#ashleighblogs

This time it was Scott who sighed. “It’s just easier this way. No one will try to set me up with one of their pack. Or Derek, for that matter.”

“And we’re not ‘werewolf married,” Derek corrected. “We’re mates.”

“Is this why it’s being held on Valentine’s Day?” Stiles asked. “Some sort of werewolf meet and mingle?”

“Do you have to add werewolf to everything you say?” Derek almost whined. “You sound more like a child than an emissary.”

“Actually, it’s held on the New Moon of February,” Scott explained, choosing to ignore the brewing conflict. “It just happens to be on Valentine’s Day.”

Stiles nodded and distracted himself looking out the window as Derek’s stereo kept on playing some random soft rock radio station.

Originally a few other members of the pack were supposed to go with them. However, the younger members of the pack really couldn’t come up with a good excuse to leave all weekend and both Lydia and Kira said they preferred to sit this one out since both of them were creatures werewolves tended to mistrust. Malia simply said it sounded boring.

It was almost lunchtime by the time they arrived at the ranch of the hosting pack. The Salgado pack, Derek explained, had always been wealthier than all other packs in the area but their Alpha, a man named Daniel, preferred to keep to himself. Now, however, he had passed away and his son, Daniel Jr., seemed eager to take the spot the Hale pack had left behind.

After leaving their stuff in a small cabin not far from the main building, they finally made it to lunch. The Salgado pack had set up several large picnic tables where at least 50 people were already happily talking and sharing food. Derek reminded Scott that he needed to greet the hosting Alpha before anyone but that was kind of hard since it wasn’t instantly obvious who that was.

Thankfully, that issue was resolved when they were approached by a man who looked to be in his early forties. Thick, hairy, tanned and with a healthy black beard; he introduced himself as Daniel Salgado Jr. Scott shook hands and thanked him for the invitation, just like he had practiced with Derek, and Daniel laughed.

“Please, call me Danny,” he said as he shook hands with Stiles and Derek. “Let me introduce you to everyone.”

What followed was some immensely awkward moments. Obviously everyone was interested in meeting the True Alpha from Beacon Hills, but Scott’s nervousness was making him feel anxious. Derek was instantly surrounded by people who knew his mother and wanted to either talk about her, offer their condolences, or share some thinly-veiled insult to him about having lost the Hale territories to a turned wolf. Stiles was mostly ignored. Or so he thought until he felt a warm hand on his lower back. He jumped away and turned around to see a werewolf not much older than himself smiling at him looking more like a cheshire cat than a wolf.

“No one’s introduced you,” the werewolf said in a voice that reminded Stiles too much of one of Beacon Hills’ villains of the week. “I’m Victor.”

“Stiles,” the human answered in a friendly a tone. The wolf was creeping him out but he did not want to offend any pack and put Scott in trouble.

“Really? What a sweet name.” As he spoke, Victor brought up a hand to caress Stiles cheek. Stiles knew that was for scenting purposes and he had already resolved to ask Derek how proper was that when all of a sudden Victor’s hand was pulled away and he had a growling Scott at his side, Alpha eyes glowing.

Victor howled in pain and pulled his hand away. Scott let him go without issue and as he came back to himself he realised that the whole event had gone quiet and was staring at him. Well, him and Stiles. Derek stepped forward, his expression a mixture of anger and confusion.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I was just saying hi to your human when your Alpha snapped,” Victor accused, walking towards Alpha Daniel. Once he was close enough it became obvious that Alpha Daniel was Victor’s father. He was like a smaller, thinner version of the older werewolf.

“Oh, don’t act stupid, Victor,” an older woman from a nearby table chipped in. “You were trying to scent him.”

At that, Derek turned to glare at the younger wolf. The initial scare had seemed to wear off and now he stood upright.

“Well, he’s an attractive specimen,” he said, defensively.

“And you think that means you can just claim him like that?” Scott asked, managing to keep his tone in control.

“Why not? Is he anyone’s?” Victor was now obviously trying to compensate for his initial reaction.

“He’s mine,” Scott answered, plain and simple.

There was a pause after that, but before Scott could correct and say that he meant Stiles was his emissary Alpha Daniel spoke.

“I thought Derek was your mate, Scott,” he said, tone curious.

Both Derek and Scott began saying something but they were cut off by Stiles, who laughed dismissively and hit Scott lightly on his shoulder. “See? I told you they would figure it out.”

“What?” Scott turned to Stiles, confused.

“Oh my God, this Alpha of mine. Let me explain. Scott, Derek and I are actually all together. However when you invited us here he didn’t want to just come out and say it like that because last time an emissary and a werewolf bumped uglies in Beacon Hills, well, things got kind of ugly, didn’t they?” Stiles turned as if waiting for an answer from anyone present, and then he went on. “But I told him it was stupid to hide it and that someone would figure it out and then we would have to either dig ourselves into a deeper lie or come clean and feel all embarrassed about having lied in the first place but he…”

Stiles kept on talking and Scott was thoroughly confused. Derek stood to his side, actually smirking at Stiles. He got it, then. Stiles was good at lying, could fool wolves without thinking twice about it, but he wasn’t. Stiles was giving Scott (and Derek) some time to regroup and catch up with him.

“Well,” Alpha Daniel cut Stiles off before he could really get started on a tangent on society’s hangups with polyamorous relationships. “I’m glad this was all cleared out without further issue.”

Victor frowned at that, obviously believing there was an issue.

“Why don’t we eat and after lunch you can explain to me how can an Alpha be mated to both his second in command and his emissary without going crazy?” Alpha Daniel finished, grinning at Scott.

After lunch, Scott, Derek and Stiles excused themselves to wash up before the Alphas had their meeting. The cabin they had been assigned was small but cozy. One room was a living room while the other had a queen size bed that looked heavenly soft. The bedroom also had a TV, a coffee maker and a closet. Finally, a small bathroom. It all looked to have been put together by a lumberjack who loved Martha Stewart.

As they entered the cabin’s living room, Stiles turned to Scott.

“Dude! What was that? Why did you go all bonkers on the Alpha’s son?”

“He was going to scent you like you were packless or something!” Scott defended himself.

“Nice, quick thinking out there, though,” Derek praised Stiles. “Although Victor seemed like kind of your type.”

“What? Ew. No, he has such a creep vibe.” Stiles shuddered.

“Well,” Derek said. “Now we need to work out how we’re gonna act out there.”

Scott and Stiles both turned to look at him, confused.

“Come on,” he said as if it was obvious. “We just confessed to be mates to a group of wolves. We can’t just go back out there and act like we normally do.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Stiles asked. “Scott and I are already best friends.”

“Yeah, and you two already argue like an old married couple,” Scott said, smirking.

This time both Stiles and Derek looked at the Alpha, not amused at all.

“What? It’s true.”

“It’s not,” Derek grumbled. “And it’s not enough. If we’re gonna make everyone out there believe the three of us are in love with each other, we’re gonna have to do a great job at it.”

Scott nodded. “Ok, so, you said mates are always subtly touching each other. We just need to do what we practiced on Stiles.”

The human let out a laugh at that. “What you practiced? Did you two have to act like boyfriends all week? Did it involve make out sessions?”

Both werewolves blushed at that. “Oh.” Stiles says, no longer laughing.

“We just spent some time watching movies together at my place,” Derek explains. “Had to make sure we’re comfortable around each other.”

“Oh, that’s good,” Stiles said awkwardly. “I mean, not like you were cuddling the whole way through.”

Derek coughed and Scott’s blush intensified.

“What? Really?” Stiles seemed more annoyed than anything.

“We just had to make sure we smelled like mates, Stiles, no need to be jealous.” There was a bit of heat behind Derek’s words, which made Scott look at him weirdly.

“I’m not jealous! It’s just- I’m alone all week at college, you guys barely even have time to Skype with me or send me a text or anything and now you’re having sleepovers without me?”

After a beat of silence, Stiles nodded to himself. “Ok, yeah, I’m a little jealous that I don’t get to spend time with both of you like that.”

The three of them shift awkwardly in their places, Stiles’ honesty a bit too candid for them at that moment. Finally, Scott sighed and wrapped Stiles in a firm hug.

“Dude, I’d also love it if you could be with us all the time. We talked about this. You chose the best college you could and we should be making living far away from the pack easier for you.”

Stiles hugged him back. “So, tell me about your werewolf make outs,” he teased.

Scott rolled his eyes and let go of his best friend with an annoyed sigh.

“No, seriously, were there fangs involved?”

“Stiles,” Derek said through clenched teeth. “Stop using werewolf as an adjective.”

Stiles blew him a kiss.

“Also, yes, we need to practice kissing with him, Scott.”

Stiles’ eyes widened in surprise but Scott simply looked he was considering what to have for dinner.

“Yeah, if his heart spikes when either of us touch him or kiss him, that would raise a red flag.”

“Is PDA gonna really be an issue here?” Stiles asked nervously.

“See, that right there,” Derek pointed at Stiles. “You reek of nerves and anxiety at the mere mention of kissing. Werewolves are very tactile, specially with close relationships. We can blame your ADHD and the fact that this is your first time among so many werewolves for some of it but if you jump or pull away from us, that would be a dead giveaway.”

“Ok, so,” Stiles scratched his head nervously. “I mean, I’m ok with you guys being friendly with me. Even more than friendly. Like, I’m sure if either of you would’ve done what Victor did back there I would’ve been fine. I mean, it’s ok to be startled, right? I’m human, it’s not like I can smell you coming.”

Scott took a deep breath and walked to Stiles. The small living room they were in suddenly felt hotter than before. “I’m just gonna,” Scott muttered as he used Stiles’ t-shirt to pull him down. Their lips met and Stiles closed his eyes to concentrate on the sensation. Scott’s lips were softer than he would’ve expected. He moved his hands to Scott’s arms and the muscle there was harder than his expectations, though. Scott peppered his lips with several shy, small kisses. The Alpha moved one of his hands to Stiles’ back and the human gasped. Something shifted in Scott just then as he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, moving his other hand to Stiles’ neck to take control of the kiss. Stiles suddenly felt himself pressed to Scott’s hard body and although this wasn’t his first kiss with a man, it was the first time he had felt such need to be dominated. In the back of his brain he made a note that he liked it, at least when Scott was concerned.

They broke the kiss and stared at each other, breathing heavily. They turned to Derek, as if waiting for him to bring out a piece of cardboard with a number like he was a judge or something, but the older werewolf just looked at them longingly. He approached them, pulling Stiles towards him as he looked at Scott, clearly asking for permission. The Alpha nodded but didn’t take his hand away from Stiles’ hip as Derek kissed the human.

Stiles would’ve bet at one point that Derek would’ve been the controlling kind of kisser, like Scott, but he would’ve been wrong. While Scott’s kiss felt like a claiming, Derek’s kiss was more like a question. The wolf didn’t take control, but instead seemed content with exploring how the human reacted to him. He growled a little when a nip on his lips would make Stiles whimper and huffed when the human wrapped his arms around his back. It was a lazy, wonderful kiss and Stiles just wished he could have two mouths, in a non-freaky way, so he could have both this and Scott’s kiss at the same time.

Derek finally broke the kiss and his eyes fixed on Scott. The Alpha’s eyes had a light tint of red, as if he was fighting to keep in control. Stiles suddenly had an idea.

“You guys should kiss, too,” he said, breathless.

Derek stepped back, suddenly nervous. “We don’t need to, we’ve already practiced.”

Scott, however, was having none of that. “We can always use more, right?”

Derek nodded as Scott almost pounced on him. He kissed Derek with force and the the other man returned it in kind. Scott’s hands immediately found Derek’s ass, squeezing and making him moan. Derek’s hands where on Scott, feeling his alpha’s muscular back. Stiles muttered an “oh my god” at the sight and that made them freeze.

All of a sudden the smell of their arousals became too much and kind of embarrassing. They were all brought back to reality crashing and it made them awkward and nervous. Derek excused himself to go the bathroom, Stiles said he needed some fresh air and stepped outside and Scott nodded, moving to the bedroom so he could change.

—–

Oh my god, what was that? Stiles thought to himself as he leaned against a tree, catching his breath.

He was rock hard in his pants, a fact he was now horribly ashamed of since both werewolves in the cabin probably knew. Leave it to him to act this way. Scott and Derek probably didn’t have to hide enormous crushes for each other as they Netflix-and-chilled.

All of a sudden he really wanted that. Oh, of course he wanted more of the making out. He would be happy with having just that for the rest of his life. But thinking of laying between Scott and Derek while his best friend laughed at whatever remark he made on what they were watching while at the same time Derek huffed in pretend annoyance, that made his heart ache a little.

He was lonely at college. Sure, he had some friends, even some that had watched Star Wars, but it wasn’t the same.

“Wow, they really went at you in there.”

Stiles yelped and jumped back. Victor was standing a few feet away.

“Stalker, much?” Stiles said angrily.

“Although I can’t really blame them. I wouldn’t be able to keep my fangs away from such a pretty chew toy,” Victor said, as if Stiles hadn’t said anything. In fact, his eyes were glued to Stiles’ crotch.

Maybe it was the cold February weather or the fact that he was just wearing his old red hoodie, but he felt Derek’s warmth before the older wolf put a hand on his shoulder and stood beside him, glaring at Victor.

“Can I help you with anything?” Derek offered, smiling venomously. The smile Victor returned was more like a sneer.

“We’re gonna meet at the house while the Alphas go do their thing,” Victor said, looking directly at Derek. “You should come.”

Derek nodded and thanked him. They both saw Victor walk away and when he was far enough Stiles turned to the older man. “Such. Creep. Vibes. My god.”

Derek nodded as they walked back the short distance to the cabin. “Well, at least now you smell like our mate.”

Stiles laughed nervously at that. “I don’t smell too much, right? Like, people aren’t gonna think we instantly started fucking the moment we got indoors.”

Derek’s blush crept to his ears as he cleared his throat. “Um, no. Not enough sweat for that.”

Inside the cabin, Scott had already changed. He had ditched his old and faded travelling jeans for a pair of new ones that hugged his thighs and ass like sin while his t-shirt had been swapped for a bright blue short-sleeved shirt with red buttons. The outfit had been chosen by Lydia, and Scott was immensely grateful for it.

The young Alpha heard his two companions arrive and enter the bedroom but then both of them went quiet. He turned and saw them staring at him.

“Looks good, right?” he asked, unsure.

Derek nodded and Stiles walked over to put a hand on Scott’s arm. “Dude, you’re about to bust out of these sleeves!”

Scott blushed and laughed at the praise. “I’m not the only one who’s getting buffer, you certainly have spent more than a few hours working out.”

Stiles rolled his eyes but he was certainly happy that someone noticed it.

“And,” Scott went on. “You should see Derek’s pecs. He’s like Captain America under that shirt, I swear.”

Derek scoffed, crossing his arms in front of said pecs, but that only made their size obvious. “Are we done here? You,” he pointed at Scott, “need to meet with some of the most important Alphas in the area and you,” he pointed at Stiles, “are coming to me with that werewolf social.”

Stiles smirked at him. “Stop using werewolf as an adjective, Der.”

“Don’t call me, Der,” he grumbled.

“What? it’s a term of endearment! We’re mates, Der, and we need to act that way.”

Derek rolled his eyes and looked at Scott.

“It does sound cute, Der,” Scott smiled at him.

“Fine.”

Without any warning Derek took his shirt off, knowing full well both men in the room were always impressed by his body. He casually walked to the bed where his bag was, stepping between both of them as he rummaged through his bag to find another shirt and his deodorant. “My Alpha,” he said to Scott, smiling sweetly. That smile turned slightly more predatory as he turned to Stiles, “Little Red.” He made his way to the bathroom while the two younger men simply stared at him, dumbfounded. “You were right, Stiles, the terms of endearment are a great idea.”

Stiles and Scott both shifted uncomfortably in their pants and looked away from each other.

“Man,” Stiles muttered, “he fights dirty.”

Scott nodded.

—–

What. Was. That? Derek thought to himself as he washed his face. The cabin’s bathroom wasn’t too big, but it was more than enough space for him to freak out silently. From the sounds of it Scott had already left to meet with the other Alphas and Stiles was changing.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. His wolf, however, was having none of it.

The entire week had been torture, being so close to Scott while at the same time knowing that it would soon end. It didn’t help that the young Alpha was so good at acting his part. It took less than a day for the both of them to act like a couple. The day before they had even been complimented by an old lady in the street. Derek hadn’t even realised he had taken Scott’s hand then.

And then there was Stiles. He had missed the guy’s snark and wit so much. Often he would frown after Scott said something that would so obviously make the human snort and make some funny comment. Derek was no good at that. It didn’t help that the routine he had sent to Stiles to follow in the gym was obviously working. He wasn’t buff but his wider shoulders and rounder ass made Derek want to pounce him.

With the aid of his Alpha! his wolf supplied cheerfully. Derek wanted to bite himself, really.

He calmed himself and walked out of the bathroom to find Stiles lying on the bed, his shirt halfway up his abdomen while one of his hands absently played with the trail of hairs that led from his belly button to a land full of promises under his jeans.

“Hey,” Stiles said looking up from his phone. “You ready?”

Derek swallowed and nodded. “Yeah.”

They walked back to the main building, which was a large, modern looking house with lots of windows and sharp angles. It was a sharp contrast to the more rustic looking cabins.

As they walked in Alpha Daniel’s mate, a woman named Viola with dark skin and a friendly smile, welcomed them in. She explained that some wolves were planning to visit the stables to ride horses while other were simply staying in the house while they waited for the Alphas to return.

Stiles confessed he had never ridden a horse and after Derek offered to teach him, Victor appeared. Neither Stiles or Derek hid their dislike for him well.

“I suppose riding is an important skill for human pets to have,” he offered with a smirk.

“Victor,” his mother said with a warning tone. “That is no way to address the emissary of a visiting pack.”

Victor laughed as if his faux-pas had been accidental. “Sorry, mother.”

Like hell you’re sorry, Stiles thought but his anger was suddenly quelled by Derek’s hand on the small of his back. Stiles turned to him, smiling. The werewolf returned the smile with one of his own. One of those, small, almost shy smiles he was more willing to give nowadays. Viola cleared her throat and both looked at her confused.

“Ah, I miss that honeymoon stage of mating,” she said. “I asked if you wanted anything to drink.”

She smiled deviously at them and they both laughed nervously. Viola said she would take their drinks to the living room where the other betas and emissaries were already talking and laughing. They, unfortunately, were led there by Victor.

“So, how long have the three of you been together?” he asked casually. Stiles knew Derek’s heart sped up even if he couldn’t hear it. The guy was crap at lying unless the other person was attracted to him.

“Scott and I have been best friends since we were little,” he explained, taking Derek’s hand. “And we became close to Derek after we all had to go some really tough times together. This thing, the three of us together, that’s very recent.”

It was the truth, so Stiles didn’t have to worry about his heart giving anything away, but even then the last part felt like a lie. Even while he was at college, he was in contact with Derek and Scott the most. Usually talking to one would mean the other taking the phone to talk to him as well, or popping up in the screen unannounced. When he came home the first people he would see would invariably be them, even before his dad. “The three of them together” didn’t fell like that recent of a thing, to be honest.

Thankfully, some younger werewolf took Victor away as soon as they entered the living room, telling him he just had to go riding with them. Stiles and Derek were left with about a dozen other people, all around Derek’s age or older.

They sat down on one of the couches, Derek’s hand sliding easily to Stiles’ thigh. Viola appeared then with their drinks (beer for Derek, soda for Stiles, who did not want to get drunk at the werewolf meeting simply out of respect) and soon they were chatting amiably with the other wolves and humans there.

“It’s nice to finally have a Hale again in our meetings,” an older werewolf said, which made the room go quiet. She blushed and stammered a little as she went on. “I-I mean. Of course we’re deeply sorry for-“

“Don’t worry about it,” Derek said, smiling. “It is nice that we’re finally stable enough that we can connect with neighbouring packs, again. My al- My mom always stressed the importance of building positive relations to Laura.”

Midway through his sentence, Derek had felt Stiles’ hand. They entwined their fingers together.

“The Hale territories have always been prone to danger,” another wolf piped in. “Although should we call them the McCall territories now?”

“Oh, it’s Hale land, definitely,” Stiles supplied. “Scott may be a true Alpha and all but he wouldn’t even be alive today without the help of Derek and the Hale pack emissary.”

Derek smiled at him, and Stiles smiled back. Again, they seemed to get lost in each other.

After that, conversation flowed easily again. Stiles stood up to talk to the other two humans in the room while Derek was trapped between the two older werewolves from before, who explained to him how lands and packs had shifted in the past years. After a while Viola announced that dinner would be ready in about an hour and that the Alphas were heading back from their meeting. People left then, some to rooms inside the manor and others to cabins outside. Stiles shivered as he stepped out, the light black jacket now too little for the chilly afternoon air. Derek wrapped an arm around him and walked with him.

“I’m so glad you get to hug me like this because it’s fucking cold,” he said. “Wouldn’t complain to Scott on my other side, to be honest.”

Derek grinned. “We could do that but bring your jacket when we come back, anyway.”

Scott wasn’t back when they entered the cabin and they sat on the couch to wait for him. Stiles was still plastered to Derek’s side, but didn’t seem aware of it until he turned to say something to Derek and their breaths crossed. They were inches from kissing again.

“Maybe,” Stiles started. “Maybe we should practice some more.”

Derek would’ve nodded but his wolf faltered. “Let’s wait for Scott.”

As if summoned, Scott opened the door then. He had a leather jacket (Stiles had laughed and laughed when he learned he had bought it) over his outfit and was smiling from ear to ear.

“That was great!” he said. “Some alphas are kind of dicks but most of them were just happy to know Beacon Hills isn’t such a clusterfuck anymore. Got an invite to spend the Spring Equinox with another pack, even.”

Derek smiled as he stood up and Stiles followed. They could all feel the room growing hotter again.

Scott’s eyes fixated on Stiles. The boy had changed to just a different plaid overshirt and t-shirt. Scott’s wolf growled, half angry, half pleased.

“You smell like Derek,” he said.

“Well, we’ve been sort of inseparable since you left,” Stiles explained. “Pretend mates and all.”

Scott’s mind chose to skim over the “pretend” in that sentence. “I mean, it’s ok, it’s just,” he took a step towards the human. “You should also smell like me.”

Scott pulled Stiles into a kiss again, this time taking control immediately. Stiles didn’t fight it, he almost melted onto Scott, whimpering as the Alpha used his tongue to explore his mouth like nothing could stop him. And nothing would stop him. Stiles most certainly wouldn’t and Derek was too busy staring at the sight to say anything.

Scott finally broke the kiss and without letting go of Stiles he wrapped his other arm around Derek’s neck and pulled him forward. “You should also-“ he began, but he didn’t really know what he was asking of the older wolf. Not that it mattered since Derek only nodded and met Scott’s lips without complaint.

Stiles was too lost in his lust to think straight. He leaned his head on Scott’s shoulder, kissing his neck lightly as the Alpha claimed Derek’s mouth like he had his own. A knock on the door brought them out of their haze. The three of them gave a step back and looked at each other, more aroused than confused.

“Bathroom,” Derek excused himself again. Scott nodded and turned around to get the door while Stiles simply sat back down on the couch, stunned.

Scott wasn’t too happy to see that it was Victor at the door. The Alpha still found supremely irritating that the guy had tried to mark Stiles like it was no big deal.

“Yeah?” Scott said, knowing that protocol probably expected him to address the son of an Alpha differently but not caring at the moment.

“If you’re done playing with your boy,” he said, irked at not getting the respect he thought he deserved, “Father would like to have a word with you before dinner.”

Scott nodded and said he would be there in a second, pointedly not thanking Victor for the message.

“Now,” Victor said, flat.

The air grew tense. Victor was obviously not supposed to order an Alpha but he was also the son and next in line to the most important Alpha in the land. Scott nodded again and since he still had his jacket on walked out, asking Stiles to tell Derek what had happened.

“I heard you,” Derek appeared from the bedroom with Stiles’ jacket in his hand. “We’ll go with you. We’re ready, anyway.”

—–

What the hell was that? Scott thought to himself as he walked beside Victor, although the beta was obviously trying to get in front of him. Scott didn’t care much about that at the moment. He preferred to remember what had happened minutes ago at the cabin. How Stiles and Derek had so willingly and easily fell into his arms.

Last week with Derek had been some sort of self-inflicted torture. He had suggested to fake their relationship after several Alphas had messaged him saying they looked forward to having him meet their son or daughter. He didn’t want that, he wanted Derek. But Derek was straight, even if his taste in women often led to tragedy. Thank God for Braeden. Even if the woman had dumped Derek kind of out of the blue to leave Beacon Hills on the trail of some supernatural serial killer, she had shown him that he could, in fact, have a normal relationship.

So he suggested the fake mates thing hoping that maybe Derek would see that he didn’t need to look beyond his pack for love and protection, and at the same time feeling like an asshole for betraying Stiles.

Which was another thing he hated, being away from his best friend. He had been tempted to beg if that would’ve kept Stiles from studying away from Beacon Hills, but he knew college was important for Stiles. Then he was tempted to go and bring him back when he learned he was hooking up with other girls at college, but he couldn’t let his Alpha feelings control his friends’ life.

But now he had gotten a taste of what he never knew he needed but had always wanted: both of them, together, with him.

They arrived back at the house and Victor led him upstairs to a study while Derek and Stiles stayed behind. Alpha Daniel asked Victor to leave them alone and he did even if he didn’t look too pleased.

Scott relaxed as the other Alpha simply asked him about the situation in Beacon Hills. Scott told him about the dangers they had encountered but since all had been dealt with. The older Alpha didn’t seem too worried. Actually, he looked impressed.

“You’ve been tested horribly as an Alpha,” he said. “I’m amazed you and your pack made it out unharmed.”

Scott looked down at that. “Well, no- not unharmed.”

Daniel nodded in understanding. “If you ever need help,” he went on. “Please, do not hesitate to call us. You’re the leader of a strong pack, and I’d be honoured to call you an ally.”

Scott gladly accepted this offer, and both of them walked down to the dining room. The guests were divided among three tables, all couples and the two other triads besides their own sitting together. Red candles adorned the tables and huge red heart balloons floated above each one.

“It is St. Valentine’s Day,” Viola said happily. “We’re happy that you all came to our house. Most of your are leaving early tomorrow but we will have breakfast ready for you in here if you want it. Hopefully we won’t have to wait a whole year to see all of you again.”

“Is that gonna be my job or Derek’s?” Stiles asked in a low voice to Scott, although Derek could obviously hear him, as well as other wolves in their table.

“Derek’s,” Scott replied. “You’d make a half-hour speech and end up talking about male circumcision for no reason.”

Derek stifled a laugh and Stiles looked supremely unimpressed. “Ha, ha, Scotty.”

Dinner was a simple affair. Afterwards they returned to the cabin, laughing and happy that they had survived this experience together. It wasn’t until they were in the bedroom that the laughing stopped.

“Um,” Derek said. “You guys can share the bed, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“What? No!” Stiles complained. “I’ll take the couch, you have more cuddle practice, anyway.”

Scott sat on the bed, the realisation that this was about to be over hitting him hard. He no longer had an excuse to pull either of them into a kiss. His fantasies of the three of them together would again be just that, fantasies. Masturbation fodder for when he slept alone, as usual.

“Scott,” Derek asked. “Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” Scott lied. “I’ll take the couch.”

“Scott, what’s wrong?” Stiles approached him.

“It’s nothing.”

“Scott, don’t lie to us,” Stiles whispered. “Did something happen with Alpha Daniel?”

Scott shook his head. “No, it’s just that-“ he took a deep breath. He didn’t want to confess. He was afraid Derek would hate him for making him be so close to him the past week and that Stiles would feel betrayed by how he had twisted things around to get to kiss him. But he had to. He couldn’t hide his feelings anymore.

“I don’t want this to end,” he said, voice breaking a little. “I love you, guys, and I don’t mean that only in the friend love kind of way. I can always rely on you, Derek. You keep me going strong. You’re so brave and so stubborn sometimes but it’s ok because you trust me. And you, Stiles, god, you’re my best friend and I miss you so much when you’re away and I wish I could convince you to be with me but I’m not smart like Lydia or impulsive like Malia and I know you love me anyway, as a friend, and I’m ok with that. I will be ok with that. I’m just gonna miss this.”

There was a silence in the room after that. Scott felt that silence squeeze him like a vice.

“I don’t want this to end either,” Derek said, breaking the silence. Both Stiles and Scott looked at him and he blushed. “Scott, wasn’t it obvious? How easily I just allowed us to act like mates when you suggested it? You’re twice the alpha I could ever be but you still make me feel valued and- and loved. And you,” he turned to Stiles. “Oh my god, you’re infuriating and snarky and witty and you eat like you were raised by literal wolves but Scott loves you and I can see why. You’re loyal to a fault, twice as likely to jump in front of any danger to protect us even though we literally can withstand more pain than you. You’re stupid, and Scott loves you because he’s stupid, and I love you both.”

Now it was Scott and Derek who looked at Stiles. The human looked like he had been frozen in time. Before the air grew more awkward, however, he laughed. It was a joyous sound and both wolves recognised it as such.

Scott stood up and grabbed Stiles, practically throwing him to the bed. He looked at Derek and both of them smiled before crawling on top of the human.

“You haven’t said anything,” Scott said, looking at Stiles with a mixture of joy and lust.

“I’m sorry, I-“ Stiles yelped as Derek snuck a hand under his shirt. “I can’t do better than either of you.” He moaned as Scott leaned down to suck on his neck. “I miss you guys. Once I’m done with college we’re gonna have to fuck for like a month str-AH!”

When had Derek pulled his shirt up enough to be able to suck on his nipple? Or at least he assumed that was Derek, since Scott was still busy sucking what would be a massive hickey on his neck.

“I just love you both so much,” Stiles went on, trying to build coherent sentences. “I just want you both so bad.” Both werewolves growled at that. “I just need you both,” he finished.

Between laughs and growls and moans, the three of them undressed each other. Scott ripped Stiles’ shirt in the haste to get to feel and taste more of the human’s skin and Stiles cursed at the fact Derek had button-fly jeans and they were impossible to remove. Once they were naked and kissing each other, touching where ever they could reach, Stiles snorted a laugh.

“Man, what stopped us from doing this before?”

Derek was too busy sucking a hickey to the other side of Stiles’ neck to answer. Scott shrugged. “I thought Derek was straight and I was afraid I would ruin our friendship.”

“You should’ve ruined our friendship years ago,” Stiles said. “Seriously, like even before you were bitten. Maybe then the three of us would’ve been together from the start.”

Derek laughed at that. “Yeah, maybe if I had found you making out in the forest I wouldn’t have told you to leave.”

“Derek, you perv, we were sixteen back then,” Stiles teased before the older werewolf kissed him. Derek, however, did show to be quite skilled in his perversions. Guiding Scott as he opened Stiles’ up to receive his cock. Stiles was a mess of whimpers and moans, his ass up in the air as the two wolves fingered him and tongued him like starved men.

“Someone,” Stiles panted. “Needs to fuck me soon.”

“I’m gonna abuse my Alpha status here,” Scott told Derek. “Because I want to go first.”

“Should I prepare myself as you do that?” Derek teased him. “Or would you do it yourself?”

Scott’s brain short circuited a little at that.

“No, guys, no” Stiles whined. “I want to suck on Derek’s cock. While Scott fucks me. Oh, god, I can’t believe I just said that outside a dream.”

The wolves shared a smile while Scott guided his cock to Stiles’ hole. Derek positioned himself in front of Stiles, the human getting on his elbows to be able to take Derek’s length.

Scott entered Stiles’ slowly, happy for the fact that Stiles had brought some lube with him and also happy that after this the human wouldn’t use said lube with anyone but Derek and himself. Stiles moaned around Derek’s cock, making him gasp and curse.

“Fuck, you’re good at this,” Derek said, moving his hand to caress Stiles’ cheek.

Scott pushed himself into Stiles, forcing himself to keep his eyes open so he could see Derek’s face as Stiles’ sucked him like his life depended on it. He moved slowly, pushing Stiles onto Derek’s crotch, making him whimper so the sound would make Derek squirm with pleasure.

“God, Stiles, I hope you love seeing Scott fucking me as much as I’m enjoying seeing him fuck you,” Derek said. “His thick alpha cock just disappearing into you, claiming you.”

Stiles moaned long and loud at that, taking Derek’s balls into his mouth.

“How does he feel, Stiles?” Derek asked. “How does being fucked by our Alpha feels?”

Scott picked up the pace as he heard that, loving how possessive Derek sounded when he said it.

“Full,” Stiles muttered, nuzzling Derek’s crotch. “B-big,” he went on as Scott pounded his ass. He might’ve said a third adjective but it was lost in a yell as Scott draped himself over him to be able to pump harder and faster.

“Like that, Stiles?” Scott taunted. “Like being filled up by me?”

“Uh-huh,” the human nodded, squeezing the cock in his ass and making his Alpha stop to relish in the pressure. “So good, Stiles. So good for me.”

Stiles whimpered at that, groaning as Scott moved back.

“I need to mark him,” he said to Derek. “We need to mark him.”

“Can I fuck him a little first?” Derek asked. “My Alpha?”

Scott growled appreciatively at that and nodded. They turned Stiles around and Scott laid next to him while Derek pulled his legs over his shoulders and entered him. Scott swallowed Stiles’ moan and pumped his cock hard and fast. The human, their human, smelled like lust and want but for it to be perfect he had to stink of them as well. They were gonna mark him so that no other wolf would ever doubt their claim.

“God, Stiles, your ass,” Derek groaned as he fucked into the human. Scott captured one of Stiles’ nipples between his teeth and that was that for Stiles. He came shooting onto his chest and Scott’s and gasping for air. The smell of his mate’s orgasm pushed Scott over the edge, and he too came on human’s chest. He turned to Derek with Alpha eyes and the beta nodded, pulling out and masturbating over the mess his mates had made, marking Stiles as theirs and sighing as Scott took the mix of spunk in Stiles’ chest and spread some of it on Derek’s stomach. Spent, the three of them laid together on the bed.

“Ok,” Stiles was the first to speak. “I know you guys are more than ready for round two, but I’m gonna need a moment.”

Scott nodded and smiled, turning to be able to see both his mates beside him. “We have all the time in the world.”

—–

At breakfast the next day, it was like they had indeed been together for years. It turns out acting like you love someone is easy when you don’t have to act at all.

Not even Victor could sour their mood, though he did try.

As Stiles got up again to get more pancakes from the buffet spread the Salgado’s had prepared for their guests, Victor appeared next to him.

“You smell like a bitch in heat,” he snorted derisively.

Stiles, however was in too much of a good mood to let that spoil his day. He turned to Victor and winked, “jealous?”

Alpha Daniel and Viola were already heading towards them and so were Derek and Scott. Victor didn’t seem to notice. He growled and grabbed Stiles’ arm forcefully.

“I’m ten times the wolf-“

“Victor!” Alpha Daniel roared, making the younger wolf cower back. Derek and Scott were on either side of Stiles in a flash.

“Apologize,” Viola ordered her son, anger obvious in her face. Victor looked like a stubborn child who had been denied a candy.

“I’m sorry for disrespecting your emissary, Alpha Scott,” he said, not looking at the human.

“You supreme asshole.” Everyone turned to Derek, surprised. “You’ve been a dick to Stiles this entire time just because you can’t handle being rejected. You owe him an apology, not Scott. He’s our emissary and our mate. Not our chew toy, not some boy or specimen, and most definitely not a human pet. So apologize to him.”

Derek was now almost face to face with Victor. The young wolf looked first at Scott, who obviously agreed with all that his beta had said. He then looked to his parents, who were obviously not about to help him out of this situation he had dug himself into.

“I-I’m sorry, Stiles,” he finally said, looking at the human. “Emissary Stiles,” he corrected himself after a short silence.

Stiles nodded and stretched his hand out. “Apology accepted, Victor.”

Victor seemed surprised at that. “Just like that?”

“Look, it’s not like we’re gonna be friends after this,” Stiles said. “Not unless you put some effort into it. You’re not a bad guy, Victor, you’re just kind of entitled and that gives some serious creep vibes.”

Several people around them laughed, including Alpha Daniel and his wife. Victor half-grinned and shook Stiles’ hand. Scott followed after, offering his hand as well.

“If you’d ever like to come visit Beacon Hills, we would love to have you,” he said as Victor shook his hand. “Alliances between packs are more than just words.”

The situation dealt with, everyone went back to their breakfast and soon everyone was saying goodbye. As the three of them drove back (they would drop off Stiles at his dorm before heading to Beacon Hills) the air around them grew tense again.

“So, what now?” Stiles asked from the back seat.

“I was thinking Derek and I can visit you more often,” Scott said from his spot in the passenger seat. “Or just Derek, since he works from home. You’re gonna be done with college soon, anyway.”

“I could-“

“You’re not dropping out,” Derek cut him off. “You worked too hard to get in, not to mention you have some great scholarships. It’s gonna suck for a while, but we’ll make it through. We always do.”

Derek grinned at Stiles through the rearview mirror and then at Scott. The Alpha leaned over to kiss his cheek and turned to smile at Stiles.

Here was the evidence: Stiles was nervous being around his dad. Jumpier than usual. Scott spent a lot of time at the house, which was not out of the ordinary, but what was odd was that Derek was over a lot too. And never both at the same time, although from what little the Sheriff knew about these things, that was probably down to the difficulty two Alphas sometimes had in getting along.

The Sheriff knew Stiles was the research guy for the pack, and that Derek had been Alpha-ing the local supernatural kids while Scott and Stiles were at their place in Sacramento. So it could have been down to research for the pack, but that meant trouble, and the kind of trouble the Sheriff should probably be let in the loop about.

More evidence: Stiles wasn’t just jumpy the way he normally would have been. He’d be focusing on his laptop or his dinner or the game and his head would suddenly shoot up, maybe tilt, as if he’d heard something. Or maybe smelled something, the way his nostrils flared. Something that the Sheriff couldn’t detect.

It could be simple paranoia, could be that he was picking up on the body language of the shifters around him. Or - and the Sheriff didn’t really like either of these prospects - Stiles had been bitten badly enough to turn him, or he was seeing, hearing or otherwise sensing things that weren’t there.

(His money was on the bite, because he trusted his instincts that this wasn’t nothing, but his mind rebelled at the thought of something going wrong again with Stiles’s mind. Of course, said another part of his mind, it could be the kind of nothing that Stiles thinks is something. It could be he’s reacting to something his brain’s been doing which is completely normal, but he thinks it isn’t, or he thinks you think it isn’t.)

It was worrying the Sheriff, anyway.

The Sheriff knew he should probably talk to the kid, clear the air. But Stiles was dead-set on not ever being alone with his dad over break, it seemed. He skittered away when cornered, conveniently remembering something urgent he had to do.

A couple of times when Scott was there and Stiles was transparently using him as a shield, they’d have brief whispered arguments about it, ending with Scott sighing, giving in, and shaking his head. When it was Derek, once, the older werewolf didn’t argue, just looked concerned and vaguely guilty.

He probably should have said something earlier. About the gay thing. About how it was totally okay, he’d just been a little blindsided by it, that first time it had come up. But there’d always been something else to talk about, usually something genuinely life-or-death.

Well, before he knew it, Stiles was back at school, and the only recourse the Sheriff really had now was to snoop.

(That, or ask Derek. But Derek was still pretty reticent about some things, as much as he’d come to be a help to the Sheriff’s Department lately. The Sheriff got the feeling that the Alpha would have already told him if he thought he needed to know, and asking would, at most, get him a “You should talk to Stiles about it” or similar.)

So the Sheriff snooped.

Stiles’s computer had gone back to school with him, of course, so there wasn’t going to be any scouring of the web history (and he didn’t actually need to know what flavor of porn his son had been watching lately, thank you very much), but there were some things.

The furniture was… more beat up than the Sheriff remembered. The dresser, the desk, the head- and footboard of the bed, nicked and dented and even cracked, in one place on the headboard.

Well, that could go either way in the became-a-werewolf vs. dating-a-werewolf question.

At least the hearing-things option was mostly off the table.

The Sheriff kept looking.

There were hairs. Well, maybe fur? Short and uniform and slightly coarse. The Sheriff wasn’t exactly going to bring them in for analysis. In the nooks of Stiles’s desk chair, and on the rug by the bed. If they were dark, they could have belonged to any of the three boys - or the wolf that Derek became - but they were orange.

The Sheriff had never seen an orange wolf.

His immediate thoughts were that Stiles either had a secret significant other who was a redhead of indeterminate gender but with much shorter hair than Lydia, or he was hiding a cat, for some reason.

Why would Stiles hide a cat?

Well, a cat wouldn’t explain the furniture - the scratches, maybe, but not the dents and the crack - and if Stiles was dating anyone in Beacon Hills, it had to be one of the two boys that had been over here so often during the break.

The Sheriff tabled the hair/fur evidence for the moment. Maybe Scott had had a run-in with a sheddy tabby cat and scattered the evidence around town. Completely unrelated.

If Stiles was a werewolf, the furniture being damaged would make sense, but it was pretty localized. The walls were okay, there wasn’t a lot of other damage, so his control was probably decent. Nightmares could account for the damage to the bed - God only knew how much that kid had to have nightmares about - and he fell asleep at his desk more than the Sheriff would have liked, too, but then what about the dresser, and that new gouge across the top?

And if it was werewolf-strength nightmares, why had it never happened when the Sheriff was in the house to hear it?

So. Dating a werewolf.

Stiles had been even more touchy with Scott recently. But they’d been friends for most of their lives, just friends through hell and high water and multiple girlfriends, and if Stiles was worried about something, he might just get that much more clingy with Scott.

Derek had been over a lot. He hadn’t noticed them touching, but then he was used to the way Stiles was with Scott, the way Stiles was in general. He hadn’t noticed them not touching, either.

Derek was five years older than Stiles, and troubled, but both of those things were becoming less of a concern every year.

Hell, he had no idea what was going on.

He spent a minute missing Claudia, thinking how she should have been there, she should have been the one poking around in their son’s (possible) love life. And then he set his shoulders, and went to talk to Melissa.

“So I’m trying to figure out what’s up with Stiles.”

Melissa sighed. “It’s always something with that kid, isn’t it? He was a little jumpy at Christmas.”

“Yeah, you thought that too? He was like that the whole break.”

“Well, that’s not a good sign.” She cocked her head at him. “You ask him about it?”

“I tried.” The Sheriff frowned. “Couldn’t get him alone. It’s like he had an Alpha honor guard all month.”

“Is that so?” said Melissa thoughtfully. “You think he’s gotten himself into something dangerous?”

“I think Derek would’ve told me if it was serious. No, I’m thinking more like something he thinks I’d judge him for. Which doesn’t reflect well on me. We’ve been through so much, and he doesn’t think I’d be okay with….”

“You think you have an idea what it is?” Melissa prompted after a minute.

“I think he’s dating one of the Alphas,” he got out. “I can’t figure out which is more likely.”

Melissa made a face, scrunching up in confusion and concern.

“What?” the Sheriff asked.

“About a week ago I caught Derek and Scott kissing,” she told him.

The Sheriff’s eyebrows flew up.

“Huh,” he said. “Thought they were keeping out of each other’s way. Well, maybe it’s not a dating thing. Maybe it’s just a wolf-pack thing. I know there’s normally… tension between two Alphas in one pack.”

Melissa scoffed. “If that’s a wolf thing? Your average pack is probably having orgies.” She shrugged. “I gave them some condoms and told them to keep it down. They didn’t correct me.”

“Huh,” said the Sheriff, more confused than ever. Well, if the Alphas weren’t avoiding each other, but they were taking turns with Stiles, maybe they were there as a guard? To protect Stiles from something, or someone from Stiles?

“Speaking of which,” Melissa continued, “Stiles has been asking me some weird questions. Normally I wouldn’t disclose medical stuff, but pregnancy and drug interactions?” She sighed. “Either it’s his usual curiosity for everything odd, or….”

“Damn it,” the Sheriff said. “So it’s not boy trouble, then.”

“I actually think Stiles would tell you if he got a girl pregnant,” Melissa said hearteningly. “Maybe one of his friends at school got in trouble.”

“Maybe,” said the Sheriff. “Do you think Stiles is a werewolf?”

“That could be,” Melissa mused. “Maybe that’s how he knows so much about the medical history of this ‘hypothetical’ patient he keeps bugging me about. He can smell it on her.”

“Stiles’s stubbornness and hyperattention, plus now the nose of a bloodhound?” The Sheriff blew out a breath. “That’s got to be a force to be reckoned with.”

Melissa smirked at him. “Oh, like he wasn’t already.”

“Yeah,” the Sheriff agreed. “So why is he afraid to tell me about this? After everything… he can’t think it’ll change anything.”

“So maybe there is something else,” Melissa said. “Whatever it is… you should talk to him.”

“I can do that,” the Sheriff said. “I just can’t make him talk to me.”

A couple of weeks into January, the Sheriff convinced Stiles to come home for a weekend. Scott was too busy to come with, and Derek had been out of town for a few days, so the Sheriff thought that he could maybe finally get to have a conversation with his kid that wasn’t weirdly reverse-chaperoned by an Alpha werewolf.

But no, when the jeep pulled up, Derek was hopping out of the passenger seat as Stiles did the same on the driver’s side.

Well, if it had to be done with a werewolf around, it still had to be done. It wasn’t like he could shoo Derek out of the house to stop him from listening in. He’d hear anyway, if he wanted to.

“I think we should talk,” the Sheriff told his son over lunch. “And at this point I don’t care if you’d feel more comfortable having this conversation in private or with Derek here, but I’d like to talk to my son.”

Derek and Stiles shared a glance.

“It’s okay,” Stiles told Derek. “I’ll be okay.”

“I’ll be outside,” Derek said, and kissed him on the cheek before standing and going to the door.

The Sheriff was more confused than ever. He watched Derek go, knowing he’d be keeping an ear out, wondering exactly why it was so important.

“So, what’s up, Dad?” Stiles asked. He seemed happy enough, himself enough, if dodgy as ever about what was really going on with him.

“I was going to ask you the same,” the Sheriff said. “You know you can talk to me, right? About anything. If something’s going on with you, or your friends at school, whether it’s supernatural or not. I want to know, okay? I’m not gonna judge you for being yourself, or being who and what you are.”

“I know,” Stiles insisted. “I know, Dad. I just… I haven’t completely figured it all out myself, and I didn’t want to worry you….”

“Stiles.”

“Yeah, Dad?”

“You’re worrying me now, kid. You’re jumpy, you’re on edge, I could’ve sworn you were afraid to be alone with me all through your Christmas break. Trust me, you’re worrying me.” He frowned. “Did you pick up Derek on the way here just in case or something, or has he been in Sacramento with you this week?”

Stiles fidgeted, rubbing at his face absently. “Uh, yeah, Sacramento. He was helping me research a thing. I was having trouble focusing, and… yeah, it’s about were-stuff, and he had some old books he thought might help.”

“You run into something dangerous down at school?” his dad asked, frowning.

Stiles winced. “Well, yeah, we did, but we took care of that before Christmas break. There were some… complications.”

“Do these ‘complications’ have anything to do with the questions you’ve been asking Melissa about pregnancy?” The Sheriff didn’t see how it could, but then things around here didn’t always follow logic, and he had a hunch. “You have a friend who needs help? I don’t want any kid to have to go through that kind of thing without adults around, parents, someone who knows what they’re doing, so if your friend doesn’t have that….”

“It’s me, okay?” Stiles burst out finally. “There’s a chance… okay there’s a chance I might get pregnant with a werebaby, and I didn’t know how to tell you, because you’ve accepted so much, but I just thought that might be the thing that’s a little too weird, and I didn’t want you to freak out, so I was trying to figure out the right way to tell you, but I was going to tell you, okay?”

The Sheriff blinked. The Sheriff sat. “Okay,” he said. “And what makes you think this hypothetical pregnancy is possible?”

“Okay, so. Here’s the thing. The dangerous thing, before Christmas break? We got pretty far out into the park chasing it, and then I got hurt pretty bad, and Scott wasn’t sure if I’d survive being carried back to a hospital, but he was pretty sure if he bit me right then, I’d survive the bite. So he bit me. And it was probably right, because here I am, right?”

The Sheriff’s brain rebelled at all this new information. His son had almost died. He’d been bitten by an alpha werewolf. And there was the pregnancy thing. There was one of these things that was more normal, easier for his brain to tackle first, and although he tried to be surprised about which one it was, he wasn’t really. “So you’re a werewolf?” the Sheriff asked, setting the other two aside for the moment.

“Not exactly?” Stiles’s hands scrubbed through his hair. “So there’s this really rare thing that happens sometimes when someone’s been possessed by a nogitsune and then get bit by a were-creature, which is that they become a werefox. From what we’ve been able to find, pretty much the only other way to make werefoxes is for those werefoxes to reproduce, like, have babies. So it kinda makes sense that the transformation is wired to make that optimal - a lot of the time, whoever bites the person, the werefox becomes the opposite sex to them. Like, functionally, when they’re shifted. And since Scott bit me… I kind of turn into a lady fox?”

The Sheriff made a sort of choking noise.

“I know, right? It freaked me out too. But it kind of makes sense, if you think about it. Or… don’t think about it too hard. I haven’t decided which is the best tack.” His head wove back and forth as he considered the question again. “Anyway, the other thing about werefoxes is that the ones with the babymaking equipment… that’s me… we go into heats, late winter, early spring. Makes us kind of… especially attractive to other shifters, among other things.”

This was too much at once, and the Sheriff tried to let the whole near-death-thing go, as a thing that was over and done with, and just deal with the rest, but the knowledge of it still left him with a terrified buzz in his nerves. “So wait,” the Sheriff said, “Which werewolf are you freaked out about… possibly impregnating you?”

“Either? Both?” Stiles shrugged sheepishly. “What alpha werewolf wouldn’t want a piece of this sweet little foxy ass?”

The Sheriff’s head sank into his hands. Then he thought of something, and looked up. “Stiles,” he ventured, “are you worried about this because you think they won’t be able to control themselves around you? Do you not feel safe with them?”

Stiles’s eyes snapped wide. “No!” he nearly shouted. “Dad, Dad, no, why would you even think that?”

“Well, because we’re talking about two alpha werewolves who sometimes, like maybe around the full moon, have trouble controlling their impulses, and you’re worried about this fox-heat thing in terms of whether one of them is gonna get you pregnant?”

“Yeah?”

Stiles honestly didn’t seem to see where he was going with this.

“So if you’re not worried about their control….” The Sheriff sighed. “Why would you get… I’m still trying to wrap my head around applying this word to you… pregnant….” He trailed off, trying to think. Well, there was one thing he should get straightened out. “Stiles, are you already sleeping with one of them?”

Stiles raised his eyebrows, tilted his head, and moved his hand just slightly, in a small forward arc, but somehow the Sheriff knew exactly what he meant.

“Both of them? Really, Stiles?”

Stiles nodded, a wide-eyed but somehow still smug expression on his face. “Yeah?”

The Sheriff let his head fall into one hand again, rubbing at his temples. “Oh, God, Melissa was right about the pack orgies.”

Stiles looked pained. “N - Well. Kinda. A little bit? Not really.”

The Sheriff raised his eyebrows pointedly at his son.

“It’s definitely not a whole-pack thing. Unless you count cuddle orgies. Are cuddle orgies a thing? Because they should be. They’re kind of the best thing ever.”

“Stiles….”

“Okay, okay, so it’s more like this… you know how Scott and Derek are both alphas?”

“I’ve been wondering about that. But only Scott really has a pack?”

Stiles’s face screwed up like he was trying to untangle a particularly knotted shoelace. “Well, that was kinda how we thought it was, for a while after Derek’s eyes went red again, but that shouldn’t have been possible. Not without a pack. Now we know he’s part of ours.”

The Sheriff frowned. “Okay, obviously you’ve told me about the alpha pack, so I know alphas can be in packs together, but didn’t one of you say that that made them too unstable to have betas?”

Stiles sighed. “Well, normally, yeah, but there’s a loophole…. Look, I was going to explain everything, but it’s complicated, and I was going to organize all this, get it out of my head and into this space,” he gestured in the direction of his room and his mystery board, “so I could see it all at once. Maybe get out the chessboard?”

The Sheriff grimaced. “Not the chessboard.”

“Okay. Okay. So two alphas spending too much time in one place, that equals tension, right?” His hands flew as he gesticulated.

“Hence the worry over what they might do to their betas?”

Stiles looked at him exasperatedly. “Normally, yes, okay? But I’m telling you this is different!”

The Sheriff crossed his arms. “How?”

Stiles took a deep breath, clearly trying to settle. “So there’s one way that two alphas can peacefully lead one pack together, and that’s if they’re mated.”

“And Derek and Scott are… ‘mated’?”

Stiles made a face. “No-o-o-ot exactly.”

The Sheriff made an impatient ‘continue’ motion with one hand.

“Okay, so after Derek got his alpha mojo back, he wanted to stick around, but he knew he couldn’t, because things weren’t, you know, lining up for him and Scott. Not exactly. And besides, Scott had Kira, and the pack, and Derek didn’t want to get in the middle of any of that. So he left to see if he could get another pack together. But that didn’t so much work, either. And then when Scott and I went to college, he figured he’d come back, and it turned out that he meshed really well with the pack here, even if Scott, not so much.”

“I’d kinda figured out most of that,” said the Sheriff. “Not the… Kira part, but Derek and the pack and you guys shuffling around. So what changed?”

“So like I said, I got bit pretty much right before I came back for Christmas, and I was a little freaked out about possibly losing control around you or Melissa.”

The Sheriff nodded. “Which was why whenever Scott wasn’t here, Derek was.”

“Yeah, nothing like some good old-fashioned alpha mojo to snap you out of a feral incident,” Stiles agreed. “So they hung around, and everything was cool, so I thought I’d break the news of my supernatural species change until after the Christmas thing, so there wouldn’t have to be freaking out and worrying, and yeah, I know, dumb idea, but anyway. It was smooth, like, too smooth, and at first they just thought they were getting used to smelling each other’s scents on their betas, so it was getting easier to share? But it’s actually a lot more complicated than that?” He cringed a little. “And I noticed that I’d start to feel a little weird when I wasn’t around one of them, not like really bad-weird, just, you know, slightly off.”

His dad snorted. “This is starting to sound like some Twilight nonsense,” he said.

“Yeah, well, we were kind of already there, to be honest, huh, Chief Swan?” Stiles pointed out. “Your town… kinda full of werewolves and other creatures of the night. Anyway… it turns out they’re not exactly an alpha pair - we’re an alpha triad.”

The Sheriff’s eyes widened, and kept widening.

“Hey, you okay?” Stiles asked eventually.

“You’re an alpha?” The Sheriff asked. “All three of you? Red eyes and everything?”

Stiles shrugged. “They’re kind of… orange, a little like Parrish, maybe a little redder? Kinda like Kira’s too, which I guess stands to reason. Derek was researching, he doesn’t think werefoxes do the whole alpha-beta-omega thing because we’re all about reproduction with whatever other werecreatures are around, and often that’s the alphas that bit us.”

“Okay,” said the Sheriff, nodding slowly. “Okay. So, you’re with them. Both of them. I, uh… I suspected I might be hearing that you were dating one of them, and I was prepared to be supportive either way. They’re both great. I guess… I can live with the news being the best of both worlds in that area.”

“But?” Stiles asked, examining his expression with concern.

“I’m still not clear on how this adds up to you possibly getting pregnant? I know I’ve talked to you about the mechanics of that, how to prevent it. Do we have to have that talk again?”

Stiles shook his head vigorously. “Nope! No. I am all clear on that front. All good. Plenty educated about the various methods of contraception.” He frowned into the distance for a moment. “Although… I wonder if the pill would work on me? And if not, would it be because I’ve got balls most of the time, or because my new supernatural mojo would burn through it? Maybe both. So I don’t wanna chance that.”

“That’s not exactly your only option,” the Sheriff felt the need to point out. “If those boys aren’t wrapping up….”

“God, Dad!” Stiles waved his hands over his head as if he were erecting a shield. “We haven’t even done anything like that yet! We’ve barely messed around, and never while I’ve been shifted! And yes, we’ve all got them, just in case. But I’m still… not sure if that’s always gonna end up seeming like a priority at the time.”

“It had better,” the Sheriff growled.

“We’re going to make an effort, okay?” Stiles insisted. “But the way the stories talk about it… the heats… okay, it’s not like they’re gonna do anything I don’t want, okay? I am so on board with this. With them. I want… I want a lot, anyway. But I’m not sure how intense it’s going to be, and it’s already pretty… hard to back off, sometimes, so if it’s really as much more intense as they say it is? We might end up forgetting little details like… protection.”

The Sheriff sighed internally. This is a conversation he’d really prefer not to be having, but it had to be done. “Right,” he said. “Because contraceptives are just a minor detail here.”

“Well, it’s not like any of us can carry the usual STDs anymore, and….”

There was a long and ominous pause.

“What, Stiles?”

“Okay, is it weird if I kind of actually really want to have their puppies?”

The Sheriff really wished he could be elsewhere.

“Yes, Stiles,” he said flatly. “Yes, that is weird.”

Stiles sighed, forehead crinkled in a frown. “Why, though?” he asked.

“You’re eighteen,” the Sheriff answered.

“I’m almost nineteen!”

“Yes,” said the Sheriff, in the same even tone. “Yes, Stiles, you are almost nineteen. And that really doesn’t make it sound any better. You just started college, for Christ’s sake.”

“You know I’m only in a two year program, right? I’m done a good chunk of it already.”

“And you want to go to class next year with a supernatural baby bump?”

“Hey,” said Stiles, shrugging broadly. “It’s not gonna be a total giveaway about the werecreature thing, okay? I won’t be the only pregnant guy the world has ever seen!”

“Won’t be?” The Sheriff frowned. “Stiles, are you seriously considering this?”

Stiles sighed. “Maybe?”

“You’re too young.”

Stiles flung his arms out. “That’s what Derek keeps saying!”

“Well, he’s right.”

“Dad.” Stiles was meeting his eyes now, voice dead serious, almost pleading, so the Sheriff listened. “Dad, I know I’m young, okay? I know there’s a lot I don’t know about what I want my life to be like. But I’m sure about them. I’m sure about the pack. And I’m sure that if this does happen? It’s going to be great. It’s going to be the best thing. I haven’t decided yet whether I’m going to let it happen this year on purpose. But it might happen. And I guess that’s what I’ve been worrying about telling you. Not that it’s possible, but… that it’s something I really want.” He shrugged. “I mean I didn’t even realize how much I did. I knew I still had parts of it to sort out, you know? It’s a lot to process.”

“You can say that again.”

Stiles chuckled softly, and for a moment he sounded so much like Claudia that the Sheriff could hardly breathe.

“Enough people have died here because of freaky shit,” Stiles told him, “and I kind of think it’s about time the supernatural paid us back.”

“Well,” said the Sheriff, “you might be right about that.”

“You okay?” Stiles asked his dad.

“Yeah,” the Sheriff said, although his eyes were damp, now he came to think of it. “Yeah, I think I am. And I think you are, too.”

Stiles grinned mischievously. “Yeah, I’m pretty great.”

“Yeah, you are, kiddo,” the Sheriff said. “Yeah, you are.”

Well, Stiles was thinking critically about this decision, at least, wasn’t committed to it yet, but the Sheriff still felt far too young to be becoming a grandpa. Some days. Other days, he felt ancient.

All of this was new, Stiles’s new abilities, his new relationship (relationships?), hell, his life outside of the Beacon Hills school system was just getting started, and the Sheriff didn’t want to see him jump into something as all-consuming as parenthood when his life was just opening up to wider possibilities.

And he wasn’t sure how much of Stiles’s desire to go through with this was him getting wrapped up in the novelty of it all and wanting to throw himself into his role as a werefox, boyfriend to two alpha werewolves, and mother.

Which was still, quite frankly, a combination a little too strange for the Sheriff to wrap his mind around, let alone fully approve of. He needed time.

Maybe it was the Sheriff who needed time, and not Stiles, at all. Maybe Stiles really was ready for all of this. Well, the Sheriff still had some time to get accustomed to this, and he thought he’d better make the most of it.

A couple of weeks later, he made sure all three of them were around for the weekend. He wanted a chance to see them together, now that he knew.

Right now they were watching a movie, settled in on the living room couch with Stiles sandwiched between the two werewolves, probably as close as they could get and still leave room for the natural movement of Stiles’s elbows, which meant they weren’t actually all that close.

Things between Scott and Stiles didn’t seem that different than they’d been for most of their lives - there’d always been touching, hugging, light affectionate smacks. The addition of kisses didn’t really seem that out of place. Just little light ones, like they were a couple, like they always had been and now they were feeling settled with each other.

With Derek, it was a little different - he didn’t touch as much, but he was still focused on the two of them more than on the movie, smiling at Stiles when he wasn’t looking, making sure the popcorn was right there every time he reached for it. And as the night wore on, they began to lean into each other sleepily, Stiles’s head nestled into Derek’s neck.

It was going to take some getting used to, but he’d never seen Stiles happier. Never seen him more cared for.

He couldn’t get in the way of that.

The Sheriff pulled Scott aside before the two left.

“So,” he began. “Babies?”

Scott looked a little wide-eyed and intimidated, but all he said was, “Yeah, maybe.”

The Sheriff frowned at him. “This kinda seems like something where, if you’re going to do it, you’d better be sure. No 'maybe’s.”

“Well, we’re still thinking about it,” Scott said. “It seems like it’s too soon to be sure.”

“But you think you might be sure in a few months?”

“I’m sure now that I want whatever Stiles and Derek want,” Scott said, “and I think Stiles is the only one of us still trying to make up his mind. And it’s his body, so. I’m gonna follow Stiles’s lead on this one, Sheriff.”

The Sheriff sighed. “Should’ve known. You tend to do that. And It’s gotten you into a lot of trouble over the years.”

Scott just smiled. “Gotten us out of a lot of trouble, too.”

“I suppose I can’t argue with that.” The Sheriff watched him carefully. “Any idea which way Stiles is gonna jump on this?”

Scott gave a sharp bark of laughter, but his expression was fond. “Do I ever?” he said, but then he went thoughtful and serious, trying to find an answer. “I’m starting to think he really wants this,” he said, “but he knows you’d think he’s being impulsive.” There was just a little bit of accusation in that look.

The Sheriff was pretty sure he deserved it for something in all this, but not about thinking Stiles didn’t always look before he leaped.

“Isn’t he?” the Sheriff asked. “You three have only been together, what, a month? At most?”

“Yeah,” said Scott, “three weeks, officially. But you have to know… Stiles has always been the most important person in my life. It didn’t feel like the beginning of something, with him. It just felt like… going forward, taking the next step.”

“And with Derek?”

“Like finally letting something start that we’d been avoiding.” He laughed a little. “Like all our fights had been building up to something.”

The Sheriff shook his head. “I suppose it’s no stranger than anything else that goes on in this town,” he said. “Just be sure, all right? Don’t go through with this unless all of you are sure.”

“We won’t,” Scott agreed.

“You’re a good kid,” said the Sheriff, and patted him on the shoulder, giving him a dismissive nod.

Derek met him at the kitchen door, and they kissed, slow and meaningful, before Derek came in and Scott went out.

The Sheriff raised his eyebrows in question.

“I figure it’s my turn to be interrogated,” Derek said with a tiny smile, full of hidden humor, that told the Sheriff how much the werewolf had changed in the past few years. He was no longer the scared and angry young man he’d arrested back when everything was just beginning to spiral out of control.

“Yeah, I guess it is,” the Sheriff agreed. “So what’s your take on this? You think he’s too young for kids?”

“I think he’s too young to have pressure put on him to start a family,” said Derek, “but I think he knows how much I want this. So I just want to balance things out a little.”

The Sheriff blew out a breath. “You want kids now?”

“I’ve been fighting just to survive for a long time,” Derek began. “It never felt safe to hope for more, not until now. But now I have them, I have the pack, and I want to start planning my life. I want to rebuild the Hale family.” He took a shaky breath, and the Sheriff could tell how deeply he felt about this. “It doesn’t have to be now. I can wait for them to be ready. I don’t need it. But I want it so much it makes me ache. I miss my sisters and brothers and cousins all being underfoot. I know it’s important that Scott and Stiles get a chance to finish school. I know how smart Stiles is, I know how much Scott cares about becoming a vet. But if we started this now, if we had a family, they’d have me. They’d have my resources, and my knowledge, and everything I have. Everything I am. And maybe that’s not enough, but….”

“It’s enough,” the Sheriff told him gruffly. “And for what it’s worth, all three of you would have me, too. I think I get it now.”

“Really?” Derek asked, eyes widening slightly.

“It’s just been Stiles and me for so many years now,” he said. “And that’s not how it was meant to be. Stiles’s family has been too small for too long. So has Scott’s. I guess I can’t fault you, any of you, for wanting to get started on changing that.”

“Thank you,” Derek said, very quietly, and then the Sheriff was being wrapped up in a hug, a big, powerful thing that still managed to make it feel like Derek was clinging to him like a very young child.

“Of course,” said the Sheriff, wrapping Derek up in his arms in turn. “You’re pack, if I know anything about pack. And I know you’ve always done your best for all of the kids around here.”

“Not good enough,” Derek murmured into his shoulder. The Sheriff wasn’t sure if he’d meant to speak aloud.

“Derek,” he said, slow and clear. “Everything that’s happened in this town, everything that’s gone wrong, everyone who’s been hurt - it’s all happened under my watch, just as much as under yours. And my best wasn’t good enough to stop it either. So let’s not lay blame, huh?”

“All right,” said Derek, quiet and a little unsteady. And he stayed in the Sheriff’s arms for another quiet minute before he left, fingers tangling with Scott’s as they went to the door.

They were all so young, even Derek, in many ways, but they all deserved some happiness, some normalcy, whatever normal ended up being for them.

It was just a few days into the boys’ summer break, when a series of suspicious injuries resolved itself into something sinister.

Vampires, as if his life hadn’t gone Twilight enough already.

But Stiles had a plan, and he wanted to be there to carry it out in person. He was as fascinated by the reality of vampires as anyone who knew him at all might have expected.

“Come on, guys,” Stiles was saying. “I’m a shifter now. I can handle myself.”

“You always could,” Derek pointed out.

“We’re not worried about you,” Scott joined in from the other side.

Derek rubbed Stiles’s arm as he spoke. “We’re worried about the kits.”

Scott smiled, raising his eyebrows. “And the kits were your call, just for the record.”

Stiles sighed, looking back and forth between them. “Yeah… you’re right,” he said at last, a hand on his belly. “They’re more important.” He turned to kiss Scott, long and dirty and intimate, and then Derek, holding him so close and gripping so hard, it looked like it would have been dangerous for a human. “I’ll see you both when you get back, okay? You both be smart and careful, too.”

As much as the Sheriff could have gone without seeing that display, he figured it was worthwhile. All of this craziness. Stiles, as a boy, had refused to be deterred from going out and doing whatever reckless thing he had gotten into his head. And now….

Well, it took not only both of his mated-alpha-werewolf-boyfriends ganging up on him, but also the thought of his werefox babies, to push him to rethinking his plans, but it did happen. Stiles was growing up.

If it took all of that to get Stiles to be careful of himself, well, then, the Sheriff supposed he was grateful for all of that.

Belatedly, the Sheriff realized he was going to have two miniature versions of Stiles to deal with now, two superpowered, hyperactive orange fuzzballs.

“Okay, fine, then what is it?”

Derek made the defeated head slump he'd taken to doing every time he wanted to say something but couldn't, thanks to his lack of human features, going on three days now. Stiles had in a stroke of brilliance, if he did say so himself, set up a tablet so Derek could write, scrolling through full-screen sized letters one at a time to manage very basic communication. So Stiles put it in front of Derek and waited while he scrolled and typed with his dinner-plate sized paws.

W H Y

“Why? Why, what?”

Derek huffed and licked Stiles' ear.

“Why the kissing? Because I love you, dude, I thought the last five years kinda made you aware of that.”

Rolling your eyes should not look that exasperated on a wolf, but if anyone could pull it off it was Derek Hale.

B E A S T-

“Why would I love you any less when you're a wol-”

-I A L I-

“Woah, hey, hang on, what the actual fuck?!”

Derek shrugged and stared, obviously thinking he'd made his point, and was now waiting for Stiles to see the wisdom of his words. Or his one partial word, as it was.

“Seriously, Derek, it's not like I'm humping you in public or anything!”

The wolfy glare of disapproval was just as useless as it was coming from a human-shaped Derek, and he just glared right back.

“No, seriously man, it doesn't matter what wrapping you have, it's still you inside! I love you, not your looks.”

Another glare.

“Yes, I love your whole toned six-pack look, and I will tap that as much as I possibly can while we're still young and spry. But, Derek... I want forever with you. I wanna watch you grow old, and I don't care if you go wrinkled, fat or riddled with backne, I'd still wanna touch you, all the time.” Stiles deflated a little, because suddenly he worried that Derek didn't understand. Maybe it wasn't the same for him. Maybe Derek wasn't planning on forever.

Derek was giving him a strange look, ears drooping slightly, And Stiles cursed the fucking spell that was keeping Derek wolfy, because they could really use a talk just then.

“Look, it's fine, we'll talk about this later.”

That made Derek plant a paw on his chest and bark him right in the face.

“Dude!” Stiles protested, but didn't shove Derek off. Obviously they were doing this now. He cleared the tablet of the last words and laid it out for Derek again. He scrolled so fast with his paw that he got a few letters wrong, but as it progressed, Stiles slowly dropped his jaw.

M A R Q Y M F

“Marry you?” Stiles whispered, wide-eyed, and Derek nodded gravely.

“Oh... my god, you did not just propose to me as a wolf! I can't believe this! How could you do this to me!?”

I S T H A T N O

Stiles grabbed Derek by his neck scruff with both hands and looked him in the eye. “No! That is not a no, dumbass! But I am not giving you a yes until you have opposible thumbs again! Are you hearing me Derek?!”

Derek nodded, looking gratifyingly chastised, and Stiles shook the fur in his hands once for emphasis before letting go again, a smirk growing on his face.

“Oh, and I want flowers. And dinner. And you gotta go down on one knee. Gotta do it right if you wanna get with this,” he said, making a sweeping gesture down his body, which made Derek huff and hop off the couch.

“Wait! Come back! You can't run off! We can't argue now, Derek! Not until you can un-wolf and we can have hot make-up sex! Derek!”