five
alpha.

MOST OF THE school leave the next day to go look for some girls that went missing from Mystic Falls High School. Dana Lilien and Sasha Stoteraux. Isabelle, however, wants to do some research on the knife, so she decides to skip the manhunt for the mundane girls. After all, Hope is going, so they should be fine without her.

She's reading up on some stories about the knife and eating her lunch by herself when Rafael sits down beside her. She glances at him, confused but a little curious as to why he sat next to her. "The pack eats outside."

"I'd rather hang with you," he counters, only for her to roll her eyes playfully. She marks her place in her book before closing it gently, giving him her full attention. "Honestly, I'm still figuring my way around this place. But why didn't you ditch like Landon and go play detective?"

"Oh, I'm playing detective right here," she remarks, holding up the book on ancient relics. "I'm trying to figure out where the knife came from, but there's not much to go on."

She notices him giving her an odd look, and can't help but smile at him. "What?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Seriously, Raf," she insists for him to tell her what's on his mind. "What?"

"I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this being a normal conversation here," he remarks as the pair both chuckle. He takes a deep breath before asking the question that's been on his mind since he'd last seen her. "So, are you really glad me and Landon are back?"

She looks at him sideways, immediately realizing that he wants her response to be yes. She feels her heart flutter gently as she replies. "Absolutely. Are you?"

"I'll be happy when I know that Landon can stay."

Both fall silent for a moment, wondering if Alaric will allow Landon to stay. He agreed to let Rafael stay, but he hasn't made up his mind about Landon yet. Isabelle opens her mouth to reply, only for her ex and his goons to interrupt their conversation. Jed gives Isabelle a surprised look before glaring at Rafael. "Bounce, Izzy. Rafael and I need to have a little chat."

"As soon as we're done-" Rafael begins as Isabelle shakes her head at him, knowing Jed doesn't like when his pack members show any sign of disrespect.

"Actually, newb, I'm your alpha," Jed states firmly, only for Isabelle to roll her eyes. She doesn't like the whole alpha thing, because it makes werewolves power hungry. And it makes kind people like Jed abuse the power they're given. "You're done when I say you're done."

Rafael then stands up, sticking a fry in his mouth to show that he's not done. He has a nasty, almost challenging look on his face as Jed takes a threatening step towards him. But before they can do anything, Isabelle jumps to her feet, putting herself between the two boys. She puts a warning hand on either of their shoulders in an attempt to keep them from fighting. "Okay, guys. Play nice. Jed, Raf actually doesn't have time for your little chat, because he said he'd walk me to class. Right, Raf?"

She then looks at Rafael with a pleading smile, and he nods. "Yeah."

He then picks up her books and the pair slip past the others without an issue. Isabelle feels Jed's eyes on her, but she ignores him. Instead, she gives all of her attention to Rafael. "He probably wants to initiate you into the pack. You triggered your werewolf curse, so you killed somebody. You have to tell the entire pack about how it happened."

"I'm not really a pack kinda guy," Rafael admits, making her stop in her tracks. She slowly turns to face Rafael, her eyes the size of saucers.

"Don't tell Jed that," she instructs, knowing the alpha won't react well. Like most werewolves, Jed has anger issues and has trouble controlling his emotions. He'd never harm Isabelle, but she can't say the same for Rafael. "He'll force you to join the pack."

"I have the werewolf curse, too," Isabelle admits timidly. She's always been this way towards talking about the curse, because it's something she never wants to trigger. She loves being a witch, and can't imagine being anything else. "So I've done my research. I know that I could trigger it any day now, but I haven't killed anyone yet. So..."

His expression grows concerned once he sees the fear in her eyes. Fear she'll become a werewolf. But she quickly pushes those feelings away, and smiles at him as they reach her classroom. "Thanks for walking me."

She walks into her class without letting him reply. She sits through the class, alert like always. But when the class is over, she hears a fight. She heads towards the sound of the fight, only to find Jed and his goons attacking Rafael.

The newbie wolf is on the ground while the others stomp on him harshly, ignoring his grunts of pain. Isabelle feels herself growing scared they'll kill him, so she quickly rushes to her ex-boyfriend's side, "Jed! Stop! You could kill him!"

Her desperate voice seems to snap him out of his trance, and he calls his goons off. He then kicks Rafael one more time, harshly and painfully. "To be continued."

He exchanges an unreadable glance with Isabelle while she stares at him sadly. She doesn't like seeing him like this. When he turns and goes, Isabelle drops down by Rafael's side, wanting to help him.

When he turns to face her, his eyes are glowing green and his fangs are showing. Most people would pull away in fear, but Isabelle doesn't move, keen on making sure he's alright. "Are you-"

"Stay away from me," Rafael cuts her off, pushing himself to his feet with a painful grunt. She stays on the ground, giving him a confused look. But he's not confused. Her being around him could get her hurt. She might not be able to control Jed the next time. "You need to stay away from me, Isabelle."

UNEDITED