Mated

Chapter One - First Moon

Stiles closed his eyes against the dim light pouring in from the window. A full moon shone bright in the sky tonight. Ever since Scott had revealed a whole new world to him, nights like these always made him feel uneasy. Stiles wasn't stupid. He knew how dangerous it was. He threw his head back and sighed. Another restless night.

               —•☽♡❍♡☾•—

Derek pointed his face skyward. He could feel the power flowing through his veins. The primal part of him was rising to the surface. He felt invincible. In his head he could hear his heartbeat. His and one others.

Stiles.

Yes, his heartbeat was slowing down now. Becoming calm and steady. Within an hour, the boy would be asleep. Derek didn't have anything to do tonight. That meant he could go and guard Stiles.

Maybe humans would find that creepy. Stiles definitely would. But Derek protected those he cared for. That was... An instinct for him. Humans are so vulnerable when they sleep. They're weak even when they're awake and alert. In their sleep they might as well be wounded kittens. So fragile and easy to kill. Derek always had the nagging thought in the back of his head that something might happen to Stiles. He... Just wanted to be sure. Especially on nights like these. The full moon. The most dangerous nights of all. All sorts of things lingered in the night. Lurking in the dark. A human like Stiles was an easy target.

So that's how Derek ended up where he always did on free nights. Scaling the side of Stiles' house and hoisting himself up onto his roof. He crawled down the side and slid down onto the overhang outside Stiles' bedroom window. His eyes glowed in the darkness. He could see the sleeping boy clearly. Derek's senses were unusually sharp on a normal day. On the full moon? He could hear the music a mile away on the next street. It was Hey There Delilah. He could smell Stiles shampoo. A simple coconut shampoo. Dollar store brand. His sheets had been washed recently, but Derek could tell by the smell that he hadn't changed his pillowcases. They also smelled like his shampoo. Derek inhaled deeply. Underneath all of the soap and deodorant, he could still smell Stiles' natural musk. Derek growled low in his throat, his claws extending. He loved that smell.

Stiles whimpered, turning in his sleep. A new smell rolled at Derek in waves. Pungent and sharp. Fear. The hairs on the back of Derek's neck rose.

Stiles was dreaming of Scott. In his dream, Scott had lost control of the wolf. He was hiding in Scott's closet covered in Lydia's blood, waiting for death.

He shouldn't. Really. He shouldn't do it. But as he watched the human struggle on the bed, Derek knew he couldn't sit there and watch.

With a sigh, he lifted his legs and slipped them through the open window. Stiles always kept the window open in case there was an emergency and they needed to get him in the night. So Derek easily entered. His boots landed heavily on the carpet. To him, it was very loud. But to a human like Stiles it was a soft sound. He wouldn't notice it even if he was awake. Another reason why he needed to be protected.

Derek pushed that thought out of his mind for the moment and quietly walked over to stand beside Stiles' bed. For a moment, he just stared down at the human boy. He was tossing and turning, fussing into the pillow he was desperately clutching.

"I'm here." He said quietly. What was he doing? Stiles couldn't hear him. This was so weird. He wasn't used to showing affection. Not since his Laura died. He had forgotten how. Derek growled, thinking back on old memories. Memories from his childhood. They seemed so far away. But Derek could remember one thing that he used to do for Laura when she was scared.

Derek reached over and grabbed Stiles' hand. He pressed his thumb into the side of Stiles' hand and rubbed it in what he hoped were comforting circles. Stiles reacted immediately. His hand tightened around Derek's fingers and tried to pull him closer.

"Don't worry." Derek said unsurely. "I'll protect you."

It was what he always used to say to his sister when she was scared. Now that he repeated it, he realized how true it was. He'd always protect Stiles.

Soon after Stiles calmed down and fell back into his deep stupor. Derek's face burned in embarrassment and swiftly left. Stiles clenched his hand around the last bit of heat from Derek's hand. The next morning when he awoke he had no memory of Derek being there at all.