*Goodsprings*

"Okay Scott, you can come see him now, he's all stitched up. I'm glad Sunny showed you how to make healing powder, that probably saved his life. He would have lost a lot of blood otherwise, even with the stimpack increasing his red blood cell production."

"Thanks again Deaton, any words for my recovery- other than take it easy. That one's obvious," Stiles asked, slowly sitting up again.

Scott rolled his eyes, "Yea and you're probably going to ignore that!"

"Better not, he'll tear his stitches and start bleeding, risk infection; it will get real nasty real quick," the doctor warned.

"No, for real this time, I'm going to take it easy. Probably stay in town for a few days before we hit the road. And we can travel at night Scott, since your senses will keep us safe. That way I don't waste too much energy in the heat."

"You'll also want to get plenty of fluids, the stimpack has worn off by now so you'll have to help keep your body hydrated."

Stiles nodded and pulled his shirt over his head, carefully rolling his shoulders to test out his range of motion. After a moment he walked over to his pack and slowly knelt down, pulling out a handful of caps. "Here Doc, I owe you a lot. We never did pay you for fixing my head. We've got a lot of caps now so, the least we can do is pay you."

Deaton shook his head, "You don't need to, you repaid me by saving the town from those outlaws the other day."

"Okay, well we'll call it even for you saving my life the first time if you want but I refuse to leave here a second time without giving you some money."

Scott spoke up too, "And we found some supplies while we were out on the road; a super stimpack and even two doctor bags with a bunch of stuff in them. You can have those since I don't even know how to use the stuff in it- we insist."

Deaton sighed and smiled at the boys, it was rare to find such honesty in wanderers, and it was refreshing. "I could really use the supplies, thank you. And if you insist on paying me something, fine, but I won't take anything over 40 caps. Stitches aren't that tricky."

The boys nodded in agreement and Stiles counted out the caps while Scott dug out the supplies and set them on the table. After that, Stiles suggested they go see Melissa. If he was going to stay hydrated, they might as well chat with her while they drank some water; plus they had questions about Victor too. Not to mention if they were going to be staying there for at least two days, they needed to find a place to sleep. The bar was the best place to start since almost everyone in Goodsprings headed through there at some point.

"Maybe we'll even see Sunny again, we can tell her that her healing powder came in handy," Scott said.

Stiles situated his pack over his stomach, if he wore it backwards, it wouldn't rub and irritate his stitches. It must be what early pregnancy must feel like, if the baby was oddly-shaped, but it didn't kick him or anything. "I think it would be nice to see how Sunny's doing, Cheyenne too. I guess it doesn't matter much if she rats on you for being a Werewolf now."

Deaton smiled at them as he held the door open, "We're pretty accepting here, as long as you don't cause trouble when you pass through, you're more than welcome to come back."

Both boys smiled at him as they left the house and followed the road to the saloon; of course as they entered, Cheyenne ran up to the door and greeted them with her usual bark. What was surprising was that Isaac jumped off of a stool and took a few steps towards her, eyeing the dog suspiciously.

Isaac blushed as he noticed the looks- he hadn't meant to act so jumpy… he was supposed to be playing it cool. "So, all patched up?"

Stiles stood up with a small wince after giving Cheyenne some attention, "Yea, all stitched up, Deaton gave me, like, fifteen stitches I think he said. Now I've got to be careful for a few days, I won't be able to take them out for at least a week."

"Deaton said two weeks," Scott argued. "Even that is kinda soon but he knows you don't live a calm lifestyle so that's the shortest his willing to go."

"Yea, yea, two weeks, fine! Mark it down in your Pip-Boy so I don't cheat the days. But we're only staying here for like three days though, right Scotty? I mean, we've got shit to do."

Isaac cleared his throat, "You should probably stay more than just three days… Besides Goodsprings is a nice little town, it shouldn't be hard to relax awhile. Healing should come first, you can't get revenge if you're sick."

Scott raised his eyebrows and looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye- why was Isaac so interested in his health? Sure, he helped save Stiles last night but it was starting to seem like something else. He was a little too interested… "We'll see how it goes, first we need to find someone that will take us in," Scott mentioned, sliding onto one of the stools.

Isaac cursed to himself, he had just reminded himself to play it cool and he was still being obvious… so much for being over the obsession… He wanted to slap himself to refocus but that would just raise more eyebrows. Instead he just shrugged and smiled, "There are plenty of nice folks here, someone is bound to give you couch space."

Before Scott could comment back, the back door of the saloon opened and Melissa stepped inside which pulled all of their attention. As soon as she saw them, she grinned and rushed over to hug them both, glad to see Stiles up and about already. "What's this? You boys are going to stay in town too?"

Scott nodded and smiled back at her, "Yea, Stiles needs to lie low for a bit, let his wounds heal. We figured we might as well stay here since we got to know you all pretty well- and it beats walking all the way back to Primm."

"Yea, I'm not walking back there today! Now we just need to find some poor sap to take us in," Stiles added on, big grin on his face as he looked at her.

The bartender tsked, "Too bad you didn't get here a little sooner, I already promised these guys they could crash at our place. Sunny just went off to the house to clean up a bit."

"Thanks again Melissa, it really means a lot," Derek repeated. He felt bad asking for a place to sleep since Goodsprings didn't have a hotel but Isaac had been adamant about staying in the area for a bit so he could go apologize to the guys in Sloan and catch up with Melissa. Of course, there was also the fact that he'd be near Stiles; he'd been banking on the fact that the injury would keep him in Goodsprings for a few days.

"It's no biggie, I'd love to get to know you all better, Isaac was such a sweetheart the first time he came through here, it's good to see how he's doing."

Stiles playfully shoved Isaac, "Dude, I see how it is, you weasel your way into her heart so you can take away our couch!"

Isaac turned around and started stuttering out an apology, completely missing the light tone. "I'm sorry! I didn't know that you didn't have a place to stay."

"Hey, easy, I was just joking. We stayed on her couch a few days ago when we were here but I'm sure we'll find someone to take us in. Someone has to be willing to spare their couch for a few days. Nice to see you again by the way Boyd; I guess I shouldn't be too surprised you met up with these three. We ran into them not long after we left you," Stiles smiled, nodding at the trader. Then he looked around at the group, frowning, "Wait how are all four of you going to be staying at Melissa's? I know for a fact that her couch barely fits two."

"Oh, I won't be there, I'm staying with the rancher so I can be close to Callie. She's in the pen with the Bighorners," Boyd explained. "And I'm glad to see you again as well, although I wish we could've met later in the day…"

Scott frowned, "What do you mean?"

He shifted on the stool, not really wanting to admit what had happened. "Couple of guys came up to me and attacked me for being a Were, harassed Callie too."

"Oh, those sons of bitches!" Stiles growled, turning to Derek, "Tell me you were there to help him?"

Derek nodded, "Yea, we came up on them before they did too much damage, then we escorted him here. We figured it would be safer than him being on the road alone."

"Too bad we weren't there, I could've just shot them. I'm a Human so I can get away with attacking other Human a bit easier than you can. Ugh, fucking assholes," Stiles muttered darkly. No wonder Boyd had asked their names to put them on the 'safe' list… he probably ran into racists more often than not.

Scott frowned, upset at the fact that they hadn't been around to help; it all came down to chance but if they had stayed at the saloon for even a bit longer, they might've been around to help him. But, Derek and his Betas were able to step in so Scott felt a little bit better. "Sorry to hear about that man, but at least someone was around to help you out. And now you're safe in Goodsprings so Callie can recuperate too. You really weren't kidding about rarely finding 'safe' Humans to trade with."

"Nope, it can be tough out there," Boyd said.

Stiles narrowed his eyes and pointed at the other three, remembering the original point of the conversation. "Okay wait, so Boyd isn't staying with you guys but how are even three of you going to fit at Melissa's?"

"Well since they have two beds, they were nice enough to share one so Isaac and I can share the other. Derek insisted on taking the couch," Erica explained excitedly. At first she'd been worried that Derek and Isaac would share the couch and try to give her the bedroom but Derek must have sensed that she didn't want to be alone. So he had offered to sleep on the couch since three to a bed would be a little crowded. She really wasn't sure why she was so excited but she guessed it had something to do with not feeling alone anymore. After all that time in Primm, she just wanted to belong somewhere! Hopefully it wouldn't be awkward; she got the vibe that Isaac was shy about physical touch. Surely he'd be open to a little cuddling, maybe some light scenting, that would be enough to start with.

"Lucky! You're actually getting one of the mattresses!" Stiles gasped, surprised. "I'm kinda wondering how Scotty and I are going to manage the couch situation, with my back the way it is…"

"You know what, you should talk to Easy Pete; he has a lot of space in his house with extra mattresses. He trusts you boys, I'm sure he wouldn't mind having some company for a day or two," Melissa suggested. "Then you would at least have room to lie down without hurting yourself."

"Oh hell yea, that sounds like fun! Where does he live?" Stiles perked up.

"Just right across the street actually."

Scott gently pushed Stiles back down onto the barstool, "You stay here and get hydrated, I'll go talk to him."

"Yes Mom," Stiles teased with a cheeky smile. He was more than happy to be sitting, even if he couldn't slouch like he wanted to. He took the glass that Melissa handed him and sipped at the water while he collected his thoughts. He was a little nervous around the other Werewolves, considering how their first meeting went. And they were all staring at him… it was weird. But Stiles wasn't one to shy away from conversation so he decided to ask a question. "So, how did the full moon go over for the rest of you?"

Erica wagged her tail, open to getting to know Stiles better. Their first meeting hadn't gone well but it seemed like he was willing to start over so she was too. Especially for Isaac's sake. "Derek said that I did really well. It wasn't my first full moon but I'm still relatively new so I had some trouble. But I finally found my Anchor!"

"Awesome! Judging from Scott's experience, it seems very rewarding to finally find the thing that works for you. What about you Boyd?" he asked.

"I felt fine. But I've been a Were for 6 months, and I wasn't allowed out on my own until I could absolutely control my Wolf on the full moon. I was a little nervous about handling Erica though, not that I let her know that."

"Wait, you were?" Erica asked, surprised at his admission. "You seemed so sure last night!"

"Yea, if you were nervous-" Derek started.

"I was absolutely sure I could keep her from hurting anyone, that wasn't going to be hard. And I trusted her when she said that she had a good Anchor. But I've never been responsible for another Were before so it was a bit nerve-wracking," he admitted.

Derek leaned onto the bar, heaving a sigh, "Yea, I know how you feel."

Stiles slapped Derek's shoulder, not willing to put up with his insecurity. "Dude, what are you talking about? You were totally on top of handling Isaac. He wandered away but that was before the moon came out so it wasn't like he escaped on your watch or anything. And I know you were out there looking for him while also trying to help Erica, that couldn't have been easy. And you came running as soon as you heard Scott- your howl is pretty loud and very different from Scott's, not hard for me to pick out. Once you were there you helped us handle him and he was fine the rest of the night. I mean, you obviously didn't get that mad at him, he's still in your Pack."

"No, I wasn't mad at all, I was worried! He's my responsibility and I let him get lost and he almost hurt someone… then he almost died because of those Deathclaws. Of course I wasn't going to kick him out for making a mistake, not when it was my fault. How can you say I'm doing a good job when I let him get into so much trouble?"

"I think it's only fair to take our time together into consideration," Isaac told him. "You've only officially been my Alpha for like… two and a half days. It seems like none of us really have any practice… so if you aren't going to be mad at me for my inexperience, you can't be mad at yourself for yours."

Derek paused, ticking the days off on his fingers, "I met you my first night here, but we didn't officially become Pack until the next morning. We stayed by the border until nightfall, went to Primm, slept there until morning and had to deal with those stupid Powder Gangers. That's where Erica joined us. We came to Goodsprings, then it was the full moon, and now today. Okay wow you're right, this is only going on day three… it feels like it's been longer than that."

"Oh hey, you came into Nevada the same night I got shot in the face, what a coincidence!" Stiles laughed, counting back in his head. Last night was the full moon and they raided the correctional facility, they'd traveled to Primm during the day after dealing with Cobb. The night before that they stayed with Melissa and Sunny. The first day here he was recovering from the gunshot, and the night before that was when he'd been shot. "Wow, has it seriously only been three days? A lot of shit's happened… I've almost died like three times- four if you count the shot to the head."

The Werewolves all looked at him, shocked; how could a Human get into the much trouble in just a few days? And why did Scott let him?!

Isaac whimpered lightly, looking at the scar on his temple. "Is that really what happened? I mean, I know you said that when we met on the road but, I didn't really register it. Someone tried to kill you?"

"Yup, shot me and left me for dead. Honestly it's a miracle I survived… Scott and Victor got me to Deaton and he patched me up somehow. And as far as I can tell I'm perfectly fine, aside from the scar."

"Fine? You've almost died three more times after getting shot; I think your sense of self-preservation might've gotten knocked out of whack," Erica said, raising a brow. The Wastes might be dangerous but most people could go a week without having multiple near-death experiences.

Stiles laughed loudly, just as Scott was coming back in, "Dude, bro, Erica thinks it was the gunshot that skewed my sense of self-preservation."

Scott rolled his eyes, "You couldn't be more wrong, he was born like that. It didn't help that I was Bitten at a young age- Stiles took on anyone and everyone that dared to look at me like I was scum. I learned my way around a med kit pretty fast. He's done some questionable things but his sense of right and wrong is good, which means he will not back down when someone's crossing the line."

"That's why you boys helped us out when those Gangers came into town. It had nothing to do with you but you stayed and helped. Even buttered up ol' Chet so we'd all have some good armor too," Melissa smiled. "What did Easy Pete say?"

"He'd be more than happy to let us stay. Warned me that he snores something fierce but that's nothing we can't handle. I think the only reason he was so amiable about it was because we can hold a conversation with him about dynamite," Scott replied.

"Alright, place to sleep acquired, I can relax now," Stiles commented, leaning against the bar. He yelped and straightened his back, already forgetting that he couldn't slouch. Sitting wasn't going to work so he stood up and sighed, "Well I'd relax if I could get comfortable."

"Dude, you should be sitting," Isaac complained, whimpering again. Stiles needed to take it easy. He bit his lip as he realized how pathetic he sounded… why was he so worked up? As it was, it had taken all of his self control to hold in his growl when Stiles talked about his scar. His emotions were all over the place!

"I can't sit… if I sit, that means I want to slouch and slouching pulls at my stitches. So, I have to stand. Trust me, eventually I'll just say fuck it and slouch and then I'd have to go back to Deaton before the sun sets."

Isaac whined and touched Stiles's arm, "Is there something I can do?"

Stiles closed his eyes and hummed, "Just keep, yea, doing that. Scott, I know I said to never do this but I honestly can't remember why I ever said that."

Isaac winced and sat up straight as pain shot up his back- where did that come from? And what was Stiles talking about?

"Dude, are you in that much pain?" Scott asked as he watched the black veins run up Isaac's wrist.

"Yea, I've been banged up pretty good these last few days Scotty."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Scott argued.

Stiles was about to answer but Isaac let out a whimper and pulled his hand away, "What was that?"

"You were pulling pain… I didn't know you knew how to do that," Derek said, looking at Isaac.

"I-I don't? What do you mean?"

"You were absorbing his pain; when you put your hand on him, it leeched into you which lessened it for him. You didn't know you were doing it?" the Alpha asked.

"No, I just, I wanted to help. Are you okay Stiles?" Isaac asked.

"Yea, I'm fine, I feel a lot better, thanks- even if you didn't mean to. And to answer your question Scotty, I didn't say anything because I knew the first thing you'd want to do is leech pain and I told you not to do that. Because then I'd know that you're in pain."

Scott groaned, "Yea but the pain goes away quickly for me after I let go, my body just processes it faster. And you stay pain free for awhile after I take it. Seriously if you're in a lot of pain, just tell me. I won't let you abuse it." He knew that part of the reason Stiles didn't like for him to do it was that he was afraid he'd become 'addicted' to it, and his pain threshold would drop really low. If he didn't know how to take pain, he'd be a big liability. Scott agreed with that point, if he didn't know how to fight past the pain, he'd be a mess but when they were safe, holed up together, it was okay to ask for relief.

"I know you got my back bro, I just, I got used to not asking, and up until a few days ago, we didn't get into that much trouble. Things just got really hectic lately. Isaac took a lot of it, so I'm good now anyways, promise." Stiles smiled at Scott, practically reading his thoughts on the subject. They'd talked about it a lot since they first found out that he could do that; Scott always reassured him that it was okay, he'd be willing to do it whenever he was in pain. But in some scenarios it was just too risky, and then after the danger passed, the pain was usually negligible anyways. Besides, the thought of him causing Scott pain, in any way, was too much- that just meant Stiles had to try harder to not get hurt in the first place.

"Derek, can all Weres do that?" Erica asked, leaning forward on the bar to get a better look at Isaac's wrist, even though the marks were gone.

Derek nodded, "Yea, leeching pain is something we can all do, it comes naturally, there isn't anything you have to learn. Just, want to help, like Isaac said. Obviously if you touch someone and don't know they're in pain, and you aren't thinking about it, you don't pull pain. But if you're in the mindset of wanting to help someone, you'll more than likely pull pain if they're hurt. Only works for physical pain though."

"Way cool," Erica commented, looking down at her own hands. She'd picked up on the fact that Isaac had screwed up his face when the pain hit him but it seemed minimal. It was probably related to the amount of pain the person was in and the fact that Isaac hadn't been expecting it. Still though, knowing that she could help others with something like that, it made her truly believe that they weren't monsters. If they were given a gift like that, how could they be monsters? "What'd it feel like?"

"I don't know… I didn't feel anything except the pain in my back or… Stiles's pain. Aside from that, it didn't feel like anything," Isaac explained.

All three Betas turned to Derek, having more questions; he held back an exasperated sigh… that wasn't something he'd been prepared to teach them all about just yet. But somehow Isaac had figured it out on his own so now Erica was curious too. He had to think for a moment to even find the right words, trying to remember how his mom had explained it.

Stiles chuckled to himself as he listened to Derek try and answer their questions, recalling all the times he and Scott had done the same thing to Halwyn. There was nothing quite like having an experienced adult around to rattle off questions at. The memories jolted his brain, reminding him of the other reason they'd gone to the saloon- information. He rapped his knuckles on the bar, calling attention to himself. "Hey Melissa, can I ask you some questions about Victor?"

"Victor? Why do you want to know about that thing?"

Thing? Interesting choice. "Not a fan?"

She shook her head, "No. I mean, it acts friendly enough but I don't trust the cheerful cowboy act… it's creepy. Never seen another robot like that."

"Yea, I haven't either… what does he even do around town?"

"Nothing much. Just rolls around, waves to people, then spends time in its shack. The most useful thing it's ever done was help dig you out of that grave." Melissa leaned forward, pointing a finger at him, "Now, I'm not sure why it decided to help you, and don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're alive, but Victor hasn't once helped anyone in town before. Never. I'd be careful if I were you, that robot is up to something…"

Scott frowned, that was pretty weird; why didn't he help his neighbors? "How long has he been in town?"

"Not sure, it was here when I took over the saloon like seven years ago. No one even remembers who used to live in the shack that Victor calls home."

"He's never left?"

"Not for any long periods of time… I mean, I try to keep my distance so I never tracked its whereabouts too closely. But I see it regularly so if it did leave town, it never went far. Why?"

Scott shrugged, "We heard something about a cowboy robot down in Primm and it really sounded like Victor so we were just curious."

Stiles tapped his fingers on the counter, thinking… it was possible that Victor left Goodsprings in the evening and made it to Primm and back before anyone realized he was gone. But why would he have packages to deliver in the first place? Who did he know in New Vegas? Was it a coincidence that Peter had found them near Goodsprings or did he know Victor too? There were too many unknowns… especially now that he knew that it was doubly strange that Victor had decided to help save him. They'd just have to track Victor down before they left and ask him about it. He wasn't really sure if robots could lie or not but it was worth a shot. Hopefully it would be worth their time, give them more answers rather than questions. He sighed then, as the weight of it all hit him… it was starting to look like they'd been targeted specifically and that complicated everything. And now because he was hurt, they were falling father behind on the trail! He just couldn't catch a freaking break! If Meyers hadn't been shot at the facility, surely Stilinski would've granted him a pardon. Then Primm would be safer from thugs and bandits and everyone, including Beagle, would be happy. But no, he was dead and they had to go all the way to the outpost to talk to someone there, beg for a favor- which of course meant they'd have to run a mission for the NCR first. All to get Stilinski his extra troops so they could take over Primm. Then, and only then, would that slimy deputy give them information on where Peter had gone. His trail was getting colder and colder and there was nothing Stiles could do about it. He slammed back the rest of the water and said he was going to go for a walk, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking out the front door.

"What's eating him all of a sudden?" Erica asked as she watched him storm out. His mood had changed so suddenly, it was disconcerting.

Scott reached out and grabbed Isaac's wrist as he made a move to follow him. "He needs some time alone. He's pissed that we're not out on the road. He's more than ready to put Peter in the ground, so am I for that matter. But now we're stuck here, doing absolutely nothing while he heals up… he's blaming himself for it I'm sure; not that we could have known what was going to happen last night. He's Human and takes longer to heal- if it was just me that got hurt, we could be on the road right now."

"He, he can't blame himself for being Human. It's not like he wants to be a Were, right?" Isaac asked, still looking at the door Stiles had disappeared through.

"No, he doesn't want to be a Were. He feels like his life is complicated enough as a Human; he'd get into way too much trouble if he had Wolf senses. When he was younger he thought it would be cool, once we realized all the things I was capable of. But now he's satisfied being Human, we both are. There's been quite a few times when his status as Human has saved our asses. It helps that I know how to control my shifting so I can pass as Human most of the time. My lack of scars gives it away to the more observant folks though." Scott shrugged; he had come to terms with being a Werewolf years ago, thanks to Stiles's friendship but Stiles needed to stay Human. If he became a Were, that just meant he'd be even more reckless and Scott couldn't handle that. His mind flashed back to when he was on the roof and Cobb was seconds away from shooting him. Even a Were would have a hard time surviving a second shot to the head. Yea, Stiles took too many chances as it was, if he had super-healing… "I need some whiskey," Scott mumbled, emptying his glass of water and sliding it towards Melissa, "Please."

*Meanwhile*

Stiles had made his way up to the graveyard and was leaning against one of the fence posts. He knew that Peter wasn't going far, that he'd be staying in Nevada. They supposedly knew his final destination so it wasn't really a race against time. That knowledge didn't really help curb his frustration though, he needed answers! If only they knew what was so important about the chip he stole, they'd have an idea of what he was planning. Peter was dangerous and they couldn't afford to underestimate him. Why was life throwing them so many curveballs?! Wasn't getting shot in the head enough? Surely the fates could take some pity on him and open up the path for them to take. Peter had to pay for everything he'd done to them, including Biting Scott all those years ago. He was still stewing and kicking at rocks when he heard someone shuffle up behind him. "Scott, I thought you knew better than to come find me," he uttered.

"Not Scott, although he did warn me to stay away. I just… I dunno, I felt like you shouldn't be alone- I know what it's like to want to be alone but not alone at the same time."

Stiles turned and looked at him, "What do you mean? I'm hardly ever alone, I'm always with Scott, so sometimes it's nice to just have time to myself."

"No, I don't think you really want time to yourself, you're just saying that. Sure, maybe sometimes it's nice to be alone but I can tell by the way you're sulking that you want company."

"And what makes you such an expert?!" Stiles shot out and then winced, whispering, "Sorry, that came out harsher than I intended, I'm just frustrated…"

Isaac slowly stepped forward and leaned against the fence post right beside him. "I recognize the look on your face; I used to push people away when I needed them the most. Internally I would be begging for someone to come ask me if I was okay but I kept yelling at them to go away. Maybe you aren't as bad as me, I can't imagine that Scott would actually let you wallow in self-hatred like I used to, but still, you have the look on your face. Maybe it's just Scott that you don't want to be around?"

"I love Scott! And I'm not wallowing in self-hatred, not exactly. It's, it's more of… I don't like making Scott deal with me when I'm mad. I'm the leader of our little duo so I pressure myself to hold it together. And when I can't hold it together, I get pissed at the world. See, I can handle when Scott is upset about something because all it takes is some cuddle time and he'll come out of whatever funk he's in. But that doesn't work for me. I have to yell and curse and make threats." Stiles sighed and looked at his hands, "Scott is such a soft-hearted person so he gets all worked up when I'm mad. On top of that, he'd bend over backwards to make things right but really, there's nothing he can do. There's nothing I can do either… I got hurt and now I'm stuck here while I heal. Shit happens. But if I at least ask for space, I can work through my frustrations without hurting Scott."

"What do you mean, 'without hurting Scott'?" Isaac asked.

"Like I said, when I get frustrated I start yelling and cursing. Eventually I realized that he took everything I said to heart, he took it personally when I yelled at him. So I decided that it would be better for both of us if I had space whenever I got mad… he agreed but he doesn't like it. He still gets upset because he can't do anything to help but it stops me from yelling at him for stuff that isn't his fault. And we both know that whenever I come back, I'll be in a better mood, I've yelled it all out. It's win-win for both of us, I get to yell and he doesn't feel like it's his fault."

"Oh… well if you really do want to be alone then I can go. I guess I was just projecting my history onto you…" Isaac pushed away from the fence, feeling stupid. Of course Scott would know Stiles better than him! If he said Stiles needed time alone then of course he wouldn't want some stranger coming and bothering him.

"No, it's okay," he said, grabbing Isaac's wrist. "I think you were right, it's not that I want to be alone, I just can't be around Scott. I've never had someone to talk to that isn't Scott… so that means if I'm not talking to him, I'm alone."

"Well, I'm willing to listen if you want to vent," Isaac offered, slowly leaning back against the fence again. Maybe he hadn't made a mistake after all. "At least that way you won't be up here all alone yelling at yourself."

Stiles smiled but shook his head, "Naw, I don't want to yell at you, that doesn't seem right…"

"I'm smart enough to know that you aren't yelling at me, like I did something wrong. You'd just be yelling in my general direction. I have a lot of experience with both types so I can tell the difference."

Stiles looked at him, seeing the guarded expression on his face; not hard to tell that he had a rough past. "All the more reason why I shouldn't yell in your general direction. I appreciate the offer though. I don't think yelling about it is going to make me feel better anyways, I'm not going to feel better about this one until we're back on the road."

"Okay… so if you don't want to yell about it but you also don't mind the company, what do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know… although, I suppose now that we're talking, I should thank you. I never actually said it earlier. You saved my life you know. We're complete strangers and yet you still jumped in and protected me. Scott and I both thank you for that."

Isaac felt his heart speed up as they looked at each other; he couldn't concentrate… he was too busy looking into Stiles's eyes. He realized then that Derek was completely right… he loved Stiles. He wanted to stand there and just study him all day but a part of him remembered that Stiles had said something… he was supposed to reply. "Y-you're welcome. I'm sorry for trying to eat you right before that though."

Stiles laughed, bumping his shoulder against Isaac's, "Don't worry about it, I know that was only because of the full moon. Although… it is all my fault. If I had been paying attention in the first place, I wouldn't have run right towards the Deathclaws and none of us would've been in danger. I fucked up…"

"There you go again, wallowing," Isaac tsked. He hated that Stiles felt responsible, it had been an accident. But he knew that there was nothing he could say to take away his guilt.

"Yea, yea, my bad… I guess I can't help it. My brain just keeps going back to everything that's gone wrong the past few days. All of it is my fault and I'm blaming myself. Fuck, I think what I need the most is a distraction, something that's going to take my mind off of all the setbacks. Not to mention these damned stitches-"

Isaac leaned forward and pressed his lips against Stiles's- Isaac could be a distraction. He was willing to be anything to Stiles, even if it was temporary. At least inside his mind he could pretend it was forever, push away the heartache until it came time to go separate ways. He felt Stiles stiffen in surprise and was about to back off when he felt arms snake around his neck and pull him in closer. Isaac blocked Stiles in against the fence, both hands going up on either side of his hips to keep him in place. He groaned when Stiles bit down on his lip, hips pressing forward in need. He could feel his Wolf surge forward, needing to scent Stiles, mark him but Isaac held him back. He didn't know how to control his phases yet so his teeth were still sharp; Isaac didn't want him to freak out and think he couldn't control himself so he let Stiles do all the biting for now.

Stiles of course had been surprised when Isaac kissed him out of nowhere but when a hot Werewolf kisses you, you kiss back. He completely let go of everything as Isaac pressed into his personal space, welcoming the distraction. As he wrapped his hands around the Were's neck, he curled his fingers into Isaac's hair. He flicked his tongue into Isaac's mouth, cautiously rubbing against the pointed canines. Stiles let out a low whimper as he felt Isaac rub against him, growing hard. A hand gently came up and tilted Stiles's head to the side, Isaac breaking away from the kiss and moving to press his lips against his neck.

"Do you trust me?" Isaac whispered, eyes starting to glow as he took in Stiles's scent.

"Holy fuck, I shouldn't, I don't even know you, but yes, I trust you," Stiles panted, pressing into Isaac even more. He gasped loudly as Isaac opened his mouth wide and slowly bit down on the side of his neck, fangs pressing into his skin without drawing blood. He felt his knees go weak, he felt so vulnerable and alive at the same time. Isaac could kill him right there and he'd be helpless to stop it, but he'd be lying if he said those fangs weren't sending jolts down his spine.

Isaac continued to nibble on his neck very carefully, the rising scent of arousal coming from Stiles pushing him closer to the edge. By the time he pulled away to regain control, Stiles had red marks running up and down the side of his neck. It wasn't actual marking but it was enough to make him rumble with satisfaction. "We should probably take it easy, I don't want to hurt you and I'm still working on control."

"Yea, sure," Stiles mumbled, nodding with eyes glassed over. "I just, one more kiss." He pulled Isaac down easily and kissed him, mouth open and hungry for more. The rumbles Isaac was making let him know that he was enjoying it just as much. Moments later they broke apart again, panting slightly and hair ruffled; Isaac had a huge smirk on his face.

"Was I a good distraction then?"

"Definitely. I'd be very open to doing something like that again. It's um, been awhile for me," Stiles admitted.

As Isaac's Human side came back in control, he colored, "Sorry, for just kissing you like that, I should've asked. I didn't even know if you liked guys."

Isaac licked his lips and felt himself flush, there was a tingling sensation in his ears again. The way Stiles was looking at him… he'd give anything to keep it.

"Let's get back to the others, I don't want Scott to worry and think I got myself killed by something. I'm sure he's reaching his limit anyways."

"Wait, he only lets you have so much alone time?" the Were asked. That was surprising, Scott didn't seem like the controlling type.

"Well, it's not that I'm only allowed so much time alone- he'll give me all the time I need to calm down. It's just that he knows I'm outside and that Goodsprings has Geckos and other creatures wandering around. So if I'm outside alone, I could get overwhelmed. If I was inside somewhere, he'd be more content to let me sulk."

"Oh, gotcha, it's a safety thing." Isaac let Stiles lead the way back down the hill and to the saloon. It took all his self control to stop himself from interlacing his fingers with Stiles's… seriously, they'd made out and that was it- he needed to get a grip on himself!

Scott perked up when he heard his brother approaching the saloon again- that didn't take as long as he thought it would. Then he noticed that Isaac was with him… Usually Stiles liked to be alone; he had thought that Isaac would be coming back into the saloon alone with his tail tucked between his legs because Stiles told him to scram… guess not. Maybe Isaac had managed to talk him into coming back where it was safe. As the back door opened, Scott immediately picked up on the mixed scents and saw the tousled hair. Next to him, Erica started laughing but Derek quickly cuffed her on the back of her head and gave her a glare, shutting her up. It was obvious that they had been expecting something to happen and they had left him in the dark about it! Scott slid off the stool and walked up to the pair, pulling Stiles behind him, to shield him from the other Were. "What did you do to him?" he growled out, eyes glowing as he got into Isaac's face.

"Dude, Scott, don't," Stiles groaned, pulling on Scott's arm.

Isaac took a step back, surprised at the strong reaction, but then he growled back as his Wolf bristled at Scott's tone; he wasn't going to let anyone push him around anymore, not after how his dad treated him. "I didn't do anything he wasn't okay with! Why do you care anyways, is he your Mate or something?"

Scott unsheathed his claws but Melissa banged her fist down on the counter, "No fighting in my bar! You both know how to act civilized so stop it. I like you but I'm not afraid to kick you both out if you don't calm down."

Derek stepped forward at the same time, not wanting things to get ugly. And he definitely didn't want to make Melissa mad. So he pulled Isaac behind him, looking at Scott, "Stiles is an adult, not your child; he can do whatever he wants."

"Stiles is my Pack and I won't have some stranger getting their scent all over him!" Scott argued before pulling Stiles out the side door.

Stiles barely managed to mouth an 'I'm sorry' to Isaac before he was back out in the sun. "Dude, Scott, it's okay, really," he tried to explain.

"It is not okay! You are my Pack, my family! Now you smell like some outsider!" Scott grumbled, pulling him all the way to Easy Pete's house.

"Hey, you didn't make such a big fuss when I got friendly with that lady we met a few weeks ago," Stiles mentioned. He hadn't seen Scott so riled up before… it wasn't like Isaac was the first person he'd ever made out with…

"She wasn't a Werewolf! Right now you smell more like you're a part of Derek's Pack to anyone with a good nose."

"And before it just smelled like I'd gotten laid by a nice lady?"

Scott nodded as he pushed Stiles down onto the couch. "Now you just stink."

Stiles couldn't help but laugh as Scott pulled him into a hug, "I'm really sorry, I didn't know it would upset you so much. I didn't even mean for anything to happen, it just kinda did. But just to be clear, you aren't going to kiss me to get rid of his scent are you?"

"No, we're close but we aren't that close! Just, your clothes, and ugh, you're going to need to wash your neck. He was only out there for like ten minutes! How did he scent you so heavily?!" Scott griped, rubbing his hands up and down Stiles's shirt.

"I'm sure you really don't want to know bro," Stiles confessed. Isaac had offered up a good distraction, but now that he had a clear head, it was nice to be with his brother. "Just, easy, my stitches," Stiles reminded him as he was pushed further towards the back of the couch.

"Right, sorry. I just wasn't expecting it, I mean, we don't know him… He saved your life and all- I'm grateful! But that doesn't mean he can just have his way with you!"

Stiles held Scott close, "It wasn't like that. He came outside to check on me and I told him that I was frustrated. He said that he'd let me vent if I-"

"You can vent to me!"

"Not all the time Scotty, you know that. When I yell you take it seriously, even when I'm not mad at you. I hate that you take it personally because I know that I'm just saying words. And that's why we agreed that you'd let me have space when I get all worked up. I know you'll always have my back, and I'll always have yours, but that doesn't mean you have to sit there and let me yell at you. Isaac offered to just listen, he had no reason to take it personally."

Scott huffed, "It doesn't smell like he was 'just listening' Stiles."

"Well no, you're right and that's also my fault. I didn't really feel the need to vent, I said that I just needed a distraction. I knew that all my pent up rage wasn't doing me any favors but that talking about it would only make it worse. Before I could say anything else, he kissed me. It, it was nice." Stiles looked down and felt his cheeks grow warm.

"He didn't hurt you right? I mean the side of your neck is all red."

Stiles shook his head, "No, he asked if it was okay before doing it. And he was real slow, making sure he didn't break skin. He stayed in control the whole time, but I think it was hard for him- that was why we came back inside. It was pretty intense but I don't think you have anything to worry about. Like really, Isaac's a hot Werewolf, I really don't think he wants anything serious from me, he won't steal me away. He was just trying to help me out, that's all."

"What makes you say that? Why wouldn't he want something a little more serious?" Scott asked, switching gears without even realizing it. He might not like that Stiles came back smelling like a strange Were but he wasn't going to let his brother undervalue himself either!

"Really? A: we don't even know each other so it's kinda hard to want something serious. B: he's part of a different Pack, that's going to cause issues- obviously! And C: look at me and then look at him, I'm covered in scars and, I'll admit that maybe I'm not completely ugly but I am not on the same level as him."

"You've gotten compliments from tons of women, and a few men too from time to time. Why don't you think you're on his level?"

"You're sweet Scott, but seriously, my face has taken a turn for the worse. Deaton did a good job and I'm glad I'm not dead but I don't think I'll be getting as many compliments as before. Naw, the ladies aren't going to be throwing themselves at me anymore," Stiles laughed. "If anything, I'm a pity date for him. Look at the company he keeps too! Erica is super hot, and I'll be real, their Alpha is too- he's got the whole 'dangerous' thing going for him. That's three hotties in a Pack. So do you really think he'd pick me over one of them? Maybe he just wanted a 'thank you' or something, I dunno…"

Scott frowned, "That doesn't make any sense. From what you said, it sounded like he made the first move. If he was the kind of guy that wanted some sort of sexual favor as a 'thank you' then he would've told you to get on your knees. I, I think he likes you."

"Bull! You don't know what you're talking about."

"No, think about it Stiles," he countered, putting it all together. "When we first walked into the bar and Cheyenne barked at us, he got off that stool quicker than shit. It didn't make sense at the time but now it does- he was ready to defend you. Then he was all worried about you taking it easy, he was hovering worse than me! Making sure you sat down, telling you to stay awhile. And! When you left to get air, he was right behind you. I actually had to stop him from following you since I knew that you wanted to be alone. That didn't last long though, as soon as I was distracted he was out that door. And don't you think I was going to let that slide! But Derek suddenly sat down next to me and kept trying to talk to me… like he didn't want me interrupting something! What really made it click was when the two of you came back into the bar, Erica started giggling, like she just knew Isaac was going to make a move. Honestly, that's part of the reason I was so mad about it… it became super obvious that Derek and Erica knew he was going to do something and they did not want me to interrupt. It just made me really suspicious and territorial, like they were planning something. Now that I'm a little more clear-headed, I don't think they're trying to steal you or anything but I do think that he likes you and both of them know it. Hence why they wanted to give him some time alone with you," Scott explained as he finished his re-scenting of Stiles.

Stiles raised an eyebrow, taking in what Scott told him. Of course he had noticed the reaction to Cheyenne and the hovering but he had missed Erica's reaction completely. "But when we met on the road, he was ready to tear me to pieces."

"Well yea, we were all on edge. You had your rifle out and we forced them to come out from their hiding spot. None of us knew what the other wanted. Derek especially because he probably just wanted to keep his Betas out of trouble, which would've trickled down into Erica and Isaac. But don't forget last night; Isaac was totally lost to the bloodlust, no Anchor to speak of, his first full moon… and he snapped out of it and saved you. You remember my full moon?"

"Yea, it was pretty sketchy since you didn't recognize me at first, good thing those bunker doors were solid," Stiles recalled.

Scott nodded, "Exactly! It also probably helped that I was fairly young so I wasn't as strong as I am now. But I was in a total rage until your voice finally got through to me. So why would Isaac, someone under full control of their Wolf, whose instincts would've been screaming at him to run as soon as he saw the Deathclaw, save you?"

"I… I don't know," Stiles sighed, just as confused as his brother. "Even after the Deathclaws were gone, he wouldn't let anyone near me. It's weird but do you really think it means that he likes me?"

"I think it means that there's something going on with him so be careful! And I haven't forgotten that he was all up in arms, mentioning something about you being my 'Mate'… I don't think he used that term on accident."

"Yea, I noticed that too… he was really defensive about it. Like, maybe part of his anger was that you were accusing him of something and of course he's going to stand up for himself but… it was really odd the way he threw that out there. Maybe he was just surprised at how aggressive you were about it. I mean, he knows I'm your brother and not your boyfriend so I can't imagine why he said it like that…" Stiles paused, thinking about the other thing Scott mentioned, "I know you changed your mind but honestly, I can't think of a reason why Derek would want to steal me anyways, I'm just a Human. So I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Scott could think of a few but he kept them to himself. Stiles might not be thinking about it but Derek was Peter's nephew… maybe they figured the Human would be the weak link between them, if they buttered him up then he'd let his defenses down. Maybe they really wanted Scott to join them but they knew better then to ask outright. Or maybe Isaac just really had feelings for Stiles and didn't care about the 'rules' of dating someone outside his own Pack. He knew it wasn't over though, whatever the truth might be, and he knew that Stiles had a soft spot for affection. "What if he does really like you and he does want something serious… what if he asks you to join Derek's Pack?"

Stiles frowned and pulled Scott into a hug, "You're my Pack. I know it doesn't mean as much coming from a Human but, you're my brother and we'll always be together. He can't take me away from you, even if he legitimately likes me. The invitation has to be to both of us and you have to like the Alpha. You're the Werewolf so I'm not joining any Pack until you do. Not even if some hottie Wolf likes me and begs me to join them, I won't leave you behind. So you can't go joining a Pack that doesn't accept Humans and leave me behind either!"

"Oh please, like I'd ever join up with an Alpha that disliked Humans! I would never leave you behind and no way would I force you to turn just to fit in. I would never follow someone like that in the first place so there's nothing to worry about." Scott quickly nuzzled Stiles's shoulder, fully reassured that he wasn't going anywhere without him. It was weird… up until just a moment ago, Scott wouldn't have believed that Stiles would leave but after seeing Erica and Derek hold him back and then with him coming in smelling like Isaac, he'd been afraid. So of course he was also going to assure his brother that he wouldn't dream of leaving him behind either. After a moment he pulled back from the hug and sighed to himself; the odds of Isaac actually trying to manipulate Stiles seemed slim… it was more likely that his feelings were legitimate. He'd keep his eyes open, not willing to let Stiles get hurt because they wanted to manipulate him, but he wasn't going to be outwardly suspicious. "I should apologize to Isaac."

"Yea, you should," Stiles agreed. He got up and followed his brother back out into the sun but nudged him after taking a few steps, "Let's go for a short walk first. I know I'm supposed to take it easy but I don't slouch when I'm walking. I'm okay with letting Isaac stew for just a little while longer. They need to realize that I'll side with you over a cute stranger every time!"

"Oh, now you want to keep him guessing? I'm fine with that," Scott chuckled. "We can go talk with Sunny, Melissa said she was at the house right?"

*Meanwhile*

Back in the bar Isaac was grumbling to himself, banging his face on the counter. "I can't believe I did that… I really screwed things up! I should have known Scott would be mad, why didn't I think about the scenting?! And I mentioned the Mate thing… Stiles is totally going to figure out that I'm obsessed with him and he's not going to want anything to do with me! Just kill me now…"

"I doubt Stiles or Scott would know what you meant by the 'Mate' comment," Boyd soothed, patting Isaac's back. "It's unlikely that either of them know the significance of the term. Derek knows it because he's from a family of Weres, so he probably has a lot of traditional knowledge. I only know the term because I heard one of my Packmates comment about how she missed her Mate when we were all at the compound awhile ago. They seem like they've been on their own for awhile with no 'proper' training, just like you and Erica, so really, what are the odds that they've heard it before?"

"Yea, Boyd has a good point, it'll be fine," Derek agreed. "As for the scenting, there was no way you could've known he'd get so mad. You've been on your own this whole time while trying to ignore the Wolf's instincts. But now you know, scent means a lot to us, it's just a part of the learning curve." There was a chance that the boys did in fact know about the term, Scott had been a Were for awhile… if they managed to figure out how to control his Beta shift, who knew what else they might've figured out. But he kept that thought to himself, not wanting to stress Isaac out even more.

"I've been feeling it, the scent thing, now that I'm part of a Pack," Erica admitted, looking down at her hands. Wasn't that what she had been thinking about earlier? She'd had more time to acquaint herself with her Were side, so the minute she heard Derek say she could tag along, she immediately wanted to feel like she belonged with them. It was a bit of a surprise that Isaac didn't feel that same pull but it was probably because he had less experience.

Derek nodded, "That's good, maybe you can explain it to Isaac some more later. I'm uh, I'm still having a hard time with figuring out how to explain things to Bitten-Weres."

"You aren't the only one, I think that's a common thing with Born-Weres," Boyd assured him. "We had an Alpha, a Born-Were, at the trading company who tried to teach us some stuff but he kept speaking in shortcuts and codes which confused all of us. He just took his knowledge for granted and figured we'd all know what he was talking about and we didn't. He's still part of the company but now he's out doing trades and stuff instead of working at the compound with the new Betas. I can help you explain stuff to both of them since I'm used to the whole 'teaching' environment," Boyd offered.

"That would be great," Derek thanked. Boyd was right, he had a lot of knowledge when it came to Weres and their history but he didn't have experience teaching, which was the problem. "I'd hate to have to inconvenience you though, I'm sure you've got your own things going on…"

"Naw, it wouldn't be an inconvenience at all."

Isaac looked up at Derek, confused, "You'd let him help us? He isn't Pack…" He wasn't surprised that they had stepped in on Boyd's behalf earlier, but it seemed weird that he'd be okay with an outsider Beta having influence over the Pack like that.

Derek ruffled his hair, "I promised to take care of you, to do the best I could, and if that means finding some outside help, I'll do it. I don't have so big of an ego to turn away help, especially when he can relate to your experiences better than I can."

"And you think you're a bad Alpha," Melissa teased as she came to refill Isaac's water. "I don't know too many people that are willing to admit when they need help from outsiders. But you're willing to put your own ego aside if it means getting better help for your Betas; that makes you a great Alpha in my eyes." She was glad that Isaac had found someone like Derek. He looked intimidating and didn't seem to be confident in his Alpha role but he definitely had a good heart. She could tell that Isaac would flourish under him and she couldn't wait to see how much he grew. Already he was so much different from the scared boy that she found out back a few weeks ago. She grinned as she noticed Derek turn pink and passed him another Cola before walking away to tend to her other customers.

"Oh my gosh, can you imagine what would happen if Isaac actually managed to win Stiles over! Scott's a Bitten-Were and has years of experience, think of the advice he could give us. I mean he's a Beta that achieved full shift control! And it doesn't sound like he had an Alpha around to teach him so he definitely seems like the guy to go to," Erica gushed, eyes widening as the realization hit her.

"Well I royally pissed Scott off so I doubt I'll be winning anyone over… fuck my life," Isaac wailed, dropping his head onto the counter again.

A/N 9-23-2018: Added a lot of extra interactions for this chapter- 3.5K words worth. Also I added in the beginnings of an idea with Halwyn. As I looked back over this fic I was able to brainstorm A LOT of ideas and I knew how to incorporate more characters. It's only a quick mention but it'll be important later on in the story. Aside from that, I added some stuff about Victor and completely changed the conversation between Stiles and Isaac at the graveyard.