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Ever since things found a natural order, there had been an unspoken code among them. Derek placed at the head of the pack as the alpha, (And decisively not as much of an asshole anymore) ruled over his kingdom with a slight fairness that was still new to him. Scott stood behind him as the sort of guiding sense and compassion that Derek still didn’t quite grasp yet. And while Derek was the alpha, it never seemed to stop Scott from questioning him when he truly believed Derek was wrong, which is something that the Hale was sure Scott picked up from some unspecific annoying ADHD kid. However, Derek did take in consideration what Scott’s concerns were and even followed a bit of advice from the younger wolf, which was something he would have never done prior to having a true pack.
A true family.
Derek might have been a cold son of a bitch and he might brood and he might ‘forget’ how strong he is compared to the humans in his pack (namely Stiles) but he cared for them, just like they cared for him.
He had a fucked up way of showing it some days, but Derek Hale cared for everyone in his pack. From his thick headed beta Scott, to the young pup Isaac and even the fragile human Stiles. Danny might have been the only exception every now and then when the kid didn’t know when to stop with dick jokes. Never the less, he cared for them all like they were his, because in a sense they were his.
They were his pack. Each one of them belonging to him in one way or another, not that Derek took advantage of that or exploited his pack in anyway. They were still his though and it was a comforting thought to know that he had a pack. That he indeed did have a family. A family that he would protect to the ends of the Earth and back.
And while Scott and Derek might have bumped egos and claws every now and then, the two males held a common trait that kept them together as pack members.
As pack brothers.
And that common trait was Stiles. Stiles was Scott’s best friend, for now and always. Ever since Scott had been turned, his protectiveness of his closest friend only multiplied.
Admittedly, Derek didn't take to Stiles all that well at first. Stiles talked too much, didn't know when to stop and got himself into situations that could have been easily avoided if he had just listened to Derek.
Somehow, someway, he grew on Derek though. Slowly and surely Stiles weeded his way into Derek’s mind and his pack, cementing his place (neither Derek nor Stiles knew it then) when he had saved Derek in the pool that night. When Stiles had willingly stuck his neck out to make sure Derek continued breathing, it settled strangely in Derek’s heart somewhere.
Stiles was theirs to protect, even if the human insisted that he didn't need protection. Albeit that Stiles could hold his own against werewolves and people alike, he was still human. He was still fragile and he was still Stiles. He would forever get into trouble and stare death straight in the face like he had done many times before.
Scott and Derek would always be there to yank Stiles back by the collar of shirt, reprimand him for being so stupid and then grip him tightly with a bone crushing hug because the thought of losing the human never settled well in neither Scott’s or Derek’s stomach.
And maybe Derek did give Stiles a bit of extra attention. Maybe Derek did still sneak around the outside of the boy’s window at night just to make sure he was sleeping well and that there was no harm to him. Maybe Derek listened to Stiles’s steady heart beat while he himself dozed under the tree just outside Stiles’s house.
It was quite possible that Derek thought far more of Stiles than he was ever willing to admit to himself, much less Stiles.
That is why when Scott came to him one night with striking news, Derek almost completely wolfed out. The sudden rage in his system had been a surprise that even Derek wasn't ready for and it riled his wolf from a deep and controlled slumber.
“Are you sure?” Derek asked, gripping the kitchen counter with a vice grip until he heard the granite begin to crack. Derek pondered sometimes what good it did to rebuild his old home when all he did some days was create new messes.
“Yes” Scott answered solemnly, his own anger simmering just below the surface. “I found out by accident. I practically had to pry it out of Stiles when I saw his face. Nobody falls down the stairs that many times. And no normal person gets that many bruises and fuck-” Scott growled, his chest vibrating with the sound. “We have to do something. I promised I wouldn't tell you. But who else? His is still apart of the pack. You’re still his-”
“Alpha. I’m aware” Derek stated, still leaning heavily on the counter. He was not sure what pissed him off more. The fact that someone had dared to touch Stiles, or that Stiles had dared to hide this from him. He couldn't help but wonder how long it had been going on. Derek had to remind himself that Stiles could be a deceiving liar when he wanted to be, but himself and Scott were werewolves. They had built in lie detectors in their senses. How had they missed it? How could they have been so ignorant to the whole situation.
Derek thought he had made it clear that Stiles was his. At Least, the best he could without being totally creepy about it.
Creepier than normal.
While the sheriff was aware of the werewolf presence now in Beacon hills and was somewhat okay with having a pack of ‘dogs’ ready to protect his son, the rest of the town was still under the impression that wild animal attacks was the norm now. Derek had tried to limit his presence inside of town, but Stiles made that completely impossible when the curious teenager enjoyed getting into a shit ton of trouble, both supernatural and high school related.
Derek did what he thought was best and watched Stiles. However, it went from watching Stiles to being an active participant on the other’s life.
He picked Stiles up from school after Stiles’ jeep mysteriously stopped working. The pack went out together every now and then for dinner. He could constantly be found at the Stilinski house helping the boy with research. Derek often lingered around lacrosse practice and his Camaro was suspiciously always nearby if Stiles went out shopping. It was not a secret that “The Stilinski kid” was hanging around mysterious Derek Hale. Beacon Hill residents were still very wary of the suspected murderer who was cleared of all charges.
Yet it didn’t seem clear enough to one poor soul. Well, Derek was going to make sure the message was received.
Derek was going to personally delivering it to the man that dared to lay a hand on Stiles.
“I’m going to fix this” Derek informed his beta, after leaving the young man in a long, drawn out silence.
“No, Derek. We are going to fix this.”
---
“Do you read?” Derek asked, his voice surprisingly even as he stared at the man before him. In his hands, the werewolf held a medium sized book. He turned it over several times before he flipped it open to a bookmarked page. Leaning back in the chair just in front of his prey, Derek gave the other a leveled look. “I assume you don’t. I assume you’re an ignorant little fuck.” Again, Derek’s voice was even and calm to some respects. It made Scott a little uneasy.
“Wolves are territorial creatures. They mark what is theirs and will fight to protect land, their pack and their mates. Wolves will even kill if it benefits the safety and security of their land and their pack” the book closed, a deafening noise in the silence of the warehouse. Derek tossed it across the floor without a second glance at it.
“What the fuck does that have to do with me, huh?” Kevin asked, struggling against the ropes that bound him to the creaky chair. It riled Derek’s wolf up and he could hear it howl somewhere deep in the cavern of his ear. His wolf wanted to kill. It wanted to dissect and shred and destroy everything that was about this trash sitting in front of him until there was nothing left but the dust from crushed bones.
“It has everything to do with you” Derek smirked, lips curling upward in a devilish show of teeth. Long, pointed teeth that protruded from his mouth. “-Because, you’ve done the one thing that you should never do, Kevin” Derek leaned closer from his spot on his own chair. He could smell the stupid amount of body spray that Kevin was wearing.
Derek was curious as to what Stiles had seen in this boy to make him take unneeded punishment from Kevin. The blond man was absolutely nothing special and significantly older than Stiles, sitting at the ripe age of 24. Not that Derek could really protest considering that he was the tender age of 26. Kevin lived and worked in the next town over. He had no admirable qualities that Derek could pinpoint and he reminded the alpha of Jackson. If Jackson was multiplied by a couple thousand and mated with satan.
The man seemed more agitated than fearful, but Derek could smell it. He could smell the anxiety that Kevin was trying to hide and it made his wolf growl. That fear is something it feasted on and Derek allowed it. However, Derek could also scent the defiance and the older man felt the urge to break and snap it.
“You see, you touched what is mine. Not only did you touch it. You damaged it.” The seriousness in his tone left Kevin with a look of disbelief.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” he asked, ceasing his struggles just for one moment. “-Fucking Psychopath-”
The dark haired man glanced over at Scott as he stood, removing his leather jacket and hanging it across the back of his chair with a flick of his wrist. The two wolves stared at each other, and in the silence a conversation was traveling between them until Derek motioned towards Kevin, still neatly tied up for Scott.
No words were passed as Scott moved forward. “What the fuck are you-” Kevin didn’t get a chance to finish as Scott’s fist connected wholly to the man’s face, werewolf strength and all.
The sickening sound of a tooth falling to the floor shouldn’t have been that satisfying to Derek, but it was. He could only imagine what kind of pain that Kevin had inflicted on Stiles. The bruises along Stiles’ neck and his sides were a slight indication and a growl escaped his lips.
The two werewolves were nowhere near done with the man. Not even close.
Scott rubbed his knuckles, his eyes wild and wide and Derek knew it had been just as satisfying for him as it was for Derek.
“Look...Look. Just..Just let me go-” Kevin breathed, wincing as he talked, the pain settled in his jaw and the exposed nerved from the missing tooth. “This is about Stiles right? Whatever that kid told you is a damn lie.” Kevin took the time to spit out the blood from his mouth, some of it splattering across his lower lip. “Stiles is a fucking liar-”
A clawed hand wrapped around the man’s neck before he could continue blabbering his own lies that Derek did not want to hear. Red eyes stared directly into Kevin’s green ones. “I don’t remember giving you permission to speak” Derek snarled out, nostrils flaring and nearly reveling in the spike of fear that Kevin emitted.
Kevin tried to swallow and found it difficult with the constricting hand on his neck. It seemed to finally dawn on him Derek’s transformation. The eyes. The claws now digging into the back of his neck. The teeth.
“Jesus H Christ-” he rasped out, struggling even more now, heart racing right past anxiety.
“You made him suffer. You left marks on him. You abused him. Hurt him. Hurt him mentally as well as physically. Luckily for you, I am merciful.” Derek hissed out, his hand squeezing tighter until Kevin’s air supply was cut off completely. “I’m just gunna hurt you physically.” he promised, shoving the man back, the chair tilting and crashing to the floor, taking Kevin with it.
The blond man coughed, his adam’s apple sore and throbbing and he could almost feel the bruised skin around his neck. “The fuck-...are you-...?” he whispered, not able to find his voice as he stared up at Derek, Scott having disappeared somewhere in the shadows.
“A monster. You’re worst damn nightmare” Derek smirked, eyes burning with such a hate that it almost scared Derek. He was slightly aware that his wolf was in control now and his wolf had one goal in mind.
To kill. To damage. To shred. And somewhere inside of that jumble mess of anger and hostility, he felt the urge to protect. To protect Stiles from harm and from this man, who obviously did not know when he had a good guy like Stiles in his arms.
Scott’s foot came crashing down on Kevin’s ribs before any other words could be exchanged from the two older men. Hiis own eyes glowing a bright gold and with a ferocity that rivaled Derek’s. The sickening sound of snapping bones was like an opera to Derek’s ears and he couldn’t help the hum of approval at his beta as Scott repeated the action, breaking more bone.
Kevin’s cries accompanied the sound of his bones snapping under the impact of Scott’s boot. They mixed together in a sort of twisted Harmony that his wolf approved of whole-heartedly.
Scott lifted his leg once more, not nearly done with the man before Derek’s eyes cut to him, a silence command for his beta to stop. There was hesitation, but Scot retreated away from Kevin’s trembling and broken form.
“Do you know...how many bruises you left on Stiles...recently, I mean” Derek stated, running a hand across his stubbled cheek. “I am sure you’ve left many more that I didn’t get the chance to see.” he acknowledged as he bent his knees to bring his face closer to Kevin’s.
Blood was leaking from his mouth in little streams, and he had ceased trying to escape from the chair because it only caused the broken and misplaced bones of his rib cage to shift painfully inside of him. Yet this was not even enough for Derek. Nose scrunching up together at the mixed combination of blood, sweat and fear, he pushed Kevin’s head harshly against the cold floor of the warehouse. “Do you know?!”
A pained whimpered slipped through bruised and busted lips and the blond man shook his head, the only reply he could offer at the moment. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. You probably lost count at ten, didnt you? Maybe you stopped counting them after a while. Maybe you thought that you left enough to keep Stiles quiet. Let me assure you that you left enough for me to notice. I must thank you for your carelessness.”
Lifting and slamming Kevin’s head down, Derek stood once more to his full height. He walked back to his own chair where his leather coat was still located. “Untie him.” The alpha called over his shoulder, pulling his dark blue Henley over his head and throwing it to accompany the jacket.
And a sudden relief washed over Kevin and pooled into his dull eyes. Derek could only chuckle because the fool honestly thought that Derek was going to let him go.
Kevin obviously didn’t truly understand the extent of Derek’s rage, not yet. Scott made quick work of the binds, growling out lowly at the human and not able to resist the urge to land another hard kick to his ribs.
“I”m going to give you a chance to run.” Derek informed, turning his head to look at the heap of mess that was Kevin sprawled out across the floor. “I am going to let you attempt to save your own life, for you to end your own pain.” The wolf smirked, eyes devilishly red. He was sure he looked nothing less than a serial killer to the human.
“There is a gun, across the floor. Just about fifteen feet from you now. If you can make it there. You can end your suffering.” He continued, his voice a deceptive purr now.
Shaking like a leaf in the wind, Kevin stared up at the man who towered over him like a nightmare that wouldn’t go away, before turning to his stomach. His breath hitched as he moved, ribs shifting in a painful way as he tried to move. He reached his arm out to drag himself, but Scott was there, his foot slamming down hard on his elbow, effectively shattering it.
Kevin wanted to believe this was a nightmare, but the extreme amount of pain told his brain that this was all too real.
No matter how hard Kevin tried, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t run from the monster that was changing in front of him and he could run from what he had done. Kevin was going to pay for his sins and Derek would make sure of it.
He crawled, pain running through his entire body every time he moved just an inch or so. Trying to breath hurt far too much, but he body desperately needed to oxygen. Almost every sense was in overdrive and it was simply amazing that he had not passed out from the pain.
He didn’t get far before a hand wrapped tightly around his ankle, nails digging deeply into the skin and severing the Achilles tendon. He screamed out and pleaded out to his captors. He pleaded for them to stop, to have mercy.
“Did you grant mercy to Stiles? Did you stop when he asked you to?” Scott asked, his voice moving around in the air. Kevin could not locate the other’s physical location as he was lifted completely off the ground.
“Why should we?”
Claws sliced through dedicated skin, tearing into muscle and flesh as if it was air. Screams curled into dust that floated around in the empty warehouse. Skin separated, muscles severed and the ankle bone was cracked in half, almost removing Kevin’s ankle completely from his body.
Derek let him fall to the floor once more, eyes hard as steel, but as violent as a storm. He was shaking now as well, not from fear but from the anger that continued to course and build in his veins the more he looked at Kevin.
The more that he thought about the other’s hands on Stiles, the more he wanted to end it, but continued to delay the inevitable. Kevin didn’t deserve a quick death.
“Please-...Please” Kevin whimpered, voice broken which simply went along with the several bones digging into his insides now.
“Please what?” Derek asked, motioning Scott to go fetch the handgun from the floor and bring it to him. The older male took the gun and examined it before pointing the barrel at Kevin. “Do you want me to end it now? End the fun before its even started, Kevin? Come on now, where is that party guy I heard so much about?” he asked, pulling the trigger and watching Kevin flinch. It was an empty chamber and Derek tsked slightly, throwing the gun beside Kevin. “What a shame.”
“How about, please Kevin. Don’t hit me again. I’m sorry Kevin, I didn’t mean it. I love you Kevin. I would do anything for you Kevin. Kevin, why are you doing this? Please, Kevin. Fucking please!” Scott shouted, his own body shaking as well. “You hurt my best friend. My brother.”
“I didn’t do-”
“Stop lying!!” the young male snarled, snapping his head towards Derek when he felt the hand on his shoulder. It was oddly comforting. He felt himself settle and was able to stop shaking from the time being.
“We have all night.” Derek assured his young beta, squeezing his shoulder slightly before letting his hand drop. “All night, Scott.”
“I didn’t do anything that the slut didn’t deserve” Kevin groaned out. “The kid deserved everything I ever did to him-”
Derek cocked a shapely eyebrow as Scott howled out in a blind rage. If Derek had not had his hand planted firmly on the boy’s shoulder, Scott would have torn into Kevin’s jugular right then and there.
“And surely anything we do tonight, Kevin. You will completely and utterly deserve. Every bone we break. Every blood vessel we slice. Each bruise. Every cut. Every slash against your skin, you will deserve.” Derek stated coolly as he let go of Scott and moved closer to the human.
“You see, Kevin. You would like to think that you're something to be feared. That is your point of control. Fear. Let me assure you. Let me give you the heart warming promise that you will truly know what a monster is. What fear really is, as you lay inside this empty and lonely warehouse and die.” Derek murmured as he lifted the man’s chin, staring directly down at the other.
“Go to hell-” Kevin sputtered, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.
“How about I give you an express ticket?”