Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Although there are far fewer of you than I would have liked/expected, I especially appreciate those who did indeed take the time to let me know what they thought. I hope you guys all like this chapter!

Chapter 6

The full moon was in one week. And although Derek now had what could be numerically considered to be a "complete" pack, he was still far, far away being in control of the situation. It was this very issue that brought him to Jackson's house early on a sunny, weekday morning.

Jackson's affluent albeit adoptive parents might have been what some would call workaholics, and as such were nowhere to be found; while their jobs did indeed necessitate long hours at the office, they also required frequent business trips. This week, almost conveniently, was one of the many that they were away for. The unfortunate flip side of this coin meant that no one had been keeping track of Jackson's whereabouts since Derek had turned him.

Derek knew that he should have been more diligent with Jackson. He should have kept a closer eye on him and he should have made sure that he clearly outlined every aspect of the transition, like he did for Isaac. Instead, he had been so consumed with the task of putting together a pack that he had failed to realize he was neglecting Jackson – in his effort to be a proper Alpha, he had ironically ignored his existing duties.

All he could do now was hope that there was still time to rectify the situation.

Sure enough, as he had expected and feared, Jackson's house was empty when he arrived. But there were traces of Jackson in his bedroom; his sheets had been slept in only two nights before, and his mirror was shattered, as if someone had punched it. He was gone, but he was not long gone.

Not wanting to waste more time, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Jackson's number. He knew it was highly unlikely that he would answer, and so he wasn't surprised when he was sent straight to voicemail.

"Shit," he muttered to himself. This did not bode well for anyone – if Jackson still hadn't been found by the time the full moon came around, he could put himself and those around him in an enormous amount of danger. And whatever happened, to him or to anyone else, would be Derek's responsibility – Derek's fault. Again, he could hardly believe he had been so negligent.

What he had to do now was obvious: he had to search for him. Letting Jackson go through his first full moon alone could mean the death of yet another innocent and more blood on his hands.

XXXXX

When Amy walked into the kitchen that morning, Derek was already gone and Isaac had helped himself to a rather large plate of eggs and a glass of orange juice.

"Derek said it was fine," he said sheepishly in response to her quirked eyebrow.

Her eyes darted to the rumpled sofa, where he had slept the previous night, and then back to him. The scent of blood seeping from his wound had waned during the night. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Better, now that I've had something to eat. I have to admit, though, I had some really strange dreams last night… Dreams about killing things… About killing people…"

"That's to be expected, I think. Scott actually wandered off into the woods in his sleep when he was first turned, so for you I'd say so far so good."

Isaac grimaced and nodded, eyes cast downwards. "Is that why Derek wanted me to stay here? To make sure I didn't wander off and… kill someone?"

She shrugged nonchalantly, but quickly felt very inconsiderate. "Probably. But you're fine for now – we just have to make sure that you continue to be fine for the next few days. Do you think your dad will be wondering where you are?"

At the mere mention of his father, Isaac flinched visibly. "For sure," he answered grimly.

"Maybe you could call him just to let him know you're all right?"

He seemed pensive, but eventually decided, "I think I oughtta to do it in person. Derek said I could stay here as long as a need to, so I honestly think I should just say my final goodbyes."

"You're never going back?" She understood. Of course she understood; she had been in a similar position such a short time ago… But somehow, she regretted it. She wished she'd spent more time with her family when she had still had the chance. But her circumstances had been far different from Isaac's.

"How can I?" he replied, scratching his head in lament.

She nodded curtly. She had seen. "What he did to you…"

"I don't want to talk about it," he snapped quickly. All of a sudden, his cup shattered in his hand, sending shards of glass and a spray of orange juice throughout the room. Isaac's eyes – his blue eyes – flashed a dangerous yellow. His eyes, so unlike hers, glowed the color of embers. They were the same as Scott's, the same as her brother's. And she realized then, suddenly, that she was different, that Derek had been different, and she didn't know why.

Isaac's injured hand quickly repaired itself and he watched in unabashed fascination as the skin of his palm knitted itself back together. "S-sorry," he eventually stammered, thoroughly shocked by the whole ordeal.

"It's alright. It's normal," she said, grabbing a dishtowel and mopping up the mess.

He bent down to help her and, consequently, put them in a very close proximity to one another. He could smell the strangest things wafting off her. She smelled familiar, but he couldn't exactly place why. And then he realized – "You smell like Derek," he couldn't help himself from blurting out.

Shuffling away awkwardly, Amy responded, "Ummm yeah… That's because we're… together. That's what happens." His face went red, as if the thought had never occurred to him but it really should have. She, in turn, discreetly took a moment to take in his scent – if they were going to be packmates, she figured they were going to get to know each other pretty well in the coming months, and they had to start somewhere. Beneath the sour smell of blood and citrus, his scent was not unpleasant. But it was nothing like Derek's. There was, though, some common, woodsy strain that lead her to believe it was the result of Derek being Isaac's Alpha.

The pair spent the rest of the day in the apartment conversing. Amy did her best to answer his questions and, while she was fairly equipped to do so, she was no Derek, and there were still many things that she herself was curious about. Namely, her icy blue eyes.

It was several hours before the Alpha returned; when he did, his packmates could sense he was in a foul mood from the moment he entered the building.

"Jackson is gone," Derek announced upon crossing the threshold to the apartment. He threw his keys down on the end table near with a resounding clang and let the door slam closed behind him. Amy was sitting on the sofa with Isaac, who had not been feeling well enough to make it to school.

"How could Scott have known?" she demanded.

"I – I'm not sure. Werewolves have a general awareness of each other, but, since I turned him, it should have been me to sense that he was gone. But I feel something now, like something strange is going on in Beacon Hills."

"Something stranger than a town full of werewolves?" Amy quipped, for a moment feeling very much like Stiles.

He shot her a stony, unamused look, as if to remind her of the gravity of the situation. "This is a huge problem," he articulated dryly.

With her first full moon approaching rapidly, though, Amy was very aware of the hormones in her body going absolutely haywire and very unaware of everything else. And it was especially hard to concentrate on strategic matters while Derek was nearby. Pretty much every emotion that a person could feel was magnified: heightened senses, volatile temper, mood swings, increased sex-drive, the whole nine yards. She felt like she was going through the absolute worst case of PMS she had ever experienced, multiplied tenfold and even this seemed to be heightened now that she was seeing Derek for the first time that day.

Amy had felt the effects of the transformation before, right after the Incident, but only mildly – it was partially for this reason that she was so surprised by how much she was being affected now. What with her genetics and such, she had incorrectly assumed that she would somehow be immune to the lunacy (if you'll pardon the pun) that ensued as the full moon approached.

Derek, being far more knowledgeable in these matters than anyone else, was fully aware of the "symptoms" that displayed themselves during this tumultuous week. It was all perfectly normal, what she, as a new werewolf, was feeling. And what he, as an Alpha, was feeling. And what she was feeling for him. And what he was feeling for her. And the fact that they both so clearly wished for Isaac to be gone, but, at the same time, knew that his presence was necessary if not for the sole reason that he kept them on track, and – more importantly – kept them from pouncing on one another and forgetting all about Jackson.

Amy swallowed heavily, trying to ignore the sound of her heartbeat ringing loudly in her ears. Even though she was seated, she felt dizzy. "So what's the next step, then?" she managed.

Isaac was not oblivious to what was happening around him. He hardly knew these people, and yet he couldn't deny that every fiber in his being trusted them without question. And due to this automatic sort of caring, he looked at her in the same vaguely concerned manner he had adopted throughout the day. But now that he was observing her with Derek, he found the scents that he couldn't identify whirling around in the apartment to be even more perplexing and overwhelming. Given the relationship between them, he decided it was something that was probably best not to ask about. He began to rethink if his living there was actually a good idea…

"We should find him," Derek said. "We have to find him. Before the full moon." And now that it was already late afternoon, they had already lost a precious day.

"You think something is wrong?" Isaac questioned.

"Something has to be wrong," he insisted. "It's the only explanation."

As if on cue, Amy's phone began to ring. It was Stiles. "Hello?" she answered.

"You have to come to the hospital now."

"Why?"

"They found a body."

"Who?" she interrogated, growing increasingly worried by the second.

"I don't know. That's what we're trying to find out right now."

"Who found it?"

"The police in the next town over. But the body was just identified and apparently it's someone from Beacon Hills High."

"When did they find it?"

"A couple of days ago."

A deep sense of dread pierced her heart. "Do you think it's…?"

"Maybe. The timing is right."

"Okay, we're on our way."

XXXXX

The hospital was utter chaos. Police cars had swarmed the parking lot, their lights flashing red, blue, and white. In addition, Amy and Isaac recognized several Beacon Hills High students' cars crookedly and randomly parked nearby.

The three flooded out of Amy's car, which was more practical than Derek's, and rushed into the building. Her keen hearing could pick up voices, could pick up the rumors swirling in the corridors. They said it was Jackson.

When the glass doors slid open in front of them, welcoming them to this horrendous place that reeked of chemicals, death, and sickness, they were met with the sight of Scott, Stiles, Allison, and Lydia. It was the first time Amy had seen either of her female friends since the Incident.

And in the whirlwind of it all, everyone had forgotten that Amy was supposed to be in hiding. And she had just walked into the very place that she had recently escaped from.

It wasn't long before someone recognized her.

"Amy?" Scott's mother, a nurse, questioned. Surprise was etched into her kind features.

Amy's blue eyes widened.

"Mom!" Scott shouted. His call interrupted them, and gave Amy just enough time to slip unnoticed, through the throng of police and reporters and out the door. Once out in the cover of the night air, she felt safe. Stiles was occupied with the task of pestering his father, but Lydia and Allison followed Amy. Derek and Isaac stayed with Scott and, therefore, the group split up just as quickly as they had reunited.

Before either Lydia or Allison could get a word in edgewise, Amy said, "What's going on?"

"I'm glad you're all right," Allison said, as if the words had been bubbling inside her and threatening to burst. Blue locked brown. They both immediately understood. Allison had finally chosen a side.

"They found a body," Lydia croaked out. Her uncharacteristically disheveled hair and eyeliner brought them back to the current disaster.

"Do we know who it is?" Amy asked.

"No, but they think…" a sob ripped through her throat, but she continued, "they think it might be Jackson."

"Who?" Amy demanded, less gently than she had intended. "Who thinks that?"

"Scott and Stiles," she said. "Everyone. Everyone thinks it's him." Two pearl-like tears rolled down either side of her face, and even when she cried she was beautiful.

At the realization of everything, Amy felt like she might faint. An enormous heat traveled from her heart, through her veins and throughout her body. A fire warmed her from head to toe. She felt so many emotions that she couldn't make sense of them. Pity. Fear. Sadness. Anxiety. She hadn't been friends with Jackson, but the thought have having one more person die, one more person leave her life, was horrifying. Not to mention the implications this would have for Derek's pack… And Lydia, poor Lydia. She must have been so confused… Someone would have to let her know what was really going on, and soon. The lack of information she had been given had been meant to protect her, but now it only put her at risk.

All of a sudden, Stiles rushed out of the building, clearly out of breath from running. "It is, it's him," he gasped incoherently. "It's Jackson."

Author's Note: Please review! I'm going to change a lot from the series and I have a lot of surprises to come ;-) And let me know what you think of the show! How did you all feel about the last episode? Idk how I feel about flashbacks... Also, I know I criticize this show a lot lol, but I only do it because I care. If I didn't, I don't think I could write 3 stories about it.