Isaac Lahey

Isaac John Lahey

Isaac Lahey is a member of the Hale Pack, and half-brother of Jackson Whittemore.

His mother died of cancer when he was four. When his older brother Camden Lahey was killed in action in 2008, Isaac's father, John Lahey, already a bad father, became violently abusive, and began punishing Isaac for percieved failings by locking him in disconnected freezer in the basement of the house.

In 2011, John Lahey was killed by the Kanima, and Isaac accepted the bite from Derek Hale, becoming part of the Hale Pack.

Although initially a suspect, he was eventually cleared of suspicion of his father's murder. It was eventually discovered that John Lahey had been killed by a Jackson as a Kanima, due to his having orchestrated the deaths of Jackson's biological mother and her husband.

After several months staying with friends, primarily Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd, and Scott McCall, Isaac moved into Derek's Loft.

Physical Description

Special abilities

As a Beta Werewolf, he possesses enhanced strength, speed, agility, endurance, and senses.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Isaac born in Beacon Hills, the youngest child of John Lahey and Michelle Lahey. Unbeknownst to Isaac, he had a younger brother, Jackson Whittemore, born only six months later.

When he was 4, his mother died following a battle with breast cancer.

Although he was not yet violent, John was a controlling, manipulative, and often emotionally abusive parent. He would often pit Isaac and his older son Camden Lahey against one another, to prevent them supporting one another. He told Isaac frequently that he should not trust outsiders, and belittled his achievements.

As a result of this, Isaac's emotional development was affected. He struggled with both empathy and sympathy, and was labelled the 'weird' kid at school. This was exacerbated by the fact that is was several years before his aenemia was diagnosed, so he was often exhausted or unwell, and didn't want to socialise or play games with other children. This eventually resulted in no one at school wanting to befriend him, further isolating him and damaging his emotional development.

The only friendship of any kind he developed in primary and middle school was with Matt Daehler, who would sometimes sit with him due to also having no real friends. However this relationship crumbled after Matt's near-fatal drowning accident in the Lahey's pool.

Only a few weeks into Isaac's first year of High School, his brother Camden, who had enlisted in the Army to get away from home, was killed in action while serving in Iraq.

John Lahey's mental health, already poor, deteriorated significantly as a result of this loss. His existing abusive tendenciences became dramatically worse, almost overnight, and he began physically abusing Isaac, hitting him or throwing things at him, blaming him for every problem in their lives, including Camden's choice to enlist, and punishing him if he failed to meet John's standards at school.

Eventually, he began punishing Isaac by locking him inside a disused freezer in the basement of the house, leaving him locked alone inside for hours or even overnight if he felt he had done something wrong.

He also began using Isaac as his assistant in his job as the town grave-digger, forcing him to work late nights unpaid, and blaming Isaac when this affected his grades or his performance on the Lacrosse Team.

When Derek Hale, newly ascended to Alpha and looking to build a pack, encountered Isaac at work in Beacon Hills Cemetary, he offered him the bite, which Isaac accepted.

Only a couple of nights later, John was murdered by Jackson Whittemore, who had become a kanima, to avenge the death of his biological mother Margaret Miller, who John had murdered.

Isaac was the prime suspect, as Noah Stilinski uncovered evidence of the abuse Isaac had suffered, was arrested on the night of his first full moon. However, the Beacon Hills Sheriff's Department had been infiltrated by the Argent Clan, who believed that the only way to protect people from Isaac losing control was to kill him. With the help of Scott McCall and Allison Argent, Isaac was able to escape unhurt, but was forced to go on the run, hiding out at the Train Depot.

He was eventually cleared of suspicion when Jackson, who had testified to seeing John and Isaac fight on the night of the murder, was threatened by Derek into recanting his testemony, and Isaac was able to return to school. During this time he alternated between living with Erica Reyes and Vernon Boyd, not wanting to return to his father's house.

Stiles Stilinski eventually figured out the relationship between Isaac and Jackson. When Derek told him, Isaac expressed relief at having confirmation that his father had always been a bad person, as he had been worried it was something he had caused.

He played a key role in the ritual to save Jackson, reverting him from the Alpha-Kanima form he was trapped in to what he should have become when he was first bitten, a Werelion. The fact that this ritual worked was accepted by the supernaturals as proof of Jackson and Isaac's relationship, but after Jackson told his parents he was still alive, David Whittemore paid to have them DNA tested to prove it conclusively.

Isaac moved permanently into Derek's loft at this time, although Derek did briefly throw him out when he realised The Alpha Pack were going to try to force him to kill his former Betas. During this time, Isaac lived with Scott, and developed a close relationship with Melissa McCall.

He developed strong feelings for Allison, but chose not to tell her about them, due both to his own shyness, and her complicated relationship with Scott.

Sexuality

If asked, he would say he is straight despite experiencing attraction to people of all gender identities, although he has a strong preference for women.

He has strong submissive and masochistic tendencies, and how dominant a person is usually a much stronger indicator of how attractive he finds them than gender.

Education

High-school student (solidly B to B-)

Employment

Formerly assistance grave-digger at Beacon Hills Cemetary.

Since his father's death, he has not worked.

Mental Trauma

Isaac is deeply traumatised by the physical and emotional abuse he suffered from his father. He has a strong fawn response, altering his behaviour to please those he percieves as having power over him.

Derek Hale noted that he rarely asks questions, due to his father reacting badly to anything he percieved as Isaac questionning his authority.

He tends to hold himself at a distance from others, even within his own pack, and struggles to trust others.

Intellectual Characteristics

Isaac enjoys being difficult and causing problems on purpose, likely due to the lack of freedom in his upbringing, although this is not malicious. He has an extremely dark sense of humour, and seems to enjoy discomforting people by reminding them of the trauma he has endured.

Morality & Philosophy

Vernon Boyd, among others, has noted that Isaac is largely amoral, and very heavily influenced by the morality of those around him.

He is rarely, if ever, malicious, but also will not go out of his way to help others unless prompted. He has never taken a human life, but has expressed his willingess to do so on several occaisions.

This lack of moral compass is due to trauma and lack of healthy relationships in his childhood, rather than any inherent lack of empathy. It is unclear whether his moral sense is developing over time, or if he is simply adopting the morality of his pack-siblings.

Social

Contacts & Relations

Isaac is close to his pack-siblings, especially Erica Reyes and Scott McCall.

He is protective of Melissa McCall, due to her offering him a permanent home with her and Scott. He did not accept the offer, chosing to instead move into Derek's Loft, but the gesture meant a lot to him.

Family Ties

He barely remembers his mother, as she died when he was a young child. He was not close to his brother Camden Lahey, due to the age difference, and the fact that John Lahey would play them against one another.

His father was always controlling and emotionally abusive, but after Camden's death, his mental health worstened dramatically, and he became physically abusive as well. Their relationship was poor that Isaac expressed relief when he learned his father had murdered Margaret Miller, as his father had lead him believe that it was Isaac's own fault that his father was so terrible.

Since his father's death, he has only one close living relative, his half-brother Jackson Whittemore. Despite their very different temperaments and backgrounds, the two are close, and quite protective of one another.

Wealth & Financial state

He has sold his father's house, and has access to the funds for day to day expenses, although Derek Hale is housing him and does not charge him for food and utilities.