CHAPTER TWO
"Hey Derek!"
"You seem oddly chipper, little sister," Derek said cautiously as he stood in the frame of the door to their loft. "What did you do?"
"I found a lost puppy, can we keep her?" she grinned. She stepped aside to reveal Magda with her head hung low, arms loosely crossed across her abdomen. Isaac stood slightly behind her and waved to Derek with a cheeky grin.
"Get inside," Derek commanded, shutting the door behind them. He turned to Cora. "Explain."
"Must you act so rude in front of our guest?" Cora teased. "Derek, this is Magda, Magda, my big brother Derek."
"Hi," Derek greeted curtly before turning back to his sister. "What did you do? And what does he have anything to do with it?" He jerked his head towards Isaac.
"I ran into her at school today. Literally. She's an omega werewolf," Isaac explained.
"She doesn't have a pack. She just turned a few weeks ago and was abandoned," Cora continued. "I told her she could stay with us. We can teach her how to control her wolf instincts."
"And since when did you decide things on behalf of the both of us? I'm pretty sure it's my name on the lease, not yours," Derek pointed out.
"Aw c'mon, Der," Cora pleaded. "Just look at this lost little puppy." She gestured towards Magda. Magda scowled at Cora.
"I'm not a lost little puppy," Magda snapped, surprising everyone. "If you don't want me here, then fine. I can leave."
She turned to walk away with a flourish, but Isaac's strong build blocked her. When she looked up to glare at him, he gave her a pleading look, and her indignity vanished. With a sigh, she turned back around to see Derek with an amused look on his face.
"Derek, please," Isaac said. "Even if she doesn't want to admit it, she needs our help. She doesn't have anyone. She's never gone through a full moon. She's just like me, when you first met me." He hoped Derek would understand what he was trying to convey.
After a moment, Derek's look softened.
"Alright," Derek conceded. "But you two," he turned to Cora and Isaac, "are ultimately responsible for her."
"You say that now, but she'll grow on you," Cora said happily. "You'll show your soft teddy bear side in no time."
Derek rolled his eyes but smiled at his little sister.
"And don't go thinking just because there's another girl in the loft means you two can team up on me," Derek said. "My loft, my rules, got it?"
"And this is my cue to leave," Isaac said, turning to leave.
"Like him," Derek said, motioning to Isaac's retreating back. "He lives here, sometimes, but no… shenanigans under my roof, alright?"
"I think you'll have to be a bit more specific with 'shenanigans' old man," Cora teased.
"Look, I get it," Derek said, "You guys are teenagers. Hormones are insane, stuck in a loft… just please don't be stupid alright? And you stay away from my bed," Derek ordered.
Magda was a deep red, Cora was trying to hold in a laugh, and Isaac had an amused look on his face.
"Don't want any werepups running around the loft, Der?" Cora goaded.
Derek groaned as he pulled on his leather jacket and walked away. "Curfew's at 11!"
Magda spent the rest of the afternoon adjusting what few belongings she had into the Hale loft. A portion of the loft had been walled off for privacy for Cora, and Magda was to share the space with her.
"I'd offer to help, but it doesn't look like you have much to begin with," Isaac commented from the doorway.
"When you're always on the move, you learn to not get too attached to material things. Keep the basics and a few personal items that all fit into a handy bookbag, and you're good to go," Magda said, sitting cross-legged on the floor, as she folded a pair of jeans.
Cora came into the small room with an armful of blankets and a pillow.
"We'll have to wait until tomorrow to get you a mattress, and more clothes, but I hope these blankets will be comfy enough," Cora said, dumping everything on the floor.
"What did Derek mean when he said that you live here sometimes?" Magda asked Isaac as she began to rearrange the blankets to her liking.
"Long story short," Isaac started, "Derek was my alpha, and after my dad died, I came to live here. Derek kind of kicked me out when Cora moved in, so sometimes I stay with Scott."
"Derek did it in an attempt to protect him," Cora defended.
Magda nodded and smiled empathetically at Isaac, knowing what it felt like to feel unwanted, whatever the reason may have been.
"If we're done here, do you guys mind helping me with dinner? It sounds silly, but Derek likes us having a sit down family dinner as much as we can," Cora explained. "He looks scary, but I swear he's a big teddy bear."
"Teddy bear from my worst nightmares maybe," Isaac muttered under his breath, causing Magda to smile again.
Cora started in the kitchen, and while Isaac fell into a bit of a rhythm with her, Magda stood awkwardly to the side. Isaac paused his chopping of carrots to look at her.
"Is everything alright?"
"I've just… I've never had a sit down meal with a family, let alone learn how to cook," Magda admitted.
"C'mere, I'll teach you," Isaac said without missing a beat. Cora just smirked as continued stirring her pot.
Isaac gently guided Magda to where he stood previously in front of a pile of carrots. Standing behind her, he guided her hands to the knife, talking her through it.
Having Isaac so close to her made her heart race, but she tried her best to control it, knowing that both Isaac and Cora could hear it if they tried.
"My mom used to let me help when I was little," Isaac's voice said into her ear. She hoped he didn't notice her shiver. "Obviously not with knives, but she'd let me wash the vegetables, or mix dry ingredients. She loved to cook for us, and once my brother and I were old enough, we used to repay the favor by cooking her and my dad breakfast in bed."
"What happened to her?" Magda asked steadily, as she tried to focus on not cutting off her or Isaac's fingers.
"She died when I was twelve," Isaac answered, and Magda could feel the sadness radiating off him. "She was the light of my dad's world. The light of our family. It was never the same without her."
Magda felt the sudden urge to turn around and give Isaac a hug, but she restrained herself. They continued cooking in a comfortable silence, Isaac only remaining a few moments longer before setting up another cutting board for himself for the potatoes. Magda fought the feeling that she had actually missed Isaac's body against her.
"Just in time," Cora called as Derek walked through the door. She, Magda, and Isaac had just finished setting the table.
Magda was quiet during dinner, observing the dynamic between the three wolves she would now be living with. They were not naturally rambunctious types, which Magda was grateful for. There was only so much she could handle in one day, and it had already been a long one.
Later that night, Magda woke from her sleep in a cold sweat. Her breathing was labored as she remembered her current situation, a huge improvement from her past living arrangements.
She was just about to try to go back to sleep when she heard a whimpering coming from the other side of the loft.
Careful not to wake Cora, she tiptoed out to investigate, her werewolf senses on alert. She found Isaac in a pile of haphazard blankets on a mattress in the corner, tossing and turning, groaning and crying.
"Isaac," Magda called out quietly. "Isaac, wake up!" She placed her hand on his arm in an effort to calm him down, but it only startled him. He shot up, completely wolfed out, his eyes shining a bright yellow, snarling.
Magda's reaction was instinctual as she bared her teeth, eyes a bright yellow as well.
"Quiet! We don't want to wake everyone!" Magda said as soon as she calmed down. Taking in his surroundings, Isaac too calmed down. He avoided her gaze, embarrassed.
"Sorry," Isaac mumbled. "Just a nightmare. Don't worry about me."
"I get them too," she told him quietly. "Usually about the night I was bitten. I don't remember much of it, just a lot of darkness and pain… My imagination fills in the blanks and makes it worse. Even before then, I used to have nightmares about some of the families I used to live with. The things they did to me." There was a silence. "You didn't wake me, by the way. I had my one tonight too. I usually do."
"I, uh… I heard that sometimes human contact can help keep nightmares away," Isaac said. "Read in a book or something. Would you mind maybe staying with me tonight? No shenanigans of course."
"Is that how you get all the ladies in bed, Isaac?" Magda asked with a teasing smile, but she crawled towards him and got under the covers.
"Only the ones who are trusting enough to stay with complete strangers in a new town," Isaac teased back. Isaac didn't want to make Magda feel uncomfortable so he stayed a decent amount away. It was Magda who reached out to grab his hand.
"Good night, Isaac," Magda said as she drifted off.
"Good night, Magda."
"First night here and you're already breaking my brother's rules. Good thing you guys are totally adorable. And that he left early in the morning and didn't notice."
Magda winced as she opened her eyes to daylight. She flushed deeply as she realized that during the night, she and Isaac had moved in their sleep. Her head was now resting on Isaac's chest, though her body stuck out in an almost perpendicular angle from his. Isaac's arm was loosely wrapped around her waist. She could tell from his deep breaths that he was still asleep.
"Nightmares," Magda mumbled as she got up groggily, careful not to wake Isaac. "I'm gonna go get ready for school."
"So you and Isaac seemed pretty cozy this morning," Cora grinned during lunch. She and Magda sat at a smaller table near the window rather than sitting with Scott and his pack. Cora had assured her that she wasn't that close to them anyway.
Magda blushed at the insinuation. "We were just helping each other through our nightmares," she insisted.
"Mhmm, sure," Cora said. "You like him."
"I do not," Magda instantly replied. "He's just… he's nice."
"A lot of people are nice," Cora responded.
"Not to me," Magda shrugged. Cora smiled sympathetically, but said nothing more as Isaac joined them.
"Why are you guys sitting all the way over here?" Isaac asked them.
"I could ask you the same question, Lahey," Cora shot back. "Why isn't the dutiful beta sitting with his alpha?"
Isaac just rolled his eyes, used to Cora's comments. "How could I stay away from such two beautiful werewomen?" he replied sarcastically. "He's my alpha, but I'm not his lapdog lackey."
"Sure," Cora rolled her eyes. "Since you're here to keep Magda company, I've got to go see Coach about my assignment from last week."
As Cora got up and picked up her tray, she gave Magda a sly wink. Magda felt her face flushing.
"About last night," Magda started, wanting to just get the topic out of the way.
"So that's what that wink was about," Isaac laughed. "She really isn't as slick as she thinks she is."
"No. It doesn't help that she was the one who found us this morning," Magda said, avoiding Isaac's gaze.
"I want to thank you for last night," Isaac said sincerely. He looked around, embarrassed. "Nobody really knows about them. My nightmares, that is. They know the basics of what causes them, but…"
"You have a reputation to uphold as badass beta, I got it," Magda smiled.
"Thanks," Isaac repeated. "And thanks for… staying with me last night. I know you probably have a lot of intimacy and attachment issues… Lord knows I do. But I think it helped."
"If you tell Cora I will deny it to no end, but I actually enjoyed it. It was nice to feel safe next to someone instead of scared," Magda admitted. "And it helped me as well."
"You felt safe? With me? You do realize that we just met yesterday right? Maybe we do need to work on your unexplainable trust in strangers," Isaac said. Magda flushed, and normally would have taken offense if not for the teasing lilt in Isaac's voice. But instead, she just smiled.
"Fine, then you can deal with your nightmares on your own," Magda found herself saying. Oh my god, am I flirting right now? she thought, her mind and heart racing.
"Well that would just be cruel and unusual," Isaac replied, pouting ever so slightly. "Would you really force me to sleep alone in the terrors of my nightmares?"
Magda was saved from answering by the bell.
"Oh, there's the bell, gotta get to history or Coach will kill me," Magda said smiling smugly.
"Saved by the bell, Magda," he called after her, a smile on his face.
"See you at home, Isaac!" she called over her shoulder, laughing.
It wasn't until halfway through history class when she realized that Isaac was the first person to make her laugh in all that she could remember.
Hello dear readers! First off, I want to thank rosa22 and sarah0406 for being my first (and so far only) reviewers! It means a lot to me that you've read my work and taken the time to let me know what you think!
Also, though it should be obvious, I do not own Teen Wolf or any of its characters. I only own Magda.
Thank you for reading, and please leave me a review and let me know what you think!