay down, thankfully already in his sweats and a T-shirt ready for sleep. "Fine, Dad," he murmured.

"Just thinking about you, son," Noah said as he ran a hand over his son's head and watched as his eyes closed, the eighteen-year-old sighed and was soon asleep. Noah stood and shook his head, "Always the same," he murmured as he walked out of the room and headed back to his own. Climbing into bed, Peter wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close.

"He's finally asleep," he said, already able to tell by how much slower Stiles' heartbeat was when sleeping compared to its awakened state.

"Yeah, don't know how long he'll sleep for. His mind won't let him do so for more than a couple of hours when there is something interesting going on. It's always been like this, even when he was little. If there was something going on, he would only sleep for a couple of hours, and boom, he would be awake again. Most of the time we can get him to sleep for at least two hours, occasionally three," Noah sighed.

Peter hummed as he snuggled into Noah's arms, "Well, let's hope he sleeps for three, he still has school."

"I know, and so does he," he snorted, "It was a fight to keep him from school at one point. Now it's a fight to get him to go some days," he sighed.

"That would be more because he wants to protect the town and he feels like he can't do so while at school," Peter pointed out.

"Yeah," Noah huffed, running his fingers up and down Peter's bare back, "Let's get some sleep while we can," he murmured, yawning as the two moved closer to each other and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Stiles' eyes flew open, it had been just over two hours since his Dad had come in and talked him into going to bed. He just couldn't sleep, his mind was going over the possibilities of the creatures that had attacked him. While Vampires were at the top of the list, he knew from talking with Peter that they couldn't be it. Or very unlikely to be the creature that had attacked him and two men so far.

Rubbing at his eyes he sat up and hurried to his desk. Looking at the book his dad had set aside, he grabbed it and sat down, intent on reading for a little longer. He stopped as he saw his phone, it was blinking at him. Stiles reached for it, smiling as he saw a message from Derek. He quickly replied, reassuring the werewolf that things were fine. That there was nothing he had to worry about. Stiles didn't know how well he had been able to treasure him and wondered if Peter had talked to him at all.

"I don't know if I should tell him what happened," he muttered to himself as he stared at his phone. It was early in the morning in New York. Derek was an Alpha again, and while they were okay for now without him, they would need him soon. He sighed and put the phone down, giving it another glance before starting to read again. He occasionally wrote something down to check in another book, barely registering. Peter stopped at the door for a moment before heading downstairs to cook breakfast.

It took Noah dragging him away from the books to get him to eat and Peter to get him to shower before the two of them got him ready to go to school for the day. The teenager had protested heavily, trying to remain home and research, but neither would hear of it.

"I promise to keep looking at myself," Peter reassured him as he got him to leave the house and head to his jeep.

Stiles sighed and grumbled as he climbed in, tossing his bag onto the other seat and giving his Dad and Peter a glare as he left for school. "There's just nothing I can do here, I'm needed at home where I can research without giving anything away," he muttered darkly as he drove.

Parking his jeep twenty minutes later, he waved at the others as they walked into the building. Lessons were boring and didn't keep his attention. The others tried to talk to him, but no one was getting much of an answer.

"Right," he said, as they sat down for lunch, "we need to go over what is going on," he told them, "We've had two bodies so far and I was attacked last night when I headed to Derek's. There is something in town and it's causing problems." 

"Yeah, we got part of that," Lydia stated.

"What do you mean you were attacked?" Scott asked, eyes going wide, "Why were you alone?"

Stiles stared at him and rolled his eyes, "Because I was heading to Dereks."

"Is he back?" Erica asked.

"No, he isn't, not yet. I know there are a few things that he needs to do," Stiles rolled his eyes, "Now are you going to let me finish before you all chime in with something that can wait?" he told the group, shaking his head as he waited for them to go quiet again.

"Go on," Alison said, nodding as she placed a hand on Scott's arm to stop him from asking questions. Erica snorted but mimicked zipping her lips and tossing away a key.

"This one has been draining the blood of the victims. The first one was ripped apart, the second one, well only their arm had been torn off. Peter said that it isn't a vampire before any of you suggest that," he told them, his voice low to make sure that no one could overhear.

"Then what else could it be?" Boyd asked him.

"There are a few things that it could be, I'm still putting a list together," Stiles told them, "Peter and Dad are looking into it as well. Peters doing research while Dad's working," he added.

"I think we should meet tonight to really talk about things. TO go over the list that you've put together," Lydia suggested.

"Sounds like an idea to me, so Pack meet up at mine?" Stiles added, looking around the group and getting several nods. "Don't be late, we'll order pizza as well."

"Movie?" Lydia asked, a little smirk playing on her lips.

"Not the Notebook, we've watched that so much I think I know it line by damn line," Erica said before Lydia could even suggest her favorite movie.

"We'll think of something," Stiles said before it could devolve into an argument about what they should watch.

"Have you told Derek what's going on?" Boyd asked him.

"No, not yet," he repeated himself.

"You should," Alison added quietly, "He's going to be Alpha? isn't he?" she asked.

"He is now an Alpha, yeah. The Spark that Scott had was the Hale Spark because he failed in his duties, it's gone back to Derek," Stiles explained.

Scott pouted at that but said nothing. He had been having Alison talking to him about what he had done wrong for the last couple of days. The bell rang for the end of lunch and they got up, throwing away what was left and heading to class. Stiles' mind went over the list of possibilities, each time coming up with something for and against each of them being the culprit.

His last lesson saw him darting out the door as his phone rang. "Hey Daddio?" he greeted, "I'm heading home now," he told him, "Why the call?"

"We found another one," Noah told him," That's three so far, and could have easily been four if you hadn't been able to fight back," he said.

"I know and I did. Send me the location, I want to have a look at the body myself this time," Stiles told his dad, "Would that be alright," he asked, though he and his dad both knew that he would still go even if Noah said no.

"Come, you'll stick with Peter. You'll have to come up with a reason why you're there, don't forget," Noah told him, snorting a little.

"I will," Stiles grinned, "I'll see you in a bit, Dad," he added as he hung up and headed to his jeep, a message coming through with the address.

Stiles headed to the scene. Lydia was on the phone with him, talking about the upcoming pack meet-up. Stiles cursed and swerved on the road as something appeared in front of him. "What the fuck!" he yelled as he banged his head a little. He got out, gathering energy to throw toward the creature as it darted toward him. 

"Stiles!" she called out. "Where are you?" she demanded to know.

Stiles was quick to throw out where he was. Then carried on fighting the creatures as it kept darting close and then moving away. Stiles knew that it was trying to wear him out. "I am not gonna-" he cut himself off as he moved out of the way of another attack. Stiles used the energy balls that he was creating trying to get a hit. Just one hit so he could make it stumble and then maybe he could take it out.

The creature screeched, causing Stiles to stumble in pain as he pressed his hands against his ears. The creature took the moment to attack him, grabbing him tightly as it tried to bite at him. It had a hold of his hands in such a way he could get any grip on the creature that was attacking him. There was a roar behind him as the others ran onto the scene and the creature let him go. Stiles dropped to the ground, shaking not with fear or pain, but annoyance and anger. This creature had learned his tricks in such a way that he had been able to dodge them all.

Lydia and Alison headed to him as the others gave chance, though they returned moments later, the creature had lost them.

"Damn it!" Stiles growled as he stood up, "That fucking thing," he added as he limped a little, one of the attacks had been aimed at disabling him, stopping him from moving and retaliating.

"You okay?" Alison asked him.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, we should get going. I still need to look at the scene," Stiles stated as he went toward his jeep. He took a step before he crumbled to the ground. "Fuck!" he hissed as more injuries came to light with his movements.

Issac and Boyd were quick to reach his side, "You're bleeding," Issac said as he noticed the blood that was now staining the side of Stiles's shirt.

"Hospital," Boyd said as he picked Stiles up and they headed to the car Lydia and Alison had arrived in.

Stiles wasn't happy about being manhandled but knew better than to say anything. He was hurt and he needed to be seen. No doubt his dad and Peter would be called as well as soon as he got there.

Chapter Text

Chapter Seven

Stiles was as relaxed as he could be on the couch. He was going to be stuck at home for a couple of days. The injury to his side wasn't as bad as they had first thought with all the blood. Even his ankle which had been hurting him wasn't that bad either. A few days again, and he should be just fine, it was being stuck at home that was going to annoy Stiles the most.

"I called Derek," Peter said as he walked into the living room.

"I thought I told you not to last night," Stiles said as he moved around so he could see the werewolf.

Peter sighed, "He needed to know, he's the Alpha now, Stiles. He still believed that Scott was an Alpha," he added, "I thought you were going to tell him that he wasn't anymore," he gave the teenager a pointed look as he sat down on Noah's usual seat. The man was already at work. Peter himself had volunteered to remain home with Stiles, as they didn't want him being alone at all at the moment.

Stiles growled a little, "I didn't want him to know just yet because I wanted to give him some time. I know he went to New York to deal with a few things left over from living there. Transferring and moving everything down. Let him have the time he needs for that. I know you and he are both disappointed in the way Laura handled things, but she was also the only person that Derek relied on for so long. He misses her, just as you do."

"I know that, I understand what he needs to do just as much as the next person, Stiles. The thing is, he is now Alpha, and he wants to be a good one. A good Alpha is there for his pack. At the moment, the PAck isn't one, a pack. They are all over the place.," Peter shook his head.

"They are still finding their footing," Stiles protested, "They had Scott for an ALpha for a while. Now that he's not, and he's a Beta again, they need time to stop wanting to answer to him. I want that part to be over with before Derek comes back."

"Stiles," Peter sighed, "This is something he needs to know about. He needs to bring the Pack together and unfortunately, I've been trying to train them isn't going to work for long. They are still a little unsure of me, and I think they always will be, no matter what I do, of what has happened."

Stiles nodded, knowing that was the truth, at first even he had a little trouble. "Well, they are going to have to get used to you sooner, rather than later. I need them to be trained, don't care how reluctant they are, now that Scott isn't the Alpha, they need some direction, they are..."

"A little messy, and unsure. I'm just glad that they were able to get it together enough to go and help you," Peter said as he sat back on the chair, relaxing even more as Noah's scent enveloped him.

Stiles watched slightly amused, "You don't have to stay here with me you know," he told him, "I know you like being with Dad. He enjoys having you around as well."

"I know he does, but I promised him that I would stay here with you. I know you don't really need much, but he's worried, since this was the second attack and he is thinking that since this thing seems focused on you, it may try and attack you again," Peter told him, shaking his head but smiling at the teenager.

"I'm at home," Stiles pointed out.

"Doesn't mean that nothing can get you here," he reminded him.

Stiles huffed but nodded, "I'm as protected as I can be, I have a few things on me to help with that as well."

"We know that, but even you have to admit that this thing, isn't the normal that we come across," Peter said, changing the topic more. He wasn't going to get through to Stiles about Derek for the moment. Though Peter would have to tell him that Derek was on his way back, wrapping things up sooner rather than later.

"I know, we know it's some type of Vampiric creature, but that's all we got. None of them that we've read about likes to tear them apart," Stiles grumbled as he mentally went over the list they had made.

"I know, it's odd. Most of the ones I've come across before," Peter hummed as he leaned back again and closed his eyes, "There are many of them, different parts of the world have a different variant of them," he added, his tone coming off more like someone starting a lecture.

Stiles nodded, "Yeah, I know, but wouldn't they be just in their home countries?" he asked him.

Peter shook his head as he opened his eyes and looked at the teenager. "Unfortunately as with any, they travel as we do. Most are never going to do anything to anyone. They live their lives as they see fit, like most of the supernatural world. We came across the ocean to escape things that were going on in places," he told him, "They do the same, doesn't matter if they are Icelandic or Italian, they are all nomadic, trying to find a place they can call home and be safe."

"Right, so we could have one of about a dozen or two vampiric creatures that might be doing this. Not just the shortlist that I made," he huffed and then thumped his head against the back of the couch.

"No, I believe that you've narrowed it down well from what we know. You were looking at them all and not just one of them," Peter pointed out to him, "You had them all on the list until something kicked them off it."

"Yeah," he sighed, "But that doesn't mean I should have kicked them off it. However, I don't know how we're going to keep narrowing this down. It's not really going to help. I need to have patrols set up around Beacon Hills. But I don't want them out there alone, this thing is damn fast, and I'm afraid that it might go after one of them as well," he finished, feeling frustrated about what he needed to do and what was going on.

"Like I said, they will take orders, but they tend not to follow me. They didn't even follow Scott when he was an Alpha. They have no idea how to do things because they are in a sense directionless," Peter told him, "Which is why Derek will be coming back."

"He doesn't need to," Stiles began to protest, he wanted to give Derek time to come to terms with everything that had happened since he had arrived in Beacon Hill's following Laura. 

"He does, he's the Alpha now. give him a damn chance to show he cares and can be a good one to the others," Peter stopped him from saying anything else.

"I'm not being fair am I," Stiles grumbled.

"No, you're not," Peter sighed, "I get it, I do. He's gone through a lot, and he needs to come to terms with all that. But he isn't going to be able to do so when you keep him in the dark. He needs to know that things are happening here and he needs to come home now, and not later. We've had three bodies, in the last couple of days. You've been attacked twice. 

"I get it. I know I needed to tell him what's happened. But he also needs to heal from that bitch Blake as well. It... hurt him a lot more than he wanted to admit. Even being back in New York is fucking hurting him, because he's having to deal with all the shit that Laura left behind for him. I just wanted him to have a bit of time to himself, to heal if you know what I mean," Stiles tried to explain why he didn't want to have Derek returning just yet.

"I know, but he would hate to know that something happened to you. You know how he feels about you. I know you were talking about it all before Blake and what happened there," he reminded him, "He would hate to know that something happened to you and he wasn't here to help protect you. And yes, I know you are quite capable of protecting yourself most of the time, but that doesn't mean that something you don't need someone to back you up occasionally," he finished, giving the other a glare. Hoping he had been able to get his point across. Derek truly cared about Stiles, and the older werewolf knew that his nephew would be devastated should something happen to the young man before him.

"Okay," Stiles huffed, and let it go, "We were going to go on a date, I',m eighteen, older than the others and he asked when he found that out. Then all that shit with Blake and that fucked things up. He needed a bit of time to recover from what she did and the memories that her actions had brought back. Then Cora happened and he lost the Alpha Spark and things just... fell to the side. So we never got that date and I'm just waiting for him to come back, feeling better about shit and maybe, he'll ask me out again," Stiles rushed out.

Peter looked at him, "I-" he began only for his phone to begin ringing. He frowned as he pulled it out, seeing Noah's name flashing on the screen.

"Who?" Stiles asked him, curiously.

"Noah," Peter replied as he answered the call. "Hey," he said, a soft smile on his face as he listened to what his lover was saying. "okay, I'll relay that to Stiles, and I'll meet you when I can," he said as he ended the call and began to dial someone else.

"Another body I take it?" Stiles asked him, frowning.

Peter nodded, "Yes, I'm going to call one of the others to come and be here with you," he said, as the calla connected, "Lydia, would you and Issac be able to come over and stay with Stiles. We have another body that's turned up and I don't want stiles alone," he told the young woman. 

"Peter!" Stiles called out, "I really don't need a babysitter!" He wasn't happy with someone coming to watch him. Yes, he was a little hurt, but it wasn't like he couldn't do things for himself.

"Thank you, Lydia," Peter said as he ended the second call, "and I know that you don't need a babysitter, but I would still like someone here. You're hurt and sometimes you need the extra help."

Stiles growled as he glared at him, "I can take care of myself," he told him, "and I can protect myself as well."

"I know you can," Peter said as he began to get himself ready to leave, "But that doesn't mean that either Noah or Myself would like to see you alone at the moment. We're worried and I have to admit that we're scared as well, this thing has been able to hurt you," he pointed out.

"I know it has, and that's why I need to figure out what the fucking thing is. When I know I can find a way to kill the damn bastard," Stiles growled again.

"And you will, I have faith in you, and so do the others," Peter told him, "Now, Lydia and Issac will be here in about twenty minutes, maybe half an hour, just please be patient with yourself until then. Don't go hurrying off on your own," he warned him, giving him a pointed look.

"That was one time!" Stiles said as the man began to leave the house.

"It wasn't just one time though!" Peter called back as he left.

Stiles grumbled and turned to watch the TV while he waited for Lydia and Issac to arrive.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eight

Stiles was still waiting for Issac and Lydia to arrive ten minutes after Peter left, when he decided to make a call. One that he should have done a while ago. He waited for it to connect and smiled. "Hey," he greeted.

"Stiles," Derek's voice was calm but had a hint of worry within it.

"Hey, sorry about not telling you what was going on," he said quickly.

"I get why," Derek told him, "I know you, and I know why you pushed me to come to New York with Cora," he added, his voice was soft.

Stiles smiled, "Yeah, though, I would love nothing more than to have you home."

"Good thing I'm at the airport waiting to board our flight home," he told him, "I was done when Peter called, I wanted to come home, to know that I'm needed. I have to admit Stiles, it hurt a little."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted you to heal and be ready to be here again," Stiles sighed, leaning against the couch back and closing his eyes. "I was worried about you. you were having nightmares again, bad ones. Even when you were staying here occasionally, I could hear them and I just wish I could have done something to help you."

"Being away, even dealing with the things Laura left behind, it has helped a bit. I will admit that to you," Derek huffed quietly, "but I still wanted to be informed. To learn that Scott has also lost the Alpha spark and that's why I'm an Alpha again," he whispered down the line.

"Yeah, I know," Stiles murmured, "I'll be glad to have you back home," he added.

"Same, here," Derek admitted. "Then I can get to work really shaping everyone up. I've been talking to one of the Alphas here, he had helped us when we first arrived. He was able to give me a few tips and hints on what I should be doing. Things that Peter can help me with as well," he told him, giving him a few more things that he had been learning."

"That's good, I know you felt out of your element when it came to being Alpha before," he said, a little smile playing on his lips as he curled as best as he could on the couch.

"Yeah, so I thought I would ask for help. I know Uncle Peter was taught a few things, but not everything. Mom didn't like it, since she didn't think he would ever end up as an Alpha," he snorted.

Stiles shook his head, "Maybe not, but it's always a good idea to teach everyone how to actually act like an Alpha and know the ins and outs of it as well so that they can always slip into the role should the worst happen," he pointed out.

"I know, and I think Mom should have done that, but she was determined to train only Laura up, no one else mattered," Derek told him, "It was a bad move, and I know that Uncle Peter knows some of it, but he's not the best when it comes to teaching, he has little patience at times," he snorted.

"He doesn't," Stiles laughed and then stopped when the room went dark, "What?" he frowned.

"What's going on?" Derek asked, hearing the puzzled tone coming from Stiles.

"The lights have gone out, all the electronics," he said, as he got up and limped around a little, a hand pressed against his side.

"Stiles, get out of there now, get to the jeep, and get to the station. Now," Derek said, a note of urgency in his voice.

"Yeah," Stiles said as he began for the door. He jumped back, ignoring his injuries as the creature suddenly popped up. "It's here, I can't get out!"

"Stiles, Cora is telling the others now," Derek told him.

Stiles tried to move around the couch as the creature headed towards him. It was defiantly female. "Fuck this," he said as he gathered what he could, sending it at the creature. He even used some Moutain Ash, hoping that would help. The mountain ash settled around it, but it didn't hold her for long, with a loud screech it broke free.

She rushed towards Stiles, the phone flying out of his hand. He could barely hear Derek calling to him. Stiles pushed out a hand, thinking of nothing but lightning as it danced from his hand and toward the creature. It hit but didn't slow it down like he had hoped. "Fucking hell!" he cursed loudly as he tried his best to keep moving around the living room, chairs, couch, and other things ended up being thrown out of the way as they tried to get to him.

Stile slipped as the creature darted towards him again. "Fuck!" he yelled out as he pressed his hands against the thing's chest and pushed. He thought of flames, burning whatever it was on top of him as it went to try and bite him. "Not going to happen!" he yelled as he pushed and pushed with everything he had and sent it flying across the room.

The door to the house burst open as a shifted Issac rushed into the room and headed to attack the creature. Lydia rushed over to Stiles and helped him up. "The others are all on the way," she told him as she turned around.

Stiles nodded, "Issac, we need to light this up. They don't like light, it doesn't really hurt them," he said.

Issac nodded as he continued his attack, swiping at the creature and keeping it away from him as best as he could.

"Lydia," Stiles said, as he looked at her, "Only trick we haven't tried," he said, reminding her about her own abilities.

She nodded and took a breath to center herself before she screamed. Stiles and Issac quickly moved back, letting the creature take the full blast of her powerful scream. They had been secretly working on it for the last couple of weeks. Making sure that she would be able to use it as a weapon if it was needed.

The creature shrunk back and screeched before it left as the others began to arrive. Stiles sat down on the floor, breathing hard as he felt like he could finally relax.

"Stiles!" Noah yelled out as the slamming of a car door was heard.

"Dad," Stiles called back, looking up as his dad rushed over and held him. "I'm okay," he told him, "We're all alright," he added.

"I'm glad of that," he sighed, holding Stiles tightly for a few more moments, "I'm going to ask Melissa to have a look, make sure that you don't need to go back to the hospital for the injury to your side,2 he said, as he noted that Stiles was holding his side.

"It's fine, no stitches pulled, no blood. Just a bit sore," Stiles reassured him as Noah already had his phone out.

"Let's get the living room straightened out," Peter ordered as he looked around. "Derek contacted us and told us what was going on," he said as Stiles looked over at him.

"Right, Derek!" he yelled as he looked around for his phone, "Phone, phone," he muttered as he went searching. He found it, the screen cracked a little from where it had hit against the wall. He turned it on and was relieved that it was still working.

"Stiles?" Scott said as he arrived with his Mom.

"I was on the phone with Derek," Stiles said as he began to ring the familiar number.

"Stiles?" came the answer as soon as the call connected.

"Yeah, I'm okay, the others were able to get here. We're still unsure what the fuck this thing is," he muttered, "But, we know that Lydia can scare it away now," he said smirking at the woman.

"I'm glad you're okay," Derek said, there was relief in his voice, "I'm about to board the flight, so I'll be there soon, just... be careful for me, Stiles."

Stiles smiled softly and nodded as he answered, "Yeah, I will. I'll do what I can to keep everyone safe."

"I'm on about you as well," Derek reminded him, huffing a little.

"I'll do that as well," he said as Melissa walked over to him, "I'll talk to you again when you land," he told him as he could hear that the flight was now boarding.

"Take care Stiles," Derek said as he then hung up.

Stiles sighed as he put the phone down and let Melissa look him over. Melissa was quick at least as the others carried on righting the living room, there were a couple of things that weren't salvageable at all. "Well?" he asked her, "What's the verdict?"

"You're just fine," she smiled at him, "Just need to actually rest and not fight the monster of the week," she joked with him, she stood up straight and looked at Noah, "He really is fine, the switches weren't pulled and while he put too much weight on his angle, it should be fine in a few days."

"Good," Noah sighed in relief.

"Well," Stiles said as he got up and was shown over to the couch, only Noah helping his son a little to make sure he didn't put too much weight on the ankle.

"Isn't the house supposed to be safe?" Scott asked as he looked around before going over to the couch and sitting near Stiles.

Stiles shook his head, "I wish it was. There are wards that I have plans for, but they aren't working right at the moment, I need to spend some more time on them before they can really do anything but warn me," he grumbled, it had been weeks since he had started working on them and they just didn't want to work at all.

"I'll help where I can," Peter told him, "For now, I don't think any of us, you especially, Stiles, should be alone at any point. Even then I think we should remain together in larger groups," he added as he looked around, "I would think some sleepovers are in need."

"I agree," Noah nodded, "I'll talk to the other parents to make sure that they are all fine with you staying over."

"Mine won't care," Boyd said as he found a place to sit. Erica went over to him and sat down as well.

"Mine will be okay with it, they want to go away for a few days again soon, so if you say that it's for a few, they'll be happy about it," Erica gave a little shrug. She loved her parents, but from the moment they found out that her Epilepsy had gone, they were all for going away as much as they could. Erica had been the only one to say no to the constant trips away.

Noah sighed and nodded, "I'll do that in a moment."

"I think we can narrow it down a little more," Stiles said, "there are three that are affected by the scream of a Banshie," he told them, "Peter can you get my notes from upstairs please?" he asked.

Peter nodded and darted up and then back down. Stiles went through them, crossing out two more on the list and leaving just the three that he believed could be the culprit. "Right," he said as he handed them over so everyone could have a read, "there are what's left, I want to research the fuck out of them before nightfall. We have a couple of hours," he stated.

Lydia was the first to take the list and the information that Stiles had been researching and read through it, "Okay, we have somewhere to start at least," she said as she handed it to Erica beside her.

The group went through the information before they settled down to do some research. Noah and Peter headed out and Melissa remained with them as they waited for word from Derek on when he was going to be landing and heading back to Beacon Hills. 

Chapter Text

Chapter Nine

Derek looked over at Cora as they headed down the highway towards Beacon Hills. They were almost home. Though Derek didn't know if Cora still thought of Beacon Hills as her home at all. The younger werewolf had been reluctant to remain in Beacon Hills and all too happy to leave for New York when Stiles had suggested that the two of them do so to try and get to know each other again. So far, they had talked, but it was all surface things, nothing deep or meaningful. Cora was holding herself away from him, and he didn't understand why.

"Stiles said we should head straight for his," Derek said quietly, it would take them another twenty minutes to reach the Stiinski house at the rate they were going.

"Yeah," Cora said, going quiet as she looked out the window. The streets were familiar to her, but there were so many little changes that made things so different from what she had once known.

"What's going on in that head of yours, Cora?" Derek finally asked her, "You don't want to talk about anything. You've barely spoken of things that happened. I get it, it's painful, I know that."

Cora looked over at him, "What do you want me to say, Derek? That I'm pissed that you left, that I was alone for so long that I didn't know if you were even alive. I thought everyone was dead."

Derek sighed, "Yeah, I get that. I can understand it too, I was so fucking pissed when Laura Alpha ordered me to join her. She ripped any bonds I had left from me, and it left me reeling for months. She made me leave Uncle Peter alone in the hospital; unsure if he was going to live or not. She never let me out of her sight, I was constantly under Alpha Orders not to go to certain places, or to do certain things. I couldn't even call the hospital to check on him, let alone anything else. Laura was a hella bad Alpha. When she was killed, I was finally free to come back, finally, but the damage was done, Uncle Peter was still hurt, and no one was here. I wish I had been able to search for you, to search for any that survived that night."

"It hurts, Derek. I will never be able to forgive you for leaving me," she stated.

Derek took a breath before he asked, "Then why did you come here?"

"Because I needed to know if the rumors were true, that you were alive. I just needed to know," she answered him.

"Now you do, I'm happy that you came, to know that you are alive and well. That... I was grateful for that. It sounds like you don't want to hang around, so why are you still around then?" Derek told her, being honest. He wished that he could talk to her properly. but he was half afraid of saying the wrong thing.

"I don't know, you're my family," she snapped.

"Then, take some time, talk to us, ask what you need to know. Don't just ignore what's going on in your head. I've done that enough to know how bad things can get," he advised her, "There isn't much that I can do. I've told you what happened to me. I have no idea what Luara was thinking, I never did. I had no choice but to follow orders or get hurt for any form of disobedience."

Cora froze, "She... hurt you?"

"In her eyes, it was discipline because I'd done something she didn't like. For me, it really wasn't. Things weren't easy or happy at all after the fire. I was under lock and key most of the time. I just about was able to go to school. It's only thanks to an Alpha here that I was able to do a few things away from her. He did his best to reign her in and try and teach her the right way of doing things. Even Mom would have been horrified with the way she had acted," he told her, there were only two others who knew what Laura had been like. Peter and Stiles. The two of them were easily able to figure out what had happened to him. He had no doubt that Noah knew as well.

"I... I didn't know," Cora said.

"Now you do. Look, Cora, I get it, it hurt that you thought and believed that we knew you were alive and abandoned you. If you don't think you can be here as my beta, then... you need to think about where you want to go. I'll do what I can to help you find a home for yourself. I know that you liked the pack in South America, and I bet they are willing to have you with them again," he stated as he turned onto the road that would lead to Stiles' home.

The two were silent for a couple of moments it took them to park outside the Stilinski home and get out

The door opened and Scott stood there, "Stiles is in the living room, the others are as well," he said as he went to grab some of their luggage and bring it in.

"Thanks," Cora and Derek said as Derek hurried ahead and into the house.

"Stiles," Derek called out as he saw the young man sitting on the couch.

Stiles grinned as he got up and hobbled over, "Derek, you're home," he said as Derek went towards him and wrapped him in his arms.

"Good to be back," Derek smiled, just holding Stiles for a few more moments, "How are you?" he asked him, as he reluctantly let him go.

"I'm fine, really, Melissa has been watching over me as well," Stiles told him, keeping hold of his hand, "It's good to have you home. How were things?" he asked.

"Things went okay, Miles, the Alpha over there was able to help a lot. So there is that," he smiled, squeezing Stiles' hand as he leaned in, "So, when this is over, date? Finally?" he asked.

Stiles laughed brightly, "yeah, I'd like that," he agreed easily.

Derek leaned in and kissed him softly. "Good."

"Okay, I hate to break this up," Peter said as he looked at his Nephew and the young man who was just as important as Derek was in his life.

"Sorry," Derek said as he broke from Stiles and looked at his Uncle, "What's been going on?" he asked.

"I've lost the Alpha Spark," Scott said, though he no longer sounded upset at that.

"Yeah, I figured as much when this happened, "Derek said as he flashed his eyes, the Alpha Red easily seen by the Pack. "The Hale Spark was as demanding as it is now. What Laura did caused it to demand more. It sought out those that could give it what it wants in the Hale line, and in the ones we brought into the Hale Pack," he added, looking at his Uncle.

"I couldn't give it what it wanted, and neither could you Scott," Peter told him.

"I was doing well, but still not the best, which is why it went to you in the first place Scott. You have that potential," Derek added.

"I don't really want to be Alpha," Scott said quietly, "I'd rather not have that responsibility, at least, not yet."

"It's hard to do what's needed at times. To make the hard choices and to kill those that need it. I don't like it either, but I grew up knowing it was sometimes needed. Taking the moral high ground, it's not something that you can do in this world," Derek sighed as he looked at Scott. He could be a good Alpha, people believed in him after all, but making those type of choices weren't in everyone's wheelhouse.

"I can't do that," Scott admitted, "I can't. Knowing that it's needed and merited, I just... can't."

"That's okay," Derek told him, "Now,  let's talk about the beastie that's around this time. I want to know everything."

"Well, let's start with the victims," Noah told him, "We've had four. All of them are men, each of them had their blood drained and two of them were ripped apart, the other two only had a limp missing, but I believe that the beastie, as you put it, was disturbed."

"Any type of condition between the victims?" Derek asked, "Blood type? Magic? Anything supernatural? Or even mundane?"

"Nothing Supernatural that I've been able to detect," Peter answered him, glancing over at Stiles as everyone began to sit down again.

"Nothing that I've been able to find, the first was coerced into cheating, and another was a damn boy scout when it came to dating. The third was a bit of a playboy and the fourth was cheating," Stiles said.

"Not to mention that it's attacked you three times as well," Lydia pointed out to him.

"I know," Stiles grumbled, "But why me?" he asked, as he looked to the others.

"You thought it might be because you have a Spark?" Cora suggested.

"I was thinking that, but there are other types of magic users in the area. I know that Deaton is away for a few days, but there are a couple more that I know of," he sighed,

"It could be that you're the threat to it," Derek wondered.

"I've not been able to do a damn thing to it," he said as he looked at Derek, "Lydia was able to scare it away this time," he told him.

"Then what ones are left?" Derek asked as he was handed the note that Stiles had been making. "Right," he said as he finished the list, it was shot, but it was the notes that he was most interested in. What was written all pointed to one of them and not the other two that were there.

"What do you think?" Peter asked.

"I think that there is only one on here that I think it is," he said as he handed the notes back, "You've been so focused on what it's eating that you forgot what it's hunting."

"What do you mean?" Erica asked.

"Yeah, it's eating and feeding from the men that are being killed. It's hunting Stiles though. It wasn't stiles, otherwise after the first time that it was driven away it would have stopped. Attacking you three times, that's not a coincidence," Derek pointed out to him, shaking his head.

"So what is it then?" Stiles asked, wanting to know which one of the list would be after him. He was a Spark, one of the rarer magical users within the supernatural world.

"Dearg Due," Derek answered him.

"But they are most often after blood only," Lydia said, frowning.

"Oh, I missed that," Peter stated, frowning as he looked at his nephew, how did you manage to figure that out?"

"Miles," he said, looking at his Uncle, "Miles is an experienced Alpha, been around for fifty years as an Alpha, even longer as a werewolf. He's from Ireland originally," he added, "He's had dealings with them, and other was one in New York, they were after magic users often. Even while leaving a trail of dead bodies behind them."

"They are always female," Stiles added, "often luring the men they are after into a place where they can feed. They usually don't rip the bodies of their victims up though," he frowned.

"Dearg Due has two forms, their creature form and then their mundane human form. They will do what they can to lure the true magical victim to them by doing something that will gain their attention, what better than a serious killer for you," Derek told him.

"So these..." Stiles began, biting his lip.

"No, they would still have been killed, the Dearg Due would still need to feed," Derek stopped him before he could get any further in his thoughts, "No blame is on you," he added.

Stiles still couldn't help the hint of guilt he felt at the deaths. Scott went over and moved closer to him, the others doing the same.

"Puppy Pile Sleep Over!" Erica yelled out as she grabbed Boyd and got him to help her get all the blankets and pillows within the house to make it happen so that Stiles would have everyone around him as they tried to come up with a plan to deal with the Dearg Due.

Chapter Text

Chapter Ten

The next morning it was a rush as everyone headed to school. Only Stiles would be staying home since he needed another day or two to recover before his dad would let him go back. However, Stiles wasn't complaining about staying at home with Derek. As the last of the teens headed out, Melissa took her own leave and headed to work for her early shift.

"Right," Noah said as he looked at Cora, "At the moment, you were believed to have been in the fire, and were declared dead. I know that you were in hiding, so we should be able to get you sorted so that you can come back," he told the young woman.

"Yeah, that would be good. I don't know if it will help much," she shrugged.

"It means you can register for school, and get your social security set up again. It might take a few days, maybe a few weeks," Noah winced, "Hoping it doesn't."

"It can take a while for the state to declare you alive after you've been thought of as dead for a good number of years," Peter said, shaking his head at Noah's optimism.

"Okay, Uncle Peter," Cora said, still sounding a little subdued.

Peter and Derek shared a look, the two had talked a little privately during the night, having left the house so they wouldn't be overheard by anyone. Derke had told him about what he had learned from Cora, though there wasn't much either of them could do. 

"We'll go now," Noah said, as he had a shift at the station. It was all hands on deck with the murders that were going on. Noah knew there was a high chance that they wouldn't have someone to arrest at the end, not even the body of a perp at all. It wouldn't be the first time that had happened.

"Okay," Cora said as she got up, nodding at Derek she followed Noah out of the house.

Peter got up as well, "I'm going with them, see if I can talk with Cora as well," he said.

"You followed Noah around like a lost damn puppy, Uncle," Derek pointed out.

"How can I not, he works a dangerous job and if I can even help ease that a little, then I will," Peter told him, "hopefully, Cora will talk to me a little more."

"I'm hoping. She blames me and Laura for leaving her alone for so long," Derek sighed.

"Hmm," Peter hummed, nodding once before going after Noah and Cora.

Derek sighed and shook his head. Stiles looked at him curiously so he quickly explained what was going on with Cora. "I think in the end, she may end up going back to the Pack she was with before."

Stiles sighed, "Well, there isn't much you can do about that. She now knows what things were like for you. She doesn't understand about Peter yet. I know she's been told about him being in the Hospital, but that's all. I think what he went through is something he has to tell her, it's not on us to do so."

"I know, I didn't tell her, just said he was in the hospital and I didn't know if he had survived the fire or not from the moment we left," he sighed heavily.

"Well," Stiles said, as he looked at Derek, standing up, "We've got the day to ourselves," he pointed out, "want to do something?"

"Movies?" he suggested, reaching out and taking a hand.

"I'd like that, and then a nap, I didn't sleep too well last night. I forgot how loud Scott snores, I don't know how Allison puts up with it," he snorted as they made their way to the living room.

The two settled down and watched a couple of movies. Cora returned and joined them, though she was still silent, but she looked more contemplative than she had been when she and Derek had first arrived last night.

Stiles woke with a jolt, he had fallen asleep during one of the movies, settling against Derek and letting the warmth that he gave off help soothe him to sleep. Now awake, thanks to the notice of everyone arriving after school, glared at them all.

Derek noted as he rubbed Stiles' back, "You can always go upstairs and see about getting a bit more sleep."

"No, no, I should get up. We need to talk about the Dearg Due, and figure out what we should do," Stiles hugged as he started to sit up.

"That reminds me," Allison said as she walked over and sat on the floor, "I talked to my Dad, he's on his way back here now. I told him what we think it is, and he's willing to help as soon as he gets back. Just think of a plan to get it and he'll help," she told the two of them.

"That's good," Derek nodded, "It would help to have him on board," he added softly.

"As for a plan," Stiles said, biting his lip.

"What?" Scott said, looking at his friend, "What do you have in that head of yours Stiles?"

"I have a plan, but I don't think anyone is going to like it. I've been thinking about it since last night," he began.

Boyd looked at him, "You're thinking about using yourself as bait," he said quietly.

Stiles nodded, "Yeah, that's what I was thinking. This thing is after me. We can use that to our advantage. I know that it might not seem like a good idea, since we don't know what this thing can really do. There isn't much information about them."

"I don't like that plan," Derek said, "there has to be another way for us to lure this thing out. The Dearg Due, will come out again, it will need to eat."

"I know that," Stiles said, "But we just don't know when they are going to strike and just how they would be going after.

Boyd nodded, "it might be the only way to lure this out and have it done in a more controlled way," he pointed out as he looked at their Alpha.

Derek growled but knew that they were speaking the truth. "I want Chris and Noah here before we even put this into action. I want them around since I'm hoping that the two of them will be able to help in keeping Stiles safe. Yes, we're all going to be there as well, but that won't mean much if we're sensed by the Dearg Due."

"Dad said he should be back before nightfall. He's just waiting on an old contact to get in touch and then he should be heading home. He's only in the county over," Allison told him, "So just call him, he should be able to answer. If he doesn't he'll get in touch when he can."

"Right," Derek nodded.

"Dad won't be happy either," Stiles said as he thought of his dad a bit and what his reaction would be to when he had planned.

"Of course, he wouldn't," Lydia snorted, "You're going to be putting yourself in the spotlight and drawing this thing to you. We're worried about it as well. None of us want you to get hurt at all."

"If we don't do something soon, we're going to end up with the FBI coming down here," Stiles pointed out.

"Damn, you're right, we would," Scott hissed at the thought of his Dad. He still didn't get along with the man and not many knew the reason why Scott hated him with such passion. Not even Melissa did.

"So, we need to do this and soon before any more start turning up," Stiles said as he looked at them in turn, "Now, the plan," he began, "I will of course be bait," he said.

Derek grumbled under his breath but nodded as they began to formulate a plan that they could put into action when Chris arrived.

Cora walked into the Stilinski house, it was almost dinner time, and she had left the station a few hours again. She had just wanted some time to herself to think. She had listened to Derek and Peter about what happened to each of them after the fire. Neither of them felt like they were in control of anything. She had known that Peter had been in the hospital but had never gotten in touch with anyone there to find out more about his condition.

"Hey," Stiles said as she walked into the living room. The rest of the Pack were seated around the living room. Pizza boxes were opened and each of them was taking a slice or two. She had arrived just in time for dinner.

"Hey, Derek, can we talk?" she asked as she looked at her brother.

"Sure," he nodded, as he got up.

"Private," she added as she led the way out the back and into the forested area that was nearby. Making sure that they were out of earshot of the other wolves in the house.

"What do you need?" Derek asked her.

"You really had no choice in what you did?" she asked him.

"I didn't. Like I said, I was only just about able to go to school with Laura around. Even then, it was a fight each time I left her sight, she would often pass by the school or wait around it for me," he stated, sighing, "she was... overbearing and protective in a way that I've never seen before. I get that she had been scared about what had happened. Especially as we both knew it was hunters that had done it. That Kate Argent had been the one to kill our family."

"I just..." she growled a little.

"Look, we had been told that you were dead. That you were amongst the dead, we didn't even know that you were alive. It wasn't until I saw you in that Vault that I knew. They must have misidentified one of the bodies or something that night, but Laura said that you had been there as well and that everyone was going. peter only just about managed to live, he forced his way through Mountain Ash to try and get help and break the line. He easily could have died from it," he told her again, "look, I would feel betrayed just as much as you in the same circumstances. I would, I do in a sense for what Laura put me through. I wish... you can say a lot about wishes, but they don't change a fucking thing," he stated, "It's up to you what you want to do. You're going to be declared legally alive, and you have another three months until you're eighteen, after that, the world is yours for the taking. I would love nothing more than to keep you in the Hale Pack, your birth pack," he finished.

Cora paused and stared at him, "I want to stay. I get it, I do, part of me just wants to scream at you, but you're not the one who left me. You were fifteen, and Laura was the damn adult and she never ever acted like one. She was always so full of herself. I get that she was scared, maybe."

"She was," Derek agreed, "But she was also enjoying the fact that she was in change."

"I'll give things here a try, I do want to be with family. I need... I need to come to terms with what happened. I thought you were all dead for so long. I knew Uncle Peter was alive, but that.. that was about it," she stated.

"Well, we're alive, Uncle Peter is pursuing Noah and I'm going to be going on a date with Stiles, hopefully, you'll find a place with us, I'll do whatever I can to help you with that," he told her.

"You'll be a good Alpha, now that you're talking more," Cora said as she turned and headed back to the house.

Derek snorted and nodded before following her back inside.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eleven

Chris arrived after the sun had gone down. The Pack had all remained at the house. No one wants the chance to be alone at all. No one wanted to leave Stiles alone either. He walked in, Noah and Peter both there now as well, as a shift had finished, for the next couple of hours. Noah would be heading back to oversee the Night Shift. Stiles sat the adults down as he went over the plan that they had in mind. However it could be changed, as they still didn't know what could be done to kill the Dearg Due.

"Right, so Dearg Due, are Vampric-type creatures that hail from Ireland," Chris began, "They can't be killed the way normal Vampires are, or even other blood drive creatures," he sighed, "These are created because they have been betrayed by a lover in their human life. A Woman Scorned," he told them.

"The Dearg Due will attack those that have cheated or some such in their life. But we weren't able to find that in two of them," Stiles said, rolling his eyes.

"I know, you won't. They don't actually do that. They attack to feed and it depends on if they smell good, the only time they deviate from that is if there is a Spark around. They are attracted to the magic they hold and the power that will help them, in their eye, become more attractive to their victims," Chris explained what was in the bestiary for the Argent family.

"So, how do we get rid of them?" Stiles asked, "That's the only thing that we haven't been able to find out."

"They can't be destroyed," Chris answered him, "They can be contained, but they are never destroyed."

"There has to be a way?" Boyd said as he looked at Christopher.

"There is only one," he replied, "And it's dangerous. A Spark is needed," he said as he looked at Stiles, "There is a ritual that you can use that will turn the Dearg Due back to their human form and trap them within it. They won't need blood to survive again and they can never change back, no matter what happens. Unfortunately, to do it, needs a bit of time, so normally..." he trailed off.

"And the Spark ends up dead because they are doing it alone," Derek pointed out.

"Yes," he replied.

"But I'm not alone," Stiles said, "We have everyone around, we can do this," he pointed out, gesturing to the Pack.

"Then, for the plan you've already made, let's make a couple of changes," Chris said as the two worked together on a plan for them all to be able to get the Dearg Due and get rid of it for good.

Chris and Peter worked on making sure everyone would be able to fly under the Dearg Due radar as Stiles left the house alone. He was limping slightly still, which annoyed Derek. However, they had no true choice if they didn't want anymore to be killed.

Stiles had an earpiece, something that Chris insisted on having everyone where so that they would be able to keep in touch and react as much as needed. "Right," he whispered, "Leaving now, and let's see how long it takes for this one to find me," he added.

"Just be careful, Stiles," Noah said, as he then heard a grunt from Derek, agreeing with his Dad.

"I'll do my best," he said as he began to walk down the road and towards the preserve.

The Pack was following him, but at a distance, Noah was in the car with Lydia and Chris, waiting for the message to go to him. Stiles murmured where he was constantly when he felt someone watching him, not the kind eyes of his friends, but something else. Something sinister.

"It's here," he murmured as the creature then darted in front of him. Stiles was able to move out of the way of the first attack. "Okay, get your butts here, now," he told them making sure that he kept out of the way of the Dearg Due. It still felt like it was shrouded in darkness as it kept going for him. There was a loud roar and Stiles knew that was Derek heading towards him. There was a rumble of an engine as Noah headed their way as well.

Derek and the others arrived. Derek jumped over Stiles and took down the Dearg Due. Stiles moved back, going to make the circle of Mountain Ash mixed with a few other herbs that would keep the Dearg Due contained for a little longer. "Derek, get them here!" he called out, as he readied himself to close the circle as soon as it was inside and everyone was outside.

Derek roared as he and the others worked together to drive the Dearg Due to the circle that Stiles had waiting for them. Stiles waited, and as soon as she was in the circle and no one else within it, he closed it. "Right," Derek said, "Get started.

Stiles nodded and sat before the circle. He took a breath, centering himself as he concentrated on feeling the Dearg Due, trying to find the thread that was that part of the creature before him. The others kept it occupied so that it couldn't break through the barrier. It would easily be able to break through, as it had before. the herbs that had been mixed in only strengthened it a little.

Stiles grinned as he felt it, the thread that felt like death, like scorn and pain. "Right, starting now," he said as he began to pull at it, tangling it and locking it away, making sure that they could never harm anyone again. It felt horrible, there was a slim e to it that made Stiles shudder.

The Dearg Due screeched loudly as it realized what Stiles was doing. It began to aim towards him. Derek and the others caught it just before it could reach Stiles. Stiles opened his eyes for a moment, seeing the creature in front of him. Stiles stood up, eyes glowing as he pulled on the string that he had hold of. He could feel it gathering in his hand, a sick-looking green glowing orb. This was the essence of the Dearg Due. Stiles set it alight in his hands, burning it before slamming his hand into the Dearg Due's chest, making sure that the creature part of the woman in front of him would never be able to be active again.

"No!" she screamed as the creature she was once, left her. She fell backward as she began to weaken even more, her skin drying out as the life she had been keeping because of the blood began to leave her.

Stiles and the others watched as she crumbled into dust.

"And Again I don't have a perp," Noah huffed as there was nothing left.

"Do you ever these days?" Peter asked as he went over to him, and took hold of Noahs hand. It was over at least, and with Stiles being able to pull the Dearg Due and locking it away, it also caused the death of the woman it had once been.

"Why did it die?" Stiles asked as he looked over at Chris for an answer.

"Dearg Due can be very long-lived. I do mean hundreds of years old. This one was obviously old. If they were younger, they would have just aged to their rightful age," he stated as he looked over at Stiles.

Stiles nodded as Derek walked over and wrapped his arms around him. "That felt, too easy," he stated.

"If you know what you're doing, it can be," Chris told him, "You had a plan, and with our knowledge pooled as it was, we were able to take the Dearg Due out before it could cause any more harm. Sometimes, the only way to deal with something is to know what it is, and how it's dealt with. If you weren't with us Stiles, we would have only been able to trap them and lock them away. There would have been no killing or even taking out the Dearg Due part of her being."

Stiles sighed, "That doesn't mean I'm happy about it."

"I know," Chris nodded, "It's over with though, we can relax and Noah can come up with how to play this off," he said smirking at the said man as he continued to grumble quietly.

Stiles looked at his dad and snorted, "Yeah," he then looked around at everyone. "Well, let's get home, there's nothing for us to clean up here," he added, making sure that the Mountain Ash he had been using was all gone too, wouldn't do to accidentally leave it around for some random supernatural to get trapped by it.

The group headed back to the Stilinski home and ordered in some pizza, there was nothing like taking down a baddie to build an appetite.

Stiles walked out of school a few days after the Dearg Due had been taken care of. Noah had been able to sort something out about the victims and got them some mild form of justice for the victim's families. it had taken some smooth talking from not only Noah but Peter and Chris as well. Now, Stiles was mostly healed, his ankle was fine, his side healing nicely and he was back at school. He grinned as he saw Derek waiting for him.

Derek had dropped him off that morning, with a promise to take him out that night. "Hey," he said as Stiles walked over to him.

"Hey, yourself," he smirked as Derek reached out for him, taking his hand and pulling him close. The two kissed sweetly.

Scott grinned at his friend, "Please, no PDA from the parents," he called out as Erica wolf-whistled at the two.

"Speak for yourself, two hot yummies getting it on, every Yaoi girl's dream," she cackled.

Boyd shook his head, "Erica," he sighed.

"What, Derek is Hot like burning and he knows it, and Stiles, damn is he cute and dorky, gotta love that," She grinned, unrepentant.

Stiles turned to stare at her, "No more Yaoi for you," he stated.

"What?!" Erica gaped, "No, you can't take my babies, they are mine!"

"Don't worry," Scott said as he put a hand on Erica's shoulder, "I got you, I know where he keeps it all," he grinned as Stiles pulled a face at his friend.

"I hate you all," Stiles moaned as he turned to Derek, "What to get out of here?" he asked.

"No you don't!" Erica said as she leaned against Boyd.

Derek snorted and looked at the Pack. In the few days that he had been back, the group had been able to start really working together, the pack meeting after killing the Dearg Due had seen Scott and Derek talk a lot about things, finally Scott looked like he was accepting the werewolf side of himself, he and Alison had been talking more as well, slowly building their relationship.

"You have what you need to do today," he told them, "Do that, and then you're free," he added.

"Yes, Alpha, Captain Sir!" Erica said giving a mock salute before she and the others headed off to their own cars to head home before they went out on a small patrol together.

Derek shook his head as he looked back at Stiles, "So, ready for our date?" he asked.

"I've been ready for a while, let's go," he grinned, leaning up for a second kiss. They held each other for a few moments before Stiles was escorted around the car, receiving another kiss before he got inside. Derek went around the other side, getting in, taking his hand for a moment before he started up the Camero and headed out of the school parking lot, their first date of many awaited them.