Work Text:
Believe in me
Stiles is sitting in his car and sighs loudly. He just knew it’s a stupid idea and normally his plans involve a little bit more thinking. But here he is, and he’s sure he will regret this sooner or later. Hopefully later.
He gets out of his car and opens the railing so he can make his way to the front doors of Eichen House. The receptionist looks up as he enters the front hall, and Stiles is surprised how bored one person can look.
“What can I do for you?” She asks and doesn’t even bother to greet him properly. Rude.
“I want to visit someone. Peter Hale.” Again, he couldn’t believe he’s really doing this. But what choice does he have?
“Mr. Hale is not allowed to have any visitors.” Well good thing Stiles planned a little bit before coming to this nuthouse. He slides fifty bucks to the receptionist which she takes with a big smile. “Of course. Please follow me while I escort you to Mr. Hale.”
He rolls his eyes, but follows her nonetheless. Her red hair sways with every step she takes, and she doesn’t seem to hear the screams of the other patients as they go deeper down.
Stiles had nearly forgotten how Eichen House made him feel. Anxiety crawls against his insides, but he forces himself to walk forward. He is doing this for Scott and his other friends, Stiles tells himself.
Finally the woman stops in front of a door and nods towards it. “This is his room. I’ll be waiting at the end of the corridor. Don’t take too long.”
Stiles takes a deep breath and opens the door, which is made out of rowan wood. The cell is small so it doesn’t take him long to locate Peter. He is laying on the cot which Stiles knows is fucking uncomfortable.
“Is it time for my medication again?” Peter’s hoarse voice breaks through the silence and he didn’t even open his eyes. Were his senses so dull because of the wolfsbane? Stiles feels some sort of pity as he regards the once so strong and proud wolf.
“Nope, sorry. No medication from me.”
Peter who had always been sharp does nothing at first. He doesn’t even seem to register the words. Then after long moments he opens his eyes confused and turns his head towards Stiles. A bitter smile appears on his face even as his eyes stay terrifyingly blank.
“My, my. What do we have here? What can I do for you, Stiles? I would offer you something to drink but unfortunately I’ve run out of supplies.” His sarcasm couldn’t be overheard, and Stiles snorts.
“Nice to see you too, asshole. You know it wasn’t my idea to ship you off to Eichen House?”
Peter rolled his eyes and tries to sit up slowly. “Of course not. I know it was the idea of my dear nephew and Scott. But that doesn’t answer my question: why are you here?”
Stiles knows Peter doesn’t believe he only wants to visit him. He wouldn’t even believe him if he said he missed the other man. Before Peter tried to kill Scott again they researched together a lot, and he could appreciate the wit and knowledge of the older man. It is nice to have someone acknowledge is ideas and discuss them with him. But Stiles also knows Peter wouldn’t have stopped if they hadn’t put him away even if he thought that sometimes Peter was right about Scott. His friend couldn’t always trust people and then let them go after they tried to kill them, it wouldn’t work on the long term. And Peter knows that.
“Well, I… I need your help, I guess? Nobody will listen to me, and I feel like I’m going crazy. Maybe I am, and I see things which are not true.” Stiles swallows. When he came here it sounded a lot more reasonable. “And now I realize how stupid it sounds… Sorry, I should go.” He turns to walk through the door, shame cursing through him.
“How are you able to visit me?” Peter questions and Stiles stops in his tracks. “As far as I know I can’t get any visitors.”
He turns around, oddly relieved Peter decided to start a conversation. Although he’s probably bored to death, all alone in this cell.
“I bribed the receptionist” Stiles admits, and a more genuine smile appears on Peter’s face.
“Well, who would’ve thought you had that in you? And the money.”
Stiles laughs a little bit. “This part you won’t like so much. Remember the money which was stolen out of the Hale vault? I ‘borrowed’ some of it before we gave it back to Derek, in case something like this happens.”
Peter looks surprised, and it takes a lot to surprise the former Alpha, then he laughs. “Had it been anyone I would be pissed, yes. But how can I be if you used it to visit me? You don’t know how boring it can be here. So tell me, Stiles, why are you here? And don’t say it’s stupid. You are anything but that.”
Speechless Stiles looks at the older man and couldn’t help but feel a little bit lighter that someone said he wasn’t stupid. So Stiles goes to the only available seat next to Peter on the bed and sits down.
“The last six months were quiet. It’s a little bit worrisome but we didn’t think any of it. There is this new boy in school, Theo, who was in school with us a few years ago. But the thing is, I don’t trust his story. Like at all.”
“Well your instincts have often proven right. You didn’t trust me, and you were right to do so” Peter points out.
Stiles nods. “So I tried to find out a lot about him and his parents. I found this documents from now and then where his fathers signature is on it.”
He gets the papers out and hands them to Peter whose eyes fly over the two pages. Then he waits what the other man has to say because it seems like he is seriously thinking about something.
“You say there are several years between these two documents?” Stiles nods. “Well, if you ask for my opinion, I would say these are different signatures. But you knew that already, didn’t you?” Peter’s gaze is steady, and the former dullness is gone.
Stiles breathes out. “Of course, I knew that. But that’s the problem. Nobody believes me, and I think I’m going crazy. That’s why I’m here. If someone would see the difference between the signatures, it would be you.”
Peter inclines his head. “True, I have a little bit experience with this kind of things with my former career as a lawyer. But what are you going to do now with this information?”
Stiles shrugs a little bit hopeless. “At the moment I’m relieved that I’m right. But I don’t know how I can convince Scott and the others. Because Scott thinks we should trust him, like always.”
Peter thinks for a moment. “Well, he has to make a mistake so you can prove it to your ‘True Alpha’. For me this forged papers are prove enough.”
One could hear the dry sarcasm and Stiles chuckles. It’s true that Scott can be a bit oblivious even if he is the True Alpha.
“So I have to wait or get him to make a mistake” Stiles summarises, and Peter nods. “Thanks for you help. And now that I think about it… what do you want for you help? I don’t think you would help me because of your goodwill.”
Peter is quiet for a long moment then he sighs. “This one is free. Maybe you can visit again? I’m really bored. Have you got any money left in case you have to bribe the nurse again?”
Stiles nods, a little puzzled why Peter wouldn’t want to have anything in return. He could ask for his freedom (even if Stiles couldn’t do anything about it) but he doesn’t which was strange in itself.
“Until then, Stiles” Peter smirks, and watches the boy leave. He would be back, of that he’s sure.
****
After visiting Peter he took his advice to heart and tried to wait for a slip up on Theo’s part. But he only saw him bringing flowers to his sister’s grave (Liam was pissed after that because they followed him for nothing) and he had to watch how Theo got everyone in the pack to trust him. He was only acting nice, helping them, and saving their lives by being suspiciously often around when something bad happens.
Stiles guesses he should have known Theo wouldn’t stay put and let Stiles investigate and trying to get the pack to question if Theo is trustworthy or not. So when he is attacked by Donovan, nearly got stabbed by him, and killed him in the process he is understandably shaken. The scary part is the moment he makes eye contact with Theo who is standing in the door to the library, and watching him with a smirk.
“I hope you know what will happen if you don’t learn to shut your mouth” Those are his parting words before he turns around and leaves Stiles alone with a dead Donovan and an oncoming panic attack.
He knows no one would believe him. They thought Theo is so trustworthy, such a great person and Stiles is paranoid, just seeing things. But even if he knows they won’t believe him, it doesn’t mean he wouldn’t try it.
First he calls his Dad because who else should he call with a dead body in the school library? His Dad answers almost instantly. “Stiles? What’s wrong?”
God, he loves his father. “D-Dad. Can you… can you come to the Library? It’s Donovan-“
“What has he done? Are you alright?” Now his Dad is in full Sheriff Mode.
“I-I’m alright. It’s Donovan. God… he… Dad, he tried to-“ Stiles couldn’t finish his sentence and is now sobbing quietly. He hears his Dad talking to him.
“Stiles, it’s alright. I will be there in a few minutes. Try so stay calm, take deep breaths. Whatever it is, we will get through it. It will be alright.”
His Dad tries to calm him down and gives orders to his team at the same time. When Stiles is calm enough to breathe his Dad tells him to call Scott. Because Scott is the Alpha and he needs to know something happened. Stiles gets that, it sounds reasonable. But he can’t shake the nervous feeling after he hung up. The dead eyes of Donovan are still staring at him, and the sick feeling in his stomach is back. He had done this. He killed Donovan, killed another person.
His fingers are shaking when he taps on Scott’s name, and listens to the dial tone of his phone. His brother should believe and help him, right?
Scott answers after the sixth ring (Stiles really thought he wouldn’t answer), and sounds rushed. “Sorry, can’t talk right now. I’ll call you back.”
The beeping tone let’s Stiles clench his jaw together. It’s always like this. Every time he needs the Alpha, Scott is busy, either with werewolf things or Kira, it doesn’t matter because he hasn’t got time for him. And he never calls back either.
He sits down at one of the library tables, but he doesn’t have to wait long for the sirens of the police cars and a few minutes later his Dad is in front of him. The Sheriff looks him over, and is relieved when he doesn’t find any grave injuries and only the few scratches where he got cut with the knife.
“What happened, Stiles?”
That is all it takes for Stiles to spill everything. He even mentioned Theo, and his threat towards him. He knows his father couldn’t do anything against Theo without prove, but he just needs to tell him. And his father believes him, and it feels so good to hear it.
After his father takes his statement, and they take the body out, Noah drives him home and promises to stay with him. Parrish would take care of the rest. When his Dad turns around to leave his room Stiles grabs him by the wrist.
“Stay with me until I fall asleep?” And his Dad nods and it’s so easy. He feels so safe, and it doesn’t take long for him to go to sleep.
****
The next morning doesn’t start good. Stiles wakes up shaking and gasping for air, the dead eyes from Donovan still clear in his mind. He still feels the blood on his hands and the need to take a shower is so strong, so he does exactly that. A few seconds later he is standing under the cold water, waiting for it to get warm.
Then he scrubs fiercely at his hands, his arms, everywhere. But the feeling of blood doesn’t vanish, and Stiles still feels sick. His breathing is coming out faster, it feels like he is dying.
He tries to count through his breathing, tries to calm himself. It takes a few minutes until he is calm enough to leave the shower and dress himself. When he arrives in the kitchen, he sees a note from his Dad lying on the table telling him he will be at the station to take care of the situation and Stiles should just stay home, take care of himself.
But Stiles can’t just sit here, doing nothing. He takes the keys from his jeep and then just sits there. Where does he want to go? Technically he has school so he just can’t go into town and drink a coffee. Before he can think about it, he starts his car and just drives. Stiles doesn’t have a destination in mind, so he’s really surprised to find himself in front of Eichen House. What the fuck? How the hell did this happen?
Stiles then decides it doesn’t matter. He wanted to talk to someone and his friend was not available. He goes inside and slides another fifty bucks to the receptionist.
“You know where to go.” She waves him away. Stiles is momentarily shocked. Where they this confident about their security? Either this or they think a little human can’t do much. Which wouldn’t be so wrong.
She notices his stare and shrugs. “We have a lot of security guards down there. You wouldn’t be able to do anything.” Like he said.
It doesn’t take long for him to find himself in front of Peter’s ‘room’. The guard in this corridor unlocks the door, and Stiles can enter.
This time Peter is sitting at the small table and looks up. His eyes are still dull, but they brighten up when they see him. “Stiles, what a pleasant surprise.”
Stiles on the other side is surprised, Peter seems to be happy to see him. Why? Is he really this desperate? But well, Stiles can understand it. If he was caged in Eichen House, he would also be desperate.
“Yeah…” He really doesn’t know what to say so he keeps quiet.
Peter raises an eyebrow and regards him calculating. “What happened?” Stiles must have looked perplexed because Peter chuckles. “Stiles, you wouldn’t be here if everything was alright. Also… you don’t look alright. You’re not your usual self. So, what happened?”
Stiles sits on his bed, Peter doesn’t say anything so it must be okay. Then he spills everything and tells Peter: what happened with Donovan, how Scott doesn’t have time for him, his guilt for killing Donovan.
Peter lets him talk, doesn’t say anything and just listens to him. It’s good and Stiles can feel himself relaxing. After he is finished the both of them are quiet, just enjoying the peace for a moment.
Then the older man stands up and sits beside Stiles on the bed. He looks weirdly serious for Peter Hale. “You know it was self defense, right? He would have killed you, Stiles.”
“I know” Stiles sighs. “I-I just feel like… a murderer? Like it’s my fault he’s dead. Maybe… maybe if I would’ve just left Theo alone, this wouldn’t have happened?”
Peter looks him in the eyes. “Listen to me. Maybe he wouldn’t have sent Donovan, maybe Donovan would have come either way because he hates your father. No one can say, what would have happened. But you’re not one to just stand by and watch how an asshole takes over the pack and kills Scott. Didn’t work when I tried and won’t work when this kid tries.”
Stiles sits there, his mouth open. He couldn’t believe Peter, Peter fucking Hale, was reassuring and comforting him. In which dimension did he land?
When nothing comes from him Peter smirks. “Did I make you speechless? That’s a first. But maybe you should close your mouth, it makes you look stupid.”
He shuts his mouth but is still confused. “Why… why are you helping me? Why are you being so nice?” He has to know. If Peter plans something… Stiles doesn’t know if he could forgive Peter then. Because that would mean he’s using Stiles.
Peter sighs, seems to know what goes through Stiles head. “It’s not some great scheme and I know this is what you’re thinking. I said it before, Stiles, I like you. I don’t want to see you hurt or, worse, killed. That was another reason why I offered you the bite. So you could protect yourself.” After a moment he adds. “And because I would rather have you on my side and not against me. But that ship sailed long ago.”
Stiles has to laugh a little at that, surprised at himself. Here he sits, talking with Peter as if they are friends. But he has to admit, he feels better.
“What are you going to do about Theo?” Peter questions, his eyes hard. It seems he is pissed at the other boy for trying to kill Stiles. It shouldn’t flatter him so much, but it does.
Stiles shrugs. “I don’t know, honestly. I figured I would try to talk with Scott first… if he has time.” It sounded bitter but he couldn’t help it.
Peter nods. “You can try. If you need help, you know where to find me.” He offers and Stiles knows it meant ‘If you want me to kill him’. But he’s not that desperate. Not yet.
He nods and stands up, Peter stays and just watches as Stiles goes to the door. Stiles stops and turns around again. “Thanks.” He smiles.
“You’re welcome.” Peter replies with a small smile on his own.
****
“Scott, say that you believe me. Say it. Say you believe me.”
“Stiles, we can’t kill people we are trying to save.”
“Say you believe me.”
“We can’t kill people! You believe that?”
“What do I do about this? What do you want me to do? Okay, be honest? Scott, just tell me how I can fix this, alright? Please, just tell me what you want me to do.”
“Don’t worry about Malia or Lydia. We’ll find them. Maybe you should talk to your Dad.”
He turns around and leaves him.
Stiles couldn’t believe, this conversation really happened. Theo got what he wanted, Scott trust in Stiles is gone and he couldn’t understand why Donovan is dead. Peter said, it was self defense. But is that true? Scott doesn’t seem to think so. He thinks you shouldn’t kill anyone even if they want you dead. But Stiles isn’t a werewolf and sometimes he has to get blood on his hands. Why can’t Scott see that? Why couldn’t he trust him, his best friends, his brother?
Stiles sits a long time inside his jeep, playing the conversation over and over. He tries to find out where it all went wrong. The only conclusion that comes to mind is: It’s Theo’s fault. He was the one who sent Donovan after him. He was the one who wanted to take over the pack. He was the one who wanted to kill Scott. He was the one who wanted to be an Alpha. And he was the one who told Scott about Donovan. It was all his fault.
Stiles knows revenge is not a solution, is never a solution. But Theo has to be stopped and if he can get him back with that, Stiles would do everything.
The consequences of Scott’s and his fight aren’t obvious until the next school day. Normally the pack waits for him and they go to class together. Today nobody waits for him and he feels cold dread settle in his stomach. But he decides not to panic until he has evidence.
But as he steps into his class, he feels as if the breath is punched out of him. The pack is assembled at the other side of the classroom and no one looks up when he enters. They are all around Scott’s desk and he is explaining something to them.
Theo is also there, looking incredible smug. He sees him first and a grin appears on his face. The rest of the pack looks up when he says something and they turn towards Stiles. The expression of their faces tells Stiles everything he has to know. They know, Scott told them. They are judging him, he can see it.
Stiles swallows and wants to move forward to his friends. But he sees how they are tensing, like they are preparing for a fight so he stands still.
“Are you going to let me explain?” He asks, despite knowing better.
“What is there to explain, Stiles? Theo explained it to me and I don’t understand it.” Scott says and is eyeing him like he doesn’t know him anymore.
“It was self defense.”
“You still murdered someone.” Stiles is relieved nobody listens to them because how can Scott say that here of all places? He also won’t let him explain. Peter said it was self defense, Stiles knows it was self defense. Why can’t let Scott him explain? Why trust Theo?
“Please…” He takes a step forward and suddenly everyone steps in front of Theo and Scott. What the fuck? They are protecting them?
Malia snarls at him and her eyes are glowing. “Stiles, go. This is your own fault.” Then they turn around and ignore him completely. He can only watch helplessly as his former pack distances themselves from him. Even Malia, who should know him better, doesn’t believe him and he can see how she looks at Theo. As if he hung the moon.
Stiles feels tears prickling at his eyes so he turns around and runs. He runs and doesn’t stop running until he is at his jeep. Then he drives, aimlessly, until he finds himself in the reserve. Ironically enough he finds himself in front of the old Hale house. Why had he come here?
The feeling inside his chest pulls him inside and he opens the creaking door. It dusty and he goes deeper inside, following the feeling. Maybe his conscious wants to tell him something?
Suddenly he knows what he has to do. An idea is forming in his head and he nods to himself. Maybe the idea had been already formed but now he is aware of it. He pulls his phone out and writes a new text message.
Need your help in BH. Might do something stupid.
If he’s lucky, he wouldn’t have to do it alone. He knows he can’t stop Theo alone, not when he has the whole pack behind him. But maybe Derek can help him… if he comes back, that is.
And if he comes back and wants to help him, Stiles has another plan to ensure they have more help. They would need it.
****
Stiles is surprised he gets an answer. It’s Derek so it wasn’t really a given. But he only gets the message after he made it home (fuck school!). It’s short but that is expected.
Be there tomorrow. Don’t do anything stupid!
Stiles pouts a little bit. As if he always does something stupid. But he’s relieved that he still could turn to Derek for help. After Derek left Beacon Hills they hadn’t talked much. Sure they texted a little bit so that’s more contact than what Derek had with the rest of the pack.
No one from the pack understands why Derek left. Stiles thinks he would also take the opportunity to leave if he could. He wonders why Derek would come back to help him. They never were really close, but he’s glad.
Maybe he can stop Theo with a little bit of help.
****
The next day in school is similar as the first after the fallout. The pack ignores him when they don’t look suspiciously at him. Theo is still the smug asshole and Stiles can’t wait to pay him back.
After the last class he leaves the building and blinks when he sees Derek’s Camaro, the man leaning against the door. He waves him over when he catches sight of Stiles.
“What are you doing here?” He asks dumbfounded.
Derek raises his eyebrow. “You said, you need help. So here I am. What happened?”
Stiles looks around and sees the students staring. He also sees the pack making their way over. “Could we… could we do this somewhere else?”
Derek looks between the pack and Stiles and nods. They get in the car and Derek drives them away. Stiles only relaxes after they left the school grounds and he looks towards his, maybe-friend.
“So want to tell me, what that was?” Derek breaks the silence and the Teenager sighs.
He tells the werewolf everything what happened so far and his suspicions what Theo plans to do. He tells him about his fears and about his talks with Peter. Derek first tenses when he hears about his uncle, but slowly relaxes. They are both quiet after Stiles finished and he gives Derek the chance to work through his story.
“So why ask me for help?” Really, that’s his first question? Stiles stares at him and Derek shrugs. “I didn’t get the impression you trusted me.”
“Well, that’s bullshit. I trust you. You were always there to help us. The question is, why help me?” Stiles counters because really, that puzzles him.
“I could give you your answer right back. Because I trust you and you always helped me, even when we were on different sides.” Huh, that is true. Stiles accepts it with a nod and looks out of the window. He guesses they are driving to the old Hale house, from the looks of it.
“So what do you think?” He finally asks when it’s clear Derek wouldn’t say anything else.
“First, I think you are right that Theo needs to be stopped. We don’t know for sure if he wants to kill Scott but it’s likely. We also don’t know if he has help. Second, Scott is an Idiot.”
Stiles nods relieved and laughs. He’s happy Derek believes him. “So you’re saying we might need help too?”
Derek throws him a questioning glance. “Maybe. What are you thinking?”
He swallows nervously. “Well, you know I’m talking to Peter and he kinda offered to help me with Theo…” He trails off.
The werewolf blinks and then groans. “Stiles, that’s a bad idea. Like really bad.”
“I know. I know you don’t trust him. But well… he helped me, you know? He listened to me. He even calmed me down, fucking hell. We need the help, Derek.” Stiles pleads. He hopes Derek can understand it. He doesn’t think Derek couldn’t take on Theo. But they don’t know if he works alone so it would be better to have backup.
Derek sighs. “I know. But it doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
Stiles is cheering on the inside. They will get Peter out of Eichen House and take Theo down.
****
The plan is simple. Derek would cause a distraction in one sector of Eichen House. Stiles would go into the tunnels, which lead to one of the bathrooms in Eichen House. They studied the map of the tunnels and Stiles would it take with him so he doesn’t get lost. When he is in the bathroom he would find Peter’s room. He knows how to get there from the bathroom because he hacked the server from Eichen House. Then they would escape with Peter.
Because they don’t know if every guard would go after Derek, Stiles would take a gun, his baseball bat and some Molotov cocktails with him. Of course only if needed.
“Are you sure we have everything?” Stiles asks nervously and watches as Derek puts on his leather jacket.
“I think so. If something comes up we have to improvise. But I don’t think we’ll have a problem to get inside.”
Stiles nods. “I think so too. Escaping could be hard. But fortunately we have Peter, even if he is weakened.”
They drive in opposite directions, Derek to Eichen House and Stiles to the entrance of the tunnels. It’s dark inside but with a flashlight it’s no problem to find his way. After many turns Stiles is sweating but he’s finally at the ladder which leads to the bathroom. It’s laughable how easy it is to find a way inside of Eichen House. But well, not many want to break someone out, so there’s that.
He takes his phone out and types a shot message. At checkpoint. Waiting for confirmation.
After a minute his phone vibrates with an answer from Derek. At EH. Start in 10.
Okay. He could wait another ten minutes. Stiles nervously listens to the sounds above him. Someone is showering but other than that the bathroom seems empty. Good. It means he wouldn’t have to engage other patients apart from the one. And maybe the nurse whose with them.
After nine minutes he climbs the ladder and after exactly ten minutes he takes the acid, which Derek had provided, and melts the screws, holding the grid.
He pushes it up and climbs the rest of the way. There really is a patient but he only stares at the wall, not noticing Stiles. No nurse is in sight so Stiles takes his gun out, runs out of the bathroom, then turning right. He has the whole map of Eichen House memorised so it doesn’t take him long to get to the ward for the supernatural creatures.
Again the acid helps him through the door and he’s not surprised to see some guards inside. They catch sight of him, but before they could react Stiles shoots them in the legs. They scream. He might feel guilty later, but now he hurries past them. The corridor before him is the one he knows by now. It’s the one which leads to Peter’s room and he sighs relieved. Stiles couldn’t quite believe he made it this far.
He eyes speculatively the door and then throws one of his Molotov cocktails, burning the rowan wood and mountain ash and opening the door in the process.
Peter has looked up in alarm, but relaxes when he sees who is standing in front of his room. “Well, that’s a surprise. Do you do this often, Stiles? Breaking patients out of a psychiatry?”
Stiles rolls his eyes, but smiles nonetheless. “No, Peter, I don’t. But maybe we could hurry? If they find us, I will leave you behind.”
That’s a blatant lie, Peter knows it and smirks, the smug bastard. But he doesn’t say anything, just stands up and walks over to Stiles. He makes a gesture with his hand and Stiles takes the lead.
The hurry through the corridors, back to the bathroom. Peter effectively knocks out the guards. Even weakened he’s a lot stronger than an average human and he knows how to use it.
Suddenly one of the guards, he shot, grabs him, tries to take him down. He gasps, struggling to free his foot. The other man is surprisingly strong, but Peter only snarls and slams the head of the guard against the wall, knocking him unconscious.
“Thanks.” Stiles breathes and the werewolf nods.
“Where to next?”
“This door.” Stiles points out and they enter the bathroom, the patient is still showering. Peter throws him a suspicious glance, but seemed to deem him harmless.
“We have to get down there.”
“I feared it.” Peter comments drily and looks disgusted into the darkness. Stiles guesses the werewolf can see more than he. They climb the ladder down and Stiles shoves the grid back in place so they wouldn’t know where they came from.
Then he follows Peter who is standing a few feet away. “I hope you know the way back.” He comments.
Stiles huffs. “I came prepared.” But before he makes his way in the dark he takes his phone out and writes a short message to Derek. Got him. Meet at ur loft.
Peter watches with a raised eyebrow, Stiles smirks in answer. “Think I rescued you alone? Your nephew helped.”
“You surprise me every time.” Peter hums and follows Stiles through the tunnels. “Now that we have time to talk… do you mind answering some of my questions?”
“Of course you have questions.” Stiles mutters. “Can’t you just say thank you and leave it?”
Peter chuckles behind him. “No. So, tell me, Stiles, what do you require my help for? For this Theo? Because, let me tell you, killing him for you would be my pleasure.”
Stiles knows he should be disgusted but the shiver he gets is anything but disgusted. A blush raises in his cheeks and he knows Peter can smell it. But the other man doesn’t say anything and he’s relieved. He wouldn’t know how to explain his reaction or if he would want to do that at all.
“Well…” He hesitates. “It’s clear he needs to be stopped. But we don’t know if he works alone. So we decided we could need all the help we can get. Derek wasn’t thrilled by the idea to get you out but I eventually managed to convince him.”
“So I need to thank you for my newly found freedom.” Peter purrs and Stiles nearly trips over his feet.
God damn it! What is wrong with him? He really shouldn’t have such a reaction to a man twice his age! He must be really fucked up. He could understand if he would be attracted to Derek, but Peter? His life couldn’t be more complicated. And also… it’s Peter! That’s his normal behaviour and that’s the first time, Stiles is reacting like that.
“And yes, you’re right. This boy needs to be stopped. I don’t really like McCall and I don’t think he should be Alpha but neither should be this brat. He can’t even understand what pack means. Also he tried to kill you, so he must be an Idiot.”
Urgh. And now he’s sweet. Hot and sweet. Stiles doesn’t stand a chance but he manages to push the urge to jump the older werewolf away. The teenager exhales relieved when they step out of the tunnels.
“You really need a new car.” Peter states, looking warily at his jeep. “I know, it was your mothers but someday you will get killed in it.”
Stiles pouts. “It’s not that bad. And besides, I don’t want to give it away.”
“You wouldn’t have to give it away. But you shouldn’t drive it either.” Peter shrugs and gets inside the car.
****
Peter is lying on the couch when Derek enters the loft. His appearance is ruffled, his hair is sweaty and blood is covering his shirt. Stiles jumps up from his seat and runs to him but Derek waves his concerns away.
“It’s not mine. Well, mostly. But I’m already healed. Don’t worry.”
“Damn werewolf-healing.” Stiles mutters and Peter snorts behind him.
Finally Derek looks at his uncle and musters him. “You look awful. Wolfsbane?”
Peter grimaces. “And the medication does the rest. So thanks for your very helpful comment. Give me some time and I’ll be as good as new.”
“That’s that I’m afraid of.” Derek murmurs and ignores Peter’s amused glance and sits down beside Stiles. On the table stands Chinese takeout so Derek takes a box with noodles and leans back with a groan.
“God, I hate electro shocks.”
Stiles looks sympathetic and Peter still amused. “What are we going to do next?” Stiles asks and looks at his two companions. Normally he could easily come up with a plan by himself, but with Theo? He feels like the other teenager is always a step ahead of him and he can’t think clearly if Theo is involved.
They plan for hours and by the end of it the solution is quite simple. Theo will get a message from them, telling him they know his secret. They would be bluffing a little bit, but Stiles is quite sure he was responsible for his sister’s death. They will be leaving evidence of who wrote the letter and then they would lure him to the old Hale house where Peter, Derek and Scott will be waiting. Derek would call Scott and ask him to come so they could talk about the situation with Stiles. Or something like that.
What could possibly go wrong?
****
The first step of the plan is Stiles’ part. At the end of the next school day he writes the note on a piece of paper.
I know your secret.
It’s simple, but it would suffice. He rubs the note with his fingers, drenching it in his scent. Then he waits a moment until he sees Theo round the corner and slips the note inside his locker.
He grins when he sees Theo heading straight for his locker, reading the note. The boy then blanches and throws him an unreadable look. Stiles guesses the trap worked then.
The drive to the preserve, to the Hale house, is uneventful. He’s careful not to look too often in the rear view mirror, but it’s hard. He’s nervous and quite sure, Theo can smell it even in his car.
He sees Theo talking on the phone, wondering who he’s talking to. It could be him phoning for reinforcement, like they guessed. When he parks in the driveway, Theo is nowhere to be seen but Stiles knows, he’s still near. He wouldn’t give up, not now.
Swiftly he enters the old Hale house and motions for Derek and Peter to stay quiet. Stiles is rather surprised to see Scott because, honestly, he believed he wouldn’t come. But well, maybe it’s not all lost.
Scott would stay hidden until Theo had said what he had to and then they would see how he’ll take it and if they had to fight. Stiles hopes it wouldn’t come to a fight.
The door creaks open and Theo enters with two other werewolves, one female and one male. He doesn’t seem surprised to see Peter and Derek on either side of Stiles, even smirks a little.
“I would say, what a surprise to see you two here, but it really isn’t. So what is this secret you know, Stiles? That I killed my sister? That I tried to kill you, using Donovan? That I’ll kill Scott and take over his Alpha spark and his pack? Whatever it is, you three won’t be able to do anything. You are at a disadvantage here.”
Stiles smirks and Theo looks confused. “I think, you’ll find out, you’re at a disadvantage here. How about, you use your werewolf nose a little?”
The female wolf scents the air, leans over to Theo, whispering in his ear. Theo turns pale and looks towards to room where Scott is hidden.
“Turns out, we don’t have to prove anything to Scott, seeing as he’s here” Peter smirks and flashes his claws. His face turns into his beta form, as does Derek’s.
Scott comes out of the room, his face wearing a betrayed expression, but he also has a furious look in his eyes. “So, you think you can come here, kill me and take over my pack? Not gonna happen.”
Stiles wonders if this will be the time, where Scott is going to kill someone. He doesn’t believe so, but he knows Peter won’t let that asshole stay alive. Peter looks towards him and nods to the side, a sign for Stiles to get to safety. Stupid human body. Maybe he should have taken Peter up on his offer to bite him. Well, too late for that.
He hurries to the side, but still ready to intervene or defend himself. He wouldn’t put it past Theo to try to get to him and hurt him to distract the others. Fortunately he has his bat with him, but that would only distract a werewolf for a second and not really hurt him.
Scott and Derek are fighting against Theo’s companions, Peter had thrown himself towards Theo and they’re clawing each others skin off. It looks really brutal, but Stiles is confident enough in Peter’s abilities to fight. He has more experience and training in fighting. Derek and Scott are also winning even if Scott seems to have a little bit of a problem against the female wolf.
When he gets thrown to the ground, Stiles jumps forward and smashes his bat against the girl, who growls and lashes out towards him, scratching the left side of his face.
Stiles hisses, but Scott grabs the other wolf and throws her away, roaring out his anger. They’re fighting again, as are Derek and the male wolf. He doesn’t seem to have any problems so Stiles turns his attention towards Peter.
He doesn’t know how it happened but Theo is holding Peter against the floor, the older wolf thrashing against his hold.
Stiles wants to run towards them, but Scott, who obviously has chased the girl away, holds him back. “Stiles, you can’t help him. Let me-“
“Nobody of you will help him or else I’m going to slash his throat here and now!” Theo interrupts them and shows his claws against Peter’s neck.
Derek throws a last punch against the male wolf, who also turns around and flees the battlefield. Cowards.
Then he growls, searching for eye contact with his uncle. Stiles knows, he is trying to figure out what Peter wants him to do. Peter snarls loudly, a threatening sound from the older man and Stiles realizes they have never seen him truly furious. But Theo did it and he’s sure, he will regret it.
Derek relaxes his posture and nods slightly, then he comes to stand beside Stiles and lays a calming hand on his shoulder. “He knows what he is doing. Wait and see.”
Stiles doesn’t have to wait long. Peter closes his eyes, then he tenses up his body, ready to free himself from Theo’s hold. If they weren’t inside the Hale house, Stiles would’ve thought it’s an illusion of the light. Because when Peter opened his eyes next, they’re not their normal icy blue. Instead they’re deep red and the next roar from Peter is loud and powerful.
Theo is so surprised, the sudden attack is unexpected so his hold loosens and Peter can free himself. Then he quickly whirls around and slashes his claws against the throat of the young werewolf.
Theo’s eyes are wide open and his hand flies to his throat, where blood is pouring out of the wound and a gurgling sound comes out of his throat. He falls to the ground, in front of Peter’s feet, begging him with his eyes to have mercy.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s your own fault. You should never have come to Beacon Hills and you should never have tried to kill Stiles.”
Hearing these words, something warm unfurls inside his stomach and Stiles turns red. It’s nice to hear, that Peter cares. And it’s nice to have one who wants to protect him so much to kill someone for him.
Theo takes his last breath, then he lays completely still on the wooden floor. “What. The. Fuck.” Stiles exhales.
Peter turns around and looks at him with his, now, red Alpha eyes. “Couldn’t have said it better, sweetheart.”
****
After they buried the corpse of Theo and ensured the other two wolves left town, they stand there, not knowing what to do next.
It’s Scott who breaks the silence, turning towards Peter. “So… you’re an Alpha now. Maybe we should talk about, how we’ll make this work.”
Peter shrugs. “I don’t see a problem. Beacon Hills may have been Hale land, but I don’t plan to stay here. This city never worked for me. What about you, nephew?”
Derek slowly shakes his head. “I don’t think I will stay here, either. Bad memories. If you’ll have me, I’ll go with you.” He looks at his uncle, head turned slightly to the side, to show his submission.
Peter lays his hand against Derek’s neck, smiling in a reassuring way. “I won’t stop you, if you want to accept me as your Alpha.” Then he turns towards Stiles. “What about you, sweetheart?”
Scott scoffs. “Stiles will stay, of course. He’s in my pack.”
Now it’s Stiles turn to scoff and smirk at Scott’s perplexed look. “Sorry, dude, but Peter is right. I also have a choice to make. I’m thankful you helped us in the fight, but you made it pretty clear, you’re willing to put people over me and really, I’m sick of it. I already thought about it for weeks. I’ll be taking my finals earlier, I know the stuff. Then I’ll be going to college and yes… I will join Peter’s pack, if he will have me.”
Scott is watching him with an open mouth, not knowing how to respond to his accusations and his future plans.
Peter takes a step forward, laying the palm of his hand against Stiles cheek. “I would be honoured to have you in my pack. We can talk about, where to go after your finals.”
Stiles leans into the touch, his heart beating fast and his eyes captured by Peter’s red ones. He registers how Derek takes a protesting Scott outside, he’ll have to thank him later.
“Are you sure?” Peter asks him quietly, leaning slightly forward.
Stiles doesn’t know what Peter means, but he would agree to many things. “Never been more sure.”
His heart is beating loudly in his ears and as Peter leans closer he can smell the scent of him. He smells like fire, chocolate and pines. His hand is still on his cheek, warmth coming from his skin. Then his lips are on Stile’s, the texture soft and smooth against his. He tastes like he smells, a little bit like dark chocolate and Stiles is already addicted to it.
He sighs into the kiss, feeling a smirk forming on Peter’s lips. Stiles can’t stop his own smile, but then he bites on Peter’s bottom lip so the older man has to concentrate on his task.
Peter moans lowly and the sweet kiss turns more wild, more passionate. The werewolf opens his mouth and his tongue prods against Stiles’ closed ones. He opens them eagerly and then Peter’s tongue is inside his mouth, exploring every corner of it.
But Stiles, who is still only human, has to break the kiss and gasps for air. His head is laying on Peter’s shoulder and the older man strokes a hand through his hair. “That. Was awesome.” Stiles sighs. “Definitely have to do that again.”
“Is that so?” Peter asks mildly and looks down at him. “Just to be clear: I don’t share.”
Stiles smiles reassuringly. “Just to be clear: I don’t share either. You’re mine now, Alpha.”
Peter growls and dives in for another kiss. Yes, definitely his Alpha.