Kotjusa

In the time you’d spent with the pack, you’d developed a crush on Isaac Lahey, the only other Beta werewolf within the pack who wasn’t you or Liam. He was soft, kind, and gentle, but had the ability to fight back viciously when he needed to in order to protect his pack or his Alpha.

After almost a year of learning to be a werewolf and keep control on full moons or when your emotions got too much, you were on the brink of starting your senior year, bringing about the stress of college and life.

“How much longer until Scott and Stiles get here?” you ask after checking your phone for what feels like the millionth time as Isaac shrugs.

“They said they wouldn’t be much longer,” Isaac comments, glancing over your shoulder to see the time displayed across your phone screen, the close proximity never failing to make your cheeks heat up. You knew both Scott and Stiles had volunteered to keep an eye on Liam after his last full-moon incident until the time you’d all agreed to meet up for senior scribe.

“If they’re late after all the demanding Stiles did, I swear,” you joke, laughing along with Isaac, who shakes his head.

“They’ll be here,” Isaac assures as your phone buzzes in your hand, lighting up with a text.

“Stiles is on his way. Scott’s gone to get Kira,” you relay to Isaac, who nods.

“See, I told you they wouldn’t be long,” Isaac responds as the two of you glance around as the heavens open and rain begins to pour, both of you silently grateful you’d already taken shelter under a roof. The two of you patiently wait, being joined by Malia and Lydia as you wait, seniors begin to rush past through the rain to get to the library, everyone excitedly chatting to each other about what’s about to happen.

“I’m here!” Stiles calls out, rushing over to you all.

“Everything okay? Is Liam okay?” you ask, your focus instantly on Stiles as he nods.

“He’s good,” Stiles replies.

“He didn’t lose control or anything?” you continue to ask.

“Nope,” Stiles responds, clearly trying to move on from the conversation and focus on what you’re actually at the school for, and you take the hint.

“Should we head in?” Isaac asks, gesturing with his head towards the library.

“I’m gonna wait for Scott, you guys go ahead though,” Stiles says with a dismissive wave, making you all nod as you turn to head into the library with Lydia and Isaac while Malia stays behind with Stiles. The three of you mingle in the library, chatting with each other and other classmates, eagerly anticipating the years-long tradition you are about to partake in.

Before you could all get prepared to join the line, Stiles came running up to the three of you, panic written all across his face.

“Scott’s in danger.”

The five of you, plus Liam, who had run all the way from the hospital to inform you of the danger Scott could be in, run out into the rain with you, Isaac, Liam, and Malia sniffing at the air, hoping to catch a scent.

“Anything?” Lydia asks, looking around desperately.

“The rain’s too heavy. I can’t catch a scent,” you say apologetically, everyone suddenly tensing up when they hear a roar coming from across the campus before rushing off in the direction of the roar, filled with the urge to protect your Alpha.

When you make it to where Scott and Kira are, you bare your fangs, you, Isaac, Malia, and Liam snarling at the large werewolf with blue glowing claws that dug into Scott. You longed to step in, to protect your Alpha with everything you had, but the moment you saw Scott begin to fight back, you knew you didn’t need to. You watched as Scott fought back, sending the mysterious werewolf running off with his tail between his legs.

And that’s when you met Theo Raeken for the first time.

All eyes were on the mysterious newcomer who had supposedly gotten there before you and the rest of the pack to help Scott. You watched as Scott studied him carefully before muttering a quiet.

“Theo? Theo Raeken?” Scott asked, shocked at the arrival of someone he hadn’t seen since the fourth grade.

“Who?” The question slips past your lips without even thinking, grunting slightly when Lydia’s elbow suddenly digs into your side.

“You moved away. What are you doing back here?” Stiles asks, immediately suspicious of Theo’s sudden return.

“I heard rumours that there was a True Alpha in Beacon Hills and I had to come and find him,” Theo says with a smile, glancing at Scott as everyone’s eyebrows furrow.

“You’re a werewolf? Since when?” Stiles asks, his question falling short as no one pays him any attention, too focused on Theo.

“We can worry about this all tomorrow, right? We’re here for a reason,” Lydia says, exasperated by the questioning that was happening.

“You’re right,” Malia agrees with a nod, already turning on her heels and heading in the direction of the library.

“Okay, fine, we’ll pick this up later,” Scott says with a slightly apologetic look towards Theo, who simply shrugs with a friendly smile. You all make your way to the library, thankful that the rain is beginning to ease off slightly. As everyone heads into the library, you quickly catch Liam by the shoulders, turning him away from the library as he groans.

“What are you doing that’s such a big secret?” he questions, making you roll your eyes at his question. Ever since he’d found out that you and the others were going to the school in the middle of the night for something, he wouldn’t stop pestering you about it, begging to be told what it was you were doing.

“Just wait until you’re a senior. Then you’ll find out,” you grin, reaching out to ruffle at Liam’s hair, laughing as he swats your hand away with a glare. With one last joking smile, you head into the library, leaving Theo and Liam to their own devices.

The library was bursting with excited chatter, groups of friends huddled together as they talked about their futures and the importance of tonight. You stuck with the pack, joining the line of excited seniors.

“Have you thought of any colleges yet?” Isaac asks casually, leaning against one of the shelves as you wait for the line to move, his eyebrow quirking as you purse your lips, thinking carefully.

“Nothing solid yet. I’m still worried about leaving Liam behind,” you admit quietly, only allowing your gaze to meet Isaac’s for a brief second before looking back down to the floor.

“You know Liam will be okay, right? You’re allowed to want to do things for yourself,” Isaac says, his voice softening as he straightens up, watching you carefully.

“I’d just feel guilty leaving him behind. What if he needs me?” you ask, worst-case scenarios whirling their way around your head, gleefully dragging you into overthinking.

“Then he can call you. Liam’s a tough kid, he can handle himself, you know?” Isaac says as you nod slightly.

“I know it’s just… I always promised myself I’d be there for him if he needed me. I feel like I’m abandoning him,” you mumble, your gaze dropping to the floor in embarrassment.

“You’re not abandoning him. We’re growing up, and that means moving away to do new things. Liam will understand, and you’ll still be there if he needs you,” Isaac says softly, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder and squeezing softly.

“I know,” you mutter, relaxing at Isaac’s gentle touch, thankful for the comfort he was providing you with without even being aware of it.

“I can’t imagine it would be easy for you. We all know how much you care about Liam. But you deserve to live your life for you and not anyone else,” Isaac says, his voice never wavering in softness as he talks. After losing his brother, Isaac had regrets about not spending time with him as much as he should’ve, but he knew that with how much you loved and cared for Liam, Liam would never feel like he wasted a second spending time with you.

“You’re right,” you admit quietly, both you and Isaac smiling shyly at each other.

“I usually am,” Isaac jokes, releasing his grip on your shoulder as you roll your eyes, shoving his shoulder playfully, unaware of your friends watching with raised eyebrows.

“Scott, you have been telling Isaac to make a move, right?” Stiles whispers into his best friend’s ear.

“I’ve tried. He’s pretty insistent that she doesn’t like him like that,” Scott replies quietly, making Stiles scoff quietly.

“Is he talking to her with his eyes closed or something? She’s head over heels for him,” Stiles says, gesturing towards you and Isaac as you chatted, both of you smiling widely.

“Trust me, she’s just as oblivious. I’ve tried telling her Isaac likes her, but she just won’t see it,” Lydia shrugs, remembering the times she’d tried talking to you about it.

“I’m gonna lock them in a room together until they figure it out,” Stiles mutters, quickly regretting his words when Scott whirls around to glare at him.

“No, you’re not. y/n would kill you because if Isaac had a panic attack and hurt himself, she’d never let it go,” Scott says firmly, remembering how Isaac had reacted when he and Allison had been locked in a room by Ethan and Aiden. Since then, Isaac had opened up a little bit more about his past with his dad and how his claustrophobia often resulted in panic attacks when he felt trapped.

“Okay, then what else can we do?” Stiles shrugs, glancing at everyone.

“Maybe just let them figure it out for themselves?” Malia suggests with a shrug, turning around as the line starts to move.

The line continues to move steadily, your group of friends inching closer and closer to the front. When your friends reached the shelf, Stiles was handed the marker, and you all watched as he scribbled his initials onto the library shelf alongside all the other initials of your classmates. The marker is then passed to Lydia, then Malia, and then Scott, who wrote down two sets of initials before handing the marker to Isaac.

As you watched Isaac approach the shelf, you noticed how he stiffened at the sight of the extra initials Scott wrote. You heard his heartbeat pounding as his hand hovered over the shelf, his gaze fixed on the ‘A.A.’ It was at that moment that you realised that you could never compare to Allison. Whoever Allison was, she had stolen the hearts of both Scott and Isaac, and there was no way you’d ever be able to compare to her in Isaac’s eyes, and you knew it. You always knew having a crush on a friend was risky for your heart. To get attached to someone and to love them wholly while knowing they most likely never saw you as anything more than a friend. But this felt worse. To know that someone had been so loved by Isaac before that no one could possibly replace her in his heart.

“y/n? It’s your turn.” You shake yourself from your thoughts, noticing Isaac holding the marker out towards you expectantly, all eyes on you.

“Sorry,” you apologise, taking the marker and approaching the shelf. Without thinking, you hastily scribbled your initials on the shelf and handed the marker to the person behind you before crossing to your friends.

“Are you okay?” Scott asks, noticing your increased heartbeat.

“Yeah, fine. I just need some air,” you say quickly, turning away from the pack as you feel tears burning in your eyes. You knew Scott, Malia, and Isaac would be able to pick up your heartbeat pounding, but you weren’t in the mood to be grilled for answers. Instead, you rush out of the library, almost running straight into Theo and Liam, who were waiting just outside.

“y/n? I thought you guys were going to be in there longer?” Liam asks innocently as he and Theo watch you.

“What are you guys still doing out here?” You try dodging the question, laughing nervously.

“I need a ride home,” Liam says with a shrug.

“I just thought I’d hang out and get to know my new classmates,” Theo responds, folding his arms across his chest with a smile.

“Shit, of course, I’ll take you home now Liam. I’m not feeling up to staying here much longer,” you say, plastering a smile on your face as you usher Liam in the direction of your car.

“But I wanted to find out what you guys were doing,” Liam grumbles.

“You’ll find out when you’re a senior, buddy,” you say, trying not to let irritation slip into your tone as you continue to guide him towards the car, Theo hot on your heels.

“Hey, sorry I didn’t catch your name. Is everything okay?” Theo asks, approaching as Liam gets in your car, making you turn to face him.

“Hi, sorry, I’m y/n, and I’m fine,” you say dismissively, moving to turn towards your car again before Theo gently takes your arm, turning you to face him.

“Look, forgive me for using my werewolf abilities, but you reek of sadness right now. I just want to make sure everything’s okay. I mean it’s still a full moon, we don't need anyone running off with a thirst for human blood,” Theo jokes, smiling slightly when you let out a light scoff.

“I appreciate the concern. But I’ll be okay,” you say softly.

“Here, give me your phone. I’ll give you my number, and if you need someone to talk to, I’ll be there,” Theo says, releasing his soft grip on your shoulder and holding his hand out.

“That’s very forward, mister.” You find yourself joking, pulling your phone out of your pocket and handing it to Theo, patiently waiting as he inputs his number before handing it back to you with a smile.

“Don’t be afraid to text me if you want to talk. Deal?” Theo says as you take the phone from his hand.

“Deal,” you agree, bidding Theo goodbye before climbing into the car, where Liam was sitting with his headphones in.

“You’re done flirting then?” Liam’s quiet voice made your eyes widen as you turned to look at him.

“We were not flirting,” you splutter, turning the key in the ignition as Liam nods, clearly unconvinced.

“That’s why he gave you his phone number, huh?” Liam muses as you pull out of your parking spot.

“He was just being friendly,” you insist, focusing on the road in front of you.

“A bit too friendly if you ask me,” Liam mutters, his gaze fixed on the scenery passing by.

“He’s come back to Beacon Hills after a long time, it’ll do him some good to have some friends,” you explain further, trying to justify what happened.

“I heard what you guys were talking about. Theo’s right, you’re really sad. Is everything okay?” Liam asks, glancing over at you.

“I’m fine, buddy. You don’t need to worry about me,” you say assuringly, not wanting Liam to worry about your silly unrequited crush.

“You always say I can talk to you about anything. You know you can always talk to me, too, right?” Liam says softly. You could hear the worry in his tone and smell the anxiety surrounding him, making you sigh lightly.

“I know I can. But part of my job is to protect you and-”

“I’m not five years old anymore. I’m a werewolf now. You don’t need to protect me from anything,” Liam insists.

“I know. I know. I’ve just been so used to the idea of keeping you protected from my shit. I just never wanted you to have to worry about me,” you say softly, tightening your grip on the wheel slightly.

“I always worry about you,” Liam says softly, making you briefly glance over at him before focusing back on the road.

“I didn’t know you felt like that,” you mutter, your heart panging in sorrow.

“I mean, you’ve been looking out for me my whole life. You demanded that Scott turn you into a werewolf when you found out what happened to me. You’ve been protecting me and helping me without complaint. You do so much for me and the rest of the pack, and you expect nothing back. You always listen to my problems. You deserve to have someone to listen to yours,” Liam says, a firm yet gentle tone to his voice.

“Just don’t fall in love, Liam. It can hurt,” you mutter.

“Did someone reject you? Who?” Liam demands, looking over at you as you shake your head weakly with a smile.

“No, no one rejected me. It was just a silly crush. I never should’ve even hoped they liked me back,” you shrug, finally pulling into the driveway of your house and climbing out of the car with Liam mirroring your actions.

“But did you talk to them? Do you know for sure?” Liam questions as you approach the front door.

“I don’t need to talk to them. Sometimes you can just tell, and that’s okay. Some things just aren’t meant to be,” you shrug, unlocking the front door and letting Liam in before entering behind him.

“Well, it’s their loss. You’re one of the best people I know. They’re just too blind to see a good thing even when it’s right in front of them,” Liam says, kicking his shoes off at the door.

“You have to say that, you’re my brother,” you laugh, taking your shoes off and placing them on the shoe rack.

“I don’t have to say anything. I’m saying it because it’s true,” Liam says, smiling over you as you soften.

“How did you turn out so sweet?” you ask gently, moving to bring him into a hug.

“I guess I had a few good influences,” Liam jokes, making you laugh as you release him from the embrace.

“You should head to bed. It’s your first day of being a sophomore tomorrow,” you say, nudging Liam in the direction of his bedroom.

“You should do the same. It’s your first day of senior year,” Liam states, looking pointedly at you as you roll your eyes.

“Alright, smart-ass. I’ll see you in the morning,” you bid Liam goodnight before making your way to your room. You get ready for bed and climb into bed, staring up at the dark ceiling, trying to find a way to fall asleep. Every time you tried closing your eyes, you were reminded of the way that Isaac had inspected Allison’s initials, forcing your eyes open again so you didn’t have to relive the moment. After half an hour of failed attempts to fall asleep, you reach over for your phone, unlock it and find the newest contact that has been added.

‘Hey Theo, it’s y/n. I think I might take you up on that offer to talk.’

By the next day, you felt more confident going to school for your senior year. After you watched Liam meet up with Mason and head into the building, you glanced around the parking lot, catching a glimpse of Scott, Stiles, and Isaac climbing out of Stiles’ Jeep before beelining straight into the building, colliding with someone who quickly catches and steadies you.

“Whoa, careful.” You look up to lock eyes with Theo, who grins, with no malice in his eyes, as he releases the grip you don’t even realise he is still holding onto your shoulders.

“Sorry, Theo. I wasn’t paying attention,” you apologise as Theo shakes his head with a soft laugh, waving a hand dismissively.

“No harm done. You doing okay?” Theo asks, making you shrug.

“Just distracted, I guess,” you reply, both you and Theo making your way through the hallway to get to your lockers.

“Is this what we were talking about last night?” Theo asks softly.

“Yeah. It’s like I can’t stop thinking about it,” you admit quietly. You’d confessed to Theo the bare minimum about your situation, not disclosing the identity of your crush and what it was that prompted you to realise that they didn’t have any feelings for you. But Theo had been patient with you, listening carefully and offering advice where he could.

“Maybe all you need is a distraction?” Theo offers, both of you grabbing your books from your lockers.

“What would you suggest then?” you reply with a light laugh, slamming your locker door closed mere seconds before Theo places a piece of paper on top of the books you had in your hands with a grin.

“I’m gonna need a hand finding all these classes. Fancy being my tour guide?”

As you and Theo chatted, leaning up against the lockers, Scott, Stiles, and Isaac entered the building. When Isaac spotted you with Theo, his eyes narrowed.

“Why is y/n speaking to Theo?” He couldn’t help the question from slipping past his lips the moment he noticed what was happening.

“Maybe she’s just being friendly,” Scott shrugs, already moving to get to his locker while Stiles and Isaac stay put.

“I don’t trust him,” Isaac mutters, already wondering what Theo’s ulterior motive could be.

“I think that’s the first time we’ve agreed on anything,” Stiles muses, glancing over at Isaac as the two share a slight nod of understanding.

“I’ll take it,” Isaac mutters, following Scott to their lockers while keeping a careful eye on Theo’s proximity to you.

Throughout the day, Isaac carefully monitors you, noticing how you barely speak to anyone from the pack and spend the majority of your time with Theo. You only spoke to him or one of the others if they initiated a conversation with you, but even then, you kept it brief, clearly wishing to be left alone. While Isaac was opting to keep his cards close to his chest and figure out Theo’s motives before anything happened, Stiles was much more willing to lay his cards out on the table for the pack to see, and so summoned you all to the library to show off the information he had found.

“You think Theo’s lying because the signatures are different?” Scott questions, looking at the two forms signed by Theo’s dad that lay before him.

“I know he’s lying,” Stiles insists.

“Stiles, come on, no one’s signatures are going to be the exact same every time. If you asked someone to write their signature a bunch of times on a piece of paper, it wouldn’t look the same each time,” you argue, not seeing Stiles’ point.

“I’m telling you there’s something going on with him, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it,” Stiles insists as you roll your eyes, pushing your chair back and standing up.

“And on that note, I’m leaving. Good luck with all that, Stiles,” you say, gathering up your books and leaving the library, ignoring the calls of your friends as they beg for you to stay.

As you head out of the library, you walk down the hallway, finding Theo leaning against his locker, grinning as you approach.

“Where did you sneak off to?” he teases, pushing himself off the locker and joining you as you walk down the hallway.

“Library,” you shrug, smiling slightly as Theo bumps your shoulder lightly.

“You a secret bookworm or something?” Theo teases, chuckling as you shake your head.

“I wish, my grades would definitely benefit from that. I was just meeting with the others,” you say with a soft laugh. You knew that you wouldn’t be able to lie to Theo, so you figured you’d tell him the truth, but not the whole truth.

“Fair enough,” Theo grins as you continue to walk together, only separating when you make it to your classrooms.

By the end of the school day, you found yourself searching for Theo in the sea of students trying to make their way home for the day. It didn’t take you long to locate him, grinning as you approached.

“You waiting for me or something?” you tease, shoving your books into your bag at your locker as Theo quirks an eyebrow.

“My locker is right here too, you know,” he retorts, knocking on the door to his locker lightly with his knuckles.

“But maybe I stuck around to see you, too,” Theo then adds with a smile as you close your locker, slinging your bag over your shoulder.

“Are you trying to soften me up or something, Theo?” you joke, the two of you then making your way out of the school building. It doesn’t take long for Liam to track you down, bounding up alongside you with a smile and Mason at his side.

“Hey, Liam, you ready to go home?” you ask, glancing between your brother and his friend.

“Yeah,” Liam says with a nod, bidding Mason goodbye and heading in the direction of your car as you mingle behind with Theo.

“I’ll see you around. If you need me, text me,” Theo says with a smile as you nod slightly with a shy smile of your own before turning and heading to your car, where Liam was waiting impatiently, jiggling the door handle as if it would unlock the door by itself.

“Can you not potentially damage my car?” you scold jokingly, unlocking your car so Liam can get in.

“Am I going to have to wait for you to flirt with Theo every time I want to go home now?” Liam grumbles, shoving his bag on the back seat before settling into the passenger seat while you get behind the wheel.

“You could always take the bus or catch a ride home with Mason. No one’s forcing you to get in my car,” you say, glancing at Liam out of the corner of your eye as he rolls his eyes, unintimidated by your joking threat.

“You’d never make me take the bus,” Liam says, calling your bluff almost instantly.

“True, but I’m not above making you Mason’s problem instead,” you joke as Liam scoffs lightly.

“Maybe, but I know you love me,” Liam says, glancing over at you with a grin.

“Unfortunately, I do,” you tease, laughing as you pull out of your parking spot.

“And you know that Mom and Dad would kill you if you left me behind,” Liam then adds with a chuckle.

“That too,” you confirm, smiling as you focus on the road. 

The journey back to your house was uneventful, and once you made it home, Liam disappeared into his room to do his homework, and you went to your room with the intention to do the same. Only you ended up spending most of the time texting Theo, seeking comfort in how he listened and offered advice. You’d barely known Theo for the best part of a day, yet you felt like you’d known him forever. You had no idea if it was something that came with being a werewolf and the desire to find a pack, or if it was just Theo’s alluring charm, but you felt yourself wanting to be around him more.

You talked with Theo until he told you he was about to head out somewhere, and he’d have no service. Taking that as your cue to actually make a start on your homework As you work diligently on your assignments, you hear the front door open and shut, making you sit up slightly when you don’t hear the jangling of house keys, signalling to you that someone had left the house instead of coming home. Knowing Liam was the only other person in the house, you instantly beelined for Liam’s room, knocking on the door and furrowing your eyebrows when you got no response. You opened the door enough to stick your head in, quickly realising that Liam had left the house, making you pull your phone out of your pocket and text him.

‘Where did you disappear off to?’

“Guys, she just texted me, she knows I’m gone,” Liam says, leaning forward from the backseat of Stiles’ Jeep, holding the phone in front of him so Isaac and Stiles could see the text.

“I mean, she is a werewolf too. She definitely heard you leaving. Just lie to her, man,” Stiles says, returning his focus to the road.

“And say what? If I can’t tell her you guys have dragged me out of the house to go and stalk Theo, then what am I supposed to say?” Liam questions wildly, panic preventing him from having a rational thought. In response, Isaac takes Liam’s phone, types out a response, and hits send before waiting for your response.

“There, she thinks you’re at Mason’s, now text him and tell him to cover for you,” Isaac says, handing the phone back to Liam when he sees your response. Nodding quickly, Liam types out a message to Mason, begging him to cover for him if you contacted him.

“The sooner we find out what this guy is hiding the sooner we can get y/n away from him,” Isaac mutters, settling back even further in the seat, folding his arms across his chest and closing his eyes, willing for time to go faster so he can figure out what it was that was going on with Theo so he could get you away from him.

‘I went to Mason’s, I’ll be back later.’

“Could’ve said bye,” you mutter with a soft laugh as you close your phone, returning to your room to finish your homework. You went about your evening, oblivious to your brother’s activities with Stiles and Isaac. You were unaware of them tracking down Theo, trying to catch him in the act of doing something treacherous, but instead found him paying tribute to his sister.

Defeated by the lack of evidence and after being caught by both Scott and Theo, the trio called it a night and headed home, both Stiles and Isaac particularly dejected at the failure of their plan.

‘Has your brother got a tendency to trail along with your friends to follow people?’

Theo’s text made you furrow your eyebrows, your eyes scanning the question over and over again, trying to make sense of Theo’s question.

‘Are you sure it was Liam? He said he was with his friend Mason.’

You hit send on the text, chewing your fingernail as you pace your room, hoping Theo was just joking.

‘Pretty sure it’s the same kid I saw at the end of the school day with you. I can’t think of any other sophomores that would hang out with seniors.’

You bit your lip harshly when Theo’s response came through. Just as your thumbs readied themselves to send another text to Theo, you heard the front door open and close, making you jump out of your skin before you realised that Liam was home. Knowing this was a perfect opportunity to find out what happened, you headed downstairs, greeting Liam from the stairs.

“Hey, how was Mason’s?” you ask with a smile, leaning against the bannister as Liam stops in place, his heart rate instantly picking up, something you couldn’t have missed even if you tried.

“It was good. We just played some video games,” Liam shrugs, clearly trying to get you off his back, his heartbeat so loud it was almost like it was being drilled straight into your brain. Part of you wanted to drill him further, to find cracks in his lies and get the truth out of him. But the other part of you was betrayed enough by his lie that you couldn’t be bothered to try questioning him further.

“I was going to order some pizza, you want in?” you ask, keeping your smile on your face, waving your phone in the air.

“Yeah, okay,” Liam stammers, clearly caught off guard by you dropping the subject.

You tried to spend the rest of the evening acting as normal as possible around Liam. You had dinner, cleaned up and managed to hold a civil conversation with him the whole time. By the time you got ready and collapsed into bed, you couldn’t help but stare at the ceiling, squeezing your eyes shut when tears threatened to build.

“Damn it, Liam,” you mutter tearily to yourself. You couldn’t believe that Liam lied to you. You weren’t naive; you knew he’d probably lied to you hundreds of times prior to the two of you becoming werewolves. But the two of you had always been close, and Liam had never lied to you about where he’d been and what he’d been doing, especially when he knew you could tell when he did lie. You just couldn’t make sense of it. You couldn’t understand why Liam would’ve lied to you, and no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t shake the gaping hole in your gut as your thoughts consumed you, sending you spiralling even as you fell asleep, continuing to plague you into your dreams.

The next morning, you dragged yourself out of bed and got ready, not feeling up to going to school at all but knowing you needed to. Once you were ready, you went downstairs and made yourself breakfast, waiting for Liam to join you. Despite the conflicted emotions you were feeling, you knew you couldn’t abandon Liam to make his own way to school, so you forced yourself to wait, texting Theo as you waited to pass the time.

When you and Liam were both ready, you climbed into your car and drove to school. The drive was awkward, both of you knew that Liam had lied to you last night, and neither wanted to approach the subject with a ten-foot pole. Once you made it to school, you got out of your car, quickly locking eyes with Theo as he offered you a friendly wave.

“I’ll see you around, Liam,” you say haphazardly, throwing your bag over your shoulder and heading over to Theo.

“Hey, are you okay?” Theo asks the moment you reach him, clearly picking up on your conflicting emotions.

“Just confused about last night,” you shrug, heading into the school building with Theo by your side.

“We can talk about it at lunch if you want?” Theo offers softly, lightly bumping your shoulder in an attempt to cheer you up.

“Only if you’re okay with listening to my problems,” you say with a small smile.

“It’s fine. You need someone to talk to, and I’m happy to be that guy,” Theo says, slinging an arm around your shoulder with a grin as you both make your way to your homeroom.

When lunchtime came around, you met up with Theo, both of you grabbing some food before finding a quiet place to sit down where you wouldn’t be bothered.

“So, talk to me about yesterday,” Theo says, instantly digging into his food.

“I just don’t know what to think. You told me one thing and Liam told me another,” you shrug, poking at the food on your plate with your fork.

“I’ll tell you what happened, and you can listen to my heartbeat the whole time. I went out to the woods to bring some flowers to where my sister died. I haven’t been able to do it for a few years, so I figured I owed her. While I was there, I heard your friends, Stiles and… Isaac, is it? Clearly, they brought Liam along too. I asked what they were all doing, and Stiles was pretty open in confessing that he thinks I’m suspicious. I’m pretty sure Isaac thinks the same, but he’s not the kind of guy to say that to your face. I mean, I get it, I show up out of the blue after years, wanting to join Scott’s pack, but I would’ve appreciated them coming and talking to me instead of following me into the woods. Those two made their stances pretty clear, but Liam? He’s the mystery. I can’t figure him out yet. But he’s definitely tougher than he looks.” You listen carefully to Theo’s heartbeat, unable to pick out a single increase in speed. His heart beat as steady as a drum the whole time.

“I just don’t get it,” you mumble, still trying to make sense of everything in your head.

“Does Liam not lie to you often?” Theo asks, his voice soft.

“Not since we became werewolves. He knows that I know about him lying last night. I don’t know why he’d lie to me,” you say, lifting your drink to your lips and taking a sip.

“Sometimes people lie to protect people they care about,” Theo shrugs, his gaze never leaving you.

“But what was he trying to protect me from? He knows I get on with you. I trust you.”

“Maybe it’s because Liam knew Stiles and Isaac didn’t trust me, and he wanted to protect you from that?” Theo suggests, briefly glancing over your shoulder, fighting back a smirk when he locks eyes with Isaac, who was glaring at him from across the cafeteria, clearly hearing what was being said between you.

“He doesn’t need to protect me from anything. I’m his big sister, it's my job to protect him,” you argue, glancing down at your plate and missing how Theo twitched slightly, feeling a pang in his heart as he thinks of his own sister, wondering if she had ever thought the same about him. Not that he’d blame her if she didn’t after what he did.

“I mean, he’s a sophomore now. He’s gonna become more independent and you can’t hover over him forever, especially with college around the corner,” Theo says with a shrug as you slump slightly, your fork hovering over your food as you digest his words, frowning as the reality sets in. He was right. You knew that you wanted to go to college, to go out into the world and begin your life. If you wanted to do that, then you had to accept that you’d be leaving Liam behind, too. You knew it came with growing up, that you and your family would grow up, and you and your brother would start lives of your own. Liam needed to have time to figure out who he was and where he fit in the world. You’d spent so much of your life looking out for Liam and worrying about him that you’d forgotten that you could live life for yourself.

“Just for the record, I hate when people are right,” you mutter, smiling as Theo lets out a breathy laugh, helping to ease the tension.

“Hey, how about we hang out after school today?” Theo offers, smiling at you. At first, you went to interject, ready to say that Liam had lacrosse practice, so you had to stay to take him home before you stopped yourself, instead nodding at his question.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Cool, I’ll catch a ride with you after school then?” Theo says, grinning as he looks at you. The moment your gaze slipped away, he once again looked over your shoulder, cocking an eyebrow when he notices that Isaac had not stopped staring at the two of you. You and Theo continue to talk until your gaze drifts down to your phone, seeing the time, which makes your eyes widen.

“Shit, I just remembered I was supposed to meet with the guidance counsellor. I’ll see you later,” you say apologetically, grabbing your tray and leaving the cafeteria, clearly in a rush. Taking advantage of your absence, Isaac gets up from his seat, crossing to Theo and sitting down opposite him, where you had been sitting previously, a set look on his face.

“Can I help you?” Theo asks, turning his attention to his food, uninterested in Isaac before the conversation had even started.

“Yeah, you can. Stay away from y/n,” Isaac says lowly, resting his arms on the table and leaning forward, attempting to intimidate Theo.

“I’m just being friendly. I don’t know why you’re acting like I’d hurt her,” Theo says, glancing up at Isaac with a look that only served to irritate him further.

“I don’t know what your plan is here, but it’s going to get y/n hurt if you don’t leave her alone,” Isaac says, fighting the building growl in his throat. At first, Theo stays silent, studying Isaac’s expression carefully before leaning back, a smirk drifting across his face.

“You like her, don’t you?” Theo asks, putting the pieces together in his head as Isaac scowls.

“She’s my friend,” Isaac says, his glare hardening. Despite Isaac’s words, Theo was unconvinced, picking up on the skip in Isaac’s heartbeat, something that gave away his true feelings.

“You can lie to yourself, lover boy, but you can’t lie to a werewolf,” Theo says, tilting his head slightly as Isaac clenches his jaw, fighting the urge to leap across the table and strangle Theo.

“If you hurt her, I’ll rip your throat out,” Isaac growls, his warning not having the intended effect as Theo chuckles.

“Look, man, I don’t know what to tell you. We’re just hanging out. She needed someone to talk to, so I stepped up. I’m not the one following people into the woods when they’re trying to pay respects to their dead sister. How did Scott feel about that one by the way?” Theo queries, resting his arms on the table with a raised eyebrow. Sensing that Isaac was struggling to come up with anything, Theo shrugged.

“You can hate me all you want. I’m just here to find a pack. You’re gonna have to get used to me,” Theo says, turning his attention back to his food, finished with the conversation as Isaac gets up from his seat, crossing back to the others with a scowl on his face.

After your meeting with the guidance counsellor, you made your way to your next class, still trying to wrap your head around everything you had discussed. College was the next big step for you. You needed to get your grades up and decide where you was you wanted to go for college, so as you entered your next class, you were ready to work your ass off to get the grades you need to get into a good college.

By the end of the day, you were ready to head home and spend time with Theo, desperate to spend time enjoying being a teenager instead of worrying about what supernatural threat might come and attack you next.

“Hey, Liam, I’m heading home early today, so you need to catch a ride home with someone else tonight,” you say, catching Liam in the hallway.

“What? Why?” Liam asks, stopping in his tracks as he looks at you.

“I’m hanging out with Theo tonight. I’m sure Mason can give you a lift,” you say, nodding over at Mason, who grins.

“Yeah, I can drop you home,” Mason says, clapping Liam on the shoulder.

“You always stay for practice, though,” Liam mumbles, his head dipping slightly.

“Come on, Liam, you don’t want your sister hanging around you all the time, right? You’ve got your friends, your lacrosse team, you can handle things without me,” you say, clapping him on the shoulder as he shrugs.

“Okay,” Liam mutters grumpily, turning and walking off with Mason in tow. You couldn’t help but feel guilty as you watched Liam walking away. You didn’t like having to ditch Liam, but you knew you needed to have time for yourself, something that had been in short supply since you became a werewolf.

“You ready to go?” Theo asks as he appears alongside you. Just before you can turn to face Theo, you catch a glimpse of Isaac and quickly turn your back to him.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here,” you say quickly, ushering Theo out of the building as he raises an eyebrow at your switch in demeanour.

“Hey, you okay?” he asks, following you as you beeline to your car.

“Yeah, fine, just saw someone I didn’t want to talk to,” you mutter, pulling your keys out of your pocket and rushing to unlock your car. As you focus on your keys, Theo spares a glance over his shoulder, smiling to himself when he sees Isaac exiting the building with Stiles, both of them clearly looking for you. He could smell their anxiety and stress from a mile away.

“Let’s go.” Your voice pulls Theo’s attention back to you as he nods, climbing into the passenger seat as you get behind the wheel. As you drive out of the parking lot, Theo clears his throat awkwardly, glancing over at you.

“Okay, I don’t want to make assumptions or anything, but… is Isaac the guy you like?” Theo’s question was quiet, no sound of judgment in his tone, but you couldn’t help but clench the steering wheel tighter in response, your heart pounding out of your chest.

“Am I that obvious?” you ask, embarrassed.

“Not to most people, I just saw him in the hallway when you were rushing us out of there. It would also explain why you’re avoiding him,” Theo shrugs, keeping his voice soft.

“I just know he doesn’t like me like that. I need to move on somehow, but it just feels so hard,” you admit, sparing a quick glance over at Theo before returning your focus to the road.

“He’s the idiot who can’t see a good thing when it’s right in front of him,” Theo says, making you laugh under your breath.

“I’m nothing special, Theo. I’m no different to anyone else,” you say with a roll of the eyes.

“You’re a werewolf, for starters, which makes you different to a lot of people. You should give yourself more credit; you’re awesome. I can see that after only a couple of days,” Theo says softly, leaning back against the seat, his gaze focused on you as you drive. Unused to hearing any sort of compliment come from someone outside of your family, you fall silent, feeling your cheeks heat up as you fight to keep your focus on the road.

When you finally make it back to your house, you lead Theo into the building, giving him a brief tour as he takes in every inch of your home.

“Are your parents not home?” Theo muses as you enter your room.

“They work long hours, they’re usually home super late or early morning. We’ve got the whole house to ourselves until Liam gets home from practice,” you shrug, perching on the end of your bed as Theo mimics your actions.

“That gives us some privacy to hang out, especially without another werewolf’s prying ears,” Theo jokes with a laugh, making you roll your eyes.

“Trust me, even if Liam were here, he’d never think my life was interesting enough to pry,” you retort, raising an eyebrow at the mere thought of Liam wanting to pry into your private life.

“I’m kinda glad he’s not here,” Theo mutters, making you glance at him, confused.

“You’re glad Liam isn’t here? I thought you wanted to make friends with the whole-” you’re cut off by Theo suddenly pressing his lips to yours, taking you aback for a brief moment before you came to your senses enough to reciprocate the kiss.

“Wow,” you mutter quietly as you pull away, unable to wipe the grin off your face.

“I told you, you just needed a distraction. If Isaac wants to miss out on someone like you, then it’s his loss,” Theo says, his eyes fixed on yours.

“You’re calling yourself a distraction?” you question with a laugh as Theo scoffs lightly, shaking his head.

“I walked into that one, didn’t I? Well, I was hoping I’d be a bit more than a distraction,” Theo replies, shifting closer and placing his hands on your middle, pulling you even closer.

“You’re certainly confident,” you tease, your lips just inches away from Theo’s as you both laugh.

“Should I not be?” Theo asks, his voice low as he moves just close enough for your lips to brush up against each other, sending a shiver down your spine as his lips connect with yours once more.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” you admit with a laugh as you pull away.

“Just cute? Not jaw-droppingly handsome?” Theo asks, quirking his eyebrow as you roll your eyes.

“Do you want to add ‘has a massive ego’ to that list too?”

“If it gets me another kiss.”

Theo pulls you impossibly closer, his lips grazing yours once more as you giggle, placing your hands on his chest and putting some distance between the two of you.

“Slow your roll there. Let’s take it easy, maybe watch a movie or something?” you suggest, watching as Theo nods.

“Okay,” he says, getting to his feet and tugging you up with him, both of you grinning as you head downstairs. You grab snacks while Theo picks a movie. Once you’re all ready, you curl up on the couch, Theo instantly tugging you into his side as the opening credits of the movie play.

The two of you watched the movie cuddled up together, sharing comments and laughing at unrealistic moments of the film. Just as the film was nearing its conclusion, you heard the door open, and you glanced over as Liam appeared in the doorway, stopping and furrowing his eyebrows when he saw the scene in front of him.

“Is practice over already?” you question, glancing down at your phone to look at the time.

“I wouldn’t be home if it wasn’t,” Liam mutters through gritted teeth, folding his arms across his chest as you sit up, shocked by his sudden attitude.

“I should head out, my parents are probably wondering where I am. I’ll see you tomorrow, y/n,” Theo says, sensing the tension between the two of you and getting up, but not without pressing a quick kiss to your lips. As Theo walked past Liam, the two brushing shoulders, he smiled, only to be greeted by Liam’s vicious scowl.

“Liam…” you warn lowly as Theo exits the house, Liam suddenly rounding on you when the door closes.

“You ditched me at practice to kiss some guy you met like two days ago?” Liam asks, making you clench your jaw, frustrated with Liam’s attitude.

“Liam, seriously? Firstly, I didn’t ditch you, I told you before practice so you could find someone else to take you home. Secondly, yes, okay, I just met Theo, but he gets me, and I can talk to him about anything,” you argue, turning the tv off and beginning to clean up after yourself as Liam trails behind you, following you into the kitchen.

“You can talk to me about anything, remember? You don’t need to protect me from anything,” Liam says, reminding you of the conversation you had two nights prior.

“I thought you liked Theo,” you mutter, swiftly changing the now awkward subject.

“I liked him when he wasn’t kissing my sister.” You hear Liam mutter, making you glare over at him.

“Liam, he’s not doing anything wrong,” you scold, frustrated with the way Liam was acting. Before Liam could respond, you finished shoving everything away and stormed off, not wanting to continue the argument, instead choosing to hide away in your room.

The next morning, you made your way downstairs, shocked to find Liam in the kitchen. Usually, you were the one up and ready first, but judging by the set look on his face, you could tell he didn’t want to talk to you.

“Mason’s picking me up today,” Liam says gruffly, barely glancing your way as you halt, glancing over your shoulder at him.

“If that’s what you want,” you say with a shrug, returning your attention to your breakfast. When you finish eating, you tidy up, moving to grab your bag as Liam’s phone buzzes.

“Bye,” Liam says quickly, rushing past you as you stand dumbfounded.

“Is the air chillier in here, or is it just me?” You turn around, startled at the sound of your stepfather’s voice, seeing him leaning against the doorway with a smile.

“Everything’s fine,” you say quickly, scrambling to pick up your bags as you hear a soft chuckle from behind you.

“Do you want to try sounding more convincing?” You’re asked as you sling your bag on your shoulder.

“Dad, it’s okay, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“It’s not like you and Liam to act so cold with each other. You’ve been close as anything since the day I met you both.”

“Seriously, you don’t need to worry about us. I need to get to school anyway,” you say, scrambling for an excuse to leave the house while your stepfather regards you quietly.

“Have a good day at school, kid.”

“I’ll see you later, Dad,” you call over your shoulder as you exit your house, letting out a slight sigh of relief after freeing yourself from the awkward situation before making your way to your car, mentally preparing yourself for school.

When you arrived at school, you met up with Theo and Scott, ignoring the not-so-subtle glances from Stiles and Isaac. Even if some of your friends weren’t keen on Theo’s presence, it meant a lot that Scott was willing to have an open mind about Theo despite his closest friends insisting otherwise.

Unbeknownst to you, while you, Theo, and Scott were making your way down the hallway, talking and laughing as you went, Liam sidled up alongside Isaac and Stiles.

“I think Theo and y/n are dating now,” Liam mutters, glancing at the older boys as they gawp, glancing at each other before focusing on Liam.

“Wha- what do you mean?” Stiles questions, turning to look at Liam, fighting the urge to shake him by the shoulders when Liam remains quiet for a moment, gritting his teeth as his gaze flicks to the floor.

“When I got home from practice last night, I saw them kiss,” Liam says, glancing over at Isaac when he hears Isaac’s heart rate pick up and a low growl form in his throat.

“Are you doing okay there, buddy? You’re looking a little… tense,” Stiles says, noticing how Isaac’s posture had shifted, like every muscle in his body had been tightened.

“I’ll be okay once Theo’s gone,” Isaac growls lowly, his eyes fixed on you and the others talking, and how Theo had unashamedly wound his arm around your middle, tucking you into his side as you all laughed.

“And as much as I love the ‘let’s get rid of Theo’ train. You can’t start a fight in school. That’s a surefire way to get yourself in trouble and probably make y/n hate you, which I’m guessing is not your end goal here,” Stiles says, placing a hand on Isaac’s shoulder, regretting his action slightly when Isaac glared over at him.

“You’re right,” Isaac mutters, shrugging Stiles’ hand off his shoulder as Stiles gawps slightly, looking over at Liam.

“Did you hear that? He said I was right,” Stiles says proudly, his laugh falling short when he sees the unimpressed glances from Isaac and Liam.

“Hey, Liam, do you think you could try to keep an eye on Theo for us? If he’s at your place, just listen in or do what you can to see if there’s anything off about him,” Isaac requests, turning to address Liam, who nods quickly, keen to help out despite the nagging feeling that he was potentially betraying you and Scott who both trusted Theo wholeheartedly.

A few weeks down the line, any hope of a normal senior year had gone completely out the window. You had been forced to confront what you quickly learnt were chimaeras, people that had been killed and turned into a mix of different supernatural creatures by a trio of scientists that called themselves the Dread Doctors. You had no idea who they were and why they were so desperate to experiment on people in such a way, but you did know that you had to stop them, whatever their plan was. You worked with the pack and Theo, and you could tell that even despite being forced to work together, Isaac and Stiles refused to give Theo the benefit of the doubt.

Despite the looming threat of the Dread Doctors and their chimaeras, you still had to go to school as usual when you could, carefully keeping an eye on your fellow classmates, looking for anyone who was acting out of the ordinary. As you entered your English class, ready for another class on intensely watching everyone else’s moves, you made your way to the nearest table to sit down.

As you sat at a table in your class, you smiled as Theo entered the room, gesturing him over and just as he reached your table, Isaac barged his way in, forcing his way into the seat Theo was about to claim.

“Isaac, what the hell?” you question, your eyes widening as he pulls out his books, ignoring Theo, who just rolled his eyes and walked away.

“The seat was free,” Isaac shrugs, unbothered.

“Theo was clearly coming to sit here,” you point out, glancing over your shoulder at Theo, who was now sitting at the back of the room, shooting you a slight shrug.

“I’ve not been able to hang out with one of my best friends in forever, and I’m the bad guy here?” Isaac asks, raising an eyebrow as he looks over at you.

“I’ve been helping out with the pack, I’ve not gone anywhere,” you argue with a glare.

“Okay, I’ve not been able to talk to you alone for a while, and I missed you,” Isaac then says, clearly attempting to appeal to your softer side.

“We could’ve had this conversation outside of class. I know it’s because you don’t trust Theo,” you mutter, opening your notebook and trying to focus as the teacher begins the class. To your relief, Isaac stayed silent for most of the class, only talking to you when the teacher requested you to talk to the person sitting next to you, but the moment class was over, and he realised Theo was staying behind to talk to the teacher, he trailed after you.

“I don’t think you should be dating Theo,” he says quickly, following you through the hallway as you step out of the building.

“You don’t get to do this, Isaac,” you say lowly, your grip tightening on your bag strap as you stop in place, frustrated by the constant hounding.

“I’m not trying to do-”

“The one time I finally have something good going for me and you want to step in and ruin it?” you say, running a hand through your hair, exasperated at Isaac’s words.

“I’m not trying to ruin anything. I just don’t think you should trust him,” Isaac tries, attempting to step closer to you, his eyebrows furrowing slightly when you step back, a far cry from the times you had cherished his presence.

“He’s not done anything to make anyone consider him untrustworthy. I don’t get why you won’t trust him,” you say, confused as to why Isaac was acting like this.

“Because I know what it’s like to have someone manipulate you. To use love as a cover for when they do bad things. Ever since Theo showed up, bad things have happened, and I don’t want you to go through what my dad put me through,” Isaac says in a brief moment of vulnerability, something you’d only seen a sparse few times since meeting Isaac.

“Isaac… Theo’s not like that. I’m sorry that your dad put you through that, but… Theo wouldn’t do that. He’s not done anything bad towards me, I swear,” you say, trying to get Isaac to understand that you trusted Theo wholeheartedly, wanting him to at least give him a chance.

“He’s not the right guy for you, y/n,” Isaac says, making you roll your eyes, irritated at Isaac’s recently constant desire to insert himself into your life. Before, you might’ve found his insistence to be around you endearing. Now that you were finally happy with someone, you were beyond pissed off that he was trying to take it away from you.

“Oh, and I suppose you know who the right guy for me is, then, huh?” you argue back, glaring up at Isaac, the two of you locked in a standoff.

“I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?” Theo’s voice broke the apparent staring contest between you and Isaac, making you look over at him.

“No, you’re fine. I was just looking for you anyway. I’ll see you around, Isaac,” you say quickly, crossing to Theo and smiling as Theo’s arm winds around your middle, tucking you close against him as the two of you walk away, leaving Isaac alone.

After that, tensions were high between you and Isaac, and you began to make an effort to avoid him as much as possible until the pack needed to come together.

And then your brother went missing.

The Dread Doctors had taken Liam and a chimaera called Hayden, and you felt like you were going insane with worry. The argument that had hovered over you and your brother was suddenly non-existent; you were just terrified for your brother’s well-being. You were snapping at everyone when you couldn’t find any hints to your brother’s whereabouts, and you were running yourself ragged looking for them. Despite Theo’s reassurances that you’d find them, you couldn’t find it in yourself to believe anything until you saw them safe.

‘Come to Scott’s house, I’ve got a surprise for you.’

The text you received from Theo while on the outskirts of the woods at first sent a wave of frustration over you, making you think he was making light of a situation that was beyond terrifying for you. But after taking a breath and reading the text again, you realised that Theo wouldn’t have sent a text like that if he hadn’t had a good reason, so you headed back to your car and drove to Scott’s house. The moment you enter the house and peek in the living room, you catch sight of your brother and Hayden sitting on the couch, and tears spring to your eyes.

“Liam,” you whisper, relief washing over you as Liam gets up from the couch. The moment he reaches you, you grab him in an embrace, holding him close. You knew the slight argument between the two of you was unresolved, and it still hung in the air, but you wanted to ignore it for the moment, desperate to reassure yourself that your brother was okay.

“Are you guys okay?” you question, holding Liam at arm's length to check him over before glancing over at Hayden, who was still on the couch.

“We’re fine,” Liam says, nodding as he pulls away from your grip slightly before crossing back to the couch, wrapping an arm around Hayden, holding her close and pressing a kiss to the top of her head as you watch quietly. You were surprised to see the way they interacted, especially knowing what went down between them in the sixth grade, but you did want your brother to be happy. Finally tearing your glance away from the two, you locked eyes with Theo, quickly striding over to him and capturing his lips with yours in a kiss.

“Thank you for finding them,” you say after pulling away, winding your arms around Theo’s neck.

“No need to thank me,” Theo replies softly, his hands settling on your waist. You keep an eye on Liam and Hayden while Theo calls Scott, letting him know that Liam has been found, and while you wait for the others to arrive, Liam and Hayden end up dozing off on the couch, curled up in each other’s arms. You move to cover them with a blanket, regarding them softly before moving to sit with Theo, the two of you embracing as you watch over the two, waiting for Scott to get back.

You had naively hoped that with Theo saving Liam and Hayden, it would’ve earned him some trust within the pack, but Stiles and Isaac remained steadfast in their lack of trust. Even Liam was hesitant to trust Theo fully. It was clear that Theo saving them had at least gained a little bit of Liam’s respect, but he still opted to keep a distance, and you couldn’t help but wonder if it was Stiles and Isaac who had convinced him that Theo was untrustworthy. That thought hurt your heart slightly, wondering if Liam didn’t value or trust your opinion. All you could do was continue to push forward, hoping Theo would finally get his moment to prove his worth to everyone.

Instead, everything backfired on you.

It happened on the night of the full moon, a full moon that just so happened to be a super moon, making the pull of the moon stronger than ever, setting everyone over the edge. You couldn’t figure out what it was the Dread Doctors wanted to achieve with their experiments, especially when they were branding them ‘failures’ and killing them. You were beginning to find yourself frustrated with the lack of progress in the pack’s investigation, just wishing it could all end.

“Hey, I was going to go looking for that chimaera who went missing later to see if we can get some answers, you want in?” Theo asked, pulling you aside in the animal clinic. You hesitated at his question, glancing out at the setting sun before your gaze flicked to the examination room where Liam was anxiously watching as Melissa did her best to save Hayden’s life after the Dread Doctors had pumped her full of mercury.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? With everything that’s going on, wouldn’t it be safer for us to stick together?” you questioned, glancing back over at Theo, whose expression softened slightly before he took your hand in his.

“You trust me, right? I’m confident we could track him down easily,” Theo says softly, squeezing your hand as you purse your lips slightly, debating with yourself quietly.

“If you’re sure…” You mumble, your gaze flicking to the floor before looking back up at Theo.

“I’m sure we can find him. The others can focus on saving Hayden,” Theo says, his voice reassuring as you nod slightly.

“Okay. If this can lead us to the Dread Doctors, we might be able to find a way to help Hayden,” you say as Theo smiles, squeezing your hand once more.

“I have some things I need to do first, okay? I’ll text you when I’m ready to go looking,” Theo says, pressing a quick kiss to your lips before backing away and leaving the animal clinic. You turn your attention back to helping Melissa with Hayden. You knew the tensions were high after Scott had rejected Liam’s request for him to bite Hayden to turn her into a werewolf so you felt like you were stuck in the middle of it all until Theo sent you a text asking to meet you at the preserve, which you did so happily, especially when Melissa was beginning to talk about transferring Hayden to the hospital.

“You going somewhere?” Scott asks, all attention suddenly on you as you nod.

“Theo and I were going to go look for Lucas, he could lead us to the Dread Doctors, and maybe we can find a cure for Hayden,” you say, noticing how Liam perked up slightly at your words.

“Be careful out there, y/n,” Scott said as you nodded, giving him a small joking salute before leaving the animal clinic, hoping Scott and Liam can stay civil long enough to help Hayden.

You make your way up to the preserve, meeting Theo, who was leaning up against a nearby tree with a small smile, pushing away from the tree as you approached.

“So, do you have any idea where it is we’re going?” you ask curiously as Theo begins to walk off with a sense of purpose as if he knew where to look.

“I’m just guessing he’ll be hiding away somewhere. If he’s starting to show signs of being a failure, we might be able to catch a scent of mercury or something too,” Theo shrugs, continuing to walk as you chase after him.

“Do you think he could be near where you found Liam and Hayden? If the Dread Doctors were operating in that area, he could be nearby, right?” you ask, glancing over at Theo.

“I can’t say for sure, it depends on how he feels about the Dread Doctors,” Theo replies as you both quietly sniff at the air, trying to pick up a scent.

The two of you look around the abandoned water plant first, your search coming up unsuccessful with not a single other person in sight, human or otherwise. As you both exit the abandoned building, you turn to Theo.

“Where did you find Liam and Hayden? We should look there next,” you say, glancing around as you await Theo’s response.

“I don’t think he’s there. I have an idea of where he could be,” Theo says, gesturing with his head for you to follow him, which you do without question. Theo leads you to a sewer grate, lifting it with relative ease and climbing down the ladder, with you following close behind.

“We’re never going to catch a scent down here,” you grumble the moment the stench hits your nose.

“And that’s why it would be the best place to hide,” Theo says, smiling at you as you reach the bottom of the ladder.

“I’m glad you had the sense to think of this place because I wouldn’t touch it if you weren’t here,” you laugh as you follow Theo, the two of you navigating the damp sewer. As you follow Theo, a sudden sense of unease begins to wash over you, a shiver running down your spine mere seconds before Lucas springs out from around a corner, growling, his face inches away from Theo’s, who barely flinches.

“Theo! Get back!” you cry out, worry instantly clutching at your heart at the closeness between the two, expecting Lucas to lunge at any second. Instead, you watch as Lucas backs off with a grin.

“What’s going on?” you then question, glancing between the two.

“I could ask the same question. I thought you were coming alone,” Lucas says, turning to look at Theo as he scoffs.

“I did say that, but there was a question I needed to ask y/n, and it was best to have a little privacy and some backup,” Theo says, quirking an eyebrow as he glances at you and Lucas.

“Theo… what is this?” you ask again, beginning to feel your heart pound, something that didn’t go unnoticed as both Theo and Lucas focused on you.

“You don’t need to be scared, y/n/n. I just have an offer to make you,” Theo says, and despite his friendly smile, you could sense the sinister undertone, making you take a small step back out of fear.

“Theo, you’re scaring me.”

“I told you, you don’t need to be scared. I just want to offer you a place in my pack,” Theo says, standing before you as he folds his arms across his chest.

“Your… pack?”

“Yes, my pack. That’s why I came back to Beacon Hills. When I heard about the True Alpha and his pack, I knew I had to have it for my own,” Theo states as your eyes widen.

“I…”

“Think about it, you could take Scott’s power for your own and we could run the pack together,” Theo offers, his voice dropping to the soft tone you’d grown accustomed to hearing, attempting to sway you as you started to understand what he wanted you to do.

“You need me to kill Scott,” you mumble, remembering the times you’d been told that as Betas of Scott’s own making, only you and Liam had the capability to take his Alpha power from him. When Theo fails to respond, you shake your head, getting ready to run to warn Scott of Theo’s betrayal. However, Theo was quicker, ordering Lucas to attack you.

Lucas’s attacks came hard and fast, and no matter how much you tried to fight back, once Lucas got his poison in your system, you found it harder to fight. You soon collapsed to the floor, dragging yourself to sit upright against the wall as you heard Theo quietly urging Lucas to run away, muttering something about the Dread Doctors.

“You know, as much as it’s disappointing that you won’t join me, there is a silver lining. With you out of the way, it’s going to make getting to your brother so much easier. After all, between us, he’s the strongest Beta out of the two of you. If I can talk anyone into killing Scott and taking his power right now, it’s Liam, and that will leave me free to take the power from him,” Theo gloats, turning to face you as he shows off his claws, admiring them with a smirk.

“If you hurt Liam, I swear,” you snarl, baring your fangs as your eyes glow a vibrant gold, attempting to intimidate Theo as you struggle even to try to get to your feet.

“Oh, don’t you worry y/n/n. I’m not going to hurt Liam. Not until he can give me what I want,” Theo taunts, crouching down and leaning in close as you continue to growl at him, clearly unintimidated by you.

“Theo, please, don’t do this,” you then plead, tears filling your eyes as you sit back against the wall, fighting the urge not to writhe in pain.

“I need a pack of my own. And to do that, I need the power of an Alpha. I’m not going to let anything stand in my way,” Theo says, straightening up as you try one last feeble attempt at a growl in his direction before Theo stalks off, leaving you alone.

Isaac was lost; he couldn’t escape the violent twist in his stomach that something was wrong and that you needed help wherever you were. You weren’t responding to his texts or his calls; all he knew was that you had left the animal clinic with Theo, something Isaac would never get used to.

“Come on, y/n. Give me a sign you’re somewhere,” Isaac mutters, shifting his gaze to look up at the supermoon, watching it silently for a moment. He could always feel the pull of the full moon once a month, but controlling himself got easier with each month. But the supermoon was different. Its pull was stronger than ever, and he felt like any little nudge could set him off.

“Looking for someone?” There was the little nudge. Isaac felt irritation mixing with his anxiety as he clenched his jaw, turning to face the source of the voice.

“Where’s y/n? I know she was with you, so don’t lie to me,” Isaac says, stalking over to Theo, a growl building in his throat while Theo remains steadfast, leaning against the tree.

“Lover boy’s certainly gotten himself worked up. I’m sure she’s fine,” Theo says with a shrug, smirking at how easy it was to rile Isaac up.

“Where. Is. She?” Isaac snarls, baring his fangs as he steps as close as possible to Theo, his incessant snarling not having an ounce of an effect on Theo who simply cocked an eyebrow.

“Are you done? Because if you keep snarling at me like a wild animal, you won’t find her in time,” Theo says, a smirk playing across his lips as Isaac steps back, a mix of worry and anger playing across his face.

“Where is she?” Isaac demands once more.

“Giving that away would take all the fun out of this little game. All I can suggest is you hurry up. I don’t know what Lucas’ poison will do to a werewolf this time around. You might want to run, lover boy,” Theo shrugs as Isaac’s heart begins to pound, his head whipping around in every direction, desperate to catch a scent, a hint that you were anywhere nearby. As he desperately racks his brain for any ideas on where Theo could’ve taken you, a few locations come to mind, making him sprint off in the direction of one of the areas. As Theo watched Isaac disappear into the woods, he pushed himself away from the tree, smiling to himself. Now that the pack was out of the way, he could finally put his plan into place.

As you lay in the darkness, your hand pressed firmly to the wound that was beginning to burn, you felt tears continue to pool in your eyes. You felt like you deserved every second of pain you were experiencing. You were the one who had turned your back on your pack, tossing them aside just because a boy had finally looked your way. And now you had to lie helpless, bloody, and alone, all while knowing Theo was about to manipulate your younger brother into killing his Alpha just to steal the power for himself.

“y/n? y/n, are you down here?” You couldn’t help the sob that escaped your lips at the familiar sound of Isaac’s voice. Somehow, he had cared enough to look for you in your absence, even when you’d treated him awfully.

“Isaac, I’m here! Please help!” you beg, the tears now flowing freely as your breaths begin to quicken. You wait anxiously, listening for Isaac’s footsteps as they grow closer, and Isaac’s face comes into your line of sight as he worriedly checks you over.

“Did Theo do this to you?” Was the first question Isaac asked, identifying your injuries and carefully assessing them.

“He wanted me to join his pack. When I told him I couldn’t turn my back on Scott, he… he let Lucas attack me.” You wince as you attempt to move, the burning sensation beginning to spread viciously across your body.

“That asshole,” Isaac mutters, a slight growl behind his words.

“You need to get to Liam before Theo does; he’s going to manipulate him into killing Scott,” you say, attempting to push Isaac away to get him to save your brother and your Alpha.

“I’m not leaving you,” Isaac argues, shaking his head.

“Isaac-”

“No, y/n, I’m not leaving you here. Scott can handle himself. It might be bad of me to say, but my priority is you right now,” Isaac says firmly, making your defences come crashing down as tears well in your eyes.

“I just want to get out of here,” you say tearily, making Isaac nod quickly, wrapping your arm around his shoulders and easing you to your feet, apologising as you whimper in pain. Isaac carefully navigates you through the sewer, helping you up the ladder and into the fresh air.

“I’m going to take you to the animal clinic first, okay? I have Deaton’s number; he can help me treat your injuries over the phone.”

“My car… It’s parked at the edge of the preserve, you can take that,” you say, weakly digging in your pocket and pressing the key into Isaac’s hand. With a determined nod, Isaac helps you to your car, easing you in carefully before getting behind the wheel and driving you to the animal clinic. Isaac drove with a sense of urgency you’d never seen from him before, and you felt like you arrived at the animal clinic in what felt like record time.

“Come on,” Isaac urges, helping you out of the car and into the clinic, helping you sit on the table before fumbling for his phone to call Deaton.

You wait awkwardly after explaining what happened to Deaton over the phone, feeling utterly useless as Isaac rushes around, grabbing the ingredients to make something that’ll help ease your pain and hopefully combat the poison.

“Okay, chances are it might sting, but you need to put it directly on the wound.” You hear Deaton’s voice crackle through the phone as Isaac finishes making the paste that made your nose wrinkle once the smell hits it.

“Is there not any other way?” you ask weakly, attempting to lean away from the noxious mixture.

“If you want to try to treat that poison, then it’s the best thing we can do. I’m sorry, this mixture should help a lot,” Deaton says, making you groan slightly. You listen as Isaac hangs up the phone, promising to contact Deaton if anything else happens before turning his attention to you.

“Could you… lift your shirt?” Isaac asks awkwardly, looking anywhere but at you as you nod, carefully lifting your shirt to expose the wound that sits on your side.

“You can look, it’s okay,” you say softly, making Isaac finally look over at you, his eyes fixing on your injury. Wordlessly, Isaac applies the mixture to your wound, making you gasp at the stinging sensation. As if he acted on instinct, Isaac grabbed your wrist, and the moment you felt him trying to take your pain, you wrenched your arm away.

“What are you doing?” you ask, looking at Isaac, whose eyebrows furrowed in concern.

“I’m trying to take some of your pain, let me help,” Isaac says, watching you expectantly as you shake your head, your eyes once again filling with tears.

“I don’t deserve your help. You have done all this for me when I’ve done nothing but treat you badly. You shouldn’t have even come looking for me in the first place. I pushed you aside because a boy finally looked my way and I’m so sorry.”

“I meant what I said a few weeks ago, you know? You’re one of my best friends, and I’d do anything for you. I had a feeling that something was wrong, and I wasn’t going to just sit back and let something happen to you. I care about you so much, so let me help.” Isaac’s words were firm yet gentle as he watched you carefully, tenderly reaching out to wipe a falling tear from your cheek. When you do nothing other than silently nod, Isaac gently takes your hand in his, taking some of your pain as you relax.

“Thank you,” you mumble, gratefulness in your tone as Isaac squeezes your hand softly before letting go, moving to bandage your injury, making quick work of the task before looking up at you.

“I should get you home, you need to rest and heal,” Isaac then says, helping you off the table and leading you out to the car.

“Once you drop me off, you need to find Scott; he might need your help. Theo would’ve gotten to Liam by now, and he’ll need you to help him.” Your words came out quietly, but Isaac heard you all the same.

“I will, I promise,” Isaac assures you.

“If Liam is there, please don’t hurt him,” you then add, your hand resting protectively on your injury as Isaac pulls out of the animal clinic’s car park.

“I’ll try my best,” Isaac says. You understood why he couldn’t promise, with Liam’s IED combined with the strength of the supermoon, he might not listen to reason, and if needed, Isaac may be forced to fight back. The drive was silent, your thoughts consumed with the evening's events and worry for your younger brother. When Isaac parks your car outside your house, he quickly moves to help you out of the car.

“I’ve got it from here, Isaac. Go and help Scott,” you urge Isaac, pushing him away from you slightly, trying to encourage him to leave. At first, Isaac hesitates, glancing at you worriedly before letting out a soft sigh, nodding and running off in the direction of the school.

You entered the house as quietly as you could, wincing with each step taken. While you were beginning to heal, you could still feel the slight burn from the poison that was making its way through your system. As you made your way to your room, you heard a door open, making you stop in your tracks as you waited to see who it was, worried you’d woken one of your parents. Instead, you see Liam entering the hallway, his eyes locking with yours. Seeing Liam took you aback slightly, expecting him to be somewhere else, but when you see his red rimmed eyes that are filled with tears, you know you couldn’t let yourself fall apart yet. Not when Liam needed you.

“Come here, buddy,” you urge quietly, opening your arms for Liam to walk into, holding him close as he clung to you desperately.

“Hayden’s gone.” You hear Liam say through his tears, ignoring the pain that shot through you when he squeezed tighter.

“Oh, Liam…” you mutter sympathetically, moving to escort him back to his bedroom, sitting him down on his bed as you tuck him against your side.

“I almost killed Scott,” Liam admits after a small silence, his voice so quiet you wondered if he’d meant to say it out loud at all in the first place.

“That wasn’t your fault,” you say quietly, attempting to hold Liam closer, stopping when he pushes against you, putting distance between you so he could look you in the eye.

“Did you hear me? I said I almost killed Scott,” Liam reiterates, his eyes flicking between yours, waiting for your reaction.

“I heard you, Liam. But I know it wasn’t you. You were upset because of Hayden, and Theo used that and the supermoon against you,” you say softly, not letting a single ounce of judgment slip into your tone as Liam’s eyebrows furrow, putting pieces together in his head.

“How did you know it was Theo?” he questions, making you sigh slightly, realising your slip-up and knowing you needed to be truthful or else Liam would know.

“Turns out Theo has a tendency to monologue just after letting someone almost kill you,” you admit with a weak chuckle, wincing as a flash of pain sparks through you.

“He tried to kill you?” Liam asks, his eyes blown wide as you shrug.

“Not Theo himself. He let Lucas have at me, though. I think the Dread Doctors made him stronger; this poison is really taking its time to heal. Deaton says I’ll live,” you say, your hand drifting to the tear in your shirt.

“I’m so sorry,” Liam apologises, his gaze drifting to where your hand was resting.

“You don’t need to apologise, Liam,” you begin, stopping as Liam shakes his head, tears beginning to well in his eyes.

“I should’ve been there. I could’ve helped you. Instead, I let Theo talk me into-” you cut Liam off suddenly, cupping his face in your hands and lifting his chin gently so you could look him in the eye.

“Liam. Do not blame yourself for this. I’m the idiot who let Theo separate me from the rest of the pack. I let him come between us. You’re my brother, and I shouldn’t have turned my back on you. If anyone should be sorry, it’s me,” you say softly, gently wiping away the tears that rolled down Liam’s cheeks. Your heart felt like an iron hand had it in a vicious grip, squeezing as hard as it could. You hated seeing your brother upset, no matter the context, but seeing him upset because of you shattered you in a way you didn’t know was possible. Feeling your eyes burn with tears, you shifted to hold Liam closer, cradling his head close to your chest as he clings to you, reminding you of the times you had comforted him when he was younger.

“Did someone help you? Or were you…” Liam asks, his voice a quiet mumble, as you hold him close.

“Isaac found me. I don’t know what I did to deserve having a friend like him to come looking for me after what I did to him,” you admit, finally allowing a smile to tug at your lips as you think of Isaac, the selfless boy who risked everything to come looking for you just based off a hunch that something was wrong. You couldn’t believe that even after you made it clear you didn’t want to be around him, he still cared enough to come looking when you went missing.

“I’m glad he was there,” Liam mumbles softly as you hold him impossibly closer.

“So am I,” you mutter, the two of you falling into a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

“I just want to forget about everything that happened,” Liam says quietly, neither of you moving to break the embrace.

“Why don’t we watch a movie or something? That might help,” you offer, moving your head away slightly so you could look down at Liam, who lifts his gaze to meet yours, nodding.

“Yes, please.”

“Okay, you stay here and pick which movie you want to watch. I’ll grab us some snacks,” you say, moving to excuse yourself from the room, wincing when the pain flares up once more and before you could get too far away, Liam grabbed your hand, taking some of your pain for himself as you soften, tears building in your eyes once more at your brother’s kindness.

“Thank you, Liam,” you mutter softly, moving to hug him once more before finally making your way downstairs to raid the kitchen for snacks. You grab a variety of snacks, grabbing what you knew Liam liked before scooping up some drinks and making your way back to Liam’s room with armfuls of food and drinks.

“Did you just take everything?” Liam asks with a slight laugh as you enter the room.

“Pretty much,” you admit, closing the door behind you before dumping the snacks on the end of the bed and placing the drinks on the bedside table. Once Liam had picked a movie, the two of you sat up against the headboard as you tucked Liam against your side, hugging him close as the opening of the movie played.

About halfway through the movie, a knock at the door rings out, making you and Liam stiffen slightly, both of you looking at each other.

“You stay here, buddy,” you say quickly, forcing yourself to your feet as you make your way to the front door, your hand hesitating above the doorknob for a moment before you bite the bullet, tugging the door open.

“Isaac?” you question, your head tilting slightly when you see Isaac standing before you, a bag slung over his shoulder.

“Do you think I could crash here for a little while? I didn’t get to Scott in time, and Melissa didn’t take it well. I don’t blame her for reacting like that, so I figured I’d find someplace else to crash, give her and Scott some space,” Isaac explains, smiling sadly at you. It upset you to hear what had happened, especially given that Melissa had become an important maternal figure in Isaac’s life after losing his own mom at a young age.

“Come in, we’re watching a movie, so just dump your stuff in my room and join us,” you say, gesturing for Isaac to come into the house. You lead Isaac to your room, letting him put his bag down before bringing him to Liam’s room.

“Hey Isaac,” Liam says, offering Isaac a kind smile as you entered the room.

“Hey, Liam,” Isaac replies with a curt nod and a small smile of his own. You sit down alongside Liam once more, wrapping an arm around him again while patting the free space alongside you, encouraging Isaac to sit with you. As Isaac sits down alongside you, you grab his hand gently, squeezing it softly as you both smile at each other. The three of you then continue to watch the movie, enjoying each other’s company and putting the day's events behind you.

As the closing credits of the movie begin to roll, Isaac shuffles slightly, preparing himself to make a comment that falls short the moment he sees you and Liam fast asleep, his head on your shoulder as your head rests atop his. Isaac couldn’t help the soft smile that covered his face at the sight. He carefully eased your hand out of his and crossed to grab a blanket before carefully covering you and Liam with it, before moving to sit on the beanbag in the corner of the room so he could get at least a few hours of sleep himself.

A few weeks down the line, Isaac was still staying at your place after an awkward conversation with your parents, as you and Liam tried to explain the situation without exposing your family to the supernatural world.

The pack had come back together after a lot of apologies, and you had to focus on finding and defeating a creature called the Beast of Gevaudan, which had been brought back by the Dread Doctors, learning that their chimaera experiments were dedicated to.

On top of that, Theo still had the audacity to keep showing his face after what he had done. He had revived a number of chimaeras, Hayden included, to make his own pack, and it took everything within you not to rip his throat out every time you saw him in the hallways. Thankfully, Isaac stuck to your side like glue and helped keep you calm and away from Theo, especially when he tried to get involved in the pack’s investigations.

After what felt like forever, you learnt that the Beast of Gevaudan had been Mason the whole time, making the pack realise that you needed to do whatever you could to save him which seemed fruitless, especially when the Dread Doctors had been successful in using Mason as a vessel to revive the true monster behind the Beast. But thanks to Lydia’s banshee scream, she was able to bring back Mason after a long, hard battle that left most of you knocked off your feet before Theo showed up, keen to use his newly gained powers he had gotten from killing off members of his pack.

Then you watched as Kira stepped forward, protecting you all from the electrical blast Theo had sent your way before telling him that the skinwalkers she had been training with had a message for him. You watched in horror as Kira stabbed her katana into the ground, and a sinkhole opened up. You saw Theo’s sister clamber out of the hole, grabbing Theo and dragging him down with her as Theo begged and pleaded for someone to help.

“y/n! Help me, please!” You were shocked when Theo called out to but you didn’t move from where you were on the ground, just watching as Theo was dragged under the ground, which then sealed itself up, leaving everyone speechless for a moment before Isaac crossed over to you, extending a hand to you. 

“I told you he wasn’t the right guy for you,” Isaac muses softly as you groan, in too much pain and annoyance to deal with his jokes.

“Are you ever going to tell me who the right guy for me is, or am I going to have to keep making mistakes like Theo?” you ask, sitting yourself up against the wall as Isaac falls silent for a moment, clearly thinking before he speaks up again.

“I can do better. I can show you instead,” Isaac says, inching closer. Your heart pounded as he moved closer, it was so loud you were sure Isaac could’ve heard it without his supernatural hearing. Just as his lips were millimetres away from yours, he stopped, his eyes flicking up to yours.

“Is this okay?” he then asks quietly.

“Yes,” you whisper, your voice breathy before Isaac closes the gap, pressing his lips to yours, as he cups your face gently. Isaac’s kiss was soft and full of love, and you couldn’t help but melt into his touch.

“I thought you guys would never figure it out,” Lydia’s words made you and Isaac pull apart, the two of you smiling shyly as the rest of the pack laughed softly as you rolled your eyes, leaning against Isaac as he wrapped an arm around you.

“Come on, guys, let’s get out of here,” Scott says, making everyone nod. Isaac helps you to your feet as the rest of the pack make their way out of the dingy tunnels, desperate to leave the Dread Doctors in the past where they belong.

After getting a phone call from Deaton, Scott and Liam rush off to the animal clinic to check on Hayden, who had been attacked by the Beast and found her way to the clinic despite her vicious injuries. All you could do was hope that it wouldn’t end up the way it did last time. You could tell Liam loved Hayden, and you didn’t want to see his heart get broken all over again.

“Let’s go,” Isaac says softly, leading you away from the abandoned water plant and away from everyone else, leading you to a secluded clearing so the two of you could have some privacy. Once you are confident you’re away from prying ears, Isaac turns to you.

“How are you?” he asks softly, brushing a strand of hair away from your face without a second thought.

“I’m fine. I’m healing pretty quick-”

“No, how are you feeling? I saw the way you looked when Theo got taken.”

“I couldn’t care less about what happened to Theo. I’m glad he’s gone after all he put my pack through. Wherever he is, I hope he’s suffering.” You’d never been filled with so much anger towards someone before. The bitterness was clear in your tone, and you could tell that Isaac was concerned.

“It doesn’t change the fact that you liked him.”

“Yeah, past tense, liked. Anyone would be creeped out seeing someone getting dragged underground by their dead sibling. It’s fine, I’ve got my pack, I’ve got you,” you say softly, taking Isaac’s hand in yours.

“If you ever want to talk about it, I’ll be there,” Isaac says softly, squeezing your hand as you nod wordlessly.

The two of you then spend an hour or so in the woods together, relishing in each other’s presence and talking about everything and nothing at the same time. When you call it a night, the two of you head back to your house, entering the house and heading into the living room when you hear the tv playing.

“Hey, you two,” you greet Liam and Hayden, a smile on your face as you lean against the doorframe, stifling a laugh when they jump, turning to look at you.

“Look, Hayden’s okay!” Liam says excitedly, showing off Hayden to you as you nod.

“I can see that. Did Deaton figure something out?” you ask as Isaac sidles up alongside you, winding an arm around your middle.

“No, I think being a chimaera made things a bit more complicated for him. Scott gave me the bite,” Hayden explains as you nod, happy for the two younger teens.

“That’s awesome! You know it’s great to have another female Beta, I was beginning to worry I’d stay outnumbered forever,” you joke, squirming when Isaac lightly pokes you in the side and Liam jokingly glares.

“We’ll leave you two alone, but don’t stay up too late,” you say, pointing between the two as Liam groans.

“Yes, Mom,” he grumbles.

“Love you, Liam,” you say as Liam rolls his eyes before softening.

“Love you too.”

Deciding to leave Liam and Hayden alone, you make your way up to your room with Isaac, the two of you instantly curling up on your bed together, your head resting on his chest as he pulls you close.

“This is nice,” Isaac admits quietly, his hand drifting up and down your back as you hum contentedly.

“I feel like I can finally breathe after everything that happened,” you murmur, your eyes slipping shut at Isaac’s soothing motion.

“It’ll be nice to go back to normal. At least until the next supernatural problem.”

“Please don’t tempt fate. I wanna get through my senior year with as few issues as possible,” you grumble, opening your eyes and lifting your head to look at Isaac.

“I’m not tempting anything, it just seems to happen,” Isaac says with a soft laugh as you roll your eyes.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” you mumble, pressing a soft kiss to Isaac’s lips, something he reciprocates quickly.

“If being cute gets me kissed, you won’t catch me complaining,” Isaac says as you pull away.

The two of you spend the evening cuddling and kissing until you fall asleep in each other’s arms, a sense of relief you hadn’t felt in a while settling over you.

The next morning, you both begrudgingly get up and ready for school, heading to school with Liam and Hayden in the backseats. At first, you had expected Liam to complain about being delegated to the backseat, but he was more than happy to be sitting in the backseat with Hayden, the two engrossed in each other’s presence and barely giving you a second thought.

When the four of you arrived at school, you bid goodbye to Liam and Hayden as you all went your separate ways to begin the school day. Unbeknownst to you and Isaac, as you walked down the hallway hand in hand, you were being watched by the rest of the pack who couldn’t stop smiling.

“What? What are you all smiling at?” Stiles asks, his back to you, making him unaware of the progression with you and Isaac’s relationship.

“Behind you,” Lydia mouths, looking pointedly over his shoulder as Stiles finally turns around, his eyes widening when he sees you and Isaac kissing.

“Wha- when did that-”

“Yesterday, after everything went down with the Beast, Isaac finally ‘fessed up,” Scott says, folding his arms across his chest with a smile.

“The one time I’m not there and they finally kiss? Does Isaac really not have a sense of timing?” Stiles complains, gesturing over to the two of you, blissfully unaware of Stiles’ rant.

When the pack meets up in the library at lunch, it was relieving to talk about school and life instead of researching some historical werewolf. You loved moments when you got to feel like a normal kid again, even if it meant dealing with your friends joking about you and Isaac’s newfound relationship.

By the end of lunch period, everyone but you and Isaac cleared out of the library. You both stayed because you had a free period, and you wanted to talk about colleges with Isaac, finally ready to take the leap. You were aware of the closing window you had to apply, and you were finally able to accept that Liam would be okay in your absence; he had Hayden, and he had Mason. He was going to be just fine.

Just before you and Isaac looked at anything, you found yourself drawn to the shelf you and the others had signed the night of senior scribe, and you carefully removed the books, a soft smile on your face as you regarded all the initials while Isaac approached you.

“You know, the night we did this, I saw how you looked at Allison’s initials, and I thought there was no way you’d like me in the same way you loved her. I let my feelings get the better of me, and that drove me right into Theo.”

“Hey, you don’t need to worry about that. I did love Allison, you’re right, but I also love you,” Isaac says softly, making you look at him with a soft smile.

“I love you too,” you say quietly, pressing a soft kiss to Isaac’s lips before focusing back on the initials, Isaac wrapping an arm around your middle as you lift a hand to ghost your finger along Allison’s initials.

“I’d love to hear about Allison someday. She meant a lot to you, so I want to help keep her memory alive,” you then say, looking at Isaac, who nods, pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head.

“I’ll tell you some stuff someday. But I can say wholeheartedly that she would’ve loved you,” Isaac says, helping you put the books back on the shelf before you head to a free table to start your college research.

It had been a long and rough beginning to your senior year, but it made you more confident. You knew you had your pack beside you, and it helped you and Isaac finally confess your feelings for each other. You knew you were ready for the next step in your life. You’d be okay.