"Is this really the closest we can get?" Stiles muttered, keeping his voice so low that only the werewolves in his presence could hear. They were finally on their way to save Isaac, but Derek had insisted they stop a few miles away. Stiles didn't want to think of Isaac having to make the trek back injured, even though he'd done it before. After the arrows and after Ms. Blake and after saving him from the Alpha pack came to mind. It was getting a bit ridiculous.

"If we want the element of surprise on our side, we can't let them hear the engines," Derek explained, squinting in the direction of the warehouse. It wasn't visible yet, but Stiles could feel Isaac was nearby. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but Stiles was still clinging to the thought. If he'd been taken to somewhere different from Caleb, he didn't know what he'd do.

"Can you hear anything?" Scott asked, straining to get something useful.

"Not yet, but we have to assume their senses are better than ours. I don't know if ingesting blood will do that, but it would be naive to not consider it. Once we start on our way, we have to do everything we can to not make a sound. If they know we're coming, they may decide to cut their losses and kill Isaac," Derek warned seriously. Stiles shivered in anxiety at the words. That couldn't happen.

"Is everyone ready?" Stiles asked, looking around the group. Everyone was there, save for Lydia who was waiting in her car a mile back, just in case. She wasn't a fighter, so it was better for her to be able to make a quick getaway, either to get help or escape. Everyone else was ready and willing to fight to save Isaac.

"Let's go get our boy back," his dad declared, squeezing Stiles' shoulder in a show of support. It was time to get his boyfriend back.

Isaac's escape hadn't quite gone to plan. Technically there was no plan after the one that got him off the table, besides get out and get back to his friends. Since he had no idea where he was or what the situation was outside of the room he'd been kept in, he had to wing it. And it had gone well for about a minute, until he turned a corner and walked right into one of the people who'd fed off of him. Isaac could still smell his blood on their breath.

He reacted before he could even think, jumping at the guy and taking him down to the floor. There was no way to do this quietly, so he focused on winning the fight as fast as he could. That was easier said than done, since Isaac was still weak and exhausted from everything he'd been put through. He didn't even know if it was the same day he'd been taken, so he had no idea when he'd last eaten. All Isaac had going for him was his will to survive.

They were a mess of limbs as they both scrambled for dominance. Isaac kept himself moving, since a target in motion was harder to subdue. And maybe he'd get a lucky strike in. He was due to finally win a fight.

Isaac coughed when he caught an elbow to the ribs, but kept fighting. These people didn't know who they were dealing with. He wasn't some amazing fighter who could single-handedly take them all down, but Isaac was a survivor. Isaac was a cockroach, living through things that should've killed him a hundred times over. That was the only ace up his sleeve. The drive to live out of pure spite.

Isaac grabbed the arm that was swinging back toward him to land another strike, using a move that Derek taught him so many months ago. He bent it in ways it was never supposed to, not stopping until he heard the bones snap. His attacker yelped in pain, pulling away and curling over his injured limb. That was all the opening Isaac needed, giving him a chance to strike without resistance. Isaac put all his weight into a punch to the side of the man's head, falling with him as he dropped.

He laid on the floor panting for a few seconds, trying to catch his breath. Instead of a fight that lasted less than a minute, it felt like he'd run a marathon. Isaac had never felt more tired in his life, including the days he'd gone to school after spending a night locked in a freezer. When he got home, he was going to sleep for a week.

The thought of home and who was waiting for him there spurred Isaac into forcing himself back to his feet. If anyone else was around, they had to have heard all that commotion. Each moment that passed was cutting into his chance for escape. Isaac backed toward the way he'd been going before he was interrupted, watching to make sure his attacker wasn't about to spring up and come at him again. He didn't, but that didn't mean Isaac was safe. The teeth that sank into his neck two seconds later proved that.

Derek skidded to a stop a few yards in front of the group, holding up his hand so the others would follow his lead. Stiles looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of the warehouse. It still looked like the same nothing to him, but he didn't know why else Derek would stop.

"What is it?" Stiles whisper-panted, making a mental note to look for a spell to give himself werewolf speed and endurance. Cross country and lacrosse weren't enough to keep him in shape for situations like these. And if the bad guys got to have an unfair advantage, so could he.

"I heard Isaac," Derek mumbled, staring in the direction they were running toward. Stiles felt his heart thunder in his chest. They were close. They were so close.

"What did you hear?" Stiles asked, hoping that Derek would say it was Isaac laughing in triumph. Or running toward them. Anything except what Stiles could clearly see written on his face.

"Isaac screaming."

Isaac couldn't suppress the shout that tore itself out of his abused body. He struggled against the arms that were wrapped around him, pressing him into whoever was feeding off of him again. Hadn't they had enough? He teased Stiles about his bottomless pit of a stomach, but this was ridiculous.

Isaac felt the life being drained out of him and he sagged in exhaustion. All the drive in the world couldn't help him if he didn't have enough blood in his body to function. But he didn't come this far to end up some dried out corpse. If he was gonna go down, he wasn't going to do it as someone's snack pack.

Isaac jabbed his fingers into the eyes of the monster making a meal out of him, causing him to jerk back in surprise and pain. He forced himself to ignore the feel of his flesh tearing and threw his head back, slamming it into the other person's face. They shrieked, shoving Isaac away as they clutched their mouth. Isaac couldn't stop himself from falling to the floor. He pressed his hand to his neck, feeling his warm blood spill out. On the off chance no one else had heard the commotion, the smell would definitely attract them. Isaac was screwed.

"What have you done?" the man who'd just been feeding on Isaac whispered in horror. Isaac looked up at him in confusion, wondering why he sounded so mystified by a simple headbutt. But the bit of white that he was holding between his fingers helped answer that question.

"Can't feed on people without fangs?" Isaac smirked, dragging himself away from the man as he clutched his tooth in despair. He didn't know if a missing tooth would heal itself like other werewolf injuries, but he was guessing it wouldn't, based on the reaction he was seeing. This group would still be deadly without the blood drinking part, but having a solution for that was progress. Now he just had to live long enough to tell the others.

Isaac kept dragging himself toward what he hoped was the way out as the man was distracted by his tooth. He could feel his energy slowly starting to build back up as his body healed, but it wasn't enough to help him much. It was going to take everything he had in him to run when he finally made it outside. All he had to do was find a door.

"Well, this isn't where I left you." Isaac rolled his eyes up, finding himself staring into the face of the bullshit Alpha. "I think you've outstayed your welcome."

Stiles pushed himself to run as fast as he ever had in his life. His lungs were burning and his muscles were straining, but any pain he was feeling couldn't compare to what Isaac was going through. And what Caleb had gone through. But all of that was going to be child's play compared to what Stiles was going to do to the people who'd hurt his boyfriend.

The warehouse finally became visible, after what seemed like forever. Stiles made a beeline toward the first door he saw, not waiting for the others. He knew they would follow, since the plan was to stick together as much as possible. If they had to split once inside to find Isaac, they would, but for now it was safest to work as a team. As a pack.

Stiles felt the magic as soon as he touched the building. Ever since the nemeton, he'd been able to recognize the presence of magic in things. His mom's books had an innate energy to them that he was in tune with. And the air around him seemed to crackle for a while after he performed a spell. This building had something powerful surrounding it.

Stiles ignored that for now, forcing the doors open and rushing in. Scott and Derek were right by his side, letting their full wolves out in all their glory. They were ready to fight and Stiles had never been more grateful for them. Derek jerked his head to one side and that was all Stiles needed. He sprinted in that direction, trusting Derek's nose to lead them to Isaac.

The building was a maze of hallways, which frustrated Stiles to no end. He wanted to tear the whole place down to get to Isaac faster. Derek hadn't heard any more noises from Isaac, which either meant he wasn't being hurt or was past the point of being able to make noise. Stiles really hoped it was the former.

He knew he was about to see Isaac before they turned the final corner. Stiles felt it stronger than he had the pull from the nemeton. Maybe a feeling this strong should've scared him, since they were so young and their relationship was still new, but it didn't. Stiles would burn the world down for Isaac without a second thought.

"Isaac," Stiles whispered as soon as he got eyes on him. It was so much like those last moments with Deucalion that Stiles wanted to throw up. Isaac was kneeling in the center of the room with a clawed hand around his throat. His bare chest was covered with blood and he looked like he was only awake out of sheer stubbornness, but he was alive. Isaac was still the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. They made eye contact and Stiles could see the relief shining on Isaac's face.

"Welcome to my home, although I don't really remember inviting you," the man holding Isaac said with a smug grin. There were half a dozen people surrounding him, but he was obviously the leader. They would all get what was coming to them, but he would get the worst if Stiles had his way.

"Let Isaac go," Derek demanded, letting his red eyes flare in anger. Their whole group was ready to fight. His dad had his gun, Allison had her bow and arrows, and the wolves were chomping at the bit. Even Scott looked ready to do some real damage.

"Sti-"

"Shhhhh," the man shushed Isaac patronizingly, patting him on the head like an errant child. Isaac glared up at him with a murderous look on his face. Stiles was right there with him. "Why should I let him go? He came looking for us, didn't he?"

"You murdered someone," Derek growled. A look of fear flashed across Isaac's face. He must've noticed that Erica and Boyd were missing from their group. Stiles wished he could reassure Isaac that everyone was okay, but that would have to wait. It still wasn't guaranteed that they would all make it out of this.

"Oh, stop being so precious about it. You're a werewolf, and an Alpha at that. Don't tell me you haven't killed," the man said mockingly. "I used to be like you. Settling to just be a simple werewolf. But I've transcended. We've all transcended." The people surrounding him nodded along, like an obedient little cult.

"You've committed multiple crimes in my jurisdiction and you will answer for them," Stiles' dad said, sounding every bit the authoritative Sheriff. The man just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"We don't answer to you. We are above you," the man sneered, turning his attention back to Derek. "You think the pull of the full moon is strong? You have no idea of the power after drinking blood. It's indescribable."

"I'm a vegetarian. Now let Isaac go," Derek growled.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you had a taste," the man cajoled, reaching down with his free hand to run his finger along the blood on Isaac's neck. Stiles watched him bring it back up to his mouth and lap it up with his tongue, never breaking eye contact with Derek. "Delicious."

Things got a little hazy for Stiles after that.

Isaac was pretty certain he was done for when the leader showed up before he could finish making his escape. He didn't seem like the type who would be taken down with a headbutt or punch to the face. And Isaac was running out of Hail Mary moves.

When he was dragged by the hair into another room, he was expecting the final feast to commence. There was no way they wouldn't bleed him dry and make sure of it once and for all this time. But when everyone gathered around, they didn't do anything. They stood around like they were waiting for something. But instead of the dinner bell, it was something much better.

Isaac was almost convinced he was dreaming when he saw Stiles burst into the room. It was like it was too good to be true, to be saved at the last second by the love of his life. But that was sort of their style. No matter the odds, they always came in clutch.

Even though there was a set of claws digging into his throat, Isaac felt optimistic for the first time since he and Erica tumbled down that hill. Everyone was here for him, save for Boyd and Erica. He tried not to think too hard about their absence, since the idea of them being not okay would destroy him. He had to focus on what he knew for sure, and that was that Stiles would be able to get him out of this.

Isaac barely paid attention to the conversation going on around him. The two Alphas butting heads didn't feel like the most important thing. He was concentrating on Stiles. His boyfriend looked like he was about to snap. And Isaac had witnessed the aftermath of that happening. If he could just get over to him, everything would be okay. Then the bullshit Alpha licked his blood in front of everyone and all hell broke loose.

He wasn't sure what all happened, since the room erupted into chaos. There was yelling, gunshots, arrows flying through the air. Isaac tried to jerk away, but the hand around his throat tightened, cutting off his airway. He choked on a gasp, batting at the arm that was killing him with uncoordinated fists. Isaac couldn't go out this way, dying in the middle of the final battle. It was too depressing. No one liked the ending where one of the reunited lovers was immediately killed.

Just as Isaac felt his consciousness slipping away, the hand that was choking him became burning hot. Almost everything felt warm to him, since he was half exsanguinated and practically naked, but this was suddenly boiling water level heat. The Alpha let go of him and Isaac fell backward, sucking precious oxygen back into his lungs. The man was staring at his skin, which was starting to turn an alarming shade of red. It was like the worst sunburn he'd ever seen, developing in a matter of seconds.

Isaac turned back to look at Stiles. He was standing stock still in the middle of everything and all of his attention was on the man who'd been seconds away from killing him. Isaac called out his name, but he got no reaction. It was like the trance he'd fallen into after he touched Ms. Blake, only this time, Stiles' lips were moving ever so slightly. Isaac knew what was happening, confirmed when the Alpha started screaming.

Using some energy reserve Isaac didn't know he had, he forced himself back to his feet and stumbled over to Stiles. Ridding the world of this monster would be a kindness, but Isaac couldn't let Stiles have that on his conscience. He knew it would darken his soul and affect his love for his magic. Isaac clasped Stiles' cheeks, blocking the view of the shrieking man.

"Stiles, come back to me," Isaac murmured, waiting for recognition to return to the golden brown eyes he loved so much. Stiles stared through him, still whispering Latin that sounded faintly familiar. Isaac had to do something to break him out of this trace, so he did the only thing he had the energy to do. He let himself fall forward, pressing his lips to Stiles'. They moved against his, before pausing. Isaac stayed there for a few more seconds, just breathing in his boyfriend's scent. Isaac probably smelled like death and blood, but Stiles' smelled like home and safety.

"Isaac?" Stiles mumbled against his lips. Isaac let out a weak laugh, pulling back and finally seeing life back in Stiles' eyes. They'd made it. It was over.

"Stiles," Isaac whispered, rubbing his thumb along his cheek. Even with all the chaos surrounding them, it was a perfect moment. Then Isaac passed out.