“Derek, it’s almost time to leave or we’ll be late.” Boyd, Derek’s first beta, told him as he walked into the barn.

Derek glanced up at him then back down to the hoof of the horse he was shoeing. “When I’m done with this I’ll be right there. Is the car packed?” He asked, hammering in the last nail.

Boyd rolled his eyes. “Yeah Isaac had it packed before sunrise.” He pointed out.

Derek sighed. He really did feel bad for his betas. They didn’t get to go outside of the ranch much and Isaac was the most antsy of them. He had grown up in Seattle so he was used to big city life, even if he hadn’t been able to get out much due to his abusive father. Derek’s jaw clenched a little at the memory before letting a long breath out through his nose. “Put Miranda up for me so I can go change?” He asked.

Boyd nodded. “You got it.” He said, grabbing the horse’s lead and started leading her back to her stable.

An hour later Derek and his three betas were on the road towards Beacon Hills.

Isaac leaned forward from the back seat to look between Derek and Erica. “I can’t wait to meet your family and their packs.” He said with a smile. Derek managed a small smile back at him. He didn’t know where Isaac’s cheeriness came from. He guessed now that he could handle himself and he didn’t have to worry about his asshole father, he could relax. “They’re going to love you. Cora and Laura fawn over every new beta, so you’ll probably end up with a lot of gifts.” He told him, running his hand over his head affectionately. Erica smirked. “Unless they take a liking to you and want to steal you for their own pack.”

Isaac looked alarmed while Derek glared. “They won’t do that.” He told her, flashing his eyes at her. “Apologize.”

She whined a little in her throat and sat back in her seat. “Sorry, Isaac.” She muttered.

Isaac looked at Derek. “Can they do that?” He asked, sitting back in his own seat.

Derek sighed. “They can, but they have to have a damn good reason. And they’d have to challenge me for my beta and win.” He explained. “Unless they thought that you were being mistreated, then they could appeal to the matriarch and she’d make the decision.”

“And in Laura’s case, since she’s the matriarch, she could just take you and Derek wouldn’t have a chance.” Boyd interjected helpfully. Isaac still looked worried.

“They won’t take you, Isaac.” Derek assured him. He nodded and leaned further back into his seat. “I hope they don’t.” He murmured.

Derek awoke as Boyd pulled up in front of the hotel that they were staying at while in town. He looked back to see Erica and Isaac literally snuggled together in the back seat and snorted, climbing out to go and check them in. He’d let Boyd disentangle his girlfriend from their newest pack member.

He went over to the counter and gave his name, waiting while the desk agent finished the paperwork. He was gazing out at the few people milling about in the late evening and caught the scent of someone who had him fighting for control of himself. He practically snatched the keys from the girl behind the counter and stalked off to find the source of the scent.

He found it in the form of a lanky teenager staring blearily at the vending machine. He watched him for a few moments, staring at his hands as he ran one of them absently through his short hair. His eyes flicked down to the little sliver of skin that showed under the hem of his shirt when he stretched his arms over his head and yawned.

“You sound like you should be sleeping rather than staring at a vending machine.” Derek told him, walking over. He smiled a little when the kid jumped and looked at him.

“Yeah well, when you’re told to run down and grab something for your—boss, you do it.” He told him, a blush rising up his cheeks.

Derek raised an eyebrow. “Boss, right.” He said, taking a breath. He could smell an alpha on him, but not enough for him to figure out who it was. It made him smile internally just a little because such a weak alpha smell on him meant that he didn’t have strong ties to his alpha. “You’d be better off getting chocolate.” He told him. “Bosses like chocolate when they’re feeling restless.” He commented.

The kid stared at him for a moment, taking in an obvious breath before flashing his yellow eyes at him and bowing his head a little. “Thank you.” He muttered.

Derek reached out and touched the top of the kid’s head like he would with his betas. “No problem.” He told him, pulling his hand back. “My name is Derek.” He said, shoving his hands into his jeans before he did something stupid like try to scent mark the kid. More so than he had already done. He would berate himself for that later because he knew better than to try to scent another alpha’s beta, no matter how weak the ties were.

“Stiles.” The kid said, smiling at him. He pressed a couple of buttons on the machine and held out a candy bar to him. “As a thank you for the advice.” He explained.

Derek took the candy and stepped closer to the kid. He didn’t get too close and scare him, but close enough that he could slip the spare key to his room into the kid’s pocket. “You’re welcome.” He told him, brushing past to head back into the lobby.

“It’s about time.” Boyd told him with a frown. “We’ve been looking for you.” Derek took his bag from Boyd and passed out their keys. “I had to take care of something.” He told them, heading for the elevator.

Derek had just gotten out of the shower and was running the towel through his hair when he heard a key in the lock of his room. He pulled on some jeans while the door opened and he was hit with the scent of Stiles again. “You showed up.” He stated, dropping the towel on the floor.

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. I… I don’t know why I did, but yeah. I’m here.” He told him, shuffling his feet. “Why did you give me a key? You know I’m someone else’s beta.”

He shrugged. “Your tie isn’t strong and you smell good.” He responded bluntly, fishing through his bag for one of his shirts.

Stiles watched Derek curiously. “You smell good too. Like… Like a fireplace and cinnamon.” He said, making himself comfortable on the bed.

Derek abandoned his search for additional clothing and joined Stiles on the bed almost immediately. The wolf in him took over for the moment, drawing him to the guy on the bed. “You know why I wanted you here, don’t you?” He asked, holding himself away from Stiles by several inches.

“I think that I can guess.” Stiles replied, his eyes bleeding into yellow as he fought for control.

Derek leaned in and nuzzling Stiles’s neck. “You smell like s’mores and fresh cut grass.” He told him, his lips brushing against his skin. He smiled in satisfaction when Stiles shivered. “Your alpha won’t be happy if I scent you.” He told him.

“I don’t care. I hate my alpha.” Stiles admitted, running his fingers through Derek’s still damp hair. “If I could, I’d challenge him for my freedom from his pack.” He said, shivering again when Derek moved to behind his ear. Derek stopped and leaned back to look at him. “You hate your alpha?” He questioned, bewildered.

“Yeah, I do. He’s a manipulative asshole and I wish he’d just take a long walk off of a short cliff.” He explained.

Derek raised a brow. “Why would you ask to be part of his pack if you hated him?”

Stiles sighed and climbed off of the bed, a move that had Derek’s wolf howling in outrage.

These feelings were new to Derek. He knew what they were and the satisfaction of knowing that his mate was a wolf and not a human pleased him greatly. He’d just have to appeal to the boy’s alpha, or challenge him if it came to that, and it’d be over. He could take his mate back to Montana when this reunion was all over and it would be fine.

“I didn’t get a choice in the matter.” He admitted, looking like he was going to be sick at divulging this to a stranger. Stiles knew that what his wolf was feeling for this new alpha wasn’t normal. He never felt anything like this with his alpha or his pack mates. Hell, he couldn’t even tell you what their scents were made up of. “I was bitten the same night my best friend was bitten and we had to follow the bastard or he’d rip the throats out of our parents.” He said, frowning. “I hate him but I’m not strong enough to face him.”

A low, angry growl started to fill the room, surprising them both. It surprised Derek the most when he realized that the sound was coming from him.

“Don’t worry, Stiles.” He found himself saying. “If you didn’t have a say in this, I’ll appeal to his matriarch. No alpha is to change someone without their consent.” He told him, standing. “You’ll have your freedom.” He promised. Stiles’s smile at that promise lit up the room. He bared his neck to Derek in a thank you.

Derek leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his pulse rather than scent him like the gesture indicated he would. “You won’t have to deal with him much longer.”

Derek rolled out of bed at an urgent knocking at his door. He groused the entire walk there and pulled the door open. “What?” He asked. Erica was standing there smirking knowingly at him. “I was told to come and get you. We’ve got to go down to the conference room soon. Laura sent me for you.” She explained.

He huffed and headed back into the room, allowing her entrance behind him. “It smells like sex and blood in here.” She said, eyeing the bed. “And I can see why, you actually slept in that?” She asked him, extending a claw from her index finger to pick up a shred of blood-soaked sheet.

He rolled his eyes. “No, I slept on the sofa.” He told her, pointing to the sheet and the pillow on the small sofa near the window. “It wasn’t a planned event.” He added, pulling a pair of jeans from his bag.

She grinned. “So you had this kind of crazy sex with a stranger? Good for you Der. I was wondering if you were ever going to get some or just explode one day.” She told him, pulling the remainder of the sheets off the bed while Derek disappeared into the bathroom.

“Not a stranger.” He said as he turned on the water. With a wolf’s hearing, she could understand him fine.

She paused in the midst of pulling pieces of clothes from underneath the bed. She stood and looked at the doorway leading into the bathroom. Those three words said more to her than if Derek had told her the entire story. She extended her index finger as she thought. Not pack, check. She extended her middle finger. Able to handle claws and bloodletting, check. She extended her ring finger. Left a bruise on a wolf’s neck, check. Her jaw dropped. “Holy fuck, Derek! You found your mate?!” She shrieked, walking into the bathroom. He glared at her. “Be quiet Erica, I don’t know where he is and he doesn’t know that.” He said, climbing into the shower at last.

“Who is he?!” She asked, pulling herself onto the counter.

He shook his head. “He’s a beta in another pack. After the reunion he and I are going to appeal to his alpha’s matriarch.” He told her, lathering up his hair with shampoo.

She squealed happily. “So you’re going to bring him home with us? We’re going to get another pack member?”

Derek’s heart skipped a beat at the thought and a smile crept across his face. “If everything goes as planned, yes. He’s going to come home with us.”

Derek and his three betas walked through the door of conference hall B, the chatter of the three packs inside coming to a halt. Derek glanced around at the thirty odd people in the room and sighed. His was still the smallest pack out of the four of them, but he had always valued quality over quantity.

He and the betas walked straight for Laura who was seated at a table on the stage talking with Cora. “Laura.” He said, baring his neck to her.

She smiled and rubbed her nose against him. “Derek.” She said, pulling him into a hug.

He stepped back with a smile of his own. He missed his family more than he’d ever admit to. “You remember my betas Boyd and Erica.” He said, gesturing to them. 

They each stepped forward and bared their throats to her. She patted their heads in affection.

“I do. It’s a pleasure to see you again.” She told them.

“And this is my newest beta, Isaac.” He said, gesturing for Isaac to step forward.

He did and bared his throat to her.

She patted his head. “No need to be worried, Isaac. You’re safe here.” She assured him.

Isaac let out an audible sigh of relief. “Thank you, alpha of my alpha.” He said politely to her, letting loose with his puppy dog smile.

Derek could see the moment when Laura fell in love with him and he smiled. Derek breathed a sigh of relief as his betas went off to mingle with the others. That was until Peter walked up to him with a grin on his face. “Derek.”

Derek plastered on a fake smile. “Peter. Nice to see you again.”

“It is, I know.” He said with a smirk, gesturing over his shoulder. “I want to introduce you to my new betas.” He told him.

Derek sighed and waited for them to join them. Nine times out of ten, Peter had gorgeous women as his betas. He didn’t really choose based on what they would bring to his pack. He typically let his dick decide. That’s why he was taken by surprise when he caught the scent of s’mores and fresh cut grass undercut with his firewood and cinnamon.

“These are my two betas Scott and Stiles.” He told him, the glint in his eye daring Derek to stake a claim on his beta. Peter knew Derek’s scent well enough to be able to pull it from Stiles’s skin. And as a powerful alpha he’d be able to force Stiles to tell him whatever he wanted to know. 

Derek took a breath and calmed himself. “Nice to meet you.” He told them waiting for the polite baring of their throats to him.

Stiles stared at his feet and made no attempt to show respect to the alpha in front of him. Scott looked straight at him and didn’t attempt it either.

Peter smiled wickedly. “My betas are so well trained.” He said softly, only loud enough for the four of them to hear. “Even the strong willed ones break if you find the weakness.” He said, pulling Stiles to him and nipping affectionately at the obvious bruise that Derek had left on his neck. “This one has been particularly hard to break but I’ve finally found something that he can respond to.” He looked at Stiles. “Isn’t that right, Bonded?”

Derek’s eyes flamed to life, his fangs itching at his gums. Peter couldn’t Bond himself to someone. It was unfair. And Stiles… Stiles was HIS and he’d be damned if he’d let a legal binding happen while he was there.

“That’s right, Alpha.” Stiles said, looking up at Derek with glowing green eyes. “Being bound to you in the greatest thing to ever happen to me.” He said, turning to accept the kiss that Peter placed on his lips.

Derek’s heart stopped when he saw the green of his mate’s eyes. They had bound to one another already. He stared at them for a long moment before he found his voice. “I… I’m happy for you.” He lied, walking towards the door. Laura found him sitting on the side of the pool, staring into the water. “Derek, what’s wrong?” She asked, sitting next to him.

“Nothing.” He muttered.

“The pools of blood next to you beg to differ.” She pointed out. “Your eyes are still glowing.”

He closed his eyes and fought for control, going back to the scent of he and Stiles together, the amber color of his eyes, the bruise on his neck that marked him as his mate. He opened his eyes again to look at her.

“Now do you want to talk about it?” She asked.

He scowled. “You let him bond to his beta.” He muttered.

She looked surprised. “Well yes, he asked, the beta agreed to it, the beta had a mate bruise… It was all normal.”

Derek dug his claws into his palm again. “His name is Stiles and Peter isn’t his mate.” He told her coldly.

“Derek, what’s the matter. I thought you’d be happy that Peter mated.”

Derek growled. “He bonded to my mate!” He shouted. “Stiles’s eyes were green, Laura. The mating isn’t taking. Peter is doing this to hurt me. He still blames me for the fire.” He told her. “He mated Stiles and he’s not his mate, he gave him the bite without his consent!”

“Wait, hold on a second Derek. Your mate?” She asked him.

He pulled up his shirt to show the bruise that Stiles had left on his side.

“Oh my God, Derek. You found your mate!” She said with a smile right before it was wiped from her face. “Peter bit him without his consent?” She asked, getting back to alpha business.

He nodded. “And his friend. No telling how many of his other betas too.” He said.

She sat silently while she digested this information. “So… Ask me.” She told him.

He looked up and raised a brow. “Ask you what, Laura?”

She rolled her eyes. “Formally ask for the right to remove the beta from his alpha.”

Derek stared at her with his jaw agape. “Laura… My alpha… Will you grant me the right to remove the beta Stiles who was bitten without consent by alpha Peter under your rule?”

“And…?” She prompted.

He thought for a moment about what she was trying to get from him. “And the beta Scott for the same reasons.”

“And?”

He thought for another moment and then smiled. “And for the right to Bond to my mate under the witness of the other alphas under your rule.”

She grinned and kissed his cheek. “Come on, I’ll give you my answer inside.” She told him, walking back inside.

Laura stood on the stage, clearing her throat. “I have an announcement to make.” She announced to the room at large. “Alpha Derek Hale has petitioned to remove the betas Stiles and Scott from the pack of alpha Peter Hale rendering the Bonding between alpha and beta void.” She said, looking directly at Peter. “The reason is that the betas were bitten without consent.” She announced. “I have agreed to alpha Derek’s request effective immediately.” Peter growled and flashed his eyes. “I petition to challenge for my betas.” “Request denied.” Laura said, flashing his eyes back at him.

Derek walked over and took Stiles’s hand, nuzzling the bruise on his neck.

“Furthermore.” Laura said loudly, pulling Derek from his indulgence. “Alpha Derek Hale has requested to Bond his mate in front of all witnesses here.” She said, smiling at the excited squeal that Cora let out before she reined herself in. “To which I have agreed.”

Derek smiled at her, looking away to watch Stiles’s expression. He felt his heart flutter and the pure joy his mate had on his face.

“Your mate, huh?” He asked, squeezing Derek’s hand. “Would have been handy to know last night.”

Derek kissed him. “I didn’t want to scare you.”

Stiles laughed. “Great job.”

Derek wrapped his arms around him. “I promise to make it up to you.”

-Two Years Later-

“Derek! Come inside!” Stiles shouted from the porch of the house.

Derek smiled and let Isaac take over helping Boyd brand the calves they had just gotten.

“Go on, mama wolf is calling.” Boyd teased as Derek headed towards the house.

He hopped onto the porch, skipping the stairs entirely and drew Stiles into his arms. “You called for me?” He asked, placing a kiss to his mate’s lips.

He nodded with a smile. “Yes I did, show off. Dad and Melissa should be here soon and you promised that you’d move the furniture for me.” Stiles told him. Derek put his hand on Stiles’s swollen belly, rubbing his thumbs against it gently when he felt a kick. “Right, I did promise that.”

“Well go on, alpha.” Stiles said, flashing his eyes at him. “They’re coming in to help with Laura while we go into the hospital and it’s the least we can do to let them have a place to sleep.”