The beach stretched out for at least a few miles, covered in smooth stones and driftwood that was bleached from the salt. There were only about 5 other people, and my companions informed me that none of them were wolves. Which was a bit of a relief. We could just behave as if we were sight seeing, instead of looking suspicious. I felt a presence behind me and turned to see Derek walking over with an uncertain look on his face.
"Uhh... my mom always took us on this trail that led to these tidal pools... did you want to see?" He asked shyly, his eyebrows drawn into a frown as if already expecting rejection. I was still mad and he knew it, but my expression and demeanour immediately softened at the thought.
"Sure Der... but we should bring Scott. Separating probably isn't the best idea right now," I answered with a small smile.
"Right," he said, frown returning again. I grabbed his hand and pulled him along to where Scott was currently skipping rocks across the waves. Each stone soared across the water, skipping perfectly. Stupid werewolves.
"Scotty boy! Der wants to take us to some tidal pools!" I said excitedly. His face lit up with a massive grin.
"Awesome!" He responded. "Lead the way," he gestured to Derek.
The sourwolf kept hold of my hand while Scott latched onto my other arm. Derek led us towards the tree line where a nearly invisible trail head was hidden. Once we got under the trees, it became an entirely different world. Even Derek's bulky form was dwarfed by the massive trunks surrounding us. The sun disappeared as we were transported into a misty, shady wilderness. The trail wound through the trees as if it might lead us to an alternate fairytale universe. Grandfathers beard hung from every branch, dark green moss was creeping its way up all of the tree trunks. Fallen trees had smaller trees growing from them, like a mother nursing it's young. This is a place where imagining the existence of the supernatural isn't difficult.
"This is..." I couldn't even put it into words.
"I know," Derek responded just as quietly. His voice was gentle, it was as if he spoke any louder he might wake some unseen force.
"Wow," was all Scott could manage either.
"Come on," Derek breathed, releasing my hand and moving ahead. Scott and I followed behind, our mouths still hanging open in awe. "They're not far off."
We continued down the trail for about a mile before we broke through the tree line again. There were at least a dozen different little pools of water, each being fed a little more with every wave that washed over the shoreline. Scott and I both raced to our own pool, fascinated by the tiny ecosystems contained within.
"Isaac would love this," Scott muttered. I knew he must be missing his boyfriend more than usual, and I couldn't blame him. They were even going to school together, both for veterinary medicine. The only time they were separated was when we were out on pack business like this. Deaton plans for them to take over his practice in Beacon hills, but first they're going to expand so that the three of them can work as doctors together until he's ready to retire.
My attention was still fixated on the little world in front of me. Bright purple sea urchins, neon green anemones, star fish of every shape, size and colour... and so many different types of muscles. Derek came up beside me, sharing a content smile with me before staring down below.
"Amazing, isn't it?" He asked in that quiet voice.
"Words can't express how totally cool this is," I answered back, eyes still wide and taking everything in. I could stand here for hours and never get tired of it.
"Watch this," Derek said, before sticking his hand in the water. He pressed a finger against a single spike of a sea urchin, and slowly, the rest of the spikes moved to reach for him.
"Let me try!" I said excitedly, earning a chuckle from the werewolf.
I plunged my hand into the icy water, aiming for a slightly bigger urchin. I pricked my finger lightly on one of the spikes, watching as the rest of them moved towards me.
"So cool..." I breathed, knowing I was smiling like an idiot.
Suddenly Derek stiffened beside me. That could only mean one thing. I slowly retracted my hand from the water, my eyes searching the surrounding forest as I stood up.
"What is it Der?" I whispered, just as Scott came to stand on my other side protectively.
"Wolves," Scott answered, both of them with their eyes and ears alert.
"Where? How many?" I asked quickly, eyes still searching for something I couldn't see.
"Three," Derek answered. "One is phasing back to human."
A few seconds later a tall indigenous man stepped out of the trees. He was barefoot and shirtless, wearing only a pair of cut off shorts in the chilly coastal air. Friggen wolves and their ridiculous body temperatures. His hair was black and cropped short, and he was hot. Muscles of steel, tan skin, square jaw and all. As if I need more of this is my life. His eyes were alert and calculating as he took in the three of us standing closely together. Both Derek and Scott were angled slightly in front of me, making it obvious that the weak little human was protected.
Silently, two ginormous wolves emerged on either side of him. One was a russet brown and bigger than the silver grey one on his other side. They each growled a warning, making Derek and Scott growl right back, flashing their red alpha eyes at them. Before anything got too heated, I took a step forward with my hands raised cautiously. The man and his wolves didn't even budge at my advance. Shows how intimidating I am.
"Gentlemen! Let's not let this get out of hand. I'm Stiles, emissary of the Hale-McCall pack from Beacon Hills," I introduced myself. "This is Derek Hale and Scott McCall." I pointed to the werewolves beside me.
"Hale?" The man spoke for the first time. His voice was as deep as I had expected.
"Yes. My mother, Talia, used to visit some of your elders regularly. I was only a boy the last time I was here," Derek explained calmly, but moved himself closer to me again. Scott mirrored his actions and I tried to keep from rolling my eyes at them.
"What are you doing here now?" The man asked bluntly, alert eyes flickering between the three of us.
"We've come to form an alliance," Scott spoke up this time, his chest puffing up a little.
"What use would we have for an alliance with a pack from..." he trailed off, probably not knowing where Beacon Hills is. I couldn't blame him.
"California," I finished for him.
"Exactly," he retorted, folding his muscular arms across his chest.
I had to really focus to keep myself from sputtering. This guy hadn't heard of us. I mean... we weren't famous or anything. But in a sense, we sort of were. This was the first time we'd ever run into a pack not knowing who we are. Talk about awkward. Now we just looked like a bunch of arrogant assholes or something.
"Well- we- I... well... we're the Hale-McCall pack!" Derek was at a complete loss for words. I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped my lips. My brooding alpha turned a glare on me instantly. I was honestly surprised he hasn't reacted more angrily to these wolves not knowing who we were.
"Oh relax sourwolf!" I scoffed, slapping his chest playfully. I turned my attention back to the man in front of us, who still looked rather unimpressed. "I think you would find our array of talents rather useful. Maybe we could sit down and talk somewhere?"
"We don't need any more humans or werewolves involved in our business," He snapped.
"How did you know we're werewolves?" Scott wondered. "You're not like us."
"No, but we've encountered your kind once before. We can smell it on you," he elaborated.
"Derek explained that you're shapeshifters? That the moon doesn't influence you at all. How does that work?" I asked curiously.
"What's a human doing with two werewolves?" He wondered, not answering my question. He was eyeing me up and down as if to gauge my usefulness. I didn't like the implication.
"As I said, I'm their emissary. I keep them in line," I grinned. The russet haired wolf snorted. "You'd be surprised," I smirked in his direction. If I'm not mistaken he rolled his eyes at me.
Suddenly all of the wolves heads snapped in the direction of the trail we had come from.
"Someone's coming," Scott said for my benefit. Their eyes were all still on the trail. Sam finally broke the tension.
"Seeing as you clearly aren't going anywhere... follow us," The man conceded. "I have a feeling you were going to anyway."
"The race would have been fun though," Derek taunted. The three wolves we were following behind let out low growls at his words. I smacked him in the chest again and he just rolled his eyes at me.
"You got a name?" I asked as the man stalked away, heading for the wall of trees. Great- now we're gonna backcountry hike? I'm so not dressed for this right now.
"Sam," he shot back, not bothering to look at me.
"Sam...?" I continued to pester while trying to watch where I was putting my feet. Tripping on my face in front of the hot new guy was not on my list of things to do.
"Uley, Sam Uley," he sighed.
"Ha! I knew I could crack you," I said triumphantly, before tripping. Derek's quick reflexes saved my dignity, thank the moon. "Thanks Der," I smiled, blushing lightly at his close proximity and big hands on my shoulders.
"You're welcome," he murmured, before releasing me.
"Do they have names?" I asked, gesturing to the wolves even though he couldn't see me from where I was standing beside him.
"Jake and Leah," he answered bluntly, not elaborating on which was which.
We continued along for a few minutes in silence before two howls cut through the air. The wolves on either side of Sam took off like a shot in the direction the sound came from, signalling with howls of their own. Like it was the most natural thing in the world Sam dropped his shorts, rolled them up and strapped them to his leg. That ass looks as hard as steel, I thought to myself. As he lurched forward he exploded into a massive black wolf that reminded me of Derek. Speaking of, he was currently stripping down hurriedly beside me. Before he changed he glanced at me hesitantly, his expression torn.
"I've got him," Scott declared.
"Go Der, Scott will be with me," I reassured him. He nodded before changing into his alpha wolf form and taking off after the others.
I immediately bent down to grab his clothes, folding them into a pile.
"When did it become normal for me to see naked hot dudes in the flesh all the time?" I wondered aloud. Scott snorted a laugh at me.
"Come on, we can follow their scent," he said with a grin, not touching that comment with a ten foot pole.
"No running," I warned, pointing my finger accusingly. I knew I wouldn't win this one though, he's likely itching to take off after everyone else. Instead he's stuck with the poor human slowing him down.
"Sure Stiles," he smirked. Ugh, I both hate and love that smirk. He took off at a run, but slowed a little so I wouldn't get too far behind.
"Werewolves are a royal pain in my ass," I grumbled, running after my best friend into the unknown forest of Washington state.