I do not own Teen Wolf.

Don't shoot! Yes, I know it's a new fic, but it was only supposed to be a one shot, but ended up longer. No worries though, it is finished! I have not abandoned my other fics, I have just been busy with real life and then this plot bunny paid me a visit. My plan is to post a new chapter every Friday...maybe earlier if it seems people like it.

This is not canon, none of my fics are. So that means no crying if characters are OOC.

This is an Alpha/Beta/Omega fic

Alive Hales

No fire

This is a slash fic...that means there will eventually be guy and guy loving.

Mentions MPREG, but no MPREG in this fic, maybe if I do a sequel.

Hope you enjoy and please review.

***TW

With a heavy sigh, Beacon Hills' Sheriff John Stillinski collapsed onto his old, well used sofa and closed his weary eyes. With a sad smile, he ran his fingers over the old, well worn material fondly remembering the day he picked the sofa out with his soon-to-be, beautiful bride. He was prepared to agree to some floral monstrosity, anything to make his Claudia happy, but she had insisted on a plain brown, microfiber sofa that felt like you were sitting on a cloud. God how he missed his wife. Claudia and him were only married for eight years before sickness took her from him, but those had been the best eight years of his life.

Opening his eyes, John looked around his depressingly empty home...the home that he had once shared with his wife and the home that had once sang with her laughter. He regretted now talking her into waiting to have children, he still could had had a piece of her with him filling up the emptiness of his home, and the emptiness of his heart.

Too many hours now he spent picturing what their child would have looked like had they had one. He liked to picture a little girl that was every bit as beautiful as her mother, but with her daddy's stubborn streak, or a little boy with his eyes and hair but Claudia's knack for causing mischief.

Claudia had desperately wanted to be a mother, it had been her dream and she would have been an amazing mother, but he had selfishly talked her into waiting a few years because he hadn't been ready to share the love of his life with a child. He wanted to make love his wife for hours in every room of their new home and travel around the world, he wanted to live a little before having children. And then Claudia got sick and their dream of have children together died with her.

Wiping away a stray tear before it had a chance to fall, John kicked off his shoes and blindly reached out for his television remote control. When his hand found nothing but an empty spot where he always kept his remote, he frowned as his eyes scanned the room.

"What the hell?" John muttered to the empty room when he noticed his missing remote on the floor in front of his coffee table. "That is not where I left you." John lived alone, he knew where everything was and he always kept the remote in the same place...always!

Getting to his feet, his previous exhaustion from his double shift at the station long forgotten, John's eyes narrowed as he scanned the room with seasoned eyes. He was a cop, he was trained to notice the slightest thing out of place.

With his hand resting on the hilt of his gun, John started going in and out of every room looking for signs that he had been robbed. Robbed! Who in their right mind would rob the town sheriff? After inspecting every room twice, including closets and under the beds, John bent down and retrieved his remote from the floor wondering if he was losing his mind.

"I know that I didn't leave you on the floor." John mumbled to the piece of plastic in his hand. Placing the remote back where it belonged, his eyes still warily scanning the room, he slowly made his way into the kitchen to scrounge up some food before calling it a night. Even though he hadn't found anything else out of place, he wasn't letting his guard down. Call him paranoid, but he knew that someone had been in his house.

Opening the fridge, he reached in and grabbed the pizza box left over from two nights ago. Flipping the top up, he stared at the two slices of meat lovers pieces before swearing softly. "Son of a bitch! I know for a fact that there were three slices left over. Now, what the hell is going on?"

John knew that he wasn't losing his mind, he knew for a fact that he had left three slices of pizza in the box. First the remote, now the pizza, someone had most definitely been in his home.

Having already searched his home more than once and finding no one, John tossed the two left over slices in the microwave then went to each window making sure they were locked while his food heated up. He couldn't remember the last time a window had been opened in his home, but he knew that it had been before Claudia died. Even though this was his home, he rarely spent any time here. His home was only used now for eating, sleeping, showering, and the occasional television watching. Hell, half the time he slept at the station seeing as he was always pulling double or triple shifts.

Finding all downstairs and upstairs windows locked, John cautiously made his way back to the kitchen. Maybe this was just a one off occurrence, some homeless person passing through. Maybe he had forgotten to lock his front door and the local teens were playing a prank. It was a stupid prank, the type of prank that found you with a bullet in the head for breaking and entering. They better not try anything while he was sleeping, he couldn't be held accountable for killing someone while still half asleep.

Quickly stuffing his face with his leftover pizza, John checked to make sure his doors were locked before heading up to bed. Tonight he was keeping his gun close to his pillow, just to be on the safe side.

***TW

Shivering, a small boy huddled in the corner of an old, dirty, and pretty much forgotten shed as he tried to make himself comfortable on the cold, damp ground. He had hoped to borrow a blanket or bath towel from the sheriff, but the man had returned home earlier than what he had expected. He had barely made it out the back door before the sheriff was opening the front door.

He was cold and uncomfortable, but at least he had gotten to eat something. He felt guilty for stealing a slice of the sheriff's pizza, but it had been days since he had last eaten and the pizza had looked so delicious. Hopefully the man wouldn't notice the missing pizza, it had only been one slice and it had been the smallest slice.

Curling into a tighter ball in an attempt to get warm, Stiles wished that he was still in the sheriff's nice, cozy house. He really liked the sheriff's house, he felt safe and happy there. He thought about hiding in one of the closets, but he was terrified that the man would find him. So instead here he was was hiding in the sheriff's shed.

The sheriff's shed was cold, damp and full of dirt and cobwebs, but at least it was better than nothing. It was a lot better than the hole at the base of a tree he had slept in last night in the preserve. He wasn't too worried about the sheriff finding him in his shed, he could tell by all the dirt covering everything that the man hadn't been in his shed for a very, very long time. It wasn't the soft sofa in the sheriff's house, but at least here he didn't have to worry about the wolves finding him and making him their next meal.

With a big yawn, Stiles allowed his eyes to slowly close. Maybe he would stay here and live with the sheriff. The man was never home, he could sneak in the house while he was gone then hide back in the shed when he was home. He was so tired of sleeping in different places every night, he just wanted a safe place to call home. It shouldn't be that hard tricking the sheriff, the man worked so hard and he was never home. He just had to be careful and quiet, and he knew how to do that. He had managed to live a year on his own without being caught, not even by the wolves.

Feeling his eyes stinging with tears, Stiles balled up his tiny and dirty fists and harshly rubbed at his watering eyes. Why was he so unlovable? Was it so bad that he was born an omega and not a beta or an alpha? What was so bad about being a male omega that his parents felt the need to dump him deep in the preserve and drive off without ever looking back?

His papa use to scream at him, tell him that only girls could be omegas. He would throw stuff at him and call him a freak, an abomination. His papa said that he was defective and a disgrace and that no one would ever want or love a monster like him. He didn't want to believe it, but it had be true if even his mama and papa couldn't love him and parents were supposed to love their children.

It had been a year since his parents abandoned him...a year of pain, suffering, and loneliness. He was eight years old now, but when his parents had abandoned him he had just turned seven. His parents never celebrated his birthday, but his cousin had told him when it was his birthday and so he never forgot the date.

His mama and papa had stuffed him the car a few days after his birthday and told him not to make a sound and to not let anyone see him. They then drove him deep into a scary dark forest, told him to get out of the car, then quickly drove away. His parents had just left him there with only the clothes on his back and nothing else, not even food or a bottle of water. For days he stayed in that spot, begging for his mama and papa to return, but they never did. After he had eaten all the berries he could find, he knew that he had to move on, that his parents were never coming back.

He didn't know where to go or what to do, but he knew that if he wanted to survive he had to find food. He wandered for days until one night he spotted lights in the distance...a small town. His parents had always been ashamed that they had birthed an omega son so they had kept him locked up, hidden away from everyone. The only people he had ever seen in his seven years of life was his mama, papa, his cousin, who he had only gotten to play with a few times, and his cousin's papa. No one else knew that he existed.

Going into town and being around people terrified him. His papa had told him that people would hate him because he was a freak of nature and something that shouldn't exist. He said that strangers would yell at him, call him bad named, and hit him. He didn't want people to hit him or hurt him, he was a good boy even though he was an omega. All he wanted was food, somewhere safe to live, and maybe a new mama and papa that could love an omega son.

Despite being scared of the people in the town, his need for food became too great. If he wanted to live he was going to have to risk people hurting him in order to find food. He was cautious though, he only snuck into town long after dark to steal scraps of food from the dumpsters then he would hurry back to the preserve. He only went into town when he absolutely had to, when his hunger became too great. He tried to limit his trips to twice a week at the most, this meant that he had to go days without food, but luckily the preserve was full of streams so there was always water for him to fill his empty tummy up with. It wasn't food, but at least the water helped a bit with the hunger pains.

Life wasn't easy, he had to learn how to sleep under trees or up in them, but the preserve wasn't lacking any trees. On a couple occasions he was lucky enough to find a small cave, but he never got to stay in one spot for long. Every time he tried to make himself a little home, the wolves would show up and start sniffing around.

He didn't know how, but the pack of wolves always seemed to be able to find him. He would maybe get two, three days if he was lucky, in a new place before they showed up. He was sneaky, they never saw him, not even the big black alpha with red eyes. One time she had gotten so close to him that he could have touched her soft fur, he thought for sure she would have scented him, but after a few minutes of sniffing around she moved on. He had been so scared that time that he had almost wet his pants.

With another big yawn, Stiles gave in to his exhaustion despite being cold and uncomfortable. Maybe he could borrow a blanket from the sheriff the next time he snuck in his house. He hated stealing, it was very wrong to steal, but sometimes he didn't have a choice. Sometimes you had to do bad things if you didn't want to die.

***TW

John cautiously opened his front door wondering if today he would find something missing or not in its proper place. All day while at work he wondered what was going on at his house, wondering if someone had broken in again. Why would someone break in just to watch tv and eat his pizza? It was all very strange and confusing.

Spotting his remote in its proper place, John grinned as he released the breath that he had been holding. "Right where you belong." He said with a big sigh of relief. Giving his remote a fond tap, he walked past it to check the rest of his house.

Walking down the upstairs hall, John froze when he spotted the hall closet slightly ajar. "That's not how I left you." Placing his hand on his gun, he slowly approached the closet. Now he knew for a fact that he wasn't losing his mind, he hadn't opened the hall closet since his wife passed away. There was nothing in there but a couple old blankets that hadn't been used since before Claudia got sick. They had only bought the extra blankets incase they had guests, but the both of them were only children with no other family so they never had guests stay over.

Quickly wrenching the door open, John relaxed slightly when he didn't spot somebody hiding from him. Taking stock, he noticed that a small throw blanket was missing, it had been Claudia's favorite to snuggle up in while watching tv. If it had been any other blanket missing he probably wouldn't have noticed, but Claudia had loved that blanket. Frowning, he closed the closet door then went to check out the rest of the rooms.

Search exhausted and finding nothing else missing or out of place, John went to the kitchen to poor himself a drink. He was just getting ready to turn the tap on when he noticed that the inside of the sink was wet. He had just gotten off a twelve hour shift, the inside of his sink shouldn't be wet.

John didn't know what to think. It was clear that someone was breaking into his house while he was gone, but other than the blanket and a slice of pizza, they hadn't stolen anything. Hell, they were even cleaning up after themselves. He wondered how many times they had broken in before he noticed the remote in the wrong spot? He wanted to be furious, but right now he was more curious. It seemed as though whoever was breaking in was doing so to have a safe place to stay, not to rob him blind or kill him.

Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he contemplated on whether he should call someone in from the station to set up some surveillance cameras in his house to catch his intruder, or call Talia Hale to see if she could come over and scent his intruder out. He often called Talia in on cases where he needed supernatural senses. He may be an alpha, but he was a human alpha, not a werewolf alpha like Talia.

Whoever was breaking in was breaking the law so they needed arresting, but he wanted to see who it was first before making an arrest. He was starting to think that it was someone desperately in need of help, not someone who needed to be behind bars. If he had cameras set up from the station than it would be official and he would have to make an arrest.

Mind made up, John decided to call Talia Hale. Talia had amazing supernatural senses so hopefully she would be able to shine some light on his uninvited house guest. If she failed, which he doubted, then he would see about setting up some cameras.

***TW

Stiles had a grin on his face as he rolled himself up like a burrito in his new blanket. He wanted to feel guilty for stealing the blanket from the sheriff, but it was so pretty and warm and smelled so good that he just had to have it. It was as though the blanket had been calling his name. Unlike the other blankets in the closet, this one looked to be the oldest and the most worn, he doubted that the sheriff would even notice it missing. He only stole the blanket this time though, he didn't take any food despite his tummy cramping horribly from hunger pains. He did drink a lot of water though, but taking water wasn't really stealing. Was it?

Even though he had been lonely, he had had a good day in the sheriff's house. After finding the super soft blanket, he had curled up in it on the sofa while watching cartoons. His mama and papa never allowed him to watch tv or sit on the side, he wasn't even allowed to leave the small room they kept him in unless they needed him to do a chore. It was so nice to lay on the soft sofa that smelled like the sheriff and watch cartoons without getting yelled at. He just wished that he could stay in the house forever instead of hiding in the cold, dark shed. Being in a warm house for hours made the shed feel even colder when he had to go back to it. Still, the shed was better than nothing.

He just prayed that the wolves wouldn't track him here and make him leave the sheriff. Hopefully since wolves didn't like people and he was at someone's home, the wolves would stay far away. Even though he never talked to the sheriff, he really liked the man. He liked looking at the pictures that the man had in his house and pretending that he was in them too, that the sheriff and his wife were his parents. The sheriff was a very big man, but he had very kind eyes. He wished that his papa had kind eyes like the sheriff. Maybe if the sheriff had been his papa the man would have kept him instead of throwing him away like trash. He really didn't want to have to leave the sheriff so he was going to pray extra hard that the wolves wouldn't find him.

***TW

"Talia!" John greeted with a smile and a handshake. "I'm so glad you could make it on such short notice."

Talia took the sheriff's hand, but her focus was on the scent coming from inside the man's home. It was the scent that she had been trying to track down for over a year now. "Sheriff, you know that I'm always available for you." She said kindly. She really liked Sheriff Stillinski, he was a kind and fair man. Claudia, his wife, had also been her best friend ever since they were little girls.

John opened the door wider so Talia could enter his home. "Well, like I explained over the phone, someone has been breaking in while I'm at work, but they're not really robbing me or causing mischief. All they have taken so far was Claudia's old blanket and a slice of leftover pizza. I believe that they have also been watching my tv."

Talia could easily scent the intruder just like all the other times she scented the stranger in the preserve, but just like all the other times, she couldn't pinpoint exactly where they were, or who or what they were. The scent was pleasing, like strawberries and the forest after a hot summer's rain, but it was like the scent was everywhere, but nowhere at the same time. It was very confusing and it had been driving her crazy ever since she first picked it up while out for a run over a year ago.

"I have good and bad news for you, John." Talia sighed. "Someone has most definitely been in your home, but unfortunately I can't track him or her for you. There is something strange and confusing about this strangers scent and this isn't the first time I have scented him. I first came across the scent a year ago deep in the preserve, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find the person or thing behind the scent. Ever since then I have tracked him multiple times throughout the preserve, but no matter how close I got, I couldn't pinpoint his exact location. One time I knew that I was close, not only could I taste his fear of me, but I could also hear his heart racing, but it was like all my senses were scrambled and I couldn't find his exact location."

John ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Please tell me that that wasn't the good news."

"No." Talia softly giggled. "The good news is, I don't think that this person or thing is a threat. The fear of me I sensed from him that day, it was so strong, unlike anything I have ever felt before. I know they have been sneaking into town to steal from the dumpsters, I have seen trash from the diner. I also know that this person or thing isn't very big at all. The areas that he finds to sleep are alway small, like child small. I don't know if we're dealing with a kid here, and I mean under the age of ten, or a small creature we have yet to face."

"Would a human or were kid be able to trick your senses like this?"

Talia shook her head no. "None that I have ever encountered before. Honestly, John, this scent has been driving me insane for a year. Every night I go out and search for it hoping to find and help whoever it is. I honestly don't believe that this mystery person is a threat, I just believe that they're lonely and scared and in need of help."

It was weird, John didn't feel threatened by this mystery person either. "Looks as though I'm going to have to get creative to see if I can draw my little mystery guest out."

"A hint, if it were me, a sure fire way to draw me out is by leaving out a big bowl of chocolates." Talia said with a wink. "Just saying, everyone loves chocolate."

John smirked. "Isn't chocolate bad for do..."

"Don't finish that sentence." Talia growled playfully as she glared at her friend.

John started laughing, he loved teasing Talia. "Thank you so much for coming out, I'll let you know how it goes."

"Be careful, John." Talia said sincerely. "I don't feel that this person or thing is dangerous, but even the most docile of creatures can attack when cornered. Please call me if you need any help."

"Will do, and don't worry about me, I'm a tough old alpha."

TW

John placed a bowl with exactly twenty five Hershey Kisses in it on his coffee table then placed a clean white pillow on the sofa. He was hoping that his mystery guest will use the pillow and leave some hairs behind. He wanted some kind of physical proof that someone was making themselves at home in his home while he was at work. He would have liked to have set up some cameras, but he didn't want to involve the station.

After talking with Talia, he was feeling even more confused. What kind of creature could trick an alphas werewolf's senses, it should be impossible? Talia was one hell of a tracker, he had never known her to fail. Whatever they were dealing with, it was either extremely cleaver, or a creature that they have never encountered before with powers to trick weres. He didn't know which one he would prefer.

Taking one last look around, he turned and left the house, locking the door behind him.

***TW

Stiles waited and waited before creeping out of the shed with his blanket clutched tightly around him and approaching the Sheriff's house. Placing his hand over the lock of the back door, he closed his eyes and concentrated hard. In his head he imagined the lock turning and the door opening. When exactly that happened, Stiles let out a little whoop of joy then quickly rushed in the house before someone spotted him.

He didn't know why or how he could do weird things like unlocking locked doors or making apples fall from the top branches, but he had always been able to do weird things. He never dared show his mama and papa what he could do, they would have killed him. His parents already thought he was a freak for being a male omega, they didn't need to know that he also could do weird things with his mind and just by wishing something would happen.

Carefully closing the door behind him, Stiles happily sprinted through the kitchen then launched himself onto the soft sofa. The sofa was so soft and inviting, it was his most favorite place in the whole world. He wondered if the sheriff loved the sofa as much as he did? He wished that he could snuggle on the sofa with the sheriff. The sheriff had big, thick arms, they looked perfect for snuggling. Would the sheriff hate a male omega like him as much as his mama and papa?

Sighing loudly, Stiles reached for the remote then snuggled deep into his blanket. He was just getting ready to click the tv on, when he spotted a bowl full of candy...instantly his mouth flooded with drool. His mama had once given him a chocolate after it had dropped on the floor and he could still remember how it tasted as it melted on his tongue. He had never tasted anything so wonderful before.

Fearfully looking around the room, a habit he picked up at home because he was always getting yelled at or hit, Stiles quickly reached out, snatched a chocolate, then with lightning speed unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth. Moaning loudly, he laid back on the couch as he let the sugary treat slowly melt on his tongue. It was so good, better even than what he remembered. It was so good, that he could easily eat the entire bowl, but that would be very bad of him and mean to the sheriff. Maybe it would be ok if he had two more pieces...just two. These pieces he wouldn't eat now though, he would save them for later. Plucking two more brightly wrapped chocolates from the bowl, he placed them on the couch next to him then turned the tv on. As much as he loved cartoons, it was hard to concentrate on Sponge Bob when his eyes kept drifting to the chocolates. He wanted his last two pieces now, he was so hungry, but he was use to hunger. He would save one piece to eat before bed, then he would eat the last piece in the morning. He could wait that long to eat them...he could!

***TW

For the first time since his wife passed, John was anxious to get home. He didn't even work a double shift, which was rare for him. He just couldn't wait to see if his little visitor took the bait. He had briefly thought about drugging the chocolates, making it so his guest would fall into a deep sleep, but he wanted to gain the person's or creature's trust. He trusted Talia with his life, if she felt that this individual wasn't a threat, then he was going to try to befriend it before resulting to something as drastic as drugging or arresting it.

Stepping through his front door, John smirked when the first thing he spotted was the pillow, the white pillow that now had a small indent in it. Rushing to the candy dish, he quickly tipped it over and counted the chocolates. "There's three missing!" He crowed triumphantly. He was impressed that his visitor only took three pieces, Hershey Kisses were hard to resist and he had been known to polish of an entire bag in one sitting.

Checking his remote, John was impressed to see that it was exactly in it's proper place. This person was good at covering their tracks, if it hadn't been for that little remote slip up a few days ago, he probably would have never suspected that someone was breaking in and making themselves at home while he was at work.

Looking back to the pillow, John grinned as he plucked a couple strands of brown hair off of it, he also couldn't help but notice that his once white pillow was now very dirty. Whoever was breaking into his house was filthy.

Even though he knew his uninvited guest was gone, he decided to check every room anyway. It seems that his uninvited guest was just looking for a safe and warm spot to rest their head and watch some tv for a few hours. They weren't destroying the house, stealing things, or even really eating all his food. He didn't count a slice of pizza, a warm blanket, and a few pieces of candy as stealing. He was actually worried that his intruder had only taken a single slice of pizza and some small pieces of candy in the three days that he has known about them. Hopefully they were getting food somewhere else.

John snorted out loud. Was he truly worried about the person breaking into his home? He should be furious that someone was making themselves at home in his home, not worried about them. But, there was just something about this intruder, a feeling he was getting, that this individual needed his help, needed him. He couldn't explain it, but he knew that there was something special about his uninvited guest.

***TW

With his blanket draped over his shoulders and held securely in his arms, Stiles slowly shuffled towards the sheriff's house. He wasn't feeling good at all today. He didn't know why, but he felt as though he was both freezing and on fire all at the same time. His throat also hurt and his chest burned every time he inhaled. All he wanted to do was curl up on the sheriff's sofa and go to sleep. That wasn't true, all he really wanted to do was curl up on the sheriff's lap and have the strong man take care of him and protect him. He didn't even want his mama and papa anymore, they never cared for him. He wanted the sheriff.

It took Stiles longer than normal to use his freak powers to open the sheriff's back door, he just didn't have the energy. Feeling something drip onto his top lip, he brushed it away with his finger, only to whimper when his finger came away coated with his blood. Why was his nose bleeding? He didn't like blood, it made him queasy to his stomach and reminded him of all the time his papa beat him. Not having anything to clean his nose with, he used the collar of his shirt to catch the blood still running from his nose before it got on his warm blanket.

With tears falling, Stiles made his way to the couch and literally fell onto it. His entire body was trembling and his legs could no longer support him. He didn't even have the strength to properly lay his blanket over him, most of it was trapped under him.

Feeling the burning in his lungs increase, he started coughing hoping to help alleviate it, but all that did was make the burning worse and him need to cough even more. Bleeding nose forgotten, he curled up into a tight ball and cried himself to sleep.

Stiles bolted awake when he heard a door slam. Head pounding and body trembling, he rolled off the couch and onto his his hands and knees. Looking wildly out the window, his heart started racing when he saw that the sun was up. The sheriff had worked the night shift last night, so the door slamming must have been him.

On unsteady feet, he jumped up, only to crash into the coffee table knocking it over when his world started spinning. He had to get out of the house before the sheriff came in, but he felt like he was dying. Everything still hurt on him, especially his chest and head. His hands were shaking uncontrollably and sweat was pouring down his face making his damp hair stick to his face. He must be really sick if he slept the entire time the sheriff was gone.

Scrambling on his hands and knees, he crawled into the kitchen then used one of the kitchen chairs to help pull himself up onto his feet. His head was spinning and he was swaying on his feet, but he managed to stay standing. Looking back to the living room, he cried out in despair when he spotted his precious blanket still on the floor. He couldn't risk going back to get it, he didn't have enough time. With one last longing glance at his blanket, he stumbled out the backdoor, not even bothering to shut it behind him. Everything was spinning and all he could see was black, he had to make it to the shed before he passed out.

***TW

John stood frozen in shock with his hand still on the handle of his front door. His living room was an absolute disaster. The cushions on his couch were knocked off, his coffee table was flipped over, his missing blanket was laying on the floor, and from what he could see from where he was standing, one of his kitchen chairs was pulled out to the middle of the kitchen and his backdoor was wide open. It looked as though a tornado had torn a path from his living room to his kitchen, then out the back door.

"What the hell!" John cursed. He must have caught his uninvited guest by surprise. Closing the front door behind him, he walked to his couch to straighten it up. As he was reaching for the closest pillow, his hand froze hovering above it. There was blood all over the cushion. Concerned, he tossed the cushions onto the couch then picked up the blanket...it too had splotches of blood all over it.

Carelessly tossing the blanket onto the couch, he sprinted through the kitchen and out the backdoor. His mystery guest couldn't have gotten far, not if he was here seconds ago when he got home.

John didn't have far to go, just a few steps out his backdoor a small body was laying motionless in the grass. Rushing to it, he knelt on the ground and carefully turned it onto his back. "Sweet Jesus." He cried when he saw that his mystery guest was just a young boy. A very sick young boy judging by the heat he could feel radiating off of him.

The boy, who couldn't be much older than seven just by looking at his size, looked as though he had been living on his own for a very long time. His brown hair, which fell to just below his ears, was dirty, knotted, damp with sweat and stuck to the boy's flushed cheeks. The clothes he was wearing were so old that they were damn near falling apart at the seems. If he had to guess, he would say that the boy had been wearing the same clothes for months. There was dried blood on the boy's top lip, on his nose, and streaked across his cheek, he must have had a nose bleed earlier.

Scooping up the small child, who was dangerously underweight, John rushed back inside his house and very gently placed him on his sofa. He was worried that the child hadn't woken or even stirred when he picked him up. His instincts were screaming at him to rush the boy to the hospital, but he still wasn't sure if this child was human or not. The last thing he wanted to do was take a sick and scared were-creature to the hospital.

Digging his phone out from his pocket, he quickly dialed Talia. "He's just a little boy and he's sick and hurt!" He blurted out when his friend answered the phone. "I don't know if he's human or not, but he needs help now!"

"On my way with Deaton." Talia replied before promptly hanging up.

Placing his phone back in his pocket, John ran a shaky hand through his hair. "It's going to be okay, kid, I've got you now." He didn't know what to do, the kid was burning up and not responding. He was breathing, which he thanked god for, but it was loud and raspy like his lungs were filled with fluid. The poor child looked like hell. It broke his heart knowing that this small boy had been breaking into his home all this time and he hadn't done more to help. He had so many questions, the most important though, why was a kid this young on his own?

Talia didn't bother knocking before barging into the sheriff's house with her emissary, Deaton trailing behind her. Inhaling deeply, she was flooded with the scent she had been tracking for over a year.

John looked up, his eyes showing his fear. "He's burning up!"

Deaton rushed around his alpha and knelt besides the sheriff. "You found him like this?" He asked as he got to work on the boy.

"No, he was passed out in my backyard." John explained. "I must have frightened him when I got home."

Talia was standing behind the couch looking anxiously down at the small, dirty child. "Deaton, his scent is the one I told you about a while ago, the one that I was having trouble tracking?"

"The one you have been tracking through the preserve for over a year?" Deaton asked with wide eyes.

"A year." John mumbled numbly. Had this poor child been living on his own in the preserve for a year?

Talia inclined her head. "Even now, standing this close to him, his scent confuses me. I have never smelled anything like him before."

"That's because coming across someone like him is about a one and ten million chance." Deaton said without looking up from what he was doing. "The child has a severe case of pneumonia, he's also dehydrated and malnourished. He's in bad shape, but I think we can treat him here without taking him to the hospital. I think waking in the hospital will do this little one more harm than good."

"What did you mean by one in ten million?" Talia asked with a frown.

"Is he human?" John asked at the same.

Deaton opened his bag and started pulling what supplies he needed out of it. If the child was going to make it, he was going to have to start an IV for fluids and antibiotics. "The boy is human, but he's very special. I have never before come across one myself, but I have heard stories."

John was ready to pull his hair out. He didn't know how Talia could deal with Deaton on a daily basis, the man was a royal pain in the ass who didn't know how to give a straight answer.

Sensing the sheriff's frustration, Deaton decided to stop messing with him. "The boy is a male omega."

"I have never heard of a male omega." Talia said breathlessly.

Deaton looked up at his alpha then inclined his head towards the boy as he held up the IV needle. Understanding what her emissary was asking, she placed her hand on the boy's arm and started drawing out his pain.

"Thank you," Deaton said softly and he carefully inserted the IV in the child's arm. He didn't want the pain from the IV waking the boy. He had a feeling that the boy was going to wake like a frightened rabbit so he was going to give him something to keep him asleep for a while to give the antibiotics and fluids a chance to do their job.

"A male omega is about as rare as a true alpha." Deaton explained. "But, even though they are human, male omegas have what is known as spark inside of them. This spark gives them magical powers, and the level of power depends on the omega. I'm guessing it's his spark that's confusing your senses. At his age he wouldn't have much control over his spark, my guess is he saw you as a wolf and got scared. His spark responded to that fear by making it hard for you to scent and track him."

John was already feeling overly protective of the boy, but being an alpha, hearing that the child was a rare male omega only increased that overly protective feeling. Like Talia, he had never heard of a male omega before, but omegas were precious and valued. Over the past fifty years the birth of omegas have decreased drastically. They were lucky if five thousand omegas world wide were born a year.

Sensing her friend's feelings, Talia reached out and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He'll be alright, Deaton will take care of him. If you like, I can take him home with me."

"No!" John snapped before he even had a chance to think about what he was saying. Just the thought of the boy leaving him made him panic.

"John?" Talia asked with a knowing smirk.

John reached out and took the boy's dirty hand. "It's just, out of all the houses, he chose this one. He must feel safe here, and if he wakes in a strange place around strange people, he may panic and run."

"I agree with the sheriff." Deaton said. "Until we know where he came from and what his story is, I think he will be safer here."

"Safer?" Talia frowned. "Do you think he is in danger?"

Deaton shrugged. "He's a male omega and a spark, there are a lot of people that would like to get their hands on him, especially hunters. For now, I think we should keep his existence just between the three of us. In the mean time, just to be safe, I'm going to make something that will make him smell like a beta."

"Can you find out more about male omegas?" John asked, wanting to do whatever he can for the small boy.

Deaton inclined his head. "I'll discreetly ask around."

"John, what about work? You can't leave him by himself, especially being sick." Talia asked in concern.

John couldn't take his eyes off of the sick little boy unconscious on his sofa. "I haven't taken a day off in years, not since Claudia's funeral. I'll take a few days off until we can figure things out or find his parents." It hurt to say that, he didn't want to find the boy's parents. He wanted the boy, more than what he's ever wanted anything before in his life. If the child had parents, where the hell were they? No missing child reports have come through his office in the last two years. If he had parents, they weren't looking for him.

"When he wakes, he's going to be terrified." Talia warned. "Keep calm, keep your voice soft, and try to keep yourself at his level. He will feel less threatened if you aren't towering over him."

"Don't feed him heavy foods." Deaton warned. "This child hasn't had a decent meal in a long time. His stomach is going to have to relearn how to work properly and heavy foods will only make him throw up."

John looked to Talia for help. "I-I don't have anything like that here. All I have is leftover take out and frozen dinners."

Talia frowned with disapproval. "How many times do I have to tell you that you have an open invitation to eat with us? John, you are considered pack."

John blushed at hearing that. "I know, but you know how crazy work is."

"I understand that you have a demanding job, John, but you need to take better care of yourself." Talia knew that John worked brutal hours as a way to deal with the loss of his wife. John had loved Claudia with all his heart. Even after all these years, he still couldn't bring himself to see other women. He once told her that he felt like he would be cheating if he dated.

"I'll go home and make some soups for you to feed him. If he wakes while I'm gone, offer him some toast. Do you have any fruit?"

John just looked blankly at his fried.

"Of course not." Talia sighed. "If it's not something you can't fry or drown in bacon grease you don't have it."

"Love you to!" John winked.

Talia shook her head. "You're incorrigible, John Stillinski. I'll be back in a few hours."

"I'll return with Talia to check on him and see to his IV, but if you need me before then then don't hesitate to call. In an emergency you can also contact Melissa McCall, she can be trusted."

John tried to hide his blush, but he knew from the knowing look on Talia's face that he had failed miserably.

"It's alright to like Nurse McCall." Talia said softly. "Claudia would want you to be happy."

John knew that Claudia wouldn't want him to be alone, but he wasn't ready yet to open his heart to another woman. Claudia had been his everything and even though he had strong feelings for Nurse McCall, he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to give her the kind of love that he had given his Claudia. Melissa McCall was an amazing and beautiful woman, she deserved a man that could be one hundred percent devoted to her, not still pining after his dead wife.