Chapter 33

Stiles felt his back burn when he woke up. He tried to sit up and wanted to roll away from the sensation, but he couldn't move.

His breathing was harsh and laboring. It felt like he was on fire. He then was roughly pulled up and away from where he was lying. He blinked his eyes open and saw Derek lying unconscious on the floor. Burns were on his arms and part of his face where Stiles couldn't reach.

Stiles wanted to scream for Derek. He needed to be okay. He needed to be safe! Why wasn't he healing? Why wasn't he awake?

Stiles didn't even register the fact that his healing was also very slow. Or that he was pulled further away from Derek. When his hearing slowly returned, he heard screaming, and it took him a moment before he knew it was him.

He was screaming for Derek to wake up. But Derek still didn't move. Then Stiles saw someone move towards Derek, and Stiles lost it. His wolf came forward, ripping his clothes apart. He lunged at the figure, ripping out his throat.

Stiles finally saw Derek stir, and he ran towards him, but he was shot in his flank three times and fell down.

He howled, and Derek responded instantly. He sat up while wincing and searching frantically for Stiles.

''STILES!'' Derek bellowed, also wolfing out.

It was the last thing Stiles heard before everything went dark again.

***

Derek sat up when he heard the heartbreaking howl of Stiles. When he opened his eyes, everything was out of focus from the blast, his arms and a part of his face ached with pain, and he knew that there was wolfsbane in his wounds.

He finally found Stiles, whithering in his wolf form on the floor, three darts sticking out of his sides.

''STILES!'' But he already saw that Stiles was losing focus and was closing his eyes. Probably a sedative in the darts that made him like that.

Derek saw a man coming towards him with a gun, and he growled before lunging at the man, disarming him with a simple trick he had learned from Braeden.

He raked his claws over the man's throat, and he dropped like a stone while clutching his slashed open throat.

When Derek turned around to look at other threats, he felt his limbs seize, and his body freeze. He growled at the feeling. He was paralyzed, but not dropping onto the floor like with the Kanima.

He grounded his teeth because he remembered Tessa telling him about this, about how Stiles felt when the witch from the compound did this to him.

And sure enough, a woman walked into his line of view, he snarled at her, but she just grinned at him with too many teeth. Her lips were painted like blood, and her blonde hair was pulled back tight into a ponytail.

''Another puppy, you two are just too cute. No wonder he never wanted to play with me.'' She said in a childish voice, making Derek roar at her. How dare she threaten Stiles. How dare she touch him!

''Mmhh, I think we are going to have a lot of fun. Now you only need to help us find the bitch who thought it was a good idea to throw me through a fucking bolted door. Because I need to repay her for that.'' She said with a snarl.

''I'm not telling you anything.'' Derek snapped back.

''Tut-tut-tut. Why do you have to be so harsh?'' She said with a pout. Then she smiled again, and Derek flinched back. Her eyes shone red, not like an Alpha wolf, but more from raw power and blood.

''We are going to have so much fun.'' She then purred before she touched Derek on his forehead, and he blacked out.

***

Stiles awoke with a start, he wanted to flinch from the pain he was feeling, but he couldn't move. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was bound with his hands over his head; his ankles were also bound. He was against a wall, and it was very uncomfortable.

He turned his head and flinched when he saw Derek next to him, bound similarly, Derek wasn't wearing a shirt. Stiles wasn't wearing anything. He remembered shredding his clothes when he turned into wolf form, so it wasn't a complete surprise.

''Der- Derek, wake up for me, please, please, please, Derek, please wake up!'' Stiles pleaded with tears in his eyes. He knew Derek was alive, he could hear his heartbeat, but he needed him to be okay.

Derek seemed to hear him because he groaned for a moment until he opened his eyes. He flinched for a moment before he saw Stiles.

''Stiles! Thank the gods. You're okay.''

''I don't know how we could count this as being okay, but yeah, I'm fine. Do you know what happened? I saw a grenade, but when I woke up, I was being dragged away, and - I think I killed one of the attackers, but I don't know who they were.''

Derek looked constipated for a moment before he started to talk.

''It were your captors. Tessa told me about a witch? She is with them, at least. So I think it's them again. I'm so sorry, Stiles. I will do anything to get you out of this.'' Derek looked so apologetic that it made Stiles's heart burst with love for this man.

But he still flinched from the information. Fuck his life. Why was he captured again? Why did they need him?

''You couldn't do anything, Der, if the witch is with them.'' Stiles finally mumbled.

''I do wonder how they found me. Maybe it wasn't that hard. It was pretty logical that I would return to Beacon Hills. Why now? And how did they knew I would be at the loft again?'' He started to think but couldn't think of logical reasoning for how they could've known unless they were tailing him for a certain amount of time.

But he didn't have a standard schedule. So tailing would be an explanation.

''I don't know either, but we will get out of this. I still need to take you out.'' Derek said with determination.

''Like on a date of with a sniper?'' Stiles joked, trying to ease the tension a little, and he still didn't have a good brain to mouth filter.

''Sometimes I can't believe I love you,'' Derek said fondly. Stiles froze, and Derek also seemed to freeze when he thought again of what he said.

''Fuck.'' Derek breathed out, cursing himself for letting that tidbit slip.

''You love me?'' Stiles croaked out, trying to get a better look at Derek's face. He hadn't heard a bleep in his heartbeat. And Stiles was over the fucking moon! He knew he loved Derek. Hell, he had loved the Sourwolf for the better part of two years.

Derek seemed to ponder if he could break away and run before he looked resigned and took a deep gulp of air.

''Yeah, yeah, I do.'' He finally answered.

''Fuck, going from our first kiss - which was awesome, by the way - to our first love confession. We only go all-in, don't we?'' Stiles said with the biggest smile on his face.

Derek chuckled a little but seemed uncomfortable. And Stiles realized he hadn't said it back yet.

''Der-''

''PUPPIES!!!'' Came a high pitched voice from the other side of the room. Derek and Stiles both flinched from the sound and glared at the witch-bitch that strode in.

''Ahhhh, you were already awake. I wanted to wake you up.'' She said with a pout. Stiles was already snarling at her, especially when she came too close to Derek.

He saw Derek flinch when she touched his cheek with her hand, caressing his face, and Stiles wanted to tear the offending hand of her body.

She then aimed her eyes at Stiles, and he roared at her. She needed to leave Derek alone.

''Puppy, I've missed you. Are you going to behave now? Because we just started a new ring here, and we really wanted you in it again, but no more losing on purpose; otherwise, your boyfriend here will get your punishment.'' She then slapped Derek's cheek two times while smirking at Stiles.

''What? Why do you want me in that stupid ring!? I'm not special!'' He roared at her, rage roaring through him from the injustice of it all. He didn't want Derek to get hurt, but he also didn't want to fight in the ring. But he knew he would always choose Derek's safety above all.

Amber scoffed at him and turned fully to him.

''You are a bitten spark that became an Alpha werewolf. You can turn fully into a wolf, a thing bitten wolves never can. You are a rarity. You don't look strong, well, you do have muscles, but look at your boyfriend here. If you two entered the ring, everybody would bet on him. But you would come out of the fight as the winner. We all know it. So Stiles, what will it be. Are you going to fight for us? Or do you think your boyfriend would like special treatment from me?''

''Don't do it, Stiles! You know she will still do it to me.'' Derek said desperately.