Notes: The vampires in the story will be vaguely inspired by the ones in The Vampire Diaries and True Blood. There will be more information as the story progresses, ot takes place somewhere before season 3. Let me know what you think!

So, he was dead and he had no one but himself to blame. No Scott, no Derek, no pack related business. Just little old Stiles sticking his nose where it didn't belong. And, he supposed, he could also blame the vampire that killed him.

Things had finally settled down, the alpha pack was gone, hopefully for good, and senior year was in the horizon with a chance to be valedictorian, unless Lydia killed him first which would of course look like a gory and tragic accident, she would probably dedicate a few words to him during her speech. Maybe.

Scott and Alison were back together, there was a pool going on in the pack regarding how long they would last this time, he had a fifty bill coming his way if his beloved best friend managed his relationship for a month. So far it was looking promising, Erica and Jackson had already lost and Boyd would be out if there wasn't a break up before the end of the week. There better not be, Stiles had already decided how he would spent his well-earned money.

All in all life was well, that's why he knew deep in his heart something awful was about to happen. Why, oh why did he always have to be right?!

"We'll be gone for a week." Scott was talking excitedly, waving his hand around for more emphasis.

Stiles peeled his face from his phone for a second. "Scott, my man, you can't just start the conversation in your head dude, I need some context."

"He is talking about the wedding." Isaac interrupted from the kitchen, it was the weekly pack meeting at Derek's loft and, as usual, the first stop was the refrigerator; they were growing teenage boys and werewolves. "Two packs are joining in New York and he was invited to attend. I think he and Laura had stayed with them for a while."

"Ok, what's with the "we" then?" Stiles spoke between bites of chips.

Of course the mighty alpha picked that precise moment to materialize behind Stiles and shave a few years of his future. "The whole pack has to be there as a sign of respect. I sent the message yesterday." Next to him Scott and Isaac nodded in confirmation, Scott, good friend that he was, gave Stiles a few pats on the back to dislodge the chip that was attempting to murder him.

What?... "I didn't get a message."

A furrowed brow was his only response, followed by an exasperated sigh when it became obvious Stiles wanted a more thorough explanation. "You are not coming."

Ok, rude. Stiles considered himself a part of the pack. Hell! He was more useful than any of the others if one wanted to get objective. Why would Derek try to cut him out like that?.

"What the hell Derek! Stiles is part of the pack, why would you try to cut him out like that?" Apparently, lifelong best friends could be eerily similar. Scott was definitely getting the last chip of the bag, no questions asked.

Another exasperated sound and Erica poked her head in the kitchen too. Faced with four potentially emotional teenagers Derek opted for the smart route. A rational explanation followed by a hasty retreat. "Those are very traditional packs, they would not take well to a human among werewolves." And then he was gone.

Under different circumstances Stiles would have objected, fought and argued but he kind of got it. When the Alpha pack attacked them they had looked at Stiles in a decidedly funny way, he'd been curious, so much that he'd asked Peter. Peter! While crazy and a borderline sociopath, Stiles had to admit, he knew more about werewolf behaviour than anyone else. That same night while the pack recovered in the loft from the previous confrontation Stiles had cornered Peter away from prying eyes, as much as Peter could be cornered at least. The answer had been disappointing.

It would seem that he made Derek look weak. As an Alpha he should have turned him, because he was part of the pack, and because, according to some, humans and werewolves shouldn't mix. So a human with the knowledge of werewolves should either be turned or killed.

"I did offer the gift to you my dear, perhaps I shouldn't have bothered asking, one of my greatest regrets. But I have such a large heart that I couldn't just do it. If I ever have the opportunity I would definitely just go for it." The creeper was luckily interrupted by an enraged, red eyed Derek, according to Erica all of the werewolves had heard the little statement followed by Stiles' panicked heart rate. It was the only thing spoken on the subject.

So he decided he wouldn't argue, for once. The human was staying safely in Bacon Hills.

It was the night before the wedding, Scott and Jackson were arguing over the bed arrangement, Isaac sniffed around the room clearly distraught by all the foreign scents and Erica screamed at the bathroom door, where Lydia seemed to be determined to remain until the end of times. All in all Derek was ready to follow in the steps of Deucalion and become a packless Alpha. Peter was definitely not helping, not that he ever did. Boyd could probably stay though; he was so quiet Derek could barely remember he was in the hotel with them.

They had been in New York for four days, Derek had, extremely reluctantly, taken his handful of teenagers to Central Park, and the Statue of Liberty, and shopping, they had even seen a Broadway show at Lydia's insistence, the shopping spree had also been because of Lydia, but Erica had wholeheartedly agreed and the others had no choice but to follow.

He was more than ready to go back, his instincts were demanding he returned to his own territory, and his two missing pack members.

Allison and Scott had a tearful goodbye worthy of a Soap Opera award and spoke daily and nightly. They also Skyped, and texted and emailed and did everything short of sending smoke signals to each other, it was…

"Derek." Scott, phone in hand, took the liberty of interrupting his private musings. "Allison wants to talk to you. Something's happened."

Curiosity peaked he took the phone, Lydia emerged from the bathroom clearly sensing a change in the mood and the rest of the pack gathered around him looking worried, even Peter. To be more accurate he didn't look worried, but he did stand a few inches closer to Derek.

Allison's voice was muffled and borderline hysterical yet the words were perfectly understandable.

A vampire in Bacon Hills.

Ten bodies so far.

Stiles was missing.