A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone for the overwhelming support! I will most definitely be finishing this fic now, and I'm sorry I had my doubts; you guys are awesome, and I thank you all so, so much. So, sorry this is unbetaed.

"Boys," the Alpha greeted, voice surprisingly calm as he walked into the den.

The twins stiffened on the couch. Their eyes widened at the sight of him and jumped to their feet. His eyes were sharp and his vision obviously clear and for a moment, neither knew how to react. Ethan shot Aidan a glance. His arm out to shield his brother, or perhaps hold him back. "We thought you'd be with your new Beta."

"New Beta?" Deucalion repeated, not quite innocently, but not forthcoming, either.

Aidan sneered from behind his twin. "Don't pretend like you don't know who we're talking about."

He offered them a shrug. As he slid his jacket off, he admitted, "I wasn't going to."

Eyes on the Alpha's battered fingers, Ethan barely managed to tear his gaze from them to look Deucalion in the face. "Are you starting a new pack?"

"Not an Alpha pack, no."

"Oh."

"Disappointed?" The man teased with a grin.

"Relieved." Aidan sneered.

"Really?" Deucalion hummed thoughtfully as he moved to enter the den. The boys moved to a more aggressive stance, with bent knees and turned shoulders, so he paused. "You didn't mind so much when you were Omegas."

The twins looked to the floor.

With a slight frown of his own, the Alpha cleared his throat. "If you want to stay, you're welcome to. Whether it's permanently or until you find a place of your own."

"How can we trust you?"

Aidan nodded firmly. "You killed Ennis!"

The Alpha considered a moment before he nodded. They had a point. "I suppose you could say I'm turning over a new leaf. I imagine you're doing the same, if you're seeking out McCall."

The boys blinked and in unison asked, "How did…?"

Deucalion smiled. It was sly and sharp. "You two haven't exactly been subtle yourselves, you know. When it comes to sentimentality."

"We only need a few days."

He waved a hand. "Take what you need."

They watched as their former Alpha went by them without so much as a glance. Curious, and more than a bit suspicious, the twins shared a glance but said nothing.

In the two days of Deucalion's absence, Isla had more or less adjusted to her new...species.

She'd had a few moments of panic with her new strength (ripping off door knobs, breaking glasses and in one awkward case at the diner when she had gotten a bit overzealous opening the dishwasher and tore the door off it) but had otherwise coped quite well, in her opinion. True, there had been a few gratuitous mood swings and the odd gagging fit (thanks to the meth lab downstairs and the cleaners they used to mop down tables at her job) but for a new heart? Isla supposed she could live with just about anything. She hummed and flexed her toes. The purple polished had chipped and worn down to the point where they looked like bruises. She lit a few scented candles waited for the room to smell of cinnamon before she grabbed the nail polish remover.

After cleaning her toes of the remaining color, she grabbed a bottle of baby blue polish from her nightstand. As she shook it, her gaze skirted over to where Deucalion's claws sat. Neat and pretty and bloody at the hilt inside the stone box. His promise was still fresh in her mind, but so was the feeling of his hand on her throat. With a scowl, she turned her attention back to her toes and would have happily continued to ignore her romantic problems had the door not buzzed.

Wary, the redhead checked her bedside clock. It was nearly ten; far too late for visitors. Pulling on a sweatshirt and a pair of pajama pants, she slipped out of bed and to the intercom. Voice cautious, she greeted, "Hello?"

"Izzie? It's me, let me up."

Isla blinked at the familiar voice and quickly did as she was told. Moments later, a young man stood at her door. His usually jovial features were drawn and his shoulders slumped as she opened the door to him. Voice light, the woman teased, "A little late for a house call, isn't it, Scotty?"

"Is it true?" Scott asked, or rather demanded. His hands were balled into fists and shaking just a touch, although they were hidden by the length of his dark sleeves.

Puzzled, she offered him a quirk of a smile. "Is what true?"

"Did he bite you?"

Isla stiffened.

"He did, didn't he?" Scott took her by the shoulders. His brown eyes were serious but not angry, his posture tense but not threatening, he tried to force a smile. "Isla, it's okay, you can tell me. I'm one, too."

"I don't...what? What do you mean you're one too?"

"A werewolf."

Isla squinted at him. "You are?"

He nodded earnestly. He forced his eyes to glow for her, a bright inhuman red that made her want to cry. Scott had always been so sweet. He was too nice and too young for all this werewolf business.

"Oh, Scotty," she sighed. Her arms went around him and she pulled the shorter man in for a hug. "I'm so sorry."

"So he did bite you," Scott repeated. He held her a moment before he set his hands on her shoulders and held her at arm's' length. She looked the same. A bit less pale, but the same dark blue eyes and red hair; not that he had expecting much different. Jaw clenched, he thought of the Demon Wolf and his wicked ways and how he had dragged such a nice girl into his brutality. "Deucalion."

She didn't ask how they knew each other. Just nodded. "About a week ago."

"Are...did you two…" The teenager shook his head, not really wanting to know the details. Instead, he told her, "Whatever he's told you is a lie. You don't have to stay with him if you don't want to."

"He never said I had to stay with him."

"What?"

The redhead shrugged. It was almost a dismissive gesture and completely threw the Alpha off guard. "He said I could find a new pack if I wanted. I just haven't decided yet."

"But Deaton said you know!" Scott shook his head. "You can't want to stay with him! He's crazy!"

"Look…" Isla ran her fingers through her hair before she leaned back. Her features were blank and unfamiliar to the boy she had watched grow up. Voice numb, she buried her claws in her palms and ignored both the sting and the flash of rage she felt at his interference. At his judgement and sneered, "In the past week I have been held at gunpoint, pistol whipped, found out my boyfriend was a serial killer, been turned into a werewolf against my will and attacked," her voice cracked and tears pricked at her eyes. "Don't treat me like I don't know what he is! Like I'm some idiot because I want just a piece of normalcy. Do you have any idea how hard it is when you're so desperate for something normal that you'll take something you know is bad for you because it's familiar?!"

With a sigh, Scott nodded. "Actually, yeah, I do."

She swallowed. Doubtful, she asked, "You do?"

"When I first got turned, I tried to ignore it. I put myself and everyone I cared about in danger because it was easier for me to cope with being normal than it was reality." The young man's hands found her shoulders again. With a crooked smile and a reassuring nod, he told her, "It's okay. It takes time to sort this kind of thing out. Let me help you."

Isla closed her eyes and covered them with a hand. Scott recoiled at the sight of her claws, but she didn't notice. After few shaky breaths, the woman steadied herself and raised her head. Tone surprisingly calm despite the hint of redness in her eyes, she told him, "It's not that simple."

"I know what it's like." His brown eyes flickered around her face. She looked tired and lost and he felt a pang of desperation. "That instinct that draws you to the Alpha that bit you. I know how scary and powerful it can be, but you don't have to stay with him."

A bitter laugh left her. "You know when he told me everything he did...I heard him but I don't think I believed him. He had been so sweet to me, you know." Isla thought of how quick her lover had been to pin her down and felt a rush of shame. "I'm such an idiot."

Scott almost flinched at that. At her misty eyes and how she held herself with clawed fingers. "I'm sorry. I know what it's like when someone you love..." He thought of Allison. Of how she hadn't hesitated to shoot arrows at him or stab Isaac and shook his head. "Disappoints you."

She nodded, but didn't speak.

Hesitant, the boy put a careful hand on her elbow. "Did Deucalion do something to you? Did he hurt you?"

"No, but I think he wanted to."

"What happened?"

The redhead swallowed. "He pinned me down."

"And?" Scott asked with a hint of dread. He remembered hearing stories about how Derek had broken Isaac's bones, how he had seduced Erica into the bite and how willing he was to kill Jackson for failing to live up to expectations. If that was what a Hale was capable of, he couldn't imagine what the Demon Wolf could do to an insubordinate Beta and waited for the anvil to drop.

"Well, he bit me, for one. Then he said he wouldn't- that he'd try to be better, but he pinned me again."

"He- did he- I mean, he didn't force you, did he?"

Her brow furrowed. Puzzled by how his voice dropped and his hackles rose, she asked, "Force me to what?"

He closed his eyes. "Did he rape you?"

"Scott!"

"Well, I don't know, you said he pinned you down!" His eyes snapped open as he blushed.

"If he had raped me, he'd be dead," Isla told him firmly. "He just...really scared me. I love him-"

The boy flinched at the omission.

"But I don't trust him," Isla finished. With a swallow, the redhead tried to keep her voice from wavering. She failed. "And I don't know what he'd do if I tried to leave. He knows everyone I love, Scott, and the thought of having to protect them from him breaks my heart."

He frowned as her voice cracked. Pulling her into his arms, the Alpha sighed as she went on.

"I want to believe he can be good, I want it so bad, but he's given me nothing. He just takes and takes and I can't- I can't give anymore because if I do, there won't be anything left of me."

Downstairs, Deucalion had come to make amends. He had spent the few days in his penthouse apartment with the twins. It had been...cathartic, in a way. The time he took to alter some of their perceptions of him; to try his hand as a regular Alpha again. True, they still kept their guard up and regarded him with a bit of hostility, but they hadn't seemed afraid of him. They wanted just as badly as he did to shed their reputations. In fact, it had been at their encouragement that he try to broach the distance between himself and Isla.

Deucalion had given Isla the space she had asked for, but with the full moon three weeks away, she needed to learn control. It was dangerous to have her go around on her own. Without the control she needed she could end up hurting someone and he knew if that happened she would never forgive herself, or him.

When he realized she wasn't alone, he kept his distance, not wanting to infringe on her privacy, but the familiar sound of Scott McCall's voice made him pause.

He listened intently to every word. Took in her heart beat and how her voice wavered as she told the boy what he had done, told him how she felt about her Alpha and felt his heart break what she began to sob. Worse, McCall's quiet reassurances reminded Deucalion how ill equipped he was to handle someone like Isla. Someone soft hearted and fragile.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the brick wall of her building. In truth, he wasn't entirely sure where his lapse in judgement came from. He had always been tepid to Isla touching his neck, but it had never frightened him. Perhaps it had been her new smell; she was an unfamiliar werewolf and he'd had a stressful night. He was probably a bit sleep deprived- no. That was a lie.

True, Isla's scent had changed, but it wasn't unrecognizable and waking up with her had been wonderful. It had simply been an impulse; the first violent impulse he'd ever acted on with her. Deucalion had them before, of course. When the young woman did something unbelievably stupid like ignore when her medications didn't work or tried reasoning with a gun. That one still made him angry. It still made him want to shake some sense into her, but she had been frail and human then, and he couldn't. So he hadn't.

But Isla wasn't human anymore. She was strong and fierce and his Beta. It was well within his rights to throw her around as he saw fit...but it didn't feel good. Seeing her cry and curl away from him after such a warm greeting had felt like a blow. There were no excuses for what he had done, and he had no intentions of trying to make any. Least of all to her.

So wrapped up in his thoughts, he almost missed the door opening to his right. Scott McCall stormed out of the building. The boy radiated frustrated and when Deucalion cleared his throat, he rounded on him.

The Demon Wolf blinked as the teen's hands found his collar. After being slammed into the brick with a surprising amount of force, Deucalion found himself being snarled at by fanged teeth and red eyes.

"You," Scott growled. "You did this to her."

"I did."

"What kind of monster bites someone without permission?!"

The man found Scott's wrists and wretched them back. The young Alpha stumbled, but his stance stayed tight and ready. Prepared for a fight Scott sneered at him as Deucalion answered, "A desperate one."

He blinked. Eyes going from scarlet to brown, the teenager frowned. "What?"

"She was dying. I couldn't let that happen."

Scott watched him carefully. Deucalion looked...different. More relaxed, a bit less put together. His voice and expression was composed, but his scent wasn't. It was anxious and sad and the young man felt a pang of... not sympathy, but something for him. Understanding, maybe. Not quite comfortable with that, Scott asked, "Do- do you love her?"

"Yes." The Demon Wolf's heart beat stumbled. Not because it was a lie, but because was the truth. It was hesitance and shame that made it stutter. It was the sheer hatred he had for being vulnerable, but it was the truth. Admitting how he felt for Isla was like exposing a nerve. A weak spot, a vulnerability…

And Scott knew it. Still, he shook his head with disgust. "She deserves so much better than you."

Deucalion's hands clenched anxiously at his sides. His fingers were still tender, but without his cane, he was still adjusting to not having something to do with his hands. "Now there's something we can agree on."

"You better treat her better because if you don't-"

"I'm trying," the man growled at him. "It's difficult- adjusting to her is more difficult than I anticipated, but I'm trying."

"Try harder," Scott demanded, jabbing a finger in his face. "Or I'll take her from you."

"Perhaps you should."

The boy blinked with a surprised recoil. "What?"

"You and her share…" The Demon Wolf inclined his head. "Considerably more allied ideologies. You have a history…" Deucalion swallowed and dropped his gaze a second. "She feels safe with you. She deserves an Alpha she can respect."

Distrustful of the Demon Wolf's sudden compliance, Scott pursed his lips. Deaton had told him about how Deucalion had lashed out at the mere mention of Isla joining another pack. It seemed too easy, for the man to agree with him. "You bit her, she's your responsibility."

The Alpha of Alpha nodded with a hint of resignation. Not at the sentiment, he agreed with the sentiment to whole heartedly, but at the idea that others might see his Beta as damaged. That other packs would reject Isla for her affiliation with him. With a lick of his teeth, he replied simply, "Of course. But that doesn't mean she deserves to be burdened with the responsibility of my actions. Past or future alike."

"Why, what are you planning?" Scott's dark eyes narrowed on him with suspicion.

"At the moment? I'm trying to relocate my Beta to a more suitable pack."

"Why? Why are you suddenly so eager to pawn her off-"

"I am not pawning her off," Deucalion sneered at him. Fangs long and gaze sharp, he spoke around a clenched jaw. "The last thing I want to do is put Isla in the hands of someone incompetent. She needs a leader, someone she can trust and since that person obviously isn't going to be me, I have to make sure she gets what she needs." He swallowed. "Even if what's best for her isn't what's best for me."

"She won't leave."

"She will if I tell her to."

"Shows what you know. Isla's never been very good at following orders." Scott raked his eyes over the man. "She thinks you're going to hurt her family if she goes. Would you?"

"No. Isla's mother and uncle-"

"Godfather," The boy corrected.

A bit annoyed that Scott McCall knew more of his lover than he did, Deucalion grunted. "Well, semantics. They'll be perfectly safe, at least from me."

"And Isla?"

"I never wanted to hurt her."

"But you did. Why should I think you won't again?"

His hands clenched again. Deucalion's claws still hadn't grown back, but the subtle twinge in them was more than enough of a reminder of what he had said when he gave her that silly ornate box. "Because I promised I wouldn't."

Distrustful, Scott regarded him a moment. He eyes his fists and his open features and nodded. Not with approval, but merely acknowledgement. "I'll be keeping my eye on you two."

"I expected nothing else."

With a sneer, Scott turned his back on him and stalked into the night.

Deucalion watched him go until he was out of sight. Stomach in knots, the man sighed and made his way up to his Beta's apartment.