Derek shook his head when he arrived back at Scott's house after filling in the rest of the pack about Scott's new status and the importance of secrecy. While there wasn't a cot in the room, there was a sleeping bag and a few pillows on the floor along with a note saying if he wanted a real bed he could sleep in the guest room across the hall. He sat in the window for a moment, watching the youngest, yet most controlled member of his pack. He truly was shocked by how much Scott was able to achieve on his own, with only Stiles to help. When he factored in the inner battle the wolf brought to the shaman's spirit it was a wonder he hadn't gone crazy. Instead, he managed to maintain the biggest bleeding heart Derek had ever seen in a human, let alone a wolf.

He shouldn't really have been surprised by the development. As he'd already admitted, Scott was the closest to his humanity of all the wolves that Derek knew, so the spiritual aspect wasn't unexpected, although he was surprised by the magical component. Given his job at the clinic and the amount of healing, both human and supernatural that he was learning from Deacon, the healer title fit as well. He was already too strong to be considered a simple Beta, and in retrospect, a shaman was obvious when he fitted Scott into the pack. His disbelief hinged more on the fact he never met a shaman before, and had believed they were as much of a myth as a Kanima.

Given his rarity, and value to the Alpha's mental well being alone, there wasn't a force on the planet that Derek was going to allow to separate him from the young healer. Just having Scott in the same room, now that he accepted his gift, brought a sense of serenity that Derek hadn't felt since the death of his family and he was sure he would actually manage a decent night of sleep. Scott seemed calmer as well, at peace with the other aspect of his nature, especially when Derek informed him that Shaman were healers and not warriors. There was no doubt that Scott could hold his own in defense of the pack, but the fact he wouldn't be expected to fight, would more often then not be kept away from the battles seemed to lift a heavy burden off his chest.

.

.

Scott felt his mind drift while he was sleeping and he found himself sitting on a log in the redwood forests. He looked up as a large grey wolf appeared before him, knowing instinctively that it was Hythor. "Where are we?"

The wolf stretched and shuddered as it shifted into its alpha form. "Near my village, Little Healer." He pointed to the east. "I was not expecting you to come so soon." There was a glint of pride in his eyes. "You found your way back to the Spirit Plane remarkably quickly for a new shaman."

He was answered with a scoff. "I think I might be unconscious again." Scott stretched his legs and picked at the moss on the log. "I was in a battle with my Alpha before I had my mental battle royale. Healing took a lot out of me."

Hythor nodded. "Even still, you wouldn't have come back until you were called at the full moon so something must be weighing heavily on your mind."

"The Kanima. It's a friend of mine."

"Ahh." Hythor came to sit next to his protege and patted his forearm. "And you wish to know if there is a way to save him?"

"Derek told me that some shaman were able to cheat death. I figured if I can do that then there must be a way to fix what went wrong with Jackson's transition." Scott kicked at a rock to battle his nervous energy. "He's a douche, but I feel bad for him. I know he was supposed to be a wolf but something went wrong."

Hythor sighed and reclined against one of the great pillars of nature. "There is a way to heal him, but it takes a great deal of power and concentration. You aren't ready for that yet."

Growling in frustration, Scott stood and started to pace the clearing. "I have to do something. Everyone wants him dead and someone is using him as their own personal hit squad. He shouldn't have to live like that."

"I didn't say I wouldn't teach you, only that it would be difficult. First you need to learn focus. Right now your mind is being pulled in dozens of directions and you are going to have to learn to compartmentalize, to clear everything but the task at hand from your thoughts." Hythor smirked. "Who knows, it might even help you pass Chemistry."

A bubble of laughter crept out of Scott's mouth, "I think that might be a lost cause."

"Nonsense." He stood and blocked the young wolf's path. "You will find great clarity when you can turn down all of the loud thoughts. Once you can do that, we will work on the spell work and necessary herbs to heal your Kanima." He gestured for Scott to sit, cross-legged in front of him. "I will meet you here when you go to sleep, but I must warn you of two things. You are completely unaware of anything that happens in reality while you are here, so make sure you have someone to watch over your body in your sleep. And second, you will not fully achieve rest while you are here so I will not permit you to come more than four times a week for a few hours at a time or you will burn out. You must be well rested to be able to serve your pack."

Scott frowned but nodded. "I think I can agree to that. Derek is here guarding me. Can we start tonight?"

"Very well. Find a position that is comfortable for you and clear your mind of all thoughts." Hythor peaked through his lashes sporting a wry smile. "Including your Allison's physical virtues."

Choking on a gasp, Scott shook his head and pulled his knees up under his chin. Wrapping his arms around his legs, he rested his cheek on his knee like he did when he was a boy trying to calm his overactive lungs and fight off panic. His eyes drifted closed and he took deep calming breaths, focusing on the sound of the air exiting his nose.

"You're thinking too loud."

Scott groaned as he tried to refocus. Allowing his thoughts to drift freely brought him through a whirlpool of concerns that needed to be taken care of yesterday but he hadn't gotten around to, again. "I don't know how to clear my mind."

Hythor opened his eyes. "Imagine a room full of boxes, like the cage where you locked away the wolf, but sealed containers instead of cages. Every time a thought pops in your head, file it in a box. Label the boxes however you want, names, places, things. But keep the thoughts in the boxes and add all new thoughts until you run out of thoughts. This is important because later, I'm going to teach you how to access these boxes and filter through the information inside when dealing with a problem or when you are seeking guidance." He smirked again, "or taking an economics exam."

Scott growled, but tried again. He was able to find the room again, even build the boxes but he ended up having to stand on the boxes marked Stiles and Allison to keep them from bursting open and releasing the information inside. After an hour or two his mind was starting to look like a storage shed and he was getting fidgety.

"That's enough for now. Work on that tomorrow before you go to bed and I will meet you again in two days."

Scott nodded and stretched his legs. "How do you keep boxes closed?"

Hythor shrugged. "It's your mind. Imagine anything you want — locks, chains, doors — just as long as it does the trick."

"Right." Scott looked doubtful, but his mind did feel a little less crowded.

"It will come with practice Little One, but working on anything else is useless if you can't focus on a solitary task without interruption." Hythor's warning made sense and Scott let loose a resigned sigh. At least he was better able to focus then Stiles. This would have been a nightmare for his ADD friend.

.

.

"Don't do that."

Scott woke to see Derek looming over him. Squeaking in an undignified manner, he glowered at the Alpha as he fought to regain his steady breathing. "What happened?"

"You stopped broadcasting."

"Broadcasting?" He could tell by Derek's impatient sigh that he wasn't going to be deterred by the question.

"The bond. You were indecisive then just gone."

Scott frowned, contemplating his emotions. "I wonder if it happens when I'm in the Spirit Realm."

Derek sat back in surprise. "You went back already?" He was answered with a nod. "What did you learn?"

"Hythor said he can teach me how to heal Jackson, but I have to learn focus first." He found Derek's disbelieving snort to be offensive. "Hey, I can focus."

"On anything not Allison?"

Scott rolled his eyes and crawled out of the bed, ignoring the comment. "I'm supposed to meet Hythor every other night while I sleep, but I will need someone there to watch over me. He said I won't know if something happens here and my body will be vulnerable."

"I'll be here." There was no hesitation in the response and Scott didn't bother refuting him. He doubted Derek was going to let him out of his sight for any reason other than school, and only then because Boyd, Erica and Isaac would be around to watch over him. Scott knew by the end of this he was going to feel like some precious artifact locked behind a case with a full compliment of guards.

"Can I at least wear my own clothes today or are you going to freak again if I don't smell like you?" Derek smirked and Scott threw a shoe at his head. Twenty minutes later when he returned from the shower, Derek was lounging on his bed, no doubt adding his scent to the only place in the room he couldn't get to the night before. "This sucks."

Derek shrugged and tossed him back his shoe. "Get ready. I'm driving you to school."

Rolling his eyes, Scott went to his closet, irritated by the scent of the Alpha on all his clothes. "What did you do, try everything on?" Derek remained silent. "If my underwear smells like you I'm shooting you myself and then letting you die." The comment earned him a wry grin. "Get out. I don't think I'm going to be kidnapped by some rival pack while I'm getting dressed."

"You've got ten minutes before we leave, dressed or not."

Scowling, Scott wondered if he could pray to these new Wolf Gods to get Derek to back off him. Somehow he could only picture Hythor laughing at him when he asked so he sighed heavily and pulled on his clothes. "This is really going to suck."

.

.

"Are you alright? Why do you look fine? Why did Derek drop you off?" Stiles paused, his nose crinkling in concentration. "And why do you smell like Derek's cologne?"

"I'm fine and I'll explain everything later." He gestured up to the security cameras in the hall.

"Really? That's all I get?" Stiles sighed and hurried after the boy speeding to his locker. "This better be epic, Scott." He noticed an irritatingly cryptic look on Scott's face. "Oh crap. You're turning in to Derek. He's making you a mini sour wolf. This is epic."

Scott just laughed at his best friend and pulled out his books. He was not surprised to see Isaac standing on the other side of the door when he closed it again. "You my guard dog for the day?"

"This morning anyway." Isaac smirked. "Derek told me to use any means necessary to make sure you pay attention in class, too. Something about piss poor grades."

"If people would stop trying to kill me I would have more time for homework." Scott snarled with irritation and walked away, trying his best to ignore his confused friend and his silent shadow. Dropping into his seat, he desperately sought to calm himself down as Stiles and Isaac surrounded him. He closed his eyes and pictured Hythor, sitting in the woods with an impish grin on his face. With a snort of annoyance, Scott rolled his eyes at the thought of an impish wolf. "Great even my subconscious is obnoxious." He took a deep breath and started to concentrate on the room in his mind where he stuffed all of the boxes. Hythor told him to work on his focus and he figured that it couldn't hurt to start with his Econ box. Maybe he would even manage to know an answer or two in class. He opened the box and started to sort through all of his thoughts.

"McCall!"

Scott felt his desk shake as Isaac kicked him from behind. "Yeah?"

"Nice of you to join us, McCall." The coach snarled as he crowded his star player and Scott could hear snickers around the room. "Now, how about you tell me about Gross Domestic Product."

"The net amount of products produced and consumed by a nation and the most often used indicator of a countries economic health." Scott's eyes grew wide as the words left his mouth and he was more than aware of the dead silence in the room.

Flinstock's eyes scrutinized him, trying to decide if the answer was a fluke. "Difference between Gross Domestic Product and Gross National Product?"

"Um…ownership versus location?"

"Yes!" Coach Finstock turned pumping his fist in the air. "Thank you McCall. We might just bring home another championship after all."

As soon as the Coach's back was turned, Scott felt Stiles' hand slam into his shoulder. "What the hell, man?"

Scott just shrugged. "I don't know." He turned back to the teacher, finding it easier to keep the majority of his attention on class for the first time in months. Maybe Hythor was right after all.