He wasn't stalking Isaac. He wasn't a stalker, no matter what Stiles might say. And he really needed to stop thinking about what that little nuisance would say. Derek was just making sure the kid kept his word about not running his mouth. And he was, as far as he could tell.

There were a few cops milling about the place in the early morning hours, including Sheriff Stilinski. While he was a fair man, Derek was glad that their business was over with. And he didn't really plan to have further interactions with him. He was kindly asking Isaac a few questions, but even Derek bristled when he brought up Isaac's black eye. His father was right next to him and Isaac let that same lacrosse lie roll out of his mouth. But Derek could smell the truth from a mile away. The smug look on his dad's face just solidified it.

Maybe a kid who would let this happen to himself wasn't the best choice to add to his pack? Derek needed someone strong. Isaac would probably be more trouble than he was worth. And getting smacked around a bit wasn't the end of the world. Derek was done with this mess.

And yet, he found himself outside of the Lahey household that night. Derek didn't know what was wrong with him. He wasn't the type to be affected by sob stories or feel a drive to save the less fortunate. He rolled his eyes at those infomercials that came on at night about abused dogs. Not his problem and nothing he could do about it.

But he could do something about this. He just wasn't sure what. Did he threaten Isaac's dad to stop hurting his son? That would just cause more problems. Derek couldn't stick around 24/7 and as soon as his back was turned, the anger of being confronted would fall onto Isaac.

He could always call CPS or the police, but that held the same risk. If Isaac lied and said everything was fine, or this didn't meet the threshold for removal, Isaac was still stuck with an angry man. And getting thrown into the system was less than ideal. Derek had been lucky that he had Laura around until he was legal so they didn't run into any issues like that. Did Isaac have anyone? He hadn't seen the boy willingly speak to anyone the whole time he'd been watching.

Maybe he could nudge Scott in Isaac's direction. He always had that goody goody, save the world vibe to him. It probably wouldn't take much to convince him that he could use a new friend, especially if that friend was in peril. And why was he trying to adopt this kid out now? He needed to get out of Beacon Hills.

Derek tucked himself in between some vegetation across the street from Isaac's house, listening for anything that sounded troubling. He didn't really have an excuse to give anyone if he was found lurking, so he made sure to stay hidden. The neighborhood was mostly quiet, which was helpful. It kind of smelled like Jackson though, which was throwing him off. That was definitely someone he didn't want to deal with right now. He hadn't liked that kid from the moment he laid eyes on him.

Isaac's dad was just asking him about grades when a loud crash a little bit down the road stole his attention. A car had backed out of a driveway and hit another car that was passing by. They both smacked into a parked van, which was now wailing an alarm. Derek gritted his teeth as the shrill sound pounded through his head, blocking out everything else. No one looked hurt, judging by the yelling and hand waving, so he didn't feel obligated to go help. He probably wouldn't have either way, since he wasn't a helpful person. He didn't care about anyone, regardless of how what he was doing right now might say otherwise.

By the time the accident was silenced and the people had gone, the Lahey house was quiet. Most of the lights he could see through the limited windows on the front of the house were off, so he figured they were headed to bed for the night. It was a bit early, but it made sense if they had to get to the cemetery for a shift later. Derek would wait until Isaac came out before going home for the night, just in case.

But Isaac didn't come out. And as the sun rose to signal the start of another day, Derek found himself getting kind of annoyed. Sure, no one forced him to stand in the bushes all night, but he had. And for nothing. Apparently Isaac didn't have a shift that day, which was nice for him, but Derek wished he would've known that beforehand, so he wouldn't have wasted his time.

Isaac's dad came out of the house a little while later and drove away without any fanfare. The wolf in Derek growled and wanted to spring out at the sight of him. Some people were just bad and all of Derek's instincts were screaming that Isaac's dad was one of those people. He hoped Isaac had a plan for getting out of here as soon as he was legal, if he was really dead set on refusing the bite. Maybe Derek would ask him, if he ever decided to leave his house.

Jackson had already driven off in his stupid car, so Derek knew that school would be starting soon. And since Isaac didn't have a car, he would definitely be late. That was pretty unlike him, at least during Derek's few days of observation. It still wasn't stalking. Derek wasn't keeping a log or anything, but he noticed things like patterns and routines. This wasn't normal.

Derek made sure the coast was clear before walking across the street as casually as he could. Just an honest man spreading the good word, if anyone thought he was suspicious. He walked up to the front door and knocked, listening for any signs of movement. There were none and as he strained to hear further, he could barely make out the sound of a heartbeat.

Before he could think about it, Derek's shoulder was through the front door. He quickly shut it behind him, not needing the evidence of his breaking and entering clear for the neighborhood to see. This was going to be interesting to explain, but he could worry about that later. First, he needed to find Isaac.

Derek followed his nose through the house, which wasn't very helpful. Everything smelled like Isaac, since he lived there. He paused when he got to the kitchen, finding a mess of broken glass next to one of the walls. The rest of the room wasn't much better, with broken dishes scattered about and food scraps discarded on the table. He cursed the drivers from the night before whose display must've obscured the noise of all this happening.

Derek kept going, finding himself in what he assumed was Isaac's bedroom. It was a basic room with a bed and dresser, but not much else. He could appreciate someone who wasn't bogged down with a bunch of stuff. It made it easier to pack up and go at a moment's notice. The one thing the room was missing was Isaac.

Derek forced himself to ignore the scents and focus on a different sense. If sniffing him out wasn't working, he'd have to rely on hearing. He closed his eyes, blocking out the ambient noise as he sought out the thump of Isaac's heart. It was faint when he eventually caught it again, and seemed to come from below him. He walked down the halls until he found the door that revealed a staircase.

"Isaac, you down here?" Derek called out. Werewolf healing or not, he didn't want to startle the kid into shooting him or something. Although that would be a better sign than what his heartbeat was telling him. While Derek knew how to be quiet, it seemed unlikely that Isaac wouldn't have heard him by now. But the beats stayed steady, indicating that he hadn't. And Derek was pretty sure it wasn't due to a deep-seated trust between the two of them.

When it came to basements, this one was a bit unsettling. There was junk everywhere. He didn't even want to deal with the creepy doll sitting on the chair along the side of the room. The hope that Isaac had been hanging out down here enthralled in a book or something was long since dashed.

Derek couldn't hold back his growl when he noticed the marks on the cement floor. He bent down to touch them, knowing the force it would've taken for blunt, human nails to leave behind something like that. The complete desperation and panic. He followed in the direction they went, finally coming across a chest freezer. A chest freezer with a padlock on it. Derek had the fleeting hope that maybe Isaac was a sleep eater or something and that was there for an innocuous reason. But the freezer wasn't plugged in.

"Holy shit," Derek mumbled as soon as he ripped the lock off and threw open the lid. If he hadn't still been able to hear a heartbeat, he would've been convinced that he was looking down at a corpse. Isaac was a tall kid, a bit taller than Derek, but you wouldn't be able to tell right now. His body was curled in on itself and even Derek's joints felt stiff looking at him.

"Isaac, come on," Derek said, reaching down to jostle his shoulder. He didn't get more than a little head wobble in response. Derek grit his teeth, crossing his hands over his chest. "This isn't what I signed up for. I'm not dealing with this. I wanted a pack, not a community service project."

Derek could walk away. He could leave this house and never look back. Isaac wasn't his problem. If he was feeling extra charitable, he could drop a line at the sheriff's station, but that was all he would do. He could leave Beacon Hills without thinking about this ever again.

But then his stupid arms were reaching down and pulling the kid from his prison. Isaac's head lolled and rested against Derek's neck as he held him bridal style and Derek tried to convince himself that he felt the urge to drop him on the floor, but it would be a lie. There was no longer a part of Derek willing to leave this kid in this hellhole. And there probably never was. He was so screwed.