All Our Yesterdays

[princeescalusi]

Chapter 8

They lay together in Theo’s old bed in the laboratory’s living quarters. To Scott, the bed smelled a little of dust and faintly of chemicals but mostly of Theo. They hadn’t talked at all after they had gotten out of the hot springs; they’d dressed carefully and made their way back to Logashkino. The silence wasn’t due to regret; their interactions hadn’t felt awkward at all. When they had climbed up the stairs to the ground, Scott had taken Theo’s hand to pull him up; he had squeezed it hard. Theo had squeezed it in return.

They had cooked a small meal without speaking; there’d been no need to fill the silence with words. They had left out a light breakfast for the next morning and then packed everything else away. They’d leave at first light for the long, long trip back home. It would be good to get back to California.

When he finally became tired enough to sleep, Scott had followed Theo into the meager quarters. From the doorway, he had watched Theo undress and slip under the covers while steadfastly refusing to meet his eyes. Theo, for his part, had stared at Scott’s knees, unsure of what to do, even though it was clear what both wanted. Finally, the chimera had closed his eyes, had dropped his head back on the pillow, and had chuckled ruefully. Scott slid into the bed next to him, putting a hand on Theo’s chest and left it there. When he was this close to a person, Scott could easily hear their heartbeat, but he could feel it as well.



Scott was close to drifting off to sleep when he realized that Theo was still staring at him. In the dark, he could only make out the shape of his face but it was unmistakably focused on his. Scott scooted closer to him so he could feel the heat of Theo’s body and Theo could feel his.

“Why?” Theo whispered into the darkness.

“Because I wanted to.” The truth wasn’t going to hurt.

“Why …” Theo’s whisper dropped even low. “Why me?”

Scott bit his lip. “You’re going to probably want to punch me.” He pushed his eyes until they glowed and with that vision, he could reach out and touch Theo’s chin with the tips of his fingers. “Why wouldn’t I want you? You’re amazing.”

Theo blushed. Scott could tell because the blood rushing to Theo’s face made it warmer than the rest of his body.

“You have a perfect memory. You speak Russian. You understand things that I still have trouble with, and I’m a licensed veterinarian.” He ran a finger along Theo’s jaw. “You’re so smooth you should have a double-oh number. You’re a fucking super spy.”

“That’s not what I meant …” Theo protested.

“I dragged you into this, by ignoring what you wanted. You could have stamped your feet and bitched the entire way from Van Horn. But you didn’t. Not once.” Scott brought his face closer. “You’re beautiful. You’re amazing.”

Theo leaned forward and kissed him. “I don’t really understand …” Then he put a hand on Scott’s waist under the covers. “I didn’t understand back in Van Horn. How can you feel this way? I …”

Scott didn’t want to actually talk about it, but he owed Theo that much. “You tried to kill me.”

“Technically,” Theo replied, “I did kill you.” It was gallows humor; it was self-loathing.

“I think this should make it pretty clear that I’m no longer holding it against you.” Scott offered him a smile. He wasn’t sure how good Theo’s vision was, so he put his face on the other man’s chest so he could tell he was smiling.

“You should.” Theo pulled back. “It wasn’t just you. You know that. All the others … I helped … Tara, Josh, Tracy.”

Scott gave Theo the space he wanted. “Yes, you did. You killed them.” He took a deep breath. “So, what comes next?”

Theo didn’t answer in the dark.

“You know, for me, this all started with Peter’s killing spree. You know what all that revenge didn’t do? It didn’t bring back to life one single member of the Hale family. All it did was make Peter happy for maybe a minute before Derek ripped his throat out.” Scott said simply. “There’s nothing you can do to bring those three back … again.”

“So … everything’s forgiven? Just like that?” Theo demanded. “I kill three people and help the Doctors kill six more and it no longer matters. I manipulated people …” He took a breath.

Scott took Theo’s face in both hands. “That was fifteen years ago. You have to live with what you did for the rest of your life, but …“ Theo tried to pull away again, but Scott wouldn’t let him. “Do you want to go to prison? Do you want to crawl back to that hole you dug for yourself in Texas and wait to die? I won’t break my word. You can; I’ll let you.”

Theo took ahold of Scott’s wrists and pulled Scott’s hands away from his face. His eyes flashed yellow. “What choice do I have?”

“You can live. We can live.” Scott was stronger than him, but he didn’t fight.

“I’m not going to save you, Scott.”

“You already have.”

Theo let go of his hands in surprise. He was stunned by the admission.

“A long time ago, I made a choice. It was more of a promise to myself. An army of monsters stole my life. I never wanted this. Any of it. So I made a promise that I would never take someone’s life unless I had no other choice. Because while everyone’s life can’t be all good or all bad, I believed they have a right to choose what they want to be. I hoped that when people were given that choice, they’d choose … they’d choose to be good.”

Scott took a deep breath. “What have you done over the last fifteen years? You’re a unique creature. You can shift into a full wolf. You’re smart. You’re clever. You’re one of the best talkers I’ve ever seen. You know all of the Doctors’ remaining secrets. You have access to their technology. You’ve proved that. So what did you do?”

Theo waited in the dark until he was sure that Scott wanted him to answer. “Not much.”

“Not much. Exactly. You could have hatched a dozen revenge plans against me and my pack. You could have set yourself up as a crime lord, or an assassin, or a con man. You could have lurked around corners ready to rub it in my face that you’re free with fancy cars and furniture and smarmy speeches about how naïve I am.”

“What?”

“Sorry. Got off track there.”  Scott chuckled. “You didn’t. With your second chance, you helped my pack against people that would hurt it and you didn’t do a thousand evil things you could have done - things that you were perfectly capable of doing. You made my hope come true. You saved me.”

Theo kept silent.

“I want you to live. I want you to come with me back to Beacon Hills. I want to be with you if I can, because I want to live, too. Because what you showed me is that I don’t have to wait until the next dark thing comes along, that I don’t have to give up my life completely, because … I was right. People can change if you let them.” Scott faltered. This was a little heavy, but it was a unique circumstance. They were in some villains’ secret lair under a ghost town at the top of the world. “Yeah, I know I’m dumping on you … it’s a lot.”

Theo remained silent for a few minutes, but Scott could be patient. Then Scott saw streaks running down Theo’s face, chill blue lines compared to the heat of his body. He wiped away the tears. “I’m sorry,” the chimera choked. “I’m being stupid.”

“No. No you’re not. Let’s get some sleep. We’ve got a long way to go tomorrow.”

*****

Scott watched his own reflection in the partition. On the other side of the glass, Corey and Theo lay on hospital beds as Alan and his doctor friend administered another round of the treatment they had created from the Siberian data. He couldn’t focus too much on the pair; the stabilization procedure induced a great deal of physical discomfort, one for which they could not be sedated. He wanted to go inside and take both of their pain away, but Alan had pointed out that the treatment would last for far longer than he could safely absorb it.

This was the third time in six days that pair had endured the torturous procedure. Afterwards, Theo would pretend that it hadn’t hurt that much, but Scott knew that was a lie. Mason had told him that Corey had been so wrung out by the first two treatments that he had sobbed for hours afterward. Scott would let Theo’s deception slide this time, but he’d watch more carefully.

Alan took a moment to emerge from the clean room, pulling the mask off his face. One of the possible side effects of the treatment was the temporary suspension of the chimeras’ healing abilities, so they took every precaution they could.

Mason was standing next to Scott. Both of them had been present for the first two treatments as well. The emissary vibrated like an over-taut string on a violin, so much that Scott had wanted to grab him to make him stop. The tensions was the only reason the human wasn’t inside the treatment room as well.

“I have good news.” Even after so many years, Alan still had the same calm, reassuring way of speaking. “Our examination shows that not only has the tissue degradation ceased, but the treatment is allowing their own natural healing abilities to repair the damage.”

Mason let out a long sigh. His shoulders relaxed. “So …”

“They’re going to be fine. We’d like them to complete the full course we designed, just to be safe.” Alan offered a benign smile. “We’d also like to monitor them in the future for side effects.”

“They’re going to live?” Scott asked. He just wanted to be sure.

“Yes.” Alan nodded in reassurance. He looked Scott in the eye. “They’re not in danger anymore. I should go back in and help, but I wanted to let the both of you know as soon as we were sure.”

To Scott, it was like the lights in the room brightened by a few hundred watts each. The room was so filled with illumination that he had to close his eyes just for a moment. He let himself smile in relief.

Scott felt the air stir beside him and, without even opening his eyes, he knew that Mason was about to hug him. He waited patiently, because Mason was feeling exactly what he was feeling. The human wrapped his arms about him and Scott did the same. The scent of happiness filled his nose.

“You did it.” Mason’s voice was full of gratitude.

“No,” Scott answered immediately, firmly. “We did it. Corey was brave enough to speak. You were strong for him. Alan cared. Derek and Chris and Stiles offered their aid without hesitation. We did it. All of us together. As we’ve always done things; as we always will.”

“Fine,” Mason smiled and released the hug. “We did it. Even Theo.”

“Yes. Even Theo.”

Mason turned back to watch the treatment continue. “Are you going to make him pack?”

“Yes.” Scott had made that decision before they had even gotten back to Beacon Hills. “If he wants to be pack, he’ll be pack.”

Mason had become a very good Emissary. “You know, some people aren’t going to like that.”

“They don’t have to like it. I’ll listen to every complaint they have, but in the end the choice is mine. I think I’ve earned that.” One of the hardest lessons that any leader had to learn is that there was no way to make everyone happy, no matter how big or how small the group was. Scott wanted Theo in the pack to make himself happy, and that wasn’t a bad thing.

They turned back to watch the treatment, but it wasn’t the same. Now that they knew that things were going to get better, it was harder to stand still and wait in silence. Scott guessed that it was something everyone experienced when loved ones were ill.

“So. Once the treatment’s done, do you think that Corey will take me up on my offer?”

Mason shrugged. “I’m not sure. It’s still a risk, but it’s the only way to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Before the treatment was a possibility, I think he would, but now …” The Emissary turned to look at Scott. “I’m going to suggest that he doesn’t need to.”

Scott smiled. “I don’t think he needs it either, but the choice is still his.”

“Are you going to offer Theo the Bite?”

“No. I can’t. I can make him pack, and I will, but that would be going too far.” Scott sighed. “It’s not just me and him. It’s all of us, and there are too many people who would be terrified by the idea of Theo being able to claim my power.”

Mason tilted his head. “But you think he’s changed.”

“I know he’s changed. I know it.” Scott shrugged. “But they don’t; they can’t. There’s not been enough time. Lydia won’t know. Liam won’t know. Stiles won’t know. By the time they figure it out, it’ll be too late. There’s going to be enough problems when they figure out that we’re … together. There’s a time to push for what I want and a time to accept that I can’t get everything. Giving him the Bite would tear the pack apart.”

“That was going to be my advice,” Mason chuckled. “You beat me to it. But, here’s an idea. You know how Corey and I are going to adopt.”

“Yeah. That’s back on the table, right?”

“Right. We’ve decided we’re going to find an older child with special needs. Corey prefers to work at home, and I make enough to cover even unexpected medical expenses. We know it’s going to be rough. Love doesn’t automatically fix problems. It’s a risk without the guarantee of reward, but you know, you don’t love people because they’re a good investment.”

Scott thought about it. “No, you really don’t. That’s a good line.”

“I thought so!” Mason exclaimed. “Feel free to use it.”

*****

Stiles leant up against the wall of the Beacon Hills Animal Clinic’s back room, like he had leant up against it so many times before. “You do realize this is the point where I tell you that you are being a complete dumbass.”

“Yup.” Scott continued putting away the equipment from the surgery he had just completed. It was his last patient of the day.

“So I’m going to assume that you’ve already gone over the myriad and nearly-endless objections I have to this.” Stiles grimaced aggressively. “You have, haven’t you?”

“Yup.” Scott shut the drawer. “I actually imagined this conversation.”

“You realize …” Stiles pointed at him. “I’m going to tell you why it’s a terrible idea anyway. I mean, in the long list of terrible ideas that you have indulged in since I’ve known you, this has to be in the top five terrible ideas. Maybe the top three.”

Scott was surprised. He expected Stiles to come out with words far crueler than what he was saying.

“Of all the dick to chase after, you had to choose that dick.” Stiles shook his head. “It’s a shame Garrett Douglas was unavailable. Seriously, Scott? Seriously?” His best friend started to pace. “Theo Fucking Raeken. Liar. Murderer. Manipulator. That Theo Raeken. And don’t tell me it was a long time ago! I suspected you wanted to get in his pants back then, too!”

And there was Stiles back to his usual form.

Scott put his hands on his hips. “You thought I wanted to sleep with him in high school?”

“I always knew you weren’t a zero on the Kinsey Scale. No one looked at Danny the way you looked at Danny and never thought of playing hide the salami with another guy. You also have to admit that you checked Theo’s ass out any number of times.” Stiles’ talked as if it was an open-and-shut case. “Why do you think I kept asking you if I was attractive to gay guys?”

“Because you have no brain-to-mouth filter.”

Stiles threw up his hands. “I’ll have you know that I have a very excellent filter. I simply don’t use it that much. Not with you, anyway. I don’t think I should have to.”

“You don’t have to.” Scott replied.

“That’s good.” Stiles took three steps toward him. “Couldn’t it be someone else? Anyone else. Someone who hasn’t tried to kill you? Someone who hasn’t tried to destroy us?”

“No. He’s the one that I want.” Scott smiled at Stiles. “And exactly for those reasons.”

That brought Stiles up short. While he processed that statement, Scott left the back room and shut down the lobby. He flipped the sign on the door to ‘Closed.’ It was nearly six, and the late autumn sun slanted through the glass. It was going to be cool tonight.

When he reached the backroom, Stiles was still chewing over it. “I don’t get it.”

“I didn’t want to make this comparison, but … you loved Lydia for years. She ignored you, even spurned you. Yet, you wanted to make her yours, and you told her it was because you were the only person who saw the real her - the genius instead of the vapid socialite. You saw what she really was and you wanted that.” Scott grinned. “I see something in Theo.”

“Lydia hasn’t tried to rearrange my insides with her fingers,” Stiles shot back. “She may have wanted to, but she hasn’t done it yet. Couldn’t you lust after someone a little less murdery?”

“Not really.” Scott shrugged.

Stiles narrowed his eyes. “Go on.” It wasn’t a request.

“Unless it’s escaped your attention, I’ve been a werewolf for longer than I was a human. I don’t really remember what it’s like to be human. I’m not going to meet some surfer at a coffee shop and bond over the killer waves at Malibu. That’s not what I’ve spent most of my life doing. I’d be pretending to be someone I’m not in order to not be alone. Call dating Theo unhealthy but at least it’s honest.”

Stiles face fell, almost imperceptibly.

“Stop it. I wasn’t complaining about not being human. You need to let it go.” Scott put his hand on Stiles’ shoulder. “Even though I never wanted it, I like what I am. I like what I’ve done. Do I wish I could have been better? Don’t we all?”

“But Theo …” Stiles whined. “There’s others. Nolan would date you in a second. There’s Danny! He knows all about werewolves.”

“I like what I’ve done.” Scott repeated. “I look at Theo and I see someone good who was once someone bad. There were so many ways that we could have torn at each other over the years, but we didn’t. So when I look at him now, I find someone … worth it. All I’m asking is that you give us a chance.”

Stiles stepped away, making Scott’s hand slide off. “I’m getting the strangest sense of déjà vu.” He wasn’t ready to say things aloud.

Scott said sadly, quietly. “Why can’t you trust anybody?”

Stiles turned away, leaving his back to Scott, and answer just as quietly. “Because you trust everybody.”

The silence stretched between them. This was a wound that had never fully healed, and, like so many other wounds, they had ignored it together, hoping it would go away. But this wound was deeper than others, because it wasn’t about who was right and who was wrong in a specific instance, but about how Scott saw the world and how Stiles saw the world. It was so deep it could poison the heart of what they had together.

The dying sun had shifted and the light in the room had changed. Shadows crept from the tables and threw themselves off the floor. Soon, they would have to turn on the lights so they could see or talk in the dark. Scott forced himself to let Stiles take the time he wanted; he had the fight off the urge to change the subject, to avoid the conflict once again, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t be with Theo and be as close as he wanted to be with Stiles if Stiles objected so strenuously. He didn’t know what he would do.

“Fine,” Stiles turned around. “I reserve the right to give him as much hell as humanly possible. He wants all up on that, he’s going to have to put up with the Amazing Stilinski Wit, patent pending.”

“I think everybody has to put up with it.” The reply was light hearted, but Scott’s heart started beating again.

“And that is doubly true for this coming summer.” Stiles offered a tiny smile. “Because he’s going to have to put up with Mini-Stilinski.”

“You mean?”

“Yeah. Lydia doesn’t have to teach a class during the second summer session, so she’s bringing Claudia home for six weeks.” Stiles smile might dispelled the shadows by itself. “I’ve already put in for as much time off as I can get.”

Scott stepped forward and wrapped him in a bear hug. “I can’t wait to see her.”

*****

“Doggie!” Claudia Martin-Stilinski wrapped both arms around Theo’s neck. Exhibiting her father’s grace, her feet slipped out from under her so she hung from the wolf like a living weight. “Doggie! Doggie!”

Theo turned his snout to Scott, who was trying his very, very best not to laugh. If wolves were capable of human expressions, Theo would have expressed long-suffering embarrassment. Scott took it back; maybe wolves were capable of human expressions.

Scott shrugged good naturedly to the chimera wolf and then turned to look over the clearing of the Preserve. Everything for the night was set up and ready to go. The sun had vanished into the faraway ocean, and the stars were shining through the purple twilight. To the east, the moon was just rising.

“Scott? Honey?” His mother called out from over near the cooking pits they had set up. Derek, Hayden, and his mother had placed themselves in charge of dinner. “You should get everyone presentable.”

Scott raised his hand to acknowledge it and then turned to where Claudia was using Theo as a set of furry, mobile monkey bars. The other children watched her while Liam and Hayden’s youngest were learning to ‘shake hands’ with Malia.

Lydia approached with a bundle of clothes under each arm. “Claudia, please stop. You don’t know where that thing has been.” Scott frowned, but he had had to promise Lydia that she could be as biting to Theo as he was letting Stiles. “Go find your father.”

A disappointed Claudia had no interest in doing that. “Doggie!” She pointed at Theo.

“Yes, yes. Go find daddy. We have to go neuter the doggies.” Lydia replied. Scott sighed.

Before things could get out of hand, Stiles appeared with Liam. “All right kids! Dinner time! So you are all going to come with me and this teenager here and get cleaned up. Anyone gives me any lip gets sprayed with the hose.” The kids shrieked but started to follow them anyways as Stiles scooped his daughter up in his arms.

“Stiles, four of these kids are mine.” Liam groused. He hated the youth jokes.

“Babies having babies. It’s a national tragedy.” Stiles clucked his tongue. “Come on you menaces. Giddyap!”

Lydia rolled her eyes in fondness when she thought no one was looking. She and Stiles had been carefully polite during the time she had been back in California, but sometimes they fell back into the easy camaraderie. It hadn’t the good times that had hurt them, after all.

Scott offered her a smile as he took one of the bundles from her and followed Theo into the deeper woods. When Theo couldn’t see anyone, he transformed back into human form. “Why was I doing this again?”

“You volunteered.” Scott smiled at him. “For which I am very grateful.”

“I am not a dog. And what did I volunteer for?”

“We want to ease the pack’s children into how their families are different. It was my idea; I just remember how offended Kira was when she only found out about her mother being a 900-year old kitsune during junior year.” Scott handed him a t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. “They’ve seen some of us transform before, and they’re going to see more tonight. I just wanted them to know that some of us can turn completely into animals.”

“Derek didn’t have to do it. Maybe he would have loved to have been petted?” Theo pulled the shirt over his head.

“Derek can cook. You burn water.”

“I do not.” When his head appeared through the t-shirt, Theo was smiling. “I just don’t like cooking.”

Scott stepped forward and gave him a quick kiss. “I know. Derek does. You’re going to love his ribs.” He helped him slide on his shorts, but gave Theo a quick pat on the ass.

Theo sniffed. “I know. I can smell them from here.” The smile vanished. “Lydia …”

“You’ve been seeing me for eight months, but she’s been on the East Coast. Give her time.” Scott took his hand. “She’ll learn. And, like Stiles, she’ll probably never stop being … sarcastic towards you.”

“Wheeee.” Theo grumped.

They walked back towards the clearing where the entire pack had gathered. Theo listened to the conversations and the people running around. “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“I am. When Derek first told me about his family tradition, I knew I wanted to pick it back up. It’s a good tradition.” Scott emerged into the clearing. “It reminds us what we are.”

Theo glanced down.

“You should enjoy it as well. Theo. You belong here. With me.”

Scott and Theo joined Melissa and Chris on the blanket they had spread. His mom had set aside plates for both of them. Marie glanced at her food suspiciously; she was in a great mood, but she was a picky eater even on her good days. She did yank her plate away when Scott tried to playfully steal part of her meat. They had gotten closer after Theo had suggested he teach her how to play lacrosse. Now she wanted to join the middle school team when she started next year.

Theo had gotten at least one shovel talk from his mom when they had first started dating and an angry desert tray over Christmas from Chris. He had taken it without complaint, just as he had promised Scott, and things had progressed to the level where small talk was possible. It wasn’t even awkward small talk; that had been saved for Rafael, who was clumsily lurking on the edge of the blanket as well. This was the first pack function his biological father had been to.

Speaking of newcomers, Scott glanced over to the blanket next to him, catching Alan’s eye. He sat with Mason and Corey and Marcus. Marcus was the teenager they had adopted this last spring. He was a freshman; he had been the victim of unspeakable abuse by his own blood. Mason and Corey had let him get involved with the pack at his own place, and while he was still shy and jumpy, he had taken to the pack’s secret quickly enough. He was fascinated by monsters who did care.

On the other side, Noah was spoiling Claudia without restraint. He had the toddler on his lap and was letting her eat only what she wanted, much to her Daddy’s astounded irritation. Grandpa was ignoring all the huffing and pouting while Lydia barely kept herself from bursting into laughter. During the whole ordeal, Lydia and Stiles kept glancing at each other as if they thought no one could see them doing it. They could at least be friends again, it seemed.

There was an explosion of giggles from the next blanket over. One of the Dunbar Mini-Pack had backed right into their father as he was trying to eat, dumping ribs, potato salad, and baked beans into his lap. Liam danced about trying to get the food off of him but not on their blanket as his children and Derek’s Vernon burst into open laughter. Hayden was chasing him with a towel and a twinkle in her eye.

The place of honor was set up for the Hale family. It was their tradition after all. A conversation spanning three continents and three languages dominated as Malia and her French girlfriend were engaged in a get-to-know-each-other conversation with Cora and her Argentinian fiancé. Manuel was part of Cora’s pack from South America, while Amelie’ was a member of a secret Catholic society that studied the supernatural. Scott had spent some time talking to them, while Stiles had vetted them thoroughly. They were nice.

Peter was not there. Scott, after coming back from Russia, had finally put his foot down and banned him from pack functions if he couldn’t be respectful. Scott was a mature, adult alpha with a powerful pack and a strong reputation. He didn’t need to put up with Peter’s smarmy disrespect. Truth to be told, no one missed him.

Derek and Braeden were too busy flanking Talia. She knew what was going to happen tonight, and it put pressure on her, but her parents were trying to give her support while reassuring that nothing could happen tonight and it wouldn’t make one bit of difference.

Finally, Derek stood up. He cleared his throat. He had never been the best public speaker, but he could make his voice reach. He caught Scott’s eye and Scott nodded encouragingly. “Tonight is the Buck Moon, the full moon of July. For as long as my family could remember, we gathered like this out in the forest to celebrate. We celebrated what makes us the same as everyone else and what makes us different from everyone else. Tonight we look for those who will carry on that tradition.”

Rafael leaned over to ask Scott. “This is how they tell who’s going to be a werewolf?”

Scott nodded. “They’re other ways to tell but this has more … meaning.”

“I’d like the Alpha to come up now.” Derek caught his voice for a moment as if a memory had welled up and stopped him from speaking. He took a breath. “He will represent those who could not be here and honor those who are no longer with us.”

Scott walked up easily between the people he had come to care about. He had talked this over with Derek beforehand. Grabbing a torch from its resting place, he lit it as he passed one of the cooking fires.

There was a large boulder to the side of the clearing. It would serve as a platform tonight. On one side there were four tall candles for those who could not be there with them that night - one for Isaac, for Jackson, for Ethan, and for Kira. He lit each one, calling out their name. On the other side, he lit four more candles for those who could would never be with them again - one for Erica, one for Boyd, one for Aiden, and one for Allison. He called out their names as well. Then, in front of the boulder, he lit a bonfire for the Hale family. Derek and Cora spoke their names as the fire caught.

Scott nodded to Derek after they were finished. Derek cleared his throat. “Would the wolves and those who might be wolves come up please?”

Scott watched as Liam and Hayden approached; his mother moving to watch their kids. The children would one day participate but not yet. Malia, Cora, and Manuel stood up as well. While Cora and Manuel weren’t married in the eyes of the law, he was as good as in the eyes of the pack. Derek had to step forward and take Talia’s hand. They had started this up this year because of her. It was about her age when a born wolf would first start showing signs of the change.

Scott waited; it wasn’t long until he realized that Theo wasn’t joining. He gestured at him, and Theo shook his head. Leaving his place, he went to where Theo was sitting.

“I’m not actually a wolf …” Theo protested.

“Neither is Malia. You’re pack.”

Theo opened his mouth to speak again.

Scott leaned his head down to whisper into Theo’s ear. “Your family, Theo. You’re my family, and you belong here. Come on.” Scott held out his hand and pulled him to his feet. The chimera swallowed out of fear but he came none-the-less. He led Theo to the base of the rock and left him there. No one paid Theo any mind, as all the wolf eyes were focused on Scott.

Scott climbed up on the boulder. It wasn’t even, so he had to balance, but that was okay. He looked down at the eager faces of the wolves below him. He looked beyond to the rest of the pack, happy or with the potential to be happy, but all safe. He looked at his family - his fathers, his mother, his sister, and his brother. They were here with him. He looked down with Theo. So was he.

Transforming easily, Scott turned to the sky. He could see the eyes of his pack light up in response to his own. It took a moment before Theo’s did as well, taking his place in the pack. Drawing breath as deeply into his lung as he could, Scott howled. The pack’s howls harmonized with his own. Even he had to admit it was incredible, feeling the echoes shakes his very bones. He hoped it made everyone feel as good to hear it as he did to lead it.

Standing amid the other wolves, Talia’s eyes flickered bright yellow, like a struck match. The Hale line would continue. Scott felt better at that moment than he had felt since before he went into the woods so long ago. He could rest with all the people who loved him and he loved in return.

Above them the moon sailed among the branches of the trees, full and bright.