Chapter Text
Once, there had been a time when Scott had his pack, the people he loved and cherished above all else, with their quirks and weaknesses and troubled history that left them all scarred, fractured - but never broken. But they had been his. His to love and to protect, even though in the end, he had failed at this, and failed miserably. He'd had this one duty, and he hadn't even been able to fulfil it.
After the supernatural creatures had been revealed to the world, the hunters, and a lot of ordinary people had all rallied against them in their crusade against all things unnatural. Werewolves, wendigos, banshees, even druids had been hunted down and killed without mercy. They had become nearly extinct, and those who survived needed to hide on the outskirts of civilization, banned from human towns and cities.
The emissaries (or what was left of them) had not been able to advise why the universe failed to regain its balance. So many deaths, so many lives lost, and all too soon, the supernatural community had been too decimated to defend itself. And it had seemed that nothing could tip the scales back to their favor anymore.
At least, that was what Scott had thought until Alan found Scott after years of not seeing each other, and told him why the world was so out of balance without any signs of getting better.
“After a massacre of this scale, this world-wide wipe out of supernatural beings - to regain a state of equilibrium after something like that, the universe would need to reset itself so much it could no longer be done in this timeline. So, in order to save the world which is already lost, one must actually prevent this all from happening in the first place,” the druid said, his face scarred and one eye missing from its socket, a black patch hiding it from the view.
Scott would have wept seeing that, if he wasn’t so relieved at the mere fact that Deaton was alive . Even if his words were as vague as ever.
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” he stammered. “Time travel is actually possible?”
“It’s not only possible, it’s a necessity. The balance must be maintained at all costs. All other laws this world has ever known are secondary to that. It is the balance that rules and trumples all.”
So the only question remaining was…
“Why me?” Scott asked, feeling the all-too familiar doubt settling in his stomach. He had failed this world once. What made Alan so sure he won’t do it again?
“Because you’re you. Because you’re a True Alpha. And because you are even more than that, and your journey is not over yet.”
Vague was not enough of a word to describe Deaton’s way of speaking, Scott realized. This whole idea, it was madness. A pure, lock-me-in-Eichen-House madness.
But despite that, he decided to go with Alan’s harebrained scheme this one last time. After all, he had nothing to lose, and the whole world to gain. Or regain.
* * *
Waking up in his younger body left Scott gasping for breath from the shock of the transition. With shaking hands and sweat dripping down his torso, he sat up gingerly, feeling weak and dizzy. His teenage room looked faintly familiar, with clothes and school notes scattered everywhere which had always infuriated his mom to no end.
Scott hid his face in still shaking hands. He will do it. He will gather his pack again and do his best to protect them from harm. Oh, he was certain he couldn't save everyone and be everywhere at all times. But with his foreknowledge, he could actually make well-informed decisions, avoid traps he knew would be there and use his experience to overcome the new ones.
He could do it. Because this time he actually knew what was at stake if he failed.
The first thing he did was to check the date on his phone. It was a few days after he was bitten (and he knew that since Stiles in his past? future? had insisted on celebrating his Becoming-Werewolf Day each year). So, he should have already met Allison, and talked with Stiles about his changes such as heightened senses. Probably, they had already met with Derek in the woods while searching for his inhalator, but not much else.
Derek. Even the mere reminder of him was painful to think about. Grumpy, sullen Derek with his big heart and protective streak a mile long. Sharp on the edges, always keeping his distance Derek who somehow wormed his way to Scott's heart and his life without him noticing until it was a done deed.
His mentor, not an alpha or beta, but simply a friend. And part of the pack, as much as Derek had always protested against that.
Well, he will not be doing much protesting any longer, if Scott had his say in this. But for now, the school. This was the easy part, right? He had already graduated once. Doing it again should be like a walk in the park, surely.
* * *
School was at the same time the best thing and the worst thing that happened to him, and for exactly the same reason. Because most of the people he cared about were there, alive, carefree and acting as teenagers they were. Lydia and Jackson with their dysfunctional relationship which covered the fact that they truly cared for each other, but actually hated being a couple, Allison which was still trying to find her footing in a new school, and nerdy, loyal Stiles who never shut up and Scott actually loved it about him. Hell, he even caught a glimpse of Isaac, shy and isolated, trying to disappear from everyone's notice.
It was painful and heart-wrenching to see it.
Of course, Stiles noticed that something was off, because well, he was Stiles. It was his job to know things.
"Hey dude, you nervous about lacrosse tryouts? Or is it about, you know, the strange wolfy thing that happened to you in the woods?"
Scott sighed. "None. Both. I don't know, Stiles. As much as you have joked the other day about me being a werewolf and howling to the moon, it hits too close to the truth for it to be funny."
The playful grin on the other boy's face turned more serious.
"You're not pulling my leg here, Scotty, right?"
"Not about something like this, no," the werewolf assured. "I'm changing and I feel it. I'm nervous about our lacrosse training, because I'm much stronger now. What if I bump into someone and accidentally hurt them?"
"Well, me thinks that if your super powers are here to stay, you really should focus on mastering them. And what is a better way to do that than playing lacrosse? It's a sport, Scott, accidents and minor injuries are in the job description, y' know. Whatever happens on the field, it will be easier to cover up than anywhere else."
That actually… made a lot of sense. And Scott already had the right mindset to control his transformations, as his mind was already used to being a werewolf for many years now. It was just his teenage body that was struggling to adjust, and body could be easily trained with a bit of time and effort.
"You know what? You're absolutely right."
The other boy grinned cheekily at that, his chest puffing with pride.
"Of course I am. I'm Stiles."
Scott, not surprisingly, made the team's first squad without much effort. He also managed to avoid any supernatural slip ups while doing so, and made sure not to do anything that would be outside of normal human abilities. He was relieved that his mind was clear and his focus as sharp as in his future/past. Afterwards, as everyone started gathering their equipment, Scott slipped into the woods outside the field, sensing a familiar scent. He was not really surprised to find Derek there.
"Why were you watching me?" he asked the older werewolf calmly, looking at his tense shoulders and unreadable eyes.
"What made you so sure it was you I was watching and not anyone else?"
Scott snorted at that. "Because I got the bite and not them, that's why. Could we please skip to the point where you tell me I'm a werewolf now?"
Derek seemed taken back at his straightforwardness. "You know?"
"I know," Scott confirmed. "And as you can see, I'm good. I managed to control myself just fine."
"So, after one successful lacrosse game you just decided that you don't need any help?", don't need me was left unsaid but Scott could almost hear those words, hurt and insecure. And he marvelled at how young Derek looked now. He was just a man who lost everything and everyone and was desperately struggling to connect, while at the same time hunting a feral Alpha and trying to protect everyone, while being barely a couple years older than Scott.
"Of course I need you!" the teenager assured the other werewolf with vehemence that surprised even himself. "But I also need you to trust me when I say that I'll be fine."
He took a couple of steps toward Derek, wanting to get closer to his packmate. "Look, I know that this may sound crazy, but the whole werewolf thing? It feels natural to me. Like I was always meant to become one. So just… try not to worry too much, OK?"
Some of the tension left Derek's shoulders but his stance didn't change.
"Most young werewolves struggle for weeks to gain even a semblance of control. So forgive me if I'm not going to just take your word for it. I'll be watching you," the older man warned.
Scott smiled at that, it was such a Derek's thing to say. "That's fine," he agreed easily. "Just remember that you don't have to be so secretive about it, it looks highly suspicious from the outside. So, we're good?"
Derek's mouth twitched a bit, a barely-there smile. It vanished in a blink of an eye, but Scott had seen it, and it was enough. He beamed. "Great! See you later!" he waved cheerfully at the older man and jogged back to the school.
* * *
Once he was alone, Derek's shoulders slumped a bit and he sighed heavily. He was tired to the bone, and grieving so much he wanted to howl in misery. But he couldn't allow himself to show weakness in front of anyone, much less a young werewolf which he wanted to make a good impression on.
Oh, he knew that he was not the most approachable or easy to talk to person on his best days, and the last few days were certainly one of his worst. He was also painfully aware that he came across as cold and unfeeling, and trying to connect with this kid, Scott, was surely doomed to be a total disaster.
But somehow, this conversation that they just had, actually went well. No tears, shouting matches, no accusations. Overall, a total success.
Of course I need you, the boy had said, and Derek was totally unprepared for that. He built walls around his heart against rejection, fear and disgust, but the warm acceptance and kindness that kid projected? Derek was defenseless against them.
"I need you too," he admitted quietly, when he was certain that Scott wouldn't hear him, even with his werewolf senses.