Title: Life of the Pack – Formation

Chapter: prologue/12 (+epilogue) for this part

Author: lisapahud (loonie_lupin)

Fandom: Teen Wolf

Characters/pairing : Derek/Stiles, Scott/Allison, hints of Lydia/Jackson for this part
Rating: PG
Summary: Season 2 AU. After Peter's death, Derek reunites the pack and they come together to fight both the Kanima and Gerard.
Disclaimer: The characters are the property of their respective creator. I own nothing

Note : This is the first part of a four-part series but each part end at a point where it could be the end of the story itself. I've already written the first in its entirety and should be posting pretty regularly. I just need to read through it, add and delete some things that sounds wrong, but that's all.

Prologue

Stiles felt restless, even as if tried to calm his overworking mind down enough to allow him to fall asleep. Only a few days had passed since that fateful night at the burned down Hale house but, to him, it seemed that time had stopped and was now standing still.

Since the night Scott had been bitten, everything had happened so swiftly, without respite. The changes in his best friend, the discovery of Laura's body, the realization Derek wasn't the only werewolf in town, Kate showing up and the revelation that Peter wasn't as comatose as people thought him to be anymore and was looking for revenge on everyone who had contributed to his family burning alive and helped the arsonist go free. Yet, suddenly, everything was peaceful once again and it was putting Stiles on edge.

He should have been thankful for the break, should have been over the moon really, except that he was waiting for the other shoe to drop because he had a feeling that things had only just begun. Both werewolves and hunters were still in town, and would remain there for the foreseeable future, therefore it could only mean more troubles and Stiles wanted to survive.

He was good at research and he knew it. He was bragging but just stating a fact. Scott wouldn't have survived without him and he had helped to reveal both Peter and Kate for what they really were. It wasn't enough, though. Not anymore.

Research may have been very helpful but it wouldn't save him should another life-threatening situation arise. He had been luck, so very lucky, that Peter had chosen to let him go in that parking lot. If the man had decided not to, there wouldn't have been a thing Stiles could have done to save himself and he would now be either a werewolf or dead. Knowing he owed his life to the whim of a killer wasn't a very good feeling.

From the moment the adrenaline had worn off after Peter's demise, his brain had been stuck on this particular subject. It was an extremely unsettling feeling for him to be so focused on only one idea, but he just couldn't let it go. That was the reason he had decided to do something about it, finally.

He had waited a few days before telling his dad he wanted to take up shooting again.

His father had been surprised because Stiles hadn't touched a gun since the day his mother died. She had been the one to teach him how to use firearms when he was younger. She, herself, had learnt at the beginning of her relationship with John, her husband insisting she had to know how to protect herself, and she had chosen to pass on the knowledge to her son. It had been their thing.

Stiles had been surprisingly good at it. He knew he wasn't always the most focused person, was never the most focused person to be thoughtful, because of his ADHD, but with a gun in hand, it had been a switch. He could stare at the target and not move a muscle before he was ready to take the shot. He could reach bull eyes almost every time by the end of their lessons and he had loved it. Not the knowledge he could kill or hurt, of course not, but the facts he was good at something and could share it with his mother.

When she had died, though, he had stopped going. His dad would have taken over, supervising him instead, he knew it, should have wanted it but he simply couldn't. It reminded him of her and, back then, it had been much too painful. So he had stopped going and, when his mother's death had stopped being overwhelming, when he had been once again capable of thinking about the good times, he had had no reason to go again.

Now, though, with the situation having become what it had, he would feel quite a lot better if he could defend himself and if having a gun and using it was the only way, then he would damn well take it. It was high time he stopped being the defenseless human of the group.

Of course, he had had to convince his dad it was a good idea. Of course, the Sheriff knew his son was more than capable of handling a gun but he had been a bit surprise because he did remember Stiles' initial refusal. Stiles hated having to lie to his father, but telling him it was because he wanted to remember his mother was the one argument he knew would win his dad over. To balance things out, and feel less like he was outright lying, he also added that he had been scared of the mountain lions attack and would feel better if he could use a firearm to defend himself. He knew he wouldn't be able to always have one on him, but should such a situation arise again, he could always ask for a weapon from the Sheriff and be protected.

The Sheriff had, of course, caved and made sure the people in charge of the firing range knew to expect Stiles and that he was there with full permission of John. It would avoid some problems and Stiles would be capable of coming and going whenever he wanted to. He also made sure the tenants were aware that Stiles knew what kind of security measure he needed to take and didn't need constant supervision. He may have had someone there to look after him when he was a kid, but he was now old enough to take care of himself.

He had decided to go there tomorrow, which was one of the reasons he was so worked up. While he felt ready, it would still be his first time there without his mother and it would probably still be a somewhat emotional moment for him. Of course, that would only be the first step.

While he had to take a more physical role, it didn't mean he was going to abandon his researches. Quite frankly, seeing Derek was now the Alpha, they would probably need his skills more than ever. Derek was not a bad guy, no, but he was out of his depth. Stiles knew he had never been in line to be the Alpha when his family was alive and he lacked the knowledge on how to take that role. There were too many times in the past he hadn't known what to do and, now, he was completely in charge of the area.

Stiles would need help, he knew it. Of course, he was good but if there was more to do, he would need someone that could keep up because, no matter how gifted he was, he was only one person. He needed to sleep sometimes and he couldn't afford to be spread as thin as he had these last few weeks for the future. It just wouldn't be possibly, especially if he wanted to keep his dad in the dark and he did. Because he refused to put his father in more danger than he already was because of his job. Of course, he already knew who would be the most eligible candidate.

Lydia Martin. Contrary to most people in their high school, Stiles knew perfectly well that Lydia wasn't the airhead she portrayed herself to be. She was extremely intelligent and he knew she would be the perfect person to help him. Of course, she had to wake up first but Stiles refused to think she wouldn't. She wasn't going to die. She was going to wake up and then Stiles would tell her everything.

He knew it shouldn't be his place but she had been attacked by Peter and she deserved to know why she had ended up in hospital. It wouldn't be fair to her to keep her in the dark when she had already been involved and they still didn't know how the bite had affected her.

She should have either healed immediately and become a werewolf or be death if her body hadn't been able to handle the change. But neither scenario had happened and it was a perfect mystery. He had already looked over all the information he had but hadn't found anything promising, at least not anything that looked like real information. The problem was that the internet was full of information and it was difficult to filter the truth from fiction. He hoped that with Lydia there, it would be easier to make the distinction.

Finally, his eyes closed of their own accord and he let sleep take him over. After all, he had a lot to do tomorrow and, when he woke up the next day, he realized it was even more than he thought the moment he saw the text flashing on his phone.

Tomorrow. The house after school.

The sending number was unknown but, really, he didn't need it to know who it was.