The pack made their way swiftly through the forest, Scott and Boyd leading the way as their sense of smell was the strongest. They had agreed to keep silent, so as not to alert the sphinx to their whereabouts, but Isaac had a burning question. He tried to keep it to himself, but it was like an itch in his chest – he needed to ask it!

"What was up with Derek? Since when has he wished us luck?" he hissed into the silence.

"I know, right!" Allison chipped in. "I've never had the feeling he was that fussed if we came back from a mission or not."
"Does this mean he actually has feelings?"

"I don't know, Isaac... It's a scary prospect, but maybe he does!"

"Oh come on, guys!" Lydia interrupted impatiently. "Isaac, I can let you off, but Allison, I expected better of you! Are you both really that blind?"

"What?" they both asked in unison.

From the front of the group Scott snorted. "Seriously? Even I've figured it out by now! Derek has a cru – "

Scott was cut off as he was knocked flying high into the air, travelling in a wide arch before his back slammed into a tree. He fell to the floor, knocking thin branches and pine needles down with him in his wake. Boyd growled low in his throat and crouched close to the floor.

"Left," was all he said. The wolves bared their fangs and sprung to the side where the blow had come from.
The potion may've slowed the sphinx down a considerable amount, but it was still a tough opponent. Its graceful movements were incredibly fast, and took even the wolves by surprise. The creature's beautiful, entrancing laughter echoed around the trees, coming from all directions, throwing the pack off. Before long all of them were sporting an injury or two – not half as bad as the damage would've been had the potion not been drunk, though.


Erica watched as the golden creature turned to face Boyd, who was lying on the ground after being knocked flying. Its movements soft as silk, it prowled towards the hulking wolf, eyes gleaming with the malice. Erica saw red. She couldn't help herself from growling at the thought of the sphinx harming Boyd. With a quick lunge and a swipe of claws, the sphinx was down on the forest floor, panting heavily. It regained strength impossibly fast, but its momentary lapse in concentration had bought the pack enough time to get the upper hand. By the time the sphinx leapt to its feet again it had been surrounded by the pack. The beautifully symmetric face looked up into the trees, searching for an escape route, but frowned when it saw Allison and Lydia perched high in the branches, crossbows poised. (Allison knew it would come in handy to train Lydia with weapons at some point, regardless of how reluctant the redhead had been).

The sphinx lunged towards Jackson, taking a swipe at his face, but was knocked sideways by the force of Isaac kicking it in the side. The great creature was bounced around the circle, getting more and more disorientated by the blows it was receiving from all angles. The sphinx stumbled dizzily towards Isaac, panting. The young wolf flashed his claws, and thrust his hand upwards. He felt the rip of flesh underneath his fingers and watched as the beast collapsed on the forest floor, bleeding profusely from the hole Isaac had ripped in its throat.

Silence settled amongst the group for a moment, before a huge cheer erupted from the pack - except for Isaac. He stood, legs shaking, staring at the creature in front of him. He'd never been one for violence, not after his dad. Looking down at the creature now he couldn't help but think of himself in its place.

Sure, the sphinx had deserved it for hurting Stiles, but he remembered years ago when his dad had invited some old school friends around and they'd drunk over a game of poker. Isaac had come downstairs to find his dad after having a bad nightmare, but his dad was too ashamed of having a 'wimp' for a son to comfort him. The men had stood in a circle, towering over him, bouncing him between them, delivering punches and kicks as they went.

One by one the other men had got bored and filtered out to the kitchen to get yet another beer, until Isaac was left in the room with his dad. By this point Isaac's vision had been blurry, and his mind fuzzy and black round the edges, so he couldn't remember it completely. But he could recall his dad hissing "If you ever embarrass me like that again, I'll rip your fucking throat out! You understand me, you fag?" as if it were only yesterday.


The pack noticed that Isaac's breathing had become shallow and too fast.

"Isaac, buddy?" Scott began, making his way slowly towards the cowering boy. "It's okay, it's over now. You killed it!"

This only made Isaac worse, and he started whimpering and backing into a tree.

Climbing agilely down from her spot in the branches, Lydia approached. "Come on Isaac, look at me. You're in the forest. With me, Lydia. And Scott-the-dumbass McCall. Come on, look at me," she coaxed him gently ignoring the noises of indignation that Scott was making.

Gradually, Isaac's eyes focussed on Lydia's face and he nodded slowly.
"Sorry. Sorry sorry sorry sor– "

"Don't apologize, honey," Erica interrupted. "Now, let's get you back to Derek's."

The young boy got slowly to his feet and stumbled forward a few steps, his legs still shaky.

"It's alright, bud, we've got you," Jackson said, showing a surprisingly soft side to his usual douchebag persona. He looped Isaac's right arm around his shoulder and signalled for Scott to do the same.

Slowly, the pack made their way back towards the Hale house. The celebratory mood was still in the air, but they all walked slowly with Isaac. They were a team, a unit, and when one was down they all stuck together.


A/N: Thanks for the great response guys! I love reading your reviews so much! Anything else you want to see, just let me know :)