Iron Claws and Fragile Hearts
Chapter 52: Lies We Tell Our Friends
The remainder of Ms. Newcastle's visit went smoothly. She asked Isaac a few more questions about his home life and said she would be in touch about the next phase of the process. When Melissa pressed her about what they could expect, she cracked a smile and told them not to worry. After she left, they breathed a collective sigh of relief and group hugged before breaking apart to put the house back in (dis)order.
Scott announced he would remove the drop cloth from the downstairs bathroom, but Isaac intercepted him by slinging an arm around his shoulders and wolf whispering in his ear. "We need to talk about something after Liam leaves."
Scott's brows drew together and he nodded. "Is everything okay?"
"I need to call Ethan. I'll fill you in when we're done."
Isaac returned to his room to find Liam pacing beside the window and clutching his phone.
"I called again...it's going straight to voicemail."
Isaac stepped into Liam's path and squeezed his upper arm. He opened his mouth to make a joke about Aiden being too big an asshole to die but thought better of it as he picked up on Liam's barely contained fear and anger. Instead he rubbed Liam's arm and focused on centering his own emotions so he could project a sense of calm through their bond.
It worked. Liam took a breath and some of the tension eased from his muscles.
Isaac pulled his phone from his pocket to make the call, but before he could Liam caught his eye and spoke.
"Shouldn't I be able to feel if he's okay through our packbond?" Liam chewed his bottom lip. "I can't. I can feel, like, a-a sense of him, but not where he is or if he's okay."
"Yeah, packbonds are complicated." Isaac tried to keep the anger that burned in his gut due to Liam discussing his packbond with Aiden from bleeding through into their own bond. "I'll explain it more to you later. Let's just find out what's going on."
Liam nodded and gripped Isaac's upper arm the same way Isaac was gripping his. Pack power surged through their connected limbs, and their bond hummed. They maintained the hold as Isaac called Ethan.
He answered on the second ring.
"Hey."
It was a small word, but Isaac trembled and his stomach fluttered at the flirtatious smirk it carried. Liam sniggered and gave Isaac a knowing look. Isaac glared and let go of Liam's arm.
"Hey, is Aiden okay?"
Ethan paused for a beat before answering. "Can't say I was expecting that question."
"I have Liam here. He's freaking out."
Liam growled and shoved Isaac's shoulder.
"Oh shit. I was going to text him and Malia but I forgot."
Liam's heart stuttered, and Isaac could almost feel the blood run cold in his veins.
"He's fine."
Liam closed his eyes in relief, and warmth buzzed through their connection.
"We had a fight and I threw him against a wall. His phone got smashed."
"What?" Isaac laughed out loud and grinned, ignoring the way Liam's eyes snapped open with alarm.
Ethan laughed too. There was a snarl in the background. "Aiden wants to talk to Liam."
Liam's face lit up, and he held his hand out with a grabby motion. It was obnoxious, but Isaac reluctantly passed him the phone.
"Hey man."
Isaac cringed at Liam's faux-casual tone.
"Hey. So my brother's a raging dickhead."
Liam barked out a sharp laugh. "Yeah, I figured everything was fine."
Isaac blinked at him.
Aiden snorted. "I need to teach you to hide your heartbeat if you're gonna lie like that."
Liam bounced on his toes and grinned. "Yeah, you do!"
Aiden laughed. It was cruel and condescending, but Liam didn't seem to realize that. "Sorry dude, you're still too young."
Liam huffed and his face scrunched with offense. "You said you learned when you were just a kid."
"Too young as a werewolf. We can try in a couple months."
"But–"
"You need to learn the basics first." Aiden's tone was laced with an ersatz authority that made Isaac want to reach through the phone and punch him in the face.
Liam's expression darkened with irritation, but his shoulders sagged and his stance signaled compliance.
"But I guess we could do some training today."
"Really?!" Liam's emotions flipped back to eager and excited. That smug asshat was jerking him around.
"Yeah, but I don't have a phone so you'll have to track me. Meet in the woods east of our loft in twenty minutes. Howl when you get here and I'll howl back. Then it's on."
"Alright!" Liam all but jumped up and down.
"Liam, wait." Isaac grabbed his forearm as he handed the phone back. "We have that search at the school this afternoon for the darach's journal."
"Oh yeah." Liam's grin widened. "Today's gonna be fun! That's at four, right? I'll make sure we're done by then."
"Hello?" Ethan's voice called through the phone.
Isaac raised a finger, signaling Liam not to leave. "Hey, I need to work something out with Liam, but um, can I call you back?" Isaac took a long breath. "We need to talk."
Ethan sighed too and his voice was heavy as he answered. "Yeah, we do. Talk to you in a bit."
They hung up and–
"Are you gonna tell him how you feel?" Liam whisper-shouted.
"No." Isaac sat on the edge of his bed. Liam didn't know any of the details about his...whatever it was with Ethan, and Isaac wasn't going to tell him, but he did decide to give him an honest answer. "I'm going to tell him we can't be anything but friends."
"Uhn!" Liam folded his arms and shook his head. "You're making a mistake. You're way into him, dude. Just go for it."
Isaac grunted and rolled his eyes. "Thanks for your input."
"Think about it, okay?" He shrugged, palms up. "I gotta go meet Aiden."
"Wait." Isaac patted the space next to him on the bed.
A conflicted expression crossed Liam's face as he looked between the bed and the window. "Okay, but we have to hurry. I don't wanna keep Aiden waiting." He sat down, his leg brushing Isaac's. "What's up?"
Aiden, Aiden, Aiden. Isaac took dark joy in his next words.
"I have to tell Scott about your packbond with Aiden."
"What?!" Liam's jaw dropped and he gave Isaac a hurt, betrayed look.
So much for joy.
"He's your alpha. He needs to know if you're forming bonds with strange" evil, homicidal, egotistical "omegas."
Liam's eyes sparked amber and a burst of rage filled the air. "Aiden's not some strange omega. He's a friend of the pack."
"Scott needs to know."
Liam growled and his fangs dropped into place.
"Stop." Isaac held Liam's shoulder and flashed his eyes.
Liam rumbled and glared at Isaac's fingers, but after a moment he whimpered and pouted his bottom lip as his eyes cooled.
Isaac inwardly celebrated the victory but kept his face stern.
"I thought you would have my back," Liam muttered, staring at the floor.
Isaac tightened his grip and shook Liam's shoulder. "I will always have your back. That's why I have to tell him. You can't keep a bond like that a secret from your alpha."
Guilt twisted in Isaac's gut, but he told himself that it was different with him and Ethan because he had specifically not formed a packbond with Ethan.
"Is Scott gonna hurt me?" Liam smelled scared, but there was a tinge of angry defiance in his scent.
"What?" Isaac gripped Liam's other shoulder and rubbed his thumbs over Liam's biceps. "No way. Scott would never hurt you."
Liam cocked his head and gave Isaac a sarcastic look.
"That was Iron Claw, not Scott.
"You know they're the same person, right?"
Isaac pursed his lips and let go of Liam. "They're not."
"Fine. Is Iron Claw going to hurt me for having a packbond with Aiden?"
Isaac scooted closer on the bed and caught Liam's eyes. "No one is going to hurt you."
Liam's lips curled in an acknowledgment of Isaac's words, but then re-formed into a frown. "Is he gonna make me break the bond?"
Isaac hesitated. It was tempting to let Liam stew until he talked to Scott himself, but their own bond ached with pain and worry, and a protective instinct coursed through Isaac. He patted Liam's upper arm. "I don't think he even can. I guess I need to confirm that with Ethan or Deaton, but I think packbonds are permanent. Even when things get bad and the connection goes dormant, it's still there."
A weight lifted from Liam's shoulders. "Really?"
"Yeah, you remember all that stuff I told you about Derek? How he kicked me out, quit being my alpha, and then just left town?"
Liam nodded.
"Well that broke our First Bond, but even now I still have a packbond with him."
Liam gasped and his eyes filled with terror. "Our First Bond can be broken?"
"Yeah but–"
"It's the only thing keeping me from freaking out!" Liam took a ragged breath and rubbed the heels of his clawed hands down his thighs. "I feel like I'm gonna snap and tear someone apart. If I didn't have our First Bond, I think I'd go on a rampage. If it's breaks–"
"It's not gonna break."
"Yours broke with Derek!"
"Hey, look at me." Isaac waited until Liam made eye contact. "I'm not gonna make the mistakes Derek made. This" –he gestured between them– "is important to me. I'm not gonna fuck it up."
Liam nodded and fell silent. Then he lunged at Isaac and knocked him off the bed.
They landed in a heap on the floor with Liam mock growling, shaking, and nuzzling under Isaac's throat.
A warm tingly feeling washed over Isaac, and he sniffed Liam's hair as he held him with a strength that would have crushed a human. "I gotcha."
The mess of emotions boiling off of Liam gradually simmered into contentment, and he let go and climbed to his feet.
"Okay, I'm gonna go hang out in the woods with Aiden. You can tell Scott if you want."
Isaac chuckled as Liam unceremoniously crossed the room and jumped out of the open window.
Isaac was about to call Ethan back when he saw a message from Stiles.
Stiles: Isaac McCall?
Isaac: Lahey pride 4ever! But the meeting went ok. I think she likes us.
They traded a few more texts, and Isaac gave Stiles more details about Ms. Newcastle's visit. Then he called Ethan back.
"Can you come over?" Ethan asked after they had exchanged greetings. "I want to tell you what's been going on in person."
Ethan's mysterious text. Isaac hadn't thought about it since he had left Ethan's loft yesterday morning. He felt guilty. Whatever was happening was a big deal to Ethan, and it was also a big deal that he was willing to confide in Isaac.
"Yeah, um, there's something I wanted to talk to you about anyway."
Ethan said he would come pick Isaac up, so Isaac changed out of the dressier clothes he'd worn to meet Ms. Newcastle and into more casual clothes. He tried not to think about the difficult conversation he was about to have with Ethan as he went to find Scott. Discussing the situation with Liam and Aiden wouldn't be pleasant either, but it needed to be done, and at least it would keep him occupied.
Scott was coming upstairs as Isaac was going down. He said they were finished downstairs, but that he needed to put his room back the way it had been.
"So what's up with Liam?" Scott asked as he peeled back the unblemished forest green bedspread to reveal his bloodstained sheets.
Isaac went to the foot of the bed and grabbed the end of the bedspread to help Scott fold it. There were fewer brown stains here since Iron Claw had primarily bled Scott's upper body. "We have a problem."
The corner of Scott's mouth twisted and the sleeve covering his fake finger twitched. "What is it?"
Isaac hated himself for adding another burden to Scott's life, but Scott needed to know.
"Liam formed a packbond with Aiden."
"Oh." Scott's face remained impassive as he reached across the bed for the rest of the bedspread.
Isaac tilted his head and took a breath. Scott smelled more disappointed than anything else.
Isaac met Scott beside the middle of the bed, and they pressed their corners together. "What should we do?"
"I'll talk to Aiden and try to get a read on him." Scott rotated the bedspread and they repeated the process.
"I think he's using Liam and Malia to get close to the pack," Isaac said as they finished.
"Yeah." Scott set the folded bedspread on his desk and hunched over Melissa's rug. "You and Ethan have been getting close."
Isaac flinched and scrambled to figure out what to say, but Scott shrugged and gave him a smile.
"And so have me and Ethan." Scott rolled up the rug, letting silence form while he worked.
Isaac squatted down and held the rug steady. He was more comfortable now that he wasn't looming over his alpha. "He's not using us."
"I know that. I like Ethan." Scott's fingers brushed Isaac's hand as he shifted to take the end of the rug. "They're omegas. It's instinct for them to get close to a pack that isn't hostile."
"So...are you saying you don't mind?" Isaac grabbed the other end of the rug and they lifted it.
"They saved you and Liam's life on the full moon, probably Lydia and Malia's too."
Isaac chuckled as he backed into the hallway. "Oh I dunno. Lydia had something planned with those chemicals we stepped in in the basement."
Scott laughed as they entered Melissa's room. "Yeah, good point. Maybe she would have gotten herself and Malia out safely." They set the rug down in front of Melissa's bed and unrolled it. "Ethan also took care of me the night I lost my finger. He was great."
"Yeah, Ethan is...great."
Scott clapped Isaac's shoulder as they walked out of the room. "That's not a bad thing."
Isaac was eager to change the subject. "So Liam and Aiden–"
"I don't think the problem is Liam and Aiden," Scott said as they re-entered his room. "It's Liam and me, and I don't know what to do about that."
"Can't you talk to him?"
"And tell him what?" Scott nodded at the bed and they dragged it into the center of the room, making space for the mountain ash ring that would need to encircle it that evening. "That it's safe to be around me?"
"Well yeah."
They sat on Scott's bed.
"I don't think it is." Scott fidgeted with his hands in his lap. "Every evening when the sun goes down I wonder if this'll be it, if Iron Claw will take over for good."
"Scott, no." Isaac gripped Scott's forearm and rubbed it with his thumb. He channeled reassurance through their bond. "We're going to defeat him."
Scott covered Isaac's hand with his own and looked up at him with mournful eyes, a wrinkled forehead, and drawn lips. "I don't know if that's true this time. It feels like we can't win. Like it's only getting worse. Allison, Stiles, and me sacrificed ourselves to stop one darach...now we've replaced her with a new one and brought Iron Claw and Kate back."
Isaac turned and brushed his knee against Scott's thigh. "You sacrificed yourselves to save your parents – and it worked. You stopped Deucalion too."
"I don't know what to do." Scott pulled his hands away and eyed the black sleeve covering his finger. "I only have one idea, and it's not a very good one."
"What is it?"
Scott sighed and dropped his hands into his lap. "We could cut off all my fingers."
Isaac shuddered and shook his head. "Yeah, that's not a good idea."
"If it saves people..."
"We don't even know if that would work. I don't think it would. It's more likely that we'd have to cut off Iron Claw's claws while they're out."
"Yeah, I guess." Scott hung his head.
Isaac frowned. His packbond with Scott was throbbing with despair. That's when he remembered that he wasn't only Liam's First Bond. He shifted closer on the bed so that their sides and thighs touched, and gently drew Scott's head against his chest.
"It's going to be okay," Isaac whispered, stroking Scott's hair and clutching his shoulder. "We are going to defeat him, and you're going to get your life and your finger back." Isaac nuzzled his face against the top of Scott's head and whispered his final words into his hair. "I promise."
Scott trembled and clung to Isaac's back. He took a ragged breath, then a smoother one, and soon his breathing was slow and deep and the ache had drained from their bond.
"You're a good brother," Scott whispered, his grip tightening around Isaac.
Warmth bloomed in Isaac's chest, and he closed his eyes to soak in every detail of this moment – the steady thump of Scott's heart; the crisp, toasty-rich aroma of security in his scent; the firm, anchoring weight of his body wrapped around Isaac's; the soft, silkiness of his hair against Isaac's face.
"You're a good brother too." Isaac pressed a silent kiss to Scott's scalp. "And an amazing alpha. No one is ever going to take that away from you."
"I don't think Liam and Malia believe that," Scott mumbled against Isaac's chest.
Isaac shrugged and trailed his hand over Scott's shoulder and down his side. "They're new. They'll learn."
"I haven't been there for them," Scott whispered.
"You haven't been able to be, but that's temporary." Isaac pushed confidence through their bond and left his end open, inviting his alpha to draw all the strength and power he could take.
Scott squeezed Isaac's back and pushed power to him instead, filling him with a burst of warm energy that made his eyes glow and the tips of his fingers tingle.
Isaac found Scott's hand and curled his fingers over it, letting the emotions surging through their connection communicate what he felt.
They sat like that until the doorbell rang and Isaac's phone buzzed in his pocket.
"That's Ethan. We're, uh, getting together."
"Cool." Scott disentangled himself from Isaac and sat up.
"He has something he wants to talk to me about." Isaac stood and stretched. A niggling uncertainty wiggled in the corner of his mind as he looked at Scott. "But I can cancel."
It would be a dick move to Ethan, but it would give Isaac a reprieve from telling him about Stiles, and nothing felt more important than supporting Scott.
"Nah, it's fine. Go ahead."
The doorbell rang again.
"Coming!" Isaac shouted louder than was necessary for Ethan's supernatural hearing. "You're sure?"
"Yeah, Mom's leaving in a couple hours for her shift, so it'll be nice to have some alone time." Scott's scent pulsed with self consciousness and–
Oh.
Isaac gave Scott a quick hug and hurried to let Ethan in.
"Hey." Isaac was overcome with an unexpected burst of affection as he opened the door and found Ethan standing in front of him with his hands in his pockets, thumbs sticking out, and a distinct vulnerability in his scent.
"Hey," Ethan answered, a playful smile lighting his handsome face but none of the anxiety leaving his body.
Isaac didn't over-think it for once, just stepped forward and wrapped Ethan up in a tight embrace. "You okay?"
Ethan shook his head and turned his face against Isaac's neck.
Isaac dragged slow, heavy hands up and down his spine. "You wanna come in?"
Ethan shook his head again. "Let's go back to my place. Aiden's out with Liam so we'll have more privacy."
Duel twinges of guilt and uncertainty stabbed Isaac's chest. "For talking?"
Ethan chuckled and pulled away, a smirk on his face. "Yeah, for talking."
Isaac locked up and followed Ethan to his motorcycle at the end of the driveway.
Isaac spent the first half of the ride trying to touch Ethan as little as possible. He hung onto Ethan's waist by necessity but kept space between the front of his body and the back of Ethan's.
"Do you already know?" Ethan whispered as they pulled up to a red light, his voice laced with pain.
"Know what?"
"Nothing."
Ethan sounded so hurt and desperate that Isaac lifted his hands and rubbed his chest. He was dressed in a thin, mint green cotton v-neck. The material was soft beneath Isaac's fingers, and the flesh beneath was warm and firm.
Heat pooled in Isaac's stomach, and his resolve slipped. Touching Ethan was blissfully familiar and the strong, wide expanse of his back, inviting. The last time they had been in this position Isaac had laid his head there. He grazed the side of his face against the space between Ethan's shoulder blades, and Ethan drew in a sharp breath and leaned back.
When the light changed and they barreled down the road, it felt all too natural to snuggle closer and trail his fingertips over Ethan's sternum and his thumb over Ethan's collarbone.
Ethan rumbled with satisfaction and his scent shifted to one of contentment.
Isaac knew better, but he took deep breaths and held them for longer and longer, savoring Ethan's happy aroma and the way it made his insides tingle. He had done that. He had made Ethan happy. It felt good. Ethan deserved to be happy.
Isaac refused to think about the way he was going to break Ethan's hea– make Ethan not happy.
Ethan parked and turned off his motorcycle.
"We're here," he said, lacing his fingers with Isaac's on his chest.
Dammit. Isaac needed to yank his hands away before Ethan got the wrong idea.
"Yep." He squeezed Ethan's fingers and pressed his forehead to the back of Ethan's neck.
Ethan lifted Isaac's hand and kissed his palm.
That's just one of those friendly palm kisses between buddies, right?
"I'll understand if you don't want to see me again after today," Ethan whispered against Isaac's skin.
Wait what?
Utter anguish seeped from Ethan's pores and before he knew what he was doing, Isaac had trailed kisses up the back of Ethan's neck and against the short hair covering the base of his skull.
"Let's go inside," Isaac whispered.
Ethan radiated pain and vulnerability, and Isaac instinctually wrapped a protective arm around his waist as they walked through the parking lot and into Ethan's building.
"What happened?" Isaac asked as they waited for the elevator.
Ethan shook his head and leaned closer. He nuzzled his face in the crook of Isaac's neck, and a small measure of the anguish thrumming through him diminished.
Isaac guided him onto the elevator and held him close as they rode to Ethan's floor. An eerie sense of déjà vu crept up Isaac's spine. A week ago their positions had been reversed. Isaac had been emotionally broken and draped around Ethan for support in this same elevator as a result of Iron Claw's savage attack on Stiles and Isaac's complete failure to protect him, as well as Isaac's guilt about Scott and the way he had–
"I betrayed someone I cared about." Ethan's voice was thick with pain.
Isaac rubbed Ethan's hip and pressed against him. "It's gonna be okay."
"I think when I tell you, it might destroy our friendship once and for all."
Isaac scoffed as the elevator chimed and the doors slid open. "Yeah, that's not gonna happen."
Ethan pulled away, and Isaac followed him down the hall. Ethan's scent was a snarl of negative emotions, and even his heartbeat seemed to thump with a rhythm of despair. As Ethan stopped in front of his door and slid his key into the lock, Isaac wrapped his arms around him from behind and pulled him back against his chest, squeezing him as tightly as he had held Liam and Scott back at the house.
"You're not gonna lose me," Isaac whispered into Ethan's ear. "Whatever happens, whatever you did, we're friends and I'm not going anywhere."
Ethan gripped Isaac's arms and turned his face, nuzzling it against Isaac's. "I trust you."
"I trust you too." Isaac kissed Ethan's cheekbone just below his eye.
They entered Ethan's loft and went to his sofa in the living room. It was the first time Isaac had sat there. He had been all over the kitchen, dining area, and of course Ethan's bedroom, but they had never kicked back in the living room before.
"Look at this." Ethan opened a text conversation and passed his phone to Isaac.
The first message was from Friday night while Isaac and Ethan had been out on their friend date:
Rick: So you're an omega bitch now. How fucking poetic. We're coming for justice you evil piece of backstabbing shit.
Ethan received the second message yesterday afternoon:
Rick: Ever wonder what Aiden's liver looks like? You'll find out soon. We're gonna make you eat it.
A third message had been sent last night:
Rick: How's California this time of year? Just packing for our flight. Can't wait to see you.
A picture text had arrived minutes before Ethan had picked Isaac up. He must have seen it while he waited for Isaac to come to the door. It featured a younger Ethan shirtless and wearing lime green board shorts at the beach as he walked along the shore with a blond guy in red board shorts. Their hands were laced together by their sides and the blond had his head turned as he regarded Ethan with a look of intense admiration. The sun was low on the horizon, casting everything in a warm, golden light. The message beneath the picture had arrived with the same time stamp as the photo and was the most recent in the conversation.
Rick: How did it feel?
Isaac handed Ethan his phone back and shifted closer on the sofa, his arm around Ethan's shoulders.
"Who's Rick?"
Ethan let out a shuddering breath and stared at the hardwood floor between his feet.
"He was my first boyfriend. I killed him."
-000-
End Notes: Next chapter should be out more quickly. I don't know if I can do it, but I'm going to try to transition from biweekly to weekly updates since this coming section of the story will be more intense and action-packed. As always feedback is greatly appreciated and thanks for reading!
