Scott receives an invitation to a council meeting he didn't even know he was a member of. He also gets a crash course in werewolf politics, something he definitely never wanted.
I’m enjoying my vacation, so you get another chapter faster than usual. I hope you like it. Tell me what you think!
I have no Beta and English is not my mother language so there will be mistakes.
I do expressly not give my permission to use my stories for AI training.
And still not interested in paying for art or making comics out of them, don’t bother me.
Chapter 10
Scott had insisted that the pack get up early and have breakfast together before the first session. The previous evening had been strange; he and his pack were the centre of attention wherever they appeared. It had been both intimidating and humbling.
The conversation on the table was lively, and everyone enjoyed the feeling of being together as a pack. No one expected to be disturbed this early, so it came as a surprise when a man suddenly stood inside the tent.
"I apologize for intruding on your territory, Alpha McCall," the Speaker said formally.
Scott stood up as the conversation died down completely. He blinked in confusion when he recognized the man.
"Apology accepted, Speaker," Scott replied respectfully. "Welcome to my territory. How can I be of service?"
"There are things I would like to discuss with you before the first session of the council begins. Afterwards, I cannot come to you without compromising my neutrality," the Speaker explained.
"I am at your disposal. Would you like this conversation to be confidential and strictly between the two of us?" Scott asked politely.
"I leave that decision to you," the Speaker answered calmly.
"I have no secrets from my pack." Scott shrugged sheepishly. "I would tell them everything anyway, unless you explicitly designated it as private."
The Speaker smiled faintly. "I am not surprised, let us remain here."
"Then please, have breakfast with us," Scott invited him.
Derek stood up. "Please, take my seat, Speaker." He looked at Scott. "I’ll stay by the entrance and make sure we aren't disturbed."
Scott nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Derek."
Derek took away his used dishes and set down clean ones for the Speaker, who thanked him with a nod before sitting down.
It took a few minutes for the pack to get used to the Speaker's presence and resume their conversations but the talk lacked its earlier liveliness. They kept glancing over at the Speaker but they didn't dare to address him.
Which left it to Scott to draw the Speaker into the conversation. He wasn't particularly good at small talk but he did his best. The Speaker made it easy for Scott by responding to his remarks; he knew he had unsettled the pack and had to give them time to get used to his presence.
Scott noticed the pack’s unease but there wasn't much he could do about it right now. It was Theo, who managed to restore a normal atmosphere by starting a squabble with Liam.
"Just how many trees have you sawed through in your sleep, little wolf?" Theo asked.
"I don't snore," Liam defended himself indignantly.
"My ears say otherwise," Theo shot back. "And congratulations, you’ve found a new way to annoy me. Now I know why you wanted us too room together. But I have to admit, that little squeak at the end of every snore is kind of cute."
"I don't squeak, either," Liam sputtered. "And I'm not cute."
"We agree on that, you are not cute. Mason, back me up here. You're his best friend; you've surely had sleepovers, or whatever you call them, more than once." Theo grinned. "You must have heard him squeak, too."
Mason looked embarrassed. "Sorry, Liam, but Theo's right."
Within a few minutes, Theo, Liam, Mason and Corey were so engrossed in bickering with each other that they completely forgot the presence of the speaker.
Consequently, everyone else relaxed too listening to the familiar arguments that were part of the routine when the puppy pack really started going. They all had plenty of practice ignoring them, so the others resumed their own conversations and started to include the Speaker as well.
At one point, they got so loud that Lydia intervened. "Inside voices, please, we don't hear our own voices. None of us wants to listen to your arguments all the time, they get kind of boring."
"Yes, of course, Lydia," Liam squeaked, intimidated.
Theo laughed but when he saw Lydia’s glare, he also said, "Sorry, Lydia."
Mason and Corey apologized as well, and after that, the puppy pack was a little quieter.
The speaker looked amused, and when Liam noticed this, he simply said, "Lydia is very scary. We always try not to annoy her too much."
"And I’m not scary?" Scott asked, amused.
"You’re a teddy bear," Liam shot back instantly.
Scott just laughed.
At one point, Theo glanced over at Scott and gave him a mischievous grin; Scott simply shook his head in disbelief. He glanced back at the Speaker to resume their conversation and noticed the way he was looking at Theo. His face was expressionless and his eyes cold.
"The name Theo Raeken has come up a few times in the council, and not in a favourable light," the Speaker said icily.
Instantly, all conversation ceased again, and everyone turned to look at the Speaker.
Theo’s expression closed off, and he slumped forward, his shoulders hunched. Liam, who had been insulting Theo just moments before, placed now a comforting hand on his arm and glared at the Speaker, ready to defend him.
Scott stood up, walked around the table, and placed a soothing hand on the back of Theo’s neck; Theo relaxed under his touch and straightened up again.
Scott then turned his gaze to the Speaker. "Theo told me his presence might be a liability for me but I don’t care. He’s a member of my pack, and that means he’s under my protection."
"My question is, what do you *really* know about Mr. Raeken?" the Speaker asked.
Scott gave him a sad smile. "I know everything about Theo. My pack and I are intimately familiar with who he is, what he’s done, and what he’s capable of.” He felt Theo flinch beneath him and gave his neck another comforting squeeze before letting go. “There’s nothing you can tell us that we don’t already know."
"So you know he works for the Dread Doctors, how he infiltrates packs on their behalf to steal from them or do even worse?" the Speaker asked sceptical.
"Worked," Liam corrected. "They’re all dead. And yes, we know Theo’s tactics.”
The Speaker’s eyes widened in sheer surprise. "They’re dead?"
"The Beast of Gévaudan killed them after they brought it back," Scott said and went back to his place to sit back down. "And I killed the Beast." He glanced at Theo and silently asked for permission to divulge more information about Theo’s previous dealings with the pack to the Speaker.
Theo understood his question; he took a deep breath and nodded in agreement.
"Theo came to Beacon Hills to infiltrate my pack. He manipulated us and played us against each other. He tried to kill me and almost succeeded. Honestly, no one has ever come so close to defeat us as he did.
To stop him, we resorted to extreme measures, measures that I, for one, have come to regret. After all, Theo was only nine years old when the Dread Doctors got their hands on him and experimented on him, so he never had much of a chance."
Theo looked visible surprised about Scott’s words, who had never before mentioned that he regretted sending Theo to the skinwalker prison. He had never blamed Scott for it; he was aware that Kira had acted alone. Moreover, before Tara had dragged him down, he had seen Scott take a step toward him before the others hold him back.
Theo cleared his throat; there was a piece of information he had never shared with anyone before. "They started visiting me when I was eight. Do you remember your birthday, when I had that asthma attack? That was the first time I saw them."
Scott looked at him in shock; he remembered the day. Theo had spent the rest of the day in the hospital. After that, his health had taken a turn for the worse.
The Speaker looked equally stunned at Theo’s age. If that was true, the council had to re-evaluate a number of things regarding Theo’s free will in collaborating with the Dread Doctors.
It meant he was just another victim and considering what they must have done to him over those nine years; it made him the longest-surviving victim the council had ever known of. That was a piece of information, which had never come up in the council. He didn't know whether the alphas had been aware of it or simply hadn't cared.
“You already knew each other?” the Speaker asked curiously.
"We were childhood friends and went to school together for a few years," Scott replied, smiling at Theo. "And now we're learning to be friends again. It's slow going but it's getting better every day.
But to come back to our history with each other, he was still a teenager, and in hindsight we were harsher to him than to the adults who had also attacked us.” Chris Argent looked down at the table. “He paid a price, which was far too steep and I know that Theo is still paying. And when he came back, he did everything he could to make amends for his actions. He’s earned his place in my pack." Scott smiled warmly at Theo.
"But isn't it hard for you, having him nearby? I mean, he tried to kill you, he was your enemy?" the Speaker wondered aloud.
Scott chuckled. "He’s not the only one who used to be my enemy and is now part of my pack."
"Really?" the Speaker drawled in disbelief, glancing around the table.
"Everyone who has ever been my enemy or wanted to kill me, be it of one's own volition or not, please raise your hand," Scott said with amusement.
Chris, Derek, who was still standing by the entrance, Corey, Theo, Liam and Mason promptly raised their hands.
“And they aren't the only ones.” Scott looked embarrassed now.
"You really are a True Alpha." The Speaker chuckled. "My Alpha was one too and wasn't much different than you, by the way. He, too, had a habit of taking his adversaries into his pack."
"You knew the last True Alpha and were in his pack?" Scott asked, stunned.
"I am the last living member of his pack," the Speaker replied nostalgic. "Though, aside from me, only one other member of the council has known that until now. Perhaps we should sit down together again after the summit, and you can ask me whatever questions you like."
"That would be great," Scott murmured. "I have a lot of questions."
"I imagine so; that’s why I told you. That way, you have plenty of time to write down any questions that occur to you or your pack." The Speaker let his gaze sweep around the table. "And perhaps you could tell me then a few of your stories, too."
"With pleasure," Scott said with a smile. "But I assume Theo’s past and that admission aren't the reason you came to see us. None of that would explain how it would compromise your neutrality."
"Very astute, and you’re right." The Speaker turned serious. "I came to warn you." He then explained what the council was planning, and why, and how they had done it behind his back and without his knowledge. However, he did not say how he had come by this knowledge.
"That explains a lot," Theo muttered. "Now everything that has puzzled us makes sense."
Deaton nodded thoughtfully. "Indeed." He looked at Scott. "Be prepared for anything, and don't let yourself be pushed into anything."
Scott gave a grim smile. "Most certainly not." He looked at Lydia, Theo, and Derek. "I’m counting on you to step in immediately if you notice a trap being set for me." He smiled slightly as he looked at the others. "That goes for all of you, of course."
"Yes, Scott," Derek confirmed, and Theo nodded as well.
"You can count on us," Lydia said grimly.
The Speaker stood up. "I don’t want to disturb you and your pack any longer. It’s best if I keep this visit as brief as possible."
"It is now just long enough to pass as the Speaker’s customary courtesy call to a new council alpha," Theo remarked neutrally.
"Correct, that is my intention," the Speaker replied, looking thoughtfully at Theo, who met his gaze firmly and openly. "Alpha McCall, I’ll see you in a few hours."
The Speaker left and Derek sat back down in his previous spot. "Well, that was interesting," he said philosophically.
"And remarkable," Deaton agreed.
"And it looks like you have at least one ally on the council," Lydia added. "If the Speaker wasn't involved in the conspiracy and had no prior knowledge of it, then someone must have told him about it."
"And I have an idea who it is," Scott said quietly.
"Danners," confirmed Theo and looked at Scott. "He’s the only one who fits the bill. No one else is as meticulous about the pack laws. I’ve never heard of him violating them in any way. This attempt to rewrite them must have really upset him."
"Theo’s assessment is correct." Deaton pressed his lips together. "If I read Danners right, he’ll remain strictly neutral toward you, perhaps even hostile at times, to lull the other alphas into a false sense of security."
"Good; at least now we know where the main attack will come from. They no longer have the element of surprise on their side; it belongs to us now." Scott looked determined. "And we’ll use it to our advantage when the time comes."
The pack resumed their breakfast; they now knew who their adversaries were and, in broad strokes, what they were planning.
I feel like the reason most people on here don’t like Sterek as much is that they automatically assume all Sterek fans hate Scott? I’m mostly new here so that’s what I’m going off of based on old discourse, but most of the currently active sterek blogs seem chill now
that's for sure some of it. i think a lot of sterek fans hated scott because they liked derek and the writers kind of treated him like shit sometimes.i think both characters have they're flaws but i love them both tbh.
i feel like as long as people tag they're stuff correctly than they can hate whatever they want
personally i don't like a Bad Friend Scott Mccall tag that's too ooc, reason why i despise this tag in the first place cause it can either mean "he doesn't answer his phone!" or "he kills puppies for fun"
i also think a lot of people hate sterek because of the age gap (tho i lot of sterek fans age stiles up) and think sterek fans are irl pedos because some of us might read stuff with underage stiles, it's not like they bother to actually interact with the fandom, ask why we actually ship sterek (guess what? for most of us is the emotional connection and how well the characters work together)
plus a lack of fandon/tumblr etiquette and people outside of tumblr not caring about shitting on other people's interests
I will say that my main reason to dislike sterek is all the hatred against Scott (the majority of which is based in racism)
It's why when I look for Teen Wolf fics, I use filters to exclude sterek as a whole. I've run into too many fics that don't even use the 'Scott is a bad friend' tag, but that still bash on Scott. (and with Scott being my fave character, that's a tag that gets filtered out period)
Another problem is that even the 'Scott is a good friend' sterek fics, often have a tendency to essentially turn Scott into a lamp.
Aka he is most often given no role in said stories beyond 'serving Stiles (or Derek's) emotional needs. Or he's just there as a cameo, mentioned, treated as if he's stupid, or 'obsessed' with Allison, and completely turned one dimensional. Ignoring his entire canon personality.
But another big problem for me at least, that keeps me from reading sterek fics, is how many of them write Stiles entirely ooc.
I may not be a Stiles fan, but even if I were, it would annoy me how little fanon Stiles has in common with canon Stiles. All his rough sides get sanded off or erased. He gets turned into a Gary Stu, his negative traits ignored or excused. He's turned into a pack mom, which Stiles never was on the show. He's given Scott's role in the story, Scott's relationships with the other characters. (esp. the one Scott canonically has with Derek) He's made insecure, often whiny, doesn't dare stand up for himself in any way.... And instead of focusing on Stiles actual canon positive traits, he's just given Scott's positive canon traits instead...
I'm not saying all sterek fanfics do so, but enough of them do, that it makes me hesitate to even give sterek fics a chance.
im a bit tired so sorry if this is a bit incoherent
a lot of scott hate is so obviously based in racism it's crazy
but also i think some people get really annoyed with how he acts (saying this as someone who likes him) the writers have made him do dumb things and especially in later seasons the connection between characters are all messed up it's ridiculous. i know more than one person who just.. doesn't like him i guess, the same way they don't like allison or derek or other characters
i also saw someone here saying "i have trouble appreciating scott completely because everytime he "wins" someone else loses something usually derek" which i partly but not completely agree with.
i do agree that scott is not mentioned a lot in sterek fics but tbh i feel like not many people are? like i often read sterek fics where other characters are very secondary, tho i do like the ones where he's more included (platonic sciles i love youuu)
i also see a lot of derek hate from scott's fan tbh i feel like they are two character which can be easily put against each other (which is a shame since i actually think they're dynamic is quite interesting) reason why i have both the anti scott and anti derek tags blocked
with stiles being ooc: yes. yes he is. i dont mind all that much if the story and writing is good but with stiles being such a popular character, probably the most popular in the teen wolf fandom, i think it's normal for him to be changed by fans, i've seen it happen times and times again with popular characters
there's lot of sterek out there so you can find a combination of stuff, i would suggest looking into fic recs by blog instead of just going through ao3. this said it might just not be for you and that's ok
See the part where 'Scott winning means Derek losing' is another one of those things that actually hint at unintentional racism. I know it sounds harsh. But it comes from the notion that Derek is 'owed' certain things.
Like the notion of Derek being 'owed the right to be an alpha', or 'owed a pack'
Now don't get me wrong, Derek is probably my second favorite character on the entire show. Right after Scott. There's a reason I love scerek so much.
Derek's growth over the course of the show, was one of the best examples of character development the show had, right along with Scott's and Lydia's. Because those are the three characters who grew the most, and character development is like katnip for me ;-)
But part of that character development had to come from Derek facing consequences for his mistakes, just like Scott did. Because like Lydia and Scott, Derek actually is forced to face consequences for his bad behavior.
When Derek went from antagonist and mirror to Scott in s1 to becoming a full on villain in s2, we see the consequences of this in his relationship with his pack.
He doesn't lose his pack because of Scott, he loses his pack, because he's using them, because he's taking advantage of them. He loses Scott's trust, because he betrays Scott, because he lies to Scott. And as a direct consequence his pack rejects him, Boyd and Erica run away, Isaac leaves him for Scott... And Scott flat out calls him out and rejects him in masterplanner.
But it's 'because' of this, and because in s3 Derek starts learning from his mistakes, that he becomes a better person, and as a result a more interesting character.
When he gives up his alpha spark, it's just such a moment of growth for Derek. Of giving up that toxic masculinity and need to be dominant, and to choose love and family over power. It's something his uncle Peter has been utterly incapable of. And it's why Derek eventually finds himself as part of the pack, whereas Peter remains an omega, even after he's reunited with his daughter.
The problem for a lot of fandom is that they are used to seeing the dark broody anti hero be the main character. It's the cliché, the boring expected outcome. With of course said dark broody anti hero eventually proven right, and everyone has to apologize to the poor dark woobie and grovel for his forgiveness...and they resent Scott for being the main character instead. They resent Scott for not just stepping out of the way, and letting Derek (or Stiles) be the main character instead.
After all, that's what most shows would have done. The poc char gets to be the leader, or the main char stand in, till the white guy is ready for leadership, and takes up the position. (just look at what Teen Titans did with Aqualad and Robin)
Because teen wolf didn't go with the boring cliché that they expected the show to go for. Instead the show subverted the cliché and gave Derek actual growth, allowing him to mature instead and to become a better character as a result.
People talk about 'Scott doing dumb stuff' which of course, he's a teenager, doing dumb stuff is part of that. (though these same people also complain about Scott being 'too perfect' without any hint of realizing that this is a damned if he does, damned if he doesn't paradox)
But you don't see these same people focus on all the dumb shit that Stiles does. (and to far greater degree than Scott does)
When Stiles, or Derek, or Isaac, or Jackson... behaves flawed, or immaturely.. when they make mistakes, it's seen as 'making them more interesting', or excused with 'they're just kids', but with a Latino character like Scott, any flaw, or mistake he makes, gets instantly condemned and is treated as damning. And even sixteen year old kid Scott is expected to behave more instantly mature, more like an adult, than an actual adult like Derek. Because poc kids like Scott don't get to be kids, and they sure as hell aren't given the lenience that white characters are treated with. (this also happens with female characters like say Allison. Whose mistakes are treated far more harshly than far worse mistakes made by white male characters)
It's esp noticeable how often people give Scott flaws that he doesn't even have, while ignoring his actual canon flaws, because they don't fit the stereotype they try to push Scott into.
It actually makes it hard to talk about Scott's actual flaws, his actual mistakes, because far too often posts about those are used not to discuss Scott's actually character, but are used instead as an excuse to attack him even more.
Take the scene in Lies of Omission, where Scott confronts Stiles with the wrench. Fandom often uses this scene to condemn Scott, when if you actually look at the scene, Stiles is the one actually at fault.
I've even seen Stiles fans claim 'well Scott is at fault for talking about it with Stiles at that point, instead of delaying it' (or something along those lines)
But those same fans don't point out that Stiles had a chance to tell Scott about Donovan's death for over a week, if not longer, ... It's Stiles lies that led to that situation, and Stiles refusal to ask questions about just what Theo told Scott. But somehow Scott is supposed to be completely emotionally detached and logical and ask Stiles all the right questions, while perfectly reading Stiles mind... Despite all the trauma Scott is going through at that point. Despite Stiles attack on Scott, despite Stiles throwing abuse at Scott...
That's part of what I mean when I say that often Sterek fics, push Scott into the 'lamp' mode or 'fluffy teddybear' mode even in 'Scott is a good friend' fics. whereas in 'stiles is a bad friend' often they just push Stiles' and Derek's canonical negative traits onto Scott.
These same fics can go on and on about Isaac's trauma, or Liam's trauma, or Jackson's trauma. While still focusing on Stiles and Derek.
Yet for Scott it's like they completely flatten his portrayal and limit him entirely to being Stiles' emotional support. If you replaced him with a teddybear, he'd have the exact same role, which is something these writers don't do with other characters, aka white male characters.
I'm not saying people can't have character preferences. But it just gets hard to ignore when people claim to hate Scott's character, for traits he canonically does not have. And when it's obvious they weren't paying any attention to the show itself, and are basing their dislike of the character on how he's portrayed in fanfic, or assumptions they have on whom they assume him to be, rather than on what the character was actually like in canon. Along with a strong refusal to think deeper on the character beyond the surface level.
crazy how stiles stilinski picked the cruelest possible thing he could say to his best friend while they were both in a dire and heated situation and were both being actively manipulated by the season’s villain and people have the audacity to say shit like “poor little stilesey boo :(((( big evil scott was being so mean to my wittle baby stiles :(((( scott should die three million times over :(((( for being so cruel to my helpless little angel stiles :((((”
Every single fic update there is an author trying frantically to find the right balance between a nonchalant aside of "leave a comment if you enjoyed =)" and clinging desperately to the coat tails of a random stranger, dragging along behind them on the street wailing "Please, please! I have to know what you thought! I'm desperate to talk to people about this! Ask me about the alliterative repetition! Ask me about the symbolism!"
for ppl thinking "But what if I don't know what to comment!" do a live reaction. open a second tab and whenever you have A Reaction™️ to a line or scene, copy the line and type out your reaction, even just a keyboard smash or "this made me forget to breathe" or just "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" works! just any way to let them know how you felt reading it, I don't do it all the time but whenever I do, I get replies from authors being SO happy for a multitude of reasons, and if that's too time consuming just comment ur general feeling about the chapter!! we love it no matter how small the comment i PROMISE
i’m sure half of the supernatural world thinks ‘Scott McCall’ is just some crazy California myth because no way some random high school kid is already a generational true alpha who converted members of the notorious Argent family to his cause and stepped through a line of mountain ash and defeated an entire alpha pack and broke a berserkers mask. all before the age of 20?? like that’s just too unrealistic
The thing Dean Devlin has always known that so many other showrunners have forgotten is you don't need blockbuster-level special effects, grimdark realism that only seems to apply when it comes to violence and misogyny, shock value twist endings, or a sex scene per episode. All you really need is a small group of fucked up strange little guys and gals, a fantastical backdrop to be endlessly explored (i.e. a magical library, an intergalactic wormhole traveling device, the notion of true humanity and redemption amidst a cruel machiavellian world), and some wonder and whimsy.
romaincrisis
stormborns
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gracieabrams
titsay
jimmyeatworldofficial
