The Spark of Change (Teen Wolf)

XXXXXXXXXX

Ah, hell, I gotta say something. "Please rise, Elder. And tell me…the name you go by." Names hold power. Some should not be spoken.

"My name is Angelique, Your Majesty, I am the high priestess and matriarch, the Mambo." She says, as I help brace her as she climbs to her feet. Mambo? I know a lot of lore and cultures of various places, but I got nothing for what that could be. I need to con some information without showing how little I know.

"I believe that you are the first to call me by that title." Careful, careful.

"It is the respect due to one who leads the supernatural community, the Guardian of balance who protects us all. Truly, we, my tribe and I, have done our best to maintain the territory with many of the other supernaturals still here, but the Hales were always the primary defenders of Beacon Country, and with them gone, we became very vulnerable, and trouble came knockin' from every damn direction. Many left, and we've nearly been overrun several times now." Oh, this doesn't sound good, not at all.

"Please have patience with us, the Hales shall rise again, very soon. There is an Alpha we are hunting."

"Ooh, lord, is that what's been runnin' round causing the mundane to nose about?" I nod, "And this is your Hale? He has the look of Talia's pups. He shall be the Alpha?" She scrutinizes Derek with sharp eyes, in that way old preople do when they are trying to decide whether to feed you, or toss you off their lawn. Her attention is rather intense. "You gonna protect this territory, boy?"

Her accent was getting thicker, and her voice almost seemed to have its own rhythm when she spoke. I glance at Derek, slightly amused that he gets called boy while I get a fancy royal title. His face is carefully stoic, but uncertainty flickers in the bond. I reach, and shove all my steady confidence, my unwavering belief in him, through it, giving his arm a squeeze. He straightens even more, and states firmly, "I will."

Angelique gives a crackling laugh. "He'll do. It will be good to have a Hale alpha once more, child. Welcome home." I let myself give her a small grin.

"Madam Angelique, I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with your tribe and its practices, and I don't think my information would be accurate. Could you please tell me a bit about it."

"Ah, yes, I imagine you wouldn't, you have just awoken recently, I'd guess, and have not yet shown yourself before now." I smile, and hope it doesn't look as pathetic as it feels. "We are a tribe of root doctors, conjure men and women. I believe the term most familiar to you would be hoodoo practitioners." Ohshitohfuckohshit- "as the Mambo, I am the high priestess who guides the others, and I also hold the matriarchal position of our tribe, which is one that can be traced all the way to Africa. Our tribe moved here from New Orleans when I was a young woman, and we have stayed ever since. And while we are on the topic," She moved back to the counter and took out an ornate knife, before coming back, "I would like to renew our residency here. With no Hales and no Guardian, we have remained in this territory, technically without permission. On behalf of my tribe, I would like to make our intentions of residency official."

Following the tug of instinct I hold my palm out. With a smooth, practiced movement, she cut her index finger in a quick flick of the knife. Then she spoke, and another hum, no, magic, filled the air, a magic that was different from what I'd been hearing before, a magic that wasn't mine.

"With a Hale Wolf as my witness, I, Angelique, Mambo and Matriarch of the Dahomey Tribe, ask the Guardian of this territory to remain and live in it under their guidance, protection, and rule for me and mine. Keeper of Balance, do you accept and grant such permission?" Her voice seems echo with authority and power.

Oh fuck, I gotta make a decision now? I'm so out of my bloody league right now. I'm not gonna judge the voodoo…hudoo? thing, and I'm not gonna assume I know shit about it, but really? Fuck, ok, she seems nice, I guess? And my powers lead me here, so… Fuck, I'm not sure why she needs my permission, but if things go wrong we could personally kick her out later anyway, maybe… And I've been quiet too long. Ah, hell, just… YOLO.

"I grant permission,…so it has been witnessed, so mote it be." I tag that last bit on because my intuition started going off, loudly. Angelique drips her blood onto my still glowing palm, and the glow seems to brighten almost painfully, before it dims again, revealing the blood has…disappeared. My newest bond thingy radiates happiness, and I'd probably enjoy it if I wasn't so freaked out and pissed. The damn thing seems to grow stronger, and nope! Nope, no, hell fucking no, ugh, not thinking about it, so it didn't happen-

"So it has been witnessed, so mote it be." Angelique is practically cheering, actually swaying like she wants to physically dance for joy. "Oh, the others will be so excited. It's ike we can finally be at peace knowing that we are undeniably home and that a Guardian walks again. Oh, what a wonderful day!" She moves back around the counter

"Madam Angelique," I can feel Derek next to me like a volcanoe about to erupt. Additionally, Stiles is damn near twitching at this point, and my vision is starting to fade at the edges. We need to finish this and leave, ASAP. "I'm sure we have more to discuss, but unfortunately, we are short of time at the moment. Since the Hale library burnt down with the manor, I was wondering if you might have any books that we could borrow: on magic, the territory, guardianship, anything supernatural really. We need to rebuild the whole thing anew. And please, speak casually with me. My name is Layla, and there is much wisdom I can learn from you."

She tosses back her thick braids, with a warm cackle, "As you wish, Child. You may call me as all who live near here do. Call me Aunt Angie, or Gran Gran. As for the books, give me the info of your emmissary. I'll send what I have and ask the others of the community for more. I believe the downtown coven has an extensive library. They too will need to renew their vows." A coven? Of what?!

"The other vows will have to wait a bit until we can take care of the alpha that is hunting us, and bringing hunters down upon our heads. As for the emissary…" I'm drawing a blank, all my bullshitting ability for the day seeming to run dry.

"He is here." Derek steps in, gesturing at Stiles, who flinches at the sudden attention, giving an awkward smile and wave. Bruh.

"Ah, I see. Yes, strong bonds between your trio already, such a blessing. Here, boy, put down your name and number." She hands him a notepad and pen. As he does that, I take deep slow breaths and tell myself that the fireworks need to stop before someone sees. Like sinking below the service of still water, the luminous silver vanishes into my skin, and I'm pretty sure my eyes stop glowing, but black spots are starting to swim across them, so we really need to bounce.

Aunt Angie, the hoodoo priestess hands Stiles a bag of treats as we turn to leave, stating, "Just a some goodies, children, a lagniappe, and a grie-grie in thanks!" We wave goodbye, and step out, heading to car as the others join us.

"What just happened?" Melissa asks, worry dripping off her.

"We got played by a tree." I tell her shakily, just as my legs buckle and I fall into darkness.

XXXXXXXXXX

When I open my eyes again, I find myself staring up into a night sky. It's dark, but a crescent moon is lighting everything around me faintly. I'm lying on something hard, and as I push myself up, I realize I'm surrounded by trees, and I smell earthy soil and greenery. I'm in the preserve again.

"You've finally arrived." I whirl around from where I sit on the…tree stump, (wait, what?), and see a boy sitting next to me. No, that isn't a boy, that's just what he looks like right now. "I've been waiting a long time. You ignored my calls."

"Not a good idea to follow… people you don't know into shady places, especially when they influence your thoughts and make you bleed." I say casually, studying him. He…is beautiful, Even in the dark, he seems to glow with light. He had pale skin, eyes, and hair, dressed in a toga like robe made of what looks like a piece of the starry heavens. Silver flowers and sky entwine in intricate patterns through his thick braid, all the way down to where his braid is connected loosely into the center of the stump. It would have been a mesmerizing visual if he didn't look utterly sick.

Underneath the utterworldyness, he had a thin, almost emaciated body, shaky hands, and dark bruises under his sad eyes. On the center of his forehead, a piece of sky is shaped like a down pointed cressnt, and I'm seeing a theme here. Just above that is a crown of mlre silvery flowers.

"So, what are you and what do you want?" My patience with this thing was gone the moment I figured out it was influencing me.

"I am a nemeton, one of the great trees that keep Balance in the universe, between good and bad, mundane and supernatural, life and death."

"Okaaaaay? So, whatcha want?" I tilt my head, crossing my legs and getting comfortable because I will be getting an explanation for this shit, or so help me God-

"I needed a Guardian, and I chose you," he shrugs, and like a tree tipping over in the forest, he plots his head into my lab. The fucking audacity. Fine, but I'm taking this as permission to touch. I brush away silver bangs and tap my finger on the symbol above his brow. The skin is smooth, and I can feel the hum- the magic in it. I pull away quickly, intuition telling me that to look closer would be to get lost.

Instead, I touch the flowers, some of which should definitely not be this color, and continue my interrogation. "You chose me because I was nearby when I got the bite? Is that why I'm not a werewolf."

He laughs softly, and it feels like a breeze through the hanging vines of a weeping willow. "I chose you because I always would have chosen you. You are who you are." I don't know what to even do with that, so let's just keep going.

"What happens if a nemeton doesn't have a guardian?" I try, hoping the answer will be less of a mind fuck.

"Destruction and chaos, death and despair, the end of everything." He hums, and like sunflowers leaning to the sun, he presses into my petting like he didn't just make me want to curl up into the fetal position and scream. "I didn't have a Guardian before, and they almost succeeded in killing me, but now that you have accepted our bond, I'm healing." Yeah, never wanted to know how close to the apocalypse we've been.

"You know, you totally tricked me into this, right?" I point out, disgruntled by the idea of something manipulating me.

"I know," he agrees, "I'm sorry. I promise it won't happen again, but I couldn't risk you refusing our bond." His sincerity is as clear as day in said new bond, so I don't doubt it's the truth. Welp, can't stay mad without being a giant hypocrite. Might as well accept what's already done.

I'm sitting and petting his head on autopilot when he suddenly sits up, like a branch snapping back after being displaced, just as a loud howl rips through the silent woods, a call. "Your pack summons you, it seems. Make sure to visit soon, I need you to help me grow strong again, and to heal fully. Do not exhaust yourself like this again if you can help it. This time, it was necessary to form our bond, but in the future, as you use your powers they will grow. Use too much too soon, and we will be vulnerable, but coming to me will replenish them. Unil then." As he speaks, the world becomes hazy and starts to disolve.

"Wait! What's your name? What am I even supposed to call you." He looks surprised, but I think he smiles, and I hear his voice just as everything goes dark.

"I've had names before, and should like to have a new one. A name given by my Guardian would be precious, indeed."

XXXXXXXXXX

I open my eyes, and find myself on the couch in the den. I roll to my feet and almost go down immediately, but I grab the bat next to it and use it to aid my ascent to the ground floor. My legs feel shaky, but not terribly so. I hear the front door bang open, and I hurl myself forward to see a body drop to the ground. Derek.

I throw myself next to him, feeling my bonds raging, but not knowing what's wrong, just that something is. I smell blood, but where-

I stumble to the light switch, before dropping back to the ground by him, and yep, that's a hole. He got impaled. I pull the shirt I'm wearing over my head, and peel off Derek's bloody top so I can apply pressure to both sides of the fucking hole in his torso. What the hell has been happening while I was… tree hugging. I take a nap and these idiots come round lookin wrecked!.

I'm looking for his phone, holding one bandage against him with a knee, and patting him with my free hand, when I here a weak voice call out to me. "Layla?"

"I'm here, Sourwolf, seems like you've been being a Stupidwolf. Where's your bloody phone?"

"…What?" He asks, totally out of it. I'm only barely blocking his pain out, and pretending he isn't bleeeding to death in front of me, but the only thing helping me keep it together is that I know I can save him from my intuition.

"Right. Your pho- ooh, found it!" It rings as I pull it from his back pocket. I answer, knowing it's Mellisa without looking. I don't bother letting her talk. "Derek's been impaled, and I need help keeping his blood on the inside. Also, tell the sheriff the boys need backup at…the school? Why are they at the school?"

"LAYLA?!"

"No, I'm the EPA. Byyeeeee." I hang up and drop the phone into my bra and tank top. "Derek, stay with me. What happened."

"You're awake." He sounds mystified, and it's freaking me out because I've clearly missed something.

"Derek, focus. Why are you hurt?"

"Alpha," he groans, and leans forward projectile vomits blood on me. I struggle to hold back a sob, and try to apply more pressure, but my hands are shaking and weak. I know my personal headlights are on by now.

I'm so focused I don't here anyone come in until I hear a gasp. I look up, expecting Mama Mel, but it's not.

…Fiddlesticks.

"This isn't what it looks like, " Fuck, that's what we're going with?

"What…does it look like?" asks Boyd slowly, like he's about to try to yeet himself right the fuck out at the very first opportunity.

"I don't even know, but it won't be that." I can't afford to move from where I'm trying to hold Deeek to this life with t-shirts and sheer spite. "Um…help?"

"I'll call an ambulance." Boyd reaches for his phone. Isaac is still frozen just past the threshold, silent, likes he's trying not to be noticed.

"NO!" I shriek, and like a fucking flash grenadin in my panic, I light up blazing silver. Hoh, boy, I've gone and done it now. "…Yeah, no, can't do that."

"W-what…are you?" Lord, that question has gotten a lot less funny.

"An environmentalist, apparently. Look, just- please, help me?" I'm solidly crying now. "I'll tell you anything you want after."

Isaac speaks for the first time. "A-are we hiding a body?" He approaches a few steps closer, and Boyd, because he has more self preservation skills than Isaac, albeit only a few, warily follows.

I snort a bit hysterically. "Yeah, no, the bare minimum to unlock that level of friendship is 6 months or a trauma bond."

"I'm qualified then," Isaac deadpans, because he is a fucking menace like that. "What do you need?"

"We have stuff downstairs to heal him. Help me get him there. Grap his legs." I pull my hands away from his middle and do my best to ignore the nightmare fuel is the the sound of my skin peeling away from blood soaked cloth. I move to his head, where he is knocked out, which is only good because he might have attacked the strangers in his injured states.

I lean down, but with a groan, Boyd gently brushes me aside. "Lead the way." I do, grappling the bat and towels from the closet as we pass on intuition.

With a bit of finessing and minimal issue, the two tall bastards get Derek into the den, and onto the cot that Mama Mel very intelligently set up for this exact scenario. Pulling away the shirts I replace them with towels.

"Here, I'll help hold this down," Boyd presses down hard onto the wound of Derek's back, "What even happened?"

"Later, I promise, but you need to stay completely free from his reach. He will probably lash out when he wakes up, so when I tell you, stand clear."

"I think I could take his punch better than you." Boyd would probably be right if Derek wasn't a wolf.

"Yeah, not if he tries to slit a throat with these." I hold one of Derek's hands up to show off the half formed claws on his fingers.

"And he is what exactly?" Isaac asks, somewhere between alarmed and fascinated, following my gesturing and taking over applying pressure for me.

"My werewolf friend." No point in trying to hide it now. "Not that I'm not glad to see you guys, but why are you here?" I say loudly, running to the nearby bathroom to fill a large bowl with water.

"Layla, you haven't been to school in 2 weeks, and suddenly you text us to meet at school? The place you hate being with passion?" Isaac gives me a very sassy look as I'm dipping the towel to wipe Derek's face. "We decided to check your house first, and here you are."

"Tw-two weeks! I've been sleeping for two weeks!" I yelp, accidentally hitting Derek in the head with my elbow. "And what message? That's shady as fuck and I only just woke up, I ain't sent shit!"

"Then who-" we go silent as a bang comes from upstairs, but I know that aura.

"We're down here!" I call out, and soon Mama Mel is bounding down the stairs.

"Uh oh." Yeah, that's a fair response to finding Derek bleeding out, me glowing, and two non pack humans in the den. I hear a growl, and snap into action.

"Boyd, Isaac, stand back. Mel, get over here. Derek, can you hear me?" I slap him lightly on the cheeks.

"Layla." He groans, squinting icy blue eyes at my glow.

"Yes, now tell me how to help heal you." I demand cupping his cheeks in my palms, as Melissa gets to work.

He coughs more blood on me. "Alpha magic means the wounds take longer to heal. You need to jumpstart my healing-who the fuck are they?" The last is accompanied by a fangy snarl.

I slap his cheek, a little less gently this time. "Friends, so leave them alone, and focus. How do we jump start your healing?"

"Break a bone." I don't question it, I just grab the bat and bring it down as hard as I can on his knee. He roars, but doesn't lunge for anyone, so I take it as a win.

Poor Isaac and Boyd have retreated to the far corner of the room, and I think hat the only reason they haven't started running yet is because I've kind of broken their minds.

I return to Derek's head as Mama 2 works on him doing …something medically, when she says, "I'm pretty sure a piece of rib pierced his lung. I don't think I can even fix this, Layla, I'm not a surgeon." I grit my teeth together and shut my eyes, trying to think. My instincts are telling me that there is something I can do, but I don't know what. I only know the bare minimum about medicine. I'm not a healer…wait a minute.

The nemeton said I was healing it, so it stands to reason, I should have the ability to heal to some extent. But it could just be that the nemeton only requires raw magic to heal it rather than an actual healing ability. In that case, even trying to give Derek my magic wouldn't necessarily do anything because werewolves have their own form of magic, as seen in the way that Alpha wounds take longer to heal. It might even be detrimental if our magics aren't compatible… wait a second. If the alphas magic is what's stopping his healing, what if I tried to remove it from his system?

I snap my eyes open and place my hands above his torso, for the first time noticing the bits of stary sky hidden among the silver markings on my skin. Mentally reaching forward, I search for the feeling of magic.

I find it almost immediately, to my surprise, as though it had been obvious the whole time and I just hadn't been paying attention. In the back of my mind, I can see desperate icy blue clashing with raging crimson. It feels exactly like a pup being mauled by a very big, very bad wolf. Like the alpha magic is trying to eat at his beta magic. I've got a lot of questions now, but let's see if there's anything I can actually do about this.

Pulling at the silver energy in front of me, I imagine it reaching forward, grabbing the red and pulling. Something happens, but it's like trying to fill your palms with water by using a garden hose. The raging red alpha power does not want to be grabbed, and it's slippery as fuck, consistently wiggling out of my metaphysical fingers. Son of a-

"Layla! I think he's starting heal! Keep going!" Mama Mel says, relief coming off her in waves, and I blink as I notice the halo of light around my hands and the wound. It seems that although I haven't really managed to pull out the magic, distracting it has given Derek's beta spark some breathing room to heal him. Let's keep swimming, then.

Diving back into my mental space, I try to imagine wrapping silver light around the alpha …residue, I guess. I only grab a little, but I immediately imagine yanking it out without a moment's hesitation. It seems to work, miraculously.

Underneath me, Derek snarls, but the blue spark seems less overwhelmed by the red, so I repeat the maneuver several times. From Melissa's updates, it seems that he's healing, bit by bit. After my 10th tug of a seemingly insignificantly small piece of red, I watch as it seems to dissipate as soon as it leaves his body. I understand that I'm only really seeing this in my head, and definitely not physically, but it does raise a lot of questions about how werewolf magic even works. The books didn't say shit about this!

"Ok, I think he'll be fine now. He's stopped spitting blood, and he's starting to heal the muscle and tissue, something he wouldn't do unless the more serious internal injuries were healing first." Melissa's voice gently breaks through my concentration, and I blink, actually looking at her rather than through. I hesitate, but a voice that I'm questioning is even mine, flickers through my head. It's enough.

I pull away, feeling like I'm waking from a long dream. In the end, I didn't so much as heal him as I menaced the hostile magic and picked at it, giving him a chance to fight it off himself, but I'm already this tired. Hell, I'm bone tired, but at least I don't feel like I'm going to pass out, so I guess I managed not to exhaust myself. Derek's face looks almost peaceful, and I bask in the calm from every pack bond-wait a minute.

I glanced at the couch, confused, and find Scott, Stiles, Boyd, and Isaac sitting together and chatting quietly. I sense Sunny nearby, as well. Damn I was out of it. I step forward, and Stiles notices me first.

With a subdued squawk, he pounces on me, nearly overturning the coffee table in the process. Then, with Scott barely a half second behind him, it's like coming home. My best friends are trying to squish me to death, and Stiles is rambling in my ear, (Layla, you left me with Stupidwolves! And I missed you so much, never do that again, women!). I feel my body go boneless, happy to be with them knowing they are safe.

After awhile, I disentangle my self. "As much as I love y'all, I'm covered in Derek's blood, so I'm gonna go take care of it." I give them both as sweet a smile as I can, batting my lashes for effect. "And because you two love me Scott will clean the upstairs, and Stiles will clean up down here so Mama Mel doesn't have to, right boys?" They groan loudly, but don't argue.

"Isaac, Boyd…" I turn to them, not really knowing what to say to them. Both surprise me by coming over and pulling me into another fantastic hug. I grin up at them. "So, you aren't gonna run screaming and never talk to me again?"

"Nah, still better than those assholes at school. What's a few werewolves to, ugh, Jackson." I snicker, giving Boyd an elbow to the stomach before turning to Isaac, who still has his face buried in my neck and hair. I run a bloody palm over his head, (oops), and give him a squeeze.

He pulls away and looks me in the eye with almost alarming intensity. "You… your still the same person 0who-that day…" he trails off.

I give him another side squeeze, and answer, "Yeah, I'm… just me."

He smiles, warm and soft. "Then, you're my friend."

I beam, and pull both into another hug, before heading off. As I pass an armchair, (ooh, there she is!), I give Sunny, where she sleeps upside down, a kiss on the head and tell Stiles to order some freaking food, too.

Then, I have a verrrrry nice shower. And maybe a very good cry, too.

XXXXXXXXXX

I've decided that leaving the pack to their own devices is a really bad idea. Utterly terrible. In the time I was recovering from what was apparently magical exhaustion, the boys had spent most of the time watching me sleep, which is somewhere between creepy and sweet, but more towards creepy.

However, the incident that woke me was because Scott got attacked by the alpha who drew a spiral, which, according to Derek, means a call for revenge. Then, the fools attacked and kidnapped Dr. Denton, the bloody vet and Scott's boss, thinking he was the alpha, fought together about it, and then idiotically summoned the alpha with a howl to see if Deaton was actually the him. They did this without fully compounding they would be facing the fucking alpha they just called.

That is how Derek ended up impaled, incidentally. The alpha also texted our friends to lure them to the school, so Scotty could eat them. Obviously, when they brought it up, I couldn't really argue that Boyd and Isaac's profound trust issues weren't good for something when it kept them from going straight to the school, unlike Jackson, Lydia, and Allison. In a single night, two of our friends found out our secret, and the other three sort of friends are officially suspicious AF. And… Allison broke up with Scott. So, yeah.

I stare into their goddamn souls with as much judgement as I can while slowly chewing a slice of pizza from in between Boyd and Isaac on the couch. The boys fidget under my glare, but Stiles breaks first, throwing his hands up and exploding in exasperation. "Come on, Layla! We already know you hold all our common sense! This is your fault for being a bum and sleeping for two weeks straight."

I huff, but give in with a sigh. "Okay, it's going to be fine. We'll figure it out, just- please no more impulsive bullshit. Please?" Both nod vigorously. "Ok, we have things to deal with. There is a high possibility the Argent hunters have put us on their radar. Additionally, we need to find out how much Deaton knows, alpha or not. If Derek says he knows something, then he does. Next, did we get those books from… Aunt Angelique?"

Stiles perks up, and he looks so outrageously happy that I instantly know that he's been getting into research spirals again. "Yep, and dude! They are so awesome. I've been digitizing it onto a hard drive and google account with a new laptop Derek got me. He, uh," Stilles rubs his neck with a sheepish, but bright smile, "He officially asked me to be his emissary when he becomes Alpha. The emissary is in charge of supporting the Alpha, usually with magic, supplying him with information, and acting as an ambassador. Although, I don't have magic."

"You will." I tell him, taking another bite and nearly choking when I process what just came out my mouth.

"I will?" I shrug helplessly, but he just cheers loudly, doing what is probably supposed to be a happy dance, but looks a bit like a seizure.

"We haven't found much about guardians yet, though," Scott states, completely ignoring Stiles wiggling around on virtue of being entirely used to him.

"Don't worry about it, I think I'm starting to get the gist of it. I had a conversation with the Nemeton when I was asleep. Essentially, I'm a supernatural environmentalist bonded to the tree and all of its magic bullshit."

Stiles stops, "Firstly, you dreamed of a talking tree stump? Secondly, something tells me that is a really bad synopsis of your new status. Lastly, fucking what?." I shrug, kinda too numb to the whole situation to feel surprised by anything anymore.

"Is there anything we can help you with?" Isaac asks from next to me. He's on his 5th piece of pizza and I've resolved to bring him extra food at school, because he's eating like he's expecting someone to take it away from him, and that's a neon red flag that someone, (ehem, his asshole father), probably does keep food from him. Fucking piece of shit.

"You could help me upload and digitalize our books." Stiles offers, "Derek is apparently rich, so we can hire you." Our newest friends seem interested, and I'm relieved that everything here is cool at least.

After dinner, I walk Boyd and Isaac to the end of the driveway. "Hey, listen. I know tonight was… a lot. You didn't have to stick around and stay friends with us, but you did. I don't think you understand how much that means to me. I'm really, really happy to have you guys. Just, thank you for accepting us, accepting me."

I frown, a bit confused when I hear laughter. Then, Boyd pulls me into another hug. "You have no idea, do you? You reached out to us when no one else even tried. You chose us as your friends, and gave us more of them. You changed our lives. The least we could do is choose you back, crazy shit and all. It wasn't even a hard decision." I grin, and give him my best squeeze.

He goes to his car and Isaac pulls me into his own goodbye hug and I brush cheeks with him fondly. He hesitates, but still asks, "Could we maybe…hang out here like this again?" I laugh, and pat his cheek.

"Yes, definitely. Hopefully with less blood." I smile wife, but turn serious again. "If at any point, it becomes too much to bare, please come here. My door will always be open to a friend in need. I promise." He nods and walks away, but I can still feel the relief dripping off him.

That night, the pack sleeps in the den, and we are all there when Derek awakes, almost fully recovered.

XXXXXXXXXX