This takes place after episode 2x07, where Derek mentions that they'll be chained up during the full moon. I instantly worried about my baby Isaac and knew that this would be a sore point for him. I hope the writers mention something about Isaac's former abuse and how this is probably scary to him since they haven't really discussed that at all any more. Anyway! Enjoy the story =]
On the outside he sounded rationally, but Isaac's true feelings were completely opposite. He froze when he saw and heard the chains that Derek was pulling out. Chained up? Erica spoke his thoughts. They did not look too comfortable. Locked up? That was even worse. At least she added some humor to his increasing nightmare. It was all too familiar.
However, instead of showing his scared side, he pretended to remain unaffected. Derek needed them. He couldn't leave them on the full moon because he'd be alone and vulnerable, but Derek ignored his reasoning.
He had tried to remind Derek of his promise to teach them control but there was always something more important to do. The kanima was Derek's main concern, as well as hunters, which Isaac considered to be the most serious but if the lizard wanted to fight them, his new outlook on life invited the lizard to try. He always felt the adrenaline rush when the lizard was near. He knew it was stupid and dangerous, but it seemed like fun too. He was a new werewolf and wanted to use his fighting abilities.
His earlier fight with Scott had hurt his pride and he wanted to prove himself now more than ever. It was truly embarrassing how a two on one fight had failed. It was supposed to a proud moment for him but instead, he and Erica had been slid across an icy floor while Derek watched without interest. He only cared to see what Scott could do. He wanted the young beta, apparently now an alpha, to join his pack so badly.
Isaac couldn't help but feel jealous. He was part of the pack and wasn't nearly as desired as Scott. He was used to do dirty work and that was it. He wanted to have a real family, one that wanted him.
Didn't Derek remember Isaac's relationship with his father? How could he not see that those chains would freak out the baby wolf? He didn't want to be caged up, he wanted to be free.
His alpha told him that he would learn to turn whenever he wanted to and be free during the full moon. This was apparently not going to be the case this month and Isaac was dreading the night where he would force down his uneasiness and succumb to being locked up again.
He knew it was different but the feeling of alarm would not cease. He bit his lip, stopping himself from pissing Derek off more with complaints about the training. Derek pushed aside his desires of learning control and Isaac knew that it was to save their lives at the moment, but that didn't stop the boy from feeling upset.
The moment Derek pulled the chains from the trunk, Isaac almost said no. He was willing to disobey his alpha. Luckily for him, Erica saved Isaac with a sarcastic comment. Isaac realized the only way to save himself would be to rationalize why they didn't have to use those horrid binds and could use the rest of the time wisely. But Derek voiced his own reasoning, and as the leader of the pack, his opinion outweighed Isaac's fears. Exactly as it had been his entire life.
He watched as Boyd and Erica were given their own chains while Derek reached into the trunk once more to supply Isaac with the last group of bindings. He accepted them without a word but did nothing more than hold them. Erica was stationed around one of the pillars and was going through the metals with a look of distaste. She knew that this would not be one of the fun events of being a werewolf. Boyd was doing a similar run-through. He seemed to take everything with a disinterest. Isaac wished that he could have those feelings at the moment, instead of the panic that was currently building in his stomach.
His eyes moved across the room where he saw Stiles, Scott and Derek talking in a circle, allowing the others a couple minutes to figure out the chains. In that moment, Isaac resented Scott. The new pack member knew how to change whenever he wanted and was only a couple months older as a werewolf than Isaac. He took that to believe that it would be easy to learn how to control his body and once again wished that Derek had taken a couple days to teach them instead of throwing him to the floor over and over again during training.
As he stared at the chains, he could hear his own screams for help from the freezer in the basement. He clawed at the roof, trying his hardest to escape his torture. No one ever came for him, no one ever freed him. The sound whizzed around his ears and Isaac didn't even blink. He stared in astonishment at the strength of his memories. He could clearly feel the pain on his nails and feel the raw pain from his throat as he was trapped throughout the night. He lost his voice so many times but as the years went on, he began to take the pain with silence.
"Okay, you guys should start chaining yourselves up. We're close to the time where you'll start turning." Isaac thanked Derek in his head for stopping his train of thoughts. At the same time, however, he knew that now it was the moment he had been dreading since Derek had pulled out the restraints for the first time.
The sound of metal clanging alerted Isaac that Erica and Boyd were listening to Derek. Like he should be doing. Should being the key word. He took a deep breath and grabbed a piece that was meant to be placed around the wall attachment. He connected it but the click made his stomach clench.
He whirled around; a hand had been placed onto his shoulder. He turned to stare into the concerned and wary green eyes of Stiles. Stiles. Isaac desperately wanted to tell him his fears and apprehension. Stiles would understand. Isaac needed understanding. The wariness stopped Isaac though. He couldn't ask Stiles to understand when he had been so cruel to the boy.
"Isaac, do you need help?" Isaac couldn't stop the look of disbelief that crossed his face. He couldn't take back that moment. He had been revealed. No he didn't need help. He needed to be allowed to run wild during the full moon. He didn't sign up for this. He signed up for the opposite.
"No. I – I don't want help being chained up." Isaac turned around to look at the wall again. "I can't do this." Isaac spoke to himself even though he meant for Stiles to hear it. He turned around again when his statement was met with silence. Stiles didn't say anything.
The moment he turned around, he could see understanding in the human's eyes, and Isaac felt relief flood through his body. He was so happy to have someone finally realize what was wrong. But the sensation ended abruptly as Stiles moved away, calling out to Derek.
Instantly the relief changed to shame. He wanted to prove himself to Derek, his alpha. This would not gain him any points. Panic was settling in once again. He bit his lip and then sighed, dropping the metals and running out of the room.
Later he would feel like he ran from the subway like a coward but right now he didn't care. He wanted to get far away from everyone, even if they were supposed to be his family, his pack. It was too much for him to bear. The only forest he knew that would be large enough and safe for others while he was out during the full moon was the Hale residence.
…
Suddenly the land became silent. It was as if Isaac had put earplugs in his ears. A second later, blood was rushing through his body. He could hear the current in his head and his eyes contracted, turning from brown to the yellow he knew so well. He fell to his knees as the rest of the transformation took effect.
Even though he had turned before, this was an experience he had never had before. The moon made Isaac's senses even keener than usual and the force behind his transformation was much stronger. His claws grew out and the wolf could help flex the digits.
He stood up and Isaac felt completely liberated. He just wanted to run through the forest, enjoy the nature. He felt bad for Erica and Boyd, who were chained in the damp subway den while he was able to breathe this fresh air. They were missing out.
Isaac jumped around and ran through the trees, focusing on everything and nothing at the same time. He was so enthralled that he failed to sense the presence before he was pushed to the ground, the other creature following behind him. Isaac growled and scratched at the other werewolf. It took him a few seconds to clear his head enough to realize that it was Scott.
Scott had found Isaac. The younger beta used his legs to kick Scott off and both teenagers stood up quickly. Scott looked the same as Isaac, claws drawn out. The leaves behind Isaac crunched, and Isaac spun around with a growl. Isaac was no match though as the person was Derek, his eyes glowing red. The alpha opened his mouth and howled in warning.
Isaac felt so liberated though and remembered that Derek was stopping him from enjoying this moment, and for that, he caused a moment of complete stupidity. Isaac didn't step down, which would have been the safest route for the boy to take. Instead, he crouched and gave a growl of his own. Isaac was challenging his alpha.
The fight lasted only a minute, as Isaac flipped around and tried to hit Derek. Derek swung his arm and his claws caught Isaac's mid, quite similar to the time Derek scratched Scott. The pain made Isaac stumble back. Derek took this distraction to grab the beta's neck and toss him to the ground. Derek placed his foot on Isaac's stomach, way too close to the scratch for Isaac's taste. He stopped trying to push the foot off his body when he looked up to see the look on Derek's face. That was one disappointed/angry alpha.
He hadn't even noticed that he was no longer a werewolf and once again looked human. He looked behind him to see Scott was standing a couple feet away as an observer. It hit Isaac like a ton of bricks. Scott was standing there as top beta. Derek's top choice.
All three looked human again but Isaac felt even more vulnerable than ever, which might have something to do with the fact that his alpha probably wanted to kick his ass. Or the pain throbbing from Isaac's cut. "There are hunters out looking for werewolves at this very moment. You don't think they wouldn't check the Hale property? Did you consider that you have no control of yourself at the moment?" There was another pause before, "we are going back." Isaac couldn't look up at Derek but nodded, making sure his alpha knew he understood.
Now that he could focus again and his mind felt clear, he realized that he was lucky hunters had not found him. He could feel shame once again wedge its way up his chest as he knew he disobeyed his alpha's orders and ran away without really speaking to anyone. He had acted rash.
Isaac hadn't realized how much time had truly passed until they were walking back to the abandoned subway station.
Erica and Boyd were no longer transformed and were back to their usual state of being. Erica was wearing a pair of comfy sweatpants, and a baggy t-shirt. It was very unusual to see Erica wearing clothes like that again. Isaac liked the change at the moment; he was comforted by it in fact. Boyd was wearing jeans and a regular t-shirt. Both the werewolves were sitting on the couch while Stiles was lying on the floor in front of them on a mat. Stiles jumped up when Isaac, Scott and Derek walked down the stairs to join them.
"Isaac! Enjoy the run?" The corner of Isaac's lip began to tug upwards. Half of him wanted to tell Erica and Boyd how wonderful it was to be out there but understood that now was definitely not the time to do that. It wasn't entirely fair to the teenagers either since they did as they were told and were forced to stay down below.
"Not now, Stiles. We are going to have a talk." After looking at Isaac to make sure that there was no confusion to whom Derek was talking, he walked into the subway cart. Isaac had no desire to enter the current residence of Derek but knew that if he didn't go, it would create more chaos. Plus, he had to defend himself.
…
Derek had taken a couple of the seats of the subway cart out and made space for a mattress. It didn't look completely awful in the "room" but it was still nowhere near a proper bedroom. Derek was sitting on a desk that had also been brought in. Isaac was standing awkwardly a few feet in front of him.
Isaac took a deep breath. He should have known Derek wouldn't say the first thing. He would wait for Isaac to make an idiot of himself before slamming into the younger male.
"I understand that leaving was definitely not the right way of handling the situation." Isaac paused, waiting for Derek to react. He didn't. Right…
"But come on! Chains, really? I – You know my past. I couldn't, willingly, be chained up and forced to stay underground. That freaks me out! I know I'm supposed to be stronger now but seriously. Derek, you promised me that I would learn control so I would never have to feel like that again."
"Who am I?" That was not the response that Isaac was prepared to receive.
"Uh…the alpha?" Derek nodded, his eyebrows rising. "And that means what exactly?"
"That you make the decisions…?" The uncertainty was obvious in Isaac's voice. Derek stood up and Isaac couldn't help but take a step back. As soon as it happened, Isaac looked down in embarrassment. He shouldn't be afraid of Derek. Derek saved him.
"Trust. It means I have your back and you have mine. I have told you many times that I would teach you control when we had time. We have not had time yet. The hunters and kanima take priority."
"You know what my father did to me! It wasn't fair to ask me to chain myself up but I tried though. I really did want to be able to do it. But I couldn't."
Derek placed a hand on the back of his neck and Isaac couldn't help but be comforted by its presence. "I know. I'm sorry that I put you in that position. It would have been completely different, and I need you to know that. Stiles stayed with Erica and Boyd the entire time. You can ask them how it went. You would not have been shut away with no one around."
Isaac nodded. Derek pulled the werewolf close, who automatically bared his neck in submission. The boy knew he should have discussed his problems with his alpha before running.
"Derek, I'm sorry I didn't listen." Derek sighed, "Don't dwell on it. I have that problem many times with Scott and Stiles, nothing new."
Derek stepped back so Isaac and the alpha could be face to face. The older man placed his hands on Isaac's shoulders to make sure there was no confusion about his upcoming words. "But Isaac, next time, you must come to me first. I was serious before, it was extremely dangerous and stupid for you to be in the forest on your first full moon alone."
The boy nodded in understanding.
"Alright, go hang out with the others. I'll be out in a little bit." Isaac stepped out of the embrace and seemed unsure of himself before leaving the subway cart.
Erica called over to Isaac, inviting him to join them.
"So, how was running around during the full moon?" Isaac could tell she was truly interested. He was relieved to see that she was not angry that she was locked up while he was able to run free.
He smiled at the memory. "It was invigorating."
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