Chapter Text
“So, explain it to me again…” Scott was perched on the arm of the couch while Allison absentmindedly stroked his thigh sitting to his right. Scott had been paying attention, he really had, but at some point in the meeting, while Derek was discussing their latest big bad, Scott’s mind had drifted as he looked around at the pack. Everyone was sprawled about the huge living room, some on the couch – others sitting crisscross on the floor. Derek stood in front, in the view of everyone while Stiles stood to his right, ready to interject if Derek had missed out on any information.
Technically Scott was meant to be Derek’s right-hand man, and Stiles, as the emissary, should be left to deal with matters of diplomacy exclusively. However, Scott accepted that his being second in command to Derek was reserved for the battlefield. With everything else, Derek turned to Stiles. He took a moment to appreciate how strong their pack had become in the last couple years. How seamless it was now, how natural it felt, how every person had their place. They had all grown together and even when things got scary or rough (like these last two weeks when bodies were being found half eaten and mangled – see he was listening) they stood together and figured everything out, every time.
Scott figured it was because they had agreed to all stay local for college once they finished high school. He remembered the look on Derek’s face the day of graduation. Derek was happy they had all made it out of high school alive, but Scott knew he was terrified of losing his pack again. Derek would have never asked anyone to stay, he was too selfless for that. Once they had made the decision on their own though, Derek went to work rebuilding his old house. Scott figured knowing the pack was sticking together was motivation for Derek to get things in order.
The renovated Hale house was huge and every year since high school, more and more of the pack took up permanent residence. It started – of course – with Peter and Cora but soon enough Boyd, Erica, and Isaac joined too. After two years of dating, Kira moved into Cora’s room. Which led to Allison and Scott, then Lydia and Jordan, and once Lydia was on board, Jackson and Danny were not far behind. The last to move in was Stiles. He always claimed it was because he needed his personal space and living with a bunch of werewolves and other supernatural creatures was not likely to grant him the privacy he needed. But Scott knew it was mostly because he wanted to keep an eye on his dad, and he still spent a few nights a week in his childhood home even though most of his stuff was properly moved in.
Derek looked at Scott with a deadly glare and everyone seemed equally as put out by Scott obviously not having paid much attention. He smiled sheepishly at everyone before shrugging his shoulders.
“Remember how you guys noticed an unfamiliar wolf smell nearby?” Stiles spoke up, tone irritated and speaking slowly like Scott was 6. Scott did appreciate that Stiles was reexplaining for him though, since Derek had no intention to. Scott nodded. “Well… we found him.” Derek huffed when Stiles finished speaking.
“And?” Erica spoke up, “Was he the fucking psycho that was leaving half eaten people all around the preserve?” Everyone turned to Derek expectantly, faces hopeful but skeptical that it could’ve been that easy. Derek huffed again.
“No.” He didn’t elaborate. He looked to Stiles urging him to speak on his behalf.
“We think he was just a lone wolf, probably looking for a pack to join…” Stiles paused and looked over to Derek briefly. Scott could see Derek was upset about something and Scott could guess where this was going.
“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Scott interrupted and Stiles snapped from Derek’s face to look Scott in the eyes. He nodded slowly.
“The good news is, like 3/4ths of the body was left this time. Whatever this thing is that’s eating people doesn’t seem to like the taste of werewolf that much… so you know… you guys are safe at least?” Stiles coughed into his hand awkwardly when every member of the pack seemed to simultaneously shoot him a glare. “Just trying to lighten the mood…”
Peter chuckled softly from where he was leaning against the window on the far wall. “I mean, I’m pretty happy to hear that.” Derek leveled a look at Peter, Peter put his hands up in surrender and winked at Stiles but kept his mouth shut. Stiles smiled in return which only seemed to foster more tension in Derek’s shoulders.
“The point is, whatever this thing is, it’s strong. It took on a werewolf and just about tore it to pieces. We need to start patrolling at night. Stiles and I created a schedule. It’s double the patrol on the weekends when people are out later but otherwise we’ve kept it as tight as we can. I know you guys have finals coming up.” Derek looked sympathetic but his voice was firm and commanding. “Keep your phones on loud. If any of us run into this thing while on patrol, we call for back up. Understood?” Everyone nodded somberly.
This thing had killed five people so far, six including the lone werewolf. There were rumors of a serial killer at the station and the pack was hoping to take care of the problem before the public started to catch on. The last thing they needed was the FBI sticking their necks in. They had thought they had it sorted when they first smelled the unfamiliar scent of wolf near the Reservoir a week ago. They all figured some werewolf had gone crazy and was tearing people apart and they were ecstatic. Well, not ecstatic, but relieved. One rouge and dangerous werewolf they could handle easily enough but not knowing was what was killing them. Now they were back to square one – no leads, no clues, and now six dead bodies.
Stiles clapped his hands together and everyone jolted out of their thoughts. Stiles smiled brightly, “Okay, who’s hungry?”