The sight of Gerard looming over me with an air of pride brought me nothing but fear. I hadn't felt this small underneath someone's gaze since when Peter had cornered me at the shopping mall. Gerard's beady eyes stared down at me with a sadistic smile and I could tell that he was carefully analyzing me. There was a reason why he wanted me here and it wasn't for moral support. No, there had to be something much deeper than that.

Shortly after, he took a seat at the end of the row and I was relieved that he wasn't going to sit next to me. There was absolutely no way in hell I would sit through Kate's funeral sitting next to Grandpa Argent. He looked to be in his late sixties, but there was no doubt in my mind that he could kick my ass if he really felt like it. I wasn't exactly looking to provoke him any time soon. I just really hoped that he wouldn't become a problem. Then again, life never really worked out that way for us.

I was broken out of my stupor when Allison nudged me gently in the arm. I jumped slightly at her touch and I turned to look at her. "What? What's wrong?" I asked immediately.

Allison nodded her head forward. "Look." She whispered and I did as she asked, changing my focus to whatever she was seeing.

Scott and Stiles were huddled behind a large gravestone, Stiles peering over the werewolf's shoulder. I couldn't help the smile that fell upon my lips at the sight of them, a sense of security washing over me like a warm wave. I guessed I should've figured that there was no way either of them were going to leave us hanging in a situation like this. I also realized how incredibly stupid it was for them to be here-especially Scott. I couldn't imagine the chaos that would ensue if Mr. Argent were to see Scott. It clearly didn't seem to matter to him.

The werewolf boy lifted up his hand and gave a wave, a sheepish smile coming onto his lips. I saw Allison give him a covert smile back and then my eyes darted towards Stiles. I could see the worry and the terror in them. I almost felt guilty. I hadn't explained one thing to him about this situation, but I knew I would later. Now that I knew they weren't exactly looking for Lydia, I figured I could tell him why I was even here in the first place. Blurting it out in the middle of a pop quiz probably wasn't the best idea I'd ever had.

The funeral went out without anymore uncomfortable encounters with the Argent's. The ceremony was beautiful, as much as I hated to admit it, and they had done a wonderful job putting it together. For a moment, I found myself seeing Kate as her family had seen her-strong, brave, and cunning. I remembered then that the people who were speaking saw werewolves the same way she did. Everyone in these chairs wanted them dead and they didn't care who got in their way. I was reminded of how horribly evil the entire situation was.

Once it was over, Allison dropped me off at my house. She thanked me for coming, but there was not much more said between us. I had lingered in awkward silence for a moment, hoping that she would say something to me. I was met with her staring out the windshield, gripping the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles turned white. I took the hint and climbed out, shutting the door as lightly as I could. I hurried inside the house so I didn't give into the temptation to turn around and pour my heart to her. There was nothing I could say that I hadn't said already. I had tried to protect Allison's feelings and I had apologized for lying to her. Allison didn't want words-she wanted actions that matched them. I was determined to give her that.

As I stepped out of the shower, my phone began to chime repeatedly on the bathroom counter. Text messages popped up rapidly and when I went to answer them, my phone began to ring.

"Please tell me someone isn't dead." I whined, pinching the bridge of my nose as I bounced on my heels and scrunched my eyes shut. "Please."

"No," Stiles answered, his heavy breathing indicating that he was either really excited or really scared. "No, no one is dead. W-Why is that your first reaction to when I call you? Is that always your first reaction?"

"Well, no, but given the circumstances…" I trailed off hoping he would get the hint. I heard him sigh and I could practically see the eye roll on the other end of the phone. "Why are you calling me exactly?"

"We found Lydia." Stiles informed me and I almost didn't register what he said at first. My knees almost buckled beneath me and I had to plant my hand on the bathroom counter to hold myself up. "She's obviously terrified and confused but...she's alive. Tessa, she's safe."

"Oh, thank God." I gasped, my eyes falling shut as I released a relieved laugh. "I-I'm so glad that she's okay."

Stiles hummed a tune of agreement, but then he let out yet another deep sigh. This one didn't sound as annoyed this time around. "Listen, uh, Scott found something when he was in the woods looking for her earlier. He-He found another werewolf."

"What?" I exclaimed, my brow furrowing. "What do you mean he found another werewolf?"

"Like, it almost attacked him when he chased after it. He thought it was Lydia but it was just some-some guy." Stiles began to explain. "Scott was still a little freaked out when he told me the whole story, but the guy came from out of town looking for Derek."

I swallowed hard and clenched my jaw tightly together. "He came looking for an alpha." I muttered, remembering what Allison had said last night about beta's or even omega's looking for a pack. They were drawn to alpha's and Derek was a brand new one.

"The Argent's got a hold of him after he attacked someone in the back of an ambulance. He was also the one who took the liver from the body at the cemetery." Stiles told me, the lines all connecting together as he said it.

"So, that means Lydia wasn't responsible." I concluded, nodding my head curtly. I opened the door of the bathroom and scurried over to my bedroom, digging through my closet. "Which also means she might not be in transition or whatever. It still doesn't explain why she bolted from the hospital though."

"Hold on, Tessa, there's more to the story." Stiles said quickly. "Gerard and Chris were with like five other guys when they caught this werewolf. You know what they did next? They killed him. They...cut him in half."

"Oh my, God." I muttered, cupping a hand over my mouth as my eyes widened in horror. "Stiles, if Gerard finds Scott or-or Derek-"

"I know." Stiles murmured back to me, having thought over it himself I was sure. "But, we aren't going to let that happen. Scott isn't going to die and, as much as it pains me, neither is Derek."

"Stiles, you said there were other people with them. They aren't just here for the funeral, they are here to start something they can finish."

I awoke the next morning to the sound of my alarm blasting in my ears. Lydia had sent me a short text message the night before informing me that she would be picking me up again for school. I knew that she was trying to get back to normal and I wouldn't deny that request. So, I made sure to wake up on time. I wasn't really in the mood to get screamed at first thing in the morning after the sleepless night I'd had. The whole thing Stiles had told me bothered me to no end-mostly the part where the werewolf got sliced and diced. It wasn't exactly the best news I had gotten all year.

Lydia's Beetle pulled up in front of my house at the same time it always had and I hurried out there to greet her. She looked like herself-dressed in a purple dress with a brown leather jacket over the top of it. Her hair was styled perfectly atop her head and her makeup was flawless as always. You wouldn't have even known that she had been in the hospital for the last four days or that she had been wandering naked in the woods for an entire day. Except, everyone knew that and that was what worried me the most.

"Are you sure you're still Tessa? You're awfully quiet and, as much as it surprises me, I'm sort of getting irritated." Lydia questioned, glancing at me as she turned down the radio. "Usually you are full of all sorts of sarcastic comments and unnecessary facts."

"Sorry," I replied blandly as I tucked hair behind my ear and swallowed hard. "I guess I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Well, get out of your head." Lydia ordered firmly, the sass slowly increasing with each sentence. "I am the one who should have a lot on their mind, not you. Unless the guilt is weighing on you so heavily that you are mute because you forgot to tell me you kissed Stiles."

"What?" I exclaimed, shooting forward in my seat. The seat belt locked on me and I made a choking noise, falling backwards. Lydia smirked, obviously proud of herself. "What? You thought that I wouldn't find out? Allison told me."

"I told her not to tell you."

"And why is that? Shouldn't I have the right to ask why you said you had a crush on Isaac Lahey but ended up kissing Stiles at after winter formal?" Lydia demanded, cocking up her eyebrow. I noticed that Lydia failed to react to the fact that it had been the same night she had been attacked. I hoped this was part of the coping process.

Then, something much larger occurred to me that sucked the air out of my lungs. I nearly passed out from the sudden rush of adrenaline I got and felt my body rise up with goosebumps. How could I have been so awful? How could I have forgotten someone I had willingly dragged to the dance? How could I have forgotten about Isaac at the dance? I had driven him there and I was the only person he spoke to. I told him I would be right back, and then I never came back. I couldn't imagine how he must feel, but I knew how I felt-like the biggest piece of shit to ever walk the face of the planet.

"Isaac," I whispered to myself as my brow furrowed and I felt my throat constrict slightly. I swallowed passed the lump and shook my head slowly. "I just...I just left him there."

"You what?" Lydia questioned, her face also now contorting up into confusion. "What do you mean you left Isaac?"

"I-I told him I was just going to check on Stiles and then I-I…" I shut my eyes and rubbed them roughly. "I never came back, Lydia."

"Oh," Lydia responded softly, her voice paper thin once she realized why I had never returned back to Isaac at the dance. I wondered if his father had picked him up and the thought made me sick. His father had been drunk when I left and the man made me uneasy in general. I hadn't seen Isaac at school yesterday, but I hadn't exactly been looking either.

"Anyways," I began, deciding to change the subject on Lydia's behalf. "The kiss wasn't what you thought it was. It was nothing, really."

It was like Lydia flipped a switch and went back to her sassy self. Her lips pursed together and she hummed, sounding entirely unconvinced. Her fingers gently tapped the steering wheel before she took in a deep breath.

"Fine, I'll stop asking about it. Pressing you for answers is obviously not going to work." Lydia relented, shrugging her shoulders. She glanced over at me and then let a sickly sweet smile work its way onto her face. "I'll just keep it in mind."

"Great." I muttered, sinking in my seat and pushing hair behind my ears. I waited a few minutes before asking my next question. "How are you feeling today? Good?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be feeling good? I'm out of that stupid hospital." Lydia responded flippantly, dismissing the question away with a wave of her hand. "And that hospital gown. Do you know how nice it feels to wear something fashionable again?"

"Oh, you poor thing. I'm sure the starving children in Africa sympathize with you right now." I responded sarcastically, rolling my eyes and shaking my head.

Lydia made a noise. "You just don't know what it's like to have a sense of style, Tessa. You appreciate rotating the same three band t-shirts and flip-flop between two pairs of sneakers. You have the fashion integrity of a sixth grade boy." She went on to explain, making me take on a look of offense. "And I'm sure you'll try to defend yourself, but don't bother. I know I'm right."

I let out an aggravated growl and crossed my arms over my chest. "You complimented my shoes the first day of school." I reminded her defensively.

"I said they were interesting, not cute. I also called you my friend in progress, so how is this argument working out for you?" Lydia inquired, cocking up an eyebrow and still looking quite pleased with herself.

"And I told you that I am not a diet plan and that I didn't even want to be your friend."

"Yet, here you are." Lydia cooed, batting her eyelashes at me before she turned into the parking lot of the school. I clenched my teeth together tightly to avoid saying anything else, feeling my anger spike slightly at the jab. I shoved my way out of the car and aggressively put on my backpack.

"Whoa," A voice called from behind me. "It's not even nine o'clock."

I whipped around at the sound of the voice but let out a breath once I realized that it was just Allison. She had parked just a few spaces down and had obviously been waiting for us. The parking was still a little clear and that probably made it easier on Lydia. My anger diffused at the presence of Allison, something that now came naturally.

"I had to get her fired up somehow. It works better than coffee." Lydia commented as she also climbed out of her face and shrugged an innocent shoulder. "Like, bringing up Stiles."

"Thank you for that, by the way." I told Allison, giving her an acidic smile. I clapped my hands together and then gave her a glare.

"Sorry. I'm sorry." She quickly said and held up her hands in mock surrender. "It just slipped out. Besides, we're all friends. She has to know."

"Yeah, when I was ready to tell her after I'd figured all that shit out." I hissed beneath my breath as I shook my head and then rubbed at my forehead. "Let's just get inside the school. I already want this day to be over with."

I began marching towards the building and the girls appeared at my side. "So, you really don't remember anything?" Allison asked Lydia once we got closer to the building.

"They called it a fugue state, which is basically a way of saying, "We have no idea why you can't remember running through the woods naked for two days."." Lydia responded, sounding unhappy with the answers the doctors had given her once she'd been found. "But, personally, I don't care. I lost nine pounds."

Lydia stuck her arms out at her sides and gave Allison and I a proud grin. We stopped just outside the doors and I rolled my eyes. "You can do that at the gym." I reminded her and she simply waved me away with her hand.

Allison reached out and took Lydia's hand. "Are you ready for this?" She asked kindly, my expression softening at the question as well.

"Please," Lydia droned. "It's not like my aunt's a serial killer."

"Oh, wow." I choked out, my eyes widening as I clenched my fist and pressed it to my lips. Lydia flicked her hair in our faces with a smirk on her lips. I glanced at Allison who looked less than amused by the comment and I decided that I shouldn't say anything. I didn't want to risk getting punched in the neck or something way more lethal.

Allison shook herself out of her head and then moved to follow Lydia inside the building. I came in behind her, but almost ran into the back of the girl when she wasn't walking anymore. I then realized it was because Lydia had stopped just in front of her. In fact, everyone in the school hallway had stopped walking and were now all staring at Lydia.

Allison and I came to stand on either side of Lydia, willing to face this moment with her. "Maybe it's the nine pounds." Allison then whispered to the strawberry blonde. I couldn't help but snort at the comment and shook my head.

Then, in typical Lydia Martin fashion, she tossed hair out of her face and began to march forward like a soldier going into battle. Her hair bounced as she stomped her heels and I watched her go with an impressed look on my face. Allison and I stood there for a second to admire her courage. Then, I let out the breath I had been holding.

"That went a lot better than I thought it would." I admitted, nodding my head approvingly. "I was expecting...I really don't know what I was expecting."

"It's Lydia. Of course she isn't going to let something like this ruin her reputation." Allison pointed out, shrugging her shoulder and tucking some hair behind her ear as well. There was a smile still on her lips. "It's what I like the most about her."

"I guess you're right." I agreed, turning my head to look at my friend. "Although, I'm sure you'd like her more without the comment she made outside."

"She just...doesn't understand the whole thing." Allison defended, shaking her head and then looking down at her feet. "I don't expect her to either."

"It'll all pass in due time. Stuff happens here all the time that gets old people all excited." I assured her, shaking my hands for effect. "This was just something big, but it'll eventually become nothing but another news story."

Allison was quiet for a few moments before she let out a deep breath. "You're right. You're totally right." She replied with a curt nod.

"That seems to be a common theme." I chirped with a proud smirk, winking at her. I then decided I had better get to class. "See you later."

"See ya." Allison responded back with a small wave and a smile.

Score.

I rounded the corner that led down to my locker when I was suddenly grabbed by both of my biceps. My body was then jerked off to the side and I let out a small noise of surprise. Soon, I found myself in an empty classroom and I rounded on whoever had grabbed me. Once I saw who it was, I clenched my fists at my sides and growled.

"You two had better got a damn good reason as to why the hell you just abducted me."

"Okay, first off, we did not abduct you." Stiles said, holding up a finger and then he held up a second. "And second off, we have a very, so good reason as to why we grabbed you."

"I'm waiting. You have about five minutes before I scream my head off and get you both detention." I warned and crossed my arms over my chest, looking in between the two boys.

"Mr. Lahey, Isaac's Dad? Yeah, he's dead."

"What?"

"He was murdered last night in an alleyway. No one knows why or who did it." Scott told me, wringing his hand together. "The police came and took Isaac out of practice."

"Oh, my God. That's terrible." I breathed out, shaking my head and then pressing my hand to my head. "Where is he now?"

"The police station. They, uh, think he's a suspect." Stiles mumbled, placing his hand over his chin and grimacing slightly. "Also, we're pretty sure he's a werewolf."

"WHAT?"

"Shh! Shh! Shut up!" Stiles hissed as he scrambled forward and wagged his hands at me wildly. "I really cannot have you screaming right now."

"You can't just tell me that you think Isaac Lahey is a werewolf and not expect me to react." I defended, giving him a sharp glare.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I could smell it. He had the strength, too." Scott explained further, ignoring Stiles' and I's banter. I supposed he was probably used to it by now. "He knew that I knew. He didn't want me to tell anyone."

"Wait, so, only an alpha can bite someone and turn them, right?" I clarified, holding up a hand as my face contorted in confusion. Then, the pieces began to slowly fall into my place and my whole expression changed. "Which means that…"

"Yeah." Scott responded back softly, nodding his head and looking grim. "He's starting to build a pack."

"By biting innocent teenagers? Derek is trying to make a ragtag team of young kids to fight against a clan of experienced hunters? Great. This is just so absolutely perfect." I said to myself, laughing humorlessly and shaking my head. "Not only is he a piece of crap friend, he is a piece of crap alpha."

"Would you expect anything more? This is Derek freaking Hale we're talking about here." Stiles commented, scoffing and giving me a pointed look.

"He can't just go around biting people. How does it even help him?" I asked, leaning against one of the desks in the classroom.

"Alphas benefit from numbers." Scott mentioned. "They become stronger faster-just better."

"If Derek thinks that taking in teenagers is going to make him stronger, he's delusional. Gerard will kill him before he can even blink." I said, tapping my foot against the ground. "What do we do now?"

"Here's the third problem." Stiles said and held up one more finger on his hand. "There's a full moon tonight."

"Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me." I groaned, tipping my head forward to rest it in my hands. "Please tell me that-"

"I've got Scott under control." Stiles assured me, nodding his head curtly. "I won't make that same mistake twice."

"But, that also means that there is a baby werewolf locked up in the smallest jail cell known to mankind. Isaac has never gone through a full moon in his life."

"Precisely the problem."

I let out a sigh and grabbed at my forehead, trying to collect my thoughts. "If Isaac loses control and does something, the Argent's will kill him. I can't let that happen." I told them both. "Plus, he could out the supernatural world in an hour."

"Which is why we're going to figure out a solution to this problem, alright?" Scott said, holding up his hands as if he were talking to a frightened animal. "I promise I won't let anything happen to Isaac. All we need to do is figure out how to get Isaac out of that jail before he transitions. Isaac is brand new which means he'll...he'll want to hurt people."

"Oh this just keeps getting better the more you explain this." I told the boy and let out yet another humorless laugh. "Is there any part of this that gets better?"

"Uh, no. Not really." Scott answered and cringed as I gave him an irritated look. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever." I huffed out and then shook my head. "We'll figure this out. Right now, we need to get to class or I'll be spending the day in the office."

"Right." Scott agreed and then opened the door for me. The hallway was empty now and I knew I would be late to class. I ripped a piece of paper from a notebook in my bag and wrote a fake note to take back to the teacher.

By the time I got to chemistry, I was getting antsy. What worried me the most was that Jackson wasn't sitting in the back with Danny where he always was. When I had picked Isaac for the formal, I hadn't failed to notice that a familiar silver Porsche had been parked in the driveway shortly before I left.

Jackson lived down the street from Isaac and the only person who would've seen Isaac the night his father died. He would be the only person to lie for his own gain.

I walked to the back of the room and slammed my books down in front of Danny who jumped slightly upon my arrival. "Hello, Daniel."

"That's not my name."

"Not the point." I replied back quickly and took a seat on the stool across from him. "Why am I able to sit in Jackson's seat right now?"

"Because he's not here."

"Why?"

"He's in the principal's office." Danny replied back calmly, shrugging his shoulder. "He is talking to Stiles' Dad. Why is everyone asking me about this?"

"Because you're his best friend."

"So?"

"So...you're supposed to know when and where Jackson is. Like, all the time." I responded, finding nothing wrong with my statement but the look on Danny's face said otherwise.

"That's called stalking. I'm his friend, not his stalker." Danny clarified, shaking his head and looking perturbed by the thought. "Listen, I don't want in the middle of whatever you, Scott, and Stiles want with Jackson. Keep it to yourself."

"Once again, you're supposed to be his best friend-"

"-I am his best friend-"

"-so why are you being so wishy-washy?"

Danny let out an aggravated sigh and rolled his eyes, setting down his pencil. "I am not being wishy-washy, I'm minding my own business. Jackson's my best friend but when he doesn't talk to me about something, I don't question it. If it were my business to know, he would say something." He explained. "Can you leave me alone now?"

"Yeah, I'm not moving from this seat." I mumbled beneath my breath and gently rapped my knuckles against the tabletop. I was silent for a few more seconds while my leg bounced rapidly. Then, I couldn't help myself as I quickly leaned across the table. "One more question: why would Jackson be talking to the cops? Does it have to do with Isaac?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Tessa, come on-"

"Danny, tell me why. Now." I demanded, giving him a serious look to which he responded with an angry glare.

"Jackson lives across the street from Isaac. That's why." Danny answered, picking up his pencil again. "Is that all? I'd really like to get back to my work."

"Yeah, that's-that's all." I murmured and swallowed hard, knowing my suspicions had been correct. When I glanced towards the boys, I saw that they already knew and we were now all on the same page. Jackson was now a witness.

Harris re entered the room after having left for a moment which was when I had been able to have my conversation with Danny without risking yet another hour of detention. I needed to be free all the time in the world I lived in.

After a few minutes of Harris' lecturing, I found myself beginning to doze off. The lack of sleep at night was really getting to me and I wasn't exactly interested in the lesson. I almost smacked my head on my desk when I heard the sound of laughter erupt from within the class. I perked up and glanced around, trying to find the source of the laughter.

Mr. Harris had spun around after the paper ball collided with the back of his head, suddenly on high alert. "Who in the hell did that?"

He looked around the room and my eyes widened when I saw Scott and Stiles pointing to each other. For a moment, I wanted to strangle the two of them for being so stupid. The next second, I realized just exactly why they had done it.

"You two, down to the office. Now!"

The boys wasted no time in scrambling up from their chairs, sprinting out of the room with their backpacks clutched to their chests. I sat up in my seat and watched them go with my jaw hanging slack. They had left me behind and I now had to figure out my own way to follow them. I stood from my seat.

"I would think twice about your next decision, Ms. Bradley." Mr. Harris warned, his voice cutting the air like a knife as he stared me down. "Your circumstances would not fair as well as Mr. McCall and Mr. Stilinski's."

"What are you talking about?" I uttered, narrowing my eyes at the teacher in the front of the room.

"I think you know exactly what I mean." Mr. Harris answered in a low tone, leaning forward on his desk. "I think you might want to take your seat."

I swallowed hard, clenching my fists at my sides. Forcing my feet to move, I shuffled back over to my seat and slammed my ass down onto the stool. I tried to control my anger as hard as I possibly could, digging my nails into my palms. Mr. Harris had almost outed personal information out in front of the entire class. Not to mention, I now couldn't follow Scott or Stiles on whatever they were doing. I felt the need to be there, but I knew I didn't have to be. They would fill me in on whatever they found.

Little did I know it was going to be even worse than what had already happened.

"He's here in the school in the principal's office?" I repeated as I walked down the hallway with both of the boys, shoving through the hoard of kids.

"He is the principal, Tessa. Gerard works at the school. He is a part of admin. He is the boss of us." Stiles explained, his voice moving faster the more he spoke. He jammed a finger against his chest on the last sentence and I blew out a deep breath.

"Gerard also definitely knows about Allison and I." Scott told me, looking pale in the face at just the thought. "He brought it up but, I-I can't tell if he knows if I'm a werewolf or not."

"He's a total psychopath, if we hadn't already figured that out already." Stiles mentioned, waving his arms around and shaking his head. "The guy acts like we don't know who he is. He was-He was being nice to us."

"Sure, that's what sociopaths do. They mimic human emotion to get what they want. And when they do, it's game over." I explained, shrugging my shoulders. "He's going to make you think he's on your side and then turn Scott into sushi."

"Oh, gross. I hate sushi." Scott mumbled as he placed a hand over his mouth and took on a look of disgust. I gave him a bored look and he cleared his throat. "Sorry."

"We're obviously not going to trust him because we know exactly who he is. And because I don't want to see my best friend in two pieces, I agreed to stay after for detention. Again." Stiles informed me, slapping his hands down at his sides and then looked at Scott. "Thank you for that. I am so thrilled to spend the afternoon with Allison's psycho grandpa."

"I'm sorry, but it's better than Scott. The last thing we want is Scott and Gerard in the same room alone, especially now that he's in a position of power. He could easily make our lives hell if we step the wrong way." I defended, giving Stiles a weak look. "Although, I don't think he would try anything at school. If he wants to keep his job and not end up in prison, he'll play nice while we're here. He's just trying to get close to us, keeps tabs on our every move."

"I always wanted my girlfriend's grandpa to watch me like a hawk." Scott groaned to himself as he face palmed. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Hey," I said, stepping in front of Scott and grabbing him by the shoulders. "You cannot lose focus on what is really important at the moment. We still have to figure out how the hell we're going to break Isaac out of jail tonight. Knowing Jackson, that kid is definitely going to be in a cell. I don't see that prick being the type to spare someone."

Scott and Stiles suddenly exchanged a wary look, avoiding eye contact with me. I noticed their expression instantly and shook my head slowly. "What is it?"

"Jackson said something that-that I think you should know about Isaac." Scott said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "But, you can't freak out and go after Jackson. That'll only draw attention to yourself and I don't want you in Gerard's hand either."

"What is it?" I repeated, my tone a bit more demanding this time around.

"Isaac's dad abused Isaac...like really bad. Jackson never told anyone." Stiles revealed and, for a moment, I didn't move. I didn't say a word and I sure as hell couldn't think of anything at that point of time. Memories began to flash through my head of the time I had seen Isaac with black eyes or bruises, when he would wince as he sat down at his desk, and how his father acted when I came to the house that night.

"Not right now, but maybe later, I am going to murder Jackson Whitmore." I then spoke as calmly as possible, holding up a hand. "I am going to beat the ever-living shit out of Jackson Whitmore, but not at the present moment."

Scott and Stiles both looked terrified, each exchanging another look. "Your tone is extremely unsettling." Stiles whispered. "I can't tell whether to run or restrain you."

"Neither. I'm fine."

"Is this a new thing you have been trying to learn? B-Because I think you're doing really well." Scott mentioned, grinning and holding up a thumb. I could see his grin stagger as he also became nervous. "Please don't hurt us."

"For once, you two are not my targets." I assured them with a fake smile, flipping hair over my shoulder. "Like I said, I promise I'll deal with Jackson after we get Isaac back. I have common sense, alright?"

"Good. Great. Awesome." Stiles said and clapped his hands together, looking between the two of us. "Can we just get to class now? I really don't feel like standing out in the open talking about this when there is a hunter, like, a yard away from us."

"Yeah, let's go." I relented, letting out a blustery sigh and walking with them towards the next class we had together. "I just...I can't believe Jackson wouldn't say anything. I could see the marks on Isaac, but he always said they were from lacrosse. I figured it wasn't my business to pry so I left it alone."

"Yeah, well, according to Jackson, Lahey was kicking the crap out of him." Stiles explained, sounding bitter about the subject entirely. "Which sort of leads me to believe that he might've killed his father."

"Isaac finally felt strong enough to stand up to his father." I murmured sadly.

"Exactly. Who's to say maybe he lost control and then killed his dad?" Stiles proposed and I couldn't help but nod in agreement. "Sure, it might have been an accident, but the police could send him away for years if they even find a shard of evidence that points to him."

"And any evidence of his father beating him as healed already. They wouldn't find anything on him." I pointed out, rubbing my eyes. "Which leaves us with virtually nothing to work with."

"But they won't because Isaac didn't do it." Scott told his friend. "I-I feel like I would've known. Isaac was afraid and he-he just didn't seem guilty."

"Well, I'd like to hope the guy isn't a murderer either." I murmured to myself as I hiked my backpack up higher on my shoulders. "The point is, we have to get Isaac out of there without the police knowing. How that's going to happen...is beyond me. The security detail on him will be high considering the seriousness of the case."

"We'll figure something out. My dad is working at the station tonight and I'm not about to let him become a chew toy." Stiles stated firmly, shaking his head and clenching his jaw.

"Nothing is going to happen to him, Stiles. Scott would never let that happen. I would never let that happen." I assured the boy as I placed a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye. He lifted his head to make eye contact with me and I felt it...the butterflies in my stomach. Whenever he looked at me, I almost forgot how to breathe and, being this close to him was painful. "I promise."

"Okay," Stiles responded softly with a curt nod. "Okay. Let's figure out the hell we're going to break a werewolf out of jail."

A/N: I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter mostly because of the character interactions. I love writing the old Tessa and missed her lots. I also threw in some Scott/Stiles/Tessa scenes which I adore with all of my heart. I promise an interaction between Stiles and Tessa will be coming very, very soon. I didn't forget about any of that.

Anywho, please leave reviews. I love to read your feedback!

-Laura