Chapter Twenty One - The Final Sacrifice

~ A Teen Wolf fanfiction collaboration between Miss E Charlotte and Sage Londyn.~

"You're kidding me, right?" Avery breathed as the trio closed in on the front door of an old house.

"What?" Scott asked, looking over to his friend.

"This is my mom's old house… this is where Allison has been training us." She sighed, as she rubbed her forehead.

With a smile, Deucalion said, "And the very last place anyone would think to look for you."

As he pushed the door open and they walked inside, Scott looked around and wondered if he was making the right decision. He'd been so sure that he'd never help the alpha, but after Stiles' dad and his own mom were taken by the darach, he'd been out of options.

Avery sat down on the old coffee table and Scott sat down in a chair facing it, as he asked, "Are you okay?"

Running her shaking hands through her hair, she looked up at him with a heartbroken expression as she said, "Scott, I am so sorry…"

Reading his confused expression she continued, "I tried to fight back, she hit Derek with this like… blast of power, and she did it because she knows he's my weakness. He was hurt… really badly hurt I couldn't just leave him like that, not alone."

"Avery…" Scott tried to cut her off, to assure her that none of this was her fault, but she spoke louder to talk over him.

"I tried to stop her, but I wasn't strong enough and she got away… and then she got your mom and I'm so sorry."

"Hey, this isn't your fault." He asserted scooting his chair closer to her.

"Isn't it? Because I feel like it is… it's not some stranger terrorizing us, it's my mother!"

"Who up until very recently, you thought was dead. There is no way you should have known this… or stopped it." He said as he reached out, laying a comforting hand on her arm.

She shrugged, clearly not believing him.

"We will figure this out, okay? We're going to get my mom and Stiles' dad back." The he paused, "I just hope she hasn't found her third guardian…"

Avery raised her eyes remembering something she'd read in an old journal of her mom's family.

"We need to find out if she's gotten her third."

Scott looked at her with an unreadable expression as her energy grew in the room, a few moments ago she'd been on the verge of breaking down. But now she had a look of determination, only he had no idea what she was going to do.

~()~

Teagan looked down to where Isaac had taken her shaking hands in his own, trying to comfort her as they sat together on Derek's dark blue couch.

He wanted say something, anything to provide her a bit of comfort, but he was drawing a blank. In a perfect world, he'd have the ideal thing to say to soothe her pain. But in a perfect world her best friend wouldn't have ran off with a pack of alphas and Derek's sister wouldn't be dying.

"Everything is just a mess." Teagan choked out, stealing the thoughts from Isaac's head.

Isaac opened his mouth, but before he could speak Cora started to make raspy coughing noises, as more blood bubbled up to her lips.

Teagan's dark brown eyes went to where Cora was lying flat on her back.

Standing up and managing to take a deep breath she crossed the room and picked up a towel off the coffee table, before she walked over to the bed and said, "We need to get her on her side, so she doesn't choke to death."

Derek raised his head from where he was sitting beside the bed and watched as, Teagan gently raised her head and spread the towel out on the pillow.

Picking up the other pillow she thought of the things she'd learned from her mom, who was a nurse as she instructed Derek, "Roll her so I can tuck the pillow behind her to keep her up.

Silently he stood up and turned his younger sister on her side as Teagan tucked the pillow behind her.

Sitting back down in his seat, he wanted to thank her but he couldn't say anything. He couldn't even look at her, because every time he did he saw she blamed him for Avery leaving, he blamed himself too.

He was not only a werewolf, but an alpha… a status he'd taken to not only increase his power and protect himself, but also to keep Avery safe. She'd been through so much, risked everything and time and time again he'd failed her.

"She's dying isn't she?" Isaac asked as he somehow found the strength to cross the room.

"I don't know." Derek quietly responded.

"She doesn't look good." He pointed out, looking over to Teagan who was staring down at the weakened beta.

"What are you doing to do?" She asked, motioning to Cora.

Derek rested his mouth against his hand for a moment before he admitted, "I don't know."

"She's dying…" Teagan nodded, as she glanced to Derek who snapped his angry gaze up to her for pointing out of the obvious.

Seeing his angered expression her own face contorted with pain and rage.

"What? Am I not supposed to talk about it? The same way no one is talking about how my best friend is gone!" Her voice filled the room, echoing in the sparsely furnished interior and high ceilings.

When he didn't respond her fists balled up at her sides as she yelled louder, "Avery is gone, Derek! And you're doing nothing, you're sitting here mourning like your sister is already dead, and you know what? Unless you get off your ass and do something, she will be!"

Walking over, Isaac stood behind her as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms trying to calm her down, but it wasn't working.

"I don't understand how this happened." She said, her anger turning into a dense feeling of hopelessness, "Avery was with you… how could you let his happen, you were supposed to protect her!"

"You think I don't know that." Derek gruffly said, still avoiding eye contact with the heartbroken teen.

"I think that the rest have us have been out there trying to save people, while you've been here letting your pack get killed off one by one. Erica and Boyd are dead… Cora is dying, I don't know if we're ever going to see Avery again!" Tears started to run down her anger flushed cheeks, as Isaac pulled her closer to him.

"She's got a point." Isaac defended her, looking to his broken down alpha. He was supposed to have a plan, offer advice, do something –anything to help but he was sitting like a stone, letting everything fall apart around him.

Teagan continued to stare at Derek, knowing he wasn't solely to blame but how could he sit there so seemingly emotionless, she logically knew it was wrong was she wanted someone to hurt the same way she was. "Derek, get up and do something! Track Avery's scent, get her back!"

"I told Cora I wouldn't leave." He quietly answered, but the truth was he didn't even know where to begin to try and find Avery. The fear of losing her and losing his sister who'd he'd only just gotten back was paralyzing.

Teagan scoffed, feeling like the air had literally been knocked out of her.

"Shh, babe…" Isaac tried to sooth her, -her emotions were thick and overpowering in the air. Confusion as to how this even happened, rage at Derek for not showing any emotion, even anger at Avery for leaving with Deucalion.

Her emotions only intensified the longer they were in the loft, he knew he needed to get her out of there before she had a panic attack or a nervous breakdown.

He guided her over to the door, where she paused looking back at Derek one last time as she coldly said through her tears, "You know, Avery loves you and she believes you feel the same way… and you know for a minute –I believed it too."

As Isaac pulled the door shut behind them, Teagan hoped that her words stung him at the very least, because in that moment her entire world was crumbling around her.

~()~

After leaving the loft, Teagan and Isaac walked into the Dukate house, where they were greeted by Aspen, who was excited to see his owner, until he noticed Isaac standing beside her, causing him to growl, then let out a loud bark.

"Aspen! Stop!" Teagan said, trying to calm down the dog.

Isaac held out his hand toward Aspen, as he calmly said, "It's okay, boy. You know me."

"Are you crazy?" Teagan questioned him.

"What? I'm letting him sniff me so he'll know I'm not a threat." Isaac explained.

"You won't be a threat to anyone when he bites your hand off." Teagan pointed out. She grabbed Aspen's collar just in case he tried to attack Isaac, then relaxed when he licked his hand, then walked off.

"See! He still likes me." Isaac said, as he flashed her a smile.

Teagan gave him a small smile back, not having it in her to fully smile since she was worried about her best friend. The two walked further into the house, seeing Annabel standing in the door way leading to the living room.

When she saw Isaac, her back arched up and she let out a loud hiss, before running in to the living room.

"Now she doesn't like me very much." Isaac commented, as he nodded his head toward the room the cat was now hiding in.

"I wouldn't take it personally. She doesn't like anyone with fangs and hair, except for Aspen." Teagan said, as she walked over toward the stairs. She stepped up on a step, then turned around to face Isaac. She laid her arms on his shoulders, as she said, "She doesn't know what she's missing though."

Isaac smiled at her words, as he placed his hands on her hips and stepped closer to her. He could tell from the look on her face that she was trying to hold it together, but was seconds from breaking down. He moved his hands to the small of her back, slipping one hand under her shirt, to lightly rub her back, as he asked, "So how's my girl doing?"

Teagan took a breath, then forced it out, as she said, "Not good."

"Hey..." Isaac began to say, waiting until he had her full attention, as he added, "Remember what I said? This isn't like last time. This time we know she's gone and who has her. We'll find her."

When she didn't say anything, he continued, "You know Avery, she-she probably has some plan or something. First chance she gets, she's going to tell us and we'll help get her away."

Teagan shook her head at his words as tears filled her eyes. She pulled away from him, then sat down on a step, as she breathed out, "This was her plan."

"What?" Isaac asked confused, as he sat down beside her on the step.

"Leaving with Deucalion... it was always her plan." Teagan softly said, as she pulled her legs up, resting her chin on her knees. She thought back to one of their training sessions, the one where she tripped and got hurt. That day Avery told her that Deucalion wanted her to leave with them.

She turned her head to look at Isaac, as she continued, "Deucalion wanted Avery the whole time and if it meant saving everyone, she was going to go. This was her plan."

Isaac reached out to grab her hand, giving it a squeeze, as he said,"Well we're not letting her go. We'll bring her back, we're going to bring her back home."

Teagan gave him a soft smile, hoping his words were true, but she knew how Avery was. Once she set her mind on something, it was hard to change it. If she decided to stay with Deucalion and the alpha pack, there was no getting her back. Her best friend was just gone, and she never got to say bye.

When that thought hit her, she gasp, a fresh set of tears filling her eyes, as she whimpered out, "I never got to say good-bye."

Isaac looked over at her, seeing the tears stream down her face, as she continued, "I left her a note. A freaking note; what kind of best friend am I?" The more she thought about the more upset she became, "I had chance after chance of calling her. I should have called her, I should have talked to her, I should have changed her mind. I should have been there! I should-"

"Shh, come here." Isaac said, as he pulled her toward him as she broke down in his arms. He ran a hand up and down her back, kissing the side of her head, as he said, "There's nothing you could have done, Teagan. You couldn't have stopped this, no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't have done anything to keep her here."

"I can't lose her, Isaac." Teagan cried out. "I can't lose Avery too." She whimpered. It was already hard enough losing her mother, she couldn't lose the person who was like a sister to her too.

As Teagan continued to cry for her best friend, Isaac held her, unsure what to say. There wasn't anything he could say to make it better and that killed him. He wanted to be mad at Avery, for just leaving them all like this.

She had become one of his close friends too and the thought of life without Avery hurt him too. She went out of her way to befriend him, to push him to go after what he wanted. She was a big help in getting him back together with Teagan at the start of the summer. They all needed her.

He heard Teagan softly sigh as her tears began to slow down. He pulled her closer to him, feeling her lay her head in the crook of his neck. They stayed like that for several minutes, trying to give each other strength and comfort, until they heard the front door open, causing them both to jump back.

Teagan glanced over at the door with a hopeful expression, hoping her blonde friend was going to walk through the door, and tried not to feel disappointed when it was Richard, Avery's father.

"Is everything okay?" The older man asked, when he saw the two upset teenagers on his steps.

"Uh, y-yeah, everything is ok." Teagan lied, as she and Isaac stood up at the same time. "It's just um, my dad. We fought again." She added, not wanting to tell him about his daughter leaving with a monstrous pack leader.

"I hate to hear that." Richard said. He knew how close Teagan and her father were. He never really admitted it out loud, but he always hoped to have a relationship like that with Avery one day. He feared it would never happen though, he felt like every time they took a step forward, she jumped two steps back.

"Well, you're welcome to stay here another night if you want." He offered, then added, "You too, Isaac, but I'm sure Avery has already invited you two over."

Teagan softly smiled, but didn't comment. If she was still around she would have. Avery was always the type to invite friends over without asking first.

It use to drive Richard crazy until he realized he would rather her be there at home with friends, then God knows where.

Just realizing he had not seen his daughter yet, he asked, "Where is Avery?" When neither one of the teens answered, he pointed upstairs, as he asked,"Is she in her room?"

"N-No, uh, she's-she's..." Teagan began to say, her mind going blank on a convincing lie.

"She's on a date." Isaac finished for her.

"Oh." Richard said, as he loosened his tie. "Good for her." He added with a smile. With knowing about some of the drama going on lately, he was happy to hear his daughter was doing something normal for once.

"Right." Teagan breathed out, as she flashed a fake smile. She was just grateful he was the type of father that wouldn't ask any questions, or at least he used to be, but this time he surprised her.

"Who did she go out with?" Richard asked, curious.

"Uh, who-who... um, she went- she's with..."

"Derek." Isaac stated, seeing that Teagan was having trouble thinking of someone.

Teagan cut her eyes at Isaac, wondering why he said Derek. Out of all the names in the world, why did he have to say the one that just let her best friend walk away with a killer. Isaac gave her a small shrug, he just said the first name that came to him.

"Hmm, they must finally be working things out. I'm happy for her." He admitted.

"You are?" Teagan asked surprised. "Even with knowing everything, you would still want your daughter with him?" She added, still in shock.

"You can't help who you love." Richard pointed out. "Sometimes you can look at a couple and tell how much in love they are. It was that way for my wife and me, with your parents..." He said, as he looked at Teagan. He smiled at the couple standing in front of him, as he added, "I can see it with you two, and I see it when Avery and Derek. They love each other and would protect each other."

"I wouldn't count on it." Teagan mumbled, as she looked down at the floor, still pissed at Derek. Thankfully the only one who heard her comment was Isaac.

With a frown Richard continued, "Just sometimes I worry about her with him, the way she puts him over everything else, including herself."

Before anyone could say anything else, Teagan heard her phone beep, telling her she had a new text message. She quickly grabbed her phone, hoping it would be a text from Avery and felt her eyes widen when she saw what it was. It was a picture from Stiles.

"We got to go." Teagan said suddenly, as she grabbed Isaac's hand and began to walk toward the front door.

Richard nodded his head, as if to say bye, then called out, "Make sure you lock up when you all get back."

"We will." Teagan called out, as she rushed out the door, pulling a confused Isaac behind her.

"What's going on? Who was that? Was it Avery?" Isaac asked, as they made their way down the porch stars.

"No, Stiles." Teagan answered without stopping.

"Whoa, hey." Isaac said, as he pulled on her hand, bringing her to a stop. He turned her around to face him, as he asked, "What's the big emergency?"

"We know who the next target is." Teagan said out of breath, then added, "For once we are one step ahead, but we have to act now."

"Who's the target?" Isaac questioned.

Teagan held up her cell phone, showing him the picture Stiles sent. It was the name Argent spray painted on the elevator doors at the hospital.

She gave him a genuine smile, for once it seemed like they were ahead. For once it seemed like maybe they could win this war. She just couldn't help but wish Avery was with them when it happened.

~()~

Many minutes later, Teagan and Isaac stood side by side as they rode the elevator up to the Argent's apartment. Isaac glanced over at Teagan from the corner of his eye, seeing her impatiently tapping her foot.

He cleared his throat, causing her to look over at him. Realizing what she was doing, she apologized and stopped tapping her foot. The two went back to staring straight ahead, Teagan lost in her own thoughts.

A few seconds later, Isaac looked over at her again, seeing her chewing on her thumb nail this time. Without a word, he reached over and grabbed her hand, pulling it from her mouth and held it in his hand.

He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, as he questioned, "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking..." Teagan began to say, as she paused for a moment to blow out a breath. "I'm thinking for once maybe we can save someone. Maybe we can stop all these killings, maybe for once we can win. Maybe we can save Melissa and the Sheriff, and maybe even save-"

"Avery." Isaac finished for her.

"Yeah." Teagan said, as she flashed him a smile. She turned to face him, a hopeful look came across her face, as she continued, "Once we stop the darach, we can track down the alpha pack and get Avery back. Scott too."

Isaac smiled, seeing the fire back in her eyes, glad to see she wasn't giving up. It was a completely different look from her broken look earlier at the house. Earlier she felt like they were beaten, that there was no way up, but now she was ready to fight. She wasn't giving up.

Isaac leaned forward to kiss her forehead as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slide open. The two exited the elevator, hand in hand, as they walked over to the door. Teagan used her key to unlock the door before the two walked into the apartment. Isaac nodded his head toward the hall, letting her know he heard talking coming from Chris' office.

Teagan and Isaac made their way toward the room, coming to a stop in the doorway, getting Chris, Allison and Stiles attention, causing the three to turn and look at them.

"I can't shoot a gun or use a crossbow like my badass girlfriend can..." Isaac began to say, as he glanced over at Teagan for a moment. He looked back at the other three, and held up one of his hands, his claws sliding out, as he added, "But... well, I'm... I'm getting pretty good with these."

Chris nodded his head, accepting their help. He hated involving more teenagers, but he had a feeling they wouldn't take no for an answer. If Teagan was anything like his daughter, he knew she would tag along regardless and he knew if she was involved Isaac was too. It was clear to see he wasn't leaving his girlfriend's side.

"Load up." Allison said, as she looked over at Teagan, nodding her head toward one of the many cases of weapons that were sitting out.

Teagan nodded then walked over to the left side of the room, opening one of the cases and looking at the gun inside. A Desert Eagle 1911 semi-automatic pistol. It still surprised her sometimes how much she knew now.

Before training with Allison she barely knew the different between automatic and semi-automatic. She still had a lot to learn, but at least she felt better prepared now.

While lost in her own thoughts, she never heard someone walk over toward her or speak her name, but when she felt someone lay a hand on her shoulder, she jumped and put her hands up, ready to block an attack if she had to. She glanced over beside her and relaxed when she saw it was Stiles, who had his hands up in surrender.

"Whoa, T, it's only me." Stiles said. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm sorry, I-I wasn't paying attention and didn't hear you." Teagan said back.

"You okay?" Stiles asked.

Teagan shook her head, then said, "Ask me that again later. Once we get everyone back." She paused for a moment, taking a close look at him. She could tell he was like her, trying so hard to stay positive and not break down, and it was worse for him. Not only did their friends leave with Deucalion, but his dad was taken too.

"How are you doing, Stiles?" She questioned.

"Ask me later." He said, copying her answer from earlier.

"We're going to get your dad back, Stiles. We're going to get him and Melissa back." Teagan stated, as she laid her hand on his arm, trying to give him comfort.

"What about Avery and Scott?" Stiles asked, his voice slightly cracking as he thought about his best friend and the first girl he ever loved. He hated that he couldn't stop them from walking away. He was slowly losing everyone and he couldn't stop it. It was out of his control and that thought killed him.

"We'll get them back too. Somehow, we're going to save them too." She said, sounding braver than she felt.

Stiles open his mouth to apologize to her for not being able to stop them, but before he could say a word, Isaac walked over to them.

He laid his hand on the small of Teagan's back, getting her attention, as he said, "We're heading for the bank."

"The bank?" Teagan questioned, "The one Avery was held in? That's where the darach is?"

As Isaac nodded his head, Stiles spoke up and explained, "That's where we think she is. It's the only place she tried to use before with no success. Deaton was saved before she could sacrifice him, so we think that is where she'll be."

"Oh." Teagan said, realizing that made sense. She thought again about what he said, then lowered her eyebrows in confusion, as she said, "Wait, 'she'? You know who it is?"

Stiles looked at her in surprise, never realizing she didn't know it was Avery's mother doing all of this. It made sense though, it's not like any of them had the time to sit around and give a play by play of everything that happened recently.

Before he could answer her question, Allison called out her name, telling her it was time to. Teagan nodded her head, then looked back at Stiles ,as she said, "Keep your phone on. If you hear from Avery or Scott, let us know."

Without another word, Teagan turned and began to walk toward the door, Isaac following along behind her. She was about to walk out, when Stiles called out her name, she turned her head to look at him, waiting to see what he wanted.

"Be careful." He said. He gave her a small smile, as he added, "Avery would kick our asses if something happened to you."

Teagan gave him a smile back, and nodded her head, knowing he was right. "You too." She stated, before she turned back around and walked out of the room.

She knew things were bad right now, but she had to believe this plan would work. She had to believe things could not get worst.

~()~

After the vault door creaked open, Chris stepped inside, followed by Allison. Isaac stood behind Teagan, letting her step in first, then stepping in behind her, wanting to have her back in case something tried to sneak up behind them.

If something was in front of them, he would see it coming and could jump in front of her, but if something tried to come up behind them, he would rather it get to him first before her.

Once inside, the group glanced around, as Allison spoke up and said, "It's empty."

"Be careful anyway." Chris said back, speaking to all the teenagers.

Isaac watched as Teagan walked over toward Allison, standing beside her, then glanced over at Chris when he brought out a taser stick, seeing him turn it on.

"I thought you only used those on werewolves." Isaac said with a confused expression.

"I do." Chris stated, before he hit Isaac with the stick, causing him to groan out in pain before falling to the floor.

"What the hell?" Teagan yelled out, as she and Allison spun around in surprise. Feeling betrayed by the elder Argent, Teagan shot Chris a look, then went to take a step toward Isaac, but before she could move, Chris was in front of her and Allison.

He pulled out two pair of handcuffs and quickly handcuffed one of their hands each to the bars behind them, trapping them both.

"What are you doing?" Teagan screamed, as she pulled on her cuffed hand.

"Dad?" Allison questioned, her face a mixture of confusion and shock.

"I'm sorry. But you two are just gonna have to trust me on this." Chris said, as he looked at his daughter and her friend. "I knew for a long time this-this thing. It didn't just operate on the currents. It was in sync with them." He explained.

"What?" Allison breathed out in surprise. Her heart beginning to race once she realized what he was doing, he was giving up. He was going to let it take him. "Dad, no." She whimpered out.

The two girls and Chris, turned their heads toward the door, when they heard someone walk in and saw a blonde headed woman step into the room with them.

Teagan felt her mouth drop open, she stuttered a few times, her eyes not believing who she was seeing. It wasn't possible, it couldn't be her standing before her.

"T..." Allison began to say, seeing the look on her face.

"It-It can't be. It can't be her. It can't be." Teagan breathed out, finding it hard to speak.

"Wow, would you look at you, Little Tea Rose." Aleine said, as she took a step toward the girls, her eyes on Teagan.

When she took another step, Chris took a gun out, pointing it at Aleine. She turned her head to look at him, her eyes landing on the gun. She scoffed, then moved her hand, forcing the gun out of his hand.

"Aw, sweetheart, I guess no one told you about me, huh?" Aleine said, as she looked back over at Teagan, seeing that the young girl was taking several short breaths.

"Wh-what-how?" Teagan breathed out. "How are you- We thought you were dead! Avery thought you were dead!" Teagan called out, then gasped when her best friend crossed her mind. Things were making sense now. Why Avery decided to leave with Deucalion now, why Deucalion wanted her so badly in the first place, he wanted her help in stopping her own mother. She also couldn't help but wonder if this was why the pack went after her mother, did they think she knew Aleine was alive?

"Did mom-"

"No. She didn't know." Aleine answered, then added bitterly, "But they killed her anyway."

"You've killed too. You're no better than them." Chris pointed out.

Aleine turned her head to look at Chris, shooting him a dirty look, as she said,"I did what I had to do. I have to stop them. For my daughter." She turned back to look at Teagan, as she added, "For your mother. I'm going to stop them."

"Your mother was innocent in all of this, just like you are..." Aleine began to say, as she took another step toward Teagan. "But you are too much like her. You have a big heart and you care far more than you should, and that's going to get you killed." She added. Reaching up to touch the side of Teagan's face, as she continued, "But I can save you and I can save Avery from this life. After the final sacrifices are done, I'll be unstoppable and I'll destroy the alpha pack and anyone else who tries to harm you two. Then we can go where ever we want and start over."

"What?" Teagan breathed out, a confused look on her face. "What are you..." She began to say, until she realized what Aleine was saying. The color drained from her face, as she stuttered out,"N-no. No you can't."

Aleine smirked as she took a step back, she glanced over at Chris for a moment, as she said, "This whole time you thought you were the one I was after, but you were just a diversion. And the whole time, my real target, was all alone. Perfect for me to grab."

"No!" Teagan screamed out, as she tried to rush toward Aleine, but was stopped by the handcuffs. "Please, please don't do this. Please!" She pleaded with the older woman.

"Just think Tea Rose, the pack took your mother away, but your father can help destroy them. It's a little poetic if you ask me." Aleine said, as she glanced back over at Teagan, making her skin crawl at hearing the old childhood nickname from her lips.

Aleine quickly turned her head when she heard Chris coming toward her. She held up both hands this time, a small white light shooting out, causing him to fly backwards and slam against the wall before falling to the floor.

"Dad!" Allison yelled out, as she pulled against the handcuffs.

Aleine turned her head back to look at Teagan, shooting her a smug smile, as she said, "See you soon, sweetheart."

As Avery's mother walked out of the vault, Teagan stood frozen, unable to move; The shock of seeing her best friend's mom alive after so many years was surprising enough, then finding out she was the one committing all the murders, and finally, learning that her father was the last sacrifice was more than she could take. She had already lost her mother and best friend, she couldn't lost her father too.

She couldn't see anything, as her eyes filled with tears, blurring her vision. She could faintly hear Allison calling out her name, then yelling out Isaac's name for help, but all she could really hear was the beat of her heart and herself gasping as she tried to take a deep breath with no luck.

"Teagan... Teagan!" Allison yelled, as she tried to reach her friend. The girl was standing right beside her, but her mind was a million miles away. "Teagan, listen to my voice. You have to stay calm. Remember what you learned, remember what I taught you." She added, trying to help.

When that didn't work, she looked down at the floor where Isaac was laying, still trying to recover from the taser. "Isaac! Isaac get up, damn it!"

Isaac gasp as his eyes snapped open, finally coming to. He stood up, a little shaky at first, glanced around, trying to take in his surroundings. He saw Chris lying on the ground and went to go over and check on him, until Allison called out his name again, getting his attention.

She shook her arm, causing the handcuffs to rattle, telling him to come break them free. He walked over toward the girls, glancing at Teagan for the first time and became concern at the state she was in.

"What the hell happened?" Isaac snapped, as he pulled on both of the handcuffs.

"It's Avery's mom. She's the one doing all of this." Allison answered.

"What?" Isaac asked surprised, as he pulled even harder on the handcuffs.

"And it gets worse. She took her dad." Allison added, as she nodded her head over at a silent Teagan.

"Damn it!" Isaac yelled out, as he pulled on the handcuffs as hard as he could until he heard them snap.

As soon as she was free Allison ran over to her dad, falling to her knees beside him and breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw he was okay, just knocked out and bruised.

Teagan stumbled forward when her handcuffs snapped, causing Isaac to wrap his arms around her waist to stop her from falling. He called her name a few times, becoming even more worried when she didn't answer.

He kissed the side of her head, as he whispered out, "Teagan, baby, please, talk to me. Please say something."

"My-My da-dad. She's got-" Teagan whimpered out, as one of her hands latched on to Isaac's arm.

"I know, baby, I know. But it's going to be okay." Isaac said back, trying to comfort her, as he pulled her toward her, holding her in his arms.

"It's not-It's not ok. It's not ok." Teagan mumbled over and over again, as her knees gave out, and she sank to the ground.

Isaac went down to the ground with her, his eyes widening as he heard her gasping again and felt her shaking in his arms. Knowing she was prone to panic attacks and after all the bad things that kept hitting her lately, he was worried if he couldn't get her to breathe soon, it was going to get worst.

"Come on, baby. Don't do this, come on." Isaac pleaded with her. He grabbed one of her hands, laying it against his chest, as he continued, "Feel my heart? concentrate on my heart and take deep breaths, okay? Come on, baby, come on, you can do it."

He pushed her damp hair from her sweaty face, watching her carefully as she took a deep breath, then slowly released it. He urged her to take a few more, keeping her hand against his chest, as he watched her take in a few more deep breaths, and saw the color starting to return to her face.

He pulled her toward him, laying his lips against her forehead, as he blew out a sigh of relief. He was relieved to see her breathing normal again, but was still concerned that she wasn't saying much.

"Isaac?" Allison called out from the other side of the room. When he turned his head to look at her, she added, "You should get her out of here. I called for help for my dad, but they'll have questions for all of us if you two are still here."

Isaac nodded his head, knowing she right, and the last thing they needed was to be questioned for hours, giving Aleine more time to complete her task.

He kept one arm around Teagan's back, and moved her head to rest in the crook of his neck, then he placed his other arm under knees, picking her up as he stood up from the floor. He held her close as he began to walk toward the door. He paused for a moment, and turned to look at Allison when she called his name again.

"Tell her I'm sorry." Allison softly said, as tears filled her eyes, feeling like she was at fault. She was so sure that Aleine would go after her dad, she never even thought about Teagan's father. They should have known, they should have been prepared.

Isaac nodded his head again at her words, as he turned back around and walked out of the vault. Now that Aleine had three guardians, they had to work fast if they wanted to save them. They needed a plan, but more importantly, they needed help.

He carefully sat her in the passenger seat and buckled her in with the seat belt. Once he was done, he stepped back, but didn't move from her side, as he looked her over. Her eyes were glazed over as she stared straight ahead. He had seen her upset before, but never this bad. The look on her face scared him more than any other monster he had faced.

He laid a hand on the side of her face, softly caressing her skin, as he whispered out, "Teagan?"

When she didn't respond to his voice or touch, he sighed, then continued, "I don't know if you're actually listening to me, but, baby I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen to you, but please don't give up yet. I know you probably feel like all hope is lost, but I will do everything I can to fix this. I'm going to fix this, I promise."

He held his breath, as he saw her turn her head to look at him. He nervously licked his lips the longer she looked at him without saying anything. He was starting to think she would never speak to him again, until she finally opened her mouth.

"There's nothing to fix." She said, her voice a little hoarse. She cleared her throat, then continued, "It's over, we lost."

"Not yet." Isaac argued. He leaned forward to press his lips against her forehead, keeping it there a little longer, then pulled back a little to look at her. He lightly ran his thumb over her bottom lip, as he added,"we haven't lost yet, babe."

Isaac's eyes flashed yellow for a moment, as he breathed ,"And we're not going to lose."

He knew she didn't believe him, he knew she was broken, but he vowed to put her back together. He spent most of his life feeling like he was a screw up, that he couldn't fix anything, but he would fix her. No matter how many times she fell down or broke, he would be there to pick her up and put back the pieces. He was going to believe enough for both of them. This was one war they were not going to lose.

A/N- I hope you all liked the chapter! ^_^ Our season 3A will end on chapter 27 so it's getting closer! And we've been working nonstop on finishing up 3B. Also, we'll soon be posting a teaser video made by the wonderful and talented Miss E Charlotte for whats coming in 3B.

We appreciate your support so very much and we cannot thank you enough for all of your kind words and reviews.