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...

48. Episode 12: Wildfire Part 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf, or sadly, any of the hot guy within

Two-Pack II

"Brett, dude, you got to let it go! I get it, you're pissed Liam and his new friends beat you, but this has gone on long enough. They didn't cheat, they're not on steroids, they just…beat us." Killian admitted, though it did leave an unpleasant taste in his mouth before he stormed off, leaving a fuming Brett standing outside the coffee shop behind him.

Brett growled, this was so annoying! There was something off about the Beacon Hills, and yeah, he was pissed because he'd been beaten, of course he was. But there was something else, especially with the fight that had developed at the match, there was just something off about the Beacon Hills team, and he couldn't stand it…or the fact that it was Liam who had beaten him.

"Excuse me young man," a voice said, and he twirled to find a small woman approaching him, and Brett suppressed a groan, figuring she had clocked his Davenport lacrosse uniform that he was still wearing after training and was coming to harass him about funding for the school or something, "but I couldn't help but overhear what you were saying. I think I might be able to help." She explained, and Brett looked at her sceptically as he took her in.

She was a fairly young woman, with a shoulder length pixie cut with her sort of auburn brown hair fading to a sort of brownish-blonde at the tips. Despite her relative youth, she walked with a slight stoop, and also had a limp besides. In her hand was a cane, black in colour, well at least the metal was, the cane looked rather unique, and had a white alabaster quality to it, like bone beneath the metal tinging. And when he looked at her cold, brown eyes, he couldn't help but feel that she did indeed know something, but just looking into her eyes gave him a shiver.

"Help, help how? Were you at the game?" he asked, taking an innocent step back as he looked down at her, and she shook her head, and gestured to the coffee shop behind them.

"No, I wasn't, but I do know something of what's been vexing you. Please, join me for a coffee," she said in a soft, almost squeaky voice, like a mouse, "and I'll explain everything."

Brett looked at her dubiously, on one hand, it seemed ridiculous that this woman knew anything at all about the lacrosse game, but on the other, there was something about her, an intensity that made him believe that she did indeed have a clue about what was going on around here, and how Beacon Hills had beat Davenport at lacrosse, and about the madness that followed.

She smiled as she shuffled into the coffee shop, which was mostly empty aside from another two occupied tables, one of which was occupied by a man who looked to be in his forties, dressed in a black outfit, with honey coloured hair that reached to just below his ears, and a neat auburn beard. He was well built, and was sipping a black coffee across from a younger man dressed in a black outfit, just like his companion. This man was a bit paler in the face, with long curly black hair that fell beneath his ears and just touched his shoulders, and he too had a neat goatee. The other two were turned away from the door, clearly locked in conversation, and the only other person here was the barista manning the counter.

"I'll have a macchiato please, and a maple and pecan pastry, and for you, Brett was it?" she asked hopefully, and looking at her anxiously, but the desire to find out exactly what was going on with the Beacon Hills team overriding his caution, he nodded.

"Yeah, Brett, a mocha please, and a cinnamon whirl if it isn't too much trouble," he asked, and she waved her hand airily as she added it to the order, "and you?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Penny." She told him, extending a hand to him and shaking it as the barista got to work with their drinks.

Once they were made, Brett carried the order over to the table, allowing Penny to shuffle over with her cane. She made to sit down, but caught her cane on the edge of the table, cursing as it clattered to the floor, wincing apologetically at their fellow patrons.

"I'll get it." Brett told her, bending down to pick up her cane, which felt cold to the touch, and as he straightened up, she reached for her stick worriedly, her hand hovering anxiously for it.

"Sorry, paranoid about the damn thing, misplaced it too many times, and if I don't have it, takes me ages to get home." She told him anxiously, carefully leaning the stick against the table as she took it, and settling in to pick up her coffee.

Brett shrugged and smiled a little at her, she was still an attractive woman, hell, if Jake or Killian saw him having coffee with an older woman they'd go nuts. He picked up his coffee, and sipped at it, the warming liquid trickling down his throat as he did so. Across from him, Penny sighed in satisfaction as she sipped her coffee, and cocked her head at Brett, as though waiting for him to speak.

"See, a few weeks ago, we played Beacon Hills," he explained, figuring she should at least know the whole story, "and don't get me wrong, it was a dirty game, and we did get beat, sure. But, there's something…I don't know, off about it. All of it, especially the fight afterwards, these weirdos showed up and started chasing everyone, and well, it doesn't make sense. None of it does, how could Beacon Hills beat us so easily, and what the hell happened when those guys showed up? And why…why was it so, I don't know, easy, for it to become a brawl? Sure we got beat, and Dunbar was there, and that pissed me off because he'd beat us with his new friends, but…we shouldn't have acted like that, it doesn't make any sense." He told her, and she nodded, as if to herself, a little smile on her face as she nibbled her pastry.

"Tell me Brett, do you believe in the supernatural?" she asked lightly, looking him in the eye as he was about to reach for his own pastry, but the question made him hesitate, and he looked at her as though she was crazy.

"The supernatural?" he repeated in disbelief, and she smiled, but this smile was different, it was cold, calculating…scientific for want of a better word.

"Yes, Brett. The supernatural. Things that go bump in the night. Monsters," she purred, a loving inflection in her voice, "the unexplainable, things that defy logic, reason and science," she hissed angrily, her free hand flexing into a fist before she breathed through her nose, calming herself down, "magic…all of it, the supernatural. Do you believe in it?" she asked softly, sipping her coffee, and his eyes flicked to the door, as though deciding she was nuts and wondering if he could just make a break for it, but there was something just true enough about what she was saying that made him wonder if there was more to it.

"Not really, never really thought about it. What's that got to do with anything?" he asked, bemused, and she smiled a little, fixing him with her gaze.

"Everything, as it happens. What if I told you that Beacon Hills was an infested warren of the supernatural? For the past several weeks Beacon Hills has been under siege by a malevolent creature known as a Gwyllgi, which has been spreading waves of sinister power through the town. That's why crime and suicide has been so high recently, due to this creature. The fight that broke out at the game, that was him and his pack of weredogs, challenging the local pack of werewolves and their menagerie of other associated animals. That pack happens to be made up of many of the stars of the Beacon Hills lacrosse team." She explained, and he looked at her as if he'd found her smoking a bong, and was about to storm away in annoyance when he stopped, and for a change, thought about it.

"Werewolves…" he mumbled incredulously, though the more he thought back to the game, the more he wondered.

He had heard roars and snarling from behind him, growls and cries of alarm. Scott seemed to be more than their captain, Stiles had stopped Jake and Killian hitting him, the way the Cyclones seemed determined to get everyone to safety…

"Yes, werewolves. Scott is, well, he's unique," Penny said excitedly, her eyes glinting sinisterly, "he's their leader, the Alpha. Stiles has a little touch of supernatural to him. Isaac, Kira and Aiden are all supernatural too. They all are. Your fight broke out because of the sinister power of the Gwyllgi that was poisoning the town, bringing the worst out in everyone, it's how he got his jollies. And they beat you partly because they're better, but mainly because they're mostly a team of werewolves or other animals. Don't worry though," she assured him, patting his hand, "soon enough, they won't have that unfair advantage against you." She promised, hissing out the last words, her eyes glinting malevolently as she did so, and Brett suddenly realised that he had been very stupid to come here.

After all, he didn't know this chick, and she had just bought him coffee, and was explaining that the supernatural existed, and that she was planning to, what?

"What are you going to do to them?" he demanded, scared and horrified, if this chick was right, then they were all in danger, and it was his fault!

"Oh, I eventually plan to exterminate them all from the face of the globe," she promised conversationally, leaning back in her chair as she finished the last of her coffee, "but before that happy day, I want to make sure I know them all, back to front, inside out…and I do mean that literally." She whispered, her voice cold and menacing, and Brett realised what he had done.

This woman was crazy, insane, but if she was right, and the supernatural existed, then she was going to wipe out Scott and his friends, kill them all, and it would be because of him, he had brought them to her attention, he had to warn them!

He tried to stand, but to his horror, he found he couldn't, he couldn't move at all. He struggled to move but he was totally paralysed, what had this fucking maniac done to him?

"Speaking of the supernatural, you ingested kanima venom. You're not going anywhere Brett." She promised darkly, savouring watching his eyes bulge in alarm, in terror, if she concentrated, she could even hear his hammering heart beating in fear.

He couldn't move, he couldn't move at all, what had she done to him? He couldn't even open his mouth to alert the others to his distress, but he watched, a prisoner inside his own body as the other patrons and the barista left their tables and counter, their bodies seeming to undulate and warp as they did so…and flocked around Penny, watching with interest, though the young man looked vaguely sick at the sight.

What the fuck had she done to him!?

"Oh, and to be on the safe side, I also drugged you the old-fashioned way when I put the venom in your coffee too. Nighty night Brett." She called in a sing-song voice, waving at him cheerfully as his vision swam and stretched, warping as he tried to focus, it was so weird, he felt so ill, he couldn't move, she was insane, and he, he had, he….

And Brett's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and the momentum created by losing consciousness allowed his paralysed head to fall face first into his cinnamon roll, out cold, the rest of his body immobilised in his chair.

"And that as they say, is that. Excellent coffee by the way," Turnbull said to the person who had been acting as her barista for this little charade, getting to her feet and ambling over to Brett with her cane in hand, "I enjoyed it. Now, let's see." She purred, grabbing Brett's high styled, spiked quiff and yanking his head back sharply.

Brett was out cold, eyes shut, mouth hanging open, and little flecks of pastry were now covering his face from where he'd landed in his snack, his whole body rigid in the chair from the venom. He would be a fine specimen for her experiment, she couldn't wait to get started!

"Colonel Sinner," she said, turning with a fond look to the leader of Ouroboros, "have my new toy taken back to base, I can hardly wait to get started." She told him, a sinister smile playing on her lips.

"Yes ma'am." Sinner replied with a roguish grin, then beckoned for his curly haired companion to lift Brett out of his chair, which he did with a slight nod, though still looked highly disturbed by what he'd just been party to.

As the other inhabitants of the café (the real patrons had been informed that there was a gas leak, which the Directive was happily paying them compensation for to allow them to seize Brett) headed out to make sure the coast was clear while they smuggled Brett into the van, Turnbull allowed herself a genuine smile of contentment.

It was so good to be back in business, particularly in Beacon Hills. She and her companions were already using Valack's third sight to identify those who would be best suited for their experiments, and Brett, all too curious about the lacrosse team of the True Alpha, and unable to let the matter drop, he was a perfect candidate. She would thoroughly enjoy testing a wide variety of things upon him, such as kanima venom, Naga venom, perhaps he could even be used for the test of the serum they were designing for the Wendigos! Or else, she mused with sadistic pleasure, there was always Project Typhon, it did need to feed after all. But then, there was also an experiment she had sought to carry out for some time, and as they entrenched themselves in Beacon Hills, it would be much easier to carry out…

Yes, she would perform that experiment on him, that could be fun.

The Dread Doctors had been in exile from Beacon Hills for far too long, but they were finally back where it had all began, and ironically, where it would all end, where the supernatural would finally end. Making a mental note to send a gift of gratitude to Councilman Wrexham for his role in their return from exile, she headed out to the van, eager to get to work.

XX

The first of the springtime sun was high in the sky a few days later, and the mood in the town was quite upbeat, a far cry from how it had been during Agravaine's reign of terror. Shockingly, nobody seemed to remember anything that had happened at all recently, a sign that the mysterious Batwoman had indeed come through in making the knowledge of the whole affair disappear from the lives of the rank and file of the town, leaving only the people who had been directly involved in some way in the entire affair aware of the supernatural element to everything that had happened in the town.

The pack had elected to celebrate their victory with a picnic, to which Melissa, John, Natalie and Argent had also decided to come along, and they were all sitting on a couple of benches in the park, quite close to the pond, enjoying the springtime sunshine.

"And here we are, the piece d'resistance." Argent said, proudly unveiling his homemade quiche as the kids all milled about, some of them playing lacrosse, some of them down by the pond, all of them, especially Scott, Melissa was happy to note, enjoying the fact that death wasn't breathing down their necks anymore.

"This looks lovely Chris." Natalie complimented, surveying her Tupperware to figure out if it was coleslaw or potato salad.

"So, did Killian ask why Scott isn't at his funeral yet?" John asked curiously, but Melissa shook her head, though did look slightly unsettled.

"No, he just gave me a sort of nod and a wink. Dunbar looks a bit overwhelmed, I think Noshiko saving him while wielding a katana kind of broke him a bit." She mused with slight amusement.

"You reckon he knows about the supernatural?" Natalie asked, finally discovering it was indeed coleslaw and setting it up with the rest of the picnic stuff, though it was Argent who answered.

"Possibly, I'm sure I saw him a couple of times in my youth hanging around Talia Hale, so maybe he does know. So far though, he hasn't tried to kill anyone, so with a bit of luck he won't be, you know, evil." He said grimly, slicing up some pork pies.

"Well, at least he wont be chasing after your for answers with any luck if he's taken it in stride. Some of my cops are moving on, and Elba is going back to retirement. He says he hates this town." John explained, the corners of his mouth twitching in amusement, and Parrish, who had also been given the day off, arrived at that moment, clad in a brown jacket and green v-neck, presenting some already cooked chicken wings.

"Ah it's not so bad, not when someone isn't trying to kill us all with zombies at least." He said, and Melissa nodded.

"Yes, that is a rather nice improvement, have to say." She said, and at that moment, Noshiko and Ken arrived, with Ken proudly putting his boxes of homemade sushi beside Argent's quiche.

"So, we're all in the clear?" Noshiko asked, and Melissa shrugged, though admittedly it was mainly Killian who worried her at the moment.

"I'd say so, and you made a hell of an impression on the in-laws." She taunted with a grin, and Noshiko chuckled as she revealed an edamame bean salad she had made.

"Poor man seemed quite shellshocked, I was hoping that his adopting Garrett would drive the taste of the supernatural he got from his mind." She mused idly, surveying her nails while sniggering.

"Salutations." Martagh said as she appeared in a swirl of leaves (everyone looked around in shock to make sure no one had spotted her, but the only person who had was Lydia, down by the pond, cooing over the ducklings with Scott (and potentially making sure Malia didn't try to eat them), who waved) and laid down a tray of homemade scotch eggs as she joined them.

"I think we're almost ready to invite the vultures, ok, spot check, everyone got all the fingers and hands they should? Good, kids, food's ready!" she called to them all, and true enough the stampede of hungry teenagers started approaching like a herd of wildebeest.

As they all tucked into the picnic, which involved the usual silent but brutal fights over bigger pieces, second helpings etc, they all settled down around the picnic tables, chatting happily.

"How's the house coming on Melissa?" Natalie asked, and she grinned, turning her eyes onto the nearest of Scott's slave labour, which was Aiden.

"Pretty good actually, I have to admit, Lydia is very good at glossing the skirting boards." She assured her, while Aiden grinned cockily.

"Yeah, if school doesn't work out, we'll all open a decorating service." He replied, and Natalie gave him a cool smile.

"Oh don't worry Aiden, the big bad has been vanquished in enough time for you all to start studying hard for your PSATs in a few weeks' time to make sure school will work him out." She told him sweetly, and the kids all groaned.

"How come you're not bothered?" Garrett asked Lydia, rather glad he didn't have to sit them till next year, who smirked smugly, while Stiles scowled at her.

"She took them last year when the rest of us were dealing with her psychotic boyfriend." He complained to which Jackson looked mildly affronted.

"So I suppose it is all over?" Ken asked curiously, offering Scott a rice ball, and Scott happily accepted, smiling contentedly.

"Yep, everything is finally back to normal, so we can get on with our lives." He said happily, and Camden, sitting beside Isaac and Kaisha, looked at him anxiously.

"What about Bonnie and Rhyley, they're still out there?" he pointed out, as they had vanished after the battle, but Stiles shook his head.

"I don't think they'll cause us any trouble if we see them again to be honest, and I reckon we might. At the end of the day, they were still good people, and Agravaine twisted them into something they weren't. Bonnie will look after him, it just sucks that he killed everyone else." He said sadly, but it was Argent who was passing to deliver some lemonade to Derek who clapped him on the shoulder, giving him a reassuring nod.

"I know that part isn't great, but they did get back at the monster who killed their child. I reckon they'll have gotten some peace from that." He assured him gruffly, Natalie patting his arm as he passed her towards Derek.

The conversations all continued happily enough, none of them with any major worries at the moment, just the usual one of day-to-day life. Scott sat back happily, watching his pack, his family as everything seemed to go back to normal, like a deep breath that had finally been released. They heard how Garrett was settling in with the Dunbars, which made both Liam and Garrett grin happily, they had taken to being official brothers very well. A proud Noshiko passed Kira a throwing star, who told her daughter that after everything, she had more than earned her first tail, to which Liam congratulated his girlfriend proudly. Argent and Camden were discussing weapons, to which Kaisha rolled her eyes and promptly went to speak to Melissa, Noshiko and Natalie, who were all debating the finer points of a tv show they watched. Braeden and Martagh were having an intense discussion, and Scott noticed that a lot of the gesturing they were doing seemed to be getting done in his direction, which made him slightly wary. He was then drawn into a conversation with the twins and Danny about lacrosse. Melissa watched happily, and despite now being in indentured service, it seemed like everything was back to normal with the pack.

"So when are you heading home?" Lydia asked Jackson curiously, and he allowed himself a small smile.

"Well, actually…this is home. Since I've finally been able to call my parents, with the dogs gone, we talked, and, well, the whole point of moving to London was to get away from all the supernatural shit, and it followed me and dragged me back here anyway. So, we talked, and after a lot of arguing…they agreed. We're moving back here, the family in our house now was only renting anyway to make extra money, so once they leave, we'll be back here again. This is where my pack is I suppose," he admitted, slightly begrudgingly, and the others grinned, as Scott leaned forward, raising a hand to his ear as if to hear better.

"This is where your, come on Jackson, I need to hear these words!" he teased in a sing-song voice, and Jackson rolled his eyes but smiled.

"Fine, this is where my Alpha is, you happy?" he protested good-naturedly, and Scott grinned.

"Actually, yeah, strangely." He admitted, sniggering a little, as Isaac leaned closer to Camden.

"Jackson's staying here…yay." He said joylessly, and despite grinning, Camden swatted at him.

"Shh, be nice." He ordered and Isaac laughed a little, as Danny wrapped an arm around Jackson's shoulder.

"It's good to have you back, we've got someone to blame everything on now!" he told him brightly, sticking his tongue out as Jackson gave him a disgruntled look.

"How you getting on with your jeep?" Derek asked as he dished Braeden and himself some pasta salad, and Stiles grinned.

"We're making good progress actually; he'll be back to his former glory in no time." Stiles replied, eyes lingering on Malia who sent him a playful look in response.

The two of the had talked, at length, and were taking things slow. If they would get properly back together remained to be seen, however for the moment, they were both quite content to keep up the flirtatious banter and looks.

"So, is everything all settled then, after everything?" Noshiko asked Kira, and Liam looked at her curiously as well, he had been speaking with her father about history (determinedly avoiding the teasing looks of the rest of the pack as he had an easy in with his girlfriend's dad due to their shared love of history).

"Well, mostly, there's still a few, plot threads for want of a better term that we haven't quite figured out yet." She admitted, and Natalie looked at them worriedly as she topped up some lemonades.

"Such as?" she asked, wondering exactly what fresh hell still awaited, but Lydia waved her hand, fairly unconcerned by the whole thing.

"Well, there's Bonnie and Rhyley, they ran off after the battle, so we don't really know what happened to either of them." She explained, but like Stiles said, she wasn't entirely certain that the dogs were still a threat when Scott had freed them of the baleful influence of Agravaine.

"There's the Berserkers, which I don't think even Peter really knew what they were doing here, and we haven't seen them since the fight either, or the Calaveras they ran off with." Stiles mused, however as there had been no sign of the musclebound warriors, he and Scott had agreed that they were to be filed under the category of 'things to be worried about at a later date', and they hadn't brought themselves to be concerned by the loss of the last two of the Calaveras either, they'd gotten what they'd deserved at the end of the day.

"We still don't know who framed me either, which is still slightly concerning." Derek complained, he may be free, but they were still no closer to finding out who had been behind the whole thing in the first place, which majorly sucked.

"And then there's the hot Batwoman chick, we don't know anything about her, or the one who fought at the hospital either, but we'll probably see them again." Jackson reasoned, sounding a little too excited by the prospect at seeing their mysterious winged vigilante again, which made Danny roll his eyes.

"But other than that, everything seems back to normal, nobody else seems to remember everything that happened, so at least she was good on her word. We're back to normal, and once certain people have demonstrated how…penitent they are," Scott gloated, making the rebels blush, he wasn't letting this one go any time soon, which made Isaac and Kira grin appreciatively, "everything will finally be back to normal."

And it was, the pack, as he had predicted was coming back stronger than ever. Liam, Violet and Garrett had all found their feet within the pack, after having been thrown in at the deep end rather unceremoniously. Jackson was back to stay, but there was something different about him, particularly his relationship with Scott most of all, he seemed less antagonistic and much more friendly towards Scott, more respectful as well. If it would last was a different matter, but Scott was enjoying not having Jackson constantly giving him grief. Malia seemed more at peace with herself, fully settling into her human life and her place among the pack. The twins had settled as well, and other than Aiden's slight arsonist leanings they were getting much better at not trying to kill everything in sight, as Peter had been fond of saying, they were all works in progress. Stiles seemed happier than he had in months, like he was coming out from under a dark cloud, and having made his peace with Allison as a result of the fight and helping to bring down Agravaine had helped him considerably. They had had a memorial together the night before, for everyone they had lost, for Allison, Boyd, Erica and Mason, and it seemed to have finally broken a wall that had been holding a lot up for quite some time. And best of all, Scott had really started to grow into his role as the Alpha, and was no longer resisting his inherent power due to being jaded by the various monstrous Alphas they had faced before, and he too was much happier, more serene, and also, they could all tell, defeating Agravaine had made him more powerful.

It seemed as last that things were finally looking up, and that the months of sadness and despair were finally starting to move behind them, and that the dark moon of depression and misery following the Nogitsune crisis were finally getting put behind them, and they all seemed to be coming together, and becoming that much stronger as a result. Scott could feel it, things were changing, and for the better, he felt stronger, happier, and he thought his pack did too. Their losses would never truly leave them, but with a bit of extra time, he believed that in time they could overcome the sadness and the grief, and finally find some acceptance of everything that had happened.

They were finally starting to heal.

"Well young Alpha, I'm afraid that the time has come for me to take my leave." Martagh said sadly as she stood, polishing off a last mini sausage roll, and everyone looked at her in shock.

"Wait, you're leaving?" Lydia asked in shock, and the Scuffock fixed her with a proud but sad smile.

"Yes child. You lot don't need me anymore, and there is very little that I have left to teach. Just think, when I came here, the lot of you were stumbling around in the dark, you in particular, Lydia. And now, you have overcome the Corrupter and a host of other enemies, your skills and abilities have increased dramatically, and you have all started to grow into your roles as the defenders of this town. I am prouder than I can say." She said, beaming with pride as she looked out over the pack, and Lydia got to her feet, hurrying to her mentor's side.

"But Martagh, we-" she protested, and her mentor fixed her with a kind smile, taking her chin in her hand as she looked into her eyes.

"Lydia, look what you have achieved! Mastering your abilities, along with several of the arcane arts, and learning to utilise your powers in the proper manner. You don't need me anymore, not really. But for what it's worth, I am very sad to be leaving." She said, tears choking her voice, and sniffing a little herself, Lydia wrapped her mentor in a hug, which the Scuffock eagerly returned.

"Thank you, you know, for coming here. I know I was a pain in the ass, but you taught me so much, you taught all of us so much, even if you can be a bit…brusque at times," Lydia sniffed, sniggering slightly as Martagh tutted as she fixed her apprentice with a mock glare, "but we'd have been toast, probably quite literally considering what Agravaine was," she mused, "without you. So thank you."

The two hugged tightly, and Martagh patted her apprentice's cheek.

"You're a good lass, and one of my finest apprentices. I am so proud of you." She told her, and wrapped her apprentice in a last hug before realising that the entire pack had assembled around her.

Martagh was then hugged by every member, each of them thanking her for her training and for all her help recently, Natalie also hugged her and thanked her for helping her daughter, and Argent, Parrish and John all shook her hand as she turned to leave, coming face to face with the last member of the pack she had to say goodbye to, the Alpha.

"I am also very proud of you Scott. You have grown so much in the past few weeks, and faced a hell of a trial by fire, yet you stood firm. When I arrived, I dismissed you as a naïve and overly optimistic fool. I am rarely wrong, but I am glad that I was in this case. You are a strange one," she told him fondly as she laid a hand on his shoulder, "but I feel that makes you all the better. You see the best in people, and your first response isn't always that to draw blood, and that is such a rare quality. You give people second chances, even when some of them don't necessarily deserve it," she told him, raising her voice slightly and letting her eyes flick over to Jackson who rolled his eyes while Scott grinned, "and you grow with your friends, with your pack. You are different, and I think that there may be more hope for us all if more followed your example. I'm glad I was wrong about you." She said happily, and Scott smiled, wrapping her in a hug and sniffing himself.

"Thank you Martagh, you know, for everything." He said, holding her tightly, and she patted his back reassuringly.

"You are more than welcome young one. I suspect that things have only just started to get interesting for you and your friends, but I have a suspicion that no matter what comes, you will all rise to the occasion magnificently. But there are those who might be persuaded, that might be willing to give their claws and fangs a rest for a change, and follow your example. It's just a feeling, but I am hopeful." She muttered, mostly to herself, before turning to smile broadly at Braeden, who grinned, and walked over to stand beside the Scuffock.

Scott gave her a confused look, what was she talking about? Did she really think others would follow the lead of a teenage Alpha, and stop killing for once? It was a nice thought, but how on earth did she intend to accomplish that?

"Scott McCall," Braeden said formally, drawing his attention back to her and Martagh, both of whom were beaming with pride, "it's a little-known fact, but we Celtic creatures consider there to be five trials that any Alpha must face, in order to fully become an Alpha. These trials are Air, Fire, Water, Aether and Earth." She explained, and even Derek looked surprised by that one, well, he mused to himself, that helped explain how he'd been such a lamentable Alpha, he hadn't had any trials.

"In the absence of an Emissary," Martagh said, her nose wrinkling in distaste at mentioning Deaton, "and with Morrell on her own journey," it was true, Morrell had vanished not long after the battle herself, they figured she was away to look for her brother, "it falls to us, an Emancipated One and a Missionary, to recognise this milestone for you." She explained, and Braeden grinned and winked at Scott, who was feeling very wrong footed as his whole pack stared at him, equally at a loss.

"The Trial of Earth, of stabilisation and insight, you passed when you accepted the twins into your pack, seeing how much they had changed and doing so much to save them." She explained, and the twins grinned at him.

"The Trial of Water, the trial of the flesh, you overcame when you finally came to terms with the tragic loss of Allison." Martagh said kindly, and Argent gave Scott a gruff nod as he watched on.

"The Trial of Aether, the trial of the spirit, and some say the worst of them all, you overcame your torment and were able to save Stiles despite being faced with an impossible choice." Braeden told him, and Stiles grinned over at him.

"The Trial of Air, of skill, you completed upon your defeat of Deucalion and the Darach, though some way that's the easy one." She admitted sniffily, and Derek smirked as Scott looked vaguely nettled, like it was easy defeating the Demon Wolf and the Darach!

"And the last is the Trial of Fire, of courage, the one you never see coming. You overcame that when even at your lowest point, you managed to still rally your pack and go willingly to your doom should you fail, and still managed to triumph and defeat the Corrupter. You did it Scott, you passed all the trials that an Alpha must face." Braeden told him happily, and he smiled a little, feeling quite proud of himself.

"Wait, so an Alpha has to take these tests?" Derek asked in confusion, and Braeden flashed him a smirk.

"Well yeah, it's how we Druids measure whether or not an Alpha is really worth following, and how we know if they've earned the respect of their packs, it helps them solidify their hold. However, as most Alphas steal their power, most don't pass more than two or three of the trials, but Scott has passed all of them." She explained, and Derek looked most put out.

"That explains a lot, I probably passed two if I'm lucky." He complained indignantly, and the others laughed.

"But Scott has passed them, and now, combined with the fact that he has stopped resisting his powers, I believe life might be just that little bit easier for you all from now on." Martagh told them, and Scott grinned.

"Thanks guys. You're really leaving?" he asked Martagh sadly, and she gave him a proud but sad smile, and nodded.

"Yes young one. You are changing things, whether you wish to be or not. And that means those who wish to keep ahead of such things must act quickly. I'll keep in touch, if you need me, then give me a call." She promised, and embraced Scott one last time, before turning one last time to her apprentice, who looked at her with a sad smile before wrapping her in a last hug.

"You saved me Martagh, thank you again, for everything." She whispered into her mentor's ear, and Martagh squeezed her tightly, before holding her at arm's length and cupped Lydia's face with her hand.

"If you need me, give me a call, and I'll come. But you've come so far Lydia, and I'm so proud of you. But now, I must take my leave." She said sadly, and petted Lydia's face one last time before turning, smiling, towards Scott and inclined her head towards him, and he grinned.

"Young Alpha, I have fulfilled my duty to your banshee, and your pack. I now ask that you release me, so that I may go and help others in need." She asked formally, and he nodded respectfully, his eyes glowing red as he did so.

"Thank you Martagh, for everything, from me, and my pack. I release you, now go and find others to help the way you helped us." He ordered, and she favoured them all with a wide proud smile, as she held her staff beside her.

"Until our next time, blessed be." She said, and with a last smile, she tapped her staff and disappeared in a final swirl of autumn leaves.

Lydia sniffed a little, and Scott wrapped an arm around her and brought him to her in a one armed hug.

"Oh she was a pain in the ass, but I'm going to miss her." She mumbled, and Scott grinned a little, squeezing her to him.

"We all will." He promised her, and was about to turn and ask for another piece of quiche when his face broke into a wide smile.

"Grandma!" he called in surprise, and she smiled as she approached, bag in hand.

"Your neighbours said you would all be here, glad I found you all." She said in greeting, with various others smiling at her in greeting, and Melissa got to her feet and wrapped her mother in a hug.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" she asked in shock, and Allegra flopped down onto the seat at the picnic table, and Noshiko passed her a plate full of things as she did so, while Natalie fixed her a drink.

"Well, I was getting rather alarmed when I hadn't heard from you in days, and I was curious to find out how the house was getting on. Imagine my alarm when your neighbour informs me Scott was apparently dying." She hissed, and both Melissa and Scott went a bit pale, before Scott pointed to his mother.

"Well, I was dying, so…" he told her, winking at his mother, who looked at him in outrage while the others laughed.

"Treacherous little…well yes, he was dying, but now, he isn't, the dogs are defeated, Stiles isn't a traitor, and everything's back to normal again, so I just didn't want to worry you needlessly." She assured her mother, throwing her son a dirty look as he scurried to sit beside Isaac, smirking.

"Yes, I can appreciate how telling me all that might worry, which reminds me." Allegra said, then sharply cuffed Stiles across the back of the head, making him yelp in pain.

"Ow! You did that ring side down, that hurt!" he complained, and she smiled sinisterly.

"Consider it a reminder of what'll happen if you ever go undercover again, it isn't happening, got it? Good." She told him, and Stiles rubbed his head ruefully as she hugged him, though he did nod, smiling a little as he did so.

"So, what all have I missed?" Allegra asked, tucking into a piece of Argent's quiche, and the entire pack then came together, regaling her with the entire story of all that had happened since her departure, and she was actually quite a good audience for them all, she gasped, groaned and smiled in all the right places.

"My god…no wonder you didn't tell me what was going on. I needn't have had several sleepless nights translating this since my grandson is a genius." She said fondly, and pulled a large, freshly leather-bound book from her bag, and Scott's jaw dropped in amazement.

"You translated the entire bestiary already?" he asked in shock, and she grinned.

"Yes, it's actually quite easy once you can figure out how to work the damn computer. By the way Chris, your ancestors need their heads looked," she said disdainfully to Argent, who chuckled, "it was like a dipsomaniac had threaded the whole thing together but I got there in the end. I had it professionally bound and printed, leaving you enough space to write in it, do illustrations, whatever." Allegra explained, and Scott got up and hugged his grandmother, who smiled, while Isaac flicked through it with interest.

"Ooh, bagsy doing the True Alpha picture!" he yelled, and Lydia rolled her eyes.

"You do surprise me, what if I wanted to do it?" she asked pointedly, and he retorted with a smirk.

"There's a little section on twin werewolves you can do." He teased, and she blushed, though it was rather offset by Aiden smirking and kissing her cheek.

"This will be a great help grandma, thanks." Scott said in relief, vowing to read it the next day, but today, was only for a day off, and he sat beside Isaac, who had been joined by Stiles as they flicked through the beautifully bound book.

"So, how's the house coming on?" Allegra asked, and Melissa grinned.

"Well, with Scott getting us some free slave labour after their little insurrection, rather well, the insurance company was very obliging, and we're doing pretty well at putting it all back together. You know, complain though I did, can't deny, Ifrit was quite handy, got the downstairs redecorated, a new kitchen, new living room, new roof, upstairs all decorated, wiring all sorted, and some lovely new mattresses!" she explained brightly, and Allegra grinned, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well, you might as well take advantage of it dear, not every day an evil genie torches your house. So things are better now?" she asked, and Melissa nodded, smiling contentedly.

"Yeah actually, I'm comfortable again if nothing else, and things are balancing out a little better now." She explained, and Camden exchanged a look with Allegra, who nodded, and he reached into his pocket and passed Melissa an envelope.

"Actually, they're even better now. I sold the house, went for quite a bit of money, made a bit of a profit, and with the backdated pay and all the legal compensation from having been declared dead when I wasn't, I'm doing pretty well too. So, and I don't want to hear any arguments!" he warned as Melissa opened her mouth to protest, "think of this is compensation from us, for Ifrit attacking your house. It's not much, but it's enough to put a down payment on another car." He said kindly, and Melissa opened her mouth, but Kaisha looked at her imploringly.

"Oh come on Melissa, please take it! I still feel guilty, and you took in me, Camden and Isaac, gave us all a place to stay, treat yourself a little. And if not, I'll have to do it as a wish, and let's face it, my wishes, not the most specific, I might your mom by accident!" she told her brightly, though Allegra looked a bit concerned, and Melissa was wavering a little, smiling.

"But Camden, I-" she protested, and Isaac looked at her beseechingly.

"Please Melissa, you kept me alive, gave me a place to stay, you know, your son…" he said, making Scott go crimson, which made Malia snigger, "you've been awesome to us, please just let us pay you back a little. Besides, I saw his bank statement," he said with a grin, while Camden looked at his younger brother in outrage, "he's got enough. We would have been dead if it wasn't for you." He said, and Garrett nodded emphatically as well.

"Yeah, and not just them, I mean you took down two Berserkers, helped save the day." He pointed out, and Lydia nodded as well.

"Not to mention you look after and feed all of us when we're all rampaging through your house, and have still made us feel welcome even when we're doing manual labour for betraying your son!" she said brightly, and Melissa sniffed, tears in her eyes, touched by the gesture.

"This is so sweet, thank you so much Camden." She whispered, finally giving in, and he came round and held her tightly.

"You know, the supernatural is kind of handy for financial troubles. Dr Fenris called, and said that due to you lot's role in saving Eichen from the Pombero, not to mention the fact that Brunski unleashed another lunatic to try and kill you when you were there, he's waived the fees for yours and Malia's stay there." John explained to Stiles, who's face broke into a wide smile.

"Really? That's great, knew it would come in handy for something. So we're good now?" he asked, and John nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, we're good."

"And, we sold the lake house as well, which will clear off a good number of credit card bills I'd say." Natalie told her daughter happily as she sipped her lemonade, and Lydia smiled, feeling very relived.

It seemed as though the pack was finally overcoming all the trouble, stress and despair of the past few months, and Scott smiled happily, it was about time they got a break, they'd done enough to earn it.

"And our landlady is even giving us the security deposit back for when we move out in a few weeks, despite the window incident." Aiden summed up, and Danny looked at them worriedly, afraid they might have to leave town.

"Have you guys got anywhere to go yet?" he asked nervously, fearing they would maybe have to leave town, and the twins looked at each other and shrugged.

"Not yet, but we'll think of something." He assured him, and Derek cleared his throat.

"You know, with Cora away in South America, and Peter now gone, and Isaac having cosied up to Scott, I've got two rooms available if you want them?" he asked, and everyone turned to look at him in surprise.

"Really, we could move in with you?" Ethan asked in excited relief, and Derek allowed himself a small smirk as he nodded.

"Well, we're all pack, so, yeah, you might as well." He told them with a resigned smile, and they both grinned and vaulted over the table to hug him, to his great disgust.

"Thanks Derek!" Aiden said happily, grinning, they didn't have to move out of town.

"My god, selling the apartment below yours, taking them on as lodgers, who are you and what have you done with Derek Hale?" Braeden teased with relish, and he sent her a withering glare.

"Hey, I can be an awesome cousin to Malia, and an awesome person all round if need be." He complained, and Malia laughed.

"Fair warning, he snores. Loudly." Isaac teased with a grin, and Derek looked at him furiously as they all laughed.

"I do not snore!" he yelled angrily, and Braeden patted his hand consolingly.

"Um, yeah, you do." She told him, and he turned his furious glare onto her while his two new roommates sniggered.

"Well, least he's back to being his usual sourwolf self…who did you sell your apartment to?" Stiles asked, smirking as Derek growled warningly at him, to which he responded with a one fingered salute, really, he wasn't scared of Derek at all anymore…Isaac cornering him in a dark basement however, that still remained quite terrifying.

"That would be me." Camden told him, taking Kaisha's hand in his own, and Scott felt the happy feeling inside him dissipate almost instantly as he looked frantically at Isaac.

"You're moving out?" he whined, and Isaac took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, before smiling and looking between his brother and Melissa, who was also smiling.

"Not entirely. I asked your mom, and any night I want to stay with you, I can, provided we're relatively well behaved," he told him, though Melissa had already resigned herself to the fact that that one was going to go right out the window, "and once we all get moved in, you can come and stay in an equally comfortable new bed at my place too." He whispered in Scott's ear, and Kaisha fixed him with a smile, and Camden clasped his forearm.

"Just as much as your mom, you kept Isaac alive after that jerk threw him out," he said, and Derek suddenly went white, it looked as though Camden hadn't put the two together yet, which was quite clearly about to happen, which they could tell from the excited, delighted grins the pack were fixing him with, "and you helped us fight Ifrit, and gave us a supernatural bunch of friends as well. And your mom says you mope without Isaac, and I don't want him moping either, so, yeah, you can come and stay with us as much as you want to." He told him kindly, and Scott stopped short, thinking of the possibilities…yeah, this actually could be fun.

"I come first right?" he asked playfully, and Isaac grinned and kissed his cheek.

"Yeah, of course." He replied, and Allegra shook her head in amusement.

"You know this quiche is excellent Chris, it's lovely." She complimented, and he tipped his head to her in thanks.

"You're very kind. Hey, Camden, you know Derek was the one who threw Isaac out right, as in our Derek?" he asked, pointing, and Derek went whiter still, glaring at him, as Camden's brain finally put two and two together and he turned furiously to his new landlord, who scrambled to his feet, backing away from the table with his hands in the air.

"Ok, I admit it, not my best move, but it all worked out in the end! It saved Isaac, and he fell for Scott! I mean, it's a happy ending right?" he protested as Camden started advancing menacingly towards him, the entire pack watching in rapt delight.

"A happy ending, you throwing my kid brother out onto the street?" he hissed, and Derek raised a hand in panic.

"I just sold you an apartment, come on, you know, if you do anything, I-I-I could evict you!" he protested, and Camden retorted with an evil grin.

"Really? You want to go to Melissa, and Scott, and tell them you're the reason Isaac is homeless again?" he asked, and Derek deflated rather comically, looking at the raised eyebrows of both McCalls, and realising, he was very dead.

"Aw hell." He moaned, and then promptly span and ran away as Camden gave chase, both of them laughing as they pursued each other.

It was one of the best afternoons they had had in some time. The sun was shining, they were full of good food, the air filled with happy conversations, not about death, or dogs, or anything, which made a lovely change. They played a little lacrosse, the girls gossiped, then proceeded to trounce the boys at lacrosse, the parents sat and talked, laughing and joking, and as Isaac wrapped his arms around Scott's waist as the sun started to set, Scott felt a wave of contentment wash over him as he watched his pack, his friends, his family, put everything behind them and he knew that together, they would all be alright.

XX

Theo came out of the bathroom, his muscular body dripping wet and wrapped in a towel hanging around his waist, his hair all spiked up as he came back into the small hostel room he had rented upon his arrival in Beacon Hills. For months he had felt a sort of urging, a need to come to this town and it had gotten to the point that he couldn't take it anymore, and had finally decided to act on the irritating pulling he felt.

He had been here once before, when he about eight. He and the family that had raised him, not his real family he had to say, had stayed here for a year or so. When he had been here, he had gone to school just like an ordinary kid, and had actually had a couple of friends, Scott and Stiles. However, the family that raised him had moved yet again, always claiming they had been asked by his birth mother to make sure that nothing ever happened to him, and so they had moved around a lot, and Theo hadn't seen his friends again.

After numerous moves up and down the country, to different schools, different attempts at making friends all while keeping on the move, Theo had finally lost his patience, and had demanded that his family tell him who the hell he was, why they had to keep moving, why he could never really make any friends, and why the hell his eyes glowed gold and fangs and claws came out of him every full moon. His family, apologetically, had told them all that they knew:

A woman, clearly on the run, with numerous bullet holes in her clothes, covered in blood, panting and frantic, had came running through their garden. She had pressed Theo, only a few months old at the time, into the woman who raised him's arms, begging her to hide him, and saying that they had already taken one child from her, and she didn't want them to take another. When his mother, for want of a better word, had started to ask questions, his mother had threatened to shoot her in the head if she didn't take him and hide him, and she warned her that if she didn't do as she had asked, she would kill both her and her husband. To reinforce the point, she had allowed fangs to develop in her mouth, claws to grow from her mouth, and her eyes glow a shining blue, and terrified, his foster parents he supposed they were called, had taken him in, and had constantly kept them on the move ever since, terrified that this bizarre woman would hunt them down and murder them for failing to do what she asked.

They had done their best, and had raised Theo with affection, he supposed, but not with love. Fear had motivated them to keep him and raise him, and Theo had never really felt as though he belonged to them, with them, or anything. He wanted to know more, and they explained that they had been living in Beacon Hills when the woman had appeared and presented him to them, and they had gone back once before to chance their luck, back when he was younger, but they feared they were being watched and hence had moved yet again. He had felt a sense of being pulled here before that, something had happened a few months ago and it was like, he didn't know, like the tractor beam in Star Wars, it was drawing him here, and when his foster parents had told him the truth about his past, he had made the decision to come here. His foster parents had tried to dissuade him, saying that it was too dangerous, and that his mother had fled from Beacon Hills for a reason, but they had eventually relented. They had bought him his car and helped him pack his things, giving him some money for the trip and telling him that they hoped he would find what he was looking for. With a last hug, they had parted ways, but Theo had known he would never see them again. As soon as he had rounded the corner at the end of the street, they would have been packing up their things to move once again, to a place no one could find them, especially without their so-called son who so endangered them by his very presence.

Theo had come to Beacon Hills, and had decided to stay in this hostel until he got his bearings. The town seemed much bigger than it had when he was eight. He didn't even know what he was looking for, not really, but he knew, somehow, that it had something to do with Scott McCall, the first friend he'd ever really had. He smiled a little, remembering that Stiles had been a bit jealous and possessive of Scott when Theo had started hanging out with them, and he couldn't imagine Stiles shedding too many tears when Theo had been forced to leave town yet again.

He yawned tiredly, looking at the small wardrobe where he'd stashed his things, wondering how he should play this, exploring was probably the best option, at least until he had some idea of what he was looking for…if he even knew.

Stretching, he was about to head over to the wardrobe when there was a crackling noise. Looking around, Theo was expecting to see a light flickering. What he hadn't expected to see was three currents of green, crackling lightning flashing into the room, striking the ground with a hiss of steam, and Theo went stiff with horror as three figures emerged from the lightning.

Three hulking people, all dressed in robot like steampunk suits, faced him stonily, their blank sightless masks fixed on him. The one in the centre had a glass pane on his forehead, and the pane glowed an eerie colour of blue as the man beheld Theo, trapped in the middle of the three of them. The one to Theo's right was a bit shorter, and his metal suit seemed more metallic than the other one, and they fixed Theo with a gaze between goggled eyes. The last one was clearly a woman, stooped slightly over a walking stick, and also seemed to be watching Theo in fascination.

Theo didn't know who or what the hell these guys were, but whatever they wanted from him, they were going to suffer to take it. He might not know what he really was, but he knew enough on how to defend himself. He roared, his eyes glowing gold as fangs and claws sprouted, and he sprang at the one with the glowing light in the middle of his head, claws rearing back to swipe at his neck. The man raised an arm, and a needle burst out of his gauntlet, right into Theo's chest, and with a sinister sounding chuckle, he jerked his hand.

Theo screamed in agony as electric blue bolts of lightning coursed across his nearly naked body, dropping him to the floor in a heap, his whole body twitching, and he couldn't maintain his form, and he reverted back to being a human, looking up at these madmen in terror.

What the hell were they, what did they want, who were they? What were they going to do to him?

"That is hardly the way to greet old friends Theo." The one with the glowing glass pane chided, and with a gesture, his metal helmet disappeared from his face into his suit, revealing a middle aged man who was looking down at Theo's twitching form hungrily, looking just like any other older man, other than the brightly shining blue eye in the centre of his forehead.

"Old friends? Who the hell are you, stay away from me!" Theo growled, only for the goggled one of his companions to press a foot onto his chest, revealing a more ordinary looking man as his helmet disappeared into his suit, a slight, predatory smile on his face.

"Forgotten us so soon? Mind you, it is only natural, you were very young when you left our hospitality, after those two idiotic assistants got ideas above their station. But we've known you since you were born boy, in fact we've been looking for you for years, and at last, the Prodigal Son has returned." He whispered with sadistic glee, and Theo shook, not from the electricity, but from terror.

Whoever these guys were, whatever they had planned to do with him, it wasn't good, and for the first time, finding out about his past seemed like a really bad idea.

"A bit ungrateful though," the woman said, revealing her own mousy looking face as she eyed Theo's naked and very well-developed form, he would make a fine test subject, "after all, you're only alive thanks to our benevolence, our expertise. That hairline scar on your chest?" she whispered silkily, and Theo raised a shaking hand to the long, thin scar that he had had all his life, right below his left pectoral muscle.

"What-what about it?" he asked, trembling in fear, and their leader chuckled.

"That was from your heart transplant Theo, the one you needed when you were born. We took the heart of your twin," he explained, and Theo felt his whole world shift, "and put it inside you."

A twin, he had had a twin? And they had taken their heart to give to him? How had he never known about having a twin, he thought twins were meant to be closely linked or something like that. Was that what his birth mother had meant when she had abandoned him with his foster parents, how they had taken a child from her already? Were these freaks in boiler suits actually the 'they' that she had been running from?

"Heart transplant?" he asked, shakily getting to his feet, and none of the freaks seemed inclined to stop him, and the leader, nodded, eyes dancing with malicious pride.

"Yes indeed, you were…defective," he hissed in disgust, and Theo growled in the back of his throat, "when you were born. Your sister, what was her name again, Tara was it? Anyway, she too was defective, but she had a good and healthy heart. And as your heart was all that was wrong, well, we made the expedient choice." He explained, and Theo recoiled from him in disgust.

"I had a twin, and you killed her to save me?" he spat in horror, and the leader nodded, supremely unconcerned by the horror in Theo's voice.

"It was a simple matter of expediency my boy." He purred, and Theo snarled angrily, this man was a fucking maniac!

"Expediency?" he retorted, his entire body shaking with anger, but he was keeping his form shift under control for now, if he moved fast enough, he could hopefully rip this smug, sadistic bastard's head off!

"Yes expediency. We are scientists after all." The other man explained, and Theo glowered at him.

"Scientists?" he demanded, and the woman gave a tinkling laugh.

"Yes, scientists, dedicated to our craft. To removing the supernatural from the world. We are, the Dread Doctors." She explained with relish, and Theo turned to glare at her, not noticing that each of them was shuffling a little closer every second.

"Dread Doctors? What do you want?" he ground out, and their leader smirked as Theo span back to face him.

"Oh, we just want what is ours my dear Theo, which in this case, is you. I suspect you came here looking for answers about your past yes? We have them, we have them all. All you need to do is come with us." He offered, holding out his hand to Theo, and Theo glared at him, though his eyes dipped down to his outstretched hand, mulling it over, his thoughts going a mile a minute.

He did want answers, he wanted to know what the hell he was, who his parents were, about this twin sister he had never even known about, of course he did…but he sure as hell didn't want to find out from these psychopaths.

"No thanks, I'll take a hard pass. I've spent this long wondering, any longer isn't going to make much difference." He spat, and stabbed his claws into their leader's outstretched hand, making him hiss in pain.

Theo prepared to properly strike when there was a sinister hiss from beside him, and he raised his hand to find a small dart in his neck. He removed it, looked at it, his face falling, his world spinning, and his eyes rolled back in his head as he fell back to the floor, his nearly naked form barely breathing as the drugs flooded his system, lying spread eagled and unconscious on the floor.

"Kids today." Urbaniak chided, crushing the dart he had used to drug Theo into the ground.

"Why come looking for answers now do you think? Hmm, mazel tov." Turnbull purred upon seeing what was beneath the towel, yes, he would indeed be a fine specimen, hell, he already was.

"The Nemeton most likely my dear, very helpful of it, bringing us a constant stream of volunteers. And at long last, we have what we've been seeking all these years, the Prodigal Son has returned to us at last, and he's back where he belongs…with us, helping us to achieve our goals." He said, helping Urbaniak hoist Theo's unconscious and naked form onto his shoulder.

Turnbull hesitated for a second, information coming over her earpiece, and she smiled in malevolent excitement.

"That was Sinner. Project Typhon has been delivered, and is ready for my ministrations." She told them excitedly, and Valack smiled as Urbaniak shifted Theo to a more comfortable position.

"Then my friends, all is in readiness. Project Typhon awaits, and the Directive goes from strength to strength. It is time my friends, to begin our final operations. Project Typhon will at last be complete…and then our true work can really begin." He told them, and the three Dread Doctors smiled darkly, Valack's third eye glowing malevolently as they twisted into lightning, heading back to their base with their new captive, so that their work could really begin.

XX

Scott was lounging in the chair watching tv. His little worker bees from the pack had been and gone for the day, and he had to admit, the house was coming on well, the living room was on its last coat of gloss and then the furniture and things could all be put back where it belonged, the kitchen was now fully restocked and was near enough finished other than a few tweaks, same went for the hall. He smiled as he remembered how the whole pack, not just the ones guilty of mutiny, had all rallied around to get the house back to it's former glory, it was coming on well.

Allegra had elected to stay just overnight, but she and Melissa had gone to pick out new furniture and things the day she left before she had gone home, bidding them all a fond farewell, having now seen with her own eyes that everyone was alright and that the house was on the mend. She certainly had a point, the supernatural may be a pain in the ass, but they couldn't deny, Ifrit had been unintentionally handy.

Scott had been left alone as Stiles and Malia had been the last ones to leave, and they had departed to go and talk. Scott still wasn't sure whether or not they would properly get back together, however, he was Stiles' best friend, he had a feeling that whatever happened, for a while at least, there would at least be a friends with benefits thing going on. Danny and Ethan were perfectly happy again, their past fights behind them, and their contrition from having turned on Scott actually serving to bring them closer together. Liam and Kira were still in the sweet and hesitant stage of their relationship but things seemed to be going well. Garrett had found a new girl he was interested in, as had Violet, and the two of them had slinked away to go and meet them. Derek and Braeden had taken a drive up the coast the day before now that Derek was finally able to make the most of his newfound freedom. Reconciled, Aiden and Lydia were very happy together, with Lydia perhaps overcompensating just a little bit when she had agreed to let Aiden teach her to play some of his video games…though Scott wasn't entirely sure it wasn't some devious plan as Ethan had been very grumpy the day after, while Lydia seemed supremely smug. And even Jackson, eagerly awaiting his parents return to Beacon Hills so he could move out of Danny's house, was going beyond the flirtatious banter stage with Melody, which Scott figured he should care about, but couldn't really bring himself to at the moment.

Everything was finally good again, everyone was happy, and the world seemed to be going their way for a change, he mused, now if only he had someone to share the empty house with, since Isaac was at work. It was handy that so many of their respective employers had had the supernatural element cleaned up to allow them all to keep working their jobs without any consequences, hell, even he and Dexio, who had been remarkably silent about the whole supernatural day of the dead thing, as Scott had an inkling that he knew more than he was letting on, the two of them had been keeping the vet practice ticking over, awaiting the arrival of the person Deaton had asked to cover for him, which seemed to be a woman by the name of Dr Finch.

Everyone had left for the day, and he was bored. His mother was away to look at curtains with Kaisha, who seemed to have a bit of a knack for interior design, and Camden was away learning the ropes of Argent's business, as Argent had agreed to take Camden on as an associate till he got on his feet properly, with an aim to perhaps make it permanent. It was odd really, it had been so long since he'd had any time to really enjoy, he couldn't focus on enjoying it, especially with half his stuff still stored at the twins while they finished off the house.

The door then opened, and Scott felt his face blossom into a wide smile as Isaac came in, slipping out of his leather jacket and hanging it in the refurbished cupboard under the stairs (that had been Liam's domain as he was small enough to get in there with impunity, and he had done a grand job) before he strolled in and kissed Scott's cheek in greeting, smiling appreciatively as Scott looked hungrily at his black v-neck tshirt.

"Hey, what are you up to?" he asked, as Scott muted the tv.

"Nothing, everyone's away, and I was just sitting here, bored, and thinking." He told him, and Isaac took his hand, looking at him worriedly.

Scott rolled his eyes, he might not be dying any more, but that didn't stop Isaac fretting, now he saw why Isaac sometimes got so impatient with his molly-coddling.

"About?" he asked leadingly, and Scott tried to articulate what had been bothering him the last few days.

"Bonnie and Rhyley for a start. I know they now know everything Agravaine did to them, but the others, they didn't deserve that, I didn't want them to die, not any of them, except maybe Agravaine, Thane and Peter, and even then I didn't really like it." He explained, not looking at Isaac.

To his surprise, Isaac had snuggled close to him, and gently cupped his cheek and turned him to face him, his forehead leaning against Scott's.

"Of course you didn't. Scott, you are one of the sweetest people I've ever met. Thane backed you into a corner, and by working with the Owlman he was always going to have to die, in the long run it was the only way to save everyone, like you said at the time, Thane was too loyal to Agravaine not to. And as for Peter and Agravaine, they both had it coming, and in their case in particular, it was either them, or you. And I'm sorry, but I'd much rather have you," he whispered, and won a small smile from Scott, "and as for the others…yeah, that does suck. They were victims too, and they didn't deserve to die, but they went down taking down the monster that ruined their lives. Eoghan and Ciara, they were content, taking him down. Malakai does stink yeah, but at the end of the day, horrible though it sounds, he was Agravaine's pet, and he went down stopping him. I know it stinks honey, but it isn't your fault." He whispered softly, and Scott allowed himself a small smile, and tilted his head so he could brush his lips against his boyfriend's.

Isaac moaned a little in pleasure, pressing back against his lips hungrily before Scott pulled away, their foreheads still touching, his warm, brown eyes smouldering.

"You've been amazing the last few weeks you know." He told him honestly, and Isaac went pink with pleasure, squirming a little in gratitude.

"Thanks, I think you rubbed off on me. So what else you thinking about?" he asked, pulling away and lounging back onto the chair, and Scott grinned and leaned back beside him.

"Deaton. I messaged him," he explained, rolling his eyes as Isaac growled, "I know he can't be our emissary, nobody trusts him enough for that, hell, after everything, I don't really trust him either. He lied to us and manipulated me, a lot, and it was his bright idea to reactivate the damn Nemeton, and he used us for that too, and we still don't really know why. But, I did feel kind of bad about how things ended, and he is still technically my boss." He explained, and Isaac groaned in exasperation before shooting Scott a dirty look.

"You know, that sexy saviour complex of yours can be a real pain in the dick at times," he chided without heat, and Scott sniggered, "but you're right. Scott, we don't trust him, and me and Stiles in particular don't trust him. If he had told us about Agravaine threatening the sheriff, things might not have gotten so out of control, but as usual, he kept quiet because he finds it more fun to let us stumble around in the dark. Whatever he wants, whatever his endgame is, it doesn't involve us doing anything bar exactly what he wants." He warned, and Scott smiled sadly, then lifted Isaac's hand to his mouth and kissed it.

"I know. I just want to talk to him, that's all. He didn't answer anyway, if it's any consolation." He told him, eyeing the door hopefully, praying Isaac would notice and take the hint, but sadly, he remained blissfully unaware.

"A little. So, everything back to normal, and still no closer to finding out who stitched Derek up." Isaac mused tiredly, and Scott deflated a little, nodding.

"Yeah, but chances are whoever was behind it will come along and bite us in the ass soon enough anyway," he said, not entirely joking, and Isaac nodded, grinning as he conceded the point, "so we'll deal with it when it eventually does come along."

Isaac nodded, wrapping his arm around Scott's shoulder and pulling Scott to him in a hug.

"You worry too much…huh, that gives me an idea!" he said excitedly, jumping to his feet, and Scott looked at him curiously, but extended his hand to take Isaac's outstretched one, and as he usually did when Isaac got all excited and playful, he just went with it, it usually wound up being very good for him when he did.

"Honey?" Scott asked hopefully as Isaac led them to their room, with it's wonderful and oh so comfy new mattress.

Isaac turned, pulling Scott close to him and kissing him hungrily, and Scott's pants began to reciprocate excitedly before Isaac turned them so that Scott's back was to the bed, and Isaac then shoved him onto it, the top of the comfy mattress catching Scott in the back of the legs so he dropped down onto it, looking at his boyfriend excitedly, though feeling a bit confused as to what exactly his boyfriend had in mind.

"Sweetheart, what exactly are you planning here?" he asked playfully, as Isaac kicked off his shoes and jeans, before stripping off his tshirt, leaving him standing in his black underwear, which was bulging considerably and left absolutely nothing to Scott's imagination, the Alpha staring at it hungrily.

"You'll see my dear," he replied teasingly, kissing Scott's forehead gently before pulling Scott's pants off and his tshirt in quick succession, leaving Scott also in nothing but his black underwear, and Scott moaned as Isaac stroked a hand down his chest, continuing over his defined abs, hovering above his groin, god this was hot, but what the hell was he up to…?

Isaac kissed him, their tongues in each other's mouths, Scott was moaning in the back of his throat, what was Isaac planning…

And then Isaac broke off, making Scott whimper, which developed into a full-fledged whine as, to Scott's great confusion, Isaac climbed onto the bed and went behind Scott.

"Um, love, what are you-" Scott tried to ask, before Isaac laid a finger gently on his lips to shut him up.

"Shh, you, my gorgeous, lovely dork," he purred in Scott's ear, kneeling behind Scott, "have been far too overworked recently. You saved the pack, dealt with treacherous scum," he continued, pressing a kiss onto Scott's neck, making Scott whimper in pleasure, "and stopped the dogs, all while dying. So now, just let me take care of you, as you so need to relax." He whispered huskily into Scott's ear, and Scott was still confused when he felt Isaac take hold of his shoulders, his thumbs kneading firmly into his shoulders, and Scott's brain went on the fritz.

He was massaging him, god, he'd almost forgotten about that, they had done this months ago, before they'd even originally gotten together, and fuck, he'd forgotten how good Isaac was at this! Isaac was pressing into every single ache and pain he'd developed over the last few weeks, his slightly cool hands feeling very soothing on Scott's warm, toned back as Isaac got to work. However, this time, it was different, this time they were together, hence both being next to naked, both very turned on, and the soft, trailing kisses that Isaac was peppering down his neck and on his cheek, and the occasional tilt back of his head to kiss him on the lips.

Isaac's hands were a sort of pleasantly rough, for want of a better term, as he massaged down the sides of Scott's spine. Isaac massaged out each knot and ache he could find, pushing firmly but not hard, into each and every knot that he could find, Scott moaning in pleasure and relief as Isaacs cool hands worked over his boyfriend's warm, tan back.

"How does that feel?" Isaac whispered into Scott's ear, and Scott gave an incomprehensible noise as a reply, making Isaac grin and nuzzle him, which prompted Scott to turn his head and kiss him passionately.

"Fucking amazing is what I was trying to say." He purred, and Isaac smirked, very pleased with himself, and got to work.

He took both shoulders in his hands, his thumbs digging in beneath the shoulder blades. Scott moaned, feeling the relief Isaac brought him as he massaged his way along his shoulder blades, his thumbs meeting in the middle before edging upwards, working on all the knots and pains he had in his neck. This was so much better than last time, they hadn't been together then, and Isaac hadn't been shirtless either, but now he was, and Scott was so hard, but he didn't care, it just felt so good as Isaac worked out every little bit he could reach of his neck, his cool hands firm and reassuring around Scott's neck as he kneaded in with his fingers and knuckles, determined to loosen up his boyfriend. Scott moved his head from side to side, luxuriating in the experience, and Isaac noted with pleasure that Scott's boxers had now failed at their assigned task, as his hard cock had thrust out of them, but Scott clearly didn't care, he just leaned into Isaac's touch, savouring the experience as his boyfriend worked him over.

Scott could feel every knot protesting as Isaac worked away at him, sliding down his back, starting in the middle and tracing along his muscle lines, Scott moaning excitedly as he did so. Scott felt like he was relaxing more and more with every knot Isaac loosened, spurred on by the kisses on his neck, the soft little whispers in his ear, the fact that he could feel Isaac's boxers were also falling short of their duties as he felt a different pressure in his back that most certainly wasn't coming from Isaac's hands. At times, Isaac would lean off the pressure of the massage, Scott moaning in pleasure as he did so, his fingers barely grazing Scott's skin at times, snaking across his body, around to his chest, stroking down his pecs and abs, his fingers trailing on his nipples, which he softly caressed each time he did that. Ripples of pleasure spasmed across Scott as he relaxed, Scott becoming heavier as he started to feel so warm and sleepy, but every time it seemed as though Isaac might be stopping, he let out a moan of protest, Isaac purring obligingly, nuzzling him reassuringly and going back to work.

Isaac continued to work, massaging every inch of his gorgeous, warm boyfriend, loving the feeling of Scott's warm form beneath his hands, his thumbs, his knuckles as he massaged and kneaded away every location that could be giving Scott grief. Scott was so content, so sleepy and so relaxed, and seemed so much looser than he had in weeks as Isaac entwined one hand through his usual, spiky style and used that to anchor Scott while he used the heel of his palm to work his way down Scott's back. His hand worked all the way down Scott's spine, and Isaac sensually stroked his fingers back up his back, barely touching him, enjoying the little whimpers of pleasure that his boyfriend was making.

Isaac then smiled softly, kissing Scott's cheek as he wrapped his arms around Scott, and this time he softly trailed his hands up and down Scott's body, not massaging him, but just stroking his boyfriend's gorgeous, warm body as he rested his chin on Scott's freshly massaged shoulders, Scott groaning in blissful pleasure as Isaac stroked up and down his body, so gentle yet so fucking good, Scott was moaning in pleasure, damn this was good. Isaac slid his hands down towards Scott's groin, Scott's body shuddering in pleasure, whimpering in protest as Isaac's hands hovered coyly just above his boxers, and Scott took hold of Isaac's wrist, guiding it further down, Isaac breathing excitedly in his ear as he did so. Scott felt Isaac start to jerk him off, his eyes rolling in pleasure, and Isaac used his free hand to turn Scott to face him slightly, kissing him hungrily as the weeks of fear, of potential loss, were finally overcome.

Scott, his Scott, was still alive, and they were still happily together, if not happier than before, and their lives were about to get that bit more exciting once Isaac had moved out, and they had somewhere else they could be together, and just enjoy each other.

Isaac, his Isaac, was still alive, the happiest he had ever been, he was with Scott, and even if Isaac did move out, that could only actually be better for them as it gave them more opportunities, more fun to be had.

And as Scott gasped in pleasure as Isaac finished jerking him off, Isaac letting out a moan of desire and delight as he too climaxed, both of them panting, hearts pounding, sweat glistening on their bodies, as Scott turned and crashed his lips into Isaac's, his hands stroking roughly through Isaac's hair as Isaac responded in kind, it was like kissing Isaac gave him life, the two of them moaning in pleasure as they kissed, just happy they were still alive, still together…

A little while later, after cleaning up, Scott was lying on his bed, his head on his pillows, one hand stroking Isaac's now rather messy dark blond hair, the other ensnared around Isaac's waist. Isaac was cuddled up to Scott's body, as he always did, his head lying on his chest, hearing the reassuring sounds of Scott's heart beating happily within his chest, one of his hands holding the one of Scott's that was wrapped round his waist, and the other snaked around Scott's back, gently stroking his chest.

"Man, that was fucking amazing." Scott whispered huskily, and Isaac smiled proudly.

"Thanks, glad you liked it." He muttered, nestling into the crook of Scott's arm even more, and Scott smiled and pressed a kiss into Isaac's hair, as both boys drifted off to sleep, warm, content, and in love.

Hours later, the sun had risen, birds were tweeting, and Scott and Isaac were still curled up around each other, both of them sleeping peacefully, Isaac still nestled into the crook of Scott's arm with his head on his chest, wrapped in Scott's arms…until Scott suddenly jerked awake with such ferocity that Isaac was knocked tumbling out of bed with a comical yelp of alarm, and he sat up on the bedroom floor, looking at his boyfriend in a bemused, bleary-eyed way.

"Was that good for you?" he asked, slightly sore from his tumble out of bed, and slightly peeved as he was now cold, why did he get cold as soon as he stopped cuddling Scott? Anyway, where was he, oh yes, idiot boyfriend… "was it a nightmare?" he asked worriedly, as a very apologetic Scott extended his hand to him, helping him clamber back up into bed.

"I'm so sorry honey! I didn't mean to knock you out of bed, are you ok?" Scott fretted, and Isaac rolled his eyes, smiling as he nodded.

"Yes, I'm just cold, from being so unceremoniously thrown out of bed." He scolded, and Scott gave him a rueful smile, lying back down and letting Isaac cuddle back into him, wrapping them both in the covers, Isaac promptly going back to leeching warmth from his boyfriend like he always did as he snuggled into his boyfriend's warm body, feeling Scott stroke through his hair softly.

"Sorry. And no, not a nightmare, more a realisation, I just realised, we never did anything for your birthday!" he exclaimed, and Isaac blushed.

In all the chaos with the dogs, and the mutiny, and Scott dying, they had forgotten it was his birthday, well, not forgotten, just kind of let it fall by the wayside.

"Honey, we had other things to worry about. And really, that's what you kicked me out of bed for?" he teased, grinning a little, and Scott sent him a puppy dog look.

"Yeah, but you have a boyfriend now, and a big brother for god sake! We're both meant to make sure you get a decent birthday for a change, instead of it getting ignored and your only present being, you know…" Scott protested, and Isaac stroked his cheek tenderly, god he loved this guy, how had he wound up with someone so sweet?

"A beating? You know, Cam did forget a couple of times before he left, he got the same present." He mused grimly, but Scott shook his head.

"It doesn't matter, this year you were meant to get a good birthday, and because of the dogs, I couldn't even get your present in time. So, that's what we're doing today." He decided happily, and smiled as Isaac went scarlet.

"Scott, it's ok, you don't have to-" he protested, but Scott held a finger to his lips, quietening him.

"I know, but you're my boyfriend, and I love you, and I want to. You deserve a decent, albeit belated birthday, so let me give you one?" he begged with a puppy dog look, complete with a nuzzle, and Isaac, still blushing, nodded.

"Ok, sure…hey, so, if it's now my belated birthday," he asked hopefully, "does that mean we need to get up right now, or can I warm up again first, and celebrate that I still have the one birthday present I really wanted?"

Scott looked at him, a little confused, until the penny dropped, and he went red.

"Oh! You mean me, not being dead, yeah, that's fine, we can stay in bed a little longer." He promised, kissing Isaac tenderly, and Isaac responded in kind before snuggling back into Scott.

Scott watched his boyfriend snuggle into him, smiling happily as he did so, and began texting Camden (he was sure he heard the unmistakable cry of 'fuck' when Cam read the text explaining about Isaac's birthday) and then started to text the others, using his other hand to stroke Isaac's hair lovingly, and Isaac was just starting to drift off, when something that had been bothering Scott for a while occurred to him.

"Hey, I've been wondering," he began, to which Isaac made a sleepy sound in response, "when you and Stiles were fighting in Eichen, how exactly did he get the better of you? I mean, you're stronger than him, so how come he got away, as you go a bit…you know," he said diplomatically, grinning a little, and a little touched by Isaac's loyalty, "nuts when I'm threatened?"

"He tazered me." Isaac responded sleepily, however, a split second later, his sleep addled brain realised what he had done, as Scott was no longer stroking his hair, and was instead giving a threatening growl beside him, and Isaac realised what he had done.

Again.

"Aw oops."

And here we are, at long last, at the end of the story (its only taken god knows how many years but its finally done!) and a very big thank you to all those who have read it, and kept with it during the large dearths of content.

I hope you enjoyed the story as a whole, and yes, I do intend to keep writing Two-Pack, and hopefully, the next story wont take nearly so long

A big thank you as ever to my friend Terra King on , who humors my ideas when they dont know anything about Teen Wolf, and to the lovely instagrammers McCallsnight, Thiamheart and Lydspalace who helped get me back into the writing groove for Teen Wolf and have also been a good sounding board for ideas to bounce off

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story, and please feel free to comment if you have any questions, and I hope to see you all soon for season five!