"You have to go find him. I mean it Derek if you don't I will." Stiles proclaims loudly. Derek sighs loudly and shakes his head trying to control his temper. "You are not going out after him by yourself. It's too dangerous." "Scott Danny and I will go find him and bring him home." "He needs time to get over this Stiles." Derek sighs. "It's been three months! None of us can even feel him on the pack bond anymore it's like….he just gradually faded away. Can you feel him? If you walked out the door right now could you find him using the bond?" Stiles demands heart pounding and chest heaving. "Stiles." Derek says pulling Stiles close and trying to calm him. "What's going to happen if hunters find him out there by himself? Or if some other wolf comes along. Our scents are long gone from him by now. They will think he's an Omega. I know it took you longer, but people experience grief and loss differently. This is Isaac Derek… Isaac he needs to come home…..right now…..I….I need him to come home. Please." Stiles buries his face in Derek's chest and shudders.
"What do you want me to do Stiles force him?" Derek asks sub consciously reaching out over the pack bond for the faint barely remaining connection to Isaac. "Yes, if you have to. He won't talk to anyone. Any time anyone else has got close to him he runs away. He's halfway feral if he completely loses it we'll never get him back. They'll kill him." Stiles shakes his head emotions twisting in his gut. "Please Derek. He's my pup you have to bring him home. Even if it means chaining him up in the basement he needs to be with pack." Derek sighs and rubs Stiles back. Out of everyone Isaac's departure had affected Stiles the most. Even though Stiles loves and cares for everyone in the pack he has always been fiercely protective of Isaac. Made sure he was taken care of, was treated well by everyone, had what he needed. After the initial shock of seeing Neal's charred remains at the morgue Stiles's only thoughts were about how this was going to destroy Isaac.
Three months earlier
Isaac's Jeep skids to a stop in front of the house. The over heated engine pinging angrily due to him running it flat out for hours to get back home. He practically falls out of the driver's side in his haste to get in the house. He can feel Derek and Stiles's sorrow and dread. Bursting through the front door the three stare at each other silently for a moment. "Isaac." Derek says reaching for his stunned Beta. "He's dead isn't he?" Isaac asks numbly. "Isaac I…." Stiles says. Isaac sniffs their air. Stepping forward he pulls Stiles arm to his nose and sniffs the sleeve of his hoody. "Burned." He says as tears begin to stream from his eyes. "He…suffered….he burned….he…" Isaac stutters out shaking his head before he doubles over and howls low and broken. Derek and Stiles both pull Isaac in to a hug. "Neal!" Isaac wails. "Neal!" Isaac's legs buckle but Derek and Stiles hold him up. Isaac's heartbroken sobs fill the room. "I can't…." Isaac whimpers out shaking his head. He shoves back from Derek and Stiles causing the two to stumble. Isaac races towards the door shredding his clothes before fully shifting and racing off in to the night. "Isaac wait!" Stiles shouts running to go after him. Derek grabs his arm and holds him back. "Let him go."
"OK." Derek says kissing Stiles gently on the top of the head. "I'll bring him back. You need to stay here though." Stiles shakes his head "I'm coming with you." "Stiles I can barely feel him he's more wolf than human right now I won't risk you getting hurt. Please….I don't know what kind of shape he'll be in." Stiles exhales jaggedly shuddering slightly. "Ok. It's getting late lets go to bed. If you're not home by noon though Danny, Scott, and I will come find you." Derek smirks "Fair enough."
Stiles is bouncing on the balls of his feet in the entry way. He can feel Derek and a barely there twinge he knows to be Isaac getting closer. Moments later the door opens and Derek comes in. Pausing for a moment Derek looks back on the porch. "Come on pup." He encourages softly. Slowly with eyes cast down Isaac timidly walks in to the house. Stiles covers his mouth to keep from gasping at the sight of Isaac's body. He's rail thin. Isaac's once beautiful hair now knotted and full of dirt and grime. His frail body is filthy, covered in mud and muck. His face almost unrecognizable under the dirt and unkempt beard. Worried that too much fuss, too much noise would frighten the nearly feral wolf back out in to the woods Stiles advances slowly. Tears form and streak down his face as he gets closer. "Isaac." Stiles whispers holding his arms out. Isaac slowly looks up nervously swaying slightly. He locks eyes with stiles and in an instant rushes forward and pulls his pack mom in to a crushing hug. "Stiles." Isaac whimpers out sadly his voice rough from lack of use. Derek relaxes and pulls out his phone sending a text message.
"I've missed you. I've missed you so much pup." Stiles says heavily. "Can I….can…" Isaac starts but trails off. "Can you what?" Stiles asks gently rubbing his face on Isaac's. "Can we all sleep together tonight?" Stiles squeezes him before stepping back. "We can do anything you want… just please don't leave us again." Isaac lowers his head. "I'm sorry." He apologizes quietly shaking slightly. "You're back now it's all that matters." Stiles says. "Would you like to clean up some?" He asks trying to be diplomatic about the extreme smell coming from Isaac. "Yeah." Isaac says softly. "Come on pup." Stiles says gently putting his arm around Isaac's too thin waist and guiding him towards the bathroom. "Let's get you cleaned up." Looking back over his shoulder at Derek Stiles smiles and mouths "Thank you."
A short while later Stiles comes out of the bathroom and joins Derek in the living room. "He's going to soak for a while then I may need to help him shower. Thank you for bringing him home." Derek rubs his hand on Stiles's leg. "I should have done it sooner." Stiles shrugs his shoulders just as Danny and Scott come flying through the door. "It doesn't matter now he's back." Stiles says. "Where is he?" Danny and Scott say in unison. "He's in the bath right now." Stiles says. Turning back to Derek. "How did you get him to come back?" he asks. "I told him his pack needed him that he was hurting everyone by staying away. That he was needed, important, and that we could help him." Derek says. "Is he OK?" Scott asks. Derek shrugs "He's been a wolf the entire time. Lost more weight than is healthy. He's pretty weak but he already feels a little stronger on the bond." Danny nods his head. "Yes he is still weak but he feels better on the bond now than the last time I sensed him." Scott whines looking towards the bathroom. "I want to hold him." He says. "Stiles?" calls Isaac softly. Stiles jumps up and rushes to the bathroom. "Ready to shower?" He asks. "Yeah thanks." Isaac replies shyly.
Stiles pulls the drain open on the tub making a face as he sees the dark filthy water. Stripping down to his boxers he turns the shower on facing the spray away from Isaac while he adjusts the temperature. Isaac tries to stand but slips. "Easy there pup." Stiles say stepping in to the tub and helping Isaac to his feet. Turning the shower head to face them he starts with Isaac's hair washing the mud and forest debris from his hair. "These knots are going to be tough." Stiles says trying to work his fingers through the matted over grown mess. "Just shave it off." Isaac says. "But." Stiles starts. "I don't want the reminder." Isaac mumbles. Stiles stills for a moment remembering how Neal had been virtually unable to keep his hands out of Isaac's soft curls. "OK." He says after a moment. Hugging Isaac gently before moving on to Isaac's grimy body. Eventually Isaac is clean to his pack moms satisfaction. After sometime with a hair dryer and towel Isaac pulls his electric clippers out and plugs them in. "You're sure about this?" He asks softly. "Take it down to the way you wore yours in high school." Isaac says. Stiles nods his head and sets to work removing the unwanted mess of Isaac's hair. Once that's done Isaac glances in the mirror a moment before nodding his head. "I'm sorry about the mess." He says pointing at the tub. "I'll clean it tomorrow." "Don't worry about that right now I want to get some food in you." Isaac stares at the floor a moment. "What am I going to do Stiles? How am I supposed to live. He was everything. Everything. He...made me human." Isaac clenches his eyes tight and starts to sob softly. Stiles grabs Isaac and hugs him tightly. "We're going to take it one step at a time. Hour by hour day by day. Some days will be good some days will be bad. I promise you though, eventually the pain will be just a little bit less. You'll never forget him, but you will be able to live without him. I promise. Before they walk out of the room Stiles turns Isaac around and reaches out pulling Isaac's face so he could see in to his eyes. "I love you pup thank you for coming back. To me and the pack. Anything you want anything you need promise you'll ask?" "OK." Isaac whispers.
Later after eating what Stiles insists is nowhere near enough given his weight loss Isaac and the rest of the pack are on Stiles and Derek's huge bed. Everyone is ensuring they maintain constant contact with the sad wolf. "I'm so glad you're back. We were so worried." Stiles whispers as Isaac clenches him tightly sad tears leaking from both their eyes. "We'll all be here for you we love you." Scott says gently stroking Isaac's chest. Derek who has his arms around both Isaac and Stiles squeezes gently. "Welcome home."