When Peter said he found the witch, what he really meant was that he was pretty sure he caught onto her trail, but wasn't sure and hadn't actually seen her. Apparently, that didn't sound as good in a text message. Even though it wasn't confirmed, it was more than they'd had so far. Derek was going to check it out.

"I don't like this," Stiles mumbled, pacing around his kitchen and biting his thumbnail.

"I don't either, but what choice do we have?" Derek asked. It was a miracle that the witch had stuck around town this long, instead of disappearing to the other end of the world. This could be their only shot at her.

"What else did Peter say? And why isn't he here?" Scott wondered, tracking Stiles' movements with his eyes as he sat at the table. He'd come immediately when Stiles called and explained the situation.

"He said he caught her scent leading deep into the preserve, but he didn't follow it too far, in case she wouldn't appreciate his presence," Derek recounted, rolling his eyes. No one appreciated Peter's presence. "And he's not here because I don't want him near Isaac."

"What if this is a trap? This seems sloppy," Stiles pointed out.

"I found her before without much difficulty."

"But that was before she cursed someone in this town," Stiles argued. "She didn't have anyone to hide from then."

"What other choice do we have?" Derek asked again. "Give me a better option and I'll go with it. Doing nothing and ignoring this chance isn't one of them."

"Getting yourself killed helps no one!"

"Peter could be wrong. I mean, he didn't have solid evidence that he found her," Scott said, trying to intervene before Derek and Stiles really started fighting over this. It was his decision, no matter what Stiles had to say about it. He was the one responsible for Isaac.

"Either way, we're going to find out."

"You are such a stubborn asshole."

"Good thing you're staying here."

"You can't be serious!" Stiles exclaimed, gaping at him. "You aren't leaving me behind!"

"Right, I'll just hire a babysitter for Isaac online," Derek scoffed. He could tell by the look on Stiles' face that he'd momentarily forgotten the version of Isaac that was currently sleeping upstairs. Stiles was always ready to jump into a fight and he never liked to be left out. Typically, having Stiles around helped in their favor, but he had a more important role right now.

"Scott can stay with him," Stiles argued weakly.

"I need Scott for backup."

"But-"

"Stiles, you're the only one I trust with Isaac," Derek said seriously. Stiles snapped his jaw shut, cutting off any other protests that may have been waiting to spill out. Derek knew that Scott was trustworthy and would do all he could to protect Isaac if it came down to it, but Stiles was different. With Scott, he did things out of a sense of obligation. He was only in this world because he had no other option. But Stiles chose to be there. Everything Stiles did was done with passion and too much caring for his own good. Stiles had no quit in him and while Derek was sure that it would eventually end tragically for him because of it, he hoped that day wouldn't come soon. As loath as he was to admit it, they all needed Stiles around.

"Okay," Stiles agreed softly.

"I'm sure we'll be back soon. Probably well before morning," Scott offered, standing up from the table and patting Stiles on the shoulder.

"You better check in with me. Or I'll spam you so hard," Stiles warned.

"You're gonna make our phones go off while we're trying to sneak up on a witch?" Derek asked, raising his eyebrows.

"If you don't give me updates, yeah!"

"Can we get this over with? I have a shift tomorrow," Scott groaned.

"Go out to the car. I'll be there in a minute," Derek said, waving him away. Scott looked irritated, but did what he was told. Derek turned to face Stiles again, finding him staring with a worried expression. "It's gonna be fine. If we find her, the witch will probably be so annoyed by Scott that she'll give us whatever we want just so we'll leave her alone." He heard Scott squawk in offense from where he was standing outside.

"You know you aren't funny," Stiles said seriously.

"Stiles-"

"Don't do anything stupid. Remember that Isaac staying a kid isn't the end of the world. Everyone coming out of this alive, no matter what that looks like, is better than the alternative. I- Isaac needs you." Derek opened his mouth to say something reassuring to him, but he wasn't really the reassuring type. And if he got all mushy and they all survived, it was just going to make things even more awkward. He'd already given Stiles enough material to torment him with for the rest of their lives.

"I'll be back," Derek replied, ignoring Stiles muttering about how Arnold did that better as he walked outside to meet Scott. He climbed into the car, holding back from revving his engine and peeling out to let off a little steam. If Isaac had slept through their arguing, he didn't want to wake him up now.

"So, that was-"

"Shut up, Scott," Derek grunted, focusing his full attention on the drive. He was ready to get this over with and put this whole situation behind him. Thinking about having some sort of family with Isaac had been a waste of time. By morning, they'd have a dead witch, a normal Isaac, and everything would be back to normal.

"What made Peter think she was out here?" Scott asked, digging his toe into the dirt like he would unearth her from under a pebble. Derek doubted he would find her there, since they hadn't found any evidence in the last two hours of searching.

"I don't know. Maybe he was trying to get back at me for threatening him. Or killing him," Derek shrugged. "I wouldn't put it past him to be petty."

"I'm gonna check in with Stiles," Scott mumbled, pulling out his phone.

"Well, it has been five minutes," Derek scoffed. There had to be something out here. This couldn't have been for nothing.

"How much further are we gonna go? Shouldn't we have caught her scent by now?" Scott wondered, still staring at his phone.

"I don't know," Derek grumbled, taking another deep breath. Besides the typical smells of the preserve, there was nothing. It reminded him of the fruitless searches for Boyd and Erica. His tracking abilities were usually better than this.

"Come on," Scott muttered.

"What is it?"

"Stiles hasn't answered me," Scott replied, staring at his phone with a pinched expression.

"And? You texted him less than a minute ago."

"It's been a minute and a half. And he's been texting me back way faster than this all night."

"Maybe he fell asleep?"

"You think he fell asleep while we're out here searching for a witch? Really?" Scott snorted, bringing his phone up to his ear. Derek could hear the line ringing and could see the tension in Scott's shoulders rising with each one. His eyes were flashing between gold and brown by the time Stiles' voicemail message started playing. "Something's wrong."

"You don't know that. Isaac could've woken up and needed something. They're fine." They had to be fine.

"I'm not taking that chance. Stiles was right, coming out here was a mistake," Scott snapped, hitting the call button again. "Come with me or don't, but I'm going back." Scott turned, taking off in a sprint in the direction of the car. Derek took a second to growl and curse Peter under his breath before following after him. If Stiles was just in the bathroom or his battery had run out, he was going to kill Scott, then lightly maim Stiles.

They made it back to the car in record time, with Scott getting there a few seconds before him, but tapping his foot impatiently like he'd been waiting for hours. It probably would've been faster for Scott to run, but it would've been harder for him to make his continuous phone calls that were still going unanswered.

Derek gunned it down the quiet streets, not worrying about anyone seeing. Sheriff Stilinski was still out of town and the deputies had better things to worry about, with the drama this town saw on a weekly basis. A car speeding down the road in the middle of the night was the least of their problems.

"Answer your phone, Stiles," Scott whined, bouncing his legs anxiously. Derek would give him a pass for all the dirt he was grinding into his passenger side floor. "Let me try your phone."

"Why would the phone you're calling from make any difference?"

"I don't know! Maybe he blocked me." Derek shot him an annoyed look. "It's like you don't even care that something could be wrong!"

"Scott," Derek warned, feeling his claws easing out and pricking his steering wheel. In all honesty, Derek felt like he was going to be sick. The thought of Isaac being in danger was almost too much to deal with, so he was clinging onto denial and nonchalance with everything he had. The last time he cared this much about another person, he lost them, which was true for every relationship he'd ever had. He didn't know if he'd be able to survive another loss, especially in this situation.

They rode the rest of the way in silence, much like how they'd driven to the preserve. But this quiet was blanketed with so much dread that it felt like it was taking up all the oxygen in the car. It was easy to not care when he was putting himself in danger. As an Alpha, he was willing to die for his pack. The thought of his pack dying instead was unbearable. And whatever Isaac was to him now made that fact even more clear.

The front door of the Stilinski house was open when they got there. Derek didn't even have the car in park before Scott was flying out the door, racing into the house. He haphazardly stopped the car halfway up the curb, paying no mind to any damage he might be causing. His whole focus was on getting into the house.

Derek ran up the stairs, going to the last place he'd seen Isaac. He was safe in Stiles' bed then and Derek pleaded with a power he didn't believe in that that would still be the case. He banged into the doorway of Stiles' bedroom, stopping short as he took in the scene.

A fight had obviously taken place, by the sight of all the damage. The desk was overturned, the chair was in pieces, and everything that had been on a shelf or dresser was now on the floor. But that wasn't what made Derek's blood turn cold. Scott was huddled over Stiles' prone form, begging him to wake up. And Isaac was gone.