"I hate magic!" Stiles hissed, shoving the spell book he was reading away from him. Not hard enough to damage it, but enough that it slid a few inches on the table it was sitting on. He needed some way to let out his frustration and that really didn't cut it.

"Did that help you find a spell?" Lydia asked, flipping casually through her own book.

"It's so nice that you're so relaxed about all this. Forgive me if I'm stressed out about the man I love searching in the woods for another killer of the week!" Stiles snapped. Lydia raised an eyebrow at him, before going back to her book.

"And is being a jerk to me going to make things better?"

"Won't know until I try!"

"Funny."

"I'm just sick of not knowing all this stuff yet. If I did, they wouldn't even have to be out there right now. I'd be able to say a few words of Latin and lead everyone to the bad guys," Stiles sighed, leaning his elbows on the table in front of him. "I'm tired of being useless."

"This self-deprecation isn't a good look. And it's only going to take you longer to find something when you waste time beating yourself up."

"I know!" Stiles groaned, burying his face in his hands. "I just have a really bad feeling about this one. Starting off with a dead body can't be a good sign. And everyone splitting up is just asking for trouble."

"We haven't even gotten to the first agreed upon check in time. Do you think someone would have already found trouble this soon?"

"Have you met this pack? Of course it's likely. And if history has taught us anything, it's probably my boyfriend. He can't get through any of these crises without almost dying!"

"Stiles-"

"The kanima, the Alpha pack, Ms. Blake," Stiles listed bitterly. "Each one of those times he's either been beaten, slashed, stabbed, shot, or a combination. When is his shitty luck finally gonna run out?"

"Stiles."

"God, he's had such a hard life. From his dad to all of this. I just want things to be better for him."

"And it is," Lydia insisted, leaning over to rest her hand on his shoulder. "You know how happy he is with you, even with all the chaos. Isaac would never choose some sort of easy, boring life over one with you."

"But why can't we have an easy, boring life together?"

"Isaac is a werewolf. There's no changing that. And when you decided to go forward with this magic stuff, you chose the more difficult path."

"I know."

"Would you give it up for him?" Lydia challenged suddenly.

"What?"

"Your mom gave up magic for you and your dad, right? If it came down to choosing between Isaac and magic, what would you choose?" Lydia pressed. Stiles opened his mouth to confidently say Isaac's name, but for some reason, he couldn't make the word come out. Would he really choose Isaac? He loved him so much and there was no doubt about that in his mind. But was he to a point where he could fully walk away from this world for him? The circumstances weren't the same as they were for his parents, since Isaac was already involved in everything, but what if a better life for him came down to that question? Would a magic free life be better for both of them?

"I-"

"Don't answer that question now, since this isn't the best situation for making an informed decision," Lydia interrupted.

"Then why did you bother asking it?" Stiles exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"To distract you from beating yourself up."

"But now I'm distracted by something else! None of the distractions are helping."

"So pick up another book and get back to work," Lydia directed, setting a new spell book in front of him. Stiles rolled his eyes, but did what she said. Her methods were complete shit, but Stiles forced himself to block everything else out and focus on the words written. He wished he was somehow able to memorize everything as he read, but it was more like reading a cookbook. You had a vague idea of what recipes were inside, but the ingredients and directions were another story.

Stiles practically jumped out of his seat when his phone started vibrating in his pocket. He flailed around like an idiot as he struggled to get the thing from the tight space, cursing his decision to listen to Allison's advice about wearing something more snug to drive Isaac wild. How he'd started taking seduction tips from Allison, he'd never know. Especially since Isaac would want him wearing the rattiest pajamas. He knew from experience. But now as his uncoordinated limbs fought to get his phone from its tiny prison, he regretted speaking to Allison at all.

"Oh my God," Lydia growled, reaching over and plucking out the small device with ease. She tossed it to him, rolling her eyes when Stiles barely caught it before it fell to the floor. It wasn't his fault that he got twitchy when he was stressed. He pressed the answer button without noticing the caller, unwilling to waste a single second more.

"Isaac!"

"Son," his dad greeted on the other line.

"Hey dad," Stiles sighed, flopping back down into his seat. It wasn't like he wasn't happy hearing from his dad, since it might mean an update, but he really wasn't who he wanted to talk to at this particular moment.

"I take it things aren't going well?"

"Not my favorite weekend so far, no," Stiles grumbled.

"I think Caleb Greggerson would say the same."

"Who?"

"That's the name of our victim. Thirty two years old and lived just outside of the city."

"Hold on," Stiles mumbled, switching his phone to speaker and setting it down on the table. "So, Caleb Greggerson. He have a record?"

"Not even a parking ticket so far, but we're still looking. He worked from home as an accountant and was single with no kids," his dad added.

"Any known enemies? Maybe this guy was targeted and this wasn't random or the start of something?" Stiles wondered hopefully. That usually wasn't the case, but a guy could dream.

"We're still looking," his dad said again.

"You know, just once I'd like to get good news from someone. Just once!" Stiles hissed, slapping his hand down on the table.

"Stiles?"

"He's just stressed out about Isaac," Lydia explained.

"Did something happen?" his dad asked worriedly.

"Not that we know of. We haven't even gotten to the first check in time yet."

"Son, I'm sure he's fine."

"I'm not going to relax until everyone is back here safe. So you both can save whatever it is you want to say," Stiles snapped.

"Stiles-"

"Call me back if you have anything useful. I need to keep the line open," Stiles said quickly, hitting end on the call without waiting for his dad's response. That wasn't the way he normally spoke to his father and he was going to catch shit for it later, but he didn't care at the moment. He couldn't deal with anyone trying to placate him right now. Only Isaac could.

"Being in a healthy relationship is supposed to make you relaxed," Lydia huffed, moving back to flip through a new book. Stiles thought the same, but it wasn't always the case. Not in a town like Beacon Hills. Stiles ran a hand through his hair, staring at his phone as he willed it to ring.

"Just gives me one more thing to lose."

Isaac turned his head from side to side, trying to shake out the cobwebs. It felt like there was a haze over all his senses, dulling and shifting them to a point where he knew something was wrong, but couldn't do anything about it. There was a lack of control he hadn't felt since his father was still alive and that unsettled him more than anything.

He was laying on something hard and cold, and the fact that he couldn't feel his usual layers wasn't helping. Isaac shivered, wincing as something chafed against his bare wrists and ankles. It didn't feel strong, but whatever it was was keeping him from moving much. He was trapped.

"That's it! I'm calling him!" Stiles declared, snatching up the phone and pressing down on Isaac's contact with more force than necessary. It had been five minutes since the time he was supposed to hear from everyone and Isaac and Erica hadn't sent a thing. Scott and Boyd had reported back for their teams, but the one person who Stiles had been desperate to get something from had given him nothing.

"We agreed that texts were safer, in case-"

"I don't care! You can bitch at me about the plan after I talk to Isaac!" Stiles snapped, tapping his foot as the line rang. He almost flipped the table over when it switched over to voicemail. "Dammit!"

"Stiles, calm down."

"He's not answering his phone, Lydia!" Stiles hissed, hitting redial.

"Maybe it's on silent and he doesn't realize what time it is."

"Isaac wouldn't forget. Not during something like this," Stiles insisted, grinding his teeth when the call went to voicemail again. He flipped to Erica's contact, trying her this time. When he got nothing again, he knew he was done waiting. "I'm going."

"Stiles."

"Text everyone and tell them the search is off. And to meet at the section that Isaac and Erica were searching," Stiles demanded, stomping toward the front door with the keys to his jeep clutched too tightly in his hand.

"How are you going to find him? Tracking spell?" Lydia asked, grabbing her purse as she sprinted after him.

"Don't need one," Stiles replied, waving his hand at her without slowing down. He didn't think he'd need to take advantage of this particular avenue so soon, but he was glad he had it. "Keep calling his number when you're done."

"Okay," Lydia agreed without argument as she climbed into the passenger's seat. She barely had the door closed before Stiles was taking off down the street in the direction of the preserve. He wasn't sure how far in he was going to have to walk to find him, but he could feel that the other side of the connection was still there, so that kept him from fully freaking out. Stiles was going to scream at Isaac when he found him, then never let him out of his sight again. He knew splitting up was a bad idea, but he'd let himself be overruled and talked into the plan. Not after this though. It wasn't worth it.

Stiles screeched to a stop more aggressively than he usually treated his jeep, taking it as far into the trees as he could go. The less running he would have to do, the better. At least Lydia had the forethought to wear something other than heels for once, so she wasn't trying to keep up with him while worrying about rolling her ankles. He wasn't going to stop for anything.

Stiles darted through the preserve, batting down any branches in his way. There may have been easier paths to take, but he wasn't going to waste a second. This was the fastest, straightest way to Isaac, so this was the way he was going. He closed his eyes as he drew on their connection, feeling the pull getting stronger the closer he got. Stiles almost yelled out for him, but decided against it. If Isaac was in trouble, he didn't want to lose the element of surprise. Although the sound of him stomping and panting had probably given him away already, depending on who they were dealing with.

Stiles shook his head, trying to knock that thought away. He didn't know for sure that Isaac was in trouble. Or that anyone had him. Isaac's phone was just out of range. Or on silent. Or Isaac had dropped it in a puddle and was currently trying to harvest rice to put it in. It was going to be something completely innocent that they could all laugh about soon. And Stiles wasn't going to admit how unrealistic that was, since Erica's phone wasn't being answered either. But when he finally made it into a small clearing and the magical tug told him he was where he needed to be, there was no room left for denial.

"Oh no," Stiles mumbled, stumbling forward and dropping to his knees next to Erica's body. She was filthy, as if someone had tried to bury her. Stiles' breaths were coming out in short gasps as he reached a trembling hand toward her neck. They couldn't lose anyone. He set his fingers against her throat and let out a sob, pressing his lips together as more threatened to spill out.

"Stiles!" Lydia panted as she finally caught up to where he was.

"She's alive. She's alive," Stiles whispered, raking the back of his hand across his eyes. He didn't know what was wrong with her, but they could work with alive.

"Stiles?" Derek barked out, bursting through the trees with Boyd wolfed out next to him. Stiles scooted back, giving Boyd space to be by Erica's side. He let out something close to a whimper before cradling her in his arms. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Stiles choked out, wrapping his arms around his legs and rocking slightly. All of his fight had left him the second he saw Erica hurt and no sign of Isaac. This wasn't supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a misunderstanding. It was supposed to be him being paranoid.

"Where's Isaac?" Derek demanded. Stiles stared at Erica's limp hand that was resting on the ground, Isaac's ring shoved hastily halfway up her middle finger.

"He's gone."

Isaac could hear the sound of footsteps approaching and he schooled his expression, not wanting to show any weakness. If whatever these things were had the same sense of smell he did, they would know that he reeked of fear, but he couldn't do anything about that.

"He's awake. I love it when they're awake."

"Makes the blood pump faster."

Isaac broke out into a cold sweat as they finally came into view. Pairs of those silver eyes seemed to be glowing as they hovered around him in the dimly lit room. He couldn't count them as they moved to surround him from head to toe.

"Thank you for this. It may not matter to you much, but my family and I do appreciate it."

Isaac looked up, recognizing the man from the preserve. He was staring at him like a parent would to a child and it made him shudder. Like he didn't have Isaac tied down and ready for slaughter. The man pressed his hand to the side of Isaac's head and pushed down, exposing the expanse of his neck.

"Don't," Isaac whimpered, for all the good it did. He cried out when the first set of fangs pierced his skin, sliding into his throat. That was what the others had been waiting for and Isaac's body was immediately a ball of pain. He could feel teeth in his arms, legs, and torso, greedily sucking up any drop of blood they could. Isaac's mouth hung open in a silent scream, as he didn't even have the energy to produce a sound anymore. He could feel the life draining out of him. As his vision dimmed, his last thought was to hope that Stiles wasn't going to be the one to find his body.