Disclaimer: I do not own teen wolf.

Generally, Stiles Stilinski's life was an unremarkable one. She considered herself plain looking and standing at five feet five inches, there was almost nothing special about her looks or her life. She went to school, hung out with her best friend and went home, maybe she did her homework if she felt like it. The most exciting part of her life was her father, or more accurately his job. John Stilinski was the Sheriff of Beacon Hills. It continued that way, with Stiles listening over her stolen police scanner, to the benign criminal life of her town, until the day her father got a call about a body. Truthfully the call was about half a body and that body was going to alter her life forever.

Once she got a taste of mystery it didn't take long before she was climbing the side of Scott's house. Only climbing a two-story building wasn't as easy as she thought. Luckily her foot caught in the vines she was using to climb the roof and instead of breaking her neck she dangled off the end of it. The sparing of her life didn't stop her from screaming bloody murder alongside her best friend when they caught sight of each other.

"Stiles, what the hell are you doing?!" Scott asked, once the screaming had subsided.

Stiles looked at him like that was a stupid question, "You weren't answering your phone. Why do you have a bat?"

"I thought you were a predator." Scott lowered the bat.

"A pre - I - wha - look, I know it's late, but you gotta hear this. I saw my dad leave 20 minutes ago. Dispatch called. They're bringing in every officer from the Beacon Department, and even State Police." Suddenly Stiles was very excited as she dropped herself from the roof.

"For what?"

"Two joggers found a body in the woods."

"A dead body?"

Suddenly her 'are you stupid?' look was back, "No, a body of water. Yes, dumbass, a dead body."

"You mean like murdered?" Scott brushed off her look, as he always does, and continued the conversation.

Stiles shrugged, "Nobody knows yet. Just that it was a girl, probably in her 20s."

And then Scott's confused face was back, "Hold on, if they found the body, then what are they looking for?"

"That's the best part. They only found half. We're going." Stiles' smile went from eager to extremely excited and determined, Scott knew then that he wasn't going to get out of this one.

*

Stiles pulled her sky-blue jeep onto the edge of the preserve and got out, flashlight in hand. She moved into the woods with Scott at her back, albeit reluctantly.

"We're seriously doing this?" he whinged at her again.

Stiles huffed, annoyed, "You're the one always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town."

"I was trying to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow."

Stiles rolled her eyes as his whining continued, "Right, cause sitting on the bench is such a gruelling effort."

"No, because I'm playing this year. In fact, I'm making first line."

"Hey, that's the spirit. Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one."

"Just out of curiosity, which half of the body are we looking for?" Scott asked, his breathing slowly becoming laboured.

"Huh! I didn't even think about that."

"And, uh, what if whoever killed the body is still out here?"

"Also, something I didn't think about."

"It's - comforting to know you've planned this out with your usual attention to detail."

"I know." At this point, even Stiles had grown slightly concerned at her lack of forethought.

Scott's breathing had become more and more laboured, to the point that he had to reach for his inhaler, "Maybe the severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight, huh?"

"Wait, come on!" Stiles whispered back to him. She had reached the peak of a small hill and could see lights up ahead. The sounds of dogs confirmed that it was the sheriff's department, searching for the body.

Stiles moved back to Scott and grabbed his arm, pulling him to the left and further into the preserve. Keeping out of her father's sight was imperative as she was already grounded, having hit one of the boys from their school the week before. Honestly, she thought it was unfair, what he had called her was disgusting and not appropriate for public consumption. Stiles let go of Scott as he tripped and kept moving forward, later she would regret that, even if only for a short while.

Scott called out to her, while hoping to keep her in his sight, "Stiles! Wait up! Stiles! Stiles!" but she was gone. Scott stopped to use his inhaler again when he heard something, a loud thumping sound. Suddenly he was being forced to dodge out of the way of some stampeding deer, by doing so he fell down a steep but short incline.

Getting to his feet, once he had stopped falling, Scott realised that he had dropped his inhaler. He used the light of his phone to search for it but instead of his inhaler he found the dead body that had brought him there to begin with. Screaming, he fell over, more shocked then he can ever remember being, that is until he heard a growl and looked up to see a predator of some kind coming his way.

It was at that moment, as the animal moved toward him, that Stiles crashed her way out of the tree line and into Scott's line of sight. Stiles wasn't facing Scott though; her back was to him and she seemed to be facing off with the predator in front of her. Instead of running though she called back to Scott telling him to run. Scott shook his head and yelled back at her, "No, not without you!"

"You have Asthma, I don't! Run," her reply was short but a whole conversation was had. Scott hesitated despite knowing she was intending to meet him at the jeep, no matter what. His hesitation lasted only a few seconds before he ran, trusting Stiles to follow him as soon as she could.

Stiles stood staring at the beast in front of her, watching his red eyes as he studied her. Seconds later the predator was moving fast, aiming straight for her. She tried to dodge out of his way, only to feel his teeth sink into her thigh and then he was gone. Stiles stood and made to limp back to the jeep, where Scott was probably freaking out waiting for her, when she heard what sounded like a wolf howling.

The drive home was full of silence, Scott knowing his friend well enough to know she needed time to sort through what had happened.

*

Even though she had just woken up; Stiles couldn't help but to stop and stare at her wound in the mirror as she moved from her bed to the door. Blood had seeped through her bandage in the night and she knew peeling the bandage from her leg would rip open her wounds. After a few moments Stiles kept moving out of her room and into the bathroom, where she showered and changed her bandage while it was wet.

Once she was back in her room and dressed for the day; Stiles stood in front of the mirror like she did most mornings trying to get her short brown hair to cooperate. Unfortunately, there was a reason she had her hair cut in a pixie cut, her hair refused to do any better than 'brushed'. Giving up on her hair Stiles left her room and headed out to her jeep, waving goodbye to her father as she passed him. She realized as she left the house that not even her daily routine could remove that feeling of being on edge that she'd woken up with. She hoped that the drive to school would calm her nerves but doubted it would be enough.

When Stiles pulled up to the school everything and everyone looked the same, but Stiles was still on edge. All her senses were on overdrive, everything too bright and too loud. She got out of her car anyway and headed toward where she could see Danny pulling Jackson 'douche-bag' Whittemore away from Scott. When she reached her best friend, he jumped straight into conversation about the night before. "Okay, let's see this thing."

"Dude, no! I'm wearing jeans, I'm not taking my pants off in front of the whole school."

"Right, right, sorry. Do you know what bit you? It was too dark to see much, but I'm pretty sure I saw a wolf." Scott seemed excited despite the fear he had shown the night before.

"You think a wolf bit me?" Stiles' scepticism was obvious.

"Uh-huh."

"No, not a chance."

"We heard a wolf howling."

Stiles shook her head, "I know that's what it sounded like but it's not possible."

Scott's eyebrows drew closer together the more confused and irritated he got, "What do you mean, it's not possible? How do you know it's not possible?"

"Because California doesn't have wolves, okay? Not in like 60 years."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Stiles scoffed at Scott and began to dawdle toward the front steps, Scott at her heels. "There are no wolves in California."

"All right, well, if you don't believe me that it was a wolf, then you're definitely not gonna believe me about when I tell you I found the body." He grimaced as he spoke, a look that didn't suit his puppy-like face.

Stiles stopped where she was and spun toward her best friend, "You - are you kidding me?"

"No, man, I wish. I'm gonna have nightmares for a month."

"Oh god, that is freakin' awesome. I mean, this is seriously gonna be the best thing that's happened to this town since - Since the birth of Lydia Martin," Stiles excitement changed targets as the girl she'd been crushing on for as long as she could remember came into her line of sight. "Hey, Lydia - You look - Like you're gonna ignore me. You're the cause of this, you know." She turned to Scott. Her expression dropped as she was once again ignored by the object of her affection.

"Uh - huh."

She continued whinging when all Scott did was look at her, amused. "Draggin' me down to your nerd depths. I'm a nerd by association. I've been scarlet - nerded by you."

Scott only laughed and continued toward the front doors. When he noticed that Stiles wasn't following he shook his head at her and replied, "She's straight, Stiles."

"You don't know that." Stiles pouted and walked past him, officially ending the conversation.

Stiles and Scott walked into their first class still messing around until they reached their desks. Grinning they pulled out their books and waited impatiently for the class to settle. After minutes that felt like hours the class settled and the teacher began to speak, "As you all know, there indeed was a body found in the woods last night. And I am sure your eager little minds are coming up with various macabre scenarios as to what happened. But I am here to tell you that the police have a suspect in custody, which means you can give your undivided attention to the syllabus which is on your desk outlining this semester."

Scott looked to Stiles for confirmation, but she could only shrug, just as in the dark as the rest of the class. She hadn't heard anything from her father or learnt anything from her own snooping. That however seemed to be the end of the topic as the teacher turned to finish organising himself.

Stiles attention wavered as it so often does, only this time it was drawn to something she struggled to explain. She could hear a phone ringing, clear as day, but no one around her was reacting not even the teacher. It was only when the call was answered that she thought to look outside the classroom. Outside, sitting on a bench, was a girl about her age with brown hair and fair skin.

"Mom, three calls on my first day is a little overdoing it." She had her phone between her ear and shoulder as she dug through her bag, "Everything except a pen. Oh, my God, I didn't actually forget a pen. Okay, okay. I gotta go. Love ya." The girl hung up the phone as the Vice-principal approached her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. So, you were saying San Francisco isn't where you grew up?" She asked the girl as she led her into the school. The Vice-principal was a lovely woman unless you happened to frequent her office as Stiles so often did.

"No, but we lived there for more than a year, which is unusual in my family."

"Well, hopefully Beacon Hills will be your last stop for a while." Their conversation continued as they walked through the halls until they reached Stiles' class. When they entered the room Stiles noticed, despite her distraction, Scott's immediate attraction to the new girl. "Class, this is our new student, Allison Argent. Please do your best to make her feel welcome."

Allison thanked her as she left before heading to the desk behind Scott. Seeing the dopey look on his face Stiles decided to intervene. She through a wad of paper at him and furiously signed that he should lend Allison a pen, only the fact that they had known each other so long allowed Scott to understand what she was trying to say. Finally, Scott nodded and turned to Allison holding out a pen, which she accepted with a hesitant smile. Proud of herself Stiles turned back to the teacher as he continued the lesson. "We'll begin with Kafka's Metamorphosis, on page 133."

Stiles inability to focus on one thing for long continued, though it was only when she heard Lydia's voice that she realised it was different from how it used to be. Her lack of focus now seemed to stem from too much outside stimulation rather than her own erratic thoughts. In fact, her thoughts seemed easier to sort then they ever were before.

"That jacket is absolutely killer. Where'd you get it?" Stiles heard Lydia ask Allison from across the busy hallway.

"My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco."

"And you are my new best friend." Stiles watched as Lydia turned toward her douche-nozzle boyfriend as she saw him approach, "Hey, Jackson."

"Can someone tell me how new girl is here all of five minutes, and she's already hanging out with Lydia's clique?" Harley's voice pulled her temporarily from her focus on Lydia. Harley had the locker beside Stiles and was one of the few people in the school who could understand her rants.

"Because she's hot. Beautiful people herd together," Stiles' response was half-hearted at best as she noticed that she wasn't the only one watching Lydia and Allison. Scott seemed to be unable to tear his gaze from the new girl.

The conversation with Harley was forgotten when Lydia started talking to Allison again, "So, this weekend, there's a party."

"A party?"

Jackson jumped in then as he wrapped his arm around Lydia's waist, "Yeah, Friday night. You should come."

"Uh, I can't. It's family night this Friday. Thanks for asking." Somehow Stiles was sure she was lying, maybe it was the brief wince on her face when they asked, but she wasn't sure. This however seemed like something that could help her best friend\\.

Jackson persisted despite her polite refusal, "You sure? Everyone's going after the scrimmage."

"You mean like football?"

"Football's a joke in Beacon. The sport here is lacrosse. We've won the state championship for the past three years."

Stiles couldn't help but scoff at Jackson's bragging, no matter how subtle. Lydia, however, was less subtle, "Because of a certain team captain." Allison seemed as impressed as Stiles, which is to say, not at all.

"Well, we have practice in a few minutes. That is, if you don't have anywhere else…" Apparently Jackson was looking for some more groupies. This however is when Stiles lost interest and finished grabbing what she needed from her locker and putting away what she didn't.

Stiles wasn't on the team, but she had annoyed the coach enough that he made her an honorary team member. Her position meant she could sit with Scott on the bench during games, which would mean nothing if he made first string. "But if you play-I'll have no one to talk to on the bench. Are you really gonna do that to your best friend?" Stiles knew that despite his asthma he was a great goalie, though if he wanted to play any other position he'd be screwed.

Scott however was nothing if not stubborn, "I can't sit out again. My whole life is sitting on the sidelines. This season, I make first line."

That was the moment Coach Finstock decided to call on Scott, "McCall!"

"Yeah?"

"You're on goal."

Scott hesitated, it didn't matter how often he practiced playing goal with Stiles he'd still never played goal during team practice, "I've never played."

"I know, scoring some shots will give the boys a confidence boost. It's a first day back thing. Get 'em energized, fired up!"

Scott seemed to shrink in on himself, "What about me?"

"Try not to take any in the face. Let's go! Come on!"

With that Scott was headed to the goal and the rest of the team was lining up to take their shots. Stiles on the other hand had seen Lydia and Allison take a seat on the bleachers. After a moments contemplation she dismissed their presence in favour of watching her best friend. Scott seemed nervous as he waited for the team to line up and when he noticed Allison in the stands his nerves visibly increased. Seconds later he was on the ground after taking a lacrosse ball to the face.

Jackson snorted his amusement at Scott's pain, "Hey, way to catch with your face, McCall!"

Scott got back up and Stiles noticed he seemed determined rather than disheartened. It looked like he had something to prove now. Stiles waited on the edge of her seat as the next guy in line got ready to take his shot. He took the shot and Stiles jumped up when Scott caught the ball. One catch turned into five, then Stiles could see Scott gulp in fear as Jackson pushed his way to the front of the line. She heard him groan and whisper 'oh God' to himself. Jackson took the shot, and everyone cheered when Scott caught the ball, Stiles was glad to note that she was the loudest. She watched proudly as Scott smiled to himself, he was clearly very happy.

*

A couple of hours later found Stiles trudging along behind Scott, through the Beacon Hills Preserve, looking for his lost inhaler.

"I don't - I don't know what it was. It was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball," Scott seemed awed by what he did at practice, but Stiles knew it had everything to do with the amount of practice Scott had insisted she endured with him.

"Dude, it was adrenalin, besides you worked hard during break," Stiles told her friend before moving on to what she had been dying to talk about. "You know that's not the only weird thing. I - I've been - hearing stuff I shouldn't be able to hear. Smelling things."

Scott pulled a face, like it was the weirdest thing she had ever said, which it wasn't, "Smell things? Like what?"

"Like the mint-mojito gum in your pocket."

"I don't even have any mint-mojito…" Scott fumbled through his jacket before finding said gum. "So, all this started with a bite?" Suddenly Scott was working himself into a panic, "What if it's like an infection, like, your body's flooding with adrenaline before you go into shock or something?"

Stiles being Stiles decided to tease her gullible friend, "You know what? I actually think I've heard of this - It's a specific kind of infection."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I think it's called - lycanthropy."

"What's that? Is that bad?"

"Oh, yeah, it's the worst. But only once a month," At this point Stiles is struggling not to burst into hysterical laughter.

"Once a month?"

"Mmhmm. On the night of the full moon." Stiles tilted her head back and faked a small howl before breaking down in a fit of laughter. Scott smacked her arm in frustration. "Hey, you're the one who insists we heard a wolf howling."

Scott tried valiantly to get her to be serious, his worry genuine, "Hey, there could be something seriously wrong with you."

"I know! I'm a werewolf! Rrr!" Stiles laughter faltered at the continued look of concern, "Okay, obviously I'm kidding. But we'll find out soon enough, cause Friday's a full moon."

Scott stopped walking after a moment and called out to Stiles who was still moving, "No, I - I could have sworn this was it. I saw the body; the deer came running. I dropped my inhaler."

"Maybe the killer moved the body."

Scott sighed, "If he did, I hope he left my inhaler. Those things are like 80 bucks."

That was when Stiles looked up and noticed a man standing not ten feet from them. Stiles couldn't help but notice how attractive he was, despite the creepy entrance. His broad shoulders, stupidly attractive face and leather jacket were doing things to her libido. As he moved closer the wind shifted and she caught his scent, suddenly all she wanted to do was get closer to him and that delicious smell. It was only when he spoke that she managed to pull herself out of her daze, "What are you doing here? Huh? This is private property."

The sound of his voice had butterflies erupting in her stomach and it took her a moment to find her voice, "Uh, sorry, man, we didn't know."

Scott on the other hand found his words easily, "Yeah, we were just looking for something, but - Uh, forget it." At Scott's words the man Stiles finally recognized as Derek Hale threw something at them. When Stiles caught it, she realised it was Scott's inhaler and passed it to him. Scott seemed as surprised as Stiles, "Uhm. All right, come on, I gotta get to work."

Scott went to leave but was stopped by a frantic Stiles, "Dude that was Derek Hale." Scott's face remained blank, obviously having no clue who he was talking about. "You remember, right? He's only like a few years older than us."

"Remember what?"

Stiles sighed, sadly, "His family. They all burned to death in a fire, like, ten years ago."

"I wonder what he's doing back," Scott looked in the direction Derek had gone, curious.

Stiles however was looking that way in disappointment, a disappointment that she didn't understand. She didn't know Derek Hale, but she was sad to see him go. Shaking the strange feeling off Stiles grabbed Scott's arm, pulling him away, "Come on. By the way you should totally ask new girl to the party on Friday"

After dropping Scott off at work Stiles managed to make it home before the rain started. Once it did she settled herself down in front of her computer. She had been planning to be on it for only a few minutes, however before she realised it hours had passed. Enough time that her father was arriving home. Stiles could hear her father talking and assumed he was on the phone. Leaving her room to greet him she saw that she was right.

The sheriff waved to her in greeting and she went back to her room. Stiles gathered up some clean clothes and made her way to the shower, determined to wash today's weirdness off her skin. Only when she removed her bandages the weirdness escalated. The bite mark on her thigh, the one that should have been red and covered by a scab, was gone. Her skin was blemish free, not even a scar. Suddenly she needed the day to be over. She rushed through her shower and went to bed without dinner, staring at the ceiling until she fell asleep.

*

Three days later Stiles found herself trying to get Scott's attention, it wasn't until the end of the day that she managed to get within shouting distance. Running up to him beside the lacrosse field, she called out, "Scott! Scott, wait up."

Scott barely looked at her as he spoke, clearly distracted, "Stiles, I'm playing the first elimination, dude - Can it wait?"

"Just hold on, okay? I overheard my dad on the phone. The fibre analysis came back from the lab in L.A. They found animal hairs on the body from the woods!"

Scott ignored her and kept moving, "Stiles, I gotta go."

She tried one last time, almost desperately, "Wait, no! Scott! You're not gonna believe what the animal was! It was a wolf." She had started off loudly and ended in an almost whisper. Sighing she moved over to where the team was standing around Coach Finstock.

The Coach started talking as Stiles reached them, "Let's go! Gather round! Bring it in, come on! Come on! Got a question, McCall?" Stiles saw Scott with his hand raised, curious she looked over to where he had been looking and saw Allison.

"What?" Scott asked, confused.

"You raised your hand. You have a question?"

"Oh - No. I was just, uh - Nothing. Sorry." Scott blushed, obviously embarrassed.

"Okay. You know how this goes. If you don't make the cut, you're most likely sitting on the bench for the rest of the season. You make the cut - You play. Your parents are proud. Your girlfriend loves ya! Huh? Everything else is, uh - Cream cheese. Now, get out there and show me whatcha got! Come on!" As he spoke coach walked around, looking at each of in turn, trying his own version of a pep talk.

Everyone got pumped and moved into position. A whistle blew, and the game started. Seconds in Scott caught the ball and seconds later Jackson had knocked him to the ground. As soon as his back hit the grass he started coughing and his face went red. He was approaching a full-blown asthma attack and quickly. Stiles runs to the sidelines where Scott left his bag and grabs his inhaler, running it over to Scott.

Once he'd taken his inhaler, and his breathing calmed, a couple of the guys on the team helped him over to the benches. Once there coach told him he that he couldn't play if every knock sends him to the hospital. Scott's face fell, and Stiles could almost feel his disappointment. It was that disappointment that Stiles later blamed for her actions. As the coach walked away Stiles ran up to speak to him, "Coach, Scott's a great goalie, please don't bench him. The Goalie barley does any running and has almost zero contact with other players."

"Almost isn't good enough, he'll get himself killed."

Stiles kept pushing in one last desperate act, "okay, I'll make you a deal; if I make the next goal you make Scott first line, strictly goalie of course. What do you think?"

Coach stared at her for a second, clearly curious. Coach smiled, decision made, "alright, Stilinski, if you make the next goal your friend makes first line."

Stiles smiled and moved into position, waiting for the whistle. Once it sounded Stiles moved and she kept moving. In a few seconds she had the ball and then a minute later, after some impressive gymnastics she didn't know she was capable of, she tossed the ball. For a few seconds she stood gaping at where the ball had hit the net, not quite believing she had scored a goal, it was the team surrounding her that finally brought her back. She turned, smiling, to see Scott smiling back at her. The smiling stopped as Coach yelled at her, "Stilinski! Get over here!" Stiles jogged over to stand in front of him, "What in God's name was that? This is a lacrosse field. What, are you trying out for the gymnastics team?"

"No, coach."

"What the hell was that?"

"I don't know. I was- just trying to make the shot."

"Yeah, well, you made the shot." Then Coach was smiling, "And guess what? You're startin', buddy. You and your friend made first line. Come on!"

Scott was there then, hugging her and laughing in joy.

*

Stiles hadn't left her room since she got home the previous afternoon. She was still in shock, the things she did at lacrosse practice shouldn't have been possible. Despite her shock her mind hadn't stopped looking for an explanation and the conclusion she had come to scared her badly. That fear was why her best friend was knocking on her bedroom door at that moment.

She looked over when she heard Scott opening the door, "Get in. You gotta see this thing. I've been up all-night reading - websites, books. All this information."

Scott looked suspicious as he took in the mess she made of her desk and the somewhat manic expression of on her face, "How much Adderall have you had today?"

"None. Doesn't matter. Okay, just listen." She shook her head as she turned to him, getting ready to explain the reason for her 911 text.

Scott moved to her bed and sat down as he spoke, "Oh, is this about the body? Did they find out who did it?"

Stiles shook her head, "No, they're still questioning people, even Derek Hale."

"Oh, the guy in the woods that we saw the other day."

"Yeah! Yes. But that's not it, okay?"

"What, then?"

"Remember the joke from the other day? Not a joke anymore. The wolf - the bite in the woods. I started doing all this reading. Do you even know why a wolf howls?" Stiles stood up, moving faster and fidgeting more as she ranted.

"Should I?"

"It's a signal, okay? When a wolf's alone, it howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack. So, if we really heard a wolf howling, that means others could have been nearby. Maybe even a whole pack of 'em."

"A whole pack of wolves?"

"No - Werewolves."

Scott looked frustrated as he stood up and collected his bag as if to leave, "Are you seriously wasting my time with this? You know I'm picking up Allison in an hour."

"You saw me on the field today, Scott. Okay, what I did wasn't just amazing, all right? It was impossible."

"Yeah, so you made a good shot."

"No, I made an incredible shot, I mean - The way I moved, my speed, my reflexes. Y'know, People can't just suddenly do that overnight. And there's the vision and the senses, and I don't even need my Adderall anymore." Stiles ripped his bag out of his had trying to force him to stay and listen. She was getting more worried and scared the more she talked.

"Okay! Dude, I can't think about this now. We'll talk tomorrow."

Stiles was panicking now, she needed her best friend, she needed his help, "Tomorrow?! What? No! The full moon's tonight. Don't you get it?"

Scott was yelling at her now almost as mad as she was scared, "What are you trying to do? We just made first line. I got a date with a girl who I can't believe wants to go out with me, and everything in my life is somehow perfect. Why are you trying to ruin it?"

Stiles sat down trying to control her fear, "I need your help. I'm cursed, Scott. You know, and it's not just the moon will cause me to physically change. It also just so happens to be when my bloodlust will be at its peak."

"Bloodlust?"

"Yeah, my urge to kill."

"You're being ridiculous, Stiles."

"You gotta hear this," Stiles said as she reached for one of the books scattered around her desk. "'The change can be caused by anger or anything that raises your pulse.' All right? Panic raises my pulse like nothing else and I'm panicking pretty hard. You gotta cancel this date and help me." She grabbed Scott's bag hunting for his phone, "I'm gonna call her right now."

"What are you doing?"

Stiles scoffed as she was going through Scott's phone, "I'm cancelling the date."

"I said no, Stiles, give it to me!" Scott yelled as he snatched his phone away from her. She'd never been violent before, but Scott's dismissive behaviour was making her want to hurt him. Stiles looked down and tried to breathe slowly, squashing every violent urge she was experiencing.

Scott moved away, sighing tiredly, "Look I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay? I - I gotta go get ready for that party. I'm sorry." Scott walked away, collecting his bag and leaving the room.

*

Stiles locked herself in the bathroom and hoped with everything she had that her dad wouldn't come home that night. She was huddled in a corner of the room when her body began to burn, as if someone had set fire to her insides. Stiles ripped her shirt off, leaving her in nothing but a sports bra and leggings, before turning on the cold water and getting into the shower. Once she was in the shower she sat there staring at her hands; at the tip of every finger where her nails should be where claws. When she noticed a tug at her gums she reached up and felt fangs dropping to sit against her lip. The cold shower only helped for a moment before she heard something she wished she hadn't. Her father was home; she had heard his cruiser pulling into the driveway. Stiles started to hyperventilate; he couldn't see her like that. What if she hurt him? What if she killed him?

When she heard her father's keys in the lock she jumped from the shower, turned it off, then bolted through her bedroom and out the window. Her father thought she was at Scott's, so she headed for the woods, her only thought was to put as much distance between her and her father as possible. Stiles stopped only when she was as far into the woods as she could get without leaving town. It was then that she was hit by something large. It took her a fraction of a second to recognise the scent coming off it; ash, woods and leather. The thing that tackled her wasn't a thing at all, it was Derek Hale.

He whispered in her ear as she made to protest, "Shh, quiet." It was only a moment before he grunted out a few words and moved off her, "Too late. They're already here. Run." Whatever they were hiding from had found them and Derek was gone a second later. Stiles heard a twang from behind her as soon as she moved into the open to follow him. She spun to see what it was right as something tore through her arm, pinning her to a tree. Stiles stared in shock. There was a crossbow bolt in her arm. In…her…arm. She was shaken from her shock when she heard an unfamiliar voice speak, "Take her."

Stiles saw the three men for only a moment before the two behind the man who spoke were bowled over. When as their attention was elsewhere, Derek was in front of her, hand over her mouth as he ripped the bolt out of her arm. As soon as it was out they were moving again; running as fast as they could.

Derek gave her the go ahead to stop, so she moved to the closest tree and slid down it. Stiles stared at her arm, watching it heal as she caught her breath. Once she had the questions started bubbling to the top, "Who were they?"

"Hunters. The kind that have been hunting us for centuries."

At that Stiles froze, "Us... Did you do this to me?"

Derek really looked at her for the first time then, "Is it really so bad, Stiles? That you can see better - Hear more clearly, move faster than any human could ever hope? You've been given something that most people would kill for. The bite is a gift."

To Stiles it sounded like he was spouting from a recruitment brochure, but that wasn't what she asked. The volume of her voice began to rise as she became irritated, "Answer my question!"

"No, I didn't."

"Why should I believe you?"

"The wolf that bit you, what colour were his eyes?"

This seemed random to her but so were most of her thoughts. Deciding to humour him she thought back to the night she was attacked, "um… I don't know… Red, why?"

"Mine are blue," to prove his point Derek showed her his eyes changing from a gorgeous hazel colour to the brightest blue. Somehow, she doubted he'd be able to change his eyes to a third colour. "Fine, then who is he?"

Derek's eyes shifted back to their natural hazel before he spoke again, "I don't know, but it's called an Alpha. It's the most dangerous of our kind. This thing is more powerful, more animal than either of us." Stiles decided in that moment that Derek was the biggest drama queen ever, when he paused for dramatic effect, "And you're gonna need me if you want to learn how to control yourself and survive. So, you and me, Stiles - We're family now."

Stiles huffed a laugh. She'd been attacked by an alpha, turned into a werewolf and shot with a crossbow, now adopted by Derek Hale; her week couldn't get any stranger. At least she hoped so.

*

After escaping the hunters together Derek offered Stiles a ride home. Stiles caught him throwing concerned looks her way several times on the walk to the car and on the drive. When they hit the main street she had had enough and called him on it, "Stop looking at me like that, I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

Stiles sighs heavily before she answers, "Fine, I'm not. While the idea of being a werewolf is awesome the reality is terrifying. That feral rage I felt last night and the danger that puts my loved ones in is scaring me stupid right now." Stiles had worked herself up by now, her limbs waving about as she continued, "On top of that; when I needed my best friend he chose some girl he barley knows over me."

IMPORTANT: This is just a teaser, the rest of this story won't be published until it is done. On that note I'm having trouble fixing some plot holes and could use some help.