Isaac is always stirring shit up, sorryyyyyy
Starting Question of the Chapter again, because why not?
Who is your favourite addition to the pack?
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"Isaac?" I gasped. "What are you doing here?"
Concentrating, I focused on the air around me, having it ready at my disposal if necessary.
He spun slightly in the chair, dragging his feet along the ground. "Do I make your boyfriend nervous?"
The smug look on his face only made me draw more strength from the air. "Isaac, I'm no where near the mood for this. I think you need to leave. How did you even get in here?"
The boy shrugged, "Your sister doesn't mind me as much now that I'm not dating you. You know, I always knew she didn't like me."
"Whatever. Can you just leave?"
"Okay, you're right, you're right," he said quickly. "I just wanted to check in with you, see how you're doing."
"And why would you do that?"
Isaac stopped moving his legs, shaking his head. "Riley, in a short amount of time you lost your mother, watched three of your friends die and come back to life, and now they're all going a little crazy. Just because it's not happening to you, doesn't mean it's not affecting you."
I lowered my guard, allowing the air to loosen and warp back to its normal state. Taking a few cautious steps, I sat on my bed to face Isaac. "I'm fine, Isaac. There are more important things going on right now."
He seemed taken back by my comment, his eyes staring at me, shifting from his earlier smugness. "Don't ever think that you're not more important than any other thing that happens in this town. I'm just trying to look out for you, Ri."
"I'm a big girl. I don't need protecting, Isaac," I told him.
"No, you don't," he agreed. "Especially now since you're a sylph."
I was somewhat shocked to hear the word leave his mouth. I hadn't told many people, but I knew that Isaac definitely wasn't one of them.
"How do you know that?" I asked quietly so that Charlotte wouldn't hear from her room.
Isaac smirked, "There aren't that many supernatural things in this town, Ri. Word spreads pretty easily."
Of course it does. I don't know why I expected it to stay underwraps. It was just weird hearing people actually say it out loud; that I was like Scott and Lydia and the others. That I wasn't normal.
"And I know there's something you're keeping from everyone," he said. "I just haven't figured it out yet."
He wasn't wrong. But was it the part where Deucalion had Kali try to kill me, or the fact that my dad was trying to steal me away from my sister? There was so much going on, I honestly forgot about both for a second. But then I walked into my living room, and the memory returned. It felt like needles in my back, reminding me of the feeling of the glass.
And then that hurt just took me back to the night I lost my mum. I couldn't lose anyone else, I don't think I'd be able to handle it.
I noticed Isaac was walking towards me slowly, a hand out somewhat defensively. "Hey, what's happening right now?"
Glancing over at my mirror, I could see my hair was lifted around my shoulders and my eyes were glowing lightly.
"I've practised, but I still don't have full control," I explained. "You need to leave. I don't want to accidentally hurt you."
"I'm not going anywhere," he said, shaking his head. "You need to concentrate on what means most to you. That's how Derek taught me to control the change on a full moon. It's been helping me on normal days when I feel out of control as well."
"My mum meant the most to me, and I lost her," I told him, as I tried to put more distance between us.
Isaac didn't allow me to get away, moving back towards me. "I know, and I'm sorry. But she still means something, whether she's here or not. My dad is what I think about. The days we spent together before the bad days."
I felt my heart rate slow down somewhat at his words. The fact that even after all his father did to him, he still loved him.
"Find an anchor."
I tried to do as he said. Focusing, I tried to search for inspiration for an anchor. My mother, Stiles, Scott, anything.
"It's not working," I whimpered, feeling my power begin to overcome me. I had felt like this sometimes when we were in Devonford, but this was different. Ever since Stiles, Scott and Allison had opened the door something had changed in Beacon Hills. And I had felt myself changing with it.
"Concentrate," Isaac said softly, grabbing my hands.
I looked up to him, "And what if I hurt you?"
"Then I get hurt. As long as you're safe and in control."
"Isaac-"
"Concentrate," he insisted.
I closed my eyes once more, focusing on the air in my lungs, the love of my family, the feel of Isaac's hands.
When I reopened my eyes, I was back to normal. I smiled as I glanced in the mirror, seeing my ordinary reflection once more. Hugging Isaac tightly, I thanked him.
"I'll always be here for you," he told me, returning my embrace.
Seeing this conversation from the view of an onlooker, I stepped back. I avoided his eyes and focused on my heart rate, guessing that he would most likely be listening. "I just want to keep everyone safe."
"What good is that going to be if you end up dead? What if you lose control again?"
He said it so sincerely, but it didn't help. If I couldn't tell Stiles about the feeling of glass in my skin and my mother dying in my arms, there was no way I could talk to Isaac about it.
As far as I knew, Lydia was the only one who knew about what happened with Kali. And Char was the only one who I told about what it was like to watch our mother die. I knew both of them could keep a secret, so I didn't have too much to worry about for the moment.
"Isaac, I need to be alone right now," I replied, walking over to the door and opening it. "Please."
He almost looked hurt, but stood up either way and walked over to the door. When I opened the door further for him, however, he stopped in front of me. "It's okay, I'm patient." He then leaned in, whispering against my ear, "He better not hurt you. Because, then. . . well my patience only lasts so long."
Before I could respond, he was gone. I heard him shout good bye to Charlotte before I heard the door close. Not one minute later, Charlotte was standing in my door way. "What was that about?"
"Nothing. Everything. I don't know, " I sighed as I went and fell onto my bed. "Why do boys make life more difficult?"
Charlotte laughed with a shake of her head, "That is one question I don't think I'll be able to answer for you, Ri. But, you're a smart girl. I'm sure you know what the right move is."
"Good to see at least one of us believes that," I mumbled.
"Get some sleep, I'll see you in the morning," Charlotte said, giving me a quick hug before leaving my room.
I had a lot to think about.
♡♢♤♧
The next day started slow. I didn't do much, just read a book.
When afternoon finally arrived, I sent a text to Stiles. I figured it was easier for us both to take the same car to the preserve. Plus, I wanted to talk with him about what had occurred the previous day.
"Good luck," Char said as she saw me walking towards the door. She had obviously seen Stiles pull up, considering she had no idea what we were on our way to do.
I thanked her, but I was still so nervous. Walking out to the Jeep, I could see Stiles' eyes on me already. I had to be brave.
Climbing into the car quietly, I buckled my belt as Stiles pulled out of the driveway. "So," he said slowly.
I sighed as I looked over at him. "I can't keep having the same argument with you, Stiles. This is the second time now that you've brought up Isaac."
"I know," he nodded. "It's just. . . you and he are so alike now."
"Why? Because neither of us are human? Because we're both damaged? Both orphans?"
"You're not an orphan."
"He's not my father, I may as well be," I spat out. "Just because Isaac and I are alike, doesn't mean I would ever choose him over you, Stiles. So, can we please move past this? And backing off of Isaac a bit?"
Stiles glanced at me for a moment, before looking back at the road, allowing one of his hands to leave the wheel to grasp my own. "For you, I would do anything."
I felt a smile make its way onto my face as I squeezed his hand in return, "Likewise."
♡♢♤♧
"Anyone think we might be doing more harm than good?" Lydia asked.
We had all arrived at the preserve, preparing to help Malia. As we all stood around each other, I couldn't help but consider what Lydia was saying. If Malia had wanted to be human, she probably would've tried to do so by now, right? Or she couldn't. There was no way of knowing.
"We're trying to keep a father from killing his own daughter," Scott reminded her.
Isaac tilted his head, "Actually, we're trying to keep a guy from killing a coyote who is actually his daughter, who we don't know how to change from a coyote back to his daughter."
I saw Scott purse his lips as his eyes closed, clearly frustrated with Isaac.
And he wasn't the only one.
"And again with the not helping," Stiles said as he leaned against his Jeep, one hand in his pocket, the other around my shoulders.
Isaac smiled smugly as he nodded. But thankfully, he kept his mouth shut.
Moving past his two friends, Scott looked over to Allison. "Did you bring it?"
Allison speechlessly walked around to the boot of her car, opening it and grabbing out a large gun, closing the boot once more.
As we began to discuss the plan, everyone sorted out what they would be doing. We seemed to have prepared for almost anything, until a gunshot sounded from the distance.
Without a word, Scott immediately got onto his dirtbike and rode off, Isaac trailing and Allison doing her best to keep up.
Stiles called after them, trying to get them to stop, but they didn't. He grabbed out his phone and dialled his father's number in hopes of figuring out what was going on. I stood beside Lydia, patiently waiting for Stiles to finish.
"It took the doll again?" Stiles exclaimed. "What the hell is so important about this doll?"
Stiles stopped talking, obviously listening to his father. But something else was going on here. Stiles eyes flickered as the wheels in his head turned. He was figuring something out. Or, he already had.
"It's the doll."
He removed the phone from his ear, hanging up on his father.
"It's the doll?" He repeated, slower and more confused this time. "All right, but why would it go all the way to the school and then all the way back to the house just for a doll? One that was in the car wreck in the first place. We didn't find it in the coyote den."
"It likes the doll. Who care?" Lydia said as she finally stopped pacing.
I shook my head, "I think Stiles is right. I think it means something."
"It likes the doll a lot." Stiles was crouched on the ground, still going over everything in his head.
Something seemed to occur to Lydia at this, "What kind of doll is it?"
"I don't know. It's a doll, you know. It's got little arms, a big head and dead, soulless eyes. Actually, I took a pic."
Stiles pulled up the photo, holding it out in front of Lydia. The girl pointed to the older looking girl, "That's Malia?"
"Yeah, that's the jacket and the scarf we found in the den," Stiles informed her.
"How did we not notice this before?" I scoffed.
Lydia nodded, "Malia isn't the one holding the doll."
"It's her younger sister. It's her doll."
Stiles looked up from the phone, eyes wide. "I know what she's doing."
"What?" Lydia asked softly.
"I know where she's going."
I was about to ask him what was going on in his head, when I heard someone scream in the distance. "Isaac," I whispered, looking in the direction of his scream.
I went to go and find him, when Lydia grabbed onto my arm. "Wait. Allison is with him-"
"And she's out of her mind, Lydia," I reminded the girl. I looked to my boyfriend for assistance, "Stiles, please. You know I'm right."
Stiles hesitated, staring at me.
"Stiles, he might be dying."
The boy pursed his lips, before finally nodding. "Okay. Call me and let me know everyone's okay."
Walking up to him, I placed a kiss on his cheek, before running in the direction of where Isaac's scream had originated. Using the energy from the air around me to run faster, reaching him sooner.
I found him crouched over, a coyote trap clamped just above his ankle. His jeans and hands were covered in blood, his breathing shaky as he touched the trap gingerly.
"Oh, my god, Isaac!" I said quickly as I rushed to his side. Allison was standing above him, looking between him and who I could only assume was mister Tate with the tranquilliser dart sticking out of his arm. Malia had been here.
"Go help Scott find her, I'll take care of Isaac."
Allison took a second to think, before nodding and reloading her gun. She then ran out in search of Malia once more.
"Isaac, are you okay?" I asked quickly, staring at the trap.
He looked over at me, trying to laugh through his pain, "Oh, yeah, I'm just fine. Peachy, in fact. Would feel a little better though if there wasn't a steel trap around my leg!"
"Yelling at me isn't going to get you anywhere, Isaac," I scolded, reaching for the trap. I tried to pull it away from his leg, but nothing happened.
"I can't I'm not strong enough."
Isaac's blood continued to run, sweat dripping down his forehead. "Try again."
"Isaac, you can do this," I told him placing a hand on his arm. "I can't risk losing control like I did yesterday. You're strong enough to do this yourself. Concentrate."
"Maybe you need to find your anchor again," he panted. "Unless it's right beside you?"
I sighed, shaking my head, "You're not my anchor, Isaac. And this isn't a conversation important enough for right this second, don't you think?"
"I have not idea what you're talking about," he smirked, sweat gleaming on his forehead.
Squeezing his arm, I went back to the issue at hand. "Come on, Isaac. Please, just concentrate. You need to push past the pain and just. . . get out."
Isaac nodded firmly, grabbing either side of the trap and pulling at them. When nothing happened, he looked back at me. I was about to try again, when a loud howl ripped through the woods. "Finally, Scottie. That's how you roar," I said quietly.
Turning to Isaac, I saw his eyes begin to glow as his hands went back down tot he trap once more. Growling, he ripped either side off of the middle mechanism. The effort it took to release himself and his body attempting to heal itself resulted in Isaac collapsing onto me. I caught him quickly, resting his head on my lap.
"You did it," I smiled. "Isaac, you did it."
"Because I had my anchor."
I was about to reply, but he was on the verge of passing out. Grabbing my phone out of my pocket, I called Stiles. "Hey, he's okay. Have you heard from Scott?"
I heard Stiles sigh from the other end of the line, "Yeah. He managed to make her turn back. My dad is about to take her home, I'm going with him."
"Okay, call me later."
"Of course. I love you."
I felt myself smile at his words, letting my eyes look up to the clear blue sky. We could always manage to find the better moments in our somewhat dark lives.
"I love you, too."