"Give that bitch a proper send off for me," Derek said as he pulled up in front of the cemetery in Maia's Challenger. He couldn't simply walk into a hunter's funeral being what he was, but for all that the Argent's knew, she was still human. And she needed the closure much more than he did, Derek leaning over to kiss his mate.

Maia stepped out of the car, everyone- photographers, mourners and outraged citizens over the Beacon Hills 'serial killer'- turning to take in the shiny pink pumps and stocking-clad legs. She wore a dress of black, her hair tumbling around her shoulders as her rose-painted lips parted in a smile. Derek sped off, the Alpha female moving towards the funeral and walking up to the family.

"Maia Wyndham, rather Hale. Its… nice to see you again- you've grown up," Chris Argent said as he greeted her, seeing the sparkle behind her eyes as the sunlight hit her just right. Maia inclined her head respectfully and looked at the cherry wood coffin, "I thought it only proper to come and see Kate. She did, after all, break up my marriage."

"Look, this is a time to grieve, not to bring up old scores."

His hand wrapped around her arm and Maia glared at him, fighting the urge to snarl. "Take your hand off of me. Preferably now- I wouldn't want to cause a scene Christopher," she said sarcastically, the hunter's hand dropping to his side. Maia stood beside a tree during the funeral, meeting Allison's eyes frequently as she sought to understand how she could cry for someone who killed the very things that she loved. And then the recessional began, Maia ignoring the flowers an usher held out to her and walking towards the coffin. She placed her hand on the smooth wood and kneeled down beside it, her voice soft. "You don't know how happy I am to have you lying in this box, you murderous bitch. When I became what I am, I promised Joshua- my son, that innocent little baby you butchered- that I'd see you in the grave. And now I have," Maia said, standing swiftly before spitting on the coffin to the outrage of the mourners. "Burn in hell bitch!"

Isaac broke away from the crowd to go to Maia, catching her behind one of the mausoleums and wrapping his arms around her. "Maia, come on- stop it. Maia... just stop," he said quietly, refusing to let go of her even as she fought and clawed at his hands. She realized that Isaac wasn't going to loosen his arms an inch and broke down in his arms, clutching him for support. He held her tightly, knowing that she needed someone- that she needed him in her hour of need.

It was dark by the time Derek went to look for Maia, thinking that she would probably be running off her anger after the funeral.

A human shape ran in front of Derek as a grey wolf ran behind it, the Alpha snarling and giving chase as well. He inhaled deeply and narrowed his eyes- it was McCall… but the Omega hadn't fully mastered phasing yet. And then Derek knew that there was another werewolf in Beacon Hills.

And it was hunting Scott McCall.

"Scott-"

Derek sensed another presence running towards them and moved deeper into the trees, running parallel to Scott and the other wolf, to keep away from the other being. "Derek?" There was a snap of wire and then the werewolf was jerked up into the air, snared around the arms in one of the hunter's more simple, yet effective traps. Scott spun and turned to the captured werewolf, attempting to help before Derek smashed into him, the two rolling behind a tree. "What are you doing? We have to help him," the young wolf said, Derek snarling in his ear.

"There is no way we can help him now. He's already dead because they're already here…"

"What are you talking about-"

The two watched as the hunters moved into the small clearing where the werewolf was, beating him until he phased back into his human form. Scott saw that it was the homeless man he had seen around town in the past week, thinking that his appearance coincided with that of Maia's. "Who are you," Chris Argent asked, the lone wolf looking at the hunter. "I'm no one you should be concerned with right now. I came looking for the Alpha-" An older male moved to the forefront of the group, Derek growling lowly in his chest, "That's Gerard Argent, Kate's father… and Allison's grandfather."

"Gentlemen, take a look at a rare sight: this one is an Omega, the lone wolf," Gerard said, studying the werewolf closely. "He runs alone, maybe by choice- though that wouldn't be wise- or possibly he was kicked out of his pack… or he was part of a pack that was hunted down and murdered."

"By you heartless bastards," the wolf roared, receiving a blow to the chest.

Gerard then took a sword from one of his underlings and the Omega's eyes widened, knowing that the moment of his death was upon him. "She was right! You all act underneath the pretenses of a code while in darkness, you murder innocent people and butcher women and children! If I had known that this was my fate, I would have ripped out your pretty little daughter's throat when I had had the chance-" The elder Argent swung the sword at the Omega's midsection, severing the body and panting angrily.

Derek clamped his hand over Scott's mouth to keep him from making any noise and giving away their position, making a reminder of himself to ask Maia a few questions when he got home.

"You see Scott- look at them- this is what they do! This is why we have to stay together, because we need each other. You're weak as an Omega and you'll have no protection without your pack- you will die without your pack. I am your brother whether you like it or not, but I can't help you when you're fighting me. The only way we survive… is together," Derek said before he went silent, the hunters starting to talk again.

"Gerard, he was right. We have to abide by the Code-"

The man turned to his son and smiled wryly, driving the sword into the ground as a sign for all of the werewolves. "We are no longer operating by the Code, Christopher. Those… animals murdered my daughter and I will have vengeance, on every man, woman and child who's blood is tainted with that of dogs and beasts. It will be a Holocaust of evil- and we will rid the world of those who are both human and animal," Gerard said, Derek's wolf rearing up inside of him at the thought of other's being put to death for something they couldn't control… for something they hadn't chosen.

"Battle lines have been drawn- they've declared war. Now are you with us, or on your own?"

Maia and Isaac were walking back to her house, the teen telling her about his life and all that he had gone through. She found herself guilty at the fact that she hadn't been there, that there was nothing she could have done- and she found herself wanting to soothe those still-raw wounds, knowing that pains such as the ones that they had gone through didn't heal quickly.

"So, what's the news on the new house," Isaac asked, knowing that she and Derek had been looking for someplace to put their young pack. Maia tucked her hair behind her ears and looked at Isaac conspiratorially, "We're actually supposed to be moving to the old train warehouse tonight since the full moon is tomorrow. We're going to get it all set up because unfortunately for you, we're going to have to chain you up. Can't have you running all over town, can we?"

Isaac kicked at the ground and Maia looked at him curiously now, the young teen sighing.

"I'm nervous about the change. Ever since you bit me… it feels like an hour before a thunderstorm. Everything's charged with energy and anticipation- makes me want to jump, shout, run through the fields. But on the other side, I've felt the urge to-"

"Kill? Fuck? Bite? Yeah, that's normal Isaac- its you getting in touch with your primal side, with your wolf. And trust me, you have it a lot better than I do. I go into heat and its hard not to jump on someone, rip their throat out with my teeth while I'm-" Maia saw him blush and grinned, shaking her head. "I'm sorry- but you'll get used to it soon enough once you shake off those human inhibitions. And the pain helps because the thunderstorm begins, and Isaac, we're the thunder. I asked Derek once how he could love anything that hurts so badly… but I realized soon that the pain is like setting a bone. It hurts, but there's this instant feeling of rightness- of healing."

He looked at his watch and bent down to kiss her forehead, "Its late and I've got to get home."

"Be safe honey."

Maia walked into the house and then Isaac started running, getting in touch with his wolf. He made it home in less time than he would have thought it would have taken him, running up the stairs to the front door. Isaac wanted to go upstairs but was called into the kitchen, his father sitting at the table. "You're fifteen minutes late, son," Mr. Lahey said, the young man sitting down across from him. "It was the funeral. Mourners wouldn't leave so I could fill the hole in."

His father nodded and began to eat again in silence, Isaac staring down at his plate. The food was just… unappetizing as he picked at it, realizing that all he wanted was a freshly-cut, still hot, bloody steak.

"So Isaac, how are your grades?"

He froze, setting down his fork before swallowing, "Um, so far its an A in French and a B minus in Economics."

"What about Chemistry," Mr. Lahey asked, still paying more attention to his plate than to his son. Isaac knew that he wasn't doing good in the class and that the situation was going to escalate, dreading the fact that soon he would be in the basement before realizing that he wouldn't be going down into that freezer ever again. He'd rip his own father's throat out before he let that happen. "I'm not sure, but midterms are in a few days so it should go up," Isaac replied, staring down at his food. "Well, what's it at now?"

"The grade?"

Mr. Lahey scoffed and looked up at his son, "Well yeah. What else?"

"I'm not sure," the young Beta lied, unable to meet his father's eyes. He had never been good at lying and Mr. Lahey had always seemed to know when Isaac wasn't telling the truth- just like he knew now. "But you just said it could go up. You wouldn't be lying to me, now would you Isaac?"

"No," he replied quietly, fighting the wolf inside of him. His father nodded and set down his fork, "Then tell me the grade son."

Isaac warred with himself before swallowing and finally telling the truth, running his hand back through his hair. "It's a D," the Beta admitted, knowing that he had to get out of the house and fast. Maia and Derek had both warned him about his control- and Isaac felt it slipping away. Mr. Lahey nodded and looked at his son, "Alright, it's a D. Look, I'm not angry… but you know I'm going to have to find a way to punish you. I have my responsibilities as a parent so let's start with something simple, like uh- tell you what, you do the dishes and clean up the kitchen, okay?" Blue eyes stared at his father and Isaac knew that there was more to this, that the monster that had tormented him all his life wouldn't just let him go with kitchen duty. "I would just really like to see this place spotless," Mr. Lahey continued, throwing his glass onto the floor. "You know what I'm saying, you know? I want you to clean this entire kitchen-" He threw all of the things off of the table, picking up Isaac's untouched glass as the teen moved out of the way. "And I want it absolutely spotless!"

He threw the glass into the wall over Isaac's head as he cowered, the cup shattering into a thousand shards of crystal. Isaac felt his cheek sting as he reached up to pull out the shard of glass there and looked up at his father, outraged. His wolf awoke fully now, the Beta's belly feeling as if it was full of snakes.

"Well, that wasn't my fault," Mr. Lahey said, nonchalant.

"You could have blinded me," Isaac growled, standing up to his full height. His father rolled his eyes and the young wolf could have lunged at him, "Shut up, it's a scratch! Hell, its… barely even bleeding."

Isaac had felt his skin knitting together, pulling and healing even in the short time it had taken him to stand. He knew that his father had seen the truth of what he had become and turned, running out into the storm that had been building all afternoon. Maia and Derek would be downtown, not far from him- Isaac knew that they were the only thing standing in between him and his need for blood. He hid in an alley, knowing that his father was coming after him and trying to hold his breath before he caught the scent of something foul… something that smelled like rotting flesh.

Mr. Lahey got out of his car once he found the alley that Isaac had disappeared down, trying to see through his rain-splattered glasses futilely. "Isaac… Isaac! Isaac, I'm not playing games son-" He took off his glasses and then suddenly a dark figure was there, Mr. Lahey sighing, "Alright, that's enough. Grab your bike and let's go- Isaac…" He watched as the figure got down onto all fours and his eyes widened in horror before he turned back to his car, knowing that the shadowy silhouette behind him was not human. Mr. Lahey made it into his car just in time before the creature smacked into his door- he thought he was safe before it completely ripped the door off the hinges. Isaac looked on in horror as the dark creature set about ripping his father to shreds before turning and going to look for Maia and Derek. He got to the warehouse before they did and waited, wary of the creature still out there. Derek smelled his Beta before he saw him and went in before Maia, "Isaac? What's wrong?"

"Its my dad," Isaac said, Maia's eyes flashing angrily. "I think he's dead."

Derek kept control of the situation even as his mate started to phase in rage, searching the young wolf's eyes as he walked closer to him.

"What did you do," he asked, Isaac looking at him and shaking his head.

"Nothing Derek- it wasn't me."