Anna's glare didn't subside, it stayed frozen on her face just like wintery environment around her. The rink she stood on didn't feel cold anymore, it just fueled her anger as she kept her cool, watching Derek's mouths form to move words her brain failed at comprehending.

"I mean," The alpha continued. "If you're going to review me, at least take a consensus." He gestured over to Erica and Isaac, who stood in their respective places behind him. "Erica, how's life been for you since we met?"

The blonde girl purred. "Hmm. In a word... transformative." Her mouth parted in an intimidating roar. Anna didn't even have time to judge the words in which left her lips before the deafening sound vibrated throughout the large building.

Scott shifted uneasily beside her, taking deep breaths while holding eye contact with Derek.

"Isaac?" The wolf continued.

"Well, I'm a little bummed about being a fugitive, but other than that I'm great." Isaac smirked. The new beta seemed to almost take pride in his new persona as he stared at the pair in front of him. Anna felt her heart beat nearly twice as fast as she searched in his features for a flicker of humanity, but his gaze seemed like an everlasting stone cold wall, unwilling to break- or even submit to a single crack.

"Okay, hold on. This isn't exactly a fair fight." Scott interjected. His fists clenched at his sides, and Anna's head turned to face him. He didn't look scared, in fact, he looked as if he were putting on a play, the scenery around them simply part of the act. He was hiding something from them, from her.

What do you have up your sleeve, Scott?

Derek chuckled, his eyebrows knit upwards in fake pity as he took his chance to grasp the win. "Then go home, Scott."

Isaac and Erica began to stalk forward, but Scott plummeted his fist into the ice, breaking the area into multiple different sections, blade like shards flying from the mess. He raised his head with glowing yellow eyes and transformed features.

"I meant fair for them." His roar echoed throughout the walls of the rink, and Anna couldn't help but feel a little proud. In an instant, a familiar sense of rush began to swim throughout her bloodstream, preparing for the fight that was soon to be broken out.

The two wolves across from Anna and Scott started their charge, each one having their glowing eyes set on a target. The witch barely had time to register Erica's presence in a total as she took on Scott, Anna's only focus being the tall brunette in front of her.

Anna's guard instantly went up as claws sprouted from Isaac's fingertips. No one made a move. No one said anything, for just a few seconds, the two mirrored each other, walking in a circle as they eyed the other. They acted completely oblivious to the fight going on next to them and the alpha that watched them curiously from a distance.

A sharp, glistening, pair of fangs grew from Isaac's teeth, his eyes flashed a golden yellow, but the rest of him stayed calm. No extra hair began to grow from his skin and his face stayed immune to the unusual morphing it would take on under a threat.

Isaac didn't see her as a threat. Anna knew that. But she also knew he was aware that she was perfectly capable of killing him in a second, if not, at least creating a good amount of damage to him. But he knew she would never do that, she would never do anything to hurt him, ever. He still trusted her. And despite how hard the situation at hand was, Anna knew that deep down, and maybe even so very close to the surface, Anna trusted him too. It was practically engraved into her brain that Isaac would not hurt her. So what were they doing then? Just standing there staring at each other? It was clear that no real damage would happen by ones hand, so what was to be done?

"You're not going to win this, Isaac." Anna said as she raised her hand. A pressure formed against her palm as she began to soak up the energy that formulated between them. "This bite isn't going to change anything."

"You don't know that." Isaac snapped back. His fingers curled inwards as his claws seemed to grow even more threading by the second.

"I do. I know better than you. I always have, I always will, and I'm telling you now." The witch tried to keep her voice at a steady and convincing rate, but she knew that silently, she was just pleading with him to listen to her.

"You're wrong." Isaac stepped out of their ongoing circle, suddenly approaching closer to the girl in front of him.

"I'm never wrong." Anna's arm shot outwards, the force of the crackling energy she had located into her hand sending outwards towards Isaac. If it had hit him, no real harm would be done, maybe it'd knock him off his feet or send him stumbling backwards, but Anna would never know, since he dodged it quickly, eyes flashing once again.

He growled at her before slicing the air with his claws, nearly close enough to cut her skin clean in half, but Anna was expecting it. She grabbed his wrist and twisted it, kicking at the backs of his knees as he fell to the ice. She pushed him back by the shoulder and kicked him in the stomach, scoffing as he fell to his back. Before he could get up she pinned his wrists to the searing cold ice, her knees digging into his thighs. She was on top now.

"I would think you'd pick somethings up by now." Her face was dangerously close to his, and she could feel his heavy breathing on her lips. "All those months of watching me train weren't for nothing, were they?"

"All those nights of comforting me after my dad, I wouldn't think you'd give me the next injuries, either." He whispered. 

Anna's face fell, and with a fast glance to the side, she saw a small pool of blood caused by her nails in his wrist. One of the first tips of fighting she'd ever learned was to never let your opponent get to you, no matter the circumstance.

She should've known Isaac would use it against her.

He used his newfound strength and flipped her over, her back making contact with the ice in a painful impact. She groaned as her breath raced it's way out of her lungs. Isaac's hands interlocked with hers, using the pressure of his wrists upon her own to keep her down, his nails digging into the ice.

"How does it feel to finally be a bottom?" Isaac grinned.

"Ha." She tried to force a smile onto her face, but a stinging in her back forbid it. She looked to her side, and saw red staining the ice, slowly seeping it's way through the cracks.

"Well, I never would've thought it required this much violence." She coughed out. 

Anna waited for his next mistake, waiting for his face to drop the same way hers had once he realized that turning her onto her back wasn't the only thing he had done. The thick consistency of blood traveled up to his nose, and the witch watched as the skin there crinkle once it had. Once the yellow tones of his eyes met the vermillion stain on the frozen liquid beneath them, the blue instantly returned. His jaw slacked as he stared at the picture in front of him.

"Anna, I'm-" His voice was cut clean off as the witch wrapped her legs around his waist and landed him in his backside.

He groaned as his face scrunched tightly.

"Doesn't feel great, does it?" She asked. This time, she was determined to keep him down. She landed one heel of her boot on one of his wrists and one knee on his other, the toe of that shoe adding pressure right on his pants line. Her hand had grasped onto a long, jagged, piece of the ice as she turned them over, and now she held it against his neck.

Her free hand pressed against his chest. "I wonder if the werewolf fun pack comes with extra flexibility." She said teasingly. Unless he had some gymnast tucked inside of him, she didn't think he would be able to reach up and flip her around like she did him, and she doubted he would kick her in the back with the injury she had already. And though it's obvious the wolf beneath her could probably find the strength within him to push her off, the perks of being a werewolf could never defeat that of a witch, so down he stayed, beneath the wrath of the insignificantly smaller girl above him.

"Wanna test that theory?" Isaac grinned. He struggled under her grip, but halted his movements as the knife like object started to move uncomfortably close to his major vein. "I think without a weapon would be better, though."

"Have you met me?" Anna asked. 

"Hm." Isaac grunted. He jerked any of the limbs he could, but it was no use. Anna had been trained to fight since she was little, and regardless, her magic still overpowered him.

"Let me go." He growled. His fangs were closed to her fragile skin, a single slip and a new stream of blood would be flowing from her, but Anna wasn't afraid of them. She let her eyes wander over his face, and the only thing she felt inside her was want, need, even. Just need to have Isaac back on her side, instead of being pinned to the ice rink as she fought him.

"No." Anna shook her head. "Not until you see that you're wrong. Until you stop feeding into Derek's shit show. You know what he's doing, Isaac. You're smarter than that, he isn't helping you, he's just hurting you."

"I had no choice." He snapped. "You expected me to stay with my dad? I couldn't do that anymore, I thought you would know better than anyone."

"I do." Anna said quietly. "But he's gone now. He's dead, Isaac. And so will you be if you stay with Derek. Erica, she's not any safer than you are. And Boyd's already getting dragged in as well. You think Derek doesn't know this? He does. He doesn't care about you, all he cares about is himself. His own power."

Isaac breathed heavily, looking into her eyes. He never looked away, not once, but Anna could tell she didn't convince him.

"I care, Isaac. I have cared more than anyone for longer than I can remember for. Tell me you know that, tell me you remember it." Anna's voice was begging him at this point. She didn't care about  being quiet, being stable, sounding cogent, all she cared about was Isaac just listening to her.

"I know, Annie. But it wasn't a one sided favor. It was a deal. He got me out of there as an exchange, and now I have to play my part. I have to be in his pack."

Anna shook her head wildly. "You don't." She whispered. "You don't." 

Tears stung at his eyes. But he just swallowed. "Listen to me, Anna. This won't change anything, I won't let it. I'll still be yours. Just not the way I was before."

Anna opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She knew how selfish she was being, but she didn't care. 

A loud crash on the ground a few yards away from her made their heads snap to the left, where Erica's half conscious body laid. 

"Don't you get it?" Scott yelled. "He's not doing this for you. He's just adding to his own power, okay? It's all about him."

"You see?" Anna whispered. Isaac met her gaze, but he said nothing, his face emotionless.

"He makes you feel like he's giving you some kind of gift when all he's done is turn you into a bunch of guard dogs!" Scott threw Erica's body at Derek's feet.

"It's true." Derek shrugged. "It is about power."

Anna sucked in a breath as the pain in her back increased. Blood began to drip down her side and splatter on the ice, a drop catching on Isaac's shirt.

"Anna..." He whispered. He struggled again to remove his wrists from under her enforced spell, but this time not to fight her. This time to make sure she wasn't losing too much blood, to carry her out of harm's way before more damage was done.

The piece of ice she was using as a knife was dropped, and a tight grip on her wrist let Anna know that Derek was there. He turned her arm around and pulled her off of Isaac, slamming her into the ice machine. She gasped as the blade in her back dug deeper, but Derek ignored her. He ignored Isaac's shouts, and he ignored Scott telling him to fight him instead.

Derek dropped her wrist, repositioning it to her neck, where he held her a few inches off the ground. Anna struggled for a breath, and the alpha tightened his grip.

"You see, normally I wouldn't feel it to be necessary to waste my time getting you out of the way. But you see that? Scott's over there, beating my betas and trying to convince them to leave me. And, well, I'm sure you'd understand that I need to teach him a lesson, show him who's really in charge. And regardless of this little splinter in your back, I know you're perfectly capable of defending him. So I'm gonna have to kick a player from his team." Derek pulled Anna back, but instead of dropping her to the ground, he slammed her into the wall of the machine. The witch blacked out for a second, feeling her body go numb as a cracking sound filled her ears.

Derek threw Anna a few feet away and she groaned. She tried to force herself up, to go help Scott, but it was like her brain had disconnected from her limbs, she couldn't move no matter how hard she tried. 

Anna's eyes were half open as she watched Scott get helplessly defeated by the alpha before him. Derek's forehead collided with Scott's, and his claws raked across the teenager's body mercilessly. Scott cried out as blood seeped into his shirt, then engaged a blow to the face. 

He roared angrily, but the hits came in waves. Another to his face, his stomach, and he doubled over. He landed his elbow into Derek's jaw, and the Hale growled in response. But instead of getting mad, his mouth cracked in a smile. He walked back over to Scott, who tried to go in with an extremely predictable punch, but it was blocked. Derek's knuckles made contact with Scott's face so many times Anna lost count. She closed her eyes and tried not to succumb to the feeling of drowsiness pulling at her greedily.

She groaned as her head began to pound, and she fought for a breath. She laid face down on the ice, her arm stretching out for the ice knife she had before, but it would do no use. If she had the strength to get it, there was no good she could do with it, not in this state. Maybe just the comfort of having it in her hand seemed better than it being empty, but she couldn't even move. Her cheek rested on the cracking ice, the cold burning at her skin. She heard Scott's body get trashed into the ground, the fight now over.

Derek stepped on the smaller wolf's chest, and Anna winced as she heard a bone break. Scott couldn't seem to breathe, but just like Anna, was too weak to do anything about it. Derek let him go, Scott breaking into a fit of coughs and gasps. He walked past Anna, but didn't do anything to her. He helped Erica up and headed towards the exit of the rink, and the witch began to think Isaac left too when she heard a scrambling near her.

"Anna?" Isaac's worried voice whispered next to her. "Shit."

The beta gently lifted her up, but Anna's eyes had shut. Her breathing was shallow, and her head felt like it was about to split open.

"I'm okay," She croaked. "Just call Tal. Get her here." 

Isaac dug through Anna's pockets as he balanced her in his lap. Once his fingers found her phone, he ripped it out of her jacket. Anna tried to stay conscious, but the sound of the device ringing just lulled her further into sleep, and she was too tired to climb her way out.

Anna awoke on the couch in her living room. A fire crackled in the hearth a few feet away from her and a pillow was tucked under her head. She groaned as she tried to sit up, but black covered her eyes and a cold feeling washed over her head.

"Hey there, Sleepyhead." Tallula's voice grew louder as she got closer. Anna felt the couch dip as her older sister sat by her feet.

"How are you feeling?"

"Not good." Anna mumbled as she successfully managed to stay upright.

"I'd think so, you took a pretty hard one all over." Tal scooched over to Anna and held out a cup of tea with a small smile. "For your head."

"Thanks." Anna brought the cup up to her lips and took a sip, the flavor of lavender, sage, and oregano swishing around her tongue. 

Tal slipped her hand up the back of Anna's shirt, her warm palm resting over the healing injury near the small of her back. Anna grimaced lightly, but the pain had settled, leaving just a dull ache. 

"The water melted before I got you home," The older witch said. "There was nothing to remove. But it did a good amount of damage."

"What?" Anna sat up straighter, but instantly regretted it. A flare of hot pain seared in her back, swirling around her body.

"Careful. You're still hurt." Tal warned. 

"It's not going to leave a long-term effect though, right?" Anna asked hopefully.

"No, of course not." Tal said. "But it was deep, and you were bleeding a lot. It wasn't a good combination with your concussion and fracture in one of your back bones."

"You've got to be kidding." Anna groaned as she turned back to her tea.

"Oh, I wish." Tallula chuckled.

Anna smiled, but it dropped as she turned to the fire. If Isaac had called Tallula and she came and got Anna from the rink, did Isaac just leave her there? Or did he help Tal get her safely to the car? Did he come back with her to make sure Anna was even worth saving? 

"He was worried, you know." Tal said gently. She placed her hand on Anna's arm comfortingly, but it did nothing to make her feel better.

"I'm not thinking about him." Anna said quietly.

Tallula hummed. "Whatever you say. I think it's good to know he isn't fully on Derek's side. He stayed by you until I got there, Derek was long gone."

Anna nodded, but didn't say anything. She rubbed her eyes, and downed the rest of her tea. A yawn escaped her throat, and tiredness began to wash in in waves again.

"Why don't you go on upstairs, a little sleep couldn't hurt." Tal helped Anna stand and began to walk back to the kitchen. "Just give a shout if you need anything."

"Got it." Anna said as she climbed the stairs. The second she entered her room, her head began to spin. She leaned against her door and grabbed onto her dresser for support.

After taking a few deep breaths to steady herself, she hesitantly reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, only pausing for a moment to think about how Isaac's same fingers were wrapped around it just hours before. She pulled up his contact, her finger hovering just above the call icon.

"I'd press it if I were you." A voice came from her window.

Anna looked up too quickly, her heading aching again. She sucked in a breath and closed her eyes. 

"Easy there." Isaac bit his lip as he approached her worriedly.

"I'm fine." Anna muttered as she walked away from him. She pulled her shirt over her head, leaving her in just a bra and sweatpants. She heard Isaac swallow behind her, maybe before she would've teased him about it, but her head was too sensitive to even force out a laugh.

"Come on, Annie." Isaac said as he walked over slowly. His hand rested on hers as she reached to open her drawer. "You're not still mad at me, are you?"

His front side pressed onto her practically bare back, his arm wrapping around her waist. His face lowered into her hair, and she watched their reflection in the mirror.

"No." She whispered back.

"Good." Isaac inhaled the scent of her deeply, his hand that was once atop hers moving to secure her in his embrace. His hold on her tightened a little, forcing her to close any tiny gap there was between them. 

Anna closed her eyes, letting her head fall back against his shoulder. His fingertips traced little patterns along her waist, his breath steady on the curve of her neck. His gaze lowered down her back, a frown settling on his face as he noticed the healing injury living there.

"I did this?" He asked quietly.

Anna was tempted to say no. Technically, he didn't. But it'd be a lie to say it didn't happen because of him. Her eyelids fell as she looked at the floor, the toe of her sock gliding against the cool wood.

"It's okay," Anna murmured. "It doesn't hurt."

Isaac pulled away, and Anna's back searched to no avail for the warmth he'd provided just before. He turned her around, and just like previously, held their bodies together. He examined the deep wound in the mirror, his hands placed just beneath it. 

"I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear.

Anna shivered as if a breeze swept through the room. She let her body lean against his, letting him absorb their weight as one, too tired to even hold herself up. It was funny, really, all the emotions she tore through recently about him. Sadness, anger, relief, happiness, love, confusion. Anna pulled back, examining his face. Her eyes locked onto his, and she felt her breath hitch. The pure arrogance that took residence in them before was long gone, and now she was staring into the eyes of the boy she loved in her freshman year.

"Forgive me?" Isaac asked with a tiny wicked grin.

Anna's eyes closed as a smile worked it's way onto her face. She strictly avoided eye contact with him as she slowly lifted her eyelids, keeping her gaze angled to the hardwood floors she stood on. In truth, the witch didn't exactly want to forgive and forget everything that'd happened earlier that day. When she replayed the scene in her mind, her breathing became unsteady and she clenched her hands together so hard she thought the soft skin covering her palms might break. But the way Isaac's hands gently came to a rest right above her hips, warming the bare surface as he lightly ran them up and down instantly calmed her nerves.

Why did he do that? How could he do that? It just seemed so aggravatingly unfair to Anna she began to wear herself out. She inhaled a deep breath, feeling the pounding in her head began to settle. As the pain merely subsided, the brunette girl found it within her to slowly look up at the larger frame in front of her. Only so slightly to her surprise was she met with Isaac's stare meeting hers.

Blue clashed with blue as the wolf in front of her he leaned his head down slightly. Anna swallowed as she continued to look into his eyes, trying so desperately to focus on reading him. What was he thinking right now? What were the thoughts running through his brain? Were they the same as hers? To be honest, Anna didn't really have any thoughts at the moment. Her mind was a blank state, the only thing bouncing off the empty walls of her head was one single word, echoing throughout the nothingness and only creating the sound of it's syllables in her ears. Only one escape remained, one way out of her treacherous mental space of vacancy.

"Isaac." She whispered. To say it. That was it. To let him hear. To let him know that his presence was itching at her in a way she couldn't get rid of, only he could. Him, and no one else.

Isaac said nothing, but his lips parted as his stare grew hotter, stronger, so powerfully filled with something Anna couldn't describe as anything other than desire. 

Anna didn't know what her face looked like in that moment. She couldn't even tell what emotion or expression was etched along the lines in her face. All she knew was the anything that'd happened within the last few days suddenly vanished, the only thing remaining being the blue eyed boy who stood in front of her, hands holding tightly to her sides, eyes making fierce contact with hers, and lips that with every passing second began to fall closer and closer to hers.

It could've been seconds, it could've been years, the young witch had no way of knowing. Isaac's forehead fell against hers, and the feeling of their skin touching made Anna's jaw angle upwards more as she tried to get even closer to him. His nose brushed hers. The skin on her cheeks shared a fiery hot blush with his. In sync they breathed, Anna couldn't tell who's air she was breathing anymore. Her hand raised itself carefully, coming into contact with the material of Isaac's shirt as it covered his chest. She moved it up and along his body until it was on the crook of his shoulder, tugging it closer to hers.

It was in the minute that the moment began to grow its warmth, seize the heat and blow on the fire to ignite the feelings possessed by both supernaturals that Isaac's mouth began to inch it's way to hers. It was also in that minute in which a knock on the door sounded.

Without hesitation, Anna and Isaac tore away from each other in milliseconds as he grabbed her shirt from the floor and threw it at her. Anna bit her tongue to fight back the gasp that threatened to escape her mouth, the quick movements her body took on instantly reminding her of the concussion toying with her skull. Somewhere in between getting her arm through the right shirt hole and tugging her head through the top did Anna shove her finger towards the window, motioning for the wolf to climb through it.

Isaac grinned. "Aye, aye, Captain." 

Anna ran to her door, trying not to look out of breath and as casual as possible while she placed her hand on the handle. She opened it at a normal pace, faking a wince as she leaned against the doorway in case Isaac was still making his departure.

"Hey," She said.

"Hi..." Tal bit her lip and peered over Anna's shoulder.

"Oh, no one's here, I was just going to take a shower." The younger witch moved to the side, showing the empty room.

"Okay." Tal said in a cautious tone. "I brought you some soup, just in case you hadn't fallen asleep yet."

Anna took the bowl in her hands quickly. "Right. Yeah. I'm tired, maybe I'll just skip the shower." She staged a yawn and placed the soup on her vanity.

"Alrighty." Tal said. "I love you, see you tomorrow, okay?"

Anna nodded. "Love you too."

Tal closed the door with a smile and Anna fought the urge to bang her head against the wall. "Dumbass." 

She sighed as she started to lay on her bed, her phone dinging beside her. She picked it up, and rolled her eyes at the message.

"Nice one."