A/N: Sorry you guys. This chapter was meant to be about twice this length, but I've been sick the last week and this was all I could manage.

Iron Claws and Fragile Hearts

Chapter 55: Abstinence Only

Isaac called Lydia and explained the situation about the lack of scent coming from Scott's locker and the telltale hum of the druid amulet. A few minutes later, she and Malia entered the boys locker room.

Malia crinkled her nose and looked around. "This room smells disgusting. Why would anyone come in here?"

"To change their clothes," Liam answered.

"I'd rather change in the hallway," she responded.

Liam's eyes widened and he nodded. "I think the guys would be okay with that!"

Isaac swatted Liam's arm and glared at him. "That was disrespectful." He snickered and shrugged. "True, but disrespectful."

"I don't understand." She looked to Lydia for help.

"They want to see you naked," Lydia answered, cutting a sharp glare at Isaac and Liam.

"Oh, I feel the same way!" She grinned at Isaac and Liam. "But not in here. It smells bad. Let's go in the hall."

Lydia sighed and urged Malia closer to the row of lockers where Isaac and Liam stood. "We need to focus on the amulet. Can you hear it too?"

Malia frowned but stepped near enough to hover her ear in front of Scott's locker over the ventilation slats. "Yes."

"Friday at Deaton's, didn't Stiles say he was going to return the amulet to Ezra?" Lydia asked Isaac.

"I guess he didn't get a chance to this weekend." Isaac's cheeks warmed. He was partly responsible for keeping Stiles busy.

"So let's open the locker and see what's going on," Malia said.

"Hmm." Isaac leaned over and held his ear beside the locking mechanism as he slowly turned the numbered dial. "If I listen carefully I think I can hear when the tumblers click into place."

"Dude, that's so cool!" Liam bounced on the balls of his feet and patted Isaac's back.

"Unnecessary." Malia pushed Isaac out of the way and gripped the handle of the locker. With a screeching, metallic crumple she wrenched it open. "There."

Isaac gaped at her. "You just broke Scott's locker!"

"He can use one of these other ones." She swept an arm around the locker-filled room. "Or change in the hallway with me."

"Look." Lydia pointed to the interior of the locker. Sitting atop Scott's gym clothes, deodorant, and other sundry items was a brown leather journal with the druid amulet resting on it. Dim amber light spilled from the stone and reflected off the silver setting and silver chain that coiled around it.

Everyone eyed the amulet speculatively for a few seconds until Liam shrugged and reached past Isaac to snatch it off the journal.

"Liam!" Isaac grabbed his arm, alarmed at the prospect of his packmate coming into contact with the mystic item.

Liam looked up at him and withdrew his hand slowly, still clutching the amulet. "I'm fine. It feels weird, and I don't like holding it, but it doesn't hurt."

Malia sniffed Liam's arm and tilted her head. "I can't smell you." She glanced back at the balled up clothes in the locker. "But now I can smell the journal and Scott's stuff."

Isaac looked between Liam and the locker; she was right.

"The darach obviously wanted to mask the journal's scent so we couldn't find it," Lydia said. "That way he could come back later and reclaim it when no one was around."

"So why didn't he?" Malia asked.

"He tried," Isaac answered as the pieces fell into place. "Stiles told me that his dad caught him trying to creep out of the house on Friday night. Then last night, he...uh..." Isaac shuddered and his dick shriveled closer to his body as he recalled the way the darach had terrorized him with that sex dream gone gruesome. "He took control for awhile last night too, but he couldn't go anywhere."

"He was probably going to try again tonight," Lydia said.

"I wonder how he knew the combination to Scott's locker," Liam said, "or was that some kind of magic?"

"He knows what Stiles knows, and I think Stiles might just know Scott's locker combo," Isaac answered, recalling the way Stiles had casually typed Scott's password into his laptop a couple of weeks earlier. "He probably thought we'd be less likely to check Scott's locker, which is true. We did check Stiles' gym locker and regular locker on Friday."

"Okay, so, we win and now we have the journal," Malia said, pulling it out. "What now?"

Isaac pulled his phone out of the pocket of his athletic shorts and groaned. "Now we leave. We're supposed to have dinner with the twins in less than forty minutes."

"That's plenty of time to get there," Malia answered.

"I need to go home and change." Isaac crossed the short space to the changing bench in the middle of the room and grabbed his bloodstained jeans, once again hoping they could be salvaged.

Everyone filed out of the room, and Lydia turned and addressed Isaac as they walked down the hallway. "I was going to give you both a ride there but–"

"I can give Isaac a ride!" Liam said, squeezing Isaac's shoulders and rubbing the base of Isaac's neck with his thumbs. "My mom should be here to pick me up pretty soon. She won't mind."

"Thanks." Isaac patted Liam's fingers and leaned into the touch, eager to reaffirm that there were no hard feelings about the incident they'd had earlier.

As they stepped out of the school's main doors, Malia held the journal out to Lydia. "You're gonna take this right? I don't want it."

"Yes, I'll–"

She gasped and the brown leather book slipped from her hands as she touched it. With a muted thump, it landed atop one of her open-toed shoes. She didn't react, instead staring blankly into the distance, her heart racing.

"What's happening?!" Malia gripped Lydia's arms, but before she could shake her, Isaac pulled her back.

"She's having a vision. Don't interrupt her."

"Is it safe?" Malia asked, wide eyed with a tinge of panic in her voice.

"Yeah, it's safe," Isaac answered with a reassuring smile.

Malia continued to eye Lydia nervously until she snapped out of it, trembling and disoriented.

Isaac stooped to retrieve the journal, then wrapped an arm around Lydia's shoulders. "What did you see?"

"It was Stiles." Her voice was breathy and full of fear as she leaned into Isaac. "Well it was the darach. He stabbed someone right here on the steps."

"Who?" Malia asked, looking around like she expected it to play out at any moment.

"I couldn't see his face, just that he was wearing a navy blue sweater."

"But it was a guy?" Isaac asked.

"I think so. He seemed to have a masculine build."

"So what's the problem?" Malia shrugged. "We'll just tell all the guys we like not to wear navy sweaters and they'll be fine." She took out her phone. "I'm gonna text Aiden now."

Isaac frowned at her. "We should probably stop random innocent guys from getting stabbed too."

"Oh. Sure." She glanced up before resuming typing. "If I see it happening, I'll stop it." When she was done with her message she thrust her phone at Lydia. "Is this right?"

Isaac read the screen over Lydia's shoulder. If you Where navel sweetener you will b stabbed.

"Autocorrect changed some words. Is that how they're really spelled?"

"It's perfect!" Isaac said with a grin.

Lydia smacked his chest and tried to stop Malia from sending the message, but it was too late.

"Do you still want this?" Isaac asked Lydia, holding the journal up and patting her shoulder with his other hand. "If not, I can take it home and hide it."

Lydia took a calming breath and shook her head. A look of determination settled across her features even as unease continued to radiate off her. "We need to read it and find out how to undo the darach's making."

"I'll read it," Isaac answered, eying the thick tome and hoping the darach had a large handwriting.

Lydia gave him a soft smile as she tugged it away from him. "You have that dinner tonight, and I read much faster. It's fine."

"You want this too?" Liam pulled the amulet out of his pocket and offered it to her. "I don't like it. It makes my skin twitch."

"Yes, I'll take it."

Isaac inwardly chuckled. Lydia was now keeping the druid amulet, the darach's journal, the mysterious panels of moon glass, and Iron Claw's claw. A little more and she could start her own supernatural museum. Perhaps Ezra could give her some business tips.

The girls left, and Liam called his mom to make sure she was on her way. Isaac texted Ethan while he waited.

Isaac: I might be a little late

Ethan: [face with monocle emoji]

Isaac giggled, picturing Ethan actually wearing a monocle and making an exaggerated expression of indignation.

Isaac: I can't help it. I have to go shower and change.

Ethan: K, text when you're ready and I'll come pick you up.

A flush of heat swept down the front of Isaac's body. He always enjoyed riding on the back of Ethan's motorcycle. Come to think of it, he probably shouldn't do that considering his relationship with Stiles. He decided not to respond at all. If he got home before Scott was tranced out for the night, he could ask about borrowing his bike.

"She's just a couple blocks away," Liam said as he slid his phone back into his pocket. He glanced at Isaac's bare legs and frowned. "Are you cold?"

"Not really," Isaac answered. He was still warm thinking about that hypothetical motorcycle ride with Ethan. Fuck, he needed to stop thinking about Ethan that way.

Liam's scent filled with guilt, and he pinched at the blood-spattered jeans that were draped over Isaac's arm. "I'll pay for you to replace your clothes."

"Don't worry about it," Isaac said as convincingly as he could. He didn't have much money of his own, and he didn't want to stick Melissa with the cost, but he also didn't want to turn it into a big deal and make Liam feel worse than he already felt.

Liam started to say something else but stopped as an SUV pulled into the parking lot.

"You sit up front, man." He slapped Isaac's back.

Isaac would have been more comfortable sitting quietly in one of the middle or rear seats, but he dutifully opened the passenger door and nodded at Liam's mother as he climbed in.

"Isaac, it's so nice to see you." Mrs. Dunbar's smile was warm, and her scent revealed genuine delight. "Liam talks about you all the time."

"Mom." Liam grumbled, but it was a true grumble and not a growl.

"Which way?" She asked as she stopped at the parking lot exit.

"Right," Liam said before Isaac had the chance. He bounced in his seat. "Hey Mom, guess what?"

"What?" She smiled at him in the rearview mirror as she turned onto the road.

"Isaac says he can come to dinner on Tuesday!"

"That's wonderful!" She sounded almost as enthusiastic as her son. "Will any of the rest of the pack be there?"

"Just Isaac."

"What about–"

"Just Isaac, none of the rest of the pack." Liam cleared his throat and pointed at a side street. "You can turn here. Can't she turn here?"

"Uh, I guess." It was an indirect route but it would intersect with a larger road they could take.

"Oh, Isaac, what happened to your pants?" Mrs. Dunbar asked after a few seconds, pretending to notice the bloodied jeans he was holding in his lap for the first time.

Isaac resisted the urge to laugh. She had noticed them when he first got in, but had apparently decided to let him get settled before asking.

"And Liam why are you wearing a workout shirt?" She frowned, concern coloring her voice.

"We just had a little, uh, spill while we were at school," Isaac answered, sensing his packmate's distress and trying to cover for him.

She arched an eyebrow at Isaac. "A spilling of blood?"

Isaac winced. He had hoped the stains wouldn't be identifiable in the dim evening light.

"Liam, what happened?" She asked in a no-nonsense tone as she looked at him in the mirror.

"I lost control and hurt Isaac." Liam's voice cracked on the word control, and so did something in Isaac's chest.

"It wasn't a big deal," Isaac said, catching Mrs. Dunbar's eyes as she stopped at a stop sign. "Left here, please. He did a great job calming down, and he's still getting the hang of things. He's doing really well."

A measure of tension eased from her face, but she was still upset. "Was anyone else hurt?"

"Just Isaac," Liam answered quietly, filling the cabin with rancid shame. "He didn't even claw me back."

The cool, minty scent of her relief billowed in the air, partially diluting Liam's shame and making it more bearable in the SUV. She gave Isaac a grateful smile.

"I'm worried about sending him to school tomorrow."

"Mom, I'll be fine!" There was a whine in Liam's voice that had Isaac fighting to keep a straight face, but his mirth evaporated as he made eye contact with the anxious parent and realized he was expected to weigh in.

"Uh, take a right here, please," Isaac said to buy some time.

"I don't think this is a good way to go," Liam commented.

"It's a back way." Isaac added a growl under his breath that was low enough for only Liam to hear.

"Do you think another couple of days would help?" she asked.

"I won't say no to a couple more days off school." Liam laughed, but there was a tinge of distress in his tone and a flare of disappointment in his scent. He was trying to play it off.

"I think he's ready," Isaac said with a confident nod. "He really is doing great." He gave Liam a proud smile. "And the whole pack is going to be there to back him up."

Liam grinned and leaned forward in his seat so he could clap Isaac on the shoulder. "Yeah, plus Aiden's gonna come pick me up tomorrow and take me to school."

"Oh good!" Mrs. Dunbar exclaimed, her scent lighting up with delight.

"Wonderful," Isaac said between clenched teeth.

Liam chuckled and sat back in his seat.

"Did you find that journal you were looking for, honey?"

Isaac blinked, surprised Liam had told her about that.

"We sure did! And it was being guarded by that magic necklace I told you about."

"Guarded?" She asked, alarmed.

"Well, more hidden I guess. It was so freaky! It was creating this smelless bubble around the journal so we couldn't find it. But then I realized it was weird that we couldn't smell anything coming from Scott's locker."

Mrs. Dunbar covered her mouth and snickered.

"Isaac was gonna crack the combination like in the movies by listening to the tumblers" –Liam slapped Isaac's arm– "But then Malia just ripped the locker open." –he mimed the action in the air– "She's a badass like Aiden. That's why they're dating."

"Does that mean you'll be able to defeat the...evil druid and save the sheriff's son?"

"Darach, Mom, and Stiles. You gotta remember this stuff." Liam rolled his eyes at Isaac. "And yep, Lydia's super smart and she's gonna figure out how to unmake him tonight."

"Thank god," she mumbled under her breath, another burst of relief filling the vehicle. She smiled at Liam in the mirror again. "Way to go noticing the lack of smell coming from Scott's locker, honey."

"Yeah, we wouldn't have found it without him." Isaac's chest filled with pride and he channeled it through his packbond to Liam. "He might have saved some lives."

Liam yipped with delight and sat back in his seat. "Isaac and Aiden are just really good teachers, and besides, we still gotta figure out who's gonna get stabbed in the sweater."

"Stabbed in the sweater?!"

"This is my street," Isaac said, motioning for her to take a left.

"Isaac, you still have my phone number in case something happens at school tomorrow, right?" Mrs. Dunbar asked.

Isaac double checked his phone and confirmed that he did to put her at ease. She also told Liam to send him Dr. Geyer's number just in case.

"Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Dunbar," Isaac said, half-distracted as they pulled into the McCall driveway, and he noted Stiles' Jeep parked in its usual place.

"Anytime, dear, and let Liam know if you have any requests for dinner on Tuesday."

Liam got out too and they exchanged a quick hug before he climbed into the passenger seat.

Isaac hurried to the front door and unlocked it, excited to see his boyfriend.

Stiles was waiting for him as he walked in and wasted no time fisting the front of Isaac's t-shirt and pulling him in for a kiss. He moaned into Isaac's mouth and cupped the back of his head.

Isaac sighed and flicked his tongue over Stiles' as he gripped Stiles' waist, stopping himself from groping Stiles' ass in case he was still sore.

Stiles, however, showed no such restraint as he shamelessly writhed against the front of Isaac's body and ground their hips together.

Isaac was fully hard by the time a cough from the couch alerted him that they weren't alone. He jumped back. "Oh, hi Scott."

"I missed you," Stiles said sweetly. Then he waggled his eyebrows and lowered his gaze to the raging tent in Isaac's loose shorts. "I missed you too." He licked his lips, curled his fingers around Isaac's erection, and gave it a few tugs. "Let's go to your room."

Isaac shuddered, utterly confused by the conflicting waves of lust and mortification sweeping over him. "Scott–"

"Oh Scott doesn't care." He worked his thumb over Isaac's tip through his pants.

"I'll just be down here with the TV turned up," Scott mumbled, pointedly not looking at them.

"C'mon, we'll be quick. I just wanna blow you for the first time before you go meet Ethan."

"WHAT?!"

Stiles shrugged, guiding Isaac toward the stairs. "You're having dinner with him tonight, right?"

"Y-yeah."

"He was here awhile ago," Scott said, scrolling through his phone.

"W-w-why-why would he be here?"

"C'mon, we'll talk about it after I swallow your cum."

"Dude!" Scott snapped his head up to glare at Stiles, but immediately dropped it again. Isaac was still raging in his gym shorts.

"What? I know Allison swallowed too."

Isaac's gaze shot back to Scott. "You told him that?"

"I didn't tell him that. He figured it out."

"Like how I know Allison's favorite position was reverse cowgirl."

"What?" Isaac furrowed his brow.

"See, now I know Allison's favorite position wasn't reverse cowgirl."

Isaac's mind raced as Stiles led him upstairs by the arm.

"Turn on a movie, Scotty. Something nice and loud with plenty of explosions."

"I guess I could rewatch Transformers," Scott mumbled as Isaac and Stiles left.

"Doesn't he need to go in the mountain ash ring soon?" Isaac whispered as they hurried down the hallway to his room.

"Yeah, so we have to make this fast. I just really need to suck your fucking cock."

Isaac growled and slammed the bedroom door behind them. The last three minutes had been a whirlwind and he was struggling to make sense of everything that had happened, but as Stiles dropped to his knees in front of him, nothing seemed to matter except focusing on the glorious moment he inexplicably found himself in.

Stiles sighed and rubbed his face against the bulge in Isaac's shorts as he clutched fistfuls of the material. With a brisk yank he pulled the shorts and Isaac's underwear down his thighs and moaned. "Fuck. Yeah! There's that big, gorgeous cock!"

He lunged for it like he meant to devour it, swallowing the top half in a violent burst, then gagging and sputtering as he back off and pressed sloppy kisses all over the slick shaft.

"Stiles!" Isaac curled his fingers into Stiles' hair, fighting the urge to let his claws out.

Stiles bobbed, licked, and slobbered as he fumbled with the fly of his jeans.

"Let's stop and take our clothes off," Isaac said between broken gasps as he lost himself in Stiles' mouth.

Stiles slurped on Isaac's cockhead, only stopping long enough to answer. "No time."

Isaac banged his head against the wall as his eyes rolled back. By technical standards Stiles wasn't giving a good blowjob. Ethan, Allison, and Brett all had far more refined techniques. It didn't matter. The breakneck pace, the fact that only five minutes ago Isaac had been sitting in a car not remotely thinking about sex, and the frenzied enthusiasm with which Stiles was sucking him had him thrown into complete system overload.

Isaac opened his eyes and stared down at Stiles. He had gotten his cock out through the fly of his pants and was pounding it with as much urgency as he was blowing Isaac. It was all just so much, and Stiles' mouth was so wet, and everything was so right.

"I'm gonna–"

Before Isaac could finish his warning, Stiles grunted and came all over Isaac's ankle, shoe, and the floor.

"Nauhh!" Isaac's hips snapped forward, and Stiles gagged as a wave of throbbing warmth gushed over Isaac's body and out of his cock.

The come down was just as sloppy and clumsy as everything else, with Isaac slumping to the floor beside Stiles, still sputtering the last of his cum against his thigh. Stiles had swallowed some of it, but at least twice as much had dribbled down his throat and the front of his shirt. Meanwhile, Isaac's legs were still tangled in his shorts, and he was sitting bare-assed in a pool of Stiles' cum with more of it seeping into his sock and coating the tiny hairs around his ankle.

"Go get showered," Stiles said between panting breaths. "I'll get everything cleaned up here and put Scott to bed."

Isaac chuckled. "Don't forget to read to him and turn on his nightlight."

Stiles wiped the cum off his chin and smacked Isaac's chest with the same hand. "I'm gonna tell him his brother's a smartass." He licked his lips. "A tasty smartass."

Isaac grinned and kissed Stiles. They lapsed into a brief make out session before Stiles pulled away and stood up. "Go."

Isaac toed off his shoes and kicked his shorts off before streaking down the hallway to the bathroom.

He tried not to panic as the inevitable questions pulsed through his mind during his shower. Why had Ethan come to his house when he knew Isaac wouldn't be home? It had to be to see Scott but why? Had Stiles said anything about their relationship to Ethan? Had Ethan said anything to Stiles about their...not-a-relationship?

No one seemed mad at Isaac. Stiles obviously wasn't, and Ethan had sent him a playful emoji text like normal. Scott didn't seem disappointed in him. All he could do was stay calm and remind himself that he hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't been with Ethan since starting his relationship with Stiles, and he was going to come clean to Ethan about what was going on, tonight.

After he was showered and dressed, Isaac joined Scott and Stiles in Scott's room.

"You look good," Stiles said as Isaac walked into the room. He had changed into one of Scott's t-shirts.

Scott huffed at Stiles. "Keep it in your pants, dude."

Stiles grabbed his discarded shirt from the floor beside Scott's desk chair where he was sitting and flung it at Scott.

Scott yelped and jump back as the shirt pelted him in the chest. "Ooh gross, not the sex shirt!" He tried to throw it back at Stiles but it deflected off the mountain ash barrier and landed on the foot of his bed.

Stiles dissolved into laughter. "I washed it."

"You rinsed it. I can still smell Isaac's, uhm, essence all over it."

"Just shoot me now." Isaac buried his burning face in his hands.

"I'm not mad at you," Scott said. "Stiles is the one being gross."

"Stiles, get the shirt," Isaac told his boyfriend.

"But–"

"Get the shirt," Isaac and Scott said over him in unison.

"Geez, werewolves are so bossy." He hopped out of his seat and reached across the mountain ash barrier to retrieve the garment.

"So uh, why was Ethan here?"

"I'll tell you about it on the way," Stiles answered, still standing. "We need to get going."

"W-we?" Oh god, was Stiles joining them for dinner?

"Yeah, Ethan said he'd come get you, but I told him I'd drop you off on my way home." Stiles reached back over the ring of mountain ash and squeezed Scott's shoulder. "Night buddy, see you tomorrow."

Isaac and Scott exchanged goodnights, and Isaac followed Stiles from the room and down the hall. "What else did you guys talk about while he was here?"

"Huh?" Stiles glanced back at Isaac as they descended the stairs. "Oh, we didn't talk about that while he was here. I texted him while you were in the shower."

"Oh. Cool."

Stiles and Ethan were texting now. What good news.

Stiles laughed as they walked out of the house and Isaac locked up. "Don't worry, I didn't say anything about us dating. I know you don't want him to know."

"What?!"

Stiles wrapped his arm around Isaac's waist as they walked down the driveway to his Jeep. "I meant what I said this morning. I'm not going to rush you to come out or go public with our relationship. Until you're ready Scott and my dad and Melissa are the only people who know."

"I told Lydia."

"Oh good." Stiles chuckled and leaned his head against Isaac's upper arm. "She would have figured it out tomorrow at school in like five minutes anyway."

"Yeah probably." Isaac laughed, relieved that after tonight he wouldn't have to worry about keeping the secret.

"I'm really glad you're having dinner with Ethan tonight," Stiles said as unlocked Isaac's door and opened it for him.

"You are?" Isaac asked, climbing into the passenger seat.

"Yeah, he really needs someone right now, and you and Scott are kind of his only friends." Stiles closed Isaac's door and rounded the Jeep to get in. "Of course now that I have his number I'm going to get to know him better," he said, resuming the conversation as he started the engine. "Guy seems alright to me. He's been good to you and Scott and the rest of the pack."

"So he told you about–"

"Rick?" Stiles finished quietly as he backed out of the driveway. "Yeah, and how Megan and what's left of her pack are coming for them. He came over this afternoon to let Scott know since rogue werewolves are going to be in his territory." Stiles laughed and checked his mirrors before backing onto the street. "Scott has territory. I think he's as freaked out about that idea as I am."

"He told you...what he did?"

The humor left Stiles' face and he nodded as he made a turn. "Yeah, he was really torn up about it. I think he half-expected Scott to order him and Aiden to leave town."

"Scott wouldn't do that."

"Of course Scott wouldn't do that. He gave him a hug and told him we'd figure things out."

A flood of relief and appreciation washed over Isaac. Scott was the best alpha. He was literally the best alpha, the True Alpha, but even if he weren't, Isaac was sure he would still be the best alpha.

"I think Ethan deserves to join the pack," Stiles said, breaking the brief silence that had descended on the Jeep, "but I'm not okay with Aiden joining. I don't trust him. I can't believe we just got him away from Lydia and now he's got his claws in Malia."

"And Liam," Isaac muttered.

"And Liam," Stiles agreed. "My dad told me about that bar fight he caused too. He's trouble and I don't think that's going to change. He's not going to change. I know Ethan won't join without him, but I don't know where that leaves us. Scott's wants this to be unanimous."

Isaac's heart missed a beat. "Is Scott planning to hold a vote on letting them in?"

"No, but only because he knows how it would go. We talked about it after Ethan left. I told him I might abstain from voting against Aiden, but even that's iffy...I really don't want him in our pack."

"I won't abstain." Isaac let his eyes flare with amber heat.

"Yeah, we didn't think you would." Stiles reached across the cab and patted Isaac's chest. "You think you'll be able to abstain from kicking his ass tonight?"

Isaac laughed and let the points of his fangs hang out as he grinned at Stiles. "We'll see."

-000-

End Notes: Feedback is greatly appreciated!