I want to belong (Teen Wolf)

Chapter 10

He didn't expect to hear a sudden snarl, before hearing a familiar voice groan as a body was slammed into the wall outside of the pack apartment.

"What do you think you're doing here, Hale?"

Stiles was up and moving to the front door before Kali could stop him. Coming to a skidding stop next to Deucalion, Stiles squeaked when he was promptly pushed behind his Alpha until he was once again out of view from Peter Hale.

"Stiles" Peter was cut off by Deucalion's nails pressing into his throat, hand clenching even tighter against his neck. Leaning around his Alpha a little, though keeping his hands up against Deucalion's back in an attempt to reassure the agitated Werewolf that he was still there, Stiles saw the surprise and relief flashing through Peter's eyes, even as his airway was cut off.

That explained the one weak pack bond he had left from before being bitten.

"Deuc, he's okay, he's....Deuc." Stiles stood up on his tiptoes, clumsily rubbing their cheeks together to reassure Deucalion that he was alright, and would be staying right where he was.

"Darling, he's a Hale ." Deucalion answered, not retracting his claws from Peter's neck even though the beta wolf was keeping his body limp  which might also be due to the lack of oxygen reaching his brain.

"I know, but he....he's Peter. I told you he looked out for me, he just hasn't been around lately. I still feel him, Deuc. I feel him here." Stiles tapped his chest, a little above his heart.

He jumped a little in surprise when Ennis' hand came to rest on his head, flushing when he saw the understanding look he was being given.

"Are you certain, darling?" Even as he asked, Deucalion gentled his grip a little, just enough that Peter could take a gasping breath, fighting off the unconsciousness that had been creeping up on him.

"Yeah I...." Stiles shook his head a little, before resting his forehead against his Alpha's back again, relaxing as he felt the bunched muscles lose a bit of their tenseness. "Peter wasn't there when ......when they....." Is what Stiles ended up saying, stuttering over the painful memory that was him being cast out.

At hearing Stiles voice break a little, Deucalion finally released Peter so he could turn around and drag Stiles into a hug. He gently pressed Stiles face to where his neck met his shoulder, letting out a soothing rumble when Stiles tried his best to hide his face, his feelings, his emotions.

"Let's get you back inside, shall we, darling?"

"Can Peter come inside? Please?"

Deucalion tilted his head a little to focus on Peter and his reaction to the question, but his scent was nothing but worried and a little apprehensive. None of the wolf's attention seemed to be on him, only on his boy. The wolf didn't seem to be here to hurt Stiles, not if he was so easily ignoring the presence of five Alphas none of whom were all too happy with any of the Hale pack and Hale pack adjacent's, to make sure Stiles was alright.

It got him a bit of reluctant approval, enough for Deucalion to cave a little bit.

"He can come in." Peter's head snapped up, surprise and a little disbelief coloring his scent, clearly not having expected to be invited into the den of an Alpha who did not know him. Just because it was requested of him by, well, he didn't know what Stiles was to Deucalion yet. But Stiles seemed to like the wolf, a little unsure but not apprehensive.

Peter was able to enter the apartment, only after Deucalion had led Stiles back inside and the twins had followed after them, leaving Kali to flank him with a nasty smirk on her face that promised pain if he overstepped to him invisible boundaries, and Ennis walking behind him, blocking his exit.

Sure, he had been invited in. But none of his movements were trusted in the least.

Thoughts were spinning in Peter's head as he tried to figure out what hell was going on while he was being escorted inside.

How had the boy he had spent the better part of the night searching for ended up here, in the den of the Alpha Pack? And why was he seemingly such an important - guest? Fixture? Partner?

Peter just needed to know what was going on, needed to know why his pack bond with Stiles had recently changed a drastic amount. It had gone from nearly fading completely to a sudden bright but almost hesitant bond.

"Please, sit down."

It didn't sound like an offer really, and Peter sat down on the chair Deucalion had motioned to without further prompting. Still not taking his eyes off a fidgeting Stiles, watching as the boy sighed and relaxed a little as he was pulled on the sofa next to Deucalion and dragged into an embrace.

"Can I ask Stiles, are you okay?"

Ignoring the way the twin Alphas were standing behind his chair, hands on the backrest perilously close to his throat, Peter watched with worried eyes as Stiles buried himself a little deeper into the Alpha of Alpha's side.

"He's quite alright." Deucalion spoke up, voice soft but dangerous, a clear warning for Peter to not overstep. Not that he was all that sure how he could overstep when he didn't know where the invisible boundaries lay. "I am just not sure why a Hale would care about my darling."

"Why a Hale, Why shouldn't I care?" Peter's lips raised in a little snarl, eyes flashing.

That wasn't much appreciated by Ennis and Kali  who were standing protectively on either side of the sofa Stiles and Deucalion were sitting on as they flashed fang, eyes burning red in warning.

"Did you know, Peter?" Stiles soft voice broke through the tense standoff, and Peter let his shift fade away, frowning a little at Stiles in confusion. "I know you wasn't there when it happened, but did you know they kicked me out of the pack?"

"They did what ?" Peter reared back, staring at Stiles with shock in his eyes, looking at the other wolves in the room for confirmation, finding only emotionless, unimpressed faces staring right back at him. "Why?"

Instead of answering, Stiles shrugged a little, though his scent soured considerably.

"It appears." Deucalion spoke up even as he laid a hand across Stiles neck, caressing the tender skin there. "That the Alpha thought my little one to be weak. Your nephew ripped his pack bonds, savaged them and cast him out."

Even though the retelling of what had happened was clearly bothering Stiles, who would much rather forget what Derek had so painfully done to him, the boy still relaxed as Deucalion kept a gentle grip around his neck.

To Peter, it looked an awful lot like Deucalion was intentionally leaving as much of his scent on Stiles as he could.