"Stiles! Wait!"

The boy ignored the shouts coming from behind. All his focus was on the aura around his mate. The aura that was nearly gone.

He pushed himself faster, eyes stinging with tears that he kept swallowing back. He couldn't let Derek die so easily. It had only been a few years, but it seemed like decades and yet it also felt like they just found each other. He couldn't lose him now.

"Stiles!" His focus broke when Lydia appeared in front of him, tears slowly trickling down her cheeks. He slowed to a stop and grabbed her arms.

"Tell me you didn't scream for him," he panted. "Tell me it wasn't for him!"

"Stiles, I..."

"No. No, you didn't." Her sad expression broke even further, more tears tumbling down her face. "Your scream. It was different. It wasn't for him. It wasn't."

"Stiles." Scott walked up to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Let us go first. You need to pull yourself back together. Lydia, stay with him."

"No." The young alpha stopped only a few feet ahead and gave Stiles a stern look. "Dammit, no! I'm not just a human anymore, Scott! I can defend myself! And if Kate has him, which she does, then I am more than ready to face her. Don't toss me aside because you still think I'm useless."

Scott pressed his lips tightly together, scowling at his best friend. That was when Allison came up to them. "I think Stiles is right. She's only expecting you and him to show up. Remember all those hunters back at the school? She doesn't think the whole pack got out of there. If we all go in, we'll have the upper hand."

Stiles gave her a thankful look before looking back to Scott. The boy seemed to have a reluctant expression on his face for a moment.

"Fine. But werewolves first."

Stiles rolled his eyes and gestured for him to move. "Okay, fine, whatever. Can we go now? Derek's dying!"

Stiles only waited for Scott to run ahead before he bolted after him, desperation pushing him to move faster. The aura around his werewolf was a light flicker, barely even visible. Tears blurred his vision, but he quickly wiped them away.

He couldn't break down now. He had to be strong, for himself and Derek.

He slowed down and crouched a few yards behind Scott when the alpha put a warning hand up, moving closer to the building. He bit down on his lip, feeling every muscle in his body shake from adrenaline and fear, gaze shifting between his best friend and the building. He felt Isaac, Lydia and Allison move quietly around him and he felt just a little more grounded.

As Scott disappeared into the entrance, Stiles focused his gaze on Derek's aura, hoping it stayed alight.

Clink.

Head throbbing, the wolf pushed through the darkness. It ignored the human whimpering in its mind about the pain. It couldn't stop now, it couldn't let go. Its mate was out there and possibly in danger.

A low, indistinguishable voice sounded, causing the throbbing in its head to increase. It almost backed down, but the thought of its mate being out and around that monster helped it continue to push through.

It forced its eyes open, gritting its teeth, aches and pains soaring throughout its body. Everything was blurry and bright, but one thing came out loud and clear, giving the wolf the strength to lift its head - its alpha's roar.

Vision clearing, it saw red eyes in the entrance of the room, the blonde huntress' to it. The red eyes glanced in its direction and it let out a low growl in acknowledgment.

"-not alone," Kate said, the gun in her hand held loosely at her side. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, you little witch."

"That's my best friend you're talking about," the young alpha wolf snarled.

"Seriously, Scott, just tell me where he is and I let Derek go. It's that easy."

The wolf let out an angry growl, pulling against the chains taut. It could feel its strength returning, the darkness completely fading away.

"Oh, hush." Kate turned slightly and jabbed the electric rod into the wolf's chest. It clenched its jaw, a pitiful whine slipping through its fangs.

It didn't know how much longer it could hold out, but it knew it had to. Mate was still out there.

Stiles let out a heavy breath as the red aura surrounding Derek slowly flared back to life. He felt Allison set a reassuring hand on his shoulder and he sent her a relieved look.

A loud whine hit his ears and he snapped his attention back to the building. The red aura was faded slightly and he couldn't wait any longer.

He surged forward, letting the warmth from before pool into the palm of his hands. Energy from his allies and the forest around him caused the warmth to rise in heat.

"Derek!"

"Stiles, no!"

He vaguely heard Scott's shout, his gaze focused on his mates across the room. He was shirtless, sweat gleaming off his skin, bright blue eyes widening a fraction.

A sharp pain shot through his whole body, aching right into his very soul. He fell heavily to the concrete floor, the warmth vanishing as quickly as it had come.

Derek's howl vibrated through the room and Stiles felt relieved. His mate was safe now, he would be okay.

"You are quite the troublemaker," Kate sneered as she sauntered over to him. "You're so smart. You thought everything through. Figured out Derek went missing rather than leaving before anyone else and you found this place. Yet you didn't think about your own safety." She crouched down in front of him, eyes shining maniacally. "You're powerful enough to do all of that, and more, except save yourself. How sad. Well, why don't we fix that?"

Stiles glared up at her, his body ice cold and heavy. None of his limbs moved, not even twitched.

Kanima poison.

He knew there had been wolfsbane lining the building, but he'd completely overlooked this. He mentally kicked himself for being so stupid.

Before he could think up another plan, Scott leapt over him and slammed into the woman, knocking her to the ground. He heard Isaac let out a howl from the hallway before he appeared beside Scott, Allison's bowstring singing as she pulled it back.

He moved his gaze back to Derek, watching Lydia move quietly up beside him.

"You think he'd come to face you alone?" Scott retorted through his fangs, holding her down as Isaac yanked the electric rod and gun away from her.

"Of course I didn't," she snapped. "I was planning for you all to come."

Derek.

Stiles realized his lover was still wolfed out, eyes glowing. He knew the man's wolf had been close to the surface; that was the reason his natural green aura had been red. But he didn't realize it was that close.

He tried to open his mouth to warn Lydia, but his vocal chords, jaw and lips refused to cooperate. He had to lay there and watch as the redhead let his mate loose.

Shit.

The wolf watched the redhead quickly unchain it. Once the restraints were gone, it stumbled forward then let out a menacing snarl.

Kate smirked below him. "Kill them, you freak!"

The wolf looked down at her and bore its sharp teeth. Before anyone could react, it shoved the young alpha off her and dove for her neck. It sank its fangs into her neck, blood pooling into its mouth and it bit down harder, then jerked its head to the side, ripping the woman's throat in half. A quiet gurgle sounded from her mouth and he dove down again, shredding more of its throat apart.

"Derek, stop!"

It jerked its head up and met the young alpha's red eyes. Its gaze flickered to behind him and saw its mate laying motionless on the ground. It dashed over and sniffed at the human, a low whine escaping its throat.

It could smell the rancid stench of kanima hovering over its mate and the whine turned into a growl.

"Derek. Let us help him."

Stiles felt as though a heavy burden lifted off his shoulders when Derek crouched over him. He could hear Scott mumbling to the feral werewolf, but Derek didn't budge. A low rumbling was vibrating his chest, sounding slightly wet as it slipped past the blood and saliva covering his mouth.

After a while of coaxing from Scott and Allison, Derek finally let the young alpha and Isaac lift Stiles off the floor and carry him back to Roscoe. They set him down in the backseat, Derek crawling in after him and laying across his lap.

Derek opened his eyes, eyelids heavy. Memories of pain and loneliness, darkness and desperation flashing across his mind. Stiles came to front of his mind and he sat upright.

"Calm down, sourwolf," Stiles mumbled from beside him. "I'm right here." Derek looked down, his mate curled up under the blankets, bright amber eyes glancing up at him. He let out a whine and settled down beside the boy, nuzzling his neck. Stiles gently pushed his fingers through the werewolf's hair, pressing his lips against his forehead. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"You too," Derek muttered, wrapping his arm around Stiles' torso.

"You gave me quite the scare." A loud smack sounded and Derek pulled away, giving his lover an offended look. "Don't ever do that to me again!"

Derek gave him a small smile. "I won't. I'm sorry." He leaned down and gently pressed his lips against Stiles', pulling him closer. "I love you."

"I love you, too." A whisper against his lips, a promise never to be broken, the same as their bond.

AN: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Sorry about any mistakes, by the way. I wrote this late at night in a short amount of time.

Let me know what you thought of it! Have a fabulous day!