Chapter 4

Sitting together while facing Alex. Stiles and Malia were with three other teenagers. The three other people were: Scott, a pretty young woman with long, wavy black hair, and a beautiful girl with pale skin, green eyes, and long strawberry-blonde hair.

"So, this is Alex. He's my cousin and also a were-tiger," Stiles hurriedly introduced Alex before trying to change the subject, "Anywho, I was gonna order some pizza."

Still trying to process what they just heard, the three teenagers blinked and turned their heads towards Alex as he awkwardly waved and smiled at them. "I was already going to make something, if that's-," Alex added, only to be interrupted by Scott.

"Hold the freakin phone! Your shapeshifter? A were-tiger?!" Scott exclaimed, and quickly realized that's why Alex smelt different when they first meet.

"I suppose. It's nice to meet you all," Alex smiled at the other two girls while trying to figure out which one was which, "Stiles told me a little about all of you."

"All good things, I hope," The girl with strawberry-blonde hair and girl spoke, and seemed to be scanning Alex as she slowly looked him up and down. Observing his giant broad frame, messy but fashionable black hair, and stunning blue eyes.

Somehow slightly intimidated by her gaze, Alex quickly sat up straighter and immediately realize just who she was from what Stiles had told him, "Lydia Martin, the Banshee, right?" he asked, smiling in return.

Lydia nodded her head while smirking, and kept direct eye-contact with Alex while speaking, "That would be correct, were-tiger."

Alex felt nervous, but strangely excited as he and Lydia kept up their little starring match. But sadly it was interrupted as another head popped up in front of Alex's line of sight.

"Hi, I'm Kira," The girl with wavy black hair greeted, with a bright smile, "I-I'm a kitsune. Which is a-."

"A nine-tailed fox," Alex finished, already having a good amount of information about the supernatural. From what he first research when he started to gain his powers and from what Stiles told him. Most of it was probably useless, but some of the creatures he read about probably existed.

"Yeah! But, I don't have that many tails till I turn 900," Kira spoke rapidly, stunning Alex.

"...That's cool, I guess?" Alex shrugged, honesty unsure how to respond.

Looking towards Scott, Alex asked to confirm, "And you're a werewolf, right?"

"...I am," Scott nodded, but still seemed to be staring at Alex intently.

Trying to lighten the mood, Stiles clapped his hands and smiled, "Great! Now that we're all acquainted with one another how about some lunch-."

"Wait! How do we know we can trust you?" Scott suddenly demanded, "You just suddenly come into to town, out of nowhere,"

Although not fully agreeing with Scott, both Kira and Lydia wondered if they could even trust Alex. The last time somebody showed up into town, a lot of innocent people were killed.

Seeing this, Stiles stood and cried out in Alex's defence, "Now, just hold on! Alex had nowhere else to go. This isn't his fault."

Smiling to himself, Alex placed a comforting hand on Stiles shoulder and pulled him back into his seat next to Maila.

"It's fine, Stiles. They have a right to be suspicious. Hell, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that there are other...supernatural things besides me," Alex chuckled and stood up, "I'm not gonna pretend to know what you guys been through, so I'll let you guys discuss with one another. I can just go make something in the kitchen."

Everyone was silent as they watched Alex's broad back glind into the kitchen with a odd natural grace that was odd for his large size. For a moment no one spoke, until Lydia suddenly announced.

"He's pretty hot," Lydia said bluntly, breaking the silence. "How are you two related again, Stiles?"

"I know," Kira said, only to blush when she saw Scott staring at her in shock," I-I mean, no he's not. Totally bland, very unattractive."

"That hurtful, and he's my aunt's adopted son. So we're not blood related, but we almost look alike," Stiles answered Lydia and looked around for support, "Right?"

Everyone tried their best to averted his gaze, causing Stiles to slump in his seat while Malia tried her best to comfort him. Or at least in her own way as she rubbed his head like he was an animal.

"I saw him naked. He can also turn into a big white tiger," Malia added, causing everyone to look at her in shock. The coyote-turned teenage girl- was confused as she tilted her head to the side and asked. "What?"

"Really. How was-," Lydia leaned forward for more information, only to be interrupted as Stiles frantically waved his arms around. Drawing everyone's attention to his spazzy movements.

"Can we get back on topic, people?! For christ sake," Stiles asked, shaking his head. He already knew his cousin was oddly hot and muscular, but that doesn't mean he wanted to hear about it.

Seeing everyone begrudgingly nodding his head, Scott brought up the elephant in the room and asked, "Can we trust him?"

"I vote yes. I've know the guy since we were kids, he's like a giant teddy bear," Stiles said immediately.

Although they mostly only hung out when they were younger, Stiles knew Alex's personality. He was a shy, but sincerely cared for others. He even spoke to him, even when he was in his super hyper active phase. Alex also there from Stiles when his mom's health was....declining.

"A teddy bear with a six pack," Malia added, causing Stiles to sigh in defeat.

"Malia says yes too," Stiles spoke for her then sternly said to Malia, "People don't usually talk about other people they've seen naked."

"Speak for yourself," Lydia muttered, wondering just what Alex looked like underneath those clothes that hung tightly to his impressive-

Interrupting her rapid train of thought, Scott asked, "Lydia, what do you think? Are you getting a...vibe from him?"

Scott didn't understand exactly how Lydia's powers worked, but he knew that it had to do with death. So if Alex was surround or dealt with it then who better than a banshee to know about it.

"Just because I'm a Banshee doesn't mean I get feelings from every person I meet," Lydia rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed.

Still staring at Lydia, Scott further asked, "Sooo...is that a yes or-?"

"No! I'm not getting a murdery vibe from," Lydia huffed before adding, "But, I say yes. Anyone related to Stiles couldn't possibly be a nefarious villain."

"Thank you, I think," Stiles replied, slightly offended for some reason but still grateful.

"I'm okay with him. He seems nice," Kira shrugged not really knowing Alex, but could see that he was nice. Plus Stiles trusted him, so that was good enough for her.

Seeing that everyone in their little 'pack' was in agreement to trust Alex, Scott could only sigh before nodding his head. He wanted to trust Alex just as much as Stiles did, but everytime someone new came to town they had a bad habit of betraying them or trying to kill them. So this time Scott hoped to at least be a little cautious.

"Don't you think he can hear us?" Malia asked, suddenly as she turned towards the kitchen.

For a moment everyone froze when they realized that Alex too possessed super-hearing just like most other supernatural beings out there.

Just as Stiles was about to call him, Alex came out of the kitchen while chuckling when he saw the embarrassment on everyone's faces, except for Malia. She was staring at him with wide eyes.

"I could, sorry couldn't really block it," Alex smirked.

The group was actually pretty loud when they were talking to each other. He couldn't have ignored with his hearing even if he had wanted to.

"Ahem-so, we've decided to trust you," Scott cleared his throat while stepping forward.

Hearing this, Alex smiled at the group before announcing, "Thank you, I'll try not to break it."

The group had a moment as everyone smiled and the mood felt cheerful, only to be interrupted when Scott began to sniff the air. Seeing this, Malia joined in as they both took a long, deep sniff and simultaneously turned their heads towards the kitchen.

"What...smells so good?" Malia asked, and seemed to be slightly salivating. She hadn't smelt something so good since she caught a particularly juicy fox.

Smiling, proud of his cooking, Alex explained, "I already pre-made a pot of ziti, garlic bread, and some fried chicken this morning. I just put it in the oven so it should be done in a little bit."

As everyone listened to the feast Alex had prepared, they were stunned. It was already impressive that he could cook by himself, but the fact that Alex made such a mouthwatering aroma and probably delicious too was nothing short of a miracle.

"Dude, I serious think I'm in love with you," Stiles stood up and attempted to caress Alex's face, only for the taller boy to nimbly dodge Stiles attempt.

"Stop it," Alex grinned, while grabbing Stiles by the back of his shirt and actually lifted him fully off the ground. Hung like a flagpole, Stiles struggled valiantly against his oppressor vice grip on his shirt, only to eventually sigh and admitted defeat.

"Fine, I'll stop. Put me down," Stiles pleaded, already embarrassed by being held like a child in front of his friends.

Alex grinned, eventually putting down his cousin so he didn't burn a hole in the side of his head, "Only cause you asked nicely."

Huffing loudly, Stiles tried to regain his dignity only to breakdown when he saw that everyone was trying not to laugh.

"I liked it better when we were the same height," Stiles grumbled, and sought much needed comfort at Malia's side.

Grinning slightly, Lydia caught Alex's attention and asked, "So you can also cook. What else can you do?"

"Umm.. Ahh...I-I play the guitar and like to draw," Alex stuttered out quickly, unsure of how to answer. He hadn't had a lot of experience with girls, especially ones that look like Lydia.

Seeing how embarrassed Alex was getting, Lydia wanted to tease him further only to be interrupted by Scott.

"I think she meant supernatural wise. What type of powers do you have?" Scott corrected, not noticing Lydia's annoyed glare at how obvious it was that she was flirting with Alex.

"Oh, umm a few," Alex quickly thought of all his abilities, "I'm strong, fast, super senses, night vision. All superhuman, I guess. I can turn into a tiger and heal others-."

"You can heal people?" Stiles asked, surprised.

"Well, it's more like I take there pain and wounds. Hurts like a bitch, but I'll recover quickly," Alex explained, remembering how he healed the momma bear this morning,

"That's like an upgraded version of what werewolves can do," Stiles pondered, and wondered just what other abilities Alex possesses.

"Any type of wound?" Scott asked, fully leaning forward.

For a moment, Alex struggled to answer as he choked slightly, "There are limits. I...I can't heal a naturally caused death....even if I tried."

Alex fell to a mere whisper as he glared down at the floor and clenched his fists, not noticing the wounds he was creating in his own hands.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked suddenly, breaking Alex out of his trance.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine," Alex blinked and unclenches his fist, trying to hide the already healing wound, "I-I gotta check on the food."

Hurriedly walking back into the kitchen, everyone, but Stiles was confused as to what had just happened.

"What was that about?" Kira asked, confused. Everyone was just as equally confused as they looked towards Stiles for help.

"His mom-my aunt- died from a heart attack. He probably tried to stop it," Stiles winced, realizing the anguish Alex was going through. Even if he tried his best, he simply didn't have the power to save his mother.

"That's...," Scott tried to speak, but was simply at a loss for words. The entire pack was silent as a solemn mood surrounded them.

But it seemed one person didn't notice this or simply didn't care.

"...Are we eating yet?" Malia questioned, wondering if the fried chicken was any better than squirrel.