Winnie, departed from the Preserve to keep whatever cover she had left, was swimming laps in her house pool. A wrist band clocked her heart rate and wireless headphones dulled her senses.

Water logged for an hour, she was still going strong.

That was, until her whole body cramped at once in mid stride.

Winnie broke the surface with a gasp, grabbing the board above the deep end. She tore off her goggles, panting with wild eyes. Quickly, she clammered out of the pool in her black Nike one piece.

She pulled out her headphones and took off the fitbit, leaving both by her belly button ring and sketch pad on a small table. Drying off her hands, she quickly opened her sketchbook and bared down with a charcoal pencil.

Flecks of chlorinated water speckled the page, only making the scene more disturbing.

Winnie snapped out of her haze two sketches later, she coughed as she quickly grabbed her phone.

But Scott didn't pick up, nor did Allison.

Thankfully, Stiles did.

"Jesus-" Winnie raked a hand through her damp hair as she heard the buzzcut boy pick up. "Are you there? Are you by the van?"

"No, I'm on my way though-"

"Jackson's going to get out, if he hasn't already."

Stiles swore verbally, starting to run. He skidded to a stop, ruffling leaves. "God damn-" He sighed stressfully, "He's gone."

"I thought Allison and Scott were watching him?"

"I'm pretty sure they spent their time differently." Stiles grumbled, spotting Allison's car. "I'm gonna get them up. I'll keep you updated. Thanks, Win."

"Stiles, there's something else," Winnie spoke up before he could end the call. "I also drew your dad - at the station. He, uh, he doesn't look too happy."

Stiles inwardly sighed, "Thanks for the heads up. Anything else?"

Winnie stared down at the third drawing of hers, running a finger along it. "No, no that's it."

The call hung up, Winnie setting her phone on the table. She raked both of her hands through her hair, closing her eyes briefly.

"Do you always lie to your friends?"

Winnie looked up, startled as she saw Isaac outside of the glass walls surrounding the pool. Hesitant, Winnie pushed open the door between them.

Like more than once, they hadn't exactly parted on good terms.

Winnie slid on a track jacket, still in her swimsuit.

Isaac stepped into the slightly humid pool room, shutting the door behind him. "How come you lied to Stiles?" he asked as he pocketed his hands in his jeans. He was void of his usual leather, in a blue long sleeve.

Winnie halfly glanced to her sketchbook, "It didn't concern him." She shut the book before Isaac could look. "It's about my dad. There are other things Stiles needs to worry about." She met eyes with Isaac, "So, what are you doing here?"

"After waking up in the substation next to a paralyzed Erica, I thought twice about whether or not Stiles knew what he was talking about," said Isaac in a tone less familiar when he was wearing leather.

Winnie hesitated, lifting an eyebrow. "You lost me."

Isaac's eyes flickered sideways before returning to her. "I heard him say that you were probably distracting me."

"Ah," she lightly replied, "clearly you don't study probability very often."

Isaac tried not to smile, "I guess not."

But Winnie's slowly fell. "Then you attacked my friends."

"Under orders-"

"Under emotion," she said before he could finish. "Isaac, you did it because you were angry at me. Derek, well he had nothing to do with that."

"He doesn't like me talking to you, you know." Isaac kept his eyes on Winnie, still standing with distance from her.

"Then why did you come?" Winnie softly asked him. "You follow his commands but don't listen to his rules. Why is that?"

"The, uh, the commands, Derek's orders, they never seem to be about you."

"But the rules, they do? So, you're subservient but rebellious...only when it's for me?"

"I guess it does sound that way," Isaac said.

Winnie's eyes didn't waver from Isaac, "Why?"

"I'm still trying to figure that one out."

Barely, she smiled. "You know that's not true. You're forgetting I can hear you."

Isaac took in a soft breath, "You, Winnie, are the exception because I can't seem to stay away from you." He took a step forward, "Or stop thinking about you, or stop thinking what it would've been like to kiss you last night, or all the other times I've had the chance."

"There's your problem," Winnie said as she looked up to Isaac, the space decreased by an ample length. "You haven't tried to figure any of that out."

Isaac quickly slipped his hands against her neck and pulled her closer, pressing his lips to hers like he'd wanted to for so long. 

Winnie, no matter the calls of her  conscious, went up on her toes and kissed him back. It was like a spark, their connection undeniable as neither seemed like they needed to breathe.

The grip on Isaac's shoulders hardened, but as Winnie pulled away, she was shining.

Winnie's eyes were glossed, her attention no where Isaac could see.

Isaac's concern shot up, catching the weight of Winnie's body as she went rigid. "Winnie? Winnie!"

But there was no point; she was too deep to be removed so easily.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Imagination is more important than knowledge." Winnie's body went deadly still, her eyes seeming to go right through Isaac. "The kanima seeks a master."

¥ ¥ ¥

Erica filed her nails, her legs propped up on a torn up sub car seat. She was still pissy about Allison getting the better of her but was trying to move past it.

Derek worked with a blow torch, sealing up the nearly shredded chains used by his betas. The blue flame snapped off and the alpha quickly pulled up the mask from his face.

The door a level above swung open, a panicked Isaac carrying the limp body of Winnie Jones.

Erica poked her head out of the sub car, her eyebrows lifting as she saw Isaac bring Winnie downstairs, "Boyd, you owe me ten. I told you he was with her."

Boyd, sitting outside of the abandoned trains, held up a $10 bill to the blonde. He stood, walking over to Isaac as he met them on the bottom floor. "What happened to her?"

Derek reached Isaac first, noting Winnie's eyes were practically rolled into the back of her head. "Did you do something to her?"

"No, this is her shining," he quickly defended in a voice tinged with worry. "I don't know how to stop this."

"Why were you with her in the first place?" asked Erica snarkily.

"You can be petty later, Erica," snapped Derek. He held out his arms, "Give her to me."

Isaac hesitated for just a moment before giving Winnie over to Derek.

The alpha carried her in the same cradled position, the brunette barely conscious and uttering words that didn't string together. Derek took her into the train car, laying her down on the long back seat. "Isaac, come here." Lifting Winnie's shoulders and neck, he motioned for Isaac to sit.

Isaac acted as a prop for Winnie, keeping her inclined.

Boyd stood a little behind Derek, not trying to crowd. "Why is she in a swimsuit?"

"Questions can wait," announced Derek as he was down on a knee to get a better look at Winnie. "How long's she been like this?"

"Maybe eight minutes. I drove her car here, but it happened by the pool. She went limp, saying some quote, I think it was Einstein." Isaac looked down to Winnie, concerned as she was still unresponsive.

Derek pulled up one of her eyelids more, her pupils glazed over like fog. "Did she say anything else? Think, Isaac."

"Something about the kanima..." Isaac was panicking at Winnie's unease, his memory clouding. "The kanima seeks..."

"Seeks what?" Derek quickly questioned. "What does the kanima seek?"

"A master."

The substation went dead silent, all eyes looking to Winnie.

Her eyes were open, but she wasn't quite there. 

"The kanima seeks a master," repeated Winnie as she stared dead straight up at the ceiling.

Derek held up a hand for everyone but him to be silent. "Winnie, is someone controlling the kanima?"

She loosely replied, "The kanima is controlled."

"Who is the kanima's master?" asked Derek calmly. "Do you have a name?"

"No," Winnie answered. "Gloves...and leather. Drowning."

"Drowning?" Erica quietly repeated. "What the hell does that mean?"

Derek hushed her, returning to Winnie. "Is someone drowning?"

"Once before and once more."

Erica felt shivers run up her spine, the wolf rubbing her arms in attempt to get rid of the goosebumps that had arisen.

"Winnie," Derek said after a moment, "is someone drowning right now?"

"Only in their sleep," she whispered with horrified eyes.

"We need to wake her up," Isaac quickly said with utter concern.

"No, no not yet. This is an untapped reservoir." Derek stayed down on a knee with his eyes on Winnie. "Winnie, are more people going to die?"

"Yes."

"Is someone on this sub car going to die?" asked the alpha.

"Yes."

"One of my betas, or you?"

"Yes."

Winnie's eyes shut, letting go of a soft noise as she drifted to sleep.

All the wolves were dead silent, their hearts practically stopping.

"She - she can be wrong, can't she?" Erica quietly questioned.

"I highly doubt it," Isaac said as he looked down to the sleeping Winnie.

Boyd cleared his throat, having checked his phone. "I have to go home." He backed out of the train car, leaving the substation with his heart in his throat.

Derek stood, motioning for Isaac to get up.

"Uh, I think I should stay with -" Isaac took into account the look on Derek's face and got up, carefully laying Winnie back down.

Erica, still unnerved, looked to Derek.

Derek walked off, Isaac following. "We need them - Scott as his pack of misfits."

"So, why do we need their help?" the beta asked with his hands in his jean pockets.

"Because it's harder to kill than I thought and I still don't know who it is."

"And you think they do?" Isaac stepped off the sub car, following his alpha.

Derek didn't look back, "They might." He spoke to his betas, "Which is why I need one of you to get on their good side."

Erica, hopping off the lit car, made a 'hm' noise with a smirk. "Scott or Stiles?"

Derek stopped at a chest on the ground, turning. "Either."

Still worried about Winnie, Isaac tried to look like he was still with Derek at the moment. "You know, the full moon's coming, Derek."

Derek looked back to Isaac. "I'm aware of that." Flipping open the chest, he rifled through chains.

Erica pulled out a set of clanking metal, "My, these look comfortable."

Isaac felt subtle irritation, "You said you were gonna teach us to change whenever we wanted."

"There hasn't been time," replied Derek as he removed more chains and dropped them on the ground.

Isaac was absently running his thumb over Winnie's keys in his pocket. "But if you have to lock us up during the full moon, that means you're alone against the Argents."

Derek shut the chest, starting to walk off. "They haven't found us."

"Yet!" Isaac sharply said. "So how about we forget the kanima?"

Derek, across the room, quickly turned around. "We can't!" He looked down, "But there was something about the way Gerard looked at it. He wasn't afraid...at all. 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."

It, however, was a fat chance.

Winnie thought so too, but she wasn't conscious to voice her opinion.