Archive of Our Own

Fountain of Forgiveness

"Derek! Derek! NO!"

"Cora! Cora! Wake up!"

"DEREK!"

Stiles jolted upright in bed, rubbing absent-mindedly at his tattoo. It was throbbing slightly, had been ever since Derek had healed Cora and lost his alpha power, three months ago. He swiped a hand over his eyes, grimacing at the gritty feeling. He'd been up too late researching. Doing everything in his power to figure out how to get Derek's power back to him. He'd come up with a big fat goose egg.

Stiles had spent every waking moment, well almost every waking moment, since Derek lost his power trying to find a way to restore it. He knew in his gut there had to be a way to do it. And when Scott turned 'true alpha', well, Stiles wasn't buying that bullshit. If anyone was into self-sacrifice it was Derek, and yeah, Stiles loved Scott, they were bros, but Scott could be a whole lot self-absorbed at times.

Derek, was always thinking of his pack. Now if part of that was driven by guilt, who was Stiles to judge. He did lots of things that were driven by guilt, still didn't negate the actual good of the deed, just maybe tarnished the whole lack of altruistic reasoning behind said action. But who was really altruistic in their actions anyway? Stiles couldn't name one person.

So, he'd read every single ancient tome he could get his hands on and had even started sketching out a new tattoo. One that would let him channel his power into Derek. Deaton had forbidden him from getting it, but Stiles was over eighteen, Deaton didn't have a whole lot of room to negotiate, seeing as how he had been zero help when Cora was sick.

Running a hand through his hair, Stiles sighed and pushed himself up off the bed. If he wasn’t sleeping he might as well use his time wisely and do some more research. He flung the covers off and went to sit at his desk, flicking the light on and staring down at the open book in front of him.

"You're not going to find the answer there."

"Jesus! Holy God, warn a guy, will you?" Stiles flinched and clutched at his chest, feeling his heart thudding too fast.

Cora just smirked at him. Stiles rolled his eyes and went back to his research. "What do you want?"

"Derek's unhappy."

Stiles stopped reading and lifted his head up, staring at the wall, refusing to look at her. He wasn't the reason Derek was unhappy and he'd already tried everything he knew to fix it.

"I know you know that already. My question is what are you going to do about it?"

Angrily, Stiles spun around in his chair. "What am I going to do about it? I'm not the reason he's pissed off and resentful. Do you know how much he gave up to save you?"

He watched as her eyes went shiny with guilt that she quickly masked with anger. "You feel guilty," he blurted out, the pieces slotting into place all of a sudden. He waved his hand at her, his finger out, making circles in the air. "That look, the one you had two seconds ago, it's the same look you get anytime he does something nice for you. Even if it's just getting you a damn mug of tea. Jesus, you and he have more guilt then a whole family of Catholics. You wear yours like a shroud. Between the two of you? I'm not sure who the bigger brooder is."

A bitter laugh slipped out and he continued. "I can't believe I didn't put it together until now. Ever since he healed you there's been something off, something I couldn't quite put my finger on. I mean besides the fact that you're evil. I mean, there's not an evil bone in your body, well, not in the 'I'm going to kill you and everyone you love' kind of way. You're the kind of evil that's all 'I'm going to snark at you until there is nothing left but a bloody pile of bones' kind of way."

He paused to take a breath before barreling on. "Derek once told me that you took after Laura but weren't half as vicious, which frankly scared the beejesus out of me. I don't even want to imagine what she was like. But yeah, you've got guilt! About what he did, what he lost when he saved you."

"You're wrong," she snarled.

He crossed his arms, staring her down. "I'm not. Want me to tell you how I see your eyes fill with sadness when he makes you a sandwich? Or how your eyes follow him when he moves around or how you wince when his eyes flash blue instead of red?"

"Shut up."

"No. We did this. We all did this together. Granted it was against Deaton's and my wishes, but we did this to him. I may have protested against a very adamant alpha werewolf, who by the way, said he would do anything to save his sister. Even giving up his damn powers. And in the end, I couldn't stop him. Neither could Deaton. But I was there, I stayed while he pulled sickness from you and you pulled power from him. I watched his eyes fade from red to blue. Why the hell do you think I've been spending every waking moment in the last three months trying to fix it?"

Her eyes widened, before the snark came back. "Is that why there are bags under your eyes so big they rival some type of big luggage."

"Ha, don't distract me. Maybe you feel guilty because nobody really knows where the hell you've been for the last ten years? You show up here out of the blue on Derek's doorstep, cold, clammy, and unresponsive. He thought you died in the fire! But nope, here you are, alive and kicking and with a weird ass connection to Deucalion, an alpha I might remind you, that caused us a whole shit ton of trouble. And yet you never talk about that, why not?"

When she didn't answer, he continued. "I'll tell you why, because you've got some sort of weird freaky bond with him that you don't want Derek to know about, was it even consensual? I mean, just how old were you when you ran into the alpha pack?"

"Shut the fuck up, Stilinski," Cora's eyes flashed gold.

Stiles clapped his hands. "There's the Cora I know! Anger is good, use it, help me figure out how to fix your idiot brother. Help me figure out how to get his powers back. "

"Yes. But he never wanted to be an alpha in the first place."

Stiles' brow furrowed as her words shot straight into his heart and hope flared. "Maybe not growing up, but you haven't seen him in a really long time. He's moved on, grown up the hard way, and faced some really difficult choices."

"That's what he does. Not what he feels," she hissed.

"You think he doesn't feel every single one of those 'choices' he makes? Because if you don’t, you're a fool. He overthinks shit at times. Yeah, he was a bit reckless at the beginning, but I think he more than paid his dues. He was just getting into the groove of being a good alpha when you showed up and he gave it all up to save you. Talk about sacrifice."

Sacrifice. What Derek feels not what he does. Those thoughts poked at Stiles' brain. Stiles drew a deep breath in preparation for another rant but stopped. "Wait, what did I just say? What did you say?" His thoughts swirled, and he tried to reach for the one coherent thought that was just out of touch.

"You said –"

"Shh!" Stiles shushed her, holding up his finger. "Gimme a minute."

Eagerly, Cora scooted to the edge the bed but remained quiet.

"Never wanted to be alpha. Sacrificed his powers to save her. Was he doing it for penance? Did he make the sacrifice because he felt like that's what he deserved? Does he blame himself for Cora? Her disappearance? Weirdo connection to Deucalion?" Stiles mused to himself.

"Stiles…"

"Shush, woman, I was just trying to get you worked up earlier, now let me think." Stiles admonished her again before continuing to mutter to himself and reaching for one of the books on the corner of his desk, the really old one he'd snatched from the loft after Derek found the ritual for healing Cora inside it. The thought was there, right there on the edge of everything, nebulous, just out of his grasp.

Frantically he flipped through pages, shaking his head when he hit the wrong one until he found what he was looking for. He skimmed it, his heart pounding. Cora growled softly at his side, pressing closer to him.

He ignored her, trying to focus his thoughts. Reading over the page again, he closed his eyes when he finished in an attempt to put it all together, to explain to Cora what it was Derek needed. It was something Derek felt he didn't deserve. Forgiveness, something freely given out of compassion, not because it's deserved but because it's needed. Which made it all the more potent.

"You need to forgive Derek."

"What?" Cora growled.

"You need to forgive Derek, for the fire, for Boyd, for Erica, for everything. And it has to be you. You're the only member of his family left. Well, the only one who truly matters. So, for him, your forgiveness would be everything."

Stiles turned to look at her, afraid of what he was going to see in her eyes. She glared at him for a second before dropping her gaze, but it wasn't fast enough for Stiles. He saw everything. The pain. The grief. The anger. The horror. And the pity. All for Derek.

"I knew the fire was his fault. I don't mean that he set it. I mean, I knew he was seeing that bitch on the sly. I caught him leaving the house once, sneaking out to go see her. I followed him to the road, saw him get into her car. Watched her kiss him. She never closed her eyes. Not like they do in the movies. She was always on alert, looking for something. I should have told someone. I'm as much to blame as he is."

Her lip trembled, and a tear spilled over and rolled down her cheek. Stiles reached out, hesitant, and wiped the tear away with a finger. "You were a child. Derek was a child. The only person at fault was her. And she's gone. She paid for what she did with her life. I know it's not nearly enough, nothing could ever truly be enough. But Derek still blames himself. I think he always will."

Stiles rubbed at his forehead. "He saved you out of guilt. Guilt and loneliness. So I’m not sure if my idea will work, but it's worth a try. The first step is forgiveness."

"And I'm the only one left who can give it," Cora said quietly.

"Yeah."

"I was so angry at him for so long. A part of me still is. A part of me will always be angry with him for thinking with his dick instead of his head."

"Yeah, but it was Kate Argent. Did you ever meet her?"

Cora shook her head.

"Yeah, well I did, and trust me, that bitch was scary as fuck, intimidating as hell, and had a body to die for. Take it from me, if she'd turned all her attention on me? I probably would have fallen for her too. Derek was the victim in this, the first victim. You have to keep that in mind."

"And he's hurting too," Cora continued. "I can see it and smell it. It's like this black film that covers everything he does. He always smells of guilt and regret now, nothing like the happy Derek I used to know who smelled of pine and fun and adventure. So what will forgiving him do?"

Stiles shrugged. "It's complicated. It depends on whether he'll accept it or not. Who knows, he may be too far-gone for it to help at all. But he sacrificed his powers to save you. Yeah, he did it out of guilt and the desire to not be responsible for another family member dying, but he still sacrificed them."

He reached for the book, pulling it over so she could see it. "There's a spell, a ritual so to speak, where an emissary can help get an alpha's powers back for him if they were given up in sacrifice for another. It's dangerous, there's no guarantee, and I’m not sure it will work if his motivation was guilt. But really, what matters is that he gave them up to save your life. That's got to count for something."

"What does forgiveness have to do with it?"

"That is an excellent question. And the answer is nothing. It has nothing to do with it. But Derek needs it. I don't think he'll agree to take his powers back without it, because Derek doesn't think he deserves nice things."

"He has you."

"Yeah, because I stupidly got a tattoo on my eighteenth birthday without fully understanding what I did. I mean I knew but I didn't know. You know?"

"That's what bonded you to Derek?"

Stiles' cheeks went red and he grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, um, I bonded myself to Derek and to the pack. The ink was mixed with silver and some other stuff and, like with the mountain ash, I just believed and concentrated the whole time I was getting it that it would keep the pack and me safe. And it ended up bonding us together. For life."

"Wow. So that's why you knew I was pack when I showed up."

"Yeah, when I touched you, my tattoo tingled, and instantly I could feel you in my head, just like all the others."

"So, how does that work exactly with Scott and Derek both being alphas? I mean, you're bonded to Derek but Scott is your bro. Do you feel the pull to both of them because of that? I mean, Ms. Morrell felt drawn to the entire alpha pack."

Lifting his shoulders in a shrug, Stiles answered her. "My belief, I guess? Because when I got the tattoo I was thinking of the pack as a whole and Derek was the alpha. Scott didn't come into his alpha powers until after I'd gotten it, and by that time, despite our differences, he was already attached? So although I feel pulled by the entire pack, it's strongest with Derek, even now."

"Differences?"

Stiles waved his hand dismissively. "Water under the bridge. After the alpha pack hit us the first time, he and Isaac got really close, kind of left me behind. Once I got the tattoo though, things got better. I'll never really know if it was because of the tattoo or because the tattoo made Scott remember what he'd given up. Doesn't matter. Either way, we're back to being best bros, you know. Having grown up together, you just don't throw away all that history. He and Derek almost fought over me at first, but once they managed to stop their stupid pissing contest, Scott started making our friendship/bromance a priority and now we're all good."

"But how do they work together? I've been here for three months, and it just doesn't make sense. And yeah, I spent time with the alpha Pack, but neither Scott nor my brother is Deucalion."

"Honestly?"

Cora nodded.

"I have no idea. It's not my spark or my bond or whatever. I was actually pretty terrified when Derek lost his alphaness that he and Scott would fight over it, but Derek was so beat down, he just gave up and I think that was worse. Fortunately, deep down, when he's not being an ignorant douche, Scott's a good guy. He's never taken advantage of Derek, and if anything, their relationship's gotten better. But even Scott misses Derek having his alpha powers."

"He said that?"

"Yup." Stiles nodded. "When that troll was here last month? Scott whined about how things would be much easier if Derek was still an alpha and could do the whole growly intimidating alpha thing. The troll wasn't really scared of Scott. Lydia however…"

Cora laughed. "Yeah, well, she scares me."

"I know, right? Anyway, I think if you can forgive him and he can see, hear, whatever that you truly mean it? It might be the first step toward him accepting that his life doesn't have to suck forever. That he does deserve nice things and that maybe, if the universe is willing to return his powers, it's because he deserves to have them back. And maybe, just maybe, you, me, all of us, can change the course of his life from one of major suckitude to something not so terrible."

Cora stared at him for a moment or two until a smile spread across her face and she pulled him into a hug, burying her face in his neck, tears spilling out and wetting his skin. "None of us deserve you, you know that? None of us."

Stiles swallowed over the lump in his throat and returned her embrace, patting her gently on the back. "Yes, you do," he answered softly. "Yes, you do."

***********************

"Derek?" Cora said quietly. She walked through the loft. She knew he was here, could hear his heartbeat, his breathing, smell his unique scent, although these days it was forever intermingled with Stiles'. "Look, I know you're hiding. You've been doing that a lot lately. It's like, as happy as you are to have me around, I'm just a reminder of everyone that isn't. I hate that, Derek. I hate that I make you just as unhappy as happy."

His heart skipped a beat; it was loud in her ears.

"I know about the fire, Derek, I knew back then. I saw you one time. With her. I know I should have said something, maybe if I'd told Mom, but you were Mr. Perfect. But, Derek, she was wrong. Her eyes, you could see it just by the look in them. There was nothing there. Just evil."

His breath started coming out in shuddery pants, but she pressed on. "You got into a car with her and kissed her, but she never closed her eyes. She was looking out into the woods, always the hunter."

There was a small scraping sound and she imagined it was him, moving, stretching out his leg, or something, wherever he was hiding.

"What happened wasn't your fault. It was hers. She's the one who killed our family, not you. Just like the alphas killed Erica and Boyd. Not. You. But I know you don't believe that, and it breaks my heart. You're not the Derek you used to be, before, you know, everything. I told Stiles you used to smell like pine and fun and adventure. And now, now all I can smell is sadness, grief, and regret. It's like a thick black oil that covers everything you do. It's cloying and heavy and gross."

There was a snort, and Cora allowed herself to feel a small kernel of hope.

"So I'm going to tell you something and you're going to listen.

"I forgive you. I forgive you for being an adolescent boy and falling for an older woman who seduced you and made you feel special. I forgive you for being naïve enough for her to take advantage of you. I forgive you for doing your best to repopulate our pack with the underdogs, the kids who were picked on and needed something to belong to, something to make them feel strong."

Her breath hitched as tears spilled down her cheeks and she choked back a sob. "I forgive you for doing your best to protect our pack and this town against the alphas. Alphas who had long forgotten what it truly means to be an alpha. Alphas who perverted the whole meaning of the word and were an abomination themselves. I forgive you for being a lone alpha with no experience and only yourself to protect your pack against a whole pack of predators."

She swiped at the tears on her face and pushed through her anger. "I forgive you for teaching Erica to stand up for herself even at the cost of her own life. I forgive you for fighting the twins and Kali until you were so exhausted that they gained the upper hand and killed Boyd."

Her heart ached for him and she desperately hoped he was listening, because what she was about to say was by far the most important. "And I forgive you for making the ultimate sacrifice and giving up your alpha powers in order to save my life."

"You shouldn't."

"Why? It was my family too, Derek. Boyd and Erica were my friends too. I lost them too! So don't tell me I can't forgive you because I can. Because it wasn't your fault. I forgive you, Derek and I'm going to keep saying it until you believe it, until you believe that you deserve it. Because you do, Derek; you deserve it. Life handed you a whole pile of shit and you've done your best with it but that doesn't mean you have to keep that shit for the rest of your life."

She hoped Stiles was right, telling her to use Derek's name a lot. He'd said it made it more personal. It was weird, but now, she understood, it felt like every time she said it that just maybe she was getting through, that Derek was listening to her more attentively.

 A bitter laugh sounded through the loft, and Cora shook her head sadly. "Stiles loves you. He hasn't said it, but I can tell. Laura would have loved him, you know? She would have teased you mercilessly and probably him too, but she would have loved him."

She felt her tears drip off her chin and create a damp spot on her jeans.  "They wouldn't want this, Derek. Mom and Dad. They wouldn't want you to wallow in it for the entire rest of your life. They'd want you to be happy, and you know it. You're just hiding and you need to stop. I forgive you, Derek. Now you need to forgive yourself."

Silence hung heavy in the air and Cora waited for several long minutes, her heart breaking more as each one passed. Finally, she stood up and dusted off her butt. "I love you, Derek. Stiles loves you. You should let him – us – do that because you deserve it."

Torn between heartbroken and hopeful, she walked toward the door and had just put her hand on the handle to slide it open when she heard him.

"Cora – "his voice, sounding broken, came from off to the left side.

She turned and Derek stepped out of the shadows, tears streaming down his face. Without a word, she hurried over and wrapped her arms around him as he buried his face in her neck.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," he repeated over and over again, his tears soaked into her shirt She reached up and carded her fingers through his hair, letting him grieve for the first time. They sank to the floor, her arms still wrapped around him, and sat there until he was limp and exhausted in her embrace.

She kept running her fingers through his hair, just like their Mom did when they were kids, until he slipped off to sleep, and for the first time since the fire, she felt like maybe, just maybe, things were going to be okay.

It took some finagling, but she managed to get her phone out of her pocket and to shoot off a quick text to Stiles. Then she rested her head against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Thanks, Stiles," she whispered into the darkness.

*****************************

"Hey, big guy. So, um, how are you??" Stiles asked, hands shoved into his front pockets. His façade of calmness a complete a lie. There was no doubt that Derek could hear his heart jack-rabbiting in his chest, smell his worry, taste his apprehension.

Derek's mouth tightened into a thin line, and Stiles' smile faltered. "Cora told you, didn't she?"

When Derek nodded stiffly in return, Stiles felt his heart jump inside his chest. "You don't want this, do you? I mean, if you don't, we won't do it, but dude, you're not an omega, and yeah, you may have always been destined to be a beta, but I think you were meant to be an alpha. And okay, you were a shit one at times, but Scott, the 'true alpha,'" he used finger quotes in the air, "is as shit as they come, especially when it comes to Allison or Isaac."

"I just, why would you do this for me?" Derek asked.

His words were like a knife twisting in Stiles' heart. Stiles hung his head. "Because you," he stopped, frustrated. "You deserve nice things, okay? You lost your power in the act of saving Cora."

"Because I couldn't lose her!"

"Yeah, no, I get that, but you went into it knowing you would lose your power and you did it anyway. See I've been researching this 'true' alpha stuff, and it's not everything Deaton made it out to be."

Derek huffed. "Why doesn't that surprise me? What didn't he tell us?"

"There are other alphas, those who give their power to save a life. Their power can be restored through an emissary. It's similar to a 'true' alpha in that the alpha has to want the powers back and joins his desire for restoration with that of his emissary. Okay, it's not exactly the same, but the principle behind it is. You sacrificed yourself. Think of this as repayment for your sacrifice."

"What if I don't want it?"

Stiles shrugged, fighting against the disappointment and sadness washing over him. "Then we let it go and never speak of it again."

Derek was silent. He turned his back on Stiles and walked over to the window. "You were right, you know? About me having a habit of falling for homicidal maniacs."

"I'm not," Stiles protested, taking a step forward, reaching out to touch Derek's shoulder only to drop his hand to his side instead. "Please, Derek. Let me do this for you," he whispered.

"Cora said," Derek's voice hitched and Stiles shoved down his fears and stepped forward, wrapping a hand around Derek's bicep and pressing his mouth to the back of Derek's shoulder.

"Cora said she forgave me," he choked out. "For everything."

He went still under Stiles' touch, and Stiles knew he was trying to keep his emotions in check. Stiles wanted to fist punch the air in triumph because Derek had taken Cora's forgiveness to heart and he wanted to wrap his whole body around Derek and comfort him as well. He settled for sliding his free arm around Derek's waist, kissing the cotton covering his shoulder. When Derek grabbed his forearm and held on tightly, Stiles let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding, feeling warmth coming down through their bond. He spent a few seconds reveling in that warmth, enjoying the relief and contentment it provided.

"Let's do this," Derek whispered.

Thank you, Cora, Stiles mouthed into the air, squeezing Derek's arm reassuringly.

It didn't take long for Stiles to gather what he needed. He'd been carrying it around in the back of the Jeep ever since he and Cora had talked. Hoping Cora could get through to Derek and that he would eventually come around. Turned out, Stiles was right.

After shooing Derek out of the loft with instructions to return in just under two hours with Cora, Stiles went about getting things set up for the ritual. He set up a small altar with a marble top in place of the coffee table in front of the couch and then put out candles, beer, wine and this cake bread thing he found at a local bakery as offerings. The lady at the bakery had told him about how it was a special recipe worked from some old Icelandic thing someone found in a grave or something. It had sounded so close to the thing he'd read that he'd grabbed a loaf for the ritual and one to try later when he wasn't so stressed.

He also added a picture of Hades and one of Odin. Finding statues of either of them in town, out of town, or even online, that he could actually afford had been a bitch. He'd finally just printed pictures out from the internet and hoped they would work.

He laid a stiletto across the front of the altar and ran his fingers over its mother of pearl hilt. It was sharp enough to slice paper, even with the pure silver coating he'd paid a ton to have added. The silver, although bad for werewolves, was instrumental because it was routinely used in divine offerings. Plus, it would keep Derek's hand from healing while their energy was transferred. Silver cut for shit though, so he'd chosen a steel blade with a silver coating. He'd gone two towns over to find it and the store guy had looked at him funny but it was worth it.

When he had the altar set up, he got up and looked out the window to see if Derek and Cora were back yet.

They were doing this ritual in the loft because Stiles didn't want his Dad to find out about it. He would, eventually, but not until after. He'd sent Derek and Cora out for food so he could cleanse the space with sage and salt water before getting everything ready.

He turned away from the window just as the door to the loft slid open and Derek and Cora walked in, carrying a bag of takeout food for when the ritual was complete. Stiles had eaten before he'd come over, needing the energy but wanting it to digest enough that he wouldn't be full and sluggish during the actual casting.

Cora stored the food in the fridge before walking over to join Derek and Stiles near the altar.

Stiles reached out and grabbed Derek's hand, twining their fingers together. "We don't have to do this."

"I know. But you want to."

"Yes, I do, but this isn't for me, it's for you."

"I –" Derek looked away in obvious frustration. "I'm not sure it's going to work." His voice was low and full of trepidation.

"And if it doesn’t, then what? We'll have nothing to show for our efforts but a scar? What's one more scar?"

Cora stepped forward, wrapping her hand around Derek's bicep. "Do you want this, big bro?"

Derek dropped his head to look at the floor and then closed his eyes before nodding quickly. "Yeah, I want to at least try."

"Then lets do it." Cora gripped his arm and turned to nod at Stiles.

"Okay," he squeezed Derek's hand. "I need to make a circle, and since I'm kind of mixing Greek, Norse, Wiccan, and Werewolf magic, I figured mountain ash would be the best thing. So I need you both to step closer to the altar, because I'll be making the circle around us. I mean, it will be a big circle, including the couch, the altar, and a little bit more, but still, yeah, closer to the altar." He couldn't help but pray to Hades, Odin, and whichever deity deigned to listen that the mountain ash would work - dear god, please let it work - because he didn't know of anything else that could keep a werewolf contained if Derek wolfed out.

"Trapping us inside," Derek said.

"Essentially, yes. But if this works, you should be able to break it, just like Scott did that one time."

"And if I can't?"

"Then I can," Stiles stated firmly.

"Are you sure about that?" Cora asked, raising an eyebrow.

Huffing out a sigh, Stiles shot her a glare. "Yes. I am." He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, willing away the flare of anger because anger had no place here.

"Sorry," Cora said softly.

"No, it's okay. I understand your concern and I appreciate it, but I'll be fine."

"Okay." She turned to Derek. "You ready?"

He nodded silently and Stiles tugged him forward, making him kneel in front of the altar on one of the pillows he'd placed there.

"Cora, I need you to stand here." He pointed to a spot behind Derek and off to the side.

When she was in position, he grabbed the bag of mountain ash from the altar and walked out to what would be the center of the circle. He closed his eyes, whispered a few words of supplication. Well, mouthed them really, he didn't want Derek or Cora to hear what he was saying. Mom, if you're out there, anywhere, listening, watching, whatever, please, please let this work. You said I had a spark, that I would know how to use what was special about me at the right time. Please, let this be the right time.   

With those words in his mind and on his lips, he reached into the bag to grab a handful of the ash and threw it up into the air.

Sparks of energy crackled in the air as the ash flew up and formed a sphere around them, going up over their heads and down under their feet. When the sphere was complete, there was a pop letting Stiles know they were completely encapsulated from the outside world. The sphere settled into the circle he'd inscribed on the ground around them, the edges of it shimmering in the air, kind of like the gate in Stargate. He reached out to touch the sphere, and it made his hand tingle and warmth spread up his arm. A grin spread across his face, and he whispered a quick "thank you".

"Wow," Cora whispered in an awe-filled voice.

Stiles grinned in spite of himself, feeling pride well up inside him. He tamped it down though, because pride had no place here either.

He lit a candle at each point in the sphere to call the elements, starting with Air and facing East. He'd left a feather on the couch arm next to the candle and a small moonstone for – well that was obvious, it was moonstone.

In the South, where he'd put a couple pieces of Hematite for blood purifying and focus, he called on Fire and lit a bunch of extra candles. It might have been overkill, but it added to the glow in the room, so whatever.

He turned again to face the West. He'd put a piece of rose quartz here. He might be fudging that one a bit, but he wanted its healing power in the ritual and this seemed like the best place because Water was supposed to be all about dreams and magic and healing things. Rose quartz was vital because it was a stone of compassion, one that dissolved old emotional wounds. It was also the mothering crystal, and if anyone needed mothering, it was Derek Hale.

He turned to the North where he called on Earth. There was a bowl of dirt, (snagged from the ruins of the Hale house and he was gonna get such shit if Dad found out he'd been up there), a piece of amber and a small gold earring that had belonged to his mom. It was probably gold-plated or gold-toned but it looked like gold and it wasn't like he could go out and buy gold because it was freaking expensive.

He moved back to the altar, kneeling in front of it right next to Derek. He snuck a peek at Derek and his heart skipped a beat at the look of concentration and hope on his face. Quickly, Stiles motioned Cora to his other side. She knelt beside him, and he took her hand tightly inside his. He raised their joined hands.

"Hades, Lord of the Underworld and of Wealth, who governs over the dead and holds the secrets of each person's worth, I call on you to join us in this circle and help us in the work we do."

Together he and Cora lifted up the glass of dark, red wine and held it above their heads in offering. They put the glass down and Stiles pulled off a chunk of the bread and offered it up in the same way.

Putting the bread down in front of the picture of Hades, Stiles turned to the print out of Odin.

"Odin, All Father, who gives us the magic of runes and the strength to hold what is ours, I call on you to join us in this circle and help us in the work we do."

He picked up the open bottle of beer, and with Cora, lifted it above their heads in offering. They put the glass down, and Stiles pulled off a chunk of the bread and repeated the offering.

When that was finished, he took Derek's hand and closed his eyes.

"Hades and Odin, our alpha, Derek, gave his power willingly to protect his pack and keep his people safe. But without his power, Derek and the pack suffer. Scott is a benevolent and wise alpha, but this territory is oftentimes besieged by beings intending harm and a stronger, older hand is needed to protect the innocent."

Stiles squeezed Derek's hand.

"We need him at full strength. We need him to guide us and help us grow. We want him whole and healthy. He has suffered much, and we ask that he suffers no more." His voice cracked on the very last word, and he took a deep shuddery breath.

Stiles let go of Cora's hand and indicated for her to pick up the stiletto. When she did, he shuffled around, pulling Derek with him until their chests were pressed together, the altar at their sides. He raised their hands above their heads. Stiles flicked his eyes over to Cora who stood slowly and moved until she was standing beside them, their hands in the air in front of her heart.

"I offer my power as emissary to the Hale Werewolf Pack. Restore and heal this alpha. Give him what is rightfully his. Give him wisdom, health, courage, and strength. Let him be alpha once more."

Without waiting for Stiles’ command, Cora wrapped her hand around their wrists and drove the silvered point of the stiletto through their hands, piercing them together, and left the knife there. The silver melted off the point of the stiletto, curling down their hands, mixing with their blood, and coating their wounds, glowing and then disappearing.

Derek roared and Stiles bit back a scream of pain, slumping forward against Derek as he felt power surge through him and into Derek.

Stiles' world narrowed down to just the two of them. The ache in his hand was accompanied by the distinct feeling of energy flowing between them. It was a back and forth sensation: his energy being directed to restore the part inside Derek that nobody else could reach, while Derek's power attempted to heal the injuries to their hands. The stiletto still embedded in their hands thwarted it, so it just turned back on itself in a constant feedback loop.

Images flashed behind Stiles' eyes. From Derek's past, his mom telling him his eyes were still beautiful, that he didn't have to be a killer, that she loved him. Of his own Mom, ravaged by cancer, smiling at him, telling him to be brave and look after his father. Time flashed forward to Derek and Laura in New York, a rare moment of happiness when Laura had pizza sauce on her chin and Derek leaned over and licked it off causing her to push him away and grimace in mock disgust.

Stiles let out a laugh before he was plunged into another set of images almost immediately. Laura kissing Derek on the forehead before leaving for California; Derek clutching at his chest in pain in a hotel room in the middle of nowhere, screaming out Laura's name as she died by Peter's hand thousands of miles away.

Stiles choked back a sob only to see Derek telling him and Scott they were on private property. The memories came faster after that: Derek being tortured by Kate, killing Peter and becoming alpha, and finally healing Cora and giving it all up.

Cora made a soft sound beside them as their blood dripped over her hand. Light flashed through the loft and the candles flickered violently. Derek slumped toward Stiles and the three of them fell down to the floor in a heap. Cora's hand reached for the stiletto and Stiles wrapped his free hand in Derek's shirt, bracing for the pain. When she grasped the handle, Derek's eyes snapped open and he roared again. She pulled the stiletto out and a black viscous darkness followed it, clinging to it like oil. The last thing Stiles saw before passing out was Derek's eyes turn from blue to red with a silver ring around the outside.

*******************

The first thing Stiles became aware of was how stiff he felt. Like he hadn't moved in hours.

"That's because we haven't, dumbass."

His eyes snapped open to see Cora glaring at him with a fond look in her eye. Derek's head was in her lap, Stiles was starfished on top of Derek and both of their hands were cradled against Derek's chest, tightly twined together. Derek was still out of it, but he was breathing deeply, evenly, and the knot in Stiles' chest loosened a tiny bit.

"Is he? I mean did it –"

Cora nodded sharply, closing her eyes, a pleased smile on her face. "Yeah, it did. I can feel him, drawing me to him, and that darkness I told you about? From before? It's gone. Frankly, I'm surprised the rest of the pack hasn't come pounding down the door, although your phone has been flashing like crazy."

Sheepishly, Stiles looked over to the table by the stairs where he'd left his phone. Out of the circle. It was much closer to the edge, almost as if it had vibrated itself there. "Oops. Sorry."

Cora shrugged. "Now if only my idiot brother would wake up."

"Are you sure it worked? I mean, I saw his eyes change, but they weren't completely red."

"I'm sure," she said firmly. "We'll figure out the eye color thing later, but I can feel him. Can't you?"

Stiles closed his eyes and concentrated, focusing on the tattoo and the pack bond. Derek's presence was there but now it was more. It was fuller, more intimate, like he could see into all the corners of Derek's mind and vice versa. It was overwhelming and he wondered if the entire pack felt the same thing. The twinge of jealousy that followed told him that he hoped they didn't.

"Yeah, he's there, different, but there."

"Different how?" Cora asked.

Stiles shifted uncomfortably. Derek in his head was too personal, he didn't want to share, so he hedged and hoped she didn't call him on it. "I don't know how to explain it. He was always more until he saved you and now he's more again but it's a different more, like more settled or even I guess."

"Stiles, shut up," Derek ordered hoarsely from Cora's lap.

Startled, Stiles let out a yelp. "Holy God, when did you wake up? How long have you been awake? Oh my God, Cora, did you know? Damn it! Fucking werewolves."

Stiles slowed down, a grin creeping over his face, twisting the corner of his lips at the look of fond amusement on Derek's face. He nosed into Derek's neck.

"You're awake!" Stiles said gleefully.

"No, I'm talking in my sleep."

Stiles rolled his eyes and moved to slap at Derek, but stopped when he realized their hands were still together. He lifted them up and was shocked to see just a minute trace of blood on the back of his hand. The wound was healed. He wasn't even sure if there was going to be a scar.

"Stiles?" Derek pushed off Cora and sat up, pulling Stiles with him.

"Nothing, nothing. Um, I need to finish the ritual."

Without another word, he extricated himself from Derek's hold and stood up on shaky legs. He pressed his palms together, ignoring the tackiness of the blood on his left hand and bowed his head in front of the picture of Hades.

"Hades, Lord of the Underworld and of Wealth, we thank you for your presence and your gifts."

He turned to the picture of Odin. "Odin, all Father, we thank you for your presence and your gifts."

Stiles turned to face North. He closed his eyes and said a quiet thank you then blew out the candles.  He repeated his turn and soft thank you in the other three directions, blowing out candles as he went.

With the gods thanked and the elements released, the only thing left was to break the circle.

“Right,” Stiles said, looking down at the circle of mountain ash. He added another quiet prayer that he could in fact open the circle. If not, this was gonna suck. Decisively, Stiles reached down and swiped his palm over the circle of mountain ash.

There was a pop in the air, like some sort of pressure valve had just been released and Cora gasped. "Stiles, it's so much more now. Like I can feel the whole pack even clearer in my head."

Derek stood up and reached down to help Cora stand as well. He frowned, looking down at the scattered ash. "It almost seems too simple, the ritual, getting my powers back, but mostly that, just a simple line of ash." He flexed his arm, made a fist, as if he were testing out his strength. "Like maybe I could have broken it if I had to."

"Right, yeah, um, I figured since I was the one doing the ritual, I should probably be the one to finish it. So I’m glad it didn't come to that, you know? I can totally make another circle though, you know, for a trial run? Because I bet you could totally break it now. But more importantly, how do you feel? I mean, do you feel alpha-y?"

"Alpha-y? That's not even a word." Cora snorted.

Stiles ignored her, focusing on Derek. He watched as Derek carefully closed his eyes, sniffing, cracking his neck, opening his eyes again. His eyes flashed that silver-tinged red color and Stiles felt power racing across his skin, lifting the hairs on his arms. He knew Derek was going to let out a howl before it even happened.

Even bracing for it, the sound was loud, piercing, and Stiles felt it all the way to his bones. It made him want to kneel, to roll over and show his belly, to tilt his head and give his neck to Derek. Unsurprisingly, that's exactly what Cora did. He watched in amazement as the last bit of lingering mountain ash swirled up and away.

When the howl stopped echoing through the loft, three different phones went off. But Stiles ignored them, too busy grinning wildly and throwing his arms around Derek to answer.

"It worked. Holy shit, it worked! I don't know why your eyes do the silver and red thing now. Why they're a mixture. But holy shit, it worked! You're an alpha again. Jesus, Derek, you're an alpha again and judging from what I felt? A pretty damn powerful one."

"It's Lydia," Cora said, from where she'd answered her phone. "She wants to know what the hell is going on and why she heard Derek howl and felt the need to head over here."

Derek turned his attention back to Stiles.

"Um, oops?" Stiles shrugged helplessly.

Derek just rolled his eyes and pulled Stiles back into an embrace. Stiles held Derek close, pressing his face into Derek's neck, breathing in his scent and feeling tingles radiate from his hand back to the tattoo in a continuous loop. He shivered, and Derek's hold on him tightened.

"S'okay, I think it's just aftershocks? It'll calm down in a while."

"You should eat," Derek said.

And funnily enough, as soon as Derek said that, Stiles realized he was starving. Derek kissed the top of his head and walked over to the fridge and started getting the food out for them to eat.

That's where the pack found them fifteen minutes later when they all arrived. Derek and Cora were finished, having inhaled their food, and Stiles still had a little bit left. Scott was first through the door, red eyes flashing, claws out. Isaac quickly followed suit, his golden eyes glowing.

Derek stood up slowly, his hands held out in a calming gesture. "Scott, Isaac, there's no danger here. Put the claws away."

Scott immediately did what he was told and tilted his head, looking at Derek quizzically. Isaac's eyes went back to normal and he moved aside as Allison entered the loft, bow held casually at her side. Lydia peeked over Allison's shoulder, her brow furrowed in a frown.

Stiles stared at Derek in surprise. Always before there'd been tension between Derek and Scott. Especially after Scott became an alpha. And when Derek lost his power, the tension had only increased. Now it was different.

"Why do I feel the need to do what you say?" Scott asked.

Derek shrugged. "I'm an alpha again? I don't know. Usually alphas feel the need to fight each other, but I don't feel that either. I kinda feel like, um, being a big brother?"

Both of them turned to look at Stiles who shrugged helplessly. "All I did was ask the gods to empower Derek as the alpha he was born to be; they did all the work. Seeing as how his eyes aren't strictly red, but have a silver ring around them now, I'd say they gave him a different power, plus you know the whole being a born werewolf and all."

"Silver is obviously a thing with werewolves. Did you use a silver knife?" Lydia looked around, spotting the stiletto on the altar. "Of course you did. Since I wasn't here," she shot Stiles a glare, "my guess it that the silver represents the spell you did and what the gods granted." Her phone beeped with a text and she held up a finger while she looked at it, texting back quickly and waiting for a response before speaking again.

"Okay, Ethan says they ran up against an alpha with gold-ringed eyes once. They ended up giving her an extremely wide berth, because even Deucalion didn't want to go up against her. Said she was too powerful, and her power too ancient."

"Ancient?" Stiles asked, despite his misgivings about involving Ethan or Aiden, their connection to the pack was tenuous at best.

"He doesn't know more than that, other than, when she spoke, it made all of them want to obey her. Ethan says that Deucalion said he'd only felt that kind of power once before and it was with Talia Hale."

"My mom didn't have silver eyes."

Stiles looked over at Derek. "But that doesn't mean her power wasn't ancient. Lydia's probably right. The silver is most likely what the gods granted you, that little bit of difference between what you were and what you are now. We may never know, but what we do know is that the power the gods gave you isn't what you had before. It's something more, something deeper, something older. It's the power your mother had. The power your family had."

Derek's whole body tensed, and Cora placed a hand on his forearm. When he looked at her, his eyes were shiny and she pulled him into a hug. That show of love and forgiveness eased the tension in the room. Scott and Isaac headed over to the fridge, Allison set her bow down and Lydia stepped past her and marched over to Stiles.

"You are an idiot. Do you have any idea how many ways that spell could have gone wrong?"

"Um, actually, it was a ritual?" Stiles said quickly.

Lydia held up her hand. "Don't interrupt me."

Chagrined, Stiles snapped his mouth shut.

"You could have killed yourself, Derek, and Cora. Derek could have wolfed out and killed both of you and then where would we be?" She stopped abruptly and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. "Don't ever do that again, Stilinski."

He patted her back awkwardly for a moment. She drew back, her hands still on his arms, a thoughtful look on her face. "Are you still hungry? We interrupted you eating. You should finish."

Without a word, Stiles meekly followed her back over to the table to finish the food he'd been eating. When she was satisfied that he was going to eat, Lydia left him alone and went over to study his altar. Derek sat down beside him, nudging him with his shoulder.

Stiles grinned back at him, cheeks bulging. Derek just shook his head and laughed. Frantically, Stiles chewed and swallowed but before he could speak, Derek dropped a hand around his shoulders.

"Thank you. For everything. And I'm with Lydia. You ever try anything that dangerous again…" he paused, letting his eyes flash silver and red.

Without protest, Stiles bared his neck. "I won't, I promise," he whispered.

Derek leaned over, nuzzling into his neck. "Good," he said quietly, "because I can't lose you either. Now eat up, I think we're having a pack sleepover."

And sure enough, by the time Stiles finished eating, Scott and Isaac had dug out the extra air mattresses and bedding and the entire living area had been converted into one big sleeping area.

For a moment, everyone stood around, staring at each other until Scott cleared his throat. "Um, Derek, you should have the honors."

Derek nodded once and stripped down to his boxers, lying down in the center. He motioned to Stiles, who followed suit, and one by one the rest of the Pack joined them in a big mass of bodies and tangled limbs.

Stiles lay snug up against Derek's side, with Lydia curled up over his back. Cora was tucked into Derek's other side. Isaac laid down next to her with Allison sandwiched between him and Scott. There were murmurs of good night, until only Derek and Stiles were still awake.

Derek tightened the hold he had on Stiles and kissed his temple. "Thank you," he said gruffly.

Stiles patted his chest. "No problem, big guy."

There was a huff of exasperation and Stiles was sure Derek was rolling his eyes, in a totally fond sort of way. Stiles smiled. He pressed a kiss to Derek's chest and pushed in closer to his side. "You're welcome."

As Derek drifted off to sleep, Stiles gingerly explored the new bond. Not only could he feel Derek, he could feel all of them, even Ethan, Aiden, and Peter, wherever the hell he was. That creeped him out a bit, but he had to take the good with the bad. He stretched his senses a little further and felt Allison, Lydia and Danny as well.

The bond was more powerful, more solid, more stable. Satisfied that he'd done well, Stiles went to sleep with a smile on his face, secure in the knowledge that it would take an act of god to destroy the bond now.

Or maybe just the return of an old enemy.

The End.