Chapter Text
Isaac felt bad as he slipped away from the McCall Pack, masking his scent so they wouldn't notice when he had left, or be able to track him.
When everyone had focused on Liam and Theo, that's when he had left. He knew from the time he'd spent with them, everyone watched. Just to see if they'd finally just get together.
Isaac found himself enjoying watching them circle each other stubbornly more than he thought he would.
He walked for a while, going deep in the preserve, deeper than he had ever gone with Scott, until he reached an old, abandoned shed.
He found himself not wanting to go inside, and the lack of animal noise around had him on edge more than normal.
He forced himself to take a deep breath, before he pushed the door open.
"Well well. Took you long enough, Pup."
Isaac tensed slightly, before he relaxed his shoulders, and looked over at Aster.
"Did... Did you need to hurt him that much?" He asked, his voice quiet as he shoved his hands into his pockets. They had started shaking around Aster recently, and he really didn't want her noticing.
Aster only shrugged. "Probably not... But it was fun." She grinned.
"You should be careful. The McCall Pack are strong, and really protective over each other." He warned.
Aster's grin only widened.
She reminded Isaac of a crazier, more deadly version of the Cheshire Cat, and it took all his strength not to run away.
"It's adorable how they scramble to keep each other safe. Like fish in a barrel, don't you agree?"
Isaac didn't. "Yes, Alpha."
His gaze was then pulled to the door, and three others walked in. The man that had dragged Theo was one of them.
Isaac straightened automatically. Samuel wasn't someone you showed weakness around.
The youngest of the trio - Freddie - made a beeline for Isaac.
Freddie was only a few months older than Isaac, while Samuel and the third Wolf - Freya - were both a few years older.
"Hi Issy. I missed you." Freddie grinned, latching onto Isaacs' arm.
Freddie had some kind of obsession with Isaac. It always freaked him out to be honest, but Isaac was smart enough not to say anything against it.
"Aster, I don't think getting the McCall Pack to join us will be easy." Samuel said, he voice rough as he walked over to the Alpha.
"It never is Samuel. But that's why we have our Pup on the inside."
Isaac felt sick under her gaze, but he kept his exterior calm.
"Tell us Pup. Did the Spark heal the Chimera like we planned?" She asked.
Isaac forced himself to nod. "Yeah he did."
He didn't say anything about how it seemed to have taken a lot out of Stiles. He found himself not wanting Aster to know Stiles's weak points.
"And the Beta and Chimera once healed?" She prompted, eyebrow raised.
"Liam and Theo had an argument about what happened, just like you thought they would." He kept his voice steady, heartrate normal.
He couldn't let her know that her plan was starting to bother him.
"Excellent. Pup, I want you to keep driving a wedge between those two. The Chimera has an annoying habit of coming to the Beta's rescue. If my plan is to work, that can't happen."
Isaac swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. "Yes, Alpha. I was just wondering... What actually is your plan for Liam? You've never actually told me."
Samuel looked at him confused. "Haven't you figured it out yet? He's the only one who can take the True Alpha's power out of that entire Pack."
Isaac's stomach twisted, heart clenching painfully. "You want to bait Liam into killing Scott?" The words felt like ash in his mouth, but he knew he couldn't stammer, he couldn't show weakness.
The group just grinned at him.
"Then Aster can kill the Beta, and when she does she'll get the power of a True Alpha! Isn't that amazing Issy?" Freddie grinned.
Isaac forced himself to nod. "Yeah, it'll make her more powerful."
"Which will then make us more powerful too! No Hunter would dare cross us. We'd finally be sage, you'd be safe." Freddie's hand moved from Isaac's bicep to his hand, lacing their fingers together.
Isaac had to force himself not to jolt away.
"Okay Freddie, that's enough." Aster called, her voice dropping.
Freddie glanced at her but let go of Isaac at the command. His eyes stayed on him though.
Isaac glanced at him, before he focused on Aster, smiling at her gratefully.
She may be a psychotic bitch, but she did - in her own, twisted way - care about her Pack.
"Why don't you head on home, Pup? I'm sure you must need time to process what just happened with the Chimera." Aster tilted her head, a sympathetic smile on her lips. "We all know you don't like seeing the gory part of our lifestyle."
The way she said that, like she was playing with him, made Isaac feel even less like a Pack member, and more like a child.
But he nodded. "Thank you, Alpha." He mumbled, lowering his head for a moment.
"See you later Issy." Freddie hummed.
Isaac forced a nod, before he walked out the shed.
He didn't stop walking, until he was far away from both Packs. He couldn't smell or hear either of them anywhere near him.
He ducked under a fallen tree and crawled into the space there. The fallen tree hid a small space; Isaac had made sure he wasn't disturbing any animals when he found this place a few weeks ago.
Once he knew nothing lived here, he'd started using it as a hiding place.
And a hiding place was just what he needed right now.
He curled up in one of the corners, pulling his legs up to his chest so he could hide his face. Then he let the tears fall.
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The next day, he forced himself out of bed, made his body do his morning routine. Everything felt heavy recently... Unless he was the McCall Pack. With Scott.
He shook the feeling off. "You're in Aster's Pack, Isaac. Not Scott's." He scolded himself. "This is the last time you need to do this. She promised."
Part of him didn't believe it, but he ignored that part and walked out his apartment, locking the door behind him.
He blasted music as he rode to the Pack House, the sound helping him not focus on his thoughts.
He slowed down when he started up the path, before he pulled his bike to a stop, kicked the kickstand and climbed off, tugging his helmet off as he did.
Not a second later, he was being shaken.
"Where the fuck did you go?! We've all been worried sick all night trying to find your dumbass!" Stiles was yelling at him. "You just disappeared with no explanation Isaac!"
"That's not okay! You're a part of this Pack, part of this family! You do not scare your family like that when there's a crazy bitch running around trying to either kill or take us! Do you understand?!"
"Y-Yes! Please stop shaking me!" Isaac's words were stammered from the force Stiles was using.
After a moment, he was released.
It took him a second to get his bearings, before he looked at Stiles. The Spark's scent was full of panic, anger, relief and fear.
"Where'd you go?"
"I..." Isaac trailed off, before he took a breath to focus on his heartbeat, keeping it steady. "I don't like seeing people hurt, so I left. I'm sorry for not telling you guys."
It wasn't even a full lie.
Stiles's face softened, before he reached up and pulled Isaac into a tight hug.
Isaac tensed at the affection, hands twitching uncertainly, before he realised Stiles was talking again.
"It's fine, just... Message one of us next time please. I get not liking seeing your family hurt, but we were really worried about you."
That word again. Family. This Pack viewed him as family.
Isaac felt like crying, throwing up and running away.
Instead, he hugged Stiles back. Loosely at first, but then tighter, and he buried his face into Stiles's neck, breathing in the scent of him.
Of the scent of someone that truly saw him as family.
That's when he felt it.
The Pack Bond, flaring to life, between him and Stiles. Then one by one, everyone else.
He staggered back, almost hitting his bike as he did, hand going to his chest as his breathing grew ragged.
"Isaac? Are you okay?" Scott was next to him, hand outstretched but not touching yet.
Isaac could feel his worry like a living, breathing thing in his chest.
"I... I can..." His voice was choked, his tongue feeling heavy in his mouth at the pure warmth in his chest, so he just gripped his shirt tighter.
Scott looked at him confused, before he smiled a little. "You can feel the Pack Bonds, can't you?"
Isaac nodded shakily. "I... I think so? Is that what... What they feel like?"
Scott's confused look was back.
"Warm. Safe." Isaac tried to elaborate, to describe the feeling in his chest. It didn't come close to it.
"Yep. Well, Theo's normally feels like you're being strangled with aggressive affection because he's emotionally constipated," Erica called, walking over.
Her worlds got her a growl from the Chimera, but she just just ignored him.
"But yeah. That's a Pack Bond."
Isaac felt sick again.
He had Pack Bonds with Aster's Pack. But they had never felt like this.
In Aster's Pack, it felt like he was suffocating.
In Scott's? It felt like he was flying.
"Oh right, you've never felt them before, because you were an Omega." Lydia hummed.
Isaac tensed slightly, before he nodded. "Yeah... Yeah I've never felt anything like this before." He mumbled.
That wasn't a lie.
"Well get used to it, because that's what this Pack is." Liam grinned. "We take care of each other. Like Stiles says, we're a family."
"Aww, how touching." Peter called over.
"And like every family, there are some members who you hate and never want to talk to." Stiles huffed.
Peter rolled his eyes. "Where did I get this reputation from?"
Everyone stared at him, including Isaac.
"Do you want your list alphabetically, or chronologically? I have both versions." Stiles called over.
Everyone laughed at that, even Peter had a small smile.
Isaac was swallowed into the group then, laughing and joking, making fun of Peter or Theo, helping Scott with Alec.
It was a few hours later when he noticed that the youngest Werewolf tended to either talk to Nolan, Scott or no one.
Alec was currently sat underneath a tree, watching everyone.
Out of everyone in the McCall Pack, Isaac felt the most connected to Alec.
Everyone in his first Pack was dead, and he had been on the run when Scott and Argent found him.
It felt so familiar, it made Isaac's chest tighten.
"Hey." He whispered, walking over slowly.
Alec looked up and gave a small nod. "Hi."
"You doing okay?"
Alec nodded again.
But there was something upsetting him. Isaac could see it and feel it through the Pack Bond.
"Can I sit?"
Alec hesitated, but then he nodded.
Isaac didn't move to sit next to him under the same tree, instead he sat down underneath the one next to it, pressing his back against the bark.
"You wanna talk about it?"
Alec glanced at him, before pulling his legs up to his chest.
"How can they... Be so happy? The Pack is in danger, right? How can they act like it's not?"
Isaac was quiet. He didn't know how to answer that, to be honest.
Mostly because he had the same question. In the last three years, he'd never seen a Pack be able to relax this much when Aster came along.
"I... I don't really know." He mumbled, and he saw Alec's shoulders drop.
Isaac glanced at the group, his eyes following Scott without him even trying to.
The way Scott's smile lit up his face, made something loosen in Isaac's chest.
"I think it's because of him." He said, and he could feel Alec looking at him, but he couldn't take his eyes off Scott.
"Before I met Scott... Everything felt cold. Everything was life or death." He tensed slightly as he thought about the differences in the two Packs.
"But Scott... Within a few days he was under my skin. Getting me to laugh at stupid things, showing me the fun aspects of a being a Werewolf." He chuckled a little as he remembered a day the two of them had raced through the preserve.
"It's like... He's made of sunshine, and when you're in his orbit... He's determined to shine his light in every one of your shadows."
He looked back over at Alec. "So I think the Pack can relax because... Scott is still shining."
Alec didn't say anything for a moment, before he seemed to relax.
"Yeah... I guess that makes sense." He whispered, before he looked over at Nolan, who was talking to Mason.
"I'm gonna... Go." He mumbled, face flushing.
Isaac just smiled at him, before he watched the young Werewolf push himself up and rush over to Nolan.
He glanced back over at Scott, and realised the Alpha was walking over to him.
"Hey Blondie." He hummed, sitting down next to him, their shoulders pressing together.
"Hey Little Wolf."
Scott grimaced slightly. "I know I said it was fine for you to call me that, but you need a new nickname for me Isaac."
"Shorty?"
Scott snorted. "That's not much better."
Isaac just grinned at him.
"Anyway, I wanted to ask you something."
Isaac looked at him, his head tilting. "What's up?"
Scott took a deep breath. "Earlier, when Stiles hugged you... You seemed shocked by it. But you hug me all the time. What's that about?"
Isaac looked down at his knees, and he started picking at a loose thread on his jeans.
"I don't know." He mumbled, his voice barely audible even to himself.
"I guess I just... I'm not used to it when other people initiate affection."
Isaac didn't count Freddie in this, because Freddie's 'affection' normally felt like a Hunters trap.
Scott was quiet for a moment.
"Are you against it?"
Isaac didn't say anything but he shook his head slightly.
He then jumped, because Scott had reached up to ruffle his hair lightly.
Isaac looked over at Scott, slightly bewildered, before he was smiling.
Then he leaned forward as best as he could and buried his face into Scott's chest, wrapping his arms around Scott's waist.
Scott chuckled softly and gently manoeuvred them so they were both comfortable. One that was done, his hand returned to Isaac's hair, and for the first time in a long time... Isaac felt completely relaxed.
He had been right. Scott was like the sun, determined to shine his light in his friends shadows.
And Isaac - call him selfish - wanted to bask in that sunlight for as long as he could, until he was forced back into his cold world.