"I thought you said you knew where he was?!" Kyle exclaims crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at Peter. "One of two places is better than no idea at all wouldn't you say?" Peter replies gesturing at the two highlighted places on the map. "Would be nice if we had some way of knowing for sure." Stiles says sweeping his arm up and down Kyle's back trying to comfort him. "As I said the new cage was supposed to be prep work to have him moved to a more remote facility. I was quite firm in my questioning. He did not know when the move was taking place." "Maybe if you'd brought him back Deaton could have done something, or Derek could have taken the memories. He's dead though so we'll never know." Scott says shaking his head. "Yes Scott we'll just leave everyone alive because everyone deserves a second chance to hunt us down and kill us." Peter scoffs. "This isn't helping." Derek says abruptly. "Peter, Scott, and I will hit the facility in North Dakota. I've reached out to Chris, he will be coming along as well. Stiles, Kyle and two of Chris's men will go to the facility in Quebec. Danny will stay here with Isaac and provide remote assistance." Kyle opens his mouth to say something but doesn't. He turns and walks out of the study. Derek growls softly and follows him closing the door behind him as a means of telling everyone else to stay put. He finds Kyle waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "Why are you sending me to the place he's least likely to be?" Kyle demands. "It's a much larger facility. There is going to be a greater chance of conflict if he is there. The site in Quebec is small and minimally manned. A smaller team makes more sense. You're better at sneaking and keeping quiet." Derek says reaching for the barely there strand of Kyle on the pack bond and trying to comfort him.
"Don't bull shit me Derek. I didn't show disrespect by arguing with you in front of the others. Show me respect by telling me the whole story." Derek exhales heavily through his nose staring at Kyle a moment. "You've lost your mate, you're so weak on the pack bond most of the others can't even feel you anymore. You're not suffering like Isaac but your wolf is nowhere near as strong as it was. I think the only reason you're doing as well as you are is because your human heart is so strong. You refuse to give in. That is what's keeping you sane but it won't do you much good if you have half a dozen hunters attacking you." Derek stops talking and steps forward when Kyle's eyes drop to the floor. "I'm doing the best I can Derek. I get up every day I do all my work plus Isaac's I help out as much as I can, what more do you want from me?" Kyle asks as he starts to tremble with emotion. Derek puts both hands on the young wolf's shoulders and squeezes. "Nothing. I want nothing more. You and Isaac have been hit the hardest, hurt the most by this. I would be doing you no favors by putting you where the most danger is in your current condition. I want you to still be around when we bring Paul home. How could I ever explain to him that I put you in harms way. After being gone for so long. After being through the hell we know he's been put through. To know you were lost helping to free him. He'd blame himself." Kyle's mouth trembles as his emotions start to spill over. Derek pulls his young Beta close and wraps his arms around him. "We're going to get through this. We're going to find him. It's been hard but we're almost there." Kyle takes several breaths comfort from the close contact with his Alpha calming him. He sighs before looking up at Derek. "I'm going to go check on Isaac. "I don't think we should tell him." Derek says. Kyle starts to reply but stops. "If it doesn't work out…" Derek nods gravely before saying.. "As weak as he is the disappointment may be too much." "OK" Kyle says before wrapping his arms around Derek and hugging him again before heading up the stairs. Derek looks after Kyle for a few seconds before turning and joining the others in the study.
Kyle opens the door to the bedroom and enters closing it behind him. As he walks through the dark room he hears the toilet flush. Moment later Isaac comes out of the restroom. "Hey." Kyle says happy to have caught Isaac in a rare moment of being awake. "Hey." Isaac says quietly without looking at Kyle. He climbs in bed staring up at the ceiling. Kyle slips in the bed next to Isaac. In a rare display of affection Isaac slips his arms around him kissing him on the neck. Kyle closes his eyes as he is overcome with emotion at Isaac's first act of affection in over a year. "I love you." Kyle says softly eyes closing as tears drip from them. "I love you too. Please forgive me for being such a failure to you." Kyle turns so he's facing Isaac and pulls him tight against him. "You're not a failure. You're still here. After everything you've been through, you've not given up." Isaac frowns closing his eyes. "So tired." He says. "It's not fair to you. I'll understand if you leave me." Isaac says barely a whisper. "Never. You're not getting rid of me that easily." Kyle says as he presses his lips to Isaac's. "Rest now. Your wolf needs to conserve its strength." "My wolf probably won't be around much longer. Don't know why I'm even still alive." Isaac says as he slips towards sleep. "Save your strength baby." Kyle says wiping his eyes so his tears don't drip on Isaac's chest. Isaac's breathing slows as he leaves the waking world. Spirits buoyed by Isaac's rare moment of lucidity Kyle gently slips out of bed pulling the blanket up to Isaac's chin. A warm smile on his face Kyle thinks We'll all be together again soon. Then heads down stairs to help plan Paul's rescue.
"Everything OK?" Stiles asks when Kyle comes through the door in the study. "Yeah, Isaac actually talked to me a little bit." Kyle answers slipping into a chair next to the desk. "Really?" Danny asks in surprise. "Didn't last long, fell asleep pretty fast. Was nice having him back for a few minutes though. It's been weeks since he's said more than a few words." Kyle says looking over at Peter he continues. "I'm sorry Peter I know you've been working non stop. I didn't mean to suggest you hadn't been thorough. I'm just ready for this to be over." "Apologies are not needed. This has been the single biggest challenge to our pack in many years." Just then Scott walks in with Chris Argent a two other men. Chris introduces the men to everyone and the group sets to making travel arrangements and strategizing their raids on the two facilities.
One of the men keeps looking at Kyle. Eventually Kyle levels him with a glare. "Can I help you with something?" The room goes quiet at Kyle's tension. "How are you still sane?" The man asks. "Bill." Chris says a touch of warning in his voice. "I think it's a fair question. His mate has been missing for two years how has he not flipped his shit?" "He has balls the size of coconuts and more heart than all of us put together." Stiles says. "I'm glad that you're worried about me 'flipping my shit'." Kyle says with a shrug. "It means you'll be on your toes and less likely to get us killed." Bill shakes his head and chuckles. Peter looks at Chris. "You sure you trust these men?" He asks. "With my life." Chris replies. "Good, good." Peter says. "I'm glad we're both on the same page. That means you won't be surprised at what happens to you if any harm were to befall my pack mates." Derek sighs tiredly pinching the bridge of his nose. "We're on the same team guys." Scott says trying to break the tension. "Nothing wrong with setting expectations." Peter says with a humorless grin.
Looking at Stiles Kyle sighs. "So, when do we leave for the great white north?"