Fic: Discovery Channel (3/12) Part 2
Part 1
Naturally the moment he thought that things went downhill. Not right away of course, and not in any way that is completely life altering, but still in ways that were… life changing. Stiles had been feeling good after spending most of the evening curled up with Danny, another movie playing in the background while they made out. He’d been perfectly okay the entire time, not even one little slip up. He just kept breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth and he could focus on Danny running his hands up and over his clothes. He could return the favor, and their legs could entangle and it was perfect.
The problem wasn’t with what had happened there, the problem had come up later. And he really thought the problem could have been avoided if Derek hadn’t been a shy little brat and knew how to use his words. Which was why Stiles was knocking furiously on Derek’s apartment door at two in the morning, uncaring that he might be sleeping.
The door swung open and Stiles glared at him.
“Stiles, what’s the matter?” Derek asked, nose crinkling as he no doubt got a whiff of what Stiles smelled like.
“I don’t know, you tell me. I have a knot on my dick!” Derek stared at him in growing horror and Stiles growled, pushing him to the side so he could come in. “You couldn’t have maybe mentioned this when we were having our heart to heart about control?” Derek was frozen by the door and Stiles flailed in the middle of the living room. “Hello? Dick! Knot! Is this not normal? A little help?”
Derek just continued to be completely useless and Stiles collapsed into the couch.
“My life is over,” he whined. “Completely and totally. I will never be able to be close with someone ever again. I should just end my life now.”
“Stop being overdramatic.”
“He speaks!” Stiles called and Derek growled at him to be quiet. They were in an apartment complex after all. “Sorry,” Stiles muttered. “But additions to my penis? Kinda something I would like to know about.”
“When?” Derek asked, and even though Stiles could tell how much it pained him to ask, Stiles still felt it wasn’t enough.
“When what? When did it first happen? Well the first I noticed it was tonight, while I was really going at it, and I mean, like really, really into it.”
“Stiles! Not. I meant. Did your, your boyfriend, did he notice it?”
“God I hope not! We hadn’t gotten that far! It was when I got home.” Stiles buried his face under the cushions. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“You and me both,” Derek muttered, rubbing his hand over his mouth.
Stiles glared at him. “You couldn’t have mentioned this?”
“I didn’t know it would happen! I mean, you’ve been a werewolf for a while! I thought if it was going to happen you would have noticed already!”
“Oh my god! You are completely useless as a werewolf Yoda! I revoke your status!” Stiles whined into the cushions, shaking his body as he did so his full misery was completely captured.
Derek growled at him, and Stiles growled back, even though it was muffled by the cushion. “So. No one saw it?”
“No! Oh my god. I was alone. In my room. Jacking off. Alone. Me and my hand.” Stiles made sure to go over the top just to make Derek uncomfortable. “And then, right as I was about to, you know, orgasm,” he flailed, “knot! Right there!”
“Yeah. I’m getting that.” Derek heaved a sigh. “You know there’s a way to control that?”
Stiles shot up. “What?” Derek was flushing, but Stiles didn’t care about his shame in light of a solution. “Talk now Derek or hear me cry more.”
Derek growled some more, but at this point Stiles couldn’t care less. He was sure one day Derek would realize it was pointless. “Well, it’s the first time it happened right? Obviously it doesn’t happen every time. Therefore you can control it. End of story.”
“No, no, not end of story. Beginning of story. Start explaining.”
“It’s like everything else. It’s, the knot is just another part of the transformation.”
“I don’t remember the knot when I was shifted.”
“Were you fucking when you were shifted?”
“Touche,” Stiles groaned and lifted himself up so he could look at Derek. “So this knot thing, is just like everything else with my shift?” Derek nodded. “So it’s just one more control thing?” Again Derek nodded. Stiles collapsed back into the cushion. “Thank god. I thought I was going to be a freak forever.”
“Congratulations,” Derek said with a sigh. “Now that your crisis has been averted, we are never speaking about this ever again, and I am going back to bed.”
“Cool. I’m staying here.” Stiles said, patting the couch. “It’s comfy.”
He couldn’t see Derek roll his eyes but he was sure it was there. “Fine by me. Is your dad working the late shift?”
Stiles nodded. “Until Thursday. So I’m just going to stay here and contemplate my life choices.”
“Have fun. If you wake me up when you leave for school I’ll-“
“Rip my throat out with your teeth, got it big boy.” Stiles gave him a thumbs up, and didn’t look up until the door to Derek’s room was shut. He let out a big sigh and shifted to get comfortable on the couch. This was not going to be something he was going to mention to Scott. Definitely not.
On the plus side, he was pretty positive that if all else failed there were groups for this kind of fetish. The internet had everything after all.
***
“So how’s school going?” Allison’s dad asked over dinner.
Allison looked up from where she was eating her pasta and swallowed before answering. “It’s going alright? I’ve made a couple friends, so they help out.”
“See, what did I tell you?” her mom said with a smile. “You’re a bright and wonderful girl. You’ll fit in anywhere.”
Allison blushed. “Well, I wouldn’t say that. But it’s alright. I stay after and watch lacrosse practice with Lydia and Stiles, their boyfriends are on the team so we kinda cheer everyone on? And Lydia and Stiles are in some of my classes, so sometimes if it’s boring we just go over homework.” She shrugged. “It’s fun.”
“Well, that’s good.” Her dad said, smiling. “I take it you’ll be going to lacrosse games then?”
She nodded. “I guess so? I know a few members on the team, Jackson the captain, and Danny, the goalie. We’re kinda, like a group?” Allison didn’t know if that was the right term to describe everyone, but it was the only word she could think of. It was obvious Danny and Jackson were best friends, and Lydia was Jackson’s girlfriend, and Danny’s good friend. And then there was Stiles, who was dating Danny, and Scott was Stiles’ best friend.
Allison couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across her face at the thought of Scott. They shared a handful of classes together, and he was always there to answer any questions she had, and she was there when he had any trouble. And they were the two single people in the group, so when the couples started talking about dates, the two of them were left sitting on the edge. It gave them something to talk about.
They’d already traded numbers, just for convenience’s sake, but Allison found them texting each other a lot more than she texted anyone else, minus her aunt. She liked spending time talking with Scott, almost more than she liked spending time with anyone else. He was open and friendly, and while he might not make as many jokes as Stiles, he had a different sense of humor that Allison could appreciate more on a day-to-day basis.
“Actually, Jackson is having a party next Wednesday?” Allison spoke up, interrupting her parents’ conversation about a trip her father had to go on next week. “I was wondering if I could go?” Scott had mentioned going together, and while he hadn’t said it was a date, he hadn’t said it wasn’t, so Allison was hoping something would come out of it.
Her parents shared a look. “Where’s the party?”
Allison shrugged. “At Jackson’s house. It’s going to be a pretty small thing I think.” All things considered, she thought as she swirled her fork in the pasta, trying not to come off as lying. “I would be home at a reasonable hour, since it’s a school night and all.”
“Well, I don’t see why not?” Her mom said with a smile. “New school, new place. As long as you’re home at a decent hour.”
Allison beamed. “Of course!” She couldn’t wait to be done with dinner so she could text Scott to tell him she would love to go with him.
***
“What do you mean he’s not coming?” Jackson demanded as he and Danny worked out.
Danny let out a breath as he finished his final set. “Like I said. He already has plans.” Jackson glared. “What? You didn’t even want him to come.”
“Of course I didn’t! But you’re going to be there! So I figured he’d show up.”
“Switch with me,” Danny said, sitting up and flexing his biceps. Jackson took a seat next to him, reaching up to massage the muscle. Danny hissed. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Here, I’ll spot you.”
Jackson watched as Danny got up and he got into position to do his set. “I still don’t see why you like him. You two haven’t even gone on any real dates, just those stupid movie nights at each other’s houses, and now he’s ditching this party?”
“Jackson, those are dates. Just because we don’t go out in public-“
“And why don’t you? Is he ashamed of you?”
Danny sighed, offering chalk powder to Jackson. “You obviously missed the part where him and I eat lunch together, and hold hands in the hall, and kiss each other hello and goodbye.” Jackson grunted but Danny just kept talking. “Do we really need to go over this again?”
“Yes. We do. Because you’re my best friend Danny, and you’ve never given Stilinski a second glance.”
“Ready?” Jackson nodded and began his sets as Danny kept talking. “He’s just a lot of fun to be around. That’s it. That’s why I like him. He’s not super high maintenance, and he’s fine running off with his friends, just like he’s fine with you and me hanging out. He doesn’t think anything of it.”
“Still don’t know why that one guy was jealous.”
Danny laughed, and Jackson closed his eyes, focusing on the weight. “Well, you were over-affectionate that night.”
“That guy wasn’t treating you right,” Jackson grunted.
“I know.” Danny said, pure affection in his voice. It struck a chord deep down inside Jackson. “And anyway, for your information, since Stiles isn’t able to come to this he said we’ll go on a real, public date soon.” Danny took a moment before he continued talking, “but that’s it. There’s no secret or something untoward. Just two people enjoying each other’s company.” Jackson opened his eyes, finishing the first rep in time to see Danny grin wickedly. “The fact that he’s not a bad kisser doesn’t hurt either.”
Jackson glared. “I didn’t need to hear that.”
Danny just laughed some more, counting off the seconds that Jackson had to rest. “I don’t expect the two of you to become best friends. What you’re doing right now is fine. Really. Set.”
Jackson started in on his next rep. He focused on the burn in his arms and chest instead of the way his emotions were raging. There was something up, and he couldn’t explain it.
***
Stiles had been disappointed about missing the party, and he had thought about risking a few hours there because it was a party and he’d been invited, but by midday on Wednesday he could feel the wolf at the surface of his skin. Scott was a happy boy at least, as he kept reminding Stiles every few minutes that he was taking Allison, and they were going on a date.
Stiles didn’t have the heart to tell Scott that it didn’t count as a date if both parties didn’t know it was a date. He wasn’t that mean, even though it was a fight not to snap it the thirtieth time Scott mentioned it. By the end of the school day he was rushing off to his car, not feeling like he would be able to last through lacrosse practice. He wanted to run through the woods.
Danny grabbed him right as he got to his Jeep.
“Hey, where are you running off to?” He grinned. “Math wasn’t that bad, was it?”
Stiles blinked, his mind brought back into the present. All of his senses focused on Danny, and his wolf was growling with the need to get closer to him, to do things, to mark him.
“What?” Stiles asked. “I mean. No, I just,” he fumbled with pulling out his phone. “I need to meet up with Derek.” His heart rate was going crazy and it was a lot harder to control himself now than it had been any other day.
Yesterday they had been making out, and nothing bad had happened. Stiles had gotten his shirt off, and he hadn’t felt as out of control as he did right now.
Danny frowned. “You can’t even stay for practice?”
Stiles felt Danny lean closer, and he pressed a quick kiss to Danny’s lips. He couldn’t do more, because being this close, with Danny trapping him between his body and the jeep, made him want to flip their positions. He wanted to do so much.
“Sorry,” Stiles said weakly. “I’ll see you tomorrow though, okay?”
He turned around, scrambling into his Jeep before Danny could do anything to stop him. Stiles waved as he pulled out. He felt bad for ditching Danny like that, but he couldn’t risk being out in public for much longer.
Stiles drove to the old Hale house, where he was leaving his car for the night, and texted Derek. He then texted his dad, reminding him that he was going to be out with Scott all night. By the time he was done with that his heartbeat had gone down, and he felt almost in control. He took deep breaths in through his nose, because while a part of him wanted the wolf to just run free, he had a feeling that if he wasn’t trying to be in control tonight, he’d end up causing Derek even more trouble trying to get to Danny and Scott.
Stiles didn’t want that.
He looked up as Derek drove up next to his car, getting out. Stiles waved, trying to smile.
“Rough day?” Derek asked, stripping his leather jacket off and tossing it back in the car. Stiles shrugged, copying Derek by removing his own hoodie.
“Different. I’m sure you heard me get close to losing it just a bit ago.”
Derek nodded, looking up at his old house. Stiles could see the haunted look on his face as he took a deep breath, his eyes bleeding ice blue when he exhaled.
“Someone’s been around here.”
Stiles copied him, trying to sort out all the scents. He recognized the smell of a few cops and the K-9 team, but they were a few days old. Stiles shook his head, not recognizing any of the other human scents.
“I think they are still doing a search team, but I think the wolfsbane masked Laura’s scent well enough that the dogs didn’t pick it up.”
Derek’s eyes locked onto Laura’s grave, but it hadn’t been disturbed. “Maybe.” He sighed. “Probably just some teens. I saw some graffiti inside.”
Stiles nodded as they started walking away from the house. “Think they were trying to loot the place?”
Derek shrugged. “I got most of the important stuff.”
“But you haven’t unpacked any of it yet,” Stiles reminded him, but he wasn’t saying it to be cruel. He knew how hard it was to go through loved one’s possessions. Derek had finally put up one photo of him and his sister in the living room of his apartment. Stiles liked to look at it because Derek actually looked mildly happy, standing in front of the Statue of Liberty.
“You think you’re going to need me to keep you on a leash tonight?” Derek asked.
Stiles turned, walking backwards as he thought. “Probably.” He grabbed hold of Derek’s wrist, pulling him into a hug. The sun wasn’t even setting yet, but he wanted to start running already.
Derek gave a playful growl and Stiles forced his wolf to the surface so they could play. It was freeing, letting go like this. Better than any other day they did this, because he actually felt like one person instead of two halves.
He wondered if that was how Derek felt all the time, or if he could compartmentalize his two sides.
“Stay close to me,” Derek warned as Stiles ran off so Derek could try and chase him.
Time passed by quickly, and Stiles felt more in control with each passing hour, even after the sun set and his senses went into overdrive. He could smell Scott and Danny outside, near the edge of the woods, probably at the party, but he stayed away. He let Derek guide him, the two of them running through the woods until they were exhausted, and even then they kept going.
Stiles tipped his head back and howled, and his wolf felt good when Derek returned the howl. They weren’t that far apart, Stiles having run off in a different direction while Derek ran downwind so Stiles could work on his tracking. He used his hearing to track Derek this time, running full tilt towards his packmate.
He didn’t hear the arrow.
He howled as it slammed into his side, and he felt himself shift back to his human form out of pain. He could already feel the cut trying to heal itself, but the arrow that was inside him was twisted, as if it was trying to maximize damage on entry and exit.
Stiles looked around, trying to find what had shot him, and trying to find Derek. He could hear someone rushing towards him, and growling. He whined, trying to stand as another arrow fired at him.
Stiles heard it coming this time and he ducked, running towards Derek. He had spotted two men to his right but he didn’t want to know more. Derek grabbed him by the shoulder the moment they met up, pulling him in a different direction.
Stiles whined again, the running jostling the arrow, but Derek just growled, head never looking back as he forced them to run to the edge of the woods. They burst out of the woods onto the street, and Stiles could tell they were about three miles from town. He pressed his face into Derek’s side, unable to stop the pitiful whimpers he was making.
Derek ran his fingers through Stiles’ hair, pulling him upright.
“Lemme see the arrow,” Derek whispered, looking around frantically before reaching for the arrow.
Stiles hissed. “I think it’s some kind of, twisted thing? Barbed?”
Derek nodded. “This is gonna hurt, but you can’t heal while it’s inside you.” He didn’t give Stiles any warning before he pulled the arrow out, his other hand clamping over Stiles’ mouth to stop his cries from being heard. “You’ll be fine soon.” Derek broke the arrowhead off of the shaft, tucking it into his pocket before adjusting his hold on Stiles. “Come on, we need to get back to my place.”
Stiles’ legs were shaking and he ended up leaning heavily on Derek’s side while they walked into town. No one drove by them, and half way there Stiles’ wound healed enough that he’d stopped bleeding. He could stand on his own, but he liked the comforting feeling of Derek holding him close so he didn’t try to pull away.
“What was that?” Stiles finally asked once they got to the edge of town. They were at least on the right side of the town, and Derek’s apartment was only a few blocks away.
“Hunters,” Derek muttered. Stiles could tell how much that idea terrified him.
“I thought… why are there hunters?”
“Because we’re something to hunt.”
Stiles buried his face in Derek’s shoulder, not wanting to think about that. “Why didn’t they attack us last time?”
“They must have just come into town. I didn’t notice anything.”
“That was the scent at your house, wasn’t it?”
Derek growled. “Hunters knew we’d lived there. They must have found out I was back.”
Stiles frowned. “Or maybe they are looking for the Alpha? They could be following him?”
Derek shook his head. “I don’t know. I really don’t know.” He tightened his hold on Stiles as he opened the door to his apartment. “Did they see you?”
Stiles’ breath caught as he tried to remember. He didn’t think they had. He had ducked quickly enough once he realized he’d shifted. “I don’t think so. And I didn’t see them that well either. I think there were two of them?” He laughed weakly. “Oh, the jokes I will make if they turn out to be brothers.”
They fell into Derek’s apartment, and he double locked the door, making sure to include the chain. Stiles stood dumbly in the middle of the living room, shaking a little, and too afraid to look down to see how bad the blood was. Derek looked him over, frowning.
“Don’t move. I’ll go get you a towel,” Derek said, and Stiles just nodded as he finally got up the nerve to touch the wound. It was mostly healed, but there was blood dried all around it. He would need to wash it off.
Derek handed him the towel, and sent him off to shower. When Stiles emerged he had clothes waiting for him, and Derek pulled him into his bed. Stiles didn’t complain, tucking himself around Derek after he climbed into bed as well, freshly showered. He was still shaking, but it wasn’t as bad as it had been. His teeth weren’t chattering.
He could feel how tense Derek was, and Stiles grabbed his hand, placing it where the arrow had been. Derek’s fingers closed over his side, feeling the healed skin.
“I’m fine,” he whispered, burying his face in Derek’s chest. He kept his hand over Derek’s, moving with him as Derek started to stroke his side. He only let go so he could run his own hands over Derek, checking for injuries. “They didn’t get you did they?”
He felt Derek shake his head, pulling Stiles closer. “No. They didn’t.”
Stiles swallowed. “What do we do?” He tangled his legs with Derek just to get closer, needing the comfort of pack.
“I don’t know. But we’ll be alright okay?” Stiles could hear how unsure Derek sounded, but he let him lie. He took comfort in it because the other option was blind panic. He wasn’t ready for blind panic.
Stiles closed his eyes and let Derek’s heartbeat lull him to sleep.
Chapter 4
Naturally the moment he thought that things went downhill. Not right away of course, and not in any way that is completely life altering, but still in ways that were… life changing. Stiles had been feeling good after spending most of the evening curled up with Danny, another movie playing in the background while they made out. He’d been perfectly okay the entire time, not even one little slip up. He just kept breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth and he could focus on Danny running his hands up and over his clothes. He could return the favor, and their legs could entangle and it was perfect.
The problem wasn’t with what had happened there, the problem had come up later. And he really thought the problem could have been avoided if Derek hadn’t been a shy little brat and knew how to use his words. Which was why Stiles was knocking furiously on Derek’s apartment door at two in the morning, uncaring that he might be sleeping.
The door swung open and Stiles glared at him.
“Stiles, what’s the matter?” Derek asked, nose crinkling as he no doubt got a whiff of what Stiles smelled like.
“I don’t know, you tell me. I have a knot on my dick!” Derek stared at him in growing horror and Stiles growled, pushing him to the side so he could come in. “You couldn’t have maybe mentioned this when we were having our heart to heart about control?” Derek was frozen by the door and Stiles flailed in the middle of the living room. “Hello? Dick! Knot! Is this not normal? A little help?”
Derek just continued to be completely useless and Stiles collapsed into the couch.
“My life is over,” he whined. “Completely and totally. I will never be able to be close with someone ever again. I should just end my life now.”
“Stop being overdramatic.”
“He speaks!” Stiles called and Derek growled at him to be quiet. They were in an apartment complex after all. “Sorry,” Stiles muttered. “But additions to my penis? Kinda something I would like to know about.”
“When?” Derek asked, and even though Stiles could tell how much it pained him to ask, Stiles still felt it wasn’t enough.
“When what? When did it first happen? Well the first I noticed it was tonight, while I was really going at it, and I mean, like really, really into it.”
“Stiles! Not. I meant. Did your, your boyfriend, did he notice it?”
“God I hope not! We hadn’t gotten that far! It was when I got home.” Stiles buried his face under the cushions. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“You and me both,” Derek muttered, rubbing his hand over his mouth.
Stiles glared at him. “You couldn’t have mentioned this?”
“I didn’t know it would happen! I mean, you’ve been a werewolf for a while! I thought if it was going to happen you would have noticed already!”
“Oh my god! You are completely useless as a werewolf Yoda! I revoke your status!” Stiles whined into the cushions, shaking his body as he did so his full misery was completely captured.
Derek growled at him, and Stiles growled back, even though it was muffled by the cushion. “So. No one saw it?”
“No! Oh my god. I was alone. In my room. Jacking off. Alone. Me and my hand.” Stiles made sure to go over the top just to make Derek uncomfortable. “And then, right as I was about to, you know, orgasm,” he flailed, “knot! Right there!”
“Yeah. I’m getting that.” Derek heaved a sigh. “You know there’s a way to control that?”
Stiles shot up. “What?” Derek was flushing, but Stiles didn’t care about his shame in light of a solution. “Talk now Derek or hear me cry more.”
Derek growled some more, but at this point Stiles couldn’t care less. He was sure one day Derek would realize it was pointless. “Well, it’s the first time it happened right? Obviously it doesn’t happen every time. Therefore you can control it. End of story.”
“No, no, not end of story. Beginning of story. Start explaining.”
“It’s like everything else. It’s, the knot is just another part of the transformation.”
“I don’t remember the knot when I was shifted.”
“Were you fucking when you were shifted?”
“Touche,” Stiles groaned and lifted himself up so he could look at Derek. “So this knot thing, is just like everything else with my shift?” Derek nodded. “So it’s just one more control thing?” Again Derek nodded. Stiles collapsed back into the cushion. “Thank god. I thought I was going to be a freak forever.”
“Congratulations,” Derek said with a sigh. “Now that your crisis has been averted, we are never speaking about this ever again, and I am going back to bed.”
“Cool. I’m staying here.” Stiles said, patting the couch. “It’s comfy.”
He couldn’t see Derek roll his eyes but he was sure it was there. “Fine by me. Is your dad working the late shift?”
Stiles nodded. “Until Thursday. So I’m just going to stay here and contemplate my life choices.”
“Have fun. If you wake me up when you leave for school I’ll-“
“Rip my throat out with your teeth, got it big boy.” Stiles gave him a thumbs up, and didn’t look up until the door to Derek’s room was shut. He let out a big sigh and shifted to get comfortable on the couch. This was not going to be something he was going to mention to Scott. Definitely not.
On the plus side, he was pretty positive that if all else failed there were groups for this kind of fetish. The internet had everything after all.
***
“So how’s school going?” Allison’s dad asked over dinner.
Allison looked up from where she was eating her pasta and swallowed before answering. “It’s going alright? I’ve made a couple friends, so they help out.”
“See, what did I tell you?” her mom said with a smile. “You’re a bright and wonderful girl. You’ll fit in anywhere.”
Allison blushed. “Well, I wouldn’t say that. But it’s alright. I stay after and watch lacrosse practice with Lydia and Stiles, their boyfriends are on the team so we kinda cheer everyone on? And Lydia and Stiles are in some of my classes, so sometimes if it’s boring we just go over homework.” She shrugged. “It’s fun.”
“Well, that’s good.” Her dad said, smiling. “I take it you’ll be going to lacrosse games then?”
She nodded. “I guess so? I know a few members on the team, Jackson the captain, and Danny, the goalie. We’re kinda, like a group?” Allison didn’t know if that was the right term to describe everyone, but it was the only word she could think of. It was obvious Danny and Jackson were best friends, and Lydia was Jackson’s girlfriend, and Danny’s good friend. And then there was Stiles, who was dating Danny, and Scott was Stiles’ best friend.
Allison couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across her face at the thought of Scott. They shared a handful of classes together, and he was always there to answer any questions she had, and she was there when he had any trouble. And they were the two single people in the group, so when the couples started talking about dates, the two of them were left sitting on the edge. It gave them something to talk about.
They’d already traded numbers, just for convenience’s sake, but Allison found them texting each other a lot more than she texted anyone else, minus her aunt. She liked spending time talking with Scott, almost more than she liked spending time with anyone else. He was open and friendly, and while he might not make as many jokes as Stiles, he had a different sense of humor that Allison could appreciate more on a day-to-day basis.
“Actually, Jackson is having a party next Wednesday?” Allison spoke up, interrupting her parents’ conversation about a trip her father had to go on next week. “I was wondering if I could go?” Scott had mentioned going together, and while he hadn’t said it was a date, he hadn’t said it wasn’t, so Allison was hoping something would come out of it.
Her parents shared a look. “Where’s the party?”
Allison shrugged. “At Jackson’s house. It’s going to be a pretty small thing I think.” All things considered, she thought as she swirled her fork in the pasta, trying not to come off as lying. “I would be home at a reasonable hour, since it’s a school night and all.”
“Well, I don’t see why not?” Her mom said with a smile. “New school, new place. As long as you’re home at a decent hour.”
Allison beamed. “Of course!” She couldn’t wait to be done with dinner so she could text Scott to tell him she would love to go with him.
***
“What do you mean he’s not coming?” Jackson demanded as he and Danny worked out.
Danny let out a breath as he finished his final set. “Like I said. He already has plans.” Jackson glared. “What? You didn’t even want him to come.”
“Of course I didn’t! But you’re going to be there! So I figured he’d show up.”
“Switch with me,” Danny said, sitting up and flexing his biceps. Jackson took a seat next to him, reaching up to massage the muscle. Danny hissed. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Here, I’ll spot you.”
Jackson watched as Danny got up and he got into position to do his set. “I still don’t see why you like him. You two haven’t even gone on any real dates, just those stupid movie nights at each other’s houses, and now he’s ditching this party?”
“Jackson, those are dates. Just because we don’t go out in public-“
“And why don’t you? Is he ashamed of you?”
Danny sighed, offering chalk powder to Jackson. “You obviously missed the part where him and I eat lunch together, and hold hands in the hall, and kiss each other hello and goodbye.” Jackson grunted but Danny just kept talking. “Do we really need to go over this again?”
“Yes. We do. Because you’re my best friend Danny, and you’ve never given Stilinski a second glance.”
“Ready?” Jackson nodded and began his sets as Danny kept talking. “He’s just a lot of fun to be around. That’s it. That’s why I like him. He’s not super high maintenance, and he’s fine running off with his friends, just like he’s fine with you and me hanging out. He doesn’t think anything of it.”
“Still don’t know why that one guy was jealous.”
Danny laughed, and Jackson closed his eyes, focusing on the weight. “Well, you were over-affectionate that night.”
“That guy wasn’t treating you right,” Jackson grunted.
“I know.” Danny said, pure affection in his voice. It struck a chord deep down inside Jackson. “And anyway, for your information, since Stiles isn’t able to come to this he said we’ll go on a real, public date soon.” Danny took a moment before he continued talking, “but that’s it. There’s no secret or something untoward. Just two people enjoying each other’s company.” Jackson opened his eyes, finishing the first rep in time to see Danny grin wickedly. “The fact that he’s not a bad kisser doesn’t hurt either.”
Jackson glared. “I didn’t need to hear that.”
Danny just laughed some more, counting off the seconds that Jackson had to rest. “I don’t expect the two of you to become best friends. What you’re doing right now is fine. Really. Set.”
Jackson started in on his next rep. He focused on the burn in his arms and chest instead of the way his emotions were raging. There was something up, and he couldn’t explain it.
***
Stiles had been disappointed about missing the party, and he had thought about risking a few hours there because it was a party and he’d been invited, but by midday on Wednesday he could feel the wolf at the surface of his skin. Scott was a happy boy at least, as he kept reminding Stiles every few minutes that he was taking Allison, and they were going on a date.
Stiles didn’t have the heart to tell Scott that it didn’t count as a date if both parties didn’t know it was a date. He wasn’t that mean, even though it was a fight not to snap it the thirtieth time Scott mentioned it. By the end of the school day he was rushing off to his car, not feeling like he would be able to last through lacrosse practice. He wanted to run through the woods.
Danny grabbed him right as he got to his Jeep.
“Hey, where are you running off to?” He grinned. “Math wasn’t that bad, was it?”
Stiles blinked, his mind brought back into the present. All of his senses focused on Danny, and his wolf was growling with the need to get closer to him, to do things, to mark him.
“What?” Stiles asked. “I mean. No, I just,” he fumbled with pulling out his phone. “I need to meet up with Derek.” His heart rate was going crazy and it was a lot harder to control himself now than it had been any other day.
Yesterday they had been making out, and nothing bad had happened. Stiles had gotten his shirt off, and he hadn’t felt as out of control as he did right now.
Danny frowned. “You can’t even stay for practice?”
Stiles felt Danny lean closer, and he pressed a quick kiss to Danny’s lips. He couldn’t do more, because being this close, with Danny trapping him between his body and the jeep, made him want to flip their positions. He wanted to do so much.
“Sorry,” Stiles said weakly. “I’ll see you tomorrow though, okay?”
He turned around, scrambling into his Jeep before Danny could do anything to stop him. Stiles waved as he pulled out. He felt bad for ditching Danny like that, but he couldn’t risk being out in public for much longer.
Stiles drove to the old Hale house, where he was leaving his car for the night, and texted Derek. He then texted his dad, reminding him that he was going to be out with Scott all night. By the time he was done with that his heartbeat had gone down, and he felt almost in control. He took deep breaths in through his nose, because while a part of him wanted the wolf to just run free, he had a feeling that if he wasn’t trying to be in control tonight, he’d end up causing Derek even more trouble trying to get to Danny and Scott.
Stiles didn’t want that.
He looked up as Derek drove up next to his car, getting out. Stiles waved, trying to smile.
“Rough day?” Derek asked, stripping his leather jacket off and tossing it back in the car. Stiles shrugged, copying Derek by removing his own hoodie.
“Different. I’m sure you heard me get close to losing it just a bit ago.”
Derek nodded, looking up at his old house. Stiles could see the haunted look on his face as he took a deep breath, his eyes bleeding ice blue when he exhaled.
“Someone’s been around here.”
Stiles copied him, trying to sort out all the scents. He recognized the smell of a few cops and the K-9 team, but they were a few days old. Stiles shook his head, not recognizing any of the other human scents.
“I think they are still doing a search team, but I think the wolfsbane masked Laura’s scent well enough that the dogs didn’t pick it up.”
Derek’s eyes locked onto Laura’s grave, but it hadn’t been disturbed. “Maybe.” He sighed. “Probably just some teens. I saw some graffiti inside.”
Stiles nodded as they started walking away from the house. “Think they were trying to loot the place?”
Derek shrugged. “I got most of the important stuff.”
“But you haven’t unpacked any of it yet,” Stiles reminded him, but he wasn’t saying it to be cruel. He knew how hard it was to go through loved one’s possessions. Derek had finally put up one photo of him and his sister in the living room of his apartment. Stiles liked to look at it because Derek actually looked mildly happy, standing in front of the Statue of Liberty.
“You think you’re going to need me to keep you on a leash tonight?” Derek asked.
Stiles turned, walking backwards as he thought. “Probably.” He grabbed hold of Derek’s wrist, pulling him into a hug. The sun wasn’t even setting yet, but he wanted to start running already.
Derek gave a playful growl and Stiles forced his wolf to the surface so they could play. It was freeing, letting go like this. Better than any other day they did this, because he actually felt like one person instead of two halves.
He wondered if that was how Derek felt all the time, or if he could compartmentalize his two sides.
“Stay close to me,” Derek warned as Stiles ran off so Derek could try and chase him.
Time passed by quickly, and Stiles felt more in control with each passing hour, even after the sun set and his senses went into overdrive. He could smell Scott and Danny outside, near the edge of the woods, probably at the party, but he stayed away. He let Derek guide him, the two of them running through the woods until they were exhausted, and even then they kept going.
Stiles tipped his head back and howled, and his wolf felt good when Derek returned the howl. They weren’t that far apart, Stiles having run off in a different direction while Derek ran downwind so Stiles could work on his tracking. He used his hearing to track Derek this time, running full tilt towards his packmate.
He didn’t hear the arrow.
He howled as it slammed into his side, and he felt himself shift back to his human form out of pain. He could already feel the cut trying to heal itself, but the arrow that was inside him was twisted, as if it was trying to maximize damage on entry and exit.
Stiles looked around, trying to find what had shot him, and trying to find Derek. He could hear someone rushing towards him, and growling. He whined, trying to stand as another arrow fired at him.
Stiles heard it coming this time and he ducked, running towards Derek. He had spotted two men to his right but he didn’t want to know more. Derek grabbed him by the shoulder the moment they met up, pulling him in a different direction.
Stiles whined again, the running jostling the arrow, but Derek just growled, head never looking back as he forced them to run to the edge of the woods. They burst out of the woods onto the street, and Stiles could tell they were about three miles from town. He pressed his face into Derek’s side, unable to stop the pitiful whimpers he was making.
Derek ran his fingers through Stiles’ hair, pulling him upright.
“Lemme see the arrow,” Derek whispered, looking around frantically before reaching for the arrow.
Stiles hissed. “I think it’s some kind of, twisted thing? Barbed?”
Derek nodded. “This is gonna hurt, but you can’t heal while it’s inside you.” He didn’t give Stiles any warning before he pulled the arrow out, his other hand clamping over Stiles’ mouth to stop his cries from being heard. “You’ll be fine soon.” Derek broke the arrowhead off of the shaft, tucking it into his pocket before adjusting his hold on Stiles. “Come on, we need to get back to my place.”
Stiles’ legs were shaking and he ended up leaning heavily on Derek’s side while they walked into town. No one drove by them, and half way there Stiles’ wound healed enough that he’d stopped bleeding. He could stand on his own, but he liked the comforting feeling of Derek holding him close so he didn’t try to pull away.
“What was that?” Stiles finally asked once they got to the edge of town. They were at least on the right side of the town, and Derek’s apartment was only a few blocks away.
“Hunters,” Derek muttered. Stiles could tell how much that idea terrified him.
“I thought… why are there hunters?”
“Because we’re something to hunt.”
Stiles buried his face in Derek’s shoulder, not wanting to think about that. “Why didn’t they attack us last time?”
“They must have just come into town. I didn’t notice anything.”
“That was the scent at your house, wasn’t it?”
Derek growled. “Hunters knew we’d lived there. They must have found out I was back.”
Stiles frowned. “Or maybe they are looking for the Alpha? They could be following him?”
Derek shook his head. “I don’t know. I really don’t know.” He tightened his hold on Stiles as he opened the door to his apartment. “Did they see you?”
Stiles’ breath caught as he tried to remember. He didn’t think they had. He had ducked quickly enough once he realized he’d shifted. “I don’t think so. And I didn’t see them that well either. I think there were two of them?” He laughed weakly. “Oh, the jokes I will make if they turn out to be brothers.”
They fell into Derek’s apartment, and he double locked the door, making sure to include the chain. Stiles stood dumbly in the middle of the living room, shaking a little, and too afraid to look down to see how bad the blood was. Derek looked him over, frowning.
“Don’t move. I’ll go get you a towel,” Derek said, and Stiles just nodded as he finally got up the nerve to touch the wound. It was mostly healed, but there was blood dried all around it. He would need to wash it off.
Derek handed him the towel, and sent him off to shower. When Stiles emerged he had clothes waiting for him, and Derek pulled him into his bed. Stiles didn’t complain, tucking himself around Derek after he climbed into bed as well, freshly showered. He was still shaking, but it wasn’t as bad as it had been. His teeth weren’t chattering.
He could feel how tense Derek was, and Stiles grabbed his hand, placing it where the arrow had been. Derek’s fingers closed over his side, feeling the healed skin.
“I’m fine,” he whispered, burying his face in Derek’s chest. He kept his hand over Derek’s, moving with him as Derek started to stroke his side. He only let go so he could run his own hands over Derek, checking for injuries. “They didn’t get you did they?”
He felt Derek shake his head, pulling Stiles closer. “No. They didn’t.”
Stiles swallowed. “What do we do?” He tangled his legs with Derek just to get closer, needing the comfort of pack.
“I don’t know. But we’ll be alright okay?” Stiles could hear how unsure Derek sounded, but he let him lie. He took comfort in it because the other option was blind panic. He wasn’t ready for blind panic.
Stiles closed his eyes and let Derek’s heartbeat lull him to sleep.
Chapter 4