Nathan always gets depressed on the nights of full moons. Everyone else in the pack is always out running and hunting, and it's just not fair. When he was younger, pack members would take turns controlling themselves to babysit him. Laura was even anchored enough to take care of him a couple times.

Now that he's ten years old, his parents trust him enough to leave him alone. He has spent the past few moons exploring every inch of the house. One time he found his Uncle Jackson's weight lifting equipment in the basement and lifted for a while. His dads were furious when they got back home and told him over and over how he could get hurt. Now Jackson keeps the weights put up so he can't get to them.

One full moon Nathan got into the library and tried to read some of the books. Most of them were in some language he couldn't understand so he put them away and moped until the pack got back. He cried himself to sleep that night, and he's doing the same tonight.

Logan walks over and leans over him. "Are you hurt? Did you hurt yourself again?" That just makes things worse, and Nathan cries harder. Logan finally goes down and gets Derek who is still with the pack downstairs.

Derek walks up the stairs and sits down on Nathan's bed. "What's wrong?" he asks as he rubs his hand over his son's back.

Nathan turns so his face is pressed deeper into the pillow. "Nothing," he tries to growl.

"Then why are you crying?"

He chokes on his tears. "I want to be worth something."

"What?" Derek grabs his son and pulls him up in bed. "You are worth something." He looks him straight in the eyes. "You're worth everything to me. You're my son."

Nathan lowers his head and mumbles. "Your human son."

Derek sighs and starts to think. "Come on, get up."

"Why?"

"We're going running."

"What?" Nathan looks at his father strangely.

"Get up and get dressed. Me and you; we're going running."

"But I can't keep up."

"We've never given you the chance to try. Come on."

When they first start running Derek goes slowly. He speeds up as Nathan gets stronger and faster. They run together every night for weeks and soon he is able to keep up (as long as Derek doesn't push himself to go full speed).

Nathan is eleven now and runs by himself most of the time. He runs every night except for full moons (or so the pack thinks). As long as he is back before everyone else is, no one will ever know.

So, that's why he finds himself alone at night in the middle of the woods on a full moon with something growling behind him. He slowly turns around. Those red eyes don't belong to anyone he knows, and they're attached to a monstrous looking wolf. The thing is covered in hair and is stalking toward him.

He remembers being told to never turn his back on an enemy, so he slowly backs away. When the beast charges, he decides he'd rather die running than to die standing in place. Nathan runs as fast as he can, but it's dark in the woods, and he can't see where he's going. His foot catches on an exposed root and he cascades down a hill. Rocks and sticks fall with him, and he crashes with a thud at the bottom.

His breath is knocked out of him, but, surprisingly, he isn't severely hurt. The werewolf is getting closer, and he just wants his dad to save him. Suddenly, he's in the air being whisked away. He very thankfully clings to the strong arms that are wrapped around him. As he looks up, he can see that his savior is the local vet.

The creature is gaining on them, but Deaton skids to a stop and sets Nathan down.

"What are you doing?! Don't stop!" Nathan is panicking.

Deaton grabs his arm to keep him from running. "No. Watch what happens."

"Are you crazy?!"

"Watch."

The wolf is barreling toward them, and Nathan cowers behind the vet. He can see that when the animal gets about eight feet in front of them it stops dead in its tracks. It bends its head down to the ground and growls ferociously. The animal is clearly an alpha, but Nathan can tell it has no pack. It's a rogue. The alpha stalks around them but never crosses any closer to them.

"What did you do?"

"It's mountain ash. He can't cross it. No werewolf can. Can't even touch it," Deaton explains.

"How do we get out?" Nathan watches as Deaton pulls a short stick out of his pocket. It's made of wood and has carvings etched into it. He pulls out a pin and places it inside. He puts the device to his mouth and blows. The pin embeds into the beast's skin, and it howls out in pain. The sudden, vicious sound startles Nathan, and he falls down on his bottom. The werewolf staggers and falls to the ground.

"Run." Deaton pushes Nathan out of the circle, and he runs with all his might. He doesn't stop until he gets back home.

It's summer, so the next day Nathan slips away from the pack and makes his way to Deaton's office. He peaks through the window and watches.

"Come in, Nate. We're open."