A/N – The new characters on TW are intriguing to me, but anything I write now will probably be contradicted by future episodes since they've only just been introduced, so this may stay a one-shot. I'm a little annoyed at the scarcity of their back-stories (hence the title), so here goes…

Isaac: Boy Interrupted

Isaac cowered at the bottom of the newly dug hole, the smell of damp earth all around him. It occurred to him that this grave might very well become his own; relief and terror mixed uneasily in him at the thought. He had no desire to die…but he had no particular desire to live either. He wished there were another choice.

The digger was totaled, no way was he going to keep this job when his boss found out. When his father found out, Isaac might be locked in the broken meat freezer for good this time. He would die there, in heat and sweat and suffocating on the stench of his own waste. Isaac typically ate and drank very little, just in case a night in the freezer was in store for him. The less he consumed, the less he needed to eliminate. Once, he actually came out clean after being in there for twelve hours! Dad always forced him to clean the freezer if he soiled it…which meant bleach…which meant even headier fumes if he managed to get himself punished again very quickly.

Isaac clutched at his neck reflexively…so much of his life was spent struggling for oxygen that it was almost a permanent mannerism. He looked around at the hole…it was roomy…there was air (damp and earthy, but breathable) and he was safe from whatever monster was digging up the grave. And the other scarier monster that chased it off…

The more he thought, the more it suddenly became his dearest wish; to be allowed to die peacefully at the bottom of this earthen hole and never see his Dad, the freezer, and that asshole Whittemore smirking at him from across the street…

Isaac regretted he had no pen and paper to leave a last missive to the world. Something like "Fuck off, all of you…especially you Dad." Whatever. Let it be a mystery to them; let them wonder what his last hours were like…if any of them gave a shit.

He only wished he could have said goodbye to Erica first.

With a metallic groan, the digger slowly righted itself. Isaac thought randomly that maybe the digger was a Transformer, a friendly robot that would help him solve his life's problems…or tear him apart if it was one of the evil ones.

Footsteps approached, destroying the Transformers theory.

A dude with a dark grey jacket and worn jeans peered down at him in the hole, smiling ironically. There was something wrong with his expression…he didn't look like your average Concerned Citizen. There was a deadly evaluation in that gaze. Isaac knew that he was being measured in some way, and to be found wanting would mean death.

The dude seemed to come to a decision. He rearranged his features into one that only vaguely resembled concern.

"Need a hand?" he said simply.

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Isaac's father was asleep when he arrived home. It was an hour later than his usual time. Thank the gods for small favors, not that Isaac had believed in any. Until now.

Isaac's mother decided upon his name. She was devoutly religious, and as pious and self-sacrificing a woman as you could wish for. When she married Sam Lahey and discovered his true nature, she never stopped praying that he would stop the drinking, stop the abuse. She prayed right up until she had her 'accident'.

Sam came home drunk one night and forced himself on her…the only time he ever seemed to want to touch her lately, since Isaac was born. She announced her pregnancy two months later, on the same day Sam was fired from his job. He took the news well enough, or so it seemed. Three weeks later he punched her in the stomach, hoping to cause a miscarriage. He did that, and more. She hemorrhaged and bled out before she even got to the hospital. That was when the nightmare that was Isaac's life took a decided turn for the worse.

Isaac was locked in the deep freezer for the first time when he was just six years old. Sam was drunk, and had chained him in, loudly quoting the bible passage that the boy's name appeared in.

"And God commanded Abraham: "Take up thy only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest…and offer him up for a burnt offering." he chanted to the screaming child in the freezer. The smell of kerosene filled the tiny enclosure as Sam Lahey squirted it in and around the freezer.

"Where's the damn matches?" he said distractedly. Then he stomped up the stairs and (fortunately) fell asleep in his armchair, completely forgetting to burn his son to death as he planned. The next morning he let Isaac out and forced him to wipe up the pool of kerosene. When Isaac grabbed the rags off the nearest shelf, he spotted a full box of wooden matches just behind them. If they had been in plain sight…

Discarding these thoughts, Isaac went to his room and fell onto his bed. He knew what Derek told him was true…Derek had shown him enough to know for sure. He told Isaac to take the night to think about it, and to come find him if he wanted admittance to the Pack.

"What if I say no?" he asked timidly.

Derek just smiled at him, showing far too many teeth. Isaac fled.

Strength. Power. Heightened senses. Derek tried to convince him with these words, but Isaac saw through them and found the thing he wanted most, what Derek was implying with all his talk of super-healing and near-immortality…an end to the terror that stalked him every day of his life.

Derek informed him about the Argents, informed him about their methods. Isaac was no stranger to torture…it might be interesting to have someone else have a go at it for once. At least this time, he would have Derek and whoever else he recruited to back him up. All Derek demanded in return was loyalty…and he would always know if anyone lied to him.

Isaac had already decided he was going to go for it. He didn't even need the black eye his father gave him before school to further convince him. He would do it for the chance to show that loyalty and maybe have it returned for once by someone who mattered to him.

When Sheriff Stilinsky called the Laheys out to the cemetery to ask about the grave robber and the missing girl, Isaac told him what he knew Derek wanted him to say, and not just because Derek could hear him from his hiding place in the trees. He said it to let Derek know he was ready to accept his gift.

Isaac left the school and rode his bicycle as fast as he could to the abandoned underground train station that was Derek's lair. He found the Alpha waiting expectantly as he looked into the beam of Isaac's flashlight.

"Isaac? Are you ready to join my Pack?" he asked simply.

Isaac only nodded, then wondered if Derek even saw it with the harsh beam in his face…but Derek's eyes were sharp.

"Good. Then shut that damned light off and come in here." he vanished into the train.

Isaac did as requested, shutting the light off…and dropping it to the ground. One way or another, he knew he would no longer need it.

He felt his way through the darkness to the train's opening, hearing Derek's breathing all around him. If Derek thought to frighten him, it failed utterly. Sam Lahey had him beat, hands down-

Isaac gave a shriek at the pair of red eyes floating in the air before him. He stumbled backwards, falling to the floor and smacking his head good on one of the metal support poles. He whimpered in pain and hissed at the sting of tears flowing down his battered face.

The eyes approached slowly, and Isaac could almost make out a silhouette…a silhouette that was changing shape.

"Come to me, Isaac." The distorted voice told him.

Isaac got to his knees, completely unmanned and sobbing like he did that first night in the freezer when he was six. He crawled forward a few steps, ripping at his sweatshirt jacket with one hand. Moist popping sounds came from Derek as he changed into the monster he wanted Isaac to become.

The sweatshirt refused to unzip, as if it were trying to thwart him, to keep him human and helpless and afraid. Isaac yanked it off over his head. The thing waited patiently…for the moment. The sweatshirt came free, but the zipper left a thin bleeding scratch across his left cheek. The thing inhaled sharply as it caught the scent of fresh blood. He felt a clawed thumb wipe away a tear and gently stroke the bruised and scratched skin around his eye. Then the thing stepped back.

Isaac stood on wobbling legs and tottered forward, tripping and falling into a pair of incredibly long and incredibly hairy arms. They wrapped around him tightly.

'Is…is he hugging me?' Isaac thought just before the teeth ripped into his shoulder. To the thing's surprise, Isaac's arms wrapped around it… and hugged him just as tightly. After all, pain was the only form of love Isaac had ever known. His scream was colored by a rainbow of emotions, the fear almost lost within it.

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Isaac opened his eyes. It was light in the car…though that was impossible. Maybe his eyes just worked better now.

He instinctively sniffed the air, and recognized Derek's musk not far away. The scent triggered something in him; a pulse of subservience at the presence of his Alpha.

Isaac stood and retrieved his jacket from the floor. He pulled at the cheap zipper and only succeeded in tearing it completely off the jacket. Isaac chuckled, and wondered what the sound was.

Derek approached him, and Isaac cast his eyes down.

"Look at me, cub." Derek whispered.

It was the hardest thing he ever had to do, but he did it.

Derek was human again…or at least he appeared so. The look Derek was giving him with his piercing blue-green eyes was still an assessing, condescending one…but not as much as before. It was as if Isaac's worth had risen just a little since his 'initiation'. Isaac decided he would give anything to see a look of pride on his face, of respect.

"You made it through. Your shoulder and your face are all healed up. Not everyone makes it, you know."

"Derek…what should I do about my father?" he asked.

Derek growled. "Do nothing. Whatever you are tempted to do…forget it. Killing him will only draw attention to you."

The words 'I don't want to kill him!' rose to Isaac's lips, but he bit them off. Derek would hear a lie.

"I can't…stay with him. Not like this. You told me I won't have full control for a while, and the moon is almost full. He'll do something…"

"Leave it to me. I'll find a place for you and the others. You're almost 18. Just try to stay out of his way, and don't let him see anything he shouldn't."

"So…if he beats me…if he locks me in the freezer again…I should let him do it."

Derek's eyes flashed crimson as he experienced a completely unexpected surge of rage at the thought of someone harming his Pack. It surprised him…but he was new to these Alpha instincts.

"He doesn't have the power to really hurt you, anymore. If he hurts you again…I'll need to make sure you are around plenty of witnesses when I rip out his throat. With my teeth."

"Why'd you pick me? Why not someone like…"

"Please don't say 'Jackson', it's too painful. I'm still kicking myself. I picked you, because I need a Pack who likes being what they are. People who can appreciate the gift I'm giving them. You DO appreciate it, don't you?"

"You know I do. Derek, there's someone else I want you to…I mean somebody I think would love to have this."

Derek looked intrigued. "Excellent. Who is it?"

"My friend Erica. She's - "

"The epileptic girl. I know about her. She was all over Youtube a few weeks ago when she had that seizure at school." Derek finished.

Isaac's eyes actually flashed. "She's NOT just an 'epileptic girl'!" he growled. Isaac looked horrified then and cowered away from Derek. "Derek, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's all right. I didn't know you had feelings for her." Derek placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. He liked that the kid had some spunk in him…as long as he knew his place.

Isaac looked back, then sighed in relief when he saw Derek was not going to punish him for his insolence.

"She's …she's really nice, one of the only girls that was ever nice to me. I found the kid that made that video and beat the hell out of him. I thought my Dad was going to kill me when he found out." Isaac laughed. "He gave me a beer."

"I'll look into her. If she wants it, she can have it." Derek said simply. "Do you think she will want it?"

Isaac thought for a moment. "Yeah…if it would get rid of the seizures…yeah."

"Isaac, if I bring her into the Pack…she gets to decide who she wants to be with, if anybody. You will respect her wishes. Got it?"

"Yes! Of course…I don't even know if she thinks of me that way, I mean…I hope she does…"

"As a female werewolf, I may also have to send her on missions that require a 'woman's touch'. I can't have you getting jealous and challenging me over it. My word is LAW in this Pack! However, I would approve if the two of you did decide to get together; it's a lot less complicated than having to keep secrets from a human girlfriend. Believe me, that never ends well. But we're getting ahead of ourselves…she has to survive the bite first."

"She will. She's survived a hell of a lot worse." Isaac looked completely certain.

"I trust your instincts on this, Isaac. If she works out, you'll be rewarded. Now go on, get home. And Isaac…"

The boy turned around in the doorway of the train car. "Yeah, Derek?"

"If he locks you in that freezer…howl. I'll hear it, and I'll come for him. You'll have a perfect alibi."

Isaac nodded and left. The muscles in his face seemed to be trying to do something impossible. At first he thought it was the change…but then he realized it was a smile.

A/N – What do you think? Anyone want to see Erica and Boyd next? Let me know in your (hopefully) glowing reviews!