My eyes fluttered as consciousness overcame me and I couldn't hold in a groan of pain as my hand fell to the back of my neck, revealing blood when I pulled it back. What the hell had happened? I remembered I'd been out with Isaac… Isaac! I sat up suddenly and bit my lip as the pain in my abdomen made itself known. I applied pressure to what were clearly claw marks all over my stomach and tried to stand, but the bought of dizziness and weariness didn't help with that. I breathed a sigh of relief at the arm that wrapped around my waist, the relief of not having to stand alone enough to make me momentarily forget that it could be the very person who'd got me in the condition I was currently in. My brain was working sluggishly slow and before I could demand to know who the hell was holding me, her voice floated over to me and I relaxed.

'Stacey, I'm Braden, I'm here to get you and Isaac out of here but you've got to work with me, okay?'

I nodded, making an effort to put some energy into my steps so that I wasn't relying completely on her to keep walking.

'Where's Isaac?' I mumbled, hoping she could hear and understand my garbled speech.

'He's just through there.' She gestured somewhere in front of us, but I didn't have the energy to lift my head to look; I felt like my brain had been replaced with deadweight's.

I saw a black bike with a sidecar attached as we got closer to it, and I noted that Isaac was already sat astride the vehicle. I was happy to see he seemed to be a little more awake and aware than me, and so I made no objection to climbing into the sidecar, my head leaning to the side and resting on Isaac's thigh. Braden climbed onto the bike and I was only aware that we were moving because of the deafening sound of the engine beside my head. I thought I could hear the sound of footsteps behind us at one point, but my head refused to move.

'Someone's following us.' I mumbled and a moment later I heard Isaac yelling at Braden to drive faster. I found myself silently agreeing with him, wondering why the hell I wasn't as coherent as him. Maybe he'd had longer to heal than I had?

I winced as a sharp sting overtook my arm and looked over to find a young werewolf running beside me, his claws now coated in my blood. I saw myself lift my hand and flip him off, but I didn't remember making the decision to do it. My head fell back against Isaac's thigh as Braden picked up speed and I felt him reach down, taking my hand in his and grasping it tightly. I wondered why, but my silent question was answered a second later as we broke through a glass window, the bike screeching against the tarmac as we landed roughly on the ground. I winced, but compared to the pain I was already feeling, this was nothing.

'Isaac.' I whispered, my voice weak and croaky, as his grip on my hand seemed to waver.

Braden yelled his name much louder than I did, but it was no use, he was losing consciousness. My eyes fell shut, not wanting to see the impending crash and I was grateful how my body seemed to take mercy on me in that moment, and to spare me from feeling anymore pain, I was unconscious before I hit the ground.

/

Bright lights invaded my sensitive eyes. I groaned and lifted my hand to block them, not happy when someone grabbed and held my hand in theirs. I looked over and felt my eyes sheen over at the sight of my mom. I felt like I hadn't seen her in months, but honestly I couldn't remember how long it had been since Isaac and I took our turn at attempting to locate Boyd and Erica.

'Mom.' I whispered, holding her hand as tight as I could, which in my weak state wasn't much.

'Stacey, I'm so glad to see you, honey.' Her brown eyes shone with unshed tears and I wished I could have hugged her but I was being wheeled god knows where and I needed to ask for something, or someone, before she was gone.

'Derek. Can you get Derek?' I asked, knowing my eyes were probably shining with desperation.

I hadn't seen the Alpha in who knows how long and I needed him.

'I'm on it honey.' She assured me, stroking my hair gently and releasing my hand after kissing my forehead.

I was wheeled to a hospital room, changed into a gown, hooked up to an IV, and scheduled for surgery all within half an hour. Though I was familiar with the procedure myself, I couldn't help but feel surprised at how quickly everything was moving. But I was grateful for their attempt to care for me, but the kind of help I needed couldn't be given at a hospital for human patients. I needed Derek or Deaton, someone familiar with werewolf biology, and someone who could tell me what the hell was going on. I'd suffered wounds from an Alpha before—thank you, Peter—but I don't remember this much pain while I was healing. Something else was going on, something more, and as much as these nurses and doctors wanted to help; they just wouldn't be able to.

'Did you get a hold of him?' I said, my voice a lot stronger than it had been, but I was grateful I was still lying down or I was pretty sure I would have keeled over by now.

'No, but I called your brother and he's on his way. He's going to take you both to Deaton.' She assured me, but I couldn't help the twinge of worry I felt at Derek being MIA. What if the Alpha pack had gotten to him when he'd come looking for us? How long had we been gone? Had there even been enough time for a search and rescue?

'Mom, how long have we been gone?'

'You and Isaac left almost two days ago. We were hoping that you'd managed to get close and you didn't want to risk getting caught to let us know you were okay. But Derek and Scott knew something was wrong the moment you didn't check in.' She admitted, pulling up a chair to the side of my bed, 'They've been beside themselves looking for you, Derek more so or so I'm told, Scott didn't want to go to school today. He wanted to keep looking for you, but Derek told him if he needed help, he would call.'

'I don't know what happened.' I sighed, my brow furrowing as I once again concentrated in an attempt to will my memory back.

'Braden told Isaac that the Alpha's tampered with your memories.' She squeezed my hand.

I felt both relief and annoyance at the information; relief, because at least there was an explanation, and annoyance because they wouldn't have tampered with our memories unless we'd found something… found them.

'I have to go and make sure Isaac hasn't been wheeled away for surgery. I'm trying to hold off the doctors until Scott gets here.' She winked, kissed my forehead and swept from the room.

I settled back into the pillows behind me, wondering where Derek was and hoping he was okay. I didn't like that he was unaccounted for, and I felt a knot of guilt in my stomach at how worried and helpless he must have felt at both Isaac and I going missing at the same time. I couldn't imagine how distraught he must have felt; I knew I'd be beside myself with worry if the shoe were on the other foot. My eyes fluttered open when I heard the click of my hospital room door. I looked up to see a slender woman in blue scrubs with long dark hair, dark eyes and a sinister smile. I didn't recognise her, at least not from memory, but the shot of fear down my spine told me my body at least knew to be afraid of her.

'Who are you?' I noted the needle she was carrying in her hand and reached for the nurse call button, but she was faster, supernaturally faster. She was one of the Alpha's. She had to be. I opened my mouth, prepared to scream, but she was way ahead of me and had already distributed the sedative into my IV.

As my eyes fell shut I hoped that when I opened them again I wouldn't be met with her sinister red eyes.

/

Third person POV

Kali grinned as the young Beta fell into unconsciousness and happily led her to the surgical bay. They decided to take Stacey first, knowing she was the one Deucalion wanted the most; she had the more promise than the others. Isaac would only go into the vault with the others to be killed on the full moon; Stacey had the potential to be our greatest asset, provided she cooperated.

It didn't take long for the surgeon to demand for the dark haired girl to be dismissed from the operating table, being as she had no visible wound on her. Ennis wheeled her away, switching her to a wheel chair to make leading her out of the hospital less suspicious. Before he made it to the elevator, he caught the scent of another Beta. He turned, wondering if Isaac was more conscious than he should have been, but his eyes met a pair of brown eyes identical to the girl in the wheel chair. He grinned as the elevator doors started to close, and watched in both amusement and anticipation as the Beta sprinted for the doors and managed to launch himself inside before they closed.

Ennis transformed and took delight in the younger boys spike of fear when he noted the redness of his eyes.

'You have no idea what you're dealing with.' Ennis growled, lifting him off his feet with a hand around his throat, 'I'm an Alpha.'

He didn't notice the doors slide open, and only realised they'd been joined when claws pierced his back and he let out a roar of pain.

'So am I.' Derek murmured, his own eyes flashing red when he noticed Stacey's unconscious state. He threw the other Alpha from the elevator with enough force to send him crashing into the plaster wall at the far end of the corridor.

He pressed the button for the second floor and turned to kneel in front of the female Beta. He relaxed at the feel of her strong and steady pulse against his fingers, but only slightly. They weren't out of the woods yet; he knew their wounds would need to be properly healed before he could be certain she and Isaac would recover fully.

'Is she okay?' Scott's concerned voice broke Derek out of his thoughts, and he looked up to give the other McCall a reassuring look.

'She will be.' He scooped her up in his arms, figuring they could use the wheel chair to transport Isaac, and if he got to hold her close after worrying about her for two days then that was a bonus.

They gathered Isaac without a problem and left after assuring Melissa that Stacey would be fine, they left in the Alpha's new car. Scott drove them to the old Hale house at Derek's instruction, Isaac in the front seat, and Derek with Stacey on his lap in the back. As they entered the house and Derek and Scott lay the unconscious Beta's side by side onto the old table, the blue eyed wolf swore then and there that the Alpha pack were going to suffer for what they had done to his Beta's and his best friend.

/

'Derek, really, I'm fine.' I assured him, but I knew my attempts were useless at the knowing expression on his face.

I wasn't, for whatever reason, the Alpha's had decided to inflict more damage on me, and as a result I wasn't back to normal twenty-four hours later, while Isaac had been well enough to return to school. I knew I probably would have been fine, and by fine I meant I'd be feeling minimal pain, but Derek insisted that I stay put until I was back to optimum health. My mom had been grateful for his offer to look after me; she of course would have blown off work to look after me, but both Derek and I knew how important the money was. So I was staying with Derek until my wounds finished healing on the inside.

'We still need to figure out a way to get my memories back.' I reminded him, settling back against his headboard and pulling the covers around us both.

'There is an ancient ritual associated with Alpha's that involves recovering, sharing and erasing memories, but I don't know how to do it.' He continued before I could interrupt, 'and I'm not trying because one wrong move could kill you.'

I sighed, 'I feel so useless right now.'

'You're not useless, you're healing.' Derek squeezed my hand and lifted his arm as a snuggled closer into his warmth.

'We should ask Deaton if he knows a way to help.' I suggested, inhaling his scent and relaxing even further into him.

'That's a good idea. I'll text Scott and ask him to talk to him.' Derek assured me, nuzzling his face into my hair; he'd been scenting me a lot ever since I came back, I assumed it was his way of assuring the wolf part of him that I was okay, 'but for now you can rest- we won't know anything until after school at the earliest.'

'Okay.' I gave in, knowing I couldn't argue with him when I could scent the worry that still lingered in his scent.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, I found myself saying the thought that had been on my mind since I'd arrived at the hospital, 'I think we found them, Der.'

I felt him stiffen beneath me, 'really?'

'I can't think of another reason that they'd tamper with our memories.' I admitted, holding him tighter, 'we had to have found wherever the hell they're hiding Erica and Boyd.'

'If you found them once, we'll find them again.' He assured me, and I loved him for trying to comfort me, but I could sense the worry emitting from him.

'What if we don't?' My voice was timid, quiet and pungent with fear.

I don't know what changed between now and his last statement, but his next words held so much confidence and certainty that I couldn't help butbelieve him, 'we will.'

I released the breath I didn't realise I'd been holding and nuzzled my face into his neck, scenting his confidence and feeling myself relax down to my bones. My eyes fluttered shut as his hand gently caressed my hair, but I felt myself murmur, 'I believe you' before the darkness consumed me.

/

'How slow is slow?' Scott asked as I kneeled and placed the flat of my hand into the ice-cold water.

I was unable to stop myself from wincing, and Derek stepped forward, giving me a look that said what he wanted without him having to speak a word: hell no, Stacey. But I had to do it; it was the only lead we had on finding out where Boyd and Erica were. Isaac had already volunteered, but I insisted it should be me—I was certain that my zombified state when we were rescued was because Isaac had his memories erased before mine, and therefore he had healed much quicker. If mine were taken after his, then it made sense that I would be more likely remember because they were fresher in my mind.

'Nearly dead.' Deaton answered, his voice honest and blunt.

Scott frowned, Derek growled and Stiles unwittingly interrupted the tense atmosphere by snapping a plastic glove onto his arm. I shook my head fondly and stood, pulling off the hoodie I was wearing, revealing the skin-tight tank top I was wearing underneath. I handed it to Scott, seeing as it technically belonged to him, and went to climb into the water, but was stopped by a gentle hand on my wrist.

'You don't have to do this, Stacey.' Derek murmured, his eyes shining with sincerity and I for a split second I had the urge to kiss him.

I blinked and shook my head, clearing it from the thoughts that were definitely not appropriate in that moment. My free hand covered his where it rested around my wrist, 'yes I do, Der, if there's any chance that I can remember and help save them before it's too late…' I took a breath, unwilling to finish the thought, 'I have to. I'll never forgive myself if I don't and something happens to them.'

His eyes stared into mine for a long moment, and I refused to look away from his eyes, knowing he needed to see my sincerity, to reassure himself that I wanted to do this, and I wasn't just doing it for him. Which I partly was; he'd told me how losing a member of your pack can feel like losing a limb, and I didn't want him to go through that again. Once was enough. He nodded, squeezed my hand once and released me. I stepped into the water and felt my entire body vibrate with shivers as I lay down under the water. I felt four pairs of hands on my body; Derek on my right shoulder, Scott on my left, Stiles on my right calf and Isaac on my left.

I knew what needed to happen, and because I had a fear of drowning, I forced myself to relax and not give in to my instincts that were screaming at me to claw my way out of the room.

As I went under the water, I was surprised to find that falling into a hypnotic state was similar to falling asleep, except instead of falling all the way under; I lingered on the precipice of consciousness and unconsciousness.

I could hear a voice trying to talk to me, trying to reach to me, but I couldn't find any eagerness or willingness within myself to respond. That is until the voice changed into one that was deeper, but somehow still gentle. I was sure I recognised it, but in the moment I couldn't quite remember where.

'Stacey? Can you hear me?' The voice asked.

'Yes.' I whispered, my eyes opening, and yet somehow not seeing anything, 'I can hear you.'

'That's good. I need you to remember something for me.' I felt three pairs of hands leave my body, but one remained, gripping both shoulders, as if he were kneeling above me and I found myself wondering why I couldn't see his face, only darkness.

'Okay.'

'I need you to go back to the night that you and Isaac found Erica and Boyd. You need to remember it in as vivid detail as possible. I know it might be difficult for you, but you just have to remember they can't hurt you now.' I couldn't not trust that voice; it was filled with so much reassurance, so much care, that I knew he was sincere.

'It was raining.' I started, my eyes turning amber as the memories came back to me, 'Isaac and I managed to catch their scent and we followed it to a bank. When we went inside, we found one of the Alpha's stood in front of a vault. He was wearing sunglasses and carrying a cane, and we saw Boyd in the vault. But Erica wasn't there. There was another girl, and there was something familiar about her. We were about to find somewhere to hide, hoping the Alpha would leave but then—' I flinched, a growl escaping my lips as I remembered the female Alpha grabbing me, and the other brawny one grabbing Isaac, 'they grabbed us. They took us downstairs, we tried to fight back but they overpowered us.' I groaned in pain, remembering the claw marks to my abdomen, 'then they shoved us in a supply closet. There was somebody in there.' I sobbed, a scream of grief falling from my lips, 'it's Erica. No, no, no, I'm sorry Erica, no!'

'Stacey, you're okay.' The voice sounded sad, too, 'tell me what else you can remember.'

'We were in the closet for a long time. I held Erica and tried to stop the bleeding while Isaac and I cried. Then they came and got us. The blind Alpha took Isaac's memories and then said he had plans for me before he took mine.'

'Thank you, Stacey, you can come back now.' The soft voice murmured and suddenly I was aware of the ice-cold water, and the blue eyes a few inches from mine.

'Did it work?' I asked, accepting Derek's help from the bath and clutching the towel wrapped around me tightly. I burrowed into his warmth when he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. My brow furrowed when I noted the tension in the room, and when I could sent the sadness and despair my heart dropped, 'what's going on?'

'You don't remember what you said, do you?' Stiles asked gently, his honey eyes soft with sadness and sympathy.

'Not all of it. I remember they're in a bank, I remember the vault, but if I said anything else, I don't remember.' I murmured.

'You said we got taken into a supply closet.' Isaac's eyes were sheened over with tears, 'and that Erica was there too. You said she was bleeding a lot.'

'W-what?' I whispered, a wave of despair washing through me.

It couldn't be true, could it? But even as I thought the words, I knew I was just trying to kid myself; Isaac wouldn't lie about that. A sob of desperation escaped from my throat and my free hand shot up to try and muffle it, but it was no use; the sound echoed throughout the small back room.

'Oh my god.' I cried, my knees feeling suddenly weak, and if Derek hadn't noticed and acted quickly by pulling me to his chest, I would have ended up on the floor. I could feel the tears falling down my cheeks but I didn't care enough to try and wipe them away. I buried my head into the Alpha's chest and sobbed, praying to whatever god there was that we weren't too late.

/

I sat on the foot of Derek's bed, listening as everyone talked through the plan. Tracking down the vault hadn't taken long, now we were figuring out how to get in, well I use 'we' loosely because I hadn't really been paying much attention. I couldn't stop thinking about Erica, how we'd almost lost her—her pulse had been incredibly faint by the time we got to her, and I couldn't express how grateful I had been to Deaton for saving her. Once he had, we'd taken her to hospital and my mom had contacted her parents. The looks of worry and fear on their faces would be something that haunted me for the rest of my life. Their expressions mirrored my own grief, the loss, guilt and nightmares I'd had since, each dream displaying a different way it could have played out, each more horrifying than the last. I was incredibly relieved we'd saved her, but I couldn't shake just how close we'd been to losing her.

We'd downloaded the floor plan of the bank immediately and found the only supply closet on the first floor of the bank. From there it had taken Stiles and Scott driving down the street with music blasting from their cars; Scott drove my car. This gave us three minutes to climb through the storage room window for my to hoist Erica up where Derek caught her and pulled her out. He'd then reached back in for me and we got away in his car that was parked close by, the engine already running. I'd felt awful leaving Boyd and whoever else was there with him behind, but Erica's condition had been critical, and we all knew it would take a lot more planning to get to wherever they were being kept. Erica was still unconscious—according to Deaton it was normal for her body to go into a comatose state in order to heal— I remembered how Derek had done the same thing when Peter had attacked him, and it gave me reassurance that she was going to be fine. Her parents were currently refusing to leave her side, and weren't allowing visitors, so none of us had been able to see her. It was frustrating, but I understood their desire to be protective; if he weren't a wolf, she would be dead.

I was drawn back into the present by Stiles making a sound not dissimilar to that of a wounded animal. I frowned, a bubble of amusement forming inside me, but my level of exhaustion kept it from showing on my expression. I heard him stutter out 'he can do it' while cradling his wrist to his chest. I stood and made my way over to the papers on the table while the others continued to talk, not noticing the way Derek's eyes followed me, concern radiating off him. My eyes fell to the large stack of paper, realising it was the layout of the bank vault, and all of the information associated with it. I picked it up and returned to my seat, flicking through to the materials the bank had been made of; something had been bothering me since we found out that the alphas were keeping Boyd and the other wolf in a vault. Why? There had to be a reason that was beneficial to them, otherwise keeping them in the middle of nowhere would have been more prudent. The bank itself was surrounded by apartments and other businesses, which served as a constant risk that something could be heard and police would be called. So why take that risk? They wouldn't unless it benefited them to do so. I placed each page in a neat pile next to me once I was sure they contained no relevant information, but once I got to the specific stone the walls of the vault was made of, I froze, my heart dropping to my stomach and a gasp escaping my lips in surprise at the dread that consumed me.

'Stacey?' Scott's voice was full of concern and a little apprehension, 'what is it?'

'The walls of the vault are made of kyanite.'

Lydia's eyes widened in realisation, while everyone else remained confused.

'It scatters the moonlight, that means Boyd hasn't felt a full moon in months. If you let him out tonight, he's going to be more bloodthirsty, more ruthless than ever, he won't be able to control himself.' I explained, my mind whirling and trying to generate a solution.

'But if we leave him, and whoever else is with him, the alpha's will kill them anyway.' Stiles argued.

'That's their plan. We go and save them, they kill us and whoever else gets in their way. We don't go and save them, they're dead anyway.' Scott realised, his voice full of horror.

'There has to be a way around this.' I bit my lip, standing and shooting off a text to Deaton, 'okay, we need to get them out of the vault and lead them somewhere more secure, where we can be sure they won't hurt anyone.'

'Like where?' Lydia asked.

'Somewhere close to the bank, and a route that will be as deserted as possible.' I bit my lip, thinking.

'What about the school?' Stiles suggested.

'That's a possibility but there's a huge distance between those two places. A lot could go wrong.' I pursed my lips, 'is it possible to find a clearing in the woods? Maybe your old house?'

My eyes found the blue-eyed alpha, reflexively, and I felt my heart skip a beat when I found his gaze already fixed on me. I thought I saw a flicker of happiness in his eyes before it fizzled into contemplation.

'That's a good idea, but if there's someone in there with Boyd, we'll have to find a way to separate them. One will have to be drawn into the dining area, and another the living room.' Derek said.

'Am I missing something here? When you lure them there, how are you planning on making sure they stay put?' Stiles frowned, his expression becoming suspicious when I gave him a bright smile.

'With mountain ash put in place by our resident human of course.' I gave him what I hoped was a pleading look, but honestly my face felt as set in concrete as it had for the past day and a half—lack of sleep put me in a zombified state.

Stiles seemed to notice my effort because he sighed in defeat and reluctantly offered his consent to his part in the plan. Once Deaton had texted back he had what we needed, Stiles and Scott headed off to pick up the doctor and set up the separate rooms in the Hale house. Lydia came with us, just in case the alphas were using mountain ash to keep the other wolves contained. Derek tried to convince me to stay behind, but I told him if he thought I was sitting this one out, he was insane. I just hoped two wolves and a Banshee—and a little help from Deaton—would be enough to do this.

/

'This is a really bad idea.' Lydia murmured, her heart pounding in her chest at the sight of two pairs of glowing amber eyes that were zeroed in on her.

'You're okay, Lyd.' I murmured, bringing my wolf forward and giving in to the protectiveness I felt towards my strawberry blond friend.

'Stay behind us.' Derek growled out from behind his canines.

She had no problem obliging and backed into the wall we'd just come through, narrowly keeping herself from falling through the hole Derek had created.

'I'll take Boyd.' Derek snarled, waiting for my nod of understanding before we both moved forward to a werewolf.

I didn't focus on the female wolf's features, concerned that humanising her would make it difficult for me to do what needed to be done. The one benefit I had was that I wasn't going inane because of the moon; she and Boyd hadn't felt it for months, and so both were incapable of acting on anything more than instinct. That meant I could use my mind to outsmart her, well at least I hoped. I jumped back, avoiding the slash she aimed at my abdomen, I turned, kicking off the wall and landing behind her, jabbing the needle into her neck and injecting the serum quickly, efficiently and without emotion. She snarled and turned to face me, but her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed into a heap on the floor before she could retaliate.

I turned to help Derek, only to notice he'd already handled Boyd and already had him strung over his shoulder. A small smile pulled at the corners of my lips as I strung the other wolf over my shoulders and motioned to Lydia to break the barrier of mountain ash Miss Morrell had sealed us in with at the blind alpha's instruction. Deaton had met us here, after supplying Scott and Stiles with the mountain ash needed to set up the barriers at the Hale house. I'd explained the situation we would be facing, and he'd given us two syringes full of enough sedative to knock out moon-deprived wolves for several hours. I was grateful, but I'd feel better once they were surrounded by mountain ash until the sun rose.

/

'There' I sighed in relief, taking a seat next to Lydia on the staircase, my hands resting on Derek's shoulders when he took a seat by my feet. The strawberry blond's head rested on my shoulder and I smiled in amusement to see Scott and Stiles in a similar position from where they were leaning against the closed front door, directly in front of us.

'I think that went really well.' Lydia commented, her eyes not missing Derek reaching up to entwine his right hand with mine where it rested on his shoulder. His thumb moved back and forth across the back of my hand and I felt my heart skip a beat, and hoped Scott was too focused on Boyd and the other wolf to notice.

'Oh it definitely could have been worse.' Scott agreed, frowning down at Stiles, who was now passed out on his shoulder.

I bit my lip to supress a smile and felt my own eyes wanting to flutter shut, which wasn't surprising; I hadn't slept for forty-eight hours now. The wave of exhaustion that came over me surprised me, and I found myself leaning forward and snuggling into Derek's back, my head resting on top of his as I hung onto him like a Koala bear. I sensed a range of emotions; surprise, fondness, amusement fatigue, before I gave into the security and safeness I felt whenever I was around Derek, and allowed unconsciousness to claim me.

/

Think I'm going to leave the reunion with Cora for the next chapter! I'll be honest with you, I had this chapter written and ready to go with Erica dying as she did in the series, but I couldn't bring myself to publish it! I hope my way of saving her was believable and I look forward to seeing you next time!

Xoxo

-VampireGirl1797