Derek and Maia were asleep in bed when his phone rang, the Alpha immediately alert. No one called his phone other and Scott- and he only called when it was a true emergency.

"Scott?"

"Lydia's missing, Derek," the Omega said breathlessly, sounding as if he was running after something. "Apparently she broke out of isolation throwing a bathroom window and no one can find her. And wherever she is, she's naked."

His ears perked slightly and Derek shoved Maia's shoulder, motioning for her to get dressed as he talked to Scott, "If she's turning, we need to find her and soon. Meet me at my house in fifteen minutes."

"Gotcha."

Maia was already dressed by the time Derek got off of the phone, looking to him for answers. "Lydia just went AWOL," he said, pulling on a pair of jeans before stepping into his boots. "From what he said, she went primal- she's out there, naked in forty-degree weather. No normal human could withstand that."

"I thought you said she wasn't our problem," Maia retorted as they ran down the stairs and out the back door into the forest.

Derek glared at her over his shoulder, "That's when I thought she was human."

Two pack mates ran side by side, matching every stride with impossible agility and inhuman speed. And then Maia caught a scent that threatened to knock her off her feet, the Alpha gagging, "What the fuck is that revolting smell?" Her mate paused as well and growled at the foreign odor, putting himself in front of Maia. "God, it reeks," she complained, even after she followed it through the woods. Derek went after her, catching up quickly and yanking her around forcefully by her arm. "Are you fucking crazy Mai? That is… something we've never encountered before and now you want to go running off after it-"

"Scott called you to find Lydia, not me. I have a different prey to hunt."

Maia glared at him before streaking off through the forest, Derek growling and turning around back on his path home.

The scent led the Alpha female to the town graveyard, seeing the overturned digger above a newly dug grave. She realized belatedly that it was probably the grave meant for Kate Argent and smiled before hearing a loud hiss, her head snapping to where another grave was being disturbed. Maia let out a low guttural growl and the creature turned to look at her, but all she saw were hateful yellow eyes before it streaked off into the forest.

"Help!"

Maia crossed the graveyard to lean down into the hole, peering around the digger to see Isaac cowering in the grave. She lifted the machine and stood over the chosen Beta, peering down at him curiously. His expression was wrong, like he hadn't just had a near-death experience, but instead like he was relieved that he was in the hole at all. "Need a hand," she offered, the young teen clutching at his neck reflexively. To Maia, it seemed like he was struggling for air, though the notion seemed foreign in the endless outdoors. In his gaze she could see her face reflected, the evaluation and intent on her features clear. "Just leave me in this hole, alright?'Maia crouched down on the side of the grave and stared at his face, noticing the black eye that had not been there the last time she had seen him, "Isaac."

"If my dad finds out that the digger's totaled, he's going to kill me," Isaac shouted up at her, the fear in his voice palpable. He cowered further in the corner, staring at her hand like it was on fire. "And I mean, for real. He won't just lock me in the freezer over night- he'll keep me in there for good."Isaac had never come clean to anyone about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father, hazel eyes flashing red. He clawed at the dirt behind him as Maia's eyes glowed, attempting to make himself as small as possible. The formerly beautiful face was now harsh and dark, the Alpha female feeling rage explode within her at the thought of her future Beta being harmed.

She thrust her hand forward and growled, Isaac swallowing painfully.

"What are you," he asked in a whisper.

"Exactly what you will become if you take my hand."

Isaac looked at her for a heartbeat longer before standing shakily and wrapping his fingers around the woman's, surprised when she instead reached down to grab his forearm. She lifted him out of the grave with ease and beat the dirt off of him gently enough, her features morphing back into the face that was almost… loving.

He struggled to catch his breath, feeling some unknown dread overcome him at what he was about to ask, "Who are you- what are you?"

"I'm Maia," the Alpha said, forcing a smile on her face as she reached out and cupped his cheek tenderly. "And I'm the one who's going to save you from humanity itself."

She took Isaac's hand and led him back to her house, hearing the distinct way his heart skipped a beat every time she looked at him. Maia sat the soon-to-be Beta down in the kitchen and gave him one of Derek's shirts to wear, taking a damp cloth and wiping his face in an almost maternal fashion. Isaac sought to keep his eyes away from her breasts, but lost more than once to the way they rose and fell as she breathed.

"You said that I would become… something," Isaac murmured after a long time, his eyes meeting hers warily. "I don't understand."

"Then let me explain it to you," Maia replied curtly, sitting down in front of him and holding her hand up. His eyes were fixed on her hand, watching as the beautiful manicured nails grew and elongated until they were practically claws. Maia saw his eyes widen and smelled his fear, struggling not to dig her teeth into his flesh. "I am an Alpha, a werewolf. I am everything the perfect woman is made of and then some- I have strength, power and a set of senses that could drive a person mad. I heal at an impossibly fast rate and its nearly impossible to inflict a substantial wound upon me- I can't even remember the last time I truly bled. As a human, I am more than you could ever hope to be and as a wolf… well, words can't really describe it." She saw Isaac's eyes cloud over as he considered her words, before they flashed to her face, knowing that every gift came with a drawback, "You're not telling me the whole story." Maia smiled at his intuition and stood, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. "I knew you were a smart one. The Argent family are hunters- and they specialize in hunting werewolves. Well, hunting and torture… But with a pack behind you, that's nothing you have to worry about. Derek and I have chosen you as our Beta, and we want to give you the Bite- all I demand in return is your loyalty." Isaac looked up at her as she knelt down in front of him, taking both of his hands in hers, "And I swear it to you now, that no one- no one- will ever put their hands you again Isaac. You are mine."

She kissed his hands before standing and stroking his hair back from his forehead, meeting his blue eyes. Maia was slow so as not to startle him, Isaac watching her every move until she pressed her lips to his.

"Tell me what you want Isaac," she whispered, her breath hot against his mouth. "Demand it."

"I want the Bite, Maia. I want.. you."

The Alpha perched herself over him before the front door banged open, Maia growling harshly as she turned to look at Derek. He looked at his mate and the boy prone underneath her, baring his teeth, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Giving him what he wants-"

"Please," Isaac said, wanting badly to tell Derek that he wanted to be powerful, that he wanted to be just like them. "Don't send me home."

Derek pulled off his jacket and tossed it aside, looking at the eager male. "Do you even know what you're asking for? The pain, the responsibility, the burden that is the full moon," he asked, Maia moving away from Isaac and folding her arms over her chest. Isaac took a deep breath and nodded, "I know, but I want the Bite, no matter the risk."

"Is this what you want, Mai?"

"You mean, is he who I want," she corrected, baring her teeth at Derek. "If so, then yes."

Derek stared at Isaac for a long time before taking a step back, giving Maia silent permission to claim her Beta, "You better do it- I might kill him. And that would piss you off."

"Like you wouldn't believe."

Maia then turned her attention to Isaac and smiled, pulling him to his feet. "Come on," she murmured, her voice almost venomous even despite the softness in her words. He flinched but helped her in removing his own shirt, feeling small, soft hands stroking his pale skin and smiling unconsciously himself. She wrapped her arms around Isaac before kissing him hard, slipping her tongue between his lips and indulging in the still-human taste of him. Derek let out a low growl at the scene before him, keeping himself from lunging for the younger male's throat. Maia's hand moved up his back before wrapping around the back of his neck, biting down her bottom lips softly. "This might sting a little," she whispered, Isaac nodding as she turned to the left side of his chest. Her face elongated somewhat and her lips parted to reveal at least two rows of dagger-like teeth, Maia's eyes glowing like dying embers in a fire. Her teeth ripped into the flesh right over his heart, Isaac withstanding the burning pain soundlessly. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, clutching Maia to his chest as the venom rushed through his veins with every beat of his heart. She held him until he went unconscious, looking at the changing youth in her arms with a sad smile on her face.

"I know he has to go home when he wakes up… but, I don't want to let him go."

"Mai, he's becoming one of us: Isaac can't be harmed again-"

She turned to look at her mate and growled, "Maybe not physically, but mentally still. You did not see him down in that hole Derek, shouting for me to go away so that he could die there in peace! I had already chosen him, but when I saw that he was suffering, I was glad I did. This is my boy's reason to live." Derek nodded with a sigh, looking at the new Beta and pulling on his jacket. "When he wakes up, I'll take him home and watch over him-"

"Oh fuck. Fuck," Maia said suddenly, turning to Derek in a flourish. "The scent, the smell in the woods- whatever it was went after Isaac in the cemetery. It dug up a body after it destroyed a grave digger."

"The police are going to get involved," he growled, already thinking of the still-missing Lydia and feeling more than a little overwhelmed by the events unfolding. Maia inhaled and rubbed her brows, lifting Isaac into her arms with ease and carrying him to the living room. "Isaac, darling. Isaac, wake up," Maia said in a soft voice, touching his hair. Derek came up behind his wife, seeing how intimately she interacted with the young Beta she had chosen as her own. When Isaac did not stir, he smirked before roaring at him, the boy's eyes snapping open in fear. Maia comforted him, the Beta unable to meet her eyes even as she cooed to him. "Its alright Isaac, look at me. You can look at me," she murmured with a smile on her face, pleased when timidly he raised his head. Derek inwardly praised the boy: after her change, it had taken weeks for Maia to meet his eyes, though that could have been for different reasons. But still, he felt as his mate did that the pup had potential and he was their first- and if Isaac could prove himself, he'd be their favorite. "That's a good boy," she said, bringing his head to her chest.

Maia stroked his short curls, Isaac more comfortable with this woman who he hardly even knew- the woman he had practically given his life to. "You survived, Isaac. Sometimes they don't survive, because they're weak, but not you, pup."

"What am I to do now," Isaac asked quietly, watching as Derek moved to sit on the coffee table in front of them. "You have to go home Isaac, so you don't raise any suspicions. Whatever happened at the graveyard tonight is going to have cops swarming all over it in the morning and you need to act normal. And I know that your… father has harmed you: never again. When you get home, you will probably want to rip his throat out- but don't. Fight the urge as best you can Isaac," the Alpha male said, the Beta looking at Maia. She stared out at the night and shook her head, feeling overwhelmingly protect of the nearly-grown boy in her lap, "No, we can't risk it Derek. The full moon is three nights away and his control is only going to slip always the closer the lunar cycle gets to completion."

Derek looked at his wife and sighed, knowing that what she said was true. "And we can't chance having someone looking for him on the night of the moon, not with Lydia already out there. He has to go back, Maia, while we find a place for him and the others-"

"There are others," Isaac asked, looking between the two Alphas.

"No, but there will be."