Reading Time: 66 Minutes

Title: A Rock and A Hard Place
Series: What We Gain
Series Order: 6
Author: enigmaticblue
Fandom: Teen Wolf
Genre: Action Adventure, Drama, Family
Relationship(s): Gen
Content Rating: PG-13
Warnings: *No Mandatory Warnings Apply.
Author Note: Man, the timeline of Teen Wolf is just absolutely nuts. This is where I start taking huge liberties, FYI. I’ve done my best.
Word Count: 68,757
Summary: Chris Argent’s warnings about the hunters come to fruition, putting Noah in the difficult position of having two major investigations to conduct with a target on his back. Somehow, he has to keep his pack safe.
Artist: ringspells
Artist Appreciation: I always love working with you, ringspells! Thank you for the amazing work again.

---

---

 

Chapter 4

From the moment that Stiles had seen the pictures of the dead werewolves, he’d known that the Winter Formal is a pipe dream. As long as the hunters remained a distant problem, the dance had still been a possibility. Now they’re a clear and present danger, and Stiles already knows what the answer is, especially after his dad tells them about the Walcotts.

They’re on the way back to the house when Stiles says, “We can’t go to the dance. It’s too big of a risk to the other students who are attending.”

“I’m glad you came to that conclusion on your own, mo chroi,” Moira says softly. “I know you were looking forward to it.”

“I’m looking forward to ending the threat so I can go to junior prom,” Stiles says with some asperity. “We’ll figure out how to make it an awesome night in spite of those assholes, and we’ll end the threat.”

Moira hesitates. “Be careful what you put out into the universe, Stiles. Normally, I’m all for visualization, but you’re a spark. If you think ‘I’m going to end the threat that is the hunters…’” She trails off.

“I could do something really shitty,” Stiles says. “I get it.”

Moira reaches over and squeezes his leg. “I love you, Stiles. You’re brilliant and lovely, inside and out.”

His dad has never used those words, but he’s said something similar, and there’s part of Stiles that wants to say that Moira just has to say that because she’s his mentor, but Stiles also knows that Moira is his mentor because she believes it.

“Thanks,” Stiles says. “I should probably call Lydia and let her know. I don’t think she’s going to be too happy.”

“She’s supernatural, too,” Moira points out. “Just remind her of that, because I doubt she wants to be in danger.”

“Would the hunters know about her?” Stiles asks.

“She’s been around the pack, and she’s shown up at a couple of crime scenes,” Moira replies. “There’s a good chance that the hunters have been watching us surreptitiously.”

Stiles blows out a breath. “Well, that’s not going to help my paranoia any.”

“We have the wards up, so we’ll know if they approach the house,” Moira assures him. “I know it’s nearly meaningless for me to say don’t worry, but—“

“Don’t worry,” Stiles says. “I know. And I believe that they’ll be held accountable. In fact, I think it’s more likely because they overplayed their hands.”

Moira nods. “Good. Keep that in mind.”

Scott and Kira are pulling up on Scott’s bike when they get to the house, and Stiles waves. “How did lacrosse practice go?”

Scott glances at Kira. “Can I tell him?”

Kira’s dimples flash. “He’ll find out at the first game.”

“Kira’s on the team,” Scott gushes. “She was watching us practice, and a lacrosse ball got lobbed at her, and she caught it like it was nothing. Coach was impressed!”

“It looks like fun,” Kira admits. “I hadn’t really thought about playing, but Coach Finstock thinks I’d be good.”

“And probably more fun than the new kid, Liam,” Scott comments. “He’s good, but he has a temper.”

Stiles glances at him. “Worse than you around the full moon?”

“At least I had a reason,” Scott points out. “I think he’s just angry.”

“Maybe he has a reason to be angry,” Kira suggests. “He did just switch schools. I mean, that didn’t make me mad, but it could make someone else pretty upset.”

They enter the house, and Stiles says, “I need to call Lydia.”

Scott frowns. “Why not just text her?”

“Because I’m going to tell her that the Winter Formal is out,” Stiles replies. “Two werewolves from Satomi’s pack have been killed, and Dad just responded to the murders of a whole family of wendigos. Having that many pack members at the school dance would be irresponsible.”

Scott still looks confused. “Yeah, but they could attack us at the school at any time, too.”

“The difference is that school is obligatory, and the dance isn’t,” Stiles counters. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Is this one of your feelings?” Scott asks.

Stiles nods. “You could say that.”

Scott shrugs at that. “Okay. That’s all I need to know. We’ll find something else to do.”

Stiles goes upstairs to his bedroom to call Lydia. “Stiles, why are you calling? You never call.”

“Yeah, well, we think there might be a threat to the rest of the school if we go to the dance tomorrow,” Stiles replies. “We know of six people killed by hitmen recently, four of them today.”

“I know,” Lydia replies. “About the four today, I mean. I didn’t know who, but I sensed multiple deaths. I don’t want to be one of them, Stiles.”

“Me neither,” Stiles replies. “I also don’t want collateral damage.”

Lydia sighs. “It’s fine. Just let me know what the alternate plans are.”

“You still want to hang out?” Stiles asks.

“Of course,” Lydia says impatiently. “If they’re targeting the supernatural, they might target me, and there’s safety in numbers.”

Stiles is surprised by how coolly Lydia is taking this, but then she’d apparently known about the Walcotts’ deaths, and Lydia isn’t the sort to run headlong into danger.

“Thanks,” Stiles replies. “For being okay with this.”

“Who said I’m okay with it?” Lydia demands. “I’m not. I’m royally pissed off, but with the hunters, not with you. I didn’t know about the other two, but I felt the deaths today.”

Stiles hesitates. “You didn’t say anything at school.”

“What was I supposed to say? I didn’t have a clear idea, not like the kid who died at Eichen House,” Lydia replies. “And when I drove by the house after school, I saw the county vehicles, so I knew your dad had it under control.”

“Fair,” Stiles says after a moment.

“I have no interest in being involved,” Lydia says. “I’ve had enough of that, and it’s bad enough that I sense death in the first place.”

“Very fair,” Stiles says. “Dad and Moira keep telling me that I need to let the adults handle things.”

“You do,” Lydia replies. “But also, there are going to be times when we can use our gifts to help, and I understand that, too. If I thought this was another situation like the one at Eichen House, I’d have made a different call.”

Stiles takes a deep breath. “So, I’ll text you the details for tomorrow night once we know. I promise whatever we decide, you can still get dressed up.”

“You do that,” Lydia replies. “And don’t apologize. This is their fault. They should have just left us alone.”

Stiles is relieved when he gets off the phone, but he knows that he’s changed since his magic had been awakened. Maybe Lydia has also changed, between her gifts and the mentorship from Moira’s banshee friend.

By the time he gets back downstairs, the younger pack members are all present. Since there had been lacrosse practice after school, no one had a shift. Stiles figures that makes things a little bit easier to plan for the following night.

Moira springs for fried chicken from Lu’s, saying that his dad and Sheriff Morrison are going to be hungry, and they all deserve it. Scott immediately volunteers to pick it up, and Isaac volunteers to drive them, since it’s going to be easier to transport that much food in a car.

Scott and Isaac are still out when his dad walks through the front door with Sheriff Morrison in tow. She’s wearing uniform pants, but not her shirt, and the bandage on her neck suggests the reason why.

Stiles gets up as soon as he sees his dad, because he knows that his dad had a hard day.

“Thanks, kiddo,” his dad murmurs, holding him tightly.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Stiles says, because he already knows that both the Walcotts’ sons were killed. Cases with kids really tear him up, and Stiles gets that.

His dad kisses his forehead. “I’m just glad you’re okay and safe.”

Stiles pulls back. “To that end, we can’t go to the Winter Formal. It’s too dangerous, and not necessarily to us, but to the rest of the school.”

His dad just looks really sad at that, but also proud at the same time. “And now I’m sorry.”

Stiles snorts. “It’s the hunters’ fault, not yours. They could leave us alone, and it would be absolutely no skin off their noses.”

Erica stands up. “Can I get in on the hugging action?”

“Absolutely,” Noah says.

Stiles is a little surprised when Cora and Malia also want in, but less surprised when Boyd signals that he’s good.

Of course, Scott and Isaac arrive right about then, and Scott is immediately game, giving his dad a hug, and after a moment’s hesitation, Isaac does too.

“Since we’re apparently doing that now,” Isaac mutters. “But I’m really hungry, so can we eat?”

Noah laughs at that. “I could definitely eat.”

Stiles glances over and sees Moira chatting with Sheriff Morrison, keeping her occupied. He says, “We have to save some for Derek.”

“Make him a plate and stick it in the microwave,” his dad replies. “He should be home relatively soon.”

Stiles does just that, grabbing Derek’s favorite pieces, along with coleslaw and potato salad, as the others fill their plates, and then Stiles grabs his food.

“Let’s put aside the planning until Derek comes home,” his dad says as they sit around the living room to eat. “Tell me what’s going on right now.”

Scott grins. “Kira made the lacrosse team!”

“At this rate, I almost feel as though Beacon Hills has an unfair advantage,” Noah jokes. “But that’s great. Are you excited?”

Kira nods. “I’m just glad that my parents agreed to stay here through high school.”

“I would probably credit Mel with that,” his dad admits. “I think she and your mom are friends.”

“I’ve seen them get coffee together,” Kira admits. “It’s a little weird.” She casts a sidelong glance at Scott and slips her hand into his. “But a good weird.”

Malia wrinkles her nose at that, like she can’t quite understand the softer side of human emotions, but that makes sense. Malia hasn’t had a lot of softness in her life.

Isaac shrugs. “I got an A on my Spanish test.”

“Good job,” Noah replies.

That starts a cascade of news: Boyd is going to take the ASVAB, and he’s been scoring high on his practice tests. Erica has been investigating cosmetology schools, and she’s thinking about going to junior college for business classes. Cora wants to do the same, and Malia is starting to come around to the idea of school, at least in the short term. Scott admits that he scored in the 25th percentile on his last practice test for the PSATs.

Basically, it’s all good news, and Stiles is still really, really mad at the hunters for being such fucking assholes. They’d all been ready to have a great night, being normal high school students, and now they have to skip a dance they’d been looking forward to.

They’re mostly through the updates by the time Derek comes home, and they turn to party planning while he’s eating. Of course, then his dad and Derek get called away to deal with the attack on Parrish.

“Is he supernatural?” Scott asks once they’ve left.

“Who?” Stiles asks. “Parrish?”

Scott nods. “He seemed—pretty normal, honestly.”

“Eh,” Malia says.

Stiles turns to her. “Please explain, because Moira and I also thought he had something more going on.”

“It’s the scent,” Malia explains. “It’s not human. I don’t know what it is, but he kind of smells like fire.”

Moira hums. “Interesting. Continue.”

Malia shrugs. “He just smells like fire, like when people would go camping, and I’d smell their fires. I can’t explain better than that.”

“Fair enough,” Moira says, turning to Sheriff Morrison. “You’re in touch with Satomi’s pack?”

“We have a mutually beneficial relationship,” she replies. “I know about her, and she knows that she can come to me with problems, and I’ll only ask as many questions as necessary.”

Stiles glances at Malia, who nods slightly.

So, Morrison is completely human, and is telling the truth. Or she’s really good at hiding things.

Frankly, while Stiles isn’t ready for a stepmother, if his dad is happy, he’s happy. His dad likes her enough to invite her to stay for the night, and that’s enough for him.

But it’s also good to double check.

And then his dad returns with Derek and Parrish in tow, and Stiles takes one look at Parrish and offers to get some spare clothing.

He hesitates as he’s considering where to source the clothing from. His dad is the Alpha, but Derek is Parrish’s friend, and Stiles has no idea what’s going to be more comforting right now.

He goes for Derek’s, mostly because Parrish is in his dad’s room, and will probably use his dad’s shower.

Moira meets him at the door, and she says, “Good choice, Stiles. Parrish finds your dad comforting, but Derek is more familiar.”

“I went back and forth,” Stiles replies.

“You listened to your instincts,” Moira replies. “And Parrish is going to be fine. We’ll have to take some precautions, but right now—“

“He’s our secret weapon,” Stiles says. “They don’t know he survived.”

Moira sighs and clasps the back of his neck. “I really wish you didn’t have to think that way, young spark, but you’re not wrong.”

Stiles nods. “Let me know if you need anything else, like food.”

He goes back downstairs, and Scott asks, “What happens if the hunters do attack the new house?”

Cora flicks out her claws. “I know what I’m going to do.”

“Or, and here’s a radical idea, we trap those motherfuckers,” Stiles says. “And they never get anywhere near us.”

“I like that idea,” Isaac says. “Like, a lot.”

Scott frowns. “How?”

“I don’t know yet,” Stiles says. “But we have all night to figure it out. I think we need to send a message to these assholes. Maybe we don’t stop them, but we can at least make them think twice before coming at us.”

Boyd leans forward. “So, I’ve actually been thinking about that, and I have some ideas.”

That’s the last thing that Stiles expected, so he says, “Do share.”

Boyd says, “We don’t want them anywhere near the new house, right? So, let’s make them think we’re spending the full moons somewhere else. Tomorrow night, we just make ourselves scarce. If they come to the dance, expecting to find us there, they’ll be disappointed.”

Scott clears his throat. “What if the hunters think we’re going to an abandoned warehouse, like the trap you set for Matt Daehler?”

“What would make the hunters think we’d be there?” Isaac counters.

“Where do you usually spend the full moon?” Sheriff Morrison asks.

“There’s a place in the Preserve,” Stiles says, keeping it deliberately vague. His dad might trust her, and it’s not as if Stiles doesn’t, but that’s private information.

Boyd nods. “We think they’re probably watching us, right? So, they know we go to the Preserve, but not where exactly. It’s a difficult place to set up an ambush, especially if they don’t want anyone to escape, and there are multiple targets.”

Stiles snaps his fingers. “Of course. We go to an abandoned warehouse instead of the Preserve. They’ll think it’s an easy hit. Even if they don’t strike this full moon, if we keep up appearances, we can be prepared for the future.”

Moira nods slowly. “All right. I’m going to call Dave. As left hand, and as an expert in this sort of thing, he should be involved in the planning.”

“Dave’s working the hospital scene,” Stiles points out.

“I’ve already called him,” Noah says as he enters the living room. “Things do seem to be accelerating, and I don’t want to waste any time.”

Cora looks up at that. “Does that mean we get to participate?”

“In a limited sense,” his dad replies. “A very limited sense. I hate to say it, but you guys are the bait. If they don’t see you there, they’re never going to go for it.”

Stiles looks at Moira. “Are we going to set a trap the way we did for the alpha pack, or Matt Daehler?”

“More like what we did for the alpha pack,” Moira replies. “But with some magical elements. I think if we head over there tomorrow after school is out, that will start to plant the idea in their minds.”

“Take Dave and Derek with you,” Noah replies. “That should sell it, and if they think Parrish is dead, we should keep him in reserve.”

Moira nods. “Of course.”

The doorbell rings, and then Dave enters the house. “How’s Parrish?” he asks immediately.

“I left him upstairs to sleep off the shock,” his dad says. “We have a plan to trap our remaining hitmen.”

Dave nods. “Well, I asked Cindy to work her magic on the phone we got off the weird guy’s body, and to put a rush on it. We told people to stay off the radio about Parrish, and use cell phones so we don’t give anything away.”

“Anything on the phone yet?” Noah asks.

Dave shrugs. “She found the app used to send encrypted messages to and from the person paying, and we’ve got a name on the perp. Cindy has the warrant drafted for financials, and we’ll get it signed first thing tomorrow. Paul is on that.”

“We have a plan to set a trap for the full moon,” Noah says. “I was hoping you could assist with that.”

Dave grins. “Planning an ambush? That’s practically my favorite thing.”

Stiles rubs his hands on his jeans and just hopes they manage to stop these assholes before they do more harm.

~~~~~

Noah is dead tired the next morning. He’d left Parrish in his bed to sleep off the shock of whatever it is that happened to him, and Derek stayed with him, giving Morrison his bed, leaving Noah with Stiles’, who bedded down with the other kids in the living room.

Noah is deeply resentful of the whole mess, because they’d hit a great rhythm. Sure, he has a couple of big, ongoing investigations, but now he has this emergency, with an unknown number of contract killers running around.

He hasn’t felt this helpless since before he knew about werewolves. In spite of his best efforts, it looks like the kids are going to get dragged into this mess, and Noah absolutely hates that.

Noah quickly gets cleaned up and pulls on a clean uniform, and he’s heading to the kitchen when he runs into Morrison in the hall. “Are you heading out?”

She nods. “I’d appreciate a ride back to my car, since I left it at the station, but I do need to get to work.”

“Of course,” Noah says. “You want coffee? I’m about to make a pot.”

“I certainly wouldn’t say no,” Morrison says. “I appreciate you letting me stay here last night, Noah.”

He leads the way downstairs and starts the pot. “It was the least I could do. I appreciate your help.”

She gives him a look. “I don’t envy you, being right in the middle of this. The kids and your pack are great. I know how tough it is just to be the sheriff, but you’ve got this whole other world to deal with.”

Noah appreciates the sympathy, and her understanding. It is a lot, and it’s frustrating that the hunters won’t just leave them alone. “I guess it goes back to that old saying, that if you want something done right, you’d best do it yourself.”

Noah is pouring two mugs of coffee as Parrish enters the kitchen. “You really shouldn’t have let me sleep in your bed, sir.”

“You’re supposed to be dead,” Noah says dryly. “You couldn’t exactly go home.”

Parrish glances down at his borrowed pajama pants and t-shirt. “Were you up all night?”

Noah nods. “Most of it anyway, and I’m not as young as I used to be.”

“You can say that again,” Morrison says, sounding just as weary as Noah feels.

Parrish looks down at the floor. “I do really appreciate what you did for me, though. I was—pretty shaken up.”

“You were set on fire, and then you transformed,” Noah replies. “I would expect nothing less, but Moira is going to help you. And if she can’t help you, I know she’ll find someone who can.”

“Power can be harnessed, right?” Parrish asks. “I’ll lie low, but I want to help. I don’t want to just sit around.”

“Dave and Derek are going with Moira and Stiles after school today to scout a location to set our trap,” Noah replies. “We’re going to make a very big show of spending the full moon there and hope it lures them out in the future, keeping them away from the house.”

Parrish snorts. “Even if we do that, if we can’t shut down the source of the funding, they’ll just keep coming.”

“And that’s why Cindy is working very hard at tracking down the source,” Noah replies. “Just lay low for the day, and use a disguise when you go out.”

Parrish manages a smile. “Disguise this pretty face? Impossible.”

Derek snorts from the doorway of the kitchen. “We’ll figure something out. Do you want me at the station today, Noah?”

“No,” Noah replies. “We’ll noise it about that I gave you the day off because of what happened to Parrish. Everyone at the station will know the truth, but if anyone is listening to the police scanner, or lands on our radio channel, they won’t.”

“We’ll stay put,” Derek promises. “We’ll raid Stiles’ movie stash and wait for Moira.”

Noah nods. “I know the kids can get off to school on their own, but I need to check on that search warrant.”

“We’ll ride herd,” Derek says. “Mostly on Stiles who will probably want to skip school to set booby traps.”

Noah laughs. “I appreciate it, Derek.”

After they get through their coffee, Noah drives to the station with Morrison, before the kids are even stirring. It’s just now six o’clock, and the sun is rising.

There’s a pause before Morrison gets out of his vehicle. “This has been fun,” she comments.

Noah laughs. “For a certain value of the word, I suppose it has been.”

She looks at him, and Noah knows that he could probably make an overture that would be well received, but he’s not quite ready to go there, and he isn’t sure how he’d find the time.

The moment passes, and she smiles. “Let me know if you ever need help,” she says. “I’ll do what I can.”

“Same goes for me, too,” Noah replies.

That’s it for their goodbyes, and she leaves while he goes into the station. In spite of the early hour, the station is busy, and Noah stops by Cindy’s desk. “What do you know, Cindy?”

She looks up, and he can see weariness and satisfaction reflected on her face. “We have a name for our killer, and we’ve pulled some information from his phone already. Someone made a deposit of $50,000 in his account three days ago, probably a partial payment. If we can trace that payment, we’ll find the person who hired him.”

“Where are we with the search warrant?” Noah asks.

“Paul is running it over to Judge Wilson to get it signed,” Cindy says. “That should give us a means to actually trace it, and once we know where it came from, we’ll have a shot at locating anyone else they hired.”

Noah nods slowly. “Well, that’s something. Good work.”

“They attacked Parrish,” Cindy replies. “We need to find them before they hurt someone else.”

“I don’t disagree,” Noah replies. “And I would agree that’s a real risk.”

Noah goes to his office to review the reports that have come in overnight, including the autopsies of the Walcotts and the killer. Kelly always uses his words very carefully, especially since finding out about the supernatural. These reports could be made public, and they all know that.

Kelly noted “some facial abnormalities, likely genetic” in the Walcotts’ reports, “not contributing to death.” In the killer’s report, he notes a “surgical alteration to the mouth with elective feeding tube.”

Noah shakes his head, still baffled as to why someone would willingly give up the ability to speak and eat. Of course, he has no idea why someone would become a contract killer, so it’s just a mystery all the way around.

He knows that this situation is different from the one with the alpha pack or Jennifer Blake—or even Matt Daehler. Those cases, while solved, ultimately faced supernatural justice. The murders of the Walcott family and the two werewolves from Satomi’s pack are subject to human justice, especially if the hunters are involved.

The only way the hunters are going to leave them alone is if they’re held accountable, and the parties responsible go to prison for a very long time.

Someone knocks on his office door, and Noah calls, “Come in.”

Tara enters his office. “Sorry to bother you, sir, but we have the warrant, and Judge Wilson agreed to treat the circumstances as exigent, since we don’t know how many targets there are.”

“That’s not a bother,” Noah assures her. “Who’s running down the information?”

“Paul,” Tara replies, closing the door behind her. “He’s going to fax the warrant and subpoena to the bank and start calling people until we find someone who can give us the account information for whoever paid. From there, we’ll find out if there were any other large payments from the account, and who they went to.”

Noah has to admit that he’s impressed. “That’s great, Tara. How’s the mood?”

“People are feeling pretty grim,” she admits. “It would help if we knew who attacked Parrish, and who else they might target.”

“We talked about that last night,” Noah admits. “I had Dave come over to help us plan an ambush for anyone who might be.”

Tara frowns. “The kids aren’t going to the dance tonight, are they?”

Noah shakes his head. “They’re going to make themselves scarce, but we’ll make a big show about going to an abandoned warehouse after school to ‘investigate’ a location to spend the full moon.”

“The trap,” Tara says.

Noah nods. “Yes, but we’re need to capture the perpetrator or perpetrators alive. They need to face justice.”

“Agreed,” Tara replies. “I was hoping the kids would stay home to be honest.”

“It was Stiles’ idea,” Noah admits. “He reached that conclusion on his own, and Boyd came up with the plan for a future ambush. Moira’s taking care of the details to make sure they at least have a good evening at the new house, since it’s standing empty and is well protected.”

“Are we still sending security to the school?” Tara asks.

Noah nods. “We keep things exactly as planned, except for the location of the pack members. Derek, Parrish, and Dave will be with them at the new house, as will Moira. Outside observers might assume the kids will show up at the dance eventually, but they’ll be safely tucked away.”

“Smart,” Tara comments. “What can I do to help?”

“Keep doing what you’re doing,” Noah replies. “We need to build a case, and I know we have a lot going on—“

“Kate Argent is behind bars, and so is Brunski, and we think he was the primary bad actor in a permissive system,” Tara points out. “Those investigations will take time, but it’s time we have. This is an emergent situation.”

Noah sighs. He has the same feeling, so he’s glad to have it confirmed. “Okay, thank you. I just needed that gut check.”

“You need a gut check on Sheriff Morrison?” Tara asks. “Because I’m bi enough to know that she’s hot.”

Noah shakes his head. “Let’s not go there. We’re both busy people, and I’m not ready to go down that road.”

“You do have a fair amount going on, sir,” Tara admits. “But maybe keep it in the back of your mind? She seemed pretty great.”

Noah sighs. “We’re sheriffs in two neighboring jurisdictions. Let’s leave it at that.”

Tara nods. “You got it.”

There’s another knock on the door, and this time it’s Maria. “Sir, I’m sorry to bother you, but I have a bit of a strange situation.”

“Come in,” Noah replies. “What’s going on?”

Maria is dispatching today, and she says, “I have a call from someone claiming to be Allison Argent, and she’s asking for a meeting.”

“Here at the station?” Noah asks.

Maria shakes her head. “No, sir. She said she’ll be at the diner off the 103 outside of Santa Rosa called Mo’s for the next two hours.”

“You can’t go alone,” Tara says immediately.

Noah knows she’s right. He doesn’t think Allison is part of whatever is going on, but he can’t be certain. “All right. You and me, Tara, let’s go. I don’t know what she wants, but if she has information that can help us, we can’t miss this opportunity.”

“Agreed,” Tara replies. “I’m just glad that you’re not insisting on going alone.”

“I like to think I have at least a couple of brain cells to rub together,” Noah says.

He knows the diner from his trips to Santa Rosa for the in-person therapy appointments Stiles has every month. Stiles swears up and down that their curly fries aren’t as good as the ones from the diner in Beacon Hills, but there are sessions where he doesn’t want to wait longer than he has to for comfort food.

Noah doesn’t love the fact that the Argents might know he’s familiar with the place. It suggests that they’ve been watching for a while. What Noah wonders is whether Allison had commissioned that information gathering, or if she’d stumbled upon it.

He does take the precaution of sending out a group text to tell the pack where he and Tara are going, and that they’re going to stick together.

Paul responds immediately with, Do you need additional backup?

Noah replies, Stick with what you’re doing.

He needs Paul and Cindy to stay on the information they’re getting from the bank, and run down that lead—both the source of the money, and the possible other hired killers.

Paul sends back a quick copy that, and they set out for Santa Rosa.

“What do you think she wants?” Tara asks.

Noah considers the question for a long moment. “Hopefully, to turn over information that could help us, but I’m a little worried that she picked a diner Stiles and I have frequented on our way to and from his therapy appointments.”

“It could be coincidence,” Tara says dubiously.

“I’m not sure I believe in coincidence at the moment, not when it comes to the hunters,” Noah replies. “But it’s also possible that Allison stumbled across some information that would be helpful to us, so I’m not discounting that possibility either.”

“Maybe she’s turning over a new leaf and trying to be helpful,” Tara says. “Anything that makes the investigation easier, right?”

Noah sighs. “For sure. Especially since we’re under the gun.”

They chat about the station, and the current investigations. Tara asks whether he’s grooming Derek to be the sheriff eventually.

“If he wants it,” Noah admits. “You still sure you don’t?”

“More certain than ever,” Tara replies. “But I plan on retiring at very ripe old age, and I’ll be there to advise Derek.”

Noah sighs. “I just need these assholes to leave us alone.”

“Put enough of them in prison for life, and they will,” Tara says cheerfully. “Frankly, they don’t know who they’re messing with, but they’re about to find out.”

“Let’s hope so,” Noah replies.

Noah likes being around Tara. She’s a restful sort of person, no nonsense and direct, with a strong sense of self. She has smart ideas about investigating and policing, and the wolf has only made her stronger.

The conversation on the drive is helpful for Noah to sort out some of the questions he has about their ongoing investigations.

When they pull up in front of the diner, Noah feels a little bit better. “All right, let’s do this,” he says.

They enter the diner, and Allison is sitting at a booth with her dad. Noah can’t say that he’s surprised to see Chris there, but he’s amused that Chris appears taken aback by Tara’s presence.

Noah allows Tara to slide into the booth to sit across from Chris, while Noah sits across from Allison.

“I thought you’d come alone, or maybe with Stiles,” Chris says, his tone sour.

Noah snorts. “My son is in school, and we’ve had some trouble recently. I wasn’t going to come alone. Basic policing policy.”

Chris looks even more sour, but Allison smiles nervously. “I’m sorry for being so mysterious, but I’ve found some information that I think you need.”

“We’re listening,” Noah replies. “I’m happy to take whatever you’re willing to give me.”

“If I have to provide provenance for the information, I can, but I’d rather stay out of it,” Allison says. “I only found it because I came into my trust fund when I turned 18, and asked them to do a thorough audit. I found that my mom had moved some money out, which shouldn’t have been allowed.”

Noah nods. “So, there were some irregularities.”

Allison bobs her head. “More than a few, and the audit caught more.” She pushes a bound report across the table. “That’s everything our auditor found, and some of those payments came out of my trust to persons unknown.”

Noah suspects the report is going to help them quite a bit. “Thank you for this.”

Allison takes a deep breath. “The Argent family has split, Sheriff Stilinski, and I’ve heard that the other hunter families are splitting along similar lines. Some of us still believe we should only hunt those who hunt us. Others believe that we should hunt the supernatural, whether they present a threat or not.”

“And what do you believe?” Tara asks, her tone kind.

Allison smiles, and now the expression is firmer, her chin tilting up. “I believe we should hunt those who hurt others, and that’s part of why I’m doing this. You’re keeping the town safe, and I know that. No one should be targeted just because of who they are.”

She’s clearly come a long way, and Noah says, “Thank you for this information. I know you wouldn’t have needed to share it with us, and I appreciate the risk you’re taking.”

Allison hesitates. “Is Stiles doing okay?”

Noah resists the urge to ask whether she doesn’t already know since the hunters are watching them, but she’s been helpful, and he doesn’t want to put her off. “He is,” Noah replies. “He doesn’t blame you.”

“I blame me,” Allison counters. “I could have done more, and I didn’t, and I will always regret that.”

“We all have things we regret,” Noah replies. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

Allison hesitates, but then she says, “I know my mom has been in contact with Kate, and if there’s any trouble, they’re the source of it. I don’t have proof, or I’d provide it, but I’m certain of that much.”

“Thank you,” Noah replies. “I’m sure this will be helpful, and I very much appreciate it.”

“If we can do more, please let us know,” Allison replies.

Noah pauses before he gets to his feet. “Just out of curiosity, what made you choose this diner?”

Allison’s dimples flash. “We’re living in Santa Rosa, and I think Mo’s has the best curly fries around.”

Noah laughs at that. “Stiles would disagree with you, but I wouldn’t. Thank you.”

“I hope we can maintain a friendly relationship, Sheriff,” Allison says. “I know that might be difficult, but—“

“I have no issue with hunters who stick to the code, and I certainly have no issue with hunters following yours,” Noah says.

Chris stands up and offers his hand for Noah to shake. “I read the letter you sent to the judge in support of Allison, and Stiles’ letter, too. The judge took both of those into consideration, and I’m appreciative.”

Allison received a deferred sentence in large part because neither Noah nor Stiles opposed it, and they’d written letters in support. If Allison keeps her nose clean, it will be like it never happened for her. He’d been torn about whether to even write the letter, but Stiles thought it was the right thing to do, and Noah trusts his kid’s instincts.

Noah takes the hand that’s offered. “I have a kid, too, you know. We protect them as best we can.”

Chris’ smile turns genuine at that. “We do.”

He and Tara head outside, and Noah hands the bound report to Tara. “Peruse that and let me know what you think, please.”

“Allison seems to have turned out better than I thought she would,” Tara comments.

Noah shrugs. “I think she’s probably a good kid who got led astray, and now she’s trying to correct herself and others.”

“Are you worried about those who are going in the opposite direction?” Tara asks.

Noah smiles. “Not if we put them all in prison.”

~~~~~

Derek is in the kitchen with Parrish when the kids start stirring. Someone’s alarm goes off, and that’s the cue for everyone to get up. Derek is looking forward to being in the new house, where they’ll have more room, especially more bathrooms.

Stiles is the first one ready to go, and he grabs a Coke out of the fridge.

“Be careful today,” Derek says. “I wouldn’t expect them to attack while you’re at school, but I’ve been surprised before.”

“I wouldn’t have expected them to attack a deputy out of nowhere,” Parrish comments sourly. “And yet, here we are.”

Stiles grimaces. “I’ll keep a sharp eye out, I promise. We’ll use the buddy system, too.”

That makes Derek feel a little better, but he’s still worried. He knows what the hunters are capable of, and there are an unknown number of contract killers on top of it.

They know the threat is real, but not when or who they’ll hit next.

Derek’s phone chimes with an incoming text, and he checks the screen. “Moira is going to meet us here. She has some ideas for how to disguise our movements so we can get ready for tonight.”

“I hope this actually works,” Stiles mutters. “I’m getting tired of dealing with the hunters.”

“We’ll get it handled,” Derek assures him. He has to believe it, because the alternative is unthinkable.

Stiles nods. “Yeah, I know. My dad is on it.”

Scott enters the kitchen, and he glances at Parrish. “You okay, man?”

Parrish shrugs. “I’m good.”

Scott raises his eyebrows. “You sure?”

Derek can sense Scott’s sincerity, and it’s disarming. Parrish apparently can sense it, too, because he looks down at the floor. “I will be,” Parrish says after a moment.

Scott nods. “I know, because you’re part of this pack. I just wanted to check in.”

Parrish runs a hand through his already disordered hair. “Thanks.”

The other kids all stop in the kitchen, and Erica says, “Don’t worry so much, Derek. We’ll be careful.”

“How do you know I’m worried?” Derek asks.

“It’s all over your face,” Stiles replies, clearly amused. “See you later?”

“You will,” Derek promises.

The kids all head out together, and they don’t have to wait long for Moira to show up. “I brought you some clean clothes,” she tells Parrish. “I thought you might like your own things.”

Parrish frowns. “Thank you, but how did you get inside?”

“I have my ways,” Moira replies with a wink.

Parrish heads upstairs to get changed, and Derek looks at Moira. “Where are we?”

“I did try a true seeing first thing this morning, but I didn’t get any answers,” Moira admits. “We’ll proceed with our plan, and I’ll keep trying to get clarity.”

“Why wouldn’t you be able to see?” Derek asks.

Moira shakes her head. “It means the future is murky, and there isn’t magic involved. It’s why we have multiple ways of looking into the future, but none of them are guaranteed to work.”

Derek shakes his head. “I don’t understand magic.”

“Predicting the future is an inexact science, to say the least,” Moira replies. “And it can sometimes do more harm than good. I try not to misuse my gifts, and to ask the universe not to reveal anything that would lead to harm.”

Parrish rejoins them, wearing the jeans, t-shirt, and jacket that Moira brought him. “What are we doing?”

“We’re going to get the house ready for the party tonight, but first we’re going to go to the warehouse we’re selecting for the trap,” Moira replies. “Dave is meeting us there.” She hands Parrish a ball cap. “Put that on and pull it low. Anyone watching us won’t recognize you.”

Parrish does as instructed, and as soon as he pulls it on, Derek finds his eyes sliding away. Derek tries to pull his attention back to Parrish, and he can’t.

“Good, it’s working,” Moira comments. “That should take care of any watchers, at least where Parrish is concerned.”

“That’s really weird,” Derek complains.

Moira just smiles smugly. “It’s going to do the job, that’s the important thing.”

Moira drives them to the warehouse in her red Prius, and Dave meets them just outside, Cocoa and Nibs in tow. “I checked the records, and the owner of this particular warehouse has declared bankruptcy, and there have been reports of vandalism in the area,” Dave says. “So, we’re going to call that probable cause.”

The side door of the warehouse is secured with a simple chain and padlock. Derek breaks both easily, and they make entry. It’s empty, other than some detritus, but there’s a second level with offices up the stairs that have windows looking down onto the warehouse floor.

“Parrish, how are you with a sniper rifle?” Dave asks.

Parrish shrugs. He’s taken off his cap now that they’re inside, away from prying eyes. “Pretty decent, but I thought we wanted to capture them alive.”

“We do, but we might not have a choice,” Dave replies. “And if the contract killers confront us here, our responsibility is to protect the pack.”

Parrish nods. “Got it.”

“Plus, the important thing is to get the evidence of who’s paying them,” Dave adds.

Moira rummages in her bag and pulls out an athame. “I’m going to prepare the space,” she announces.

Derek knows that means she’s going to carve wards around the perimeter. “Is this going to work?”

“That would depend entirely on our contract killers,” Dave admits. “But I do like the idea of setting a trap for anyone who might decide to target us.”

With Moira’s trick with the ball cap, Derek has a pretty good idea of how she’s going to make it look like the kids are in the warehouse once they arrive.

“There’s another door over here,” Parrish calls. “Looks like it opens out to the alley.”

“That’s our exit,” Dave replies. “The kids can go out that way on the full moon.”

Derek follows Dave up the stairs, checking out the upper level, determining the best places to set up firing positions. Moira has turned her attention from carving on the walls to putting something down on the floor.

“What is that?” Derek calls.

“Protection from wolfsbane,” Moira calls. “And other airborne weapons. If they want to take out multiple pack members at once, they’ll likely use something like that.”

Derek hadn’t thought of that, but Dave is nodding. “Good,” Dave says. “I’d wondered about that, and I was thinking gas masks.”

“We’d have to hide them here ahead of time,” Derek points out.

“And somehow disguise what we’re doing,” Parrish adds.

Dave smiles. “We’re prepping to spend the full moon here, remember? Bringing in bags of supplies is expected, and if they’re in bags, no one has to know what’s inside.”

Derek still has a bad feeling about this whole situation, but at least it feels as though they’re being proactive.

Of course, it turns out that it’s all for naught—at least for this emergency.

~~~~~

Stiles is a little worried about his dad when he gets a text saying that he’s meeting Allison out of town, although he adds that Tara is going with him.

At least his dad is being smart about it.

Stiles is eating lunch with the pack and Lydia, who seems to be taking everything in stride. “So, revels tonight?” Stiles asks.

“Absolutely,” Scott says enthusiastically. “Where are we meeting up, and at what time?”

“Let’s meet at our house around seven,” Stiles proposes. “We can go from there.”

Of course, he means the new house, but he’s being deliberately vague. They’re still not sure who may be watching, and Stiles has been overheard in the hallway before. He’s not taking any risks.

Lydia follows Stiles to his locker, and he says, “You seem okay with this.”

“Honestly, I’m still hoping your dad can find out what happened to my grandmother,” Lydia admits. “That’s more important to me right now. I hate that there’s this distraction from the Eichen House case.”

“I get it,” Stiles replies. “But my dad is going to stay on top of it. He’s really good at that sort of thing, and he’ll juggle as many balls as he needs to.”

Lydia manages a smile. “Good. I really admire your relationship, you know? Mom and I are close, but not the same way you’re close with your dad.”

“It was just me and him for a long time,” Stiles replies. “Although I’m really glad that it’s not just us anymore.”

“I get it,” Lydia replies. “It’s really just me and my mom, and I can see where it would be nice to have more family.”

They head for their next class, talking about their weekend plans, and Stiles can see multiple people noticing the two of them in the hall.

His hand drifts down to the top of Batman’s head, the hair on the back of his neck standing up.

“Stiles?” Lydia murmurs.

“I don’t know,” Stiles says. “I feel like we’re being watched.”

“Of course, we’re being watched,” Lydia replies. “We’re both hot.”

Stiles stares at her. “You think I’m hot?”

“You’ve grown up a lot,” Lydia replies. “It’s attractive.”

Stiles feels his face heat up, and he feels a spike of pleasure. Although he’d assumed that Lydia felt some sort of attraction, she hadn’t come right and said it until now. “Thanks.”

Lydia shrugs. “Whatever. It’s true. I’m not the only one who’s noticed.”

Stiles really wants to know what she means by that, but he doesn’t have a chance to ask her, because they reach their classroom, and they’re sitting on opposite sides of the room.

Stiles manages to get through the rest of the day somehow, and he’s looking forward to the party they’re having that night. He tries to put the rest of it out of his mind, but he gets a text as the last bell rings.

His dad’s text reads, I need you to come to the new house after school. We have another development.

Stiles doesn’t think twice about it, and everyone else has a ride home. He’s heading out to his Jeep with Batman when Lydia calls, “Stiles!”

Stiles slows his steps. “Hey, did you need a ride?”

Lydia shakes her head. “No, I just—have a feeling. Do you mind if I go with you? I’ll just need to stop by my house at some point to change.”

“No, I don’t mind,” Stiles replies. “Dad asked me to stop by the new house. I guess we’ll find out what Moira has planned.”

Lydia shrugs. “Okay. I don’t mind.”

They’re driving out to the Preserve when Stiles hears one of his tires blow, and for a second the Jeep fishtails while he fights for control.

“What’s going on?” Lydia demands.

“I think a tire just blew, but I don’t know why,” Stiles replies. “I got new ones not that long ago. I must have driven over a nail or something.”

Stiles manages to pull over and put Roscoe in park. He climbs out with Batman to take a look at the damage. The right front tire is shredded, and he curses. “Fuck. That’s not good.”

Batman suddenly starts to growl, and Lydia opens her door. “Stiles? What is it?”

Stiles hears the sound of a branch breaking, and he sees a man emerging from the trees. He has something in his hand, although Stiles doesn’t recognize the device. The man frowns in confusion, his thumb repeatedly hitting a button.

Batman whines, which isn’t a sound Stiles is used to hearing from him, and he quickly puts two and two together. He and Moira have been working on getting a sense of others from the earth, and Stiles knows this guy is bad news. “Lydia, run!” Stiles snarls. “Out the driver’s door, and call my dad.”

Lydia shakes her head vehemently. “I’m not leaving you.”

The man is advancing on them, and Stiles knows they don’t have time to argue. “Call my dad!” Stiles orders, unclipping Batman’s leash. “Please!”

Lydia scrambles back into the Jeep, and Stiles doesn’t look in her direction. He has to trust that she’ll do the right thing. He’s sending panic through the pack bonds, but he can’t trust that they’ll understand what the panic means, or where he is.

“Why isn’t this working?” the man hisses, still advancing.

Batman’s whines suggest that the device is working, but Batman is also growling in between.

In Stiles’ krav maga classes, Sensei OB has impressed upon them that they have two options in the event of an attack—defense or offense. Right now, Stiles has the advantage. The asshole brought the wrong weapon to disable them, and Stiles can use that.

He feels a burst of panic through the bond from Scott, then resolve. That firms up Stiles’ own resolve, and he says, “Batman, attack!”

Batman isn’t a trained attack dog, and he doesn’t know that command, but he’s attuned to Stiles, and Stiles just needs the guy to think Batman will attack.

The man drops the device, and Stiles does what he’s been training to do. Batman lunges at the man’s leg, and that provides Stiles with enough of a distraction to go for a throat strike.

Between Batman and Stiles, the asshole is distracted, and he just manages to deflect Stiles’ first strike. Stiles absorbs the block, slipping away, using the momentum to roll away and pop up behind the man.

In krav maga, anything goes, and Stiles uses a bit of his judo training and a bit of krav maga to put himself into a position to kick the man in the balls even as Batman manages to sink his teeth into the man’s arm.

The man howls. “Ow! Fuck, you fucking mutts!”

Stiles uses the moment of distraction to execute a punch to his solar plexus, then manages to deliver the throat strike. The man goes down, coughing and choking,

Lydia approaches with one of the bungee cords Stiles keeps in his Jeep for emergencies. “Here. I called your dad, and he’s on his way. Someone tried to attack Scott and Kira, too, by sabotaging Scott’s bike.”

Stiles kneels on the man’s back as he secures his hands behind him. “Anyone else?”

“He didn’t say,” Lydia replies. “Just a moment, Sheriff.” She puts her phone on speaker as Stiles finishes tying off the bungee cord. “You’re on speaker.”

Stiles says, “Hey, Dad.”

“What were you doing heading out to the Preserve?” Noah demands.

“You texted me,” Stiles replies in confusion. “You said there was a new development.”

His dad lets out an impressive string of curses. “I didn’t. That asshole must have spoofed my number. Are you okay?”

“I’m pleased to report that krav maga and judo have paid off, and Batman is very protective,” Stiles replies. “I have the asshole tied up, and we’ll wait for you.”

“Thank god,” his dad mutters. “I think Moira will likely get there first. She was at the new house with Derek, Parrish, and Dave.”

Stiles blows out a breath. “Right, okay. We’ll be here. Roscoe is going to need a new tire.”

“We’ll take care of it,” Noah promises. “Do you have him secure?”

“I have his hands tied behind his back, and I’m sitting on him,” Stiles assures him. “But he’s going to need medical attention for the dog bite from Batman.”

“Good,” his dad growls, sounding a little savage. “I’m giving Batman extra treats.”

“What about Scott?” Stiles asks. “I felt some panic from him, and Lydia said someone tried to attack them, too?”

“Scott and Kira are both fine,” Noah assures him. “We can talk about it more later.”

Stiles hears the sound of tires on asphalt, and he says, “I think I hear someone coming.

Derek’s Camaro pulls to a stop on the shoulder on the other side of the road, and he and Moira hop out, along with Dave. Dave is pulling his cuffs off his belt.

“Yeah, they’re here,” Stiles says. “I’ll let you go, Dad.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he promises, and Lydia ends the call and tucks her phone away.

“Let me go!” the man protests. “You don’t have anything on me.”

“Pretty sure you deliberately blew my tire,” Stiles says. “That’s gotta be a crime.”

“It is,” Dave confirms, putting the cuffs on before he removes the bungee cord.

Stiles gets off the man, and Dave hauls him to his feet. “I’ll wait here for the sheriff,” Dave says.

“I think we should all wait here,” Stiles replies. “Dad said he was on his way, and we don’t know how many there are.”

“All right,” Moira says, putting an arm around his shoulders. “How are you, mo chroi?”

Stiles laughs a little. “Glad I started taking krav maga and judo.”

“And you, dear?” Moira asks, directing the question at Lydia.

Lydia shrugs. “I’m fine. Stiles and Batman took care of him.”

“Still, it’s okay if you’re shaken up,” Moira insists.

Lydia laughs at that. “Honestly, I really am fine.”

Stiles is feeling a little jittery from the adrenaline rush, and he suddenly needs to sit down, and he plops down on the grass. Batman crawls in his lap and starts to lick his face. Stiles allows it, and Lydia sits down next to him, putting an arm through his.

Derek sits down on Stiles’ other side, bumping Stiles’ shoulder with his own. “You sure you’re okay?” Derek asks.

“Yeah,” Stiles replies. “I’m just glad he got his weapons confused.”

He’s figured out what the man had tried to use, and if Stiles or Lydia had been a werewolf, he might have managed to incapacitate them.

“What do you mean?” Lydia asks.

“He tried to use a sonic weapon,” Stiles says. “Isn’t that right, asshole?”

“I thought you were werewolves!” he snarls. “I was supposed to have been a deputy in Beacon Hills, but Hale and Parrish snatched it from me.”

Stiles points at him. “So, you were the one who tried to kill Parrish. Thanks for the confirmation.”

“Newsflash, you can’t use what I said against me because you haven’t read me my Miranda warnings,” the man replies with a smirk.

Stiles returns the smirk with one of his own. “Newsflash, dipshit. I’m not law enforcement. You blurted that out to a smartass teenager in front of a couple of deputies.”

“But now that you mention it,” Dave says, “you have the right to remain silent. I suggest you use that right before Stiles has you dead to rights on additional crimes, because anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”

Stiles is a little amused by the editorializing, and he assumes that Dave’s feeling a little disgruntled.

His dad pulls up just as Dave finishes the warnings, and Stiles allows himself to be pulled onto his feet and into a hug. His dad cradles his face. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Stiles nods. “I can’t wait to tell Sensei OB how well my lessons paid off.”

His dad sighs. “All right. I’m going to take him in. I’ll need to get your statement, kiddo, and yours, Lydia.”

“I can change the tire out for the spare, and we’ll come in to get it over with,” Stiles offers.

“I’ll help,” Derek says. “It won’t take long.”

His dad scrubs his hands over his face. “Thank you.”

Stiles feels bad for his dad and how much strain he’s under, but they’ve managed to capture a contract killer without getting hurt, and more bank accounts means more data, which gives them a decent chance of tracking down the source of the money, too.

He and Derek make short work of changing the blown tire for the spare on the back of Roscoe, and then Derek drives Moira back to the new house, while Stiles drives Lydia to the station.

“I’m sorry,” Stiles offers.

Lydia rolls her eyes at that. “Please, Stiles. It’s not your fault that they tried to attack us. Let’s just be glad that he was an idiot, and that you and Batman were prepared.”

Batman whuffs in the backseat, as though agreeing with her.

That makes Stiles laugh, and he says, “Honestly, I think my next step is to figure out how to use magic in conjunction with physical offense.”

“I don’t see why you’d need it,” Lydia comments. “You did just fine today.”

Stiles shrugs. “That was mostly against an idiot, though, and not every enemy is going to be an idiot.”

Lydia sighs. “I really don’t know enough about this world.”

“I hate to say it, but you’ll learn,” Stiles replies. “If you want to, that is, and you don’t want to run in the opposite direction.”

“The thought had occurred to me,” Lydia admits. “But no. This is part of who I am. If I don’t understand it, the same thing could happen to me as what happened to my grandmother.”

“I told you that Moira thinks my mom had magic that turned against her,” Stiles says. “So, I get it. There are things we do because we need to keep the worst from happening.”

Lydia frowns. “That’s why you took up krav maga.”

“It’s part of the reason,” Stiles agrees. “But also I’m a squishy human, and I don’t have claws or fangs to protect myself.”

“Hm,” Lydia hums. “I think I’ll stick with a Taser. My mom got me one for Christmas.”

“Smart,” Stiles replies. “Electricity is one defense against werewolves, and pretty much everything else, too.”

He pulls up in front of the station, and glances over at her. “You okay to do this?”

“I’ll just tell them what I saw,” Lydia replies. “No big deal, just my boyfriend kicking the ass of a wannabe hitman.”

“Can we leave out the ‘wannabe’ part?” Stiles asks. “I sound a lot more badass if we do.”

Lydia grabs the front of his shirt and pulls him in for a kiss. “I think we can make that happen.”

They enter the station, and Mark meets them. Mark isn’t usually demonstrative, but he hauls Stiles in for a hug. “Talk about a chip off the old block here,” he says. “Great use of learned skills, kiddo.”

Stiles feels his face heat. “Come on, Mark.”

“No,” Mark says firmly. “I don’t care who you are, or what training you have, acting in the moment when presented with a threat is hard, and you did it. You kept yourself and Lydia safe.”

Stiles kind of wishes the floor would swallow him up. He really doesn’t feel like he did that much, especially since the guy was such a defective hitman.

“All right,” Tara calls. “Mark, if you get any more effusive, Stiles is going to spontaneously combust, so you can take Lydia’s statement. Come on, Stiles. I hear you have a party to get to tonight.”

Stiles follows Tara back to one of the interview rooms, and she says, “Seriously, kid, bad ass.”

Stiles runs a hand through his hair. “Tara, he was terrible at his job. I’m glad we didn’t hire him. He would have absolutely sucked as a deputy.”

Tara motions him to a chair. “Sit. Wait until I turn on the recorder. That way, your opinions can be on the record.”

Stiles sits, and Batman rests his head on Stiles’ knee. Tara starts the recording equipment, and then recites their names, the date, and the time. “All right, Stiles. In your own words, tell me what happened today.”

Stiles starts with the text message from his dad, and Tara says, “Do you have your phone with you?”

Stiles pulls out his cell phone. “Yeah.”

“Is it okay if I ask Cindy to look into the origin of the text?” Tara asks.

Stiles nods. “Yeah, of course. If someone has spoofed or cloned Dad’s phone, they could do a lot of damage.”

He unlocks his phone, and Tara sticks her head out to hand it off to Cindy.

“All right,” Tara says. “Keep going.”

Stiles pauses, realizing that he’s going to have to dance around the issue of the sonic weapon. Maybe.

He tells her about the tire blowing, and seeing the man come out of the woods as he checked it out, and him holding something in his hand that he clearly thought was supposed to act as a weapon, and Batman’s whines.

“Batman never whines, so I figured it had to be a sonic weapon of some sort, but I have no idea why he thought it would work on me and Lydia,” Stiles says. “After everything that’s been going on, and the attack on Deputy Parrish, I didn’t want to take any chances.”

Tara nods. “Good. You can always apologize to the strange man who looks like he’s attacking you, but you can’t raise yourself from the dead.”

“Wise words,” Stiles replies. “Anyway, I used all the krav maga and judo skills at my disposal and I disabled him. Lydia called my dad, and here we are.”

“Did he say anything to you?” Tara asks.

Stiles hesitates. “Well, I think Dave was a little distracted, so he didn’t read the Miranda warnings right away.”

Tara sighs. “He’ll be hearing about that from the sheriff, I’m sure.”

“I speculated that he tried to use a sonic weapon for some stupid reason, and he admitted to having a grudge against Deputies Parrish and Hale,” Stiles says. “I thanked him for confirming that he was the one to attack Deputy Parrish, and he said his statement wouldn’t be admissible since we hadn’t read him the warnings. I pointed out that he was responding to a smartass teenager, and not being questioned by law enforcement, so that was all on him.”

Tara just starts laughing at that. “Oh, kid. Are you sure you don’t want to be a lawyer? Because that is some real lawyer shit right there.”

Stiles shrugs. “I’m keeping my options open. It’s not like law enforcement is cool with service dogs.”

Tara frowns thoughtfully. “Let me get back to you on that, because I have a friend who has a service dog and works as an analyst.”

Stiles brightens at that. “Really?”

“Yeah, really,” Tara replies. “But I do wish that Dave had read him his Miranda warnings first.”

“He said that he wasn’t hired by Beacon Hills because you guys hired Derek and Parrish,” Stiles says. “So, if he applied, you can probably find some sort of confirmation.”

Tara laughs. “Only you would try to tell a deputy how to do the job while in an interview.”

Stiles feels himself flush. Again. “Sorry.”

“No, Stiles, you have good instincts,” Tara replies. “I hear Sheriff Morrison picked your brain.”

Stiles shrugs. “I got the sense that maybe she wanted to be friends because she had designs on my dad.”

“I’m not going to touch that comment with a ten-foot pole,” Tara says. “Anything else we should know about the encounter?”

Stiles scratches Batman’s ears. “Batman is awesome?”

“Well, that goes without saying,” Tara replies. “But Stiles, you are now a doubly self-rescuing princess. Take some pride in that.”

Stiles makes a cutting gesture across his throat, and when Tara turns off the recording, he says, “I don’t feel like I should get any credit. This guy didn’t even realize that he was attacking two non-werewolves, and he used a weapon that would have only been effective against weres. If he’d been less of an idiot, I might not have been able to use my mad skills.”

Tara shakes her head. “Stiles, every time we go out in the field, we hope that if we run into a spot of bad luck, the bad guys have worse luck. We hope that they have worse aim, that they drop something crucial to solving the crime, that they leave behind fingerprints or DNA, or are just dumb enough to make a mistake that’s going to lead us right to them.”

Stiles takes a deep breath. “So, be glad that I ran into a really dumb, wannabe hitman today?”

“Yeah, kid,” Tara says. “Be glad, because you used what you knew to get yourself and Lydia out of what could have been a really bad situation. Also, he could very easily have killed Parrish, so he wasn’t quite as terrible as you think.”

The interview wraps up after that, and when Stiles emerges from the room, he finds Scott, Kira, and Lydia in the hallway. Scott immediately gloms onto him. “Oh, my god, Stiles! Are you okay?”

“Very okay,” Stiles assures him. “What about you guys? I thought—“

“My mom had me lo-jacked,” Kira jokes. “Or something. She said she sensed something was wrong, and showed up.”

“Like an avenging angel!” Scott says enthusiastically. “With a sword!”

Stiles blinks. “Okay, that’s way cooler.”

“You fought off a hitman on your own,” Scott argues. “So, that’s really cool.”

“An idiotic, wannabe hitman,” Stiles corrects, because he can be honest with his bro.

“Still a hitman,” Scott replies. “I was worried.”

“So was I for a minute,” Stiles admits, and they hug again.

“So, your mom is also a—“ Lydia begins, letting the question trail off.

“A kitsune,” Kira replies. “Like me. Only, you know, not exactly like me, since she’s 900 years old. But I guess she figured that someone would be shadowing us and took precautions. It was—a lot?”

Stiles pulls back from the hug. “What’s a lot?”

“She cut off the hand of the woman who was wielding the thermal wire and stabbed the guy who had the knife,” Scott replies. “She said it was poetic justice.”

Stiles blinks. “Right, okay. You’re staying on her good side, right?”

Scott grins. “Yeah, of course. Plus, she’s friends with my mom. Pretty sure one of them would kill me and the other would resurrect me for the other to murder again if I mess up.”

Stiles laughs at that, and then he loops an arm around Lydia’s shoulders and they all move in for a group hug.

They survived, whether through their own skills or the care of their parents, and Stiles is grateful.

Batman noses at his leg, and Stiles asks, “What do you say we party?”

Scott grins and presses his forehead against Stiles’. “I say yes.”

“I say yes,” Kira quickly adds.

Lydia straightens and says, “Stiles, I’m going to need a ride so I can get changed. And then the party can really begin.”

~~~~~

Noah has Tara and Cindy going over the information they retrieved from Allison once they get back from Santa Rosa. It’s early afternoon, and Noah checks the pack calendar. He knows everyone is planning to head to the new house tonight for the replacement party Moira is putting together, but beyond that, there’s nothing.

He’s hoping that he can get over there at some point, but with three investigations going on, and one being emergent, Noah suspects it’s a pipe dream.

Noah is reviewing reports, knowing once Tara and Cindy have parsed the information from Allison and the dead killer’s phone, they’ll need to move fairly quickly. If he can get even a little bit ahead on paperwork, he’ll help himself down the road.

He’s signing off on one of the routine reports when he feels dual spikes of panic that he recognizes as being from his kid and Scott. Noah has no idea if they’re together, or if they’re being attacked separately, and he’s not entirely sure where they are.

Noah immediately logs into his cell phone account, and tracks his son’s phone. He’s a little surprised to see Stiles’ phone at a standstill in the Preserve, some distance away from the new house.

Noah is standing up to buckle his gun belt on, ready to head in that direction, when Tara sticks her head inside his office. “Sir, we have a phone call from Noshiko Yukimura. She’s asking for police assistance and an ambulance at her location.”

“Did something happen to Scott and Kira?” Noah asks.

Tara shakes her head. “No, not exactly. She claims that she came across a couple attacking the two of them and took action. Mrs. Yukimura said that the young woman was attempting to use a thermal wire, and the young man attempted to use a knife he’d hidden in a lacrosse stick.”

Noah scrubs his hands over his face. “Right, well, that clears a few things up. Stiles is in trouble, too, so let’s see who can respond at that scene while I check on my son.”

As though he’s summoned it, his cell phone rings, and Noah grabs it by instinct. “Stilinski.”

“Sheriff, it’s Lydia Martin,” she replies crisply. “We’re—“

“I know where you are,” Noah says, cutting her off, not wanting to waste any time. “I tracked Stiles’ phone.”

Lydia blows out a breath. “Okay, good. We’re fine. Stiles has the situation under control.”

“Define ‘under control,’” Noah says.

“I think this guy put something on the road that would result in a tire blowing out,” Lydia says. “Stiles got out of the Jeep, and the man began to approach. Stiles told me to call you, and ordered his service dog to attack. Then Stiles managed to get him down on the ground, and I’m looking for—“ He hears a grunt. “—something to tie him up. Got it. Just a second.”

Noah is hanging on to what remains of his patience only because he’s had so much practice. Thankfully, he doesn’t have to wait long, because Lydia puts him on speaker, and he can hear for himself that Stiles is fine.

Tara is on her own cell phone, and she mouths, “Dave and Derek are on their way. They’re closer.”

Noah relays the information to Stiles, and then he stays on the line with Stiles until he’s certain that Dave is on the scene. At that point, Noah tucks his phone away and buries his head in his hands.

“He’s fine,” Tara reminds him. “Him and Lydia both. That’s what you have to focus on. So are Scott and Kira.”

“Who do we have?” Noah asks.

“I already called the ambulance to Mrs. Yukimura’s location, and sent Rhonda and Pete to respond,” Tara replies. “Mark’s coming back from a call, so he can handle interviews for Scott and Kira. I’ll handle Mrs. Yukimura. You go to Stiles.”

Noah knows that she’s managing him, and he doesn’t care at the moment. “All right, that’s good. That covers all of our bases. Fuck.”

“We’re going to enter the information into ViCAP,” Tara says soothingly. “We just solved a whole bunch of murders today, so let’s focus on the positive. We know there are hits on the thermal wire.”

Noah takes a deep breath and pulls himself together. He’s comforted by the fact that, other than the initial burst of panic, Stiles had only felt resolve and then a fierce triumph.

Noah doesn’t use his lights or sirens on the way, even though he wants to do so. It’s not necessary, though, and he pulls up behind Stiles’ Jeep. His kid is in one piece, and Noah knows the outcome could have been very different.

He and Dave load the asshole in the back of Noah’s car, and Dave says, “He did make a statement before I could read him his Miranda rights, one that implicated him in the attack on Parrish.”

Noah doesn’t love that. “In response to anything that your or Derek asked?”

“No,” Dave replies. “He was mouthing off to Stiles.”

“We’ll just have to make sure the forensics are strong in case the statement gets thrown out,” Noah replies evenly, because that’s a mistake anyone could make, especially given the circumstances. He knows all of his deputies feel a certain way towards Stiles, ranging from a sense that he’s the station’s mascot, to feeling like he’s a little brother.

And Dave definitely falls more on that end of the spectrum.

Noah isn’t going to say anything else about it in front of their perp, though, so they both hold their tongues until they get to the station, and then they hand the guy over to Mark.

Noah pulls Mark aside and says, “Park him in an interview room and call a doctor. Stiles and Lydia are going to be here shortly to give their statements. I’d like to do them the courtesy of getting them on their way.”

Mark nods. “You got it, sir. Tara and I will handle Stiles and Lydia’s statements ourselves.”

“I appreciate the courtesy,” Noah replies. “God, what a fucking mess.”

“Rhonda and Pete are getting Scott and Kira’s statements,” Mark adds. “Mrs. Yukimura agreed to wait to be interviewed so we could get the kids in and out. I parked her in your office.”

Noah takes a deep breath. “Right, well, I guess I can do her the courtesy of taking hers.”

“Good luck writing that report,” Mark says. “I mean, who shows up with a sword to protect their kid? Maybe if she thought Scott was a danger to her kid’s honor or something, but…”

“Let’s be grateful that she did show up when she did, whatever her weapon of choice happened to be,” Noah replies, wondering how he’s going to spin his report, and knowing that he is going to have to spin it.

Noah goes to his office and sees Noshiko sitting on his couch, sipping from a cup of coffee. “Do you need anything else?” he asks.

“No, and I wouldn’t want to waste your time, Sheriff,” Noshiko replies. “I already told Deputy Rossi that I could wait.”

“Someone attacked my son and Lydia Martin,” Noah replies. “I can’t be involved with those interviews for obvious reasons, or in the interview with the person who attacked them. So, we can chat about our kids, which I am happy to do, or I can take your statement. And then we can talk about our kids, most likely.”

Noshiko laughs at that, but then she sobers. “I assume Stiles and Lydia are okay.”

“Stiles insisted on taking judo and krav maga instead of cross country and lacrosse,” Noah admits. “I thought he just wanted to feel a sense of control, and it was an easy thing to give him. Turns out, it came in handy.”

“When we have control over our bodies and our minds, we are closer to attaining peace,” Noshiko replies. “I’m sure you’re wondering how I came to be where I was.”

“Honestly, I’m kind of hoping that Kira told you they were going to an alternate party to avoid any chance of them being attacked at the dance, and you followed her,” Noah replies.

He wouldn’t normally feed her a story like that, and it’s a terrible interviewing technique, one he’d never condone from one of his deputies.

Noshiko smiles, as though she knows what Noah is getting at, and he’d be very surprised if she didn’t. “You’re exactly right, Sheriff. I was concerned for my daughter’s safety, especially after hearing about the possibility of the dance being a target. I’m afraid I can be a little overprotective at times, and I’ve been training in martial arts a very long time.”

“If you ever feel like indulging Stiles’ curiosity, I’m sure he’d appreciate it,” Noah replies. “His sensei convinced him that judo and krav maga would be enough, but he wants to learn weapons, too.”

Noshiko inclines her head. “You know, I imagine I would enjoy that very much.”

“Let me just get my recorder,” Noah says. “And I’ll get you on your way.”

Noshiko gives a very concise statement. Stiles told Scott about the attacks on the two members of Satomi’s pack, although Noshiko frames it as an attack on mutual friends. Scott, of course, told Kira, and Kira told her parents, just as she’d told them about the change of plans for the dance. Noshiko had been concerned, especially since Scott and Kira would be easy targets on his bike, so she’d decided to follow them and stay out of sight.

Noshiko’s expression is perfectly placid as she explains all of this in a reasonable tone, as though it’s perfectly ordinary to follow your teenage daughter and her boyfriend around with a katana.

If she ever has to testify, Noah is pretty sure that every single person would simply nod along with her.

“I really am not worried about Scott, Sheriff,” Noshiko assures him. “Mrs. McCall and I have become friends, and I know what sort of son she’s raised. He’s polite, respectful, and kind.”

“I didn’t think it was Scott who worried you,” Noah replies. “You aren’t a bigot.”

Noshiko laughs. “No, and I heard about that. That said, I’m glad they’ll be at your house tonight. I understand that we don’t know the scope of the threat, but I know they’ll be safe there.”

“Safe and chaperoned,” Noah replies. “I still plan on having a couple of deputies there just in case, and Moira, a family friend, will be there as well.”

Noshiko smiles. “Moira is quite the character, and I’m certain that she’ll do a fine job without anyone even realizing it. One of the reasons we decided to stay in Beacon Hills was because we knew you, and we trusted you to keep this town, and our daughter, safe.”

Noah takes a deep breath at that. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you,” Noshiko says. She glances at the recorder, and Noah turns it off. “I didn’t think that wolves and foxes could be friends, but here we are.”

Noah nods. “I’ll walk you out. Thank you for today. Scott is like a son to me.”

“You care for your pack,” Noshiko says. “And it shows in many ways.”

Noah walks her out and catches sight of the group hug between Stiles, Scott, Kira, and Lydia.

“That would be the other reason we decided to stay,” Noshiko murmurs. “Kira’s never had such a devoted group of friends.”

The kids break apart, and Kira spots her mom. “Mom! Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine, Kira,” Noshiko assures her. “I just finished giving my statement to Sheriff Stilinski.”

“She’s not in any trouble, is she?” Kira asks anxiously.

“Your mom helped us capture a couple of contract killers, and we’re fairly certain they’re responsible for multiple murders across the country,” Noah assures her. “We’ll continue investigating, but as far as I’m concerned, your mom reacted with appropriate force to a threat to her daughter.”

Kira blows out a breath. “Well, it was pretty cool. Gross, but cool.”

Noshiko rests a hand on Scott’s shoulder, her expression fond. “Scott did quite well, too. You both gave me the time I needed to reach you.”

Kira beams and Scott grins.

“Are you guys heading to the house?” Noah asks Stiles.

“I have to take Lydia by her house to get changed, and I’m going to get changed, too, but after that, yeah,” Stiles replies.

Noshiko frowns, and Noah considers his options. “You know what? Why don’t you all stay together?” Noah asks. “I think four people would present a much more difficult target. You can grab the clothes you need and get changed at the new house. I think Moira made some provisions for that.”

Stiles nods. “Sure. We can go in Roscoe. The spare is fine for now.”

Noah smiles. “Good. Thank you. Text me when you’re there, and I’ll try to stop by a bit later.”

Stiles hugs him. “Don’t worry, Pops. We’re going to tuck in and spend the night eating and dancing.”

“You do that,” Noah replies, grateful that his kid is getting at least a little bit of a normal night.

“Be smart,” Noshiko tells Kira. “Have fun.”

“Yes, Mom,” Kira says, her dimples flashing. “Love you!”

Noshiko touches her cheek. “I love you, too.”

Stiles claps his hands together. “All right, let’s go. We have a party to get to!”

Noshiko watches them leave, a hint of wistfulness on her face. “I haven’t been that young in a very long time, and she reminds me of those days.”

Noah laughs. “I feel much the same way.”

“Be well, Noah,” Noshiko replies.

“You as well,” Noah says.

He turns back to the station, and Cindy is standing there, nearly vibrating in excitement. “Sir, I think I’ve got something.”

Noah waves at her to lead the way, and she goes back to her station. “I’ve been trying to see if there’s any tie-in between the phone of the person you killed and the information that Allison Argent provided. I believe I can tie the large payment he received prior to the Walcotts’ deaths to a bank account that siphoned money from her trust. We’ll need a search warrant and a subpoena to confirm and get proof of the owner of the account.”

“I’ll work on the warrant if you work on the subpoena,” Noah says, resigning himself to another late night. He just hopes that he gets to see the kids at some point.

~~~~~

Derek and Dave have been acting under Moira’s direction for most of the afternoon, getting things ready at the house. Parrish had been exhausted, so they dropped him by Noah’s house to catch a nap. There’s no furniture at the new house, so it’s a matter of setting up a few tables to put food and drinks on, as well as a few tables and chairs to allow people to sit. Moira has worked her magic, and there are platters of small sandwiches, veggie and fruit trays, and platters of cookies. They set up a makeshift sound system, and Moira starts to take balloons and streamers out of her bag.

The preparations are almost done when Derek feels the spikes of fear from Stiles and Scott, almost simultaneously. “Shit,” Derek says. “Did you get that, Moira?”

“What is it?” Moira asks. “Is it the pack bond?”

Derek nods. “Both Stiles and Scott are in trouble, but I can’t tell if they’re together.”

Moira closes her eyes, frowning. “If Stiles was in danger, he isn’t anymore. The ward I have on him isn’t pinging at all.”

Derek shrugs. “I’m just getting resolve now.”

Dave pulls out his cell phone, and Derek assumes that he has it on vibrate. “Hey, Tara, what’s up?”

Dave is listening for about a minute, and then he says, “Yeah, we’re maybe five minutes away from that location max. We’ll respond.” He ends the call and says, “Stiles and Lydia were on the way here when they were attacked. Tara said the sheriff was on the phone with Lydia and Stiles, and they’re both unharmed. Stiles has their attacker restrained, but we’re closest.”

Moira nods. “Let’s go then.”

Derek feels as though his heart is in his throat, even though he knows that Stiles is okay. He can feel that through the bond.

It maybe takes four minutes for them to get to Stiles’ location, and he’s sitting on the back of a man. He has the man’s hands restrained with a bungee cord, and Dave quickly takes control of the situation.

Stiles seems to be solid as Moira checks on him, but then he sits down abruptly, and Derek knows that’s the adrenaline hitting him. Lydia sits down on one side as they wait for the sheriff, and Derek takes the other, bumping Stiles’ shoulder with his own.

“You sure you’re okay?” Derek asks.

He can feel a minute shudder go through Stiles’ body at the question, and presses a little harder. Stiles makes the comment about being glad that the man had mixed up his weapons, but it’s not until he clarifies that the man had tried using a sonic weapon that Derek understands.

The right sonic weapon will incapacitate a werewolf—or a were-coyote—and Derek shudders as he thinks about what might have happened had the man been slightly more capable.

But then the man makes the comment about him and Parrish taking his position as Beacon Hills deputies, and Stiles points at him. “So, you were the one who tried to kill Parrish. Thanks for the confirmation.”

The stunned expression on the man’s face is satisfying, until he tries to claim that he hadn’t been read his rights, and his statement can’t be used.

Derek is pretty sure that’s not true, given that he just blurted that out in response to Stiles’ comment, but Dave immediately reads him the warnings.

He doesn’t blame Dave for the delay. They had been too focused on Stiles and Lydia to think about the guy who was already in restraints.

Noah turns up on the scene with his county vehicle, and he immediately hauls Stiles in for a hug. Derek can tell that he wants nothing more than to stay with his kid, but there’s work to be done. Derek offers to help Stiles change his tire, just so he can do something to help.

Once Stiles drives away with Lydia, Derek lets his head drop. “Motherfucker. That motherfucker went after Stiles because he blamed me for not getting a job.”

“No, he went after Stiles because he’s a motherfucker who decided to make a buck by killing people,” Moira insists. “Don’t take any part of this on yourself, Derek. He probably didn’t get a job because he’s incompetent.”

Derek barks a laugh. “Let’s not mention that to Stiles. Incompetent or not, he did take down a contract killer.”

“Stiles isn’t an idiot,” Moira replies dryly. “I’m sure he’s fully aware of just how lucky he is. It pays to be lucky sometimes, although Stiles also reacted appropriately, and Batman protected him.”

Derek nods and takes a deep breath. “It’s just—“

“They’ve targeted the pack,” Moira replies. “But Scott and Kira are fine, and so are Stiles and Lydia. Tonight, we’re going to celebrate that fact, so let’s go back to the house and finish up.”

Derek knows she’s right, and they get back into his Camaro and head back to the house. This time, Derek allows himself to feel the protection baked into the walls and foundation, placed there by Stiles and Moira. “This place is warded to hell and back, isn’t it?”

“I don’t advise that you test it, but yes,” Moira confirms. “I suppose, if someone wanted to nuke it from space, they might do some damage, but that’s what it would take.”

Derek takes another deep breath. “I can feel it. If he got close to the house—“

“The wards would have pinged, and we would have responded appropriately,” Moira assures him. “We aren’t going to suffer trespassers lightly here, not if they have ill-intent.”

“How lethal are those wards?” Derek asks.

“They’re not,” Moira replies. “But I am.”

They finish decorating, and Derek starts the fire pit and the outdoor heaters for the patio. For the werewolves, who don’t feel the cold as much, it will be quite comfortable.

Everything is ready when Stiles arrives with Scott, Kira, and Lydia. The two boys are already in their suits and dress shirts, but the girls have their dresses in bags slung over their shoulders.

“We set up the loft for the girls,” Moira announces. “I’m sure Stiles can show you up.”

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” Stiles replies. He’s just taken Batman’s leash and vest off, and Batman gives himself a vigorous shake. “You’re off duty, bud. Good work today.”

Batman whuffs, and now that he’s been released, he starts to greet everyone present, sniffing at them in turn and nosing their hands.

Stiles leads the girls upstairs, and Scott tucks his hands in his pockets as he looks around. “This is really incredible, Derek.”

“Thanks,” Derek replies. “Are you okay?”

Scott snorts. “Kira is a badass. She kept one of them busy, while I transformed. I figured they wouldn’t be expecting that, and it would keep them off balance. And then her mom turned up out of the blue with a katana and took care of them.”

“That worry you?” Derek asks, amused.

Scott shakes his head, and he looks more settled in his skin than Derek thinks he’s ever seen him. “Not at all. I get along really well with Kira’s parents, and our moms are friends. She just wanted to be sure we were safe, and I’m glad she was there.” Scott pauses. “Of course, I’m not really looking forward to my dad finding out that we were attacked by a couple of hitmen, but I’m hoping he’ll be distracted by the fact that I was with my girlfriend.”

Derek knows that things with Scott’s dad had been a little shaky after the nogitsune, but he hasn’t mentioned him recently. “How are things going with your dad?”

Scott just laughs. “He’s been on his best behavior. We’ve been getting together once a month, and he said he’d come to as many of my lacrosse games as he could this year. I don’t know. I guess I just finally figured out how lucky I am.”

“It looks good on you,” Derek replies.

Scott smiles. “Thanks.”

Stiles rejoins them, and he also looks happy.

“You okay?” Derek asks.

“We all got lucky today,” Stiles says. “But Moira says that sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.”

“But you were both today, my boys,” Moira says as she joins them, wrapping an arm around both Stiles and Scott. “Well done, both of you.”

Stiles kisses her on the cheek. “What can we do?”

“Help me put out the food, mo chroi,” Moira replies. “Scott, dear, you, too.”

They start putting out the platters of food, and the stacks of paper plates and disposable utensils. The kitchen has two refrigerators, so they’ve left the cans of soda and bottles of water in one of them.

Erica is the next to arrive with Cora and Malia. “Stiles! Scott! I heard you both had excitement today!”

“We caught a grand total of three murderers or would-be murderers,” Stiles confirms. “Which means we are definitely partying tonight!”

Erica hugs Stiles, then Scott, enthusiastically. “Where can we change?”

“Straight up the stairs, then the second set of stairs, to the loft,” Stiles replies. “Lydia and Kira are up there already.”

The girls take their bagged dresses upstairs, and Derek can feel the house take on new life.

“Danny is going to bring his date by in a bit,” Stiles says. “He decided that he’d rather skip the crush at the school, too, and his current boyfriend is a senior at Devenford Prep.”

“Did your dad do a background check on the boyfriend?” Derek jokes.

“Worse,” Stiles replies with a smirk. “Alana did. He came up clean.”

Derek checks his phone. “I have a meeting with her next week to talk about the project she’s working on for me, but Noah has said that she’s meticulous.”

“So I’ve heard,” Stiles replies.

Isaac and Boyd are the next to arrive, and they’re also wearing suits, but they’ve elected to wear ties as well.

“Hey, man, I saw the group text,” Boyd says. “You both okay?” he asks Scott and Stiles.

“We’re good,” Scott insists. “Better than good. I can tell my dad that I helped catch a couple of serial killers today.”

The girls come down the stairs, all of them wearing their party frocks. All of the girls have opted for shorter dresses in bright colors and heels.

“Boyd!” Erica calls, and she’s in a red body-mod dress that matches her lipstick and a pair of black stilettos. “You look great.”

“So do you,” Boyd replies, and rests his forehead against hers in a very sweet gesture. “Absolutely gorgeous.”

Moira rests a hand on Derek’s forearm. “Let’s get the music going.”

Derek can see Lydia approaching Stiles a little more cautiously, but her red hair is piled high on her head, and she’s wearing a dress in a delicate green that brings out those notes in her eyes.

Stiles closes his eyes as he presses his lips to hers.

Derek shakes himself. “Yeah, of course.”

“I’ll help you, bro,” Cora says. She’s wearing a deep green dress in a more structured material that shows off her figure. “Your taste in music sucks.” She glances at Stiles. “Your taste in men, not so much.”

“Cora,” Derek hisses.

Cora rolls her eyes. “Relax. Everyone knows, and no one cares. You should both play the field.”

Malia also pops up next to them, wearing a gold dress and heels. “What can I do, because this is weird, and I have no idea what to do.”

“Come here, darling,” Moira says. “You look beautiful. Are you hungry?”

“Starving,” Malia admits.

“Let’s get you some food. How is Asha working out for you?” Moira asks.

Derek can see that Moira has put Malia at ease, because Malia loops an arm around her waist. “Great. I really like her, and math is starting to be kind of fun.”

“Excellent,” Moira replies.

Cora puts her arm through Derek’s. “How is Parrish?”

“Good,” Derek replies. “He should be here once he naps. Dave might be coming, too, if he can get away. Noah wanted security here tonight, even if we don’t have a threat.”

“Relax, Der,” Cora replies. “I think the major threat is over for now, and the move in date is next weekend. Then we’ll be under one roof and under Moira and Stiles’ wards.”

Derek glances at her. “You can feel that?”

“Bro, it feels like the clearing,” Cora says. “And I hate to say this, because I’d never want to disrespect Mom, but…”

“This pack has the superior emissary,” Derek replies. “And considering Moira wasn’t here, and Stiles was a literal baby, Mom might not have had the best materials to work with.”

Cora pats him on the chest. “That’s a very good way to put it.”

Once Malia grabs food, that triggers a response from the rest of the pack. They fill their plates, and then keep going back for more. Danny and his date, a young man named Brady, turn up before it runs out. They’re both in suits, their ties hanging loose around their necks, and Danny greets everyone before they grab plates.

The rest of the pack has started dancing, although the girls have kicked off their heels, which are scattered around the living room. Stiles and Lydia have retreated to the patio, and Lydia is mostly on Stiles’ lap with a blanket drawn over both of them, talking quietly. Cora, Malia, and Isaac are dancing together, clearly intent on having fun, and they draw Danny and Brady in as soon as they’ve had a bite. Erica and Boyd are dancing slowly, regardless of the rhythm of the music.

As he watches, Scott snags another blanket, and he and Kira take up a chair next to Stiles and Lydia near the fire pit.

The house is pulsing with life and movement and beauty, and Derek feels a hand rest on his shoulder. “Hey.”

Derek turns to look at Parrish, who looks refreshed, and is wearing jeans and a t-shirt. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I caught a nap, and Noah said I’d be of more use here,” Parrish replies. “I feel a lot better.”

Derek is momentarily overwhelmed by the feeling that his pack is safe and complete. Moira is still talking to Malia, mothering her, really. Erica and Boyd have broken from their tight huddle to welcome Danny and Brady, and they’re all dancing together now.

“Beyond that though?” Derek asks in a different way.

Parrish looks at everyone, and then he smiles brilliantly. “You know what? I think I feel like I have a family for the first time.”

Derek takes a deep breath and soaks it in. They have work to do to prove that Victoria and Kate were behind the contracts, more work to ensure there aren’t others out there collecting, but they have the data now. They have the pieces to put the puzzle together.

Tonight they’re all safe, and they’re happy, and there’s a future. That’s more than a lot of people could say.

 

---