*Sloan*
It wasn't long before Isaac reached the small, makeshift town; before he could even ask anyone for help, a foreman standing in the street called out to him.
"Hold up, Deathclaws are up north of here, I'd turn back if I were you. If you want to head to New Vegas, you're better off going southeast from Primm and then looping north. It's longer but it's a hell of a lot safer."
"Deathclaws?! Where did those come from?" Isaac asked. He'd heard a lot of bad stories about those things… Thankfully he wasn't trying to head to New Vegas, at least not yet, but he had to admit he was a little curious.
"They moved into the quarry after the Powder Gangers came through and took all of our dynamite. We shut the quarry down while we waited for the NCR to get us some more blasting sticks but now the Deathclaws have shown up. The NCR's a no-show and my men and I have nothing to do but sit on our asses all day. It's damn frustrating!" the guy told him.
"Have you dealt with Deathclaws before?"
"Well we'd seen them before but they didn't really get too close, not sure if it was because of all the noise or the workers. And now a whole pack has moved in- I thought bad luck like that only happened in New Vegas…"
"I'll remember to stay away but well, I'm actually just stopping by to give someone a letter, umm…" Isaac trailed off. He didn't actually have the name of the guy he was supposed to give it to, great.
"Is it from a little boy in Goodsprings, Tyler?" the foreman asked.
Isaac nodded, "Yea, that's him. It's for his dad."
"Yea, that would be Chuck, you can probably find him in the barracks right about now."
The Beta said his thanks and headed off to the building he was pointed to. As he entered, there was one man sitting up on one of the bunks and about 4 others already passed out. "Excuse me, are you Chuck?"
"Naw, that's Chuck," the worker answered, pointing to the man asleep on the nearby bunk.
He bit his lip, he'd have to wake him up, which he'd probably be mad about… but he didn't want to just leave the letter on the bed, in case he rolled over on it and lost it. Since he didn't want to leave it with any of the other workers, Isaac knew he'd just have to wake him up; he took a few steps and shook the man's shoulder, praying that he wouldn't be too cranky.
"Huh?"
"Sorry to wake you but um, I have a letter from your son, Tyler. He asked that I bring it to you."
Chuck sat up and took the letter, smiling at Isaac, "Thanks, I told him and his momma that it wasn't safe to come visit me anymore. He's really a good kid, I wish I was able to actually head over and see him. I mean it's not like we're doing anything here at the moment." He couldn't help himself and starting telling Isaac about his son.
It was a bit later when Isaac finally started walking back to Goodsprings; the conversation with Chuck had taken longer than he thought… He was starting to feel his Wolf fight for control. Derek was probably going to be mad at him for cutting it close but that little boy just seemed so earnest! He grunted and dropped down to his knees as a sudden wave of power coursed through him; everything around him got brighter as his brain got foggier. Shambling footsteps caught his attention and Isaac had enough sense to scurry behind a boulder as he desperately tried to find an Anchor.
Stiles saw the work lights ahead, a sigh of relief escaping his lips, "Dude, almost there. I hope they have at least one free bunk."
"Me too, they can't be that cold-hearted right?" Scott asked.
Moments later they stumbled across the road and up to the lone guy standing guard. He raised a gun and both boys froze, eyes wide. "Get out of here, we aren't putting up with any more gangsters!"
What? Scott looked down and realized that they were still wearing the outfits they stole! "These are disguises, I swear, we aren't with them! We needed to sneak into the correctional facility to meet with an acquaintance, please don't shoot!"
The foreman looked them up and down, deciding that they seemed to be telling the truth. He didn't think there were many gangsters that would deny their ties to the group. He lowered his gun, "Alright, I believe you. I'm Henry Tate, the foreman around here."
"Nice to meet you, we're Stiles and Scott, couriers with Mohave Express. You shouldn't have stand guard all night anymore by the way, we ended up in a fight with the guys in the facility and killed most of them. Killed some in Goodsprings too and another bunch were taken out in Primm earlier as well… there can't be that many left," Stiles told him.
"That's good to hear but that isn't the only reason I'm out here. The road isn't safe so we've been directing traffic to the other highways. Deathclaws have taken over the quarry."
"Oh, right! Yea, we were warned not to try to pass through here to get to New Vegas. This was just the direction we ran in as we left the facility. While we're here, can I ask what kind of… town… Sloan is?" Stiles asked. They were tired but he knew if he chit-chatted then the guy might be more willing to let them use a bunk for the night. It would be a little rude to flat out ask for a place to stay.
"Sloan isn't really a town, just a camp for us quarry workers. The actual quarry, Quarry Junction, is up the road a bit. The whole thing is an NCR operation. We make cement for the NCR using the limestone we dig out with dynamite and draglines. Dirty work but the pay's good. Wish we got paid in caps though. Not a lot of merchants like taking NCR paper money. Limits us to specific NCR facilities but it could be worse."
"Wow, sounds like quite the operation. Um… hate to inconvenience you but could we trouble you a place to stay? We'd be willing to take care of your little Deathclaw problem in the morning," Stiles offered.
Henry raised a brow, "Have you ever seen a Deathclaw son? They are taller than a man and far, far stronger and faster. And there's a whole pack of them out there. You'd have to be the meanest, strongest, toughest, roughest bastards in the Wastes to have any chance against them, and I don't think that's you. You'd need to take out the pack leaders- the Mother Deathclaw and the Deathclaw Alpha Male. Kill 'em and the pack will scatter. Pretty tough job. I wouldn't expect you two to deal with it, not for wanting to occupy a bunk. You two look pretty road-weary anyways, I don't have the heart to turn you boys away. We should have a spare bunk in the barracks, feel free to tuck in for the night. Maybe you can repay us by talking to the NCR guys about getting us some help instead."
"Gee thanks…" he grumbled. The lack of faith was insulting and instead they had yet another reason to go beg from the NCR… wonderful. They didn't even get a 'thank you' for taking out the Powder Gangers!
"Really, thank you for letting us stay, it's been a long day. We're heading to the Mohave Outpost anyways so, we'll be sure to tell them about your situation and see if we can't convince them to actually send help," Scott jumped in, not wanting his brother's attitude to get the offer rescinded.
The pair of them headed into the small camp and looked around for the barracks, or someone that could point them to the right building. All they saw was a mutated Naked Molerat. He was about a foot and a half tall with large front teeth and claws and he was limping. Scott immediately noticed and crouched down, "Hey, what's wrong little guy?" The Molerat snuffled and held out his paw, and Scott saw that it was bleeding. "Aw, let me fix that for you," he offered, easily swinging his pack onto the ground and opening it up. He pulled out some antibiotics and bandages and easily patched up the creature's arm. "There ya go!"
Stiles couldn't help but smile as the creature snuffled happily and nosed Scott's arms in thanks. It was a good thing that it wasn't scared of Scott, otherwise his paw might've gotten infected as he shuffled around the camp. Clearly no one else had been able to patch him up, the wound wasn't super fresh.
One of the workers came out of a nearby building and saw them with the Molerat. "Hey, you helped Snuffles, thanks for that. None of us here really have any experience in medical stuff. If we get hurt we're off to Deaton in Goodsprings. Thankfully he takes our paper money for patching us up. But we can't get Snuffles to leave the camp and Deaton doesn't leave the town, so the poor guy has been limping around."
"Happy to help," Scott told him as he got back on his feet. He asked about the barracks and the guy was happy to point them to the right building. There were only four buildings around so they could've just started opening doors… but they didn't want anyone to think they were snooping.
Stiles led the way, stopping for a second outside the barracks. "Dude, Deathclaws?" he whispered, "We've never actually come across those have we?"
Scott shook his head, "No, I kinda want to see what they look like. You up for sneaking a peek at them in the morning?"
"Totally. Maybe they aren't that bad, I mean, Mr. Tate wouldn't be the first person to underestimate us," Stiles agreed.
The workers pretty much ignored them as they dropped off their packs on a spare bunk, they must have figured that Mr. Tate wouldn't have let them into camp if they were dangerous. That or they were just too tired to notice their outfits. As Scott sat down to take off his shoes, Stiles nudged him, gesturing that they should take a quick look around outside before going to sleep. They didn't want to mess up the worker's hospitality by luring any straggling Powder Ganger idiots there. Might as well just double check that none of them were coming their way before calling it a night, even though both of them were dead tired- it always paid to be overly cautious. Neither of them worried about the bags; normally they'd never leave their stuff unattended but it was technically an NCR operation so it wasn't as risky.
Scott nodded his head, "Good idea." He groaned as he got back to his feet; he hadn't felt that tired in a long time… but the day was almost over.
The two of them went back out into the night; they were mostly going to be relying on Scott's awesome night vision since Stiles hadn't found any Cateye lying around lately. But still, Stiles wasn't going to let Scott do the work alone. They only went a few steps before they were halted by a low growl in the air… they also spied a pair of glowing amber eyes in the street.
Isaac had tried and tried to think of Derek, of making him proud and staying reined in but without his Alpha there to help keep him under control, Isaac felt himself slipping. His Wolf was clouding his mind, wanting control… Minutes later, the pull of the nearby heartbeats was too much for him to ignore and he stalked out of the bushes, ready to hunt. A growl started rumbling low in his throat of its own accord- he didn't need to be sneaky, Humans weren't much of a challenge. And there was one all alone, standing in the middle of the road! As he came closer, finally within sight range for the weaker Human, he couldn't help but grin at the sound of his racing heart, it made his Wolf howl with delight.
"Isaac?! Dude, what are you doing?" Stiles called out. "Mr. Tate don't shoot, please, we know him."
"I'll have to if he comes any closer… he was here just a few minutes ago and he was fine!" he called out, his gun raised.
"Scott, distract him, the full moon must be messing with his head… What the hell is he doing out here if he can't control himself? And where the hell is Alpha Sourwolf?" Stiles cursed. "Mr. Tate, get inside, we'll take care of it. He's not a bad guy, I swear."
Thankfully Mr. Tate must've dealt with Weres before because he didn't just turn tail and run, instead he took small steps towards the buildings. As he backed away, Scott let out a loud snarl and rushed Isaac, completely pulling his attention away from the Human. Stiles winced as they collided, Isaac snarling aggressively and attempting to throw Scott off of him… Scott had the advantage of being in complete control, his mind was clearer; Isaac didn't stand a chance. Not that Scott was really going to hurt him. Stiles ran down the road, calling out and waving his arms, hoping to lure him further away from Sloan and any stupid idiots that might poke their heads out to see what the commotion was. If he could just get further from the people, the lure of Human scent should wane and they could subdue Isaac a little easier. After that maybe Scott could try howling for Derek; he had to be out there somewhere looking for the Beta. Stiles sprinted as Isaac finally got loose from Scott and came running after him; he knew Scott would never let Isaac get close enough to hurt him, so as long as he was chasing after a moving target, Stiles was going to give him something to chase. He hadn't gone too far when he heard some scuffling behind him- Scott must have tackled Isaac again. As he turned around to look, something blindsided him and flung him across the road, a loud roar filling his ears. Deathclaws… in his rush to get Isaac away from the others, he didn't realize he'd run to the quarry… He grunted in pain as he hit the road and rolled, the fresh burn on his arm protesting at the harsh treatment. Luckily the roar had got both Weres's attention and they shifted to focus on the huge beast coming towards him.
"Stiles!" Scott shouted, rising to his feet and sprinting at the hulking, bipedal reptilian creature that had appeared. It stood at least nine feet tall with long arms reaching down to its knees, twelve inch claws at the end of each digit. No wonder they were called Deathclaws… Scott watched in horror as Stiles attempted to stand and escape but the animal was fast and was on Stiles as he was climbing to his feet- claws already raised and slashing downward.
Stiles tried to dive out of the way when he realized that the beast was right on top of him but he was too slow and he felt his skin tear across his back. He cried out in pain and dropped to the ground, barely registering the snarling coming from the two Weres running at him. Stiles did his best to block out the pain and crawl away, before the second blow came, surely that one would be his head- he wasn't going to die on Scott, not again.
Isaac fought off his attacker, mind racing at to why a Were was attacking him- was the Human his prey? He didn't know there was a Wolf already hunting in the area… he didn't mean to encroach… But the other Wolf wasn't hurting him, just restraining him. What did that mean? Isaac was fighting the urge to bite into the Were's neck when he heard a scream of terror and scented another creature nearby. A big one, something that made the hair on his tail stand on end; when he looked up, he saw the light-skinned monster and froze. All thoughts of hunting left his mind… that monster would easily tear him to pieces, Werewolf healing or not. Time to run away! Isaac blinked in surprise when the Were next to him bolted straight towards the creature- was he insane?! Isaac stood and started to back away, trying to stay quiet and not draw attention to himself. Just as he was about to turn around and make a run for it, the breeze shifted in his direction and he caught a strong whiff of the Human's scent. It caused a drastic change in Isaac's own plan of action, one that caught him by surprise. Instead of running away from the monster, Isaac was suddenly running towards it, full of distress and worry over the Human getting attacked. His own wellbeing was thrown out the window as he raced forward and dove on top of the guy on the ground, protecting him from the oncoming attack.
Stiles whimpered a bit at the sudden weight that flung itself at him, was Scott seriously going to let himself get torn up instead? The roar of pain that sounded from above surprised him- that wasn't Scott that just got hurt. "Isaac?" he asked. He flinched as he felt another swipe hit Isaac's body before the Deathclaw was tackled off of them. Before he could say anything else, Stiles was hauled to his feet and dragged towards the abandoned machinery on the side of the road.
They were almost there when a second Deathclaw, an adolescent judging by its smaller frame, leapt in their path and swiped at them. Isaac snarled at it and slid Stiles behind him, doing his best to hold him up and face the creature at the same time. He still didn't completely understand why but his Wolf wanted, no needed, to keep the Human safe. Isaac wasn't sure if he'd be able to fight that thing while holding up the guy behind him but couldn't just drop him either… he could still hear the fight going on from the other Were and if he lost… that monster was going to come straight for them and they'd be screwed.
"Isaac, it's okay, I can stand… kinda," Stiles whispered. He sighed in relief when it seemed Isaac understood him and let go, stepping forward to challenge the Deathclaw. He couldn't help but wince when he noticed the deep gashes down Isaac's back from the first attack. Why had he stepped in like that? And how had he beaten Scott to it? Suddenly his mind was flooded with concern for Scott as he heard his telltale snarl coming from behind them. After he dropped to his knees, since he was wobbling dangerously, he turned and saw that thankfully Scott had the first Deathclaw on the ground and was tearing into its throat. After that he'd be able to come help Isaac with the other one- hopefully neither of them were hurt too bad. His own back was still screaming in agony and he was starting to feel dizzy… Stiles could barely focus on the fighting going around him, needing most of his energy to stay upright. "Scott, please be okay… Don't die over something like this," Stiles mumbled to himself. He'd never forgive himself if Scott got hurt because he hadn't been paying enough attention…
As Stiles started to fall over, Isaac rushed forward and wrapped his arms around him; he pulled him to his feet and continued to drag him towards the nearest piece of quarry machinery. He was panting and whimpering, his own pain threatening to subdue him but he had to get the Human to safety! There was blood dripping down his leg and he was limping badly but he managed to make it to the machine without any further attacks… Once there, he pushed Stiles up against it and started pressing on his back to try and stop the bleeding, not knowing what else to do.
When he felt the pressure on his back, Stiles hissed in pain and clenched his hands into fists. The pressure was necessary but boy did it hurt! He didn't hear any more fighting… and there weren't any Deathclaws attacking them so that had to mean that Scott had managed to kill off the creature he was fighting. There was no way it got the upperhand and made one last swipe, killing him, no, no way! Stiles refused to follow that train of thought. Maybe the reason it was so quiet was because he was rushing back to Sloan to grab some med kits, yea, that was it, not because he was dead. His thoughts were interrupted by Scott calling out to them just a moment later.
"Stiles are you-" his sentence was cut off as Isaac snarled loudly. Scott had been walking towards them but halted abruptly, surprised by the outburst.
"I'm fine Scotty… well my back is tore up, I don't know how bad," Stiles called out over his shoulder, almost going limp with relief. He wished he could turn around to see him but Isaac's body prevented him from moving. "Isaac is keeping pressure on it, which is helping. Are you alright? What about Isaac? I noticed him limping…"
"I got a few cuts but they're healing, I'll eat some of the Gecko meat we have, no biggie. Isaac's looking pretty tore up but I think he'll heal okay… as long as he has enough fuel to burn. We've got to get you back to Sloan, you won't heal like us."
"Scott, I don't think he's going to let you near me… he thinks this is the safest place right now. Seriously, he's got me backed into a corner and isn't letting anything near me… best thing for you to do is go find Derek, he should be able to rein the Wolf in, bring Isaac back to his senses. Really I'll be fine for now, I won't bleed out that fast. He might've wanted to eat me before but right now he doesn't, that's the important thing. The faster you leave the faster you'll get back here, no arguing," Stiles ordered.
Scott grumbled under his breath but ran off, heading straight for Goodsprings, praying that Stiles was right about Isaac's state of mind. But he did have a point, Isaac was coherent enough to keep Stiles pressed into a corner, to make sure nothing was getting to him- unless they went through Isaac first. Not that it would be hard for a Deathclaw to go through him… As soon as he made it passed Sloan, he started howling, hoping that Derek was close enough to hear it. He had to be worried about his Beta and Scott prayed that he'd come running.
*Goodsprings*
Derek led Erica and Boyd to the small cave he had found, southeast of town; it was a den to some coyotes but he'd managed to persuade them to share it for the night. They weren't too happy about it but they weren't attacking and that's what mattered. Derek led them over to one wall of the cave, well away from the mother and her cubs that were huddled along the back wall. They were far enough from the entrance that he could guard Erica, stop her from bolting for town, but close enough to the front that hopefully she wouldn't feel trapped. "Erica, are you sure you have an Anchor? I mean, you aren't used to being unchained during the full moon right?" Derek asked.
"You explained it pretty well earlier and I was talking to Boyd about it a lot while we were in the bar. I swear I can do it if you're both here to keep me in check. It might take me a moment to truly feel in control but I think I'll manage to not completely go on a rampage," Erica told them, running her brush through her freshly trimmed tail. She was trying to distract herself, wondering how long it might take for the hair to grow back; as she brushed, she could feel her tail tingling and hoped that it meant it would be soon. She was extremely nervous and was trying to not show it but she wasn't lying either, she did think she could do it.
"Boyd, are you okay with watching her for a moment? This isn't her first full moon but she's never had an Anchor before. I really need to go find Isaac, it's not like him to be gone; I can feel that he's safe but I'm still worried. I'll try to be back before the bloodlust peaks. Howl if you think it's getting bad, I'll come back."
He nodded and turned to Erica as the Alpha disappeared outside, "Are you sure you have a good Anchor?"
"Yea, I know what I need to think about to stay in control, I'm sure it's strong enough. Just… can you do me a favor?" Erica asked. She waited for him to nod before continuing, "When it seems like I'm starting to lose control, just keep saying my name. Before, at Primm, no one ever called me by my name during the full moon. At best it was always 'girl' and I'd rather not say what the worst one was."
"I can do that for you," Boyd promised. He patted the rock next to him, "Might as well sit, it's going to be a long night."
Erica nodded and sat down, "I hope Derek's able to find Isaac… it doesn't seem right that he's missing… Like, I only just met both of them and I kinda focused on telling them about me, I didn't get to hear much about him, but he just doesn't seem like the type that would wander off on his own. Not on his first full moon- you saw how nervous he was about it. He wanted to be here with us and because he's not that means something's wrong…"
"Yea, he went for a walk but he said he wasn't going to go far; he's been here to Goodsprings before so there's no way he got lost. We didn't hear any fighting either, and it's not like Weres are quiet."
"But what if someone or something got the drop on him?! Then he wouldn't have been able to call for help or even snarl."
Boyd shook his head, "Derek said he felt that Isaac was safe; if Isaac was hurt, Derek would definitely know. Maybe Isaac just found his own cave to hole up in, knowing it was too risky to try and come back through town to find us."
She wanted to believe him so she didn't try to come up with a counterargument. Instead she focused on her own control. The two of them sat quietly, waiting… when Derek didn't reappear right away she became slightly concerned… how had he not found Isaac yet? Erica stood up and started pacing, worked up with anxiety over her Packmate and unable to stand the itchiness any longer. A few minutes later she could feel her Wolf start to take over; her tail was whipping the air behind her as she struggled to manage her pent up energy. A fog filled her mind and all she could think about was going out for a sprint, forgetting the exact reason why she was in the cave. It was the full moon, she needed to be out with her Pack!
Boyd noticed her inching towards the entrance to the cave and got to his feet, ready to act. "Hey, Erica, you have to stay in here with me, okay? I know the Wolf wants to go out but you have to stay in control, okay Erica? Remember, you have an Anchor? You can fight the pull, I believe in you," he whispered, not wanting to startle her by breaking the silence.
She turned at looked at him, whimpering just slightly as she tried to fight the fog. Erica… her name was Erica… she had a name, she was a person. And she had to stay in the cave, her Alpha wanted her in the cave. She almost panicked at the thought of being trapped but she looked over at the entrance and saw open sky… she wasn't in a cage! Knowing that she wasn't trapped, Erica relaxed a little, slowed down her pacing.
Boyd smiled as she eventually stopped pacing, "Yea, there you go, stay calm Erica."
"Erica," she whispered. "Erica, not 'Monster'… Erica."
He watched as her gaze turned inward and she wrapped her arms around herself; he frowned as he realized that her experiences at Primm weren't that great. Of course he'd heard them mention the whole 'locked up' thing but he didn't think that anyone around might've also called her a monster. Boyd watched her for a few more moments, sitting back down when he felt sure that she wouldn't go running for Goodsprings. She had a torn look on her face but he was hesitant to interrupt her train of thought- she was in control and that was what mattered. As he sat there, keeping an eye on his companion, he flexed his fingers and thought about what Erica had told him. Apparently all Weres could control their physical form! How come no one at the trading company had told him that? He had known of course that there were Alphas who could control it but as far as he knew, none of the Betas could do it. It made sense though, they all came from mixed background with very few Born-Weres so none of them really knew a lot about their powers. Still, surely someone there had known all Weres could do it, so why weren't they being taught?! After almost six months with Werewolf Wares, Scott was the first non-Alpha Wolf he'd ever seen with complete control like that. He hadn't even known Scott was a Were until he'd flashed his eyes!
Erica was struggling for dominance against the Wolf in her head… even though she didn't feel any violent urges like last month, she still wanted to race outside and release her wild energy. But she couldn't! The Human half of her needed to be in control tonight, she needed to prove that she wasn't a monster like everyone thought. She forced herself to remember what Derek had told them, about Wolves being more than Human instead of less than. She had decided right then and there that her Anchor was going to be her humanity! Even if others thought they were monsters, she knew that they weren't and she couldn't let herself forget that. She wasn't a beast like Beagle said, she didn't need to be locked up on the full moons! Not anymore! Now she had Derek, an Alpha, to teach her, she was fine. Her inner Wolf was a part of her, not something to be feared, but it was important that they reach a balance. Before Erica had worked hard to appear normal, she dulled her senses, avoided being overly friendly with other Weres that came into town… and then on the full moon she'd give in to the Wolf, wanting to feel strong despite being locked away. Things were going to be different though, she was going to learn. Erica was snapped out of her introspection as she sensed her Alpha coming back. Immediately she straightened up and waited for him to appear- surely he'd be proud of her.
Just a moment later Derek stepped back into the cave, checking on the two Weres. He noticed that Erica was hovering towards the entrance but saw the focused look in her eye and knew she wasn't trying to escape. "Hey, how are you holding up? It looks like you're doing really well," he said as he ruffled her hair a bit. He was rewarded with a wag of her tail and a big smile as she nodded her head.
"She's holding herself together really well, seems like she did find a good Anchor," Boyd agreed.
Before he could make a comment, Erica spoke up, noticing that he was alone. "Isaac?" she asked, in control enough to remember her other Packmate.
Derek grimaced, "Haven't found him, although I did find his scent trail and it led out of town. Then I got some pain from him, which has to be pretty significant in order for me to feel it so I think he's in trouble. I promised I'd never let anything happen to him… I'm going to venture farther away and follow his scent, I have to find him. I just wanted to stop by and check on you before I left town."
"We'll be fine here, right Erica?"
She nodded and shuffled away from the entrance of the cave, going back and sitting by Boyd again. There was still the itchy feeling but it was calm enough that she didn't feel the need to pace anymore. "In control," she stated.
"I'll be back with him as soon as I can," Derek promised. He could tell that she was only on the edge of control since she wasn't forming complete sentences but she was talking and not growling which was more than enough for Derek. He leaned in to quickly squeeze her shoulder and he tried to send as much of a calming influence as he could via their Pack bonds before he ran back out of the cave. All he could really hope is that Isaac hadn't hurt anyone… there was no way he was in control and neither of them would forgive themselves if he killed someone… His first full moon and he wasn't even with his Alpha… Derek berated himself as he picked up Isaac's trail again- he sure was doing a bang-up job with the Alpha thing. Because he couldn't keep track of one Beta, he had to leave his second one… he wasn't with either of them when they needed him… Thankfully Boyd was okay with stepping up and helping Erica while he tried to help Isaac. As he started to head out of town, he heard a howl- it wasn't Isaac but, it was coming closer and the odds were high Isaac had something to do with it. He sprinted towards the voice, throwing out a howl of his own so they knew he was coming.
"Derek! Derek, you gotta hurry," Scott yelled out as soon as they caught sight of each other. Without even waiting for Derek to catch up to him, Scott spun on his heel and started leading the way back to the quarry, there was no time to waste.
"What's going on, how badly is Isaac hurt?" Derek asked as he chased after the boy.
"His back is all scratched up, but he should be healing… as long as no other Deathclaws find them…"
Deathclaws?! Shit, Isaac was in some serious trouble if he was dealing with a pack of those. And it didn't escape his notice that Scott mentioned 'them' and that Stiles wasn't with him. He didn't even need his Wolf senses to pick up on the distress that was coming off the younger Werewolf, he was worried about his brother. "What happened?" Derek asked- he needed as much information as he could get.
"Stiles and I walked outside at Sloan and saw him stalking the foreman, clearly not in control of himself. We managed to get all the people inside and lured Isaac further away. Then we were blindsided by a Deathclaw… Stiles got hurt and for whatever reason, Isaac helped me save him. But then, when I was trying to get to Stiles, Isaac wouldn't let me near him, so Stiles told me to just come get you."
The Alpha frowned as he listened, clearly Isaac wasn't in control, but then why did he decide to save a Human instead of hunt him? In fact, his Wolf instincts should have been to just book it when he saw the Deathclaws but instead he put himself in danger. As they got closer to Sloan and the quarry, Derek couldn't hear any signs of fighting going on- if only there was a better breeze, he'd be able to tell if they were dead or alive.
"Stiles?!" Scott called out, needing to hear his voice. He got a weak response of 'Still here bro,' but it was more than enough for him. He skidded to a stop next to the excavator that Isaac still had them both pressed against.
"Dude, he hasn't let me move and he keeps whimpering, what's going on?" Stiles asked, glad to have Scott back.
"Isaac, let him go," Derek called out, not wanted to Order him just yet, seeing if maybe there was a chance that the Human side could take control.
Isaac let out a quick snarl that ended in a whimper, his face full of worry as he looked back at them. Stiles was hurt, he was bleeding, he needed to stop the bleeding! Every time Stiles tried to move, Isaac held him closer, moving was making it worse. But then the voice was back in his head, loud and clear, pushing away a bit of the fog.
"Isaac, it's me Derek, your Alpha, you have to let us help him. You're both bleeding!"
Cautiously Isaac turned around fully, but he kept Stiles behind him, just in case the younger Wolf wanted to hurt Stiles.
"So… any idea as to why he's not trying to eat me right now?" Stiles asked, wincing in pain as he turned to face them. Sure, he had told Scott that it would be okay but still, he was a bleeding Human, it was weird that Isaac wasn't attacking. At the mention of eating him, Stiles noticed that Isaac whined louder and then glared at Scott, like Scott was the most likely one to cross that line.
Derek frowned at Isaac, "I'm not sure just yet but that's not the most important thing, we need to get both of you back to Sloan so we can patch you up. See if you can't talk him into going with you."
Stiles sighed in exasperation, why would Isaac listen to him when he wasn't even really listening to his Alpha but it was worth a shot. "Hey Isaac, buddy, I need to sit down. Can we go back to the people?"
Isaac whirled around and whimpered, people might try to hurt them more, people weren't to be trusted! Except Stiles of course, Stiles was safe. Stiles took a few small steps, doing his best not to wince but Isaac knew he was in pain. Clearly Stiles wanted to go somewhere, but Isaac didn't want him walking and hurting himself; at the same time, he didn't want to put his back to the unknown Werewolf. He growled at the younger Wolf and gestured for him to move away.
"Back away Scott, I think he doesn't want you too close to Stiles right now. His Wolf doesn't recognize you so he sees you as a threat to Stiles," Derek informed him. Scott opened his mouth to argue but the Alpha silenced him with a glare.
"It's fine Scott, let's just work on getting me some help without anymore fighting," Stiles said. As he spoke, Isaac crouched down in front of him, gesturing for him to climb onto his back; Stiles groaned, that was going to be awkward. But it was probably the easiest way to carry him without tearing his back any further so he climbed on. Scott and Derek made sure to stay in front of Isaac and slowly they made their way back down the highway to the buildings of Sloan.
"That building there is the barracks, where all of our stuff is. If we can get Stiles onto the bunk, I can fix him up with the stuff we have. Do you think Isaac will let me?" Scott asked.
Derek nodded, "He will, I'll hold him down if he refuses to let you get close."
When they finally reached the building, Scott went and knocked on the door, not wanting to surprise any of the workers. "Hey, we're coming in, Isaac is mostly under control and Stiles is hurt, I need to patch him up. Isaac's Alpha is here though so there shouldn't be any more problems."
There was some rustling as Mr. Tate asked the workers to head over to the admin building to give the guys space. The boys were standing off to the side as the workers filed past, Isaac growling a low warning at them all. Scott mumbled a quick thank you and led the way to their spare bunk; Isaac easily grasped that Stiles wanted to be set down on the bed. As he crouched down and let him climb off, he stayed next to the bed, carefully watching what Scott was up to. Derek gently moved him to the head of the bed, so he wouldn't be in Scott's way, Isaac's hand quickly reaching over to grasp Stiles's.
"Thank God you still had this vest on, I think it saved your life, otherwise those claws would have gone in deeper. And they missed your spine too, that's a miracle in and of itself," Scott mumbled to himself and he cut away the ruined clothes. He pulled out one of the stimpacks and used it on Stiles, wincing as Stiles hissed in pain. Then he pulled out the healing powder that Sunny had showed them how to make and sprinkled it into the slashes on his back- that should stop the bleeding as well as get his blood cell production back up. All that was left was to put some bandages on him and get him to Deaton. As soon as he stepped back, Isaac climbed onto the bed and curled protectively around Stiles again, much to everyone's surprise.
Derek tapped Scott on the shoulder and pulled him back a few steps, "We might have an issue."
"Why is he so focused on Stiles? He didn't really seem to like either of us that much this morning on the road," Scott asked.
"The Wolf often picks up on different things than the Human side, when we were on the road, the Human side was still in control. Clearly Isaac's Wolf feels a strong need to protect Stiles," Derek explained.
"Well yea, so do I," Scott scoffed.
The Alpha rolled his eyes, "But you've known him for years, Isaac had a brief meeting with him a few hours ago and now he's risking his own life to save him. The marks on his back are proof of that. He should've ran the second he caught scent of the Deathclaws, any Wolf would have. Isaac's been running on pure instinct tonight, this is his first full moon. We never really had a chance to find a solid Anchor for him to use."
"Are you serious? No wonder he was going after Mr. Tate…"
"Yea, so that means, something about Stiles pulled him back from those instincts and threw him into protection mode." Derek had an idea of what it meant but he didn't want to discuss it now, not before Isaac came to his senses and was able to speak for himself. It's possible that Stiles just reminded Isaac of his family or something, but whatever it was, these protective instincts weren't to be taken lightly. They'd have to discuss it all in the morning though, he really needed to get back to Erica and Boyd. "Isaac, come on, we have to go," Derek said.
Isaac let out a pitiful whimper and curled around the other boy even closer, burying his head in Stiles's shoulder blade.
"He'll be fine here, I don't think he's going to move unless someone gets too close to Stiles right now," Scott offered. There was no way they'd get Stiles all the way to Goodsprings in the middle of the night anyways, that was going to have to wait until morning.
Derek just sighed, "Bring him to Goodsprings in the morning, that's where I'll be. If he becomes a problem, howl for me and I'll drag him out of here."
Scott nodded and slowly approached the bed, happy that Isaac didn't start growling at him that time. "Stiles, how you doing?"
"Tired, and I have this lump on top of me, it's weird knowing it's not you dude… But, I'll survive, I can feel the stimpack kicking in."
"Alright, that's good, now let's see if I can't get Isaac to shift a little so I can get some sleep too…"
During their conversation, Derek went out and waved to Mr. Tate, signaling that they were safe to go back to their posts (or bunks for some of them). He stayed and helped Scott talk Isaac into shifting closer to the wall with Stiles in the middle so Scott could take the outer portion of the small bunk. Once the three of them were as settled as they were going to get, Derek left and sprinted back to his other Beta, eager to check in on her.
*Sloan, morning*
Isaac stretched and nuzzled closer to the warm body in front of him, breathing their scent in; it took him a moment to register that he didn't actually recognize it. Well, he recognized it sort of, it made him smile but… who was it? He sat up in bed and looked around, heart spiking as he tried to piece together where he was… nothing looked familiar and he smelled blood! Before he could start freaking out, the person beside him stirred and yelped, startling Isaac.
"Holy fuck, how could I possibly forget about that?" Stiles cursed as he felt his back fire up with pain. He had been half asleep when he stretched but he was fully awake now!
"Dude, scoot over, you're hogging the bunk," Scott mumbled from beside him.
Stiles looked and realized that Scott was indeed on the edge of their bed and apologized, carefully scooting closer to the wall. Well, until he realized there was another warm body behind him. Right, they had company.
"What am I doing here?" Isaac asked, doing his best to not freak out.
Stiles did his best to turn and face him without hurting his back, "You don't remember last night?"
Isaac took in the smell of blood and the bandages on Stiles's back, "I didn't hurt you did I? Please tell me I didn't… last night was the full moon… I came here to drop off a letter and then… then things are kinda fuzzy."
"Naw man, these aren't from you… you would not be sleeping behind me if you had attacked me. Not if Scott had anything to say about it. It was a Deathclaw; got you too, but I'm sure you're all healed up from it."
"Come on, since we're awake, we better not keep Derek waiting… he wants us, or Isaac, in Goodsprings so we better head out. I want to get you to Deaton as well," Scott said as he rolled off the bed. More sleep would be nice but Stiles needed medical attention, there was no way he could just go back to sleep knowing that. He grabbed up one of the packs and found a shirt for Stiles, tossing it to him. "Get dressed, come on slow pokes."
"Oh heaven forbid at least one of us doesn't have awesome healing abilities and can't just roll out of bed Fluffy-Butt!" Stiles complained as he sat up very carefully.
Isaac awkwardly climbed off the bed and helped Stiles stand before backing away; he didn't understand why he wanted to help. How had he even run into the two of them, hadn't they been heading to Primm? As he stood and waited for Stiles to get dressed, he realized that he felt a breeze; looking over his shoulder he saw that his shirt and pants were all tore up. Thankfully he had left the white hoodie with his pack- Isaac would have felt awful if he had ruined the one thing Derek gave him. The scarf came off his neck in a panic, he needed to make sure that as still unharmed as well. Isaac let out a huge sigh of relief when there wasn't a tear in the knitting; it wasn't going to fray on him. Moments later he followed the guys out into the early morning light, walking slow so Stiles could keep up.
"So, do you remember anything?" Stiles asked. It had been quite a few years since Scott's first moon but he was able to recall most of it… it seemed strange to him that Isaac seemed startled to wake up next to them. Had the Wolf really taken that much control over him?
"Dude, don't push it… we don't want his Alpha thinking that we're interfering or something," Scott cut in, a little more harshly than he intended. He couldn't help it though… Derek had seemed concerned about Isaac's instincts and it was obvious that he hadn't wanted to leave Isaac with them. So he assumed that Derek would want to be the one to help Isaac piece the evening together. At least that way he couldn't accuse them of trying to influence the guy's memories or anything. But Scott also had the feeling that Derek was hiding something- he was confused by Isaac's actions but it had almost seemed like he had an answer too, one that he hadn't shared.
"Geez, sorry for being curious," Stiles replied testily. Scott probably knew something he didn't, there was no other reason why he would've cut him off like that… it took him by surprise. But he wasn't going to fight with Scott over it. Instead he turned back to Isaac, "Okay ignore my previous question, instead, would you dig me out some of the dandy boy apples in the pack please, I'm hungry."
Isaac nodded and pulled the bag off of his shoulders and started rummaging through it; he felt a little weird going through someone else's things but he'd offered to carry it since Stiles obviously couldn't. Once he found them he wordlessly handed them to Stiles and closed the bag. The rest of the walk was filled with awkward silence, but it at least gave Isaac time to sort through his hazy memory and piece together what he could… although truthfully it only made him more confused. They were about halfway to Goodsprings when Derek intercepted them.
"Isaac, how are you feeling?" Derek called out. He waved to the other boys, wanting things to stay relaxed. It was hard though, he wanted to spirit Isaac away and question him, but it wasn't like the strangers did anything wrong. So he couldn't be rude to them, that would make things worse and he knew it.
"Completely confused but Human so that's a plus right?"
"C'mon, Erica wants to see you and make sure you're alright. She's never had a Packmate before so she's a little worried," Derek chuckled, waving him over.
Isaac handed the bag to Scott and waved good-bye; he felt a strange pang of sadness at leaving them, but he had no reason to disobey Derek either so he settled with looking back at them as he walked off. Hopefully Deaton would be able to get Stiles patched up, it was way too risky to travel the Wastes with an injury.
"Come on, we've still got a ways to go," Scott said quietly.
"Yea, thanks for not trying to stitch me up, I'd rather not have vicious scars down my back," Stiles said dryly.
Scott almost shoved him but pulled his hand back at the last second, "If you don't stop complaining I'm going to make you carry your own pack the rest of the way."
"No you wouldn't, you love me too much," Stiles laughed.
It took them a long time to finally enter Goodsprings and thankfully not too many people were milling about in morning heat. Stiles sighed in anguish as he eyed the incline to get into the doctor's house. Scott stayed right by his side, ignoring Stiles's pitiful pleas to just let him die instead. Derek must have warned Deaton of their arrival because the front door was open before Scott even raised his hand to knock.
"Come on in, I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised that you're back again so soon," Deaton told them, a small smile playing on his lips. "Decided to go play with the Deathclaws in Quarry Junction? You really are hard to kill- anyone else wouldn't have come out of that alive you know."
"Well really I was just trying to save some poor sap from getting eaten by a Were… I wasn't paying attention… those monsters just came out of nowhere and attacked! But at least now we know all about Deathclaws, right Scott?"
"More than enough… Mr. Tate was right, I don't think we can handle that pest problem," Scott mumbled, helping Stiles onto the medical cot. "I gave him a stimpack and put some healing powder on him but he might still need stitches…"
"I'll take a look and let you know, if I can fix a bullet in the head, I can fix some Deathclaw slashes. He's awake and coherent so that's the best sign, even walked here on his own two feet. Off with the shirt Stiles."
The teen sighed and carefully took off his shirt before lying down on his stomach… hopefully he wouldn't scar too bad. As it was, he was probably made up of more scar tissue than anything else, unless of course you could count sarcasm.
*Goodsprings Cave*
"Isaac, oh thank God!" Erica cried out as soon as the pair ducked into the cave. She pulled her Packmate into a hug, scenting his cheek with hers.
Isaac shyly returned the hug, not used to positive physical contact being initiated; once he got over the shock he happily scented her back though. It was nice having a Packmake that was open to hugging, neither he nor Derek seemed to be capable. "Sorry to worry you… I… Some kid asked me to deliver a letter for him, his dad is over in Sloan. I thought I'd make it back in time. I didn't realize it was so late and then I just- I tried to stay in control but…" he trailed off, ashamed that he lost dominance to the Wolf. Derek tried to warn him it would be hard but like a dumbass he had decided to wander off so close to nightfall… why did he think he could handle it? He didn't even have any experience with an Anchor and he thought he'd be fine to leave town that late… Isaac shook his head to clear it, looking up at Erica and shifting the focus to her, "How did you do? Better than me I'm sure."
Erica shrugged as she released him, "I think I did okay, Boyd said that I didn't run out of the cave or try to fight him so that's a plus. I remember most of it but it almost feels like they're not my memories… if that makes sense. There was a foggy feeling in my head but there was no anger like on the other full moons. That made it a lot easier."
"You did great! Last night was the first time you had a real Anchor and you were able to use it to maintain control. And you did it without me being here to help you for the first half of the night. That's better than just 'okay' wouldn't you say?" Derek praised. Part of it had to do with his ability to help calm her Wolf but still, she held herself together very well. And he still felt guilty about abandoning her… as her Alpha, he was supposed to protect them and he failed… but at least she hadn't been completely alone. "Thanks for being here Boyd, I would have been in real trouble without you."
Boyd nodded, "Happy to help, I had to do something to pay you back for helping me on the road."
"All of us survived the night, that's all we can really ask for. And we'll be more prepared for next month," Derek mumbled.
"Derek, I'm sorry I made things difficult! Really, I thought I'd be back in time… and then I did my best to stay in control but I wasn't strong enough," Isaac called out, sensing that Derek was feeling like a bad Alpha. He had messed up and Derek was blaming himself unfairly. And he wasn't the only one he owed an apology to. "I'm sorry Erica, because of me, you were alone when you needed your Alpha."
She reached out and shook Isaac lightly, "You needed him more Isaac; you were scared and alone out there, trying to do your best to stay Human! I had Boyd and I had my Anchor, not to mention I've had a few moons before this so I knew what the pull was going to feel like. You had nothing to draw on and I remember how scary the first one was for me. I'm just glad you didn't get killed, or hurt anyone. Plus, Derek came back to check on me, and after he found you, he was here the rest of the night."
"I… I think I almost hurt someone though…" Isaac admitted.
Derek gently pushed Isaac down onto one of the rocks in the cave, prompting, "What exactly do you remember from last night?"
The Beta flushed and twitched his ears at the question- what did he remember? His forehead scrunched up as he struggled to sift through the fog-filled memories. It was just like Erica said, the memories were there but they didn't feel like his own and it was a little difficult to understand them. The biggest thing he remembered was Stiles; Stiles filled most of the memories and everything else seemed unimportant. And now he was going to have to try and piece it all together for Derek… "I uh, well, I guess I'll start from when I was on my way back here. I had barely reached the road when I felt my head go all foggy; I tried to focus on you and keeping control but it wasn't long before all the heartbeats started driving me crazy. Eventually I lost all control and… um… I vaguely remember trying to hunt someone. It had to be the foreman, he was the one standing in the road to warn people about the Deathclaws, so he would've been the easiest to pick off. I don't remember knowing him though, just that there was a vulnerable Human nearby. Honestly, if Scott and Stiles weren't there, Mr. Tate would probably be dead… or I would be, he did have a gun on him.
"Anyways, at the time, I remember feeling surprised when I was tackled by a Were and was prepared to fight but my Wolf realized that the stranger wasn't fighting me… just restraining me. Once I realized I wasn't in danger, I went back to 'hunt' mode and escaped so I could chase after another Human that was running- Stiles." Isaac paused, trying to recall as much as possible. "I… I remember thinking that the Human was stupid for running away from the people, for isolating himself. Honestly I should've realized it was a trap of some sort but I didn't… At this point I didn't recognize Stiles, he was just prey. I guess that's what makes the whole night seem really weird, I went from trying to eat him to protecting him. Before I could catch up to him, I was tackled again. Right after that there was a loud roar… Stiles was being attacked by a huge monster. I took one look at it and I knew I didn't want to stick around… I was terrified." Isaac started playing with his tail, subconsciously running his finger through the fur as he remembered the tingling feeling from last night.
"It's weird, I remember thinking that I needed to run, that I was going to die if I fought that beast. I remember thinking that the other Wolf was insane as he charged right for it. And just before I turned and ran away, I caught a whiff of his scent and… everything changed, just like that! Instead of running away, I charged forward too, needing to keep the Human safe. I became filled with dread at the thought of him being hurt. I still don't really think I connected the dots, that the guy I was protecting was Stiles, but it didn't matter that I didn't know his name. I jumped on top of him to shield him and then started dragging him to safety… but there was another Deathclaw that came at us. I wounded it and then continued to move the Human somewhere safe. After that I was just in a frenzy… I was worried, I could smell blood and I knew he was in pain… there was a strange Were nearby that I didn't trust… I wouldn't let Stiles out of my sight. I knew that he was Human and that meant he was vulnerable, so I had to keep him safe. I remember you showing up… but I don't really remember what you tried to say to me. All I'm getting is that you wanted me to leave Stiles and I wasn't going to do that, I needed to stay with him. I only let the other Were near him because I realized that he was going to help fix the Human."
Derek frowned as he listened to Isaac sort through his thoughts from the night before. He had hoped it wasn't like that but… it seemed pretty clear. "Isaac… this is really serious. Are you sure that's what happened?"
He nodded his head, "Yea… I was super focused on him the whole night. Is that… bad?" Isaac looked over at Erica and Boyd, wondering if they had any idea what had caused him to act like that. Both of them looked just as confused as he felt though. He bit his lip as he remembered his reaction earlier. "It wasn't just last night, I um, I felt hesitant to leave him this morning too. Even though I really wanted to come see Erica, I didn't want to walk away from Stiles. Why?"
"I… well…" Derek stammered, unsure of how to explain the situation. How was he supposed to explain that Isaac had fallen in love? Or more specifically, that his Wolf had… His mother had explained it by calling them Mates since it was more closely tied to their Wolf half than their Human half. Their wolf ancestors supposedly mated for life, creating close-knit family packs. She said that Humans fell in love and it could be powerful but if a Wolf did it… there was no turning back. A Werewolf wouldn't hesitate to put their life on the line for their Mate, would do anything for them. Derek knew that his parents claimed to be Mates and that they never fought; they understood each other on a level that surprised everyone, it was more than what the Pack bonds could explain… but Derek was hesitant to believe it. Never in his twenty-three years had he met anyone that invoked those feelings in him, and he'd met plenty of people that seemed to want him. He just couldn't imagine being that close to anyone, of loving someone in that way. Bonding with Packmates was one thing, he understood Pack ties but romantic love? That was beyond him… although he barely understood the preoccupation with sex so… It was a physical need but beyond that he wasn't sure what the big deal was. Laura teased him about it constantly when they were teenagers. He looked up at Isaac, completely at a loss for how to explain something he didn't understand.
"Is something wrong with me?" Isaac whimpered, seeing the look on his Alpha's face.
Erica suddenly smiled, the truth becoming obvious. "Isaac's in love!" Why else would Derek look so awkward? And why else would Isaac work so hard to protect someone he didn't know- on the full moon no less?!
Isaac stared at her, mouth agape… what? "I-I don't even know him! How can I be in love with him?"
"I don't know but it's true, you're in love! Right Derek?"
"Well…"
"Ha! I knew it!" Erica cackled, excited. How exactly were they going to handle it? Did it mean that they'd actually get to know Scott and Stiles? She was definitely eager to hear from Scott about his shift control!
"I'm not in love! Erica stop laughing! Something serious is going on here and you're making fun of me!"
Derek stepped in and put a hand on Isaac's shoulder to calm him down. He was getting worked up and Erica wasn't helping and he didn't want them to get in a fight. "Erica, stop teasing him. Why do you figure he's in love?" It was unlikely that she knew the truth but if she was even marginally close, it would help him break the news to Isaac.
"It just seems obvious. I might be young but I've been in love before too… or at least, I thought it was love. I thought about him constantly and wanted to be with him like all the time. I was willing to sneak out of the house to meet up with him and we did some questionable stuff… it was all stuff that I knew better than to do, like berating the NCR troops that came through the town. I never would've done that on my own but he thought it was fun so I did it too. When he left town I was devastated and heartbroken, I thought my world would end… but eventually I got over it." She paused and looked at Isaac again, "Like, okay, maybe it's an extreme example, like Isaac said, we don't even know Stiles, we just met him on the road for a few minutes the other day but… he jumped in front of a Deathclaw to save him, if that's not love, what is? I think I would jump in front of a Deathclaw to save Isaac since he's my Packmate; it's a different kind of love but it still counts. Stiles isn't Pack at all and he did it anyways. No offense but I don't think Isaac is that selfless- he admitted that he was going to run away at first."
Isaac frowned as he listened to her, he'd never fallen in love in the past. "I was going to run away until I caught his scent… maybe I was tricked somehow? It wasn't like I just saw him and my heart exploded or anything. And I didn't kiss him either." He blushed as he remembered that he was snuggling with him when he woke up though.
"Actually Isaac, I think she's right, in a way," Derek finally admitted. "It's a little complicated because you're a Were now and… I'm really not sure how to explain it because I've never felt it myself. I can only tell you what I heard growing up. First off, as my mom would explain it, you're Wolf has found his Mate."
"What? How can my Wolf decide that?! I just met him!" Isaac sputtered, full of disbelief. "Derek, you aren't making sense…"
Derek held his hands up, a similar look on his face, "Like I just said, I've never experienced it before. But I heard about one of my uncles that fell in love that same way. It wasn't when he saw her for the first time, it was only after he caught her scent. After that, he was smitten and centered his life around her. She even became his Anchor, that's how serious his feelings were. It's not the same for everyone though, my mom took a little more time to fall in love with my dad. But she said there was just a point in her life where she and her Wolf both realized that they never wanted to separate from him, that she felt complete with him in her life. And they were closer than I ever thought was possible, even my sisters and I struggled to understand how the two of them could be so… bonded with each other. I can't tell you why but for some reason, your Wolf fell in love with Stiles the moment he registered his scent. In that moment, your Wolf decided that Stiles was important, that he was the missing piece for you. And it triggered an instant shift in your priorities. I can't think of anything else that would explain why you risked your life for him. Isaac, he stopped the bloodlust, completely. You had no control over yourself and the Wolf was ready to hunt and kill, then you went into self-preservation mode and knew better than to engage a Deathclaw… but in a single moment, it changed. Even as your Alpha, it would've been hard for me to rein you in and force the bloodlust to subside, we would've been in for a long night if you were here in the cave. Stiles didn't even do anything yet all of your natural instincts were shoved aside."
Isaac nodded slightly, "Yea, I, I remember that. One second I was thinking that I needed to save myself and then when I caught his scent, it wasn't about me anymore, it was about him."
Erica held her hand up, wanting everyone's attention, "I hate to be a downer because it's exciting that Isaac found his true love but… what if Stiles doesn't return those feelings? I mean, he's only Human right? So he doesn't have those same instincts driving him to pick Isaac as his own Mate."
"It doesn't matter because I'm not going to tell him," Isaac stated. "We can't know for sure that I'm experiencing love. I mean, comparing what Derek said with what I remember from last night, yea, it seems to fit. But we just don't know, not for sure. Fuck, I'm not even sure how I feel about the fact that my Wolf picked a dude…" Isaac had experience with guys, it was inevitable when everyone in the gang was a guy but it wasn't exactly emotional… just physical. But really, he had even less experience with women so maybe it did make sense.
"From what I've seen, it's rarely the physical stuff that matters when it comes to Mates, it's usually the emotional stuff that really matters. That's the stuff the Wolf picks up on, why it's based on scent and not just love-at-first-sight. But I would think that some physical attraction has to be there on your part…" Derek guessed.
"My potential attraction to Stiles isn't the important thing right now, that's just something I have to try and work out on my own. The simple truth is, I'm not going to go up to a complete stranger and confess undying love for them, period. It would be weird and I doubt it would make him swoon. The idea of Stiles being into me is laughable, regardless of how I might feel about him."
"Hey, who knows what his type might be- maybe your Wolf picked up on his attraction to you, just like it picked up on your attraction to him," Erica suggested, looking to Derek for backup.
The Alpha just shrugged helplessly, totally out of his element. "That's possible, I mean, it would be weird for your Wolf to decide that Stiles is your 'missing piece' but then it turns out that he's strictly heterosexual… it would make things just a little awkward for you. Although, just because you love him doesn't mean you have to start a sexual relationship. Maybe just being around Stiles would be enough? All I have to go off of is the stories I was told, but I will say, none of those stories ever ended in a Wolf picking someone that didn't return the feeling."
Isaac shook his head, reiterating, "Doesn't matter, I'm still not telling him. Even if your family was right about the 'happily ever after' for everyone, it's too big of a bomb to just drop on someone. Even if he is attracted to me, there's no way he would just also love me the way I might potentially love him. Besides, with my luck, I'll be the one Wolf in all of existence to pick the person that doesn't return my feelings."
"Even if you don't tell him, your Wolf is attached, I don't think you can really ignore it. You won't be able to just walk away from him so we'll have to figure something out. Otherwise you'll go insane wondering if he's okay." Derek walked closer to Isaac, clapping him on the back, "We'll just, start off slow okay? Let's go see how they're doing, that would be the polite thing to do anyways after last night. Goodsprings isn't that big of a town so it shouldn't be hard to find them."
"Yea, that sounds like a great place to start, we'll just stop by and see how they're doing. We won't mention my feelings at all- hell, maybe they already passed," Isaac said. He was just being hopeful and everyone knew it… but thankfully they didn't call him out on it.
A/N: 9-15-18: changed Chomps to Henry Tate because I realized that I was going to have Malia be in the fic and I totally forgot about Chomps's role in the story. Aside from that, I managed to add in about 3k words of various interactions between Erica and Isaac as they go over the whole 'Mates' discussion.