{ Let me shelter you }

Isaac traced his fingers over the symbol painted on the front door of the abandoned Hale house. An Alpha pack was the last thing he'd expected to cross their paths.

'Well, I'm out. I guess you and your last Beta have plenty to discuss,' Isaac heard Peter say to Derek, but he didn't bother to look back. The snide remark about the other Beta's having left, was completely unnecessary and it didn't make Isaac like Peter Hale any more than he did before. In all actuality, the guy gave Isaac the creeps.

'Yeah, well, thanks for your input, Peter. Always helpful,' Derek replied, failing miserably to hide the pain – or was it embarrassment? – in his voice. Showing any emotion, other than the casual sarcasm or anger, was unusual for Derek when he was in the presence of anyone, really. Isaac decided to blame the fatigue, as they both had had so little sleep the past few nights.

Isaac turned around again, facing his Alpha. By now, Peter had completely disappeared.

'An Alpha pack, Derek?' Isaac asked, putting his hands in his pockets. He wanted to hear it from his Alpha's mouth. The only response he got, however, was Derek rubbing his face tiredly, ending in pinching his nose. Isaac tried not to think about how used he felt. Derek only decided to change his Beta's because he needed them, yet he never bothered to tell them that. And all the while, Isaac believed Derek had wanted them with him, that he'd wanted to help them. This revelation just felt like a slap in the face.

'What's… Why is –' Isaac struggled to find the words, swallowing. 'Derek, how does that even work?' He tried to hide the fear he felt within himself. An Alpha pack just sounded scary beyond relief. All he wanted was a little confirmation that things weren't that bad. Derek finally looked up.

'I think we both could use some sleep first,' he calmly said.

Isaac thought of the abandoned warehouse they were staying at. Ever since Erica and Boyd had left, he started hating that place. Don't get him wrong, he would be forever grateful that Derek didn't make him stay out in the street, since he has nowhere else to go. And while it wasn't the most cozy place to stay at, he'd never gotten closer to something he could call a 'home' ever before. Or better, since his brother died. But with Boyd and Erica gone, the place was cramped with memories he'd rather not remember. And while they'd rarely stayed the night, they both spent probably seventy-five percent of their time at the warehouse, either training, studying or blabbering the evening away. Them leaving had been another slap to his face, as well as that of Derek.

Now what did you think, Isaac? As if anyone would want to stay with you. They didn't even bother to ask you to come with them, now did they?

The voice of his father haunted his mind to this day, even when he was no longer among the living. He shook his head, ignoring the tear prickling in the corner of his eye.

And don't expect Derek to stay with you either, boy. Sooner or later he's going to leave you too.

'You doing okay, Isaac?' Drowning in his haunting thoughts, Isaac didn't even notice Derek coming closer. He rubbed his eyes with his hands, a tear or two finally escaping.

You were made to be alone, son. To be left alone!

Derek reached out and put a comforting hand on his arm. And with that simple touch, the train of thoughts was silenced to nothing. He removed his hands from his face, hoping the tears hadn't stained his cheeks.

'Are you okay?' Derek repeated his question from mere moments ago.

'Yeah, Derek, I'm just…' He sighed, fatigue plaguing his mind and body. He looked away. 'I'm just tired.'

'Come on, I have to show you something.' A small smile crept on the corner of Derek's lips and Isaac wondered what had suddenly gotten him so excited. He made his way to leave and after taking another short look at the symbol, Isaac followed right behind.

{-x-}

Driving to wherever Derek wanted to bring them, took him a while. So in the meantime, Isaac had made himself comfortable in the front seat – which had always been occupied by Erica, before she left. The comfortable seat and the fact that it was darkening very soon, didn't make it difficult on him to fall asleep, which happened in mere moments.

Stopping before a red light, Derek took a look at his younger Beta, soundly asleep. He had no doubt Isaac would appreciate the little surprise he was about to reveal to him. Heck, the boy would still be grateful if you let him sleep on the floor, as long as he was allowed to stay with you. Derek had experienced that himself, as Isaac hadn't failed to thank him every single night he got to stay with Derek, until Derek plain out told him the gratitude was unnecessary.

As the light turned green again, he turned left and drove a few blocks further, until he reached his destination. He gently shook Isaac awake, telling him they had arrived. Drowsily, he got out of the car and looked up with a confused look on his face.

'Where are we?' Isaac noticed a pleasant neighborhood, with a few apartments and small houses scattered around. Not much, but cozy none the less. As Derek locked his car, he took out some other keys and opened a front door that led to an apartment. It started to dawn on Isaac what was going on, but he was afraid to get his hopes up, only to get them crushed again. Derek turned around, waiting in the doorway.

'I'll show you in a minute, but I'll need you to come with me,' he told Isaac, a faint smile still on his face. The excitement within Isaac grew with the seconds, but the tried to tone it down. Just to avoid disappointment if it didn't turn out like he would expect. Slowly but surely, he followed Derek up the stairs until they reached the highest floor. Opening another door, Derek went in and revealed a huge yet almost empty loft. The wall opposite of them was one big window, letting in the moonlight that illuminated the place. Other than a kitchen, a desk right in front of the huge window, a couch and one double bed, the room was vacant.

'What's this?' Isaac asked incredulously, taking in every little detail he could, before it'd be ripped away from him again. After all, he could be dreaming or Derek could be pulling one big lie on him. Because, you see, Isaac just wasn't meant to get nice things.

'I uh… I hired a loft for the both of us,' Derek finally replied, probably thinking it would've been clear without saying it out loud. He cleared his throat, a more or less awkward silence falling on the both of them. Isaac finally looked at him, still a little wary of the thought that this was all really happening.

'Why? The warehouse was more than okay for me.'

'No, it wasn't. Not for you, not for Erica, not for Boyd. I should've realized that sooner. That realization only hit me, however, when I decided to take care of a few other things,' he said as he took out some folded papers from the back pocket of his jeans. Derek couldn't help but notice the amount of little jumps Isaac's heart has made up to now. Folding open the papers, he handed them over to Isaac, who was still standing in the doorway of the loft. The trembling of Isaac's hands didn't go unnoticed either.

Isaac tried to focus on what was written on the papers, but the letters were so small and his nerves were wrecking him. Luckily, Derek was willing to actually talk to him tonight.

'I took care of some things this morning, together with Sherriff Stilinski,' he started explaining. The only words that Isaac seemed to catch from the papers as he quickly scanned them, were 'guardian', 'custody' and 'Derek Hale'. Now Isaac was sure of it; he was dreaming. That, or he'd been poisoned by wolf's bane and has started hallucinating.

'I'm sorry I haven't asked you this first, but as you've noticed, talking isn't really my thing,' Derek looked to the ground, snorting and raising his eyebrows incredulously. 'Who am I kidding, I barely talk at all. I just hope you don't mind?' He looked up. Derek was on complete new grounds and it made him feel uneasy. Insecure, even. The whole situation simply looked so surreal to Isaac. After a few moments of taking it all in, Isaac finally spoke up.

'I can't believe you actually want me,' he whispered, furrows appearing on his forehead. The look on Derek immediately softened. Of course, this boy's worries wouldn't concern Derek claiming custody over Isaac behind the latter's back, without even having discussed the matter. No, this boy was concerned about not being wanted. And Derek couldn't help but notice how deep Isaac's issues of distrust and desperation actually ran.

'Of course I want you, Isaac. You're my pack, and now I'm your guardian. I'm not just going to look out for you when it concerns supernatural matters. Now, I'm going to make sure you get good grades and finish high school, I'll try to minimize the trouble you'll probably get in as much as possible,' Derek chuckled, making a little smile appear on Isaac's face. The mere thought of this possible future made Isaac feel delighted. 'I'll be the one to go to parent's conferences and I'll make sure that when you're drunk at some party, having the time of your teenage life, I'll get you home safely. And to be honest, this is all very new for me,' he laughed again. 'But I'm going to try better now, Isaac.'

Isaac had never heard this many words streaming out of his Alpha's mouth, yet he didn't seem finished just yet.

'And I know today made it seem like you're just a tool to me. That I've just created you, and Erica and Boyd too, because I needed you. But you're not, none of you are,' by now, Derek was deadly serious. 'I'm not going to lie, the need for a pack has played a part in my desire to build one. But that wasn't the only reason. I hope you know that.' Isaac slowly nodded in response, still hardly believing anything that has happened in the past ten minutes.

'You can come in, Isaac,' Derek noticed how the young one was still awkwardly standing in the doorway, holding the papers of the custody arrangement in his hands. 'This place is now just as much yours as it is mine,' he smiled.

'And I know it's not much yet, but we'll get there,' Derek looked around the little place, actually feeling content with where he was in his life for once. Following Isaac with his eyes, he noticed the boy silently coming in and going to the window, in the meantime placing the papers on the desk. 'We're a work in progress, Isaac.' Derek came standing next to Isaac, looking out of the window as well. A big sigh escaped Isaac.

Derek knew things were going to change from now on. They were going to find the other Beta's and he was going to become a decent Alpha. And a more than decent guardian for Isaac. Looking at the boy, there seemed to lie so much uncertainty and even sadness in the younger one's eyes. For things to change, Derek would have to become more impulsive. So by what he did next, he knew it indicated a change for the both of them. He reached out his hand and ruffled the young one's hair. Isaac looked surprised at Derek, but the fact that he didn't even flinch at the contact anymore, showed Derek just how far they've come so far. It actually even made Isaac laugh, resulting in another smile appearing on Derek's face.

'What?' Derek asked, still smiling.

'I don't know,' Isaac continued laughing. 'I guess I still have to get used to you being…' And with that the laughter diminished and a little frown replaced the smiles. The word 'fatherly' crossed his mind, but he didn't want to push Derek's limits. They've already come so far and the fact that he had an entire future to get there, made him realize they still have time for that. 'Well, being like this,' he finished instead, smiling again.

'Well, I'm doing a shitty job so far. It's already half past twelve and you have school tomorrow, so go to bed,' Derek tried to pull a serious face. Another laugh escaped Isaac.

'Derek, it's summer break,' he couldn't help the laughs escaping him.

'Oh,' Derek frowned in return. Isaac caught his breath.

'But I'll go to sleep anyway, I'm tired as hell.'

'Yeah, about that. Would you mind sleeping on the couch for now?'

'Of course not, I'm used to a lot worse,' Isaac made his way to the couch, sitting down and taking of his shirt.

'Well, I swear it's only temporary. I'll get a second bed as soon as possible, but I'm a little short on money for the moment. But I will get you one.'

'I believe you, Derek. Don't worry about it,' he said while taking of his shoes.

'And I'll get our stuff from the warehouse first thing in the morning, okay?'

'Yeah, sure thing,' Isaac finally looked up again. 'Thank y- '

'No need to tha- '

'No, really, Derek. Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.' He yawned tiredly and lay himself down on the couch, turning his back to Derek.

And with that, Derek stood alone in the moonlight, rubbing the back of his neck and taking in what this all meant. It felt strange, but somehow very right. This kid deserved so much better and he was going to try and give that to him. Looking at his bed, he took the covers and moved to where Isaac was already fast asleep. Gently, he put the covers on top of Isaac and tucked him in. Unconsciously, Isaac immediately gripped the covers and pulled him up to his face, as if hiding away from inevitable nightmares that will definitely come further into the night.

After a little squeeze of Isaac's shoulder, Derek too took off his shirt and shoes and lay down on his now cover-less bed. But he didn't mind. He sat up again and took one last look at his younger Beta. The sudden feeling of protectiveness over this boy overwhelmed him, but made him feel good at the same time. He lay down again and sighed. For the first time, he actually felt excited about tomorrow. It was unknown and that scared him. But he also didn't feel all that alone anymore and with these thoughts, he fell asleep, having a little more hope for both his and Isaac's future.