"Jax, come on. I don't have all day, you know. And this was your idea too," tapping his foot impatiently, Stiles groaned as he checked the time on his phone for the umpteenth time waiting for the werewolf. "If you don't come down right now, I'm leaving you and I'm not fucking kidding."
The werewolf on cue finally came barreling down the stairs in a frenzy hearing Stiles's threat and ran headfirst into Stiles's legs, the two tumbling down the last few steps of the stairs with Stiles groaning on the floor in pain. Jackson was slumped over Stiles, having fallen on top of his mate amidst the chaos, and barked once as if asking Stiles if he was alright, nudging at him until he had enough of Stiles's gangly arms swatting his muzzle away as Stiles kept responding that he was fine.
"Okay, okay, I'm up. God, what took you so long, you don't need time to get ready at all," Stiles just sighed as Jackson met Stiles's gaze head-on, tongue hanging out of his mouth panting cheekily as he kept trying to push Stiles to the door. "Oh my gosh, I got it. Stop pushing me already you big oaf."
After locking the door behind him Stiles watched amused as Jackson ran ahead, circling his Jeep in excitement as he waited for Stiles to unlock the car to let him in. Opening his door, Stiles let Jackson in first, watching the werewolf climb into the driver's seat before jumping into the passenger seat before he finally got in. Putting his seat belt in place, Stiles started the car and ran his hands through Jackson's fur as he waited for Jackson to get comfortable before he pulled out, "I just hope no one pulls me over for having a wolf in here, unless I tell them it's just an abnormally large dog. Yeah, that works, it's Beacon Hills, nobody will suspect a thing. Well, maybe my dad, but I doubt he'll be patrolling today. Yep, we'll be fine. Or at least I hop— OW! Okay, sheesh, I'm driving. Stop trying to eat me, I already fed you lunch– well early lunch, but you get the picture, no. Stop. JACKSON!"
Ignoring his mate, Jackson kept teething playfully at Stiles's free hand that wasn't on the wheel, whining when Stiles ignored his pleas to keep petting his fur. Getting tired of having to drag his arm away from Jackson's sneaky teeth, Stiles sighed, giving in like he always did, "God, you are so needy."
Jackson huffed in response, but had stopped trying to gnaw on his mate's fingers, instead panting in delight as he felt Stiles scratching at his ear as he stared out the window. The two remained quiet throughout the rest of the trip with Jackson occasionally nipping at Stiles's fingers every time he pulled his hand away to quickly make a turn, the quietness a little out of the ordinary for the two but nevertheless peaceful. Once they arrived at the lot next to one of the hiking trails, Stiles pulled away from Jackson completely to park the car, chuckling at the werewolf's obvious grumbles of displeasure before he climbed out of the car, Jackson at his heels, too impatient to wait for Stiles to walk around to the other side.
"Come on, we only have a few hours before we have to go back to cook dad dinner," Jackson huffed in response, but bumped his head against the back of Stiles's legs to get the other moving forward into the preserve as Stiles kept talking. "You think Derek knows we're here?" having given up on pushing Stiles to move faster, Jackson trotted slightly ahead, choosing to ignore the question, and digging his nose into the dirt and knocking over rocks. As dumb as Jackson looked, Stiles smiled in amusement, gazing at the werewolf fondly; god Stiles really owed everything to Jackson.
"I'll take that as you don't care, but I think he knows. I mean this is his property, it's been a while since I've seen him though, but I doubt he'll come looking for us, let alone me. I mean I'm only human, like what use am I? I mean even Scott left me... everybody left me... except you. You've always been here for me, but— but now that I'm thinking about it, you were lonely too weren't you?" Stiles's heart ached when he realized how alone Jackson must have felt after the whole kanima incident. Most of the pack choosing to ignore or even straight out avoid the other. The only time Stiles remembered where everyone was in one place at once were Scott's pack meetings, but even those had been brief. Stiles paused to sigh, still feeling the sting of losing his friends and his pack, but he wouldn't let this stop him. Not now, not when Jackson was by his side. Stiles hummed a small tune as he continued trekking through the bushes and low branches to Jackson's favorite clearing, "I guess we were both a little lonely, but I'm glad you went looking for me. God, I don't know what I would've done without you. My dad too."
Jackson, who was half listening to Stiles's rambling, felt his stomach drop when Stiles talked about being hurt and alone without Scott, and was about to pad back over to his mate to comfort him when he picked up the sounds of rustling and branches breaking from his left. Jackson stopped moving and spun in the direction of the noise, growling when he heard two different sets of steps, Jackson really hoped it was the pack but one whiff of their scent told Jackson otherwise.
"–Like I can't believe him, he thinks he can just parade back into my life like nothing happ— Jax! What's up?" not realizing that Jackson had stopped moving in the middle of his rant, Stiles accidentally stumbled into the wolf who was currently growling into the bushes and stood protectively in front of Stiles. "Hey, is somebody there?"
Jackson didn't answer and pushed Stiles further behind him, body coiled and alert. Was it Scott or one of the pack?
Stiles stood from behind Jackson's tense form, watching the bushes part to reveal two figures. Stiles wasn't able to tell who it was from where he was standing, the lack of light shielding them in the beginnings of darkness. He stared wide-eyed as the two bodies moved out from under the shadows and came face-to-face with the Alpha twins.
"Oh god, what the hell?! Are we going to die? I am not ready to die? Well, I kind of was before ya know, but I'm perfectly fine now and would greatly appreciate not being shredded into pieces. So, please leave us alone. Please?" the twins shared a glance between them before turning back to Stiles, both sporting malicious grins on their faces and took a step forward, taunting Jackson and laughing when the other werewolf growled at the two as Stiles moved to take a step back. "No? Why not? I mean we didn't come here looking for you. We just wanted a walk— lovely day for a walk isn't it, ahaha."
With every sentence, Stiles took a step back with Jackson moving along to create distance between the two parties. "Aw, is the wittle human scared? Well, you should be. What do you think Aiden, should we kill him? Maybe that'll teach McCall not to mess with us."
Ethan sneered, flashing his fangs at Jackson and Stiles, eyes glowing a deep blood red. Stiles shivered in fear when Aidan's eyes also turned red, he was certain they would rip Stiles to pieces if they caught him. "What the fuck! Scott doesn't give a damn about me, let me go. I'm here on my own terms."
The twins continued as if Stiles hadn't said anything, instead choosing to move closer to close the distance between them. After an intense game of push and pull, the twins were standing a mere few feet away, cackling at the scent of Stiles's fear in the air. Jackson, hating the putrid scent of his mate's terror, stood his ground, standing at full height in his fully-shifted form. "Hey bro, maybe we should kill the wolf instead, it might be part of McCall's pack. I didn't even know they had a full-shift."
"NO! DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Despite being threatened earlier, the only life that mattered to Jackson was Stiles and the hell was he going to let his mate try to protect him. Stiles was snarky, passionate, and caring, but he was also fragile, human and he could get hurt easily. Jackson didn't think Stiles was weak, but at this moment, it was obvious who was at more of a disadvantage. Anything could happen if the Alphas jumped and he was going to do his best to make sure Stiles escaped out of here alive.
"You're right E, maybe we should kill them both, a human and a wolf. McCall won't be able to ignore us then." Jackson kept growling at them every time they mentioned killing Stiles and moved towards them, snarling and baring his teeth at them. "Look, he's mad. He doesn't want us to hurt the human."
"Maybe we should kill him instead, maybe he'll go rogue. What do ya think?" They both laughed as Jackson's growls became louder and more aggressive. Their laughs sounded too carefree, as if this was some kind of game... out of nowhere it dawned upon Stiles, this was a joke to them. The twins coincidentally found them in the preserve the one day they decided to go; a wrong place, wrong time. Just their fucking luck, Stiles thought. During his realization, Stiles finally noticed Jackson was now much closer to the twins, keeping Stiles far behind him and out of sight after Jackson had shoved him to hide behind a tree.
"How should we kill him? Maybe we could cut off an arm or leg. Ooh, or maybe we can play cat and mouse, that'd be fun, make him run around fearing for his life. Or maybe we can–"
Launching his entire body at Aidan, Jackson cut him off, snarling and snapping his jaws, eyes blazing blue. Ethan, seeing his chance to kill Stiles had only taken a step before Jackson was also slamming into him. Staggering from the unexpected attack, Ethan hadn't noticed Jackson closing his jaw around his leg, only realizing when Jackson bit through the skin and snapped the bone in two. Howling in pain, Ethan fell down, distancing himself from Jackson as he tried to nurse his wound. Staring widely, Ethan jerked his gaze around frantically, trying to find his twin only to freeze at the sight of Jackson ripping out a chunk of Aiden's shoulder; the other collapsing in pain.
Stiles scrambled back, eyes wide from his place on the ground from when Ethan had tried to pounce on him, and was frozen in fear as the very werewolf he had been sheltering nearly shred the twins apart. Unable to close his eyes despite the gory sight of blood everywhere, Stiles could only stare wide-eyed as scream after scream fell from the twin's lips as Jackson ripped into them teeth and claws.
In what felt like hours but was really only minutes, Jackson had the twins at his mercy as the two laid on the ground, completely battered and unable to move from the broken bones and the pool of blood surrounding them. Stiles couldn't believe his eyes, Jackson had really just taken down two Alpha wolves. Maybe it was Jackson's full-shift that gave him an advantage, but that was the least of Stiles's worries. Reaching out for Jackson, Stiles finally noticed that his body was shaking, his pale hands quivering, yet Stiles couldn't tell if it was from the adrenaline or fear. But he did know he needed to stop Jackson. Stiles wasn't stupid, he could see that Jackson had lost himself the moment Ethan had lunged for Stiles, but... but Stiles didn't think Jackson was going to kill them. He knows Jackson has killed before, but this was a completely different situation, and Stiles didn't want this blood on Jackson's hands, not at Stiles's cost. When Jackson didn't respond to Stiles's weak cries, calling for Jackson to come back, he pushed himself up on shaky hands, only to fall back down, unable to lift his weight. Slumped on the ground, Stiles knew he had to get up, he needed to, if not for the twin's sake, for Jackson's sake. Desperate to get to Jackson's side, Stiles used the last of his strength to push forward, crawling on his hands and knees to the other, begging for Jackson to stop.
"Jax, Jackson, please. Stop, please, Jackson. For me, you can't," Stiles pleaded, hiccuping small sobs as Jackson didn't respond. When his words didn't work, Stiles tried to pull Jackson back with his touch, dropping his shaky hands onto Jackson's blood-covered coat, and slowly began to stroke at the darkened fur. "No more, please, let's just go. I'll call Derek or something. Hell even Scott if I have to, but please Jackson, please."
Stiles didn't know what he was begging for anymore, but he was distraught, praying that anything he said would get Jackson to stop and come back to him. Cradling Jackson's bloody muzzle in his lap, Stiles noticed that Jackson's eyes were brighter than usual and the rings around them were a shade of bloody red. Stiles sucked in a breath at the sight, unable to comprehend what was happening and wrapped his arms around Jackson, murmuring pleas into his neck, body still shaking from the shock, tears pooling in his eyes before they spilled over. "Please Jackson, I want to go home. Jax, please... Please, let's go h–home." Jackson had stopped attacking the twins the second Stiles wrapped his arms around him, afraid that Stiles might get hit in the crossfire, but Jackson still remained close, unwilling to let them out of his sight.
After some time to calm his racing heart, Stile knew he had to get Jackson out of here, but Jackson was stubborn, only moving a few feet away when Stiles tried to drag him farther away. Jackson even barked angrily at Stiles when he went to check for their pulses, which were still beating, albeit slow. Stiles was just glad that they were still alive; more so for Jackson's sake than his own, however. Giving up, Stiles slumped down next to Jackson, thankful that Jackson at least had put some distance between them and the twins, but he knew they couldn't stay here forever. His dad was going to be worried if they didn't come home soon and Stiles still wasn't sure what to make of this attack. Does he tell Scott? Would the other even believe him considering the state the twins were in? He had to... right? It was self-defense, the Alphas attacked them, and Jackson fought back doing his best to protect Stiles. Despite going a little overboard, Stiles couldn't blame Jackson, in fact, he was a bit surprised at how protective Jackson was; keeping Stiles out of sight, not letting him fight, even breaking their bones for attempting to touch Stiles. Stiles hadn't realized how much he had meant to Jackson, but he could see it now; how hard Jackson always fought to keep him safe and happy.
But Jackson also meant the world to Stiles. The werewolf had come crashing into his life when Stiles needed someone the most and he was so thankful it was Jackson. Stiles didn't know why Jackson had stayed with Stiles, dealing with his hurricane of emotions every day, but he will forever be glad it was Jackson. Stiles hadn't had someone by his side for a while and remembering that he had almost lost that today will always be a painful reminder.
Stiles had thought it was going to be a losing battle, a fragile human and an Omega full-shift wolf against two Alphas; two Alphas who had killed for and asserted their status. The odds were not in their favor, but Jackson still somehow managed to defeat the odds and Stiles will forever be grateful.
During his tirade of thoughts, Stiles was finally able to pull Jackson far enough away from the twins and sat down with his wolf curled around him in a cold patch of grass. The two sat there until the sun went all the way down, cloaking them in the darkness before Stiles managed to pull the wolf away from the clearing and Jackson led them back to his Jeep where he drove them back home, hands still shaking and eyes darting left and right in anxiousness still.
.
"What the hell do you think happened? What attacked them?" Scott stood next to Deaton as the vet bandaged one of the twin's abdomen, grabbing a pair of scissors to cut off the excess material. Derek and the rest of the pack stood around the room, eyes trained on the twin Alphas who were still passed out on the medical tables, Derek having found them in the preserve during his nightly patrol.
"I believe it was a wolf, most likely a fully-transformed wolf as you can see the teeth marks and the size of the jaw are far too big to belong to a shifted wolf," Deaton answered as he stepped back after showing Derek who was closest to him.
Derek looked at the marks, eyes scanning both bodies that seemed to carry the same bite marks, some wounds were still gaping and bleeding, the skin peeling where Deaton had not yet tended to, still unable to imagine what had attacked them. Rogues were one possibility, but the last sighting had been weeks before the Alpha pack's arrival. The idea that it was Jackson flashed through Derek's mind, but he wasn't sure as the scent he had picked up at the scene was strangely unfamiliar and yet still familiar to him. Derek couldn't quite place it, but he knew his wolf recognized the scent, he just didn't know who.
"But none of us can fully shift, and I doubt any of their own turned against them," Scott muttered, trying to figure out who attacked them.
Derek shook his head before speaking, "No, their pack is still a suspect, they're an all-Alpha pack, maybe one of them said something that provoked the other to attack the two of them, but I don't know if any of them can actually transform. And the only person I know that can transform is Jackson, but I haven't seen or scented him in nearly a month. We've been too busy trying to deal with the Alpha pack that we've completely forgotten about him."
That caught the attention of the entire pack as they realized that Derek was right. After the kanima turned werewolf had fallen off their radar, they hadn't bothered to keep searching for Jackson, the Alpha pack's attacks had taken priority and time had escaped them. How long has it been since any of them had last spotted Jackson?
"Okay, let's say you're right, if it is Jackson, then why did he attack them? And why now? He's nowhere to be found, so why would he come out of hiding now just to fight them. They nearly died, Derek, why didn't he finish them? There's no way he would've left them alive if he was still roaming around rogue." Scott threw question after question out in the air, voice nearly pitched in hysteria for any answers.
"Regardless, we are not certain that Jackson is rogue, are we? There's a chance he may have gone looking for Stiles and they have solidified a bond, meaning Jackson would be aware and in the right state of mind," Deaton stated as he continued looking over the rest of the twin's injuries.
"So what do we do? It's not like we can just go looking for Jackson again because that was a disaster before and I'm not too sure about going to Stiles, the last time we talked, things didn't go over so well."
"Scott, you have to go talk to Stiles, if we haven't been able to find Jackson, there's a big chance that Stiles has taken him in. There's no way Jackson would've skipped town and the only other option is Jackson is rogue." Lydia pressed further, "But in the case that Jackson was rogue and attacked them, something or somebody had to have stopped him from killing the twins– and the only person I could think of who could do this is Stiles."
.
Walking up the familiar driveway to Stiles's door, Scott realized that he couldn't remember the last time he had walked these steps. They used to be at each other's houses all the time, attached to the hip for days, but... not anymore. Seeing the sight of Stiles's door hurt, Scott remembered when he used to be able to sneak in with his key, but he was sure that he lost the privilege on the day of their fight. Hesitating for a few moments, Scott held his breath as he slowly raised his hand to knock on the door, but to his surprise, the door swung open right before his hand made contact with the wood.
"What do you want?" Scott flinched at Stiles's cold tone, his hand which had only been a few centimeters away from the door, dropped to his side. Scott had no clue what to say, even though he was the one to agreed to talk to Stiles. Stiles, who was his childhood best friend. His former best friend.
"If you're not going to say anything, then get out. I don't have time to play along with your bullshit." Stiles's words struck Scott's heart painfully, when did their friendship become this, how did this even happen? Scott winced at Stiles's harsh tone, licking his dry lips to stall and try to figure out what to say next that wouldn't make the other blow up at him.
"Hey, uh... how are you?" Stiles scoffed, he couldn't believe his ears. Weeks of Scott and the rest of the pack ignoring him and Scott thinks asking him how he was doing was going to solve their problems and make everything go back to the way things were before.
"How are you? What the hell do you want from me? When I tried to talk to you, you kept blowing me off. When I needed your help and you said you'd be there, you abandoned me. And you know what? When you needed something, I was there. I was there for you and you weren't. You left me, you broke my trust and our friendship. So whatever you came here for, I don't care. I'm not going to help you because you couldn't figure it out yourself. I said it once already and I'll say it again.
"And if you haven't noticed, we're done. I don't need you, so fuck off!" Stiles panted, chest heaving as he forced the words out, arms thrown out to the side to emphasize his words, glaring as Scott who couldn't say anything in response. Scott should've expected the pain in hearing the same words again twice, but no matter how many times Stiles's said it, the despair always hit him as if it were the first time hearing it. It hurt so fucking bad, but Scott knew better than to argue back, because Stiles was right.
Stiles was right, Scott had abandoned Stiles when he needed him. He had left his best friend alone, left him without anyone else to help him. He broke Stiles's trust, and even though it's his fault, it stung so bad to see and hear Stiles throw it in Scott's face. His best friend from childhood up to now didn't trust him anymore, Scott did this. Scott broke them.
Stiles stood tensely in the doorway, arms have fallen during Scott's racing mind, glaring at the werewolf on his doorstep, hoping Scott would take the hint and leave soon. Stiles hoped Scott was too busy to notice his shaking hands, how they shook as he gripped the end of his t-shirt till his knuckles turned white. He wasn't lying, he wanted Scott to leave, but it was so difficult to say out loud. All Stiles had wanted since was for Scott to notice him again, but not like this. Stiles knew he was here for the Alpha twins, not because he cared about Stiles. Apparently, those days from where Scott cared about Stiles were long over.
"We found Aiden and Ethan, the Alpha pack twins, nearly mauled to death in the preserve earlier today," Scott paused, hand rising up to run through his hair. "We just wanted to know if you knew anything about it."
Stiles scoffed, of course Scott just came because they ran into a problem, not because he was fucking worried about Stiles. Stiles knew he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up, but a boy could dream. After all, Scott was his best friend, someone he could trust, but not anymore Stiles decided, "No, and guess what? Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Now fucking leave me alone and don't come to my house anymore."
Biting his lips in unease, Scott nodded, unsure of how to respond to Stiles's harsh words. Staring at each other for a few moments, Scott hung his head in defeat, hating that the only thing he could do to make Stiles happy was to leave. Scott wished he could apologize to Stiles, and say sorry for abandoning him, for letting him think Scott didn't care, but he knew it was futile. Not when Stiles didn't trust him anymore. Not when he now knew that his words held no meaning to Stiles.
Scott walked back to his bike slowly, still unable to comprehend what had happened, Stiles still standing in his doorway, glaring at him to move faster. Scott sighed, wishing that he had tried harder to fix their friendship before pulling his helmet on and starting the engine. He looked up, giving one last glance at the figure in the house, before resigning to himself that he had failed someone he cared for and left.
However, as much as Scott cared about Stiles, he couldn't forget how Stiles's heartbeat jumped when he asked him about the twins. Scott wasn't sure if it was because of Stiles's anxiety since his heart was beating erratically throughout the whole conversation, but Scott just had a hunch that Stiles had some part in the twin's undoing. After all, this was Stiles he was talking about; the same old Stiles who always got caught up in all the trouble.
But the strangest thing of all from this visit was that Stiles's scent changed. Scott nearly didn't recognize the scent when he was face to face with Stiles earlier, but Stiles's old scent was still there. Hints of honey here and there, but there was now something else; something completely overpowering his scent. Scott couldn't put his finger on it, but the one thing he did know was that it was the same scent they found at the scene with the twins. Too busy in his head, Scott completely forgets about the second heartbeat in the house, Stiles holding his thoughts hostage the whole way home.
.
As soon as Scott left, Stiles slammed the door shut, heart pounding in his chest as he slid down the door, head cradled in his hands. Jackson came down the stairs running until he landed next to Stiles, feeling his mate panicking in distress, and rested his head on his paws, whining at Stiles for attention. Stiles felt tears gathering in his eyes and unwilling to let anyone see them fall, he buried his face into Jackson's fur to hide the evidence, but he knew it was a useless attempt when he gets another whine in response when the wolf feels tears hitting his fur.
"I– I'm fine. Or I'll be fine... I don't know anymore, I cared about him you know. He was practically my brother, Melissa thought of me as her son too. And then all this shit happens, and—" Stiles cut himself off, taking in deep breaths to try to control his sobs, but he knew it was a losing battle when it became too hard to contain his cries and resigned to tightening his arms around Jackson, seeking for comfort.
"It hurts, Jax, and I want it to stop. I cared so much," Stiles sobbed into Jackson's coat, the two sitting against the wall until as Stiles blabbered about where things started to go wrong. "You know... if he apologized, if Scott had apologized, I would've forgiven him. It's so stupid I know, but I miss him so much... I miss my fucking best friend," shaking in Jackson's embrace, Stiles slowly passed out from exhaustion, face red and puffy from all the crying, his mouth turned down in a frown. Jackson hated seeing Stiles cry, it always broke his heart to hear Stiles's cries. And right before Jackson followed his mate into sleep, he promised to make his mate happy, because Stiles deserved all the happiness in the world.
.
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EDIT: REUPLOADED 10/04/20 (Ao3)