Chapter 17

Stiles woke up early enough that morning that he had time to not only prepare a batch of the spell breaking powder but also to prepare some notes about Boyd and Erica for the pack to use since he would not be there to help. He didn't particularly feel good about sharing what he knew about Erica and Boyd with the others like this but he also knew that if they were going to get everything they needed to done today, then the jobs had to be split up. He wrote out the information about what to say to free Erica and put it in an envelope addressed to Lydia. Boyd's letter was going to Isaac, and he only hoped that the beta would be able to manage it. Stiles had carefully considered things and figured that Lydia and Isaac were perfect to trigger both of the betas, and while Stiles knew that Lydia would be able to manage her part, it would a lot harder for Isaac. Not to mention that they would need Erica to free Boyd. Sighing he returned to his supplies and finished the powder before splitting it up into the two doses. He would need to make more before they went to Derek's loft. He also had enough time to make up a few one-time charms he found in his books that Lydia could use to help them with the wolves since he wouldn't be there with his magic to support them.

Stiles ate a quick breakfast and waited, looking over his books until Scott and Isaac showed up. Stiles gives the powder and Lydia's letter to Scott and hands Isaac his letter. "Isaac, I know this isn't going to be easy, but I need you to do some pretty tough things in order to free Boyd." Stiles sighs heavily at the beta's confused look. "I explained it all in the letter, but Boyd's pressure point is his connection to the pack, how it ended his loneliness. He also carries guilt for not protecting his sister and Erica and I from Gerard. You are going to have hit him there" Stiles explains and only nods when he sees Isaac go pale as he realizes what Stiles is saying.

"Stiles…I don't think I can" Isaac whimpers and Stiles sees Scott twitch as he watches them, but he doesn't interrupt which Stiles appreciates.

"I know it's hard Isaac, but you have to. Hearing that from anyone will hurt, but from you? It will be devastating. He thinks of you as a brother and having your turn on him will hit him extra hard. You have to decide whether you want to free him by doing this or leave him as a slave to the Darach" Stiles says brutally honest. "What do you think he would prefer?" he asks a lot more kindly.

Isaac looks torn and he stares at Stiles hoping for a reprieve of any kind. "Isaac…you can do this" Scott says putting his hand on the guy's shoulder. "He will understand. We all did, remember? Stiles has managed to figure out how to free all of us so we need to trust that he knows his stuff." Scott had called Stiles late last night and they had talked for a bit but while Stiles didn't fully explain everything that was going on, he did promise Scott to explain everything tonight.

Isaac finally nods and the two significantly more subdued werewolves leave for school while Stiles finishes cleaning up. He makes a note to make sure to wake his dad by ten so he can make it in to work by noon and settles down to work on Peter's sigil. Clearing his mind, Stiles brings back the memories of the eldest Hale, remembering that first time he saw him at the hospital, scars still there for a few seconds, as he realized that Peter was the Alpha. He remembers Peter threatening Lydia, then offering him the bite by the body of his nurse before they all came together and torched the guy just before Derek killed him.

Stiles frowns as nothing seems to be happening. He remembers Lydia's hallucinations and how she used Derek to resurrect the man and how they have dealt with him since then but nothing is happening…he isn't getting anything. Opening his eyes he frowns as he tries to figure out what went wrong. Getting up he goes back to his book and reviews the instructions and then he sees it. Stiles' view of Peter is entirely fabricated on what Peter wants people to see, not his truth. Stiles doesn't really know the man so he can't start the process to envision the man's sigil. The elder Hale is such a mass of contradictions that Stiles is uncertain about who he really is, which means he can't figure out how to free the man from the Darach's spell. Taking a breath, he will just have to figure it out later. Shaking off his feelings about the guy who tried to give him the bite, he decides that without the strain of the spell he is still in good enough shape to move straight on to Derek.

Sitting on the floor in his bedroom, Stiles closes his eyes and takes a long, deep breath. He pushes aside the sudden flare of nerves and remembers. Standing in the woods when a voice called out "This is private property!" was Stiles' first memory of this Derek, instead of the vague recollections of a teenager from the town's most famous family. He saw the anger, the unhappiness, but also the moment that he returned Scott's inhaler which didn't really fit the image he was trying to give off. Strangely enough Stiles finds he has very vivid recall of the guy's hair and clothes from that day. Memories flash through Stiles' mind from their encounters over the last year. He remembers Derek getting shot by Kate and the wolfsbane poisoning and how he sought out Stiles to help him demanding that he cut off his arm to save him. Next Stiles feels a lurch as he remembers standing outside the school at night as Derek was calling them idiots for using the intercom to try and draw out the Alpha and the sudden terror that nearly stopped his heart when Derek was clawed by the Alpha and almost disemboweled in front of him.

Looking back, Stiles realizes that was the moment that something that had been building up between them had snapped into place. Seeing the guy almost die for them, even if he didn't intend to do so, affected Stiles especially as he did it time and time again after that. Stiles guiltily remembers asking Scott to consider letting Derek die. Stiles then remembers how they came together to deal with the Kanima; floating in the pool and how his arms and chest burned from the strain of holding the guy up in the water, how totally helpless he was and Derek swearing that they didn't trust each other, just that needed each other to survive, but Stiles now knew that was a lie. Stiles was probably the only one Derek really trusted. Derek's sigil was forming and with each element that became clear Stiles felt a lurch in him that he couldn't explain.

Somehow his memories were so sharp and detailed about Derek. He remembers every time he changed his hair, his habit of wearing dark clothes, usually tight clothes, and those times that he flashed that wicked smile he got when he thought he was being particularly cool and knew it. Stiles flashes back to when Derek was hiding from the police, standing face to face in his room, Stiles pressed against the wall, so close that Derek's scent from that moment was still clear today as it was on that day; leather, woods, and musk. He now sees that when he stood up to Derek, that the guy had actually respected that. A born werewolf, he liked it when Stiles, even when afraid, didn't freeze up or run, but rather fought back. Derek actually liked him! He watches as Derek gets manipulated by Stiles in his room when Danny was there and how Derek knew exactly what Stiles was doing and that he did it anyways. Felt the mix of annoyance at the teen, anger at being used, and a hint of admiration for the way the teen had gotten the other boy's cooperation. Stiles can even tell that Derek had wondered more than once what things would have been like if it had been Stiles, not Scott, who had been bitten. Stiles swallows down as more and more of Derek's feelings and emotions unfold before him.

Stiles feels the agony and soul-wrenching pain of Paige's death at the Alpha's hands. Discovering that Derek had truly feared her discovering the truth about him and when he learned that she knew what he was and didn't care had almost broken the teenage werewolf. Having to give her the mercy she begged for in that cellar was, however, too much and he did break. Stiles saw that it was that broken teen, vulnerable and guilt ridden, who became a prime target for Kate Argent. Stiles saw the masterful manipulations that she used to twist and take from the teen before brutally removing his entire family. She had known that Derek wasn't going to be there when she struck! She wanted him left to live with his guilt as an extra cruelty. Stiles growled as he seriously debated if it was possible to raise her from the dead so he could kill her again and make her death way more painful than Peter did!

But Derek's sigil continued to form. He saw the fear and loneliness that plagued the Alpha and how he was a walking wound that had only just begun to tentatively heal with the bonds of his new pack. Stiles saw that Derek was so terrified of losing them too that he was preventing real pack bonds from forming. Stiles could see how the guy's insecurities had affected him, becoming the Alpha when he hadn't been trained or prepared for it, but desperately trying to prepare the pack for the cruelty that he had experienced. Stiles frowns when he realizes that Derek had forgotten to share with the others the joy that comes from being part of a pack. He could see Derek's memories of running with his parents and sisters, a little brother who died in the fire still too young to join them in the woods, and wove throughout everything was the love of his pack. Cousins, aunts, and uncles all there, close and supportive, who were now dead and Derek blamed himself for their loss because he was weak and had given Kate the information she had needed to destroy everything he loved.

Tears running down his face, Stiles was helpless to do anything but watch as he saw Derek's nightmares of that night, the death of his family, his pack, and how often he relived that night over the subsequent years he was on the run with Laura. He saw how desperate Derek was for Laura's love and support while being terrified of being rejected if she ever knew the truth. How painful it had been when Derek felt Laura die while he was in New York and his race back to Beacon Hills, knowing he was already too late. Finding and holding the murdered body of his sister and how he howled his pain and loss in the woods before burying her near their family with his bare hands. Hands that had burned and stung as he wound the wolfsbane around her grave to honor her one last time.

Stiles then watched Derek's interactions with his new pack and how he took pride in them when they succeeded, yet being unable to express it for fear of them growing overconfident and reckless. Stiles watched and saw how Derek kept trying and failing to connect with Scott, making mistake after mistake in their interactions. He saw the pain and anguish Derek felt when Erica and Boyd abandoned him, how he believed he deserved it, and the surprise the guy felt when they came back to ask forgiveness. Stiles saw the constant conflict that the Alpha felt towards his uncle and everything the man had done. Derek was torn between rage and attacking the man for killing his sister and knowing that he was all that was left of the once proud Hale family and if he did give in, Derek would finally be all alone.

But that wasn't right either. Stiles stared as the sigil neared completion and he realized that there were other blood lines connecting Derek to living people, not just Peter. One he was sure had to be a sister, so it must be Cora though how she was still alive he didn't know but he could tell she was very far away. He also sensed another life, connected to Derek through…Peter? Yes, Stiles could sense a female presence there and he knows somehow that it is Peter's daughter! And she is very close to them, here in Beacon Hills but something isn't right with her and Stiles can't see what it is.

Stiles rears back as the sigil finishes and he stares at the magical embodiment of Derek Hale, everything he is, everything he has suffered, every dream and hope lost, and the man's desperate need for others that he represses in order to present a strong face to the world. With care and deliberate attention, Stiles inscribes the sigil on the house stone and feels something significant from the warder. This one is different, it is tied to Stiles in a way the others weren't.

Stiles opens his eyes and feels a rush of heat in his face that spreads over his entire body. Groaning he collapses on his floor as he realizes that his connection with Derek is way stronger than it was with all of the others, even more than with Scott. Stiles mind goes over the images he saw, his memories bursting with details he never knew he had noted; the sharp angles of Derek's jaw, how the scruff of his beard seems to wax and wane depending on the day of the week, the ever shifting dance of color that are his eyes, how his hands look…Stiles' eyes widen as he sits up and holds his head in his hand "I am so screwed" he groans.

Standing in the hallway, Jennifer Blake is staring at the maintenance team replacing a door that had apparently been destroyed yesterday. Students were watching the guys work, whispering about what had happened. Jennifer wondered if the alpha twins had finally made a move against Hale's puppies but she hadn't seen them at school yet. She had seen the rest of the wolves, even the Banshee, so if there had been some confrontation, it probably wasn't the wolves.

Jennifer was about to head back to her classroom when she smelt ozone and paused. Glancing around she looked for signs but didn't sense anything in the hall so, smiling at the men, she stepped through the door and stepped out of the school and looked around the open area. She was able to spot several pieces of glass and wood that had been missed in the initial clean-up which suggested that the door was blown outwards. Stepping onto the grass she felt it, the residue of Druidic magic! Looking around she finally noticed the remains of purple flowers. Reaching down her fingers brushed the crushed petals of wolfsbane and she smirked. Someone had used magic to grow it here!

"Ms. Blake?" Jennifer turned around and looked at the confused student with a repressed sigh. She was actually enjoying teaching, much to her surprise, but this student tried her like no other. "I had a question about the essay" Greenberg stammered.

Dropping the flower, the woman once known as Julia Baccari smiles easily at the student and walks back to the school. She would find whoever did this and eliminate them. She didn't need the distraction at this critical moment in her plan. Julia had come too far, sacrificed too much, crossed too many lines for some upstart practitioner to mess with her plans. She paused for a moment before smiling wickedly. He was a true traditionalist so how likely was it that Deucalion hadn't gotten himself a new Emissary? "What's your question?" she asks pleased at figuring it out.

"What is it Jackson" Erica says with a bored sigh as the teen walks up to her at her locker. She came in with Boyd but Isaac and Scott showed up and pulled him away not five seconds after they arrived.

"Allison found out something about Darach" Jackson tells her in a whisper. "She wants to tell us about it" he adds.

"Okay, I'll go get Boyd?" she asks as she looks around for the beta but doesn't see him.

"Scott and Isaac are going to bring him" Jackson assures her. "Let's go."

"Anything is better than the garbage that Stilinski came up with. I swear the guy is losing it" she says shaking her head sadly. They sneak out one of the back doors and head for the woods near the school. "Why are we out here?" she asks as they cross the tree line.

"Allison believes the Darach is in the school. Using the place to hunt for people to fuel the sacrifices" he adds. Jackson pushes forward without looking at the blonde. Lydia had warned him that he had to be exact so as to not lie to her but he still needed to convince her to come. The next part was going to be the hardest.

They walked into the clearing where Allison and Lydia were waiting and Jackson drifted to the side to allow Erica to get ahead of him so he was behind her. "So what have you got and where's Boyd and Isaac?" Erica asks the girls.

"They will be here soon, but we have to be careful. We think that the Darach has cast several spells on the school so if we do this inside, it might alert them" Lydia says easily.

Erica is about to respond when she feels a shift behind her and she starts to turn just as Jackson slams into her knocking her to the ground. "What the hell?!" she roars but Jackson is fighting hard and he is trying to drive her into the ground while he wrestles her arm behind her. Unfortunately Jackson hasn't been training with Derek as long as she has and in a maneuver that the Alpha had showed her she flings the other wolf off of her back and springs to her feet.

"Arggh!" she screams as something hits her arm, burning her. Looking down she sees a rope has wrapped around her arm and the burning is coming from the rope. Wolfsbane! She snarls and sees the brunette huntress staring at her with her crossbow out pointed at the beta. Erica remembers this! She is betraying them again!

Erica only has a second to yell before Jackson hits her again, knocking her down and then he springs away. "Coinnigh go tapa iad!" Lydia chants as she tosses the small rock at the blonde beta's feet. The rock explodes in light and when it clears, the she-wolf is wrapped up in ropes of light that have bound her tight.

"Now!" Lydia orders and Allison jumps forward and quickly encircles the struggling blonde, pouring the mountain ash in a circle around her. She finishes the circle and steps back.

"How long…" Allison starts to ask just as Erica breaks free of the ropes and jumps up to smack against the ash barrier. "Not that long" she mutters.

"Stiles warned me that against someone as strong as her it wouldn't last even a minute, but it was enough. She can't go anywhere" Lydia says as she walks up to the line to look at the blonde she-wolf.

"What the hell are you doing?" Erica demands but Lydia just stares at her and then holds up her hand and blows the powder into the girl's face causing her to step back coughing.

Jackson nods at the girls and leaves to get part two of the plan ready. "Allison, are you ready?" Lydia asks just as Erica opens her eyes and they flash golden as she extends her claws and fangs. "Down fido!" Lydia sneers.

"I am going to rip you apart!" Erica roars.

"Blake's the Darach" Allison says casually and they watch the beta's eyes flash again as she yells at them.

"Are you kidding me?! How dumb must you two be to believe that? No wonder your grandfather and aunt were so disappointed in you, poor little princess, so scared of everything! God, your own mother preferred killing herself to staying with you" she snarls.

Allison winces and looks over at Lydia and they share a look. When they are done, she is going to take special efforts to make sure that bitch Blake pays for what she did to her friends. "Pitiful" Lydia says in a disparaging voice while looking at Erica who swings to glare at the redhead. "Did you really think that one bite and the wardrobe of a tramp would hide the fact that you are that same, pitiful, and weak nobody you have always been? You are still that sad, pathetic girl that everyone ignored unless you were entertaining people with one of your fits. I can't imagine what Derek saw in you that made him give you the time of day, let alone the bite."

Erica pales as she looks at the redhead. She had watched the queen of the school for many years and while Lydia had never really interacted directly with her, Erica had seen the girl take down more than one social climber who dared to challenge the queen of the school and the girl's expression made her falter. "You know Stiles told me that Derek said you were his biggest mistake" she taunted "said he was so disappointed that you came back, he had been so glad when you left. Erica heard the steady, unwavering heartbeat as Lydia said this.

Erica trembled looking at the haughty stare of the girl and she screamed out until it became a roar. "I am not weak! I am strong" she stammered, tears running down her face as she stared at the girl. Lydia glanced at Allison.

"Blake is the Darach" Allison repeated. Erica barely glanced at the huntress as she glared at the redhead.

"Fine. Whatever. She is a crappy teacher, I don't care" she says never breaking eye contact. She sees Lydia's face shift and the cold, cruel look disappears as she looks relieved.

"Finally. I swear I am going to kill Stiles for making me do that" she says with a groan as Allison put her bow down.

"Erica, I need you to listen to me" Allison says walking up to the beta. "You were under Blake's spell. She was controlling your mind."

Erica looks at the brunette and glares. "What the hell are you talking about?" she says angrily.

"Stiles figured it out. She put a spell on all of the wolves, Deaton, and Lydia because they could detect her presence. Stiles and I are only human so she didn't bother with us. She made it so you couldn't figure it was her and if someone tried, you would oppose it violently if necessary. Do you remember what you said to Stiles and us when we mentioned it?" she asks and sees the beta suddenly look confused.

"Erica, Jackson said that Ms. Blake had a distinctive scent. Do you remember what she smells like?" the redhead asks.

Erica concentrates but she doesn't remember anything. No perfume or soaps or deodorant or… Erica freezes as the smell hits her all at once. She turns and vomits her breakfast on the ground as the memory of the woman's scent hits her and overwhelms everything. Death, decay, and a rotten rank were all fighting for domination in her nose as she raises her eyes to look at the other two girls in supplication. "I don't understand" she whimpers.

Lydia walks forward and breaks the ash line. "The powder I used broke her spell but you had to free yourself like we all did. You had to face the thing that you feared the most. That you had not really escaped the life where your own body betrayed you. Erica, you have become so strong since joining the pack. That was why we had to hit you in that insecurity so that you would fight back and free yourself from that woman" Lydia's face turns hard as she glances at Allison who has come to kneel down with the other two.

"But you weren't lying when you said Derek said…those things. I heard your heartbeat!" she chokes on the words as the emotion overwhelms her and she struggles to catch her breath.

"No." Lydia's denial was absolute and quick. "What I actually said was that Stiles told me that Derek said those things. It was true that he told me that. Of course he lying when he told me that but I wasn't when I said that he said it. Loophole." She looks at the girl who is staring at her in shock. "Hey, team human has to somehow get around that damn lie detector you all have" she sniffs and Allison giggles. Erica turns to the Huntress and looks at her as Allison smiles wistfully.

"I really did not want to be the one to try and fight you. It felt too much like before but we are running out of time. I just hope that you can understand somehow" Allison said sincerely and Erica heard the steadiness of the hunter's heartbeat.

Erica doesn't quite trust herself to respond so she just nods as the girls all stand up. "We need to get ready" Lydia warns the other two. "The boys will be back with Boyd soon" she tells them and then looks at Erica and looks pained "and we need your help to free him."

Erica looks at the redhead in confusion. "How can I help? I barely understand what is going on."

"We need to subdue him like we did you till we can form the ash barrier and then break the spell. Stiles has Isaac leading the 'attack' on Boyd, but you are critical to it" Lydia says and then takes a deep breath. "Boyd's weak point is that he desperately wants to belong, to be appreciated, and to be part of a family that supports each other without judgement. Isaac will be attacking that but Boyd has bonded with you when you two fled and went through everything. If you desert him, you should be the final blow to free him" Lydia finished and Erica paled as she realized what the girl was saying.

"I can't do that. You can't ask me to do that to him. Not to Boyd" she pleaded.

Allison frowned. "Erica, he is basically her pet. We have to free him or she could make him attack us to protect her. It will hurt yes, but we can make it up to him afterwards" she promises.

"Stiles told me to tell you something to help you decide" Lydia said carefully. "He said to tell you this...'Boyd feels the same'." She looked at the blonde who was staring at Lydia in stunned silence.

"How can he know that?" she whispers.

"Trust me. If Stiles said it, then you can trust it. He is completely certain about this stuff. He hasn't explained everything to everyone, but he did promise to tell us everything after we free Derek and Peter, but trust that he knows" Allison says without pausing.

Erica stares at them and can sense their sincerity. She has been listening and never once did their heartbeats falter and she can feel the shame from Allison and the absolute rage boiling off Lydia but she can also tell that it is not directed at Erica. "This is really confusing but I can't leave Boyd under her control. What do we do now?" Erica asks.

"After school, once we have you and Boyd free, we are going to free Derek and Peter and that is going to be tough. Once the entire pack is free, we will get everyone together to figure out how to deal with her and the alpha pack. Well, what's left of them" Lydia says with a smirk.

Erica looks confused but before she can ask she hears Scott and Isaac talking. They are bringing Boyd up and both Allie and Lydia start getting ready. Erica straightens up and braces herself for this as she promises herself that if Stiles was wrong, she is going to hit him but she will be using the whole damn jeep this time.

Stiles is still sitting on the floor when his phone alarm dings and, reaching for it, he moans but gets up and heads over to his dad's room. Making sure his father is awake and moving, Stiles goes downstairs and fixes up a healthy lunch for the man to take with him and in less than an hour, the Sheriff is already heading out leaving Stiles to deal with his rather impending existential meltdown.

"Okay. Putting all of that aside, how am I going to free Derek from the spell?" he asks himself, determined to focus on something productive. After seeing his sigil, Stiles knew that Derek would not react like the others did to the same stimulus. For them, facing their fear, that core part of their identity triggered either a fight or an emotional loss but Derek was different. He had already lived his worse fear and his guilt had been crippling him so that even if he was faced with more emotional loss, Stiles was sure that it would hardly register. There was nothing that Stiles could say to him that would strike as true enough to break through his guilt.

Walking into his room he glanced over at his books and, seeing his first book on witchcraft, the one Martinique had recommended that day at the beginning of the summer, he thought he remembered reading something that might help. Flipping through the pages he skimmed over the explanations and spells until he hit the one he was remembering. It was a spell to give the caster inspiration and Stiles thought it was worth trying. Getting out his candle, a bell he picked up in Frisco, and set down an empty glass jar. Reaching for his cache of supplies, he added Anise to the jar to 'raise vibrations to the highest psychic level' and 'to refocus for meditation'. Next he added Allspice while thinking about Derek to bring luck or success to his spell. Bergamot brought luck through intuition and he needed all he could get. He next added Cinnamon as a catalyst for clairvoyance as was the Eyebright. Finally he added Sandalwood to heighten spiritual vibrations and stimulate clairvoyance. Once they were all together, Stiles inhaled deeply from the jar, allowing the scents to flow through him as he lit the candle and rang the bell.

He focused on his need. 'How to free Derek' he narrowed his thoughts until that was the only one he heard, over and over again, as he sat and waited for something, anything to happen. He recounted the spell's instructions to be open to how the magic answered the question but nothing was really happening. After thirty minutes he finally opened his eyes with a heavy sigh. Blowing out the candle he stood up and slumped as he realized he had absolutely no idea what to do next. Walking to the door he stumbled and fell against his desk knocking one of his books to the floor.

Groaning he debated leaving it and getting food but it was one of his good books so he turned around and reached for it just as he realized that it was his Necromancy book and that it had landed so that it opened to a page about two-thirds of the way to the back. Reaching down to pick up the book Stiles saw the spell that was listed on the open page and his eyes widened in shock. Sitting down he read through the instructions several times before looking up knowing that he found his inspiration. "Well shit" he muttered.

Boyd walked into the clearing and saw Erica, Lydia, and Allison all standing there looking wrung out. He frowned when he saw the signs of tears on Erica's face and he started forward just as he heard a growl and he started to turn just as Scott, in full beta shift, attacked. Boyd tossed him aside but suddenly it was a pile on with Isaac and Jackson both joining in on the attack. Boyd was strong, probably stronger physically than anyone other than Derek, but it was three against one and he was trying to figure out what was going on while protecting himself. He yelled for Erica and the blonde came flying towards the melee. The odds were about to change he thought just as the she-wolf hit the back of his knees driving him to the ground.

"Erica?" he called out but then Scott was on him and they were struggling, hands locked together as Scott pushed against the beta and Boyd shifted and felt his eyes flash just as Scott's strength started increasing. He was getting stronger! Boyd glared at the other teen in surprise, he was also shifted, and for the briefest moments Scott's golden eyes flashed red and Boyd went crashing down to his knees. Scott kicked and Boyd rolled over and landed on his back.

"Coinnigh go tapa iad!" Lydia yelled and there was a flash of light that blinded him before Boyd felt ropes suddenly tying him up. Struggling against it, when he was finally able to see again he realized that he was tied up with glowing ropes. Allison was circling him and putting something on the ground…mountain ash! Boyd strained and jerked at the 'ropes' and they stretched but he couldn't break them and then Allison was done and she jumped back when his struggling paid off and he finally broke free. Jumping up he looked around him at the group and growled at the group as they stared at him.

"Are you sure about this?" Erica asked Lydia desperately. What is 'this' Boyd thought looking at them but before he could ask, Lydia answered.

"Test him. If he reacts, you will have your answer" she suggests and Boyd watches as Erica steps over to him very carefully.

"Boyd. I'm sorry about all of this but we discovered that the Darach is in the school and has cast spells on the pack" she tells him.

"What spells? Do you know who it is? Then call Derek!" he tells her totally confused about all of this.

"It's Ms. Blake" Erica says and watches as the Beta's face twists in anger and his eyes flash at her.

"You stupid girl" Boyd growls and Erica rears back at the hateful venom in the quiet beta's voice. "Are you so insecure about your looks that you have to attack every other woman who was attractive on her own, without magical help?" Boyd snaps.

Erica whimpers at the anger in the beta's glowing eyes just as she feels Allison's hand on her back. "It's the spell Erica, not him" she whispers to the trembling blonde.

"Boyd!" Isaac yells and the beta turns to face the curly-haired beta just as Isaac blows his handful of powder right into the beta's face sending him into a coughing fit. "Okay. Allie, Scott, Lydia, Jackson" Isaac says as he nods at the others.

"Boyd, the reason why I won't join Derek's pack is because of you, not Derek" Scott says looking sad. "I don't want you as a packmate" he says and looks at Allison who nods in agreement.

"What I don't get is why Erica even stayed around you. I mean you couldn't protect her, you let Gerard torture her. You can't be depended on to help anyone" she says as she turns and leaves the clearing, Scott walking beside her.

"You were a loser before, you are a loser now" Jackson huffs and Lydia just looks at the beta like he is a bug on her shoe.

"I'm done wasting my time on him" Lydia says as she takes Jackson's arm in hers and follows Scott and Allison.

Boyd looks at Isaac and Erica, hurt and humiliation clearly written on the beta's face as he silently begs them, his packmates, to stand with him. Derek promised! He wasn't going to be alone anymore.

"I begged Derek not to give you the bite" Isaac said shaking his head and the words pounded in Boyd's ears. "I knew you weren't worth it. You would be this guy that nobody wanted around and we would have to put up with you. I mean you just stood there as Erica and Stiles, weak human Stiles, were beaten and tortured by an old man" Isaac turned his back on the beta and prayed that he couldn't smell the tears that were running down the teen's face. "You failed the pack Boyd. Just like you failed your sister. You are done. Leave Beacon Hills and never return" he said and walked after the others.

Boyd was shaking, he was holding it in, but just barely. Isaac was…he thought he was a friend. He thought he might even be like a brother to the other beta as they worked together. Sure they weren't there yet, but they were making progress, but the other beta had brutally cut Boyd down. Desperate he turned to Erica, his Erica, who was crying as she looked at him. "Erica? Please" he whispered.

"I need someone I can trust, someone I can rely on, someone who cares and you are none of those things" she says as the tears pour down her face. Boyd can't breathe.

"Erica" he pleads but she turns her back to him and takes several steps before pausing.

"No one wants you" she whispers but he hears it and it is like a knife to his heart and he roars out his pain. He collapses to the ground as he sees that she didn't wait, but left. He is alone. They all left him. Curling up on the ground he hugs himself into a ball, desperate to run away but they left him here in the mountain ash and he can't even do that.

"Boyd?" Allison's voice surprises him and he strains as he looks up and sees the girl walking carefully towards him. "Boyd…Blake is the Darach" she says as she sits on the ground in front of him.

Staring at her he just looks, not saying anything. "Boyd. Did you hear me? Ms. Blake, our teacher, the woman who is dating Derek, is the Darach. How does that make you feel?" she asks gently.

Boyd stares at her but just shrugs. "That doesn't make sense" he finally mutters and watches as the hunter relaxes.

"He's free!" she calls out and Boyd turns as he hears them. All of them coming running back into the clearing, Erica and Isaac both looking wrecked. "Boyd, I need you to listen. Blake had you under her spell, she was controlling your mind." Allison goes on to explain everything about the spell and how they had to break it. He was struggling but as with Jackson and Erica, getting him to remember her scent was the trigger. Allison wasn't surprised that Boyd managed to control his reaction enough to not hurl.

Once he remembered that smell, he stood up as Allison broke the ash line. Boyd barely had the chance to move before he was slammed into by Erica and Isaac, both of them crying apologies as they held on to him with all their werewolf strength. He finally managed to free himself when he was surrounded by the others, each of them taking time to not only hug, but to scent mark the big wolf in an attempt to reassure him of their care.

"So what was my trigger?" Boyd finally asked after Erica, with help from Lydia and Allison, explained the whole process Stiles had figured out to free the pack.

They all looked guilty but it was Erica who finally answered. "Loneliness. You needed the pack and Stiles told us that if we took it away from you, if Isaac was the cruel one, that it should be almost enough" she said quietly.

"Almost enough?" he asks her, ignoring everyone else.

"He told Lydia that I had to be the one who was the last to leave you because it would be the most painful" she whimpered. "He said it was because you…you might feel about me the way I feel about you" she finished looking very vulnerable as she looked into his dark brown eyes.

Boyd inhaled the she-wolf's scent and detected the fear and the shame, he could hear her heart pounding loudly and under it all he smelled…arousal? He looked at her and raised an eyebrow and saw her nod gently. Reaching out slowly, to give her plenty of time to pull back or give him any kind of signal to stop, he brought his hand to rest along her cheek. Feeling her lean to his touch, Boyd pulls gently as he moves forward until their lips meet in the most feather-light touches before he hears her sigh and her shoulders drop as she moves into him. Tucking her into his chest, Boyd inhales at her temple and feels the sigh of contentment come from her.

"Finally!" Isaac breathes out before yelping as Lydia and Allison both smack him on the back of the head.

There are a few minutes of quiet as everyone takes a bit of time to recover from the fact that they were all, save Allison, under the Darach's spell and now they are free. "Okay, here's the plan" Allison begins and lays down everything that they are planning. She gives Erica and Boyd the charms to protect them from being re-spelled by Blake and they are about to break up when her phone rings. Seeing Stiles' name, she hits the speaker button. "Stiles, we freed Erica and Boyd" she tells him.

"That's great" Stiles sounds really distracted. "Look, change of plans, I need the pack to push the training back to eight pm instead of after school and to have it at the Hale House not the loft. Can the trio see if they can make it happen? I need more time to prepare" he rambles for a bit.

Allison looks around at the group but they all nod and she confirms that they will do so. Stiles hangs up without saying goodbye causing several raised eyebrows. "Okay, new plan. Anyone have an idea of how we can arrange that?" she asks them.