Sterek Stories - A Collection - I

Anchor - Part 3

Lydia lifts her face a little for Jackson to press a kiss on her cheek. He obliges willingly, passing her on his way down the porch steps and onto the lawn. Isaac and Erica are already there, the female werewolf jabbing the taller boy in his sides and darting away before he can swipe at her. Boyd follows Jackson, a tall shadow passing Lydia quietly. She settles the cashmere wrap more firmly around her shoulders. Fall has definitely set in this week, there's a chill to the air that wasn't there before.

"You coming?" she hears Scott say behind her. It's not meant for her though, he's talking to Stiles who hovers in the door opening. He makes a non-committal sound, probably accompanied with a shrug of his shoulders. Stiles never talks with his mouth alone.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Scott adds, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"We need a referee, Stiles!" Erica yells over, even though she doesn't have to yell anymore for Stiles to hear her perfectly from that distance.

"Yeah," Isaac chimes in. "Someone needs to stop this one from cheating!" He jabs Erica on her side for emphasis. The girl rounds on him and shoves him backwards in retaliation, which leads to a playful shoving match. Isaac shoves Erica into Boyd, who catches her with one arm and gives her a helping push to launch herself at Isaac again.

Usually, Stiles would be all over it, cheering them on from a not so safe distance. It wouldn't be the first time that Derek or Boyd had to pull him out of the way before one of the werewolves came careening into him. Most of the time it wasn't until the claws and fangs really came out that Stiles retreated back to the porch to watch the Betas train, together with Lydia.

Now, Stiles is nervous. Lydia doesn't need the sharp nose of a werewolf to confirm that the boy feels less than comfortable being out here. She knows the reason too, will always be grateful for the way Stiles shoved her out of the path of danger. It's one of the reasons why she can stand here without being afraid: the pack will protect her, like they will protect each one of their own.

Stiles has followed Scott out onto the porch, though he stays away from the steps. His eyes dart from the wolves who are roughhousing on the lawn to the tree line and back again, never resting in one place. His hand scratches absently at his jaw and ear, where Lydia can see the fur coming out. It probably itches a bit. The full moon is in less than a week and although it should have been the first time Stiles would have shifted, she has seen him in partial shift a couple of times already. She's a little disappointed she hasn't been present to see his full fox form yet, but Lydia is a patient woman when she needs to be. She can wait, even though she is fairly certain she could pester Stiles into changing into a fox: there is a clear link between his emotions and his shift. Nerves and anger seem to have the biggest effect, probably triggering some fight or flight reflex that has his body changing into that of the swift animal. Judging by the way Stiles' human ears disappear among the fur, making way for the furry triangles a little higher on his head, the boy doesn't want to be here.

Derek is the last one to come out of the house, dressed in cheap black sweatpants and a wife beater that has a small hole near the hem. His clothes often don't survive fight training with the betas, not with the way he lets them come at him with their destructive claws. She'd fussed over the necessity of it all, the violence and destruction of garments, yet Jackson assured her not having to pull their punches made a huge difference. And Derek would heal. No matter how bloody it got, the biggest victim at the end of it all was often Stiles' bottom lip, after he worried at it with his teeth, eyes anxiously following Derek and his culminating injuries. His lip was probably grateful for the newly gained healing factor.

The Alpha doesn't even look at her, his gaze immediately falling on Stiles. He pauses next to the boy briefly, telling him he can go back inside if he wants. Lydia rolls her eyes. As if Stiles would admit to being nervous to Derek of all people. Especially now.