CHAPTER ONE

He watched him, he couldn't seem to stop. He had been watching him for over a year now. Well, that wasn't quite true. He'd caught his scent years ago but he had only been a boy. He knew that he wouldn't be ready so he sat back and watched him. At one stage it had gotten too much and he had had to leave Beacon Hills. But the murder of his sister had bought him back home and one of the first things he had smelt was the younger man. No matter where he was in the city, he could smell him. It gnawed at him but he had to find out who had killed his sister and why. And then it happened; he smelt another. He was walking through the forest outside his old home when it hit him. He followed the scent and there he was, standing there with him. They looked scared to see him there and it was all he could do not to walk over to him and try to calm him, show him that he had nothing to be scared of.

When he left them, he made sure to keep within hearing distance. He listened to them talking and he found out that the boy called Scott was the one he had smelt. He was a were and a new one at that. He hadn't even shifted yet. That meant that he was the one that was in the forest last night. The one who had been running away. There was another were in the town. All he had to do was figure out who it was. He would talk to his uncle but Peter was in a vegetative state and couldn't answer him even if he wanted to. Still, it worried him that Stiles was now in such close proximity to a new werewolf. What would happen if he was around Scott when the next full moon came around (which was only a couple of days away)? Derek knew that he had to keep an eye on the two of them.

He couldn't believe that Scott had come to a party on the night of a full moon. It was so dangerous, not only for him but for everyone else who was there. He continued to stare at Scott until the younger man caught him and stared back. He decided that he should then watch from a more hidden area. Sure enough, he watched as Scott started to feel the effects of the full moon. He watched as the younger man ran from the party, impressed that he had the forethought to do that. As Scott drove away, Derek walked over to Alison and offered her a lift home. After dropping Alison home, he headed to the preserve and waited, knowing that Scott would come looking for him. He tried to protect the younger one, telling him to run but the hunters were there too quickly. Eventually they got away and he was able to tell Scott what was happening.

He continued to watch him throughout the rest of the night and when the rest of the night passed without any further incident he turned to go back to the house. Just as he was walking away, he smelt him, Stiles. Instantly he turned towards the smell and took in a deep lungful. His scent had deepened over the last few years as he had matured. Derek found that he loved his scent even more now. But all of his good intentions to stay away from Stiles until he was old enough seem to have had a wrench thrown in. Stiles was best friends with Scott and that meant that he would be constantly with the younger were. For the next few days, he shadowed the two younger men, watching what they did. He had to go and scare Scott a little after he saw him shift on the lacrosse field. One thing he did notice was that Stiles was quite knowledgeable about werewolves. He was strong for his friend, trying to keep him away from dangerous situations and Derek started to rethink if he was too young.

He had waited for years, yearning for him. Could he let him know how he felt? Would Stiles freak out? Would he feel the same way? However, he decided to wait, at least until he could solve his sister's murder. It was then that the events of his life started to take over. Each time he was around Stiles he could feel the fear on him and it tore at his heart. He knew that he would have to take things slow. Show the younger man that he had nothing to be scared of, that he wouldn't hurt him. However nothing seemed to be working, at least not for the next twelve months. He did however find a way whenever he could, to touch the younger man. He would push him up against walls, lean in close to him. To smell him up close and each time he did that, the fear scent was diminishing. Stiles was no longer completely scared of him and this gave Derek hope. Hope that one day he would no longer be scared of him at all. Until that time, he had to hide how he truly felt. He needed Stiles to feel completely safe around him.

It had been a couple of days since the events in the warehouse, where Gerard had been poisoned by the tablets that Scott had given him. He just wished that Scott had filled him in on the plan. He had hated being used unknowingly in the plan. He had truly panicked when Scott had made him bite the old fool, knowing that if Gerard had changed it would have been horrific. He hoped that they would now have a small reprieve from things; he wanted to spend some one on one time with Stiles. Get to know him better. But that was not to be the case. As he, Isaac and Peter walked back to Hale house, they saw the sign marked onto the door and his heart sank. They had found them. He knew instantly what it meant.

Several months passed and Derek had moved into proper home, somewhere that didn't fill him with sorrow like the old house did. He found a loft that was spacious enough that he didn't feel trapped and it was on the outskirts of town so he had his privacy. Isaac was living with him as well. To say that they were worried about Erica and Boyd would be an understatement. Along with Peter, they were out every day and most nights looking for them. Whilst the summer holidays had been on, he had also had Scott and Stiles over on what seemed like a daily basis. Not that he was complaining. But when school had started up again a week ago, they obviously returned to school. Derek made sure that Isaac went to school though. He didn't want to have the added attention of him missing school to land at their front door. That meant that his days were now spent alone and even though that was how he had spent most of his adult life, it now felt wrong. He missed the others being here, especially Stiles.

He kept an eye on the clock and when it was time for Isaac to get home he held his breath waiting for the younger beta to walk through the door. When he did, he wasn't alone and Derek had to hide his joy when he saw Stiles walk in behind Scott. The three boys sat at the large table and proceeded to bring out their school books. Derek sat back and just watched them, or more specifically Stiles. The way he twirled the pen in his fingers when he was thinking and the way that he ran his fingers through his hair when he was totally engrossed in what he was reading. He would also lick his lips subconsciously and this just made Derek's stomach muscles contract when he thought about that tongue running over his own lips. Growling softly at his frustration, he got up and walked into the kitchen.

What he didn't see were the two sets of eyes that had followed his every step. They then looked at each other with Scott raising his eyebrows and Isaac just shrugging. Stiles however was completely oblivious to the whole situation. The other two boys returned to their homework and for the next hour they all worked silently to get their homework done. When they had, they all moved over to where Isaac had set up a gaming station, much to Derek's stated disgust. He would often play a couple of games when he was alone, but for now, he stood back and watched the three younger men fight over who would play first. Naturally, Stiles lost and he came back to the couch and sat next to Derek. He wasn't as close as Derek would have liked but he was a lot closer than he had ever been before. His scent filled Derek's nostrils and it was all the Alpha could do not to lean in and mark Stiles as his own. He sat back, closing his eyes and willing himself to control his baser instincts and for the next few hours, it was something that he thought he would lose on numerous occasions. But eventually the time came that Scott and Stiles left. Stiles offered to drive Scott home but his friend said he wanted to go see Allison, so he would just run over there.

Stiles decided to swing by the McDonald's near Derek's and grab some food, seeing as his dad was working a late shift that night. After he grabbed some food he started the short drive home. What he hadn't counted on was the three cars that boxed him in on one of the side streets. He looked over at the drivers and he could see the red glint of their eyes and his heart beat started to pick up. He knew that they were part of the Alpha pack that had arrived in Beacon Hills; the pack that he had been trying to avoid. Facing one Alpha alone was a bad idea, facing three or four of them was crazy. He slammed on the brakes and watched as the other three cars drove on ahead of him. He quickly hit the accelerator and turned the car around and headed back to Derek's place. He didn't know why he headed there instead of Scott's but he just knew that he had to get to Derek's. As soon as he pulled up outside, he threw the door opened and began to run inside but he didn't have to even open the entry door before he saw Derek. He was standing on the footpath, his own eyes glowing red. He grabbed Stile's arm in a tight grip and pulled him in behind him. He then let out a low growl as he watched the three cars drive by. He knew who they were and he was sure that they knew who he was but they just drove by.

He kept an eye on them until they turned the corner and even then, he stood his ground, using his other senses to make sure that they weren't coming back. When ten minutes had passed and their scent kept growing weaker, he eventually turned to Stiles who was still standing behind him. He was looking quite pale and shaken and this caused Derek's heart to skip a beat. Sure, he'd seen Stiles worried before, hell even scared but nothing like this. He put his hand gently on the younger man's shoulder and gave him a squeeze.

"Stiles, you're ok. They're gone."

Stiles still didn't look at him nor did he move. Derek was starting to worry. Stiles never acted this way, he was always the one with the sarcastic quip even when it was dangerous to use it but Derek knew that it was Stiles' way of diverting the tension. His hand was still on the younger man's shoulder so he gave him a gentle shake, trying to get him to look at him. Eventually Stiles looked up at him and Derek got lost in his eyes. Those doleful brown eyes that got his heart racing every time they looked at him.

Derek had to take a deep breath before he could continue. He eventually got himself under control and he turned Stiles towards the door and he guided him inside. When they got into his apartment, he sat Stiles down on the couch and went to get him a glass of water. He was really starting to worry, Stiles was never this quiet for this long. As he handed the water to Stiles, he held onto his hand for a little longer than necessary, he just couldn't help himself and it was then that Stiles looked up at him again and Derek found that he couldn't move, he was transfixed by him.

Stiles looked up at Derek and found that he couldn't take his eyes off the older man. There was something deep in his eyes that had Stiles captured. It took him a while to figure it out but he eventually worked out that it was concern. Concern for him and there was something more, something that Stiles couldn't work out or more accurately didn't want to work out. He had to be imagining things. What he was seeing couldn't be true. He closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them again, Derek was no longer standing in front of him and he was no longer holding his hand. Stiles realised that he felt bereft from the loss of his hand and he had to shake himself. He couldn't let Derek know how he really felt. It still scared him sometimes. He had never felt this way about a man before and he didn't know what to do about it or if it was anything he had to do about it. But ever since he had first met Derek a year and a half ago he had had to deal with these feelings.

What he couldn't understand was that the feelings that he had for Lydia were still there as well. He had 'loved' her for years and those feelings hadn't diminished since he'd met Derek but his feelings for Derek were starting to overtake them and it worried him. What would his friend's think? Sure, they were all accepting of Danny but this was him, someone who had never shown any interest in another guy but here he was, fantasising about Derek, about what he wanted Derek to do to him. Things that scared him but at the same time excited him. He turned to look at Derek when he sat down beside him. He had known that Derek would look after him; he had known it in his very soul. So he had run to him and now that he was here, he didn't want to leave.

"Are you alright?"

All he could do was nod at him as he continued to look at him. It then struck him that they were alone.

"Where is Isaac?"

"He went out looking for Erica and Boyd again. He is obsessed about finding them."

"Well, they are his pack mates and to be honest I think he has a thing for Erica."

"Really?"

Stiles just looked at Derek and shook his head. Trust Derek not to notice what was going on right under his nose.

"Don't you pay attention to anything that goes on around you?"

"I pay attention to you."

Both of them stopped talking and looked at each other in shock. Derek couldn't believe that he had said it. He went to get up and leave, for sure that he had scared off the younger man. Before he could get up, he felt Stiles' hand on his forearm. He looked down at his hand and then over to his face. He could see confusion there but he also saw hope.

"Please don't leave."