Chapter Six
I'm on my own and the road is long Being down not out
I'll do what it takes
Just finding a place
Where I belong
Being lost not found
No words, no sound
On this lonely track
The wind can roll,
The storm can rage
It's all the same
I'm not turning back
Stiles woke up to the sound of a phone ringing. He fluttered his eyes open and groaned at the annoying trills that ran through the house. He rolled out of bed slowly, blinking the sleep and mucus from his eyes and walking to his jacket that was slung over a nearby chair. Patting the pockets, he found the offending object and hit the answer button without even glancing at the caller.
"Hello?" he spoke, his voice groggy and deeper than usual.
"Stiles?" the female on the other end wasn't hard to place.
"Allison? Why are you calling so early?"
"Stiles, I am so sorry about this but it's really urgent and Scott isn't answering my calls anymore."
"What's up?"
"It's sort of a pack problem… Can you guys meet us somewhere public at about noon today? We need to discuss some things and hammer out the details of a possible alliance."
"You propose an alliance with the Argent clan?" Stiles scrubbed a hand over his face. "Why?"
"There's something coming, Stiles. Something that is bigger than us hunters or your pack on our own but if we ally together… we might just live through this. I can't…" Allison paused and sighed. "I can't really explain it over the phone, can we meet up?" Stiles mimicked her sigh and thought for a moment.
"We can meet at noon, Elaine's Café on the corner of 2nd and Main. Bring your clan and I'll bring the whole pack."
"Thank you, Stiles," Allison breathed out. "See you there,"
"Yeah, see you," he hit the end call button and breathed silently for a few moments, not moving from his place squatting next to the chair. A moment after he hung up, Derek walked into the room carrying a tray of breakfast food.
"Stiles, what's up?" the alpha asked, concerned for is mate. The teen set his phone on the chair and stood slowly, walking over to the bed and sitting down. Derek set the tray of food on the nightstand and sat next to his mate, rubbing soothing circles on his mate's bare back.
"That was Allison… she called to warn us that something big is coming our way, and to set up a meeting for a possible alliance between her family and our pack."
"An alliance," Derek blinked. "Oh,"
"Yeah," Stiles blew out a breath and laughed slightly at his mate's reaction. "I agreed to get the pack together and meet them at Elaine's Café in town to discuss the details."
"Well," Derek spoke after a thoughtful pause. "First let's eat breakfast, and then we'll start calling everybody up. They slept over at Scott's house last night but I know that Erica and Boyd were going to go to the health club in the city and Isaac was going to practice lacrosse with Scott."
"Sounds like a plan," Stiles smiled and pecked his mate on his scruffy cheek before bouncing up and over to the desk area and sitting down. Derek's face softened at his mate's obvious hyperactivity and he carried the tray of breakfast over to him and pulled up the other chair. They ate in a comfortable silence at the desk and when they finished Stiles climbed over into his lap to cuddle. After a moment, the younger man pulled out his phone and began making calls.
Derek and Stiles were the first to arrive at Elaine's. The rumble of a bike motor announced the arrival of Scott and Isaac and not too long after that they heard the purr of Jackson's Porsche. Soon Lydia, Jackson, Erica, and Boyd were all there too. The café had a gathering room off the main room and Derek paid to use it. They sat in what Stiles had quickly realized was rank order. Stiles sat on Derek's right hand as second in command and Erica on his left as third. Boyd sat next to Erica and Scott on Stiles' other side, then Isaac next to him and Jackson and Lydia on Boyd's other side.
It wasn't long before the sound of truck engines rumbling through the relatively empty and otherwise quiet diner alerted them all, even the humans, to the approaching hunters. They entered cautiously, Allison at point with her father on her right and an unknown coffee skinned woman on her left. Behind them were two unfamiliar men who couldn't be more than thirty and were obviously twins or possibly brothers. Allison sat down across from Stiles and Chris sat across from Derek. The unknown woman sat next to the eldest Argent male and the twins (brothers?) sat on either side. Derek took Stiles' hand under the table and the teen relaxed some of the tension that he hadn't known had built up at their entrance.
"I am told you are here to propose a truce and an alliance. Talk," Derek stated in his usual blunt fashion.
"First you must understand why we are doing this," Chris insisted firmly. "You have to know what is coming for you." the hunter glanced out around seriously. "Who is coming for you,"
"Explain," Stiles demanded.
"These boys," Chris gestured to the unfamiliar twin/brothers on either side "Are my nephews. They, like all Argents, specialize in hunting a certain pack. Have you ever heard the name Mason Archer?"
"The name is not familiar to me," Derek admitted.
"He is a fearsome alpha," Chris nodded his head with a sigh. "It is unsurprising that you haven't heard of him, he rarely leaves anyone alive."
"He's a special kid of alpha," Allison took over the story effortlessly, her lips pressed into a grim line. "He is greedy and ruthless with no moral code or remorse. But that is not all- he has found a way to increase his power without increasing the size of his pack."
"Not possible," Derek shook his head.
"Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be," Allison agreed easily. "But then, since when do we live under normal circumstances?" Derek had to give her that. "Alpha Mason Archer has seven betas but he is even more powerful than Deucalion ever was. You see, he discovered that if you kill another Alpha on the Blood Moon, you can absorb their power. Mason Archer has killed three other Alphas and taken their power in his lifetime. The first was the leader of a meager pack with two betas but the second and third were carefully planned and kidnapped beforehand so that he could kill them both in one night when the time came. Those two had rather large packs, more than twelve betas each, and therefore more power to take in. In all three cases he slaughtered the former pack of the dead alpha after he absorbed the power and moved on, expanding his territory. Unfortunately for all of us, he's coming after you, Derek."
"Why are you telling me this?" Derek was more taunt than a wire on the Golden Gate Bridge, Stiles could feel it. "Why not just let them kill me?"
"Three reasons," One of the unfamiliar men answered. "One- we can't allow Archer to gain any more power. Two- even though our Grandpa was a crazy ass power hungry fool; we still live by the code. You and your pack have done nothing wrong, and they are all still in high school. It would go against our honor not to tell you. And three- it isn't just you and your pack he kills. Wherever he goes, humans drop like flies. Archer enjoys the hunt and the kill even more so. He is a monster in more ways than one and he needs to be stopped… permanently. Unfortunately my brother and I have been unable to complete this task alone- he's too powerful and too well protected. But if we ally ourselves with you and your pack we might have a fighting chance."
There was silence for a long moment as everyone allowed this information to sink in. Derek looked pensive even as he glared the Argents down. Stiles rubbed his thumb over the back of his mate's hand gently in support. Finally, Derek sighed.
"The way I see it, this Archer is coming whether we ally ourselves or not. I personally am not fond of hunters but I must do what I believe is best for my pack. In this case, an alliance is the only option I see that doesn't end with someone or Stiles dead and those options are not even options because of that. I accept your offer, on two conditions. One- we are allowed free roaming rights. None of us will be shot at if we come on your property or anywhere in the woods around it. And two- you do not interfere with my rule. I am the Alpha, my decisions are not to be questioned; when I say something you agree or you shut up. Deal?" Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief when Allison smiled widely and Chris nodded.
"Agreed," he soon Derek's hand and everyone stood up.
"I am Derek Hale, this is my mate Stiles Stilinski and my third in command, Erica, and this is Scott, Isaac, Jackson, and our resident Banshee, Lydia."
"Well you know me and my dad," Allison responded with a smile. "But this is Kaylee Jo Deaton; she's a battle mage, and my cousins Nick and Joe."
"Nice to meet you," Stiles smiled at them, his usual hyperactive and relaxed self emerging now that the serious business had been dealt with. "How about we eat lunch now? It's on Derek," Derek growled playfully and Stiles just laughed.
"We wouldn't want to impose…" Nick began slowly. Stiles pinched Derek's thigh and the Alpha sighed.
"No, Stiles is right, it's on me, no trouble."
"Well, if you're sure…" Joe finished with a nod. Derek nodded back and flagged down the waitress who took their drink orders. The next hour was filled with chatter as the pack slowly relaxed and interacted as usual. The hunters- sans Allison- were mostly quiet but watched with interest as Stiles mothered the betas and Derek sat with quiet but respected authority in the middle of the fray.
AN: Short, I know, but hopefully still good right? This chapter is sort of a necessary evil- it sets up the conflict and the build of the plot line but it was an absolute bitch to write. Next chapter will have more mage training and perhaps some Argent/Pack bonding? Who knows, maybe even smut…