Two Pack II: Teen Wolf Season Four

by lordtrayus

The Nogitsune is gone, Scott and Isaac are back together, and Stiles has gone back to normal. But, rather than deal with the grief of losing Allison, Scott's pack has to contend with Derek's imprisonment, former foes of the twins trying to settle scores, and taming Malia. But worst of all is a new enemy coming to town, bringing with them an old friend who could destroy them all...

34. Episode 8: Corruption Part 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf

Two-Pack II

Unbeknownst of the heartache being caused outside, the remaining members of the pack continued to enjoy their night, free, just for once, of all the problems currently besieging the town, from dogs, to Pomberos, to Berserkers, and rampaging Djinn.

Aiden had vanished with Danielle a while ago, off to have some fun. Ethan and Danny had finally reconciled and were now making good on their relationship. Scott and Isaac had snuck off to enjoy their time together since they were currently staying at the twins' place and were highly sexually frustrated as a result. Jackson and Lydia had also made themselves scarce, and it seemed as though Stiles and Malia were going through…something or other and had vanished themselves.

However inside, unheeded by the rest of the romance going on that night, Finstock's whistle piercing the air, the youngest members of the pack along with Kira had allowed themselves to relax and were genuinely enjoying themselves.

Mason had broken off to be with some other friends, discussing the various people around the room, and sussing out the hotness scores of various people attending the dance, and a few who were known locally, such as Brett from Davenport and his cronies. Mason had had a text from his new beau, Corey, who was on his way back into town and promised that he would be there soon, and Mason was excited, it would be nice to connect with Corey again, let him meet his two best friends (he had elected to wait on introducing him to the rest of the pack, that was one conversation that he would be more than happy to put off quite frankly, the supernatural still gave him a major case of the creeps, and a splitting headache just thinking about it).

Violet and Garrett, who had been together most of the night, had now both managed to successfully pull and were now busy with their respective other halves. Garrett was currently getting further acquainted with Scarlett, a very pretty girl from his year, and the two of them were clearly not in any fit state to be interrupted. Violet was similarly occupied, in her case with Diane, from Scott's year, and she had her purple-reddish haired date were eliciting many a whistle from Finstock, which they were promptly ignoring to the point that he was now exchanging a silent argument with Natalie, over the other side of the room, who had stuffed her hand into her mouth to stop her laughing at his show of impotence, and they were now juggling the merits of intervening in this new relationship that was springing up before their very eyes.

But in the centre of the dancefloor, finally getting over their initial shyness with each other, were Liam and Kira. The two of them were now holding each other close, Kira's head leaning on Liam's shoulder as they swayed to Fireflies by Owl City, and the two of them had wrapped their hands together to sway together in time with the music they were dancing.

"Thank you for asking me to dance," Kira said sweetly as they swayed, and Liam went a little pink as they continued to dance.

"Oh…you're welcome, I'm glad I did." He admitted softly, and she looked at him curiously.

"It just seemed like you weren't, you know, keen?" she asked nervously, and he hesitated, biting his lip nervously.

"I was, it's just…I was nervous you might not like me." He mumbled, and Kira smiled, biting her lip herself to try and hide the smile that was trying to blossom on her face.

Bless him, he was adorable.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're really sweet?" she asked softly, and he grinned a little, blushing as he did so.

"Thanks. I think you're sweet too." He told her nervously, and she kissed his cheek, and then took him by the hand, leading him off the dance floor so they could talk a little more, and hopefully, get him to relax a bit more.

Liam, rather bravely in his opinion, took Kira's hand without the benefit of dancing to it now, and Kira smiled encouragingly and let him take the lead, taking her over to the punch table. As they did so, they passed Garrett, who had briefly come up for air, who sent him a proud wink, and even Mason nodded encouragingly, smiling proudly.

Liam, feeling rather proud of his bravery with Kira despite himself, then pulled her away to a more secluded area (ie, away from his best friends who were now spending all their energy seeing where he'd gotten to with the girl who had become his date), and smiling and blushing herself, Kira happily followed.

XX

Corey was just heading back into town, feeling better than he had in some time. Born and raised as an extremely rare were-chameleon (rare due to their status as an actual werecreature, not as a degeneration of some other sort) his family hailed from Oregon, where he had spent his life quite happily with his parents. At least until recently. Due to their status as quite a rare species, his family had expected that he would eventually take a wife and bring more werechameleons (which they were lucky if there was just over two hundred of in the world) into the world. However, there was just one flaw with that plan, and that was that Corey had no interest in girls whatsoever, in fact, he was gay.

The revelation that he was gay had led to his parents angrily throwing him out, telling him that if he wouldn't do what was expected of him then he was no son of theirs. Upset and heartbroken, now alone in the world, he had fled from his home, and had wound up in California, which was a much more active den of the supernatural. Passing through Beacon Hills, he had elected to stay for a while, working odd jobs to earn his keep at a hostel, which he had liked well enough. He had been here for a few weeks when he met Mason on a night out, and just the thought of him now sent a smile to his face.

Being with Mason, and finding Beacon Hills more than accepting of who and what he was, and sensing the power of the Nemeton, that had convinced him that he ought to stay. However no matter how much Mason had tried, there was still the shadow cast on him and on their joint happiness as Corey wasn't able to work things out with his parents. That was until last week when his mother had phoned him, in tears, begging him to come home so that they could talk things through.

It had been difficult, there was no doubt about that, there was tears, there was anger, and some hurtful things were said. However, eventually, his parents stood before him and told him that if that was who he was, then that was who he was, and while they would be disappointed not to have him do their bit, and not to become grandparents naturally, they still had a son whom they loved, who they had made a mistake with and who they were eager to make amends with. As such, with their relationship on the mend, they had agreed to allow him to come back to Beacon Hills, in fact they were planning on coming themselves, in order to become a family again and heal from the wounds they had inflicted upon their son with their lack of acceptance.

So, with his relationship with his parents on the mend, and the prospect of transferring to Beacon Hills High to be with Mason, and seeing him again after a very fraught and emotional week, Corey was in a very good mood as he approached Beacon Hills through the preserve, having made the delivery run he was out on, grimacing as he approached the corner that led through the furthest reaches of the preserve into town.

Truth be told, it was a very bad corner, and he always slowed right down every time he came this way, it had the highest accident rate in the county. Essentially a sloping curve on a blind corner, it was very dangerous, not the least of which reason because it was surrounded on both sides by the preserve, which meant to the unwary traveller, there was also the potential animal crossings to deal with.

So, a tight corner that gave you a blind spot, a natural drain from the water coming down off the hills of the preserve so the road was nearly always damp if not soaking which led to potential skidding and crashes, poor visibility due to the height of the trees bordering the road, the fact that it was so dangerous and had no way of monitoring the danger so locals would act very recklessly on the road, and of course the potential for animals like deer and things to be running across the road, all of which combined to make this a potential death trap.

He slowed to a dead crawl, figuring it would rather ruin Mason's formal if he turned up after a car wreck. You know what, next time he came back to town, he was going to just carry on down the freeway until he got to the next road into the town, he really hated this road into town. He crawled along, the high slopes of the hills beside him darkening the already dark road, though he had to admit, he was relieved when a cloud shifted, and he could see a bit more ahead of the road than what his old car's failing headlights provided him.

The moonlight shone down onto the road, and Corey's eyes widened in alarm as he saw three people standing in the centre of the road, but just from looking at them, he could tell they weren't your normal type of weirdo out walking the roads on a cold winter's night.

The three of them were dressed in steampunk like boiler suits, their long brownish grey coats stirring in the wind as they looked upon Corey's approaching car.

The one who stood in the centre was taller than the other two, to the point of being almost skeletal. Clad in a long dark trench coat, he also wore a suit of ancient boiler suit like armour with an ornate design upon it. He, like his companions, wore a tapered face mask, with a metallic grille in the place of the mouth, and where his eyes would be where covered in panes of red glass. A piece of magnifying apparatus was attached to the size of his head, which was spinning every so often as he beheld the approaching car. Rust had developed on his mask, and as Corey slowed the car to a stop, he saw that there was a third, smaller pane of glass in the centre of his forehead. The guy raised an armoured hand, and pointed towards Corey's car, and Corey felt his heart pounding in terror as he beheld the other two nightmares.

Beside him, there seemed to be another guy. Slightly shorter than his compatriot, he was clad in a long overcoat, doubled up unlike that of his friend so that it covered his whole body. He was also more stocky looking, perhaps more muscular than his predecessor. His colour scheme was dark grey, and his sightless mask was slightly different as he also stared at Corey. His mask was mostly smooth, metallic and grey, and without the rust that his companion's had. Still equipped with a grille in place of a mouth, several studs lined each side of his head. However it was his eyes that frightened Corey the most, as while there was the black panes of glass covering his eyes, there was also a set of thick goggles imbedded with spikes which were also part of his mask, seeming to dig into the helmet that he was wearing. He raised a hand into the air and clicked his fingers, and Corey could vaguely hear the metallic sound as he did so.

The last of them was shorter than the other two, and clearly a woman. This one had a slight stoop, and in her hand was a cane that was the height of her waist, and glinted in the moonlight like furnished bone, and it was tinged with metal. She too was clad in a boiler suit like her friends, however hers was more trendy than the others, sleek and black, complete with a long black leather lab coat. A half skirt edged around her back, and she was wearing sturdy looking boots with silver buckles, which led into metallic looking fishnet stockings around the armour that encompassed her legs. Her mask was attached to a respirator, and like her first companion, her eyes were covered with panes of black glass, though she had a third one on the side of her head for reasons unknown. Forcing herself up on her cane she brought herself to her full height (not that it helped much she was quite short in stature by the looks of it) and gestured broadly towards Corey's car.

Corey had spent too much time in the supernatural world, and in Beacon Hills itself, to know that this was anything other than good. He threw open the door to his car, and he threw himself off the road, into the trees. As soon as he was out of their direct line of sight, he concentrated, his body shimmering into camouflage as he scurried to the nearest tree, and then focused his abilities, grabbing onto the tree and climbing swiftly up it, his hands sticking naturally to the bark, aided and abetted by his small but sturdy claws. He scurried up to a long, heavy branch and waited, his breath bated, watching as these three people approached the car, and as one they turned to look at the trees where he had run to.

"Well?" the tallest of them asked in a refined, cultured voice that somehow managed to sound sinister.

"He won't have gone far." The woman among them assured him as the leader raised his head, and using his lizard vision, as Corey liked to call it, he zoomed in on the leader's mask, as the pane of glass above his eyes swirled out of the way, and to his alarm, a third eye appeared in the gap, and it shone with a blue light which arced into the trees like a laser beam, and Corey gave an audible gasp as the beam that had blasted out from his eye sheared the branch he was standing on from the body of the tree and sent him crashing back to the ground with a groan.

"I can see him," the other one said, in a soft but deadly voice, and Corey's blood suddenly ran cold as he heard him, he hasn't uncloaked himself, he knew he hadn't, so that meant that this man could somehow see him when he was invisible.

Corey turned and ran, hurtling away from the three steampunks, desperate to escape. He knew there was an Alpha here, in Beacon Hills, whatever these guys were, he had to warn the Alpha, and had to do it fast.

But then, he stopped short, his breath ragged, cold in the night air and giving away his position, he had to try and calm down, otherwise they would find him with ease, but…the noise that had brought him to a stop in the first place, it sounded like…

And as he looked through the trees, he saw that he was right. A team of soldiers, dressed in dark grey camouflage gear emerged from the preserve, weapons scanning the trees in an attempt to find him. They were dressed for war, armed to the teeth, and wearing a series of black visors emblazoned with the crest of a serpent eating its own tail.

Whatever the hell was going on here, Corey had to run, he had to escape, this couldn't be happening, soldiers, steampunks…up! Yes, he would go up, he was able to climb and jump far better than they ever could, he had to get to town, alert the Alpha, find Mason and convince him to leave town because whatever this lot wanted, it couldn't be good.

"Have you still got him Simon?" the woman asked in a quiet, mousy voice, and Corey's heart pounded even more int error when the soft spoken one replied.

"Yes, he's climbing a tree in the hopes of escaping us that way. He won't." Simon assured her, and Corey just went for it, heading to the top of the tree he was currently climbing, determined to escape.

But as he stuck his head above the parapet of the winter ravaged trees, there was then a godawful shriek, and Corey barely had time to look up into the sky in the direction the noise came from before it was on him.

Corey screamed as this monster slammed into him, a sinister sounding screech echoing in his ears as it swept him from the top of the trees, holding onto him just enough that he didn't crash and shatter his body upon landing, and as he slammed into the ground and attempted to back away, he got a good look at the creature.

Slightly taller than a man, it was flesh coloured, clad in ripped blue jeans that only now went to above his knees. Long, tridactyl talon feet emerged from the bottom of his muscular legs, tipped with three blood red talons on each foot. His body was ripped and muscular, and it would look quite good on a human but on this hellish creature, not quite so much. There was a blue symbol of a self-consuming snake, just like those marked on the soldiers visors, tattooed on his chest. Membrane like skin stretched from his torso up the length of his arms, attached to his hands, giving him glider like wings that he extended to their fullest extent, with cartilage like lines running up each side separating his wings into sections. His hands were also tridactyl, with three long, curved claws emerging from his dexterous, long fingers. But his face was the most terrible. Completely bald, two big tapered ears sprouted from either side of his head which twitched in all directions, hearing everything. A small mouth was filled with a double layer of fangs which were dripping with saliva and blood. And above that there were two nostrils like they had been drilled into his face, lacking a nose, but worst of all was what lay above that.

It only had one, solitary eye, gleaming white in the darkness, the iris shining red as it advanced menacingly upon Corey, who scrambled to get away from it, he would rather take his chances with the steampunks than this monstrosity! He edged away but the creature pounced, his foot pinning Corey in place, leering down at him, and unless Corey missed his guess, it was staring at him intently with something other than satisfaction, it was like it…desired him.

"Away you foul creature!" the leader of the steampunks snapped, and a bolt of energy emitted from his third eye, crashing into the bat monster, making it shriek in pain as it stumbled back, and his lady companion sighed.

"See, this is why we need to be choosier with what we choose to improve, I mean really, taking a sex offender," she grumbled, and the other one chuckled.

"Test subjects were scarce back then Penny. But this lad, this lad will make a fine addition to our collection." He promised as the three steampunks surrounded Corey, who looked around in terror.

"What are you?" he squeaked in fright, and the leader chuckled, and with a slight gesture, his mask detached and folded into his boiler suit, and to Corey's shock revealed the face of a normal man.

Looking no more descript than anyone you might encounter on the street, he was a normal middle-aged white man, with greying brown hair, and his face broke into a genuine smile.

"I'm so glad you asked, people rarely ask us about ourselves! My name is Dr Gabriel Valack, otherwise known as the Surgeon," he told him in an excited tone, his two normal eyes glinting happily as he recounted the tale, "my friend here, is Dr Simon Urbaniak, otherwise known as the Pathologist," he continued, pointing to the other man, who's mask disconnected with a hiss of escaping air, revealing a face of a normal man with light brown hair, hazel eyes and pale skin, "and last but by far not the least of us is the Geneticist, who is the esteemed Dr Penelope Turnbull," he explained, and she simply reached up and removed her helmet, revealing the face of a beautiful young woman with auburn hair longer on the top as it was kept in a smart short style, "and together, we are known as…the Dread Doctors."

Corey's eyes flared in alarm. The Dread Doctors were just a scary story that his parents had told him when he was younger, to get him to behave: a group of paranormal scientists, who were quite happy to break all the rules governing medicine, science, the supernatural and of course human decency who would go around capturing, torturing and experimenting on young shapeshifters who didn't behave, the rhyme, what was the rhyme?

Search in your closet, search in your bed,

Where await the doctors of dread?

They come at night, they take the young,

Their evil deeds go unsung,

So heed our tale, be best behaved,

Or we'll give you to those doctors so depraved!

No, this couldn't be happening, the Dread Doctors were a scary children's story, that was all they were!

"Aww poor lamb, he looks terrified," Turnbull purred, but while it sounded like she should be feeling sorry for him, she certainly wasn't, her voice tinged with sociopathic joy at Corey's terror.

"How, how did you know where to find me?" he demanded, after all, they had been waiting for him, nothing else could explain it, and Valack chuckled.

"Ah yes, we didn't just happen to come across a rare werechameleon on a night-time stroll that's true. The third eye knows all," he told him with a sinister, smug smile, tapping his forehead and as he did so, his third eye opened again, staring at him, a shining white eye complete with electric blue iris, moving of its own accord to stare at him, "and my boy, for the time being, you are going to be the guest of the Directive."

"The-the Directive?" Corey whispered as the bat thing stirred, shrieking again, and Urbaniak chuckled, looking over at the monster.

"Yes, the Directive. Oh don't worry about the Popobawa, he'll behave himself if he wants to be fed tonight." He whispered, and the bat thing bowed its head, glaring at the Dread Doctors resentfully.

"No, please…let me go!" Corey begged, and Turnbull rolled her eyes and plunged her cane into his shoulder, and with a sadistic smile, flicked the ornate top off the tip of her cane, and pressed a small red button on the inside of the decorative piece.

Corey screamed as lightning coursed through his body, the Dread Doctors laughing maniacally as she did so, and Corey could feel powerful but nonlethal energy course through his body, his entire body convulsing and aching in pain, and his last thought was that Mason would think he had stood him up at the last minute before his eyes rolled back in his head and he went still.

Valack looked out across the preserve as Turnbull removed the bloodied tip of her cane from Corey's shoulder, breathing deeply the night air as he did so. It had been many years since they had last come together in Beacon Hills, the entirety of the Directive, united, in the one place. And now, their research awaited, the future was theirs to make, and at long last, all three of them were almost there.

Valack looked out at the preserve with a broad smile, mirrored by his two companions as the soldiers of Ouroboros moved out of the trees, shackling the Popobawa and hoisting Corey's unconscious form into his own car, which one of their operatives drove off towards their base. A fruitful return home for the prodigal returnees, he mused, as he looked out at where their kingdom was buried beneath the ground, and he sighed contentedly before saying:

"It's so good to be home."

XX

The first he knew of anything being wrong was when the door shattered into thousands of shards of wood, and Deaton barely had time to throw himself to the ground as the shattered ruins of his front door sped at him like a hurricane, and the shards whistled over his head, slamming into the wall behind him and pulverising into power. He rolled to his feet, but there was no sign of anyone there, but an attack like that, that wasn't power, that was magic, and there were only Druids in Beacon Hills who could use magic like that, well them and…

Oh fuck, the princess.

And then Deaton gurgled in alarm as a vice like grip fastened around his neck, and the furious princess pulled him out from behind the table which he had been sheltering behind as she hoisted him into the air, quivering in fury, and Deaton could tell exactly how much trouble he was in.

Not only had she lost such control of her temper that she was physically shaking in rage, her eyes were their true, insectoid nature, large, glowing black orbs with an amber fire dancing within them, each single cell of her eyes narrowed in absolute fury as she beheld the struggling Emissary. Her antennae had extended from her head, and weren't looking their usual feathery state, no, instead they looked jagged, thorny and were swaying like entranced snakes atop her head, a fact exacerbated by the globular section at the top which made it look like the head of a serpent. Her mouth was wide open in fury, her long, scenting tongue writhing like a cobra about to strike, and her small mandibles within her jaws were now forced out and were dripping in the juices she used to immobilise her prey in the wild. And despite how nice her dress looked, she had allowed that to be unceremoniously pushed out the way as her wings, the patterns a burning red, gold and violet had all shimmered into an extremely angry image that seared his eyes just looking at it.

"Tell me Deaton…do you have a death wish?" she hissed, the bizarre fluids kept inside her body now dripping off her writhing tongue and her mandibles, and Deaton felt true fear, up until now he had merely been annoyed by her presence in Beacon Hills, now he was truly terrified, her antennae were twitching as she savoured the sounds of his heightened heartrate.

This was the true face of the Beasturo, the true power of the Beasturo. Gone was the girl simply parroting the wishes of her two mothers, no this was the princess at the height of her anger, a very grave threat.

Without waiting for a further answer she snarled and threw him down to the floor where he cried out in pain before she kicked him in the stomach, rolling him onto his back and placed her foot on his neck, her compound eyes narrowed in malice, the roiling black and amber of them terrifying Deaton as he looked up into her face, and her wings went to red and black jagged lines, the colour they went just before she murdered someone.

"I'm having trouble understanding what exactly is going through that small, weak, human brain of yours Alan. I have given you explicit instructions ever since I arrived here. I have told you that while you see the good in having Scott as a figurehead, as a political symbol, I know better. I have, to that end, instructed you, repeatedly I might add, to furnish every assistance to the pack that you can, and stop hiding things from them. And tonight I discover that Stiles is betraying Scott by allying with Agravaine. Now, had this been the only revelation I had tonight, I wouldn't be so angry! However, as he scuttled away from Malia, who I am also aware you kept quiet to the pack about, make no mistake, he said he didn't tell Agravaine where Scott was staying after the djinn attacked his house.

That leaves me with a question, you see? Question: how did the Corrupter discover where Scott had retreated to? Stiles said it wasn't him, as he was talking to himself and doesn't know I can hear that well why would he lie? Despite all that's been going on recently, the pack wouldn't betray Scott, at least…not yet. So that leaves me with a quandary: how does this season's big bad discover Scott's hiding place if nobody in his inner circle sold him out?

Answer: my mother's idiotic, filthy double dealing, treacherous little pet has told him for reasons best known to himself. EXPLAIN!" she thundered, her hand bristling as it assumed its true form, and Deaton, panicking tried to get out from under her foot, to no avail, her wings were turning ever more dark, she was beside herself, and was about to punch his heart through his chest and most likely through the floor he was lying on if he didn't explain himself.

"The Ghost Pack…," he choked, and had her eyes been human, she would have rolled them but did loosen the pressure on his neck, at least a little, "the Ghost Pack are a different kind of threat to Scott, Princess. Agravaine came here…I swear I didn't help him!" Deaton protested, but to his alarm, she twitched a finger.

Deaton then gave out a tortured scream as his blood ignited within him, and Melody stood for a second watching him writhe on the ground before undoing her spell.

"Deaton, let me make something very plain. I'll use small words so it goes into your thick skull: I am in a very bad mood, because of you. I could have considerably improved my aims and my case, and better yet discovered more about the pack, and best of all, I could have gotten laid, it's been months, I could have achieved all of this tonight but because of you, I'm now here, deciding whether to skin you or flay you alive! Do not lie to me! Answers, now!" she stormed, and Deaton saw her bizarre chemical saliva fly from her mouth in her fury and it landed beside him, hissing in his ear as it burned on the floor.

"Agravaine came here," Deaton croaked, realising that if he pushed the princess any further it could well prove fatal for him, "asking for my help with Scott. I had to tell him something, I might be able to keep him out but he can shoot fire out of his hands, I was afraid he would attack if I didn't help him. I told him where Scott was. He needs to see what he's dealing with princess, you must realise that! He'll never be what either side wants him to be unless he grows up! I regret the role I was forced to play in this, and the fact that it led Agravaine to Scott, but I had no choice!" he protested, and she glowered down at him, still quivering in anger.

She then turned and swept away from him, and he breathed a sigh of great relief as the backside of her wings started to show colour again as she let out a hiss of annoyance, her antennae shrinking away and her body returning back to normal, and after a second in which her eyes returned to their human form, she swept back to the vet who was now struggling to pick himself up off the floor.

"Let me make one thing perfectly plain Deaton: this is the last time I will allow you any indiscretion. If you fail me again, if you disobey me again, if you do anything that I disapprove of in any way, I will hoist your body above your practice and leave you as carrion for the crows. Alright, I will allow you the fact that you sold Scott out due to your pathetic, cowardly Druidic nature," she hissed in a soft, deadly voice, silently savouring the look of anger that passed across his face, "but this needs to end. The Corrupter and his pack are out of control and need to be stopped. Scott cannot stop them if he doesn't know everything. That obviously, includes the fact that for whatever reason, Stiles seems to be betraying him to Agravaine. You need to find out what his plan is Deaton. Tell Scott of Stiles' betrayal, then we can make our plans from there. And just in case I haven't gotten through to your thick head Alan, consider this: you know that Thane has warped reality to affect the life of Stiles' father, which is perhaps something to do with his sudden defection. You also now know of said defection. Do you really think, that if that gets discovered, if Scott finds out you lied to him all over again, kept his best friend's defection from him, lied to him once more after your complicity in the reactivation of the Nemeton, in Stiles' possession, of Aiden's near death, of Scott and Isaac's break up, that they will let you live, to continue as if nothing's changed?

Scott may be much more enlightened than most wolves, most Alphas, he rules through genuine leadership, charisma, kindness and diplomacy. However, the walls are crumbling at the moment due to the attacks of the Ghost Pack. If your involvement in this entire affair is exposed, then Scott will have to act, especially when so much of his pack already doesn't trust you. And if Stiles is indeed a traitor, that means the most powerful influence on Scott will be Isaac, and if that does come about…nothing will stop the pack from truly turning on you. Think on what I've said Alan, and remember, play me false, disobey me one more time, and I will torture you in so many new and improved ways that the Nogitsune will look like a playground bully!" she stormed, and then seized her handbag from the doorway, having left it there as she entered and stormed out, though was kind enough to reconstruct his door with a gesture.

Oh, he thought, she only reconstructed it so she could slam it so hard it bounced off its hinges and crashed to the floor, and Deaton took a steadying breath, it had been a very long time since he had been on the receiving end of fury such as that, and if there was one faction in this world that you didn't want to piss off into such a fury, it was the Royal Family.

And truth be told, he'd gotten off lightly. Had it been the Queen, or worse, the Prince…he shuddered as he considered his position.

In some ways, the Princess was right. He had lost sight of what he was trying to do here. He had originally wanted to help shape Scott, mould him into the True Alpha he hoped he could become. However, he had overlooked one major aspect of Scott's character in the process of doing that, how much he cared for his friends. He had foolishly discounted that aspect of his personality, and also failed to realise that the bonds he formed with his pack are what helped to make him so unique in the first place. His role in reactivating the Nemeton, and hence in Stiles' possession, and the associated fallout from Allison's death, Aiden's death and Scott and Isaac's breakup had caused a great deal of strain on their relationship, and the resulting frostiness to their relationship had further distanced him from Scott and his pack.

He had lost sight of his goal, pursuing it with a single-mindedness that had actually harmed his very own cause, to the point where he had become so detrimental to his own cause that it would now be impossible to make up the ground that he had lost. No, she was right about one thing, things had to change, if he didn't stop this now, never mind guiding Scott to his destiny, he would be lucky to survive. He knew that a time was coming when the various factions of their world would all converge in Beacon Hills, and for that he needed to prepare Scott. But until he mended some bridges, that would be all but impossible.

And speaking of impossible, there was now Stiles betrayal to deal with. He knew why the princess wanted him to tell the pack, but to accuse Scott's best friend, especially when (whether genuine or not) Stiles' defection had to be down to the Nogitsune in some way, and hence to him, would be suicide, and he could forget about ever building those bridges back up. But he also knew of Thane's attempt on the sheriff, these all combined, pointed, at least he hoped so, to Stiles doing what he had to in order to save his father's life. But there was still a possibility, however absurd, that Stiles had genuinely gone rogue.

Either way, he mused, looking around at the mess the hacked off princess had made of his apartment, it was time to think about moving on. While he didn't want to leave, and didn't want to admit to himself that he had made a mess of things, such a mess that his protégé could well turn on him as the princess had warned, it was a possibility. He would help Scott as much as he could, but if it was revealed that he had known all of this, then there would be literal hell to pay, and truth be told, he feared Scott's pack (after all, there were two former psychopaths in it and one borderline in Derek) just as much as he feared the princess.

He sighed, his single-mindedness had gotten him into this mess, and he feared it was too late to salvage the situation. However, perhaps it was time, he needed perspective, he needed a break, the surgery would be fine with Dexio and Scott, and Marin of course would keep an eye on things. He needed to figure out his next move. To guide Scott, to help him achieve his fullest potential, and in order to do that, perhaps it would be best to absent himself for a while, to regain his focus, his perspective, at least until the heat was off.

And, he thought darkly, if he did it right, he could also rid himself of the wretched princess while he was at it.

XX

The night was winding down as the music had slowed to the more romantic songs. Finstock had become distracted from blowing his whistle at every couple who was getting too friendly out on the dance floor, as to everyone's great surprise, Greenberg had managed to pull, and as a result the coach had become distracted from his duty to go and wage war on Greenberg and his happiness. Natalie, seeing this, had sighed, realising at this late stage of the game it was far too late for her to care anymore, and preying they could all keep it in their pants and it didn't come back to bite them in the rear in nine months, she figured they could cope with the couples popping up all over the place getting that bit more intimate. And besides, her initial reason for moving the dance forward had been to let everyone, and the pack in particular, forget everything that was happening in the town at the moment and that, at least, seemed like it had worked.

In the centre of the dancefloor, all swaying to the A Night Like This by Caro Emerald the various couples that had gotten together were all enjoying each other's presence. Mason was at the side of the room, waiting for Corey to show up yet there was still no sign of his date to his consternation. Unaware of their friend's predicament however, Violet and Garrett were both out on the dance floor with their own respective partners who they had hooked up with, however Garrett was watching Liam out of the corner of his eye. He had been dancing with Kira all night, and Garrett was watching his best friend with a proud smile on his face, in fact, would it not ruin his reputation he felt he would have a proud tear in his eye.

Kira was dancing with her head on Liam's shoulder, his arm wrapped around her waist and the other holding her hand as they swayed to the music. Despite her initial reservations about tonight, she was rather glad she'd come now, she'd enjoyed herself, and it looked like Liam had gotten over his initial shyness of the whole thing as well.

He was smiling slightly as they danced, he too was feeling quite happy and content, he had enjoyed himself, and despite himself, he was rather glad that the others had given him the push he needed to go and dance with Kira.

"It's been a good night." He said softly, and she nodded as they danced.

"Yeah, it has been. Thank you for asking me to dance." She said sweetly, pulling her head up to look him in the eyes and giving him a kind smile, and he grinned nervously.

"You're welcome, again. I'm glad I did, I-I don't think I'd have enjoyed myself as much if I hadn't." he admitted, and she smiled as he twirled her around, then she petted his cheek gently.

"Me neither." She told him with a smile as he lifted her and twirled her around before gently putting her back on the ground for the climax of the song.

The dance was truly starting to break now, and Lydia's mother was currently trying to pry Finstock from his eternal war with Greenberg and his new girlfriend as everyone all started to drift off.

"Thank you, Liam, I really did enjoy myself." Kira said sweetly, and he smiled at her, and he'd lost a lot of his nervousness over the course of the night, his smile, which was very cute, no longer had him gnawing at his lip shyly, and she counted that as a success.

"Me too. Thank you." He said softly, and before his nerve failed him, he gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then kind of ruined the bravery of his act by looking terrified that he had done something wrong.

Bless him.

Kira touched her cheek where he'd kissed it hesitantly, and smiled, looking deep into his eyes as she took his hands before he fled in terror that he'd messed up.

"See, like this." She chided coyly, and then kissed him on the lips.

Liam was a little startled at first but then responded enthusiastically, pressing his lips against hers, wrapping his hand in her long raven hair, and surprised by his sudden enthusiasm, she reciprocated, wrapping her arms around his neck as he did so. They gently parted lips a second later, and the two of them were blushing to a ridiculous amount but both looked incredibly happy.

"See you later Liam." She said playfully, giving him a small wink, and blew him a kiss before heading to the door, and he sagged a little with a goofy grin on his face as she left, watching her retreating back, taking note of the small spring in her step as she headed outside to the car park where her father was waiting.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." He breathed, and unnoticed by his lovestruck best friend on the other side of the room, Garrett watched proudly, grinning as he did so.

"The student has started to become the master. I'm so proud of him!" he said happily, heading off to find Mason.

However, if he'd happened to look out the window before he did so, he might have noticed the glowing sets of black eyes stalking the outside of the building, focusing on him as they looked inside.

XX

Isaac moaned as Scott pinned him against the set of lockers, kissing down the length of his long neck, Isaac's nails digging into Scott's back as he did so. Scott was breathing down his side, Isaac moaning in pleasure as he did so.

"I've missed this, we need to get you over your squeamishness." Scott breathed into his ear huskily, and Isaac moaned in pleasure, he had to admit, it was rather hard to say no to his boyfriend when he was doing stuff like this with him.

Their clothes hadn't lasted long, and Scott had hastily locked the door behind them. Then days' worth of pent up sexual tension had then erupted as soon as Scott had kissed him, his hands eagerly pulling at Isaac's clothes to get them off him. Things hadn't lasted much longer following that, and now, they were like this.

"It's just…ah!" he gasped, as a grinning Scott reached down and played with him, "weird doing in a place that's not our own." He whimpered, as Scott traced his hand down to his thigh.

"Honey, we're doing it in the school locker room," he pointed out with a grin, and punctuated his point with a kiss, "the first time we got close to having sex was also in a school store cupboard," he teased, and Isaac grinned, putting a finger to Scott's lips to shut him up.

"Yeah I know but that one doesn't count, and besides, we'd beat around the bush enough before that," he admitted ruefully, wrapping his arm around Scott's neck tenderly and kissing him fiercely, Scott directing his back into the lockers making them clang as he did so, "and our first time was just after the whole hell with the Nogitsune. It's just, weird, doing it in someone else's place. I like doing it in your house, it feels like home." He whispered, kissing down Scott's jaw, and Scott moaned in pleasure himself.

"Yet," he purred, which turned into a gasp as Isaac trailed his hand down and stroked around his groin, "we're doing it here!"

Isaac shrugged, grinning coyly.

"Well, not yet we're not. But maybe," he said, his eyes glowing golden, his eyes smouldering with a mischief Scott hadn't seen before, "maybe we should do something to correct that what do you say sweetheart?" he whispered, and Scott felt his insides do a somersault in excited pleasure, this, this was new, Isaac never…

"You mean…?" Scott whispered, and Isaac seized his face in his hands, kissing him passionately, and Scott moaned in pleasure, twirling them around so that Scott's back was now the one against the lockers, not Isaac, and Scott felt himself get even more turned on than he already was.

"God, Isaac!" Scott groaned in pleasure as Isaac trailed a stream of kisses down his body, his arms wrapped around his boyfriend as he pinned him against the lockers, and smirking cheekily, he then pinned Scott's hands with his own, trapping Scott against the lockers while he was so close…Scott could barely think, he was so turned on, and this, this sexy, playful side of Isaac, this was something even he hadn't seen before, and he had to say…he liked it, this was a nice change of pace…Isaac taking charge (Scott's eyes rolled in pleasure as Isaac bent down, his long body bending down to kiss Scott's throbbing cock), god this felt good.

"Wh-wh-" Scott tried, but his grinning boyfriend then returned to his full height, pressing his lips against Scott's, his tongue eagerly exploring into his boyfriend's mouth, Scott reciprocating hungrily, struggling so he could try and stroke Isaac, to touch him, but his boyfriend, his beta mark you, held him fast.

"What is it, don't you like it?" Isaac asked hesitantly, and Scott whimpered a little, and upon hearing the noise that he himself usually made, Isaac grinned.

"Oh no, believe me, I love it, it's just…"

"Well…things have been kind of crappy for us recently, for all of us, and we can't even have sex at home, so I figured," he whispered, kissing up Scott's neck, his breath soft as he whispered into Scott's ear, "that maybe instead of you taking care of me," he breathed, nuzzling Scott affectionately, "that I should take care of you for a change." He finished with a sultry purr, and Scott whimpered in longing, in need, in desire, and Isaac, grinning far too cockily, took that as permission to continue as he was.

And Isaac was then on him, still pinning his boyfriend to the lockers, his body pressed up against Scott's, his lips crashing into Scott's, and Scott abandoned all pretence. He kissed his boyfriend hungrily, as if his life depended on it, not even noticing as Isaac released one of his hands, his free hand now snaking down to cradle his boyfriend's cock, eliciting a stifled moan from his Alpha as he traced his fingers up his boyfriend's shaft. Isaac then released the other hand, but Scott left it where it was, and Isaac snaked his arm down, wrapping it around the back of his boyfriend's neck, his fingers running passionately through his boyfriend's hair. Scott finally remembered how to use his hands, his own hands stroking up Isaac's defined abs, finding his boyfriend's hard nipples while the other finally recalled that it too can move, and it placed itself on Isaac's cheek, holding him close as the two kissed, the other hand stroking Isaac's nipples while Scott stroked his way up into Isaac's hair, his hand knotting in his boyfriend's blond hair as he did so.

Isaac moaned a little in pleasure, panting a little in the back of his throat as he and Scott gave in to their sexual frustration, amassed over days, amassed from the stress they'd been under recently. He broke the kiss with Scott, his eyes still glowing gold, and it seemed like that made Scott all the more aroused, after all, for a change, Isaac was the one dominating, and from the desire, the love and the yearning that he could see dancing in Scott's warm brown eyes, his boyfriend was quite enjoying this role reversal. Isaac kept one arm wrapped around Scott's neck, his fingers stroking through his boyfriend's slicked hair, running through it, Scott reciprocating eagerly. His other hand then stroked up Scott's now leaking cock, and stroked up his abs, feeling his warm chest beneath his hands, feeling Scott's heart pounding through his chest, and he grinned a little, as if he'd needed any assurances that his boyfriend was severely turned on.

But, he thought with a grin, an evil, teasing grin that made Scott whine desperately, he wasn't going to be satisfied until Scott begged, after all, he usually got him to beg after all.

Scott kissed Isaac, demanding his ministrations, but Isaac remained committed to the foreplay, bastard, he knew how hot he was, how turned on he was, that evil but oh so sexy smirk of his confirmed it, but it was so good.

Alright, that's how he wanted it?

Scott broke another kiss, then shoved Isaac off a little, smirking himself, and Isaac's glowing eyes taunted him with lustful desire, and Scott feasted his eyes on his tall, defined boyfriend standing there, teasing, that grin…

He pushed himself into Isaac, who twirled him on the spot, slamming him against the opposite set of lockers with a moan of desire, taking both Scott's hands and pinning them above his head, holding him in place with one hand. He kissed his Alpha, savouring his spicy, exotic taste as he trailed one hand down his chest, working his way down towards his boyfriend's groin. Scott whimpered, it wasn't fair, Isaac was taller than he was, but he felt so good, and as Isaac gently jerked him off a little, he moaned in pleasure, tilting his head back.

"Isaac…" he panted through their kissing, and Isaac broke their kiss, smirking.

"Yes?" he teased, that cocky grin, but it was oh so sexy, this was the side of him only Scott ever saw, the part of him that belonged solely to him.

Isaac's eyes may have been glowing golden but he too was just as turned on as his boyfriend, his long cock also dripping as he pressed himself against Scott, Scott giving a shuddering gasp of pleasure as he did so, he could feel Isaac's cock, it was rubbing against his stomach, and it was tickling, no, he didn't need it outside, he needed it inside….

"Please!" he whimpered, struggling to get free of being pinned, he so wanted to touch Isaac, but Isaac wouldn't let him.

"All you had to do was ask." He purred in a sultry, seductive tone, and he released Scott's hands, and a second later, Scott's hands were all over him, running ravenously over his boyfriend's body, one hand intertwining in his hair while the other stroked down his body, savouring every bit of him he could reach.

Isaac pinned him back against the lockers with his body weight again, his tongue desperately kissing his boyfriend, who returned the favour equally, Isaac's hands stroking through his hair, and Scott felt himself give a shuddering gasp as Isaac stooped a little, and he felt Isaac's long cock slide up the inside of his leg as he did so, oh god, this was happening, Isaac was going to…

Scott let out a cry as Isaac gently slid his cock into his ass, wrapping one arm around his boyfriend's waist while the other remained wrapped around his neck. He pressed himself against Scott, the two of them kissing eagerly, Scott savouring the feel of his boyfriend, his beta, his hands stroking Isaac's toned body, wrapping in his hair, Isaac's hands caressing his blazing hot body, stroking his boyfriend's tattoo before moving onto his nipples, stroking down towards his groin, the other hand moving up the way, cupping Scott's face tenderly as they continued to kiss, his fingers stroking through Scott's hair.

"I love you." Isaac breathed, and Scott groaned.

"I love…you too…Isaac, please!" he panted, and Isaac grinned, gently beginning to thrust into Scott's ass, Scott's pleasure increasing exponentially as he did so.

Scott then gave a shuddering gasp as Isaac took hold of his cock and then gently started to work that as well, it was so hard to focus on anything other than his gorgeous, pale boyfriend, god he'd missed this, he needed this, he…

"Please!" Scott breathed, and Isaac stopped kissing him for a second to allow himself an extremely smug smile before recommencing operations, snaking his hand around to Scott's jaw, holding it in place softly while the two kissed, his thumb caressing his Alpha's cheek while they did so.

Isaac began to up his pace, his cock deep inside his boyfriend, Scott moaning in sheer pleasure as he did so, and his boyfriend was also attending to his cock, all he had to do was reciprocate, kissing Isaac hungrily, his hands touching every inch of Isaac he could reach, god he needed this, Isaac felt so good inside him, he was getting faster, he could feel Isaac was close, he certainly was…

Isaac kissed down his boyfriend's jaw, he was close, this felt amazing, his hot, gorgeous boyfriend, his hero, all his, the two of them together, enjoying each other, celebrating their feelings for each other, he was panting himself, he needed to go, he traced his lips sloppily down to Scott's mouth, their lips hungrily kissing one another, and then…

Isaac let out an exultant whine as his eyes glowed even brighter than they had all night, as he finally came, and only slightly aided by his werewolf strength, he lifted Scott up a little, thrusting him into the air as he did so, holding him in place, their kisses becoming increasingly sloppy as he did so, but it was actually more Scott's reaction that thrilled him.

As he was lifted into the air, Scott felt his boyfriend cum into him, and he let out a savage moan of pleasure, his head tilting back exultantly as he did so, his eyes rolling back in pleasure as he felt Isaac cum inside him, and then, not a second later, his eyes glowed red as with a last gasp of joyful arousal, he too came, and Isaac moaned in satisfaction, both of them panting weakly, both of them shaking in pleasure as Isaac gently lowered him back to the ground, savouring the power he had over his boyfriend as the two of them panted, and Scott, having regained some use of his faculties, breathed in delight, took Isaac's face in his hands and brought him close, pressing his lips against his eagerly, his hand right over Isaac's heart, feeling it pounding within his chest.

"That…that…was amazing." He breathed, and Isaac kissed him softly, nuzzling him with his nose as he did so.

"God yeah…and now my sweetie, you'll see the rest of my cunning plan." He breathed, and Scott looked at him curiously, still panting and his brain not quite working yet, and Isaac gave him a cocky grin and nodded his head towards the showers, and Scott smirked.

"Oh…oh you are good. My turn." He growled playfully, and Isaac kissed his neck, before favouring him with a sexy, coy smile.

"Well…not necessarily." He taunted lustfully, and Scott moaned in pleasure at the very thought as he kissed Isaac again.

XX

"Did I see that right? Liam and Kira kissed?" Mason asked in disbelief, and Garrett pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.

"Yeah, I'm so proud of him, he has learned my lessons well." He gloated, then he frowned a little as he looked at his other best friend, cocking his head curiously.

"What?" Mason asked sullenly, and Garrett looked at him in concern.

"Where's Corey, I thought your mystery man was meeting us here?" he asked, and Mason sighed, looking at his phone worriedly.

"Well he was on his way here, but then he just stopped answering my texts, I've called him but it just says out of area." He said, and Garrett was about to say that maybe the guy was just a dick, but no, Mason had been quietly dating Corey for a while now, and from what Mason had said about him, the guy had had a crappy time recently and Mason had helped him a lot, it sounded like the guy had it bad for Mason too, so unless Mason had totally misread the situation, which he doubted since Mason was actually a good judge of character…

"You're afraid something's going on, something might have got him?" he asked worriedly, and Mason nodded, looking anxious.

"Yeah, I mean, the dogs are still out there, so's the Pombero, the Owlman and the djinn, it's possible isn't it?" he asked and Garrett was considering his question when Liam practically bounced over, and temporarily distracted his two friends from their musings.

"Hi! Good night?" he asked cheerfully, and Garrett and Mason exchanged small smiles, bless him, he was so excited (and unless Garrett missed his guess, that was actually his first kiss too).

"Yeah, scored a number. Not as good as yours though by the looks of it," he teased, and Liam shrugged, trying and failing not to look pleased with himself, "you looked like you had fun with Kira?"

Liam gave his friends a big goofy grin.

"Yeah, she's awesome!" he said brightly, then looked curiously at Mason, who despite his concern for Corey, was smiling in amusement at Liam and his very good mood, "hey, what happened to Corey, I wanted to meet him?" he asked, and Mason looked at him worriedly.

"He didn't turn up, last time I heard from him he was just about to come back into town." He admitted, and Liam felt the happiness filled balloon that was inside him deflating as if he had a small puncture.

"That doesn't sound good, you worried the dogs might have got him?" he asked, and Mason nodded a little, biting his lip, and Garrett nodded, clapping Mason on the shoulder.

"Ok dude, we'll see if we can summon some of the pack together, see if we can find him, alright?" he asked, and Mason, looking heartened by his support, nodded eagerly.

"Sure, cool. I've not seen Scott or Isaac, they're probably still around here somewhere." He said, and Liam nodded, looking for his phone.

"Ok, we'll ask them first. Let's go outside if we're going to phone him, we won't be able to hear anything in here, too many people chatting." He said, and the three friends departed the hall as the clamour of the end of the dance surrounded them, and Garrett gave Violet a wink as she and her conquest made themselves scarce, and he also sent a more seductive wink at the girl who's number he scored as they left the building, heading outside into the cool night air.

There were various people milling about, all getting taxis, or getting picked up by parents. Garrett and Mason scoured the crowd for any sign of the Alpha and the Prime Beta but there was no sign of them anywhere, come to think of it, there was no sign of any of the rest of the pack, maybe they'd all already coupled off and went home? Liam briefly considered whether he should ask Mrs Martin to call Lydia, to see if she could help find her, there was no sign of the rest of the pack anywhere. He flicked through his phone, Stiles didn't answer, neither did either of the twins or Danny (though they had seen them disappear), he didn't want to call Kira (in case she got the wrong idea), Malia had no response, and neither did Scott or Isaac, where the hell were they all?

"Any joy?" Garrett asked as they turned the corner, getting away from the bulk of the students to see if Liam had any more luck where it was quieter.

"None, I can't get anyone." Liam said worriedly not unduly concerned, after all it was quite late and they all had their own relationships and dramas going on at the moment, and he was just contemplating calling Kira, after all, this was about someone's safety, they could talk about them later on, this was about Corey.

"That's a pity. The more, the merrier!" Ciara snarled as she came around the corner, and the three boys span in alarm as the Barghest appeared, her eyes glowing a malicious black.

The three of them backed away from her as she growled, advancing upon them, chasing them further away from the last stragglers of the dance, and it occurred to them that for the first time, they didn't have any of the supernatural members of the pack with them.

They were about to turn tail and make a run for it when they heard the guttural growling behind them, and they turned in alarm as Eoghan appeared on the other side, chuckling darkly as the two Barghests had them pinned between them, and all three of them were unarmed, and completely at the mercy of the two weredogs, with only out into the sports field to run to, where they would be easy prey for the two dogs.

"Yeah, Agravaine's having a little get together…and you're all invited!" he snarled, preparing to spring, but Garrett, rather bravely shoving Mason and Liam behind him protectively before charging at the large dog, tackling him in the chest.

Distracted by his sudden move, Mason and Liam prepared themselves, torn between wanting to make a break for it to try and get help, to help save Garrett from the massive weredog, and between wanting to scream, to call for help from someone, anyone, to come and help them while they helped their best friend, but before they could do anything, Ciara gave a vicious bark and backhanded Mason, and the momentum of the attack crashed him headfirst into the wall, dropping him down like a sack of potatoes as he was knocked out from the attack.

Liam gave a shout of anger and leapt on the dog, who gave a huff of surprise as she was tackled to the ground, his IED exploding out of him as he started to pummel her, the dog snarling in anger, though also whimpering a little in pain as the small bundle of explosive energy attacked her. Eoghan had recovered, and despite Garrett trying to fight him, he simply slammed his arm into Garrett's raised fists, knocking the orphan off balance, and as he stumbled, Eoghan grabbed Garrett by the throat, hoisting him up into the air, his breath growling into Garrett's face as he struggled for air, his legs kicking as he dangled in the dog's grip, his face going red, clawing at the dog's vice like grip on his neck, eyes bulging desperately before his eyes rolled in his head and he passed out in Eoghan's grip, who cast him away with a throw, crashing his unconscious form on top of Mason's prone body.

Liam was snarling angrily, still punching Ciara who was now furious, and she dug her claws into his hands, making him cry out in pain. He was a tough little runt, she had to give him that, she thought darkly, and kicked him squarely in the chest, sending him stumbling back, allowing her to leap back to her feet, and she seized him by the neck and crashed him into the brick wall of the school, the jolt knocking him clean out and she then dropped his unconscious form on top of Mason and Garrett.

"He's a tough little squirt, I'll give the kid that. He's broke my nose!" Ciara complained, and Eoghan gave her a wicked grin, along with a roguish wink.

"You're still beautiful to me love. But yeah, they are tough, tougher than I thought. Let's go, I know it's been a while since we were both at school but all we'd need is someone coming round here looking for some privacy, then the game's a bogey." He pointed out, hoisting all three unconscious teenagers up over his shoulder while his bleeding wife covered their retreat, making their way to the van they had parked further down the sports field, away from the school.

XX

Now clean again after their passionate lovemaking, and Scott finding some aftershave and hair stuff in Danny's locker (he didn't think Danny would notice, and if he did, he would blame Stiles, that's what he was for), the two of them were now getting ready to return to the dance, which judging by the sounds had to be close to ending anyway.

"You know, tonight was a good night!" Scott called from the other end of the locker room, as he had lost the brief struggle (Isaac had pinned and kissed him and he'd caved) for the mirror at the door with the better light, and now he was in the back corner of the room while Isaac was in the one at the doorway.

He finished styling his hair back into place, and was just about to start doing up his shirt, which was hanging open, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Distracted, Isaac looked but saw nothing, and dismissing it as something like a spider, he dismissed it and finished touching up his hair.

"Yeah, we both really enjoyed ourselves." He purred cockily, and he could almost hear Scott's massive grin on his face as he responded.

"Yeah, maybe that should happen more often? Not all the time, I still like doing it with you more," he replied, and Isaac grinned, yeah tonight had been fun but yeah, he did like when Scott did it to him more as well, "but we could do that again right? It was great, we, we were great!"

Yeah, they had been, and like Isaac had thought, changing things a little had certainly invigorated their lovemaking in a whole new way, and it was also a good way to forget everything that had happened recently, with dogs and all the associated enemies they had in the town.

He was just about to respond when this time he was sure he saw something, and started as he looked into the mirror, seeing Rhyley's glowing red eyes right behind him, the gytrash clearly having used his abilities to sneak up on him.

Rhyley pounced as Isaac opened his mouth in panic, wanting to alert Scott, and clamped his hand over Isaac's nose and mouth, holding it fast. Isaac panicked as he felt Rhyley's other arm wrap around his neck, struggling to get free but the dog was freakishly strong. Isaac tried to stab Rhyley with his claws, struggling to breathe, determined to loosen his grip, but the dog just kept phasing in and out of solidity, though keeping the pressure up on his victim. Isaac was struggling, he could see his face going red in the mirror as he struggled with the weredog, but with no air, he was in desperate need of air, where was Scott, were they hurting him too, no, he had to…had to get free…get…had to…get…free…

And Isaac's eyes rolled back in his head as he went limp, passing out and collapsing in Rhyley's grip, who allowed himself a sadistic smile as he lowered Isaac to the ground gently, as a loud thud would surely bring the Alpha to find out what had befallen his boyfriend. No, better to let Malakai do his bit really, Rhyley mused, looking at Isaac's prone body, his shirt still open, his pale defined body and chest exposed, his legs at an awkward angle, his hair still neatly styled, his face darkened from the lack of air, his eyes closed and mouth slightly open.

Pity that Agravaine didn't want him as well, but they knew not to question the Corrupter when he was in the mood he was in at the moment, that cold, zealot like fervour that he possessed just before he committed murder.

Scott was just finishing styling his hair back to the side, turning to put Danny's hair stuff on the bench beside him, and was just wondering where he put his tie when abruptly, it slid around his neck. Scott's eyes bulged in alarm as he looked back into the mirror he was standing in front of to see Malakai standing right behind him, glowing red eyes alight with malice, twisting Scott's tie around his neck. Scott growled, his own eyes turning red as he attempted to claw at it, but Malakai gave a taunting smirk, tightening the tie around his neck. Scott's eyes bulged as the tie cut into his neck, struggling, his claws looking for purchase against the silk material, but to no avail, every time he tried to claw it, Malakai would adjust his grip, his body flickering between solid and translucent as the Alpha struggled against the chokehold he currently had him in. The tie was cutting into his neck, and with Malakai moving his arms around to prevent Scott from clawing at the tie, he was struggling for air, his face was going red, a vain popping out in his forehead as he struggled, twisting and writhing, determined to get free, if he was being attacked chances are Isaac at least was in danger as well, he had to get loose, get free!

Malakai, chuckling sinisterly, tightened his grip once more, the silk cutting into Scott's neck even more, leaving a livid white impression on his neck as Scott gurgled, choking for air. He was failing, he had to break free, had to get help, had to stop the dogs…had to…Isaac…

And then his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out himself, allowing his attacker to become fully corporeal again and lower him to the floor.

"You got him?" Rhyley asked, peering around the side of the lockers, and Malakai nodded, grinning, no mean feat taking down a True Alpha, even if he had cheated in order to do it.

Scott was unconscious, his face red, his neck white from his tie leaving an imprint. His top couple of buttons of his shirt were undone, his legs akimbo from attempting to struggle, his hands draped across his stomach from where they'd fallen in his attempts to get loose, his hair still freshly styled, his mouth closed.

"Yep. Easy peasy. Come on, let's get him out of here." He ordered his younger brother, and Rhyley sent a confused look back at Isaac.

"Why does he not want him, surely if he wants to break Scott, his boyfriend's the best option?" he asked, and Malakai shrugged, he wasn't fussed much either way, but admittedly, it was strange.

"Yeah, but I think he's got some sort of object lesson planned. Let's go." He told his brother, and together the two of them lifted the True Alpha and disappeared into the night towards their truck, where hopefully Eoghan and Ciara would be waiting with their victims, leaving Isaac unconscious in the locker room behind them.

XX

Scott groaned weakly as he woke up, the smells of this place assaulting his nose as he did so. He didn't know where he was, he was still too bleary from the attack, yes, the attack, Malakai, but you rarely got one without the other, Rhyley, unless…Isaac!

Bringing himself back to wakefulness, Scott roared angrily, trying to surge forward as he realised he chained to the wall, and judging from the way his bonds were burning him, he supposed they'd been infused somehow with mountain ash.

He tried to get his bearings, this place, it smelled vaguely familiar, there was a large, circular door in place…oh no, it couldn't be. This was the abandoned bank that the Alphas had made their home, this was where they had murdered Erica, and had nearly murdered Isaac upon discovering him here.

He growled as his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the cell, struggling against his bonds, hearing a soft, lilting chuckle, and he roared in fury as Agravaine emerged from the shadows, a very cold and calculating look upon his face, and a malicious smile playing on his lips as he beheld the captive True Alpha.

"Good evening Scott, sorry to ruin your dance, but I rather felt that you weren't giving me the attention that I deserved. Don't you worry your pretty little head," he purred, patting his captive's cheek, giving a sneering laugh as Scott tried to bite him, "Isaac is safe, we left him behind, he'll be fine until he wakes up and realises what's happened."

Scott roared again, straining against the chains tying him to the wall, grimacing as the mountain ash burned his wrists and ankles, desperate to break free but to no avail, and Agravaine laughed.

"You're not going anywhere Scott, see, the thing about being a creature able to wield fire, you can also make yourself your own personal, portable forge. Trust me dear boy, you're not getting out of those until I say so." He promised softly, and Scott growled at him.

"What do you want?" he spat, trying once more to break the chains, come on, he'd overcome mountain ash before, he was the True Alpha for god sake, he just needed to get free, and then, then he could wipe that smug look off Agravaine's face.

Agravaine smiled, and Scott felt a genuine chill run down his spine, that smile, that wasn't evil, or malicious, that was a creepy smile, filled with…longing, desire, and it scared the crap out of him.

"As I said Scott, I want your full attention. I've indulged your defiance up until now, and I'll admit, you got the better of me at the lacrosse game, especially when the damn hunters showed up, amazing what can be achieved with hunters with brains isn't it? Not like the Callaveras…" he mused regretfully, and despite the dire straits he was in, he could kind of sympathise with Agravaine on that front, he wouldn't be the first bad guy, in reality or fiction, to be undone by the most incompetent of underlings, which the Callaveras most certainly were, "however, I digress. I need you Scott. You see, I have a problem, it consists of that infernal overgrown winged scavenger Hollis. You see, he has become a serious impediment to me and my plans, and I need him removed. At the very least, I need the power to remove him. That's why I need you my boy. I need the power boost, be it from killing you, having you join me, or corrupting you, however speaking solely for myself, I would prefer a mixture of options two and three. As the True Alpha, your power is immense, and you don't yet realise your own importance. If you join me, I can rid myself of Hollis, I will free your town, and you and I…we'll be a force to be reckoned with. Join me Scott, and I will show you things that even the Renegade Deucalion would dare not. Join me!" he whispered in his hypnotic voice, but Scott strained against his bonds again, the pain bringing him back to himself, keeping his hypnotic voice from achieving its full effect.

Scott sneered.

"I've told you before Agravaine, I'll never join you. So you can go to hell." He told him, and Agravaine chuckled, his eyes glowing their sinister yellow, and Scott had a very bad feeling all of a sudden.

"Come now Scott, what harm can it do?" he whispered, coming close to Scott, his yellow eyes smouldering sinisterly, his nail igniting and burning open Scott's shirt, the garment smouldering as it fell open and Scott cringed as Agravaine laid his hand on his now exposed chest, pulling away, no, the evil routine he could kind of deal with, hell to the no with the creepy evil pervert routine!

Scott lashed out, trying to bite him once again, and Agravaine chuckled darkly, and then turned towards the door.

"Ah, I tried. I've never been one to deal well with rejection Scott. Perhaps this will motivate you!" he growled, and whistled, and Thane, Eoghan and Ciara then came in, forcing three more captives in with them, and Scott's heart plummeted like a stone.

All of them looking distinctly worse for wear, they'd captured Liam, Garrett and Mason, all of whom looked at Scott, chained impotently to the wall, their eyes wide with terror as the three weredogs held them fast as Agravaine stalked over to them, a sinister smile on his face as he did so.

"As I've said before Scott, my patience has reached it's end. I will have your allegiance, once way or another. Now, let me put it to you in terms you will understand: if you do not join me, I will kill one of these three fine young boys. They will die, their lives lost in your battle with a far superior enemy, just…like…Allison!" he growled, and Scott could feel his terror poisoning his whole body, he was fairly sure if he looked down he would see his heart pounding in his chest.

No, he couldn't let this happen, the three of them, the three of them in particular were innocent in all this!

"Let them go Agravaine!" he roared angrily, and all three of them looked at Scott, all of them pale and shaking in terror.

"Scott, what do we do?" Liam whimpered, held fast by Thane, trying to get free.

"Don't do it Scott! He's going to kill us anyway, he's a psychopath!" Garrett spat, trying to stand on Eoghan's foot, who was now avoiding his feet with a perturbed expression on his face.

"Scott, he's lying, he's going to kill us anyway, don't join him! Hey, let me go!" Mason spat, straining against Ciara's grip, and Agravaine turned to Scott expectantly, his eyebrow raised, malice pouring off him in waves.

"What will it be Scott?" Agravaine asked softly, walking up and down in front of his three captives, a smouldering claw extended and stroking along the necks of each boy, leaving a slightly red mark on their skin.

"Fine, fine, I'll join you, I'll help you, just let them go! They're not part of this!" he begged, straining against his chains, but even if he got free, he didn't know what he could do against all these dogs, he needed the pack, please god let help come soon!

He could hear the terrified heartbeats of the three younger kids, no, he would save them, he had to.

"I'll join you, I'll do whatever you want! Just please, let them go, they haven't done anything!" he begged, and Agravaine let out a dark laugh.

"Au contraire my dear boy," he sniggered, strolling over to Scott and stroking a hand up Scott's exposed chest, and it was a sign of the boy's commitment that he didn't flinch away, but he could tell he didn't enjoy it, pity really, "they're a part of your pack. Which makes them just as guilty as you of defying me."

"Please Agravaine," Scott begged, looking at the Gwyllgi imploringly, "let them go, they're just kids!"

Agravaine laughed, then turned to the three boys.

"Your Alpha is very brave, he's willing to come with me, to join someone he so despises, to save your lives. Most noble. Do you know why I had you three brought before me? It's because you are human. You see, the supernatural ones of the pack, Isaac for example, even Stiles with the lingering effects of the Nogitsune, them he would be able to save, as they all have that supernatural…spark. You boys do not. I mean I could have captured his mother, but let's face it, things didn't go to well between us last time I encountered her," he admitted, and Scott felt a savage thrill of pleasure at his mother getting the better of him, "but I thought this, you three would be more effective a lesson. You three do not have the supernatural spark, which means that even if I kill you, you will stay dead, as your valiant young Alpha here will be unable to, shall we say, pull an Aiden and bring you back from the jaws of death. So, that's why I had you three taken. But, Scott is willing to play ball, so, I'll let you go." He said simply, and despite the terror he felt, knowing what he was signing up for, he breathed a sigh of relief, the three youngest members of the pack were going to be alright, he was letting them go.

Their hearts were still beating in terror as their captors released them, and Mason elbowed Ciara in the stomach, Garrett turned and roundly kicked Eoghan in the groin, who sagged a little and wheezed in pain, and Liam cracked his fist back and slammed it into Thane's face, the Grim snarling in pain as he broke his nose, glaring at him as the three came together in a line, then confident their restraints were temporarily out of the fight, they turned to face Agravaine, who chuckled, they had spirit.

"However," he then said in a soft, cold voice, and Scott's blood went cold, "it seems to me like Scott here could just be telling me what I want to hear. What say you Thane?" he asked, licking his lips as he looked hungrily at the three kids, and the Grim gave out a guttural laugh.

"I do believe you're right." He admitted, and Agravaine nodded, smirking and Scott realised what was about to happen, as the three kids edged around the Gwyllgi towards him, standing in front of their Alpha, all of them shaking in terror.

"NO! Agravaine, I'll do whatever you want, please, let them go, I give you my word!" Scott begged frantically, please let help come, please let it come!

"You're going to kill us anyway you evil bastard!" Mason yelled, his voice dripping with fear but he was admittedly glaring at their enemy, who was stalking up and down in front of them all, licking his lips in anticipation.

"He was always going to kill us, go to hell!" Liam growled, wanting nothing more than to pummel this maniac into a bloody pulp.

"RUN! Just run!" Scott begged, but as he shouted, the two gytrashes and Bonnie blocked the door, though Bonnie and Rhyley both averted their gaze, realising what was about to happen.

"If you want to kill anyone Agravaine, kill me!" Garrett spat, as Scott roared in pain and fear, no, he wasn't going to lose anyone else from his pack, he wasn't going to lose anyone else he loved, he was straining, trying determinedly to rip himself out of the chains, out of the wall, anything to help the boys, he could hear their hearts pounding with terror, he could smell and taste their fear, he had to protect them.

"Garrett, no, kill me you sick son of a bitch!" Liam roared and sprang at the evil dog, who laughed and sent a stream of fire crashing into his chest, and sent Liam crashing backwards, slamming him into the wall beneath Scott, his chest smoking, out cold.

"NO!" Mason and Garrett cried as one, bending down to check on their friend and Scott roared furiously at Agravaine.

"NO Agravaine! I promised to do what you want, I'll come with you, I'll do whatever you want, just please, let them go! I'm giving you what you want, what more do you want?" he snarled, determined to get free, but there was no give, and with Liam out cold, Mason and Garrett were now cornered against the wall beneath their Alpha, unable to do anything.

Agravaine sent Scott a predatory glance, and then smiled, revealing his jagged teeth.

"As I said, I don't deal well with rejection. And you've rejected me one time too many. Consider this, an object lesson." He purred, and Scott roared, the chains straining as he struggled to break himself out.

"No, let them go!" he cried, he could taste their terror, no, this could not be happening, he couldn't let this happen.

Garrett stood forward, his entire body shaking, but he moved Mason behind him protectively, and glared at the Gwyllgi.

"Go on then, since you're going to kill someone anyway, kill me you evil son of a bitch! Go on, kill me!" he demanded, his entire body shaking in terror, and Mason pulled at him, trying to pull him back.

"No, Garrett, don't, let me, I…" he begged, but Garrett took Mason's hand firmly and sent him a last look, his breath hitching in his throat while Mason looked at him, terrified, shaking his head, begging him not to do it.

"Hey, its my choice ok? It's not like I've got as much to live for as you guys do is it? Let me do this, it has to be me Mason. Look after Liam, he'll need you after this…ok man?" he asked, his voice shuddering in terror and choked with tears, the dogs watching with bated breath while Scott, tears streaming down his face, still struggled to free himself.

Garrett then turned and looked the Gwyllgi right in the eyes, his whole body shaking in terror, but he kept his head up high, his jaw set as he walked towards the murderous dog.

"Go on, do it. Kill me you sick fuck!" he spat, and Agravaine nodded, a callous smile on his face as he did so.

"Very well. You are all very brave young men Garrett, I'm very impressed," he said, and laid a hand on Garrett's shoulder while Mason sobbed as he watched his best friend go to his death, Liam groaning as he came to, Scott roaring impotently as he tried to free himself, "such bravery, so willing to die for your friends, all of you. But you Garrett, to throw yourself into the waiting jaws of death, well, that takes a special kind of person. Farewell." He said, and Garrett took a deep breath, determined to meet his end straight backed and proud, he wouldn't give the sick son of a bitch the pleasure, he didn't even close his eyes…

And then Agravaine surged forward and there was a resounding snap of bone as he did so and murdered one of Scott's pack right in front of him, his neck shattered into oblivion and his body dropped like a stone.

And Garrett gasped as Mason dropped to the ground, his neck shattered, his eyes wide and terrified, his face stained with tears, his mouth wide open in a final scream of terror.

"NO!" Scott screamed, and Garrett let out a scream of his own, dropping to his knees beside his best friend, holding his body to him, trying to get him to wake up.

Agravaine dusted his hands, then shot a stream of fire into Scott's chains, warming them just enough so Scott could start to free himself. He then smiled as he looked at his victim, with Garrett crying, trying to wake his best friend, and Liam came to, and upon seeing Mason being held in Garrett's arms, he screamed in anguish, crawling to his side while Scott worked to free himself.

"Let that be a lesson Scott. The gloves are off. You join me, or everyone you love will die." Agravaine said simply, and Scott roared, furious, demanding blood, he wanted to rip the smug English bastard's head off and Agravaine gave a last smug grin then beckoned to his pack, Thane and Malakai smiling indulgently while Bonnie and Rhyley looked sickened, and then they were gone.

And Scott, with a last burst of effort, finally freed himself, shattering the soft metal of the heated chains, and dropped down beside the others, trying desperately, frantically to heal Mason, to no avail. He was totally innocent, he had never harmed anyone, he was a virtual bystander in all this, that was why Agravaine had killed him, to prove his point, targeting a complete innocent to drive home the fact that he would happily kill anyone and everyone Scott loved to get what he wanted, and above all else, he was an innocent, sweet, harmless, human.

He tried again and again, performing CPR, trying to summon the power he had to summon Aiden, but like Agravaine had said, it wouldn't work, Mason was gone.

Scott then let loose an anguished roar as Liam and Garrett both held their fallen best friend, as the echoes of a scream repeated across town, signifying the death of someone else that they loved.

XX

Lydia was lying naked in bed, Jackson, similarly naked, with his arms wrapped around her, both sound asleep, their covers and clothes lying strewn haphazardly around the room.

And then abruptly, she jetted up, her eyes flying open, Jackson also leaping awake and Lydia let out a horrific, terrible scream as she felt the death of one of their own, her scream echoing across the town, alerting their pack to the death of another one of their members