"Mother is God in the eyes of a child."
- Silent Hill
No one really talked about it. No one talked about how things changed when Derek Hale came into the picture. They didn't talk about how they were once a feared pack – a feared Alpha pack – turned into a day care for werewolves. No one talked about how they were no longer showing off their superiority and tearing through towns and Alphas and packs alike but instead, they settled down in one place. No one spoke of how humans came in and out of the house as if it was no problem although that one human was mostly just Stiles Stilinski, after all, Jenna Sommers was his aunt.
Maybe that's why things changed.
Jenna Sommers was the female of the pack – the only female of the pack but that didn't mean she should have been looked down upon. She had a way of being just as ruthless and violent like the men and she had a way of putting wolves – especially newer ones – in their place. She was Alpha and she was female and while no one would say it out loud, she was the leader of this group. But, she was also the one with the maternal instinct. She was the very one who couldn't turn away the offer to keep Derek Hale safe.
No one really questioned it but Derek wasn't the first werewolf to come into their pack but he certainly wouldn't be their last.
The thing about Beacon Hills was that not everyone was as oblivious to what was really going on as some would like to think. Sooner or later, a select few could actually put pieces together because really, how long could these people believe that mountain lions or other animals going bump in the night were killing people? Some humans knew, some humans pretended not to know, and others were just too consumed with their own lives to really care about what was going on but for the few that knew, it gave the pack the advantage.
Which was why the pack was at the Lahey's that night.
"You're staying in the car."
"What? Why? You can't just bring me out here and then expect me to sit back and wait."
"Do you realize you can't keep your mouth shut for five seconds?" Derek was the one to answer Stiles' question as he glanced back at him from where he was sitting in the passenger seat.
Stiles made a dramatic hand motion, "It's not my fault I like to stay informed besides, I can be of some help."
"No," Jenna replied simply as she unbuckled her seat belt and opened the driver's side door.
"Why are we here anyway? The Lahey's? Really? Have you seen his son? I'm pretty sure they're about as oblivious as they come."
"Do you really think someone that digs graves for a living is completely oblivious?" Jenna turned around in her seat to face Stiles. "Mr. Lahey isn't as dumb as he looks and neither is his son. He's done some digging around and we're here to find out about what. I'll make sure to give you the 411 when we get back."
"Why is he helping us anyway and how are you sure he can even be trusted? You won't even let Scott tell his mom what's going on and yet you trust this 'Mr. Lahey'?" Stiles couldn't resist the urge to actually air quote as he said Mr. Lahey's name.
"Because the more people that actually know what Scott is puts him in danger," Derek replied simply as he finally got out of the car.
"And because this 'Mr. Lahey'," Jenna said deciding to take a second to mock her nephew, "owes me one. Stay in the car and don't go anywhere." She gave Stiles a warning look until he finally made a facial expression that read 'fine'. With a sigh, she hoped out of the car and followed Derek up to the door.
Once they were settled inside, Derek was the one who held most of the conversation and half of it wasn't even with Mr. Lahey. Other wolves had shown up by that time and once they had what they needed in hand, the older Lahey wasn't needed. Jenna listened slightly to the conversation of the number of bodies needing graves. Some of the deaths didn't match up to what they were looking for but other's did. Leave it to the grave digger to actually know something but then again, it was a small town and some grieving people had a way of giving out details they didn't even mean to give.
But Jenna was more focused on what was going on in the other room. Glancing to the rest of her pack she slowly made her way out of the room. The faint smell of blood was the first thing she noticed before Isaac Lahey even came into her view. He almost ran right into her and she made no move to step out of his way. She instead looked at him up and down before taking a gentle hold of his face. Tilting it the side, she accessed the damage which was really nothing more than cut lip – something she assumed was done before they even arrived.
"Go to bed." Her voice wasn't forceful or even demanding but Isaac knew better than to ask any questions or maybe it was just the simple fact that he was so beyond damaged that he didn't question anyone. Maybe he found it easier to just submit.
"This is none of your business." Mr. Lahey's voice came off strong and Jenna was almost surprised by the lack of fear in it.
"I thought we talked about that last time." Jenna stepped inside the kitchen as she crossed her arms. She didn't look directly at the older man as she instead allowed her eyes to move around the kitchen, taking in the scenery or the lack thereof.
"He's not your kid."
"Let me make this very clear," Jenna said as she took a step towards the man, "touch your kid again and I swear I will not break one of your hands but both of them."
"I think we're done here." Derek was the one to step in behind Jenna knowing that if he didn't things would get ugly…fast.
Jenna glanced over her shoulder at the younger man before looking back at the so called father in front of her, "We'll be in touch. Let us know if you hear anything more about these 'animal attacks'."
Neither Jenna or Derek were surprised that when they opened the front door to leave that Stiles was standing in front of it. He made an awkward movement as he attempted to step back from the two of them, "Hey guys…"
"I told you to stay in the car."
"I'm not 'the stay in the car' kind of guy," Stiles whined, "I need to be involved. I need to be in the action or you know my ADD starts kicking in and…"
"Shut up." Derek sent a not so amused look in Stiles' direction before stepping off the porch causing the younger boy to follow him, still blabbering on.
"Jenna…"
She took one step off the porch before she turned around to find Isaac trying to quietly sneak out the front door. She didn't stay anything to him as she stood there with her hands in her pockets waiting for him to continue. She figured if he was going to follow her out that there was something that he wanted.
"What you did in there…"
"Don't mention it," Jenna said simply as she turned to head back in the direction of her car.
"That's…that's not it." Isaac cleared his throat a little as the older woman turned back around to face him. "I…I want to be a part of this." He motioned almost nervously with his hand to the two men that were by the car.
"You want to be like me?" Jenna didn't see a reason to beat around the bush. She probably knew exactly what Isaac wanted before he even opened his mouth to speak.
"Yeah." Isaac's voice almost came out in a whisper as he casted his gaze downward as if he already expected the offer to be turned down.
Jenna sighed as she glanced behind her to the Beta that was still standing outside of the car with her nephew. Stiles was still going on about something but Derek wasn't listening to him. For a brief moment their eyes met and he did a slight motion with his head before Jenna turned around to face the teenager in front of her again.
It was the smallest of motions. It was so small, Isaac wasn't sure if he interpreted it correctly but when Jenna turned around and started walking in the direction of the car, he turned for just a second to look back at the house he once called home. Taking in a breath, he shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket before following the Alpha towards the car.
Derek wasn't the first wolf they took in and her certainly wouldn't be the last.
