It was almost a week before things seemed to settle down. Deaton had finally returned and had presented the pack with a bill for the supplies used in the raid. Peter quickly paid him the slightly exorbitant price, which Deaton offered to 'adjust' if Stiles was willing to share some of his recipes, with Deaton, along with thoughts on what worked and what didn't work. After being promised they would never be used against the pack, Stiles spent an afternoon trading recipes and brainstorming with Deaton. They'd both come away with a few new ideas, and Deaton agreed to keep supplies on hand in case of future emergencies.

By the end of the week, Deaton had examined Derek and agreed he was past his most recent fertile stage. He also took a look at both Muriel and the babies. Thanks to werewolf healing Muriel was physically recovered from her time as Gregory's mate, but mentally she tended to go submissively quiet around most males, with the exception of Peter and Stiles. She had been slowly picking up English from the other wolves, and now Peter spent a great deal of his day helping her become fluent. The first time she spoke English to Stiles, she thanked him for allowing her to join his pack. Stiles' denial nearly had her in tears before he clarified he meant that it was Derek's pack, despite any stupid Alpha custom, but that she was very welcome in the pack.

Stiles was starting to get strange looks from his dad after a day or so, and prepared himself for another one of 'those' talks, where in he would make them both incredibly uncomfortable, but, hopefully, both would feel better afterwards. This time he picked up some burgers and actual fries, and met his dad at the Sheriff's station for lunch.

The Sheriff didn't come by his job by being stupid, so the minute he smelled real meat, he knew something was up. Instead of opening what smelled like a very, very good burger, he sat it aside and watched Stiles until he was squirming... at least that was the plan. What actually happened, was Stiles stared right back, one eyebrow raised, waiting for his dad to actually speak. He'd probably never know just how much this new and unusual response to his father's usual interrogation technique helped his case.

After more than a minute without a flinch or more than a blink, the Sheriff purposefully looked away, putting a straw in his drink, and then spoke. "Why don't you tell me what this meal is setting me up for, so we can get it over with, and I can enjoy my food?"

"This is more of a 'We're celebrating.' than a 'Sorry I screwed up.' sort of treat, Dad. Although it is serious and pretty big news."

"Big how? Like big 'I got Derek pregnant' big, or big 'I've won the Lotto' big?" His dad asked, purposefully looking at the burger instead of Stiles.

"Strangely enough, just about halfway between those two things, in my opinion." Stiles said, unable to hide the goofy grin he always got when he thought about Derek being his mate.

"Now I'm really scared." He said, focusing on Stiles again.

"Remember the whole thing where Chris Argent told you I was an Omega, and I told you Derek was, and that I was an Alpha?" His dad nodded and Stiles continued. "When Peter approached me about Derek it was to basically ask me to be in the werewolf equivalent of an arranged marriage. Wolves mate for life, and the bond can be tricked, especially since a lot of wolves view Omegas on the level of a broodmare or a slave. Traditionally whoever becomes their mate takes over everything that they have. In Derek's case that would have been his Alpha status in the pack and all of the Hale territory."

"I know this is all supernatural crap, but how could they enforce it, if he tried to fight?"

"A LOT of the mate stuff is mental, and Derek was raised hearing this crap. Between that and the stuff with Kate, Derek is especially susceptible to believing he had no choice, that he didn't deserve a choice. There is a certain amount of instinct and pheromones and attraction in the whole mating thing, but with all the negative crap and the traditionalist crap stuck in his head, he would have bonded and given up everything, because if he was mated to one of the Alpha pack wolves, the bond would have been set with a rape."

The Sheriff looked sick to his stomach.

"The Alpha Pack was doing this to every Omega they came across. Taking everything from them, and if they didn't have the hang ups that Derek did, if they didn't eventually submit, well those sorts of Alphas wouldn't be effected by the bond much if their mate were killed. If Muriel hadn't been nursing, playing the part of a breeder for the pack, I have no doubts Gregory would have killed her off. He wanted Derek."

"So now that the Alpha pack is gone, where does that leave things?" His dad asked.

"They aren't all dead, and they weren't the only dangers out there, just the closest. Besides, I never agreed to what Peter suggested. I'm fairly sure Peter wanted a good little puppet who the pack would accept, and he could control. Instead I gave Derek the choice. The night before I told you about us, I asked him what he wanted. He was willing to turn the pack over to Scott and just let the Alpha's take him, so everyone else would be safe, and I wouldn't be pushed into tying myself to him. Instead of letting him sacrifice himself, I asked him out so we could really get to know each other, instead of all the 'run for your life, something is trying to kill us' getting to know each other that was our normal interaction."

"Do I want to know?" His dad asked, eyebrow raised.

"Probably not, it involves bullet wounds and water treading marathons, and when Matt... just a lot of bad stuff we survived together. Anyway, we got to know each other better, and after we got him back from the Alphas, we completed the bond."

"So what you're telling me is that you went and got werewolf married? That you made Derek some sort of property?"

"I made Derek my partner. As in equal fifty-fifty, til death do us part, head-over-heels in love, mate." Stiles said, suddenly furious. "Do you honestly think I'd-"

His dad cut him off. "No I don't, but I wanted to make sure you realized how you felt. The best way to get a straight answer out of you is to rile you up. Always has been."

Stiles spent the next minute or two staring at his dad, while the Sheriff unwrapped and began eating his burger with a smirk. The smirk lasted all the way through the visit, but Stiles couldn't resist one final poke on the way out the door.

"We're going to table the whole 'Knocking Derek up' thing until after I graduate, at least. So don't get your hopes up for the pitter patter of little feet for a couple years yet, Grandpa." Stiles said as he tossed the wrappings from their meal into the garbage and sailed out of the room.

"Very funny, Stiles." His dad said. Stiles smirked and headed for his Jeep. "You were kidding about that last part... right?"

Stiles was smug and grinning about getting the last word until his dad handed him with a rather sizable box of condoms later that night.

FL*FL*FL*FL

Between Derek, Peter and to his great discomfort, Stiles, they managed to hash out what to do about both the Hale house and the station Derek had been using as a training area. They also decided to expand the apartment to include the one next to it. A quick call to the building's manager and a hasty application of money had the Apartment quite liveable after only three days.

The process wasn't entirely without bumps along the way, Stiles was almost positive he heard Peter growling at the delivery guy who'd brought the bulk of the furniture, but that was entirely forgiven when he realized the various pieces were slowly, but surely being placed in a way that would have made it difficult for normal people to access or even monitor one half of the room, from the other.

"I realize Les Misérables is trending again, thanks to Anne Hathaway, but is there a particular reason you're remaking the barricade in our apartment?" Stiles asked, trying to be non threatening.

The delivery guy, who'd been eying various valuables, looked up then, irritated. "Huh? I'm, like not a decorator, dude. It's up to you guys to decide where to, you know, put stuff. 's not in my job description, right?"

"Absolutely right, buddy. So, why don't you just bring the stuff up and leave it in the hall. We have plenty of people who can get it set up right. Peter, why don't you give the store a call and tell them how helpful our friend," He paused a moment to read the name tag on the guy's shirt. "Mark, has been. I'll see him out."

Peter, who'd been seconds from shifting, found himself calming down, and instead of shredding the thieving young man, gave him a toothsome smile. The fool quickly stepped back, leaving his side open to Stiles, who rolled his eyes and followed him closely out of the apartment.

Stiles thanked whichever deity might be listening that the fool hadn't tried that sort of thing while Muriel or the twins had been present. He was fairly sure Peter would have taken the jerk's head off for any threat, accidental or not towards their newest packmates.

Stiles was also sure to gently retrieve Peter's watch, which had mysteriously relocated itself into Mark's pocket. He was so gentle Mark didn't realize he'd lost the watch, until Stiles very pointedly put it on his own wrist, admiring it in the remaining light.

Peter was quite understanding about the drops of blood on the dial, when Stiles returned it to him. Mark wasn't quite so understanding, even going so far as to threatening to have him arrested for assault, when Stiles pulled out his cellphone and started talking to his dad about what exactly was grand theft according to the California Penal Code. Mark learned to live with disappointment at that point, and fairly ran to his truck, in his haste to not get himself in more trouble.

A suitable application of werewolf strength had the furniture organized and positioned properly in only a couple of hours. Somehow celebratory pizzas became an impromptu apartment warming party as various packmates wandered in and out checking out the new addition to their temporary lair.

Since the set up was temporary until the contractors could rebuild the Hale house, Muriel would share one room with the pups, with Peter taking the second bedroom. Isaac, who had been sleeping on the couch, was taking over Peter's room in the first apartment, and Derek was keeping his original room. The entire pack had access to the building and the apartments, but the rest of them stayed with their family most nights.

Once Boyd and Erica recovered a bit, the Sheriff had helped smooth things over with their parents. There had been quite a bit of bullshit, but their absence was now thought to involve miscommunication after the incident with Matt. Erica and Boyd had been witnesses, and they had been relocated to keep them safe, but Matt's murderous rampage through the police station had ended the life of the officer in charge of speaking with Mrs. Reyes and the Boyds, before he was able to complete his duty. A truly sad case of miscommunication. Erica and her mother had both cried. There weren't tears at Boyd's house, but he might have gotten a punch in the arm from his little sister.

Lydia, Jackson and Danny seemed to be doing well. All the general douchery Jackson seemed to leak on a daily basis was a lot less evident these days. Danny had taken to being a wolf, and sharing a boyfriend with another person in the same carefree manner he took most of his life. He also seemed to acknowledge Stiles, more than Derek, as his Alpha. Stiles, surprisingly enough, seemed to take this in stride, and made sure to mark Danny to reassure him as often as possible. Only the fact that their version of marking was completely non-sexual neck petting kept both Jackson and Derek from putting a stop to it.

Whether it was the constant reassurance from his acknowledged Alpha, or his mating with Jackson, or more likely a combination of the two, Danny didn't seem to have any trouble with control, picking it up far quicker than any of the other wolves. Danny and Jackson had spent their first full moon together rutting in Jackson's bedroom. Lydia had taken them for a spa day the following afternoon. The two of them had been advocating for standard post transformation massages since. Derek had rolled his eyes, but both Peter and Isaac had looked quite interested.

Stiles wasn't entirely sure, but he thought Muriel may have a new suitor in the form of Peter. He was constantly doting on her and the babies. He spent most of his time chatting with her in various languages and helping her with diapers or feedings. Considering the level of suspicion Derek held Peter to most days, the fact that he only smiled sadly at the proceedings only served to make Stiles nervous over the whole thing, until one night Derek told him about one of the victims of the Hale fire, Peter's pregnant wife. After that, Stiles was considerably less suspicious, but worried about transference and Peter's already precarious mental health. He watched and hoped, for both Muriel and Peter, that it never became a problem.

Chris Argent had come through with the reward money for Gregory. Danny had helped Stiles set up an account which was in turn filled after Gregory's pelt and death were confirmed by various sources. Muriel's pups now had a sizable trust fund. What remained of the various bounties was kept as a secondary safety net for the pack, beyond the Hale family money. It was true by and large that most hunters were a bit backwards, but there were always a few forward thinkers in any crowd and Stiles was paranoid that someday one of their far too many enemies would wise up enough to start using more modern methods in their hunts beyond the damned tazers.

As the days went by, Derek and Stiles became closer, and got to know each other better. They alternated between Stiles' place and the apartment; Sleeping where ever they ended up each night. Slowly, they began to explore each other and their collective likes, dislike, kinks and fantasies. They also occasionally had to work around issues caused by either Gregory and his merry band of assholes... er Alphas, or from dear, darling and thankfully dead Kate.

The first and largest, to date, one of these was the idea of bondage. In theory both of them were highly interested in exploring that particular kink together, but when it came down to the reality of it, their first attempt, using Derek's werewolf proof chains, led Derek to a near panic attack. Derek had tried to 'endure' for Stiles' sake. A stupid decision that precipitated their first real fight, once Stiles got him unchained and talking.

"You wanted it. Hell, I wanted it. I just... I hoped it would go away and I could smell how much you were enjoying it, so I didn't want to say anything." Derek started to explain.

"I was enjoying it, so it doesn't matter that you were starting to hyperventilate, that you weren't excited in the least, that you were hurting and scared and just what? Laying back and thinking of England? Do you still think I'm like one of those Alpha pack bastards?" Stiles asked, furious.

"No, I don't; I didn't. That's not what I meant. You were enjoying it and I didn't want to ruin that." Derek tried to explain.

"Derek, do you know what I enjoy the most about sex; What gets me the hottest, the most excited?" Stiles asked, teeth gritted.

Derek shook his head, unsure how to answer.

"What turns me on the most, is knowing I'm doing something YOU like. That I'm the one making you hard, making you moan and cum. Maybe its ego or whatever, but knowing you want me that I can make you feel like that? It's addicting and exciting and just fucking hot. So what do you think looking down and seeing the man I love shaking and afraid because of something I did would do to me?"

Derek was in his arms in a split second, hands petting and his face buried against Stiles' neck. Afterwards, they discussed the possibilities and between Derek's reaction to the chains, and the wolf's ability to overcome both leather and rope, they tabled the idea of bondage for the time being.

If Stiles walked around with a speculative look on his face for a week or two before taking Derek for a long weekend at his dad's hunting cabin, well that's a tale for another time, isn't it?

The pack became slowly, but surely a true family over the long months of Summer, thankfully without too much in the way of danger and strife, at least until the new school year started.

Notes: In theory there may be a sequel to this, if only the bondage scene I started writing that just didn't fit into the final chapter, but first I want to get Devil in the Details caught up. Hopefully that will be the next to update, unless a random bunny hops through first.