Scott stared at the cell phone in his hand with trepidation. He wasn't anxious to call Derek given the circumstances, but he knew that the other alpha needed to hear about the confrontation with Stiles.

"What?"

Scott rolled his eyes at the irritated greeting from Derek. "Stiles just had a run in with Gerard." He took a deep breath and explained everything that happened at the school that morning, including Stiles' threat to pull out of school. He was met with silence on the other end as Derek processed all of the information.

"If he wanted Stiles to spy on me then he still thinks you're my beta." Derek sighed heavily, wishing he could just kill the hunter and get it over with for good.

"I know. I just wanted to warn you." Scott rubbed at his aching head and paced his room. "If threatening Stiles and Lydia won't work, he might be coming after one of yours next. Erica and Boyd are easy targets." Given their part in attacking Derek when he was defenseless, Scott knew that the elder alpha couldn't dispute the claim.

"Keep your pack somewhere safe tonight. We'll deal with it tomorrow." Derek's gruff voice was reassuring. "Meet me tomorrow night after sun down and we'll figure out how to get Gerard off our back."

"We'll be at the clinic if you need me."

Derek dropped his phone on one of the bench seats and sighed. He couldn't argue with Scott's feelings regarding Erica and Boyd. He needed to start repairing some of the damage before they did something that got them killed. "Isaac."

The eldest pup was immediately in front of him. "What do you need?"

Derek offered him a slight smile, at least the best he could manage. "Gerard went after Stiles and Lydia today. Get Erica and Boyd here as soon as school ends. I'm not risking you guys getting caught out tonight. We think he'll come after you three next."

"On it." Isaac grabbed the keys to his beat up Mercury and sprinted up the stairs. As much as McCall irritated him, the new alpha did have an overwhelming obsession with keeping everyone in town alive. If he and Derek were actually agreeing about something having to do with the Argents, Isaac was going to listen.

.

.

Scott studied Stiles as he secured the chains to the wall. "How are you feeling?"

"Surprisingly okay." His friend shot him a amused look. "Aside from the desire to chase cars."

The alpha snickered and tightened the restraints attached to the wall. "No desire to run off and maul a bus full of nuns?"

"Is that really an issue?" Stiles looked horrified at his long time friend. "I'm going to want to eat nuns?" A snicker drew his eyes to the door and he saw Jackson reclining against the door jamb. "So not funny."

"It was a little funny." Scott smirked and pulled a dog bowl out of his bag with Stiles scrawled across the side in sharpie. "Ah, pay back." He rubbed the fuzzy hair on Stiles' head roughly and hopped back before his friend could take a swipe at him. "You all set?"

Stiles rolled his eyes and settled back as comfortably as he could on the cold cement floor. "I'll be fine. Go truss up Lizard Boy."

Scott gave him a reassuring smile before following Jackson to the room next door where he had been bound the night before. He handed the blonde a set of cold gear before pulling in a window air conditioning unit he borrowed from Deacon's office. "Get changed, I'll get the chains ready."

Jackson refused the urge to thank Scott for trying his best to make sure the experience wasn't unbearable. As much as he understood Scott's reasoning for his behavior earlier, he still hadn't forgiven the alpha for the exertion on his free will. He was bordering on petulance as he shucked his clothes and pulled on the thick, tight fabric. He felt immediate relief against the rapidly cooling room and fought a shiver.

"Ready?" Noticing his companion's irritated behavior, Scott refrained from commenting in an already tense situation. There was a jerky nod from Jackson as he sat on the ground and allowed Scott to attach the restraints much as he had the night before.

"Where are you going to be?"

Scott noted a slight tremor in the usually strong voice. "I was going to wait at the front desk." He hesitated. "Are you warm enough or do you need me to stay."

Jackson balked at the thought of needing him even as the kanima screamed out for the presence of his master. "I'm fine."

Scott could hear the implied 'for now' in the the statement. "Call if you need anything. I have towels in the heater if you get too cold." He stood and left Jackson to his own thoughts, making his way to the reception desk.

.

.

Derek remained on the floor, his spirit broken. He needed to call Scott, to warn him about Peter coming back from the dead. He needed to get up and make sure his pack was safe, especially considering Lydia knew where to find him, but he couldn't seem to find the energy to move. As his body remained limply on the ground, his eyes on the full moon, he wondered whether he deserved to be alpha in the first place. Every choice he made after returning to Beacon Hills seemed to compound his problems instead of making things better. He closed his eyes in despair and let his pain be carried by a howl.

.

.

Scott was brought from his day dream an hour later when a howl rang through the air. "Derek." He jumped out of his chair and immediately skidded down the hall to check on his two pack mates. "You guys okay?"

Stiles nodded, shakily. "Who was that?"

"Derek, something's wrong. He's hurt." Scott left his friend and moved into Jackson's room. "You okay?"

Jackson nodded, studying Scott's frantic face. "You're going?" Scott nodded and started to turn from the room. "I'm coming with you."

"Jacks, you aren't ready yet."

"You can let me out or I can break every bone in my body until I'm free, either way, I'm coming with you." He knew it was a low blow, threatening to inflict harm on himself. There was no way that Scott was going to allow him to be hurt any more than the Kanima was going to allow its master to walk into harms way without his help.

Scott waffled for a moment, before growling. "Are you in control?"

"Yes." Every ounce of sincerity Jackson possessed was bleeding from his eyes in silent reassurance that he could handle being free.

"Scott!"

The alpha pulled the chains off Jackson before shooting back into Stiles' room. "What?"

"You are not going without me."

Studying the tremors in chained hands, Scott knew that his beta was nowhere near ready to be out on a full moon. "Are you in control."

Stiles started to spin his usual bull but stopped short at the commanding presence of his alpha demanding the truth. Sagging against the chains, he let his head fall forward in shame. "No."

Scott put a hand on his shoulder. "I got shot and almost killed three people on my first full moon. You can at least speak in full sentences and are aware enough to know your limits. You will have this under control before the next moon." He dropped Stiles cell phone next to his hand and turned to find Jackson dressed and ready to go. "We'll call as soon as we can." The pair took off into the night, sprinting in the direction of the howl.

.

.

"Lydia?"

Lydia groaned as she woke on the cold ground, her head throbbing as the last three hours came back to her. Her eyes turned to the two figures emerging from the forest. "Jackson?"

"Lydia, are you alright?" Scott fell to his knees next to the red head.

"I think so." She took his hand and allowed him to help her up.

"What happened?"

"Peter Hale hijacked me." She shivered, tears falling from her eyes as Jackson pulled her into his arms. "He made me help him get Derek here so he could use his blood to come back from the dead."

Scott gasped in horror before sprinting into the house to find Derek. The other alpha was sprawled on the ground next to a hole in the floor boards where they buried Peter's body. "Derek?" He smacked the unconscious man's face in a desperate attempt to wake him up.

"McCall! We've got company."

"Damn it." With a grunt of effort, he threw Derek's body over his shoulder and carried him out the door. "Lydia, where is your car?" She pointed to the compact car around the corner of the house. "Can you drive?" He paused long enough to see her nod before he shoved Derek into the passenger seat. "I need you to drive Derek to the Beacon Hills Animal Clinic. The hunters heard Derek's call and they are on their way here. You are as much of a target as we are because you survived Peter's bite."

Tears streamed down her face, but when she felt Jackson's grip tighten on her shoulder, she stood up straight. "I can do that."

"We'll draw them off you and try to give you a chance to get away." He smiled reassuringly. "Stiles is there, but he's a bit tied up so don't be too hard on him."

Lydia nodded, looking for Jackson's input. "Jackson?"

"I'll be right behind you. I promise." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and pushed her toward the car. As soon as the motor was running, he turned to Scott. "You ready?"

Scott nodded angrily, red eyes glaring out into the darkness toward the sound of the approaching ATVs. "Let's go." With a feral roar, he shifted into his beta form, praying that the carnage wasn't too great as he sprinted out into the night with Jackson on his heels.