#mead moons

Stiles sighed. So the wolf had heard of his kind too. Magical beings who too often strayed to the dark side and could cause untold harm in their greed and entitlement or simple desire for cruelty. 

It wasn’t the majority of them, but any occurrence was too often when as powerful as they could be. In the past couple decades it seemed to be as high as 1 in 8, at least to some degree of malfeasance, and many a decent mage had been hurt or killed in the process of defending against them. A pang of grief ran through Stiles as he thought of his parents; his mother died when he was 9 protecting him and other children from a mad wizard and his father when he was 17, just 3 and a half years ago, ambushed while doing his lawman’s rounds in the city of Beacon. Both had taken their assailants down with them, but it was little consolation. 

“I didn’t go through the trouble of saving your wolfy ass to kill you now,” he quipped, walking back toward the table. “It’s nothing exciting, but there’s food if you’d like and water to drink and wash up.”

“Thank you, Magus.”

“Stiles.”

“Pardon, but what’s a “stiles?”

“Me,” he responded, looking through the pile of clean clothes in the corner.

“Sorry, Master Stil—“

“Just call me Stiles and stop apologizing. Now, what’s your name?”

“Derek.”

“Here you go, Derek.” 

Stiles threw his loosest shirt and pair of trousers at him and went back out to the fire with the bowl. A minute later the shifter peeked around the corner and then cautiously approached him as he added the soup back to the pot and added more herbs and aromatics.

“I didn’t realize you were a shifter so I took your portion out before the onions and garlic and such,” he explained. Once he figured the flavors had melded nicely he filled the large bowl again and handed it to the stranger, serving his own meal from the cookpot and then gesturing to sit down beside him on the bench. Once he began eating Derek did as well, drinking from the bowl.

“I’d give you a spoon, but I’ve somehow managed to misplace or ruin the others and I haven’t bothered to make more yet since it’s just me that uses them.”

“It’s no trouble. I’m used to eating with my hands or in wolf shape anyway. Thank you for the food. And for saving my life.”

“You’re welcome.”

They continued to eat in silence until the sound of snorting and hooves drew their attention. Stiles looked at the wolf-man and pointed at the 5.5 year old red deer.

“That’s Larem. He’s my friend and helper so don’t eat him.”

Derek started rolling his eyes and then froze after remembering who he was sitting next to. Stiles looked up to the heavens and sighed. The shifter swallowed.

“I-I won’t. I wouldn’t have either. He clearly belongs to someone.”

“Good. ”

And so began their companionship. Derek didn’t seem in a rush to go anywhere and Stiles told him that he could stick around if he wanted. He soon built his own little hut a couple hundred feet away on the opposite side of the greenhouse. It was nice having someone to talk to who could answer back and while the wolf certainly had an appetite the amount of game in Stiles' stores increased significantly and he more than came out ahead. 

Grouse and wild turkey, rabbit and boar. He told Derek that he wouldn’t begrudge him hunting deer too as long as he did it, and the initial butchering, well away. Stiles taught Derek about dock seed, mallow, the roots and greens of daisies, lambsquarters, and tree sap for sweetening and the wolf brought back crabapples, elderberries, and teaberries that he’d found during his ranging, fashioning a bag to wear in wolf form.  

As winter turned to spring they shared more and more of their stories in bits and pieces, Stiles speaking of his parents and his old life in Beacon and Derek telling of his lost pack. Apparently, he had a sister somewhere, but both had assumed the other was dead after they were attacked years ago by Hunters. He eventually learned that she survived and left the area, but could no longer feel her. His uncle came out of a long lasting unresponsive state, but was mad and killed his other sister, leading to Derek having to put him down and becoming an alpha.

This only happened a handful of months ago and he’d spent his time as a wolf ever since until Stiles found him. He’d been hiding from regular hunters when he stumbled into the trap, which had been set by the other kind and soaked in a wolfsbane solution that prevented his usual healing abilities. Derek shifted back to human form just long enough to remove it and then ran far away despite the pain until he passed out from exhaustion and the effects of the poison.

He borrowed from Stiles' haphazard stack of books one at a time — he’d limited himself to 3 dozen when he left Beacon, a mix of fiction and survival/wilderness guides — and built him an actual book shelf. Stiles played minor pranks on him from time to time and played the mandola for him regularly after dinner. One evening when it rained and he’d done his music inside he could’ve sworn that Derek was going to kiss him when he walked the departing werewolf to the door. There was a charged pause, eyes roaming over faces to lips and then back to meet again, but the moment passed with only an awkward smile and a quiet farewell.

Stiles hadn’t much considered the prospect of romance and/or sex with the shifter until then both being completely out of the habit of such things and worried about the possible fallout. He had been texting with Heather about their upcoming first date — his first date, period — flirting and making plans for weekend when he got the news that his father had been killed. Needless to say, it was cancelled along with every other plan he had as he first withdrew into himself and then from society altogether. That had been the entirety of his romantic endeavors and while he masturbated like a typical young man he tried not to dwell on things he didn't, couldn't have.

Then Derek showed up and it also became a matter of not wanting to risk scaring off his only human (-ish) friend or, in the beginning, concerns about taking advantage when the werewolf was still a bit afraid of him. So he just hadn't really let himself go there. But that night Stiles desperately stroked himself while imagining green eyes staring into his as large hands explored him all over. A swarthy, muscular body on top of him and the short beard — which he loaned his scissors to keep trimmed — rubbing against his skin. 

He hadn’t actually gotten a proper look at Derek’s cock, but he did his best to imagine it thrusting into him as well, adding two and then three fingers (as much as he could at that angle) to bring himself to completion. After that night Stiles noticed occasional glances and there were little touches here and there, but nothing more came of it, both likely afraid to make the first move. And then one day everything changed. 

It was a beautiful afternoon in May and Stiles had decided to leave Larem to rest and enjoy some hay with apples and acorns, setting off to take a nice long walk and go foraging alone instead while Derek was out hunting. He was exploring in a direction where he’d seldom gone, happily picking wild garlic in a small clearing he’d come across, when all of a sudden something made all the hairs on his arm stand up. Danger. Eyes wide he threw himself on the ground and rolled just as a burst of magic hit the spot where he’d been standing. 

Fucking darachs. He’d thought he left all of this behind, but apparently even the middle of fucking nowhere wasn’t far enough. Stiles returned fire with his own power, feinting and then hitting the long-haired brunette square in the chest with a what he called a "pain loop," causing her to scream in agony and fury.   

He lashed out again with a stunning spell, but she managed to dodge it and all too soon interrupted the paroxysms from his previous strike, eyes glowing milky white as she threw something in sickly shades of green and brown at him. A perversion of earth magic. 

Stiles was able to twist away in time and then he was running, weaving between the trees as soon as he reached the edge of the clearing. Not for the first time he bemoaned the fact that he was too young to learn killing spells from his mother, who was loath to know such things, but understood their necessity. He tried to put some distance between them so he could face the dark druid on his own terms, perhaps ambush her on ground of his choosing if he was lucky. 

Unfortunately, he was still a ways off from his usual stomping grounds and unbeknownst to him a large tree had fallen and blocked the other end of the fairly short, but narrow path he vaguely remembered from a previous time that he’d come this way. Cursing, he went back and hoped to emerge in time to try another route, but the darach met him on the way out. 

He was at the ready so he got off another pain loop even as he was finally hit with whatever foul magic she was dealing out. Stiles gasped as a chill took hold of him and he felt noticeably weaker than he had just moments before. He hit her with the stunning spell as well this time, but he could tell it wasn’t nearly as strong as it should be as he staggered too slowly towards her. 

Stiles was planning to kill her the old-fashioned way, with his sufficient enough all-purpose knife, but another wave of weakness went through him and he fell to his knees perhaps 5 or so yards away. Wearing a smirk on her objectively pretty, but...twisted, oblong face the darach rose to her feet, stretching languidly like she just woke refreshed from a nice nap. With horror he realized that that was more or less the case and that it was his power and life-force being siphoned to her benefit.

She didn’t speak, but stood there watching him like a cat not quite ready to pounce again on the mouse she’d been toying with, drawing out her amusement. A flash of darkness fast approaching caught his eye beyond her and he pretended to have a fit in order to keep her attention. I really hope I’m not just seeing things, he thought. Hurry. 

“Why are you doing this?” he shouted. The woman rolled her now normal looking light colored eyes and huffed. 

“Power, what else?” she replied in a tone that said he was very stupid indeed. 

No, what was stupid was wasting time gloating and not paying attention to your surroundings or checking for reinforcements when dealing with an enemy. Stiles ranted about less than mediocre practitioners trying to make themselves feel special with stolen power, but always being the same pathetic losers at heart, punctuating his words by slapping his hands on the ground and rustling the leaves and twigs there. The darach’s face grew dark and she clenched her fists, clearly over his continued existence. Just as she was about to step forward he bared his teeth in a bloodthirsty grin.

“Go to hell,” he said, and then the massive, red eyed, black wolf was there, leaping to clamp his jaws around the back and right side of her neck. Stiles took great pleasure in the utter shock on her face, lastly only a second or two before Derek brought her to the ground and tore her throat out the moment he regained leverage. As her blood sprayed and splattered a rather impressive distance he felt the effects of her spell slow and breathed a sigh of relief. 

Unsteadily, he got up and stumbled toward where Derek was still savaging what was now a tattered corpse.

“I think you got her, dude,” he snickered, feeling not a shred of remorse for the death that just occurred. Who knows how many people she’d hurt or killed before attacking him? 

The wolf shook the body one final time and then dropped it, fangs gleaming red like his eyes, before shifting into a naked, blood smeared Derek. Stiles swallowed. That should not be as hot as it was. Apparently that post-battle feral lust thing in stories was real. Derek’s nostrils flared and he made a pleased growling noise, his cock twitching and starting to harden in interest. Oh my god. Stiles was torn between remaining there, frozen, and closing the last few paces between them when his legs suddenly buckled.

“Stiles,” Derek cried, rushing forward to keep him from slumping all the way over. 

It took a minute to clear his head and he then realized that while the darach’s draining spell had indeed slowed considerably, it hadn’t stopped even with her death. Like she’d also tied it off somewhere and didn’t only anchor it to herself. What the fuck?!

“Draining spell, need to go home now,” he rushed out. Moments later he was lifted into strong arms and cradled against Derek’s chest as the beta-shifted wolf ran much faster than Stiles’ own feet could ever take him. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his  diminished well of magic, using it to counteract the spell. It bought him time, but as he was expending more power than he could replenish in his current state doing so only amounted to dying more slowly than he was before. Maybe distance from the casting and using his herbs to restore and amplify his power could make the difference.

He was too weary to stand when they got back so Derek put him down on his bed and tried to find the right jars of plant matter using his descriptions. Stiles had lived alone for so long and had never thought to label what he clearly knew on sight. After trying to figure out which of three nearly identical containers of dried leaves was a particular ingredient a frustrated Derek simply picked him up again and had him point at the right items. The wolf prepared them according to his instructions and he swallowed the resulting tea in between words of focus and intention. 

Stiles felt some vitality return, but even after seven mugs of the frankly disgusting stuff over the next hour or so he could tell that it wouldn’t be enough to give him the strength necessary to break the spell. Fuck. He was now at least able to brew the tea himself and continued drinking two to three mugs of it an hour for several hours, pissing like a racehorse in between trying to think of something, anything, else, but he was quickly running out of a couple of the rarer herbs. 

There was only so much of the infusion he could consume before it stopped being effective and before both the amount of liquid and the ingredients themselves became toxic anyway. Fuck. As the smallest containers emptied the tension evident in Derek’s body increased, the clenching of his jaw more pronounced and the muscles of his back tighter still. The pants-only shifter alternated between pacing inside the small dwelling, trying to sit quietly, and going outside to check the immediate perimeter for any additional danger. 

When Stiles was down to his last mug and half of tea he finally resigned himself to the inevitable. He was going to die by the hand of an evil caster just like his parents. And just like with them, it didn’t matter that the darach had been thoroughly neutralized, though that did at least bring him some satisfaction.

All that hiding and isolation and it had been for nothing in the end. Stiles laughed bitterly. It wasn’t fair. He was only 21, his birthday just the previous month though he hadn’t bothered to mention it. Stiles hadn’t even gotten the chance to see if the whatever between him and Derek eventually went anywhere. It was dark out now and he had seen his last sunrise. 

Around three-quarters of an hour later, maybe 10 minutes after taking that final sip, he turned to the silent, intently watching werewolf with a wry smile.

“Promise that you’ll look after Larem for me.” Derek made a wounded noise and he felt a sweet, sad warmth for his friend. Stiles was very sorry to leave him like this, but he was glad to have met him. To have cared for him and know that he had been cared for too. “And promise that you’ll do what you need to do to both survive and not go feral. Find yourself a pack,” he added sternly.

Derek exhaled forcefully and an expression of grim determination came over his face.

“There’s a way…I might be able to save you.” 

Stiles gave him the mother of all exasperated looks, throwing up his hands. 

“And you didn’t think to mention this earlier because…?”

“I’d have to claim you,” Derek replied, sounding somewhat uncomfortable, but moving closer to him.

“Claim me?” Stiles asked, puzzled. 

Like pledging fealty in a ritual or something? Or did the wolf mean giving him the turning Bite? Perhaps he wasn’t aware that it didn’t work on magic users, either doing nothing or killing them. 

“Mate you.” 

Ohhh.  

Oh.

Oh my god.

“Wha—Seriously?!” he blurted out, incredulously. Seriously?!, he echoed internally.

Derek looked like he’d swallowed something sour and was probably about to explain that he was certainly not just trying to have his way with a dying man and how very dare, but Stiles lifted an arm — already feeling heavier again, fuck, this spell was a bitch — and put two fingers to the shifter’s lips before letting it fall again.

“I believe you, Derek. That’s exactly the kind of thing required for binding magic, which I gather this shifter mating stuff is. Blood or bone or, um, essence, and all that kind of thing or some combination thereof. I swear the Universe is a huge perv. It’s just…wow, not at all what I was expecting to hear right now." The werewolf looked at him with fondness and concern. Stiles took a deep breath. “Yeah, you can…you can do that.”

It wasn’t only the increasing weakness that had him trembling when he made his way from the table over to the bed, Derek hovering behind him. He turned and dropped to sit on the mattress, looking up at the older man.

“Kiss me?” he pleaded, wanting to make sure he got to know what it was like and to do some part of this in order. 

Derek smiled and caressed his cheek with a knuckle before sliding it under his chin to tip his head up, bending down to press their lips together. Stiles made a soft sound and opened his mouth to allow Derek’s tongue inside after it swept across his lower lip. A minute or so of exploration and deepening kisses later he felt out of breath and drew back, panting but grinning shakily. 

He lifted his arms as well as he could and the shifter quickly helped him undress, pulling off his shirt and then gently pushing him back and drawing his pants and underwear down and then off along with his socks. And then there he was — flushed, hard, and lying bare — as hungry red eyes raked over his body.

“Beautiful,” the wolf murmured before removing his own pants and freeing the erection that had been straining against it. Stiles’ eyes widened at seeing Derek fully hard. That was going to go inside him? He might’ve whimpered or maybe his scent was tinged with nervousness or fear because Derek paused to run those large hands along his sides (it felt even better than he’d imagined) and told him that it would be okay before guiding him over onto his belly. 

With no hesitation the wolf parted his cheeks and started licking over his hole, circling or pushing at the muscle every few passes. No one had ever touched him sexually much less there — hell, he hadn’t been touched at all in years by another person until the recent brief brushes from Derek — and Stiles was overwhelmed by both the physical sensation and his emotional reaction. The shifter reached up to rub his back and then took hold of ass with both hands once more, soon working his tongue inside. Stiles moaned in pleasure, but then another sudden chill reminded him of the situation.

“Uh, as amazing as this is, you kinda gotta hurry it up, dude,” he got out between breaths. The wolf gave him another long lick before lifting his head and growling in frustration.

“I wanted to take my time with you if this ever happened. You deserve so much better than…” Derek trailed off and Stiles could feel that he was shaking his head.

“I appreciate that big guy and I promise that if this works you can, um, do that as long as you want another time.” Derek snorted. 

“I’ll hold you to that. Do you have any—“

“In that cabinet. The tall, thin bottle,” Stiles cut in, jerking his head in its direction. He’d placed a simple preservation spell on it to keep the things inside lasting several times longer than they normally would. The wolf returned with the container of a clear gel, a curious look on his face. “Aloe vera,” he explained. “I brought some plants with me from…before. It grows in the greenhouse. Good for minor burns and injuries and, er, quite viscous and slippery.” 

Heeding the need for urgency, Derek immediately gathered some on his fingers and applied it to his entrance and Stiles tensed at its coolness. He made himself relax again, allowing a thick finger to slip inside. 

“More,” he gasped, rubbing himself against the bed. “I’ve…used fingers before.”

“I know,” Derek rumbled, pushing a second digit inside. “I’ve heard you.”

Stiles could feel himself turn bright red, which was really rather silly in his current position, but he couldn’t help being somewhat mortified. How many times over the past several weeks, since the kiss that wasn’t, had he brought himself off whispering the wolf’s name?

Derek chuckled and leaned down to kiss his left shoulder blade before going to nibble at his earlobe. 

“I almost came to you a few times, my wolf going wild at how you clearly wanted us,” he whispered into Stiles’ ear, making him shiver. “But I figured you had your reasons and fantasy doesn’t always equal what one would actually do.” 

“Didn’t want to scare you off…pressure you,” he said, panting. 

“Well, I’m not going anywhere,” Derek replied huskily. “And as for pressure…”

The shifter got a bit more of the lubricant and added a third finger, stretching him wider than his own slender ones ever had. Reaching deeper than he could from those awkward angles. 

“Derek!” Stiles cried out when he massaged that special spot within him. 

“One more,” the wolf crooned, pumping faster and spreading his fingers. “Go ahead and come. I want you nice and relaxed for my knot.” Stiles clenched involuntarily at the thought. Right, werewolf. An alpha werewolf. He felt Derek’s pinky enter him and it burned some. “You’re doing so well.” 

Propped up a bit on his elbows Stiles rocked his hips, fucking himself back onto Derek’s hand and then forward to rub his dick on the mattress beneath him, moaning. On some of the forward thrusts he ground down in a circular motion for maximum friction. He was so close. Stiles heard the shifter spit and then a hand was sneaking under him to grasp his shaft. He whined, moving faster between the two palms and then he was coming, spasming around the appendages continuing to piston into him. 

Mere moments into the afterglow yet another wave of cold and weakness wracked through him and he cried out again, this time in fear, as his upper chest, shoulders, and face hit the mattress. Stiles managed to turn his head to the side.

“Please hurry!” 

“Okay, okay,” the wolf soothed, withdrawing fingers from his still clenching hole and shoving a pillow beneath him before shaking more globs of gel out to coat himself. The slick sounds made him flush in anticipation. He felt Derek get into position and the press of his cock against his rim. “Deep breath.”

Stiles did as instructed, bearing down and gasping as the groaning wolf pushed into him steadily until he was all the way in, filling him.  

“Fuck, you’re tight,” Derek hissed, pausing only a few seconds before grabbing him by the waist and beginning to thrust. 

“First..time,” he said breathlessly, eyelids fluttering. It felt so good even lying there like a lump on a log, a doll for the werewolf to fuck. Derek growled again, a pleased sound, and Stiles grinned. “Oh, you like hearing that, big guy?”

“Yes,” the shifter answered before mouthing at the back of his neck and then down to his shoulder, fucking him harder. Faster. Stiles really hoped he survived so that he could actually participate next time, but if he was still going to die, well, what a way to go!

“Going to knot you, bite you,” Derek warned a few minutes later.

His cock made a valiant effort, but it was still too soon to harden again. Then the second part of that statement sunk in it and he tensed with worry. 

“Not that kind of Bite,” Derek added hastily. “Mating bite. It won’t hurt you.” Stiles sighed in relief. “Well, you know, it’ll probably hurt ‘cause teeth, but—“

“I know what you meant,” he replied with a soft chuckle before gasping again. Stiles could feel the shifter’s cock swelling, spreading him even wider than his palm had. Derek groaned, thrusting in sharp jerks, and draped over him. The pressure was continuing to grow and he whimpered, sensitive, as pleasure teetered on the edge of pain. Then the knot locked inside him and Derek began to howl. Stiles intentionally squeezed around him.

Sharp fangs clamped down between his neck and shoulder and he wailed, overwhelmed as new senses and amplified or mirrored sensations crashed into him. He was stuffed full and enveloped by a tight, hot passage milking him all at once. Power coursed through him, a renewed vigor flooding his veins and refilling his nearly empty well. 

When it got to the point of overflowing he looked within and severed the muddy, leeching connection. Stiles made sure to locate and tear out all of its remnants as well, his now red-tinged silver magic immediately rushing in to heal the resultant damage. When he returned to the outside world he was hard again, Derek grinding his still pulsing knot against his prostate, continuing to come with teeth embedded in his flesh. 

“It’s done,” he whispered just before a second mind-blowing, mind-melding, orgasm swept through him and he proceeded to pass the fuck out.

When Stiles came to he being was cradled in Derek’s arms and sitting sideways across his lap, the shifter upright on his bed with his back against the wall. As the last images of some truly strange and spectacular dreams slipped away, he yawned and stretched languidly. He was not only alive, but felt good. Stiles wiggled to look into the green eyes of the very awake werewolf.

“Thank you,” he said earnestly, choking up. Derek nodded and swallowed thickly himself, taking one of Stiles’ hands in both of his and kissing it. 

He noted that he was wearing his light robe and had obviously been cleaned up as he wasn’t sticky or anything after their activities. Stiles blushed at the memory and received a light squeeze on the ass, causing him to make a squeaky sound and redden more.

“So I guess I belong to you now, huh?” he said a few minutes later, curious and a bit uncertain, but not displeased with the situation. The part of him that was stubborn and contrary and so very independent grumbled a bit, but the rest of him was okay with the idea. He didn’t think the wolf would abuse whatever power he now held over him.

“No,” Derek replied, eyes crinkling at the corners. ”We belong to each other.”

“Oh, like family?”

“Yes, family. Mates. Pack.”

Stiles more than liked the sound of that just as he more than liked the werewolf. He was content to remain resting where he was for a while longer despite his not only returned, but increased strength — he’d have to give his new capabilities a whirl later — but felt a bit self-conscious as Derek continued to watch him intently with a serious, vulnerable expression. Gratitude. Reverence. Wonder, the new connection in his mind supplied. How cool was that?

“What?” he finally asked, kissing the wolf’s nose as a strong hand caressed his back. “You look like you’re the one who almost died.” 

He said it teasingly, but Derek froze momentarily and then remained suspiciously silent. Stiles’ stomach dropped as his mind sharpened, rising from its nice, floaty haze.

“Derek?” The shifter eventually met his searching eyes. “What would’ve happened to you if I’d died?”

“That close to the formation of the bond? I would’ve followed you,” he answered quietly

Several emotions rushed through him, one after the other, before combining to make him a teary mess. Shock and gratitude for his choice. Anger and sorrow and guilt at the thought of Derek dying with him. For him. Elation that he mattered that much. Stiles swatted the wolf’s shoulder and then pulled him in for a kiss. He was bursting with the desire to express the depth of his feelings, but what came out was something else.

“As soon as I get up I’m sucking your dick, you idiot!” he exclaimed, scowling. 

“Uh…is that supposed to be a threat or…?” 

Stiles tried to smack him again, but Derek grabbed his hand, laughing. 

“I just hate the idea of you risking your life like that. Knowing you could’ve died for me.”

Derek shrugged. 

“You saved me. And more than that, you gave me a reason to live. An existence that's about more than mere survival. Kept me from starting to go feral and having to make a choice about that with only three shitty options.” The older man blushed and looked away. “You mean a lot to me. Make me happy, which I no longer thought possible.”

Stiles felt stunned. He also recalled a conversation from a while back about the basics of being a werewolf.

“Am I your anchor?" he asked tentatively. Derek gave him an unimpressed look. 

“Obviously.” 

"You know, I liked it better when you were all 'Magus this' and 'Master that,'” he glared, crossing his arms. 

"No you don't," the shifter replied matter-of-factly. 

Stiles groaned in annoyance and Derek smirked. He flopped out of the werewolf’s lap and onto his stomach on the bed, resting his head on his stacked forearms and hiding his face. Moments later he felt a hand petting him on the back of the head before lightly squeezing his neck. Arousal flashed through him and he wiggled a bit, making an embarrassing little noise. 

The hand then ran up and down his back and the wolf rumbled possessively, which made Stiles giggle a bit. It wasn't like there was anyone around to witness much less warrant such displays. Their only other companion was a deer and an apparently very straight one at that based on his antics during the last few rutting seasons.

Fingers went back to his neck again, stroking over his bite mark, and Stiles moaned even louder this time. 

"Is that an invitation, mate?” Derek asked with a growl in his voice. 

“Yes, mate,” he replied, feeling a thrill at saying the word for the first time. He repeated his intention of sucking Derek off, but the stubborn werewolf said he’d made a prior promise. Before long Stiles was a writhing, begging mess and the werewolf was only satisfied once he came untouched from being eaten out alone. 

He finally got his mouth on Derek’s cock once he recovered, having him sit up against the wall again, and did his best to get back at him. Stiles experimented with varying maneuvers of his tongue, lips, and hands and after learning some of what the responsive wolf liked most he gleefully teased him until the alpha’s hand shot out to hold his head in place, claws scraping lightly against his scalp. Stiles moaned at the action, his own cock leaking against his belly. Pausing to scent the air and receiving a jerky, eager nod, Derek began to thrust upward into his willing mouth until hot cum was coating his tongue and sliding down his throat. 

Interesting, he thought, licking his lips afterward. It was no honey or tree sap, but definitely better than the godforsaken tea he’d been chugging yesterday. He fully intended to acquire a taste for it.

The mated pair spent their days much as they did before, but with the addition of regularly sparring and practicing finding or sneaking up on each other under a wide range of conditions. Not wanting to be at a disadvantage again, Stiles also worked on creating his own offensive spells and was able to make some actually effective defensive charms with his new abilities. 

And then there was the sex, of course. The quick and dirty fucking and marathon lovemaking sessions and everything in between. Yeah, okay, so there were some major changes, but the plants in the greenhouse still needed tending and the seeds and nuts still needed grinding for flour and the clothes still needed washing, you know?

They built a larger home for the both of them, referred to as the Den, while maintaining their individual huts for those times when they needed space or simply wanted to work on something without disturbing the other. They also built a cob oven outside so they could bake crackers and dense, crumbly breads and granola from the dock seed, acorns, etc, instead of mostly using them to bulk up soups and stews, as breading, or to make a kind of gruel. 

Larem finally got used to Derek even in his wolf form, the two of them actually cuddling together on occasion. 

“I’m a disgrace to wolves,” the shifter muttered after the first time it happened. 

“A very adorable disgrace,” Stiles said, attempting to console him before bursting into giggles.

“Just don’t befriend any boars or game birds,” Derek growled, glaring and wagging a finger.

Summer slid into autumn and when Stiles came across a huge beehive nestled inside a tree trunk he was over the moon. Sap was just fine, but the converted nectar was on a whole other level and he knew exactly what he wanted to do with most of his bounty. After returning with the necessary supplies he smoked the bees out and used his power to keep any stragglers from reaching him, taking care to make sure the hive remained habitable and the queen unharmed. Stiles collected nearly 25 pounds of honey, leaving more than enough for the bees to get through the winter.  

Over the years he’d tried fermenting various things, sometimes doing so unintentionally as well, with a wide range of results. He kept about a third of the honey for sweetening and the rest he used to make a handful of different one gallon batches of mead. The glass containers were left to gather wild yeast, stoppered with airlocks, and then placed in a warm, dark place to do their thing with periodic tending.

Derek told him that he had no idea what day it was or even what month it was for sure, but that fall always reminded him of his family who’d made a big deal of the harvest celebrations between the equinox and the following full moon. Stiles had stopped paying attention to dates too for the most part, but was in the habit of marking a daily tally and so had the means of figuring it out if he so cared to. He later informed his wolf that it was September 27th. 

Derek mentioned some other meaningful days from his past, including his birthday, which was on Christmas Day. Curious, his mate then asked when his birthday was and Stiles told him that it was April 8th, a couple months after they first met and a month or so before they got together. Derek frowned and said that he wish he’d known. 

“Well my half birthday is coming up soon,” he replied, grinning. 

Derek rolled his eyes, but prepared Stiles’ favorite meal for the event — roasted garlic and rosemary wild boar with honeyed parsnips — and worshipped his body all night, knotting him twice.

By the time Derek Day came around (Christmas was hard for both of them, especially Stiles, but Derek’s birthday they could do) most of the mead had been racked and was either aging or in secondary fermentation based on the alcohol content he was going for or the resiliency of the yeast. The rest they had already drank young. 

All of it served its basic purpose of getting him tipsy (or more) and was drinkable at the least, but the blackberry melomel and the meadowsweet and dandelion petal metheglin were truly delicious. He gave a couple bottles of each to Derek as the first part of his 26th birthday gift. The wolf might not be able to get drunk, which Stiles vowed to remedy that one day, but he could enjoy the complex beverages all the same, sweet and semi-sweet respectively.

The second part of his gift was a rich cake-like dessert made with acorn flour, water, honey, boar grease, the last of the duck eggs from his new and improved preservation cooler, vanilla leaf, lavender, and salt, and baked in the cob oven. The third part was simply his mouth and ass, Stiles wearing a bow and everything. (Two bows actually, one around his neck and the other around his waist, made from berry-dyed woven foliage and scraps of fabric.)

On New Years Day he hitched the sled up to Larem once more to go exploring, but this time a massive black wolf trotted along side or ranged ahead to circle back around protectively. Another 5 weeks would mark a year since that fateful afternoon when his tiny world of two began to become a fuller, happier three. Brought him a companion who became a true friend and then even more. A mate.

They stopped to eat lunch near an unfamiliar river — he marked its location on his map and made a note to return and try fishing when it was warmer — and Derek shifted back, pulling on the thick, winter clothing Stiles had packed for him. He unfolded a small metal tripod with a hook and set his small cookpot on it, filling it with the leftovers of last night’s 3 meat and mushroom stew before placing kindling and dry chunks of wood underneath it to start a fire. 

They sat on the sled and when their meal was bubbling nicely Stiles took some hay from a side bag, tossing it and a handful of acorns to the buck, and then ladled the stew into bowls. Two cups for him and three for the always hungrier wolf. They now had 10 fine spoons thanks to Derek’s superior wood-carving skills: the ladle,  3 other cooking/serving spoons, and 3 pairs for eating in different sizes. Afterwards he brought out an apple for each of them as well.

Derek watched as Larem happily munched on his and then turned to Stiles with a raised eyebrow.

“You know, you never did tell me exactly how you ended up with him.”

“Huh, I guess not,” Stiles muttered, thinking back as the shifter took a bite of fruit. “I found him a few months after I came out here, around the end of fall four years ago. He would’ve been around 2 1/2 then and one of his back legs had gotten broken somehow. I don’t know whether he was still with his mother’s herd or with a young bachelor’s group until then and got left behind or if he’d been already going solo, but at any rate, he was alone and leaning against a tree. Larem was able to move around, but it was doubtful that he could cover enough ground to feed himself properly, especially with winter coming, and he definitely couldn’t flee from any predators.”

Derek grunted in acknowledgment, tearing a huge chunk out of his apple. 

“I considered eating him of course, but he was just so defenseless and looked at me with his big, curious eyes — he’d probably never seen a human before — and I just couldn’t do it. Besides I was lonely and rather bored and figured he might be a good project whether just in the short term or something ongoing. 

“I had a ton of apples from some trees I harvested a few weeks before and had brought several with me, so I threw him a couple before approaching. He seemed fairly trusting or at least hungry enough to override his fear and while he focused on a third one in my hand I got close and used my magic to make him unconscious so I could work on his leg. I set the bone as best I could and was able to speed the healing along just enough for it to hold if he bore weight on it. When he woke up he seemed pretty confused, but snapped out of it once I gave him the apple.” 

Stiles looked over to see Larem eyeing the red and green fruit he was currently holding and chuckled. He took out his knife and cut half of it into slices, tossing one to the buck.

“I got him to follow me home like this, giving him pieces of another three apples and eating one myself. Thankfully it wasn’t too far away. I had some hay and other dried plant stuff meant for mulch and more apples of course, so he hung around. 

“I brought rope with me when I moved out here as well; it took two long, slow and heavy trips before I had everything I wanted and where we live is a good ways further than my original shelter at the time. I can make bark cordage now, but frankly the synthetic stuff is stronger so it’s good that I had it. Anyway, I fashioned a harness and lead from some of it and decided I would keep him unless he truly seemed unhappy. I thought I might be able to train him to carry bags or drag stuff for me and, well, the rest” — he finished with a dramatic flourish — “is history!” 

Derek appeared suitably impressed with him and he smiled, throwing the rest of the slices to Larem. 

“I’m pretty sure he kept me from going crazy too,” he added, biting into the remaining half apple. Derek gave him a look that said he wasn’t too sure about that and Stiles rolled his eyes.

“And then you found me,” his mate said, eyes still sparkling with amusement.

“Mmhmm,” Stiles hummed, nodding before swallowing his mouthful. “Three second chance strays: human, werewolf, and hart. Well, Larem was too young be a proper hart then, but he’s one now.” He gestured to the 6.5 year old buck. “It’s a much cooler term for you, right?”  

Larem looked at him blankly and then snorted, turning and lying down on the patch of snow free ground under a tree now that food time was over. Derek laughed, leaning over to kiss him, and they fell back onto the sled. It was too cold to want to get naked out here, but he let his his knees fall open so that the alpha could lie between them and he could wrap his legs around him. They made out for a while, kissing and rubbing against each other through their layers.

Stiles didn’t know what the future held; whether they would just stay out here until death did them part or if they would venture back to civilization at some point either to stay or just occasionally to procure the stuff they really couldn’t get in the wild. Things made from metal and books and certain spices and medicines. Other company perhaps, strange as it now seemed. 

Soft fabrics, at least for undergarments, when their clothes eventually wore down completely and couldn’t be patched or sewn together into more shirts or pants or briefs with other usable scraps. He could make thread from nettles and other plant fibers, but it was very labor intensive to do garments from scratch, not to mention, well, scratchy. All leather all the time would be a bit much as well, especially in the warmer months, but Derek could certainly rock the look and took to making it from his larger kills.  

What Stiles did know is that they’d all saved each other and that he’d follow his mate anywhere. Based on the glint in the werewolf’s now red-ringed eyes and the love and arousal coursing down his bond that meant straight back to the Den to roll around naked. They hastily repacked their things and hitched the sled up to the annoyed deer, promising him additional, rarer goodies upon their return for interrupting his nap. 

“Let’s go home!” he cried, getting into position and signaling for Larem to move. A loud, sustained howl was let loose just ahead and Stiles grinned into the cold air rushing by with a heart full of warmth. 

He had his wallet in his left side pocket and phone charging in a makeshift holder by the dashboard. Jugs of water on the floor and a paper bag with a few nonperishable staples and an assortment of sandwiches, snacks, and caffeinated beverages in the passenger seat. His pillow, which would be especially necessary when he’d need to sleep at a rest stop or something.

Stiles tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and sang along to the playlist he’d selected to start off his journey. He didn’t even know where he was going yet, just heading south until he had to get gas or piss and then he’d decide. There’d been no time to waste. This need to get away had been building for a while now and when he woke up this afternoon — he couldn’t fall asleep until after dawn — all he knew was that today was the day. It couldn’t wait another week or even until tomorrow or something else would come up to keep him there. He just knew it.

So he’d started the first load of laundry and then speed cleaned and showered in the quickly tepid while it was washing. He went to the store while the second load was going and the first one in the dryer, which had everything he was planning to take. Then he packed his stuff, set the remaining laundry to dry, scrawled a note that was frankly more stream of consciousness than rational explanation, but at least ended with a promise to stay in contact “Love, Stiles,” and then he was off.

Miles ticked up on the odometer and pavement passed beneath Roscoe’s wheels. It was at once exciting and bittersweet. He was done with high school and, more importantly, 18 so it’s not like his dad or anyone else could actually force him back. Not that many of the old crew were even going to be in Beacon Hills for much longer. Those that hadn’t already left like Jackson, Chris, and Isaac did overseas or Lydia getting an early start in Cambridge. 

But unlike her or Scott and the others he wasn’t heading off to college or something like that. He didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life anymore, was still stuck processing or at least dealing with having been possessed. As in he had to deal with it — the memories and nightmares and new little quirks that made him question himself — not that he was handling it in any particularly effective or healthy fashion. 

And so it was like it was expected, or at least assumed, that he would just stay here for all the shit the town and that fucking tree could possibly throw his way. Well, how about no? Again, he’d been possessed! He deserved a goddamn break. Or if not deserved (the little voice in his head had very different ideas about what he deserved) he fucking wanted one. Needed one before he broke anymore.

Stiles only wished he could take his dad with him. And maybe a certain Sourwolf if he was being honest with himself now that it mattered even less than it already did before. Those big, impossible feelings he never wanted to look at long enough to pin down. The pull he liked to pretend was just him being a hormonal bisexual teenager who was warm for the former Alpha’s form. That it didn’t matter because it hadn’t, couldn’t, and wouldn’tmatter.

He thought of guarded green-hazel eyes, a clenched, stubbled jaw, and stubbornly crossed arms as he wailed along with Jim Adkins.

“The things we think might be the same, but I won’t fight for more. It’s just not me to wear it on my sleeve, count on that for sure.” 

Stiles snorted and shook his head. It was all too fitting, whether more for him or Derek or both of them equally he wasn’t sure. There were times, after all, when he’d thought that Derek also…

But it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like anything was going to happen. Famous last words.

Seconds later smoke was rising from beneath the hood of the Jeep. Always a wonderful sign. Fuck. No no no, please not now. 

This couldn’t be happening. Just another too vivid daydream, right? Or maybe he’d actually fallen asleep waiting for the laundry and this was simply a nightmare because of his nervousness about the upcoming trip. Haha, very funny brain! 

More smoke billowed out and there were sounds. Oh no. No no no. Fuck!

Stiles pulled off onto the wide shoulder, put the car in park, and snatched the keys from the ignition, hurling them onto the floor. Then he just sat there in silence with his head against the top of the steering wheel. He hadn’t even made it 30 miles and it was already over. There was always something. Some kind of trouble, like clockwork. Like a curse. 

He’d worked over senior year and into the summer, doing odd jobs and seasonal gigs to save up the money that he was now planning to use for gas and cheap motels and food. That he’d already spent part of on getting Roscoe some much needed maintenance and repairs over the last few months. Not enough, apparently. 

After smashing his head into the horn so that it blared obnoxiously a few times he pulled himself upright and scrolled through the contacts on his phone like he had options. Gone, gone, doesn’t have a car, gone, doesn’t have a car, doesn’t even have a license, don’t want to talk to him and have to explain anything right now. 

Stiles sighed. Well, he didn’t want to call his dad at the moment either — with any luck he could at least get home before his failed escape was revealed — so that left only one person. Of course it went straight to voicemail. 

“Hey, Derek. So funny story, I’m about 28 miles from town on the highway heading south and my car broke down. Yes, yes, I know. So, um, if you don’t have anything better to do, you think you could come get me? Let me know either way. Uh, catch you later.”

He wondered how long it would take to walk back to Beacon Hills. 10 hours? What if he just took the backpack, removed some of the books and added a few changes of clothes, some toiletries, and a towel and just kept walking south. Maybe he could hitchhike.

By the time he dug into the secret compartment in the lid of a jar of peanut butter and pulled out the little baggie of weed his hands were shaking. He’d gotten it from an acquaintance of Danny’s — the guy really could hook you up with just about anything —  and still had some left. Enough for now and a few times more.

He retrieved the rest of his supplies and crouched down on the other side of the car, calming as he performed the little ritual of rolling his own joints. Of lighter and flame. Burn, inhale, hold, exhale. Taking the edge off. Lightening him up. What if he just walked into the trees and disappeared. Became one with the forest like whats-her-face in Annihilation who was done with fighting the freaky bullshit and just noped the fuck out. If only.

17 minutes later his phone chimed.

<Sourwolf: Be there in 30.>

Stiles responded with a thumbs up emoji. Alright. Okay. He took a few more hits and snuffed out the end, saving the rest for later.

Derek’s face did all sorts of things when he got there, half of them with his eyebrows alone. How did he ever used to think the man was unreadable? Devoid of emotion except anger?

Obviously, he’d smelled the marijuana, but Derek didn’t say anything. Why wasn’t he saying anything?

“Hey handsome, think you can help a damsel in distress?” Stiles said, fluttering his eyelashes and sticking out a leg like he was pulling up the hem of a skirt before bursting into giggles. Derek shook his head and popped the hood on Roscoe. 

“Since when were you a mechanic, big guy?” He set a hand on a leather-clad shoulder. It’s August you silly goose.

“I know a thing or two.”

“I’m sure you do,” he vamped, leering exaggeratedly and then abruptly pivoting to walk to the back of the Jeep where he set his forehead against the cool glass. What the fuck are you doing?

Burning everything down around him apparently. He started chuckling, a dark, sharp-edged thing, and Derek looked over at him with concern. 

“Stiles?”

“Oh don’t mind me, I’m just falling to pieces.” 

He sat down hard on the ground and cracked right up, laughter turning to sobs as footsteps crunched toward him. 

“I thought I was actually getting out, Der. I tried. I’ve tried so hard, but I can’t. I can’t,” he got out between gasping breaths. 

Derek crouched down beside him and started rubbing his back, tentatively at first and then in long, soothing strokes. His head moved and Stiles could swear he felt a kiss at the top of his head. Or something like that. He found himself practically head-butting Derek in his stupid muscly chest as he leaned into him, hands grasping at his left side and right elbow. Oh, he was going to be so embarrassed about this later. Derek took a deep breath.

“I’ll take you.” 

“What?” Stiles’ head jerked up, tear tracks drying on his face. 

Derek nodded toward the Camaro. 

“Wait, seriously?” 

The werewolf shrugged. 

“Yeah. You’ve got your stuff packed and everything.”

“But what about you? We have to go back, get your things and a tow truck for Roscoe and—“

“No,” Derek cut in. “I can just grab what I need on the way. I’ll have Malia, actually no, Mason, check on the place and I can call now about getting your Jeep towed to your house.” He raised a finger when Stiles opened his mouth. “I’ll give ‘em your dad’s number in case there’s any issues. But no going back there now or something will happen and you’ll never leave. So let’s just go.”

Stiles clambered up from the ground feeling strangely light and warm. Hopeful. And still kinda high he supposed. While Derek made that call he rearranged some of his stuff and then took all of it out it of Roscoe, putting the duffle bag in the now open trunk of the Camaro — it was so getting a name on this road trip — and throwing his backpack, pillow, and snacks in the back seat. 

“Shotgun!” he yelled, completely unnecessarily before getting in up front. Derek squinted at him and shook his head, getting behind the wheel. 

The sun had just gone down, but it wasn’t dark yet and he caught his beaming reflection in the side mirror. Stiles hooked up his phone to the stereo. 

The chorus of “Work” came blaring back to life just as Derek put the pedal to the metal and peeled out of there (after carefully checking the mirrors and blind spots of course,) tires kicking up dirt and gravel. “You wanna take a ride? Get out of this place while we still have time.”

The Camaro even fishtailed some pulling back onto the pavement and Stiles smirked, pretty sure that display of Fast & Furious-ness was for his benefit. He grabbed the Oh Shit handle and whooped. Now he was off! They. The both of them.

“So where are we going?” he asked a few minutes later when his heart rate had returned to what passed as normal for him. 

“Wherever you want,” Derek replied, a bit too conspicuously. 

Wherever. Where. Ever. 

Stiles’ left leg began bouncing up and down and he turned away to gaze out the window, eyes unfocusing so that the trees blurred into one continuous spiny ripple. He was hearing what he hearing, right? I mean, he was pretty sure. 

But if there was a 10% or even 3% chance that Derek would turn this car around or like, jump out the window of a moving vehicle in horror at his feelings and desires he didn’t want to risk it. No matter how much he wanted…whatever. Because if this trip ended before it even began Stiles didn’t know what he would do. How he would survive or if he—

A large hand clamped down to still his jittering. Warm and squeezing just above his knee. The inner side of his thigh. Without looking — he couldn’t okay, not until he knew he wasn’t wrong —  he “casually” put his left hand, palm up, a bit higher up on his leg. Derek laid his own on top of it, thicker fingers twining with his. Holy shit. Okay. 

Stiles turned slowly then, hardly daring to breathe, and met glowing blue eyes. Suddenly, it felt like something in his chest, in his soul, rearranged. Stabilized. A pack bond snapping properly into place. He rubbed over his sternum with his right hand as Derek inhaled sharply and then wrenched his attention back on the road since he was driving and all. 

Whoa.  

There’d been lots of upheaval over the last few years. Being Scott’s, Being both of theirs. Derek giving up his Alpha spark for Cora and leaving, the Nogitsune, things being all fucked up and not feeling like he belonged to anyone at all. Derek coming back, but them both out of sorts and dealing with their own shit amidst everything and him being confused and isolated and not really open for connection. Had to close the door. 

Their bond hadn’t broken, but it hadn’t been right either. And now…

Already he was feeling more settled. Stronger. Content even after they claimed or re-claimed each other as pack or whatever exactly that was. Stiles cleared his throat. 

“How about Reno?”

Derek rolled his eyes, but then broke into a grin. 

“Sure.”

Several more moments passed with his brain trying to regain functionality and Derek looking at him pointedly.

“What?”

“You’re the navigator.”

Stiles flailed and nearly dropped his phone.

“Oh, right.”

He pulled up the routes and selected one for directions. That done, he started looking up stuff about the city. Places they might want to eat or walk around.

About halfway there his dad called and he took a deep breath before answering. They talked for a while, Derek hearing everything of course, but Stiles had shaken his head no when he mimed pulling over. It’s not like the werewolf wouldn’t hear just as much anyway unless he ran off a good ways and that would just be silly. 

Stiles wasn’t sure which of them was more surprised at the clear relief in his father’s voice when he learned that Derek was now going with him. 

“You two stay out of trouble, alright? Derek…”

“I’ll look out for him, sir,” he responded loudly.

“Good man.” 

Stiles watched Derek duck his head a bit, bunny teeth peeking out as he smiled. God, he was adorable when he let himself feel things.

“Okay kiddo,” his dad said, addressing him again. “Well, I hope you get what you need out there. I’ll just be here enjoying the peace and quiet and bacon burgers every day—“

“Daaad,” he groaned as his father laughed. 

“Just kidding, son. I miss you already.”

“I miss you too, Dad”

“Alright, Love you, have fun.”

“I love you t—”

“But not too much fun.” 

Stiles rolled his eyes.  

“Bye!” he yelled, hanging up. 

They stopped at a drive-thru for some hot food on the outskirts of Reno. Burgers and sodas with curly fries, of course. It was around midnight when Derek pulled off at the next turnout, overlooking the city. They ate half-sitting, half-leaning against the warm hood of the Camaro. 

Stiles was going to propose going down there and gawking at the late night antics for a bit (unfortunately, unlike some places in California he was too young to play a few slot machines here and see if his luck really was turning around.) Then finding somewhere to sleep. A motel room. With Derek.

There was a flash of heat in his belly and it became a bit of a struggle to swallow his current bite of potato-y goodness. He managed not to choke as he blushed at where his imagination was heading and felt very accomplished.

Derek looked over at him, nostrils flaring, and reached out to wipe ketchup from the corner of his mouth with a thumb. Not quite daring enough to take it into his mouth, Stiles leaned into his palm and those searching eyes first softened and then focused intently. In the blink of an eye Derek’s face was much closer, but not quite touching his. Warm puffs of breath tickled his skin. 

He closed the gap and then they were kissing. Slow and tentative at first, gentle and tasting, and then something deeper. Hungrier. Derek was the first to pull back, grinning and leaving him breathless, but craving more. If it was left up to him he probably would've kept going until they both passed out. Or just him, who was he kidding. Damn werewolf constitution.

They turned back to the shining oasis in the darkness, flashing lights and neon signs, and he sidled up to Derek, who then put an arm around his shoulder. Slotting into place like puzzle pieces. A satellite passed by overhead, but he wished on it like a shooting star anyway. Please let this be real. 

Stiles snuggled even more into Derek’s side and breathed him in, calmed by his warmth and  woodsy scent as if he were a wolf himself. He closed his eyes to the sound and vibration of pleased rumbling, comfortable and pondering the possibilities opening up before them. 

The crunch of balled up wrappers and other garbage being placed in the bag that their food came in had him jolting awake. He must’ve dozed off for a while. God knows he needed it. 

Derek smiled at him, one of those special fond ones that Stiles had collected like rare treasures and placed inside his stupid little heart before forcing himself to think of other things. He didn’t have to do that anymore though, he could hold onto them and inspect them all he wanted. Do his best to get more of them.

“You ready?” Derek asked, holding out his free hand. Stiles took it and was pulled upright, where he stole a kiss.

“Yeah, let’s go.” 

Thanks for reading!

Previous (unrelated) fics for the Mead Moons event/series:

Second Chance Strays

Thunder

Stiles tranq’d the quartet of Dobermans from afar with night vision goggles and dropped the dart gun to be collected later or left behind as circumstances permitted. It wouldn’t led back to him. He slipped inside with a hacked door code, the gentle beeping hopefully not yet alerting his quarry. Carefully, he made his way through the house, avoiding or disengaging a series of booby traps that he used the man’s own surveillance cameras to memorize.

He was almost to the wing with the sleeping quarters when suddenly an alarm that sounded like the apocalypse itself started going off. What the entire fuck? He knew he hadn’t messed anything up. Moments later it blessedly cut off again, but then he heard a roar of pain behind him as he sprinted down the hall and realized that he wasn’t the only one breaking in tonight. Of all the dumb fucking luck.  

Stiles turned and saw a man rushing toward him, shouting, and he sped up. The guy moved unnaturally fast and gave the distinct impression of wanting to rip him apart. Yeah no, buddy. 

He jumped a trip wire and then threw himself to the right, ducking under another sensor. From the sounds of gunfire behind him his pursuer hadn’t bothered to pay attention to his maneuvers, but must’ve been one lucky son-of-a-bitch because the footsteps kept coming, if somewhat slower. 

Reaching the end of the hall, Stiles quickly triggered a thick metal door to descend, which slammed down between them before the mystery mission-crasher could get through. There was a narrow strip of some transparent bulletproof material in the otherwise solid steel door and he met the shadowed eyes of the man cursing him on the other side, an odd reflection making them seem bright blue for a moment. Seconds passed entranced as they stared, but then he shook himself out of it.

“Sorry, my guy. This is my party and you weren’t invited.” 

There was an answering thud near his head and more muffled cursing and noises of frustration.

“If you let him get away I’m going to tear your throat out,” the man threatened. See? He knew the guy was a ripper.

Stiles scoffed. “You’re the one who fucked this up, asshole.” He turned away muttering, “Goddamn Leroy Jenkins over here.”

Luckily, he always had a backup plan, in this case the code to the panic room as well. That’s what too many simulations and drills would get you. 

Humming softly, he withdrew his gun and prepared to go inside. Here she comes now, sayin’ Mony Mony. Shoot ‘em down, turn around, come on Mony. 

When their eyes met again over what was now a mangled corpse it was…something at first sight. Well, technically, it was like, third sight, but this was his first time actually getting a good look at the guy. And vice versa from the way those light colored eyes were currently tracking up and down his body. 

The man was older, but not yet middle-aged — perhaps 35 or so — and had impeccable style. Upscale business casual threads in blues and grays with a belt and shoes in an orange-brown for color. Stiles had no penchant for it himself, but could appreciate it all the same. He noted some red leaking through the navy blazer. The man didn’t seem concerned though, so it must’ve been a graze. 

Stiles straightened up and wiped the blood spatter from his face. The mark had gotten off a couple shots, one going wide and the other embedding in the side of his vest. He’d shot the man’s right arm, causing the revolver to fall to the floor, and followed up with another one high on his leg. Then it’d been bat time. 

This was personal, after all. The motherfucker — a former deputy — almost killed his father. Did kill innocent bystanders. Heather.  He gave the piece of shit a last kick to the head and flipped him over.

“Darling, you look so good in red,” the man purred.

If it were anyone else Stiles would’ve hefted his still dripping bat in warning, but instead he found himself grinning like an idiot and felt himself flush more than from his recent exertion.

“I bet you say that to all the boys,” he said, cleaning his favorite weapon on the back of the dead man’s shirt before pulling out a bag from his hoodie, wrapping it up, and sliding it back in its sheath. 

Then he unlocked a second door and backed away into the night, not taking his eyes off the man watching his every move until he had to disarm another trap in the side yard. 

The next time they met he’d been the one to arrive to a murder in progress. And how. Stiles had seen a lot in his 21 years — especially the last two or so spent ever further outside of the law — but he never expected to come face to face with a hulking beast with wicked claws and ginormous fangs in a freaky, furry face. Furry everything.

He stood there stunned for several moments, gun pointed at the creature, but not firing as it finished off the lowlife he came to kill. It was disgusting, but impressive.

When it was done the beast looked at him, but made no move to attack. Then it started to change, the sight of flesh rippling and the sound of bones reforming quite disturbing really. Lastly, he watched as the fur receded and it became a man, the man, that he encountered when he took care of Haigh. 

The man he couldn’t stop thinking about and kicked himself for not getting any information that he could’ve used to track him down. To find out more about him. Who he was and what he was about. If he’d liked to get naked sometime. 

Speaking of which, he hadn’t really noticed before what with the very distracting eviscerating going on, but most of the beast man’s clothes had torn in his prior transformation, only scrapes of pants hiding his junk almost like a pair of extra ripped Daisy Dukes. Stiles had no qualms about checking him out and was tickled when he preened and set a hand on his hip.

“So we meet again, sweetheart. Like what you see?”

Always with the endearments, this guy. Monster guy. Werewolf, he supposed. It was obvious that he did like it, but that didn’t mean he was going to say so out loud. Stiles raised an eyebrow and changed the subject.

“Should we be comparing lists or something?” 

There was an amused snort. “Perhaps.” 

They stood around awkwardly for a few moments and then Stiles went to get a closer look at the thoroughly shredded Body Formerly Known As Todd.

“You’re not going to ask?” the werewolf blurted.

There was surprise and incredulity in his voice. And was that a hint of disappointment? Stiles bet he had a whole spiel prepared. He smirked.

“About what? You’re a guy who turns into a wolf-bear creature. And? Do you have another trick up your sleeve? Some fascinating hobby?” 

The werewolf erupted into a full-body laugh, mouth open and eyes sparkling — Stiles was close enough now to see that they were blue — and he was pleased to elicit such a response. He wanted to hear that sound again. 

“Eh, that’s about it unless you consider my day job interesting?” 

“Which is…?” 

“I’m a rather sought after lawyer.”

“Not in the slightest,” Stiles replied, grinning.

“Ouch, you wound me. I bet you’ll change your tune when you need my help getting out of jail and a long prison sentence.” 

“Pbbt, your furry ass will be right there beside me the way things are going.” Which brought him back to the subject at hand. Or foot. “So about that list. Why were you after the likes of this scumbag?” He nudged the body with his shoe.

He listened as werewolf explained that Todd here had been working with a group of Hunters — how original — that attacked supernatural creatures even when they’d done nothing wrong. A group that had killed several members of his family, only himself and his nieces and nephew surviving. That Haigh had helped to cover it up before moving and joining the force in Beacon Hills, where he took part — both directly and indirectly — in the deaths of multiple supernaturals and humans alike. 

Stiles then he gave his own reasons for going after the same targets. His father’s near death and the indiscriminate killing of his childhood friend Heather and other folks who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Stiles studied the man in front of him (he was definitely a man regardless of whatever else he was) and mentioned a few more names he was hoping to cross off, observing a reaction to one of them.

“Well, it sounds like a bunch of your enemies are my enemies.”

“Does that make us friends?” the werewolf asked, words laden with seductive promise. 

Stiles put his right hand out flat and rotated his forearm back and forth. “Perhaps.” He winked and retrieved his latest burner phone.

They decided to meet up a few hours later about a 100 miles away at a brewpub in Santa Rosa. Stiles was more nervous on the drive there than he’d been when going a-murdering. At least after the first few times. He slid into a private booth where the werewolf waited upstairs, quiet enough to hear each other easily, but loud enough in the establishment to drown out their conversation. 

He might’ve had a bit (a lot) more to drink than he intended, feeling all kinds of things in the presence of the attractive, deadly, supposed-to-be-mythological man who flirted like innuendos were the gas pedal in Speed. Stiles was amused. Conflicted. Aroused. Reckless.

He remembered flashes of what followed after they settled on a joint course of action. The hawk-eyed stare as he suggestively ate various vaguely phallic finger foods. Stumbling on the steps outside. A hand reaching into his pocket and being buckled into a different car than he arrived in. Asking if the werewolf knew how unfair it was that he was “just so fucking hot” and singing that he wanted to, quote unquote, “Lick lick lick lick you from your head to your toes.”

Being guided through the door of his motel room and onto his unmade bed. A face pressed against his neck and the lightest brush of lips on his throat.  Murmured words, a streetlight briefly flooding the room, and then darkness and silence.

Stiles woke with a start, but soon began to relax after taking stock of first himself and then his surroundings. He was unmurdered, unmolested, and by all accounts still in possession of all of his belongings. The only things out of place were a pair of playing cards tucked underneath his wallet on the beside table. Well, the first was a playing card, the Ace of Spades of course. The second had the back of one, but was actually a fairly standard business card on the other side. It had a triple spiral symbol on the left. 

Peter Hale, Attorney at Law.

He smiled.

Stiles watched as Peter was punched and pistol-whipped, dragged bloodied and bruised into the inner sanctum of some crime lord’s wannabe chateau. Listened as he begged while henchmen laughed and jeered, taunting that he’d never leave this room alive as they continued to pummel him before tying him up for their boss to interrogate. 

And the award goes to…

When “Mr Marc,” the self-described King of Sacramento, entered the room it was his cue to cut the lights. That unsettling sound of rearranging came through his head piece and then the screaming and gunfire began. 

Stiles took out a few soldiers on the way with his second favorite weapon, a semi-automatic pistol, but the rest had already converged on the custom made cell. Unfortunate for them. By the time he peeked inside it was all over, but the cursing of one gasping Carl Marconi. The man who’d been financing the likes of Haigh and Todd and dealing less-than-legal weapons to the Hunters, not out of any particular animus, but finding the extermination of supernaturals and related fuckery profitable. 

“You messed with the wrong folks,” he said, leaning against the wall as Peter lifted Marconi by the throat in the green light of his night vision goggles. Seconds later there was ripping and gurgling and a trachea landed a few feet away from him with a soft thud.

“Gross, dude.”    

Stiles invited him over after they cleaned up what they needed to, leaving the bodies for their affiliates to find. Perhaps they’d have second thoughts about their business. He booked a nicer place this time, an actual hotel instead of his usual hovel-esque lodgings.

Despite all of his suggestive behavior Peter actually seemed surprised when he pounced as soon as they made it inside.

“Well, this is kind of our third date,” Stiles joked, wagging his eyebrows before kissing him again. 

They made out against the door for a bit, getting more and more heated with little nips and delving tongues. It was obvious that Peter assumed that he would be in charge, but Stiles had other plans at the moment. The wolf followed his unspoken directions with an air of being put upon as he went down to his knees, eyes glowing that inhumane blue, but going nonetheless. 

Stiles pulled out his cock and Peter dropped his fangs with a smirk, but that was no deterrence. Danger only made him harder. 

Carefully, he rubbed the head over Peter’s top lip and then on the fronts of both elongated upper canines and the werewolf shivered, whispering his namebefore retracting his sharpness and taking him into his mouth. Stiles caressed his head as it bobbed, eventually giving a testing tug. Peter groaned and increased his tempo so he did it again. Soon he was holding him stationary and fucking his face, so incredibly turned on be having his way with the werewolf — being allowed to use him — and when he came with a shout Peter swallowed it all, lips wet and eyes shiny.

As he leaned back against the nearby dresser in the midst of his afterglow Peter rose effortlessly to his feet, riled up up and ravenous.

“My turn,” he rasped, plundering Stiles’ mouth and sharing a taste of himself. Pressing him hard against the wall, Peter extended his claws just long enough to tear off his pants and boxer briefs, leaving tiny lines that didn’t quite bleed on his skin.  

“Suck,” he growled, sticking blunted fingers between his lips.

Stiles obliged, jerking his hips at a jolt of arousal. It’d take a while before his dick got back in the game, but he wanted nonetheless. Before he could fully register that his mouth was empty again two fingers were rubbing over his hole. He tried to relax as one pressed inside, burning slightly. 

“So tight, you’re going to feel amazing on my cock,” said Peter, grasping under a thigh and around his back to carry him over to the bed. 

Stiles’ heart raced with both nervousness and excitement knowing what would happen next. He’d been fingered before — mostly, though not solely, by himself — but he’d always topped with his previous partners when it came to fucking. He was also aware that this would not be a gentle deflowering, but he didn’t want to stop. 

After tossing him face down on the bed Peter quickly sniffed out his lube before Stiles could tell him that it was still in his luggage — he deserved a reward for not making a dog joke — and then two slick digits were entering him, alternating between spreading him and brushing over his prostate and then just pumping repeatedly. He wiggled and moaned, rubbing against the bedsheets below him.

“Such a good little whore,” Peter crooned, palming an ass check with his other hand and then lifting it off again. “I know exactly what you need.”

Stiles’ face heated at the words, but he discovered that he liked it. He heard a bottle cap being flicked open and viscous liquid being applied to Peter’s cock. Then he was being pulled up by the hips onto his knees, which were nudged farther apart, and the werewolf climbed over him. Hot, hard flesh pressed against his rim. Stiles realized then that he hadn’t even seen it and had no idea what he was getting into. Or rather, what was getting into him. Breathe, breathe. Relax, relax, re—

With a snarl Peter pushed steadily inside him and he gasped as his body struggled to accommodate the intrusion. His hands clenched in the sheets as he was stretched wide, panting with tears instantly forming in his eyes.

Groans of pleasure from just above punctuated the sound of Peter’s balls slapping against him as he was pounded for several moments and willed himself to just take it. He’d taken Peter’s mouth after all, it was only fair.

Then the movement paused, the fact that he was unusually quiet and still perhaps pulling the older man out of his own blissed out world. 

“Sweetheart, are you okay?” 

Stiles turned his head and gave a shaky smile, nodding, but Peter shot him a skeptical look and then seemed to concentrate inward. He watched in amazement as dark lines began to flow along the werewolf’s veins and suddenly most of the pain was gone, leaving only a mild ache. Taking some deep breaths, he focused on relaxing and letting himself adjust. When Then he experimented with rocking his hips. 

Peter adjusted his position a bit and when he pushed back again he lit up with pleasure, moaning. 

“There we go, darling.” 

The thrusting continued, slower this time, and the werewolf leaned down to lick and suck on his neck. His own cock was hard once more and Stiles began to writhe and gyrate, desperate for more friction. 

Strong hand clamped down on his neck and waist, stilling him as Peter speed up again. “You’re going to be a good boy and take what I give you,” he growled, snapping his hips. 

Stiles gave himself over to the wolf’s control and the cock mercilessly targeting that wondrous little bundle of nerves. He was just starting to get close, but then he felt something happening. An increased pressure.

Peter swore and paused momentarily, grabbing the bottle of lube and drizzling more over them. As he resumed fucking him Stiles felt it again, something stretching him even more.

“Peter?” he gasped.

“Shhhh. It’s okay, darling. Do you trust me?”

Strangely enough, Stiles did. He probably shouldn’t, but that didn’t seem to matter.

“Yeah,” he answered honestly.  The hand at his neck moved to stroke gently down his left side.

“Do you want to be mine? For me to be yours?”

“Yes,” he sobbed, suddenly feeling vulnerable. Not understanding what was going on. He wasn’t really sure what Peter meant either, but he wanted it all the same. The idea of belonging. Wishing that could be true.

Peter made a pleased, guttural sound and he felt himself being opened wider still. He whimpered and the part of the sensation that had crossed over into pain was siphoned again. Finally the source of the pressure slipped all the way inside where it nestled against his prostate. The wolf began to swivel his hips, grinding into him over and over.

Stiles cried out as he came, clenching around the large object and then suddenly sharp fangs were embedded where his shoulder met his neck. He was already overwhelmed before a rush of foreign information — impressions and feelings and things he had no words for — flooded his brain just as Peter’s hot cum flooded his body and he passed out to the sound of roaring.

He floated back to awareness being held to a warm chest, a hand gently stroking his back and neck. He felt sticky and slightly sore, bombarded by sensations and emotions.

“Is that what bottoming is always like? Holy fuck,” he muttered, half-lifting his head groggily before letting it fall again.

Peter paused his petting and Stiles almost begged him to continue the grounding contact.

“You…I assumed…” The wolf was actually at a loss for a moment. 

“S’fine,” he mumbled into the pillow. The soothing touch continued more softly.

When his brain truly came back online some minutes later he jerked up, pulling back to look at Peter, who’d apparently been doing that pain drain thing again. He was going to ask about that later, but he had more pressing things on his mind.

“So wait, what the fuck was up with your dick? And why do I feel like…like there’s more…just more in my head?”

For the first time he saw actual worry on the werewolf’s face, before it smoothed back into a neutral expression.

“Well…”

The more Peter explained about werewolves and mating and wolf mates the narrower his eyes got until he could barely see the mouth still flapping only a few feet away.

“And you didn’t think to tell me about any of that beforehand, you son-of-a-bitch?!”

The worried look was back again, but even more pronounced. Stiles could feel -- because he had some mystical bullshit feeding him another person’s emotions somewhere in his head now — Peter’s anxiety and fear. His defensiveness and discomfort and a flash of hurt, as well. Boo-fucking-hoo. Tellingly, there was only the barest whisper of guilt. The bastard. 

Peter opened his mouth to respond, but he cut him off. 

“Blah blah blah, wolfy instincts I’m sure. You’re a selfish bastard.” Stiles glared into stormy sea eyes. “But then so am I.” 

Peter huffed, crossing his arms. “Well, you can always kill me if you want out.”

“I know.” 

He hadn’t actually known until just then, but he’d figured that would be the case. Peter grimaced and nodded. 

“Are you going to?” 

A numb resignation drifted through the bond. That’s what it was called. The bond. Pack bond. Mating bond. He was a mated man. Claimed.

“Hmm…perhaps,” he answered with bared teeth. 

“Lie.” The wolf hissed. He then leaned forward slightly and sniffed, his head tilted and eyes unfocused before they narrowed in turn. “You’re…not actually mad about this, are you?”

“Not really,” Stiles said, shrugging and sighing deeply. He let out go of the anger that he’d been purposefully trying to cultivate. That he probably should feel, but didn’t. He wondered what that said about him. “But it’s the principle of the thing,” he added, punctuating the words with a finger jabbing into Peter’s chest. 

The asshole flashed a triumphant grin and that occupied little corner of brain was all happy and relieved and smug.

“Eat me,” he retorted, flipping double birds.

And well…Peter did. 

God, his tongue. A++, would be rimmed until he babbled and cried again. And again. He had half a mind to make it a stipulation whenever they got around to drawing up the legal papers as well.

The next morning the wolf — his wolf — was in the process of getting out of bed, but Stiles wrapped around him from behind like an octopus and pulled him back to sit on the edge of the mattress. He spat in his hand and reached around and down to grasp his hardening shaft, tweaking a nipple with the other and leaving disappointingly brief hickeys on the side of his neck. Peter thrusted up into his hand for a minute or two and then twisted to push him onto his back, sliding over his body and settling between his legs. 

He lined up their cocks and then began rutting between, making those hot growly sounds as Stiles moaned and wrapped long legs around his waist and moved his hips. 

“I’m going to give that sweet ass of yours a break,” Peter whispered in his ear, licking and nipping at an earlobe. “But I’ll be fucking you again real soon.”

Perhaps I’ll fuck you first.

Stiles followed Peter into Growing Gaines, a cozy, fairly new shop which sold flowers, plants, and natural remedies. He turned the sign in the door to “Closed” and quietly twisted the lock behind him. 

This was a more impromptu job than usual, the result of his mate showing him bestiaries and other books about the supernatural a couple mornings ago and suddenly coming to the realization that the recent influx of missing children in the area was probably due to some kind of fae creature. Likely in Oakland, around 15 miles away from Peter’s apartment in Walnut Creek, based on the pattern of disappearances.

A wandering Higher Unseelie it turned out, though the exact species was unknown.  Ancient. Beautiful. Deadly. And in this case, rather sloppy, sometimes literally.

There’d been no time to waste — they wanted to make sure she didn’t strike again — so they collected what they knew to work against the fae, much of it already in the wolf’s possession. (Peter had informed him that he was something called a Left Hand, a pack’s protector and enforcer. An instrument of vengeance should harm befall them.) Purified salt, mistletoe, holly, and silver. Rowan, which was part of the rose family and also known as mountain ash. Peter had it in both wood and powdered forms despite not being able to touch it himself. And of course “iron — cold iron — is master of them all.”     

There was some debate about exactly what “cold iron” meant: iron turned into a weapon, iron that had been cold-worked instead of forged or welded, raw iron ore or just a poetic term for iron in general. Stiles made sure to cover all his bases by selecting a sharpened, cold-worked spike made from a meteorite and attached to a rowan handle from the Hale vault. Hell, he threw it in the freezer for good measure and packed it in a cooler bag with ice packs even though the wolf laughed and laughed at him.

While Peter turned on the charm and distracted the sweetly smiling platinum blonde he got to work “browsing” the plant section out back and laid out a binding circle. Well, it was more of an oval really. When she led Peter toward the weigelas he asked about Stiles knocked her out with a rag soaked in mistletoe extract and rolled in silver dust. 

They’d been pretty damn certain that they had the right culprit, but to make absolutely sure Peter rifled through the office inside while Stiles kept watch over the unconscious “Alisha Gaines.” When he felt a sense of nausea followed by rage through the bond he knew that they did before the wolf returned with a look of disgust on his face. It took about another ten minutes for her to wake up — they wanted her aware of why she was going to die — and everything was ready.

“You know all you had to do was not be a complete piece of shit and you could’ve lived just about forever,” Stiles said, shaking his head at the triple bound fairy. “It’s not like you even needed to eat people — children — to survive or anything. You just wanted to.” The malevolent creature glared at him with pure hatred, but thankfully looks couldn’t kill unless you were dealing with a basilisk. “Oh well.” He drove the iron spike into her heart.

With a muffled scream she began to dissipate, which was both fascinating and very convenient. Power coursed through him —as he’d read that it would — and also into a set of seven amulets that he had wrapped around his right wrist. Stiles didn’t have magic himself, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t use it if harnessed in certain ways. And he could definitely benefit from the general upgrade in health and vitality from a transference of life force.  

“God, you’re so fucking sexy when you do that,“ Peter growled, burying a hand in his growing hair and all but mashing their faces together. “The planning.” He licked over the seam of Stiles’ lips. ”The set up.” A teasing tongue worked into his mouth. “Keeping it short and sweet…” Peter sucked on his lower lip. “Instead of a whole monologue.” 

Stiles slipped his tongue into the wolf’s mouth. 

“The execution,” Peter hissed, resting their foreheads together, breathing each other in. “Pun intended,” he added a few moments later before diving back in again. 

The kissing turned into wrestling for dominance and surprisingly enough Stiles won, arms wrapped around the wolf from behind with teeth set to the side of his throat. He wasn’t sure if the fae power gave him that much of a boost or whether Peter simply relented for once. 

“Looks like I’ll be having you tonight” he teased, swatting Peter on the ass. The wolf huffed and stalked away, but he could tell that he was actually pleased. Excited even. This whole bond thing was pretty cool after all, at least when it worked to his advantage. 

Stiles gathered several bunches of hanging herbs that were drying in the sunshine knowing that Mr. Fancy Pants would totally love that shit. He also swiped two bouquets of roses from inside, one with classic, long-stemmed red flowers and the other a pretty light purple variety. The tag called it Plum Perfect and described it as “lavender” and “double flowered.” What could he say, he was a romantic.

Peter made them a lovely beef roast for dinner with root vegetables — parsnips, carrots, Yukon gold and sweet potatoes, and freakin’ rutabagas because he was extra like that — cooked in a red wine sauce with some of the fresh thyme. Afterwards, Stiles found him in the bedroom naked and spread out on his back for him. He hurriedly pulled off his clothes and climbed onto the slate blue 1000 thread count sheets.

The wolf wore a come-and-get-it smirk on his face, but Stiles could feel that he was nervous too. He just lay on top of Peter for a while, kissing him and mouthing his neck while frotting lazily between his legs, enjoying a nice, slowly building heat. His wolf grabbed one of his hands and kissed it, looking up at him with such affection in his eyes.

“Go ahead, sweetheart. It’s just been a long time.” 

Then he took two of those fingers and sucked until they were sopping wet, guiding his hand down between them. Stiles didn’t need to be told twice.

He bit Peter’s shoulder and closed his eyes after inserting that first finger, circling and rubbing inside. He reached over for the lube when he was about to add another, but then held it over the other man’s left hand instead.

“I wanna see you fuck yourself open for me.”

Peter inhaled sharply and moved to obey. The slick sounds watching those shorter, but thicker fingers pumping into his ass, went straight to Stiles’ already rock hard cock. 

“C’mon, show me how much you want it.” 

Peter’s eyes flashed that beautiful bright blue and he started to thrust up with his hips to meet his hand, the tendons in his neck standing out as leaned forward and threw himself into it. Stiles was practically drooling as he stared and decided to put that pooling saliva to use, letting it drip down over his mate’s now three busy fingers. He bent down off to the side and suckled the head of Peter’s leaking cock, licking and kissing and then enveloping it again a few times before pulling away, the wolf trying to keep him there with the scrabbling digits of his other hand. 

He smirked and Peter glared at him — all flushed and sweaty and shameless…beautiful — until he saw him slicking himself up. When Stiles grasped the backs of his thighs just above the knees and lifted the wolf finally withdrew his fingers so that he could take their place. He shuffled forward and rubbed the tip of his cock over his mate’s quivering hole, teasing and savoring the delicious anticipation.

“Fucking hurry it up!” Peter barked. 

Stiles had half a mind to make him wait even more, make him beg, but he was more than ready to get on with it himself. No, he’d give Peter exactly what he wanted. 

“Fuck,” he breathed as he entered that tight, engulfing heat, steadily sinking in until he was sheathed completely. Peter’s mouth hung open, his rim stretched and clenching around Stiles’ cock, but he wasn’t experiencing true pain. Still, he waited until Peter started to wiggle around and then he snapped his hips, setting an even pace. 

Stiles settled down onto his forearms to kiss him and then buried a hand in his hair, tugging his head up and latching onto his neck. His tips tingled from the vibrations of Peter’s moans. He switched to undulating his hips every so often, dragging long and slow.

It was so so good, but soon he began to crave something else. A wilder, animal impulse urged him to claim.

Peter whined when he suddenly pulled out, but he wouldn’t be left empty for long. Stiles flipped him over and lined himself up, pushing back in with a single forceful thrust. He grasped the wolf by the throat, not choking him, but holding firmly, and began thrusting again with abandon. Deep, hard strokes that pressed him into the mattress. Peter gasped and tilted his hips back, spurring him on even more. 

“That’s a good bitch,” Stiles said before biting the back of his neck.

And then Peter was tensing up all over, making low, breathy sounds and clenching around his cock as he came and came and came. Stiles felt his rapid pulse against his palm, squeezing once before letting go and planting both hands on the bed. He sped up then, chasing his own end as the wolf still twitched beneath him. It wasn’t long before his balls drew up tight and he began to shoot his load. 

“Mine mine mine,” he chanted, just as Peter often did when he was the one coming apart under his mate. Stiles only wished that he had a knot to bury in him too. Perhaps he’d check out some of those not-entirely-fantasy-after-all sex toy makers. 

He continued to slowly thrust into Peter even after he emptied every last drop inside him.

They were on the road again, this time all the way to Austin, TX. They could’ve just flown in and gotten a car down there, but it became an excuse to do some gallivanting on the way. Vegas. Albuquerque. Maybe they’d swing down across the border to Monterrey on the drive back. Hit up some museums and stuff themselves with cabrito al pastor.

Stiles all but skipped into their first stop in the city — one of the dozen and a half or so record stores he pulled up on the map — excited to buy some vinyl now that he had access to a turntable and a state of the art sound system. He was browsing the H-Me section when Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell caught his eye. Memories of that fateful trip to Albion and his first encounter with Peter ran through his mind and he grinned. Of course he had to get it. 

The fact that this was their final mission practically made it a sign. An auspicious one, he hoped. Their kill lists had significant overlap, but there were a number of targets who only made the mistake of enraging one of them. Not that that mattered, they were no less dead for it. If someone made it onto Peter’s then, by golly, that was reason enough to land them in his sights as well and vice-versa. 

This one made the top of both of theirs, though. Gerard Argent. Leader of the Argent clan despite their supposed matriarchy. The Hunter who bribed corrupt policeman like Haigh and introduced the likes of Marconi to the existence of the supernatural. Who approved his daughter’s heinous attack on the Hales. 

Stiles had been happy to learn that she’d been left to rot in scattered pieces — or perhaps to become a meal for some lurking scavenger — in a landfill somewhere in the southwest. Arizona or New Mexico. His mate had been kind of out of it at the time, apparently. Kate Argent was one of Peter’s first post-fire kills and understandably the most emotional. 

Now it was time for her father to pay. They’d saved him for last. 

Things went wrong almost immediately, a series of cascading minor mishaps requiring them to adapt everything on the fly. All they needed was for Peter to wearingly declare that he was too old for this shit (he would never) and it would’ve been a perfect cliche. But in the end the mission was salvaged. Gerard was super dead and they were still around to return one day and piss on his grave. The worse for wear for sure — he’d been injured enough to need all 3 of the amulets he brought and would probably have nightmares from having to burn that much wolfsbane out of Peter — but alive. That was all that mattered.

There is nothing safe in this world. And there's nothing sure in this world. And there's nothing pure in this world. Look for something left in this world. Start again.

They were somewhere between Artesia Wells and Encinal, about 60 miles from the border, when Stiles was directed to turn off onto an unmarked dirt path and through a gate. It was covered in signs declaring it private property and promising trespassers a plethora of bodily harm. Stiles raised his eyebrows and glanced over as he continued farther down. 

“It belongs to friends of the family,” Peter stated, completely at ease

The pack. Sometimes the fact that he was now part of it too, if not yet officially, made him slack-jawed with disbelief. Stiles Stilinski, guy who runs with wolves. 

Well, just the one at the moment. And he preferred a brisk walk or a jog at most. A nice sedate stroll from time to time.

They built an unnecessarily large bonfire from the stack of dry branches next to the large two room shed, which was stocked full of water and nonperishable food on one side and various tools, cleaning solutions, and other potentially useful miscellanea on the other. Nice.

He was about to toss in any last detritus from their venture — a pair of shoes, certain fake IDs, some papers (written in code, but still,) a blood-soaked woven tote bag and such — when Peter grabbed his wrist.

“Ah ah ah, dear heart. Smores first, then incriminating evidence. Who knows what awful chemicals are in that stuff.”

Stiles snorted. “I’m still going to breathe it in, babe.”

“Not if you go back to the car and let me and me and my superior constitution handle it. After dessert.”

He rolled his eyes, but sent a burst of affection through their bond. Peter might often wrap it up in jerkitude, but it was these small, thoughtful gestures that showed how much he cared. 

“So what’s on the agenda when we get back? Redecorating? Adopting a pet?” he inquired between gooey bites of chocolate-y marshmallow deliciousness.

Peter didn’t dignify the first suggestion with a response. “Hmm, a well-behaved adult cat might be negotiable.”

“If…?”

“If you accompany me to the Pack House.”

Stiles felt his face warp into something merely resembling a smile.

“Um…sure.” 

He just couldn’t help being anxious about it. What if Laura refused to accept him after she actually met him? Or the three of them just didn’t like him. He learned about how important packs were to wolves when Peter explained about being a Left Hand and all that. 

His mate chuckled and rubbed his shoulders consolingly.

“Okay love, not yet. But soon. And it’ll be fine, I promise. They’re going to love you.”

Stiles wished he could say the same, already imagining the look on the retired Sheriff’s face when introduced to the older man who was even more bloodthirsty and chaotic than he was, not to mention kind of a snob to boot. And that wasn’t even getting into the werewolf thing, assuming he ever broached that topic at all. But hopefully in time his dad would come around once he saw how well they were suited and how doting and devoted Peter was, even if would have studiously not look too closely should any more trash need to be disposed of. 

Almost a week later they returned to Peter’s apartment. Their apartment now he supposed unless the wolf wanted somewhere new. There was no way in hell he was moving into Stiles’ shanty studio situation up in Sacramento, that was for sure, and the idea of living apart was…discomforting to say the least. He liked to blame it on the mate bond or the frequency with which he awoke to Peter’s mouth around his cock, but he also loved cuddling and spooning and breaksfast in bed, okay? 

The Pack House was in Emeryville about 20 minutes away, but he knew his mate liked having his own place. Hadn’t spent much time there at all recently, what with the various “errands” and then being, ahem, tied up with him. He knew Peter missed them and that they wanted to see him too. Both of them. Perhaps he would invite them over for dinner this upcoming weekend. Yeah, hopefully it would be less nerve-wracking if they met in his territory so to speak. This little slice of home.

Stiles made a beeline for the record player to put on his latest purchase. Peter rolled his eyes, smirking at him until music filled the living room and he started to strut, advancing on the wolf and slipping fingers into his belt loops to encourage him to move. "Last night a little dancer came dancin' to my door..." he sang, alternating his shoulders up and down and gyrating.

It turned out that Mr. Hale could shake it with the best of them.

“Never breathe a word of this,” the enforcer threatened as he shimmied forwards and back and then spun, swinging his hips and tossing his head. 

“Sure, babe,” he said, embracing his mate and grinning wickedly behind his shoulder as they swayed together. He wouldn’t say a thing. 

Texts or pictures once he was finally introduced to his Alpha and the others, though…

Rules and requirements:

New or unpublished works are accepted for this event. Feel free to combine with other ongoing or upcoming events.

For Writers:

3,000 words minimum using 3 or more of the 21 prompts. 

This can be one work or multiple works of at least 1,000 words each. No maximum for word count or amount of works. 

For Artists:

Use 3 or more of the prompts to create visuals (drawings, gifsets, manips, vids/edits, moodboards, etc.) Can be one work or multiple. 

For Mixers:

There are 2 options for standalone fanmixes:

Use 3-7 prompts to make a playlist of 21 tracks. At least 3 tracks per prompt used. (For example: A playlist with 4 prompts — 5 songs for Rose, 7 songs for Full Moon, 3 songs for Thunder, and 6 songs for Altered Reality.) Arrange them however you like: all grouped together in segments, whatever flows best, randomly, etc.

Make a playlist of 21 songs with 1 song for every prompt in any order.

If you’re attaching a playlist to a fanfic or art post:

Do whatever you want, but you get extra cool points for 21 tracks and including 1 or more songs for every prompt that you use and/or 3 songs for at least one prompt.

Put your playlists on Spotify, YouTube or both so I can listen to them. 😉

Content:

This is an event for fans of Sterek, but it’s Sterek & Stuff for a reason. I’m a multishipper and some of you might be too, so the deal is if you pay the Sterek Toll you can do other Teen Wolf ships (or pre-ships and gen) in separate works in your series should you desire.

The Sterek Toll is:

At least 2 prompts and 1,000 words of Sterek for writers.

At least 2 prompts and 1 piece of art for artists.

Music is generally up to interpretation so unless you go out of your way to say it’s not for Sterek don’t worry about it, lol. But if mixers want a toll too then it’s 2-7 prompts and a 14 track playlist.  

All Sterek all the time is of course always welcome and there will be a Sterek Only subcollection on AO3 and separate Sterek and NonSterek posts on Tumblr. (Assuming anyone does NonSterek, lol.)

To count as a Sterek fanfic Stiles and Derek have to be together by the end of the work. The story should focus on them, but feel free to include other characters too. 

Sterek Plus and Sterek Poly go in the other ships category and is subject to the Sterek Toll.

Allowed:

Any background ship.

Crossovers as long as the focus is on Sterek (or other TW characters if you’ve paid the Sterek Toll.)

Angst, whump, and dark themes as long as the story (the last related work if it's part of a series) ends on an upbeat or hopeful note and there’s nothing from the Nope section.

Nope:

No permanent death of Stiles or Derek. If you’re doing a series in the same setting they both have to be alive and together (or have the possibility of being together in the future) in the last related work. This applies to other TW works too. (No permanently killing off whoever is in any other main ship either.)

No miserable, tragic endings. Everything doesn’t have to be perfect and happily ever after, but the last related work should at least have a hopeful or “we’ll make the best of this shit” ending for Stiles and Derek (or other main ship.) 

No explicit descriptions or depictions of sexual activity under 16. (Kissing, dating, references or vague descriptions are okay.)

No bestiality. (As in regular animals. Xeno /Tera with beta or full shifted Derek, Stiles, etc, is okay.)

No scat.

No death or gore fetishes. (As in rotting corpses and gaping wounds and stuff. Bloodplay is okay.)

No Real Person Fiction.

Make sure to tag accurately!

Posting:

The event starts at 5:30am PDT (12:30pm GMT) on June 3rd so please don’t post before then. 

Now officially ending at 11:59pm PDT on July 31st (6:59am GMT on August 1st,) but late posting accepted.

On Tumblr:

Tag your work here with #mead moons and #mead moons (prompt) for each prompt that you use. (Ex: #mead moons fae.) At @sterek-and-stuff-events. 

If you’re doing multiple works put links to the previous works in each new post. The requirements (3 prompts, 3,000 words for writers, etc) have to be met by the end of the event.

On AO3:

I’ll post the links to the AO3 collections on the morning of June 3rd. There will be a main Mead Moons collections and subcollections for Music, Art, Stories, and Sterek Only works. 

If you’re doing multiple works put them in a series. (Mead Moons or something related to your prompts.) The requirements (3 prompts, 3,000 words for writers, etc) have to be met by the end of the event.

Post your works to the main collection and relevant subcollections below.

The collections:

The main collection. Everything goes here.

Sterek only works.

You’ve reached the end!

Once more the prompts are: 21, Altered Reality, Aphrodisiacs, Becomes, Buck, Claiming, Fae, Full Moon, Hay, Herbs, Honeymoon, Hot, Mead, Midnight Sun, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Revelry, Ritual, Rose, Solstice, Strawberry, and Thunder. (They're up to your interpretation!)

Thanks for checking out the event. I hope you enjoy creating and/or reading, looking at, and listening to the works! 

I'm @triskhellion

Not that he spent a whole lot of time around other folks, but he’d been here long enough, getting on 5 years now, to recognize the locals. Derek didn’t notice him in a back corner at first, was too busy mumbling to himself while looking for the right screws for the section of fence he needed to fix, but then he turned around and they locked eyes. There was an intense and puzzled expression on the kid’s face.

Although “kid” didn’t seen quite right. He was young — probably two or three years out of high school, maybe four — but there were dark circles under his whiskey brown eyes that made him seem older. Haunted. Knowing. Derek could see wiry muscle layered over his slender frame under the snug black company T-shirt.

He wasn’t gaunt, but much of the softness he’d once possessed had clearly been stripped away. There was a sharpness to him. High cheekbones and almost a point at the tips of his ears. The angles of his posture; a tilt to his head and hips and the jutting elbows leading to long fingers tightly clasped against his chest. In his clever eyes. 

Both of them seemed to realize they’d been staring at the same time, Derek saying “Uh, howdy” and the stock boy straightening up and asking if he needed help finding anything. 

“Looking for a screw,” he said, after tearing his eyes away and scanning the aisle again. He was already groaning internally when the words were halfway out of his mouth and the new guy — Sean his name tag proclaimed at another glance — snorted before asking what kind while trying to keep a straight face. 

Once the damn things had finally been located Derek moved on to the other couple-three things he needed this time. He caught Sean watching him a few times more and sighed, frowning with concern. There was nothing wrong with being attracted to men — so was he — but it could be dangerous to be so obvious about it out here.

He didn’t look back after Leann rang him up and he headed for the door, but he felt the prickle of eyes upon him, an itch between his shoulder blades, and he wanted to. Later that evening the thunder began.

Who would want to hear about the wanderings of my mind? This wasn’t supposed to be my life.

We’re not all the same in this town.

When his family, his pack, had moved from upstate New York to what he’d once thought a “small town” of 30,000 called Beacon Hills Derek had stayed behind, already into his sophomore year at college and living in his own apartment. A space-craving middle child with his own life. Some great aunt that no one knew about had passed away and left his mother a large plot of land with a slowly deteriorating, but surprisingly functional house that they’d set to fixing up.

He’d been surprised when Peter had gone too, his uncle always reveling in the cosmopolitan, but apparently the territory was special. Something about a big old magic tree. Derek’s eyes would glaze over once he got going.

Yeah, it turned out the place was “special” all right. Whatever woke up again after Great Aunt Hilda died started calling all manner of supernaturals, often of an unfriendly sort. That in itself likely would’ve been manageable until they figured out how to shut the damn beacon (har de har) off again, but with “animal attacks” and “mysterious deaths” on the rise so came Hunters. 

Derek visited the new Hale House on a handful of occasions, the last and longest time a few weeks the summer before his senior year of college. He’d been out at a bar, still thrilled at being old enough to enter one despite alcohol doing nothing to intoxicate him, when this pretty dirty blonde with a wicked grin came up to him. There was something unsettling about her, a harshness to some product she wore, but the older woman was all confidence and laughter and playful aggression and he was captivated and full of hormones, so they stumbled off attached at the face and took a rideshare to some sketchy motel. 

They hooked up three, maybe four times while he was there, Derek always taking care to shower with a scent neutralizer after because he didn’t want any shit from his family. And then he was heading back to New York, texting “Kay” or “K” or however she spelled it goodbye and setting his mind to the next few weeks of end-of-summer parties and the classes that were to start on their heels. 

A couple evenings later he was watching some new sitcom when he felt first his father and then his mother die in the span of what was probably a few minutes, but seemed much longer. He booked a flight as soon as he could, finally getting a hold of Laura before leaving for the airport early the next morning. She told him they’d been attacked, the house circled in mountain ash and set ablaze as she was on her way home.

Cora was okay, had been on the other side of where twin fires started and trapped their parents in between. She’d managed to escape out a window when a piece of debris or something must’ve disrupted the ash line. Peter though she’d found severely injured. Burned and pretty much unrecognizable, though still alive. 

That same afternoon during his layover in Seattle he felt her die too and ran to the bathroom retching and trying to hide his flashing eyes. It couldn’t be. Not his sister too. Not Laura. What the fuck was going on?! 

His wolf wanted to howl for the death of his closest packmate, the loss of two Alphas in two days, but he couldn’t. Not there in the airport. He couldn’t cry then for Laura and his parents either knowing that if he started he wouldn’t stop. Would fall apart.  

Derek forced himself to calm down enough, outwardly at least, to get on the second, mercifully short flight an hour later. Caught up in traffic he didn’t make it to Beacon Hills until after 7:00pm, driving the rental straight to the address that Laura — oh God, Laura — had given him. There he found his reportedly horrifically burned uncle looking very much like himself with the exception of some scars on the side of his neck and red eyes. 

Maybe if the first words he’d said to Derek had been “I’m so sorry” or “I didn’t mean to” things might’ve gone differently. Whether he didn’t because that would’ve been a lie — intentionally killing Laura while she was no doubt trying to care for him — or because he didn’t think he needed to apologize if he’d been truly out of his mind, Derek would never know. 

Because when Peter opened his mouth all that came out was a bunch of hand-waving about the “unfortunate situation,” a promise that things would be okay (things would never be “okay” again,) and how they were still family — only three of them left now — and had to stick together. Derek too, even though he had consorted with a Hunter, but not to worry, he had wasted no time taking care of the ones involved.

The shock of the last statement had been enough to snap him out of his overt, incandescent rage and Peter continued with how he’d recognized the scent of one of the lackeys and got him to spill on the others. After getting rid of Unger he took out the Argent Hunters — Kate — and her father, and then finally Reddick. 

Slowly, Derek approached him, the elder wolf likely assuming he’d been overcome by guilt or deep in a daze (both of which weren’t far behind) and expecting a show of submission to accept him as Alpha. Perhaps that he’d been seeking comfort or forgiveness. A hug.

He was starting to say something about expanding the pack when Derek tore out his throat. 

Roaring. Ringing. Static.

Afterward, when he came back to himself, he tried to find Cora, but she’d fled when Laura died. Her phone was likely in the smoldering ruins of the house and his own forgotten in NY, possibly in the cab. He did run into Christopher Argent, an incredibly tense encounter that consisted of tersely exchanged information and twitching claws and trigger fingers. 

Apparently, the Hunter hadn’t been aware of his sister’s plan, which his father had approved. Both were indeed dead. Peter was dead too because he killed Laura. No, Derek wasn’t staying. It brought some measure of relief to learn that based on a discovered journal the scheming had begun before his visit, that the attack wasn’t because of him somehow, but the guilt and shame, the disgust and self-hatred for having slept with someone so evil remained. 

Then he realized that that harsh scent clinging heavily to the human now in front of him, a scent he’d picked up slightly from her, must’ve been wolfsbane. Derek fell to his knees, thankfully not getting shot when the Hunter flinched, as guilt slammed back into him. He’d never actually encountered it before, the Hunters in New York having enough to deal with to bother supernaturals who weren’t causing harm, but he couldn’t stop wondering “what if?” 

What if he’d taken an interest in tagging along to the formal meetings with other packs and Hunter representatives with Laura and his mother? What if he hadn’t showered so thoroughly and someone brought it to his attention? It probably wouldn’t have changed anything other than him never leaving with her or him fucking her fewer times, but now he’d always wonder about the off chance that they might’ve been more alert. What if, what if, what if.

Cora, who he finally got in contact with after returning to NY, had much of the same feelings toward him herself once he haltingly explained what he’d found out. She was angry at everyone and everything, refusing to come back to him and eventually ending up in South America and joining a pack down there. They talked once, maybe twice a year. Confirmed the other was still alive and had some painful or awkward conversation (usually both) where she’d inevitably refer to Kate as his “psycho ex-girlfriend” and he’d want to shout that they were never dating, but didn’t. And that was that for the Hales.

It’s such a long swim and now there is no sight of land.

So I’ve come here to wait for the end of it all.

As was pretty much always the case when he had a new project, Derek had to go back to the hardware store in between his regular visits to town every week or so for something he’d forgotten or only realized he needed after he'd started. And so two days later there he was again, being helped by Mike, the clean-shaven 50-something owner, but watched not so surreptitiously by Sean. Until the young man knocked into a display trying to keep him in view as he moved to go down another aisle, that is. 

Derek's lips curled ever so slightly upward as he pretended not to notice the scrambling to pick up or straighten the disarrayed products going on behind him. He could see Mike shaking his head in his peripheral vision, muttering under his breath about how maybe he should start drug testing. It took everything in him to keep from reacting to something he shouldn’t be able to hear. Poor Sean. People looking he was used to, but he’d never made a person run into something before as far as he knew. It was flattering. 

This time when he felt that keen gaze upon his back as he left he turned his head while stepping through the door, finding Sean absentmindedly holding a wrench with his lips gently parted. He nodded, causing the short-haired brunet to hastily duck his head like the length of metal had suddenly called his name. Derek swallowed thickly as he walked across the parking lot thinking of those cupid's bow lips.

It wasn't like he was immune to the younger man's charms either, from the broad shoulders to his cute, upturned nose. If Derek was someone — something — else he'd be up for having a go, see what those long fingers and that smart mouth (he just knew) could do. Find out what he looked like under his clothes and felt like with those nice long legs wrapped around him. Maybe lay out in the field and look up at the stars after and get to know each other.

But he wasn’t. 

Derek sighed as he climbed into his outfit, a gray, no-frills, 2-door 2017 F-350 with four wheel drive capable of towing a 3 horse trailer even on rough terrain. He tucked his new Texas Fence Fixer underneath the passenger seat and sought out some music to distract himself. 

The one thing he bothered to add to the truck after a year with only the radio was an after market stereo that also gave him the option of bluetooth, usb port or aux input. Derek used the latter, still having a working discman as he preferred to collect physical media when possible both for the higher sound quality and so he didn’t have to worry about things getting yanked from a streaming service for whatever reason. They were his.

Derek flipped through his cd booklet and slipped out The Trials of Van Occupanther by Midlake. The first track, fittingly titled “Roscoe,” was a new favorite of his and he’d been surprised to learn that the album had come out in 2006 because it sounded like something decades older. Like something his dad might’ve listened to as a kid driving around with his own father back in the 70s. A pang of grief ran through him. 

He pressed play and headed back, singing along and trying not to think of enthralling brown eyes and mole-spotted skin. 

“Ohh, and when the morning comes we will step outside. We will not find another man in sight. We like the newness, the newness of all, that has grown in our garden soaking for so lo-o-o-o-o-ong.”

The music helped for a while, but when Derek arrived he trudged inside the quiet house, new tool forgotten in the truck. He sank down onto the plain beige couch and cradled his head in his hands. When he eventually looked up his gaze was drawn to the painting hanging off-center across from him.

Despite the fact that one of the ways he brought in income was taking photographs of wildlife and the great outdoors he only had one piece of art on his otherwise bare walls and it wasn’t one of his. No, it was a relatively large painting of a ship sailing before a rocky outcrop in a storm, rough dark waves and lightning flashing, that he spied in a free pile on the side of the road after an estate sale. He’d found it compelling and all too relatable, even more so having been discarded after belonging to some now dead person. 

He imagined himself tossed overboard, battered by waves as he watched the imperiled, but infinitely preferable vessel get farther away. Trying to stay afloat, to breathe, between bouts of being knocked under. Into stone. Growing tired and heavy in the cold water. Limbs slowing. Water closing over his face for the last time. Sinking. 

Green eyes stared until everything was gray.

Bring me a day full of honest work and a roof that never leaks. I’ll be satisfied.

There’s a new wild feeling dancing in the air.

Derek never pretended that he’d always been from here, would even say where he’d come from (gasp, New York) should someone bother to ask, but this place seeped through his skin and into his bones. The mountains and the plains and the great, big sky. Like how the rain soaked into the thirsty earth in summer where it didn’t turn to gumbo. He didn’t have a “spread,” had no desire to play at being a rancher like most of his distant neighbors were, but he had a nice stretch of gently rolling prairie leading up to forest and the Beartooth Mountains. 

He’d wandered a while before deciding he wanted to buy land in rural Montana with most of his portion of the life insurance money. And now for something completely different, came John Cleese’s voice in his head. His dad had been a huge Monty Python fan. 

There’d been another plot that he stumbled across online that seemed particularly appealing, but there was no way in hell he was living somewhere named Argenta. He checked out a few other potentials, including in person, but then he saw this place and knew. Roscoe, unincorporated Carbon County, MT. Population 16 as of the most recent census. Well, it was 17 now. 

When he first arrived there’d been some months where he saddled up at the Grizzly Bar a good nine or ten times, desperate for the presence of other people despite his opposing desire to get away from it all. A city boy soothed by the chatter of the regulars and those who came out the 70-odd miles from Billings or even farther away just for a bite of fresh beef: steak, burgers, or prime rib. Talking about nothing at all with someone plunked down on a stool nearby or with the bartender serving him his usual whiskey ditch. Even just the sound of some bullshit calling itself news on the tv. Baseball or something.

There’d been other months where he hadn’t once darkened the doorway, laying in bed and staring at the ceiling or ghosting around his property, burning through his supplies until he got hungry enough to run down some burrowing critter or a speed goat if a herd came through and he happened to get lucky. Those suckers could run up to 55mph in short bursts if they saw you coming, fastest land animal in the hemisphere. The tawny, white marked ungulates with dark bits on their faces were also known as prairie goats or pronghorn antelopes despite being neither goats not antelopes, but something closer to the okapi and giraffes in Africa than anything else left alive. That was Montana for you.

It helped when he got his first horse, a gray gelding named Gable (say that 5 times fast) and had to get up to take care of another living being. A companion of sorts to spend time with and do stuff for and touch. Werewolves didn’t usually go feral without a pack like a lot of the stories said, but it certainly wasn’t good for them to be alone. 

He evened out to around once a week at the Grizzly, usually stopping by on his way to or from the closest real town (a whopping 1200-1800 folks depending on the season) for one thing or another. Red Lodge wasn’t far, about 20 miles away, but he often made a day of it. Maybe catch a movie at the one screen Roman Theater, which opened in 1917 and was the oldest continuously operating one in the state. Derek picked up all kinds of tidbits like that along with the slang and even the accent to a certain extent. 

He’d walk around and pass the flower shop he hadn’t felt a need to go into so far, maybe get something fancy from the bakery or one of the cafés. Buy random crap from the dollar store, supplies for building or maintenance from Rock Creek Lumber, and groceries from Beartooth Market or the farmer’s market. Takeout from the Chinese restaurant or the pizza shop or the taqueria (or occasionally all 3) for later. 

A handful of times a year he’d drive up to Billings for the things he couldn’t get closer. Less common cuisines, indie flicks, speciality items, etc. One night stands or even more furtive and frenetic hook ups, though he had’t bothered the last few times. He’d get eyes from the local ladies, some of them very much married, but he kept away from the free ones who he might’ve fancied as well. 

In all likelihood starting anything would mean either trying to have a relationship while hiding half of himself or winding up shot for being a monster and having to abandon his property, assuming he wasn’t killed by a particularly well-placed bullet. Even the guns had guns out here. Same issue with the local men he noticed were so inclined only with the addition of them almost certainly being Narnia-level closeted (wardrobed? whatever) and teaming with notions about manhood that would only cause pain. So that was that for love. Not like he deserved it anyway.

It wasn’t a bad life. He made enough to get by without dipping into the other money doing odd jobs and remote temp work along with his photography. There was breathtaking beauty and all sorts of projects to keep his hands busy and his body active. Responsibility and enjoyment interacting with the horses and books to occupy his mind at least some of the time.

Yeah, that’s what he told himself anyway. It was true enough on the surface, but underneath it all he had an emptiness inside bigger than the sky.

A sky which was now, from the sound of it, soon threatening to dump a river’s worth of water on his head despite there not being a mass of dark, heavy rainclouds anywhere in sight. Only a smattering of wispy ones on a mostly sunny day. What in the world?

Regardless, he quickly guided his spooked horses inside the stable barn, the bay mare sisters Ada and Jessie joining Gable a couple years ago. Three was a good number. Company for each other and able to keep him busy for at least a few hours a day, but manageable.

Derek stroked the agitated creatures in turns, along their necks and between their ears and over their snouts, speaking gentle nonsense to try to calm them. They all had white markings on their faces: Ada’s looking kind of like a leaf print, Gable’s like a streak of paint, and Jessie’s, unfortunately (or amusingly,) like a large bird shat on her forehead.

He was on edge himself from the strange wild power dancing in the air, nervous but also feeling alive, more present and in his body than he’d been in some time. He stayed with the horses as they trembled together until the unnatural thunder ceased. 

When I look into your brown eyes I struggle to pull aside. I’m wanting you more within my life.

What sort of pressure, and what kind of force must there have been to drive you here?

It was over a week into July and Derek had made another half dozen trips or so to RC, always torn between wanting to see Sean, get to have a bit of a chat or a joke, and hoping that the mischievous younger man he found increasingly attractive didn’t have a shift that day. He could’ve just gone to Ace Hardware instead and avoided the situation altogether, but he couldn’t bear to stay away long. He’d skipped one week and ended up going twice the next, so he decided to just leave it up to fate. A rather dangerous prospect given his life so far. 

Twice he’d been absent when Derek was there, including the last time. It was just as well because he’d been in a foul mood, dirty and cursing and damp after slipping in mud and falling in a puddle on the way to town. It was hot as hell — mid-90s — and had just finished raining when he’d stopped to try helping some out-of-towners get unstuck.

They’d pulled off the nice paved road just beyond a chicken foot and into the fresh sludge beside it for some goddamn reason. It was a futile attempt even for his truck without having gravel or wood or something to let the car regain traction while being pulled. The group was waiting on a tow truck when he left.

He thought he caught movement in the back of the store out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned around there was nothing there. Nothing he could see anyway. What he could smell a few moments later was another matter entirely. 

Derek had no idea what it was, but it was rich and intoxicating and called to his wolf. His eyes flashed red involuntarily and it had startled him back under control. He hadn’t slipped like that in years and thankfully neither Leann up front nor the older man browsing at the end of the aisle were paying him any mind.

Cautiously, he took a couple deep breaths, but still couldn’t identify the scent, which was now just beginning to dissipate with the back door being open. Wait, when did that happen? Derek shook his head, trying to refocus his senses. His thoughts. Was he losing time? Imagining things? Or was something messing with him? 

He fell into into an uneasy vigilance. Whatever the cause something was going on and he felt the need to get out of there. He didn’t really have to get anything today anyway and did his best to casually head for the door, a goodbye called over his shoulder.

Derek cut his outing short and headed straight home, feeling nervous the whole drive back. He kept an eye and an ear and his nose out the rest of the day and into the wee hours until he finally conked out close to dawn. If there’d been anyone around they’d probably tell him he was overreacting, but it was precisely because there wasn’t anymore that he expected the worst. He stuck to the house and only ventured out to check on the horses. 

He didn’t let his guard down until a few days later, exhausted and feeling foolish. Of course that’s when they came.

Derek hadn’t noticed the diesel pickup until it was already coming up the driveway due to yet another sudden, noisy storm nearby. This one at least seemed more normal since it was actually raining. 

It was late in the evening and he’d hurried out the back door to circle around and scope them out. He didn’t want to risk his wolf eyes giving him away, so at first he could only make out that it was three figures that were probably male. Then they stepped into the light by his front door, the one on the left reaching out to knock as the others scanned around with hands in their jackets. 

Even before the wind changed direction it was clear from the way they moved and dressed that they weren’t cops. Not regular cops, cow cops, tree cops, feds, or any other kind. And then there it was again, the scent of wolfsbane. The knocking Hunter dropped his hand and joined the others in looking around. 

“Hale, we’re not here to harm you. We just need to talk. You have my word,”  the stocky, sandy-haired man shouted.

Derek snorted quietly. That one might be telling the truth at the moment, but what about the others? As if reading his mind, the same 30-something guy — the actual leader or a decoy? — nudged the taller men who were now on either side of him. He could practically feel them eye-rolling from here, but they too made the same assurances if with more hesitation. 

Finally, the first man mentioned the reason for their visit. They’d tracked a dangerous creature to this area, a killer of several people and likely the cause of the freakish weather. Some kind of kitsune.

Derek’s eyebrows flew up. Now that was interesting and perhaps worth the risk. He might not have more than a passing acquaintance with anyone, but he didn’t want to just sit back and watch folks get slaughtered.

He didn’t want to get pumped full of wolfsbane either so he made a point of crunching the gravel beneath his feet as he slowly started to approach. The guy on the right, mid-20s with a narrow face and long, dark hair, still whirled around with his gun raised and Derek made sure to keep his own truck between him and them. The talker hissed at the man, who lowered the weapon somewhat. They stood sizing  each other up and ignoring the rain for few moments before Talker asked if he knew the whereabouts of a recent arrival. 

After a couple interjections from Young Gun they gave a pretty solid description: A 20 year old white man, 5’10”, with short dark brown hair, brown eyes, and moles on his face. Last seen in Red Lodge.

“Huh,” he muttered, pretending to search his memory even as his stomach plummeted. 

Maybe Derek was being irrational and letting his crush or whatever it was affect his judgement, but he just couldn’t believe that Sean, which was likely not his real name, was running around murdering people all willy-nilly. Not without some type of proof beyond the word of Hunters. There was something in his past, a sense that he’d been touched by darkness, but he didn’t seem like a source of it himself.

Oh and you’re such a great judge of character? his inner critic said in Cora’s voice. Heh. Well, he had picked up something unsettling about her. It’s just that he was going through life as a typical college student back then and thought it was in a “might get super insulting or jealous and controlling“ kind of way and not a “genocidal and will kill your family for fun because she thinks you’re abominations yet will still fuck you” kind of way. 

He clenched his jaw minutely and then looked Talker in the eye.

“Sorry, I don’t know where he is,” he stated firmly, which was entirely true. Derek knew where he’d been, but he had no idea where he was now or where he would be. Obviously, if they weren’t just waiting to follow him from work or something Sean was already aware that they were here. Maybe there’d even been some kind of confrontation. 

Once again his insides flipped at the thought. Sean could be injured. Or long gone and never to be seen again. 

The third man, a lanky grizzled 40-ish blond who’d been silently watching the proceedings, narrowed his eyes. 

“If you’re hiding this monster, Hale—“ he began, before being cut off.

“Surely, he knows better than that,” Talker said, smiling with too many teeth. He reached into his pocket, opened his wallet, and wedged a business card in the door jamb. “Well, if you do see him, give us a call.” 

“You betcha,” Derek said mildly, lying to his face. He felt a moments’ amusement at finally using the ubiquitous phrase. The Hunters started walking towards their truck and he took that as his cue to back away, never taking his eyes off of them. 

“We’ll be seeing you,” Young Gun called with a sneer before climbing in the driver’s seat. 

Well that was ominous. He didn’t respond and waited until they we were well down the road before going back inside, throwing the card straight in the trash. Even if it turned out that the stock boy did need to be…to be neutralized Derek would be damned before handing him over to the likes of them. 

But now he had to worry about Hunters knowing about him — and how exactly did that happen? — and he was alone and vulnerable. Couldn’t he catch a break? He sighed heavily. 

Derek thought about running, but a lot of his money was tied up in the land. He’d settled in and accumulated stuff. Had horses. The idea of starting all over yet again was not just daunting, but soul-destroying. Enraging. Overwhelming. Impossible.

And then what, just wait for the next time? Spend the rest of his life as he’d just done the previous few days; stressed out, on high alert, and looking over his shoulder? Clinging to this scrap of existence? He was tired. Beyond tired.

The odds weren’t great to say the least, 3 vs 1 assuming they were weren’t more of them lurking around, but Derek wasn’t going anywhere. One way or another he was done. Maybe he’d get lucky and they’d be particularly incompetent and poorly trained. Yeah right. Maybe he could take one or more of them down with him. That was more likely.

The next morning he made sure the horses had access to extra feed and water and called up the farm supply store in Roberts, asking the manager, Wes, if he’d be willing to do him a favor. To call if he didn’t hear from Derek by noon every other day for the next while and if he didn’t by the time the store closed at 6pm to come out and check on the horses. Charge anything he saw fit to his account. The generally jovial middle-aged former linesman listened quietly until he was done. 

“You got some type of trouble, Hale?” he asked, gruff with concern. 

“Could be,” Derek replied numbly. He thanked Wes and hung up without elaborating.

The following night there was another storm, brief, but closer and much more violent than before. A truly awesome display in every sense of the word, bolts of colorful orange lightning flashing when he peeked out before heeding the urge to keep away. When he was sure it was over he brought treats out for poor Ada, Jessie, and Gable. 

The next time Derek went to town a couple afternoons later he passed by the hardware store, but didn’t stop in case he or it was being watched. It was no surprise, but when he saw the Help Wanted sign in the window his left hand clenched into a fist, the tips of his claws piercing skin until blood dripped onto his denim clad knee or down to the floorboard. He wondered where Sean went. If he was even still alive now.

That evening Derek was at the Grizzly flipping through an abandoned copy of the weekly regional newspaper — July 15th, today’s edition — when he saw that three men had been found dead yesterday. Out-of-towners from California who had all managed to get electrocuted wandering around a field by Roscoe. A freak weather occurrence the night before. Huh.

Well that takes care of that problem. There were no pictures of the deceased and he would follow up on the story to make sure, but he had a feeling that he wouldn’t, in fact, be seeing those Hunters around. As for what else was going on, he guessed he’d have to wait and see.

Follow me down a fox hole in the ground. Don’t delay.

Everything is moving so fast. I am unlimited.

The full moon fell on another scorcher two days later, the air still warm and muggy a couple hours after the sun finally deigned to set around 9:00pm. Derek was tending to his horses, waiting until the temperature wasn’t sweltering anymore, but still sweating through his shirt after mucking out their stalls. Putting out fresh straw and climbing up into the hayloft and back down again multiple times. He wanted to have bales ready for tomorrow and maybe the following day and gave his interested audience a snack of hay and apples as well. 

Derek wasn’t sure if he was gonna stay close tonight or go ranging once the moon was in full effect shortly before midnight. The Hunters were gone (he’d confirmed it online that morning) and he hadn’t been up to it the previous month, so he was leaning toward going out for a bit and seeing how it went. He felt the moment when the alignment occurred, the moon’s power calling to his blood, to his wolf, who responded with an interested, but rather mild wag of its metaphorical tail. 

Derek sighed remembering how exhilarated he used to be, champing at the bit to run wild and reveling in his full shift. I should be grateful I feel anything at all these days. He finished up and was petting Ada goodbye when he heard the clock in the house strike midnight. It was another free box find, beat up, but with a functional pendulum, which he liked since he could know what time it was from any of the buildings on his property and a good chunk of the land without having to wear a watch. It could be silenced at night or whenever else he wished otherwise it would’ve ended up back in a pile.  

On the seventh chime the lights inside the barn started flickering and that strange energy was in the air again, full of wild, dangerous potential. There was a moment of laden silence and then something moved in the brush outside. Derek’s hair stood on end. 

He looked at his nervously whinnying horses and was glad that he’d been waiting until the check-in tomorrow to tell Wes not to bother with them anymore instead of calling him today. They would hopefully survive this even if he didn’t. He took a deep breath and walked into the night.

Lightning flashed high in the sky, confined to the rapidly congregating clouds for now, but Derek cringed nonetheless. A human-shaped shadow materialized from the darkness beyond the floodlights on the other side of the building, otherworldly eyes glowing a burnt orange. Moments later Sean was sauntering around the outskirts of the illuminated sphere wearing a sharp-fanged grin, wind blowing his not-quite-as-short hair as it whipped around and behind him. 

Instead of relaxing at the mostly familiar face that he’d spent weeks daydreaming about Derek tensed even more, wondering if Sean thought he’d helped those Hunters. Or if they were actually right about him and he’d come to finish off his prey. Derek couldn’t think of another reason why he’d be here like this. At this time of night, looking like that. His wolf was still and alert.

He had increased strength from the moon, but he couldn’t fight lightning. Honestly, without the animosity he reserved for Hunters he didn’t really want to at this point. He was tired. Of the isolation and loneliness, even with his horses. The grief and guilt and pain. Of living. The emptiness that was gonna swallow him whole some day anyway. Even as the rest of him still rebelled at the idea there was a rather large part of him that felt relieved while staring death in the face. 

The air stilled again momentarily and Derek closed his red eyes, breathing deeply as that intoxicating scent reached his nose for a second time. The scent of Sean. A final mystery solved as he waited for the end. At least it should be quick.

Oh, the fox came for him all right, but not at all in the way he’d expected. Derek kept his eyes closed even as footsteps raced toward him and moments later a body was colliding with his. The next thing he knew he was laid out on the ground, air knocked from his lungs and flat on his back with Sean straddling him. Purring. 

To say he was shocked was an understatement. Shocked, but starting to get turned on.

Hands planted on his chest, Sean leaned forward and sniffed at his neck, giving it a lick and sounding pleased when increased arousal flooded through him. He licked some more and nipped at Derek’s jaw, Inhaling again. The fox grinned mischievously and sat all the way down on his tenting crotch, grinding on him. Lying on top of him and rubbing himself all over, getting Derek all riled up.

He was content to let the fox have his way with him, but then in the blink of an eye Sean was standing and peering down at his confused form. Backing away towards the tall grass with swaying hips and a heavy-lidded gaze, licking his lips. Derek leapt to his feet, tracking every movement and matching step for step. He began to growl as Sean neared the rustling, wind-whipped vegetation and slowly turned around. Mine his wolf declared hungrily. The fox looked over his shoulder and smirked before taking off into the field.

Dirt flew as Derek tore after him, beta-shifted as he crashed through the grass. It was tall, but not enough to hide someone of their heights, yet he couldn’t see even a head floating above it. With the erratic wind still blowing it was also hard to discern that movement from one caused by someone ducked and passing through. He was going to have to rely on his hearing and smell, which were superior in wolf form. Quickly he stripped down and shifted completely, setting off again. 

Lightning flashed again, thunder deafening, and he snapped his jaws at the sky. He dropped his muzzle to the ground, sniffing for where the fox had touched the earth since he couldn’t get a good scent from the air. He came across the trail and sped along it, that unique aroma growing stronger. Derek burst into a small bare patch of land where the scent was concentrated, but instead of catching Sean he only found a pile of discarded clothing. Clever. Despite his frustration he was impressed. Either he’s crawling around naked on his hands and knees, which is entirely possible — the thought went straight to his cock  — or he’s a shifter too.

Derek was betting on the latter and this time he also looked for paw prints and snapped stalks lower down while trying to move quietly himself. During a break in the distracting weather, which seemed to be winding down, he heard what sounded like the brief tangling of a smaller animal up ahead. Stalking closer he saw a glimpse of brightness in the moonlight and rushed forward. The fox gekkered and started running again, Derek howling in pursuit. 

Twisting and turning they darted through the drying blades of grass, his muzzle nearly touching a tail or leg on more than one occasion. Then Sean shot out into open ground, Derek too close behind to successfully double back to the more advantageous environment. His quarry in full sight with no where to hide he put on another burst of speed and began to gain on the other shifter, nostrils flaring at the musky scent. Earthy and sweet. Derek wanted to roll in it, but he had to catch him first.

Closer and closer he came and he could see more clearly that Sean was a beautiful multicolored fox, bright orange and black with patches of what might’ve been gray or silver. He had every intention of finding out later in the daylight. Finally, he deemed it near enough for a good tackle and he leapt, carefully landing over the wily creature and immediately dropping his weight on top of him. Derek took the scruff of his wiggling prey in his jaws and clamped down, but didn’t break the skin as the fox panted and whined beneath him. Mine.

His wolf was rearing to go, the overwhelming urge to thrust and bite and claim, but there was no way he could fuck the much smaller animal even if he’d wanted to. Thankfully, Sean began shifting back, thick, fluffy fur receding and becoming an expanse of dotted skin as he rapidly grew in size. Derek followed suit and soon he was pressed against the younger man, still gripping the skin of his neck in his mouth. He replaced his teeth with a firm, possessive hand and used his other arm to push himself upward to view what was his. 

Panting with arousal as much as exertion now, Sean rested low on his forearms and knees and spread his legs in clear invitation. The youth glistened between his thighs and Derek ran two fingers there before sliding up to his sopping wet hole and the source of the richer ambrosial scent. Groaning, he slipped one and then two digits inside Sean’s tight heat, trying to give him some measure of prep before mounting him as his wolf demanded to do. 

The impatient shifter whined and growled, bucking back on his fingers, which were now up to three. He turned his head and snapped at Derek, so he withdrew them taking the hint. If Sean was so desperate for his cock he was going to give it to him. Coating himself with the wondrous slick he lined himself up and pushed inside, hole fluttering around him as it worked to accommodate his girth. 

Draping over his back and eyes closed in pleasure Derek immediately began to thrust, wrapping an arm around Sean’s chest to hold him close as he balanced with the other. He ran that hand soothingly along the whimpering shifter’s flank as he pounded into him, too much wolf to be gentle now that he finally started. He adjusted his angle though and soon the breathy, higher pitched sounds became low, throaty moans and Sean dropped down to his shoulders, lifting his ass in offering for more. 

The fox tried to sneak a hand down to his cock, but Derek snarled and grabbed it, holding both hands down with his own. He thrusted harder, making him cry out and push back wantonly. Derek wanted him to cum from his cock alone, but he wasn’t cruel. If his fox couldn’t get there before him he would help things along.

When he started to knot, he took the back of Sean’s neck between his jaws again, an instinctual need to keep his mate in place. Whining and gasping the youth spread his legs even wider as Derek worked it in with short, jerky movements until he was locked inside. Growling lowly he switched to grinding and it wasn’t long before the fox tensed up, a piercing shout before rhythmic clenching began around his knot, the scent of cum hanging in the air.

Sean continued to milk him and then Derek was tipping over the edge himself, shooting his load deep within the otherwise lax body. Releasing the bruised skin to howl in triumph, his fangs then descended and he was clamping down once more, this time sinking into flesh and spilling blood to claim the writhing fox. Still coming as the budding connection snapped into place, he turned them sideways and began alternately licking the slowly healing wound and marking up the skin around it. Mine mine mate.

Won’t you tell me how I will not feel so lonely?

Thought we were due for a change or two around this place.

As he came back down to earth from the high of their mating, their breaths slowing and heart rates returning to normal, his human self likewise returned more assertively to the fore as the animal receded into the background. The wolf was happy, calm, and satisfied, but the man began to fret and doubt even as he held on more tightly to the young man in his arms whose body he was still buried to the hilt inside. 

Did the fox want to be mated to him or had he just been expecting sex? And if he did was it only because his wilder, instinctual side was in control or was all of him truly onboard? Derek himself hadn't known he was actually going to bite him until right before it happened, though it was something his entirety wanted very much despite how he’d normally try to deny it. 

Before he could sink deeper into worrying about having tied the fox to him beyond the immediate way a hand crept back to rub the nape of neck. 

"Hi," whispered his mate, the first words spoken between them tonight. In something like two weeks now. 

"Hi," he whispered back. "You okay?" 

"More than," the fox chuckled weakly. "I could just hear you thinking so loudly " 

He noted the scent of content amusement, which dialed his concern down a notch. Still he took a deep breath. "About me…biting you…” 

"I wanted you to." 

"Yeah?" Derek asked softly, almost disbelieving. 

"...I came to you and initiated a chase on the full moon." 

He grinned at the snarky reply and mouthed at an earlobe, nipping it and grinding himself into Sean's prostate again. The fox moaned and turned his head to nip back at Derek's nose before continuing. 

"I might still be fairly new to all this, but I knew that much. That you would probably bite me if you felt... " There was a sudden shift in his scent. Uncertainty and a hint of guilt. "But you..." 

"I wanted you too. The moon is strong, yes, but if I truly wasn’t interested, didn’t want you, I could’ve made myself stay where I was. Walk the other way.” Derek felt his sigh of relief and inhaled contentment once more. Good. “So what brings you to Gopher Crotch, Montana?”

“I hadn’t heard that one yet,” Sean replied, laughing before growing quiet. Derek grimaced, chiding himself. 

“S’okay, you don’t have to tell me. I don’t even know why I asked. It just popped into my head and I guess my filter is pretty non-existent at the moment.” He sighed. “Folks end up out here and it’s rarely puppies and rainbows they’re coming from.” 

“Speaking from experience?”

“Yup.” 

The fox grabbed his left hand where it was idly running up and down his side and pulled Derek’s arm across him, intertwining their fingers and holding his hand against his chest.

After several moments he started to explain that he came here to try to learn to control his power in a sparsely populated area. He’d done a sacrificial ritual with some friends to save his father and a couple others, leaving himself vulnerable, and was possessed by a dark kitsune. The sadness evident when speaking of his friends grew thicker as he described the damage his hijacked body had done. Hurting and killing people. They finally managed to get rid of it when a werewolf friend bit him, but he ended up becoming some hybrid kitsune/fox shifter after.  

“The Nogitsune can’t be two things at once, but apparently I can. Or I don’t know, maybe it assumed I’d be a wolf and bounced before realizing. Maybe it was something it left behind that made me change into a fox after starting to turn. Or maybe it was just me.” The younger man shook his head and snorted.

“Who knows? Whatever the reason, it happened. I knew other shifters, mostly werewolves and a coyote. Had a kitsune friend too. But none who were both.”

He spoke of the distance and awkwardness between them after. The looks. His guilt and grief. The nightmares. And then how he accidentally shocked his father when he tried to wake him. 

“He survived. Recovered okay last I heard, but I-I couldn’t…” Sean trailed off, choking up.

“I know,” Derek said, squeezing his hand and waiting as he gathered himself.

“I once visited a great uncle out this side as a kid — not here, way more East — and after a few months on the road I thought of that. I had this old Jeep that belonged to my mom, named it Roscoe. There was no way it could make a trip like this, so I left it behind rather than have to ditch it somewhere in case some day…” His mate sighed. “So when I saw that on the map, well, I couldn’t help but stop nearby. Like it was sign.”

“I’m glad you did.” 

“Here I was about a week or so, got a job at RC, and then you come strolling on in. Immediately I was aware of you, drawn like a moth to a flame. I’d been…I’m not sure how to describe it, but like, buzzing inside from my power and eventually it’d grow until I’d have to let it out. But then I got this strange feeling of calmness with you there. And of course you were hot as fuck too.“

Derek blushed and grinned, dropping his face into the crook of his mate’s neck before responding. 

“I was drawn to you as well. Intrigued. I didn’t know what to do with that, figured you were one more thing — or person — that I couldn’t have. Every time I saw you I was attracted more and more…” he shook his head ruefully. “Couldn’t stay away. So each time I pulled up I’d hope you weren’t there, but then was happy when you were and disappointed when you weren’t.” 

The fox made a noise of amused commiseration. 

“Our animal sides can be on some crazy shit at times, but there are definitely others when the human just gets in the way and you have to let the fox, or wolf, lead.” He purred and rubbed himself back against Derek and he rumbled back, setting his teeth gently over the mating mark. 

“Apparently. Mine’s been pretty quiet for a while now, except sometimes when I’m hunting or if go running on the full moon. Not much for him to react to, you know? No pack, no other shifters nearby or even passing through recently. Even with the Hunters he was more in the background. Giving me information, but not trying to take point. 

“And then you were all over me and took off with that look in your eye and he came roaring awake.” Derek chuckled at the smug satisfaction emanating from the fox. “So I take it you knew I was a wolf right away?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Huh. I couldn’t pick up anything supernatural about you until tonight.” Shoulders shrugged against Derek’s own.

“It seems to be a kitsune thing. A defensive measure that keeps you hidden unless you consciously drop it or when you’re actively using your powers.” 

“Huh. And are fox abilities pretty much the same as wolves?”

“I think so, but sometimes weaker or stronger.”

“Hmm.” He was curious and looking forward to learning more about his mate. He knew that they existed, but had never actually known a fox shifter before. Or a kitsune. Both were significantly rarer than werewolves, at least in the States.

Derek figured it was his turn to share, so he gave a basic rundown of his own story. His lost family. How he stayed in New York when they moved away. The fire. Laura. Peter. He braced for judgement, if not for his naiveté with the Hunter then for killing his uncle, but the fox only turned their still clasped left hands over and kissed his palm. 

He mentioned his estranged little sister and how he’d been resigned to being alone. When he was done his mate was thrumming with anger.

“Fucking Hunters,” Sean said, bitterly. “If they’d stick to their supposed code it’d be one thing, but so many of them clearly don’t. I ran into some before here too, back in Beacon Hills—“

Derek froze, heart racing as his mind tried to process those words. Surely he hadn’t heard that right. Or it was some other place with the same name. There was no fucking way. He’d been able to tell his story with a certain amount of detachment, but he hadn’t spoken the name of that cursed place. Could hardly bear to think it. Laughter in a bar. His claws red. The smell of charred wood and melted plastic when he made himself see the house before he left.

A concerned voice calling out to him broke him out the spell.

“—okay? Hey, what’s wrong?” 

He swallowed several times trying to work the dryness from his throat. 

“Beacon Hills…California?”

“Yes…” Sean responded hesitantly.

“No fucking way,” he breathed. “That…That’s where my family moved.” Where they died.

There was a sharp inhale. 

“The house in the Preserve...There wasn’t much known about what happened. I hadn’t thought to connect the name because I didn’t know they were wolves.”

“Really? Your wolf friend never ran into Christopher Argent?”

“Allison’s dad? What does he have—oh my god! Her aunt and grandfather disappeared around that time. They were the Hunters?!”

“Yeah.”

“Holy shit. No, Allison and her parents moved away soon after. They never knew about Scott. Some other dipshits came through a while later, tried to intimidate some of Satomi’s pack — she’s the Alpha who helped Scott with the wolf stuff. She and most of her pack live in Nevada, but a few were attending the county college for their veterinary program and noticed there was another wolf around, thank God. It was a lot to deal with on our own, trying to find actual information and keep him secret and in control.”

While his mate recounted throwing lacrosse balls at his packless friend the memory of Peter’s last words flashed in his head. He gasped as another piece of the puzzle slotted into place.  

“Was your friend also Bitten around the same time?”

“Yeah, we never found out who—“

“I think it was my uncle. He was saying something about expanding the pack right before I…I didn’t know. His Alpha instincts must’ve had free rein to just attack some kid like that.”

“Holy shit,” Sean repeated.

“Holy shit,” Derek agreed. He knew he was going to dwell on this revelation for a good while, want to know all the details and about the new wolf, but he didn’t want to start that now. This time was for them. He shoved his train of thought back on track to where they’d left off.

“So those three Hunters…”

“I didn’t know I was being tracked, but I tried to be careful. Moved around, kept an eye on the weather to try to blend in with forecasted storms, but I’d have to put on a light show every so often when there weren’t any. Obviously they caught up to me when I stayed here so long...such beautiful scenery and all,” he said flirtatiously before getting serious again.

“Fuckers ran me right off the road. Tried to run me over really. I heard them behind me in time, but they followed me off the shoulder and destroyed my dirt bike right after I bailed. I had just saved up enough to get it before I came here too,” he hissed angrily. 

“I hurt my leg and side when I landed so I ducked into an old shed nearby to try to buy some time to heal more. They taunted me outside, wouldn’t listen to me. Said no one ever escaped a nogistune before so I must still be possessed, but that even if I wasn’t I’d be an abomination anyway.”

Derek growled from deep within his chest and nuzzled the younger man. Fucking Hunters and their genocidal bullshit.

“When two of them were getting closer to the door I got small and foxy and crept out a hole by the ground in back. I guess they didn’t realize that I could shift too, so it took the other one a few moments to notice and react. Then I was running into the field, trying to find cover as they shot after me. They kept coming and I couldn’t run at my usual speed, so…” He shrugged. “Boom.”

He tightened his hold on his mate. Killing was rarely pleasant even if it was necessary or well deserved and he knew the fox already carried so much guilt from the lives his body was forced to take. 

“It was self-defense.”

“I know. I mean I’m not happy about it, but I don’t exactly feel bad either, especially since I heard one of them mention coming back for you after ‘taking care of their fox problem.’”

Derek closed his eyes and shuddered. He’d figured as much, but it was another thing to hear it for sure. It didn’t matter that he was minding his own business and not a threat to anyone. He wasn’t human and so shouldn’t exist. 

“Thank you,” he said, throat tight.

“De nada, mate.” 

Mate. He was thrilled to hear it out loud for the first time. 

“Oh hey, what’s your name? Other than Hale?”

“Derek,” he replied, amused that they’d gone this long without bothering to ask. ”And what’s yours? Not actually Sean I assume?” 

“Well…it’s Myeh-cheh-swaf. But I go by Stiles.”

“Nice to meet you, Stiles,” he said, voice low and syrupy, grinding into him again. Stiles giggled. 

“If you keep doing that we’re gonna be stuck out here forever, dude.”

“Not seeing the problem.” Derek grabbed an ass cheek and then gave it a playful spank. “And don’t call me ‘dude’. I ain’t been no city slicker in years,” he drawled with an exaggerated accent.

Stiles snorted and started squeezing his knot in retaliation, making Derek groan. He slipped a hand between them to feels where they were connected, trailing two fingers through the slick. The fox made a cute little noise.

“I have to say the whole, uh, getting wet thing was quite the surprise.”

“Mmm, I like it.”

“I can tell.” Derek could hear the smirk in his voice. “I bet you’ll be happy to know the first time it happened was the last time you came in to the store before things went to hell. You were all sweaty and dirty in that basically see-thru tank top looking like a walking wet dream. Then without any warning there was leaking happening. I froze and then ran to bathroom thinking I must’ve ate something off for lunch and was having some kind of problem.”

A belly laugh erupted out of Derek shaking them both. 

“I fell into a big muddy puddle trying to help some folks that were stuck. Took off my button-down to try to get the worst of the muck off and wiped myself down. I was annoyed as hell and lost in my head when I got there and then all of a sudden I smelled something amazing. Didn’t know what it was or where it was coming from.” 

“Yeah, that seems to be from my, uh, regular fox side. Which is totally a thing I just say now. Anyway, I kind of freaked out when I saw you turning and I guess I did something kitsune-ish so you wouldn’t notice me? But using my power meant the usual concealment stuff went away and you could smell my full scent. And, um, that.”

Ah, so that’s what happened. He refrained from mentioning his own freak out thinking he was either losing his mind or that something potentially bad was happening. The paranoia that ended up being warranted, but not because of him.

“It’s weird and I’m still getting used to it, but I have to admit it’s very convenient. I would’ve had to stop for lube or something last night otherwise.” 

Derek laughed more, imagining a glowing eyed Stiles followed by a miniature lightning storm stopping by the general store for some K-Y and Miss Ginny getting on the phone right after being all “I’m pretty sure the new boy down at RC is some kind of demon, but anyway I saw him buying a bottle of ‘you know what’ and I just have to wonder who for…”

“Mind sharing with the class?” Stiles asked curiously when he continued to crack himself up. Derek told him and then they were both dissolving into giggles, causing his now mostly soft cock and shrunken knot to finally slip out. Stiles made a soft whining sound and then stretched before turning toward him. They drank each other in face to face. 

“I figured you probably wouldn’t be small, and yeah, no way that was going in me dry, especially not having taken a cock before,” Stiles added, blushing, before snuggling up to him again.

Derek froze.

“Yeah, I’ve slept with some folks, but they all happened to be of the female persuasion. So, yeah. First guy.”

A pleased possessiveness flashed through him mostly — but not entirely — from his wolf, but then Derek frowned, feeling more than a little guilty.

“I was rough with you.”

Stiles pulled back to look him in the eye. “Again, I knew what I was getting into. Full moon, Alpha wolf. And I liked it. A whole lot.”

Derek hmmed. “And you’re not…hurt?”

“You weren’t that rough and I was, you know, ready for you. Sure, I was pretty sore at first right after because virgin ass plus knot even with everything, but just very slightly now. In a nice way. While my healing isn’t as fast as yours it’s still pretty quick.” 

He sighed in relief. 

“I guess I make up for it by running faster than you,” Stiles teased.

Derek huffed. “I seem to remember catching you.”

“I seem to remember letting you. Gotta stoke that Alpha ego.” 

There was no blip in the fox’s heart beat. That little shit. 

“Plus I wanted to get fucked already. You were…” Stiles sighed dreamily. “I wanted you so much.” 

Well then. 

“But if the Big Bad Wolf is still worried about traumatizing little ol’ me with an epic dicking and you want to give me an apology blow job or something to feel well and truly forgiven, I wouldn’t stop you…”

Derek laughed again. He’d already laughed more in past 10 minutes or so than he had in weeks. Laughed harder than in longer than he could remember. 

Agreeing that that was a great suggestion he rolled them over so that Stiles was on his back and then slid down his body, tasting the grass stained skin of his chest and abdomen and belly, venturing on until he reached his prize. Derek grasped the base of the still hardening cock and rumbled as he licked off the evidence of Stiles’ previous orgasm before he took it in his mouth and suckled the head. He was rewarded with louder moans of pleasure from his mate when he sunk further down, bobbing up and down shaft while reaching to fondle his balls with his other hand.

After a couple of minutes Derek gave the delicate sack one more squeeze and then moved his hand lower to gather slick from between soft inner thighs. The moans turned to gasps and when he pushed two fingers inside the fox’s quivering hole, jacking the shaft after pulling off to watch as his load trickled out along with fresh slick. Derek growled at the sight, thrusting faster and aiming for that sweet spot. 

When his mate was getting close he descended once more on the now leaking cock, continuing to finger him while engulfing him deep, until the tip was nestled in his throat. He made a humming sound and then Stiles was coming and crying out. Derek greedily swallowed his release and cleaned his cock until he was sensitive and whimpering. Grabbing him by the hips he then hoisted him up so that only his head and shoulders remained on the ground, tongue pressing against the furled entrance of the weakly moaning fox and lapping their mingled fluids until he was satisfied.

“Um, wow,” Stiles said breathlessly when he finally set him down.

“I want to fill you up again,” Derek rasped, his eyes a steady red as he kneeled between trembling thighs, stroking his own aching, eager cock. 

Stiles’ eyes flashed orange in response and he spread his legs wider, folding them up and holding himself exposed for Derek. So trusting and willing, this alluring and powerful creature who could blast him into next Tuesday, fry him to crisp and blow away the dust, but so readily submitted to him. Wanted him. His heart felt like it could burst. 

He crawled forward to bracket Stiles in his arms, leaving marks on his throat. Filling in some of those blank spaces that he couldn’t reach the last time. He rubbed his beard against the tanned skin, nuzzling and scenting him and when he couldn’t wait anymore he coated himself with slick and pushed in again with one steady motion, both of them moaning. Flush together and wrapped in heat, Derek closed his eyes and took a moment to just savor the feeling of being snug inside his mate. 

Affection and a sweet desire coursed through the bond and then Stiles was leaning up to kiss him, wrapping those long, strong legs around his waist. He started off slow and deep, rolling his hips sinuously as they explored each other’s mouths for the first time. Eventually he sped up, the fox’s writhing and little sounds spurring him on, and Derek held his gaze as he drove in faster and harder. 

Stiles’ eyes took on an eerie glow, the same one as before the chase. A darker shade than the previous flashing yet more shimmery. Uh-oh, here it co—

Lightning flashed high in the overcast sky, the boom of thunder only a split second behind. Startled, unhappy neighing sounded from the barn.

Derek shook his head at his sheepishly grinning mate. He adjusted his position to get use of an arm and hiked an ankle crossed at his lower back higher to rest over his shoulder. Then he spat in his hand and grasped Stiles’ cock now that enough time had passed to give his new favorite toy a break.

“Think you can manage to stop scaring my horses?” he asked with a smirk, jacking him. 

“Mmm…maybe with…the proper…motivation.” The pleasure drunk fox rubbed his other thigh against his side. Derek started thinking of all sorts of fun ways of training and testing his control. He nibbled at an earlobe and let go of his mate’s erection to twine their fingers together, pressing the backs of Stiles’ hands into the earth.

“Oh is that so?” 

“Mmhmm.”

He picked up the pace again and Stiles answered, rocking his hips in a matching rhythm. Hungrily they attacked each other with their mouths, licking, sucking, biting anywhere they could reach. The lightning ceased, but then it immediately started raining. 

Shaking with laughter they slowed but didn’t stop, grinding as the heavy droplets cooled their feverish skin. He took Stiles' face in both hands and kissed him deeply between giggles. As they ramped up again and his knot began to swell arms wrapped around to hook on his shoulders. It wasn’t long before claws were scratching down his back and when Stiles came he buried his fangs into Derek’s flesh, leaving a mating bite of his own between shoulder and neck. 

He whined from the delicious overload of sensations, thrusting erratically a half dozen times more before locking, teeth still embedded in him. Rain collected in the dips of their bodies and rivulets of water, sweat, blood, saliva, and cum ran off of them into the thirsty ground. 

When they were done — his knot going down more quickly the second round — they got up and ran naked and laughing toward the house, Stiles shifting halfway and taking off with a playful yip. Derek followed suit, howling as he tried and failed to close the distance. He was definitely gonna have to do some training himself, futile though it would probably be. If he could only arrange a chase long enough he bet that he could win on endurance. Wolves typically traveled much farther than foxes after all.

In the meantime, at least he knew his mate would take pity on him — or get horny enough — and let himself be caught sometimes. Not this time though.

When he reached the stoop at the side of the house the fox was casually lying there waiting for him with his tongue lolling out. Derek chuffed and nipped his muzzle before licking his right cheek and ear fondly. Little shit. Shifting back he turned the knob and held the door open for his mate to scamper into their home, following after with a grin bigger than the sky.

Come morning, miles along, gathered round, those remained. With bird in hand and a cry for the land, joy to gain.

We have all we need.

Thanks for reading!

The place was bustling when they arrived just before 11:00 on a Friday night, full of people letting off steam after what was, for most of them, the end of the work or school week.

That was the case for the twins, who were juniors at BHU, and Derek, who worked weekdays at an auto shop a couple towns over. Cora was a server at an Italian restaurant, but they closed at 9:00, so she had time to go home and get ready after her end-of-night duties. Erica’s LPN shift didn’t start until mid-afternoon tomorrow so she was also down to party into the wee hours.

The music was loud and various light displays shifted between colors and patterns. Aidan went straight for the bar, but the rest of them were checking out the packed dance floor and the winding, rolling, thrashing bodies working up a sweat, their attention soon drawn to a particularly ecstatic whirler who had carved out a space just for himself and seemed to be having the time of his life. 

The dancer looked to be a couple years younger than Derek, dark hair short on the sides and longer on top, a few tendrils of which clung damply to his forehead begging to be brushed back. He was wearing tight black pants and a shimmery black shirt on his leanly muscled frame. There was gloss on his lips and makeup around what he thought were dark eyes, but couldn’t be sure with the currently orange lighting. 

Derek thought he was beautiful, so alive and full of joy, even though he appeared to be here alone. And the way he gyrated those hips. Unfgh. He had to have him.  

He saw Ethan making a beeline for him and when he turned to his sister she was eyeing him as well with a considering look on her face. Oh hell no. (Erica was enjoying the view as well, but she had Boyd at home so he didn’t have to worry about her.) Before Ethan could reach him and just as Cora opened her mouth Derek let out the mother of all “claims” in a truly stentorian roar. 

“CLAAAAAIIIIMMMM!!!”

Cora huffed and rolled her eyes and Ethan halted, glaring back at him and clearly pissed that he’d forgotten about “that stupid game.” Derek was grinning like a Cheshire cat when the dancer looked over at him. Now to introduce himself.

Stiles:

Stiles had been lost in the music — eyes closed and just existing in his body, in the present — and enjoying a much needed break from his hamster wheel brain when there was a super loud shout, though he couldn’t make out what was said. When he opened his eyes and turned toward the source of the noise there was a small group of people looking in his direction. A 20-something guy with spiky dark hair and epic stubble flanked by two younger women, a brunette and a blonde.  

All were attractive, but the man was on a whole other level. Wowzers. He wore dark chinos and a darker fitted shirt — possibly green — that showed off his muscular chest, upper arms, and other assets. On that note Stiles was dying to see the view from the back. The man smiled at him and he blushed, smiling back. 

The three were then approached by a clean shaven, brown-haired man walking from his area of the dance floor and he looked away, embarrassed. They must’ve looking at and calling for him. 

Stiles returned to his dancing, trying to get back in the zone, but failing. He glanced back to where the group was still standing, but while the other guy had seemingly multiplied Hottie Prime  had vanished. He sighed, feeling disappointed. 

I don’t why, it’s not like he would’ve been interested in you anyway the critical little voice in his head said. Yeah, but at least I could’ve gotten to look a bit more. 

Ah well. When Stiles turned to face the bar again the man was standing right there in front of him.

“Eeyah!” he blurted, jumping. Of course it was during a break in the song when the volume was low enough that his weird little cry could be heard.

“Hi, there,” the gorgeous stranger said wearing a wolfish grin. 

Stiles could see that his eyes were light, but couldn’t make out which color in the blue light. He swallowed and licked his dry lips. 

“Um, hey,” he replied with an awkward wave. The music picked up again.

“Do you mind if I dance with you?” the man shouted.

Stiles shook his head, paused, nodded, and then realized that both were kind of ambiguous so finally just started to move again while grinning at him and hoping that got the message across. The amused man leaned in, warm breath ghosting against his ear. 

“I’m Derek!”

“Stiles!”

“Stiles?”

“Yeah.”

He saw Derek nod and repeat it to himself, which was adorable.

After a couple of songs of orbiting around each other and mimicking each others moves, Derek stepped in closer and very lightly placed his hands on his hips, watching his face for a reaction. He blushed, nodding, and Derek’s grasp tightened, making a jolt of arousal course through him. The now red lighting momentarily reflected in the other man’s eyes making for a really cool effect as they moved together. 

When the music speed up even more Stiles turned around and they danced pressed back to chest, hips first swaying side to side and then forward and back and all around together in time to the beat. Derek was plastered to him — hot and smelling of something spicy, bright, and woodsy — and Stiles could feel as he grew hard against his ass. He shivered, barely holding back a moan. Strong arms wrapped around him and lips brushed against his ear. 

“You wanna get out of here?”

Derek:

Stiles told him he’d taken a rideshare to the club in case he had more than a couple drinks for the night so he got into Derek’s car after having him swear he wasn’t a serial killer. He’d also texted someone a picture of his driver’s license and license plate “just in case.” Derek was amused by his apologetic face, but also saddened at the precautions the younger man felt he had to take. It could be a dangerous world. 

He didn’t live far from the club, but the tension in the Camaro made it seem longer. Stiles smelled aroused, but also nervous. Derek put a hand on his bouncing left knee.

“We don’t have to do anything, Stiles. I’ll be down for however far you want to go, but we can also just hang out or you can change your mind at any time, okay?” His passenger let out a breath and smiled, saying “Okay.” The atmosphere became much more relaxed.

Derek showed him around the loft and they talked about this and that for a while. Stiles mixed orange juice, Sprite, and strawberry Fanta together when he offered him a choice of water, juice or soda, practically daring him to comment. He held his tongue, but let his eyebrows do the judging. Then he made some tea for himself (Stiles actually awwed) and they joked around, flirting. They watched an episode of some new cooking competition show he’d never heard of, but that came highly recommended by his guest. Near the end of the first episode he felt Stiles watching him.

He turned toward the younger man who’d been looking at his lips and then met his gaze before focusing back on his lips again. Derek leaned in for a kiss and then another, the both of them progressively going longer and deeper. When Stiles came up for air he tried to take a sip of his half full drink, but managed to spill most of it on his shirt. Derek couldn’t help chuckling, but quickly got up to get him one of his sleep shirts to put on after kissing the embarrassed youth on the forehead. 

Then he sat back on the couch and pulled a meeping and once again interested Stiles into his lap, looking into his pretty brown eyes. 

“Okay?”

“Yeah.”

They resumed their making out and Stiles moved to straddle him, grinding down against him. Derek slid his hands under the shirt, his shirt, and stroked his sides. His sized up light gray tee hung even more loosely on the smaller man — who was only a couple inches shorter, but slender — and he pulled at the collar to get at his neck. The scent of Stiles’ arousal mixed with him wearing Derek’s clothes was doing things to him. 

He lifted his head for another kiss and then leaned back to pull up the front of the shirt to look at Stiles’ belly and chest. Comfortable in his den and focusing on watching his right hand feel that warm, smooth skin — making those abdominal muscles twitch — and inhaling them had him involuntarily making little growling noises. His eyes even briefly flashed red without him noticing.

When Stiles froze and gasped, heart racing and smelling of surprise, he let go of the bunched up fabric and withdrew both hands. 

“What’s—“

“You’re a wolf!” the staring human exclaimed.

“Uh, what? You—what…?”

Derek carefully set Stiles to the side and got up, his own heart pounding rapidly, and began to pace. What had he done? Did he actually beta-shift without realizing or something?

“Hey, it’s okay,” Stiles assured, scrambling to his feet, but still giving Derek space. ”My best friend is a wolf, so I just recognized the growly-growls and the, um, Alpha eyes.”

Derek’s head shot up. So the other man knew knew about werewolves then. He exhaled slowly. Well, at least he hadn’t lost as much control as he’d thought. His best friend, huh? Must be that kid who Mom met some years ago that ended up becoming a True Alpha somehow. Steve or something.

“Seriously dude, don’t worry. I’m totally cool with the wolfiness.” 

Derek hazarded a glance at Stiles’ face. There was no fear or disgust in his eyes or in his scent. No lie in his heart beat. If anything he seemed curious and even more aroused. Heh. Derek grinned, thankful for the lucky break — he’d freak out about how sideways this could’ve gone later — and moved back toward the couch.

“Don’t call me ‘dude,’” he admonished mock-sternly as he sat down. Stiles climbed back into his lap.

“Okay, Alpha.”

Stiles:

Well that definitely had the desired effect. No longer attempting to hold back his wolfishness, Derek dove into his neck, licking and nipping and full on growling while squeezing his ass and rutting up against him. A minute later he was being picked up and yelped, wrapping his limbs around the werewolf who pressed a smile into his skin. God, Stiles loved how strong Derek was. He was set down in the Alpha’s bed and those hungry eyes had gone from their usual green-hazel — he’d finally gotten a good look in the kitchen — to red again.

“What do you want, Stiles?”

Everything, honestly. But was he said was “Your mouth up here…and your hands and body against mine.”

“I can do that,” came the reply, voice full of seductive promise. 

And then he was pounced upon, lips seized in another kiss before his borrowed shirt was pushed up again, a hot tongue finding first one nipple and then the other. Derek licked down his chest and belly before kneeling back to peel off Stiles’ pants and then getting up to remove his own as well as his shirt. Wearing only their underwear below — him in red hip briefs and Derek in black boxer briefs — he opened his legs for the wolf to crawl between and press their lengths together, thrusting and grinding with only thin fabric between them. Derek resumed plundering his mouth and swallowing his moans.

Then the Alpha leaned off to the side and rutted against his right thigh, dragging down Stiles’ underwear enough to free his leaking cock. A large, callused hand wrapped around him after being licked wet and Stiles fucked into it as it stroked him. When he was getting close Derek straddled that same thigh and had him suck two fingers before sliding them under the red fabric, up his backside and into his cleft. The fingers alternately rubbed over and circled his hole, not quite dipping inside, until a minute later he was writhing and tensing and crying out.

Derek watched him cum onto his belly and chest, eyes glowing steadily as he continued to work Stiles through his orgasm. After he was spent the wolf collected most of it and used it to slick himself up. Stiles’ stared wide-eyed and hungrily when he pulled his cock out, absentmindedly licking his lips at the impressive sight. It didn’t take long for Derek to come too, stripping himself while looking down at him, all messy and languid and smiling. 

With a growl Derek shot his seed onto him, first onto his flaccid cock — making him gasp — and then from his lower belly up to his chest. Stiles closed his eyes and bit back a whimper as the Alpha’s warm hand rubbed their releases together and into his skin before tugging the shirt back down and patting his stomach twice.

Afterward he lay there with Derek, happy and sated, as the wolf laid beside with an arm casually across his torso. About 15 minutes later he started to get antsy though, figuring that he should leave. Stiles wanted to stay right where he was and the wolf had made no signs of wanting him out — no exaggerated yawns or bringing up an early appointment or straight up looking at him and then staring at the door like one girl did freshman year maybe 3 minutes after. But that’s how this worked, right? Was what he was supposed to do. And then maybe if he was lucky the person would want to exchange numbers on his way out. 

That had happened twice before. A classmate named Kat that he hooked up with a second time last fall and a sweet guy, Geoff, that he even dated for several weeks sophomore year before he transferred to Georgia. Or was it Alabama? Somewhere in the southeast.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, getting up to locate where Derek had thrown his pants. If he wanted that chance, however slim, of seeing the Alpha again he needed to not be clingy and annoying. A-ha, there they are. Way across the room in a corner.

“You don’t have to go, Stiles. If you don’t want to.”

He froze. Oh right, werewolf. He can probably sense how pathetic I’m being. He’s probably just being nice. Stiles turned around to make up some excuse and then realized Derek would also be able to sense that. Fuck. 

“I mean it. I’d like it if you stayed,” the Alpha said, sitting up and leaning forward. “Snuggling with a cute guy, maybe getting another taste before or after breakfast…” He wagged his brows. “Sounds like a great plan to me.”

Stiles broke into a wide smile and Derek mimed circling and throwing a lasso around him, “pulling” him back to the bed. He giggled and went along, leaning over to give him a kiss. 

“Give me a minute.”

He hurried back into the living area and grabbed his phone, sending a text to his father that he was staying out. 

Stiles had considered moving into the dorms or into his own apartment like most of his classmates, but his father chilled out a bunch once he graduated high school and it made a lot more financial sense to stay home. He also hadn’t liked the idea of his dad living alone if he didn’t need to despite the elder Stilinski’s protestations that he’d be fine. Plus this way he could still harass encourage him to still eat healthy most of the time. 

It did occasionally get awkward though. He didn’t hook up that often and when he did it was usually earlier in the night, only obviously being somewhere after the clubs actually closed a couple times. (It was Lydia he texted with the info of the people he’d gone home with, not his dad.) All of his close friends were either in SoCal or out of state currently so it wasn’t like he could claim to be with one of them right now. 

His dad had never given him any shit for it, (all of his “sextures,” as Stiles called them, took place between 7th grade and his junior year of high school,) but the knowing look was enough. He was actually staying over this time — holy crap — so there was no getting around it. Totally worth it though.

When he got back to the room Derek smiled and patted the mattress beside him. Stiles climbed in and cuddled up to the wolf, falling asleep much faster than he would’ve expected as thick fingers carded through his hair. 

Stiles woke a bit after 10:00 the next morning to the smell of frying bacon and yawned, happily remembering the night before. He relieved himself and then decided to take a quick shower after finding a couple of towels and washcloths folded and waiting for him. His now clean shirt was there too and a new toothbrush. Stiles swooned. How thoughtful. 

There was also a pair of Derek’s boxer briefs for him to keep forever borrow if he wanted. He shushed his dick when it began to stir. Shower, then food, then hopefully more fooling around.

Stiles was just finishing up, greedily inhaling the scent of Derek’s body wash hanging in the humid air — the bergamot and oak that he first noticed at Jungle and was now clinging to his own skin — as he heard the wolf moving around in the bedroom. He was taking a last look in the mirror to make sure he didn’t have toothpaste on his face or hair sticking up all weird when there was a commotion downstairs. The sound of laughing and crosstalk and a door slamming before one guy’s voice in particular called out loudly.

“Hey Derek, how was that sweet piece of ass last night? I can’t believe you beat me to him with your fucking ‘Dibs’—“

“‘Claim,’” corrected multiple voices.

“‘Claim’, whatever. I should’ve just igno—“

“Shut the fuck up,” Derek hissed. 

He held onto the counter as the sound of footsteps retreated, looking at the now pained expression in his reflection. Oh. Of course. It had been some kind of competition. And then Derek had wanted him to stay in order to show proof of his conquest, but probably hadn’t expected his friends to be so blatant about it.

Stiles didn’t know what to do. Remaining in here all day wasn’t an option, but he also really didn’t want to go out there. To be seen. Especially upset as he was. 

Maybe they’d get bored and leave soon and then he could go too. He put the toilet seat down and sat on it, drawing up his knees and hugging them. His eyes stung, but Stiles took a deep breath and tried to will his thoughts elsewhere. He’d be damned if he was going to cry. Not here anyway.

Derek:

He groaned in annoyance when most of the gang came crashing in. The group from last night minus Aiden (who was likely still sleeping off the drinks he’d no doubt spiked with spotted wolfsbane) and plus Boyd and Isaac. Derek had been looking forward to a nice breakfast with his new companion and then hopefully finding out what that mouth could do. Afterward, assuming Stiles didn’t have somewhere else to be, he wanted to spend the rest of the day getting to know the funny, sexy-adorable, clever, wolf-friendly human. Grr.

Then he realized what Ethan was yelling about. Fuck. 

“Shut the fuck up,” he hissed, running toward and then down the stairs. He had really hoped that Stiles hadn’t heard the insensitive wolf, but if the elevated heart rate now coming from the bathroom was any indication he definitely had. Shit. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he spat in a barely audible whisper. “You couldn’t hear that he’s still here?” Ethan shrugged. 

“I wasn’t really paying attention and assumed he’d be long gone by now.” 

“Well, he’s not. Because I like him and asked him to stay. And he heard you. So can you please go the fuck away?” He turned to look at the other sheepish younger wolves. “That goes for the rest of you too.” 

Derek saw them out and was the one to slam the door this time. He took a deep breath and steeled himself before climbing slowly up the stairs. After a brief pause he rapped his knuckles on the bathroom door. 

“Hey, are you okay?” He heard a derisive snort and cringed. “Can I talk to you…please?” There was movement inside and then the door flew open. The scents of hurt and bitter resentment, of anger and salt, came wafting out with the toiletries. 

“There isn’t anything to talk about,” Stiles said, turning sideways to slide past him without touching him. Derek whined internally. There were no tear tracks on his face, but his pretty brown eyes had an extra sheen to them.

“I’m sorry, Stiles. I—It wasn’t like that,” he started, watching the young man collect his phone before heading down to get his house keys and put on his socks and shoes. “The whole ‘claim’ business was for the opportunity to approach you first, not to make being with you a…a game or something. It wasn’t. Not to me.”

Stiles turned toward him, frowning and mistrustful. He kept going.

“I didn’t know they were going to barge in here. I was hoping to spend the day with you. Not only fooling around, but maybe watching more of that show you like — it was pretty entertaining — or going for a walk. Grabbing some lunch. Stuff like that.”

The human only looked at him, searching his face and saying nothing. 

Derek felt desperate, like he was about to lose something special right as it started. Just as it could’ve, should’veblossomed into more. Nipped in the bud instead. 

Stiles:

He wanted to believe Derek, he really did. Wanted it with every fiber of his being to be told “Psych, I actually do really like you and want to spend more time with you.” But he was hurt and uncertain and just wanted to go home. And even if Derek had meant it like how he said, he still wasn’t keen on the idea of being involved in a competition between the two men. Who did that? Stiles sighed and headed for the door.

“You could call your friend, the wolf, and I—I could prove it,” Derek called after him in a shaky voice. “He would know that I was telling the truth.”

Stiles paused and sighed again, turning and walking up to the hangdog looking Alpha. He kissed his cheek and murmured “Thanks for last night. It…was very nice.”

Then he left.

That Monday the dark-haired young woman he saw at the club — who introduced herself as Cora, Derek’s sister — came up to him when they crossed paths at the school library. The hesitant freshman apologized for her part in the the whole situation and reiterated that her brother was truly sorry and that he would love to see him whenever if Stiles ever forgave him. She took off quickly once he acknowledged that he heard her, but he didn’t respond one way or the other.

The following day he was still moping on the couch at home, set off again when he tried to watch his favorite cooking show that evening and couldn’t help thinking of Derek. How amazing that night had been and then how things had ended the next morning with him feeling less than. Was he being too harsh? Not harsh enough by not telling Cora to tell Derek to fuck off?

His father came home from his day shift and raised an eyebrow at his broody state. An hour or so later just after dinner he asked what was troubling him and Stiles gave him the gist of it after some hemming and hawing. A sheepish expression came over the his face and Stiles narrowed his eyes.

“What?”

“Well, you know…actually, you definitely don’t know this…but me and your mom? My friend Michael actually noticed her first at the veteran’s shindig, but I challenged him to an arm wrestling match to ask her out instead. Best of three. Mike was a bit…tipsy and overconfident and I won all three rounds. So I got to try my luck and well the rest — he spread his arms with a grin now on his face — is history.”

Stiles sat there with his mouth hanging open. Apparently the answer to “Who did that?” was his dear old Dad. His own father had basically called dibs on his mother.

“You should close that before you swallow a fly,” his father teased. “A little friendly competition is not uncommon. And it’s true that it can get out of hand, become a callous, hurtful thing, but it doesn’t have to be. You’ve never had to deal with this issue before because by the time you and Scott actually had a chance in hell at dating — I love you son, but it’s true — the two of you had very different types. He likes to chase after dark-eyed brunettes and you seem to lean mostly toward athletic or hunky guys—“

“Never say that again,” Stiles said half-heartedly.

“But when you are interested in women it’s generally a blonde…or redhead.”

His dad gave him an amused look, clearly remembering his Lydia phase before they actually became friends. Stiles rolled his eyes. Huh. He wasn’t wrong though. And now that he thought of it, every time he’d been open to meeting someone while going out with friends they’d either been straight or in a relationship or had different types. Danny pretty much swung between super beefy muscle bros that probably lived in a gym and the twinkiest of twinks depending on what he was in the mood for. 

Stiles was most attracted to guys like, well, Derek. Or at least his own size. He liked it when someone could move him around, but without giving young Ah-nold (or hell, old Ah-nold) a run for his money. Sue him. What would he have done if Scott was there, was bi or gay, and they’d both been into Derek at the club? 

Well, absolutely nothing probably, but in theory? Hmm…  

“Let me ask you a few questions, kiddo” his dad said, interrupting his thought experiment. “Did he treat you right?”

Stiles nodded and then blushed. Oh, Derek had treated him well alright. His father rolled his eyes.

“That’s…not what I meant — and say no more — but I won’t pretend that that doesn’t matter too. Ahem.” Stiles ducked his head, grinning.

“Yeah. He assured me that anything that happened was up to me and he washed my shirt that I spilled OSS on—“

“You and your damn concoctions. Which one is that again?”

“Orange juice, Sprite, and strawberry soda…anyway. Yeah. He was…thoughtful and sweet.”

“Hmm. And did he—what was his name again?” 

“I didn’t say, but it’s Derek.”

“Did Derek show interest in you? Your thoughts and interests and feelings?” 

Stiles sighed.

“Yeah, he did…” 

“And finally, did he…like you? Get all smiley? At least hint at wanting to see you again?” Stiles lowered his head onto the table, lightly thunking it a few times.

“Yersh,” he said, leaving his face mashed against the wood. The elder Stilinski waited until he rested his chin on his arms and met twinkling blue eyes.  

“Well, if you want your old man’s advice…” Stiles rolled his eyes. As if his father hadn’t been coaxing him to a certain conclusion this whole conversation.

“Sure,” he replied, nodding and shrugging a shoulder. Might as well humor him. His dad grew more serious.

“Your feelings are valid and if it’s truly a dealbreaker for you, so be it. But, if you really like this guy — and it sounds like you do — consider giving him another chance. Not just for his sake, but for your own as well.” 

And with that his father got up, patted him on the shoulder and kissed his head, and then wandered into the living room, probably to turn on the tv and catch the rest of whatever game was on.

Stiles thunked his head a few more times. Goddammit. It sounded so reasonable when you put it like that. He stayed there for a while, trying to think things through.

Oh shut up. You know you’d rather be with Derek than be mad. It’s a matter of pride, sure, but you can always have him beg some. Preferably in bed. And you can still be mad at that other dude, who was the one that actually called you a piece of ass.

He grinned mischievously. 

Derek:

It’d been an altogether uneventful Wednesday — no screaming customers or tricky repairs or shipping delays for parts — but Derek wanted nothing more than to just go home. Well, there was something, or rather someone, he wanted more, but that wasn’t in the cards. The work had been a helpful distraction the last few days, but in between fixing or maintaining vehicles and checking inventory and whatever else needed doing, his thoughts returned to Saturday and Stiles again and again. Especially today when he finished the last car in the queue a good hour before close.

Finally 6pm came and he was ready to go just 5 minutes after having done the usual post-close tasks already. Derek called out a goodbye to Terrance and Miguel, got in his car, and peeled out of there.  

He decided to stop at Rosario’s on his way out of Selva because why not stuff his face while wallowing in his misery? At least his pain was supporting the tiny family owned donut shop. Maybe he’d even put on that cooking show when he got home too. Make it really hurt. 

Then he’d check his phone for anything actually important, ignore the pups wanting to hang out some more (especially a certain precipitating beta that dared to say he shouldn’t be so upset about a one night stand as if he wasn’t upset precisely because he hadn’t wanted it to be a one night stand. Or to hurt him.) On second thought, he‘d text Ethan a series of middle fingers for that.

Maybe try to make himself go for a night run before coming back home, taking a shower (he’d finally switched to nights after working a job that got him dirty) and eating a pint of ice cream and going to bed. What a plan. Rinse and repeat the next day, except perhaps he’d get some pie or french toast with maple syrup, strawberries and whipped cream instead. He let his sweet tooth run wild when he was down in the dumps.

But when he pulled into the parking lot of his apartment building around a quarter to 7:00 there was a beat up, old blue Jeep in a guest spot that he’d never seen before and an unexpected visitor waiting by the door to the lobby.

“Stiles?!” he blurted, surprised and cautiously hopeful. Also a bit afraid. It seemed unlikely, but maybe he was going to get chewed out some more. The tired looking human stood up from where he’d been perched on a large rectangular concrete planter. 

“Sorry for just showing up, but I don’t have your number or anything and your sister said you still wanted to see me.”

He wanted to simultaneously kiss and strangle Cora.

“Yeah, I did. I do. I hope she hasn’t been bothering you—“

“Nah, she just spoke to me the one time a couple days ago when she saw me at BHU. Said her piece and left.” Derek nodded. 

“Did you want to come in…?”

“Yeah, sure.” 

Derek tried to discreetly suss out his emotional state as they want through the door and walked down the hall to the elevator closer together, but he saw Stiles smirk so he probably wasn’t as subtle with the sniffing as he thought. He smelled…Derek wasn’t quite sure actually. There were lots of shifting scents. But he wasn’t acutely upset, which seemed like a good sign. 

When they reached the loft he went to the fridge and mixed a can each of strawberry Fanta and Sprite and a cup of orange juice together, dividing it into two glasses. He’d first tried the unusual combination when he’d been pining on Sunday. It wasn’t bad at all, though he wasn’t sure if he’d gotten the ratio right. 

Stiles smiled and raised an eyebrow and Derek blushed. After taking a couple sips the younger man took a deep breath and started talking, tracing circles on the table with his pointer fingers.

“So I probably overreacted on Saturday…”

Derek was about to contradict him, but he put one of those fingers to his own lips and then to Derek’s. He almost whined at the touch.

“Shhh, let me finish. I’m not saying I was wrong to be upset at all, but I made some leaps myself. Assumptions that probably were’t true. Like how I thought you had the others come over to show off your conquest.”

He shook his head in negation. Oh Stiles.

“I have my own issues around…actually being liked or wanted,” the human grimaced. “And that just really didn’t help.” 

Derek actually did whine then. He hated the idea of Stiles feeling that way at all, much less because of him and his packmates.

“But I talked with my dad and he gave me some advice — you so owe that man a BBQ platter or something, by the way — and he made me realize that whatever stuff you had going on with your friends, that you never treated me like I was just a…prize or a notch in your belt. You were kind and considerate and fun and so fucking sexy and I like you, goddamnit. So yeah. If you wanna give this thing another try…” 

Stiles shrugged a shoulder casually, but Derek could make out his anxious scent and racing heart. A huge grin came over his face as his chest thrummed with elation. Oh he was definitely going to thank Stiles’ dad profusely if…whenthey eventually met.

“Yes,” he replied, actually a bit choked up, before clearing his throat and trying again. “Yes, Stiles. Of course. I like you so much. And once again, I’m sorry.”

“Cool,” Stiles said, leaning in for a kiss. 

Derek did indeed watch more of that cooking show, but unlike what he imagined a couple hours before he had Stiles with him commenting on everything. He shared his box of donuts mentioning that he had planned to eat them all while missing him and continuing to lament losing his chance. 

“Aww, Derek,” Stiles cooed before snuggling up to him and then mockingly “Claim”-ing over half of the assorted pastries, saving two for his father in thanks. When the human left to go home a few hours later it was with Derek’s number in his phone. A couple minutes later he heard what must’ve been that blue monstrosity struggle to life — he cringed and swore then and there to get Stiles to let him tune it up — and his phone chimed a couple times. 

The first message was a close-up picture of Stiles behind the wheel from mid-nose down to his upper chest, head titled up and to the side to show off his bared throat with his collar pulled down and a mischievous smirk. Swallowing, he scrolled down and there was also a video of the same, only capturing the movement of it and with Stiles whispering his name. Derek groaned and felt like that “awooga” wolf from the old cartoons, eyes widened and salivating as blood went  rushing south. 

Then there was another short video with his full face this time, blowing him a kiss and then smiling widely with laughing eyes. It was followed by a few snapshots of him doing so. Derek grinned and saved them to his gallery and the phone number to his contacts under “Favorite Human.”

He picked Stiles up on Friday evening for a 7:15 reservation at the restaurant where Cora worked, everything on the house. They shared tagliatelle alla carbonara, pappardelle with short rib ragu and polenta with taleggio and mushrooms for dinner and a piece of tiramisu and two cannolis — one with chopped pistachios and the other with chocolate chips — for dessert. He hugged his sister, thanking her for the delicious meal and again for letting Stiles know he’d still wanted to hear from him. She grinned and said he owed her and that she intended to cash in a big favor sometime. 

His happily stuffed date suggested they catch the local theater’s final showing of the latest explosionpalooza and then stayed over afterward, changing into one of Derek’s shirts and snuggling up to him and giving his ass a squeeze before promptly falling asleep. Derek nuzzled his shoulder and then drank in the sight of him until he started drifting off as well. 

He woke when Stiles’ alarm went off and then grumbled and pouted as he watched him get up to leave early in the morning. Apparently, there were some serious home projects going on at the Stilinski residence that day and he also needed to catch up on his studying and coursework after, but he told Derek that he’d be free tomorrow. Stiles smacked a kiss on his head, said “see ya later, sourwolf” and danced away laughing before Derek’s groggy, uncoordinated self could grab him. 

He came back over to the loft on Sunday for a triple feature and Derek couldn’t wait to show him some of his favorite ambitious and visually interesting films: The Fall (2006,) Cloud Atlas, and Across the Universe. In between the second and third movie Derek also got down on his knees to show the surprised, but excited younger man what his mouth could do. 

When Stiles looked down at him with a half-lidded gaze, scent going warm and musky-sweet as he spread his legs Derek nearly whined in anticipation. Then the human gently held his chin and he stilled the hands that were reaching to undo another pair of those snug black pants. He glanced up again.

“I want to hear how much you want it,” Stiles said with an authoritative voice, but a telltale rosiness on his cheeks. 

Derek was amused and charmed and so very turned on. So the blushing boy wanted him to grovel a bit, hmm? Not only was he not above begging, but he found he liked the idea of a little role reversal for once. The Alpha at the mercy of a human. 

“Please, Stiles. Let me suck your cock,” he said, running his hands teasingly up and down his thighs and looking him right in the eye. “I want to taste you so much, want to satisfy you and make you cum. Please, baby. Please.”

“Well, alright then,” Stiles said, trying to be nonchalant, but only getting more flustered.

Seconds later Derek had his hard cock in his mouth and the taste of precum on his tongue. Both of them moaned. A hand burrowed into his hair and he began to suck in earnest, his own erection straining and leaking inside his pants. After a couple of minutes he tugged Stiles’ pants and underwear down further to mid-thigh so he could have an easier time fondling his balls, making him groan louder and jerk his hips.

When that movement caused Stiles’ cock to touch the back of his throat he gagged a bit, but then growled in pleasure. The human started to apologize, but Derek popped off and said “It’s fine.” He then snaked his arms under Stiles’ knees and gripped his ass to fuck his own face with him. Stiles’ head fell back against the couch as he whispered “Oh. My. God.” 

Derek grinned as he pulled back to suckle and lick around the head before resuming the previous motion. That’s right, baby. Going to ruin you for anyone else. He could tell Stiles was getting close.

“If you’re good…and swallow it all…I’ll return…the favor…next time.”

Fuck. He was going to do that anyway, but now he was really going to give it his all. Derek put Stiles back down and put one hand on the base of his cock, using the other to massage his taint. He went to town with his mouth and when Stiles started tensing he looked up, red eyes locking onto whiskey brown, and instantly started receiving a warm and salty reward for his efforts. Mmm.

Swallowing as he went, Derek didn’t let up until Stiles was trembling and reached a limp arm to tap his shoulder. He drew off, licking the tip one last time, and wrapped his arms around the younger man’s back, pressing his head against the clothed chest so that the sound of Stiles’ heartbeat was all he could hear. 

Stiles:

After he recovered from the most epic blowjob of his life Stiles had Derek sit back on the couch and straddled him, pants pulled back up, but left unbuttoned. He freed the wolf’s engorged and so far neglected member, spit a few times into his right hand, and began to work him with long, slow strokes. When he moaned Stiles kissed his open mouth, sucking his bottom lip before sliding his tongue inside and tasting a trace of himself. 

He sped up and licked his other hand, adding it to the impressive cock as well to twist and squeeze around the base. Then he nibbled Derek’s left earlobe and whispered.

“Mmm, such a beautiful cock. Fuck my hand, Alpha. Show me what to look forward to.”

God, the way Derek looked when he drew back to see his face. All predatory intensity, hands flexing against his sides. It was a wonder that he wasn’t thrown down and fucked right there. Not that he would’ve complained. (At least as long as there was a pit stop for lube.) Instead the wolf obliged and began thrusting and making those little growly noises like that first night, which were frankly adorable in addition to being hot as fuck. 

He looked down between them and imagined Derek pounding into him just like that, disappearing inside of him over and over and he moaned, spurring him on. When the movement went from fast to erratic he removed one hand and pulled up his shirt, knowing how the wolf liked to mark him that way. Derek rumbled, caressing his abdomen, and then shot ropes of cum against his skin. When he was finished Stiles let go of Derek’s cock and took his hand, both of them rubbing it into his skin together.

Still smiling at each other a few minutes later they went to wash up a bit and grab some more food and drinks before hunkering back down for the 60s-tastic Beatles’ musical. Stiles had brought over a handful of snacks and a few beverages too and when he saw that Derek had grapefruit juice this time he introduced him to “R2G2”: Ruby red grapefruit juice, guava nectar, and ginger ale. 

“Add some rum or vodka and you’ve got yourself a nice little cocktail,” he informed the wolf watching him fondly.

That Wednesday evening he ended up being introduced to Derek’s three betas — Isaac, Boyd, and Erica — and also the culprit from that first morning after, Ethan. He’d been nearby and when he asked what Derek was up to he told him he was hanging out with some pack members and that Stiles could come by if he wanted to. He took several minutes to think about whether he did want to or not, finally sighing and deciding he should go ahead. He was going to have to get to know them sooner or later.

The betas were all smiles and curiosity and welcome, especially the blonde he remembered from the club. Erica. Then one of the twins he’d also seen there sauntered out of the bathroom and he immediately recognized his voice when he began to speak.

“Oh look, it’s you. Derbear here lucked out after all.” Derek growled lowly as the younger wolf approached him with his hand out. “The name’s Ethan.” 

Stiles raised an eyebrow and shook it firmly. “Piece of Ass, nice to meet you.”

Erica cackled in delight as Isaac grinned widely and Boyd smirked and shook his head. Derek looked back and forth between them anxiously. The cocky beta snorted.

“Yeah, sorry about all that. What can I say, you’ve got a nice one.” Ethan replied, shrugging.

Stiles saw Derek’s eyes go red and the growling got louder. He walked over to the Alpha and stood next to him, pulling the wolf’s left arm around his back to grasp his hip and reaching his own right hand around to squeeze Derek’s ass, making him jolt and quiet, before settling on a hip too. 

“It’s spoken for,” Stiles said baring his teeth in what one could only mistake as a smile from some distance. Ethan raised his hands and ducked his head.

“Alright, okay, I’ll shut up.”

“Thanks,” he snarked.

When Stiles turned to Derek he was looking at him with hunger and pride and the next thing he knew he was being swept up and taken around the corner into the partially separated kitchen as the other wolves oohed and whistled. He was set down on a counter and the Alpha dove into his neck, scenting and licking and then biting and licking all around as he clutched onto broad shoulders.

He walked back into the common area hand in hand with Derek, blushing, but with his head held high wearing what was — as he’d seen in the reflection of the window over the sink — a truly impressive array of hickeys. There was a drawled “Daaamn” from Isaac and Erica looked at Boyd as if she was challenging him to do better, temporary as it’d be. Ethan wisely said nothing, only glancing up briefly and meeting the Alpha’s eye before going back to scrolling on his phone.

Stiles stayed for a couple of hours playing card games and monopoly and taking turns putting on music — they each got 3 songs at a time — and actually having a good time. When he had to go he did his best to leave a single massive bruise on Derek’s neck and the werewolf promised he’d hold onto it until he fell asleep. Of course his dad was sitting in his recliner in the the living room when he came in, recently returned from a swing shift, and his eyebrows shot up as they exchanged “hellos” and “goodnights.”

As he headed up the stairs he heard a muttered “Was he attacked by vampires?” Stiles paused and grinned.

“A werewolf, actually.”  

His father sputtered and he heard the foot rest of the recliner swing shut. He turned around on the 7th step as his father came into view.

“Wait, your Derek is Derek Hale?”

“Yep,” Stiles said, smugly. He was also very curious about how his father knew of him.

The elder Stilinski had found out about werewolves not long after Stiles did — when Scott was Bitten by some unknown wandering Alpha. He was on the night shift that first full moon a couple weeks later, but stopped home to get something or other and heard the unholy racket of an angry chained up werewolf coming from the basement. Stiles hastily informed him that the situation was under control and that the murderous looking creature was actually one floppy-haired Scott McCall. 

The new wolf hadn’t wanted to join a pack at the time — apparently he didn’t have to as long as he maintained other strong personal connections — but the Alphas in the region, Satomi Ito and Talia Hale had offered resources and basic lessons. Scott took to Satomi right away so she was the one who instructed him and still checked up on him from time to time, but the Sheriff was present with Scott’s mom, Melissa, at the initial meeting and naturally looked up what he could about the resident wolves. 

His father had never mentioned the name of the 2nd Alpha knowing how especially nosy his son was back then. Scott had simply misremembered her as “Alpha Helen.” Surprise!

After explaining his dad looked at him, opening and shutting his mouth a few different times before simply snorting and shaking his head.

“Well damn. Good for you, son” he said finally, ambling back to his chair.

Good for me, indeed. And speaking of which, he had a call to make — or maybe a text, this could get embarrassing — to said werewolf bro in San Diego who should still be awake. Stiles had plans for this weekend and some questions to ask.

When Saturday came around — two weeks after he’d left for what he’d thought both the first and last time — Stiles returned to the loft as a man on a mission. Derek was still greeting him after opening the door when he dropped his bag of groceries on the floor and started kissing him. The older man’s amused grin turned into an expression of disbelief and then desire when Stiles dropped to his knees before him. Derek hurriedly closed the door and then he was leaning against it as Stiles gripped his muscular thighs and nuzzled his crotch.

“It’s next time,” he said cheekily as momentarily clawed hands fumbled with the zipper. 

He’d been drawing things out some, feeling out the situation at first and then both enjoying the anticipation itself and teasing Derek a little and hopefully making him want, but he was done waiting for more. This was the third occasion of him getting eyes on that gorgeous cock and he was going to get it in his mouth this time. Stiles lifted his eyes to watch Derek staring intently from above and opened up, sticking his tongue out for the wolf to do whatever he wanted while resting his hands on his own legs.

Derek looked at him like he was a precious thing that he also planned on sullying and then took hold of himself, rubbing the head of his cock across Stiles’ cheek and then over his top lip before sliding it onto his tongue and then inside. 

“Go on,” the Alpha prompted huskily.

Stiles closed his lips around the hot flesh stretching him wide and started bobbing, eyes fluttering at the taste and feel of him. Oh yes. After a few minutes he withdrew and teased Derek’s shaft with little licks and then over the head and dipping into the slit, making him whine and jerk minutely. Stiles engulfed him again, tongue lapping firmly on the underside of his cock as he resumed sucking. 

A hand was placed on his head and Stiles moaned in approval, encouraging the wolf to thrust as well. He opened even wider and let saliva run down, the wet sounds and the grunts of pleasure above spurring him on. When Derek started tensing up he finally lifted a hand to grasp his balls, fondling and squeezing them just hard enough to send him over the edge. 

Cum flooded his mouth, warm and rich on his tongue. Derek reached down to run the pads of his fingers up and down his throat, growling lowly as he swallowed. He didn’t stop until he took it all and the Alpha’s head fell back against the door.

“Wow.”

Stiles pulled off, wiping his mouth with the back of a hand and grinned. 

After taking a minute to rest, leaning into a bite-worthy thigh and being pet affectionately, he got up with an assist from a starry-eyed Derek, who immediately cupped his face and kissed him hungrily. Then he cleaned up a bit and made space on the counter, gathering the groceries spilling out of the bag. Now to put the rest of his plan into motion. As he unpacked the other pierogi fixings he made a show of looking for a missing item. 

“Oh crap, I don’t have the sour cream and I need it for this. Do you think you could grab some for me while I get things started?” 

Stiles made a point of not saying he forgot the sour cream because that would’ve been a big fat lie, but he must’ve still reacted in some way, perhaps his heart speeding up as he wondered if this would work or in anticipation, and the wolf narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Derek soon fell victim to his puppy dog eyes anyway and went on the errand after shooting him another dubious glance and saying “Be good.”

Going to be so good for you, Der.  

As soon as he heard the car pull away Stiles went hunting through the neat pile of clothes that the Alpha had worn, but didn’t need to go in the laundry basket yet. He selected one of Derek’s light gray T-shirts that the wolf liked to sleep and apparently run in sometimes, which were large even on his broader body. The hem came down to the very tops of his thighs in front and showed just a hint of butt cheek in the back. Perfect.

He’d had that awkward and hilarious conversation with Scott a few nights ago, who excitedly called him full of his own questions after Stiles texted “So, werewolf sex…now relevant to my interests. Give me the deets.”

There were some things he already knew about — the thing about necks, STIs not being a concern, and the importance of scent in general — but he learned that wearing their clothes in particular was like wolfnip. That certain movements and actions made them want to chase and that getting into a position that was head down and ass up went straight to their furry little brains. About the different kinds of marking.

Knowing he had 20 minutes or so at most now before Derek returned Stiles washed up quickly, put the shirt back on, and then peeked into the nightstand for lube, which he actually did forget to bring. Luckily, the wolf kept it in the typical place and he got to working himself open on the bed, teasing, but not trying to get off. Stiles withdrew three fingers when he heard the Camaro pull in — he was a pro at recognizing car engine’s thanks to years of listening for his father or other patrol cars while doing mischief — and set the scene.

Derek called out for him shortly after entering and he yelled “Up here.” 

“I hope I got the right kind,” he replied, climbing the stairs. “There were a bunch of different ones, but I just got a tub of original and also picked up s—“

Stiles wished he could’ve captured the look on Derek’s face when he walked into the bedroom and froze upon seeing him sat on the bed, leaning back on his hands with his head tilted up and to the side and his feet on the mattress, knees bent and spread wide. 

“Alpha,” he breathed, shifting his weight to one hand and trailing a finger between his cheeks with the other. He rolled over onto his forearms and knees after seeing Derek’s hands clench and his eyes turn red.

Stiles heard the sound of the grocery bag hitting the floor and then a belt being unbuckled and clothes quickly being pulled off and discarded. He shivered with anticipation as the mattress dipped behind him.

Derek’s left hand fisted in the shirt and exposed more of his back as the right palmed the corresponding butt cheek, thumb sliding over his wet hole before slipping easily inside.

“I’m ready for you.”

“Stiles,” Derek groaned, letting go of the shirt to grab the bottle of lube on the bed.

The cap was popped open one-handed as the wolf continued to play with his asshole and Stiles closed his eyes, just focusing on the sensation and listening to the slick sounds behind him.

Then he was being mounted, cock head pressed against his rim. He made a high-pitched whine when he was breached and Derek’s hips jerked forward as he sunk deeper, rumbling deep in his chest. Stiles grinned. Another effective werewolf turn-on. He dropped his head lower so that the Alpha could mouth over more of his neck as he bottomed out.  

Eyes all but rolling back at the feeling of being so full, he started rocking and squeezing the thick cock buried inside him. When Derek’s arms braced on either side of him and the thrusting began Stiles’ jaw fell open in pleasure even greater than he’d imagined. 

Derek:

The feeling of plunging into Stiles’ welcoming heat was indescribable. He was enveloped. Embedded. Euphoric. 

Derek knew that the human was up to something, but had assumed a prank or game of some kind. Maybe hiding notes or trinkets for him to find later or making some mystery concoction.

He was not expecting to find Stiles in his bed, naked except for his shirt, showing off his throat and glistening hole and then presenting for him. It took all of his control to not just rip through his clothes.

And now he was inside with Stiles eagerly moving around him. Derek almost pulled out before snapping his hips and driving forward again and again and again, desperate to fill him. To feel him.

The sounds of Stiles’ pleasure were intoxicating and fueled him to go faster and harder. He shoved his face into a clothed shoulder, inhaling their combined scents and then rubbing his stubble over the younger man’s exposed skin. Despite his wolf’s protests, he held back his knot as he drew near. Soon hopefully, but not yet.

Derek thought of Stiles swallowing his release an hour or so before and how he was now going to plant his seed within this passage as well, saturating the human’s core with himself, and tipped over the edge. He thrusted on, groaning as his cock pulsed, and shortly after Stiles was crying out and contracting around him untouched. Derek wrapped an arm around him and rose up into a kneeling position, bringing Stiles with him and turning his head to kiss him greedily as they rocked through the aftershocks. 

They rinsed off cursorily in the shower, Stiles smirking at him knowingly while using soap on his hands, but not his body and then dressing in more of his clothes. Derek backed him into a wall and sucked a massive bruise onto the side of his neck.

Finally, they got around to making lunch, Derek watching Stiles prepare the dough with sour cream and then helping to assemble the potato, cheese, and fried onion pierogis after copying  the first few. Apparently, there were several ways to cook them including boiling, baking, boiling and pan-frying, and pan-frying and steaming. Stiles decided on the latter, topping the browned dumplings with chives and parsley and serving them with more sour cream sprinkled with smoked paprika. It was delicious and Stiles smelled sweet with happiness and satisfaction at his enjoyment. 

Derek said he still felt a bit hungry afterward and scooped the squawking human up while he was attempting to do dishes, depositing him gently on his back on the kitchen table. He tugged off the loose gray sweats and swept an arm under Stiles’ knees, folding him up and leaning down to lick broad stripes over the sensitive furled muscle before pushing against it and dipping in. When Stiles came he lapped up the pearly liquid on his belly, sucked his cock clean, pulled up the pants, and then carried the momentarily speechless human into the living room. 

Stiles chose a movie called Were The World Mine to watch that was on his list, but that neither of them had seen yet. It was about a bullied gay teenager cast as Puck in a school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream who finds a recipe for a love potion and various shenanigans ensue. Derek’s pick was Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet in keeping with both the Shakespeare theme and his love for interesting, cool-looking films. Stiles humored him and his raving about the aesthetic, editing, soundtrack, and more when it was over, eventually quieting him by climbing into his lap and occupying his tongue. 

And that’s how they ended up upstairs again, Derek being straddled once more, only now with Stiles perched on his knot.

He’d been planning to bring it up (ha!) some other time, likely a ways down the road, but Stiles surprised him yet again and asked Derek if he’d like to, obviously curious about it himself. Um, yeah. He was ridden silly until it formed and together they worked it inside nice and easy. Derek grinned from ear to ear as he experienced this dream come true and, well, came more than he ever had before.

Stiles was still milking him, approaching his own orgasm when he heard the sound of the door being opened downstairs and then an all too annoyingly familiar voice. 

“Hey Derek!”

He groaned and knocked his head against the bedstead. Did the wolf not have ears and a nose?

“What are you up to ton—“

Before he could manage to say anything the human still defiantly grinding on his cock took a deep breath.

“Get out!”

There was a pause and then laughter and a half-assed “Ope, my bad” before the door slammed shut again. 

“I’m getting you another lock, Derek,” Stiles hissed.

“And I’ll only give you the key, babe” he said, grinning and kissing the annoyed human’s nose. And maybe Boyd. Hecould be trusted to be both observant and considerate.

He wasn’t about to let Ethan ruin Stiles’ good time again so he immediately got to work on distracting him from the intrusion, sucking his nipples and taking hold of his cock while moving his hips in small circles.

“Fuck, Der,” the youth said between moans.

Derek refrained from making the obvious joke, but smiled into Stiles’ neck where he was now leaving more pretty bruises. He put his free hand on the humans hip and then moved it over his ass, grabbing a cheek before sliding fingers between to feel where they were connected. That was apparently the last bit of stimulation needed because then Stiles was gasping and spasming around his knot. He grabbed his cock as he came to aim the rest of his release at Derek’s chest and abdomen.

“CLAAAIIIIMM!” Stiles yelled for any other lurking supernaturals and probably the neighbors on multiple floors to hear, panting and grinning wolfishly.

They both started giggling.

The younger man brought his enthusiastic grinding down to a slow slow rocking motion and reached over to rub his cum into Derek’s skin, affecting him more than he would’ve imagined. Claimed. Eyes prickling and heart full with a knot that might never go down at this rate, he burrowed one hand into the hair at the back of Stiles’ head and pulled him in for deep, sloppy kiss. 

About an hour later they were sprawled across the couch, heads at opposite ends and legs tangled together while watching — what else — that cooking show when Stiles got a couple texts in quick succession. Derek grinned, pretty sure he knew what that was about. Stiles inhaled sharply and then barked out a laugh, sitting up to smack him playfully on the shoulder as more messages arrived. 

“Oh my god, Derek. So that’s what you were doing on your phone literally behind my back while we were waiting for your knot to go down. And why you were asking if I had plans with my dad again today. You little sneak, you actually did it!” 

Stiles’ laughter turned into an indignant cry when he grabbed the phone and then trapped the struggling human out of arms reach with his legs. 

“Keep trying babe. Alpha werewolf, remember.” 

Now Stiles sounded like a cat with its tail jammed in a door. Yeah, he’d be paying for this later, but it was so funny right now. The screen wasn’t locked yet so Derek clicked on Messages and pulled up the most recent ones as the last few came through. 

From Daddio:

<I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know why Derek Hale just sent me a veritable feast from Sauce & Bone.>

<But I’m going to enjoy the hell out of this for lunch tonight and over the next few days.>

<Definitely beats the turkey & sprout wrap or whatever that Parrish was trying to pawn off on me.>

<Tell him thanks for me.>

<And also that he’s coming over for dinner at the house next Saturday. 6:00pm.>

<And thank you too I guess. Ugh. But hands off my grub!>

<Love you, kiddo.>

Aww. Derek was honestly kind of afraid a bit nervous about meeting the Sheriff, but he liked what he knew of the man so far. And he clearly had him to thank for his favorite human and current hellcat giving him another chance. He supposed he’d have to send Scott something too for the werewolf tips. Derek tossed the phone back to the glaring younger man, but didn't let him up just yet. He waited until after Stiles read the last 3 messages and smiled fondly despite himself.

Of course he was still pounced upon anyway and he resigned himself to his fate, which was apparently an adorably growly Stiles draped on top of him and latched onto his neck like a lamprey, biting and sucking marks onto his skin more intensely than usual. After laying there for a while Derek wrapped his arms around him.

“The night’s still young. You wanna go to Jungle, babe? There might be a really hot dancer there that’s fun and smart and snarky and just amazing in every way.”

Stiles detached from his neck to roll his eyes at Derek, but he couldn’t help the grin and blush that followed. He admired his handiwork for a few moments and then got up.

“Nah, I’m in the mood for staying in. I hear there’s this sweet, geeky, super sexy Alpha werewolf that’s good with his hands who lives around here somewhere. Gonna see if he likes to chase as much as they say.” 

And with that Stiles started backing away slowly. 

Derek stood up, head tilting involuntarily as Stiles started moving faster and then thankfully turned around so he didn’t trip over something and brain himself. He began following as well. The human then ran for and then up the stairs and he set off after his shrieking prey. As soon as Stiles cleared the last step he leapt and wrapped himself around the younger man and turned to let himself take the brunt of the landing, which was at least on the plush rug. 

He rolled them over so that he was on top of Stiles in the dark room, rutting against his ass and firmly, but carefully biting the back of his neck. The heavy scent of arousal and the accompanying whine from his captive made him rumble happily and Derek released his jaws to lave over the skin instead. 

Then he mouthed over the juncture between Stiles’ shoulder and neck, setting his teeth there and imagining leaving his mark one day, and the human gasped. Derek stilled for a moment realizing that either the wolf friend told him or he somehow found out another way about what biting there meant. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before leaving a kiss right over it. 

He might not be ready to say it and he wouldn’t assume that Stiles was there yet so soon, but Derek wasn’t going to freak out about him knowing what he was thinking about either. What he hoped for in the future that he could now see for them. 

“I’m so glad I met you, Stiles,” he said quietly. 

There was an eruption of wiggling beneath him so he raised up enough to let the human turn over.

“Likewise, Derek,” Stiles replied. 

Derek couldn’t make out his expression in the scant light reaching them from downstairs, but there was that sweet scent of joy and he saw a shadowy face coming towards, kissing him softly after his lips were located. And then after arms pulled him down that face sank into his throat, moving until Stiles found that same spot and bit down gently, sucking a mark there too. Well then.