THE HALE HOUSE REALLY WAS BEAUTIFUL before the fire, even afterwards there was still a beauty behind the decaying walls. I didn't even realise where I was heading until the house had come into my view and I slowed to a stop, pulling my headphones out of my ears and pausing my music. Jogging seemed to be the only way to relieve me of my thoughts recently and with the full moon coming up I had plenty of pent up anxiety I needed to get rid of.

I exhaled shortly, my chest heaving as my breaths regulated. I hadn't realised how far I'd ran, I'd gotten from one end of town to the other in just under an hour but I'd never felt better.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with my forearm as I looked up to the house in introspection. How hard was it to separate my memories from the traumatic fate this house suffered?

I almost wished there was a page about it in a book somewhere but then again, my memories liked to play with my mind. Perhaps a session with Morrell would help me out. The subject of the fire wasn't as sensitive as it once was and I thought I could at least talk about it now. I just wanted what I'd missed back and if opening up about the fire was the way to that then I would do it. I'd sit down in front of Morrell or anyone in a heartbeat to recover my memories of my mother and I.

The thought of that alone triggered a wire in my brain as I saw a much younger version of myself sitting with a black haired girl the same age as me, Derek's younger sister Cora, and I had a pink cast on my left arm. Cora and I were just chatting to ourselves about everything and nothing until I saw my mom and Peter walk out of the Hale house together. The both of them stood on the porch as Cora and I were lost in our own world, completely oblivious to them, and they spoke.

"I need to tell you something." My mom said to Peter suddenly, looking sideways to him. There was a look of respect in her eye as she stared at the side of Peter's face. His and my mothers relationship went years back and my mom deeply respected Peter and he her.

"Okay." Peter nodded, looking to my mom.

Unlike my mom who looked exactly the same as she did now, Peter had changed significantly over the years I'd known him. Him and my mom must've been in their mid twenties here, three or so years before the fire, and yet Peter looked to be in his early twenties. His face was young and his hair was relatively short but thick compared to now. I could see what my mom saw in him, especially if they'd known one another since they were sixteen.

My mom looked away from Peter and pressed her lips together, a troubled expression on her face as she looked to Cora and I, "There's a reason you feel a deep connection with Alex." She said to him.

"There is?" He asked, "I thought it was just because I'd known her for a while now."

"Remember when you first met her though?" My mom said to him, "How you said to me you felt like you'd known her since she was born?"

"Yeah.. I remember." He nodded.

"It's because she's yours." My mom told him after a minute of silence.

The air between my mom and Peter didn't shift but silence consumed them like a wave would a person. It dragged them down and I watched as Peter's face dropped in revelation. He didn't know what to say or do as he processed what my mom had told him. It was quite a bombshell, finding out you had a six year old daughter who'd been under your nose the entire time.

"How- how do you know?" He asked her.

My mom exhaled as she kept her eyes on Cora and I as she said, "Neil found out I'd been bringing Alex here. He — for whatever reason — decided to do a DNA test, seeing if Alex was his. It came back negative."

Peter rubbed his face in shock as he looked to my mom, "And you just found out too?"

My mom nodded, "From our night together to the night Alex was born was eight months and three weeks. From Neil and I's most recent night together close to Alex's conception to the night she was born was nine months and two weeks... she was born five days early."

"I—" Peter stuttered, "She.." Again, he swallowed hesitantly and said, "Alex is my daughter?"

"I see it now." My mom told him, meeting his gaze, "She has your eyes, not colour of course but shape. She looks like you too."

"I can't believe this." Peter sighed.

"Neither could I when Neil first told me she wasn't his."

"Alex?"

I jumped in shock when someone called my name. I put my hand over my chest as my heart slammed against my ribs but as I looked around my mom and Peter were gone, as were the younger versions of Cora and myself. I'd gotten so wrapped up in my memory, stepping into the past, that I'd completely disappeared off the world of the present — not literally, of course, but that's what it felt like.

I looked for whoever had called me and saw Aiden standing in front of me, a black gym shirt and shorts on as he too took a pair of earphones out of his ears. He frowned at me in confusion before he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I was out running." I exhaled, bending over to try and compose myself after the fright he'd given me, "This is the Hale house.. the one that burnt down when I was inside, I just stopped to look."

"Oh.. well, I'm sorry for scaring you." He said to me then. 

I shook my head, "It's okay, I should've heard you coming."

He nodded before he said, "Why aren't you in school?"

I arched my brow, "I could ask you the same."

"I have a free last period on Wednesdays." He said to me, "Thought I'd come for a jog."

"Oh." I muttered, "Good idea."

"Are you okay?" He asked me then hesitantly after a moment of silence, "I heard about the crash on Sunday."

"I'm fine." I nodded, "Discharged myself on Monday morning."

"That's good, I tried—"

I frowned when I inhaled, my brows furrowing in confusion as I looked around. I interrupted Aiden as he spoke to me and I said, "Wait, do you smell that?"

"Smell what?" He asked me in confusion.

I'd spent the last three days with werewolves and I'd learned that they had a very distinctive scent. It was also one of the first things Derek had taught me, that you could smell other werewolves too. I couldn't smell it before when I was wound up after being scared by Aiden but now I'd relaxed I could.

"It smells like.." I stopped, narrowing my eyes in thought as the scent brought me to Aiden's direction. I cocked my head somewhat in puzzlement before it clicked and my jaw dropped to the floor, "It's you!"

"What's me?" He asked quickly in confusion.

"It's you." I repeated, seething this time as I lunged forwards and shoved him. He stumbled back several steps and his brows rose in surprise, "You're a werewolf? Why didn't you tell me."

"I didn't know you knew about them, okay?" He defended.

"Scott McCall is my best friend, you idiot, you know this!"

"Look, I'm sorry." He apologised, "But the other night you had bigger things on your plate than Ethan and I telling you we were werewolves."

I shook my head, "I didn't even know there was another pack—" This time it was bafflement that consumed me as I realised and I jumped forwards and hit Aiden's arm several times, "You're apart of that alpha pack? Aiden you asshole!"

"Ow, ow, okay!" He said to me quickly, "Jeez, Alex."

"Aiden this is serious." I snapped at him irritably, "One of your little alpha friends nearly killed me the other night."

Aiden's face twisted in confusion as he narrowed his eyes at me, "What?"

"You think I just drove of the road for the sake of it?" I said incredulously, "I swerved because there was someone with bright red eyes standing in the middle of the road... whoever it was, it was deliberate."

"Are you sure?" He asked me then, "I don't think—"

"Use your head, Aiden, Jesus Christ." I rolled my eyes, "Your leader wants Derek in his pack and Derek can only join your pack if all of his pack are dead."

"You're apart of the Hale pack?"

"Oh my god." I uttered in disbelief before I slapped his arm in irritation again, "Of course I am, you idiot. There's no other pack in town!"

"Alex.. I don't know what to say." Aiden said to me then sincerely.

I exhaled loudly and threaded my hands into my hair, crouching into a ball while I thought. Ethan and Aiden were two of my closest friends, I trusted them with my life when I lived in San Francisco, but now we were basically enemies. Derek's pack — my pack — was essentially at war with the alpha pack. They had Boyd and Erica and they'd almost killed Isaac the other night.

"You guys are basically holding Boyd and Erica hostage." I said to Aiden then, "Derek and Isaac have been looking for them for four months, Aiden. They have families outside of this pack, too."

"I can't go against my pack, they'll kill me." Aiden said to me.

"How very cowardly of you." I scoffed.

Aiden clenched his jaw as he took a step towards me. Our chests were almost touching as I looked up to him and the last time we'd been this close before was when he kissed me. I swallowed thickly, the memories of the times Aiden and I would sneak out together and spend time with one another. He only ever kissed me once and that was the night I told him I was leaving San Francisco. We might've only just kissed but it had been passionate and I had remembered every damn second of it because I cherished it after I'd left. I thought that would've been the last time I'd of seen him and during the process of the move I realised I had feelings for him. That's why I didn't want to date anyone when I first arrived back here.

I had been too hung up on the sudden realisation that I actually liked Aiden.

He pulled my head out of the shed when he said, "Alex, you don't know what these people are capable of.. the lengths their willing to go to."

"Well considering one of them successfully ran me off the road last Friday night I'd say I do." Was my response.

He sighed before he said, "I don't want this to break our friendship, Alex."

I shook my head fractionally in disappointment as I looked into his eyes, "I don't think we have a choice. Your pack is out to kill Derek's.. I'm apart of that pack Aiden, whether you like it or not, and I can't sit around and watch you try to kill my family and my friends either."

When Aiden boldly slipped his hand into mine I didn't know how to feel. His fingers curling around mine felt foreign and his hand was big compared to Stiles'. I couldn't pull my hand away though because I was too dumbstruck to do so.

"I won't hurt you." Aiden said to me, "And I'll try my hardest to protect you but I want to help you."

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"You've only just turned, Alex, you need help if you're going to go up against Kali and Ennis. I have to help you, to at least give you a chance against them."

"Aiden I was born, not bitten." I told him, "Yes, my abilities might've been suppressed for a while but I'm not entirely new to this."

He nodded, silence becoming him and I wasn't sure what else I could say to him. I was about to pull my hand from his, ready to leave but he pulled me towards him sharply while lifting my arm above my head to turn me. Aiden took our intertwined hands to his advantage as he looped his arm around me, pulling my back into his chest, and holding me in a choke hold.

"But you're new to this." He said to me.

I used my free elbow and pushed it back into his stomach and at the same time head butted him. I mustered enough strength to free myself from his restrictive hold and I turned to face him, elongating my claws as I flicked my fingers out sharply.

Aiden did the same as I, his claws growing from his nails and his eyes shifted to a bright red colour. I couldn't tell if mine were glowing but I noticed my vision sharpening significantly — even more so than what it already had since I'd shifted — and I wondered if this was what my vision looked like when my eyes were glowing their werewolf colour.

He backed down immediately, his eyes changing back to their original colour and he retracted his claws and I did the same.

"I don't want to hurt you, Alex." He said to me, "I just want to help you."

"Can you tell me where Boyd and Erica are?" I asked him. He pressed his lips together, as silent as a mouse, and I sighed in disappointment before I nodded, "Okay. You can help me."

_____________________

I'd ran almost a full lap of the town by the time I'd gotten back to the loft and I walked in to Isaac's face of uneasiness. I wasn't sure what was going on at first but after I'd showered and changed into a pair of shorts and a baggy top from Derek, he and Isaac gave me the run down of their most recent plan.

I was a good idea although it would've been better if we didn't have to rely solely on Peter. I get that he was my biological dad and all but I still didn't trust the man, not after all he'd pulled since he had killed Laura.

Isaac didn't like the plan and he paced back and forth in front of Derek's big window nervously while we waited for Peter to arrive. I sat on the table crossed legged, my nose in a book as Derek sat on one of the chairs near me, him too reading.

"You know I'm starting not to like this idea." Isaac said aloud to the both of us, "Sounds kind of dangerous."

"He's impaling the back of your neck with his claws to retrieve memories and a millimetre out of line can paralyse you for life." I replied before I looked up to him and sarcastically said, "What's dangerous about that?"

"You know what I definitely don't like this idea." Isaac said after he met my gaze. He turned on his heal and walked the other way as he added, "And I definitely don't like him."

"You'll be fine." Derek said to him before he returned to his book.

"Does it have to be him?" Isaac asked.

I looked up again and rose my brow in amusement, my lip curling into a smug grin as I said, "I could do it."

"Yeah, I'd rather you not." Isaac said to me then.

"He knows how to do it." Derek replied, "I don't."

I put my book to one side and looked between Derek and Isaac, "How hard can it be?"

"Exceptionally." Derek said to me, "It takes skill and precision. It'd be more dangerous if I tried doing it myself.. or you, for that matter."

"Charming." I muttered, "You don't think I can do it."

"I know you can't do it." He quipped.

I narrowed my eyes at him as I sneered in his direction.

"You know Scott doesn't trust him, right?" Isaac said to Derek then, "Personally, well, I'd.. I'd trust Scott."

"Do you trust me?" Derek asked him.

"Yeah." Isaac replied. I watched as Derek nodded once before looking back to his book and Isaac went on to say, "I still don't like him."

"Nobody likes him."

The wooden slide door opened then and the three of us looked up to see Peter standing in the doorway as he said, "Boys.. oh, darling daughter of mine."

"Too soon." I pressed, rolling my eyes.

Peter merely pressed his lips together in response as he walked into the loft, closing the door behind him, "FYI, yes, coming back from the dead has left my abilities somewhat impaired but.. the hearing still works. So I hope you're comfortable saying whatever it is that you're feeling straight to my face."

"We don't like you." Derek deadpanned, slamming the pages of the book together loudly and tossing it on to the table as he stood up, "Now shut up and help us."

Peter nodded in understanding, "Fair enough."

"Honesty is the best policy." I quipped quietly to Isaac.

He nodded as he leaned on the table and the both of us watched as Peter drew his claws out. Without looking at him, I reached out and patted Isaac's shoulder, "You'll be okay."

"Yeah." He nodded uncertainly, "For some reason I doubt that."

I rose my brows and lowered them in a quick motion as I pushed myself off Derek's table and walked over to the sofa. I got comfortable as Derek sat on the coffee table in front of me and Isaac pulled Derek's chair out a bit before sitting on it.

The three of us watched as Peter took his coat off and tossed it on the table before he walked over to Isaac, "Relax." He said to him, "I'll get more out of you if you're calm."

"How do you know how to do this again?" Isaac asked him nervously.

"It's an ancient ritual used mostly by Alphas." Peter said to us as he looked to his claws, "It's a skill that requires quite a bit of practice, one slip and you could paralyse someone.. or kill them."

I swallowed hesitantly as I said, "The mention of death wasn't in the book."

"You've had a lot of practice though, right?" Isaac asked him nervously. I could see that he was trying to stall Peter as much as he could but I wasn't entirely sure it was working.

"Well I've never paralysed anyone." Peter responded cryptically. 

I furrowed my brows as Isaac said, "Wait does that mean you—"

I jumped as Peter impaled Isaac suddenly in his neck and my friend jumped, groaning in pain. I had edged forwards off the sofa significantly as Derek looked back to me but I kept my wide eyes solely on Isaac in concern as he tried to reach back for Peter's arm.

The both of their eyes glowed different colours, Isaacs golden while Peters shone a cold blue and I watched as Isaac fought to get out of Peters tight grasp.

I rose from the sofa hesitantly, desperate to go over to Isaac and comfort him and Derek too stood up as Peter said quickly, "Wait— I see them."

Derek and I watched in anticipation as Peter appeared to be struggling, his breathing ragged and sharp as Isaac continued to try and resist him. He didn't say anything else until he turned away suddenly and stumbled into the table. Isaac fell forwards and slowly he raised his hand to the back of his neck and I rushed over to him and crouched in front of him, resting my elbow on his leg, "Isaac, are you okay?"

He nodded briefly as he continued to stare at the floor in what looked to be traumatism.

"What did you see?" Derek asked of Peter and I looked over to him as he stood in front of the wall.

He panted for breath, "Ah.. it was confusing, um, images. V-vague shapes."

"But you did see something?" I pressed.

"Isaac found them." Peter said then.

"Erica and Boyd?" Derek asked him.

"I-I barely saw them. I mean.. glimpses—"

"But you did see them?" Derek demanded.

"And worse." Peter said to us.

I looked up to Derek then anxiously before I said, "What could possibly be worse?"

"Deucalion." Derek said in a pressed tone.

I swallowed before wetting my lips and looking to Isaac again to check if he was okay. Behind me Derek sat down on the coffee table again as Peter said, "He was talking to them.. something about time running out."

"What does it mean?" Isaac whispered faintly, turning to look at Derek.

"He's gonna kill them." Derek said after some hesitation.

"No, no, no, no, he didn't say that." Peter shook his head, "He did make them a promise that by the full moon that they'd both be dead."

"The next full moon?" Derek asked him in surprise.

Peter sighed loudly and he looked to the three of us before responding, "In two days time."

"Great." I muttered before I swallowed hesitantly, "Like we don't already have enough going on on Friday."

___________________

I felt weird waking into the animal clinic that night. I'd been pretty much hiding away from the world since I'd turned three days ago, running into Aiden today was purely a coincidence, but walking through the doors of the animal clinic felt almost illegal. I felt as if I had broken out of prison or something dramatic like that and I could tell Derek and Isaac were hyperaware of my hesitation.

Walking into the animal clinic itself felt odd and immediately I felt weaker. I stopped in my tracks in confusion causing Isaac to walk into me. Derek turned his head to look at the both of us, frowning in confusion until realisation dawned on his face.

"It's the mountain ash barrier." He said to me.

I nodded once, "I felt something similar to this at the night of the rave, remember when Stiles created the barrier?"

"Yeah, I remember." Derek said to me in response, "When we saved Scott you were almost as wiped out as I was because of the wolfsbane in the air."

I chuckled in disbelief and said, "It really was staring us in the face wasn't it?"

"It was." Deaton said then.

I looked passed Derek to see him standing in the doorway, a small smile on his face. I furrowed my brows together somewhat, "You knew, didn't you?"

Deaton nodded, "I made a promise to your mother not to tell you but as an adviser to the Hale pack your mother and Talia came to me for guidance about whether you would carry the gene or not."

"You could've at least dropped a hint or two." I muttered as I stuffed my hands into the pocket of Isaac's lacrosse jumper.

Deaton smiled at me before he nodded towards the back room and said, "Come in, I need your help setting up."

"What are we actually doing?" Isaac asked Derek quietly as the three of us followed Deaton, passing through the gate that separated the front from the back.

Derek turned back to us just before we walked into the back room and he said, "Something Deaton thinks can help recover your memories so we can help Boyd and Erica."

"Is it dangerous?" He asked.

"Probably not as dangerous as Peter impaling your neck with his cat scratches." I said to him.

Derek rolled his eyes at me, "Can you stop calling them cat scratchers, please?"

"Only because you said please." I quipped, smiling at his back as Isaac nudged me in amusement. Derek walked into the back room and the two of us followed him where I saw an old bath tub and several bags of ice propped up against the walls.

Isaac and I halted in the doorway in confusion as we looked around and I met his gaze fleetingly before I looked to Derek. Movement caught my eye though as two people walked into the back room from the side door, a bag of ice in their hands.

The air suddenly shifted and thick tension suffocated me. It was almost overpowering and I noticed that first before I noticed who was entering the back room at the same time as us.

Scott's jaw dropped in shock and behind him Stiles dropped the bag of ice he'd been holding. The both of them looked at me in bewilderment as I froze in time. I couldn't focus on Scott or Derek or even Isaac as he put his hand on my shoulder behind me. My eyes were glued solely to Stiles.

For a short minute I felt nothing. The same feeling of numbness I had been subjected to on Sunday coursed through my body but it didn't remain. After that I was hit with such an array of emotions I stumbled back as I tried to deal with them. It was both mine and Stiles' feelings and it was too much for me to even comprehend. I could barely decipher what belonged to me and what emitted from him but I knew looking at him standing there I could feel my heart slipping slowly into my stomach.

I missed him. God, I missed him so much but all I could think about — all I could picture — was him kissing Heather. That was all it took for my heartache and sadness to be replaced with anger. I understood what Derek and Isaac had been telling me about on Monday now, how I occasionally protruded anger towards Stiles. This was it. It was the initial 'he did that to me' thought that I needed to let go of. I had to accept what he had done and not get so angry about it.

I had to progress on from the this stage of grief because I realised now that that was what this was.

I'd gone through the denial, the pain and the what ifs. Now I was stuck on the anger and I had to overcome that in order to fully process and grieve for Stiles and I's break up.

Had we truly broken up though?

"Alex." He mumbled in relief, "Oh my god, you-you're okay."

"Derek." I muttered then, my eyes still stuck on Stiles'. I forced my mouth to close and I swallowed deeply, "A word.. please."

Derek looked to me hesitantly and when I finally managed to meet his gaze his eyes were filled with concern. He nodded at me and I found the strength to turn around and walk back out of the animal clinic. I needed air, as much as I could consume, and I pushed the door open.

The cold chill was nothing to me as I looked up to the dark sky and inhaled deeply, closing my eyes as they started to burn, "I'm not ready for that." I whispered into the wind, "I don't think I can face him."

"I didn't know he was going to be here." Derek said from behind me, "But, Alex, you can't avoid him forever like you want to."

I turned back to look at him, "Who said I—"

"It's written all over your face." Derek said to me simply, "You want to run and you want to hide.. and doing that is you running away from your feelings. The full moon will be twice as hard for you if you do that.. remember that anger we talked about?"

I nodded as I wrapped my arms around myself, "Yeah, it's the forth stage of grief."

Derek nodded, "Overcome that and I can guarantee Friday will be so much easier for you. You won't have a weight on your shoulders, pulling you down until you drown.. trust me."

I shook my head though as my bottom lip began to tremble and I bit it harshly to stop myself, "I don't know how to." 

"You do." He told me simply, "Because you've already done it with your dad. You haven't even realised that you've forgiven him for everything he's done.. you've passed the stage of anger—"

"But that took me years, Derek!" I argued as my voice broke, a tear running down my cheek, "I don't have that time."

"It took you years because he was still lying to you." He said to me, "Not because you wanted to prolong it. Once he told you the truth you could move on."

I shook my head again as I crouched to the floor, hugging myself as another tear escaped from my eyes, "I don't know how to do this." I repeated.

Derek crouched down with me and he put his hand on my knee as he looked at me, "You're already half way there. I can feel your emotions and your sadness surpasses your anger. It's already better than Monday."

"But what if seeing him again makes it worse?" I asked him.

"It won't." He told me honestly, "That's not how things like this work. You can only move forwards. Once you start to reminisce and think of what you could've been, when you start to miss them the most the anger fades into nothing and you don't even realise it's happened until it's gone."

"How do you know all of this?" I stuttered, hiccuping through my ragged breaths.

He gave me a sad smile and said, "Because I went through the exact same thing."

I swallowed the lump in my throat as Derek and I held each other's gaze until he pulled me to stand up and brought me into a short embrace. I wrapped my arms around his big frame as he held me, his chin on my head as he said, "I've known you half of my life, Alex." He reminded me, "I know you're already thinking about the what ifs and I know you miss him.. I hear you crying in the night."

Another tear fell down my cheek as I nodded into his chest and when we pulled away I wiped my eyes viciously, "It's hard."

"I know." He told me sincerely, "And if you still need to not acknowledge him then that's okay. You don't have to speak to him in order to overcome the anger you feel."

"Okay." I nodded, "Because I don't think I can face him yet. I don't even know what to say to him."

"That's okay.. no one is forcing you to."

I exhaled and dropped my head back to look up to the sky, feeling the wind against my wet cheeks. No one told me that being a werewolf heightened your own emotions.. they were overwhelming me and I thought if I was still human I wouldn't be struggling as much as what I was right now. The urge to run and hide was powerful but so was the need to see Stiles again. I was so used to being around him and so my body and mind craved to be near to him all the time. I missed him but being around him broke my heart because the two of us were no more. It was almost bittersweet.

But then I remembered that we were here for Isaac and Boyd and Erica. This wasn't about me. I needed to be here for Isaac, to help him as he relived what he'd seen that night when he'd found Boyd and Erica. My problems were insignificant compared to this, their lives were at stake here.

I met Derek's gaze and nodded. He pressed his lips together and reached for the door of the animal clinic, pulling it open and holding it for me to pass through. The bell above us chimed and Derek and I walked into the back room silently seeing Scott and Stiles tipping bags of ice into the metal bathtub Deaton had placed in the middle of the room.

I was aware of the both of them and Isaac looking at me and I tucked the lose strands of hair that had fallen out of my low, messy, bun behind my ears and looked to Deaton with a fake smile, "What are we doing?"

I knew my eyes would be red and bloodshot and I knew they knew I'd been crying but the facade helped me to feel better inside.

Deaton gave me a sad smile, "We're filling the tub up with ice if you want to help." He said to me.

I nodded and rolled up the long sleeves of Isaac's lacrosse jumper as I walked over to one of the many bags of ice on the floor. I bent down to retrieve it but before I could lift it off the ground I heard Scott as he said to me, "They're quite heavy."

I looked fleetingly up to him and Stiles as they stood side by side and I nodded knowing I wouldn't have a problem with picking it up. I hadn't always had this strength though and if my supernatural side was still being suppressed I'd of most likely struggled with this easy task. I got a good grip on the cold bag and picked it up. It felt lighter than a feather as I carried it over to the tub and tore into the plastic, emptying the ice out into the tub.

Once the bag was empty I dropped it on the floor along with the others and looked back to them both, "I think I'll be okay."

They looked confused but I didn't say much else to them as Derek joined in with emptying the ice into the tub. I knew I'd have to tell Scott and Stiles soon what had happened, maybe even tonight if Derek wanted me to help out with rescuing Boyd and Erica.

"Obviously it's not going to be particularly.. comfortable." Deaton said to Isaac as I continued filling the tub up with ice, "But if we can slow your heart rate down enough you'll slip into a trace-like state."

I emptied the last bag out into the tub and glanced fleetingly up to Isaac as he said, "Like.. being hypnotised?"

"Exactly." Deaton nodded as they walked further into the back room, "You'll be half transformed. It'll let us access your subconscious mind."

Isaac crouched down in front of the tub, resting his arms on it as I dipped my fingers in the water curiously. They didn't last long inside and almost immediately after I'd dipped them in I brought them back out. The water was freezing, nothing I'd ever felt before and I looked to Isaac with wide-ish eyes.

"How slow does his heart rate need to be?" Scott asked.

"Very slow." Deaton responded.

I wiped my fingers on Isaac's jumper as Derek leaned on the tub beside me, putting his weight into his hands, "Okay, well, how slow is very slow?"

"Nearly dead." He quipped.

My lips parted in concern as Isaac dipped his fingers in and pulled them out quickly like I had done seconds ago, "Erm, yeah.. not to be the pessimist or whatever it is but I don't like this idea. At all." I said.

"It's safe though, right?" Isaac asked Deaton.

"Do you want me to answer honestly?" The man asked.

"No. No, not really." Isaac said.

I dropped my head into my hand before I heard a rubber glove snapping behind me. I narrowed my brows as I turned around, along with everyone else and saw Stiles with a rubber glove on his hand. He grinned at the glove in amusement before he looked to the five of us and said innocently, "What?"

I turned away from him as Derek rose his brows at him in seriousness and I heard Stiles taking the glove off. Isaac stood up then and he exhaled steadily, looking to the bath of ice.

"Look, if it feels too risky you don't have to do this." Derek said to him.

"He's right." I nodded, "We can find another way to find Boyd and Erica."

Isaac looked to the both of us fleetingly before he took his shirt off and put it on the table pushed up against the wall. He exhaled again before he climbed into the tub and sat down, gasping from the cold.

I watched him in concern and I crouched down, looking to him as he sat there, "Isaac you don't have to do this."

He shook his head dismissively, "No, no, I'm all right." He stuttered out, his teeth chattering from the cold.

Scott took his jacket off and he and Derek placed their hands on Isaac's shoulders and I stood up and looked to Derek in concern.

"I think we might need your help." He said to me.

I nodded once, reaching for the neck of Isaac's hoodie and pulling it over my head before putting it on the floor behind me. I pulled my shirt down as I said, "Where do you need me."

"Try by his head." Derek said to me, "In the middle of Scott and I."

"Wouldn't it be better if I did it?" Stiles asked then as I took my place between Scott and Derek. I put my hands on Isaac's shoulders and looked to Stiles in offence.

Derek shook his head as he said, "No, it'll be better if Alex does it."

He stepped back after Derek's short response but I could feel his eyes on me. I ignored him, focusing solely on Isaac as I looked to Derek and Scott for the signal and when Derek nodded his head once I pushed down on Isaac's shoulders.

We pushed him under, the ice and water spilling over the tub and hitting my legs and shoes as it soaked the floor. I put all my weight on Isaac's shoulders but after we'd pushed him under he fought to get back to the top. He shifted, his canines long and his eyes glowing as his grunt came out as more of a roar.

"Get him back under." Deaton said quickly.

I pushed down on Isaac's shoulders again as Stiles whipped in and grabbed his legs, holding them under as the four of us struggled to keep Isaac under.

"Hold him." Deaton said to us.

"We're trying!" Derek snapped.

Isaac resurfaced again in his human form but he reached up and clasped his hand around my wrist, digging his claws into my arm.

I seethed in pain, swearing loudly and Scott looked to me, his eyes wide.

"Isaac you son of a bitch." I muttered, pushing on his shoulders still as blood ran down my hand and into the tub but he didn't let go of my wrist.

"Get him off of her!" Stiles snapped.

"I'm fine!" I argued as I felt his claws retract. He didn't let go of my wrist though.

We pushed him under for the last time and when he was fully submerged he stopped struggling. I looked to Derek fleetingly before looking to Deaton and the four of us slowly stepped away from Isaac as he floated to the top.

I didn't get the chance to remove the hand he'd impaled with his claws from the water and he subconsciously reached up and took my wrist again.

I looked up to Deaton for advice on what to do as Isaac floated to the top and exhaled but all the veterinarian said was, "It's okay, let him hold you."

I nodded wearily as I knelt down beside the tub and looked to Isaac's peaceful state.

"Now, remember, only I talk to him." Deaton reminded us in a hushed tone, "Too many voices will confuse him and draw him out."

We all nodded in understanding.

"Isaac? Can you hear me?" Deaton asked him.

"Yes." Isaac replied after a second, "I can hear you."

"This is Dr. Deaton. I'd like to ask you a few questions. Is that all right?"

"Yes." Isaac replied again simply.

"I want to ask you about the night you found Erica and Boyd." Deaton said to him as thunder rumbled outside, "I want you to remember it for me in as vivid detail as possible, like you're actually there again."

"I-I don't wanna do that. I don't... I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna do that." Isaac stuttered out then, the lights in the room flickering as he grew agitated.

He squeezed my wrist but I softly shushed him, wrapping my hand around his to try and calm him down.

"Isaac, it's all right." Deaton said to him, "Just relax. They're just memories. You can't be hurt by a memory."

"I don't wanna do that." Isaac said again.

"It's all right." Deaton said, "Relax.. relax. Good. Now let's go back to that night. To the place you found Erica and Boyd. Can you tell me what you see? Is there some kind of building? A house?"

Isaac calmed down again, "It's not... it's not a house. It's stone. I think marble." He chattered.

"That's perfect. Can you give me any other descriptors?"

"It's dusty, so empty." He said.

"Like an abandoned building?" Deaton questioned as the lights started to flicker again, "Isaac? Isaac?"

"Someone's here. Someone's here." He tensed again, letting go of my wrist and grabbing my hand instead. I looked down to see an imprint on my wrist from where he'd squeezed and the stained blood from where I'd impaled me.

"Isaac, relax." Deaton called out to him.

"No, no, no, they see me, they see me!" He panicked, squeezing my hand again as he screamed.

"Just memories." Deaton told him calmly, "You won't be hurt by your memories. Just relax... relax — good. Now tell us what you see. Tell us everything."

"I hear him." Isaac said as he finally opened his eyes, "He's talking about the full moon, about being out of control when the moon rises."

"Is he talking to Erica?"

"I think so, I can't... I can't see her, I ca-I can't... I can't see either of them."

"Can you hear anything else?" Deaton asked.

"They're worried... they're worried what they'll do during the moon. They're worried that they're gonna hurt each other."

"If they're locked in together on the full moon, they're gonna tear each other apart." Derek said quietly.

"Isaac, we need to find them right now. Can you see them?" Deaton asked him, his tone shifting from it's calming nature.

"No."

"Do you know what kind of room it is? Is there any kind of a marker? A number on a door? A sign?" He asked as the light continued to flicker.

Isaac jumped up quickly, gasping for air as he let go of my hand but he relaxed. He remained in that weird state and he stared directly ahead, "They're here. They're here."

"It's all right—"

"No." He shook his head as he laid back down in the tub.

"Just tell us—"

"They see me. They found me. They're here!" He shouted in a panic.

"This isn't working. Isaac, where are you?" Derek said to him quickly.

I looked at him with wide eyes as I whisper shouted his name, "Derek—!"

"I can't see them. It's too dark!" Isaac panicked.

"Just tell me where you are." Derek said to him.

"You're confusing him."

"I can't see!" Isaac yelled.

"Isaac, where are you? Just tell me where you are!" Derek shouted.

"His heart rate... he could go into shock." Deaton warned.

"Derek, let him go!" Scott shouted.

"Isaac, where are you? What did you see?" Derek continued.

"A vault! It's a bank vault!" He yelled.

"His heart is beating too fast—" Deaton warned him.

I shook my head and I reached for Derek's arms, forcing him off of Isaac and pushing him back, "Derek, stop it! You're going to get him killed."

Derek shook his head at me, "We need to—"

"They've got me, they've got me!" Isaac continued to yell as he trashed about in the tub, "They're taking me somewhere.. a room. I-I see a body.. it's- it's Erica."

We all froze and I turned back to look at Isaac, my hand still on Derek's chest after I'd pushed him back. My eyes were wide and I glanced fleetingly to Scott in concern before I looked back down to Isaac.

"It's Erica.. it's Erica." He muttered, "She's dead, they—they've killed her."

_____________________

A/N; so I know the Stiles and Alex reunion wasn't that big but honestly there wasn't anything else I could've done with it. She's still heartbroken and feels betrayed by his actions at the end of the day so the last thing she's going to do it run up to him and hug him, etc. I much prefer this way, even though it is slightly heartbreaking that they're sort of fighting.