Teen Wolf 1. Chapter 1

"Carter, Brian! It's good to see you!" Deaton sounded too cheerful for us to trust him. It had been three days since Stiles and I talked about the kiss. Three days of our official training. Three days of Deaton quizzing us on emotions with crude flash cards. Happy, upset, exhausted. It was boring, although I had learned a few new ones. Growing affection, genuine romantic love, and corrupted sexual intent.

"Nice to see you too, Deaton," I replied cautiously. Brian and I dropped our backpacks behind the main counter of the shelter and turned to stare at him leaning in the doorway that led to the back of the shelter, the area where our training took place.

"Remember how the two of you said you were bored with cards and simple emotions? Remember how you said you wanted a challenge? You wanted to really do something with your time?" Deaton demanded and I remembered very quickly that exact conversation.

_"Come on, Deaton," Brian whined. "We've been doing this stuff since we were kids. At ten years old, I knew what clown to avoid at birthday parties." _

_ "Deaton, I brought my brother back from the dead. I want to learn how to build, not just read. I mean, look, I know I have to know how to read situations and nature just as much as people, but I want to get that done quick. I want to be a builder!" _

_ "And you will be, with patience." _

_ The synchronization of mine and Brian's eye rolls were perfect and Deaton just frowned at us and pointed towards the flash cards once again. _

"Okay," Brian said slowly. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, I found some volunteers today. Why don't you come on back?" He walked through and Brian and I studied one another for a minute before we followed him cautiously, him talking the entire time. "The two of you are good readers, I'll give you that. You're advanced for your age and for your level of training. But the two of you are nowhere near as advanced as you think you are. But, since you insist on bounding ahead, let me give you a taste of what's on your road still."

We stepped inside and found Scott and Isaac sitting up on the table, staring at us. Isaac was wearing his general vacant smile and Scott was studying us carefully. Brian said drily, "Let me guess, these two are our test."

"Yes, yes they are."

"Alright, let's get up close and personal with the shadow men," I sighed.

"Uh uh," Deaton stopped us. "You're not getting 'up close and personal' with them. You're getting up close and personal with their wolves. And you're going to read their human side through their wolves. Boys, if you will please."

Deaton motioned towards them and Brian and I watched in horror as they transformed in front of our eyes. It was without warning when they shifted. I'd never seen a werewolf before but I expected it was more like the movies. I expected them to howl in pain or to shudder or something. But they didn't. They just stared at us and their shadow raced to the front, slamming against their natural faces. Hair spread down their jawlines while the actual bones shifted. Their eyebrow bones elongated and jutted out over their face while their noses were flattened and their jaws snapped so that their teeth protruded. Their glinting, razor sharp teeth. Brian and I stepped back and Brian threw himself in front of me. I snapped, "How in the hell is it going to help me if they attack you?"

""They're not going to attack you," Deaton promised. "One, I know for a fact that the two of you carry mountain ash on you at all times now. Two, they're in control of themselves. They have a task to focus on. They're your test."

"What?" Brian demanded."

"They're your test," Deaton repeated. "They each have something to focus on. A thought playing over and over in their heads. And it's your job to identify the thought and everything about it. So, Carter, you're with Isaac because it's easier for Scott to be around Brian. I'll let you stay in the same room because Isaac feeds off Scott and you and Brian feed off each other. Brian and Scott, over by the cages. Carter and Isaac, table near the door. Behave yourselves."

Isaac and Scott slid off the operating table and separated. Brian and I stood still, neither of us wanting to approach the wolves. Deaton ordered, "Go. You didn't want to do flashcards so this is your break. We're going to work backwards since the two of you are just so damn smart."

"But…."

"Nope. Approach your partners and get to work. I'll be filling out paperwork." Deaton left the room, leaving Scott and Isaac staring at us patiently.

"It'll be alright," I said slowly, more for Brian than myself.

"You are aware that I know when you're lying, right?"

"Yep."

"Just checking. Let's get this over with."

I reached out and took my brother's hand in mine to squeeze it for a second and he squeezed back. We released at the same time and I made my way over to Isaac. He greeted, "Hey, Carter" but his voice wasn't his own. It was deeper, gravelly. He continued, "You really don't have to be scared."

"Right, well, seeing as how you could rip my throat out in two seconds, I'm going to be a little scared until this is over. But we should learn to be around your kind."

"Your kind, huh?"

"Don't flirt with my sister, Isaac, focus on what you're supposed to be doing," Brian scolded without turning his focus away from Scott.

Isaac had enough sense to look ashamed before his face turned serious and I could see the emotions shifting. It was hard enough to read the shadow people when they weren't wolfed out. Most of the time, it was like looking in a store window with a reflection blocking the view; the shadow being the reflection and the human being the inside of the store. It was hard to see through the reflection, but it wasn't impossible. The reflection was just frustrating. But, when they were wolfed out, it was like painting the store window over with slightly transparent paint and then asking us what was inside.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're thinking about a girl," I guessed, straining to catch the flecks of emotion as they passed his face. "Somebody you haven't known very long….a friend of a friend….there's no approval for it…."

"You can do better than that, Carter!" Deaton called from the entrance desk. It had been thirty minutes since he left us alone in the room with the wolves. "Brian, how are you doing?"

"Fucking Christ on a fucking cracker. A relative? Maybe? Maybe it's not a blood relative, maybe it's just a relative in a spiritual sense. So it could be a legitimate family member, a friend, or a fucking member of his pack! Why did I get the alpha?" Brian snarled.

"Because your sister is more violent than you."

"We're both pacifists!" We argued together.

"Now, that's what I'm talking about! Feed off of one another! And, you, Carter, you were taught to be a pacifist. That doesn't mean you are one. Get back to work. Give me a name."

"Okay, you want a name? That's all? We have to tell you who they're thinking of?" I demanded.

"Yep. And no guessing. It has to be definite. Because if you give me an answer and it's wrong, they'll start over thinking about something else entirely."

"Okay, a name. Brian, we can do names. Names are easy because we don't have to look for the name!" I cried out. "We just have to look for identifiers!"

"We can use what we know about them when they're not wolves!" Brian cheered.

I turned back to Isaac and smiled wide at him. He said calmly, "Your heartbeat's faster but you're not scared anymore."

"I'm still terrified, Isaac, but I know a few things about you from Stiles and from your human form! Like I know that there aren't too many people who are guys that you consider friends. So the connection has to be through one of two people." I searched quickly. Looking for identifiers that would lead to the alpha. I didn't know the wolves well enough to identify relationships, but I knew humans well enough to know when somebody was thinking about the person who was in charge of them.

Across the room, Brian said slowly, "It's not a female family member. So let's play the emotion game, Scott. Dad?"

Brian was using words to try to change thoughts quickly and gauge the new reaction against the old image. It took a lot longer than pathways but it was more obvious. I couldn't find a power symbol in Isaac's face so I muttered, "Stiles then. You know the person through Stiles. Who do you know through Stiles? You know Lydia through Stiles, don't you?"

I searched his face again and again, trying to find links to Lydia and not finding any. I could only find similarities as he thought of them. There were similarities in the two people. When the readings changed from the unknown to Lydia, some things were left behind. Some things stayed. I didn't know what they all were, but I could tell it wasn't Lydia. I nodded and said slowly, "Okay. Who else did you meet through Stiles?"

He just stared at me, his hazel eyes glowing and the signs beneath the shadow shifting slowly. I sighed, "Isaac, please tell me you met somebody other than me through Stiles."

I briefly saw embarrassment flash to the surface of his face and I called out, "Deaton, Isaac's chosen topic was me. You told him to think of me. That's really messed up, Deaton."

"You see yourself as attractive, Carter. Not as somebody boys fantasize about. You should have been able to see your name within seconds of looking at Isaac, werewolf or not. And you, Brian?"

"Almost there so shut up, all of you! All of you, shut up!"

Isaac shifted back to human form and grinned sheepishly at me. I stated bluntly, "You have a thing for Allison."

"And you have a thing for Stiles. But you still find me attractive. Attraction isn't about emotions," he shrugged it off. "It's about hormones. And you are freaking dumping hormones. Seriously. Don't you have an outlet?"

I chose not to mention the gift my mother got me so that I could combat "feelings of extreme passion." Instead, I turned my attention to Scott and Brian. Brian growled, "I have it narrowed down to three people. Carter, come here."

I crossed the room and stood behind him, placing my hands on his shoulders and sighing into him. I took a deep breath, filled my lungs, closed my eyes, and let it pour from me. I imagined the breath, the energy, the life force, flowing down my arms, down my fingertips, and into my brother. I created the bridge between me and him and let the energy cross it, leaving me and lingering in him. I boosted him and he cried out, "Who the fuck is Derek?"

"Scott's ex alpha. How did the two of you do that?" Isaac demanded.

I opened my eyes and stepped away from him, trying not to waver as I did. I reached behind me and grabbed the table to steady myself. Brian heard me falter and leapt up to grab me and steady me. From the doorway, Deaton explained, "They cheated, and they know it."

We looked over at him and Deaton tossed Brian a juice. Brian opened it and handed it to me. Deaton continued, "She uses her abilities to build a bridge between them, a bridge that is easy to build because it's already established. She just has to raise it back up. Then, she pours energy into him. It amplifies his power and he's able to see everything. But it burns up a lot of energy, which is why power must be built up."

"We've built our power," Brian argued while I downed the bottle of apple juice.

"You two have been walking your entire lives. Yes, every now and then you run a mile or two. You do extraordinary things. But I'm trying to build you up to running all the time. It's a form of exercise. Carter, how many miles did you start out with when you were trying to get ready to bring him back?"

I took my mouth away from the bottle to admit, "I had to learn to walk a mile in under fifteen minutes before I could run one."

"Exactly. Now the two of you see why I'm making you exercise. By the time we're done, you'll be able to look at Isaac and Scott and determine what they're thinking at a glance. But, for now, the two of you can't even tell what Stiles is thinking all of the time. The two of you will be doing flashcards and chemical memorization this week. Carter, eat something and sleep. The rest of you, clean the cages."

All three boys whined but moved to start cleaning. I took my hand behind me to move to the operating table and faltered. Isaac reached out and grabbed me. He smiled before sweeping me up princess style and carrying me to the operating table. He laid me down and stepped back. I looked up at Brian, who rolled his eyes and commanded, "Clean the cages. I'm going to get Carter something to eat."


	3. Chapter 3

"Guess who had her last day of detention today!" Carter raised her hands in the air and pointed down at herself with the usual perfect grin decorating her face.

"And guess how we're going to celebrate!" Lydia chimed in right behind her. Carter's grin faded quickly and she studied the other girl with suspicion in her eyes. I watched Carter read Lydia quickly and sigh. Brian chuckled and the rest of us waited. "We're going to have a slumber-study party!"

"You don't need help studying," Carter said quickly.

"No, I don't. And neither do you. But, you need girl-on-girl interaction and…"

"Isaac, Stiles, if either of you say what's written on your faces, I will personally break your arm," Brian warned through gritted teeth and I knew enough to blush and Isaac averted his eyes quickly.

"Ugh, perverts. Thank God for your brother, Carter."

Brian beamed at Lydia and, when she turned her attention back to Carter, turned to glare at us again. We were all resting around Carter and Brian's mustang after school. The two of them were waiting on Danny to get done inside so that they could go to his house for a movie marathon and we joined them on our way out of the school.

"Anyway, Carter, it's like I was saying. You need girl time. Have you ever even had a manicure?"

"No. Because I don't need one," she said flatly.

"Honey, if you think that, you clearly haven't seen your nails. Now, this Friday, you'll come over to my house. I've planned everything and I was even nice enough to give you two days to prepare yourself. You're welcome. Do you know what to bring to a slumber party?"

"I've been to sleepovers, Lydia." There wasn't one of us that wasn't listening with rapt attention to everything they were saying. Brian because he listened to everything Lydia said with rapt detail. Me because there were two girls that I'd kissed before and very much wanted to kiss again. Scott because he was interested in what Lydia had planned. And Isaac because he was just as much of a pervert as the rest of us, despite Allison keeping him on a short leash.

"Not one of mine," she snorted. "Now, Allison is coming over a little earlier than you but that's mostly because I've known her longer and like her better. She is my best friend after all and it's very important to spend time bonding. Isn't that right, Scott?"

"Huh? Oh yeah," he agreed quickly. "Stiles and I bond all the time. Isn't that right, Stiles?"

"Yeah. All the time."

"In fact," Scott continued, "we're going to have a get together too. Not a sleepover, you know, because guys don't have sleepovers. So, Brian, you're coming over, right?"

"What?" It was Carter's turn to smirk at her confused brother. Her smile read 'how's it feel.'

"Friday, you're coming over to game and stuff. We're probably going to have pizza and Stiles has a crazy gaming system. Actually, we should go over to Stiles house. You know, there's more room and, um…less breakable stuff." Scott smiled sheepishly at Isaac and Isaac grinned back. Those two were walking train wrecks. They couldn't spend ten minutes in a room without something getting scratched, dented, or broken.

"Umm…" Brian froze. Legitimately froze and looked terrified. Carter started giggling and our attention turned to her. Every giggle made her shoulders heave and her hair shift, falling around her face and down her adorable little sweater. Skin tight black looked good on her.

"All of you do realize that, chronologically, he's 22, right? He looks seventeen and his body is seventeen but it took me five years to bring him back. Mentally, he's 22 and dealing with the fact that he's a teenager and is hanging out with teenagers," Carter laughed outright and Brian reached out to push her gently, knocking her into me. She leaned there for a second before she bounced back up.

"Well physically you're a teenager so you're coming over to Stiles' house on Friday night to hang out," Scott ordered.

Carter snorted again and I wondered how I would be able to keep my thoughts off of her for hours around her brother. How I'd be able to not connect the two of them and everything I thought about Carter. Brian sighed, "I'm going to spend my night with three guys who think my sister's hot. Two have crazy crushes on other girls and one that's made out with her. Can we at least invite Danny?"

"We try to keep Danny out of the supernatural part of our lives," Scott rejected quickly and I nodded.

"Keeps him safe a little longer," I spoke up.

"You made out with Carter!?" Lydia shrieked. "Oh my god, girl, there is definitely going to be some gossip while we're getting manicures because you are not telling me that we've both made out with Stiles and I'm just now hearing about this. This is too great. If you made out with Scott, you and Allison would have something to talk about too!"

"I'm not making out with Scott. Or anyone else for a while. So let's just drop that right now. Let's just completely remove that option from the table," Carter said quickly. "Instead, let's not even talk about kissing people."

"Well, that's because you've only kissed one boy and it was Stiles."

"Hey!"

"Don't act surprised. Okay, everybody shut up. Here comes Danny. Carter, your invitation should have arrived in the mail today. I'll see you on Friday." With that, Lydia spun on her heel and walked away, her long red hair whooshing behind her and her car keys glinting in the light as they dangled from her perfect fingers.

Carter sighed, "Bri, I'm going to be in Hell."

"Shut up."

"The two of you are so friendly," I said sarcastically.

"That's what we're good at," Carter snarked back. "See you guys Friday."

Friday came around and Isaac, Scott, and I sat in the living room of my house. Isaac and Scott were contemplating whether Brian would show up or not. I said, for the tenth time, "He's going to be here. Morgan found Carter's invitation in the mail and is making her go to Lydia's sleepover so Carter told Morgan that Brian got invited to one too and he'll be here."

"What makes them so special that they have to be made hang out with us?" Isaac demanded. "We're trying to be friendly and every time we turn around, they're hostile. They're just gracing us with their presence whenever they show up."

"Basically, yes they are," I agreed. "But they're not assholes. I've told you a hundred times. They're just getting used to everything still. Five years of basic isolation."

"They've been here since August, Stiles. It's September. They need to get it together."

"You are an idiot, Isaac. And Brian should be hear any minute so try to be nice. Try to be accepting and try not to think about his sister," I scolded.

"He's here," Scott corrected. "The Mustang just pulled up."

A few seconds later, there was a loud knock on the door and I called out, "Come in!"

Brian opened the door and came in carrying a duffel bag and a Tupperware bowl. He stood in the doorway, looking in on us and explained, "Mom was originally going to send carrot sticks but Carter refused to let that happen. So instead there's nacho dip in here. It's actually pretty good."

"Carter can cook?" I questioned. "Every time I've been over at your house, the most she does in the kitchen is chop vegetables."

"She can cook, but she hates to cook," Brian replied. "And, generally, making Carter do things she doesn't want to do is a bad idea. But, she did really well this time."

"Did she go to Lydia's sleepover?" Scott asked.

"Yep. I dropped her off before I came over here and I'm going to pick her up in the morning when I leave here. Um…where should I put this stuff?"

"Dip in here, duffel bag upstairs. First room on the right," I commanded. "I've almost got everything set up in here. Are you ready for a night of junk food, violence, and time completely alone with guys?"

"Well, it's been about six years since I had a night with the guys, so yeah. I'm due for one." He gave us half a smile and took his stuff upstairs.

Half an hour later, Brian was sprawled across the floor with a bag of chips in front of him, a headset on his head, and a controller in his hand. Isaac was sitting in the recliner, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. Scott and I were on the couch, mimicking Isaac's position. Brian and I were killing Scott and Isaac at every game we played. We tag teamed them. Scott commented, "You're surprisingly good at this for somebody who was dead for five years."

"Five years isn't really that long," Brian retorted. "Also, can you guys maybe throw the 'dead for five years thing' around a little less? It won't be a good thing if the wrong people find out about that."

"The wrong people?" Scott questioned, taking his eyes away from the screen long enough for my character to slay his.

"Other types like me. Readers, builders, emissaries, shifters, law-keepers, elementals, you know, stuff like that," Brian said casually.

"Don't act like you think we know any of what those things are," I snapped. "We tell you things. We keep you and Carter pretty well in the loop. Your turn."

"You know what emissaries are. People like Deaton are our people. The 'magic' that we have comes from all over the world, all kinds of traditions. Shifters change shape. Only the really old, really good ones can completely change shape. They're mostly gone. The younger ones, just change the air around them. They change people's perceptions of them. Elementals twist the elements. Those gifts are pretty specific. Women generally get earth and fire, men get air and water. It's weird but it works. Law-makers, they're our kind's police. A council of sorts. It's not really very organized. And it's not a fucking witch council that you see on TV, so don't ask. They just keep us from doing really awful things."

We all stared in shock at him. It was the most we'd ever heard either of the siblings say about their 'kind' in the month we'd known them. Isaac was the first one to talk. He asked, "And bringing you back to life..?"

"Yeah, it counts as doing something we weren't supposed to do. You're not supposed to fuck with the balance in life and death. It doesn't have major repercussions or anything but you're basically asking somebody to give up their life so that the balance can be messed up. It's a big no-no." Brian lay down his controller and sat up.

"What happens if you get caught? What happens if the law-makers find out?" Scott demanded.

"And, by the way, you're 'kind' really should pick better names for themselves. Really, you just call yourselves whatever you can do. Seriously?" I retorted.

"Look, we've been doing it for centuries, there are nicer ways to do it but this boils it down. We age, we define our powers, and this is an overall way to do it."

"What happens if the lawmakers find out that Carter and your Mom brought you back to life?" I repeated Scott's question.

"Well, they can't kill me. It would destroy Carter. And they won't hurt Carter because she was a kid when she brought me back. They'd take Mom."

"What would they do to Morgan, if they caught her?" I demanded.

"Let's just say they wouldn't kill her and leave it at that," Brian said stiffly.

We all fell silent for a minute and stared at Brian. The shadow that crossed over his face was terrifying. Isaac had lost both of his parents, I lost my mom, and Scott's dad was basically lost. But whatever would happen to Morgan if she were found out was unspeakable to them.

"Both of my parents are dead," Isaac was the one to break the silence once again. "Mom died in an accident. Dad got killed by the kanima, their friend Jackson. I don't have any family to worry about if I make stupid mistakes."

"You don't believe that," Brian said bluntly. "You've got Scott and his mom and Allison and all of these people. You have people, Isaac. I've seen true loneliness, and you're doing pretty well for an orphan."

"I wonder if the girls' sleepover is going any better?" I wondered aloud.

Brian snorted and replied, "With Carter there, I highly doubt it."


	4. Chapter 4

"So, I told him that he could be a merman for all I cared. If I wanted to take a ride on a yacht, I'd steal one!" Lydia and I giggled at Allison's story. I actually giggled. Of course, that could have been because of the fruity little wine coolers Lydia pulled out during our manicure. I'd had three and I was feeling light as air.

"Do you think mermaids are real?" Lydia asked. She was laying on her bed with her head at the top and Allison next to her with her head at the bottom. I was sprawled across the shaggy pink rug.

"There's no way they could be," Allison protested. "We would have found them by now."

"You've never found the rock elves, and they live in every country in the world," I pointed out. "Fuck up roads a lot if they're not looked after too."

"You know about elves made of rock, but you didn't know about werewolves?" Lydia questioned.

"I didn't have a lot of experience in the supernatural," I explained. "We're exposed to what our parents do first. Mom's a reader, item and people specialized. So she would have old stuff sent to her, study it, and she'd send it back. Between five and ten, we get to go to grand meetings. We're not actually allowed in the meeting but we stay with a few adults who have activities and stories for us. At eleven, we can attend meetings. Sixteen, they start our training for specialization. Training finishes at 22, we're up for council at 33, and we retire at 77. I only ever made it to one actual meeting."

There was a long pause and then Lydia asked, "How do you sound so clear when you're so clearly drunk? You're so much more talkative but you didn't slur one time!"

"I'm not drunk!" I protested.

"You're definitely not sober," Allison snorted. "Have you ever drank before?"

"Yes!" I regularly drank ritual wine.

"For fun?" Lydia demanded.

"No," I admitted. Allison laughed and it felt funny instead of mean so I laughed too.

"Now that you're properly hammered," Lydia stated, "let's hear you talk about boys now!"

"I'm not that drunk, Lydia!"

"Then drink the wine cooler sitting near your head," Allison commanded, "because even I'm interested in how you made out with Stiles when you were supposed to be on a date with Greenberg."

Lydia agreed. "If Scott and Isaac know anything, they're not talking. So you should."

I grunted, reached up, and grabbed the bottle above my head. I took a long pull from it and pointed out, "You're a lot nicer when I'm drunk."

"**You're** a lot nicer when you're drunk," Allison retorted. "Seriously, most of the time, you act like you're pissed at us for being around you."

"It's because she's uncomfortable," Lydia defended. "Stiles has told you that."

"It's true," I sighed honestly. "I'm literally uncomfortable around you people all the time."

"Maybe stop calling us 'you people,'" Lydia suggested. "And start relaxing. You act like it's such a bad thing that we know about Brian being a zombie. What are we going to do? Tell on you?"

I stared at the girls on the bed and, even through my hazy, tipsy brain, I knew to keep my mouth shut. But it didn't matter anyway because Allison sat up quickly and exclaimed, "Oh my god! You have laws, don't you? Like the Hunters do! And you're mentioned that you weren't supposed to bring Brian back. I thought it was breaking natural laws but it isn't, is it? Your family broke a real law, didn't you?"

I just stared at her. She continued, "You did! You broke very real laws. The Hunters kill people for breaking our laws. What do your kind do to punish? What are your people called?"

"Come on," Lydia encouraged when I just stared blankly. "We won't even tell the boys that you told us."

For the first time since I started drinking, I read their faces. Sloppily, since the symbols were literally sliding across their faces, but I could still see the trust and honesty that were moving throughout. Finally, I said slowly, "We call ourselves Natural Scientists. Witches is an annoying, outdated term. Our gifts aren't magic. Nothing comes from nothing. We see and command atoms and molecules."

"So potentially, your kind could do anything. You could rearrange the atoms in my body to turn my blood to iron," Lydia interrupted.

"Potentially, but nobody does because we're not violent. Everything is balanced for us. Like in chemicals. Like in nature. We want balance. Plus, only the older ones focused their gifts in human biology. It's not taught anymore. The information hasn't been passed on. When the older ones are closer to their end, they'll pick a handful of elementals, readers, and builders, and they'll teach them so that it won't be forgotten. They'll be taught separate so none of them pair and feed off one another. It's a specific job."

"What do you do though? You mention them in pairs. Builders and readers. But you're both. Are there others like you?"

"Not that I've heard of. I was an anomaly within the community. They assumed it would fade with age and, as far as they know, it has. If they knew I could still do both, my mother and I would be pulled under watch."

"Why?"

"Because Natural Scientists aren't meant to do more than one thing. Readers interpret the situation; builders change it. Water elementals alter water, fire-fire, air-wind, earth-stone. We have to know the material to change it. So, if builders want something to be changed, they have to have a reader tell them how. If readers want something changed, they have to find a builder. It's a check system. It's what stops us from turning trees to flowers, burning water…"

"Bringing back the dead," Allison said in awe and I nodded. "You're supposed to have somebody to stop you from doing whatever you want, and you don't."

I nodded again. Lydia said, "So who takes care of it."

"The lawmakers. Ten per continent. A mix of the gifts. Not a perfect blend but a standard of our kind. Every citizen across the world knows them. There are so few of us, basically little family groups. Once we were hunted, now we're barely there. The lawmakers travel, greeting babies, assigning trainers if one hasn't been provided, running meetings, and making sure we do three things: teach, remain peaceful, and keep the balance."

"And you broke the balance."

'No, I didn't. Brian's life force is on the other side of the rift. The overall balance is kept. But, in their eyes, I've still done wrong. But I'm underage. I won't be held accountable. My mom will."

"They'll kill her?" I could tell Allison was thinking of her mom and her mom's death.

"Worse. They'll wipe her mind, leaving her with only her ability to read."

"And?" Lydia prompted.

"And a reader who is only left with their gift can only use it in one way- playback. She'd be an empty shell repeating the thoughts of anyone near her. Over and over and over." I suddenly felt very sober and I lifted to bottle to my lips to drain the remaining alcohol.

"Carter, you don't know us, and you don't trust us, but we will never tell anyone," Allison promised. "Nobody will ever find out and we'll help you keep them away if they do find out. And I know Isaac and Scott will help too."

"Thank you. And Brian and I will be kinder. Less aggressive towards you. It's been a long time since I had friends and it'll be nice to have more than Danny and Stiles." I smiled softly.

"Now that we're all friends, tell us what happened with Stiles," Lydia broke the solemnness of the moment. "I mean, we could wait until you've drank more but tell us!"


	5. Chapter 5

****Hey, guys. Sorry for the spotty updates. I've been super busy this summer. Though, I'm not one hundred percent sure people are liking it because I haven't gotten any feedback. Any of you who have read several of my stories know that I love feedback. I'm just putting that out there. Thanks for reading!****

"And the cat just attacked me!" I walked over to Carter, Scott, Allison, Brian, and Danny just as Danny threw his arms up in irritation.

"What happened?" I asked.

Danny raised his shirt to reveal angry looking welts across his torso. "I tried to save a cat and it attacked me."

"Pussy's never good to you, is it, Danny?" I teased at the same time as Carter asked, "Do you just never wear shirts?"

"Shut up. Both of you, just shut up."

Carter laughed and turned to face me. As soon as she did, the smile slid off her face and her eyes started dancing. Left to right. Left to right. Scott, Isaac, and Brian sensed her change and looked over as well. Scott asked, "Dude, how much sleep did you get last night?"

"Not a lot," I answered casually. "It was a weird night."

Carter looked over her shoulder at Danny and then whispered, "Is it nightmares again?"

"No, just couldn't sleep," I assured her. The bell rang overhead and everybody turned to go but Carter's tiny hand caught my wrist quickly, yanking me back to her. When she stopped, Brian and Scott stopped too but she waved them ahead.

"We'll catch up. Don't worry about it," she assured them. "I just need to talk to Stiles for a minute."

"Text me if you don't make it to first period," Brian commanded. "I'll forge a note for you."

She nodded at him and Scott ordered, "Let me know if you need anything."

"I will," I promised. They turned and walked away and I looked down at Carter, who was staring up at me.

"How much sleep have you been getting?" She reached up to grab my face so she could hold my eyes on her, not that I could take them away from her when she was almost pressed against the front of my body, standing up on her toes so she could get a closer look at my face.

"A few hours a night. Sometimes as many as four. What are you doing, Carter?"

"Have you been having the nightmares and the problems again?"

"Nope. Carter, what are you looking for?"

"An open door. And there isn't one. When a rift is open, there's a light that shines through. It makes its presence known."

"Carter, we shut the door. I just haven't been able to sleep. It's not anything supernatural," I assured her. "I'm just not sleeping."

She slowly released my face and her hands slid down my chest to rest on my pecs. She watched my face carefully as her fingers rested over my t shirt. She said slowly, "Stiles, your heartbeat's irregular."

"Ummm….Carter…that probably has more to do with the fact that you keep touching me. You realize that, right? That you're kind of…ummm….caressing me."

"I know," she replied, "and it's going to get even weirder. Because we're going to go to your house and I'm going to help you sleep."

"You can do that?"

"Stiles, I can stop panic attacks and nightmares. Of course I can help you sleep. It's just not as elegant as it would be if I'd had more training, but I can do it."

"What do you have to do?" It didn't escape me that she was still pressed against me with her hands on my chest.

"Make a physical contact bond with you and let you fall asleep with me. Basically, I have to tie you to me and then drag you with me into sleep."

"Fun. Does Brian have the keys to your car?"

"Yep. I'll send him a text in the jeep. Come on, tall, dark, and insomniac." She stepped back and slipped her hand to me and I wandered, as I did a lot, whether she knew what she did to me and purposefully led me on, or if she truly didn't think about her actions. Sometimes, when she reached out and touched my shoulder in comfort, or tousled my hair, or stood too close to me, I thought she had to know. She had to freaking read it on my face that it was driving me crazy. That the smell of her shampoo and the way she chewed on her lip when she was concentrating on her locker combination drove me crazy. But then, she'd grin the same way at Scott and Danny and Isaac and I'd lose hope again. She'd stand too close to them and tousle their hair and laugh at Isaac's stupid jokes and smack Scott whenever he accidentally hit her with the door at the vet's office. She was absolutely, perfectly confusing.

She pulled me to the jeep and, on the way to my house, she propped her tiny feet up on the dashboard and texted Brian to cover for her. Her little fingernails tapped the screen and I couldn't help but look over at the way the red glinted in the sun. The manicure was already chipped between Friday and Tuesday but it matched her. It matched the way she always looked like a mix between feminine and rushed. Fragile and tough. At my house, she followed me in and dropped her backpack on the couch. I stopped in the doorway to stare at her, considering the fact that I was skipping school so that I could sleep with Carter Erickson. She peeked over her shoulder at me and ordered, "Come on. Unless you want to sleep on the couch?"

"The bed is fine." She walked up the stairs and I followed her like a little puppy, playing with my keys the entire time, twisting them over and over again in my hands. She got up to the room and slid her shoes off and started taking her earrings out. She glanced over at me and ordered, "Get comfortable, Stiles. Unless you feel like getting your first full amount of sleep in a pair of Converse."

I kicked off my shoes quickly and asked, "How comfortable?"

"How do you normally sleep?"

"Boxers," I answered honestly. She looked up at me again with a blush across her cheeks and I was glad I wasn't the only uncomfortable person.

"Well," she said after a long second of silence, "get comfortable then. It's important that you're comfortable."

"Shouldn't you be comfortable too then?" I pointed out.

"I'm way ahead of you. I'm about to steal a pair of your shorts and a t shirt. I just wanted to tell you what you have to do before I go to the bathroom to change."

"Oh. Okay. Second drawer of my dresser then."

She nodded and grabbed a pair of shorts and a t shirt out of my dresser. While she was in the bathroom, I stripped out of my jeans and socks. It felt weird to wear socks when I was in my boxers. Then it felt weird to not wear socks when I'd be sleeping in the same bed as Carter. Again. So I put them back on. And I realized that she would know if I wasn't comfortable. So I took them off again and sat on the bed. I ran my fingers through my hair again and again, trying to calm myself down so when she came into the room she wouldn't realize I was freaking out. It seemed like forever before she finally made her way back into the room with her hair braided down her back and wearing my clothes. She climbed onto the bed and moved behind me. I twisted my head to see her and she murmured, "Don't move. This is going to feel really weird. I know you're already really uncomfortable, but it's going to get weirder. I don't already have a physical bond with you, so I have to build one."

"What? Did you do this with Brian before too?"

"Yeah, but our bond was built because we share a life force. To make him sleep, I only have to have physical contact with him and tell him to sleep. So I can literally hold his hand and tell him to sleep. But I don't have a bond with you, so it's going to feel like I'm basically just touching the fuck out of you. Okay?"

"Okay," I agreed. With that, she rested her hands on my shoulders and smoothed her palms over them slowly. From where my neck met my shoulder, down to my biceps, and back up again. She kind of released a low, sweet hum while she did it. Not really musical, but soft and quiet. Background noise. Like a wave machine. I rolled my head back as she did it. She slowly moved higher, back up my shoulders, halfway up my neck, and then back down again.

"Relax, Stiles," she said it so soft and quiet, I almost missed it among the humming. It was like she'd never stopped humming. "Shh, sweetheart. Shh."

Her hands traveled higher on my neck. Up to my ears, which she caressed slowly before sliding back down. I groaned, "Carter…"

"Shh, Stiles. Shh." The humming never stopped. I didn't understand how she could hum and talk at the same time. Her hands slid up into my hair and she massaged my scalp. Up and down, back and forth. Humming and murmuring soft things into me. Slowly, after her hands had worked their way to the very top of my head, she worked her way down to my collar bones and then further down to my chest, until she was draped around me. Until she was hugging me from behind, her little chin pressed into my shoulder and the humming vibrating through me. I was relaxing into her, falling back into her arms. As I relaxed, she scooted us backwards together. I may have helped her a little, but mostly she dragged me.

"Carter…" It was more of a slurred mumble than a word. Concrete slabs were tied to my eyelashes. I could not lift my eyes.

"Shh, Stiles. I'm here. Go to sleep. Go to sleep."

"You'll still be here?"

"As long as you need me." Her promise was a whisper and I was on my side with her body pressed against my back again. Her arms were wrapped around me and her hands were still smoothing circles on my chest. It took too much effort to reach up and grab one but I did it. I caught her tiny hand in mine and opened it with my thumb. I raised it to my mouth and pressed a kiss to her palm.

"I'm not sure, but I think I might always need you."

"Then I'll have to always be here." Those were her last words before I couldn't hear anymore or think anymore and I just fell backwards into unconsciousness.


	6. Chapter 6

I woke up again to my dad in the doorway and Carter not pressed against my back that time. I was folded around her with my leg pressed between hers and her hands wrapped around mine. Dad's eyebrows were up near his hairline and he asked, "Shouldn't you be in school? And shouldn't she be in school? And shouldn't you be wearing pants?"

"What time is it?" I raised myself up on my elbow and ran my hand over my face. Carter wriggled in front of me and I scooted my hips away from her quickly.

"Two thirty. You still have fifteen minutes of school left. Have you been here all day?"

I looked up to find the usual resigned and exhausted look on his face. I said quickly, "Look, Dad, it's not like what you think. I wish it was. And, let's be honest, you wish it was too. But it's not. She's here because I didn't get a lot of sleep and she can make people sleep."

"What?"

"Long story. Don't worry," I assured him. "She can't do it to everybody. She has to forge a physical bond with them first and….that sounded really bad, didn't it?"

"Yep. So, no sex, right?"

"No sex, Dad," I promised.

"And her mom doesn't mind that she's here?"

"Brian covered it for her."

"And you're not failing any classes yet?"

"Not yet."

"Don't make a habit of this. For Christ's sake, don't make a habit of this. And I'm serious. I'm buying you condoms. Have her stay for dinner when she wakes up. I'll order us takeout."

"Are you off work already?"

"I came home for a few minutes because I got a call from the school saying my son never showed up today. Should I just have them tell me when your absences line up with hers and Scott's so that I have an idea of where you are?"

"And Lydia's," I pointed out. "If you're going to do that, include Lydia."

"Stiles, go back to sleep. I'll see you for dinner." He rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him when he left. I looked down at Carter and stopped for a second to watch the way her eyelashes cast a shadow across her cheek. I laid my head back down onto the pillow and wrapped my arm back around her waist. In her sleep, she sought out my hand again and grasped it tight in her own. Within seconds, I was asleep again.

When I woke up later, it was because Carter's phone was ringing. She reached up without opening her eyes, grasping around on the night table until she found it and pulled it down to her ear. She mumbled, "Hello….no, Mom, I missed school today….sleeping with Stiles….Yeah, he's okay….Just hasn't been getting a lot of sleep….Nah, the door's closed. I can't see it anymore….Tell Deaton I am practicing. I **built** a connection between me and Stiles so I could make him sleep….Roughly eight hours….No, I feel nice and warm….Okay…I'll be home by ten…Love you too….Yeah, Bri's getting my homework….Love you too."

With that, she hung up and reached up to put the phone back on the table, all without opening her eyes. I asked, "Everything alright?"

"Yep." She yawned and wrinkled her nose before asking, "What about you? How are you feeling?"

"I feel like I just got eight hours of the best sleep I've ever gotten in my life," I admitted. "No nightmares. No waking up. No tossing and turning. Just sleep."

"Good." She rolled onto her back and opened her big, bright eyes. She smiled up at me. "I'm glad I could help."

"I'm glad you offered to help."

"It goes without saying that I would. You, Stiles Stilinski, are my best friend." She reached up and poked my nose gently. "And, a wonderful cuddler."

"This is the second time this has happened, Carter. People are going to get curious."

"People are already curious. You got me out of training today. What do you want to do as a celebration?"

"Dad's ordering Chinese in a little bit. We can get Scott and Brian to bring homework by later. So, we can do whatever you want until then."

She wriggled around on the bed and stretched, lifting her arms above her head and kicking her legs out. My hand rested heavy on her hip and I asked, "Carter, do you ever realize how much of an affect you have on other people?"

"Like you and Isaac?" she replied.

"Yep. Like me and Isaac."

"Sometimes. You're getting better at not showing it. Does it bother you? That I know? Because I don't do it on purpose, Stiles. I'm not the type of person to flaunt in front of you so I can keep you on some hook. I'm working on figuring everything out and the only thing I know right now is that I am attracted to you and that I want you to be okay."

"You're not exactly the malicious type, Carter." I stared down at her and her face was solemn and calm. So I leaned down and pressed a little kiss to her forehead.

"I'm not some crazy drama show teenager," she assured me. "I don't get my kicks from leading guys on. I don't get my kicks from kissing guys that I like, just to tell them I don't want to be with them."

"What do you get from kissing guys that you like but don't want to be with?"

"I don't know," she replied. "You're the only guy I've ever kissed."

"Well…a famous saying is 'The only way out is through,' so…." I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers. The cuddling, the flirting, the teasing, I just wanted to see what would happen. And, for a second, her eyes stayed open, studying mine. Then, she lowered them and her hands came up to thread through my hair. I kissed her for a minute and then pulled away slowly to find her smiling at me.

"You are not supposed to do that," she scolded half-heartedly.

"You're not supposed to skip school," I retorted. "But it's part of the normal teenage experience. So we're being normal teenagers."

She laughed and asked, "What are you going to do when I can't make you any promises about who I am?"

"I'm going to wait until I can catch you vulnerable and do this again. And I'm going to give you time to figure out where you are as a person. I'm really good at waiting."

"You don't have to wait for me."

"I know I don't. But I'm going to." I lowered my lips back down to hers and kissed her again.


	7. Chapter 7

The phone was taking forever to ring. It was like she did it on purpose. My heartbeat like crazy and my stomach twisted until the phone finally picked up on the other end and I heard, "Yeah, what's up?"

"Lydia, I need advice." I took a deep breath and continued, "Girl advice. I need advice from another girl."

"Oh my God, Carter! I'll be there in fifteen minutes. You're at home, right? Your shift at the shelter is done?"

"Yep. I'm at home."

"Perfect. Tell your mom I'm spending the night at your house. Do you have a place for me to sleep?"

"The couch downstairs folds into a bed or you can sleep in my bed. I mean, it's pretty big."

"Whatever, that will work." Without another warning, she hung up on me and I stared down at the phone to double check that she hung up on me. She had.

"Brian!" I yelled. I knew he was in his room down the hall and, within a minute, he walked in.

"What's up, slacker?" he asked with half of a smile on his face. I rolled my eyes. To make up for missing training the day before, Deaton made me stand on my head and identify facial features of Isaac, who was also standing on his head.

"Oh shut up. I just wanted to warn you that Lydia is coming over. And she's going to spend the night."

"You're going to have a sleepover!? With somebody who isn't Stiles?" Brian grinned.

"Yes, I'm going to have a sleepover. And I need to tell Mom and I need you to back me up and get Mom not to be….well…not to be Mom like we love her." It wasn't that my mom was embarrassing. She was beautiful and the most amazing mother any person could ever have. But, she had the never-ending tendency to make people uncomfortable.

"Lydia is going to come here? And spend the night?"

"Yes. She will be. So you may flirt with her at dinner and while I'm in the shower. But I have to talk to her about something really important. So no flirting with her when I'm trying to do that. Those are the terms. Agree?"

"Agree. Come on. We'll tell Mom together."

I climbed off of my bed and followed him down the hall to Mom's study where she was diligently bent over her homework. We stood in the doorway and waited patiently for Mom to look up. It didn't take long for her to realize we were there and mumble, "What do you need, darlings?"

"Mom, I have a friend coming over to spend the night," I announced. "Her name is Lydia and she's normal. Well, she's kind of normal. She's a banshee. But she acts normal."

"Unlike Stiles," Brian added. "And Isaac. And Scott. She's more like Danny."

"Oh good. I like Danny. What should I cook for dinner?" Brian and I glanced at each other, both surprised at Mom's calmness.

"Just maybe some chicken and broccoli."

"Okay, babydoll. So when did your brother meet her and fall in love with her?"

"I'm not in love with her, Mom! Don't bring that up!" Brian exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah. Crushes, crushes. Just like the little thing Stiles and Carter have going on. My babies are growing up." At that, she turned away from her homework and grinned at us.

"Mom," we whined together, "don't do that."

"Can't I be proud of the two of you? Look at you! Just look at the two of you! You're both in specialization training and you have your little crushes and you're finishing up high school!"

"Mom, chronologically, I'm 22," Brian protested. "I've had crushes. I should be finishing my specialization training and college!"

"But you got frozen in time, baby-boy. You got stuck at sixteen and now you're seventeen. You missed all that growing up so you're doing it now. And I get to see it all!" Mom grinned at us and we couldn't help but smile back, even though we were both exasperated.

"Mom, just don't mention our crushes to Lydia, okay?" Brian suggested.

"Fine. Any other topics out-of-bounds, honey?"

"Sex, sexual experiences, Jackson the kanima, Aiden and Ethan the werewolves, Peter the werewolf, and generally losing her mind," I listed off.

Mom gave a disgruntled sigh and said, "What can I talk to her about then?"

"Grades, Mom. Grades, plans for college, her clothes, her nails, her hair," I informed her.

"Boring, but fine, honey bunny. Anything for you. Dinner at seven?"

"Dinner at seven," Brian and I repeated.

"Good. Now get out of here and get to work. Bring Lydia up when she gets here and, when you gossip about Stiles, close the door tight so we won't be tempted to listen in, baby-girl."

Brian and I sighed and walked back down the hall. At my room, Brian demanded, "What happened with Stiles?"

"Use it as extra practice and, like Deaton would say, read it!"

"I just figure it would be easier for you to tell me, since I can get it out of him in minutes."

"Then you'll have to get it out of him," I taunted. "Now shoo or I'm going to put you to sleep."

I stepped out of the range of his swatting hand and slammed my door in his face. He teased through the door, "I'll find out, bug eyes."

"Go away, baby hands." I collapsed on my bed and closed my eyes. When I thought about it hard enough, I could almost feel Stiles' lips on mine again. I could see the way his puppy dog brown eyes stared back into mine and smell his laundry detergent, with just a hint of some cheap cologne. We made out for an hour the day before, just laying on his bed with my fingers tracing circles on his neck and the pad of his thumb stroking my hip bone, laying just under the shirt I was wearing. It was innocent. I didn't know much past what I'd read in cheap romance novels and heard about in the media. Granted, Mom bought me a very special birthday present for my fifteenth birthday, a very small, X rated gift in case I got any 'teenage urges.' But I rarely got 'teenage urges.' However, after a few hours of making out with Stiles, those teenage urges seemed like more a reality.

My phone rang loudly, jolting me out of reminiscing. I grabbed it quickly and answered Lydia's call. She greeted me with, "I'm in your driveway. Come help me get my bags."

"Bags?" She'd already hung up.

I walked downstairs and helped her unload the duffel bag and the makeup bag from her tiny car. She carried her bag of blankets. I asked, "Why do you have so much stuff? You're spending a night, not a week."

"Because I need all of this. Don't whine. We both know you're way stronger than I am. It won't hurt you to carry this."

"You do realize that stronger than you means more able to kick your ass," I pointed out.

"Eh. Allison is the same but that doesn't mean she wins any fights against me. Come on."

"Are you actually excited to give me advice?" I led her into the house and up the stairs.

"When am I not excited to tell people what to do? And, of course, it makes it twice as nice that it's you. I happen to know that you especially hate being told what to do, so it's even sweeter."

"Great, you're going to be just as helpful as Danny was." I led her into my bedroom and shut the door behind us.

"You called Danny before you called me?"

"Of course I called Danny before I called you. And he just told me that Stiles and I need to make my own decisions because it's only up to us."

"That's because boys, even the gay ones, are useless with advice. What colors of nail polish do you have?" She flounced over to my beanbag chair and flopped down in it. "Come on. We can talk while we do our nails."

I retrieved my nail polish kit from my dresser. She searched through it for a moment and I observed her in silence. She sighed, "Talk, Carter."

"You know, people who don't know you probably think you're a cold bitch."

"People who do know me think I'm a cold bitch. What happened with you and Stiles?"

"We made out for like two hours on his bed yesterday when we skipped school," I said it quickly, so that I couldn't think about any repercussions of telling her.

"Oh! Now there's some gossip. What happened? Did it have something to do with him not sleeping?"

"Yeah, actually it did. He hasn't been sleeping very well so I went over to his house so that I could help him sleep. Builder thing. We slept for a few hours and, when we woke up, he kissed me. And I kissed him back. A lot."

"And….?" She prompted.

"That's it. We just made out for a few hours. But I feel awful because I keep telling him that I'm not ready to commit to him but I made out with him! I feel like I'm leading him on."

"Did you tell him you can't commit to him?"

"Well, yeah. I don't want him believing we're dating when we're not. I told him that I'm attracted to him but I'm still trying to figure out what I feel for him. So he agreed that it's okay and he even joked that he'll just have to catch me the next time I'm vulnerable."

"Vulnerable?" Lydia repeated.

"I'd just woken up from sleeping. And I was still half asleep and he kissed me. So he joked that I was vulnerable, being half asleep."

"Wait, you were both sleeping. Same bed?"

"Yeah, same bed."

"And you're saying you just kissed?"

"Yes! We just kissed! And cuddled. But we just kissed. That was as far as we went."

"Wait," Lydia stopped me, "you just made out with Stiles for two hours. Nothing else?"

"Nope."

"Dry humping?"

"Not at all."

"Oh my god, you prude! Hours of just kissing? How in the hell could two people spend two hours just kissing? Look at you! And Stiles didn't try anything on you?"

"Nope."

She rolled her eyes and selected a deep red from the inside of my nail polish box before digging out a bottle of nail polish remover. "So what advice do you want?"

"Should I keep making out with Stiles at random without actually dating him? Is it leading him on? What happens if I date him but I'm not sure of my feelings for him and we break up? What happens if he can't be my friend anymore because I'm not sure about what I feel about him and we date and we break up? What happens if…"

"Oh my god, be quiet for a second," Lydia interrupted. "Okay. First thing's first. Do you like making out with Stiles?"

"Well, duh," I replied. "I did it for two hours. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't like it."

"Okay. Do you like spending time with him?"

"Yeah, he's like my best friend."

"And, last but not least, have you ever kissed anybody else?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You haven't ever kissed anybody else. So, my answer is no. Don't date Stiles. You're right when you say you need to figure yourself out before you can decide if you want to date him or not."

"What about making out with him?"

"Well, if it's fun and you know that you're not hurting him, keep making out with him. But, listen to me very closely, Carter," her voice was suddenly very solemn, very unlike Lydia, "do not hurt Stiles. Stiles is so weird that he makes it an art form, and he jokes about everything, but he has a heart of gold. He cares about people so much that it hurts him all the time."

"I know he has a big heart."

"It's not just a big heart, Carter. It's a loyal heart. Stiles has had a thing for me since elementary school and I have literally never showed any more than minimal interest to him. Stiles doesn't just love, Carter. Stiles loves forever."

"Stiles isn't in love with me, Lydia. I recognize love. Brian and I both do. If I didn't see it, he would," I argued.

"I know. So make sure Stiles doesn't fall in love with you until you're ready to fall in love with him."

"Do you always try and make things sound so simple?"

"Things are so simple, Carter. You're just not experienced with all of this teenage stuff yet. What's kissing Stiles like?"

"You've kissed Stiles before, Lydia! You know what it's like!"

"I kissed Stiles for about six seconds. You kissed him for two hours. Now dish or I'll make up rumors anyway." She brought her leg up and nudged me with her foot. "Spill, now."

I rolled my eyes but, like always with Lydia, it was impossible to say no.


	8. Chapter 8

"She has to be that close to him?" I asked Brian.

"She's trying to read a number from just his eyes," Brian informed me. He didn't sound any happier than I did. Carter was sitting on the operating table in front of Isaac and he was standing between her legs with her hands flat on the table by her hips. He had her boxed in and she had her hands resting on his shoulders. She was staring into his eyes with a deep focus.

"Nine."

"Yep. That's two out of ten." She had to get eight out of ten before she was allowed to quit.

"They really have to be that close?" I asked.

"Apparently. Don't be jealous," Brian scolded.

"Don't be an overprotective big brother," I lectured in return.

Brian snorted and Deaton wandered in. He asked, "What are the two of you doing?"

"Making sure Isaac keeps his hands to himself!" Brian let his voice carry so that Isaac would look over.

"I can hear the two of you whether you shout or whisper," Isaac informed us drily. "And I'm keeping my hands to myself."

"And if he wasn't, I'd break his arm," Carter laughed. "He hasn't asked nicely."

"And if I asked nicely," Isaac flirted.

"I might still break your arm," she teased back.

Isaac laughed and bent closer to her again, letting her focus back on her face. Deaton ordered, "Stiles, if you insist on being here while Scott is wherever he is, you have two choices."

"Which are?" I asked.

"You can either help Brian take inventory, or Brian can practice reading on you. So decide whether you want to count medicines or have Brian find out some of your secrets."

I looked from Carter to Brian and announced, "We'll take stock in the back!"

"Behave yourselves," Carter ordered.

"Take careful notice of the cat medicines. They've been weird around here lately and we may get more cat owners."

We went back to the stock room so I could be trapped in a small room with the brother of a girl I spent two hours making out with. So I could be trapped in a small room with a guy who could read all my secrets and could tear my life apart.

"Really, Isaac? Now you're just being an asshole about it!" I was trying not to laugh at what he was thinking.

"Come on, Carter. You have to say it for all of us to know that you got it right!" he teased in return, his blue eyes lighting up. The more I worked with Isaac, the more I got to know him and got to see him, the more I could see past the shadow that usually marred his face. The more I could see his eyes and the way his entire face lit up when he laughed.

"Isaac…" I whined.

"Say it, Carter. Or I'll pick a new number and you'll have to start over."

"Ugh. Fine. Sixty nine, Isaac. The number you're thinking of is 69," I growled.

He giggled and I muttered, "You are a child."

He poked me in the side as the bell over the door jingled cheerily. I commented, "I didn't know Scott was coming today. I thought he was busy with homework and not failing classes still."

"He's not coming today. That's not Scott. I think it's a customer."

"Is Deaton out back?"

"Yep."

"Well scoot then, you big dork. I need to go get the door. Or you do. We actually do work here, Isaac." He stepped back and I hopped down off the counter. I called over my shoulder, "We're not done yet! I still have four more numbers. And try to pick numbers that aren't filthy!"

I walked into the main office and turned to face the customer. The woman had her back to me. She was staring out the window with a ramrod straight spine and platinum blonde hair pulled up in a tight ponytail. Tight black jeans and a black leather jacket. I sighed, hoping it wasn't another hunter or werewolf. They had a taste for the stereotypical badass image. I greeted, "Hello, miss. What can I help you with today?"

The girl turned around and I froze. The face staring at me was the face of a girl from my past and my past wasn't something I ever wanted to see. "Oh my God! Carter Donald! I haven't seen you since….well, since…"

"Since my brother died," I said solemnly. "What are you doing here, Steffi?"

"What are you doing here? Oh my god, everybody's wondering what happened to you! You and your mom just disappeared off the face of the earth after your brother died! What's going on?"

"Umm…well…specialization training!" I said quickly. "You know, I just turned sixteen so I'm starting my training."

"I started mine last year! I'm actually on my first solo trip. I'm specializing in care of non-sentient creatures. I'm following a small flock of fairies up from New Mexico. We got a call from Florida where they originally got loose. Do you remember Clarissa?"

"Yes, I do. Um…I'll just call for my boss."

"Oh, it'll be fine. My trainer told me to stop in here while I'm looking. That a man named Deaton can help me find them. But I have time. The only thing they do is bother cats and break small things. It's just an easy mission for me to practice my tracking.

"Anyway, Clarissa, that little idiot girl. You remember the one a couple years older than us? Well, she's doing the same thing as me down in Florida. There are only five of us in this specialty in North America. New York, Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, and Hawaii. Poor boy in Hawaii is overrun half the time. I'm surprised they didn't get him a partner. Anyway, Clarissa is an idiot and, apparently, they outsmarted her. Freaking fairies outsmarted her. Isn't that funny?"

"Yeah, I really should get my boss, Steffi. I mean, I'm in first year training and I don't know anything about fairies."

"Oh, I forgot to ask. That's pretty rude of me. What's your training? I heard you lost the building ability. Grew out of it."

"Umm…I'm in training to be an emissary. Deaton's an emissary."

"Werewolves! You work with werewolves! Wow. I don't think a single one of us envies you that. Did you hear about the emissary that was killed by her alpha?"

"Jenifer, yeah, I heard. I actually have a pack member here. Would you like to meet a real, live werewolf?"

"Really? Like, is it safe? I've heard so much about them. Male or female?"

"Male. He's completely safe. Let me go get him really quick. It'll just take me a second."

"Okay!" I slipped back into the back room where Isaac was sitting on the operating table reading a book. I rushed over to him and stood between his knees quickly.

"Isaac, I need you to do something for me," I hissed.

"Carter, what's wrong?"

"Isaac, there's somebody out there. Somebody from mine and Brian's past," I whispered frantically. "And Brian and Stiles are in the back room. I told her that I'm in training to be an emissary. She thinks I'm just a reader and she wants to meet a real live werewolf. I just need you to distract her for five minutes while I get Brian and Stiles out the back."

"What? But she's like you!" he hissed back, his eyebrows furrowing and his blue eyes narrowing. "She'll be able to tell when I'm lying. She'll know!"

"No, Isaac," I reached up and grasped his face in my hands securely. "No, she won't. Because she's been in training a year. She's specialized. When we specialize ourselves, our gift starts to narrow. She's been doing it for a year. It will be harder for her to read you than it is for me to read you. All you have to do is go in there and let her ask you questions about being wolfey. Which might mean wolfing out a little. Yell if you need me to intervene."

I turned to walk towards the storeroom and he snagged my hand to pull me back. He objected, "Carter…is this person dangerous?"

Fear. The werewolf was afraid of a tiny blonde girl like me. The abused werewolf was afraid of a girl like me. The abused boy was afraid of somebody with powers like mine.

"Isaac," I stepped closer to him again and brought my hands back up to his face. I stroked his cheekbones with the pads of my thumbs and promised the little abused boy, "I will not send you to somebody who is going to hurt you. I'm not going to let you get hurt because of me. Ever, okay?"

"I'll go talk to her."

"Thank you, Isaac. Thank you so, so much." I leaned forward and threw my arms around him tight. It was the first time I'd ever hugged one of the wolves. It was the first time I'd ever shown affection past common friendliness to one of them.

I let him go and he jumped down off the table while I went to the storeroom in the back. I slipped inside to find Brian glaring at Stiles and Stiles counting sheepishly. Brian turned and growled, "Carter, why in the world did you…"

"Now really isn't the time for this, Bri." He froze and read my face quickly.

"What's going on?"

"Do you remember Steffi?"

"Umm…Steffi?"

"From when we were younger. She was a year ahead of me and she had the biggest crush on you. The little blonde who had the weird obsession with insects."

"Oh! Yeah, Steffi. Oh fuck. You can't be telling me that…"

"She's out there. She's here in Beacon Hills and I need you to go. You and Stiles go out the back and to Stiles' house. I'm going to get rid of her. Do not come back to our house tonight. I'll be there as soon as I can. Go, though. God, just go, please."

"Carter, I can't leave you here with her," Brian protested.

"Bri, she's a non-sentient care-taker. She can't read people like we can. I can be safe as long as she doesn't see you. She cannot see you."

"I'll get him out of here," Stiles promised. "We'll stay at my house."

"Thank you. Thank you so much." I rushed across the small room and threw my arms around his neck. I pressed my face into his neck and murmured, "I will owe you to the ends of the earth and back."

"Careful making promises, Carter," he teased half-heartedly.

I let go of him and grabbed Brian next. I pulled him tight against me and ordered, "Go. I'll be fine. I'll see you at Stiles' house tonight."

"Be careful, okay? Just be careful."

"I will. I have Isaac with me."


	9. Chapter 9

I went back into the front office, where Steffi was walking circles around Isaac while he stood in his wolf form. She exclaimed, "Have you seen this, Carter? You're so lucky! Do you always get to see this? This is cool! You have the coolest boyfriend ever!"

"Boyfriend," I coughed. "I have the coolest boyfriend."

Isaac turned and gave me a sheepish grimace, which was even worse in his wolf form. Steffi continued, "Yeah, Isaac was just telling me you had to have a moment to fix yourself up in the bathroom and I teased him about it and he caved! I can't believe that wasn't the first thing you told me!"

"Yeah, um, it's kind of a recent thing. Not really that big of a deal. So how long are you in town?" I changed the subject.

"Just until I get the fairies rounded up and chased back down south. The capture's the hardest part. I don't figure I could convince you guys and your boss to give me a little help?"

"Yeah, we're just going to go out back and grab him," I excused us.

"Both of you?" she asked.

I took a deep breath and reminded myself that Steffi was losing the ability to read human faces. I made myself blush and replied, "I just need to steal him for a second. Promise, Steffi. I have to remind him why he's with me when a girl as pretty as you is around."

"Trust me, I'm not questioning it," Isaac replied sweetly as he shifted down into his usual form. I smiled tightly, grabbed his hand, and yanked him into the backroom.

"What the hell, Isaac?" I hissed.

"I panicked," he answered. "She was asking me where you were and I didn't have an answer. So I kind of hinted that we were making out and then she kind of looked like she thought you were a bad person so I told her that you are my girlfriend."

"I might have to kill you," I informed him. "We're going to have to be boyfriend and girlfriend until she's out of town, you understand that, right?"

"Well yeah but how long is she going to be in town?"

"Well that depends on how long it's going to take to capture all of those fairies."

"We can find them," he assured me. "You have two werewolves, a banshee, and some teenagers with weird abilities. We'll do great."

"Let's just get Deaton."

"Oh, you guys are just too great. Sam was right to send me here, Deaton. I bet he didn't even know that Carter would be here. Nobody knows where Carter disappeared to, you know."

"The Donalds took some time to themselves to recuperate after the death of her brother," Deaton spoke for me. "But, Steffi, we're working to read over these files."

We were all sitting around the main desk, reading over the recent cat problems, tracing the path of the fairies. Fairies pissed cats off. They made them go crazy. Isaac was sitting close to me with his arm wrapped around my waist and his head bent close to mine. I knew there was going to be a shitstorm later from Brian about my new pretend boyfriend but, at the moment, we were doing anything to keep Steffi focused on us, which, thankfully, she definitely was.

"So do you ever kiss him with the fangs and claws out?"

"Nope," I answered. "I definitely do not do that."

"Do you ever feel the urge to kiss her with fangs and claws out?"

"It's not what I usually have on my mind when that's going on," Isaac answered without looking away from the paper in front of us. "Look, the path leads from Danny's house, up into the hills, and then back down into town. What do these things eat?"

"They're adaptable," Steffi replied. "Mostly, trash. They've adapted over the years to eat what humans throw out. They prefer fast food."

"Well, there's a lot of fast food joints around here." Deaton circled a place on the map.

"And the last cat report fell right here," I pointed near the circle. "I think they're moving inward. Steffi, what do you know about their patterns?"

"They tend to travel in two circles. They walk more than they fly and they travel more at night. Another adaptability thing. They travel in cycles. The first gathers food and takes it back. Then, when that food is done, the second circle moves in. There are about thirty of them on the loose right now. A few got killed passing through Texas. You know the group down there. Shoot first, ask questions second. So we only have around twenty here."

"Two groups of ten is easier than one group of twenty," Isaac said optimistically.

"You've never seen them in a pack," Steffi replied. "Have you heard about the latest adaptation?"

"No," Deaton admitted. "We've been a little busy on this side of the US."

"It started about ten years ago…"

"I thought evolution takes millions of years," Isaac interrupted.

"For non-supernatural species," Steffi waved him off with a smile that was very inappropriate for her to be sitting in front of somebody she thought was his girlfriend. "For supernatural species, it takes about fifteen generations. Fairies reproduce at a rate of about six months. So we get about two new generations a year. We've been controlling the breeding rates for years and they've finally adapted."

"What's their new adaptation?" I asked.

"They group. They gather together in groups of ten and fight as one."

"Great, so we're fighting morphing fairies. Wonderful," Isaac sighed. "Why can't fairies be normal? Why can't they just be like Tinkerbell?"

"Because, doll face, Tinkerbell isn't real. You'll understand once you see these fairies."

"So when do we go after them? Tonight or tomorrow?" I questioned.

"Well, they went back into the woods just last night, if we're right." Steffi pointed at the map. "And there was an incident here the night before. So, they won't be out again until tomorrow. Both cycles have gone through and they'll rest until they've made it through their food."

"So we wait," I sighed. Waiting meant that Steffi stayed in town longer. Steffi being in town longer increased her chances of finding out about Brian, which, in turn, increased the chances of Mom ending up in the endless prison of her gift.

"Speaking of waiting," Steffi caught our attention again, "I don't really have a place to stay tonight."

"Sam didn't send you with any money for a hotel?" Deaton demanded.

"He kind of did, but I mean, it would be nice to spend some time with an old friend. What do you think, Carter? I'd love to catch up while I'm in town."

"Oh, Steffi, I'd love to. I really would but…"

"I live with her," Isaac spoke up quickly when I couldn't find words to fill the empty space. Deaton and I both stared at him. He explained, "My dad died a while back and I'm an orphan. I was staying with a friend of mine but Morgan, you know, Carter's mom, took a liking to me and I moved in with them."

I briefly considered killing Isaac. Steffi's eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Wow! You guys are really close. And your mom trusts you so much."

"We have separate bedrooms," I corrected quickly.

"Oh, so your couch is free?"

Even without being able to read human faces, Steffi should have been able to catch the hint that she just wasn't taking. I excused, "Yeah, it should. Let me just call my mom and get permission. I don't want to surprise her. Since Brian's death, she doesn't take surprises so well."

"And, if Morgan simply cannot have a house guest tonight, I always have a spare bedroom for those passing through," Deaton offered.

I slid away from the table and ordered, "Come on, Isaac. Help me convince Mom."

I held my hand out and he took it so I could pull him into the back room. I growled, "Really? You live with me?"

"Well, it gave a reason for her not being able to spend the night with you and, if she makes it into your house, it gives you an excuse for the extra male bedroom. I didn't know what to do."

"Well, it's better than nothing."

I pulled my cell out and called Mom. When she answered, I said fast, "Mom, don't talk yet. Don't ask questions. This is really important. Look, there's somebody from our kind back in town. I've taken care of it. Bri's at Stiles' house. She didn't see him. It's Steffi. She specialized in non-sentient supernatural creatures and she's in town retrieving some fairies. Long story short. She thinks Isaac is my boyfriend who lives with us and she wants to spend a couple of nights at our house on the couch. Brian is going to stay with Stiles. We're going out tomorrow night to capture the first half of the fairies. Then we'll go the night after next and take the second. If we say no, she'll be suspicious."

"Bring her over. Specialized in non-sentient creatures means that she can't read humans. We'll give her a show and send her ass packing before the week's over. Baby-girl, don't be scared."

"Mom, I'm not…" I interrupted.

"I can hear it in your voice, sweetheart. But by the time this girl leaves here, she's going to be convinced that we're a family still suffering from the grief of losing our dear Brian." Mom's voice was strong with resolve. "You've got this, baby-girl. We've got this. And Isaac, your apparent boyfriend, has got this. We're going to do this."

"We'll be home in an hour, Mom."

"And I'll have everything cleaned up, honey bunny. I'll call your brother and make sure everything is taken care of on that end. I love you."

"I love you too."

I hung up and looked up at Isaac. I asked, "Are you ready to play pretend, honey?"

"Anything for you, sweetheart."

"Good." I reached down and took his hand in mine. He interlaced our fingers and we walked back into the main office with smiles. I announced, "Steffi, Mom welcomes you into our house. I'll have to give you the couch tonight. Sorry about that."

"That's great. My car's outside."

"Before I take you home, we should stop in at the site we think the fairies will be," I suggested. "Do a little surveillance. Make sure we're ready for tomorrow night."

"I'll be right behind you guys," Isaac said. "I'm going to stop by Scott's house and fill him in on what's going on."

"Thanks, babe." The word felt awkward in my mouth.

"Not a problem. I'll see you at home." He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead.

"You guys don't have to be prudes because of me being here," Steffi informed us. "We're not watching. You guys live together. If you want to kiss, kiss."

Isaac and I stared at each other and he muttered, "It looks weird, Carter."

"You look weird, you little shit," I growled.

I rested my hands on his shoulders, stood up on my tiptoes, and stared into his eyes. He locked his arms around my waist and pulled me tight against him. He whispered again, "It's only weird if you make it weird."

"I hate you," I hissed between gritted teeth.

He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine gently. Then a little more forcefully. I relaxed into him and let him. In a very different way from Stiles, Isaac explored my mouth. Isaac was sharper and harder at the edges but he tasted like fast food and Pepsi. It was silly and weird and fun. I pulled away and laughed and he grinned down at me. I patted him on the chest and said, "I'll see you later, big boy."

"I'll see you at home, tiny girl."

He walked out and I turned to Steffi. "Come on. My car's outside. The black Mustang. You can follow me to the location and then to my house."


	10. Chapter 10

Isaac rushed in without knocking. Brian was pacing the living room and I was reading over Carter's notes for Chemistry.

"What's going on? Where's Carter?" Brian demanded. He paused and studied Isaac suspiciously for a second. "What are you embarrassed about concerning my sister?"

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Okay, I need you guys to listen carefully because I don't have much time. I called Scott on the way here. So the blonde, Steffi, is in town looking for some escaped fairies and we're going to help her find them so she can leave. But she'll still be in town for at least three days because it will take us two days to catch them and we can't start until tomorrow."

"So Steffi's going to be in town all week!? Shit?" Brian cussed.

"Calm down. Look, Deaton, your mom, and I have it figured out. I came to explain everything."

"How do you have it figured out and what do you have to do with it?" I asked.

"Okay. You guys might want to sit down because neither of you are going to like this."

"Talk, Isaac!" Brian's shout actually shocked us. Isaac took a step back and I jerked around to look at him. Brian wasn't a shouter. Carter was the loud one.

"Okay, so, Steffi is staying at your house and she thinks I live there because she thinks I'm Carter's boyfriend so we're pretending to be dating."

"I'm going to ask you two questions and I need you to answer before I kill you," Brian said slowly and quietly. "Why is Steffi staying at my house and why are you?"

"Steffi insisted. I think she's curious. And I'm there because there is an extra boy's room in your house that needs explained, Carter needs protected, and I panicked when the little blonde was asking too many questions. You told us what happens if Carter and your mom get caught. We're going to do whatever we can to prevent that."

Brian sat down on the couch hard and buried his face in his hands. I scooted close to him and rested my hand on his back. I assured him, "Hey, dude. Come on. Everything's going to be alright."

He jumped back up, throwing me off him. He yelled, "No, it isn't! Do you understand what they did for me? Do you understand what they'll take if we get caught? They'll take Mom's mind! And, if they find out what Carter can do, her dual abilities, they'll take her away! Mom and Carter will have their lives ruined because of me!"

"No, not because of you," I objected. "I know Carter. She's told me about what it was like not having you around. They brought you back because they couldn't stand to live without you. She was miserable. If they hadn't brought you back, Carter wouldn't have survived not having you."

"I just can't protect my family." Together, Isaac and I did the least manly thing we'd ever done. We moved to Brian and hugged him in between us.

"Great," he laughed in exasperation, "my second life is falling apart and the two guys who have made out with my sister are comforting me."

"We're trying to help!" Isaac objected.

"I know," Brian said with the same laugh as before, "and I'm glad. God I am glad. But this is a ridiculous situation."

"It kind of is," Isaac agreed.

"When did you make out with Carter?" I changed the subject.

Isaac winced and said sheepishly, "We didn't really make out. Not a big deal."

"Let's try this again," I growled. "Why did you kiss Carter?"

"Because he's her fake boyfriend. Now shut up, Stiles. It's not time for you to be jealous. Not while my family's in a situation like they are." He turned to Isaac and commanded, "Later tonight, when Steffi's asleep, bring me my clothes and any of my school stuff. I'll be here for the rest of this week. I need stuff to do."

"Wait, the rest of this week without leaving?" I asked.

"Yep, and, as much as I like you, Stiles, this isn't paradise for me either."

"Relax," Isaac murmured into my hair. "She doesn't suspect anything. Steady heartbeat."

"I'm still nervous."

"I know. Your heartbeat's erratic."

We were curled up on the couch watching a movie and playing the part of the adorable couple. Mom had gone ahead to bed. She was acting like an exhausted, overworked single mother. Steffi was doing paperwork at the kitchen table. I hissed, "I can't help it."

"It's not like she can hear it. Just relax."

It wasn't just that a girl with the potential to destroy my family was doing homework at my kitchen table, but also that I was literally wrapped in the arms of my werewolf friend/specialization partner. Isaac was pressed into the corner of the couch and I was leaning heavily against his side. His arm was wrapped around my waist and my head rested on his chest. I was holding his free hand between mine and he was absent mindedly stroking my knuckles with his thumb. His face was pressed to the crown of my head and he was whispering just loud enough to reach my ears. Even if Steffi had mastery of sentient supernatural creature readings, she would have believed that Isaac was my live in boyfriend. He was thoroughly enjoying playing house and, in the most sympathetic part of me, I understood why the hurt, healing orphan boy inside of the big bad wolf would want to play house.

"Alright, lovebugs!" Steffi came in from the kitchen. "I'm ready for bed so I'll have to kick you out of here."

"The blankets are in the chair," I pointed to the pile in the recliner. "We'll be upstairs if you need anything at all."

Isaac and I said goodnight before we went upstairs. I left him at Brian's door and went to my own room. I changed into my pajamas and pulled my hair out of my braid. Then, I called Brian so I could say goodnight.

"How's Stiles' house?"

"He's moping because Isaac's your fake boyfriend and the sheriff asked twice what it felt like to come back from the dead."

"You love them," I teased.

"Oh, shut up. How's Isaac?"

"He's fine. I think this is good for him. He needs to be reminded every now and then that people care about him. The poor dear feels alone the majority of the time. I think this helps him."

"My sister- savior of humans and wolves alike."

"And anything else that needs saved," I added.

"Do you really think he needs saved?"

"I think he needs loved."

"Well, be careful how much love you give him. I don't want another guy getting any ideas about you. Especially not when we might have to run."

"We're not running, Bri. Not even after we get this fixed. Because, if we run after I'm reported for training, it's going to look bad and they're going to track me down. They're going to find out that I'm not just a reader. And, if they find that out, they'll find out a lot more. We're going to take care of this."

"Carter, don't put yourself in danger because of me."

"Bri, I've torn the world we knew apart and put it back together for you. Trust me when I say that I would do it all over again to keep my big brother."

"Go to sleep, Carter. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Night, Bri. We'll get rid of her soon and then we'll never have to have you not living in the house again."

"Good night, Carter."

I hung up and laid the phone down on my bedside table. I wasn't even asleep for an hour before I was jerked awake by a knocking on the door. I sat up in bed as the door clicked open. I called out into the darkness, "Who's there?"

"It's me," Isaac's voice called back. "Did I wake you up?"

"It's fine. But what's going on? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just having trouble sleeping. Brian's room still reeks of grave dust. I can't stop sneezing. It's driving me crazy. Can I sleep in here? I can sleep on the floor. I just can't sleep in there."

"You can sleep in the bed, Isaac. I trust that you're not going to try anything. Come on." I patted the bed next to me and scooted over. He crossed the room and lay next to me carefully.

"You're sure?"

"Completely." I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes again to sleep.

"Good night, Carter. Thank you for being so nice to me."

"Trust me, Isaac, I owe you far more than I can ever give back. Good night."


	11. Chapter 11

I closed my eyes and woke to Isaac's massive, heated body wrapped around me. Completely wrapped around me. I was pressed into the bed with his leg thrown over mine and his arms wrapped around me. He was half rolled on top of me and I was pinned to the bed. I couldn't move.

"Isaac," I grunted, trying to shift my body to move the incredibly dense boy. I wriggled and he groaned low in his sleep. He pulled me tighter to his body and buried his face into the back of my neck. His hot breath burned my flesh and made me even more uncomfortable. The boy was a furnace. I jerked my elbow back and caught him in the ribs, grunting again, "Isaac. Wake up."

I wriggled, trying to make it loose but only managing to roll over onto my back so that I was staring up at him. He took this chance to bury his face in my neck and snort loudly. I wriggled a hand free and pushed at his shoulder. I snapped, "Isaac, wake up!"

He made another noise in his sleep and I let loose a frustrated sigh. I reached up and placed my hand on the back of his neck, where his skull met his spine. I massaged it for a second and then commanded, "Wake up, Isaac! Wake up!"

The jolt from me to him shocked him awake and he rolled off of my body with a mild roar. His eyes flashed from his normal entrancing blue to his glowing wolf golden. He sat up with a yelp and I followed him quickly to rest my palm in the middle of his bare chest and command, "Stop!"

He shifted down quickly and stared at me, his eyes confused and fuzzy. He asked, "What happened?"

"Are you always this heavy of a sleeper?" I demanded. "Seriously, dude! You weigh like a ton!"

He rubbed the back of his neck ashamedly and winced, "Not usually. But I usually don't sleep with somebody as calming as you. You're like the most calming person ever. Is that why Stiles sleeps well with you?"

"Kind of. Are you alright? I kind of shocked you awake."

"How did you do that?"

"Umm….I made a small connection with you and then I used it to command your body to wake up so that you'd get off of me. Don't worry, the connection isn't permanent. I didn't build a lasting bridge. Just a small one that lasted long enough for me to order you to wake up."

"I'm not worried," he promised with his usual casual grin. "Scott trusts you, so I trust you. Come on, sweetheart. Let's go put on a show at breakfast."

"Well, if Steffi's as aware as she used to be, we already put on a show. Isaac, you slept in my room last night and roared this morning. I think she's going to assume some things about it."

"Sorry."

"You're fine. We want her to think things. We want her to be distracted by things like this so she won't think too hard on other things. Come on. To breakfast we go."

"I'll cook for you."

I smiled and led him downstairs. Steffi was still asleep on the couch, snoring, and Mom was at the kitchen table, drinking coffee. When we walked in, she looked up at us and murmured, "Baby girl, you know I don't dislike many people, but I truly dislike that young woman. She snores like a beast and she got pen on my table."

I reached over and traced my fingers over the pen marks on the table. I put my hand palm flat on them and murmured, "Ink to air."

When I removed my hand, they were gone and Isaac grinned. "That is so cool! Did you evaporate them?"

"Yes, but shh. Remember, I'm not supposed to be a builder," I admonished kindly.

"Later, we'll talk about the two of you sharing a bed last night," Mom informed us, letting Isaac's face turn red and me roll my eyes.

"Mom, you can't really scold me now," I teased. "I've shared a bed with Stiles twice and you've had no problem with it."

"Well, sweetheart, you served a purpose. The purpose you served last night was minimal compared to what you generally do."

"What do you generally do?" Isaac asked.

"I help Stiles sleep. He doesn't get enough sleep, and it's getting really bad for him."

"But…" Steffi's snoring stopped and Isaac listened intently for a second before he froze and moved behind me. He draped his arms around my waist, casually rested his chin on my shoulder, and resumed talking just as Steffi stumbled into the kitchen. "So scrambled or fried eggs?"

"Are you guys talking about breakfast?" Steffi collapsed into the chair next to Mom and disgust briefly crossed Mom's face.

"Yeah, we're going to miss a few days of school while you're in town so Isaac decided to make a welcome breakfast for you," I announced.

"I just need to run into town and pick some stuff up," Mom chimed in. "Why don't you join Carter and Isaac for a pre breakfast jog while I go out?"

"I have some clothes you can borrow. You too, big guy. Let's get you dressed." I nudged Isaac.

"Separate rooms," Mom ordered. "Go on, Steffi. Carter's just a bit smaller than you."

I led Steffi upstairs and handed her some of my workout gear before ushering Isaac into Brian's room. I whispered, "Mom's going to visit Bri while we're running. Get some clothes for him. You were supposed to take him some last night and you never did."

"Well I didn't expect to fall asleep like I did."

"Just help me pack and listen for Steffi." I started digging through Brian's drawers and tossing clothes to Isaac to shove in a bag on the bed. When I found the porn mag at the bottom of the drawer, I made a disgusted sound in the back of my throat.

"Oh!" Isaac laughed. "**That's **why he wanted **me** to bring him clothes."

I threw a pair of socks at him, bouncing them off the side of his head. He turned towards me and warned, "You shouldn't have done that."

"Isaac, what are you doing?" I hissed.

"Steffi just came out of the bathroom and is on her way to your room. She'll check here next. I'm going to make sure she's focused on us instead of the bag of clothes we're packing."

I listened carefully and heard the sound of my bedroom door opening and closing. I growled, "That bitch is trying to catch us in the middle of something."

"Let's give her something to catch." Isaac was ridiculously fast as he grabbed the bag of clothes and shoved them into the closet. Then, he made his way over to me, bent down to grab me just below my ass, and yanked me up his body so that my knees were straddling his hips. He ordered, "Kiss me."

I draped my arms over his shoulders and pressed my lips to his. Completely standing on his own, not leaning against anything, Isaac supported my weight by only holding onto my thighs, and I kissed him, hard and long. I lost myself in the kiss. I tangled my fingers in his hair. I pulled away so I could find his bottom lip and pull it in between mine. His hands tightened on my legs and he growled deep in his throat. He pulled away and said hoarsely, "Carter, don't do that again."

With that sentence, I realized what I was staring at, what I was looking into. Lust. I hadn't seen it directed at me before. Even with Stiles, there wasn't lust. There was innocence and sweetness and patience. With Isaac, it was burning heat that exploded in my hips. I replied, "You like it."

"Me liking it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that you shouldn't do that again," he replied honestly and I bent my head down to kiss him into silence. His hands tightened on me again and he pulled away to say, "Have you ever even done this before?"

"Nope. Shut up."

I kissed him again and the door flew open. Steffi cried out, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that you were…."

"Right," I murmured. "Of course you didn't."

Isaac slowly slid me back down his body and we both knew to look embarrassed that we'd been caught. He stammered, "Sorry, Steffi. We just got a little caught up in what we were doing."

"It's okay. I just didn't think about it. I didn't think about coming in here."

"It's fine," I sighed. "We need to get dressed anyway. Isaac, I'll let you finish up in here."

Isaac leaned down and kissed me quickly before ushering me out of the room. Steffi and I were left on the other side of a closed door. She apologized again, "Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine," I assured her. "Why don't you go downstairs and we'll meet you in a minute."

She went down the stairs and I went to my bedroom to change into my running gear. I finished quickly and met Mom and Isaac outside Brian's bedroom door. When I got to them, she sighed, "Baby-girl, my baby-girl, this is going to be really frustrating while we're pretending to do this. Must the two of you make out every chance you get?"

"No. But it helps to distract Steffi from stuff."

"Yes, it does, and the two of you are having too much fun with it. This is the first time I've ever truly had two hormonal teenagers living in my house. Ugh."

We ignored her statement. Isaac informed her, "We're going to take her running out into the woods. Generally, I only take Stiles on the three mile path. We're taking her the full six miles."

"You're going to kill her," Mom warned.

I shrugged and replied, "We'll be gentle."

"I'll give all my love to your brother."

"His bags are packed on the bed."

Mom and I hugged and then Isaac and I took hands to walk down the stairs. I said cheerfully, "Come on, Steffi! Let's go for a little run."

"How far are we going?"

"Not too far. It'll be a small run."


	12. Chapter 12

Brian was sitting on the couch, trying to read when there was a knock on the door. He just stared at me and I sighed, "I'll get it. No big deal. I mean, you are the guest in the house."

"Don't be snippy. Just get the door."

I hauled myself out of the chair and opened the door to find Morgan on the other side, her lip pulled between her teeth just like Carter, and I saw similarities between Carter and Morgan for the first time. They had the same eye shape, the big, beautiful, sparkling eyes. And the same nose that scrunched up when they were upset. She asked, "Is he here?"

"Yeah. He's in the living room."

I stepped out of her way and she raced into the living room, dropping the bag she'd been carrying. I picked it up and followed her. She and Brian were standing in the middle of the living room. Morgan's arms were thrown around Brian and she was pulling him down so that his forehead rested on her shoulder. She was shaking with silent sobs and her long, thin fingers were tracing over the back of his head again and again and again. I was intruding on an entirely too private moment.

"Is Carter okay? Is she alright?" Brian was demanding.

"Yeah, she's fine. She's doing okay. How are you? Are you alright?"

"I'm okay, Mom. It's only been one day. I'm more worried about you and Carter. Is Steffi suspicious? Does she think something's going on? Nothing can happen to Carter."

"I know, I know. She's alright. She's going to be alright."

"This time, Mom. She'll be alright this time. What about the next time somebody comes along? What about when the council comes to check on her being an emissary?"

"We'll take care of it. We can run. We can leave."

"No, Carter's right about that. We can't run. We can't leave. They're curious about her now. They want to know about her now. They'll follow her to the ends of the earth if she disappears. Just because they don't like things hidden from them. You guys should have never brought me back."

Morgan jerked away from Brian and grabbed his face in between her hands. The same way Carter did when she needed people to listen to her. And her voice shook with the same power as Carter's when she spoke. "Brian Robert Donalds Erickson, you listen to me. You listen to me now! You are not meant to be gone. You were never meant to be gone and we just fixed what was wrong with the world. You know your sister would rather the world end that have something happen to you."

"Mom, I love you. The two of you shouldn't have brought me back though. There is nothing worse than me ever losing the two of you. There is nothing worse than the two of you not being in this world. You know what they'll do if we get caught. You know what will happen to you."

"And I don't care. Your sister can survive without me," Morgan pressed his face tighter between her hands. "But she cannot survive without you, Brian. She needs you more than she has ever needed anybody in her life. And I won't let her be lost without you. Things are going to be okay."

"We are the most hopeless and hopeful family to ever walk this earth," Brian laughed.

"Yet, we're still not as hopeless as Isaac," Morgan sighed. "The boy is loving the family he's got going at our house. He needs it. When all of this is over, we're going to have him over for dinner."

"I'm glad he's loving being a part of a family. How much is he loving my sister?"

Morgan frowned and sighed, "More than he should."

"What does Carter feel about it?" I interrupted their moment, stepping forward to learn more about her. To find out what was going on with her. Morgan let go of Brian's face and they both turned to look at me. Brian with an exhausted sigh written across his face and Morgan with the look of pity.

"She's a little lost in who she is right now," Morgan replied. "She's having her first really big teenage identity crisis, which should be cherished, because how amazing is it that, after everything, she's having a normal teenage identity crisis. But, my poor dear is exploring her womanhood."

"Mom, would Carter be comfortable with you talking about this?"

"Carter's rarely comfortable with anything I say," Morgan waved him off. "Stiles, sweetheart, she likes you. She just needs some time to get her thinking straight and to get herself together. You can't let this little detour into exploring her lustful side defer you from pursuing her."

"Mom!"

"Umm….thanks, Morgan. I'll see her tonight when we go to hunt the first round of the fairies."

"Isaac will be there," Brian warned. "And, since they already started lying, Steffi can't find out that even one of the things they've told her has been untrue. It's a castle made of cards, Stiles. If one is pulled, they will all collapse. So none of the stuff you usually do around Carter."

"What do I normally do around Carter?" I cried out.

"Touching her, teasing her, standing way too close to her, flirting with her. Don't do any of that," Brian commanded. "If your flirting gets us caught, I'll cut your heart out."

I stared at him and found his face entirely serious. Morgan smacked him on the chest gently and scolded, "No, Bri. We're not violent people."

"You're not; I can be," he corrected.

"Don't worry, honey bunny. You'll be fine. Just make sure that our little Carter is safe as can be. Alright?"

"She'll be with two werewolves, a banshee, a Hunter, and me."

"Never underestimate my sister's ability to get herself into trouble."

"I'm dying, Carter. Can we please slow down?" Steffi panted. She was about thirty feet behind me and Isaac and she was gasping for air.

"We're almost back to the house, Steffi! Don't stop now!" I encouraged. Isaac and I took her on a six mile run. Six miles into the woods, six miles back. It was pretty taxing on me as well. Twelve was quite the leap from my usual six, even for my level of physical fitness. My ribs felt like they'd been ripped open and stitched back onto my torso, raw and bleeding. Every time we stopped at the end of a mile to wait on Steffi, Isaac put his hands on my neck and pulled the pain from my body.

"How far did we run?" Steffi groaned, stopping in the path to rest her hands on her knees, her body heaving with deep breaths. Isaac and I stopped as well. Isaac's hand came to rest on my back and he slid my shirt up an inch to rest his fingertips on my bare skin.

"We did six in, and we've almost done six back," I panted. "We're almost back."

"It'll only be like, five more minutes," Isaac promised.

"Oh, shut up!" she snapped. "And stop touching one another. You're disgustingly sweaty. Just quit. How do you even find one another attractive right now?"

Isaac explained, "She's a red headed beauty. The perfect girl, way too smart for me and way too loving to leave me."

"We'll still see about that," I teased. He linked his arm around my waist and pulled me to him.

"Run all you want. Wolf sense, remember?" he tapped his nose. "Come on. Let's go."

"I can't run!" she whined.

"You're going to have to," Isaac taunted. "You're Little Red Riding Hoods and I'm the Big Bad Wolf."

His eyes glowed yellow and Steffi's eyes lit up with. She had a real thing for the wolf in Isaac. His voice was hoarse and dark when he warned, "You better run, darlings."

Steffi let out a giggle that should have been impossible for her supposed level of exhaustion and took off running past us. Isaac leaned down and murmured, "I've never met anyone who has a thing for the wolf instead of the boy."

"Well, sweetheart, I have a thing for the boy."

He grinned and was rather cheeky when he leaned down and smacked me on the ass. He growled, "Get back up to the house before we say things we'll both regret after she's gone."

I rolled my eyes and raced after Steffi. Isaac loudly counted to five and then, with a beastly roar, I heard his feet pounding on the ground and I pressed myself harder. Isaac and I'd never played games outside of training with him as the wolf before. I'd never experienced the pounding of my heart in my chest as instinct told me not to trust the animal behind me. I'd never experienced the way my blood screamed at me to run, screamed at me to escape. It filled me with adrenaline and fear, and it all escaped in a laugh bubble. I caught up with Steffi and ordered, "Better run faster, Steffi. The Big Bad Wolf is coming!"

I looked over my shoulder to see Isaac gaining on us, racing to catch up to us. I passed Steffi and continued towards the house. He caught up to Steffi and threw her over his shoulder. I stretched my hand out to close around the porch rail and I was stopped by Isaac's hand fisting in the back of my shirt. He slid Steffi down onto her feet and caught me as I stumbled into him. He pressed his lips to my ear and murmured, "Your Mom and Brian would kill me twice if I let anything happen to you."

"Ugh. You two are still gross. I'm going inside to shower."

She raced in and we turned to follow her. Mom was in the kitchen, cooking breakfast and we slipped in behind her. After a long moment of silence, Isaac announced, "She's in the shower."

Mom turned away from the stove and raced to me to wrap her arms around me. She held me tight to her body and murmured, "Oh, baby-girl. You're fine. You're alright."

"How's Brian? How is he?"

"He's okay." She murmured it into my hair. "He wants to come home already. He wants to be back with us. But he's okay. Because you," she leaned away from me and cupped my face in her hands, "my precious, amazing little girl, are too strong to ever let something like this keep us apart."

"Everything's going to be taken care of," I promised. "We've got everything under control."

"I know you do, sweetheart. Now, while that little bitch is in the shower, let's talk. What's your plan of attack? Please tell me you have one."

"We do. We're going to go after lunch to set the traps. We'll set the traps in each of the locations and then we wait until nightfall. When it's dark enough out that the fairies come down to scavenge, we'll be split into teams. Stiles and Scott, me and Isaac, and Steffi with Lydia and Allison. They're the only two smart enough to not get her killed and also not reveal several secrets to her. No mentions of Brian and no mentions of building."

"You won't be with Stiles?" Mom asked.

"No, it's better for me to be with Isaac or Scott, but it's better for it to appear as if I'm with Isaac because we're inseparable. We've separated into groups based on abilities. Scott and Stiles work best together, Allison and Lydia work best together, and Isaac and I work best together."

"I'll keep her safe," Isaac promised. "I won't let anything happen to her."

"Still, Carter, while you're in the house today, before you set the traps and after you set the traps, I want you to read up on our laws and history. Sweetheart, you're working with a hunter, two werewolves, and a banshee. You need to know about everything that's happened between their people and ours. And, Isaac, darling, how good at you at fixing things?"

"Ummm…I'm alright. Why?"

"Because my shed needs some work, and, since you're supposed to be living here full time, wouldn't it be nice to show how much you belong without having to be stuck up my daughter's ass?"

"You need to get some bonding in with your future mother-in-law, boo," I teased.

"Please, never repeat that in front of Scott and Stiles."

"Hm." I reached over and poked him in the side. "I might just have to if you don't happen to bond with my mother."

"Black mailer."

"Oh, come on. The Big Bad Wolf can handle a little carpentry and black mail."


	13. Chapter 13

Carter came in the door with Isaac's hand clasped around hers. His hand was three times the size of her tiny one and it completely covered her. It completely protected hers from the blonde that walked behind them with a smile painted on her face and an air of superiority. Carter was laughing at something Isaac was saying and he was grinning down at her.

"Ready to fight some fairies?" Carter greeted.

"When am I not ready to fight fairies?" I said sarcastically and Carter's eyes turned to me quickly. She grinned when she found me staring back at her.

"Well, you have to be ready tonight!" Steffi exclaimed. "We'll be ready to go! All we have to do is be in the right place at the right time. Now, where are the weapons we're supposed to have?"

"I have them. Small stuff, not a big deal, but big enough to take care of fairies."

"So you're the Hunter that we're working with. Despite what their people did to our people. Despite what they've done to the supernatural community as a whole." Disdain colored Steffi's voice as she spoke and Carter was quick to come to Allison's defense.

"Steffi, the Hunters aren't a threat to us. Our Great Councils met with the leaders of the Hunters during World War II. They agreed that, as long as the Hunters don't harm innocents or our people, they're allowed to practice their traditions. If nobody has been killed, they will not kill innocents."

"The past is the past, Steffi. It's best to forgive and move on," Isaac ordered. He smiled down at Allison and I considered killing him for that millisecond. Even if Steffi's ability to read humans or sentient supernatural creatures, or whatever, was gone, it didn't mean that she couldn't see him flirting with Allison with his "girlfriend" right next to him.

"Right, since the two love birds," Lydia glared at Carter and Isaac, "are forgetting to introduce everybody. I think I should. Nice hair. Let me guess, the highlights are about four months old?"

"Uh…yeah. They are." Like anytime anybody met Lydia, Steffi's mouth gaped open.

"If there's one thing I know, it's fashion. I've been trying to get Carter to get lowlights but she refuses to do anything unnatural with her hair. It's good to see that not all of your kind get so freaked out by chemicals. Carter's hair **does** have that natural kind of beauty that doesn't need changed."

"It looks great just the way it is," Isaac stole the words I wanted to say and then leaned down to kiss her. Allison and I both looked away.

"Anyway, I'm Lydia Hamilton. This is Scott, Allison, and Stiles. When we leave here, you'll be with me and Allison."

"It's for the safety of the group, Steffi," Carter spoke up before Steffi could object to it. "Isaac and I work best together, just like Scott and Stiles do. Allison will be able to protect you and Lydia is an incredible tracker. She'll be there to help if they get away. But they both need you to explain what's going on. Everything's arranged so that we'll be able to capture them the fastest and get this done."

"So which one is the werewolf?" She was excited, in a disgustingly disturbing way. We'd all been interested in the werewolves, but we were scared of them too, even Allison. There wasn't any fear in Steffi's voice. She was morbidly interested in the wolves.

I looked over at where Carter was tugging on Isaac's sleeve and he nodded down at her before he spoke. "That's part of the game, Steffi. You have to guess which one of us is the Big Bad Wolf."

"Well, you definitely are." Steffi was a bold bitch, that was for sure, and she was lucky that Isaac wasn't Carter's actual boyfriend.

"So, when are we headed out?" I tried my best to distract her and she turned her attention to me, studying me like I was so used to Morgan and Carter and Brian doing. But she didn't do like they did. They always started from the feet and ended at the face, because it was where all of the clues to a person's identity were. She started at my face and paused there for a second, and then made her way down. She wasn't looking for my personality. She was looking for any signs that I could be a werewolf.

"About half an hour."

"Well we better get the weapons out of the car and teach you how to use them then," Carter announced. "Stiles, Allison, come on. Steffi, why don't you get to know everybody while we're outside. We'll be back in in just a minute."

Isaac leaned down to kiss her again and he didn't hold back on the showmanship of it. Hands clasped tight at her waist, tilting her back a little, both of them with their eyes closed. Allison snapped, "Come on, guys! Time's wasting!"

Carter stepped away from Isaac and followed Allison, who'd leapt off the couch like she'd been bitten. I followed after the both of them and was surprised when, as soon as the front door closed behind us, Carter spun around and threw her arms around my neck in a tight hug. She was balanced on her toes so that her chin rested on my shoulder and I hugged her back. She murmured, "I missed you."

"I just saw you yesterday."

"Yeah but a lot has happened and it felt weird going without talking to you last night."

"I should have called you. I was busy with your brother. Getting him settled in and stuff," I explained into her hair. It felt weird, holding her after watching her kiss Isaac. Wondering if she had feelings for him or me. Wondering if she was just a best friend, like she always said.

"No, I'm glad it's you. I'm glad you're helping take care of him. I don't trust anyone else."

"He's fine, Carter. He'll be alright."

She pulled away from me and her hands slid up to my cheeks, like they always did, so that she could hold my face still while she studied me. "What about you, Stiles? Are you alright? You're not sleeping again."

"I'm fine. I'm fine." I slid my hands up from her waist, up her arms, so I could clasp her wrists in my hands and hold her to me. I was standing like I was going to take her hands away from my face, but I wouldn't. I couldn't have stopped her touching me if I wanted to, and I'd never want to.

"How much sleep have you been getting?" she demanded.

"I'm fine. Really. I'm fine," I promised.

"Stiles, if you don't tell me, I can find out anyway. It'll just be easier for you to tell me." Her thumb brushed against my cheekbone and I leaned into it.

"Carter, it's not a big deal. Really, I'm fine."

"Stiles…" Her eyebrows narrowed and I knew I was fighting a losing battle.

"Four hours last night," I admitted with a sigh. "I don't know how many the night before."

"It's getting less," she sighed. "You're sleeping less and less, Stiles."

"I just have a lot on my mind. Don't worry too much. You have other things to think about right now. Don't worry about me."

"When all of this is taken care of," she murmured, still too close to me to let me think clearly, "when she's gone and everything is back to normal, we're going to curl up, and sleep for a very long time. You're going to get some sleep. I promise."

"You two, we have things to do. You can get your reunion when that blonde bitch inside is gone," Allison hissed.

I traced over Carter's wrists once before I let go and she took her hands away. She slid her hands down my arms and took my hand in hers so she could pull me towards Allison's car. I followed Carter dumbly, knowing without a doubt that, no matter what I said, I was lost. I wasn't just waiting for her to make up her mind on what she wanted. I wasn't just waiting for her to decide who she was and where I fit into her life. I had great big, stupid feelings for her. It wasn't love. But it was getting there.


	14. Chapter 14

"He's enjoying this way too much. He likes her. He knows he's not supposed to and he doesn't care." I was in the Jeep with Scott, glaring down the street at where Isaac and Carter were in Carter's Mustang. "It's like he can't keep his hands off of her."

Scott's head lolled to the side, away from staring at the car up the road where Lydia, Steffi, and Allison were. He pointed out, "**You **can't keep your hands off of her."

I glared at him. "It's just that he's her **pretend** boyfriend. He doesn't have to touch her all the time like he does. He doesn't have to make it so convincing."

"If it's not convincing, Steffi's going to realize she's lying and then she'll know that they're lying about other stuff. They can't risk that. You know she won't risk losing her brother."

"She'll do anything for Brian. I know. Oh my God, I know. It just sucks that anything for her brother means making out with Isaac for the next two days."

"She's not complaining that much about it."

"Oh, shut up. You're just glad he's not making out with Allison."

Scott laughed and reached over to hit me gently. Gently for him, which still hurt. I reached over and smacked him back. After a minute of that, hitting each other back and forth, we stopped and Scott sighed, "You know he's just doing it because Carter cares, right? If there's one thing she's really good at, it's caring about people. Greenberg, Danny, Brian, you. She hides it pretty well when she wants to, but she cares about people. And Isaac needs that."

"He just doesn't need to mistake caring about him in Carter's way for a relationship."

"And, dude, you have to remember that Carter hasn't picked anyone yet. She doesn't even know what she wants. She's still figuring it out."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's not talk about my problems and talk about yours instead. Like the fact that you've got it bad for that Kira girl."

"Whatever."

"You do," I laughed. "You got it bad for her and your big bad alpha self has a crush!"

"Don't get all singy on me. Don't sing, dude."

"I'm going to keep singing if you don't talk about it."

"Shut up. I might have a crush but you're the one with the brother of a girl you've been sleeping with staying at your house. Your problems are way worse than mine right now."

"Come on, dude! Don't make it sound like that! Don't tell people that! Especially don't tell her brother. I really don't need to deal with that. Anyway, I'm just sleeping with Carter. I know you're thinking about Kira while you're sleeping."

Scott hit me in the arm again and laughed, "Bro, come on! That's messed up!"

"Deny it all you want. I know the way you think. I've known you too long for you to deny stuff."

"Then don't be denying that you think about Carter either."

I rolled my eyes and then, Scott went rigid. I demanded, "What, dude?"

"You don't hear that?"

"I never hear what you hear. What is it?"

"Sh." Down the street, Isaac perked up in Carter's car and the walkie talkies Allison gave us crackled to life.

"They're coming. Stiles, Allison, Lydia, Steffi, I know you can't hear them. But Isaac and Scott can and they're heading in from…" The walkie talkie fell silent for a second and then came back to life. "…the west. Northwest to be exact. They'll be here in a few minutes. Be ready."

Up ahead, she climbed out of her car and Isaac closely followed. Scott promised, "You'll hear it when they get closer. They're too loud not to hear."

We slipped out of the jeep and, further up the road, Allison, Lydia, and Steffi slid out of Lydia's car. A few seconds after we slid out, I heard it too. The whooshing in my ears. Like the wind was way too strong for the city we were in. Then, I saw them. At first, it was just a shadow, flying low to the ground, too close to the ground to be bats, but similar. They got closer and I got a better look. They were like bats. Little furry bodies and membrane wings. But their faces were not bat faces. They were grotesque, animated gargoyle faces. Human faces twisted with hate and fear and disgust. Little stone gray faces painted with sneers.

"Where the fuck did we get tales about them being like Tinkerbell?" I growled.

"We can ask Steffi and Carter once we've caught them. They're about to hit the dumpster and when they do…" Scott didn't get to finish because, at that second, the fairies did hit the dumpster, dived in, and the entire thing lit up like a football stadium. Before I had time to think, Scott had a dead lock on my arm and he was dragging me forward. Isaac and Carter were racing side by side, Isaac's face contorted as he changed. I stumbled and regained my footing to race towards the screeching dumpster.

When we got there, Steffi, Lydia, and Allison were right behind us. Carter and Isaac were throwing a net over the lid of the dumpster. The fairies were rising up, beating against the net and biting at Carter and Isaac. I made it to them and grabbed the edge of the net beside Carter. Scott jumped over the dumpster and grabbed the net from the back, holding it still. When Steffi, Allison, and Lydia caught up, Steffi cried out, "We have to separate them. Light will work. We have to be able to get them out one at a time."

"I'm on it!" Carter passed her hold on the net to Lydia and rushed behind Isaac. She put her hands on his shoulders and jumped. Her tennis shoes caught on his hips and then she jumped again, landing on his shoulders and stepping off onto the thin rail of the dumpster.

"Be careful!" Isaac and I warned as one.

She nodded down at us and reached into her back pocket to extract a flashlight. She crossed the rail lip of the dumpster nimbly, scaring the shit out of me, but doing it as if she weren't afraid of falling into the pit of demon fairies. Isaac, Lydia, and I were scared enough for her. Then, balanced with one foot on one side and her other foot on the side attached to it, she flipped the flashlight on and stuck it in her mouth. She clenched it between her teeth, leaned forward, balanced herself precariously on her toes, and lit up the mass of fairies below, making them screech and Steffi wince.

"Be careful with them!" she yelled. "They're just scared."

"Don't shout," Allison ordered. "How would we explain this to anyone?"

"She's right. Try to be quiet," Scott commanded.

Carter pulled the flashlight out of her mouth and sneered, "Shut up down there. I can't stay balanced like this forever. I'm not infinitely flexible."

Isaac and I stared up at her with identical, idiotic looks on our faces. She snapped, "Get yourselves ready. When I release the first one, it won't leave its group. Be prepared to catch it."

"Yes, Carter." It was a unison of voices that made her smirk down at us before she popped the flashlight back into her mouth and leaned forward to regain her balance. When she had a sufficient grasp on the net, she pulled the flashlight out of her mouth and started wriggling it carefully. None of us could see the fairy separating from its group but she announced it when it did. And then, she yanked the netting away and set it free so that Allison could stun it and Scott could catch it.

It was surprisingly easier than we thought, not one escaping and each of them falling easier. The scariest part was when Carter's legs started to tremble and she teetered forward. But Isaac was there to reach out and grab the back of her shirt to pull her upright again. At the end of it, we had nine stunned fairies that we shoved in a cage from Deaton's shelter. Carter collapsed backwards off the dumpster and Isaac caught her, changing back into human Isaac just as he caught her. He held her close and murmured, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Nobody got hurt. We're all fine."

He put her down on her feet and we were done for the night. Isaac kissed Carter and walked Steffi down to Carter's car, letting Carter linger behind with us with the excuse that she needed to help us get the fairies to Deaton's and prepare a little for the next day. Isaac's job was to take Steffi back to Carter's house so she could get some rest, even though she did practically nothing. But, it didn't matter, because, in the end, I got to take Carter home at the end of the night.

After dropping the fairies off at the shelter, Carter slipped into the passenger seat of my jeep like she belonged there and propped her feet up on the dashboard. I leaned over and swatted her in the leg. "Come on!"

She rolled her eyes and put her feet back on the floorboards. She asked, "So how are you feeling about fairies now?"

"Oh, you know. Just great. I mean, today, I learned that fairies aren't like Tinkerbell. Instead, they're gargoyle bats. Who knew that you really do learn something every day?"

"Tone back the sarcasm. My people created that myth a very long time ago so that humans wouldn't get suspicious about the things they saw. You guys can be convinced that what you saw was a bat. After all, it had wings and a body like one. Why wouldn't it be a bat?"

"How many other things did you guys do that to?"

"Basically, everything you think is really pretty and mystical and cool, those are the things like the fairies. And everything you've never heard of, we did that too. We wiped it off the face of the earth because it's easier to never mention it and let them die out. Those little harmless things that go unnoticed. Like rock trolls."

"Come on, don't mess with me. Rock trolls? Rock trolls, Carter? Those aren't really a thing."

"No, unicorns aren't really a thing. I'll show you rock trolls sometime."

She reached across the seat and put her hand on top of mine on the gear shifter. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the seat. She informed me, "You know, I could help you sleep, if you wanted me to. I've never tried it before. Distance bonding. But I could try. I could do what I did before, but you wouldn't fall asleep until I did tonight. There are side effects, but I could try."

"Side effects?"

"You would only sleep like I sleep. You'd be connected to me. Everything I feel, you'd feel. Everything I experience, you experience. Only while I'm sleeping, but, trust me, I'm not sure if that's a good idea while Isaac's in my house."

"Why?" I took my eyes away from the road and hers were still closed.

"Because you're the jealous type, Stiles, and Isaac needs to be close to me."

"Wants to be close to you," I corrected.

"Stiles, I know need. I **needed** my brother. My mother **needed **both of us. And Isaac needs somebody to be close to him. He needs somebody to care about him. It doesn't matter in what way."

"You don't have to give him what he needs. Somebody else could."

"Nobody else can right now, Stiles. So I'm going to be the one to care about him right now."

"You're right. We'll wait until Steffi's gone and Isaac's back at Scott's house to put me to sleep."

We surrounded the same dumpster. The second round of fairies would follow the rest of their clan's scent to it. They'd seek out their missing members there. And, this time, there wouldn't be an easy capture. Isaac was standing pressed against my back, his breath in my ear. He and Scott were in wolf form. Stiles was clutching his treasured aluminum baseball bat, Lydia, Allison, and Steffi had tazers, and I had a net. A freaking net. Because I was the target. I was the one wearing a vest made of mirrors, with glass beads entwined in my hair so that every time light hit me, it reflected back at anything that looked at me. I was bait.

"I don't want you to do this," Isaac growled low in my ear.

"And you have no choice," I hissed back.

"Stiles doesn't want you to do this either. Your mom wouldn't have let you out of the house if she knew what you plan on doing. Your brother wouldn't want you to do this."

"Isaac, shut up."

"Carter, they're coming!" Allison called out.

"I know. I can hear them. Is everybody ready?"

The swarm descended and I stepped out into the alleyway. Lydia's flashlight focused on me and I lit up like the fourth of July. I was brilliantly bright and the fairies descended upon me, understanding that I was the thing that hurt them, that I was the thing that hurt the rest of their swarm. I waited, so, so patiently, I waited for them to get close enough for them to surround me. Then I yelled, "Now!"

And it was a battle. There was no easy way to stun the fairies this time. They weren't flying in a straight line. We weren't attacking them one at a time. We were taking on an entire group that bit and tore at the flesh. The gloves I wore were thick and made it easy to grab them out of the air, but I had to hold them and close off their airways. I basically had to choke them until they passed out because everybody else was busy with their own ways of handling the fairies. That meant that I was holding one fairy for long amounts of time while the other fairies listened to it struggle and tried to get at me.

"I need somebody to help me if I'm going to do it this way!" I roared into battle and Stiles and Isaac moved to surround me. Stiles stood in front of me, bat in hand to swing at them as they rushed us. Isaac stood behind me, grabbing them out of the air and throwing them towards Allison and Lydia, who had the best chance of stunning them with their tazers. I was the only fucking glowing one in the group. I was the central. The light wasn't good for the fairies, but they were drawn to it anyway. They swarmed again and again, but the battle ended with only a few scratches, some small bites, and a couple of bruises. When they were all thrown in their cage, Isaac and Stiles both turned to me to help me get rid of the mirror vest. Isaac got there first and, even though I knew Stiles hated it, I turned to him.

"You've got some blood on your cheek." He reached up to wipe it away gently and I smiled at him. "It's a pretty nasty cut."

"We'll get me cleaned up at Deaton's. Right now, we just have to get them back. Steffi, are the cages secure?"

She jerked her head up from where she was talking to Scott and called out, "Yeah, of course!"

"Come on then, let's get this all done and over with. This time tomorrow, Steffi will be out of our lives," I sighed in relief.

"But we'll still be friends, right?" I looked up into Isaac's big blue puppy dog eyes and smiled.

"Duh, Isaac. Who else is going to eat all of my popcorn while we're watching cheesy romantic comedies?" I leaned up on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips. When I pulled back, I murmured, "We'll just have to do that a lot less."

"Less, but not stop doing it, right?" He winked at me and I laughed. I slid my hand into his and tugged him towards the cages.

"Help Scott and Stiles load the cages. They're stunned right now. They won't bite you if you stick your fingers in the wire to lift the cages. Steffi, you, Lydia, and Allison head down to Deaton's. I'll help the guys get this stuff together and we'll be there in just a second."

"We can stay and help," Allison volunteered quickly.

"Yeah, quit trying to hog the guys, Carter," Steffi giggled and Allison visibly tensed up.

"As much as I love having him all to myself," I played along, "I really do need you to prep the area for the cages. Make sure that none of them will get out. There's mountain ash in the office and I need you to handle it when the guys aren't there."

"We have a little bit of an…allergy to it," Scott winced.

"Well, why does Stiles get to stay?"

"Because…ah…I'm Scott's ride back. And nobody drives the jeep except me. Sorry. It's one of those rules that can't be broken under any circumstances. And that's how we're transporting the cages back," Stiles said easily. "We'll be right behind you though. Like five seconds behind."

"I guess I'll see you there then." I had to swallow my revulsion when she winked at Scott.

"Right. We'll be there soon."

She followed Lydia and Allison to Lydia's car and they left. As soon as she did, I heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed. Isaac slid his hand into mine and squeezed. I nudged him with my elbow and nodded towards the cages. He and Scott went to work loading them into the jeep and Stiles walked over to me.

"So, when this all ends, Isaac goes back to his own house, you guys stop making out all the time, things go back to normal, maybe we go on a date?" He wasn't looking at me. Instead, his focus was on Scott and Isaac, who could definitely hear everything he was saying.

"A date?"

"Yeah, maybe we could actually do something normal for once. Not a crazy run in the woods or watching movies at my house or you putting me to sleep. But a real date. I dress up and you look amazing, like always, and I take you out somewhere nice where it's just the two of us. We do something normal. Like go to the movies or go skating or anything. And no promises at the end of the night. You don't have to kiss me goodnight and you don't have to call me your boyfriend or even think of me the next day. Just let me take you out on a date, when all of this is over."

He stared down at me, his nerves getting the best of him even when he tried to hold still, and his hand rising up to rub the back of his neck nervously. He was sincere and heartfelt and I asked, "Do you really count running in the woods as dates?"

"Shut up and answer my question," he groaned half-heartedly.

"Stiles, yes. I would love to go on a completely normal date with you. When all of this is over."


	15. Chapter 15

It happened too fast for any of us to understand. For any of us to comprehend. We were celebrating, in our own way, laughing as we loaded the cages up onto the operating table. Carter was right in front of the cages and there were only two fairies in each cage. Little dog kennel cages. They were nothing to us because Steffi had assured us that the locks were secured. Steffi was sitting up on the desk in the main office, calling her trainer to fill him in on it. Scott and Isaac were securely stacking the cages against the back wall, moving them off the table and wincing because the fairies were slowly waking up. Allison and Lydia were preparing to go back to Lydia's house and finally get some sleep. They were talking to Carter about their next sleepover and her back was to the cages. She wasn't paying attention. She was laughing too hard at something Lydia was saying. None of us were paying attention. None of us expected what happened.

Lydia stopped in the middle of her word and her shriek pierced the ear. Her shriek of death and danger. Her scream that informed us all something was coming. Carter turned around just in time for the cage door to open and the light to glint against the glass beads still in her hair. Just in time for the fairy to whip past her. I thought it missed her. I thought it flew right past her. Because the first thing she did was slam the cage door shut, trapping the second fairy inside. But then, her hand rose up to her neck, where the fairy had just whipped by, and her eyes grew wide when she pulled her tiny, perfect fingers away and blood dripped from them.

"Scott, Isaac!" The scream was hoarse when it left me. Maybe because it wasn't the first scream that left my throat. I was just screaming as I rushed towards her. As we all rushed towards her, and she collapsed backwards, into Lydia's arms. Blood rushed down her neck and her voice was a whisper when she said, "Shit, Lydia. It's going to get all over your dress."

Deaton snapped back into it before the rest of us did. He yelled, "Scott, Isaac, clear the table off. Allison, get Steffi out of here. I need people to clear out. Stiles, get Carter from Lydia. Lydia, there's gauze in those cabinets over there. We need it now!"

I scooped Carter out of Lydia's arms and held her bridal style in mine. She was holding her hand over her neck, applying pressure to the wound. I muttered, "Come on, Carter. Can you fix this?"

"Don't. Know. How," she panted. "Can't. Focus. On. It."

"She can't fix herself," Deaton hissed at me. "Get her on the table."

Scott and Isaac cleared the last of the cages off the table and I laid her down as gently as I could. In the main office, Steffi was yelling, "What's going on? What's going…."

A second later, Allison called out, "I hit her. She's out cold. I'm taking her out of here now. She'll be in her car!"

"That takes care of that problem. Scott, go get Brian. As fast as you can, bring him here. Take a car. Do not let him run or exert any energy. He draws off of her. If he's using more energy than he needs to, he'll be taking it from her," Deaton was barking orders at us. "Stiles, keep pressure on her throat. Isaac, I need you over here now. Lydia, where is that gauze?"

I put my hand over hers and assured her, "You're going to be fine, Carter. You're going to be alright, I promise. It's not even that bad."

"Can. Tell. When. You're. Lying. Stiles." Even with blood pouring from her, there was that little half smile, half smirk decorating her face. Teasing me. Tears welled up in my eyes.

Lydia came over with a roll of gauze and pressed it into Deaton's hands. He guided Isaac over and put Isaac's hand on her arm. He ordered, "Take as much of her pain as you can handle. Then, just hold her hand until I tell you what you have to do next. Lydia, go get Morgan. I don't care what you have to do to get her out of the house. Just go get Morgan."

In a softer voice, he promised Carter, "We're going to take care of you. Don't think you're getting out of training that easy. We're going to take care of you."

"Stiles, don't let go, but try to lift her upper body. Keep her neck straight. Isaac, stop taking her pain away and focus on keeping her awake. We need her awake as long as possible." We rushed to do everything he said as he took his place near Carter's head. "I'm going to wrap this gauze around her. Do not move your hands until I tell you to, Stiles. Keep pressure."

"Come on, Carter. Don't go to sleep now. You have too much to do still. Stay awake," Isaac's voice was desperate next to me and, for once, it was something we agreed on. Losing Carter Elizabeth Erickson was not an option.

"Okay, Isaac. I need you to listen very carefully to me. We can't do anything until Scott and Brian get here, but you need to be ready."

"I'll do anything."

"Good. You and Carter have a connection, right? You've spent a month training together, you've spent two days being teenagers together. You've been taking her pain, she's been calming you, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah she has."

"Good. That's a physical bond. Listen to me. If Scott bites her, she won't survive it. Her body will reject the bite of an Alpha. It will fight it because her body doesn't trust anybody else. Her gift will reject Scott's bite."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"It won't reject the bite of a werewolf she has a bond with. She trusts you. And you trust her. And her body trusts you. It won't read it as a change. It will read it as an addition."

"Wait, you guys are going to turn her? She'll be a werewolf? That's the last thing Carter wants!"

"Stiles, she….Carter can't…"

"I. Die. Without. It," she croaked. Her eyes were still half open. She was getting weaker and weaker. "Don't. Think. I'm. Ready. To. Die. Yet."

"Of course you're not ready to die. You aren't going to die," I promised quickly.

She smiled and raised one blood soaked hand up to touch my cheek. Her eyes were dimming. I cried out, "Do we really have to wait for Brian?"

"Yes! You, Brian, and Isaac. You each have a bond with her and I need as many things as possible tying her to this place." He finished wrapping the gauze around her neck and my hand and ordered, "Let go and then press your hand over the gauze. Keep pressure on it. No matter what."

When I removed my hand, hers fell limply and Isaac reached out to grasp at it. His voice was just as thick as mine when he tried to force it to sound cheerful. "Hey, come on, Carter. Did you hear? I'm going to bite you. You know, I thought for sure you weren't into that kind of stuff. All you had to do was ask if you were. You didn't have to do all this."

"More. Fun."

"Hey, sh, sh, sh," I scolded lightly. "No talking now. Okay? There will be plenty of time for that later. When you're all better."

"Stiles. Might. Not…."

"No, don't even say that," I interrupted her. "You're going to be just fine."

"Scott's back!" Isaac announced. "The car's outside."

Scott and Brian rushed through the door and Brian rushed to his sister's side. "No, no, no, no. What happened?"

"We'll explain later. Right now, there are three things you need to know and a few things you need to tell me. One, she won't survive this on her own. Two, Isaac has to bite her because of the physical bond she has with him. Three, you're going to have to be asleep for it. Every amount of energy you use is being sapped from her."

"Do it. Do anything to save her. There's only one problem," Brian's voice was shaking and stammering. Stumbling over his words. "I…I don't know if it will happen or not. I don't…I don't know what the bond will be. I don't know what it will look like….once….once he's bitten her. If it's a mental bond…Isaac, you have to be prepared. You'll be….you'll basically be….be giving her life. When you give somebody life, you connect to them. When you connect to somebody like Carter…she connects back."

"What does that mean?"

"You're going to experience every bad thing that's ever happened to her. Every time she's ever felt sad, mad, hurt, happy. You'll feel all of them. And the same thing is going to happen to her."

Isaac's face paled. "Are you sure Scott can't do it? It might be better for Scott to do it."

"Scott won't be able to. She'll reject his bite."

"And if I bite her, she'll feel everything I've ever felt!"

"She's strong! She can take it! Just save her," Brian begged. "Fucking Christ, just save her. Do anything. Please. Please. She couldn't live without me and I can't live without her. Don't make me try."

Isaac looked up into Brian's eyes and I knew what went through his head. Family. He wanted to protect their family. He said firmly, "I can do it. If it will save her, I can do it."

"Good. Scott, put Brian to sleep. You know where the tranq gun is. Brian, you might want to sit down for this."

"Okay, but let me say good night to her first. Please."

Deaton nodded and moved aside so Brian could take his spot at Carter's head. Her eyes opened wider so she could find her brother and he swore, "You are going to be fine, Carter. Nothing is going to happen to you. You are going to be fine, and, when you wake up, I'm going to be waiting right here."

"Love. You."

"I love you too." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead before taking his seat in the chair and motioning at Scott to shoot him. Within the minute, Brian's head was drooped onto his chest and he was deep asleep.

"Okay, Stiles. I know you want to say your piece. Say it so Isaac can get to it."

I stared down at those golden, honey eyes that were so far gone. I whispered, "I'll see you when you wake up. And then, we'll go on a date, a normal date. Everything will be okay."

I kissed her forehead, beside where Brian had. Deaton waited and ordered, "Scott, get her feet and hold them still. I have her shoulders. Isaac, Stiles, just keep holding her hands. Isaac, don't get scared when you have her in your head. Hold her there. Embrace it. Because that's going to make the bond that much stronger. Are you ready?"

He nodded and Deaton nodded back. Isaac morphed and pushed her sleeve up on her arm. He lowered his head and Carter's voice was weaker than ever when she spoke. "Don't. Leave. Please."

"I'm not letting go for anything in the world," I swore. "Don't you let go either. Stay with us."

"Not. For. The. World."

Then, Isaac's teeth sank into her arm and his head froze. He didn't move, and neither did she. Deaton assured us, "It will take a minute for it to take hold. Just wait. Just wait."

Then, Isaac pulled his mouth away quickly and morphed down to human just as Carter closed her eyes and gasped for air. Beneath my fingers, blood leaked through the gauze, wetting my fingertips and making me sick to my stomach. Deaton explained, "Her body is building the bite into itself. It's adjusting to fit it into her."

Her head whipped to the side and her teeth clenched. "She's healing now. Come on, Carter. Keep holding on."

Then, Isaac's head snapped back and he went wolf again immediately. His teeth protruded and he roared, just as Carter's body went stiff beneath our hands. She started trembling all over and Deaton sighed, "The mental bond has begun."


	16. Chapter 16

Pain. So much pain. I was screaming and nobody could hear me. Things washed over me too quickly. I was in three memories, four memories, five memories at once. Living them all at the same time. Black eye, locked in a freezer, glass at my head. I couldn't keep track of them but I knew I was cataloging them. They'd be there later for me to relive in my worst nightmares. There were people I didn't know, places I'd never been. All rushing through me. I watched death and destruction, decay and darkness. There was so much anger and hate, and so much love. Then, I watched myself, from a different body, I watched myself start bleeding. I watched myself lay on a table, gasping for air. Then, I woke up.

"How much longer will it last? What the hell is it doing to her?"

I blinked in the sudden light and Isaac's voice sounded, "Stiles, shut up! She stopped screaming! Her eyes are open."

Fire roared through my belly. I was burning from the inside out. I'd woken from one Hell just to be purged in another. I whimpered as I felt my mouth shifting, teeth elongating. I tried to sit up and hard hands on my shoulders pushed me back down. I stared up at Deaton and he assured me, "You'll be fine. You just have to wait. You just have to wait it out. It will fade in just a second. Just wait."

I closed my eyes again as my body tensed and relaxed and, just as suddenly as it had come, it was gone and I was tired, but unsatisfied. I couldn't even recognize my voice when I commanded, "Deaton, let me up. Please, let me up."

He took his hands off of me and I stared around the room. Allison and Lydia were by the door, Brian was sleeping in a chair and Mom's hands were wrapped around his. Scott was at the end of the operating table, tensed and ready to move. To stop me from doing whatever I planned on doing. Stiles was at my back and Isaac was standing in front of me. They both still had hold of my hands, pulling me opposite directions and I had no recollection of how I'd sat up. I pulled my hands free and stared at Isaac. His eyes were heavy as he stared back down at me and nobody expected it when I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him to me with a sob. I cried, "Never again. I swear, never again."

I dropped my head to his shoulder and soaked his shirt with tears. Morgan asked, "Baby-girl, what's wrong? What's going on?"

I pulled away and grasped his face in my hands. I stared down at him and murmured, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. Never again. God, never again."

"It's okay, Carter," he assured me. "It's okay. It's better now. I'm sorry I let you go through that. You lived through it."

"It doesn't matter." I pressed a kiss to his forehead and hugged him again. "You're going to be fine. I'm going to make sure you're fine."

He hugged me back and pulled away so that Mom could flood into the space. She threw her arms around me and I settled my head into the crook of her shoulder so I could cry. Mom soothed, "You're okay, baby-girl. You're okay. Everything's okay. Look at you. You're healed and you're, well, you're a wolf now. I guess that takes care of my worrying about you and Brian."

"Oh, Brian!" Mom moved to the side so I could slide off the table. I stumbled and Stiles nearly killed himself trying to get around the table to me. Isaac caught my arm and steadied me.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. Let me get to my brother. Please, let me get to my brother."

Isaac let go of my arm and I made my way slowly and uneasily over to my sleeping brother. I called out hoarsely, "Deaton, will my gift still work? Can I still use it?"

"Carter, he'll wake up on his own. You use your gift, you're adding an extra few hours to your recovery. I don't even know what it's going to be like to get your body adjusted. You wake him up, you'll be in bed until at least noon tomorrow."

"But it still works." I pressed my palms to his temples and commanded, "Brian, wake up."

Brian's eyes fluttered open slowly and he sighed, "Carter, look at you, Carter. You're different."

"I'm changed," I agreed. Deaton was right. It was taking a lot out of me just to stand up. "Do I look different?"

"Blood in your hair." I snorted and Brian stood up quickly to pull me into a tight hug. "God, you're alright. Thank fucking God you're alright. You're fine. You're fine. You're going to be okay."

"She's going to be better than okay now," Deaton spoke up. "Morgan, Brian, you have to understand what she is now. She's one of a kind."

"She's always been one of a kind," Mom interrupted.

"Yes, dual gifts does that. But, now, she's a wolf and a dually gifted Natural Scientist that brought her brother back from the dead. I don't even understand half of the things she can do."

"Do you know what will happen to her?" Brian demanded, not letting go of me.

"I know she's a werewolf. I know she'll heal like a werewolf. She's not quite a Beta, she's not an alpha, she's not an omega. She's somewhere in the middle of everything. I don't know how she'll react on a full moon, I don't know when she'll change or what she'll do. I only know that she's basically the most powerful thing in this room right now."

I pulled away from Brian and he held tight to my arm to keep me standing. "Well, I don't do that yellow eyed thing, do I?"

"No. Your eyes definitely aren't yellow," Stiles sighed.

"They're not red, right?" I glanced over at Scott sheepishly.

"Nope. Not red either."

"Then what are they? There aren't that many other colors. Blue is killed somebody and it can't be that. If my eyes aren't normal wolfy colors, what are they?"

"They're purple," Isaac answered. "Like a really soft purple."

"Lavender," Stiles added.

I demanded, "They're not like that right now, right? I'm not all…"

I gestured towards my face and Stiles assured me, "No, no. You look fine."

"Good. Now come over here and give me a hug."

He smiled and walked around the table to wrap me in his arms. I laid my head against his collar bone and sighed into his warmth. I murmured, "Did you get all of the blood off of your hands?"

"Yeah. You scared me pretty bad there, Carter. All that bleeding and trying to go to sleep. You scared us all pretty bad."

"I'm fine now." I snuggled deeper into his chest and sighed contentedly.

"She should get her home. Brian, while Steffi's in town, you'll still need to stay with Stiles and…"

"After what just happened?!" Brian roared.

"Especially after what just happened," Deaton said firmly. "Steffi's going to feel guilty. She's the one who didn't secure the cages. She'll check on Carter tomorrow and then you'll send her on her way. You'll make sure she leaves town and you'll guilt her so bad that she won't come back. Isaac, I need you to spend one last night with Carter. Keep an eye on her and, if anything happens, call me or Scott."

He nodded and Stiles tightened his grip on me. He declared, "I want to stay too. I want to be at their house then."

"Stiles, you know you can't." I was glad it was Scott to be the one to break it to him. "You can't be there with her tonight. You can as soon as Steffi leaves tomorrow though."

"She'll be gone as soon as day dawns," Mom growled. "She came here, imposed on us, and then nearly killed my daughter because she was too busy flirting with a werewolf to do her damn job."

"Morgan, be polite getting her to leave. Take care of things like you don't have two secrets living in your house. Now get Carter home. She needs to get cleaned up, and then she needs to go to sleep."

I groaned and leaned further into Stiles. Isaac walked over and held out his hand patiently. He murmured, "Come on, Carter. We need to get you home. Hot bath and then we'll get you into bed."

"Scott, go get Steffi out of her car and put her in Carter's. Isaac, after you take Carter home, I need you to come back here and help load those cages into her car. I want to make sure she's ready to leave tomorrow. Stiles, take Brian back to your house and just be patient until she leaves."

There was a grumble low in his chest and I pulled away from him before he could get too possessive. I promised, "I'll still be here tomorrow. You'll be fine."

I could see what he was thinking written all over his face. Panic. Worry. Anger. Doubt. Resignation. Then, I turned to Isaac and glanced up in his face and realized with a jolt what the difference was in him. I cried out, "Scott! Scott, come here."

Scott rushed over and I grabbed onto his chin with one hand, keeping my other hand firmly on Isaac's forearm to hold me upright. I stared at his face, trying to stare past his actual face, into the depths that usually existed there. Brian demanded, "What's wrong, Carter?"

"Bri, there's no shadow anymore. Brian, they don't have a shadow beneath their face anymore."

"Yes, they do, Carter. And you do too," Brian replied. "Carter, you're like them now."

"I'm too tired to deal with any of this. Isaac, can you do your thing and whisk me away?" I groaned, releasing Scott's chin so I could rub my forehead. When my hand passed my eyes, I noticed the blood staining the skin. "And then deposit me in a bathtub and leave me alone for the rest of my life?"

"We'll work on one and talk about the other," he promised. "Come on."

Isaac bent down so he could sweep me up bridal style. I curled into him and he commanded, "Alright, everybody, say goodbye for the next few days because she's not moving from bed for a very long time."

"Drama queen," I grumbled, even though being off my feet was lulling me to sleep.

"You're the one who went through all of that trouble so I'd bite you."

I reached up to flick him in the forehead before I settled back into his arms and let people come to me. Lydia and Allison came together. Lydia announced, "This doesn't mean that you get out of sleepovers. Were-witch or not, you're expected next week."

"If I have to show up, you have to show up," Allison echoed.

"I'll be there."

Then, Scott took his turn. He gave me that that charming boyish grin and said simply, "Welcome to the pack!"

Deaton pulled Mom to the side to talk to her and Brian waited patiently for Stiles to take his turn. Stiles glared up at Isaac a little before he said softly, "As soon as all of this is over. As soon as she's gone, I'll be at your house, okay?"

"I'll see you tomorrow then, and, Stiles?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't count it as a date." I smirked at him and it took him a minute to realize I was joking.

"Tease."

"I'll see you tomorrow."

He stepped back so Brian could move forward and grab my hand quickly. He said slowly, "I know that you're going to be just fine in Isaac's hands. I know that I'll be home tomorrow with Stiles right behind me, annoying the shit out of me. I know that things are okay now. And I'm still scared shitless that I'll come home tomorrow and you won't be in the house and, Carter, I can't bring you back like you brought me back. I don't have the ability. Only you do."

"And it's not needed, Bri. I'm going to go home and sleep for a day and a half, which I never get to do, and then, I'm going to be fine. We'll figure out this werewolf-y thing I got going on and then, you'll never beat me in a race ever again."

"Get some rest, Carter. I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too, big brother."

Brian turned to walk away and then stopped dead in his tracks. He glanced over his shoulder and said casually, "Oh, and Isaac?"

"Yeah?"

"If anything happens to my sister while you're watching over her, I'll make sure that anything you've gone through in the past, anything she saw while she was bonding with you, is nothing."

The anger bubbled in my chest before I could stop it and I snarled, "Brian, don't talk to him like that!"

"What?" Brian wasn't the only one who was shocked. Everybody in the room was shocked but I couldn't stop. I'd seen what made Isaac and how he'd become that person. I'd been throughout his life with a fine toothed comb and there was nothing in me that could ever stand to see him in pain.

"He is doing the best he can. Do not talk to him like that. Just don't, okay?" I bit out.

Brian studied me for a long moment before he muttered, "Right, mental and physical bond. I won't do it again, Carter. I promise."

"Good. Good night, Brian. I'll see you in the morning."

With that, I closed my eyes and my world went dark.


	17. Chapter 17

"I don't want my sister bonded to a guy who's so damaged he can't even talk to other people. Look, I know it's not his fault and I completely understand that. But I want the best for my sister and she's bonded to him now. She is going to do whatever it takes to protect him." Brian's ranting rivaled even mine. We were on the way back to his house. Steffi had packed her car up that morning and, under glares from Morgan and Isaac after Morgan had called Steffi's trainer and given him a "stern talking to." Brian informed me that 'stern talking to' probably meant she tore that man a new asshole for sending a teenager to take care of a problem that an adult should have been in charge of.

"I'm not defending him or anything, but I really don't think Isaac's going to let her get hurt. I don't like that he likes her or that he gets to kiss her and stuff, but I really think he'd do anything to make sure she's safe. He has a big stupid crush on her."

"A lot like your big stupid crush on her?"

I looked away from the road to look over at Brian and regretted it. I sighed, "You and Carter only look alike when you're both being completely disproving of anything anybody else does."

"Yeah, we get that from Mom. Now, when we get to the house, I know you're going to want to run upstairs and be all happy loving with her but…"

"I'm not going to jump her!" I cried out. "Oh my god! I've kissed her twice! It's not like we're having sex!"

"But you want to!"

"Dude, there isn't a straight guy alive who wouldn't have sex with your sister if she so much as suggested they had a chance with her." I looked over at Brian and found a very different look on his face. I admitted, "Okay, that could have been the wrong thing to say. But you know it's true. And I know it's true. Your sister is crazy hot!"

"Shut up! In my mind, she's 12. She just turned 12. Because, when I died, we'd celebrated her 11th birthday two months before. So, I've been alive a year, now she's 12!"

"Yeah, except she's not. You can want her to be twelve all you want. But there's still going to be a sixteen year old girl, wanting to do sixteen year old girl things."

"What, like sex? You expect me to be okay with my baby sister having sex with you?"

"Dude, come on. I'm not going to jump your sister. I want to date your sister. I want to be the one she comes to when she's upset and stuff. I want to be at all the family dinners and award presentations and banquets she's going to get for all the really cool stuff she's going to do. I want to be the one she calls when she's had a really hard day and she just really needs to talk to somebody. I want to be the guy she likes to curl up and watch movies with, but also the guy she can depend on to take care of her bad day if she needs to. I want to be the romantic version of you."

Brian was silent for a long moment and I thought I'd won him over with my heartfelt declaration of feelings for his sister. Then, he said slowly, "That is the most disturbing way I've ever heard somebody compare my sister and I. Am I really her brother-boyfriend? Is that what's going on?"

"Dude, calm down. You're her brother. It's just that the two of you are weirdly closer than most siblings. It's not something to freak out about. It happens. It's not like the two of you kiss or anything. But you're her best friend and that's what I want to be. I want to be her boyfriend and her best friend."

"Well, get in line. Carter doesn't need a boyfriend right now." Brian's voice was like freaking stone when he spoke. "She was just turned into a werewolf! And we don't even know what kind of werewolf she'll be. What if she's dangerous? She won't be able to handle that. When she broke that kid's nose last month, it drove her nuts. She felt so bad about it. Carter's not violent."

"And I'm not saying that I'm going to force her into a relationship. You forget that I've been through this werewolf thing twice now! If anything, I'm **more** helpful than you in this situation! I have more experience and I'm better equipped to deal with it!"

"Right, you've dealt with what Lydia, Allison, and Scott insist on calling a 'were-witch' before."

"Your sarcasm is, as always, completely unappreciated. And I will say that you've never dealt with it before either. In fact, you've barely dealt with werewolves before. And I have twice. And I've dealt with a kanima! And I know that the form you take reflects who you are. So basically, Carter is going to be the sweetest, fluffiest werewolf that ever existed!"

"Yeah, right. Look, just do whatever she wants today. If she doesn't suggest it, don't fucking do it. Understand?"

"Yeah, sure." We climbed out of my jeep and walked into the quiet house, just as Isaac made his way down the stairs and ordered, "Back outside. Back outside now!"

"Why? What's going on? Is something wrong with Carter?" Brian demanded.

"Nope. She's fine. Outside. Go outside. Come on." He ushered us back out the door, peeking over his shoulder while he did so as if he expected to find Carter walking down the stairs behind him. Then, he continued to push us towards the trees, until he decided we were far enough away from the house. And, even then, his voice was a hushed whisper. "Okay, so Carter is a little upset today and it's not a big deal or anything. She's sleeping right now. Peacefully. But I have to be back in there before she wakes up so I'm going to say this fast."

"Isaac, you don't have to stay here anymore," Brian interrupted. "Stiles and I have got this under control and Mom will be out of class at four. It's not a big deal."

"Yes, yes it is. So shut up and listen. When Carter and I bonded, she got the worst things that ever happened to me. And they're all in her head, and she hasn't sorted them out yet. So she's a little protective and she's um.." Isaac frowned and refused to meet our eyes, "attached to me, right now."

"Please tell me you're not using this as another excuse to make out with my sister."

"Nope. No. Not doing that. Trust me. Not doing that. But she's having some trouble with me being out of her sight. As a matter of fact, I really need to get upstairs before she wakes up again and finds me gone."

"You're not taking advantage of her and she's attached to you right now. What's the big deal?"

"Just….well…you know, you'll see when you wake her up. Also, you can't whisper anything in the house and not expect her to hear. Apparently, hearing is the first thing that kicked in for her."

"You sound exhausted, dude."

"I'm not complaining about being the one bonded to her and I'm not complaining about being with her, but I'm worried about her. She saw my life and I saw hers at the same time. It's hard enough to have one in her head, much less three."

"Three?" I repeated.

"Yeah. Hers, mine, and Brian's. It's no freaking wonder she just wants to experience stuff for herself for a while. I'm serious, the two of you have to stop trying to decide what she's going to do and let her decide for herself. Because she really is going crazy in there when she can't do what she wants."

"Great. So you get to be the expert on Carter now."

"Looks like it. Now come on. She really is going to wake up soon and I am not going to not be up there when she does. It's not a good thing."

He spun on his heel and led up back inside and up the stairs to Carter's room. We were right behind him as he opened the door and she sat up in bed. Her hazel eyes were bleary, but panicked and searching the room. When she sighted Isaac though, her entire body relaxed and she sighed with relief. She held out her hand and he crossed the room to sit in the chair by her bed and take it. She smiled at him and then greeted us. "Hi, Stiles, hey, Brian. Come sit!"

She patted her bed and yawned. Brian and I crossed the room and she let go of Isaac's hand so she could hug the two of us. As soon as we released her, she grasped for his hand again. It was like she didn't even notice when she said casually, "So how was your night last night? How are you feeling, Bri?"

"I'm glad to be back home, Carter." He sat on the edge of her bed and I leaned against the balcony pole. She looked up at me and motioned to the place right beside where she was sitting. I obeyed her without even thinking about it. Because I didn't have a choice. I'd do anything she ever asked me.

Her free hand was already encased in Brian's when I sat down so I draped my arm over her shoulder. Brian continued, "Stiles was nice enough but I do not want to ever live with guys who have raging hard ons for you ever again."

Isaac and I both blushed and looked away from Brian, who glared at us. Carter rolled her eyes and retorted, "Maybe I'm the one with the raging hard on, Bri. I mean, I am the one with one guy in my bed and the other holding my hand and sitting at my bedside."

Brian's face paled and he choked out, "No! Nope. I'm done. Nope. No more of that conversation. You're twelve. Just. No. Christ, Carter. Nope."

Carter laughed and pulled her hand away so she could reach up and poke him lovingly in the face. She teased, "You are a big baby, big brother. A big baby with tiny girl hands."

"And you're exhausted, Carter. I thought werewolves were supposed to have amazing healing or some shit like that."

"I'm healing my throat still and my body's still working to build a beta bite into its function. I didn't get bit by an alpha. The bite isn't dominant in my body."

"Ah. Well, go back to sleep. You have all of us in here."

"If Danny was here, I'd have all my favorite guys. You guys should sleep too. Stiles is going to."

"Carter, I don't think…."

"It's fine, Stiles," she interrupted. "Don't worry so much about it. How are you ever going to convince my brother to let you take me on a date if you can't fall asleep with me in front of him?"

"You know, sometimes I see a lot of your Mom in you," I informed her.

"We'll talk about you dating Stiles when you're feeling better. Now, do what you have to do to get Stiles asleep and then lay down," Brian commanded.

She answered casually, "Stiles and I already have a physical bond. All I have to do is the same thing I have to do with you. I just tell him to go to sleep."

"Just go to sleep, Carter."

She grinned and put let go of Isaac and her brother to turn to me. Over her shoulder, I could see Isaac watching her curiously and a little jealously. So, despite Brian's presence, I put a little show in it when she reached up and cupped the back of my head with her hands. I leaned forward until my forehead touched hers and smirked at Isaac. Until her tiny hand delivered a stinging slap to the back of my head and she warned, "Not funny, Stiles. If you keep teasing, I'm going to put you to sleep for real. I've never done euthanasia before."

Her hand returned to my neck and her thumb stroked across my hairline. Her hazel eyes found mine and focused intently. With anyone else, it would have been uncomfortable. With her, I leaned into her. My body was drawn to her, magnetized. And then, she murmured softly, "Sleep with me, Stiles. Just fall asleep when I do, okay?"

"Yeah…okay." My eyes were already drooping. I was already falling asleep. Carter's hands moved around to my shoulders and she rubbed them for a second before she guided me down to lay beside her on the bed. Isaac and Brian were watching closely but I couldn't find it in myself to care. She lay down on her side facing me and peeked over her shoulder at Isaac.

"You'll be here when I wake up?"

"I'll be here," he promised. "Just get some sleep."

She turned to Brian and repeated herself. He answered, "Of course. I'm not going anywhere."

It was only then that she lay down fully next to me and looped her hand up around my neck. With her fingers dragging softly across my skin, she murmured, "Go to sleep, Stiles" and I did.


	18. Chapter 18

I slept forever. At least, it felt like I did. It was a restless sleep, filled with nightmares and terror as my brain tried to make sense of what happened. My body filed and realized that things would fit together, then started from scratch. I organized Isaac's life beside my own and Brian's. Sixteen years of my life, sixteen years of Brian's (plus five years on the other side), and seventeen years of Isaac's life. It was like the worst kind of dissociative identity disorder because I couldn't forget the other two sides. They ran parallel through my mind every time I looked at Brian or Isaac. They lent to everything I understood about them. Every word that came from them, came from a moment in their past. Every emotion, every belief came from what had happened years before they even thought to speak. And they were given to me to study and twist as I pleased.

I woke up in a cold sweat, panicking and gasping for air. I sat up in bed and reached out, grasping for a hold on anything. Anything to keep me linked to the world. Isaac found my hand on one side, Brian reached out to grab onto me, and Stiles' arm tightened around my waist. Brian murmured, "Sh. It's okay. Sh, sh, sh. Every thing's okay. Everything's going to be okay."

"We're all here. We're all here, "Stiles assured me. "It's okay. Everything's okay."

Isaac grasped my hand in both of his and brought my knuckles up to press a kiss to them. He stated, "You're hungry. What do you want to eat?"

"I can get up and get my own food." My heartbeat slowed as I calmed down. Stiles arm tightened around me, keeping me in the bed.

"Let Isaac and Brian get it. You need rest."

"I've been resting since one in the morning. It's been twelve hours. I want to get up and do something. I at least want to go pee."

Stiles groaned and slowly pulled his arm away from my waist. Brian commanded, "You get to go to the bathroom and then come back in here and get back in bed. Isaac and I are going to go get you some food. I'm not entirely sure that Stiles won't burn the house down if he tries. We'll only be gone for thirty minutes, at the most, okay? So stay put and stay calm."

I snorted and threw the blankets off of myself. Stiles knew to remove his arm and I snapped, "Just because I'm feeling all loving and worried about the three of you does not mean that I'm unable to do anything. Jesus fucking Christ. Didn't you hear Deaton last night? I'm potentially the most powerful being among us. I refuse to be treated like a damn fragile flower. Shit, I'm missing a week of school, my neck aches like it was torn out by a fairy, and I'm aggravated. Don't irritate me more."

I stood up and pretended that my legs didn't feel weak. With a ramrod straight back, I marched to the door, looked over my shoulder, and announced, "I'll meet you in the kitchen in five minutes. Six depending on how my hair looks."

I made it to the bathroom and closed the door behind me securely before I hit my knees and threw up. Being a werewolf was supposed to make me stronger. It was supposed to make me nearly invincible. But it wasn't working. I was exhausted. I was sick. My body was trying to expel the bite. The bile in the toilet was a mix of the brown tea Mom had been shoving down my throat and thick, black gunk. I flushed the toilet and fell back on my ass. Within seconds, there was a soft knocking on the door and I could hear the three of them breathing outside. The hearing was getting on my nerves. It faded in and out, in and out all the time. I was constantly confused, constantly stimulated. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry.

"Carter, what's going on?" Brian's voice was soft and steady but I could hear how worried he was and it annoyed me.

"I'm fine. I just need a minute."

"Carter, I can hear that you threw up. I can smell it," Isaac informed me and I groaned. He'd been around my mother for far too long. He was doing the same thing she did. The embarrassing manner of telling everything he knew and then some.

"Carter, let us in or we're going to call Deaton," Stiles got straight to the point.

"It's unlocked, you fuckwads," I growled. The door opened slowly and I stared up at the three boys standing in the doorway. I sighed, "Well, if we're going to pretend I'm a fragile flower, the least you can do is get me up off this floor. I'm cold and I want to be back in bed."

"Told you so," Brian sang.

"Stiles, hit him," I commanded.

Stiles looked over at Brian nervously and said, "Um…no. No, I'm not going to do that."

"Useless." Isaac stepped forward and lifted me up.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I made a mistake. I tried to pull my ass out of bed a little earlier than I should have and I got sick because of it. If it happens again in a few hours, we call Deaton, okay?"

"Carter, we should call him just to see if this is normal. He didn't say you'd throw up," Brian pointed out.

"Yeah, and he also told me to stay in bed until I got my strength back. My body reacts differently to things, remember? I'm special."

"Special ed," Brian teased but he couldn't hide the fact that he was still worried.

"Look, it's only one o'clock right now. I'll try again at four. If I'm still feeling like this, we'll call Deaton. Bri, you'll know if I'm dying. Special connection and all that jazz."

"Don't joke about you dying, Carter. It's not funny. Isaac, take her back to bed."

"I'm still hungry though. I still want food!" I demanded. "If you're going to treat me like a fragile princess, I want fed like one."

"You can have a roast beef sandwich and some Sprite."

"I'll take it," I agreed. Isaac carried me out of the bathroom and back to the bedroom. He laid me down gently and took his seat by my bedside again. Stiles sat on the bed next to me and I asked, "Wanna go back to sleep?"

"Not really." Worry. Fear. Anguish.

"Stiles," I sighed, "I'm not going to die. You can calm down. My body is just pissed off because it doesn't want to be a werewolf but it needs to be. It'll get everything settled in a little bit."

"I'd just rather not sleep. I've gotten a lot of sleep today. I'll stay awake with Isaac and Brian."

"Worry warts."

"Rest," Isaac ordered. He put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me backwards.

"I don't want to sleep more. I want to eat and do something. Can't we watch a movie or something? Please?"

"Pick something. We'll watch a movie and then you'll go to sleep," Stiles agreed.

Brian walked in with a sandwich and a cup of pop. He settled onto the end of the bed and handed me the plate and cup. He asked, "Happy?"

"I will be after I eat this. Then, we're going to watch a movie."


	19. Chapter 19

She was sleeping again. I was sitting up in bed next to her, running my fingers through her hair. Brian was downstairs with Morgan, on the phone with Deaton, despite the fact that they told Carter they wouldn't until she woke up again. Isaac was trying not to fall asleep in the chair beside her bed. Her tiny hand was encased in both of his and it hadn't left it since she finished eating. She hadn't even made it partway through the cheesy romance film she picked to punish us.

"Isaac," I whispered, but he didn't stir. "Isaac!"

He jerked awake and demanded, "What? Is she okay? What?"

"Shh!" I hissed, glancing down at Carter to make sure she was still asleep. She hadn't moved. Isaac focused his eyes on her and nodded, assuring me that she was, in fact, still asleep. I asked, "You and Scott, you guys can smell when somebody is sick. When they're dying. What do you smell on her?"

Isaac frowned and, for a second, I worried that he was too dumb to answer me. But instead, he said slowly, "I really don't know. It's not like anything Derek or Scott taught me. It's weird. It's like she's healing and dying at once. She smells sick, but she also smells healthy. It's, not normal. I don't know what it is."

"You're scared." My voice actually shook on the words.

"You are too."

"We've only known them a month, you know," I pointed out. I stopped looking at Isaac and looked down at Carter's sleeping face. "We shouldn't be this scared to lose her. We shouldn't be this afraid that we're going to close our eyes and she'll be gone."

Isaac shrugged and replied, "She's different. They're different. I don't think there's anyone around who can't tell they're different."

"I don't want to lose her."

"We're not going to. I think it's going to take a lot more than what it has to get rid of Carter Elizabeth Erickson."

"Trust me when I say that nothing is getting rid of my sister."

We looked up to see Morgan and Brian standing in the doorway. Morgan was holding a steaming bowl of liquid in her hands. "Boys, move."

Isaac scooted away and I moved off the bed. Morgan came to take my spot and smooth her hand over Carter's face. She murmured, "Wake up, babygirl. Time for some medicine."

"I thought you said you couldn't build?"

"Shut up, Stiles," Brian ordered.

"I'm not building," Morgan replied, more kind. "Together, we read what would work best on her, and Deaton told us what works best with werewolves. And we read how they would work together. So we combined a few things we had in the cabinet, a few things I had in my study, some stuff I borrowed from Deaton, and a few things we went out and found in the woods. And now, we're going to fix my daughter."

"She's trying to fix herself," Isaac replied stubbornly.

"Yes, and this will help. It will help bind the wolf in her more firmly to the Natural Scientist in her. And it will accelerate the healing process." Morgan added as an afterthought, "We hope."

"And if it doesn't do what you think it's going to do?" I asked.

"She'll still heal. Her body will still bind. It will just take longer and she'll be sick while her body gets used to it. But I want my baby girl back to normal now. So that's what we're going to work on." Morgan smoothed her long, thin fingers through Carter's hair and ordered, "Wake up, baby-girl. Wake up, sweetheart. Come on. Wake up."

Carter opened her eyes and greeted, "Hey, Mom. How was class?"

Her voice was fine when she spoke but her eyes were exhausted. Morgan answered as if she weren't bone tired, "It was okay. The professor actually took my phone. Can you believe that? Open up, honey."

"You shouldn't have been texting Brian so much and he wouldn't have taken it. What is that?"

"Medicine. Now hush and open up or we'll hold your nose closed."

"Is it going to taste bad?"

"Of course it is. What kind of medicine would it be if it didn't?" Morgan smiled at Carter and Carter rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth and let Morgan spoon a healthy dose in. Before she could gag and spit it out, Morgan reached forward and clamped her hand over Carter's mouth. Brian choked with laughter in the doorway. Carter's hazel eyes narrowed in a glare and Morgan removed her hand after Carter swallowed.

"See, baby-girl. Just like when you were kids. Nice and easy."

"Easy, right. That tastes like spinach dipped in peppermint." Carter grimaced. "How much of it do I have to drink?"

"All of it."

"Yay," Carter said sarcastically. "How much of there is it?"

"This bowl and then a pitcher of it downstairs. Now, would you like to drink it on your own like a big girl, or are we going to have to force it down your throat?" Morgan's voice was sugar sweet.

"This me being hurt thing really does freak you out, doesn't it, Mom?"

"Mm. Not as much as it freaks out your brother. So what do you think?"

"I'll drink it on my own, thanks. How much stuff is in here to make me sleep?"

"All of it. Isaac, will you go run a bath for Carter? She'll have about thirty minutes before she falls asleep. Carter, drink, and I mean it. Don't you dare try to hide it or turn it into anything," Morgan commanded. "Stiles, Carter is going to take a bath. Could you freshen up in here? Brian and I are working to take some precautionary measures to ensure that the next time somebody comes snooping around here, everything will remain undercover. Kids still say 'undercover,' right?"

Brian rolled his eyes just like Carter while Isaac and I hid our grins. I replied, "Yeah, Morgan. Kids still say 'undercover.'"

"Good. Because that's what we are going to do. Now, Carter, drink. And don't think I don't notice you staring at it. You amplify the peppermint, you're detracting from something else. Just suck it up and drink it. Isaac, do as I said."

Carter raised the bowl to her lips and drained it, tilting her head back to catch every last drop. When she pulled it away, she shook her head like she was clearing it and then smiled up at me. She teased, "All better, Stiles. Now, you can stop freaking out."

Isaac got out of his chair and left the room. Morgan pressed a kiss to Carter's forehead and rose elegantly. She took the bowl from Carter and motioned towards the door. She swept from the room and Brian and Isaac followed her. When they were gone, Carter rolled onto her side and pointed to the bed beside her. She ordered, "Come lay beside me and pretend that I'm normal."

I did what she said. She wriggled close to me and threw her arm around my waist. I did the same and assured her, "I think you are normal. I think you are one hundred percent, absolutely as normal as they come."

"Mm. I think you are a beautiful liar."

"Oh, you think I'm beautiful?" The smile that crossed her face was well worth my worry that Brian was going to appear and find me nose to nose with his baby sister.

"Stiles, I think you are absolutely gorgeous." Her eyelids drooped and I understood what was happening. "You are just lovely."

"Ah, I know what's going on."

"Do you now?"

"Yes, you're getting sleepy and, when you're sleepy, you're all girly and stuff."

"Hey! I'm all girly and stuff all the time," she protested.

"Absolutely. And right now, you're sleepy and girly and you want to kiss me." I was shooting in the dark, hoping to hit the target.

"Stiles, it isn't often that I don't want to kiss you," she admitted. "I like kissing you."

I leaned forward and pressed a fast kiss to her lips. "There. You kissed me."

"Mm. That is not a kiss, Stiles. I'd like you to try again."

"But you can't because you need to get in the bath," Isaac announced from the doorway. "Come on, Carter. To the bathroom."

"Ugh," she grunted. She rolled to the side and stared over at him. She accused, "Cock block."

"If Brian hears you say that, he's going to kill all of us," Isaac retorted. "Now come on."

He walked over to the side of the bed and gave me a look that said he would talk to me later. Carter lifted her arms and let him pick her up. He cradled her to his chest and carried her out of the room. I fell back against the pillows and ran my hands over my face. Within a few minutes, Isaac returned and leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Don't give me shit, Isaac. I know."

"You know that Carter is sick and vulnerable and trying to make out with you?"

"And that it's a bad idea? Yeah, Isaac. Yeah, I freaking know."

"Just making sure that you're very aware of why you can't make out with Carter."

I smirked. "And you're jealous."

"Nah. See, I got to spend three, four days with her. You're the one who gets to be jealous."

"Shut up. Go wait outside of the bathroom and make sure that she doesn't drown. I'm going to clean up in here. Shoo, wolfey wolf."

"Ha-ha-ha. Be nice or I'll sic Carter on you," Isaac threatened as he wandered out again.

I rolled my eyes and climbed out of bed. While I waited for her to reappear, I cleaned the room, picking stuff up and putting it back where it belonged. With nobody watching me, I explored her room. I explored the pictures of her and her brother on her desk, the books with the well-worn spines, the papers from school that were organized into neat piles. I was flipping through one of her books when I heard her and Isaac in the doorway.

"Stiles, you're not supposed to go through my stuff." Her voice was exhausted.

She was curled into Isaac with her head in the dip of his shoulder. Her long, red hair hung down over his arm in a torrent of curls and tangles. I teased, "I'm reading a book, Carter. Not going through your stuff."

"Well quit it. Brush my hair, please." Her words fell slowly, like water dripping from a faucet. Isaac sat her on the bed and she motioned to the spot behind her and the spot in front of her. I grabbed her brush from her desk and sat behind her. Isaac sat in front of her and pressed her hands between his. I pulled the brush through her hair, carefully pulling the tangles loose. She relaxed between us and slouched. Her back arched as I smoothed her hair back into the silky red sheet it generally was.

Her voice was so quiet I almost missed it when she asked, "What am I to do about you two?"

"Hmm?" I didn't want to say anything else because I was afraid I'd say the wrong thing.

"Love comes in so very many different forms," she sighed. "You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah," Isaac answered, looking over her head to me.

"I love Brian," she continued. "Look at what that love did. And, Isaac, I can't help but love you so dearly. How could I not? But it's not the same I feel for Brian. And, Stiles, you make my heart thrum. But that's not the same thing I feel for Isaac. It's all so very much."

"So don't deal with it right now," I murmured.

"And I'm not going to deal with it tomorrow. Is it bad if you guys both sleep with me? Brian and Mom are busy worrying and they trust me with you."

"It's not bad," Isaac promised. "And like Stiles said, you don't have to deal with anything right now."

"Ungh." She grunted. "I'm going to be angry when I'm better because of all of this fragile crap."

"We know you are. Where do you want us to sleep?" I prompted.

"Beside me. Come on."

We helped her get settled into center of the bed and then stared at each other from opposite sides of the bed until she grunted impatiently and we took our spots. As soon as we were in the bed, Carter adjusted herself to get comfortable. She rolled onto her stomach and threw her arms over both of our chests. Her hand inched its way into my hair and I didn't know what she was doing until I felt my eyes close and realized she was putting us to sleep with her.


	20. Chapter 20

**I was running. It had been so long since I'd run in a dream. It had been so long since I had a dream. I shouldn't have been dreaming. I shouldn't have known I was dreaming. When Carter put me to sleep, I didn't dream. But there I was, running in a forest, looking over my shoulder to see what was catching up to me. I couldn't see it, but it was there. **

** The vegetation cut into my bare feet and I didn't know where my shoes were. My body was soaked with something. Sweat, but it smelled bitter. Coppery. I could taste it on my tongue, feel it in my pores. Not sweat. Blood. I was covered in blood. Coppery, bitter blood. As the realization hit me, I fell to my knees. **

** "What is this? What is this?" I panted. "What's on me? Whose is this?" **

** "Little pig, little pig, let me in." The singing from the fog behind me reminded me why I was running through the trees, even if I didn't understand what was happening. "Did you forget that you have to run from the Big Bad Wolf?" **

** "Who's there?" I screamed. "Who's there?" **

** "Ah, you aren't afraid of the Big Bad Wolf, are you? No, no, no. You live with the big. Bad. Wolves. Snuggled up to them. How….nice." **

** "Who are you?" I was trying to look into the fog, the trees around me, but I couldn't stop digging at my skin, trying to brush away the sticky liquid that had coated me. **

** "Answer me this, I'll answer you that. Eventually." **

** "No, not eventually. You'll answer me now!" **

** "Mm. No. No. No, Stiles. You're not ready for the answer yet. More time with the big. Bad. Wolves. More time. More time. More time. Are you ready for your riddle?" **

** "Just tell me who you are! And whose blood is this? What did I do?" **

** "That I can answer. What little thing have you been holding in your arms, pretending she's yours, coveting. What little thing put you here?" **

** "Carter," I breathed. "I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming. Carter's fine. She's the one who put me to sleep. She's the one who did this. She's fine. She's fine!" **

** "For. Now. Now, for a riddle. Two bodies have I, though both joined in one. The more still I stand, the quicker I run. What. Am. I?" **

** "I don't know. Where are you?" My head whipped around, trying to find where the voice was. **

** "What. Am. I. Stiles. What. Am. I." **

** "I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't…" **

"Stiles." I opened my eyes instantly and found Carter's hand encased in mine. Her hazel eyes were barely cracked open and she groaned, "You're supposed to be sleeping."

"I don't want to sleep. Can you answer something for me?"

On the other side of Carter, Isaac was snoring softly. She murmured, "What?"

"A riddle. Can you answer a riddle for me?"

"What riddle?"

"Yeah. A riddle."

"What is it?"

"Two bodies I have…though both joined in one. The more still I stand, the quicker I run. What am I?"

"You're an hourglass, Stiles. Now go back to sleep."

"I'm okay, Carter. You should go back to sleep though, okay?"

Her eyes drooped and she murmured, "I don't want to sleep without you."

"Just for now. Just go back to sleep." I pulled my hand away from hers and soothed my fingers through her hair. Her eyes completely closed and she gave a soft purring sound in satisfaction. It struck me that she was closer to being a cat than she was to being a wolf.

"You'll be here when I wake up?" she asked, her voice even softer than before.

"Of course," I promised.

With that, she finally fell asleep and I was left awake to run my fingers through her hair and watch the way her face contorted in her sleep. The way her nose scrunched and her lips pursed and relaxed. It was relaxing and, any other time, I would have fallen asleep with her. But it wasn't any other time and I was scared to sleep.

"What had you sick for a week again?" Danny asked.

"Some kind of stomach bug. It was really stupid."

"And you infected Brian, Isaac, and Stiles?"

"Yeah. We were basically quarantined in the house. They about drove Brian up the wall, which leads to the next point."

"What next point?" I hadn't seen Danny in a week and we were sitting on the hood of his car after school on the Monday I returned to school. We dropped Brian off at the animal shelter and then went to the ice cream shop down the road.

"So, when I was sick, I was very needy." We'd perfected our lie to Danny so that we could give him a reason for our disappearance without putting him in danger in the process. "And this neediness led to me telling Isaac that I love him as a friend and me telling Stiles that he makes my heart thrum."

"Your heart thrum? What kind of loopy, needy sick were you?"

I reached over and smacked him in the arm. I laughed, "Hey! It's not my fault! It just kind of came out."

"What did he say?"

"He didn't say anything! He just kind of stared at me and then I fell asleep. I was almost completely asleep when I said it and he hasn't even mentioned it."

"Maybe he didn't hear it. He was sick too."

"And maybe it was a really awkward thing to say and he decided that he completely doesn't like me because I told him that my freaking heart thrums for him. Seriously. How weird is that? Could I possibly have been more needy?"

"Yes, you could have. You could have been in the middle of making out with him and he could have completely freaked out after you told him about your scar and he could have ran."

"Ethan still hasn't called?" I asked.

"Not even a text, but that's not the point, Carter. The point is that needy doesn't bother Stiles because Stiles **is** needy. As much as your 'heart thrums for him,' I bet his thrums for you just as much. Stiles has the biggest thing for you since he had a thing for Lydia. And that's saying something."

"Yeah, and he told me that he liked me and then I told him that I need some time and then some complicated stuff happened between me and Isaac and then I told him that my heart thrums for him, and he said nothing."

"Carter, wait. Go back. Some 'complicated stuff' happened between you and Isaac. What complicated stuff happened between you and Isaac?"

I winced and admitted, "We might have kissed a few times."

"What? When? And definitely why?"

"It just kind of happened. We got close at the shelter and we ended up kissing. So we kissed a few more times and nothing came from it! We just decided that we're better friends. We're closer. We're better as friends. But what if I messed up things with Stiles?"

"The only way you'll know is if you ask him."

"And the only way you'll know what's going on with Ethan is if you call him. I mean, I could hunt him down," I teased.

Danny laughed and replied, "Now that's going too far with being needy. If you hunt your man down, you've taken the relationship a step too far and are required to rethink your lifestyle."

"Well, let's eat our ice cream and celebrate our manless life."

Danny snorted. "You, manless? Carter, Greenberg and Stiles worship the ground at your feet and I'm certain that if you told Isaac you want to get frisky, he'd throw away any logic for a chance. Carter Elizabeth Erickson, I am manless. You are swimming in a sea of awkward, beautiful men."

"Well we just need to find you a body of water then."

With that, my phone rang with the annoying ring tone Stiles had set for himself. It was lyricless, but the pattern of beeping alone drove me insane. But he wouldn't let me change it. He said it was so that, 'I'd be so annoyed, I'd have to answer the phone.' I informed Danny, "That's actually Stiles now."

"So answer it!"

I pressed the phone to my ear and greeted, "Hey, Stiles."

"Hey, you're not at the shelter today."

"No, I'm not at the shelter. I'm released from my duties for another week, at the least. Something about ensuring my safety. I'm actually with Danny. What's up?"

"Well, I was thinking about what I'm doing this week, other than getting caught up in all of my classes and I realized that you promised me a date when everything went back to normal. A real date. And I thought I'd cash in on that promise and see what you're doing tomorrow night at five?"

"You know tomorrow is a school night, right?"

"Yeah. I already talked to your mom. She said it's okay as long as your back by ten."

"You asked my mom?"

"Umm…yeah. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I'm not doing anything tomorrow at five. What did you have in mind?"

"Well….it's a surprise. I don't want to tell you yet."

"How do I know I want to go if you don't tell me where we're going?" I teased.

There was a long pause on the other side of the phone and then, Stiles taunted, "Because your heart thrums for me."

I knew Danny heard it because he tried, and failed, to stifle a laugh. I blushed and said quickly, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yes you will. And don't try to figure out what we're doing because it won't work." I rolled my eyes and he scolded, "And don't roll your eyes. I can practically hear it when you do that. Have fun with Danny."

"And have fun doing whatever you're doing. See you later, Stiles."

"Oh, Carter, wait."

I paused and asked, "What?"

"My heart um….thrums for you too. I just wanted to let you know that."

"We can talk some more about it on our date." I couldn't hide the smile on my face.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Carter."

"Bye, Stiles."

I hung up and peeked over at Danny, who was grinning at me, He nudged me with his elbow and teased, "What was that about being manless, huh?"

"I have a date! With Stiles! And you have to come over and help me!"

"Absolutely not, Carter! I told you, I'm not that kind of gay! That's stereotyping. That's messed up, Carter. That's messed up."

"Please, Danny. Pretty please. Pretty please with sugar on top. I'm going to get Lydia and my brother to help me too so it's not like you'll be alone there."

"Ugh. Fine. Eat your ice cream."

"You know that I love you dearly, right?"

"Suck up."

"And that we are going to find you ten men to make up for that complete ass hat that's running around, not knowing what he's missing."

"Yeah, you're definitely a suck up."


	21. Chapter 21

"She's just as nervous as you are."

"Thank you, Isaac. I know that you can sense what she's feeling and stuff but I don't need to know about your special connection!" I snapped as I searched through my closet for the perfect shirt.

"Yeah, I'm not sensing it through a special connection. She just texted me and told me that she's really nervous. Which is how I know that she's really nervous."

Scott laughed and I threw a shirt at him over my shoulder. I growled, "Shut up and help me pick a shirt."

"Dude, Carter literally sees you all of the time. You spend more time with Carter than you do almost anybody else. I'm pretty sure you could show up in what you wore to school today and she wouldn't care."

"Look, if she's making a big deal about it, then I should make a big deal about it. Because if she thinks it's important enough to dress up and be nervous, then it is, and I should take it really seriously. If I don't take it serious, she won't think that I'm serious. And then she won't think that our potential relationship is serious."

"You are so overthinking this," Scott laughed.

"I am definitely not overthinking this. Carter's probably overthinking this too. Isn't that right?"

"Carter is going into this knowing exactly what she's going to do, how she's going to do it, and why," Isaac replied. "She knew what was going to happen before you asked her on a date."

"Shut up, Isaac."

"I can't help that Carter's smarter than you."

"She's not smarter than me. She's just…."

"Smarter than you."

"Hey, don't sweat it, Stiles. Allison was smarter than me. She's a ton smarter than Isaac. And Kira's way smarter than me. And Lydia was way smarter than you. It's cool. I think they might have to be smarter than us. Because we do some really stupid stuff. And, when they're with us, the stuff we do isn't so stupid."

"That's a really good theory. Now, seriously, what should I wear?"

It was thirty minutes later that I appeared at Carter's door and knocked quietly. She opened the door and I was floored. Her long red hair flowed down over her shoulders and almost matched the red of the polka dotted red and white dress she was wearing. My eyes traced over her, coming back up to stop on the deep red smile adorning her face. She informed me, "You just missed Lydia and Danny."

"I'm not here to see Lydia and Danny," I retorted.

"Good. Where are we going?"

"You'll find out when we get there. Come on. Get in the jeep."

She rolled her eyes and brushed past me. The smell of fresh mown grass and the rain wafted off of her and I breathed it in before I followed her. She was buckling herself into the jeep when I slid in next to her. She asked again, "Where are we going?"

"Again, Carter, you'll find out when we get there." I started the jeep and pulled away. She reached across the seat and took my hand, threading our fingers together and leaning her head back against the headrest. I squeezed her hand and she closed her eyes.

"Are we going to the movies?"

"Carter, stop that," I scolded. "It's a surprise. Quit."

"But Stiles…."

"Nope. Hush." I let go of her hand for just a second so I could flip on the radio. For the rest of the ride, her thumb tapped a rhythm on my hand while she sang under her breath. We parked outside of a restaurant and she peeked over at me.

"This is stop number one of the night," I announced. "They have the best wings you will ever eat in your life and some of the best burgers. And it's two meats for the price of one night."

"Stiles, these are the reasons my heart thrums for you," she replied with an ecstatic grin.

She let go of my hand and climbed out. I locked the Jeep and caught up with her, slipping my hand back into hers. We walked inside and took a booth in the back. When our waitress got over to us, I'd spent so much time looking over the top of my menu at her, that I had no idea what I wanted to order. So, when the lady asked, "What are you having today?"

"She can order first," I pointed to Carter quickly.

"Mm. I'll take a cheeseburger with everything on it, a side order of wings, and a side of fries. With a sweet tea, please."

The waitress's eyes drifted over Carter and she asked, "Honey, are you sure? You know our side of wings is ten wings. And our burgers aren't small."

"I know. The menu said ten wings. That should be enough. I'll look at the dessert menu afterwards. Thank you." Carter smiled up at her.

"I'll have the same thing as her," I informed the waitress.

She nodded, wrote it down, took our menus, and left. Carter whispered conspiratorially, "I don't think she thinks I can eat all of it."

"I know you can," I whispered back and Carter laughed.

"I'm glad you have faith in me, Stiles. Now, what are we doing after this?"

"We are doing something very secretive that I can't tell you about until we are absolutely in the middle of it," I replied.

"Idiot."

"Okay, so, as your official first date that doesn't suck…"

"That's still to be decided."

I rolled my eyes at her and continued like she hadn't said anything, "We need to do all the official first date kind of things. We need to have awkward small talk, terrible pick-up lines and innuendoes to see if you're interested in going home with me at the end of the night, and then, I'll try to be cute and steal from your plate."

"Okay, well, I guess I should deal with these now. You know almost everything about me. Small talk is hard. Although, you have awkward down to a tee. I am very interested to hear your terrible pick-up lines. At the end of the night, of course we're going to make out in your jeep. But, this will have to be a really good date for you to get to second base. And, if you try to steal from my plate, you will get a fork in your hand. That's not a joke."

I grinned at her. "Well, I'll start then. Are you a tower?"

"Mmm. No, why do you ask?"

"Because Eiffel for you."

Carter laughed and replied, "So, are you Jamaican?"

"Hmm, not since the last time I checked. Why?"

"Cause Jamaican me crazy."

I snorted and that went back and forth until the waitress brought out food. As soon as the waitress sat it down, I reached over and stole a fry off her plate, and immediately got my hand slapped. She warned, "Next time, you'll get a fork in your hand. Remember that."

"I wish I knew a line about getting stabbed."

"I know some that aren't just cheesey pick up lines."

"Pervert," I accused.

"Without a doubt. Don't tell my brother though."

"Something tells me Brian already knows ever."

She snorted again and ordered, "Eat your food so we can get to the next part of our date."

It was movie perfect. She swatted me when I licked my finger and wiped barbeque sauce off her cheek. We told stupid jokes. We shared a piece of chocolate cake at the end of dinner and I insisted on paying the bill and she paid the tip. Then, we held hands on the way out to the jeep.

As soon as she was buckled in again, she demanded, "Okay, where are we going?"

"I can't tell you until we get there," I refused to answer her once again.

"Ugh, Stiles. It's six thirty already. Can't I just know things?"

"Absolutely not."

"Ugh!"

"Drama queen." I turned the radio up again and took her hand back in mine. She started singing again and I grinned in silence.


	22. Chapter 22

Stiles stopped the jeep in front of a brightly lit club. I turned in my seat to stare at him and asked, "What's this?"

"This is a club. I guessed you'd never been to one before, so I thought we could go dancing."

I dragged my bottom lip into my mouth and said slowly, "I've never been dancing before."

"You'll be amazing. Come on. And, if you're not amazing, it doesn't matter. Because I'm a really terrible dancer."

He smiled and I sat up quickly to lean across the seat and press a kiss to his lips. I pulled back and said softly, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Let's go inside."

I climbed out of the jeep and he followed behind me. His fingers slid down my arm and found their way into mine, weaving with my fingertips and pressing his palm to mine. I was surprised at how crowded it was for a Tuesday night but Stiles just clasped his hand in mine and pulled me into the writhing mess of bodies. Into a song I didn't know and a beat that pulsed through me. He dropped his arms around my waist and shook his hips in a manner that didn't fit. I leaned up and whispered, "Stiles, I'm a reader. I can literally read the music as it hits me, and that is not how you dance to this song."

So, I pulled away and I did it. I danced and twirled and wriggled and laughed. And Stiles did it all with me. He linked our hands together and pressed himself against me. We danced. It was stupid and hot and fun and, at nine o'clock, Stiles pulled me out of the crowd and back out to his jeep, both of us unable to catch our breaths because we were laughing so hard. He followed me around to the passenger side of the Jeep and I fell back against the door, my fingers wrapped in the collar of his shirt so I could pull him to me. When his lips were an inch away from mine, I murmured, "So this is a real date?"

"A real, live, normal date," he replied. And, with that, he closed the space between us and kissed me. It wasn't perfect or slow or soft. It was sloppy and his sweat stuck to my fingers where they were tracing the back of his neck. Our teeth hit in his haste to kiss me and my back ached where the cold metal bit through the thin dress. I loved it and, when he pulled away, I stood up on my tiptoes so I could lean closer and try to kiss him again. He objected, "Carter, I have to get you home."

"Mm. Or, we can kiss again. Because this was amazing and I like this and I really like you. So let's kiss again." I managed to pull him down to me so I could kiss him again. His hands settled on my waist and it took him a minute to pull away.

"As much as I want to keep doing that, and oh my god, I want to keep doing that, we really have to get you home because I want to take you on another date and I will never be able to take you on another date if I bring you home late."

I leaned up and captured his lips one last time. When I pulled away, I promised, "That was the last one."

He ushered me into the Jeep and then climbed into the driver's side. He clasped his hand back in mine and I rolled my window down so the breeze could dry my hair on the way home. We made out for another few minutes in the driveway at the house and, when I pulled away, he asked, "So, where does this leave us, Carter?"

"This leaves us with another date on Friday," I replied. "And this leaves us at me seeing you tomorrow when we go running."

"And…?"

"And we'll talk about the rest as everything goes on," I promised. "But, for right now, I want you to know that I want to do this again."

/

"Hey, hon." She stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to my cheek, like she had every single day since our date. We weren't boyfriend-girlfriend, but everybody in that school knew that she was mine and I was hers.

"Good morning, Carter." Behind her, Brian rolled his eyes like he had every morning since she started that. "Good morning, Brian."

"You didn't sleep last night." He skipped any of the pleasantries.

"Yeah, I just couldn't sleep. It's not a big deal," I replied quickly. I hadn't really been sleeping in about a week. I had nightmares about riddles. Over and over again. Always riddles about time.

"You couldn't sleep again?" Carter pressed her hands to the side of my face and pulled it down to eye level with her. Danny snorted at the sight. Me bent over little tiny Carter because she was dragging me down to look into my eyes. "Where is your insomnia coming from, Stiles?"

"I'm sleeping, Carter. I just have a lot on my mind," I waved her off, covering her tiny hands with mine. "There's a certain red head who keeps me up at night."

"Hmm…I didn't know you still had a thing for Lydia," she teased between pursed lips as her thumbs pulled my eyelids down.

"Ha ha ha, Carter. Seriously, I'm fine. You have to calm down."

"I am calm. You're the one with an elevated heart beat," she murmured. "Have you been feeling sick? Anything different?"

"Yeah, you."

She rolled her eyes and I slid my hands down her arms to rest on her shoulders. I said as sternly as possible, "Carter, I'm fine. I'm just not sleeping well. I'm an adolescent, remember? We do that. It's not a big deal and I'll be okay."

She sighed and let go of my face slowly. I asked, "Better?"

"No."

"Grumpy."

"You two are disgusting," Isaac groaned from his spot beside Brian on the hood of the car. I wondered when him and Scott and Allison had appeared.

"That's what I'm saying," Brian agreed.

"They're fine. Young love," Danny sang.

"Oh shut up." Carter turned in my arms so that her back was pressed against my front. I rested my hands on her hips and my morning started. Carter and I were together almost 24/7. I met her in front of her car and we all talked. Since the fairies, since her bite, Scott, Allison, and Isaac were a lot more comfortable around her. Lydia was basically her best friend (other than Danny and myself). Brian started going over to Isaac and Scott's house to play video games. We were working on teaching him what he'd missed in the five years he'd been dead. Morgan was getting more comfortable with them being out of the house all of the time. Brian did a morning workout and Carter did her workout on the way from the school to the animal shelter every day. It was seven miles instead of six but she loved it and sometimes Scott drove my jeep and I ran it with her. We still ran in the woods on Saturdays and sometimes Sundays.

With her bite and her newfound abilities, Morgan decided that Carter didn't have to take any self-defense classes anymore. Instead, she had to spend time with Isaac and Scott every day, learning how to control her wolf. Sometimes that meant shifting and play fighting. Sometimes that meant things as simple as voluntarily wolfing out and having to stay in that state. Isaac and Scott's problem was that they shifted without meaning too. Carter's problem was that she couldn't stay voluntarily shifted for long periods of time. Brian and I were allowed to be with her when that was going on, but we weren't allowed to talk to her. Our job was to do research. Her first full moon was spent out in the woods with Scott and Isaac. She reported that it was boring. She didn't even change and none of knew why but we were all thankful we didn't have to deal with a new wolf problem.

When we weren't doing school work or training or trying to figure out our supernatural lives, we were together, doing all of the stupid, silly date ideas she never had a chance to do before. I was looking up original date ideas. We went to the movies, we played laser tag, we went paint balling, dancing, just driving and talking. We did everything, and we ended every date, and sometimes started them, by kissing in the Jeep.

The bell rang and I grabbed Carter's backpack off the ground by the tire. She smacked me on the arm and took it back quickly. Then, she threaded her fingers through mine and we started our walk inside with Danny on her left between her and Brian and Scott on my right. We were a pack again. We felt like a pack again. Except me. I'd lied to Carter and she either let it slide, or couldn't tell. At her locker, I nudged her and asked, "Are you still having the girl's night with your Mom tonight?"

"Yep. Just me, Mom, and some ice cream. Bri will be with Danny, helping him cast a net out for some new man meat. Unless you're looking for a man, Stiles," she teased. "I think you might be cute enough for Danny."

"Not my type," Danny tossed out, stopping his conversation with Brian.

"See, I'm not his type. You're stuck with me."

"Ugh, well that's a drag." She was still smiling though. I leaned down and kissed her quick. I knew how much Brian hated her being kissed in front of him so I tried to keep it to a minimum to avoid being dragged off backwards.

"Ha ha ha. I'll see you after class, Carter."

"Later, babydoll."

I walked away, leaving her with Brian, Danny, and Isaac.

/

"Ugh, Chris Hemsworth is a billion times better than Chris Pine," I argued.

"How can you even say that? You're dating Stiles! You like the little skinny morally correct ones. How are you going after Thor instead of Captain America?"

"If I was going to pick a superhero based off of which one mostly resembled Stiles, I'd pick Tony Stark, walking sass master."

Mom snorted and replied, "Stiles thinks he's the sass master. I'm the sass master."

"You're the talking master, Mom. I'm the sass master."

"You're the future wife of the sass master."

"Mom!" I laughed. I reached over and swatted her on the thigh.

"Carter, that boy is head over heels for you. If I told him you could get married tomorrow, he'd sell that Jeep to get a ring."

"Mom, he loves that Jeep more than he loves his bat. He wouldn't sell it to save his soul."

"Nah, but he'd sell it to save yours."

I rolled my eyes and dug into the ice cream with my spoon. Mom sighed, "Carter, I'm really glad that we came here. Look at you and Brian. You have friends. You have a pack. That's not exactly what I wanted for you, but it's good. You belong here. You and Brian both do. He's acting more like a teenager than he's acting like a twenty two year old. This is a good place for us."

"I'm glad we're here too, Mom. I mean, look at you! You're going to be more than a dental assistant! You're going to be a dentist! Things are looking up for us. We made good choices."

"And you have a boyfriend," Mom sang and waved her spoon at me. "Young love."

"You sound like Danny."

"Good. I like Danny. Now, tell me all about you and Stiles."

"Mom, you know all about Stiles."

"No, I know that you guys have been going on cutesy dates. Is he a good kisser? You haven't got past first base have you? Please tell me you haven't gotten past first base in that darn jeep. When you do, at least do it in a bed!"

"Mom!" I scolded. "Come on!"

"No, you come on. You know that I don't mind. I know you're safe. You've never kept secrets from me before. Tell me!"

"Fine. Yes, most of the time. He's a good kisser. But sometimes, when we're running late, or when we've been laughing really hard and we just want to kiss each other, it's sloppy and fast. But it's not bad."

"And you? Are you a bad kisser?"

"Of course I'm not a bad kisser! Stiles told me that he's not surprised I'm great at kissing since I'm great at everything I do."

"That boys going to give you a great big head."

I snorted and taunted back, "You know Daddy was just the same, and Brian was with his girlfriends. So you know it's a good thing that Stiles is talking nice to me."

"Of course it is, babydoll. You are my little princess and you deserve the world. And I think that boy wants to give it to you."

"And I want to give it back to him. But I am worried about him. Mom, he's having trouble sleeping. It's been getting bad for a while but he's barely sleeping now days. And he tries to hide it from me but, you know, he can't lie to me. Except, when I ask him about it, his heartbeat speeds up like he's lying, but it doesn't show up on his face like that. His face doesn't tell me that he's lying."

"Well, baby, maybe he's just not sleeping well. It could be any number of things. It doesn't mean he's lying. Perhaps he doesn't even know why he's not sleeping himself. Maybe he's having nightmares and, when you ask him why he's not sleeping, his heart speeds up out of fear. People don't want to talk about their nightmares, sweetheart. What have you always been able to depend on?"

"My gift," I answered with a sigh.

"That's right. With everything that's been happening, your gift is the last thing you need to doubt. You need your gift more than anything in the world. Trust your gift and trust Stiles. He's a good boy. He's a sweet boy."

"I'm glad he has your approval, Mom."

"I'm glad you have a good boyfriend."

"Woah now, Mom. Don't go throwing around the b word. We haven't even used it yet."

Mom rolled her eyes and poked me in the nose. She announced, "Sweetheart, I can read your face. You may not have used the _b word_, but you feel it."

"Oh my god, Mom. You say I'm the dramatic one."

"See, another way Stiles has been a fantastic influence on you. Before, you would have said, 'Fuck, Mom!' Or 'Christ, Mom!' This is better. This is nice. Now remember, if you're going to have sex with him…"

"Mom! Calm down! We haven't even gotten past first base!"

"You are a much later bloomer than your brother was. I walked in on him with his hand up a girl's shirt the very first time I let him close that damn bedroom door."

"Ugh. Let's keep Brian far, far away from Lydia then."

"I think that firecracker can handle herself. Your brother doesn't stand a chance."


	23. Chapter 23

**I have to apologize to all the followers of this story because this isn't my best writing, there are plot holes a mile wide, the original characters don't have enough flaws, and I just can't get the energy to fix it. I started with a good idea and I lost it somewhere along the way. Part of me really wants to scrap the entire story, but I don't feel like I can do that to you, especially after you've read so far. So I'm going to keep posting everything I have, but I'm not going to write all the way to Stiles being the nogitsune or Allison dying. I'm sorry. My heart's just not in it anymore. But I will continue regular updates. I'm truly sorry for this quality of writing. **

"So, you and my sister go on dates like every other day," Brian spoke up in the middle of slaughtering my character again.

"What?"

"You and my sister. I'm talking to you, Stiles. You go on dates almost every other day?" The way he could talk so low and threatening without looking away from the game in front of him was a fascinating trait that all three members of the Erickson family possessed.

"Yeah, we go on dates a lot. She's never really been on real dates so we're doing all this goofy stuff that she's seen in movies and I look up on the internet. It's fun." Like always, I talked too much.

"She likes you a lot, Stiles."

"I'm glad. I like her too."

"I know. I just wanted to scare the shit out of you while I killed your dude again."

"Oh my god, dude. You're such an asshole!" I reached over to punch him in the shoulder and Scott and Isaac rolled laughing.

"Hey, you're the one dating my sister. You should be on your toes all the time. You never know when I'm finally going to smack the shit out of you for making out with her in your Jeep all the time. You think I don't know what goes on. I was your age once!"

"Dude, you're my age now," I reminded him.

He sneered and it was our turn to laugh at him. He scowled, "I wish you guys would stop reminding me that I'm not 22. Carter loves to do it."

"That's because your sister likes to be cruel. She may be a trained pacifist, but she isn't a natural one," Isaac pointed out.

"Eh. Carter's not like the rest of us. And not just because she's a dually gifted were-witch."

"You know she hates that term, right? She wants to kill Lydia for starting that," I pointed out.

"Oh hush. She secretly likes it. She uses nicknames all the time. Isn't that right, Big Bad Wolf?" Brian grinned at Isaac and he rolled his eyes.

"Calm down, baby hands," Scott defended Isaac with a smirk.

"When did she tell you guys about that?"

Scott and Isaac turned their eyes on me and Brian cried out, "Dude, you're dating my sister! Have a little respect!"

"I told them that before I started dating Carter."

"Yeah, he's got some kind of respect for his girlfriend's brother," Isaac sang.

"Careful with the g word," Brian replied. "Carter isn't sold on labels just yet."

"But we are dating. Carter is my….girl." It was lame but it worked for what I needed it to.

Brian rolled his eyes and tossed his controller to Isaac, who caught it without a second thought. As seamlessly as Carter was blending into my life, Brian was blending just as seamlessly into our lives. He announced, "I'm going to take a piss."

"Again, old man. I thought you were only mentally old," Scott taunted. Brian smacked him in the back of the head on way past and danced out of the way when Scott reached for him again.

"Okay, so tell me again why we're doing this?" I hissed at Stiles.

"Because tomorrow is mischief night, which means that today is…mischief night's eve. So tomorrow, this place is going to be wild, and, as your first real mischief night, this is our date."

"What did you tell Mom to get me out of the house?" I was holding the flashlight while Stiles unscrewed every screw in Coach's desk.

"I told her that I was taking you on a pranking spree. Nothing illegal. Just normal teenager stuff."

"Stiles, we just broke into a school…"

"You broke into a school," Stiles interrupted. "How did you do that, by the way?"

"I read the locks and built them so that they unlocked themselves. I have to talk to Mom about what's normal for a parent and what she cannot allow me to do. How am I ever going to sneak out if she keeps giving me permission to leave?"

Stiles looked up and informed me, "You are the most adorable weirdo I've ever met in my life."

"Thanks, honey bunny. So, is this another one of our dates?"

"If you want to count it as a date, it definitely counts as a date."

"You know, this room has definitely had shit done in it before. We could pause from taking the desk apart for like, you know, about ten seconds."

"I have to have you home by one a.m, Carter. It took a lot of sweet talk to get you out this late."

"Mm, Stiles, if I wanted to, I could take every screw out of this desk by asking them nicely."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Nope. I could do it in about six seconds. Now, do you want to try something else?"

He jumped up and I hopped up onto the desk. I dropped the flashlight on the floor and as I wrapped my fingers in the front of his t shirt and dragged him forward between my legs. He rested his hands flat on the table on either side of my hips. His breath dragged across my face when he whispered, "This isn't a good idea, Carter."

"And why isn't it?"

"Because I find you absolutely irresistible."

"Show me." He closed the distance between us and pressed his lips to mine softly at first, like he always did. Then, he kissed me harder and his hands traveled from the desk, up my back. I slipped my tongue over his lips and unfurled my fingers from his t shirt so I could trace my hands over his chest. I slid my hands up his pecs and up his neck. He pulled away so he could sigh into the kiss and I attached my lips just below his ear as soon as I could. He choked out, "Carter…"

I pulled away and asked, "What?"

"Careful there."

"You don't like it?" I asked innocently.

"Too much."

"Good." I reattached my lips to his neck and his hands tightened on my back. His head tilted backwards to give me better access and I locked my legs around his waist. His hands slid up my back and one tangled in my hair and one wrapped around the back of my neck. He pulled away so he could tilt my head back and start down my neck. It wasn't something we'd done before. Stiles had never traced the shell of my ear with his tongue, making me whimper. I didn't know I liked that.

"Fucking Christ, Stiles."

"You don't like it?" He murmured my words back to me.

"Too much."

I used my legs to pull him close to me and scoot my ass forward on the table so that our hips were aligned. I tilted my hips up off the table and Stiles breath was burning when he choked again. "Where the hell did you learn that?"

"I pick up shit fast, Stiles."

"No fuck." I shifted my hips again and Stiles groaned, "Oh my god."

"Like that?"

He dropped his hands from around my hair and grabbed my ass to pull me tight against him. He growled, "You tell me."

I found his lips with mine again and kissed him hard while our bodies ground against each other. I knew an orgasm when I felt one. I'd had plenty that were self-given. But I wasn't expecting the burn that was building in me just from Stiles' touch to culminate. I didn't expect my gasps to suddenly start filling the air as Stiles mouth traced down my neck. I didn't expect my hands to trace down where his shoulder blades cut into his shirt and I didn't expect to clutch at him as if he were my rock in the storm. I moaned, "Stiles…"

"Carter." The hoarse whisper did it for me and I threw my head back and the sound that escaped me was somewhere between my own voice and the half strangled howl of a wolf. All around us, the pinging of nails and screws exiting the walls sounded on the floor and Stiles yanked us away from the desk, standing with me wrapped around his body as the desk shook behind us and I fell boneless against him.

"Did you just do what I think you did?" he whispered into my ear."

"The wolf part, the orgasm part, or the screws coming out of the wall part?" I panted.

"The first and third ones are kind of cool," he whispered into my ear, "but I'm really focused on that second one."

"Yeah, that second one just happened. That's the first time I've ever had somebody else help me out. Generally it's just me and…"

"And…?" he prompted.

"And you're a pervert," I laughed as his phone rang out. He released me and I slid down his body while he snatched it out of his pocket and greeted, "Scott, hey. Now's not the best time. What's…."

I could hear Scott on the other end as he said, "Hey, listen. Is Carter with you because Isaac and I just heard her howl and we're getting ready to head out of the house to look for her. Is she hurt or…"

I pulled the phone away from Stiles and announced, "Hey, Scott, it's Carter. No, I'm not hurt. I'm with Stiles and I'm fine. I just found out that I can howl and…"

"Yeah, why did you do that? There's usually not a lot of reasons for us to wolf out. Are you and Stiles okay? Are you in any danger?"

"Nope. Not in any danger. Just….umm…stubbed my toe helping Stiles with a building project."

"Stubbed your toe?"

"Yep. It hurt pretty freaking bad. Last time I wear sandals to break into the school."

"Wait…you're in the school, with Stiles, at night, and you howled?" I could hear Scott's brain working to put it together. Then, I heard Isaac cry out in the background, "Ugh! Ew! Gross!"

"Well, I'll let Isaac fill you in on what happened. Thank fucking Christ he doesn't know any details. See you at school tomorrow."

I hung up and handed the phone back to Stiles, who asked, "How much of what you feel does Isaac feel?"

"None of it," I answered. "He's just able to piece it together. He knows what I've felt and thought in the past, and he knows what evidence is in front of him. The only time he can even start to feel what I feel is if I'm physically bonded to him."

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my lips before informing me, "But he doesn't get to physically bond with you."

"Stiles, a physical bond does not mean what we just did," I assured him. "A physical bond when the bond has already been established can be as simple as holding hands. So calm down and help me get all these screws picked up."

"You can't just command them?"

"Stiles, I'm a Natural Scientist. Not a magician. I don't levitate. Come on, if I didn't do what I just did, you'd be at work for another two hours." I kissed him again and reached behind him to pat his ass. "Get to work, big boy."


	24. Chapter 24

"So, me and Isaac heard Carter last night," Scott said slowly.

"Shut up," I commanded. "Her brother overhears and he's going to kill me."

"Oh, Brian already knows," Isaac informed me. "I was over there this morning helping Morgan fix a shelf and Brian was pretty pissed off about it. Morgan thought it was funny."

"Of course Morgan did. Carter's going to kill me. I haven't talked to her yet today." I pulled my phone out of my pocket and glanced down at it. I'd missed three calls from her just that morning. "Yeah, she's going to kill me."

"Not if Brian gets to you…" Scott froze in his tracks and stared forward. Isaac almost ran into our backs and I looked up from my phone to find Ethan and Aiden, the alpha twins, standing in front of us.

"Back in school?" Scott asked.

He had to throw his arms out to stop Isaac from moving forward. Aiden, I thought, said quickly, "No, just to talk. We need a pack, an alpha. We want to join your pack."

Ethan joined in, "We know you're building one. We heard the howl last night. You made a female. We want in on it."

"No!" Scott exclaimed. "I'm not making a pack. She was an accident. And, even if I were building a pack, why would I ever want the two of you in it?"

"We're valuable assets," Aiden informed him. "We'd add strength. We'd give you power."

"You killed Boyd and Erica," Isaac snarled. "You are the reason they are dead."

"We messed up."

"I'm about to mess you up." Isaac's claws came out and Scott grabbed his arm quickly.

"Isaac, no. Not here. They're here to ask to join us and we're saying no. Isaac and Stiles don't trust you, and I don't trust you."

"We want to meet the she-wolf," Ethan commanded.

"Seeing as how you kidnapped two she-wolves and killed one of them, you're not getting anywhere near her," I joined in.

"Oh, you're going to stop us, Stiles?" Aiden laughed.

"We're going to stop you," Scott replied. "Stay away from her, and stay away from us."

"Your day will come," Isaac sneered, but he followed Scott when he walked away and, while I followed them, I called Carter quickly.

"Fucking Christ! And you just made out with him!" I squealed.

"Come on, Carter! Keep your shrieking to a minimum!" Danny growled, looking around at all the people who were running past with different 'mischief items' in their hands.

"Everybody's obsessed with their mischief day anyway," I retorted, rolling my eyes. "None of them are listening to us. Now tell me about the guy you made out with last night or I'm going to stand on the roof of my car and shout to the world that Danny Malhealani made out with a super cute buff dude he met at the diner last night!"

"Carter, you won't dare."

"If you want to get her back, Danny, ask her what she was doing at the school last night," Brian scowled, getting me to roll my eyes once again.

"Carter, what were you doing at the school last night? Was it Stiles?" Danny sang.

"It might have been," I taunted back. Brian fake gagged at me and I laughed just as my phone rang out with Stiles' annoying ring tone.

"There's your booty call now," Danny teased and Brian fake gagged again.

I answered the phone with, "You missed three calls, honey bunny."

"I know I did. I know. But I had a good reason."

"Which was?"

"Okay, so I don't have a good reason. That's not the point. What are you doing right now? I have something really important to tell you and…."

At that, the phone disappeared from the side of my head and into Brian's long fingers. He growled into the speaker, "Stiles, you know who this is. We are going to chat about this later."

On the other end of the phone, Stiles cried out, "Brian! I know you're mad, I get that you're mad. I completely understand that. But, right now, it's really important that I talk to Carter. It's about a kind of thing that directly influences her and…"

I tuned out because Danny tugged on my sleeve and, when I turned to face him, I found that his face had drained of color. Before I could ask him what was wrong, he pointed across the parking lot to two crazy attractive, identical boys straddling motorcycles. They looked wrong, but I couldn't read them from the distance, they weren't speaking so I couldn't hear them, and the smells around me made it near impossible to smell them. I asked, "Who is that?"

"That's my ex boyfriend, Ethan, in the gray, and his twin brother, Aiden, in the blue. What are they doing here?"

"Ethan and Aiden?" I repeated. "Oh good, they're back. You know, I'm going to find out. Let me just talk to Stiles really quick."

I nicked the phone back from Brian, interrupting a particularly detailed warning about me and schools at night. "Stiles, I think I know why you called."

"Carter? Oh thank God it's you again. Look, I'm on my way to you. We had a little problem with Isaac and we had to get him calmed down. Look, remember the alpha twins we told you about. They're back."

"Yeah, I know," I replied, not taking my eyes off the muscular boys by their bikes.

"Well…wait, how do you know, Carter?"

"I'm looking at them. The bell's about to ring. Danny and Brian and I are going to go inside. We'll meet you in there."

"Boys locker room."

"Okay. See you soon, honey bunny."

I hung up and shoved my phone in my pocket before turning back to Danny to hide that I was truly scared out of my mind. "What do you think he's doing back here?"

"I don't know. Maybe they're enrolling in Beacon Hills again? I mean, they do need to go to school. They've already missed like three months," Danny pointed out.

"You're right. And you know, don't pay any attention to him. Come on. We're going inside. Let's go. Fuck him. Fuck him for not texting you or calling you or any of that. Fuck him for not realizing that he's missing out on a really amazing guy."

"You're right."

"Of course I'm right. Come on."

"At least my Halloween party will make it a little better. It will help."

"Yes it will. Now let's go. You too, Bri. Come on. Fuck that guy." I looked over at Bri and he nodded his understanding. We led Danny in the school as a unit, blocking him from the view of the alpha twins who had suddenly reappeared and cussing them the entire time. We tried to act like we always did, walking to our lockers and ducking all the flying toilet paper rolls.

"This entire mischief night seems ridiculous," I sighed. "It's basically a reason for people to do stupid things. It seems dangerous."

"One, we're teenagers, Carter. Of course it's dangerous. And, two, you didn't seem to mind it last night when you were with Stiles," Brian growled.

I laughed and warned, "You keep frowning like that and you're going to get stuck. Danny, we'll see you later. I've got some stuff to take care of this morning. Keep your chin up, buddy. You don't need that dickwad. You found a perfectly adorable boy last night to have cuddles with."

"Thanks, Carter. I'll see you later so that you can tell me all about your night with Stiles."

"Yes, sir. Later, dear." As soon as Danny was out of earshot, I whirled around to face Brian and hissed, "There are alpha twin werewolves back!"

"Yeah! I noticed. What the hell is going on?"

"I don't know. Scott and Isaac and Stiles are in the boys locker room, waiting for us. Come on."

I laced my fingers through Brian's and tugged him down the hallway. We dipped into the locker room just as we heard an enraged roar coming from Coach's office. Scott, Stiles, and Isaac stared up at us and then moved towards us, pushing us out the door and across the hall into the girl's locker room. Stiles smirked down at me and said, "We did a damn good job!"

I let go of Brian's hand to high five him and Brian snapped, "We are going to talk about that later, dude. It's not funny!"

"It is definitely funny," Scott objected. Isaac frowned and nodded towards Brian, offering him his sympathy. "But we have other stuff to worry about right now. Like Carter."

"I haven't done shit recently!" I protested. "Come on, the three of you aren't allowed to pen me up somewhere for dry humping. That has nothing to do with my gifts or the bite!"

"Carter!" Brian cried out at the same time as Isaac and Stiles.

"Oh shut up! What's anything got to do with me!?"

"Look, the twins are back. And they know that you exist. They don't know who you are, or where you are. But they know a she-wolf exists."

"So what? I'll go introduce myself to them."

"No you won't!" Isaac said quickly. "They are the reason Erica and Boyd are dead. Nothing good ever comes from knowing those two. They destroy everything. You can't ever trust them!"

"Calm down, big guy. Look, they're technically teenagers. And you can't keep them out of school, though I have no idea how they're getting in. Does nobody in this town worry about the amount of teenagers without legal guardians? But that's not the point. The point is, they're going to find me eventually. They know there's a she-wolf, they're going to notice that I'm with you guys all of the time, and they're going to be able to smell it on me. They're going to find me out and I think it's better to get it done sooner than to wait until later. At least if we initiate introductions, it will be on our terms."

"Absolutely not," Brian objected.

"He's right. No! We watched them kill Boyd, Carter. You're nowhere near as big as Boyd was," Stiles agreed.

"If they're a danger, it's not going to matter whether we hide me or not. If they're going to kill us, shouldn't we take the party to them?"

"What party? Carter, when Isaac and I took you out into the woods, you barely wolfed out! You shifted and then you climbed a tree and went to sleep!"

"It was midnight and you had me running around the woods all wolfed out and you fed me like two pizzas before we started! Of course I was tired!" I protested.

"Carter, we don't even know what you can do yet!"

"I can throw Isaac!"

"That was one time!"

"Okay, stop! Stop!" Stiles shouted. "We're not arguing about this. Carter, you're not going near the twins until we know what is going on. I don't care if I have to take you to my house and keep you there all day. I will. Understand?"

I froze and winked at him. "That could be fun."

"Shut up. You're not going near the twins. Got it?" he said sternly.

"I got it," I agreed with a sigh.

"Promise me, Carter. Promise me."

I put my hand over my heart and replied, "I promise. Now, come here."

Stiles laughed and walked over to drape his arms around my waist and pull me close to his body. He rested his chin on top of my head and I snuggled into his chest. Brian and Isaac faked gagging. Stiles murmured, "Did you hear Coach's scream?"

"Yep. He found his office," I snorted. "We did a good job."

"You did a good job. I was just kind of there."

I peeked up at him and smirked. "You were definitely more than just there."

"Gross. Shut up. Carter, class time. Let's go. Right now," Brian commanded. He snagged my arm from around Stiles waist and tugged hard. Stiles barely had time to lean down and kiss me quickly before Brian dragged me off.

"See you later, Carter."

"Later, honey bunny. See you later, Scott, Isaac."


	25. Chapter 25

"She's going to get you killed," Scott informed me after Econ.

"Yeah. Yeah she probably is. She'll make it fun though."

"You two are so weird. You really think I've got a chance with Kira though?"

"Well, duh. Hey, dude, what is my dad doing here?" Down the hall, Dad was storming towards us with an entire team behind him.

"Uh…I don't know. Did somebody die?"

Dad reached us at that point and ordered, "Walk with me."

"Dad, what's going on?" Scott and I fell into step with him.

"William Barrow escaped from the hospital about an hour and a half ago in the middle of an emergency operation."

"William Barrow, like the shrapnel bomber?"

"Yeah. The ambulance Barrow stole was parked a few blocks from the school."

"So what? Did the dogs lead you here?" I asked.

"No."

"So what's really going on here? What's up, Dad?"

He looked around and then leaned close to murmur, "Where's Carter?"

"Why?"

"When Barrow blew up that bus, he said it was because the kids had glowing eyes. Who does that remind you of, Stiles?" He glanced over at Scott.

"Shit," Scott cussed. "We have to get Isaac and Carter. Do you know where she is?"

"On her way to Government. Probably with Brian or Danny. Maybe Greenberg."

"She still talks to him?"

"That's not important right now!" I snapped. "We just have to get to her, now!"

"Isaac too," Scott added.

"Well, duh, dude. Carter's not leaving him in a dangerous situation."

"Go," Dad ordered. "Just, be careful, got it. If you can, leave it to the cops. Stiles, walk with me. I'll fill you in. Come on."

/

"He just broke it."

"I'm sorry, dear. He probably didn't know it was from you."

"I know but I put a lot of work into that gift. I wanted to get him something really special." Greenberg was close to tears and I really did feel bad for the guy. I rubbed his shoulder comfortingly and looked across him at Brian who was doing his best not to glare at me still. My brother wasn't taking it well that Stiles and I had gotten a little over excited in the school the night before.

"It'll be alright, Greenberg," Brian assured him.

"Carter, Brian! Hey!" We looked up as Scott and Isaac stormed over. Fear, worry, anger, angst.

"What's going on?"

"We need you to come with us really quick. It's an emergency."

"Is everybody okay?" Greenberg asked quickly.

"Family emergency," Scott corrected.

"You guys are related?"

"Cousins," Scott lied. "Their dad was my dad's cousin. So we're second cousins."

"Oh. That makes sense. What's going on?"

"Secret."

"Why does Isaac know?"

"He's family too," I said. "And now we have to go. Right now."

"Okay, see you later." I hugged him really quickly and grabbed Brian's hand and we followed Scott and Isaac.

"What's going on, where's Stiles, and does it have anything to do with those alpha twins?"

"Long story, he's getting the rest of the information, and not this time. A psychotic dude who killed a bus of teenagers with a shrapnel bomb escaped from the hospital this morning," Scott explained as quickly as he could. "We need to split up and then regroup. Carter, get Allison. Brian, get Lydia. Isaac, go get Stiles."

"Pause," I commanded while we continued to stride down the hallway, nearly shoving people out of our way. "My brother isn't going anywhere without somebody with him. He's not like us."

"Isaac, go with Brian to get Allison. Carter, get Lydia. We'll meet back here," Scott amended.

We nodded and broke off into our separate assignments. Lydia was by her locker. I snagged her arm without stopping walking, dragging her with me while she protested, "What the hell, Carter?"

"Come on. Now. I don't have the whole story but you have to come with me." I continued to drag her, my fingers digging into her wrist.

"Carter!"

"No time! Why do you smell like werewolf? Like a lot like werewolf. And sex. Ugh! Lydia!"

"Don't judge, Carter. We've all heard what you were doing last night! I can't believe you didn't call and tell me!"

"It hasn't even been twelve hours since it happened! Why does everybody know already? Seriously. Did you want me to call you while Stiles was in the jeep with me?"

"No, but come on! You could have shot me a text. 'Hey, buddy, by the way, totally dry humped in the school on the night before hell night. Came so hard that the wolves heard me!'"

"What?" We had arrived with the rest of the group and Allison, Isaac, and Brian were staring at us. Allison continued, "Are you talking about Carter's midnight tryst?"

"Isaac, you are the shittiest person ever at keeping secrets," I accused.

"You didn't tell me it was a secret," he pointed out. Scott and Stiles walked over.

"I'll be back," Scott said quickly. "I'm going to do a quick patrol. Stiles, fill them in on what you just told me. Get out of the main hall."

Stiles entwined his fingers in mine and led us down the hall. "Okay, so this morning, Barrow was taken to the hospital to have a tumor removed. When they started to remove the tumor, it was filled with flies. Live flies."

"Flies?" Lydia repeated.

"Yeah, live ones. Then he escaped, stole an ambulance, and they think he might be here. So we really need to get Carter, Isaac, and Scott off the site. When he killed the kids off the bus, he said it was because they had glowing eyes."

"I'm not leaving without everybody," I argued.

"Of course you're not," Stiles sighed.

"Live flies?" Lydia repeated.

"Yeah, live flies," Stiles repeated.

"You're definitely getting out of this school," Brian spoke up.

"Guys, shut up!" Lydia exclaimed. "Seriously, I've been hearing buzzing all day!"

"Like the sound of flies?" Stiles asked, dropping my hand.

"Exactly like the sound of flies. I can't get it out of my head."

"Fuck, we have to find Scott!" Isaac sighed.

"Bri, go with Allison and Lydia to the library and stay there," I commanded. "Danny's there. Make sure he's safe. Stiles, go find Scott. We're going to see what else is going on."

"I'm not…"

"Bri, go. Remember what happens if you get hurt?" I interrupted.

"Which is why I don't want you to get hurt!"

"Werewolf."

"Barely."

"Go," I commanded. "I'll be fine."


End file.

Teen Wolf