The Druid

Chapter 1

Being dragged to another pack meeting where nothing you said was taken of value was awful. It seemed as though whenever he tried to have input, he was always ignored or his idea was taken and either disregarded straight away or the others would discuss it and then decide it was a bad idea – usually because Scott didn't like it and what he said went. So, Stiles had come to resent pack meetings now. Another reason as to why he was starting to hate them so much was how Scott ignored him as soon as they walked through the door. Every time they went to pack meetings together, his best friend conversed with the pack and disregarded him. Stiles desperately wanted to leave but he had to stay as he was Scott's ride.

'Great. That's all I'm needed for, now.' Stiles miserably thought. He looked around the room full of supernaturals along with a couple of humans sprinkled in the mix and thankfully, no one was paying much attention to him so he quietly left the living room and disappeared out the back door and made his way into the forest surrounding the Hale house.

Derek had rebuilt the house after the events of the Anuk-Ite after much convincing from the pack. Stiles, in particular, was glad he did. On nights when he needed time to himself but didn't want to be at his father's, the Hale house had been a safe place for him to go to. And Derek never complained about it, even if he was a grumpy sourwolf. Stiles secretly thought Derek enjoyed having the company in such a big house.

Stiles took a grateful deep breath of fresh air as he wandered the trail through to get to a little clearing. It had a little pond and was doused in bright moonlight thanks to there being so little light from artificial ones. Stiles was thankful that there were no city lights, he loved gazing at the stars on a clear night. He visibly relaxed and became much calmer as he wandered. He felt way more at ease being in nature than being in a house where little to nobody seemed to talk to him. He arrived at the clearing and took a seat on one of the moss covered logs, thankful that it was dry.

'I just want to go home. I hate how much time the pack is taking up now. Especially Scott.' Stiles thought to himself. Scott had been making him get up at 5 am lately and he wasn't getting home most nights until 11 pm to 4 am. And it was putting a huge toll on Stiles. His father especially was getting very worried about his son. Stiles needed proper rest to even do basic functions.

"What are you doing out here, Stiles? Shouldn't you be in the pack meeting?" A voice suddenly spoke from the darkness of the trees. He jumped and leapt to his feet as he looked around wildly. His senses were on alert as he heard twigs snapping and Derek's little sister, Cora, emerged from the tree line. He let himself calm down again and took a deep breath as relief coursed through his body. Cora had come back a few weeks ago from South America to visit Derek and the pack and had decided to stick around for a while. Her reasoning was she had been gone for too long and wanted to catch up with all of them.

"I needed some air, it was getting too stuffy in there." Stiles made up a lie on the spot and hoped to God she wouldn't pick up on it. "Why?"

Cora sighed and walked over to Stiles and sat down on the log, patting beside her. Stiles followed and resumed his position. "Don't lie to me, Stiles." She said softly and faced him. "I can hear the increase in your heartbeat. You're upset about something. What's up?"

'Stupid werewolf senses,' Stiles internally cursed. "Nothing's up, I'm fine. Honestly. I'm just taking a moment to myself. I haven't gotten much of that these days." He quietly said and looked out into the darkness of the forest in front of the two young adults, a faraway look on his face.

"They've been taking up a lot of your time." Cora said softly, watching him with a slightly concerned look.

Stiles nodded in agreement. "My dad's worried about me, given how late I've been getting home and how early I've been leaving." He murmured. "And the worst part is, I don't even feel like they want me in the pack anymore." He continued staring at the dark canopy of the trees. Something about it was making him feel peaceful and more at ease.

"You should talk to Scott. He should be doing something about it." Cora narrowed her eyes.

Stiles let out a soft, sarcastic chuckle. "Believe me, I've tried. He isn't listenin g to me anymore." He sighed.

"But you're his best friend." Cora was a little shocked to say the least. Stiles turned back to her and gave her a weak smile.

"I thought I was. But now, it's starting to feel like the only reason I'm at these meetings is because I'm Scott's ride." There was a bitter tone shining in Stiles' voice, taking Cora by surprise. "What do I do, Cora?"

"Maybe you should try talking to Derek. Maybe Scott will listen to him." She suggested.

Stiles shook his head. "No, I don't want to make it Derek's problem. And I don't want to cause internal problems in the pack." He sighed and shifted his gaze to the stars.

"Stiles, you need to do something. I don't want to watch you suffer like this for nothing." Cora said softly and stood. "I hope you'll think of something. And Derek and I will support you." She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before she walked back in the direction of the house.

Derek sighed as he watched Cora and Stiles from his bedroom window. He had noticed Stiles' scent slowly disappear from the living room and went to look for him while the pack were still conversing. He had heard his sister and Stiles speaking faintly and followed the direction of their voices and headed to his room since it was at the back of the house and it got him closer to them without alerting them that he was listening.

Derek had picked up on Scott's behaviour lately and he had become bitterly disappointed in the true alpha. The way Scott was treating his best friend was beyond him. And to hear Stiles say he felt like he wasn't wanted in the pack anymore angered him. Stiles had been such a key component in the past and he still continued to be. If they lost him, Derek had no idea how the pack would function.

Derek watched his sister walk back into the house and headed down to greet her. He stopped her before she could walk into the living room, his eyes watching her closely. Cora watched her older brother and narrowed her eyes, speaking before he could. "You were listening." She spoke softly.

"I was. I noticed Stiles had disappeared and then heard you two talking." Derek responded.

"You have to do something, Derek. I'm worried for his mental health." Cora said and looked at the back door. Stiles hadn't come back yet.

"I will, Cora. Leave it to me." Derek promised. Cora nodded and headed off to the stairs, climbing them to her room and left the pack to it.

Derek headed into the living room and made his way over to Scott. "Scott, can I talk to you?" He asked. Scott nodded and followed when Derek turned on his heels and led Scott into the dining room. He slid the doors shut so they would have a little bit of privacy.

"What's up?" Scott asked as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Do you know where Stiles is?" He asked, folding his own arms.

"Yeah, he's......... here." Scott's voice trailed off as realisation dawned on him that his best friend was missing. "Where is he?"

"You're supposed to know that, Scott. He's your best friend and part of your pack. And with the way you've been treating him lately, it isn't fair on him or his father."

Scott looked at Derek with sudden anger in his eyes. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He growled, a dangerous edge in his voice.

Derek wasn't fazed. "Scott, you've been treating him like your own personal lap dog. You and the rest of the pack aren't seemingly recognizing the help he's been putting in to keep the pack running. You don't listen to his ideas and he's had some damn good ones. His dad is stressing about him, mainly because of his mental and physical health."

Scott's glare turned to a more intense anger, his red eyes replacing his usual brown. "I'm not treating him like anything! You know nothing about the relationship we have, he's not your friend so stay the fuck out of it." He growled and stormed off.

Derek watched Scott walk away with a very confused expression mixed with anger. But he managed to keep his cool and prevented himself from following and potentially murdering him in front of the pack. There was something going on with the pack and Scott's reaction made him that much more determined to find out exactly what it was. He didn't care if Stiles didn't want to make it anyone's problem. It was everyone's problem now and they needed to get it sorted before something bad happened again. And if no one else was going to do anything about it, Derek would.