Chapter 6

Chris Argent did not like this. He had lost too much over the last year and he was tired of all of the shit that had descended on him since returning to Beacon Hills. This was supposed to be a simple job, come in and deal with some rogues and see if anything had filled the vacuum left by the Hales abandoning their ancestral territory, and then a nice few years waiting for Allison to graduate. Finding out that Derek Hale had returned had been a surprise, as much as the news of the death of Laura Hale shortly before the boy had arrived from New York. Chris had checked on that very carefully and found absolute evidence that the man hadn't left New York before his sister had died.

That didn't mean he was innocent, Chris had been too well trained to ever assume that of a werewolf, even the young ones, but it didn't mean that he done something that had violated the code that would call for his extermination. Kate's arrival had complicated things but it was discovering that his sister had been responsible for the mass murder of a stable and peaceful pack that had been the most difficult to accept, despite the evidence. Finding out how she had accomplished it was a massive blow to his sense of justice and pride in what he did. Not only breaking the code, but molesting a teen to get the information to do so and leaving the boy traumatized had left Christopher Argent with a massive guilt complex.

Adding to that, finding out his daughter was dating a werewolf, dealing with his father's madness and corruption, and everything that led to Victoria's suicide was the final blow. Seeing his father manipulate his family was enough to push him off the fence and Chris Argent began taking steps. He manipulated a few situations to give the edge to Hale's pack against his father while Chris reached out to several other family members, including the Grande Matriarch of the Argents. Clarissant Margeary Argent was a formidable woman who ultimately commanded every branch of the Argents who were hunters on four continents and at her command, people died, horribly.

She had been trained to fight the supernatural since she was seven years old, assuming the matriarch role of her branch of the family at twenty three and from there she quickly established herself as a power in the hunting world. She destroyed rabid packs and established treaties with others that insured peace and safety for the people in her territory. Clarrisant Argent had become Grande Matriarch at thirty eight and had held that illustrious position for over thirty years now and while she may no longer have the physical strength to hunt, she didn't need it. At her command, hundreds of hunters would respond, and not a few non-humans who supported the woman.

Chris had written a report of everything happening in Beacon Hills and sent it to his Grande Matriarch right after Victoria had been bitten. The only acknowledgement he got was shortly before the Hale pack finally beat Gerard in that warehouse. Chris had suspected his father was connected to the killings but when he discovered that he was the kanima's master, it was too much. He sent a follow up message with all the additional information from that night and shortly thereafter he received a summons to come to France. He and Allison left for France after Hale defeated his father and freed the Whittemore boy from his father and right after the school year had ended.

Chris had come upon his father that night outside the warehouse, black goo pouring out every orifice as the man crawled on the ground trying to escape the pack. Disgusted at the sight of the man he once respected, even if he had lost that respect long ago, he still put his father in a car and drove him to a long-term care facility to monitor him. Finding out that McCall had betrayed him by poisoning the man with mountain ash so that when he received the bite it would stop or kill him was a major surprise. He had to admit he didn't think that the kid had the guts and, unwillingly, the boy went up in his eyes for managing that feat.

Arriving in France with his daughter, who was struggling with everything she had done and learned, they faced the judgement of Clarissant Argent who questioned both of them mercilessly. After nearly a week of investigation she declared that both Kate and Gerard were to be stricken from the Argent family name and records and that no family member from this point forward would help them in any way and she even put out the word that their lives were forfeit. Chris thought that was overkill since Kate was dead but he didn't challenge the woman's edict.

Chris told the Grande Matriarch about the facility he had placed Gerard in when they arrived but when her team sent to deal with the eldest Argent arrived, they reported that the man was gone without a trace. She was furious but she believed Chris was not in fact involved when she discovered that several of the family accounts had been accessed and drained by Gerard so she sent a team to hunt down Gerard and end him. Clarissant also took an interest in Allison and took responsibility for her training not just in hunting, but in the politics of being both an Argent and a Matriarch.

"You lover is a werewolf?" Clarissant had asked with one elegant eyebrow raised just enough to cause Allison Argent to squirm in discomfort. Chris hadn't held back in his report, making sure to tell her everything, good and bad, that had happened. Now it was Allison's turn to face that most terrifying woman.

"We broke up" Allison mumbled "…sort of" she added grudgingly. Clarissant did not look either impressed or even that she believed the girl.

"First loves are full of passion and emotion and rarely do they end when the reason is the interference from the families" the old woman's arch tone suggested that Allison was foolish but there was something else there. "I once knew a fae noble when I was a girl" she said surprising both Chris and Allison. "He was so beautiful it hurt to look at him" she sighed "and he was an amazing lover" she said with a wistful smile.

Chris was impressed that he managed not to drop his mouth at the admission that the Grande Matriarch had slept with a non-human. Allison was a lot more obvious based on the older woman's laugh. "You look scandalized my dear" Clarissant smiled and grabbed Allison's arm and led her off. "So tell me about your beast" she teased and Chris saw his daughter suddenly blush at the joke.

It turns out that more than a few hunters had loved, even married, supernaturals over the centuries so she wasn't as outraged as Gerard had been or as twisted as Kate. The older woman also pushed both of them to expand their skills. Chris was officially named Argent regent until Allison was twenty one when she would be of age to claim the title of matriarch. She also released all of his branch of the family's accounts and money to him instead of Gerard, who hadn't been able to access all of them to drain, which turned out to be substantially more money than he had ever suspected. Just more lies and secrets from Gerard. He also learned that Gerard was not an Argent, but rather he took his wife's name when he married her as he was not from a hunting family. Chris wondered if that sense of inadequacy was part of Gerard's problem.

But all of that was over and done with and now that he was back in Beacon Hills he had to deal with Derek Hale and his pack, including the eldest Hale...the werewolf who killed his sister. Clarissant had ruled that Peter had paid for his crimes when Derek killed him. His return gave him a clean slate in the eyes of the code and despite their personal feelings, both he and Allison had accepted her decision. Chris raised his fist to the large door to Derek's loft and banged, the sound resounding in the large space. The echo hadn't finished sounding when the door opened and Chris saw the large, silent form of Derek's beta Vernon Boyd standing there. The teen looked at Chris, trying to seem unconcerned but Chris could tell that he made the beta nervous. "Let him in" Chris heard Derek's voice from inside the loft.

Boyd stepped back and Chris walked past and saw the werewolf's nose flare as he smelled the wolfsbane on the bullets in Chris' gun. Chris saw Derek, Peter, the Lahey kid and the Reyes girl all in the apartment. There was no sign of McCall or Stilinski. He also didn't see the Whittemore boy or the Martin girl around either. "Hale" he grunted out.

"Appreciate you leaving your men outside" Peter drawled and Chris didn't blink. He was sure that the pack knew that he came in three cars with eight men, all of them armed and trained. Chris ignored the older werewolf and focused on Derek.

"McCall, Mrs. McCall that is, told me about the witches' curse on the people at the hospital" Chris said both a statement and a question.

"Erica was cursed first but we managed to break it" Derek told the hunter. "Deaton was able to come up with a cure for the others. We are planning how to deal with the witches now that people are no longer under their spells."

"Not really an issue anymore" Chris smirks sarcastically and enjoys the looks of confusion on the pack's faces as he realizes he definitely knows more than they do.

"What do you mean?" Derek growls.

"Appears that the coven managed to cross the wrong person…well, they crossed the wrong something. They were fleeing out of town like the fires of hell were after them and we tried to catch one to interrogate but we failed. It seems that whatever they encountered killed almost half of the coven and pretty much terrified the rest of them. A hunter colleague of mine in Texas managed to run into one of them who was fleeing for home in New Orleans and the man, drunk as a skunk, told him that they had faced a terror in Beacon Hills that tore them apart. And that in addition to killing their leaders, several of the witches were actually stripped of their powers. It seems they were also told that if any of them were still west of the Rockies after twenty-four hours then they were going to die, painfully. The coven are still running for the hills" Chris said as he dropped this problem on the alpha's lap.

"What the hell did they run into?" Erica muttered loud enough that even Chris hear her. The others all look as confused though Derek looks constipated. Peter is frowning and Chris can tell that the oldest werewolf is suddenly feeling a whole lot less certain about what he knows. Turning to leave, Chris promises to let Derek know if he learns anything else and about halfway down the stairs he realizes that he is whistling a jaunty song and chuckles when he realizes that he is actually enjoying the discomfort of the Hale pack, even if he knows he ultimately have to help deal with this latest crisis.

Boyd stepped out of his parent's house and sighed again as he walked away from his situation at home. Ever since his sister had disappeared, things with his mother and grandmother had been strained but it seemed that once he took the Bite, he was more aware of the strain in the house. Even though Derek offered to help, even suggesting moving them to a safe place, Boyd knew his grandmother wouldn't hear of it. The family had been in Beacon Hills for too long.

He felt his phone go off and saw it was Erica calling and he smiled slightly as he answered but before he could say anything the blonde cut him off "Boyd! Is Isaac with you?" she asked and he could hear the desperation in her voice.

"No. He was staying after school to work on some project so I went to see my mother" he replied "have you called him?"

"He's not answering and he is over two hours late" she tells him and he can hear the panic building in her voice. Ever since their capture, she freaks out if she can't account for any members of the pack.

"I'll swing by the school to see if he is still there" Boyd says as he starts running. Erica tells him that Derek will meet him there and Boyd hangs up to run faster. By the time he gets to the school he sees Derek climbing out of his Camaro.

"Where did you see him last?" Derek demanded brusquely.

"We were in the locker room, after practice" Boyd told him as they walked in to the still open school doors. "He said he needed to do some work in the library."

"We will start in the locker room and then track him" Derek ordered and Boyd nodded in agreement. They stepped into the locker room and both of their eyes flashed, Boyd's golden and Derek's Alpha red as they both let out growls as the coppery smell of blood hit their noses. Isaac's blood. Derek tears through the room looking for any clues but there is nothing there. Derek is racing out of the room, following the scent trail and suddenly they are led to the Lacrosse field and Boyd shrinks back from the sudden furious roar coming from his Alpha.

Derek takes off and Boyd is startled but then he sees it, what set Derek off. The crumbled body of his packmate! Isaac was tied to the lightpost on the edge of the field, bleeding from dozens of cuts and tied with ropes stinking of wolfsbane. "Call the others" Derek growls as he starts ripping at the ropes, ignoring the burns the wolfsbane is giving him. In a few minutes Derek has freed the boy, his hands red and tore up from the burns, so Boyd jumps forward to grab Isaac and lift him up.

Derek nods and they race for the Camaro as Boyd tells his alpha that the others were meeting them at Deaton's. They reached the car and Derek allowed Boyd to drive as his hands were still too tore up for him to drive safely. Boyd could hear the beta's labored breathing even though Derek was pulling Isaac's pain. The Alpha's fury was tangible so Boyd drove as fast as he dared.

Pulling up at the vet clinic, Jackson and Lydia were standing outside and both of them looked annoyed and irritated until Boyd pulled Isaac's bloody body from the car then Lydia paled as Jackson growled and his eyes flashed. "What the hell?" Jackson demanded as they brought the beta in and placed him on Deaton's exam table.

"We found him on the Lacrosse field. The Alpha Pack attacked him" Derek told the others as Deaton began taking care of the wounded beta asking the others to wait outside.

"He is badly hurt, but he should recover" Deaton assures them as he walks out of the exam room a few minutes later. "His wounds were carefully inflicted to maximize his pain and suffering, but not bad enough to be fatal" the druid tells Derek. "He needs to stay tonight, but you should be able to take him home to finish recovering. Hopefully he can tell you what they wanted."

Derek has Peter and Jackson stay at the clinic with Isaac and Deaton and then takes the rest of the pack back to his loft to try and rest and determine what they will do next. Derek is furious with the Alpha Pack but he doesn't know how to anticipate their actions. He is certain his sister would not be in this position and would be handling things better.

"Stiles!" Scott yells startling Stiles and causing him to nearly fall over from where he is sitting at his desk studying a book on charms and amulets. Another 'in between' magic, Stiles found charms in both Witchcraft and in Magecraft so he is looking at how he can combine them maybe with a little rune work to enhance their powers.

"What the hell man!" Stiles yells as he looks at the frantic expression on his best friends face. Scott looks really worked up about something and it is way too early in the morning for this.

"Isaac was attacked and badly hurt. I called Dr. Deaton and he told me that Derek brought him in all bloody and tore up. Let's go!" he demands and Stiles grabs his shoes all confused.

"That doesn't make sense Scotty. Why isn't Isaac healing?" he asks, confusion clear on his face at Scott's explanation.

"Who knows what Derek is doing? Maybe he did something to prevent him from healing or something" Scott growls angrily and Stiles stops to look at his friend's demeanor.

"Scott, you aren't seriously thinking Derek is the one who hurt Isaac. That's stupid!" he tells the other boy and he sees Scott getting ready to argue. "If he hurt Isaac, why bring him to Deaton?" he asks and Scott looks a lot less certain than before. Stiles sighs dramatically "You are such a dumbass Scotty. Did you even pause to think before you decided Derek was at fault?"

"It's Derek!" Scott yells as if that explains everything. He flails his arms as he just seems to squirm under Stiles' unimpressed glare. Stiles crosses his arms and just continues to stare.

"He seems rather worked up" Stephen dryly notes "and not very bright." Stiles struggles to not smile or laugh at the sorcerer's sarcastic commentary.

"Scotty, I love you man but you have got to let go of whatever this is that is making you see Derek as the source of everything bad in the world. The dude is not Darth Lupus" he tells Scott and sees the look of confusion on his friend's face. "Dude, still? Just watch Star Wars already!" he wails.

"Seriously? He hasn't seen Star Wars? Stephen asks sounded astounded. Stiles just sighed glad someone agreed with him on this.

"I didn't say he was" Scott tried to explain to his friend "but you have to admit that he has messed things up pretty badly."

"Yeah. I mean he cured Erica's epilepsy, gave Isaac the strength to escape from his father who was abusing him and locking him in a freezer and has saved both of our lives more than once at the risk of his own, but it's not like he lied, manipulated the people closest to him, only to betray him to a geriatric psychopath who gets off on killing and torturing people" Stiles snarked and Stiles could see the moment when Scott realized what Stiles was saying.

"I had no choice Stiles! He was threatening my mom" Scott defended. "He actually came into our house, had Jackson grab her, and threatened to kill her!"

"Yes, I know what he was capable of Scott, I got that. But you still could have told Derek. You don't think he would understand doing anything for family? And what about me? You could have come to me to help you, she has been like a second mom to me. Don't you think I would have done anything to help?" Stiles pushed his friend. "You lied to Derek about being part of his pack, knowing how much it meant to him and then you used him, just like Kate did."

Scott's face pales as the blood rushes from him and Stiles can sees the other teen's eyes glistening from the words coming from his brother in all but name. "Haven't you been just as guilty of making mistakes, screwing up, and hurting people as he is? How can you blame him for his mistakes but expect everyone to forgive yours?" Stiles voice is softer and that is somehow almost crueler.

"He cost me my chance to be normal!" Scott whined, he literally whined, and Stiles was done with this crap.

"Did he? Did he really Scott? I have looked and researched and there is absolutely no evidence that killing Peter would have 'cured' you. Instead it would have turned you into an Alpha and all that power and aggression? It would have messed you up bad! And in case you have forgotten, that 'alpha-ness' belonged to Derek's mother and sister before Peter killed Laura. That power was Derek's by right, not yours. And let's be completely, totally honest…you would have failed" Stiles stated unequivocally.

"I could have…" Scott tried to protest but stopped at the glare Stiles was giving him and looked ashamed.

"No Scott. You couldn't. I'm sorry man but if you couldn't kill the old man who was terrorizing your family, the guy who used the Kanima, not Jackson, to threaten your mom, then you wouldn't have been able to kill Peter. If you were that kind of person then you would have hunted that bastard down and the first moment he was alone or vulnerable, you would have ripped his throat out before he even knew you were there" Stiles told him and saw Scott blanch at the cold blooded description. "If killing someone that imminently dangerous to you and the people you love wasn't possible, how on earth do you think you could have ripped the throat out of a wounded man, burned and bleeding, lying on the ground staring at you knowing you were going to kill him?"

Stiles shook his head sadly. "Scotty I love you, I do bro, but that is just not you. You always try and find another way, even when you would save so much more by ending the threat completely. It's not a bad thing, you are a really good person. You want to find a better way and I am proud of you for that, but killing? No, you would have not been able to do it and Derek would have had to do it anyways. Or Chris would have and then the Alpha power would have passed to Derek anyways."

Scott looks dejected but the fight has gone out of him. He looks at Stiles pitifully and the teen can't resist those puppy dog eyes very long so they end up hugging. "So what do we do now?" Scott seems somehow smaller while Stiles feels that he has turned a corner.

"We go to Deaton's and find out what is going on" Stiles replies easily. "Then, you work with Derek on figuring out what the pack should do and when you get the chance, you need to pull him aside apologize to him for what you did." Stiles cuts off Scott's reply before it starts. "Yes you will. Scott, you did him wrong, regardless of feeling that you had no choice. If you tell him everything that happened, really tell him, he will probably be more understanding than you might think. He understands being manipulated by the Argents" Stiles reminds him.

Scott nods but wisely doesn't reply. Stiles finishes getting ready and they walk out and get in Stiles jeep and drive over to the vet clinic. Pulling up they see Derek's Camaro, Jackson's Porsche, and a black BMW that they don't recognize. "The gang's all here!" Stiles snorts and they head inside.

Walking in to the clinic Stiles is surprised that even he can smell the blood in the room as they spot the rest of the betas in the waiting room. Erica and Boyd are sitting close together and he can see them looking at him with guilt in their eyes as they quickly look away. Stiles sighs and wishes they would stop acting like he was a fragile, delicate thing that would break at the slightest noise. Jackson was sitting across the room looking more tired than annoyed, a first, while Lydia was typing on her phone with a thoughtful expression.

"What happened? How is Isaac?" Scott asked and the others all looked sad and concerned and glanced at the doors just as Scott barged ahead, Stiles trailing behind. Walking in to the exam room, Scott gasped when he saw the terrible state that Isaac was still in. Stiles' eyes widened when he realized that if Isaac had been healing all night, how bad was it when they found him? "Who did this?" Scott growled but neither Derek nor Peter seemed to take offense though their eyes did flash.

"We are not certain but we think it was the Alpha Pack" Peter replies with a heavy voice and both Scott and Stiles look confused. This leads to elder wolves sharing what they knew about this pack of alphas who attack other packs and how they think they have come to Beacon Hills. They apparently got to Isaac which is why his wounds are taking so long to heal as they were inflicted by alphas. Deaton is quietly listening as the two Hales take turns explaining their belief that they are trying to force Derek's hand.

"Wait a second" Scott finally says when they slow down. "You knew about this super pack of crazy alphas and you didn't tell us? Don't you think that we needed to know that we are being targeted?" he demands.

Derek frowns and looks more unhappy than usual. "We didn't think that they would be interested in a stray omega and his sidekick. They were threatening my pack and I'm not your Alpha, remember?" he asks flatly.

Stiles is supportive enough of his best friend not to say 'I told you so' or something similar when he sees the other teen wince when Derek throws his words from that night back at him. Words that clearly said that Scott didn't consider Derek or his pack worthy of Scott's support. A part of Stiles, the more mature part, has to give the man some respect for delivering such a blistering bitch-slap so effectively.

"Fine, you and Scott are still fighting and you don't want to talk to him, but why didn't you tell me so I could help? " Stiles asked and he glared when Peter laughed. "Something funny 'satan in a v-neck'?" Stiles directs that to the older Hale.

"You are so refreshing Stiles, I have to say again I really should have bitten you that night" he says with a leer. "And might I add, you smell…extra special this morning" he says oily and Stiles shivers.

"Irish spring perv-wolf" Stiles says with a glare "remember that No means No!" he adds and frowns when the older man just chuckles at him ignoring the slight growl coming from Derek.

"We don't need you two involved. If you stay away from the pack, then the Alpha Pack will probably ignore you" Derek says with finality and stomps out of the exam room, Peter trailing after him and stopping to take a deep inhale as he walks by Stiles causing the teen to flail away and let out a disgusted peep.

"See, they don't want our help" Scott tells his friend and Stiles rolls his eyes knowing the boy is using this as an excuse to avoid apologizing. "Will Isaac be okay?" he asks Deaton with concern clear in his voice.

"He will recover physically" Deaton assures them. "Derek is taking him home in a bit and being with his pack will help with the healing."

They stay at the vet's until the pack takes Isaac home and then Stiles agrees to take Scott to the mall where they spend nearly two hours as Scott desperately searches for the 'perfect' gift for Allison when she finally returns from France. He doesn't find it, but is still determined. Scott spends the entire time going on about Allison's everything and how her emails suggest that they might be able to fix things which means he has another chance. Seriously, after two hours of 'everything Allison', Stiles deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for not zapping the guy. He drops off Scott at home and just shakes his head as he drives away and blinks when Stephen appears in the passenger seat.

"I seriously thought all of that teenage drama and angst was exaggerated, guess I was wrong" he said sounding exhausted. "I think that I know a way to get us the help we need to find the spell that will allow me to stop Mordo. So, how do you feel about a trip to New York?"