Teen Wolf=Not mine.
A/N- Although AU this is a warning that this chapter is loosely based off of Episode 2 of Season 3. Some of the canon events are in it, but not all and not necessarily in the same order or with the same outcomes. Just be warned if you haven't seen Season 3 yet you might get a spoiler.
""True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion."
― Gordon B. Hinckley, Stand a Little Taller
""Maybe that's what I have been looking for. When storms and rockslides threaten, I am looking for someone who will hold on to me and not let go."
― Courtney Milan, Unveiled
Blue and red lights illuminated the dark stretch of trees that surrounded the park. A uniformed officer lifted the yellow tape as he approached. "Two kids found the body over here. It's bad, sir."
Lights shone brightly on the ground in question as the forensic team processed the scene. He frowned as he saw the blood splatter covering the grass. Following the trail from in front of him, his eyes landed on the body of young blond girl. Splayed out naked with spikes driven through her hands and feet, her chest cavity gaped open to reveal her bloody internal organs. A medical examiner crouched over the body.
"Please, tell me she was dead before this happened," the sheriff said as he ran a hand down the sides of his jaw. Bodies kept dropping in his jurisdiction. The murder rate tripled since January- The Argent woman's cover up, that kid Matt's revenge, the strange death by fright victims, and now this. The county government breathed down his neck as the bodies piled up. He let out a sigh.
The medical examiner turned to give him a sad look. "I wish I could, but given the blood splatter and the pool of blood under her. She probably lived through the initial cuts into her chest. Those are surgical. Probably passed out though when they cut through her breastbone, if that's any comfort."
"Dear God," he muttered as he listened to him describe the gruesome death of the girl.
"That's not all."
"What?"
"The heart," the medical examiner hesitated. He thought about hitting the man to get him to spit it out, but restrained himself.
"Well?"
"It's missing."
"What do you mean missing?"
"It's not in her."
Sheriff Stillinski ran a hand along the back of his neck. This town got more and more messed up each day. Waving over his new deputy Rhea Silvia, he said, "You ever see anything like this with Interpol? The heart's missing."
"Not exactly like this." She continued to look over the body. "Anyone looking for the heart?"
"Not yet."
He gave the order to search the park for any sign of the heart and soon the ground was being combed for it.
"Was there anything else?" he asked the medical examiner.
"Just this." He pointed to her arm where a long line trailed the length from wrist to shoulder. Along the line were groups of lines crossing perpendicular and diagonally and sometimes extending only from one side or the other.
He took a deep breath through his mouth knowing better than to breathe through his nose with so much blood around. "Any ideas?" He looked over at Deputy Silvia.
"Might be some type of occult symbols?" She suggested with a shrug.
"Any ID on the vic?" he asked.
"Still working on it. She might not have been missing long enough for a report to be filed," she said.
He moved to the head of the dead body and carefully moved the hair out of the way. "Shit," he said as he looked at a face that had grown up from the little girl, who use to play with his son. "Heather Davis." How the hell was he going to tell, Stiles?
"Aren't you going home?" Isaac asked as Snow sat on the couch with him working on the homework their friends brought with them when they came by earlier in the afternoon. According to Frost, being attacked by alpha werewolves failed to suffice as an excuse for not doing homework. The adults left to go pick up food so they had the loft to themselves.
"I don't know. Maybe. I might drive myself if Frost stays here again."
"If she stays, I'm going with you," Isaac said.
Snow grinned as she looked up. "That'll cost you. How would it look to all the other fairytale creatures if I just did a favor for you without ensuring payment?"
"What?" His eyes widened in confusion as he stared at her. She rolled her eyes at him and tossed her hair over her shoulders.
"Isaac, I'm Tuatha De Dannan. Fae." His confused expression made her laugh before she took pity on him. "We make deals. Tit-for-tat. A balancing of the scales. Never thank one of us unless you wish to imply a debt owed. And we never thank anyone unless we wish to owe them a debt. It's a magic thing I guess, but we know when our scale is out of balance. It's…um…unpleasant and it gets mores so the longer the scales stay unbalanced. Actually, that's not quite it, more like a spike being driven between the eyes painful." She nodded to herself at her analogy.
He was silent for a minute. "You thanked Derek." She lost her grin and pretended to study the math problem on her paper. "You feel like you owe him for Frost." She bowed her head letting her long white hair fall like a curtain over her face. The wheels in his brain started replaying every conversation he had with Snow and Frost. "Frost thanked us the night we captured the barghest. Why?" She shrugged her shoulders and continued to write out problems from the pre-calc homework. "Snow, why did Frost thank us?" She tried to ignore him as he moved closer getting into her personal space. "Answer me." She scooted a little further away. He snaked an arm around her and pulled her back. "Snow."
"Leave it alone."
"Not making me any less curious."
"Curiosity killed the cat."
"Good thing I'm a werewolf."
"…" She gave him a look as she fumbled to find a retort.
"Tell me."
"No." Her face set into a hard line as she shook her head.
He knew the one card he could play that might work, but he hesitated to be that much of an ass. Manipulating her into telling him by dangling a date in front of her, despite the fact she'd used information to bargain for the same thing before, felt wrong. Even more so since he realized that she wasn't nearly as self-confident as she first pretended.
"What are you thinking?" she asked after he sat quietly for a minute. Focusing back on reality, he found himself face to face with her. Her blue eyes stared up at him and he flashed back to the previous night when he'd seen everything her clothes hid. His jeans felt a little too tight as he let his eyes trace down her face to her lips. Their breaths mingled as he leaned in closer. The distance shrank until the creak of the door sent him scrambling backwards on the couch.
Frost walked in with bags of Chinese take-out in hand and a holder full of drinks. "We're not interrupting, are we?" She asked with a mischievous grin as she took in the two guilty looking teenagers. Snow threw a pencil at her sister which Derek caught as he walked around her. Derek tossed it back at the younger girl. Frost rolled her eyes as she moved to set the food down on the coffee table.
"I swear you two are the siblings."
Snow avoided the pencil and picked up her math book to throw at him.
"Don't make me put you in time out," the alpha said eyes daring her to toss it at him.
"As if you could," she threw the book at him and jumped off the couch trying to reach her sister. "FROST! Save me!" She nearly made it to her when she felt something grab her and lock her in headlock. Derek proceeded to give her a noogie. "DEREEKK! You're messing up my hair!" She complained as she struggled to get out of his headlock. "Frost! Make him stop." Derek took advantage of the fact that she was barefoot. No kicks to the shin.
Looking at them, Frost shook her head. "I think you're worse than me and her." Frost sat down beside a shocked Isaac on the couch. "Are we the only sane ones?"
"We? After the torture of last night, there is no we," he replied shaking off the surprise at seeing Derek aggravate Snow.
"I thought we were going to be allies, but I guess I'll just have to be Team Snow," she grinned at him.
"Now you're scaring me."
"Poor you. Scared of a girl."
"Who freezes things."
"True," her grin spread across her face as she leaned over to him conspiratorially. "But at least you will heal."
"Stop flirting with the future father of my children," Snow said as Derek released her. "And take back your werewolf." She shoved at him, but he didn't move. He gave her a cocky smile. "Ass."
Her sister stared at her for a moment before giving Isaac an evil grin. "How far into the future are we talking? After high school? Post college?"
"Don't make this awkward for him, Frost," Snow said as she sat down on the opposite side of Isaac and picked out her food from the take-out. He was beginning to feel like he was being tag teamed. "He's still resisting the idea." Isaac looked at Derek a plea in his eyes. Derek gave him a 'you're on your own' look.
"Are you not interested? Or just intimidated by her?" Frost asked her eyes twinkling.
These felt like trick questions to him.
"Intimidated," Snow said. "I mean how could he not be. I'm damn near perfect."
"True and I should know having achieved perfection myself." Derek snorted and Frost shot him a dirty look as she passed him his food and a drink. "No comments from the peanut gallery."
"And I know he's interested," Snow told her sister blue eyes twinkling with laughter.
Frost gave Isaac a once over. Before smiling at her sister, "I agree. Definitely, interested."
"I'm still here," Isaac interjected.
Frost and Snow shared a look. Both of them patted him on a leg as they said, "We know."
"Are you going to help me?" Isaac pleaded with the alpha.
"No."
Snow sat on the stoop of the house they were staying in the next day. Despite Derek's reluctance to let them leave, Frost and Snow returned there for the night. This morning she pleaded exhaustion to keep from going to school, but she was really contemplating everything that happened over the last few days.
"I'm getting no where fast with this," her sister said with a huff as she plopped beside her on the stoop. She stared in frustration at the frozen and caged barghest.
Looking up from her game on her phone, Snow stared over at her sister. "What's wrong?"
"Every time I pull in one spot and think I'm making progress, it's like the bloody thing rewrites the code holding it together." She pushed her long black hair out of her face as mixed analogies. They sat quietly for a few minutes. "So you want to tell me what's really going on?"
"Um…what do you mean?" Snow looked at her sister pretending she didn't know what she was talking about.
Rolling her eyes at Snow, Frost punched her sister in the shoulder. "With Isaac? You've never even shown interest in guy before and then its like you're a freaking dog with a bone. And now you're hiding out from him after whatever happened on the couch last night."
Snow blushed. "I…I don't know. There's just something about him from that first night. Like he fits or could fit or something." She shook her head in disbelief. "That sounds like sappy stupid crap even to me." She banged her head lightly on the door behind her. "It's kind of scary. I thought it was just a crush, but it doesn't feel that way any more."
Frost didn't say anything for a minute. "No, I get it. I feel that way about Derek. Even after everything…It's like a missing part of me clicked into place." She got a goofy grin as she thought of Derek. "Plus the sex is awesome."
"Ewww….why would you even say that to me?" Snow said with a crinkled up nose and punched her sister back. "He's like my brother."
Frost laughed at her sister before turning serious again. "This is really happening, right? I feel like I'm alive again for the first time in so long." She gave her sister a frightened expression as though she couldn't quite believe that this was really happening.
"You love him." Snow said as she took in her sister's abnormal agitation.
"I did. No, I do. Even though sometimes he makes me so mad." Frost sighed. "He's harder now than he was four years ago. More cold to others. Even less trusting if that's possible. And I feel more brittle like any moment this is going to turn out to be a cruel dream. What if it's just an itch he had to scratch?"
Snow frowned. There was the broken Frost rising up again. "I think he loves you too."
"He doesn't say it." Frost said struggling with the thoughts that had twisted her up for four years. "And I don't trust myself to recognize it anymore. After everything." She waved her hand indicating the past.
Snow patted her sister on the knee and said, "He does. Just not with his words. He lets you get away with things he doesn't let anyone else get away with freezing his feet and calling him ass and asshole. You call him out on his stupid shit like with Allison yesterday and he listens. And I don't think he would have asked Scott and Stiles for help looking for Isaac and I if not for you." She smiled encouragingly at her sister. "Besides, have you said that you love him?" Snow laughed at her sister's incredulous expression. "He's as damaged as you, sister-o-mine. You've got to meet him somewhere in the middle."
"When did you get so smart?"
"I've always been brilliant, it's just you're finally smart enough to recognize it," Snow said. Frost reached over and shoved her sister off the stoop onto the ground. "Hey!" She threw a dirt clod at the older girl before bursting out laughing and grabbing her sister in a hug. "I love you, Frost."
"Ditto, brat. And if Isaac breaks your heart, he can join the barghest in the cage." Snow released her sister and gave her a smile.
"I'll just give Derek to our mom," Snow said.
"That's a little excessive," Frost said laughing as she pulled her sister up. "Come on let's go find a Starbucks. My brain is fried with this barghest crap."
"YAY!" Snow clapped and danced happily.
After school let out, Frost and Snow drove to meet the boys at the vets office. Isaac came with Derek having skipped out on school as well. Derek didn't like sending him off alone to school until they knew what happened with the alphas. Snow grabbed Isaac and pulled him into the clinic to give Frost and Derek some privacy when the two started a make-out session in the parking lot. Apparently, more than a few hours apart was too much for the two of them.
Deaton explained his plan to them when Derek and Frost came in. The boys poured bags of ice into tub that Stiles and Scott brought in. Stiles lodged a complaint after the fourth of fifth trip to get the bags out of his jeep. "What I don't understand is why we have to lug this crap in when we have our very own ice maker?" Frost laughed softly and slung an arm across Stiles shoulders.
"It's all part of our diabolical plan to make you suffer."
Stiles looked from her over to the alpha werewolf. "Derek's idea?"
Frost turned to Derek shaking her head and said "Seriously, what did you do to this kid?"
"He threatened to rip my throat out…with his teeth," Stiles said as he gave her a sad puppy dog look.
"I still might," Derek said as he grabbed another bag of ice and emptied it into the tub.
"Don't worry. He tries. Werewolf Popsicle." Stiles grinned at her and held up a fist, which Frost bumped with her own.
"I think I love you," he gave her a goofy grin.
"Hands off," the alpha snapped pulling Frost away from the younger boy.
"Jealous much?" He ignored her mocking laughter.
As the others finished filling the tub, Deaton explained the process to Isaac while Snow listened. "Obviously it's not going to be particularly…comfortable. But if we can slow your heart rate down enough you'll slip into trance-like state."
Snow looked from Isaac to the tub of ice and shuddered. She reached over and grabbed his hand twining her fingers with his.
"Like being hyptonized." Isaac said as the three of them moved towards the tub.
"Exactly. You'll be half transformed. It'll let us access your subconscious mind."
Coming to the side of the tub, all of them stared down into the ice that now filled it. Pulling his hand free of Snow's, Isaac knelt beside the tub and stared at the ice with his chin propped on his hands..
"I wish to formally lodge my dislike of this plan," Snow said as she put her hand on Isaac's shoulder more for herself than to comfort him. Frost smiled at her encouragingly from the other side of the tub where she stood with Derek.
"How slow does his heart rate need to be?" Scott asked.
"Very slow." Deaton replied.
"How slow is very slow?" Derek asked as he leaned on the edge of the tub.
"Nearly dead." Deaton answered. Scott looked up at his mentor with concerned eyes and Derek's head snapped up at his words. Frost placed a hand on his arm causing him to look at her and take a deep calming breath.
"Crazy animal doctor, say what?" Snow asked her eyes wide with disbelief. No one said anything so she spoke to Isaac. "You agreed to this?" Isaac briefly looked up at her nodding before turning back to the water. Isaac put his hand onto the cold ice unleashing a hiss before jerking it away. Her hand tightened on his shoulder as she could see the reluctance on his face.
"It's safe though, right?" Isaac asked Dr. Deaton. His eyes were wide and pleaded with him to say yes.
"Do you want me to answer honestly?" Deaton asked staring down at the young werewolf. Snow frowned at the doctor's answer.
Isaac looked away and shook his head as he crouched by the tub. "No. Not really." He moved one of his hands to grasp Snow's on his shoulder.
Snap! They all turned to look at Stiles who had a long latex glove on his hand and a goofy grin on his face. When he noticed them all staring at him, he said, "What?" Snow snickered at the boy grateful for the distraction. Derek, however, raised his eyebrows while glaring at him. Stiles hesitated before taking off the glove.
Isaac rose from beside the tub and puffed out a few nervous breaths as he grabbed and squeezed Snow's hand. He could do this. Besides, he had a feeling Snow would do damage if anyone let him die.
"If it feels too risky, you don't have to do this." Derek gave him an out, Frost nodded in agreement, and he looked at Scott who also gave him the ok to back out. Releasing Snow's hand, Isaac looked back down at the ice and pulled his shirt off. He tossed it behind him and blew out another puff of air.
"This isn't exactly how I imagined you taking off your clothes in front of me," Snow quipped. "Especially didn't imagine an audience. Not that I don't appreciate the view." He turned and gave her a half smile. Leave it to her to make something serious sexual.
Forcing himself to focus, he stepped into the tub holding onto the sides as he lowered himself into the ice. He took several short loud breaths as he tried to adjust to the burning cold. His eyes locked on Snow's worried blue ones and he nodded that he was ready. Scott and Derek placed a hand on each of shoulders and shared a look before forcing him down under the ice and water breaking his eye-lock with Snow.
"Oh, God," Snow muttered as she watched flexing and un-flexing her fists.
Isaac burst up from the water with a roar. His eyes glowed amber as the wolf rose to the surface and his canines lengthened. Scott and Derek fought to get him back under the water. "Get him back under," Deaton commanded. Snow couldn't bring herself to help them. However, Stiles and Frost tried to hold Isaac's feet as the two werewolves fought to keep Isaac under the ice water. "Hold him." Deaton commanded as Isaac came back up again. It took every bit of willpower she had for Snow not to unleash her magic and abscond with Isaac as she watched him struggle.
"We're trying." Derek snapped. They finally forced Isaac's face back under the water. Snow squeezed her eyes shut when she saw him fighting under the water. Unable to stand it any longer she reached out and grabbed hold of the hand gripping the side of the tub. To everyone's relief, Isaac went completely still and Snow opened her eyes. Scott and Derek released him and he floated back to the surface and took a breath. Deaton cautioned everyone with an upheld finger to not speak. "Remember too many voices will confuse him." Snow nodded.
"Isaac, Can you hear me?"
Isaac's eyes remained closed but he answered. "Yes, I can hear you." Scott and Derek placed their hands lightly on Isaac's shoulders just in case anything went wrong.
"This is Dr. Deaton. I'd like to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?"
"Yes," Isaac answered. Snow looked at his pale face with worry. What could she do to help him with something inside his own head?
"I want to ask you about the night you found Erica and Boyd." Lightening flashed. "I want you to remember it for me as vivid detail as possible. Like your actually there again."
"I don't wanna do that." He said shaking his head causing Snow's heart to clench. The lights flashed as he spoke causing Scott to look around nervously. "I don't wanna do that. I don't wanna do this." Scott and Derek had to grab onto Isaac as he began to flail his arms and kick his legs. Snow gripped the top of Isaac's hand tighter as he tired to pull away from her and dropped to her knees by the tub closing her eyes and bowing her head. Dr. Deaton tried to calm him back down as the lights continued to flicker. "Just Relax. They're just memories. You can't be hurt by a memory."
Isaac continued to repeat "I don't wanna do that." Scott looked at his friend worry evident on his face as Deaton calmly said, "Just relax."
"Relax," Deaton continued as a soft glow began to emanate from Snow. Not sure how to help Isaac but compelled to do so as he panicked, she just let her magic loose and focused on the thought of just being there for him.
"What is she doing?" Derek whispered looking to Frost. She shook her head to indicate she didn't know. The glow grew stronger under her sister's skin illuminated the room when the lights went out and Isaac's movements ceased.
"Whatever she's doing she's calming him down," Deaton noted before continuing. "Now let's go back to that night. To the place you found Erica and Boyd. Tell me what you see." They all watched intently. "Is there some kind of building? A house?"
"It's not a house. It's stone. I think marble." Isaac answered. Derek's eyebrows shot up as he realized this plan was actually working.
"That's perfect. Can you give me any other descriptors?"
"It's dusty. It's um…Empty," Isaac answered.
"Like an abandoned building?"
Isaac didn't responded. A clicking filled the room as the light bulb went out with another power surge. Derek looked up at Deaton as Isaac remained silent.
"Isaac?" Deaton asked as the boy continued to float quietly in the tub. "Isaac?"
"SOMEONE'S HERE! SOMEONE'S HERE!" He started to thrash again.
"Just relax," Deaton said.
Snow's glow increased to almost a painful brightness as she turned his hand over and wrapped her hand around his wrist. She started rocking herself as the energy thrummed between them. The others turned away from her light.
Inside his memories, Isaac turned shock filling him as he saw Snow standing beside him. "You weren't here."
She smiled, shaking her head in agreement, and said, "Not when it happened, but I can be here now." He looked down and saw her grasp his hand. "You're not alone." He tightened his hand around hers and let the memory take him again.
Outside his memories, he screamed. "No, no, no, they see me…they see me." He thrashed harder but never broke Snow's grip on his wrist. He released a scream as Scott and Derek struggled to hold him in the tub.
"They're just memories. You won't be hurt by memories," Deaton continued to sooth Isaac. A shudder passed through his body and his hand clenched tight around Snow's wrist where it lay against his palm. "Relax. Relax. Good." Scott and Derek released him and straightened.
Frost moved from Isaac's feet to Derek who wrapped one arm around her. "I think she's linked herself to him somehow," she whispered softly to him nodding at her sister who continued to glow albeit no longer eye burning bright.
He looked between the glowing girl and Isaac before nodding in understanding. "Their hearts are beating in sync with each other." Scott nodded in agreement after listening to it. Stiles eyes widened as he listened to them whisper to each other.
"Now tell us what you see. Tell us everything," Deaton continued to question Isaac as they whispered around him.
Isaac's blue eyes opened staring straight up at the flickering light. "I hear them. He's talking about the full moon. About being out of control when the moon rises."
"Is he talking to Erica?"
"I think so. I can't see her. I can't see either of them."
"Can you hear anything else?"
"They're worried. Worried what they'll do during the moon. Worried that they're going to hurt each other." Thunder rolled outside as the lights continued to flicker.
"If they're locked in together on the full moon, they are going to tear each other apart." Derek told them gripping Frost a little closer before releasing her.
Deaton spoke forcefully. "Isaac, we need to find them right now? Can you see them?"
"No." The light flickered on and off as thunder sounded outside.
"Do you what kind of room it is? Is there any kind of marker? A number on a door? A sign?" Isaac and Snow screamed as he sat up in the water. Both their hearts started racing.
"They're here," the two said in tandem. Derek and Scott reached for Isaac's shoulders, but he eased himself back into the water "They're here. They're here." He made a frightened noise as he tightened his hand around Snow's wrist making the werewolves wince at the grinding of her bones. Snow didn't react though.
"It's alright." Deaton tried to calm him as Isaac began to panic again. "Just tell us."
"They're here. They see me. They found me. They're here."
"This isn't working." Derek said and started to speak to Isaac when Frost shook her head.
"If she's linked herself to him, what happens to him will happen to her. You could kill them both," she whispered her tone angry that he even thought to do it. "Just trust her the way she trusts you." His face was blank, but he nodded his head at her before turning to look back at Isaac.
"I can't see them. It's too dark." Isaac screamed as he struggled to get away from something in his memories.
Snow's voice startled them all as she spoke aloud. "Isaac, I'm here." Her voice echoed strangely causing Stiles and Scott to shoot each other questioning looks. Isaac stilled and he began to share the night's events in a monotone voice.
Deaton stood up from where he crouched by the tub looking over at Frost a question in his eyes, but said nothing.
Inside Isaac's head, He was panicking until his memories slowed and stopped. Snow's voice echoed in the stillness, "Isaac, I'm here." Suddenly, he was looking down at himself being attacked by the female alpha. "What happened?" Isaac said as he held onto Snow's hand again.
"I separated your spirit from the memory. Now you can watch it, but not experience it again. Just let the memory play and we'll hear you."
"You'll stay," he said his heart beating wildly in his chest as he stared at the alpha's claws headed for his side.
"Until you kick me out," she smiled reassuringly and he let the memory finish.
"It's a vault. It's a bank vault." Isaac sat up in the water completely coherent. Snow's eyes snapped open and the glow dimmed and went out. She released his hand as she slipped backwards. Scott caught her before her head slammed back into the counter. Nodding her thanks, she moved out of the way stumbling as she rose to her feet as Isaac continued, "I saw it. I saw the name." Isaac watched her rub her wrist with the other hand as Scott helped him out of the tub. She shivered as she stood and he noticed that she was covered in water. He pulled Snow into him wrapping her under the towel that Dr. Deaton gave him. Her arms wrapped around his waist and he felt her lean into him as she shook. "It's Beacon Hills First National Bank. It's an abandoned bank." Stiles stood there staring off a look of shock on his face. "They're keeping them locked inside. In the vault." No one said anything and Isaac looked at each of them sensing something was wrong. Frost wouldn't meet his eyes though she'd wrapped her arms around Derek and Derek's face look shocked. "What?" He stared at Stiles knowing he would spit it out.
"You don't remember what you said right before you came out of it, do you?" Stiles asked.
"No." Isaac shook his head and waited for the other boy to tell him.
"You said when they captured you. They dragged you into a room and that there was a body in it."
"What body?"
"Erica." He paused drawing in a breath. "You said it was Erica."
"I saw it too." Snow's soft sad voice carried as she spoke into his chest. "I was in his memories. It was the girl from the posters." He tightened his arms around her. So that really did happen, and it wasn't just his imagination.
Dr. Deaton brought Isaac and Snow some additional towels. He dried himself off and put his shirt back on sitting on one of the counters. He pulled a shivering towel wrapped Snow to curl beside him as Derek paced. Derek's arms crossed defensively across his chest. Frost watched him balancing on the edge of the tub her face sad.
"She's not dead." Derek declared.
"Just because you don't want it to be true, doesn't make it so," Frost said forcing him to stop pacing as she stood in front of him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and he put his arms around her. They could all see some of the tension leave his muscles when she did.
"Derek, he said, 'It's a dead body. It's Erica.' It doesn't exactly leave us much room for interpretation," Stiles told the alpha werewolf.
"Then who was in the vault with Boyd?" he snapped.
"Don't," Frost whispered tightening her arms around him. His silence was the only response he gave her, but she smiled to herself when he let the teens talk amongst themselves.
"Someone else obviously," Stiles said in a 'duh' voice.
"Maybe it was the girl on the motorcycle. The one that saved you," Scott said looking over at Isaac and Snow.
"No, she wasn't like us. And whoever was in the vault with Boyd was." Isaac looked down an off as he pulled at the memories on the edge of his consciousness. Snow laid her head on his shoulder arms wrapped loosely around his middle. "Did you hear that part?" he asked her still unsure what exactly happened between them, but he knew she'd been there with him as that night replayed in his mind.
"I didn't recognize the voice, but yes," she said, exhaustion radiating through her. Her eyelids closed, but she remained awake listening to the conversation. "It wasn't the girl though."
"What if that's how Erica died?" Stile got an agitated expression on his face. "They pit them against each other during the full moon and see which one survives. It's like Werewolf Thunder Dome." A ghost of a smile lifted one corner of Snow's mouth.
"Then we get them out tonight." Derek said firmly.
"Be smart about this Derek. You can't just go storming in," Deaton admonished.
"If Isaac got in, then so can we," he retorted.
"But he didn't get through a vault door did he?" Deaton replied calmly.
Snow listened to the back and forth and wondered when Frost was going to interrupt this jaunt into crazy town. Her sister inherited their mother's talent for puzzles. Opening her eyes and looking at Frost, she saw the woman lost in thought. Closing her eyes again, she tuned them out as she listened to the calm beat of Isaac's heart.
"We need a plan," Scott said.
"How are we going to come up with a plan to break into a bank vault in less than 24 hours?" Derek asked the teens.
"I think someone already did." Stiles looked at his phone. "Beacon Hills First National Closes It's Doors 3 months after Vault Robbery. It doesn't say here how it was robbed. But it probably won't take long to find out."
"How long?"
"It's the internet, Derek," he snorted and Derek stared him down. "K, minutes."
"Not to kill your Oceans 11 fantasy, boys," Frost said disentangling herself from Derek so she could give them all an admonishing stare. "But I can get through the vault door even if it is closed." She picked up something metal and iced it over before dropping to the floor. Everyone jumped when it shattered into a million pieces. "Let's come up with a plan that's not stupid and includes the fact that you have not one, but two Tuatha De Dannan helping."
"Finally, I was afraid this was going to involve something incredibly annoying like climbing down a vent shaft full of spiders." Snow shuddered as she opened her eyes. Isaac's laughter rumbled under her ear.
They all looked at Frost. "Well, you've got a better plan?" Derek asked.
"Not yet, but we're going to start with some recon. Stiles, I need you to get blueprints of the bank," she nodded to herself as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Derek and I will case the place tomorrow while you all are at school. We'll meet at the loft after you get out. Scott, bring Allison and her bow." Derek started to protest when Frost glared at him. "Not up for discussion, Derek." She turned back to the group. "Any questions?" Everyone else shook his or her head. "No, then, I'll see you all tomorrow."
The group broke up with Stiles and Scott going home after helping Deaton clean up the clinic. However, Isaac and Snow sat on the hood of the rental car as Derek and Frost had an argument in low heated tones in the parking lot about Allison's involvement.
"So what happened in there? You were in my head with me," Isaac said as he looked at the girl beside him.
"I don't know. I just wanted to help you and I didn't know how so I let the magic find its own way," Snow said softly. "I've never had that happen before." She looked up at him fear in her eyes. "You're not mad, are you? I didn't mean to invade your privacy like that."
He couldn't believe she was serious. "Mad? No, I don't think I could have lived through that again if you hadn't been there." He slid closer to her. "Thank you."
"I told you not to do that," she said as she glared at his profile.
"I remember, but I want you to know how serious I am," he said as he continued looking ahead but putting his hand on top of hers. He'd seen the bruises forming on her other wrist from where he'd nearly broke it.
"Then, you remember that its going to make me feel awful the longer our scale stays unbalanced," she said leaning over against his shoulder.
"Then, you won't be able to say no." He grinned to himself.
"Say no to what?" She scrunched her face together in confusion as she moved to look at him. Had Isaac's brain been addled by the ice bath?
"To going out on a date with me Friday." He turned and almost laughed at the shocked expression on her face. Then, it faded and a megawatt grin spread across her face.
Her blue eyes dilated as she leaned in close and whispered, "Hell, yes." The conversation might have continued, but Frost stomped over steaming.
"You look pissed," Snow said as she glanced at her sister and then back at the fuming alpha. "Please tell me you didn't freeze Derek to the parking lot?"
Frost shot her sister a glare, but shook her head that she hadn't. Isaac got down from the hood of the car. "See you at school?" he asked. Snow nodded smiling at him as she got down as well, but couldn't bring herself to get in the car.
Her sister slammed the car door. "That's my cue to go," Snow said waving goodbye a goofy grin on her face as she got in. "So I take it the honeymoon is over?"
Frost didn't say anything as she headed back towards the house. After a few minutes of silence, Frost sighed. "Stupid, stubborn, hardheaded, asshole, alpha werewolf."
Snow laughed. "Don't hold back. Tell me what you really think."
"That there better be some mind shattering make-up sex," her sister flashed her a grin before turning back to the road.
Snow made a face for a moment. Then she remembered what happened with Isaac and goofy grin came back. "Isaac asked me out on a date!"
"No one saw that coming," Frost said. "When?"
"On Friday." The younger Morgan sister laid her head on the window as she smiled.
Frost hated to do this, but she knew they needed to do it.. "So we need to talk about what you did?"
Snow stopped smiling. "I don't know what I did."
"You linked yourself to him with glamour." Snow nodded.
"I was in his memories," Snow said softly. "I pulled his spirit out of them somehow so he could watch them but not relive them."
"Glamour is belief magic. You guide it with your will."
"I just wanted to be with him and help him through it." Frost smiled at her sister's words. They were silent for a minute.
"You know Mom never said, but I always suspected."
Snow cut her off. "Don't say it." Her face paled. She said, "I'm not like her. I'm not like any of them."
"She's not that bad, Snow. She loves us in her own complicated and twisted way."
"I don't want her version of love," the younger girl snapped. "I don't want to be her."
Sighing, Frost let the topic drop. "So are you and Isaac a couple or is this a date but not exclusive?"
Snow stayed quiet still upset with her sister for bringing up the banned subject. Frost turned on the radio as the drove silently for a while. Finally, she had to talk to Frost about Isaac. She was her sister and sometimes mom and all the time best friend. "I don't know. You came stomping over before I could do much more than say yes."
"If you have sex, use a condom."
Snow grinned at that as her sister parked the car in front of the house. "Aren't you supposed to advocate abstinence?"
"Um, have you seen me with Derek? That might be a bit hypocritical." Frost grinned back at her sister. "Besides I'm your sister not your mom. I'm allowed to be inappropriate." They got out of the car and walked into the house.
"You should apologize to Derek. Allison is my friend, but there's bad blood between those two. He deserves the right to veto her inclusion." Snow said.
"I know," Frost said sheepishly. "It sucks being wrong."
"He'll forgive you. He loves you."
"So you say," Frost looked down and scuffed her shoe on the floor. "Go to bed. You can drop me off at the loft before school tomorrow and I'll throw myself on his mercy." Snow rolled her eyes but headed upstairs.
Was that too fast for Snow and Isaac? I felt like they had shared enough moments together that what Snow did would have been a big deal to him. All Reviews are greatly appreciated.