Chapter Text
Teen Wolf || Steter || Teen Wolf || His Nephew's Keeper || Teen Wolf || Steter || Teen Wolf
Title: His Nephew's Keeper – The Left Hand's Apprentice
TW Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Jeff Davis and MTV. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Tags: m/m, No Hale Fire AU, Aged Up Stiles, fluff, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, m/f
Main Pairing: Peter/Stiles
Side Pairings: Derek/Paige, Damon/Talia, Aaron/Fiona
Teen Wolf Characters: Mieczysław 'Stiles' Stilinski, Peter Hale, Derek Hale, Paige Krasikeva, Camden Lahey Jr., Isaac Lahey, Cora Hale, Laura Hale, Talia Hale
Original Characters: Dalia Hale, Damon Hale, Aaron Hale, Fiona Hale, Sloan Hale
Summary: In a world where Stiles is Derek's age, the two meet at school and become friends. Stiles changes Derek's life significantly – Paige never has to die and Kate never stands a chance. And while making himself an integral part of the Hale Pack, Stiles also falls for Derek's very hot uncle.
His Nephew's Keeper
The Left Hand's Apprentice
Part 1: The Immovable Object
"Sup, I'm Stiles. You are my community service. Please don't be a dumb jock."
Far as the start of an epic friendship went, these words were certainly unexpected. Derek's grades in math and history were slipping and coach had heavily insisted that he get a tutor because if they slipped any more, Derek would be off the basketball team. And he could not be benched, especially not over something as stupid as history or math. Stilinski was top of the class in every subject, but he also kept getting into trouble and detention, so a deal had been made. Now, they were stuck together to get out of their respective sticky situation.
Against better judgment, Derek grew attached to Stiles. The sarcastic little shit was actually fun to be around, once he got through the endless rambling and better at filtering out the important or funny parts. Since Stiles and Derek had to spend a lot of time together, Stiles started sitting with Derek and the basketball team. Derek started kind of liking Stiles.
Derek started thinking of Stiles as a friend one afternoon when Derek's best friend CJ, Camden Lahey Junior who hated being called 'Junior' or Camden, was supposed to come over for a video game marathon but Derek had double-scheduled with a tutoring session. The three boys ended up playing video games together between tutoring, CJ giving his input into the history stuff.
After that, Derek started spending time with Stiles outside of tutoring too and when Derek's grades were up again and he didn't need tutoring anymore, he continued spending time with Stiles, much to Stiles' confused surprise. Derek just rolled his eyes annoyed at Stiles and elbowed him.
"Shut up, we're friends now," Derek declared.
A broad grin spread over Stiles' lips as he hip-checked Derek. "You li—ike me."
"Don't make me regret it, Stiles," Derek glowered at Stiles.
/break\
It took Stiles exactly one month of tutoring Derek Hale to realize the Hales were werewolves. Well, okay, he started getting a weird vibe and realizing something was off about them. By month two, he had the theory werewolf. By month three, he knew for sure that they were werewolves.
He had seen Derek's older sister Laura just lift the couch up with one hand because her earring had fallen beneath it. Derek's little sister Cora and their cousin Sloan had gotten into a fight in the backyard and suddenly there were claws and golden-glowing eyes and Stiles, in the kitchen, froze as he watched them. That had been the tipping point, really.
But Stiles kept his mouth shut. He wasn't going to say anything if Derek didn't tell him.
"Hello, Stiles," Talia smiled kindly at him. "Are you staying for dinner today?"
"Well, I can smell your mother's blueberry pie in the oven and I can never deny your husband's cooking," Stiles drawled with a cheeky grin.
He hadn't really known what to do with Talia Hale at first, the mayor was a bit of a distant woman. But her husband Damon was amazing, he was so kind and caring and also a really great cook. Talia nodded at him and headed upstairs to her office to do mayoral stuff or whatever. He didn't really care. Spending dinner at the Hales had two main purposes – one, eat Dalia Hale's famous pies, two, enjoy the absolute eye-candy that was Derek's uncle.
Derek's family was pretty big and they all lived together in the huge-ass Hale House at the edge of the preserve. There was Derek's grandmother Dalia, the aforementioned pie-maker, Derek's parents Talia and Damon of course, Derek's sisters Laura and Cora, Derek's uncle Aaron, his wife Fiona and their children Sloan and Jason, and the crown-jewel of the Hale family, Peter.
Peter was the only single among the three Hale siblings, no spouse, no kids, no romantic partner at the moment either from what Stiles had gathered over the past months. He was so, so fine. That thick neck and chiseled jawline, his ice-blue eyes and thick, dark hair. He was about fifteen years older than Stiles and Derek, but apparently Stiles was into older guys. And Peter was a lawyer, always dressed to the nines, looking absolutely gorgeous.
"Can you please just be normal," Derek requested agitated.
"Mh?" Stiles turned innocent, confused eyes on him. "What do you mean?"
"You always only stay for dinner when uncle Peter is out of the office early enough to eat with us," Derek glowered at him. "You're not being clever or subtle about it. You practically drool over him. Which is just so embarrassing. Please stop."
"I can't help it!" Stiles yelped and threw his hands up. "Your uncle is a piece if prime-rip steak and I am a starving, poor man, how could I not?"
Derek growled at him. Decidedly non-human. That boy was so bad at being subtle about his werewolfiness. Stiles just needed to push Derek into admitting it out loud. Once he had that level of trust from Derek, he would be in the inner circle and then he'd be part of the pack and then he could go about seducing Derek's hot uncle. See, Stiles had a plan!
"Stiles, Stiles, Sti—iles,"Sloan called out as the little girl came running in.
Stiles barely had time to brace himself for the young wolf's impact. Cora and Sloan were only nine, they did not have perfect control of their super-strength. He huffed and ruffled the redheaded girl's hair. Sloan really liked him, because much like Stiles, she had an endless hunger for knowledge.
"What new thing have you studied today?" Sloan asked eagerly.
Grinning, Stiles knelt down in front of her, noting from the corner of his eyes that Cora was inching closer from the doorway too, curious what her cousin was doing and always eager to be close to her big brother. Derek heaved a sigh and settled into the couch, knowing this would take a while.
"Did you know that in Japanese culture, there are magic trickster foxes called kitsune?" Stiles started, watching the eager eyes on Sloan. "There are thirteen types of kitsune…"
/break\
Peter knew his nephew was underestimating his new best friend. Mieczysław Stilinski, son of the new sheriff of Beacon County. Yes, mostly Peter knew about the boy and his family because when Noah Stilinski had become sheriff, Peter had dug up anything he could. After all, his aunt and predecessor as Left Hand to the Hale Pack had been sheriff until her death and the close tie to the sheriff station had been very beneficial for the pack. So at the very least, Peter had wanted to make sure that the new sheriff wasn't a threat or future problem.
As it turned out, the man's son might turn out to be a problem. The boy's too clever eyes watched everything so very sharply and Peter had seen slip-ups from his nephew and nieces in the past months, even in front of Stiles. The boy hardly reacted anymore. He knew something. Peter couldn't determine how much Stiles knew, or what he thought he knew, but as the pack's Left Hand, Peter was going to keep an eye on the boy, make sure he wouldn't become a threat.
"You know the kid is totally into you, right?"
Peter shot a sharp glare at his sister-in-law and best friend. Fiona offered him a cheerful smile, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. The two of them stood at the top of the double staircase, looking down into the foyer where Derek, Stiles, CJ and a girl were pouring in, Derek and Stiles bickering loudly. The girl was new. She'd been tagging along a lot lately.
"Nonsense," Peter muttered sharply, his eyes not leaving Stiles. "It's just attraction, nothing more."
His nose was working quite well, he could smell the arousal rolling off of Stiles whenever they were in the same room, could feel the boy's eyes on him. That didn't mean much. Teenagers were quick to develop attraction, but they had the attention-span of goldfishes. Next month, Stiles was going to moon over his new English teacher or someone else.
"Who's the girl?" Peter asked instead. "This is the third time she's been here."
"Paige Krasikeva," Fiona supplied. "She's a cellist. Good student."
Peter hummed and nodded, his eyes narrowing. He could always rely on Fiona to have the intel he was lacking. The two of them worked smoothly together as Left and Right Hand of the pack. Now, what was a cellist and good student doing with these three delinquents?
"Does she go with CJ, or Stiles?" Peter asked lowly.
Though a delinquent, Stiles was incredibly smart, a straight A student. Which was how he had first entered Derek's life, after all. As the boy's tutor. Perhaps she was Stiles', then. Fiona huffed and shook her head, pointing at their nephew, who interrupted his argument with Stiles to look at Paige as she sided with Stiles and he looked at her like she was the moon. Mh. A potential problem.
/break\
"Dude, get your shit together," Stiles hissed panicked.
He grabbed Derek and pulled him into the nearest empty classroom. Derek's eyes were wide and they were golden. Clearly, his dumbass werewolf best friend was currently having a meltdown.
"Derek, calm down," Stiles frowned, unsure what to do. "What do you do when you have to rein in the wolf usually? Do you have like I don't know some trick for it?"
"Wolf?" Derek violently jerked back at that. "How do you—What do you mean?"
Okay, that worked too. He had said something jarring enough to distract Derek from his panic and make him focus on something else. Stiles glowered pointedly at his best friend.
"You suck at hiding it," Stiles pointed out. "You use your werewolf strength when you get really annoyed. You heal from injuries, which… like… who thought it was a good idea for you to join a sports-team? Something where people famously get injured a lot. It's like you guys want to be found out, for real. Also, Cora and Sloan wolf out when they fight."
And yep, Derek was definitely thrown off from his panic, he kept staring dumbly at Stiles. "Oh."
"Yeah, 'oh', asshole," Stiles gave him a hard shove. "I'm your best friend, you should have told me on your own, Jerkwolf. I've been waiting for it!"
"Not even CJ knows and we've been friends since like elementary school," Derek argued.
"Okay, I feel mildly appeased by that," Stiles nodded slowly.
He leaned back against one of the tables, eyes still on Derek, who seemed frazzled. Poor guy.
"So, wanna tell me what you wolved out about?" Stiles asked after a bit.
"Uncle Peter… He keeps telling me that if I want to be with Paige, I should get her turned," Derek frowned worried. "He says she won't understand what my wolf feels unless she takes the bite. She'll understand then, she'll stay with me. But what if it doesn't-"
"Oh, your uncle is full of shit," Stiles immediately interrupted Derek. "What the hell. I know that your dad's human. I saw him burn himself on the oven once and it didn't speed heal. So you're saying that your dad doesn't understand how your mom loves him?"
Derek remained awkwardly quiet. That big dumbass hadn't thought this through at all, had he? Stiles heaved a deep breath and rubbed his face.
"What was the plan here?" Stiles asked. "Explain things to her and offer to turn her into a werewolf and what if she said no, huh? That would be a much more awkward situation than anything else."
Once again, Derek remained quiet. Stiles rubbed his face harder, feeling a strong headache come on.
"I think she's my mate," Derek argued, voice soft and small.
"What does that mean?" Stiles asked curiously.
Yes, he had fallen down the research rabbit hole about werewolves and learned all the internet and the library had to offer. However, he couldn't really confirm his sources and there was so much information that was often times wildly contradictory.
"Grandma says that wolves have mates and we can find them because they're our anchors," Derek frowned. "I never really got that, until Paige. But she's like everything to me. She challenges me, doesn't take my bullshit, she is so smart and beautiful and funny. The more time we spend together, the more I feel at ease. She makes me feel calm and good in a way I'm not used to, my wolf like… settles when I'm with her?"
"Explain anchors to me," Stiles prompted.
"Control," Derek held out his hands, flexing his claws. "We have a family mantra and an heirloom that we use to teach young wolves control and that's how wolves ground themselves. But sometimes, we find an anchor in another person. Someone who anchors us to our humanity. That's how we can identify our mates, they will help us calm down and control our wolf and we aren't able to physically hurt our mates. And I think Paige is mine."
So werewolves had soulmates. Kind of huge. Stiles stared at Derek in bewilderment. And okay, so perhaps Peter had a point that this wild concept was something a human would never fully understand, that only another wolf who could experience it would fully get. But for fuck's sake.
"Okay, here's what we're going to do," Stiles shot Derek a serious glare. "We will sit Paige down and tell her the truth, together, calmly. And we don't mention any turning because it just sounds like she's not good enough for you as a human, like you want to change her to be with her."
"No!" Derek exclaimed wide-eyed. "I love her. She's perfect."
Stiles made a 'well, duh' motion at that. "That's why we will not mention any biting. Just explain wolf stuff to her and that you love her. And then I'll have a serious conversation with your uncle."
Derek nodded near meekly. Good. He finally shut the idiot wolf up.
/break\
Peter looked up startled when someone came storming into his office. His secretary knew better than to let anyone through without informing him. He was even more startled to see that it was Stiles who came stalking in. The boy had fury in his eyes, which was a surprising, new look on him. Usually he just seemed turned on and distracted when looking at Peter.
"You are really full of it," Stiles announced angrily. "Why would you push Derek, king of self-doubt, into turning Paige? Do you really think a fifteen year old is equipped to suddenly turn into a werewolf? And what if she said no? Did you even think this through, Peter?"
Well, Peter much preferred the smitten 'Mister Hale' he usually got, over the furious Peter that just got spit in his face. Tilting his head, Peter leaned back in his chair and watched the boy pace and ramble for a little longer, limbs flying everywhere in his agitation. He needed Stiles to get through his angry feelings first before saying anything, because Stiles was not in any space of mind to listen right now. It also gave him the time to digest that Stiles apparently knew.
"Are you done now, darling?" Peter asked condescendingly, eyebrows raised.
Stiles narrowed his eyes and raised his chin at Peter. "I mean, I could go on for another hour, but I'd rather hear what you have to say in your defense."
What an absolute brat. Peter had never been talked to like that by anyone but maybe Fiona and she had best friend privileges. Stiles? He was just some fifteen year old brat, a human not even in the pack, standing in his office, taking that tone with him. Peter growled low in warning as he got up and stalked over to Stiles until he had the boy pinned against the door. Stiles' eyes widened when Peter flashed his eyes blue at him and cornered him. Big doe-eyes stared at him like prey, but yet even in the face of a wolf, he didn't back down, didn't lower his gaze.
"I don't have to defend myself in front of you, little human," Peter growled.
"Well, it's either in front of me, or in front of your Alpha," Stiles countered with a snarl.
Where did that boy take that bravery from? If Peter wasn't so pissed, he'd be impressed.
"You really would try to rattle me out to my sister?" Peter asked with a menacing smile.
"The way I see it, either you give me a good explanation and we just pretend this dumbass idea didn't cross your mind at all, or I'll talk to Talia, yeah," Stiles replied firmly, heartbeat staying true.
Peter flashed his eyes again and snarled, baring his fangs at the boy. Stiles only barely flinched, but he held Peter's gaze. Too stubborn and brave to back down. Any other time, literally any other time, and Peter would be impressed. But he needed the brat to cower before him.
"She doesn't understand, she never will understand, not really," Peter growled, his claws digging into the wood next to Stiles' head, scratching down. "She'll love him, like a human loves, but she will never understand the wolf inside and what it wants, she'll never-"
He snarled in frustration. Why did he have to explain this to this human brat? He wasn't going to understand it either, after all. Yes, Peter loved his mother, he loved his brother, they were both human. But he knew the devotion Fiona had for Aaron and regardless of how much he loved her, he didn't have that wolf, he didn't understand the pull. Stiles' eyes widened and then something strange happened. He relaxed and nodded minutely.
"Okay," Stiles sighed. "I'll not tell Talia, then. But keep your idiotic insecurities to yourself and don't make them Derek's problem, he doesn't need that."
Peter backed up like he had been smacked in the face. For a moment, he was simply surprised, but then anger took over. How dare this boy accuse him of something like that.
"Insecurities?!" Peter snarled.
"Yeah," Stiles huffed and looked at him, completely unimpressed. "Clearly, you're afraid that nobody will ever love you the way you love them and you feel like you need the wolf as definite proof, like you can't believe the love until you know it for a fact. And that's… really sad. So, I'm not gonna tell your sister. But get it together, dude."
With that, the boy left and Peter stared after him completely stunned. How had he just been read for filth by a fifteen year old human? The real twist was that… maybe Stiles wasn't wrong. Ten years ago, Peter had fallen for a girl, Corinne. And he'd thought he found his mate in her, but she was a coyote, a trickster, and he wasn't her mate. It was just love, but he'd thought it was okay, because his mother loved his father, Aaron loved Fiona, Damon loved Talia. But love? Love could just end. Love could hurt. It had broken something in him when she'd left him in her dust. He never wanted that for Derek. Derek deserved the certainty that her love was as real as his.
/break\
"That is wicked," CJ declared stunned.
He just sat there, gaping, running his fingers through his dirty-blonde curls over and over again like he couldn't really believe himself. Stiles could relate to that. First time he'd seen Sloan and Cora wolf out and had definite proof of what was going on, he had had a full-blown panic-attack.
"It's… a lot," Paige agreed tentatively.
After some long debating, Stiles and Derek had agreed to tell not just Paige but also CJ. Because CJ was Derek's oldest friend. Sure, he was buddy-buddy with everyone on the basketball team, but CJ had been his only real friend for years, before Stiles had come along. Derek was staring at Paige like a sad, anxious puppy. Not much of a werewolf, really.
"Tell him that you're not breaking up with him over this," Stiles begged with a groan. "He is making me sad just looking at him, please, girl."
Paige huffed and shot him a look before looking at Derek with soft eyes. "I'm not breaking up with you over being a werewolf, Derek. I'm glad you told me though. Honesty is so important."
She approached Derek and cupped his cheek, gently tracing his weird eyebrow-situation. Why did werewolves have this strange thing going on with their faces? It was very Buffy the Vampire Slayer vampires. CJ heaved a sigh and leaned back on his hands, nudging Stiles.
"You realize they're gonna be even more obnoxious now, right?" CJ asked. "Like, Beauty and the Beast kind of nonsense. Please never get a girlfriend. I won't survive with two couples."
"Well," Stiles drawled, mind wandering to the snarling, blue-glowing-eyed lawyer who had been very close to his artery the other day and all it had done was turn him on. "No girlfriend, yeah."
/break\
"He is so glad his grandfather isn't alive anymore," Dalia commented with sparkling eyes. "Logan would be absolutely losing his shit at this. He told not one but three humans, and they're so young."
Despite her words, Dalia looked absolutely delighted. Peter shot her a look. Meanwhile, Derek and Stiles sat before Talia, Damon and Fiona like the inquisition. Due to Peter's own part in all of this, he had stepped back and let Alpha, Alpha Mate and Right Hand handle that one. Though Stiles had said he wouldn't tell Talia, Peter didn't want to push his luck.
"Talia doesn't look thrilled either," Aaron offered dryly.
"Talia never looks thrilled," Peter countered, voice equally dry.
Talia shot both her brothers a pointed glare before returning her attention to the two boys in front of her. Peter kept his gaze on Stiles. The boy met the Alpha the way he had Peter. Head on, unflinching. He was much more impressive than Peter had thought at first. Peter also noted that something had definitely changed. The boy didn't smell blindly like arousal anymore when looking at Peter. Yes, there was still an underlying note of attraction, but it was like Peter was more than just a hot guy to Stiles now. No, those pretty honey-eyes stared at him sharply, seeing too much. Stiles had seen and understood more of him than anyone had, outside his family.
"I adore that boy," Dalia sighed with a nod. "Smart enough to be a Hale, you know."
"Mother, he is not a stray that you can just keep," Peter also sighed.
Dalia did not look bothered by that, instead she headed to the kitchen. Peter sighed again and turned to look at his brother, who was still watching the scene in front of them.
"Mom's not wrong. At the very least, Stiles will make a great addition to the pack," Aaron offered.
The problem was that Peter couldn't argue with him. Stiles was fiercer than many wolves.
/break\
After the wolf was finally out of the bag, Stiles practically moved into the Hale library. Talia knew that keeping Stiles from knowledge would be dumb and that now that Stiles knew, it was best to feed him all the information. Damon regularly brought him snacks and tried to coax him out into the fresh air or something, which was very adorable and usually went ignored.
"Stiles, you have been holed up in here all day," Damon heaved a sigh. "I know you got up at like six AM and now it's six PM. We are having dinner in an hour and I expect you to leave the house and get some fresh air before that."
Stiles blinked and looked up at the man. "No, thank you."
Damon sighed again and turned to stick his head out of the library. "Laura!"
"I told you the brat's not gonna listen on his own," Laura offered as she walked in. "Now, Stiles, you had a choice. You could have listened to my dad. But here we are…"
Before Stiles had a chance to ask or protest did Laura grab him by the waist, throw him over her shoulder and carry him out of the library like a sack of potatoes. "Put me down, you brute!"
Laura just ignored him and continued carrying him downstairs and out of the house. She dumped him unceremoniously in front of the basketball hoop where Derek and CJ were currently training. The other two boys paused to watch Stiles try and gather himself on the ground.
"Your sister sucks," Stiles declared with a glower.
"I didn't even know you were still here," Derek admitted. "You were gone when we woke up."
"I was in the library," Stiles huffed and brushed off his clothes. "I'm reading up on pack dynamics and on the duties of Right Hands and Left Hands and stuff."
"Mom is struggling to teach Derek these things and here you go, human and new to the pack, learning it willingly," Laura chuckled amused and shook her head before looking at her brother. "Watch out, grandma is ready to adopt him already. We may just replace you with him."
Derek glared at her sister as Laura headed back inside. CJ just shook his head amused and went to sit down next to Stiles. After a moment, Derek joined them both.
"What's interesting about it?" Derek asked with a frown. "It's all… pack politics and stuff. Mom wants me to become the next Right Hand, at Laura's side when she becomes Alpha one day. She wants me to start training under aunt Fiona next year."
Stiles nodded. He'd already figured out that Fiona was the Right Hand. He also figured out that Peter was the Left Hand. He took care of threats to the pack, in an above board capacity through his work as a lawyer, but Stiles had seen the man's anger and his blue-glowing eyes. Also, he really needed to stop finding that hot. Though he may now see more in Peter than just a pretty face and a very bite-able neck, he was still stupidly attracted to the man. Hot like hell.
"They do so much for the pack in the background," Stiles argued. "Fiona helps your mom with diplomatic things, pack politics, but Peter, he protects the pack by all means necessary. It's not glamorous but it's necessary. They help keep this pack running and keep it safe."
Derek just huffed, looking nonplussed. Stiles rolled his eyes. That boy was too busy being fifteen years old. He only had basketball and his girlfriend on his mind. Stiles had once tried to talk to him about college, but Derek wasn't worrying about these things yet. Derek was privileged enough to only focus on the now and enjoy his high school experience without worries. And though Stiles was glad his best friend got to be that carefree, he also knew the responsibility in Derek's future.
/break\
Peter wasn't entirely sure why he had been summoned into his sister's office. Dalia, Fiona and most surprisingly Stiles were already in the office. Stiles sat, tense and eager. Fiona locked eyes with Peter for a moment before he came to join them behind Talia's desk. Fiona and Peter came to stand left and right of their Alpha, while Dalia sat next to Stiles on the other side of the desk.
"What is this, mother?" Talia asked warily.
"Stiles has made an interesting pitch to me," Dalia smiled mischievously. "And I'm here to support him on making the pitch to you, because I think that this is a brilliant idea."
"Well," Talia raised her eyebrows. "What's the pitch, Stiles?"
"I've been reading all there is about the roles within a pack," Stiles started, looking serious. "I know you want Derek to start his training as Right Hand next year. I also know he really doesn't want to. He's gonna, because he won't disobey his mom or Alpha, but he is gonna half-ass it. That boy is way too busy being star-player of the basketball team and now having his first girlfriend."
Talia looked like she had a headache, even though werewolves couldn't get headaches. Peter tried to fight his smirk. He knew this topic was exhausting her. Hell, Talia, Peter and Fiona had been debating this too. She was even considering appointing Sloan the future Right Hand, to have Sloan and Cora start their training together as Right and Left Hand. Peter was curious to hear Stiles' solution. He'd seen how clever that boy was over the past months, even more so ever since he had learned the truth – or rather revealed that he knew the truth.
"I want to apprentice as the pack's next Left Hand," Stiles declared. "And I know that me becoming Left Hand will motivate Derek into taking his training as Right Hand seriously, because he's competitive in nature, he won't be bested by me and it would also become a shared experience for us, instead of him going through his training alone."
"I don't think you understand what being a Left Hand means," Talia argued.
"He kills people," Stiles inclined his head toward Peter. "I know that's why his eyes are blue. The Left Hand protects the pack at all cost. I may not have claws or fangs, but I know how to use a gun. My dad's been taking me to the shooting range since I was ten. We've been going hunting together. I've killed before, animals, sure, but I know how to hit a moving target and how to take a life. I've seen someone die before, I know that death isn't taken lightly. I know the toll it takes on a person."
Stiles looked old beyond his years as he made his pitch. "I adore Derek, he's the brother I never had, but he's been really sheltered in this pack, he has never seen… bad. He doesn't comprehend what this really means. I do and I think I can help him understand too."
"You do?" Peter asked, tilting his head.
"I'm not… sheltered," Stiles offered plainly. "I've been the adult in the house since my mom died. I know what it means to keep a household running. I doubt Derek's ever done laundry before or wondered what goes into paying bills. He doesn't question how the pack is running, because it's running. Everything's always been smooth in his life. And that's great! That's amazing. I'm glad he never had to suffer. But you, right now, need him to step up. Let me step up with him."
Peter's eyes softened as he watched the boy sit there with his chin raised. This explained a lot about Stiles, really. And he had to admit, the pitch wasn't bad. They had landed halfway there themselves, but with Cora and Sloan. Agreeing that the Right and Left Hand learning together would help. But the girls were only ten, it would be six more years before they could start training. Derek was months from starting his training and they all knew it wouldn't stick or be taken seriously if Derek were to start alone. Because Stiles was right. Derek was too sheltered to understand the gravitas.
"Peter," Talia said, voice soft, waiting.
She was leaving this decision in his hands, since he was the Left Hand of this pack. However, she wouldn't be putting that decision in his hands if she was entirely opposed to the thought. Clearly, she had seen the same as Peter over the past few months. Stiles was vicious, dedicated, deeply loyal, incredibly clever and ingenious. He had all the makings of a great Left Hand.
"I'm not going to take it easy on you just because you're human," Peter warned.
Stiles grinned sharply at him. "I'd take personal offense to it if you did."
/break\
Peter hadn't been kidding about not taking it easy on Stiles. In fact, he was clearly doing the opposite of that. It took Stiles a while to really notice, but by now, he was sure of it. Peter was definitely taking him harder to task than he did the others when it came to training.
Now, to differentiate. Once Stiles and Derek turned sixteen, they started their apprenticeships under Peter and Fiona, respectively. Stiles had nothing to compare to in regards of what kind of hardass Peter was on all of the finer details of Left Hand training. However, since Stiles, Paige and CJ got put in the know, they had officially joined the pack and both Peter and Fiona, together, trained them. Self-defense, how to outsmart a werewolf, Dalia taught them how to use wolfsbane and mistletoe against werewolves with ill intention toward them (and also how to reverse the effects so they could aid their pack if attacked by someone using these things against their wolves).
So, while Stiles didn't really know if Peter was making Left Hand training extra hard for Stiles, he definitely knew that Peter was pushing him harder in regular training than he was pushing Paige and CJ and Stiles suspected that these two things were related.
"What the fuck did you do to piss Peter off?" CJ asked, panting hard. "I already feel like dying. And I'm on the basketball team. And he is wa—ay harder on you than me."
"I mean, we all know Stiles can…" Paige paused and threw a mischievous smile at Stiles. "Be an acquired taste for all authority figures."
"To put it mildly," Stiles stated where he was sprawled out on the forest floor.
So he wasn't the only one who noticed that Peter was particularly picking on him. Great. Paige threw a water bottle at Stiles that landed on his belly and had him oofing. He gave her an appreciative thumbs-up though. That girl was amazing. She didn't take any of Derek's shit either, which just made her even better. Which, Stiles guessed, was the common denominator between CJ, Stiles and Paige. They called it as they saw it when it came to Derek.
"It's probably because Stiles has the hots for Peter and werewolves can smell it, right?" CJ wondered as he collapsed backward and rested his head on Stiles' stomach. "He's trying to actively discourage you from being horny for him."
"Shut up, I hate you," Stiles groaned, trying to swat at CJ in annoyance.
Paige giggled at them. "He may not be so wrong, Stiles. Especially now that Peter is your teacher. He might actually try to discourage your crush."
"Well, he'd have to stop being so fucking gorgeous and hot then," Stiles grumbled dejectedly.
He was blushing brightly. It really wasn't his fault Peter was the hottest man alive. That neck, the shoulders, the chest and the way his shirts would span over that chest. Those thick thighs would actually fit so—o well around Stiles' head because Stiles would love to put his mouth to good use on that man. And then climb him and ride him for all he was worth.
"I see you're taking a break. How lovely."
CJ and Stiles immediately scrambled to sit at attention, staring at their teachers. How did both Peter and Fiona look absolutely impeccable? Both were wearing tank-tops, showing off their arms – and yes, Fiona had very impressive guns too – while Fiona wore her long, red hair in a French braid to keep it out of the way. They offered the three teens matching unimpressed glares.
"We were just waiting for you to catch up with us," Stiles offered cheekily.
"He can't be that exhausted if he can still be a brat," Peter drawled.
/break\
It took Stiles longer than Peter had estimated to actually bring up training. The boy kept fidgeting and glowering and clearly biting his tongue. Which wasn't a skill Peter had expected Stiles to have. That boy never shut up, after all. It was during Left Hand training, when it was just the two of them.
"Are you being harder on me because you don't want me as the next Left Hand?"
Peter didn't even look up from his book, not until he finished the page. Which must have driven Stiles even more mad. When he looked up, he cocked one eyebrow, slowly regarding his apprentice. Stiles squirmed in his seat, glowering. The boy was supposed to read up on all the treaties the Hale Pack had at the moment and the history of those packs. Instead, he had finally cracked.
"Why do you think that, Stiles?" Peter asked curiously.
"I don't know," Stiles shrugged with a frown. "You're harder on me than you are on CJ and Paige. So I'm guessing it's related to the Left Hand training. Are you trying to make me quit, because you don't want me as your apprentice, or because you don't want a human as your apprentice…?"
Usually, Peter would take offense to that. However, Stiles was the only person aside from Derek who knew Peter had pushed for Derek to make Paige take the bite. Stiles knew Peter had a complicated relationship with humanity. And perhaps Stiles being human played into it. When Peter got shot, cut or electrocuted in the line of duty, he healed in a couple of hours. For Stiles, that may be it. This was dangerous work and he might easily get himself killed. Sighing, Peter got up and rounded the desk to stand next to Stiles. He curled his fingers around Stiles' chin to tilt his head up.
"I'm a man who values his time," Peter spoke in a calm and even tone, eyes hooded as he regarded the boy. "If I didn't think you had what it takes to be an exceptional Left Hand, I wouldn't bother wasting my time on you at all."
Stiles was staring up at him with those big, brown doe-eyes of his and Peter had never noticed just how long his lashes were as they framed those pretty eyes. His mouth stood open on a small o and Peter wondered if it had always been that plush and pink and Peter had simply never noticed that.
"Okay," Stiles croaked out before he flushed and cleared his throat. "But then why…?"
"Because I think that you will be an exceptional Left Hand," Peter replied simply. "You three humans need to train so much harder than the wolf pups, because you lack the physical advantages. And even among your peers, you need to stand out. They are training to defend themselves in case of an attack. You are training to attack. To provoke and finish a fight. You need to be faster, stronger, smarter, you need to excel at everything and I will push you to do so, because I want to see you succeed. I want you to realize your potential."
This time, all Stiles gave was a slow nod and a hard swallow, like he didn't know what to say to that. His scent told Peter everything though. It had sweetened, tinted with arousal yes but there was so much more. Layers of it that went much deeper than sexual attraction.
"Okay," Stiles said after a too long moment, nodding again.
"Okay?" Peter repeated, one eyebrow raised.
He was leaning against his desk with his hip cocked. And he was very aware of Stiles' gaze on him. Yes, the sexual attraction was still very present. It was just slowly shifting to more and Peter wondered if that was going to become a problem. It had been quite easy to ignore Stiles' sexual attraction to him. Peter knew how attractive he was, he was used to that scent on humans. Sexual attraction was an incredibly superficial thing. Yes, it had earned him a string of delightful hook-ups in the past, but not even that was guaranteed. Attraction didn't mean one had to act on it, or even want to act on it. Sometimes, it was all about appreciation too.
"Yeah," Stiles shrugged casually. "I can accept that. I don't like being less than the best."
Said the boy who was top of every single class he was in and who always made sure to know ever possible angle there was to know. Peter met Stiles' gaze, appreciating the golden-honey tone of those clever eyes. This was going to be a problem on the long run, because Stiles was coming into himself and he was becoming more beautiful by the day. He was too smart for his own good, ambitious and loyal to boot. And Peter was starting to appreciate all of that.