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1- Formation
During freshman year of high school, Stiles was easy to look over. He was pale, short, clumsy, and loud. The only person who seemed to tolerate his never-ending rambling was the equally as awkward Scott, who had a doctor's note to sit out of gym class since his asthma was debilitating.
Then, in the second semester of sophomore year, Scott made the first line in lacrosse, starting dating the hot new girl, Allison Argent, and Stiles, well, he stayed with Scott. Everyone was shocked when Stiles showed up to the formal with Lydia Martin. The whole school knew he had a massive crush on her, but they never thought the fiery redhead would ever actually give her a chance. Then Lydia was attacked, and Stiles disappeared from the dance. The next Monday, none of them, Scott, Stiles, Lydia, or Allison are at school. Even Lydia’s on-again-off-again boyfriend, Jackson Whittmore was missing.
Lydia reappeared, dating Jackson again. Stiles went back to third-wheeling Scott and Allison. It was relatively normal. Until a serial killer started offing BHHS alumni, then massacred the majority of the Sheriff's department. Apparently, it was Matt Dahler. And Stiles stayed at the center of all of it; when the library got destroyed; when Erica stopped having seizures and became hot; when Isaac Lahey's father was a victim of Matt’s, and when Derek Hale started showing up randomly on campus. After the bizarre lacrosse game where Jackson Whittmore almost died, the gang was formed.
Just before the start of summer, Hailey was sitting on the front steps of the school, studying flashcards for finals when the monotone roar of the school crowd was silenced by the deep rumble of an engine. A sleek black Camaro pulled to the front of the school, followed by Stilinski’s blue Jeep, and Whittmore’s Porshe. The Jeep and Porshe parked, and the whispers started when people began to emerge. From the Camaro came Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd, and Isaac Lahey. Stiles, Scott, and Allison got out of the Jeep. Jackson’s car held himself and Lydia.
The owner of the Camaro was former murder suspect Derek Hale. Hailey’s arms were riddled with goosebumps at the sight of the tall, dark, and handsome man wearing a leather jacket- even though it was 80 degrees outside- and sunglasses. Hailey was pretty sure the only reason Hale was a murder suspect in the first place was because of Stiles.
So she was even more confused when each of the teenagers got some sort of touch from the man as they walked into the school. Hale let Reyes give him a side hug and a kiss on the cheek, leaving a big red lip stain just above his beard. Boyd and Allison got a simple fist bump and Hale ruffled Lahey’s hair. McCall and Whittmore both got pats on the back. Martin squeezed Hale’s hand and used the other to whip Reye’s lipstick from his cheek. Stilinski went last, trying to scurry past Hale, but Hale grabbed his wrist to stop him. Even from where Hailey was sitting, she saw Stiles blush. Hale pulled Stiles close and ran his hand through Stiles’ buzzed hair and down his neck.
Damn, Hailey thought, I want an older man to look at me the way Hale is looking at Stilinski. Hailey wanted that small smile, that soft touch, and shining eyes. Haily looked back down at her flashcards, feeling like she was invading their privacy.
From that day on, those eight stayed together.
2- Addition
There were nine of them by junior year. Hailey tried to hide her confusion as the group now titled ‘the cult’ walked down the hall. Lahey’s arm was thrown over a short brunette’s shoulder.
Hailey turned to her locker neighbor, Danny, who was cult adjacent, “Who’s that with Isaac?”
“Hmm?” Danny lifted his head out of his computer science book.
“That chick with Issac?” Hailey raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, that’s Cora Hale. She just moved here from South America.”
“I thought all the Hales, besides Derek and his sister who was killed last year, died in the fire.”
Danny shrugged. “Jackson won’t tell me much about how Cora is alive. But she’s here.” He went back to reading his textbook.
Hailey watched as the group split off to their classes. Lydia and Stiles walked into the AP Calc class. Scott, Jackson, Boyd, and Isaac kept walking down the halls toward the lacrosse locker room. Cora and Allison walked into the English 3 room. Hailey’s heart stung a bit, jealous that the group was such tight-knit friends. Hailey wasn’t a super social person and watching the Cult interact made her realize that she didn’t really have a best friend. Most of the time, she was okay in her solitude, but she felt the loneliness seep in just a little.
The warning bell rang, and Hailey went to AP Calc. When she saw the board, she groaned. It was relay day. The teacher put a series of equations to solve on the board, and the student who finished first got a free A on a quiz. If Hailey had Calculus at any other period, she’d be fine, no one can finish all the equations. Well, no one except Stiles and Lydia. As a freshman, Lydia played the part of an airhead but was always at the top of their class. Now, she wasn't afraid to show it. And Stiles was right behind her at second, the only thing that kept him from toppling her reign was his English.
Hailey couldn't figure out how Stiles struggled in English when he talked circles around his teachers about the books they read, until one day when she peeked over to his desk and noticed that nothing was written in English. She must have made a noise because he caught her looking a rubbed his neck awkwardly. He quickly explained that his first language was Polish and he read and took all his notes in that language to practice it, but then when he tried to write papers in English, the words came out wrong.
The scrape of chairs against the floor made Hailey look up from her paper, only on equation five out of twenty, and saw Lydia and stiles racing to the teacher's desk.
Who the hell does one do calculus that fasts at 7:30 in the morning? Hailey thought and wanted to bang her head against her desk.
At lunch, Hailey watched the Cult at their table. This was normal for her, people watching, and the Cult just happened to be a group of extremely interesting (weird) people. No one at her table talked to her, a mutual agreement to eat in silence among the loners.
The Cult’s table however was rowdy.
“Coach’s drills this morning were brutal,” Scott complained, throwing an arm around Allison.
“Nothing can be as bad as when Derek has us doing laps at the train yard,” Erica said around the red lipstick she was reapplying, legs in Boyd’s lap.
“No. I think that group of omegas that we fought on the east side of the preserve were pretty rough.” Jackson ate his fries, and Lydia ate her salad, sitting on his lap.
What the hell are omegas? Another gang?
Cora sat in between Isaac and Stiles. “Have you guys had to encounter the famous Hale Iron chains?”
Everyone at the table nodded.
Did she just say chains?!? Hailey choked on her iced tea.
Cora smirked, and it terrified Hailey. “Then I guess we are all used to brutality.”
Hailey’s weariness of the group only grew when they all laughed at the idea of brutality and chains.
3- Marked
They have matching leather jackets. They have matching fucking leather jackets. And the jackets are DESIGNER.
The fall temperature had finally started to drop in Beacon Hills, and the student body began to wear various layers of clothing to fight off the cold. Most of the students wore normal hoodies or zip-ups.
The Cult wasn’t normal, however. Hailey didn’t know whether or not to be frightened or turned on when she saw them all in their jackets. Muted black leather with red stitching, each one custom-fitted. Even Stiles, who had grown his hair out and buffed up, despite quitting the lacrosse team, looked hot.
The matching jackets got even worse when Hailey noticed they all had the same symbol on them. A red triple spiral thing. Every member had it in a different spot. Allison’s symbol was on the right cuff of her jacket. Lydia wore it on the corner of her collar. The entire left bicep of Scott’s jacket was taken up by the symbol. Boyd’s was on the hem of his jacket. Erica’s was on her left shoulder. Isaac’s was on his collar, like Lydia’s, except on the back of his neck. Cora wore the symbol right over her heart. Stiles’ spiral was smack dap in the middle of his upper back.
In English, it took Hailey five minutes to hope herself up enough to tap Stiles on his shoulder. His head snapped up from the book he was reading, which Hailey noticed wasn’t in English, and it didn’t look like his normal Polish either.
WTF?
“Um, I was just curious about where you got your jacket. I was thinking of getting a new jacket before it got even colder outside.” She rushed out.
Stiles’ eyebrows furrowed, amber eyes guarded. He opened his mouth to answer when he was interrupted by a low rumble from the other side of the room. Erica glared at Hailey from where she sat. Hailey fidgeted in her seat under the blonde’s intense eyes.
Stiles snapped his eyes to her. “Down, girl.”
Erica bared her teeth at him and let out another, almost animalistic rumble. Stiles bared his teeth back, and his facial expression scared Hailey even more than Erica did.
“You know what, don’t worry about it.” Hailey broke the intense staring contest the two were having.
“Hailey, right?” Stiles asked her.
Hailey nodded.
“Don’t mind Erica, she won’t bite unless you ask nicely.” Stiles smiled at her. “Derek ordered the jackets from some fancy European artisan website. I can ask him for the link if you want.”
Hailey pursed her lips. “That sounds way outside my price range.”
“Derek likes to spoil Stiles,” Erica purred from Hailey’s right. Hailey jumped because she didn’t even hear the blonde get up from her desk.
“He got us all jackets, Catwoman,” Stiles said, but Hailey saw a faint blush on his neck.
“Yeah, only after he got you one because you kept stealing his. And then you made some comment about the pack matching, and he got the rest of us jackets.” Erica ran her fingers across the back of Stiles’ neck.
He shoved her hand off quickly, “You know he hates that.”
“You know, only Scott touches Ali’s neck, Jackson with Lydia, Boyd with me, Isaac with Cora, and well...” she dragged out the word.
“Erica,” Stiles’ tone held a warning in it.
“Oh, come on Batman, we all know it.” Her hand reached towards his neck again.
Hailey flinched when Stiles snatched Erica’s hand in midair, “Leave. It. Alone.”
Erica bared her neck at him (which was freaking bizarre, Hailey thought) and after a few tense seconds, Stiles let her go.
“Go back to your desk, Erica,” Stiles’s voice was low with authority.
Hailey watched as Erica flinched at Stiles’ tone and the lack of her nickname. It was rare that Stilinksi ever called any of the Cult by their given names.
“If you want a good leather jacket at a decent price, try that camping store at the mall,” Stiles was back to her cheerful self, addressing Hailey again.
Hailey, still processing the whole neck thing just nodded and went back to her book.
4- Leader
Hailey sat in the bleachers of the lacrosse field, enjoying the nice weather. It had been a wet spring and the rain finally stopped. The warm weather meant that the Cult finally stopped wearing their intimidating leather jackets. There was less tension in the hallways when they walked by dressed like normal people.
Speaking of the Cult, Hailey was watching them horse around on the field. She was supposed to be studying for her Spanish test but was distracted by the inhuman sounds coming from the field.
Jackson and Scott were circling each other, teeth bared and hands curled like claws. Hailey wasn’t a sports person, but she knew enough to know that the co-captains of the lacrosse team definitely weren’t running normal drills. Plus, only 4 out of 9 of them were actually on the team, but all of them were on the field. The rest of them stood on the sidelines, just watching.
Stiles snapped his fingers and the two lunged at each other. Hailey could barely keep up with the two. After a few minutes where they were tangled together, Jackson launched Scott into the air and Scott landed yards away on the field.
Hailey looked wide-eyed at the distance Scott cleared. There was no way it was normal for someone to be thrown that far.
“Jackson!” Stiles’ voice echoed across the field.
Hailey tensed up at his tone. It was the same authoritative voice he used with Erica last semester in English.
“Allison, Boyd, take Scott home. Lydia, drive them in my Jeep home. Erica and Isaac, you get to help me with Whittmore. Cora, if I faint, you carry me.”
Hailey watched in fascination as they all snapped into action. All of them were scary, (some) buff teenagers, and they listened to Stiles, of all people. Stiles, the kid who tripped over his own two feet at least once a day.
Everyone acted on their orders. Boyd helped Scott up, the fluffy-haired teenager leaning heavily on him. They tried to make it look as inconspicuous as possible, but Hailey swore Scott looked paralyzed.
“What do you want us to tell Derek?” Allison asked.
“The truth,” Stiles shrugged, taking off her signature flannel.
“He’s not going to like you dealing out this correction on your own,” Lydia said with a smile.
If Derek Hale was so scary, why is she smiling? Everyone heard how the Cult spoke about the elder Hale, his drills, and continuous threats of harm. Yet, the teenagers never leave him.
“Just go home, Lyds. I’ll deal with Sourwolf later,” Stiles kissed her on the cheek and shooed her off.
Hailey wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that she was watching them anymore. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees, encaptured by the people in front of her.
Jackson Whittmore was never one to look scared, but Hailey swore he was shaking slightly as Stiles stalked towards him.
“What is the point of our exercises?” Stiles walked in a slow circle around Jackson. Erica, Isaac, and Cora fanned out slightly around the two, trapping them in.
More like trapping Jackson with Stiles. Hailey has never seen Stiles look so mean. Without his flannel, Hailey saw how broad his shoulders actually were, and the veins that ran up his lean yet muscular arms. She caught a peek of black ink peaking out the top of the collar on his back. Stilinki has fucking tattoos. WTF
“To learn,” Jackson answered, chin held high.
Stiles cocked an eyebrow at him, and stopped a few feet away, holing Jackson’s gaze. “And when we aren’t at home, how are we supposed to practice?”
“Normally and no blood.” Jackson’s hands were trembling violently at his side, but he held Stiles’ gaze.
So blood is normal around the cult, good to know. I'm staying far fucking away. Hailey flinched.
“So why did you launch Scott across the field, and nick him with your other claws?” Stiles rolled his neck from side to side, preparing for something.
Hailey should definitely get up and leave. She didn't want to watch whatever was happening, but for some reason, she couldn’t leave her spot on the bleachers.
“McCall thinks he’s stronger just because he was the first of us. I wanted to prove him wrong.” Jackson crossed his arms, trying to look smug, but Hailey saw him take a deep swallow.
Before Hailey could blink, Stiles jumped at Jackson, wrapping his arms around the blonde’s neck and pulling him to the ground. Jackson didn't have a moment to defend himself before Stiles had him in an elaborate hold on the ground, arms around his neck and legs wrapped around Jackson’s thighs, efficiently immobilizing him.
Hailey’s jaw dropped. There was no way she just watched Stiles pin the captain of the lacrosse team in less than 3 seconds.
Jackson wiggled against Stiles’ hold, but Stilinski stilled him with a snarl. Hailey almost peed herself a little when the sound carried across the field.
“This is a normal pin, Whittmore. You owe Scott an apology.”
“McCall had it com-” Jackson was cut off as Stiles tightened his arms.
“Don’t make me let Erica and Isaac have a go at you.”
At the mention of the names, the pair of blondes grinned menacingly. Hailey had never seen bloodlust on a human face, but she was sure that was the look in their eyes.
Jackson tried to pull Stiles’ arms from his neck, but the arms just tightened. Hailey hoped it was a trick of the sun, but Stiles’ eyes flashed molten gold. “You will apologize to Scott, and, since you refuse to yield, you have to take the girls on their next shopping trip, and pay.”
Jackson’s eyes widened and Hailey knew why. The girls of the Cult never looked frumpy. Hailey knew expensive when she saw it and those girls reeked of it.
“Now, yield,” Stiles snarled again.
Finally, after he started to turn blue, Jackson lifted his chin and bared his neck at Stiles.
What the hell is with them and their necks? Hailey was bewildered, but at that action, Stiles let Jackson go.
“Take him home.” He shoved Jackson into Erica’s arms.
“What about you?” Isaac asked.
“Use your nose, pup,” Stiles angled his head toward the edge of the woods.
Hailey held back the scream that built in her throat. The was an honest-to-god giant black wolf standing just inside the treeline.
Isaac nodded to the wolf and then helped Erica drag a still-weak Jackson to the parking lot.
Cora just shook her head at the wolf and then… ran into the woods.
Hailey wanted to find it weird, but the Cult had a tendency to linger in the woods all over the town.
“Come on, Big Bad, you know I can handle myself and the betas.” Stiles picked up his flannel from the grass, putting it back on as if everything that just happened was normal.
Was he talking to the wolf? Hailey frowned.
The wolf barked loudly at Stiles, pawing at the ground.
“But I'm not hurt. So no harm no foul.”
Bark. Bark.
“I know I’m supposed to let you make all the final decisions, but eventually, we’ll share that role. Jackson needed to be taught a lesson and his ego needed lowering.” Stiles walked towards the wolf.
Yes, he was talking to the wolf.
The wolf let out a low growl, then gently bit down on the hem of Stiles’ flannel and dragged him into the woods.
Hailey didn’t make any sense of what she just saw, but she understood one thing. Stiles was one of the leaders of the Cult, after Derek.
5- Ritual Sacrifices
By senior year, Hailey thought she’d be used to the Cult’s behavior. The jackets, the weird noise, the PDA that extended past just the couples, their obsession with the woods, the way Derek Hale seemed to always be around them when they weren’t at school, and the way Stiles bossed them around.
Hailey was so wrong. She thought maybe Derek had them in some sort of sex cult until she was driving one night through the preserve and saw them all sprint across the street, covered in blood. Her tires squealed as she hit her brakes to avoid hitting Allison. They didn’t even stop and look at her, continuing into the trees on the other side of the road.
Keep driving, there was blood. You have no reason to follow them. You’ll probably end up sacrificed in the middle of a pentagram. The black girl always dies first in the scary movies So why did Hailey park her car on the side of the road and walk into the woods?
If they really are a violent cult, I need evidence to turn in to the police. Hailey tried to reason with herself until she remembered that the Sheriff was Stiles’ father. Shit! He’s probably in on all their mess. Hailey turned around to go back to her car and panicked. She had walked much further into the trees than she thought and could no longer see the road.
The full moon in the sky caused the trees to cast long shadows along the ground. The little light that filtered through the thick leaves didn’t help Hailey see any sort of path.
I’m screwed.
Hailey walked in the direction she thought she came from, but the foliage only got thicker. She was officially lost. Hailey pulled her phone from her back pocket only to see that it was dead.
That’s just great. I’m going to be killed by Derek Hale’s cult in the middle of the woods.
After twenty minutes of wandering, Hailey gave up and sat on a fallen log. Maybe one of the rangers would find her in the morning. Did this preserve even have rangers? Hailey didn’t know.
A long howl from deep in the preserve made Hailey shiver violently. She decided she better keep moving rather than be a sitting duck for a hungry wolf.
There aren’t even wolves in California, a voice nagged in her head. Yet, she remembered vividly the wolf that pulled Stiles into the woods last year. More howls filled the air.
No wolves, my ass.
Hailey hiked. And hiked. And hiked. Eventually, she saw a break in the trees and made a run for it. It wasn’t a road. It was a clearing, and Hailey regretted ever putting it into the world that the Hale cult was into blood sacrifices, even if she just thought it. Because it seemed to come to fruition.
There were ten people sitting in a circle around a giant tree stump, in pairs of two. Hailey really wished she didn’t recognize the people, but it was the normal Cult couples from school. Hailey held in her gag when she looked closer at their actions. All of them seemed to be injured in some form with scrapes and cuts, and Lydia looked like she had a stab wound on her shoulder. The gross part was the licking. Every couple was licking at the others’ wounds.
Derek Hale needed to be arrested. For forming a cult, abusing teenagers, and statutory rape. Hailey really wished her phone wasn’t dead because there was no way the sheriff knew what his son was up to. Like letting a grown man lick a cut on his neck and hand roam under his shirt.
When she first saw Derek interact with Stiles last year, she was jealous of the intimacy between the older Hale and Stilinski. But she knew there were laws in California about the age of consent, and the scene in front of her was definitely breaking those laws.
Hailey stepped backward into the trees and flinched when she snapped a branch under her boot.
Shit!
One pair of red, one pair of golden, six pairs of yellow, one pair of brown, and one pair of green eyes snap in her direction. The growls started low but grew in volume as they all seemed to join in.
“Quiet!” Derek’s voice boomed over the growls. The entire preserve seemed to freeze.
Even Hailey was frozen, even though her body was screaming at him to run.
“I’m calling the police!” Why did she scream that?
“No. Your phone’s dead.” Stiles climbed out from Derek Hale’s lap.
Hailey put her hands out in front of her as Stiles walked closer.
“You have always watched us, Hailey. At lunch, in the halls, in the parking lot, that one day on the lacrosse field when Jackson threw Scott.” Stiles tilted his head to the side, hand coming up to wipe away a tear that Hailey didn’t even know had slipped from her eye. “Don’t cry.”
She shook her head back and forth. She didn’t even know that they knew she was watching them. She was just curious. “I promise, I won’t call the police. I won’t tell anyone what I saw.” She stumbled over her words as she begged.
Stiles gave her a small, sad smile and shook his head. “You don’t even know what you have seen, what you have been watching for the last two years. Yet, you have seen too much anyway.”
Hailey knew a threat when she heard one. Her muscles finally unlocked, and she tried to turn and run but was stopped by Reyes standing behind her. Hailey backed away from her blonde’s teeth, right into Stiles’ chest.
“You’ll be fine Hailey,” He whispered right next to her ear, then his palm slammed into her forehead.
Someone knocked on her window, and Hailey woke with a start sitting in the driver’s seat of her car. She turned and saw the sheriff standing outside her car. Hailey rolled her window down.
“Care to tell me why you’re asleep in your car in the middle of the road at three in the morning, miss?”
Hailey racked through her brains, trying to remember how she got here. She drove into town to get her hair pressed, and the appointment ran late. She remembered getting in the car after the appointment, but that was it. There was a flash of gold and red eyes and the faint echo of howls, but as quickly as the memory came to her, it disappeared.
“I must have pulled over for a deer or something and then dozed off. I’m sorry. Am I in trouble?”
“No. But if you were my kids, I’d want you to get home safe and sound. So I’m going to tail you, just to make sure you get home safe.”
Hailey nodded. The sheriff gave her door two pats and then got back in his cruiser.
Hailey hadn’t driven that safe since her driver’s test at 16.
+1-
It was finally graduation. Hailey didn’t think she’d make it. She scraped together a B+ average and was set to attend Beacon Hills University in the fall. Yes, she applied to Berkeley but doubted she'd get in.
She gave her mom and grandma one last hug and began walking to her car. She’d meet them at the restaurant. She stopped short when she saw the now-familiar black Camaro parked next to her simple Prius. Derek was leaning against his car, waiting on his loyal followers.
She tilted her head up to the sky and prayed to whoever was up there, Why is it always me to see them act Cult-ish? Please let this be a normal interaction.
Hailey stomped a little while she walked to make sure Derek heard her approaching. He looked in her direction briefly, then turned his head back to the field where the rest of her senior class was celebrating their freedom in ugly blue gowns.
She climbed into her car but didn’t try to drive off. She was too curious to see how the Cult would celebrate their freedom from high school. Another group-fight? More polyamorous- like PDA? Sing to the full moon?
There was traffic in the parking lot from all the parents trying to leave anyway, so it didn’t seem like she was lingering on purpose.
After about ten minutes, she saw the nine teens make their way over to their leader. Hailey waited for the touching and the purrs, but they never came. Derek simply directed them to stand together and took a group picture.
Hailey stared dumbfounded. The way they took the picture wasn’t normal, over half of them closed their eyes, but they simply stood still and took a picture. Like normal teenagers.
Hale took individual pictures and pictures of all the couples in the groups.
Hailey was about to put her car in gear and drive off since nothing interesting was about to happen- when Stiles tilted his head toward the sky and howled.
The nine people surrounding him join in on the animalistic song.
What the hell? If you can’t beat them or understand them, join them. Hailey wasn’t going to howl because that was just too fucking weird, but she did honk her honk in three rhythmic beats- for their three spirals. Stiles made eye contact with her and wiggled his eyebrows, inviting her to join in. She finally gave in and gave a quick “awoooo” inside her car. He gave her a wicked grin and turned back to his cult.
If she saw all the couples making out in her review mirror, including Stiles kissing Derek, she didn’t question it. She didn’t go to school with the Hale Cult anymore, they weren't her problem and no longer needed to be the subject of her curiosity.