"Run!" Scott exclaimed as he shoved Stiles forward. Stiles' lanky legs immediately stumbled over the brush as he attempted to scramble up the hill, the force of Scott's shoving boosting him over the top. As soon as he hit level ground he took off in a full sprint, the sound of snapping jaws at his heels jolting his already racing heart. "A little faster Stiles!"

They were being hunted, having walked straight into a pack of rogue werewolves on their 'perimeter' run. A perimeter run demanded by a stupid brooding alpha who couldn't have just used his own damn senses to do the perimeter himself. He sure had an easy time with his perimeter the day Scott lost his inhaler. Mr. Brooding Derek Hale easily found them in more than enough time to chew them a new one.

"You're the werewolf here!" Stiles snapped, barely managing to barrel around a tree. The sound of snarling teeth was getting closer, too close, and Stiles' pace was dangerously near depletion as he weaved through the maze of forest in front of them. "Where the hell is Derek and his pack of mongrels when you fucking need them!?"

Almost as if on queue, a dark shadow exploded from the trees and slammed into the leading werewolf snapping at Scott's heels, the three betas in toe as they rammed into the remaining pack members. Stiles didn't stop running however and continued to sprint wildly through the trees until he was a safe distance away from the sound of snapping jaws. Scott had stopped a few feet in front of him, both watching the fight between packs. "Is that-is that the Alpha Pack? The one Isaac was talking about?" Scott panted.

"How am I supposed to know?" Stiles shouted, wheezing as he pressed all of his weight into the tree, head throbbing. How the hell did he always end up in the middle of these things!? Oh right: best friend was a werewolf.

Suddenly there was a yelp, Erica and Isaac slamming into the trees on either side of Scott. Scott took one glance at the two before giving in with a groan and jumping into the fight, tackling one of the alphas as they made a lunge for Erica. He still wasn't technically part of Derek's pack, but he couldn't just watch them all get ripped to shreds. Stiles continued to watch safely from behind his tree, eyes skimming over the group of fighting werewolf shadows. He could easily make out Boyd's form, standing like a brick wall above the rest as he chucked one of the opposing pack members through a tree. Erica and Isaac had rejoined them, both of them ganging up on the were that had tossed Erica. Soon Stiles eyes settled on Derek's leather coated back as he circled with the last of the pack members. His claws were out, eyes piercing red as he bared his fangs in warning at the other alpha. When the other lunged, Derek was ready, slamming his shoulder into its rib cage before ramming him flat into the dirt, muscles rippling.

Not that Stiles noticed that or anything.

Suddenly there was a high pitched howl, one of the other pack members arching towards the night sky. Almost instantly the others mimicked his howl before following him through the trees and out of sight. They had retreated. An Alpha Pack, just retreated. "Pussies!" Erica roared after them, Boyd grasping her bicep in an attempt to hold her back.

"Was that the Alpha Pack?" Scott asked.

Derek shot an accusing glare at Isaac, who refused to meet his glance, before nodding at Scott. Obviously Derek hadn't known that Isaac had been slipping Scott pack secrets. "Yeah, that was some of them."

"Some of them?" Stiles gaped as he finally managed to remove himself from the tree. "What do you mean some of them? How many are in that pack?"

"I'm not sure yet. Could be at most ten members," Derek explained as if that were the simplest thing in the world.

"Ten?" Scott questioned.

"Better hope they don't come back," Erica growled. "Next time I won't hold back."

"That was holding back?" Stiles snorted. At Erica's glare of death, he immediately raised his hands in defense, Scott rolling his eyes.

"Come on, let's head back. It's late," Derek announced.

"About time; my dinner was ready over an hour ago," Scott said.

Stiles waited patiently for the pack to walk passed, hands shoved in his pockets as he waited for Scott to catch up to him. As soon as Scott wandered passed him however, Stiles realized Derek was standing a few feet away. Staring. At Stiles. Stiles froze where he stood, eyes wide as he took a quick glance around himself to double check he wasn't imagining things. He didn't want a repeat of what happened between him and Lydia back in seventh grade….When Stiles lifted his head again Derek was suddenly mere inches away from him. "You've got leaves in your hair," he grumbled. All Stiles could do was stare, mouth slack and eyes wide as Derek reached for a twig that had embedded in the hair just above Stiles' forehead. What the hell was happening!?

Heart hammering, eyes wide, and cheeks now blazing, Stiles cleared his throat. "Um, Derek, dude-"before he could question the alpha's actions however, something slammed into Derek and sent him tumbling into the forest floor. Stiles immediately jumped back in fright as a glowing, blue eyed figure stopped in front of him, watching curiously through a sharp-toothed grin. "Aw man, come on!" Stiles groaned. Again, why was he always stuck in the middle of this!?

Before anything could happen however, Derek retaliated, kicking the figure in the side and sending them stumbling away from Stiles. He let out a roar then, the sound of the rest of his pack's return echoing through the trees almost instantly. But this didn't stop the attacker who jumped from the trunk of a tree and easily sent Derek rolling through the leaves again. Isaac reached them next, only to be grabbed behind the knee and sent swinging into an approaching Erica, both ramming into the tree just to the left of Stiles and practically splintering it in half. Derek had return to his feet, but the figure was on him in seconds, ducking behind his clawed swing, sliding between his open legs, and kicking his knees in. As soon as his knees hit the leaves, the shadow grabbed both of his arms and pinned his wrists between his shoulder blades before slamming him chest down into the forest floor.

Just as Boyd and Scott reached the scene, Boyd helping Erica back to her feet as Scott checked on Isaac, the figure crouched down low to the struggling Derek's ear before growling. No-Stiles was one hundred percent sure that was a legitimate purr. "Pinned ya," they whispered, Stiles just barely able to hear.

Derek's body stilled, causing the rest of the pack to freeze in their tracks a few feet away from their alpha. They watched as Derek gently sniffed the air, brows furrowing. "Mint and-and apples," he muttered. His head immediately turned, red glow fading off as he side glanced his attacker. "Ellie!?"

To everyone's surprise, the figure let out a bell like laugh before releasing the alpha and sharply pulling him back to his feet. "And here I thought you forgot about me."

"Wait a second, you know this girl?" Erica snapped, pointing accusingly at their attacker.

Stiles peered through the dark, his human eyes obviously not having noticed the ponytail of brown curled over the intruder's shoulder. As she stepped into the moon light, Stiles was finally able to see her; shorter with long brown hair and an almost child like face. Wow, a girl just beat the big brooding alpha into the ground. "Knows me? Derek basically grew up with my family. My big brother, this one, though still pissed off and spiteful as ever I see," the girl smirked. Stiles barely held back a snort.

But the look on Derek's face caused the whole forest to fall into a dead silence. He looked pale, eyes wide in horror as he stared at the girl almost as if she were a ghost. Stiles felt his stomach twinge. "How-how are you alive? Last I heard nobody survived that fire, Ellie. I thought you were dead!"

Fire? Was she in the Hale House fire with Derek's family? No. Peter survived that fire, but he was the only one. He would have known if there were more, right? Ellie's grin immediately faded off into a frown as she glanced away, but before she could respond Stiles' mouth began to run its usual course of not shutting the hell up. "What fire? Did she use to live in the Hale house too?"

Scott sharply elbowed him, but thankfully Derek just shook his head. "The Argents targeted friends of my family's, others with werewolf blood. Ellie's family was the second largest to the Hale residence. They lived over in North Carolina. Our father's believed it was best to keep the race alive by separating us, just in case of an attack. The Hunters however figured this plan out and, once the Hale house was burned to ash, set out on finding the others," Derek explained. "It was rumored that the Argents' team had honed in on Ellie's family and-and burned them alive too a few weeks ago. But this time I thought there were no survivors, that they had learned their lesson." Stiles couldn't help but frown; that would explain the week Derek took off without any word to anyone, not even his pack a few months ago.

Not that Stiles was worried about him or anything.

Ellie immediately scowled, eyes glowing bright blue as her fangs began to protrude over her snarl. "If those stupid Argent's hadn't been so smug with their celebrations while watching my family burn alive-"

"The Argent's wouldn't do that. Not after what Gerard did," Scott suddenly popped out.

"Say that to my dead family! Those stupid bastards had Argent scent all over them," Ellie snapped viciously. Derek grasped her shoulder tightly, keeping her planted.

Scott didn't stand down. "Chris and his men backed off after the Kanima attacks. They haven't been in town for-for months," Scott muttered, realization hitting him hard. Ellie snorted as her arms crossed, but Scott immediately tried to cover himself. "Allison wouldn't let her father do that."

"Yeah well, he obviously sent the men he could easily throw under the bus. They were so engrossed in watching the flames get higher, they didn't even notice Emmett and me running out the back," Ellie whispered, obviously attempting to calm herself down. Her hand had grasped onto Derek's tightly, claws digging into skin, and Stiles couldn't stop the fucking pang in his chest.

"Emmett survived too? Did he come with you?" Derek asked suddenly, his hand turning so he was able to pull her around to face him.

Ellie's eyes, now glowing even brighter, merely narrowed at him. Almost as if they were on the same mental wavelength, Derek nodded in understanding causing Ellie to calm slightly. "So, this is your pack?" Ellie asked instead as she turned towards the rest of the group.

"I'm Isaac," Isaac answered with a faint smile. "This is Erica, that's Boyd, and over there are Scott and Stiles. Jackson's supposed to be here with us too, but he got the night off after a strict demand from his girlfriend Lydia. You'll meet her soon; she's human like Stiles. Peter's around sometimes too, but people assume he's dead so he doesn't come out much."

Ellie nodded as her eyes roamed across Derek's pack. Stiles couldn't help but notice she was wearing a leather jacket and boots too; what was with werewolves and leather? When Stiles realized Ellie was staring at him, her eyes blinking curiously, he swallowed. What was she staring at? Were there more leaves in his hair? Thankfully, Boyd spoke up, breaking Ellie's glance. "So, you were born a werewolf."

"Half werewolf, yes; I'm technically a half-breed," Ellie explained.

"How the hell does that work?" Stiles asked again. At Derek's glare, Scott's sharp elbow to his rips again, he mentally groaned. Damn his stupid mouth!

To his relief however, Ellie merely laughed. "My mum was a werewolf, Stiles. She fell in love with my father who just so happened to be a human. They fell in love, and well-you can guess the rest."

"Are all werewolf and human kin half-breeds?" Isaac asked.

"There have been known full breeds that come from human and were couples, it just depends on what the dominant gene is," Derek explained.

"You were strong like a full breed though. I mean, you took Derek out in a matter of minutes," Stiles said. Derek's glare had him once again mentally punching himself. "Just saying, you know."

Ellie glanced from Derek back to Stiles before shrugging. "I am strong, but I can't completely wolf out like full-breeds until the full moon comes around, making me weaker in every day situations. I've got the fangs, the glowing eyes, and the claws, but I'm still human. Basically heal like one too."

It looked like Derek was about to question that last ability, but instead clamped his jaw tight. "How long have you been in Beacon Hills?" he asked instead.

"Well, been driving cross country for the past three days, and just got into town about an hour ago. I easily caught hold of your scent and followed it from the high school here," Ellie said. Her eyes then drifted across the rest of the pack, her hand gently wrapping around her stomach. "Any good food joints around here? I haven't eaten since last night and I feel like I could eat a whole cow."

"Come on, I'll take you to the local place," Derek said, hands shoved in his jacket pockets as he motioned for her to follow him. "The rest of you head home. We've got a long night ahead of us tomorrow and I need you all awake and functioning."

With that he walked away, Ellie nodding at the others in departure before easily catching up to him and looping her arm around his elbow. Stiles couldn't help but wince against the sharpening pain in his chest as they disappeared from sight; who was this girl? And how close was she really to Derek?

Not that he cared. Derek could date whoever he wanted! And Stiles wouldn't feel-wouldn't feel-anything…..

Stiles woke the next morning with a groan, his head throbbing as he buried his face deeper into his pillow. He had been up most of the night hopped up on too many adderall again, his butt planted in his computer chair while the computer screen flashed in front of him. He had been doing research on fires in North Carolina and, sure enough, Ellie's family popped into view. A whole family photo with ten members and a small six year old girl with brunette pig tails holding a teddy bear right up front. The news however claimed there were no survivors from the fire, meaning for all the Argents knew Ellie was dead as a door nail. At least she was being truthful to everyone, but Stiles couldn't help but keep his guard up. Too many people with pretty faces came into Derek's life only to stab him in the back.

No, he seriously didn't care, but when Derek was pissed off or mopey, the whole pack paid for it. And that was the excuse he was sticking with if anyone just so happened to go through his search history. Although people really shouldn't go through his search history for the sake of their own sanity….

"Stiles!" Scott's voice suddenly exclaimed. Stiles let out a yelp as he tumbled from his bed, limbs entangling in his sheets before he slammed into the floor. He let out a long groan as he lay face down on the wood in shame. "Dude, we're going to be late for class if you don't get up."

"Is missing school really that bad?" Stiles muttered as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

Scott merely rolled his eyes before opening the door and walking into the hallway; he obviously came in through the stupid window again. "Get up Stiles, we have a math test today."

Begrudgingly Stiles gathered himself together and headed for the bathroom. After a quick shower he dressed himself, shoved his books back into his bag, before tromping down the stairs to where Scott was impatiently waiting. Without another word, Stiles snatched up his keys from the table and headed out to his jeep. They were out of the driveway and down the street in seconds, the music maybe a bit too loud. As he pulled up to a stop light though he realized Scott was facing at him, brow raised. "What?" Stiles questioned.

"You look pissed," Scott stated bluntly. "Or like someone just kicked your puppy."

"I'm fine," Stiles said before refocusing on the road ahead of him.

"This is about what happened last night."

Stiles ignored him.

"Dude, I know this is about that Ellie girl. Ten bucks you were up last night researching about her and the fire too."

His grip tightened too tightly around the steering wheel.

"Just admit it! Come on, I'm your best friend, you can talk to me about this."

Why the hell wasn't this light turning green?

"I know you like Derek."

The jeep stalled beneath Stiles' foot as he stared at Scott in horror, his face flushing a deep red as his jaw dropped. "What!?" Stiles flailed.

"Oh don't give me that look. We've been best friends since we were six, Stiles," Scott snorted. "I can tell when you freaking like someone by now."

Stiles gaped, jaw moving uselessly as he stared at Scott. How-? Stiles had been so good at not giving in, not leaning in too close, not standing near the alpha, and just not giving off any kind of hint or scent that he was even interested! Sure, his head had been plagued by the stupid Hale since that day at the swimming pool. How could you not be after having been pressed up against that massive, firm body for two hours? Danger or not? Let's just say there was a lot of "Stiles time" after he got home that night. He was always saving Derek's life, and now Stiles had begun to believe there was an obvious reason why. The honking from the cars behind them was the only thing that snapped Stiles from his train of thought. When Stiles restarted the jeep and took off back towards the flow of traffic, he cleared his throat. "I don't like Derek freaking Hale."

Scott snorted as he leaned back into his seat. "And you're in complete sixteen year old denial."

The car went quiet after that, Scott's arms crossing over his chest as he bore holes into the dashboard. Ever since he became a werewolf his temper had skyrocketed. Not that Stiles wasn't use to it. Now that Allison was gone Scott had been around more often, even actually answering his phone calls after the first few rings. Ten bucks it was the only reason Scott's been joining Derek's hunts as of late too. Allison sure had sucked up most of Scott's time from them all, but now that she was gone-

As soon as Stiles parked the jeep they found a visitor was waiting, school bag slung over her shoulder and hair tied up in a messy bun. After being gone for almost four months, it sure had begun to show on her. Those bags under her eyes could hold potatoes at this point. Scott immediately perked up, both of them staring at the sheepish Argent girl in shock; welp, there goes Scott forever. "What the hell is Allison doing in front of my jeep?" Stiles questioned. Tension between Stiles and Allison was still a bit thick after her grandfather beat the crap out of him.

Scott immediately scrambled out of the car, Stiles following after him at a much slower pace as he took his time getting his bag from the back seat. "Allison, what are you doing here? Are you alright?" Scott asked, voice full of panic.

Allison's smile was weak as she tugged nervously at the strap of her bag. "Dad needed to come back for-for business," she whispered.

Stiles' eyes immediately flashed over to Scott who met his glance briefly before he turned back to Allison. "Are you alright?" he questioned.

"Can we-can we talk privately?" Allison asked just under her breath.

"Of course," Scott said, gently taking her by the arm before walking away towards the back of the school.

"Fine, I didn't want to hear anything anyway!" Stiles called after them, throwing his hands up in the air. Scott and Allison continued to walk away however, neither looking back at him. Stiles watched them until they disappeared before snorting and turning away. As soon as he turned on his heel however, he slammed straight into another body. Another soft and plush body. He immediately flailed before jumping back, eyes wide as he stared up at Erica. "Seriously?"

"Why is that stupid Argent girl back?" Erica snapped, ignoring Stiles' shout.

Isaac and Boyd suddenly appeared at her shoulders, Stiles jumping slightly. Sure, Stiles was somewhat glad that Erica and Boyd had escaped being ripped apart by the Alpha Pack, but he had just gotten excited about only having to deal with Isaac. He liked Isaac; he was easy to handle and didn't enjoy jumping in and out of his window. Isaac knew how to use a damn door. "This isn't good. Someone needs to go back and tell Derek and Peter," Boyd mumbled.

"I doubt Scott will tell us anything though," Isaac stated. "He still doesn't trust Derek not to rip the Argent's throats out."

"Can't say I blame him, especially after the last fire in North Carolina," Stiles added. When he realized the pack was staring at him, he blinked. "What!? He's close with Ellie and her family right? I'd be pretty upset too if everyone I knew was burned alive."

The rest of the pack stared at him silently for a few moments before the sound of the school bell snapped their attention away, Stiles sighing in relief. "Come on, let's go," Erica said before grabbing Stiles by the wrist and pulling him towards school, ignoring his shouts of protest on the way.

At the end of the school day, Scott was no where to be found. Instead of standing by his jeep like he did every day after class Stiles found his jeep abandoned. With a sigh, and a quick readjustment of his bag, Stiles trudged down the front steps of school. At least he wouldn't have to reproach the awkward Derek conversation from earlier. It was bad enough that Scott knew about his silly school boy crush on the alpha, let alone want Stiles to physically talk about it.

Oh well, as soon as Stiles got home he would heat up the leftover pizza then head upstairs and bury himself in his homework. Then his dad would come home from work, they'd watch the game they recorded together, talk about his dad's newest arrest victims, and his night would be werewolf free. This was his night finally away from those annoying, anti-personal boundary, temperamental werewolves and their brooding pack leader.

Who was currently sitting in Stiles' passenger seat. "Dude, what the hell?" Stiles exclaimed. Derek merely glanced over at him, brow raised, as if this were a normal routine. Obviously not catching the hint, Stiles snorted. "Get out of my jeep."

"We're going to meet Peter and Ellie," Derek said. Stiles just stared at him, eyes narrowing as he crossed his arm. The girl got here last night and already she was being invited to all these pack meetings. After a few minutes of silence, Derek turned his attention to him. "We don't have all day Stiles, come on!"

"Why the hell do I have to drive you? You have your own car for a reason, a very sexy car!" Stiles snapped. Almost as soon as the words left his mouth however, he gaped. Seriously, didn't he have an off button attached to the trap on the front of his face? When he realized Derek's brow had raised, Stiles immediately attempted to back track. "Oh my God, I didn't-no, it's not sexy. Did I say that? I meant-I meant to call it awesome. Because it totally is, I mean come on it's a Camaro! One of the-one of the-"

"Stiles, just get into the jeep," Derek answered calmly.

"Ok," Stiles gave in, ripping his keys from his pocket before jumping into the driver's seat and starting the engine. Stiles was the first out of the parking lot, not bothering to try and find Scott. He had run into him and Allison glued too each other enough times before. He didn't need to add more to his therapy list. The drive immediately was drenched in silence, Stiles glancing over to see Derek staring out the windshield. Finally, after almost ten minutes of nothing, Stiles cleared his throat. "So, where are we meeting them?"

"Ellie's house," Derek answered.

"Wow, she had a house already?" Stiles gaped. Derek didn't make the effort to nod. "Isn't the rest of your pack mates joining us?" He was honestly too afraid to see how 'friendly' Ellie and Derek truly were with each other by himself. Seeing their touches from the night before just about sent Stiles into a panic attack. Which is something he will never admit to another living soul.

"They have perimeter runs to do. Peter and I were up the rest of the night, but heard nothing from the Alpha Pack. Jackson is meeting them there too," Derek explained.

"So, why do I have to come?" Stiles asked. Derek, however, merely shrugged, Stiles' heart flip-flopping without permission. Didn't it remember their passenger just so happened to have super hearing? But then again, Derek actually wanted him there. With no explanation or excuse as to why. He just-he just wanted Stiles there. Right? Or was Stiles thinking too deep into it? For all he knew he was just the sacrifice….but Derek's saved his life before too. Hoping to quickly change the subject before his head could take off into la-la land again, or before Derek could zero in on his racing chest, Stiles shifted the subject sharply. "The Argents are in town."

"I know. They got in late last night," Derek said.

"That's bad though, isn't it? Doesn't this mean that Ellie's right? That the Argents really were responsible for the attack in North Carolina. I mean, the news said there were no survivors, but aren't Hunters really thorough with their work? So they would have noticed the missing bodies. Which means they would have followed Ellie back here, back to you," Stiles rambled.

At the silence, Stiles turned only to find Derek staring at him. "You researched the fire?" Derek asked.

"Yeah. I'm your research guru, right? I have to check people out, make sure they're-"but Stiles caught himself before he let himself finish.

"Trustworthy," Derek finished for him. "You wanted to make sure Ellie's story checked out."

"Well, why not? She's new to Beacon Hills so there's no old background on her here. So why not-I mean, my dad is sheriff after all, so he might need this too," Stiles attempted to cover himself.

Derek turned his attention back to the windshield, but Stiles swore he saw his mouth twitch at the corners. "Thanks."

Stiles would forever deny that, at that moment, his stomach filled with an amazing warmth.

When Derek finally told him to pull off, Stiles found themselves in front of a small two story house just off the main road. It was in the trees, of course, but still visible from the outside world. Stiles parked behind a blue Chevelle, obviously Ellie's car, Derek's Camaro parked just to its right. Had Derek walked to school just so Stiles could drive him? Derek broke through his thoughts as he immediately headed for the front door, Stiles scrambling after him. They walked up a pebble walkway before Derek pushed through an oak door. Once inside he followed him passed a sitting room, a staircase, and a dining room before finally stepping into the kitchen. There Peter was sitting at the bar, cheeks full of a sandwich. Ellie was brushing mustard across a slice of bread before she turned and smiled at them. "I thought I heard you two out front. Hello Stiles," Ellie smiled.

"Hey, Ellie," Stiles half waved. Now that he could see her in the light, Stiles couldn't help but feel the sting of jealousy wash over him. She was perfect-eyes that sparkled as she looked up at the two of them, her small hands busy with prepping the meals. Her cheeks were rosy pink, skin glowing despite how light it was, and shining brown hair that draped down to the waist of her shorts. She wasn't thin like Stiles, but she had the perfect body shape with curves in all the right spots.

Derek gently brushed passed Ellie, ruffling her hair as he passed, before opening the fridge and pulling out two bottles of water. He tossed one to Stiles who almost sent it crashing to the floor as he watched Ellie shoot him a glare while attempting to smooth her ponytail back out. He was teasing her, like they were best friends...or closer. "What kind of meat do you like, Stiles?" Ellie suddenly asked.

"M-meat?" Stiles asked, jaw dropping slightly and mind obviously not in the right place.

"On your sandwich," Peter muttered through his bite of food.

"Oh! Anything-anything is fine. I am a variety kind of guy," Stiles smiled. Ellie nodded before turning back to her work, Derek taking a seat next to Peter before kicking the chair next to him out for Stiles. Stiles immediately plopped down into it, his knees bouncing nervously. A few minutes later, bottle of water almost completely downed, Ellie set a fresh sandwich in front of him. "Wow, thanks."

"I could hear your stomach from a mile away, you need that," Ellie winked before returning to her work.

Stiles immediately bit into the master piece and let out an unwilling groan. What magic deliciousness was in this sandwich? "Oh my God Ellie, this is fantastic."

Ellie laughed as she returned with a second plate, sliding it in front of Derek. "Years of practice. Just holler if you want another. I'm making a bunch for when the rest of the pack show up later."

"Any news on the Alpha Pack?" Peter suddenly asked.

Derek shook his head after swallowing his overly large bite; no, Stiles was not staring at Derek's tongue as it poked out to lick at a speck of mustard at the corner of his mouth. "None so far. They didn't expect us to fight back as hard as we did so I think they've gone into hiding after the confrontation last night."

"Emmett won't let that last very long," Peter sighed.

Ellie's back immediately stiffened, her knuckles white around the butter knife in her hand. Derek shot a glare at Peter, Stiles watching mid chew as Peter merely shrugged. "Emmett, he's the other survivor," Stiles asked softly. "He is, isn't he?"

Ellie immediately turned to face Derek, Peter rolling his eyes. Stiles watched the two stare at each other just like they had done earlier when Emmett's name first came up. Stiles swore they were reading each other's minds, having a mental conversation between each other. He would give all the change in his pocket just to hear what kinds of things they were saying. After a few moments Derek nodded causing Ellie to clear her throat before turning to face Stiles who quickly straightened up. "Emmett and I were the only ones to survive the fire in North Carolina, but as soon as he had healed from our wounds, he wanted revenge. He was the new alpha now that our pack was gone, which made him stronger, better equipped to take on the Hunters. As soon as he found out what town the Argent's claimed as their hang out, he wanted to set his revenge plan in motion. Something I didn't want to be apart of," Ellie frowned. "So, Emmett took off on his own instead and left me behind. I couldn't just leave him alone-for reasons-and I followed him. His scent led here, to Beacon Hills, but by the time I caught up he had already joined the pack of alphas."

Stiles' jaw dropped. "He's apart of the Alpha Pack? The one that knocked around Derek's pack last night?" At Derek's snort, Stiles rolled his eyes before shooting him a look. "You know what I mean."

"I didn't see you helping," Derek fired back.

"How the hell am I going to stand up next an alpha who wants to kill me? Huh? You've seen how well I've done with that before. Hell, a seventy year old man beat the crap out of me barely a year ago!" Stiles snapped. At Derek's wince Stiles mentally punched himself. That subject had hit Derek harder than Stiles would have ever expected. He still had the way Derek touched him after he found out memorized, grip tight on his jaw to keep him in place as his thumb brushed feather like across the cuts and bruises that stained the pale skin of his face. Derek disappeared for a few hours after that doing- Stiles didn't even want to know what. Derek hadn't stepped foot back near Stiles since before last night's leaf incident. "S-sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It's fine," Derek cut him off, but Stiles could tell by his tone that the damage was already done.

When Stiles turned his head he found Ellie staring at him, brow raised curiously again. Why was she always staring at him like that!? She couldn't tell could she? Oh God, she thinks he's trying to get up on her alpha! Stiles is officially a dead man. He should probably go home and write his will now...at least finish what he started after finding out Scott was a werewolf. Obviously noticing Stiles was watching her, Ellie turned back to her work. Stiles swore he saw her lips perk up as she turned though, eyes flashing blue. "The pack's coming. I can already smell Erica," Ellie stated.

Derek took a large bite from his sandwich, Peter tossing his paper plate into the trash can before making his way for the staircase. "I'll go prepare for the mongrels."

"Are they already done with their perimeter?" Stiles asked, returning to his plate.

"Wouldn't surprise me, especially with Erica snapping at everyone every minute of the damn day," Derek muttered.

He stood after that, abandoning his food before he made his way back towards the door. As soon as Derek stepped onto the porch Stiles could hear Isaac's laughter, Erica's shouts of protest piercing his ears before they were immediately muffled with the slamming of the door. "Better go join him, Stiles. They're starting to go over details for tonight's perimeter run," Ellie called as she began to set out plates of sandwiches along the bar.

"I'm going?" Stiles questioned. "Why do I have to go? Scott's not going! What good am I going to do?"

"Scott will be there," Ellie smiled with a toothy grin. "Derek has very strong persuasion skills, so get your running shoes on, kid. We've got a long night ahead of us."