How to save Allison. I had to get this done so here is another chapter. I hope you like. Sterek will show up again, and possibly an Isaac/Alex connection, but not in this chapter. Sorry.

Being cooped up in the loft is taking it's toll on them. Allison blames herself for it, but feels that she has no choice. Derek is amazed of how easy his plan is coming together. He doesn't know that Allison has her own agenda. Alex is doing a good job, and he knows it.

Derek, Alex and Allison takes off. The rest of the group talk about how to kill a werewolf, and Melissa freaks out a little when she remembers what happened at the hospital. The memory had been locked away for a couple of days.

At the Hale-house, Allison realizes that she's been fooled.

Scott was the first one to get hit by a serious case of cabin-fever. He was pacing around trying to seem busy, but Derek had seen the looks he'd sent in Alex' direction.

Derek had been awake early and after kicking Isaac out of the kitchen, he'd started making breakfast. It didn't take long before Melissa came and helped him and together, they scrambled a dozen eggs and made a pile of toast. A half pound of bacon was kept warm in a pan, while Melissa dug out some condiments.

The kitchen wasn't equipped for feeding so many people; Derek was about to run out of plates, because nobody had thought about starting the dishwasher last night. He sent Melissa an apologetic smile, as he opened the package with paper plates. "This will have to do." Melissa nodded. "It's okay. The food will taste the same." She chuckled a little. "You think anyone will care?"

When the smell of food practically saturated the air in there, both Mr Stilinski and Allison emerged from their sleeping quarters. Scott served himself, and then he made another plate. When Allison came towards him he handed her one. "Oh, thanks. I love you." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, before she grabbed both plates out of his hands and walked over to Alex.

The expression on Scott's face was easy to read. Surprise, defeat, and also a little bit of anger was practically written on him. Derek could see that he clenched his fists for a second, but then his posture changed. It was almost like he shrunk, and with a sigh he grabbed another plate and served himself again.

Derek had to admit that Allison seemed to take to her task with more enthusiasm than anyone could have expected. It didn't sound like she actually interrogated Alex; their conversation was casual and friendly, and had so far it had not involved Hester that much.

There was no wonder that Scott was intimidated by this. Alex was very cute and charming, and seeing his girlfriend hanging with the guy all the time had to be disturbing. Everybody in there had been told that Alex only wanted to talk with Allison, and nobody could understand it. For the majority, it didn't really matter.

When the cabin fever hit, it didn't take long before it started to spread. The next one to start pacing was Isaac. "We should do something. We can't just sit here and wait." He sounded angry. Derek noticed the pain in his face as he threw a peek at Allison and Alex, and had to smile to himself when he realized why Isaac was so antsy.

During the night, Derek had heard whispers from Alex' corner. He hadn't bothered to get up and check, and he was about to fall asleep again when Isaac passed him and went back to his mattress. He didn't give it a second thought at that moment, but now he had an idea about what had happened.

He wondered if Alex had told Isaac the secret. He wondered if he'd revealed that it was all a con to save Allison's life. The expression on Isaac's face told him 'no'. The guy was jealous, Derek was pretty sure about that. It should have been disturbing. Emotions like that could make it impossible to camp together for an extended period of time, but Derek couldn't help himself. He had to turn his back to his current roommates, so they wouldn't notice that he wanted to laugh out loud.

A half hour later, Stiles threw a deck of cards into the air and slammed his hand on the table. "This is so fucked up. I'm bored." The cards had spread all over the couch and the table, and Stiles pushed some of them away before he leaned back and sighed. "I agree with Isaac. We have to do something. We're gonna kill each other being cooped up like this."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Allison felt like a traitor. She knew that the gloomy mood in the loft was partially due to the fact that she was hanging with Alex. It wasn't so strange that Scott got pissed off by it, but it surprised her a great deal when she discovered that Isaac was equally annoyed. When she caught Alex staring at Isaac, she again wondered why the guy only wanted to talk with her. Isaac would probably have been a more logic choice.

She decided to just ask him, but she needed to distract the others first. She was pretty sure that both Isaac and Scott was eagerly listening in on the conversation. When Stiles started shouting, she knew she had to do something. "Why don't we watch a movie." She got up from the floor and walked over to the TV. "Or we can go for 'Friends'. It'll lighten the mood, right?"

Derek just shrugged, but the three other boys stared at her as if her suggestion was improper. "Oh, come on." She popped a disc in the DVD-player and turned on the TV. "You could at least try."

Melissa had been leaning on the counter, but now she took a few steps forward. "I kind of agree with them." She nodded towards Isaac and Stiles. "We should do something." She shrugged and turned to Allison. "We could always watch a movie, but this is like a siege. We're just waiting for Hester to make her move."

They all noticed that sheriff Stilinski nodded and raised his thumb. Melissa continued. "We have to create our own fate. We can't just sit here and let her plan how to kill us." She drew her breath. "And when is Chris coming back? He is a hunter; he's done this before. We have to..." a sigh escaped her. "We have to do something."

Allison got a little embarrassed. She'd been so involved with her own fate that she hadn't really thought about the others. Her plan had so far been to try to keep her little secret hidden, until she could find a way to kill herself. Like Melissa, she also wondered why her dad hadn't showed up yet. She'd tried to call him, but he didn't pick up. The only proof that he was still alive was a couple of text messages where he apologized for the delay.

After a few minutes of silence following Melissa's little speech, Derek got up from his seat and cleared his throat. "We are. We're gonna do something. Chris is doing some research, and as soon as he's back, we will make plans." He panned the room. "We also have to go to the house – my house – and prepare the basement for..." He paused for a second. "If we catch one of them alive."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

In the mansion, things were almost back to normal. Eric was still alive, but it was probably just pure luck. Troy was back, and could inform Hester that both the McCall house and the Stilinski house seemed abandoned. Stiles' Jeep and Derek's Camaro were parked outside Derek's place. He'd not found a trace of Chris Argent.

The only ones he'd actually spotted, were the two people he'd been urged to stay away from at any cost. As Troy was about to leave Beacon Hills – after scouting out Derek's building for a while - Stiles Stilinski and Allison Argent had drove by him and parked outside the loft. He'd watched them get out of the car and enter the building. It looked like the boy was injured – he was limping – so it took a little while for them to get to the door.

Hester was a little bit surprised that the Argent girl was still up and about, but it could be that she hadn't had a chance to off herself yet. When she told Troy to stay away from the girl, it was mostly because Hester herself wanted to see how the whole hunter-werewolf combo worked out.

If Allison, against all odds should get through the transformation, she'd immediately be a natural target for any werewolf hunter, maybe even her dad. Another thing was that a fresh out of the womb werewolf didn't have any self-control, and since she was a hunter also, it could result in her starting to kill off her friends.

The reason to keep the boy alive was more prosaic. If Joy wanted Stiles for herself, it could be arranged. Giving the girls everything they craved was one of Hester's pleasures. The guy would be a nice addition to their pack.

Troy had been to the hospital also, where he learned that Mr Stilinski had signed himself out. Mrs McCall was not at work, and after flirting with the girl at the front desk, she'd told him that the woman had called in sick.

Hester was pretty sure that they were all cooped up in Derek's apartment. Attacking them there would be a suicide mission, so she decided to wait it out. She wanted them to relax and believe that she'd given up. Hester could be patient if she needed too. Sooner or later they would emerge, and could be taken out one by one.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"He wants us to chain him up for the full moon." Allison nodded towards Alex. "I don't know if it would be wise to do it here." She shrugged and took a sip from her cup of tea. Derek seemed to think about it for a moment, before he smiled widely and chuckled a little.

Allison couldn't understand that this was a laughing matter, and she stared at Derek with a frown. The smile faded quickly, and he seemed a little embarrassed. "I know. I was thinking that we could bring him to the Hale-house." He threw a glance in Alex' direction before he continued. "We can chain him up and leave him there."

Derek poured wine into a glass and walked over to Melissa. "Here. Did you want one too?" He addressed Mr Stilinski who shook his head. "No thanks, I was more interested in that amber liquid you have on the counter there." He pointed to a bottle of whiskey. "If you don't mind?"

After providing the sheriff with a drink, Derek came back to Allison. "We should get the basement ready for an eventual prisoner anyway. Let's just bring Alex there and find out what we need to do." He was about to pour himself a drink, but then he put the bottle down. "We could do it now. I doesn't matter if he has to be chained up for a while. He is a prisoner."

Allison thought about it for a moment. "He'd be like a sitting duck. If we leave him and she comes, he'll be dead." She really didn't want that fate for Alex. "Someone should be there with him and protect him."

This was her chance. She just had to convince Derek to agree to her little plan. There were no indications that Derek knew about the bite. He hadn't mentioned it at all, so Allison did believe that he hadn't been able to sniff it. If she volunteered to watch Alex, she could kill herself in good time before the full moon.

Getting the others to agree would probably be much harder. Scott would definitely protest it, so she decided to ask Derek when they were there.

"The two of us can do it, right?" She tried to keep her voice down. Scott and Isaac were busy arguing with Stiles about what game to play, and wasn't paying attention at the moment. "I know a thing or two about trapping werewolves; we can fix up that basement together."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Derek was amazed about how easy it all went, and he knew that Alex was to thank for this. This guy could really be an asset to them. There had been a little bit of an argument at the loft when Allison told the others about the plan. Scott was the one who protested the most, and suggested that he should go there with Derek.

When Derek made a point that there should be an Alpha left at the loft, Scott had suggested that he and Isaac could go. Melissa saved the day by denying her son to leave the place. "I wouldn't be able to rest with you out there." She'd also tried to argue that Allison should stay behind also. "Wouldn't it be better if you took Isaac?" Scott nodded vigorously, and repeated her suggestion.

Isaac himself seemed ambivalent to the idea, but mentioned that he'd support Derek's decision no matter what. Stiles was surprisingly quiet, and didn't participate in the discussion at all. When Scott addressed him directly to try to get a supporter for his point of view, he just shrugged. After a little bit back and forth, Derek cut through. "This is the best way. Allison is a skilled hunter. We will bring weapons." He was a little concerned about Stiles' lack of interest in this, but deep down, he was happy for not having to argue with his mate.

"Allison is ready to do this. We've talked about it. Chris is on his way and can join us." Derek felt like shit having to lie to his friends, but when it was all over he was sure that they would understand.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Alex was silently commending himself for the outcome of the discussion in the loft. He hadn't participated, but he knew that he was partially responsible. He wondered if Derek would find him worthy as a member of the pack after this.

When the evening sun colored the clouds with an orange hue, Derek came over and pulled him off the floor. "You asked for this and I appreciate your honesty." They walked together towards the door. "I will teach you how to deal with the full moon, but this time we'll do it the way you're used to."

There were a few more comments and suggestions from the others before they left, but eventually they managed to get out of there.

Derek was driving, and Allison was riding shotgun. Alex was perfectly fine sitting in the back seat. They hadn't even turned the corner before Allison addressed him. "I still wonder. Why me?" She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I wanted to ask you earlier, but didn't get a chance."

Alex stared at her. "You did ask me, and I told you." He couldn't understand why she asked him about this again. Repeating this lie wasn't going to make him feel any better. "It's because you trusted..." Allison cut him off. "No, that was not it. I got that. Hear me out."

She shook her head and sighed. "Isaac saved you. I've seen the stares you've given him, and I'm not born yesterday. Why me? Why not him?" She punched Derek on the shoulder when he obviously had a hard time keeping a straight face. "Don't mind him, be honest."

He didn't know what to say. Of course he wanted to talk with Isaac. The only reason he hadn't done so before the deal with Derek, was because Isaac had seemed a tad evasive. Isaac hadn't even tried to strike up a conversation with him, and it had been quite annoying.

It was only last night that he learned that Isaac really cared, but then it was to late. Alex had already committed to this, and didn't want to jeopardize his chance to be in Derek's pack. He just hoped that the guy would understand.

"I..." He could feel the blush and had to take a moment. "I like him, and I think he trusts me, sort of, but I think..." He wasn't sure about how honest he had to be at the moment. Both him and Derek had lied out of their teeth lately. "I think, maybe, uh, I worried that he, that I would send out the wrong signals. I mean... he looks at me weirdly."

Alex had expected a laugh or a cheeky comment, but it didn't come. Allison stared at him for a moment. "Okay, I see. You think he likes you more than you're able to reciprocate?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Silver bullets!" Mr Stilinski raised his glass and took a sip. "Isn't that what you need to kill a werewolf?" He looked at Scott and Isaac. The two boys shook their heads. "Lore, just... no. Unless the bullet blows my brain out." Scott threw a glance at his mom. "That's what I'm saying. You guys have no clue."

Melissa stared at her son. "But the guy at the hospital? You didn't..." She huffed and scrunched her face, as if the memory repulsed her. "You killed him with your bare hands." It seemed like the realization just hit her and she started to shiver. Scott ran over and gave her a hug. "Sorry mom. It was probably not a pretty sight."

Both Stiles and Isaac stared at them with their jaws dropped. "Wha-at?!" Stiles was the first one to utter something. "You did what?" Scott turned away a little embarrassed. "We, uh, we didn't want to tell you while Alex was here, and then I sort of forgot." He shifted his gaze between his two friends. "We were gonna tell you."

They got a slightly jumbled explanation when Melissa, Mr Stilinski, and Scott more or less spoke simultaneously. They all wanted to describe the incident from their own point of view. It took a little while for Stiles and Isaac to understand what had really happened, but eventually they got it.

"So he's really dead? You're sure?" Isaac shook his head. "I mean, I don't doubt you, but I, I thought... You insisted on saving, uh, Alex and that other guy, and now..." Scott cut him off. "He was about to kill my mom. I had to."

Mr Stilinski waved his hand in the air as if he was in class. "But if you guys are so hard to kill, how come you could kill that guy with that twist? Why didn't he heal?" Scott didn't have an answer to that question. A broken vertebrae wouldn't necessarily kill a werewolf.

"I don't know much about your healing processes, but I saw what you did." Scott could see that his mom was totally grossed out, but she continued. "The force would easily have damaged the spinal cord and possibly ripped the jugular vein." She almost choked up. "For God's sake, I could see the back of the guys head. You almost twisted it off."

When his mom started sobbing, Scott was about lean in and hug her again, but the sheriff was faster. He was sitting next to her, and he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in. "I saw it too, but I didn't believe my own eyes."

Melissa cried silently against the sheriffs shoulder. For a long time, the only sound that was heard in the loft was her occasional sniffle. Scott had to walk away. He'd given his mom a horrible memory, and he was utterly ashamed. She'd obviously managed to suppress it so far, but now it had hit her full force.

The discussion about how to kill a werewolf wasn't interesting anymore. Scott had scarred his mom for the rest of her life. Apologizing made no sense. He just had to hope she'd get over it somehow. He hoped that the memory would fade, so she could look at him the same way as before.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Melissa was in no shape to cook that evening. Stiles wasn't capable of standing up for any extended period of time, so he couldn't do it either. His dad had tried, but he was still a little dizzy from the blood loss. Scott and Isaac volunteered, but seemed totally lost in the kitchen. They both obviously had their minds elsewhere, and didn't really manage to cooperate properly.

Stiles knew why Scott was so absentminded. The fact that he'd probably scarred his mom for life with that kill, and the way Allison had behaved lately must have affected the guy. That Isaac seemed equally disturbed was more of a surprise. He was normally quite laid-back and carefree. Stiles knew that everybody in there worried about Allison and Derek being out in the woods with Alex, but he'd relied on Isaac to at least try to lighten the mood. Thinking back on the little secret he shared with Alex, Stiles started to think that Isaac was in deeper than he'd first thought.

Derek's track record in executing plans wasn't the greatest; Stiles was perfectly aware of that. Sometimes it felt like bad luck was following the guy. When the discussion went high on who should take Alex to the Hale-house, Stiles had chose to not participate. He'd secretly agreed with Derek, but didn't want to piss off Scott.

Allison was smart, and in Stiles' mind, the best choice. She wouldn't screw this up, and she could prevent Derek from screwing up also.

Eventually Isaac and Scott managed to get food on the table. It wasn't a culinary masterpiece, but everybody was so hungry, that the beanie weenies with toast went down easily. The leftover salad from last night was still edible, so all things considered, it was a decent meal.

It was getting late and with no words from the Derek or Allison, they all decided to try and get some sleep. Stiles worried that Scott would try to sneak out during the night, so he chose to crash by the door, where Derek had been sleeping last night.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The beams supporting the ground floor of the house was sturdy enough. Derek remembered how he'd struggled to come loose when he was held there by Kate. The cuffs attached to the wood had rough edges and would possibly dig deep into Allison's skin, but those wounds would heal. There were also enough chains in there to wrap around her body, so she wouldn't be able to wiggle too much.

"I don't know if they are too wide for him. His hands are smaller than mine." Derek pointed to the cuffs. "Come here, Allison. Your hands are even smaller. If you can't come loose, he can't either." Allison came over willingly and let Derek fit the cuff around her wrist. He held his breath while he fastened the bolt and tugged on it. "You think you could ease your hand out?"

Allison pulled on the cuff with her free hand, while she tried to slip it off. Then she shook her head. "I would have to rip my hand off, this will work." She gestured for Derek to give her the wrench so she could get it off. Derek grabbed it and took a step back. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second before he stared into her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Before Allison managed to react, he'd grabbed her other hand and pulled it towards the other cuff. "Alex, help me out." The expression on Allison's face when she realized that she'd been fooled could possibly have scared someone with a weak heart to death. After the initial shock, she started kicking and screaming, but with joint effort, Derek and Alex managed to attach the other cuff.

"WHY? WHY? DEREK! What?" Allison shouted it out, but then she bowed her head and sniffled a little. Her voice was trembling when she again spoke. "You can't do this. Please let me go." She lifted her head and stared at Derek with teary eyes. "You think I'm becoming a werewolf, but the bite didn't take. I promise."

Derek cocked his head and moved closer. He pointed to the almost invisible scar from Hester's teeth. "So how come you've healed?" He couldn't help smirking when he again looked her in the eyes. Without warning, she lifted her foot and kicked him in the crotch. She sneered, showing off her recently acquired fangs.

Derek fell backwards and rolled over in fetal position; the aim on that kick was very accurate. Allison's voice had reached a higher pitch when she started yelling: "Just you wait. When my dad comes and sees this, he's going to kill you." She drew her breath. "Or he's going to untie me and let me kill you myself."

After a little bit of a struggle, Derek got up from the floor. His balls was still aching a little. He turned to Alex. "We have to cuff her feet too. She has a hell of a kick." As soon as he was able to stand up straight, he looked at Allison again as he shook his head. "Sorry pumpkin, your dad is not coming. He won't be back until after the full moon."

When Allison again bared her teeth, it became pretty clear that the transformation had already started. "Fuck you, Derek Hale! I don't want this. I can't become a werewolf. My mom killed herself to avoid it. Where's dad? He promised to kill me."

She didn't even try to fight it when Alex and Derek attached a set of cuffs to her ankles and wrapped the chain around the beam to make sure she couldn't move her feet. "He did not promise to kill you. I talked to him. He wants to save you." Derek assessed their handiwork, before he went over to the corner and picked up some more chain. "He is in on it, he wanted me to get you through this alive."

As soon as Allison was securely wrapped up in chains, Derek turned to Alex. "What about you? Do I need to tie you up also" With a chuckle Alex looked at Derek. "Pfft, if there were one good thing to say about Hester, it would be the fact that she taught us self control." He threw a glance at Allison. "Sorry I lied." He gave her a lopsided smile. "I hope we can be friends after this."