19: Emissary – Part 3

It was late morning when the alpha woke up, his body feeling slightly better thanks to his healing. Stiles was completely out of it, sprawled out all across the bed while drooling on his pillow, looking like he wasn't planning on resurfacing to the land of the awake any time soon. That was good, since there was a plan to make a very large breakfast.

First things first, feeding of the chicken and the red cat, they were too loud to ignore. Fresh water for both too, all the animals happy. And while the coffee was brewing, Derek eyed the fridge to determine what he all could make for his mate.

Admittedly, it took some time to get it all done, but in the end, he thought he had done well enough. Freshly baked dark bread in thick slices with a royal spread of dairy butter, scrambled eggs and bacon. Some waffles with strawberries and homemade whip cream, a glass of freshly squeezed juice and a large mug of coffee and of course a hot bran muffin the size of a fist, with banana slices. High in calories, fats, proteins. The bacon was tricky for the veins but he baked it in coconut butter, the odorless kind because his own sensitive werewolf nose really didn't like the smell of heated coco butter, nor the taste of it.

It barely fit on the large tray and he had to balance it carefully as he made his way back to the bedroom.

When he opened his eyes, Stiles saw the shrouds of the trees lightly swaying in the wind high above, warm sunlight filtering through the leaves and painting interesting shadows on his face. He was resting against something big and warm. As he reached back with a hand, his fingers sunk into black soft fur. The sleeping wolf huffed satisfied in his sleep as he was curled around Stiles' form, who had his back and head against the alpha's warm side, listening to the chirping birds and the other sounds of the forest around them.

It was so peaceful and warm like home. It put a smile on Stiles' face as he lazily stretched his barefooted legs out on the forest floor which was covered by grass and small colorful wild flowers, their scent sweet and relaxing to his senses.

Stiles closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath from the fresh air. He was about to go back to sleep on his wolf when he heard... or rather felt a soft pulse in the ground under them. Frowning, he kept his eyes closed and tried to ignore it, but it came again and then a little while later again. The more he listened, the more it felt like energy pulses and suddenly he was very aware of the energies of the forest and the lazily swirling magical particles in the air around him.

When that happened and he opened his eyes, he was standing alone in a familiar small clearing and he was staring at the Nemeton's stump. The pulses were coming from it, calling for him and in his mind Stiles could tell exactly from where the lay lines were coming to converge right under the once glorious and sacred tree, which was only the shadow of its powerful self. But there was power there. Not just from the earth itself, but by its own too.

Such tremendous elemental power that it made his fingers twitch and his palms tingle along with his own magic while the hypnotizing pulses kept rushing through the ground and with that through Stiles too.

What he felt wasn't all dark. It was tainted, yes, by the wrong kind of sacrifices which always leave their mark. That darkness was beckoning him too and he should've freaked out, but he didn't for some reason. He felt like he didn't have to.

Stiles' hands reached out as he went closer, wanting to touch the magical tree to feel more of it, all of it. His fingertips were so close, tingling wildly and flaring up in amber, but just then he jerked awake. For real this time...

"W-what?" his bleary eyes were blinking with confusion as he looked around and stopped on Derek entering their bedroom with a big tray packed full with food. He was at the loft, not in that forest.

"You okay?" Stiles seemed out of it, probably had been sleeping so deeply that he was all confused about everything. Well, too bad for him because he had to get some food in him before he could sleep some more. Like with werewolf healing, food was a good way to make the Spark feel a little better, because using magic burned a lot of calories. It was why this entire tray was meant for his mate. Derek'd get his own food in a moment once the human was all settled. Breakfast in bed, the only way to go when healing from something as important as putting an alpha in place.

"Can you sit up? I've made a lot of food and I'm expecting you to eat a royal amount." Hopefully maybe even all of it if Stiles was feeling like it. The trick was to not have any serious talk until they were done eating. Last time that had ruined their appetites. Stiles couldn't afford the loss of calories, but it didn't change much for Derek if he didn't eat for a bit. Though he had noticed that he was slowly starting to beef up a little, which was more fitting for an alpha. Werewolf bodies changed to cope with the status. He had gotten soft when turned into a beta, rounder cheeks, less ripped. That was all changing yet again.

Stiles' bedhead was spectacular with the hair standing in every possible direction as he was blinking stupidly at Derek. His mind needed a few more moments to comprehend what the man with all the food was saying. The sleepy human grunted something as a reply and concentrated on finding his limbs all over the bed to move. He eventually did, dragging himself up into a sitting position while his dream slunk into the background and his focus shifted to the breakfast in bed he got.

"Wow... It is a lot," he finally managed to put his first sentence together. "Slight headache and muscle burns like after a big workout," he added and reached for the big mug of coffee, soon cradling it with both hands and taking a big lungful of the amazing scent. They both needed coffee before anything else after waking up. Well, usually.

Stiles took a few careful sips, moaning obscenely – as usual – from the rich taste. Derek being picky about his coffee brands did pay off on the long run. By now the Spark couldn't remember a time without these fancy brands and he did appreciate them. Like... with noises of approval.

He didn't even look up or at the tray before half of the wonderful liquid was gone from his mug. "I feel like a king with such a feast early in the morning." Well, it wasn't early at all, more like close to noon, but Stiles didn't care. He reached for one of the buttered bread slices to finish his coffee with it. He's been through this 'magic withdrawal hangover' enough times to know that his stomach first needed to be settled with some bread before he'd try to eat anything else. So he took a bite, some butter sticking to his upper-lip as he looked at Derek. "You're awesome," he mumbled with his mouth full. "How are the wounds?" Stiles critical eyes slid lower on Derek's body to make sure his mate was healing and okay. Not that he could see much at the moment. He could, if he used his magic, but he was too drained for that right now.

"You are a king," Derek retorted with a snort since the hair was standing out on ends almost like a crown. At least Stiles was awake enough to focus on the coffee without spilling it everywhere. "The wounds are fine, eat!" No emissary or pack business right now, including injuries. The Hale trotted back to the kitchen to get his own mug of coffee and a plate of food that had been waiting for him because it hadn't fit on the tray anymore. He took both with him to join his mate in bed, settling next to him.

There was no way he wanted breakfast ruined, so he took a big sip of coffee, inhaling the scent of the fresh beans and the lingering scent of bread and eggs. Very good morning scents. Technically it was still morning but the food was more like late brunch, very early lunch.

"Duh, I'm royalty among druids and emissaries for being a Spark, so yeah. This feast pleases me," Stiles welcomed Derek back with this comment and took another bite from his bread with a hum, knowing what Derek was doing. Namely, distracting him from last night and the possible meeting it might bring to their doorstep soon.

"You like the coffee? It's ground with hazelnuts, so it's got a more earthy taste to it." The nut taste was very light, only a hint of it but it softened the bitter taste of the coffee beans.

The wolf scooped scrambled eggs onto the bread so he could take a big bite, enjoying the taste. His scrambled eggs had the secret ingredient of curry powder, making them less bland. Stiles never complained about Derek adding his own little things to the food he prepared. "We should add nuts to your food. It'll be good for you."

"The coffee is awesome! And yeah, I know nuts are good. Lots of fat and calories and nutrients and fiber and I know they are antioxidants too and reduces the risk of a heart attack or stroke and are also good for the brain, also helps on anxiety among other things..." he said a bit more awake then blinked at Derek. "I read. And I do eat them time after time. When I don't forget it."

And with that Stiles finished his bread and reached for another, this time eating some scrambled eggs and bacon with it too. It seemed his appetite was waking up too, because now he was digging in with more enthusiasm.

"I appreciate your efforts to pay attention to my diet and to feed me right. I often forget that. Which is funny since I torture my dad with a healthy diet all the time," Stiles chuckled with bulging cheeks and glimpsed at his eating mate with softer eyes. "The food is amazing, by the way... I already feel a bit better. Thanks."

"You've got a brain which forgets a lot of things when it's occupied with something it finds interesting." At times Stiles could be so focused that he'd forget to drink, eat, or even use the bathroom. And then Derek would watch him rush to the toilet in a mad dash because his bladder is about to explode, Stiles' words, when the wolf thought there was some emergency like sudden sickness or something. Or at least it was like that at the beginning of them living together, now Derek was completely used to it and didn't even blink. Good thing they had a toilet upstairs and on the main floor. It no doubt had prevented a lot of accidents.

That wasn't the only reason for the forgetting of proper food, though. Stiles would always think about everybody else before himself when it came to caring and protecting. Because if the Spark hated somebody, he wouldn't care about them and there were not on the list of those going before himself. Sure Stiles would completely ignore personal boundaries and feelings of others if he got too invested in something, but it had never been from lack of care, it was the lack of filters.

Feeling the fond gaze on him, he glanced to his mate who had started to stuff his face with gusto now. Good. That was more like Stiles even though Derek hated to be sprayed on with food.

"No more making fun of me for being such a ‘hipster’ as you call me. You love all the fresh food." Derek was called hipster by a few people. So what if he liked to go to the Farmer's market and was into raw and natural foods? So what if he wasn't into chemical weird meat parts ground into a paste and dunked into gallons of fat to be topped off with a condiment to give it a taste? Didn't mean he was a hipster, it meant he had actual taste buds. Working ones!

"Okay, I'll admit that not all hipsters are bad or lame. You can be an exception," Stiles teased after swallowing what was in his mouth and drank some orange juice too. "I'll also admit that I tend to forget things that are not that important in a given situation," he shrugged. "Or that I like fresh food. Especially if my own hipster prepares it for me."

He definitely was getting better and his mood improved as well as the coffee and food began to work in his system, firing up his brain and pushing the headache into the background.

There was distinct scowling happening when Stiles teasingly used the word hipster a few times. Somebody was getting more awake! At least the human was completely used to getting dark glares sent his way, because he was completely unfazed by the looks, eating happily as the companionable silence stretched between them while they enjoyed the food.

Derek pointedly didn't look at his mate as he was starting on the waffles, because the whip cream was always eaten in such a fashion that it caused a certain tightening in the loins. Lots of licking of lips and fingers, lots of moaning. Sometimes Stiles eating was like torture to the Hale, making him want to jump him instantly.

Stiles ate in silence for a while, enjoying the waffles with some more obscene approving noises before letting his mind wander a bit then blurted out what was on it without a warning.

"I had a dream of the Nemeton." There, a nice little bomb dropped on his mate. Stiles didn't know exactly how the Hale would react since they both had a strange relationship with that ancient magical tree. So his side-glance was careful.

"What." The word came out a little startled as Derek paused his chewing, putting the bread down before he'd drop it and sprinkle bits of egg everywhere. From experience he had learned that rarely anything good came from the Nemeton, not even in dreams. It communicated through those so no, hearing that it had reached out to Stiles wasn't great.

"What did it want?" It could be nothing, the wolf chastised himself. They were eating, food was going to be finished, end of story. He'd force it into his mate if he had to since he had the habit of dropping bombs all over their meals like an IRA terrorist.

Stiles expected the tensing up and all Derek's attention suddenly focused on him. Obviously he wasn't playing the dream down as something unimportant. They both were wiser than that. But to make his mate less worried, Stiles drank some more juice and smacked his lips together, picking up a piece of bacon to chew on while he explained. Because yes, he knew he wasn't going to get out of bed until he cleared everything – or at least most – of the food away.

"I woke up in the forest where I was sleeping curled up with your wolf form and then I was suddenly at the Nemeton, feeling its power pulsing through the land and me. It wanted me to touch it. To open myself up to its power. Like it wanted to show me something or help. Dunno. I woke up before I could do that from you bringing in the food," Stiles said on a mostly neutral, light tone and chewed on more bacon, his eyes studying Derek's expression and feelings which he could sense through the bonds.

"What are your thoughts?" he finally asked, because he was curious what Derek's take might be on this strange dream. "Maybe it's just a dream, but I'd be surprised. We both know how the tree can get into our dreams. I had dreams with it and you before too."

"I don't know," Derek admitted with a small frown as he thought it over. It seemed harmless enough but the question was: why did the Nemeton want to be touched? More temptation? It had tempted Stiles when Derek had been busy bleeding out all over it, to tap into its power and avenge on them all. Since they weren't even sure about the reasons behind what the tree did, if it was good or bad since it certainly wasn't as neutral as it should be, it was best to be cautious. And it obviously wasn't some dream, it was an attempt at communication.

"I'm weary whenever the Nemeton wants something but... it can also want something else, guiding you towards something." Interpreting dreams wasn't something he was good at, because there were many hidden messages within dreams. Like somebody having reoccurring dreams of falling meant they were afraid of failing and things like that. "It might get you somewhere if you write down what there was in your dream and look for the meanings. See if it puts together something that makes sense."

Whatever the Nemeton wanted, it would get it in some way, which was the danger with this. "You dreaming about me isn't that weird, but me being in my wolf form is more significant." He ate his bacon and started on his last slice of bread with Nutella spread, though he denied he had a sweet tooth.

"Well yeah, I think you being there in that form has the simplest explanation. You're one with me. A part of me. My home. Wherever you go, I go and vice versa. I dreamed with you as wolf before too. Your presence always makes me feel complete and at home. It was the same time now too," Stiles thought back, popping another piece of bacon into his mouth.

"You know that feelings are important in dreams too, right? I mean how things feel to you in them. It helps you understand them better because it's connected to your subconscious and instincts. So of course I felt comfortable with you around in that form. But when I got to the Nemeton, what I felt it wasn't bad either. Sure, it was overwhelming and a bit scary with our history with that tree and the fact that it's not completely neutral..." Stiles looked at Derek again. "But I didn't feel bad about the touching thing. I felt the tainted parts, but I wasn't going to touch that..." he mused and drank the remaining few sips of his coffee just to do something.

"You might be right. I'll write down this dream and whatever else I might dream with it. If more dreams happen. And will try to figure this out. But if the dreams continue, there might be a possibility that I'm supposed to go back to the grove and actually touch it. After thorough research and talking to Deaton of course. Because I still feel like I'm missing something important..." Stiles grumbled, clearly displeased with that fact because if there was something he hated, it was missing something important.

"If you have to go there, then that's what you have to do." Avoiding the Nemeton when it was part of Beacon Hills was impossible, but to go looking for it when it asked for it through dreams was something else completely. Derek didn't think being summoned by a magical tree was something they should take lightly, but from the sounds of it, Stiles wasn't planning on it. "Can't hurt to be careful and research it a bit first."

No doubt the Nemeton wanted to connect, because there was a powerful Spark close by and it wasn't getting what it needed. The tree wanted to grow, except it’s been a trunk for so long. The offshoots that had grown since Jennifer and the Nogitsune had developed into small branches but it was going to take many decades to become a tree again. If it ever would. Derek wasn't a tree specialist, nor was into gardening, so he had no idea if a cut down tree could regrow again and what it would look like. Especially not a magical tree.

"We should ask Deaton what it means for you to connect with it, and what my blood does to it. Especially now that we're mated and your spark is at full power. You're a druid, so it'll want you. The question is why and would it harm you or the balance?" the Hale huffed mid-bite, shaking his head. "You have terrible meal topics, you know that?"

Stiles was so lost in his thoughts about the Nemeton that Derek's last remark threw him off guard and he blinked at him a bit confused for a moment until his mind switched gears and he chuckled softly.

"Yeah, well. I'm me," he shrugged it off and sighed, breaking a piece off the bran muffin and absently chewed on it. "Thanks for not wanting to ban me from the Nemeton, though. I know you don't like this too much, but yeah... if in the end it's where I'll be supposed to go, I will. And I think we should pay a visit to our secretive vet at the animal clinic maybe tomorrow once we balanced and rested and healed some more. He should know about the possible Council meeting too," Stiles added and went back to the waffles, sucking off some strawberry juice and whip cream from his fingers once he stuffed a piece into his mouth. There was a fork, but sometimes he was too lazy to use them and ate with his hands instead. Like a caveman – his dad's words, not his.

There was no way they were going to get out of dealing with the Nemeton. They were both linked to it ever since they were teenagers. To deny it would be playing pretend and that wasn't something Derek was good at anyways. But to accept the link and to willingly connect were two completely different things. Especially since Derek had not connected with it willingly at all. It had been forced on him so yeah, he wasn't too happy with these recent developments, though he did his best to not limit Stiles. He trusted his mate fully to research everything before he'd do anything, and to have a plan since Stiles was the man with the plans, his mind had hundreds of them.

"To change the topic, your breakfast is amazing. Maybe I should deal more often with hostile alphas or stuff that requires me to use a lot of magic," he softly teased and scooped up some whip cream with his finger, sucking it off with a suggestive look. Yeah, he was definitely feeling better from all the food.

At the change of topic Derek smiled. "If you want fresh bread each morning, I can do that, almost like magic." To be fair, every idiot could make bread, as long as they knew what ingredients to dump in there. And when trying to fatten up somebody who didn't get enough, baking bread helped to add extra. Stiles of course was not talking about the food as much as he was trying to be suggestive and Derek shook his head.

"No, no sex yet. You need to heal, rest up, not burn even more." It was followed by a heavy eye-roll because Stiles was incorrigible when it came to sex. "You eat, not play."

Shock appeared on the emissary's face from the 'rejection'. It was rare that Derek refused to get frisky with him and those were usually with good reason. Still, it made Stiles pout and tear off another piece of waffle to dunk it into the whip cream, eating it as seductively as possible because he knew how to push on Derek's limits.

"Are you sure? I ate A LOT. Look, nearly all the tray is empty!" he waved over the tray with his free hand, the other picking up the last piece of strawberry and sucking on it too, making sure to let some of its juice run down on his fingers so he'd have to suck them clean. "I feel fine..." he added and put the tray on the nightstand to lay back on his pillow in a half-sitting position, one hand behind his head on the pillow, the other lazily drawing small circles on his lower tummy as he sent bedroom eyes to Derek.

"You really sure? I could just lay here without much moving not to burn away too much. Plus we have to balance too..." he singsonged as he 'innocently' dipped his fingertips under the edge of his briefs, curious what Derek would do. If he still refused, he could take matters in his own hand too, because yeah, food made him and his magic hungry for other things too.

"I feel sooooo empty...." he sighed and bit down on his bottom lip. Yes, he was that evil when he was in the mood. Which was often or he needed very little prompting. One wouldn't even assume how dirty-minded Stiles Stilinski really was...

Stiles didn't look fine, the extreme exhaustion he had felt wasn't fine and the breakfast wasn't even close to replenishing what the body needed. Derek himself wasn't healed and it seemed like a very bad idea to have sex, one Stiles didn't seem to agree on. The older man knew that look, there was sex going to happen one way or the other, by his own hand if he had to. Still, there was some hesitation, enough to give his mate a look. This wasn't about not wanting Stiles, this was about not being the right moment for him.

"I know we have to balance. In a few hours I'll happily balance with you in however way you want it. But right now I don't want to. You look ready to pass out." And no, fucking a half-alive mate really wasn't as hot as Stiles desperately tried to make it. Derek was about making love, not having sex to get off. That was the bonus to it all. He licked his lips and looked at where Stiles' fingers were playing. "I can suck you off, though."

This was Derek's duty as mate, to keep Stiles safe and cherished and loved and to stop him from doing things that weren't good for him. Putting the plate away, Derek slid closer to the sulking human, kissing him on his cheek. "I like to fill you when not just your cock is up for it. Let me take care of it, sleep some and I'll wake you with great sex. How does that sound?"

With an over-dramatic sigh Stiles finally caved. Not because of himself, but mainly because of Derek and what he said. He said he didn't want it right now and he meant it too, Stiles could tell. And he had promised a long time ago that he wasn't going to force anything on his mate and in his logic this would be something like that. Derek wouldn't find pleasure in it, so Stiles hand stopped and let his fingers rest just under the hem of his briefs.

Otherwise he just turned his face a bit so he could peck Derek's lips. "Okay, fine, you win. You don't have to do anything aside from holding me while we both sleep and heal," he mumbled, closing his eyes. Derek was also right. It felt good to keep his eyes closed and could tell that sleep wasn't far. "Also, you cannot say that I don't see reason. I give in, okay?" he murmured against his mate's lips still, his free hand reaching up to caress the other man's forearm.

"But I'll hold you... to that promise of... waking me up with good sex..." Stiles forced himself to add, already starting to drift away as the food kicked in too.

Derek wouldn't have minded to help his mate out, because it wasn't like he didn't enjoy giving oral, it was one of his favorite activities in bed. But he could understand why Stiles stopped it fully and appreciated it. Bot of them not healed, having sex, it brought back memories Derek didn't want to have nor talk about. His mate accepting his no like this meant a whole lot to him. "Thank you," Derek muttered because at least he didn't need to give in this time and that was nice, it was comfortable.

Curled up together, they both fell asleep quickly, the meal helping their bodies as much as the extra hours of sleep did.

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