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The sting of concrete against the back of Aspen's head sent a jolt of throbbing pain up her spine. Her back instantly arched, her face screwed in pain. She let out rough, belated coughs, air trying to make its way into her wheezing throat. The dusty air resembled glitter as it hovered over her face in the light coming from the window.

"You are possibly the worst I've ever trained," Derek quipped from where he stood above her, his figure looming in front of the glass panes that dominated the upper wall of the abandoned train station he called his home. The morning light outlined him and blocked out the rays from blinding her.

Even rolling her eyes sent a sting up Aspen's head from where she lay on the concrete floor where Derek had thrown her. "Thanks for the encouragement," she croaked, her chest rising after another cough.

"Up. Again." Derek demanded, moving away to stand where they had been sparing.

Erica was perched on a table, legs dangling as she bit into a bagel with strawberry cream cheese. Amusement danced in her eyes as she watched Aspen lay her arms over her head and cross her legs. "I think I'll take a break." Aspen breathed her suggestion.

Isaac's soft chuckle traveled to Aspen's ears like a melody from where he stood at the threshold of the abandoned train. His tall, broad figure leaned against the open door, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down at Aspen, head tilting to the side to catch her eye.

"Having fun down there, sweetheart?" Isaac questioned with a teasing, amorous smirk.

Aspen's expression hardened with an unimpressed smile. She elevated her hand, lifting her middle finger on display in response to his snarky remark of her current predicament.

It had been four days since Aspen came asking Derek to train her. The first night she walked down the murky steps of the train station, the three werewolves had rushed back inside. They were lounging around the space ever so casually. She had avoided Isaac's gaze as much as she could. But he was daring her to look at him. They hadn't spoken, not a real conversation at least. Aspen was beginning to think she and Isaac were becoming strangers. They shared so much, yet in the end, it never resulted in anything. Never amounted to anything more than unspoken feelings. Just more conflict. Even if Aspen wanted a moment with him, it was either too awkward, or Derek would pull her away for more training.

She wasn't quite sure how to tell Scott and Stiles that she was training with a  rival pack. It's not like she wasn't going to. She was just trying to prolong it as much as possible.

Every morning she would rise before the sun could beat her and drive to Derek's den. She brought breakfast and always made sure to get everyone's order before arriving. Erica, as she described, was "a slut for bagels with strawberry cream cheese." Boyde surprisingly had a sweet tooth, always requesting a sweet vanilla latte with sugary cold foam and a breakfast sandwich. Aspen always made sure to slide in a sugar cookie. Isaac would shoot her simple text, like 'black coffee.' to which Aspen would respond 'typical' as a reference to when he once said he favored dark chocolate due to its bitter taste.

After a day of what control meant, he began hand-to-hand combat for the next couple of days. And now, here she was. Lying on the floor after Derek tossed her like a doll. Apparently, Derek's training entails her getting beaten up until she explodes and adding in degrading comments. How innovative of him.

It's not like she hasn't improved in her combat skills. She immediately picked up Derek's movements, and the wind acted as her guide in dodging the Alpha's attacks. His betas got a kick out of the lessons whenever Aspen would use her power to make Derek trip.

Isaac hopped off the train platform and outstretched his hand down at Aspen. The girl's brown eyes narrowed in on his hand like a mockery and let her eyes skim back to his. Isaac seemed more amused by her stubbornness and wiggled his fingers. "C'mon, Veata. Being a hardass doesn't look good on you." he mused.

With a huff, Aspen swallowed whatever dignity she had left and grasped Isaac's hand. With surprising strength, Isaac hoisted her up with one yank, making her yelp and stumble forward. "Yeah, neither does being a dickhead, but hey, you make it work for you." Aspen mocked with a fake smile, Isaac mirroring her expression with a chuckle from his chest.

"Lighten up. You're doing fine," Isaac assured, the slightest bit of sincerity he hoped to hide shining slightly through his facade of indifference.

"Tell that to the puppy tribe leader," Aspen hissed in a rough whisper. The action was meaningless since Derek glared over his shoulder and shook his head, the vein in his head protruding as he adjusted the hand wraps around his knuckles. "dude freaken flung me."

Isaac offered a half shrug. "He broke my arm once. Can't get any worse than that," he challenged. The snippet he mentioned about a broken arm casually was enough for Aspen's eyes to widen a fraction with a frown. She rubbed her arm instinctively, her fingers going over her darkened veins. Isaac's eyes traveled down where her fingers pressed against her veins, knowing she was probably still sore. Without a thought of consequence from Aspen, most likely scolding him, Isaac gently grabbed her wrist.

Aspen felt her breathing stop, eyes gambling a glance back at Derek. The latter was too busy talking to Erica to notice the two of them standing only inches apart. Isaac's fingers were gentle as he adjusted the white wrapped around her knuckles. "Another thing you gotta learn," Isaac murmured, the action making his voice deeper. From where Aspen stood, her eyes were in perfect view of his lips, and she shuddered at the way he wet his lips.

"Hm?" Aspen hummed, pretty sure she was unable to form a sentence by the way his hands handled her so gingerly.

"None of this matters if all you can do is throw a punch or how fast you can recover after a hit," Isaac informed, his blue eyes darting to Derek's bac before looking back to Aspen. From the way she was looking up at him, lips slightly agape and eyes unfocused, Isaac nearly broke into a grin but refrained himself from the pleasure. "You have to predict what's coming next. Your power can assist you; you just have to learn to be in tune with it. Use it to your advantage and feel before making a move. If you do that, size won't matter when it comes to an enemy. You have other things to your advantage. Got it?"

Aspen wet her lips before pressing them together with a quick nod. "Got it." she pondered her answer, then ticked her head to the side with a scrunch of her nose. "Kinda."

A laugh broke through Isaac's lips as he finished adjusting her wrap. His thumb grazed over her hand before he hesitantly let it drop. "Great. Now just kick ass so we can get outa here." Isaac sent her a wink before patting her arm and strode around her to sit with Erica.

Aspen blinked a moment, shaking her head, when she felt her cheeks warm significantly. She blamed it on the sweating. That's all it was. At least that's what she convinced herself.

She lulled her head backward as she stretched her back on her way to the sparring area where Derek impatiently awaited her. "Let's try not tossing me across the room?" Aspen suggested, sarcasm lacing her tone and naturally making Derek's eye roll. She was now acutely aware of Isaac's eyes on her. His advice rolled over in her head, and she let it act as a blueprint throughout her whole body.

Derek breathed, arms up in a fighting position. Aspen mimicked what he had taught her, her glistening chest rising heavily, preparing for the worst. "Ready?"

Aspen knocked her head to the side and rolled her shoulders. "Sure."

Derek's arm lunged forward, and Aspen jerked her body to the side and swiped her hand slightly upward, making Derek stumble along before catching himself. A growl reverberated from his chest as he glared over his shoulder, hearing his beta's try to hide a laugh. Aspen smiled cheekily, making Derek's fume but nod in approval of her quick movement. "You move fast on defense but slow on attack," Derek noted aloud, pride stinging his chest at the thought of Aspen making up her own technics from their training.

Derek fainted right, making Aspen dodge as he expected, but the Alpha was fast and whipped his arm out and wrapped one arm around her neck from behind and the other gripping his wrist to restrict her airflow. Aspen gasped, nails digging into Derek's arm. "When you attack, your sole purpose should be to trick your opponent into misstepping your intentions."

"Ah," Aspen gasped with a slight chuckle, "so kinda like what I'm doing now?"

"Wha--"

Aspen kicked back, knocking the wind from Derek's lungs. With her power assisting in her strength, Aspen grasped the man's muscled arm and yanked him over her shoulder. The momentum pulled her along, but she had man face-first on the ground, hand pressing into the back of his neck.

Derek let out a pained hiss, Aspen laughing joyfully through belated breaths. Boyde hollered from where he appeared from the bathroom, taking a seat beside Erica.  Isaac whistled his approval, exchanging a handshake with Boyde.

"Are we done now?" she mused and pushed up to her feet. Isaac didn't miss the way Aspen gripped her arm, and he looked away, flexing his hand. Erica clapped like a cheerleader and offered Aspen a bit of her bagel. The brunette happily accepted, letting her teeth sink into the sweet, crispy bagel. Aspen held a hand over her mouth to prevent falling crums as her eyes widened. "Wow, that's good."

"Right?" Erica nodded with a broad smile before taking another big bite. 

"Just because you can add a winning point against me doesn't mean you're an MMA fighter now," Derek called out, making his way to a door across the space and hiding himself with the door to change his shirt.

Erica leaned forward, brows raising in hopes to catch a glimpse of the overly muscled Alpha. Boyde whacked her back, making the blonde growl. Aspen huffed with a silent laugh and crossed her arms once Derek reappeared.

"Luckily, That wasn't my goal in the first place," she said, "Like I said, I need this control to like, you know, not become murderous during the Veata moon."

"And you're getting there. Count yourself lucky that I'm setting time aside to help you."

Aspen titled her head, pursing her lips in disagreement. "Pretty sure you're helping me because you don't want me as an enemy when the time comes. Am I right?"

"I'm helping you because we had an agreement. Which is what I wanna talk about now."

Aspen dropped her hands and rolled her eyes, gesturing for Derek to continue on for whatever she owed him. After a couple days, Aspen regretted offering Derek the help. She was willing to help so long as killing Jackson was off the table. Then again, she was pretty sure they didn't know about him yet, so she withheld the information. No doubt it would come to bite her later.

"So why do we need their help?" Isaac asked, pushing himself from the table and standing some feet behind Aspen with his hands in his pockets. Aspen swallowed hard when she felt his warmth limiting onto her back. From Isaac's tone, this conversation seemed only to be a continuation of a previous one she was not aware of.

"Because it's harder to kill than I thought, and I still don't know who it is," Derek said, eyes not missing the way Aspen's focus fell to her shoes.

"And they do?" Isaac questioned, almost annoyed.

Aspen caught onto who this "they" they need help from. Scott, Stiles, Allison, and herself. She didn't think Derek could go as low as asking for help.

Derek maneuvered his way toward a dark chest near a rusted, metal pillar. "They might. Which is why I need one of you to get on their good side."

Isaac shrugged, not being able to help himself when he smirked softly. "Done," he announced, nudging Aspen with his elbow. Aspen sucked her teeth and elbowed Isaac between the ribs.

"She doesn't count," Derek's voice rose slightly, emphasizing his annoyance with their silent banter. He was forced to keep his face neutral from the stench of chemosignals. "and I wouldn't count yourself on her good side."

Isaac looked to Aspen for her backup. "Okay, like half of her good side."

Aspen's contemplation didn't last a second "Less," she deadpanned, tilting her head to the side, eyes peering up at his, which were no glaring.

"Seriously?"

Erica let the tips of her boots drag the floor as she kicked her feet and tilted her head up in mock wondering. "Mmm, Scott or Stiles?" she thought aloud, their names dripping like honey on her tongue.

Aspen side-eyed the girl before following Derek to the chest as he pulled it open with a whine from its rusted hinges. The sound echoed off the walls, making Aspen squint. It was a black leather, and a thick layer of dust coated the top.

"Either," Derek answered.

"You know the full moon's coming, Derek," Isaac stated, frustration lacing the octave of his tone. But Aspen sensed the underlying nervousness that Isaac tried not to convey. Erica did better at hiding her discomfort while Boyde stayed silent.

Derek passed Isaac a deadpanned glare, not needing the reminder of the moon he's had to face since birth. "I'm aware of that."

The sound of metal sent a flash of memory when Aspen blinked. The night when Aspen and Stiles were forced to chain Scott up during his early full moon. Her heart ached for Scott and now knowing the time was coming for Isaac, it bled. Seeing him like that on his first full moon shattered her to the core. She could still feel the way she shook from the fear of what he could have done to her. She couldn't see him go through that again.

Erica reached into the dark chest, holding a dark metal contraption resembling a headpiece with large screws that would fasten a head. "Ooo, these look comfortable," she said in a sing-song tone.

Derek passed heavy chains with cuffs to Isaac, letting the ton drop in his hands. Isaac groaned with a hiss as he hoisted it over his forearm. Aspen let a piece of the chain glide in her hand. "Kinky," she murmured, causing Isaac to snicker, but the two were quieted by a side glare offered by Derek.

But Isaac's amusement at Aspen's attempt to lighten the dark mood whipped away when he let the chain drop to the floor. "You said you were gonna teach us to change whenever we wanted," Isaac said, his aggravation taking over his tone as he pulled up on his sleeves.

"There hasn't been time," Derek stated simply, his eyes darting to Aspen, "Thank Aspen for that."

Aspen went to open her mouth to retort against his excuse of being a lousy Alpha when Isaac butted in. "But if you have to lock us up during the full moon, that means--" Isaac gaped slightly, sharing a glance with Aspen before darting back to Derek. "That means you're alone against the Argents." Aspen could finally see for herself that Isaac was not only scared for himself but his Alpha. Derek had created an attachment with the boy without even noticing.

"They haven't found us," Derek assured, his tone all too casual. It was misleading that they were in the clear when in actuality, they were far from it.

"Yet!" Isaac called out as Derek sauntered away. Isaac clenched his jaw, his leg shaking in frustration. "So how about we forget about the kanima?"

Derel zipped around quickly from where he stood near another pillar, his eyes ablaze with pent-up anger. 'We. Can't!" he shouted, each word punctuated with authority. Isaac huffed through his nose and looked away. Aspen squinted, feeling Isaac's embarrassment while Erica and Boyde watched, feeling the same fear for the full moon to come. "There was something about the way Gerard looked at it." This piqued Aspen's interest, not hearing of Gerard in a while. And from Derek's character, fear was creeping into his chest. "He wasn't afraid...at all. Now I don't know what he knows or what he's planning. But I'm sure about one thing. We have to find it first."

With that, Derek walked away with stillness impending over the train station. As much as Aspen wanted to ponder what Derek had said, she stayed planted in place and rocked on her heels.

"So showers then school?" Aspen suggested, hoping her tone would lighten the mood.

"I'm shotgun!" Erica chimes skipping to her honorary area in the train that acted as her bedroom.

Isaac rolled his eyes as he strode after her. "I don't fit in the back seat, Erica!"

"Too bad Jolly Green G!"

Aspen smiled sweetly as she watched the two enter the train and debate who should take shotgun. She heard movement from behind her and turned her head to see Boyd making his way up the stairs toward the exit.

"You're skipping?" Aspen questions with amusement.

Boyde paused midstep to turn his attention down to her. "Don't got anyone to impress with my grades. Why try?"

"So is the ice rink job a lifelong aspiration or..."

Boyde gave her a look and rolled his eyes as he forced a smile down. "I'll figure it out."

But Aspen wouldn't relent. "Lunch on me?" she tried one last time, her mothering instinct not letting him go off that easy. Bribing became her last resort. By the amount of time Boyde juggled her proposition in his head, she knew she had gotten her answer. She sported a satisfied smile with a skip in her step when she made a beeline for the showers. "Be in the car by forty!"

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a/n: Am I the only one who thinks the song I Found by Amber Run is perfect for Aspen and Isaac?