A/N: A big thank you to those who've favorited and followed this story. You all are so wonderful!
sarah0406: No, Neris isn't an Alpha. It's explained in this chapter what will happen to the Greek pack, and I got the information from the Teen Wolf Wiki page to make sure it was as canon as possible without going to Jeff Davis himself. As for your first question, the Beacon Hill gang was just covering all their bases. They'd taken down Peter using the Molotiv cocktails, so they wanted to be prepared if they had to use them again.
joannacamilley: I'm glad you caught the connection! I've been wanting to write a scene like this for a while, but couldn't fit it in with the events of S1 and S2. Now I can use it to add more flavor to S3! And, sadly, centaurs and sirens will never get along. The hatred is too ingrained in their nature.
And thanks to Jason F, narusakulove97, and Liberty Blake for your reviews as well!
As always, stay gold, my lovelies!
"Neris. Neris!" Isaac shook her, but still she didn't respond.
She had sunk down to her knees, unresponsive, staring at her bloodied hand. Isaac was crouched down next to her, holding her shoulders in his hands, trying to snap her out of it. The Greek werewolves weren't paying attention to the pair, having taken Stiles' Molotov cocktail to set fire to their fallen Alpha's body that they had cut in half.
"Had she never killed anyone before?" Delia, the former Alpha's daughter, asked as she walked over to them.
"No," Scott informed her as Isaac pulled an expressionless Neris into his arms. "None of us have."
"Oh," Delia replied, mildly confused. "She must've been taught how, then – unless she has an alpha bond with one of you. I've only seen sirens kill anyone like that when they have an Alpha bond."
"A what?" Stiles asked.
"An alpha bond. It's a blood bond formed between a siren and a werewolf; she'll see the werewolf as her alpha regardless of their pack position, even after the wolf dies."
Scott looked over to Isaac, whose lips were pressed to Neris' forehead. "Did you know about this?"
Isaac drew in a deep breath before looking over to Scott and nodding.
"So is it true?" Stiles asked. "Do Neris and Scott have an Alpha bond?"
"Yeah," Isaac replied reluctantly.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Scott shouted. "Why didn't she?"
"You never wanted to be a werewolf!" Isaac shouted back. "And if she told you that you were her alpha in the midst of all the Kanima shit, be honest – what would you have done?" When Scott didn't answer, Isaac went on. "You would have asked her to break it, but she can't. Even if you died, the bond would still be there. So how about you support her, cause she's obviously in distress."
Scott looked at Isaac with new eyes, respecting him and thankful for his protectiveness of Neris. Scott ran his hands over his face and walked over to Neris, taking her head in his hands.
"Neris, come back," he commanded gently. "Snap out of this."
Large tears welled in her eyes as she came out of her stupor, her face screwing up in agony. "I killed him," she whimpered, clutching onto Isaac.
"Hey, hey; it's okay," Scott tried to calm her down.
"No, it's not," she cried. "I'm a murderer."
"Neris, stop." Scott instructed softly, and her breathing calmed in response, punctuated with small hiccups. "You were protecting us. We're going to get through this together, all of us."
"What's going to happen to you guys?" Stiles asked Delia. "Neris killed the Alpha before any of you could."
Delia gave a sad smile, "In cases like this, bloodlines take over." Delia flashed her now red eyes. "My dad was an Alpha, so the natural line of succession made me an Alpha." Her eyes reverted to normal. "Don't worry about us. Take care of your friend."
/
Neris locked herself in her room once the four teens got back to the island. She may have calmed down significantly since Scott had instructed her to, but she couldn't shake the feeling that continued to hang over her.
She was a murderer, plain and simple. She may have done to protect her friends, but it was killing all the same. She could pretend it was okay, to wrap a moral curtain around her actions, saying 'I did this because of this, and that's what's right!' But she still killed. However she tried to justify it, she was just as bad as that Alpha, as Peter, as Matt, as Gerard. She couldn't trust herself anymore.
She didn't even know if she could trust herself around her friends. She'd try, of course. The Alpha said there was something coming to Beacon Hills. Something bad. Something worse than the Kanima. Whatever it would be, Neris would have to stick close to her friends, no matter how scared she was of the possibility of hurting them.
There was a knock on her door, and she half expected her friends or cousins to be there trying to get her to socialize. She was surprised to see Ioannina there, a small white box in her hand.
"I've had a call from Arela, and she spoke about you," Ioannina told her, walking in and sitting next to Neris on the bed.
Arela was a direct descendant of a Pythia – an oracle of Apollo in the temple of Delphi. She had been the consultant of the siren matriarch for years. If she had contacted Ioannina, and not the other way around, it meant she had an unexpected vision.
"Was it about what I told you the Alpha said?" Neris asked. "The thing coming to Beacon Hills?"
"No, just that you needed this," Ioannina told her, handing Neris the white box.
Neris opened it and found a silver ring with a blue quartz stone. It was a bit lighter than the spirit stone she had leant to Stiles, but it still emitted the same thrum that told her it was connected to the spirit world.
"What is it?" Neris asked, turning the ring over in her hands. "I mean, it's a spirit stone, but why is it in ring form?"
"Arela said there may be a time when you need to use this – when you will find yourself in a situation that you cannot escape and this is your last resort."
"I don't understand."
"The silver in the ring binds the power of the spirit stone to the underworld," Ioannina explained. "When you need it, call to your ancestors in the tongue of the underworld and they will help you escape."
"But I don't know the tongue of the underworld."
"When the time comes, the words will as well." She gave a small smile. ""As for your friend Lydia, Arela said she may not be kuuro ja sieluton after all."
"What do you mean?" Neris turned to face her, a confused look on her face.
"She wouldn't say, only that she had seen someone like Lydia before."
"But she didn't tell you what?" Neris asked. Ioannina shook her head. "I don't understand; what else could she be?"
"There are many things out in the world, Neris. Just because we don't know about them, doesn't mean they don't exist. She did, however tell me something she desperately wanted you to know."
"What?"
"There will be three signs: a stampede of a single deer, the fury of a friendly canine, and the coming of crows. That's when it will start."
/
When Neris finally emerged from her room, Riga decided to cut the vacation short. She rounded up the boys, with help from Mrs. McCall. Though Neris felt bad for making everyone leave early, but she didn't protest. For now, there was too much negativity inside her; she couldn't enjoy the island she loved so much. She wanted to go home where she felt safe.
She didn't know how long that safety would last though, with the Alpha's menacing words confirmed by Arela's vision. The ring made Neris feel safe, though. She was comforted to have a link with her ancestors, as if they were beside her – reassuring her that they'd help her protect her friends.
When they returned to Beacon Hills, Isaac had to return to Derek – and more importantly Derek's pack. The little bubble they were in during their time in Italy had definitely popped, though perhaps this time there'd be better relations between the Hale and McCall packs.
Scott enrolled himself in summer school, making Neris and Stiles promise to keep him focused. Though, with Allison in France for the summer, their task wasn't too difficult to carry out.
Neris didn't relay the information Ioannina had given her to her friends. At the beginning of the summer, they decided they wanted a supernatural free summer. The incident in Greece had derailed that, so Neris made it her personal mission to keep them ignorant until the time was right.
/
Before they knew it, they were half way through summer break. Scott was doing well in his summer school classes, and had raided both Neris and Stiles' bookshelves in order to broaden his literary horizons. Though she and Stiles knew he wanted too, Scott also refrained from attempting contact with Allison. He was even saving up money to get himself a motorbike. Neris was proud of him.
But she was also worried. She hadn't heard from Isaac since they had returned from Italy. Whatever Derek had him doing, it was keeping him extremely busy. Neris tried not to be, but she was worried – it was probably nothing, though. After all, with Peter back from the dead, there was probably a fair amount of discord in the Hale pack and Derek was probably distracting himself with training Isaac. If Erica and Boyd hadn't have run away, they probably would be a distraction as well.
She was sitting on her bed, watching The Road to El Dorado for the umpteenth time when she heard a knock on her balcony door. She looked over at the French doors, confusion crossing her features as she stared at their curtain covered windows. There were only three possibly people that could be on her balcony, but their purpose for visiting her so late – and for avoiding her front door – was a mystery to her.
As she rolled off her bed and made her way to open them, another knock was heard.
"I'm coming," Neris told the impatient knocker.
She opened the door, revealing Isaac in his curly-haired and dimply glory. He flashed a shy smile at her; obviously sorry for having left her in the dark while he was off doing gods-know-what with Derek.
"Well, hi there, stranger," she greeted with a raised eyebrow, propping herself against the door frame.
"I know, I'm sorry," he apologized, stepping forward and cupping her face in his palms. "Things have just been a bit hectic with Derek and I haven't been able to come and see you."
"Yeah, what have you two been doing?" Neris asked, walking back inside her room and sitting on her bed. Isaac followed, an apologetic look on his face as he remained silent and sat beside her. "Let me guess, Derek 'Alpha ordered' you not to tell me."
"Not to tell anyone," Isaac informed her. "But what it is will take the rest of the summer, if not longer."
"Are you telling me your absence is going to be prolonged until school starts, and that school may be the only time I can see you?"
Isaac nodded again, the apologetic look still on his face. Neris gave a loud sigh, flopping back against the mattress, causing the water bed to ripple violently beneath them.
"Hey," Isaac said softly, leaning on his elbow and propping his head on the palm of his hand as he lay on his side, his free hand brushing the stray locks of hair from her face. "I'm here now."
Neris looked at him, a wry grin on her face, "Isaac, are you trying to seduce me?"
He chuckled, "No, I'm not. Though there is something I want to try."
Neris looked at him, confused. Not letting her question his meaning, he leaned down and swiftly captured her lips with his. She made a noise of surprise, but her lips quickly fell into rhythm with his. He moved away from her lips, kissing down her jawline to the soft flesh of her throat.
She gave a soft moan, which was quickly interrupted by a yelp of pain as she felt Isaac sink his fangs into her neck.
"Isaac," she shrieked, swatting him roughly on his shoulder. "What the hell are you doing?"
He lifted his head, her blood staining his lips as he looked into her eyes. "I don't know how long this thing Derek and I are doing will last. I just want to make sure nothing happens between us while I'm away."
"And you thought making a blood bond would help?" Neris asked, looking at him incredulously.
"Bad idea?" He grimaced.
Neris rolled her eyes, "Well, were you planning on biting yourself? 'Cause my teeth aren't going to puncture flesh."
Isaac's face split into a glowing smile, "We're gonna do it?"
"You're just lucky I love you," Neris snorted.
"I love you too," he said softly as he leaned down and kissed her on the lips.
"Ugh, gross. You have my blood on you," Neris grimaced and moved out of the kiss.
Isaac just chuckled and brought his wrist up to his mouth, his eyes glowing yellow as his fangs came out once more, and he bit into his wrist. Holding it out to his girlfriend, Neris took his wrist gingerly and closed her lips around the wound.
Isaac was hit with so many emotions at once, they were overpowering. The feeling of her drinking his blood was indescribable. It was almost like having her joined to him, as if her mind was touching or merging with his own. Neris leaned closer to him and with his free hand he brought her closer, stroking her hair tenderly and lovingly as he was bombarded with a mass of feelings.
He was on fire.
It burned where her lips were latched onto his flesh brushing the skin there as she drank from him as the flesh on his wrist slowly knitted back together.
Pulling her closer and brushing her hair with his fingers he almost moaned aloud. Instead he pressed his lips firmly against her forehead, his mind hazy with desire and love and his own breaths leaving in gasps like her own. It was difficult to breathe at this point all he could do was hold her closer to his body and stroke her hair, encouraging her to keep drinking her fill.
Slowly she pulled away, a buzz making its way from the blood that still remained in her mouth to the very tips of her toes. She would never forget the feeling of him holding her tight against him as her lips connected with his wrist, of him kissing the top of her head, the rush of having his blood – his strangely delicious, divine blood – in her mouth, down her throat.
It was intoxicating, so much different from when she had drunk Scott's blood in the ice rink. She knew what to expect when creating an Alpha bond, though it would be something she would never experience again. A bond of love, however, was something entirely different. It was as if a chord had burst out of her chest and wrapped itself within Isaac's, connecting them on a whole new level.
She reached up, entwining her arms around his neck and hugging him close to her, "Whatever it is that you and Derek are doing, please be safe."
"I promise," he whispered, squeezing her gently in his arms.