19: Emissary – Part 2

As Stiles turned around, he looked up at the "missing" cabin up ahead. He could feel the buzzing of the ward's magic somewhat stronger from this side and as he glimpsed around, everything looked normal when looking "outside", not like how it was when they tried to do the same from the other side. Where there was nothing previously, the lonely cabin stood. There was a light inside and some soft electric guitar playing could be heard.

He motioned for Derek to follow and quietly moved toward a bush from where they could observe and plan out their next step. Now their bonds and the ability to read each other easily were going to come in handy.

Puckering his lips, Stiles lightly frowned. Obviously Zepar was home. And no, it wasn't just someone inside, it was the alpha, because inside this shielded territory he could sense and see the faint trails the other druid's magic had left. The residue Zepar had left outside the Hale building too.

‘It’s him,’ he mouthed to Derek and tapped the side of his own nose to ask if he could smell the wolf now.

The trickier task was to figure out how to surprise attack Zepar with him being inside. They should somehow lure him out perhaps to have more room. And something flashed in the amber eyes. A look Derek had to know well by then. The one he got when he had an idea. Probably a stupid one, but one they might actually pull off and put their fighting practice to use.

Just when he flashed a mischievous smile at Derek, the guitar playing stopped and there was some movement from inside.

‘I lure him out. You stay and wait for my signal,’ he mouthed again. Of course, he knew Derek wasn't going to like the idea of Stiles using himself as bait, but he didn't wait for his mate to react or try to argue with him.

The next moment the Spark was stepping out from behind the bush to walk a bit closer to the cabin. He stopped in the long grass and took a deep breath, letting his magic loose enough for the wolf inside to sense.

It didn't take long for the tall long-haired alpha to walk out onto the porch with a mug of coffee in hand and a dazzling white smile on his smug face. Despite that, yeah, the muscular guy still looked stunning.

"I was wondering when you'd show up here. I guessed it was only a matter of time for you to figure out where I am. Maybe the rumors are true about your intelligence and talent for detective work...." Zepar winked at Stiles then took a sip from his coffee, completely unbothered and relaxed.

"Well, thanks. It wasn't as hard to figure out like you think," the druid shrugged with a lopsided smirk of his own.

"I believe you. Good job with getting through the ward too without triggering it. Impressive. So tell me, where is your puppy mate? Or you finally came to your senses and realized that you'd be better off with someone like me?" he raised a scarred brow.

Stiles snorted softly and shook his head, amber eyes never leaving the alpha's impressive form. "Oh, he's nearby. Why? You can't tell? I thought you were better than this..." he teased back, unable to stop himself.

Zepar slightly lifted his chin and took a deep sniff to scent the air. "Nah, your potion works too well I guess on both of you. Too bad. I like your scent quite a lot, even with the Hale's sticking to it. Makes me want to rub all over you to wipe it off."

"No thanks, I'm pretty satisfied with how I generally smell," Stiles rolled his eyes then sighed. "I'm here as an Emissary, not as a Spark. I'd like to – for once – talk instead of fighting, if it's possible."

"Oh? Don't tell me your alpha is too much of a coward to face me again?" Zepar grinned, making Stiles' teeth clench but he forced his smile to stay on his face.

"Oh, he'd really love to rip you apart and watch you bleed out, believe me... But I stand before you to ask for a once honest answer from you. What do you want to achieve with your little tests?"

This plan hadn't been one Derek had agreed to but Stiles was sure of it, although it rapidly turned out that it hadn't even mattered. Zepar had been expecting them to try something like this and even though them showing up had clearly surprised him, he wasn't getting defensive. If anything, he seemed to be eager for some company. So this wasn't going to be a fight about defending territories. The alpha didn't think they were even enough of a threat to blink twice at. Which, given their previous encounters, wasn't that strange. It meant they were going to have to prove themselves because there was no other way to deal with this one.

At least the previous encounters made one thing clear: Zepar was making all these remarks to rile them up and he was still doing the same trick now, a trick which wasn't going to work on Derek. Stiles was his, he bore the marks, he bore the bond and more importantly, he wanted only the Hale. So this giant wasn't going to flash his dimples and get what he wanted. Come to think of it, he was laying it on so thick, Derek wasn't even sure if Zepar wanted it. Yes Derek fully believed his mate was attractive enough to get this kind of attention, because Stiles was a handsome young man with a Spark, so alphas were going to line up for it. This one though, was crudely flirting, never once getting the hint, on purpose. Everything was on purpose.

Quietly the wolf moved to get behind Zepar, from enough distance. Stiles hadn't given a signal but since Zepar already knew he was there, he was going to be ready for him, no matter what side he took. As the two talked, Derek went around the cabin and decided (why not?) using a window to get inside. Nothing too interesting going on there, although... two plates. There were two used plates in the sink, two mugs besides the dinner which had been made. The alpha had company recently. No scents whatsoever in the cabin, noting to give anything away. Derek moved to lean into the doorway with his arms crossed, just as Zepar was answering Stiles, not aware of him yet.

"Can't take on everybody as a mate, now can I? I had to make sure what you're made of. And besides, not my fault your pup alpha was part of rumors I had to check out for myself. Not that I didn't enjoy seeing him bleed like a stuck pig, but it was pretty useless," Zepar took another sip of his coffee. "Maybe I should kill somebody first and then do it again. Your dad looks about the right age for retirement."

Of course, Stiles could feel Derek being on the move, sneaking expertly behind the big man, who had his back to the door. But the Spark wasn't sure Zepar didn't know that he was watched from behind. Frankly, they could never know with this one. But the human was careful not to look behind the tall alpha and with that give away his mate's location.

He was listening fairly calmly to the cocky answer, but his eyes narrowed and the magic stirred somewhat when he so casually brought up murdering his dad, the county's Sheriff! Zepar had the nerve to even show him his impressive claws on his free hand as he looked at them casually, as if he didn't notice the effect his words had on the Spark.

"That wouldn't be wise. He's a well-loved and respected man of the law. I'd make sure to put a manhunt on your head," Stiles warned, gritting his teeth together.

"I guess you're right... What about your mother?" he glimpsed at the young man again, his smile wolfish. "Oh right, I nearly forgot, she's long dead. Too bad, I heard she could've been a promising Spark too. No wonder you inherited this from her..." Zepar sighed with fake sorry on his face. "Then how about... that cute little cub you two are raising together? Maybe I should've gone for her the first time. That clearly could've been a better motivation..."

Threatening the Sheriff's life or bringing up Claudia to tip Stiles out of balance was kinda expected. Not a pleasant thing to hear and yes, it did make him angry and his eyes and veins glow a bit brighter, but he more or less managed to keep his cool. But threatening the life of an innocent cub?! Elizabeth was half-wolf. What kind of a born wolf, especially an alpha, would threaten the life of one of his kind? Wolves were supposed to do everything to protect cubs! And only the vilest would kill even the cubs of enemy packs!

Stiles wanted to shout all these thoughts at Zepar, but he didn't. Instead he hissed through his teeth.

"That's another very wrong idea. As I see, you cannot listen to reason and want to make me lose it. So I guess negotiations are over," Stiles watched the alpha put his mug down on top of the porch railing, that annoying grin never leaving the full lips.

"I guess they are," Zepar said calmly, reaching up to put his long hair into a messy man bun, cracking his neck out.

"You want me to do magic? I can give you that, asshole..." the Spark grinned darkly as he opened his fists, concentrating his magic into his hands until they burst out into flames up to his elbows.

Now, Derek! Stiles' message went through the bonds clearly, but he didn't give any hints to the approaching alpha, who slowly walked down on the couple of steps of the small porch, looking amused and like a predator on the hunt, stalking his prey.

Derek, as usual, didn't use the steps the cabin offered. Soundlessly his claws were out, his fangs were sharp and his whole face had morphed to beta shift. The urge to snarl and roar was suppressed when he had to be silent, using his speed to push off the wooden deck to launch himself at the larger alpha. His claws embedded into the broad back and he didn't need Stiles' magic to throw the other one into the nearest tree with some satisfaction. The unfortunate tree broke, or more like shattered due to the impact, but Zepar only laughed, brushing the wood splinters off himself as he slowly stood.

"There's the puppy alpha. Nice entrance. Very dramatic, but not very effective."

Derek gave the smug grin a dark feral look in return. Let him think he was going to win, let him think they came here without more strength than last time, that this plan was one born out of despair. The Hale was going to enjoy this so much more, wanting to give Zepar a beat down for daring to threaten the lives of his pack and their daughter as if they were nothing but trash to be put out, nothing but a few pawns in a game. Did he mean it? Maybe he did, maybe he didn't but the anger those words had caused was probably felt and that meant Zepar still had some sway over them, no matter how hard they tried.

As the other one charged, Derek stood his ground, focusing on what they had been practicing, the runes on his leg flaring up. It made the swipe at him hit him, but it didn't do damage in the way it was supposed to do. It simply pushed him back from the sheer force of Zepar. Derek tilted his head after looking down at himself. "Not very effective," he shot back and he knew this was going to be the whole turning point of the fight. Zepar was going to realize he was actually going to have to work hard for it and it was why the Hale hadn't wanted to combine his strength with Stiles' magic just yet. It was the one card they had to play and he preferred to keep it up their sleeves for as long as they could to hit him hard when needed.

"I see some improvements have happened there..." Zepar grinned, looking less bored and more excited about the fight now that it seemed the field was more even. He maybe even looked a bit impressed as he readied himself to land another punch, his dark ink starting to shimmer in the silvery light of the magic of the druid he was tied to.

"Oh no, you don't!" That was Stiles as he formed a fireball between his hands and quickly threw it at the alpha, who had to roll out of the way to avoid it, so the fiery ball hit a thick branch of another tree instead, which splintered as well and fell onto the ground not far from the cabin with a heavy thud.

Stiles didn't stop to sightsee, though. The second the ball was thrown, he was reaching down for the carved and spelled grey bat, which has been hiding in the long grass by his feet. They had a plan. To incapacitate Zepar to be able to interrogate him. That was Plan A. But if they are forced, they had to go for Plan B, which was finishing him off once and for all.

"What's the matter, oh big bad alpha? Don't you want to dance with me?" Stiles asked, swinging the bat in his hand, trying to circle the alpha so Derek could get another opening. The emissary had told Derek earlier that he'll need an opening so he could try to break through the protective spells around Zepar to be able to bind him with a spell in case sheer force didn't work on the powerful alpha. To get to that point, they seemed to be ahead of a long, yet more even fight than before.

His answer was a snarl and Zepar moved nearly too quickly for even the magical eyes as he launched at the Spark. Who was ready...

Zepar's strength was the brute force he had, he was like the Hulk in that way and it worked for him. Which meant that they couldn't let him get those full force attack moments like the one he was about to unleash on Stiles. Derek knew he had to distract him, his mate felt ready and confident in his skills, but the more magic he could hold onto, the better. It wasn't something to be used indefinitely, it was more like a battery needing to be charged. Sprinting after Zepar, Derek didn't exactly knock either one aside. He made sure he got in between to take the blast of the magic so it would charge him instead.

It didn't damage him as it would have Zepar, it gave Derek the strength he needed to go up against this werewolf Hulk. It wasn't going to be an easy fight, it wasn't that they had the upper hand all of a sudden but they no longer were born losers. Using the flames to his advantage, Derek hit the other alpha full in the face, knocking him back again. The magic battled with the magic, so as much as the younger alpha wanted to, he didn't do as much damage as he intended but the nose did bleed. And that was more than he could have done before.

The older wolf, like last time when Derek had managed to draw a tiny bit of blood, wasn't too happy with the attack and yet at the same time, seemed to be enjoying the prospect of an actual fight. He wiped at his nose, only smearing the blood flow over his cheek, his teeth stained with his own red liquid when he grinned. It wasn't a nice grin anymore, it was as feral as Derek's had been. "I should have tried to kill you sooner. It made you grow a bigger pair when here I thought Kate had neutered you a long time ago."

"Yours would have been bigger if you'd stop trying to weaken others with words," Derek bit back, the Kate jab was expected since it had been made before.

"Trying?" the large male laughed, genuinely amused. "Doing. I know it's getting to you, I can see it in your eyes. I mean, at first I thought this Kate was a weakness because she had seduced you and killed your family but it's more than the whole older woman touching a little boy. Isn't it?" Just as Stiles was attempting to strike, Zepar turned to him. "Do you know your pup was touched when he was a big boy too?"

Derek stilled, paling. "Shut. Up."

"Oh he doesn't know... This is priceless! See? My words ARE getting to you two..." Zepar gave them another bloody grin, eyeing the Spark who previously was charging towards them with the bat charged and humming with magic, ready to strike.

But the surprise quickly changed to anger on Stiles' face. Not for not knowing about something like that or not wanting his mate anymore. No, it was because this asshole really had to play this dirty, using abuse to trigger and try to hurt his mate and even attempt to drive a wedge between them. Not that it'd work.

His mind was running a mile a minute, trying to figure out when that might have happened. The answer was pretty easy. Probably when Kate had kidnapped Derek before trying to de-age him and make the teen version remember only the fact that he trusted Kate to reveal more family secrets in the Hale vault.

"You seem to know an awful lot about very personal stuff of us. And you still believe that babbling out something like this would affect how I feel about my soulmate?"

"No, but it made you angrier," Zepar shrugged, licking some of the blood off his teeth. The bleeding had already stopped thanks to the rapid wolf healing.

"I am angry, yes! For trying to hurt my mate again," Stiles' magic flared up, the bat bursting into his magical flames too. "Why don't you pick on the one you really want to test? I'm right here, Mr. Blabbermouth..." he taunted Zepar to try to attack him again.

Derek wasn't worried about Stiles thinking badly about him for this, it hadn't crossed his mind once because the human had never been that kind of person. He wouldn't start labeling others to be damaged goods because of being used like that and though he knew this was something they were going to talk about, right now, it didn't matter. To the younger alpha it was an intrusion of his privacy to have a secret like that outed in this way, it hadn't been Zepar's to tell. It wasn't anybody's business but his own, something he had wanted to keep that way. And yeah, it made them both angrier, for that kind of breach.

Finally he was able to roar, his voice reverberating around them, drawing the attention of Zepar who had been about to pounce on Stiles. The time of words and taunts was over, the Hale wanted to fight, wanted to make blood flow and stop this once and for all. The sheriff had been threatened, Beth had been threatened, enough was enough. Derek waited for Stiles' conjured ball of fire to be unleashed, this time not using it but letting it hit their enemy before he followed.

The fight which they all had been itching for, it was brutal with Derek keeping Stiles on the outside as much as possible while the two wolves clawed and bit and battled in a fury of speed and bodies. More unfortunate trees fell victim to meeting their ends in a splintering of wood and leaves, and shirts got ripped as much as skin was. They were well-matched. Derek's agility and speed saved him from being pummeled into the ground, his strikes not doing as much damage though. Zepar was older, stronger, knew how to channel the magic given to him. With Stiles' attacks from the side, they managed to hold their own, seemingly endless as the two wolves didn't tire out easily.

Derek was brutal, he couldn't afford not to be, couldn't afford to hesitate or think too long, it was all on instinct. Block, attack, claws, teeth... Keep him away from Stiles as much as possible. The damage he sustained he barely even took notice of, because that was also something he couldn't afford to think about. When claws sank into the back of his leg, he yelped in surprised pain, feeling the fiery burn of wounds because his attention had been away from using the runes. A weakness Zepar used to throw him aside, his head hitting a large boulder with a crack. The Hale slumped, eyes closed and still, he kept himself still. He hadn't forgotten the plan and hopefully Stiles would see through the ruse as well.

This was the whole idea, letting the older wolf go for Stiles, thinking Derek was out for the count and Stiles would unleash all magic so it would hit all of them. Then it was Derek's time to shine and get this man down.

Stiles was waiting for this moment, although he didn't particularly liked the way his mate got hurt. He could feel some of the pain through the bonds, but he kept himself focused on landing blows with his bat and magic whenever he could. They had to tire out Zepar somewhat and to make him believe he had the upper hand. Which seemed to happen once Derek was down. Stiles could feel that it wasn't for real, that he wasn't left alone to fight this fight. (Not that he wouldn't try to do that if it was real.)

"I give you that you have stamina and strength," Stiles told the bloody but very much standing alpha in beta shift. These red eyes were so different from Derek's for Stiles and it made him appreciate his mate's so much more than he already did.

"I have stamina in other things too," Zepar grinned, wriggling his brows a bit suggestively, which earned him an eye-roll from the Spark.

"Ye-ye... Shall we?" Stiles asked and threw the bat to the side, concentrating on releasing more of his magic until his whole body seemingly caught on the magical flames. "It's just you and me now. Don't run, little alpha..." he taunted Zepar, who snarled at him and moved in to attack before Stiles could release his full magic to annihilate the protection the other alpha had.

But Stiles was faster this time. He was already a step ahead of the big wolf and a dark smile spread on his face as his eyes began glowing brighter, the swirling magic around him taking up the form of big fiery wings, arms spread and held out as if he wanted to welcome his attacker, but it was to give the magic free rein and then he felt Derek move.

Derek had to suppress the urge to growl when Zepar has latched into the sexual innuendos again, and took a lot of effort to make sure his heart was slow and his breathing deep as if he was out cold. They couldn't afford the other alpha getting distracted by supposedly Derek 'waking up'. The more he thought he was the one winning, the more chance they had of taking him out because he had gotten too cocky.

Luckily, the Hale didn't need to have his eyes open to know when the magic was reaching its highest point, he could smell it, he could even sense it. It was all about the perfect timing. Let the older alpha get ready for the onslaught of magic he was about to receive while Derek used that moment to slowly rise from his spot, leaving a bloodstain behind on the rock but the wound had already healed. It hadn't been alpha inflicted, it had been stone inflicted. The rest of his wounds would take a few days, but neither were life-threatening, nor would limit him in any way until after the fight and he could be all grumpy about a fussing mate. Right now they were inconsequential.

As soon as he felt Stiles ready, he ran towards them just as Zepar was hit by the onslaught of the unleashed magic of the Spark, weakening all the runes and spells done on the giant while it rushed to Derek. The flames licked along his skin, warming it but not once damaging it as the wolf focused on letting it connect with him. It was a bending of will, happening fluently, the flames amassing around him while the magic rushed along his veins. His eyes went from red to glowing gold and ember, as if the fire was within as well, the phoenix not the only one rising from the ashes. A deafening roar shuddered the ground, made birds screech in fright and flew off in a hurry as the fire-filled alpha ran towards the other, the fire moving with him as if they were one being. They weren't, this was Stiles' magic working with Derek. And it had created something impressive and monstrous. The werewolf was a feral beast, the predator the stories rumored them to be.

Derek, at that point, felt so powerful he knew he could punch a fist through that massive chest and rip out the heart. If he wanted to. He didn't. Instead he punched that smug face a few times while dragging Zepar down by pouncing on him, straddling the older man, fighting to take him into a hold.

"NOW, STILES!"

It was clear from the surprised huff and widened eyes that they finally managed to take the other alpha off guard. He wasn't expecting them to work together like this, for Derek to be unaffected by the magical flames around him like that. Seeing it made Stiles feel a bit smug and proud, but he had to keep up his concentration.

To Derek's yell, the Spark dropped on his knees, open palms slamming onto the grassy ground and he channeled the magic into the earth, giving it a direction. Namely, the wrestling alphas. Zepar was already in a sitting position, trying to keep Derek away and buck him off, his many tattoos alight as the magic was trying to protect the wolf. But it wasn't enough. Stiles could feel it.

To make sure they'd succeed, he summoned another wave of magic and sent it through the earth. Right where Zepar was struggling, roots began growing out from the earth, wrapping around the massive body like magical ropes to restrain the alpha. And while that was happening, the Spark's magic was overwhelming the alpha's magical defenses, Stiles muttering fast with glowing eyes to break the runes' power over their foe.

It wasn't easy, thick sweat drops were sliding down from his hairline as he kept his flaming eyes on the other two, flaming hands shaking a bit from channeling such a massive amount of magic through the earth. But it was working. And he could feel the siren call of the lay lines too. Stiles was tempted to tap into them, to help amplify his powers, but he firmly resisted.

And in another minute the alpha's protection was broken, a blast of energy swiping through the clearing in front of the cabin, the roots holding the disoriented alpha immobilized. Stiles kept his hands on the ground to keep the channel open, but his fingers itched to reach behind his back and pull out his gun to send a wolfsbane bulled through the annoying asshole's scull.

Instead, the panting Spark's fiery eyes glimpsed at Derek with a small nod as if saying, 'he can't move, he's all yours to interrogate'.

Derek sensed the intense exhaustion running through Stiles, the way he was almost shivering from concentration to keep Zepar where he was. Time was limited so he had to make sure he would make the most of it, because if he didn't get what they wanted, then killing was the only option left. An option he was surprisingly reluctant about despite the agony Zepar had put them through twice. Three times even, since the two were going to need a little time recovering after this intense fight, Stiles would be depleted. Something they had known would happen, just as Derek had known he wouldn't be walking away unscathed. However this time the damage was nothing a few days of taking it easy wouldn't fix.

Grabbing the other alpha by the throat, Derek leaned in to get his attention, red eyes flashing. "I can rip your throat out right now, end this for all of us and you’d deserve it." His hold tightened in threat. "But I want you to set up a meeting with your boss. Do that and you can walk away."

Zepar snarled, spitting blood which spattered in Derek's face, adding to the gore already there from cracking his head on a stone.

"No, you listen. We don't want to harm them, we want to talk, end this. We deserve that much. These trials? They're done, we've proven ourselves. Now we want answers."

"It's not up to me. They might refuse to meet with you," Zepar gritted through his teeth, red eyes looking into Derek's without any fear for his life. Maybe he was a bit crazy and too wild.

"Then you make sure they will want to," Stiles snarled and with a tap of his hand against the ground sent a smaller wave, making the roots grow thicker and tighter around the captured alpha. "We're not asking. You saw what we can do. You know there's more. Don’t make me change my mind and use what you've been tempting me with," he warned as the amber veins slowly crawled up from the side of his neck to his face and temple. "You and the Council don't want to get on our bad side and you know that. Be wiser than this, Zepar," Stiles added with a dark little grin, making a few black and sharp thorns grow out from the roots near the alpha's neck and face just from thinking about it.

Zepar could only move his eyes towards the angry Spark. He wasn't a fool, he could feel the enormous amount of magic he was currently wielding, making the elements obey to his will. And he could tell this wasn't all. Stiles wasn't even tapping into the Nemeton or the lay lines' power. But he could if he wanted to. Zepar was also sure that these two could end his life if the Spark gave the go to his mate. The Leader would probably want revenge for his death, but the fate of these two weren't in Zepar's hands. It never was. He did his job, he taunted and tested them and obviously his secret was more or less out for the pair, so he could drop his act at this point.

"Fine. I'll talk to the Leader then we'll see. You can let me go now. I won't attack anyone unless provoked."

Stiles gave him a hard long look to see if he was telling the truth. Then decided that Zepar was sincere enough after he exchanged a look with his mate, a silent communication going down between them. Oh, how the Spark wanted to end this asshole's life and it would be so easy. He would just have to think it and it would be over. A part of him wanted to give in so badly, but he also felt through the bonds from Derek that he shouldn't. So he gave in and pulled the roots and magic back.

Stiles was constantly balancing on the line of going dark. Derek could feel it in moments like these where even he didn't know if his mate would be following up on his threats or not. Probably why Zepar didn't fear Derek at all, knowing the alpha would be fair and had no desire to kill unless forced into it. While the Spark was unstable and could let vengeance get the best of him. The Council saw that too, so it was going to be up to them to show that no matter what, it wouldn't get to that.

"We never provoked you, or others. You made Stiles unstable with your tests, with your attempts to take me away. Don't ever threaten my pack again," Derek’s hand wrapped around the throat despite the magic releasing the older alpha. The last words were snarled through his fangs, his voice dangerously low and cold. No, Derek Hale wasn't a killer but if he was forced into it, he'd do anything to protect his pack. He wasn't going to lose another one. He’d rather die. "Do you know why the alpha pack lost here in Beacon Hills? Because they wanted death when we wanted life."

Yes, Zepar wasn't the only one able to say words that were meant to hurt, like him losing his pack to an alpha pack a long time ago. Zepar got strong on taking lives, Beacon Hills wolves got strong on letting lives live. That kind of balance would always win in the end. The Nemeton might want sacrifices, but it hadn't done it any good, it would only grow darker. Derek pushed away from Zepar.

"Don't think to double cross us. When a pack wants a peaceful talk, your Council of Druids has to abide to that. We will make sure our intentions are made known to others. Wouldn’t want it to get out that the Council chose to ignore a peace offering."

They would be prepared nevertheless. They would try to heal as much as possible with the time given between now and the meeting. Hopefully it wouldn't come to having to use magic.

It seemed Zepar was finally taking them seriously, because he didn't shoot back any funny comments or threw flirting towards the slowly standing up Spark. He held the Hale's red gaze with his own for a long minute before he nodded against the tight hold on his throat.

"No double crossing. I'll let you know what the Leader decides. Now go. You both need some rest," he told Derek, nodding towards Stiles who was still glaring at him, ready to attack if needed, but the magic was pulled back, only making his veins and eyes glow by then. "Take care of your mate, Hale," he added then freed his throat and simply walked back into the cabin.

Which was surprising to Stiles, because this was the first time when Zepar acted somewhat decent and thoughtful. Until now they couldn't see this side of him. It was as if he had dropped a mask or something.

The surprise was still written all over the druid's face as he looked at Derek, ignoring the slight tremors and dull pain in his hands. "He's right. We should get going," he whispered to his mate, eyeing the torn and bloody clothes, but Derek looked better than the last time they had a confrontation with the other alpha.

Stiles knew that these wounds were going to take a little longer to heal because of being alpha-inflicted, but maybe the magic during a balancing might help with speeding the healing process up. Although right now Stiles just wanted to get out of there and nuzzle into his mate's embrace. He wasn't sure how long he was going to be able to pretend he wasn't exhausted to the bone and dizzy from using the magic on a bigger scale again. So he turned around, careful not to sway on his feet, and headed towards the spot where they entered the still intact ward.

Though this time he didn't try to find a weak spot to just make a tear in it. This time – both as a warning to Zepar and because it was easier – he held out a slightly trembling hand and broke the ward without stopping in his strides. Until he did stumble a bit but caught the bark of a tree just in time before he'd fall and began panting for air.

It was pure exhaustion Stiles felt and Derek didn't think his healing would be of help with it. Balancing would help to give whatever magic he had left within to his mate but he knew from experience, that they shouldn't do that right now. It was best to let Stiles sleep for a while, which was unavoidable with how much he was depleted.

"Maybe stop using magic," Derek grumbled, coming up behind his mate who was leaning heavily against a tree. Seemed like he was debating if passing out was a good thing or not when in the werewolf's opinion, it would be. For a short moment he looked at the pale human, letting him breathe in and out a few times.

And that was about all the patience he had before he reached out and scooped the human up. There was no way the other would be able to do more than a few steps in this condition, and they had some rough terrain to cover before getting to the car parked near the road. It was dark, nobody was going to see anything so if Stiles was against it because of his pride, nobody was going to know. "Relax and rest, you did well."

Without any strain, the Hale carried Stiles to the car, settling him in the passenger's seat. He wasn't worried about bloodstains in the upholstery, he'd check the next day and clean it because he couldn't be bothered to check himself over and take time to possibly try to bind some of the wounds. Since it was dark, the blood wouldn't be a problem, probably. Wiping at his face with his sleeve, he attempted to get rid of the worst of it since lights of the possible oncoming cars could show it. He set the heating higher, so Stiles would be more comfortable and strapped him into the seat belt.

The car drive back was quiet, Stiles out cold. Derek focused on avoiding attracting attention, driving the normal speed limit, taking back roads instead of the main one. There was some relaxing when they passed the sign of Beacon Hills, less danger of encountering trouble and there wasn't even one car he passed this late at night.

"We're home." He was not sure if Stiles was even awake enough to hear him.

During all this there was no disagreeing beep or argument from Stiles, which showed just how tired he was. He actually liked being close to Derek when he carried and cared for him, making sure he was as comfortable in the car as possible.

"Yeah... I can feel it," Stiles only mumbled that at first. He always could tell, because whenever they passed the Beacon Hills sign, there was a magical thug in him deep down. His connection to the land and the Nemeton. As if they were greeting him. Not that they were that far out in the Preserve, Stiles could feel the magic of the land there too, but the closer he was to the converging lay lines and the magical tree stump, the stronger he felt it. Even in his mostly depleted state.

"And you know I can't stop using magic. I tried before," he hinted at that mistake when he tried to lock it all away in him. He had learned his lesson from that. "It's part of me. Not using it would only make things worse," he said as he made himself turn his head towards Derek so he could watch the sharp lines of the stubbly face. "I don't think this is supposed to happen... The magic draining me this much." Because yes, each time he used a bigger amount, it took a toll on him physically and magic-wise too. "I think I'm missing something. I'll have to look into this."

"I didn't mean stop completely, I meant to not use spells at the moment when you're so tired." The term idiot wasn't used but heavily implied when Stiles assumed the worst when Derek was only talking about the now. When Stiles had broken the ward completely and had used precious energy he needed. Arriving at the loft, Derek turned the engine off to look at the tired human.

"Healing sight drained Jennifer, so I think it's normal or everybody would be able to use it. You're human, the body can only handle so much and looking for a way beyond that might create damage to you. So just… be careful." Looking into it couldn't hurt, of course not, it was the doing something about it that was the danger. How much could Stiles push before his own body was going to fall apart? "What we did back there, it wasn't nothing. Zepar was very powerful." And it was a win, they had done what they had wanted to do.

Not asking if Stiles needed help, Derek simply gave it, taking most of Stiles' weight to help him to the elevator. "You're going to sleep and then you're going to eat a whole lot, we'll balance and then you can do your research. In that order."

It was usually the other way around for Stiles. He was the one to help on others, so he was always bad at accepting help himself. But now he did it because it felt nice coming from his mate and it also put Derek's mind a bit more at ease. But he did give him an eye-roll and a heavy sigh for good measure.

"Yes, dad..." he grumbled, still holding onto Derek's shoulder, his side plastered against the nice warm one. He didn't even care about the mostly dried blood. Stiles even went as far as pecking Derek's lips as a silent 'thank you' for all the help.

"I don't think this 'Leader' will be here tomorrow anyways, so I believe we'll have at least a day or two before the meeting. We'll have to talk things over before we go there, too," he mumbled against the soft lips then rested his head against Derek's neck when the elevator door opened upstairs. "You also have to tend to your wounds. I can do that for you before bed," he offered, letting Derek head inside the loft with him.

A soft snort escaped the bloodied wolf, because Stiles could barely stand on his own two feet and yet he still offered to treat the wounds. "You can crawl into bed and I'll shower, if you're still awake when I'm back, you can look it over." The wounds were going to heal, and Derek was mostly planning on checking himself over to make sure nothing was bleeding anymore and consider it a job well done.

He took Stiles straight to the bedroom so his mate could sit down and maybe topple over, without hurting himself in the process. "Do you need something to eat or drink before I take that shower? I won't be long."

A simple wash and rinse to get the blood off. It would make it easier to inspect himself. Good thing he was wearing old clothes because as he fingered the t-shirt, he realized that wasn't salvageable anymore. At least the head wound was closed, those were always annoying bleeders.

"How lucky that you'd put on old clothes you didn't mind to get ruined," Stiles chuckled a bit, catching Derek's thought without realizing as he was kicking off his sneakers and socks. And wow, those felt like a chore at the moment but he somehow managed despite the fact that he just wanted to let his eyelids drop and make the room stop from spinning.

"Just some water, please," he mumbled and pulled his plaid shirt and T-shirt off, going for the struggle of taking his pants off too. There were still some of his veins faintly glowing under his skin, but he ignored it. God, how he hated being so drained. It was one of the worse occasions. But at least he didn't faint. Yet.

"Your wounds need to be cleaned and bandaged. Promise me you do that even if I fall asleep?" he muttered a bit sluggishly and dropped back on his pillow to lift his hips and shimmy his jeans lower, but he ran out of energy half-way and just laid there, looking up at Derek who was watching him and hopefully not judging him. "God, I hate it when this happens. But at least we had taught a lesson to that big smug ass of an alpha," he chuckled dryly.

Derek got a bottle of water from the fridge and was back before Stiles even knew it, placing it on the nightstand just as his mate gave up on undressing. "I will promise I will try to bandage the wounds I can get to." He knew better than to make a promise he wouldn't be keeping and how to make Stiles having to deal with what he got. There was no way the human was going to be able to be awake for bandaging with how he was half-asleep already.

The alpha helped undress the rest of the way, removing the jeans and socks and maneuvering Stiles onto the bed in a way that would leave room for Derek later too. "He did what he was told to do, that much was clear. It makes me wonder how much is it voluntary." Enslaving alphas wouldn't be the first time. Like the alpha pack forcing alphas to kill their own and keeping them. So yeah, Derek had been reluctant to kill Zepar, something didn't seem right with it all.

Leaning in, he kissed Stiles and covered him with the blanket, to go get that much needed shower. The clothes were tossed in a heap in the bathroom, he'd throw them out tomorrow. His focus was on some warm water streaming down his body, making the wounds sting while the tiles turned red. Especially his hair was clumped with blood and needed a thorough washing to get it clean, something he did rigorously and quickly. He had been so quick that the mirrors hadn't fogged up and he could inspect the damage without needing Stiles.

Yeah, there was no way he was going to bandage it all, he might as well turn into a mummy. "Stiles? You still awake?" he loudly called out, hoping for a no so he could slip into bed.

Meanwhile Stiles had to admit that he kinda liked his mate taking care of him. It took him a while to get here and it was far from the first time but until now he kinda fought it. Now it was just nice to be tucked in and kissed. While Derek was in the bathroom, he managed to drink half of the water from the bottle before he dragged the comforter over his cover too and then he was slipping in and out of sleep. His brain was too riled up and his body too cold along with one or two muscle cramps in his legs to let himself take that one step from being half-asleep to that blissful darkness. Not to mention his worrying about Derek's wounds. At least they weren't life-threatening ones like last time, but it didn't mean Stiles cared less about them.

He really had to find a solution to this weakness problem, though. And it wasn't just about getting too drained from his magic, but also about slowly losing weight. Which only slowed down and didn't fully stop despite the fact that he had started a diet put together by Derek. Lots of protein and all that crap Stiles never had to deal with before.

It's like there was something. Something he was missing and it was bugging him enough not to let the sounds of the shower lull him into a much-needed sleep.

So when he heard Derek's question, he answered with a slight slur to his voice as if he was drunk, but it was the exhaustion. Unless his mate had put something into his water, which wasn't likely. Right?

"Yeahhh... Need a hand with those wounds?"

Stubborn human didn't seem to want to sleep. He sounded more drunk, slurring his words, probably unable to do more than watch Derek dress the wounds bleary eyed. "No, it's fine, I'll be out there in a moment." They had a lot of gauze so he used the cloth patches to cover up the worst of the claw marks and used the light tape to keep them in place. Some of the scratches in his face got a few butterfly strips to put the skin back together. They should invest in wound glue. With his healing, it would probably work really well when there were alpha wounds.

That was enough, he thought and put it all away, cleaning up the empty packages, before strolling back to the bedroom naked to put on some underwear only. Time to join his mate in bed. After checking the alarm and the door to make sure it was locked, he slipped into the sheets to curl against the half-asleep human. Stubbornly attempting to remain awake when he was clearly in need of at least eight hours of shut eye.

"You can check tomorrow. They’re not going anywhere, and neither am I." Well, he was. To make breakfast after sleep. A ton of food to make the other eat.

"Hm... that sounds great..." Stiles mumbled, worming himself closer to Derek, mindful of the injuries as much as he could. He was clearly after the werewolf heat which made the Hale's body like a furnace next to him. So once he found a comfortable position against Derek's side, head resting on his shoulder and a hand resting over his mostly uninjured stomach, Stiles sighed satisfied and relieved. "Couldn't fall asleep... without knowing you're okay... and without my furnace," he mumbled, feeling the trembling of his warming up body ebb down under the blankets.

"You were so amazing tonight... So good with the fire and the protection spell... So proud of you," he continued with some difficulty to articulate the words but he knew Derek would get them. "Thank you... for holding me back..." From stepping over that dangerous line, from giving in to the easier, destructive way. It wasn't as close like when he and Jordan had found the barely alive Derek on top of the Nemeton. But it was still way too close to Stiles' liking.

He knew Derek would understand too – hopefully – so he buried himself more into his mate, gently stroking the wolf's stomach while the nice warmth and his mate's scent surrounded him, lulling him closer to dreamland. And he finally allowed himself to let his mind slip away, feeling cared for and protected despite everything. He was the luckiest druid/emissary/mate in the world.

"I'm proud of you too." Derek nuzzled him and kept him close, not saying anything to the way Stiles had come close to going over to the darker side again. There was darkness within him, the temptation of power so close by and ripe for the taking… It was always going to be a serious threat to them. Understandably so. Just as Stiles was going to help Derek deal with all the crap in his head, so was the Hale going to help with the darkness in every way he could. It was the right thing to do. It was the only thing to do for his mate.

Next part

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